bad man, is his refufing to listen to the fuggeftions of the holy Spirit of God. So far as we do not listen to them, we are under the guidance of those wicked propenfities, which we inherited from our forefather. What little goodness the bad man may have, as few men are without fome good qualities, he entirely obtains, by listening to the holy spirit of God. But as he generally liftens to the world, and its temptations, the voice of God's fpirit within him, grows weaker, and weaker; till at length it will be hardly heard. And yet we cannot fuppofe, that even in the most abandoned men the spirit of God is wholly extinguished. There must ftill remain fome latent fpark: otherwise (as in himself there can be no good thing) there could not, one should suppose, be any repentance.

Thus the spirit of God is given to every man to profit withal; and it is every man's own fault, if he do not profit by it.

XIX.

Work out your own falvation with fear, and trembling; for it is God, which worketh in you, both to will, and to do, of his good pleaJure.-Philippians ii. 12.

In this paffage there are feveral things, which want explaining.

Let us first confider what is meant by working out our own falvation. This text at first fight implies, what the apostle certainly never meant it should imply, that we have the power to work out our own falvation ourselves. If that had been the cafe, the christian atonement had been ufelefs. Chrift had died in vain.

The falvation of man is every where reprefented in fcripture as depending on two things -his own endeavours; and the merits of Christ. Neither will fave him without the other. It is very plain therefore, that when the apostle bids us work out our own falvation he is not explaining to us the whole mode of our falvation, but is only enjoining us to do that part, which belongs to ourselves.

We

We next observe, that we are not only exhorted to work out our own falvation, but to do it with fear and trembling. This expref fion is used in two or three other parts of fcripture; and seems only to imply great care, cau-: tion, and anxiety.There is no difficulty however in this claufe. It is not at all wonder-) ful, that what depends on mán, should be fo liable to error, and negligence, as to demand the strongest exhortations to care, and watchfulnefs.

But in the next clause there is fomewhat more of difficulty. The reafon given for our working out our own falvation with fear and trembling is at firft fight, rather peculiar. It is because God worketh in us both to will and to do. If God work out our falvation, where is the neceffity of our working at all; or being in any fear and trembling about the matter? But we fhould confider, that as all the effectual efforts we can make of working out our own falvation depend on our listening to the holy spirit of God, it is certainly a mighty reafon for our working with all the care, and caution we can; left we should do any thing to prevent, or impair, its gracious admonitions.

We are told farther that God worketh in us both to will, and to do, of his good pleasure. This appears, as if God wrought in us, in an arbitrary manner: whereas this is directly oppofite to the apostle's meaning. If God work in us, in an arbitrary manner, it would certainly be of no use for us to work for ourselves; which we are carefully inftructed to do. The meaning therefore of the expreffion, is, not that it is God's good pleasure to work for one more than for another: but that it is his good pleasure, that he works for any of us at all.

XX.

The end of all things is at hand. Be ye there

fore fober, and watch unto prayer: and above

all things have fervent charity among yourfelves. Peter iv. 7.

A SENSE hath fometimes been put on this paffage, which appears to me a degrading one. Some commentators* refer the end of all things here mentioned, to the deftruction of Jerufalem. For myself, I fee nothing relative to the deftruction of Jerufalem in the whole context. It appears to other expofitors, referring to a very different fubject.

What indeed was the deftruction of Jerufalem to thofe, whom St. Peter addreffed? His was a catholic epiftle, written to all chriftians, wherever difperfed, very few of whom probably had any concern with the deftruction of Jeru falem.

Besides, I think this fenfe injures the apostle's reafoning. The deftruction of Jerufalem is at hand therefore be fober. How fo? What

See PYLE,WHITBY, &c. + See POLE, and DODDRIDGE. inducement

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