QUESTIONXIIl. 349 men to trust in a Saviour for eternal life, when this Saviour has not eternal life entrusted with him to give them, if they do re- pent : It is hard to conceive how the great Governor of theworld can be sincere in inviting and requiring sinnerswho are on the brinkof hell, to cast themselves upon an empty word of invita- tion, a mere shadow and appearance of support, if there be nothing real to bear them up from those deeps of destruction, nothing but mere words and empty invitations. Can we think that therighteous and holy God would encourage his ministers to call them to lean and rest the weight of their immortal concerns and happiness upon a gospel, a covenant of grace, a Mediator, and his merit and righteousness, &c. all which are a mere nothing with regard to them, a heap of empty names, an unsupporting void which cannot uphold them ? When our blessed Redeemer charges the Jews with aggravated guilt for refusing his grace, can we suppose he hadno such gráce in his hand to offer them ? Or when he, as it were, consigns them over to death, because, says he, ye will not come untome that ye may hare life ; John v. 40. can we suppose he has no eternal life, not so much as a conditional grant of it in his hands for them ? By the way I cannot but take notice here, that in order to avoid these bard and absurd consequences of the Calls of grace and offers of salvation where none is really provided, some per- sons clmae rather roundly to assert, there are no calls of grace, no, offers of pardon or salvation at all in the word of God, to any 'but the elect : And I think of the two it is the more defensible or consistent doctrine, though it seems to run counter to a great many plain scriptures in the Old Testament and the New ; for there are many,textswherein pardon and salvation are proposed to all sinners whatsoever, without any regard whether they are chosen of God or no: And it is the design and voice of the whole current of scripture, to call sinners to repentance by pro- mises of mercy, and to enforce that which Isaiah speaks, chapter lv. 6, 7. Seek ye the Lord while he may befound: Call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wickedforsake his way, and the unrighteous man'his thoughts; let hinz return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon Mm, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. And what our Lord himself pronouncesin his personal ministry has the same design, when he calls to all the sinners in Galilee, repent and believe the gospel, for I come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; Mark ii. 17. And St. Peter and St. Paul, his two chief messengers or apos- tles, call all the crucifiers of Christ in general, and the heathen nations, to repent and be converted, that their sins might be blotted out; and to believe in the name of the Lord Jesus, that they may be saved; Acts iii. 19. and xiii. 38. and xvii. 30. He commands all men every where to repent ;; Rom. x. 11, 13. while our Savi-
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