The instructed Christian;

1. The instructed Christian;

2. Preface

3. Preface

4. Table of Contents

5. Introduction

The instructed Christian;

Lyford, William. [from old catalog]

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Entered, according to the act of Congress, in the year 1847, by WilliamHudson and William S. Young, in the clerk's office of the District Courtof the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

ADVERTISEMENT.

In preparing this work for the press, the spellinghas been generally modernized, the exceedinglybad pointing of the old English edition corrected,for some words and phrases whose meaning hasaltered, expressions now in use have been substi-tuted, but always with the utmost care to give theexact idea, quotations in the original languagesnot translated by the author, have been translatedin all cases where it appeared to be necessary forcarrying forward the train of thought; where anyare left without translation, it is because this ne-cessity was not considered to exist; a few foot-notes have been added, which, with the translations,have been marked thus (t,) and, finally, a fewwords, not in all more than two or three lines,containing local allusions, have been omitted. No

other change has been made.

l* v

PREFACE

AMERICAN EDITION

Clear, scriptural statements of gospel truth, andof the grounds of the Christian faith, are alwaysacceptable to the intelligent Christian: to the lessinformed, they are eminently profitable. Faith isgrounded upon testimony: the faith of the Chris-tian, upon the testimony of God speaking in thescriptures. The Christian's faith is no mere pre-judice or fancy; it is not the fruit of fear or ofsympathy; it has its seat in an enlightened under-standing; it is ever the result of a full convictionof the judgment. Hence, the value of such worksas Lyford's, in which the truth is held up dis-tinctly to our view, and that, moreover, in con-

vu

Viil PREFACE.

trast with the opposite errors; and in which ar-guments in defence of truth, on the one hand, andagainst error, on the other, are scripturally stated,illustrated, and applied.

This volume is eminently calculated to aid theinquirer after truth, and, also, to assist the believerin his endeavours to attain such an acquaintancewith the grounds of his faith, as will enable him to" give an answer to every man that asketh him areason of his hope." 1 Peter, iii. 15. The plan ofsalvation by free grace, is here exhibited with verygreat perspicuity, and defended with no ordinaryability; and we know of no error noticed in thesepages, against which the inquirer does not nowneed to be warned, and the Christian armed.Those portions of the work in which the veryfoundations of our faith—the authenticity, and suf-ficiency of the scriptures—are examined, and theirsolidity confirmed against the infidel and the pa-pist, are singularly appropriate to our own times;for on these points the enemy seems to be direct-ing not a little of his energies: those in which gos-pel truth is explained, and its principles employedin the way of practical application to the diversi-

PREFACE. IX

fied circumstances of the godly, will be found, bythe divine blessing, as fruitful of edification now asthey have ever been. The work is committed tothat divine blessing, the absolute necessity of which,to any good and spiritual result, it is one of itsprimary objects to confirm. (t)

PREFACE

TO THE CHRISTIAN READER,

BOTH MINISTERS AND PEOPLE.

Op you that are ministers, I humbly crave three things:1. Your pardon for this my audacious undertaking; it isa work best befitting the protestors themselves, or someother able divine, who is a man of greater parts and learn-ing, better versed in controversies, new and old, than I am,or pretend to be. In the church there are two ranks ofteachers; some whose work is dolare lapides; others, ipsosartifices: our people are like rough stones dug out of thequarry. By the hammer of God's word, many of themare, by his blessing upon our labours, made polished stonesfor God's temple. But we ourselves need polishing bythe skill and learning of others; for they dig deep tosearch out hidden knowledge, they hunt and catch thevenison, which we so readily dress, and dish out to ourhearers. Let them have the honour of their gifts andlabours. It is the work of an age to produce a sound

xi

learned man, and none Dut dunghill-spirits will undervaluesuch precious jewels.

2. If any think himself causelessly charged with error,I beseech him not to impute that to me; for I neitherchoose my adversary, nor my argument, but take up bothas drawn up by the testimony of faithful ministers. Andalthough it be no fair dealing to take up an ill report ofanother, and it is not my manner to take upon trustwhat I believe, or propose to others to be believed; yetthus far I hope I may be excused, because every one'serror, which I tax by name, or by some characterizing cir-cumstance, I do it upon my own certain knowledge thatit is their opinion by the testimony of their own writings.As for the rest, I name none, I asperse none, I chargenone; only this I do, known vulgar errors I endeavour toconfute; and this I may do, without asking who is thefather, and without wronging the unknown author of them.

3. Seeing it has pleased God, when I came to the endof the eleventh chapter, to put a period to my studies, bythe great increase of my disease upon me; my humble re-quest to some of my brethren of the clergy, is, that if it benot too mean a condescension, that they will be pleased togo on where I left off, and so to finish the work, unlessthey judge it more fit to draw all anew with their ownmore learned pencil. The work is likely to be profitableto the people of this nation, especially in such a time asthis.

You that are the people, I crave leave, first, to admonish;secondly, to exhort.

First, Let no man beguile you with fair words, under

PREFACE, XIII

the gilded notions of saints. Accept no man's faceagainst the least truth of Jesus. If any come to you ingreat humility, and show of love, in sheep's clothing, andbring new and strange doctrines; if he go about to causedivisions; if he be one that forsakes ordinances, vilifiesministers, and the old way of holy walking with God; youare bound in conscience not to receive him into yourhouses, but to avoid him: (Jude ver. 19; 2 John v. 9, 10;Rom. xvi. 17,) you sin, if you do not.

Against such corruptions of pure doctrine, IgnatiusMartyr, in his epistle ad Trallianos, page 6S, mostgravely warns all Christians in these words:

Sunt quidam vaniloqui, et mentis seductores, nonChristiani, sed Christum mercantes, et cauponantesverbum Evangelii, qui venerium erroris commiscentesdulci blandimento, sicut cenometi, ut qui biberit illiuspotits gustabilem sensum, dulcedine captus, inobser-vanter morti addicatur.

There are certain vain talkers and seducers, not Chris-tians, but such as make merchandise of Christ and his gos-pel, who mingle the poison of their errors with sweet andpleasant words, as vintners that mingle honey with theirwine, so that he which drinketh of that pleasant cup, beingdelighted with the taste, is unawares mortally poisoned.Thus that holy martyr who lived in the apostle John'stime.

It is an unworthy, temporizing, and a soul-destroying,

flattering speech, of one that says, "Heresy in a good man

is no sin, and heresy, though the matter be ever so gross,

if it be not affected, if there be no design of the will in it,

2

is no sin." But you, beloved, remember what the scrip*ture says of heresy, "There shall be false teachers amongyou, which shall privily bring in damnable heresies." 2 Pet.ii. 1. Heresies are damnable, though privily and unawaresbrought in. Another apostle tells you, that "it is a fear-ful judgment to believe a lie;" (2 Thess. ii. 11, 12,) andheresy is a lie. And if it be so damnable, not to believenecessary truths, what is it to hold that which is most op-posite to truth, gross heresies? Lastly, observe what athird apostle says, (2 John v. 9, 10,) " Whosoever trans-gresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath notGod; he that continueth in the doctrine of Christ, hathboth the Father and the Son." The testimony of threeapostles, I hope, will establish your hearts against the so-phistry and power of all seducers, and not suffer you tothink or speak favourably of the least corruptions ofChrist's blessed gospel; it is matter of jealousy to him.Read 2 Cor. xi. 2, 3.

Secondly, I exhort, that you carefully observe themethod and scope of this book, which is to lay before youcertain distinctions upon the most material, yet pervertedpoints of religion in these days, that so the chaff beingsorted from the wheat, you may see on which side of thedistinction the truth lies, and in which the fallacy. Allthings are set down as perspicuously as the nature of thematter will permit; yet some things you must read overtwice or thrice, else you will not discern things that differ.It is chiefly intended for your edification and confirmation.The God of truth guide you into all saving truths. Amen.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR,

SOME MEMORIALS OF THIS GODLY, ABLE, PROFITABLE MINISTER OF CHRIST,

,, ^» "•"•)

TOGETHER

WITH TWO REMARKABLE CLAUSES TAKEN OUT OF HIS LAST WILL ANDTESTAMENT.

And it was in the same state of comfort, namely, the looking- forthe appearance of the great God, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, whichdid uphold oar dear deceased friend and brother, whose funeralwe are now to solemnize, in the long time of his sickness; and inwhatever former trials the Lord was pleased to exercise with him,he still had an eye to that blessed hope, which he did so firmly be-lieve was laid up for him. There are material pithy expressions ofhis own, to this purpose, with which I think fit to acquaint you, outof two or three of the last Christian letters I received from him. Inone of them he thus expresses himself: " However it shall pleaseGod to dispose of my health, ] rest comfortably assured of his ever-lasting love to me in his Son, Christ Jesus; who loved me, and gavehimself for me." In another, thus: "In the use of the means Iwait, what the Lord will do with me: I know it shall be well withme at the last, having so many pledges of his everlasting love to sup-port me." In a third, he hath these words: " My wasting continues,and my stomach also fails me, but my God fails me not: in him Ihave refreshings, in the consideration and experience of the greatthings he hath done for me here, and in the contemplation of fargreater things yet prepared for me." Some few days before his dis-solution, being desired to give some that visited him a little taste ofhis present hopes, together with the grounds of them, for their com-fort and instruction, he cheerfully answered, "I will let you knowhow it is with me, and upon what ground I stand." Then stretchingforth his hand, he spake to this effect: " Here is the grave, the wrathof God, and devouring flames, the just punishment of sin, on the oneside, and here am I, a poor sinful soul, on the other; but this is myeomfort; the covenant of grace, which is established upon so manysure promises, hath saved all. There is an act of oblivion passed inheaven: ' I will forgive their iniquities, and their sins will I remem-

ber no more,' saith God. This is the blessed privilege of ajl withinthe covenant, among whom I am one. For I find the Spirit, whichis promised, bestowed on me, in the blessed effects of it upon mysoul, the pledges of God's eternal love: by it, I know my interest inChrist, who is the foundation of the covenant, and therefore ray sinsbeing laid on him, shall never be charged on me." When the timeof his dissolution approached, he called for his nearest relations, hiswife, and children; he commended them to God, the living God, theeverlasting Father, with blessings, and prayers that they may havetheir part and interest in the everlasting covenant, laying a chargeupon them all, that they should continue still to give themselves toreading the scriptures. When the earthly house of his tabernaclewas even upon the point of being dissolved, with much ado he utteredthese words: " My dissolution is more comfortable to me than mymarriage-day. l iS'ow thanks be to God, which giveth us the victorythrough our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, beye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord •forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.7 '71 Cor. xv. 57, 58.

Though it was the desire of our deceased brother, that 1 shouldnot make any solemn narration of his demeanour here among you,yet I cannot but speak something of him, that we may glorify Godin him, and for him; and to stir up myself, and you, to an imitationof those graces of God, which were so eminent in him. We areto take special notice of it, that by the strength of God's grace,he remained steadfast and unmoveable in the articles of our holyreligion, in these declining times. Being asked at one time,Why he continued so resolved in his way, when many in diversthings altered their opinions'? His answer was this, Because hegrounded himself upon the word of God, which is not altered. Hewas not a reed shaken with the wind, but a pillar in the house ofGod. He could profess with holy Job, according to his degreeand measure, "But he knoweth the way that I take, when he hathtried me, I shall come forth as gold; my foot hath held his steps, hisway have I kept, and not declined, neither have I gone back from thecommandment of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouthmore than my necessary food." Job xxiii. 10—12. He could pro-fess with the Psalmist, " I have stuck unto thy testimonies, and thytestimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; for they are the re-joicing of my heart." Psal. cxix. 31, 111. With those sincere con-verts, " He continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellow-ship,'and breaking of bread, and prayers:" (Acts ii. 42.) in breakingof bread, when as we have so many half-ministers of late, who onlypreach the word without administering the seals, the sacramentswhich are annexed to it. He had a singular dexterity in catechising,in opening the grounds of our holy religion, in a perspicuous clearmanner, to the capacity of the meanest. He did feed Christ's lambs,as well as his sheep. He took great delight in it, he would oftensay, " That if he had done any good here among you, it was by ca-techising." Where let me in a word commend this necessary part,though so generally neglected, of our ministerial function, to his fel»

PREFACE. XV11

low-labourers, who have so lovingly assisted him for so long timetogether; that they would effectually set themselves to it, that sothey may, by God's blessing, reap the like benefit and comfort thathe did. How cheerful was he in his going out, and coming in amongyou, in public, and in private! How was his heart lifted up in theways of the Lord! He served the Lord with his spirit, in thegospel of his Son: he was a workman that need not be ashamed; hepreached in demonstration of the Spirit, and in power: he was ableto convince gainsayers. In his sermon, which he was importunedto print at Oxford, after he had preached it there, how does he woothose that are off from family exercises, to remember from whencethey are fallen, and to do their first works. His words are to thiseffect, When you were wont to pray with your families, to repeatsermons, to instruct and catechise your children and servants, wasnot that your best time? and it is a great pity they did not listen tothe voice of the charmer, who charmed so wisely. He went overthe whole body of divinity among you. He acquainted you with thewhole counsel of God. He spent himself for you. God grant yourprofiting may prove in some sort answerable to his endeavours. Hewas constant in the duty of prayer and supplication, with thanks-giving; it was a branch of his daily devotions, that God would bepleased to assist him mightily in his last conflict; and he did, as hetold some of his friends that were about him, reap the benefit of it.He was so far from being affrighted at the approach of death, that helifted up his hands, and his eyes, and with a serene cheerful counte-nance yielded up his soul into the hands of his faithful Creator andRedeemer. He was daily mindful of you, the people of this place.of which he had the pastoral charge, in his prayers. Not long beforehis departure, he lifted up his heart to God, for a good successor foryou, as Moses, the servant of the Lord did, when he was to begathered to his fathers. Num. xxvii. 16, "Let the Lord, the God ofthe spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which maygo out and in before them; that the congregation of the Lord be nota9 sheep which have no shepherd." The Lord make good that gra-cious promise to you, "'And I will give you pastors after mine ownheart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." Jer.iii. 15. Only acknowledge your iniquity, as the prophet exhorts,(verse 13,) That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,and that you have not obeyed his voice, which so oft sounded forthunto you in his ministry. Now suffer, I beseech you, one wordmore of exhortation, and it is that of the apostle; " And we desire,that every one of you do show the same diligence, to the full assu-rance of hope to the end. That ye be not slothful, but followers ofthem, who through faith and patience inherit the promises."* Heb. vi.11, 12. O that this may be the issue of our thoughts and medita-tions, as touching our deceased brother, and fellow-labourer, and yourfaithful minister, of our coming to the house of mourning, of our ac-companying the hearse, of our solemn assembling of ourselves in thisplace, that we may be excited by occasion hereof, and so effectuallywrought upon, that we may tread in his steps. Non est amicorumprosequi defunctos ignavo questu, sed, quep voluerint, meminisse, quae

XVlll PREFACE.

mandaverint, exequi. It is not sufficient for friends, that they wail a Imourn over those that are departed from them after a dull and fruit-less manner, but it is by all means required that they follow the coun-sel and good advice they gave them, that they imitate the good ex-ample they left behind them. Let us think with ourselves, that wehear our deceased brother, and your pastor, speaking thus to us, asthe apostle did to the Philippians: " Finally, brethren, whatsoeverthings are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things arejust, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, what-soever things are of good report: if there be any virtue; if there beany praise, think on these things. Those things which ye haveboth learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do." Phil. iv.8, 9. And then we shall be in a capacity to expect the blessing therepromised, and the God of peace shall be with you.

EXTRACTS FROM THE AUTHOR*S WILL.

The first clause.—1 give and bequeath unto the President and Fel-lows of Magdalen College, in Oxford, for the time being, and theirsuccessors for ever, the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds, to bepaid unto them by my executrix, within seven years, next after mydecease; and by them, or my executrix, and overseers, to be laid out,to raise an exhibition for, and towards the maintenance of a godlypoor scholar of that college, in manner and form as is here expressed,that is to say, my will is, that the scholar, to be chosen from time totime to partake of this yearly exhibition, shall be nominated, andchosen by the votes of the President, the senior Dean of Arts, and theModerator of that form, whether logic, or philosophy, wherein thesaid young scholar shall be a disputant, or by any two of them. Andmy earnest desire, and will is, that the scholar to be nominated fromtime to time, to partake of this small encouragement of studiousnessand piety, be such a one, and so qualified, as may give the best evi-dences for the present, of his sobriety, ingenuity, studiousness, andproficiency, and for the future, the best hopes of being a godly, able,and profitable minister of the gospel, in the church of Christ. Itbeing dedicated to God, by way of thankfulness, for his mercy to me,in that college, and in way of restitution, for a sum of money, which,according to the corrupt customs of those days, I received for theresignation of my fellowship in that college.

The second clause.—And now I commend myself and them all, mydear wife and children, unto God's grace and mercy, giving thanksunto him from my soul, for revealing his Son Jesus Christ in me, andto me, and for justifying me, and his whole church, freely by his grace,through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and for honouring meto be a minister of the gospel. And I do humbly beseech the God of allgrace and mercy, to continue and preserve the power and purity of hisgospel in this land, together with a faithful and learned ministry todispense the same. Also, my humble prayer to the God of all graceis, that he will be pleased, out of the riches of his grace and goodness,to guide and preserve all my poor children, and all his people, intoall saving1 truths.

CONTENTS

Introduction, ----- page 25

CHAPTER I.

Errors against the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures.

Sect. 1. Of their error, who hold the scriptures to be but

human, and so no rule to walk by, not able to

discover a divine God, 30

The scripture is of divine authority, the supreme

judge, determining in matters of faith and duty,

what is good, and what is evil, 32

Use 1. Therefore in all your actings and opinions be sure

to get scripture on your side, 37

Use 2. To vindicate the divine authority of scripture

against four sorts that weaken it, 39

1. Of papists, who set up the church's authority

above the scripture, 40

2. Of their error, who appeal from scripture to the

Spirit for trials of truth, &c, - - 40

What we allow of the Spirit's revelation, what

not, ------ 41

3. Of their error, who set up reason as the judge, 47What use to be made of reason, and what not, 47

4. Of their error, who leave scripture, and appeal

to providences, as the rule of men's persua-sions and actions, 52What use to make of providences, 52) And what not, ----- 55

Quest. Into what is our faith finally resolved, and where-upon does it rest and stay itself? - - 59Sect. 2. Of their error, who deny the authority of the OldTestament.The ceremonial law is still a teacher of moral

duties, ------ 62

Sect. 3. Whether the scriptures in English are the word of

God, and the foundation of Christian religion, 67

xix

The divine truth of God's word is presented to us

in our English Bibles; 70

And how the unlearned are assured thereof, - 72

Quest. How to judge of the true sense or interpretation

of scripture, ----- 74Sect. 4. Of their error, who teach that no writing whatso-ever, whether translations or original, are the

foundation of Christian religion, 77

Eternal life is in the scriptures, and no where else, 77

The efficacy of scripture in six things, 78

How they testify of Christ, 80Use. Reproof of them that neglect their own salvation,

because they neglect the knowledge of scripture, 82

False ends in reading scripture, 83

When hath a Christian found Christ in the scripture, 85

CHAPTER II.

Errors against the nature and essence of God, and against

the Trinity, answered and cleared.Sect. 1. God has no personal bodily shape, 88

How human parts and passions are ascribed to

God in scripture, - - 89

Sect. 2, 3. Of their error, who say, that it is a wretched dis-tinction to distinguish between essence andperson in the Godhead, 91

There are three persons in one nature of the

Godhead, ----- 92

What a person in the Trinity is, 93

Sect. 4. Only the Son, not the Father, nor the Holy Ghost,

was incarnate to suffer for the sinning creature, 99

Sect. 5. Of their error, who teach, that God is the author.

not only of actions, but also of the depravity ana

sinfulness in them, - 102

What hand God hath in and about sin, - - 106

God's permissive will no rule of our actions, - 108

CHAPTER m.

Errors against the Deity of the Son of God.

Sect. 1. Christ, the Son of God, is true God, equal, and ofthe same nature, power, and eternity with theFather,- ----- HO

Sect. 2. Yet not two Sons, nor two Gods, but Christ is God

and man in one person, - - - 114

Sect. 3. Christ is Mediator according to both his natures, 118

How Christ shall be subject to his Father, - 121

The personal union, the ground of Christ's merit-ing, and of our access to God, - 122

CHAPTER IV.

it is betwChrist and us.

Of the union that is between God and Christ, and between

Sect. 1. There is a strict union between Christ and the

Father, and between Christ and us; - - 125

Dock Of a threefold union in scripture. 1. Essential.

2. Personal. 3. Spiritual, - 126

Sect. 2. Of the union between Christ and us, - - 129

What it is, ----- 131

Sect. 3. The manner and means by which it is made, - 133

Whether our union with Christ be completed with-out and before faith, - - - - 136Why it is necessary, - - - 138Uses. Comforts and privileges arising out of our union

with Christ, - - - - 139

How our union with Christ may be tried and evi-denced, ------ 142

CHAPTER V.

Errors against the Deity of the Holy Ghost cleared.

Sect. 1. The Holy Ghost is a person in the Trinity to be

worshipped and glorified, - - - 149

The word of God, and the works of the Holy

Ghost, show him to be God, - - - 150

Sect. 2. Jin Spiritus Sanctus sit nuda virtus Dei patris} - 153

Quest. Whether the indwelling of the Spirit in the godly,

is only of the gifts, or also of his person, - 156

The Holy Ghost is worshipped, - 157

The properties of God are ascribed unto him, - 158

Sect. 3. Of the sin against the Holy Ghost, - - 159

What it is, - - - - - 159

Consolations to the weak and troubled, showing

who do not sin against the Holy Ghost, - - 165

And terror to the presumptuous, - - - 168

Sect. 4. Of quenching the Spirit, - 170

When, how, and by whom is the Spirit quenched, 170

Beware of quenching the Spirit, - - - 174

Helps to preserve you from that great sin, - 176

CHAPTER VI.

Errors against God's eternal decree of election and repro-bation, cleared and answered.Sect. 1. Of predestination, and what it is, - - 179

Sect. 2. The elect, and none but they, shall be saved, - 182

This doctrine is no hinderance to piety, nor holy

endeavours, ----- 189

But a furtherance thereunto, - 190

God's love is infinite, though but few be saved, - 192

Sect. 3, God chooses some, and passes by others in thesame condition, and that without respect to faith,or works foreseen, as a consideration moving himthereunto, - - 194

1. We are chosen in Christ, - 195

Not without respect to Christ. - - 196

2. God does not ordain any to damnation, but sin-ners, and for sin, both original and actual. - 199

Yet foreseen faith in the one, and unbelief in theother, are not as conditions or qualifications re-quired in the parties elected or rejected, - 202

A brief examination of the doctrine of Arrainianstouching election and reprobation: they err infour things, ----- 203

Three arguments against election upon faith fore-seen, ------ 210

Some passages of Romans ix. considered, - 214

Some objections of the author of " God's Love to

Mankind," proposed and answered, - - 217

In particular, three objections answered, - 220

Odious absurdities falsely charged on our doctrine

of election, removed, - 224

Whether God is bound to give ability to believe,

to all those to whom the gospel is preached, - 225

Sect. 4. The reprobate condition of men and angels shall

be regained, ----- 226

CHAPTER VII.

Errors about original sin, &c.

Sect. 1. Of God's covenant of life and obedience with Adam. 231

Sect. 2. Adam, by transgressing that first covenant, dietplunge himself and all his posterity into a stateof sin and death, - 232

The effects of that transgression upon his pos-terity, - - - - - - 235

Quest. How all sinned in Adam, - 237

Three particular evils we received from Adam, 1.Imputation of his sin. 2. Corruption of our na-ture. 3. Death, 239Some objections cleared, ... 241Quest. What death it is that was threatened to Adam's

transgression, ----- 244

Some objections answered, - 246

Sect. 3. All mankind continue and lie under that sad stateof sin and death, till they are regenerated, andeffectually planted into Christ, the second Adam,by whom alone we have deliverance, - - 248

Use. To bewail our cursed estate in nature, - - 251

CHAPTER VIII.

Errors against Jesus Christ our Mediator.

Sect. 1. Of their error, who deny that Christ purchased

life, love, and salvation to his elect, - - 254

Sect. 2. How God's love gave Christ, and yet Christ'sblood purchased God's love and salvation tosinners, - 255

CONTENTS. XX111

CHAPTER IX.

Of universal redemption, and some mistakes therein cleared.Sect. 1. A brief view of the Arminian doctrine touching

this point, - 258

Christ was not given to satisfy for all the sins of

mankind; nor for the sins of them that perish, 262

Three reasons against Christ's dying for all men, 262

Redemption is universal in three respects, - 266

Christ's death sufficient, not effectual unto all, - 268

Sect. 2. Of the Father's purpose, and Christ's intention indying: .they intended the spiritual benefit of thechurch, not of all the world, - 268

Of that distinction of impetration and applicationof redemption, Christ not only merited, but con-ferred remission of sins by his death, - - 270Five objections answered, that place 1 Tim. ii. 4,

5, 6, opened, - - . - 271

Hebrews ii. 9, cleared, - 273

2Peter,ii. 1, 274

Quest. How Christ took the sin of Adam, satisfied for

it, yet died not for all, - - 276

Of severing the seed of the woman from the seed of

the serpent, - - - - - 277

1 Corinthians, xv. 22, cleared, - 278

Use. The doctrine of redemption by Christ's death to be

preached to all men, - - - 281

Some errors thereabouts cleared, - 282

CHAPTER X.

Of universal grace sufficient for all, and of man's natural

free will to supernatural good.Sect. 1. Whether God gives unto all men sufficient means

and helps of grace unto salvation, - - 284

"What grace is sufficient, - 284

It is not afforded to all, - 285

Two objections answered, - 288

Sect 2. Of man's free will and ability to spiritual good, - 290

The Arminian doctrine, touching universal grace

I and free will, 290

Quest. Whether means being granted, it is in the powerof man's free will to convert himself, to acceptor refuse grace, - 295

Answ. Distinction between the freedom and power of

man's will, ----- 297

Three reasons against the strength of man's naturalfree will as to his first uprising from the state ofsin and death, 298

Objections for the strength of free will against the

will's freedom, which we grant, - - 303

The gospel is not the cause of men's condemnation, 306

XXIV CONTENTS.

Quest. Whether threats, or exhortations, &c, be all in

vain, and the will be not free, - - 306

The use and help of this doctrine to discern truthfrom falsehood in sundry cases and disputes, - 307

CHAPTER XI.

Of errors against the ground of faith, and the true nature of

justification by faith.Sect. 1. Of their error, who teach, that they who are with-out the gospel, have sufficient means of faith, thesun, moon, and stars, - - - - 310

The creatures reveal not Christ, nor means of faith, 311

Faith is purely supernatural in three respects, - 312

That place Heb. xi. 6, expounded, - - 316

Sect. 2. Quest. Whether faithful actions be absolutely re-quired as the only things by which the man isjustified, ----- 318

The conclusion opposite hereunto contains threeparts or doctrines.Doct. 1. That faithful actions are not separate from truefaith, nor from the party justified, but flow fromfaith inseparably, as effects and fruits thereof, 318

Doct. 2. Faithful actions are separated from faith in theact of justifying, they are not joined with faithin that action- here faith is alone, - - 320

Objections removed, - - - - 323

Doct. 3. Faithful actions not the only things by which

the man is justified, - 324

Sect. 3. 1. Not as causes, - 325

2. Not as our evangelical righteousness acceptedinstead of fulfilling the law, - 325

3. Not as means to apply Christ's righteousness, 326

4. Nor lastly, are they the only things by which

the man is justified, as by a condition, - 327

Here first what we hold, and we deny, as touching

conditions and qualifications, - - - 327

Quest. 1. Particularly two questions are resolved. 1.Whether the addition of the words, (as by acondition,) be a fit salvo for those words, asthe only things, &c, - 330

2. Whether they be indeed an antecedent condi-tion to justification, - 330Four reasons to the contrary. 1. From the nature

of the covenant, - 333

2. From the gift of God, 336

3. From the nature of faith and repentance, - 337

4. From the order of faith and works, - - 339Two grand arguments for concurrence of works

with faith to justification, answered, - - 339

Those places, James ii. 21, and Rom. iv. 18, 22,

opened, - - - - - - 341,342

THE

PLAIN MAN'S SENSES EXERCISED.

INTRODUCTION.

For every one that useth milk, is unskilful in the word of righteousness, forhe is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even thosewho by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.—Heb. v. 13, 14.

The apostle from verse 11 of chapter v., to verse 13 ofchapter vi., makes a digression, in which he sharply re-proves the Hebrews for their non-proficiency in the doc-trine of Christ, that he might thus provoke them to agreater needfulness and attention to those deep points,which he is about to speak of afterwards. The scope ofour ministry is, first to beget children to God, and then tobuild them up in the faith. At first, men are but childrenin understanding, and they must be fed with milk, that is,with the first principles of religion, doctrines easy to beunderstood: but as it is a thing abhorrent to nature, to bechildren still, we desire to outgrow our childish natureand understanding, to become grown men: so in religionit is a great deformity, and a sign of gross negligence, stillto stick in the A. B. C, as it were, of the doctrine ofChrist 5 we must be men in understanding, perfectlyrooted and stablished in the faith, as we have been taught,Col. ii. 7, that is, according to the time and means vouch-safed to us; not like children, tossed to and fro with everywind of doctrine, Eph. iv. 14. But, "our love mustabound more and more in knowledge, and in all judgment,"Phil. ii. 9, 10, that we may be able to try and approvethings that differ, and so be sincere, and without offence,that our hearts may be comforted; being knit together inlove, unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,3

to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of theFather, and of Christ, that no man be able to beguile uswith enticing words, nor spoil us through philosophy andvain deceit, by the cunning craftiness of men, that lie inwait to deceive, Col. ii. 2, 4, 8. In this, their greatnegligence is taxed, and they are provoked to a morefull and large measure of introduction into the mysteriesof the gospel, that they may be able, by diligent hearing,reading, and studying of the word, to discern both goodand evil, what is sound, what is unsound, to choose thegood, and refuse the evil. That is the scope.

Now for the meaning of the words. First. The per-sons. By babes, he understands weak and unskilful pro-fessors; and by men of full age, he means Christiansgrown up to sound understanding in the mysteries ofGod. Secondly. Their food. By milk, he understandsthe plainest and easiest principles of religion; by strongmeat, the more profound and difficult points of the Chris-tian faith, such as is the analogy between the priesthoodof Melchizedec, and of Christ, of which he was about tospeak, chapter v. 11, and of whom he had many things tosay, and hard to be uttered, because they were dull ofhearing. Thirdly. Their praise and dispraise. Of theweak, he says, that they are unskilful and inexperiencedin the word of righteousness, that is, in the doctrine of thegospel; the main subject of which is, the true and onlyrighteousness of faith, that is of Christ, imputed to us, bythe grace of God, and the righteousness of sanctification,which is wrought in us by the Spirit of Christ: this wasthe fault of the weak Christians. Of the strong Christians,he says, that they are able to deal in higher points, ableto apprehend and digest them in their spiritual judgment.As solid and hard meats are not proper food for children,but for men of full age and strength to feed on: so highand profound doctrine is not fitting for novices, but forChristians of ripe age. These he calls perfect, or of fullage, not absolutely, for the best do see but through a glassdarkly, but comparatively in respect of the weak, whomhe likens to babes. Fourthly. The means of ripeness.These perfect ones, by reason of long use and practice, havetheir senses exercised, as in a school or university, scho-lars have their wits sharpened and exercised (ysyvpvaansva)

by frequent disputations: by means of which they growexpert, and able to discern fallacies in matters of logic; soare these Christians in matters of religion able to discernwhat is sound, what sophistical and unsound, able to sepa-rate the chaff from the wheat, truth from error. He thatis thus exercised hath a distinguishing faculty. As thetaste distinguishes meats, and the eye perceives colours,and the ear sounds; so can .this man's understanding spi-ritually discern between colour and colour, between tasteand taste, between light and darkness, between sour andsweet, between food and poison, between good and evil;even as artists in any faculty can quickly perceive whentheir work is well or ill done: and this is the commenda-tion of the strong. Babes are not to be dispraised simplybecause babes, because they are children, but because theyare babes and children in understanding, when they mightand ought to be men capable of higher instructions.

From the words, thus opened, I observe four doctrines,not intending to prosecute them at large, but to touchupon them by way of introduction to the principal matterintended.

Doct. 1. Amongst those who are true professors of thegospel, there are degrees of knowledge in Christianity,some are weak, like babes, some are strong, like mengrown to ripe age, yet all are the children of God. Rom.xiv. 1." Him that is weak in the faith receive." 1 Cor. iii. 1." And I, brethren, could not speak unto you, as unto spiri-tual, but as unto carnal," that is, less spiritual, even as untobabes in Christ.

Use. " We that are strong, ought to bear the infirmitiesof the weak," Rom. xv. 1, and not to please ourselves. Inour congregations, all are not of one capacity, all God'shousehold must be fed; we must not disdain the matterpreached, because it is familiar and plain to us. Childrenmust have their food.

Doct. 2. The blessed word of God is the food of souls,both for the weak and for the strong; there is milk forbabes, and strong meat for them of full age, and both ofthem are nourished by it in their spiritual life, to lifeeternal. But whether it be milk or strong meat, easy ormore profound doctrine, it is still food. For, first. Christhimself is the bread that came down from heaven. John vi.

28 INTRODUCTION.

33, 48. Secondly. The word of God is bread of life,wheat, wine, milk, &c. Thirdly. Ministers are stewards,to give every one his portion of meat, and shepherds, tofeed the sheep and lambs of Christ. John xxi. 15.

Use 1. Then ministers must prepare doctrines, whichmay be wholesome as food, it must have some nourishingquality in it. Ever remember that, (2 Cor. iv. 2,) " nothandling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestationof the truth, commending ourselves to every man's con-science in the sight of God." Food first. To refresh theweary. Secondly. To strengthen the weak. Thirdly. Tomake the healthy grow and increase.

Use 2. People must receive the word as food. Here isa threefold direction: first, for preparation; lay aside allmalice and guile, (1 Pet. ii. 1, James i. 21,) get a sound andpure appetite for pure milk, for pure ends, to grow there-by. The second is, for reception, as an engrafted word,as food digested and turned into our substance. Not asthe vintner that tastes of many vessels, but swallows none.The third is, for retention, and practice, chew the cud,and walk in the strength of it, &c.

Doct. 3. It is a fault to be children in knowledge still,we must endeavour to conceive spiritual things aright, todiscern things that differ, good from evil, truth from er-ror. Truth and error lie, many times, near together, andlook alike: it is needful therefore, that we have a spirit ofdiscerning. First. Some Christians are weak in graces,and have but little strength over their corruptions andtemptations: they must labour for strengthening grace.Eph. iii. 16. Secondly. Some are weak in knowledge, asin my text. These know first, but few things; secondly,low things; and thirdly, all but weakly and unstably,which discovers itself,—First. Because, like children, theyare fickle, delighted with new things. Secondly. Easilycheated out of sound principles, and godly ways. Thirdly.Because confused, confounding things which should bedivided, &c.

Doct. 4. The means to outgrow childishness in know-ledge is, to have our wits or senses exercised in scripturedoctrines, and scripture distinctions; for by reason of useand exercise, we attain that ability and dexterity to dis-cern things that differ. Thus you see that to diligence ia

INTRODUCTION. 29

hearing, Christians must add prudence in discerning. Theend of scripture is to make us wise to salvation, wiseto discern the voice of the tempter from God's voice, toknow a false prophet, though he comes in sheep's cloth-ing. It is a shame for a carpenter, or goldsmith, or ma-thematician, not to know the use of the instruments ofhis profession, as of the square and rule, of the touch-stone, &c. Now religion is every man's profession andtrade, and it concerns all its professors to be acquaintedwith the doctrine and intents thereof: and to help you toattain this end and skill, I know no readier way, than tolead you by the hand through the mist and labyrinth ofsome of the most notorious, general, and pernicious errorswith which this age is bewitched, like those men thatwere smitten with blindness, and led into Samaria insteadof Dothan, 2 Kings, vi. 19, who were in the midst ofdangers, and knew it not. And because I desire to avoidall suspicion of feigning and loading men with errors, ofwhich they are not guilty: I shall take them up as theyare laid down by the London ministers, in their testimonyto the truth of Jesus Christ, against the errors, heresies,and blasphemies of these times.*

* London Testimony, A. D., 1647.

3*

CHAPTER I.

ERRORS AGAINST THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OP THE HOLYSCRIPTURES.

The first and most dangerous error is of them that denyor overthrow the divine authority of the scriptures, makingthe word of God of none effect. There is nothing morecontrary to the corrupt nature of man than the scriptures;nothing more contrary to the kingdom of Satan than thescriptures. And therefore, lest his impostures and de-ceits should be discovered by the light of the word, hesets himself by all means to overthrow the scriptures, toenervate and weaken their authority, and the high esteemwe ought to have of them. Satan has many arts and de-vices to undermine and destroy the church of Christ.Sometimes by open persecution, as in the first threehundred years after Christ; secondly, by false apostles,and false brethren, which arise and speak perverse things,bring in damnable heresies, denying the Lord that boughtthem, and the very Godhead of Christ and his satisfaction.Such were the Arians, and those swarms of heretics whichwere hatched by the warmth of peace and favour bestowedon the church in the age next following, and the Socini-ans of this age. Rev. viii. 10,11, we read of a great star,burning like a lamp that fell from heaven: the name ofthe star is Wormwood; it made the waters bitter, andmany died of the waters, because they were bitter. Whenthe burning stars of the church fall from heaven, theirpernicious doctrines are like wormwood, which kill themthat drink thereof. Thirdly, sometimes by setting andfomenting divisions among Christians—preacher againstpreacher, church against church—well knowing that ahouse divided against itself cannot stand. Fourthly. Butall this might be to little purpose, so long as we have asure word of prophecy, a sure rule to have recourse toupon all occasions, as to a light that shines in the darkesttimes, as to living, speaking oracles, holding forth to usthe mind of God, by which truth is manifested, and coun-terfeit doctrines discovered.

I shall not trouble you with the popish controversiesconcerning the scripture, but apply myself to the errorsof the present age. The sectarian errors in particular,concerning the scriptures, are three, in these expresswords of the London Testimony.

First. That the scripture, whether true manuscript ornot—whether Hebrew, Greek, or English—is but human,and so not able to discover a divine God.

The second is, that it is no foundation of Christian re-ligion, to believe that the English scriptures (or that book,or rather volume of books, called the Bible, translated outof the original Hebrew and Greek copies into the Englishtongue) are the word of God.

The third is, that undoubtedly no writings whatever,whether translations or originals, are the foundation of theChristian religion.

For discovery and confutation of these accursed errors, Ichoose for my text the words of Christ, " Search thescriptures," &c.—John v. 39. The great question of allreligion was here in debate between Christ and the Jews,touching the person, calling, and doctrine of Christ, whe-ther they were of God. The Jews denied it; Christproves it by four testimonies. First, of his Father, ver.

32, " I bear not witness of myself, there is another thatbeareth witness of me, and I know that his witness istrue." The Father bore witness to Christ at his baptism,by that voice from heaven, in the audience of all the peo-ple, saying, (Matt. iii. 17,) "This is my beloved Son, inwhom I am well pleased," as Christ applies it, ver. 37, ofthis chapter. And at his transfiguration, (Matt. xvii. 25,)which testimony the apostle Peter highly magnifies, say-ing that he " received from God the Father honour andglory, when there came such a voice to him from thatexcellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I amwell pleased."

The second testimony is that of John the Baptist, whowas sent from God, and acknowledged by the Jews, ver.

33, " You sent unto John, and he bare witness unto thetruth." But, says Christ, " I receive not testimony fromman;" that is, I do not rest nor stand so much upon John'stestimony; only I make use of it, as a man approved byyourselves, that you might believe, ver. 34; for if ye be-lieve John, you will believe in me.

The third testimony is by his works, ver. 36, "But Ihave greater witness than that of John, for the workswhich the Father hath given me to finish, bear witnessof me, that the Father sent me; hut ye receive not myFather's testimony concerning me, because his word isnot in you;" ye know not your own scriptures, ver. 38.

The fourth testimony is by the scriptures, even thewritings of Moses and the prophets; by them Christ of-fers to be tried and judged, ver. 39. " Search the scrip-tures :" as if he should say, If those scriptures which youdaily read, and acknowledge to be of God, if they testifynot of me, then reject me as a counterfeit; but if they do,then take heed that ye refuse me not. Christ doth appealto their own judgments, you think (and you think aright)that salvation is to be found in the scriptures. If yousearch them as you ought, with an intent to find the Mes-siah—the time, person, office, doctrine, and description ofthe Messiah—you will find that they testify of me, " forthey are they which testify of me," ver. 39.

The words clearly hold forth these four truths, oppositeto the forecited errors. Doct. 1. That the scripture is ofdivine authority, the supreme and last judge determiningin all things (which God has ordained to salvation) whatis good and what is evil, what is sound and what unsound,what is of God and to be believed, and what not; and intoit our faith finally resolves and rests itself, as being of di-vine authority, from whence there is no appeal. There-fore, in this debate touching the person, office, and doc-trine of the Messiah, Christ appeals to the scriptures, tobe tried by them: they must justify or condemn all men'sopinions and actions.

Doct. 2. The scriptures of the Old Testament are stillof divine authority to the churches of Christ under thegospel, to try, judge and determine in matters of faith andduty; so that any doctrine or opinion, as also any moralaction by them justified or condemned, is to be accountedjustified or condemned by God himself. The inferenceis clear; for at that time there was no other part ofGod's will committed to writing, but that of the OldTestament.

Doct. 3. To believe the scriptures, (which we are tosearch,) whether in the originals or in the English trans-

lation, to be the word of God, and to contain in them themind and will of God concerning man's salvation, is a ne-cessary foundation of the Christian religion; else to whatend did Christ bid the Jews search the scriptures, if thebelief of what we search be not the foundation of our re-ligion? Therefore, the proper end of that search is tobeget faith and religion to those Jews, with whom hehad to deal; and for Englishmen to believe the Englishscriptures to be God's word is as necessary a foundationof our religion, as it is for the Jews to believe the sameword in the Hebrew text to be of God.

Doct. 4. The written word of God, both in the origi-nals and true translations of them, is the foundatioa ofeternal life, and of all things that lead to it, (for in themye think ye have eternal life,) and so ye have indeed, be-cause they preach Christ, &c.

I begin with the first doctrine, namely, that the scrip-ture is of divine authority; the last and supreme judge inmatters of faith and duty. This is proved by the judg-ment and practice of our Saviour, in deciding matters ofcontroversy in religion by scripture. Thus, in that dif-ference between the Pharisees and Sadducees about theresurrection, he determines the controversy by scripture,Matt. xxii. 29: "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures."As if he said, See what the scripture speaks of that point.And accordingly the question was judged on the Phari-sees' side; namely, that there was a resurrection. Again,when that lawyer proposed a question about salvation,Christ sends him to the scriptures to be resolved; "Howreadest thou?" (Luke x. 26,) what is written? Thus indoubtful times, when different opinions and ways werecountenanced, the people are directed, Isa. viii. 20, to re-sort " to the law and to the testimony." The writings ofMoses and the prophets are called the testimony, becausethey testify God's mind to man, and therefore to it weappeal for determination of every matter. And Peter,writing to all that had obtained the like precious faithwith the apostles, commends the scriptures as the highestand surest foundation of faith. " We have a more sureword of prophecy, to which ye do well that ye take heed,as unto a light." 2 Pet. i. 19. Ye do ill, says the sectary,because it is a living upon the letter, and a way beneath,

for infant Christians to walk by; it is but human. Theapostle Peter says ye do well. And which of these twoshall we believe?—them that say ye do ill, or Peter, thatsays ye do well? But, to observe Peter's reason: ye dowell to take heed to the scripture, because it is not human;" it came not by the will of man, but holy men of Godspake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," ver. 21.

Again, the scripture has in it all the properties of a su-preme judge. What the law is in the commonwealth, thesame is the scripture in the church. As the law has su-preme authority to judge and determine between man andman in all causes civil, so hath the scripture in the churchfor matters of faith and salvation. And as in matters ofcontroversy between man and man we say, Let the lawtry it, and there we rest; so is the scripture for mattersof salvation. None is higher than God, whose voice andlaw it is, and therefore it is supreme.

Now, the properties of a supreme judge or ruler areespecially three. First, infallibility and fulness of know-ledge, by which we are assured that his verdict is true;for if a judge be weak in knowledge, if he does not clearlyunderstand the matter of which he is to judge, if he him-self may be deceived, then he cannot be a competentjudge, he cannot be supreme; it is fit there should be anappeal from him. But now the scripture delivers the in-fallible truths of God; God is not deceived, neither dothhe deceive any man. And it delivers all truths that aresufficient and needful for salvation; 2 Tim. iii. 15, "Thescriptures are able to make one wise unto salvation;" nowthat is sufficient knowledge for any man, that can savehim. And this the scripture performs, as it is proved,ver. 16, by an enumeration of all things necessary for sal-vation. First, the scripture teaches me what doctrines Imust hold, and what I should not hold; "it is profitablefor doctrine." Secondly, it confutes my errors; it is pro-fitable for reproof, or for confutation of error. Thirdly,for practice, what is good and what is evil the scriptureinstructs us fully; therefore he says "it instructs in right-eousness;" that is, in all points of duty, teaching me whatI must do. Fourthly, if I go astray, it is profitable forcorrection, st? sttwopdaaw, to set me right again. Andthese four things it does so fully, that by it the man

of God is made perfect, thoroughly furnished, unto allparts of his office, that is, first, to teach the principles ofthe Christian religion. Secondly, reproof of errors andfalse doctrines. Thirdly, for correction of life and evilmanners. Fourthly, instructions in the precepts of holylife and Christian conversation. And these things areeasy enough to be understood. These are the true say-ings of God, when we teach you that we are by naturechildren of wrath, and the necessity of regeneration; thatwe have redemption by faith in Christ's blood; that thereshall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just andunjust, and of the judgment to come. Also, when weteach you that you must repent of your sins; amend yourlives; take care to profit by hearing the word; keep theSabbath; exercise yourselves in the duties of prayer,praise, charity, humility, temperance, mercy, justice,peaceableness, &c. When we teach and persuade suchthings as these, we have clear and full scripture on ourside, and may say of all the scripture, as John, of his reve-lation, " These sayings are faithful and true, because theLord God of the prophets sent them to show these thingsunto his servants."—Rev. xxii. 6.

The second property is impartiality. He that is su-preme among men needs not, through fear or favour, tobe partial in judgment, because he is above all: he mustnot accept the person of any, nor regard the faces of men.Now the scripture is like God the law-giver, who acceptsno man's person: they that walk in the light of the wordare blessed; they that do not are accursed: "for we callunto God the Father, who, without respect of persons,judgeth according to every man's works." 1 Pet. i. 17.He makes no difference between Jew or Gentile, bond orfree: and as God himself is no respecter of persons, soneither is his word. The apostle James calls it " a per-fect law of liberty." Jam. i. 25. The scripture will flat-ter none; it justifies the doers and condemns the trans-gressors, without partiality. Lying, perjury, covetous-ness, ambition, rebellion, murder, oppression of the peo-ple in their properties, estates, and consciences, by unjustsubscriptions, bribery, unmercifulness, &c, are sin in pro-testants as well as papists; in a parliament and committee,as well as in a court or council table; in a reputed saint,

as well as in a reputed carnal man. Though men darenot say so, yet the scripture dares. "Tribulation andanguish upon the soul of every one that doeth evil; uponthe Jew first, and also upon the Gentile." Rom. ii. 9. Ifthe Jew (one of God's church) be guilty, him first willGod punish. " You have I known of all the nations ofthe earth, therefore will I punish you for all your iniqui-ties." Amos iii. 2; Rom. ii. 1, 2. God is a righteousjudge.

The third property is authority. There is no appealfrom the supreme; this belongs not to every judge. It isthe peculiar prerogative of the supreme. Such a judge isthe scripture; there lies no appeal from it. If the scrip-ture justify thee and thy actions, none can condemn thee:but if the scripture condemn thee, none can comfort thee.A man would not lie under a scripture curse for all theworld; it will take hold on thee most certainly. Bring acrooked thing to the rule, and you will perceive thecrookedness of it. Take a suspected piece of silver, onesays it is good, another says it is not: bring it to thetouchstone, that shows the truth. Scripture is the su-preme law, judge, and rule; every man's opinions andactions must stand or fall by it. And hence it follows,

That the scripture is not human, but of divine autho-rity. For no man, or number of men, can challenge sucha supreme power to be judge of all consciences, to be lordof all men's faith, to be the trier of all hearts, the rule ofall lives. No man is thus above another, though thethings we preach and decree in synods be for the matterof them obligatory, as holding forth the mind of God, yetnot for the authority of us that speak, or write, or decreethem. But the scripture is the voice of God; the judg-ment of God in scripture is authentic and immutable, andshall stand for or against us at the last day. The writingsand minds of men give way one to another, and are mend-ed one by another. But that which must correct all isthe scripture; when that speaks, all must stop. There-fore hath the Lord given it to all, and made it commonto all, that by it all controversies might be decided, alldoubts resolved, all heresies confuted, all truths established,every conscience guided, and every man's life framed.Nothing is sound, holy, just, or true, which does not

agree with scripture: and nothing is unsound, unjust, un-holy, untrue, that is agreeable to it.

Use 1. If the scripture be the last and supreme judge,determining in matters of faith and duty what is soundand what unsound, then be sure, in all your actions andopinions, to get scripture on your side. Amidst all thevarieties of men's actings, sidings, and opinions in thesedays, there is none of them all that we can take comfortin, any farther than they are grounded on and warrantedby scripture. It is a childish way of reasoning, and apoor comfort for any one to plead thus: I am of this orthat side, of this or that sect, (as suppose Paul or Cephas,)unless you can make it appear that you are of Christ, andthat God's word is on your side. It is not what this orthat particular man says, be he never so high in reputa-tion for wisdom or holiness. Nay, not what a nation ofmen say, but what the Lord says: "for, not he whommen, but he whom the Lord approves, is accepted."—2Cor. x. 18. Therefore, be sure that ye do nothing, holdnothing, count nothing holy, just, or good, but what thescripture does account. Dare not thou to call evil good,or good evil; dare not thou to "put darkness for lightand light for darkness " (Isa. v. 20) for any man's sake,or in favour of any side. The scripture lays a curse uponthem that do so, and there will be a review and a reversingof all such wrong. Therefore be thou willing to be judged,ordered, and confuted, by scripture.

In matters speculative, in our disputes against papists,we willingly admit the scripture to be judge; why notalso in practicals?—in disputes against our lusts, againstour friends, against our own and their evil and crookedways? Men will hold what they list, such points as theynever learned from scripture—and do what they list, tram-ple the law of God and man under foot—and yet take itill to be reproved, confuted, or ordered by scripture. Nay,some have so impudently proclaimed their atheistical con-tempt of scripture, that they have not blushed to say, thisis a malignant chapter, a malignant text, or a malignantpsalm, when they and their actions have not been able toresist nor endure the brightness of that light, testifyingof the unwarrantableness of their doings. Oh, how domen strive and struggle against the light, to shuffle off the4

sentences of scripture, as if in some cases it were defec-tive, and no competent judge of actions! This is realpopery. Whereas the scripture is full and clear, but allthe darkness and difficulty ariseth from the deceitfulnessof our hearts; we are in love with our own ways, andcannot submit our lusts to be arraigned and judged byscripture. 0! let every sincere Christian thus resolve: ifthe word be of highest authority, then I must give it thehighest place in my heart; I must live by the word, andact by the word, and die by the word. Perhaps thoumightest enjoy many worldly advantages and favours ifthou wouldst comply with corrupt times and men, and soavoid many worldly troubles. But the word of God putsa bar: my judge is against me in the business; the wordof God is in my heart as a burning fire: it tells me I mustnot choose sin to avoid afflictions; it tells me that the loadof one sin is heavier than many afflictions: I cannot com-ply with such and such ways, because my heart stands inawe of God's word. Perhaps princes and the grandeesof the world do sit and censure thee, but the honest heartthat owns this doctrine will say, I had rather offend anddisplease them all, than offend Thy word, which must bemy judge and theirs. ft I have hid thy word in my heart,that I might not sin against thee."—Ps. cxix. 161.

Take two motives to quicken this resolution. First,It is a comfort. If thou canst give the word the highestplace in thy heart, then in every condition thou canst withcomfort appeal to God to judge for thee, and say, Lord, Iam willing to be ordered by it, I acknowledge its divineauthority. I desire, if I be in error in any thing, to beconfuted by it; if ignorant, to be instructed by it; if I amin the truth, to be kept by it; when I go astray, to be re-called by it. The things I know not, teach thou me: I donot desire to seek any evasion to avoid the stroke or lightof it. If thou canst say this in truth of heart, then thoumayest with comfort appeal to God in any estate.

Observe the temper and workings of thy heart; whenthou readest and hearest the word, does thy heart smiteand reproach thee for any matter? or canst thou not reador hear every part of the word opened and applied withthat wonted boldness, comfort and confidence, (as that 12thchapter to the Romans, against resisting the higher powers,

the 15th Psalm, against usjry, the epistles of Peter andJude, against mocking, proud, empty, disobedient secta-ries,) it is a sign thou dost strive to shake off the autho-rity of the word, that thy heart is not upright; and besure of this, thou shalt lie down in sorrow, thou canst notwith boldness appeal to God to clear thy innocency andintegrity, "For if thy heart condemn thee, God is greaterthan thy heart, and knoweth all things/' John iii. 20: hewill much more condemn thee. And "There is no dark-ness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquitymay hide themselves," Job xxxiv. 22.

Second. It is a means of reformation. To acknowledgethe divine and supreme authority of scripture practicallywould be a notable means to reform the gross evils amongus, both in church and state, the great confusions that areamong us, the contempt of ordinances, ministry, Sabbaths,sacraments, &c. If we would yield to the judgment ofscripture, and call that heresy, or schism, or lying, per-jury, or oppression, &c, which the scripture calls so, andsubmit to its sentence in each particular, we should soonhave a visible reformation of great evils, both public andin our persons and families, when we go about to persuadeyou to take pains to get knowledge, to examine, and tryyour spiritual estate, to make conscience of God's wor-ship, to hear with care, to profit by hearing, to sanctifythe Sabbath, to exercise chastity, mercy, truth, sobriety,peaceableness, &c, among ourselves, we are sure we havescripture on our side. And men have nothing but hu-mour, custom, lust, and obstinacy to oppose against it.—Never look for a reformation where lust will be a rule;where revenge, and covetousness, and ambition, and fac-tion will be the judge; but let the pure word of God rulein our councils, parliaments, assemblies, cities and transac-tions, we should soon be a holy people, a praise in theearth. And remember, that if we will not yield to thejudgment of scripture now, to our conversion and amend-ment, we shall ere long be forced to yield to its authorityand judgment to our confusion. Thus much for the firstuse, namely, to acknowledge the divine authority of scrip-ture, practically, in matters of sin and duty.

Use 2. Is to vindicate the authority of scripture againstall such as oppose or weaken it, and make it of none effect.

A fourfold error is here to be confuted. The first, ofthem that make the church the judge over scriptures. Weembrace its ministry, we build not upon its authority. Ishall not trouble the reader with confutations of papists,who overthrow its high authority and esteem two mannerof ways. First, by setting the authority of the churchabove the scriptures: Major est authoritas ecclesiae, quamscripturae.* They teach that the church, that is, the Popein his chair, by reason of his infallibility, is the judge onearth, determining which books are scripture, and whichnot, what is the sense and meaning of scripture, againstwhose judgment and determination there is no disputingor contravening. Secondly, they overthrow its supremeauthority by equalizing their traditions with the scripture." Traditiones sunt pari pietatis affectu cum scripturis re-cipiendae."t A strange pride to set up other doctrines,which the scriptures never taught, to bind the consciencewith the commandments and decrees of men.

But the error I am now to deal with is that of themthat appeal to the spirit of the blasphemous anti-scriptu-rist, under which name I comprehend all such as eitherdeny them to be divinely inspired and given of God, orelse allowing their divine authority, yet refuse to submitto scripture as the supreme and all-sufficient judge, pre-tending to other divine revelations besides and beyond thewritten word, to which upon all occasions they appeal, asif the scriptures were not able to acquaint the soul withthe highest discoveries of God's truth and mind. If theybe urged with any proof out of the Old Testament, theyreject it, as if the Old Testament were antiquated, and outof date: if they be pressed with a place in the New Tes-tament, then they say, that is not the meaning which weproduce, because, say they, you have not the Spirit, theSpirit teaches us otherwise. And thus, under pretence ofinspirations of the Holy Ghost, and improvements beyondand above all scripture, they strike at the root, and blowup the very foundation, of all faith and religion, of all ourhopes and comforts. These are the devil's engineers.—These flatly disauthorize the word of God, and all that isbuilt upon it; for with the scripture all religion mustneeds fall to ruin, or at least stand upon uncertainties, for

* w The authority of the church is greater than that of scripture."

t " Traditions are to be received with the same reverence as scripture."

every one may pretend to the Spirit with as much reasonas any one, and perhaps one of these spirits quite contra-ry to the other, and so there can be no evidence of truthor untruth, of sin or duty, but every one is left to be hisown judge and rule, and every one will be in the truth,because he thinks so. Here therefore of their error, whoappeal from scripture to the Spirit for trial of truth, andfor deciding of doubts.

For the clear discovery of this error, I shall declare twothings: First, what we are to hold touching the Spirit'srevealing to us the mind of God; secondly, what we areto detest and abhor touching that matter. For the former,we hold and teach that the Spirit of God, which inditedthe scripture, is a Spirit of revelation and illumination,given to all God's people, for the acknowledging and un-derstanding the mysteries of salvation and the things thatbelong to our spiritual estate; which otherwise cannot beunderstood by any mere natural understanding, or unre-generate man, though he has the scriptures in his hand,and reads them, Eph. i. 17, 1 Cor. ii. 14. God by his Spi-rit has in the scriptures fully revealed the mysteries ofChrist; yet no man, who has no more light than the na-tural light of his understanding, can conceive them aright,unless God by his Spirit reveal them to his heart. Thereis a two-fold light, one external, shining in the word, 2Peter i. 19, another internal, shining and bringing intoour hearts the knowledge of the glory of God in the faceof Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6, so that God gives both lightto the word and eye-sight to the soul, (Rev. iii. 18, Eph.i. 18.) God set lights in the firmament, and an eye inthe body to see them. If I point with my finger to themoon or a star, which a man would see, and he has noteyes to see my finger or the star, the fault is not for wantof showing, nor in the star for want of light, but in hiseyes, that are blind and cannot see. So the scriptureis a light, but all have not eyes to discern and see it. Tohave this inward light, to see the things of God, is pecu-liar to God's elect. Others have eyes and see not, earsand hear not, nor understand. But the Spirit searchesand makes known the deep things of God, and that twomanner of ways: First, in the scripture. Secondly to our

hearts. "Eye hath not seen the things which God hath

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prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealedthem unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth allthings, yea, the deep things of God ; for what man know-eth the things of man, save the spirit of man, which is inhim ? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, butthe Spirit of God," 1 Cor. ii. 9,10,11. And for this causeit is that Paul prays for the Ephesians, that " God wouldgive them the Spirit of revelation in the knowledge ofChrist, to enlighten the eyes of their understanding,"Eph. i. 17, IS.

Where note first, that by the Spirit of revelation is notmeant that extraordinary revelation, whereby things weremade known to the prophets, but that ordinary gift of il-lumination, or that light, which the Spirit causes to shineinto our minds, by help of which, spiritual things aremade manifest to the eye of the understanding; even asby the light of the sun, things bodily are made manifestto the eye of the body.

Note, secondly, that the apostle prays this for thosewho enjoyed the outward light of the gospel preached tothem, yet he prays for a farther mercy, namely, that theeyes of their understandings might be enlightened to seethat light which was come into the world. All meansand rules are vain, unless God give eyes to see, as heopened Hagar's eyes to see the well of water; thereforeDavid prayed, Open thou mine eyes, that I may see thewonders of thy law. Psal. cxix. 18. Thus the Spirit ofGod is a Spirit of sanctification and illumination, enablingus to see more than we could see by the mere help of rea-son, and this Spirit is promised to the people of God, toguide them into all saving truths. 1 John ii. 26,27. "Thesethings have I written unto you, concerning them that se-duce you. But the same anointing teacheth you all things,and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you,ye shall abide in him." By these places, you see, that wehave need of the Spirit to enlighten our minds to understandthe scriptures, as those two disciples; whose understand-ings the Lord opened, that they might understand thescriptures. Luke xxiv. And in this sense, we acknow-ledge the Spirit of God to be with us, to abide with us, andto teach us.

But this is the Spirit of God, speaking to us in and bythe scripture, not beside or beyond it. It is one thing to

say the Spirit teacheth us by scripture, and another thingto pretend the Spirit's teaching, besides or beyond, orcontrary to the scripture; the one is a divine truth, theother is vile Montanism, namely, to hold immediate revela-tions without the word, and these as infallible as scriptureitself, as if men might appeal from scripture, to those re-velations, and in them finally to stay our faith, andground our practice. This is a monstrous delusion of thedevil, of all men to be detested and abhorred, and if a manshall pretend to such immediate inspirations, he is to berejected as an instrument of Satan: 2 Thes. ii. 2. " We be-seech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord JesusChrist, that ye be not shaken in mind, nor troubled, neitherby spirit, nor by word, nor by letter. Let no man de-ceive you by any means." Here are three ways of deceit,and the first is their boasting of the Spirit, against whom,as if he should say, be not troubled by any doctrine oropinion raised and vented under pretence of the Spirit'sinspiration; such instincts and inspirations of the Spiritare the usual pretences of impostors; they walk in theirspirit, yet lie falsely, says, Micah ii. 11. Against all suchfanatical enthusiasts, the Lord has sufficiently forewarnedus: 1 John iv. 1. "Beloved, believe not every spirit" ordoctrine held forth under the name of the Spirit. Yousee the apostle's zeal in this point, Gal. i. 8, " If we, or anangel from heaven, preach any other gospel, let him beaccursed." The second means of deceit is by word. Itseems that the false preachers pretended to have heard itfrom Paul's mouth. The third means is forged writings,under Paul's name. Thus they fathered their error uponPaul. But the first is our present case. They boastedof the Spirit.

Take three reasons against making this private spiritthe judge and rule for trial of truths. Such appeals andpretences are not to be admitted,

First. Because in scripture is made known to us " themanifold wisdom of God," Eph. iii.; " the mysteries ofthe kingdom of God," Matt. xi.; " the full assurance ofunderstanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery ofGod, and of Christ," Col. ii. 2, 3; "in whom are hid allthe treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Now, if inscripture, God hath manifested his divine wisdom, the

mysteries of God, of Christ, and his kingdom, and that infull assurance of understanding, what higher discoveriescan be expected by such pretended inspirations? for suchdiscoveries are either the same with those in the word, ordiverse from it. If the same, then why fly they from scrip-ture to another spirit, the motives of which are not dis-cernible by others, nor demonstrable to others; if they bediverse from the word, then they fall under the curse,Gal. i. 8: they are accursed by the public Spirit, thatspeaks in the word.

Again, to appeal from the judgment of scripture to theinstincts and dictates of the Spirit, is to set the Spirit ofGod, for so they call their visions and enthusiasm, thoughfalsely, in opposition to itself, and the private spirit againstthe public Spirit, that indited the scripture. Now it isblasphemous to affirm, that the Holy Ghost should declareany thing in secret to any man, different from what it hasdeclared to the whole church in the public tables of thecovenant. The Spirit of God speaking in scripture is thepublic Spirit. " Knowing this," says Peter, " that noprophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."A private spirit is that which one man hath, and notanother; and therefore it is but the figment of men'sbrains. But the public Spirit, which is the Holy Ghost,did move in all the holy penmen of scripture, 2 Peter, i.20. The same Spirit of Christ spake in the prophets ofold before the flood, and since, in all that followed after,1 Peter, i. 10, 11; and therefore they all spake the samethings, for the apostles said no other things than " thosewhich the prophets and Moses did say should come," Actsxvi. 22. Now, therefore, with what colour of reason canmen say the Spirit suggests this or that thing to them,which was never suggested to any of the prophets or apos-tles, but only to themselves? These therefore are butconceits of sick brains, and Satanical illusions.

But, finally, put the case that the Spirit is given to somemen to expound scripture infallibly, this assistance maydetermine my own assent, and give my own heart fullsatisfaction; but it can be no judge between me andanother concerning the meaning of a place in controversy,because I cannot prove to another, that the sense I give issuggested by God's Spirit. I cannot secure another, that

I speak by the Spirit; for he may pretend to do so too.Therefore the Spirit's speaking in us must be evidencedby its agreement with the Spirit speaking in the word.And so our faith is finally resolved into the divine autho-rity of scripture, as you shall see anon.

Obj. 1. But it is said, 2 Peter, i. 19, "Until the daydawn, and the day-star, that is, Jesus Christ, arise in yourhearts;" but when once he is risen, ye may lay aside thescriptures, as ye use to put out the candle, when the morn-ing light shineth.

Ans. The apostle compares the light of the law with thelight of the gospel. The times of the law were like thenight, in which candles are lighted, the times of the gos-pel, like day-light, in which the sun shines. The wholeJewish church was enlightened by the prophetic word,during the night of Christ's absence, who is the " sun ofrighteousness," the "morning star" of the church, en-lightening our hearts by his bright beams, without havingany more need of the shadows, figures, and weak direc-tions of the law. Yet, secondly, he testifies of that light,that it was a sure word, sufficient to enlighten the church,and able to guide them to Christ; and it was to the Jewsof greater certainty and credit, than the apostles' reportof a voice from heaven. The doctrine of the prophetswas a more sure foundation of faith to the Jews, thanthose particular revelations made to certain persons, notas the foundations of faith, but as props and bearers up ofit. This is the meaning of that place: by which you seewhat a wild and wide inference it is, that some make, asif we were beholden to scripture to set up Christ in ourhearts; but when that is done, then we must not live anylonger upon the letter, it being a way beneath, for infantChristians to walk with God in, as if to live in the Spiritwere to lay aside the scripture.

Obj. 2. A like objection is framed against scripturefrom 1 Cor. xiii. 11, 12. " When I became a man, I putaway childish things: now we see in a glass darkly," andtherefore if we would see clearly, we must lay aside theglass, and look beyond scripture; we must put away thesechildish things.

Ans. The apostle is there comparing our present stateof grace with our future state of glory, and says, that there

is such a difference between our present knowledge, andthat which we shall enjoy hereafter in the life to come, asthere is between the seeing of a man's image in the glass,and looking him full in the face. In the glass we havebut the species or resemblance of a thing, not the thing it-self; so here we see God in the glass of his word, sacra-ments and works; but then immediately, and in his propershape, "face to face, even as he is; then shall we know,even as we are known," 1 John, iii. 2; that is, perfectlyand clearly. Paul does not here compare a Christian inhis minority, using the scripture as a glass to see with,and in his full growth, casting away that glass; but hecompares the state of grace and glory together, as appearsparticularly, verse 9, " now we know in part:" we arenow in that state, which hath need of help of tongues andother gifts, which shall then vanish away, verse 8, andmore plainly, verse 13," now abideth faith, hope, charity."He speaks of a state, when faith shall cease, and charityremain, and then these glasses for representation of thingsshall be done away, we shall not need any more word orsacraments, we shall see God as he is. Faith shall beturned into vision, but in this life faith is the chief grace,by which we " see him who is invisible." Heb. xi. 27.And therefore, whilst we are on earth, we must withall care, conscience, reverence, and thankfulness, makeuse of this glass, the scripture, wherein we see the imageof God's glory, wisdom, grace, goodness, &c; lest other-wise we err in judgment, and stumble in vision, and in-stead of higher discoveries of unrevealed light, and glo-rious truths, we come to have our eyes blinded, and ourhearts infatuated to embrace the fancies of men's brains,and delusions of Satan, for the mysteries of God; for whenonce we throw aside this glass, we shall be deceived, asAdam was, and lose that knowledge of God which oncewe had. Therefore, when you hear men pretend to havenew instincts of the Spirit, to discoveries above and beyondscripture, though they be as eminent in your esteem asan apostle, or an angel of God, they are only the devil'sinstruments, who would by that means weaken the autho-rity of the word to set up his own delusions. Let us remem-ber that of Deut. xxix. 29, "Secret things belong to theLord our God, but things revealed, to us and our children."

In this he says, things revealed, it is evident, God hathconcealed other things, which we have no other means toknow, and therefore ought not to inquire into them, ac-cording to that of Paul, Col. ii. 18, 19, where he notes asa mark of seducers, and one cause of misleading into error,that they intrude into things which they have not seen.

2. Of their error, who set up reason as judge, and so finallyresolve their faith into reason. Qui secundum rationisjudicium oracula sacra volunt esse interpretanda. Theprinciples of Socinianism are two; first, corrupt reason,second, scripture depraved. No rational man will denythe use of reason in judging in matters of faith, yet if youadmit it to be the rule by which to measure the mysteriesof faith, and to judge the sense of scripture, you will beforced to deprave the scripture to satisfy your reason.

Now, that you may discern between good and ill onthis point, I shall show two things: 1, what we are tohold touching the use of reason in matters of faith and re-ligion; 2, what we are not to hold touching its dominionin judging, &c.

First. We are to hold, that reason is the eye of the soul,or that organ, which lets into the soul that divine light,which both begets faith, and upon which, faith finally restsitself. Reason is not the thing on which our faith rests,but the faculty by which we see the light. God wrotehis mind to reasonable creatures, not to brute beasts, who,by way of discourse, weighing what goes before, and whatfollows the text, and comparing scripture with scripture,one place with another, come to understand his will andmind. Many miss, because they do not diligently makeso much use of reason, conference, and helps of art, asthey will to find out the meaning of a poet, or statute-law.

We are commanded to search the Scriptures, to try thespirits, to try all things, to judge what the apostles say,&c. Now these are acts of reason and choice, by the helpof which we come to be able to give a reason of our ownfaith, and to convince the adversaries. You cannot per-suade a man to Christianity, unless you show him a rea-son for it. If you say your church is the true church, youmust show a reason for it; if you urge a scripture, menwill judge whether the words alleged, speak your sense

or not; and if they may judge, then they may reject yourallegation, if impertinent.

Seeing we ourselves are the persons, that must be sureof the truth of our religion, (every man lives by his ownfaith,) else we perish for ever. And seeing there are somany sects, opinions, and ways of arguing, such a varietyof persuasions and beliefs in the world, it nearly concernsall men to consider which persuasion relies on the surestground. Whatever the outward medium or means be, toshow us the mind of God, whether ordinary or super-natural, reason helps us to make use of them for embracingthe truth, and rejecting the error. The judgment anddetermination of the word of God, as Dr. Field excellentlysays, is that wherein we finally rest the rule of our faith;and the light of divine understanding is that, whereby wejudge all things.

Secondly. The mysteries of faith, though riot to bereached and comprehended by reason, yea, though in theirproper nature they be contrary to the dictates of reason,*and irreconcilable by any thing that is within the compassof reason, as ex nihilo nihil fit, says reason, and ex nihiloomnia fiunt, says faith; The dead cannot return again tolife, says reason; The dead bones shall live again, saysfaith: yet the soul being overswayed by a higher prin-ciple, sees the greatest reason in the world to believe themall, because the Spirit reveals them to be of God. It is allthe reason in the world to believe God speaking to us.We must believe any thing which God speaks or reveals,though the thing itself seem never so unreasonable; forreason tells me, that all which God speaks, must needs betrue and good, and how strange soever it seems to fleshand blood; and so my faith is resolved into the divinetruth and authority of God's word, and our reason is cap-tivated, 2 Cor. x. 5, to that higher principle, to believewhat we see revealed, because it is revealed by God.

Thirdly. As I have reason to believe all that God speaks,because he is a God of truth and cannot lie, so I have rea-son also to believe, that the doctrine of scripture is God'srevealed mind and will. It is not sufficient to the ground-ing of faith to say, I believe all that God reveals to be

* " That is, of reason as found in man fallen and depraved. They are not con-trary to right reason."

true, but we must also believe, that these are the thingswhich God has revealed. We confess, says Dr. Field,that faith may rightly be said to be a firm assent withoutevidence, of many things believed in themselves; but yetthe medium, by force whereof we are drawn to believe,must be evident to us. As if I be asked, why I believethe incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ, Ianswer, Because God's word testifies of them as thingsmost certain and true. If you ask me farther, How knowyou that God hath revealed these things? I answer, Byinfallible testimonies and signs from heaven. By which,my reason is convinced, that those writings are of God,and so I can prove that a Christian has more reason forhis religion, than any other, whether Jew, Turk, orheathen.

By these three positions, you see the great use and forceof reason in matters of faith. It lets into my soul thedivine light of the word; it tells me I have reason to be-lieve what seems contrary to reason, because God hathspoken it, and it assures me that God hath spoken thoseheavenly mysteries.

Secondly. But yet, for all this, we must not makereason the rule to measure faith by, nor the judge accord-ing to whose dictates the scriptures must be expounded.For example, That there is a Trinity of persons in theGodhead, the scripture is clear, 1 John v. 7: "There arethree that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." So shall Inow expound this scripture according to the dictates ofreason, and say, That because it seems impossible to rea-son, that three, should be one God; therefore, the mean-ing of that place must be this; Those three are one byconsent of minds and wills! God forbid, for so a thousandmen may be one. But the text itself, verse 8, shows howprecisely the Holy Ghost spake, when he said, Thesethree are one, more than by consent of testimony, because,verse 8, he varies the phrase, and says of the spirit, water,and blood, that they agree in one. Therefore, to be one,verse 7, is more than to ag.-ee in one, verse 8. If because?I cannot conceive in reason, how Christ and his Fathercan be one, therefore I shall seek to find out an interpre-tation, which may agree with my reason, this is clearly to

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set reason in the chair above scripture, and scripture mustbe made to submit to our sense, not we to the sense of themystery revealed. Socinians will not believe, without areason or evidence from the thing revealed. They willconsult with the dictates of reason about an article of faith,and accordingly expound it, upon that ground, nullo modoverum esse potest, cui ratio prorsus, communisque sensusrepugnat :* and hereupon they deny the person and officeof Christ, the resurrection of the same body, the decreesof God, &c.

But we are to put a difference between giving a reasonof our believing, and a reason of the thing believed. Ibelieve the doctrine of the Trinity, and of Christ's incar-nation, that Esau was rejected, and Jacob loved, &c, andthe reason of my belief is, because so it is written. Butto demonstrate these truths, by evidence from the natureof things, or else to disbelieve them, this sovereignty ofreason is the ruin of all faith and religion.

Some things are evident in themselves, as the principlesof geometry; as, that every whole and entire thing is big-ger than a part of it, &c. Some things are not evident inthemselves, but are made known to us, both that they are,and what they are, by a foreign medium, without thecompass of the things themselves. Of this sort are allthose things which we are persuaded of by the report ofothers; and this is the certainty of that knowledge whichwe have of things believed; the truth of them in them-selves appears not to us, nor is seen of us, and in this re-spect, faith is truly said to be an assent without evidence,upon the credit of the revealer. In these points, reasonreacheth but the to 6Vt, that such points are the truths ofGod. But the & 6V* is hid from us, we cannot show areason how such things should be. The sum is, to tie ourfaith to reason, and form our belief by the dictates of rea-son, so as to refuse to believe any thing without evidencefrom the nature of the thing, is a dangerous pride, settingup reason above the will of God revealed, to arraign scrip-ture at the bar of reason: a thing not to be admitted, andthat for these two reasons:

First. Because our understandings are weak in things

* " That cannot possibly be true, which is repugnant to reason and commonsense."

of nature, as the wind, a feather, Job xxxix. 13, " Gavestthou wings and feathers unto the ostrich?" Much moreblind is our reason in mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:They are hid from the wise and prudent, they are foolish-ness to the scribes and disputers of this world, 2 Cor. i. 20:yea, at best, there is a great deal of blindness and weak-ness in our understandings, 1 Cor. ii. 11, we know but inpart, 1 Cor. xiii. 12, yea, the law of our minds and reasonrebels against the law of God, and much ado we have tobring all our xoyio^«j, reasonings, in captivity to the truth,2 Cor. x. 5. Now this blind, weak, rebellious reason ofours is to be regulated, corrected, enlightened by theword, but not to regulate the word; for that which is tobe regulated, cannot be the rule to regulate. That whichis weak and blind, is not fit to judge that which is perfect,that which is all light, all truth, all pure, must not bejudged and regulated by that which is subject to error andmistakes. " I have need to be baptized of thee," said Johnto Christ, "and comest thou to me?" So of our reason wemay say, I have need to be regulated and amended by thee,O blessed word, and comest thou to me?

Secondly. Reason is denied to be the rule and judge ofbelief, for the same cause, that we denied the private pre-tended spirit to be judge for the trial of truths, viz.: Be-cause I cannot prove to another, that mine is the rightreason. He pretends reason and so do I. Experienceshows, that different men have different reasons, and dif-ferent expositions. He thinks he speaks as much reasonas I. We are not certain that this or that is the rightmeaning of a text if a man hath nothing to assure him butthe seeming of his own reason; which reason, others thinkthey have as well as he. Indeed, if we compare our ownreason with the reason and authority of other men whichhave decreed thus and thus, then we must give the pre-eminence to our own reason when a clearer evidence ispropounded. Every one is to judge for himself, and it isunreasonable to assent to a lesser evidence when a cleareris propounded. It is true, because few are able to judgefor themselves, God has provided guides to help them,yet Christians must not resign their wits and senses tofollow any human guide whatsoever: our guides must notlead us blindfolded, neither must we put out our eyes to

follow them; we must see the reason and grounds uponwhich they go, and so follow them by our own reason.With my eyes I see my guide's light; he tells me this isfirm ground, you may go upon it, and I see it to be so. Bymy reason, I see his reason, and so follow him like a manof understanding, not like a beast, that is led, and knowsnot whither. I have the advantage of his reason, and myown too.

3. We now speak of their error, who appeal from scrip-ture to providence, and leaving the scriptures, make pro-vidence the rule of their persuasions and actions: forthere is yet another error of those that weaken the su-preme authority of scripture, and make it of small effectby appealing to success of providence, declaring, as theyconceive, the will of God, and what he likes or dislikes,and so judge thereby of the good or evil of many things.

Now that you may have your senses exercised, to dis-cern between good and evil in this point also; I shallshow, first, what use we are to make of the passages anddispensations of providence; secondly, what is not war-rantable to be built thereupon.

Use 1.—For the former, we ought to give glory to Godin all his wonderful works of providence, and that inthese four particulars:—1. We must take serious noticeof his doings; for, the Lord hath done his marvellousworks, that they ought to be had in remembrance, PsaLcxv. 2, yea, we must talk of his wondrous works, andsay, This hath the Lord done, and it is marvellous in oureyes, Psal. cxviii. 23. The works of the Lord are great,sought out of all that have pleasure therein, Psal. cxi. 2, 4.But an unwise man regardeth them not. 0 Lord, saithDavid, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts arevery deep: a brutish man knoweth not this, neither dotha fool understand this, Psal. xcii. 5, 6; and therefore Godis angry: because they regard not the works of the Lord,nor the operations of his hands, he shall destroy them, andnot build them up, Psal. xxviii. 5.

2. We must so observe them, as to learn righteousnessthereby: for, when thy judgments are in the earth, theinhabitants of the world, such as have grace in them, willlearn righteousness, saith the Lord, though the wickedwill deal unjustly still, and not behold the majesty of the

Lord, Isa. xxvi. 9, 10. By the serious meditation of pro-vidences much is to be learned; as, first, sometimes byit we may learn to humble our souls under his mightyhand, and to amend our ways, and to tremble before him,the people shall hear and see, and do no more so wickedly.Secondly. Sometimes we learn to see God's love andfaithfulness, and so grow up into a dependence on him inlike cases. Thy faithfulness and truth shall be my shieldand buckler, Psal. xci. 4. He shall deliver thee in sixtroubles, yea in seven, there shall no evil touch thee, Jobv. 19. Thirdly. We may learn content, cheerfulness,thankfulness in a low estate, &c, by God's dealings withourselves and others. Fourthly. Providences do some-times call us to suffering, to martyrdom to bear witness tohis truth, and against the sins of the world.

3. Providence overrules the plots, counsels, and worksol men, yea their vices, and their natural imaginations, tobring to pass his own work, either of mercy or of judg-ment. The creature does his own will, works after hisown lusts, drives on his own designs; but all this whileGod is above them, and brings to pass his own counsels,sometimes for mercy; as in the case of Christ; Herod, andPontius Pilate, and the Jews laid their heads together,they were "gathered together against Christ," that wastheir work. But God's work was carried on by theirwicked hands "To do whatsoever thy hand and thy coun-sel determined before to be done," Acts iv. 42. Some-times for judgment, as Isa. x. 5," 0 Assyrian! the rod ofmine anger, and the staff in their hand, is mine indigna-tion ; I will send him against a hypocritical nation, I willgive him a charge to take the spoil, and to tread downlike the mire in the street." This is God's work by theAssyrians, to scourge his people. But the Assyrian didnot propose to himself any such end as to serve God, buthe drove on his own designs of ambition and covetousness,for he saith, verse 7, " He meaneth not so, neither dothhis heart think so: but it is in his heart to destroy and cutoff nations, not a few." Ezek. xxix. 18, Yea, Nebuchadnezzar, in warring against Tyrus, is said to have wroughtfor God, and God pays him his wages, verse 20, " I havegiven him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith heserved against Tyrus, because they wrought for me, saith

5*

the Lord God." Though they did not know his will, norhad any intention to obey it, yet by their wicked handsthe Lord executed his judgment on Tyrus.

4. Many times the passages of Providence are sostrange, and in that darkness, that we cannot see God'sliking or disliking by them, as in Job's case, we cannottell what judgment to form upon them. Job xi. 7," Canstthou by searching find out God ? Canst thou find out theAlmighty unto perfection?" "His judgments are un-searchable, and past finding out," Rom. xi. 33. Job couldnot find out God in his workings, though he sought it di-ligently. Job xxiii. 8, 9, " Behold, I go forward, but heis not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him : onthe left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot beholdhim ; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannotsee him : but he knoweth the way that 1 take." Job ix.10, 11, 12, "He doeth great things, past finding out; lo,he goeth by me, and I see him not; he passeth on, also,but I perceive him not: behold, he taketh away, who canhinder him ? Who will say unto him, What doest thou ?"Sometimes the Lord works by his prerogative, and thereis no reason to be given for u. The Lord knows all ourways, paths, and turnings, but we cannot find out the rea-son of his dealings. Yet we must still conclude, that inall God's acts of providence in the changes and alterationsof the world, we must acknowledge his justice, sovereign-ty, power and wisdom. Though the instruments andtheir works be wicked, though his ways be far above andout of our sight, his footsteps are in the clouds, and in thegreat waters, yet every mouth must confess, that " Holy,holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts, the whole earth isfull of his glory," Isa. vi. 5. This did the angels pro-claim before the throne of God, when he sat to judge theearth. And so Jeremiah, though he understood not thereason of God's proceedings, yet he acknowledges that" God is righteous in all that he doth." Jer. xii. 1," Righteous art thou, 0 Lord, when I plead with thee," &c.Job gives God the glory of his holiness and justice, thoughhe knew not why the Lord should deal so severely withhim. Job ix. 15, " Whom, though I were righteous, yetwould I not answer; but I would make my supplicationto my Judge." Thus we are to judge of the passages of

Providence, we must observe them, learn by them, con-sidering that he works by wicked instruments, that hisgoings out are sometimes hid from us, yet ever just andrighteous.

Secondly. What we deny to Providence. We mustnot make Providence a rule or judge cf our duty, nor tobe a warrant of our actions: we must not accept the mostsignal demonstrations of Providence against a scripturerulee No alterations of times, no successes of Providence,no afflictions, no cross accident, should cause a godly soulto alter his principles, nor to depart from the words of in-struction which we have received from the mouth of God,to build ourselves new persuasions and actions, upon newprinciples of providential favours or dis-favours. Learnthis from Job's holy resolution, Job xxiii. 9, " Though Icannot see him in his dealings towards me, yet my foothath held his steps, his ways have 1 kept, and not declined,neither have I gone back from the commandment of hislips: " see Psa. cxix. 83, 84, 87. Nothing of Providencemust alter the rule.

This is proved by five reasons: 1. Because God useswicked men for his instruments, and prospers their cause.The prophet, (Habakkuk, i. 13,) expostulates with theLord, and calls them wicked; " Wherefore lookest thouupon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tonguewhen the wicked devoureth the more righteous than he,and makest men as the fishes of the sea, that have no rulerover them." Here you see God's vengeance executed bymen that were far worse. Again, if providential suc-cesses declare God's liking and our duty, and that they arejudges of the goodness of a cause, then let the Mahomme-dans rejoice and boast in religion, as they do, saying, Godwith an almighty hand from heaven hath approved it withinvincible prevailings against the Christians, &c. If Pro-vidence must frame our judgment of any matter, or cause,or opinion, then let Antiochus, the type of Antichrist, bea saint, and judged to have God on his side, when he somiserably wasted the Jews. In Dan. viii. 9, 10, 11, weread, that out of one of them, (namely, of the Seleucidos,which reigned in Asia and Babylon,) came forth a littlehorn, that is, Antiochus Epiphanies, toward the south,that is, Egypt, and towards the east, that is, Persia, both

of which were conquered by Antiochus, and towards thepleasant land, that is, the land of Israel, so called for itsblessed privileges: against these that tyrant wonderfullyprevailed, ver. 10, for "He waxed great, even to the hostof heaven," (that is, to war against God's church,) " andcast down some of the host, and of the stars, to the ground,and stamped upon them." Yea, verse 11, " He magni-fied himself even to the prince of the host, and by himthe daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of hissanctuary was cast down." And ver. 12, "A host wasgiven against the daily sacrifice, by reason of transgres-sion, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it prac-tised and prospered," Dan. xi. 30. Here is a wonderfulsuccess; and many of the Jews seeing him thus prosper,began to alter their religion, to forsake the holy covenant," for arms did stand on his part," that is, power and vic-tory, "and such as did wickedly against the covenant, hecorrupted by flatteries," &c. I demand now, was thecause of Antiochus just and good, because he prospered ?Or did those Jews do well that changed their minds andtheir religion, and fell to the conqueror's side, as if God'smind had been hereby declared to alter the establishedworship, or that idolatry pleased him better than the dailysacrifice, which was now taken away? God forbid!—Lastly, if successes must sway our opinions and practices,then why do we not turn Papists, and worship the beast,Rev. xiii. 7, " To whom it was given to make war withthe saints, and to overcome them ?" What shall we think ?Doth God by this success approve of the beast, or of hiswar? Or must the saints now alter their principles, andworship the beast? The text, (ver. 8,) tells us that thegreat majority of people, (which hang their religion uponprovidence,) shall worship him all, except they whosenames are written in the book of life. Thus you see howGod prospers the worst cause, and the vilest of men ; howthe Lord makes use of wicked instruments to punish ahypocritical church. And they are the worst of men,even men that do wickedly against the covenant, whochange their opinions with successes, and depart from thewritten truth, as if God and his word were changed withthe change of the world. Read Jer. xii. 1, 2, 3.

2. If providence may set up new rules of opinion and

practice, then you may as well cast lots of what opinionand religion, of what side and persuasion you will be : foras much as a lot is guided by divine Providence, Prov.xvi. 33, " The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole dis-posing thereof is of the Lord.

3. If successes of providence may determine God's willand our duty, then you will be often forced to justify andcondemn the same cause, and the same persons, when thisside prospers, 0 now, God, say they, hath declared him-self, owned their cause from heaven. But what if provi-dence decide against them ? What if the Lord blasts theircounsels and their power? Then the contrary judgmentis to be made, namely, that God doth not own our cause,or approve our doings; then we must by the same rulecondemn ourselves and our former acting,—unless youwill say, that providences may prescribe duty when theymake for us, but not when they stand against us: and whenGod seems to plead the cause of our adversaries; but thiswere children's play so to argue.

4. If providences alter the state of the question, then aproject or design, singularly wicked, and abhorrent to na-ture and religion, if it succeed well, ceases to be evil;which cannot enter into the thoughts of any but an Athe-ist: Felix scelus is scelus still.* It is a sure rule in di-vinity, that malum in se (such are the sins against themoral law) cannot be made good by any circumstanceswhatsoever. Sin is sin still; murder and perjury, &c,are sins still, and no success can or ought to alter our judg-ment concerning them.

5. Nay, lastly, it is a judgment from God to prosper inwickedness, and therefore no sign of his approbation.Ps. xcii. 7, " When the workers of iniquity do flourish, itis that they shall be destroyed for ever." Theirs is a sadreckoning. Everlasting destruction for their present pros-perity. " The prosperity of fools destroys them," Prov.i. 32; through God's just wrath their hearts are hardened,that they cannot repent. " Because they have no changes,therefore they fear not God." Ps. lv. 19. Their constantand uninterrupted prosperity is the reason of their perse-verance in wickedness and contempt of God. Throughlong continuance of sinning they grow obdurate and hard-

* " Successful crime is crime still."

ened to their utter destruction. God sends troubles andafflictions to his children in mercy, a.nd gives prosperityto the ungodly in wrath. Let God lay on me any afflic-tion, rather than suffer me to prosper in the way that isevil. A hard heart is a fearful judgment; and Solomonobserves (Eccl. viii. 11, 12) that impenitence is the fruitof such prosperity. " Because sentence against an evilwork is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of thesons of men is fully set in them to do evil." They blessthemselves and say, No evil shall happen. But what saysthe Lord? (ver. 12,) "Though a sinner does evil a hun-dred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I knowthat it shall not be well with the wicked:" their damna-tion slumbereth not; it is every day nearer and nearer,and the longer it stays, the more heavy it will be. Itcomes with feet of wool, but it will strike with hands oflead; " though it be given him to be in safety, whereon heresteth," and feareth no danger, " yet his eyes," (that is,God's eyes) " are upon their ways. They are exalted fora little while, but are gone, and brought low; they aretaken out of the way as all others, and cut off as the topsof the ears of corn." See Job xxiv. 23, 24.

I conclude, therefore, that providences are oftener atemptation than a rule—a trial of our uprightness, not arule for our consciences. He is a poor silly soul, and yeta presumptuous undertaker, that is not assured of the just-ness of his cause till the success determine it.

But is there no judging of God's liking by his provi-dence?

Ans. First. There is much of providence in greatactions, but not of his will and liking, as has been shown.Secondly. Providence following a promise is a token ofhis love and liking. So Joshua might take comfort in hissuccessful war. Jos. xxiii. 14, "Not one good thingfailed." Thirdly. It is no comfort at all to be the rodand instrument of God's anger or vindictive providenceon wicked men; for so was the king of Assyria, &c.; Isa. x.So were Jeroboam and Jehu, &c. Fourthly. It is no com-fort to say, the will of God is fulfilled by us; and if itwere not his will, this could not have been done. True;yet wo to that man by whose sins and vices God bringsto pass his own work. " The Son of man goeth, as it is

written of him;" Judas and Pilate did no more than whatwas written, and what the hand and counsel of God haddetermined before to be done; u yet wo be to that manby whom the Son of man is betrayed; good had it beenfor that man that he had never been born." The instru-ment may be damned, though God make him his scourge:when the child is corrected, the rod is cast into the fire.

Thus I have at last finished my second use, wherein Ihave vindicated the supreme authority of scripture againsta fourfold error. First, of them that would place this au-thority in the church. Second, of them who appeal fromscripture to the Spirit. Third, of them that make reasonthe supreme judge. The fourth, of them that expoundscripture according to providences.

There remains one question to be solved, for the closeof this whole matter, namely,—Into what, then, is ourfaith finally resolved, and whereupon doth it stay itself,seeing the aforementioned things, the church, the Spirit,reason, and providence, though their help and ministry beneedful, yet our faith is not built upon them, as hath beenshown?

Ans. The authority and truth of God speaking in thescripture is that upon which our faith is built, and dothfinally stay itself. The ministry of the church, the illumi-nation of the Spirit, the right use of reason, are the choicesthelps, by which we believe, by which we see the law andwill of God. But they are not the law itself: the divinetruth and authority of God's word is that which securesour consciences.

To the grounding of faith it is necessary that we know,first, what is the truth revealed, else we cannot believe it,nor rest upon an unknown truth. Secondly, that God hasindeed revealed and declared those truths; and then thesoul rests upon it, as a sure anchor of faith and hope. Ifyou ask what it is that I believe? I answer, I believe theblessed doctrines of salvation by Jesus Christ. If you askwhy I believe all this, and why I will venture my soul toall eternity on that doctrine? I answer, because it is therevealed will of God concerning us; this is the way ofsalvation which God has made known to the sons of men.If you ask, farther, How I know that God has revealedthem? I answer, by a two-fold certainty; one of faith, the

other of experience. First, I do infallibly by faith be-lieve the revelation; not upon the credit of any other reve-lation, but for itself, the Lord giving testimony thereto,not only by the constant testimony of the church, whichcannot universally deceive, nor only by miracles fromheaven, bearing witness to the apostles' doctrine, (John v.32, 36, Luke i. 4,) but chiefly by its own proper divinelight, which shines therein. The truth contained in scrip-ture is a light, and is discerned by the sons of light. Itdocs by its own light persuade us; and in all cases, doubts,and questions, it clearly testifies with us or against us.Which light is of that nature, that it gives testimony toitself, and receives authority from no other, as the sun isnot seen by any light but his own, and we discern sweetfrom sour by its own taste. And the means for openingour eyes to see this light (whereby our consciences areassured that we rest in God) are different. First. Someprivate; as reading, prayer, comparing places, consent ofchurches in all ages, helps of learning, and reason sancti-fied. Secondly. Some public; as the ministry of theword, which is the ordinance of God to get this assurance;which act of the church is not authority to secure me, butministry to show me that which shall secure me; whichministry is founded on the scripture itself, in that fromthence it fetches the reason that persuades me, and showsthe light that infallibly assures me. Thirdly. But thechief help to show me and assure me of this light is theHoly Spirit, given to God's children, in and by the useof the former means, to open our understandings, to en-lighten our minds, that we may know and believe thewords of this life, and the things which are freely givenunto us of God. 1 John ii. 20; Eph. i. 17, 18; 1 Johnv. 6, 9. In which light thus shown unto us faith staysitself, without craving any farther testimony or proof, inthe same manner that the philosopher proves that withthe same sense we see and are assured we see. Thus Iknow by the certainty of faith resting upon its object, thatthe doctrine of scripture is from God. This is a certaintyin respect of the understanding.

2. To which we add that other certainty of experience,which is a certainty in respect of the affections and of thespiritual man. This is the Spirit's seal set to God's truth;

namely, the light of the word. When it is thus shownunto us, it works such strange and supernatural effects uponthe soul; it "renews us in the spirit of our minds;" we,beholding this " glory of God " in the gospel, are " changedinto the same image," (2 Cor. iii. 18;) it mightily con-vinces our consciences; it "pulls down our strong holdsof sin;" it " casts down our imaginations and reasonings,"which would " exalt themselves " against the u knowledgeof God," (2 Cor. x. 4, 5;) it inflames the heart with thelove of God and hatred of sin; it fills the heart with joyand peace, such as the world cannot give; it persuades usof the truth and goodness of the will of God, and of thethings revealed; and all this by way of spiritual taste andfeeling, so that the things apprehended by us in divineknowledge are more certainly discerned in the certaintyof experience than any thing is discerned in the light ofnatural understanding, which has the certainty of specula-tion only, but not of experience. " How sweet are thywords unto my mouth! they are sweeter than honey andthe honeycomb." Ps. cxix.

They that are thus taught, know assuredly, that theyhave heard God himself. In the former way, the light ofdivine reason causes approbation of the things they believe.In the latter, the purity and power of divine knowledgecauses a taste and feeling of the things they hear. Andthey that are thus established in the faith, so plainly seeGod present with them in his word, that if all the worldshould be turned into miracles, it could not remove themfrom the certainty of their persuasion; you cannot dissuadea Christian of the truth of his religion, you cannot makehim think meanly of Christ, nor of the doctrine of redemp-tion, nor of the duties of sanctification; his heart is fixed,trusting in the Lord. So then we conclude, that the truereason of our faith, and the ground on which it finally staysitself, is the authority of God himself, whom we most cer-tainly discern, and feel, to speak in the word of faith,which is preached unto us.

Thus much of my first doctrine: the supreme and divineauthority of the scriptures, to determine in all matters offaith and practice.6

OF THEIR ERROR, WHO DENY THE AUTHORITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, AS IF NOW OUT OF DATE.

" Search the scriptures," &c. At that time there wereno other scriptures penned, but those of the Old Testament:hence my second doctrine is this, that the scriptures of theOld Testament are still of divine authority to the churchesof Christ under the gospel, to judge and determine in mat-ters of faith, and duty, &c. To what end should we searchthe scriptures if they were no longer of authority andpower to instruct, command and direct our belief, andpractice? But sin is to be judged sin, and duty to be es-teemed duty, and faith to be accounted faith according tothe Old Testament, and therefore their authority is unques-tionable. For proof, observe how Christ and his apostlesin the New Testament witness to the authority of the Old.Mat. vii. 12:" Whatsoever you would," &c, " For this is thelaw and the prophets." Under the law, and the prophets,Christ comprehends the whole Old Testament, and tellshis hearers, they must do as they would be done to, becausethe law and the prophets teach and require it. Christ didnot bring a weak proof. Add to this, the practice andadvice of Christ, Luke xxiv. 25, 27. He reproves the twodisciples for not believing the prophets, and then " begin-ning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded untothem in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself."Paul says, " our faith and salvation is built upon the foun-dation of the apostles and the prophets;" Eph. ii. 20, nowif that foundation be destroyed, what will become of ourfaith? and therefore "Christ opened their understandings,that they might understand the scripture," verse 45. Whatneed of this, if those scriptures were now abrogated ? IfMoses and the prophets were removed by the preachingof the gospel, why did Christ open their understandings tounderstand them, and not rather tell them, that they wereabolished ? Why did Christ lay the foundation of theChristian faith upon that which was not ?

This answers their objection, who say, the Old Testa-ment was of force, till Christ's death and resurrection; butwhen the New Testament was confirmed by the death ofthe testator, then the Old was void. But here you seeChrist, after his resurrection, turns those two disciples to

those writings for grounding of their faith. Christ mighthave told them of new gospel truths, if any such had been;but he refers them to the scriptures, and heightens theirabilities to understand and believe them, as a sure anchorof their faith. And so in the parable, Luke xvi. 29, theadvice given by Christ to save the living from going tohell, is this, "They have Moses and the prophets, hearthem," therefore they are not to be rejected, as of no useto save or damn.

Consider the example of the apostles in all their preach-ings. They acknowledge the authority of the Old Testa-ment. Peter, Acts ii., when he would convince the Jewsof the resurrection of Christ, and bring them to faith onhim whom they had betrayed and slain, makes all goodout of the Old Testament, quoted thrice from verse 25, to36. And this was after Christ's ascension.

It is objected by some, that Christ spake to his disciplesby and from scripture: but when he was gone into heaven,then he refers them to the teaching of the Holy Ghost,which he had promised to send unto them. John. xvi. 13." He will guide you into all truth, and show you things tocome."

Ans. Christ speaks of the extraordinary gifts of the Spiritto the apostles after Christ's ascension: by help of which, re-siding and abiding in them, they should be privileged fromerring, and made to understand many things concerningChrist's kingdom which as yet they understood not; buthere is not a syllable of setting up a teacher that shouldoverthrow the scripture. Yea, this objection is answeredby the former example of Peter; for Peter brought hisproofs out of the Old Testament, after the pouring forth ofthe Holy Ghost upon them. Ver. 16,17. " These are notdrunken, as ye suppose," &c. At that time the Holy Ghostwas already descended on the apostles, and they spake withtongues, ver. 3. But they had never a tongue to slightthe writings of the Old Testament; but Peter, though in-spired by the Holy Ghost, yet brought all his proofs fromthence. Consider the practice of Paul, who, contendingfor the faith of Jesus, confirms his doctrine from thence,Acts xxvi. 22, " saying none other things, than those whichMoses and the prophets did say should come, that Christshould suffer," &c. So he confirms his doctrine of the re-

surrection out of the scripture. 1 Cor. xv. 4. Lastly, inthis sort did Philip make use of the prophets for the con-version of the eunuch. Acts viii. 35. " He began at thatscripture, and preached unto him Jesus." Thus you seethe authority of those books is alleged by Christ and hisapostles, and made use of to lay the foundation of faith, toconvince sin, to convert souls, to keep men from cominginto the place of torment; and all this after Christ's ascen-sion, and the coming of the Holy Ghost, and thereforeare so to be acknowledged, and received by us for the sameuses. " Because salvation is of the Jews." John iv. 22.The doctrine of salvation was a sacred treasure committedto that people; if their religion was not true, ours is false;if their scriptures are vain, our faith is vain also. Thiswas the Jews' pre-eminence, "chiefly, because 1o themwere committed the oracles of God," Rom. iii. 3, whichStephen " calls lively oracles," Acts vii. 38, because de-livered, vivd voce, and because they serve to make alivethe dead soul, and the fathers received them to deliverto us.

Those books of the Old Testament, are either historical,prophetical, or doctrinal. The historical and propheticalare to this day the grounds of our faith in the points ofcreation and providence ; of the fall and misery of man, ofthe coming of the Messiah, of his person and office, and ofsalvation by him. And, also, of admonition, and reproofs,and instructions for holy life. The doctrinal parts, as thelaw of Moses, the Psalms, Proverbs, and many passages ofthe prophets, have their use of instruction in faith and ho-liness, in the right use of God's worship and ordinances.Every one of these parts is of perpetual use and authority,to command and regulate our faith and manners. It wastrue, it is true, and will be for ever true, they did teach thechurch of God of old, they do the same to us, and will dothe same to the world's end ; so that whosoever is under apromise of the Old Testament, may rejoice, and take com-fort in it; or if under a curse, let him tremble, if under acommand, let him obey it, if under prophecy, let him restupon it. We find gospel-graces regard Old Testamentproofs. Heb. xiii. 5. " Let your conversation be withoutcovetousness; for he hath said, I will never leave thee."And gospel duties urged upon Old Testament precepts, as

Eph. vi. 3. " Honour thy father and mother, which is thefirst commandment with promise."

Quest. What would you say of that part, which is typi-cal and ceremonial ?

Ans. Though they cease and be abolished as to ourpractice, yet they are perpetual, and still a part of holyscripture, as for our teaching and learning, the types andfigures of the law are a kind of prophecies, for they do, incertain actions, set forth Christ to come, and the benefitsby him ; as the prophets did by their words and writings,they still teach and instruct, and we may fetch argumentsof faith and duty from them, as Paul does in his epistle tothe Hebrews, and other places. As for example, if thequestion was between us and the Socinians, whether Christby dying did make an atonement for sin. We say, yea,and the law and the daily burnt-offering and sin-offeringsdo teach the same. If ye ask of the manner how ? Ans.It is by sprinkling the sinner, that is, by applying it to ourown souls. If the question be about ministers and theirmaintenance. In the New Testament, the apostle provesit to be the people's duty from the Law. 1 Cor. ix. 7." Who goes a warfare at his own charge ?" That is Paul'sargument; ministers must be paid as well as soldiers, andhe fortifies his reason by the testimony of the Old Testa-ment, verse 8, " Say I these things as a man ? Or saithnot the law the same ? For it is written in the law ofMoses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox, thattreadeth out the corn." The same proof he uses uponanother occasion. 1 Tim. v. 17, 18.

Obj. But Paul's proof is faulty, because it is a ceremo-nial proof, and so denies Christ to be come in the flesh.Ans. God intended in that law, to teach us some thing,that is moral, namely, that God doth take care for minis-ters, and for his labourers in his word, more than for oxen;and if that law be written for our sakes, then why may notother things written in the ceremonial law teach a moralduty, as well as that ? The ceremonial law, as it sets forthChrist, so it also does the duty of Christians in their holyadministrations. Thus the ft purging out of leaven " taughtthe putting away of filthy affections from our holy services,and polluted people from the society of the church. 1 Cor.V. 7, 13. So the "sprinkling of the unclean," teaches that

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66 OP ERRORS AGAINST THE

when we present any service to the Lord, we must renewour repentance, and not come with defiled hearts or hands,(I Tim. ii. 8,) by the "consecrating of the first-fruits" weare taught that we ought to be consecrated as holy untothe Lord, as "a kind of first-fruits of his creatures." Jam. i.18, Rev. xiv. 4. We are not subject to those ordinancesto do them, we offer not the sacrifice, because Christ iscome; yet look in what they signify, and serve for ourlearning, as is said.

Obj. But there is (Heb. vii. 18,) "A disannulling of thecommandment for the weakness and unprofitableness of it."Ans. The meaning is this, that the blood of those sacri-fices did not take away sin by any power or virtue thatwas in them. They of themselves are weak and beggarly,if any body should rest in them, as the carnal Jews did ;and therefore, he says, those ordinances were to cease, andgive place, when the true sacrifice, Jesus Christ was offered,which alone did and could take away sin. " The lawmade nothing perfect," (Heb. vii. 19,) but in their relativeuse and end, they did lead unto Christ, that better hopewho made all perfect; for his blood served " for the re-demption of sins and transgressions, which were com-mitted under the first testament." Heb. ix. 15. So thatthe way of salvation taught then in types, and now with-out them, the substance of the covenant, is one and thesame, only that former manner of administering waxethold, and is put into a new way, which is significantly ex-pressed. Heb. vii. 12. There is fistaesais ta von*; not anabolishing of the substance of the covenant, but a transpo-sition of it another way. As a tenant, that holds by copy,if he obtain to hold in fee, the latter grant doth indeed ac-tually annul the former tenure, yet not the former benefiUHis tenure is mended, being changed into fee-simple: sothe coming of the New Testament doth better our tenure,but alters not the promises, commands, counsels in the Old.For as the substance of the priesthood was not to end, ashaving no more a being on the earth, but only translatedupon other persons, (I will take of the gentiles for priestsand Levites, Isa. lxvi. 21;) so the matter of the covenantwas not destroyed, and quite taken away, but only changedinto another form, other sacraments, and yet the same;other for the sign, the same for substance, the same spiri

DIVINE AUTHORITY OP SCRIPTURES. 67

tual meat and drink, the same rock, Jesus Christ. 1 Cor.x. 3, 4.

I answer, that when the apostle there speaks of disan-nulling the Old Testament, he does not mean the books ofthe Old Testament, but that old manner of publishing, ad-ministering, and applying the covenant. The books of theOld Testament had Christ for their principal scope andsubject. Moses wrote of me: if ye believe Moses, youwould believe me, if ye believe not Moses, ye cannotsoundly believe the apostles, John v. 46. Thus they rea-soned and persuaded the things concerning Jesus out of thelaw and prophets, Acts xxviii. 23. Wherefore we con-clude that the scriptures of the Old Testament are to beretained still in force, as the good word of God written forour learning, and a word that still speaks unto us as untochildren, in doctrines, in exhortations, in consolations, 1Cor. x. 11.

CHAPTER I.

SECTION III.

OF THEIR ERROR WHO TEACH THAT IT IS NO FOUNDATION OF THECHRISTIAN RELIGION TO BELIEVE THAT THE SCRIPTURES INENGLISH ARE THE WORD OF GOD.

Now, that ye may discern the truth, and avoid the dan-ger of this wicked error, I oppose unto it my third doctrine,which is this, namely, to believe the scriptures, which weare bid to search, whether in the original or in the Englishtranslations, to be the word of God, that is, to contain inthem the mind and will of God, concerning man's salva-tion, is a necessary foundation of the Christian religion, thatis, of our faith and worship, of our profession and practice,else to what end did Christ bid us "search the scriptures,''if the believing of what we search and find to be the wordof God is not the foundation of our religion? To whatend should I search the Bible, rather than any other book,if I do not think it to be of God? And I therefore search

it that I may know what religion to be of, that is, what Imust believe and profess; what God I must worship, andin what manner. The end of that searching was to begetfaith and true religion in those unbelieving Jews with whomChrist had to deal. If I believe it not to be of God, I canhave no foundation for my religion. For true religion isnot the product of natural reason, or human wisdom, butof the will of God, declaring all matters of faith, of wor-ship, and life. No man hath known God at any time, andas long as the world was without the revealed will of God,they wandered after the imaginations of their own hearts:Acts xiv. 16. So he tells the Galatians, c. iv. 8, " Whenye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by na-ture are no gods." That which is not God by nature isnot God at all: there were gods of men's making: the godsof the nations were not gods at all, except in the opinionand conceit of them that made them so. "We know thatan idol is nothing," 1 Cor. viii. 4, that is, nothing indeed,nothing except in the conceit of the idolater, it is no suchthing as he takes it to be. Now that which is a God ofman's making is not God. The Lord chargeth the peoplewith this folly, "They sacrificed unto devils, not to God,to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came new-ly up," Deut. xxxii. 17, Isa. xliii. 12, Jud. v. 85 whereasthe true God is not a made God, he is a God whether wethink it or not, he is God by his own nature, the everliving and eternal God, in the knowledge and true worshipof him all true religion consists, and therefore, in compas-sion to the world, God sent unto the Jews, first his word,his statutes, and ordinances, a choice privilege. "Chiefly,because unto them were committed the oracles of God,"Rom. iii. 3. And in the "fulness of time" he brought theGentiles into fellowship with the Jews, and "turned themfrom their vanities unto the living God, which made hea-ven and earth, the sea, and all things therein," Acts xiv.15. "You know," says Paul to the Thessalonians, 1 Ep.i. 9, "how ye turned to God from idols to serve the livingand true God."

All religion is either the invention of men, or of God;if our religion be after the inventions and commandmentsof men, it is all vain. Mark vii. 7, "In vain do they wor-ship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,"

although they carry the greatest show of wisdom, humili-ty, and austerit}7. Col. ii. 23. That which the Lord hathcommanded us, that only may we do, " Whatsoever thingsI command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add there-to, nor diminish from it," Deut. xii. 32. His will re-vealed is the only true ground of all religion, and the mea-sure of his worship; if we do any thing contrary, nay, ifany thing besides what he commands, it is abomination.The prophet Jeremiah, speaking of the people's inventingadditional services, condemns them in this very respect,because " God commanded them not, nor spake it, neithercame it into his mind," Jer. xix. 5. If it came not intohis mind, then not from his mind to us ; and therefore thatreligion is all vain. Let this, then, be first settled in yourminds, that the word of God is the only foundation of theChristian religion.

And for the right grounding of our religion, it is neces-sary that we believe it to be so. To believe the scripturesto be the word of God is the foundation of the Christianreligion, " We are built upon the foundation (that is, uponthe doctrine) of the prophets and apostles," Eph. ii. 20,21,and faith causeth us to rest thereon, hence it is called theword of faith ; it must be received as from God, believedas God's word; if we do not believe it to be the word ofGod, we have no reason to ground our religion upon it,more than upon the Alcoran; if we do not believe it to bethe word of God, we have no faith, and consequently, noreligion. Thus Christ argueth, John v. 46, 47, " Had yebelieved Moses, you would have believed me; but if ye be-lieve not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" Tobelieve the scriptures to be the word of God is the ground offaith, and therefore the foundation of the Christian religion.

Objection. Yea, but to believe the English scriptures,or the Bible translated into English, to be the word of God;this is no foundation of the Christian religion.

This is but an old piece of popery in an independentdress. The papists, to discredit our translations, and tokeep the people from reading the scriptures, and so to keepup the church's authority, are wont to cavil, and say theEnglish scriptures are no foundation of the Christian religion.Thus that Jesuit, with whom Doctor White has to do, laysthis for his first conclusion, namely, that the scriptures

alone, especially as translated into the English tongue, can-not be the rule of faith. He gives two reasons for his as-sertion. The first is, because these translations are not in-fallible, as the rule of faith must be; for neither were thescriptures immediately written by the Holy Ghost in ourlanguage, neither were the translators assisted by the Spi-rit infallible, as appears by the frequent changing and cor-recting of the translations, which shows that some of themwere defective. How can an unlearned man be sure thatthis translation, which now I have, or you have, does noterr, unless you admit the authority of the church, to assureus, that such and such a translation doth not err?

For answer, I lay down these two conclusions:—First.That divine truth in English is as truly the word of Godas the same scriptures delivered in the original Hebrew orGreek; yet with this difference, that the same is perfectly,immediately, and most absolutely in the original Hebrewand Greek : in other translations, as the vessels wherein itis presented to us, and as far forth as they do agree withthe original. Every translation agreeing with the originalin the matter is the same canonical scripture that Hebrewor Greek is, even as it is the same water which is in thefountain and in the stream: we say this is the water ofsuch or such a well or spring, because it came from thence;so it is in this business, when the apostles spake the won-derful works of God in the languages of all nations thatwere at Jerusalem, wherein they were born, (Acts ii. 8,11;) the doctrine was the same to all, of the same truthand divine authority in the several languages. And thisdoctrine is the rule we seek for, and the foundation uponwhich our religion is grounded; and it is all one thing,whether it be brought to my understanding in Welch, orEnglish, or Greek, or Latin. All language or writing isbut the vessel, the symbol or declaration of the rule, notthe rule itself. It is a certain form or means by which thedivine truth cometh to us, as things are contained in theirwords, and because the doctrine and matter of the text isnot made known unto me but by words, and a languagewhich I understand, therefore I say the scripture in Eng-lish is the rule and ground of my faith, whereupon I rely-ing, have not a human, but a divine authority for my faith.Even as an " unbeliever " coming to our sermons is " con-

vinced of all" and "judged of all," (1 Cor. xiv. 24,) andwill acknowledge the divine truth of God, although by ahuman voice in preaching it be conveyed to him, so I en-joy the infallible doctrine of the scripture, though by aman's translation it be manifested unto me.

My second conclusion is this: that to believe this tobe so, that is, to believe the scriptures in English to be theword of God, is a necessary means for grounding faith andreligion in the hearts of all.

The reason is, because the rule of faith must be, first,certain, and secondly, known. For if it be not certain, itis no rule at all; and if it be not known, it is no rule to us.Wherefore God has taught us by corporal letters which wesee and read, what he would have us believe concerninghim. But to him that heareth not, or that believeth not,truth and error, light and darkness is all one. Observe theapostle's reasoning: " How shall they call on him in whomthey have not believed?" Rom. x. 14, (believing, you see,is the foundation of that part of the Christian religion,namely, holy invocation) "and how shall they believe inhim of whom they have not heard?" If they do not un-derstand the mind of God by hearing, and hearing it asfrom God, as " the word of God and not of man," (1 Thes.ii. 13,) it is no more than if they heard a piece of Virgil,or Caesar's Commentaries; for how can we preach to theconvincing of consciences, and settling of their souls in theway of religion, except they be persuaded that he thatpreacheth speaketh from God. Lastly. What comfort canthere be in that religion which we are not persuaded is ofGod? No religion is able to bring us unto God but thatwhich came from God; if I doubt of that, I have no reli-gion at all.

Obj. 1. But how can we believe the scriptures translatedinto English to be of God, seeing translations are not soinfallible as the rule of faith must be; in many places theydo not agree with the originals ? Ans. Let the Englishtranslation of the Bible stand for true until the Jesuit orthe sectary be able to prove the contrary. 0, but I cannotbelieve them to be true, because the translators were notassisted immediately by the Holy Ghost. Ans. Such ex-traordinary assistance is needful to one that shall inditeany part of scripture, but not to a translator; for a man, by

72 god's word the foundation

his skill in both languages, by the ordinary helps of prayerand industry, is able to open in the English tongue whatwas before locked up in the original Hebrew or Greek.As a Spanish or Danish ambassador delivers his messageand receives his answer by an interpreter. The interpreterneeds not any inspiration, but by his skill in both lan-guages, and his fidelity, he delivers the true mind of onenation to another. So it is in this case; the translator isGod's interpreter to a strange people.

Obj. 2. Oh, but by the frequent changes and variabletranslations, it seems that some have erred. Ans. 1. OurEnglish speech doth vary and change. Books of law andhistory, written in old English three hundred years ago,are hardly understood now, and therefore there will needa new translation of them, yet without any alteration inthe matter. So in respect of words and manner of speech,a translation may be defective, when it is not erroneous asto the sense. Ans. 2. We do not say this or that transla-tion is the rule and judge, but the divine truth translated;the knowledge whereof is brought to us in the translation,as the vessel wherein the rule is presented to us, as saidabove.

Obj. 3. Oh, but how can I be assured that the divinetruth is brought in our translation, rather than in yours,which seems to favour the contrary side and opinion? orthat either of them is infallible, seeing the translator, beingbut a man, may err? And how shall an unlearned manbe sure that this or that translation erreth not?

Ans. He knows it three ways. First, by the ministry.Secondly, by the light itself shining in our translation.Thirdly, by the testimony and approbation of the guidesof the Church. " Philip said to the Eunuch, Understand-est thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, ex-cept some man should guide me?" Acts viii. 31. Godhath set guides to his church, and he endues them withability and fidelity to guide his people. " The priest's lipsshould keep knowledge, and the people should seek thelaw at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord ofhosts." Mai. ii. 7. Lock up a new apprentice and a shopof tools together, and he will come forth as ignorant as hewent in; but let his master show him the use of thosetools, and then, by having his senses exercised, he under-

stands the use of them, not so much by the authority of hismaster as by the reason which his master shows him; thenhe manages- the trade upon the same reason that his masterdid: so lock up an unlearned man and a Bible together,and he will come forth as ignorant in matters of faith as hewent in, if you afford no helps; but give him a guide toopen the scriptures, and then he understands the doctrine,that it is of God. The translation is done by the ministryof the church, and industry of certain men. And although..hey be not privileged from mistakes, yet we know infal-libly that they have not erred in the matter: we know it,I say, by the same means whereby we know other truthsand articles of faith, namely, by the light of the doctrinetranslated; for the doctrine contained in the .scripture is alight, and so it abideth, into what language soever it betranslated, and the children of light know it, and discernit, (as is at large discoursed already,) for they "know hisvoice from all others." John x.

And seeing they have faithfully presented the truth ofthe scriptures in our own language, we know that thetranslation itself is agreeable to the originals, for a falsetranslation does not carry in it the truth of God. Besidesthis, ignorant people may rest secure on this point, becauseour translation hath the approbation of the guides of ourchurch, and of other reformed churches, and stands unre-futed against the cavils and malice of the adversary. Thetestimony of friends, and foes too, has the force of a twofoldtestimony: " The Jews said, We know that God spake untoMoses." John ix. 29. How did they know it? Theywere not living in Moses' days; yet they knew it by theconstant and uncontradicted tradition of that ehurch fromMoses' time till Christ's. God spake in the presence andhearing of three-score thousand men, besides women andchildren, who were eye-witnesses of many wonders, bywhich the ministry of Moses was confirmed, and the cer-tainty thereof delivered down from age to age, with theconsent of the prophets, who lived and bare witness fromtime to time; the last of which gives this testimony to Mo-ses' ministry, "Remember ye the law of Moses, my ser-vant, which I commanded him in Horeb." Mai. iv. 4. Bythe like testimony and ministry of the church may ourpeople rest assured of the present truth of our translation.7

"Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not."The same testimony should produce belief in Christ as itdid in Moses. Some things are first known and then be-lieved, as Christ said to Thomas, " Because thou hast seen,thou hast believed," (John xx. 29;) other things are firstbelieved, and then made evident afterward; as that thescriptures are God's word, which is evidenced to us moreand more by the power of God speaking to our hearts inthe scripture, and giving us such a taste and feeling of spi-ritual and eternal things as we can never be removed fromthe certainty of that persuasion. We say as the people ofSamaria to that woman, John iv., " Now we believe, notbecause of thy sayings," (as at the first they did, ver. 39,)"but because of his own word," (ver. 41,) "for we haveheard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed theChrist, the Saviour of the world."

The second grand reason whereby the Jesuit wouldprove that the scriptures alone, especially as they are trans-lated into English, cannot be the rule of faith, is this: be-cause the unlearned cannot read or understand them; yea?learned men are not sure that they rightly understandthem, since it is certain that the same words of scripturedifferent persons understand and expound differently, sothat all cannot expound aright; one exposition is contraryto another, and therefore their expositions cannot be thatrule of faith which we seek. Yea, there is nothing morecommon among our sectaries than to reproach and slanderour ministry, telling our people that their priests have de-luded them, they have falsified the word of God, &c.

Here, therefore, it will not be unseasonable to answerthis profitable question, namely, How plain, ordinary Chris-tians may discern the true sense of scripture from false andcounterfeit ? How a Christian may judge of the true sense.

For direction herein I shall speak first by way of prepa-ration to the party that would not be deceived; secondly,to the rule itself, our right judging.

First, as for the party, if thou desire to know the truth,be sure to read and hear " with singleness of heart," (seePs. xxv. 9, Prov. viii. 9;) lay by all prejudged conceits andaffections, and then, " as new-born babes, desire the sinceremilk of the word, that ye may live and grow thereby."John vii.; John viii. 32; 1 Pet. ii. 2.

Secondly. Now for the rules of right judging and dis-cerning the true sense of scripture, I shall only name them,They are these four :

1. The sense or exposition given of any place of scrip-ture must agree with the general scope of scripture, whichis to set forth the excellencies of God—his grace, wisdom,mercy, &c,—and to abase man, to bring us back to God,to possess and enjoy him, to be partakers of his holinessand glorious excellencies. Acts xxvi. 18; Eph. ii. 1, 18.The general scope of scripture is to make us holy; andwhatever interpretation draws us from duty, if the fruitand effect of the exposition lead to sin and looseness, it isa false sense, it is not of the Spirit of God : mark whattheir doctrine drives at, and " by the fruit" of their doc-trine "ye shall know them." Matt. vii. 15, 16.

2. The sense and exposition that is given of any placeof scripture must agree with the analogy of faith—with thegeneral rules and articles of Christian verity received bythe churches of Christ. Our exposition must not cross thearticles of faith: the building must be answerable to thefoundation, and so "hold fast the form of sound words."Rom. xii. 6; 1 Cor. iii. 10, 11; 2 Tim. i. 13. New lights,new, uncouth, unsound words and expressions, are to besuspected of carrying in them an erroneous and corruptsense.

3. The sense and exposition given of any place of scrip-ture must be such as the words, in their true, literal, andgrammatical construction, will yield and bear, else it is afalse sense. No commentary must overthrow the text.Every exposition must be such as the words in their truesignification, being proper or figurative, do yield. No ex-position of scripture is to be accepted which the words,taken with their scope, will not bear. The literal sense isnot only that which the words do properly afford, but alsothat which they afford in their borrowed sense, accordingto the intention of him that speaks, and the matter whichhe would have understood by the comparisons with whichthings are compared. So that consider what it is that Godwould have us understand by the words of scripture pro-perly used, or figuratively, that is, the literal sense and thetrue meaning of the place. Here you must remember, also,that the intent and scope of the place is to be gathered by

76 god's word the foundation

what goes before and what follows after the text that is indebate: you must not take a part of a scripture sense, andleave out the other part.

4. The fourth and last rule to judge between a true andfalse sense is this. You must compare one place with ano-ther; and the plainer places must be the rule to expoundthe more obscure. But beware that ye never accept of amystical and dark place against a plain place; never for-sake a plain place to follow those which are dark and mys-terious. It is the pride of many, both preachers and others,to be dealing in the darkest places of scripture, (of Danieland the Revelation.) and by the sound of some words notwell understood, to raise strange conceits and new truths^as they call them, and accordingly put themselves uponunwarrantable actions and practices, contrary to knownduty.

Obj. Why do not you that are preachers better agree inyour expositions? You differ among yourselves, and uponthe same text preach different doctrines. Ans. I. Thoughwe make different observations upon the same text, yet notone contrary to another. The fulness of scripture is such,that one man sees farther than another into a text; yet allbear witness to the same truth of God. Peter and Johncame both of them to the sepulchre to see whether Christwere risen. John came first, yet went not in, only he sawthe linen clothes lying; but Simon Peter went into the se-pulchre, and took a particular view of all things; yet bothsaw enough, and both were witnesses to the same truth.So it is in expounding of scriptures, some see and declarethe truth in a general way; they come first to the sepul-chre: others dive deeper into the meaning, yet both arewitnesses to the same Jesus, and to the word of his truth,One true sense may be uttered in different forms. 2. I an-swer, that for substance of doctrine, there is a sweet har-mony among the reformed churches; so that you may gointo a thousand congregations where our old, sound minis-ters are the lights that shine, and you shall find that theyall speak the same thing, preach the same Jesus Christ, andwalk after the same Spirit

SECTION IV.

OF THEIR GENERAL ERROR, WHO TEACH THAT UNQUESTIONABLY NOWRITING WHATSOEVER, WHETHER TRANSLATION OR ORIGINALS, ARETHE FOUNDATION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

Against which I oppose my fourth doctrine, namely,that salvation and eternal life is to be found in scripture,and no where else, and therefore it must needs be the foun-dation of the Christian religion. This is Christ's reasonwhy we should search the scriptures, namely, because inthem ye think ye have eternal life; and ye are not de-ceived in so thinking, because they are they that testify ofme. If the scripture be the only foundation of salvation,it must also be the only foundation of the Christian reli-gion.

Whereas it is said, no writing whatsoever is the founda-tion of the Christian religion. If by writing he mean thewriter's or printer's art, if any fallacy or emphasis lie inthat, it is too silly and childish a sophism in so serious amatter, for paper and ink is not the foundation of our faith.But if by writing he mean the things written, and denythem to be the foundation of the Christian religion, he is ablasphemous antiscripturist, a presumptuous heretic, and anenemy to the salvation of mankind.

For proof of our point observe these places: "Thesethings are written that ye might believe, and that believingjTe might have life through his name," John xx. 31. Inwhich words note that the great things of our religion arebuilt upon the things that are written in John's gospel: so," The gospel is the power of God unto salvation," Rom. i.36, with 2 Tim. iii. 15, " From a child thou hast known thescriptures, which are able to make thee wise to salvation."So, Jam. i. 21, "Receive with meekness the engraftedword, which is able to save your souls." Many are thetitles and attributes given to scripture, which report untous their power,, purity, and efficacy. It is called "Theword of life," Phil. ii. 16; "the word of grace, which isable to build you up, and to give you an inheritance amongthem that are sanctified," Acts xx. 32; "The word of truth,the gospel of your salvation, the ground of faith," Eph. i.13; "The word of the kingdom," Matt. xiii. 19. And upon

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78 GOD'S WORD THE FOUNDATION

this blessed foundation the church of God is built, (Epb.ii. 20.) The household of God are built upon the founda-tion of the apostles and prophets; not upon their persons?but their doctrine. The doctrinal foundation is that whichthe church is built upon. Now, if the things written inscripture be able to do all things—to build us up, to saveour souls; if it be the word of truth on which we trust,and upon which the church is built, &c, then it must needsbe acknowledged the foundation of our Christian religion.Now, if they have a new religion, which is neither able tobeget faith nor to save their souls, then I yield indeed thatit is not grounded on scripture; neither is it the Christianreligion: but if our religion be sufficient for these blessedends and effects, then it has the written word for its founda-tion, and is in truth the religion of Christ.

1. Because, as scripture alone is able to reveal and makeknown to us the way of life, so scripture knowledge onlyis powerful and effectual to work saving graces. All otherknowledge is but foolishness as to the attaining of our lastand highest end. All other knowledge is dead and weak;it has no power to change and renew the heart, to pull usout of the state of nature. By all the knowledge that menattain they are not converted, till it pleases God "to shineinto their hearts the knowledge of the glory of God in theface of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. iv. 6. But " the word of theLord is perfect, converting the soul." Ps. xix. 7, 8. It is"powerful," and "works effectually in all that believe."See the efficacy of it in six things.

First, it is powerful to pierce and break the stony heart.It is a " two-edged sword, dividing asunder the soul andthe spirit," Heb. iv. 11: able to discover the deepest hypo-crite, it tells him what is flesh and what is spirit. WhenFelix heard Paul preach of " temperance and judgment tocome," (Acts xxv.,) his heart trembled, though the behold-ers perceived it not. When the Jews heard Peter lay hometo their charge the murdering and betraying of Christ, theywere "pricked in their hearts, and said, What shall we do?"Acts ii.

2. It is powerful to throw down imaginations and strongreasons, which are the unregenerate man's strong-holds ofsin, whereby he stands out against the word of God. Hewill plead hard for his lust, his usury, and sinful gain; for

separation, for vain fashions in apparel, for sinful recrea-tions. In the minds of unregenerate men there are strangethoughts, which exalt themselves against the knowledgeof Christ, and will not submit to him in obedience; and allbecause sin is rooted in the rational faculty. It is there asin a castle of defence, it urges reason for its allowance.Now what is it that can throw down this strong hold ofcarnal reason? The apostle tells you (2 Cor. x. 4, 5) theweapons of our warfare are mighty, through God, to castdown these strong holds and reasonings, and to bring theminto captivity unto the obedience of Jesus Christ. Pro-duce now your strong reasons, and you shall find reason inthe word to confute your reason. You shall see reasonenough to cast away all your imaginations, and never tosuffer your souls to hold up a weapon any longer againstChrist.

3. It is able to enlighten and bring to saving knowledgethe simplest that shall read and hear with an honest heart.Ps. cxix. 130, "The entrance of thy word giveth light tothe simple." The very first acquaintance with it makesyou wise; yea, wiser than the aged and experienced.

4. It is powerful to convert the soul, to reform the heartand life; "We beholding in the gospel, as in a glass, theglory of God, are changed into the same image, even as bythe Spirit of God." 2 Cor. iii. 18. The quere is, "Where-withal shall a young man cleanse his way?" Ps. cxix. 9.Though lusts be strong, and temptations prevalent uponyoung men, yet let him but order himself by the word,his heart and ways will be cleansed.

5. It is powerful to raise comfort and revive the broken-hearted, and the soul that is cast down in deepest amic-tions. Suppose any of us to be in such a case as is theredescribed, (Job xxxiii. 21, 22,) it is not all the wisdomof the world that can comfort a wounded soul and a droop-ing spirit. But if there be an "interpreter, one among athousand to show unto man his uprightness, then he isgracious unto him." The Lord has ordained that the fruitof the lips shall give peace; "I will lead him and restorecomforts unto him, and to his mourners: 1 create the fruitof the lips, peace," &c. Isa. lvii. 18, 19. "The Lord hathgiven to his servants the tongue of the learned, that theyshould know how to speak a word in season to him that is

weary, to give the oil of gladness for the spirit of heavi-ness." lsa. 1. 4; Isa. lxi. 3.

Lastly, it is powerful to preserve them that be calledagainst all temptations, and to build them up unto glory.The word of God is the sword of the Spirit, and by it theChristian shall stand against, and be able to quench, all thefiery darts of Satan. Let the devil assault and do his worst,yet let the Christian but stand to his weapons, hold fast theword, and he shall overcome.

Thus in the scripture ye find life, because the word is soeffectual to do you good, to convert your souls, to pulldown Satan's throne, and to build up the soul in grace. Itis a hammer to break the hard heart, a fire to purge thedrossy heart, a light to shine into the dark heart, and oilto revive the broken heart; armour of proof to establishthe weak and tempted heart. If these precious things bematters of the Christian religion, then surely the writtenword is the foundation of it, or else your religion is notChristian.

2. Eternal life is in the scriptures, because they testifyof Christ; they set forth Christ, who is "the way, the truth,and the life," (John xiv. 6:) " they are they that testify ofme," says Christ." In them ye find life, because in themye find Christ. So far as by the scriptures we get acquaint-ance with Christ, so far we are acquainted with salvation,and no farther. For if you knew all the histories and allthe prophecies, if ye had the whole Bible by heart, if by ityou could judge of all disputes, yet, till you find Christthere, you cannot find life: the scriptures are to us saving,because they bring us unto Christ. John (1 Ep. v. 11, 12)tells us that "life is in the Son, and he that hath the Sonhath life; he that hath not the Son, hath not life." If youmiss of Christ in the scripture, (as the blinded Jews do,who, though they read the Old Testament daily, yet " evento this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon theirheart," 2 Cor. iii. 15, they "do not look to the end of thatwhich is abolished," ver. 13,) you miss of the way, thetruth, and the life. Again, Paul (2 Tim. i. 1) says that" the promise of life is in Christ Jesus;" and the end of hisapostleship is to declare the same to the world in that veryepistle. Now, if life be in Christ, and if Christ himself bethe subject matter of our religion, then surely the scrip-

tures, which testify of Christ, must needs be the founda-tion of it, or else our religion is not Christian.

Quest. Where and how do the scriptures testify of Christ,and life in him ?

Ans. Four manner of ways. First, in the promises:"The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head."Gen. iii. 15. And again, Gen. xxii. IS, "In thy seed shallall the nations of the earth be blessed;" with many otherto like purpose. 2. In the prophecies concerning Christand his offices, concerning his strange conception and birth;" A virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son," &c. Isa.v. 14. Concerning his death and resurrection; "He shallmake his righteous soul a sacrifice for sin. He shall benumbered among the transgressors, but he shall not seecorruption." Isa. liii. 10, 12; Ps. xvi. 10. 3. In types andfigures. First, some are personal; as Jonah was a figureof his abode in the grave, and rising again the third day.Melchisedec, an eminent type of his priestly office ; Sam-son and David, of his victory over the church's enemies.Secondly, some are types real, as the passover lamb slain,and the blood sprinkled to save the Israelites from the de-stroying angel: so Christ, our passover, is sacrificed forus. The brazen serpent, a type of Christ's being lifted upupon the cross. The daily burnt offering by the blood ofthe sacrifices to make atonement for the people. Thescape-goat carrying away the people's sins that were con-fessed and put upon his head. The blood of the heifer thatwas carried into the most holy place, a token of Christ'sblood wherewith he entered into heaven. The waterof sprinkling the unclean, a figure of our sanctificationby the sprinkling of Christ's blood on us, &c. 4. Inthe doctrines of Moses and the prophets, Deut. xviii.15, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up untoyou, like unto me: him shall you hear in all things." SoPsal. ii. "Kiss the Son," whom God hath set upon his holyhill, "lest he be angry," &c. In brief, you can hardly reada piece of scripture but you will find a promise, or a pro-phecy, or a type and figure, concerning his person andoffice, concerning his merit, his grace, his Spirit, or someprecept concerning his will and commandment, how wemust receive him, and how we must walk in him. Thescriptures are full of Christ: Christ is the subject, scope,

82 god's word the foundation

and end to which they all drive. Thus much concerningour second reason of the doctrine.

Use 1. Now the use. It is first for reproof; for, is thistrue, that salvation and eternal life is in the scripture andno where else, then it convinceth the world that few in-deed intend their own salvation, because few care to beacquainted with the scriptures. No man's desire of theend (salvation) is greater than his care to use the means(the saving knowledge of the scripture.) If you indeedprized scripture knowledge, as the field wherein the trea-sure of grace and life is to be found, you would read andhear them more frequently, and constantly, and with de-light; you would prize a good minister, who is able tobreak unto you the bread of life; you would attend theordinances, on the Lord's day especially. And how canwe in charity think, that such persons seriously mind theirown eternal good that do so grossly slight the word of life?Remember that of Psal. cxix. 155, "Salvation is far fromthe wicked." Why? "For they seek not thy statutes."It is not that I tell you this, but David tells you so, yea,the Holy Ghost tells you so, and therefore I pray you tolay to heart that which Paul spake to the Jews, Acts xiii.46, a It was necessary that the word of God should firsthave been spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you,and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we turnto the gentiles." To disregard the word is, in the accountof Paul, (Rom. xv. 32,) to disregard one's own salvation." He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul," asif it were not worth the looking after.

But consider, that salvation is the greatest thing, that oneneedful thing that a Christian hath to regard in this world.Luke x. 42. What is all your wealth and bravery? allyour mirth and jollity? What is all, or any thing youhave, if in the end you come short of salvation ? Yoursalvation is the thing we aim at, and pray for, and preachfor, and for which we take pains to hold forth the wTord oflife. It is the end for which Christ died, and rose again.The end for which, with so much love, and such a miracleof mercies, he hath preserved unto you the Bible.

Use 2. Be persuaded henceforth to show your esteemof your soul's eternal good, by your esteem of the word oflife, and manifest your esteem of the word of life hy yourreadiness and cheerfulness to be ordered and ruled thereby

OP THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 83

If indeed you esteem it as the word of life, you will beguided by it, you will be afraid to transgress it, you willmake God's statutes your delight, and your counsellors,your heart will stand in awe of it, Psal. cxix. 24; you willhold nothing, you will take nothing in hand, but by adviceand allowance from God's word, you will choose rather tohave all the world against you, than one sentence of God'sword. God's word is fitted for all estates, callings, andconditions of mankind. If you are a magistrate, it teacheshow to rule; if a subject, how to obey; if you are a mi-nister, it teaches you how to preach; if a hearer, how tohear; if you are a husband, or a father, or a master, &c, itteaches you how to behave yourselves. It gives directionfor our apparel, sports, labour, gain, and giving; for ourbuying and selling, for our speech and silence, for ourcompany and solitude. You will need direction out of theword for every estate and condition of life, for times ofhealth and sickness, for affliction and prosperity, for goodand ill report. This word of the Lord is exceeding large.Psal. xcvi. Now if you desire to find it a word of life toyou, you must be ordered and guided by it, else it will ac-cuse and condemn you. If instead of this, you will consultwith humours, with men, with worldly ends and interests,with carnal reason; if you count it foolish preciseness totie one's self strictly to that rule, if when you are sick, ordistressed, or in want, or injured, &c, you will choose tofollow other rules, the word of life will be to you a wordof death, because you choose the paths of death.

Use 3. The third use is for direction. Study Christ inthe scriptures. In them ye find life, because in them yefind Christ. Let your eye and aim be upon Christ. Lookwhat things the scriptures testify concerning Christ, andin what way; for by the same things, and in the same way,must we endeavour to find him. In the promises, prophe-cies, types, and commands, we must see how they lead toChrist. Many people have lower and baser aims in thestudy and search of scriptures. There are false ends inreading the scriptures.

First. There are in scripture many rarities of knowledge,which are not to be found elsewhere. Rare speculationsof the Deity, of creation, and providence, sundry passagesof antiquity and history, which furnishes a quaint wit with

choice matter of discourse; and thus many gentlemen, andother speculative men, schoolmen, and critics read thescripture, who yet all their life-time are strangers to Christ:and you may know it by this, their delight is most in suchbooks and sermons, and their inquiries mostly run uponsuch matters, as have least edification, the least relish andtouch of conscience of heaven: such as the temple whichSamson pulled down, how it could stand upon two pillars,being of that capacity, and so near together as to be reachedby his arms at once; the cubits of Noah's ark, what sizethey were of; at what time Job lived; how many devilscan be in one body; what Paul's preachments were, andhow he was in the body or out of the body, and not knowit; and a multitude of such questions, which serve to sa-tisfy men's curiosity, rather than edify in the faith.

Secondly, others search the scriptures to pervert them,not so much out of a desire to know and obey the truth,as to quarrel, and move doubts and quirks to pervert theknown received truths of God. The scriptures challengein all men's minds a superlative commanding authority;and every sect would fain have the scriptures to speak ontheir side. Now here is the fault: many first take up anopinion, and then afterwards seek out scripture to make itgood; they bring an opinion to the scriptures, whereas itshould first arise, and be received from scripture, Andhence it is that the scripture is wrested. The contentiousand heretical wits do search the scriptures to make goodwhat they have conceived in their own brains; and so thescripture is made, as it were, the broker to set off notionswhich men have forged in their own brains. Thus manyopinionists search the scriptures, doting about questionswhich gender strife rather than edifying, and so are keptfrom acquaintance with Christ all their days, even byscripture itself mis-studied.

Lastly, others read scriptures as a task, for form andfashion-sake, as if the chapter read or heard were all theirduty. The truth is, there is no better task, than constantlyto read or hear the scriptures, and most of us are negligentthat way, every odd trifling occasion diverts us from thatduty: and unless we tie ourselves to such tasks we shouldhardly find time to converse with God in his word. It isa pious and Christian fashion in every family to keep set

OF THE CHRISTIAN REiaGION' S5

times of prayer and reading of scrip- _J\ „u " xt De atask, it is naught: it proves but a meftt , l ^ e^ereise,which a child may do, as well as men of u^r?an^lng-.

This therefore remains your duty in the study ui s.crip-ture, to study Christ, to know something that may pro-cure or evidence your interest in Christ, to instruct you inthe word of righteousness, to bring you near to God, elseyou read, and search, and hear, and at last are far frometernal life, because unacquainted with Christ. Thereforepropose to yourselves such heads of knowledge, namely, tolearn what Christ is in relation to his Father, in relation tohis church and people; what promises, what fulness, whatmerit, what riches of grace, there is in him, what his Spiritis to us, and in us, what his will is concerning us, and whatour duty is concerning him. Christ hath done all that heshould do for us, and we must do what sinners ought to doin obedience to him.

All this knowledge of him must be, first, distinct andclear; we should be able to give an account of what webelieve, and why we believe it. Secondly, it must be asavoury knowledge, seasoning the heart with the goodknowledge of Christ, transforming us into his image: evenas by the taste of wine and honey we know the sweetnessand goodness of them experimentally, so the learning ofChrist is not only literal, but spiritual and operative; itexpels from the mind that natural blindness and hardnessof heart—that senselessness and searedness of conscience—by which u natural men are alienated from the life of God,through the ignorance that is in them; who, being pastfeeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, towork all uncleanness, with greediness." Eph. iv. 19, 20.But with them that have rightly learned Christ it is other-wise. As when the sun arises darkness goes away, or,when life comes the grave-clothes are cast off, so you thathave learned Christ, and have been taught by him, will"put off, concerning your former conversation, the oldman, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;"you will be "renewed in the spirit of your mind;" youwill "put on the new man, which, after God, is created inrighteousness and true holiness." Eph. iv. 21,24.

Thou hast never found Christ in the scripture till thoube taken off from all thy false and carnal confidences, which

were thy rocks and, accounted thy gain, wherein thoutrustest, and till thou find this work of the scripture uponthee, to settle thy soul upon Christ, to unite thee to Christ,of him./k'iid from him to partake of life and righteousness,oT grace and peace—till thou bear fruit upon that newstock. 61 am the vine, ye are the branches." Accordingas your "oot is, so is your fruit. In old Adam your rootis rottemess, and the fruit you reap is corruption. Gal. vi.8. But 'He that abideth in me, and I in him," says Christ,"the sane bringeth forth much fruit," (John xv. 5;) newand pleaant fruit, better than that which grows upon thestock ofnature, which is the wild olive tree. Rom. xi. 24.The sanctifying Spirit, which Christ gives, is in thee as a" well of water springing up unto eternal life." John iv. 14.Thus I have at last despatched all my four doctrines con-cerning the scripture, which serve to establish our heartsagainst the dangerous errors of these days against the holyscripture. The scope of all which is to withdraw the soulfrom th< written word, and so to undo it to all eternity.Hasretic cum ex scripturis arguuntur in accusationemconvertmtur ipsarum scripturarum, quasi non rectihabeant. Iren. 1. 3, c. 2.* And from this fountain (namely,of scripture vilified or misunderstood) do spring all the fol-lowing errors noted in the London Testimony. But thepoints handled upon this first head, being well digested,will be of great use to make you wise to discern both goodand evil in the errors following, of which I am now tospeak in order.

CHAPTER II.

ERRORS AGAINST THE NATURE AND ESSENCE OF GOD.

It becomes all good men to speak and think of the sa-cred majesty of God with all humility, sobriety, and awfulreverence. "With God is terrible majesty; touching theAlmighty we cannot find him out unto perfection: He is

* "Heretics, wh,n confuted with the scriptures, begin to accuse the scripturesthemselves of error." (t)

excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of jus-tice; men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not anythat are wise of heart: If a man speak, surely he shallbe swallowed up." Job xi. 7; Jobxxxvii. 20, 23, 24.Immensity is one of God's attributes, and therefore heis incomprehensible; we cannot comprehend the infinityof his essence, nor draw near the light of his glory, norpenetrate the secrets of his providence. He that thinkshimself wise of heart, and able by discourse of reason tofind out the Almighty, shall be swallowed up by the bright-ness of that glory; as he that gazes on the body of the sun,his eyes are dazzled, and not able to see what before hedid see.

It is noted out of Socrates, 1. 1, c. 8, that Alexander,bishop of Alexandria, discoursing, in the presence of hisclergy, too curiously of the mysterious trinity and unity,gave occasion to Arius (who envied the bishop's honour)to think that he denied the trinity of persons, (which wasthe error of Sabellius) whereas the bishop intended onlythe unity of nature in the Godhead. Against this Ariusdrove so furiously that, to confute Sabellius, and in him, ashe thought, the bishop, he distinguished the natures too,as if the Son and Holy Ghost were not of the same naturewith God the Father. And so to secure the article of thetrinity, to cast disgrace upon the bishop, he destroyed theunity. It best becomes our faith, and the weakness of ourunderstandings, to content ourselves with things revealed—with the quod fit (the fact) that God i-s one, and that theFather, Son, and Holy Ghost are one in nature, thoughdistinct persons, without prying curiously into the modusor manner how such a thing can be, or the cur fit, whythis should be, rather than that. Intricate disputes aboutsuch mysteries as can hardly be explained by us, nor wellunderstood by the people, are fruitless and dangerous, tend-ing to introduce discord into the church, or blasphemy.Wherefore I shall endeavour, in the most plain, convincingway I can, to bear witness to the truth of God against theerrors here recited concerning the blessed Trinity, that soyour knowledge may be distinct and clear, not confound-ing things that should be distinguished, nor dividing thingsthat should not be divided.

SECTION I.

THE ERRORS IN PARTICULAR AGAINST THE NATURE OF GOD ARE FIVE.

1. That God has a personal shape. First, because Adamhad, who was made in the likeness of God in personalshape; secondly, God showed unto Moses his back-parts,therefore if God has back-parts and a face, he has a shape.

That God has a personal shape is directly against ex-press scripture. Deut. xiv. 12,15, Moses gives the reasonwhy the people should not go about to represent God byany visible shape or image, because God has none; " Yeheard the voice of words, but ye saw no similitude, onlyye heard a voice." If God had a personal shape, he mightbe seen and represented by a picture; but he is "a Spirit,"(which hath not flesh and bones,) John iv. 24, an eternal,invisible Spirit, saith Paul, 1 Tim. i. 17, "Now to Godeternal, immortal, invisible." God is invisible to ourbodily eyes; he is seen by faith, not by the eye; thatseeing of God is reserved for the life to come, (Heb. xi.27; Matt. v. 8; 1 John iii. 2;) and therefore he cannot belikened unto any thing that is seen, Isa. xl. 18, with Actsxvii. 29, " We ought not to think that the Godhead is likeunto gold or silver, or stone graven by art and man's de-vice." We ought to think that God has a visible shape,says the sectary; we ought not to think so, says the scrip-ture: God has a shape, say they; God has not a shape, saysthe scripture. Now which of these speak truth ? Let usnext consider their proofs.

Obj. 1. Adam, say they, had a personal shape, and Adamwas rifade in the likeness of God; therefore God has ashape. Ans. God's image or likeness in Adam was spi-ritual; in righteousness and holiness of truth, not bodily.Eph. iv. 24. The heathen are condemned because they" changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an imagemade like to corruptible man," Rom. i. 23. It was a hea-thenish sin to represent the glorious God under the shapeof a man. God plagued them for it, ver. 24; which hewould not have done if man were like to God, or God toman, in a personal, visible shape.

Obj. 2. If God has back-parts, and a face, he has a shape.Ans. We must distinguish what is spoken of God properly

and what is spoken of him <w8parto7ta9t>s after the mannerof men: for a man, because he is but a man, cannot speakto God but as a man, and therefore God speaks again tohim after the manner of men; because man would not un-derstand otherwise what God is, nor what his will is.Thus we read (Exod. xxxiii. 19, 20, 23,) of God's face andback-parts. Moses desired to see God's glory, verse 18," I beseech thee (said Moses) show me thy glory." TheLord in answer tells him, " I will proclaim the name ofthe Lord before thee, I will be gracious to whom I will begracious, &c. But thou canst not see my face, for no mancan see me and live. Thou shalt see my back-parts, but myface shall not be seen." The meaning is, that God in him-self is incomprehensible: my face, that is, the glory of mymajesty, thou canst not see, but my back-parts thou shaltsee, that is, the faithful can have but some glimpses, andobscure traces of God's essence and glory, as if one shouldsee a man's back, or the glance of his cheek. Here " wesee God through a glass darkly, but hereafter face to face,"says the apostle, 1 Cor. xiii. 13. God did make known toMoses some characters of the Divine nature, wherebyMoses might conceive what a God he was, and this iscalled a proclaiming the name of the Lord, because as menare known by their names from one another, so the Lordis known and discerned from all false gods, and from all thecreatures by these proprieties of his nature, which he pro-claimed to Moses. Exod. xxxiv. 5, 6, "And the Lorddescended in the cloud, and proclaimed the name of theLord; and the Lord passed before him, and proclaimed theLord, the Lord God gracious, and merciful, and long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keepingmercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, andsin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." Theseare the name of God, by which, as by a name, he is knownfrom all other things, for none but God can assume thosetitles, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious;and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."Moses desired to know God's name, Exod. iii. 14. "AndGod said to Moses, I am that I am," that is, 1 am an eter-nal being, who have my being of myself. Thus God isknown by his essence, He is Jah, and Jehovah, that eter-nal being, and by his properties and actions. This is by

8*

God himself expounded to be his back-parts, that is, aknowledge that we have of him by his word, revealing hisnature unto us; and it is opposed to the seeing of God"face to face." The face and back-parts of God do butdistinguish an obscure and weak knowledge of God, fromthat full and perfect seeing of him in the life to come.Thus men used to speak and express themselves. Thuswe read, that the scripture ascribes to God, hands, eyes,feet; as, "His eyes are in every place beholding the eviland the good." "God will require it with his hand.""The place of the soles of his feet is his sanctuary," &c.Prov. xv. 3; Psal. x. 14; Ezek. xliii. 7. In such speechesthe scripture humbles itself to our capacities. Such ex-pressions signify the like actions in God, done with hands,as men perform by their hands, eyes, and feet, that is, Godsees our ways, God is strong to revenge all wrongs, toperform all his promises and judgments without hands oreyes, as men do the like actions by their hands and eyes.

Again, we read that the scripture ascribes to God hu-man passions, as joy, grief, anger, wrath, repentance, &c.We may not think that God is subject to like passions as aman is. When the priests of Jupiter would have done sa-crifice to Paul and Barnabas, supposing they had been godsin human shape, the apostles reproves their folly, sayingunto them, " Sirs, why do ye these things, we are notgods, we are men of like passions with you:" Acts xxiv.15. So that God is distinguished from men, because heis not of the like passions with them. But such expres-sions you must understand to be spoken after the mannerof men, for by such manner of speeches we understand thenature of God, namely, that he hates all sin, that he delightsin uprightness. As men show their dislike of a thing, byanger, by grieving, by repenting, by punishing, by chang-ing their minds, &c, so the scripture, by the like things,sets forth God's displeasure against sin, and the evil waysof mankind: so for joy and delight, &c. These thingsbeing attributed to God, show that God is pleased with theways of righteousness and holiness, as men are well pleasedwith those things wherein they take joy and delight.

Lastly, in like manner we speak to God in prayer.When we say, " 0 Lord, turn from me thy fierce anger,let it repent thee of the evil; let the Lord delight in us to

do us good," &c. Numb. xiv. 14, 16, 18. Our speech isaccording to our conceit of things, and by such speeches toGod, we show, not what God is in himself, subject tochanges, &c, but what we would have him towards us, andwhat to do for us.

Through want of this distinction, many have gross con-ceits of the divine nature. First, some have gross conceitsof God in their minds, as if he were like unto man, ormight be worshipped with men's hands, or as if he dweltin temples made with hands, or were confined to this orthat place for worship, to this or that picture, &c. Othersmake a quite contrary use of it. To what end, say they,is your fasting and weeping, your prayers and repentings,do you think that God changes his mind ? No, but yetwe think, that God shows what he will be to an humble,praying, repenting people, by taking to himself such namesand affections as in men. And by them we may comfort-ably gather that God will be good to us in such ways;because as men are merciful and good to them that aresorry for their offences, and humble themselves, and seektheir favour; so is God to us. The reason is, becausethese good things which are qualities in us, are nature inGod: he is just, holy, and good by nature. In essentiadivind, nee aliud nee accidens, the simplicity and pure-ness of his nature admits of no mixtures or compositions,either of substance with his substance, or accidents addedto his substance. Therefere it is said in the abstract, Godis love, God is light. Now if we that are partakers of thedivine nature can show forth mercy and goodness, truthand kindness, much more God, whose nature it is; he willbe such a God to us.

SECTION II.

NAMELY, THAT GOD IS THE NAME OF A PERSON; WHEREFORE TO TAKEGOD OTHERWISE THAN PERSONALLY", IS TO TAKE HIM OTHERWISE THANHE IS, AND INDEED TO MISTAKE HIM.

I conceive that the intent of that senseless error, is toconfound essence and person in the Deity, and to deny theTrinity of persons, in the unity of essence, as by their thirderror doth expressly appear, which saith; That it is a

wretched distinction to distinguish betwixt essence andperson. There being such an affinity between these twoerrors, the same argument will serve to confute both.

1. Against both which I lay down these two conclusions,First, that in scripture the name of God is sometimes takenessentially, and sometimes personally: essentially, as Deut.vi. 4, * Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord."God is but one being, and none is beside him. So Isa. xlv.5, 6, " I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is noGod besides me." Which places and expressions makeknown to us the whole Godhead as he is opposed to falsegods, and to creatures. When God is set against creatures,or mentioned with other things that are not God, then theword is taken essentially.

Sometimes it is taken personally, to signify of the per-sons in the Trinity. And so it is taken when any personis named with another, as John i. 1, "The Word was withGod, and the Word was God," that is, Jesus Christ, theWord and Son of God, was with God the Father. So inthat apostolical benediction, 2 Cor. xiii. 14, "The grace ofour Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellow-ship of the Holy Ghost," &c. Here all three persons arenamed, and the love of God is there taken personally forthe love of God the Father; by which it appears, that totake God otherwise than personally, is not to mistake him.

2. Against their third error I lay down this conclusion,namely, there are three persons in one individual natureof the Deity.

The scripture teaches us to distinguish between essenceand person, or between the divine nature and the personsthat partake of that nature. The Godhead is to be consi-dered in the unity of his nature, and in the trinity of per-sons. The same divine nature is communicated to threepersons; the Father is God, the Son is God, and the HolyGhost, God; yet the persons are not so divided as to makethree Gods, nor the nature so one as to deny the three per-sons. There is but one God in being, whose name is lam,Exod. iii. 14. This cannot be denied to mean God in es-sence, for it is the proper meaning of that name. And thisone God in essence is three persons, Father, Son, and HolyGhost. We must acknowledge three distinct persons sub-sisting in the Godhead: Matt, xxviii. 19, "Go teach and

baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and ofthe Holy Ghost." Here three are joined together, to whomequally we perform worship and promise our obedience,and of whom we expect remission of sins, and everlastingsalvation. Hence our argument is thus framed: Into whosename we are baptized, He is the most high God, (for wemust not be baptized in the name of Paul, or Apollos, orany creature whatever;) but we are baptized into the nameof the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: therefore the Father,Son, and Holy Ghost are that one, eternal, most high God,who alone is to be worshipped, and who alone is able toforgive our sins and save our souls.

This is necessary to the true knowledge of God, andafter this manner God has revealed himself in scripture.And he that does not acknowledge it, does not know Godas he ought, neither can he worship him aright. There-fore, to help your understandings in this great mystery, Iwill show, first, what a person in the Deity is, and, se-condly, give farther proofs of my second conclusion.

First, by person we do not mean a multiplication of sub-stances in particular, that subsist apart, having in them theself-same general nature; as, for example, Peter, James,and John, who are human persons, under the species ofman, subsist apart and separate, one from another. Thepersons in the Godhead are not so ; they are not three par-ticular substances, to whom one general nature is common :for then there would be three particular Gods, as James,Peter, and John are three singular men; but three thatsubsist by one substance, which itself is particular, yet theyall three have it, and their several ways of having it is thatwhich makes their personal distinction. Take it in thewords of the judicious Hooker: "The Lord our God is butone God, in which indivisible unity we adore the Fatheras altogether of himself, we glorify that consubstantiaiword, which is the Son; we bless and magnify that coes-sential Spirit, eternally proceeding from both, which is theHoly Ghost. Seeing, therefore, the Father is of none, theSon is of the Father, and the Spirit is of both, they are bythese their several properties really distinguishable eachfrom other: for the substance of God, with this propertyto be of none, doth make the person of the Father; thevery self-same substance in number, with this property to

be of the Father, maketh the person of the Son ; the verysame substance, having this property of proceeding fromthe other two, maketh the person of the Holy Ghost. Sothat in every person there is implied both the substanceof God, which is one, and also that property which causeththe same person really and truly to differ from the othertwo. Every person hath his own subsistence, which noother besides hath, although there be others besides thatare of the same substance." Eccles. Polit. lib. v. sec. 51.

Quest. What is a person in the Trinity? Ans. It iswhole God, not absolutely considered, but by way of somepersonal properties. It is a manner of being in the God-head, or a distinct subsistence, not a quality, having thewhole Godhead in it. Usher, p. 78. To this so clear andsafe an expression of so incomprehensible a mystery, Ishall not presume to add more words; only I wish the useof Athanasius' creed were restored to the church, and wellunderstood of all the people.

Obj. Oh! but we do not read in scripture that the Fa-ther, Son, and Holy Ghost are called three persons in theGodhead; the term person is not fit to be used, because itimplies three particular substances, existing severally andapart, which cannot agree to the Deity, which is but one.

Ans. It may be so indeed in your corrupt imagination.If you will measure the being and subsisting of God byrules of logic and human reason, then you cannot conceivea unity in a trinity—how one should be three persons, andnot three divided or severed substances. Howbeit, in thedescription of a divine person now given, you see clearlyhow essence and person are distinguished according to thedoctrine of the scripture. Yea, the scripture uses not onlywords which signify as much as we mean by person, butthe very word [person] itself, Heb. i. 3, where Christ iscalled the express image of God's person; he is called " thebrightness of his Father's glory:" I say his Father's glory;for the apostle speaks of the Son in all this chapter, ver. 2,5, because as the Father is glorious, so is Christ his Songlorious with the same glory. John xvii. 5, " Father, glo-rify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which Ihad with thee before the world was." What glory wasthat? Not a created glory, (for there was nothing createdbefore the beginning of the world,) it must needs be an un-

created glory. So he is called " the Lord of glory/' 1 Cor.ii. 8. Again, he is called the express image of his Father'sperson. If the Father be a person, then so is the Son, andso is the Holy Ghost, there being three named to be God.Consider that by what name one of them is distinguished,by the same, doubtless, the others are distinguished. Hedoes not say Christ is the image of his nature, but tr^ vvto-etaasus avta, of his personal subsistence. Then, there isone person of the Father, and another of the Son; theFather is one person, the Son is another person of theGodhead, having his own proper subsistence, as the Fatherhath; even as the signet's impression answers all the linea-ments and proportions of the seal, and as the letters andwords printed upon paper are the character, and answer tothe image of the types or the letters set by the printer. Sohere is one person answering to another. Angels and holymen are the image of God's holiness, but not of his person.Nothing can be the express image of God's person but hethat is a divine person, for personalhy is the thing whereinthey are alike and resemble each other.

I now proceed to give you farther proofs of my secondconclusion, namely, that there are three persons in one in-dividual nature of the Deity. You have seen this provedby the institution of our baptism; see the same truth con-firmed at the baptizing of Christ, where are three distinctpersons, and names, and personal actions, (Matt. iii. 16,17.)First, there is Christ, the party baptized, coming out of thewater; secondly, there is the Spirit of God descending likea dove, and abiding on him, (non levi tantum motu, sedcorporali specie;*) thirdly, there is God the Father, testi-fying of Christ by a voice from heaven, " This is my be-loved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Here is the per-son of the Father, and the person of the Son, and of theSpirit of God in a bodily shape, which abiding in a bodilyshape is a personal action. These three persons are of thesame dignity and authority, as appears by that apostolicalbenediction, (2 Cor. xiii. 14,) "The grace of our LordJesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion ofthe Holy Ghost be with you." Here are three sorts ofmercies wished and prayed for, from three distinct per-sons, as concurring jointly to the church's salvation; mer-* " JNot only as with a gentle motion, but in a corporeal appearance." (t)

cies which, as they cannot be given by any creatures, soneither may they be prayed for from any that is not God.To this purpose it is worth observing by what kind of ar-gument the apostle persuades the Corinthians to unity, (1Cor. xii. 4—6.) It is taken from the unity of that Godfrom whom all their gifts proceed. "There are diversitiesof gifts, but the same Spirit," (the Spirit in that place isnot a gift, but a person bestowing gifts.) " And there aredifferences of administrations, but the same Lord; andthere are diversities of operations, but it is the same Godwhich worketh all in all." The force of Paul's reasoningis this: All, whatsoever ye have, whether gifts, or minis-trations, or miraculous operations, proceed from one God;but those mentioned in the text are bestowed partly fromthe Holy Spirit, partly from the Lord Jesus, partly fromGod the Father; therefore Father, Son, and Holy Ghostare that one God in whom ye ought to be at unity, becausethe bestowers of all your several gifts are one. But letJohn conclude this point. 1 John v. 7, "There are threethat bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and theHoly Ghost, and these three are one." How one? Byconsent and agreement. So the holy angels and good menare one, and so the witnesses on earth (ver. 8) are one," the spirit, the water, and the blood, these three agree inone," as if the apostle did purposely intend to note a dif-ference between the unity of essence and the unity of con-sents, (he says, signanter*) the witnesses in heaven are one,the witnesses on earth are not one, they only agree in one.From all which places laid together I conclude, that to dis-tinguish between essence and person is a holy truth ofGod, and one of the foundations of the Christian faith andreligion. And it is the blasphemy of an heretical brain,wretchedly subverted and turned from the truth, to affirmthat to distinguish between essence and person is a wretcheddistinction.

Touching the manner how the Son is begotten of theFather, and how, or in what manner the Holy Ghost pro-ceeds from them both, seeing it is not expressed in scrip-ture, it shall suffice us to give glory to God, and believe it,because he hath revealed it, rather than search curiouslyinto that which is not revealed. If our own generation and* " Pointing out a distinction." (t)

frame in our mother's womb, (Psal. xiii. 9,14,15,) be aboveour capacity, it is no marvel, though the mystery of theeternal generation of the Son of God cannot be compre-hended. Eccl. xi. 15. And if the wind, which is but acreature, be so hard to know, that a man " knoweth notfrom whence it cometh, and whither it goeth;" (John iii. 3,)it is no marvel if the proceeding of the Holy Ghost be un-searchable. Of their errors against the Deity of the Sonof God, and of the Holy Ghost, I shall speak in the chap-ters following.

Use 1. This doctrine touching the distinction betweenthe essence and the persons in the Godhead, serves for ourdirection in the worshipping of God. The persons are notto be divided; for as it is common to all the persons to hearprayers, to forgive sin, to save souls, &c, so must our ser-vice be directed to the whole Trinity; yet carrying in ourminds, that their order in working is agreeable to theirorder in subsisting. Col. iii. 17. Thus we call upon Godthe Father, in the name and mediation of the Son, by theassistance of the Holy Ghost. Eph. vi. 18. Thus Danielprayed, Dan. ix. 17. " Now therefore, 0 our God, hear theprayer of thy servant, and his supplication, for the Lord'ssake." See Eph. ii. 18, where the apostle joins all threepersons together; "for through him, that is Christ, we both(Jews and Gentiles) have an access by one Spirit unto theFather."

There is a sweet harmony in the blessed Trinity, allconcurring to our salvation, " God was in Christ reconcilingthe world to himself, by the blood of his cross, through thesanctification of the Spirit." 2 Cor. v. 19; Col. i. 20. "Weare bound to give thanks for you, brethren, because Godhath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, throughsanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, to theobtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thes.ii. 14. So that as it was said in the creation, " Let usmake man," so now it may be said, Let us redeem lostman, all joining in the decree, and in the means of bring-ing the elect to life. As man is said to believe with thewhole heart, because many faculties of the soul concur inembracing Christ, the mind to conceive, the will to con-sent, the heart to trust, &c, so in this business the Lord-our Maker is our Redeemer. The unity of their nature9

teaches us not to divide them in our minds when we wor-ship God; and the distinction of their persons teaches usnot to confound their order of working.

Use 2. In this doctrine we see the reason, why somethings are ascribed to the whole Trinity: namely, becausethey all partake of one and the same divine nature, andsome things again are peculiar and proper to each personby himself. First, some properties and actions belongalike to all three; as to be almighty, gracious, just, holy,and good, to be co-equal; the Son thought it no robbery tobe equal with the Father; to be co-eternal and of the sametime; Christ (as God) was begotten from all eternity: sohe himself saith in the name of wisdom, in these words,(Prov. viii. 24, 25,) "When there were no depths, then wasI begotten, or brought forth, before the mountains or hillswere settled, was I brought forth," and therefore Isaiah (ix.6,) calleth the Son, " the everlasting Father," to be equalin majesty, honour, and worship; "For all men musthonour the Son, even as they honour the Father, for he thathonoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father," Johnv. 23, " And as the Father hath life in himself, so he hathgiven to the Son to have life in himself, verse 25. Lastly,by reason of the unity of the Godhead, they have all onewill; what the Father willeth, the same also doth the Sonand the Holy Ghost will, without crossing or varying onefrom another. Christ saith, "Father, I will that they whomthou hast given me, be with me, where I am," John xvii.24. "And this is the will of the Father, that of all which hehath given me, I should lose nothing," John vi. 39. TheHoly Ghost willeth the same, for " he shall receive of mine,and show it unto you, all things that the Father hath aremine, therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, for he issent from the Father." John xvi. 14, 15. Here Christshows the unity of essence in the holy Trinity, and thecommunity of power, wisdom, sanctity, truth, glory, andmajesty. It is an ancient rule among divines, opera Trini-tatis ad extra surd indivisa; all three persons concur inthe actions, which are terminated in the creatures, theyproceed from the same will in them all, as to decree, tocreate, to govern, to sanctify: according as it is said, Jobxxxv. 10, "Where is God my makers?" in the pluralnumber; so Isa. liv. 5, " Thy Maker is thy husband," in the

Hebrew it is conjuges tui, fact ores tui, thy Makers isthine husbands, which notes a plurality of persons in oneand the same action. Junius applies it to the holy Trinity.Yet there are some properties peculiar and proper toeach person by himself, which are not communicable to theother two. The Father begets, the Son is begotten, theHoly Ghost proceeds. And as there is an order of sub-sisting, so also of working, the Father worketh all thingsof himself as the original and fountain of action in the Son,and by the Holy Ghost; the Son worketh from and withthe Father, John i. 3, " All things were made by him, andwithout him was not any thing made, that was made:" theHoly Ghost worketh from them both; for "he shall takeof mine/' saith Christ, the Son worketh from the Fatherby the Holy Ghost; the Holy Ghost worketh from themboth, John xiv. 25, " The Comforter, which is the HolyGhost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shallteach you all things:" and John xv. 26, it is said, that "theComforter, whom I will send unto you from the Father,even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from theFather." Now this order of working is also peculiar toeach person; they ehange not places. And among thesepeculiar works this is one, that the Son only took flesh, andsuffered for man's transgressions, and not the Father, northe Holy Ghost, as is falsely affirmed in their fourth error,of which in the next place.

SECTION IV.

OF THEIR ERROR AGAINST THE NATURE OF GOD, NAMELY, THAT THEFATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST, THE WHOLE GODHEAD, SET ITSELFBODILY IN CHRIST TO SUFFER FOR THE TRANSGRESSING CREATURES.

(Lond. Test., p. 6.)

This wretched assertion is contrary to plain places ofscripture, which expressly teach that the Son only tookflesh and suffered for the transgressions of man, and notthe Father, nor the Holy Ghost. John i. 14, "The Wordwas made flesh;" that is, Jesus Christ, the eternal and es-sential Word of God, which "was in the beginning withGod, and was God, by whom all things were made;" Johni. 1, 3, compared with Gal. iv. 4, 5, " But when the ful-ness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a

woman, made under the law, to redeem them that wereunder the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."In this place are plainly distinguished, first, the personsending, God the Father, and the person sent, his Son.Secondly, ye have the incarnation of the Son only; hisSon was made of a woman. Thirdly, that the Son onlysuffered /or our transgressions; for "He was made underthe law to redeem us." Fourthly, the end why he senthis Son to take flesh, and to suffer for us, was to make ussons. Add hereunto that as the Father sent the Son, sohis incarnation was by the power of the Holy Ghost. Lukei. 35, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and thepower of the Highest shall overshadow thee."

It is impious, therefore, to affirm that either the Fatheror the Holy Ghost were incarnate, or that they sufferedfor the transgressing creatures. The apostle says expresslythat " Jesus was delivered for our offences, and raised againfor our justification," Rom. iv. 25, and Rom. v. 10, "Whilewe were enemies, we were reconciled unto God by thedeath of his Son." "It is Christ, therefore, that died,"(Rom. viii. 34,) not the Father nor the Holy Ghost. It isJesus Christ to whom this properly belongs, that he"washed us from our sins in his own blood," (Rev. i. 5.)Then, as the Father and the Holy Ghost did not take flesh,so neither did they die or suffer for our sins. It is true,indeed, that the Son and the Holy Ghost have the self-sameuncreated essence or substance in themselves, as well asthe Father, (otherwise they should have had no true God-head,) yet this hinders not the incarnation of one personwithout the incarnation of the other two. The essence ornature of God, by reason of its infinite simplicity, cannotbe divided into parts; yet, seeing it is after one manner inthe Father, nempe aytwrjtas, without receiving it from anyother, and after another manner in the Son, namely, bygeneration, and after another manner in the Holy Ghost,namely, by proceeding, hence it is that the human naturemight well be taken into the subsistence of one person,according to its manner of subsisting, and yet not be takeninto the other two persons, which have their proper wayof subsisting. Let us hear how Mr. Hooker expresses thismystery. When God became man, says he, lest we shoulderr in applying this to the person of the Father or of the

Spirit, Peter's confession unto Christ was, (Matt. xvi. 6,John i. 14,) "Thou art the Son of the living God;" andJohn's exposition thereof was made plain, that it is theWord which was made flesh. The Father and the HolyGhost, says Damascen, have no communion with the incar-nation of the Word, otherwise than by approbation and as-sent; notwithstanding, forasmuch as the Word and Deityare one subject, we must beware that we exclude not thenature of God from incarnation, and so make the Son ofGod incarnate not to be very God, for undoubtedly eventhe nature of God itself, in the only person of the Son, isincarnate; in him dwelleth the fulness of the Godheadbodily, (Col. ii. 9,) and hath taken to itself flesh; where-fore incarnation may neither be granted to any person, butonly to one, nor yet denied to that nature, which is com-mon to all three.

In this mystery of the incarnation we must carefully dis-tinguish between the efficient cause and the matter or thesubject of it, or between the beginning from which it iswrought; terminus h quo and the terminus in quo,wherein it is finished. The whole Trinity is the efficientcause of the incarnation, which did begin this work whichshould be terminated in the Son. But the subject of in-carnation is only the Son, who alone was clothed with ourflesh; which divines express by the similitude of three vir-gins embroidering and making a garment by their joint la-bour, which only one of them shall wear.

Quest. But why was it requisite the Son should take ourflesh, rather than either of the other two persons? Ans.This was most meet, first, because, as all things were madeby him, so all should be restored by him. Col. i. 16, "Byhim were all things created that are in heaven, and thatare in earth;" therefore by him did "God reconcile allthings unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be thingsin earth or things in heaven:" our Maker is our Redeemerand Saviour. Secondly. Because by the natural Son ofGod we are made the sons of God by adoption and grace." He was made of a woman, made under the law, for thisend, that we might receive the adoption of sons," (Gal. v.5,) so that we could not have been sons but by the incarna-tion of the Son of God. By uniting us to the Son of Godwe are made children of our heavenly Father; Heb. ii. 10,

9*

" For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whomare all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make theCaptain of their salvation perfect through sufferings:" JesusChrist, " to bring many sons unto glory, did take of ourflesh and blood, that through death he might deliver usfrom him that had the power of death," ver. 14. Christ,the only Son of God by nature, was made like unto hisbrethren, to bring them to glory. By our union toChrist, the natural Son of God, we also become the « sonsof God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ;" we arejoined with the natural Son of God in his honour of beinga son, and in the benefit of being an heir, (Rom. viii. 17.)The root of our adoption or sonship is by the eternal Sonof God, and we are sons of God because of Christ, who is,first, the Son of God; for God is first the Father of Christ,then our Father, as Christ himself says, John xx. 17, "Wethat are born the children of wrath, are made the childrenof God by grace," in and through our union with him,who is the natural Son of God, the Mediator between Godand us. Therefore, seeing the second person alone is theSon, and we claim the inheritance by no other title but byour sonship, it behooved the Son of God to be made theSon of Man, rather than either of the other persons, thatthe sons of men, having by him obtained that right andprivilege, might be made his brethren and fellow-heirs.

SECTION V.

OF THEIR FIFTH ERROR AGAINST THE NATURE AND ESSENCE OF GOD,NAMELY, THAT GOD IS THE AUTHOR, NOT OF THOSE ACTIONS ALONE INAND WITH WHICH SIN IS, BUT OF THE VERY PRAVITY, DISORDER, LAW-LESSNESS, IRREGULARITY, AND SINFULNESS ITSELF WHICH IS IN THEM JYEA, GOD HAS MORE HAND IN MEN'S SINFULNESS THAN THEY THEM-SELVES.

0 horrid blasphemy! Is this a comfort for believers?Is it not the ready way to seal up to them their damnation,through the hardness and impenitency of their hearts?For how can they repent that impute their sins not tothemselves for their humiliation and amendment, but toGod as the author of them? We sinners should lay oursins upon Christ, as our sacrifice who was " offered to bearthe sins of many," (Heb. ix. 28;) but to impute them toGod, as the author of them, is an abominable blasphemy.

For proof, consider these places of scripture: 1 John L5, " God is light," a pure, perfect light, " and in him is nodarkness at all." There is not the least mixture of anyevil in him, as the psalmist speaks; Ps. v. 4, " Thou artnot a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shallevil dwell with thee." God cannot be, defiled with evilfrom others; God cannot be tempted with evil, no evilcan dwell with him; neither does God, who is nothing butlight, defile any man. Nay, he has no hand in the sins ofmen, for "he tempteth no man," (James i. 13.) If Goddo not so much as tempt to sin, then much less is he theauthor of their sins, either by instilling into man any evil,or by commanding or forcing him to sin, or causing himto act irregularly, wickedly, and unholily.

For it is against, and inconsistent with the nature of God.If God has a hand in men's sinfulness, as much, or more,than they themselves, then he is a sinner, as they are; andso he should not be God. We have so much to do in ourown sinfulness, that it makes us truly sinners: and if Godhave more hand in our very sinfulness, then he is a greatersinner than we are, and so he should cease to be God.God is holy and good, yea, so transcendently good, thatnone is good but God, " None is holy as the Lord, there isnone besides him." 1 Sam. ii. 2. "Holy, holy, holy isthe Lord God of Hosts;" so holy, that the prophet criedout, "Wo is me, for I am undone." Why ? " Because Iam a man of unclean lips, and mine eyes have seen theKing, the Lord of Hosts." Isa. vi. 3, 5. God is so infi-nitely holy, that men cannot endure his presence, by rea-son of their uncleanness. " God is a God of purer eyes thanto behold evil," or to look on iniquity with any liking, orcountenancing of it; (Hab. i. 13,) and man so unclean, thathe cannot look upon so holy a Lord God. But if Godwere the author of man's sinfulness, he would like his ownwork; there need not be such a dread in man, by reasonof his own uncleanness. Yea, if he had so great a hand inman's sinfulness as they themselves, then he should delightin evil, for so does man. God doth hate, forbid, threaten,and punish all sin, therefore he cannot be the author of anysin, Zech. viii. 17, "Let no man imagine evil in his heartagainst his neighbour, and love no false oath, for all theseare things that I hate, saith the Lord." And he taketh

vengeance on them, Rom. i. 18, "for the wrath of God isrevealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and un-righteousness of men. Tribulation and anguish upon everysoul of man that doeth evil," whether he be Jew or Gentile.Rom. ii. 9. Now how could God be a punisher and re-venger of sin, if he were the author of it ? There is nosuch unrighteousness with God, therefore let us take toourselves the shame and blame of all our sins, and attributethem to the right cause, the devil, and our own corrupthearts. 1 John ii. 16, "For all that is in the world, thelusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life,is not of the Father, but is of the world:" it is not ofGod; that is clear. Ye must look out some other author.

Quest. But does not God will the evil of sin ? If hedid not in some sort will it, sin could not have entered intothe world whether he would or not; and is not his will thecause of the being and existing of such things as hewilleth, &c.

Ans. We must distinguish between the will of Godcommanding and approving, permitting and governing.Again, we must consider two things in sin, really distinctthe one from the other, namely, the action to which sincleaves, and the deformity, pravity or corruption of theaction, that is, when the action declines from the rule ofGod's word: and this properly is sin, or the form of it.The action is, as it were, the matter or subject wherein sinresides. Hence, in answer to the question, I lay downthese conclusions:

First, that God never wills sin by his commanding will.God said "Let there be light," and it was so ; but he neversaid, let there be sin. Christ said to the leper, "I will, bethou clean," but God never said to any man, I will, be thouunclean. Nor by his approving will; for that which issinfully evil, God's will is not carried to it with love orliking, yea, he hates it, as has been already proved.

Secondly, as God made all things, so he upholds them intheir being, and motions, and actions, both good and bad,so that no man could either move to an action, or have abeing to act, if God sustained not. "In him we live, andmove, and have our being;" (Acts xvii. 28,) yet God isnot the cause of the pravity or sinfulness of any action.Therefore you cannot say, that in God you commit adul-

tery, in God you swear, &c. The positive act, to whichsin cleaves, is of God in the same sort that all other actionsof the creatures are; but the obliquity of the creature'sactings, are to be ascribed to their own proper cause,namely, the devil and the corrupt nature of man. And ofthe actions of the creatures are those sayings of school-mento be understood, namely, that no second cause can movewithout the agency of the first. And the first cause runsinto the effect of the second causes. All creatures work inthe power of God. This is meant of man's created qualitiesand actions, not of the crookedness and pravity of hisactions, which have not God for their maker. The ridercauses the horse to go, but not his halting, that proceedsfrom another cause.

Thirdly, though God does not make sin, yet he willinglypermits the sins of mankind. But his permissive will isnot the cause of any man's sin. There is no evil in theworld, which God knows not of, or whether God will ornot for that were to deny his omnipotency. God did per-mit and suffer Adam to fall, that is, God did not hinder itby his omnipotent power, nor by his extraordinary grace.God is said to permit sin, when he does not effectually andpowerfully hinder it, but leaves the creature to its ownfreedom and inclination; as Acts xiv. 16, it is said, that" God suffered all nations to walk in their own ways," andPsa. lxxxi. 11, 12, u Israel would none of me, so I gavethem up to their own hearts' lusts, and they walked in theirown counsels." Howbeit, God's permitting sin, is not thecause of sin. Indeed, if God did infuse any evil into man'smind, or create any corruption in man's will, which wasnot there before: or if God by his providence did infuseany constraint into the mind of man to enforce it, or anyerror to seduce it, or impose any necessity to bind it, thenwe should make him the author of sin. But he does noneof all this. He hates all sin, he forbids it absolutely;within us by the light of the Spirit, without us by thecommandments. Isa. xxx. 21; Rom. ii. 15; Deut. xxvii.26. The first entrance of sin into the world, and the con-tinuance of it in the world, was by the voluntary action ofman's will corrupting itself. God permitted the fall ofman not by instilling into him any evil, nor by taking fromhim any ability to do good, but by suffering Satan to tempt

him, and leaving man to the liberty and mutability of hisown will, (Jam. i. 13,) who sinned freely with a whole andentire will, and hearkened to the voice of the serpent, morethan the voice of his God.

Quest. If then any ask, what God has to do about, andconcerning sin? it is reduced to three actions:

First, he sustains mankind, and upholds his being in allits powers and faculties: "My Father worketh hitherto,''he upholds the works of his creation, and governs themall.

Secondly, he leaves the sinner to himself; to his ownwit and strength, to his own lusts, counsels, and temp-tations; he withholds his grace, being bound to no man,whence it follows, that their hearts harden, and the bentof their natural inclinations leads them to several sins, ac-cording to the variety of objects which are set before them,and of temptations to which they are exposed, and so theyare carried to several sins, even as they are led. As awater-course runs downwards by its own weight when thedam that pent it up is removed, thus God is said (John,xii. 40,) to "blind their eyes, and harden their hearts:"not by creating sin in them, as he does grace in the elect,but by withholding the influences and supplies of his grace,which should soften them, and by offering them sundryobjects, which they convert to occasions of sin, and theyhave no will to do otherwise. He hardens (Rom. ix. 19,)by not showing mercy, as in the winter by the absence ofthe sun, the natural coldness of the air and earth causesfrost and ice.

Thirdly, God orders and governs the wicked actions ofmen to bring to pass certain good effects which the sinnernever intended, nor could they flow from the nature ofthose evil actions, but God over-rules all the evil actionsof the creatures, sometimes to punish a faithless and stub-born generation, sometimes for the glory of his justice inthe shame and punishment of the sinner himself, sometimesto manifest his glory, mercy, and goodness towards hischurch and people, so as their sufferings are turned to theircomfort. So that God is not only a bare permitter of evilworks, but a powerful governor of them to his glory.Thus Joseph's brethren sent him into Egypt out of envy,but God sent him to provide for his church, and to bring

him to that honour which was foretold in his dream thathis brethren's sheaves should bow down before Joseph's.Thus Shimei cursed David. He did it to drive David todespair, but God directed it to humble him: and God issaid to bid Shimei curse him, because he gave him an oc-casion to vent his malice against the house of David: likea surgeon, who with his lancet, opens the wounds, and letsout the corruption that was in the boil before.

Lastly, Pilate, Judas, and the Jews, had all of them ahand in crucifying Christ: Pilate, to please the people, andto keep his credit with Caesar; Judas, for love of the mo-ney, and the Jews, that our Saviour, Christ, should notreign over them. These all did their own work; theydrove on their own designs. And God did his workby them, namely, to save many souls alive. Acts ii. 23;iv. 28.

Use 1. By this which has been said you may see a rea-son why, when God and man are declared to meet in oneand the same action, (as in Joseph's sending into Egypt,&c.,) man is guilty and justly condemned, and God remainswithout all stain of sin, and justly punishes the sinner;namely, because in una et eddem re, quam fecerunt, nonest eadem causa ob quam fecerunt: the cause from whencethe action comes is not the same in God and in the sinner.Joseph's brethren sold him into Egypt out of envy; Godsent him there in mercy. Judas sold his Master out ofcovetousness, and the Jews of envy, but God gave Christof his mere love. In short, men do their own work andwills; they intend not to obey God in their sinful doings:God overrules them to his glory and the church's good.A physician lets blood by leeches: the leeches do but theiroffice, which is to suck blood; they intend not the good ofthe sick party, or any service to the physician. Howbeit,the physician orders by his skill the natural quality of thatworm unto that which by nature it could not do, namely,the health of the patient. So the Lord brings his work topass by the hands of wicked men; they ignorantly, andagainst their wills, serve the providence of God, even whenthey rebel against him. And for this it is that such menare justly damned, though God's providence be therebyserved, because they fulfilled their own lusts, and if goodbe brought out of such actions, it is no thanks to them.

"The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him, but wo tothat man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed." God'spurpose was by that means fulfilled, yet Judas is damnedfor his pains.

Use 2. From this difference between the commandingwill of God, and his permissive or governing will, name-ly, that only good things are commanded and effected byhim, and evil things are permitted and ordered, but notcajsed by him, should teach us not to cast our sins uponGod, upon his providence or decrees, as Adam did, whenhe said, (Gen. iii. 12,) "The woman which thou gavest tobe with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat," lestGod proceed to judgment with us as he did with Adam;ver. 17, "Unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkenedto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of whichI commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursedis the ground for thy sake, dust thou art, and unto dustthou shalt return." Thy only way to find mercy is togive glory to God, and take shame to thyself; to humblethyself before thy Judge, as Daniel did, Dan. ix. 8, 9, " 0Lord! to us belongeth confusion of face, because we havesinned against thee; but to the Lord our God belongethrighteousness, (ver. 7,) and mercies, and forgiveness."And with Job ix. 15, to say, "How shall I answer him?whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer,but I would make supplication to my Judge." Say untothe Lord, " Thou art a God that hast no pleasure in wick-edness," (Ps. v. 4;) thou dost not will iniquity, much lesseffect it: sin is not the effect of thy power, but the defectof my corrupt will, I will therefore "acknowledge mytransgressions, that thou mayest be justified when thouspeakest, and clear when thou judgest: Thou, Lord, artjust in all that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right,but we have done wickedly." It is double iniquity tobring God, the fountain of goodness, into partnership withour sins: if God were the cause of sin, he were not good;and if he be not good, he is not God; but being all good,he would not suffer evil to be, unless, being also omnipo-tent, he knew how to bring good out of evil.

Use 3. This doctrine also teaches us not to take God'spermissive will for our warrant. God's revealed, com-manding, approving will is the only rule of our actions,

NATURE AND ESSENCE OF GOD. 109

and in doing it alone may men take comfort. We cannotjustify ourselves or others in things done against God's re-vealed will, though it comes to pass not quite wholly with-out his providential, permissive will. Let no man bearhimself out upon this principle, that it was the will of Godit should be thus and thus, else it could never have cometo pass, because nothing comes to pass whether God willor no: }^et, wo to that man who shall do evil upon thataccount; his damnation is just. It was God's will to suf-fer Abel to be killed, yet wo to Cain that slew him; " Thybrother's blood crieth." It was God's will that Christshould be put to death, yet they were murderers that didit. Acts ii. 23. It was God's will that the king of Baby-lon should take the city of Jerusalem, yet "The violencedone to me, and to my flesh, be upon Babylon, shall theinhabitants of Sion say: And my blood be upon the inha-'bitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say: Therefore thussaith the Lord, Behold! I will plead thy cause, and takevengeance for thee, and Babylon shall become heaps, adwelling-place for dragons," &c. Jer. Ii. 35, 37. "Yea,happy shall he be called that taketh and dasheth thy littleones against the stones." Ps. cxxxvii. 9.

The reason is, because such persons cannot say, God iswith us to approve us: they cannot say, We are workerstogether with God—God set us on work. Such personsare under God's permissive will, which has for its end hisown glory in the world's just punishment, not the good ofthe parties instrumental. In obeying God's commandingwill a man shall have praise of God; but not of the former,because therein they serve not God, they obey not God,they glorify not God; and if they thank him for prosper-ing in evil ways, they abuse and dishonour him the more,whereas in truth they serve their own lusts. And hence,note one difference between a godly man and a hypocrite.God works in and by the godly, but he worketh by thewicked, not in them; they are as means passive in thehand of God: that is, though the Lord uses them, yet theyhave no knowledge nor intention to serve or please God inthe things they do, but as brute beasts they follow theirown lusts and imaginations, which God in his wisdomoverrules to execute his will in the just punishment ofothers, or in the wonderful deliverance of his church. Isa.10

xliv. 16, 28. But as for the godly, they desire to be work-ers with God; first to know, and then to do his will. AndGod works in them as well as by them; they are activemeans or instruments in the things they do; God usesthem, yet they have reason, knowledge, and understand-ing in themselves to move and direct themselves by God'sword to God's glory; and for this cause the work of thegodly is acceptable to God, but not the work of the wicked,although they do the same thing which the godly do.Ezra and Nehemiah, Zerubbabel and Joshua the son ofJosedech, David also, and Solomon, were another kind ofinstruments and servants of the Lord, in rebuilding and re-establishing the temple and the worship thereof, than Ar-taxerxes or Darius, or any of the kings of Persia. There-fore, let every godly man pray and practise that of Ps.cxliii. 10, "Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God;thy Spirit is good, lead me in the land of uprightness."

CHAPTER III.

ERRORS AGAINST THE DEITY OF THE SON OF GOD. THERE ARE THREE INTHIS CHAPTER. I. THAT CHRIST, BEING OF HIS FATHER'S MOST INTI-MATE COUNSEL, IS A MIGHTY GOD, (NOT ALMIGHTY GOD,) ABOVE ALLAPPELLATIVE GODS, (1 COR. VIII. 5.) II. THAT TO MAKE CHRIST CO-EQUAL TO HIS FATHER, IS TO MAKE, AS MUCH AS IN US LIETH, ANO-THER OR A FALSE CHRIST, AN IDOL CHRIST, OR TWO GODS. III. THATTHE BETTER PART OF CHRIST'S PERSON IS MAN, THERE BEING BUT ADIFFERENCE OF DEGREE BETWEEN HIM, AND MOSES, AND US.

The scope of these errors is to deny Christ to be God,and to make him a mere man; greater than ordinary men,but not equal to his Father in respect of Godhead. Againstall which I oppose, as an undoubted truth, this doctrine,namely, that Christ, the Son of God, is true God, equaland of the same nature, power, and eternity with the Fa-ther, far above all created natures, God blessed for ever.

This is confirmed by many evident testimonies of scrip-ture.

First. He is in scripture expressly called God, Jehovah,

the most high God. Isa. ix. 6, " Unto us a Son is given,his name shall be called Wonderful, the Mighty God."The child that was born, the Son that was given, is " theMighty God, the everlasting Father." The Jews chargedChrist with blasphemy, because he said that " God was hisFather, making himself equal with God," John v. 18. "Andbecause that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." Johnx. 3. The force of their reason is this, that the naturalSon of God is God, equal with God, as the natural son ofa man is man, equal and of the same substance with hisfather. So, Isa. vii. 1, the virgin's Son is called " Imma-nuel," which, being interpreted, is " God with us." Matt,i. 23. God, begotten of his Father from all eternity, andwith us, by taking our flesh of the virgin. Christ is calledGod properly and absolutely in his nature, by the apostle,Rom. ix. 5, "That same Christ which came of the Father,as concerning the flesh, he is over all, God blessed for ever.Amen." The apostle there distinguishes in Christ twonatures, God and man; and as truly as he is man of theseed of David, so truly he is God over all, blessed for ever.Again, it is said that " Christ Jesus being in the form ofGod, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Phil,ii. 6. If he were but a man, it were robbery in the high-est degree to make himself equal with God. God iswronged and robbed of his majesty and glory when anycreature shall make himself God's equal. Lastly. "InChrist dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," (Col.ii. 9;) that is, personally in the flesh of Christ: he doesnot say (as Dr. Prideaux well observes) *cu> to ra^pwjua 0fto-tytos, Divinitatis, as if he were homo Divinus, and nomore, but nav to rt^pw^a dsotrito^ Deitatis, the Godheaditself, and therefore he is Deus Summus, the most highGod. Of those places of scripture, this is the sum andsubstance: Jesus Christ, the virgin's Son, is the mightyGod, the Son of God, equal with God, God with us, Godover all; not a petty God, but God over all, who thoughtit not robbery to be equal with God; " God manifest in theflesh," (1 Tim. iii. 16;) yea, all the fulness of the Godheaddwells in him.

Secondly. Our divines prove the Son to be true Godby comparing the Old Testament with the New; for whatthe Old Testament speaks of Jehovah, who is God, the

New Testament applies to Christ. As, for example, Numb-xxi. 5, " The people spake against God, and against Moses,"with Ps. xcv. 9, " 0 come let us worship, and kneel beforethe Lord our maker, for he is our God," ver. 6, 7. "Yourfathers," says God, " tempted me, proved me, and saw myworks forty years." This Paul applies to Christ, (1 Cor.x. 9,) " Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempt-ed, and were destroyed of serpents." Numb. xxi. 6. There-fore Christ is Jehovah. Again, Ps. xlv. 6, God the Fatherspeaks to God the Son thus, " Thy throne, 0 God, is forever and ever." This is applied to Christ, Heb. i. 8, " Untothe Son he saith, Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever,a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."Again, Isa. xli. 4, "I the Lord am the first, and with thelast, I am he." This is also applied to Christ, Rev. i. 17,"Fear not, 1 am the first and the last:" also, Rev. xxi. 6.Lastly. In Isa. vi. 1, the Lord is presented to the prophet ingreat majesty: " I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high,and lifted up," &c. This is applied to Christ, John xii. 41,"These things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, andspake of him." Now what things were they that Isaiahthen said? See Isa. vi. 9,10. He said, " Make the heartof this people fat, and their ears heavy, lest they see withtheir eyes, and understand with their hearts," &c. Thesevery words are repeated by John, chap. xii. 39, 40, andapplied to Christ's obstinate, unbelieving hearers. "Theycould not believe, because Isaiah said, He hath blinded theireyes, and hardened their hearts," &c. Consider, When didIsaiah say these things? When he saw his glory, and spakeof him, that is, of Christ, the Lord of glory.

Thirdly. Christ's works are the works of a God; nonecould do them but he that is God.

First. " All things were made by him, and without himwas not any thing made that was made." John i. 3. Hemade the world, and he supports the world. He " upholdsall things by the word of his power." Col. i. 15, 16; Heb.i. 13. He that made the world is God: so says the apos-tle, Heb. iii. 4, " Every house is builded by some man, buthe that built all things is God."

Secondly. He forgives sins. " Who can forgive sinsbut God only?" Yet so does Christ, therefore he is God,Mark ii. 7, 9, 10.

Thirdly. He understood the thoughts of men. Mark ii.8, "Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasonedwithin themselves; He said unto them, "Why reason youthese things in your hearts?*' It seems they uttered nottheir thoughts, yet Christ knew them. And when theScribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he wouldheal on the Sabbath day, it is said that " he kiaew theirthoughts." Luke vi. 8. It is the property of God aloneto know and search the heart. " The heart of man is de-ceitful above all things, who can know it? I the Lordsearch the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every manaccording to his ways." Jer. xvii. 10. Therefore Christ isvery God, for " all the churches shall know" (says he, Rev.ii. 23,) " that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts,and I will give to every one of you according to yourworks."

Fourthly. He gives the Holy Ghost, which none cando but God. John xv. 26, "I will send the Comforterunto you from my Father." " When he ascended up onhigh, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,even the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts i. 8, with Johnvii. 39.

Fifthly. What should I say of his miraculous works,performed by his own power, word, and will? He raisedthe dead, commanded the devils to come forth out of themthat were possessed, (Mark ix. 18;) at his word the windand the seas are calm, they obey him. He did this by hisown power. Yea, he gives this power unto others. Markxvi. 18, "They shall cast out devils, they shall speak withnew tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drinkany deadly thing, it shall not hurt them," &c. Men re-ceive the gift of miracles from God, but no man can be-stow it upon others.

These are the works of Christ, of which we may say ashimself does, John xv. 24, " I have done among them theworks which none other man did." For can any but Godcreate the world?—forgive sins?—search and try thehearts?—give the Holy Ghost?—work miracles by hisown will and word? Christ does all this, therefore he isthe Almighty God.

Fourthly. Christ is worshipped as God, and that by thecommandment of the Father. Heb. i. 16, "When he

10*

bringeth the first-begotten into the world, he saith, Letall the angels of God worship him." (See, also, Phil. ii.10; 1 Pet. iii. 22; Acts vii. 59.) How great is he to whomthe angels must perform worship and service! Thomas,the apostle, adores him, saying unto him, (John xx. 28,)" My Lord and my God." And they are blessed that doin like wanner acknowledge him for their Lord and theirGod. Now God does not communicate his worship to anyto whom he does not communicate his nature. "My glorywill I not give to another." Isa. xlii. 8, No creature iscapable of worship, because it cannot be God. "Thoushalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thouserve," said Christ to the devil, (Matt. iv. 10.) The angelthat was employed to show John the Revelation refused tobe worshipped, saying, " See thou do it not, I am thy fel-low servant, worship God." Rev. xxii. 8. Christ is wor-shipped as God, therefore he is very and true God.

Much more might be said to this purpose; but this isenough to make you detest and abhor those forementionedlies and blasphemies, namely, that Christ is a mighty God,not almighty, that there is but a difference in degree be-tween Him, and Moses, and us, and that he is not equalwith the Father, &c. For if he be God, then he mustneeds be almighty, because God is not weak; and seeing heis God, he must needs be equal with God the Father, forin the unity of essence there can be no inequality.

And what has the heretic to say against this fundamen-tal truth ? He objects that to make Christ equal withhis Father, is to make a false Christ, or an idol-Christ, ortwo gods; it implies polytheosie, or apotheosie, that is,many gods, or a man-god.

Ans. 1. To the intent you may have yourselves exer-cised to discern both good and evil, in this great mystery,you must carefully consider in Christ, two distinct natures,God and man, retaining their distinct properties: the pro-perties belonging to man are not swallowed up in theGodhead, nor the properties of the Godhead communicatedto the manhood. 2. That these two natures are united inperson. Christ is not divided into two persons, but theson of man is taken into the subsistence of the second per-son in Trinity, and so God and man are not two, but oneChrist.

This distinction is not the invention of man's brain,but the doctrine of the Holy Ghost, which distinguishesin Christ, two natures, flesh and Godhead; Rom. i. 3,4," Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which wasmade of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and de-clared to be the Son of God with power, according to theSpirit of holiness," that is, according to his divine nature.So (Rom. ix. 5,) Paul distinguishes in Christ two natures,one human flesh, of the seed of the Father, "of whom, asconcerning the flesh, Christ came." But has he any othernature ? Yes, He is also " God over all blessed for ever."Christ, according to the flesh, is the son of David, but ac-cording to the Spirit of power, He is the Son of God. Heis of the Jews in one respect. He is not of the Jews, butGod over them, in another respect. Note how particularlythe scripture distinguishes between the person assuming,and the nature assumed, Heb. ii. 16, " He took not on himthe nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abra-ham." The Son of God, remaining God, took on him theseed of Abraham. He saved what he took, He saved notthe angels that fell, because he took not their nature. SoPhil. ii. 7, "He, being equal with God, took upon him theform of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men,very man as we are, in all things, sin only excepted."

Now that these two natures are united in the one per-son of Immanuel, is also evident by those scriptures, whichteach that " the Word was made flesh." John i. 14. Madeflesh, that is, he became a man of a reasonable soul, andhuman body, not by the changing of the Godhead, but byassuming the manhood. In which respect, he is said "tobe born of the mother," and " made of a woman." Mat. i.16, Gal. iv. 4. And the "fulness of the Godhead to dwellin him bodily." Col. ii. 9. It does not dwell by way ofinfluence or gifts, but bodily, that is personally, conjoiningtwo natures in one and the same person, which is that oneMediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 1Tim. ii. 9. The Holy Ghost sanctified the seed of theVirgin, and united it to the person of the eternal Son ofGod: whereupon it is said, Luke i. 35, "That that holything, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Sonof God." The Son that is born of the Virgin, is the Sonof God, by birth; and why? Because of this union, and

so the Virgin is called, the mother of our Lord; now shecannot be the mother of God in any other respect, butonly because the child of her body was united and madeone with the Son of God: otherwise there should be twopersons, and two Sons, one of the Virgin Mary, andanother of God : but the human nature being assumed intothe person of the Son of God, and being prevented fromany personal subsistency in itself, does not make a newperson, but only adds a new nature to the old person, somaking one Christ, God and man : even as we see one treeset into another, and it grows in the stock, but has no sub-sistence of its own, save only in the stock and root of thattree, into which it was grafted, yet there are two natures,and two kinds of fruit upon one stock: so in Christ, thoughthere are two natures, yet both being united in one per-son, there is but one Son of God, and one Christ.

This truth is carefully to be remembered and kept, be-cause the confounding of the natures, which are two, andthe dividing of the person, which is but one, have been theoccasion of the most gross mistakes and errors in this ar-ticle of our Christian faith, as is noted by Mr. Hooker.Four principal heresies there are, as he has well observedand succinctly laid together, which have in these thingswithstood the truth: Arians, by bending themselves againstthe Deity of Christ: Appollinarians, by maiming and mis-interpreting that which belongs to his human nature; Nes-torians, by rending Christ asunder, dividing him into twopersons; the followers of Eutyches, by confounding inhis person those natures, which they should distinguish.Against these, there have been four most famous ancientgeneral councils; namely, the Council of Nice, to defineagainst Arians; against Appollinarians, the Council of Con-stantinople; the Council of Ephesus against Nestorians;against Eutychians, the Chalcedon Council. In four words,a?^0ttj, tfstawj, a8i>aip£T?u>s, aovyzvtus, truly, perfectly, indivi-sibly, distinctly; the first applied to his being God, thesecond to his being man, the third to his being of both,one, and the fourth to his still continuing in that one, both.Within the compass of which four heads, I may truly affirm,that all heresies which touch the person of Christ, whetherthey have risen in these latter days, or in any age hereto-fore, may be, with great facility, brought to confine them-

selves, the Christian belief confirmed, and the foresaidheresies confuted.

Use 1. According to this rule you must diligently ob-serve in scripture, what things are ascribed to Christ inrespect of his divine nature, human nature, and whole per-son. By doing this we shall escape many mistakes anderrors, we shall understand many passages of scripture,\vhich seem to contradict each other, and how the workswrought in our flesh, are counted the works of the wholeperson, and so meritorious to our salvation.

As for example, Christ is David's son, and David's Lord:He is the Son of Mary, yet the God, and Maker, and Sa-viour of Mary. He is the man that was never in heaven,and yet in heaven, when he spake on earth; John iii. 13," No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that camedown from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is inheaven." Christ says, * My Father is greater than I;" andyet he is equal with God, one with his Father. Christ isthat "Son born to us" in time, and yet "the mighty God,the everlasting Father, without beginning of days," &c. Isa.ix. 6. If it be demanded how these things can stand together ?your distinction tells you, because he is both God and manin one person, therefore his name is Wonderful, he is theSon of Mary and of David, as he is man, and David'sLord, and Mary's Maker, in respect of his Godhead: he isequal with his Father, as touching his Godhead, inferiorto the Father, as touching his manhood, &c.; as in Atha-nasius' Creed it is expressed.

Thus, touching the person of Christ, it clears to ourunderstandings, so that we can say, those things whichseem to contradict each other, are true in him, becausesome things are proper to him, and ascribed to him, as heis God, as when he saith, Rev. i. 8, " I am Alpha andOmega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and whichwas, and which is to come, the Almighty." Here is om-nipotence and eternity ascribed unto him. Again, otherthings are proper to him as man; as that he was born, anddied, and was crucified through weakness, &c.

Again, it enables us to discern good and evil touchingthe office and actions of Christ; how Christ is Mediator,secundum utramque naturam* As, for example, 1 Cor* " According to each nature." (t)

ii. 8, it is said, " they crucified the Lord of glory," the Jewscould not crucify God, yet because they crucified that manwhich was one with God, they are said to crucify the Lordof glory. So Acts xx. 28, it is said, that "God purchasedthe church with his own blood:" God has no blood, yetthe blood of Christ was the blood of God, because that manwhom they crucified, was one person with God. Thus thescripture distinguishes, 1 Pet. iii. 18, " He was put to deathin the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Christ suffereddeath, not in the divine, but in the human nature, yet it issaid to be the blood of God, because that man which wascrucified was one with the second person in the Deity. Byvirtue of this union of two natures into one person, itcomes to pass, that those things, which are proper to eachnature apart, being severally considered, are applied towhole Christ, the Mediator. As, that he is the man, thatis "God's fellow," and, also, " the Lord our righteousness."(Zech. xiii. 7, Jer. xxiii. 6.) He is "the resurrection andthe life:" he "washed our sins in his own blood:" and,"he became obedient unto death, even the death of thecross," &c. Rev. i. 5, Phil. ii. 8. The works of each na-ture, are the works of the whole person. The obedienceof Christ performed in his human nature, is the obedienceof whole Christ.

It is true, indeed, the properties of the divine nature inChrist, are not given to the human, nor the properties ofthe human nature to the divine: as it cannot be said thatthe divine nature was athirst, or weary, or wept, or died.Neither can it be said, that the human nature is omnipo-tent, or creator of the world, or omniscient, or present inall places at once, &c, yet that which is proper to one na-ture, is spoken of the whole person. Thus, the personwhich is God and man, died and rose again, and is omni-potent, and knows all things, &c, even as a man is said tounderstand, to believe, to repent, &c, yet his hand and hisfoot do not understand, but the intellectual part of the soul,as it is operative in such a part of the body. Howbeit,such knowledge is ascribed to the whole man, because thehand and foot are parts of that man which understand.Again, when a man is killed, the soul is not killed, yet theman is said to be killed, because of the union of soul andbody into one person of a man. So it is in this mystery.

Hence our divines conclude, that mediatoris opera suntQeavSpixa, they are the works of God-man, having in themsomething of God, and something of man. As that of Johnx. 18, "I lay down my life of myself: I have power tolay it down, and I have power to take it up again." Inthat Christ has a life to lay down, it is human; but in thathe has power to take it up again, that is divine. And thereason is, quia ilia persona ea omnia in se vere et reipsacontinet, quae Deo vero, et vero homini competunt, thatis, because the person of Christ really contains in itself allthe properties which belong to a true God and a true man.And seeing God has honoured our nature to be the flesh ofthe Son of God, and has made it his own inseparable habi-tation, we cannot now conceive, how God should, withoutman, either exercise divine power, or receive divine praise;for man is in both an associate of Deity, because he is thatman of whom God himself is a part. To be the way, thetruth, and the life; to be our wisdom, righteousness, sancti-fication, resurrection; to be the peace of the world, thehope of the fathers, the heir of all things, to be thatsupreme Head, unto whom all power both in heaven andearth is given. These are titles above the dignity andworth of any mere man, yet true of Christ; even in thathe is man, but man with whom deity is personally joined,of both which natures, there is a co-operation often to thesame effect, and an association always.

By this doctrine of two natures joined in one person,you see it comes to pass, that some actions are ascribed toChrist, as God, because his Deity alone is the well-spring,from which they flow. Some things, as man, because theyissue from his mere human nature. Some things jointly, asboth God and man, because both natures concur as principlesthereunto; and so Christ is truly said, in that respect, towork both as God and as man to one and the same effect,sometimes, by co-operation, always by an undivided asso-ciation, as has been shown.

Use 2. There is yet a farther benefit in this doctrine,namely, to answer most doubts, and to decide most ques-tions about the person of Christ, I will instance only intwo principal objections of the adversary.

Obj. 1. It is said in 1 Cor. xv. 28, "When all thingsshall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself

be subject unto him, that put all things under him, thatGod may be all in all." When he hath delivered up hismediatory kingdom to his Father, the Son shall remainstill subject unto him. How then is he equal to hisFather ?

I answer, the Son himself in that capacity, wherein hehas hitherto reigned, shall be subject, that is, Christ in hisexalted and glorified manhood, shall be subject; for in thatnature Christ has been established king of the whole world,especially of his church, to gather and govern it, and to de-stroy every enemy of its salvation. So the apostle teaches,Eph. i. 20—22, " God set him at his own right hand inthe heavenly places, far above al\ principalities and powers,and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, notonly in this world, but also in that which is to come, andhath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be headover all things to the church," with 1 Pet. iii. 22, " By theresurrection of Jesus, who is gone into heaven, and is onthe right hand of God, angels, and authorities, and powers,being made subject unto him." You see that Christ risenfrom the dead, is set above all things that can be named,God only excepted, which did "put all things under him,"verse 27, for we may not think that the Father, by bestow-ing the office of a king upon the Son, has dispossessed him-self of his sovereign dominion. But when this exalted Sonof God has judged the world, and shall have finished hiswork in bringing his elect to glory, then this King himselfshall surrender up that king-ship, which hitherto he hasexercised by the ministry of men, angels, word, and ordi-nances, and God shall reign immediately over his church,in a manner altogether new, namely, by himself, withoutministry of men or angels, &c.

Thus we may gather in what way the Son shall be sub-ject unto God that gave him that power, by the reasonthat here is rendered of his subjection, which is this, "thatGod may be all in all," that is, when Christ shall havebrought his work to an end, and all former administrationsof his kingdom cease, then shall God be all in all; that is,then shall God communicate himself, his light, life, bless-edness, love, and glory to his church in a most glorious,sweet, unutterable, immediate communion, which indeedwill not a whit dJsannul Christ's kingdom, but only change

the manner and form thereof into a more sublime and per-fect one.

Hence I conclude, first, ascertain in what capacity theSon was exalted to reign over all; in the same capacityshall he be subject to make way for a new and more excel-lent manner of reign over the church. But the Son, as Sonof man, was raised and exalted to rule, as is aforesaid,therefore the same Son, in the same capacity, in that as-sumed nature, together with his body, the church, and hismanner of governing it, shall be subject to make way tothat new and unspeakably glorious way of God's immediatecommunicating himself to his elect throughout all eternity.

Secondly, 1 conclude with the words of Parasus, in loc.Sicut Jilius tradit regnum Deo, el Patri, sic etiam sub-jicietur Patri, non exuendo naturam, aut potentiamdivinam, sed deponendo partes mediatoris, et mutandopraesentem sui regni station, ut immediate ipse cumPatre et Spiritu Sancto in seternum regnet, that is, lookin what respect Christ shall deliver up the kingdom to hisFather, in the same respect shall he be subject to hisFather, namely, not by putting off his divine nature, orpower, but by ceasing to reign as Mediator, changing thepresent way and state of his kingdom into a better, where-in he, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, shall imme-diately rule and dwell in the glorified saints for evermore.This I take to be the plain meaning of that hard place ofscripture.

Obj. 2. Another objection is this: The Son receivedpower, honour, and kingdom from the Father, and there-fore he is not God equal with the Father.

Ans. 1. He received power as Mediator, not as God.Such expressions show us the order and distinction be-tween the person in the Trinity, and that ministrationwhich, as Mediator, he was to perform. Acts ii. 36, " Letthe whole house of Israel know assuredly that God hathmade that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord andChrist." In which words you see who it is that receivedpower and lordship: it is that Jesus whom they crucified:in that capacity his Father is greater than he, (John xiv.28,) but they do not note a diversity of natures, in whichrespect the Father and the Son are one. John x. 30.

Ans. 2. Note diligently there is a double giving and re-11

122 ERRORS AGAINST THE

ceiving from the Father; one by grace, the other by natu-ral generation and communication of his divine nature. Bythe gift of eternal generation Christ has received of theFather one and the self-same substance which the Fatherhas of himself, not received of any other, for he is the Fa-ther of lights; Christ is God by being of God, light by is-suing out of light: artcmyac^a i^j 8o|^j, Jam. i. 17; Heb. i. 3.This divine nature Christ has in common with his Father;not bestowed by way of benevolence and favour, so themanhood of Christ doth receive, and is inferior to the God-head, but received of the Father by that wonderful andeternal generation: so that in the Trinity there is aliusatque alius, non aliud atque aliud, divers persons, butnot of different substances; and so the Son remaining inthe Father, and not divided from him, is God equal withhis Father.

All things which Christ has received by grace we oughtto apply to the manhood of Christ; amongst which thefirst and chiefest gift is the personal union, because therecan be no greater grace shown to man than that Godshould vouchsafe to unite man's nature to the person ofhis only begotten Son. John iii. 35. By means of which" the Father loveth the Son," as man, " and hath given allthings into his hand." As the Father hath life in himself,the Son in himself hath life also by the gift of the Father.John v. 26. This receiving by favour that which we hadnot by nature shows an inferiority in the receiver: but thatother receiving, by natural and eternal generation, notesa community of essence in both, and so an equality.

Use 3. From this doctrine of the Godhead taking fleshyou have the true ground of Christ's merits to save us. Ifhe were but a mere man, all the obedience he could per-form were no more than what is due to the law, and there-fore could not redound to the profit of others; much lesscould it satisfy for our offences, seeing it was due to thelaw though the offence had never been done: whereas now,by this union of both natures in one person, the obedienceof Christ performed in the manhood is become of infinitemerit, as being the obedience of God. 1 Pet. i. 19. Itbehooved Christ to be man, that he might suffer death;he must also be God, that he might be able to bear andovercome the punishment of sin. Man's nature can suffer

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death, but not overcome it. The divine nature cannot suf-fer death, but can overcome all things. And he must beGod and man in one person, that the sufferings performedin the human nature might be of value and efficacy to save.2 Cor. xiii. 4.

Use 4. Lastly. Hence you may see what ground wehave of access to God here by prayer, and of hope to standbefore him with boldness in his glorious kingdom. Theground of both is the same; namely, that that rich graceof God, wherein he hath vouchsafed to unite man's natureto his own person, was a singular act of love both to Jesus,as he is the Son of man, (for " the Father loveth the Son,"whom he has made so nigh unto himself,) and to the restof mankind, because under the shadow of his wing we drawnigh to God, and can call him Father. John iii. 16; Johniv. 35. Christ is united to God, and we to Christ; "Forwhich cause he is not ashamed to call us brethren." " AndGod is not ashamed to be called their God." Heb. ii. 11;Heb. xi. 16. " Having therefore boldness to enter into theholiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living waywhich he hath consecrated to us through the veil, that isto say, his flesh, and having" (one of our kind) "aHigh Priest over the house of God," (who is able to makeus welcome, and to present us without spot unto his Fa-ther,) " let us draw near with a true heart in full assuranceof faith." Heb. x. 19—21. Christ has carried our fleshinto heaven, he is "the forerunner for us entered," (Heb.vi. 20;) he hath thereby made way for after-comers to enter^lso. It was the high priest's privilege, under the law,that he alone might enter into the holy of holies, but thatprivilege is now made common to all believers by this newand living way, namely, his flesh, or his human nature.The best way to bring man to God is, that God should be-come man, that men, by the bands of nature with him,might be helped up to the bands of grace with God. " Yeare Christ's, and Christ is God's," says Paul, (2 Cor. iii.;)as if he had said, because you are Christ's, therefore youare God's. The way to come to God is by coming to theman Christ; this he calls " a new and living way," becauseChrist liveth for ever to help them all to heaven who seekGod in that way. Like Elias' chariot, so is Christ's man-hood and sufferings; get up here by faith in him, and hewill carry you up to God in heaven.

And when we are entered, we shall, without terror,make good our standing there, and behold the majesty ofGod. God is a " consuming fire " to the " sinners in Sion,"(Isa. xxxiii. 14,) and the " hypocrites " dare not behold hisface; but the man Christ Jesus dwells in those "everlast-ing burnings:" He is like the bush that burned, yet wasnot consumed; and they that are Christ's shall "see theface of God," and live. " There shall be no more curse,but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, andhis servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face."1 John iii. 2; Rev. xxii. 3, 4. The first link of this happycommunion with God is the union of the manhood to De-ity; the second is the uniting of the church to Christ:Christ is one with God, and we are one with Christ, whotherefore brings us unto God, to be one with him for ever-more, as shall be fully declared in the next chapter.

CHAPTER IV.

CHRIST AND A CHRISTIAN,

" At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and Iin you."—John xiv. 20.

In the 14th chapter of John, ver. 11, Christ says to Phi-lip, " Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Fatherin me." And because the apostles did not take so muchnotice of a divine power in Christ as they ought, our Sa-viour, after he had comforted them by the promise of send-ing "another Comforter" to supply his bodily absence,promises (ver. 20) that there is a day at hand (meaning hisresurrection, of whieh he last spake, ver. 18, 19,) whereinthey should more fully understand that near conjunctionand union that is betwixt the Father and him, and betweenhim and them: " At that day ye shall know that I am inmy Father, and you in me, and I in you:" I will send theHoly Ghost, by whom ye shall be confirmed in all truth,,and enabled to see clearly the communion which I havewith the Father (" for the Father dwelleth in me, and doeth

the works," ver. 10,) and with you, for I am in you, anddo all things in you and for you. God is the fountain ofall our happiness; our final good is to enjoy God. Now,some course must be taken to make us partakers of thegoodness and blessedness that is in God; for, seeing allgoodness is originally in God, and man is at such a widedistance from him, therefore was the second person, God,manifested in the flesh, that, being one with God and onewith us, he might convey to us that goodness and blessed-ness which we wanted. There is God the fountain, manthe empty cistern, Christ the conduit-pipe, to convey graceand life from the fountain. Now the pipe must comehome both to the fountain and to the cistern, else there isno communion between the cistern and the fountain; so itis in this business. The first step of conjoining and com-municating of God to man is Christ manifest in the flesh;by means of whom, as he was one with the Father by eter-nal communion of the divine essence, so he is with us byunion of his person with us; and so he is both in the Fa-ther and in us, and knits us both together. This is thesum of my text, namely, to teach us that there is a strictunion between Christ and the Father, and between Christand us; I am in the Father, and the Father in me; I am inyou, and you in me.

This doctrine, and this text are miserably abused, bymany misunderstood, and by some of a Satanical, proudspirit, heightened to blasphemy, as if we were one personwith Christ, and Christ so with us as with the Son of Mary.Robert Watsfield thus expresses himself upon that text,John xiv. 20. " Such a union, that God and Christ, andthe saints shall be all individual, all one, the fulness of theGodhead shall dwell in us bodily, God shall be as fullyand as really manifest in the flesh of the saints, here in thislife, as ever he was in the flesh of our Elder Brother, or thatflesh that was crucified at Jerusalem." So the opinionistsof New England affirmed, that as Christ was once madeflesh, so he is now made flesh in us, ere we be carried toperfection. Thus Henry Nichols, the oldest father of thefamily of love, is not ashamed to speak and teach that Godwas all that the man was, and man was all that God was,so making God and man one substance and being. Andso, to put on Christ is in their sense, to have the being of

11*

Christ in us, as when it is said, that Christ dwells in outhearts by faith, they understand it of a real and essentialheing. Thus men puffed up with spiritual pride, and con-ceit of their union with God, and God with them, tremblenot to say they are Godded with God, and Christed withChrist. Whereas, upon examination and trial of their opi-nions and practices, it will appear, that they are ratherSatanized with Satan, who sits as a lying spirit in their de-luded minds, and as a prince, the power of the world intheir fleshly, covetous, proud, false, disobedient hearts andlives, than Christed with Christ. We shall come to thetrial in the uses.

Now seeing the point of union with Christ is of greatimportance, and the very foundation of all communion andcomforts from him; and seeing it is so misunderstood andperverted, as we have seen, even in these our days, there-fore you must give the more diligent heed to have yoursenses exercised, and your understandings cleared up todiscern good and evil, truth from error, in this mysteriouspoint of our religion.

You must know, that all union is not of one sort, thereis a threefold union with God mentioned in scripture:—1. Essential. 2. Personal. 3. Spiritual. 1. Essential, soGod and Christ his eternal Son, are one; 2. Personal, sothe Son of man, and the Son of God, are one; 3. Spiritual,so Christ and we, his church, are one.

First, Essential. Thus God and Christ are one, one inessence, of the same substance, John x. 30, "I and myFather are one." The Father is in the Son, because byeternal generation he communicates himself unto the Son,and so Christ is God of God, Light of Light, and the Sonis in the Father, because he proceeded forth and came fromthe Father, (John viii. 42,) yet not divided or separatedfrom the Father, and so the Son is light in light, the onlybegotten Son is in the bosom of the Father. The Son isin the Father, as brightness is in the light, which comesfrom the light, and remains in it; the one is still in theother, because they are one undivided substance, and can-not possibly be separated. It is not so between us and ourchildren, for though the parents are in their children, asthe cause of their being, and the matter of which they con-sist, yet they exist apart and by themselves, being several

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men, and so they act apart, as several persons; the fatherdies, when the child lives, the one wills what the otherdislikes, &c. But in this mystery it is far otherwise, thesubstances are the same, not divided; and therefore theSon, who is the Father's offspring, is in the Father, aslight in that light out of which it flows without separation ;the Father is in the Son, as light in that light, which causesand leaves it not.

This essential unity is manifested by the sameness oftheir operations. God's power is in Christ, therefore hisessence is in Christ. Thus Christ himself argues, Johnx. 38, " If I do the works of my Father, then know andbelieve that the Father is in me, and 1 in him." By thiswe may understand that saying of Christ to Philip, Johnxiv. 9—11, "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father,and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believestthou not, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ?The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself,but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father inme, or else believe me for the very works' sake." Asif he had said, it is a token of our essential unity, becausewe are one in will, worship, and divine operations; whatthe one wills and loves, the other wills and loves also; thewords of comfort and peace which I speak, says Christ, theFather speaks, and the works that I do, he does. There-fore look well on me, and on my words and works, and inme thou shalt know the Father by his divine goodness,power and will.

Secondly, Personal union is that of the Son of man withthe Son of God, and in this kind is no man one with God,save only the son of Mary, who was taken into unity ofhis person, as has been shown, and now dwells in God, asan inmate with God, and is thereby Lord of lords, andKing of kings. His incarnation causes him, as he is aman, to be now in the Father, and the Father in him, be-cause he is one with that person, who is in, and one withthe Father. John, i. 14: Col. ii. 9. God is not so in any,as he is in Christ, neither is any other creature so in God,as the human nature of Christ is. His name alone rs" Wonderful, Immanuel, God with us," and man withGod. Thus you see how it is said by Christ, " The Fatheris in me, and I in the Father."

Use. Is our Christ thus in the Father ? Then surely heis exceeding dear to him, and there is the fountain andfoundation of all God's love to us. He that is so nearlyand inseparably in God by participation of his being, mustneeds be in his heart by an infinite affection of love, " Thisis my beloved Son;" (John iii. 36,) none so loved of God,because none so in God, and for his sake he loveth all thatare Christ's. John iii. 35, " The Father loveth the Son,"not with a new, or changeable love, but with an eternalnatural love, and because he so loveth him, he hath " givenall things into his hand," that whosoever is coupled toChrist, is sure to be loved of the Father also; Christ bringsus into his Father's love, for the Son loveth us as theFather loved him. John xv. 9, " As my Father hath lovedme, so have I loved you." What of that ? Yes, it is muchfor our consolation, because the love of God towards us,begins not in us; but it is grounded on his fatherhood inChrist, and it descends to us from the everlasting bowelsof God the Father, and of Christ. Hereupon it follows,that if ye have the Son's love, ye have the Father's also.See John xiv. 23, " If any man love me, my Father willlove him, and we will come unto him, and make our abodewith him." The Son brings the Father with him into ourhearts, Christ has his Father's love, by reason of his unionwith him, and we have it by reason of our union withChrist. John xvii. 26, " I have declared unto them thyname, that the love, wherewith thou hast loved me, maybe in them, and I in them;" as if he should say, that thoumay est love them for my sake, and for their union withme, as thou hast loved me, their Head, for my union's sakewith thee. Whole Christ is dearly loved of the Father,because we are of his body, who is one with the Father,"you are Christ's, and Christ is God's:" yea, you are God's,because you are Christ's. The way to get God to be ourGod, is to get union with Christ. This must be our methodto get God; for " he that hath the Son hath the Father also;till we get into Christ, we are strangers to God, yea, ene-mies to God, without strength, hopeless, helpless creatures:but by our union with the Son, it comes to pass, that hisFather is our Father, and his God our God: "It is theFather's will that he that seeth and believeth on the Son,may have everlasting life." John vi. 40.

SECTION II.

OF THE UNION BETWEEN CHRIST AND A CHRISTIAN} YOU IN ME AND I

IN YOU.

Now follows the third kind of union, namely, that spirit-ual union which is between Christ and his church, wherebywe are incorporated and made members of that mysticalbody whereof Christ is Head. Eph. v. 30, " We are mem-bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."

Doct. There is a mutual union or in-being of Christ in aChristian, and of a Christian in Christ: or thus we areunited to the person of Christ, so as to be one with him.Thou art in Christ, and Christ in thee.

So, (John vi. 56,) " He that eateth my flesh and drink-eth my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him." There isthat mutual in-dwelling we speak of, and the means of itis our eating his flesh and drinking his blood ; we are astruly joined to his person as our meat and drink is withour bodies. This eating is not carnal and bodily, but yettrue and real; for spiritual things are real things. Christis compared to food, and faith to eating, because it causesthe soul to receive Christ—to feed and to satisfy itself uponhis love and merits as with marrow and fatness. Christ'sflesh was given for the life of the world, ratione acquisi-tionis, when he laid down his life for it; and it is givento the world, ratione applicationis, when it is offered tous in the gospel and in the sacraments. And Christ iseaten when the soul receives and embraces him by a per-sonal particular faith.

Again, consider that of John xvii. 21—23. Christ thereprays thus for believers, that they may be one; "as thou,Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be onein us:" that is, that they may be united among themselvesin the same spirit of faith and love, and that the bond oftheir union may be their joint interest and communionwhich they have in us. As if he should say, because alltrue believers are one in us, in us they all meet; thereforethey should be one among themselves, as members of onebody, under one head, Christ Jesus, sons of one Father,who is over all and in all, they that are in God must be

one among themselves, Eph. iv. 5. This our union andmeeting in one God, in one Lord Jesus Christ, is the onlytrue ground and bond of union among Christians.

It follows, (ver. 22,) " And the glory which thou gavestme, I have given them, that they may be one, even as weare" one. The church's union with Christ, her Head, is thechurch's glory. Note first. It is an unspeakable glory be-stowed on the human nature of Christ to be united to theGodhead. This " glory," says Christ, * thou gavest me."Note, secondly, Christ says, This glory "I have giventhem;" they are partakers of it, because they are unitedunto me, and by me unto thee. The Son of Mary is inthe first degree of glorious union, being united unto Godpersonally. We, the sons of men, are, in a second degree,partakers of that glory, being really united to the ManChrist, received of the Father; namely, to be one withGod. He bestows on us, namely, to be one with himself,and by him to be one with God; as it follows, (ver. 23,)"I in them, and thou in me." Here God is in Christ(thou in me) and Christ in us (I in them.) Here is God,Christ, and us; Christ is the link that joins us to God: Iin them, (there is Christ in us;) and thou in me, (there isGod in Christ.) So that in Christ God and we meet, andso the glory which God gave to Christ, he gives to us, andso we are made perfect in one, being firmly and for everunited and knit unto God; from whence it follows, unde-niably, all the world must confess and grant it, that thouhast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me;they whom thou hast honoured, to be brought so near tothyself in a blessed union, must needs be near to thee inmost tender affection. It is a glory to Christ to be onewith the Father. It is a glory to a Christian to be onewith Christ, and it is the glory of Christians to be oneamong themselves. Thus much for proof of the point.

For farther explication of this mystery I shall show fourthings. First, what kind of union this is that we havewith Christ: secondly, the manner and means by which itis made: thirdly, the necessity of it: fourthly, the uses.

1. What kind of union is it that we have with Christ?

I answer first, negatively, it is not a personal union.We are not one person with Christ.

Secondly. It is not a corporeal or bodily union, such as

in the joints of the body. My hand and my foot are unitedto my head by skin, flesh, and sinews. The joints of thebody are compacted by bodily ligaments. It is not so be-tween Christ and us. Christ is in heaven, and we on earth;and as touching local and bodily union, we are absent fromthe Lord. This union is spiritual.

Thirdly. It is not only mental, or in conceit, or specu-lative, by imagination, but real, and a thing existing, extramentem, whether we conceit it or not. There is a realrelation and respect between parties, as between fatherand son, head and foot. It is a father, it is a son, it is amember, whether we think it or not. So here, Christ andwe are one, not only in speculation or imagination, butreally, whether you think it or not; and that union pro-duces real effects and operations in us, therefore the unionis real.

Fourthly. Christ and we are one, not only by covenantand mutual consent. This is much, but this is not all.Christ is ours by his own act and will, and we are his byour own act and will. The obligation is mutual. God byhis covenant makes over himself to be our God, and ^restipulate and make over ourselves to be his people. Ezek.xvi. 8, " I entered into a covenant with thee, and thou be-camest mine." This is like a marriage covenant, by virtueof which man and wife are one person in law, so are Christand the church. Eph. v. 31, 32, "A man shall leave fa-ther and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, andthey two shall be one flesh." As it is in this civil con-tract, so it is between Christ and us: ver. 32, "This is agreat mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and thechurch." By virtue of this covenant the church says,(Cant vi. 3,) " My beloved is mine, and I am his." Christand a Christian are linked together in covenant, and havegiven themselves each to other, (Isa. liv. 1:) first, freely;second, fully.

First, freely. Christ looks for no portion with us; hetakes us in our rags, when we were enemies, and withoutstrength, and had never done any thing pleasing to him;he loves us freely. And we take Christ freely, with a freeconsent of heart and will, not compulsatorily. Many intimes of danger, in time of sickness and death, will seemearnest for Christ, 0 ! nothing but Christ. In their afflic-

tions they seek him early, but when the danger is past,their affection is cooled, and Christ is laid aside. In a stormthe mariners will throw their goods into the sea to savetheir lives. This is a forced act, but our taking of Christis not so, it is by way of choice.

Secondly, Christ gives himself to us fully, and wholly.All his riches are ours. With Christ God gives all things.And we again do fully give up ourselves to him. We arefor him in one thing as well as in another: against allcrosses, persecutions. We accept Christ with all those con-ditions which are proposed in the gospel, we submit everyopposite desire to his will, we take him with full consentto be our Lord and King, our God and Saviour. ThusChrist is ours, and we are his by covenant: and both partieshave testified and ratified the consent by the sacrament ofbaptism, in which, as by a solemn instrument in law, hereceives us into his flock and family, to bestow upon usthe blessing of the covenant; and we, as by a solemn oath,together with our names, do give up ourselves to the pro-fession, worship, and service of that God, who is Father,Son, and Holy Ghost. This bond by mutual covenant andconsent, makes us very nigh to each other. But thoughthis be much, yet this is not all, there is a farther degreeof union between Christ and a Christian. And,

Fifthly, it is a spiritual and real union, whereby Christand a believer are knit together. Our very persons, souland body, are coupled to the person of Christ by the sameHoly Ghost, which dwelleth in him and in us. "Herebywe know, that we dwell in him, and he in us, because hehath given us of his Spirit." 1 John, iv. 13. This realunion is set forth by two similitudes especially. One of ahead and members: as the members of the body are byjoints and bands knit to the head, so is the church to Christ:"From whom the whole body by joints and bands, havingnourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth withthe increase of God." Col. ii. 19. To understand this, youmust remember, that there are two heads of mankind,Adam and Christ, and we are in Christ, and Christ in us,as Adam is in us, and we in Adam. When God createdAdam, he created us, we were in his loins naturally, andas many as descend from Adam, have in themselves theroot out of which they spring. So we have Christ in us,

being branches springing out of him: for Christ took, notany man's person, but our nature, and sanctified it, (Heb.ii. 11,) and so is become the head of a spiritual offspringamong men. Consider Christ as he is man, he is "bone ofour bone, and flesh of our flesh," (for that he is the son ofAdam, Luke iii. last verse,) he took part of the children'sflesh and blood. Heb. ii. 14. But take us in our spiritualbeing, as we are new-born, and so " we are bone of his bone,"Eph. v. 30. And so Adam and all regenerate persons areChrist's offspring; "A new workmanship,created in ChristJesus unto good works," Eph. ii. 10. Yea, we are hisseed, as says the prophet," He shall see his seed," Isa. liii. 10.The sons of God have God's own Son as their second Adamfrom heaven, whose race and progeny they are by spiritualand heavenly birth: "the second Adam is made a quicken-ing spirit," 1 Cor. xv. 45. Adam is in us as the originalcause of our nature, and the corruption of our nature, called" the old man." Christ is in us as the original cause ofour restoration to life, and of our new nature, called "thenew man."

The second similitude, whereby this near union is setforth, is that of the vine and branches: John xv. 5, " I amthe vine, ye are the branches." Now the root is, and livesin the branch, and the branch in the root: so Christ livesin us. He is the root that bears us, and we live in him,(Gal. ii. 20,) as says the apostle, Rom. xi. 17, 24, "Wethat are wild by nature, are graffed, contrary to nature, intoa good olive tree, and so partake of the root and fatness ofthe olive tree." We have a conjunction, not only withthe virtue and merit of Christ, but with his person, as thebranch has with the vine. He that drinks a cup of wine,partakes of the fruit of the vine, yet not so as the branchdoes, for the branch is in the vine, it subsists and lives inthe root, and the root lives in the branch. " I am the vine,ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him,the same bringeth forth much fruit." John xv. 5. The rootis not without the branch, nor the branch without the root,the}* are joined the one to the other; so we are branchesspringing out of Christ the root, in whom we still abide.Thus you see what kind of union we have with Christ.

Secondly, What is the manner and means by which it ismade ? What are the bonds ?12

They are two; first, the principal is his Spirit, thatquickening Spirit, which from him, the Head, is diffused tothe enlivening of all his members, and knitting them in-separably to himself. Life is originally from the Father,(1 John v. 11,) and comes not to us but by the Son, nor bythe Son to any of us in particular, but through the Spirit,Rom. viii. 9, " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, heis none of his." The first ground of our communion withChrist is his assumed nature, which being joined to theGodhead, is the well-spring from whence all life and graceare derived to us; but that which actually joins Christ andus together is the Holy Ghost, which is given, (Rom. v. 5,)and truly resides both in him and in us, (1 Cor. iii. 16,)making us "free from the law of sin and death," Rom.viii. 2. As the body that has many members, and onesoul in them all, is one body with the head, by reason ofthat one soul in them all; so are Christ and his church butone, by reason of that one Spirit which is in him and in us;Eph. iv. 4, " There is one body, and one Spirit." This isPaul's reason to prove our union with Christ, because u byone Spirit we are all baptized into one body, and havebeen all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor. xii. 13.

This must needs be the first and principal means ofunion, because till he lay hold of us, we are as witheredbranches, and dead bones. He does not join such deadsouls to himself, therefore the first degree of communionwith Christ must needs consist in the participation of hisSpirit, (Eph. v. 26, 27,) which Spirit has in us a doublework, one to put us in possession of the person of Christ,uniting us to him by faith in our first conversion, where-by we are partakers of the merit and virtue of his blood, totake away the curse, which rested on us, and stopped thecourse of communion with God. The other work is theactual influence of grace, whereby we begin to live the lifeof grace, (Gal. v. 25,) mortifying our corruptions, andrising to newness of life, and so are by him led on fromone degree to another, till grace be finished in glory.

You see, then, that the chief bond to unite us to Christ,is the Holy Spirit, both in respect of his presence, and alsoas he is a Spirit of graces, fitting us for union with Christ:after which sort, he is not in the reprobate, though he fillall places. This is on Christ's part.

The second bond of this union on our parts is faith,which is the first and more general effect and instrumentof the Spirit of Christ in us, disposing and enabling us toembrace and cleave to him. Hence it is said, Eph. iii. 17,"That Christ doth dwell in our hearts by faith;" and "byfaith we put on Christ" Gal. iii. 26, 27. For as faith isthe gift of God, and the fruit of the Spirit: (Eph. ii. S; Gal.v. 229) so also it is the instrument of the Spirit to receivefrom God whatever benefits and graces are purchased byChrist, and offered to us in the gospel. Rom. v. 1, 2, " Weare justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ, bywhom also we have access by faith into the grace where-in we stand." And again, Gal. v. 5, " We through theSpirit do wait for the hope of righteousness by faith."When the word tells us there is no salvation without re-mission of sins, and no remission but by the favour of Godthrough the blood of Christ; that there is no good thing inus, unless it be given us from above, no hope of salvationby any thing that we can do or suffer, and that all that areladen with the burden of their sins may freely come andbe eased; then comes the Spirit and enlightens our minds,and bows our hearts to believe these things, and to closewith Christ so freely offered to us, and then is the knotof union knit between Christ and the soul.

This inward hold-fast which Christ has of us, and we ofhim, is mutual, he apprehends us in our perishing condi-tion, and we apprehend him, (Phil. iii. 12,) just as a manfallen into water, reaches his hand to us, and we put forthour hand to catch hold of him. There is hand in hand,Christ clasping us by his Spirit, we him by the hand offaith. Christ first seeks us that were lost, and by hisSpirit lays hold on us; then do we that fled from him,turn to him, and lay hold on Christ. Jesus first speaks tous, as once to Mary, John xx. 16. She heard him speakbefore, (verse 15,) but knew him not: but now Christspeaks to her heart in the voice of a friend. Jesus saysunto her, Mary, my friend Mary. Then she turned her-self and said unto him, Rabboni, it is my Master, it is myChrist, my Lord, my love, that was crucified. ThusChrist speaks to our hearts, John, Thomas, &c, "Whyweepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" (John vi. 37, Johnxvii. 10,) and the heart forthwith answers with joy, O! my

Master, my Christ: here is a joyful meeting, and happyclosing, between Christ and the soul. Thus God givesChrist to us, and us to Christ, and so he says of all God'select, " All thine are mine, we are Christ's, and Christ isGod's."

Amongst the errors rejected by their Synod in NewEngland, this was one, namely, That we are completelyunited to Christ, before, or without any faith wrought inus by the Spirit. Of which error, because Mr. Cotton wassupposed to give some occasion, this question, amongiothers, was proposed to him by certain ministers of thosechurches, before the Assembly met, namely, Whether ourunion with Christ is complete before and without faith.Whereto (saith Mr. Cotton,) I gave this answer, not with-out, nor before the habit or gift of faith, but before the actof faith, that is, not before Christ has wrought faith in us,for in uniting himself to us, he works faith in us, yet inorder of nature, before our faith puts forth itself to lay holdon him.

This answer, if expressed only in those words, namely,(not before Christ has wrought faith in us, for in unitinghimself to us, he works faith in us,) had been more clearand full, whereas by distinguishing the habit from the actof faith, and affirming that we are united to Christ by theSpirit, before our faith puts forth any act to lay hold onChrist, is very ambiguous, and unsatisfactory.

For, first, it seems to savour of the leaven of antinomi-anism and enthusiasm; namely, that the Spirit does allwithout us, witnesses our justification absolutely withoutrelation to any thing in us, and so unites us to Christ,without us, or any act of ours concurring therein.

Secondly, it is inconsistent with itself, for what does theworking of faith in us avail, as to our uniting to Christ,more than the working of patience, or any other grace, ifthe union be complete before our faith puts forth itself tolay hold on Christ.

Thirdly, to distinguish between the habit and act of faith,has no place, neither can it be rightly applied to the pointin hand; for our faith is begun in action, it begins in theacts of consent and adherence, and therefore if the Spiritunites us to Christ, before and without any act of faith, itunites us before and without any faith at all.

In moral philosophy, the habit of virtue is nothing buta settled disposition or permanent quality facilitating actionthrough long custom, and is therefore called an acquiredhabit. But the scriptures speak more divinely, calling theprinciples of grace the seed of God: " He that is born ofGod sinneth not, because his seed remaineth in him." 1 Johnjii. 9. Now what is that seed, by which we are born ofGod? Peter (1st Ep. i. 23,) tells you it is the " word oftruth, the gospel of your salvation," which being receivedin the heart, "liveth and abideth in you." Whence I thusargue: the seed of faith, is the beginning of faith: but theword actually heard and embraced is that seed of God;therefore our faith is begun in action. Again (Gal. iii. 2,)the apostle says, that " we receive the Spirit by the hear-ing of faith," that is, by the doctrine of faith; as if heshould say, the Spirit of God is given and conveyed inand with, the gospel preached: by both which concurring,faith is wrought in the heart, and clasps Jesus Christ. Bythe hearing of faith the Spirit is received, and by the Spiritthe grace of faith, and so Christ unites himself to us byhis own act, enlivening us, and making the word powerfulto convert us, and we again unite to him by our own actof faith, receiving him thus offered to us.

The union then is begun by action of the Spirit on us,and of faith put forth by us to lay hold on Christ. Henceit follows, that if this union be complete before the act offaith put forth to lay hold on Christ, it is complete withoutfaith at all. Now when faith is thus wrought in us, byreason of its permanency in us, and also because it is theroot of spiritual actions, it is called the habit of faith, (notaccording to scripture-phrase, but the language of philoso-phers and school-men,) yet an abused habit, because it isgotten not by customable actions or use, but by the ope-ration of God's Spirit in the word preached; it is the "faithof the operation of God." Col. ii. 12.

How far the forementioned ministers were satisfied withMr. Cotton's answer, it is not material to inquire: only theLord of his mercy continue and increase their amiablecommunion together. Howbeit, when that question wasbrought into that assembly, they resolved and decreedagainst union with Christ before faith, roundly and entirely,without mincing or distinguishing the habit and act of faith,

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in these words, "The term [united] being understood of thatspiritual relation of men to Christ, whereby they cometo have life and right to all other blessings in Christ, 1 Johnv. 12: and the term completely implying a presence ofall those bands and ligaments, and means, as are requiredin the word, or any ways necessary to the making up ofthe union; we now conceive that this assertion is erroneous,and contrary to scripture, which either expressly mentionsfaith, when it speaks of this union, (Eph. iii. 17, "ThatChrist may dwell in your hearts by faith." Gal. ii. 20,"Christ lives in me by faith:") or ever implies it in thosephrases, that express union, as coming to Christ, John vi.35, and eating and drinking Christ, ver. 47, compared withver. 54, having the Son, 1 John v. 12, and receiving Christ,John i. 12, and marriage to Christ, Eph. v. 32. If therebe no dwelling of Christ in us, no coming to him, no re-ceiving him, no eating or drinking him, no being marriedto him before and without faith, then we are not united toChrist before faith: but the former is true, therefore alsothe latter." Thus much of the manner and means of thisunion. The third question follows.

3. Is such a union between Christ and a Christian neces-sary to salvation ?

Yes: because it is the ground of our partaking in all thatChrist ever did or suffered. Though there be water in thewell, and light in the sun, and help in a medicine, what isall this to thee, unless thou hast some means to partakethereof? So except we be truly partakers of Christ, andas really possessed of his Spirit, as we are of the body ofsin and death from old Adam, all that we speak of eternallife is but a dream. " Christ within you is the hope ofglory." Col. i. 27. There is Christ without us, Christdead, and risen, and ascended: and "in Christ are laid upall the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." There ismerit enough, and mercy enough in Christ; but what isthis to thee, if thou art a stranger to him, and only hearestthe report of such things ? It is useless to go about to layhold on any thing that Christ ever did or suffered, exceptye have fellowship with Christ It is not the performanceof this or that duty, or a course of duties, that will servethy turn, unless Christ be in thee, and thou in him: " Hethat hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Sonbath not life." 1 John v. 11, 12. When a stranger sees a

scion graffed into a living stock, what means this art, thinkshe ? Why may not as well two dry sticks be tied to-gether? The answer is, this engrafture is necessary, tothe end the twig may partake of the sap that is in the root,and live; for else the twig cannot live of itself. The caseis ours, John xv. 4. Now then seeing life and righteous-ness, and all fulness, is in Christ, and no where else, andseeing it is God's pleasure, that "of his fulness we shouldall receive, and grace for grace," John i. 16, this unionis necessary.

Lastly, seeing " Christ is the head over all things to thechurch, which is his body, the fulness of him that fillethall in all:" (Eph. i. 23,) therefore none can be filled, ex-cept he fill them; none can live, except they live by him.All spiritual riches must be had in Christ, and no whereelse, which can never be imagined or expected, until yoube united to Christ, as has been said. Now follow someuses of the point.

Use 1. Let the sound Christian take notice of the honourand dignity bestowed on him, that he should be one withthe Son of God. Esther, a poor captive maid, was honouredto be made the wife of king Ahasuerus; and David countedit a great honour to be son-in-law to king Saul. But be-hold a greater than Ahasuerus, or Saul, is here: for, "trulyour fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son JesusChrist." 1 John i. 3. The highest pitch of honour that apoor soul is capable of in this world, is to be united to God,the eternal fountain of all blessedness and goodness. " Be-hold ! what love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that weshould be called the sons of God." 1 John iii. 1. Nowhow this ought to affect our hearts, see verse 4, " Thesethings write we unto you, that your joy may be full."This fellowship fills the heart with joy; whatever worldlyabasements we lie under, yet this one thing advances aChristian above all others: Christ is thine, and thou art his;thou hast friendship, yea, union with the Head of the church,who is now at the right hand of God.

Use 2. A sound Christian is the only truly honourableperson in the world. Ye that are Christ's, take notice ofthe sweet mercies, privileges, and comforts that arise to youfrom this union with Christ, for they are unutterable.

First, you may be sure, that your persons are tenderlybeloved. Christ is loved more than any other, because he

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is in God after another manner than any other is, and weare loved for the same reason, because we are one withChrist: he loves us as parts of himself, " as my Father lovedme, so have I loved you." John xv. 9. This near con-junction breeds love. Ye that are Christ's, you are nearhis heart: as a signet upon his right hand, you are hispeculiar treasure, his delight, his beloved ones. Christloves a Christian above every creature. He delights in usas the price of his own blood. And he expresses this loveby terms of love and delight; my spouse, my little flock,little children, friends, my portion, my peculiar treasure.In a word, "we are a chosen generation, a royal priest-hood, a peculiar people." (Deut. xxxii. 9; Exod. xix. 5; 1Pet. ii. 9.) " How fair and pleasant art thou, 0 love, for de-lights!" says Christ to the church, Cant. vii. 6. And ver.10, the church says to Christ, " 1 am my beloved's, and hisdesire is towards me."

Secondly, by means of this union, we have a propertyin Christ, and a right to all that ever he did or suffered formankind. All is yours, because you are his. Christ is myChrist, my Lord, my Saviour, my Rock, my Portion, myRighteousness, my Peace, my Redeemer, my Lord, and myGod, may every true believer say. 2 Cor. v. 14. John xiv.19. Rom. viii. 34. John i. 16. Eph. i. 23. And with him,all that is his, is ours. His Father is our Father, his king-dom is our kingdom, his merits, death, resurrection, theyare ours; his righteousness, his Spirit, his victories, hisgraces, they are ours: we have a share in them all, 1 Cor.iii. 23, "All things are yours," because "you are Christ's,"because thou art one with him. Search the Bible; gatherout of it what is the portion of the elect, and what theriches of the inheritance of the saints in light, what greatthings Christ has received to bestow on others, and thensit down and bless God that ever thou wert born, praisehim that ever thou wert made so near to Christ; for thoumayest say, all this is mine. Christ has a peculiar interestand right in you: he may claim you, and all that is yours,because you are his; and we may claim all that is Christ's,because he is ours. " We are heirs together with Christ:"God having given us his Son, " how shall he not with him,freely give us all things?" Rom. viii. 32.

The papists disputing against our justification by the

righteousness of Christ, and pleading for a justification byinherent righteousness, demand of us, How we can be justby the righteousness of another? Can the wall (say they)be white, by the whiteness that is in my hand? Or can Ilive by the bread which another eats? So neither can webe just by the justice of another.

Our answer is, Christ and the believer are not two, butone. Christ is the bread of life, and the believer eats himby faith. Peter cannot be saved by the righteousness thatis in Paul, because they are two; but the members aresaved by the righteousness of their Head, because Head andmembers are not two. This is no such strange thing innatural and civil relations. Can an apple-tree live by thejuice and sap of a crab-stock? Yes, if it be graffed into thestock. Can a woman be honoured by the honour that isbestowed upon a man? Yes, if she be married to him.Can a debtor be discharged by another man's money ?Yes, if he be my surety ; for I and my surety are one inobligation and construction of the law. Christ and wemake but one church; He as head, we as members.

Thirdly, Great comfort arises from this doctrine to apoor Christian in regard of his manifold weaknesses andfrailties. Christ is ours, and we are his. This assures usof pity and acceptance, "The bruised reed he will notbreak, nor quench the smoking flax." Isa. xlii. 3. Webear with great infirmities in our own children, wives, andfriends; because they are ours, therefore we will not castthem off. If they are sick or weak, do we turn them outof doors? Nay, but we cherish, and pity them the more.So does Christ pity us; for the believer is dearer to Christthan our nearest relations can be to us. If a member ofour body is lame, or wounded, do we dash it against thewall? or cut it off in anger, and say, who would be troubledwith such a hand, or such a foot? Do we not rather wrapit up, that it may be healed ? Another, perhaps, canhardly endure the sight of our sores, yet we dress it, andhandle it gently, and why ? because it is ours, because thereis life in it, because it is one of our members. So is Christto the believer, he heals the broken-hearted, he seeks thatone sheep that is gone astray. Those that " come to him,"he will "in no wise cast out." "Like as a father pitiethhis child, so is the Lord merciful to them that fear him."

Psal. ciii. 13. He welcomes the prodigal son: "As onewhom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you: youshall suckand be dandled uponherknees : And when youseethis, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourishlike an herb." Isa. lxvi. 12, 13, 14. This should raise ourspirits against all spiritual discomforts; I am his, and he ismine, he will not cast off for ever, he will not lose anyoneof his.

Use 3. The third use is for trial and examination, whe-ther this knot be knit between Christ and us, whetherChrist be in thee, and thou in him. You have seen beforethe necessity of being in Christ; because, except we bereally one with him, all that we speak of eternal life, orexpect from him, is but a dream. There is no true grace,or true peace, but what flows from communion with Christ;all the rest are but counterfeit.

The main thing in this trial will be, whether you havein you the Spirit of Christ, "For he that is joined to theLord, is one Spirit," 1 Cor. vi. 17. There is but one soul,as it were, in two bodies. " We know that he abideth inus by the Spirit which he hath given us," says John, 1 Ep.iii. 24. Now, our union with Christ is a secret and hiddenthing; and it is known to us by the same Spirit that dwell-eth in us, and in him. To have Christ in us, and his Spiritin us, are promiscuously put the one for the other, Rom. viii.9, 10, because Christ and his Spirit are never sundered.And seeingall sorts and sects of men, professing Christianity,may pretend to have the Spirit of Christ, as well as thatthey have Christ himself, therefore this must be our task toinquire what kind of Spirit the Spirit of Christ is.

Amidst the manifold evidences of Christ's Spirit in anysoul, I shall pitch upon these two only. First, it is aSpirit of holy sympathy and fellow-feeling; Secondly, ofconformity and likeness to Christ.

First, if Christ be in thee, and thou in him, there willarise a spiritual sympathy and fellow-feeling in thy heart:thou wilt be tenderly affected with the honour of Christ,and the prosperity of his gospel, church and kingdom, inall the world. If the same soul were in my child that isin me, then what I love, he would love; when I rejoiced,or grieved, so would he. So, in the body, if the head ache,all the body is ill at ease; if one member suffer, all the

members suffer with it; if one member be honoured, all themembers rejoice with it; and why so ? It is by reason ofone soul that is in all those members. So is it in the bodyof Christ, his friends and foes are mine: that which Christloves, I love; that which Christ hates, I hate; that whichgrieves him, grieves me.

Christ hath a fellow-feeling; First, of our sufferings." Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" Acts ix. 4, 5.Christ himself was out of his reach, but Christ takes theinjuries done to his members, as done to himself. Ver. 5," I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." " He that touchethyou, toucheth the apple of mine eye." Zech. ii. 8.

Secondly, of our infirmities and temptations; "For thathe himself was made like unto his brethren, and was tempt-ed, he knoweth how to succour them that are tempted."Heb. ii. 18.

Thirdly, Christ takes the good done to us, as done tohimself, Matt. xxv. 40, "Inasmuch as ye have done it untoone of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it untome." In like manner is the sound Christian touched andaffected with the honour or dishonour that befalls Christ.He can say with truth of heart, "The reproaches of themthat reproached thee are fallen upon me." The reproachesthat befall religion through the miscarriages of its profes-sors, are a grief to a godly man. So the godly in the pro-phet Zephaniah's time, who laid to heart the calamities ofthe church, and the corruptions thereof, are singled out asthe special objects of God's favour; Zeph. iii. 18, «I willgather them that be sorrowful for the solemn assembly,who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden."The solemn assemblies, the Sabbaths, the public worshipand ordinances of God, these were things most precious tothe godly, highly prized and rejoiced in, and the want ofthem was their sorrow and lamentation, and the rather be-cause their enemies, in their exile, did mock at their Sab-baths, and twit them with their religion. Lam. i. 7. Psal.xlii. 3. This reproach done to religion is a burden to thetrue child and member of the church. So in these ourdays, the name and religion of Christ are greatly dis-honoured through the miscarriages of many professors :Christ may justly complain of our people, that call them-selves the godly party, as once Jacob did of his two sons,

Simeon and Levi, who treacherously, and contrary to theircovenant, slew the Shechemites: Gen. xxxiv. 30, "Youhave troubled me, to make me stink among the inhabitantsof the land:" as if he should say, you have disgraced meand my religion, and the God whom we serve; the veryCanaanites must needs abhor both us and our religion.Now they that have in them any spark of the Spirit ofChrist cannot choose but be troubled, when Christ, whomthey love, is so dishonoured and evil spoken of. "Manywalk (says Paul, Phil. iii. 18.) of whom I tell you, evenweeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ."Any wrong done to Christ, any disgrace that reflects uponhis name, wounds the heart of a true Christian.

But on the other side, when Christ's name, gospel andkingdom is magnified, it is the joy and rejoicing of theheart of any one that has the Spirit of Christ in him. Yea,it is more dear and precious to him than his own credit orprofit. When some preached Christ at Philippi, out of adesign to add affliction to Paul's bonds, however, it wentwith Paul, so Christ were preached, he rejoiced. Phil. i.18. Paul was a man variously reported and censured.But (says he) whether ye count me mad or sober, it is notmuch material, I will not shape my doctrine to please menor times, because the love of Christ is dearer to me thanmyself; "If we be beside ourselves, (2 Cor. v. 13,) it is toGod;" that is, I do not care for being held a mad manfor God's service; and he gives a reason, ver. 14, becausethe infinite love of Christ who died for us, interchangeablybinds us to consecrate to him our honour and credit, yea,our whole life, which we hold by his benefit. It was anexcellent speech of Joshua, in his prayer when the peoplefled before the men of Ai: "The Canaanites (says he) andall the inhabitants of the land, shall hear of it, and shallenviron us round, and cut off our name from the earth."This might justly be for a lamentation: yet there was some-thing that did stick nearer to his heart than their ownname, and that was the glory of God, for so he adds, "Andwhat wilt thou do unto thy great name?" Josh. vii. 9. Asif he should say, provide for the glory of thy great name,whatever become of us, and though our name be cut off.

The second trial whether Christ be in us, is taken fromour conformity and likeness to Jesus Christ; for as we have

borne the image of the first Adam, in sin and shame, so wemust bear the image of Christ, the second Adam, in holi-ness and power. If Christ be in you, he will soon trans-form you into his own likeness; for he is a quickeningSpirit: he mortifies lusts, and quickens to newness of life.So says the apostle, Rom. viii. 10, "If Christ be in you,the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life becauseof righteousness;" as if he should say, The presence ofChrist's Spirit in us is manifested by our mortification ofthe old man, and renovation, or vivification, of the newman. The body is subject to death (ver. 11,) by reason ofthe remainders of sin, but our spiritual part is alive, andhas in it the seeds of eternal life, by reason of righteousnesswherewith it is endued. By virtue of which Spirit dwell-ing in us, our mortal bodies also shall be quickened, andraised to glory. So (Gal. v. 24, 25,) he says, "They thatare Christ's, have crucified the flesh with the affections andlusts." Christ dwells not in a heart where lusts bear sway.Christ destroys in us the works of the devil. The Spiritof Christ is operative, like fire; it is not idle, but effectual,and its first operation is to subdue its contrary, and to trans-form the soul into his own likeness. Christ is a livingHead, a spiritual Head, a holy Head. We may not thinkthat we can be dead members of that living Head, or un-holy members of a holy head: " If we say we have fellow-ship with him, and walk in darkness, we* lie, and do notthe truth," 1 John i. 6; for if we have fellowship with him,we must "walk in the light, as he is in the light." Ver. 7.No man counts that a member of his body which is notquickened by his soul; and no man counts that a true mem-ber of his body, which does not grow like the parts of aman's body in human shape: if his foot be like the foot ofa beast, or his hands like the claws of a bird, we count it amonstrous birth. Christ is not severed from his Spirit, norhis Spirit from the operations of his Spirit; therefore it issaid, " If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit."Gal. v. 26. This is the trial of Christ in us.

To apply. " Ye were sometimes darkness." Are ye sostill? Ye "were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice andenvy, hateful, and hating one another." Tit. iii. 3. Are yeso still ? Ye "were by nature dead in trespasses and sins,"13

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Eph. ii. 1,2, without knowledge, without foUh, "walkingaccording to the course of this world," in excess of wine,rioting, and drunkenness, lasciviousness, &c. Is it so stili?If yea, then Christ is not in you, nor you in him. Consider,thou that pretendest to union with Christ, what hast thougotten by all thy communion with him? All ivornmunionwith the creature is of an alterative power. If we be cold,by communion with the fire, we get heat: if we be hungry,or thirsty, or faint, by communion with the creatures ofbread, and drink, and food, we are filled, and cheered, andrevived, as Jonathan with tasting honey. If we are sick,by taking physic, we are relieved. And shall not our com-munion with Christ, the Lord of life, be much more pow-erful to quicken and change our dead hearts, to spiritualizeour sinful affections, to alter our vain conversation? If youthink otherwise, you ascribe more efficacy to the creaturethan to the Creator.

Again, consider the apostle's rule, 1 John ii. 6, " He thatsaith, He abideth in him, ought himself also to walk evenas Christ walked." In the 10th of Ezekiel, there is shownto the prophet a vision of wheels and cherubims; ver. 16,17, " when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them;when they stood, these stood, and when they were liftedup, these lift up themselves also; for the Spirit of the livingcreature was in the wheels." This resembles and mayserve to illustrate our present point. A Christian walksas Christ walked; which way Christ moves, they move;which way Christ leads, they follow: and why? Becausethe Spirit of Christ is in them.

Now, observe how Christ walked. Take him in hisFather's family, he is obedient to his parents. Take himin his own family, he instructs them, and prays with them.Take him in the commonwealth, he is subject to authority;He pays tribute, he renders unto Caesar the things that areCaesar's. Take him in the church, he is a constant hearer,he goes to the synagogues every Sabbath day; he is a care-ful observer of all God's ordinances from the first to thelast, though the ministers were corrupt in their office. Takehim in his calling, it is his meat and his drink to be doinghis Father's will; He seeks not his own glory, but theglory of him that sent him. Consider him in his carriagetowards others, he is lowly and meek in company, he is

CHRIST AND A CHRISTIAN. 147

still doing some good. Consider him in his sufferings, heis patient under them, not rendering evil for evil, nor re-viling for reviling. Thus Christ walked. Now, howwalkest thou? after this pattern, or contrary thereto?Take thee in the family, thou art " disobedient to parents,unthankful, unholy, without natural affection," 2 Tim. iii.1; and yet wilt thou say, Christ is in me, and I in him? Inthe commonwealth thou resistest the power that is estab-lished, thou rebellest, and risest up against thy Christiangovernor; thou "despisest dominion, and speakest evil ofdignities;" Rom. xiii. 1; Jude v. 8: thou takest away fromCaesar "the things that are Caesar's;" (even those thingswhich are so peculiarly his, as that they can be nobody'selse, namely, his life and his crown.) And yet is Christin thee? Is this the Spirit of Christ? In the church thouart a separatist; thou art one that causest divisions, anddespisest ordinances, a church forsaker, &c. And yet isChrist one with thee? In thy undertakings thou art a self-seeker, 2 Tim. iii. 2. Thou seekest thy own glory, thyown ends, interests, and advantages, let the public sink orswim, and yet is Christ in thee? Instead of being meekand lowly in spirit, thou art proud, fierce, a false accuser;thou wilt revenge all injuries; if reviled, thou wilt revileagain; thou wilt give as good as he brings; and yet isChrist in thee? In Christ's lips was found no guile; inthy lips is found nothing but guile, falsifying of vows,oaths, protestations, declarations; deceit and guile go notout of our streets; the words of thy mouth are softer thanoil, and yet are they very swords; the poison of asps isunder thy lips. And art thou a Christian, one with Christ,and Christ with thee? Art thou like Christ?

Were it not a blasphemous contradiction to imagine adrunken Christ? a perjured Christ? a rebellious Christ? aminister-hating Christ? an oppressing, covetous Christ? alying, false, accusing Christ? a railing Christ? an adulterousChrist? a sacrilegious Christ? &c. Thou art such a one;and yet, for all this, wilt boast and say, I am in Christ, andChrist in me. 0 thou false heart, and deluded soul! Arethese the ways of Christ? Do they savour of Christ'sSpirit? If he that abideth in Christ, must walk as Christwalked, then I am sure thou abidest not in him; the worksthat thou doest, savour of another spirit, even the prince of

148 UNION BETWEEN CHRIST AND A CHRISTIAN.

the power of the air, the spirit that worketh in the chil-dren of disobedience. Where Christ is, he ruleth: if Christbe in thee, he liveth in thee; he is the lively root of spiri-tual and gracious actings; he begets in thee a new soul, newprinciples of life and obedience, he transforms thee to hisown likeness. " If you abide in me, and I in you, you willbring forth much fruit." John xv. 5. But this apparentunconformity, and unlikeness to Christ, plainly show thatthou hast no real union or communion with him; if Christbe not fashioned in you, you are none of his. Every thingacts as it lives, according to the principle of life that is init; if Christ were in you, you would live like a Christian.

Now consider, what life you live? Whom do you re-semble, Christ, or Satan ? Which way move you ? Whatare your aims? your delights? your speeches? your con-versations? How well do you resemble Christ in themall ? I put it to the judgment of your own consciences,whether they that be dead in sin, senseless, fearless, over-shoes, over-boots, bold, active in ways that are contrary toChrist, whether Christ and they are one? Dost think inthy conscience, that such persons are one with Christ whoare so unlike him? "As many as are led by the Spirit,are sons of God; but if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die."

Use 4. How to maintain this union with Christ. Heretwo things are useful. First, renewed repentance, where-by the conscience is kept pure and undefiled. The meta-phor of quenching the Spirit shows that all uneleannessin the heart is like water cast on the fire, which damps it,and puts it out: so does the unclean spirit grieve andquench the joy, the vigour, the heat of the Spirit of Christin us: therefore cleanse thy heart of thy daily pollutions.Let not Christ and the unclean spirit lodge together.Secondly, ply all means by which the passage betweenGod and thy soul may be kept open: hear God's voiceevery day, and let him hear thine every day; be not astranger to him. As in the body obstructions hinder thehealth of it, so it is in business of the soul. The passagebetween God and us must be kept open and clean

ERRORS AGAINST THE DEITY OF THE HOLY GHOST. 149

CHAPTER V.

ERRORS AGAINST THE DEITY AND DIVINE WORSHIP OF THE HOLY GHOST.

The errors cited in the London Testimony, p. 7, arethese three. " First, That the Holy Ghost is only a minis-tering Spirit, so that as there is one principal Spirit amongthe evil angels, known in scripture by the name of Satan,even so there is one principal Spirit among the good an-gels, called by the name of the Advocate, or, the HolySpirit.

" Secondly, That the Holy Ghost is no more omnipre-sent than the devil; the Holy Ghost is no otherwise omni-present in the hearts of the faithful, than Satan, the uncleanspirit, is in the hearts of the wicked.

" Thirdly, That the worshipping of the Holy Spirit ofGod, is such a plant as God never set in his word."

These errors, as also the former about the Trinity andthe Deity of Christ, are but the shameful spewings andfoamings of that diabolical spirit, which long since reignedin the old Arians, and at this day in our Socinians.

Against all these errors, I shall content myself to laydown, as an undoubted truth, this one conclusion, that theHoly Ghost is a person in the Deity, distinct from theFather and the Son, together with the Father and the Sonto be worshipped and glorified.

This one conclusion takes in all the forementioned errors;for if he be a person in the Deity, then he is not a crea-ture, then he is not merely the gift, or energy of God: thenhe is every where, otherwise than any created angel is,and then he must be worshipped as God.

Now because this truth is sufficiently proved already inthe doctrine of the Trinity, (for those scriptures whichprove a trinity of persons, do prove the personality of theHoly Ghost,) I shall content myself with some few proofspeculiar to the point in hand. I shall reduce my argumentsto these four heads.

First, The Holy Ghost is expressly in scripture calledGod. Acts v. 3, 4, 9, Peter reproving Ananias for lying

13*

to the Holy Ghost, says, " Thou hast not lied unto men,but unto God;" therefore the Holy Ghost is God. Paulproves that our bodies are " the temples of the living God,"(2 Cor. vi. 16,) because "of the Holy Ghost which dwellethin us." 1 Cor. vi. 19, " Know ye not that your body is thetemple of the Holy Ghost which is in you ?" He that inone place is called the Holy Ghost, in the other place iscalled the living God. So again, compare Isa. viii. 8, 9,with Acts xxviii. 25, 26. In Isaiah it is said, " I heard thevoice of the Lord, him that sat on the throne, (verse 1,)saying, Whom shall I send ? Then said I, Here am I, sendme. And he (that is the Lord) said, Go and tell thispeople. Hear ye indeed," &c. This place is expresslyapplied by Paul, and expounded of the Holy Ghost. Actsxxviii. 25, 26, "They departed after that Paul had spokenone word, well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the pro-phet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say,Hearing ye shall hear, and not understand," &c. The Lordthat sent Isaiah on that errand, is in the Acts called theHoly Ghost; therefore the Holy Ghost is God.

The second reason is taken from the works which areascribed to the Holy Ghost, which cannot be done by anycreature, much less by a quality or gift: none but Godcan do them. Such works are these:

First, Works of creation; Job says, " The Spirit of Godhath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath givenme life." Job xxxiii. 4. The framing of the body of Christof the seed of the virgin, was the work of a God; it was acreation above the power of nature, or of any creature.Jer. xxxi. 22, " I create a new thing in the earth, a womanshall compass a man." This new great work was done bythe Holy Ghost. Mat. i. 20, " Fear not to take unto theeMary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is ofthe Holy Ghost." Luke i. 35. The Holy Ghost was theauthor of that miraculous conception, it was by the powerof the Holy Ghost; ver. 18, "She was found with childof the Holy Ghost."

The second work is our regeneration, which is ascribedto the Holy Ghost, 1 Pet. i. 2, " Elect, according to thefore-knowledge of God the Father, through sanctificationof the Spirit, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

Here you have the concurrence of all three persons in thesalvation of man, the Father electing us, the Holy Ghostsanctifying us, Jesus Christ shedding his blood for us: soour Saviour (John iii. 3, 5,) ascribes our new birth to theHoly Ghost, " Except a man be born (wiodsv) from above,"(that is, of the Spirit, which is from above,) " he cannotenter the kingdom of God."

A third work is the bestowing of spiritual gifts andgraces. " There are diversities of gifts, of administrations,and of operations; but it is the same God, the same Spirit,which worketh all in all." 1 Cor. xii. 3, 11. There werepoured forth on the church gifts of knowledge, of tongues,of working miracles, there are several energies put forth,but all these work that one, and the self-same Spirit. Thegifts are many, the Spirit one; therefore the Spirit is notthe gifts; for then the Spirit also should be many, and notone, or else the gifts should be but one, and not many. Inthis place, the gifts and the giver are several things, reallydistinguished. So Gal. v. 22, "The fruit of the Spirit islove, joy, peace," &c. The Spirit, and the graces of theSpirit are several things; the works and the worker arenot the same thing.

Fourthly, There are divers other works ascribed to theHoly Ghost, which are the proper actions of a person whois God, and which cannot be understood de virtute soliPatri proprid* and therefore they do clearly manifest,Spiritum Sanctum non esse virtutem Patris,-\ (such aswas in the apostles, when they did their miracles, they didthem by the finger of God, by the power of God's Spirit)but a person in the Godhead, distinct from the Father:such are sending of apostles to the ministry, Acts xiii. 2," And as they ministered unto the Lord, and fasted, theHoly Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for thework whereunto I have called them." Observe in thatplace a double sending, one ministerial, by the prophets andteachers that were at Antioch: ver. 3, "They fasted andprayed, and laid their hands on them, and sent them away:"the other authoritative, and by express command, verse 4," So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departedunto Seleucia," &c.

• " Of the power peculiar to the Father." (t)

t K That the Holy Ghost is not merely the power of the Father." (t)

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Fifthly, The Holy Ghost inspired and spoke in the pro-phets, and revealed things to come. Peter ascribes the in-diting of Scripture to the Holy Ghost: 2 Pet. i. 20, "Holymen of God spake as they were moved by the HolyGhost." Yea, the Holy Ghost is said to speak by themActs i. 16. " This Scripture must needs be fulfilled whichthe Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David concerningJudas," &c. To speak, to indite, and enable the prophetsto speak of things to come, are actions agreeing to nonebut to a person: here the gift of prophecy bestowed, isevidently distinguished from the donor, ver. 8 : there Christsays to the apostles, "Ye shall receive power after that theHoly Ghost is come upon you." So that the Holy Ghostis the person that endued them with that power: the thingreceived was the power of apostleship; the giver of thatpower is the Holy Ghost.

Sixthly, Of this nature is the appearing of the HolyGhost in a bodily shape. Luke iii. 22, The Holy Ghostdescended in a bodily shape, like a dove, upon Christ athis baptism, and is brought in as a third person, witnessingto Christ's baptism, and his inauguration into his office.Now how can an accident take to itself a bodily shape,seeing it has no subsistence of its own ?

Now, to gather up this second argument, I demand, TheHoly Ghost, is he a Creator, or a creature? If a Creator,then he is God; if a creature, then he cannot do theseworks. He could not create the body of Christ, he couldnot regenerate us, nor be the bestower of those spiritualgifts, &c. These and the like operations are ascribed tothe Holy Ghost properly, as the author, and efficient cause,(not figuratively, as when it is said, "The blood of Abelcrieth," &c.,) yea, as the principal cause, not as a quality,or instrument, distinct from God, by which God works; be-cause in God such instrumental causes have no place, whoworks all things per immediationem suppositi, by him-self.

It is true, indeed, that the words Spirit and Holy Ghostdo sometimes signify the gifts, the power and graces ofthe Holy Ghost; as when it is said, "The Holy Ghostwas given by the laying on of the apostles' hands," Actsviii. 17, and that "they had not heard whether there wereany Holy Ghost," Acts xix. 2; that is, they had not heard

of that visible miraculous manifestation of the Holy Ghost.Eph. v. 18, "Be not drunk with wine, but be ye filledwith the Spirit/' &c. But is this all that is spoken of theHoly Ghost? Is the Holy Ghost nothing else but thesegifts and graces? Or is it possible that the forementionedoperations and works of creation, regeneration, donationof gifts, sending of apostles, speaking by their mouths, andappearing in a bodily shape, can be ascribed to any otherthan to a divine person?

The Arians were of opinion, that besides God's own eter-nal wisdom, there is a Wisdom which God created beforeall things, to the end that he might thereby create all thingselse; and that this created Wisdom was the Word that tookflesh; so making Christ but a creature. The same blasphe-my do the Socinians breathe out against God's most HolySpirit, denying him to be a person in the Deity, and affirm-ing that the Holy Ghost is but virtus quadam Dei, rea-liter ab ipso distincta per quam ipse ea, quae ad salutisnostrse negotium pertinent, operetur; that is, the HolyGhost is nothing but a certain kind of virtue, power, orinfluence, which God puts forth in producing this or thateffect for the good of the church. As power to heal is thevirtue of some herbs: the virtue or efficacy of fire to heatthe water, so here the heretic calls the Holy Ghost a cre-ated ministering Spirit among the good angels.

To clear this matter, let the question be this, Jin Spi-rit us Sanctus sit nuda virtus Dei Patris*

This I deny, and prove the contrary from three placesof Scripture. The first is Christ's words, John xvi. 13,14,describing the Holy Ghost in this manner: -" He shall notspeak of himself. He shall glorify me, for he shall receiveof mine, and shall show it unto you." Now this cannotpossibly be understood of God the Father, nor of the vir-tue of the Father, because the Father does not receive fromthe Son, neither does the Father speak from the Son, butof himself, because the Son is of the Father, and the Fatheris not of the Son; therefore we find in Scripture that theFather sends the Son, but never that the Son sends the Fa-ther. In the like manner, because the Holy Ghost pro-ceeds from the Father and the Son, we find that both the

* « Whether the Holy Ghost be merely the power of the Father?" (t)

h

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Father and the Son send the Holy Ghost, and act by him;but never that the Holy Ghost sends or acts by either theFather or the Son. "All things that the Father hath aremine," says Christ, ver. 15, that is, the Son receives fromhim, as coming from him; and so whatsoever the HolyGhost has, he has it not of himself, ver. 13, but from theSon, " He shall receive of mine and show it unto you," ver.14; he being a person proceeding as well from the Son, asfrom the Father. Hence, it is evident, that the HolyGhost being sent by Christ, and receiving of Christ, andspeaking from Christ, " He shall receive of mine, and showit unto you," is in order of subsisting and working afterthe Son, and therefore not a quality or virtue of the Fa-ther, who gives to, and speaks by the Son, not the Son bythe Father, as has been said.

The second is that 1 John v. 7, "There are three thatbear record in heaven," to us, men, on earth, that Jesus isthe Messias, that Jesus is the Son of God, ver. 5, 9, byglorious effects proper to each of them; the Father, byvoice, the Son, who is the eternal Word of the Father,by his doctrine and works which the Father gave him tofinish; he brought life and immortality to light by thegospel, and the Holy Ghost by the wonderful effusion ofmiraculous gifts, outwardly testifying, and by inward wit-ness, sealing to our hearts the truth of the gospel.* Thisshows of what great weight the heavenly testimony is thatthe Father hath given of the Son (ver. 9,) unto whom agreeboth the Son himself, and the Holy Ghost who is truthitself, and cannot bear false witness of Christ, ver. 6.Hence it is evident, that there are three distinct witnessesin heaven. The Father testifies of Christ, that he is hisSon; the Son testifies of himself that he came forth fromthe Father, and the Holy Ghost bears witness to them both,and confirms both their testimonies, John v. 37. John viii.42. Now apply this to our present purpose. If the HolyGhost be but the virtue of the Father, his testimony istwice repeated; and there would not be three, but only twowitnesses in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the virtue ofthe Father again, if the Holy Ghost be but the virtue ofthe Father.

* See Matt. iii. 7. John v. 36, 37. Acts ii. 22. 2 Tim. 10. Acts xv. withActs xxiv. 33.

The third place is John xv. 6, " When the Comforter iscome, whom I will send unto you, even the Spirit oftruth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testifyof me." Note first, that this is another Comforter distinctfrom the Father and the Son. Secondly, that he proceedsfrom the Father. How does the Holy Spirit proceed fromthe Father; as a creator, or as a creature? as a thing finite,or infinite? (For it is a very dream to imagine an energy,or virtue, which is neither creator, nor a creature.) If asCreator, and infinite, then he is God; if as a creature, thenhe could not be at once in the hearts of all believers in theworld, neither could he be worshipped, as by the Scripturehe ought to be, as you shall see by and by.

Quest. But the Holy Ghost is called " the power of theHighest," Luke i. 35. ? Ans. Admit that; but withal wesay, that he is Virtus Dei essentialis, non accidentalis;he is so virtus Dei, that he is also virtus Deus, the powerof God, the power which is the Lord, from whom, as fromthe Lord, the apostles received the virtue of the HolyGhost (Acts i. 9,) for the works of their ministry, from thatessential virtue, which is God the Holy Ghost, who pro-ceedeth from the Father, not as the creatures do, that weremade by God's bare word of command, (Psal. xxxiii. 6,)nor as an accident may come from a subject, nor as onefinite substance may be produced by another; but the pro-ceeding of the Holy Ghost from the Father is in a spiri-tual manner, by communication of the same essence, whois therefore himself of infinite power and virtue. Isa. xi.2, 4, "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (that is,upon the stem of Jesse) the Spirit of wisdom and under-standing, the Spirit of counsel and might, and with thebreath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." This gloriousproceeding of the Holy Ghost from the Father is morethan the pouring forth of a gift; and it is mentioned by ourSaviour in that place, as a means to assure his apostles, thathe is indeed the Comforter, able to support them againstthe hatred of the world, because he proceeds from the Fa-ther.

I shall conclude this point with a reason, demonstratingthat the Holy Ghost is not nuda virtus Dei Patris, andthe reason is taken from the personal inhabitation of theHoly Ghost in the regenerate. The Holy Ghost dwells in

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the godly, as in his temple, and that in-dwelling is not onlyof the gifts, but also of the person of the Holy Ghost; andtherefore the Holy Ghost is more than the gifts or efficacyof God. When I speak of a personal in-dwelling of theHoly Ghost in the regenerate, you must not conceive thatthereby he makes us one person with himself, or that hecommunicates to us any personal or divine property ofhis own, for that is incommunicable, but that the HolyGhost, who, as God is every where, is present in the electwith his own gifts in an admirable manner to enlighten,and strengthen, to establish and quicken, to govern andlead them, to seal and witness with them their spiritualstate and condition. This is evident by these scriptures:Rom. v. 5, "The love of God is shed abroad in our heartsby the Holy Ghost, which is given to us." The sense ofGod's love, like a precious ointment, is shed abroad in ourhearts, causing us to feel that we are beloved of God: andthis is done by the Holy Ghost, which is given to us. TheHoly Ghost is not that love, but he is given to us, to makeus taste how gracious the Lord is. So (John xiv. 16, 17,)that promised Comforter, which proceeds from the Father,is the Holy Ghost himself; and of him Christ says, "Thathe shall abide with you, for he dvvelleth with you, andshall be in you."

The fourth place is, 2 Tim. i. 14, "That good thingwhich was committed to thee, keep, by the Holy Ghost,which dwelleth in us." That good thing is fitly under-stood to be the precious treasure of sound and wholesomedoctrine, which is committed to thy trust, to be preservedand transmitted to others; and withal, the talent of thosegifts and graces, wherewith Timothy was furnished for thedischarge of his office. 1 Tim. vi. 10. Which trust, thoughit be hard to keep, considering what oppositions of scienceit meets withal, yet the Holy Spirit is mighty, enduing uswith power to keep it. The Holy Ghost that keeps thegood gifts of grace in us, and enables us to perform thetrust committed to us, is not the gifts, but the person of theHoly Ghost distinct from them, and this Holy Ghost is saidto dwell in us for that purpose.

Having thus dispelled that thick mist, with which theSocinians strive to obscure the clear truth of God, I shallmore briefly despatch my other reasons, which prove theDeity of the Holy Ghost.

DEITY OF THE HOLT GHOST. 157

My third argument is taken from that honour and wor-ship which is given to him in scripture. Mat. xxviii. 19," Baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son, andof the Holy Ghost." Baptism is a part of divine worship.To be baptized into one's name, signifies that we are conse-crated to his worship and service, to put our trust in him forsalvation and remission of sins. Now we are not baptizedinto the name of a gift; it must be a person, and that personmust be God too, for it is a sin to be baptized into thename of Paul, or any other creature, which cannot forgivesins, neither ought to be worshipped. And seeing theHoly Ghost is joined with the Father and the Son in thisdivine honour and worship, therefore also in the fellowshipof the Godhead. Were it not a gross injury to the text toread the words thus, baptize them in the name of theFather, of the Son, and of the virtue of the Father? Forthe Father being named, the efficacy, or virtue of theFather is included, and it were altogether vain to repeatone person twice in three words.

Again, the apostle prays to the Holy Ghost, and blessesthe church in the name of the Holy Ghost, 2 Cor. xiii. 14," The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with )'ou all."Here the Holy Ghost is invoked for a blessing in like manneras the Father and the Son are; therefore he is God with them.Paul prays to all three, and acknowledges a power in themall, to bless the Corinthians to eternity. By communica-tion of the Holy Ghost, we come to be partakers of thegrace of Christ, and the love of the Father: and if we havethe love of God, and the merits of the Son made ours bythe comfortable presence and operation of the Holy Ghost,then we are a blessed people indeed. The Father lovesus, and gave us his Son; the Son redeems and justifies usfreely by his grace; the Holy Ghost communicates andseals to us, both the love of the Father, and the merit ofhis Son. In these three things the salvation of mankindconsists, which are all comprehended in the apostolical be-nediction. Look from whom grace is wished, and inwhose name the church is blessed, the same is God. Rev.i. 4, 5.

Thirdly, an oath is a part of divine worship, and theapostle (Rom. ix. 1,) attests the Holy Ghost as a witness14

158 ERRORS AGAINST THE DEITY OF THE HOLY GHOST.

of the truth of this his oath or asseveration, "I say the truthin Christ, my conscience also bearing me witness in theHoly Ghost/' The church of God in all ages has wor-shipped the Holy Ghost. In our creed we profess ourfaith in him, and in that doxology, worthy to be retainedin the churches,—" Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,and to the Holy Ghost, world without end:" and all thatare not heretics will say Amen.

My fourth reason is taken from certain divine proper-ties, which are ascribed to the Holy Ghost: as,

First, that he is immensus et ubique, in all places atonce. Psal. cxxxix. 7, "Whither shall I go from thySpirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence ?" Rom.viii. 9, " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he isnone of his." Therefore he is infinite, and in ten thousandplaces at once. Every creature is circumscribed by itsnature, but the Holy Ghost has a nature not circumscribed,therefore he is not a creature, but a God.

Secondly, the Holy Ghost is omniscient, and knows allthings, even the secrets of hearts, else he could not * bearwitness with our spirits, that we are the children of God;"(Acts i. 24; Acts v. 2, 3; Rom. viii. 16,) else he couldnot bear witness with Paul's conscience, of the truth ofhis inward affection to the Jews. Rom. ix. 7. Else hecould not "reveal and search all things, yea, the deepthings of God." 1 Cor. ii. 10. Else he could not "leadthe apostles into all truth," John xvi. 13.

Thirdly, He is omnipotent; else he could not enablethe apostles to work miracles. The gospel was spread"through mighty signs and wonders by the power of theSpirit of God." Rom. xv. 19.

My fifth reason is taken from the punishment of thosethat sin against the Holy Ghost. Mat. xii. 31, 32, " Butthe blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be for-given." We sin against men, but our sinning against mendoes not involve us in damnation. All sin is first, andproperly, committed only against God; and because thereis a sin against the Holy Ghost, and that sin is unpardon-able, therefore the Holy Ghost is God. Thus much invindication of this fundamental truth from the blasphemiesabove named.

OF THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. 159

SECTION III.

OF THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST.

In my last reason is declared the Deity of the HolyGhost, by the fearful vengeance that i^ executed on themthat commit the sin against the Holy Ghost. Let us brieflyinquire, what that sin against the Holy Ghost is, which isunpardonable, and must not be prayed for ?

We shall best find out the nature of this sin, by compar-ing three places of scripture together. The first is that ofMark iii. 29, 30, " He that shall blaspheme against theHoly Ghost, hath never forgiveness, but is in danger ofeternal damnation, because they said he hath an uncleanspirit." B%aa^ix£(.v rtapa to Shaitfsw fq» $9i[Mp>, a IsedendaJama, et existimalione alicujus, and so to blaspheme theHoly Ghost, is to cast reproaches on him.

Note the reason why these scribes are said at this timeto blaspheme. It was because they did ascribe that mira-cle to Beelzebub, which was indeed done by the power ofthe Holy Ghost, ver. 28, by the finger of God. So is thereason here expressed, ver. 30, " because they said, he hathan unclean spirit," and Mat. xii. 32, because " they spakethat word against the Holy Ghost." These scribes andpharisees did of malice oppose Christ, and misconstrue hisworks, casting that reproach upon him, lest the peopleshould acknowledge him to be the true Messiah, as ap-pears by the reasons which Christ uses to convince themof their senseless, false accusation. Christ's manner ofcasting out devils, was with such heavenly majesty andauthority, as that his enemies knew it was by the Spirit ofGod (for here our Lord takes that for granted) saying, "IfI cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then is the kingdomof God come unto you;" Mat. xii. 28; and, therefore, youare malicious opposers of the kingdom of God in my person.So then our Saviour's speaking here of the sin against theHoly Ghost, by occasion of their malicious attributing thatto Satan, which they could not but know was the finger ofGod, gives us to understand, that this sin is a wilful andmalicious rejecting and opposing of Jesus Christ, and of theway of salvation by him, after that the Holy Ghost has

OP THE SIN AGAINST

enlightened and convicted the party of the salvation offeredto the world by Christ: or it is a malicious opposing thetruth of the gospel, made known to us by the Holy Ghost*

A learned man correcting the common opinion of divinestouching this point, thinks that this is it, which is calledthe sin against the Holy Ghost; when men will not be con-vinced by miracles, that Jesus is the Christ!

Against which definition, 1 oppose three things:—First,That miracles are not a sole-sufficient conviction to begetfaith. The Jews require a sign, and they saw enough, andyet believed not John xii. 37, " For though Christ haddone so many miracles before them, yet they believed noton him." The proper end of miracles was to bring theminds of men to the marking of the doctrine, that accom-panied them, that by marking it, the efficacy thereof mightlay hold on them, and convert them, which it did in verymany; but when God withheld this efficacy, that it inclinednot the mind, then the men believed not, though they sawthe miracles. John vi. 2, 26. We read, that when Johnheard in prison the works of Christ, he sent two of hisdisciples, (Mat. xi.) and said, "Art thou he that shouldcome, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered andsaid, "Go and show John again those things which youhear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lamewalk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the deadare raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached tothem." Christ answers John's message by his works done;yet because those works alone do not demonstrate him tobe the Lord Christ, therefore Christ refers him to thosemarks which the prophets had foretold, that so their beliefmight be grounded on the doctrine of the prophets, not onthe miracles alone;—the concurrence of Christ's miracleswith the holy teaching of the prophets showing him to bethe Messiah that was to come.

Secondly, Men (says this author) will not be convinced.Will not? It is not in our choice, whether we will beconvinced or not. It is in our choice, whether we willhear or not. But if we hear, it is not in our choice whe-ther the secrets of our hearts shall be made manifest, yeaor no. 1 Cor. tfiv. 24, 25, " If all prophesy, and there

* Dick on Matt xii. 32.

t Baxt. Rest, part ii. 3, 5.

come in one that believeth not, he is convinced of all, andjudged of all; and thus the secrets of his heart are mademanifest, and so falling down on his face, he will worshipGod, and say, that God is in you of a truth." Many areconvinced against their wills, as that they shall come tojudgment. They would be ignorant of it, but cannot; theywould persuade themselves, that usury and sacrilege areno sins, but cannot. Others are not convinced, thoughthey desire it. The heretic uses means to prove his wayto be truth. He would persuade himself that he is in theright, but cannot; and, therefore, the apostle says, he isself-condemned, Tit. iii. 10, 14, because he holds on hisway against the convictions of his own conscience; it isnot in my choice whether I will understand, and remem-ber. These are not commanded faculties.

Thirdly, I demand, are miracles a convincing way ofrevealing Jesus Christ? Were the Jews that saw themreally convinced, or were they not? If not, then they donot sin against the Holy Ghost which are not convinced bythem; for (as this author himself says) no man is bound tobelieve that which was never convincingly revealed. Ifthey are a convincing means, and if those Jews, which sawChrist's miracles, were really convinced, and yet opposedChrist's kingdom, then human nature is capable of sinningagainst the Holy Ghost in the way that our divines havedenned that sin, that is, maliciously, after the knowledgeof the truth: and so did those Jews sin, by the testimonyof that very text which Mr. Baxter alleges for his opinion,namely, John xv. 24, " If I had not done among them theworks which none other man did, they had not had sin;but now they have both seen and hated both me and myFather." They hated Christ after they had seen andknown him. It is not an act incompatible with the ra-tional soul (as he supposes) to hate God and Christ, whomwe have seen and known.

This will farther appear by consideration of two otherplaces of scripture, which I intimated, namely, Heb. vi. 4,6, " It is impossible for those, who were once enlightened,and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made par-takers of the Holy Ghost, if they fall away, to renew themagain unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselvesthe Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

14*

Note, it is the unpardonable sin that is here described,because their repentance is impossible. Concerning which,I observe two things:

First, The venomous nature of it, expressed by thesewords, " They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,and put him to an open shame," that is, as the Jews incrucifying Christ did count Christ no better than a com-mon malefactor, and put him to shame; so an apostate fromChrist's doctrine puts him to the like shame. He says, ineffect, Christ is a deceiver, his doctrine is false, his bloodis no better than the blood of a common malefactor; heallows the act of Judas, and the Jews, in crucifying Christ;and if Christ were upon earth again, he would then be asspiteful an enemy to him as ever the Jews were.

Obj. 0, but this does not amount to the sin against theHoly Ghost, for Christ prayed for them that crucified him,and many of them were converted at Peter's sermon, (Actsii. 41,) which had been his betrayers and murderers. Thescripture says, that through ignorance they did it; for hadthey known, they would not have crucified the Lord ofglory: Acts iii. 17; 1 Cor. ii. 8. Now, if they that cruci-fied Christ at first, did not sin against the Holy Ghost, howcan the apostate so sin, who doth but act the same again?

Ans. Consider, therefore, the second thing in the apos-tate's sin, which makes his case worse than the Jews. Theyput Christ to all this shame, they do him this despite afterknowledge and profession, whereas the Jews never pro-fessed nor acknowledged him. To renounce Christ andput him to this shame, after you have been once enlight-ened with the knowledge of the truth, and have tasted theheavenly gift of justification, and some peace of consciencethrough hope of the pardon of sins, and were made par-takers of the Holy Ghost, that is, of many gifts of the HolyGhost, ordinary, or extraordinary, and have tasted the goodword of God, that is, have found some sweetness in theword of God, like the stony ground hearer; and the pow-ers of the world to come, that is, have felt, as it were, thejoys of heaven; if after all this, you shall fall away, andcast scorn and contempt upon the doctrine of Christ, yourcase is desperate, there is no hope of your repentance, youare nigh unto cursing.

The third place is Heb. x. 26, 29, "If we sin wilfullyafter that we have received the knowledge of the truth,

there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, &c, of how-much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy, whohath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath countedthe blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified,an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit ofgrace ?"

Here the apostle speaks of the sin against the HolyGhost, which hath done despite to the Spirit of grace, andhath no sacrifice to purge it. Hereof he forewarns somewho, in purpose of apostacy, withdrew themselves fromchurch assemblies. De coetibus ecclesiasticis intelligitur,quos subterfugiebant nonnulli propter aliorum Judseo-rum metum: Separation from the church assemblies, is astep to apostacy.

The sin itself is described, first, by the matter, secondly,by the manner of it. For the matter of it, it is expressedin these words, the apostate from the faith of Christ, is awilful adversary to Christ, one that sets himself contraryto Christ, a partaker of Satan's nature, and Satan's profes-sion, Zech. iii. 1. Secondly, he is said to tread under footthe Son of God, to do as much scorn and indignity untoChrist, as if he did him this personal violence. By tread-ing his truth and covenant under their feet, as swine dopearls, they show what a base estimation they have ofChrist. Thirdly, he counts the blood of the covenant anunholy thing: (xoww.) % The covenant of grace is establish-ed in the blood of Christ, his blood is precious, it is bloodof expiation, it consecrates and purifies unto God. Thisprecious, powerful, saving blood, the apostate counts xowovm/xa, they make no more account of it than of the blood ofsome malefactor or of a brute beast. Fourthly, he doesdespite to the Spirit of grace, in opposing and disgracingthe gospel, and speaking reproachfully of it, they blasphemeor reproach the Holy Spirit of God, as if all that his Spirithad taught them and convinced them of, were an untruth;they give the lie to the Holy Ghost, while they say, ineffect, that Christ and his doctrine are not worthy to beavowed; they do in a scornful manner, reject the workof the Holy Ghost, testifying and convincing them of, andsealing to them the truth of the gospel. This is the na-ture of this sin.

Secondly, for the manner. All this is done sxacw^ sponte.

of his own inclination, without force of temptation; suchpeople sin against the Holy Ghost. Mr. Dickson observesvery well, That the sin here described, is not any particu-lar sin against the law, but against the gospel; not a sinagainst some point of truth, but against Christ's whole doc-trine; not of infirmity, but wilfulness; not of rashness, butof deliberation, wittingly and willingly; not of ignorance,but after illumination. Such as Jews turned Christians,revolting from Christianity back again to their former hos-tility against Christ, did commit, and so are for ever se-cluded from mercy, forasmuch as they who wilfully rejectand scorn the only sacrifice of the New Testament, theblood of the Lord Jesus, and the benefit thereof, there isno other sacrifice nor means left to help such a one.

Now the sum of what has been spoken out of these threeplaces of scripture, may be thus collected: to blasphemethe Holy Ghost, to cast reproaches upon the means of con-version, ascribing the work of the Holy Ghost to the de-vil, to put Christ and his gospel to an open shame, to setones' self against them as an adversary, to account basely ofChrist, and of his blood, and of his covenant, and spitefullyto oppose and reject the Holy Spirit in his works of grace;and all this after knowledge and profession of the gospel.This is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and is comprehendedin the brief definition, which I had laid down, namely, thesin against the Holy Ghost, is a malicious, scornful re-proaching and opposing the truth of the gospel, madeknown to us by the Holy Ghost.

Obj. I think (says Mr. Baxter) none can be guilty ofmalice against truth, as truth; and to be at enmity withtruth, because it is an enemy to our sensual desires, is asin that every man in the world is in some measure guiltyof, therefore that is not the true definition of the sin againstthe Holy Ghost.

Ans. " He that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither comethto the light, lest his deeds should be reproved," John iii. 20.Some of the Jews both saw and hated both Christ and hisFather, John xv. 24. Cain hated his brother, because hisown works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Nowto hate the light, because of its intrinsical properties,namely, to discover and to reprove men's evil deeds, Eph.v. 13; to bear malice against the truth, because it is an ene-

my to my lie; to hate my brother, because his works arerighteous, and my own evil; What is this short of op-posing the truth, because it is truth ? But if you spitefullyoppose trufh, and cast reproaches upon it, only because itappears an enemy to your sensual lusts, especially if it beafter illumination, and tasting and professing the goodword of God, this is no excuse, but rather a manifestationof this great sin, because such a person treads Jesus Christ,and his covenant of grace under foot. He treads him underall those base lusts, which he prefers before him. Andthus to oppose truth, by Mr. Baxter's leave, I think veryfew men in the world are guilty of.

Use 1. The point thus opened, serves first, for conso-lation to the weak and wounded in spirit, to support themagainst despair. Many are cast into terror of soul, fearingthat they have sinned against the Holy Ghost, because theyhave been wilful sinners: and Satan is wont to bear in thistemptation with much vehemency,»-abusing the testimonyof a guilty and troubled conscience against itself, drivingit to conclude more bitterly against itself, than the sinswherewith it is charged can bear. It is true, indeed, thatmany who never proceeded thus far in wickedness, shallnever taste of mercy, because they refuse to hear his voice,they will not come home to Christ's terms proposed in thegospel,they will not lay down the price for the pearl. Everyknown sin that a man lives in will be his ruin. But herethe distressed soul's temptation is, that he is incapable ofmercy.

Now to repel that temptation, let him for his comfort,know for certain, from the doctrine delivered, aad ponderwell these five particulars:

First, That infidels, and ignorant persons, do not com-mit the sin against the Holy Ghost, though they do mali-ciously blaspheme and persecute the truth, as the heathenemperors did, and the Turks at this day. Paul was a per-secutor, and a blasphemer, and injurious; but, says he, "Iobtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief," 2Tim. ii. 13. His ignorance was not the cause why he ob-tained mercy, but why he was not utterly excluded frommercy, as if he should say, if I had done so much againstthe name of Christ, after knowledge and profession, as Idid before in the days of my ignorance and unbelief, I had

never found mercy. But now, though his sin were greaf,yet not unpardonable, because he did it ignorantly. Thelike is to be judged of other spiteful opposers of the truth;they are not excluded from mercy, if they repent. Andwhy? because they were never enlightened, they nevertasted the good word of God. And Paul is set forth as anexample and pattern of mercy and hope, to all such as havebeen enemies to Christ through ignorance and unbelief, inthat sweet ver. 16, of 1 Tim. i., " Howbeit, for this cause Iobtained mercy, that in me, first, Jesus Christ might showforth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which shouldhereafter believe on him to everlasting life."

Secondly, Neither does every one that has sinned againsthis knowledge and conscience, commit the sin against theHoly Ghost. For so did Peter sin in forswearing hisMaster; so did David sin against his knowledge in thematter of Uriah; so did Adam sin; and yet they repented,and obtained mercy, through the sprinkling of the bloodof Christ. The reason is, because they fell through forceof temptation, through weakness, not in despite, nor out ofill will, or a bare esteem of the truth. They never wereadversaries to the truth which they once professed.

Thirdly, Nor is every backslider from the truth whichonce he professed, presently judged to sin against the HolyGhost. In the primitive times, many, to save their lives,outwardly denied the known truth, and some in QueenMary's days did the like, who yet afterwards repented,and became blessed witnesses to the truth, as Cranmer, &c.

It was the error of the Novatians, that if a man, in timeof persecution, had denied the truth, though he repented,yet his sin could not be forgiven, using that speech of ourSaviour; Luke xii. 9,10, " He that denieth me before men,shall be denied before the angels of God." To whom Cy-prian made this answer, Negat negantem, nunquid etpcenitentem? Did Christ ever deny him that repentsand confesses his name? Luke xii. 8. No, " He will notbruise the broken reed," &c. Cyprian said of Novatian,in detestation of his cruel opinion, that he is, misericordizehostis, interfector pcenitentise, doctor superbise, veritcttiscorrupt or, per ditor charitatis :* nay, he calls it haeresis

* The foe of mercy, the murderer of repentance, the teacher of pride, the cor-rupter of truth, and the destroyer of charity.

Caina, the heresy of Cain, who said, "My sin is greaterthan can be forgiven." Mentiris Cain, it is false, Cain,there is place for repentance, and if for repentance, thenfor remission also, because they did not maliciously norwillingly depart from the truth, but overcome with fear.Christ sent a message of peace to Peter, Mark xvi. 7, "Goand tell Peter that I am risen, and I go before you intoGalilee, and there ye shall see me;" he that denied me, aswell as the rest. Peter had need of spiritual comfort,therefore go and tell Peter. Thus God sends a messageof peace to the lapsed, troubled soul. Tell such a man orsuch a woman, " I am the Lord, the Lord gracious andmerciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth."Tell him, " I the Lord will love thee freely, and heal thybackslidings," Hos. xiv. 4. Spira denied some articles ofthe protestant religion, through fear of death and loss ofhis estate. How the Lord dealt with him, as touching hisfinal and everlasting condition, it is not for me to judge:yet considering his temptations and fears, I conceive hesinned not against the Holy Ghost. Howbeit, it pleasedthe Lord to make him a sad spectacle of his displeasure, tolet others see what a fearful thing it is to deny Christ andhis gospel before men in any respect whatsoever, and soour apostle, intending to arm and strengthen the persecutedHebrews against falling away, sets before them (Heb. x.27,) the danger of forsaking the truth upon any occasionwhatsoever. And surely if men did foresee their own dan-ger before they fall, as they do feel the terror of it after-wards, all the terrors in the world, nor all the allurementsthereof would prevail with them to renounce the least pointof true religion and godliness. " He that loveth his lifeshall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world, shallkeep it unto life eternal," John xii. 25.

Fourthly, Nor are we to think, that there are certaingross and heinous sins which cannot be forgiven, thoughthe sinners repent never so bitterly of them. All thegrievous sins committed by all men in the world, againstthe Law of God, if they were met in one soul, do notamount to the sin against the Holy Ghost. They are par-donable, and have been pardoned in several persons.

The reason is, because the promises of the gospel exceptno sorts of sins, and the sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction

168 OF THE SIN AGAINST

exceeds all the sins of all the world. They that were thebetrayers and murderers of Christ, were converted at Pe-ter's sermon, and saved. Acts ii. 23, 37. Paul was a blas-phemer, yea, he caused others to blaspheme, yet he ob-tained mercy, Acts xxvi. 11. Spira blasphemed God, insaying, "I would I were above God; for 1 know he willnot have mercy on me," And what sin can be greaterthan blasphemy? Yet the text (Matt. xii. 31,) says, that"all manner of sin and blasphemy against God shall beforgiven unto men" upon their repentance, this only"against the Holy Ghost" excepted, and that is excepted,because there is no means left to bring them to repentance,and so their sin is incurable and unpardonable.

Fifthly, It is a sure sign that ye have not sinned againstthe Holy Ghost so long as your soul mourns after Christ,and loves Jesus Christ, and will not quit him, nor his gos-pel, and cannot endure to think of a separation from him,but are using all means to recover peace with God. Solong as it is thus with any of you, you have not sinnedagainst the Holy Ghost. Although to your perplexed andamazed spirits, and even despairing souls, by reason of thepresent sense of wrath, it may be borne in against you bySatan, that you are past recovery and hope of mercy, yet,indeed, and in God's esteem, you are not among Christ'sadversaries, but reckoned among his friends and lovers.The accusation of your own conscience in this case is notto be taken against the judgment of the scripture, whichsays, that " Christ is a prince exalted to give repentanceand remission of sins unto Israel," Acts v. 31. He thatgives repentance, declares his purpose to give remissionalso. The apostate from Christ cannot be saved, becausehe cannot be renewed again unto repentance, Heb. vi. 6,therefore if you be renewed again unto repentance, yoursalvation is certain. This I have given in caution uponthis point, lest any falling grievously, should despair uponthis conceit, that it is in vain to pray, or to repent, andseek God's face, seeing by those very motions and desiresyou are evidenced not to have sinned against the HolyGhost.

Use 2. The second use is for terror to two sorts: First,To all bold and presumptuous sinners, scoffers, and de-spisers, who, like swine, trample under foot the precious

1

THE HOLY GHOST. 169

word of grace, scorn the instructions thereof, and resistthe inward motions of the Spirit, which strive to bringthem off from the ways of death and ungodliness. It is adangerous matter to oppose Christ and his gospel, to scoff,and scorn, and jest at it, and to speak ill of the work ofgrace in his children, as to ascribe it to the devil, &c. Thisshows an inward hatred of the holy and good ways of God.Whatsoever such persons may think of themselves, I dareaffirm it, that if they had lived when Christ did, heard hissermons, and seen his miracles, they would have hatedhim as much as the Jews then did, because there is thesame spite and venom in their spirits against the ways andwork of grace now, and against the doctrine of Christ, andthe prophets, left upon record in scripture, as there was inthose Jews which killed the prophets, when they hadheard their sermons, and their reproofs by word of mouth.O take heed, as you love salvation, how you harden your-selves in error, and how you do the least despite to theSpirit of grace.

The second sort of men are our church-forsakers, andminister-haters. These are men that have been enlight-ened, and tasted the good and sweetness of God's word, andpublic ordinances. They have loved our persons, reve-renced our doctrines and teaching, acknowledged us the in-struments of the work of grace upon their souls. Now, tosee such persons turn scoffers and haters of our persons andoffice, despisers and blasphemous reproachers of our doc-trine, to make a mock at our preaching, calling us decei-vers of the people, Baal's priests, blind guides, &c.; this isa fearful falling away from, and opposing of the kingdomof Jesus Christ, even after knowledge and profession ofthe truth: their apostacy lies near to the sin against theHoly Ghost: and methinks the curse of God is upon theirsouls, seeing very few of them are renewed again unto re-pentance, but, like apostates, they grow worse and worse,deceiving and being deceived. 2 Tim. iii. 13. Whilstthey promise themselves liberty, they are become the ser-vants of corruption, twice dead. 0 take heed, lest thatcome upon you, "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still;and because I have purged, and thou wast not purged :thou shalt no more be purged, till 1 cause my fury to restupon thee." Rev. xxii. 11. Ezek. xxiv. 13.15

SECTION IV.

OF QUENCHING THE SPIRIT. 1 THES. V. 19.

Use 3. Is for warning. He that would not sin againstthe Holy Ghost, must beware how he quenches the Spirit.Quenching is a borrowed term, taken from fire, whoselight and heat we put out by the casting on of water. TheSpirit is compared to fire, both in respect of the light thatit gives to the understanding, and of the heat and fervourit imparts to our affections. Now the Spirit is quenched,when we put out the light which he shines into us, and sup-press the good motions which he kindles in us. We mustnot quench the Spirit, that is, whatever workings the Spiritof God has in us, enlightening, renewing, sanctifying, re-straining, checking, directing, comforting, sealing, leading,moving, &c. This is the Spirit, and these are the opera-tions, which we must not repel, resist, reject, stifle, nor inany wise oppose. We must not suffer them to die in us,much less set up counsels and motions, contrary there-to.

Quest. When, how, and by whom is the Spirit of Godquenched ?

Ans. The operations of the Holy Ghost may be reducedto two general heads:

First, He is to us a Spirit of light, to enlighten our darkminds with the knowledge of heavenly truth; he shinesinto our hearts the knowledge of God, and of his will, yea,the deep mysteries of godliness. He also discovers to usthe deep and hidden things of our own hearts, the desperatewickedness and deceitfulness thereof, the cursed state thatwe are in by nature. It convinces us of our unbelief, se-curity, hypocrisy, false ends and ways; it informs us of ourduty, and the things which belong to our peace.

The second general operation of the Holy Spirit is, tokindle in us good motions, holy purposes, thoughts, desires,affections, and resolutions. There is naturally in the heartof man much deadness and deceitfulness, great indisposed-ness to the thing that is good, great proneness to evil, &c.Now the Spirit kindles in us good motions, and desires afterthe best things, remorse for sin, fear of wrath, joy in the

hope of mercy, certain excitements to embrace the wordof life. Isa. xxx. 21, "Thine ears shall hear a voice be-hind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when yeturn to the right harxl or to the left." God there promisesan outward teacher, "Thine eyes shall see thy teachers:''and an inward teacher, which accompanies the outwardministry: and few there be in the church, but one time oranother feel such secret motions and suggestions to holiness,powerfully stirring them up to faith and repentance: secretcompunctions for sin ; secret purposes of becoming newcreatures, sweet delight in drawing nigh unto God, &c.

Now in answer to the question, I reply the Spirit isquenched, when he is not obeyed, when he is resisted, whenhe is grieved, and opposed in either of these operations bycontrary counsels, lustings and motions, by corrupt reason-ings and imaginations, whereby the sweet breathings ofthe Holy Spirit are stifled, and suffered to die within uswithout fruit. Take a view of it in both kinds.

First, the Spirit is quenched in its first operation uponour souls, by two degrees. First, when this candle of theLord is put out, when we hide our eyes from the light, andsay within ourselves to the Almighty, " Depart from us,we desire not the knowledge of thy ways: What is theAlmighty, that we should serve him ? and what profit shallwe have if we pray to him ?" Job xxi. 14. When we"say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophe-sy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things;get thee out of the way, turn aside out of the path, causethe Holy One of Israel to cease from us." Isa. xxx. 10, 11.When men are willingly ignorant of those sins which theyare not yet willing to forsake, and of those duties whichthey are not yet willing to practise, this is a quenchingof the Spirit. It is a sign of a graceless heart, when menwill shun the light, seek evasions to avoid the stroke of asearching ministry, when men will not read such books, norsuch chapters of the Bible, nor hear such doctrines discoursedof, wherein their own case is handled or touched ; when peo-ple are unwilling to be dealt withal touching their spiri-tual estate, their opinions and practices, and seeing a lightarising do blow it out, and hide their faces from it. "Theireyes have they closed, lest they should see and be convert-ed." Matt. xiii. 15. This is one degree of quenching theSpirit.

A second degree of quenching the Spirit, as he is a Spiritof light and illumination, is when men go against theirknowledge, and depart from the truth. Their first care isnot to see the light, for it is a trouble to them; but whenthat cannot be hid, the next work is to rebel against thelight, like those of whom Job speaks, Job xiv. 13, "Theyare of those that rebel against the light, they abide not inthe paths thereof." This is a sad case, to know well, and dothe contrary. " The wrath of God (says Paul, Rom. i. 18,)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrigh-teousness of men, which hold the truth in unrighteous-ness," who suppress it, forcing their own minds; theyknow better than they do: it is an enslaving the truth bytheir perverseness, making it an underling to their lusts, sothat it cannot exercise command over their consciences andactions.

Wretched men and women, with whom God has dealtgraciously in showing them their misery by nature, andgiven them a taste and sight of good things, by meanswhereof they had escaped the common sins and pollutionsof the world, and the sins of their former ignorance andvanity, and yet contrary to all this light, forsake the holypath and the holy commandment given them, and take li-berty to live in the practice of gross sins; some of cove-tousness, and oppression, others of wantonness, others ofbodily and spiritual uncleanness, like brute beasts, accord-ing as they are led, 2 Pet. ii. 21 : "Better had it beennever to have known the way of (truth and) righteousness,than after they have known it, to turn from the holy com-mandment given unto them ; the latter end is worse withthem than the beginning." It was bad with them beforethey knew Christ, while they lived in a state of darknessand ignorance: it is worse now, seeing they go against thelight; they have no excuse for their sin.

Francis Spira's case is worthy to be set before your eyes*He having embraced, by God's mercy, the doctrine of Christtaught by the protestants, was for this brought before thepope's commissioner, and forced to subscribe and seal apaper containing a renunciation of the said points of Chris-tian doctrine. Hereupon he fell into a fearful despairingof mercy, and could not be comforted. One asked him,whether he did it willingly, or not? "That is nothing to

the purpose, (said he,) Christ will not be denied, no, notin word, though in heart I never denied him. I knew,(said he,) that justification is to be expected by Christ, andI denied and abjured it, to the end I might keep this fraillife from adversity, and my children from poverty. Andnow, behold, how bitter this life is to me; and God onlyknows what shall become of this my family; but surely nogood is likely to betide them, but rather daily worse andworse, and such a ruin at the length, as that one stone shallnot be left upon another." 0, it is a fearful sin in anyman to force another to go against his knowledge, as thepope's legate here did Spira. Paul bewailed it, Acts xxvi.11, that he had compelled poor Christians to blaspheme.And it is a fearful sin to be compelled to quench the lightthat is in us, to preserve this frail life from adversity, andour children from poverty. He that shall so save his life,shall lose it. God is justly provoked to take his Spirit ofgrace and comfort quite away, as he did from Spira, whosaid, that " there was never such a spectacle of so exceed-ing misery, as I am."

Secondly, We come to the second general operation ofthe Spirit, as he is a Spirit of holiness, kindling in us goodmotions, and holy desires and purposes. And here theSpirit is quenched in us and by us, when he is disobeyedand resisted in his reproofs and admonitions, in his guidance,and leading us on to our conversion, or the exercise ofChristian graces and duties. See this sin, Nehem. ix. 30,"Thou testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy pro-phets, yet would they not give ear." This sin is thus setforth also, Zech. vii. 9—12, "Thus speaketh the Lordof hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, show mercy andcompassion every man to his brother, and oppress not thewidow nor the fatherless, the stranger nor the poor, andlet none of you imagine evil against his brother in yourheart; but they refused to hearken, and pulled away theshoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear:yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest theyshould hear the law, and the words which the Lord ofhosts hath sent in his Spirit by the former prophets."This is here called (Eph. iv. 30,) quenching the Spirit,and elsewhere, grieving the Spirit; and by Stephen, Actsyii. 51, resisting the Holy Ghost. When they heard Ste-

15*

phen's words, " they were cut to the heart, and gnashed ofihim with their teeth; they stopped their ears, and ran uponhim with one accord, and stoned him," ver. 54, 57. Thissin is committed usually through carelessness, ingratitude,and carnality of the heart. Many sweet motions and stir-rings of the Spirit, die without fruit. There is a spiritualsloth grows upon Christians through the fatness of theirhearts, by reason whereof, those glowings of thy conscience,those sparks of the holy fire kindled by the Spirit, decayand cool in thee, and become like a coal of fire raked upunder a heap of ashes.

To apply. I vvill demand, and let thy conscience answerto these particulars. How many holy purposes hast thouhad, that never came to the birth? How many resolutionsnever yet fulfilled? How often hast thou been checked,and stirred up to a constant course of religious duties, whichyet thou hast not begun? How often has it been in thyheart never to come near the house of such a light woman,and yet, thou hast broken thy resolution, till a secret woundhas pierced thy heart? How often has God sent thee suchmessages, as Pilate's wife sent to him concerning Christ,"Have thou nothing to do with that just man?" Meddlenot in such an unjust action; wind thyself out of such andsuch state combinations; get thy foot out of the snare; keepthyself pure from the blood of all men; join not, nor bethou instrumental in the oppressing and undoing of suchand such men; defile not thyself with the sin of sacrilege,and robbing of churches; deliver thy soul from unrighteousand cruel men, stand not in their counsels, &c. And yetthou hast baffled thy conscience, and hardened thy heartagainst all these warnings from Heaven. How many mo-tions and purposes hast thou had on thy waking bed, tomake restitution of lands and goods ill gotten? to leave offbribery, false accusation, usury, violence, and fraud? Howoften hast thou said, I will not suffer the accursed thing,Achan's wedge, to be among my stuff, and yet when thoucomest abroad, and seest the courses of the world, thou hastlaid it up in thy tent, though it be as a canker in thy con-science, and in thy estate to posterity? How often hasGod by his Spirit, in the ministry of his word, met withthy beloved sin, and even made thy heart to melt, so thatthou hast gone from the church with a resolution to become

a new man, and yet thou hast suppressed and quelled thoseholy thoughts and resolutions, by setting up contrary rea-sonings and imaginations? How many sermons hast thoustruggled withal, and at last got the victory over them, andcast them all out of thy heart and practice? What shiftshast thou used to chase away those qualms of conscience?How often hast thou been almost persuaded to be a Christian,and yet dissuaded again by some base and vain temptation?How often at the receiving of the sacrament, hast thou re-newed thy covenant, and made promises of better obedi-ence, and yet remainest as vile as ever? Thus thou hastdallied with repentance, and thy salvation, despised thyGod and his counsels, refused to be reformed, and quenchedthe Spirit of grace. I wish thee to remember that sad pas-sage of Spira's: "1 tell you," said he, "when at Venice Idid first abjure my profession, and so, as it were, drew anindenture, the Spirit of God often admonished me; andwhen at Cittadella, I did, as it were, set to my seal, theSpirit of God often suggested unto me, do not write, Spira,do not seal; yet I resisted the Holy Ghost, and did both;at that very instant, I did evidently feel a wound inflictedin my very will; so although I can say, I would believe,yet can I not say, I will believe. 0, now I cannot, Godhath denied me the power of will."

We live in a subscribing age, we must swear and notswear; covenant for the king one while, another while en-gage against the king. And what multitudes of knowingChristians are there, whose consciences have been enlargedto take in all the points of this compass? and all to preservethis frail life from adversity, and their children from po-verty. 0 what reluctances and contradictions of your ownhearts and consciences have you wrestled with? Has notthe Spirit of God often suggested unto thee, as once toSpira, do not engage with men of Belial, do not subscribe?and yet thou hast done both. What shifts and evasionshas thy deceitful heart studied? What forced senses andsalvos has it found out to put by all those motions of God'sSpirit? Hast thou not set thy wit above thy conscience?and thy lust, the love of the world, carnal self, above themboth? And so, as it were, sold thyself to do evil? Whatwilt thou do? Can thy heart endure, or thy hands bestrong, when the Lord shall deal with thee? What terrorwill seize on thee, when the hand-writing shall be shown

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against thy most solemn oath, and thy oath against thyhand-writing? A time of change will come, and then thesehidden things shall be brought to light, then it will be mademanifest, that thou fearedst men more than God, and lovedstthe present world more than truth and righteousness; thenit will be made manifest, how many checks and secret im-pulses of the Spirit thou hast resisted, what pains thou hasttaken to blind the world, and what craft thou hast used todeceive thine own soul.

0 that the words of your faithful admonisher might beaccepted with you this day, and sink down into your hearts,and work upon you a godly sorrow not to be repented of,lest you miss of the Holy Spirit to be your Comforter,whom you refused for your guide and counsellor, lest youmiss of the comforts and joy of the Holy Ghost when youhave most need of them. And you will miss them, unlessyou repent as David did, Psal. v. And this shall be a signto you, that thus it will be with you, because, now you donot love to hear that matter spoken of: a sadness, a trem-bling, and chilliness, seizes on your spirits when thesethings are seriously put home to you: if the crowing of acock, the voice of a silly man trouble you, how will youendure the sound of the last trumpet ? " If your heartscondemn you, God is greater than your hearts, and knowethall things." 1 John iii. 20. 0, my friends, quench not,quench not the Spirit. " They that follow lying vanities,forsake their own mercy.,, Jonah ii. 3.

Use 4. For help. Helps to preserve you from this greatsin, are two: first, a tender and awful regard to all the or-dinances of God's worship. " My heart," says David," standeth in awe of thy law." Psal. cxix. They have inthem a quickening virtue, as fuel to the fire, and oil to thelamps in the temple, to keep alive the holy fire upon thealtar, and in the golden candlestick: so are God's word,prayer, and sacraments, to the light and heat which theSpirit kindles in us. He that despises, or carelessly usesGod's ordinances, will soon find his lamp burn dim, andhis heart grow cold. God's Spirit is communicated in andby his ordinances. " The Spirit is received by the hearingof faith," (Gal. iii. 2,) and by the same means it is cherished.You know by experience, that withdrawing the fuel slacksthe fire; the food pines the body; the rain kills the herbs

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and withers the grass. So in this business, for look whatfuel is to the fire, and food to the body, and rain to theearth, the same is communion with God in prayer, preach-ing, sacraments, meditation, conference, and godly booksto our souls, whereby they are watered and refreshed withdews and influences from heaven. The devil desires nobetter advantage to starve the work and life of grace inmen, than by bringing them to neglect daily communion'with God in the duties of worship.

Second help, learn to live above the world, above thegood things and evils of the world.

Love of the world, is the cankerworm of grace, it eatsout, by degrees, the love of the Father, (1 John ii. 15,) evenas the weeds starve, and draw away the moisture thatshould nourish the corn and herbs. Luke viii. 14, Christcompares worldliness to thorns, which choke the good seed.When the love of the world enters in, it takes up the time,the thoughts, the passions, and affections which should bebestowed on better things. A Christian, whilst he is onearth, should live in heaven, have his joys, his treasure, hisheart in heaven. Faith sets us above the world; " By faithMoses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter:by faith he forsook Egypt, as seeing him who is invisible:(Heb. xi. 24,27,) by faith Abraham forsook his own country,not knowing whither he went: by faith he sojourned in theland of promise, as in a strange country, for he looked fora city, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker isGod." Heb. xi. 8—10. Faith sets the soul above the bestthings of the world, and all this while the Spirit is notquenched. It also sets the soul above the worst things ofthe world; it overlooks all the threats, dangers, and oppo-sitions of a graceless corrupt world. Moses went on with hiswork of bringing the people out of " Egypt, not fearingthe wrath of the king." What enabled him to do so? Hisfaith, whereby he "saw him who is invisible." Faith showsus a mightier power than any that is against us; a mightiergrace than any that can be offered to us; a mightier wraththan any that is threatened to us. Faith answers all doubts,overcomes all fears and terrors, it sets us upon the Rock thatis higher than all. u This is the victory that overcomeththe world, even our faith." 1 John iv, 5.

Hear Spira once more concerning this matter, "A Chris-

tian must be strong and unconquerable, not carrying an ob-scure profession, but resolute,expressing the image of Christ,and holding out against all opposition to the last breath. Itis no such small matter to be assured of sincerity; a manhad need to be exceeding strongly grounded in the truth,before he can be able to affirm such a matter as you do; itis not the performance of a few outward duties, but amighty constant labour, with all intention of heart and af-fection, with full desire and endeavour continually to setforth God's glory. There must be neither fear of legates,inquisitors, prisons, nor any death whatsoever." Faithsets us above the worst things of the world. He that canbe poor, may be honest; he that can deny all, is not indanger to quench the Spirit, nor to follow false guides. Be-ware how thou take in a holy profession to love of theworld. A new piece must not be added to that old gar-ment. Beware, lest under all thy fair show of Christianity,there lodge in thy heart the love of money, and worldlyriches, or the love of men's praise, rather than God's ap-probation; or the fleshly fear of those that can kill thebody, more than of God, who can cast both body and soulinto hell. I say, beware how these lusts lodge in thy heart:if they do, they will cause thee, for satisfaction of thy am-bition, avarice, and earthly affections, to sell Christ and histruth, and his church, and to quench the sweetest motionsof the Spirit, when a fit temptation is offered.

Thus much of the Deity of the Holy Ghost, and of sin-ning against him.

CHAPTER VI.

ERRORS AGAINST 60D7S ETERNAL DECREE OP ELECTION AND REPROBATION.

There are three here recited by the London Testimony,page 8.

" 1. That they labour to deny God and Christ, and theirown salvation, who, falsifying and misconstruing the caseof election and predestination, make as though none shouldever be saved, but the elect and predestinated. And they

which preach, that none shall be saved, but the elect andpredestinate are notable liars.

" 2. That it is not suitable to God, to pick and chooseamong men, in showing mercy to one in misery, and topass by another in the like condition in every respect; forhe may as well cease to be, as to withhold mercy from anyone in misery.

"3. That the reprobate condition of men and angelsshall be regained. We call them reprobates only for dis-tinction sake."

It becomes every creature rather to admire the depthsof God's wisdom, and unsearchable judgments, (Rom. xi.33,) than curiously to pry into his secrets, or dispute thereasons, and methods of his counsels and decrees; yet, as onthe one side, to examine and judge of them by the reachof human reason is a high presumption; so totally to ne-glect the knowledge of so much as God is pleased to revealof his purposes touching man's eternal estate, under a pre-tence that we cannot find out God to perfection, is on theother side great unthankfulness, and inexcusable laziness.Therefore with all humility, and soberness of mind, 1 shallenter upon this argument, confining myself to things re-vealed, and to the scripture expressions, as near as possible.

Now to the intent you may have your senses exercisedto discern good from evil, truth from falsehood, in thishigh subject, I shall lay down the truth of God in opposi-tion to the forementioned errors, in these four conclusions.

First, the scriptures teach that God did choose, beforethe foundations of the world were laid out, of lost mankind,certain persons to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ, out ofhis mere good pleasure to the praise of his glorious grace,and pass by the rest, to perish in and for their sins, to theglory of his justice.

See this truth proved in five several branches of theconclusion. First, that God did elect and ordain certainpersons to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ, are the expresswords of the apostle; 1 Thes. v. 9, "God hath not ap-pointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ."Then some are appointed to wrath, and some to salvation.There is a separation between men and men. The churchof God is his house; "But in a great house, there are notonly vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood, and of

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earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour." 2 Tim.ii. 10; Rom. ix. 22, 23. So it is in the church. Andwho these persons are in particular, is determinately known;"The Lord knoweth them that are his." 2 Tim. ii. 19.The Lord has not only appointed a certain kind of men tobe saved, namely, such as shall believe, and obey the gos-pel, but who they are by name, according as it is said, Rom.ix. 13, " Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." " Iknow whom I have chosen." John xiii. 18. God knowsthe elect by their names; for " their names are written inthe book of life." Rev. xiii. 8. There is a peculiar personaldistinction between the elect and others, with their pecu-liar privileges; "All that dwell on the earth shall worshipthe beast, whose names were not written in the book of lifeof the Lamb;" they shall not be deceived, nor overcome bythe beast. So our Saviour bids his disciples " rejoice in this,because your names are written in heaven." Luke x. 20. Acomparison taken from the custom in great cities, to enroltheir free denizens in a book, by their names. God does notstand in need of any such remembrancer as a book, butthat is written for our comfort, that we may rest assured ofGod's eternal love to us in particular; and though ournames be not written in scripture, thou Thomas, or Peter,shalt be saved, yet they are written in heaven, in God'sbook of predestination.

Secondly, this choice was made before the foundation ofthe world. Eph. i. 4, Our names were written in theLamb's book of life, not when we first came to believe,but before ihe world was. Rev. xvii. 8; 2 Tim. i. 9. Andso our Saviour shall welcome the elect into his Father'skingdom, saying, "Come, ye blessed of my Father,"(blessed of my Father, because the Father chose them tobe his children,) "inherit the kingdom prepared for youfrom the foundation of the world." Here Christ givesthem possession in time, but the kingdom was preparedfor them before the world was: even as our heirs enterupon their inheritances when they come to be of age,though it were purchased for them before they were born.

Thirdly, they were chosen out of lost mankind. InAdam all died, and forfeited that first covenant. The Lordhad mercy on some, drawing them out of that corruptedlump, to make us his children by Christ: " We are all of us,

by nature, children of wrath, even as others." Eph. ii. 3.We were not so by our creation, but by the fall of Adam,therefore God, of his infinite mercy, did choose us in Christ,and "predestinate us to the adoption of children by JesusChrist" Eph. i. 5. Adam was the son of God, and if hehad so continued, we need not have been predestinated toa new sonship by adoption, but having lost our first son-ship, and become children of wrath, God predestinated usto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. Now a pre-destination in Christ presupposes a fall, or a lapsed andforlorn estate. Man fallen is therefore the object of divinepredestination.

Fourthly, God did choose some rather than others, outof his mere good pleasure. There was no cause, motive,or condition in the party chosen, moving the Lord tochoose him and pass by others, but whereas God mighthave utterly rejected all, of his free grace and mercy hehad compassion on some. Thus the apostle teaches, Eph.i. 5, that he did " predestinate us according to the goodpleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace."If he had chosen some, as Peter, for example, because heforesaw they would be good, and die in the faith; and hadrefused others, as Judas, because he foresaw they would bewicked and obstinate despisers of his gospel, this had notbeen an act of grace, it had not set forth the glory of thatattribute, but rather of his distributive justice. But thatwhich God mainly intended in this free choice, was thepraise of the glory of his grace, that man should find no-thing to admire, or boast in, but in the rich grace of God.And of this free choice, Paul gives an instance in Jacob andEsau, Rom. ix. 11, "The children being not yet born,neither having done good or evil, that the purpose of God,according to election, might stand, not of works, but of himthat calleth. It was said, The elder shall serve the younger,Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." These twobrethren were every way equal before the Lord, as theclay before the potter; and the difference between themstood, not in works which the one had done, or should do,more than the other, but in the will of God, who "hathmercy on whom he will have mercy," verses 15, 17, and" whom he will, he hardeneth:" on the one he shows the"riches of his glory," on the other his "just wrath," verses16

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22, 23. So then it remains a sure truth, that a we are pre-destinated according to the purpose of him, who workethall things after the counsel of his own will." Eph. i. 11.He takes counsel from none other, he goes not out ofhimself for a reason of this his doing, but his purpose standsupon the counsel of his own will.

Fifthly, and lastly, he passes by others to perish in theirsins, to the glory of his justice and power. In the repro-bate, God shows his justice and his power. Rom. ix. 22.

First, his power and sovereignty in not showing mercyon them as well as on the elect, who were in the samelump of misery. And,

Secondly, his justice, because in the party non-elected,or passed by, there is enough to condemn him, so that theLord does freely, yet justly, reject him. In Esau God sawenough to hate him; there was his justice. Yet that hedid hate him rather than Jacob, therein he showed his freepower: " As the potter hath power over the clay of thesame lump," every way the same, "to make one vesselunto honour, and another unto dishonour." Rom. ix. 21.

Thus you see our first conclusion proved, namely, thatGod has chosen some to life, and not others, and what ispredestination.

Second. Now follows our second conclusion, namely,that the elect, and none but the elect, shall be saved. Thatthis is a truth, and no lie, is evidenced by four places ofscripture: Rom. viii. 30, "Whom he predestinated, themhe also called; and whom he called, them he also justified,and whom he justified, them he also glorified." The num-ber of the glorified ones does not exceed the number of pre-destinated ones; " Whom he predestinated, them he also glo-rified;" hos, non alios. In that golden chain of salvation,the first and last links are joined together by two middlelinks. There is such a concatenation of them all, that ifyou break one link, the whole chain is broken, and if youare held by one link, you are held by all, and shall partakeof all: these things are reciprocal, and of equal extent. Ifit were hos, and alios, then first it were no advantage tothese, (hos,) that they are predestinate, or justified, orcalled. Secondly, if others beside the predestinate wereglorified, then it must be the meaning of the words, " Whomhe did predestinate, them he also called," and a great many

more; and whom he called, them, and many others besidesthem, he justified; and whom he justified, them, and manybesides them, he also glorified; for (according to theiropinion) many besides the elect are saved. But will anyman that is in his wits dare affirm, that any are glorified,which were never justified? or that any are justified, whichwere never called ? or that any are called, who were neverpredestinated ? This they must affirm, that hold thatothers besides the predestinate shall be saved. But thedemonstrative article with the copulative, tutus x<u, beingthrice repeated (" them also, them also, them also,") mustnecessarily evince, that these, and none but these, arecalled, justified, or glorified.

The next place is John xvii. 9, 10, "I pray for them, Ipray not for the world, but for them which thou hastgiven me out of the world, for they are thine, and all mineare thine, and thine are mine." Note here four things;first, that there are two sorts of men, some are given toChrist out of the world, verse 6, some are still in and ofthe world. Secondly, note for what end they are given toChrist, namely, That he should manifest the name andglory of God unto them, that is, that Christ should redeemthem, and fit them for glory, verses 6, 8. Thirdly, theywere thine, says Christ, before they were mine; "Thinethey were, and thou gavest them me;" thou hadst a rightof property in them, and therefore a right to give to me.But how were they thine ? How they thine, more thanthe rest of the world ? Surely, because they were theelect of God, thine they were by eternal election. Fourthly,note, that the elect and the redeemed are of equal extent," All thine are mine, and all mine are thine." As if heshould say, as thou hadst made thine elect members of mybody, to the end that I should redeem them: so I havemade them thy children, that thou mayest own them forthine, by communicating to them the love of friendship.All thine by election, are mine by purchase; and becausethey are mine, therefore they are thine; " You are Christ's,and Christ is God's." None but the elect are given toChrist, therefore none but they are saved.

The next place is Matt. xxiv. 31, At the end of theworld " Christ shall send his angels with a great sound ofa trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the

four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Notone of them shall be lost or forgotten. But for what endare they gathered ? " He shall set them at his right hand,and sever them from the rest, as a shepherd divideth thesheep from the goats, and shall say unto them, Come, yeblessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom pre-pared for you." Matt. xxv. 32, 34. Here is a blessed ga-thering unto Christ; but who are thus gathered ? Theyare his elect, all his elect, and none else. And surely,they that are left out of the number of these gathered ones,shall not be received into the kingdom of his Father, for itwas never prepared for them.

My last sort of proofs shall be from those places, whichtestify God's special love in preparing for the elect themeans of salvation, and making the same effectual to them,which yet are not so to others. When the seventy returned,and had told our Saviour what good success their preach-ing had, (Luke xix. 20, 21,) whereas the Jews repentednot at his own preaching and miracles, Matt. xi. 20, hebreaks forth into an admiration of God's love to his despisedones who believed on him, when wiser than they did not;"I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, becausethou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, andhast revealed them unto babes." It does not go by wit, orlearning, or strength of natural parts; but thus it is, "evenbecause it so seemed good in thy sight," ver. 25, 26. Soamong Paul's hearers, Acts xiii. 48. Some spake againstthe things which were spoken by Paul; but "as many aswere ordained to eternal life, believed." God's free and eter-nal mercy ordained the means, as he had the end, eternal life;and withal, he blessed the means unto that end. Thosegentiles were not fitted for eternal life before they believed,but being fore-ordained to life, they embraced the word oflife, the means thereto.

But most remarkable to our purpose, is that of Paul,Rom. xi. 7, "Israel hath not obtained that which he seek-eth for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest wereblinded." The apostle having discussed that sad theme ofthe rejection of the Jews, and showed how their rejectionmight well consist with the truth of God's promises; heanswers that doubt by distinguishing of their persons.There were two sorts of Jews (as of Abraham's children)

one carnal, the other spiritual; there was a Jew outwardly,and a Jew inwardly; the one sought righteousness by theworks of the law, and missed it; Rom. ix. 32, the othersought it by faith, and obtained what they sought; and sothe one sort (which were the body of that church andstate) are rejected, the other, being but a small remnant, orparcel torn from the rest, are still within the covenant.But whence proceeds this difference, that some obtainednot what they sought, that Christ was a rock of offence tosome, and precious to others ? The text tells you, " theelection obtained it, the rest were blinded/'

This is the apostle's resolution upon the question pro-pounded, Rom. xi. 1. "Hath God cast away his people?God forbid." He proves it first in himself, I am a Jew,therefore all are not cast away, because I am not. Second-ly, "God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew,"that is, whom he loved and marked out for his own fromeverlasting. God's approbation of us by reason of ourfaith, is an after knowledge, and doth follow in puncto ra-tionis, and in mente divina, an act of man's will. Fore-knowledge in this place cannot be expounded by approba-tion, but it imports as much as fore-ordaining or election.Thirdly, As in the days of Elijah, God had reserved apeople from the common defection of those times, "even soat this time there is a remnant;" Rom. xi. 5, 6. How so?According to the election of grace, not whereby menchoose grace, but whereby God chooses us of his mercy.It follows ver. 7. What then ? Let us draw to some con-clusion : How stands the matter? Thus it stands, andthis is the conclusion, "The election hath obtained it," thatis, life and righteousness, " and the rest were blinded."Let men sweat out their brains, this must be yielded; theelect have a pre-eminence above the rest, they obtained it,the rest were blinded.

Out of these scriptures laid together, it is clear: First,that when several persons hear the same sermons, see thesame miracles, enjoy the same doctrine, and means of sal-vation, yet to some it proves a savour of life, a convertingword, to others, a rock of. offence. Secondly, that theGod of grace does "shine into their hearts, the light of theknowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ;"but "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them

16*

which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel ofChrist should shine unto them." 2 Cor. iv. 4, 6.

Hence our argument may be thus gathered, none aresaved, but they to whom the means are made effectual totheir conversion; but the elect only are thus effectuallywrought upon, therefore they only are saved; and we thatpreach this doctrine, are not notable liars, but the faithfulwitnesses of God.

To this truth do all the reformed churches bear witness.Let us hear the judgment and determination of our ownchurch of England in 39 Articles; Article 17, where bothour conclusions are thus confirmed, and soundly expressed.

" Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God,whereby, before the foundations of the world were laid, hehath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to de-liver from curse and damnation, those whom he hath cho-sen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them, by Christ,to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour; where-fore they which be endued with so excellent a benefit ofGod, be called according to God's purpose; by his Spiritworking in due season, they, through grace, obey the call-ing, they be justified freely, they be made sons of God byadoption, they be made like the image of his only begottenSon, Jesus Christ, they walk religiously in good works, andat length, by God's mercv, they attain to everlasting feli-city."

Obj. 1. This doctrine is a hinderance to piety, and to thesalvation of many, for to what (say they) should the gos-pel be preached to reprobates? In vain is all prayer, andpreaching, and seeking, if none shall ever be saved but theelect. Let men do what they can, if they be not elected,their endeavours be all in vain; and on the other side, ifthey be elected, they shall be saved, though they live inpleasure, and be regardless of good duties. There cannotone soul's estate be altered, yea, the gospel preached to re-probates does them no good, but rather mischief, increa-seth their condemnation. These are the cavils and calum-nies, usually cast upon this doctrine to make it odious.

To these I answer: first, That this doctrine tells no manin particular, who is elected, or who rejected. We cannottell who are reprobates, nay, no man can know himself tobe a reprobate, for his sins are not above God's grace. God

can change his heart, even when he is breathing out cursesand threatenings against the name of Christ, as he didPaul's; (Acts ix.,) God is above thy naughty heart, and hecan change it at the ninth, or eleventh, or at the last hourof the day. No man can know himself to be a reprobate,and therefore we preach the gospel to men as sinners, notas elect or reprobate, to all sinners without exception, tothe greatest of sinners; we bid them come to Christ, andhe will refresh and heal them, Mat. xi. 28. We challengeall the world to name any one man or woman, that everrepented in vain, or sought the Lord in vain; and, therefore,to shut the door of grace and mercy against thyself, whichwe set wide open, upon a conceit that the gospel will dothee no good, if thou be a reprobate, is a grievous tempta-tion of the devil, the enemy of thy salvation. Art thou asinner? then reason thus, Jesus Christ came into the worldto save sinners, the chief of sinners, I have patterns of greatsinners that were received to mercy; therefore, look uponChrist as he is offered to thee in the gospel, believe andlive, embrace him and live. It is a preposterous course,instead of obeying the gospel, and studying to be found inChrist, to be inquisitive whether we were elected frometernity or not. The last clause of the 17th article beforementioned, is very weighty to this purpose. The words arethese: " We must receive God's promises in such wise, asthey be generally set forth unto us in holy scripture; andin our doings, that will of God is to be followed, which wehave expressly declared unto us in the word of God:" andthat will of God is, that we preach the gospel to everycreature; and that every creature may come to Christ, and" drink of the water of life freely," and that " whosoevercometh unto him, he will in no wise cast out." Praying,and preaching, and seeking are not in vain, for "every onethat seeketh findeth, and he that asketh receiveth, and tohim that knocketh it shall be opened," Luke xi. 9, 10. Itwas a good saying of Sarah Wight to a gentlewoman inspiritual distress that came to be comforted, " Go," saidshe, "say to God, heal me, I have sinned; heal my back-slidings." " Oh, but I am no better for saying it, when Ihave no heart nor spirit to pray." "Yet, (said Sarah Wight)say it, though you be no better, because God bids you sayit. Say it and say it again, till he heal you; it may be he

will come in when you say it, if you can but say it withyour lips: the everlasting arms of God will reach you whenyou cannot reach him." We must look at God's revealedwill, that we should pray and wait on him in his ways:Peter bade Simon Magus pray: Acts viii. 22. In preach-ing the gospel, light, motion and power goes out to all,which they that resist are destroyed, not because they couldnot believe, but because they resist, and will not obey;God's election takes no man off from duty.

Secondly, I answer, That the gospel was, and is, intendedonly for the elect, although many reprobates enjoy the mi-nistration thereof, and many outward blessings, becausethey are mingled in the world with the elect, to whomonly it is directed. Judas was among the apostles. ThisI take to be clear from the scripture, which saith, that thehidden wisdom of God in the mystery of the gospel, wasordained unto our glory, that is, to our glorification, thatby the knowledge thereof, God's people might obtain ce-lestial glory, (1 Cor. ii. 7.) But most plain and full is thatof 2 Tim. ii. 9, 10, where he says, that the doctrine whichhe taught, and the afflictions which he endured in defenceof it, were intended for the elect's sake, " I endure allthings for the elect's sake, that they may obtain the salva-tion which is in Jesus Christ:" Acts xviii. 10. All thathe did, or suffered, was for the furthering of the salvationof God's elect. God gave this reason why Paul shouldpreach at Corinth in despite of all opposition, " because Ihave much people in this city."

By the like reason I suppose it may be gathered, thatwhere God has no people, there shall be no preaching, andwhere he removes his candlestick, it is a sad sign that hehas no people in that place. The gospel is preached to thereprobate accidentally only; neither does the Lord seek anyadvantage against them by it: he needs it not, he has enoughagainst them for violating that first covenant. See thisJohn iii. 17, " God sent not his Son into the world to con-demn the world, but that the world through him might besaved." This our Saviour proves by a disjunction, ver. 18.Thus all the world is distributed into two sorts, they areeither believers or unbelievers: Christ came not to condemnbelievers, for " he that believeth on him is not condemned."Nor did he come to condemn them that believe not, for

"he that believeth not is condemned already," to wit, bythe sentence of the law,"Cursed is every one that sinneth,"so that Christ should not need to come into the world tocondemn it. God need not ask any farther matter of con-demnation against them, we do not go to any reprobate,and say to him, believe in Jesus Christ, but we preach thegospel to all sinners, because, for aught we know, all thathear us may be saved.

Thirdly, This doctrine is no hinderance to piety, nor toChristian endeavours after grace and salvation, as will ap-pear to any one, that shall consider, either the nature ofGod's decree, or the fruits and effects thereof.

1. For the nature of it. God's decree is not a simple,absolute, peremptory ordaining of an end without means,but together with the end he decrees and ordains the meansthereto. Therefore it is said, that "We are chosen inChrist, and predestinated to the adoption of children byJesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will."Eph. i. 4, 5. That fvSo^ta or good pleasure of his will, in-cludes Christ; and so the act of predestination is not abso-lute, but relative, it is with respect to Christ. For howcan we be predestinated to the adoption of children, but inChrist, the natural Son of God ? Thus (2 Thes. ii. 13,)we are said to be "chosen unto salvation through sanctifi-cation of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, whereunto hehath called you by our gospel." So also Peter sets forthGod's decree: 1 Pet. i. 2, "Elect, according to the fore-knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of theSpirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of JesusChrist." You see how these things are complex, andjoined together. God's act choosing us, the end subordi-nate, obedience and sprinkling of Christ's blood, ultimate,our salvation; intended not abstractly, live as we please,but in and through sanctification and belief of the truth.

2. God's decree is every way holy, just, and good, if youconsider the effects and fruits of it. " He hath chosen us,that we should be holy and without blame before him inlove." Eph. i. 4. So the apostle describes an elect vessel:2 Tim. ii. 21, " If a man purge himself from these, he shallbe a vessel of honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master'suse, and prepared unto every good work." The elect arenot a profane, barren, unclean, fruitless kind of men, good

190 ERRORS AGAINST G0D?S DECREE

for nothing; but sanctified, and fruitful in good works,Paul makes it a sign of our election, 1 Thes. i. 5, 6, " Be-cause they received the gospel, not only in word, but inpower, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance."

3. And lastly, Peter (2 Peter i. 10,) shows how we may"make our calling and election" sure to our own souls,namely, " if we do these things," which he mentions, ver.5—7.

From these considerations I thus argue: that doctrine,which teaches men to get the knowledge of their electionby good works, which teaches that the elect depart frominiquity who receive the word of God in power, and obeyit, and live holily and unblameably, and that all this is ac-cording to the purpose of God's decree from whence itflows, as from a fountain. This doctrine, I say, mightilyencourages and provokes to piety, and to all holy and godlyendeavours. But such is the doctrine of predestination, asit is taught by us; therefore they are injurious to God andhis truth, who cast their contempt of religion, and theirwretched pretences of laziness and looseness upon God'spredestination. See it in two particulars:

First, This doctrine, soberly taught and preached, is asingular encouragement to them that are as yet unconverted,to labour for holiness. The Lord freely offers mercy andpardon in Christ, if I will but forsake my sins; he assuresme, that if 1 seek and strive, I shall not seek in vain; hewaits that he may be merciful unto me. The gospel as-sures me, that though my present walking leads to thechambers of death, yet it does not conclude that my repro-bation is sealed. God still calls after me, and by the meansof grace, which are a part of predestination unto life, I amassured, that it is not in vain to take pains about my sal-vation. Where means are used, the end will be obtained;" Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteous-ness, for they shall be satisfied." The gospel assures me,that if I receive the word in power, and give it a divineauthority over my conscience, if I depart from iniquity,and labour to be holy, that then I have in my bosom theseals of my election, that I am a vessel of honour; that ifI obey God's call, I may know that I was predestinated,and shall be glorified.

Hence, I thus reason with myself. Is not the favour of

God, and knowledge of my election to life, worth allthese pains that I shall take, in the duties of religion, toattain it? And all those sweet and pleasant sins which Iam to relinquish for it—if I live in them, will they recom-pense the loss of my soul ? of my God ? of eternal glory ?Shall I for worldly advantages to myself or my children,be contented to endure eternal torments? Is there notmuch more sweetness in the peace of a pure conscience,washed and justified in the blood of Christ, than in all theworld's contentments?

The proper result of such a consultation, and the properconsequence upon such principles, is this: 1 will strive tobe holy, to purify my conscience from all iniquity, for bythat I know that I am elected, that I am a vessel of mercy,and shall be glorified. I will " give all diligence to makemy calling and election sure," for I know that I will notlose my labour, I shall never fall. Sarah Wight said shewas sure to be damned, so said Mrs. Honywood; but theywere both of them safe in the everlasting arms of the Al-mighty, for they were holy, they hated sin, and lovedgodliness. I henceforth abhor and detest that mad rea-soning, If you be elected, you shall be saved, live as youplease; if not elected, do what you can you shall not besaved; for they which do what they can are not reprobated,and they which live holily are elected.

What stronger motives than these to piety and holy en-deavours, can be set before an unconverted man?

Secondly, God's election preached to believers, is tothem the strongest bond of holiness and religion; and thatthree ways especially.

1. It is a sure rock of consolation, because they seethemselves in God's everlasting arms. In the book of theirpurified consciences, they read their names written in thebook of life, they comfort themselves in this, that " theLord knoweth them that are his," and his foundation issure, not one of them is lost. It greatly establishes andconfirms their faith of eternal salvation to be enjoyedthrough Christ.

2. It fervently kindles their love towards God, wholoved them first with such a free, undeserved, everlastinglove. How does this ravish the soul of the believer, whenhe remembers how God set his love upon him before he

192 ERRORS AGAINST God's DECREE

was, how he has pitied him in his blood, followed him withhis grace, not suffering him to perish, though he himselfwere unwilling to return, and what a weight of glory Godhas prepared for him in heaven for evermore! This incon-ceivable love yet more inflames our hearts with love tohim again, when we consider, that he has done all this forus, rather than for others, which were in the same condem-nation with us. He chose us, and passed by many thou-sands, every way as good as ourselves. There was nothingin us that could move him, but " the good pleasure of hisown will," and "the riches of grace." Eph. i. 5—7.Here is a glorious grace, here is the riches of grace, neversufficiently admired, never sufficiently magnified by us.Whereupon the soul of the believer is filled with praisesof the Lord. 0! what am I, that the Lord should be thusmindful of me ? 0 ! what shall I render unto the Lordfor all the riches of his mercy on my soul, when he mighthave glorified his justice on me as a vessel of wrath ? Thisdraws the believer's mind to high and heavenly resolu-tions. He counts nothing dear to him for God's sake,who thus loved him.

3. It makes them careful to walk with God, to walkworthy of him, to embrace and hold fast those blessedmeans, by which God has decreed to bring us to himself.

Thus piety is advanced, holy endeavours encouraged bythis doctrine, both in them that helieve, and in them thatare yet unconverted. But neither is God, nor Christ, norman's salvation, denied by this doctrine, as is falselycharged by the adversary.

Obj. 2. Another inconvenience with which they chargethis doctrine, is, that if the love of God be limited to a few,it is far from being infinite.

The answer is easy. The infinitude of God's love is notmeasured by the object. For if all men in the world weretaken to mercy, his love were nevertheless infinite, becauseall creatures are but a finite object: but infinite is that whichis not bounded, nor has any limits, and so God's love inchoosing a few, is infinite three manner of ways.

First, In regard to time. It is without beginning orending, it is from everlasting to everlasting.

Secondly, In regard to the efficacy put forth. To save,though but few, though but one soul, requires an infinite

price, the precious blood of„ Christ, to satisfy an infiniteMajesty that was offended; an infinite power to raise deadsouls, and dead bodies. Ephesians ii. 4, 5, "God, who isrich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us,even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us toge-ther with Christ." Man's love is bounded, partly by thefiniteness of our nature, partly by outward hinderances.We cannot please or help a friend that is absent, or in thehands of a powerful enemy, or in the sea, out of our reachor knowledge, though we loved him never so dearly. Butnothing can hinder God's love, "he hath mercy on whomhe will." If he will have mercy, nothing can hinder it,because it is infinite in working, above all inward indispo-sedness, or outward operation.

Thirdly, It is infinite in regard to its fountain, and theextent of it, and the means of putting itself forth. It wasan infinite love in God, to give his Son, his only Son, theSon of his love, to become a curse and a reproach, to save,not friends, but enemies that hated him. "In this wasmanifested the love of God towards us, because he sent hisonly begotten Son into the world, that we might livethrough him: Herein is love, not that we loved God, butthat he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation forour sins," 1 John, iv. 9, 10. This love is so immense, thatit cannot be comprehended, as it is in itself. It is withoutbreadth, or length, or depth, or height, Eph. iii. 18. Yecannot fathom the bottom of it, nor reach the height of it,nor find out the breadth of it. When you have seen as faras you can, a new horizon appears; it is yet farther thanyou see. There is no end of his goodness, and you shalllive in the length of it, but never come to the end of it.

Now therefore it is a false inference to say, if the love ofGod be limited to a few, it is far from being infinite. Bless-ed be his holy name for his infinite love to my one poorsoul! my soul, bless thou the Lord for the depth of his love,for " he loved thee, because he loved thee." Deut. vii. 7, 8.His love, and the grounds of it, are unsearchable, past find-ing out! Bless the Lord for the height of his love, for it isabove thy mightiest sins, sins committed against heaven !" As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is hismercy towards them that fear him." Psal. ciii. 11. Yea,it is not only above thy sins, but above thy thoughts.17

When thou thinkest his mercy is at a stand, and will par-don no more, then will he multiply to pardon; "For mythoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways myways, saith the Lord; for as the heavens are higher thanthe earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and mythoughts than your thoughts," Isa. lv. 8, 9. Bless theLord for the breadth of his love, which "healeth all thydiseases, wTho forgiveth all thine iniquities, who redeemeththy life from destruction," and knoweth thy soul in all ad-versities! Psal. ciii. 3. The plaster of his love is everyway as large as the sores of thy soul or body. Lastly,bless him for the length of his love. He has loved mefrom the beginning, and "whom he loveth, he loveth tothe end." He has pardoned thee from Egypt hitherto, andhe will be thy God even unto death, and in death ! Blessthe Lord, because "his mercy endureth for ever."

SECTION III.

OF THEIR ERROR, WHO SAY, THAT IT IS NOT SUITABLE TO GOD, TO PICKAND CHOOSE AMONG MEN, IN SHOWING MERCY TO ONE IN MISERY, ANDPASSING BY ANOTHER IN LIKE CONDITION.

Against which error I lay down this truth for my thirdconclusion, namely, it suits well with the wisdom, truth,justice, and goodness of God, to show mercy to some inmisery, and to pass by others in the same condition, andthat without the consideration or foresight of any goodnessin them whom he chooseth, more than in them whom hepasses by, moving him thereto. If there were foreseenany goodness in one more than in another, the conditionbeing every way the same, he shows mercy to one, not toanother. This is clear in those two brothers, Jacob andEsau. Rom. ix. 10. They were every way equal, theyhad both one father, and one mother, born at one birth." When they were not yet born," and neither of them "haddone good or evil," yet even then (that the purpose of Godaccording to election, might stand, not of works, but ofhim that calleth) it wTas said, Jacob have I loved, Esau haveI hated. Consider these two brethren, either as examples,or as types of God's election and reprobation; the matteris the same, for the antitype must answer to the type, and

the type, you see, excludes all difference in the object.They were the same before God, yet the one was taken,the other left. And so stands the case in choosing, or re-jecting all others. God is a most free agent, "He hathmercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he willhe hardeneth," ver. IS, even as "the potter hath powerover the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel to ho-nour, another to dishonour."

Obj. But if the potter see his metal, some to be finerthan others, will he not take the best clay for the choicestwork? Ans. But in the text, the sameness of the clay isurged. If one part of the lump be fit, the other unfit, itwere not the same; whereas the apostle's clear intent is, toprove that all men are the same before God, and that thedifference made between one and another, does not arisefrom any diversity in the object, but in the will and powerof God, who has mercy on some, because he will, and noton others, because he will not.

Now, that you may have a clear judgment in this mat-ter, you must consider the parties elected, or rejected, twomanner of ways:

First, Absolutely in themselves, as objects presented be-fore the Lord to be disposed of, either in a way of mercyor justice: and then we say that God's act, electing untosalvation, does not exclude Christ, it does not absolutelyintend the end, glory, but with relation to Christ, in whomwe are chosen; by whom, and with whom, we are glorifiedtogether. So for God's act reprobating, we say that Godrejected none but sinners; and for sin. We do not hold,that God would have men perish, because it is his will,but because of their sins. The ground of this assertion isthis, (Qitaecunque Deus in tempore, ea ab seterno decre-vit facere.*) Look what men, and by what means, theLord does in time, actually save, or condemn; the samemen, and by the same means, did he from everlasting, de-termine to save or to condemn. Acts xv. 18. And there-fore seeing God does in time actually save in, and by,and for Christ, those only which believe in him, thereforesuch he decreed to save; and seeing in the execution ofhis wrath, he condemns none but sinners, and for sin, there-fore he decreed none but such to be damned. God's pro-

* " Whatever God does in time, that he decreed from eternity to do." (t)

ceeding in the execution, manifests what was his purposeand intention from everlasting.

But secondly, consider the persons elected or rejectedcomparatively, comparing the one with the other, and thenwe say, that they are both alike before God. God doesnot choose Jacob, or Peter for any goodness that he saw inthem, more than in Esau or Judas. Neither does he re-probate Esau or Judas for any wickedness, or unbelief thatis in them, more than in the other; but being both in thesame condemnation, he chooses one, and refuses another,even because he will: according to the good pleasure of hiswill. This shall be proved anon.

But let us first go over again the several branches of thisdistinction, for the better explanation and confirmation ofthe same. In the first branch of this distinction there aretwo distinct things affirmed.

First, That God's act electing to salvation, is with refer-ence to Christ. God decreed to save lost mankind, thosewhich should believe in his Son. I do not say that hechose them because they believed in his Son; for amongstthe lost sons of Adam, where shall he find such faith? Inthe lost sons of Adam there can be no cause, or motive,why God should have mercy on them, but only his owninfinitely gracious disposition, which moved him to showmercy where none was due. Titus iii. 4. There is thisdifference between the decrees of election and reprobation.Of reprobation we may say, that the damnation, to whichthe wicked are adjudged, is for their sins; but of election,we cannot say, that the salvation to which they are chosen,is for their goodness. If ye seek a cause why God showedmercy on them, you shall seek and not find, for it is whollyof free grace, without respect of any goodness that Godforesaw in us. Why God should give Christ to us, noreason can be rendered, but because " he loved us." Whyhe showed mercy upon any one at all of the lost sons ofAdam, nothing moved him but his own infinite goodness.Lastly, Why he chose some, and passed by others in thesame condition of sin and misery, no reason can be ren-dered, but his own will, for " he hath mercy on whom hewill." In the whole business of predestination, God aimedat this, namely, in the one sort, to show the glory,parcentismisericordias, of his sparing, pitying mercy; in the othe?

sort, the glory of his punishing justice. "When the kind-ness and love of God towards man appeared;" (Titus iii.4,) that which was long hid in God did now appear, andby that which appeared, we know what was hid; andwhat that is, see verse 5, " He saved us, not by works ofrighteousness which we had done, but according to hismercy."

Quest. What respect to Christ hath God's electing act ?How are we chosen in Christ? Ans. I answer in thewords of our divines in the Synod of Dort; the secondThesis, Christies est caput et fundamentum electorum,&c. Christ is the head and foundation of the elect, inwhom are prepared and disposed all saving mercies, whichin due time are actually bestowed on them. God's graceis not communicated to us immediately, but in, and throughChrist; if there were no Christ, there would be no electionof us. God has loved us, and given his Son to us first, andthen, us to his Son. "Thine they were, and thou gavestthem me." John xvii. 6. God's act electing has referenceto Christ two manner of ways.

First, Christ is ordained Head of a new body, or race ofmen, opposite to the first, whereof Adam was head, "inwhom all men have sinned, and are dead," which God byhis election from everlasting, framed and appointed, thatin him they might all be gathered together, and by him bemade partakers of his grace, life, and glory. This decreeGod brings to pass in due time, bestowing all his favoursupon his church in their sacred communion with Christ:" He hath chosen us in Christ," is, as if he had said, Nosplaneperditos inprimo Mamo, per prsedestinationemdonatos fuisse secundo, ut in eo, ac per eum Dei fa-vorem et vitam aeternam consequeremur: Christus ipseprsedestinatur incarnandus, et miseris atque lapsis inredemptorem mittendus, et in hoc incarnando Dei Filiohomines prsedestinati fuerunt ad vitam.* We werepresented to God, as lost in our first head, Adam; thereforeGod gave a second Head, Jesus Christ. But where arehis members, seeing none can descend from Christ by pro-pagation ? God makes them by election; God predesti-nated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ; he

* Davenant, p. 120,

198 ERRORS AGAINST GOD's DECREE

chose us out of lost mankind, and gave us to his own Son?to be made sons by our communion with him,

Now although we know little of the order of God's de-crees, by reason of our narrow understandings, and there-fore it is not fit to move disputes thereon, yet I conceivethat they mistake, who think that God first predestinatesto life a certain number of men, and then, by occasion ofthem, did ordain Christ, only as the subordinate means ofexecuting that decree. My opinion is grounded on thesescriptures, Rom. viii. 29, God did predestinate us "to beconformed to the image of his Son." Now seeing Christis the pattern, according to which we are predestinated tobe conformed, it must needs be that the pattern is firstformed, and then they that are fashioned according to thepattern. Again, (Eph. i. 5,) "We are predestinated untothe adoption of children by Jesus Christ." Our adoptionsunto sonship is in the natural Son. Rom. viii. 17. Thisis the order, " I go to my Father and your Father, and tomy God and your God." Christ is the first beloved, andwe the second beloveds. Christ is "the image of the in-visible God, the first-born of every creature," and " he isbefore all things," and he " is the Head of the body,the Church." Col. i. 15, 17, 18. We "are blessed inChrist;" even as he has God for his God by covenant, sowe have this blessing of election in Christ, God-man, asthe Head and first elect, after whom, and in whom, all hismembers by order of nature are elected.

Secondly, We are chosen in Christ, as Mediator; forGod's purpose of giving eternal life, presupposes a purposeof giving a Mediator, and his purpose of giving a Mediator,presupposes an intention of satisfying his justice for thesins of his elect, that so his love might justly save, and hisgiving a Mediator to satisfy his justice for the sins of hiselect, presupposes a good will and intention to save them;for it was an infinite love to mankind, when as it was notin the wit or power of man to satisfy for one soul, that Godshould provide a price out of his own store. His merelove gave Christ to us, the same love gave us to Christ.

Thus you see what reference God's electing act has toChrist. He has chosen us in Christ, as our Head, and wemembers to be conformed to him, and as Mediator to makeway for his love; for " he hath appointed us, not unto wrath,

but to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ." 1 Thes. v. 9. Sothen that word, in him, to choose us in him, does not de-note the state of the person chosen; or as if his faith werea condition to make him eligible, for faith is the gift ofGod ; neither does it imply that Christ's satisfaction is themeritorious cause of our election; for " God loved us whenwe were enemies, and chose us in our blood," and sent hisSon to reconcile us to himself, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, "Allthings are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself byJesus Christ," see Rom. v. 8; Ez. xvi. 6; 1 John iv. 9, 14.God did not elect us, because Christ was sent to die for us;but because he would reconcile us to himself, therefore hesent his Son to die; the sending of his Son is the fruit ofGod's love, not the cause thereof, as you shall see moreanon.

To choose us in him, therefore, relates to the act of Godelecting, not to the object, about which it is exercised, andso that phrase, in him, notes the order, in which we cometo be elected, not the cause of election: and it carries thissense; it pleased the Lord of his infinite love and pity tolost mankind, to appoint Jesus Christ to take our nature,to be a Head and Mediator to all those whom he shouldchoose out of that state of sin and misery; and because wewere not capable of an immediate union with God, there-fore God ordained that all good things, intended and pre-pared by the love of election, should be enjoyed by oursacred communion with him, in whom, as in the store-house of grace, they are laid up, and disposed, and " inwhom we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in hea-venly things." Col. ii. 3; Eph. iv. 3.

This first branch of our distinction, cuts off all profaneconceits about the decrees of God, inasmuch as all theelect have intimate and sacred communion with Christ.

Now follows the second thing affirmed in our distinc-tion which concerns reprobation, it is this, consider theparties rejected absolutely in themselves, as objects pre-sented before the Lord^to be disposed of in a way of jus-tice, and then our position is this, God does not condemn,neither did he decree, or ordain any to condemnation, butsinners, and for sin. God shows mercy, because he will,but he will not have men to perish, because it is his will,but because of their sins. "Tribulation and anguish upon

ERRORS AGAINST GOD'S DECREE

every soul of man that doeth evil." Rom. ii. 9. That isthe rule.

Reprobation is a pretention, or passing by, or a purposenot to have mercy upon, some of the lost sons of Adam,but to leave them to perish in their sins. Our reformeddivines warily distinguish a-twofold act in reprobation.The first negative; namely, propositum non miserendiseu pretereundi, a purpose not to have mercy on them ;the other position, namely, propositum damnandi, et or-dinatio ad eccitium, ut just am pcenam, a purpose to ex-ecute wrath on transgressors, because of their sins, his jus-tice so requiring. But these two acts are not to be severed,forasmuch as those on whom he will not have mercy, heintends to punish for their sins: for to my apprehension,there is no other decree of reprobation, but this purpose ofGod, to execute that judiciary sentence of death on allmankind, for breach of the first covenant of obedience madewith Adam, which covenant, the wicked break more andmore by their daily sins, and so work out their own dam-nation, by their hypocrisy, disobedience, and wilful con-tempt of God's word.

That first covenant stands still in force against all theworld. All are under it; and God's justice must be satis-fied for all the disobedience of the sons of Adam : yet withthis gracious and blessed difference; God punishes the sinsof the elect in the person of Christ, but the sins of othersin their own persons; on the one sort, he shows the seve-rity of his law and justice ; on the other, the rich mercy ofthe gospel. This is the grace of the gospel so much mag-nified by the apostle. Not that the "law is made void"by it; but whereas God might have required full paymentand satisfaction in our own persons, he accepts it in theperson of Christ, and so we have a protection against thedamnatory sentence of sin and the law; which, seeing theunregenerate world, being out of Christ, have not, theymust answer for themselves.

The state of nature in which we remain until we are re-generate, and planted effectually into Christ, is first a stateof condemnation. John iii. 3. Secondly, it is a state ofdeath in sin. Eph. ii. 3, " Dead in trespasses and sins."Thirdly, a state of enmity, they are enemies to God, andGod to them. Rom. viii. 7, "The carnal mind is enmity

against God, it is not subject to the law of God." Fourthly,a state of insufficiency to help ourselves. Rom. v. 6, " Wewere without strength." And is it a light thing to befound in such a state as this ? Is it a light thing to bedead in trespasses and sins ? to be an enemy to God ? tobe a child of wrath ? May not God justly cast off, andpunish such a generation and race of men ? And whatshall we do, if God did not deliver us from this state ofdeath ? In this state God finds us all: out of this state hechooses some. In this state he leaves others to go on insin, and perish for ever. And this is what I said before,namely, that God does not condemn, nor decree to condemnany, but sinners, and for sin, original and actual. And sodid our divines conclude in the Synod of Dort, Deus ne-minem damnat, aut damnationi destinat, nisi ex con-siderations peccati.

This is farther proved by these reasons following: 1. Noman is ordained to punishment, justly, but for some fault:but damnation is an act of punishing-justice, therefore itpresupposes a fault going before it. God will not dealwith them by way of sovereignty or power, but of justice.They shall not say, that they are overpowered, and so castinto hell, but at the day of the declaration of God's righteousjudgments, their mouths shall be stopped, and all ungodlyones be convinced of all their evil deeds which they havecommitted.

2. The reprobate are called " vessels of wrath," Rom.ix. 22. Now the wrath of God is against sin, and onlyagainst sin, according as it is said, Rom. i. 18, "The wrathof God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness andunrighteousness of men."

3. And lastly, Such as God punishes in time, such onlydid he decree before time to be punished; for there is notone rule of punishing,and another of decreeing punishments.God's execution shows his intention, and therefore, seeinghe actually punishes none but for sin, I conclude that hedoes not reprobate or ordain to punishment, any but sin-ners, and that for sin.

Use. Wherefore, as in our protestant writers, I judge itbetter to leave out those unscriptural terms of absolute,peremptory, irrespective, decree of reprobation, becausethey minister matter of strife, by occasion of which, our

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doctrine is misrepresented, and rendered odious with hor-rid consequences; so I humbly crave leave to declare onbehalf of the protestant religion, accounting for the protes-tant doctrine, not what this or that doctor holds, or teaches,but what is set forth by the protestant churches in theirpublic Confessions of Faith, and in their synodical acts,that we hold not, that God created men to show his powerin their destruction; neither do we hold, that God everdecreed to punish his reasonable creature, as it is a creature,or that God would have men to perish, because it is his will,without respect of the creature's sin deserving punishment.This branch of our distinction thus opened, cuts off allblasphemous conceits about God's decree of reprobation.

Now follows the second branch of our distinction, whichis this, if ye consider the persons elected, or rejected, com-pared one with the other, then, they are both alike beforethe Lord; and God does not choose one, or refuse theother, for any goodness or wickedness, for any faith or un-belief that he sees in one more than in the other, butmerely because it is his good pleasure to do so. If ye askwhy Peter is chosen rather than Judas, or why Judas isrejected rather than Peter, there is no cause, motive or con-dition in the parties themselves, to be rendered of this dis-crimination, but only God's good pleasure, which he pur-posed in himself; which the apostle calls "The mysteryof his will," Eph. i. 9, and " the counsel of his own will,"verse 11. And herein God shows the freeness of his grace,and the sovereignty of his power: " T will have mercy onwhom I will have mercy, and whom he will, he har-deneth." Rom. ix. 15, 18.

This is that truth which 1 promised to prove, namely,that it is suitable to God to show mercy to some in misery,and to pass by others in the same condition, and that, with-out consideration or foresight of faith or any other qualityin them whom he chooses, more than in them whom herejects. In this comparative sense the nature of God'selection is best discerned. If God loved all to life, therewould be love indeed, but no election; for he that takes all,makes no choice of any. If he did choose upon foresightof faith, as a condition in the object to be chosen, thenelection should not stand in the will and purpose of himthat calleth, but of him that is called; it would be "of him

that willeth, and of him that runneth," and " not of Godthat showeth mercy." Rom. ix. 11, 16.

To come to the proofs, I shall give you a short view ofthe Arminian doctrine touching this matter, the rather thatour adversaries may see from whose sparks it is that theyhave kindled their new lights.

At the Synod of Dort, the Arminians thus declare theiropinion, touching election and reprobation, namely,

Est duplex decretum praedestinationis, primum ge-nerate, quo constituit Deus pro liberrimo suo arbitratucredentes salvare, incredulos reprobare, id est, ex multispossibilibus unam certain quandam rationem in mentesua designare et statuere, secundum quam salvare velitet damnare; estqueelectio conditionis seu modi quo vultservare.

First, That God hath decreed in general to save such asbelieve in Christ, and to cast away unbelievers, not deter-mining of particular persons which shall be saved, and whonot. But whereas there were many other qualities whichGod might have pitched upon, to be made the conditionof our election and salvation, he did out of his goodpleasure, appoint faith to be that condition. And on thecontrary, unbelief to be the condition or cause of repro-bation.

Secundum est speciale, quo constituit juxta praece-dens illud decretum, hos salvare, illos perdere, id est,hos consideratos, ut jideles asternas vitas destinare; illosconsideratos, ut injideles, sive qui credere nolunt, asternasmorti atque exitio addicere.

Secondly, As for particular persons, God chooseth nonemore than others, till he see whether they believe or not.

Primum illud decretum Dei liberrimum est, nul-lamque causam aliam habet, quam puram-putam Deivoluntatem; posterius decretum, quia priori innixumest, fidei atque infidelitatis intuilum presupponit inni-titurque praescientiae Dei qua ab aeterno scivit, quinamjuxta ejusmodi administrationem mediorum crediturisint, et per sever aturi. Armin. Antiperkins. p. 119. ^tem,pages 756, 757.

Thirdly, And because many that believe may fall away,and many that believed not, may repent and believe in

Christ, therefore they teach that believers themselves arenot fully and peremptorily elected, till they are about todie, having persevered in the faith; nor unbelievers repro-bated, but upon consideration of their final impenitencyand unbelief. No man, say they, is reprobated, till thepoint of death, when there is no more place for repentance.

Qui ad Jinem usque vitas in fide perseverant et in e&-dem moriuntur, hos solos electos intelligi volumus, quaecausa etiam est, cur peremptoriae electionis mentioncmfecerimus; idcirco electio haec adgloriam dupliciter con-siderari potest, vel sub ratione finis, cum media, quaeobtinendo isti fini sunt necessaria, conferantur; quaequia respui, et rejici possunt, ideo earn electionem adgloriam intelligi volumus, quae peremploria est etasternae salutis communicationem actualem sibi con-junctam habet, et dicitur electio sub ratione prasmii,cum scilicet Deus Mis actu conferre vult gloriam, tan-quam fidei et obedientise ab illisprcestitae mercedem, acpraemium. Acta et scripta synodaliaRemonstrantium Art.i. pp. 5—8.

Lastly, Though God from eternity knew who theywere that would believe, and who would not, and accord-ingly did ordain them to life or death, yet all this was doneout of his foresight of their faith, and unbelief, as conditionsrequired in the parties elected or rejected, and going be-fore, and leading or determining the act of God's will thenput forth, in regard of which foresight of his, which be-holdeth all things as present, which are to come, they allwere unto God, and in his consideration, as having per-formed the condition of faith and obedience actually, andthereon were elected and rewarded with glory; the otherwith everlasting shame.*

* The author in these paragraphs does not give a translation, but a summaryof the sections in detail. We append a literal translation, as follows:—

"There is a double decree of predestination: the first, general, in which Goddecreed, of his own sovereignty, to save believers, to reprobate unbelievers, that is,out of many methods, to designate and fix one certain method by which he wouldsave or damn. Election is the choice of the condition or method, according towhich he will save.

"The second is special, by which God, in accordance with the preceding de-cree, decreed to save some and to damn others, that is, to predestinate some, re-garded as believers, to eternal life, to condemn to death and ruin, others, regardedas unbelievers.

" That first decree, is most free, and has no other cause than the mere good

This is the sum and substance of their doctrine, where-in they err four ways:

First, In that they ascribe to God only a general decreeto save, quoddam genus hominum tantum, non quos-dam certos homines, not particular persons, but such asort of men, believers in general. They make election tobe, not of particular persons, but of a quality, and of thosepersons in whom he finds that quality, namely, of faith andobedience, those persons he elects to salvation, for thequality he finds in them. Though it be true, that God hasappointed faith to be the means by which he will actuallybring his elect to salvation, according to that of the apostle,(2 Thess. ii. 13,) " God hath from the beginning chosen youto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, and beliefof the truth," yet this is not the decree of election, muchless the whole and entire decree of election so much ad-mired and celebrated by the apostle.

For 1, By his decree God ordains certain persons to sal-vation, not things, or qualities, as has been proved, sec-tion i. of this 6th chapter. These qualities come in asmeans subordinated for the fulfilling and execution of thedecree, as in the place now cited. Those words, " throughsanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth," respectthe end, salvation, as the means leading to it, not the actof God electing, as if the cause and condition thereof, asshall be proved by and by.

Besides, 2. This general election is no election at all, forby it, Peter, for example, is no more chosen than Judas.If Peter happen to live and die a believer, then he is cho-sen, and upon the same terms Judas is one of God's elect.Yea, Peter may be the reprobate, and Judas the elect, for

pleasure of God: the latter, because it depends upon the former, presupposes arespect to their belief or unbelief, and rests upon the prescience of God by whichhe knew from eternity, who, according to the administration of the means, wouldbelieve, and persevere to the end.

" Those who persevere in the faith to the end of their lives, and die in thesame—these only we regard as the elect: and this is the reason why we speakof a peremptory election: and, besides, this election can be considered in a two-fold aspect; either as an end, when the means necessary to the attainment of thatend are furnished; which means can be despised and rejected: so we wish thatelection to glory, which is peremptory and has the actual communication of eter-nal iile connected with it, to be understood: it is called election under the ideaof a reward, namely, as God wills actually to confer glory upon them, as theprice and reward of that obedience which they have rendered."* (f)

* Acts and Synodical Records of the Remonstrants, Art. i. pp. 5—8.

18

any thing that God has done for the one more than theother. Yea, Clement, and all those blessed souls, whose"names were written in the book of life/' (Phil. iv. 3;Rev. xvii. 8,) were no more elected to life, according totheir doctrine, than they that are now damned in hell.

3. The scripture speaks expressly of an individual, no-minal, particular election of those that are heirs of glory.God hath chosen us and you, "your names are written inheaven." " The Lord knoweth them that are his." 2 Tim.ii. 19. He knoweth them all by their names, distinctly,being built upon his own foundation, and sealed as it werewith his own seal in the book of life. He knows themafter another manner than he knows Hymeneus or Phi-letus; he knows them to stablish them, when others slideaway from the truth; to keep them, when others are lost;even as a man knows all his goods, and cattle, and neigh-bours, but his wife and children after a special manner, toprovide portions for them, according to that which is said,(Mat. xxv. 34,) "Come, ye blessed of my Father, receivethe kingdom prepared for you." At the end of the worldthere shall be a separation made between men and men,"as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats," verse 32.Now upon the separation, the kingdom is given to themfor whom it was prepared. It was not prepared for some,and given to others. It is at last given to certain particularpersons, therefore for them it was prepared in God's pre-destination.

Second, They err in saying that there were many otherthings which God might have chosen to be the conditionsof our election and salvation, but God, according to thegood pleasure of his will, did freely make choice of faithin Christ to be that condition. First, Let it be considered,how basely these men obscure the glory of God's grace," wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Forby this account, those high and glorious expressions of ourbeing "predestinated according to the good pleasure of hiswill, to the praise of the glory of his grace, according tothe riches of his grace, the mystery of his will," (Eph. i.6—9,) shall amount to no more than this, that God, insteadof our persons, has chosen a quality, and that without anygreat thanks or cause of admiration, for he might havemade choice of other qualities as well as that. 0 what aflat, jejune, empty conceit is this of so high a mercy!

But secondly, Tell me in good earnest, is there anyother way,—or many other ways possible to make usthe children of God, besides faith in Christ Jesus? Gal. iii.26. Christ prayed, " Father, if it be possible, let this cuppass from me." Christ's prayer was heard, and if it hadbeen possible by any other way, to save a sinner, Christhad not died. " There is no name under heaven " given, bywhich men must be saved, "neither is there salvation in anyother," but in Christ, nor any other means to be partakersof Christ, but by faith. Acts iv. 12; Heb. iii. 14. Thus isChrist's righteousness obscured, and made void; for ifthere are many other conditions that would serve the turn,Christ died in vain.

Thirdly, How shamefully is the wisdom of God obscuredby this doctrine! It was beyond the wit of man or angelto devise a way, how a sinner might be justified, and Godremain just. " Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ?where is the disputer of this world ? When the world bywisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishnessof preaching, to save them that believe." 1 Cor. i. 20, 21.None of the princes of the world knew it; nay, the holyangels stand amazed, admiring the wisdom of God in con-triving man's salvation; for "to them is made known bythe church, the manifold wisdom of God," (1 Peter, i. 12;Eph. iii. 10,) that wisdom, which is so highly extolledabove all understanding, "the wisdom of God in a mystery,the hidden wisdom of God, wherein he hath abounded to-ward us in all wisdom and prudence." 1 Cor. ii. 7; Eph.i. 8. Now why did God (I may speak with reverence)set his wisdom at work to find out this way for his mercy, ifthis be but one way of many as possible as this ? It is a pityan Arminian wit had not been called to counsel, he couldhave told of twenty other ways as fit to be the conditionsof election and salvation, as faith in Christ Jesus. But wemust not wonder at this, if we call to mind, that when theyspeak of faith in Christ, they take it for the -to credere, forthe very act of believing, as it is a quality, not an instru-ment laying hold on Christ, and then indeed many otherconditions might have been thought on and accepted, ac-cording to the good pleasure of his will. Thus God mighthave appointed prudence, or valour, or charity, or tempe-rance, or patience, to be the conditions of salvation, and de-

208 ERRORS AGAINST GOD'S DECREE

creed that those persons, in whom he should find thequality resolved on, should be elected and glorified. Butabandoning this carnal, Jewish, legal, dunghill conceit, ofsetting up in our own imaginations any other possible con-dition of mercy, let us labour to be " found in Christ," nothaving any other righteousness, but the u righteousness ofGod, which is by faith."

Thirdly, They err in saying that, fidelisper'severaturus^a believer on the point of death, is the object of God'scomplete, full, and irrevocable election unto life. Theyhold, that believers in this life are elected, yet with anelection that is incomplete, revocable, and alterable. God isfalsely said to suspend his full determination of any man,till he is dying, and has actually performed the conditionrequired in objecto eligibili, in the party to be chosen,namely, perseverance in faith. The ground of this erroris another error, namely, that true believers may fall away,and so he that is an elect vessel to-day, may be a reprobateto-morrow, or before he die. Fatemur enim non illu-bentes, eos qui ad tempus vera fide credunt, pro istotempore in gratia esse, etproinde non minore jure electosdici posse, qudm justificaios; quia videlicet in statuillo sunt, in quo si perseverarent, re verd selernam glo-riam consecuturi essent, tamen a fide sua deficere pos-sunt, imb non raro deficiunt.* This is their judgmentdeclared at the Synod of Dort.

I shall not here overthrow the ground of this error. Itshall suffice to discover the falsehood of the opinion by twoarguments:

First, The apostle's order in that golden chain, (Rom.viii. 30,) is quite contrary to it, and is perverted by thisopinion; for the links must be new placed, thus, whom hedid foreknow, them he called, and whom he called, themhe justified, and whom he justified,—being now actual be-lievers,—them he predestinated (predestination must comein there) and then immediately, whom he thus predesti-nated, them he glorified. The text says, that we are pre-destinated before we are called or justified. They say, nay,

* « For we willingly confess that those who, for a time, believe with true faith,are, for that time, in a state of grace, and hence, may as properly be said to beelected as justified, inasmuch as they are in that state in which, if they persevere,they shall actually obtain eternal life: nevertheless they can fall from their faith—nay, they do often so fall." (0

but we are first called and justified, being actually in Christby faith, and then predestinated. The text says, we areelected before the world was made. They say, we are notelected till the world is ended, as to us. How can thisopinion consist with those plain words of the apostle, 2Tim. i. 9, "He called us with a holy calling, according tohis own purpose and grace, which was given us in ChristJesus, before the world began." Note, first, that the " pur-pose" and "grace" of God there, goes before our "holycalling," for our calling is according to that purpose.Secondly, that this purpose and grace was given to us" before the world began." We were the subjects of divineelection, when that grace was first given to us, and thatwas not in the end of our lives, but before the beginningof them.

Secondly, This opinion confounds predestination withglorification, as if they were not two, but one and the samething. For thus they teach, that God's full and determi-nate election of certain persons to glory, is to be consideredsub ratione prasmii, under the notion of a reward, cu?nillis actu et reipsa conferre vult gloriam, tanquam Jideiet obediential, ab illis prasstitae mercedem et prsemium;et hanc electionem ad gloriam hie intelligi volumus,quae peremptoria est et asternas salutis communica-tionem actualem et realem sibi conjunclam habet.When believers have finished their course, then they re-ceive eternal life as the reward of their faith and obedience,which they call election; and of that kind of election, saythey, we would be understood, which has joined with itthe actual communication of glory. And wherein doesthis election differ from glorification itself? The reward-ing and crowning of the faithful with eternal life, is it nottheir glorification ? At the end of our days, when we re-ceive the end of our hopes, the salvation of our souls, weare not then to be looked upon as persons to be chosen,but already chosen, and now to be brought into possessionof that which was so long ago prepared for them. I con-clude with that of Paul, (2 Tim. iv. 7, 8,) « I have finishedthe course, I have kept the faith: henceforth," &c.—Whathenceforth does he expect? that God should elect him toa crown of life ? No, but he expects that God should nowbestow it. " Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown;"

IS*

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that is, upon the finishing of his course, and keeping of thefaith, the very next thing is the giving of the crown.

Lastly, By this opinion, election and predestination arequite thrust out of doors. There is no election till wehave finished our course, say they, and when we havefinished it, then immediately comes our glorification, atwhich time, as there will be no need of election, so therewill be no place for it. Thus is the great mystery of God'sgrace, that first grace, from whence are derived all othergraces and helps effectual for the obtaining of our blessedend, made void, and to have no place in the course ofman's salvation.

Fourthly, I come now to their fourth error, whichgrounds the act of God's predestination upon his foresightof man's faith, or of some goodness in them whom hechooses, more than in others whom he rejects. Con-trary to which error, I have laid my third conclusion, andit is the sum of the second branch of my distinction;namely, if you consider the persons elected and reprobatedas compared one with the other, then they are both aljkebefore the Lord. God does not choose one for any faithor goodness foreseen in him, more than in the other, whomhe rejects, but merely because it is his good pleasure so todo. True it.is, that they which believe and obey the gos-pel, are the elect of God. It is also true, that God fore-sees all things that are to come, good and evil. But falseit is, that our election depends upon such conditions fore-seen. The truth of my assertion is evinced by the fol-lowing arguments.

1. If election go before our faith and obedience, thenfaith and obedience are not the causes, or foregoing condi-tions, upon which our election depends; but election goesbefore faith and obedience, we were elected before we hadfaith, or were considered as having faith, therefore God'selection does not depend on them. The first part of thisargument is clear in common sense, for that which is donealready, does not depend on a condition or quality thatfollows after. The minor proposition, namely, that electiongoes before faith, is proved by these two places of scrip-ture. First, that place Rom. viii. 30, «« Whom he did pre-destinate, them he also called," &c. It is evident, that glo-rifying comes after justifying, justifying after calling, call-

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ing after predestinating or choosing to life; thereforethese graces are after predestination, not causes of it; faithand obedience to the gospel come after calling, no manhas faith till he is called by the gospel, and calling comesafter predestination; therefore faith itself must needs comeafter predestination. Secondly, Faith and holiness are thefruits and effects of election; therefore not the causes, orpreceding conditions thereof. The effect is ever after thecause, the fountain is before the stream. Now God's lovein our election is the fountain from whence the blessedstreams of faith, adoption, and sanctification flow; for so it iswritten, "God hath chosen us in Christ, that we should beholy," not because we were holy, "unto the adoption ofchildren through faith in Christ Jesus;" (Eph. i. 4, 5,) notbecause we were so. Our holiness and our adoption arethings that we are chosen to, and follow election; but arenot things going before, and which we are chosen for.Hence faith is called "the faith of God's elect," because tothem " it is given to believe, and to know the mysteries ofthe kingdom of God," (Titus i. 1; Phil. i. 29,) accordingto that saying, (Acts xiii. 48,) "As many as were ordainedto eternal life, believed:" which plainly teaches, that God'sordaining to life went before their believing. It is not said," as many as believed," before-hand, " were ordained tolife;" but "as many as were ordained to life, believed."God's mercy ordained the means, as he did the end, andthe means proved effectual to them, not to all that heard it.Objection: If it be objected, that election does indeedgo before faith, or any other condition actually per-formed, but not before the foresight of it, the answer iseasy, namely: to God, things foreseen are as if they werepresent. God beholds all things to come, as present, andtherefore, if election do not depend upon actual faith, nei-ther does it upon the foresight of it, conditionesprsestitse,and prasscitse performed and foreseen, are all one in thisdispute; and if one be excluded, so are the other also.And surely, if God's foresight had altered the case betweenthe two brothers, Jacob and Esau, he could have said, thatthough for the present they were both alike, "having doneneither good nor evil," (Rom. ix. 11;) yet in God's fore-sight they were not equal, and therefore "God loved theone, and hated the other," but not allowing of any such

quirk, he places the difference between them only in thepurpose of him that calleth. These works of faith, holi-ness, obedience, and the like, as in time they flowed fromthe grace of God, so they were foreseen likewise no other-wise than effects of his grace in us, and consequently notas causes or inducements to God to elect us to eternal life,as will farther appear by the other arguments that follow.2. Our second argument is this, God foresees no goodin the creature, which himself does not intend to work.Every spiritual good in us is of God's own working, there-fore he cannot foresee it in us, unless he have decreed towork it in us; (Isa. xxvi. 12; Phil. ii. 13;) for every thingthat comes to pass, presupposes some act of God's will,(either permissive, and ordinative, or operative,) seeingagainst or without his will nothing can be; and if a thingnever be, it cannot be foreseen. Scientia visionis sequiturvoluntatis decretum, is a true rule. Quod prsescivitDeus, proescit (saith Arminius) quia futurum est; etideo futurum est, quia voluit Deus, qui operatur omniasecundum propositum voluntatis suae. That which Godforesees, he foresees it because it shall come to pass, and itshall come to pass, because God has commanded or willedit. Hence it is, that I said just now, God cannot foreseeany good faith in us, unless he have decreed to work it inus. Where shall God find faith, seeing he has "shut upall in unbelief?" Rom. xi. 32; Gal. iii. 22. "The scrip-ture hath concluded, (or shut up) all under sin." "There isnot one that doeth good, no, not one." "Faith is not ofourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephes. ii. 8.) So thenhe finds not faith in his elect, but gives them faith. Se-condly, and if he give it them, that he might elect us, thecase is still the same, and the difficulty the same; for thequestion will still be, why does God give faith to some andnot to others? Why does not God make all men willingto believe and obey ? And the answer must be the same,which we give to them that ask, why does God choosesome and not others in the same condition? It must atlast be all resolved into his own will, "He hath mercy onwhom he will." His grace is his own, he may give itwhere he will, and if he have given grace to any of us, letus praise him for his mercy, and when we see others leftwithout grace, let us reverence him for his unsearchablejudgments.

This argument may be presented in a more easy formthus; I demand concerning God's elect, Did God findthem good, and so choose them ? or make them good, thathe might choose them? or did he choose them when theywere sinners to make them good and holy ? First, Goddid not find them good, and so choose, for then there issome good in the creatures, which God has not wrought,yea, that great good of turning ourselves to God by faith,whereas others having the same helps, turned not; this can-not be admitted of by God's word for two reasons: First,because then man should have whereof to glory, as havingmade himself to differ. Secondly, because it would follow,that we first chose him, not he us, contrary to that Johnxv. 16, " You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you;"for by the doctrine of election upon foresight of our faithembracing Christ, it will follow, that we first chose Christby faith, and not he: us we embrace him first, and thenGod elects us.

Secondly, did God make us holy, that we might be eli-gible, or fit objects of our election? No; but he chose uswhen we were lost sinners, he pitied us in our blood, hechose us that we should be holy, he found us not holy.Paul says that "God justifieth the ungodly;" Rom. iv. 5,and if we were ungodly, when we were justified, then itis certain we were so when we were chosen; for justifica-tion is after predestination, therefore he chose the ungodly,and unholy, and strangers, that they might be made godly,and holy, and children through grace. Rom. viii. 30.

Thirdly, if God gave us faith first, and then upon sightthereof, chose us, yet this would no whit benefit the cause,or remove the inconvenience and absurdities, for the re*-moval of which, this election upon foreseen faith, was firstinvented. For still it is God's grace that makes thee todiffer. If he foresee in us nothing but what he himselfworks of his mere grace, then his act of election does notdepend upon any foreseen quality in us, as a conditionthereof, moving God to elect; for all proceeds from him-self, and then the difficulty is still the same. For tell me,why did God give grace to the one, and not to the other?Why faith to one, and not to others ? That which an-swers this question will answer this other also, why did Goddecree to save one, and not another ? And the answer toboth, can be no other than because it so pleased him.

Our third argument against foreseen faith, as the condi-tion before-hand required in the party to be chosen, is this;because it perverts, enervates, and overthrows the Apos-tle's reasoning in Romans, 9th chapter. For this provisionalelection being granted, you may read many verses of thatbackward. You must read, verse 2 &c., thus, The childrenbeing before God as already born, and having done theone good, the other evil, (Jacob being looked upon, as onethat feared God, Esau as a profane person that sold hisbirth-right,) that the purpose of God, acording to electionmight stand, not of him that calleth, but of works, It wassaid, godly Jacob have I loved, profane Esau have I hated,and so there is no unrighteousness with God; "for he saith,I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," nay, notso, for then there were unrighteousness with God, but Iwill have mercy on whom I find cause to have mercy:So then it is of him that willeth, and of him that runneth,and not of God that showeth mercy. Thou needest notsay then unto me, why doth he yet find fault, forasmuchas there is a plain reason of his will to be assigned, namely:God has regard to faith in one, and infidelity in the other,and " therefore, 0 man, who art thou, that replies! againstGod?" thou hast no cause to expostulate with God, seeinghe can give this account to the creature of his actions, thathis decree proceeds not upon terms of will or sovereignty,but of justice and equity, rendering to every man accordingto his deeds. It is free for God to choose faith to be thecondition going before election, and it is just with God tocast away them that will not submit to this condition; forver. 21, "the potter hath power of the clay, to make onevessel to honour, another to dishonour," yet he is not tobe blamed, if when he sees a good piece of clay fit matterfor a curious vessel, he prefer that before a coarser clay,that will not endure to be wrought to a good vessel?

According to that opinion this is the sense and drift of thatscripture, which, because it directly contradicts and over-throws the scope of the Apostle, is to be abhorred, as mea-suring the mysteries of God by, and arraigning his un-searchable ways at the bar of carnal reason.

To conclude this point, I note more particularly, fourthings in that ninth chapter to the Romans, which can noways consist with this opinion of provisional election.

First, the Apostle discoursing of the casting off of someof the Jews, and not others, does industriously and accu-rately presuppose and press an equality and parity, andexclude all consideration of inequality by reason of goodor evil in the persons, as the moving cause or conditionwhy one should be chosen, and not the other; as Jacob andEsau, children of one father, and one mother, not yet born,having done neither good nor evil, &c. And so in the com-parison of the potter, he shows God's freedom to chooseor refuse, when the persons are every way as the sameclay, in the same case, in the same condition.

Secondly, By what analogy of reason can Esau, who hadas yet done no evil, be a type or figure of men rejected fordoing evil, for persevering in unbelief; and how can Jacob,who had as yet done no good, be a type and figure of menelected, for the good they have done, for their perseve-rance in faith?

Thirdly, That instance of the potter. If the potter shouldthus reason and resolve with himself: if the whole lumpbe capable of an excellent form, then I will make it up allinto vessels of honour, but else into vessels for baser uses—if he should thus reason, then where were his " power overthe clay ?" Would it not then follow, that it was in theclay, and not in the power of the potter, that this is a ves-sel for best uses, and that for baser ?

Fourthly, It would cease to be a mystery; there wouldbe no cause to wonder and admire at Paul's doctrine ofelection and reprobation; neither were there any causewhy Paul should move such an objection, " Why doth Godfind fault? for who hath resisted his will?" (verse 19,) andat last answer the objection, and stop man's mouth withthe absoluteness and freedom of God's will, if there wereany other cause or condition in the persons themselves, oftheir election and reprobation. The answer had been easy.This hath God done, because he saw good in one, and ob-stinate impenitency in the other. Although the will ofGod be always grounded upon reason for whatsoever hedoes, yet he is not to give an account to us of his actions,why he disposeth thus and thus of men; and therefore theapostle stops the mouth of all that move such curious ques-tions, with "Nay, but 0 man, who art thou that repliestagainst God?" The apostle saith, (Eph. i. 11,) that " God

worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."Note from thence, that the things which he decrees andpurposes, are most perfectly wise and good; there is reasonenough in God for whatsoever he does, for he does allthings by counsel; yet secondly, it is a counsel of his will,and therefore unsearchable; we must not measure it by ourreason, considering that the will of God is unsearchable;no man hath been " his counsellor."

Thus I have at length despatched my three conclusions,namely,—First, That there is such a decree as God's fore-ordaining men's future estate, and what that decree is.Secondly, That none but the elect are saved. Thirdly,That God shows mercy to some in misery, and passesby others in the same condition, and that, without the fore-sight of any condition in the party chosen. What has theadversary to reply against this truth?

Obj. 1. He says, It is not suitable to God to pick andchoose among men, in showing mercy, because he may aswell cease to be, as to withhold mercy from any one inmisery; if he did, the defect must be in his heart, or in hisability: now know it is not for want of ability, if God shownot mercy at atl; and to ascribe it to his heart, or his will,is to blaspheme his excellent name and nature.

The answer is easy. First, God is a most free agent,and therefore does show mercy, not by any necessity ofnature, but according to the freeness of his will, "I willhave mercy on whom I will have mercy," and who shallchallenge him for it? Secondly, If God were to distri-bute justice, then all men in the same case should speedalike; but election is an act, not of justice, but of grace andfavour. His grace is his own, he may give it where hewill, and none have cause to complain. Let it suffice, Godowes us nothing, except death for our sins. Acts of justiceare deserved, but acts of grace are free, not due, nor de-served by any one. Thirdly, God will be glorified in hisjustice as well as in his mercy. Rom. ix. 17,22, 23, "Forthis cause I raised thee up, that my name might be declaredthroughout all the earth," therefore it is not blaspheminghis excellent name, to say, that God will not have mercyon all.

This doctrine of election is suitable, first, to God's wis-dom, forasmuch as in contriving the salvation of a sinner,

is made known the manifold wisdom of God. 2. To hisjustice, which takes vengeance on all the sins of mankind,either in their own persons, or in the person of Christ.3. To his truth, who will perform his covenant madewith Abraham, though many of Abraham's posterity becast away. " What if some did not believe, shall their un-belief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid.''Rom. iii. 3. 4. To his holiness; for he ordains none tosalvation, but "through sanctification of the Spirit;" hechooseth us in Christ. 5. And lastly, it is suitable tohis love and goodness, who will make some partakers ofhis blessedness, not being willing that all should perish,though all had destroyed themselves.

Obj. 2. The strongest arguments that I have met withalin English, against God's decree, of reprobation especially,are managed by the author of that book, entitled, God'sLove to Mankind, a close disputant. And to confess thetruth, I think his arguments against the supralapsarian way,to be unanswerable. But Mr. Hurd having set down ouropinion, as he thought good himself, and not as the truthis; for he feigneth us to hold an absolute decree of repro-bation by the will of God, without respect to sin; hiswords are these, page 3, They both, says he, (that is, boththey of supralapsarian and sublapsarian judgment) contend,that the moving cause of reprobation is the will of Godalone, and not the sin of man, original or actual. I say,our doctrine being thus misrepresented, and the questionmisstated, as you may perceive by the doctrine deliveredin this chapter; all his pains and arguments serve to refutehis own fancies, not our assertion.

The members and parts of the distinction abovemen-tioned, being fitly and warily applied, do discover thefalsehood and invalidity of most of his arguments. As, forexample, we do not hold, neither does it follow of ourdoctrine,—

First, That God exercises any such absolute dominion orsovereignty over the reasonable creatures, as to create suchinfinite multitudes of men, that he might torment them forever, after a short life here ended, without any fault atall of theirs pre-existing in his eternal mind; for we haveproved, that God does neither condemn nor decree to becondemned, any but sinners, and for sin. Nor,19

218 ERRORS AGAINST GOd's DECREE

Secondly, Do we hold, that God decreed Adam to fall,otherwise than by permitting it; he never decreed eitherto do sin, or command it to be done, neither did any decreeof God force Adam to sin. Adam sinned most freely, hebroke a most easy commandment, "Thou shalt not eat ofthe tree of knowledge:" he had but one commandment, hebroke that; he believed the voice of the tempter, whichsaid, "Thou shalt.not die," more than the voice of God,which told him, " He should die in the day that he did eatthereof."

Thirdly, Nor does it follow of our doctrine, that God inpermitting Adam's fall, was the author of his sin, or of anysins that followed thereupon. It is true, that God sufferssin to be, else there could be none, if God would absolutelyhinder it. Acts xiv. 16. And it is as true, that a permis-sive decree is no cause of sin, but it is merely extrinsical tothe sinner, and has no influence at all upon the sin. If afeeble house be upheld by props, he that shall take awaythose props, is the cause of the fall of that house. But thecase is not so between God and Adam. Adam was made,not feeble, but upright, and able to stand; God did not in-stil into his mind any evil; nay, God did not withdraw ortake from him any grace or strength formerly given him,only he did not hinder him from falling, who was able tostand if he would: no power or fraud of Satan could havevanquished him, unless he would voluntarily yield, whichhe did, and therefore had no excuse for his sin, when Godcalled to an account. Wherefore Mr. Hurd does ill tocharge our doctrine with this foul aspersion, that God didbring men into an estate in which they cannot avoid sin,and then leave the reprobate irrecoverably in it: for " Godmade man upright, but he sought out many inventions.""By one man's disobedience, many were made sinners;by one man's offence, death reigned by one." Eccl. vii. 19;Rom. v. 17, 19. We owe our sin and misery to our firstparents' breach of covenant. To show it in a comparison:suppose some father, or master of a family, should cast outof his house the mother that has played the harlot, and allher bastard brood, were not this just? And if the childrenshould complain of hard usage, and plead their innocency,saying, What evil have we done? might not the masterof the house say to them, Go plead with your mother, she

is not my wife, neither are you my children, thereforeaway with mother and seed together? Thus did Godsay to a generation of idolaters, who were upon the pointof being divorced from God, and cast off from being hispeople, " Lo-ammi, ye are not my people, and I will notbe your God." Hosea i. 9. They are brought in complain-ing of God's dealings with them; the Lord stops theirmouths, and says to them, "Plead with your mother," asif he should say, do not contend or quarrel with me, butplead with your mother, (Hosea ii. 2,) " For she is not mywife, she hath broken covenant with me by her idolatries,neither am I her husband, and therefore I will not havemercy upon her children, for they be children of whore-dom," verse 4. In like manner may God say to all thatcharge God for their being rejected in their natural state;go plead with Adam, for he broke covenant with me, hewilfully disobeyed my voice, and so brought on himselfand his posterity the sentence of death threatened in casehe should transgress. Of this I shall speak again in thenext chapter of original sin.

Fourthly, We do not hold, nor does it follow of ourdoctrine, that God's decree determines man's will to sin,or lays any necessity of sinning upon it. Adam, and allmen after him, sin voluntarily of their own will, and, byway of choice, they refuse to hearken. Wicked men areauthors of their own offences, they choose them, plot them,purpose, and commit them. "God tempteth no man toevil," (James i. 13,) much less forceth, or necessitatethany to evil. The reason is, because, wherever these twothings concur, namely, freedom from violence and neces-sity, with the full consent of reason, there is the whole andtrue nature of liberty. Though God's providence ordersand governs the evil wills and actions of men, yet he de-termines them not to evil; they act from principles of theirreason and judgment, whereby they judge of things good orevil, which accordingly they freely choose, or refuse; do,or leave undone.

It does not follow, then, that all things come to pass ofnecessity, because of God's decree or foreknowledge. Ourmemory is not the cause of things past, neither is our fore-knowledge, of things to come. God foresees all things thatare to come, both things certain, and things contingent, and

his foreknowledge is not deceived, yet his will and fore-sight lay no necessity upon man's will. Wicked men actwickedly and freely, because wickedness is in their wills;godly men act graciously and freely, because grace is intheir wills: grace is in their wills moving them and in-clining them to the thing that is good; their wills are setat liberty by grace, which sanctifies their reason and judg-ment, their consultations, and the bent of their wills. Goddoes not infuse any constraint in the mind of man to en-force it, nor any error to seduce it, nor impose any neces-sity to bind it. All things work according to the law oftheir creation, natural agents naturally, voluntary agentsvoluntarily; the godly are not good against their wills, forof unwilling, God makes willing to the thing that is good ;and as for the wicked, he need not force or make themwilling to evil, or unwilling to good, for they are so bynature.

Fifthly, It does not follow of our doctrine, that all en-deavours after life and salvation are in vain, for by " givingdiligence," we may "make our calling and election sure."2 Peter i. 10. And certainly he does not labour in vain,that attains to that knowledge and swTeet assurance. If yeseek, knock, hearken, and obey, ye are the elect of God, asis declared above.

I shall examine two or three of Mr. Hurd's strongestobjections, and so conclude this section.

Obj. 1. It is objected, "That our doctrine of predesti-nation makes God a liar, a dissembler. The scripture says1 God willeth not the death of a sinner,' that < he hath nopleasure in the death of him that dieth ;' (Ez. xviii. 23, 32;Ez. xxxiii. 11,) and yet you say, that 'he hath shut upmany millions of men, lying in the fall, under the sentenceof death, under the bars of an everlasting and irrevocabledecree.' How can these stand together?"

1 answer: First, If God had pleasure in the death of asinner, he wTould not have been at such cost for the savingof so many millions of souls, as he has been by the incar-nation, death, sufferings, resurrection, and ascension of hisdear Son; and by establishing such a course of ordinancesfor the conversion and salvation of sinners.

Secondly, God is resolved to execute the sentence ofdeath upon many of the lost sons of Adam for breach of

that first covenant; and so he told Adam beforehand, thathe would do; here is no dissembling in all this.

Thirdly, Both these propositions are true; " God willeththe death of a sinner," and " God willeth not the death ofa sinner." Sinners that enjoy the means of grace are oftwo sorts. Some there are whose hearts melt and relentwhen they hear God's voice; they hearken and obey,and turn from the evil of their doings; and God willethnot the death of such. Others there are that stop the ear,refuse to return, they will not come up to the terms of thegospel; and God willeth the punishment of such, that is,their death; "The wrath of God is revealed from heavenagainst all unrighteousness of men." Rom. i. IS. This isplain dealing, here is no dissembling in all this: and thisis the very case of them, in Ez. xviii. 21, 23, 32, "If thewicked turn from his sins that he hath committed, he shallsurely live and not die; have I any pleasure at all that thewicked should die, saith the Lord, and not that he shouldreturn from his ways and live ?" Here God commendshis love to poor sinners that repent, and his impartial justiceagainst all that commit iniquity, verse 26. God yet willethnot the sin of a sinner, nor his obstinacy in sin; yet hewilleth the punishment of obstinate sinners, which is death;if God did not in some sort will the death of a sinner, howcould he judge the world? To punish for sin is a work ofjustice, as to pardon sin is a work of mercy; and Godwilleth the work of his own justice, " God will wound thehairy scalp of such as go on still in their trespasses."

Obj. 2. Yea, "But how can it stand with the truth andjustice of God, to offer Christ and salvation by the gospelto many thousands of reprobates, to whom he hath pre-cisely in his absolute purpose, denied both a power to be-lieve, and a Christ to believe in? And how can he inequity require faith in such, and be angry with them fornot believing? Can we say, that God does in goodearnest will that those men should believe, whom he willnot furnish with necessary power to believe?"

I answer two things: First, That though Christ, togetherwith the gift of faith, and grace effectual to conversion, begiven only to the elect; yet salvation by the gospel is ge-nerally and promiscuously offered to all sinners, for two rea-sons: first, because we do not know who are elect, or who

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are reprobates; the gospel finds them all sinners alike, andall alike capable of salvation. The time of separation isnot yet come, neither are we able to make such a separa-tion, neither is it our office; the angels shall do that at theend of the world. He that is not converted to-day, maybe converted to-morrow; our commission is, "Preach thegospel to every creature." Again; the offer is gene-ral, to the intent that none of the elect might be lost, andthat all mouths might be stopped; seeing none are excludedthat do not exclude themselves: they might all find mercy,if they would but submit to the gospel.

Secondly, I answer out of Rom. ix., where you have,first, our doctrine, verse 18, " He hath mercy on whom hewill have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth:" se-condly, there is your objection, verse 19, "Thou wilt saythen, Why doth he yet find fault? for who hath resisted hiswill ?" Thirdly, you have Paul's answer to your objec-tion, verse 20, " Nay, but, 0 man, who art thou that repliestagainst God ? Hath not the potter power over the clay ?"&c. In the passage note two things: first, that those whoare under mercy, he mollifies, the rest, he hardens; thatone is softened, is of mercy, the others are hardened bywithholding his grace and mercy; even as darkness andfrost are caused by the absence of the sun, the sun is notthe cause of darkness, nor of the waters congealing intoice, but yet both follow naturally upon the absence of thesun. Secondly, If the question be asked, why God molli-fies some, and hardens others? The text says, it is becausehe will: " whom he will, he hardeneth." Upon this arisesyour objection; if God will not have mercy upon us, butwill leave us to be hardened, why then does he find faultwith us for our hardness of heart, seeing his will muststand ? This is the force of your objection. Now markthe apostle's answer, verse 20, " 0 man, who art thou thatrepliest against God ?" The meaning of his answer is this,namely: God may justly find fault with thy hardness ofheart, though he, for his part, will not mollify it; and withthy unbelief, though he intend not to give thee effectualmeans of faith. He may justly find fault, with thy ungodlycourses, though he give thee no account, besides his ownwill, why he will not soften thy heart: as if he should say," Who art thou that repliest against God?" it is enough to

tell thee that God will give grace and mercy to others, andnone to thee. His grace is his own, his gifts are his own,he may give them to whom he will, and who shall chal-lenge him for it? He owes thee nothing, but death forthy sins; he is not bound to restore thee.

Obj. 3. "It is true, that God simply and absolutely isbound to no man, because he is a most free dispenser ofhis own favours, where, and to whom he will; but yet heis conditionally bound two ways: First, Promittendo,promise is a debt; if therefore God has made a promise ofany gift, or grace to any man, his promise binds him toperformance. Secondly, Legem ferendo, by giving mena law to keep, which, without supernatural grace, they canno more keep than eat a rock. God, indeed, is not boundto restore those abilities, which we once received and lostin Adam; but now seeing God hath vouchsafed to enterinto a new covenant of peace with men, when he needednot, and in that covenant requires obedience at men'shands, even at theirs who perish, with promise of eternallife to every man, if he obey and keep the covenant, andpunishing with everlasting death the disobedient: theseparticulars supposed, the most free God is now engaged togive ability of believing to men; nor can he justly, withoutthis gift, punish the disobedient; the giving of the newcovenant presupposes either an ability in the sinner to be-lieve and repent, or a purpose in God to give them thatability, else he could not justify and punish the disobedientand unbeliever."

I answer three things: First, That to believe in God,and every word of his, either promising life or threateningdeath, was a duty and an ability given to Adam. Adam'ssin was unbelief; and therefore he may justly require tobe believed and obeyed of all Adam's posterity. Habitualfaith respects all possible objects that shall be revealed, aswell as those that are actually revealed; and God does notgive a new special faith, when he presents a new object tobe believed. Abraham believed the creation of the world,by the same faith that he believed that he should have a son:and therefore, though it were not suitable to the state ofinnocency for Adam to believe in a Mediator actually, yetby the faith which he had, he could, and ought to believeevery promise that should proceed out of the mouth of

224 ERRORS AGAINST GOD'S DECREE

God; as we need not new eyes to see new objects; thesame visual faculty which sees things present, can seethings which shall be hereafter laid before it. Adam hadno need to behold the brazen serpent, because he was notstung; but if Adam had been in the wilderness when thatserpent was lifted up, he could have seen it with his para-dise eyes, as his posterity did. So is the present case inregard of habitual and actual faith in order to Christ to berevealed.

Ans. 2. But to come nearer home to the purpose; Igrant, that the giving of a law to the creature presupposesan ability in the creature, already received, or to be given,to perform the conditions therein required; God does notpropose life and death to his creatures upon a conditionimpossible; and such an ability does God engage to bestowin the new covenant. So runs the tenor of the new co-venant, Heb. x. 11, 12, "This is the covenant that I willmake with the house of Israel, after those days, saith theLord, I will put my laws in their mind, and write them intheir hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shallbe to me a people; and I will be merciful to their un-righteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remem-ber no more." Here are three things distinctly to be con-sidered:— 1. The matter, and chief blessing of the cove-nant on God's part, "I will be to them a God," &c. 2.There is expressed the bond and condition of it on our part,and this is faith and obedience, signified in those words, ofputting God's laws in our minds, &c. So God requiredof Abraham; (Gen. xvii. 1,) "Walk before me, and bethou perfect." 3. There is also a promise and declaration,that God will work this condition, by which men shallhave an interest in the covenant, and a right to the bless-ing of it, " I will put my laws in their minds." The mat-ter of our duty is the matter of God's promise; that whichGod requires of us, he undertakes to work in us. He re-quires that we should know the Lord, and he promises weshall be all taught of God; he requires that we walk inobedience uprightly before him; and, that because we shallnot fail of doing our duty on our parts, he promises towrite his laws in our hearts. First, The grand blessing ofthe covenant is, I will be their God, and pardon their sins.Secondly, The qualifications of the persons, to whom this

promise is made; they are such, in whose hearts God'slaws are written, that is, such as believe. Thirdly, Theefficient cause of this their faith, I will write, I will changetheir hearts, I will give them faith. Thus you see thatGod performs what he is bound to, legem ferendo, bygiving a new covenant.

Obj. "Yea, but he does not write his law in the mindsof the reprobates." Ans. His covenant is not with them,and therefore his covenant does not bind him to give themfaith; " all are not Israel which are of Israel, neither be-cause they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children,but in Isaac shall thy seed be called." The covenant ismade with the children of the promise, and therefore,though he give not ability of believing to them that arenot of his covenant, he is not to be blamed; God's pro-mises are still verified and performed in the elect, in whosebehalf they were made.

Obj. " Yea, but then the reprobate are punished for notfulfilling and observing the conditions of a covenant, whichwas never made for them. Why then does God punishthem for their unbelief?" Ans. They outwardly embracethe covenant, being accidentally taken into the congrega-tion of the faithful, by reason of their mixture and jointprofession of the same God with them, when all thewhile they are in the state of nature, and so go on in re-bellion against God, against greater light, against their ownknowledge, and are justly punished; not because they can-not believe and repent, but because they will not; not forwhat they cannot do, but for not doing what their ownconscience tells them they might have done, as you willsee in my third answer.

Hitherto you have seen, first, that God gave ability to allin Adam. Secondly, That he renews his gifts of grace to-wards all them whom he has taken again into a new cove-nant. I proceed, and,

Ans. Thirdly, The rest are justly punished, becausethey love their sins more than God, and go on in disobe-dience against God's revealed will, and walk in the flesh,even as others do, that know not Christ; and thereforethey having received more, God may require more at theirhands. It is true, we can do nothing till God enables us,yet they do not what they are able; and what is that?

ERRORS AGAINST GOD7S DECREE

Though I cannot by my own strength rise from death insin, yet an earnest care whereby I deliberate, is that meanswhich the Spirit uses to prevent (lead me on) me, andtherefore, if I will be saved or reclaimed from sin, I mustadmit deliberation and consultation about my spiritualestate, as the prodigal did, as the first motion that Godcasts into my mind for the effecting thereof, and not staytill I feel some violent and sensible impulse enforcing me,but accept even that small motion of care and consultation,the which to cast away, is to reject God's offer inviting meto my uprising. Again, though we have not power toconvert ourselves, yet all men have power to use the out-ward means, and liberty to hear the voice of God's wordand Spirit inviting them to consider their state, whichis sufficient to make them inexcusable, if they resist it.Finally, God works some things in us, without us, as goodmotions, which by his Spirit he casts into us as we lieplunged in sin, whereby he awakes us, and bids us thinkof our uprising. God works some things in us, and withus, as a good will to receive those motions, and not to re-sist the Spirit. God works some things in us and by us, asall such good works, as the motion of the Spirit teaches usto do. Thus far that learned author has taught us. Thesethings the reprobate have ability to do, namely, to consult,to use outward means, to yield to good motions, which see-ing they have no will to do, God may justly punish theirwilful impenitence.

Thus, through the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, I havefinished this weighty point. The conclusion of all is, Ourdestruction is from ourselves, but our salvation is from theLord, who showeth mercy: "How unsearchable are hisjudgments, and his ways past finding out; for who hathknown the mind of the Lord ? or who hath been his coun-sellor? or who hath first given to him, and it shall be re-compensed unto him again." Rom. xi. 33, 35.

SECTION IV.

OF THEIR ERROR, WHO SAY, THAT THE REPROBATE CONDITION OF MENAND ANGELS SHALL BE REGAINED.

Against which error, I oppose this truth, that the stateof reprobate men and angels in hell, is unchangeable, and

never to be regained. I say of men in hell, or after thislife; for of such I suppose the author speaks, because hejoins them with the reprobate angels, who are kept undereverlasting chains of darkness, to the judgment of the greatday. Their state in misery is unalterable; the devils shallnever recover heaven again, and reprobate men shall neverbe made elect; of miserable they shall never be madehappy, they shall never regain the happiness of Adam inan earthly paradise, nor of the glorified saints in the king-dom of saved ones. Arminians tell us of a reprobationof men in this life, which is but conditional, and incom-plete, and therefore reversible, if they repent; but afterthis life their damnation is sealed, in the grave there is nowisdom, and in hell there is no repentance, and from hellthere is no redemption. The scripture is plain and full onthis point: Mat. xxv. 41, " Christ shall say to them on theleft hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,prepared for the devil and his angels." The wicked shallthen be parted from the godly for ever; (verse 46,) "Theseshall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righ-teous into life eternal." Hell was first prepared for thedevils, but because men cleave to the devil, and forsakeGod, therefore their portion is with the devils in hell forevermore. If their condition were alterable, then the firewere not everlasting; but the scripture tells us, that "theungodly men, together with the angels that kept not theirfirst estate, shall suffer the vengeance of eternal fire;" their" worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched," (Jude v.6, 7; Mark ix. 44,) the remorse of an evil conscience forever afflicts them, and their pain is endless.

The reason is, because after death and judgment, thereare no means of recovery. If men desire to escape thatjudgment, they must now, whilst they are in this life,hearken, and be obedient to the gospel of salvation. Eter-nal life is gained or lost in this world; after death comesjudgment, there is no place for repentance, no preaching,nor warnings, nor means of conversion, nay, nor yet anyheart or will to repent.

This unalterable condition of the damned is taught inthat parable, (Luke xvi. 26,) "Besides all this, there is agreat gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from henceto you, cannot, neither can they pass from us that would

228 ERRORS AGAINST GOD'S DECREE

come from thence." There is a vast distance, so that nonecan pass from heaven to hell, nor from hell to heaven; asthe blessedness of these, so the misery of the other, is un-changeable, and everlasting. The means to keep menfrom coming into this place of torment, is appointed forthe living; (verse 29,) " They have Moses and the pro-phets; let them hear them:" if they neglect that salvationwhilst it is offered them, if they will not be persuaded bythe word of God, there is no other means left, they willcertainly come into that place of torment, and perish ever-lastingly.

Use 1. 0 that men had hearts to believe, and be affectedwith this truth. Take off thy thoughts awhile from thedeluding world, and suffer thy heart to be fixed uponeternity. Sequester and set thyself sadly to consider whateternity is, what it is to be eternally miserable. Cast inthy mind so many thousands of years, as thou canst num-ber, and when thou hast brought it to the highest number,there is ten thousand times more yet to come. If asparrow should drink but once in a year one drop of thesea-water, yet in time he would drink up all the water inthe sea, because the sea is a finite creature, and is made upof many drops: if thou lay in hell so long as a sparrow isdrinking the sea dry, and then be delivered, yet therewould be an end; but when that is done, yet there areten thousand times as many seas and years more to comeof thy misery; it is for ever, for ever! 0 that word forever, is a killing word, it is a despairing word, it is a heart-breaking word. 0 that it might prove a heart-breakingword to thee here, that it may not prove a heart-tormentingword to thee hereafter.

Try and consider. Canst thou endure thy finger in theflame now for an hour? Were it not a great torment tobe kept alive in flames of fire for the space of an hour? ofa whole day? of a thousand years? How woful, then, istheir case, that must endure it for ever in hell with thedevils? Pray, 0 pray, that God would give thee a believingheart, a melting heart, a relenting heart, to lay to heart thethings that belong to thy everlasting peace, before they arehid from thy eyes. Believe not vain words of vain men,which serve to harden fools in their sin, whilst they per-suade them that there is no hell, or that the state of the

OF ELECTION AND REPROBATION. 229

damned is recoverable. If thou wilt not believe this truthnow, thou shalt believe and feel it hereafter to thy cost.Is it not a strange thing said, that there should be atheistson earth, and none in hell ? poor souls, they know thereis a just God, which taketh vengeance, though they wouldnot believe it whilst they lived. If the damned in hellhad leave to enjoy but one of the days of the Son of Man,of grace, which you now enjoy, 0 what zealous creatureswould they be for their own salvation! How fervent inspirit, serving the Lord! How restless, till they had gotthe pardon of their sins sealed to their consciences! Howinfinitely would they despise all worldly honours andriches in comparison of peace of conscience, or one dramof grace! one good look from the pleased face of God,would be worth all the world to them. 0 let it be thusprecious to thee now! It is the property of a fool to say,when it is too late, would God I had done this or that.Let every wise-hearted Christian strive to be such a onenow, as he shall wish at that day that he had been. Castaway every thing, every lust, every desire, every dearattraction, that may betray thy soul to eternal misery:Remember the words of our blessed Saviour, Mark ix. 43," If thy hand offend thee, cut it off; if thy foot offend thee,cut it off;" ver. 45/' If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out:"ver. 47, "It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom ofGod maimed, than having two hands, or two feet, or twoeyes, to be cast into hell," into the fire that never shall bebe quenched, "where the worm dieth not, and the fire is notquenched." " The fire is not quenched," is thrice repeated,to show how hard we are of belief of the judgment tocome, how willing we are to go to heaven, and yet enjoyall our lusts, and our carnal desires. How grievous is itto our nature, to part with a right hand, or a right eye, thatis, with our sins of gain, of credit, of esteem in the world,which are as dear to us, as useful to us, as necessary to us,as our right hands, or right eyes: yet this must be done;and it is better to be without them all, to cast them allfrom us, than with them to be cast into hell "where theworm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

Use 2. Learn hence to judge of the odious and dangerousnature of sin, which casts the soul into eternal misery.The heart of man is apt to quarrel with this truth, to dis-20

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN,

pute and say, How can it stand with the goodness, yea,with the justice of God, for a momentary small offence, topunish so severely for evermore? Divines answer, that itis just, because men sin against an infinite majesty; thatthe higher the person is, against whom we offend, thegreater punishment is inflicted; and that is true. Secondly,vye answer, that men sin in eterno suo, if they shouldlive here for ever, they would rebel against God for ever,and therefore they are justly punished, in eterno Dei, andthat is true too. But surely it is our ignorance of the ma-lignant nature of sin, and of the infinite holiness and jus-tice of God, that makes us astonished at this; "God en-dureth with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath,"Rom. ix. 22. If we were so provoked and abused as Godis, we should not endure them so long: if we would butascribe to God as much as we do to an earthly judge, weshould learn to tremble before him, and not suffer ourhearts to rise against him. When we see a malefactorhanged, drawn and quartered, or hanged alive in ironchains, we conclude that surely that man was some grie-vous offender; by the greatness of his punishment, wegather the greatness of the offence: let us conclude so forour righteous God, and say, surely sin is a most bitter andheinous thing, else God would never punish it so severely :"Let God be true, and every man a liar." Let us say,with David," I acknowledge my transgressions, I have doneevil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified whenthou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." God willbe found clear and without blemish in his judgments, that" every mouth may be stopped/' Psal. cvii. 42.

CHAPTER VII.

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN : U 1. THAT NO MAN SHALL EVER PERISH IN

HELL FOR adam's sin, yea, men have no more reason to blame

THEMSELVES FOR WHAT ADAM DID BEFORE THEY WERE BORN, THANAN HEIR HAS TO BLAME HIMSELF, BECAUSE HIS FATHER SPENT HISINHERITANCE BEFORE HE WAS BORN." " 2. THAT IF WE HAD BEEN TOSUFFER IN HELL, IN RELATION TO ADAM OR THE LAW, THEN CHRIST,ALSO, SHOULD HAVE SUFFERED IN HELL, FOR US; WHICH HE DID NOT."

Against this grand error, I lay down this fundamentaltruth, namely, that Adam, by transgressing the first cove-

nant of life and obedience, plunged himself and all his pos-terity into a state of sin and death, under which they all lieand perish, until they are redeemed by Christ, the secondAdam.

In this doctrine there are three branches distinctly to beobserved:

First, That God made with Adam a covenant of life andobedience.

Secondly, Adam broke that covenant by his disobedience,and so brought himself and his posterity into a state of sinand death.

Thirdly, That we lie under that state of sin and misery,till we are regenerate and planted into Christ, by whomalone we have deliverance from it.

Of the first branch. The happiness of man in his createdstate, was established in the way of a covenant, and it con-sisted of two parts; the one showing what God commandedand required of Adam by the way of duty, and what hewould do for Adam upon the performance thereof, the othershows the creature's duty, binding himself to obey the willof the Creator in all things. It was a covenant of works,wherein life was promised upon condition of Adam's per-fect and entire obedience, and death threatened in case ofhis disobedience. In this covenant there were some thingsrequired and some things forbidden, with promises andthreats annexed, and outward seals added for confirmation.The thing required was entire obedience, the promise there-to annexed was the promise of everlasting life, and in tokenthereof God gave Adam to u eat of the tree of life." Thething forbidden, was to " eat of the tree of knowledge ofgood and evil;" the threatening annexed was death, " Inthe day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die;" dieeverlastingly; and that tree served as a warning to ourfirst parents of their mutable condition, and of the dangerthat would follow upon their transgressing; so sealing thethreatening of that covenant G en. iii. 11. Said God,« Whotold thee that thou wast naked ? Hast thou eaten of thetree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest noteat ?" There needed nothing else to condemn them, theywere forced by the guilt of their own consciences " to hidethemselves from God's presence," verse 8.

You see, then, first, here is a formal covenant of life and

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN.

death: secondly, you may observe, also, that the first cove-nant had promises of "life eternal," Luke x. 25. Thequestion was concerning " life eternal," how he might" in-herit " it. Christ bids him « keep the commandments,"and he should have his desire; from whence the inferenceis clear that the promise of life made to the keeping of thecommandments was eternal life. And so much the Lordhimself expresses, Gen. iii. 22, when he drove Adam outof paradise, " Lest he should put forth his hand and takeof the tree of life, and live for ever." The life, then, whichthat tree signified and sealed to man was life everlasting.And it is used to express that eternal life which the re-deemed of the Lord shall enjoy for ever in heaven. Rev.ii. 7, " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of thetree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."Lastly, in this covenant there was some kind of grace, be-cause God might have required obedience at his creature'shands without any such promise. Secondly, because thatreward to live for ever was above the merits of Adam'sobedience. Thirdly, especially considering that Adam'sability to perform that condition of life was of God's owndonation; and this is almost as much grace as some menallow in the new covenant. Howbeit, this covenant wasa covenant of works, a conditional, legal covenant; becausethe terms on which the promise of life was grounded wasAdam's own personal and perfect obedience; whereas inthe new covenant of grace it is grounded on and made goodto us for the righteousness of the Mediator. This was thecovenant of man's creation,made with all mankind in Adam,their head, and by it all the world are bound to be holyand perfect, as God made them at first. This covenant hebroke, and forfeited the life promised in it, and broughthimself and his posterity under the curse, as in the secondbranch is to be declared.

Secondly, You see how Adam by transgression brokeand forfeited that first covenant. Let us now consider theeffects of his fall: and first upon himself; for he plungedhimself into a state of sin and misery, which is expressedby that threatening, Gen. ii. 17, "Thou shalt surely die."This threatening taking hold of Adam comprehends threethings.

First, The Joss of his felicity, pack and be gone, no place

for a rebel. Secondly, the loss of the image of God. In-stead of knowledge, his "understanding is darkened, notable to discern the things of the Spirit of God ;" instead ofholiness and righteousness, he is " dead in trespasses andsins," he " comes short of the glory of God," he does al-ways in all things offend God, being able to do nothingthat can please God. Adam is now to be driven as an ex-ile out of paradise; he must not taste of the tree of life.—Thirdly, he lost his sweet communion with God; he waswont to talk with God and not be afraid, but now he fliesfrom his presence; he was afraid when he heard his voice,the voice of his God: guilt, and shame, and fear took holdof the sinning creature. And thus Adam dies in his spirit,he hath neither power, wisdom, nor will to do that whichis well pleasing to the Lord; he lost the favour of God,and is now in a state of enmity against God. God andAdam were now two, as we say, without any desire or suf-ficiency on man's part to make reconciliation, if the Lordhad not looked upon them in the blessed seed : he lost alsohis complete and sweet dominion over the creatures.—These are his losses.

Secondly. Another effect of this fall upon himself, wasthat universal corruption of his nature in all the powersand faculties of his soul and body: Adam now was not likeAdam; he was not the same man: he was comely, thoughnaked, before the fall, but now uncomely, as a dead corpseis ghastly to be beheld, though it were lovely and delight-ful to us when it was living. They knew evil now expe-rimentally. Adam's fall brought, not only a privation ofgoodness, but a contrary evil disposition upon the wholeman; as sickness is not only an absence of health, but amalignant quality seizing on the spirits, bringing an evilhabit of body. Man's sin is not only that transgression ofAdam by which he sinned, and we with him, but anotherwhich ariseth out of this, even that infection of all thepowers and members, both of soul and body, by which weare inclined to evil, and that continually, which as poisonput into a cup of wine makes it deadly, dispersing itselfthroughout the same: so in like manner Adam's first sinpoisoned his whole nature, so that no sound part is foundin him, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot.His understanding is filled with blindness and darkness,

20*

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN.

and favoureth not the things which are of God. His con-science is wounded with guilt, having lost both its purity andpeace. His will is captive, and of no strength to do good,&c. And from this corrupt fountain issued a stream of ac-tual sins in the course of their lives. How many sins pre-sently appeared in their carriage towards God ? they ex-cused and cloaked their sin; Adam puts it upon his wife,and she upon the serpent. They hide and fly from God,they allege a cause of their fear, namely, their nakedness,whereas it was their eating of the forbidden tree that madethem afraid; they betook themselves to false coverts, theysewed fig leaves to hide their nakedness; but how to reco-ver the favour of God they had no knowledge. Thus itwas with our first parents when they had sinned.

There is yet a third effect of their fall, and that is death.By sin an entry was made to death, to the dissolutionof nature. " Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt re-turn," Gen. iii. 19. Under which sentence of death arecomprehended all the sorrows and miseries of this life, theforerunners of death, as may be gathered from the Lord'sproceeding in his sentence against Adam and Eve, " Cursedis the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it allthe days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bringforth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field," (asthe beasts of the earth did,) and shalt no longer eat of thefruits of paradise, " in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eatbread, till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thoutaken." Gen. iii. 17, 18, 19.

From whence I gather, that the fearful and horribleplagues which God threatens and executes in the world area part of that death which God threatened for their trans-gression, Gen. ii. 17, for we die daily.

Yea, lastly, for sin he became subject to miseries afterdeath, the wrath of God for evermore, which we call eter-nal death, signified by driving them out of Paradise fromthe presence of God, and from the tree of life; of whichthe remediless fears, and deep doubts, and fearful expecta-tions of vengeance to come, are sure signs and tokens. Byreason of which terrors that follow death the unreconciledsouls are "all their lifetime subject to bondage." Heb. ii.15. If man's misery were ended with his life, they wouldeat and drink and be merry while they may, they would

not be in bondage under fear of death, but those strokes offear and sadness, those enslaving thoughts, which the se-rious apprehension of death imprints upon the soul, whe-ther men will or not, show the effect of the law of natureupon their hearts, tind that the sentence of death is extend-ed beyond our bodily dissolution at death; the sting ofconscience is a forerunner of judgment to come, of wrathafter death, even as our outward miseries are of our tem-poral death.

Thus of the effect of the fall upon Adam himself, it fol-lows that we consider,

Secondly, (Helvet. Confirmat. cap. 8. Qualis /actusest a lapsu, tales sunt omnes, qui ex ipso prognati sunt,peccato inquam morti, variisque obnoxii calamitati-bus.) The same effects upon Adam's fall are upon all hisposterity, whom with himself he plunged into a state ofsin and misery; all those sad effects beforementioned wo-ful mankind lies under; for look in what case Adam waswhen he had sinned, such is our case as soon as we are bornof him ; wherefore that cursed state of mankind is in scrip-ture called "the old man," Eph. ii. 22, "the flesh," Rom.viii. 7, 8, "the law in our members," Rom. vii. 23, "theimage of the first " Adam, 1 Cor. xv. 49, " as we haveborne the image of the earthly," &c. This is the state ofman by nature.

Now, that all mankind takes part with Adam and Evein their fall, and in the woful effects of it, I shall prove,

1. By the very words of the apostle Paul, Rom. v. 12," By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin."Sin and death are come upon all mankind, we find and feelby experience. But how came this mischief upon us ?—" By one man," says the apostle, nothing can be spokenmore plainly with the tongue. Yea, but how can that be,that all should be undone by one man, seeing at that timeall were not? Would you fain know the reason of this?Can you not content yourselves to know* that it is so, unlessyou know the manner how it is so ? Well, Paul tells youthat too: " Death passed upon all, for that all have sinned,"or in whom all have sinned. £<j> w in quo, namely, Ada-mo; so Beza, and many others, render it, showing thatem, is often taken for sv, as Mark ii. 4, Heb. ix. 17. Andso our margin doth allow it to be read, "in whom all have

sinned." And this reading best agrees with Paul's scopeand argument; for here the apostle renders a reason, notnakedly why all men die, for then it had been sufficient tosay because all have sinned, but signally, why from oneman sin and death entered upon all the world, and the rea-son of this is, because in that one man, (as being the root,and having in him the nature of all men that ever were tobe in the world,) all have sinned. But take the word (**w) causally, for eo quod, inasmuch, or because " all havesinned," the force of the apostle's argument is still thesame; for how have all that die sinned, if not in that oneman ? No man dies that has not sinned [Nemo potestsnbjici poznoe, nisi qui reus est culpae*) but many thou-sands die, (namely, infants,) who never sinned at all, if theysinned not in Adam; therefore in that one man we all sinned;for we that are men were subject unto death when we wereinfants, as well as those that die in their infancy. So that£$ co (inasmuch) as "all have sinned," must be understoodin that one man, for else many thousands die which hadnever sinned, which is contrary to the express words ofthis text, and of the verses following, where the apostleproves that all sinned in that one man. Observe the apos-tle's reasoning, verse 13, " Until the law, namely, of Moses,sin was in the world," and therefore a law which wastransgressed, because " where there is no law sin is notimputed," there is no transgression. Again observe, thatthe transgression of that law brought death; so verse 14," Death reigned from Adam to Moses;" if there were nosin, nor a law broken from Adam to Moses, there wouldhave been no death. Now what law was that ? It wasthe law of our creation, which Adam broke. And whatsin was there from Adam's time which caused death?—Ans. Not only actual sin, which is called u a sinning afterthe similitude of Adam's transgression," but original sin,in which infants are born, and for which they die ; for soit is said, " Death reigned over them that had not sinnedafter the similitude of Adam's transgression," that is, ac-tually ; they never sinned by their own act in their ownpersons, yet they die. What follows of that ? Thereforethey sinned in Adam, in whom all mankind received thesentence of death, according to that declaration of the apos-* " No one can be punished who is not guilty of a crime."—(t)

tie, 1 Cor. xv. 22, "In Adam all die," therefore, in Adamall sinned.

Lastly, Rom. v. 15. It is delivered as an undoubtedtruth, " Through the offence of one many be dead." Arethese empty sounds ? Are they not plain words of truth ?Then let us gather up this argument. The thing to beproved was this, That Adam plunged all his posterity intoa state of sin and death. This is proved by the words ofthe text, " By one man sin and death entered into theworld." How so? "Because in him all sinned." Howdoes that appear ? Because no man dies that has not sinned,yet infants die that never sinned in their own person bytheir own act. And is that just ? Yes, because the lawof their creation was broken by their father Adam ; there-fore " through the offence of one many be dead."

This clears that objection of Anabaptists; infants are un-der no law, therefore sin is not imputed to them. Ans. In-fants have transgression imputed to them, and death fortransgression, therefore they are under some law, thoughnot under Moses' law, yet under Adam's law, in whoseloins they were.

Obj. How were we in Adam ? And how may it appearto be just that all mankind should be involved in sin andmisery by that one man's offence ? Ans. We were inAdam two manner of ways :

First, Legally, as head of that first covenant, with himand his posterity that was to come of his loins, God enteredinto a covenant of life and obedience ; Adam was not a pri-vate man in his business, he and his children were to standand fall according to the tenor of that covenant: he re-ceived the grace, the mercy, and promises of that covenant,and strength to perform it, for all, and so he forfeited thesame for all: even as in our law a landlord contracts forhimself and children, to hold such and such lands, undersuch and such conditions, the which, if the father forfeit,he forfeits the whole estate that was granted both fromhimself and children. Thus we see also, that God implies(includes) children with their parents in other covenantsand promises, as he promised the land to Abraham and tohis seed after him, when as yet he had no child, Acts vii. 5,so Deut. xxix. 14,15. God made a covenant with "Israel,with the captains of your tribes, your elders, and your offi-

cers, with all the men of Israel," verse 10, and " with yourlittle ones," verse 11, "and not with them only that standhere with us this day before the Lord, but also with himthat is not here with us this day," that is, with the child-ren that shall be born. And if parents may contract fortheir children, yea, seeing God himself takes into the samecovenant the fathers and their children, why should it seemstrange that he should do the like to Adam and his seed,especially considering that he was the root in whom allmankind was created, and out of which all mankind wasto spring in their generations; in whom we all had ourbeing, as in the seed, and the principles of our future ex-istence ; forasmuch, then, as children are parts of their pa-rents, and seeing we are parties to that first covenant, whichis broken, we are born rei debendi, though not agendi;we owe a debt of obedience which we cannot perform, andso may blame ourselves for breach of covenant, and Godis just.

Secondly, We were in Adam naturally; we were in hisloins, as a part of him when he fell, so that whatever alte-ration befell the human nature, it is common to us, of whichnature we are a part. All the seed of man was in Adam,and therefore, that seed being wholly corrupted, we thatcome of him must needs be corrupted also. All the branchesof an oak, all its leaves and boughs, were in the root, thoughwhen the tree was first planted not any of them appeared.Now, " if the root be holy, so are the branches;" but ifthe root be sour and poisoned, so are the branches; we are"a seed of evil doers, a generation of vipers," young ser-pents of the old, and young serpents are worthy to die,because of their kind, and the venom that is in them. Godlooks upon all mankind ; he sees not in them his imagewhich he first stamped on them, but the clean contrary,even of the seed of the serpent. And we have reason toblame ourselves for being such vile and unclean creatures;and God is just in casting away the young serpent with theold, the " children of whoredoms," with their adulterousmother."

Obj. Yea, but there was nothing of us in Adam but ourbodies, and the body is sinless, it hath not sinned till it beinfected with the soul by transgression of a law; and thesoul, coming from God, is innocent till it meet with a com-

mandment and break it; therefore in Adam all sinned not,all sin is by our own act.

Answer: First, God gave to Adam an ability to increaseand multiply his kind by generation; Gen. i. 28, "Be fruitful,and multiply, and replenish the earth/' as he did to othercreatures: and so man begets man, the whole man begetsthe whole man, consisting of soul and body.

Secondly, So likewise for the seat of sin, we say, thatneither the soul alone, nor the body alone, but the wholeman (which consists of both, and differs from both,) is thesubject or seat of sin. The soul was not created out of thebody, but in the body, Zech. xii. 1, " God formeth thespirit of man within him," and so soul and body make oneman, so that the body does not without the soul, nor thesoul without the body commit sin, but both together, asthey make a son of Adam, are infected with sin, that is,with that inbred inhabiting sin and wickedness, whichcleaves to all the seed of Adam, like a leprosy. It is an idlefancy, to say, that the soul is infected from the body, orthe body from the soul; but both are infected from Adam,from whom, by the law or decree of propagation, and na-tural generation, the whole man has its beginning: Gen.v. 3, " Adam begat a son in his own likeness;" a son con-sisting of soul and body, in his own likeness, that is, in hissinful likeness; for" who can bring a clean thing out of anunclean ? not one :" Job xiv. 4. To conclude, we receivethree evils from Adam's fall: first, imputation of his sin;secondly, corruption of our nature; and thirdly, death.

First, for imputation of Adam's disobedience: The textis express, Rom. v. 16, "The judgment was by one (of-fence) to condemnation." In this place, Adam and Christare compared together, as the two head-men of mankind,in their different estate of nature and grace: Adam was thenatural head of all men; Christ is the head of the spiritualoffspring. They agree in this property of communicatingtheir conditions to those who are theirs. Adam is the headof sin and death, Christ is the head of righteousness andlife. As in the present text, "judgment was by one tocondemnation," that is, that one offence was imputed to allto condemnation, so " the free gift is of many offences untojustification." Christ takes away the condemnation whichthat sin brought. 0 then, but what shall we do for all our

240 ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN.

actual sins? The text shows you, Christ takes away notonly that offence, but all our personal sins too, " The freegift is of many offences unto justification;" many offencesare freely forgiven, and all our other sins shall not be im-puted to us. The comparison is this: As Adam's offenceis ours by imputation, it was imputed for condemnation ;so Christ's righteousness is ours by imputation, it is im-puted to justification, see ver. 18, "As by the offence ofone, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; evenso, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon allto justification of life." Quemadmodum ergo in Christoobedierunt, et obediendofacti simt justi, ver. 19, it a inJidamo omnes peccaverunt, ver. 19. All that are inChrist partake of his righteousness, and all that are yet inold Adam partake of his guilt.

The second evil received from Adam's fall, is the cor-ruption of our nature, the which, what it is, and how great,you may see above in the losses and depravity, which thecommitting of that first sin brought upon our first parents,the same poisonous effects does it work in the souls of theirposterity, as the loss of God's favour, and of God's image,the corruption of all the faculties of our souls and bodies ;in a word, " we are dead in sins and trespasses," wherein,before the grace of Christ renewing and delivering us, "wewalked according to the course of the world," (a bad pat-tern to walk by,) "according to the prince of the powerof the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children ofdisobedience," (we are under the power of the Devil, ac-tuated by him to do his will,) " amongst whom also, we allhad our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh,fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind; andwere by nature the children of wrath, even as others."This is a sad description of our corruption by nature. Thethree enemies of our salvation, the world, the flesh, thedevil, were our guides: The lusts of the world, the lustsof the devil, and the lusts of our own hearts, these are thethings we could do, and delight to do them, it was naturalto us. In this woful, dead, rotten, poisoned, corrupt, estate,we were all born, and must confess, with David, Psal. li. 5," Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mo-ther conceive me." David sinned not in being conceivedand born, for these, being the works of God and nature,

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN. 241

are good. But David and we all are sinners from thebirth; he and we were conceived and born in sin, a seed ofevil doers. This is the natural condition of all mankindreceived from our father Adam. " By one man's disobe-dience many were made sinners/' in our own persons. Soby Christ our corrupt nature is renewed, and we are"made holy and righteous." Romans, v. 19. We aresanctified in Christ, the second Adam, and " quickened tonewness of life," Ephesians, ii. 1, 5.

Before I pass to the third evil received by Adam, twoobjections come to be cleared:

First, how could Adam lose that which he never had?The image of God in Adam, was a human perfection only,say some. Adam was made a reasonable, wise, and under-standing man. He was in a perfect, moral, sinless condi-tion; but if we could attain the perfection that was in Adam,it would be no more than a moral and human perfection;they that have but the first Adam's wisdom, are still of theearth, earthly. It was not that wisdom and understanding,nor that purity and righteousness, with which the secondAdam was endued, and which all believers are made par-takers of in the days of the gospel; he was not partaker ofthe Divine nature; it was a condition free from pain andsorrow, a condition of human perfection, not a spiritualperfection. Thus that famous seducer, Thomas Collier, (inhis book called the Marrow of Christianity, and dignifiedby an epistle commendatory of Mr. Saltmarsh, as discover-ing some principles of truth meet to be known of allsaints,) vents his poisonous errors, which are as rottennessin the bones. And thus poor Christians are gulled andbewitched by such false lights, whilst they read their bookswith greediness and admiration, wherein is mixed a poi-sonous cup of dangerous and wicked errors, with some pre-cious truths, which the simple drink up altogether, forwant of having their senses exercised, to discover the dif-ference between sugar and ratsbane, between truth andfalsehood.

But to answer the objection, the scripture is clear, thatthe image of God in Adam consisted chiefly and properlyin a conformity to the nature and will of God in "holinessand righteousness," as the apostle teaches, Eph. iv. 23, 24," Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on21

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN-

that new man, which after God is created in righteousnessand true holiness," with Col. iii. 10, "And have put on thenew man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the imageof him that created him." Note three things:

First, The old man to be put off with his deeds, is ourcorrupt nature in Adam, the flesh with its affections andlusts: The new man to be put on, is the new creature, orthe graces of the Spirit: it is that universal purity, whichis begun in the souls of the regenerate, by the working ofthe Spirit, by which our natural corruption is more andmore subdued, and our souls endued with holy qualities,according to the image of Christ.

Secondly, We are said to be renewed to this image, whichgives us to understand, that some time we had it. Thatwhich is renewed, is the same that was at first bestowed;the Spirit of renovation restores us what we received inour creation, and was lost; whatsoever is renewed wasonce had, and lost. Now our renovation by Ghrist standsin knowledge, in the spirit of our mind, and in righteous-ness, and true holiness; therefore in those qualities stoodthe image of God in our first creation.

Thirdly, which is yet more plain, by the words of bothtexts, Eph. iv. 24; Col. iii. 10; which say, that "the newman is created in righteousness and holiness after God,"that is, after the likeness of God himself, who did createhim; God created Adam, we are renewed after the imageof the Creator, and that was in knowledge, righteousnessand holiness: Adam could not lose that which he neverhad ; Adam lost spiritual life, holiness and righteousness,therefore he had them.

Objection 2. By Adam's sin, all of us have weak natures,but not corrupt natures, from the birth. Some speak oforiginal sin, as a great infelicity, not a sin: as for a child to beborn with one eye, or withered arm, we say it is his mis-fortune, but not his sin, or fault: Are we to think soslightly of original sins ?

Ans. No; the text says not, we are weak, and thereforedie, but that all have sinned, and through the offence of oneman are made sinners, (which is more than a weakness andproneness to sin) and therefore all die. This indwellingsin is that poisoned fountain, out of which arises all thatrebellion, that is in us, against the will of God, Rom. vii. 20.

And it is that "law in our members, which wars againstthe law of our mind, and bringeth us captive to the law ofsin and death;" by which every one is tempted, "when heis drawn away of his own lust, and enticed; then when lusthath conceived, it bringeth forth sin," and death at last, asJames teaches, James i. 13, 14. Indeed, carnal men makelight of this corruption of nature, because they do not feelit. Paul was alive in his own conceit; he was sinful, thoughhe knew it not, sinful by nature, " before the command-ment came," but discerned not his woful state and spiritualbondage, under corruption, till " the commandment came "to his knowledge; then he played Rex and slew him, ver. S.And in this respect, we all have cause to bewail, not ourweakness, but our wickedness, and to pray, not only forstrength, but for mercy, to pardon and cleanse us from ourbirth-sin, as David did; and to strive, not only to keep our-selves unspotted of gross sins, but to be regenerated andborn again, else we are undone for ever.

Of all the sons of Adam, Christ alone needed no regene-ration, because he was not conceived and born in sin, as allothers are: but except we be born again, we cannot enterinto the kingdom of heaven.

The third evil, which came upon us by Adam's fall, isDeath, as has been largely shown in our first and generalproof of this point, from Rom. v. 12, and I will not repeat.But what death? That is the question:

My adversary's position is, that no man shall ever perishin hell for Adam's sin. The Anabaptists hold, that Adambrought vanity and corruption upon all his posterity; theearth, and every creature in it, is subject to vanity, yet thosethat die, and have corruption by Adam's sin, shall not becast into hell; for the Lord says, " The soul that sinneth, itshall die, the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,"Ezekiel xviii. 20.

Ans. No man is cast into hell for Adam's sin, himselfbeing innocent; but in Adam we all sinned, as has beenproved: no man dies of another's disease, but if we are in-fected with the same, we die of our own disease; the pro-phet Ezekiel says, that "the just child of a wicked fathershall live: if he seeth all that his father hath done, and con-sidereth, and doth not the like, he shall surely live," ver.14, 18; but if the son commit the like sins as the father did,

ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN,

then "they shall bear their own iniquity," ver. 13. Thisis our case in relation to Adam, we are all wicked sons ofa wicked father, there is none of us that doeth good, no,not one: all Adam's sons are wrapped in his sin, all areunder that common guilt: bring forth a clean son out ofAdam's loins, and he shall live: there is duplex reatus,proprius, et communis, I am guilty of some sins, whichanother is not, and another is guilty of sins which I am not;we have our proper faults. But this one offence, of whichPaul speaks, Rom. v. 12, 16, 19, involves us all in one com-mon guilt; by it all of us being in Adam's loins, are alikeguilty; and therefore even by that rule (The soul that sin-neth it shall die) we must all die, because we all havesinned. Sicut omnium hominum natura, ita etiamomnium voluntas originaliier fuit in Jldamo.

Ans. As for the kind of death which God threatened tothe transgression, we see it is, First, a temporal death, forinfants die daily. Grant that Adam's sin brought but atemporal death on his children, yet this proves that theywere sinners, and guilty in Adam, else they should not havedied: and unless you confess, that infants are sinners inAdam, you cannot maintain the justice of God for inflictingtemporal death on infants, according to that rule, Ezekielxviii. 20. But,

Secondly, If you grant infants to be sinners in Adam,then it will follow, that the same death, which is the wagesof sin, is their due, unless they be redeemed by Christ.

Thirdly, Again, consider what death it is that Christdelivers us from, that kind of death must be confessed tobe due to sin, as its wages: but Christ delivers us not onlyfrom a temporal death in our resurrection, but from ever-lasting death in hell, as the apostle Paul teaches, 1 Thes,i. 10, "Even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath tocome," so Rom. v. 9, " Being justified by his blood, weshall be saved from wrath through him." After deaththen comes the judgment. Now to what end shouldChrist judge the dead, if there were no other death thanthe dissolution of our souls from the body? But there isanother death, which is an everlasting separation from thepresence of God. 2 Thes. i. 8, 9, " He shall come in flamesof fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, andthat obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who

shall be punished with everlasting destruction from thepresence of the Lord." To conclude, Adam, by his sin,deprived himself of Paradise, it is true, but not an earthly-Paradise only; he plunged himself into a state of death,not only temporal, but in hell: and they that can disputeagainst this truth now, shall be forced to confess it here-after, and to bewail themselves for what Adam did beforethey were born, unless Christ redeem them.

Obj. 1. Adam was not condemned for his own sin,therefore shall any of his posterity be? Ans. Yes, unlessthey be redeemed by Christ, the second Adam; Adam de-served condemnation, but God has mercy on whom hewill; all that are sinners alike, deserve the like condemna-tion; but God of his free grace plucks some out of the fire,and gives them remedy by faith in Christ.

Obj. 2. Mr. Hurd thus argues, Threats are denouncedalways against actual sins; we never read that they arethundered against us for original sin; they intimate, there-fore, that the sins, for which men go to hell, are theiractual sins only.

Ans. Original sin is the greatest of all others, the seed,the sink, the source, and spring of all other sins. Thisflesh is of so damnable a nature, that unless our " old manbe crucified with Christ," unless that " body of sin " be"destroyed," unless we "crucify the flesh with its affec-tions and lusts," we are " none of Christ's," and if noneof his, then we are " under the law, dead in trespasses andsins;" (Rom. vi. 6; Gal. v. 24,) our flesh, our unregenerateflesh, carries more souls to hell, than all our actual sins, forthere is no repentance nor mercy for any actual sins, norvictory over them, till this " old man be crucified," till" the body of sin be destroyed, that henceforth we shouldnot serve sin." Rom. vi. 6. Now what can be spokenmore sad to any soul, than this, Thou art none of Christ's?" If you live after the flesh, ye shall die," therefore fleshbrings death; "That which is born of the flesh is flesh,"and " Except ye be born again, ye cannot see the kingdomof God:" (Rom. viii. 13, John iii. 3, 6,) our being in theflesh in our natural state, excludes us from the kingdom ofheaven. These things we read thundered against originalsin; our old man will kill us, unless it be crucified; ourbody of sin will destroy us, unless it be destroyed by the

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body of Christ; our flesh will shut us out of heaven, unlesswe be new-born. And yet do we never read, that threatsare thundered out against us for original sin? Are theseempty sounds? Do they not threaten death against us?Surely, unless men were dead, they could not choose buthear and tremble at these thunderings against this original,inbred, indwelling corruption, and in due sense thereof,cry out with the apostle, (Rom. vii. 24, 25,) " Who shalldeliver me from the body of this death? I thank God "for deliverance " by Jesus Christ," else it would undo mefor ever.

Obj. 3. " If we be fallen into the guilt of the first sin,and the corruption of nature only, because we were inAdam's loins when he sinned, and derive our being fromhim, then it will follow, that we stand guilty of all the sinswhich Adam committed from his fall to his life's end; forwe were in his loins as well after his fall, as before, and inevery passage and variation of his life; he was still a prin-ciple of mankind. But where do we read that we areguilty of any other of his sins? therefore not of the first:And if wTe are guilty of Adam's first transgression, thenmuch more of the sins of our immediate parents, in whoseloins we were, when they sinned. But children are notguilty of their parents' faults, therefore not of Adam's.

Ans. The scripture ascribes that sin and misery, whichentered into the world, and invaded all mankind, to Adam'sfirst sin only, as ye may see Rom. v. 15,16, 17, &c. " Thejudgment was by one offence unto condemnation," andherewith we should rest content. The Lord thus ordain-ing and covenanting with Adam, the head of all mankind,that all should stand or fall with him: wherefore, when hebroke the covenant, he forfeited all, and so brought allunder the imputation of his sin: which is not unusual incovenants and contracts between men, as has been shownbefore. We were legally in Adam, as parties contractingin that first covenant. We see, by experience, the truthof our doctrine, namely, that all Adam's posterity, eveninfants, die, we wonder at the cause, the apostle tells us," because in Adam all have sinned, in whom we all were."This we cavil against, and are loath to believe it. As forAdam's other actual sins, the standing, or fall of mankinddid not depend on them, the Lord not imputing them to

us, because upon them the articles of the covenant did notdepend. Even as we see a conqueror grant some castleor town to be held by the besieged upon certain articles;upon breach of the articles, the castle or town is forfeited,and is imputed to all that be in the castle; but their otherparticular evil speeches, or actions against him that grantedtheir articles, are not considered: So in this case.

Obj. 4. But does it agree with the goodness and justiceof God to punish Adam and all mankind so fearfully, foreating a little fruit?

Ans. That transgression of our first parents, was a hor-rible departing and falling from God the Creator, to theirArch-enemy, the devil, whom they believed and obeyed,rather than the voice of their God; they were not contentwith their blessed condition, but despising it, they with-drew themselves from the power of God, from his law andobedience, and wilfully broke that easy commandmentgiven to them, and so rejecting God, were justly rejectedof God, and brought upon themselves that death, whichwas threatened.

It was not so little an offence, as most men think it tobe. Rev. Bishop Usher shows the heinousness of that re-volt, and that it did in some sort, contain within it thebreach of all the commandments: See Sum of ChristianReligion, page 134.

Obj. 5. The last objection is here rejected by our adver-saries, as a reason of their opinion, that we are not indanger of hell for Adam's sin; for say they, if we hadbeen to suffer in hell, in relation to Adam or the law, thenChrist also should have suffered in hell for us, which hedid not.

Ans. That does not follow. He that delivers a debtorout of prison, need not himself lie in prison; it is enoughthat he satisfy the law, and discharge all the debt: so inthis business, Christ is our surety appointed of God to bearour sins, he entered into our bonds, he was " made underthe law to redeem us, that were under the law;" he was" made a curse for us, to redeem us from the curse of thelaw;" he did " bear our sins in his own body upon thecross, blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances that wasagainst us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of theway, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principal!-

ties and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumph-ing over them in it." Hell is the prison into which allare cast, which do not agree with their adversary, andthere they lie, because they cannot make satisfaction tothe law, because they cannot pay the utmost farthing; itthey could have satisfied the debt, they need not have goneto hell, the which seeing Christ our surety did, it was noway requisite, that he should suffer in the place of thedamned. And therefore I pass by as frivolous, thosequestions; whether Christ discharged this debt by wayof solution, or by way of satisfaction? Whether his suf-ferings were the payment of the very debt, or of somethingelse in its stead? It is sufficient that he has " cancelled thehand-writing that was against us;" that "he hath borneour griefs," that " he was wounded for our transgressions,"that " the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and byhis stripes we are healed," and that in him God is wellpleased with us, having "laid upon him the iniquity of usall." And I conclude this third point, namely, that seeingthe Lord threatened death to Adam's trangression, and theScripture tells us, " Death is the wages of sin," and that"Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come," thereforethat covenant threatened a future wrath to all sinners,under which they lie till they are redeemed by Christ,which is the third and last branch of our doctrine, brieflyto be touched.

You have seen, first, how God made a covenant withAdam; secondly, how Adam bj^ breaking it plunged him-self, and all his posterity, into a state of sin and death.

The third branch follows, namely, that all men lie underthe breach and curse of that first covenant, till they areactually regenerated, and planted into Christ, the secondAdam, by whom alone we have deliverance from it. Thisis evident by our Saviour's words, (John viii. 36,) "If theSon shall make you free, then are you free indeed." Thenatural man, howsoever he thinks himself free, yet in truthis in bondage under sin, in the gall of bitterness and bondof iniquity, the very servant of corruption, and in thatstate shall for ever remain, unless the Son make him free.For, alas, what else can relieve you? It is not the wisdom ofPlato, the learning of Aristotle, nor the justice of Aristides,&c, nor all the honesty, and seeming virtues of those

heathen worthies. It is not all the moral honesty, and ci-vility of Christians, nor their outward privileges in Chris-tianity. It is not any or all of this that can serve theturn: whatever is short of Christ, whatever is short of re-generation, is short of salvation. It is nothing but Christ,the second Adam, in whom the new covenant of grace isestablished, that can deliver man from the state of sin andmisery, in which all are born.

It offends the ears of many, especially scholars, to hearus say, that those ancient philosophers and searchers ofwisdom, that all who ever were born of Adam, whetherTurks, Pagans, or Christians, are under sin and death.They cannot conceive that men of such honesty, and de-votion in their way should be damned. They cry outagainst this doctrine, as harsh and uncharitable. But whatis the reason of this? Surely, because they do not wellunderstand, or do not remember the nature of the covenantof works, and the state of all men under it, till they areactually planted into Christ. Men do not consider underwhat covenant they are, they do not hear the voice of thatcovenant, shutting up all under wrath, who do not performabsolute, perpetual, personal, and sinless obedience; thecovenant of works knows no mercy, it curses every trans-gression; it accepts not of repentance, nor of doing ourbest; all men out of Christ are "under the law," that is,under these strict terms, to do it, or die. Indeed, if sal-vation were disposed and bestowed according to men'sgood intentions, or moral honesty, or the like good works,then there were hope of moral heathens, Turks, papists,and merely civilized protestants. But, poor souls, all thiswhile you look for salvation in the covenant of works;know therefore for certain, that " He that hath the Sonhath life, he that hath not the Son, hath not life." " Thereis no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus," (1John v. 12; Rom. viii. 1,) and nothing but condemnationto them that are out of Christ. A man may really beunder the law, and but seemingly under grace; manythousands apply to themselves the promise of the gospel,and of the new covenant, when they are not gotten onestep out of the old Adam, when they are still under thelaw; you must look to it, that your state be changed, thatye be translated from the covenant of nature to Jesus Christ

250 ERRORS ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN.

effectually, and then you are under grace, then are ye freeindeed. Christ restores us all that we lost in Adam.

By the first Adam, I told you we have three evils.First, Imputation of his transgression; secondly, corrup-tion of our nature; thirdly, death. Answerable to whichwe have three good things by Christ; first, imputation ofhis righteousness; secondly, renewing of nature; thirdly,life. These things are evidently set forth in that compa-rison, which Paul makes between Christ and Adam, Rom.v. 14.

First, For imputation of Christ's righteousness, (verses16, IS,) "The judgment was by one offence to condem-nation, but the free gift is of many offences to justification;"and, (verse 18,) " As by the offence of one, judgment cameupon all to condemnation, even so by the righteousness ofone, the free gift came upon all men to the justification oflife."

Secondly, For renewing our nature, Christ makes newcreatures. We are " circumcised in him, with the circum-cision made without hands, in putting off the body of thesins of the flesh: and you being dead in your sins, and theuncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened togetherwith him." 2 Cor. v. 17: Col. ii. 11, 13.

Thirdly, Lastly, for life, (Rom. v. 17,) "Much morethey which receive abundance of grace and of the gift ofrighteousness, shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ."And, again, (verse 21,) "As sin hath reigned unto death,even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eter-nal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." In which comparisonof Christ and Adam, you see that we gain in Christ whatwe lost in Adam. Grace is as powerful to save, as sin todestroy. Guilt by Adam, righteousness by Christ; cor-ruption by Adam, regeneration by Christ; death by Adam,eternal life by Christ: where, for conclusion, I would havethis one thing especially noted in this comparison of Christwith Adam, namely, that our redemption by Christ, is asure proof of our undoing by Adam. Now take away theformer, the transgression of all men in Adam, and youoverthrow the latter, to wit, the redemption of the worldby Christ: if any did not fall in Adam, they need no re-demption by Christ; but seeing all need to be redeemedby Christ, therefore all fell in Adam, which is the sub-

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stance of the truth delivered against the heretical positionlaid down in the London Testimony above.

Use. That which remains is, by way of use, to humbleevery soul of us under the sense of our cursed state innature. To make us observe the crossings, the rebellings,the untowardness, and indisposition that is in our heartsagainst the will of God. It is evident that we are born insin, because we need not to be taught to sin, as we aretaught every art that is not natural: we must be taught toread, to write, to work in this or that art; but we sin with-out teaching, as the young snake hisses and stings.

We should repent and bewail our original corruption,especially the lustings and workings of our old man, withthe several aggravations thereof: 1. In regard to this univer-sality, and spreading over all the parts and faculties of oursoul and body, the mind, the conscience, and the heart, thewill, the memory, the affections: all the members of thebody, are instruments of it, all parts are affected with itspoison. 2. In regard to its closeness, and adherence to us,as close as our flesh, as our members. It casts a contagionand defilement upon our best actions. 3. In regard to itsstrength, and power to hinder good, to incline to evil.4. In regard to its policies and compliances, of its reason-ings and temptations. 5. In regard to its fruitfulness, con-tinually it works in us to bring forth fruit unto death.

These, and such like aggravations, of this birth-sin, areexcellently drawn by that learned man, Dr. Reynolds, whohas with much spiritual skill and observation, dissectedthat body of sin, by which others may be brought to seeand bewail their wretched state in nature. How light so-ever many reckon of this sin, it is that which costs thechildren of God more sighs and groans, more shame andbitter conflicts, than all their actual sins. You see howthe apostle Paul mourned and struggled under it, Rom. vii.It is it which costs the ministers of Christ more pains toconvince people of, to make them sensible of their state init, than of any of their actual sins. Men are not easilyconvinced of their natural blindness, ignorance, unbelief,hypocrisy, security, hardness, and deceitful ness of heart,and that beadroll of lusts and wickedness, that is in the bestcivilized unregenerate man or woman in the world. Othat God, who raised Christ from the dead, would, by the

same mighty power of his Spirit quicken every soul amongyou that is dead in trespasses and sins, and make you tolay it to your hearts, that if you are not better than naturemade you, you are undone for ever, that if you are not re-generated, you are under the law, and must answer foryourselves, and have no Mediator.

1. That you may see yourselves in a state of death andcondemnation. 2. In a state of enmity and opposition toGod, and every thing that is holy and good, even " thewisdom of the flesh is enmity against God." 3. That youare in a state of insufficiency every way to help yourselves,that so you may more seriously, with hungering and thirst-ing, seek to Christ for help. Of redemption by Christ,we are to speak in the next Chapter.

By this that has been said, are discovered and cleared,first, many vulgar mistakes about the image of God inAdam. Secondly, how all sinned in Adam. Thirdly, whatdeath was threatened for sin. And fourthly, man's wretchedstate by nature.

CHAPTER VIII.

ERRORS AGAINST JESUS CHRIST, THE ONE MEDIATOR.

Here are four gross errors uttered with great boldness jfirst, that hypostatical union and communion of properties,are but real contradictions, and the frog-like croaking ofthe dragon, the beast, and the false prophets, &c.

Of the union of Godhead and manhood in the one personof Christ, and of the communion of properties by virtue ofthat union, I have spoken enough already, (chapter 4,) andtherefore shall speak nothing more to this bold blasphemy.Now of the second error, which affirms, "That spirituallife, breath, or soul, are subject to the grave, as well as thebody or flesh; for Christ's soul, as well as his flesh, was inhell, that is, the grave, or bonds of death, so that he whollydied for us." For this matter will be more fitly treated ofhereafter, wherein is expressly handled the doctrine ofthe future state of men's souls only. To affirm that his

soul was in the grave, as well as his flesh, is contrary tothose scriptures, which testify that Christ, our Mediator,at his death, yielded up the ghost, commending his spiritinto the hands of his Father, as Stephen did, promising theconverted thief, that the same day he should be with himin paradise, (Luke xxiii. 43,) which surely is not the grave.His body only was taken down from the tree, and laid ina sepulchre. And whereas it is said, that Christ's " soulwas not left in hell," (Acts ii. 31,) the text expounds itselfof the resurrection of Christ, for the apostle Peter, com-paring David and Christ together, says, that " David isboth dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us untothis day." David is not risen from the grave, his bodysees corruption: but of Christ it is said, that "his soul wasnot left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption." Soul,then, in this place, cannot be taken properly for the spiritualpart of man, but the life of Christ, as it is expressed, (verse24,) "Whom God raised up from the dead, having loosed thepains of death," that is, the power of death, and bonds ofthe grave, ft because it was not possible that he should beholden of it."

The third error is scarcely fit to be repeated, it is surelythe foam of a distempered brain; for what sober man wouldaffirm, " That Christ ascended upwards from the earth, intosome part of the celestial bodies, and that without doubthe must be in the most excellent, glorious, and heavenlypart thereof, which is the sun?"

Poetical wits make sport with a man in the moon; butdid it ever enter into the heart of a Christian, to think thatthe body of Christ is in the sun? The Scripture teachesus to speak more soberly and reverently of that article andmystery of our faith, namely, That our Lord Christ, when-he had finished his sufferings, and overcome death by hisresurrection, went up into heaven to the right hand of theMajesty on high, that he might fill all things, and for everappear as an advocate in the presence of God for us, andthere to sit and rule, till all his enemies be made his foot-stool. There Stephen saw him "standing on the righthand of God." And the angels told the apostles, Acts i.11, that " this same Jesus, which is taken up from you intoheaven (not into the sun) shall so come in like manner, asye have seen him go into heaven." He went into heaven,22

and from thence he shall come in great glory * to convinceall ungodly men of all their hard speeches, which they havespoken against him."

That which best deserves our examination in this eighthchapter, is this fourth error, " That Christ did not, by hisdeath, purchase life and salvation, no, not for the elect; forit was not the end of God in loving Christ, to purchaselove and life, but Christ himself was purchased by love,that he might make out love, and purchase us to love; forChrist came not to reconcile God to men, but men toGod," &c.

These affected expressions vary from the form of soundwords used in scripture; and though there is something oftruth in them, yet for the doctrine and substance of them,they are unsound, and lead into a dangerous error, evendenying the virtue of Christ's blood.

Now that you may discern what is truth, and what isfalsehood in them, you must distinguish a two-fold love ofGod; there is amor benevolentise, the love of God's goodwill, and this is one of his attributes,, namely, his free grace,which is the first moving wheel in the work of man's re-demption: from this love it is, that God sent his Son intothe world, John iii. 16, "God so loved the world that hegave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth inhim should not perish, but have everlasting life." Thislove was hid in God from ages and generations, but now" the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appearedto all men," especially in this, " because God sent his onlybegotten Son into the wTorld, that we might live throughhim." This love is not purchased by Christ, for this lovegave Christ.

Secondly, But there is another love, amor amiciiise, alove of friendship and reconciliation between God and man,who was at enmity with God: Cum salvandi affectusesset in Deo, ejusque egressus ajustitid pro peccato laesdimpediretur, ablato per intervenientem satisfactionemimpediment o^ affectus iste in effectum exiit. Scripta.Remonst. p. 283. And this is the proper effect of Christ'sblood, according to that 2 Cor. v., " God was in Christ re-conciling the world to himself, having made peace throughthe blood of his cross, to reconcile all things to himself,and you that were sometimes alienated, and enemies in

THE ONE MEDIATOR. 255

your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciledin the body of his flesh through death." Reconciliationis between persons at odds, and Christ's death removed theenmity between God and man, namely, the law of trans-gressions, the justice of God, the truth of God in that sen-tence against transgressors. All which stood between Godand us, as a rock of separation, through which it was im-possible for God's pleased face to shine upon the sinner: ifChrist had not made peace through the blood of his cross,we had lain for ever under the weight of his wrath. Heprocured for us his Father's pardon; "Father, forgivethem;" without which pardon we must have been beatenwith many stripes, and borne the punishment of our ownsins in our own bodies and souls for evermore.

Thus you see, how love gave Christ, and how Christpurchased love for sinners, "He delivered us from thewrath to come," 1 Thes. i. 10. Wrath is gone forth uponall through Adam's transgression. All unbelievers areunder wrath, and there remain eternally: John iii. 36, "Hethat believeth not the Son, the wrath of God abideth onhim." And so every believer may truly say, they wereonce children of wrath, in a state of wrath; but now arereally delivered from the wrath to come; when of unbe-lievers, they were made believers.

Therefore we are to hold it as a precious truth of God,that Christ our mediator did by his blood truly and reallypurchase life and salvation for the elect from the hand ofhis Father, that " he gave himself a ransom for all to betestified in due time," 1 Tim. ii. 6, that " the Son of mancame not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to givehis life a ransom for many," Matt. xx. 28; that "by hisblood he obtained eternal redemption for us," Heb. ix. 12.Those words %vipov, avt&viffm, %vt^ai^ signify, a satisfactoryprice paid for setting free a captive taken in war, or other-wise, and detained by the enemy as prisoner, till he beransomed; and being applied to Christ, it signifies thatprice which Christ paid to the justice of God, detaining ussinners, as captives, in the hands of our enemies, Satan,death, and hell. And that price was not silver or gold, orany such " corruptible thing," but " the precious blood ofChrist, as of a lamb without blemish." Christ himself wasthat price given, his righteous soul for our sinful souls, and

256 ERRORS AGAINST JESUS CHRIST.

being accepted of the Father on our behalf, we are set freefrom God's wrath, and from Satan, who was as God's jaileror officer, under whose power we were kept; but, as in ourlaw, when once the law is satisfied, and the prisoner dis-charged by the judge, the jailer has no farther power todetain the prisoner; so the price of our ransom being paidby Christ, and accepted by God our judge, the devil hasno farther power over us, our souls are set at liberty.

Here, for conclusion, note that one's redemption may beprocured two manner of ways, either by strong hand, orelse by a price paid. In the former way Christ has re-deemed us out of the hand of the devil, namely, not bygiving any price or satisfaction to him, but by strong hand;Christ conquered the devil, " he spoiled principalities andpowers," and so delivered us out of hi-s hand by way ofrescue, as Abraham rescued Lot out of the hands of Che-dorlaomer, who had taken him prisoner. Christ boundthat strong man, and so delivered us as a prey out of histeeth: but he was to deal otherwise with God, not by wayof force, but by way of a price paid to the justice of God;he delivered us from his wrath to come, without whichsatisfactory price, life and salvation could never be procuredto our poor souls; and, therefore, the apostle Paul calls theinheritance of the saints in heaven, "a purchased posses-sion," Eph. i. 14. And again, he is said "to purchase hischurch with his own blood," Acts xx. 28. Now if Christpurchased his church by his own blood, and atoned for oursins by his blood, Eph. i. 7, and purchased the heavenlyinheritance by his blood, v. 14, how say these men, thatChrist did not purchase life and salvation, no, not for theelect? Christ does not only hold forth love and life, buthe first purchased it, and then held it forth; he was firstoffered for sinners, and then offered to sinners by the gos-pel; "This word God sent unto the children of Israelpreaching peace by Jesus Christ," Acts x. 36. "Thus itis written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and torise from the dead the third day, and that repentance andremission of sins should be preached in his name among allnations," Luke xxiv. 46, 47.

So if the question be, whether Christ did purchase loveand life for the elect? The answer is, first, that he didpurchase the love of reconciliation for sinners, though not

OP UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION. 257

the love of God's grace which gave Christ. And secondly,this purchase was made by a price satisfactory, and of valueanswerable to the souls redeemed and the inheritance pur-chased; a price, I say, paid not to Satan, but to the justiceof God.

CHAPTER IX.

OP UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION, AND SOME MISTAKES THEREIN CLEARED.

You have seen how Christ has purchased life, andliberty, salvation, and remission of sins. The next greatquestion is, for whom he has done all this, whether for allmen whatsoever, or for his church only.

The errors noted in the London Testimony, page 9, 10,are these especially; first, That Christ was given to satisfyfor the sin of Adam, and for all the sins of mankind. Se-condly, That Christ intended the benefits of his death,namely, remission of sins, and eternal life to all, even tothose who draw back to perdition, as well as for those whobelieve to the saving of the soul.

2. Those other words, namely, that if Christ died onlyfor some, and yet God commanded the gospel to be preachedto all, then God commands a lie to be preached to the mostpart of men; and that they take away the true gospel andground of faith, and introduce a false gospel, which affordsmen no ground to believe. Those words, 1 say, are ratherarguments to prove the former opinions, than a distinctopinion from them; and so they shall be considered in theanswer.

The third error, namely, is, That though heathens, hypo-crites, and devils, have for a time damned themselves, yetby the covenant of general redemption, our God will de-liver those prisoners out of the pit of hell; and they, withthose few that are believers, shall feel and possess in duetime the blessedness of it, to their everlasting salvation andcomfort.

This error, namely, of the redemption and possibility ofsaving the damned, has been confuted already. Never did

22*

258 OP UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION, AND

the greatest patrons of general redemption extend the be-nefit of it to finally impenitent persons, much less to thedamned; it being so flat against the scripture, which says,that " he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, butthe wrath of God abideth on him," John iii. 36; and if theybe once damned, their state is unchangeable; if the soul beonce lost, " What shall a man give in exchange for hissoul?" Matt. xvi. 26. There is " no redemption from hell."

My business, therefore, will be to help your understand-ings in the two branches.of the former opinions, namely,concerning Christ's satisfaction by his death upon the cross,for all the sins of all mankind; and concerning the inten-tion of the Father and the Son, namely, that all should par-take of the benefits of it, even the damned.

But before 1 enter upon discussing the point, I shallcrave leave to present to the reader, a short view of thedoctrine of the Arminians, touching this point, as theythemselves have declared it at the synod of Dort, in thatlarge and subtle book of theirs, entitled, Scripta SynodaliaDordracena Ministrorum Remonstrantium circum se-cundum de Universalitate mortis Christi Jirticulum.They set down their opinion in these Theses, p. 280.

1. Pretium redemptionis quod Christus Patri suoobtulit, non tantum in se, et per se loti generi humanoredimendo sufficiens est, sed etiam pro omnibus et sin-gulis hominibus ex decreto, voluntate, et gratia DeiPatrispersolutum est, ideoq. a participation fructuummortis Christi, nemo absoluto et antecedente Dei decretoprecise exclusus est.

1. The price of redemption, which Christ offered up tohis Father, is not only sufficient in itself, to save all man-kind, but it was also paid for all and every man by thedecree and gracious will of the Father; and, therefore, frompartaking the fruit of his death, no man is excluded by anyabsolute decree of God.

2. Christus merito mortis suae Deum Patrem universogeneri humano hactenus reconciliavit, ut Pater propteripsius meritum, salvd justitia et veritate sua novumgratise fozdus cum peccatoribus et damnationi obnoxiishominibus, inire et sancire potuerit et voluerit.

2. Christ, by the merit of his death, has thus far recon-ciled his Father to all mankind, as that his Father, for his

SOME MISTAKES THEREIN CLEARED. 259

death's sake, is enabled and willing to make a new cove-nant of grace with lost sinners, without any injury done tohis justice or truth, or without any let or hinderance fromhis justice and truth.

3. Etsi Christus pro omnibus et singulis hominibusreconciliationem cum Deo, et remissionem peccatorumpromeruerit, nemo tamen secundum novi et gratiosifoederis pactum aliter, quam per Jidem beneficiorummorte Christi partorum reipsa Jit particeps, neepeccatahominibus peccatoribus remittuntur, antequam actuet vere in Christum credant.

3. Although Christ hath merited reconciliation, and re-mission of sins for all and every man in the world, yetaccording to the tenor of the New Covenant, no man isactually partaker of the benefits of Christ's death, but byfaith, neither are men's sins forgiven, until they do actuallyand truly believe in Christ.

Then follows a declaration of their sense and meaningin those theses, concerning the death of Christ in thesewords following.

1. Kedemptio sive reconciliatio et satisfactio nihilaliud est quam partis offensse placatio, sive actio velpassio talis qua offenso alicui satis jit hactenus, ut ingratiam cum eo qui offendit redire velit. Hinc est, quodelecti, cum sint dilecti summa acperemptoria dilectione,reconciliari et redimi, nee possunt, nee necesse habent,page 281.

1. Redemption, reconciliation, and satisfaction, is nothingelse but the pacifying of a party offended by some actionor suffering, wherewith the party offended is satisfied sofar, as that he will receive into favour the party offending;hence it is, that the elect, seeing God entirely loves them,cannot be said to be redeemed, or reconciled; neither isthere any need of reconciliation for them.

2. Reconciliationem hanc sive propitiationem, ac-tionem Jesu Christi essestaluimus, qudjustitias divinse,quse obstaculo erat quominus peccatores sine ulld odiicontrapeccatum declaratione in gratiam secum reciperevellet, satisfactum est. Affectum hujus esse dicimusdivinse gratiae impetrationem, id est, non quidem actu-alem nostri omnium restitutionem in gratiam; sedrestitutionem in talem statum, in quo Deus nobis, non

obstante amplius justitia vindicatrice, secundum gra-tise, et misericordias suae affectum, de novo beneficia suacommunicare et potest et vult, ea lege et conditioner quasapientise ipsius consultum videtur, (page 283.)

2. This reconciliation is the work of Christ, whereby hehath satisfied God's justice, and removed that impediment,which hindered the actual receiving of sinners into favour,till God had showed his hatred against sin. The effect ofthis work of Christ, is the impetration and procuring ofGod's favour, by which impetration or obtaining of God'sfavour, we do understand an actual restoring of all meninto peace with God ; but the restoring of them into a con-dition or estate, in which God may now, without wronginghis justice, communicate of his grace unto us, and is readyto do it upon such terms and conditions, as himself shalllimit and appoint.

3. 1st a conditio est Jidei et obedientise postulatum,sub promisso gratise et comminatione poznae sancitum:proinde hdc conditione posita, fieri potest, ex naturarei ipsius, ut fructus impetratae gratise ad eos non per-veniat, quibus tamen-impetrata est, id est, its non ap-plicetur id quod impetratum est, quia Deo mandantiresistere possunt omnes et singuli propria sua volun-tate et malitia. Gratia enim hsec impetrata est pecca-toribus, quatenus in communi lapsus et peccati statu;aliisque peccatis, {exceptd sola impcenitentid) conside-rantur, et quidem ea lege, ut fructus ejus gratise solisfidelibus (qud talibus) obtingat, in fidelibus verb et re-bellibus, {qua talibus) non obtinget, eodemque loco ha-bentur, tanquam si gratia impetrata ipsis nunquam

Juisset, page 284, 2S6.

3. Those terms and conditions, are faith and obedience,required and established under promises of mercy, andthreatenings of punishment, this being the condition of ourreconciliation, it is possible, and not against the nature ofthe covenant, that the benefit of this grace obtained for all,shall not be enjoyed by any of them, for whom it was ob-tained and intended, because all and every one may resistthe command of God, requiring of them faith and repent-ance, through their own wilfulness and wickedness. Forthis universal grace is obtained to sinners, as they are con-sidered in the common state of the fall, and of all their

other sins (impenitence only excepted,) yet with that con-dition, that the benefit of that grace shall actually be appliedand partaken of only by believers; but unbelievers, andsuch as resist and rebel against the grace offered, are in asbad case, as if Christ had never died for them, nor obtainedany favour at God's hands for them.

4. Effectus ille quern impetratae reconciliationis vocedesignamus,pertinet adomnes et singulos nullo prorsusdiscrimine vel temporis, vel aetatis, vel personarum, vellocorum ; adeo ut omnes et singuli a Deo propter Chris-tum eo loco habeantur: ut, 1. Neminem eorum proptersolum Adami peccatum eeternis cruciatibuspunire velit.2. Neminem vocatorum etiam ob peccata actualia, voca-tionem ad fidem et resipiscentiam antecedentia U serejicere, sed omnium et singuloru misereri velit, si modoactu ipso a peccatis resipiscant,et in Christum credantvitamque in melius commuient. 3. Neminem eorum,qui in Christum credunt ob infirmitates et imbecilli-tates, quae quidem vere tales sunt condemnare velit,sed solos tantum illos fructu gratiae impetratae pri-vare, et eterna poena afficere, qui nova et vincibilicontumacia ac rebellione divinam gratiam aspernan-tur, benefactorem, et redemptorem suum respuunt, etseterna vita ipsi sese indignos reddunt propria suaincredulitate et inobedientia. Qui propterea quod cre-dere nolint in hunc redemptorem suum, cum per gra-tiam possint, reos sese faciunt justissimi supplicii, eteffectu impetratae reconciliationis culpa ac merito suoprivant. Page 285.

4. That effect of Christ's death which we call purchasedor procured reconciliation, pertains to all and every man in-differently, without any difference of time, or age, or per-sons, or places, in so much, that all men whatsoever, are forChrist's sake, in such respect with God, that first, he willpunish none of them with eternal death for the sin ofAdam only : secondly, that God will reject none of themthat be called for any of their actual sins committed beforetheir calling, but he will have mercy upon them all, if theyactually repent, and believe,and amend their lives: thirdly,that God will not condemn any of them that believe inChrist, for their daily sins of infirmity and weakness: butsuch, and only such, as by their new and wilful obstinacy,

spurn at the grace offered, and despise their Redeemer, theyjudge themselves unworthy of eternal life, and justly de-prive themselves of the benefit of that grace which waspurchased and procured for them; because they would notbelieve in Christ, when as by the help of grace they could,they are deservedly deprived of the mercy which Christprocured for them, and make themselves guilty of theirown just condemnation.

By this short draught of the Arminian doctrine, youmay perceive from what corrupt fountain these new andbitter streams of false doctrines have flowed.—And it mayserve to make us bewail the giddiness, partiality, and un-discerning spirit of our people, who in the compass of tenor twelve years, cry down Arminianism in a party, againstwhom they are prejudiced, and cry it up again, and admireit, when it is set forth in an independent dress. Mostpeople (Jam. ii. 1,) "hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christwith respect of persons."

The particular errors of this declaration will fall underconsideration, in handling the main question, which nowfollows.

Against the two errors before-mentioned, I oppose thesetwo positions as the most certain doctrine of the scripture,namely, first, Christ was not given to satisfy for all thesins of all mankind; the price of redemption was not paidfor all and every man, that is, in their room and stead; hisblood was not shed to satisfy the justice of God, and to ob-tain reconciliation and remission for the sins of them thatperish, as well as of them that are saved.

The second is, that Christ in dying, intended a spiritualbenefit to his church, neither was it the intention of Godthe Father in giving his Son, nor of his Son in laying downhis life, that all and every man should be redeemed by it.

For proof of the former, I offer these reasons; first, theywho are reconciled by Christ's death, are saved by hislife. So Paul, (Rom. v. 10,) " If when we were enemies wewere reconciled to God by the death of his Son, muchmore being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Butall are not saved by his life, therefore all are not reconciledand redeemed by his death.

Obj. Christ paid a ransom for all, even for them thatperish, but they, through unbelief, did not apply it. Ans.

This is no solution to the argument, but a farther confir-mation, showing a reason why all are not ransomed by theprice of Christ's death, namely, because it is not given toall to believe on the Son of God: if it were paid for all,then should all be set free; for what wise man will pay agreat price for a captive, if he knows for certain, that theprisoner shall receive no benefit by it ? Deliverance of thecaptive is the very end for which his ransom was paid, andtherefore, seeing that end is not enjoyed by all, we gather,that it was not paid for all. Christ will not lose the priceof his own blood. " Those whom thou gavest me, I havekept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition,"and he is lost, because he was not given to me to save. Ofthat distinction between the impetration, or procuring ofreconciliation for all, and the application thereof, 1 shallspeak anon.

My second reason is this, The wrath of God remains onthem that perish, therefore they were never redeemedfrom it. Conceive it thus, to die for one, is by his owndeath, to free another from death; to die ejus loco, et vice,in his room and stead, that the other may live, as 2 Sam.xviii. 33, " Would God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom,my son, my son;" that is, 0! that I had died, and thouhadst lived, that my life had gone for thine. Thus Christdied for us, (Rom. v. 6, 8,) "While we were yet sinnersChrist died for us," that is, to deliver us from death,according as it is written, (Gal. iii. 13,) "Christ hath re-deemed us from the curse, being made a curse for us."Christ being made a curse for us, removes the curse fromus; but if the curse still rest on us, it is because he wasnot made a curse for us. God punishes the sins of theelect upon the person of Christ, but the sins of others, thatdo not believe, in their own persons, (John viii. 24,) there-fore if any bear the punishment in his own person, it is asign that Christ hath not borne it for him. If any be castinto prison, till he pay the utmost farthing, it is a sign thatChrist the surety, has not paid the debt for him. The ar-gument may be thus framed. None of those for whomChrist died, are condemned. " Who shall condemn ? Itis Christ that died." Rom. viii. 34. The force of that con-solation is this, that none of those for whom Christ diedare condemned: but there are many thousands that are

condemned, therefore there are thousands for whom Christdid not die.

My third argument is taken from the falsehoods andabsurdities, which follow upon this Arminian doctrine.For if Christ died to satisfy for all men alike, promiscu-ously and indifferently, as they are the sons of Adam, andall mankind alike redeemed, and restored to a state of graceby the merit of his death; then this is done either actu-ally, and absolutely, or under condition of faith; if actuallyand really, then none could perish, be they Turks, pagans,or infidels: but this the Arminians themselves disclaim;they teach, that though remission of sins be procured, me-rited, and acquired for all, yet none partake thereof actu-ally, but believers: if conditionally, that is, for so many ofthem as will believe in the Redeemer, then it will follow,that possibly Christ's death may be in vain, and so insteadof dying for all, he died for none, because, say they, Christ'swork in dying is perfect in every respect; etiamsi impe-trata redemptio nulli individuo, aciu ipso, fuisset ap-plicata; though no particular man or woman in the worldwere ever saved by it. But grant that some fulfil the con-ditions of the new covenant, yet of this doctrine of Christ'sdying for all, and not saving all for whom he died, itWould follow, that Christ died in vain, and shed his bloodin vain, and in vain procured reconciliation for the greatestpart of mankind, seeing the greatest part of mankind arenot believers. Now it is grossly wrong to afiirm, that Christdied in vain, either for all, or for the greatest part of men;that opinion is not to be admitted, which makes Christ tohave died in vain, (1 Cor. xv. 17,) "If Christ be not raised,your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins;" but so doesthis doctrine, it makes Christ to have died in vain, if notin respect to all, yet the greater part of mankind. Thatopinion is not to be received, which denies Christ's speciallove to them for whom he died, for " greater love hath noman than this, that, a man lay down his life for his friends."John xv. 13. But so does this opinion of universal re-demption; for hereb)' it follows, that Christ died for some,whom he did not entirely love; hereby it will follow, thatCain and Judas are as truly redeemed by Christ, and asmuch beholden to Christ for his death, as Peter and Abel;for by this doctrine Christ has done his part for all alike;

he intended salvation no more to one than to another; hedied not for any man or woman by name, but for all ingeneral, which is contrary to that of Paul, (Gal. ii. 20,)"Christ loved me, and so gave himself for me." The" redeemed " of the " Lord " are " called by their names."Isaiah xliii. 1, " I have formed thee, I have blotted out thytransgressions as a cloud." The Lord knows all his crea-tures whom he has formed and made, so also whom he hasredeemed. Isa. xliv. 21, 22. And they are a peculiarpeople, called out of the world, as in that thanksgivingsong, (Rev. v. 9,) "Thou hast redeemed us to God by thyblood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, andnation," and "marked" or "sealed us up for the Lord'speople." Rev. vii. 5. Of such a tribe so many, yea," Christ calleth his own sheep by name," (John x. 3,)their names are written in the Lamb's book of life; there-fore, to say, that Christ died for some whom he did notentirely love, or that he entirely loved any that are damned,or that his sheep can be plucked out of his hand, and perisheverlastingly, is a base reproach to our blessed Redeemer.It gives the lie to the scripture, and yet is the undeniableconsequent of their doctrine. Thus much for the proof ofmy first position.

Now, because the scriptures speaking of redemption pur-chased by Christ's death, sometimes express it in generalterms, as (1 Tim. ii. 6,) "Christ Jesus gave himself a ran-som for all;" and so (Heb. ii. 9,) that "he by the grace ofGod should taste death for every man." Here is all, andevery man; and that place 1 John ii. 2, " He is the propiti-ation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins ofthe whole world." Sometimes, again, the scripture speaksof redemption in a more limited manner, as that Christ laiddown his life "for his friends," (John xv. 13,) "for hissheep," (John x. 15,) for his "church;" (Eph. v. 25,)" Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it," &c.

Now that you may have your senses exercised to discerngood and evil, truth and error in this point, you must dis-tinguish between the sufficiency and efficacy of Christ'sdeath: we say, that Christ died sufficiently for all, but noteffectually for all, for that were an absurd manner of speech.But this we say, that the death of Christ is that one only,and perfect sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for sins, in- 23

which God is well pleased with man, and by which Godintended to save all that come to him; and it is in itself ofinfinite value and price, abundantly sufficient to take awaythe sins of the whole world; and if any perish, it is notthrough the weakness or insufficiency of that sacrifice, butthrough their own unbelief; by man's own fault it provesineffectual to the salvation of many. This common sove-reign medicine for souls, made of Christ's blood, must beembraced and applied, else it avails not; it is effectual tothem that believe.

According to the first branch of this distinction, we teachthat redemption by Christ's death, is universal in threerespects.

First, For the price and merit of it: in Christ's sacrificethere is merit enough for all the sins that ever were, orshall be committed; yea, if there were ten thousand worldsto be redeemed, they needed no other price, no other satis-faction to please God, God is fully contented with this oneof his Son: for it being the death of the eternal Son ofGod, it is of infinite value above all the souls, and aboveail the sins of the sons of men; it is a universal remedy.

Secondly, It is general and universal for the promise andoffer of it; upon the all-sufficiency and merit of Christ'sdeath is grounded a universal promiseof salvation, accordingto which, all that believe in him actually receive remissionof sins, and life everlasting; the promise of life in Christ'sdeath is universal to "all men;" the gospel is to be preachedto " every creature," so that there is no man living thatmay not lay hold on that offer, no man is forbidden to comein, and take of the water of life freely, that has a mind todo it, (Rev. xxii. 17,) "Whosoever will, let him comeand drink of the water of life freely." You cannot wish alarger promise, nor an easier condition, " Whosoever will,let him come;" there is none excluded, but such as willnot come in, nor acknowledge him, nor deny themselves,and their own righteousness, their carnal reason, and sweetcontentments for his sake. Why then do men cavil at thedoctrine of redemption, as if it were not large enough ? Isit too straight and narrow to take in Episcopius, or Corvi-nus, or any of the Arminian subscribers? No; do theyknow any man in the world, to whom the offer of salva-tion may not be freely and truly made ? No, not one, the

finally impenitent, and wilful contemners of Christ onlyexcepted. Whose cause then do they so hotly plead?Let every one that is athirst, come; let every one that isgrieved with sin, come; let every one that longs for salva-tion, come, and he shall find rest to his soul; he shall findChrist to be his God, and his mighty Redeemer; he shallfeel the virtue and efficacy of Christ's death.

Thirdly, Redemption is general or universal, in respectof the means, sincerely calling all men to fellowship withChrist, and of God's grace in him, namely, the word andsacraments. The manner of administration of this gracein the death of Christ is universal and complete; so that ifthere were a thousand worlds more to be saved, theyneeded no other gospel, no other sacraments, no othermeans to convert them, no new law to make them parta-kers of remission of sins by the death of Christ; and theseare seen and known of all men, easy to be understood,preached, and published, not in a corner, but on the house-top, to all nations; "their sound is gone forth into all theearth:" our commission is, "Go into all the world, preachthe gospel to every creature:" (Mark xvi. 16.) "It is thepower of God to salvation, to the Jew first, and also to theGentile," (Rom. i. 16,) and it is also real and sincere, forin the gospel there is nothing false or dissembled. What-ever is offered or promised to men, the same shall be madegood to them by God, the author of the gospel; we offersalvation to all that will receive it, and it is sealed to themby the sacraments, and it shall be made good to all themthat receive it in truth; we do not promise mercy and lifeto any that continue in their sins, that stand off from Christ;but to as many as receive him, they shall be the sons ofGod. And our word is true, it shall be made good to you;the Lord says not in vain to any man, "Come unto me,and I will ease you:" yea, so full and sufficient is this call-ing and preaching of life by the gospel, that they whohear it, and obey it not, are avtoxataxpctoi,, self-condemned:they must condemn themselves for their own obstinacyand contempt. If they are not converted by the means,they will be forced to confess, Thou, Lord, wouldst havehealed and gathered us, but we would not. The will ofGod touching salvation, has been so fully "spoken to them,"that they "have no excuse for their sin." John xv. 22,

Thus you see, how redemption, by Christ's death, isuniversal, namely, first, in respect of the price and merit:Secondly, of the promise and offer of it to all: thirdly, inrespect of the means, by which men are brought to faith;and therefore that inference is unsound, which says, thatby our doctrine we take away the true gospel, and intro-duce a false, which affords no ground to believe; groundenough, you see, if you have hearts to accept of Christupon true gospel terms.

Yet according to the second branch of our distinction,we teach, that Christ's death is not effectual to all: the fruitand benefit of it is not received by all.

First, For God has not tied himself by any promise inthe New Testament, to communicate that grace to all.Many people never heard of the name of Christ; and ofthem that have heard, all do not believe; (Rom. x. 16,)"They have not all obeyed the gospel;.for Isaiah saith,Who hath believed our report?"

Secondly, God has not tied himself to give faith to allthat hear it, Acts xxviii. 24, u Some believed the thingsthat were spoken, and some believed not; according to theprophecy of Isaiah," ver. 26, " Hearing, ye shall hear, andnot understand." " Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, andperish; for I work a work in your days, which you shallin no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you," Actsxiii. 41. This benefit is not effectually applied to any butto those whom the Father draws, and has given to Christto be fitted for glory. Christ so died for all, that all whichbelieve shall have remission of sins, and be justified fromall things, from which they could never be justified by anything that they could do or suffer. But in his death, he soproperly intended the good of God's elect, that they shouldin due time be made partakers of the benefits purchased,Christ being made theirs, and they his, as I am now toshow in our second position, which, in opposition to the se-cond error, I thus lay down, namely,—

That God the Father, in giving his Son, and Christ, indying for sinners, intended a special benefit to his church;neither does it appear, that they intended that all, and everyman should be saved by it, much less such as trust in lyingvanities, and draw back to perdition. The scripture termsare very significant to this purpose, Eph. v. 263 " Christ

loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he mightpresent it to himself a glorious church." So Acts xx. 28,He is said to "purchase the church with his own blood."Again, John xv. 13, "1 lay down my life for my friends,"and "for my sheep," John x. 15.

Of this there are two evident proofs: first, The eventitself. God's counsels and intentions have a certain fulfil-ling (what he decreed and purposed must stand) and, there-fore, he intended not to redeem all, because all are not re-deemed, those whom God does not pardon in time, he didnot decree before time to pardon them; "The Lord dothwhatsoever he will in heaven and earth," Psal. cxv.; andbecause he does not save Judas, therefore he willed it not:%fl.n quod vult, non potest omnipotens? Vel {quod absit)velit salvare omnes homines, et non potuit? Quid ergorestat, nisi ut ille, qui omnia quxcunque voluit, fecit;ideo hoc non faciat, quia nolit, non quia non possit :quia sicut vere omnia quae voluit, fecit, it a vere noluit,quse non fecit; as Remigius, archbishop of Lyons, in hisdefence of Gotteschalc, notably argues: God does all thingsthat he will, and what he does not, he wills not.

A second evident proof (that Christ, in dying, intendeda special benefit to his church) is taken from his office ofintercession, by which the merit of his death is effectuallyapplied to our actual reconciliation. The grace of redemp-tion purchased for the church, is not barely conditional, ifmen will fulfil the conditions of the new covenant; but forthe merit and intercession of Christ, there is bestowed onthem the spirit of regeneration, faith, and perseverance,whereby they shall effectually obtain the benefits purchased,namely, remission of sins, and life everlasting.

The third reason: The new covenant is established inthe blood of Christ, and it contains two chief blessings orpromises, namely, free pardon of sin, and the writing ofhis laws in our hearts, that is, the conditions of the newcovenant, which God requires of us. He promises to"write them in our hearts." He does not leave it to ourfrail wills, whether we will perform them or not; but hegives the ability and graces themselves, by which we shallinfallibly be led on to salvation; and for this purpose, Christdid not only die for us, but rose again, and sits at the righthand of God, making intercession for us. John xvii. 9, " I

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pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast givenme, for they are thine:" and again, ver. 24, " Father, I willthat they also whom thou hast given me, be with me, whereI am." And so Peter teaches, Acts v. 31, that " God hathexalted Christ with his own right hand, to be a Prince andSaviour, to give repentance to Israel and remission of sins."Christ not only provides a price for our souls, but " givesgifts unto men," Eph. iv. 10, he draws all hearts unto him,and " being made Head of the church (which is his body)he filleth all in all," Eph. i. 22, so that his death, which issufficient for all, may be effectually applied to the justifica-tion and reconciliation of the elect.

The Arminians absurdly divide between the impetrationor obtaining of remission of sins for all, and the applicationof it to all.

First, They teach, that Christ, by the merit of his death,has procured that God, without injury to his justice, mayenter into a new covenant of grace with mankind, uponwhat conditions he pleases, and so has opened a door ofmercy to all men, that if they perform those conditions,they may be saved: but, as for the actual application andremission of sins, he has not procured that for any man.

Secondly, also, That Christ, by his death, has made Godplacabilem, but not placatum, that is, procured a freedom,that God may be reconciled if he will, and if other condi-tions concur, but not an actual reconciliation. Thus, whilstthey seem to advance and extend the comfort of Christ'sdeath, they debase the efficacy of it, and divide his deathfrom his resurrection and intercession, as if he were notan intercessor for all those for whom he is a reconciler, andfor whom he is said to have died.

Contrary to which, we teach, that the impetration, orprocuring of pardon for us by his death, and the applicationthereof are not divided, they are of equal extent; as manyas Christ died for, for them also he rose again, and makesintercession for the effectual obtaining of the fruit of hismerits. According to that notable gradation of the apostle," He that spared not his own Son, how shall he not withhim also freely give us all things? It is Christ that died,yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right handof God, who also maketh intercession for us," Rom. viii.32, 34. They say, Christ's death has its end, though none

have benefit by it; but Christ has then, and not till then,attained the end of his death, when he has actually broughtthem into a state of grace and glory, according to that of 1Pet. iii. 18, and John x. 15, "I lay down my life for thesheep;" mark what follows, ver. 28, "And I give untothem eternal life, and they shall never perish;" John xiv.13, "I go to prepare a place for you; I will come again andreceive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may bealso." Christ is the mediator between God and man; inrespect of God a full satisfaction to the divine justice isgiven and taken; God's wrath for the sins of the elect issuffered and overcome; he rests contented and appeased,the debt-book is crossed, and the hand-writing cancelled;and Christ is justified in the Spirit from all our sins. Andas to us, Christ has an intention to save all those for whomhe shed his blood, and for that purpose " he ever liveth tomake intercession for them," Heb. vii. 25. Thus you seehow Christ in dying, intended the good of his church, asappears partly by the event itself, partly by the course thathe took for the effectual application of it to his elect.

From whence also we may infer, as to the main question,that Christ did not die for all men, because he does notpray for all the world; for whom he died, for them hemakes intercession: on the contrary, for whom he praysnot, for them he died not; the same persons are redeemedand prayed for; "There is one mediator of all, who gavehimself a ransom for all," 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6.

Thus I have endeavoured to make good my two posi-tions against the two forementioned errors; it remains, thatI clear some objections.

Obj. 1. First, from scripture, 1 John ii. 2, "He is thepropitiation, not for our sins only, but for the sins of thewhole world." Ans. That is, not only for us Jews (John,who spake, was a Jew) but for the rest of the world, Gen-tiles. The distinction of nations is taken away, and "inChrist Jesus both Jew and Gentile are all one," Gal. iii. 28;the body of Christ is made up of all nations in the world,"He is salvation to the ends of the earth," Eph. ii. 14.

Obj. 2. 1 Tim. ii. 4—6, "Who will have all men to besaved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; for thereis one God and one Mediator between God and man, theman Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all."

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Ans. By all here cannot be meant all the men that everwere, or shall be, in the world; seeing the text is express,that " God in times past suffered all nations to walk in theirown ways," not regarding or giving them means to cometo the knowledge of the truth, Acts. xiv. 16, as now hedoth "command all men every where to repent," Acts xvii.30. Cain, Judas, the beast, and the false prophet, and thosescoffers, that were ordained of old to condemnation; can wereasonably think that God would have them to be saved?By all, therefore, must be meant, first, all sorts of men,kings, subjects, bond and free of every nation under hea-ven, according to Rev. v. 9, "Thou hast redeemed us toGod by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue, andpeople and nation." He does not say, the whole ldndred,and tongue, and nation, but some out of every sort.

Again, all, of all nations that shall believe on his name, sois all expounded and limited: thus "Abraham" is said to be"the father of us all," Rom. iv. 16, that is, of all believers,both Jewrs and Gentiles, John iii. 16; Rom.iii. 22. Christ'schurch is a world of believers, God will have them all cometo the knowledge of the truth; the gospel teaches us, that" there is one God, and one Mediator," and one ransom paidfor all, namely, whereas in times past, several nations hadseveral gods and mediators, and proposed to themselvesseveral ways of salvation; says the apostle, This is nottruth, for there is one God, and one Mediator, and one ran-somer of all. There are not several ways and ransoms, norseveral Mediators, by wmich men may be saved, but one forall men, and all men must be reconciled to God by his deathand intercession. This I take to be the meaning of that wholepassage of scripture, " A ransom for all;" Non quia nullushominum est, qui per illius justitiam non justificetur,sed quia praster ejus justitiam nemo justificetur, omnesergo per primum Jidam in condemnationem, el omnesper novissimum Adam in justificationem, quia nemoin condemnationem, nisi per ilium; nemo in justifica-tionem, nisi per istum: Tali sensu et illud accipien-dum est; sicut in *fldamo omnes moriuntur, it a inChristo omnes vivificabuntur: vere enim in Adamoomnes moriuntur, quia nemo in mortem nisi per ilium;et vere in Christo omnes vivificabuntur, quia nemo inilia resurrectione vitas nisi per ipsum, quo etiam sensu

manifestissime illud in Psalmo cxlv. 14, dictum est;"The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all thosethat be bowed down," because he saves whom he will outof every kind and sort of sinners that are fallen, or elsebecause none of all that be bowed down, are raised up, butby him, not by their own strength, but by his mercy. ThusRemigius wittily and solidly argues this point in his de-fence against Gotteschalc.

Obj. 3. The third place is that of Heb. ii. 9, "That he,by the grace of God, should taste death for every man,"vrtep rtavtos, " for all men." Ans. The apostle shows theend of Christ's suffering, and abasement for awhile, be-neath the angels, to be, not for himself, but for our cause;and, therefore, it ought to be glorious in our eyes. Andthis should be the more precious to us; first, because hedid not die for a few, but for all believers, for all afflictedconsciences, for all penitent, broken-hearted sinners; everybeliever has an interest in that death of his. Christ had aparticular respect to every particular soul; he did not diefor mankind in general, and for none in particular (as Ar-minians absurdly teach) but for me, and for thee, for mysins, and thy sins, for every sheep of his fold. Here is asure ground of a particular applicatory faith for every man;he knows them, and gives to them eternal life, and .willnot lose one of them, but seeks and saves every wanderingsheep, and so every man is bound to love him, and magnifyhim for it, and to apply the fruit of it to himself. He tasteddeath for me, therefore I shall not come into condemnation.Secondly, this universal vrtep 7t<wto$ does not include infi-dels, or impenitent contemners of Christ, but such as arecharacterized in the verses following: ver. 10, they arecalled "sons to be brought to glory;" ver. 11, they are ofthe " same nature with Christ," as the first fruits were ofthe same nature with the whole crop; the first fruits, underthe law, sanctifies the crop, so does Christ sanctify us;" Christ that sanctifieth, and we that are sanctified, are allof one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them bre-thren." The band of nature between Christ and us, isreckoned to those only, who are sanctified: with none otherwill Christ reckon kindred; and ver. 16, "he taketh holdof the seed of Abraham."

Thus you see how (every man) in that text is extended

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to all poor sinners that embrace salvation by Christ, to eachparticular hungry soul, yet it is limited and restrained tosuch only; " God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son:" For whom? for believers, for all believers,for none but believers. The general words, world, all,every man, being limited in some places of scripture, mustbe understood with that limitation in all other places, thoughit is not expressed.

Objection 3. The fourth place of scripture is 2 Peterii. 1, "They shall bring in damnable heresies, even denyingthe Lord that bought them," with Heb. x. 20, he speaksof some, who "counted the blood of the covenant, where-with they were sanctified, an unholy thing:" by which itseems, that Christ died not only for them that believe tosalvation, but also for them that deny him, and tread underfoot his blood, by which they were sanctified.

Answer. First, this place is a prophecy of dangeroustimes, by reason of "false teachers, who shall bring indamnable sects and doctrines, even denying the Lord thatbought them."—It may fitly be termed a prophetical de-scription of a Socinian. The Socinian denies both thelordship, or godhead of Christ, and also his satisfaction;they deny that our souls are the purchase of his blood.What is this to universal redemption? Yes, very much,may they say, because they that deny Christ's merits aresaid to be bought by him. They that are saved are boughtby him, and if they which perish are also bought by him,then he died for all men without exception.

Secondly, In scripture things are said to be what theyseemed to be, and by the rule of profession what theyought to be. They once professed that they looked forredemption by Christ, and therefore denying Christ, theydeny him that bought them, of whom they said, he re-deemed us. And this is the great aggravation of theirapostacy; that they forsake him, who, as themselves con-fess, had shed his blood to redeem them, and had provideda sufficient price for them. He that ransoms a prisoner,has gotten the right and title of lord and master over him.Now as it is a cursed sin for a ransomed captive to renouncesuch a lord and master, that bought him, so is it a damn-able sin to renounce Christ, such a Christ as laid down hislife for us. As far as they were believers, so far are they

in scripture-account said to be redeemed, or bought: but inscripture-account they were believers, and therefore in scrip-ture-account said to be redeemed, and so denying Christ,they are said to deny the Lord that bought them.

This manner of speaking, according to scripture-account,will farther be cleared by consideration of that other place,Heb. x. 29, to "tread the blood of Christ under foot," isthe same in effect as to "deny the Lord that bought them,"that is, to account it as "common blood," and that Christis not worthy to be owned, or professed, or trusted on, asLord of life; yet such a person is said to be "sanctified bythe blood of the covenant."

But how can that be ? Can any that perish be said tobe sanctified by the blood of the covenant, that is, by theblood of Christ?

I answer in the words of learned Mr. Dickson, on theplace; his words are full and significant, and the doctrinesound: There is a two-fold sanctification, one to the "puri-fying of the flesh;" and there is a sanctification to the"purifying of the conscience from dead works to serve theliving God," Heb. ix. 13, 14. The sanctification external,to the purifying of the flesh, consists in a man's separationfrom the world, and dedication to God's service by callingand covenant, common to all the members of the visiblechurch, and it is of force thus far, as to bring a man intoestimation for a saint before men and unto the commonprivileges of the church. Whereupon as men, so God alsospeaks to him, and of him, as one of his people, and dealswith him in his external dispensations, as with one of hisown people. In this Sense all the congregation of Israel,and every one of them is called holy, Numb. xvi. 3.

The sanctification internal, by renovation, consists in aman's separation from the state of nature to the state ofgrace, from his old condition, to be a new creature indeed.By this latter sort a reprobate cannot be called, sanctified,or redeemed, and bought; but by the former he may becalled, sanctified, and that by virtue of the blood of thecovenant, although he should not get farther good thereby;for as the blood of Christ has virtue to cleanse the con-science, and renew the soul, which comes to it truly andspiritually, so it must have force to do that which is less,that is, purify the flesh, and the external condition of the

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man, who comes to it outwardly only, as the types didunder the law; whereupon a hypocrite in the Christianchurch must be accounted one of the congregation of thesaints, as well as a hypocrite under the law was so called,because Christ's blood cannot be inferior to the types, whichwere of this force to sanctify men to the purifying of theflesh. In this distinction you see what account the scrip-ture has of all the members of the visible church, and howit speaks of them, as of God's own people, as if they werereally that which by covenant and vow they seem and pro-fess to be. And in this sense all of them are sanctified,and all bought and redeemed by the blood of the covenant.

The fifth and strongest objection is this, the sin of Adamwas the sin of the world. Christ took the sin and fault ofthe first Adam upon him, and therefore the sin of the worldof man, whose nature was in Adam; and taking the sinupon himself, he withal takes the curse and condemnationof the whole upon him, to recover man out of his undonecondition. And this is the ground of that assertion of theArminians, namely, that God will punish no man whateverfor the only sin of Adam. Christ took away original guiltfrom all mankind, and so none are condemned or repro-bated, but for actual sins. Thus the author of " God's Loveto Mankind;" If God, says he, have no pleasure in the deathof the wicked, much less in the death of men, either alto-gether innocent, or tainted only with original sin. Thusothers also affirm, that seeing Christ bore the sin and con-demnation of all that sinned in Adam, therefore all aresaved from that death and curse pronounced, and so thewhole world have a redemption by Christ, until Adam'sposterity, committing other sins, draw on themselves newwrath.

To which I answer, First, The end and effect of Christ'sdeath is to answer the law, to take away the curse of thefirst covenant, to redeem us that were under the law, thatwe might be made the sons of God.

Secondly, That all men lie and continue in that sad stateunder the covenant of w;orks, till regenerated, and broughtunder the covenant of grace, which is done " by faith inChrist Jesus," Gal. iv. 29.

Thirdly, I answer, that Christ taking away (peccatummundi) Adam's sin, (original sin from the elect) must do

as much to save one, as to save all, and that which servesfor one is sufficient for all the sons of Adam: howbeit, asGod did once draw out of that polluted mass one man, purefrom all touch of sin's infection; so he can, and does, dailysever a great number of children out of that condemnedseed, pulling them out of the fire, to set them free from thebreach and curse of that first covenant, by giving themfaith, and drawing them to Christ; all the rest remainingin the first Adam, and so under the law of transgressions.This severance of the seed was noted at the beginning,(when as yet the seed was not multiplied) in that enmitywhich the Lord put between the seed of the woman, andthe seed of the serpent; Gen. iii. 15, "I will put enmitybetween thee and the woman, between thy seed and herseed." The seed of the serpent, without doubt, are thegeneration of the wicked; the seed of the woman is firstChrist, then all that are his; between whom and the broodof the serpent, there is to this day deadly enmity.

Secondly note, that here Christ is promised to the womanand her seed, not to the serpent and his seed. Here is aseed which shall overcome; and they are first, Christ, for"he hath destroyed him that had the power of death, thatis, the devil." And secondly, Christians, who resistingthe devil steadfastly in faith, "The God of peace bruisesSatan under their feet;" and here is also a seed to be con-quered, and that is, the serpent and his brood; to the oneChrist is given a redeemer, and deliverer, to the other heis appointed for their overthrow. Christ, you see, was notintended for all the seed of Adam.

Again, this precious seed is, by a mark of distinction,called Abraham's seed, and it is said, that Christ took thaton him, for he taketh hold of the seed of Abraham, whenthey were flying away, and in danger, but he let the restgo. Thus, to be Christ's, and to be Abraham's seed, is ofthe same extent; Gal. iii. 29, "If ye be Christ's, then areye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Lastly, note, in that place, Heb. ix. 15, that Christ'sdeath was for the redemption of sins, that were under thefirst covenant.

Then all men's sins are redeemed. No; there is a limi-tation, namely, that "by means of death, they which arecalled might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."24

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Christ's death was the means to redeem transgressions, butthis is limited to them, whom God is pleased to call. Andso Rom. v. 17. After he had compared Adam and Christ,and what each of them give to their descendant branches;he limits this last all, to all that "receive the gift of righ-teousness;" they shall "reign in life by one Christ Jesus."Thus, you see, that God can redeem the transgressions ofthe first covenant by Christ, in the name, and on the behalfof a part of the seed of Adam, and condemn the same uponthe residue, the seed of the Serpent.

Obj. " But as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall allbe made alive," all died in Adam, 1 Cor. xv. 22, there-fore all made alive by Christ. Ans. That which goes be-fore, and that which follows the text, show plainly that theApostle speaks here of believers, that they shall with com-fort rise again; and this he proves partly by their com-munion with Christ their head, verses 16, 20, partly bycomparing Christ with Adam, verse 21, Christ is as ableto save, as Adam to destroy.

Obj. But how shall all be made alive in Christ, as alldied in Adam, seeing all that were lost in Adam are notrestored to life by Christ? Ans. There is a three-fold life:The first is natural, of the body; the second is spiritual,from the death of sin; the third is eternal, the life of glory.First, In this chapter of the resurrection, Paul does notspeak of our rising to a spiritual life, for no man is quick-ened to a spiritual life at the resurrection: they that diedin an unregenerate state, will be found dead at that day intheir sins; our spiritual quickening is only in this life.Secondly, Therefore by " Christ shall all be made alive,"is meant, that they shall be raised from that death, underwhich all are now kept prisoners; "the last enemy thatshall be destroyed is death:" Christ shall give us the vic-tory over the grave, and cause us to triumph and say, " 0death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?"

Thirdly, As for the life of glory, this is indeed bestowedat the resurrection, but not on all that died in Adam, noton all that shall be raised by the power of Christ, for " allthat are in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of God,and shall come forth, they that have done good to the re-surrection of life, and they that have done evil to the re-surrection of damnation." John v. 28, 29.

So then, there is a natural life by the living soul, as it iswritten, 1 Cor. xv. 45, " The first man was made a livingsoul," that is, to live a bodily life here, by virtue of thesoul united to the body, and yet the soul has not power tokeep us from dissolution, nor to join the same again, beingonce dissolved. "The last Adam was made a quickeningspirit," that is, appointed of God to restore life to the dead,and to make them immortal, and incorruptible, as he him-self is; for "he shall change our vile bodies, that they maybe made like unto his glorious body." Phil. iii. 21. "Andso shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thes. iv. 17. Thisis the life of glory, and this we have from Christ.

The former, namely, the living soul Adam had, and ofhim we all receive it: but the everlasting life he had onlyupon condition, and as it were, in reversion, not in actualpossession; for Adam was not possessed of that life whichangels now live with God, and which we hope to livewith him after our restoration. Adam, by his fall, fellfrom both; he forfeited both estates, namely, life natural,which he had in possession, and the life eternal, which waspromised upon condition of obedience. Now Christ re-stores that natural life to all the sons of Adam, to all ourwhole nature. That supernatural and eternal life Christrestores too, but not promiscuously to all. Why? forAdam was never seized of it, Adam never performed thecondition, to which that life was annexed; therefore thatwhich Adam had only in conditional reversion is restoredby Christ, not as a debt to human nature, but as a debt tohis own perfect righteousness, which he gives by way of aspecial grace to those only that are Christ's; that is, to somany as are not only of that mass or lump, whereof Adamwas the first formed, but of the new creation, of the newlump, whereof Christ is the first fruits to sanctify it, andso we find the apostle speak of the restriction, verse 23," Every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, after-ward they that are Christ's at his coming." And indeedthe apostle calling Christ the "first fruits of them thatsleep," has a spiritual meaning for the consolation of thebelieving Corinthians, and so it was sufficient to show, thatas Adam brought death on all his, so Christ brings life toall his, by virtue of that life, or quickening spirit which isin him. Verse 47," The first man is of the earth, earthy;"

OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION.

Adam was an earthy man, made of the earth, fed by theearth, in his constitution mortal, apt to return to the earth,and by reason of sin, subject to a necessity of dying.And such are all the sons of men born into the world,verse 48; " for as is the earthy, such are they that areearthy." Christ, "the second Adam, is the Lord fromheaven." The Lord from heaven took our nature, becausehis body was formed by the Holy Ghost, and united to theDivine Person, and in this respect his generation wasdivine and heavenly. And so they that are Christ's arecalled heavenly men, their names are written in heaven,and at the resurrection they shall be conformed to thatheavenly man; they shall be heavenly men too, havingtheir bodies made spiritual, immortal, incorruptible, asnow Christ, after his resurrection, has; for so it follows,verse 49, " As we have borne the image of the earthy,"in this mortal condition; so at the resurrection "we shallbear the image of the heavenly," in glory, and incorrup-tion; and he brings this proof of it, verse 50; " Now this Isay, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the king-dom of God." By flesh and blood, in this place, he doesnot mean carnal men, such as walk after the flesh (thoughit is true, that such persons shall never enter heaven) butrather this, such flesh and blood as ours is now, maintainedby corporeal meats and drinks, of a mortal and corruptiblenature, cannot inherit the kingdom of God; for so it fol-lows, "Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption," and"all must be changed" or die, that so " this corruptibleshall put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immor-tality." This is the plain meaning of the apostle in thisplace, and it shows that Adam and Christ in their severalconditions, qualifications, and states, were common persons,and are the patterns to which those, whom they representedare conformed; and because the wicked are not representedby Christ, therefore their rising is not sanctified nor blessedby Christ's rising. And it gives us reason to conclude,that God is able to put such a worth into the sufferings ofChrist, that it is able to satisfy the law for the transgressionsof all, and effectual to save all that come unto God byhim, and to condemn sin in others, even the sin of the firstAdam, as well as their actual sins, and yet not punish thegin of Adam twice, namely, upon Christ, and the sinner

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too. The Lord knows how to save the seed of the woman,and to reserve the seed of the serpent to be bruised andpunished.

Use 1. Let this doctrine of redemption admonish youto see, and seriously to study to be of the number ofChrist's little flock. Remember, not all that hear aresaved, unless by hearing you obey the gospel of Christ."My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me." Donot dream of universal redemption; the gospel is salvationto every one that believetk, not to one man more.

Use 2, This doctrine affords us a sufficient ground ofpreaching the gospel to every creature, and of praying forall men. Consider these clear truths by me now delivered,namely,

First, That Christ, according to his Father's will andcounsel, has paid a sufficient price to save all that believeand repent, and if all believe, they may be saved, yea, theyshall be saved.

Secondly, That the sacrifice of Christ really sanctifies allthose for whom it was offered, because all they for whomChrist gave himself, them also he sanctifies, and saves tothe uttermost. Non merendo tantum et materiam re-conciliationis procurando, sed etiam efficaciter salutemoperando et applicando; that is, not only by meritingtheir reconciliation, but also really applying and bestowingthe same, else he would not be a perfect Saviour to them.

Thirdly, Christ has actually reconciled to God, by hisblood, all such, and none but such, as believe: the impeni-tent are not redeemed, he has not obtained mercy andpeace for them.

Fourthly, Christ came not into the world to condemn it,but to save it; for all the world are either believers, or un-believers: "he that believeth on him is not condemned."As for the unbelievers, they are condemned already, beingunder the law; their farther condemnation and aggra-vation of their rebellion against God, is, per accidens,through their own maliciousness, not through the blessedword which they hear.

Fifthly, All men that hear are bound to believe and em-brace the gospel, and Christ therein offered, and to repentof their sins; which, if they refuse to do, if they will notcome in, they justly perish.

24*

OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION.

Sixthly, Christ's death is the foundation of all our mer-cies, which actually we receive for pardon and purchase; asof our vocation, justification; and it has not attained its end,until he has brought many sons to glory; for he has satis-fied for every evil, and merited every good thing for us:there is no sin or sinner above his merits and mercy.

These precious truths contained in our doctrine, are asufficient ground of preaching the gospel to every creature;and they afford us a visible ground, upon which the belovedof God, every humble soul, may accept of peace, and socome to have faith and hope in God: and likewise a visiblerule of rejecting all who wilfully contemn their own peace,or refuse to return, and judge themselves unworthy of eter-nal life.

Secondly, Here is also a sufficient warrant of praying forall men; there is no man living but may be saved, foraught we know: there is merit enough in Christ, and spiritenough in Christ, and grace enough in his gospel. Theywhich are dead may live. He that believeth is alreadypassed from death to life; and he that believeth not as yet,may be a child of God, we helping forward their conver-sion by our prayers; we cannot know any man, no mancan know himself to be a reprobate; there is hope of forgive-ness, so long as there is possibility of repentance. Theapostle Paul requires " prayers to be made for all men,"because ik God will have all to be saved." 1 Tim. ii. 1, 4.And Paul himself prayed ; "My heart's desire and prayerfor Israel is, that they may be saved." We sin not inpraying so, though many are not saved, because there isground for it in God's revealed will, concurring with theuniversal merit of Christ, and the general offer of salvationby the gospel.

Obj. The author of " God's Love to Mankind," says," That our doctrine of Christ's dying for all sufficiently, notintentionally, takes away all comfort, for if God intendedthat he should die for all, yet he intended it upon such acondition, which he purposed not to give ability to perform.To which we reply, that in their general conditional wayof redemption, they cannot comfort a distressed soul, butonly upon his faith and repentance; and that we do, andcan do in our way; and whether it be safer to ascribe theworking of faith to God, or to man's frail will; whether

OP UNIVERSAL GRACE. 283

it be better to depend on God by prayer for the efficacy ofhis Spirit, to convert us, to create in us new hearts, and towrite his laws in our hearts, or to rely on his own strength,we shall examine in the next chapter.

In the meanwhile, methinks an Arminian can hardlybear a part with the redeemed ones, fully and heartily inthat triumphant song of thanksgiving to the Lamb, whenhe shall, as a shepherd, or as a bridegroom, bring all hisblessed train with him into heaven, to behold and enjoyhis own glory for evermore, saying, " Worthy is the Lambthat was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing; for thouhast redeemed us by thy blood, out of every kindred, andtongue, and people, and nation." Rev. v. 8, 12. I say it ishard for him to bear a part heartily in that song of praises,when his heart thinks as his tongue has professed, that heis no more beholden to the Lamb for his redemption, thanCain or Judas, and all the lost.

CHAPTER X.

OF THE NATURAL MAWS FREE WILL TO SUPERNATURAL GOOD, AND SOMEERRORS CONCERNING IT.

You have heard how the Arminians teach; first, thatGod has not chosen to salvation any particular individualpersons, but only a certain kind of men, believers in gene-ral, and so, as none are excluded, so none are appointed tolife but on condition of perseverance in the faith. Secondly,they teach, that Christ died for all indifferently under thesame condition, and not for any particular persons, and sono man is chosen or redeemed more than another by anyact of God, but eveiitualiter, according as they will, orwill not embrace the gospel. Agreeably to which, theyteach in the third place, that God has decreed to give toall sufficient means of salvation, sufficient grace exciting,and preventing universally and indifferently to all, thewhich they who do not resist, but by the good use of free

will assent to, and co-operate with, are both elected and re-deemed, but they which resist, and will not join, or co-operate with this motion of grace, are not elected, neithershall they be saved; so that our work in this chapter willbe to solve these two questions.

First, Whether God gives to all men sufficient meansand helps of grace to salvation ?

The second is, Whether the use of these means beinggranted, it be in the power of man's free will to converthimself, to accept or refuse the grace offered?

To the former question I shall speak but briefly, as beingpreparatory to the other.

Here we must first consider, what is sufficient grace ?Sufficient in every kind of causes, is that which being ap-plied and intended to that end, procures its effect, and re-moves all impediments that stand in the way. If any thingcan hinder the cause, that it does not produce its intendedeffect, that cause is deficient, not sufficient. It is so innatural things, as in physic. A medicine that is sufficientfor such a cure, if applied, removes all impediments, andperforms all intentions of the physician, requisite to thecure. But if any other medicine be required for the cure,then the first was not sufficient. So converting grace, orgrace sufficient to the conversion of a sinner, is that, whichbeing set to work upon the soul, removes every impedi-ment, and " fulfils all the good pleasure of God's goodnessin us, and the work of faith with power:" (2 Thes. i. 11,)but if some other helps are necessary, then that grace wasnot sufficient. Arminians teach that grace sufficient toconversion is given to all, even to some that are never ac-tually converted, and accordingly they distinguish betweengrace sufficient and effectual. Sufficient grace, say they,is of great force to the conversion of a sinner, yet notalways effectual by reason of our fault. But it is then ef-fectual, cum novam illi contumaciam et rebellionemhomo non opponit, quam exse opponerepotuisset.* Anda little after, speaking of resisting God's grace, they say,that a man may carry himself in such sort against God byevil actions, ut Us positis Dei gratia ipsum actu nonconvertat, etiam tunc, cum ipsum conversum serio vult,

" When a man offers not that resistance, which it is in his power of himselfto offer." r (t)

Sree will to supernatural good. 285

et convertere aggressus fuit.* Hence I thus argue, thatgrace is not sufficient to salvation, which meeting with adead heart and obstinate will, leaves the sinner unconverted,even then when God intended to convert him, and mostseriously endeavours it. But according to their doctrine,the most saving grace of God being applied to the conver-sion of a sinner, meeting with an obstinate will, does notactually convert him, no, not though God intended it, andendeavour it; therefore grace sufficient for salvation is notgiven to all. It is natural to us, and the greatest evil in ournature, and that which most directly opposes the work ofgrace, and hinders our salvation, to be of a dead heart, thatswinishly treads under foot the Son of God, and wilfullyrefuses to accept the grace offered. And, on the contrary,it is the great work of grace to quicken the dead heart, andto take out of us that heart of stone; and therefore thegrace of God, when it has done all that it can, or will do,to convert a sinner, if it does not this, if it change not theheart, if it does not remove this grand impediment to thesoul's recovery, when it is intended and applied for thatpurpose; it is not sufficient, but deficient, because it doesnot bring to pass its own most proper work.

Again, you must distinguish between that which is suf-ficient, quoad gradum, in a certain kind and degree, andthat which is thoroughly sufficient, ad ipsum conversionis.\In this dispute our question is not of the former, namely,of grace sufficient to lead men on in some degree towardstheir conversion, but of the latter, namely, of gratia suf-Jiciens ad salutem. This we deny to be given to all, andby the Arminians' own doctrine it stands undeniable; forneither is that sufficient illumination which leaves the mindin the dark, that it sees no more excellency in Christ thanin all the creatures, neither is that sufficient conviction ofsin and our own unrighteousness, which leaves the sinnerirresolute to forsake his sins and his own unrighteousness;neither is that sufficient exciting grace, which leaves thewill dead, unexcited, and unpersuaded as yet to return tothe Lord; neither is that sufficient converting grace, orgrace sufficient for salvation, which after all that it ought

* " That on account of his doings, the grace of God does not actually converthim; even then, when God seriously wishes, and attempts his conversion." (tlX " To the finishing of the act of conversion." (tj

to do, or has to do, leaves the soul unconverted, and in astate of death.

If we say, that God's grace and man's will are jointcauses, so that grace does its part, and man's will must dothe rest, yet still it remains true, that it is not grace suffi-cient for salvation, because that which does but its part, isnot sufficient for the whole; as a great burden is borne be-tween two, because one is not sufficient to bear it; butmore of this in the next question.

This doctrine of universal grace afforded to all, is con-trary to the experience of all ages; many people havenever heard of the name of Christ. And how then shallthey " believe in him of whom they have not heard ?"Rom. x. 14. It is a special grace that God sends the lightof his gospel to any people, when the rest of the world sitsin "darkness and the shadow of death." Psal. cxlvii. 19,20, "He showeth his word unto Jacob; he hath not dealtso with any nation." Paul bids the Ephesians remembertheir condition "in times past," namely, " without hopeand without God in the world." And why without hope?Because without the gospel and knowledge of Christ. Andin another place he tells us, that " the world by wisdomknew not God, and therefore it pleased God, by the foolish-ness of preaching, to save them that believe." 1 Cor. i. 21.To imagine that there is any means sufficient for salvationwithout Christ, is to overthrow the foundation of the gos-pel; for "he that hath not the Son hath not life." 1 Johnv. 12.

Obj. Some imagine, that pagans, who live according tolaw of nature and right reason, have the knowledge ofChrist and salvation bestowed on them, by a secret andextraordinary revelation, though unknown to us. Ans.This is a bold and senseless assertion: for,

First, " How can they hear without a preacher?" Rom.x. 14.

Secondly, How can Paul's words stand good, that paganswere without hope in the world, if by the good use oftheir natural parts they shall undoubtedly obtain the know-ledge of Christ?

Thirdly, How can we imagine, that those poor souls,which sit in darkness under the power of Satan, shouldever use their free will well, until Christ makes them free?

Seeing as the apostle witnesses of the heathen, " There isnone that understandeth, there is none that seeketh afterGod, there is none that doeth good, no, not one;" (Rom.iii. 11, 12,) there cannot an instance be given of any hea-then, who by the good use of his natural will, ever ob-tained the addition of supernatural and saving knowledge," no, not one," says the apostle, but on the contrary, theymade ill use of that light, which they had; "When theyknew God, they glorified him, not as God, but became vainin their imaginations." Rom. i. 21.

Fourthly, " Without me," adds Christ, " ye can do no-thing," John xv. 5. He says not little, or not much, butnothing. If they had any strength, though small, thenChrist said not truly," Without me ye can do nothing." Ifthey had none, then where is free will? Who ever usedfree will without the help of Christ preceding? By theknowledge of Christ's gospel we are taught the good useof our wills; and if Christ's grace gives that good use, Christgoes before us, and enables us: then he is not given after-wards as the reward of our well willing.

Fifthly, This assertion establishes one of the grossestpoints of Popery and Pelagianism, namely, the merit ofcongruity; for they say that if a man do what is in him-self, God gives him supernatural grace: and Pelagius, longbefore them, taught Gratiam Dei omnibus dari ex me-rito pro bono usu liberi arbitrii, Syn. Dort, part 1, page238.

Lastly, What promise, rule, or example have we of be-stowing saving grace on the heathen in such a way, or inand for such respects? This presumptuous assertion, with-out proofs, we detest: it overthrows the faith and its mi-nistry; it establishes paganism, and frustrates the wholenew covenant of grace.

We come now to consider of all that live within the soundof the gospel. Sufficient grace for salvation is not givento all the visible members of the church, therefore not toall men. Moses declared of many of the Israelites thathad seen the signs and wonders in Egypt, yet " the Lordhath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, andears to hear, unto this day," Deut. xxix. 4. And Christ,putting a difference between his disciples and the pharisees,says, « To you it is given to know the mysteries of the

kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given," Matt, xiii11. How should men attain to saving grace, unless it begiven? And all receive it not because it is not given toall; for to them it is not given.

Obj. But they which hear, and understand not, have thesame measure of grace with them that obeyed, only thesewould embrace the gospel and the other would not; and sothe grace which was sufficient in itself becomes insufficientthrough their own fault.

Ans. God does more for Peter than for Judas; they thathear and obey, have a greater measure of God's powerfulgrace than they which still harden their hearts: there is anexceeding greatness of his power, Eph. i. 12, put forth inthem that believe more than in them that hear and believenot. In you that believe, there is an emphasis; not thelike power in them that believe not. God opened the heartof Lydia; " He gives us both to will and to do," Eph. i.13. He does not wait for our wills, but gives us, velle, towill of his own good pleasure, whereas others want thatwill to believe, though you say they had power to believe,and to co-operate with God's grace. Of this more in thenext question.

Obj. 2. It may be objected out of Bishop Lake's paper,thus, grace is universal ex instituto divino, though not defacto, through man's fault, for God made a covenant ofgrace with Adam, as a common person, to be communica-ted to his posterity, as appears in that Cain as well as Abeloffered a sacrifice, which is a work of the new covenant.And again with Noah and his family; so that if you lookto the beginnings of the church, you will find that the co-venant, by God's institution, was universal with all man-kind, as was the covenant of works, though many of Adam'sand Noah's posterity departed from the church, and Godwas not bound by any condition of the covenant to callthem home again. Now the covenant being universal, sois the covenant of grace, and ability to keep it; one branchwhereof is this, " I will write my laws in their hearts,"therefore all the confederates have grace sufficient for theirsalvation bestowed on them.

Ans. 1. All are not confederates, therefore not within thepromise. Ans. 2. It does not appear that God made cove-nant with Adam as a common person, to be communicatedto all his posterity, but to the woman and her seed, not to

the serpent's seed, plainly distinguishing between the seeds,though all came of Adam. Cain offered a sacrifice withoutfaith: he was the seed of the serpent, of " that wicked one,"1 John iii. 12, as John terms him; and Christ tells the Pha-risees that" they were of their father, the devil."

I shall close this point with the observation of BishopDavenant; Illud observetis velim, nos in hac thesi nos-tra (scilicet non datur omnibus auxilium sufficient adsalutem) hand inflcias ire, in causis universalibus aDeo institutis (quales sunt mors Christi, prasdicatioEvangelii, institutio sacramentorum) reconditum essethesaurum gratiss in se sufficientis ad salutem omni-um; sed illud solummodo defendere, Deum neque tene-ri, ut ex hoc thesauro sufficient em gratiam impertiatomnibus et singulis mor talibus, neque per providentiatnsuam de facto procurare, ut ea omnibus impertiatur.The covenant is offered to all, but all are not confederateswith him; some are confederate with Satan; "The Lordknows them that are his," and " in their hearts he writeshis laws."

Use. Let us bless God for his mercy to us whom he hathcalled to fellowship with Christ; our wit, and spirits, andstrength were better spent and drawn forth in praises tohis holy name for this wonderful rich grace bestowed onour nation, and upon any of our souls in particular; for thathe has given us eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts toconsider the things which belong to our eternal peace, thanin long disputes what he has, or does, or is bound to be-stow on others. God is free, and just, and holy in allhis gifts of grace. Therefore let my soul for ever bless theLord, who has subdued mine iniquities, and wrought allmy works in me, and of his own will begotten me againto a lively hope by the word of truth. And let all theChristian nations glorify God for his mercy, as it is writ-ten, " Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, all yepeople;" Rom. xv. 9, 11, for he hath made known theriches of his glory on you whom he had called; of you itmay be said," I will call them my people, which were notmy people; and her beloved, which was not beloved; andin the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not mypeople, there shall they be called the children of the livingGod." Rom. ix. 25, 26.25

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SECTION II.

of man's free will and ability to spiritual good.

The errors cited by the London Testimony touching thenatural man's free will, are two.

First, That the gospel is the ministry of life not in it-self only, but in respect of men's power to believe it whenit is preached or declared to them. For, say they, menare not blind for want, of eyes, but for want of light; andwhen light or truth is discovered to them, they have facul-ties suitable, fit, and apt to receive it. And if God shoulddeprive men of all ability and power to repent, and believe,and turn to him, and then should still be moving and per-suading them, urging and pressing them to believe and turnto him, even those that perish, as well as those which aresaved : this would seem somewhat harder than injustice it-self. As if a king, having caused a man's legs to be cutoff, though in a way of justice, should persuade this man torun a race.

The second error is this: Natural men may do suchthings as vvhereunto God hath by way of promise annexedgrace, and acceptation as to believing; and, if it be possiblethat they may believe, then they may do such thingswhereunto God hath, by way of promise, annexed graceand acceptation.

That faith has the promise of acceptation annexed to itno man ever doubted ; and that natural men may be broughtto believe is as unquestionable. But of the manner howfaith is wrought in the heart, and what influence free willcontributes thereto, will be handled in confutation of theformer error, and therefore I shall not speak distinctly ofthis second error, the rather because so much of it as savoursof the merit of congruity is already confuted, in answer toan objection in my second reason about universal grace;and something of the same matter will again fall in, inhandling the main point

Before I enter upon it, give me leave (and I think it willbe profitable) to present you with a short view of the Ar-minian doctrine, touching the corruption and conversionof a sinner, that you may see at whose forge these new

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adversaries sharpen their goads and ploughshares. In theirbook entitled, Scripta Remonslrantium, &c, exhibitedto the synod of Dort, they thus declare their opinion touch-ing the third and fourth articles, De gratia Dei in con-vcrsione hominis.

1. Voluntatem quod attinet, de ed it a pronunciamus,tit statuamus earn in statu irregenerationis non haberepotentiam ad volendum ullum salutare bonum: Nequeenim id velle potest voluntas, quod in illo statu intel-lect us scire et monstrare non potest, page 6.

1. The will of man in the state of unregeneracy, has notpower to will any saving or spiritual good; because theunderstanding in that state, is blind, and cannot reach aspiritual object till it be revealed, and, therefore, the willcannot will it.

2. In statu verb vocationis et regenerations, quia in-tellectus rursum boni salutaris cognitione donatus est,voluntas libertatem et potentiam habet bonum volendi(accedente scilicet praeter illuminationem supernatura-lis quoque potentiss collatione) et malum ex se volendi,libertatem volendi indifferenter tarn bonum salutare,quam malum, in static lapsus voluntati adesse nega-mus, cam tamen libertatem, quse voluntati essentialisest, retinuit, nempe quia potuit libere in malo occupari,sive hoc volendo, illud nolendo, sive uno proposito ob-jecto illud volendo, vel non volendo, page 6, 7.

2. But in the state of vocation and regeneration, becausethe understanding is endued with the knowledge of spi-ritual things, the will recovers its freedom and power towill the thing that is goodj by the help of that illumination,and of a supernatural strength bestowed on it; indeed, inits lapsed state, the will cannot indifferently will spiritualgood and evil: howbeit, that liberty which is essential tothe will, namely, to bend itself to contrary objects withinits reach, or about the same object to will it, or not will it,it still retains, page 7.

3. Gratise Divinse actus in conversione hominis; (pri-mo) Gratia excitans est gratiosa et impromerita Spi-ritus Sancti operatio, qua primum intellectum rerumsalutarium cognitione imbuit, et per eandem illumi-nationem in ipsam voluntatem agil; vocatur et prse-veniens quia nost^im volitionern prsevenit, page 14.

3. Of the acts of God's grace in the conversion of a sin-ner. First, exciting grace is that free and undeserved workof the Holy Spirit, whereby he enlightens the understand-ing with the knowledge of saving truths, and by the un-derstanding works upon the will, stirring it up to yieldassent to the things revealed. It is also called preventinggrace, because it goes before any act of our own wills.

4. Adjuvans verb gratia est, quae voluntatem juvai,et effective cum ed concurrit ad producendum actum:vacatur hasc co-operans, quia cum voluntate operatur:et subsequens respectu prxvenientis et excitantis Gra-tide, page 15.

4. Helping grace is that which helps the will, and effec-tually joins or concurs with it, in producing the act of faith.It is called co-operating grace, because it works togetherwith the will in the act of conversion; and subsequentgrace, because it follows or sets in with the will, yieldingand not making new resistance against the work of grace,as it might have done.

5. Ordo aciuum divinas gratias: cum tria in hominecorrupto regeneratione egeant, mens, voluntas, affectus;triplici huic subjecto, triplices gratias divinas actus ac»commode?nus.

1. Mentem Deus verbo etSpiritus sui illuminationsillustrat; et si quando Veritas clare et perspicue a Spi-ritu Sancto menti prsesentetur non potest intellectus exse illi illuminationi resistere, sed ab objecto ita propo-sito determinatur ad assentiendum, p. 16.

2. Voluntatem Deus Jlectit et inclinat ad actumJidei et obedientias, ita ut voluntas per illam operatio-nem non solum potuit obedire, sed et obediat, quotiesobedit, non ex se, aut per se, aut a se. Jlddimus etiamsupematuralempotentiam credendi, voluntati conferriimmediala Dei actione, modo ilia actio voluntatem nonnecessitet antecedenter, et liberiatem potentiamque nonvolendi tollat.

3. Deus quoque affectus nostros corrigit; quibus af~fectibus castigaiis et in ordinem redactis, promptior etfacilior redditur voluntas ad exercendos pietatis actus?p. 17.

5. The order of the acts of God's grace; whereas threethings in corrupt man need regeneration, namely, the

mind, will, and affections, there are three acts of grace ap-plicable for remedy.

First, God enlightens the mind with the light of hisword and Spirit; which, when it is clearly presented tothe understanding, it cannot resist that light, but is boundto assent to the object so proposed.

Secondly, God bows and inclines the will to the act offaith and obedience, so far that the will, whenever it doesobey, not only can, but also does obey, not of, or from, orby itself. We say, moreover, that there is given to thewill a supernatural power to believe, by the immediateworking of God upon it, provided, that the action of Goddo not necessitate the will to consent, nor take away itsliberty and power to dissent, or not to believe.

Thirdly, God also corrects our affections, which, beinghastened, and ordered, the will is made more prompt andready to exercise the acts of piety.

6. Huic suae conversioni homo obicem ponere potest,et ponit saepe. Quare dicimus voluntatem ad volendumbonum non necessitari, sed hominem posse ex se rests-tere, id est, non velle, et ssepe actu non velle, page 17.Jmo positis omnibus operationibus quibus ad conver-sionem in hominibus efficiendam Deus utitur, conversiossepe non sequitur, conversio contingens est et incerta,quia libera, page 21.

6. It is in the power of man to put a bar to this his ownconversion, and he does often hinder it; wherefore we say,that the will is not necessitated to choose the good; but hecan, and oft-times does, resist and refuse it, yea, all thoseoperations which God uses to the conversion of a sinner,being put forth, yet conversion of the man does not alwaysfollow. Man's conversion is contingent and uncertain,because free.

7. Si quaeratur, quae causa sit, cur hie convertatur,ille non? Respondemus, hie convertitur, quia Deushunc non opponentem novam contumaciam convertit;ille non convertitur, quia novam contumaciam opponit.Quaeres, cur hie opponit novam contumaciam, alternon? Respondemus, hie opponit, quia vult; ille nonopponit, quia gratia movetur, ne opponere velit. Quae-res, annon ille qui non opponit novam contumaciam, etper consequens convertitur, majorem habeat gratiam,

25*

294 op man's free will, and

quarn qui opponit, et non convertifur? Respondemmantecedentem et prsevenientem gratiam sequalem esseposse, sed co-operantem habet prior, non posterior.

7. If a reason be demanded, Why this man is converted?and not that man ? we answer, This man is converted, be-cause he not opposing a new rebellion and contumacy, Godconverts him; the other is not converted, because he op-poses a new perverseness against the offer of grace. Se-condly, you demand, Why this man is obstinate to rebel.,and not the other? We answer, This man resists becausehe will; the other does not, because he is moved of God,not to resist. If you demand whether he who does notresist, and so is converted, has a greater measure of gracegiven him, than he which does resist his own conversion?We answer, That the exciting and preventing grace inboth, is equal; but co-operating grace the one has, notthe other.

This is a great part of their doctrine touching the cor-ruption and liberty of man's free will in things spiritual,in which I note two things.

First, That it is evident, that all which they so largelyspeak of grace, as if they meant to ascribe the beginning,progress, and perfection of all good to the grace of God,is but a mockery; for if it be in the will to resist the samework of grace, by which another is converted, or to em-brace the same grace, which another rejected; if after allthe labour which God uses, or will bestow for the conver-sion of the soul, the party may oppose and hinder it, if allthat they ascribe to grace be but to reveal the doctrine ofthe gospel for enlightening the mind, and to stir up theaffections, and to give power to the will to believe, yet soas that notwithstanding that power, the will is still insequilibrio, whether it will turn to God, or not; I say, ifafter all that, they say, the will must strike the stroke, anddetermine the matter; what is this, but to set up the powerof nature, and diminish the work of grace, to magnify man,and rob God of his glory?

Secondly, 1 observe also, that in the opinion, both ofthese old Arminians, and our new adversaries, the will, inits natural state, is clogged with two impediments, namety,want of light revealed, and perverseness of affections, whichbeing removed by the gospel, brings life and immortality

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to light, then the will is at liberty to exercise its innateand essential liberty, (for it lost it not by the fall,) to actupon those supernatural objects either well or ill; a man inhis natural estate, being by them compared to a man in thedark, he wants not eyes, but light. Bring him a light andhe sees again. Or as a man in prison, knock off his bolts,and open the prison doors, and he is at liberty to go away.So, say they, it is in this business. But the contrary willbe made appear in our answer to our second question, whichnow follows.

Question. Whether the use of those means being granted,it is in the power of man's free-will to convert himself; toaccept or refuse the grace offered? It is denied. Thismust be the state of the question, for so they declare them-selves, namely, "That the gospel is the ministry of life, notin itself only, but in respect of men's power to believe itwhen it is preached or declared to them." This we deny;for God in raising a soul to life, does not only afford means,but opens our understandings to conceive, and causes theheart to hearken. The apostles had the scriptures; theyread the prophecies concerning Christ, Luke xxiv. 25, 44.But one thing more was needful to form a right faith inthem; and what was that? See verse 45, "Then openedhe their understandings, that they might understand thescriptures." It is true of every natural man, that whichPaul speaks of the Jews, 2 Cor. iii. 14, "There is a vailupon the heart in reading the scriptures, until it be doneaway in Christ." Therefore Paul prays for the Ephesians,that " God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revela-tion in the knowledge of Christ, that the eyes of your un-derstanding being enlightened, ye may know." Ephes.i. 18. He writes to them that had the gospel preached tothem already; but he knew that they wanted sight, as wellas light, and therefore prayed that God would give themeyes to see and understand.

We that are ministers can hold forth the light; but thereis a farther ministry required, even the Spirit of the livingGod, to write the gospel, not "in tables of stone," but "inthe fleshly tables of the heart." 2 Cor. iii. 3. If it bewritten on with ink, or upon tables of stone, if that wereenough, then he would not speak of another writing by theSpirit of God in the tables of the heart, but now he pro-

mises "to write his laws in our hearts," and therefore letus humbly beg, and thankfully receive that mercy, and nottrust to our own strength. God does not regenerate thysoul, that it may be able to know him, and yet not knowhim, or that it may be able to believe, and yet not believe;or that it might be able to love him, and yet not love him;but he therefore makes thee able to know, to believe, andlove, that thou mayest indeed both know, believe, and lovehim; he works not only posse, but velle; "God workethin you both to will, and to do, of his own good pleasure."Phil. ii. 13. We must "work out our own salvation," thatis, employ all our abilities and endeavours to get salvation,and that with all holy reverence, humility, and carefulness,verse 12; but it is the Lord's work to frame us to will andto do, and that not according to our endeavours, but of hisgood pleasure.

Now, to help your understandings in this matter, and toprevent confusion in discourse, you must carefully distin-guish, First, between the freedom and power of man's will.We acknowledge, that liberty and freedom are natural tothe will, the good or evil which we will, we will freely;but as for our strength and ability to rise up from a stateof sin and death, by the power of our own wills, that wedeny: that strength is from the Spirit of grace and regene-ration.

Secondly. Again you must distinguish between the willfree from compulsion and necessity, and from the bondageof corruption. We acknowledge that man's will is freefrom compulsion, either to sin, or to virtue. There is noforce, or constraint, or outward necessity laid upon thewill; but in respect of bondage to sin, under which all menare sold, Romans vii. 14; so the will is in bondage, tillChrist make it free, Romans vi. 17, 20. It acts freely, butnot graciously, till it is renewed by grace, and then so faras it is regenerate, it wills things that are good. The willof a natural man in its greatest bondage, is free from com-pulsion, and constraint, and in its greatest liberty it is inbondage under sin.

Obj. The doctrine of protestants is traduced by Papists,Arminians, and Anabaptists, as if we made man a stock,or a stone; as if God converted him whether he would ornot; as if God by his predestination and decrees, compelled

and laid a necessity upon men to sin, or as if men were un-justly blamed, exhorted, reproved, for not believing, fornot doing their duty, if they have not free-will, &c.

We answer: First, every man's will is free; whateverit does, it does freely: when wicked men sin, rebel againstthe light, resist the truth, they do it freely; when godlymen embrace Christ, when they forsake the ways of death,they do it freely, for else it were not a will; the outwardman may be forced, as in a storm, to cast the wares intothe sea; in -danger, to deliver up one's money to save thelife. And this we do, after a sort, freely; because, of twoevils, we choose the least. The will is a natural faculty,and therefore free to its own actions, which are in its reachand compass.

Secondly, we teach, that the will is still free from com-pulsion, or constraint: wicked men are not forced to sin,nor good men to come to Christ; they desire him, theyprize him above every thing that can be set against him.But we confess, that in respect of the bondage of sin, it isa corrupt free-will: all men, by nature, are servants of sin,and so continue till " Christ makes them free." Man bythe fall is spoiled, not of his will, but of the soundness ofhis will; they will freely, but not well, and therefore thatgood-will by which we embrace Christ, and the things ofthe Spirit, is not a natural faculty born with us into theworld, but renewed in us by the Spirit of grace in regene-ration ; and all the saints, so far as they are regenerate, havea good, and a holy will, made alive to God, "even whenwe were dead in trespasses and sins, he hath quickened ustogether with Christ," and then "we yield ourselves toGod, as they that are alive from the dead."

But the question is, of the strength and power of an un-regenerate man's will, as to his first uprising from the stateof sin and death; whether it have any power to convert it-self, to raise itself to spiritual actions, to do any thing to-wards its own justification; or whether there is in the willbefore regeneration, vis activa, an active force to believe,and raise itself by the only help of exciting and preventinggrace? This is denied in scripture; and man's weaknessand insufficiency to help himself, acknowledged, becausewe are dead in sins and trespasses, enemies to God in ourminds, and " without strength." And what spiritual good

can be expected from such blind, carnal souls, till the Spiritof God come and renew them ? When the Spirit of gracefirst takes hold of us, it finds us in our blood, and saysunto us, Live: it finds us in a dead sleep, and therefore itsays, "Awake, thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, andChrist shall give thee light."

There is in all a power to will; but to will well, that isof renewing grace. Amongst many reasons, I shall contentmyself with these three.

The first is taken from the nature of regeneration, whichis the work of the Spirit, making a new creature, restoringthe spiritual life of grace to the soul that was spirituallydead in trespasses and sins. Thus the scripture speaks ofregeneration; "The sons of God," says John, John i.13, "are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,nor of the will of man, but of God." Note two things;first, that God's children must be born again. A child ofnature, so long as he is such, is not the child of God:secondly, in this new birth, the will of man, and of theflesh, is expressly excluded, and God's power alone set up.Now, if the first act of our uprising be ascribed partly toGod, and partly to us; to God, because he, by excitinggrace, enlightens the mind, and stirs up the affections; tous, because we will co-operate with that holy motion andpersuasion; then the work is his and ours together; thenthe will of man, and of the flesh, must not be excluded,and John's words must be corrected, and read thus: Thesons of God, which are born both of the will of man andof God. Yea, that which is least will be ascribed to God,namely, to minister sufficient grace; and to our wills, thatwhich is of greatest moment, namely, to make that graceeffectual, or effectually to turn itself, as if to conversion, itwere sufficient that the will be excited and helped, and notalso healed and quickened.

From this quickening grace is our first awakening andrising from sin, " Of his own will begat he us with theword of truth," James i. 18. The instrument is the word,the author and efficient cause is the will of God, not thewill of him that is-begotten; for the same thing is not theparent and the child, nothing can beget itself; we are theythat are begotten, and born, and God is our father thatbegat us; " He hath made us, and not we ourselves," Psal.

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c. 3. As we cannot make ourselves, so neither can we re-generate ourselves; therefore, the apostle says, " we are"not our own, but a his workmanship, created in ChristJesus unto good works." See that place; it is very full toour purpose; Eph. ii. S—10, "By grace ye are saved,through faith, and that not of yourselves," (not of anyactive power in your wills, ad actus spirituales eli-ciendos) " it is the gift of God," Why should he so ex-pressly say, not of ourselves, if ourselves did so much as ouradversaries affirm? The apostle goes on with another not;" not of works, lest any man should boast," (all is of grace)"for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus untogood works;" we must first be created in Christ, ere wecan do works of the spiritual life; he works in us newwills, and new hearts, by which we believe unto salvation.

I demand, whether these spiritual actions of faith, love,and obedience, arise from a natural, or from a spiritualroot and seed? Not from a natural; for "that which isborn of the flesh, is flesh." John iii. 6. Every tree bringsforth fruit according to its kind; and if not from a naturalroot, then not from the will of an unregenerate person.Nay, not from the will at all, by the Arminians' doctrine;for they hold that the will was never endued at first withspiritual qualities and gifts, and therefore by the fall, itcould not lose them; and accordingly in man's regenera-tion, they say, that spiritual gifts are not infused, or plantedin the will; only at the first God planted that natural free-dom in the will, ad volendum vel malum, vel bonum,which by the fall, was clogged and hindered from actingby the blindness of the mind, and perverseness of the af-fections; which impediments being removed by preventinggrace, the will can, and does, exercise its native freedom,of willing, or not willing good and evil. Now hence Iinfer, that if the understanding and the affections are theonly subject of regeneration, and that the will, in purisnaturalibus, as it is a natural faculty, without any spiritualqualities seasoning it, only being set at liberty, as abovesaid,have vim activam ad spiritualia, to convert itself to God;then it follows, that spiritual actions and graces have theirrise, and grow upon the stock, and out of the seed of na-ture, wrhich is contrary both to express scripture and reason.

Secondly, Well then it remains, that spiritual fruit mustspring from a spiritual root, or seed; and what is that?

You shall see in three places of scripture, 1 John v. 1," Whosoever believeth is born of God;" and so 1 John iv.7, "Every one that loveth is born of God;" with Johnxv. 5, " As the branch cannot bear fruit except it abide inthe vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me; for with-out me," as your root, " you can do nothing." Now con-sider, which of these is the first, to believe, to love, and tobear fruit, or to be born of God? and to be in Christ theroot? Surely, to be born of God, is before believing andloving, for we therefore believe and love, because, says thetext, we are born of God, and have his seed in us; and wetherefore bear fruits of grace and piety, because we are inChrist the root; "Thou bearest not the root, but the rootthee." Hence, I conclude, that although there is no dis-cernible distance of time between God's act begetting usto the faith, and our act of turning to God, yet in order ofworking, and causality, the work of God must needs befirst to heal, to change, to rectify, and make obedient ourcrooked wills, to take away that inbred repugnancy, whichis in our wills against the will of God, before we can obeythe call of Christ; non ideo currit rota, ut rotunda sit9sed quia rotunda est* In order of working; first, Gracegives life and qualities to the dead will; and then beingrenewed, it wills the conversion, and becomes a voluntaryinstrument of God to apprehend his grace offered, and towork forward with it; but, as I said, this it does, not byits own natural strength, but by virtue of the seed of grace,and new life that God has put into it; first make the treegood, and then his fruit good.

Thus you see how the grace of God first turns us, andthen we are turned; there is first a seed of God in us, which,because it lives and abides in us, therefore we believe inhim, and love him; and this seed or root is the first be-ginning of all our spiritual life, and the good that followsthereupon: let God have the glory of his own grace.

Thirdly, and lastly, If such a power of man's will be ac-knowledged ; Paul's questions, 1 Cor. iv. 7, "Who makeththee to differ from another ? And what hast thou that thoudidst not receive ?" will easily be answered, but in a sensequite contrary to his mind : for this opinion of free-willbeing true, I may answer, I have made myself to differ by

* "The wheel does not turn that it may be round, but because it wround."(t)

doing that which was in my power to do, which anotherwould not do, though it were as well in his power, as inmine; for I and they were alike partakers of excitinggrace; and God was as ready to receive them to mercy, asmyself, if they would believe and repent; but they, by theliberty of their wills, refused that grace, and remained un-converted ; and I, by the same liberty of my will, embracedit, and so am converted, and brought into a state of grace.And so to the other question ; " What hast thou, that thoudidst not receive?" I may answer, I have determinedmine own will to the first act of believing; which powerI received from no grace of God, but had it by nature inmy own will.

How inconsistent are these things with the doctrine ofGod's grace; and how abhorrent to the hearts of Chris-tians, who, by experience, have felt the work of grace uponthemselves! I sometimes wonder, how it comes to passthat among the patrons of free-will, so few of them giveevidence that they are gracious men; moralized civil menthey are ; but I fear many of them are strangers to thepower of grace ; they speak little experimentally of regene-ration, and the work of grace in the soul. Either let themuse their free-will better, or if they cannot, let them notsay and hold, that men can; but let them fly to God forhis grace to heal them, to his Spirit to draw them, to hispower to make them sufficient.

Thus you see what is to be thought; first, of the freedomof man's will; secondly, of its strength and power, whichis proved to be none ("for being servants of sin, we arefree from righteousness.") Romans vi. 20. First, becausewe are born, not of the will of man, but of God : Secondly,because the natural will cannot be the seed and root ofspiritual qualities; Thirdly, because it is not in man tomake himself differ from another.

I conclude this point with those savoury and wholesomewords of the tenth article of the church of England. "Thecondition of man, after the fall pf Adam, is such, that hecannot turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength,and good works, to faith, and calling upon God ; whereforewe have no power to do good works, pleasant and accept-able to God, without the grace of God preventing us, thatwe may have a good-will, and working with us, when wehave that good will."26

Against this doctrine, sundry things are objected : I willinstance only in two or three particulars. Against thefreedom of will, which we grant, it is objected, that thatis not the true nature of freedom, to act freely, and withoutcompulsion : but true freedom of will, say they, stands inindifference between two objects, whereby it can bend it-self equally to good or evil, to accept or refuse the offer ofgrace, and therefore, say they, if God determine the willin our conversion, its liberty is violated- I answer fourthings: First, why should it seem a strange thing, that God,who made our wills, should move and rule in them withoutdoing violence to their nature? Secondly, it is best withus when God determines our wills, for then we are sureever to choose the thing that is good; for God inclinesthem only to good, to evil wre can determine them fastenough, ourselves. Thirdly, The true nature of free-willdoes not consist in an indifference to contrary things, asto good and evil; for by their own confession, in our lapsedstate, the will acts freely in evil; but it has not a libertyand power to will spiritual good, as well as evil: and theygive the reason, because in this state the mind is void ofthe knowledge of spiritual good, and therefore the willcannot desire it. And, again, in heaven the will has notliberty of indifference to choose evil as well as good, andthe reason is, because in that state of perfection, the mindshall be filled with the meditation, and delight itself onlyin that which is holy and good; and yet in both thesestates, namely, of unregeneracy, and glory, they do withus acknowledge, that the will is free.

In what, then, stands the true nature of liberty, if not insuch an indifference? I answer, in the free choice of ourwill, arising from the judgment of our own understandings.This or that I judge to be good or evil; and, accordingly,I freely choose or forsake it: wherever these two concur,namely, first, freedom from violence and necessity, andsecondly, the full consent of our own reason; there is thewhole and true nature of liberty.

Fourthly, God, in converting us, does not take away theliberty of will, but its obstinacy; Base gratia a nulloduro corde respuitur, ideo enim tribuitur, ut cordisduritia primitus auferatur. And why should they con-tend for such a liberty of will, as a part of its perfection

and excellency, which is indeed its greatest weakness,wickedness, and shame, namely, to be able to resist thegrace of God intending our conversion. 0 that I had nobitter root in my will of rebelling against the will of God !Lord, let there never be but one will between thee andme; though I fail in many things, yet let not my will befalse. Let me ever be able, with comfort, to say with theApostle, "The evil which I do, I allow not; and if I dothat I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin thatdwelleth in me," (Romans vii. 15, 20.) The Apostle Paulbewails the rebellion of his heart; he disclaims all its lust-ings, " It is not I." Who is it then ? Is it not a part ofthy will's liberty to " war against the law of God ?" Yes,of a base corrupt will; for it is sin in me; call it what youwill, it is sin, " it is sin that dwelleth in me." 0 that Iwere delivered from that liberty; it is sin, it is a wretchedliberty. 0 then let not vain man glory in his shame. Letus bewail not only our own evil wills, but even the prone-ness that is in us to will any thing against God.

Against the weakness and impotency of our wills, it isobjected as above: If God should deprive men of all abilityand power to believe, and yet be still moving and pressingthem to believe, this would seem harder than injustice it-self, &c, yea, this would represent the glorious God in hisgreatest expressions of mercy, grace, and love to the world,rather as laughing the world to scorn in that great miserywherein it is plunged, than as a God any way truly desirous,or intending to relieve it. Lond. Test, page 11.

1 answer three things:—First, to fasten inferences uponGod, is a dangerous presumption: take heed of it, lest yebe found to charge God foolishly, "Will you speak wick-edly for God, and talk deceitfully for him," Job xiii., asdefenders of his honour ? He needs it not; to salve hisjustice, as you apprehend it, will you deny his grace?

Secondly, God does not cut off any man's legs, and thenbid him walk—" God made man upright, but he himselffound out many inventions. Eccl. vii. 29. The bondage ofour will is not to be laid upon God, but upon Adam's fall,which is the proper root whence that impotency in ourwills arises. The creature is turned away from his Maker.May not the Lord call upon him to return, and pay hisdue obedience ? Nay, is it not a mercy that he seeks

those that were lost? or did you not like the manner andcourse that he has taken, to make the offer of grace to thelost world ? Will you quarrel at it, because it is so gene-ral ? Perhaps more general than are the wills of men toreceive it.

Thirdly, God endues men with principles and gifts ofreason, judgment, memory, conscience, understanding, bythe use and improvement of which they are capable ofbeing convinced of sin, and of Christ's readiness and abilityto save, also to give credit to the things they hear. Yea,moreover, God works in the hearts of men that live underthe preaching of the gospel, certain effects, by which peopleare led on towards their conversion; such as knowledgeof God's will, sense of sin, fear of wrath, belief of the curseof the law, consultations and purposes to seek for delive-ance, and to forsake sin, some joy and hopes upon possibi-lity of pardon.

By all which effects, they perceive that God calls themto repentance and mercy, and accordingly are almost per-suaded to be Christians indeed. Yet through the subtiltyof the Devil, who stealeth away the good seed that wassown, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke theword, so that they, who after all this, remain in theirnatural and sinful state, their own hearts tell them thatthey have dealt ungraciously with God's Spirit, that theyhave striven against the light, that they have not done whatwas in their power to do; yea, I am persuaded, that thereare not any of those who live under the gospel, and are sopathetically moved and pressed to repent (as in the objec-tion is alleged) but they must confess that they are damned,not because they could not believe and turn to God, butbecause they would not, because other things were lovedabove Christ, because they forsook their own mercy, andso are justly left to their own hearts' lusts. The godlythemselves know by experience, that they also have manytimes grieved the Spirit, and hardened themselves againstGod, especially in the days of their unregeneracy, andshould have likewise perished, had not the Lord followedthem with his grace. The sum is, they that perish mustascribe the fault of their non-conversion to themselves;and they whose hearts God hath farther mollified, mustascribe the praise thereof to his grace. Why God

follows the one with grace and leaves the other to his ownheart's lusts, is a question that belongs to that mystery, " 0the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God," (we can-not fathom it.) "How unsearchable are his judgments,and his ways past finding out! Who hath first given untohim, and it shall be recompensed again ?" Rom. xi. 33, 35.

The rest of their reasons against our doctrine, are butcomplaints and frettings, as it were, against God ; I willname but one more:—If salvation is not to be had, butonly by Christ through faith, and that condemnation comeson them through unbelief, and yet God afforded them notpower to believe; then the damnation of the most part ofmen was an inevitable effect of the death of Christ, andtheir condition more desperate, considered with thosemeans, than before, it being able to condemn them, but notbring them to faith.

A most absurd inference. For, First, men's damna-tion is not the effect, nor the end of Christ's dying; hisdeath is the life of men.

Secondly, What then ? Is it a consequence of his death?Neither so, for they had perished, though Christ had neverdied; namely, for transgressing the first covenant.

Thirdly, What then ? Is Christ's death an occasion ofthe damnation of any man ? Not so neither, for though wedoubt not to say with the scripture, that " Christ is a stoneof stumbling, and a rock of offence to many," 1 Pet. ii. 8,yet he is not properly and simply an occasion of theirperishing, for they were under condemnation already, Johniii. 18, only their unbelief leaves them under their formersad condition, with some increase to their condemnation,because the)?- show new obstinacy, and more disobedienceagainst God than others that never saw the light: as itthere follows, ver. 19: "This is the condemnation (thejust and great condemnation) that light is come into theworld, and men loved darkness rather than light, becausetheir deeds were evil." Lastly, Christ's death is not initself an occasion of increasing their condemnation butmerely accidentally, by reason of man's disobedience, asPeter expressly speaks; " He is a stone of stumbling."To whom ? " To them that be disobedient." 1 Pet. ii. 7,8,which stumble at the word, being disobedient. In himselfhe is altogether precious and the Lord of life. Paul

26*

says of the law, that " Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in him all manner of concupiscence.'"Rom. vii. 8. Did the law work concupiscence in Paul ?No; but sin by the law did; sin taking occasion by thelaw did. The like may be said in this case, Christ is holy,his death a savour of life, no man's ruin is the effect ofChrist's death. What then ? Through men's own diso-bedient hearts, that love darkness rather than light, thejustness and aggravation of their condemnation is mani-fested.

Thus you see with how little connexion, or show ofreason, men's damnation is charged on Christ's death,whereas, at the most, it is but an occasion, an accidentaloccasion, not in its own nature, but from man's ownwickedness; an occasion, not of their ruin; (for theywere undone before, and no man's unbelief first puts himunder condemnation, but leaves him there under wrath,)but of a higher degree of condemnation, because theyneglect so great salvation, and tread the Son of God underfoot.

Lastly, it is objected, are not threats, exhortations, all invain ? Ans. This will be sufficient for you to remember, thatall those invitations, exhortations, patient waitings, warn-ings, threats, &c, which you meet with every where inScripture, do not show what our power is to co-operate toour first uprising from our sinful state.—But first, what thecreature's duty is to his Creator. Secondly, what we cando by grace preceding and renewing us, not of ourselves.Thirdly, what God intends to do for his elect by thosemeans, for they are God's power unto salvation, and Godby calling on us causes the deaf, yea the dead to " hear thevoice of the Son of God, and to live," John v. 25, by knock-ing, he awakens them that are in a dead sleep; by calling,he causes us to hear his voice and return. Now Godshows what he intends to do for us, because the precepts,which require duty of us, are in other places of scriptureturned into promises. Thus he requires Israel toil circum-cise their hearts," Deut. x. 16, xxx. 6; he promises that(t hewill do it for them." Thus, he requires, Ezek. xviii. 31,"Make ye a new heart, for why will ye die, 0 house of Isra-el ?" xxxvi. 26; he promises to "give them a new heart anda new spirit;" God's precepts show our duty, and when we

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see that he turns his precepts into promises, it reminds usof his mercy and our own weakness. If the performanceof the condition of the new covenant were left to our ownpower, it would not be to us a ministry of life and right-eousness; for we are no more able of ourselves to believe,than to keep the law: therefore he says, "This is the cove-nant that I will make with the house of Israel after thosedays, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind,and write them in their hearts," &c. Heb. viii. 10. Theconditions which God requires of us, he works in us, Godrequires us to repent, and he gives repentance, 2 Tim. ii.26. He bids us "come to Christ," and he draws us toChrist, John vi. 66. If God should give us only a possi-bility to believe and to turn to him, and should leave theacting of it to our wills, we should even do as our firstparents did, depart from God, and never bring that possi-bility into act.

Fourthly, Such invitations, warnings, &c, show what itis that we ought to beg at the throne of grace, seeing wehave not the sufficiency of ourselves, namely, that he wouldwork our works in us, that he would circumcise our hearts,and give us new hearts, &c; and finally, that we ought toascribe the whole glory of our salvation to his rich andunspeakable grace.

By the former distinctions and doctrine, the people arehelped to discern truth and falsehood, good and evil insundry cases. As, for example,

If the question in discourse be, whether God's decree,ordaining the events of things, does not take away the free-ness of man's will? The answer is no; because God hasdecreed not only the things themselves which shall be, butalso the manner how they shall be. Some things worknaturally, some things proceed from necessary causes, whichbeing put, the event always follows, as heat from fire; somethings work voluntarily, and the event comes to pass freely,because they depend on voluntary causes, as to build a col-lege, or hospital, and so of all human actions. Some thingshappen contingently, and as it were by chance, in respectof us, because they have no known or constant cause, aswalking in an orchard, an apple falls upon my head, mywalking is not the cause that the apple fell, nor the appleof my walking there. Now God decreeing that voluntary

308 OP UNIVERSAL GRACE.

agents shall work freely, therefore his decree does not takeaway my freedom, but rather establishes it. The selling ofJoseph into Egypt, God decreed, yet it was done freelyand willingly by Joseph's brethren: the reason is, becausethe root of true freedom is in the free judgment of our ownreason, and, therefore, every man acts freely, because hechooses that which seems best and most reasonable, notbeing constrained by any external force or principle, butby the persuasion of his own mind.

If the question be, concerning the conversion of a sinner,because God's grace works powerfully, and man's will isbut passive, or is the subject whereon God works in the firstact of our conversion, and not a cause co-operating withGod, that, therefore, man is made a stock or stone, &c,—theanswer is, not so; because, to will is of nature, to will wellis of grace; so that when God frames us to wTill well, hedoes not change or destroy the natural faculty, but heals it,and leads it to a better object; and this he does non cogendo,sedsuadendo: the soul sees the greatest reason in the worldto embrace the greatest good which is now offered to it; andthe man thirsts after it, and wills it with all his heart andmight. 0 give me Christ, or else 1 die! 0 give me Christwhatever he cost me! Is this to take away man's freedom,so freely to choose the best? And so fully to consent tothe will of God? Then, Lord, let my will never be free;Lord, set my heart at liberty, to run the way of thy com-mandments, to run after thee, which way soever thoudrawest me. In all this there is nothing taken from thewill, but goodness added to its actings. To will, and towill well, are not two several acts, but one and the sameact; which as it is an act of willing, it is of man; as it is agracious willing, it is of God. Is this dealing of God upona free agent, remaining free, as if he dealt upon a stock ora stone?

If the question in discourse be, do wicked men sin freely,or of necessity and compulsion? The answer is, corrup-tion is in their wills, and, therefore, they sin willingly, notby any external constraint; and until they are regenerate,every motion of their will is more or less sinful. As inan instrument that is out of tune, if you sound it, it willjar in the sounding. Wicked men, when they sin, sin oftheir own, Nemine jubente, suadente, cogente; you need

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not compel them: yea, they sin with delight, and some-times with deliberation. Sin is most natural to them; it istheir flesh.

Obj. But if the corrupt will can do no other thing butsin, then it sins necessarily, and not freely. Ans. Not so;forasmuch as that naturalness shows the greatest freeness.As, for example, I am naturally inclined to this or thatrecreation, therefore, I follow it with the greatest willing-ness. Evil cleaves to natural men's will and actions; butyet when they choose the thing that is evil, that evil choiceis not from external necessity; they do it willingly, afterthe imagination of their own hearts; yea, so freely do theyfollow and choose the evil, that they can and do deliberate,and take counsel about it, so that they can forbear whenthey see cause, and then fall to it again. The corrupt na-ture that is in/ wicked men, does not bind them up to thisor that evil action, nor at this or that particular time; theycan plot and contrive by their wits and counsels, what evilto do, when and which way to accomplish it; and whenthey are resolved upon a way, they can change their minds,if they see any danger or miscarriage attend their enter-prises. All which shows how freely wicked men do evil.Let them bewail it, and not hardejUheirvhearts against God,by casting any blame upon hTS"h"oly wU!7~dThoping to ex-cuse the wickedness of their actions, by the wickedness oftheir hearts and inclinations; nor, lastly, by listening to theprofane scoffs of carnal wits: whenever the day of yourvisitation is come, you will bewail yourselves in this respectchiefly, that you have sinned against God with a full will(for so is the unregenerate will, it is a full will, in no partgood) and so freely with delight and pleasure.

CHAPTER XI.

ERRORS AGAINST THE TRUE NATURE AND GROUND OF FAITH ANDJUSTIFICATION.

It is not my purpose in this treatise, to follow everybrain-sick sectary in his wild goose chase, nor to attempt

the confutation of every absurd sentence that falls fromtheir pens: many of their fooleries are not worthy of notice.The material errors cited in this chapter are two.

First, Concerning the ground and means of faith, (ac-cording to which, faith will be accounted natural, or super-natural:) their error is thus expressed:

" They that are without the gospel written or preached,have sufficient means of believing; they that have only theheavens, the sun, moon, and stars, and the goodness of Godin the government of the world, have reason sufficient, ifnot in abundance, to think the same thoughts, and judgethe same judgment with those that have the letter of thegospel, (namely, in the matter of believing.) For this,two reasons are alleged. 1. They have the substance ofthe gospel, namely, the willingness and readiness of Godto be reconciled to the wTorld preached to them by thoseforesaid apostles, the sun, and moon, and stars, &c. 2. Be-cause in the creatures they have sufficient means of believ-ing. First, that God is: secondly, that he is a rewarder ofthose that diligently seek him, which is all the faith or be-lief that the apostle makes, simply and absolute^, necessaryto bring a man to God, that is, into grace and favour withhim."

Against these gross errors I lay down this positive conclu-sion, namely, that the substance of the gospel; nay, not theleast glimpse thereof is, or can be made known to us in thecreatures, and, therefore, they which want the letter of thegospel, have not means sufficient to bring them to savingfaith; neither can they think the same thoughts, nor judgethe same judgment, that those do, who have the letter ofthe gospel.

1. The sun, moon, and stars, and the government of theworld, are but dumb apostles to preach the mystery of sal-vation; the eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen andunderstood by the things that are made; so that by thisgoodly frame of the world, the sun, moon, and stars, menby natural reason, may gather, that God is eternal, becausehe is before all things which are made; and powerful, be-cause he could make such a world of nothing; and accord-ingly, that the Godhead is not like to the "image of a cor-ruptible man, or birds, or four-footed beasts, or creepingthings;" under all which forms the heathen worshipped a

deity, and " served the creature more than the Creator."The apostle shows the vanity of men's imaginations: for itis contrary to reason, that God, which made the world,should be like to such weak, dying, perishing creatures;and much more that such creatures should be worshippedand served, prayed to, or depended on for help; and there-fore he tells us, that in their base conceits of the Godhead,and in their idolatrous image-creature worship, they " be-came brutish;" they did not show themselves men, and,therefore, were without excuse in that respect. A wor-shipper of images, of creatures, has no excuse for his sin,because he has reason enough to dictate the contrary.Now, if in the great works of the creation, they could notapprehend aright the nature of the Godhead, how shall theybe able to see and find in them the hidden mystery of thegospel? "The mystery that was hid from ages and gene-rations," hid in God, hid from generations of men, yea,from angels in heaven, to whom " the manifold wisdom ofGod is made known by the church." " God at sundrytimes, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto thefathers concerning Christ by the prophets." But did heever speak of Christ by the dumb creatures? What should1 say more? The apostle is clear, "The world by" all its" wisdom knew not God," 1 Cor. i. 21, till "it pleased Godto reveal it by the foolishness of preaching," ver. 8. Itnever entered into the heart of man to think of salvationby the cross; of an imputed righteousness by a Mediator,of God manifest in the flesh, made under the law, &c, andmany other such like points of the gospel: none of thesethings ever " entered into the heart of man to conceive,"1 Cor. ii. 9: the knowledge and belief of these things comesonly by hearing, and by the revelation of Jesus Christ inthe gospel. All that ever studied righteousness, I meanthe best and wisest of heathen philosophers, never soughtit in a way of faith, but.in a way of works, of moral cor-rectives of vice, and rules of common justice, and humanprudence. But did ever any one of them so much as dreamof a Mediator? or of justification by faith?

2. Hereof follows the second branch of our conclusion,namely, that they which want the light and letter of thegospel, have not sufficient means of believing. The objectof faith is not revealed in the creatures. How then can

there be any faith without the gospel? " How can theybelieve in him of whom they have not heard ?" It is athing impossible. "And how can they hear without apreacher?" Rom. xiv. 15. A preacher of the gospel ofpeace, that brings glad tidings of good things? that is alsoimpossible. And " how can they preach except they besent?" If there be no sending, no preaching, no hearing,there can be no believing. And so the apostle concludes,ver. 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing bythe word of God." This is the only true ground of faith;and all that would get faith, must hearken to the gospel, asit was taught and published by the true and living apostlesof Jesus Christ, and is continued in the church by such assucceed them, who are " ministers, by whom ye believe,"and "labourers together with God," to make the world" obedient to the faith."

The reason of this is, because true faith, by which manis justified, is purely supernatural, it is above nature to teachit, or to work it. It is purely supernatural, first, in respectof the object, which is Christ crucified for our sins. Thethings to be believed are above the reach of man's naturalreason; u Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee,but my Father which is in heaven." This our Saviourspake of Peter's faith, Matt. xvi. 17.

It is a groundless invention of some, to say, that heathensmight have an implicit faith in Christ; that is, habitually tobelieve all things contained in scripture, although actuallythey knew not what was contained in it; and that an ex-plicit particular belief of Christ was not then necessary.For they could have none at all, because they had notChrist for their object: but to yvafov ta 9sh, that which mightbe known of God by the creation. That distinction offaith implicit and explicit, cannot take place where theobject of faith is not known and embraced. Implicit faithis that of man)' weak Christians, who believe in Christ forsalvation, that he died to save his people from their sins;or this they rest on, though many particulars touching themanner of the incarnation, death, resurrection, intercessionof Christ, and justification, and of the definition of faith,&c, be not clearly known to them; the faith of Corneliusand the eunuch was such. Faith explicit, is when Chris-tians can distinctly go from point to point, manifesting their

knowledge in the mystery of Christ. These two are onlydegrees of the same faith, the one weak, the other strong,for they both meet in one object, Christ Jesus. But to tellof an implicit faith in heathens, which have a kind of know-ledge of God, but not Christ for their object, is an inventionto delude the simple; they could have neither habit nor actof faith, when the object of faith was altogether unknownto them.

Much after this manner do the popish priests delude theirpeople, by the doctrine of an implicit faith; for they teach,that the people are not bound to know what the matter oftheir faith is; it suffices that they believe as the church be-lieves, upon assurance that the church believes all thingsnecessary; but what those things are which the church be-lieves, they need not inquire. Thus they exclude know-ledge from faith, and place it in assent only, in a blind andgeneral assent, whereas without knowledge there can be nofaith; and without supernatural revelation there can be noknowledge of the things that are to be believed.

Secondly, Faith is purely supernatural, in regard of themanner of coming by it; it is given from above. To be-lieve is the work of God, as has been sufficiently evincedin the former chapter; and although, when we believe, wesee sufficient to believe, yet to make the heart close withJesus Christ, is an effect of God's powerful grace. Henceit is that the apostle prays for the Thessalonians, that "Godwould count them worthy of this calling, and fulfil all thegood pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith withpower," 2 Thes. i. 11: in which place the apostle teachestwo things: first, That the whole beginning and progressof our salvation, is to be ascribed to the good pleasure ofGod's goodness: secondly, that the work of faith is carriedon with power; Christ is the "author and finisher of ourfaith," Heb. xii. 2, and because it is so many ways assaulted,therefore " by the power of God we are kept through faithunto salvation," 1 Pet. i. 5. And truly, what less than adivine power is able thus to draw the soul to Christ? toforsake all, that we may be found in him? to forsake ourown friends, houses, lands, and present worldly enjoyments,for his sake? yea, which is most of all, to forsake our ownrighteousness, and venture all upon an unseen Christ, upona crucified Christ? to venture our precious souls, and our27

eternal condition upon one whom we never saw, "yet be-lieving we rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory,'71 Pet. i. 8.

3d. Faith is purely supernatural, in regard to its admira-ble effects and workings. First, inward, for first, it purifiesthe heart; secondly, it pacifies the conscience; thirdly, itfills the heart with joy, even in the midst of tribulations;fourthly, it makes us able to withstand and to quench allthe fiery darts of Satan, and to fight, and overcome princi-palities and powers. Secondly, Outward effects. You seethe admirable effects of faith in the fathers, Noah, Abraham,Moses, &c, Heb. xi., who, by faith, forsook their own coun-try, to live as pilgrims in a strange country; chose afflictionsrather than worldly honours, bearing up in doing the willof God against all the threats and wrath of kings, as seeinghim who is invisible; " Others, through faith, subdued king-doms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions,quenched the violence of fire, out of weakness were madestrong, waxed valiant in fight," &c, verses 33, 34. Faithmakes us overlook all difficulties and temptations, whichmay hinder us in the course of our obedience; it shows usthe all-sufficiency of God, his faithfulness and power; itworks by love, and frames us to obey the will of God inall things, in difficult cases, in hard duties, which natureabhors, as Abraham's sacrificing his son, &c.

Lastly, the victories of faith are admirable, 1 John v. 4:*' This is the victory that overcometh the world, even ourfaith ;" it overcomes the terrors and flatteries of the world,temptations on the right hand and on the left; it makesthe soul overcome death itself, yea, the worst of deathsthat persecutors could invent to inflict on the servants ofChrist. Rev. xii. 11.

Consider now what a thing faith is, and can nature dothis ? Such effects as these so far above nature, can theyarise from a root in nature? These supernatural andspiritual effects show that faith is of a divine and heavenlyorigin.

Now you will easily perceive the weakness of these tworeasons by which this error is supported,

First, it is alleged that they who are without the gospelhave sufficient means of believing, because they have thewillingness and readiness of God to be reconciled to the

word preached to them by those dumb apostles, the sun,moon, &c., and the bountifulness of God in the governmentof the world.

Ans. First, in the creatures, whereby God has providedfor our sustentation in this natural life, we may gather,that " God is good to all, and his mercy is over all hisworks: he preserves both man and beast, he spreads a tablefor every living thing, he opens his hand and fills themwith good."

Again, in the creation of the world, and the dominiongiven to man over the creatures, we may see what honourand dignity the Lord put upon man in his creation. ThePsalmist's meditation of God's works is sweet, Psal. viii.3, 4: « When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fin-gers, the moon, and the stars, which thou hast ordained,then I say, What is man ?" What a rare, excellent,honourable, piece of the creation is man, for whose usethese things were made? If the heavens, sun, moon,and stars be so glorious, how glorious a creature is man," that thou art mindful of him, that thou hast crowned himwith glory and honour, that thou madsthim to have domi-nion over the works of thy hands, that thou hast put allthings under his feet, as sheep and oxen," &c. We mayfitly meditate on our primitive greatness and excellency bycreation, and bewail our sinful rebellion against so good aGod. But what character of God's reconciliation to theworld can be read in all this book of the creatures ? God'sgoodness to us as we are creatures, is one thing, and as weare sinners to be reconciled, is another: the former is ageneral goodness; he is good to all, and sendeth rain to thejust and unjust; yea, thus he is good to the brute crea-tures. But as for that spiritual goodness of God in sendinghis Son to die for us, this is not seen in the creatures.Nay, farther, we that have the best improvement of thelight of nature, by the help of the light of God's word,cannot infer God's readiness to be reconciled to the worldby his general goodness in governing the world. "Noman knows love or hatred by all that is before him;" itwere but a wild and weak argument to reason," God gaveEsau a blessing: " Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatnessof the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above," Gen.xxvii. 39 ; therefore God is willing to be reconciled to Esau

in the blood of Christ. The general goodness of God increation, and his spiritual mercies of redemption are notof the same kind, they are different sorts of mercies: neithercan we conclude or infer the latter from the former,

Secondly, It is alleged that they have sufficient means'of believing ; First, That God is. Secondly, And that heis a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, which, saythey, is all the faith that is absolutely necessary to bring aman into favour with God, Heb. xi. 6.

I answer, First, If that general belief concerning Godwere all the faith that is necessary to salvation, or if it besufficient to bring men into favour with God, I do not seewhy the devils may not be saved, seeing they believe thesame. Secondly, This general confused belief is not ai!the faith that is required. Our Saviour requires more, Johnxiv. 2, "Ye believe in God, believe also in me;" and again,John xvii. 3, "This is eternal life, that they might knowthee the only true God." But is that enough? No; butye must add, "and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent;" "forif ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins;"Christ says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no mancometh unto the Father but by me," John xiv. 6; thereforeby the bare help and knowledge of the creatures, no mancan come to God; he will miss his way that misses Christ.Thirdly, Forasmuch as the apostle there speaks of such afaith by which we please God and are accepted with him^therefore it cannot be meant of such a general, philosophi-cal knowledge of God, (as that he is the Almighty Creatorand Governor of all things,) but what a God he is to usafter the fall, and that he is a rewarder of them that seekhelp and relief by that way which himself has revealed,that is, by faith in the Mediator. Faith is that grace whichunites us to Christ, in whom Gad is well pleased with us,and, therefore, except a man believe God's all-sufficiencyand merciful bountifulness in Christ to supply all his wants,he cannot come to him in a way that is acceptable. Andso the meaning of the words is this, He that comes untoGod must believe, not only that he is creator and governorof all things, but also Redeemer all-sufficient and graciousto relieve sinners; and also that he is a rewarder of themthat seek him, not in a way of works legally, as the hea-then do, who conceive it shall go well with good men,, and

ill with wicked men, but evangelically, in a way of faith inthe Mediator, as Enoch did, of whom it is testified, thatthough he were furnished with many other glorious vir-tues, yet by none of them did he please God, but only byhis faith.

And for confirmation of this exposition, some propertiesof justifying faith are fitly noted, to be contained in theapostle's words, by Mr. Dickson, in loc. As first, " Thatit makes a man sensible of his own indigence and misery,else it could not send him a begging. Secondly, It emp-ties him of the confidence of his own and all the creatures'help, else it could not send the man away for all these toGod. Thirdly, It points out God both able and willing tohelp, else it could not encourage a man to take course forrelief in him. Fourthly, It sets a man at work to use theappointed means to find God; and so it brings a man todeny himself, and to have communion with God." Thisis the faith spoken of in the text, and it is not taught by thecreatures, nor found in them that want the gospel.

Use. What a wonderful madness and horrid ingratitudeis it in those men, who enjoy the gospel of life, to speak ofanother way of getting faith and salvation? It is an infi-nite mercy, for which man is ever bound to bless God, asZacharias did, Luke i. 68, 77, and sajr, " Blessed be theLord God of Israel, who hath visited and redeemed hispeople, and given knowledge of salvation unto them by theremission of their sins, through the tender mercy of God,whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, togive light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow ofdeath, and to guide our feet in the way of peace." Howare the spirits of the penmen of Scripture raised up in ad-miration and praises of God for this mercy ! "Blessed bethe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," &c. Sothey begin their epistles; and again, " I thank God uponevery remembrance of you for your fellowship in the gos-pel." The Gentiles glorify God for this mercy, "Praisethe Lord, all ye Gentiles," &c. Do we thus requite Godfor this infinite mercy, to tell people they may get faithand be saved without it ? It is true, say they, the way oflife is more clearly seen in the gospel, but yet men mightbe saved in their old way. O ! cursed speech! 0 ! let ustjemble and beware lest this horrid ingratitude provoke

the Lord to remove his candlestick, and leave us in thedark to grope like blind men, and to perish everlastinglyin our own deceiving! What honest intention or meaningcan there be in these men that fancy a gospel in the crea-tures ? The mischief of that doctrine is unspeakable.

First, It makes void the gospel and plucks up the foun-dation of religion, and sets up salvation without faith inChrist. Secondly, It makes void and needless the minis-try, and brings the preaching of the gospel into base repute.Thirdly, It pulls down ordinances as useless and unneces-sary. Fourthly, It opens a gap to paganism and profane-ness. To this degree of madness does God give them over,who think they can never set themselves at a distance farenough from the precise preachers of the gospel. But letthem remember, that in their madness of opposition, theyforsake the doctrine of the church, which teaches thus, Art18, "They also are to be had accursed that presume to saythat every man shall be saved by the law or sect which heprofesseth, so that he be diligent to frame his life accord-ing to that law and the light of nature; for holy Scripturedoth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ wherebymen must be saved."

The second error cited in this chapter, is against the truenature of justification, in these words:

Neither Paul nor James exclude or separate faithful ac-tions, or acts of faith, from faith, or the condition of justifi-cation, but absolutely requiring them as the only things bywhich the man is justified.

Against which I oppose this conclusion, as the plain truthof God, namely, that faithful actions; first, though theyflow from faith inseparably as fruits and qualities; yet, se-condly, they are separated from faith, or the condition of jus-tification; and thirdly, are not absolutely required as thethings, much less the only things, by which the man isjustified.

This conclusion has three parts or doctrines which 1 willprove severally.

First, Faithful actions, such as Paul commends in Abra-ham, and James requires in every believer, are not sepa-rated from true faith, nor from the party justified; but theyflow from faith inseparably, as effects and fruits of it. Thisneeds not long proof, for "faith purifies the heart," Acts

xv. 2. As the spring purges itself from mud and dust thatis cast into it; so faith and lusts cannot lodge or dwell to-gether; the believing heart will cast it out like poison.

Again, "Faith worketh by love/' Gal. v. 6. It is a cha-racter, or mark, by which a sound Christian is known anddistinguished from the unsound. It is not circumcision, orany such outward privilege or performance that can makea good Christian, " but faith, that worketh by love," thatis, that frames the heart to obey God's will out of the loveit bears to God. " This is the love of God," an effect andsign of it; " that we keep his commandments, and his com-mandments are not grievous." 1 John v. 3. Faith believesGod commanding, threatening, directing, as well as pro-mising, and yields unto God a suitable obedience to everypart of the revealed will of God cheerfully; it is not grie-vous; and universally to obey God in one thing as inanother, because, as James says, there is the same authorityand bond upon the conscience in all the commandments.God spake all these words; and he that said, Do not com-mit adultery, said also, Do not kill; and, therefore, who-soever shall offend in one point, out of an evil conscienceor false heart, is guilty of all.

Faith is that which carries us on in the course of obedi-ence, and the more faith we have to see God in his all-suf-ficiency and other attributes, the more constant, sincere,and sound we are in our obedience; ye see the admirableeffects of faith in Heb. xi. By faith Abel served God.Enoch walked with God. Noah went on with buildinghis ark against all the scoffs and discouragements of thatage. Abraham left his country, withheld not his son, hisonly son, from God. Moses went through with that diffi-cult undertaking, he despised worldly honours and terrorsof the king, &c. Faith will make us follow God in diffi-cult duties and promises: when faith fails, then our obedi-ence fails. Abraham failed in denying his wife, throughfear he fell, he conferred with carnal reason, "I thoughtthey will slay me for my wife's sake," Gen. xx. 2, 11. Itis faith that keeps us close to God.

Use. The more are they to be wondered at, who pleadfor obedience of faith, to make it justifying, yet think thattrue faith does not always bring forth good works, and thatit is possible to believe truly, and not to live accordingly,

that a man may see and like the promises of spiritual andeternal joys, and yet for the present, embrace the contrary :and this, though it be not a justifying faith, yet it may bea true faith for so much as it is, or it is one part of truefaith. I would call this rather the faith of devils, feignedand counterfeit faith ; it is not that 7ti$i$ wwjtox^vto^ 1 Tim.i. 5, which is commended in all true Christians. See,therefore, that you approve the trueness of your faith byits fruits of obedience; and although you will not bringyour faithful actions into the conditions of your being jus-tified, yet bring them forth as fruits, witnessing that youare partakers of Christ, and that Christ liveth in you.

The second part of my conclusion is this: faithful actionsare separated from faith in the act of justifying, or from thecondition of justification: they are not joined with faith inthat action. Here faith is alone, we are justified by faithonly, without the help or concurrence of other faithfulactions. For the clear understanding of this, you are toremember,

First, That man being guilty of the breach of God's law,is subject to the penalty of it, condemnation; he cannot berestored again, unless he brings a righteousness to satisfythis law again.

Secondly, This righteousness is not our own inherentjustice, but the obedience of Christ alone, by which he ful-filled the whole law most perfectly for us. We affirm thatevery child of God has in him true sanctification and holi-ness, enabling him to exercise repentance, hope, charity,&c. But we deny these, or any of them, to be the justicewhereby the bond of God's law is answered, and we ap-pear righteous before God's judgment seat. But the verything that makes us accepted as just, is the obedience ofChrist, not our faithful actions.

Thirdly, " For the deriving of this righteousness to us,two things must be done, one on God's behalf, another onour own ; that which God does is the imputation of Christ'sobedience to us for the pardon of our sins, and making ourpersons acceptable, as if ourselves had never sinned. Thatwhich we do is believing in Christ, and so receiving thatwhich God offers, both which actions, when they meet,God's offering Christ, and our receiving him, the justifica-tion of the poor sinner is formally accomplished."

Fourthly, This righteousness is derived to us by faithonly, without the concurrence of other graces, or faithfulactions to complete it. When we say faith only, the mean-ing is not to exclude repentance, love, and good worksfrom faith, seeing faith is always accompanied with goodworks, as the sun is with its light, and fire with heat; andthough the works themselves justify not, yet being theeffects of the same faith, have their proper use to sanctify us,which is necessary to salvation, as well as justification, be-cause God brings no man to glory by justifying him alone,but by sanctifying him also. The meaning then is, to ex-clude all other graces and faithful actions from being eitherthe righteousness that makes us accepted to eternal life, orthe means whereby that righteousness is applied to us.

Of all the graces with which the soul of the Christian isadorned, there is none of them that is accepted for ourrighteousness, but the righteousness of faith, that is, ofJesus Christ, who is the Lord our righteousness, and is ap-plied to us by faith, and by no other grace. This is mani-fest in scripture, which sets up faith alone in this business.Rom. iii. 21. " The righteousness of God without the lawis manifested, even the righteousness of God, which is byfaith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all that believe, forthere is no difference."

Note first, That there is a righteousness of God emi-nently so called, besides the righteousness of the law (whichis God's righteousness also) and that is the righteousnessof God in Christ, even "the righteousness of God by faithof Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. v. 21. Now this righteousness ismanifested for our justification " without the law."

Secondly note, how this righteousness comes upon us.The text says, "it is unto all, and upon all that believe."Here may seem to be a tautology, because it is said, " Therighteousness of God by faith is upon all that believe."The righteousness of faith, upon all that have faith! A tau-tology; no. But that plainly shows both what our righte-ousness is, and what is the means of making it ours, namely,faith alone; the righteousness of God is upon us by the faithof them that believe, not by any of their other graces. Itfollows, v. 24, " Being justified freely by his grace throughthe redemption that is in Jesus Christ," " Therefore it isof faith, that it might be by grace," Rom. iv. 16. Now if

faithful actions, or works, were joined, it were not of faithalone, and if not of faith alone, then not of grace. But allis placed in Christ through faith, v. 25, " Whom God hathset forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, todeclare his righteousness for the remission of sins." Theapostle goes on, ver. 27, " Where is boasting then?" Asif he should say, such a way of mercy is established, wherebyboasting " is excluded;" that no man may boast over an-other. " B}' what law " is boasting excluded? " Of works?Nay," for if some have the condition of works, they mayboast over others that want them. By what law then isboasting cut off? "By the law of faith;" for faith bringsone and the same righteousness of Christ to all; it stops allmouths; there is no difference between one and another inChrist Jesus, whether they be Jew, or Gentile, they are allone in Christ Jesus; there is no room for boasting, and,therefore, not for works. So the apostle concludes, ver. 27," Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faithwithout the deeds of the law," that is, by faith only.

This is confirmed by David's testimony. " David de-scribeth the blessedness of a man." He is one, " to whomthe Lord imputeth righteousness without works," Rom. iv.6; that is, the righteousness of Christ to remission of sins,without any of our works; for which cause it is called " therighteousness of faith," ver. 11. These exclusive terms,"Not by the works of the law, but by the faith of JesusChrist;" "by faith without the deeds of the law;" "right-eousness without works." These expressions fully teach,that faith is alone in this great business, that though Chris-tians are adorned with many good qualities and graces, yetGod has only regard to their faith, which makes them re-nounce all confidence in their own works, and seek life andsalvation in Christ, in whom they put their trust.

Here, to close this second part of my doctrine, you mustremember, that when so great matters are put upon faithalone, faith is not considered as a work or quality, but inits relation to Christ, and as it is an act or instrument ofthe soul receiving and apprehending Christ set forth to thesinning creature: as they that were stung with fiery ser-pents in the wilderness, were healed by looking upon thebrazen serpent, that was lifted up; so the wounded soul iscured of its sins by looking to Christ, the antitype, to that

brazen serpent. And this looking is called by Christ him-self believing, John iii. 14, 15, "As Moses lifted up theserpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be liftedup, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, buthave eternal life." And although the eye has many otheruses and objects, yet by none of them was the party healedof his deadly sting, but by looking on the brazen serpent.So faith has many other objects and uses in the Christianlife, yet by none of them is the sinner justified, but by ap-prehending or looking upon, and applying Christ set forthin the promises of the gospel, and resting thereon for mercyand salvation. Faith acts upon Christ in heaven, and it actsupon our own hearts to subdue lusts, and frame it to obe-dience. By the former we are justified, not by the latter.

Before I proceed to my third doctrine, an objection mustbe answered. For it is objected, that when it is so oftensaid, that we are justified by faith without works, withoutthe deeds of the law, that the word (works, and deeds ofthe law) in those places signify one of these two things,either perfect legal obedience, or circumcision, and such likejudicial observances, and so it is truly said, we are justifiedby faith without them, that is, without such perfect absoluteunsinning obedience, and without such judicial observances,but yet not excluding, but including sincere obedience.

Ans. But are not your faithful actions the works anddeeds of the moral law? That is, such as the law requiresyou to do? yes; why then they are excluded from faith inthis business. Paul excludes the works of the ceremoniallaw from having any hand in our justification, but not themonly, but all works of the moral law also. For,

First, His words are general, and without limitation,Rom. iv. 6, " Blessed is the man unto whom God imputethrighteousness without works/' without any works; andver. 5, " to him that worketh not," (observers of the cere-monial law are not called workers) " but believeth in himthat justifieth the ungodly, to him his faith is imputed forrighteousness." What works are they, the want of whichmaketh one an ungodly man? Are they not works of themoral law? Yet he that has not wrought them, but forlack of them deserves to be called an ungodly man; if hebelieve, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Secondly, Paul excludes the works of that law that was

given to all men, to the Gentiles, as well as the Jews; theworks of that law, which stops every mouth, and cursesevery transgressor; that law which works wrath, and bywhich is the knowledge of sin. This must needs be themoral law; for of the ceremonial law none of these thingscan be affirmed. " We have before proved " (says he, Rom.iii. 9, namely, in his former dispute) " both Jews and Gen-tiles, that they are all under sin," and, therefore, concludes,ver. 28, 30, that "a man is justified by faith without thedeeds of the moral law," the Gentile's law; "seeing it isone God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, andthe uncircumcision through faith." Thus you see the pointclearly proved, namely, that we are justified by faith only,without the deeds of the moral law, or any thing in it con-tained.

The third part of my conclusion is this, that faithful ac-tions are not required as the only things by which the manis justified.

First, Because the only thing by which a man is justi-fied, is that which answers the accusation and sentence un-der which all sinners lie before God's tribunal and judgmentseat. What is it that you will plead to the law and justiceof God at that day, why the sentence of death should nottake hold of you? Will you plead your faithful actions?Can they answer the law? Can you hope by them to bepronounced innocent, absolved from death, and adjudgedto life eternal? 0 no; then you will plead Christ's righte-ousness. " It is Christ that died and rose again;" he was" made under the law to redeem us that were under thelaw," &c. This is the thing, the only thing, by which thelaw is satisfied, by which we stand just and righteous beforethe judgment seat of God; and, therefore, the only thingby which a man is justified. Their words broadly deli-vered, are thus a gross and manifest falsehood: there are nottwo only things by which a man is justified; if Christ'srighteousness be indeed the only thing, then our faithfulactions are not.

If they are the only things by which the man is justified,then either first, as causes; or secondly, as our evangelicalrighteousness, accepted instead of the fulfilling the law; orthirdly, as the means of the application of Christ's righte-ousness; or fourthly, as conditions preparing the subject to

its justification, or as a causa sine qud non, without whichthe party is not justified. But in no sound sense can ouractions, or any of our inherent righteousness, be the onlythings by which the man is justified. I will prove it byparts.

1. Not as causes, having any worthiness in them, on ac-count of which the person should be accepted; partly be-cause they are imperfect, and need pardon; and partly be-cause they are the gifts of God's grace, and so make usdebtors to him, and not him a debtor to us.

2. Not as our evangelical righteousness accepted insteadof our fulfilling the law. Arminians teach, Fozdus illudnovum gratiae, quod Deus Pater per mortis Christiinterventum cum hominibus pepigit, non in eo consis-tere, quod per Jidem, quatenus meritum Christi appre-hendit, coram Deo justijicemur; sed in hoc, quod Deusabrogatd perfect d obedientice legalis exactione, Jidemipsam, et Jidei obedientiam iiiiperfectam pro perfectdlegis obedientid reputet, et vitas seternae praemio gra-tiose dignam censeat; that is, the grace of the new cove-nant stands in this, that God accepts our faith, and our sin-cere obedience, though imperfect, to justification, instead ofthat full, perfect, and sinless obedience, which the law re-quireth; our faith and faithful actions shall be instead offulfilling the whole law of God.

A gross «rror: for, first, God spared not his own Sonwhen he made his soul a sacrifice for sin; he exacted ofChrist our surety, full payment and satisfaction for all oursins; he did not abate him one ace, when he made him acurse for us. The reason of this is, because the law beingpart of God's will, and given to man out of the justice ofGod, it must take its effect, that so " God may be just, andthe justifier of him that believeth in Jesus:" Rom. iii. 26,and so Christ satisfies the word of his Father (" Thou shalldie the death") and the conscience of the sinner in thatrighteousness is full and perfect. Again, God's judgmentis according to truth, and, therefore, he never pronouncesa man righteous that is not so. " The righteousness of thelaw is fulfilled in us that believe," Rom. x. 4. The justiceof God is no loser in justifying the elect freely, and for justnothing of their own. Finally, if our evangelical obediencewere accepted for our justification instead of perfect legal28

obedience, then we were justified by works, by the deedsof the law, by an inherent righteousness; for such are allour faithful actions, they are a conformity to the law, anda part of that obedience which the law requires of us. Hethat fulfils the law by perfect obedience, and he that obeysit in all the parts of it sincerely, they both of them areworkers; and if that which they do is their righteousness,then are they justified by the deeds of the law. Secondly,How then holds the difference assigned by the apostle,between the worker and the believer in the manner of ob-taining righteousness? How sets he the worker and be-liever in direct opposition in the point of justification? Howdoes he describe the righteousness of the believer to bewithout works, Rom. iv. 5, 6, " The Lord imputeth righ-teousness without works." And what righteousness canthat be? Inherent righteousness it cannot be, for that isnot without works, it must needs therefore be Christ'srighteousness, according as it is said, "By the obedienceof one many are made righteous;" Rom. v. 19. Christ'srighteousness is made ours of God; 2 Cor. v. 21, "We aremade the righteousness of God in him," that is, righteousby such a righteousness, as God requires and imputesto us. Thirdly, whatsoever may occasion boasting in manis excluded, Rom. iii. 27. Now as great occasion of boast-ing is left to man in the act of faith, and its obedience, asin any work of the law whatever, inasmuch as accordingto these men's doctrine, these would believe; others wouldnot, though they had the same helps and means.

Note this therefore for conclusion of this point, that thegrace of the new covenant does not stand in this, that Godaccepts our imperfect obedience loco impletionis totiuslegis, that God accepts a pepper corn instead of his fullrent, as Mr. Baxter glosses it, a jejune and empty conceitof so high a mystery. But that glorious rich magnificentgrace of the gospel, so much magnified and exalted by theapostle to the praise and glory of God's rich mercy and loveto mankind, stands in this,—that whereas God's justice re-quires full satisfaction, and he in justice might have re-quired the same at our hands, he has provided the price,and accepts the full payment at the hands of our Mediator.

3. Nor thirdly, as means to apply Christ's righteousness.This is the pre-eminence of faith to obtain this blessing of

righteousness at God's hands, as has been proved already.The righteousness of the gospel is that which is performedin the person of Christ; it is He that died, and overcame.Now these personal actions cannot be ours by any othermeans, but by imputation, which is God's gracious actascribing to us, what Christ did and suffered in our names,and counting it ours no less than if we had performed it inour own persons; and the thing imputed is not received,apprehended, and applied by our charity, or repentance, orany other grace, but by faith only.

Because the grant of life, and pardon of sins is made overto us in the promises, which are the proper object of faith,not of other graces: the act and proper object of charity, iscompassion to them that are in misery; the proper act andobject of repentance, is sorrow for sin, &c. So the pro-mises are the object of faith; promises are to be believed,and the soul receives them by faith. See that place, Rom.v. 17, where believers are described to be such, as "receivethe abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness."Here is a gift (righteousness of Christ) the relative act togiving, is receiving, namely, by faith, as by a hand, so thatfaith only hath fitness to receive the gift of righteousness,and it causes the soul to rest on them in peace. And thusthe just shall live by faith on the promises. But the lawis not of faith. As if he should say, it is not enough tobelieve a law, but you must do it. Look upon the law, wedo it; look upon the promises, we believe them, and byfaith in them we live, Gal. iii. 11,12, with Heb. x. 38, 39.

Nor, lastly, are faithful actions the only things by whichthe man is justified, or by a condition, as causa sine quanon. We all acknowledge, that faith, repentance, newobedience, are in a sound sense conditions required of allthat are within the covenant of grace, and all that look tobe justified by the blood of Christ, must be also sanctifiedby the Spirit of Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 11, so Acts ii. 38, " Re-pent and be baptized for the remission of sins;" so 1 Johni. 6, " If we say that we have fellowship with him, andwalk in darkness, we lie." We freely profess, that God,who justifies the ungodly, that is, all humble, broken, ladensinners, that come to him for just nothing, without consi-deration of any thing in them, moving him thereunto, willnever justify an impenitent infidel, one that goes on still in

his wickedness. We strictly and vehemently urge, thatthere is an inseparable connexion between justification andsanctifieation in the sinner that is received unto mercy,(though we deny a dependence of justification upon sancti-fieation) and that upon these grounds.

First, From the nature of faith. Faith is wrought in theheart by the gospel, which humbles the sinner, and showshim his misery, and so drives him to Christ for help. Thissame faith both justifies us, as it acts upon Christ set fortha propitiation for sin; and it sanctifies us, as it acts uponour own heart, purging out the natural filthiness that is init.

Secondly, From our in-being in Christ, as the root, " Hethat hath the Son, hath life," 1 John v. 12. And we thatwere a wild olive tree by nature, being planted into Christ,our wild nature is changed, and we partake of the fatnessof the true olive, that is, of the graces that are in Christthe root, of whose fulness we receive in our measure, andare become new creatures.

Thirdly, From the nature of Christ's death, which as ithas a merit to expiate all sin; so it has an efficacy with itto crucify the old man with its lusts. The blood of thesacrifices, sprinkled on the sinner, sanctifies to the purifyingof the flesh. Much more does the blood of Christ purgethe conscience (not only from guilt) but from dead worksto serve the living God, Heb. ix. 13.

Let us consider a little what influence the death of Christhas in our mortification, and sanctifieation; what influenceit has in our justification, is evident. But how it destroysthe power of sin in us, is not altogether so obvious andclear. Christ died, therefore sin dies in me. What is thereason of that inference? How has that death upon thecross an influence in my heart to kill sin in me? Is it onlyby way of congruity, because Christ died for my sins;therefore I should hate sin, which God so much hated, andwhich put Christ to that cursed death? That is something,but that is not all; for Christ's death kills sin in us effica-ciously, Rom. vi. 6, our old man is crucified with Christ,that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforthwe should not serve sin. This comes to pass by virtue ofour communion with him; "If one died for all, then wereall dead," 2 Cor. v. 14, and our old man is crucified with

Christ. But before our old man can be crucified withChrist,

1. Sin must be imputed to him. He took our whole sinand fault upon himself, he was made as it were, a lump ofsin, and so he stood upon the cross as clothed with ourold man, having as it were the "hand-writing of ordinances,which was contrary to us," hanging about his neck.

2. Now this whole body of sin he "nailed to the cross,"Col. ii. 14, he "took it out of the way;" he not only con-demned sin in his flesh, but he destroyed the power of sinin the world, and that two manner of ways: First, becausein his cross he "spoiled principalities and powers," thespirit which ruled in the children of disobedience, theprince of the world, was judged. Christ was manifestedto "destroy the works of the devil/' Secondly, paction-ally, because having performed that work, he received"the promise of the Father," that is, the Holy Ghost, thathe should have " life in himself," and " execute judgment,to turn the people of Israel to the Lord," and that he should"see of his seed," Isa. liii. 10, 11.

3. This being done by Christ our head, as a public per-son in the room of all the elect, we having communionwith him by faith, are made partakers of all that he did, orsuffered, or conquered; all is as really ours, as if we haddone it in our own persons. As in the first Adam, therewas a spring of human nature corrupted, derived to us bynatural generation; so in the second Adam there is a foun-tain of the same nature restored, and derived to us by spi-ritual regeneration, so that by fellowship with Christ inhis sufferings, our body of sin is destroyed; and we havefrom him an inherent sanctification, as well as an imputedrighteousness; 1 Cor. i. 30, "He is made unto us wisdom,and righteousness, and sanctification."

Thus you see that we urge holiness and sanctification,and their necessary connexion with justification, upon assure and strict grounds, as those who make them condi-tions of justification; and in our ordinary preaching wedo not hesitate to call faith, repentance, and holiness, theconditions of the new covenant,* the way for the ransomedto walk in, which way whosoever findeth not, or havingfound it, walks not, shall never be saved, because God

* This phraseology it is safer to avoid. (1)

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saves none but by justification and sanctification both. Theformer is to acquit us from the condemnation of the law,the latter is to conform us to the gospel, and to go the waythat leads to God.

But when we meet with men of corrupt principles, whofirst deny that faith justifies, as an instrument relatively, butonly as a condition within us, that is, as a qualification, oract; secondly, that Jides loco impletionis totius legis;thirdly, who set up our works, and rank them with faithin the point of justification, so that those glorious things,which are spoken of justification by faith, are affirmed alsoof other virtues and faithful actions, and faith is no morethan other graces, and other graces are as much as faith;all which together make up that condition by which theman is justified—such broad, material, effectual conditions,pulling down faith, that it shall be but as a single star inthe constellation of graces, and setting up works in thesame throne and dignity, we detest, as tending directly tosubvert the gospel of salvation, in like sort as the papistsdo by their doctrine of works. We deny, with the Apostle,the union of our works with faith, as to our justification,and we perform them as duties, whereto God has tied us,upon other terms, namely, as the fruits of faith, the wayby which God will lead us to himself. Our learned di-vines explain it by this comparison. A king freelybestows a place in the court upon his subject; this hisfree gift binds him over to come to court to receive it;and having so done, to discharge the place with all dili-gence and attendance, and yet the subject cannot say, thateither his going or attendance procured the place, but onlythe king's free gift put him into it; so it is in our sanctifi-cation, which is the way that leads to the kingdom, whichGod has freely given us, and the duty which that giftcalleth us to, and therefore necessary in its own kind andorder, and not otherwise. You see what we hold touch-ing conditions, and in what sense we so speak.

Now it remains that I prove the fourth branch of mythird doctrine.

Here I will consider two things; First, whether the ad-dition of that word (as by condition,) be a sufficient salvoto make the former words sound doctrine? Secondly,whether faithful actions, or the purpose of them be indeed

an antecedent condition, or qualification of the subject toits justification, to make him capable thereof?

To the former, 1 say, that it is not a fit salvo; for theproposition itself in terminis, being untrue, the limitationis very flat, because the word (only things) imports morethan a personal qualification, even that condition which isonly in the person of Christ. Why says he not plainly,they are the only personal conditions, and not the onlythings, seeing no personal conditions whatever are thethings by which the man is justified?

Let us consider expressions scattered up and down inthat Practical Catechism, and then judge whether limita-tion (as by a condition) be a pertinent salvo to make thesense good: for instance, "many acts of Abraham's faithare mentioned in the New Testament, but especially twothere are, by which, in two trials of his faith, he approvedhimself to God, so far, as that God imputed them to himfor righteousness, that is, accepted of those acts of his asgraciously as if he had performed unsinning obedience, hadlived exactly without any slip or fall all his life." Andagain, a little after, he saith, "That will hold true of you(as of Abraham,) that if your heart be sincerely given upto Christ, if there be in you a resolution of uniform obe-dience unto Christ, and such as would hold in time of temp-tation; this will be certainly accepted by God to thy jus-tification; nay, if God try thee only with one promise (beit spiritual or temporal) if thou confidently depend on thetruth without any doubting, this will be accepted of Godto thy justification without any farther acts of faith, or obe-dience to his commands, in case, or supposing there wereno such command as yet given to thee: but if our receivingof Christ in heart and resolution be such, as will not fructifyin its due season, it is not fit to be accepted by God to ourjustification."

Observe here two gross errors; First, that the thing im-puted, and accepted to our justification, is our own obedi-ence, (in resolution or performance.) Secondly, that Godaccepts those acts of faith instead of, or as well as if weperformed perfect unsinning obedience. Whereas thescripture is full and clear, that the thing accepted and im-puted to our justification, is not our weak imperfect obedi-ence, residing in, and performed by our ownselves, but the

spotless and all-sufficient righteousness of Jesus Christ, per-formed by Christ, residing in the person of Christ, and im-puted by God to us. That which is imputed to us, is notinherent in us, it is not our own. Righteousness imputedand inherent in this dispute, are quite contrary; if it beimputed, it is not inherent; if it be inherent, it is not byimputation.

Now let us apply the salvo, and see if it can make thesense sound doctrine. God graciously accepts sincere acts ofobedience, instead of unsinning obedience to the whole law,(as a condition in the subject to be justified:) this is absurd;

For then first, Man's personal obedience is the materialcause of his justification, as truly and really as perfect obe-dience in Adam was his righteousness; for by their owndoings they both are accepted. This is indeed to makethe gospel a covenant of works, a conditional covenant.In the covenant of works (which is properly conditional)there were but two persons, God promising life, and manwith his personal conditions of obedience; and here it istrue, God accepts his creatures' obedience as the conditionor terms on which he performed his part of the covenant.But in the covenant of grace, there is a third person, namely,the Mediator; and here the Mediator's righteousness is thatwhich is accepted instead of perfect legal obedience; hisobedience is the only condition, upon which depends thefulfilling of all the mercies of the covenant, the sinner'srighteousness is not considered. This is the difference be-tween the law and gospel, that covenant was performed forthe righteousness which should have been found in our-selves; but here the things covenanted are applied and pro-cured for the righteousness of the Mediator.

Secondly, consider the inconsistency of the proposition,with its limitation. A condition (he says,) has no effi-ciency in it; but if God accept any thing instead of thewhole law, that thing is of greatest efficiency. To affirmthat man's faithful actions are the things imputed, and ac-cepted for his justification, yea, that they are accepted in-stead of perfect obedience, is to make them more thanconditions—even ingredients constituting a fit matter tobe accepted on our behalf; they are now made intrinsicalto the matter of our justification, with which they are com-plete and fit to be accepted by God for our justification,

whereas conditions qualifying the person, are altogetherextrinsical to the matter of our justification.

It is then a mere gull, to say that our own actions justifyas conditions or qualifications of the person, seeing no per-sonal condition or qualification whatever justifies, that is,is imputed, or accepted to our justification. It is as if aJesuit should defend the pope's infallibility, by saying thepope is the infallible and unerring judge of controversies,not as a man, but as head of the church, or that he haspower over temporalities in order to spiritualities, whereasthere is no such order, no such headship over the church.Thus of the first question.

Question 2. Whether faithful actions, or the purpose ofthem are indeed an antecedent condition or qualification ofthe subject to his justification, to make him capable thereof.

I answer: First, take faith as a condition, that is, in anotion distinct from instrument or relative, it is no otherthan a work of ours, as any other virtue is.

Secondly, take faith with all its actings upon precepts,promises, commandments, threats, with all your obedience,giving up your heart to God in all things; take all toge-ther, they have in them no other than the nature of goodworks, good qualities and actions. And,

Thirdly, although by them the party justified is dis-tinguished from him that is not justified, and a true be-liever from a false, yet none of these good works, nor alltogether, are the conditions of a sinner's justification. Thefirst reason is from the nature of the free covenant of grace;the sum of which is, that "we are justified freely by hisgrace, through the redemption that is in Christ," Rom. iii.24; from all our sins, without consideration of any thingthat we could do or suffer. God receives a sinner into fa-vour gratis, for just nothing, "to the praise of the glory ofhis grace, wherein he hath freely accepted us in the Be-loved." Eph. i. 6. In which place note two things;First, that there is nothing in us moving the Lord to makethis covenant of mercy and promises, freely by his grace.Secondly, that there is nothing in us as a consideration,ground, or condition of fulfilling those promises being made,"Your sins are forgiven for his name's sake," 1 John ii. 12.All we have is by a deed of gift, it is all gratis, of meremercy and good-will.

I illustrate it by this comparison of two beggars. Bothcome to a rich man, bewail their case: and say "We muststarve and perish, if thou relieve us not," &c. But the onepleads thus: "Sir, though you have now forgotten me, yetI have been an ancient servant to you and your father: Iever wished well to your family; I never purloined orwasted your goods, &c. And though I have now playedthe lewd prodigal, yet I beseech you to pity me in mymisery." This man cries out of his want and misery, buthe brings a consideration or condition to move pity. Theother brings nothing but words of aggravation and self-condemnation; "Sir, I confess I have hated you, and beenyour enemy, I have plotted your ruin, I have spoken anddone all the mischief I could against you, you may hangme, &c, yet I beseech you, sir, pity me in my misery."Here is no qualification or consideration to move pity,none at all. This is the sinner's case; he comes heavy-laden, his sins like a talent of lead upon his conscience, andin bitterness of spirit cries out, "Lord, be merciful to me, asinner, I have sinned against heaven and against thee: I amas full of sin and misery as the devil can make me, I havebeen an ungodly wretch until this moment, have mercyupon me, and according to the multitude of thy compas-sions, blot out all mine offences. 0, may such a vile wretchcome ?" Yes. "Shall he find pardon ?" Yes, " I will easeyou." " 0, but I can say nothing for myself;" yet " comewithout money and without price." " I am the worst ofsinners, I have not a good motion in my heart; men andbrethren, what shall I do?" Christ calls thee, "come untome and I will give thee rest." Mat. ix. 13. The father ofthe prodigal fell upon his neck and kissed him. All thatthe devil, or thine own conscience can make of thee, is buta sinner, a chief sinner, an ungodly person, and such Christcame to call, Rom. iv. 5, God is said to "justify the ungod-ly," that is, an ungodly person coming to Christ is accept-ed, and has his sins forgiven; of unjust, he is made just.The state of a sinner, when pardoning mercy first acquitshim, is a state of guilt and condemnation.

The proper subject of justification, or of pardoning mercy,is a guilty soul; it finds the person ungodly, and underwrath, it sets him at liberty, it says to him, Thou shalt notdie, thy sins are forgiven thee. Terminus a quo, the state

from which a sinner is brought, is a state of sin and wrath,terminus ad quern, the state to which he is brought, is astate of righteousness imputed, whereby he is now a justman, his sins all covered, and he made a blessed man, Me-dium per quod, the means by which the guilty party passfrom condemnation to life is faith, given us at this instantof our conversion, not as a condition pre-existent in theparty to be justified, but as an instrument enabling the soulnow to reach forth itself to lay hold on Christ thus freelyoffered, and to close with the Lord Jesus. Even as thehand of a beggar or a prisoner reaches forth itself to receivea gift to pay his debts. In the same minute of time a manis ungodly and justified, an enemy and a friend. As Christmade the blind to see, that is, him, who just now wasblind, so God "justifies the ungodly," that is, him that justnow was ungodly; when he came to Christ, he was un-godly, "when we were enemies, we were reconciled;" thatis, he that just now was an enemy is reconciled; till hereceived his pardon he was an enemy. And what qualifi-cations and conditions are, or can be found in such a personto make him capable of his justification 1 Yes, says theobjector, his sorrow for what is past, and his purpose to beungodly no more, his giving up himself to sincere obediencefor time to come—this is the condition of his being pardon-ed, and received into mercy. Ans. It is true, all this Godlooks for at his hands, and gives him grace to do so. Godhaving received him, and forgiven him all his sins, lets fallall actions against the sinner, and so makes him a blessedman. God now expects that he should hold up no weaponsagainst him, but walk in uprightness before him. Butthis is not the condition of his being pardoned for sins past.God pardons him freely, without consideration of any thingthat he has done, or can do hereafter. Sincere obedienceis due every day, and may be a condition of our continu-ance in God's favour. But how can it be accepted for sinsof times past? Are sins past pardoned on that condition ?But these are duties required of us upon other terms, ashas been shown in the comparison of a beneficial officefreely bestowed by the king on his subject; he cannot saythat his discharge of the place was a condition of the king'sbestowing it, for the king's free gift put him into the place,but it is a duty which that gift calls him to.

This leads me to my second reason, taken irom the na-ture of gospel conditions, they are gifts of the new covenantpromised, therefore not properly conditions previously re-quired. God gives us the grace for time to come, to becomenew creatures. God gives repentance as well as remissionof sins. Acts v. 31. God gives the new heart; and there-fore these things which God himself works, cannot be con-ditions to him to pardon our sins. Indeed this sincere,hearty, resigning ourselves unto the Lord, may be to us acondition of our peace, and a help to apply the promises toour own souls in particular, evidences to see ourselves in astate of grace.

There is a double act of faith, one direct, pitching thesoul upon Christ, and this is that by which I am justified,from whence arises in the soul a secret joy and peace, anda wonderful love to Christ, and a willingness to live tohim, to resign ourselves to him, &c.

The other act of faith is reflex, whereby the soul looksinward to try its state, and finding these holy dispositionswrought in the heart, whereto are annexed promises ofmercy and salvation, concludes itself to be the Lord's.He can say, " I am Christ's, and Christ is mine." Notehere, that I am justified because I believe in Christ, notbecause I find that my faith is sound; howbeit, by thisI gather boldness and joy in believing. These graciouspurposes and faithful actions, are not the ground of my be-lieving, but of my applying. He that believes and repentsshall be saved ; I believe and repent, therefore I shall besaved. These gracious qualities in the heart, do not atfirst produce faith, they are not the mother of faith, theyare the fruits of our marriage to Christ, Rom. vii. 4: yet thedaughter may nourish the mother in time of need; so dothese graces comfort the soul, and witness our fellowshipwith Christ.

Obj. But unless I do believe and repent, I shall not besaved, I do not only lose my assurance and the comfort ofthe reflex act of faith, but I am not justified at all in thecourt of heaven, unless I repent, &c.

Ans. True, because God justifies none, but the samewhom he sanctifies, as we proved by the connexion thereis between justification and sanctification. " The grace ofGod which bringeth salvation, teaches us to deny ungodli-

ness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,and godly, in this present world," Tit. ii. 12; yet this doesnot amount to an antecedent condition of our justification.And you shall know it by this, because, though I fail inpoint of faith, as Sarah did, and in point of duty, as Peterdid, yet we are not forthwith unjustified, the covenant ofmercy is not forfeited; for one of those better promisesbelonging to the new covenant, is to pardon the failings ofthe covenanters. Better promises, because God not onlykeeps that faith which is in all covenants, namely, to per-form his promise, if we perform our duty; but he promisesalso to forgive our failings, and cause us to fear him; hedoes not take the forfeiture upon our failings, but pardonsus; "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous," &c. If the covenant werepurely conditional, if it were grounded upon our obedience,as a condition or consideration, then that failing, it werelost and forfeited (as in the first covenant, which was trulyconditional,) but it being grounded on Christ, there is astanding righteousness unto which we may "have recourse,to obtain mercy, and find help in every time of need,"Heb. iv. 16. And for which righteousness' sake God ac-cepts us, notwithstanding our failings; "1 have prayed forthee, that thy faith fail not." Luke xxii. 32.

The third reason is taken from the nature of faith andrepentance, they are emptying graces, they do not bringany condition or consideration with them. Faith findingnothing at home, seeks and receives all from another.Faith makes us deny ourselves,and renounce our own right-eousness, it sends us to Christ with an open hand whichlets fall all that was in it, to receive a pardon at God's hand,as the beggar does an aim. See how the apostle abasesand empties himself, Phil. iii. 7, 9, "What things were gainto me, those I counted loss for Christ; yea, and I count allthings but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found inhim, not having mine own righteousness," &c. Faith ispassive in receiving the pardon; it is the hand or instru-ment of the soul to receive God's promises. Now the giftis most free and unconditional, yet it must be received bythe party that needs it, else it will do him no good ; andthat is all that faith has to do to make us sons; "As manyas received him, to them gave he power to become the29

sons of God," John i. 12. So repentance, it is an empty-ing grace; repentance makes us abhor ourselves, accuse,judge, and condemn ourselves, and put our mouth in thedust, and be dumb before the Lord. Now how can thatwhich condemns me, be a condition of my pardon ? Acondition furnishes me with a plea, why I should have thisor that, but faith and repentance cast away all such pleas,empty us all of goodness, lays us low at God's feet, as acompany of condemned creatures, every one saying," I amno more worthy to be called thy son." Does this faithlook like a constellation of graces, all which together, arethat faith which is required as the condition of our beingjustified ? A strange faith; for by this reckoning sorrowfor sin is a part of faith, and so is charity, and so is tempe-rance, &c, and all these together make up a lusty conditionof our being justified! This is that condition we deny.

Obj. Yea, but such a faith is required as is a receivingof the whole of Christ, a cordial assent to his commands,as well as promises, as our King, Priest, and Prophet.—Ans. There are two sorts of believers, some receive Christonly in a general notion of a Saviour, not as a Lord to rulethem; and they do not receive Christ aright: others re-ceive him entirely in all his offices, as he is set forth in thegospel; but yet tell me, is whole Christ received and ap-plied to every purpose? to that one purpose of justification?The whole Christ is received to a Christian's several needs:I receive Christ as my Prophet, but Christ does not justifyme, as he is my Prophet, or my King. Christ, as myProphet, is made unto me wisdom; I need him for that.As he is my King, he is made unto me redemption, for thefinal delivery of my body. And as he is my Priest, he ismade unto me righteousness and sanctification; the officeof a Priest being to make an atonement, and to purify theunclean. So that whole Christ is the foundation and root ofthe whole covenant; whole Christ is commensurate to ourwhole redemption, and we must not look for any partthereof out of Christ; for in him we are complete, yetwhole Christ is not the necessary or proportionable objectof each single blessing of the covenant. And therefore itis but a fallacy to say true faith receives whole Christ;therefore the receiving of him in his commands, threats,&c, is a condition of our justification.

Fourthly. These good works, purposes of obedience,&c, which make up the condition of our being justified,do they go before the pardon of our sins, or follow after ?If they go before, they are the works of an enemy, andcannot qualify us for a pardon; for they need pardon them-selves : if they follow after, then they are not conditions,because the work is done already, the person being alreadyjustified by his faith ; he cannot be justified by those dutieswhich follow after, unless you will say that the continuanceof our justification depends upon perseverance in those holypurposes, and as our first entrance into a state of justifica-tion was upon- condition of works, so our standing in thatgrace is owed to sincere obedience. Both which are di-rectly contrary to the apostle, who teaches, Rom. v. 2,that both our access and our standing in that grace and fa-vour of God, is by faith: it is "from faith to faith;" and theapostle declares his whole justification both in his first con-version, and in that time wherein he wrought, Phil. iii. 9.10, yea, at the day of resurrection, to be wholly completedand finished in faith. Here come two grand argumentsfor union of works with faith: First, that without which,(according to James' opinion,) we are not justified, andby which, joined with faith, we are justified, that is notexcluded from faith, or the condition of justification, butrequired together with faith, as the only things by which(as by a condition) the man is justified. But without ac-tions of faith (in James' opinion) we are not justified, andby them we are justified, and not by faith only; thereforefaithful actions are not excluded, but required together withfaith, as the only things by which (as by a condition) theman is justified. To which I answer three things:

First, That the foundation of the argument laid down inthe major proposition, is absolutely false, which in plainterms is this, namely, that faith alone does not justify, butthat works are joined with faith in the act of justifying,(for so are the express words, ".by which, joined with faith,"and "required together with faith,") and therefore the minoris totally to be denied, which assumes and affirms, thatwithout faithful actions joined with faith, we are not justi-fied, and with them we are. This error I have sufficientlyconfuted in the second part of my conclusion of this secondsection of this chapter.

Secondly, I answer, there is a two-fold joining with an-other, (of works with faith) one as fruits are with thotree, or as fellow-qualities in the same subject; secondly,as fellow-workers to the same effect; in the former sense,works are joined with faith, not in the latter. I illustrateit thus:—In fire there are two qualities joined together,heat and light; without light fire does not heat the water,because fire is not without light, yet the light conducesnothing to the heating of the water. Now it would be asophism thus to argue,—that without which the fire does notheat the water, and with which joined together, it doesheat it, that is the thing by which the water is made hot;because, though they be joined together as fellow-qualitiesin the same subject, yet not as fellow-workers to make thewater hot: so it is a gross fallacy to prove the union orconcurrence of works with faith to our justification, becausefaithful actions are never separated from faith; for thoughthey are fellow-qualities in the same sanctified soul, yetthey are not fellow-workers to our justification in any sensewhatever. Faith must so justify, that (in that work) noother thing may share in it, not repentance itself. To thewords then I answer, that in this present argument, thosewords {without which, and by which joined) denote not apresence, or an association of faith and works, but a con-currence in that great work; we are justified by faith withworks associative (faith is not without them) but not byfaith and works copulative. Now in the argument faith andworks are coupled as fellow-workers to the same effect;and, therefore, that assertion I utterly reject.

As to whether this is James' opinion, that works are joinedwith faith in the act of justification: how does that ap-pear? They will tell us, by James' direct affirmation, chap,ii. 24, V Ye see, then, that by works," that is, by actions offaith, " a man is justified, and not by faith only;" and again,verse 20, " Faith without works is dead," and so not such,as by which we are justified.

I answer, first, We must gather the apostle's meaningfrom the drift of the place, which is not to show what placefaith has in justification, for that is Paul's drift, Rom. iv. 5,but to show what faith it is that has place in justificationagainst Solifidians. So the learned Weemse, whereto ourlearned Dr. Hammond seems to accord, saying, "That

James, dealing not with the Jews, but with another kindof adversaries, presumptuous fiduciaries, has no occasion toadd that exclusive part to shut out works, but rather toprevent, or cure that other disease, which he saw theminds of men, through mistake and abuse of Paul's doc-trine, possessed with, or subject to, thinking that a deadhabit of faith would serve the turn. And whereas, somefew lines before, James saith, verse 21, that' Abraham wasjustified by works;' he expounds it thus, namely, that hisfaith approves itself by faithful actions, particularly by of-fering up his son." Now if this be the drift of James (asit is most clearly) then it cannot reasonably be imputed toJames, as his opinion, that a man is both justified by worksand by faith joined together. But that by the works ofAbraham and Rahab, their faith was justified and declaredto be a true and living, not a false and dead faith; yea, theythemselves were thereby justified and declared to be truebelievers indeed, truly righteous before God, and not inshow and profession only.

Secondly, To the place itself of James ii. 24, " Ye seethen, how that by works a man is justified, and not by faithonly." I answer, that the words are not copulative, as if aman were justified both by works and faith; but disjunctive,containing two parts, one affirmative, " by works a man isjustified;" the other negative, "not by faith only;" andboth parts are true, according to the apostle's scope andargument. First, "By works a man is justified;" youmust understand, as Abraham was, verse 21, that is, he wasjustified and declared to be a true believer, and a righteousperson, when he offered up Isaac; (" Now I know that thoufearest God," it was now declared, " seeing thou hast notwithheld thy son," Gen. xxii. 12.) God had made trialbefore of Abraham's faith, and " counted it to him for righ-teousness;" Abraham was justified before Isaac was born,Gen. xv. 6. And now the Lord makes a new trial of hisfaith in a point of obedience, namely, the offering up ofIsaac; and by this experiment God justified the fidelity ofAbraham. This act of obedience crowned and renownedhis faith, "inasmuch as he, which had received the pro-mises, offered up his only begotten Son," Heb. xi. 17, and" against hope, believed in hope, he staggered not at thepromise of God, and, therefore, it was imputed unto him

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or righteousness," Rom. iv. 18, 20, 22. "Was not Abra-;am our father justified by works, when he offered up hison?" How does James prove that he was? By the tes-imony of scripture, verse 23, "And the scripture was ful-illed, which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was im-puted to him for righteousness." He sa)Ts, that "Abrahamwas justified by works," verse 21, and proves it, becausethe scripture says, he was "justified by faith." A strangeproof, but of great force, to show that by works here, Jamesunderstands a working faith; for the offering up of Isaacwas a manifest sign that Abraham believed God, " beingfully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was ablealso to perform," Rom. iv. 21; it was Abraham's faith thatmade him ready to perform such an act of obedience. Faithwrought this great work, and what could faith do more toshow itself a perfect faith? Faith grows stronger andstronger, the more it is exercised; and by works faith ismade perfect, etstecuey, it attains its end, as the tree is per-fect, when it has brought forth its fruit, and until it hasyielded its fruit, it is not perfect. And from this exampleJames gathers, verse 24, that the faith by which a man isjustified, is not a bare profession of the gospel, but such afaith as Abraham's was, fruitful in works of obedience.

So Secondly, the other part of the text (" not by faithonly ") is to be understood of the bare profession of faith,which can yield no solid comfort to yourselves or yourfriends, of your own justification; not by faith only, that is,not by the faith which is alone, and so a dead faith is notthe true justifying faith; and the use of all this is to dis-cover the vain presumption of Solifidians, and that Chris-tians may be sound in the faith.

To conclude. This proposition is true, man is justifiedonly by faith in Christ Jesus, that is Paul's proposition,and James never denied it. And this proposition is true,man is not justified by faith, which is alone, and this iswhat James affirms, and Paul never denied, ver. 17, "Evenso faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." It doesnot follow then, in James' opinion, that a man is justifiedboth by works and by faith, because he stands for a faiththat works by love. We press obedience of faith, yet denythe concurrence of obedience with faith, to make us justbefore God. And this meaning is pointed out to us, verse

14, where the apostle speaks of the "having faith withworks," but not of justifying by works with faith.

Thus I have, at length, despatched the answer to thatgrand argument taken out of James. The second is like it,cast in the same mould, taken out of Paul, and, therefore,it will receive the same answer. It is thus formed:

Obj. He that affirms Abraham to be justified by thatfaith, which, however it was tried, answers God in actionsof faith, does not exclude actions of faith from faith, or thecondition of our justification, but absolutely requires themas the only things by which (as by a condition) the man isjustified. But Paul affirms Abraham to be justified by thatfaith, which, however it was tried, did answer God in ac-tions of faith; therefore Paul does not exclude faithful ac-tions from faith, or the condition of our justification, butabsolutely requires them, &c.

Ans. I distinguish, and deny the major. He that affirmsAbraham to be justified by that faith, which being tried,did answer God in actions of faith, does not exclude actionsof faith, that is, from faith itself, or from the nature of faith,yet he does exclude them from the office of faith, and fromfellowship in justifying (as has been often said.) Faith alonejustifies us relatively, as possessing us of the object, ChristJesus: but faith with all its actions, and habits, and constel-lation of graces, considered as a condition or work, cannotjustify a man before God.

As for the minor, it is endeavoured to be proved by twoplaces of scripture, Rom. iv. 18, 20, 22, " Who against hopebelieved in hope," &c. And " therefore it was imputed tohim for righteousness:" for all which acts of faith he wasjustified, compared with Heb. xi. 8,9,10, "By faith Abra-ham, when he was called to go out into a place, which heshould after receive for an inheritance, obeyed," &c. Theseare acts of faith, in all kinds of trial, by which he was, andwithout which he should not be justified.

Now, it is confessed, that Abraham was justified by sucha faith, as did answer God in all trials, but not in virtue ofthose trials. These were acts of faith; but we deny, thatfor them Abraham was justified; neither does any thing inthe text countenance such an assertion. For, first, Abra-ham was justified, Gen. xv. 6, before any of those actsmentioned, Rom. iv. 18,20, were performed, which follow

344 ERRORS AGAINST THE GROUND

after in Gen. xvii. 16, 17, and do peculiarly respect thebirth of Isaac. Secondly, And whereas the word (" there-fore it was imputed," &c.,) may seem to imply some ex-cellency and virtue in the very act of his faith, whereforeit was imputed for righteousness: I demand whether itwere imputed in respect that he believed, or in respect that•he believed in this full measure? If in respect of his mea-sure, then it will follow, that only such a measure of faithsuffices to justification; which would exclude the apostles,and many thousands of true believers from justification: andI think none dare affirm it. But if faith simply in whatmeasure soever, then it affords us this comfortable doctrine,namely, that we, putting our trust in God for righteousness,giving credit to the truth of his promise of blessedness inthe promised seed, (for this was the substance of Abraham'sfaith, I shall have a seed, in whom all nations, and myselfalso, shall be blessed; for God at that time preached thegospel to Abraham, Gal. ill- 8,) are accepted and blessed inthat beloved one. And lest any should say, What is thisto us? The apostle tells us, verse 23, 24, that "it was notwritten for his sake alone," as matter of his glory and pri-vilege, "but for us also," for our profit and comfort, "towhom it shall be imputed;" yea, if we believe such strangepromises; nay, but " if we believe on him that raised upJesus from the dead, who died for our sins, and rose againfor our justification." This is the proper and only subjectof faith justifying, and this is that which is imputed to usfor righteousness. As for that place, Heb. xi. 8, 9, hespeaks of the obedience of faith, what it will make a Chris-tian do, not of justification.

Thus I have finished the third part of my conclusion,namely, faithful actions are not the only things by whicha man is justified: first, not as causes. Secondly, not as ourevangelical righteousness. Thirdly, not as means of apply-ing Christ's righteousness. Fourthly, not as conditionsproperly. Where is showed, what we hold, and what wedeny touching conditions and qualifications, particularlytwo questions are solved. First, Whether the addition ofthe word (as a condition) be a fit salvo for those words(the only things by which, &c.) Secondly, Whether theybe indeed an antecedent condition to justification? Denied.The first reason is, from the nature of the covenant of grace.

OP FAITH AND JUSTIFICATION. 345

The second reason is, because they are gifts and promisesof the new covenant The third reason is, from the natureof faith and repentance. The fourth reason is, from theorder of faith and works, with an answer to two grandarguments, one out of James, the other out of Paul, for theconcurrence of faithful actions, with faith to our justifica-tion.

From the doctrine laid down I reject as erroneous, theopinion of those, who teach, first, Fidem non esse Donummorte Christi partum nee novi foederis promissum, sedejus conditionem, quae libere ab homine exse prcestetur,that is, that faith is not a gift purchased by Christ's death,nor a promise of the new covenant, but a condition whichwe must bring, on our parts. Secondly, that God choseJlctum fidei loco impletionis totius legis, the act of faithinstead of the legal righteousness. Thirdly, that withoutthe addition of works, any other act, or part, or notionof faith, would be insufficient to justification, and that it isthe consummation of faith by charity, and good works, thatGod accepts in Christ to justification. Fourthly, of themthat teach, that faith is not an instrument, but only a con-dition of justification, and so has no other place in our jus-tification, than charity, or other virtues; all which are apart of that condition, without which, pardon shall not be-long to me. Fifthly, that we are justified by obedience,as truly as we are by faith; so making obedience the con-dition of the covenant of justification. Sixthly, that faithreceives the pardon, but does not thereby justify. To re-ceive forgiveness is an act of faith, but it does not justifyby so doing.

THE END.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE WORK.

MR. HUDSON. Dear Sir,—I am highly pleased to learn your intentionto republish "Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised," (&c It is anexcellent work; one of the best specimens of the rich evangelical writings of thatage of admirable books—the age of Man ton, and Owen, and Howe. I know ofno volume better suited for a family library. Any one familiar with Lyford'sarguments, will have little to fear from the subtilties of Popish, Pelagian, Infidel,or Universalist errorists. This book is a complete armory of tried weapons againstall these. Throughout it is sound in doctrine. The style is plain, but alwaysperspicuous. In short, I know of no work which comprehends, in so small bounds,so much seasonable argument upon those religious controversies with which eventhe private Christian should always have a competent acquaintance, and whichis as loudly called for now as it was at the period when this volume was written.1 do most cheerfully commend your undertaking, and hope you will be sustainedin it. 1 should have added, that this work is not merely controversial, it is alsohighly practical. A fine strain of evangelical sentiment pervades it throughoutYours, truly, James M. Willson,

Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, Cherry St, Phila.

"Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised," is a work which I had oc-casion to examine some months ago, and which I can cordially recommend as asound and evangelical book. J. F. Berg,

Pastor of the First German Reformed Church, Philadelphia.

From an examination of "Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised,"I most cordially concur in the above recommendations.

John B. Dales,Pastor of the First Associate Reformed Church, Philadelphia.

1 cordially concur in the above recommendations.

Samuel B. Wylie.Sen.Pastor of the First Reformed Presbyterian Congregation in Philadelphia.

"Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised," is a most excellent work.—I can cheerfully unite in the above recommendations.

Samuel O. Wylie,Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, Philadelphia.

I am perfectly satisfied that" Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised,"&&, contains a rich treasure of divine truth, the perusal of which would enrichthe mind and warm the heart I cheerfully concur with the brethren abovenamed, in recommending its reprint C. C. Cuyler,

Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

Having examined Lyford's work, 1 have much pleasure in uniting with brethrenin the above recommendation. Arch. Tddehope,

Pastor of the Ninth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

I have some acquaintance with the above work, and know the high estimationin which it is held by all evangelical Christians who have had access to itScarcely any uninspired volume contains so much sound and useful matter in sobrief a space. It is exceedingly rare, even in England, and its republication inthis country will, J believe, be eminently beneficial to the cause of truth andpiety. George B. Ide,

Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Philadelphia,

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An examination of Lyford's work has led me to a cheerful concurrence in theforegoing recommendations. I am persuaded that the republication of it will tendto promote the spread of sound and scriptural views of "the doctrine which isaccording to godliness." Richard Newton,

Rector of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia.

A cursory examination of "Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised,''&&, has exalted the author m my estimation to the rank of his evangelical contem-poraries, Owen, Charnock, and Thomas Goodwin. The English Divines of thatage were, in many important respects, superior even to those of the reformation.Without endorsing every sentiment or view in the work before me, I cannot butregard its republication as well calculated to perpetuate and extend the knowledgeof real Gospel truth, and as eminently suited to these times.

J. H. Fowles,Rector of the Church of the Epiphany.

Having examined "Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised," &c Ifully concur in the foregoing recommendation of the work, and ardently desire tosee a book of such practical utility in every family library. C. Webster,

Pastor of the 1st Associate Congregation, Philadelphia.

A treasure of fundamental Christian doctrines, clearly and logically, thoughquaintly, expressed, and ably defended against the prominent errors that havecursed the church in all ages,—a library of Theology in itself. Without mi-nutely endorsing all its views, I have no scruple or hesitation in commending itas a work of great value. J. Lansing Burrows,

Pastor of Broad Street Baptist Church.

1 think the republication of a work so rare and valuable as " Lyford's PlainMan's Senses Exercised," is eminently desirable. Having examined it withsome care, I can recommend it as eminently sound in doctrine, and attractive instyle. Of the age and class to which the author belonged, moderns may wellsay, uthere were giants in those days." Thomas Brainerd,

Pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

Having examined " Lyford's Plain Man's Senses Exercised," I cor-dially unite in recommending its republication. John M'Dowell,

Pastor of the Spring Garden Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

I have carefully examined "The Plain Man's Senses Exercised,to dis-cern both Good and Evil," and take pleasure in expressing my decided ap-probation of the work. Its publication I regard as peculiarly seasonable, and itsperusal cannot fail to profit the sincere inquirer after truth.

Joseph T. Cooper,Pastor of Second Associate Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

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