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holding forth the evil fpirits in their grand ftiles, and in their grandeur and power, the more to illuftrate the ground of triumph, it is not much material; and feeing Satan always, and the powers in a world, ordinarily, and for the most part, are but fmall friends to believers, and do ufe their power and moyen against them, and all in vain, we think both may be taken in here. 3. Nor things prefent, nor things to come; that is, neither thefe preffures and difficulties which are presently upon us, nor what may befal us afterward; no accident prefent or future, will have any effi cacy to this purpofe. 4 Nor height, nor depth; that is, neither honours, nor high places of preferment, nor yet contempt, difhonour, or difrefpect in a world. 5. And then addeth a comprehenfive general, nor any other creature; that is, no created thing in all the universe, be what it will. Next, what before he called the love of Chrift, he now calleth, the love of God, which is in Ghrift Jefus our Lord; to fhew, (.) that the love of Chrift and the love of God is one; and, (2.) that this love of God, as it is purchased by Chrift, fo it cometh down to us in and through Chrift, he is the bond of it: and then he fays not, these things shall not feparate, but he raiseth his tune higher, and faith, thefe fhall not be able to feparate; they fhall not only not get it done, but they shall not fo much as have any power for that effect.

OBSERVATIONS.

thing unto people, of which they are not thoroughly convinced; fo it will ferve much to the bearing in of grounds of confolation upon the confciences of Chriftians, when they hold them forth as tried by their own experience, and found fure, they may both prefs them with the greater clearness and boldnefs, and they will be the more willingly welcomed and refted on; for the apostle, the more to fasten this ground of comfort, faith, For 1 am perfuaded, &c.

III. Tho' there be many of God's precious children who are in darkness many a day, and have no light, and are wrestling with doubts anent their interest in Christ almost all their days, and can hardly ever win to fuch a clear view of their right to Chrift as will difpel all clouds of darkness, and hufh all doubts, and banish all fears and jealoufies, fée Cant. v. 2. 3. 6. Pfalm li. 8. 12 14. lxxvii. 1.-10. and lxxxviij. throughout, and xxxi. 22. Ifa. 1. 10.; yet clear and full affurance of faith is a thing attainable by believers, and fome have actually attained thereto; for Paul here (not fpeaking of himself as immediately infpired, and as reading this by extraordinary light, but even of other believers as well as of himself,) fays, I am perfuaded: Yea, and not only may believers win to a certain perfuafion of their prefent flare, but, which is more, they may also win to a certain and infallible perfuafion, that they fhall perfevere in that state, and fhall not fall away; for it is of this mainly here which the apoftie was perfuaded.

I. It is no small difficulty to get believers to ride securely at a fùre anchor, without IV. Believers have many fad adverfadistracting and perplexing fear; fo timorous ries to encounter with, yea, and adverfaand faint-hearted are they when oppreffries on all hands, and adverfaries of all ed with fad difpenfations in a world, not- kinds, fpiritual and temporal, prefent and withstanding they be fixed on immoveable to come, life and death; they walk in the rocks, and fhall never fuffer fhipwreck; midft of extremities, and on every fide for the apostle finds it neceffary to con- may fear oppofition; fnares wait for them firm, that believers were more than con. in all conditions of life, and always they querors in all afflictions and tribulations, are in hazard to be blown off their ground by adding, For I am perfuaded, &c. by contrary blafts and tides of temptation they have life and death, things prefent

II: As minifters fhould hold forth no

and

and things to come, angels, principalities and powers, height and depth, to wrestle against.

V. As afflictions, tribulations, famine, nakedness, peril, fword, and whatsoever hafteneth, or occafioneth death, is a fharp exercife and trial unto the godly; fo are they in no lefs hazard to be drawn afide with the allurements, deceiving baits and pleafures of profperity, and they have as much need to guard against the fawnings of a world, as the fharpeft adverfity, yea, and more; for life here, no lefs than death, is their enemy: Neither life nor death.

VI. Believers have not only men of corrupt minds fet on work by Satan to fight with, men of power and authority, but also devils, and fuch fpiritual substances as cannot be feen by bodily eyes, unless when they affume fome bodily fhape, as 1 Sam. xxviii. 14. they have thefe evil angels that fell from their integrity to wrestle with; therefore it is added, nor angels.

VII. It is not one or two of fuch invifible wicked fpirits that believers are to fight with, but there are many of them, a great army of these spirits, who are all enraged against the godly; therefore they are called angels and principalities in the plural number, and fo are they always called; fee Eph. vi. 12. Col. ii. 15.

he worketh, and them he leadeth captive at his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26, hence they are called principalities.

IX. As they have in this manner authority and dominion; fo have they power and might, being fpiritual fubftances, whereby they may bring to pafs, thro' God's permiffion, things far tranfcending the capacity of man, and fo become terrible in their oppofition to the children of God; therefore they are called powers alfo. X. Believers not only have prefent preffures to contend with, but also the fears of future evils and fad occurrences, which is as ready to discourage them as any thing actually oppreffing them; for it is added, Or things prefent, or things to

come.

XI. As contempt and reproach, upon the one hand, is ready to trouble the children of God; fo honour, eftimation,, and preferment in a world is as dangerous, if not more, and as ready to ailure them, and draw them afide; fo that be they in little account, or in great account, they ought always to be upon their guard, and to watch; for it is added, or height, or depth.

XII. Tho' believers be thus furrounded with enemies on all hands, profperity and adverfity, angels and men, dangers imminent and feared, dangers in all stations VIII. Thele evil fpirits have, through and relations; yet they ftand as immoveGod's wife permiffion, for his holy ends, able rocks against all thefe waves; and a prince-like power and dominion in the tho' in and by thefe, they be in hazard, earth and air, hence called the prince of yet are they not, nor never fhall be, fully the power of the air, Eph. ii. 2. fo as they and finally feparated from the love of God may raise storms, and bring down fire, Jobi. which is unchangeable, however their conand the like; and not only fo, but al-dition alter: I am perfuaded, fays he, that fo, they have fome fort of princely power neither life nor death, nor any other creaover men both good and ill, to effect them ture, fhall be able to feparate us from the with fickness. Job ii. 7. Luke xiii. 16 to carry love of God, &c. them from place to place, Matth. iv. 5. 8. yea, and to kill them, Jobi. 19.; but more particularly they have a greater kind of authority over the wicked, whom they drive eafily (thro' God's permiffion) to all forts of wickedness, Eph. ii. 2. for in them

16.

19.

XIII. The folid and certain perfuafion which the faints may have of their stability, notwithstanding of all ftorms, is that which will make them more than conquerors, when wrestling with adverfity of a ny fort; and it is the want of this, and the U u

fouls

fouls giving way to jealoufies, fears, and fufpicions, that makes them fo ready to faint in trouble, and to have fo little courage in advertity: This is clear in the apostle's adding this as the ground of his accounting himfelf more than a conqueror in all diftreffes, For I am perfuaded, that neither death, nor life,----shall separate us from the love of God, &c.

head; and fo it is in him that our holding is fure and stedfaft; and every thought of our stedfaftnefs fhould mind us of him who is the Rock on which we ftand, and the ftrong cable by which, we are anchored, even Jefus Chrift: therefore when he is speaking of the stability of believers, he calls to mind the knot, and fays, the love of God which is in Chrift Jefus our Lord.

XVI. This affurance is fo far from loofing the reins unto all wickedness and lafcivioufnefs, that the more a foul be perfuaded of the love of God towards it in Chrift, and of the impoffibility of being banished by Satan or his inftruments, for all their power and command, or by outward difpenfations, it will the more hearti

XIV. The love of the Father and of the Son towards the children of God, is one and the fame; fo that we ought no more to question the love of the Father, tho' the perfon offended, than of the Son, tho' our cautioner; and it will be as impoffible to get us feparated from the one as from the other: therefore what before he called the love of Christ, he now calleth the lovely and chearfully clafp about Chrift, and of God; which may also fhew, that Chrilt is God.

XV. That which keepeth believers fo faft anchored under the warm fun of the love of God, that nothing can drive them away, is nothing in themfelves, but it is in and thro' Jefus Chrift. this love is procured thro' Chrift's merits, and comes down to believers in and thro' him as our

embrace him, as Lord and chief Commander, and yield obedience to him with heart and hand: love cannot but flame when it is fo beat on with the beams of his love; and love being once kindled puts all the wheels of the foul in motion; fo that when he has faid, I am perfuaded, that nothing can feparate us from the love of God in Chrift, he addeth, our Lord.

F

CHAPTER IX.

INALLY, for the full clearing of the way of juftification thro' faith in Christ, which is the main point of truth he hath been profecuting all along hitherto, he removeth a main objection that lay in the way and because this is a great mat ter, and of great ufe for both Jews and Gentiles, therefore he fpends these three chapters upon it. We fhall take up the objection thus: How can it be that your doctrine touching juftification by faith in Chrift, without the deeds of the law, can be truth; feeing the Jews, the only people and church of God do fo ftorm at it, abhor it, and utterly reject it? So that if your doctrine, be truth, it will clearly follow, that the Jews are now rejected of God; they are caft off, and are no more his church, feeing they abominate that way of falvation and juftification, by faith in Jefus the fon of Mary: But this is most abfurd and falfe: for why? If the Jews the only people of God, the children of Abraham be rejected and caft out of the covenant, then all

the

the promises of falvation which were made to them are broken and proven falfe and untrue: But this is blafphemous; Therefore the other is not true. For the full clearing of this matter, the apostle doth thefe four things mainly; 1. He granteih the rejection of the Jews, to verfe 6. 2. He cleareth how, notwithstanding hereof, God's promifes are all true, to verse 30. 3. He fheweth the cause of their rejection, and thereby confirmeth, and further cleareth the truth, concerning juftification by faith, to chap. xi. And, 4. Left he should utterly caft down the Jews, and give the Gentiles too much occafion to infult and boaft, he treateth of the calling again of the Jews, and addeth, fome useful admonitions unto the Gentiles, chap. xi.

In this chapter the apoftle mainly doth thefe four things: 1. Tacitly acknowledgeth the rejection of the Jews, to verfe 6. and this he rather infinuateth than openly profeffeth. 2. He maintaineth the faithfulness of God's promifes notwithstanding thereof, upon several grounds, and anfwereth objections which might be made by carnal reafon against the grounds he was laying down, to verfe 24. 3. He fpeaketh more exprefsly of the Jews rejection, and the calling of the Gentiles, out of fcripture, to verfe 30. And then, 4. Ipeaketh fomething of the caufe of the Jews coming fhort of the good things promifed, and of the Gentiles being made partakers thereof, to the end.

VERSE 1. Ifay the truth in Chrift, I lie not, my confcience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.

N the first five verfes, because the most I part of the ye we looked cauft the mole part of the Jews looked on the apoftle as their fworn enemy, and fo took nothing well which he spoke, and the apostle know ing this, and especially that it would incenfe them, and imbitter their fpirits to hear that they fhould be rejected of God; and the Gentiles, whom they abhored, fhould be taken in in their room; therefore left he fhould irritate them, and provoke them to caft at his doctrine, to their own ruin and deftruction, when he is now call ed to fpeak of that truth which question lefs would gall them to the heart, he waves the express mentioning of that fad truth of their being rejected, and only coucheth it in, in his deep expreffions of the forrow and grief of heart for their cafe and condition: and thus he prudently laboureth to take away all fufpicion of hatred, and to infinuate himself in their affections; and for this caufe he holdeth forth the great love he had to them, and how near it went to his heart, that their cafe fhould be fuch as it is. But before he fpeaks any thing of this his great affection, fearing left any

thing he would fay fhould be fufpected as not being true, therefore he prefixeth a great and weighty oath, that he might be the more believed, and faith, I fpeak the truth in Christ, I lie not, my confcience alfo bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost: I fpeak truth, and Chrift is my witnefs; fo that in Chrift, is as much as by Chrift; or, Ifpeak the truth in Chrift; that is, as one that is in him; or, in Chrift, that is, as acted, directed, and guided by Chrift: fo that taking all together it will fay this; I fpeak the truth as becometh one who is in. Chrift, and who is acted by Christ, and fo as I dare atteft him to the truth thereof. Then fays he, I lie not; as if he could not fully enough exprefs himself in one fentence, and to fhew, that what he faid was not only truth, but also that he fpoke it out of the fincerity of his heart; because a man may speak the thing that is true, and yet lie. My confcience alfo bearing me witnefs: He farther attefts his confcience as touching the truth of what he was to affirm; he appeals to that divine thing confcience, and fo declared, that his confcience was not contradicting what he faid, but as all along affenting and bearing testimony to the truth: And further addeth, in the Holy Ghoft, to fhew, that the testiÚ u 2

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mony of his confcience was not to be flighted or undervalued, feeing his confcience was not biaffed or misinformed, but was bearing witnefs, as acted and directed by the Holy Ghoft, being fanctified by the Spirit of God; or those words may be refered to thefe words, I lie not, and is, as it were, an attefting of the Holy Ghoft alfo; or rather the meaning may take in both, as if he had faid, I take the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft to witness, that I fpeak nothing but truth, and that without all guile or hypocrify; my own confcience, fanctified and acted by the Spirit, bears me witnefs alfo that it is fo.

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OBSERVATIONS.

I. Seeing where prejudice against a minifter gets once footing among a people, neceffary truths delivered by him will be rejected, tho' to their own ruin; therefore the minifters of the gospel fhould by all means labour to prevent any fuch mistakes, and fo walk as they may give no juft ground of any alienation of affection; and where prejudices and miftakes are groundlefsly taken up, they should use all means poffible to get them removed; for Paul here is very defirous to have the prejudice which the Jews had at him removed, for which caufe he ufeth fuch a folemn pro teftation and affeveration as this, I Speak the truth in Chrift, &c.

II. Tho' it be utterly unlawful to fwear at all vainly and rafhly, Matth. v. 34. James V. 12. that being the taking of God's name in vain, contrary to the third commandment; yet under the gofpel, as well as under the law, an oath taken with all due circumftances is allowed of God, and lawful; after the example of Paul here, who ufeth a folemn and grave oath, faying, I fpeak the truth in Chrift,---my confcience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghoft; fee Rom. i. 9. 2 Cor. i. 23. there being the fame neceffity for it now, which was of old, viz. the confirming of truth, and ending of debates, Heb. vi. 16.

III. In our oaths we fhould be loth to call God, the fearcher of hearts, to witness an untruth, left he prove a fwift witness against us, Mal. iii. 5. but fhould fwear that which is truth, and avouch nothing but what we are perfuaded is truth; as the apoftle doth here, who fays, I fay the truth in Chrift, I lie not. Not only fhould the thing be true, but alfo we should know certainly that it is fo, and be perfuaded thereof.

IV. It is not enough that the thing which we avouch in an oath be true, but it must alfo be weighty and grave; it must be no trivial bufinefs, or a matter of fmall concernment, but a bufinefs of great confequence and moment, and which cannot other ways be got decided and concluded; for fuch a matter was this, for which the apoftle was conftrained to fay, I fay the truth in Chrift, I lie not, my confcience bearing me witness. The matter of his affection could otherways, fatisfactorily be got proven, and it was of great confequence to have it made out.

V. The Son of God, and the Holy Ghoft, are God equal with the Father in power and glory, to whom divine worship is due no less than to the Father, for all three are one God, the fame in fubftance; for here fwearing, which is a piece of religious worship, Deut. x. 10. is by Chrift and the Holy Ghoft, and is due only to God, Deut. vi. 13. I fay the truth in Chrift, and in the Holy Ghost; for we may look upon thefe expreffions, as his attesting of these as witneffes.

VI. As Chriftians fhould meddle with nothing but what is commanded and allowed of God, as to the matter; fo fhould they be careful alfo, that in every thing, were it but the fpeaking of a word, they carry themfelves fpiritually, fincerely, and honeftly, as acted by the Spirit of God, and living and walking in Chrift; for the apoftle Paul fays here, I fay the truth; and how? in Chrift: I lie not; and how? in the Holy Ghoft.

VII. There is fuch a thing as a confcience

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