A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

I readily grant, that the Lord hath graciously promised to heal the backslidings of his people (Hosea 14.4. and so Jer. 3.22.¹ Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings; behold we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God.) But I can no where find in all the Scriptures, that God hath engaged himself by any particular promise or promises, that Christians truly converted, truly penitent, shall never fall again and again into the same sins, after their conversion. I cannot find in all the book of God, where God has engaged himself to give such strength or power against this sin or that, as that a Christian shall be for ever (in this life) put out of all possibility of falling again and again into the same sins. ⟨p. 281⟩No person on earth can show such a promise, that when a Christian has been thus or thus troubled, grieved, humbled or melted for his sins, that then God will assuredly preserve him from ever falling into the same sins again. The sight of such a promise under God's own hand, would be as life from the dead to all real Christians, who fear nothing more than the sin of backsliding. Certainly, there is no such power or infinite virtue in the greatest horrors or terrors, troubles or sorrows that the soul can be under for sin, nor in the fullest, sweetest or choicest discoveries of God's rich grace and free love to the soul, as for ever to fence and secure the soul from relapsing into the same sin again and again. Though grace be a glorious creature, yet 'tis but a creature; grace is but a created habit, that may be prevailed against by Satan's temptations, and by the strong, secret, and subtle workings of sin in our hearts. But this must be carefully minded and remembered, that though the Saints may and do sometimes relapse, yet they do not relapse in such a manner as wicked men do relapse. For,

I readily grant, that the Lord hath graciously promised to heal the backslidings of his people (Hosea 14.4. and so