a sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily: therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. (Eccl. viii. 11.) But behold the key upon this subject, a brutish man knoweth not: neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. (Psalm xcii.) Yea, they are reserved to the day of destruction; they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. (Job xxi. 30.) And this is the end of their sinful pleasures, and this is their wages-they will be cast into the fire that never shall be quenched, into hell where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. (Mark ix. 43.) And now, the Psalmist having by grace struggled through this temptation, he seeth the end of the wicked, and not only that, but the blessed state of the righteous, and his soul began to be filled with love and humility, and he seems to confess his ignorance, and his folly before God, and the love and the grace of God, excited his faith to such an high degree of love, that made him break out in words like these, Nevertheless, that is to say, although my state and condition hast been so, I know now that I ani continually with thee, thou hast holden me by my right hand, thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward recieve to glory; whom have In the heaven but thee, and there in none upon the earth that I desire beside thee; my flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. And my beloved brethren, this is what I call saving faith, or saving grace and faith united together; but it is not so with the wicked, for lo, they that are far from thee shall perish; thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee, that is, they that are not married to the Lamb are joined to the evil one, and they must perish with their idols; for their proud, wicked lust hast caused them to slay the innocent, even the sweet saints of God; and in her was found the blood of the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Rev. xviii. 24.) But the sweet Psalmist said, It is good for me, to draw near unto God, I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all thy works. (Psalm lxxiii.) And blessed was he because he struggled through and was found faithful; and he once sung the Psalms below, and I believe now in heaven above. Now, it appears that this Psalm was written by Asaph, or for Asaph, but not for his sake alone, but for the support and comfort of all generations to come And here you may find his name upon record, in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. (1 Chron. vi. 39.—xvi. 5.—— xxv. 1.-2 Chron. xxix. 30.-Ezra ii. 41.) Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Wo unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him. (Isaiah iii. 10,) And he that is lifted up here upon the earth with wicked lusts, pride, and cruelty, and is ashamed of his Lord; then his Lord will be ashamed of him when he cometh in his glory to judge the world in righteousness. Shall I be asham'd of thee, Who for me hath bled and died? Shall Satan then divest my love, To trample down thy precious blood, If I shall then betray my Lord, My Lord will be asham'd of me Lord grant that it may not be so, Let me heaven with violence take, O Jesus, come, possess my soul, Oh, who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire; who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? (Isaiah xxxiii. 14.) For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. (Isaiah Ixvi. 15.) But he that overcometh, saith the Lord, shall inherit all things: and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. (Rev. xxi. 7.) There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked; but the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. (Isaiah lvii. 20.) And, my readers, I have not found so much as one promise in the word of God, of joy, peace, and rest hereafter, for a man or woman that live and die in their sins. Therefore, by the grace of God, refuse the evil, and choose the good; be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good; so that ye may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. END OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH BOOK. BY EDWARD CROOK. BOOK TWENTY-SEVENTH. The Book of Election, and danger of falling from Grace. This Work is very entertaining, and I have written it with a design to please my God, and to give satisfaction to all as far as I can; and this Work hath a fair explanation upon it, and such clear proofs from the Holy Scriptures which cannot be overthrown. All these passages from the word of God are completely set in order, and drawn up to your view by chapter and verse, with an easy and plain explanation thereto. Not bigoted in this Work either by party or for self-interest, and free from partiality, except there be a just reason. Now, some people will dispute greatly, and hold up great arguments concerning election, or the elect people of God, and concerning falling from grace, and not falling from grace; now it would be well for such people to make their prayers to God through Christ, that they may be directed into the good and right way, and that they may pray unto him for a right understanding of the knowledge of his ways in all things. And again, it would be well for them to search the Scriptures at least as much or more than I have done, and then I believe if they are in the right spirit, that their judgment will be good, and that they will be much satisfied concerning these things; and as the Lord my God liveth, before whom I stand, it is not my wish nor desire, nor design, to deceive any, neither am I bigoted nor biased to any sector party of religion in particular, no otherwise than this-that is, I wish to bear part with all, I wish to follow on with all, as far forth as they follow Christ and his examples; and I believe this, that is, if I write down any thing in this Book, or in any other Book, that is wrong, and against the will of God, and that I do it willingly and wilfully, then God will surely bring me to an account another day; therefore I will not, I dare not, as poor as I am, to go beyond the command of my God; no, not for my house full of silver and gold. And now as there is still so many different principles, and sentiments, and opinions of people in the world, I say, as this is the case, it cannot be expected that I can please all, that is, upon a subject like this; therefore I hope that you will allow me to take this step, and that is, to do all that I can to please my God. And now speaking of election, and of the foreknowledge of God-I do believe that the Lord my God knoweth all things, from the beginning of time, to the end thereof; and I do believe that the foreknowledge of the Lord hath no bounds, that is to say, that the wisdom and the foresight of the Lord, is from everlasting to everlasting; for he declares to be the first, and with the last, and beside me saith the Lord, there is no God nor Saviour. (Isaiah xli 1.— chap. xliii. 10.--chap. xliv. 6, 8.-chap. xlv. 5, 6.) And he foresaw the sufferings of the bleeding Lamb, and declared that all the nations of the earth should be blessed by him. (Gen. xxii. 18.-1 Peter. i. 20.) And again, the Lord also foresaw the antediluvian world in their wickedness, and their end, but yet he preserved his servant Noah in time, so that he might preserve a remnant according to this election of grace. (Gen. vi. 3, 8.) And again, did not the Lord foresee his people Israel four hundred years in affliction, even at that time when the Lord revealed it to his servant Abraham? (Gen. xv. 13.) And again, the Lord foresaw Esau and Jacob before t'at they came forth, and how that they were to be separated and divided in their station. (Gen. xxv. 23.) And again, the Lord foresaw Jeremiah, and sanctified him in the womb, and ordained him to be a prophet unto the nations. (Jer. i. 5.) And so known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts xv. 18.) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. (Rom. viii. 29.) And blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. (Eph. i. 3.) Therefore my beloved brethren, be not ignorant of these things, but remember that one day is with the Lord as thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter Therefore I believe that the Lord knoweth all things, them that are his. (2 Tim. ii. 19.) Even his elect |