be : upon their guard daily they have need to be established. II. Tho' God has bestowed much grace upon his children, whereby they may be keeped from the fnares and temptations of Satan, yet fo ftrong is corruption even in the best, that if God fend not fresh fupply, and new influences to water grace, and make it lively, vigorous, and ftrong, they will not be able to ftand out againft the blast it is only God's ftrength and power that can fupport a tottering foul, and nothing in themfelves; it is God who is of power to eftablish them: To him who is of power to eftabish you. III. The ftedfaftness of believers in a time of sharp trial and temptation, is much to be wished and wrestled for; and God is to be much importuned for grace and power, both by minifters and others, when fuch as caufe divifions and offences are brokenloofe: This doxology of his has a prayer in the bofom of it; a prayer in it to God for their establishment: To him who is of power to establish you.. IV. As the truth of the gospel is that which should be ftuck to on all hazards in a day of trial; fo in the gofpel there will be precious promifes found of grace, for ftrength and ftability, conftancy and perfeverance, which ought to be well impro ven, ftudied, and laid hold on by faith, when temptations are flying abroad: Stablife you according to my gospel. As it is a great piece of honour put upon one, to be employed in carrying the glad news of falvation thro' a Mediator; fo fhould all who are employed therein account themselves honoured in being put into that office and as the tidings of the gofpel are fweet and most defirable in them felves, fo fhould the heart of the carrier of thefe news close sweetly with them, and own that gospel as his own upon all hazards: The apoftle is not afhamed of the gofpel, but is warmed at the thoughts of it, and he calleth it his gofpel; according to my gospel. VI. The gofpel treateth of nothing but of noble Jefus, the Redeemer of faints, fhewing what he has done for finners, and what way finners fhall win near him, and be made one with him here, and enjoy him hereafter, as their portion for ever; he is the main text of it all: And whatever declareth not Chrift, and doth not point him forth, in his usefulness, worth and excellency, and driveth not at the fetting forth of noble Jefus, cannot be accounted a preaching of the gofpel; it is the preaching. of Christ Jesus: the gospel holds him fortn as a Jefus, to fave his people from their fins, and a Chrift, as anointed to be Priest,. Prophet and King. VII. This gofpel and news of falvation, thro' a crucified Chrift, is an excellent, di- vine, precious and myfterious thing; the worth of it is not notour to every one, however carnal wretches think little thing of it; ; hence it is called a mystery.. See Eph. vi.. 19. Col. iv. 3. VIII. Tho', fhortly after the fall, God was pleased to make known his purpose of grace to Adam, and made a promile of a Saviour, and ftill forward, the Lord made the light and knowledge of this appear more and more; yet all that while, until Chrift the promised Meffiah came, this bu finefs was kept up under vails, manifested but darkly in promifes, prophefies, types, and figures, and the like; and fo in commparison of the manifeftation which was made afterward, it might truly be faid to be kept fecret fince the world began. IX. This glorious mystery that was long vailed and kept clofe, was at length clearly,. fully, and perfpicuously unfolded and made plain and eafy: When Chrift came, and the fummer day of the gospel began to dawa, this glorious fun began to fhine in bright nefs, without clouds: it is now revealed, made manifest, and known. See Eph. i. 9. X. Tho' it feened good in the eyes of the only wife God, to reserve the clear and perfpicuous manifeftation of this gospelmystery unto our times; yet the ages be fore 1 fore had the fame gofpel among their hands, the fame way of falvation and not another; it was the fame day-light, tho' then but clearing before the fun-rife; for the fubftance of this doctrine was in the doctrine of the prophets; and by the fcriptures of the prophets, &c. XI. It is a courfe evidently tending unto the ruin and deftruction of the gospel, to caft by the Old Testament scriptures, as wholly useless now unto us, feeing the truth of the gofpel is confirmed by the doctrine of the prophets, and the doctrine of the gofpel is but a clear comment on the prophets: It is made known by the fcriptures of the prophets. XII. This explanation and clear unfolding of this excellent mystery, was the contrivance and work of the great God of heaven and earth, and it was done by warrant and command of him, and therefore we must give ear thereunto, as the truth of God: And Jefus Chrift, the author of this gofpel, is the unchangeable Jehovah; for he it was that gave commandment to his apostles to preach the gofpel to all nations: This manifeftation is faid to be done according to the commandment of the everlafting God. XIII. God is eternal in his being; the Ancient of days, being without beginning and ending, and fo is the unchangeable Jehovah, that altereth not, for all the changes and alterations that are in his difpenfations; tho' he measured out one way to his old people, and keeped his gofpel in the dark to them, and took another courfe with us, revealing the fame more clearly; yet this was according to the command of the everlafting God. XIV. As gospel light is now broken up more clearly than under the law, fo this light is diffufed far and wide, and the light thereof is not hemed in within the limits and borders of one kingdom, but is fent abroad to all nations, kindreds and languages without exception: No nation now is legally debarred and excluded, but, XV. The main and only thing which the preaching and unfolding of the exce!lent mysteries of the gospel driveth at, is the gaining of the confent of finners, and their hearty welcoming of the offered Me diator therein, and their willing fubjection unto the yoke of Chrift; the main proof whereof is, hearty clofing with and embracing of precious Jefus for life and falvation; For the obedience of faith. XVI. A gracious foul is fo filled with the fenfe of God's tranfcendent excellency and worth, that it, cannot but be often taken up in founding forth his praife, and extolling him highly: Oftentimes do we find the apoftle expreffing his fenfe of the wonderful greatnefs and goodness of God; and here in end he fays, To God only wife be glory. XVII. God is the fountain of all wisdom, and in him it is, as in its centre; and all the wifdom of the world (which is allenarly from him, who is the author of every good gift) is nothing comparable to his wif dom, who is wifdom itfelf; he is the only wife God, whatever finifter thoughts we have oftentimes of his difpenfations towards his church and us. XVIII. Right apprehenfions of the tranfcendent and imcomparably excellent attributes of God, efpecially of his wifdom, in contriving and ordering all things fo wifely, and of his power to accompay his wife and noble defigns, and to bring his purposes to pafs maugre all the oppofition of devils and men, will prompt up a graci ous foul to break out in wondering and extolling of this matchlefs Jehovah: To him that is of power, (fays he) and to God onlywife, be glory. XIX. All that we can do, for the extolling of this glorious God, is but to with from our heart, that all things may be fo difpofed of in a world, as that he may thereby be acknowledged to be the only fupreme and unfpeakably glorious God, and that that all angels and men may open their. | mouths, wide and proclaim the boundlefs and incomprehenfible excellency and glory of God: To him be glory. XX. As no fervice which we perform, will be accepted without the Mediator Christ, in and thro' whom we maft expect to be accepted of God; fo our celebrating and proclaiming of the riches and infinitenefs of the worth and excellency of God, must be done in and thro' Chrift; and in and by Christ, and the way of falvation thro' him, is the infinite wifdom and mighty power of God, proclaimed and clearly fet forth; fo that by this and thro' this he will get glory: To him be glory thro' Chrift. You XXI. As the tranfcendent worth and excellency of God is endlefs, and the faving fruits of his infinite power and wifdom are endless, fo a gracious foul fhould never weary of afcribing to him the glory due to his name; and the praife of God will be set forth by men and angels, world without end: To him be glory for ever. XXII. As it fhould be our hearty defire, that God may be glorified and extoled, fo fhould we confidently expect that in all things he will get glory to himself, and perfuade ourfelves thereof, and in teftimony thereof, clofe our prayers and wishes with an AMEN. Of the POSTSCRIPT. OU find in your Bibles, that at the Bibles, at end of this epiftle of Paul to the Romans, these words are fet down, Written from Corinth to the Romans, by Phebe a fervant of the church at Cenchrea; and poffibly you may fcruple little at that, or the like fet to the end of other epiftles, but look upon them as having as much canonic truth and authority as the reft of the epiftle: Therefore that ye may be undeceived in this, I shall fhortly do thefe two things: I. Lay down fome confiderations to difcover the naughtiness of these postscripts. II. Shew how little probability there is for the truth of this poftfcript here. And, I. As to the confiderations difcovering the naughtiness of these postscripts, it is obferveable, ift, That we find none of these poftfcripts fet to the end of the epiftles written by the other apoftles, but only to Paul's; and is it probable, that the Spirit of the Lord would infpire Paul only to fet to fuch poftfcripts, and none other of the apostles? 2dly, In fome of them Paul is fpoken of, not in the first perfon, as is ufual when one is fpeaking of himfelf; but in the third perfon, as that in 2 Tim. is faid to have been written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero: He fays not, when I was brought before Nero; and fo it feems to have been written by fome other later perfon, and not by Paul himself. 3dly, They behoved to be written by fome fince the epistles were written, becaufe the place whence they are fuppofed to be written, beareth a name which was not in ufe in thefe days when the epistle was written, but long afterward: As, for example, that which is added to 1 Timothy, for it is faid to be written from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana: Now, it is obferved that Phrygia was never fo ftiled till the reign of Conftantine, about the year 340. 4thly, None of the ancient commmentators make mention of them, before Theodoret, about the year 430; nor none fince him, till Oecumenius, about the year 1050. 5thly, All the copies which have these poftfcripts do not agree among themfelves; fome, for example, fay only, The 4 G fecond 600 Of the POSTSCRIPT. Second to Timothy was written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the Ro man governor the fecond time; and, The epiftle to Titus was written from Nicopolis; and, The first to Timothy is ended; and many copies, both Greek and Latin, have them not. 6thly, Many of them are utterly false; as, for example, that to Titus is faid to written from Nicopolis; whereas Paul was not then come as yet to Nicopolis; for he fays, chap. iii. 12. Be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis, for there (not here) I have determined to winter. The first epiftle to Timothy is faid to be written from Phrygia, &c. whereas Athanafius, and others from him fay, it was written from Macedonia and this might be shown of others alfo. 7thly, So do they bewray their want of authority feveral ways; as, for example, it is faid, The FIRST to Timothy was written, &c. and the FIRST to the Corinthians, and the FIRST to the Theffalonians; whereas Paul was not fure if ever he fhould live to write a fecond to any or all of thefe churches. 8thly, Many of them are attended with much uncertainty, as might be shown out of the bodies of the epiftles; as, for ex ample, the first to the Corinthians is faid to be written from Philippi, and yet, chap. xvi. 5. he was yet to go thro' Macedonia; and, verfe 19. he fends falutations from the churches of Afia; and fo it feemeth he was in Afia at this time; yea, verfe 8. he fays, he will stay ftill where he was, viz. at Ephefus, where that great and effectual door was opened to him, mentioned, 1 Cor. xix. 9. This might be exemplified in others alfo, but we fuppofe we have faid enough. II. The next thing we have to do, is to examine the probability of the truth of this poftfcript; and to us it feemeth not unquestionable: For, First, The grounds given by fome for confirmation of this are not very clear: As, ft, This is given for one ground of this epiftle's being written from Corinth, viz. (1.) That he fays, Rom. xvi. 25. he was going to Jerufalem with the contribution from Macedonia and Achaia, and of the contribution of Achaia he was not fure until he came thither. But this will be no demonftration of his being in the city of Corinth at the writing hereof, fecing he might have been in any cther city or place of Achaia befide Corinth. (2.) He feemeth to fay, that he is upon his jour ney towards Jerufalem, and to this epiftle might be written after he passed from Macedonia and Achaia. 3dly, They give this for another ground, that he commendeth to them Phebe, a fervant of the church of Cenchrea, Rom. xvi. 1. which belonged to Corinth. Ianfwer, (1.) This ground will as much conclude, that he was at Cenchrea while he wrote this epiftle, and this Cenchrea lay at tome miles diftance from Corinth. (2.) Why might he not commend Phebe to them under this notion, tho' he had not been in Achaia, let be in Corinth, whea he wrote this epifile? Thus we see this reafon is not cogent at all. 3dly, They have this for a ground that be calleth Eraftus chamberlain of the city, Rom. xvi. 23. and of him it is faid that he abode at Corinth, 2 Tim. iv. 20. I anfwer, (1.) Eraftus ftayed not always at Corinth, as we fee, Acts xix. 22. (2.) Be it fo, that he was chamberlain of Corinth, yet Paul fayeth not the chamberlain of this city, but the chamberlain of the city, which he might have faid, had he been in any other place of Achaia, or out of Achaia. 4thly, They tell us for another ground, that Gaius is called his hoft, and this Gaius was a Corinthian, 1 Cor. i. 14. I answer, (1.) Who this Gaius was is uncertain, whe ther that Gaius of Corinth, or Gaius of Derbe, Acts xx. 4. or Gaius of Ephefus, Ads xix. 29. (2.) Be he Gaius of Corinth, he might fend falutations unto the Romans, being with Paul, tho' not in the city at prefent; and Paul ftiled him his hoft, that be he might fet him forth the better unto the Romans. Secondly, There are fome things upon the other hand which make it probable that he wrote not this epiftle from Corinth; as this, 1. That if this epiftle had been written from Corinth, it was either written when he travelled Greece, Acts xx. and then among other places came to Corinth, or when he was going towards Afia, and fent fome before him unto Troas, Acts xx. 4. And that it was not written at the first of thefe times is clear, because, (1.) During these three months of his abode in Greece, Acts xx. 3. we hear nothing of his going to Corinth: And, (2.) At this time he knew not that their contribution was ready, as appeareth abundantly from his fecond epistle to that church; but when he wrote this epistle to the Romans, he had gotten up their contribution: It is true he promised to see them as he went to Jerufalem, 1 Cor. xvi. 7. but the Jews lying in wait for him constrained him to go about, Acts xx. 3. 2. Nor was it written at the fecond of thefe times; becaufe, (1.) We have no mention made of that either. (2.) He might | poffibly be conftrained to go by Corinth at this time, when paffing towards Afia, as before, becaufe of the Jews. (3.) If he at this time went to Corinth, he did not ftay long there, being in a hafte to go up to Jerufalem, and to meet again with thefe he had fent before him unto Troas. It is true, he had made a third promise to see them, 2 Cor. xii. 14. and xiii. 1. but that which hindered before, might hinder now. (4.) At this time neither Timothy nor Sofipater were with him, and yet he fends their falutations; they were fent before unto Troas, Acts xx. 4. 5. and that Paul would acquaint them with his purpose to write to Rome is not certain; feeing, 1. He was to make no stay there, but to hafte to Troas unto them; and, 2. How knew he of Phebe's occafions to Rome, who is fuppofed by the poft fcript to be the carrier of this epiftle; and if he knew not of her, nor of any other, how is it probable he would refolve to write however. Thus we fee, there is no very great probability for the truth of this poft cript; and therefore we cannot clofe with it, and others, as any part of canonical fcripture, but as added by fome inconfiderate anthor. FIN 1 S. |