but the Lord has promifed to guard them, If. xxvii. 3. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment; left any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. They may fall into fin, and provoke the Lord to anger against them; but he has promifed, that though he lay his hand on them, he will not lift his love off them, Pfal. lxxxix. 31-34. Though they may be forfaken, yet it fhall neither be total nor final, If. liv. 7.-10.

2. From the faints confidence of perfeverance and eternal life. How confident was Afaph, Pfal. lxxiii. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counfel, and afterwards receive me to glory? If the faints could fall away from grace, how could they rejoice in hope of the glory of God? Rom. v. 2. How could Paul triumph over death, life, angels, principalities, powers; things prefent and to come, height, depth, &c.? Rom. viii. 38. 39. Confidence in their own management, is not the way of the godly, Prov. xxviii. 26. He that trufteth in his ewn heart is a fool.

3. Lastly, According to the fcripture, perfeverance is a difcriminating mark betwixt the elect and nonelected, Matth. xxiv. 24.; as alfo betwixt real faints and hypocrites, Luke viii. 13. 14. 15. 1 John ii. 19. From whence we may gather, that the utter apostasy of the elect faints is impoffible in respect of the decree of God; that thofe who get true grace, keep it to the end, while others lofe theirs; and that they who utterly apoftatize, never were true faints.

FOURTHLY, I fhall fhew what are thofe things which make hypocrites fall away, but over the belly of which faints perfevere. In the general there are three things.

1. Satan's temptations, 1 Pet. v. 8. He is a fubtle, powerful, and malicious enemy, a liar and murderer from the beginning. Whatever hopeful figns are found about any, he fets himself to rob them of them, for their ruin. He feeks to fet the hypocrite and the fincere through the wind, and prevails to blow away the one, but not the other. By a miracle of

grace the faints are preferved amidft his fiery darts, Luke xxii. 32.

2. The world's fnares. While profeffors are in the world, there are fnares to catch them, and carry them off the way. (1.) The world's profperity is a great snare, and makes many apoftates, Prov, i. 32. & xxx. 9. But true grace will hold out against it, Cant. viii. 7. (2.) Its adversity. Tribulation and perfecution offends the temporary believer, and makes a fcattering among Chrift's fummer-friends, Matth. xiii. 20. 21. But the true Chriftian will weather out the ftorm; Job xvii. 9. The righteous alfa fhall hold on his way, and he that bath clean hands shall wax ftronger and stronger. Poverty ftrips many of their religion, but not a true faint, Rev. xiv. 4. (3) The example of the world; the torrent of an ungodly generation ftrips many of their form of godlinefs, Matth. xxiv. 12. Because iniquity fhall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But the faints thall not be carried away with the trean, Pfal. xii. 7. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preferve them from this generation for ever,

3. Lastly, The corruptions and lufts of the heart. Thefe betray the hypocrite into apoftafy, Jer. iv. 3i Compare Luke viii, 14. Lufts lulled afleep for a while, but not mortified, rife up and make shipwreck of many fouls. But true But true grace is never quite expelled by the flefh's luftings againft it; but by the power of God is preferved, like a fpark of fire in the midst of an ocean, FIFTHLY, I proceed to fhew the grounds of the perfeverance of the faints,

1. The unchangeable decree of God's election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of the Father to them, Electing love is free love, and alfo unchangeable, Jer. xxxi. 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. And God's purpose of grace and falva tion cannot be disappointed, 2 Tim, ii. 19. The purpose of God ftandeth fure, having this feal, The Lord know eth them that are his.

2. The merit and interceffion of Chrift the Son, He redeemed them by paying a full price, which must be loft if they be loft, 1 Pet. i. 18. 19. And he ever liveth to make interceffion for them, Heb. vii. 25.

3. The perpetual abiding of the Spirit in and with them, John xiv. 16. which fecures their union with Chrift, and the prefervation of the feed of grace, 1 John iii. 9.

4. Laftly, The nature of the covenant of grace, which is furnished with fuch pillars as the first covenant had not, namely, the promises of perpetual confervation in the ftate of grace, Jer. xxxii. 40. 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.

SIXTHLY, I fhall fhew the means of perseverance. Let none think that they may live carelessly, having once got grace, becaufe it cannot be loft: for befides that one's giving himfelf quite up to fuch an opinion and courfe is inconfiftent with faving grace, God has joined together the end and means, and none shall feparate them, Acts xxvii. 22. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there fhall be no lofs of any man's life among you, but of the fhip. Compare ver. 31. Paul faid to the centurion and to the foldiers, Except these abide in the fhip, ye cannot be faved. Now, in the general, these are,

1. God's ordinances and providences, He makes ufe of both to keep the feet of his faints, John xv. 2,

2. The duties of religion, and exercise of the graces, faith, fear, watchfulness, &c. 1 Cor. x. 12. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed left be fall.

I fhall conclude with a few inferences.

Inf. 1. Would ye have a treasure which ye cannot lofe? then get grace. Ye may lofe your worldly trea fures, comforts, and enjoyments; the world's good things may go. But grace is durable.

2. Take heed to yourselves, and beware of apoftafy; for it is not the beginning well, but holding on to the end, that will fecure your falvation, Matth. x. 22. He that endureth to the end, fhall be faved. Beware lest Satan, the world, and your lufts give you up your foot, and ye lofe all ye have wrought, 2 John 8.

3. As ever ye would perfevere, look well to the foundation of your religion; for fincerity will last, but hypocrify is a disease in the vitals that will end in death. The builders endeavour to lay the foundation faft and fecurely, and then they are fure that the fuperftructure they raise upon it fhall ftand firm. Therefore lay the foundation well, and ye may be affured that the building fhall weather all ftorms.

4. Lastly, Let those whofe care it is to be found in Chrift, and to live to him in all the duties of piety and righteousness, be comforted amidst all their temptations, fnares, and corruptions, in that God who has begun the good work, will perfect it, Phil. i. 6.

Of the Benefits which Believers receive at Death.

A

PHILIPPIANS i. 21.

—To me—to die is gain.

LL muft die; but as mens lives are very different, fo their account in death is alío. To an ungodly man death is a lofs, the greateft lofs: but to a believer it is gain, the greatest gain.

Paul was now a prifoner in Rome, and his cafe in itself was doubtful whether it would terminate in life or death, (though he was affured it would not be death. at that time, ver. 25.) But having taken a view of both, he does, in the text, in his own perfon, give us, (1.) The fum of a believer's life, that is, Christ. As all the lines drawn from the circumference meet in the centre, fo the whole of a believer's life in Chrift,

his honour being the scope of all. (2.) His eftimate of a believer's death; he will not be a lofer, but a gainer by it: it brings him in many benefits, and so is a gainful exchange.

The doctrine of the text is,

DocT. Death is gain to a believer.

In difcourfing this doctrine, I fhall shew,
1. In what respects death is gain to believers.
II. How it comes to be gain to them.

III. Deduce an inference or two.

I. I am to fhew in what respects death is gain to believers. It is fo in refpect of their fouls and of their bodies.

FIRST, In respect of their fouls. It feparates their fouls from their bodies, but not to their lofs, but to their gain. It is with the fouls of believers at death, as with Paul and his company in their voyage, Acts xxvii, The thip broke in many pieces, but the paffengers came all fafe to land, So when the eye-ftrings break, the fpeech is laid, the laft pulfe beats, the last breath is drawn, the foul efcapes, and gets fafe away out of the troublesome fea of this world, into Immanuel's land. Now there is a twofold gain or benefit which the fouls of believers receive at death, namely, perfection in holiness, and immediate entering into glory.

First, Perfection in holiness, Heb. xii. 23.-The Spirits of just men made perfect. In regeneration the elect get a new nature, which is a holy nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. but much of the old nature ftill remains. Then grace is planted in them by the Spirit. It grows up in the gradual advances of fanétification; but at death it is perfected, they are made perfectly holy. This perfection confifts in two things.

1. A perfect freedom from fin, Eph. v. 27. The fpiritual enemies they fee to day, they fhall never fee more, when once death has clofed their eyes. Many a groan and ftruggle there is now to be free of fin,