A Letter on a Believer’s Safety, amidst all his Spiritual Enemies (1762)

Dear Sir,

         I rejoice to find by your letter, that the things of God abide on yur heart with such power and favour; that you see such a glory in salvation-grace by Christ, that excites your desires after it; that you could justify God in his righeousness, if you was sent down to Hell, as your deserved place; that you admire that grace which hath kept you out of it for so long a space, and that you are reconciled to the sovereignty of God, in his electing grace.

         These things, Sir, are what the Lord works, in none but those that are his, and wherever they are found, they are a clear evidence of love to God, and faith in Christ. Of love to God; in that such a soul takes part with God against itself, and would acknowledge his righteousness to his honour, if he should be to itself, as a sinner, a righteous avenger; while to others, of his free favour, he is, and will be a glorious Saviour. Of faith in Christ, in that such a soul, sees such a glory in salvation-grace by him, that fills it with admiration, that draws it to put in for its own part in God’s salvation, and that bows the heart into a humble submission, even under fears of self-exclusion.

         And not such a soul under Heaven shall ever perish, or be sent to Hell. No the soul that is reconciled to God’s free grace in Christ, that betakes itself unto this refuge, that pleads sovereign mercy, under all its sin and misery: that soul is a vessel of mercy to be filled by grace, with glory to a vast eternity. Such a soul appeals unto grace, and unto grace it shall go: it calls for mercy, and mercy will answer to its name. It pleads free, sovereign love, and love will embrace it, in its everlasting arms. Such a soul is God’s “workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus.” It is made willing to be saved in God’s way, in and by Christ alone; and God will not, yea, with reverence let me say, God cannot, cast such a soul away. For “he cannot deny himself'” in the designed displays of his love, grace, and mercy; in the revelations thereof, which he hath made in his Son, to the very chief of sinners, who, at his call, come in, nor in, his faithfulness to this promise of salvation, unto every soul that ventures thereon. The Saviour who hath said, “him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise (in no case, for no sin whatsoever) cast out,” is of one mind, and who, or what, can turn him? He is of infinite strength, and what can be too hard for his salvation might? The Holy Ghost, who hath made that soul willing to be saved alone by God’s free grace in Christ, from all sin and misery, and [135] unto all purity and glory, to the praise of Jehovah’s grace, in its present and eternal bliss; he cannot deny his own work on that heart. No, as the Father, Son, and Spirit are one in essence, one in will, counsel and design, one in love, grace and mercy, one in wisdom, power and faithfulness, and one in working in preparing such a soul for salvation, it is impossible for that soul to sink into damnation! “Heaven and earth shall pass away;” and the whole frame of the universe be rolled into confusion; but Jehovah, the rock of ages, upon which that soul doth rest, can never sink with all its weight, but is, and will be his salvation! God the Father will go on with his great design in eternal election, and bring that soul up into full salvation. God the Son, who in his assumed human nature, “was once dead, but is alive, and lives for evermore;” will see to it, that the purchase of his God-like blood shall never be lost; nor the conquest of his omnipotent arm be wrenched out of his hand. And God the Holy Ghost will perform by his Almighty arm, the good work of grace, which in that soul, he hath begun, until the day of Christ, unto its compleat and eternal bliss: and the three-one God being thus engaged for such a soul’s eternal salvation; who, or what shall be able to sink him into everlasting destruction!

         Shall Satan do it, with all his malice, subtility and force? No, the Lord, the Father which hath chosen Jerusalem; will rebuke him. Shall the world do it, with its smiles or frowns, its snares and cares? No, the Lord, the Son, hath overcome that enemy for every soul that flees to him for safety. But O sin! this last and worst foe, heart, lip, and life sin, and especially against pardoning mercy; shall sin do it? No, the Lord, the Holy Ghost, dwells in that soul as a sanctifier, and maugres all opposition, will subdue sin mightily, and destroy it utterly; he will maintain, increase and perfect that soul's begun-purity, and raise him from the deepest depression, to inherit a complete and everlasting salvation!

         Whence then, dear Sir, all your fears of perishing through in-dwelling corruptions, which enkindle by the sparks of outward temptations? Is there any sin in you now, that God did not foresee when he chose you of old, unto eternal glory? Is there any sin of yours that can pose that infinite love, grace and mercy of his? Or rather, did not God, your all-wise Father, permit sin’s entrance, with its partial prevalence, the more to display his love, grace and mercy in their infinite, all-surmounting, immutable and eternal glories? Is there any sin in you now, that Jesus did not bear, and bear in its guilt for ever away, when for you he died upon the accursed tree? Was not your sin condemned to die, by the dying of the Lord Jesus? Struggle for a while, it may, but die it must; die it shall shortly by virtue of the death of Christ, in every power of your soul and body, entirely and totally. And is there any sin in you that is too strong for the omnipotent grace of God the Holy Ghost, to subdue and destroy? In a word, God your Father forgives all your iniquities; God your Saviour hath redeemed you from all iniquity, and will give you to set your feet shortly on the neck of this cruel enemy; and God your sanctifier, will subdue and destroy your iniquity, will fight for you against sin, to its present mortification, and to its future entire destruction, and make you as holy and happy as your soul can wish, in a full and everlasting salvation! Only fear sinning, to God’s dishonour, [136] and your soul’s wounding; but never fear perishing by sin; since you have trusted your soul in his hands, whose “name is called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins.” The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you, now, and forever. Amen.

         Dear Sir, I am, &c.

A.    D.

Text: Divine and Moral, Miscellanies, in Prose and Verse. Containing many Valuable Originals, Communicated by various Correspondents, and other Pieces extracted from different Authors, and antient Manuscripts. The Whole being such a Collection of Miscellaneous Thoughts, as will tend not only to please, but enlighten and profit the Reader, Vol. 2 (London: Printed for J. Fuller, in Newgate-Street, London; and T. Luckman, in Coventry. 1762), pp. 134-36.