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favour with God, and in whom God had begun the good work, with others, directed to churches and perfons, to fear, left they fhould fall away, and finally miscarry, fuch as Prov. xxiii. 17. and xxviii. 14. Rom. xi. 20. Heb. iv. 1. and xii. 28. 1 Pet. i. 17. are improved into an argument against any abfolute decree or promife of God, in favour of the faints final perfeverance: For 'tis faid, "What ground of fear can there be, where God hath abfolutely decreed to confer this falvation, and stands obliged by promise, to afford thefe means, which will infallibly produce it"? To which I answer;

1. The exhortation to the Philippians, to work out their falvation with fear and trembling, is not to be understood of a flavish fear of hell and damnation, or left they fhould fall away, and finally miscarry; fince this would have been a distrust of the power and faithfulness of God, and fo criminal in them: Nor is it reasonable to suppose, that the apostle would exhort to fuch a fear, when he himself was confident of this very thing, that he which had begun a good work in them, would perform it until the day of Jefus Chrift: Befides, the exhortation would be very oddly formed, if this was the sense of it, work out your falvation with fear of

* Whitby, p. 424, 425, 426, 480.

2 Phil, i. 6.

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3. The apostle, in Heb. iv. 1. fpeaks indeed of a cautionary fear of falling; but yet in this, does not exhort the believing Hebrews to fear, left any of them should fall fhort of entring into reft, as Dr. Whitby cites the words; but left any of them should seem to come fort of it. Now between coming fhort, and feeming to come short, is a great difference; and though there was no danger of their coming fhort of heaven, yet, inafmuch as through the difagreeableness of converfation, they might feem to others to come fhort; therefore, for the glory of God, the honour of the gospel, the credit of religion, and the good of others, it became them to be cautious, wary and jealous of themselves, and watchful over their converfations, that they gave no occafion to any to entertain fuch an opinion of them. Hence it appears, that all the reasonings against the doctrine of the faints perfeverance to the end, founded on these fcriptural exhortations, to fear, are vain and impertinent.

NUMB.

NUMB. XLIV. I Tim. i. 19, 23.

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which Some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwrack. Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander.

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Among the inftances of the saints

ftand,

I. Hymeneus, Alexander, and their affociates, who are here faid to put away a good confcience, and make shipwrack of faith: "Now it is faid, to put away a good confcience, belongs to them alone, who once had, and ought to have retained it; and to make Shipwrack of the faith, so as to blafpheme the doctrine which they once profeffed, is furely to fall off from the profeffion of it". And these instances are reprefented as a fufficient confutation of all the arguments produced from scripture for the doctrine of perfeverance. But,

1. It should be proved, that these men were once good men, and had the truth of grace in them; otherwife they are no i itances of the apoftafy of faints. II;meneus and Alexander, who are mention' by neng

brid. Remonfr. in Com Hip & ex. g. 17.

p. 266. Lic.oorch. 2 s. o da Pi>*

• Whitby, & 4.1, 412

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were vile wicked men ; the one was a profane and vain babler; who went not from the truth of grace to a courfe of fin, but from a leffer degree of impiety to more ungodliness; the other, who feems to be the fame with Alexander the coppersmith, did the apoftle Paul much evil; and not only withflood his words and doctrines, but alfo thofe of others.

2. Their putting away a good confcience, does not neceffarily imply that they formerly had one; fince that may be rejected and put away, which was never had. Thus of the Jews, who contradicted and blafphemed the word of God, never received it, nor gave their affent to it, the apoftle fays, ye put it from you, andeide, ye rejected it; the fame word which is here used, and fignifies

to refuse, reject any thing with deteftation and contempt. Thefe men always had an abhorrence to a good confcience among men, and to a good life and conversation, the evidence of it; and, at laft, threw off the mafk, and dropped the faith they profeffed, as being contrary to their evil confcience. and practices. But admitting that this phrase

Tim. ii. 16, 17. xiii 45, 46.

The Septuagint render the Hebrew word DRO, by it in Job xxxiv. 33. Jer. ii. 37. Hof. iv. 6. and elsewhere, and also the word in Ezek. xvi. 45. both which fignify, to refufe and reject any thing, with loathsomeness and contempt.