I will yet give you two or three instances more, wherein it will be manifest that whatever happeneth to thee, I mean as a chastisement for sin, after the spirit of adoption has come, thou oughtest to hold fast by faith the relation of Father and Son. The people spoken of by Moses are said to have lightly esteemed the rock of their salvation, which rock is Jesus Christ, and that is a grievous sin indeed, yet, saith he, "Is not God thy Father that hath bought thee?" and then puts them upon considering the days of old (Deut 32:6). They in the prophet Jeremiah had played the harlot with many lovers, and done evil things as they could; and, as another scripture hath it, gone a-whoring from under their God, yet God calls to them by the prophet, saying, "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?" (Jer 3:4). Remember also that eminent text made mention of in 1 Samuel 12:20, "Fear not; ye have done all this wickedness"; and labor to maintain faith in thy soul, of thy being a child, it is true that thou hast received the spirit of adoption before, and so that thou oughtest not to fall under thy first fears because the ground is taken away, of thy eternal damnation.
Now, let not any, from what hath been said, take courage to live loose lives, under a supposition that once in Christ, and ever in Christ, and the covenant cannot be broken, nor the relation of Father and child dissolved; for they that do so, it is evident, have not known what it is to receive the spirit of adoption. The spirit of the devil in his own hue that suggesteth this unto them and that prevaileth with them to do so. Shall we do evil that good may come? Shall we sin that grace may abound? Or shall we be based in life because God, by grace, has secured us from wrath to come? God forbid; these conclusions betoken one void of the fear of God indeed and of the spirit of adoption, too. For what son is he, that because the father cannot break the relation, nor suffer sin to do it—that is, betwixt the Father and him—that will therefore say, I will live altogether after my own lusts, I will labor to be continual grief to my Father?
[Considerations to prevent such temptations.]
Yet lest the devil (for some are "not ignorant of his devices" ) should get an advantage against some of the sons, to draw them away from the filial fear of their Father, let me here, to prevent such temptations, present such with these following considerations.
First, though God cannot, will not, dissolve the relation which the spirit of adoption hath made betwixt the Father and the Son, for any sins that such do commit, yet he can, and often doth, take away from them the comfort of their adoption, not suffering children while sinning to have the sweet and comfortable sense thereof on their hearts. He can tell how to let snares be round about them and sudden fear trouble them. He can tell how to send darkness they may not see and let the abundance of waters cover them (Job 22:10,11).
Second. God can tell how to hide his face from them and afflict them with that dispensation, that it shall not be in the power of all the world to comfort them. "When he hideth his face, who then can behold him?" (Job 23:8,9, 34:29).
Third. God can tell how to make thee again to possess the sins that he long since hath pardoned and that in such wise that things shall be bitter to thy soul. "Thou writest bitter things against me," says Job, "and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth." By this, he made David groan and pray against it as an insupportable affliction (Job 13:26; Psa 25:7).
Fourth. God can lay thee in the dungeon in chains, roll a stone upon thee, make thy feet fast in the stocks, and make thee a gazing stock to men and angels (Lam 3:7,53,55; Job 13:27; Nahum 3:6).
Fifth. God can tell how to cause to cease the sweet operations and blessed influences of his grace in thy soul and to make those gospel showers that formerly thou hast enjoyed to become now to thee nothing but powder and dust (Psa 51; Deut 28:24).
Sixth. God can tell how to fight against thee "with the sword of his mouth," and to make thee a butt for his arrows; and this is a dispensation most dreadful (Rev 2:16; Job 6:4; Psa 38:2-5).
Seventh. God can tell how to bow thee down with guilt and distress that thou shalt in no way be able to lift up thy head (Psa 40:12).
Eighth. God can tell how to break thy bones, and to make thee because of that to live in continual anguish of spirit: yea, he can send a fire into thy bones that shall burn, and none shall quench it (Psa 51:8; Lam 3:4, 1:13; Psa 102:3; Job 30:30).
Ninth. God can tell how to lay thee aside and make no use of thee as to any work for him in thy generation. He can throw thee aside "as a broken vessel" (Psa 31:12; Eze 44:10-13).
Tenth. God can tell how to kill and take thee away from the earth for thy sins (1 Cor 11:29-32).
Eleventh. God can tell how to plague thee in thy death, with great plagues, and of long continuance (Psa 78:45; Deut 28).
Twelfth. What shall I say? God can tell how to let Satan loose upon thee; when thou liest a dying, he can license him then to assault thee with great temptations; he can tell how to make thee possess the guilt of all thy unkindness towards him, and that when thou, as I said, art going out of the world, he can cause that thy life shall be in continual doubt before thee, and not suffer thee to take any comfort day nor night; yea, he can drive thee even to madness with his chastisements for thy folly, and yet all shall be done by him to thee, as a father chastiseth his son (Deut 28:65-67).
Thirteenth. Further, God can tell how to tumble thee from off thy deathbed in a cloud; he can let thee die in the dark; when thou art dying, thou shalt not know whither thou art going, to wit, whether to heaven or hell. Yea, he can tell how to let thee seem short of life, both in thine own eyes and the eyes of them that behold thee. "Let us therefore fear," says the apostle—though not with slavish, yet with filial fear—"lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it" (Heb 4:1).
