• hath ordained, that reward to be given after this Life, according to fuch Good Works as be done in this Life by his Grace.

Therefore Men ought with much diligence and gratitude of mind, to confider and regard the infpiration • and wholfom motions of the holy Ghost, and to embrace the Grace of God, which is offered unto them in Chrift, and moveth them to Good things. And • furthermore to go about by all means to fhew themfelves fuch, as unto whom the Grace of God is not given in vain: and when they do feel that notwithStanding their diligence, yet through their own infirmi ty, they be not able to do that they defire, then they ought earnestly, and with a fervent Devotion, and ftedfaft Faith, to ask of him who gave the beginning, that he would vouchsafe to perform it, which thing • God will undoubtedly grant, according to his Promife, to fuch as perfevere in calling upon him, for he is naturally Good, and willeth all Men to be faved, and careth for them, and provideth all things by which they may be faved, except by their own malice they will be Evil, and fo by righteous Judgment of God perish and be loft. For truly Mien be to themselves the Author of Sin and Damnation; God is neither Author of Sin, nor the cause of Damnation. And yet doth he most righteously damn thofe Men, that do with vices corrupt their nature, which he made Good, • and do abuse the fame to Evil defires, against his most holy will: wherefore Men be to be warned, that they do not impute to God their Vice or their Damnation, but to themselves, which by Free-will have abused the • Grace and benefits of God.

All Men alfo be to be monifked, and chiefly Preachers, that in this high matter, they looking on both fides, fo • attemper and moderate themselves, that they neither fo preach the Grace of God that they take away thereby Free-will: nor on the other fide, fo extol Free-will, that injury be done to the Grace of God.

Thus

Thus was it determined in that Age, to which I willingly fubfcribe, and with there had been no declining from it neither to the right hand, nor to the left. Here is no Free-will or fpiritual Good without Grace. Here is no Grace so prepotent but it may be difobeyed: Here is enough for the praife of God's Grace, and for convincing of Man's Ingratitude. This book is alledged by Dr. Ward in his determination concerning the certainty of the justification of all baptized Infants, as agreeing with the Doctrine of our Liturgy in the Baptifm of Infants, and fhewing that our Reformers had a refpect to the Doctrine lately before published.

CHA P. XV.

Of Perfeverance.

HE next work of the divine Providence executing the decree of his Predeftination, is to preferve and continue the called and converted in that ftate of Regeneration and Sanctification unto the end; it being our affured confidence, that he which hath begun a good Work in us, will finish it, will hold it out to the end. But about this work there hath been much difpute: I, by fearching for the true ftate of the Queftion, will endeavour to shorten it.

1. I Judge it is no Question, whether there be a fpecial Gift or Grace called Perfeverance, like to the Gift of Faith, Charity, Patience, Chaftity, or the like; for that a Man may as fafely deny, as that there is a Grace of Beginning, feeing Perfeverance is but the continuing, and abiding in the fame Graces of Faith, Charity, &c. provided he confefs that by the Protection, Government, Visitation, and Supportance of God's Grace, all Gifts given

* ἐπιτελέσει

Phil. 1. 6.

by God, are by him continued, and preferved from lofs, or decay.

2. There is no queftion, whether without the Grace, Protection and Prefervation of God, any Man is, of himfelf alone, able to continue in the midst of so many aflaults of Satan, the World, and the Flesh.

3. There is no queftion, Whether the Elect do finally perfevere in Faith and Sanctification; for whofoever perfevereth not, by that felf-fame notperfevering he is declared to be none of the number of the Elect: Election according to my fifth Opinion prefuppofing an infallible foreknowledge of final Perfeverance; therefore if there be any fuch, to ufe Bp. Carleton's words, as maintain that the Grace of Predeftination or Election may be loft, I have no acquaintance or confederacy with them.

4. The Queftion is not about every Believer, for all confefs that fome Believers, of fome kind or degree of Faith, may lofe it. Nor is it, whether a Believer not perfevering doth lofe all Graces at once, or all at laft; it being confeffed that he may keep many, by which notwithstanding he cannot be faved, and may lofe thofe that are effentially neceffary to Salvation: the Faith of the mind or a bare fpeculative affent may abide with an Evil confcience, but the Faith of the Heart or that which worketh by Love cannot, but is loft by mortal Sin.

5. But the Question is of a Believer whofe Faith worketh by Love, whether it may be loft; and it is the fame Queftion Queftion which heretofore was wont to be difputed in thefe terms, An Charitas amitti poterit? And is handled at large by Gratian; where the diftinction of Charity is into begun, and Perfect; Planted, and Radicated. And fo

De pœnitentiâ Distinct. 2da.

*

may

may Faith be diftinguished, as it often is in the Gospel, into Weak, and Strong; little Faith, and great Faith, &c. Now the Queftion is not, of great, ftrong, rooted, perfect Faith and Charity, whether it may be loft? but of weak, green, ten, der, but true, and fuch as would fave if it were held, or if a Man did depart his life in it, whether this be not many times loft? fuch was Peter's Faith before Chrift's Paffion, when he feared to confefs Chrift at the voice of a Damfel; but after the Spirit given in Pentecoft, his Faith and Love were fo corroborated, that he defpifed the violence of his Perfecutors, and Glory'd in fuffering fhame and fcourging for doing his Duty to his

Lord.

6. Lastly, a double Question may be put; firft, of thofe that are not Elected, whether there be not many of them who attain to true Faith, true Repentance, Juftification and Sanctification, wherein they perfevere not to the end, but lofe them, and fo perish? Secondly, of those that are Elect, whether God permit not them fometimes to fall into heinous Sins, as Adultery, Murder, or the like? And if fo, then what their Eftate is while they are in thofe Sins, until they actually repent? Whether they be ftill juftified, or in a ftate of Salvation? For the Perfeverance of the Elect may be conceived to be of two forts or degrees; either continued without interruption, by a conftant holding of Faith and a good Confcience from the beginning to the end, which is rare; or with interruptions, and falls, and rifings again, and renewings by Repentance, confummated at laft by Faith in delivering their Spirits into the hands of God, which is ordinary.

*Gregor. in Ezek. Hom. 15.

CHAP.

CHAP. XVI.

Of the Faith of fuch as perfevere not, or of those that are not Elect.

OR the affirmative part in the first Question,

I

Mat. 24.1.that of our Lord, He that shall endure unto the end, the fame shall be faved: out of which I collect two things, first, that he to whom Salvation is promised if he continue, is in the right in which he fhould continue; is not only begun, and muft add or increase, but is fo ripe and perfect, as I may fay, that if he doth but hold out fuch to the end, he fhall be faved. Secondly, that it is poffible that he who by the Promife of Salvation is excited to perfevere in Faith, or in Love, fhould wax cold in Love, or deny the Faith, and embrace this prefent World.

Ep. 42,

These inferences feemed ftrong to St. Bernard, difputing this Queftion; I think it fufficiently plain, faith he, that all fuch as ivere endued with Love, may not have had perfeverance in Love; otherwise our • Lord in vain admonished his difciples; continue ye Joh. 15.9. in my Love: for either, if as yet they did not Love, he ought not to have faid, continue, but be in Love; or if they did Love already, there was no need to admonish them of Perseverance, whereof they could not be deprived according to fome Men's opinion. And a little before thefe Men have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of Temptation fall away; whence and whither do they fall? Even from Faith to Unbelief. I ask further, could they have been faved in that Faith, or could they not? If they could not, what prejudice is it to their Saviour, what joy to the

Tempter,