Satan by the sensitive Serpent did first deceive the woman so the old Serpent Satans head shall be broke by man the seed of the woman This gracious promise was to be fulfilled First by the resurrection of the blessed seed the Word made flesh of the seed of the woman from the grave his last enemy to the face of the earth whereby he did manifest himself God and man by his rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed Secondly by his resurrection from the face of the earth to the heavens from whence he came whereby he did manifest himself again by his infinite power God and man from whence he shall return again the second time in all glory and majesty united to his mysticall members who is the mysticall man that must break the head of the Serpent Satan and the seed of his cursed seed to their eternall confusion This last promised rest of the blessed seed the Word to be made flesh of the seed of the woman doth necessarily presuppose and imply his bloody rest in the grave from his cursed death of the crosse whose merit by his bloody rest as he is the eternall Son of God begot of the seed of the woman in time was twofold First by his rest from the cursed death of the crosse our Saviour was to merit the redemption of all men condemned to the curse of the Law of righteousnesse for the sin of Adam whereby all men in Adam their redeemed head were saved from the first death Secondly by his bloody rest in the grave upon the seventh day of the Law from end to end by his fulfilling of the Law in the seventh day as he obliged himself to man the eternall life and rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam was due by the Law to his merit that by faith in his merit all redeemed men might rest by faith till the promise was fulfilled whereby as all faithfull redeemed men were saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of righteousnesse of faith for actuall sin So by the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed by his resurrection from the grave all faithfull believers are now saved from the second death which is the curse of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnesse of faith for actuall sin And this is the mysticall sense of this gracious promise which was made to Adam the redeemed head of man and to all men naturally to descend of Adam and was really fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ The benefit of which gracious promise was then actually to Adam and to all men to descend of Adam though the promise was to be fulfilled in time For by vertue of this promise the word of the Law and life of Righteousnesse first written in the heart of man was then the redeemed word of the Law of righteousnesse of faith whereby Adam was morally enabled to believe the promise and by believing in the promised rest of the blessed seed to have eternall life But before the second covenant can be declared whereby God doth oblige himself and Adam in this gracious promise first the word of the seventh dayes rest must be set down upon the immediate command whereof the second covenant was established between God and man For without the light of the word of this seventh dayes promised rest the second covenant can no wayes be known for the knowledge whereof we must necessarily understand that the day wherein this gracious promise was made to Adam was the seventh day of the Law from the creation by morall account as man naturally descended of Adam the head is obliged to the Law of God And this doth plainly appear by the words of the fourth Precept of the Decalogue set down to Moses where it is said Remember the Sabbath day be kept holy six dayes shalt thou labour and do all thy work but the seventh day to wit whereby Adam was obliged to the Law of righteousnesse by the first covenant in his state of perfection is now the promised rest or Sabbath of the Lord thy God to wit the promised blessed seed who hath promised to rest upon the Sabbath day in his sacred grave for the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam and to rise from the grave to break the Serpents head for the betraying of man to fall under the eternall curse of the Law The reason is given For in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that therein is Wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it that is to say as the Lord by his rest from the works of the creation did blesse the first seventh day of his Law for man and did sanctifie the first seventh day for his worship by man So from his promised rest from the works of the redemption of man the Lord hath blessed the Sabbath day for man and hath sanctified the Sabbath day for his worship by man This day therefore wherein this gracious promise was made was the seventh day by morall account from the creation sanctified by the word of promise then by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord to Adam This gracious promise made to Adam being to be performed in time was formally propheticall and consequently the Sabbath day wherein this promise was made was likewise formally propheticall For by the literall light of the propheticall Sabbath day Adams faith was led to rest upon the promised rest of the blessed seed And this is the reason that our Saviour said Mat. 11.13 The Law and Prophets did prophesie to John For the Law did then prophesie by the Sabbath which did necessarily imply the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed where it is to be marked that the Lord saith that the Law did prophesie to John lest the Jewes might conceive that the first seventh day of the Law obliging Adam did prophesie which did no wayes prophesie Now because this promised rest of the blessed seed upon the Sabbath was propheticall and mysticall therefore for the strenghthening of Adams faith and the faith of the Fathers in the promise the formall worship in the propheticall Sabbath was commanded to be celebrate by the ceremoniall Altar prefigurating the cursed Altar of the crosse and by the ceremoniall sacrifice of the altar prefiguraring the cursed death of the blessed seed that as Adam faith by the ceremoniall light of the Altar and sacrifice might be led to the cursed death of the blessed seed So by the literall light of the Sabaticall seventh day of the Law of righteousnesse of faith Adams faith might be morally led to the grave of the blessed seed and from the grave to his resurrection from the grave for the breaking of the head of the Serpent In which commanded formall worship by the ceremoniall altar and sacrifice all the rites and ceremonies of the ceremoniall Law are implied and immediately referred to the Altar and
and consequently originall sin is the corruption of nature I answer If the wrath of God must be for originall sin then Gods wrath must be upon his own immediate act for originall sin is the immediate act of God proceeding from the Spirituall darknesse and unbelief wherein all redeemed men are concluded by God that he might have mercy upon all and not that his wrath should be upon all But it is plain that in this whole Chapter the Apostle speaks of actuall and not of originall sin For the Apostle doth acknowledge that he had his conversation in times past amongst the children of disobedience which disobedience is by the multiplied acts of sin and actuall sin from the false deceiving light of Satan and his instruments in a manner from the cradle by the continued acts whereof sin becomes so habituall and connaturall as it seemeth to be naturall to man and this is the sin and not originall sin which doth draw down the wrath of God upon man temporally in this life and without repentance and amendment eternall wrath in the life to come and therefore because Paul before his conversion had his conversation amongst the children of disobedience from his youth Paul calls himself the child of wrath by nature for the children of disobedience are the begotten children of Satan for such is Satans vigilancy and early care to breed up his children by the sowing of his cursed envious seed sweetned with his false naturall deceiving light as he begins to sow his seed in the ears and hearts of all children before the children can sin actually or know any kinde of evill To this end Satan hath his young instruments that by their conversement with children they may be taught to lie curse and swear in a manner so soon as they are able to speak By this means little children do begin to be acquainted with the terms of evill though the envious poison of the evill do not burst out untill children come to actuall morall understanding and action and then by the poyson of Satans envious seed children do begin to practise childish evill and to be averse and with a childish obstinacy to resist any controler of their childish evill actions for the more they are checkt such is the power of Satans seed that they will bend their power to do evill the rather by this means unlesse they be sanctified from the womb the act of the childs will by degrees becomes to be morally corrupted with sin and evill and as the child groweth up in yeers sin and evill groweth up with the childe and becomes so habituall and connaturall to man as without the great mercy of God by his concursive grace and the great care of the parents it is as easie to take away his nature as to win him from the pleasure of sin such is the corrupted multiplied act of his will morally to all evill and mischief by his continuall conversement with Satans instruments the torch-bearers of Satans false deceiving naturall light For by the power of Satans envious deceiving naturall light the heart of man is so incensed to every foul object of sensitive pleasure as the naturall pleasure of man is extended to the pride of naturall pleasure And this is the reason that actuall sin is called the corruption of nature For it is the formall naturall act of the will of man which is so abused by Satans false deceiving naturall light as it is extended to such a height as the formall naturall act of the will becomes formally morall and morally sin and evill And these are the children of disobedience Ephes 2.3 which are called the children of wrath by nature and these are the children of disobedients amongst whom Paul doth acknowledge himself to have had his conversation in times past This corruption of the naturall act of the will of man by the multiplied acts of sin is called the rebellious will of the flesh because the will of the naturall man before he be regenerate rebels against the spirituall command of the Law and cannot be subject to the Law It is called the old man First because this corruption of the naturall act of the will of man by Satan and his instruments is from his childhood Secondly it is called the old man in respect of the regenerate man who is called the new man It is called the body of sin because the naturall man before he be regenerate is dead in actuall sin and therefore Rom. 6.23 it is likewise called the body of death because death is the wages of sin It is called concupiscence because by the multiplied acts of sin all the parts and powers of the naturall man are corrupted By the long continuance of man in actuall sin whereby the long patience of God leading man to repentance is contemned with such an high hand as God in his justice doth give wretched man over to a reprobate minde He is called by the Apostle the compacted vessell of Gods wrath For the wretched obstinate sinner is compacted of actuall spirituall sin and of actuall morall evill and therefore the body of sin and death By my answer to this objection I hope the judicious Reader is fully satisfied that originall sin is not the corruption of nature And that it is plain blasphemy to be so called for so God must be the inevitable author of actuall sin yet the objection is further prest CHAP. XXXV Though David was conceived and born in originall sin yet there was neither any naturall morall or spirituall corruption in that sin SEventhly it is objected Psal 51 5. David doth affirm himself to be conceived and born of his mother in sin and iniquity which sin and iniquity must be by the corruption of the naturall morall and spirituall act of his will Though David therefore was not conceived and born in any essentiall corruption of his nature yet David was conceived and born of his mother in the naturall morall and spirituall corrupted act of his will I answer In Davids first conception by his mother which is the seminall and sensitive conception of man there is neither any naturall morall or spirituâ—ll corruption in the act for it was the good naturall act of Davids mother as she was the good redeemed creature of God And as for his mothers second conception while as David was conceived man and the son of Adam in the womb by the essentiall union of his intellectuall and sensitive nature this was the immediate act of the Father of spirits by which immediate act of God as David was redeemed in Adam the redeemed head of man according to his eternall decree So David by the immediate act of God in the womb was shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse and so brought forth by his mother shut up in that spirituall darknesse which is called unbelief and originall sin But there was neither any spirituall or morall corruption in that spirituall darknesse For though David by his concluding in spirituall darknesse
makes his vessels of honour and dishonour Rom 9.21 But the masse of man actually condemned to the curse of the Law by eternall death and darknesse for the transgression of the Law in Adam is a masse of the Devils tempering for it was by the Devils false betraying of man that man was brought to that cursed estate It is therefore impossible that God should make his vessels out of this cursed masse of man and that this state of man should be the immediate object of Gods election in the order of cause The masse of man therefore whereof the Potter of Righteousnesse doth make his vessels of honour and dishonour is the only state of man redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darknesse for the sin of Adam shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and originall sin which masse of man is tempered with the sacred blood of Christ Jesus the Son of God as he is man Gal. 3.13 who made himself a curse for man to redeem man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam For out of this only estate of man it is in the free pleasure of God in his Son Christ Jesus without all impeachment to his justice to shew mercy on whom he will shew mercy and to deny his mercy to whom he will deny his mercy and at his free pleasure out of this masse to make vessels of honour or dishonour The reason whereof is next to be declared CHAP. XXXVII The reasons that the redeemed state of man is the only immediate object of Gods election THat the redeemed state of man in the order of cause is the only immediate object of Gods election the reasons are these First in this estate of man Gal. 3.13 all men condemned to eternall death and darknesse to the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam by the first covenant are equally redeemed from that curse by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God as he is man begot of the seed of the woman in time Secondly Rom. 11.32 all men freed from the cuâ—se of eternall death and darknesse for that first sin are shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and originall sin whereby God hath mercy equally upon all Thirdly by the cursed death of the Lord of life 2 Cor. 5.19 whereby the transgressed Law by man was satisfied all men in this redeemed estate are justified by the Law for that first sin Fourthly all men by his death in this redeemed estate Rom. 5.10 are perfectly reconciled to the love and favour of God for that first sin Fifthly by the perfection of the redeemed word of the Law and life of Righteousnesse first written in the heart of man from the curse all men by the power of the redeemed word in the heart are equally enabled again to live the naturall life of man and morally to live the life of Righteousnesse of faith without any manner of naturall or morall necessitating the will of man to morall disobedience For unlesse all men were so naturally and morally enabled by the perfection of the redemption it were impossible for God to make any covenant with man since the fall as hath been formerly demonstate In this redeemed state of man therefore all men were equally and morally enabled to enter the old covenant with God and now all men are equally enabled to enter the new covenant and to give morall obedience to the Evangelicall command of the Law without any manner of power to necessitate their will to morall disobedience And this is the first grace of God to man and therefore called the state of grace for the state of the redemption of man doth so far surmount the state of the created perfection of man as far as the invaluable sacred blood of the Son of God doth surmount all the creatures created by God Out of this redeemed state of man God according to his eternall purpose hath decreed from all eternity to elect a certain number by predestinating them to be made like to the Image of his Son whereby they are preserved from being overcome by the temptation of Satan and of his instruments till they be spiritually called that by spirituall faith they may overcome the strongest temptation of Satan in this life and that in recompence of their spirituall valour in this life they may be crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory in their mysticall head in the life to come And these are the vessels of honour mentioned here by the Apostle As for the vessels of dishonour which are said here by the Apostle to be made by God it is most warily to be conceived For as it is most certain that God hath decreed to elect a certain number to be made like to the image of his Son out of the redeemed state of man So it is as certain that God hath decreed from all eternity to relinquish a certain number in the grace of this redeemed estate and to leave them at their pleasure to be finally overcome or not overcome by the temptation of Satan and his instruments For by mans wilfull yeelding to be finally overcome by Satans temptation he wilfully deprives himself of his spirituall calling But in this dereliction of man in the grace of his redeemed estate four main points are to be judiciously considered The first is that this number of men who are thus relinquished are known to God alone The second is that these men are so armed by the perfection of their redemption against the power of Satan and his instruments as all the powers of hell are not able to necessitate the will of the redeemed man to morall disobedience but that he must freely and willingly yeeld himself to be induced by the temptation of Satan and his instruments or he can never be overcome by Satan The third point is this that such is the power of their morall grace that though Satan by his false envious deceiving light do make them stumble and fall yet by the perfection of their redemption they are morally enabled to rise again to repent them of their sin to pray to God to pardon their actuall sin and to reconcile themselves again to God without any manner of created power to necessitate their impenitency and God hath so obliged himself by covenant as his arms of mercy are outstretched to the penitent sinner at what time soever The fouth point to be considered is that the new covenant is as freely made to these whom God hath relinquished in the grace of their redeemed estate as to the elect For the new covenant is made to all the nations of the world obliging the morall faith of the naturall man to the obedience of the Evangelicall Law of faith as the spirituall faith of the regenerate man to his spirituall obedience and therefore the Evangelicall Law of Righteousnesse of faith is first and immediately morally commanded though necessarily implying the spirituall command and the morall blessing of the
is most certain that all things that doth or can come to passe in this world falls under the compasse of Gods decree but all things that comes to passe in this life are not from the positive actuall power of his Decree For a world of things comes to passe by the permissive power of his Decree and so doth his suffering of his long patience to be so contemned by these wicked wretches on whom he hath decreed to shew his wrath and to declare his power to their eternall destruction which is never actually inflicted upon man till the great day because this fiery wrath of God doth proceed from the curse of the Law inflicted upon man in the full extent as he is man intellectuall and sensitive which never can be inflicted upon man in this life because of the dissolution of man in the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man and because of the new covenant whereby man hath all the day of this life to repent Out of this which is declared in these last two Chapters arising from the light of the truth of the sacred Word of God I do inferre this necessary conclusion That absolute imaginary decree whereby God is affirmed out of his alone meer pleasure to elect a certain number of men to salvation without all respect to the immediate object of his election without respect to his spirituall calling whereby the election doth stand without respect to the immediate object of his spirituall calling which is the Lords only merit and consequently without all respect to the Lord himself second person of the glorious Trinity And that absolute imaginary decree whereby God is affirmed out of his alone free pleasure to condemne the rest of the world to the eternall torments of hell which is the curse of the Law without all respect of mans meriting by his transgression of the Law without respect to the first covenant whereby God and man were mutually obliged without respect to the creation of man in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection whereby man was perfectly enabled to fulfill the command of the Law of Righteousnesse withot respect to the fâ—ll of man from that state of perfection under the eternall curse of the Law without respect to the redemption of man from that fearfull curse by the sacred blood of the Son of God without all respect to the new covenant whereby all the nations of the world are called to believe in the Lords merit by his fulfilling of the pomise of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest which the blessing of eternall life is most freely offered which is most freely cut off from all men by this miserable imaginary fictious decree for by this blasphemous fictious decree the immediate cause of the salvation and damnation of man is peremptorily affirmed to be the alone free act of the will and pleasure of God which is but the only immediate cause that God doth elect one and not another out of the redeemed estate of man for the immediate cause of his election is his eternall love to the elect in his Son Christ Jesus by his spirituall calling as the immediate cause of the condemnation of the reprobate is their own immediate act by their obstinate finall contemning of the long patience of God as may appear by the words of the Apostle faithfully delivered in these two last Chapters CHAP. XXXVIII The childe departing this life unbaptized is saved by the precious blood of Christ Jesus by the immediate act of the redemption NInthly it is objected out of our Saviours words John 3.5 Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdome of God Children therefore departing this life in originall sin unbaptized are condemned by the eternall curse of the Law I answer the inference is fallacious For first our Saviour speaks here to Nicodemus a Ruler and Teacher of the Jews and not to man that is a child Secondly Christ speaks not here to Nicodemus simply of the externall sacrament of Baptisme which was then administred by John and the Apostles but of spirituall Baptisme which the externall sacrament did represent by which spirituall Baptisme the naturall mans spirituall darknesse wherin he is shut up and dead as he is a spirituall man is spiritually inlightned by the sanctifying power of which spirituall light the naturall man is quickned again and raised a new lively spirituall man by spirituall faith who by the eyes of his spirituall faith doth now see to enter the spirituall Kingdome of God And this is the spirituall Baptisme which our Saviour doth call the birth of the Spirit and tels Nicodemus that a man by externall Baptisme simply without this spirituall Baptisme cannot enter the Kingdom of God because it is the free gift of God and not tied to the externall administration of the Sacrament of Baptisme And therefore our Saviour doth compare this free gift of God by regeneration Joh. 3.8 to the freedome of the wind For as the wind doth freely blow where it listeth so doth the spirituall light of God enlighten whom he listeth by dispercing the spirituall darknesse of the soul of man to see the way to enter into the Kingdome of heaven As concerning the childs departing this life unbaptized by the externall sacrament of Baptisme First the child is freed from the curse of the Law in Adam the redeemed head of man in whom the child transgressed the Law who by the perfection of the redemption is freed from the eternall curse of the Law by the first covenant Secondly there is no actuall sin in the child whereby the child can be liable to the curse of the law of faith by the new covenant which curse is due only for actual sin by final obstinate contempt of the Law of faith The child therefore is baptized with the sacred blood and water issuing from the blessed heart of our Saviour upon the crosse which the externall sacrament of Baptisme doth represent The child therefore departing this life is saved by the sacred blood of Christ Jesus and a glorious Saint in heaven for of such are the Kingdome of heaven As the child therefore is said to sin in Adam so the child is redeemed in Adam It is not therefore the want of externall Baptism which can condemne the child unlesse the child were of such discretion of understanding as the child did contemne the sacrament of Baptisme by the sacramentall water signifying the water of eternall life wherby the baptized is washed from his actuall sins wherein he is as it were drowned and dead and is raised to the new life of faith to believe in the Lords merit to save him from the second death For in the primitive Church they were only baptized who did actually believe Al children therefore in the Primitive Church departing unbaptized by the consequence of this fearfull objection should be damned contrary to the very words of the
the mysticall members of his body spiritually and indivisibly united to their mysticall head by his indivisible love As for the Analogie between the sacrifice offered up by the Leviticall high Priest and the sacrifice prefigurate thereby it did likewise consist in three speciall points First as the blood of the Leviticall sacrifice of the brazen altar was first shed and then laid upon the brazen altar So the sacred blood of the Son of God was shed first by his crowning with a crown of sharp prickly thornes causing streams of blood to besmeare his glorious face and body Secondly by his cruell scourging which was a most c uell kinde of bloody punishment according to the manner of the Jews Thirdly by the flood of blood by reason of the great boysterous nails to hold his body fast to the cursed altar of the crosse prefigurate by the brazen altar The Analogie of the second point between the two sacrifices was that both was an Holocaust sacrifice For as the Leviticall sacrifice of of the brazen altar was wholy burnt up and consumed by the fire which came down from heaven so the sacrifice of the Lord of life as he is man was burnt up and consumed by the fire of Gods wrath which came down frâ—m â—eaven for the actuall curse of the Law for the sin of Adam to which Câ—â—st did oblige himself to sustaine for wretched unthankfull man by whose to fed death all men are redeemed from that curse The third point of the Aâ—alogie of the two sacrifices was Levit. 4.12 that as the ashes of the whole burnt sacrifice of the brazen altar was taken from the brazen altar and carryed in ash-pans and laid apart from the altar in a clean place So the blessed body of our Saviour Joh. 19.38 39 40 41. was taken down from the cursed altar of the crosse by Joseph of Arimathea Nicodemus and others of that religious company prefigurate by the ash-pans and carried and laid in a new sepulchre wherein no man was formerly laid Because the point of this declaration is in the sacrifice of our blessed Saviour the declaration thereof shall be discharged in these two heads First our Saviours cruell cursed death by the cursed altar of the crosse shall be declared And secondly the place where the Lord was laid prefigurate by the ashes of the sacrifice of the brazen altar which were carried apart from the altar and laid in a clean place Because the sacrifice of our Saviour is plainly set down in the Scripture we will first only make a brief and summary relation of the severall pasges thereof and next certain mysticall concerning points shall be observed of the death and suffering of our Saviour Of all the stratagems of Satan by his false deceiving bewitching light his incensing of miserable men with such bloody cruell hands to crucifie the Lord of life was most admirable and strange For first the power of actuall freedome of naturall and morall gâ—ace which they then enjoyed by the redemption of man from the curse of the Law by the eternall Decree of God though to be performed in time was such as Satan and all the created powers of God could not necessitate the will of man to any morall evill but that man must be willingly and freely led and induced to commit that evill Secondly the propheticall Sabbath was the glory of the Jews nation whereby the Jews were so eminent and had such great preferment above all the nations of the earth which glory and great preferment the Jews did then enjoy by faith in the blessing of the promised rest of the blessed seed prophesied by the propheticall Sabbath as it was the seventh day of the propheticall ceremoniall Law which was then the immediate object of the Jews faith And though our Saviour did manifest himself to the Jews that he was that blessed seed which was prophesied by the propheticall Sabbath shining then so gloriously amongst the Jews by his gracious light leading them to his love which was freely extended towards all rich and poor in his curing of all manner of sensitive incurable diseases of the body and the diseased souls of many engaging thereby so the generall love of all that happy was he who could but touch the Lord of life to none was his love and help denyed who were led to him by this gracious light of the sound of his Word who by the power of his wonders and miracles did manifest himself to be the Son of God ingaging the reverend fear of all by the convincing power of whose wonders and miracles the wretched Jews were constrained to acknowledge so much yet that Satan by his false deceiving light should notwithstanding so induce the unthankfull Jews not to suppresse but with such bloody hands to extinguish the light of their own eternall life and rest it cannot but amaze the heart of man though all was by the hand of Gods permissive power For though the power of Satans false deceiving light be wonderfull yet Satan with all his power must work all his mischief only by the betraying of the willing consent of man to have man to effect what he would of whose help Satan himself did then stand in great need for this miserable act of Satan was not so much out of his malice to man as out of Satans own fear For by the greatnesse of this glorious light of the promised blessed seed Satan began to be afraid that the head of his power must be broke by the seed of the woman and therefore it did stand Satan in hand in time to prevent this so great and eminent danger which that false Serpent did by suggesting such a light of apparent fear to the Priests Scribes and Pharisees of the utter losse of their glorious Sabbath and of the Leviticall dignity means and preferment if they should give way to this glorious light to shine amongst them whereby the world was so led and carried by which false suggested fear of Satans false deceiving light the Scribes and Pharisees and the rest of that rablement were furiously incensed with all greedy desire not to suppresse but extinguish the light it self whereby both might rest secure from any such fear which this barbarous crue did with most cruell bloody hands effect though while their cruell hands were in externall action their hearts were internally pricked with the power of this light as may appear by the sacred History from the first point to the last For first while the Scribes and Parisees did hire their Helhounds to apprehend the Lord of life the Lord told the Helhounds John 18.5 6.12.13 that he was the man whom they did seek And though by the power of his Word they fell back to the ground yet up again and to the Lord they went And though Malcomes eare Luke 22 50 51. being struck off was miraculously cured by our Saviour a glim of the light of the rest of their glorious Sabbath yet such was the power of the
the world were all pierced as it were to the heart never to be reiterate in the Evangelicall Church of God Eighthly by the blood and water issuing from the wound of our Saviours heart the sacramentall seals of the new Testament were mystically signified For as in the sacrament of Baptisme by the sacramentall water the water of eternall life is signified representing the water issuing from our Saviours wounded heart accompanied with his heart blood whereby the baptized's actuall sins are signified to be washed away and whereby the baptized is raised from his death in actuall sin to the new life of saith to let the baptized and all men understand that actuall sin is washed away by our Saviours heart blood which was accompanied with the water issuing from his wounded heart and therefore it is said by the Apostle 1 John 5.6 This is he that came by water not by water only but by water and blood So in the sacrament of the Lords Supper by the sacramentall bread the bread of eternall life is signified as by the sacramentall wine our Saviours heart blood is signified whereby the bread of life is purchased to let all men understand that the new life of faith is fed and nourished by the bread of life purchased by his sacred blood which bread of life is the Word blessed and sanctified by the Lords infinite merit in the spirituall understanding whereof is eternall life according to our Saviours own word John 17.3 This is life eternall to know thee who is only known by his Word Ninthly by our Saviours last words upon the crosse Luke 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit which was our Saviours humane Spirit it was signified that as our Saviour was man the Son of God from all eternity so is man begot by his Father of the seed of the woman in time and every way true man the Son of God Tenthly and lastly by our Saviours outstretched armes nailed to the crosse the new covenant to be made with all the nations of the world was mystically signified again And so much for the mysticall points of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God as he is man prefigurate by the sacrifice of the brazen altar offered by the Leviticall high Priest Now since our Saviour was not a Priest after the order of Aaron or Levi the question may be moved What manner of Priesthood was this whereby Christ is said to be a Priest after the order of Melchisedeck CHAP. IV. The reason that Christ is called a Priest after the order of Melchisedeck and the execution of Christs Kingly office while he was upon earth THe Question moved in the former Chapter is commonly answered that the Reason that Christ is said to be a Priest after the order of Melchisedeck is that as Melchisedeck was without father or mother So Christ as he is man is without a naturall father naturally descended of Adam and as he is God Christ is without a mother But this point is warily to be conceived For though it be said that Melchisedeck was without father or mother we must understand the words in this sense that Melchisedeck was without any known father and mother for his parents are concealed by the Scripture not that we should conceive that Melchiseck was not man naturally descended of Adam but for another reason which shall be shewed neither must we conceive that there was any such sacrifice offered by Melchisedeck as was offered by our Saviour For Melchisedeck could offer no other manner of sensitive sacrifice then the sacrifice of the Altar which was commanded by the propheticall Sabbath But Christ Jesus is said to be a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck in respect of the eternity of the Priest for Melchisedeck having neither known father or mother or kindred Melchisedeck is said to be without beginning or ending and consequently his Priestly office For there was no lineall succession of the Priestly office till it was established in the Tribe of Levi which did only continue during the formall propheticall ceremoniall obligement of the Law Before which time the Priesthood was in private Families Of this lately declared I infer these three necessary demonstrative conclusions First the Apostles and Apostolicall successors are not Priests or to be called Priests either after the order of Melchisedeck or after the order of Levi For first they can be no Priests or called Priests after the order of Melchisedeck for so their Priesthood must be for ever Secondly they can be no Priests or called Priests after the order or by the name of Levi for so they must be ceremoniall sensitive Priests by offering of ceremoniall sensitive sacrifices and gifts still prefigurating the cursed death of our Saviour whereby the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed is belied and denied Against this it is objected Our Saviour in the institution of the sacrament of his last Supper before his death as he is high Priest after the order of Melchisedeck did by this blessing of the bread and wine change and transubstanciate the substance of the bread and wine in the reall substance of his body and blood and did offer up his reall body and blood under the externall forms of bread and wine in a propitiatory sensitive sacrifice to his Father for the dead and for the quick which sacrifice is really one with his sacrifice of the crosse after the offering up whereof he did give his sacrificed reall body and blood under the externall forms of bread and wine to his Apostles for the sacrament of his last Supper commanding the Apostles and in the Apostles the Apostolicall successors to offer up his reall body and blood in a propitiatory sensitive sacrifice for the dead and for the quick And after the offering up thereof to give his sacrificed reall body and blood for the sacrament of his last Supper to the communicants The Apostles therefore and the Apostolicall successors by the power and authority of his command are still ceremoniall Priests and must offer this propitiatory sensitive sacrifice at the materiall Altar for the quick and for the dead under the externall forms of bread and wine The question therefore here is not of any metaphoricall sacrifice or of the spirituall sacrifice of the Lords mysticall members commanded to be offered at the spirituall Altar of righteousnesse but of a proper reall sensitive propitiatory sacrifice First I answer to the affirmed propitiatory sacrifice of our Saviours reall body and blood which is pretended to be offered up by our Saviour under the externall forms of bread and wine in the institution of the sacrament of his last Supper before his death which is the main ground of the objection Secondly I answer to the affirmed reall unity of this pretended sacrifice with our Saviours sacrifice of the crosse As for the first it is manifest both by the truth of the sacred History and by the very words of the institution
therefore being commanded immediatly by the literall command of the law though necessarily implying the spirituall command in the command of faith the works of truth love and mercy are necessarily commanded which are the works of faith without which faith is but a dead faith and man but a dead man dead in actuall sin though he doth live all the days of this life To the knowledge of which actuall sin as the naturall man is led by the literall light of the law implyed in the command of the Lords day So by the knowledge of death by actuall sin the naturall man is moved to morall repentance And by repentance to amendment of life by the works of truth love and mercy to which he is morally enabled by the power of the redeemed Word of truth love and mercy in his heart which are the works of faith whereby the Lords merit is morally apprehended Eighthly the new covenant made between God and man being established upon the immediat command of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith as the Lord doth oblige himself to man to conferre the actuall blessing of the Lords dayes eternall rest to the faithfull believer so the Lord by his covenant doth oblige the finall contemner of his infinit merit to the actuall mercilesse eternall curse of his Law The Lords merit of mercy therefore being infinit there is mercy for man all the day of this life For the new covenant is made to all men whatsoever and at what time soever For Mar. 13.13 whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved This end to the naturall man is his finall perseverance in his morall obedience till the Lords prefixed time of his spirituall calling by the spirituall grace of faith whereby the naturall man being regenerate is saved who hath nothing to necessitate his morall disobedience And though he doth stumble and fall yet by the power of the redeemed word written in his heart the naturall man hath freedome to repent morally without necessitating of his impenitency for morall repentance must necessarily precede morall faith As the naturall man therefore is no wayes to dispaire of the Lords infinite mercy while there is day in this life for the dispairer of the Lords infinite mercy doth belie the Lords mercy and doth detract from the infinitensse of the Lords merit so the naturall man is no wayes by his presumptuous continuance in sin and wickednesse to contemn the Lords long patience leading him so graciously to repentance lest the Lord in his justice give him over to a reprobate minde that he cannot repent though he hath all the dayes of this life to repent by covenant Ninthly the law of God being eternall eternally obliging man as he is man and the reward of the law due by the law to the merit of man being according to the law eternall there must be therefore resurrection from the dead that man as he is man intellectuall and sensitive may receive the eternall reward of the law in the full extent to wit eternall life and rest to the faithfull believer in the merit of man Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God and the curse of the law by eternall death to the merit of man the proud finall contemner of the Lords infinit merit offered so freely to him in this life The reward therefore of the law in the full extent as the reward is eternall cannot be received by man till the last day Tenthly the Lord being the head of all men redeemed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam as the Lord hath his universall redeemed Church in all the nations of the world who by the power of the redeemed word of truth love and mercy written in their heart are all morally united by one faith in one body and by that faith morally united to their head the gracious Redeemer of all men So the Lord being the mysticall head of his mysticall members the Lord hath his mysticall universall Church all united in one mysticall body by spirituall faith and by spirituall faith all spiritually and indivisibly united to their mysticall head These are the first ten fundamentall points of faith arising from the literall light of the Evangelicall sound of the word of the Lords day by the Lords rest and resurrection from the grave leading the naturall mans understanding by faith to apprehend the Lords merit to save him from the curse of the law of faith Next therefore of the fundamentall points of faith arising from the Lords resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens to which his resurrection from his grave doth extend where the Lord sitteth at the right hand of the infinite power of the Father whence two fundamentall points of faith doth arise First the Lord according to his promise that the seed of the woman shall break the head of the old Serpent and the head of his cursed seed hath obliged himself by the new covenant that by his second coming from the heavens gloriously united to his mysticall members shall revenge the blood of man upon Satan and his cursed seed First the blood of man first betrayed by Satan to fall under the curse of the law Secondly the blood of man Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God by his redemption of man from the eternall curse of the law Thirdly the blood of the Lords mystical members persecute by Satan and his cursed seed for their valorous defending of his sacred truth in this life For the Lord as head united to his mysticall members is the mysticall man who must break the old Serpents head and the head of his cursed seed in the grat day afterwards more fully to be declared This breaking of the head of the old Serpent and of the head of his cursed seed is by the Lords judging condemning and by the actuall inflicting of the eternall curse and reward of the law in the full extent to the greâ—t glory of God the eternall comfort of the faithfull and to the finall eternall and utter confusion of Satan and his cursed seed in the great day The second fundamentall point of faith arising from the Lords resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens is that the Lord hath graciously obliged himself by the covenant to send the Comforter John 16.7 the Spirit of truth by whose spirituall light enlightening the spirituall darknesse of the naturall man the Lords mysticall members are begot and by the spirituall power of whose spirituall life by that spirituall light the regenerate are enabled with the gift of patience to overcome all the afflictions and temptations of Satan and of his cursed seed in this life which is the Lords earnest of their incorruptible crown of glory in the life to come for their valor in their defence of his truth in this life In these twelve fundamentall points of faith as by the literall light of the sound of the word of the Lords day by his rest
the Sacramentall bread the breaking of our Saviours body by the curse of the Crosse is signified as by the Sacramentall wine our Saviours heart bloud is signified whereby the bread of life is purchased which being Sacramentally received by faith the receiver hath the temporall blessing of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall seventh dayes rest in this life and eternall rest in the life to come and therefere it is said Wee must not live by bread alone but by every word proceeding from God Mat. 4.4 And this is the reason that the Word is called the Bread of life as by the sensitive bread the sensitive nature of man is temporally continued and preserved so by the spirituall understanding of the Word Christ Jesus the Word and Bread of life spiritually and Sacramentally received by faith the spirituall life of the receiver is eternally continued according to our Saviours owne word This is life eternall to know thee the onely true God and Christ Jesus whom thou hast sent Here a Question may be moved to be answered in the Chapter following CHAP. XI The light of the word is in the sound of the word THe Apostle doth affirme that faith is by hearing of the word Rom. 10.17 The Question therefore may bee moved Is not faith likewise by reading of the word I answer The Question here is of morall fâ—ith And therefore I say That faith is not by reading of the word as the written word is the object of the sence of seeing but as the written word doth presuppose the word spoken for it is the word spoken that is read in which case morall faith may be said to be by reading For many times God by his objective concursive grace doth concurre with the naturall mans reading of the word and with the reading of the spirituall Writers upon the word whereby the naturall mans understanding is enlightened and his will moved morally to beleeve the word and his heart inclined to give morall obedience to the literall command of the word But while God doth not afford his coÌ„cursive objective grace which is in his free pleasure the naturall man readeth but a dead letter for the life of the word is in the sound of the word to the hearing while as by the spirituall Ministers word the heart of man where the redeemed word of the Law is written is rouzed and moved by the sound of the word threatning of Gods judgements for sin whereby man is raised from sin and moved to arme himselfe against Satan and his instruments And this is the reason that the Ministers of God are called Trumpeters for as at the sound of the Trumpet the whole Army is roused to Arme themselves against the enemy so at the sound of the word by the spirituall Minister man is roused and stirred up to resist the temptation of Satan and of his instruments The life of the word therefore is in the sound of the word And this is the reason that the Apostle saith that faith is by hearing of the word which is the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of saith implying the whole Evangelicall Law and Word of God Now as the Evangelicall Word of the Lords day hath bin declared to be the true Evangelicall Word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith So for the Readers satisfaction in this fundamentall point the cheife point of Christian faith the manner shall be set downe that the sound of the word of the Lords day doth arise from the written word of God CHAP. XII The sound of the word of the Lords day doth arise from the writen word of God FIrst the whole Evangel is only the sound of the word of the Lords day from the Lords promise of the blessed seed to his conception of the seed of the woman from his conception to his birth from his birth to his death from his death to his rest in the grave whereby he did manifest himselfe first that he was the promised blessed seed the Son of God the light and life of man by his gracious word by his glorious wonders and miracles Secondly that he was love and mercy to man Love by his gracious curing of many sensitive diseases of man incurable by man as he is only man Mercy by his pardoning of sinne as he is the Son of God Thirdly Christ Jesus the Son of God begotten of the seed of the woman did manifest himselfe by his death that he is the Saviour of all men for their sinne in Adam Fourthly by his fulfilling of the Law in his rest in the grave for the whole space of the seventh day of the last Sabbath the eternall life and rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam was manifested to be redeemed by our Saviour All performed by Jesus Christ the Son of God man begotten of the seed of the woman But his resurrection from the grave by his rest from the fulfilling of the Law implying his bloody rest in his grave from the redemption of man was by his infinit power as he is Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God begotten of the seed of the woman by the immediate unction of the holy Spirit God equall with the Father and holy Spirit By whose rest the Lords day the day of the Lords resurrection was blessed and sanctified for the Lords thankfull worship by man implying the light of the word of the whole Evangel Though the Lords day was first called by the Evangelists the day of the Lords resurrection to convince the false report of the Jewes who had suborned the Keepers of the sacred grave to affirme that the Disciples had stolen away the Lords blessed Body from the grave As the Lords day was called by the Apostles the first day of the weeke least by naming of any other seventh day then the great propheticall Sabbath in the first plantation of the Evangel the stubborne Jewes should have utterly rejected the embracing of the Evangel All which is but the light of the sound of the word of the Lords day But of all the sounds of the word of the Lords day in the Evangel Iohn Baptists sound that Elias did passe all for his sound was as if the Lord then had suffered and had risen from the dead For first by Iohns pointing at the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinne of the World our Saviours death was signified Secondly by Iohns baptizing of our Saviour in Christs submersion and rising out of the water his rest in the grave and resurrection was lively expressed Thirdly by Iohns affirming that he did see the Spirit of God in forme of a Dove to descend from Heaven upon our Saviour the calling of the Jewes and Gentiles by the new Covenant was most lively expressed for by the Doves outstreched wings the Lords armes of mercy by his Evangelicall bloody rest were spread out from Heaven to embrace all the Nations of the World Secondly the whole tractate of the acts from
end to end is nothing else but the light of the sound of the word of the Lords day For by the sounding of the word of the Lords resurrection by the Apostles what a world of wonders and miracles were wrought and how many thousands by the light of the sound of the word came by the hands of faith to lay hold on the Lords daies Evangelicall rest Thirdly the new Covenant is immediatly established upon the Evangelicall word of the Lords day by inseperable union Fourthly the Apostle doth affirme that the sound of the word to wit of the Lords day went to the ends of the earth Fiftly Iohn doth call the day of the Lords resurrection the Lords day Sixtly the Apostle to the Hebrews doth set downe the Lords day the Evangelicall Word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnesse of faith most plainly saying first that after a long time which was the time of the promised rest of the propheticall Sabbaticall seventh day there was another certaine seventh day appointed in David that is in Davids seed Secondly that the Lord of life to wit the Son of David did enter this day into his rest from his resting from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed which is his Evangelicall rest necessarily implying his bloody promised Sabbaticall rest from the worke of the redemtion As he did first rest from the workes of the creation Thirdly the Apostle proveth that this day appointed in David was for the people to enter into this seventh daies rest For saith the Apostle Hebrews 4.8 if Joshua could have given the people of Israel rest to wit by the promised rest of the propheticall Sabbaticall seventh day then bad not David bin appointed to speake of another day that sâ— another seventh day which the Apostle Hebrews 4.12 cals the lively powerfull word of God which is the word of the Lords day the true Evangelicall Word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnesse of faith by the Evangelicall sound thereof sharper then any two edged sword dâ—viding and seperating the soule from the spirit where the soule is taken for the soule of man as he is a naturall man and the spirit is taken for the soule of man as he is regenerate and a spirituall man for by the spirituall sanctifying understanding of the wâ—rd the rebellious powers of the flesh of man as he is a naturall man are devided and subdued by the power of the Spirit though not totally in thâ—s life And therefore the Apostle Paul doth affirme that the sins pro eeding from his rebellious flesh are none of his to wit as he is a spirituall man Seventhly David doth prophetically affirme Psal 118 24. First that this is the day which the Lord hath made exhorting all men to rejoyce in this blessed day which day David did see with his spirituall eyes of faith for the Lord did fulfill this prophesie of David indeed for the Lord made this day with his precious bloud Secondly David doth prophetically affirme Psal 118.22 that it was the glorious light of this seventh dayes rest which David calls the corner stone which the Judaicall builders did refuse and now is made the head of the corner mounted above the heaven of heavens the Tabernacle not made with hands wherein the Lord of life Head of his mysticall members is entered to make continuall intercession as their Advocate at the Throne and Alter of righteousnesse by the merit of his fulfilling of the Law of righteousnesse whereby all the actuall sins of his mysticall members united to their mysticall head by his indivisible love are covered and freed from the curse of the Evangelicall Law of faith by the new Covenant As by his cursed death of the altar of the Crosse they are freed from the curse of the Law for their sinne in Adam by the first Covenant Eightly the Lord himselfe doth affirme John 8.56 that Abraham did see this his joyfull day to wit with his spirituall eyes of faith in the eight day of the Sacrament of circumcision wherein there doth lye no small mysterie for the child was to be circumcised upon the eight day though the eight day did fall upon the propheticall Sabbath day upon which day no worke was to be done under the paine of death much lesse the shedding of mans bloud The shedding of mans bloud therefore upon the Sabbath was onely lawfull by the command of the Sacramentall circumcision for both the propheticall Sacraments implying the whole propheticall ceremoniall Law were commanded in the Church of God before the Law was given to Moses to the end that the Jews might understand that the Law to the fathers before Moses and after Moses till Christs resurrection was really one and the same Law of God and one and the same formall obliegement of the Law The point of the mysterie lyeth in this That the Sacrament of circumcision which was the eighth day was preferred to the command of the Sabbath which was the seventh day of the Law implying the command of the whole Law Now the Sacrament of circumcision was but the shadow of the Sacrament of the Lords day which was the eight day from the last propheticall Sabbath reckoning the propheticall Sabbath inclusively for the first day in the accompt of the eight dayes though by beginning the accompt from the last formall Jews propheticall Sabbath exclusively the Lords day as man naturally descended of Adam is oblieged to the Law is the just seventh day from the last formall Jews propheticall Sabbath as hath beene declared What an admirable faith was this of Abraham to see this day so farre off which the Lord affirmeth that Abraham did see and that Abraham did rejoyce in the sight of this blessed day Ninthly the Lord of life the Lord of the Evangelicall law of the righteousnesse of faith the true eternall rest of the Evangelicall seventh day of the Law doth call this blessed day his owne day John 85.6 His owne day by all true title and right of righteousnesse it selfe his owne which in spite of the power of darkenesse must shine till the eternall day Tenthly this is the most joyfull day of dayes for by the Evangelicall sound of the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest the Jews and Gentiles were actually called to one Church and were made one fold to the joyous and thankfull jubilising of all the Nations of the world Eleventhly by the Evangelicall sound of the Lords daies Evangelicall rest arising from his bloudy rest all the propheticall Sabbaths all the jubilees of Sabbaths and all the prophesies prophesying from the foundation of the world of the comming and suffering of the Lord of life the promised blessed seed are actually determined Twelfthly by his bloudy Sabbaticall rest necessarily implyed in his Evangelicall seventh dayes rest of the Lords day All the altars and sacrifices the foundation of the partition wall of the ceremoniall Law and all the figures types rites and propheticall ceremonies from the foundation of
power of the word For the word of righteousnes in this sense is the word of the law of righteousnes internally commanding the heart of man which is the center and originall of all the powers of man as he is man commanding man to produce the workes of righteousnes according to the law of righteousnes as man by the first power of the word written in his heart is enabled to live the life of righteousnes For according to that Theologicall Principle As God doth command the action of his creature so before or in and with the command God in his justice doth inable his creature with the power of action to fulfill his command As the word of righteousnes is objected to the externall senses of man it is taken in a twofold sense First the word of the power of life of righteousnes necessarily implying the power of naturall life of the word is taken for the word of promise wherby God doth covenant with man to grant the eternall continuation of the life of righteousnes necessarily implying me naturall life of the word to man as man is inabled to live that life by the power of the word written in his heart which is called the word of eternall life Secondly as the word of righteousnes is objected to the externall senses of man it is taken for the word of the seventh dayes rest of the law of righteousâ—â—s implying the command of the whole law And the word of the seventh dayes rest of the law in this sense hath likewise a twofold power The first power of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the law it is the power of command for in this sense the word of God is the command of his law of righteousnes commanding the obedience of man by his workes of righteousnes to fulfill the command of his law of righteousnes as man is inabled to live that life by the immediate power of the word of the law written in his heart And in this sense Gods word is said to be a law to man For all the commands of God righteousnes it selfe by his word are the necessary commands of his law of righteousnes and all the commands of the law of God are the necessary commands of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the law which doeth necessarily imply the command of the whole law of God Gods command therefore to Adam commanding him to abstaine from eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil was the necessary command of the word of the first seventh daies rest of the law of righteousnes The second power of the word of the seventh dayes rest is the power of life of righteousnes necessarily implying the power of the naturall life of the word and this power of the word of the seventh dayes rest is by the immediate blessing of the seventh dayes rest which is due by the law to the seventh dayes worship and man necessarily implying his fulfilling of the whole law for the seventh day is blessed for man and the seventh day is sanctified for Gods worship by man by the immediate power of which blessing of the seventh dayes rest man doth rest in the injoying of the word of promise The word of the law therefore written in the heart and the word of promise and the word of the seventh dayes rest are really one for by the word written in the heart man doth live the life of righteousnes and by the word of promise God doth promise the eternall continuation of that life and by the blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest man doth rest in the injoying of his life of righteousnes and the word in this threefold sense is the image of the righteousnes of God the infinite life of righteousnes But yet as there is a reall unity in the word written in the heart in the word of promise and in the word of the seventh dayes rest so there is a formall difference For the word of the Law written in the heart is formally the word of the power of life and the word of promise is formally the word of eternall life whereby the eternall continuance of the power of the word in the heart is promised and the word of the seventh dayes rest is formally the word of eternall rest for by the eternall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest man doth rest in the injoying of the word of promise wherby God doth fulfill his promise to man and therefore called truth And this is the reason that as in the word of promise the covenant is established between God and man upon the word of the seventh dayes rest the covenant and the word of the seventh dayes rest are really one but of a formall difference The reall unity of both is in this that the word of promise which is the word of eternall life is by the eternall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest And the formall difference of both is in this that God and man in the word of promise are formally and mutually obliged by covenant but man is only formally commanded by the word of the seventh dayes rest of his law of righteousnesse For God in the word of promise doth bind and obliege himselfe to man by covenant to grant the eternall continuation of the life of righteousnes which man doth injoy by the power of the word written in his heart And because this eternall continuation of the life of man is by the eternall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest therefore God doth mutually bind and obliege man by his covenant to fulfill the command of his seventh dayes worship implying the fulfilling of the whole law after that formall maner as God hath manifested himselfe to be worshipped by man by the word of his seventh dayes rest and this obligement of man by covenant is both upon the promise of eternall life and also upon the promise of eternall death By the light of the word therefore of every severall seventh dayes rest first we are led in the knowledge of the state and condition of man with whom the covenant is made For the word of the seventh dayes rest and the word of the law written in the heart whereby man doth live are really one Secondly by this light we are led in the knowledge of the covenant which is alwayes really one with the word of the seventh dayes rest For the word of promise is fulfilled by the eternall blessing of the word of the seventh daies rest whereon the condition of the covenant doth depend Now because by covenant man is bound and obliged to the command of the law of righteousnes both upon the promise of eternall life and eternall death according to the merit of man The law of GOD is therefore sayd to have a twofold reward to wit the blessing of eternall rest to the merit of the obedient and eternall death to the merit of the disobedient which is called the curse of
the law though eternall death be properly and immediately by the covenant for the law of God in its proper nature which is the image of his righteousnes doth command the obedience of man only upon the eternall blessing of the seventh dayes rest and not upon eternall death And therfore we see that the curse of the Law is not set downe in the Decalogue But because as the covenant is established upon the immediat command of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the law of righteousnes it is the image both of the righteousnes and justice of God rendring to man according to his merit For this cause the law commands man both upon the blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest and upon the curse of disobedients and therefore though by covenant it be left to the freedome of mans election to live the life of righteousnes according to the command of the law of righteousnes and to merit eternall life by his obedience or eternall death by his disobedience yet as the covenant is established upon the immediate command of the words of the seventh dayes rest of the law of righteousnes the obedience of man is both obliged and commanded upon the eternall blessing of the seventh dayes rest and upon the inevitable curse of eternall death By the light of this Theologicall infallible ground arising from the light of the truth of the sacred word the judicious Reader is led in the knowledge of the three covenants made by God with man which are linckt together as it were in a chaine as may appeare by the subsequent declaration of this tractat First therefore of the first covenant made by God with man CHAP. II. Of the created perfection of the intellectuall nature of man and of the immortality of the soule BEcause the first covenant doeth necessarily presuppose the first estate of man with whom the first covenant was made This first Booke therefore shal be divided into these two parts The first shall contain the declaration of the first estate of man The second shall contain the declaration of the first covenant The first state of man was the created state of man the last created of all creatures whose creation doth presuppose the whole workes of the creation which is the very first period of the exercit act of the sacred decree of predestination exercit by the infinit essentiall word immediately As for the knowledge of the first estate of man it must necessarily arise from the light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest For the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the law of righteousnesse and the word of the law first written in the heart of man are of one reall life and light For as the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the law of righteousnes was the word of the eternall rest of righteousnes by the eternall blessing of the first seventh dayes rest so the word of the law of righteousnes first written in the heart of man was the word of the power of the life of righteousnes necessarily implying the power of the naturall life of the word For by the immediate power of the word thus written in the heart of man man was inabled to live the life of righteousnes to live the naturall life of man in his first state condition But as man of all creatures was last created so man was the ornament perfection and as it were the master piece of the workes of the creation For of all the creatures created by God the creation of man was the most rare and curious worke And though it be sayd That man was made a little lower then the Angels to wit in the perfection of glory yet the perfection of mans creation was superiour to the creation of Angels for all creatures were either intellectuall or corporall But that two so strange differing natures should be essentially united in the nature of man it is the wonder of nature it selfe All the creatures therefore being perfectly created man the ornament of the workes of the creation was created in the state of humane perfection This created perfection of man was the perfect life of righteousnes necessarily implying the perfection of the naturall life of man This perfection of man did arise from the perfection of the word of the law first written in the heart of man for in and with the immediat act of the creation of man as the word of the law of righteousnes was spiritually and immediatly written in the soule essentially united to the heart so by the same immediate act of the spirituall writer the word of the law as the law is spirituall was actually and spiritually enlightned by the spirituall light of his holy spirit in the soule of man By the power of which sanctifying light the heart of man to which the soule is essentially united was by the same immediate act sanctified with the spirituall action of holines By the immediate sanctifying power of the word thus actually and spiritually enlightned man was enabled to live the perfect life of righteousnes and holines wherby man was a perfect naturall and spirituall man and the perfect image of righteousnes and holines And this was the first state and condition of man with whom the first covenant was made by God Man therefore by the perfection of his creation was of a twofold perfection The first was the naturall perfection of man the second was his spirituall perfection Of this twofold perfection of man briefly so far as concerneth the subject in hand And first of the naturall perfection of man and next of his spirituall perfection The naturall perfection of man doth consist in the essentiall union of the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man First therefore of the created perfection of the intellectuall nature of man abstractly and next of the created perfection of the sensitive nature of man and of the essentiall union of the two natures The created perfection of the intellectuall nature of man is in the perfection of the soule of man and the perfection of the soule is from the perfection of the naturall power of the life of the word which the perfection of the spirituall life of the word doeth necessarily imply For the word is spiritually and immediately written in the soule of man as it is the image of the infinite word infinite power perfection life light righteousnes truth and eternity it selfe By the immediate naturall power of the word thus immediately written in the soule of man the soule doth live move intellectually and hath its perfect eternall state of intellectuall being as the word immediately written in the soule is perfect and eternall the soule of man therefore was created as perfect a true eternall spirit in the humane sphere as the Angelicall spirit in the Angelicall sphere for both as they are created spirits of a simple immateriall substance doe live move intellectually and have their eternall state of intellectuall being by
know the externall sensitive object by the literal sensitive light of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse for the literall light of the Law which is by the sound of the word doth necessarily begin at the externall senses And therefore since the fall and redemption of man faith which is morall faith is said to bee the hearing of the word But because it is in the freedome of mans election by the act of his senses proceeding from the free act of his will to apprehend the externall sensitive object inlightened by what light soever therefore God by his Covenant doth only binde and oblige man to live this life of righteousnesse according to the literall light of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse As man is enabled to live the life of righteousnesse by the immediate power of the word written in his heart But God by his Covenant doth not formally command man to live the life of righteousnesse but leaveth it to the freedome of mans election by his obedience to the command of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law either to choose eternall life by his obedience or eternall death by his disobedience The reason is because the life of righteousnesse doth immediately proceed from the act of the will which is the act of the soule of man which cannot bee necessitate by any command whatsoever for the will of the soule is created with the perfection of such contradictory and specificall freedome as all the created powers of God are not able to necâ—ssitate or enforce the free act of the will by any meanes under the heavens though the act of the will as it is intellectuall and sensitive may be externally coacted for as the will cannot be killed so the will can neither bee necessitate by any command But as the Covenant is established upon the immediate command of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse the workes of righteousnesse according to the Law are commanded both upon the eternall blessing of the seventh dayes rest and upon the curse of eternall death the first and immediate command whereof as the seventh day is the great command of the Law is the seventh dayes commanded worship implying the command of the whole Law which doth both oblige and command man to worship God in the truth of his promise for by the eternall blessing of the seventh dayes rest the word of promise is alwayes fulfilled according to the obedience of man or by the inflicting of the curse of eternall death upon the disobedience of man to the command of his word his promise is likewise fulfilled for it is all one for God not to fulfill his promise by his Covenant as to be no God And this is the first reason of Gods essentiall attribute of truth and that his word which is his immediate image is called truth The literall command of the Law arising from the letter of the Law is called by the Theologs the morall command of the Law and therefore the word of the seventh dayes rest implying the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse is called the morall Law of God obliging and commanding as it were the manners of man to God and to his image man as the voluntary action of man doth concerne God or his image man and from this morall denomination of the Law the voluntary action of man whether by his obedience or disobedience to the command of the Law is said to bee formally morall for both are equally the exercite act of the Law and to both the reward of the Law is equally due by the Law according to the merit of mans obedience or disobedience to the command of the Law from this morall denomination likewise of the Law the literall light of the Law is called the morall light of the Law for a formall difference between the literall and morall light of the Law arising immediatly from the letter of the Law and the spirituall light of the Law which is the immediate light of the holy Spirit And from this morall denomination of the litterall light of the Law since the fall and redemption of man faith arising from the morall light of the Law is called morall faith for a formall difference of morall faith from spirituall faith which doth arise from the immediate spirituall light of the holy Spirit in the immediate act of regeneration CHAP. IV. Of the created spirituall perfection of man THe intellectuall and sensitive nature of man being thus essentially united in the heart by the immediate power of the word inabling man with the power of naturall life and with the life of righteousnesse God in and with the immediate act of the creation of man did inlighten the word of the Law of righteousnesse spiritually written in the soule of man with the spirituall light of his holy Spirit sanctifying the heart of man to which the soul is essentially united with the spirituall life of holinesse By the immediate power of this spirituall life and light really one with the spirituall light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse Adam was enabled with the perfection of the spirituall understanding of the command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law and to frame his spirituall life of righteousnesse and holinesse according to the perfection of the command of the Law which is the spirituall command By this perfection of spirituall life and light Adam was the perfect image of righteousnesse and holinesse and a perfect spirituall man And this is the image of righteousnesse and holinesse which the Apostle exhorts to bee renewed in the Ephesians and Collossians which was lost by Adams fall Adam therefore being created in this state of naturall and spirituall perfection the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse implying the command of the whole Law was objected to Adams externall senses by the power of the word of the first seventh dayes rest commanding Adam according to the spirituall light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law really one with the spirituall light and command of the word of the Law of righteousnesse in his heart to worship God upon the seventh day of the Law of righteousnesse As God did manifest himselfe by the word of his first seventh dayes rest from the workes of the creation And in that commanded spirituall worship commanding Adams spirituall obedience by his spirituall works of holinesse to fulfill the command of the Law of righteousnesse according to the spirituall light and command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest to whose perfect worship and obedience the eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest was due by the Law of God By this light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of God from the workes of the creation Adam by the perfect act of
his spirituall understanding did perfectly apprehend God to bee the Creator of Heaven of earth of man of the creatures and that by the immediate eternall blessing of the first seventh dayes rest of God the world man and the creatures were continued and preserved in the perfection of their created estate And upon the immediate command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest implying the command of the whole law of righteousnesse the first Covenant was made with man afterward to be declared As Adam by the spirituall light of his understanding really one with the spirituall light of the word of the seventh dayes rest did perfectly understand God as God revealed himselfe to Adam by the word of his first seventh dayes rest wherein the perfection of Adams understanding of God did consist so Adam by the created perfection of his spirituall action of holinesse did adequate the perfection of the command of the Law as Adam was first obliged to the Law of God for if Adams spitituall action of holinesse had not been of equall power with the perfection of the command of the Law which is in the spirituall command and the first Covenant being established upon the immediate command of the word of the first seven dayes rest of the Law both upon the eternall blessing of the first seven dayes rest and upon the curse of eternall death Adam could never have fulfilled the perfection of the command of the Law but must have necessarily fallen under the curse of eternall death which had been most high injustice in God in binding and obliging his intellectuall creature man to a law upon the curse of eternall death above the power of his obedience by his spirituall action of holinesse for it was only by Adams spirituall action of holinesse that the law was to be fulfilled for though Adam was created with the power of morall action yet while Adam stood in his state of perfection Adams morall action was not actuall neither could his spirituall action of holinesse be called formally and properly morall which denomination is extended both to the obedience and transgression of the Law as hath been formerly declared Adams morall action therefore was not actuall till the Law of righteousnesse was transgressed by Adam and then Adams morall action was actuall and formally morall and morally evill and the greatest evill that ever was or can be committed by man Now as Adam by the perfection of his spirituall understanding of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse did perfectly understand God as God revealed himselfe to be honoured and worshipped by his rest from the works of the Creation So Adam by the perfection of his naturall understanding must needs apprehend the being power perfection goodnesse life light knowledge understanding wisdome in himselfe and the creatures to flow from the infinite perfection of the Creator whereby Adam was led in the understanding of the essentiall Attributes of God which essentiall understanding of God in Adam must be imperfect God as he is essentiall being infinite and incomprehensible Adams perfect understanding of God therefore was perfected by the perfection of his spirituall understanding of the word of the first seventh dayes rest as God did manifest himselfe to man to be understood and worshipped by man for God can no otherwise be comprehended by the act of the understanding of man or Angel but after that formall manner that God doth minifest himselfe to be understood and worshipped by either And so much briefly of the created naturall and spirituall perfection of man with whom the first Covenant was made by God which is the contents of the first part of the first Book Before we come to the second part an objection must be removed CHAP. V. Of a threefold comparison between the created naturall and spirituall perfection of the first Adam with the naturall and spirituall perfection of the second Adam IT is said That the first Adam was made a living soule a naturall man and from the earth earthly 1 Cor. 15.45 46 47. Adam therefore was not created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection neither could he be created the image of righteousnesse and holinesse or a true spirituall man I answer briefly to the Objection The Apostle in these three verses of this chapter doth make a threefold comparison between the first and second Adam The first is in the 45. verse the sense whereof is this The first Adam was made a living soule to wit to live the perfect life of righteousnesse necessarily implying the perfection of his naturall life but the second Adam was not only made a living soule but likewise a quickning spirit where the power of the naturall and spirituall life of the first Adam is compared with the power of the naturall and spirituall life of the second Adam The first Adam by the power of his naturall and spirituall life was not able to quicken himselfe or any man else being dead but the second Adam by the power of his naturall life in sustaining the cursed death of the Crosse did redeem the first Adam and all men condemned and dead under the curse of the Law by eternall death in Adam their head for the transgression of the Law by Adam and by the infinite power of his Resurrection from the dead did raise up Adam and all men condemned and dead in Adam their head quickning and reconciling all men by the price of his blood to the love and favour of God for that first sinne The first Adam therefore notwithstanding of his naturall and spirituall perfection in respect of the second Adam may be truly said to be but a living soule and not a quickning spirit The second comparison is in the 46. verse where the spirituall perfection of the first Adam is compared with the spirituall perfection of the second Adam the sense of the words is this Though the first Adam was created in such spirituall perfection yet his spirituall perfection was not essentiall but habituall and conditionall But the spirituall perfection of the second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ is Essentiall and therefore the first Adams spirituall perfection in respect of the second Adams essentiall perfection was but the perfection of a naturall man as the spirituall perfection of the second Adam was the essentiall perfection of an essentiall spirituall man the eternall Sonne of God begot of the seed of the woman in time The third comparison is in the 47. verse where the humane sensitive nature of the first Adam is compared with the humane sensitive nature of the second Adam The sense of the words is this The first Adam as he is man sensitively was created of earthly principles immediately and therefore from the earth earthly But the second Adam as he is man sensitively Christ Jesus the naturall Son of God was begot of the sanctified seed of the woman immediately and every way from the heaven heavenly in respect of whose humane
to his eternall Decree intending the Creation of man said Let us make man Gen. 1.26 and not let us make Adam to wit as a private person Adam therefore was created in such admirable state of naturall and spirituall perfection as he was the head of the river of men naturally to descend and flow from Adam the head The first Covenant therefore was made with Adam as the created head of all men naturally to descend of Adam who were all really created in the same naturall and spirituall perfection that Adam their head was created in whō all men were as truly really bound obliged in Adam head to the first Covenant and to the command of the word of the first seventh daies rest of the law of righteousnesse in every respect as Adam their head though not actually descended of Adam for as all men sinned in Adam their head to wit really so all men were as really and necessarily bound and obliged to the command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law in Adam their head as Adam was as all men found by experience and consequently the naturall and spirituall perfection of Adam the head of all men whereby he was enabled to merit eternall life upon earth was as really truly and necessarily due by Covenant established upon the immediate command of the Law to Adams posterity as they should actually descend of Adam as to Adam himselfe for as all men were bound to the same reall Law in Adam their head so in the justice of God all men as they should naturally descend of Adam must be enabled with the like power of obedience with Adam their head The first Covenant made by God with man is set downe by Moses Gen. 2.16 17. The word of promise of eternall life whereby God doth binde and oblige himselfe and man to his first Covenant is in the 16. verse the words are Eating thou shalt freely eate of every Tree of the Garden and consequently Adam was to eate of the Tree of life by eating whereof Adam as he was created a naturall man intellectuall and sensitive was to live eternally upon earth for by the doubling of the word eating thou shalt eate is signified an eternall eating and by an eternall eating an eternall living in the state and felicity wherein Adam was created God therefore in these words doth promise to Adam and to all men created in Adam naturally to descend of Adam that his created estate and condition shall be continued eternally upon earth which promise was to be fulfilled by God and enjoyed by Adam by the eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest for by the onely immediate eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest Adam the world and the creatures created for man were to rest eternally upon earth in the state and condition wherein they were created for which cause God blessed the first seventh day for Adam and God sanctified the first seventh day for his perfect worship of the first seventh day by Adam If Adam therefore will have the actuall enjoying of the word of promise of eternall life Adam must have it by his perfect worship of God upon the first seventh day of the Law according to that formall manner that God did manifest himselfe to Adam by the word of his first seventh dayes rest which is the condition of the Covenant As God therefore in his word of promise of eternall life doth binde and oblige himselfe to Adam by his Covenant so God doth mutually binde and oblige Adam to the formall perfect worship of the first seventh day that by the eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh daies rest of the Law Adam might enjoy the promise As God doth binde and oblige Adam by his Covenant to obedience the promise of eternall life by his perfect worship of God upon the first seventh day of the Law so God by his first Covenant in the command of the seventh dayes worship as it is the great command of the Law doth likewise binde and oblige Adams obedience to the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse upon a dying death which is eternall death ever dying without all end of dying contained in the 17. verse in these words But of the Tree of knowledge of good and evill thou shalt not eate of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof dying thou shalt dye Gen. 2.17 In which words God doth binde and oblige Adams obedience to the command of the whole Law upon a dying death for by the transgression of the command of God of the Law of righteousnesse by his word commanding Adam to abstaine from eating of the fruit of the Tree of knowledge the whole Law of righteousnesse is necessarily transgressed for he that doth offend in one doth offend in all Jam. 2.10 By this negative command therefore necessarily implying the affirmative command of the Law Adams obedience is bound and obliged to the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse upon a dying death which is eternall death Now as the promise of eternall life whereby God doth oblige himselfe and Adam mutually by his Covenant was to be enjoyed by the eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law the Covenant doth bind and oblige Adam to the immediate command of the Law and the Law doth formally command Adam by the immediate power of the word of the first seventh dayes rest implying the command of the whole law both upon the eternall blessing of the first seventh dayes rest and upon the curse of a dying death which is eternall death and therefore the curse of eternall death is called the curse of the Law The first Covenant being thus established upon the immediate command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse implying the command of the whole Law between God and Adam the created head of all men naturally to descend of Adam to the end of the world the first Covenant was ratified by the Tree of life and by the Tree of knowledge of good and evill placed in the midst of the Garden of Paradise as the Sacraments of the first Covenant made between God and Adam the created head of all men that Adam as he was man intellectuall and sensitive created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection advanced to such felicity by the Tree of life might rest secured of the promise of God by eternall life upon his perfect obedience to the command of the Law commanding him by the power of the word of the first seventh dayes rest so Adam by the Tree of knowledge of good and evill might rest as assuredly in the promise of eternall death upon his transgression of the command of God by his word commanding Adam which was the necessary command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of his Law of righteousnesse for God cannot command man by his word as
cursed Altar of the cross the only Son of his love Christ Jesus begot man of the seed of the woman in time as he is man the eternall Son of God before all time to redeem man from the eternall curse of the Law for the sin of Adam by his cursed death of the cross that as Satan in the Serpent did first so maliciously betray the woman to procure the fall of man So by the resurrection of the blessed seed from the dead the head of the old Serpent Satan and his cursed seed for his malicious betraying of the woman should be broke in the great day to his eternall confusion For which cause first God decreed from all eternity to enter his second covenant with man in the promise of the blessed seed that the blessed seed should rest from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam upon the seventh day of the last Sabbath from end to end that by his fulfilling of the whole Law in the seventh day the whole Law might be fulfilled as he did bind and oblige himself to man by covenant by fulfilling whereof the first seventh dayes eternall rest lost by Adams transgression of the Law might be due to his merit by the Law that the eternall blessing of the next seventh dayes rest the redemeed state of man might be continued Secondly God by his eternall decree did decree to bind and oblige himself to man to fulfill the promise of the blessed seed by his resurrection from the grave and to enter his new covenant with all the nations of the world As God did decree from all eternity to bind and oblige himself to man in the promise of the blessed seed by the second covenant So God decreed from all eternity to bind and oblige man mutually by his second covenant to believe in his promise of the blessed seed both upon the eternall blessing of the word of the second seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of faith and likewise upon the eternall merciless curse of the law of faith The promised redemption of man therefore in the promise of the blessed seed by the second covenant was as effectuall and actuall to Adam and to all men naturally to descend of Adam the head untill the promise was fulfilled as it was effectuall and actuall in the fulfilled promise by the new covenant to all the nations of the world Adam therefore and all men naturally to descend of Adam by the redeemed word of the Law literally written in the the heart of man were necessarily inabled with the power of naturall life and light and with the power of the life and light of righteousness of faith to believe morally in the promise of the blessed seed as they were oblieged by covenant though by the eternall Decree of God Adam and all men redeemed in Adam the head from the curse of eternall death and darkness were shut up and concluded in temporall darkness called unbelief and sin till they be regenerate afterwards to be declared from this enabling of man with the life of righteousness of faith to believe the promise of the blessed seed the Law of righteousnes was first called the Law of righteousnes of faith for by the formall obliegement of the Law by the second covenant the formall simple obliegement of the Law of righteousness was actually determined by the command of the word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousness of faith in the promise of the blessed seed By this decreed work of the redemption of man by predestinating the Lamb of God to the cursed altar of the cross for the sin of man the sacred Decree of God doth principally take the name to be called The eternall decree of Predestination as from the more noble and excellent part so far surmounting the works of the creation as the sacred blood of the Son of God doth surmount the excellency of all the creatures created by God And so much for the eternall Decree of Predestination for the present Next the perfection of the redemption of man is to be declared CHAP. XIII Of the perfection of the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam by the cursed death of the Son of God Christ Jesus as he is man AS God by his decree from all eternity did decree by the cursed death of the promised blessed seed made flesh of the seed of the woman to redeem all men from the curse of eternall death and darkness to which all men were eternally condemned in Adam the head So God from all eternity did decree to shut up and conclude all men redeemed in Adam the head in temporall spirituall darkness till they be regenerate which is called unbelief and sin and therefore it is said Rom. 11.32 that God did conclude all men in unbelief which is spirituall unbelief proceeding from that spirituall darkness that he might have mercy upon all men to wit by enlightning of that spirituall darkness by the grace of spirituall faith in the act of regeneration In which two points the perfection of the redemption of man doth consist First therefore of the perfection of the redemption of man from the curse of eternall death and darkness And secondly of the shutting up and concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darkness in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin according to the eternall Decree of God The perfection of the redemption of man condemned to eternall death and darknes is by the intervention of the cursed death of the Word made flesh of the seed of the woman between man condemned to the curse of the Law and the actuall inflicting of the curse by God upon the word of the Law and life of righteousness written in the heart of man whereby man was inabled with the power of naturall life and light and with the power of the life and light of righteousness before his fall By which intervention of our Saviour by his sustaining of the actuall curse of the Law due to man condemned by the Law the word of the naturall life of man and of the life of righteousness writen in the heart of man and consequently man is redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darkness and by the power of the redeemed word in the heart of the redeemed man The naturall man is naturally and morally inabled again to live the naturall life of man and the life of righteousness of faith to believe first in the gracious promise of the blessed seed by the old covenant and now to believe in the fulfilled promise by the new Covenant As Adam therefore and the Fathers by the literall light of the Word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of faith then by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord which was really one with the literall light of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith in the heart
For Mark 13.13 Whosoever shall continue to the end shall be saved This end to the naturall redeemed man is the prefixed time of Gods spirituall calling by spirituall faith For by spirituall faith the naturall redeemed man is saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of righteousness of faith as by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the Son of God as he is man naturall man is saved from the first death which is the curse of the Law of righteousness for the first sin of Adam Fifthly though Satan and his wicked instruments cannot necessitate the will of the redeemed man morally to disobedience yet Satan by his false deceiving light can induce and betray man without Gods speciall concursive grace to transgresse the Law of righteousness of faith by his works of unbelief and unrighteousness and to draw down the evill reward of the Law by sore afflictions proceeding from the wrath of God upon the naturall man for his transgression of the Law The redeemed naturall man therefore by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith in his heart is inabled with the morall grace and gift of morall prayer to call upon the Lord in the day of affliction and trouble who hath promised to hear the prayer of the redeemed naturall man And therefore the Lord saith Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee for prayer is one of the principall works of worship and a chief work of faith Sixthly the naturall and morall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith is morally due by the Law to the redeemed naturall mans morall faith by the immediate power of which blessing the naturall mans power to produce his morall good works of faith is continued Though the good morall action therefore of the redemed naturall man be necessary spirituall sin by reason of his concluding in spirituall darknesâ— which is spirituall unbelief for whatsoever is not of spirituall faith is necessarily spirituall sin yet the good morall action of the naturall man is not actuall spirituall sin for so God must be the first author of actuall spirituall sin since the fall which is blasphemy to affirm For this spirituall sin is not by the positive act of the will of man but from the will of God according to his eternall Decree by concluding man in spirituall unbelief which is called sin for the reasons set down in the Chapter following But this spirituall unbelief proceeding of the spirituall darkness wherein all redeemed men are concluded is not actuall sin For actuall sin is the transgression of the Law which is the only sin that condemnes man For as the Law of righteousness of Faith doth command the works of Faith So the Law doth condemn the works of unbelief whereby the Law is transgressed by man we must therefore distinguish between the good morall action of the naturall man as it is spirituall sin for want of spirituall faith and the morall evill action of the naturall man which is both actuall morall and actuall spirituall sin for there is but one Law of God as God is one literally and spiriritually commanding man and consequently the morall transgression is a necessary spirituall transgression of the Law The good morall action therefore of the naturall man according to the literall command of the Law cannot be actuall spirituall sin for the naturall man being shut up in spirituall darkness is dead as he is a spirituall man and therefore the naturall man as he is a spirituall man being dead is freed from the Law of actuall sin And his morall good action proceeding from his morall faith being without either morall or spirituall actuall sin The morall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith is as due by the Law to his morall faith as the spirituall blessing is due by the Law to the spirituall faith of the regenerate man For as the Law is first and immediately literally commanded so the blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest is first immediately due by the Law to morall faith which must necessarily precede spirituall Faith in the ordinary calling of God Seventhly though the naturall man do too often stumble and fall by the temptation of Satan and his instruments yet he hath all the dayes of this life to repent him of his actuall sins for the arms of Gods mercy are out-stretched all the dayes of his life to imbrace the repenting sinner And therefore is said Ezek. 18.21 22. At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sins from the bottome of his heart I will put away all his sins out of my remembrance As the naturall man therefore must not despair of Gods mercy in his Son Christ Jesus which is the greatest sin that can be committed by man proceeding from unbelief for by desparing in the mercy of God wretched man doth detract from the infiniteness of the Lords merit So it is one of the most fearfull sins for wretched man by continuing in actuall sins and wickeness to presume on the mercy of God while by his contemning of the long patience of God leading him so graciously to repentance God in his justice doth most justly give him over to a reprobate minde that though he hath all the dayes of this life to repent yet he cannot repent And this is the reason that it is said Matth. 12.13 from him that hath not that which he hath shall be taken from him that is the grace of morall repentance which he hath by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith written in his heart And now to conclude the perfection of the redemption of the naturall man by the cursed death of the Son of God Christ Jesus as he is man Though the redeemed naturall man according to the eternall decree of God Rom. 11.31 be shut up and concluded in spirituall darkness till he be regenerate called unbelief and sin yet the redeemed naturall man by the immediate power of the word of the Law life and light of righteousness of Faith necessarily implying the power of naturall life and light written in the heart of the redeemed naturall man the naturall man is inabled to live the naturall life of man and the life of righteousness of faith morally without any manner of any necessitating of the act of his understanding will or senses either naturally or morally Whosoever therefore doth presume to deny the freedome of the will of the redeemed naturall man either naturally or morally doth necessarily deny the perfection of the redemption of man by the cursed death of the eternall Son of God Christ Jesus as he is man The eternall death and darkness to which all men in Adam the head were condemned was prefigurate by the darkness of the first Tabernacle called the Holy place which was made
close and dark without any light at all And the redeemed naturall life and light of man and the life and light of righteousness of faith to which all men are inabled by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman was prefigurate by the loaves upon the Table of shew-bread and by the glorious lights of the golden Candlestick placed in the first Tabernacle for the lamps of the golden Candlestick were enlightened by the fire of the brazen Altar prefigurating the cursed altar of the Cross whereon the Lamb of God was to be offered And the fire of the brazen altar whereby the Holocaust sacrifice of the Lamb was burned up did come down from heaven which did prefigurate the fiery wrath of God whereby the Lamb of God was to be burned up upon the cursed altar of the cross for the sins of man And so much for the perfection of the redemption of man condemned to eternall death and darness Next of the concluding of all men redeemed in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin CHAP. XIV Of the concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darkness in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin IN the concluding and shutting up of all men in spirituall darkness and unbelief Rom. 11.32 and in the spirituall enlightening of that spirituall darkness standeth the very period of the perfection of the redemption of man and therefore it is said that God did conclude all men in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all For though God hath mercy upon all by the first grace of morall faith to which all men are inabled by the immediate power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of the redeemed man yet his speciall mercy is in his second grace which is by the enlightening of the spirituall darknesse wherein the redeemed naturall man is shut up with the spirituall light of the holy Spirit whereby the naturall man is inabled with the grace of spirituall faith without this concluding of man therefore in spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbelief which is called sin it is impossible that any naturall man in the ordinary calling of God could be spiritually called by the grace of spirituall faith by the only grace whereof man is saved from the second death By this spirituall light inlightening of the darknesse of the understanding of man in the immediate act of spiritual regeneration the understanding of the naturall man is first spiritually inlightened to see himself dead both in actuall morall and actuall spirituall sin under the curse of the Law of Faith which he could never see before For though the naturall man before he be regenerate cannot sin actually and spiritually as he is a spirituall man being dead in spirituall darknesse yet the naturall man by his morall evill action doth sin actually both morally and spiritually though the naturall man before he be regenerate cannot know that his morall evill action is a necessary spirituall transgression of the Law For from the first evill morall action of the naturall man which is a necessary transgression of the Law of faith the naturall man till he be regenerate is condemned by the Law of Faith and dead by the Law in actuall sin as he is a naturall man till he be raised by the grace of spirituall Faith for all actuall sin doth begin morally by the morall transgression of the Law which is both a morall and spirituall transgression as the Law is morally and spiritually commanded But the pardon and remission of actuall sin doth begin spiritually by spirituall faith untill which time the naturall man is necessarily dead in actuall sin though he doth not neither can know that he is dead in actuall sin till his spirituall darknesse be spiritually inlightned And therefore the Apostle Rom. 7.9 saith I was once alive without the Law to wit while as he knew not the spirituall command of the Law but when the command came that is the spirituall command which came by the spirituall enlightning of his spirituall darknesse by spirituall faith sin revived and I dyed For then the Apostle did see himself dead in actuall sin All naturall men therefore before they be regenerate are dead in actuall sin And in this sense our Saviours words are to be conceived while as he saith Luke 9 60. Let the dead go bury their dead By the spirituall light therefore in the immediate act of regeneration the naturall man is spiritually inlightned to see himself dead in actuall morall and spirituall sin and ready to sinck in the bottomlesse sea of Gods fiery wrath for sin under the eternall curse of the Law of Faith while in the mean time he is led by this spiritually light to lay fast spirituall hold on the Lords infinite merit by which spirituall hold the faith of the naturall man proceeding from his spirituall love and the Lords merit by his love to the naturall man are really spiritually and divisibly one by which spirituall union the naturall man is actually and spiritually regenerate and mystically united to his mysticall head the Lord Jesus Christ by whose infinite merit all the regenerate mans finite actuall sins are covered For by this spirituall union the Lords merit by his fulfilling of the Law is made the regenerate mans merit by imputation and imputed to his spirituall faith whereby the regenerate man is justified by the Law by our Saviours fulfilling of the Law And by this spirituall union inabled to live the spirituall life of righteousness and holinesse of faith And therefore it is said Rom. 1.17 The just shall live by faith And this is the faith which is able to remove the greatest mountain of temptation even the mountain of naturall death it self if it stand in the way and offer to make a breach in his spirituall love from the truth of the Lords merit This spirituall darknesse wherein all men are concluded by the eternall Decree of God is that door which is so shut up by God as no man can open And this spirituall Light whereby this spirituall darknesse is enlightned is that key of David that is the key of the son of David by which spirituall key the door of the spirituall darknesse of man being once opened all the devils darknesse and all the powers of earth and hell are not able to shut the door again totally and finally though by the devils darknesse the regenerate man doth too often stumble and fall and foulely fall Of this concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of the eternall darknesse in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and sin two fundamentall points are to be observed The first is the prefigurating of this spirituall darknesse by the darknesse of the second Tabernacle The second is the Reason that this spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbelief is called sin by the Apostle This spirituall darknesse wherein
faith be as necessarily commanded to be produced according to the formall command of the law as the faith of man is obliged by covenant to live the life of righteousnesse of faith as he is inabled by the power of the redeemed word of the law written in his heart For as the commanded worship of the seventh day is the great command of the Law necessarily implying the lesser command all the workes of faith are necessarily commanded as hath been formerly and necessarily demonstrate All the workes of man therefore be they never so morally good according to the literall command of the law are not able to merit the pardon of the least actuall sin of man committed against the law of righteousnesse of faith much lesse able to merit tâ—â— salvation of man from the second death but quite contrary by the intervention of the presumptuous merit of man between his faith and the Lords merit his vain faith is utterly destroyed 10. Though originall sin doth descend upon all men redeemed in Adam the redeemed head of man yet originall sin is no manner of cause of actuall sin For first originall sin is immâ—diately from God the eternall Father of the immortall spirit of man by the essentiall union of the intellectuall spirit of man to the vitall spirits of the heart of the Infant in the wombe So soon therefore as the Infant is man and the son of Adam the childe is concluded in originall sin in Adam the redeemed head of man and so brought forth man by man female the mother Secondly actuall sinne is from the devill and neither from God or from the parents for the generation of man by man male and female and the production and bringing forth of man by man female as it is the naturall action of man the humane intellectuall good creature of God is a good naturall action without any actuall sinne for it is not the naturall or the voluntary action of man simply that is sinne but it is the voluntary action of man as it is formally morall And so much for the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam as it doth concerne both the old and new Covenant The redemption of man is the next to be declared as it doth concerne the old Covenant CHAP. XV. Adams arraignment by God for his transgression of the Law of righteousnesse obliged by the first Covenant AS the act of the redemption of man from the curse of eternall death and darknesse doth concerne the old Covenant it doth necessarily presuppose the arraignment of our first parents and the censure of God for their transgression of the Law which in the infinite mercy of God is onely temporall in this life First therefore of the arraignment of our first parents as it is set downe by Moses so farre briefly thereof and of the censure as both doe concerne the subject in hand In the araignment of the parties delinquents for the transgression of the Law God doth beginne with the examination of the last delinquent but God doth beginne his censure where the sinne did first beginne The last delinquent by the transgression of the law of righteousne obliged by the first Covenant made by God with man was Adam God therefore as may appeare Gen. 3.9 doth first graciously call Adam by his word who hearing the voyce of God hid himselfe with Eve amongst the trees of the garden flying from the presence of God and from his gracious calling by his Word How fearfull is the voyce of God by his Word calling a sinner to account for the transgession of his Law as he is a naturall man For so soon as Satan doth induce the naturall man to sin by the transgression of the command of God by his Word as it is his Law commanding man Satan doth perswade the naturall man to flye from the gracious calling of God by his Word yet God according to his eternall purpose Psal 119.176 will finde out both Adam and Eve God therefore doth first call Adam saying Adam Where art thou as if the Lord had not knowne where Adam was O infinite mercy of God to man though man had lately committed high treason against God yet God mercy it selfe doth call Adam by his sacred Word graciously to repentance Who art thou therefore that wilt despaire of the infinite mercy of God in his Son Christ Jesus calling thee so graciously by his word to repentance while Adam who had committed the greatest sin that ever was or can be committed against God by man was graciously called by God Here a Question may be moved Was not the sin of our first parents for their first transgression of the Law freely pardoned by the eternall Decree of God by predestinating the only Son of his love Christ Jesus as he is man to the cursed Altar of the Crosse for that first sin wherefore then doth God call Adam or Eve to repentance for that first sin I answer first This was more then was knowne to our first parents till the promise of the blessed seed was made Secondly all the punishments inflicted upon our first parents for the transgression of the Law are only temporall in this life and all inflicted by God to put all men in continuall remembrance of the infinite love and mercy of God in his Son Christ Jesus for the redemption of man by the cursed death of his onely Son as hee is man without whose cursed death all men must have dyed eternally under the fearfull curse of the Law by eternall death and darknesse and so to returne to Adams examination The words set downe by Moses are emphaticall as if they had been set downe after this manner Adam Where art thou This is strange that thou shouldest flye from my presence who have dealt so graciously with thee where it may appeare that God was then conversant with our first parents before their fall even by externall apparition Adam by his answer to Gods calling like a naturall man most ungraciously in stead of the humble acknowledgement of his horrible fact doth goe about to shift his accusation for hiding himselfe by pretending his shame by his nakednesse saying Gen. 3.10 I was afraid to come into thy presence because I was naked Naked indeed both internally and externally which is the true effect of sin Adam and Eve were both ashamed of their deformed estate to which they were brought unto by the base foil which they received by believing the Serpent both were sensible of their misery but both as yet insensible of their sin which was the cause of their misery such is the nature of sin till the sinner be spiritually called by God Now did Adam and Eve begin to feel the evill which they did so long to know and now was the perfection of our first parents understanding brought to such a passe as they knew not which way to begin to cover so much as their externall nakednesse but were fain to make a poor
sacrifice as the altar and sacrifice is immediately referred to the propheticall Sabbath as it is the great command of the Law implying the whole command of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed Thus having declared the word of the second seventh dayes promised rest of the Law of righteousnesse of faith upon the immediate command whereof the second covenant is established I come next to the declaration of the second covenant God therefore in this gracious word of promise doth first bind and obliged himself by covenant to Adam the redeemed head of man and in Adam to all men naturally to descend of Adam that the word should be made man of the seed of the woman by whom the old Serpents head should be broke by whose merit by his promised rest Adam should have eternall life And because this promise of eternall life was to be enjoyed by the blessing of the seventh dayes Sabaticall promised rest God therefore doth mutually bind and oblige Adam the redeemed head of man to believe the promise and by his faithfull morall and ceremoniall works of worship to worship God upon the Sabbath as God did reveal himself to Adam by his promised Sabaticall seventh dayes rest God of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in three distinct persons of the Trinity Creator and Redemeer of man And because Adam by the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith in his heart was morally enabled to that formal commanded moral and ceremoniall worship God doth likewise bind Adam the redeemed head of man upon the finall contempt of his commanded worship to eternall death as if the word of the covenant were thus Whosoever shall believe in the promise of the blessed seed shall be saved from the second death as by my promised rest from the redemption of man he is saved from the first death whosover shall not believe shall be condemned Now as the formall commanded worship of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnesse of faith is obliged by the second covenant Adam is commanded to worship God upon the seventh day of the propheticâ—ll Sabbath by his propheticall and ceremoniall worship of God as God hath revealed himself by his Sabaticall rest both upon the eternall blessing of the Sabaticall seventh dayes promised rest and upon the eternall cuâ—se of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in which commanded formall worship as the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath was then the great command of the Law of faith all the morall and ceremoniall works of faith are necessarily commanded To the continuance of man in which works of faith till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling the grace of spirituall faith is promised by covenant for Mat. 13.13 Whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved which is the saving of man from the second death by spirituall faith By faith in this promised rest of the blessed seed of Adam and the Fathers before Moses and the Fathers after Moses till the promise was fulfilled were saved For the formall morall propheticall and ceremoniall obligement of the Law of righteousnesse of faith was really and formally one and the same till the promise was fulfilled For as the morall and ceremoniall Law given to Moses in distinct precepts was necessarily implied in the command of the word of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath to Adam and to the Fathers before Moses So the distinct precepts of the ceremoniall Law given to Moses were as necessarily implied in the ceremoniall command of the altar and sacrifice for all the rites and ceremonies of the ceremoniall Law and immediatly referred to the altar and sacrifice as the command of the ceremoniall altar and sacrifice is immediately referred to the formall commanded worship of the Sabbath Hence I inferre this necessary conclusion Adam and the Fathers before Moses having the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath implying the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed and the ceremoniall altar and sacrifice implying all the ceremoniall Law Adam and the Fathers before Moses had the morall and ceremoniall Law and were thereby as really obliged as after the morall and ceremoniall Law was given to Moses And therefore it is said 1 Cor. 10.3 4. that the Fathers did eat of the same spirituall bread and drink of the same spirituall Rock with us for that Rock was the blessed seed to Adam and the Fathers which is now to us the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore it is likewise said that the Evangel was preached to them to wit mystically and prophetically as it is preached to us cleerly and Evangelically To conclude the second covenant called the old covenant I inferre the second formall obligement of the Law of God by the old covenant As the first word of promise to Adam the created head of man in his state of perfection was eternall life by the rest of the Law of righteousnesse upon the first seventh day from the works of the creation So the second word of promise to Adam the redeemed head of man is eternall life by the promised rest of God of the Law of righteousnesse of faith the Redeemer of man by his promised rest upon the Sabbath from the works of the redemption First therefore this promised rest of the blessed seed upon the Sabbath being formally propheticall consequently the formall worship of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath obliged by the second covenant was formally propheticall and therefore typically and ceremonially commanded upon the performing of which commanded worship by Adam the second covenant is established Secondly the propheticall Sabbaticall seventh day of the Law as it is the great coÌ„mand of the Law implying the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith being prophetically and ceremonially obliged the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith is prophetically and ceremonially obliged commanding Adam first and immediatly to the formall propheticall ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath of the Lord both upon the eternall blessing of the Sabbaticall seventh days promised rest to his faithfull worship and upon the curse of eternall death to his finall contempt of that commanded formall worship necessarily implying the contempt of the whole Law For as in the commanded worship of the seventh day of the Law as it is the great command of the Law necessarily implying the lesser command all the powers of man proceeding from his faithfull love to God are necessarily commanded So by the finall contempt of the formall commanded worship of the seventh day of the Law the whole Law is necessarily transgressed Hence I inferre these two Theologicall demonstrative conclusions First as necessarily as by the second covenant the faith of man was obliged to the faithfull propheticall and ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath upon the promise of eternall life to his faith and eternall death to his infidelity So the works of faith whereby the propheticall
and ceremoniall worship of the Sabbath was to be performed were as necessarily commanded by the command of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath both upon the eternall blessing of the Sabbaticall seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of faith and upon the eternall curse of the Law of faith Secondly though the propheticall and ceremoniall works of faith were necessarily commanded by the Law yet the blessing of the eternall promised rest of the blessed seed was due by the Law immediately to faith and not to the works of faith The reason is because it was by the Spirit of faith that the merit of the promised rest of the blessed seâ—d was to be apprehended and not by the greatest works of faith which hath no spirit at all And therefore the eternall blessing of the seventh dayes promised rest of the blessed seed by the Law of righteousnesse of faith was not due by the Law to the greatest morall or ceremoniall works of Adam but immediately to the merit of man the promised blessed seed by the immediate power of whole redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of Adam Adam was morally enabled to believe the promise and to produce the morall and ceremoniall works of faith as by the spirituall grace of faith in Gods prefixed time Adam was spiritually enabled with the spirituall grace of faith by the hands of spirituall faith to apprehend the merit of the blessed seed by his promised rest by which spirituall union Adams faith and the merit of the blessed seed were really and indivisibly one whereby Adam was saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of faith And so much for the literall and mysticall sense of the second covenant comprehended in the second branch of the censure as the censure doth concern the woman and her seed We proceed therefore next to the censure of God upon the two last delinquents for the transgression of the Law of righteousnesse obliged by the first covenant CHAP. XXIV The literall sense of the censure in particular upon the woman FOr the better conceiving of the censure of God upon the last two delinquents for the transgression of the Law of righteousnesse by the first covenant it is necessarily to be understood that Adam is said to be the head of man after a twofold manner First as under the name of Adam man male and female is comprehended For so Adam is the created head of all men naturally descended and to descend of Adam and in this sense as all men are said to have sinned in Adam the created head of all men Rom. 5.18 so all men are said to be redeemed in Adam the redeemed head of man from the curse of eternall death and darknesse by the promised rest of the blessed seed from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law and by the eternall decree of God shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and originall sin and temporall naturall death which followed that sin which was then according to the eternall decree of God pronounced upon Adam thâ— redeemed head of man by the censure of God in which censure of naturall death all the punishments inflicted by the censure are comprehended And therefore in the infinite mercy of God all the punishments by this censure pronounced upon man male and female are all temporall in this life to the end that all men and women might be put in continuall remembrance of the never to be forgotten love and mercy of God in his Son Christ Jesus for the redemption of man from the fearfull eternall curse of the Law for the sin of Adam which nothing could redeem but the only cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman who therefore as he is man was made a curse for man Gal. 3.13 Secondly Adam is said to be the head of man as he is man male the head of the woman by matrimoniall union in which sense Adam is said to be the head of his wife the woman and the woman the wife is said to be the body of her husband To proceed therefore with the censure which is first pronounced upon the woman because she was first in the transgression to wit before Adam man male The censure upon the woman is set down by Moses in these words Gen. 3.16 I will greatly multiply thy sorrows and thy conceptions In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee The censure hath a literall and mysticall sense First of the literall sense of the censure which is pronounced upon the woman in particular as she is the wife and body of her husband The censure doth divide it self into two branches to wit sorrow in conception and child-birth and subjection to the husband First of the literall sense of the two branches and next of the mysticall sense As this sorrow in the infinite mercy of God at that time was not without greatest comfort to women so it is with no lesse comfort to women at this present For as 〈◊〉 in the bringing forth of children the promise of the blessed seed was confirmed to be born of the seed of the woman by whose cursed death the curse of the Law was removed from man the benefit whereof our first parents did then actually enjoy though the blessed child was afterwards to be born according to the eternal decree of God So there is great comfort at this time under the Law of Grace in the bringing forth of children by women For the child is brought forth actually freed from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam by the first covenant and born a hopefull member of the Lord Jesus Christ And though it doth please God many times to take away the childe by temporall death yet it is no small comfort to the sorrowfull parents that the childe is a glorious Saint in heaven It is said here I will greatly multiply or increase thy sorrows because of the pronounced enmity between the old Serpent Satan and his seed and the woman and her seed of whose continuall afflictions the woman is never free while she is in this life And now her sorrows are increased by her conception and bringing forth of children which are inflicted upon women to the end that the woman in her greatest extremity by her sorrow in conception and childbirth should be put in mind of the eternall sorrows and pains of eternall death by the first covenant from which she was redeemed by the blessed childe then to be born and now born of the seed of the woman upon whose merit Eves faith may safely rest as upon a rock from any fear of the second death by the new covenant In which sense only the words of the Apostle are to be conceived to wit 1 Tim. 2.15 that women are saved through the bearing of children for
husband which is in all mutuall love the subjected love and desire of the Church to the Lord Jesus Christ the head is mystically signified who out of his infinite love to his Church by fulfilling of his promise to man as he did subject the desire of his own naturall life to the cursed death of the crosse to manifest himself truth to man So his mysticall members are to subject all their love and desire to his will and to preferre the love of his truth to the love of their own naturall lives for he is unworthy of the crown of life so dearly purchased by the merit of his truth who for any worldly respect whatsoever doth unthankfully deny his truth before men in this life And so much for the literall and mysticall sense of the censure pronounced upon the woman as she is the body and wife of her husband Next of the censure of God pronounced upon man as he is the husband and head of his body the woman CHAP XXVII The literall and mysticall sense of the censure of God pronounced upon Adam as he is the head of the woman his body and wife by matrimoniall union THe last censure is pronounced by God upon Adam the last delinquent as he is the head and husband of the woman his body and wife by matrimoniall union For in this sense only Adam is the redeemed head of all men naturally to descend of Adam The censure is set down by Moses in these words Gen. 3.17 18 19 Because thou hast harkened unto the voyce of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying Thou shalt not eat of it Cursed is the earth for thy sake in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the dayes of thy life Thornes also and Thistles shall it bring forth to thee and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread till thou return unto the earth For out of it wast thou taken for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return First the cause of the censure is set down and next the censure is pronounced The sense and meaning of the cause of the censure is this because thou hast obeyed the voyce of thy wife and hast most unthankfully preferred her love to thy love to me thy gracious God and Creator and hast contemned my command which is the command of me God of the Law of Righteousnesse and hast eaten of the fruit whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat Next the censure is pronounced which hath a literall and mysticall sense The literall sense of the censure is set down from the eighteenth verse to the end of the chapter and hath four branches The first is cursed is the earth for thy sake By the second branch of the censure naturall death is inflicted upon Adam as he is the head of the woman his body and redeemed head of man Thirdly Adam is excluded Paradise to till the ground Fourthly the Cherubims and the flaming sword are placed at the East of the Garden of Eden to keep man from entring to the tree of Life growing in the earthly Paradise First therefore of this curse inflicted upon the earth This curse inflicted upon the earth is no wayes to be taken for the curse of the Law For first the earth did no wayes come within the compasse of the transgression of the Law Secondly the curse of the Law which is eternall is cleerly taken away from man and from the creatures created for man by the promised cursed death of the blessed seed except the only curse which was inflicted upon the sensitive Serpent And therefore this curse of the earth is only a privation of the former fertilnes and a positive barrennes inflicted upon the earth instead of that fertilnesse that by that means of that positive barrennesse the earth might bring forth Thistles Thorns for Adam was then by the censure to eat bread of the herbs of the field that is of the corn and grain which was to grow upon the barren earth and therefore Adam by his toil labour and pains was to bring some fertilnesse upon the earth or Adam must starve by means of which toil pains and labour Adam must eat his bread in sorrow and care in the sweat of his face by which forced sweat surfets and colds must arise weakning the sensitive spirits and powers of man inducing temporall naturall death in the end But though this barrennesse was inflicted upon the earth for man yet in the great mercy of God by the power of the redeemed word in the heart of man First man is naturally enabled by his labour pains and industry to procure some fertilnesse upon the earth And therefore it is said 2 Thes 3.10 that he that doth not work and labour is not to eat Secondly by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of man man is morally enabled to pray for the blessing of God upon his labour and pains who hath promised to hear his prayers by whose only blessing the curse of barrennesse is taken from the earth Thirdly for the defending of man from the danger of his heats and colds God in his mercy did cloath our first parents with skins By the second branch of the censure inflicted upon Adam the redeemed head of man Adam and all men redeemed in Adam shall return to dust which is to be understood of temporall naturall death by the dissolution of the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man And therefore their sin is set down Because thou wast taken out of the dust of the earth to dust thou shalt return But Adams humane spirit with the word of the Law and life of Righteousnesse spiritually and indivisibly written therein was neither taken out of the dust of the earth neither can it return to dust For first humane spirit is necessarily coeviternall with the Word and Law of God Secondly humane spirit is of the same reall specificall sphere with the humane Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ as hath been formerly demonstrate which was never taken from the earth or can return to the dust of the earth Temporall naturall death therefore by this branch of the censure is iâ—flicted upon Adam as he is the head of his body the woman who is flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone and therefore naturall temporall death being inflicted upon the head is necessarily likewise inflicted upon the body the woman and consequently and necessarily upon all men and women naturally to descend of both For in this sense only Adam is the redeemed head of all redeemed men naturally to descend of Adam By the third branch of the censure Adam the redeemed head of man and consequently the woman are excluded out of the earthly Paradise the reason is set down Lest they should eat of the tree of Life as they did formerly at their pleasure For there
was a singular vertue in the tree of Life to maintain the sensitive natu e of man eternally by the eternall preservation whereof the union of the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man was eternall for by this eternall union man was to have continued eternally upon earth in the state and felicity wherein he was created It was therefore the infinite mercy of God to man to cast man out of the earthly Paradise For if man had had that freedome to eat of the tree of Life as he had formerly man must have lived in sorrow and misery subject to the continuall temptation and afflictions of Satan and of his wicked seed eternally in this life while as then by faith in the promised blessed seed Adam the redeemed head of man after this life should live in the heavenly Paradise eternally in all joy and happinesse For this cause by the fourth branch of this censure the Cherubims and the flaming sword were placed at the East of the Garden to keep the way of the tree of Life that man should not come to the tree of Life growing in the earthly Paradise by the way which he run before Next therefore of the mysticall sense of the censure The main mysticall point of this censure inflicted upon Adam as he is the head of the woman and the redeemed head of man is to let our first parents understand that the word the promised blessed seed to be made flesh of the seed of the woman is the second person of the blessed Trinity First therefore by the curse inflicted upon the earth the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam to which Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam the created head of man were condemned is mystically signified To the end that all men might then and now know that all men were redeemed from that curse of eternall death and darknesse and that all men are concluded in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and originall sin and that naturall death by the censure of God did follow that sin And therefore it is said Rom. 5.12.14 As by one man sin entred in the world and death by sin so death went overall men from Adam to Moses Secondly by the sorrow labour and pains and sweat of the face which ariseth to man by reason of the curse of barrennesse inflicted upon the earth whereby it doth produce Thistles and Thornes which are to be weeded out by the care and labour of man is mystically signified the sorrows labour sweaty pains and prickly thorny afflictions which our Saviour the promised blessed seed was to sustain by the curse of the Law for man to put man in continuall remembrance of the never to be forgotten love of God to man in his Son Christ Jesus Thirdly by the skins wherewith the Lord clothed and covered our first parents nakednesse the righteousnesse which is the skin of the promised Lamb of God to be sacrificed for the sins of man was mystically signified to the end that our first parents might understand that it was by their only faith in the merit of the righteousnesse of the blessed seed the Word to be made flesh of the seed of the woman that all their actuall sins and unrighteousnesse was covered Fourthly while as the Lord saith Behold man is become like one of us to know good and evill whereby our first parents did see the state which their desire to know good and evill had brought to the Lord would have our first parents understand that the promised Redeemer of man the blessed seed was one of us that is one of the distinct persons of the glorious Trinity Fifthly by the excluding of our first parents from the tree of Life growing in the earthly paradise is mystically signified that our first parents were admitted to the tree of Life growing in the Paradise of God which is the promised blessed seed Sixthly by the Cherubims and flaming sword the morall power and literall light of the sword of the Word is mystically signified by which only light â—ll redeemed men are morally enlightned to enter the way of the tree of Life planted in the heavenly Paradise which is the promised blessed seed By this flaming light of the sword of the Word First the flaming light of the redeemed Word of the Law of Righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of man is signified which is the flaming Light of conscience Secondly by this flaming Light of the sword the flaming literall light of the Word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse of faith is signified which is of one reall flaming light with the light of the word of the Law and life of Righteousnesse of faith writtten in the heart of man of the reall unity of which flaming light morall faith doth arise that by the morall hands of faith the redeemed man may lay morall hold on the word of promise shining with the same reall flaming light which was then the tree of Life growing in the Paradise of God to wit the promised blessed seed who is now our tree of life by his fulfilled promise And though the Cherubims and the flaming sword were placed at the East of the Garden of Eden pointing as it were to the Land of Canaan for the promise of the blessed seed was to be made afterwards to Abraham and to his seed in a more particular manner then it was made to Adam which promise was to be performed before the promise first made to Adam could be fulfilled yet the flaming sword turned every way that as by the power of the sword all men were barred from entring to the tree of Life growing in the earthly Paradise So that by the flaming light of the sword of the Word all redeemed men might be morally enlightned to enter the way to the tree of Life which is planted in the Paradise of God which is the promised blessed seed Here by the way the question may be moved whether this barrennesse whereby the earth was cursed for man doth still remain CHAP. XXVIII The first and second rain TO the Question moved in the former Chapter I answer Though the earth was cursed by a positive barrennesse for man that by his toil labour and pains he may eat the bread of sorrow and the bread of the thorny cares and afflictions of this life inducing naturall death in the end to put him in continuall remembrance of the continued sorrow and afflictions which the eternall Son of God the Word to be made flesh of the seed of the woman by making himself a curse for man did sustain in this life induring the cursed death of the crosse in end yet the curse of barrennesse is removed and the fruitfulnesse of the earth is restored by the morall and spirituall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse of faith which morall and spirituall blessing of the Word Deut. 11.14 is called the first and second rain in the
love and man by faith in the love of God which is the only means whereby a man knoweth himself to stand in the state of Grace whereof no man can be ever assured till he find his love such to the truth of the Lords love by his merit implying the truth of the whole Evangell and Law of God as neither all the hopefull preferments of this life nor all the threatned dangers of naturall death it self can move him to deny the truth of that merit and this is that faith which our Saviour saith is able to remove the greatest mountain of temptation By the reall affirmed unity therefore of these two sacrifices all Christian faith is rased from the foundation And so much for answer to the objection And for the declaration of our Saviours sacrifice by his death of the crosse we are next to return to the place where the Lord was laid But because the main point doth consist in the Declaration of the new covenant immediatly depending upon the Lords resurrection from the grave which we must no wayes interrupt We will therefore first briefly in a word set down the discharge of our Saviours kingly office upon earth prefigurate by Melchisedeck and then come to the declaration of the place where the Lord was laid Melchisedeck was the figure of Christ as he was Priest Prophet and King And though we reade not of any Prophesie of Melchisedeck yet Melchisedeck as he was Priest in discharging of the Priestly office did necessarily prophesie For by the Priests ceremoniall execution of the sacrifice of the altar and of the rites of the propheticall Sabbath the Priest did necessarily prophesie And this is the reason that Christ saith Luke 11.50 51. that the Law and the Prophets did prophesie from Abel which is chiefly meant by the Priestly office And therefore it is said that Caiphas did prophesie the death of our blessed Saviour as high Priest that yeer saying Joh. 11.49 50 51 52. Ye perceive nothing neither do ye consider that it is expedient that one man die then the whole nation should perish Though Caiphas did prophesie out of his fear of the overthrow of the Priestly preferment yet his prophesie was no other indeed then the prophesie of the propheticall Sabbath As Melchisedeck therefore did prefigurate our Saviour as he was Priest and Prophet so Melchisedeck did prefigurate Christ Jesus as he was King For Melchisedeck was king of peace and righteousnesse and so he was the true type and figure of our Saviour Exod. 25.11 whose regall authority was signified by the golden crown placed above the ark of the Covenant compassing the cherubims overshadowing with their wings the Mercy-seat The discharge of our Saviours Kingly authority upon earth was chiefly in these three respects First Christ Jesus by the infinite act of his own immediate power by his resurrection from the grave in his resting from the work of the redemption did as a royall King redeem his subjects to wit Adam and all men naturally descended and to descend of Adam from the captivity of sin Satan eternall death and darknesse from the curse of the Law to which all men were condemned for the sin of Adam Secondly our Saviour as he is King of Peace did reconcile all men to the love and favour of God by removing of the wrath of God from all men for the sin of Adam Thirdly Christ Jesus as he is King of Righteousnesse out of his Kingly authority did command all his subjects of the world thus redeemed to the obedience of his Law of righteousnesse of faith upon the twofold reward of his Law by his new covenant And so much briefly for the discharge of our Saviours Kingly office upon earth We do therefore now return to the Declaration of the second part of the sacrifice of our blessed Saviour the high Priest after the order of Melchisedeck and to the Declaration of the place where the Lord was laid after his cruell bloody death prefigurate by the ashes of the sacrifice and the clean place where the ashes were laid apart from the Altar CHAP. V. The mystery of the last Sabbath which was no wayes propheticall VVE are come to the Declaration of the most sorrowfull mournfull and most lamentable estate of the Church of God from the foundation of the world And likewise to the declaration of the most joyfull comfortable and Evangelicall estate that ever came to all the nations of the world arising from that sorrow For there could never come a sorer cut and temptation to the Church and children of God then to see the rock of their hopes thus troden under foot massacred despised and cast down to the ground Though for fear of the Priests Scribes and Pharisees they durst not shew their sorrow and passion And though by this tragicall bloody persecution of the Shepherd the sheep were scattered yet Joseph of Arimathea one of Christs Disciples and a man of note and worth with honest Nicodemus and others of that religious company out of the loyalty of their love to our Saviour did gracefully intomb his gracious body in a new tomb hewn out of a rock wherein no man was formerly laid And though for their great care and gracefull neatnesse in intombing of the body of our blessed Saviour they be only named yet out of all doubt there must be more at the carryiâ—g of the blessed body of our Saviour from the crosse to the place where the Lord was laid though the place was not far distant from the crosse But to the point of our purpose in hand In our Saviours rest in the grave and in his resurrection from the grave doth consist the very period of the mystery of all mysteries hid from the beginning of the world to wit the mystery of the Lords Day Aâ—d though the mysterie be plainly revealed yet because some men will have it a mysterie still we must use the help of our Theologicall Key to open this mysterie by the concealing of the truth whereof the glory of the Lords Day implying the command of the whole Evangelicall Law hath received for too long a time such great prejudice The declaration of the truth of this fundamentall point of faith doth consist in the twofold rest of the eternall Word The first was his bloody rest as he is man made flesh oâ— the seed of the woman by his resting in his sacred grave after his bloody cruâ—ll dâ—â—â—h for the full space and time of the last Sabbath from end to end Thâ— sâ—cond was his Evangelicall joyfull rest as he is the infinite eternall Word by the day of his resurrection from the grave whereby he did rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed both which rests were mysticall The mysterie of his bloody rest is twofold The first mysterie is in the propheticall covenant and in the last Sabbath obliged by the covenant For as the eternall Word did oblige Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam to
curse of the Law of righteousnes by the curse of eternall death and darknes Adam therefore and all men naturally to descend of Adam as head out of the infinit love and mercy of God to man in his Son Christ Iesus according to his decree from all eternity being redeemed from the curse of the Law by the cursed death of his only Son which was to be sustained in his prefixed time the word of the Law then written in the heart of man was the redeemed Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus by the power of which redeemed word Adam after the fall did live move and had his redeemed grace of naturall and morall being but shut up in spirituall darknes till he was regenerate And the word of the seventh day of the Law was then objected to Adams externall senses as it was the propheticall word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith in the promise of the blessed seed then by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord prophesying the rest of the Lord to wit the blessed seed upon the Sabbath from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam whereby Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam till the promise of the blessed seed was fulfilled were obliged to beleeve the promised rest of the blessed seed To whose faith the blessing of the Lords promised rest by the propheticall Sabbath was due by the Law The word of God therefore to the Fathers till the promise was fulfilled was the propheticall word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith in the promise of the blessed seed by the light of the sabbaticall seventh day leading the faith of man to the blessing of the Lords promised rest of the blessed seed By which faith all the Fathers were saved before the promise was fulfilled in the Lords prefixed time according to his eternall decree Thirdly the promise of the blessed seed being fulfilled by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest as by the redeemed word of the Law written in the heart the naturall man doth live move and hath his redeemed grace of naturall and morall being shut up in spirituall darknes till he be regenerate So the Evangelicall word of the Lords day as it is the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith is objected to the externall senses of man as it is the word of the truth of the Lords Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed obliging the faith of all the Nations of the World to beleeve the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise to whose faith the blessing of the Lords merit of eternall life and rest by the fulfilling of his promise is due morally by the Law whereby the naturall mans redeemed grace of naturall and morall being is continued while he is in this life and being regenerat hath his eternall life light and rest in the life to come The judicious reader therefore may plainly observe that the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith is the same reall word which was from the beginning in the true knowledge wherof is the life light eternal rest of man for as by the literall light of the Lords day the naturall man is literally led to the morall blessing of the Lords merit by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest So by the Lords spirituall light in Gods prefixed time the naturall man apprehending himselfe dead in actuall spirituall sinne as sinne is a fearfull contempt against the infinit Majesty of God The naturall man in this spirituall feare being led by this spirituall light to the Lords infinit merit doth by the hands of his spirituall faith lay such spirituall hold on the Lords infinit merit as all the created powers of God and all the temptations of the Divell and the World are not able to part the naturall man being regenerate from the grace of his spirituall hold And this is that faith which the Lord saith is able to command the greatest Mountaine of temptation and to cast it selfe in the Sea if it stand in the way to seperate the regenerate man from his spirituall hold of eternall life Though his spirituall faith be so litle as a graine of mustard seed For the threatned Mountaine of naturall death it selfe is not able to seperate the regenerate man from this spirituall hold totally and finally This light of the Lords day therefore is that light of that spirituall fire which came downe from Heaven not the fearfull firie light of Gods consuming fire which came downe from Heaven to burne the Holocaust Sacrifice of the Lambe of God but the gracious light of the Lords deare love warning quickning inlightning and raising from the dead where it doth shine By which gracious light as all men were raised from the first death of the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam So this gracious light doth now shine to enlighten the faith of all the Nations of the World to save them from the merciles curse of the Law of faith which is the second death Heere two speciall things are to be observed by the reader CHAP. VIII THe first is the difference of the word of the Law written in the heart of man and the word of the seventh day of the Law implying the command of the whole Law externally objected to the externall senses of man Tâ—e second is the formall difference of the word of the seventh day of the Law from the beginning First in the state of perfection the word of the Law written in Adams heart was the power of the Image of righteousnes and holines enabling Adam to merit eternall life and rest upon earth And the word of the first seventh day of the Law of righteousnes was objected to Adams externall senses obliging the perfection of Adams obedience to the command of the Law of God to whose merit by his actions of holines the blessing of the first seventh daies eternall rest was due by the Law to Adams merit Secondly man being redeemed from the curse of the Law the word of the Law written in the heart is the redeemed word and Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus first in the promise of the blessed seed enabling Adam from faith to faith to beleeve the promise of the blessed seed And the word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord was objected to Adams externall senses prophesying the rest of the blessed seed upon the Sabbath from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law obliging and commanding Adam to beleeve the promised rest of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of the Lords eternall rest was due by the Law to Adams faith in beleeving the the promised rest of the blessed seed Thirdly after the Lords resurrection the promise of the blessed seed being fulfilled the
redeemed word of the Law written in the heart of man is the Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus in the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed enabling all men by morall saith to beleeve the Lords fulfilled promise of the blessed seed And the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith blessed and sanctified by the truth of the merit of the Lords Evangelicall rest is now objected to the externall senses obliging all the Nations of the World to believe the truth of the Lords merit by his rest from the fulfilling oâ— the promise of the blessed seed To whose faith the blessing of the Lords eternall rest is due by the Evangelicall Law of faith As for the formall difference of the word of every severall seventh daies rest of the Law from the beginning it doth consist in these two pointes First the formall difference of the seventh day of the Law implying the command of the whole Law doth arise from the formall manner of Gods revealing of himselfe by the word of his severall seventh daies rest by the formallity of which severall rest the formall worship of the seventh day is commanded The second difference is that by the least transgression of the Law of righteousnes in the state of perfection the sinne was without all hope of any revealed mercy or time of repentance But the transgression of the Law of righteousnes of faith is withall hope of mercy and time of repentance while there is day in this life Of this declaration of the Evangelicall word as it is the redeemed word of truth written in the heart of man And as it is the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith implying the perfection of the redepmtion of man from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam I infer these subsequent necessary demonstrative conclusions CHAP. IX Conclusion 1. IT is by the redeemed word of the Law as the Law is spirituall immediatly written in the soule of man necessarily implying the power of intelectuall life and light that the soule doth live and hath its intellectuall moving and being which is the first act of the soule of man as he is intelectuall and a true humane spirit in potency to his second intelectuall act And it is by the word of the Law literally written in the heart of man necessarily implying the power of naturall life and light that man as he is man doth live move and hath his redeemed being which is the first act of man as he is man and a rationall creature in potency to his second naturall and morall act by the species of the externall sensitive object and this is the reason that Iohn saith Iohn 1.4 in it was life and that life was the light of man Conclusion 2. It is by the litterall light of the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith objected to the externall senses which is one reall light with the literall light of the redeemed word of the Law in the heart that the understanding and will of the naturall man is formally and morally produced in act necessarily implying the naturall light without which the species of the externall object can neither be morally or naturally apprehended by the act of the understanding of man Conclusion 3. Though man as he is a spirituall man shut up in spirituall darknesse till he be regenerate be said to be dead as he is a spirituall man because he is deprived of the spirituall light of the holy Spirit for the time yet by the word of the Law immediately and spiritually written in the soule necessarily implying the intelectuall life and light the soule of man humane spirit doth live and move intelectually which intelectuall life and light the spirituall light of the holy Spirit doth necessarily presuppose for the formall action of holines doth as necessarily presuppose the intelectuall act of the soule as the formall morall action the naturall action of man which are both by one reall light though the intelectuall be a pure unmixed light and the naturall a mixed light by the essentiall union of the intelectuall and sensitive nature of man without which light man were neither an intelectuall or rationall creature as hath bin formerly demonstrate Conclusion 4. As by the internall word of the Law which is eternally spiritually and immediatly written in the soule the soule of man humane spirit is spiritually immediatly and eternally obliged to the Law as the Law is â—pirituall So by the eternall word of the Law literally written in the h art of man man as he is man is eternally and morally obliged to the Law of God and consequently the sensitive body being resolved from the soule must remaine in its principle to be reunited to the soule in the great day Conclusion 5. The Lords day blessed and sanctified by the Lords blessed resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed in time was in the eternall purpose and councell of God before all time the decâ—eed seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith Conclusion 6. The literall light of the Lords day the seventh day of the Lords Evangelicall rest doth farre surmount the light of all the severall seventh dayes rest of the eternall word from the foundation of the world for by the literall light of the Lords day the naturall man is fundamentally and literally led to all the former seventh daies rest of the eternall word from the beginning all proceding from the love of God to man Conclusion 7. The literall light of the word of the Lords day doth emply the literall light of all the Scripture of God and consequently the whole excercite act of the sacred decree of predestination so farre as is revealed to man in this life Conclusion 8. By the Lords daies Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed arising from his bloody rest the Lord did manifest himselfe truth and in that truth love and mercy to man Conclusion 9. As our Saviour by his birth life death and by his rest in the grave did manifest himselfe true man and by his wonders and miracles did manifest himselfe the Son of God begot of the seed of the woman by the immediate unction of the holy Spirit So by the infinit power of his Evangelicall rest in his triumphant victory over the power of Satan sinne eternall death and darknesse of Hell over the power of the curse of the Law and over the power of the grave his last enemy the Lord did manifest himselfe Lord God and man in the three coessentiall distinct Persons of the glorious Trinity the maner whereof is clearly set downe in the Chapter following Conclusion 10. As by the Lords Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed arising from his bloody rest was by his infinit power So his merit by his rest
Word doth comprehend the twelve Articles of Christian faith all depending one upon another like as many links of a chain linked one into another all arising from the literall light of the Lords day by his rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blâ—ssed seed as the Lord did graciously oblige himself to man by the covenant First therefore of the Lords resurrection from the grave and next of his resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens The Lords resurrection from the grave doth comprehend these ten fundamentall points of faith First by the literal light of the sound of the evangelicall Word of the Lords day really one with the literall light of the redeemed Word of the Law written in the heart of man whereby man doth live move and hath his redeemed state of being the naturall mans understanding is morally produced in act by the mediate sense of hearing to understand that the Lords resurrection from the grave was the last period of his rest from the redemption of man and all things lost by man from the curse of the Law for the first sin of Adam And that the Lords resurrection from the grave was from the bloody rest in the grave and his bloody rest in the grave from his sustâ—iâ—ing of the bloody cursed death of the crosse and his bloody cursed death of the crosse from his love and mercy to man Secondly as by our Saviâ—urs bloody death and rest in the grave necessarily presupposing his birth and life our Saviour did manifest himself true man so by our Saviours gracious words glorious wonders and miracles while he was personally upon earth as our Saviour was man the Son of God before all time so he did manifest himself man the Son of God in time begot of the seed of the woman by the overshadowing act of the Almighty Thirdly as our Saviour as he is the eternall Son of God by his sustaining of the eternall curse of the Law did merit the salvation of Adam and of all men naturally to descend of Adam from the first death which was the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam so our Saviour by his bloody rest in the grave for the full space of the seventh day of the last Sabbath whereby the Law was fulfilled as he was obliged to the Law for man as our Saviour is the eternall Son of God he did merit the eternall life and rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam due by the Law to his eternall merit which is the blessing of the Lords day offered to the faith of all the nations of the world by the new covenant whereby all the faithfull are saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of faith Fourthly by the literall light of the sound of the word of the Lords day the naturall mans understanding is morally produced in act by the mediat sense of hearing to understand that the Lords resurrection from the grave was by his rest from the power of eternall death and darknesse of hell from the eternall curse of the Law the cause of eternall death from sin which he made himself for man the cause of the curse of the Law from the power of Satan the cause of sin and from the power of the grave his last enemy whereby the Lord by the immediate act of his own immediate infinite power did gloriously and triumphantly manifest himself truth to man by the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed and in that truth love and mercy to man and by that truth love and mercy Lord God and man in the essentiall union of the divine and humane nature Lord God and man equall with the Father and holy Spirit Lord God and man equall with the Father by the work of the redemption of man eternally lost by the eternall curse of the Law and by the redemption of the creatures which were cursed for the sin of man which are equall to the works of the creation and the Lord did manifest himself Lord God and man equall with the holy Spirit as by the continuall influence of his blessing the creatures which he hath redeemed are conserved in their redeemed estate which is the proper blessing of the holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son The name Lord therefore is the name of the essentiall union of the divine and humane nature necessarily implying the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity and consequently implying the name Jesus and Christ For as by the Lord God and man the lost creatures are râ—stored the Lord is the Father Lord and commander of the creatures And as he is the Saviour of man from eternall death he is Jesus the eternall Son of God aâ—d as by the continuall influence of his blessing the creatures are conserved he is Christ the anointed with the oile of gladnesse the holy Spirit and sanctifier and consequently as the redeemed word written in the heart of man by the power of which redeemed word the naturall man doth live move and hath his redeemed state and grace of naturall and morall being is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus so the redeemed word in the heart of man is the Image of the Lords truth love and mercy whereby the naturall man is morally enabled by the act of his understanding and will to produce the works of truth love and mercy Fifthly the Lords rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed being by his infinite immediate power his merit by his resurrection and rest is infinite and his love and mercy to man by his rest is infinite Sixthly as by the infinit power of the Lords merit by his resurrection and rest the day of the Lords resurrection is blessed and sanctified for his worship by man to whose faithfull worship the infinite blessing of the Lords merit of eternall life and rest is due by the Evangelicall law of faith so by the infinite power of his merit the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is immediatly commanded and in that immediate worship as the Lords day is the Evangelicall seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith implying the command of the whole law the whole Evangelicall law is commanded obliging all the nations of the world to believe the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise to whose faith the blessing of the Lords Evangelicall eternall rest is due by the law whereby the faithfull man is saved from the second death which is the curse of the law of faith and doth enjoy eternall life Seventhly the naturall man being commanded to believe that by faith in the Lords merit he is saved from the second death and Evangelicall faith being the act of the redeemed heart of man and the originall of all his naturall and morall actions to which all men are inabled by the power of the redeemed Word of truth love and mercy written in the heart of man faith
Lord God and man And consequently the three coessentiall distinct Persons of the Trinity Lord God and man The second thing to be observed in the words is that by the things in Heaven the Saints departed this life and the blessed Angels are to be understood for as the Saints in Heaven doe with all humility acknowledge their glory and heavenly felicity to the only merit of the Lord Jesus Christ So doe the Angels with all humility acknowledge the conserved grace of their created perfection to the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom his merit doth extend who are conserved as ministring spirits for man First for man Christ Jesus while he was personally upon earth that his fooâ—e should not dash against a stone Luke 4.10 and secondly they are ministring spirits for his mysticall members that the foot of their fayth shall not be dashed totally and finally against the stony temptation of Satan and his instruments in this life The third thing to be observed is that by things upon earth man and the sensitive and insensitive creatures created for man are to be understood and by things under or within the earth the waters mineralls and other things created for the use of man which as they were all cursed for man so they are all redeemed from the curse with man in whose behalfe man is to bend the knees of his heart with all thankefulnesse to the Lord Jesus Christ and to testifie his thankfulnesse by his thank-worship of the Lords day as the Lord hath revealed himselfe by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest Lord Jesus Christ God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity And so much for the declaration or the Evangelicall Word as it is the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law Next according to our methode the Evangelicall Word is to be declared as it is the word of promise and new Covenant made by God with man CHAP. XIV The Evangelicall Covenant made by God with man in his Son Christ Jesus called the new Covenant The Evangelicall Word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith the Evangelicall Word of promise and new Covenant are really one but of a formall difference First of the reall unity of both and next of the formall difference The reall unity of both doth consist in this that the word of promise and new Covenant which is the Lords merit of eternall life by his resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed is the blessing of the Lords day For by the Lords infinit merit by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest the Lords day is blessed sanctified and commanded for the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law implying the command of the whole Evangelicall Law of faith And consequently the word of promise and new Covenant and the word of the Lords day really one for the one is necessarily implied in the other as may appeare by the severall names of the new Covenant First the new Covenant is called the Covenant of grace because the Lords merit of eternall life by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed which is the blessing of the Lords day is freely offered to all beleevers by the new Covenant without all respect to the merit of any man naturally descended of Adam whereby all beleevers are saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of faith And consequently the word of promise and the word of the Lords day are really one Secondly the new Covenant is called the Covenant of truth because the Lord by his Evangelicall resurrection and rest from the faithfull fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed upon his blessed day did manifest himselfe truth to man by the truth of whose infinite merit by his Evangelicall rest the Lords day is blessed sanctified and commanded Which blessing of eternall life is word of promise and new Covenant and consequently the word of promise and the word of the Lords day really one Thirdly the new Covenant is called the Covenant of mercy because as the Lord by his Evangelicall rest did manifest himselfe truth to man so in that truth the Lord by his infinite merit did manifest himselfe love and mercy to man for as by his cursed death of the Crosse our Saviour did merit the salvation of all men from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam So by his bloudy rest in the grave by his fulfilling of the law in the seventh day of the last Sabbath the eternall life and rest lost by Adam from the first seventh day of the law was due to the Lords merit whereby all beleevers are saved from the second death extending his twofold love and mercy to all men by the new Covenant whose mercy according to the truth of his infinite merit being likewise infinite The Lords gracious armes of mercy are outstretched to the penitent sinner for all the daies of this life by the new Covenant And this is the reason that wretched men do so insult upon the Lords infinite mercy by their continuance in sin and wickednesse because they see the daily love and mercy of God extended to all men in this life whose Sun doth shine and his rain doth fall both upon the just and the unjust Mat. 5.45 And this is likewise the reason that many though most unjustly do grudge the temporall blessings of God to the wicked who though they do enjoy the temporall blessings of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest yet they are far from the spirituall blessing of the Lords merit whereby man is only saved But the Lord hath thus graciously obliged himself by the new covenant first that wretched man should not dispair of the Lords mercy while he hath all the dayes of this life to repent him of his actuall sins Secondly that the wicked may be excuselesse For though God willeth that all men should be saved 1 Tim. 2.4 by testifying of their thankfulnesse for their redemption by the works of truth love and mercy to which they are morally enabled by the redeemed word of the law written in their heart yet while the wicked man without any created power to necessitate his morall disobedience doth by his obstinate continuance in sin and wickednesse make himself the cursed seed of Satan The Lord doth justly give him over to a reprobate minde and doth most justly will his condemnation where by the way the difference between the first and second covenant is to be observed for the least transgression of the law by the first covenant was without all revealed hope of mercy or time of repentance but the second covenant both Prophetically and Evangelically is with all hope of mercy by repentance for all the days of this life Fourthly the new covenant is called the covenant of faith because the Lords merit of eternall life by his Evangelicall
rest which is the blessing of the Lords day is the immediate object of faith and therefore the Evangelicall law is called the law of righteousnesse of faith though the works of faith which are the works of truth love and mercy are equally commanded in the command of faith which is the necessary sole immediate efficient cause of the works of faith and therefore necessarily commanded in the command of faith while the Apostle therefore doth affirm that man is justified by faith without the works of the law we must understand that the works meaned by the Apostle are the ceremoniall works of the Propheticall law and not the Evangelicall works of faith to which works the Apostle doth exhort both the Jews and Gentiles and therefore the Apostle James saith shew me thy faith by thy works Now the Lords merit of eternall life which is the blessing of the Lords day being really one the word of promise and new covenant and the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law are really one and so much for the reall unity of both next of the formall difference The formall difference of both doth consist in this that by the new covenant God and man are mutually obliged in the Evangelicall word of the Lords day For as God by his new covenant doth formally oblige man to believe the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed by his Evangelicall rest So the Lord doth mutually oblige himself by the truth of his merit by his Evangelicall rest to save the believer from the curse of the second death obliging likewise the unbeliever and finall contemner of his free gracious offer to the mercilesse curse of the law of faith But by the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law the Lord doth formally command man to testifie his beliefe to the word of eternall life as the Lords Word is his law to man The chief precept of whose law is the commanded worship of the Lords day in which commanded worship the whole Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith as formally and necessarily commanded commanding the faith of man in the originall which is the love of the heart where the redeemed word of the law is written really one with the Evangelicall word of the seventh day of the law the Lords day by the power of which redeemed word in the heart which is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus truth love and mercy it self all men are morally enabled by the works of truth love and mercy to give morall obedience to the command of the Evangelicall law which are the works of faith the chief work whereof is the truth of the commanded worship of the Lords day whereby the Lord by his Evangelicall rest hath manifested himself truth love and mercy to man The judicious Reader therefore may plainly perceive that though there be a formall difference between the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law and of the word of promise and the new covenant yet they are really one and the one necessarily implyed in the other For as hath been formerly declared God cannot morally command man to his new covenant but by the immediate command of the word of the seventh day of the law implying the command of the whole Evangelicall law which is the Evangelicall word of the Lords day For there is neither life light or the power of command in any precept of the Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith but by the only immediate commanded worship of the Lords day in that commanded worship implying the command of the whole law And therefore the blessing of the Lords merit by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest is only and immediatly due by the law to the faithfull worship of the Lords day for the fulfilling of the whole law which is fulfilled by faith in the Lords infinite merit by whose infinite sanctified merit by his Evangelicall resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise the Lords day is the word of eternall life and the immediate object of Christian faith without the command therefore of the Lord day as it is his law to man there is neither life or light for man or any law or new covenant or any object for the faith of man dead in actuall sin as all men freed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam are before they be regenerate by their transgression of the law of faith And therfore as our Saviour by his bloody rest in the grave by his fulfilling of the command of the seventh day did fulfill the whole law as our Saviour was oblieged to the law for man to whose merit the eternall life and rest lost by Adam is due by the law so the Lord Iesus Christ eternall life and rest by his resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed upon the day of his resurrection did obliege all men again to his new Covenant by the immediate command of the Lords dayes commanded worship blessed and sanctified by his merit to believe in his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of his merit of eternall life is due by the law which is commanded in the cōmanded worship of the Lords day as may appear by the word of promise new covenant Go and teach preach the Evangel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit Mar. 16.15 16. he that shal believe shall be saved but he that wil not believe shall be condemned The sense of the word of the covenant is this Go and preach the Evangel that is go and preach proclaim the glad tidings of my resurrection and rest this day from the fulfilling of my promise of the blessed seed which is the summe of the whole Evangel implied in the Lords day by the Lords Evangelicall rest go therefore preach the Evangel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit as my my resurrection and rest this day from the power of sin Satan hell eternall death the curse of the law and the power of the grave I have manifested my self by mine own infinit immediate power Truth to man by the fulfilling of my promise and in that truth love and mercy to man and in that truth love and mercy God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the Trinity whosoever shall believe in me to wit eternall life and rest by the power of my infinit merit by my Evangelicall rest shall be saved from the curse of the second death for the transgression of the law of faith as by my bloody rest in the grave from the cursed death of the crosse all men are saved from the curse of the law for their transgression of the law in Adam which is the first death he that will not believe in me shall be condemned to
new covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to the Evangelicall worship of that day The Lords day did immediatly succeed the last formall Jews prophetical Sabbath The Lords day therefore is the decreed seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith as man naturally descended of Adam is obliged to the Evangelicall law of God by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day 4. The word of eternall life which all men by the new covenant are obliged to believe to save them from the curse of the second death all the nations of the world are obliged to the Evangelicall worship of that word of eternall life The Lords day by the merit of his Evangelicall rest is the word of eternall life which all men by the new covenant are obliged to believe to save them from the curse of the second death All the nations of the world therefore are obliged to the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day 5. By the immediate power whereby the Lords day is the blessed and sanctified word or eternall life whereby the new covenant is immediatly established by that immediate power the evangelical worship of the Lords day is immediatly commanded implying the command of the whole Evangellicall law By the immediate power of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed the Lords day is the blessed and sanctified word of eternall life whereby the new covenant is immediately established by the immediate power therefore of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is immediatly commanded implying the command of the whole Evangelicall law 6. What the Lords new covenant doth oblige men to believe to save them from the second death The Lords day commands all men to worship for the only object of Christian faith The Lords new covenant doth oblige all men to believe the Lords day by the merit of his evangelicall rest to save them from the second death The Lords day therefore doth command all men to worship the Lords day by the merit of his evangelicall rest for the only object of Christian faith 7. By the onely blessing of which day all the Nations of the world doe live move and have the redeemed grace of being continued by the new Covenant all the Nations of the world by the Lords immediate word of the new Covenant are oblieged and commanded to the joyfull worship of that day By the onely blessing of the Lords day all the Nations of the world doe live move and have their redeemed grace of being continued by the new Covenant All the Nations of the world therefore by the Lords immediate word of his new Covenant are oblieged and commanded to the joyfull worship of the Lords day 8. The light of the sound of the word of which day doth necessarily imply the light and life of the whole word and law of God the whole Evangelicall commanded worship of God and all Christian Religion By the power of the sound of that word all men are commanded to the Evangelicall worship of that day The light of the sound of the Lords day doth necessarily imply the light and life of the whole word and law of God the whole Evangelicall commanded worship of God and all Christian Religion By the power therefore of the light of the sound of the word of the Lords day all men are commanded to the Evangecall worship of the Lords day 9. Without the only blessing of the sound of the word of which day there is no object for Christian faith By the immediate power of that dayes blessing all men are commanded to the Evangelicall worship of that day Without the only blessing of the sound of the word of the Lords day there is no object for Christian faith By the immediate power therefore of the Lords dayes blessing all men are commanded to the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day 10. Without the immediate power of the light and command of which day no man can either know or give obedience to any precept of the Evangelicall morall law of faith That is the necessary seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith by the Lords immediate word of his new Covenant oblieging and commanding all the Nations of the world to the Evangelicall worship of that day Without the immediate power of light and command of the Lords day blessed and sanctified by his Evangelicall rest no man can either know or give obedience to any precept of the Evangelical moral law of faith The Lords day therefore is the necessary seventh day of the Evangelical law of faith by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant oblieging and commanding all the Nations of the world to the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day 11. To the faithful worship of which day only the blessing of the merit of the Lords Evangelicall 7th dayes rest is due by the law for the fulfilling of the whole Evangelicall law of faith All the Nations of the world by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant are oblieged and commanded to the Evangelicall worship of that day To the onely faithfull worship of the Lords day the blessing of the merit of the Lords seventh dayes Evangelicall rest is due by the Law for the fulfilling of the whole evangelicall law All the Nations of the world therefore by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant are obliged and commanded to the evangelicall worship of the Lords day 12. By the faithfull of which day the whole evangelicall law of faith is fulfilled that dayes worship is commanded by the power of the word of the seventh day of the evangelicall law of faith By the faithfull worship of the Lords day by faith in the Lords merit the whole evanglicall law is fulfilled The Lords dayes worship therefore is commanded by the power of the word of the seventh day of the evangelicall law of faith 13. By that day whereby the Lord by his resurrection from the grave victoriously triumphing over sin Satan hell the curse of the law and the power of the grave did clearly manifest himselfe powe life and light it selfe and in that power life and light Truth by his fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed and in that truth love and mercy to man and in that truth love and mercy Lord God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity All the Nations of the world by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant are oblieged and commanded to the Evangelicall worship of that day By the Lords day the day of the Lords resurrection from the grave the Lord victoriously triumphing over sinne Satan hell the curse of the law and the power of the grave did clearly manifest himselfe power life