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Introduction\par 2. Its Importance\par 3. Its Nature\par 4. Its Marvel\par 5. Its Springs\par 6. Its Blessedness\par 7. Its Perversion\par 8. Its Safeguards\par 9. Its Opposition\par 10. Its Benefits\par 11. Conclusion\par \par \par \par ETERNAL SECURITY\par \par FOREWORD\par \par Eternal Security is the teaching that God shall with no uncertainty bring into their eternal inheritance those who are actually justified\emdash delivered from the curse of the law and have the righteousness of Christ reckoned to their account\emdash and who have been begotten by the Spirit of God. And further it is the teaching that God shall do this in a way glorifying to Himself, in harmony with His nature and consistent with the teaching of Scripture concerning the nature of those who are called saints. Why is this important? Why is it important for every Christian to know that once God has taken him for His own, He will never let him go? Arthur W. Pink gives many reasons for this in this book on Eternal Security. For one thing, it is necessary in order to strengthen young and fearful Christians in their faith\emdash by safeguarding the honor and integrity of God and His Word. And it is also necessary in order to preserve one of the grand and distinctive blessings of the Gospel, which to deny is to attack the very foundations of the believer\rquote s comfort and assurance.\par \par But let the reader be warned right from the start. Those who think that they are opposed to what Pink finds in Scripture may be surprised to find themselves agreeing with him. And those on the other side may find that Pink has gone way beyond the mere statement and proof of a doctrine to implications that they may have to accept for their own lives. The author is LVALno shallow student of the Word, but asks us to follow Out its teaching so as to relate it properly to God\rquote s scheme of things.\par \par It is important for the reader to avoid wrong impressions as he begins to read. The book has been titled Eternal Security because today that is the name given to the doctrine dealt with in this book. But historically the doctrine was called Perseverance of the Saints, and Pink himself preferred that title. But whether it is called Eternal Security or Perseverance of the Saints, it is the same doctrine that has been held down through the years. We must not take issue with him because at some points he used different words from what we are accustomed to.\par \par As he begins, the reader may also mistakenly get the impression that Pink is arguing against Eternal Security at the same time he claims to be for it. We assure the reader that this is not so. Pink is not attempting to undermine this doctrine through trickery, not in the least. If then he doesn\rquote t seem clear, we ask the reader to be patient and give him a chance to explain himself (esp. in chap. 7). We, as Pink did, should realize that many doctrines of Scripture cannot be fairly stated as simple slogans. Eternal Security is one of these. Let us endeavor to study out this doctrine to its final conclusion since it is so important to our welfare as we walk the Christian life.\par \par It may help to know that Pink originally came out from a group of rather sectarian hyper-Calvinistic Baptists in England. He clearly reacted strongly to some of their distinctive tenets. This is especially true of their Antinomian tendencies, in which they inclined toward the view that since all of man\rquote s actions and circumstances are predestined, a Christian need not bother with his responsibilities\emdash God will bring all that is needed into his life so that he will automatically be directed to do what He wants.\par \par But though he rejected this kind of thinking very strongly (Pink\rquote s book PracLVALtical Christianity gives a very helpful, balanced view), he did not overreact. He remained unashamedly Calvinistic. Yet it was his desire to avoid all lopsidedness, and it is for that reason that he may truly be said to be of value to all. No matter what he wrote on, he gave careful consideration to all who in any way try to base their view on Scripture.\par \par Pink was unusually thorough in his writings. One can read dozens of books by other writers on a subject and find that questions have been left unanswered by them all. Not so with Pink. It rarely happens that he will not deal with a pressing question. He decried superficiality and compromise. The result was a full but practical treatment of each subject he wrote on.\par \par Yet he did not get bogged down in philosophical theology. Pink was first and foremost a careful expositor of Scripture, and this carried over in his handling of doctrine. He did not quote a text of Scripture and leave it up to the reader to make the connections. Rather, he usually took the time to deal with it positively, relating each part to the subject and establishing beyond question that the particular Scripture applies. He was also a master in showing the meaning of a text of Scripture by a careful consideration of its context. Time after time he demonstrates in this way that it cannot mean what some have claimed. Thus he avoids the proof-text method of developing a doctrine. The reader will see this for himself in this book.\par \par Eternal Security is a doctrine that complements and completes other truths. It is the truth which establishes a Christian in assurance of salvation. The doctrine of election in itself cannot do this. Justification cannot do this. The doctrine of sanctification cannot do this. Not even the doctrine of glorification does so. Yet each of these is incomplete without Eternal Security. Election, Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification are all hypothetical\emdash mere possibilities\emdash until Eternal Security complements and cLVALompletes them by showing how they are applied to specific individuals. And it is also practical because it brings believers to assurance of salvation, which according to many Scripture passages they are to have.\par \par There is, however, the possibility of self-deception. Assurance of salvation must be based on a right understanding of what God\rquote s Word teaches concerning Eternal Security. D. L. Moody told a story that illustrates the danger. A drunk stopped Moody one time and said, "Don\rquote t you remember me? I\rquote m the man you saved here two years ago." "Well," said Moody, "it must have been me, because the Lord certainly didn\rquote t do it." Too many are "saved" by men, and not saved by God. In other words, one can have assurance of salvation \emdash like the drunk \emdash without being saved. We must contend for Eternal Security for those who are really saved \emdash who are born anew, and have been changed within. This is what Arthur W. Pink explains so well in this book.\par \par The material for this book was taken from a series of 34 articles in Pink\rquote s Studies in the Scriptures (Vols. 21-23), written under the title "The Saint\rquote s Perseverance," and first published as a separate book under that title in 1972.\par \par \par \pard\cf1\lang3082\fs22 reformatted for e-Sword by David Cox\par \lang2058 (c) 2007 dcox@davidcox\par }   v7O U   11. Conclusion0$ 10. Its Benefits<4( 09. Its Opposition 6* 08. Its Safeguardst 6*07. Its Perversion;6*06. Its Blessedness4r8,05. Its Springs Q0$04. Its Marvel?."03. Its Naturev-."02. Its Importance#6*01. Introduction2&00 Pink - Eternal Security:F:LVAL{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sl240\slmult1\lang2058\b\f0\fs24 Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \par Chapter 1\par INTRODUCTION\b0\par \par In previous volumes we have expounded at some length (though not in this precise order) the great truths of Divine Election or Predestination unto salvation; the Atonement or perfect Satisfaction which Christ rendered unto the Law on behalf of His people; fallen man\rquote s total impotency unto good; the miracle of Regeneration, whereby the elect (who are born into this world dead in trespasses and sins) are quickened into newness of life; Justification by faith, whereby the believing sinner is delivered from the curse of the Law, the righteousness of Christ being reckoned to his account; the believer\rquote s Sanctification, whereby he is set apart unto God, constituted a temple of the Holy Spirit, delivered from the reigning power of sin, and made meet for Heaven. It is therefore fitting that we should now take up the complementary and completing truth of the final perseverance of the saints, or the infrustrable certainty of their entrance into the Inheritance purchased for them by Christ and unto which they have been begotten by the Spirit.\par \par This blessed subject has been an occasion for fierce strife in the theological world, and nowhere is the breach between Calvinists and Arminians more apparent than in their diverse views of this doctrine. The former regard it as the very salt of the covenant, as one of the principal mercies purchased by the redemption of Christ, as one of the richest jewels which adorns the Gospel\rquote s crown, as one of the choicest cordials for the reviving of fainting saints, as one of the greatest incentives to practical holiness. But with the latter it is the very reverse. Arminians regard this doctrine as an invention of the Devil, as highly dishonoring to God, as a poisoning of tLVALhe Gospel fountain, as giving license to self-indulgence and being subversive of all real piety. In this instance it is impossible to seek a golden mean between two extremes, for one party must be extremely right and the other extremely wrong.\par \par While we have no doubt whatever in which of those two camps the truth is to be found, yet we are far from allowing that Calvinists have always presented this doctrine in its Scriptural proportions; yea it is our firm conviction that during the last two or three generations especially it has been dealt with by many novices in such a manner as to do far more evil than good. Large numbers of men have contended for the "Security of the Saints" in such a crude and lopsided way that not a few godly souls were stumbled, and in their revolt against such extremism supposed their only safeguard was to reject the whole subject in toto. Such a course was wrong: if some amateur would-be-bakers turn out uneatable loaves, that is no reason why I should henceforth decline all bread\emdash I should be the loser if I acted so radically.\par \par We have no sympathy whatever with the bald and unqualified declaration "Once saved always saved." In a publication issued by a widely-known "Bible Institute" appears the following. "I went to the death cell of that condemned man in prison a few days ago. I went to tell him of a pardon from my King. I had no right to offer him a pardon from the state . . . but I could tell him of the One who took his place on Calvary\rquote s cross, offering eternal redemption from the penalty of sin, so that he could be justified before the \lquote Judge of all the earth\rquote in the court of heaven, for all the endless ages. Thank God! I found that man clear on the plan of salvation, for years ago under the ministry of he had accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. But through the years he had grown cold and indifferent: he had lost his fellowship with his Lord, not his salvation. And the result was a life of sin. It took an awful experiencLVALe to turn him from his self-willed way; but as I talked with him in his prison cell, I was convinced that he was born again and repentant for his crime."\par \par While it lies entirely outside our province to form any judgment as to the eternal destiny of that murderer, yet a few comments on the preacher\rquote s account of the above incident seem to be called for. What impression is likely to be made on the mind of the average light-headed professor by the reading of such a case? What effect is it calculated to produce upon those church members who are walking arm in arm with the world? First, we are told that this murderer was "clear on the plan of salvation": so also is the Devil, but what does such mental knowledge avail him! Next it is said that years before this condemned man "had accepted Jesus as his personal Savior" under the ministry of a certain well-known "Revivalist." But before any soul can receive Christ as Savior, he must first throw down the weapons of his rebellion, repent of his sins, and surrender to Christ as Lord.\par \par The Savior is the Holy One of God, who saves His people "from their sins" (Matt. 1:2 1) and not in their sins: who saves them from the love and dominion of their sins. How different was the preaching of Spurgeon from that of the cheapjack "evangelists" who have followed him. Said he, "Go not to God and ask for mercy with sin in thy hand. What would you think of the rebel who appeared before the face of his sovereign and asked for pardon with the dagger sticking in his belt and with the declaration of his rebellion on his breast? Surely he would deserve double doom for thus mocking his monarch while he pretended to be seeking mercy. If a wife has forsaken her husband do you think she would have the impudence, with brazen forehead, to come back and ask his pardon leaning on the arm of her paramour? Yet so it is with you\emdash perhaps asking for mercy and going on in sin\emdash praying to be reconciled to God and yet harboring and indulging your lusts. . . cLVALast away your sin or He cannot hear you. If you lift up unholy hands with a lie in your right hand, prayer is worthless on your lips" (C.H.S., 1860).\par \par Returning to the above incident. This preacher declares of the man in the condemned cell, "But through the years he had grown cold and indifferent: he had lost his fellowship with his Lord, not his salvation, and the result was a life of sin." Such a statement is a flat contradiction in terms. Salvation and sin are opposites. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Divine salvation is a supernatural work which produces supernatural effects. It is a miracle of grace which causes the wilderness to blossom as the rose. It is known by its fruits. It is a lie to call a tree good if it bears evil fruit. Justification is evidenced by sanctification. The new birth is made manifest by a new life. Where one makes a profession of being saved and then follows it with "a life of sin" it is a case of "the dog turning again to his vomit and the washed sow to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Pet. 2:22).\par \par Before dismissing this case a word should be said upon the preacher\rquote s statement "I could tell him of the One who took his place on Calvary\rquote s cross" which occurs, be it noted, at the beginning of the narrative. Surely the first thing to press upon a murderer would be the awfulness of his condition: to remind him that he had not only grievously wronged a fellow-creature, but had sinned against the Holy One; to faithfully set before him the solemn fact that in a few days he would have to appear before the Divine Judge. Then he could speak of the amazing grace of God which had provided a Savior for sinners, even the very chief of sinners, and that He is freely offered to all by the Gospel, on the terms of repentance and faith. But the Scriptures nowhere warrant us to tell any indifferent, impenitent sinner that Christ \lquote took his place on the cross": the LVALsubstitutionary work of Christ is a truth for the comfort of believers and not a sop for unbelievers. 0 the ignorance and confusion now obtaining in Christendom.\par \par In the N. T. the salvation of God is presented under three tenses: past, present and future. As a work "begun" (Phil. 1:6), but not completed in a moment of time. "Who hath saved us" (2 Tim. 1:9), "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12), "now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom. 13:11). These verses do not refer to three different salvations, but to three distinct phases and stages of salvation: salvation as an accomplished fact, as a present process, and as a future prospect. First, God saves from the pleasure of sin, causing the heart to loathe what it formerly loved. That which is displeasing to God is made bitter to the soul, and sin becomes its greatest grief and burden. Next, faith is communicated by the Spirit and the penitent sinner is enabled to believe the Gospel, and thereby he is saved from the penalty of sin. Then it is he enters upon the Christian life, wherein he is called upon to "fight the good fight of faith", for there are enemies both within and without which seek to bring about his destruction.\par \par For that "fight" God has provided adequate armor (Eph. 6:11), which the Christian is bidden to take unto himself. For that fight he is furnished with effective weapons, but these he must make good use of. For that fight spiritual strength is available (2 Tim. 2:1), yet it has to be diligently and trustfully sought. It is in this fight, a lifelong process, a conflict in which no furloughs are granted, the Christian is being saved from the power of sin. In it he receives many wounds, but he betakes himself to the great Physician for healing. In it he is often cast down, but by grace he is enabled to rise again. Finally, he shall be saved from the presence of sin, for at death the believer is for ever rid of his evil nature.\par \par Now it is that third aspect of salvLVALation which concerns us in this present series of articles, namely, the believer\rquote s perseverance: his perseverance in the fight of faith. The doctrine which is to be before us relates to the Christian\rquote s being saved from the power of indwelling sin during the interval which elapses between his being saved from its penalty and the moment when he will be saved from its presence. Between his being saved from Hell and his actual entrance into Heaven he needs saving from himself, saving from this evil world in which he is still left, saving from the devil who as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour. The journey from Egypt to Canaan lies not for the most part through green pastures and by the still waters but across an arid desert with all its trials and testings, and few who left that House of Bondage reached the Land of milk and honey: the great majority fell in the wilderness through their unbelief\emdash types of numerous professors who begin well but fail to endure unto the end. There are multitudes in Christendom to-day deluded with the idea that a mere historical faith in the Gospel ensures their reaching Heaven: who verily suppose they have "received Christ as their personal Savior" simply because they believe that He died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all those who repudiate their own righteousness and trust in Him. They imagine that if under the influence of religious emotion and the pressing appeals of an evangelist, and assured that "John 3:16 means what it says", they were persuaded to "become Christians", that therefore all is now well with them: that having obtained a ticket for Glory they may, like passengers on a train, relax and go to sleep, confident that in due time they shall arrive at their desired destination. By such deceptions Satan chloroforms myriads into Hell. So widespread is this deadly delusion that one who undertakes to expose its sophistry is certain to be regarded by many as a heretic.\par \par The Christian life commenceLVALs amid the throes of the new birth, under acute travail of soul. When the Spirit of God begins His work in the heart conscience is convicted, the terrors of the Law are felt, the wrath of a sin-hating God becomes real. As the requirements of Divine holiness begin to be apprehended the soul, so long accustomed to having its own way, "kicks against the pricks," and only in t\par \b Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \par Chapter 1\par INTRODUCTION\b0\par \par In previous volumes we have expounded at some length (though not in this precise order) the great truths of Divine Election or Predestination unto salvation; the Atonement or perfect Satisfaction which Christ rendered unto the Law on behalf of His people; fallen man\rquote s total impotency unto good; the miracle of Regeneration, whereby the elect (who are born into this world dead in trespasses and sins) are quickened into newness of life; Justification by faith, whereby the believing sinner is delivered from the curse of the Law, the righteousness of Christ being reckoned to his account; the believer\rquote s Sanctification, whereby he is set apart unto God, constituted a temple of the Holy Spirit, delivered from the reigning power of sin, and made meet for Heaven. It is therefore fitting that we should now take up the complementary and completing truth of the final perseverance of the saints, or the infrustrable certainty of their entrance into the Inheritance purchased for them by Christ and unto which they have been begotten by the Spirit.\par \par This blessed subject has been an occasion for fierce strife in the theological world, and nowhere is the breach between Calvinists and Arminians more apparent than in their diverse views of this doctrine. The former regard it as the very salt of the covenant, as one of the principal mercies purchased by the redemption of Christ, as one of the richest jewels which adorns the Gospel\rquote s crown, as one of the choicest cordials for the reviving of fainting saints, as one of the greatesLVALt incentives to practical holiness. But with the latter it is the very reverse. Arminians regard this doctrine as an invention of the Devil, as highly dishonoring to God, as a poisoning of the Gospel fountain, as giving license to self-indulgence and being subversive of all real piety. In this instance it is impossible to seek a golden mean between two extremes, for one party must be extremely right and the other extremely wrong.\par \par While we have no doubt whatever in which of those two camps the truth is to be found, yet we are far from allowing that Calvinists have always presented this doctrine in its Scriptural proportions; yea it is our firm conviction that during the last two or three generations especially it has been dealt with by many novices in such a manner as to do far more evil than good. Large numbers of men have contended for the "Security of the Saints" in such a crude and lopsided way that not a few godly souls were stumbled, and in their revolt against such extremism supposed their only safeguard was to reject the whole subject in toto. Such a course was wrong: if some amateur would-be-bakers turn out uneatable loaves, that is no reason why I should henceforth decline all bread\emdash I should be the loser if I acted so radically.\par \par We have no sympathy whatever with the bald and unqualified declaration "Once saved always saved." In a publication issued by a widely-known "Bible Institute" appears the following. "I went to the death cell of that condemned man in prison a few days ago. I went to tell him of a pardon from my King. I had no right to offer him a pardon from the state . . . but I could tell him of the One who took his place on Calvary\rquote s cross, offering eternal redemption from the penalty of sin, so that he could be justified before the \lquote Judge of all the earth\rquote in the court of heaven, for all the endless ages. Thank God! I found that man clear on the plan of salvation, for years ago under the ministry of he had accepted Jesus as his persoLVALnal Savior. But through the years he had grown cold and indifferent: he had lost his fellowship with his Lord, not his salvation. And the result was a life of sin. It took an awful experience to turn him from his self-willed way; but as I talked with him in his prison cell, I was convinced that he was born again and repentant for his crime."\par \par While it lies entirely outside our province to form any judgment as to the eternal destiny of that murderer, yet a few comments on the preacher\rquote s account of the above incident seem to be called for. What impression is likely to be made on the mind of the average light-headed professor by the reading of such a case? What effect is it calculated to produce upon those church members who are walking arm in arm with the world? First, we are told that this murderer was "clear on the plan of salvation": so also is the Devil, but what does such mental knowledge avail him! Next it is said that years before this condemned man "had accepted Jesus as his personal Savior" under the ministry of a certain well-known "Revivalist." But before any soul can receive Christ as Savior, he must first throw down the weapons of his rebellion, repent of his sins, and surrender to Christ as Lord.\par \par The Savior is the Holy One of God, who saves His people "from their sins" (Matt. 1:2 1) and not in their sins: who saves them from the love and dominion of their sins. How different was the preaching of Spurgeon from that of the cheapjack "evangelists" who have followed him. Said he, "Go not to God and ask for mercy with sin in thy hand. What would you think of the rebel who appeared before the face of his sovereign and asked for pardon with the dagger sticking in his belt and with the declaration of his rebellion on his breast? Surely he would deserve double doom for thus mocking his monarch while he pretended to be seeking mercy. If a wife has forsaken her husband do you think she would have the impudence, with brazen forehead, to come back and ask his pardon leaning LVAL on the arm of her paramour? Yet so it is with you\emdash perhaps asking for mercy and going on in sin\emdash praying to be reconciled to God and yet harboring and indulging your lusts. . . cast away your sin or He cannot hear you. If you lift up unholy hands with a lie in your right hand, prayer is worthless on your lips" (C.H.S., 1860).\par \par Returning to the above incident. This preacher declares of the man in the condemned cell, "But through the years he had grown cold and indifferent: he had lost his fellowship with his Lord, not his salvation, and the result was a life of sin." Such a statement is a flat contradiction in terms. Salvation and sin are opposites. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Divine salvation is a supernatural work which produces supernatural effects. It is a miracle of grace which causes the wilderness to blossom as the rose. It is known by its fruits. It is a lie to call a tree good if it bears evil fruit. Justification is evidenced by sanctification. The new birth is made manifest by a new life. Where one makes a profession of being saved and then follows it with "a life of sin" it is a case of "the dog turning again to his vomit and the washed sow to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Pet. 2:22).\par \par Before dismissing this case a word should be said upon the preacher\rquote s statement "I could tell him of the One who took his place on Calvary\rquote s cross" which occurs, be it noted, at the beginning of the narrative. Surely the first thing to press upon a murderer would be the awfulness of his condition: to remind him that he had not only grievously wronged a fellow-creature, but had sinned against the Holy One; to faithfully set before him the solemn fact that in a few days he would have to appear before the Divine Judge. Then he could speak of the amazing grace of God which had provided a Savior for sinners, even the very chief of sinners, and that He is freely offered to alLVAL!l by the Gospel, on the terms of repentance and faith. But the Scriptures nowhere warrant us to tell any indifferent, impenitent sinner that Christ \lquote took his place on the cross": the substitutionary work of Christ is a truth for the comfort of believers and not a sop for unbelievers. 0 the ignorance and confusion now obtaining in Christendom.\par \par In the N. T. the salvation of God is presented under three tenses: past, present and future. As a work "begun" (Phil. 1:6), but not completed in a moment of time. "Who hath saved us" (2 Tim. 1:9), "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12), "now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom. 13:11). These verses do not refer to three different salvations, but to three distinct phases and stages of salvation: salvation as an accomplished fact, as a present process, and as a future prospect. First, God saves from the pleasure of sin, causing the heart to loathe what it formerly loved. That which is displeasing to God is made bitter to the soul, and sin becomes its greatest grief and burden. Next, faith is communicated by the Spirit and the penitent sinner is enabled to believe the Gospel, and thereby he is saved from the penalty of sin. Then it is he enters upon the Christian life, wherein he is called upon to "fight the good fight of faith", for there are enemies both within and without which seek to bring about his destruction.\par \par For that "fight" God has provided adequate armor (Eph. 6:11), which the Christian is bidden to take unto himself. For that fight he is furnished with effective weapons, but these he must make good use of. For that fight spiritual strength is available (2 Tim. 2:1), yet it has to be diligently and trustfully sought. It is in this fight, a lifelong process, a conflict in which no furloughs are granted, the Christian is being saved from the power of sin. In it he receives many wounds, but he betakes himself to the great Physician for healing. In it he is often cast down, but by grace LVAL"he is enabled to rise again. Finally, he shall be saved from the presence of sin, for at death the believer is for ever rid of his evil nature.\par \par Now it is that third aspect of salvation which concerns us in this present series of articles, namely, the believer\rquote s perseverance: his perseverance in the fight of faith. The doctrine which is to be before us relates to the Christian\rquote s being saved from the power of indwelling sin during the interval which elapses between his being saved from its penalty and the moment when he will be saved from its presence. Between his being saved from Hell and his actual entrance into Heaven he needs saving from himself, saving from this evil world in which he is still left, saving from the devil who as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour. The journey from Egypt to Canaan lies not for the most part through green pastures and by the still waters but across an arid desert with all its trials and testings, and few who left that House of Bondage reached the Land of milk and honey: the great majority fell in the wilderness through their unbelief\emdash types of numerous professors who begin well but fail to endure unto the end. There are multitudes in Christendom to-day deluded with the idea that a mere historical faith in the Gospel ensures their reaching Heaven: who verily suppose they have "received Christ as their personal Savior" simply because they believe that He died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all those who repudiate their own righteousness and trust in Him. They imagine that if under the influence of religious emotion and the pressing appeals of an evangelist, and assured that "John 3:16 means what it says", they were persuaded to "become Christians", that therefore all is now well with them: that having obtained a ticket for Glory they may, like passengers on a train, relax and go to sleep, confident that in due time they shall arrive at their desired destination. By such deceptions Satan chloroforms mF LVALV yriads into Hell. So widespread is this deadly delusion that one who undertakes to expose its sophistry is certain to be regarded by many as a heretic.\par \par The Christian life commences amid the throes of the new birth, under acute travail of soul. When the Spirit of God begins His work in the heart conscience is convicted, the terrors of the Law are felt, the wrath of a sin-hating God becomes real. As the requirements of Divine holiness begin to be apprehended the soul, so long accustomed to having its own way, "kicks against the pricks," and only in t\par \pard\cf1\fs22\par } LVAL${\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sl240\slmult1\lang2058\b\f0\fs24 Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \par Chapter 2\par ITS IMPORTANCE\b0\par \par The theme of this present series of articles is far more than a theological dogma or sectarian tenet: it is an essential portion of that Faith once for all delivered to the saints, concerning which we are exhorted to "contend earnestly". In it is displayed, respectively, the honor and glory of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and therefore they who repudiate this truth cast a most horrible aspersion upon the character of the triune Jehovah. The final perseverance of the saints is one of the grand and distinctive blessings proclaimed by the Gospel, being an integral part of salvation itself, and therefore any outcry against this doctrine is an attack upon the very foundations of the believer\rquote s comfort and assurance. How can I go on my way rejoicing if there be doubts in my mind whether God will continue to deal graciously with me and complete that work which He has begun in my soul? How can I sincerely thank God for having delivered me from the wrath to come if it is quite possible I may yet be cast into Hell?\par \par Above we have said that the honor and glory of Jehovah is bound up in the final perseverance of the saints: let us now proceed to amplify that assertion. God the Father predestinated His people "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29), which conformity is not fully wrought in any of them in this life, but awaits the day of Christ\rquote s appearing (1 John 3:2). Now is the Father\rquote s eternal purpose placed in jeopardy by the human will? is its fulfillment contingent upon human conduct? or, having ordained the end will He not also make infallibly effectual all means to that end? That predestination is founded upon His love: "I have loved thee (says the Father to each LVAL%of His elect) with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" (Jer. 31:3). Nor is there any variation in His love, for God is not fickle like us: "I am the Lord, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Mal. 3:6). Were it possible for one of God\rquote s elect to totally apostatize and finally perish it would mean the Father had purposed something which He failed to effect and that His love was thwarted.\par \par Consider God the Son in His mediatorial character. The elect were committed unto Him as a trust by the Father: said He Thine they were and Thou gayest them Me" (John 17:6). In the covenant of redemption Christ offered to act as their Surety and to serve as their Shepherd. This involved the most stupendous task which the history of the universe records: the Son\rquote s becoming incarnate, magnifying the Divine Law by rendering to it perfect obedience, pouring out His soul unto death as a sacrifice to Divine justice, overcoming death and the grave, and ultimately presenting \lquote faultless" before God (Jude 24) the whole of His redeemed. As the good Shepherd He died for His sheep, and as the great Shepherd it is His office to preserve them from this present evil world. If He failed in this task, if any of His sheep were lost, where would be His faithfulness to His engagement? where would be the efficacy of His atonement? how could He triumphantly exclaim at the end "Behold land the children which God hath given Me" (Heb. 2:13)?\par \par The person of the Holy Spirit is equally concerned in this vital matter. It is not sufficiently realized by the saints that they are as definitely indebted to the third Person of the Godhead as truly as they are to the first and second Persons. The Father ordained their salvation, the Son in His mediatorial character purchased it, and the Spirit "applies" and effectuates it. It is the blessed Spirit\rquote s work to make good the Father\rquote s purpose and the Son\rquote s atonement: "He saved us by the washiLVAL&ng of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). Said Christ to His disciples "I will not leave you orphans (though I leave this world): I will come to you" (John 14:18). That promise given on the eve of His death was made good in the gift of the Spirit "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, the same shall teach you all things" (John 14:26). Christ\rquote s redeemed were thus entrusted to the love and care of the Spirit, and should any of them be lost where would be the Spirit\rquote s sufficiency? where His power? where His faithfulness?\par \par This, then, is no trivial doctrine we are now concerned with, for the most momentous considerations are inseparably connected with it. We are satisfied it is because of their failure to realize this that so many professing Christians perceive not the seriousness of their assenting to the opposing dogma of the total apostasy of saints. If they understood more clearly what was involved in affirming that some who were truly born again fell from grace, continued in a course of sin, died impenitent and were eternally lost, they would be slower to set their seal unto that which carried such horrible implications. Nor may we regard it as a matter of indifference where such grave consequences are concerned. For any of the elect to perish would necessarily entail a defeated Father, who was balked of the realization of His purpose: a disappointed Son, who would never see the full travail of His soul and be satisfied; and a disgraced Spirit, who had failed to preserve those entrusted to His care. From such awful errors may we be delivered.\par \par The importance of this truth further appears from the prominent place which is accorded it in the Holy Scriptures. Whether we turn to the O. T. or the New it makes no difference; whether we consult the Psalms or the Prophets, the Gospels or the Epistles, we find it occupies a conspicuous position. If we cited every reference we should have to transcribe literally hundreLVAL'ds of verses. Instead, we will quote only a few of the lesser known ones. Here is one from the Pentateuch:\par \par "He loved the people, all His saints are in Thy hand" (Deut. 33:3). One from the Historical books: "He will keep the feet of His saints" (1 Sam. 2:8). One from Job: "When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold" (23:10). One from the Psalms: "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me" (138:8). One from the Proverbs: "The root of the righteous shall not be moved" (12:3 contrast Matt. 13:2 1). One from the Prophets: "I will put My fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from Me" (Jer. 32:40). These are fair samples of the Divine promises throughout the O. T.\par \par Observe the place given to this truth in the teaching of Christ. "Upon this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). "False Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if possible, even the elect" (Mark 14:22)\emdash it is not possible for Satan to fatally deceive any of the elect. "Whosoever cometh to Me and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built a house and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the storm beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for it was founded upon a rock" (Luke 6:47-48). "This is the Father\rquote s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing" (John 6:39). The writings of the apostles are full of it. "For 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" (Rom. 5:10). "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" (James 2:5). "Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (1 Pet. 1:5). "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ~f they had been of us, they LVAL(would have continued with us" (1 John 2:19). "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling" (Jude 24).\par \par The tremendous importance of this doctrine is further evidenced by the fact that it involves the very integrity of the Scriptures. There is no mistaking their teaching on this subject: the passages quoted above make it unmistakably plain that every section of them affirms the security of the saints. He then who declares the saints are insecure so long as they remain in this evil world, who insists that they may be eternally lost, yea that some of them\emdash like king Saul and Judas\emdash have perished, repudiates the reliability of Holy Writ and signifies that the Divine promises are worthless. 0 my reader, weigh this well: the very veracity of the Lord God is concerned therein. He has promised to keep the feet of His saints, to deliver them from evil, to preserve them unto His heavenly kingdom, and "God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19).\par \par Elisha Coles the Puritan used a forcible argument from the less to the greater, the substance of which shall here be given. Since the Lord made good His word in things of a lower consideration, how much more will He in the eternal salvation of His people. If certain persons were destined by Him to eminent service in this world, notwithstanding the greatest of difficulties and natural impossibilities which stood in the way to obstruct it, how much more certain is the accomplishment of His purpose concerning those vessels of mercy which He has ordained for heavenly glory! God promised Abraham that his seed should have the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:7). Years passed and when little short of a century his wife was still barren, but a miracle was wrought and Isaac was born. Isaac married and for twenty years his wife remained childless, when in answer to prayer the Lord gave her conception (25:21). ThLVAL)ey had two children but the Lord rejected the elder, and the younger to whom the promise belonged was in daily danger of being killed by Esau (27:41), and to save his life he fled to Padanaram.\par \par While in Padanaram Laban dealt harshly with him, and when he decided to return home his father-in-law followed him with evil intentions, but the Lord interposed and warned him in a dream (Gen. 31:23, 24). But no sooner had Jacob escaped from Laban than Esau comes against him with four hundred men, determined to revenge his old grudge (32:6), but the Lord melted his heart in a moment and caused him to receive Jacob with affection. When Simeon and Levi so highly provoked the Canaanites there appeared to be every prospect that Jacob and his family would be exterminated (34:25), but the Lord caused such a terror to fall on them that they touched not a single one (35:5). When a seven years famine came on the land, threatening to consume them, by a strange providence the Lord provided for them in Egypt. There, later, Pharaoh sought their destruction; but in vain. By His mighty power Jehovah brought them forth from the house of bondage, opened a way through the Red Sea, conducted them across the wilderness and brought them into Canaan. Shall He do less for the spiritual seed of Abraham to whom He has promised the heavenly Canaan for an everlasting heritage?\par \par Joseph was one whom the Lord would honor, and in several dreams intimated he should be exalted to a position of dignity and preeminence (Gen. 37). Because of that his brethren hated him, determined to frustrate those predictions and slay him (v. 18). And how shall Joseph escape? for they are ten to one and he the least. In due course they cast him into a pit, where it seemed likely he must perish; but in the good providence of God some Midianites passed that way ere any wild beast had found him. He is delivered into their hands and they bring him to Egypt and sell him to the captain of Pharaoh\rquote s guard \emdash a man not at all likely toLVAL* show kindness to him. But the Lord is pleased to give him favor in his master\rquote s eyes (39:3, 4), yet if Joseph\rquote s hopes now rose how quickly were they disappointed. Through the lies of his mistress he was cast into prison, where he spent not a few days but many years. What prospect now of preferment? Nevertheless the counsel of the Lord was made good and he became lord over Egypt!\par \par God promised the kingdom of Israel unto David and while yet a youth he was anointed to it (1 Sam. 16:13). What! notwithstanding all interveniences? Yes, for the Lord had said it and shall He not do it! Therefore if Saul cast a javelin at him, unsuspected, to nail him to the wall, a sharpness of eye and agility of body shall be given him to discern and avoid it (18:11). If he determined evil against him, Jonathan is moved to inform him (19:7). If he send messengers to Naioth to arrest him, they shall forget their errand and fall a prophesying (2 0-24). If he be in a city that will betray him, and no friend there to acquaint him of his peril, the Lord Himself is his intelligencer and sends him out (23:12). If Saul\rquote s army encompasses him about and no way to escape is left, the Philistines invade his land and the king turns away to meet them (vv. 26, 27). Though there were not on earth to deliver "He (said David) shall send from heaven and save me" (Ps. 57:3). Shortly after Saul was slain and David came to the throne!\par \par "And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said 0 altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense, and men\rquote s bones shall be burnt upon thee" (1 Kings 13:1, 2). Most remarkable was this prophecy. The kingdom of Judah had been despised and deserted by the ten tribes, yet a day will coLVAL+me when the house of David should so recover its power that a member of it would demolish that altar. Nothing seems more contingent and arbitrary than the giving of names to persons, yet here the name of this man is foretold centuries before his birth, and in due time he was called Josiah. During the interval of three hundred and fifty years between this prediction and its fulfillment (2 Kings 23:15, 16) things transpired which made dead against its accomplishment. Athaliah determined to destroy all the royal seed of David, but Joash is stolen from the rest and preserved (2 Kings 11:2). Hezekiah falls sick unto death, but fifteen years is added to his life rather than Manasseh, who must be Josiah\rquote s grandfather, should be unborn (20:6, 21).\par \par "Paul was a chosen vessel, appointed to preach Christ to the Gentiles (Acts 9: 15) and at last to bear witness of Him at Rome (23:11). This must be done although bonds, imprisonment and death itself do attend him in every place. If, therefore they lie in wait for him at Damascus and watch the gates night and day to kill him, he shall be let down by the wall in a basket and so escape them (Acts 9:24, 25). If all Jerusalem be in an uproar to kill him the chief captain shall come in with an army and rescue him (21:31, 32) though no friend to Paul nor to his cause. If more than forty men had bound themselves with an oath that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him, his kinsmen shall hear of it, and by his means the chief captain shall be his friend again and grant him a sufficient convoy (23:14-23). . .not his being once stoned, nor his thrice suffering shipwreck, nor anything else, shall make void the purpose of God for bearing witness of Christ at Rome" (Elisha Coles).\par \par Now my reader, why, think you, are such instances as the above recorded in the sacred Scriptures? Is it not for our instruction and consolation? Is it not to assure us that the promises of God are unimpeachable, that His counsel shall stand, that once theLVAL, word has gone forth from His mouth all earth and hell combined is powerless to negative it? If the Lord was so exact in carrying out His word in these lesser things, which related only to time and earth, executing His purpose despite all outward oppositions, working miracles in order to accomplish His pleasure, how much more will He be punctilious in securing the eternal welfare of those whom He has appointed to Heavenly glory! If He bore His people of old "upon eagles wings" (Ex. 19:17), above the reach of danger, if He kept them as "the apple of His eye" (Deut. 32:10)\emdash with all possible care and tenderness\emdash till He brought them to Himself, think you that He will now do less for any for whom Christ died!\par \par One of the outstanding glories of the Gospel is its promise of eternal security to all who truly believe it. The Gospel presents no third-rate Physician who is competent to treat only the milder cases, but One who heals "all manner of sickness" who is capable of curing the most desperate cases. It proclaims no feeble Redeemer, but One who is "mighty to save": though the world, the flesh and the Devil, combine against Him, He cannot be frustrated. He who triumphed over the grave cannot be thwarted by any feebleness or fickleness in His people. "He is able (which would not be true if their unwillingness could balk Him) to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him" (Heb. 7:25). Those whom He pardons He preserves. Therefore each one who trusts in Him, though conscious of his own weakness and wickedness, may confidently exclaim "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."\par \par The importance of this truth appears clearly if we suppose the opposite. Assume that those who flee to Christ for refuge should finally end in the regions of woe: then what? Why, to what purpose would be the proclamation of a Gospel which announced "so-great salvation" only for its participants to be eventuallb LVALr y disappointed?\emdash it would be no better than a beautiful mirage seen by parched travelers in the desert: presenting to their view a life-giving stream, only to mock those who sought it. Why, to what purpose did Christ offer Himself as a sacrifice to God if His blood avails not for those who trust in it? Why, to what purpose is the Holy Spirit given to God\rquote s children if He is unable to subdue the flesh in them and overcome their proclivities to wander? To what purpose is the Divine gift of faith if it fails its possessor in the ultimate outcome? If the final perseverance of the saints be a delusion, then one must close his Bible and sit down in despair.\par \par \pard\cf1\fs22\par } LVAL.{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sl240\slmult1\lang2058\b\f0\fs24 Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \par Chapter 3\par ITS NATURE\b0\par \par We purpose dealing with this theme, and particularly with that aspect of it which is now to be before us, in rather a different manner than that which was followed by most of the Calvinistic divines in the past; or rather, we propose to throw most of our emphasis upon another angle of it than what they did. Their principal object was to establish this truth, by rebutting the error of Arminians, who insist that those who have been redeemed by Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit may nevertheless totally and finally apostatize from the Faith, and so eternally perish. Our chief aim will rather be to counteract the crude manner in which this doctrine has been only too often handled in more recent times and the evil use to which an adulterous generation has put it. While Arminianism has by no means disappeared from Christendom, yet it is the more recent inroads of Antinomianism (the repudiation of the Divine Law and the turning of God\rquote s grace into lasciviousness) which have wrought the most damage in our own lifetime.\par \par It is not sufficiently realized by many of the Lord\rquote s own people that far more harm than good is likely to be done by immature "Gospellers", who have more zeal than knowledge, and who expect to reap a harvest (secure "results") before the ground is ploughed and harrowed. Many an ignorant evangelist has given his hearers the impression that once they "accept Christ as their personal Savior" they need have no concern about the future, and thousands have been lulled into a fatal sleep by the soothing lullaby "once saved, always saved". To imagine that if I commit my soul and its eternal interests into the hands of the Lord henceforth relieves me of all obligation, is to accept sugar-coatedLVAL/ poison from the father of lies. When I deposit my money in the bank for safe custody, then my responsibility is at an end: it is now their duty to protect the same. But it is far otherwise with the soul at conversion\emdash the Christian\rquote s responsibility to avoid temptation and shun evil, to use the means of grace and seek after good, lasts as long as he is left in this world.\par \par If our ancestors erred on the side of prolixity their descendants have often injured the cause of Christ by their brevity. Bare statements, without qualification or amplification, are frequently most misleading. Brief generalizations may content the superficial, who lack both the incentive and the patience to make a thorough examination of any subject, but those who value the Truth sufficiently to be willing to "buy" it (Prov. 23:23) appreciate a detailed analysis, if so be that their contemplation thereof enables them to obtain an intelligent and balanced grasp of an important Scriptural theme. The man who accepts a piece of money\emdash be it of paper or metal\emdash after a cursory glance, is far more likely to be deceived with a counterfeit than he who scrutinizes it closely. And they who give assent to a mere summarized declaration of this doctrine are in far greater danger of being deluded than the ones who are prepared to carefully and prayerfully examine a systematic exposition thereof. It is, of course, for the latter we write.\par \par Much confusion and misunderstanding has been caused through failure to clearly define terms. Those who assail this doctrine usually set up a "man of straw" and then suppose they have achieved a notable victory because so little difficulty was experienced in demolishing so feeble an object; and it must be confessed that only too often those who have posed as the champions of the Truth are largely to blame for this. It needs little argument to demonstrate that one who is in love with sin and drinks in iniquity like water does not have his face Heavenwards, no matter whLVAL0at experience of grace he claims to have had in the past. Yet it must not be concluded that the Arminian has gained the day when he appeals to the Christian\rquote s spiritual instincts and asks: Does it comport with God\rquote s holiness for Him to own as His dear child one who is trampling upon His commandments? The Calvinist would return a negative reply to such an iniquity as promptly and emphatically as would his opponent.\par \par "The righteous shall hold on his way" (Job 17:9). As Spurgeon pertinently pointed out, "The Scripture does not teach that a man will reach his journey\rquote s end without continuing to travel along the road; it is not true that one act of faith is all, and that nothing is needed of daily faith, prayer and watchfulness. Our doctrine is the very opposite, namely, that the righteous shall hold on his way: or, in other words, shall continue in faith, in repentance, in prayer, and under the influence of the grace of God. We do not believe in salvation by a physical force which treats a man as a dead log, and carries him whether he will it or not towards heaven. No, \lquote he holds on his way\rquote , he is personally active about the matter, and plods on up hill and down dale till he reaches his journey\rquote s end. We never thought that merely because a man supposes that he once entered on this way he may therefore conclude that he is certain of salvation, even if he leaves the way immediately. No, but we say that he who truly receives the Holy Spirit, so that he believes in the. Lord Jesus Christ, shall not go back, but persevere in the way of faith. . .We detest the doctrine that a man who has once believed in Jesus will be saved even if he altogether forsook the path of obedience."\par \par In order to define our terms we must make it quite clear who it is that perseveres and what it is in which he perseveres. It is the saints, and none other. This is evident from many passages of Scripture. "He will keep the feet of His saints" (1 Sam. 2:9). "For the Lord lovethLVAL1 judgment and forsaketh not His saints: they are preserved forever" (Ps. 37:28). "He preserveth the souls of His saints: He delivereth them out of the hand of the enemy" (Ps. 87:10). "He maketh intercession for the saints" (Rom. 8:27). "He shall come to be glorified in His saints" (2 Thess. 1:10). All such are preserved in God\rquote s love and favor, and accordingly they persevere in the Faith, eschewing all damnable errors; they persevere in a life of faith, clinging to Christ like a drowning man to a life-buoy; they persevere in the path of holiness and obedience, walking by the light of God\rquote s Word and being directed by His precepts\emdash not perfectly so, nor without wandering, but in the general tenor of their lives.\par \par Now a "saint" is a sanctified or separated one. First, he is one of those who were chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world and predestinated to be conformed unto the image of His Son. Second, he is one of those who were redeemed by Christ, who gave His life a ransom for them. Third, he is one who has been regenerated by a miracle of grace, brought from death unto life, and thereby set apart from those who are dead in sin. Fourth, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, whereby he is sealed unto the day of redemption. But how may I know whether or not I am a saint? By impartially examining myself in the light of Holy Writ to see if I possess the character and conduct of one. A "saint" is one whose back is toward the world and his face toward God; whose affections are drawn unto things above, who yearns for communion with his Beloved, who grieves over that in himself which displeases God, who makes conscience of his sins and confesses them to God, who prayerfully endeavors to walk as becometh a Christian, but who daily mourns his many offences.\par \par Only those persevere unto the end who have experienced the saving grace of God. Now grace is not only a Divine attribute inherent in His character, it is also a Divine principle which He imparts to His peoLVAL2ple. It is both objective and subjective. Objectively, it is that free favor with which God eternally and unchangingly regards His people. Subjectively, it is that which He communicates to their souls, which resists their native depravity and enables them to hold on their way. A saint is one who not only has "found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen. 6:8), but who has also received "abundance of grace" (Rom. 5:17) \emdash "unto every one of us is grace given" (Eph. 4:7). The Lord "giveth grace unto the humble" Games 4:6), and His grace is an operative, influential, and transforming thing. The Lord Jesus is "full of grace and truth," and of His fulness do all His people receive, "and grace for grace" (John 1:14,16). That grace teaches its recipients "to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world" (Titus 2:11, 12). They come to the Throne of Grace and "find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16) and thereby prove the Divine declaration "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12:9).\par \par From all that has been pointed Out above it follows that when we affirm the final perseverance of the saints we do not mean,\par \par 1. That every professing Christian will reach Heaven. The sprinkling of a few drops of water on the head of an infant does not qualify it for the inheritance of the saints in light, for in a few years\rquote time that child is seen to be no different than others who received not this ordinance. Nor does an avowal of faith on the part of an adult demonstrate him to be a new creature in Christ. Many born of Papish parents have been convinced of the folly of bowing before idols, confessing their sins to a priest and other such absurdities, but conversion to Protestantism is not the same as regeneration, as many evidenced in the days of Luther. Many a Jew has been convinced of the Messianic claims of Jesus Christ and has believed on Him as such, yet this is no proof of saving grace, as John 2:23, 24; 6:66 plainly shows. LVAL3Thousands more have been emotionally stirred under the hypnotic appeals of evangelists and have "taken their stand for Christ" and "joined the church", but their interest quickly evaporated and they soon returned to their wallowing in the mire.\par \par 2. Nor do we mean that seeming grace cannot be lost. Satan is a clever imitator so that his tares are indistinguishable by men from the wheat. By reading theological works and sitting under the preaching of the Word an attentive mind can soon acquire an intellectual acquaintance with the Truth and be able to discuss the mysteries of the Gospel more readily and fluently than can an unlettered child of God. Keen mentality may also be accompanied by a naturally religious disposition which expresses itself in fervent devotions, self-sacrificing effort and proselytizing zeal. But if such an one relapse and repudiates the Truth, that does not overthrow our doctrine: it simply shows he was never born of God. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for of they had been of us, they would have continued with us" (1 John 2:19). Such characters had never been received into the fellowship of apostolic assemblies unless they gave credible appearance of possessing real grace, yet their subsequent departure was proof they had it not. "Whosoever hath not (in reality) from him shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have" (Luke 8:18).\par \par 3. Nor do we mean that initial and preparatory grace is a guarantee of glorification. What percentage of blossoms on the apple and plum trees mature and bear fruit? And that is an adumbration in the natural of what is found in the spiritual realm. Many a promising bud is nipped by the frosts of spring and never develops into a flower. In like manner there is a large number who so far from despising and rejecting it, "receive the Word with joy, yet hath not root in himself, but dureth from a while" (Matt. 13:20, 21). That was the case when Christ Himself sowed the Seed, and many a faithful servant of His has LVAL4found the same thing duplicated in his own ministerial labors. How often has he seen the buds of promise appearing in the lives of some of his young people, only to be saddened later by the discovery that their "goodness was as a morning cloud and as the early dew it went away" (Hos. 6:4). "Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light" (John 5:35) said Christ of certain ones who sat under the preaching of His forerunner; but observe He declared not that they had "sorrowed unto repentance".\par \par Blazing comets and meteors are soon spent and fall from heaven like lightning, but the stars keep their orbits and stations\emdash as do the spiritual "stars" held fast in Christ\rquote s right hand (Rev. 2:1). There is an initial grace which produces a real but transient effect, and there is a saving grace which secures a permanent result. Hebrews 6:4, 5 supplies a solemn illustration of the former. There we read of those "who were once enlightened", that is, whose minds were illumined from on high, so that they perceived clearly the excellency of Divine things. They "tasted of the heavenly gift," so that for a season they lost their relish for the things of the world. They "were made partakers of the Holy Spirit," being convicted by Him of their sins and brought to say with Balaam "let me die the death of the righteous" (Num. 23:10); but thorns sprang up and choked the good Seed, so that they "bring (forth) no fruit to perfection" (Luke 8:14). Such are cast forth "like an untimely birth."\par \par 4. Nor do we mean that true grace if left in our hands would not be lost. If Adam and Eve when left to themselves lost their innocency, how much more would those who are still affected by indwelling sin destroy themselves, did not the Lord renew them in the inner man "day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16). Regeneration does not make the Christian a God\emdash independent and self-sufficient. No, it unites him as a branch to the true Vine, as a member of Christ\rquote s mystical body; and just as a bough detachedLVAL5 from the tree immediately withers and as an arm or leg cut off from its body is a lifeless thing, so would the saint perish if it were possible to sever him from the Savior. But the believer is not his own keeper: "your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3) declares the apostle. At the new birth our self-righteousness received its death-wound, so that we were glad to look outside of ourselves to the righteousness of Another, and the more we grow in grace the more conscious are we of our weakness and the more are we made "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."\par \par 5. Nor do we mean that true grace may not be hindered in its operations and suffer a relapse. "The flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Gal. 5:17): being contrary the one to the other, there is ever a warfare going on between them, one being uppermost to-day and the other so tomorrow. Christian perseverance is to be gauged not so much from single actions as by the more regular habits of the soul. As the functions of the body may be hindered by a swoon or fit, as the activities of the mind are impaired by delirium, so the stirrings of indwelling grace may be interrupted by the power of our natural corruptions. The more the saint yields to the solicitations of the flesh, the feebler become the workings of the principle of grace. That true grace may suffer a serious, though not a fatal, relapse, appears in the cases of Noah, Abraham, David and Peter, which are recorded for our warning and not for our imitation. The health of the soul varies as does that of the body, and as the latter is frequently the consequence of our own carelessness and folly, such is always the case in connection with the former.\par \par 6. Nor do we mean that the comforts of true grace cannot be eclipsed. We may indeed lose the sense of it though not the substance. Communion with Christ is lost when we experience a fall by the way, yet union with Him is not severed thereby. Mutual comforts may be suspended between man and wife though the conjugal LVAL6knot be not dissolved. Believers may be separated from Christ\rquote s smile yet not so from His heart. If they wander from the Sun of righteousness how can they expect to enjoy His light and warmth. Sin and wretchedness, holiness and happiness are inseparably joined together. The way of the transgressor is hard, but peace and joy are the portion of the upright. As a parent suffers his child to scorch his fingers at the flame that he may learn to dread the fire, so God permits His people to lose their comforts for a season that they may prove the bitterness of sin, but He draws them back again unto Himself before they are destroyed thereby.\par \par 7. Nor do we mean that the presence of indwelling grace renders it unnecessary that its possessor should persevere. Yet this is one of the silly inferences which Arminians are fond of drawing. They say, "If it is absolutely certain that God will preserve His people from total apostasy, then there is no real need why they must persevere" - as well might we argue that it is unnecessary for us to breathe because God gives us breath, or that Hezekiah needed no longer to eat and drink because God had promised he should live another fifteen years. Wherever saving grace is bestowed it is accompanied by "the spirit of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:6) so that the soul is preserved from trifling with God or reasoning like a madman. Christians are called upon to work out their own salvation "with fear and trembling," not to conduct themselves recklessly, and to enable them thereto God worketh in them "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil 2:12, 13). Grace does not annul our responsibility but fits us to discharge it; it relieves from no duties, but equips for the performance of them.\par \par We turn now to the positive side: having dwelt upon what is not signified or implied by the final perseverance of the saints, let us now endeavor to show whereof it consists. And here it should be duly noted that the Holy Spirit has not restricted Himself to a single LVAL7expression but has used a great variety of words to describe this duty and blessing. In matters of great spiritual importance God has employed many different terms in His Word, for the instruction, comfort and support of His people. Out of the scores which set forth the believer\rquote s perseverance we may cite these. It is to "continue following the Lord our God" (1 Sam. 2:14), to "walk in the paths of righteousness" (Ps. 23:5), to be "steadfast in the Covenant" (Ps. 78:37), to "endure unto the end" (Matt. 24:13), to "deny self and take up the cross daily" (Luke 9:23), to "abide in Christ" (John 15:4), to "cleave unto the Lord" (Acts 1L23), to "press toward the mark" (Phil. 3:14), to "continue in the faith grounded and settled" (Col. 1:13), to "hold faith and a good conscience" (1 Tim. 1:19), to "hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Heb. 3:6), to "run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1), to "stablish our hearts" (James 5:8), to "be faithful unto death" (Rev. 2:10).\par \par In the limited space at our disposal it is advisable to epitomize the main branches of this subject under a few heads.\par \par 1. Spiritual perseverance is the maintaining of a holy profession or a continuance in the word and doctrine of Christ. Wherever saving faith is imparted the soul receives the Scriptures as a Divine revelation, as the very Word of God. Faith is the visive faculty of the heart, by which the majesty and excellency of the Truth is perceived and by which such conviction and certainty is conveyed that the soul knows it is none other than the living God speaking to him. Faith "hath received His testimony" and thereby "hath set to his seal that God is true" (John 3:33). Henceforth he takes his stand on the impregnable rock of Holy Writ and neither man nor Devil can move him therefrom: "the voice of a stranger he will not follow" (John 10:5). While one who is not regenerated may intellectually believe and verbally profess his faith in the whole of revealLVAL8ed Truth, yet no regenerated person will repudiate the same.\par \par "Some shall depart from the Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1). How many have done so within the memory of our older readers! Those who were looked upon as towers of orthodoxy succumbed to "evolutionism" and the "higher criticism." Those who were regarded as staunch Protestants became ensnared by Romanism. Multitudes of the rank and file who were once members of evangelical churches and teachers in the Sunday Schools, have been poisoned by infidelity and repudiated their former beliefs. But all such cases were merely the chaff being separated from the wheat, thereby causing the true to stand out more plainly from the false: "For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest" (1 Cor. 11:19). When many of Christ\rquote s disciples went back and walked no more with Him the apostles were not shaken, for when He asked them "Will ye also go away?" their spokesman answered "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:66, 68).\par \par "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed" (John 8:31). That is one of the marks of those who are disciples of Christ in reality and not only in appearance. They are all "taught of the Lord" (Isa. 54:13) and not merely by men, and "I know that whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it" (Eccl. 3:14). False Christs and false prophets may seek to beguile them, but it is not possible to deceive the elect (Matt. 24:24). Hymeneus and Philetus may err concerning the Truth, even denying the resurrection, and in consequence "overthrow the faith of some," yet we are at once assured "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His" (2 Tim. 2:17-19)\emdash none with a saving faith can be overthrown. And why? Because they are enablLVAL9ed to continue in God\rquote s Word. Uninfluenced by "current opinion" or "modern thought," the child o-f God even though the last one left on earth, would "hold fast the profession of faith without wavering" (Heb. 10:23).\par \par 2. The maintaining of holy affections and principles. It should be clearly understood that perseverance is not a distinct and particular grace, separate from all others, rather is it a virtue which crowns all virtues, a grace which sets a glory on every other grace. The first stirrings of the new life are seen in conviction of sin and contrition for the same, yet repentance is not an act to be performed once for all, but a grace to be exercised constantly. Faith is that which lays hold of Christ and obtains from Him pardon and cleansing, yet so far from that being something which needs not to be repeated, it is an experience which requires to be renewed day by day. The same holds good of love, of hope, of zeal. Perseverance is the continued exercise of holy affections and principles so that we do not merely trust for a while, love for awhile, obey for a while, and then cease; but forgetting those things which are behind we press forward to those before. "These all died in faith" (Heb. 11:13): they not only lived by faith, but they continued doing so to the very end of their earthly pilgrimage.\par \par "Blessed are they that mourn" (Matt. 5:4). Mark well the tense: not they that mourned in the past, but who still do so. Even Pharaoh and Ahab, yea Judas also, had transient qualms of conscience, but those were nothing more than the stirrings of nature. But the child of God has within him a deeper principle, a principle of holiness which is contrary to evil, and this makes its possessor grieve over his sinfulness. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness"; not only who once hungered after righteousness, but who long ardently for it now. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation" (James 1:12): how much theology is to be found in the grammar of ScrLVAL:ipture! "To whom coming as unto a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, precious" (1 Pet. 2:4): yes "coming" for fresh supplies of grace, for further counsel and instruction, for heart-reviving communion. "Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments" (Rev. 16:15): they upon whom the benediction of God rests are not those who once ran well, but whose graces continue in exercise.\par \par Christians are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:5). God does not preserve His people by the mere putting forth of physical power, but by renewing their graces, particularly their faith. It is through their continued reliance upon Christ, their trusting in the Divine promises and on God\rquote s perfections as engaged to fulfill them, their keeping of His commands and their overcoming the world (1 John 5:4) that the saints are secured from fatality. And their faith is maintained by Christ\rquote s constant intercession \emdash "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not"\emdash and God\rquote s response thereto, who fulfills "all the good pleasure of His goodness in them and the work of faith with power" (2 Thess. 1:11). This does not mean that the Christian\rquote s faith continues in unabated exercise all his days, for as the most fruitful tree passes through a wintertime of non-bearing so it often is in the experience of the believer, yet as the life is still in the tree though leafless so faith remains and bursts forth afresh. "Lord I believe, help Thou mine unbelief" expresses his general course.\par \par 3. The maintaining of holy conduct or good works. When a person s understanding has been supernaturally enlightened and his affections Divinely renewed there cannot but follow a radical change of conduct, though this is made more prominent and radical in some cases than in others. The difference is much more apparent in one who was thoroughly irreligious and guilty of gross outward sins before his new birtLVAL;h than another who was regulated by the training of pious parents and preserved from debauchery. Yet even with the latter a "new creation" must express itself in a new life: the Word will be read and meditated upon not so much as a duty but a delight, prayer will be engaged in not perfunctorily but heartily, the Lord\rquote s people will not only be respected but loved for whatever of Christ may be seen in them, honesty and truthfulness will mark his dealings with his fellows not only because this is right but because he would not grieve the Spirit, while daily work is performed not as an irksome task which must be done but as a service gladly rendered unto Him whose providence has wisely and graciously ordered his lot.\par \par At regeneration God imparts spiritual life to the soul, and all life is followed by motion and operation. Before the new birth the soul was spiritually dead, and at the new birth it was entirely passive, being wrought upon by God; but after the new birth the soul becomes active. Perseverance then is the endeavors of the soul to concur with God\rquote s quickening of it. Hence it is that the Christian life is often described under the figure of walking: "for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). The motions of the body are transferred to the soul, which by faith and love is conducted along the way of God\rquote s statutes (Ezek. 36:2 7). Walking is a voluntary action and the renewed soul has pleasure in the path of godliness. Walking is a steady and continuous action, and not a spasmodic and irregular one: so the Christian pursues an obedient course not by fits and starts but steadily and steadfastly. Walking is a progressive motion, moving onwards to a goal: so the Christian normally goes on "from strength to strength" (Ps. 84:7). Walking as such is incessant, for it ceases as soon as we sit down by the wayside: so the Christian life is a walking to the very end of his pilgrimLVAL<age and until Heaven is reached perfect rest is not entered into.\par \par "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" (Jude 20, 21). It is by such exhortations that the Christian is stirred to use the means that make for constancy. Care has to be taken if there is to be spiritual growth. It is not sufficient to be established in the faith, we must daily increase therein: the foundation is laid that a house may be erected thereon, and that is built steadily, bit by bit. For this, prayer is required: this is the channel through which health and strength is obtained. Neglect of prayer is followed by arrested growth, nay by decay of graces, for if we go not forward we backslide. To pray aright the assistance of the Holy Spirit has to be sought. Further, we must keep ourselves in God\rquote s love by avoiding everything which displeases Him and by maintaining close and regular communion with Him. Should we leave our first love, then we must repent and do the first works (Rev. 2:4). Finally, hope must be kept in exercise: the heart fixed upon the glorious prospect and consummation awaiting us.\par \par 4. Such maintaining of a holy profession, holy affections and holy action is necessary in order to salvation. The very term "salvation" clearly implies danger, and of none can it be said that they are completely saved until they are completely delivered from danger, and certainly the Christian is not so while sin remains in him and he is left in a wicked world and exposed to the assaults of the Evil One. "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh: for if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven" (Heb. 12:25). Multitudes of those who came out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, fed on the manna and drank of the water from the smitten rock, afterward perished in the wildLVAL=erness, and we are told "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition.. .wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 12:10, 11), for a holy God will no more be mocked now than He would be then.\par \par As we have seen in an earlier paragraph 1 Pet. 1:5 places salvation in the future\emdash as also does Rom. 13:11; 1 Tim. 4:16 \emdash unto which the saints are kept by the power of God through faith. Heaven can only be reached by continuing along the sole path that leads thither, namely, the "Narrow Way." Those who persevere not in faith and holiness, love and obedience, will assuredly perish. Whatever temporal faith, natural love, goodly attainments, and confident assurance may appear for a while, they are a bed shorter than a man can stretch himself upon and a covering narrower than the soul can wrap itself in (Isa. 28:20). "Many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many, and because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall (not merely wane or cool off, but) wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matt. 24:13). All temptations to deny the Faith, to forsake Christ, to go back unto the world, to give free rein to the lusts of the flesh, must be resisted to our last breath, or our profession will prove worthless.\par \par 5. Enablement for this perseverance is wrought in the saints by God. Their deliverance from a total and final falling away is not owing to any power or sufficiency in themselves. Though their moral agency be not impaired and though continuance in well doing be required of them, yet their enduring unto the end is not to be attributed unto their fidelity nor to the strength of the new nature which they received at regeneration. No, Christian perseverance depends wholly and entirely on the will and fidelity, the influence and energy of God, working in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure, making them perfect in every good work to do His will, woLVAL>rking in them that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:21). It is God, who having begun a good work in them, will carry it on until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). If the Holy Spirit were taken from the believer, and he left to himself to stand or fall, he would immediately cease to be a believer and fall totally from a state of grace" (S. Hopkins).\par \par Freely will any renewed person subscribe to the following lines:\emdash\par \par "If ever it should come to pass\par That any sheep of Christ should fall away,\par My feeble, fickle soul, alas!\par Would fall a thousand times a day;\par Were not Thy love as firm as free,\par Thou soon would\rquote st take it Lord, from me".\par \par 6. Christian perseverance is consistent with being sanctified but in part. It is most important that this be clearly stated, lest the Lord\rquote s people conclude they are outside the pale of the Covenant. At the new birth a holy principle or nature is imparted to them, but the old and sinful nature is not eradicated, nor is it to the slightest degree improved. Indwelling corruptions are as much opposed to God as they were before conversion, and just as active. Pray against them as he may, strive against them as he will, yet the believer is constantly overcome by them: frequently does he have to exclaim with David "iniquities prevail against me (Ps. 65:3). The experience described in Romans 7:14-25 is that of every genuine Christian. God gives no man such a measure of grace in this life as to make him sinless. "In many things we all offend" (James 3:2), and by sudden surprisals and under great temptations believers may fall into particular gross outward acts of sin, yet they will not become totally corrupt and sinful as the unregenerate are, nor do they sin with their whole heart. Christian sanctification then is the maintaining of holy affections and actions in the midst of native depravity and all its out-flows. Despite great discouragements their faith and grace never LVALwholly fail. Sanctified but in part now, glorified in the future.\par \par 7. From all that has been before us it will thus be seen that perseverance can be predicated only of those who "know the grace of God in truth" (Col. 1:6), who experience its supernatural operations in their own souls. Not a suppositionary grace which may be held in reckless abandonment, but a spiritual grace which causes its possessor to walk cautiously. What Scripture teaches is that, there never was, never will be, and never can be such a thing as the total and final falling away of one who has really repented and trusted on Christ; that in every instance where a Divine miracle of grace has been wrought that soul shall stand when this world and all its works shall be burned up. Rightly has it been said, "The question of the perpetuity of grace is the question of a genuine Gospel. Is grace permanent, then the Gospel is a reality. Is grace temporary, then the Gospel is a will o\rquote the wisp, a phantom benediction, a dream of blessedness from which one may awake, to find himself bereft of all that raptured him" (G. S. Bishop).\par \par \pard\cf1\fs22\par } LVAL@{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sl240\slmult1\lang2058\b\f0\fs24 Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \b0\par \b Chapter 4\par ITS MARVEL\par \b0\par This is an aspect of our subject which has received far too little attention from those who have written and preached thereon. Amid all the dust which controversy has raised up, only too often one of the grandest wonders of Divine grace has been hidden from the sight of the theological contestants: alas, how frequently is this the case, that being so occupied with the shell we reach not the kernel. Even those who have sought to defend this truth against the assault of Papish and Arminian antagonists did not sufficiently hold up to view the glorious miracle which it embodies. The security of the saint concerns not only the Divine veracity and faithfulness but it also exemplifies the workings of Divine power. The believer\rquote s cleaving unto the Lord, despite all hindrances and temptations to the contrary, not only manifests the efficacy of God\rquote s so-great salvation but displays the marvels of His workmanship therein. That the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church of Christ, that Satan is unable to destroy a single member of it, that the weakest shall be more than conqueror through Him that loved them, should fill us with admiration and adoration.\par \par All the blessings of the Christian\rquote s life may be summed up in two eminent ones, for they include all the others of which he is the recipient from the moment of the new birth to his arrival in Heaven, namely, regeneration or instating him into life and the preservation of that life through all the difficulties and dangers of his pilgrimage to the safe conducting him unto glory. Hence it is we so often find them linked together in Scripture. Just as the work of creation at the first and then the upholding of all things by Divine power and pLVALArovidence are yoked together as works of like wonder (Heb. 1:2, 3) so we find regeneration and preservation joined together as the sum of the operations of grace. "Hath He not made thee and established thee" (Deut. 32:6); "I have made and will bear, even I will carry and deliver you" (Isa. 46:4). In Psalm 66:9 both are comprehended in one word "who putteth (margin) thy soul in life" and "who holdeth thy soul in life," first imparting life and then sustaining it. So also in the N. T.: "I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish" (John 10:28); "begotten us again unto a living hope. . . kept by the power of God through faith" (1 Pet. 1:3, 5): "sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Jude 1).\par \par This great marvel of Divine preservation is enlarged upon and celebrated in Psalm 66. After saying "O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of His praise to be heard: which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved" (vv. 8, 9) the Psalmist pointed out first, they had been proved and tried "as silver is tried" (v. 10), which denotes the sorest of trials (Ezek. 22:22). Second, God had brought them "into the net" and had "lain affliction upon their loins" (v. 11): that is, He had so encompassed them round about with afflictions that there was no way of escaping out of them (cf. Isa. 5 1:20). Third, God had caused men to "ride over their heads" (v. 12): that is, they were delivered to the will of cruel enemies, who treated them as slaves. Fourth, they had gone "through fire and water" (v. 12), which denotes the extremity of evils. Nor were these various dangers perils to their outward man only, but tryings and testings of their faith, as "Thou, Lord, hast proved us" (v. 10) intimates. Yet through all of them they had been sustained and preserved. God had supported their faith and upheld them under His sorest chastenings.\par \par Having blessed God on behalf of other saints and invited his readers to do the same, the Psalmist added a personal LVALBtestimony, recounting the Lord\rquote s goodness unto himself. "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul" (v. 16), which confession continues to the end of the Psalm. That testimony is not to be divorced from its context but regarded as the continuation of what he had affirmed in the preceding verses. It was as though he said, what I ask you to praise the Lord for is not something with which I have had no firsthand acquaintance but rather of that I have experienced in my own checkered history. The Lord put and held my soul in life during the many buffetings I have passed through. He did not suffer the waters to completely submerge me but kept my head above them. Give me an audience, ye fellow pilgrims, while I recount to you the wonder workings of the God of all grace with me. Let me review the whole of my wilderness journey and tell of God\rquote s failing not to show Himself strong on my behalf: "I cried unto Him. . . blessed be God who hath not turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me" (v. 20).\par \par Ah, could not each child of God emulate the Psalmist in that. We are greatly interested and delighted when we read or hear of how different ones were brought Out of darkness into God\rquote s marvelous light. We marvel at and admire the variety of the means and methods employed by Him in convicting of sin and discovering Christ to different ones. We are awed and rejoiced when we learn of how some notorious rebel was brought to the foot of the Cross. But equally interesting, equally wonderful, equally blessed is the story of each Christian\rquote s life after conversion. If the mature believer looks back at the whole of his journey and reviews all God\rquote s gracious dealings with him, what a tale he could unfold! Let him describe the strange twistings and windings of his path, all ordered by infinite Wisdom, as he now perceives. Let him tell of the tempests and tossings. through which his frail craft has come and how often the Lord said to the windLVALCs and waves "be still." Let him narrate the providential help which came when he was in sore straits, the deliverances from temptation when he was almost overcome, the recoveries from backslidings, the revivings after deadness of heart, the comfortings in sorrow, the upliftings when borne down by difficulties and discouragements, the answers to prayer when things appeared hopeless, the patience which has borne with dullness, the grace with unbelief, the joys of communion with the Lord when cut off from public means of grace. What a series of miracles the Christian has experienced.\par \par The saint is indeed a marvel of marvels: without strength yet continuing to plod along his uphill course. Think of a tree flourishing in the midst of a sandy desert, where there is neither soil nor water; imagine a house suspended in mid-air, with no visible means of support above or below; conceive of a man living week after week and year after year in a morgue, yet maintaining his vigor; suppose a lone lamb secure in the midst of hungry wolves, or a maid keeping her garments white as she ploughs her way through deep mud and mire, and in such figures you have an image of the Christian life. The new nature is kept alive between the very jaws of death. Health of soul is preserved while breathing a fetid atmosphere and surrounded by those with the most contagious and fatal diseases. It is like a defenseless dove successfully eluding droves of hawks bent on her destruction. It is like a man subsisting on a barren wilderness where there is neither food nor drink. It is like a traveler on some icy summit, with unfathomable precipices on either side, where a false step means certain destruction. 0 the wonder of Christian perseverance in the face of such handicaps and obstacles.\par \par 1. This is seen in the character of those who are chosen by God. We would naturally conclude that if He determined to have a people in this world through whom He would show forth His praises, that He will select the most promising and LVALDexcellent: those of strong intellectual power, those of noble birth, those of sweet disposition, those of outstanding moral character. But His ways are different from ours. He singles out the most unlikely and unworthy ones to be the vessels of mercy. Thus it was in the O. T. era. Why were the Hebrews taken to be the most favored of all nations? Had they a stronger natural claim than others? Assuredly not. The Egyptians were a more intelligent race, as the monuments of their industry attest to this day. The Chaldeans were more ancient, more numerous, more civilized, and albeit exerted a much greater influence on the rest of the world. Was it then because the Israelites were more spiritual, more likely to prove amenable to the Divine government? No, for ere they set foot upon Canaan it was expressly declared unto them "Understand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiffnecked people" (Deut. 9:6).\par \par It is the same thing in the N. T. dispensation. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath 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, and things which are not to bring to nought things that are" (1 Cor. 1:26-28). How remarkable is this: the ones chosen to successfully resist Satan, overcome the world, persevere in the difficult path of faith and obedience and finally win through to Heaven, are the feeble, the weak, the base, the despised, and the mere nobodies. This has ever presented a stumblingblock to the proud Pharisee: "have any of the rulers believed on Him?" (John 7:48). That the priests and scribes be passed by and publicans and harlots called to feast with Christ, that heavenly things should be hidden from the wise and prudent and reveaLVALEled to babes, evokes the sneer of the learned "Christianity is only suited to old women and children." And why is this God\rquote s way? "That no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Cor. 1:29), that the crown of honor should he placed on the head of Him who alone is entitled to wear it, that we may learn the marvel of perseverance is the result of sovereign and miraculous grace.\par \par 2. This is seen in the fewness of them. There is but "a remnant according to the election of grace" (Rom. 11:5) even among those who bear the name of the Lord, and in comparison with the hundreds of millions in heathendom who worship false gods and the vast multitudes in Christendom who make no profession at all, the real people of God constitute such an insignificant handful as to be almost lost to view. One had naturally thought that if the Lord purposed to have a people on earth who should glorify His name that they would be conspicuous in size, commanding attention and respect. Is it not a maxim of worldly wisdom that "there is strength in numbers" and did not Napoleon give expression thereto in his satirical dictum "God is always on the side of the biggest battalions"? Ah, but here too God\rquote s thoughts and ways are the very opposite of the world\rquote s, for His strength is "made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9) and the things which are highly esteemed among men are "abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). Turn, my reader, to Judges 7:2 and ponder anew the lesson Jehovah taught Gideon when He said, "The people that are with thee are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves!"\par \par Not only have the Lord\rquote s people always been in the minority but they have never included more than a fractional percentage of earth\rquote s population. Only eight were delivered from the flood. From the days of Noah unto Moses \emdash a period of roughly eight and a half centuries \emdash we may count upon our fingers those recorded in Holy Writ who gave eviLVALFdence of spiritual life. It requires no courage or resolution to follow the tide of popular opinion, for one is likely to encounter less opposition when he is on the side of the majority. What a miracle that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob preserved their piety in Canaan when surrounded by the heathen! The principle which we are now engaged in illustrating was emphasized by Moses when he said unto Israel "The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye are the fewest of all people" (Deut 7:7). It is the same in this N. T. dispensation. Near the close of Paul\rquote s life Christians were referred to as a sect "everywhere spoken against" (Acts 28:22). The Lord Jesus declared that His flock was a "little" one (Luke 12:32), which increases the wonder of its survival, and though in recent years the membership of the "churches" swelled to huge proportions, more and more it is now becoming apparent that with rare exceptions they were but nominal professors and that only a "few" tread that Way which leadeth unto Life (Matt. 7:14).\par \par 3. This is seen in God\rquote s leaving them in this world. We might well suppose that since the Father hath set His heart upon them He would take them Home as soon as they are brought from death unto life. Instead they are left down here, most of them for many years, in a hostile country in the Enemy\rquote s territory, for "the whole world lieth in the Wicked one" (1 John 5:19). And why? that they may have opportunity to manifest their love for Him, that despite ceaseless opposition and innumerable temptations to cast off their allegiance they will, by His grace, remain faithful unto death. We marvel that Noah was preserved in the ark, when the devastating flood without swept away the entire human race from the earth and when he was surrounded by all manner of wild beasts within. Why was he not torn to pieces by the lions and tigers? or poisoned by the stench from the dung of all the animals? Though he remained thLVALGere no less than a year, yet at the end thereof he and all his household stepped forth alive and well. Not less wonderful is the survival of the Christian in a world where there is nothing to help spiritually but everything to the contrary.\par \par The believer may be compared to an individual who has thrown off allegiance to his king, has disowned his country, and refuses obedience to its laws, yet continues to dwell in the land he has renounced and hard by the sovereign he has forsworn. The grace of God has called us out of the world, but the providence of God has sent us into the world. We may therefore expect nothing but hatred and hostility from it. The world will never forgive the act by which we broke from its thralldom, renounced its sway, relinquished its pleasures and resigned its friendship. Nor can it look with complacency upon the godly, self-denying and unworldly life of the Christian, which is a constant rebuke of its own carnality and folly. First it will veil its opposition and conceal its malignity beneath smiles and flattery, seeking to win back the one it has lost. But when that effort proves unavailing it changes its course and with venomed tongue, tireless zeal and devilish tactics seeks by detraction and falsehood to wound and injure the people of God. We marvel at the three Hebrews not being destroyed in Babylon\rquote s fiery furnace, but it is not less a miracle for a believer to persevere in the path of holiness amid the contagious sinfulness, seductive allurements and relentless persecutions of an evil world.\par \par 4. This is seen in the old nature being left in the saint. Since God is pleased to leave His people in this howling wilderness for a season, where everything seems to be dead against them, surely He will rid them of that which is most of all calculated to lead to their fatal undoing. If He requires them to be "holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Pet. 1:15), will He not purge them of all inward corruptions? If the sons of God are to be "without rebuke iLVALHn the midst of a crooked and perverse generation," among whom they are to "shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15), will He not remove all darkness from their understanding? And again we are made to realize how worthless is all human reasoning upon spiritual matters. Indwelling sin remains in the believer: the flesh is neither eradicated nor transformed. But how can we expect those with a sink of iniquity still within them to maintain a godly walk? Ah, therein we are brought to see again the marvel of the saint\rquote s perseverance. If a lorry has to pass down a street where the buildings on either side are burning fiercely, would it not greatly augment the wonder of its journeying through successfully when we learned that the lorry was laden with barrels of gunpowder and dynamite?\par \par This is precisely the case of the believer: there is that in him which is responsive to the evil without him. The world and his heart are in a confederacy against the good of his soul, so that he can neither eat nor drink, work nor sleep in safety because of enemies without and treacherous lusts within. For a holy angel to dwell here would involve him in no danger, for in freedom from all inward corruptions there would be nothing in him to which the allurements of the world could appeal. But the Christian has a stack of dry tinder ready to ignite as soon as the sparks of temptation alight thereon. 0 the policy and power, the strength and prevalency, the nearness and treachery of indwelling sin. It is something which cleaves to all the faculties: not only in us but part and parcel of us. It dwells there (Rom. 7:17) ever seeking our overthrow. Such is our native depravity that it is capable of transmuting blessings into cursings, making things lawful into snares and entangling us with everything we meet with. Ah, my reader, if it was a miracle when Elisha caused iron to swim (2 Kings 2), not less so is it when our affections are set upon things above and our minds stayed on Jehovah.\par \par 5. This is seen iLVALIn grace\rquote s dwelling place. In what uncongenial and inimical surroundings is the new nature set \emdash in the depraved soul of a fallen creature. Not only is there nothing in man capable of nourishing the principle of holiness but everything which is directly opposed thereto: "the flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Gal. 5:17). Birds do not fly beneath the waves nor will fish live on dry ground because they are out of their native element: then what a wonder it is for grace to be preserved and grow in a heart which by nature is desperately wicked. Would trees grow if their seeds were planted in salt: why then should communicated grace take root and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit when planted in the midst of corruption? That is truly a miracle of Divine horticulture: a miracle which is far too little attended unto and admired. Well may each believer exclaim "I am a wonder to many" (Ps. 71:7) not failing to add "but Thou art my refuge." The Christian is a mystery to himself, an enigma to the unregenerate, who cannot understand his denying himself the things they delight in and finding pleasure in what they loath: but he is a "wonder," a prodigy of grace, unto his brethren and sisters in Christ.\par \par The miracle of the survival of the principle of grace in a human soul will be the more manifest if we contrast the present case of the believer with that of Adam in the day of this pristine purity. Grace was connatural with our first parents when their Maker pronounced them "very good;" if then they so quickly lost their grace when it was placed in a pure soil, what a wonder it is that it should be preserved in a heart which is essentially evil! When the Son of God became incarnate Herod moved the whole country in a determined attempt to slay Him: and when Christ comes into the heart the whole soul rises up in opposition against Him. The carnal mind, the lusts of the flesh, an intractable will, are all antagonistic to every breathing after holiness. The preservation of grace in the saint is LVALJmore remarkable than for one to succeed in carrying an unprotected but lighted candle across an open moor in a boisterous wind. Yea, as the Puritans were wont to say, it is as though a fire were kept burning year after year in the midst of the ocean. Grace is not only preserved but maintains its purity amid indwelling sin: as gold cannot be altered in its nature by the dross or transmuted into the rubbish amid which it lies, neither can the new nature be defiled by the mass of corruption wherein it dwells.\par \par 6. This is seen in their exposure to Satan\rquote s attacks. If there were no Devil at all it would be a miracle that any believer should persevere in the path of obedience while living in such a world as this. Surrounded as he is by the ungodly, ever seeking to allure him into their own sinful ways, carrying within him lusts which are in full accord with the evil around him, it is a wonder of wonders that he should remain steadfast. But over and above that, he is called upon to resist the arch-enemy of God, the mightiest of all His creatures, who is filled with enmity against him and bent upon his destruction. We are plainly warned "your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8): how then shall feeble lambs hope to successfully resist him! We are told that when the woman brought forth the "man-child who was to rule all nations" that, the red dragon "stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered for to devour her child" (Rev. 12:4). As the dragon acted thus toward the Head Himself so does he still seek to vent his malice upon the members of His mystical body.\par \par Who is capable of estimating the power of Satan and the hosts of evil spirits he commands. And who can adequately describe the weakness and frailty of those called upon to withstand his attacks. If Adam in paradise with no lust within to entice and no world under the curse all around him, fell under the very first assault of Satan upon him, who are we to engage LVALKhim in conflict. Fallen man could as well move a mountain with his finger as overcome the Prince of this world. Nevertheless of renewed men it is written "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in the heavenlies" (Eph. 6:12). Satan with all his wisdom, his power, his myrmidons are marshaled and exerted in tremendous opposition to the interests of the children of God, as the histories of Job, of David (1 Chron. 21:1), of Joshua, (Zech. 3:1), of Peter (Luke 22:31), and of Paul (1 Thess. 2:15) clearly show. We have often marveled at the deliverance of Daniel while spending a night in the lions\rquote den, no less a miracle is the Christian\rquote s preservation from the continuous attacks of Satan and all his demons. "They overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony" (Rev. 12:11).\par \par 7. This is seen in the renunciations they are required to make. "If any come to Me and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, he cannot be My disciple. So likewise whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple" Who can be expected to accept Christian discipleship on such exacting terms as these! No wonder that man of all shades of theological opinion have invented terms which are easier and pleasanter to the flesh, yet such are only blind leaders of the blind. Christ will receive none who refuse His yoke. God will not own as His people those who refuse to give Him their hearts. Sin must be hated, lusts must be mortified, the world must be renounced. A Christian is one who repudiates his own wisdom, strength and righteousness. A Christian is one who holds himself and all that he hath at the disposal of the Lord. As Abram at the call of God turned his back on the old manner of life, so tLVALLhose who are his believing children are made willing to sacrifice all their temporal interests, counting not their lives dear unto themselves. What a marvel is this that grace enables its possessor to pluck out right eyes and cut off right hands, yea which empowers timid women and children to go to the stake rather than apostatize.\par \par 8. This is seen in the Way they are required to walk in. It is a "narrow" way, for it is shut in on either side by the Divine commandments, which forbid all that is contrary to the Divine will. It is the way of "holiness," without which no man shall see the Lord. It is the way of obedience, of complete and continuous subjection to the Lord, wherein my own will is set aside. It is a difficult way, hard to find and harder still to traverse, for the whole of it is uphill. It is a lonely way, for there are but few upon it. It is therefore a way which is entirely contrary to flesh and blood, which presents no attraction to fallen human nature. Yet it is the only way which leadeth unto life. That narrow way of self-abnegation is the one which Christ trod and sufficient for the disciple to be as his Master. He has left us an example that we should follow His steps, so that there is no following of Christ without walking in the way He went, and that way was one of sacrifice, of bearing reproach, of enduring suffering. "Whosoever will save his life (for himself) shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:25). No cross, no crown. What a marvel it is for any sinful creature to voluntarily choose such a path, to accept the cross as the dominant principle of his life.\par \par 9. This is seen in the frailty of the Christian. We would naturally think that since God requires His people to overcome such formidable obstacles, perform such difficult tasks and wrestle with such enemies, He would make them strong and powerful. Surely if they are to maintain their piety in a world like this, discharge duties which are contrary to flesh and LVALMblood, resist the Devil and all his hosts, the Lord will make each of His saints as mighty spiritually as Samson was physically. If one of them shall chase a thousand and two of them put ten thousand to flight must it not be because of their superior might. How shall they endure opposition, overcome temptations, be fruitful unto every good work unless they be endued with abundant grace. But here again the Lord\rquote s thoughts are the very opposite of ours. His people are so frail and helpless in themselves that He declares "without Me ye can do nothing" and sooner or later each of them is made to realize this for himself. Apart from the Lord the believer is as weak as water. Power for the conflict lies not in himself, but in Another: "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Eph. 6:10). Peter thought he was strong enough in himself to overcome temptation, but he soon discovered that though the spirit was willing the flesh was weak.\par \par But is there not such a thing as growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord? Certainly there is, but such progress is of a very different nature from what many imagine. Growth in grace is a deepening realization of where our strength, our wisdom, the supply for every need is to be found. Growing in grace is not an increasing self-sufficiency but an increasing dependency upon God. Those who are spiritually the strongest are they who know most of their own weakness. It is the empty vessel which God fills. "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might (of their own) He increaseth strength" (Isa. 40:29). Surely none of us can hope to attain a higher measure than that of the most favored of the apostles: yet he acknowledged "when lam weak then am I strong" (2 Cor. 12:10). Here then is truly a miracle: that one who is compassed with infirmity, who is not sufficient of himself to think any thing as of himself (2 Cor. 3:5)\emdash and therefore still less able to do anything good\emdash who has "no might" of his own, who is utterly heLVALNlpless in himself, should nevertheless fight a good fight, finish the course and keep the faith. "God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."\par \par 10. This is seen in the fruits which the Christian bears. We have already called attention to the survival of the principle of grace despite the uncongenial soil in which it is placed and the foul atmosphere of this world where it grows, and equally wonderful is that which issues from it. This line of thought might be extended considerably, but space requires us to abbreviate. What a marvel that the Christian\rquote s faith should be preserved amid so many trials and buffetings, betrayals by false brethren, and even the hidings of God\rquote s face: that notwithstanding the most painful crosses and losses it affirms "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Not only have God\rquote s saints remained steadfast under persecution, but after being "beaten" they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus" (Acts 5:40, 41), while others "took joyfully the spoiling of their goods" (Heb. 10:34). What a marvelous fruit is this, to "glory in tribulation" (Rom. 5:3), to "sing praise unto God" (Acts 16:25) while lying in a dungeon with backs bleeding. Such fruits are not the products of nature. To hope against hope (Rom. 4:18), to acknowledge "it is good for me that I have been afflicted" (Ps. 119:71), to cry "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60) while being stoned to death, are the fruits of Divine grace.\par \par 11. This is seen in their submission under and triumph of faith over the severest chastisements. It is natural to murmur when everything appears to go wrong and the face of Providence wears a dark frown, but it is supernatural to meekly submit and say "the will of the Lord be done." When "fire from the Lord" went out and devoured Nadab and Abihu because of their presumptuous conduct, so far from their father making an LVALOangry outburst at the severity of their punishment we are told that he "held his peace" (Lev. 10:3). When the awful tidings was broken to the aged Eli that both of his wayward sons were to be smitten by Divine judgment on the same day, he quietly acquiesced saying "It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good" (1 Sam. 3:18). When Job\rquote s sons and daughters were suddenly stricken with death and his flocks and herds carried away by thieves, he exclaimed "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (1:2 1), and when his own body was smitten with "sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown," so far from losing all confidence in God and apostatizing he declared "though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15).\par \par 12. This is seen in their perseverance in piety when deprived of all public means of grace. When the under-shepherds are taken away what shall the poor sheep do? When corporate testimony breaks down what will become of the individual? When Zion is made desolate and the Lord\rquote s people are carried captives into a strange land, will they not pine away? True this is an exceptional state of affairs, yet at various stages of history it has pleased God to deprive numbers of His people of all the external means of grace and preserve them as isolated units. It was thus at a very early stage. Behold Abraham, the father of the faithful, dwelling alone amid the heathen, yet maintaining communion with the Lord. Behold Daniel in Babylon, in the face of deadly peril, preserving his piety. Some of us used to sing as children "Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose true, and dare to make it known." Is not our own lot cast in a day when not a few of the scattered children of God have to lament "I am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Ps.102:7)! Even so, as God miraculously sustained Elijah in the solitudes of Cherith so He will preserve each of them.\par \par 13. This is seen in their deliverance from apostasy.LVALP What numbers have been fatally deceived by Romanism. What multitudes of the outer-court worshippers have been stumbled by the multiplication of sects in Protestantism, each claiming to take the Scriptures for their guide yet often differing on the most fundamental truths. What crowds have been attracted by the false prophets and heretical teachers, especially in America, during the past century. But though the real children of God may have been bewildered yet it drove them to search His Word more closely for themselves, for they know not the voice of strangers (John 10:5). In our own day, because iniquity or lawlessness abounds the love of many has waxed cold and tens of thousands who a little time ago appeared to "run well" have gone right back into the world. Yet there is still a remnant who cleave unto the Lord, and the very fewness of their numbers emphasizes the marvel of their preservation. It is a miracle of grace that any "hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," never more so than in this dark day.\par \par What an amazing thing it was that Jonah should be cast overboard into the sea, without a lifebelt and with no boat to rescue him, and yet that he was not drowned. Still more remarkable that he should be swallowed by a whale and remain alive in its belly for three days and nights. Most wonderful of all that the whale disgorged the prophet not in the ocean, but vomited him out on the land. So amazing is this that it has been made the favorite subject of jest by infidels. Yet it presents no difficulty to the Christian, who knows that "with God all things are possible." We not only believe the authenticity of this miracle but have long been convinced it is a designed type not only of the resurrection of the Redeemer but of the preservation of the redeemed. The case of Jonah not only adumbrates a backsliding believer, but an extreme case of backsliding at that: showing that when a saint yields to self-will and forsakes the way of obedience, though he will be sevLVALerely chastened yet the arm of the Lord will reach after and restore him to the paths of righteousness.\par \par 14. This is seen in God\rquote s manifold workings in and for them. This necessarily follows from all that has been said under the preceding heads. The perseverance of saints must be the consequence of the Divine preservation of them: since believers have no spiritual wisdom and no spiritual strength of their own, God must work in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure. His preventing grace: as the martyr observed a murderer on his way to the gallows he exclaimed "there goes John Bradford but for the grace of God." From how many temptations and sins on which their hearts were set are Christians delivered, as David from slaying Nabal. Protecting grace: "mercy shall compass him about" as a shield (Ps. 32:10). Quickening grace, whereby the principle of holiness is enlivened: "the inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16). Confirming grace, whereby we are kept from being tossed to and fro: "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God" (2 Cor. 1:21 and cf. 2 Thess. 2:17). Fructifying grace: "From Me is thy fruit found" (Hos. 14:8). Maturing grace: "make you perfect in every good work to do His will" (Heb. 13:22). These and other operations of Divine grace are all summed up in that acknowledgement "Thou also hast wrought all our works in us" (Isa. 26:12) to which every saint freely ascribes and which alone explains the marvel of his perseverance.\par \par \pard\cf1\fs22\par } LVALR{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sl240\slmult1\lang2058\b\f0\fs24 Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \b0\par \b Chapter 5\par ITS SPRINGS\par \b0\par We now turn to contemplate the most important and blessed aspect of our subject, yea, the very heart and crux thereof. The believer\rquote s perseverance in faith and holiness is no detached and isolated thing, but an effect of an all-sufficient cause. It must not be viewed as a separate phenomenon but as the fruit of Divine operations. The believer\rquote s continuance in the paths of righteousness is a miracle, and miracle necessarily requires the immediate agency of God. Our present concern then is to trace this stream back to its source and to show the springs from which this marvel issues; to admire the impregnable foundations on which it rests. Only as those springs and foundations are clearly revealed shall we ascribe the glory unto Him to whom alone it is due, only so shall we be able to apprehend the absolute security of the saints, only so shall we perceive the vanity and uselessness of all the Enemy\rquote s attacks upon this cardinal truth. The perseverance of the saints is assured by so many infallible guarantees that it is difficult to know which to bring before the reader and which to omit.\par \par The doctrine for which we are here contending follows as a logical consequence from the Divine perfections: whatever is agreeable to them, and they make necessary, must perforce be true; contrariwise whatever is contrary to them and reflects dishonor upon them must be false. Now the doctrine of the saints\rquote final perseverance is agreeable to the Divine perfections, yea is made entirely necessary by them, and therefore must be true; and the contrary doctrine of the falling away of real saints so as to perish everlastingly is repugnant to them and reflects great dishonor upon them, and therefore must bLVALSe false. That which we have here briefly affirmed will be illustrated in detail and demonstrated at length in all that follows in this and the succeeding section. Summarizing what we propose to set before the reader it will be found that the eternal security of the Christian rests upon the good will of the Father, the mediation of the Son, and the office and operations of the Holy Spirit, and therein we have a "threefold cord" which cannot possibly be broken.\par \par 1. The unchanging love of God. This argument however is one which can have little weight with those who have imbibed Arminianism and accepted their false interpretation of John 3:16; but they who perceive the Divine love to be a discriminating and particular and not an indefinite and general one will find here that which is sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb. If it were true that God loves the whole human race then, seeing a large part thereof is already in Hell, I could draw no assurance therefrom that I shall never perish. But when I discover that God\rquote s love is restricted to those whom He chose in Christ and that He loves them with an "everlasting love," then I unhesitatingly conclude that "many waters" cannot quench that love (Song of Sol. 8:7). It would lead too far afield, for us to show wherein so many err concerning the meaning of John 3:16 or to evidence at length the discriminating character of God\rquote s love: suffice it here to point out that "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth" (Heb. 12:6) would be meaningless did He love everybody\emdash the next clause "and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" at once defines the objects of His affection. "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:13): therefore Jacob is now in Heaven, but his brother has received the due reward of his iniquities.\par \par "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). God does not love His people because they love Him. No, we read of "His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins" (Eph. 2:4, 5)LVALT: when we had no desire to be loved by Him, yea when we were provoking Him to His face and displaying the fierce enmity of our unrenewed hearts. God loved His people before they had a historical existence, for while they were yet sinners Christ died for them (Rom. 5:8). Why, He declares "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 3 1:3). That love then derives not its strength or its streams from anything in us, but flows spontaneously from the heart of God, finding its deep wellspring within His own bosom. Since God is love He can no more cease to love than He can cease to be, and since God changes not there can be no variation and fluctuation in His love.\par \par The object of God\rquote s love is His Church, which is His special delight. From all eternity He loved His elect, and loved them as His elect, as having peculiar propriety in them. He loved them in Christ, chose them in Christ, and blessed them with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3). He loved them so as to predestinate them unto the adoption of children (Eph. 1:5). He loved their persons in Christ with the same love wherewith He loves Christ their Head (John 17:23). He loved them so as to make them "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6). It is a love which can never decay, for it is founded on the good pleasure of His will towards them. God\rquote s love to Christ knows no change nor can it to the members of His body: "and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me" (John 17:23), declares the Savior, and He is speaking there as the Head of His Church. We are loved in Christ and according to the relation we stand in to Him, that is, as members to an Head\emdash loved as freely and immutably.\par \par Though the effects of God\rquote s love vary in their manifestations, yet there is no diminution of His affection and none in its perpetuity. Men often love those who prove otherwise than they expected, and come to repent of the affection lavished upon them. But it is not so with God, for He foreknew all that ever we would be anLVALUd do\emdash our sins, unworthiness, rebellions; yet set His heart upon us notwithstanding\emdash so that He can never say we turned out other than He thought we would. Had God\rquote s love been set upon us because of some good or excellency in us, then when that goodness declined, His love would diminish too. "God foresaw all the sins you would ever have: it was all present to His sacred mind, and yet He loved you, and loves you still" (C. H. Spurgeon). The child of God may for a season depart from the paths of righteousness, and then will his Father visit his transgression with the rod and his iniquity with stripes, "nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not make void from him nor suffer My faithfulness to fail" (Ps. 89:32, 33) is His own declaration.\par \par Because God\rquote s love is uncreated it is unchanging. God does not love by fits and starts, but forever. Because it is founded upon nothing in its object, no change in that object can forfeit it. In every state and condition into which the elect can come, God\rquote s love unto them is invariable and unalterable, constant and permanent. We may repent of the love which we bestowed an some of our fellows because we were unable to make them good: the more we loved them, the more they took advantage of it. Not so with God: whom He loves He makes holy. This is one of the effects of His love: to shed abroad His love in the hearts of its objects, to stamp His own image upon them, to cause them to walk in His fear. His love to the elect is perpetual because it is in Christ; they are joined to Christ by an union which cannot be dissolved. God must cease to love Christ their Head before He can cease to love any member of His Body. Then what madness, what blasphemy, to think of any of them perishing!\par \par Over this blessed attribute of Divine love is written in letters of light "Semper idem," always the same. Those who are once the objects of God\rquote s love are so always. If God has ever loved you, my reader, He does so today: loves you witLVALVh the same love as when He gave His Son to die for you; loves you with the same love as when He sent His Holy Spirit into your heart crying "Abba Father;" loves you with the same love as He will in Heaven throughout the endless ages. And nothing can or shall separate you from that love (see Rom. 8:38, 39). A preacher once called upon a farmer. As he approached his residence he saw over the barn a weathervane and on the top of it in large letters the text "God is love." When the farmer appeared the preacher pointed to that vane and said in tones of rebuke "Do you imagine God\rquote s love is as variable as the weather?" No, said the farmer, I put that text there to remind me that no matter what the direction of the wind. God is love!\par \par "His love no end or measure knows,\par No change can turn its course,\par Immutably the same it flows\par From one eternal source."\par \par 2. The immutability of God. The guarantee for the perpetuity of God\rquote s love unto His people is found in the immutability of His nature. From everlasting Jehovah is God: underived, independent, self-sufficient, nothing can in anywise affect Him or produce any change in Him. Says the Psalmist "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment: as a vesture shalt Thou change them and they shall be changed. But Thou art the same and Thy years shall have no end" (102:25-27). This is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. All that He is today He ever has been and ever will be. He cannot change for the better for He is already perfect, and being perfect He cannot change for the worse. He only can say "I am that I am" (Ex. 3:14). Unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. His glory is an unfading one.\par \par NowLVALW in this immutability of God lies the eternal security of His people. "For I am the Lord, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Mal. 3:6). If any of them were lost, "consumed" by His wrath, then He must change in His attitude toward them, so that those whom He once loved He now hates. But that would also involve an alteration in His purpose concerning them, so that whereas He has appointed them "to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:9), He must consign them over to destruction. How entirely different would such a variable and fickle character be from the God of Holy Writ! Of Jehovah it is said "He is of one mind, and who can turn Him?" (Job 23:13). It is because God changes not His people are not consumed: His love wanes not, His will is stable, His word sure. Because He is "The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17) we have an immovable rock on which to stand while everything around us is being swept away.\par \par The foundation of our preservation unto the end is the immutability of God\rquote s being, whereunto His love is conformed, so that His everlasting Deity must undergo alteration before any of His children could perish. This is clearly the force of both Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17. In the latter the apostle speaks of "every good and every perfect gift" which the saints receive from their Father, prefacing the same with "Do not err my beloved brethren. "The gifts bestowed upon the elect at their regeneration are not like Jonah\rquote s gourd which flourished only for a brief season. No, they are from Him with whom is "no variableness" either in His love or will. "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom. 11:29) or change of mind, and therefore they are never revoked. Let it be noted that those words were added to clinch the certainty of the purpose of God towards the remnant of the Jews according to the election of grace. Thus the immutability of God is the guarantee of the stabiliLVALXty of His love and the irrevocableness of His grace unto us.\par \par 3. The irreversible purpose of God. Having set His heart upon a chosen people, God formed a purpose of grace toward them: "in love having predestinated them" (Eph. 1:5) and the immutability of His being insures the fulfillment of that purpose. The Most High does not determine to do a thing at one time and decide not to do it at another. "The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations" (Ps. 33:11): because He has counseled everlasting glory unto His people, nothing can alter it. "For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?" (Isa. 14:27). There are indeed many changes in the external dispensations of His providence toward His elect, but none concerning the thoughts of His heart for them. "I am God, and there is none like unto Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure. . .1 have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it" (Isa. 46:9-11). What a foundation is there here for faith to rest upon: the Divine will is inflexible, His counsels irreversible.\par \par "God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent" (Num. 23:19). Consider the things which move men to change their minds and alter their purposes, and then mark how utterly inapplicable such things are to the Almighty. Men form a plan and then cancel it through fickleness and inconstancy: but God is immutable. Men make a promise and then revoke it because of their depravity and untruthfulness: but God is infinitely holy and cannot lie. Men devise a project and fail to carry it through because of lack of ability or power: but God is omniscient and omnipotent. Men determine a certain thing for want of foresight and because the unexpected intervenes they are thwarted: but God knows the end from the beginning. Men change their schemes because thLVALYe influence or threats of superiors deter them: but God has no superior or equal and fears none. No unforeseen occasion can arise which would render it expedient for God to change His mind.\par \par In Romans 8:28 we read of a company who are "the called according to His purpose" and what that signifies the verses which immediately follow tell us. It was a purpose they could neither originate nor frustrate. "For whom He did foreknow" with a knowledge of approbation (contrast "I never knew you": Matt. 7:23) "He also did predestinate," appoint and fore-arrange. That Divine predestination results in their being effectually called out of darkness into God\rquote s marvelous light and their being justified or accounted righteous before God because Christ\rquote s perfect obedience is reckoned to their account. And then, so infallibly certain is the accomplishment of God\rquote s purpose, the apostle added "and whom He justified them He also (not "will glorify," but) glorified." "God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel (the immovable fixedness of His design), confirmed it by an oath" (Heb. 6:17). What more can we desire: the Holy One must foreswear Himself before one of His own can perish.\par \par 4. The everlasting covenant of God. Having set His heart upon a special people God formed a purpose of grace toward them and that purpose is attested and secured by formal contract. By express stipulation the Eternal Three solemnly undertook for every heir of promise to do all for and in them, so that not one of them shall perish. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me" (Jer. 32:40). How comprehensive are those promises! First, Jehovah assures His people that there shall be no alteration in His good will toward them. To that it might be objected, True, God will not turn away from them, but they may turn away from Him, yeLVALZa utterly apostatize. Therefore He here declares that He will put His fear in their hearts, or grant them such supplies of grace, as to preserve them from falling away. "Were they to return to the service of Satan, He could not continue to do them good consistently with the holiness of His character, but He will preserve them in such a state that He may hold fellowship with them without any impeachment of His holiness" (J. Dick).\par \par This covenant of grace is made with the elect in Christ before the foundation of the world, wherein He became their "Surety" (Heb. 7:22), undertaking to discharge all their liabilities and make full satisfaction for them. Accordingly God has promised the Surety "I will put my laws into their mind and write them upon their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people" (Heb. 8:10). Those promises are of free grace, and there is no contingency or uncertainty about them, for they are "yea," and "Amen" in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). Mark how God Himself regards His engagement therein: "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips" (Ps. 89:34). "He will ever be mindful of His covenant" (Ps. 111:5). 0 what grounds for confidence, for joy, for praise is there here! Therefore may each believer affirm with David "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure: for this is all my salvation and all my desire" (2 Sam. 23:5). "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" (Isa. 54:10).\par \par To summarize what has yet been before us. If any saint were eventually lost it could only be because the being and character of God Himself had undergone a change for the worse. His affections must alter, so that one whom He loved must become the object of His hatred. His purpose concerning him must change, so that whereas He appointed him to salvation He must coLVAL[nsign him to destruction. He must reverse the promises made and the blessings bestowed upon him. His faithfulness must fail, so that His Word can no longer be relied upon. Thus it is obvious that the alternative to what has been set forth above is unthinkable and impossible. The wisdom of God requires that in appointing the end (the glorification of His people) He has also ordained that the means thereto are sufficient, and His power insures that those means shall prove effectual. Every perfection of God guarantees that all His people shall get safely to Heaven.\par \par 5. The irrepealable promises of God. The "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Pet. 1:4) which God hath made to His people have been likened unto streams along which His covenant engagements run, for they all go back to and have their source in that eternal compact which He made with the elect in Christ. Their Surety undertook to do certain things for them and in return thereof God agreed that certain things should be bestowed upon them on whose behalf He transacted. What those things were that God stipulated to impart unto those Christ represented are revealed in the various promises which He has made unto them. Those promises are God\rquote s free and gracious dispensations or discoveries of His good will unto the elect in Christ in a covenant of grace. Therein, upon His veracity and faithfulness, He engages Himself to be their God, to give His Son unto them and for them, and His Spirit to abide with and in them, guaranteeing to supply everything that they need in order to make them acceptable before Him and to bring them all unto the everlasting enjoyment of Himself.\par \par Those promises are free and gracious as to the rise or origin of them, being given to us merely by the good pleasure of God, and not in return for anything demanded of us: that which is of promise is opposed to that which is in any way demanded or procured by us (Rom. 4:13, 14; Gal. 3:18). These promises are made unto us as sinners, and under no otherLVAL\ qualification whatever, it being by sovereign mercy alone that any are delivered out of their fallen and depraved state. The promises are given unto them as "shut up under sin" (Gal. 3:22). These discoveries of God\rquote s good will are made known in Christ as the sole Medium of their accomplishment and as the alone procuring Cause of the good things contained in them. "For all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him amen" (2 Cor. 1:20)\emdash in and by Christ\rquote s mediation they have all their confirmation and certainty to us. The foundation of our assurance of their accomplishment is the character of their Maker: they are the engagements of Him "who cannot lie" (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:17, 18)\emdash heaven and earth shall pass away but His word shall endure forever.\par \par The grand fountain-head promise from which all the others flow is that God will be "The God of His people" (Jer. 24:7; 31:33; Ezek. 11:20). In order that He may be "our God" two chief things are required. First, that all breaches and differences between Him and us shall be removed, perfect peace and agreement made, and we rendered well-pleasing in His sight: sin must be put away and everlasting righteousness brought in. In order to this Christ acted as our Surety, our Priest, our Redeemer, and has become "our Peace" (Eph. 2:14), being of God "made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30). He "gave Himself for the Church, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church" (Eph. 5:25, 26). Second, that we might be kept meet for communion with Him as our God and for our eternal enjoyment of Him as our Portion. From this flows the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2:33) that He would exercise unto us all the acts of His love and work in us that obedience which He required from and accepts of us in Jesus Christ, so preserving us unto Himself. This promise of the Spirit in the covenant is witnessed in IsaiahLVAL] 59:21; Ezekiel 36:27, etc.\par \par From the fountain promise that God will be our God in covenant relationship flow the two broad streams that He would give Christ for us and the Holy Spirit to us, and Out from these two main streams issue a thousand rivulets for our refreshment. From those two streams come forth all the blessings Christ hath purchased for us and all the graces that the Holy Spirit produces in the elect, by the first of which they are made acceptable unto God and by the latter of which they have an enjoyment of Him. All the promises of mercy and forgiveness, faith and holiness, obedience and perseverance, joy and consolation, affliction and deliverance issue from them, Thus it follows that whoever hath an interest in one promise hath an interest in them all and in the fountain head from which they flow. Have we a hold on any promise? that is by the Holy Spirit, and from Him to Christ, and thence unto the bosom of the Father. Hence also the most conditional of the promises are ultimately to be resolved into the absolute and unconditional love of God: He who promises to us life upon believing, works faith in us: "according as His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness": 2 Peter 1:3. (Most of the above is condensed from John Owen, the Puritan).\par \par Let us cite a few of the particular promises wherein the Lord has engaged Himself to grant such supplies of His Spirit that we shall be supported against all opposition and preserved from such sins as would separate any of His saints from Him. "For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not His saints: they are preserved forever" (Ps. 37:28). "They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even forever" (Ps. 125:1, 2). "Even to your old age lam He, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made and I will bear, even I will carry and deliver yLVAL^ou" (Isa. 46:4). "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from them, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee" (Isa. 54:10). "He shall confirm you unto the end" (1 Cor. 1:8). "1 will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5).\par \par The same Divine protection unto everlasting bliss is confirmed by many assertory passages as well as promissory. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psa. 23:4). "I am continually with thee. Thou hast holden me with Thy right hand: thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory" (Ps. 73:23, 24). "The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom" (2 Tim. 4:18). "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us" (1 John 2:19). God must forsake His integrity before He would abandon one of His people. But that cannot be: "faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24). "The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you and keep you from evil" (2 Thess. 3:3). They who affirm that any of God\rquote s children will perish are guilty of the fearful sin of charging Him with perjury.\par \par 6. The gracious acts of God toward His people. These are of such a nature as insure their everlasting salvation. In addition to His acts of electing them, making a sure covenant with His Son on their behalf and the putting of them into His hands with all grace and glory for them, we may mention the adoption of them into His family. This is an inestimable blessing, little understood today. It is a sonship-in-law, God bestowing upon His elect the legal status of sons. This is "by Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:5): since Christ is Son of God essentially and the elect are united to Him, they are the sons-in-law of God. Christ as God-man was set up as the Prototype and we aLVAL_re modeled after Him. As a woman becomes a man s daughter-in-law by his son\rquote s betrothing himself to her, so we are sons-in-law unto God an inalienable legal title\emdash as the term "adoption" plainly signifies\emdash by marriage union. It is by their relation to the Son of God that the elect are the sons of God. It is not by faith they become sons, rather does faith manifest them to be such.\par \par "Because ye are sons (not to make us such), God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Gal. 4:6). "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God" (1 John 3:1). From thence flows all our dignities and honours: "if sons (Greek) then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). Is Christ King and Priest, so also are we "kings and priests unto God and His Father" (Rev. 1:6). Is Christ Jehovah\rquote s "Fellow" (Zech. 13:7)? so are we Christ\rquote s "fellows" (Ps. 45:7). Is Christ God\rquote s "Firstborn" (Ps. 89:27)? so we read of "The Church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:22). Even now are we the sons of God, but "it doth not yet appear what we shall be," it is not yet made manifest before the universe, "but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him" (1 John 3:2). And why are we so assured? Because "Whom God did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:30). Because God predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself "according to the good pleasure of His will" (Eph. 1:5)\emdash by sovereign grace and not because of anything of ours\emdash nothing can possibly sever or annul this wondrous relationship.\par \par The justification of God\rquote s people. This is also a legal act. It takes place in the supreme court of Heaven, where God sits as the Judge of all the earth. The believing sinner is measured by the holy Law and pronounced righteous. Of old the quesLVAL`tion was asked "But how shall man be just before God?" (Job 9:2), for the Law requires nothing less than perfect and perpetual obedience, and pronounces him accursed who continues not in all that it enjoins (Gal. 3:10). Had that question been left for solution to finite intelligence it had remained unsolved forever. How could God show mercy yet not abate one iota of what His justice requires. How could He treat with the guilty as though they were innocent? How could He righteously bestow the reward on those who merited it not? How could He pronounce righteous those who were unrighteous? Such a thing seems utterly impossible, nevertheless Divine omniscience has solved these problems, solved them without tarnishing His honor, yea unto His everlasting glory and to our everlasting admiration. It is the setting forth of this grand display of the Divine wisdom which constitutes the supreme blessedness of the Gospel.\par \par According to the terms of the everlasting covenant Christ became the Sponsor of His people. "When the fulness of the time was come God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law" (Gal. 4:4). To the Law the incarnate Son rendered a complete and flawless obedience thereby magnifying and making it honorable (Isa. 42:21): the Divine dignity of His person bestowed more honor on the Law by His obedience thereto than it had been dishonored by all our manifold disobedience. Having perfectly fulfilled the Law, Christ then suffered its curse in His peoples\rquote stead, thereby blotting Out their sins. That perfect obedience of Christ is reckoned to our account the moment we believe on Him, so that believers may say "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6). On the ground of Christ\rquote s righteousness legally becoming ours, God pronounces us justified (Rom. 3:24; 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21). And therefore because it is "God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" (Rom. 8:33,34). Those justified by God can never be unjustified. The righteousness by which they are justified is an "eveLVALarlasting" one (Dan. 9:24), the sentence of exoneration passed upon them in the high court of Heaven can never be revoked by man or devil. They have a title to everlasting glory and cannot come into condemnation.\par \par 7. The death of Christ. When Adam, the federal head as well as the father of the human race, apostatized, the elect equally with the non-elect fell in him, and thus they are "by nature the children of wrath even as others" (Eph. 2:3). From that dreadful and direful state they are recovered by the mediation of Christ and the operation of the Spirit, the latter being a fruit of the former. We have briefly touched upon the mediation of Christ in the two preceding paragraphs, but as this is of such vital concern to our present theme, it requires to be considered in more detail. A large field is here opened before us, but we can now take only a brief glance at it. Once again we would point out that what we are about to advance can have little weight with Arminians, who erroneously suppose that the mediatory work of Christ was general or universal in its character and design; but to those who have learned from Holy Writ that the redemption of Christ is definite and particular, a specific ransom for a specific people, there will be found here a sufficient answer to every accusation of Satan and an assurance which none of the tribulations of life can shake.\par \par "Who is he that condemneth?" the apostle asks: "it is Christ that died" is his triumphant reply (Rom. 8:34). The force of that reply turns upon the fact that Christ\rquote s death is a substitutionary and atoning one. "For the transgression of My people was He stricken" says God (Isa. 53:8). "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3:18). "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5). Jehovah laid upon Christ the iniquities of His people (ILVALbsa. 53:6) and then cried "Awake 0 sword against My Shepherd and against the Man that is My Fellow, saith the Lord of hosts, smite the Shepherd" (Zech. 13:7). On the cross Christ rendered to God a full satisfaction for the sins of all those whom the Father gave to Him. Being a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God "to make propitiation (Gk.) for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:13). Because Christ was made a curse for sin (Gal. 3:13) nought but blessing is now our portion.\par \par All for whom Christ died shall most certainly be saved, because He paid the full price of their redemption. As a surety stands in the room of the person he represents, the latter reaps the benefit of what the surety has done in his name, so that if his debt has been paid by the surety, the creditor can no more demand payment from him. Since Christ made full reparation to God\rquote s Law, making complete atonement for the sins of His people, then it would be a flagrant violation of Divine justice if ever one of them should be punished for the same. Christ has purchased His people by His precious blood, then can we suppose that God will suffer His most avowed enemy to rob His Son of any of them? Were that to happen, the Redeemer\rquote s name would be rendered meaningless, for God Himself said "thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Were that to happen, it could not be true that the Redeemer "shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied" (Isa. 53:10).\par \par Since all the believer\rquote s sins were laid upon Christ and atoned for, what is there that can possibly condemn him? and if there be nothing, how can he be cast into Hell? True, none can reach Heaven without persevering in holiness, but since the atonement of Christ possesses Divine virtue and is of everlasting efficacy, all for whom it was made must and shall persevere in holiness. God\rquote s wrath against His people was exhausted upon their Substitute: the black cloud of His LVALcvengeance was emptied at Calvary. "When I think of my sin it seems impossible that any atonement should ever be adequate: but when I think of Christ\rquote s death it seems impossible that any sin should ever need such an atonement as that. There is in the death of Christ enough and more than enough. There is not only a sea in which to drown our sins, but the very tops of the mountains of our guilt are covered" (C. H. Spurgeon). Therefore is God able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto Him by Christ (Heb. 7:25), yea, even though they have sinned as did Manasseh or Saul of Tarsus.\par \par Christ has removed everything which could cause separation between God and His people. First, He has taken away the guilt of their sins, that it shall never prevail with the Lord to turn from them. Christ hath "obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12), for them: not a transient and unstable redemption, but an abiding and efficacious one. In consequence thereof God declares, "their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. 10:17). How could He do so, seeing that the Redeemer was to "make an end of sins" (Dan. 9:24)\emdash as to the controversy of them between God and those for whom He died. Christ has so satisfied God\rquote s justice and fulfilled His Law that no sentence of condemnation can be pronounced against them, and therefore they must infallibly be saved. Second, as Christ removed that which alone might turn God from believers, so He has annulled that which might cause them to depart from God: neither indwelling sin, Satan or the world, can so prevail as to make them totally fall away. Christ has destroyed Satan\rquote s right to rule over them (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14), and He has abolished his power by "binding" him. (Matt. 12:29), and therefore are we assured "sin shall not have dominion over you" (Rom. 6:14)\emdash how could it since the Holy Spirit Himself indwells us!\par \par "Since Christ bore our sins, and was condemned in our place; since by His expiatory death the claims of DivLVALdine justice are answered, and the holiness of the Divine Law is maintained, who can condemn those for whom He died? Oh, what security is this for the believer in Jesus! Standing beneath the shadow of the cross, the weakest saint can confront his deadliest foe; and every accusation alleged and every sentence of condemnation uttered, he can meet, by pointing to Him who died. In that one fact he sees the great debt cancelled, the entire curse removed, the grand indictment quashed and \lquote No condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus\rquote are words written as in letters of living light upon the cross" (O. Winslow).\par \par 8. The resurrection of Christ. It seems strange that so many receive more comfort at the cross than they do at the empty grave of Christ, for Scripture itself hesitates not to say, "If Christ be not raised your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins" (1 Cor. 15:17). A dead Savior could not save: one who was himself vanquished by death would be powerless to deliver sin\rquote s slaves. Here is one of the chief defects of Romanism\emdash its deluded subjects are occupied with a lifeless Christ, worshippers of a crucifix. Nor are Protestant preachers above criticism in this matter, for only too often many of them omit the grandest part of the Evangel by going no further than Calvary. The glorious Gospel is not fully preached until we proclaim a risen and victorious Redeemer (1 Cor. 15:1-3; Acts 5:3 1). Christ was "delivered (up to death) for our offences and was raised again for our justification" (Rom. 4:24), and as the apostle goes on to declare, "For 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" (Rom. 5:10).\par \par What avail would it have been that Christ died for His people if death had conquered and overwhelmed Him? Had the grave held Him fast, He had been a prisoner still. But in rising from the tomb Christ made demonstration of His victory over sin and death: thereby He was "decLVALelared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4); "For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that He might be Lord both of the dead and living" (Rom. 14:9). Christ\rquote s sacrificial work was finished at the cross, but proof was needed of its Divine acceptance. That proof lay with Him who was pleased to "bruise Him and put Him in grief," and by raising the Redeemer God furnished incontestable evidence that all His claims had been met. The death of Christ was the payment of my awful debt: His resurrection God\rquote s receipt for the same; it was the public acknowledgement that the bond had been cancelled. Christ\rquote s resurrection sealed our justification: it was necessary to give reality to the atonement, and to provide a sure foundation for our faith and hope. Since God is satisfied, the trembling sinner may confide and securely repose upon the work of a triumphant Savior.\par \par "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again" (Rom. 8:34). Here the resurrection of Christ is presented as the believer\rquote s security against condemnation. But how does the former guarantee the latter? There is a causal connection between the two things. First, because Christ rose again not simply as a private person but as the Surety, the Head and Representative of all His people. It has not been sufficiently recognized and emphasized that the Lord Jesus lived, died and rose again as "the Firstborn among many brethren." As all whom the first Adam represented fell when he fell, died when he died, so all whom the last Adam represented died when He died and rose again when He arose. God "quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together" (Eph. 2:5, 6). "Risen with Christ" (Col. 3:1) is judicially true of every believer. The Law can no more condemn him: he has been fully and finally delivered from the wrath to come. Infallibly certain and absolutely secure is he by virtue of hisLVALf legal union with the risen Savior. "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over Him" (Rom. 6:9), nor over me, for His deliverance was mine, the second death cannot touch me.\par \par Second, because there is a vital union between Christ and His people. Said the Lord Jesus, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (John 11:25, 26). Nothing could possibly be plainer or more decisive than that. Spiritual resurrection makes the believer one with Him who is "alive for evermore" so that he is forever beyond the reach of death. Well then may we exclaim with the apostle, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:3). Regeneration or being begotten by God is the communication to the soul of the life of the risen Christ. A faint yet striking illustration of this is seen in our awakening each morning out of slumber. While our head sleeps, every member of the body sleeps with it. But the head awakes, and awakes first, and with that awakening each member awakens also \emdash after the head, yet in union with it. Thus it is with the mystical Body of Christ the Head was first quickened, and then in God\rquote s good time His life is imparted to each of His members, and before any member could perish the Head must die.\par \par Third, because as Christ was our Surety here so He is our Representative on high, and as He endured our penalty so justice requires that we should enjoy His fulness. Accordingly we read, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glorLVALgy for ever, Amen" (Heb. 13:20, 21). Note well the coherence of this passage. It is in His character as "the God of peace" He thus acts. Having been pacified or propitiated, God brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, not as a private person but in His official character, as the "Shepherd," and that, in fulfillment of covenant stipulation and promise. In consequence thereof, God makes perfect (or complete) in every good work the "sheep," preserving and sanctifying them by working in them that which is well pleasing in His sight, and this "through Jesus Christ," or in other words, by communicating to His members the grace, the life, the fulness, which is in their Head.\par \par 9. The Exaltation of Christ. There is a little clause, but one of vast purport, which the apostle added to "yea rather that is risen again," namely, "who is even at the right hand of God" (Rom. 8:34). That brief sentence is frequently overlooked, yet is it one which also guarantees the safety and perpetuity of the Church. The ascension of Christ is as vital and cardinal a part of the Truth as is His death and resurrection, and provides the same rich food for faith to feed upon. As it was not possible for death to hold Him, so it was not fitting for the earth to retain Christ. He who humbled Himself and became obedient unto death has been "highly exalted and given a name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9). The head which once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now, a royal diadem adorns the mighty Victor\rquote s brow. Christ is now in heaven as an everlasting Mediator, as a glorified High Priest over the House of God, as the sceptred King ruling with sovereign sway all things in heaven and earth, angels and principalities and powers being made subject to Him (1 Pet. 3:22). And Christ is entered heaven in our nature, in our name, on our behalf.\par \par The One who descended into the deepest depth has been elevated to the grandest glory. The crowning act of Christ\rquote s triumph was not when He issued forthLVALh a Victor from the tomb, but when He entered the courts of celestial bliss, when the everlasting doors lifted up their heads and the King of glory went in (Ps. 24:9). The raising of Christ was in order to His glorification. And it was in our nature He is exalted above all: the very hands which were nailed to the cross now wield the sceptre of universal dominion. How well fitted then is such an One to succor and "save unto the uttermost!" As faith follows the descent of the Father\rquote s Beloved to Bethlehem\rquote s manger, to Golgotha, to the sepulcher, so let it follow Him to the loftiest heights of dignity and bliss. This "same Jesus" who was rejected and degraded by Jew and Gentile alike has been "crowned with honor and glory" (Heb. 2:9). The exaltation of Christ was a necessary part of His Mediatorship, for it is from on high He administers His kingdom and makes effectual application of redemption. The ascension of Christ is also an essential part of the gospel.\par \par "Who is even at the right hand of God." First, this is the place of honor and dignity. When Bathsheba appeared before Solomon we are told that the king rose up to meet her and bowed himself unto his mother, and sitting down on this throne he caused a seat to be set for her "on his right hand" (1 Kings 2:19) as a mark of special favor and honor. After the royal proclamation concerning Christ "Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows; all Thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made Thee glad," it is added, "Kings\rquote daughters were among Thy honorable women: upon Thy right hand did stand the Queen in gold of Ophir" (Psa. 45:7-9), indicating the place of privilege and honor which is reserved for the Lamb\rquote s wife. "The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob (God of covenant relationship), the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus" (Acts 3:13)\emdash this was HisLVALi mediatorial glory in answer to His prayer in John 17:5. Christ has "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3).\par \par Second, the "right hand of God" is the place of supreme authority and power. As we read in Ex. 15:6 "Thy right hand, 0 Lord, is become glorious in power." "And set Him at His own right hand in the heavenlies: far above all principality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:20-23). Our Surety, then, was not only delivered from prison but exalted to universal dominion, "all power in heaven and in earth" being conferred upon Him. Then how well suited is He to fight our battles, subdue our iniquities and supply our every need! Christ has been elevated high above all ranks of creatures, however exalted in the scale of being or whatever their titles and dignities, and all have been placed in absolute subjection to Him, as "under His feet" signifies. Thus the entire universe is under His control ("upholding all things by the word of His power": Heb. 1:3) for the well-being of His people, so that no weapon formed against them can prosper. No wonder it is required "that all should honor the Son even as they honor the Father" (John 5:23).\par \par Third, it is the place of all blessedness. Our bounties and benevolences are distributed by our "right hand" (Matt. 6:3). "At Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps. 16:11)\emdash one of the great Messianic Psalms. "It is spoken assuredly of such pleasures as Jesus Christ by way of prerogative enjoyeth beyond all the saints and angels, He being at God\rquote s right hand so as none of them are. It was the peculiar encouragement that Jesus Christ had, not to be in Heaven only as a common saint, but to be in Heaven at God\rquote s right hand; and to have pleasures LVALjanswerable, far above all the pleasures of men and angels. . .God doth communicate and impart to Him to the utmost all His felicity, so far forth as that human nature is capable of" (Thos. Goodwin), Thus in the "joy" that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2) Christ has the "preeminence" as in all things else. In accord with this third meaning of the expression, Christ will "set the sheep on His right hand" saying to them "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34).\par \par Fourth, this setting of Christ at the right hand of the Majesty on high denotes the endowing His humanity with capacity and ability accordant with the exalted dignity conferred upon Him. It was not like an earthly king advancing his favorite to high honor, or even elevating his son to share his throne, but that God bestowed upon Christ superlative endowments (anointing Him with the oil of gladness "above His fellows," i.e. giving to Him the Spirit "without measure"), fitting Him to discharge such an office. This is clear from the immediate context of Ephesians 1:21, where prayer is made that we may understand God\rquote s "mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenlies" (vv. 19, 20). This fitting of Christ for His exalted position appears in Rev. 5. There a mysterious book is held forth, but none either in heaven or earth was found worthy to open it till the Lamb appeared. And wherein lay His fitness? The Lamb as it had been slain, possessed "seven horns and seven eyes" (v. 6)\emdash perfect power and perfect intelligence.\par \par "Who is even at the right hand of God." Here then is a further guarantee of the safety and perpetuity of the Church, and O what consolation and encouragement should it afford the tried and trembling believer. He went up "with a shout" (Ps. 47:5)\emdash of conquest, leading captivity captive. His being seated in heaven is proof that His work is finished and HLVALkis sacrifice accepted (Heb. 10:11, 12). It was as the Head and Representative of His people Christ entered Heaven to take possession for them: "whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus" (Heb. 6:20). It is in our nature and name He had gone there, to "prepare a place" for us. (John 14:2). Thus we have a Friend at Court, for "if any one sin we have an Advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1). His great authority, power, dominion and glory is being exercised on our behalf. The government of the universe is on His shoulder, for the well-being, security and triumph of His Church. Hallelujah, what a Savior! God has laid our help "upon One that is mighty" (Ps. 89:19).\par \par 10. Christ\rquote s Intercession. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:34). Here is the grand climax. First, Christ made a complete atonement for the sins of His people. Next He rose from the dead in proof that His sacrifice was accepted by God. Then He was advanced to the place of supreme honor and power in reward of His undertaking. And now He sues out or asks for His people the benefits He purchased for them. The inexpressible blessedness of this appears in the above order. How many who have been suddenly elevated from poverty to wealth, from ignominy to honor, from weakness to power, promptly forget their former associates and friends. Not so the Lord Jesus. Though exalted to inconceivable dignity and dominion, though crowned with unrivalled honor and glory, yet this made no difference in the affections of Christ toward His people left here in this world. His love for them is unabated, His care of and concern for His Church undiminished. The good will of the Savior unto His own remains unchanged.\par \par The ascended Christ is not wrapped up in His own enthronement, but is still occupied with the well-being of His people, maintaining their interests, seeking their good: "He ever liveth to LVALlmake intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). He knows they are weak and helpless in themselves, and are surrounded by those desiring and seeking their destruction, and therefore does He pray, "I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee, holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given Me" (John 17:11); and He bases that request on the finished work by which He glorified God (v. 4). The plea which our great High Priest urges cannot rest upon our merit, for we have none; it is not in recognition of our worthiness, for we are destitute of such. Nor does our wretchedness furnish the reason which the Intercessor urges on our behalf, for that very wretchedness has been brought upon us by our sins. There are no considerations personal to ourselves which Christ can plead on our behalf. No, His all-sufficient sacrifice is the alone plea, and that must prevail. Christ intercedes in Heaven because He died for us on earth (Heb. 9:24-6).\par \par If left entirely to themselves believers would perish. Temptations and tribulations from without and corruptions from within would prove too strong for them, and therefore does Christ make intercession on their behalf, that God would grant them such supplies of grace and pardoning mercy that they will be preserved from total apostasy. It is not that He prays they may be kept from sin absolutely, but from a fatal and final departure from God. This is evident from the case of the eleven on the night of His betrayal: not one only but all of them "forsook Him and fled" (Matt. 26:56). It was the prevalency of His intercession which brought them back again. That was made more especially evident in the case of Peter. The Lord Jesus foresaw and announced that he would deny Him thrice (and lower than that it would seem a Christian cannot fall), yet He prayed that his faith should fail not: not did it\emdash it wrought by love and produced repentance.\par \b Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \b0\par \b Chapter 5\par ITS SPRLVALmINGS\par \b0\par We now turn to contemplate the most important and blessed aspect of our subject, yea, the very heart and crux thereof. The believer\rquote s perseverance in faith and holiness is no detached and isolated thing, but an effect of an all-sufficient cause. It must not be viewed as a separate phenomenon but as the fruit of Divine operations. The believer\rquote s continuance in the paths of righteousness is a miracle, and miracle necessarily requires the immediate agency of God. Our present concern then is to trace this stream back to its source and to show the springs from which this marvel issues; to admire the impregnable foundations on which it rests. Only as those springs and foundations are clearly revealed shall we ascribe the glory unto Him to whom alone it is due, only so shall we be able to apprehend the absolute security of the saints, only so shall we perceive the vanity and uselessness of all the Enemy\rquote s attacks upon this cardinal truth. The perseverance of the saints is assured by so many infallible guarantees that it is difficult to know which to bring before the reader and which to omit.\par \par The doctrine for which we are here contending follows as a logical consequence from the Divine perfections: whatever is agreeable to them, and they make necessary, must perforce be true; contrariwise whatever is contrary to them and reflects dishonor upon them must be false. Now the doctrine of the saints\rquote final perseverance is agreeable to the Divine perfections, yea is made entirely necessary by them, and therefore must be true; and the contrary doctrine of the falling away of real saints so as to perish everlastingly is repugnant to them and reflects great dishonor upon them, and therefore must be false. That which we have here briefly affirmed will be illustrated in detail and demonstrated at length in all that follows in this and the succeeding section. Summarizing what we propose to set before the reader it will be found that the eternal security of the ChriLVALnstian rests upon the good will of the Father, the mediation of the Son, and the office and operations of the Holy Spirit, and therein we have a "threefold cord" which cannot possibly be broken.\par \par 1. The unchanging love of God. This argument however is one which can have little weight with those who have imbibed Arminianism and accepted their false interpretation of John 3:16; but they who perceive the Divine love to be a discriminating and particular and not an indefinite and general one will find here that which is sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb. If it were true that God loves the whole human race then, seeing a large part thereof is already in Hell, I could draw no assurance therefrom that I shall never perish. But when I discover that God\rquote s love is restricted to those whom He chose in Christ and that He loves them with an "everlasting love," then I unhesitatingly conclude that "many waters" cannot quench that love (Song of Sol. 8:7). It would lead too far afield, for us to show wherein so many err concerning the meaning of John 3:16 or to evidence at length the discriminating character of God\rquote s love: suffice it here to point out that "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth" (Heb. 12:6) would be meaningless did He love everybody\emdash the next clause "and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" at once defines the objects of His affection. "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:13): therefore Jacob is now in Heaven, but his brother has received the due reward of his iniquities.\par \par "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). God does not love His people because they love Him. No, we read of "His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins" (Eph. 2:4, 5): when we had no desire to be loved by Him, yea when we were provoking Him to His face and displaying the fierce enmity of our unrenewed hearts. God loved His people before they had a historical existence, for while they were yet sinners Christ died for them (Rom. 5:8).LVALo Why, He declares "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 3 1:3). That love then derives not its strength or its streams from anything in us, but flows spontaneously from the heart of God, finding its deep wellspring within His own bosom. Since God is love He can no more cease to love than He can cease to be, and since God changes not there can be no variation and fluctuation in His love.\par \par The object of God\rquote s love is His Church, which is His special delight. From all eternity He loved His elect, and loved them as His elect, as having peculiar propriety in them. He loved them in Christ, chose them in Christ, and blessed them with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3). He loved them so as to predestinate them unto the adoption of children (Eph. 1:5). He loved their persons in Christ with the same love wherewith He loves Christ their Head (John 17:23). He loved them so as to make them "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6). It is a love which can never decay, for it is founded on the good pleasure of His will towards them. God\rquote s love to Christ knows no change nor can it to the members of His body: "and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me" (John 17:23), declares the Savior, and He is speaking there as the Head of His Church. We are loved in Christ and according to the relation we stand in to Him, that is, as members to an Head\emdash loved as freely and immutably.\par \par Though the effects of God\rquote s love vary in their manifestations, yet there is no diminution of His affection and none in its perpetuity. Men often love those who prove otherwise than they expected, and come to repent of the affection lavished upon them. But it is not so with God, for He foreknew all that ever we would be and do\emdash our sins, unworthiness, rebellions; yet set His heart upon us notwithstanding\emdash so that He can never say we turned out other than He thought we would. Had God\rquote s love been set upon us because of some good or excellency in us, then when that goodneLVALpss declined, His love would diminish too. "God foresaw all the sins you would ever have: it was all present to His sacred mind, and yet He loved you, and loves you still" (C. H. Spurgeon). The child of God may for a season depart from the paths of righteousness, and then will his Father visit his transgression with the rod and his iniquity with stripes, "nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not make void from him nor suffer My faithfulness to fail" (Ps. 89:32, 33) is His own declaration.\par \par Because God\rquote s love is uncreated it is unchanging. God does not love by fits and starts, but forever. Because it is founded upon nothing in its object, no change in that object can forfeit it. In every state and condition into which the elect can come, God\rquote s love unto them is invariable and unalterable, constant and permanent. We may repent of the love which we bestowed an some of our fellows because we were unable to make them good: the more we loved them, the more they took advantage of it. Not so with God: whom He loves He makes holy. This is one of the effects of His love: to shed abroad His love in the hearts of its objects, to stamp His own image upon them, to cause them to walk in His fear. His love to the elect is perpetual because it is in Christ; they are joined to Christ by an union which cannot be dissolved. God must cease to love Christ their Head before He can cease to love any member of His Body. Then what madness, what blasphemy, to think of any of them perishing!\par \par Over this blessed attribute of Divine love is written in letters of light "Semper idem," always the same. Those who are once the objects of God\rquote s love are so always. If God has ever loved you, my reader, He does so today: loves you with the same love as when He gave His Son to die for you; loves you with the same love as when He sent His Holy Spirit into your heart crying "Abba Father;" loves you with the same love as He will in Heaven throughout the endless ages. And nothing can or shall separate yoLVALqu from that love (see Rom. 8:38, 39). A preacher once called upon a farmer. As he approached his residence he saw over the barn a weathervane and on the top of it in large letters the text "God is love." When the farmer appeared the preacher pointed to that vane and said in tones of rebuke "Do you imagine God\rquote s love is as variable as the weather?" No, said the farmer, I put that text there to remind me that no matter what the direction of the wind. God is love!\par \par "His love no end or measure knows,\par No change can turn its course,\par Immutably the same it flows\par From one eternal source."\par \par 2. The immutability of God. The guarantee for the perpetuity of God\rquote s love unto His people is found in the immutability of His nature. From everlasting Jehovah is God: underived, independent, self-sufficient, nothing can in anywise affect Him or produce any change in Him. Says the Psalmist "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment: as a vesture shalt Thou change them and they shall be changed. But Thou art the same and Thy years shall have no end" (102:25-27). This is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. All that He is today He ever has been and ever will be. He cannot change for the better for He is already perfect, and being perfect He cannot change for the worse. He only can say "I am that I am" (Ex. 3:14). Unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. His glory is an unfading one.\par \par Now in this immutability of God lies the eternal security of His people. "For I am the Lord, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Mal. 3:6). If any of them were lost, "consumed" by His wrath, then He must change in His attitude toward them, so that tTLVALdhose whom He once loved He now hates. But that would also involve an alteration in His purpose concerning them, so that whereas He has appointed them "to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:9), He must consign them over to destruction. How entirely different would such a variable and fickle character be from the God of Holy Writ! Of Jehovah it is said "He is of one mind, and who can turn Him?" (Job 23:13). It is because God changes not His people are not consumed: His love wanes not, His will is stable, His word sure. Because He is "The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17) we have an immovable rock on which to stand while everything around us is being swept away.\par \par The foundation of our preservation unto the end is the immutability of God\rquote s being, whereunto His love is conformed, so that His everlasting Deity must undergo alteration before any of His children could perish. This is clearly the force of both Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17. In the latter the apostle speaks of "every good and every perfect gift" which the saints receive from their Father, prefacing the same with "Do not err my beloved brethren. "The gifts bestowed upon the elect at their regeneration are not like Jonah\rquote s gourd which flourished only for a brief season. No, they are from Him with whom is "no variableness" either in His love or will. "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom. 11:29) or change of mind, and therefore they are never revoked. Let it be noted that those words were added to clinch the certainty of the purpose of God towards the remnant of the Jews according to the election of grace. Thus the immutability of God is the guarantee of the stability of His love and the irrevocableness of His grace unto us.\par \par \pard 3. The irreversible purpose of God. Having set His heart upon a chosen people, God formed a purpose of grace toward them: "in love ha\cf1\fs22\par } LVALs{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sl240\slmult1\lang2058\b\f0\fs24 Eternal Security\par By Arthur Pink\par \b0\par \b Chapter 6\par ITS BLESSEDNESS\par \b0\par In an earlier section we dwelt upon the deep importance of this doctrine, here we wish to show something of its great preciousness. Let us begin by pointing Out the opposite. Suppose that the Gospel proclaimed only a forgiveness of all sins up to the moment of conversion and announced that believers must henceforth keep themselves from everything unworthy of this signal mercy: that means are provided, motives supplied, and warnings given of the fatal consequences which will surely befall those who fail to make a good use of those means and diligently respond to those motives; that whether or not he shall ultimately reach Heaven is thus left entirely in the believer\rquote s own hands. Then what? We may well ask what would be the consequences of such a dismal outlook: what would be the thoughts begotten and the spirit engendered by such a gospel? what effect would it produce upon those who really believed it? Answers to these questions should prepare us to the more deeply appreciate the converse.\par \par It hardly requires a profound theologian to reply to the above queries; they have only to be carefully pondered and the simplest Christian should be able to perceive for himself what would be the inevitable result. If the Christian\rquote s entrance into Heaven turns entirely upon his own fidelity and his treading the path of righteousness unto the end of his course, then he is far worse off than was Adam in Eden, for when God placed him under the covenant of works he was not heavily handicapped from the beginning by indwelling sin, but each of his fallen descendants is born into this world with a carnal nature which remains unchanged to the moment of death. Thus the believer would enter into the fight not only LVALtwithout any assurance of victory but face almost certain defeat. If such a gospel were true then those who really believed it would be entire strangers to peace and joy, for they must inevitably spend their days in a perpetual dread of Hell. Or, the first time they were overcome by temptation and worsted by the Enemy, they would at once abandon the fight and give way to hopeless despair. "I will not turn away from them to do them good" (Jer. 32:40). "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5). Nothing whatever can or "shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:39). "He will keep the feet of His saints" (1 Sam. 2:9). How immeasurable the difference between the vain imaginations of men and the sure declarations of God: it is the contrast of the darkness of a moonless and starless midnight from the radiance of the midday sun. "Of them which Thou gayest Me have I lost none" (John 18:9) affirmed the Redeemer. Is not that inexpressibly blessed! That every one of the redeemed shall be brought safely to Heaven. The final apostasy of a believer is an utter impossibility, not in the nature of things but by the Divine constitution: not one who has once been received into the Divine favor can ever be cast out thereof. God has bestowed on each of His children a life than cannot die, He has brought him into a relationship which nothing can change or effect, He has wrought a work in him which lasts "for ever" (Eccl. 3:14).\par \par It is sadly true that multitudes of empty professors have "wrested" this truth to their destruction, just as many of our fellows have put to an ill use some of the most valuable of God\rquote s temporal gifts; but because foolish gluttons destroy their health through intemperance that is no reason why sane people should refuse to be nourished by wholesome food; and because the carnal pervert the doctrine of Divine preservation that is no valid argument for Christians being afraid to draw comfort from the same. Most certainly iLVALut is the design of God that His people should be strengthened and established by this grand article of the faith. Note how in John 17 Christ mentions again and again the words "keep" and "kept" (vv. 6, 11, 12, 13, 15). And His reason for so doing is clearly stated: "these things I speak in the world that they may have My joy fulfilled in them" (v. 13). He would not have them spend their days in the wretchedness of doubts about their ultimate bliss, uncertain as to the issue of their fight. It is His revealed will that they should go forward with a song in their hearts, praising Him for the certainty of ultimate victory.\par \par But the joy which issues from a knowledge of our security is not obtained by a casual acquaintance with this truth. Christ\rquote s very repetition "I kept them those that Thou gayest Me I have kept" (John 17:12) intimates to us that we must meditate frequently upon this Divine preservation unto eternal life. It is to be laid hold of in no transient manner but should daily engage the Christian\rquote s heart till he is warmed and influenced by it. A few sprinklings of water do not go to the roots of a tree, but frequent and plentiful showers are needed: so it is not an occasional thought about Christ\rquote s power to keep His people safe for Heaven which will deeply affect them, but only a constant spiritual and believing pondering thereon. As Jacob said to the Angel "I will not let thee go except thou bless me" (Gen. 32:26), so the believer should say to this truth, I will not turn from it until it has blessed me.\par \par When our great High Priest prayed "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me" (John 17:11) it was not (as the Arminians say) that He asked merely that they might be provided with adequate means, by the use of which they must preserve themselves. No, my reader, it was for something more valuable and essential. The Savior made request that faith should be continually wrought in them by the exceeding greatness of God\rquote s LVALvpower (Eph. 1:19), and where that is there will be works of sincere (though imperfect) obedience and it will operate by responding to the holiness of the Law so that sins are mortified. The Father answers that prayer of the Redeemer\rquote s by working in the redeemed "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13), fulfilling in them "all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power" (2 Thess. 1:11) preserving them "through faith unto salvation" (1 Pet. 1:5). He leaves them not to their feeble and fickle wills, but renews them in the inner man "day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16).\par \par That Christ would have His redeemed draw comfort from their security is clear again from His words "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). To what purpose did the Lord Jesus thus address His disciples, but to denote that infallible certainty of their final salvation by a contrast from those who perish: that is, whose names were written only "in the earth" (Jer. 17:13) or on the sands which may be defaced. Surely He had never spoken thus if there was the slightest possibility of their names being blotted Out. Rejoice because your names are written in heaven;" is not the implication both necessary and clear as a sunbeam; such rejoicing would be premature if there was any likelihood of final apostasy. This call to rejoice is not given at the moment of the believer\rquote s death, as he sees the angels about to convoy him to the realm of ineffable bliss, but while he is still here on the battlefield. Those names are written by none other than the finger of God, indelibly inscribed in the Book of Life, and not one of them will ever be erased.\par \par Take again His words in the parable of the lost sheep: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:7). "Such exalted hosannas would not resound on these occasions among the inhabitants of the skies if the doctrine of final perseverance was untrue. Tell me, ye seraphs of lLVALwight; tell me, ye spirits of elect men made perfect in glory, why this exuberance of holy rapture on the real recovery of a sinner to God? Because ye know assuredly that every true conversion is (1) a certain proof that the person converted is one of the elect number, and (2) that he shall be infallibly preserved and brought to that very region of blessedness into which ye yourselves are come. The contrary belief would silence your harps and chill your praises. If it be uncertain whether the person who is regenerated today may ultimately reign with you in heaven or take up his eternal abode among apostate spirits in hell, your rejoicings are too sanguine and your praises too presumptuous. You should suspend your songs until he actually arrives among you and not give thanks for his conversion until he has persevered unto glorification" (A. Toplady).\par \par 1. What encouragement is there here for the babe in Christ! Conscious of his weakness, he is fearful that the flesh and the world and the Devil may prove too powerful for him. Aware of his ignorance, bewildered by the confusion of tongues in the religious realm, he dreads lest he be led astray by false prophets. Beholding many of his companions, who made a similar profession of faith, so quickly losing their fervour and going back again into the world, he trembles lest he make shipwreck of the faith. Stumbled by the inconsistencies of those called "the pillars of the church," chilled by older Christians who tell him he must not be too extreme, he is alarmed and wonders how it can be expected that he shall hold on his way almost alone. But if these fears empty him of self-confidence and make him cling the closer to Christ, then are they blessings in disguise, for he will then prove for himself that "underneath are the everlasting arms," and that those arms are all-mighty and all-sufficient.\par \par The babe in Christ is as much a member of God\rquote s family as is the mature "father" (1 John 2:13) and the former is as truly the object of DivinLVALxe love and faithfulness as is the latter. Yea, the younger ones in His flock are more the subjects of the Shepherd\rquote s care than are the full-grown sheep: "He shall gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom" (Isa. 40:11). The Lord does not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax (Matt. 12:20). He gave proof of this in the days of His flesh. He found some "smoking flax" in the nobleman who came to Him on behalf of his sick son: his faith was so weak that he supposed the Savior must come down to his house and heal him ere he died\emdash as though the Lord Jesus could not recover him while at a distance or after he had expired (John 4:49): nevertheless He cured him. So too after His ascension, He took note of a "little strength" (Rev. 3:8) and opened a door which none can shut. The highest oak was once an acorn and God was the maintainer of its life. When we affirm the final perseverance of every born-again soul we do not mean that saints are not in themselves prone to fall away, nor that at regeneration such a work is wrought in them once for all that they now have sufficient strength of their own to overcome sin and Satan and that there is no likelihood of their spiritual life decaying. So far from it, we hesitate not to declare that the very principle of grace (or "new nature") in the believer considered abstractedly in itself \emdash apart from the renewing and sustaining power of God \emdash would assuredly perish under the corruptions of the flesh and the assaults of the Devil. No, the preservation of the Christian\rquote s faith and his continuance in the path of obedience lies in something entirely external to himself or his state. Wherein lay the impossibility of any bone of Christ being broken? Not because they were in themselves incapable of being broken, for they were as liable to be broken as His flesh to be pierced, but solely because of the unbreakable decree of God. So it is with the mystical Body of Christ: no member of His can perish because of the purpLVALyose, power and promise of God Himself.\par \par How important it is then that the babe in Christ should be instructed in the ground of Christian perseverance, that the foundation on which his eternal security rests is nothing whatever in himself but wholly outside. The preservation of the believer depends not upon his continuing to love God, believe in Christ, tread the highway of holiness, or make diligent use of the means of grace, but on the Covenant-engagements entered into between the Father and the Son. That is the basic and grand Cause which produces as a necessary and infallible effect our continuing to love God, believe in Christ and perform sincere obedience. O what a sure foundation is that! What a firm ground for the soul to rest upon! What unspeakable peace and joy issues from faith\rquote s apprehension of the same! Though fickle in ourselves, the Covenant is immutable. Though weak and unstable as water we are, yet that is "ordered in all things and sure." Though full of sin and unworthiness, yet the sacrifice of Christ is of infinite merit. Though often the spirit of prayer be quenched in us, yet our great High Priest ever liveth to make intercession for us. Here then is the "anchor of the soul," and it is "both sure and steadfast" (Heb. 6:19).\par \par Ere concluding this subdivision it is necessary to point out in such days as these that it must not be inferred from the above that because the grace, the power and the faithfulness of God insures the preservation of the feeblest babe in Christ that henceforth he is relieved of all responsibility in the matter. Not so: such a blessed truth has not been revealed for the purpose of encouraging slothfulness, but rather to provide an impetus to use the means of preservation which God has appointed. Though we must not anticipate too much what we purpose to bring before the reader under a later division of our subject, when we shall consider at more length the safeguards which Divine wisdom has placed around this truth, yet a few words of LVALzwarning, or rather explanation, should be given here to prevent a wrong conclusion being drawn from the preceding paragraphs.\par \par The babe in Christ is weak in himself, he is left in a hostile world, he is confronted with powerful temptations, both from within and from without, to apostatize. But strength is available unto faith, armor is provided against all enemies, deliverance from temptations is given in answer to prevailing prayer. But he must seek that strength, put on that armor, and resist those temptations. He must fight for his very life, and refuse to acknowledge defeat. Nor shall he fight in vain, for Another shall gird his arm and enable him to overcome. The blessedness of this doctrine is that he shall not be left to himself nor suffered to perish. The Holy spirit shall renew him day by day, quicken his graces, move him to perseverance and make him "more than conqueror through Him that loved him."\par \par 2. What comfort is there here for fearing saints! All Christians have a reverential and filial fear of God and an evangelical horror of sin. Some are beset with legal fears, and most of them with anxieties which are the product of a mingling of legal and evangelical principles. These latter are occasioned more immediately by anxious doubts, painful misgivings, evil surmisings of unbelief. More remotely, they are the result of the permissive appointment of God, who has decreed that perfect happiness must be waited till His people get home to Heaven. Were our graces complete, our bliss would be complete too. In the meantime it is needful for the Christian traveler to be exercised with a thorn in the flesh, and that "thorn" assumes a variety of forms with different believers; but whatever its form it is effectual in convincing them that this earth is not their rest or a mount whereon to pitch tabernacles of continuance. In many instances that "thorn" consists of anxious misgivings, as the frequent "fear not" of Scripture intimates: the fear of being completely overcome by temptatLVAL{ion, or making shipwreck of the faith, of failing to endure unto the end.\par \par Once again we would quote those words of Christ, "Of them whom Thou hast given Me have I lost none" (John 18:9). Is not that inexpressibly blessed! That every one of the dear children whom the Father has entrusted to the care and custody of the Mediator shall be brought safely to glory; the feeblest as much as the strongest, those with the least degree of grace as those of the highest, the babes as truly as the full grown. Where true grace is imparted, though it be as a grain of mustard seed, yet it shall be quickened and nourished so that it shall not perish. This should be of great consolation to those timid and doubting ones who are apt to think it will be well with Christians of great faith and eminent gifts, but that such frail creatures as they know themselves to be will never hold out, who dread that Satan\rquote s next attack will utterly vanquish them. Let them know that the self-same Divine protection is given to all the redeemed. It is not because one is more godly than another, but because both are held fast in the hand of God. The tiny mouse was as safe in the ark as the ponderous elephant.\par \par What encouragement is there here for the godly, who when they view the numerous Anakims in the way and hear of the giants and walled cities before them are prone to dread their meeting with them. How many a one has trembled as he has pondered that word of Christ\rquote s "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matt. 19:23, 24) and said with the apostles, "Who then can be saved?" If it be such a difficult matter to get to Heaven, if the gate be so strait and the way so narrow, and so many of those professing to tread it turn out to be hypocrites and apostates, what will become of me? When thus exercised, remember Christ\rquotLVAL|e s answer to the astonished disciples, "with God all things are possible." He who kept Israel on the march for forty years without their shoes wearing out, can quite easily preserve thee, O thou of little faith.\par \par "Thou has a mighty arm: strong is Thy hand, high is Thy right hand" (Ps. 89:13). Grandly is that fact displayed in creation. Who has stretched out the heavens with a span? Who upholds the pillars of the earth? Who has set limits to the raging ocean, so that it cannot overflow its bounds? Whose finger kindled the sun, the moon, and the stars, and kept those mysterious Lamps of the sky alight all these thousands of years? Whose hand has filled the sea with fishes, the fields with herds, and made the earth fertile and fruitful? So too the mightiness of the Lord\rquote s arm is manifest in providence. Who directs the destinies of nations and shapes the affairs of kingdoms? Who sets the monarch upon his throne and casts him from thence when it so pleases Him? Who supplies the daily needs of a countless myriad of creatures so that even the sparrow is provided for when the earth is blanketed with snow? Who makes all things work together for good \emdash even in a world which lieth in the Wicked one \emdash to them that love Him, who are the called according to His purpose?\par \par When a soul is truly reconciled to God and brought to delight in Him, it rejoices in all His attributes. At first it is apt to dwell much upon His move and mercy, but as it grows in grace and experience it delights in His holiness and power. It is a mark of spiritual understanding when we have learned to distinguish the manifold perfections of God, to take pleasure in each of them. It is a proof of more intimate communion with the Lord when we perceive how adorable is the Divine character, so that we meditate upon its excellences separately and in detail, and praise and bless Him for each of them. The more we are given to behold all the varied rays of His pure light, the more we are occupied with the many glLVAL}ories of His crown, the more shall we bow in wonderment before Him. Not only shall we perceive how infinitely He is above us, but how there is everything in Him suited to our need; grace to meet our unworthiness, mercy to pardon our sins, wisdom to supply our ignorance, strength to minister to our weakness. "Who is like unto Thee, 0 Lord among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders!" (Ex. 15:11).\par \par How this glorious attribute of God\rquote s power ensures the final perseverance of the saints! Some of our readers have passed through sore trials and severe tribulations, yet they prevailed not against them: they shook them to their foundations, but they did not overthrow their faith. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all" (Ps. 34:19). Fierce were the foes which many a time gathered against thee, and had not the Lord been on thy side thou hadst quickly been devoured, but in Him thou didst find a sure refuge. The Divine strength has been manifested in your weakness. Is it not so, my brother, my sister: that such a frail worm as yourself has never been crushed by the weight of opposition that has come upon you\emdash Ah, "underneath were the everlasting arms." Though you trembled at your feebleness, yet, "out of weakness were made strong" (Heb. 11:34) has been your case too. Kept alive with death all around you, preserved when Satan and his hosts encompassed you. Must you not say "strong is Thy right hand!"\par \par 3. What comfort is there here for souls who are tempted to entertain hard thoughts of God! The awful corruptions of the flesh which still remain in the believer and which are ever ready to complain at the difficulties of the way and murmur against the dispensations of Divine providence, and the questionings of unbelief which constantly ask, Has God ceased to be gracious? how can He love me if He deals with me thus? are sufficient in themselves to destroy his peace and quench his joy. But wheLVAL~n to these are added the infidelities of Arminianism which declares that God takes no more care of His children than to suffer the Devil to enter in among and devour them, that the Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, affords no more security to His flock than to allow wolves and lions to come among and devour them at their pleasure, how shall the poor Christian maintain his confidence in the love and faithfulness of the Lord? Such blasphemies are like buckets of cold water poured upon the flames of his affection for God and are calculated only to destroy that delight which he has taken in the riches of Divine grace.\par \par The uninstructed and unestablished believer is apt to think within himself I may for the present be in a good state and condition, but what assurance is there that I shall continue thus? Were not the apostate angels once in a far better state and more excellent condition than mine: they dwelt in Heaven itself, but now they are cast down into Hell, being "reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6)! Adam in paradise had no lusts within to tempt and seduce him, no world without to oppose and entangle, yet "being in honor" he continued not, but apostatized and perished. If it was not in their power to persevere much less so in mine, who am "sold under sin" and encompassed with a world of temptations. What hope is there left to me? Let a man be exercised with such thoughts as these, let him be cast back solely upon himself, and what is there that can give him any relief or bring his soul to any degree of composure? Nothing whatever, for the so-called "power of free will" availed not either the angels which fell or our first parents.\par \par And what is it which will deliver the distressed soul from these breathings of despair? Nothing but a believing laying hold of this grand comfort: that the child of God has an infallible promise from his Father that he shall be preserved unto His heavenly kingdom, that he shall be kept fLVALrom apostasy, that the intercession of his great High Priest prevents the total failing of his faith. So far from God being indifferent to the welfare of His children and failing in His care for them, He has sworn that "I will not turn away from them to do them good." So far from the good Shepherd proving unfaithful to His trust, He has given express assurance that not one of His sheep shall perish. Rest on those assurances my reader, and thy hard thoughts about God will be effectually silenced. As to the stability and excellency of the Divine love, is it not written, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing" (Zeph. 3:17). What can more endear God to His people than that! How it should fix their souls in their love to Him. Well might Stephen Charnock say of Arminians, "Can these men fancy Infinite Tenderness so unconcerned as to let the apple of His eye be plucked out, as to be a careless Spectator of the pillage of His jewels by the powers of Hell, to have the delight of His soul (if I may so speak) tossed like a tennis ball between himself and the Devil." He that does the greater thing for His people shall He not also do the less: to regenerate them is more wonderful than to preserve them, as the bestowal of life exceeds the maintaining of it. The reconciliation of enemies is far harder than dealing with the failings of friends: "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then being now justified by His blood we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For 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" (Rom. 5:8-10). If there was such efficacy in the death of Christ, who can estimate the virtue of His resurrection! "He ever liveth to make intercession for us."\par \par 4. What comfort is there here for aged pilgrims! Some perhaps may be surprised at this heading, supposing that those who have bLVALeen longest in the way and have experienced most of God\rquote s faithfulness have the least need of consolation from the truth. But such a view is sadly superficial to say the least of it. No matter how matured in the faith one may be, nor how well acquainted with the Divine goodness, so long as he is left down here he has no might of his own and is completely dependent upon Divine grace to preserve him. Methuselah stood in as much need of God\rquote s supporting hand during the closing days of his pilgrimage as does the veriest babe in Christ. Look at it from the human side of things: the aged believer, filled with infirmities, the spiritual companions of his youth all gone, perhaps bereft of the partner of his bosom, cut off from the public means of grace, he looks forward to the final conflict with trepidation.\par \par "And even to your old age I am He, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you" (Isa. 46:4). Why has such a tender and appropriate promise been given by God if His aged saints have no need of the same? They, any more than the young, are not immune from Satan\rquote s attacks. He is not slow to tell the tottering believer that as many a ship has foundered when in sight of port so the closing storm of life will prove too much for him: that though God has borne long with his unbelief and waywardness, even His patience is now exhausted. How then is he to meet such assaults of the Fiend? In the same way as he has done all through his course. By taking the shield of faith, wherewith he shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the Wicked one (Eph. 6:16), by having recourse to the sure promise of Him who has said "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end."\par \par Ah, my aged friend, how often have you proved in your experience the truth of those words "thine enemies shall be found liars unto the