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God in regeneration in vain, which may become, useless, and of no avail, may be loft, and he himself everlastingly perish. But,

I. We are not to understand by the grace of God, that grace which is implanted in the fouls of men at the time of their regeneration; for that cannot be received in vain ; it always produces its proper fruit and defigned effect; it begins, carries on, and finishes the work of fanctification; it is an immortal, incorruptible, never dying feed; it cannot be loft in any part or branch of it 'tis a well of living water Springing up unto everlasting life; it is closely and infeparably connected with eternal glory; to all those to whom God gives grace he gives glory; whom he calls and juftifies, them he alfo glorifies.

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II. The grace of God is fometimes to be understood of gifts of grace, and particularly fuch as qualify men for the work of the miniftry; in which fenfe it is ufed by the apoftle Paul, in Rom. i. 5. and xii. 6. Eph. iii. 8. 1 Car. xv. 7. of which he had a large meafure; nor was the grace which was bestowed on him in vain, seeing he laboured more abundantly than all the rest of the apostles. And it will appear reasonable to take the phrafe in the fame fenfe here, if we confi

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der the words as they fand m with the latter pa of the preceding ter, and some following veries II I this manner; feeing the work and 2, 7* reconciliation is command s ambafadors for Chef, un o'S S the members of the church, u reconciled to the order of the gaine., and the laws of Christ in te hou, A B together (not wik bun, he Gotor Cirik, which is not in the e, a felov Labourers in the Lord's vineva, as my conced in the fame embar of peace Tecci you also, the minifters of the word i s church, that ye receive male

in vain, h. e. that you be care that the gifts beftow'd on you, do no le regañet and useless; but that you tie and morove them to the advantage of the durm. and glory of Chrift, by giving up your lis study, meditation, and prayer, and by inbouring conftantly in the word and doctrise and also, that you have a strict regard to your lives and converfations, giving to f fence in any thing, laying no stumbling block in the way of fuch you are concerned with, that the miniftry be not blamed, ver. 3. (for, ver. 2. is included in a parenthefis) and then adds the apoftle; but in all things approving, aules, your felves as the minifters of God, in much patience, &c.

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III. The grace of God often defigns the doctrine of grace, or the gofpel of the grace' of God, as in Tit. ii. 11. Heb. xii. 15. Jude ver. 4. which may be truly fo called'; fince it is a declaration of the love and grace of God to finful men; it afcribes the whole of falvation to it, and is the means of implanting the grace of God in the hearts of his people in regeneration. Now the grace of God, in this fenfe, that is, the doctrine of grace, may be received in vain, fo as that it may become useless, take no real effect, produce no real fruit; as was the cafe of fuch who received feed by the way fide, into ftony places, and among thorns; and is the cafe, whenever it comes in word only, is received, not into the heart, but into the head only, when the life and converfation is not becoming it; and efpecially when it is abufed to vile purposes; that is, when men turn this doctrine of the grace of God into lafcivioufness, and when befides, they drop, deny, and fall off from thofe truths of the gospel they have before profeffed; and fince this too often is the cafe, an intreaty, an exhortation of this kind made to a vifible church,, confifting of real and nominal profeffors, cannot be improper, without fuppofing that true believers may fall from, or lose the true grace of God in regeneration.

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NUMB.

NUMB. XLII. 2 Cor. xi. 2, 3.

For I am jealous over you with a godly jealoufy; for I have efpoufed you to one bufband, that I may prefent you a chafte virgin to Chrift. But I fear, left by any means, as the ferpent beguiled Eve through bis fubtilty, so your minds fhould be corrup ted from the fimplicity that is in Chrift.

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HE fears of the apoftle, expreffed in these words, and in Gal. iv. ri. 1 Theff. iii. 5. left pious perfons should mifcarry, are thought to add farther ftrength to the argument against the faints final perfeverance ; “ for, 'tis faid, if the apostles, by the dictates of the Holy Spirit, had declared, that God had abfolutely promifed that men once truly pious, should perfevere to the end, how could they reasonably exprefs their fears, left it should be otherwife"? To which I reply,

I. That the fears of the apostle about the perfons referred to in these feveral pa were not left they should fall from and favour of God, or from the gra was implanted in them, and so heaven and eternal happine

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through the subtlety of Satan and his inftruments, falfe teachers, their minds and judgments fhould be in any degree corrupted from the purity and fimplicity of the gospel of Chrift, and they any way give into erroneous doctrines, or comply with judaizing practifes; and fo the labour of him and his fellow minifters, in inftructing and eftablishing them in gofpel truths, be fo far in

vain.

II. The fears of the apoftle, left these perfons should fall in this fenfe, yea, even if they could be extended further, are no proofs of fact that these perfons did fall away; but only, at most, declare his apprehenfions of their danger. And it is certain, that the most eminent faints are in danger, through the wiles of Satan, the cunning of falfe teachers, the perfecutions of the world, and the corruption of their own hearts, of falling from their ftedfaftnefs in the faith; and it is owing to the mighty power and grace of God, that they are in any measure preferved. The apoftle might express his fears on the account of these things, without any contradiction to, or hesitation about God's abfolute promife of the faints final perfeverance, and his faithfulness in the performance of it.

III. The

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