ON HOSEA XIV. -VERSE 8. 251 present world, Tit. ii. 11, 12. He who bath decreed salvation as the end, hath decreed also all the antecedent means unto that end to be used in a man- ner suitable to the condition of reasonable and volun- tary agents, unto whom it belongs, having their minds by grace enlightened, and their wills by grace pre- vented, to co- operate with the same grace in the further pursuance of their salvation. And if at any time corruption should in God's children abuse his grace and efficacy unto such presumptuous resolu- tions, they would quickly rue so unreasonable and carnal a way of arguing, by the wouul sense of God's displeasure in withdrawing the comforts of his grace from them, whichwould make them ever after take heed how they turned the grace of God into wantonness any more. Certainly, the more the servants of God are assured of his assistance, the more careful they are in using it unto his own service. Who more sure of the grace of God than the apostle Paul, who gloried of it as that which made him what he was ; " By the grace of God I am that I am ;" who knew that God's grace was sufficient for him, and that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ ? who knew whom he had believed, and that the grace of the Lord was exceedingly abundant towards him ? and yet who more tender and fearful of sin? Who more set against corruption, more abundant in duty, more pressing unto perfection, than he ? This is the nature of grace to animate and actuate the faculties of the soul in God's service, to ratify our covenants, and to ena}ile us to perform them. gain, as it is singular comfort to the servants of God, that their own wills and purposes are in God's keeping, and so they cannot ruin themselves : so it is also, that all other men's wills and resolutions are
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