many weaknesses and imperfections.x

VII. Works done by unregenerate men, a the matter of them, they may be things, whicł mands, and of good use both to themselves a yet, because they proceed not from an heart faith; nor are done in a right manner, acco

thereof: and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to With Heb. xi. 4. By faith Abel offered unto God a mor crifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead, y

o Job ix. 20. If I justify myself, mine own mouth me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me po cxliii. 2. And enter not into judgment with thy servi sight shall no man living be justified.

z Heb. xiii. 20, 21. Now the God of peace, that brou the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the s the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you pe good work, to do his will, working in you that which i in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glor ever. Amen. 2 Cor. viii. 12. For if there be first a v is accepted according to that a man hath, and not accor hath not. Heb. vi. 10. For God is not unrighteous, work and labour of love, which ye have showed towa that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 23. His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good a vant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I w ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of t Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful serv been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ru things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

VII. y 2 Kings x. 30, 31. And the Lord said unto thou hast done well in executing that which is right and hast donc unto the house of Ahab according to a mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation throne of Israel. But Jehu took no heed to walk in Lord God of Israel, with all his heart: for he departe sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin. 1 Kings x it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, th clothes, and put sackcloth upor his flesh, and fasted, a cloth, and went softly. Seest thou how Ahab humbl fore me? because he humbleth himself before me, I the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I brin his house. Phil. i. 15, 16, 18. Some, indeed, preach envy and strife; and some also of good will: the on of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add afflictic What then? notwithstanding every way, whether in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, y joice.

z Gen. iv. 5. But unto Cain and to his offering he l

Therefore, sinful, and cannot please God, or make a man meet to receive grace from God. And yet their neglect of them is more sinful, and displeasing unto God.d

And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. With Heb. xi. 4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead, yet speaketh. Heb. xi. 6, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

a 1 Cor. xiii. 3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it protiteth me nothing. Isa. i. 12. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

b Mat. vi. 2, 5, 16. Therefore, when thou dost thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

c Hag. ii. 14. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands, and that which they offer there is unclean. Tit. i. 15. Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving, is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. Amos v. 21, 22. I hate, I despise your feast-days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burntofferings, and your meat-offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Hos. i. 4. And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. Rom. ix. 16. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Tit. iii. 5. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

d Psal. xiv. 4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. Psal. xxxvi. 3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. Job. xxi. 14, 15. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him? Mat. xxv. 41, 42, 43, 45. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye

Chapter XVII.

OF THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAI

THEY whom God hath accepted in his Belo ually called and sanctified by his Sprit, can nei nor finally fall away from the state of grace; bu tainly persevere therein to the end, and be eterna

II. This perseverance of the saints depend their own free-will, but upon the immutability cree of election, flowing from the free and un love of God, the Father; upon the efficacy of and intercession of Jesus Christ ; the abiding

visited me not. Then shall he answer them, saying, Ven to you, in as much as ye did it not to one of the least of it not to me. Mat. xxiii. 23. Wo unto you, Scribes an hypocrites; for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and ( have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgr and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to lea undone.

I. a Phil. i. 6. Being confident of this very thing, từ hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the Christ. 2 Pet. i. 10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, gi to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do the shall never fall. John x. 28, 29. And I give unto them and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck ther hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than al is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 1 John soever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed r him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 1 Who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unt ready to be revealed in the last time. Receiving the faith, even the salvation of your souls.

II. b 2 Tim. ii. 18. 19. Who concerning the truth have ing, that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow some. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth s this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Le that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kind drawn thee.

c Heb. x. 10, 14. By the which will we are sanctified, t offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For by c he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Heb. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dea Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the b everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good

tatud of time seen of you wit them; and the nature

of the covenant of grace :e from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.f

Hob.

hrough Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. ix. 12 to 15. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls, and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the fliesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the Mediator of the new testament, that by ineans of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they, which are called, might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Rom. viii. 33 to 39. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth: who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. John xvii. 11, 24. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name, those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. Luke xxii. 32. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Heb. vii. 25. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

d John xiv. 16, 17. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 1 John ii. 27. But the anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you: and ye need not that any man teach you: But, as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie: and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 1 John iii. 9. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

e Jer. xxxii. 40. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. f. John x. 28. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. 2 Thess.

ad been vota

III. Nevertheless they may, through the temp Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corru maining in them, and the neglect of the means of t servation, fall into grievous sins;g and for a time therein :h whereby they incur God's displeasu grieve his Holy Spirit; come to be deprived of se sure of their graces and comforts; have their hea

from evil. 1 John ii. 19. They went out from us, but the of us for if they had been of us, they would, no doubt, H nued with us: but they went out, that they might be mad that they were not all of us.

III. g Mat. xxvi. 70, 72, 74. But he denied before them I know not what thou sayest. And again he denied with do not know the man. Then began he to curse and to swe I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

h Psal. li. (the title) 14. To the chief musician, a psalm when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had Bathsheba. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy right

i Is. lxiv. 5, 7, 9. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: be art wroth, for we have sinned: in those is continuance, an be saved. And there is none that calleth upon thy name reth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. Be very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: be we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 2 Sam. xi. 27. the mourning was past, David sent, and fetched her to his she became his wife, and bare him a son: but the thing t had done displeased the Lord.

* Eph. iv. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, w are sealed unto the day of redemption.

I Psal. li. 8, 10, 12. Make me to hear joy and gladness bones, which thou hast broken, may rejoice. Create in m heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Res me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy fre Rev. ii. 4. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, bec hast left thy first love. Cant. v. 2, 3, 4, 6. I sleep, but waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, sayi to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for m filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my f shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the ho door, and my bowels were moved for him. I opened to my but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: mys when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I ca but he gave me no answer.