1 The Doctrines Of Grace Not Dangerous

“The doctrine which is according to godliness.”—1 Timothy 6:3

By the true Christian, all that savours of God must be highly esteemed; but by him, who has only the “form of godliness, while denying the power thereof,” such a religion, as can be taken up and laid down at pleasure, is the only religion either sought after or admired: therefore, the religion of grace being that which forbids “the wise man to glory in his wisdom, or the mighty man to glory in his might, or the rich man to glory in his riches,” Jer. 60:24, must be hated by all who are so wise, as to think God the Father’s love depends upon their choice; so mighty as to believe God the Son’s salvation is made sure by their strength; and so rich, as to expect they can go to Christ when they please, and that their own diligence is better than the in-dwelling power of God the Holy Ghost. And, like the false spies, all such fleshly-wise men are sure to bring Israel an evil report of the land of promise, saying, “the children of Anak,” the Antinomians, “dwell there,” and all “the men we saw in it are men of great stature,” holding very high doctrines, which are so dangerous as to lead men to be “giants” in iniquity; yea, “we saw the giants,” we saw some inconsistent professors where these doctrines are preached, and so we are sure the doctrines of grace lead to sin, and have a dangerous tendency. But every true Caleb, in whose heart “grace reigns,” having “another Spirit,” even “the Spirit which is of God,” and following the Lord “fully,” because fully resting upon the mediatorial and meritorious work of Christ, as fully convinced of its sufficiency and efficiency for all the purposes of salvation, must give a different account of that grace of God, by which the church of God is saved “unto the uttermost.” It is with this view I would now introduce the reader’s attention to the land of grace, bringing on the staff of “thus saith the Lord,” a “cluster of grapes” from the fertile valley of Eschol, and the “first ripe fruit” that is to be found on the “true vine,” is,

ELECTION: which consists in God’s having chosen, before the foundation of the world, a people for himself from among the posterity of Adam, whom he loved and delighted over in the person of Christ, blessing them in him with all spiritual blessings, and predestinating them unto eternal glory.

The Bible is, full of election, and were it not that this distinguishing truth laid the axe to the root of all creature excellency, I believe it would be more readily received by men who bear the Christian name, than any other doctrine of the Bible. If we look at its history, its promises, or the characters by which God’s people are designated, we find election.

Thus, in its history; we see Adam had two sons; to the youngest and his offering God has respect, to the oldest and his offering he has not respect; Noah had three sons, all of whom were professors, for they all entered into the ark, but Ham and Japheth are passed by, while Shem is chosen to be the root of the Hebrew nation; Terah had three sons, but Abraham alone is chosen to be the friend of God; Abraham had two sons, but Ishmael the oldest is “cast out,” while with Isaac, the youngest, God establishes his covenant; Isaac had two sons, but Jacob is loved and Esau is hated; Jacob begets the twelve tribes of Israel, but Levi, the weakest, is chosen to minister in holy things; Joseph had two sons, Ephraim, the youngest, obtains right-hand blessings, and Manasseh, the oldest, left-hand blessings; twelve persons are sent to spy Canaan, but only two are made faithful: when the blessings were pronounced upon Mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal, we find the tribes of the free women stand on the former, and the tribes of the bond-maids stand on the latter; when God delivered Israel from their enemies, on one occasion Barak shall fight, but a woman shall have the honour of the battle, Judges 4. And on another occasion, God would do it by Gideon, who was “least in his father’s house, and his family poor Manasseh.” He revealed his mind to Samuel, who was but a child, in a way he would not to Eli, who had judged Israel many years. He called David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, from the sheep-cote, and made him King of Israel; took Elisha from following the plough to be Elijah’s successor; and Amos, from gathering sycamore fruit or wild figs, to be a prophet. Thus God is said to take one and leave another, choose one and reject another, love one and hate another, bless one and curse another, without asking man’s consent, or seeking man’s approbation. And every objection brought against his sovereignty, in this respect, is thus answered, “Nay, but O man, who art thou, that repliest against God; shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel into honour and another into dishonour?” Rom. 9:20, 21. We might trace through the New Testament history to establish the truth of election, but let Christ’s declaration, in Luke 17:34, 36, suffice, I tell you in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other shall be left; “two men shall be lying in one delusion of false religion; one shall be taken there from to know the power of godliness, the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together;” two professors shall be working at the law; one shall be taken there from to Christ, the end of the law, “the other shall be left.” “Two men shall be in the field of profanity, the one shall be taken there from to seek God, the other shall be left.”

If we look at Bible promises they proclaim election, thus, “this people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise,” Isaiah 14:21. Here the promise is made to those whom God bath formed for himself: and how does he form them? The apostle taught of God gives the answer—“God bath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to pass things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.” “But of him ye are” who are thus chosen “in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” Then, it appears, the way in which God forms a people for himself, is by choosing them in Christ, thus constituting him their everlasting standing place for wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and by this standing the people are constituted a wise, a righteous, a sanctified, and redeemed people unto God. Therefore, he says, “they shall show forth my praise,” not they may, not if they are careful, not if they avail themselves of a future offer, but “they shall.” This is the end of God’s choice, and this end must be answered, because God has provided “all fulness” in Christ; which fulness would be so many dead commodities, if not handed out to “the heirs of promise” at the suited season. But dead commodities are not in Christ, for “in him was life,” and “in him is no darkness at all,” and if no darkness, no death at all; therefore, they who are formed in Christ by eternal election shall, sooner or later, show forth God’s praise.

“Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end,” Isaiah 45:17. This promise is to Israel, that is, God’s people interested in the “true Israel,” Christ Jesus, who alone is a “prince with God,” for he honoured his law to its full extent, endured its curse, and satisfied his justice. And under this character, Jehovah thus addresses him—”Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified,” Isaiah 49:3; for to suppose the promise belonged to Israel after the flesh is contradicting prophecy, Deut. 28:37. and facts, for they are confounded, as a people, at this very time, being a “proverb and a by-word among all nations.” If then the promise cannot belong to Israel after the flesh, and does belong to those who have an interest in Christ the true “Israel,” then election alone gave them this interest. 

“In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory,” Isaiah 45:25. Here again the promise is to “Israel.” “The Lord will be the hope of his people,” Joel 3:16. mark, “of his people,” not the devil’s people, and the Lord will have his children well understand, that when he speaks of his people, he means his chosen, thus he says, “my people, my chosen,” Isaiah 43:20. And God says in Joel ii. over and over again, “my people shall never be ashamed,” that is, shall never be ashamed of what he has provided for them, what he has given to then), what he has worked in them, and what he will accomplish upon them: for in another place, speaking to the whole body of his elect, he says, “that thou mayest remember, and never more open thy mouth, because of thy shame, when I am pacified montmouth, towards thee, for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God,” Ezek. 16:63. Here the Lord is telling his people what he will reveal in them, namely, peace through the blood of the cross, which shall produce the blessed effects of true repentance and godly sorrow for sin.

At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book, Dan. 12:1. No deliverance from hell, but for those whose names are written in the book of life; therefore Christ says to his disciples, rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. It was not till Judas left the table that Christ said, “a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.” Christ knew spiritual love to the brethren is built upon electing love: Judas was not elected, therefore he only says to the eleven, “love one another.” I just notice this to introduce the following promise of Christ, made to “the eleven,” and through them to all God’s elect, “because I live ye shall live also,” John 14:19. And after this, Judas (not Iscariot) so clearly saw election, that he exclaimed, “Lord, how is it thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and not unto the world?” verse 22. And so God has fixed, by an unalterable decree, that his “people shall dwell alone; and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” They shall dwell alone in all the purposes of his grace, and to this end God makes all his promises to them in Christ, “according as they were chosen in him before the foundation of the world,” Eph. 1:4.

If we look at the characters by which all who are saved in the Lord, even with an everlasting salvation, are designated, we shall find that this confirms the truth of election. Thus they are called “the body of Christ, and members in particular,” 1 Cor. 12:27, they are said to be “the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven,” Heb. 12:23, they are defined as “they’ which are written in the Lamb’s book of life,” Rev. 21:27, the “brethren of Christ,” Rom. 8:29, the daughter of the king,” Psalm 45:13, “the Lord’s portion,” Deut. 32:29, “the children of Zion,” Psalm 149:2, “the flock of God’s heritage,” Micah 7:14, “a peculiar people,” 1 Peter 2:9, “the salt of the earth,” Matt. 5:13, God’s “jewels,” Mal. 3:17, “the whole family in heaven and earth named in Christ,” Eph. 3:16, “the precious sons of Zion,” Lam. 4:2. Yea “the election,” Rom. 9:11.

What can be more evident than that there is a people loved, in distinction from the world, by God, and that they are his choice; but should there still remain a doubt upon the reader’s mind as to the foregoing being satisfactory proofs of eternal election, I would direct him to the following declarations: Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” 1 Peter 1:2. “Shall not God avenge his own elect?” Luke 18:7. “An apostle according to the faith of God’s elect,” Titus 1:1. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” Rom. 8:33. “For the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened,” Matt. 24:22. “Ye are a chosen generation,” 1 Peter 2:9. “Many be called, but few chosen,” Matt. 2:16. “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation,” 2 Thess. 2:13. After reading these parts of God’s word, I am constrained to believe that eternal election is a truth which is fully established in the Scriptures.

Does, then, this Bible doctrine endanger holiness? By no means, for it emanates from God, who is “glorious in holiness,” therefore nothing can come from him that is unholy, or that has an unholy tendency. It cannot endanger holiness, because it gives the persons elected a being in Christ, who is the source of all the holiness a sinner can know, or God can give to a sinner. Does it not tend to negligence concerning eternal realities, encouraging the thought, “if I am elected I shall be saved, therefore I shall not concern myself about the things of God”? Such expressions or thoughts as this do not arise from election; but from the temptations of the wicked one, the carnality of the heart, and the blindness of human nature. Wherever a soul can say, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, 0 God,” he has a right to believe he is elected, because there is no panting after God till the quickening power of the Spirit is known, and a soul is quickened by the Holy Spirit, because “Chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit.” But though God bath chosen a people for himself, and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of his Son, and all who pant after God have reason to believe they are chosen of God; yet no man can say he is not chosen, if still in a state of unregeneracy, because none could be more immoral when in such a state than Mary Magdalene, none more presumptuous than the thief upon the cross, and none more cruel than Saul of Tarsus. Yet where was the man who could say neither of these was a chosen vessel of mercy, even when they were “in bondage under the elements of this world”? And, at the same time, what instance have we that election urged them on to commit iniquity? Not one. Though God foreordains his people to be conformed to Christ, yet he does not infuse sin into any; therefore election makes many saints, but not one sinner. Predestination can be no excuse for sin, for no man can tell whether it is God’s will to permit him to breathe until he has committed it; therefore no man ever did, and no man ever can, commit sin for the purpose of accomplishing God’s will. Whenever sin is committed, God, as God, must be forgotten, and to this point speaks the apostle, “Let no man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.” Christ’s sufferings and death were foreordained, but Pilate and the Jews acted wickedly in his crucifixion and sufferings, he for unjustly condemning and scourging him, they for unjustly demanding his death and cruelly mocking him. But does not the enemy of souls make use of this doctrine to lull men into a supine state? There is no craft whatever but what the devil makes use of either to worry and annoy the people of God, or to keep his own subjects in carnal security. Is he not perpetually deluding souls with a contingent representation of God’s mercy, telling them “they will have an opportunity to repent, to turn to God, or to pray upon a death bed? And if lie can deceive men with such a general representation of the mercy of God as this, no wonder if he makes a handle of so great an act of mercy as election, and does deceive some by it who were never chosen to eternal life. He tempted Christ to presumption, for the evangelist informs us “The devil taketh him, and sitteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God cast thyself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” “Jesus said unto him, it is written thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God.” If, then, the devil could thus attack Christ, no doubt he often attacks such poor creatures as “sinful man” with the same powerful weapons, saying “If you are elected you will be saved, and if not you will be lost ; it is no use resisting me, or fighting against sin, indulge your lusts, give way to the evils of your nature, allow yourself a little liberty in iniquity.” And where the grace of election prevent not, these suggestions are listened to and delighted in. But election is not dangerous, notwithstanding this; for, in fact, interest in election is the only security against Satan’s devices, as Christ says, “If it were possible they shall deceive the very elect;” implying that it is impossible. And though the devil makes a bad use of it, (and he makes a bad use of it because he was not an elect angel, for it is election keeps angels in heaven; they being elected for Christ, and saints being elected in Christ,) yet God’s saints, when under the cheering power of the Holy Ghost, know it to be an holy, heavenly, and soul-strengthening doctrine; embittering sin, drawing the mind towards God, and affording a joy unspeakable and full of glory. And though many are afraid to say too much about it in public, lest it should lead to sin, yet the more it is known in its richness and tendency in the heart of a truly circumcised Israelite, the more it is rejoiced in as a sin-mortifying, sin crucifying, creature-debasing, and God-exalting Truth. And I am no more afraid of encouraging sin by preaching election, than a scholar is afraid of encouraging ignorance by expressing himself grammatically. Or, in other words, I should not be afraid of preaching election, lest it should lead to sin, any more than I should be afraid of reading in public too often the following words, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,” Matt. 16:24. lest it should lead papists to worship a wooden cross. Election does not put aside prayer; on the contrary, none spiritually pray but those who are elected.-It does not lay aside the searching of the Scriptures; on the contrary, none search them aright but those who are elected. It does not drive men from God’s house; but makes men more eager to go, that they may know their election of God, by being blessed under the word. It does not beget cold ness and languor concerning interest in Christ; but is the most powerful motive any soul can have to love God, because it shows the greatness of his love to us. It does not forbid our warning a fellow-sinner of the evils of immoral practices, but is the most urgent reason for doing so, because we know not but the person whom we may so warn is an elect vessel of mercy, and our reproof may be the foreordained means of calling him out of nature’s darkness into light. Therefore I cannot find the sinful or dangerous tendency of election; and defy all the opponents of this doctrine to produce one proof that election ever made a man prayerless, careless, immoral, or unholy.

Another fruit, very close to the foregoing, is

THE MARRIAGE UNION between Christ and his elect body. So that he being the husband of the church, she bears her husband’s name, and thus sings, “The Lord our righteousness,” Jer. 23:6. She is interested in all her husband’s property, and thus all her individual members are “heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ;” by the same union her debts are his, and his payment her’s; his conquests of hell, death, and the grave, her conquests; his satisfaction to the law her satisfaction; and his mediatorial acceptance before God her acceptance. Thus she is said to “suffer with him,” to “be buried with him,” to “be risen with him,” and “to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” It is on the ground of this union David speaks as a type of Christ, when he says, “I will bless the Lord at all times;” because “at all times” God the Father loves the church in him, owns the church in him, and accepts the church in him, “his praise shall be continually in my mouth,” which it is, he being the prophet of the church, he tells her of the Father’s counsels, purposes, and determinations, and then addressing the church, he says, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” There is no magnifying or extolling God for the wonders of salvation, the riches of grace, or the glories of mercy, but in union with Christ.

Without such an union his blood, righteousness, and person would be of no worth—no value—no efficacy, to her. And, in consequence of this union, when Adam fell the church stood; when Adam lost the upright image in which he was created she still remained perfect; when Adam departed from his resting place she was founded upon a rock, and was as safe as the rock upon which she was founded. O the blessedness of union to Christ! and oh, the treachery of those who profess to be his friends, and yet say the act of election, in which this union has its origin, ought either to be brought forward but seldom, lest it should encourage men to sin, or so preached as not to give offence!!!

And what authority have we for such a sentiment as this? I think the following are to the point, “Thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah 54:5. “I will betroth thee unto me for ever, yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies,” Hosea 2:19. And where is the dangerous tendency of this doctrine? Nowhere; for it is the fountain of a regenerated sinner’s happiness. In consequence of this union he has a vital interest in Immanuel’s person, worth, and work. As the effect of this union he is privileged to hold communion with the King of Kings. As the result of this union, his soul is strengthened so that it can engage in spiritual exercises, cling to the promises of a faithful God, and draw heavenly supplies from the river of God’s pleasure.

Another fruit found on the heavenly vine, is 

THE COVENANT OF GRACE. Though ignorant men often say there are no intimations in the Scriptures of covenant settlements concerning the well-being and everlasting welfare of the church of God, yet those whom God leads into all truth, discern the glory of Jehovah, and their soul’s security in a “covenant ordered in all things and sure.” And to this covenant the people of God are referred in many parts of the sacred word. Indeed, its express design is by the Holy Ghost declared to be “that the heirs of promise might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to the only hope set before them,” Heb. 6:17, 18. In this covenant God sets forth to his church, wisdom in contriving, order in executing, and certainty in accomplishing, all that will be for the glory of his people. We see in the covenant of grace the wisdom of God in a mystery, securing holiness before sin entered the world, going forth in acts of salvation before his people were lost, and establishing an union between himself and the chosen seed, before any discord or breach of communion was manifest. If, upon the Arminian hypothesis, Jehovah thought of securing his own holiness in and for any of his creatures after they were tarnished by sin, it would have discovered a want of foreknowledge on his part, and evidenced that his security of holiness was built upon a knowledge of sin subsequent to its entrance into the world. If, therefore, God was wanting in knowledge upon this point, imperfection would be seen in Deity, and we should have no assurance that the atonement he provided would be infinitely and everlastingly sufficient for our security from “the wrath to come;” but should be daily labouring under the thought that, perhaps, we shall commit some sin which God did not foresee, and that, therefore, we shall be lost at last, notwithstanding the provision he made against it. But who can indulge in such an irreverent supposition as This? None who have the fear of God in their hearts. If, however, God chose a people for himself, whom he knew would become vile, base, filthy, weak, unbelieving creatures; and provided holiness, redemption, perfection, blessedness, faith, strength, and glory for them, before they were thus ruined ; bow it displays his wisdom who is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.” Not only so, but if God had not arranged and settled when, how, where, and in whom the provision should be revealed, there would be a constant confusion in the works of grace. Some might have it at the wrong time, some might have it in the wrong way, some might have it at the wrong place, and some might lose it altogether, and the serpent’s seed get that which was intended for Christ’s seed. A wise nobleman would not suffer that property which he had laid up for his children, to be in so precarious a state as Arminianism thus represents God’s property laid up for his children: on the contrary, he would make all the arrangements, and order all his property in such a manner as that it should descend to his heirs at the right time, in the right way, and at the right place. And can it be thought by any sober-minded Christian, that God should be less wise than the creature, or less careful of heavenly provision for his family than an earthly father? By no means. He therefore says to his church, “I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant,” Ezek. 16:60. Mark, not with thee, but “unto thee,” the church not actually existing when the covenant was made. How, then, was it done? The answer is direct; saith God the Father, “I will give thee (Christ) for a covenant of the people,” Isaiah 42:6. 49:8. Therefore the covenant of the chureb’s welfare was made with the church’s covenant head, the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to all this, if God had made a provision, and ordered how, when, and where the persons interested in it should partake of, and yet left it for the creature to lay hold of it if he could when an offer of it was—made to him, there would still be contingency. Therefore the covenant of grace is not only “ordered in all things,” but “sure.” For Jehovah, addressing the whole body of his elect, says, “I will make with you,” or make known to you, “an everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David.” The mercies of holiness, perfection, salvation, and glory; the mercies of faith, by which salvation is embraced; of hope, by which glory is anticipated; of knowledge, by which holiness is understood; and of love, by which Christ is hung upon as all the perfection needed. They are “the mercies of David,” being all treasured up, founded upon, and secured through David’s Lord, who is “the beloved,” giving substance and excellency to every mercy.

In this covenant the Father wills to love a people; but the people whom he fixes his love upon being sinners, he determines upon appointing a sacrifice for their sins by which sin should be removed; he wills to glorify a people, but the people whom he predestinates to eternal glory being destitute of all qualification for that state, he calls upon the second person in the glorious’ Trinity to become their righteousness: God the Son wills to love the people of his Father’s choice, engages to become their surety, and to bring in everlasting righteousness for them: The Holy Ghost wills to love, to quicken, and reveal to the objects of heavenly counsel, delight, and care, the will of the Father, and work of the Son. The Father’s will is to bless the people with every blessing that shall enrich their souls and glorify himself: and no other treasury can be found suited and sufficient to lay up these blessings in, than the God-man, in whom all divine and human excellencies meet. The Holy Ghost witnesses to the great—the solemn fact of Christ’s blessing “his friend” (the church) “with a loud” (an omnipotent and sympathetic) “voice, rising early” (at the call of God the Father) “in the morning” (of eternity) by which it was “counted a curse unto him,” Prov. 27:14; and by this engagement of Christ to become a curse for his people, the blood wherewith he purchased the church, is called “the blood of the everlasting covenant.” Jehovah, in his Trinity of persons, having thus provided, ordered, and arranged all that pertains to the well-being and welfare of the church, then says, “I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him, with whom my hand shall be established.” And having thus solemnly sworn Christ into the office of Mediator, he majestically addresses the church in the following words, “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 bath mercy on thee,” Isaiah 54:10. This doctrine cannot be dangerous, for it provides all the heirs of heaven with that strength whereby Christ is sought, the devil resisted, God loved, the world despised, sin hated, heavenly enjoyments prized, and God glorified.

Another fruit growing in the land of grace, is

SANCTIFICATION. There is a threefold signification held out to us in the Scriptures of truth, concerning sanctification. 

First, to celebrate that as holy which was so before: thus the Lord says, “They shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel,” Isaiah 29:3. And when do God’s people thus celebrate the Lord? When they that “erred in spirit come to the understanding” of God’s mercy in Christ, and “they that murmured” against the Lord’s way of saving sinners, “learn the doctrine” of free, full, and everlasting pardon for sin. Then holy melting of heart before God, and true repentance at the foot of the cross will be known, and God shall be confessed as an holy God, “pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin.” For as Mr. Hart sings,

Law and terrors do but harden,

All the while they work alone ;

But a sense of blood-bought pardon,

This dissolves a heart of stone.”

And we are taught by the dear Redeemer that “There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,” Luke 15. So that while a sinner is celebrating God as holy, God is celebrating him as holy in Christ from everlasting. The Father rejoices over him as an object of his eternal delight; Jesus rejoices over him as the purchase of his blood; the Holy Ghost rejoices over him as the temple. of his residence; angels rejoice over him as one of the heirs of salvation, to whom they must minister; saints made perfect rejoice over him in anticipation of soon seeing him among them. Thus Zephaniah tells the church, “the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing,” Zeph. 3:17: and, referring to sanctification, in this point of view the apostle must be understood in 1 Cor. 6:11, when after describing the unrighteous, and saying “such were some of you,” he adds, “but ye are washed” in “the washing of regeneration;” “but ye are sanctified,” rejoiced over, as true penitents, and celebrated in “the presence of the angels of God,” as vessels of holiness.

Secondly; to set apart any person or thing for an holy purpose or use. In this point of view, Christ was sanctified or set apart to the office of “Mediator, and so he says to the Jews—“Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, thou blasphemest, because I say I am the Son of God,” John 10:36. Thus, as typical of Christ, the Lord said unto Moses, “sanctity unto me all the firstborn;” set apart the first-born as typical of Christ, the first-born among many brethren, Ex. 13:2. And as typical of the church, the tabernacle and temple were sanctified, or set apart for an holy purpose: which purpose was to be typical of the church of God, set apart by God from everlasting, to be the place of his residence; as he says, “this is my rest for ever: here will I dwell, for I have desired it.” All the utensils and vessels of the temple and tabernacle were sanctified, or set apart for an holy use, in the same way, to typify all the blessings of the everlasting covenant, set apart in Christ for the church’s use. All who were engaged in the service of the temple or tabernacle, were sanctified or set apart; typical of the ministers of the gospel, and the officers of a gospel church, set apart for the special use of God’s people. It is in this point of view Jude must be understood, when he says of the church, “sanctified by God the Father,” Jude 1, and the apostle Paul likewise, when he addresses his epistle “to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus.” Set apart for God’s glory in Christ by the joint counsel, will, and pleasure, of the eternal Three in One.

And lastly, to make persons holy who were before unholy. This is done when God fulfils that new covenant promise, “a new heart also will I give them.” If, then, God gives “a new heart” to his people, either that heart is holy or unholy; if holy, it cannot be made more so, therefore progressive sanctification must fall to the ground; if unholy, what use is it? No use at all, unless it is to doubly damn a sinner, for he committed a multitude of sins when he had no “new heart,” and then to give him a heart which has-sin in it, which it must have if unholy, is to give him power to commit more sin. The “new heart” God gives is a “newness of life” from Christ. And Christ prayed, when in Gethsemane’s garden, to his Father for his people, “sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” Then the only way of being sanctified, is through “the truth of God” the Father, and the truth of God the Father is “the Word,” and “the Word” is Christ, and Christ is God’s word, because, as we express our thoughts to each other by our words, God expresses his love to us by giving us Christ, and “in him was life,” John 1:4. Therefore when the Holy Ghost quickens a sinner into newness of life, it is by Christ, for the church never had and never will have any spiritual life apart from Christ. And though the communications of light to God’s children may be gradual, so that they can more and more clearly discern where their life is hid, yet the life itself, which the Holy Ghost communicates from Christ, cannot be increased. A new-born infant may have its limbs grow, but it is no more alive after it has been in. the world twenty years than it is at first. Precisely so God’s children, when quickened by the Holy Ghost, have a life from Christ, which, coming from him, must necessarily be a holy life, and distinguishes itself as holy by its immediate struggling with sin. And it is this holy life which continues to hold a warfare with the flesh, until “mortality is swallowed up of life,” 2 Cor. 5:4. The flesh does not, cannot grow better, but rather worse, and sometimes, to the believer’s sorrow, shows itself as worse by its mighty workings. But though the old Man of nature continues to wax viler and more wanton every day, the new man of grace being “renewed day by day,” that is to say, being received and kept alive, by the Lord working in the soul, the believer goes  “from strength to strength,” or as the margin has it,  “from company to company,” from over-coming one company of lusts to another, from one company of evils to another, until he arrives before God in glory. Here then we find that all our sanctification is in Christ, from Christ, and by Christ, and cannot therefore admit of creature cultivation, creature strengthening, or creature improving. Is there then any danger in this doctrine? None whatever, because it leads the soul to live wholly upon Christ. None whatever, because it leads the soul to live out of the flesh. None whatever, because it is from God, and therefore must lead to God.

Another doctrine of grace, is

THE COMPLEXITY OF CHRIST’S PERSON. He is said to be “made of a woman, made under the law,” Gal. 4:4. “who is over all, God blessed for ever.” As man, he enquired concerning Lazarus, “where have ye laid him?” As God, he described the “guest chamber, where he should eat the Passover with his disciples,” and all the circumstances connected with it. As man, he said, when he came to Lazarus’ grave, “roll ye away the stone.” As God, he said, “Lazarus, come forth.” As man, he was “asleep in the hinder part of the ship.” As God, he said to the stormy winds and boisterous waves, “be still, and immediately there was a calm.” In order to be indeed and of a truth the Redeemer of his people, he must be man to suffer, bleed, and die; he must be God to give eternal dignity to his righteousness, infinite worth to his blood, and immutable preciousness to his person. There can be no danger in this doctrine, for without the union of the two natures, godhead and manhood, there can be no redemption; and if no redemption, no communion with God; but through it believers have nearness of access to God, and are privileged to hold fellowship with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Another fruit of grace is,

THE CALLING OF THE HOLY GHOST; which consists in the internal, invincible, and secret separation of an elect vessel of mercy from the world, by which his attention becomes fixed upon matters of eternal importance, and a sacred intercourse is opened up in the heart, between God and the sinner. This calling is distinguished from the outward call of the gospel, in that the latter is directed to every creature, and may be rejected, trampled upon, and forgotten; but the former is directed only to the objects of the Father’s choice, and the purchase of the Redeemer’s blood, and cannot be resisted, refused, or slighted. It bears various names throughout the sacred pages: being denominated “the high calling” of God, Phil. 3:14, because above the creature’s power to obtain of himself, being altogether sovereign; neither resting upon human pliability, natural disposition, creature skill, nor moral worth. It is said to be “an holy calling,” because it is through an holy teacher, leads to holy objects, takes from unholy pursuits, and is the inlet or portal to holy enjoyments. It is “an heavenly calling,” because it originates in heavenly counsels held between the Eternal Three in One, and all who experimentally know it, sooner or later, enter the kingdom of heaven. It is founded upon Christ, for which reason the apostle calls it, “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The reason is obvious. The Father having blessed the sinner with election union to Christ, with all spiritual blessings in Christ, and everlasting oneness with Christ; so that the fulness of Jesus being the sinner’s fulness, the mediatorial excellency of Jesus being the sinner’s excellency, and the righteousness of Jesus being that in which the sinner is to be arrayed for ever, the Lord calls the sinner from the world, the flesh, and the devil, in order that he may be put in experimental possession of the provision laid up for him in Christ. The great end, therefore, of effectual calling, is to make us know that we are the Lord’s, and that we are “bought with a price:” it is to take us from the world’s deceitful vanities, to learn everlasting realities: to make us know the emptiness of all earthly good, and to lead us to know the abundant satisfaction of heavenly riches. And because this doctrine honours the Holy Ghost in his sovereignty, invincibility, and covenant faithfulness, it is thought that, like the rest, it has a dangerous tendency; but there would be great danger of all Adam’s race being lost if this doctrine were untrue, for if the Lord left it to the creature whether he should call or not, none would be called, for man is born like a wild ass’s “colt,” so foolish and stubborn, that he would be sure to go the wrong road ; and the “carnal mind being enmity against God;” as God’s will is to save; man’s will would be to be lost.

Therefore, instead of this doctrine being dangerous it is a doctrine of safety, because God having made a provision for the objects of covenant delight, not one of these can perish till called by grace; and when called, their desires, their thoughts, and affections, go out after him who has called them; therefore they long to live above sin, to have little of the world’s company, to have much of the Lord’s, and to receive the earnests of his Spirit: consequently there is no danger in this doctrine.

Another fruit peculiar to the land of grace, is,

THE FULL, FREE, AND EVERLASTING PARDON OF SIN THROUGH THE ATONEMENT. In this doctrine, we see Jehovah “a just God and a Saviour,” for “in those days and at that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found.” Why? “For I will pardon those whom I reserve.” To reserve has the same signification as preserve, with this shade of difference, that for the Lord to “reserve” his people, carries with it the idea, that he holds them back from many things he permits the world to have, so that the world accounts them the off scouring of all things; but at the great day, when God makes up his jewels, he will put them forward, and openly show, them as possessing the best treasures. We find then, by this declaration in Jeremiah, that the sins of God’s people “shall not be found,” yea, “there shall be none,” for God pardons all whom he reserves or preserves in Christ Jesus. This unspeakable blessing can come to them in no other medium than the atonement of Christ, which atonement being exclusively for the benefit of all “preserved in Christ Jesus,” can put only their sins away. Therefore the apostle says, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Who have this redemption? “We,” says the apostle, “who are preserved in Christ Jesus.” And on their behalf “he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself:” past, present, and to come. Sins of all sorts, sins of all lengths, sins of all depths, sins as black as hell, sins as high as heaven, sins against light and knowledge, sins of omission and commission, sins secret and sins public, all blotted out of God’s debt book, the law, by the blood of the Lamb. O blessed thought, that when our Zerubbabel beheld the amazing mountain of his people’s woe, he was not backward to exclaim, “lo, I come to do thy will, O God.”Therefore Jehovah’s cry to this mountain is, “who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.” This doctrine cannot be dangerous, or have an unholy tendency, for it shows how holy is his nature, how just his government, how firm his law, who would not pardon those who are as dear to him as the apple of his eye, without the darling of his bosom becoming “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:” at the same time it opens up to view the infinity of that love, the sovereignty of that mercy, and the unsearchable riches of that grace, which saves unto the uttermost the unworthy, the abandoned, and the abominable. And is it possible for any man feeling an interest in this to love sin? God forbid! The very thought is derogatory to the nature of a Christian, and an insult upon each person of the glorious Trinity; the Father for bestowing, the Son for procuring, and the Holy Ghost for revealing this great blessing, pardon for sin.

Another fruit growing in the land of grace, is

JUSTIFICATION THROUGH CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IMPUTED TO HIS PEOPLE AND RECEIVED BY FAITH. Thus we read, “as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the disobedience of one shall many be made righteous,” Rom. 5:19. “A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” Rom. 2:28. The doctrine of imputation is easily proved. We read the “wages of sin is death:” Christ died. Then he must have had sin either inherently or imputatively: not inherently, “for he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” Therefore it must be imputatively, and so the prophet says, “he hath laid on him the iniquity of us all:” that is, “all us whom God hath appointed not to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then all our sins being imputed to him, all his righteousness is imputed to us; therefore the Lord calls his people “a righteous nation,” Isaiah 26:2, which they are not in themselves, their cry being “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” Isaiah 64:6. And the apostle, in 2 Cor. 3:9. speaks at once to the point when he says, “He” (Christ) “was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Neither does Christ, in the last chapter of the Revelations, leave us to doubt where all our righteousness is to come from; but says, “my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be, “not as his work” may be,”but as his work” shall be, “because the work, according to which he will reward, is a finished work. Thus he tells us in the next verse, “I am alpha and omega,” the first and the last letter in Jehovah’s alphabet of mercy, “the beginning and the end” of all salvation, “the first and the last” in an everlasting righteousness. As, therefore, the work is infinite in value, glorious in dignity, and immutable in perfection, so must be the reward.

We may further remark concerning justification, that it is founded upon the grace-union subsisting between Christ and the church: for the apostle says, “whom he did foreknow, them he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Moreover, whom he did predestinate them he also called, and whom he called them he also justified.” The question therefore is, in what sense is it that we are to understand God’s fore-knowledge in this particular text? It cannot mean all the children of Adam, though he foreknew every one of these as objects of his creative power; yet he did not predestinate every one of these to be conformed to the image of Christ. The meaning must be to; whom he did foreknow as sons in Christ, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ: and upon the same footing, namely, union to Christ, or sonship in Christ, they were secretly justified, so that God’s people, while in nature, are a justified people; which justification is a secret hid in Christ, until the period arrives for the objects of ancient choice to know it; and this knowledge is brought about by the Holy Ghost, leading the soul to know its condemnation by the law, and giving faith to realize interest in the righteousness of Christ. It is because faith apprehends justification through the righteousness of Christ, that we are said to be “justified by faith.” Not that faith in itself is meritorious, but it goes forth in its exercise upon that which is meritorious, namely, Christ’s righteousness; and as this righteousness is revealed in the soul, so its effects will be conspicuous, in a greater or less degree, in the walk and conversation, by which we shall be justified before men. For this reason our works are said to justify us, that is, justify our profession before men, while justification before God is “through the righteousness of faith.”

There can be no danger in this doctrine, for without imputed righteousness there is no going to heaven, and by it a sinner is exalted far above angels, while he shines in the perfection of Jesus, and at humble distance “crowns him Lord of all.” Neither can this doctrine have an unholy tendency, for what can enhance the beauty of holiness more than being enrolled in perfection itself?

Another fruit growing in the land of grace, is

ADOPTION: By nature all Adam’s children, like their fallen parent, “hide behind the trees in the garden,” preferring any situation beat his presence in “whose favour is life.” Indifference, worldly cares, infidelity, pride, morality, external religion, duties, respectability, immorality, hypocrisy, a good name, false hopes of heaven, forms of godliness, and other abominations, are so many trees behind which we all naturally hide but “there is a set time to favour Zion,” therefore God’s people must be brought away from, these “beggarly elements,” and “because they are sons, God sends forth the spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying Abba, Father.” Not that the children of God, when they first have this spirit of adoption, can plainly say “Father,” but “Father” is the essence of that variety of feelings, exercises, and desires, which characterize the new-born soul. The babe in grace feels, but cannot describe his feelings; he sees, but it is so little, he is afraid to speak of it; yea, is unable to tell either what he sees or what he feels; he is uncomfortable with the world, the breathings of his soul run in an holy channel, he thirsts for righteousness, and so little is his knowledge, that he expects the righteousness he needs to come from himself. But the more his expectations and pursuit of happiness abound, the more he discovers the shallowness of his own works, the emptiness of his prayers, and the poverty of his own goodness. Resolutions have been often broken through, promises forgotten, vow after vow made, but weakness and emptiness have always been the result. The holy law of God is opened up in its spirituality and extent, he beholds himself lost without a righteousness equal to its demands, and a perfection equal to its extent. In vain he strives to keep it, at every fresh attempt he is constrained to cry “My leanness, my leanness.” The evil of sin, the weakness of self, the justice of God, the holiness of his law, and his desert as a sinner, are things that more and more conspicuously appear, till, wretched and forlorn, he cries, “Save, Lord, or I perish.” Here we behold a bruised sinner, bruised by God laying sin upon a spiritual conscience, applying the law to a spiritual understanding, and revealing justice to a spiritual mind. And he who wounds alone can heal, by a revelation of the life treasured up in Christ. Therefore the Holy Ghost, who in the commencement of this work in the soul, put that which is the principle of faith, namely, life into the man, now gives or draws into exercise this blessed grace, by which the “captive exile hastens to the cross of Calvary, that he may be loosed:” there he realizes interest in the precious blood of Christ, by which his guilt is all removed; appropriates the righteousness of Christ, and takes it as his own, while Jesus’ person is beheld as altogether lovely. Passed from death to life, he is sealed an heir of heaven, and can boast of glory yet to come! Clad in a robe of righteousness, without a spot, wrought out by Jesus, how he sings! Washed in the crimson fountain of a Saviour’s blood, all pure he shouts for joy! while Abba, Father, dwells upon his tongue. And, like dear Simeon, with the Saviour in his arms, the loosened sinner cries, “Let now thy servant die, mine eyes have seen thy great salvation.” All his legal fetters broken, he triumphs in the righteousness of Christ. The dull knell of “do” that formerly issued from the Arminian caverns, now is changed for “it is done,” “it is finished.” And though after this he gets benighted, tried, and tossed about by enemies, yet when he receives an earnest of his interest in the Son of God, his fears are sure to fly, doubts sure to. vanish, the devil must sneak off, the world must be forgotten, troubles will be lost sight of, wretchedness will be removed, “the king will be seen in his beauty, the land beheld that is very far off,” and Abba, Father, cried with holy confidence. What is the danger of adoption? It endangers free-will heresy, Arminian vanities, and creature exaltation. But does not endanger Jesus’ crown, but puts it on his head. It does not endanger holiness, but sings of it. It does not lead to sin, but triumphs over it.

Another fruit is,

THE NEW BIRTH. By which I mean, a sinner dead in trespasses and sins quickened by the Holy Ghost, and brought forth into spiritual life. Before this happy change takes place the thoughts are vain, the affections vile, the desires sinful, the judgment erring, the memory strong and retentive of what is evil, but weak in what is good, the conscience hard, the understanding dark, the will perverse, and the whole mind enmity against God: but by the invincible work of the Holy Ghost in regeneration, the thoughts are raised to heaven, the desires purified, the affections spiritualized, the conscience softened, the understanding enlightened, the will bent, and every faculty of the soul turned into a new and holy channel. It is from this newness of life in the souls of the redeemed, that faith, hope, and prayer proceed. Without this mighty work in the soul, no other doctrinal truth can be rightly known or duly appreciated; no warfare with the world, the flesh, or the devil felt, or burden of sin groaned under; no promise received or consolation understood; no joy in the Holy Ghost known, or heavenly-mindedness experienced. But where the “washing of regeneration” has taken place, the truth as it is in Christ becomes the pursuit of the soul. Sin is felt as a grievous load, the world is discovered to be a wilderness, the heart is found to be “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” while the heart breathes after God. Christ says, “Ye must be born again,” and “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” John 3.

There can be no danger in this doctrine, for it is the gate of entrance into the kingdom of God’s grace, the portal to gospel knowledge, the inlet to true repentance, and the translation from the “power of darkness into the marvelous light of God’s dear Son.”

And another fruit of grace is,

THE FINAL PERSEVERANCE OF ALL THE REGENERATE. By this they escape the pollution that is in the world through lust, overcome every difficulty, and ultimately conquer every foe. This, their perchance, however, does not depend upon themselves, but upon the Lord, for their “life is hid with Christ in God;” and Christ says to his people, “He” (the Holy Ghost) “dwelleth with you, and shall be in you;” and God the Father says, “A vineyard of red wine, sing unto it, I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it I will keep it night and day,” Isaiah 27. In consequence, therefore, of the constant indwelling of the Holy Ghost, the perpetual keeping and watering of the Father, and the immutable efficacy of the Saviour’s work, “the path of the just is as the shining light which shineth more and more unto the perfect day;” learning, as they go forward, to “mortify,” “crucify,” “put off,” and “lay aside” the old man with his affections and lusts. 

Wherein lies the danger of this doctrine? Blessed be God, the very nature of perseverance is to overcome everything that is dangerous and unholy. So that the happy partakers of grace prove victorious over all their enemies within and without, and death itself only proves the harbinger of eternal day.

“Then not the sun shall more than I

His maker’s will perform ;

Nor shine with brighter purity,

Nor burn with zeal so warm.”

Thus, reader, I have presented thee with a view of some of those precious doctrines of God’s word, frequently called “dangerous.” But where lies their danger? Nowhere but in a Pharisee’s brains, which is the devil’s foundry for most of the lying speeches made against the grace of God, for the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy and to utter error against the Lord; to make empty the soul of the hungered after a free grace salvation, Isaiah 32. But let these vile persons recollect that the doctrines of grace are the doctrines of the Bible, and therefore the doctrines of God; concerning whom we read that “he cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man,” but if the doctrines of God tempt or lead men to sin, then God leads to sin, so that our opponents have ratified in their character those words, “He that rolleth a stone it shall return upon him,” Prov. 26:27. for they often but very falsely say, we who love free grace, make God the author of sin, whereas they make “God the author of sin,” who charge the doctrines of God with having a “licentious tendency.” Contrary to what they affirm, we find these doctrines are holy, helpingly, and spiritual in all their parts, branches, and effects. But it may be asked, “why is it seeing the doctrines of grace are really doctrine according to godliness, that some men “who profess to love them and zealously defend them, live in sin.” Some there may be of this stamp, but they know the doctrines speculatively not vitally; theoretically not unctiously; notion in the head not savingly in the heart. But the doctrines of grace even speculatively known, forbid sin; therefore, it is not from knowing these doctrines that men sin: it is because these doctrines having no reigning power or sweetening efficacy in their hearts, notwithstanding their profession, they still remain “dead in trespasses and sins.” For to say the doctrines of grace have a sinful tendency, is as reasonable as affirming the sun produces cold, or the moon darkness. And to attempt to root up all the empty professors, daring hypocrites, and almost Christians, who force themselves into the communion of God’s saints on earth, would be doing that which Christ has commanded us not to do, for saith he, “Let the tares and the wheat both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather my wheat into my barn,” Matt. 13. Thus God has ordered it, and who can disannul it? Ishmael shall dwell under the same roof as Isaac; Esau be in the same womb with Jacob; and the Samaritans live near the Jews. Paul had an Alexander to trouble him; Peter an Annanias and Sapphira; and John a Diotrephes. But Paul, Peter, and John, preached the doctrines of grace notwithstanding, and were no Antinomians either. And look to what fellowship of Christians we may, some tares are sure to be growing, for even Christ in his little company had a Judas. These facts, however, do not make God’s children run from the truth, but in the Lord’s hand constrain them to cling more steadfastly to it. So that when many of the nominal disciples of Christ “go back, and walk no more with him” in the paths of grace, they cry, “Lord, to whom shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life.”

If there is a place of worship where the grace of God is faithfully preached, it is often said with much contempt, by the fashionable professors around, “none but poor people go there;” “it is not a respectable congregation.” Very true; but this does not establish the assertion that the doctrines of grace are “dangerous.” “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” And such ministers as are surrounded with a people who love the truth in the life and power of it, however despised as “poor” in this world, and  “not respectable,” are more like Christ than they are, who, perpetually encompassed with the wealthy and the great, forget the dignity of the office they profess to hold: for Christ’s “kingdom is not of this world,” and he had only poor fishermen for his first disciples; and those who chiefly composed his retinue on earth were the poor, the lame, the halt, and the blind. But it is said, “most people speak against that preaching which savours of so much grace.” Very true; but it is the multitude who are walking in the broad road; therefore this does not prove the doctrines of grace dangerous to God and godliness; though very dangerous to the devil’s schemes, priest-craft, and free-Will, which latter has the most votaries because the most natural. And while the children of God are reckoned the “filth of the earth,” they are to God his precious jewels, his special treasure, his everlasting delight.

Reader, what does thy heart say to these things? If thou art a careless, thoughtless infidel, living without any profession at all, thou will think what thou hast now read not worth thy concern; but remember, without a soul interest in them, everlasting woe will be thy portion. If thou art an empty professor, knowing the doctrines in the head and not in the heart, thou hast in the perusal satisfied thy notions and thy fancy, while thy soul has neither tasted the sweetness, nor known the strengthening virtue, of “the doctrines of grace.” If thou art an almost Christian, thou wilt not approve of it, because I have not been moderate enough. If thou art a Pharisee, thou wilt hate what I have said in it more than thou dost sin or the devil, because it is not palatable to thy self-righteous nature. If thou art a broken-hearted sinner, thou wilt hail the truth, knowing it to possess healing virtue; thou wilt be panting after it as the only thing that can comfort or strengthen thee in thy distressing moments. If thou art an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile, thy desires will be going out after it as the life of thy soul; and if thou canst not say, “My beloved is mine and I am his,” thou canst say, “That I may know him” in the efficacy of his grace, “and the power of his resurrection” in my soul, “for I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,” whom I long to call “my Lord.” Then be assured thou dost not only know the doctrines of grace, but what is better still, the grace of the doctrine. And what thou knowest not now thou shalt know hereafter.”