to the end of the chapter, to show the impossibility that any true Christian should be separated from the love of God and Christ, and so perish. The apostle John says to believers, "The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you. 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 ii. 27.) By the anointing is meant the Spirit of Christ, which he promised his disciples should be in them and abide with them forever. "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 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 in you, and shall be in you." (John xiv. 16, 17.) Of the same Holy Spirit he speaks, in his discourse with the woman of Samaria, when he says, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life." (Chap. iv. 14.) By this Spirit believers are said to be sealed to the day of redemption. "Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Cor. i. 22. Eph. iv. 30.) To be sealed, is to be secured as the property of Christ, and belonging to him, and a certain token of complete redemption. The earnest is a part given as a token and pledge that the whole shall be granted, even eternal life.

8. That all true believers in Christ should persevere in faith, and none of them perish, is consistent with all other truths contained in divine revelation, and is really contained in many of them; and this appears every way proper and reasonable.

That this doctrine is not inconsistent with any thing contained in the Scripture, has been made evident, it is hoped, from what has been briefly said, in some of the above particulars, to obviate the objections which some have made to it, from not understanding it, or the Scriptures, on which they have grounded their objections. And if man be so wholly dependent on God for salvation, so that this must be determined by his sovereign will, as it has been made evident the Scripture represents him to be; and he is brought into a state of salvation by the sovereign, almighty influence of the divine Spirit, giving him a new heart, and making him a new creature, by which he is brought into a spiritual, vital union to Christ, and made a living member in his body, the church; and is pardoned and justified for Christ's sake, being, by this union, interested in his atonement and righteousness; and is constantly dependent on God for every holy act and right. thought, then it is unreasonable to suppose, that after God

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has done all this of his own sovereign will, and made the believer so far meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, having delivered him from the power of darkness, and translated him into the kingdom of his dear Son, (Col. i. 12, 13,) he should relinquish this work, and give him up to the power of sin and Satan, and leave him to perish forever; but, on the contrary, it is most reasonable to conclude with the apostle Paul, and with him "be confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun such a good work in him, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. i. 6.)

IMPROVEMENT.

L. See how exactly the blessings and promises of the covenant of grace are suited to the circumstances and heart of the believer, and to exhibit and display sovereign grace. He is absolutely dependent on God for holiness, and perseverance in it unto salvation; he feels himself infinitely unworthy of any favor, and without strength in himself to do any good thing; he is surrounded with temptations and dangers, and Satan, that strong and subtle enemy, is seeking to destroy him. He would sink into despair immediately, were it not for the promised power and grace of Jesus Christ, who has promised he will never leave nor forsake them who trust in him. But this gives him sufficient and full support, and he acknowledges and admires the wisdom and grace of this cov enant as everlasting, and ordered in the best manner in all things, and sure; and says, with David, "This is all my salva tion, and all my desire." He knows this is no contrivance of man, no fiction, but an important, glorious reality, which has a divine stamp upon it. He believes, and rejoices in hope of the glory of God.

II. We hence learn what encouragement the poor, lost, infinitely guilty, and miserable sinner has to come to Christ, and trust in him for every thing he can want. Christ ensures salvation and perfection in holiness to every one who will come to him, and promises he will in no wise cast them out or forsake them. He will be their righteousness, wisdom, and strength. He will furnish them with the whole armor of God, and teach their hands to war, and their fingers to fight, successfully against sin and the devil, and lead them on to complete victory.

III. This doctrine affords sufficient encouragement to the trembling believer, who knows his own weakness, to make a public profession, and espouse the cause of Christ before the

world, and engage, by his grace and assistance, to serve him, devoting himself to his interest and honor.

Some, who thought they were friends to Christ, have been afraid to make a public, Christian profession, lest they should fall away and dishonor him by their sinful conduct. This is owing to their not well attending to the promises of the covenant of grace. If they have a heart to devote themselves to the service of Christ sincerely, and choose a holy life in obedience to him as the greatest privilege and happiness, they may safely trust in him for that assistance by which they may live a holy life; for he has promised never to leave nor forsake them, but that his grace shall be sufficient for them.

SECTION VI.

The Believer's Assurance of Salvation.

THEY Who deny the certain perseverance of all true believers do, of course, not believe it is possible that any man should be sure of his own salvation; and it is certain that the latter would not be possible, were the former not true. But, if the covenant of grace contain a promise, that all who believe shall persevere in faith unto salvation, so that there is a certain connection between the first act of faith and salvation, which has been proved in the preceding section,-then, if the believer can know that he does now believe, he may infer, with certainty, that he shall be saved. He has just so much evidence that he shall be saved as he has that he is a true believer, or is possessed of any thing which implies saving faith; and if he can be sure that he has any exercises of this kind, he may be equally sure of final salvation.

This subject may be explained, and the truth vindicated, by attending to the following particulars :

1. Assurance of salvation is not essential to saving faith; or, a person may believe in Jesus Christ, and hereby be brought into a state of salvation, and yet not know that he does believe in Christ as they do who shall be saved.

Many have thought that saving faith consists in believing that they shall be saved, that God loves them, and designs to save them, and Christ died for them, etc., - or, that this is, at least, implied in faith;-that it is, in this sense, an appropriating act, -taking salvation as their own, knowing that it belongs to them, and that they shall be saved. But it has been shown, in the section on the nature of saving faith, that such a notion of faith is not agreeable to Scripture. Saving

faith is a direct act,- believing the gospel to be true, approv ing of it, and receiving Christ as he is there offered. This may take place, and a man be a real believer in Christ, without any knowledge, or consciousness, or even the least thought, that he does believe, or that his exercises are saving faith; for the latter consists in reflex acts of the mind,—in a view or consciousness of what does or has taken place in his heart, or what are the direct acts of it towards Christ, etc. The knowledge or assurance that we do believe is a reflex act of the mind upon what has taken place in our hearts, by which we obtain a knowledge that we have believed, or do now believe: so that assurance of salvation, or that we have saving faith, is consequent on our believing; and saving faith must exist in the mind, and every thing essential to it must take place, before we can be conscious that we do believe, or have any knowledge of it, which consists in reflecting on those acts of our hearts which are saving faith, or do imply it. These are, therefore, two distinct things in their nature, and are not necessarily connected. A person may have saving faith, and yet not reflect upon the acts of his own heart so as to know or believe that they are those in which faith consists.

Saving faith is an appropriating act in this sense; it is receiving Christ as our Savior, - taking salvation as it is offered, and laying hold of the covenant of grace so as to insure all the blessings of it to ourselves. But this may be done without knowing that we do it, or thinking that the exercises of our minds, in which this consists, are of the nature of saving faith. This knowledge is obtained by reflecting upon our own exercises, with discerning to see of what kind they are; and the latter is not necessarily connected with the former, as has been now observed.

It is granted that saving faith, even in the first acts of it, may be so strong and clear that it may be attended with a consciousness and assurance that the person does believe and shall be saved: so that believing and assurance of salvation may be both together, and connected in this respect; but still they are two distinct things, and consist in distinct acts of the mind, and the latter is consequent on the former, though the believer may not distinguish them, and not know that they are not one and the same act.

2. Assurance of salvation, therefore, consists in a person's consciousness of the acts of his own heart,- that he does believe in Christ, and knowing, from intuition or reflection, that he has attained to those things which imply saving faith and do accompany salvation, being infallibly connected with it by the promise of God in the covenant of grace.

us.

3. It is certain, from fact and experience, that persons may know what the exercises of their own hearts are, and it is reasonable to suppose this may be the case in the instance before We do know what we love, and what we hate, in many instances, at least; and what kind of exercises we have respecting many objects with which we are concerned, which are agreeable and which are not so. We know we love some persons, and that others are very disagreeable to us; and no reason can be given, why we may not believe and be sure that the gospel is true, and that Christ is the Son of God, and be so pleased with his character and the way of salvation by him, and have such strong and fervent love to him, as that we may be conscious that we have these exercises, and be sure we do believe, and love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth. Peter was so conscious and sure that he loved his Lord, from an intuitive view and reflection on the feelings and exercises of his own heart, that he could say with confidence and great assurance, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." And it is very unreasonable to suppose, that no person can have such constant, strong love to Christ, as to be sure he does love him, and has all those exercises which are implied in faith and love. Nothing can prevent this but the low degree and weakness of these exercises, and the strength and appearance of contrary exercises, or mistakes with regard to the nature and operation of true grace.

4. It appears from Scripture, that many good men were in fact assured of their salvation. Job says, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." (Job xix. 25-27.) The Psalmist says, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." (Ps. lxxiii. 24, 26.) And it appears from the New Testament, that the apostles, and many, if not the most, of the primitive Christians were sure that they should be saved. The apostles speak in the language of assurance, and represent this to be common to believers of that day, by using such language in their name. The apostle Paul says, "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded (or confident) that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." (2 Tim. i. 12; iv. 7, 8.) And he speaks of