To which it may be replied, that all believers, whose character answers that of the church, to which the apostle writes, shall be saved; namely, all who are _begotten again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them_; whose _faith_, after it has been tried, shall be _found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ_, 1 Pet. i. 3, 4, 7. I say, these shall certainly be saved: therefore, if all who are thus preserved to salvation, are kept by the power of God, this is all we need contend for. And whereas he adds, that when they are said to be kept through faith, the meaning is, they are kept, if they continue in the faith. To this it may be replied, That their continuance in the faith was put out of all dispute, by what is said concerning them in the words going before and following, as row referred to. And as to his argument, it amounts to no more than this; that they shall be kept by the power of God, if they keep themselves; or they shall persevere if they persevere, to which I need make no reply. But since our main design in this head is not to prove that believers shall persevere, which we reserve to our next; but to shew that whatever we assert concerning their perseverance, take its rise from God; we shall consider this as plainly contained in scripture. Accordingly the apostle speaks of the Lord’s _delivering him from every evil work, and preserving him to his heavenly kingdom_, 2 Tim. iv. 18. Jude, ver. 1. and the apostle Jude speaks of believers as _sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called_, or as being first called, and then preserved by God the Father, through the intervention of Christ, our great Mediator, till they are brought to glory. And our Saviour, in his affectionate prayer for his church, a little before he left the world, says, _Holy Father, keep, through thine own name, those whom thou hast given me_, John xvii. 11. which not only proves that the perseverance of the saints is owing to God, but that the glory of his own name is concerned herein; therefore it is not from ourselves, but him: and there is another scripture, in which our Saviour, speaks of the perseverance of his _sheep_ in grace, and of his giving them eternal life, and adds, that _they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of his hand_, chap. x. 28. therefore it is owing to his care, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, and to his power, that is superior to that of all those who attempt to destroy them, that they shall persevere in grace. And this leads us to consider, III. What ground we have to conclude that the saints shall persevere in grace, and so explain and illustrate the arguments insisted on in this answer, together with some others that may be taken from the sense of several scriptures, by which this doctrine may be defended.