we are bound always to seek, and to ask, and to knock, and to abstain from all appearance of evil. But still the inquiry is, shall God preserve in a state of grace all whom he hath brought into that state? We know that he is able to keep us from falling, if he choose to do so: and the apostle Peter assures us that it is by him we are kept that we are kept, not in unbelief and negligence, but through faith-that we are kept, through faith, unto salvation, not by our own power, but by the power of God.

Allow me, then, Christians, to put the question to yourselves. It is certainly worthy of your attention. It cannot be the interest of any of you to remain in error with respect to the doctrines of revealed religion. Do you doubt the power of God either to bestow his grace upon the sinner, or to preserve the saints from falling away? I know you do not. It is not asserted by me, that let a man do what he will to oppose God and godliness that a wicked man shall be saved. I only contend for the salvation of believers: for the salvation of those who live a life of faith and holiness: for the salvation of those who die the death of the righteous. The impenitent and the unbelieving shall certainly perish: but if God hath indeed given us reason to believe that he shall employ his own power in preserving our faith, our piety, our obedience, and our love, against the power of temptation and personal corruption, will you not then permit us to believe in the perseverance of the saints? However diffident of our own strength, will you not allow us to put our trust in the Lord ? Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

It is a fact, which I have no inclination to deny, that many professors of religion, who for a while believed, fall away in time of trial. This consideration may have induced many to deny the certain stability of any professor; but it is more safe to speak of such persons in the style of John the apostle, in perfect consistency with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. 1 John ii. 19. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. Apostacy from a profession of religion is not apostacy from the grace of God; but is rather a full manifestation of the absence of the grace which was supposed to exist in such professor. The views, moreover, which some men take of the nature of true religion, make it very consistent for themselves to fall away from it: but it is not the grace of God which bringeth salvation that renders itself consistent with the damnation of its subjects. Far be it from me to controvert the opinions of those, who affirm the possibility of their own final failure. They, perhaps, may fall and rise repeatedly; and fall away finally, from the imaginary grace, and the erroneous faith, and the spurious devotion, in which they gloried. That kind of grace, which depends upon the will of man, can preserve no man. We contend not for perseverance in any thing except the grace of God, concerning which the apostle Paul expressed the truth, Rom. v. 2. We have access by faith into THE GRACE WHEREIN WE STAND, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Is it then a truth, that the God of heaven hath promised, that all the saints shall persevere in holiness through faith unto eternal life? It is a truth. He hath promised, and he will perform.

EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN SHALL BE ESTABLISHED IN FAITH AND HOLINESS.

Those persons who are well acquainted with evangelical doctrine, know the truth of this assertion from the other principles of revealed religion. They have ample proof of the doctrine of perseverance, in the doctrine of predestination-of redemption by the blood of the everlasting covenant of justification by faith in the Surety-and of the covenant of grace itself, ordered in all things and sure. All these doctrines assure us, that God loves his people, and that he will save them from all their sins. But it is my design to give you, from the word of God, more direct proof of my assertion, that it is his will to save every believer. Scriptural declarations-the precious promises and the description, which the bible gives of personal godliness, prove this doctrine.

1. Scriptural declarations.

John vi. 40. "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." Thus spoke the Interpreter of the Father's will. Thus did he declare his own purpose. It is the will of the Father and the will of the Son to save every one that believeth. Yes. This is asserted in positive terms. And will you avoid the conclusion by saying, 'If one cease to be a believer, the faith which he lost is unavailing?' I admit the truth of your argument. The conclusion flows from the premises. Upon the supposition, that faith should be extinguished for ever, and the believer become an unbeliever, no doubt he must perish. Your affirmation is hypothetical; and it is true; but it is inapplicable to the case in hand: the hypothesis is false. Faith is an abiding principle. It is given in the behalf of Christ. It is of grace. It is not of ourselves. And will you allege, that this gift of grace is bestowed upon us, by its Author, without any design to save our souls-with a design to take it away? Read the assertion, Rom. viii. 30. “Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Read these words, and then charge God with unsteadiness, in giving us faith in Christ, with the promise of salvation, when we were sinners, and then depriving us both of the gift and the promise after having become saints: and when you have made this charge, compare your own argument with that of the apostle Paul; Rom. v. 10. if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son: much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life:" having made the comparison, ask yourself the question, "Is it thus I express my confidence, that he which began the good work will carry it on ?"

2. Scripture promises.

"For

Psalm xxxvii. 28. The Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints. These words are plain and positive. They teach the doctrine of perseverance. They promise that God will preserve the piety which he has communicated. You will not question his veracity. You will not deny his power to fulfil. You must admit the truth; or, for the sake of maintaining your own consistency, have recourse to your former expedient and call this a conditional promise. You would expound it thus, "the Lord will not forsake his saints unless they forsake him: They are preserved for ever by him, unless they turn away from him." This is another hypothetical affirmation: He will not forsake them, if they do not forsake him. This is true; but it is not the whole truth: It is not the doctrine of this text: and it is not relevant against the doctrine of perseverance; for although the affirmation is true, the hypothesis, upon which it is founded, is false. God promises not only to abide with his people while they abide with him; but he moreover promises to preserve them with him for ever. Read another promise, Isa. liv. 10. "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy

on thee."

I am utterly at a loss to know what words can satisfy any one who inquires after proof of this doctrine, if such words are not esteemed sufficient to indicate the truth for which they are quoted. They clearly promise unchangeable covenant protection to the children of God. I would ask any unprejudiced man, I would ask every man, who knows the use of language, to point out such a mode of expression as would satisfy him. Tell me what is that promise, which, if it were used in the bible, would convince you that God intended to convey thereby the idea of certain protection to the saints: and I engage to find such promises in the book of God. Tell me what would convince you that God hath promised to preserve the piety of the saints even unto death? What words could be used sufficient to persuade you of his grace and goodness in preserving his people for ever? He hath furnished various forms of expression in order to convey this interesting idea to them who depend upon him. Heb. xiii. 5. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Unless you think it impossible even for God to preserve our piety, listen to the following

3. Descriptions of Christian stability.

Prov. x. 25. The righteous is an everlasting foundation. Mal. iii. 17. They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels. Jer. xvii. 7, 8. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is: for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh; but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Upon such declarations, Christians, you may rest in confidence. The saints shall be safe, and we are bound to proclaim it in their hearing, for the glory of him who is able to keep them from falling. It is not, however, to be denied, that imperfections abound in the church, and that all the saints are liable to fall into temptations and transgressions and sorrows. This was foreseen by the Lord, and the case was provided for in his covenant. To express displeasure at sin by suitable chastisement, and, at the same time, to effect the reformation of the sinner, while the love of God remains unaltered and his covenant sure, is the course of treatment determined upon in relation to the transgressions of men of piety. Psalm lxxxix. 30-34. " If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments: then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." I take my leave of this subject with stating, that our covenant-head knoweth them that are his. The Lord that bought the church, will not permit the gates of hell to prevail: and the Shepherd of Israel will give an account of all that have been committed to his care. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

II. The saints are, at death, presented before the Lord in never-ending glory.

Accustomed to disappointment, in our best-laid plans, and vexed, both at our own weakness and at the vanity of our schemes, we are apt to conclude that uncertainty everywhere reigns with her dark and malignant sceptre. Too confident in the day of prosperity, while flattered by success, man, frail, changing man, the child of circumstances, becomes gloomy, fearful, peevish, and desponding in the day of adversity. The painful apprehensions of despairing minds frequently intermingle with the secret exercises of the religious heart; and we are tempted to invest revealed truths with the mantle of uncertainty. When, moreover, we see instances of instability, among those who once made a respectable profession of godliness, we are prone to think that there is no safety for ourselves; our strength decays, and we, for the time, relinquish exertion. Such, however, is the time to try the faith of God's elect. Let God be true, and every man a liar. Promises, and resolutions, and exertions of man may fail: Nevertheless, "the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his." The divine omniscience marks every believer; and, like the seal of the ancient architect applied to the foundation of an edifice, designates its object to the use to which it is predestinated. "The only wise God is able to keep from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory."

Death, it is true, stands in our way to the city of rest. He is an enemy to fallen men. He is "the king of terrors," who