from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law and from his fulfilling of the Law for man by his bloody rest was likewise infinit By the power of whose infinit merit by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest as it is the word of the eternall life and rest of man the formall worship of the Lords day is commanded in spirit and truth And therefore the Lord told the Samaritan woman The houre commeth and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father and consequently the Son and holy Spirit in Spirit and truth For God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and truth By which words the formall Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is both set downe and commanded by the Lord of the Lords day For first the Lord told the Samaritan woman commanding her to beleeve that the houre should come which is the houre of the Lords day which was then to come Secondly the Lord commanded the Samaritan woman to beleeve that God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in Spirit and truth that is in the Spirit of faith in the truth of his Evangelicall rest fâ—om the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed Which is the formall Evangelicall commanded worship of the Lords day which must be sanctified by man after that formall manner in the Spirit of faith in the truth of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest as he hath manifested himselfe to man by the day of his resurrection to wit Lord God and man in the three coessentiall distinct Persons of the glorious Trinity Thirdly whereas the Lord told the Samaritan woman that God must be worshipped in Spirit and truth and that the Father requireth such worship The formall Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is immediatly commanded by the Lord of the Lords day for Gods will and requiring of man by his word is the Lords immediate command to man Fourthly whereas the Lord said to the Samaritan woman the houre is in these words the Lords last will testament to be executed after the testators death is fully implied for in the commanded worship of the Lords day the whole Evangelicall morall Law of God which is the whole Evangelicall word is necessarily implied Fiftly while as the Lord saith to the Samaritan woman the houre cometh when ye shall neither worship the Father in this Mountaine or at Jerusalem By these words the formall ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath implying the whole propheticall ceremoniall Law is actually determined by the actuall immediate commanded Evangelicall worship of the Lords day to the great comfort of both Jewes and Gentiles in tâ—eir freedome from the sore yoake of the ceremoniall Law Conclusion 11. All propheticall ceremoniall worship is barred from the truth of the Lords commanded worship for by such ceremoniall worship the truth of the Lords fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed is belied and necessarily denied by the will worship of man Conclusion 12. All ceremoniall pretended worship of God by any maner of carved or painted Image objectively representing to the eyes of man the Son of God as he is man is contradictory to the truth of the Lords commanded worship by his Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed as he is God and man For first by this ceremoniall pretended worship God is immediatly worshipped as he is man Secondly by the intervening of the sensitive object between the Lord and his worship the Lords worship is necessarily interrupted and consequently the worship a false faithles idolatrous worship necessarily denying the truth of the Lords commanded worship Conclusion 13. All mediate pretended worship of God by invocation of Angels or Saints departed this life is repugnant to the Lords infinit merit by the truth of his Evangelicall rest For first by the immediate object of such worship intervening between the worshipper and the Lord as by his infinit merit he is eternall life rest the infinitnes of his merit is confined Secondly prayer being a most essentiall part of Gods immediate worship by such invocation of the object to which the prayer is directed the worship of God is necessarily interrupted while as man by the Lords owne immediate command is commanded to call upon the Lord himselfe immediatly in the day of trouble and neither upon Saint or Angel And consequently such mediate pretended worship of God equall idolatry with the former Conclusion 14. As all men for their first sinne in Adam as head were condemned to the curse of eternall death and darknes So by the infinit powâ—â— of the Lords merit all men were redeemed in Adam as head from the curse of eternall death and from eternall naturall and spirituall darknes shuâ— up its â—â—mâ—orall spirituall darknes called unbeleefe and originall sinne for â—he infinit good of man Conclusion 15. As by the perfection of the redemption of man by the power of the Lords infinit free merit all men are freed from the curse of eternall naturall morall and spirituall death and from the eternall curse of naturall morall and spirituall darknesse though shut up in temporall spirituall darknes So all men by the redeemed free power of the word in the heart as they are naturall men are restored to the free grace of naturall and morall life and light without any manner of necessitating the act of the understanding will or senses either naturally or morally Conclusion 16. All men redeemed from the curse of the Law by the eternall decree of predestination being concluded in spirituall darknes called unbeleefe and originall sinne all naturall men comming to actual morall understanding and action before they be regenerate are necessarily dead in actuall sinne by their transgression of the Law of faith Conclusion 17. By the redeemed word of the Law in the heart of man man is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus as he hath revealed himselfe by the light of the word of the Lords day truth love and mercy First therefore the naturall man by the power of the redeemed word of the Law written in his heart is enabled to produce the workes of truth love and mercy morally though not spiritually which are the workes of morall faith Secondly and consequently by the reall unity of the power of light and command of the word of the Law in his heart with the light and command of the Lords day the naturall mans heart is morally moved to assent and to beleeve the truth of the Lords day and to give morall obedience to the command of the Law implied in the Lords day Thirdly and consequently by the power of the redeemed word in the heart man is enabled to morall repentance which doth necessarily proceed the act of morall faith Conclusion 18. All tenents and assertions denying the universall grace of the redemption of all men from the curse of the Law for their sinne in Adam shut up in spirituall darknes called unbeleefe and sinne
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
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
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 word is the command of his Law of righteousnesse commanding man but as his word is the command of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse for all the commands of God commanding man by his word which are the commands of his Law of righteousnesse doe retain strength and power of command from the immediate power of the word of the seventh dayes rest Of this declaration of the first Covenant I inferre the first formall obligement of the Law of God obliging man in his state of perfection The formall obligement of the Law obliging man in his severall state and condition is immediately by the formality of the Covenant and the formality of the covenant is by the formall manner that God doth manifest himselfe to man by the word of his severall seventh dayes rest of the Law in the severall state and condition of man obliging man to the formall worship of the seventh day and in the seventh day obliging the obedience of man to the command of the whole law by which formall obliged worship of the seventh day the whole law implyed in the command of the seventh day is formally obliged obliging and commanding man in his severall state and condition to the formall worship of God as God by the word of his seventh dayes rest hath manifest himselfe to man both upon the eternall blessing of the word of his seventh dayes rest and upon the curse of eternall death and in that commanded worship of the seventh day commanding the obedience of man to the whole Law God therefore by the word of his first seventh dayes rest of the Law having manifest himselfe to man God of the Law of righteousnesse Creator and conservator of heaven of earth of man and the creatures by the first Covenant the first seventh dayes worship was the formall worship of God of the Law of righteousnesse Creator and Conservator by which obliged formall worship of the first seventh day of the law the whole law implyed in the command of the first seventh day was formally obliged obliging and commanding man to the formall worship of God of the law of righteousnesse Creator and Conservator both upon the eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest and upon the curse of eternall death and in that formall commanded worship of the first seventh day commanding the obedience of man to the command of the whole Law of God of the Law of righteousnesse Creator and Conservator of heaven earth man and the creatures created for man By this first formall obligement of the Law of righteousnesse obliging man in his state of perfection the second and third obligement of the law were formally distinguished from the first for the first obligement of the law was simply the law of righteousnesse of God the Creator which is called the simple formall obligement of the law because it was without the revelation of the second person of the Trinity who was manifest to man by the word of his second and third seventh dayes rest after a generall manner according to which severall manner the law was formally obliged by two severall Covenants whereby the first simple formall obligement of the law of righteousnesse was determined and the law of righteousnesse of faith in God â—he Redeemer actually established first by faith in the promise of the blessed â—â—edâ— and secondly by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by his fulfiling of the promise afterwards particularly to be declared Of this obligement of man created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection to the first Covenant established upon the immediate command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of God I inferre these even Theologicall demonstrative conclusions following CHAP. IX Seven necessary conclusions inferrent of the obligement of man to the first Covenant 1. ADam being created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection the head of all men naturally to descend of Adam all men naturally to descend of Adam the body of the head were all really created in Adam the head and in Adam the head really bound and obliged to the first Covenant though not actually descended from the head 2. All men naturally to descend of Adam the head being bound and obliged to the Law of God in Adam the head by the first Covenant Adams obedience and disobedience to the command of the law of righteousnesse was as truly really and necessarily the obedience and disobedience of the body to wit the obedience and disobedience of all men naturally to descend of Adam the head as it was the obedience and disobedience of Adam the head though none were actually descended from the head Even as we see the water flowing from a Conduit the water flowing from the head is the same reall water which was in the head before it did flow from the head which was the water of the naturall and spirituall life of man arising from the lively spring of the word of the law in Adams heart naturally and spiritually enlightened and sanctified Adam therefore as he was head by his transgression of the law having polluted the spring in the head it was the necessary reall act of his body in the correlative respect of the head with the body and of the body with the head 3. The transgression of the law of righteousnesse obliged by the first Covenant was without all hope of mercy known to man or Angel for all mercy is in the Lord Jesus Christ second person of the Trinity who according to the eternall decree of God was not at first revealed to man created in such admirable state of naturall and spirituall perfection 4. By the denyall of the first Covenant made by God with man the truth of God to man is fundamentally denyed for it is by Gods fulfilling of his promise to man by his Covenant that God doth manifest himselfe truth to man 5. God according to his eternall decree of predestination having created man male and female in the naturall and spirituall perfection of man God could not annihilate man for so his transeant act had been contradictory to his imminent act 6. The first Covenant being established upon the immediate command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the law of righteousnesse and man having transgressed the Law God could not annihilate man for his transgression of the Law of righteousnesse for so his justice could never have been satisfied by man 7. God and man being mutually bound and obliged by the first Covenant established upon the immediate command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse whereby God did binde and oblige himselfe to Adam by the eternall blessing of the word of his seventh dayes rest to continue the naturall and spirituall perfection of Adam upon the eternall continuation of the perfection of Adams obedience God without highest in justice by the breach of his Covenant could neither withdraw his actuall
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
be broke by the seed of the woman which suggested remedy the Jews did divers times attempt but the Lord did prevent their purpose by escaping their bloody hands because his hour was not come yet this fear did so possesse Satan as he never left with all diligence to watch his opportunity till the hour was come that our Saviour was to suffer for the sins of man for then Satan did bestir himself by incensing of the high Priest Scribes Pharisees and the rabblement of the Jews and Gentiles with most cruell bloody hands to murder the Lord of life the Word whereby the light of the whole Word was obscured and darkned for a time And then both Satan and the Jews thought themselves secure But after the Lords resurrection from the dead Satan apprehending himself so horribly deceived the roaring Lyion did so rage as he did incense the Jews to keep afoot the ceremoniall worship of the Jews propheticall Sabbath for which effect Satans instruments were set awork to persecute the planters of the Evangell amongst wâ—ich crue who was so busie as Paul before his conversion By this means Satan again did attempt to obscure and darken the light of the whole Word by a false deceiving morall light contradictory to the Evangelicall light of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Evangelicall Law â—f Righteousnesse of faith For by keeping afoot the ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was plainly denied and the Evangelicall light of the Lords day implying the whole Evangell attempted to be obscured As Satan by his false morall light did obscure the light of the word of the seventh dayes rest from the beginning totally and in generall So doth he now by his false deceiving morall light obscure the Evangelicall light of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of Righteousnesse of faith in particular which Satan doth effect by suggesting a false morall deceiving light contradictory to the light of the Evangelicall Law of faith whereby some fundamentall points of faith is subverted and stifly maintained contrary to the Evangelicall Law of faith some of which points be ancient some modern of the ancient subjected points of faith such are these First salvation from the curse of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnesse of faith may be merited by the good works of man Secondly Christ died for originall sin only Thirdly the actuall sins of the dead and of the quick are taken away by the surmised sacrifice of the fictious ceremoniall altar Fourthly the power to pardon actuall sin as it is a transgression against the spirituall command of the Law is in the Church Fifthly universality of spirituall grace to fulfill the command of the Law is by the act of the externall sacrament of baptisme The authority of canonicall Scripture depends upon the allowance of man and a world of such errors So of modern fundamentall errors be such as these First the elect only not all men lost in Adam the head are redeemed from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam Secondly all the promises of salvation are made to the elect only and not to all men in generall Thirdly universall grace of morall faith by the perfection of the redemption is peremptorily denyed and consequently and necessarily the grace of morall repentance Fourthly the morall freedome of the will without any necessitating of the will of man to morall disobedience is denyed by the act of the redemption Fifthly the election of man to salvation is out of the alone free pleasure of God without all subordinate respect to the Lords merit Sixthly the condemnation of man to the eternall torments of hel is out of the alone pleasure of God without all subordinate respect to the Law of God or to the merit of man by transgression of the Law Seventhly children dying unbaptized are saved by the parents faith and a number of such All which pretended fundamentall points of faith are contradictory to the light of the truth of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnesse of faith for removing of which false fundamentall errors and of all manner of erronious tenents repugnant to the command of the Evangelicall Law of faith the judicious Reader is enabled by a short rule or canon in the third Book And so much for answer to the first objection by answering whereof the judicious Reader may plainly observe that though Satan and his instruments hath the power by his false deceiving naturall light to unite the naturall love of man irresistibly to the sensitive object of his pleasure yet the union is by the free yeelding and assent of the will of man to be so induced by Satan and not by Satans necessitating of the free love of man And that it is in the freedome of mans naturall election before Satans temptation to be induced to disobedience by his false deceiving envious naturall light As for Satans false deceiving morall light whereby he doth incense the heart of man to maintain such pretended points of faith so contradictory to the Evangelical Law of faith The judicious Reader may likewise plainly perceive that it is in the freedome of manâ— morall election to be induced or not induced by any such false moral light to maintain any such pretended points of faith while as by his maintaining of which erronious tenents he doth divide his faith from the proper object of the Lords merit by the intervention of a false object though after the faith of man and the false object be once united and the erronious tenent being once set abroach it shall not want a world of propugnators whose hearts by the Devils false morall light are incensed to maintain the tenent for a main pretended point of faith by the multiplication of which united maintainers of the opinion such strength is added to the tenent as doth resist all Evangelicall light of the Word and command of the Evangelicall Law of faith by the only power of which Evangelicall light all tenents contradictory to the Law of faith are discovered and by the power of command of the Evangelicall Law of faith all exploded from the Church of God And so much for answer to the first objection CHAP. XXXIV The true sense of the words that both the will and deed is from God and the sense of the words that the thoughts of man are only and continually evill originall sin is not the corruption of nature and of the rebellious will of the flesh which is said to be enmity against God IT is secondly objected God giveth both the will and the deed man therefore by the perfection of the redemption hath neither the free power of will neither to will or do any good I answer the Antecedent is most true but the Inference is false for the grace of morall faith which is the act of the redeemed will of man proceeding from the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of
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 Lord God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity All the Nations of the world therefore by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant are oblieged and commanded to the evangelicall worship of the Lords day 14. By the truth of the Lords merit by which dayes evangelicall rest necessarily implying his bloody rest all the Prophesies prophesying of the comming of the blessed seed and all the Altars sacrifices types figures and ceremonies prefigurating his death from the foundation of the world are actually determined All the Nations of the world by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant are obliged and commanded to the evangelicall worship of that day By the truth of the Lords merit by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest necessarily implying his bloody rest all the Prophesies prophesying the comming of the blessed seed and all the Altars sacrifices types figures and ceremonies prefigurating his death from the foundation of the world are actually determined 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 15. By the truth of the Lords resurrection from the dead upon which day all men condemned by the curse of the law to eternall death for the sin of Adam are raised and reconciled to the love and favour of God for that sinne All the Nations of the world are obliged to the joyfull worship of that blessed day By the truth of the Lords ressurection from the dead upon the Lords day all men condemned by the curse of the law to eternall death for the sinne of Adam are raised and reconciled to the love and favour of God for that sinne All the Nations of the world therefore are obliged to the joyfull worship of the Lords blessed day 16. That day which the Lord rested from the fulfilling of the law that day was blessed sanctified and commanded by the power of the Lords merit of eternall life due by the law to the Lords fulfilling of the law The Lord rested his owne day from the fulfilling of the law The Lords day therefore was blessed sanctified and commanded by the power of the Lords merit of eternall life due by the law to the Lords fulfilling of the law 17. By the Evangelicall sound of the word of which day all Jewes and Gentiles were called and united in one Church of God by the new covenant All the Nations of the world are obliged to the joyfull jubilizing and worship of that blessed day By the Evangelicall sound of the word of the Lords day all Jewes and Gentiles were called and united in one Church of God by the new covenant All the Nations of the world therefore are obliged to the joyfull jubilizing and worship of the Lords blessed day 18. Without the knowledge of which day no man can know that he is a sinner against the Evangelicall law of faith or that he standeth in need of the Lords merit to save him from the curse of the Evangelicall law That day commands all men to the Evangelicall worship of that day and in that day to the obedience of the whole Evangelicall law Without the knowledge of the Lords day no man can know that he is a sinner against the Evangelicall law or that he stands in need of the Lords merit to save him from the curse of the Evangelicall law of faith The Lords day therefore commands all men to the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day 19. By the only literall light of the sound of the word of which day all the Nations of the world are literally led to the blessing of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest By the power of that word all the nations of the world are commanded to the Evangelicall worship of that day By the only literall light of the sound of the word of the Lords day all the nations of the world are literally led to the blessing of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest By the power therefore of the word of the Lords day all the nations of the world are commanded to the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day 20. By the only command of which day necessarily implying the command of the whole Evangelicall law the heart of the naturall man is moved to give morall obedience to the command of the Evangelicall law that day commands all men to the Evangelicall worship of that day and in that day the obedience of man to the whole Evangelicall law By the only command of the Lords day nenecessarily implying the command of the whole Evangelicall law the heart of the naturall man is moved to give morall obedience to the command of the evangelicall law The Lords day therefore commands all men to the evangelicall worship of the Lords day and in the Lords day the obedience of man to the command of the whole evangelicall law 21. With the standing or falling of which day the blessing of the Lords merit and the whole evangelicall law of faith doth necessarily stand or fall That is the decreed seventh day of the evangelicall law by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant obliging and cōmanding all the nations of the world to the evangelicall worship of that day With the standing or falling of the Lords day the Lords merit and the whole evangelicall law doth necessarily stand or fall The Lords day therefore is the decreed seventh day of the evanglicall law by the Lords immediate word of his new covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to his evangelicall worship of the Lords day 22. Whom the Lord Jesus Christ by his immediate word did command to preach and teach the Evangelicall blessing of his merit whereby the Lords day is blessed and sanctified them the Lord Jesus Christ by his immediate word did command the Evangelicall worship of the day to which the blessing of his merit is only due The Lord Jesus Christ by his immediate Word did command the Apostles to preach and teach to all the nations of the world the Evangelicall blessing of his merit whereby the Lords day is blessed and sanctified The Lord Jesus Christ therefore by his immediate word did command the Apostles to teach and preach the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day to which the evangelicall blessing of his merit is only due And now to conclude lest I weary my Reader 23. That day of dayes that decreed day sealed by the precious blood of the immaculate Lambe which no power time or day can determine but the second coming of the eternall day when the mysticall members of Christ Jesus shall rest in their head crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory in the heauen of heavens eternally that is the true evangelicall seventh day of the law of faith by the new
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
the same reall power of the word spiritually written in the intellectuall spirit of both though after a differing manner And though the intellectuall soule of man while it is in the essentiall union with the sensitive nature doth act by the mediate organicall sensitive powers yet the soule in its intellectuall operations doth advance it selfe above all sensitive power and doth exercise its intellectuall operation without the help of any sensitive organ And therfore Aristotle that true light of all Philosophicall truth doth peremptorily affirme that it is not to be fained or imagined that the soule of man in its intellectuall operations doth use the help of any sensitive organ but that is meerely independent from any sensitive organ And consequently I doe necessarily conclude that the soule of man is likewise independent from any sensitive organ in its being For according to that Philosophicall principle The maner of the creatures action doth necessarily follow the creatures being The intellectuall soule of man therefore being independent from all sensitive organ both in being and in intellectuall operation the soule of man is separable from all sensitive power and consequently immortall And though while the soule is in the essentiall union of both the natures the understanding faculty of the soule doth depend objectively upon the sense of phansie yet the dependence is but an accidence and not essentiall And though Aristotle doth affirme and that most truly that in the act of understanding the species of the eternall object being received in the understanding doth become one with the understanding for in this union doth consist the understanding of the received species yet this union is likewise accidentall and separable for otherwise the understanding should stand alwayes affected which is repugnant to all Philosophicall truth Heere by the way the judicious Reader may observe the prerogative of the soule of man above all sublunary formes informing the materiall composit For as all other sublunary formes doe arise from the materiality of the composit so they doe stand and fall with the composit but though the intellectuall soule of man which is the first act of man as he is man doth essentially informe the sensitive materiall nature of man yet the intellectuall soule being every way independent in being from the sensitive body and no waies arising from the materiality thereof is separable from the sensitive body and consequently immortall Because the immortality of the soule is a most concerning fundamentall point of faith and a maine fundamentall point of this tractat for the Readers more full satisfaction I referre the truth of the point from the truth of the sacred Word First the intellectuall soule of man humane spirit is begotten by the eternall father of spirits as the father therefore is eternity it self to speak with the Schoolmen both from the part before and from the part after that is without all beginning or ending excluding all quantitative termes of time so humane spirit begotten of the eternall father is eternall from the part after For though the soule of man hath its beginning from the eternall father yet the soule of man humane spirit is without all ending with the father This begotten humane spirit by the eternall father since the creation is by the eternall fathers immediate concurring with the sensitive body while as the sensitive body commeth to such sensitive perfection in the wombe as the high elaborate vitall spirits of the heart doe appetite the intellectuall information of the soule For in that point of time the eternall father as he hath obliged himselfe by covenant doth concurre and by the immediate power of the word doth unite the intellectuall nature and spirit of man elaborate to the vitall spirits of the heart from whence the life of man as he is man is diffused o all the parts and powers of the sensitive body By this intellectuall information the infant in the wombe is man and in the prefixed time of birth brought forth man in the world by man female the woman Secondly the intellectuall soule of man humane spirt is of the same spheriphicall sphere with the humane spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ begotten of the same eternall Father The soule of man therefore humane spirit is eternall and immortall Thirdly the Lord himselfe doth affirme Luke 12.4 That the soule of man humane spirit cannot be killed and consequently the soule of man is eternall and immortall Fourthly God is not the God of the dead but of the living Mark 12.27 The soule of the very reprobate therefore though eternally tortured in hell and ever dying yet the soule must live in that eternall dying Fifthly the soule of man by the commanding power of the eternall word spiritually and immediately written in the soule is eternally bound and obliged to the command of the Law of God which is eternall the soule of man therefore and the law of God are necessarily coeviternall one with another Sixthly the twofold reward of the law is eternall as the law of God is eternall which is due by the law to man according to the merit of man The soule of man therefore by the immediate power of the word of the law written in the soule of man must bee enabled to receive the eternall reward of the law according to the merrit of man or the eternity of the reward of the law and consequently the law it selfe must perish which is blasphemy to affirme And as in this eternity of the reward of the law the comfort of the faithfull depâ—rting this life doth rest So in this eternity of the reward of the law the fearefull horror of the reprobate departing this life doth arise for in the point of the dissolution of the soul of the faithfull from the sensitive body by reason of the eternity of the reward of the law as the humane spirit of the faithfull in that instant of time is necessarily and actually united to the mysticall head the Lord Iesus Christ according to the unseparable union of the faiâ—â— of the faithfull to the Lords merit in this life where the soule rests and doth actually enjoy all heavenly happinesse in the mysticall head which is the promise of eternall blessing of the word of the Evangelicall seventh daies rest of the law of righteousnesse of faith So in the point of the dissolution of the humane spirit of the reprobate from the sensitive body the soule of the reprobate in that very instant of time is as necessarily united to eternall death and to the fearefull torture of the unquenchable fire of Gods consuming wrath which is the promise of the eternall curse of the Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith for as there is no intermission of time either for the actuall injoying of the Kingdome of glory by the humane spirit of the faithful howsoever the faithfull doth depart this life according to our Saviours word this night shalt thou be with me in paradise Luke 23.43 So there is no intermission 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
first patents continue in their created state and felicity Secondly what could be the efficient cause of the fall of man created in such perfection advanced to such high honor happines For answer to the first question though the Scripture doth not set down and determine the precise time of the fall of man yet there is no ground at all to imagine that Adam did fall the same very day wherein he was created for so Adam and all men created in Adam must have falne without the curse of the Law for before the seventh day that God did rest from the works of the Creation there was neither any formall Law or Covenant to binde or command Adam to the Law of God which command was by the onely word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse upon the immediate command whereof the first Covenant was established betweene God and man But the maine reason of this imaginary opinion standeth in this point to wit Eve did or at least might have conceived the sixt day which Eve was given Adam to wife hence it is concluded that if Adam had falne after Eve had conceived the conception had not been lyable to Adams sinne because it was not then in the head but actually descended from the head in which case the Son in the Justice of God is not lyable to the sin of the Father for in this case the soule that sinneth must dye To this I answer Admit that Eve had conceived the same night which Eve was given to Adam to wife yet this conception was not man and the sonne of Adam untill such time as Eves sensitive conception was brought to such perfection as the intellectuall information of the soule the sensitive body was perfect man and the son of Adam Before which time if Adam the created head of all men naturally to descend of Adam had falne the posterity of Adam notwithstanding must have necessarily falne in the head for God did not make his first Covenant with the sensitive seed of Adam or Eve or with the sensitive conception or with the sensitive body of man but with man Adam the head and with all men naturally to descend of Adam the head as they are men intellectuall and sensitivâ— created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection in Adam the head Before such time therefore as Eve had conceived perfect man and the sonne of Adam Adams fall could not have been prevented from being the fall of his posterity all which time after the first Covenant was established our first parents might have stood before their fall and yet in all that time Adams fall must have been the necessary fall of his posterity till the very instant time of Eves conception of man which is by the second conception of woman while as the sensitive body in the wombe is brought to such perfection as the high elaborate vitall spirits of the heart doe appetite the intellectuall forme humane spirit to be begot by the eternall Father of spirits and by the power of the word essentially united to the heart whereby man is man and conceived man by woman and in the prefixed time of naturall birth brought forth perfect man by man female the woman though Eve in her state of perfection was to bring forth man in the image of righteousnesse and holinesse as in the second conception the intellectuall soule essentially united to the heart was to be spiritually enlightned and sanctified by God for otherwise man could never be enabled to bring forth man in such perfection as man was created to fulfill the command of the Law by the first Covenant As God therefore by his first Covenant did binde and oblige Adam and all men created and bound in Adam to his first seventh dayes commanded worship and in that commanded worship to the obedience of the whole Law upon the curse of eternall death So God in his Justice by his first Covenant did oblige himselfe to enable man to bring forth man in such state and perfection as he was created that God might be honoured and worshipped by the perfect obedience of all men to descend of Adam as he was to be worshipped and honoured by Adam And therefore to conclude my Answer to the first Question though the Scripture hath not set downe the precise time of Adams fall yet by Covenant Adams fall must have been the fall of his posterity till Eve had conceived man though Adams sinne had been his owne and not the sinne of his posterity if after Eve had conceived Adam should have falne But to affirme that Adam did fall the very day which he was created it is contrary to the truth of the sacred Word for so Adam as hath been said must have falne without any curse of the Law Neither is there so much as any colour of humane reason to imagine that man being created in such perfection and advanced to such a large extent of honour and felicity to be Lord over the Earth and over the creatures and yet that this very day man must fall under the fearefull eternall curse of the Law and be arraigned and censured by God for his transgressions before man could have any time or experience so much as to consider the exâ—ent of his advancement and felicity to which he was preferred by God CHAP. II. The immediate efficient cause of Adams fall was not internall but externall THe second question may be moved What could be the immediate efficient cause of Adams fall being created in such estate of naturall and spirituall perfection advanced to such high honour and felicity and in such high love and favour with God for as it will appeare by the subsequent declaration of all the creatures created by God man was his most deare belâ—ved creature The efficient cause of Adams fall by some moderne Theologues is affirmed to bee internall and externall That there was an externall efficient cause of Adams fall it is most certaine for the externall efficient cause of Adams fall is set downe by Moses but the question of the intrinsecall or internall efficient cause of Adams fall whereof there be divers opinions amongst the Theologues for some will have the internall cause of Adams fall to be a deficient cause some Adams abusing of the freedome of his will some will have the internall cause a true positive efficient cause which threefold internall cause doth trench upon the perfection of mans creation for if any of the three can be necessarily concluded Adam must not be created in the state of spirituall perfection it doth therefore stand us in hand to remove these three supposed internall causes of Adams fall from the perfection of mans creation before we come to the declaration of the fall of man First therefore to come to the first internall efficient cause which is thus inferred Adam by his fall produced a defective effect the internall cause therefore of this defective effect was defective internally proceeding
notwithstanding that Adams will was subjectively necessitate by the pretended absolute decree is from a simile of a man riding upon a lame horse for though the rider be the efficient cause of the horses going the way which the horse is directed by the rider yet the rider is not the cause of the horses lame going To this I answer If the horse be lamed by the rider the rider is the efficient cause of the horses lame going Now the absolute decree is the rider and Adam is the lame horse lamed by the absolute decree Adams will therefore being subjectively lamed by the absolute decree Adam must give lame obedience to the command of God by his Law The third instance followeth CHAP. III. The positive and permissive power of God proceeding immediatly from his eternall Decree of Predestination is by the immediate power of the Word THe third instance whereby God is pretended to be freed from being the first author of sinne notwithstanding that Adams will was subjectively necessitate by the absolute Decree is pretended to be from the Scripture in these words Act. 4.28 Herod Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel did gather together and doe what thy hand and councell had determined to bee done From hence and such like places of the Scripture it is concluded Gods hand and Councell did decree and determine from all eternity what was done in the crucifying of man Christ Jesus the Sonne of God Gods hand and Councell therefore from all eternity did determine to necessitate Adams will by his eternall Decree which was the cause of Christs death I answer the inference is fallacious and therefore for clearing of the point it is to be understood that Gods eternall Decree is the act of his will The act of his Will is either immanent or transeant to his creatures The immanent act of his Will is his Councell and Decree and in this sense Gods Councell and Decree is God himselfe infinite and eternall power and his Decree eternall with himselfe As the act of his will by his Councell and eternall Decree is transeant to his creatures it is the hand of his power and his power is the power of his word of his seventh dayes rest as it is the image of the infinite essentiall word power it selfe his word therefore is the hand of his power whereby the act of his will by his eternall Councell â—â—d Decree is execute upon earth for it is by the immediate power of his blessing by the word of his severall seventh dayes rest in the severall state and condition of man that the word in the heart of man whereby he liveth and moveth is blessed and continued naturally morally and spiritually and that the naturall life of the creatures created by the word are preserved The word therefore of every severall seventh dayes rest is the Decree of God to man as God hath revealed himselfe to be known and worshipped by man in the severall state and condition of man and therefore the severall Covenants made by God with man in his severall state and condition are established upon the immediate command of the word of every severall seventh dayes rest Adam therefore in his greatest state of perfection must not exceed the revealed light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest to pry in the secret Councell of God and to know what God had decreed concerning man Now the hand of God by the power of his word is either positive or permissive By the hand of Gods positive power by his word God doth actually and positively concurre with the act of his creature whereby the decreed act of his will is execute upon earth By the permissive power of his word God doth permit the act of his creature to doe what God hath decreed to be done or he doth restraine and divert the act of his creature as it is contrary to that which God hath decreed to be done Gods permissive power by his word in this two-fold sense is either necessary or free By the necessary permissive power of his word God in his justice doth necessarily permit what he hath obliged himselfe unto by Covenant proceeding immediately from his eternall decree What God doth otherwise permit God doth most freely permit and in this sense God is said to be a most free Agent By the permissive power therefore of his word the decreed act of his will is equally execute as by the positive power of the word in which twofold power the providence of God to his creatures doth consist God therefore according to his eternall Councell and Decree having created man male and female in such an admirable state of naturall and spirituall perfection as all the created powers of God were not able to necessitate Adams will to disobey the command of God by his word and God having obliged himselfe by Covenant to Adam and to all men created in Adam to the continuation of the eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest upon the eternall continuation of the perfection of Adams obedience and to inflict the eternall curse of the Law by eternall death upon Adams disobedience to the command of his word which was the necessary command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest God without highest injustice by the breach of his Covenant could neither restraine Satan from tempting Adam or support Adam being tempted by Satan And this was the hand of Gods necessary permissive power by his word to permit Satan to tempt Adam Satan therefore in this temptation did doe but what Gods Councell by the necessary hand of the permissive power of his word had decreed and determined to be done for God by his eternall Decree by his Covenant had barred himselfe from restraining of Satans tempting of Adam or from supporting of Adam tempted by Satan So in like manner to come to the word of the Scripture objected by the propugnators of the absolute Decree God according to his Councell and Decree from all eternity having obliged himselfe by Covenant in the promise of the blessed seed to Adam and to all men condemned to the curse of eternall death in Adam the head that man the eternall Son of his love Christ Jesus should become man of the seed of the woman in time and by his cursed death of the Crosse redeemed Adam and all men condemned in Adam from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam God therefore in his justice by his Covenant did barre himselfe from the restraining of the acts of Satan and of his cruell instruments in the crucifying of the Lord of life and this was the hand of the necessary permissive power of his word to Herod Pontius Pilate to the Gentiles to the people of Israel to Judas and to the rest of that bloody band Acts 4.28 who did nothing in this case but what Gods eternall Councell and Decree determined to be done by the hand of the permissive power of his word
and therefore to conclude this Point As it had beene highest presumption in Adam in his state of perfection by his contemning of the revealed light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest to have attempted by any false light to search into the secret Councell of God to know what God had decreed concerning man So it is a most presumptuous attempt in men of this age by transcending and contemning the very foundation of the light of the whole Scripture of God which is the light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest and of the first Covenant established thereon and to obtrude the fearefull light of such a miserable absolute decree to the conscience of man as to affirme that God of the Law of Righteousnesse contrary to all righteousnesse out of his alone meere pleasure without all subordinate respect did decree to condemne all the world to the eternall torments of hell except a certaine number of men whom hee decreed to elect and save and that for the execution of this miserable decree God did decree from all eternity to necessitate Adams will by the irresistable power of this decree to fall under the eternall curse of the Law and that without any respect to his Covenant made with Adam without any respect to his Law or to Adams merit by Adams transgression of the Law Thus having removed from the perfection of mans creation the obtruded internall causes of the fall of man I come next to the declaration of the true efficient cause of the fall of man as it is set downe in the sacred Word CHAP. IV. The Angels bound and obliged to the Law of God AS Eve the woman man female was first in the transgression wee are to begin with the declaration of the efficient cause of Eves transgression of the Law of God which was meerly externall The externall efficient cause of Eves fall was principall and instrumentall The principall externall efficient cause as it will appeare by the subsequent declaration was Satan The instrumentall efficient cause of Eves transgression was first the Serpent secondly the objective fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evill thirdly the words of the first Covenant Gen. 2.17 dying thou shalt dye though the two last were but causes by accident The causes inducing Adams fall were these three and Eve her selfe which was the fourth cause Satan therefore that old crooked Serpent enemy to God and man was the principall efficient externall cause of the fall of man the rest Satan did use or rather abuse for his instruments The cause of Satans betraying of man was Satans malice against God and his envy to man advanced to such high honour of dominion over the earth and over the creatures of the earth in such high love and favour of God from whose love and glorious presence Satan was disgracefully cast downe from the Heavens for Satan by the infinite word being created a most glorious Angelicall spirit in the heighth of angelicall perfection by the power of the word of the law actually and spiritually enlightned as all Angels were created for by the immediate power of the word the Angels do live move intellectually and spiritually and have their intellectuall and spirituall being The Angels therefore according to the internall power of the word were obliged to the command of the Law of God as well as man and therefore it is affirmed by the Apostle 2 Pet. 2.4 that the Angels sinned and sinne being the transgression of the Law the Angels must be obliged to the command of the angelicall word of the Law and consequently and necessarily the Angels by the power of the word in the justice of God must be enabled with equall power to fulfill the command of the Law for as it may appeare by Satans fall the Angels are obliged to the command of the Law upon the curse of eternall death for there is but one reall word of the Law of God obliging all the intellectuall creatures created by the word though formally differing according to the differing sphere of the intellectuall creature man in the humane sphere is formally and humanely obliged to the Law of God the Angels in the angelicall sphere formally and angelically and both eternally obliged Now Satan by his proud contempt of God by his transgression of the Law having falne from the heighth of his angelicall perfection and felicity wherein hee was created under the eternall angelicall curse of the Law Satan was cast down like lightning from heaven to eternall darknesse Luk. 10.18 Eph. 6.12 without all hope of redemption eternally banished from the glorious presence of God and from the society of the numberlesse number of the blessed Angels who according to the eternall Decree of God do stand in the grace of their created perfection by the power of the Resurrection of the word made flesh of the seed of the woman as they were created by the power of the word for the Lords infinite merit by his rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed Seed doth descend to the Angels by whose infinite merit the Angels are conserved in their created estate as ministring spirits for the safety of the Elect. By reason of this shamefull and ignominious disgrace of Satan by such a high fall by the angelicall curse of the Law Satan became malitiously desperate against God for though Satan by the angelicall curse of the Law was deprived of all spirituall understanding and action yet the angelicall intellectuall power of his understanding and action which is so admirable did remaine for by this power Satan works all his mischiefe against God and man Satan therefore being puft up maliciously against God and knowing man to be the most beloved creature of God and seeing that man should hold such high soveraignty and such high favour and esteeme with God from whose favour Satan had so disgracefully fallen This did so aggravate Satans infelicity as that his malicious impatiency did carry him as it were headlong in contempt of God to work his malice upon innocent man and to induce man by the transgression of the Law of God by the word of his Law commanding man to fall into the like condemnation with himselfe for Satan no doubt did apprehend that it was as impossible for man to be redeemed from the eternall curse of the humane obligement of the Law as for himselfe to be redeemed from the angelicall curse of the Law By this meanes Satan thought to be revenged on God in the destruction of his darling man and to make the whole works of the Creation suffer in the destruction of man who was created the ornament and perfection of the works of the Creation Satan therefore knowing man to be created in such an admirable estate of naturall and spirituall perfection Satan did excogitate such a mighty temptation as was able to shake the perfection of the most perfect intellectuall creature of God as it is an intellectuall creature which may
affection was most dearly and intimatly united and herein was the devils cunning First therefore of Satans tempting of Eve by his instrument the Serpent and next of Eves tempting of Adam seduced by Satan in the Serpent In Satans tempting of Eve by the Serpent his first policy was by a subtill question to induce Eve to conference to the end that by Eves reply to the Serpent Eve might let fall some words by her answer for Satan to take advantage to work his foule murdering desire The question like Satan himselfe was a most subtill question who for his winding every way in a man by the subtilty of his temptation is called a Serpent in the Scripture First therefore of the question moved by the Serpent to Eve and next of Eves answer to the Serpent CHAP. VII Satans subtill question to Eve by the Serpent SAtan in his subtill question by the Serpent doth sticke to the second ground of his project which is the freedome of the love of man to the externall sensitive object enlightned by whatsoever light The words of the question are these Gen. 3.1 Yee here the Serpent makes a pause as it were by the way of admiration hath God said yee shall not eate of every Tree of the Garden The sense of the words is this Is it true or is it possible that man whom it seemeth that God hath made Lord over the earth and creatures should be barred from that freedome which is not denyed to the very sensitive creatures which at their pleasure freely eat of every pleasing herbe agreeable to their sensitive nature wherein the whole sensitive pleasure and contentment of the sensitive creature doth consist and must man a creature both intellectuall and sensitive and the Lord of the creatures bee curbed and denyed the like freedome to eate of what fruit man hath a minde to eate of Here was a most divellish question to set a woman as she is a naturall woman a longing without any further and who is able to say that Eve did not then long by reason of her first conception which is the sensitive conception of woman Though the question be cunningly and coveredly moved by the Serpent yet if we consider the readinesse of Eves apprehension in her state of perfection wee shall finde that Eve did apprehend the depth of the question and began to be sensible both of the restraint of her freedome and likewise of death threatned by the Covenant which two of all things under the heavens are most averse to the free nature of man as hee is man intellectuall and sensitive But Eve as yet doth modestly containe her selfe and Satan in the Serpent was no lesse wary for Satan of purpose did make no mention by his question of death threatned by the Covenant for Satan was sure that by the subtilty of his question he had given Eve such a blow being in the state of perfection as she should be quickly sensible both of the restraint of her freedome and of death threatned by the Covenant which innocent Eve before that time had no reason to think of Yet for all this Eve in this Duell at first like her selfe did stoutly stand to the marke containing her selfe within the compasse of her morall sphere actually and morally though Eve began to faint spiritually for the blow was so dangerous and touched Eves freedome so neere as in her answer to the Serpent by uttering the words of the Covenant Eve fell short as wee shall heare by the words of her answer to the Serpents question CHAP. VIII Eves Fall THe words of Eves answer to the Serpents question are these Gen. 3.2 We eate of the Trees of the Garden but of the Tree which is in the midst of the Garden God hath said yee shall not eate of it neither shall ye touch it lest yee dye In these words first Eve did give a most cleere testimony of her perfect understanding of God the Creator by the word of his Law and Covenant for in Eves acknowledging of Gods bounty and blessing in allowing to our first parents the fruit of the Trees of the Garden which was by the blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of God the Creator Eve did acknowledge her immediate dependence upon the blessing of her gracious Creator by his word Secondly Eve by acknowledging Gods command by his word commanding our first parents to abstaine from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge upon the paine of death Eve did acknowledge the Soveraignty of God the Creator over man and mans obliged obedience to God which is the summe of the first Covenant in these words God hath said whose word is the command of his Law to man Yee shall not eate of the fruit of the Tree in the midst of the Garden that is of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evill whose command we are to obey lest we dye to wit a dying death which is eternall death Though the temptation by the subtill question touched Eves freedome so neere that Eve fell short in the repeating of the word of the Covenant for while as the word of the Covenant was dying yee shall dye Eve said to the Serpent we must not touch the fruit of the Tree in the midst of the Garden lest we dye Now death was the word which cunning Satan in the Serpent watched for that Eve should let fall whereat Satan in the Serpent taking advantage did give a fresh assault to Eve most impudently contradicting the word of God by his Covenant saying Yee shall not dye at all and with a breath before Eve could reply sawcie Satan in the Serpent by a most calumnious lye against God did second the assault saying God doth know that when yeâ— eate thereof to wit of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge your eyes shall be opened and yee shall be as Gods knowing good and evill as if the Serpent should have most inpudently and blasphemously said God hath commanded you of purpose upon the paine of death that ye shall not eate of that fruit for God doth well know that if you doe eate thereof the eyes of your understanding shall be enlightned with the perfection of Gods owne understanding which doth consist in the perfect understanding both of good and evill and consequently with the perfection of the imdependent action of God by meanes whereof yee shall be secure from any feare of death threatned by any Covenant for by this independent freedome yee shall be equall to God himselfe At which divellish false calumnious suggestion Eve out of the perfection of her naturall understanding did begin to be jealous of God as envious of such perfection and felicity to man whereby man might be equall to God and that so easily to be attained unto to wit by eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge which under the paine of death man must not touch for Eve must have apprehended for any thing she knew that there was as great vertue
partner of her expected transcendant felicity as Adam was the true owner of her lov◠〈…〉 beautifull hand present the fruit to Adam using her most pâ—rswâ—â—â—â—â—â—â—ions to move Adam to eate of the fruit and no question Eve was the more instant that both in time might prevent threatned death by the Covenant which Eve was confident to be prevented by their mutuall eating of the fruit whereby both were suggested to be equall to God and free from all feare and danger of death Adam therefore presuming on Eves judgement and wisdome which he knew to be equall with his owne by hearing of the suggested vertue of the fruit suggested by the Serpent and confirmed by such apparent reasons Adam did begin to be as confident and as much affected with the hopefull expected felicity of the suggested vertue of the fruit as Eve her selfe for otherwise all Adams love to Eve and all Eves amorous perswasions of Adam could never have induced Adam to runne upon so desperate a hazzard Wretched Adam therefore in confidence by eating of the fruit to bee equall to God himselfe did take of the forbidden fruit and eate thereof mounting himselfe upon the ambitious wings of so neere affected Deity in flying at so lofty a pitch till by the glorious splendor thereof Adams ambitious wings being scorched Adam with his posterity Icarus-like fell down in the bottomlesse sea of Gods eternall wrath under the fearefull curse of the Law hopelesse helplesse eternally upon earth and all by the miserable sting of the old Serpents darknesse ending alwayes in afflictions though this was the affliction of afflictions for as Adams transgression of the command of God of the Law of Righteousnesse was the transgression of all men created in Adam the head of all men naturally to descend of Adam to the end of the world whereby the first Covenant made betweene God and man upon the immediate command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of Righteousnesse was broken by man so Adam and all men created and falne in Adam the head according to the first Covenant were eternally condemned by the Law of Righteousnesse to the curse of eternall death without all hope of mercy or redemption Now though it be manifest by the Scripture that by the transgression of one precept the whole Law of God is necessarily transgressed and therefore this precept of the forbidden fruit transgressed by Adam being the necessary command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of Righteousnesse for as hath beene formerly declared the word of God commanding man hath the onely power of command but as it is implyed in the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law and therefore the curse of the Law of Righteousnesse was due by the Law for the transgression of the command though I say by the transgression of this one command the whole Law was transgressed yet for the Readers satisfaction it shall be declared that by the transgression of this one command every severall precept of the Decalogue set downe to Moses was necessarily transgressed taking the Law in the simple formall obligement without any respect either to the Propheticall or Evangelicall obligement of the Law CHAP. X. By the transgressing of the command of the forbidden fruit every Precept of the Law was transgressed FIrst our first parents being condemned to the eternall curse of the Law for the transgression of the command of the forbidden fruit they were utterly disabled from the first seventh dayes commanded worship whereby the fourth precept of the first Table was transgressed Secondly our first parents by following the Serpents advice and by expecting by eating of the forbidden fruit to become Gods they had other Gods contrary to the first precept of the Decalogue Thirdly the false deceiving words of the serpent being imprinted and as it were graven in the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge to induce our first parents to eate of the fruit was the first graven image of the devils erection to which our first parents did bow and bend all the whole powers of their love and affection contrary to the second precept of the Decalogue Fourthly by our first parents assenting to the Serpents blasphemous belying of God the sacred Name of God was taken in vaine contrary to the third precept of the first Table in which foure precepts is the summe of the first Table of the Law Fifthly by the transgressing of the command of the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve did dishonour their parents contrary to the first precept of the second Table whose parents were the blessed Trinity though the second Person was not then revealed Sixthly Adam by transgressing of the command of the forbidden fruit did kill all his posterity by the procuring the curse of eternall death upon himselfe and his posterity contrary to the second precept of the second Table Seventhly our first parents by their spirituall adulterous whoredome with their idoll of the Devils erection did commit adultery contrary to the third precept of the second Table Eighthly Adam by procuring of the curse of the Law against his posterity did steale away all the naturall and spirituall gifts wherein they were created which by the first Covenant were as due to them as to Adam himselfe contrary to the fourth precept of the second Table Ninthly by our first parents assenting to the false calumnious lie of the Serpent against God our first parents did bear false witness against God for the command of the fifth Precept of the second table doth extend as well to God as to man Tenthly and lastly our first parents by coveting to be Gods did transgress the last precept of the second table whereby every precept of the whole Law was necessarily transgressed by our first parents Before we do proceed an Objection is to be answered CHAP. XI The Decree of Predistination was not suspendible by Adam though created in the estate of naturall and spirituall perfection ADam being created in the state of such naturall and spirituall perfection as did equall the perfection of the Law to which he was so necessarily obliged it was in the freedome of Adams power to have resisted Satans temptation by resisting whereof the Decree of Predestination had been suspended It is therefore concluded by the Authors and maintainers of the absolute Decree that there was a necessity that the freedome of Adams will must be necessitate by the absolute Decree to yeeld to the temptation of Satan lest the Decree of Predestination should be suspended I answer to the Objection It is true that Adam was created in such estate of naturall and spirituall perfection as did equall the command of the Law but this perfection was with equall freedome of naturall morall and spirituall action without the determining of the act of the one by the act of the other as hath been formerly declared Adam therefore in respect of his freedome of election had the power to be induced or not induced
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
of man were morally enabled to believe the promised rest of the blessed seed from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam upon the Sabbath and by the power of the word of righteousness of faith in their heart were inabled to bring forth the morall and ceremoniall works of faith according to the formall command of the Law of faith So now by the power of the redeemed word of the law of Faith written in the heart of man really one with the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Evangelicall Law of righteousness of faith the redeemed naturall man is morally inabled to believe the fulfilled promise of the blessed seed and to bring forth the morall works of faith according to the command of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Evangelicall Law of righteousness of faith And therefore though the redeemed naturall man from the curse of eternall death and darkness be shut up and concluded in temporall spirituall darknes till he be regenerate and dead as he is a spirituall man without any manner of spirituall understanding or action and necessitate to spirituall unbelief yet the redeemed naturall man is not shut up and concluded in naturall and morall darkness and dead as he is a naturall man necessitate to morall unbelief but by the power of the redeemed word written in the heart of man The naturall man is alive with freedome of naturall and morall grace by the act of his understanding will and senses to believe the promise of the blessed seed by the old covenant and the fulfilled promise by the new covenant for the word of the Law of righteousness of faith obliged both by the old and new covenant is first and immediately morally commanded though necessarily implying the spirituall command and that as well upon the merciless curse of the Law of Faith as upon the eternall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of faith If the redeemed naturall man therefore were concluded and necessitate to morall unbelief as by his concluding in spirituall darkness he is necessitate to spirituall unbelief First it were impossible for the redeemed naturall man to give morall obedience to the command of the Law of faith obliged either by the old or new covenant But more impossible for God in this case to make his old or new covenant with man For it were high injustice in God to oblige man redeemed from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam to believe his promise upon the merciless curse of the Law of faith while the redeemed naturall man in the mean time was necessitate both to morall and spirituall unbelief Secondly in the free naturall and morall act of the understanding will and senses of the redeemed naturall man which naturall and morall act is really one though formally differing the perfection of the redemption of the naturall man as he is man intellectuall and sensitive doth consist which being necessitate man is no man Thirdly such morall necessitating of the redeemed will of man and consequently of his externall senses doth inferre a necessary contradiction in the act of the redemption of the naturall man for by the literall light of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith written in his heart really one with the literall light of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of faith the naturall man is morally inabled to believe the word preached for the literall light of the word is in the sound of the word and therefore it is said Rom. 10.17 that Faith which is morall faith is by the hearing of the Word And by the necessitating of the morall act of the understanding will and consequently of the senses of the naturall man he is necessitate to morall unbelief which is a manifest contradiction Hence I inferre these seven Theologicall necessary conclusions First the redeemed naturall man by the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousness of Faith written in his heart which is of one reall light and command with the eternall light and command of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith the redeemed naturall man is morally inabled with the grace of morall faith to believe the word of promise which is really one with the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith First in the promise of the blessed seed by the old covenant and now by faith in the fulfilled promise by the new covenant made with all the nations of the world Secondly and consequently by the power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnes of Faith written in the heart of the redeemed naturall man the naturall man is morally inabled to bring forth the works of morall faith according to the formall command of the Law of Faith without any manner of necessitating of his will to morall disobedience by the temptation of Satan or his instruments for if either Satan or any created power of God could necessitate the will of the redeemed man to morall disobedience God in his justice could never oblige man to the command of his Law upon the curse of eternall death either by the old or new covenant Though Satan therefore be necessitate to tempt man as shall be declared hereafter yet Satan with all his power must either induce the redeemed naturall man freely and willingly to disobedience or no way Thirdly the redeemed naturall man by the power of the light of the word of the Law and life of righteousness of faith in his heart really one with the literall light of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of Faith is morally inabled to know when he doth transgresse the Law of faith by bringing forth the works of unbelief and unrighteousness by his actuall sins and to repent him of his actuall sins for fear of the curse of the Law For the grace of morall faith doth necessarily presuppose the grace of morall repentance And this is the reason that from the promise of the blessed seed throughout the old and new Testament all men are continually called upon to forsake their actuall sins and unrighteousness and by repentance to turn and reconcile themselves to God for all naturall men by the perfection of their redemption are inabled with the morall grace of repentance without any manner of necessitating of their impenitency by the power of Satan or his instruments For the grace of morall repentance being necessitate the grace of morall faith is likewise inevitably necessitate Fourthly the redeemed naturall man being morally inabled with the grace of morall faith and repentance without any manner of necessitating of his will to morall unbelief and impenitency The grace of spirituall faith is promised by the old and new covenant in God prefixed time to the continuation of his morall obedience by the morall works of faith
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
all men concluded in originall sin originall sin entred in the world by descending upon his posterity and temporall naturall death by that sin that all men may acknowledge that they were all transgressors of the Law in Adam their head So temporall natuâ—all death did passe over all men young and old male and female from Adam â—o Moses In the 14. verse of the 5. Chapter to the Romans the Apostle doth â—ffirm Adam to be the figure of Christ Jesus the second Adam for Adam was â—he figure of Christ in his redeemed estate concluded in spirituall darknesse â—nd originall sin and naturall death which followed that sin where the Apostle makes a threefold comparison between the first and second Adam â—he first is in the 15. verse the sense of the words is this As by the first Adam in whom all men sinned by his first transgression of â—he Law as he is the redeemed head of all men concluded in spirituall darkâ—esse and naturall death many are dead to wit by naturall death So by the â—pirituall enlightning of the spirituall darknesse of man by the spirituall light â—f the second Adam the grace of spirituall faith did abound to many whereby many are alive and in this sense the 19. verse is to be understood The second comparison is in the 16. verse the sense whereof is this 〈◊〉 was for the one sin of the first Adam against the Law of righteousnesse â—hat all men were eternally condemned but it is for the remission of many â—ctually committed against the Law of righteousnesse of faith that the faithfull are justified by faith in the second Adams infinite merit The third comparison is in the 18. verse the sense is this As by the first Adams first sin against the law of righteousnesse all men were condemned to eternall death so by the righteousnesse of the second Adam by his satisfying of the transgressed law of righteousnesse for man by his cursed death the free gift of his merit came upon all men to the justification of life for that first sin so that neither Adam neither any man naturally descended or to descend of Adam to the and of the world shall ever be charged with that first sin of Adam to condemne man Of the concluding of the redeemed naturall man in originall sin arising of the spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbeliefe I infer these ten Theologicall demonstrative conclusions 1. The first transgression of the law by Adam as he was simply obliged to the law of righteousnesse was infinite and mercilesse without any revealed mercy It was infinite because the transgression of the law of righteousnesse is the contempt of God as he is God and the transgression was mercilesse because the second Person in whom is only mercy was not then revealed to Adam 2. The act of the redemption of man from the eternall curse of the law of righteousnesse being performed by man Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God begot man of the seed of woman in time in the justice of God doth equall the eternity of the curse of the law for the transgression of the law of righteousnes by man 3. All men created in Adam the head transgressors of the law in Adam condemned to eternall death and darknesse for Adams first sin are all redeemed from the eternal curse of the law for that first sin by the cursed death of Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God as he is man begot of the seed of the woman And by the eternall Decree of God all men in Adam the redeemed head of man are concluded in originall sin and temporall naturall death which followed that sin 4. It is only for actuall sin by the transgression of the law of righteousnesse of faith for which man is now condemned to the eternall curse of the law of faith and that by finall contempt and impenitency for all men by the old and new Covenant have all the dayes of this life to repent them of their actuall sins 5. Fifthly and consequently the childe in the wombe actually and intellectually informed man and the son of Adam departing this life or being borne and departing this life before the childe come to actuall morall understanding and action the childe doth depart free from actuall sinne and a true Saint in heaven for the childe is redeemed in Adam the head by the sacred blood of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God begot man of the seed of the woman in time by whose pretious blood all men naturally descended and to descend of Adam the redeemed head of man are saved from the curse of the law of the sinne of Adam And therefore our Saviour saith Mar. 10.14 Suffer little children to come unto mee for of such is the Kingdome of heaven 6. Though originall sin doth descend upon all men from Adam the redeemed head of all men yet Adams actuall sins doe not descend upon his posterity For since the fall and redemption of man the soule that sinneth must only dye for the sin Ezek. 18.4 And therefore while as it is said I wiâ— visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation This visiting of God must be understood of his temporall visitation by his temporall judgements in this life which is a caveat for all parents to have a care of their posterity lest by their evill example they induce their children to follow their sin and so draw downe the temporall judgements of God upon their children in this life 7. The doore of the naturall mans spirituall darknesse is only and immediately opened by the spirituall key of David enlightning the understanding of the naturall man with the grace of spirituall faith in the act of regeneration While that door therefore standeth open which all the created powers of God cannot shut againe though the regenerate man doth too too often stumble and fall yet the regenerate man can never fall totally and finally from the grace of spirituall faith 8. The free pardon of actuall sin is onely and immediately by the free mercy of the Lord Iesus Christ For by whose immediate spirituall power spirituall faith is begot by his onely immediate power actuall sin is onely pardoned which power since the power of the high Priest is determined is communicall to all the created powers of God for this power is the immediate act of the holy Spirit 9. Though Adams good workes while he stood in the state of created perfection did proceed from his spirituall faith in the promise of God the Creator yet the reward and eternall blessing of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse was not due by the Law immediately to Adams faith but immediately to his workes But the eternall blessing of the word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse of faith is due by the Law immediately to the faith of man and not immediately to the workes of Faith though by the Law of faith the workes of
shift by sewing of figtree leaves together with strawes or some such like thing to cover their deformity Here by the way another Question may be moved What was the reason that our first parents were so carefull to cover their privie parts more then any other part of their bodies I answer briefly because under the name of Adam as Adam is the head of all men to descend of Adam by naturall generation man male and female is comprehended For of Adam as he is man male simply no man can naturally descend of Adam by naturall generation And therefore it is said that God made man male and female Our first parents therefore by this act in covering of the instrumentall parts of generation do most lively expresse the shame and overthrow of their posterity by their first sin which is a main fundamentall point of faith I return to Adams answer Notwithstanding of Adams ungracious and unthankfull answer to God yet God will not thus leave Adam God therefore doth presse Adam in these words Gen. 3.12 Who told thee that thou wast naked And to the end that God might move Adam to the confession of the fact God still presseth Adam in these words Hast thou eaten of the fruit which I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat By which words God much like a temporall Judge who intending to save a delinquent guilty of death by the Law doth teach the guilty what to say for himself For the Question taken affirmatively is the confession of the fact By this Question Adam was so prest by God that Adam in a manner doth confesse the fact but it was like the confession of a naturall man by adding sin to sin for by his confession most shamefully and unthankfully first Adam doth charge God as the cause of his foul transgression to wit because God had given him Eve to wife Secondly Adam for all his love to Eve doth charge Eve likewise with the cause of his transgression hoping by this means to excuse himself and to make Eve suffer a dying death for his own foul ambition where we may observe that when God by his Word doth threaten the natural man by his judgements for sin all the dearest pleasures which hath induced him to sin are blamed as the cause of his sin hoping thereby to free himself from wrath though all in vain yet God mercy and patience it self doth patiently bear with Adams impenitent obstinacy and next calleth Eve CHAP. XVI Eves arraignment by God for her transgression of the Law GOd doth in like manner call Eve graciously by his Word to repentance in these words Gen. 3.13 And the Lord said to the woman Wby hast thou done this as if the words had been set down after this manner by Moses Eve what hast thou done Did not I create thee with such power and perfection as that thou shouldest have been a mutuall help and comfort to thy husband and thou most ungraciously art the instrument and means of the ruine of you both and of your posterity Eve fearing the curse of the Law by a dying death to be inflicted both upon her self and Adam according to the covenant doth post over the cause of her transgression upon the Serpent in hope thereby to have freed her self and Adam from the curse notwithstanding of Adams unkinde charging of Eve for being the cause of his own wilfull disobedience and to have had the curse inflicted upon the Serpent who had so maliciously betrayed both her and Adam where it may plainly appear that as yet there was no remorse in either of both for their horrible sin notwithstanding of Gods so gracious calling of both by his immediate Word but God mercy and patience it self doth bear patiently with both For God in his eternall purpose did decree to move both to repentance by another means afterwards to be declared when we come to the entring of the second covenant In the mean time the judicious Reader may manifestly observe that though our first parents by their answers to God upon their arraignment did shew themselves like naturall men without any manner of spirituall understanding or action being shut up in spirituall darknesse according to the eâ—ernall Decree of God yet by their free answers to God it doth plainly appear that though they were condemned to the curse of eternall death and darknesse yet the curse of the Law was not actually inflicted upon either of both for the necessary reasons formerly declared For it was for fear of the curse of a dying death to be actually inflicted upon them to which they were so necessarily obliged by the first covenant that they did so shift and post over the cause of the horrible fact from one to another And so much briefly for the arraignment of our first parents for their transgression of the Law of righteousnesse as they were simply obliged to the Law by the first covenant Next therefore of the censure of God for the transgression of the Law CHAP. XVII The sensitive creature called the Serpent before the curse did walk upon legs as other sensitive cattle and beasts of the field GOd doth pronounce his censure for the transgression of the Law upon all the parties accessary to the transgression beginning at the first party where the cause of the transgression doth begin and so in order to the last party delinquent The first party delinquent which was the first and immediâ—te cause of the transgression of the Law was the sensitive Serpent The second was the old murthering Serpent Satan The third party was the woman man female which was betrayed by the Serpent The fourth and last party delinquent was Adam man male First therefore of the censure of God upon the Serpent The censure of the Serpent is set down by Moses after a twofold manner First the censure is set down as it concerns the Serpent in particular Secondly the censure is set down as the censure inflicted upon the Serpent doth likewise concern the woman but after a farre differing manner The censure as it doth concern the Serpent in particular is set down in these words Gen. 3.13 Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field Vpon thy belly thou shalt go and dust shalt thou eat all the dayes of thy life The censure upon the Serpent hath a literall and mysticall sense First of the literall sense By the literall sense of the censure the sensitive Serpent is cursed above all the cattle and beasts of the field and first the cause of the curse is set down and secondly the curse is pronounced by God by his Word The cause of the curse is because thou hast done this that is because by thy false suggestion thou hast betrayed man to fall under the curse of the Law The curse of the Law is pronounced by God upon the sensitive creature called the Serpent without all calling or examination which of all judgements is the most
old Serpent Rev. 20.2 from his stinging and killing of man from the beginning The poison of his sting is malice the bait whereby he doth bait his sting is his false pleasing deceitfull light called Satans darknesse for by the pleasing light of his miserable sting man doth greedily swallow the bait whereby man is stung to the heart From the great power of Satans sting whereby he did sting all men to eternall death from the beginning Satan Isa 27.1 is called a Dragon Satan Rev. 20.2 is called the great Leviathan which devoureth so many fishes at one mouthfull Satan from his stinging of all men from the beginning is called the Murderer of mankinde From his continuall stinging of man to make them fall by finall impenitency under the mercilesse curse of the Law of Faith Joh. 8.44 Satan is likewise called a Murderer Rev. 12.9 Satan is called the Devill because Satan having stung man by inducing man to commit sin upon sin Satan doth object to wretched man the severity of Gods justice continually accusing man for his sins against God and the impossibility of Gods mercy to the multitude of his sins whereby wretched man without Gods preventing mercy in his Son Christ Jesus is stung with the sting of despair Satan for his stinging of all men by his first blasphemous lie against God whereby he betrayed all men is called Joh. 8.44 the father of lies For lying is the first seed that he sowes amongst men even in a manner from the cradle From the great power of the false light wherewith he baits his sting to deceive man Satan is called the Prince of darknesse because by the power of his great false light the literall light of the word of the Law and life of righteousnesse written in the heart of man is obscured and darkned and in this sense Satan is likewise called 2 Cor. 4.4 God of the earth from the multitude of his followers As the cause of the curse is first set down and then the curse of the Law is literally pronounced upon the sensitive Serpent So the cause is first mystically set down to Satan and then the curse is pronounced upon the old Serpent Satan The cause is set down in these words because thou hast done this The mysticall sense of the words is this Satan because thou hast done this that is because thou hast been the first cause and author of this mischief to wit not only of the condemnation of Adam and of all men naturally to descend of Adam to eternall death and darknesse by the curse of the Law of righteousnesse but because thou art likewise the cause of the cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God as he is man in redeeming of man from the eternall curse of the Law cursed therefore art thou above all the intellectuall creatures of God as thy instrument the Serpent is cursed above all the cattle and beasts of the field because thou hast done this According to the two branches of the curse literally inflicted upon the sensitive Serpent The two branches are mystically inflicted upon Satan in the Serpent The first is Vpon thy belly thou shalt goe Mystically Satan must go upon his belly the mysticall sense of the words is this Satan thou art cast down upon the belly of thy great power whereby thou didst so maliciously betray and deceive the first Adam and all men created in Adam the head so that thou shalt never rise again Rev. 20.10 with such a high hand of power to deceive and betray the second Adam to wit Christ Jesus and his mysticall members This mysticall sense of the first branch of the curse inflicted upon Satan is set down by the Apostle Jude chap. 6. to be the eternall chains of darknesse to which Satan ever since is chained like a Bear to the stake the compasse of which chain Satan must not passe over neither do within the compasse of that chain but what Satan is permitted by God For though Satan was cast down from the heavens like lightning Luke 10.18 by the curse of the Angelicall obligement of the Law which he did transgresse For Satan sinned Satan therefore transgressed the Law whereby he was Angelically obliged Yet Satans power was wonderfull untill he brought himself within the compasse of the curse of the humane obligement of the Law by his betraying of innocent man which is now pronounced by God upon Satan whereby Satans high power is curbed and himself confined and chained till the great day when Satan shal receive his final judgement and be cast down in the eternall burning lake Rev. 20.10 for his malicious betraying of man Who as he did first betray the woman man female so by man the seed of the woman he shall be condemned in the great day to wit by man Christ Jesus and his mysticall members who is the mysticall man which must break the head of the great Serpent in the great day to his eternall confusion And this is the reason that Satan did so saucily challenge our Saviour Mat. 8.29 for tormenting of him before his time Because our Saviour crossed Satan by dispossessing of the man possessed with Satans malicious spirit The second branch of the curse literally inflicted upon the sensitive Serpent as the literall curse doth concern the Serpent in particular is mystically inflicted upon the old Serpent Satan in these words Dust shalt thou eat all the dayes of thy life By the mysticall sense of this branch of the curse Satan is necessitate to feed upon the dust of the earth By the dust of the earth the foul dusty stinking sins of man since the fall is mystically signified which Satan must lick up and feed upon Mich. 7.17 or Satan must starve himself with his malice Prov. 14.28 Satans hunger and thirst therefore to make wretched man sin is one of the chief causes that Satan goeth about continually like a roaring Lion 1 Pet. 5.8 seeking whom he may devoure for Satan is necessitate by the curse to feed upon the sins of man whose insatiable hunger and thirst by reason of the necessity of this curse is never satisfied Another cause of Satans continuall going about seeking whom he may devoure is Satans fear lest too many should be regenerate and become mysticall members of the mysticall man and become Satans heavie judges in the great day For the Lord Jesus Christ united to his mysticall members is the mysticall man by whom Satants head and the head of his cursed seed in the great day must be finally and eternally broke to their eternall confusion And so much of the censure of God as it doth concern the sensitive Serpent and mystically the old Serpent Satan Next of the censure inflicted upon the Serpent as the censure doth likewise concern the woman CHAP. XIX As the censure inflicted upon the Serpent doth concern the woman THe censure of God upon the Serpent as it doth concern the woman is set down by Moses in these words Gen.
Church are mystically signified First those who by the preaching of the Word are morally begotten by moral faith And secondly those whom God according to his eternall purpose doth spiritually enlighten by the grace of spirituall faith who by their morall and spirituall love are morally and spiritually united to their immediate head the Lord Jesus Christ the Word and Truth and by that morall and spirituall union members of his body which is the militant Church of God upon earth Though this enmity and hatred be inflicted upon Satan and his cursed seed as a curse whereby they are induced to hate the truth and to persecute the possessed of the truth yet this enmity is not inflicted upon the Church and upon the seed of the Church as a curse For the Church of God as they are members of the Lord Jesus Christ in whom they live move and have their being they do hate all the professors of his truth who are the Church of God By this enmity therefore put between these parties irreconcileable mortall and bloody wars is raised between Satan and his seed and the Lord Jesus Christ the Word of truth and his members the Church begot of the seed of the Word And from this irreconcileable bloody wars the Church of God upon earth is said to be the militant Church This enmity and hatred to which Satan by the curse is necessitate is not only a simple privation of the former love and amity between God and Satan for Satan as hath been formerly declared was created a most glorious Angel in the high love and favour of God untill such time as Satan for his foul ambitious sin was cast down into a most despicable and disgracefull manner from the heavens and from his conversment with the blessed Angels who are ministring spirits sent out by God for the safety of his Chuâ—ch upon earth against the power of Satan and of his seed and therefore the eternall blessing of the Word of the Lords Evangelicall seventh dayes rest is extended to the blessed Angels according to the eternall Decree of God by the immediate power of which blessing the blessed Angels do stand in their created perfection Satan therefore by this enmity is not only deprived of his former love to God and to his truth but likewise Satan for his betraying of man by his belying of the truth Satan is necessitate by a positive enmity and hatred to hate the truth and to persecute the Professors of the truth and so are his cursed brood whom Satan by the sowing of his seed begets to be bloody finall persecutors of the Church Here two Questions may be moved the first is this Are all those the cursed seed of Satan who are called the children and seed of Satan I answer The seed of Satan is taken in a two-fold sense First all men who are actually sinners as they do sin actually are called the children and seed of Satan for actuall sin is from the Devill and of these many being stung by Satans sting of enmity sweetned by his false deceiving light are stirred up to be persecutors of the Church for a time though afterwards they become pillars of the Church and such a persecutor was Paul before his spirituall darknesse was spiritually enlightned by spirituall faith Secondly the seed of Satan is taken for those whom Satan by his bewitching sting of enmity sweetned by his false pleasing deceiving darknesse hath induced to such a finall hatred of all truth and of all professors of the truth provoking the long patience of God leading them so graciously to repentance till for their finall contempt and impenitency God in his justice doth justly give them over to a reprobate mind whereby they do inherit the curse of their father Satan and these are the only cursed seed of Satan The parties therefore of this irreconcileable mortall bloody wars is first Satan and not only his cursed seed but likewise all those whom by his false deceiving light Satan hath stirred up for a time to be haters of the truth and persecutors of the professors of the truth who are the Church of God The other party of this irreconcileable war is the Lord Jesus Christ the Word and the seed of the Church of which sacred seed the morall and mysticall members of his body are begot who out of their love to their head Truth it self do necessarily and mortally hate all haters of his truth and all persecutors of the professors of his truth The second question may be moved what is the reason that this irreconcileable enmity and hatred is put by the Lord between the parties whereby his Church is so continually and so bloodily persecuted and afflicted in this life by Satan and his seed since the Church is more dear to the Lord Jesus Christ then his own life as he is man was to himself I answer The reason is first that the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified by the redeemed valour of his militant Church in his continuall preservation thereof against the mighty power of Satan and his seed that the world may know that all their labour is in vain Secondly that his mysticall members in their mysticall head may victoriously revenge the blood of man upon Satan and his cursed seed in the great day by the finall breaking of their head to their eternall confusion Thirdly that in recompence of their valour for their couragious defending of the truth in this life they may be crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory in their mysticall head in the life to come For by the eternall Decree of God the victory of this irreconcileable war is decreed to the mysticall man Christ Jesus and his mysticall members The seed of the woman must break the head of the Serpent according to the second branch of the censure the mysticall sense whereof is next to be declared CHAP. XXI The mysticall sense of the second branch of the censure BY the mysticall sense of this second branch of the censure the victory of this irreconcileable war is decreed to the seed of the woman For as by the false suggestion of Satan the woman was first deceived by the Serpent so by the eternall Decree of God the head of the old murdering Serpent Satan and the head of his cursed seed shall be broke by the seed of the woman The mysticall woman therefore in this branch of the censure is the blessed Virgine and the mysticall seed of the Virgine is the Word who is promised to become man of the seed of the woman by whom the head of the Serpent must be broke In this second branch therefore of the censure the sacred generation conception birth death and resurrection of the Word as he is man of the seed of the woman is necessarily and mystically implied which is the meaning and sense of the promise of the blessed seed mystically set down in this second branch of the censure For the better conceiving of this sacred mystery first the
naturall generation of man is necessarily to be considered The naturall generation of man is performed first by the mutuall concourse of man male and female in the act of generation whereby the naturall seed of man male is received and united to the naturall seed of man female in the womb by the innate vertue and callidity whereof the masculine and feminine potentiall vertue of the united sensitive seed is produced in act in the matter of the seed and actually and sensitively conceived and formed And this is the first conception of woman which is the seminall and sensitive conception of man Secondly the formed sensitive body fed and nursed by the pure blood of the woman being brought to such sensitive perfection as the high elaborate vitall spirits of the heart doth appetite the intellectuall form the intellectuall soul humane spirit is essentially united to the vitall spirits of the heart of the Infant in the womb by the eternall Father of spirits according to his covenant by which immediate essentiall union the Infant in the womb is man and so conceived man by woman And this is the second conception of woman whereby man as he is man is conceived in the womb and in the prefixed time of naturall birth brough forth man by man female the woman without the naturall seed therefore of man male it is impossible that man can be either begot conceived or brought forth man by naturalll generation To return therefore to this sacred mysterie of the generation and conception of the word the promised blessed seed to be made flesh of the seed of the woman by whom the Serpents head is to be broke which is mystically set down in the second branch of this censure First by the word It in this branch of the censure the only naturall seed of the Virgin is mystically signified Secondly by this word It all naturall seed of man male is excluded from this sacred generation and consequently the sacred overshadowing power of the most High is necessarily implied By which sacred overshadowing act the potentiall masculine vertue was communicate and united to the potentiall vertue of the feminine seed in the womb of the Virgine and by the innate naturall power and callidity of the womb the united potentiall masculine and feminine vertue was produced in act in the matter of the Virgins seed of which sanctified seed that holy thing was conceived and actually and sensitively formed Thirdly this holy thing so formed was fed nursed and cherished by the pure naturall blood of the Virgine in the womb which being brought to such sensitive perfection as the elaborate vitall spirits of the heart of the holy thing did appetet the intellectuall form The true spirit of man begot by the Father of spirits essentially united to the divine nature was indivisibly and essentially united to the vitall spirits of the heart of the holy sensitive thing and by the indivisible power of the Trinity essentially anointed with the spirituall oil of gladnesse Heb. 1.9 and so conceived by the second conception of the Virgine and in the fulnesse of time brought forth the first born Son of the blessed Virgine and the naturall Son of the most High the word and the seed of the Church And thus was the Word made flesh of the seed of the woman which was most lively prefigurate by the ark of the covenant placed in the inner Tabernacle which was the covenant of the blessed seed whereby God did covenant with Adam and with all naturall men condemned in Adam the head that the Word should be born man of the seed of the woman by whose cursed death Adam and all men condemned in Adam should be redeemed from the eternall curse of the Law for that first sin which was prefigurate to the posterity by the Ark of the covenant First by the Ark the blessed Virgine was prefigurate by the capacity of the Ark the Virgines womb was signified By the word of the two tables of the Testimony the Word conceived in the Virgines womb was signified By the Pot of Manna the eternall life of the Word and by Aarons Rod his infinite power which were placed severally by the Word in the Ark signifying the essentiall union of the divine nature to the humane nature of the Word in the womb of the Virgin By the two Cherubims with their out-stretched wings overshadowing the Mercy-seat the overshadowing act of the indivisible power of the Trinity in the sacred generation of the Word of the seed of the Virgin was most lively represented For by the two cherubims the distinct persons of the Father and holy Spirit and by the Mercy-seat the second person of the Trinity Mercy it self is signified By which sacred overshadowing act of the indivisible power of the Trinity as the Word was first begot man sensitively of the seed of the Virgine so the Word was sensitively conceived by the Virgines first conception and as the Word being brought to sensitive perfection in the womb by the immediate act of the Father of spirits which is the indivisible act of the Trinity the holy thing was begot man essentially united to the divine nature So was the Word conceived by the second conception of the Virgine and in the fulnesse of time brought forth Mat. 1.25 the first born Son of the Virgin and the naturall Son of the most High and therefore that holy thing is called the naturall Son of God For though the sacred generation of the Word of the female seed of the Virgine was supernaturall yet the twofold conception of the Word by the Virgine the maintaining of the childe by her pure blood and the bringing forth of the Word so made man of the seed of the Virgine was the naturall act of the Virgine and therefore the Word made flesh of the seed of the woman true man essentially united to the divine nature and therefore it is said Colos 2.9 that in him the Godhead dwelleth bodily Of this gracious promise of the blessed seed thus prefigurate by the Ark three main fundamentall points are to be precisely observed First the pot of Manna and Aarons Rod placed severally by the Word of the two Tables of the Law in the Ark prefigurating the essentiall union of the divine nature to the humane nature of the Word was to signifie to all men that though the divine and humane nature of the Word were essentially and indivisibly united yet that this essentiall union is without any confounding of the two natures or of their essentiall attributes And therefore though we may truly say that the Word is God and man yet we cannot say that the Word is man as he is God or that he is God as he is man neither must we attribute the essential properties of the divine nature to the human nature of the word or the essential attributes of the human nature to the divine nature of the word The second point to be observed is the reason that the Church of
God is mystically signified by the woman the reason whereof is the twofold naturall conception of the woman which is as it were the embleme of the twofold conception of the morall and mysticall members of the Lord Jesus Christ which are brought forth by the Church For as the morall conception of the naturall man by morall faith by the preaching and sowing of the seed of the Word doth resemble the seminall and first conception of the woman So doth the spirituall conception of the regenerate man by the Church resemble the second conception of woman For though the regenerate man be spiritually enlightned by the immediate light of the holy Spirit yet that spirituall light is the spirituall light of the Word which is the seed of the Church and the regenerate man is enlightned thereby as he is a member of the Church which is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ The third main fundamentall point to be observed in this gracious promise is the immediate cause of the Lords love to his militant Church For the immediate sole efficient cause of his love to the Church is the essentiall union of this divine and humane nature of the Word As the immediate cause of this essentiall union is the Lords infinite love to all men eternally condemned to the curse of eternall death for the sin of Adam Whence the infinit joy and gladnesse of the sacred Trinity did arise to rest eternally upon the essential union of which essentiall union and unction doth arise the Lords love to his Church by his sacred Word as his Word by his love is the Image of this essentiall union For as by the literall light of his Word of the seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousnesse of faith proceeding from his love which is of one reall light with the redeemed word in the heart of man the naturall man is morally led to the Lords merit So by the Spirituall light of the Word proceeding from his spirituall love which is the spirituall light of his holy Spirit the regenerate man is spiritually led to the Lords merit and spiritually mystically and indivisibly united to his mysticall head For by this spirituall love all the regenerate are coupled and united joynt to joynt one to another and all indivisibly to their mysticall head whence the spirituall joy and gladnesse of the regenerate doth arise which is called the joy of the Holy Ghost for this spirituall union and unction is really one in the head and members but it is essentiall in the head and spirituall in the members spiritually flowing from the essentiall union and unction of the head and this is the reason that it is said by the Prophet David prophecying of this union and unction Psal 45.7 Thou hast anointed him with the oil of gladnesse above his fellowes Whose fellows are his mysticall brethren begotten of the same Father for both the head and the members are the sons of God the head essentially and therefore the naturall Son of God the members spiritually and therefore the spirituall and adopted sons of God in their mysticall head who are therefore predestinate to be made like to his Image that he might be the first born Son amongst many brethren And in this sense our Saviour is called Luke 2.7 The fiâ—st born Son of the Virgine the woman in respect of his mysticall members who are begot of the woman the Church Though the spirituall joy therefore of the regenerate doth many times ebbe and flow yet the spirituall love whereby they are spiritually united to their mysticall head whence this spirituall joy doth arise is indivisible in the head and members It is as impossible therefore for the regenerate to fall totally and finally from the grace of their spirituall love whereby they are indivisibly united to their mysticall head As for the humane nature of the word to fall from the divine nature and alone For the essentiall union of the divine and humane nature of the Word is the sole immediate efficient cause of this indivisible union and must mutually stand together By this spirituall union and unction whereby the regenerate are indivisibly united to the truth of the Lords merit the regenerate man is so armed with the spirituall valour of patience as he is enabled to resist the strongest temptation of the Devill and of his powerfull instruments and to stand to the Lords truth even the losse of his naturall life by which spirituall valour the regenerate man doth overcome the power of Satan and of all his cruell crue in this life For this spirituall valour doth proceed from the decreed victory of this irreconcileable bloody war to the seed of the woman For the seed of the woman must break the head of the Serpent and the head of the Serpents seed though the victory be not without temporall danger and afflictions as may appear by the mysticall sense of the third branch of the censure next to be declared CHAP. XXII The mysticall sense of the third branch of the censure SAtan and his cursed bloody brood by the mysticall sense of the first branch of the censure being necessitate to hate the truth and the professors of the truth who are the Church of God and to induce all others to his power to hate and persecute the Church Satan first by the mysticall sense of this third branch of the censure is limited how far his power shall extend mystically signified by the word Heel which is the lowest part of man as he is man intellectuall and sensitive whereby the sensitive power of man as he is man is signified Satan therefore by his cursed sting of enmity hath the power to sting and bite man as he is a naturall man intellectuall and sensitive but no wayes as he is a spirituall man For Satan with all his power cannot sting the regenerate man not so much as to induce him to commit the least actuall sin For the regenerate man is born of God 1 John 3.9 and cannot sin as he is a spirituall man And therefore the Apostle Paul Rom. 7.17 18. doth disclaim his actuall sins to be his to wit as he is a spirituall and a regenerate man but doth attribute his actuall sins to his rebellious flesh as he is a naturall man and the old man corrupted by Satan and his wicked instruments even in a manner from the cradle Secondly by the mysticall sense of this word His Satan and his cursed brood according to the eternall Decree of God is permitted first to sting the Word the blessed seed made flesh of the seed of the woman whom that old murdering blood-hound and his cursed bloody brood did sting most cruelly to the cursed death of the crosse Secondly by the word His Satan and his seed is permitted to sting and bite the heel of the Lords mysticall members who are predestinate to be made like to the Image of their mysticall head that they may taste of the cup of his afflictions in this
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
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
sin as that God in his justice should consume all men off the earth again and Satan put fairly for it For after by his sting of enmity baited by his false deceiving light he had incensed Cain to murder his Innocent brother Abel Satan never left stirring up of Cains ungracious generation from time to time till be set the whole world in such a fire of sin cruelty and uncleannesse as neither the mercies of God by sparing them so long or the judgements of God threatned by his Prophets could reclaim from their sin and cruelty God therefore in end stirred up Noah the tenth from Seth a Preacher of Righteousnesse who was a Preacher of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed that by his preaching of the Word the miserable people might be reclaimed from their cruelty and uncleannesse to the works of faith by repentance that they might obtain mercy in the promise of the blessed seed and that by denouncing the mercilesse curse of the Law of faith Noah might terrifie the people from their wickenesse But though Noah did continue in the faithfull discharge of his Calling many yeeres yet all was to no purpose Satan had so incensed the miserable people to such obstinacy God therefore in end commanded Noah to build an Ark that by the ark Noah might denounce the utter subversion of the obstinate rebellious people by the flood of his incensed wrath against their sin and cruelty if they did not speedily turn to the Lord and leave their provoking of his long patience For which cause the Ark was so long a building that the wretched people notwithstanding of their continued contempt might have yet time to repent though all was to no purpose for such was the incensed obstinacy of the miserable people as they continued in their rebellious contempt both of the word of the Preacher and of the Ark till the very day that Noah and his family was commanded to enter in the Ark whereby the wrath of God was so incensed as by that fearfull inundation the whole earth was overflowne and eight persons only saved of whom the promised blessed seed was to descend As for the Covenant which is said to be made with Noah after his coming out of the Ark in the continuation of times and seasons and of the creatures created and redeemed for man it was the same reall covenant which was formerly made with Adam in the promise of the blessed seed which after this fearfull judgement was renewed to Noah for the strengthening and confirming of Noahs faith in the continuation of the promise first made to Adam For first after Noahs coming out of the Ark Noah did offer the like reall burnt sacrifices and offerings upon the Atar of such reall clean beasts and fowles as were first commanded to be offred by Adam and the Fathers before Noah which beasts and fowles were preserved in the Ark with Noah by which sacrifices offered by Noah the cruell death of the blessed seed was prefigurate Secondly the Ark it self did prefigurate both the promise and the fulfilling of the promise For first by the Ark the woman of whose seed the Word was to be made flesh was prefigurate Secondly by Noah and his sons daughters who was the eight from Seth the line wherof the promised blessed seed was to descend was prefigurate Thirdly by their receiving in the Ark the conception of the Word to be made flesh of the seed of the woman was cleerly prefigurate Fourthly by the safe delivery of Noah and his sons and daughters out of the Ark the safe delivery of the blessed seed by the woman to wit the blessed Virgine was prefigurate whereby it doth manifestly appear that the covenant and the formall propheticall ceremoniall obligement of the Law of Righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed prophesied by the propheticall Sabbath and prefigurate by the ceremoniall worship of the Sabbath was really one and the same from Adam to Noah As by the preservation of Noah and his family of whom the blessed seed was to descend according to the flesh the great power of God by his preservation of his Church against the great power of Satan and his instruments doth manifestly appear to his great glory to the utter shame of Satan and to the confusion of his wicked instruments And so much briefly for the first age of the Church CHAP. XXX The continuation of the formall propheticall ceremoniall obligement of man in the promise of the blessed seed in the second age of the Church AS in the time of Noah the eighth from Seth God stirred up Noah to manifest his power in the preservation of his Church which did then consist in the preservation of the line of the blessed seed So in the second age of the Church God raised up Abraham the tenth from Noah that his glory might appear by his continuall care of the truth of his promise to his Church For God renewed his promise in a more cleer and particular manner to Abraham then he did first to Adam which was that in Abrahams seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed that is that the woman of whose seed the Word should be made man should descend of Abrahams seed by whose promised cursed death As all men were then actually redeemed from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam though the promise was afterward to be fulfilled so all men by faith in this promise might be saved from the curse of the Law of faith for actuall sin In this promise therefore Gen. 22.18 that in Abrahams seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed God doth oblige himself to Abraham and to his seed by covenant and doth mutually oblige Abraham to believe his promise This covenant therefore made to Abraham was the same reall covenant and promise made to Adam though the blessed seed promised to Adam was by this promise to descend of Abrahams seed the only difference is that the woman of whom the Word was promised to be made man was to descend immediately of Abrahams seed though immediatly from Adams seed For Abraham did descend of the seed of Adam and consequently the promise made to Abraham must be performed before the promise made to Adam could be fulfilled For the promise made to Adam could not be fulfiled but by our Saviours birth death and resurrection from the dead By this promise made in this particular manner to Abraham the Church of God was now in the family of Abraham and his seed and posterity To the end therefore that Abrahams family might be distinguished from all the families of the earth God commanded Abraham and his family to be marked with the sacramentall seal of circumcision by shedding of the blood of man whereby it was prefigurate that the blood of the promised blessed seed to descend of Abraham according to the flesh should be shed by the cursed death of the crosse which
Lord that doth justifie them by his merit And therefore though it be the Lords pleasure for their triall to keep them in some measure under the yoak of affliction in this life yet they are enabled with patience to bear his hand till in his good time he determine their afflictions by calling them to himself where they shall be exalted to an incorruptible crown of glory and in their mysticall head enabled to tread on the neck of the old roaring Serpent and upon the neck of his cursed brood to their eternall confusion for betraying them by the pride of sin to the shame and afflictions of this life And now to conclude this point of Satans cunning by this tempting of man by the naturall sensitive object Of all the temptations of Satan his accusing of man whom he hath betrayed to such long continuance in actuall sin is the most fearfull And from this fearfull accusing of man Satan is called the Devill and in this diabolicall faculty stands the master-piece of the Devils cunning For when the Devill doth once begin to accuse wretched man for his continuance in unrepented sin the fearfull severity of Gods justice for the high contempt of the Law of faith and the impossibility of his mercy to such high continued contempt is so continually suggested by Satan as he never leaves night and day racking and torturing of the guilty conscience of the wretched sinner till his spirit be so insupportably wounded as he is induced to believe that all repentance comes too late and to despair of all mercy and unlesse by the Lords unexpected concursive grace the fearfull blow be prevented such is the insupportable wounded spirit of the wretched sinner by the Devils continuall accusation as the Devill doth easily induce the tortured restlesse desperate man to lay violent hands on himself as a present remedy for his torture and pain O that the wretched sinner would in time but by morall repentance accuse and condemn himself for his obstinate continuance in actuall sin as he is morally inabled thereto by the perfection of his redemption and then he shall prevent the Devils cunning For by that happy means the Devils fearfull accusation should come too late for there is alwayes such mercy in store to the least repenting sinner as there is no place for the Devill to plead at the barre of the Lords mercy and to accuse man for actuall sin I next proceed to the declaration of Satans cunning in his betraying of man by the morall object of mans understanding CHAP. XXXIII Satans cunning by his betraying of man by the morall object of mans understanding BY the morall object of mans understanding I understand the word of the seventh dayes rest implying the command of the whole Law whereby man from the beginning by every severall covenant is formally obliged to produce his action according to the formall command of the Law as he is actually enabled to produce that formall action by the power of the Word of the Law and life of Righteousnesse written in his heart This light of the word of Law in the heart Satan from the beginning hath and doth obscure by a false deceiving morall light contradictory to the light of the word of the seventh dayes rest By the obscuring of which light of the word of the Law written in the heart the light of the word of the seventh dayes rest is necessarily obscured and darkned by means whereof man doth produce his action without all respect to the formall command of the Law By this false morall deceiving light as Satan from the beginning did obscure the light of the Law of God totally and in generall so by his false deceiving morall light Satan doth now obscure and darken the light of the Law of faith in particular by his obtruding and suggesting false fundamentall particular points of faith whereby the Church of God hath been so miserably distracted in all ages So Satan by his false deceiving morall light did betray our first parents to transgresse the Law of God For while God by his first covenant had obliged man to fulfill the command of his Law by his Word commanding man to abstain from eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge upon the curse of a dying death Satan by the Serpent did suggest a false morall deceiving light contradictory to the light of the command of God which was that by eating of the forbidden fruit our first parents should not only be freed from all fear of any dying death by covenant but that by eating of the fruit they should be equall to God himself by which false great suggested morall light the hearts of our first parents was so incensed to such a height of pride to be equall to God as they did greedily grasp the fruit without all respect to the command of God by his Word commanding man which was the command of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of Righteousnesse For by the foul incensed desire of our first parents to be equall to God flaming in their hearts the light of the Word in their hearts was obscured and darkned by obscuring whereof the light of the word of the first seventh dayes rest was so totally obscured and darkned as the whole Law was transgressed whereby Adam the created head of man and all men naturally to descend of the head were condemned to the curse of the Law of Righteousnesse by the first covenant So after the second covenant was made in the promise of the blessed seed by the promised rest of the propheticall Sabbath and after the word the blessed seed was born man of the seed of the woman and after he did manifest himself to the Jews by his glorious works wonders and miracles that he was that promised blessed seed of the woman and the eternall Son of God by whom they were to enjoy the promised rest of their propheticall Sabbath extending his love and mercy so generally towards all by curing of all sensitive diseases incurable by nature and the diseases of the souls of many whereby he did so ingage the reverend love and fear of all leading the world so by that glorious light that happy was he that could but touch the Lord of Life In so much that the glory of his light was such as the Jews began to be possest with a jealousie that by this great glorious light the glory of their great propheticall Sabbath should be obscured whereby they were so famous above all nations and that the honour and dignity of the Leviticall Priesthood and the great preferment which they did hold by the Priesthood should be quite taken away from them At this jealousie of the Jews the Devill takes occasion to suggest a remedy for this fear and that was that they should kill the Word which did so gloriously shine amongst them though this suggestion of Satan was but a cloak to colour his own fear lest the head of the Serpent should
new covenant he that doth believe and shall be baptized shall be saved It is neither by the preaching of the Word or by the exâ—ernall administration of the Sacraments but it is by the immediate faith of man in the Lords merit that man is saved from the second death Thus having declared the perfection of the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam shut up in spirituall darknesse called unbelief and originall sin according to the eternall Decree of God as the act of the redemption doth concern all men in generall male and female created in Adam naturally to descend of Adam to the end of the world And having answered and determined the most materiall objections against the declaration thereof we now proceed to the third Book THe Author of this small Tractate having fully ended it did intend to fit it for the Presse as soon as conveniently he could but being at London about his other occasions he did accidentally come into the company where some worthy Gentlemen were earnestly in discourse about some points of Religion After which conference he did resolve at his coming home to draw his Book into as short and plain a way as possibly he could for the Readers better understanding And thus far he went and then it pleased God to take him to himself before he could write one word of the third Book which he did intend to contract very much because he had spoke so much of the Lords day before But I not knowing how to get it done according to his mind and being loth to mangle so excellent a Work have rather thought good to set forth this third Book word for word as it was in his first method and to venture the censure of some rather then to keep it in any longer being exceedingly troubled in mind that it hath been kept almost this six yeeres from the publike view The third Book of the Theologicall Key containing the third Covenant made by God with man CHAP. I. Christ manifesting of himself at his coming in the world WE are now according to our Method to declare such acts of the blessed seed as they are set down in his sacred Word performed by him while he was personally upon earth Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman in time according to the Decree of God from all eternity as he is the first begotten Son of the most High by his birthright Prophet Priest and King so by the execution of his threefold office Christ Jesus did manifest himself Prophet Priest and King First therefore of the execution of his Propheticall office Secondly of his Priestly and Thirdly of his Kingly office The execution of Christs Propheticall office while he was personally upon earth was by the immediate power of his Word as he himself was the promised rest of the seventh day of the Propheticall Sabbath Christ Jesus the Word as the redeemed Word his Image is internally written in the heart of man his Word is the redeemed light and life of man And as his Word is externally objected to the externall senses he is the continuation of the redeemed life and light of man His Word under the propheticall obligement of the Law was the word of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath implying the whole propheticall Law and the whole old Testament As the life and light of the promised Sabbaticall rest did proceed from his love to man so Christ Jesus at his being personally in the world did manifest himself light love and life to man His light was in the sound of his Word and by the power of his Word his miracles were wrought and this was the light which did gloriously shine amongst the Jews while he was personally conversant with the Jews This glorious light by the sound of his Word did shine to the Jews first and immediatly by his own immediate Word And secondly by the commanded ministry of the Apostles By the light of his immediate Word first the understanding of the Jews was enlightned in the prophesies prophecying of the coming of the blessed seed from the foundation of the world Mat. 4.17 Mar. 1.21 Luke 4.21 Ioh. 3.13 whereby our Saviour did manifest himself to the Jews that he was the promised rest of their Sabbath and that he was the seed of the woman who must die for the sins of man and rest after his death upon the Sabbath for the recovering of the eternall rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam and that he it was that must rise again to break the head of the Serpent for the betraying of man All which was so many prophesies of himself whereby Christ did discharge his propheticall office Joh. 3.14 as he did likewise prophesie his death by the lifting up of the brazen Serpent and his resting in the grave Mat. 12.40 by Jonas rest in the Whales belly and both his death and resurrection in saying Joh. 2.19 Destroy this Temple and in three dayes I will raise it again So did he prophesie of the destruction of Jerusalem Luke 21.6 So his second coming and the day of judgement and many such like Secondly by this glorious shining light by the sound of his Word our Saviour Mat. 5.20 did cleer the obscured light of the Law corrupted by the false glosse of the Scribes and Pharisees arising from the Devils darknesse Thirdly as Christ Jesus while he was personally in the world by the light of the sound of his Word the Jews understanding was inlightned to know that he was the promised blessed seed So by the light of the power of his Word by his wonders and miracles he did manifest himself to be the eternall Son of God With the glorious fame of whose wonders and miracles the whole world was filled and amazed insomuch that the Jews were constrained to acknowledge the Lord of life to be the Son of God though the Jews darknesse led by the Devils false deceiving light could not comprehend that glorious shining light Fourthly at this glorious light did proceed from the love of the Lord of life to man by his promised Sabbatical rest So he did manifest his love while he was personally upon earth to man in curing of all manner of incurable sensitive diseases of the body and the diseased souls of many by the pardoning of sin None were denied the blessing of his rest who came to him by the light of his love As this glorious light did shine to the Jews immediatly by Christ himself as he was the promised rest of the propheticall Sabbath day so this glorious light did shine immediatly by the ministry of the Apostles whom our Saviour did send abroad Mat. 10.7 to preach and teach this glorious shining light shining from the Son of God whom likewise before his death and resurrection he authorized to preach and to teach the Evangel and to administrate the Sacrament of Baptisme as John did first before Christs manifesting
Devils darknesse obscuring that glorious light as our blessed Saviour like a malefactor was haled to the judgement hall And though Pilat convinced by the power of this glorious light did thrice pronounce the Lord innocent yet Pilat led by Satans light his tongue condemned the Lord of life But Pilate by hearing one of the murthering crue say Joh. 19.7 that Christ affirmed himself to be the Son of God Pilats heart being prickt again by that word sought to set our Saviour at liberty till another told Pilate Joh. 19.12 13. that if he should do so Pilat should shew himself an enemy to Cesar at which words Pilate fearing by his letting of Christ go free the losse of his place if not his life Pilate delivered the King of glory to the murtherers For the Scribes and Pharisees cryed out that they had a Law and that by that Law Christ ought to die and there was a reason of right for all Our Saviour therefore being delivered to the mercilesse band first Mar. 15.15 he was cruelly scourged a fearfull bloody punishment and of no lesse cruelty according to the judiciall Law used amongest the Jews Secondly his glorious head in derision Mar. 15.17 was crowned with a prickly crown of thornes by the sharp pricks whereof streams of his precious blood did besmear his gracious face and blessed body Thirdly being so bloodily crowned Mat. 27.29 a reedy Scepter was put in his hand by their Apish gestures saluting the King of glory for the king of the Jews though by right descent Christ Jesus was their King indeed Fourthly our Saviour was commanded by the cruell torturors John 19.17 to bear his crosse the curse whereof he was to bear both in soul and body Fifthly our Saviour was with mercilesse cruelty nailed to the crosse and most ignominiously hanged between two notorious thieves Sixtly our Saviour thirsting in the agony of his passion Mat. 27.34.38 was offered the bitter potion of vineger and gall to drink so that all the sensitive powers of the Lord of life the Son of God as he is man from his head to his body hands and feet were most cruelly and mercilesly martyred by the bloody murtherers for the space from the sixth hour to the ninth though nothing to the martyrdome of his burned soul burnt up by the fiery wrath of God from heaven proceeding from the actuall inflicting of the curse of the Law to the sustaining whereof the Son of God as he is man out of his love to man did freely oblige himself by covenant The sustaining of which torture upon the cursed altar of the crosse made our Saviour cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me All which miseries proceeding from the curse of the law the Lord of life the eternall Son of God God equall with the Father out of his infinite love to man did predestinate himself by his Decree from all eternity to suffer as he is man And last of all these bloody Helhounds that they might be sure that his glorious light might never shine again John 19.34 did with a spear pierce the Lord of life to the heart of which wound issued blood and water And so much for the brief summary relation of the sacrifice of our Saviour offered for man condemned to the eternall curse of the Law whereby the Son of God Christ Jesus out of his love to man made himself a curse for man to redeem man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam Next some mysticall concerning points are to be observed of the cruell martyrdome of our blessed Saviour CHAP. III. The mysticall sense of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus the Son of God out of his infinite love to man FIrst by our Saviours coaction to bear his crosse to which he was predestinate by the Decree of God from all eternity The crosse of afflictions of his mysticall members predestinate to be made like to the Image of his afflictions in this life is mystically signified For his mysticall members as they are the Image of his afflictions must participate with their mysticall head and taste of the cup which their mysticall head hath drunk charged up to the brim that as they have suffered with their mysticall head in this life so they may raign in their head crowned with an incorruptible Crown of glory eternally in all heavenly happinesse in the life to come For afflictions is the strait gate in this life whereby his mysticall members must enter into the kingdome of heaven Secondly by our Saviours thirsting upon the cursed altar of the crosse while he was offered the bitter potion of vineger and gall by the torturing helhounds to quench his thirst is mystically signified the eternall torments of the Reprobate in hell burnt up with the actuall inflicting of the curse of the Law in the full extent by the consuming fire of Gods eternall wrath who while as they thirst no other liquor shall they have to quench their unquenchable thirst but the gally dregs of the Devils darknesse with the voluptuous sensitive pleasures whereof they did so surfet in this life Thirdly by the words of our Saviour while he did endure and sustain the curse of the Law upon the cursed altar of the crosse saying My God my God why hast thou forsaken me The extremity of his sustaining of the wrath of God in the full extent in the torturing of his soul is mystically signified as the tortures of his sensitive body by his sensitive martyrdome was patient to all whereby our Saviour did manifest himself true man to the world Fouthly by our Saviours words at the giving up of his Spirit saying John 19 30. It is finished was mystically signified that by his death all the materiall altars and sacrifices all the figures types rites and ceremonies prefigurating the coming and death of the blessed seed were all finished and determined by his death never to be reiterate in the Church of God Fifthly by the darknesse from the sixth hour to the ninth which was the hour of his death at which hour the darknesse vanished was mystically signified that all the cloudy darknesse of the propheticall ceremoniall Law were quite vanished away never to be reiterate in the Church of God Sixthly by the rending of the vail of the Temple at Christs giving up of his Spirit which hath been formerly mentioned the calling of the Gentiles with the Jews in one Church was mystically signified who upon the next day following to wit upon the day of the Lords resurrection from the grave were all actually called in one Church by the new covenant to the great joy and comfort of all the nations of the world Seventhly by the piercing of our Saviours heart with the spear where the intellectuall and sensitive spirits of man as he is man are essentially united It was mystically signified again that all the types figures and rites of the ceremoniall Law prefigurating our Saviours cursed death of the crosse from the foundation of
believe his promised rest of the blessed seed to rest upon the last Sabbath from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law prophesied by the propheticall Sabbath to whose beliefe the blessing of his promised rest was due by the Law So he graciously and freely obliged himself to man to redeem man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam and to redeem all which was lost by that sin and consequently to redeem the blessing of the first seventh dayes rest lost by Adam which was the blessing of his promised rest by the propheticall Sabbath all which he graciously performed by his bloody rest in the grave upon the last Sabbath For our Saviour upon the last Sabbath did rest from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam And by his resting in his sacred grave for the whole space of the last Sabbath our Saviour in the seventh day having fulfilled the whole Law as he was obliged to the fulfilling of the Law in the promise of the blessed seed the eternall rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam was due by the Law of God to the merit of his bloody seventh dayes rest where three main fundamentall points of faith are precisely to be observed by the juditious Reader The first point is that the last Sabbath whereon our Saviour did rest in his sacred grave after his death was no wayes propheticall For all the prophesies prophecying the birth and death of the blessed seed from the foundation of the world were all fulfilled and determined by our Saviours bloody rest upon this last Sabbath by whose bloody rest in his grave for the space of the whole last Sabbath from end to end the Law was fulfilled for man And this is the reason that our Saviour said Mat. 5.17 that he came to fulfill the Law The second point of faith is that no man naturally to descend of Adam was obliged to fulfill the command of the Law by this last Sabbath For Christ Jesus only the Son of God as he is man begot of the seed of the woman was only obliged to fulfill the command of the seventh day by the last Sabbath as he graciously obliged himself by the propheticall covenant The third point of faith is that Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam were only obliged to fulfill the command of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath And therefore Christ Jesus being born under the propheticall Law obliged by the propheticall Sabbath was circumcised the eighth day and did observe other ceremonies of the Law as other men did For though our Saviour did not naturally descend of Adam yet he did descend of the seed of Adam according to the flesh The second mystery of his bloody rest was that by his bloody rest the promise renewed to Abraham was fulfilled which was the same reall promise first made to Adam though renewed to Abraham after a more cleere and particular manner which promise had two branches The first was that the blessed seed according to the flesh should descend of the seed of Abraham which promise was prefigurate first by the glorious light of the Golden Candlestick by the table of shew-bread signifying the life which was in that light wherby the blessed seed who is light and life to descend of Abrahams seed was prefigurate Secondly by the sweet insence burned upon the Golden Altar the appeasing of Gods wrath by the blessed seed to descend of Abraham was prefigurate all which were placed in the holy place of the Tabernacle The second branch of the promise made to Abraham was that in Abrahams seed all the nations of the earth should bee blessed which was likewise prefigurate by the sacrifice of the brazen Altar For at our Saviors giving up of his last spirit upon the cursed altar of the crosse the vaile of the Temple was rent from the top to the bottom within which vaile which was the holiest place was the Arke with the word therin and the Golden Crowne the Cherubint covering with their wings the mercy-seat prefigurating the conception of our Saviour of the seed of the woman wherby the first promise made to Adam was signified Now the vaile of the Temple being rent asunder by the power of our Saviours death the first promise made to Adam was laied open and made patent both to the Jewes and Gentiles who were mutually called the next day by the new covenant which was the day of Christs resurrection Now the new covenant being made with all the nations of the world the promise made to Abraham that all the nations of the earth should be blessed in his seed was fulfilled And so much for the twofold mystery of our Saviours bloody rest The mystery of his joyfull Evangellicall rest did consist in these two maine fundamentall points of faith The first was by his resurrection from the grave wherby our Saviour by his triumphant victory over sin Satan eternall darknes and death the curse of the Law and the grave by the infinit act of his owne immediate power did manifest himselfe Truth to man in his faithfull fulfilling of his promised rest of the blessed seed and in that Truth Lord Jesus Christ God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity God by the infinit act of his owne immediate power Man begotten of the father of the seed of the woman by the immediate act of the holy spirit in the essentiall union of his divine and humane nature implied in the word Lord which is the sacred name of the essentiall union of the divine and humane nature of the Lord of life comprehending both the names of Jesus and Christ afterwards to be declared For though Jesus Christ as he is the Son of God begotten man of the seed of the woman did performe his bloody rest Yet his Evangelicall rest by his resting from the fulfilling of the Law implying his rest from the redemption of man was performed by our Saviour as he is Lord Jesus Christ God equall with the Father and holy Spirit in whom the Godhead dwelleth bodily And therfore the day of his resurrection is called the Lords day In the second point of the mystery of the Lords Evangelicall rest doth stand the very period of the mystery of the Lords day for man naturally descended of Adā being only obliged to the cōmand of the seventh day of the Prophetical Sabbath and no waies to the seventh day of the last Sabbath to which man Christ Jesus only was obliged the day of our Saviours resurrection from the grave the Lords day doth fall out to be the just seventh day from the last formall propheticall Jewes Sabbath still obliging man to the seventh day of the Law Though by including the last formall propheticall Jewes Sabbath in the account the Lords day is the eight day as it was prefigurate by the eight day of the Sacrament of circumcision To the administration wherof
are contradictory to the truth of the Lords infinit merit contradictory to the whole current of the sacred word and consequently to the sacred decree of predestination Conclusion 19. All tenents and assertions denying the freedome of the naturall mans redeemed grace by the free act of his understanding will and senses without any manner of the necessitating of the free act of man either naturally or morally are contradictory to the perfection of the redemption of man by the Lords infinit merit For the naturall mans will being necessitate either naturally or morally man is no man as hath bin formerly demonstrate And consequently the naturall man by the perfection of his redemption is enabled with morall grace by the act of his understanding actually enlightned by the literall light of the Lords day to understand morally the grace of the Lords merit of eternall life and rest and by the act of his will to beleeve morally the Lords offered grace as hath bin formerly declared Conclusion 20. All tenents and assertions affirming the universall spirituall grace of man by the only act of the redemption which grace is only by the spirituall light of the holy Spirit enlightning the spirituall darknesse of the naturall man in the act of regeneration are contradictory to the sacred word and consequently to the sacred decree of predestination For all men freed from the curse of eternall death and darknesse are shut up in temporall spiritual darknes called unbeleef and sin by the eternall decree of God Conclusion 21. By all tenents and assertions affirming that the naturall man by his morall good workes doth merit eternall life The infinitnesse of the Lords merit is denied Such assertions are contradictory to the very words of the new Covenant For by the new covenant the morall blessing of the Lords merit of eternall life is immediatly offered to the morall faith of the beleever And therefore the Evangelicall Law is called the Law of righteousnesse of faith and not the Law of workes for from the morall faith of the naturall man his morall good workes doe immediatly proceed and consequently can merit nothing at all and therefore the morall blessing of the Lords day as it is the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law is due morally and immediatly by the Law to the morall faith of the naturall man whose faithfull workes of truth love and mercy are mediatly commanded as the effects of his morall faith whereby the truth of the Lords infinit love and mercy is testified by the naturall man without the blessing of whose truth by the Lords infinit merit the naturall man could not so much as craule upon the earth Conclusion 22. All tenents and assertions affirming that the free grace of the Lords infinit merit by the new Covenat is offered only to the elect are contradictory to the very words of the new Covenant whereby the free grace â—f thâ— Lords infinit merit of eternall life and rest is freely offered to all the Nations of the world And therefore this state is called the state of grace for though the state of man under the propheticall obligement of the Law of faith in the promise of the blessed seed was likewise the state of grace yet that was the estate of promised grace and this is the state of grace of that fulfilled promise for as the faithfull Fathers were saved from the curse of the propheticall Law by faith in the promise of the blessed seed So the faithfull are now sâ—ved by faith in the fulfilled promise Conclusion 23. All tenents and assertions whereby the faith of the beleever and the Lords infinit merit are seperate and devided which is the Rocke whereon the Lord told Peter the Church of God is builded are false and adulterous tenents and assertions arising from the false light of errour Now because the Church of God is so much distempered by a multitude of such tenents and objections all arising from the false light of the spirit of error two short Theologicall Canons or rules shall be set downe whereby the judicious Reader is enabled to make the strongest objection against the truth of the sacred word to vanish with the objecters breath By meanes whereof the spirit of error is discovered according to the Apostles command CHAP. X. The first Canon ALL tenents and assertions of faith repugnant to the literall light and truth of the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnesse of faith are from the false light of the spirit of error The second Canon All pretended worship of God repugnant to the truth of the commanded Evangelicall worship of the Lords day is a false adulterous worship The explanation of the twofold Canon As the immediate object of faith is the Lords infinit merit by his rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed the eternall life light and rest of man So is the literall light of the Lords day the light whereby the object is enlightned to be apprehended by the faith of man which being one reall light with the literall light of the redeemed word of truth love and mercy written in the heart of man whereby man doth live move and hath his being As by this literall light the naturall mans understanding is morally produced in act to apprehend the object of the Lords merit as it is the Lords truth So his will by its love to that truth is moved to apprehend the object of the Lords merit as it is the eternall life light and rest of man This literall light is in the sound of the word of the Lords dâ—y For as by the light of the Sunne fire or of any materiall light the understanding of man is produced in act by the mediate sense of seeing So the sâ—uâ—d of the word is the light whereby the understanding is produce in act by the mediate sense of hearing I doe not meane heare the light of the sound of the words â—s â—â—â—y are simply words but as they are the sound of the Evangelicaâ— word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith the word of the eternall life and light of man which being founded by the faithfull Minister in the naturall mans hearing his understanding and will is morally produced in act to understand and believe the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise of the blessed seed as the Lord did graciously oblige himself to man by covenant which was fulfilled by the Lords twofold resurrection The first was by his resurrection from the grave the second was by his resurrectiâ—â— from the earth to the heavens from whence he did descend For as the Word is man the Son of God with the Father and holy Spirit before all time he did descend from the heavens to the earth and as the Word is man the Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman in time he did ascend again to the heavens This twofold resurrection of the
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
and resurrection from the grave the naturall mans understaning is morally enlightened So by the power of the redeemed Word of truth written in the heart the naturall man is morally enabled to believe these twelve fundamentall points of faith And therefore by the new covenant all men are obliged and commanded to believe these tweâ—ve fundamentall points of faith upon the twofold reward of the law By this literall light therefore of the sound of the truth of the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the judicious Reader is enabled with all boldnesse to condemn all tenents and assertions of faith repugnant to the truth of this light for false adulterous tenents and assertions And with the like boldnesse to condemn all pretended worship of God repugnant to the truth of the Lords Evangelicall commanded worship in spirit and truth for a false adulterous worship of God arising from the false light of error This false light from whence this adulterous worship of God doth arise is the ceremoniall light of some sensitive visible object whereby the understanding is produced in act by the mediate sense of seeing which for the most part is the sensitive objective carved or painted image of the eternall Son of God as he is man which is a most faithlesse false adulterous and idolatrous worship It is faithlesse because faith is by hearing of the Word the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus and not by the seeing of the Image of our Saviour in his humility as he is man It is false worship because it doth belie the truth of the Lords glorious resurrection it is an adulterous worship because it is repugnant to the truth of the light of the Lords commanded Evangelicall worship in spirit and in truth It is an adulterous worship because the sensitive visible object doth interveen between the Lord and his worship and in this sense a lier is called an Idolater because the falshood which the lier doth maintain doth interveen between the lier and the light of the Word of truth love and mercy in his heart which is the Image of God obliging the heart of the lier to declare and witnesse the truth which is called the light and law of conscience and so is the covetous man under which name the lier hypocrite coozener cheater extortioner briber whoremaster drunkard murderer and in a word the foul malitious cruell affection of man for by all such foul desire of the covetous man the light of the word of truth love and mercy in the heart redeemed by our Saviours sacred blood is belied darkned and obscured and the foul desire worshipped as an Idol contrary to the light of the command of the word of the seventh day of the law really one with the literall light of the law written in the heart of man And though our Saviours bloody rest be necessarily implied in the Lords Evangelicall rest yet his bloody rest is not to be represented by any sensitive visible object to the sense of seeing but by the light of the sound of the commanded word of truth to wit the Lords day to the sense of hearing preached by the faithfull Minister of the Word Neither must any man excuse the hanging up of our Saviours Image in his humility as he is man pretending that he hath the Image objected to his eyes only to put him in minde of our Saviâ—â—â— love by his death To whom I answer that by this manner of putting thee in minde of our Saviours love thou putst the Lord in minde of his fearfull wrath against thee For first it is by the Lords Evangelicall rest that thou art immediatly saved the truth whereof thou art commanded to worship in the Spirit of faith upon the mercilesse curse of the law Secondly the species of the sensitive Image doth interveen between thy mind and the Lords worship whom thou art commanded to worship immediatly and consequently thy putting in minde an Idolatrous mentall worship for preventing of which Idolatrous worship the faithfull Minister by the sound of the word is commanded to instruct the people committed to his charge at his peril for by the new covenant the Apostles are immediately commanded to teach and to preach the truth of the Lords Evangelicall worship to all the Nations of the world as the Lord hath revealed himselfe by the Evangelicall rest of the Lords day And in the Apostles the Apostolicall successors the Ministers of the word are commanded to the like teaching and preaching of the truth of the Lords Evangelicall commanded worship to the people committed to their charge The new Covenant therefore being commanded as well upon the mercilesse curse of the Law of faith as upon the blessing of the Lords Evangelicall rest It doth stand the Ministers of the Sacred word in hand to look to the faithfull discharge of so strict an imposed task Now though in the commanded Evangelicall Sacraments implying the Lords whole last Will and Testament which is the Evangelicall word the word be objectively presented to the sense of seeing touching tasting and smelling as by the light of the sound of the word it is objected to the sense of hearing that man as he is man may receive the word sacramentally that is by faith in the word represented by the externall elements Yet this sacramentall object doth not represent the object of faith to wit the Word Jesus Christ the Son of God to come and to suffer for the sins of man but doth represent him by his cursed death of the Crosse by his bloudy rest in the grave and by his Resurrection from the grave to be received sacramentally by faith in his merit by his cursed death of the Crosse by his bloudy rest in the grave and by his Resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed which both the Sacraments doe most lively signifie for the better conceiving whereof it is to be understood that the Sacraments were not delivered in the primitive Church but to such as were come to actuall naturall and morall understanding and action First therefore in the Sacrament of Baptisme by the baptizeds ducking and as it were drowning in the water according to the manner of the primitive Câ—â—â—ch the party to be baptized freed from the curse of the Law 〈◊〉 â—n of Adam is signified to be drowned and dead in actuall sin by 〈◊〉 â—â—anâ—gression of the â—aw of faith as by his arising out of the water his rising 〈◊〉 the death of actuall sin to the new life of faith and that his actuall â—â—ns arâ—â—â—â—ffied â—waâ— by his faith in the Lords merit which is the water of eternall life purchased by the water and bloud issuing from our Saviours â—eaâ—â— represented by the sacramentall water So in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper by the sacramentall bread the bread of life is signified whereby the baptizeds faith is nourished and preserved as by the naturall bread his naturall life is maintained and continued By the breaking of
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
all men are concluded was prefigurate by the darknesse of the second Tabernacle which was called the Holiest place wherein there was no light at all neither any light to be carried in therein In this Tabernacle the ark of the Covenant was placed and in the ark the word of the two tables of the Law Heb. 9 3 4. the pot of Manna and Aarons rod. Upon the ark was the golden crown the two cherubims with their wings covering the Mercy-seat representing the over-shadowing power of the three distinct persons of the indivisible Trinity in the generation of the word the blessed seed conceived in the womb of the blessed Virgin afterwards more plainly to be declared For this covenant was the covenant of the blessed seed first made with Adam and with all men redeemed in Adam the head shut up in temporall darknesse which covenant was afwards renued to Abraham though after a more peculiar manner For God did promise by his covenant to Abraham that the blessed seed should descend of Abrahams seed and that in Abrahams seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed For this cause the Lord did set down to Moses descended of Abrahams seed the patern of the Tabernacle commanding Moses to erect a Tabernâ—cle according to that patern which was erected to the end that the Jews the posterity of Abraham might understand that the promise made to Abraham was really one with the promise made to Adam for as the second tabernacle called the Holiest place did signifie the first promise made to Adam So the first tabernacle called the Holy place did prefigurate the fulfilling of the promise made to Abraham which was to be fulfilled before the second tabernacle could be opened signifying the promise made to Adam which promise first made to Adam was fulfilled by the rending of the partition-wall by our Savious death more fully to be declared in the third Book In this second Tabernacle Aaron the High Priest as he was the figure of the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck the blessed seed did enter once ever yeer arrayed in a white vesture besprinckled with the blood of the sacrifice of the brazen Altar with a censure of coales taken from the brazen altar kindled with the fire which came down from heaven and with powdered sweet incense in his hand to be burned upon the coals when he came into the Holiest place that a cloudy sweet fume might ascend between the Mercy-seat and Aaron The end of Aarons entring into the Holiest place once every yâ—er was to obtain pardon for his own actuall sins and for the actuall sins of the congregation to whom as he was High Priest and the figure of the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck the pardon of actuall sins was given first to himself and in him as he was the High Priest to those whose actuall sins God decreed from all eternity to pardon and forgive Now though the free grace and mercy of Gods holy Spirit cannot be tied neither to time place or person by pardoning of actuall sin for that spirituall wind Joh. 3.8 bloweth when and where it listeth yet God according to his decree from all eternity did decree to grant this grace of pardon of actuall sin at this time to the High Priest in the behalf of the congregation as he was the figure of the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck for these three weighty Reasons to be precisely understood by all men The first was that all men might know that the power to pardon actuall sin is only and immediately in the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck the blessed seed as he is God and man to whom all power in heaven and earth is given by the Trinity And this was the reason that the Scribes and Pharisees did accuse our Saviour for saying Luke 7.48 49. Thy sins be forgiven thee as if our Saviour had spoken blasphemy The second Reason is that the Jews might understand that all their externall sacrifice for sin all their sin-offerings and all their legall rites and ceremonies of the ceremoniall Law could not take away their actuall sins and that the pardon of actuall sin is in the only free absolute power of the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck as he God and man by faith in his only merit The third reason is that all men might understand that the pardon of actuall sin is by the spirituall inlightening of the spirituall darknesse of man by spirituall faith which was signified by the pardon of actuall sin which past through the cloud of the sweet incense from the Mercy-seat to Aaron as he was High Priest and the figure of the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck by the spirituall light of whose holy Spirit the spirituall darknesse of man is spiritually inlightened by spirituall faith in his merit whereby all the actuall sins of the regenerate man are covered and freely pardoned The second fundamentall point to be observed in this concluding of aâ— men in spirituall unbelief proceeding from this spirituall darknesse is thâ— reason that this spirituall unbelief is called sin by the Apostle The immediate cause of this spirituall unbelief and sin proceeding from this spirituaâ— darknesse is the eternall decree of God And this is the sin which is calleâ— by the Theologs originall sin For a formall difference between actuall siâ— and this originall sin which by the eternall decree of God doth descenâ— from Adam the redeemed head of man upon all men naturally descended anâ— to descend of Adam to the end of the world to the end that by this sin and naturall death which followed this sin all men may know that they are redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darknesse to which all men were eternally condemned for Adams first sin in whom all men transgressed the Law by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God as he is man and therefore it is said Rom. 5.12 As by one man sin entred in â—he world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men in whom all have sinned where this one man is Adam in his redeemed estate for his sin which entred in the world is necessary to be understood of originall sin which did enter by Adam the redeemed head of man and did descend by degrees upon his posterity And therefore this sin which entred in the world must not be taken for Adams first sin For first Adams first sin cannot be said to have entred in the world by degrees for it did cease upon Adam and all men at one instant For it was as really the sin of all men transgressors of the Law in Adam the head as it was the sin of Adam Secondly temporall naturall death followed this sin that entred in the world by this one man but eternall death followed Adams first sin from which all men are reâ—eemed The sense therefore of the words is this As by Adam the redeemed head of
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
of the sacrament of the Lords Supper before his death that our Saviour did neither offer nor intended to offer his reall body and blood in the institution of the sacrament of his last Supper in a propitiatory sacrifice under the externall forms of bread and wine for the quick and fâ—r the dead as is falsly pretended contrary to all truth of the Evangelicall History For as our Saviour while he was personally upon earth having execute his propheticall office by delivering to his Disciples his last Will and Testament by his sacred Word sealed by the sacramentall seal of baptizing which was to succeed in the Church in place of the sacrament of circumcision So our Saviour at the feast of the last Passeover being the next day to discharge his Priestly office as he is High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck by his sacrifice of the crosse whereby his promise of the blessed seed was to be fulfilled our Saviour before his death did likewise seal his last Will and Testament with the institution of the sacrament of his last Supper to succeed in place of the sacrament of the Passeover though not to be in force Heb. 9 17. till after the Testators death and resurrection according to the Scripture which Sacrament was not institute till the night before his death of the crosse in the end of the feast of the last Passeover and that for these two main fundamentall reasons The first is that by the institution of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper implying his whole last Will and new Testament the Disciples might understand Heb. 10 9. that the sacrament of the Passeover which is the sacrament of the old Testament implying the whole propheticall ceremoniall Law was actually determined The second reason that the Sacrament of the Lords Supper was not institute till the night before his suffering was that the Disciples faith might be strengthened against the sore temptation wherby they were to be assaulted the next day by our Saviours martyrdome in sustaining the fearfull curse of the Law by the cursed sacrifice of the crosse For though the Sacrament was instituted before our Saviours death yet it is expressed in words of the preterit time This my body which is given for you this my blood which is shed for you as if all had then been done and past and as if our Saviour had been then dead and risen from the dead which was a main reason to strengthen the Disciples faith in the Lords resurrection though they did see him dead and buried And therefore our Saviour that night Mat. 26.31 did put the Disciples upon their guard telling them that the Shepheard must be smitten that night and the sheep scattered yet comforting them withall that he should rise again Mat. 26.32 and go before them into Galilee By the truth of this relation of the sacred History the judicious Reader may manifestly perceive that there was not the least intent in our Saviour by the institution of the Sacrament of his last Supper before his death to shed so much as a drop of his precious blood much lesse to offer his reall body and blood in a propitiatory sacrifice for the dead and for the quick by his death which he was to do the next day after by his cursed sacrifice of the crosse as he is high Priest after the order of Melchisedeck Next to make the falshood of this assertion appear as plainly to the Reader by the very words of the institution of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Our Saviour in the end of the last Passeover by prescribing the manner of the celebration of the Sacrament of his last Supper to the Disciples which is by blessing and thanks-giving Mat. 26.26 27. having blessed took the bread and brake it to wit the bread and gave it to wit the bread to the Disciples saying Take eat this is my body that is this bread is my body of the new Testament which is given for you to wit as the flesh of the Pascall Lamb was my promised body of the old Testament which was promised to be given and broken for you Also having given thanks he took the cup to wit with the wine and gave it to wit the wine to them saying This is my blood of the new Testament which is shed for you that is this wine is my blood of the new Testament as the reall blood of the Pascall Lamb was my promised blood of the old Testament which was promised to be shed but not to be drunk by any Drink ye all of it that is of this wine And lest there should be any mistake in the word Wine which our Saviour calls his blood of the new Testament Mat. 26.28 he doth after in plain terms call it the fruit of the Vine saying Mat. 26 29. I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine untill that day when I shall drink it with you in my Fathers Kingdome which is meaned of the Evangelicall day of the Kingdome of Grace to wit the Lords Day whereby the Lord by his resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed did open the kingdome of Heaven to all Believers leading all men by the light of his Day to lay the hands of faith upon his merit whereby all Believers are made heirs of the Kingdome of Grace in this life and of the kingdome of Heaven in the life to come whose gracious merit is that bread of eternall life signified by the bread of the Sacrament as by the breaking of the bread the breaking of our Saviours body by the curse of the crosse and by the wine the shedding of his precious blood is signified whereby he did merit the bread of eternall life Our Saviour therefore by the institution of the Sacrament of his last Supper did deliver to his Apostles and in the Apostles to the Apostolicall successors the formall Sacrament of his last Will and new Testament and consequently not the reall sâ—crifice of his reall body and blood for there being both a reall and a formall difference between the formall Sacrament of the Lords Supper and his sacrifice of the crosse As the Sacrament of the Lords Supper cannot be his formall sacrifice of the crosse so can neither his formall sensiâ—ive sacrifice of the crosse be the formall Sacrament of his last Supper For in the Sacrament of his last Supper by the sensitive sacramentall elements the immediate object of faith is presented to the understanding by the mediâ—te senses which is the Lords merit by his cursed death of the crosse by his bloody rest in the grave and by his resurrection from the grave to be apprehended by the hands of faith while by our Saviours sacrifice of the crosse not the immediate but the mediate object of faith is by the mediate senses presented to the understanding which mediate sensitive object by interveening between the faith of man and the Lords merit faith and the immediate object are separate