the conversion of the Jews:-" If they abide not still in unbelief, they shall be graffed in; for God is able to graff them in." (Rom. xi. 23)

it away.

4. The covenant and grace thereof is invincible by many adverse assaults; nothing can alter, or overrule the will of God, or cause him to recede from his own purposes of showing mercy. If any thing could, sin could: but he hath assured us, that that shall not: "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgements; if they break my sta tutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes: Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail; my covenant will I not break," &c. (Psalm 1xxxix. 30-34) Though he punish, it shall be in measure; not unto rejection, but unto emendation. (Isa. xxvii. 8, 9) As to the guilt of sin, and damnation due unto it, he will pardon it: "I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more." (Jer. xxxi. 34) As to the dominion thereof, he will subdue it, and purge (Micah vii. 19, 20. Psalm 1xv. 3) As to the particular prevalency of any lust, he will awaken us to repent; make us, by some word, or affliction, or mercy, or example, or providence, to search and consider our ways, and return from all our evil doings. So he did David by the ministry of Nathan; (2 Sam. xii. 13) so Peter by the look of Christ; (Luke xxii. 61) so Joseph's brethren, by his speaking roughly unto them. (Gen. xlii. 21) As to the remainders of it, he will daily mortify and destroy them. (Rom. vi. 6) Sin then shall not break out so far as to annul and to evacuate the covenant: for who then should be saved? seeing, in many things we offend all, and, by the grace of the covenant alone, are preserved from offending more. Nay, the Lord is so gracious to his people, that their very sins, which of themselves do only defile and endanger them, are, by God's goodness, ordered unto their benefit. The Lord could keep his servants from falling, (Jude, ver. 24) and preserve them blame

h Adeo justis omnia cooperantur in Bonum, ut etiam si qui eorum deviant et exorbitant, etiam hoc ipsum eis faciat proficere in bonum, quia humiliores redeunt atque doctiores. Aug. de Corrupt. et Grat. cap. 6. Vid. de nat. et Grat. 28.An vero ei peccata ipsa non cooperantur in Bonum, qui ex eis humilior, ferventior, solicitior, timoratior et cautior invenitur? Bernard. Ser. 1. de diversis.

less; (1 Thess. v. 23) but he is pleased sometimes to leave them, that they may know themselves, and their own weakness, as he did Hezekiah; (2 Chron. xxxii. 31) that they may bemoan their own misery, and loathe themselves in their own eyes; (Jer. xxxi. 18, 19. Ezek. xx. 43) that they may be driven to live upon free grace and pardoning mercy; (Psalm li. 1) that they may set the higher price upon the Lord Jesus, who is a sanctuary for the chief of sinners to flee unto; (Isa. viii. 14. 1 Tim. i. 15) that they may be the more watchful over their loose and deceitful hearts, having once, yea twice, been betrayed by them: (Job xl. 5, and xxxiv. 32) that they may pray more earnestly for the subduing and mortifying of prevalent corruptions: (Psalm li. 7-10. Rom. vii. 23) these and other the like ways, the Lord hath to order the very sins of his people unto their good. And if sin shall not prevail against the covenant, we are sure nothing else shall he that pardoneth sin, rebuketh Satan, conquereth the world,-his love is above the reach of any thing to separate us from it; (Rom. viii. 33-39) none shall be able to take us out of Christ's or his Father's hands. (John x. 28-30)

5. The covenant and grace thereof is founded in the blood of Christ and ratified by it: as he hath by his blood purchased his people, (Tit. ii. 14) so hath he by the same procured for them all good things, specified in the covenant. (Rom. viii. 32) The blood of Christ can as well be vacated, as any branch of the covenant be unfulfilled to believers, for whom they were all bought with so precious a price.

6. His purchase is seconded by his intercession. His intercession is the petition of his blood, and therefore shall undoubtedly be granted. His father heareth him always, (John xi. 41, 42) and he prayeth to his father, that his people may be so kept, as that they may be with him, and behold his glory; (Joh. xvii. 11 and xv. 24) therefore accordingly they shall be kept. i

7. Christ's intercession is seconded with his Father's love to his people. "I say not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you," saith Christ; (John xvi. 26, 27) and therefore must needs be exceeding acceptable,

i Vid. Cameron. de Eccles. p. 120–126. in 4to.

because God's own heart is towards them, and his love upon them; as the woman of Tekoa's petition for Absalom was easily granted by David, because his heart was towards him before. (2 Sam. xiii. 39, and xiv. 1, 2)

Lastly, The Lord hath promised his holy Spirit of fear, love, grace, adoption unto his people; by the help of which they are preserved from the dangers, whereunto of themselves they are exposed. (Ezek. xxxvi. 27. Isa. lix. 21) Upon these and such like grounds it appeareth, that because God is righteous and faithful in his covenant, therefore we remain escaped.

And if it be here objected, that the promises are usually set forth as conditional," the Lord is with you while ye be with him;" and "if you seek him, he will be found of you : but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you;" (2 Chron. xv. 2) If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:" (Isa. i. 19) "He that believeth, shall be saved;" (Mark xvi. 16. Joh. iii. 16) " Except ye repent, ye shall all perish;" (Luke xiii. 3) We answer, 1. Promises are, in some places, made absolutely, which, in others, are conditionally expressed as Heb. xiii. "I will not leave thee nor forsake thee:" Jer. xxxii. 39. "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever; I will give them a heart to know me, they shall be my people, I will be their God, they shall return unto me with their whole heart;" (Jer. xxiv. 7) "If ye will obey my voice and keep my covenant," is a condition in one place, Exod. xix. 5: a free promise in another, "ye shall keep my judgements, and do them," Ezek. xxxvi. 27. "The mercy of the Lord is towards them that fear him," Psal. ciii. 11. There the fear of God is a condition." I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me," Jer. xxxii. 39; there it is a free promise.

2. The Lord doth not only give us good things under a condition, but doth give the condition itself to his people. (Compare Isa. i. 19. with Phil. ii. 12. Acts x. 43. with Phil. i. 29. Ephes. ii. 8)

3. Precepts and conditions are used as the Vehicula' of the grace promised. Of ourselves, we can do nothing of those duties unto which promises are annexed; for all our suffi

ciency is of God, who worketh all our works for us. (2 Cor. iii. 5) But the precepts of the word are the usual instruments, by which he worketh those things in us, which he requireth of us. (Rom. x. 17)

4. Conditional propositions do not imply, that our performances work upon God to do what he had said; as if the performance of duty were only ours, and then the performance of promise alone his; but they imitate the order and connexion, which the Lord hath set amongst his own gifts; some whereof he hath appointed to be antecedent dispositions and preparations towards others consequent upon them. "He that believeth, shall be saved:" this is a conditional promise: faith the condition, salvation the promise. But we may not so understand it, as if faith were only ours, and salvation alone his but faith is one gift of God, antecedent to salvation, which is another gift of God.

Ver. 1. Now then, since the Lord is righteous in all the ways of his judgements and secret providences, we must for ever lay our hands on our mouths, and put our mouths in the dust, and beware of murmuring and repining against him, as if his ways were not equal towards us. "Behold he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, what dost thou?" (Job ix. 12) We may, in our prayers, plead with God about his judgements as holy men have; (Jer. xii. 1. Habak. i. 2-4-13) but we may not quarrel at them, nor murmur against them.

2. When the Lord doth strangely vary his providences towards a people, and worketh unusual changes and alterations among them; stirreth up some helps, and then layeth them by; calleth forth others, and quickly revoketh them; fitteth men for great actions, and in the midst of those actions cutteth them off;-our work here is not to censure either the agent, or the instruments, to charge the dealings of God either as unrighteous or as unreasonable: but to reflect upon ourselves, and learn our unstedfastness in God's covenant, by his diversifying of providences towards us. 1. Sometimes we over-dote upon instruments, and deify them, as if God had no way to help us but one. And then God breaks that staff, when we lean too hard upon it, to force us to lean upon his name again. 2. Sometimes we undervalue them, and will not understand that God is doing us good by them, (as it is

said of Moses, Acts vii. 25) and then God suspendeth his work, which he was about to do. 3. Sometimes the hearts of the people are unprepared for mercies; and then God doth not honour his instruments with settling them. Jehoshaphat was a good king; yet he did not work a perfect reformation; the high places were not taken away; and this the reason, "the people had not as yet prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers." (2 Chron. xx. 32, 33) 4. Sometimes the guilt of old sins does remain uncleansed away, as it is said of the iniquity of Baal-Peor; (Josh. xxii. 17) and in this case instruments are too weak to divert wrath. (2 Kings xxiii. 25, 26) Never such a reformation as Josiah made about the eighteenth year of his reign; and yet because the people returned but feignedly, (Jer. iii. 10) within a few years after, they were carried into captivity. Our Saviour was very near his sufferings, when they cried Hosannah' before him. The sun often shews biggest, and shines brightest, when it is ready to set. The candle blazeth most, when it is in the socket. Many times dying men, and it may be so with dying churches, have a lightning before death.

6

I speak not this to bode ill unto the land of my nativity. If any say, It shall not be so, but we shall still have peace, and truth, and holiness flourish,-I will cheerfully say as the prophet did, (Jer. xxviii. 6) " Amen :" The Lord do so for this land but withal, "happy is the man that feareth always.” (Prov. xxviii. 14) The sins of the people may weaken the hands of the best instruments, and make them unable to help us. It is noted as a cause of wickedness that men have no changes; (Psalm lv. 19. Jer. xlviii. 11) but to be tossed and emptied, and exercised with frequent alterations, and our scent to abide in us still,-wanton under mercies,sullen under judgements,-after all our physic, to relapse,— after all that is come upon us, again to break the commandments; this is a sad symptom, a great aggravation of our sin, and justification of God's righteousness in all his dealings with us.

Again, since the Lord is the God of his people, and righteous to them in a way of mercy and fidelity, we learn to acknowledge it a great mercy, and to glorify God for it, that we" remain yet escaped:" that we may set up an Eben-Ezer, and say, 'Thus far hath the Lord helped us.'