49 / 504
A
Preface
to the
Reader,.
all
doing fo. Power he
had within
,
and meanes without
abundantly
fufficient
for
that
end
in
their
Rind.
This
then
He afferts
to
be given
to the
Samts ,
and
to
be
the
work
of God
in
them;
even
their eí7Elual
Perfeverance.
Without
this he alfo manifefleth
that
fuch
is
the
infirmity of our
wids,and
fuck
the
Power
of our Temptations(that
what meares
fo
ever may
be
Ilipplyed and left
to their
Power
,
or what
man-like
rational
conGderations
whatever man
may engage
his
thoughts into
)
that
it
is
impoflible
any
fhould
perfevere to
the
end
:
which
Tradwardine more conhrmes. De Cauf:Dei Lib: 2.
Cap. 8.Coroll:
Omne
quad
ell
natmrale,ß
non
ill-
per
fe
Tale,
fs m
avere debeat immubottom, aportet
quod
innitatur
continue nlieui fixo per
fe:
gave
quilibet
jutru
Deo.
And the holy
man
(
Auffin
I
meane)
concludes
,
that
this
work
of
God
being
wrought
in
a
man
his will
is
indeclinably and infeperably
fixed fo
to obedience
,
as
not
to
fall
off from
God.
This
is
the foundation
that
He layes
of
the
Doctrine
of
the
Perfeverance
of Saints:
That
it
is
a
Gift
of
God
,
and
that
fuch
a
Gift,
as
he effe&ually , and
A1ually
works in him
onwhom he
doth bellow
it.
A Foundation
that
will by
no
meanes regularly beare
the hay& ffubble,wherewith
men
think
to
build up
a
Doctrine
of
perfeverance: making it
a
fruit
that
may
,
or
may
not
be
brought
forth,from our
own oie
of
the
meaner allowed for
that
end &purpofe.
And
indeed the Aller-
ting
of
the Perfeverance
of
the Saints
in
that
way
,
is as
bad
,
if
not
a
worfe and more fearful
oppofition
to,
and (lighting
of
the Grace
of
God,
as
the denyal
of
it,in the way they oppofe:
By
the latter
they oppofe the
Grace
of God,
by
the
former,fet up
the
Power and
flrength
of
their
own will.
Thus far
/boffin
is
clearly engaged
with
us;
that
perfeverance
ie
a
Gift
of
god,
that it it given
by
him
to
everyone
that
doth perfevere
:
that
every
one
to whom
it
is
given,
to
mf
e
perably confirmed in Grace
,
andßiell
infallibly
perfevere
to
the
end.
In
that
earneft
,
and
long
Conteft,
which
that
learned
Dodor
infifls
upon,to
prove Perfe-
verance
to
be
the
Gift
of
God (for
which
he
bath
fufficient
ground from
that
of
the
Apoltle,
a
Cor:
I.7,
8:
that
ye
come
behind
in
no
Gift, waiting
for
the coming
of
our
Lord
7eftu
&c.
)
two
things he efpecially aimed
at:firfl,an
oppoGng
of
/uch
aPerfeverance,as
fhould not
be
the
fruit
&
work
of
the
Grace
of
God
in us
:
but the
work and
Effeet
of
our
own endeavours,
upon
a
fupply
of
fuch
means,
motives
,
perfwafions,
&conGderations
as
we
are,or
may
befurnifhed
withal.
Secondly
,
that
it
is
fo
given
and bellowed,as
that
on
whomfoever it
is
bellowed, he
certainly bath
it ,
that
is,
he
doth
certainly Perfevere.
As it
was Herefy
to that
holy man
,
to
deny Perfeverance
to
be
the
Gift
of
God
, fo it was
ridiculous
to
him
,
to
fay
that
that
Gift:
was
given
to any
,
and
yet that they
received
it
not
;
that
is
,
that
they
might
not
Perfevere..
abu(faith
he)
de
Cor.&
Cyrat:C:
a
I.)gsi
Chriflo
in
/iti fumua,talis data
eft
Gratia,
ut
non
íò-
1ùm
pojmtm
fi
velimtu
fed
etiam
ut
velimtu in Chriflo perfeverare.And C:
a
z:non
fol
%rn
at
foe
i11ó
dono
perfeveranteo
efe
non
pe
f
ny
verúm
etiam
ut
per
hoe
Domain
non
ni/i perfeverantetfine.
A
rid
that
which.he addes afterwards
is
moft conliderable
,
concluding from
that
ofour
Saviour you have
na'rchofen me,
but
I
have
chafen
you
,
andordainedyou
to
beare
fruit;
eis(faith
l:e )
non
Idiom
jufliriam,
verú
m
etiam inWA'
perfeverantiamdedifemanf
?ravit.
Chriflo
twins
fi:
cos
ponente
ut rant
&
fruc7um
arrant,
&
frail-1m comm manear,gsois
audeat
dicere
forlitan
non
manebunt?
Though
they dare
fay
fo,who alto dare to
to
pretend
bis
Authority for what they
fay!
how fallly, how
injuftly,
is
evident
to
all ferious obfervers
of
his
mind and
fpirit,
in
and
about the things
of
the Grace
of
God.
z
As
he
mentioned
Perfeverance
to
be fuch
a
Gift
of
God,as
indeclinably wrought
in them
on
whom it
was
bellowed
a wall
to
Perfevere,and on
that
account
Perfeverance
it
felfe
(
an
Affertion
as
obnoxious
to
the Calumny,and Clamour
of
the Adverfaries
of
the
Dochineun-
der cónfideration,
as
any weteach
or
affirme
concerning
it)
fo
he
further conftantly
taught
this
Gift and
Grace
to
be
a
fruit
of
Predefiination
or
E/eElIan,
and
to
be
bellowed on
all,
and
only
ele
/ed
belie
vera:fo
De
Prede/tinatione Sanc
:C.I
y.
F/ac
dons
Dei
dantur
Ele/tit
,fecundum
Dei Propofitum vocatis,in
quibue
rf
&
incipere
&
credere,&in
fide
ad
toupee
vitaeritum
perfe-
verare.And afterwards
C:9,.
De
bono
Perfev:ex
duebua
piis(of
his
meaning
in
that
word
after-
wards
)
cur huir
donetur
Terfeverantia,
oafq
infinem,
illi
non
donetur,infcrutabilia font
judicial
Dei
I
illud
tarnen frdelibue
deber
effe
certifrnum
,
hunt
cffe
ex
Pradefliratit,illum
son
e(fe:
ram
/1
fuifent
ex
nabos
(ait
mime
Tradeftinatorurn qui
é
peílore
Domini
liberal.
hoc
fecretum)
manf:fent..
uti,4
nobifcum.
eft
Oa
Difcrerio
?patentLibriDei,nanavertamue afpeílam, clamar
Scripturd
Divina,adhibeamus auditum,non cram
ex
eis,quia
non
crane fecundmm
propoftam vacati:noncrass
in
Chriflo
E
le
iti
ante mandi
conffitutionem,
non Brant
in
eo
fortem
can/motel,non Brant
Pradeflimar
ti
fecundurn
Prepofienm éjus
grti
or.
rich
operatur.
And
unto
thefe
Eleft,
Tredeftinate Belie-
vers
,ist èoncluded
!till,
that
Perfeverance
was
fo
given in and
for Chrifl,fo
proceeding
from
f
the