Law of Works Nay but by the Law of Faith So where-ever there is place for Works as the Condition of our Justification there is place for some boasting but the Scripture every where stops Man's mouth Rom. 3.19 That every mouth may be stopped and all the World may become guilty before God And it ascribes all the Glory to him Psal 115.1 Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name give Glory for thy Mercy and for thy Truths sake Eph. 1.6 To the praise of the Glory of his Grace 7. All kind of Works affords some Plea and pleading is a Glorying for it is a standing upon our own defence and this is another way of addressing God than either the Example of the Saints or the Rules of Holy Writ teach us Petition and Confession Deprecation and Lamentation with Praise and Thanksgiving on the Receipt of Mercies are the only ways we are taught to approach God The lowest kind of pleading is one of these four First By way of Comparison as when a Man can say I must have either done that or worse either to have neglected a Parent or a Wife either to have fled or suffered the Army to be cut off there was no room for this Excuse in Adam's Sin Secondly Relation when we throw the fault upon them that accuse us this did but aggravate Adam's Crime and add to the Sin when he said The Woman whom thou gavest me Thirdly When we remove the Evil of the Fact upon some other Person as Eve did the eating of the Apple upon the Serpent and Adam upon Eve Lastly A Purgation when we acknowledge the Fact but diminish it thrô some necessary Circumstances or Ignorance We do not find any of these ways usual or acceptable at the Throne of Grace but rather an aggravating of our own Guilt like Poreus when he was Converted from the Pelagian Error to the Catholick Truth What I shall first condemn in my self I know not wherein to excuse my self I know not Petition or Deprecation says the Learned Vossius out of Cicero is no pleading except for a Person whose former Actions have highly merited and therefore it becomes not a Court of Justice as Cicero for Ligarius before Caesar O Caesar I have brought many Pleas and that before thee when in Court where thy Honour and Authority was concerned but never as now when privately and before a Parent then I pleaded the Crime is a Fiction the Witnesses are false he never did it he never thought it But now O Father he has erred he has fallen he will never do the like But a Justifying Defence must be made before Authority Juridical I shall conclude this with Answering some Objections briefly that are brought as Arguments to prove that since no Works are excluded but what affords occasion of Glorying then some Works may have room for an Interest in our Justification For instance 1. God may freely first give Grace to work give Faith and Repentance and then justifie us for the Exercise of them whereof we cannot Glory because the Grace is receiv'd and they are the Fruits of Grace 2. God gives a Gracious Law a New Law the Law of Faith Rom. 3.27 that excludes Glorying and therefore we may be justified by the Works thereof 3. These Works come not in as the Meriting Cause of Justification but as the Condition of it Resp. In general this Contrivance of the Method of Justification is such a Fruit of Divine Wisdom that it is the special Glory thereof and therefore there is no wonder that the feeble Beam of our Light cannot show us the depth of it or pierce into all the Harmonies and Connexions of it's parts or their mutual Relations and Influence and consequently no wonder Divines do not agree about such things and the Disagreement ought to be born with Meekness Patience and mutual Endeavour to instruct one another I profess my self a Seeker and a Learner in many of these mysterious Points and I am never satisfied with a Sermon except I receive some Edification to my Understanding by it And if Divisions and bitter Language unbecoming Christians Scholars or Men were not the sad Fruits of these Disputants not the Disputes they ought to be encourag'd I bless God for the Sparks I have already receiv'd from them and I hope to receive more and that my Heart is as much united in Love to both Parties as ever and I am as much at a Loss as the poor Children when ask'd whether they Love Father or Mother best But in particular I shall begin with the first Objection Resp. 1. It is inconsistent with what I have before prov'd viz. that the Gift of absolute and distinguishing Grace the Spirit a New Heart c. that beside its absolute and sanctifying Vertue it is of a Relative Nature both to signifie and entitle as the Ring in Marriage or other Earnests and entitling Symbols Phil. Melanct. in his Annotat. on this Epistle in Comparison of which Luther says that Jerom and Origens Commentaries are but Merae nugae Ineptiae says Deus solus Justificat transfundens in nos Spiritum suum p. 17. We must either reckon him a Papist who was the first Protestant this Book I have is Printed 1522. or else say that Gift was the Sentence or its declarative Sign Mr. Baxter says When a Person is Converted the Angels rejoyce and therefore have some Notification of it and they who know our Conversion cannot be ignorant of our Justification which they cannot know without some Divine Manifestation A second part of the express'd or declar'd Sentence of our Justification he says is the illustration of our Minds with the Holy Spirit althò often obscure I think there is great Reason to unite these two in one thus The Angels who are so well acquainted with our Minds and the Language of Divine Operations know our Justification from the ruling of the Spirit in us after such a special manner Eph. 1.17 Who is the earnest of our Inheritance and so the Earnest of total and Compleat Pardon Now if Absolute Grace bear the Nature of a Title or Sentence the Exercise cannot be the Cause tho' it may be the Condition that is orderly Connexion for tho' it procure it 's own Confent it is not receiv'd except complyed with and yielded to Our Confession of Faith says We are not justifyjd until the Holy Spirit apply Christ to us and confirms it from Tit. 3.6 7. which Text seems to shew a greater Connexion between them than that of Time By the renewing of the Holy Ghost that being justified c. Resp. 2. All Glorying of boasting is not excluded by this half-workers should receive half-wages and half Credit Now when Grace is exercised the Work is ours Believing Repenting c. Tho' this is not Pelagian it is Popish Suppose a Man have a broken Arm or Leg and do some great or Heroick Act after it's Cur'd he will not ascribe the Glory of the
Condition Eph. 1.5 Having predestinated us unto the Adoption of Children to the Praise of the Glory of his Grace if the Intention was Free why not the Execution Rom. 9.11 That the purpose of God according to Election might stand not of Works but of him that calleth Rom. 11.6 There is a Remnant according to the Election of Grace and if by Grace then is it no more of Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace but if it be of Works then is it no more Grace otherwise Works are no more Works This Opposition is not between Grace and External Works but between the very Nature of Grace and Works they are repugnant they can no more be the Moral Causes or Motives of any one Action than one individual thing can be White and Black in the same part So our Calling is Free 2 Tim. 1.9 Who hath sav'd us and call'd us with an Holy Calling not according to our Works but according to his own Purpose and Grace as Purpose gives Measure to Calling so Calling gives Measure to Justification Rom. 8.13 Whom he did predestinate them he also Call'd but it is equally free Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his Grace What is wrought in the Soul by Calling has no more Influence in our Justification than our Justification has on our being Glorified Whom he Justified them he Glorified But Justification can never merit Glory being Gods Act but is only a Prior Blessing in Order this Equality of Freedom solves an Objection which is to many in appearance a great Argument for Admission of our Evangelical Obedience unto a Subordinate Merit or ground of Right to our Justification The Objection is founded on these Scriptures Rom. 4.14 If they which are of the Law be Heirs Faith is made void and the Promise is of none Effect Gal. 2.21 If Righteousness come by the Law then Christ is dead in Vain Chap. 5.4 Christ is become of none effect to you whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace The Objection is thus formed Our Works are no farther excluded from Justification than they exclude Faith Christ and the Promise from Justification but Evangelical Obedience Gospel or gracious Works do not exclude Grace for they are the Fruits of Grace nor Faith for they flow from it nor the Death of Christ for that has purchas'd it nor the Promise for they are conveyed through it therefore Gospel Obedience is not excluded from Justification Resp 1. This Evangelical Obedience does not exclude Grace Faith Christ and the Promise from our Sanctification thus explain'd Because it owns good Works to flow orderly from them all but it does not suffer them to have an equal Freedom in our Justification because these Works though the Fruits of Grace they are as much ours as Adams Works were For God was the Author of the Ability by which they were wrought therefore when what is ours truely and properly is a Legal or Federal Condition in order to enjoying the one and not the other makes a great difference between the Freedom of the one and the other All Christians Experience witnesses the Labour Pains and Sweat that is necessary to Mortification of Lusts and Exercise of Grace and by this Opinion we must look on Justification as the Reward of our own Labour thô we must look on Sanctification as a Free Gift 1. In particular there is a Derogation from the Fulness of Christ his Satisfaction to the Law was not Compleat if our Obedience to the Law be one Penny of the Price 2. From Grace that will be all or nothing in this Affair according to Rom. 11.6 it will admit of no Composition if Works come any way in as a Plea they must either be perfect or we must be condemned for there is no Law in Scripture requires less than Perfection the Law that requires Faith requires perfect Faith and the Law that requires Patience requires perfect Patience Therefore we must fall from Grace that is be certainly Condemned if justified by the Law So Works won't admit of Grace more than Grace will admit of Works Grace will have nothing the Law will have Perfection the Composition is a Contradiction 3. It derogates from Faith that is from its Office which is alone in this Work and that as receiving not as doing we are justified by Faith as we are nourished by our Appetite Hence is it call'd Eating Drinking Hungring Thirsting it is the Food not the Appetite that nourishes us 4. It derogates from the Promise because it Promises Remission of Sin Inheritance of Life freely but this puts in an exceptive Clause of something on our part first to be done Faith will be only Applicative alone in the Office tho' not in the Subject or not at all Christ will be alone the Meriting Cause or not at all Grace alone the End and Motive or not at all and therefore these Arguments are as strong against Compounders of Grace and Works as against Opposers because the Compounding is an Opposing Divine Wisdom and Order A Man that Digs tho' the Spade be borrow'd of his Master will not think his Wages Charity at Night but on as exact Justice due as he that digg'd with his own A Man that walks twenty Miles a day after his Lame Leg restor'd will never impute the Journey to the Physician And thus Christ and Free Grace tho' inabling us to Work would lose their Honour and Glory in Justification I am now come to the last part of the Text viz. The Law we may be justified by without ground and danger of boasting which is the Law of Faith All Christians are generally agreed that this Law is the Evangelical Law the Law of Chancery or Equity but all are not agreed about the Nature and Kind of that All agree that there can be no Salvation or Justification by the Moral Law in its full Rigour requiring Perfect Personal and Perpetual Obedience requiring the Righteousness of our Persons as well as our Works since Sin There must be some Room for Equity or none for Hopes there is a Triple Application of this Equity some applies it to the Sanction of the Law some to the Duty of the Law and some to the Persons subject to the Law The first is Originisme saying the Equity lies in the Mitigation of the Punishment an Eternal Death by Desert is turned into a Temporary by Justice of Equity and a Perpetual Hell into a Transitory Purgatory The second Opinion applies it to the Duty and Works of the Law before there was required Perfect Obedience now imperfect will serve if it be Sincere Divine Government is content to take a Penny in a Pound and of this Way there are several Explications The Socinians who deny Christs Deity and Satisfaction do hold that it 's of meer Soveraign Mercy but Arminians and Papists hold the Merits of Christ as the Fruit of that Soveraign Mercy to be the immediate Foundation of this Justice of Equity They say he
this Idol It 's now in Vogue and puts on many various shapes I could reckon several but shall forbear the Schemes of them till afterwards I mention them now only to show Satan's Diligence in Obscuring and Perplexing this Case that is of greatest Concern to our Souls of any in this World or the World to come and should not we be as diligent in Searching out and Contending for this Faith once deliver'd to the Saints since it is a Title to so great an Estate our Charter for Heaven And yet for the weak Christian's Comfort I must say the Doctrine may be Fundamental that may have many Problematic Questions about it that the Ignorance Doubts or Errors in will be but as the Stubble and Hay upon a good Foundation Ill Management of our Plea at a Tribunal of Grace will not make us lose the Cause when uttermost diligence is given Once more under Correction I believe that serious Christian that holds Faith as the Instrument of Justification in his Profession and the other that earnestly Contends it bears the room of a Condition often have not the least difference in their Idea's or Thoughts when they plead their Cause in Prayer before God yet when Ministers inculcate in People's Ears they may yea ought to plead their good Works at the Day of Judgment as lately has been it will soon breed this Difference in Ignorant People's Minds and they who are Teachers of others ought to be better instructed themselves A 6th Help Because the Purity of this Doctrine of Justification from any Mixture of Man's Works or Merits with it is the greatest Blessing of the Reformation from Popery In England the Discipline was very little altered the Idolatry of Worshipping of Saints fell as a Consequent of this Doctrine that ascribes all Merit to Jesus Christ This Doctrine was the Everlasting Gospel Prophesy'd of Rev. 14.6 7. and was fulfill'd in the Preaching of Zuinglius and Luther and they who followed them they were the first of the Witnesses or Protestants God illuminated with this Doctrine and encourag'd them to bear their Testimony for it thorough all manner of Persecutions For the Gospel is the Doctrine of Christ's Righteousness his Righteousness is the Evangelical Righteousness Rom. 1.17 c. 3.20 21 22. c. 9.31 32. c. 10.3 and the Righteousness of Faith or by it it is the Test of a Protestant and Shibboleth of an Heretick It is says Luther Articulus stantis aut cadentis Ecclesiae and Augustine before him Ecclesia discernit justos ab injustis non Lege Operum sed Lege Fidei And there is great Reason for it it has such an Influence on all other Doctrinal and Practical Truths The Deity of Christ if not God no Value in the Satisfaction the Trinity if no distinct Persons no Mediator Original Sin for if all not lyable to Death guilty Sinners no need of his Righteousness c. There is no fear of relapsing into Popery by any Person on whose Heart this Doctrine is impress'd but there is ground to fear that Luther was a true Prophet who said Post mortem nostram hac Doctrina rursus obscurabitur As we would Value the faithfulness of our Ancestors who suffered Martyrdom for propagating this Doctrine to us it is the most precious Inheritance we enjoy as we would Value our own Souls for there is no escaping Wrath if we neglect so great a Salvation Heb. 3. as we Value the Sacred Revelations of God for this is the Marrow of it we would seriously set about this Study How shall I be Justified before God What doth Christ's Righteousness contribute to a Sinner's Salvation What Kindness has our Lord Jesus Christ for poor Sinners But I shall come to the Words which contains these two things 1. The Explicatory Repitition of the former Proposition that Abraham found nothing as to the Flesh for if Abraham was justified by Works 2. An Argument for the Proof of it because he had nothing to Glory in before God To begin with the first of these though the Proposition is Explicatory yet such is the Subtilty of Satan and his Diligence in filling the World with darkness of Error and reflecting his black Clouds upon the Light of Scripture that the Explication it self needs a Comment or rather a Defence The 1. Thing to be explain'd is the Signification of the Word it self Justifie Never was there Word of greater Moment or Concern for Justification is the Soul of Religion and Marrow of the Gospel without it nothing in the whole Scripture could Comfort a Sinner never was Word matter of greater Strife and Contention and yet never less Reason for it but the greatness of its influence for bringing Souls out of Satans Kingdom makes it Satans principal Butt and Aim the most of all other Disputations of Religion end in Criticism but this begins with it The 1st Question is between us and Papists with whom the Swinckfeldians take part that is Whether this Word Justifie in St. Pauls Epistles especially in this when it treats of our Righteousness the Ground of our Pardon before the Tribunal of God is to be taken in a Physical or a Forensick Sense Whether for sanctifying a Sinner and making an unjust Person just or for a judicial Absolving of a guilty accused Person from the charge brought against him The latter is the common Sence and Tessera of a Protestant and the former the Shiboleth of a Papist excepting Grotius and his Followers who in this and worse take part with Papists Therefore this shall be the first Assertion That it is a Justidiction not a Justification of a Moral or Politick and Relative not an absolute Nature 1. Arg. Tho' the Word it self is barbarous in the Latin Tongue and made by Divines for the most genuine near and faithful Translation of the Original Text yet the Latin will favour this Sence for Justifica mens deorum Catul Signifies their juridical Distributions of Rewards and Punishments and an Adopted Son is call'd justus filius from Jus Right and in English we use the Word Magnifie and Glorifie not for making but esteeming Great and Glorious The Hebrew with all its Oriental Daughters do far more Confirm this Sence for one of their Conjugations usually adds declaring to the Primitive Signification as Barar pure in Arabick the Conjugation Taphahalah makes it signifie he clear'd himself or justified himself juridically in the Heb. Tame polluted Levit. 13.12 signifies to pronounce Unclean which in this Word Zadak to Justifie holds almost always in all the six Oriental Languages in Hiphiâ— as to the Greek we find it about thirty six or thirty eight times in the New Testament always in this Sence declaring esteeming or judging Just the shortest Method of the Proof is by instances of these Texts that the Papists plead for and some Protestants are willing to yield that it often signifies Forensically the Papist themselves grant the Principal place is Revel 22.11 A Forensick Justification is not
be They are Lusus Dei the Fruit of his meer Pleasure things of no moment so when we experience in our selves that the Foot the Tongue the Hands the Eyes move in Obedience to the Will as Nimbly as we can think it doâ—â— not represent God's Essence but his Relative Sovereignty over his Creatures so 't is but an inferiour part of an Image 3. The Will of God is a Power and causes these real goods that are its Objects but the Liberty of Man is only admissive or rejective of these Objects in the Understanding and gives occasion to their Influence upon the Faculties of the Soul and so affords no Matter for Glory in the Work of our Conversion Suppose the Sun-beams should enter a Room before dark by some Casement or Cranny and fill this room with Light yea render its Earth flourishing and verdant should we ascribe this great Change to the Sun or to the Casement Nay suppose farther that the Sun by its perpetual Heat and repeated Influence has made the Boards give way and made its own entrance should we ascribe the Glory of the Action to that which so long hindered it and is yet the Cause of the Works being so weak And this is the very Case as far as Matter can represent Spirit for the Lord opened the Heart of Lydia and he says Rev. 3. Behold I stand at the door and knock and if any Man open I will come in 4. The Will of God never acts without the highest Wisdom Ephes 1. According to the Counsel of his Will Therefore the setting up of a Liberty in Man distinct from the Conduct of the Understanding is a Chimera no Image of God who cannot deny himself in any of his Works he never did any thing that might give us false Sentiments of his Nature 5. Our Liberty is much inferiour to God's because of the Narrowness of its Sphere The Beast has only Sense Man has also spiritual things for his Object to Converse about but the Divine Will converses about those things we never saw nor heard nor has it entered into our Heart to conceive 6. Our Liberty is a Gift God's is Self-originate ours a Shadow his the Substance ours but an Emanation of his as the Image of a Face in a Glass but we have no such Help distinct from him he is the Support and Spring of both 7. His is Infallible always equal vigorous active Ours faints and wearies as in Sleep and Infancy and fails as in every Sin 2 Prop. The Liberty of the Mind of Man consists to be more particular about it in a Freedom from Physical Necessity or Coaction in a Freedom from Sense or Matter It is a general Axiom and therefore needs the less proof That Free-will is only the Property of thinking and reasoning Creatures that propose an End to their Actions and deliberate about what is fittest for gaining that End The Fire burns whatever comes nigh it but the Will doth not choose every thing proposed The Imagination of a Beast is confined to Material Ideas but the Mind of Man is not determined nor limited to such Objects A Beast can only be allured by present things but things of a hundred years distance can move a Mind this is a great Priviledge but affords no matter of Glory For 1 It lays us under the greater Obligation to our Maker who made us Men and not Beasts 2 Our Abuse of it in making our selves worse than Beasts being carnally minded and lead by Sense who have more Noble Faculties to govern us 3 The more Knowledge the more Liberty by this Rule and therefore our Blindness and Ignorance should make us bemoan our Confinement The Natural man knoweth not the things of Godâ— and thereâ—ore can have no Liberty about them But more of this under another Head 3 Prop. Liberty consists in a Freedom from Restraint an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as well as a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 goes to the making up of this Perfection a Willingness as well as a Judgment Augustine de Spir. Lib. Chap. 31. defines it to be A Power of doing what we will and thus it doth principally consist in the Imperate acts called free because they proceed from a free Principle To will and to can are two different things a Man may will what he cannot and then the Will hath not this Freedom The Scripture seems to take it in this sence 1 Cor. 7.37 Having no Necessity but hath power over his own Will and hath so decreed in his heart By Freedom from Necessity there is meant a Power to put his Purpose in Execution And so Rom. 7. What I would that do I not The Spirit is willing but the Flesh is weak Taking Liberty thus for a freedom from Constraint or a Power of doing what we will it affords no matter of Glorying to Man he is under so many Restraints by his Nature by his Sin by Punishment all his Faculties are restrained about Objects Natural Moral and much more Spiritual he is restrained and limited As we see among sensitive Creatures some are confined to the Water as Fish some to the Earth but others have a more ample Sphere of Activity and a more vigorous Principle to carry them through Water Earth or Air. So we find Man more confined than Angels we can only underâ—tand Earthly things John 3. Christ tells Nicodemus that there was a Necessity of representing Heavenly things under some Earthly Similitude that we might be capable of understanding them 1 Peter and Paul were Saints of the first magnitude and yet when they were brought to converse with Heavenly things the one confessed he knew not what he heard and the Spirit asserts of the other that he knew not what he said It is an old Jewish saying That God descends in a humane Mantle that we may have some suitable Apprehensions of him and it is most amazing Humility in God to reckon our highest Thoughts of him an Honour or a Glory to him 2 By Sin the Scripture calls Man Darkness led captive at the will of Satan a slave to Sin and deaâ— in Sin therefore he is wonderfully confined and restrained by it A Habit in any one particular Vice how doth it ensnare and confine one to its Courses How can you believe that receive honour one of another The Pharisees who were covetous derided the Doctrine of Charity They that are accustomed to do evil can no more do good than the Aethiopian can change his Skin or the Leopard his Spots 3 All Afflictions and Sufferings put Restraints on Mans Liberty John 21.18 Thou girdest thy self and walkedst whither thou wouldst here was Liberty but another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not here is a Restraint or Compulsion A man may have a will to move a gouty Finger or stop a Convulsive or Paralitick Motion of his Nerves but he has no Liberty to do it as Dr. Lock says well 4 In our Intellect and elicit acts of
Law may meet with external Changes in its Administration either by Dispensation when positive only as the Ceremonial or an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abatement of the Rigor in Words but the Law the same that suffers the change 3. The Law may suffer some Change in particular Precepts which are its Integral Parts A Man is the same Man still thô he lose his Thumb Collective Bodies are capable of Increase or Decrease so Jus Collectum of Derogation Surrogation or Erogation but Abrogation or Obrogation alters the Essence and until the Moral Law is Abrogate we cannot expect one specifically distinct from it But the Opposition is perspicuous thus A Law that requires your Works a Law to be obey'd by you and a Law that requires your Faith a Law fulfill'd by another for you which you ought to believe and it thus Answers the Argument we are justified by most perfect Obedience but we perform'd it not it was Christ Fourthly It is manifest from the Context and Harmony of the Apostles Discourse he had all along join'd the Laws and the Works together which he excluded from Justification First The pure Natural Law among the Gentiles Secondly The manifold Mosaical now he tells us of a Righteousness and a Law that we may and must be justified by if at all is it reasonable or possible to separate these two Ver. 21 22. But now the Righteousness of God is manifested Even the Righteousness of God which is by Faith of Jesus Christ If the one be the Righteousness of Christ the Mediator surely the other is the Law of it shall we separate the Righteousness of Faith and the Law of Faith The Text would not be a good Conclusion from what precedes without this that which he had prov'd was there is no Justification by the Deeds of the Law but only by the Righteousness of God Well says he if the Case be so Where is your Boasting it is excluded He draws his Conclusion Triumphing over them How By the Law of Faith You are justifi'd by the Righteousness of God you are justifi'd in a way that excludes Boasting the Law of Faith excludes Boasting and the Righteousness of God justifies you do not then these two Coincide the one as the Work the other as the Command if it were another Law requiring a new kind of Obedience and Righteousness distinct from what he had spoken of he had drawn a Conclusion without any Premises There are two things should have been enlarged on First To prove that this Righteousness is the Righteousness of Christ as Mediator The Second Whether or not this Law of Faith referrs to the Righteousness as the Rule of it or the Faith by which it is applied Both which I must deferr to some proper Verses in the fourth Chapter only at present as to the first that 2 Pet. 1.1 may perswade any unprejudic'd Person Thorough the Rsghteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ As to the second our Confession of Faith says We are not justifi'd by Faith or that is not imputed to us it self as an Act nor any other Evangelical Obedience But this is to be treated in ver 3. Fifthly This Law is a Law we can be justifi'd by and it is before prov'd that we cannot be by any Law requiring Obedience of us Sixthly The difficulties that attend the Explication of it by Socinians Arminians aliis melioris notae who say this Law is the Law of Christ the Mediator not as made under it but as a Law-giver requiring Faith and Repentance of us as the Condition of an Interest in his Merits and Justification by them I say the difficulties that attend it render it the less credible 1. This Gospel-law or Law of Faith must be a perfect Law requiring Faith in Perfection Repentance in Perfection and so other Evangelical Obedience Mr. Bull in his Examination who is Zealous for this New Law and who as Mr. Pitcarn one of his many Adversaries says is of the greatest Acumen of the kind he not only owns it but proves it from Christs own Words Mat. 5.48 when he was Promulgating his Law Be ye perfect as my Father in Heaven is perfect 2 Pet. 3.18 Grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ On which he thus Acutely Comments The Commands of growth have no Bounds nor Limits until we come to the Unity of the Faith and the Knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the Measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ and it is a certain Truth that there is no Duty in the Gospel wherein Gods Law only requires sincere and not perfect Obedience Patience should have its perfect Work and that 's a special part of Evangelical Obedience Either the Gospel Law or Law of Faith must require Perfection of Obedience in these Duties or some other Divine Law else God would become an Indulger of Sin by Law if it be by another Law viz. the Moral that he requires perfect Obedience and by this sincere only then these two Laws differ but in Degree not in Specie or Kind because both require the same Duties or Works and so this Gospel Law would be no Distinct Law but only the Measure of sincere Obedience would receive a new use which we own it has to wit to be an Index and Mark of our Justification tho' we cannot own that use of its giving Right but to proceed a distinct Law they must hold or quit their Cause or this Foundation of it for the Text sets the Law of Faith down as an opposite Law to that of Works and that they hold 1. Then if it be a perfect Law requiring perfect Obedience there is no possibility of Justification in this Life Poppius the Arminian grants the Conclusion that our Obedience must be consummate before our Assurance and others distinguish between a Compleat and Partial Justification the former is not they say until the day of Judgment But this is not all the difficulty for it 's the adding a Load to a Burden Is this Gospel to a Man that is unable to perform the least part of the Moral Law to tell him that God or the Mediator requires perfect Obedience to it for the Future and another too Or is this Gospel to say you shall perish Aeternally and have the Fire of Hell seven times heated if you obey not this Gospel It s indeed a Conditional Hell but it 's more dreadful than the Law-Hell and the Condition is more impossible because we have less Power to shun this difficulty of two perfect Laws Mr. Bull owns no other perfect Law but this Gospel-Law since Man fell but by shunning one difficulty he falls into two as great 1. Then the Moral Law is abrogated beside the falsness of the Doctrine it self for it is impossible that should cease to be our Duty to love God with all our Heart and Soul what Advantage brings Christs Death To abrogate one perfct Law and