whereby the faith of man is overthrown And this is the reason that all Imagery painted or carved of our Saviour as he is man implying his death and humility are condemned for Idolatry as hath been formerly declared No such surmised sacrifice therefore being offered by our Saviour in his institution of the Sacrament of his last Supper no command was given to the Apostles to offer any such fictious sacrifice and consequently the Apostles and the Apostolicall successors the Ministers of the Word and Sacraments no commanded Priests to offer any such fictious sensitive sacrifice at the materiall altar as is falsly pretended by the objection Next I answer to the affirmed reall unity of this pretended imaginary sacrifice with our Saviours sacrifice of the crosse Leaving the Philosophicall distinction of unity as genericall sperificall udomericall reall formall and such like In this encounter I take the two last distinctions of unity Theologically to wit one really and one formally This affirmed unity therefore of the two sacrifices cannot be formall and therefore it must be reall This affirmed reall unity therefore of the two sacrifice is all one to say as that our Saviour in the institution of the Sacrament of his last Supper by offering of his reall body and blood under the externall forms of bread and wine in a propitiatory sacrifice for the dead and for the quick did as really and in effect sustain the curse of the Law in the full extent by the cursed death of soul and body as he did by his cursed sacrifice of the crosse which fearfull assertion is repugnant to the truth of all Christian faith For by this affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices these subsequent inevitable conclusions must necessarily follow First by this affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices the first surmised propitiatory sacrifice pretended to be offered by our Saviour must be a cursed sacrifice For such was our Saviours sacrifice of the crosse Gal. 3.13 And consequently our Saviours sacrificed reall body and blood which is pretended to be given to the Apostles cursed which is highest blasphemy to affirm Secondly by the affirmed reall unity of these two sacrifices the pretended propitiatory sacrifice affirmed to be offered by our Saviour in the instituting of the Sacrament of his last Supper must be a sensitive reall bloody sacrifice for there is no propitiatory sacrifice for sin Heb. 9.22 without the sensitive blood of the sacrificed for such was our Saviours propitiatory sacrifice of the crosse But the propugnators of this surmised propitiatory sacrifice will acknowledge no sensitive reall blood in their sacrifice and therefore they must acknowledge this pretended propitiatory sacrifice to be no propitiatory sacrifice Thirdly by the affirmed reall unity of these two sacrifices this surmised pretended sacrifice affirmed to be offered by our Saviour must be a deadly sacrifice by the sensitive death of the sacrificed for such was our Saviours sacrifice of the crosse But the propagnators of this surmised sacrifice must acknowledge no such sensitive death of our Saviour by the institution of the Sacrament of his last Supper and therefore they must acknowledge their pretended sacrifice to be no sacrifice Fourthly by the reall affirmed unity of these two sacrifices the only one sacrifice of our Saviour by the death of the crosse as be is high Priest after the order of Melchisedeck once offered for all is plainly denied For by this affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices our Saviour died twice Fifthly by the affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices the first surmised pretended sacrifice is a false sacrifice For by the adoration of this imaginary sacrifice the truth of the Lords commanded worship by the Lords Day is contradicted which is commanded to be celebrate in spirit and truth and not in the adoration of such a false sacrifice Sixthly by the affirmed reall uniâ—y of these two sacrifices the first pretended sacrifice is a faithlesse sacrifice For by this pretended sacrifice the faith of man and the immediate object of faith which is the Lords merit are actually separate Seventhly by the reall affirmed unity of these two sacrifices the pretended sacrifice affirmed to be offered by our Saviour in the institution of the Sacrament of his last Supper is an Idolatrous sacrifice For by the adoring of this sacrifice the sensitive object doth interveen between the Lord and his immediate commanded worship Eighthly by the reall affirmed unity of these two sacrifices Christ was really dead before his last Will and Testament was sealed by the sacrament of his last Supper implying the whole Evangel and new Testament and consequently his last Will and Testament no Will. Ninthly by the affirmed reall unity of these two sacrifices man was actually redeemed from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam and the Law was fulfilled for man by our Saviour before his death of the crosse before his bloody rest in the grave and before his resurrection from the dead Tenthly by this affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices all the prophesies prophcying of the blessed seed from the foundation of the world were fulfilled before our Saviours death by the cursed altar of the crosse and resurrection from the dead Eleventhly by this affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices all the types rites figures and ceremonies prefigurating the death of the blessed seed from the foundation of the world were actually determined by the first pretended sacrifice which all the sacrifices of all the creatures of God could never determine till they were all actually determined by our Saviours last breath upon the cursed altar of the crosse while as he said It is finished The twelfth conclusion doth necessarily follow from the former three For by the affirmed reall unity of the two sacrifices our Saviours death by the cursed altar of the crosse was superfluous Thirteenthly by the affirmed reall unity of these two sacrifices this first surmised sacrifice pretended to be offered by our Saviour in the institution of the sacrament of his last Supper must be a reall Holocaust sacrifice cursed and burnt up by the fiery consuming wrath of God for sin no part or portion whereof must remain to be given to the Apostles for such was our Saviours sacrifice of the crosse prefigurate by the Holocaust sacrifice of the brazen altar Hence I necessarily inferre that by this affirmed reall unity the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is falsly denied to be given to the Apostles for by this pretended surmised sacrifice our Saviours reall sacrificed body and blood which in this case profiteth nothing Joh. 6.63 is affirmed to be given to the Apostles as a sacrament while as in the sacrament of the Lords Supper by the sacramentall bread and wine given by our Saviour to the Apostles the bread of eternall life purchased by his sacrificed reall body and blood is signified to be given By the faithfull receiving whereof God in his Son Christ Jesus dwelleth in the heart of man by his
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
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
love And this was the greatest subjection of the wise to the husband in the state of perfection which was in this twofold union of mutuall love And therefore it is said Let no man separate whom God hath joyned together to wit in marriage This inseparable union of man and wife in the state of perfection as it was without any essentiall or spirituall reall difference so it was equall without all imperious authority either of naturall or spirituall subjection neither was it possible to be otherwise for the naturall and spirituall love of both being inseparably and indivisibly one as the love of the head to the body and of the body to the head Man the head could no otherwise command his body his wife but by a sweet pleasing regiment of love directing his body as head in all naturall and spirituall love And therefore woman was made neither of the lowest or highest part of man but of the rib equall in situation with the region of the heart Though this censure therefore was pronounced upon woman as she was the body of her husband for being the instrument to induce her head Adam to the transgression of the Law of God being first betrayed her self by Satans false deceiving bewitching light yet let man love and honour woman who was the happy instrument of the greatest blessing that ever came to man or Angel And therefore now in this state of Grace man is by a more strict union obliged to love his wife then if man had stood in the state of his created perfection For by his first estate man had been but an earthly creature for his perfection must have been eternally upon earth while as the woman is the happy instrument that man is advanced to be crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory in the kingdome of heaven eternally And this is the reason that the husband even now in the state of Grace is to love his wife as himself and to expresse his love Ephes 5.33 by his care in providing and cherishing his wife even as he doth his own naturall life and that she may be as dear to him as his naturall life And consequently to bear much with the weaknesse of her sex for otherwise man must manifest his base unthankfulnesse both to God and to woman whom God hath made the happy instrument of so great a blessing never to be forgotten by man Let no man therefore think that the woman is given him to wife to be made his slave but to love her as his own naturall body As the wife his body is to love her head as a mutuall help and comfort to her head to her full power with all submissive reverence in love to be directed by her head This subjection therefore is still in the sweet regiment of love without all usurping imperious authority or rigorous command Here it may be objected Gen. 3.37 Adam is punished for giving way to his wifes perswasion and consequently Adam had an imperious authority over his wife in the state of perfection I answer This Text doth necessarily inferre an equall and mutuall love between Adam and Eve and no wayes any imperious authority of command neither doth God punish Adam simply for being perswaded by his wifes love but because Adam did preferre the love of his wife to the command of his gracious God and Creator to whose infinite love both Adam and Eve were so infinitely obliged In which respect all the love and command of man and woman whosoever must be misregarded And so much for the two branches of the censure pronounced against the woman as she is the body of her husband her head Next therefore of the mysticall sense of the two branches of the censure CHAP. XXVI The mysticall sense of the two branches of the censure pronounced upon the woman as she is the body of man her husband BY the mysticall sense of this censure literally pronounced upon the woman as she is the body of her husband First by the woman the Church of God is mystically to be understood As by the husband the Lord Jesus Christ the head and husband of the Church Secondly by the concepon and the bringing forth of children by the woman the conception and bringing forth of the morall and spirituall children of the Church by the Ministers of the Word is mystically signified For by the preaching of the Word and by the Ministers exemplary instruction 2 Tim. 4.2 in season and out of season the children of the Church are first brought forth by morall faith to know and practise the works of faith that morall obedience may be given to the Word Thirdly by the sorrow and grief of the woman in conceiving and bringing forth of children the sorrow grief and pains of the Minister is mystically signified by his hard conceiving and bringing forth of the rebellious natural man nuzled up in the lusts and pleasures of the flesh by the continued temptation of Satan and his seed whereby the naturall man is led to all wickednesse of life to the sorrow and grief of the whole Church As by the joy of the woman that man is brought forth in the world the joy of the Church at the conversion of the penitent sinner is mystically signified Fourthly by the barrennesse of the woman in bringing forth of children not only the Ministers barrennesse in the neglect of his weighty calling but also the barrennesse of faith in the particular members of the Church is mystically signified Fifthly by the second conception of the woman while by the intellectuall information of the Infant in the womb by the immediate act of God man as he is man is conceived and brought forth man by the woman the spirituall conception of the regenerate man by the Church whereby he is brought forth a spirituall man is mystically signified For in the act of regeneration the naturall man having continued in his morall obedience to the preaching of the Word till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling the naturall mans spirituall darknesse is enlightned by the immediate spirituall light of the Lords holy Spirit by spirituall faith whereby he is actually regenerate and so conceived and brought by the Church a mysticall indivisible member of his mysticall head to the great joy and comfort of the Church Sixthly by the strict naturall and spirituall union between man and wife the strict union of the Lord Jesus Christ to his body the Church is mystically signified which is both naturall and spirituall For as the Church his body is flesh of his naturall flesh and bone of his bones as he is man of the seed of the woman so the Church morally and spiritually brought forth is of the same spirit with the head whereby the head and body are spiritually mystically and indivisibly united arising of the essentiall spirituall union and unction of the divine and humane nature of the Word in the womb of the blessed Virgin Seventhly by the subjected desire of the woman to her
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
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
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
sensitive nature the humane sensitive nature of the first Adam may be said to be from the earth earthly for though the first Adam was created in the state of such naturall and spirit perfection yet he must have lived eternally upon earth by covenant Here by the way whereas the Apostle saith that the first man was from the earth earthly the words must not be taken in the literall but in the spirituall sense which is this The first man was from the earth to wit as he is sensitive for otherwise we conclude the living immortall soule of man to be from the earth in which sense the wicked wrests this place to their eternall damnation The Apostle therefore in this part of the chapter doth not speake simply of the created naturall and spirituall perfection of the first Adam but comparatively with the essentiall naturall and spirituall perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ second person of the glorious Trinity for otherwise the first Adam is affirmed by the Apostle himselfe to be created after the image of righteousnesse and holinesse which is the image of God infinite righteousnesse and holinesse for the created perfection of man was such as Moses in the history of the Creation of man can hardly finde words to expresse the perfection of his Creation saying Let us make man in our owne image let us make man according to our owne likenesse Thus God created man in his Image In the Image of God created hee them male and female Gen. 1.26 27. Thus having answered the objection for a close to the first part of the first Book wee proceed to the second part of this first Book containing the declaration of the first Covenant made by God with man THE SECOND PART OF THE FIRST BOOKE OF THE THEOLOGICALL KEY Containing the Declaration of the first Covenant made by God with Man CHAP. VI. Man is placed in Paradise GOD according to his eternall Decree of predestination having created man male and female in such estate of naturall and spirituall perfection God blessed man by his word which was the blessing of his word of his first seventh dayes rest of his Law of righteousnesse and therefore the word of his first seven dayes rest of the Law implying the command of the whole Law was objected to the externall senses of man for as all the commands of God by his Word are the necessary commands of the word of his seventh dayes rest So all the blessing of God by his word are the necessary influence of his blessing in the blessing of the word of his seventh dayes rest for by the only immediate power of that blessing man is only blessed by God God having thus created and blessed man male and female God gave man power soveraignty and dominion over the earth over the creatures next and immediately to himselfet And for the higher advancement of man his immediate vicegerent on earth God did plant the glorious garden of Edē for man as a Palace sutable to the majesty of such a great Monarch wherein there was all manner of Trees laden with variety of all pleasing fruit no lesse delicate to the taste odoriferous to the smelling beautifull to the eye then wholsome to the nature of man upon the boughes whereof the created Birds of the ayre might reside by their melodious harmony to congratulate the installment of their Lord and King A River likewise falling in its golden channell for there was gold past thorow the Garden wherein the created Fishes sporting themselves might shew their applause to their Princes arrivall All manner of Herbs all manner of beautifull odoriferous Flowers which could objectively delight the externall senses no doubt must be in this pleasing Garden the species of all which externall sensitive objects did give no small contentment to man being created in such actuall perfection of naturall understanding while by variety of such pleasing objects the understanding of man must be ravished with variety of contemplation In the midst of this glorious Garden the Tree of life and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evill were placed by God both named as it seemeth by Moses from the effect for as by the vertue of the Tree of life the nature of man as he is man was to be eternally preserved and therefore our first parents might then eat thereof at their pleasure So by eating of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evill contrary to the command of God by his word which is the command of his Law of righteousnesse the effect of the knowledge of evill which our first Parents did so affect to know was produced by the eating of the forbidden fruit This pleasing glorious Garden for the pleasure and contentment which it did afford is commonly called by the name of Paradise which word our Saviour himselfe did use for to expresse the joy pleasure and contentment of the heavenly Paradise In this pleasing glorious Garden God placed man male and female created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection appointing the naturall and spirituall food for the eternall preservation of the naturall and spirituall life of man which was then the fruit of Trees of the Garden whereby the naturall life of man was to be maintained and for the spirituall food of man God gave the word of the first seventh dayes rest for in the onely true spirituall understanding of the word of the seventh dayes rest as God doth reveale himselfe to be known and worshipped by man is the only true knowledge of God which the Lord himselfe affirmes to be eternall life And this is the reason that the word of God is called the bread of life which is really one with the word of promise which is the word of eternall life whereby God doth mutually bind and oblige himselfe and man by Covenant By the only light therfore of the word of the first seventh dayes rest wherein the first Covenant is immediately established we are necessarily led to the understanding of the first Covenant First therefore briefly of the word of the first seventh dayes rest and of the necessity thereof to man created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection and next of the the first Covenant made by God with man CHAP. VII Of the word of the first seventh dayes rest of the Law of Righteousnesse AS by the only light of the word of every severall seventh dayes rest of the Law of God in the severall state and condition of man man is led in the understanding of God by his word as God hath revealed himselfe by the word of his severall seventh dayes rest to be known and worshipped by man so by the onely immediate blessing of God by the word of his seventh dayes rest the state and condition of man and the creatures created for man are continued The word therefore of the first seventh dayes rest was most necessary to our first parents in the state of their created perfection for these maine reasons following First
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
by Satans temptation before Adam was tempted by Satan But Adam love by Satans false deceiving light being once united to the externall object of the fruit of the tree of knowledge Adams fall by eating of the fruit was irresistible and that for this twofold impregnable reason First the externall object actually enlightened by Satans false light being the object of Adams greatest perfection for Adam by eating of the fruit was suggested to be equall to God Adams love and the object of his greatest perfection being actually united The union was inseparable and unresisted by any increated or created power For God had barred himself by covenant either from restraining of Satan from tempting Adam or from bearing up of Adam being tempted by Satan neither was there any created power of God that could separate or necessitate the freedome of Adams naturall love from the naturall object or Adam must not be created man in the state of naturall perfection whose love must be with all freedome to the naturall object Secondly there being nothing under the heavens more averse to the nature of man both as he is an intellectuall and as he is an naturall man intellectuall and sensitive then eternall death which is the destruction of the perfection of man Adams naturall love therefore being united to the externall object whereby he might avoid eternall death the union was inseperable and irresistable So long therefore as Satan by his mighty power was left at such liberty there was small reason to invent any imaginary decree to necessitate Adams will to fall under the eternall curse of the Law Though by this act of Satan his power was so curbd and limitate that Satan shall never deceive all men againe at a clap as we shall heare afterwards One question doth remaine to be resolved which is prest by many the question is this Could not God have created man with such necessity of spirituall action as man could not have beene tempted by the mightiest temptation of Satan to fall from his obliged love to God I answer It is all one to move this question as to move the question whether God could create another God For first no intellectuall creature as it is a creature can bee created with necessity of spirituall action for by such Creation God must communicate his owne spirituall indivisible essence to his creature though the action of God is not necessary by nature as wee say of the fire which out of the necessity of its nature doth necessarily burne but Gods immanent action is said to be necessary as he is infinite immutable and eternall as by his transeunt action God is said to be a most free Agent Secondly I answer to the Question that such creation of man by God with necessity of spirituall action had implyed a manifest contradiction for so man must have beene created dependent by his creation and independent by his spirituall action And so much briefly for the fall of man under the eternall curse of the Law which is the contents of the first Part of this second Booke CHAP. XII The redemption of man from the fearefull eternall curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam VVE should next according to our method set downe the arraignment of our first parents by God and the censure of God upon the arraignment containing the second Covenant But because the arraignment censure and second covenant doth necessarily presuppose the redemption of man from this fearfull curse of the Law to which Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam were eternally condemned the redemption of man therefore is first to be declared For though according to the eternal decree of God the actuall curse of the Law for the sin of Adam was never neither shall it be ever actually inflicted upon Adam or any man naturally to descend of Adam yet so much was neither known to man or Angel before the Promise of the blessed seed was made to Adam and to all men eternally redemed in Adam the head by the second covenant And therefore all the punishments inflicted by God by his censure upon our first parents for the transgression of the Law were all temporall in this life while as the curse of the Law is eternall For first if the curse of the Law had been actually inflicted by God upon our first parents as they and their posterity were actually condemned to the curse it had been impossible for our first parents to have answered God upon their arraignment as they did though their answers were untowardly enough For their answers as we shall find was as the answer of a meer naturall man without any manner of spirituall understanding or action Secondly it had been impossible for God in this case to have called our first parents so mercifully by his Word but most impossible for God to have entred any covenant with man under the actuall curse of the Law in which case the eternall curse of the Law is merciless For God can shew no mercy to man condemned to the curse of the Law without a Mediator to intervene between the condemnation of man by the Law and the actuall inflicting of the curse The redemption of man therefore from the curse of the Law is first to be declared before the arraignment of our first parents before the censure of God upon the arraignment and before the second covenant The redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam is to be considered after a twofold manner First the redemption of man is to be considered as it was the promise of God made to Adam and to all men naturally to descend of Adam in the promise of the blessed seed by the second covenant which is contained in the rest of this second Book Secondly the redemption of man is to be considered as the promise of the blessed seed was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ upon the day of his resurrection upon which blessed day the new covenant was made by God with all the Nations of the world which is declared in the third book of this Theologicall key For the better conceiving both of the second Covenant which is called the old Covenant as also of the New Covenant these three maine fundamentall points are necessarily to be understood The first the eternall Decree of God whereby the redemption of man was decreed from all eternity The second point is the perfection of the redemption of man and wherein the perfection of the redemption of man doth consist The third point is the admirable benefits arising to all the nations of the world by the perfection of the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam First therefore of the eternall Decree of God God out of his infinite love and mercy to man in his Son Christ Jesus upon his eternall prescience of the inevitable fall of man by the mighty malicious temptation of Satan did from all eternity decree to predestinate to the
close and dark without any light at all And the redeemed naturall life and light of man and the life and light of righteousness of faith to which all men are inabled by the cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman was prefigurate by the loaves upon the Table of shew-bread and by the glorious lights of the golden Candlestick placed in the first Tabernacle for the lamps of the golden Candlestick were enlightened by the fire of the brazen Altar prefigurating the cursed altar of the Cross whereon the Lamb of God was to be offered And the fire of the brazen altar whereby the Holocaust sacrifice of the Lamb was burned up did come down from heaven which did prefigurate the fiery wrath of God whereby the Lamb of God was to be burned up upon the cursed altar of the cross for the sins of man And so much for the perfection of the redemption of man condemned to eternall death and darness Next of the concluding of all men redeemed in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin CHAP. XIV Of the concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darkness in temporall spirituall darkness called unbelief and sin IN the concluding and shutting up of all men in spirituall darkness and unbelief Rom. 11.32 and in the spirituall enlightening of that spirituall darkness standeth the very period of the perfection of the redemption of man and therefore it is said that God did conclude all men in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all For though God hath mercy upon all by the first grace of morall faith to which all men are inabled by the immediate power of the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of the redeemed man yet his speciall mercy is in his second grace which is by the enlightening of the spirituall darknesse wherein the redeemed naturall man is shut up with the spirituall light of the holy Spirit whereby the naturall man is inabled with the grace of spirituall faith without this concluding of man therefore in spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbelief which is called sin it is impossible that any naturall man in the ordinary calling of God could be spiritually called by the grace of spirituall faith by the only grace whereof man is saved from the second death By this spirituall light inlightening of the darknesse of the understanding of man in the immediate act of spiritual regeneration the understanding of the naturall man is first spiritually inlightened to see himself dead both in actuall morall and actuall spirituall sin under the curse of the Law of Faith which he could never see before For though the naturall man before he be regenerate cannot sin actually and spiritually as he is a spirituall man being dead in spirituall darknesse yet the naturall man by his morall evill action doth sin actually both morally and spiritually though the naturall man before he be regenerate cannot know that his morall evill action is a necessary spirituall transgression of the Law For from the first evill morall action of the naturall man which is a necessary transgression of the Law of faith the naturall man till he be regenerate is condemned by the Law of Faith and dead by the Law in actuall sin as he is a naturall man till he be raised by the grace of spirituall Faith for all actuall sin doth begin morally by the morall transgression of the Law which is both a morall and spirituall transgression as the Law is morally and spiritually commanded But the pardon and remission of actuall sin doth begin spiritually by spirituall faith untill which time the naturall man is necessarily dead in actuall sin though he doth not neither can know that he is dead in actuall sin till his spirituall darknesse be spiritually inlightned And therefore the Apostle Rom. 7.9 saith I was once alive without the Law to wit while as he knew not the spirituall command of the Law but when the command came that is the spirituall command which came by the spirituall enlightning of his spirituall darknesse by spirituall faith sin revived and I dyed For then the Apostle did see himself dead in actuall sin All naturall men therefore before they be regenerate are dead in actuall sin And in this sense our Saviours words are to be conceived while as he saith Luke 9 60. Let the dead go bury their dead By the spirituall light therefore in the immediate act of regeneration the naturall man is spiritually inlightned to see himself dead in actuall morall and spirituall sin and ready to sinck in the bottomlesse sea of Gods fiery wrath for sin under the eternall curse of the Law of Faith while in the mean time he is led by this spiritually light to lay fast spirituall hold on the Lords infinite merit by which spirituall hold the faith of the naturall man proceeding from his spirituall love and the Lords merit by his love to the naturall man are really spiritually and divisibly one by which spirituall union the naturall man is actually and spiritually regenerate and mystically united to his mysticall head the Lord Jesus Christ by whose infinite merit all the regenerate mans finite actuall sins are covered For by this spirituall union the Lords merit by his fulfilling of the Law is made the regenerate mans merit by imputation and imputed to his spirituall faith whereby the regenerate man is justified by the Law by our Saviours fulfilling of the Law And by this spirituall union inabled to live the spirituall life of righteousness and holinesse of faith And therefore it is said Rom. 1.17 The just shall live by faith And this is the faith which is able to remove the greatest mountain of temptation even the mountain of naturall death it self if it stand in the way and offer to make a breach in his spirituall love from the truth of the Lords merit This spirituall darknesse wherein all men are concluded by the eternall Decree of God is that door which is so shut up by God as no man can open And this spirituall Light whereby this spirituall darknesse is enlightned is that key of David that is the key of the son of David by which spirituall key the door of the spirituall darknesse of man being once opened all the devils darknesse and all the powers of earth and hell are not able to shut the door again totally and finally though by the devils darknesse the regenerate man doth too often stumble and fall and foulely fall Of this concluding of all men redeemed from the curse of the eternall darknesse in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and sin two fundamentall points are to be observed The first is the prefigurating of this spirituall darknesse by the darknesse of the second Tabernacle The second is the Reason that this spirituall darknesse and spirituall unbelief is called sin by the Apostle This spirituall darknesse wherein
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
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.
3.15 I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall break thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel This censure hath likewise a literall and mysticall sense and doth divide it self into three branches The first is I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed The second is It shall break thy head The third is Thou shalt bruise his heel In the three branches of this censure as the censure doth concern the woman and her seed doth consist the foundation of all Christian faith from the first promise of the blessed seed made to Adam For in the second branch of this censure the second covenant is made by God with man in the promise of the blessed seed The Declaration therefore of this censure as it doth concern the Serpent and the woman shall be discharged in these two points First the literall and mysticall sense of the three branches of the censure shall be declared Secondly the second covenant in the promise of the blessed seed shall be set down After the declaration of which two points the censure of God upon the two last parties delinquents shall be followed according to the order set down by Moses First therefore of the literall sense of the thee branches of the censure and next of the mystall sense By the literall sense of the first branch of the censure a naturall enmity and hatred is put between the Serpent the woman who were formerly so loving and conversant one with another which enmity and hatred is put likewise between the seed of both By reason of this enmity and hatred mortall bloody irreconcileable wars are stirred up between the parties This was a miserable censure inflicted upon the Serpent not only to be cast down by the curse from the former estate to craul so despicably and loathsomely upon the belly and to eat the dust of the earth but likewise to be so necessitate by the curse to such a base condition as neither man or woman can abide the Serpent who were formerly so loving and familiar one with another which hatred according to the eternall Decree of God must continue till the worlds end This hatred is not only a simple privation of the former love between this sensitive creature and man but it is a positive enmity accompanied with such a necessitate fear of man in the Serpent as if the fire stand in the way while man doth pursue the Serpent the Serpent to flie the presence of man will craul thorow the fire it self Though this enmity be inflicted upon the Serpent and its seed as a curse yet it is no wayes inflicted as a curse upon the woman or upon her seed but doth naturally proceed from both to the Serpent for the Serpents betraying of man to fall under the eternall curse of the Law for whose redemption the sacred blood of Christ Jesus as he is man was so truly and necessarily shed though it be no small cut to man while man at whose frown the most cruell Lion did most submissively stoop must now be afraid of the sting of such a base crauling creature as the Serpent The second branch of the censuâ—e is It shall break thine head whereby the word it is to be understood man the seed of the woman as shall appear by the mysticall sense of the censure By the eternall Decree of God therefore the seed of the woman must break the head of the Serpent which is the most miserable curse of all to the Serpent For the head implying the brain which is the originall of the sensitive powers of the sensitive creature being broke and bruised as it were in pieces both the sensitive and vegetative life of the Serpent is extinguished in the originall and consequently the venemous power of the sting of the Serpent bruised and broken And by whom By man the seed of the woman and why because thou hast done this The victory therefore of this irreconcileable wars is by the eternall Decree of God decreed to man the seed of the woman But though the victory of this bloody irreconcileable wars be decreed to the seed of the woman yet the conquest is not without some fear and danger to wit Thou shalt bruise his heel that is the heel of man the seed of the woman By the heel the lowest part of man as he is sensitive is to be understood for neither the Serpent or Satan or any created power must enter the soul of man to sting man as he is a spirituall man The Serpent therefore by its sting must bruise the naturall man as he is sensitive and not as the man is intellectuall and a spirituall man By this power given to the Serpent to bruise the heel of man Numb 21.8 Eccl. 10 11. the Serpent is said to bite or sting man the seed of the woman And though by the sting of the Serpent being venemous the wound by the inflamation of the sensitive powers without speedy remedy doth many times prove mortall yet such mortality by naturall death is an advantage to the faithfull while thereby all the afflictions of this life by the old great Serpents sting are determined And though the Serpent many times having mortally stung man by subtilty nimblenesse doth scape the deadly wound yet die the Serpent must if not by man naturally descended of Adam yet by man spiritually begot of the seed of the woman by whose sacred blood the dead by the Serpents sting was redeemed and by whose câ—mmand the blood of man killed must be revenged For by whom mans blood is shed the blood of the shedder whether by man or any sensitive creature must be shed according to the Law of God And so much for the literall sense of the three branches of the censure inflicted upon the sensitive Serpent and its seed as the censure doth concern the woman and her seed Next of the mysticall sense of the three branches of the censure CHAP. XX. The mysticall sense of the first branch of the censure BY the mysticall sense of the first branch of this censure the enmity put between the sensitive Serpent and the woman is mystically put between the old murdering Serpent and the Church of God which is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ the head of the Church mystically signified by the woman For this mysticall woman is the blessed Virgine By the seed of the Serpent is mystically signified those whom Satan by the sowing of his seed of enmity even in a manner from the cradle doth beget to be haters of the truth of the word and persecutors of the Professors of the Word are called the children and seed of Satan By this mysticall woman therefore to wit the blessed Virgine the redeemed militant Church of God upon earth is mystically to be understood By the seed of the woman first Christ Jesus the Word secondly the children begot of the Word brought forth by the
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
sacrifice as the altar and sacrifice is immediately referred to the propheticall Sabbath as it is the great command of the Law implying the whole command of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed Thus having declared the word of the second seventh dayes promised rest of the Law of righteousnesse of faith upon the immediate command whereof the second covenant is established I come next to the declaration of the second covenant God therefore in this gracious word of promise doth first bind and obliged himself by covenant to Adam the redeemed head of man and in Adam to all men naturally to descend of Adam that the word should be made man of the seed of the woman by whom the old Serpents head should be broke by whose merit by his promised rest Adam should have eternall life And because this promise of eternall life was to be enjoyed by the blessing of the seventh dayes Sabaticall promised rest God therefore doth mutually bind and oblige Adam the redeemed head of man to believe the promise and by his faithfull morall and ceremoniall works of worship to worship God upon the Sabbath as God did reveal himself to Adam by his promised Sabaticall seventh dayes rest God of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in three distinct persons of the Trinity Creator and Redemeer of man And because Adam by the redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith in his heart was morally enabled to that formal commanded moral and ceremoniall worship God doth likewise bind Adam the redeemed head of man upon the finall contempt of his commanded worship to eternall death as if the word of the covenant were thus Whosoever shall believe in the promise of the blessed seed shall be saved from the second death as by my promised rest from the redemption of man he is saved from the first death whosover shall not believe shall be condemned Now as the formall commanded worship of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnesse of faith is obliged by the second covenant Adam is commanded to worship God upon the seventh day of the propheticâ—ll Sabbath by his propheticall and ceremoniall worship of God as God hath revealed himself by his Sabaticall rest both upon the eternall blessing of the Sabaticall seventh dayes promised rest and upon the eternall cuâ—se of the Law of righteousnesse of faith in which commanded formall worship as the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath was then the great command of the Law of faith all the morall and ceremoniall works of faith are necessarily commanded To the continuance of man in which works of faith till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling the grace of spirituall faith is promised by covenant for Mat. 13.13 Whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved which is the saving of man from the second death by spirituall faith By faith in this promised rest of the blessed seed of Adam and the Fathers before Moses and the Fathers after Moses till the promise was fulfilled were saved For the formall morall propheticall and ceremoniall obligement of the Law of righteousnesse of faith was really and formally one and the same till the promise was fulfilled For as the morall and ceremoniall Law given to Moses in distinct precepts was necessarily implied in the command of the word of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath to Adam and to the Fathers before Moses So the distinct precepts of the ceremoniall Law given to Moses were as necessarily implied in the ceremoniall command of the altar and sacrifice for all the rites and ceremonies of the ceremoniall Law and immediatly referred to the altar and sacrifice as the command of the ceremoniall altar and sacrifice is immediately referred to the formall commanded worship of the Sabbath Hence I inferre this necessary conclusion Adam and the Fathers before Moses having the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath implying the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed and the ceremoniall altar and sacrifice implying all the ceremoniall Law Adam and the Fathers before Moses had the morall and ceremoniall Law and were thereby as really obliged as after the morall and ceremoniall Law was given to Moses And therefore it is said 1 Cor. 10.3 4. that the Fathers did eat of the same spirituall bread and drink of the same spirituall Rock with us for that Rock was the blessed seed to Adam and the Fathers which is now to us the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore it is likewise said that the Evangel was preached to them to wit mystically and prophetically as it is preached to us cleerly and Evangelically To conclude the second covenant called the old covenant I inferre the second formall obligement of the Law of God by the old covenant As the first word of promise to Adam the created head of man in his state of perfection was eternall life by the rest of the Law of righteousnesse upon the first seventh day from the works of the creation So the second word of promise to Adam the redeemed head of man is eternall life by the promised rest of God of the Law of righteousnesse of faith the Redeemer of man by his promised rest upon the Sabbath from the works of the redemption First therefore this promised rest of the blessed seed upon the Sabbath being formally propheticall consequently the formall worship of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath obliged by the second covenant was formally propheticall and therefore typically and ceremonially commanded upon the performing of which commanded worship by Adam the second covenant is established Secondly the propheticall Sabbaticall seventh day of the Law as it is the great coÌ„mand of the Law implying the command of the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith being prophetically and ceremonially obliged the whole Law of righteousnesse of faith is prophetically and ceremonially obliged commanding Adam first and immediatly to the formall propheticall ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath of the Lord both upon the eternall blessing of the Sabbaticall seventh days promised rest to his faithfull worship and upon the curse of eternall death to his finall contempt of that commanded formall worship necessarily implying the contempt of the whole Law For as in the commanded worship of the seventh day of the Law as it is the great command of the Law necessarily implying the lesser command all the powers of man proceeding from his faithfull love to God are necessarily commanded So by the finall contempt of the formall commanded worship of the seventh day of the Law the whole Law is necessarily transgressed Hence I inferre these two Theologicall demonstrative conclusions First as necessarily as by the second covenant the faith of man was obliged to the faithfull propheticall and ceremoniall worship of the propheticall Sabbath upon the promise of eternall life to his faith and eternall death to his infidelity So the works of faith whereby the propheticall
and ceremoniall worship of the Sabbath was to be performed were as necessarily commanded by the command of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath both upon the eternall blessing of the Sabbaticall seventh dayes rest of the Law of righteousness of faith and upon the eternall curse of the Law of faith Secondly though the propheticall and ceremoniall works of faith were necessarily commanded by the Law yet the blessing of the eternall promised rest of the blessed seed was due by the Law immediately to faith and not to the works of faith The reason is because it was by the Spirit of faith that the merit of the promised rest of the blessed seâ—d was to be apprehended and not by the greatest works of faith which hath no spirit at all And therefore the eternall blessing of the seventh dayes promised rest of the blessed seed by the Law of righteousnesse of faith was not due by the Law to the greatest morall or ceremoniall works of Adam but immediately to the merit of man the promised blessed seed by the immediate power of whole redeemed word of the Law and life of righteousnesse of faith written in the heart of Adam Adam was morally enabled to believe the promise and to produce the morall and ceremoniall works of faith as by the spirituall grace of faith in Gods prefixed time Adam was spiritually enabled with the spirituall grace of faith by the hands of spirituall faith to apprehend the merit of the blessed seed by his promised rest by which spirituall union Adams faith and the merit of the blessed seed were really and indivisibly one whereby Adam was saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of faith And so much for the literall and mysticall sense of the second covenant comprehended in the second branch of the censure as the censure doth concern the woman and her seed We proceed therefore next to the censure of God upon the two last delinquents for the transgression of the Law of righteousnesse obliged by the first covenant CHAP. XXIV The literall sense of the censure in particular upon the woman FOr the better conceiving of the censure of God upon the last two delinquents for the transgression of the Law of righteousnesse by the first covenant it is necessarily to be understood that Adam is said to be the head of man after a twofold manner First as under the name of Adam man male and female is comprehended For so Adam is the created head of all men naturally descended and to descend of Adam and in this sense as all men are said to have sinned in Adam the created head of all men Rom. 5.18 so all men are said to be redeemed in Adam the redeemed head of man from the curse of eternall death and darknesse by the promised rest of the blessed seed from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law and by the eternall decree of God shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse called unbelief and originall sin and temporall naturall death which followed that sin which was then according to the eternall decree of God pronounced upon Adam thâ— redeemed head of man by the censure of God in which censure of naturall death all the punishments inflicted by the censure are comprehended And therefore in the infinite mercy of God all the punishments by this censure pronounced upon man male and female are all temporall in this life to the end that all men and women might be put in continuall remembrance of the never to be forgotten love and mercy of God in his Son Christ Jesus for the redemption of man from the fearfull eternall curse of the Law for the sin of Adam which nothing could redeem but the only cursed death of Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman who therefore as he is man was made a curse for man Gal. 3.13 Secondly Adam is said to be the head of man as he is man male the head of the woman by matrimoniall union in which sense Adam is said to be the head of his wife the woman and the woman the wife is said to be the body of her husband To proceed therefore with the censure which is first pronounced upon the woman because she was first in the transgression to wit before Adam man male The censure upon the woman is set down by Moses in these words Gen. 3.16 I will greatly multiply thy sorrows and thy conceptions In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee The censure hath a literall and mysticall sense First of the literall sense of the censure which is pronounced upon the woman in particular as she is the wife and body of her husband The censure doth divide it self into two branches to wit sorrow in conception and child-birth and subjection to the husband First of the literall sense of the two branches and next of the mysticall sense As this sorrow in the infinite mercy of God at that time was not without greatest comfort to women so it is with no lesse comfort to women at this present For as 〈◊〉 in the bringing forth of children the promise of the blessed seed was confirmed to be born of the seed of the woman by whose cursed death the curse of the Law was removed from man the benefit whereof our first parents did then actually enjoy though the blessed child was afterwards to be born according to the eternal decree of God So there is great comfort at this time under the Law of Grace in the bringing forth of children by women For the child is brought forth actually freed from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam by the first covenant and born a hopefull member of the Lord Jesus Christ And though it doth please God many times to take away the childe by temporall death yet it is no small comfort to the sorrowfull parents that the childe is a glorious Saint in heaven It is said here I will greatly multiply or increase thy sorrows because of the pronounced enmity between the old Serpent Satan and his seed and the woman and her seed of whose continuall afflictions the woman is never free while she is in this life And now her sorrows are increased by her conception and bringing forth of children which are inflicted upon women to the end that the woman in her greatest extremity by her sorrow in conception and childbirth should be put in mind of the eternall sorrows and pains of eternall death by the first covenant from which she was redeemed by the blessed childe then to be born and now born of the seed of the woman upon whose merit Eves faith may safely rest as upon a rock from any fear of the second death by the new covenant In which sense only the words of the Apostle are to be conceived to wit 1 Tim. 2.15 that women are saved through the bearing of children for
by the extremity of their pains they are put to it to flie to Christ the only Author of faith by whose only merit the woman is only saved And this likewise is the reason that it is said John 16.21 that the sorrows and pains of childbirth are forgotten because man is brought into the world For it is a great joy and comfort to all men and women that man is brought into the world freed from the eternall curse of the Law for the sin of Adam and a hopefull member of the Church of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ And though sorrow and pain in conception and childbirth be a great weakning to women leading to naturall death and though childbirth many times be accompanied with the losse of naturall life to the mother yet it is with great advantage to the woman the childe of God while by the determining of all the sorrows crosses and afflictions of this life she enters to the eternall joyes in the life to come It is true that it doth please God to give such strength of nature to divers thanklesse women whereby they are more able to bear this sorrow and pains in concâ—â—tion and childbirth then other women but for the most part this sorrow and pain in childbirth is fearfull sudden and dangerous in so much that while God doth threaten the disobedience of man by his unexpected judgements they are expressed by the sudden dangerous unexpected sorrows and pains of women in childbirth And though it may be conceived that some women barren and childlesse are happy in this case as not being subject to such temporall danger and hazard yet I say that the fruitfulnesse of women doth far exceed the fear of such hazard and danger for children are the greatest blessings of God and a great comfort both to poor and rich And though for the most part children too too often prove crosses and afflictions to the parents stirred up by the temptations of Satan and of his wicked instruments which is a sore affliction to the parents yet it is the hand of God in permitting of Satan to afflict their parents by their children to put them in minde of their own disobedience to Gâ—d their chief Parent or to their own naturall parents or for their triall in this life whereby they are humbled under the hand of God For by afflictions we must enter the Kingdome of heaven Against this here delivered it may be objected Though man had stood in his state of perfection yet woman must have had such sorrow and pains in conception and childbirth for they are the inseparable companions of both I answer Grief sorrow and pain and sensitive perfection do mutually plant and subplant one another for passion by sorrow and grief is the immediate cause of most sensitive diseases Sorrow and grief therefore is far from that state of sensitive perfection wherein man was created which was eternall In which state if man had continued the woman must have had eternall joy and comfort upon earth without all sensitive sorrow pain or grief either in conception or childbirth But in the mean time let it not trouble any married woman barren of children because the Apostle saith that women are saved through child-bearing for the Apostles meaning is that the extremity of labour and fear in childbirth is a means to move the woman to flie to the Lord by faith and to relie upon the Lords merit to save her from the second death and if it be his will from the present danger of childbirth and therefore the Apostle saith 1 Tim. 2.15 that the woman is saved through bearing of children if she continue in faith love holinesse and modesty which are the true works of faith by which faith she is only saved Far be it threfore from any woman to conceive that child-bearing is the cause of any womans safety from eternall death which is only and immediately by faith in the only merit of the Lord of life Let never therefore the barrennesse of child-bearing discourage woman if she continue in the fruitfull works of faith for by faith she is only saved And though she be denied the bearing of children in this miserable age while so many of the children of faithfull parents are led away with the crying sins of the times and miscarry to the great sorrow and grief of their parents yet let her not take her barrennesse of children for any reproach For though barrennesse in the time of Abrahams posterity Gen. 30.23 was counted a reproach amongst women before our Saviour was born Luke 1.25 Yet the blessed child being born all reproach of barrennesse of children is taken away from women CHAP. XXV The second branch of the censure literally pronounced upon the woman as she is the body of man her husband THe second branch of the censure literally pronounced upon the woman as she is the body of her husband is subjection to the husband Hence I necessarily infer that in the state of perfection before the fall there was no other subjection of the wife to the husband but the endeavouring of the wife in all mutuall love to be led and governed by the husband her head This branch of the censure therefore doth stand with as great opposition to the state of perfection as the former which doth manifestly appear by the twofold inseparable union of man and wife in the state of perfection which was both naturall and spirituall the strictest union that can be conceived by man The naturall union is set down by Moses in these words They shall be both one flesh For the woman was made of the rib of the man which is the most solid and condensate sensitive part of man as he is sensitive for the matter of the bone is of the blood of man And therefore when Eve was first brought before Adam Adam out of the perfection of his naturall understand affirmed that Eve was flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone And therefore called her Mannes according to the originall affirming her to be man essentially adding only the distinction of the sex of man In which sense the Apostle doth call the woman mans own flesh So that if man love his own flesh naturally he must love his wife as himself Ephes 5.29 The second union of man and wife in the state of perfection was spirituall for both were equally created in the lively Image of God in the indivisible union of mutuall spirituall love to righteousnesse far surmounting the most strict union under the heavens By this twofold inseparable union of man and wife in the state of perfection by matrimoniall union the union was inseparable And therefore our Saviour speaking of Moses bill of divorcement Mat. 19.8 told the Jews that Moses did permit that bill for the hardnesse of their heart and that it was not so from the beginning For they were created male and female whereby the one did strive to overcome the other by the mutuall offices of
was formerly prefigurate to Adam and the Fathers by the shedding of the blood of sensitive beasts and fowles And therefore the figure of the promised blessed seeed by the sacrament of circumcision was more significant then all the former bloody figures by the sacrifice of the Altar By the sacrament of circumcision therefore Abrahams family was distinguished and divided from all the families of the earth till they were reunited by the fulfilling of the promise by the new covenant For by the new covenant all the families of the earth were called and united in one Church and family For the strengthening of Abrahams faith in this gracious promise the inheritance of the Land of Canaan was promised to Abraham and to his seed whereby it was prefigurate that Abraham and his seed by faith in the promise made to Abraham should be inheritors of the heavenly Canaan the Kingdome of heaven The Church of God therefore being established in the family of Abraham and of his posterity the protection of the Church and the preservation of the line of the promised blessed seed was committed to Abraham to this end God did enable Abraham with the power of wisdome valour and with such an admirable gift of spirituall faith as Abraham is styled in the Scripture the Father of the faithfull And though I must passe over the History of Abrahams continuall victories over the enemies of the Church and leave the Reader to inform himself by the sacred History yet I cannot omit four memorable points of Abrahams faith whereby he is most justly called the Father of the faithfull The first was though Abraham was above an hundred yeers old when this promise was made and Sara was old and barren and both as it were dead by the course of nature and past all such hope yet faithfull Abraham considered not the deadnesse of his own body or the deadnesse of Sara's womb but stedfastly believed the promise against all naturall hope in hope that God according to his gracious wood would perform his promise Secondly Abrahams faith did wonderfully appear to his obedience to the command of God by his Word Gen. 12.1 commanding Abraham to depart from his native soil and to leave his kindred friends and possessions where he was seated in such plenty and to go into a strange countrey inhabited with the power of such mighty men who were every way unknown to Abraham and where he had no earthly help to trust unto but did as it were expose himself and his family to be made a prey unto strangers yet faithfull Abraham setting all doubts fears kindred friends pleasures and possessions aside did give obedience to the command of God and marched boldly to the Land of Canaan Thirdly how admirably doth our Saviour commend Abrahams faith while as our Saviour told the Jews saying John 8.56 Abraham did see my day and was glad and rejoyced therein For Abraham with the eyes of his spirituall faith did see the Lords day in the eighth day of the Sacrament of circumcision for the child was circumcised upon the eighth day though the eighth day of the circumcision fell out upon the seventh day of the great propheticall Sabbath which was commanded long before the Sacrament of circumcision and so precisely commanded as no mannâ—r of work was to be done upon the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath much lesse the shedding of the blood of man for the only commanded works of the propheticall ceremoniall worship of God were to be done upon the Sabbath Abraham therefore observing with the spirituall eyes of faith that the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath did give place to the administration of the Sacrament of circumcision Abraham did apprehend that the eighth day should be worshipped in place of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath The reason was because the Sacrament of circumcision did prefigurate both Christs death and the day of his resurrection from the dead for as by the shedding of the childs blood the shedding of the blessed childs blood by the cursed death of the crosse was prefigurate So by the stenching of the childs blood upon the eighth day whereby the life of the child was preserved the day of our Saviours resurrection from the dead was prefigurate to wit the Lords day which was the eighth day from the last Jews propheticall Sabbath for the last Sabbath whereon our Saviour did rest in the grave was no wayes the Jews propheticall Sabbath neither was there any Jew or Gentile bound or obliged to fulfill the command of the seventh day of the last Sabbath For all men naturally descended of Adam the redeemed head of man were only obliged to the command of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath which did prophesie our Saviours rest in the grave by whose rest in the grave all the prophesies prophesied by the propheticall Sabbath were fulfilled The last Sabbath therefore whereon our Saviour did rest in his sacred grave was no wayes propheticall neither was there any man naturally descended of Adam obliged to fulfill the command of the last Sabbath Let us therefore leave the last Sabbath to the Lord of the Sabbath and adde seven dayes more to the last Jews formall propheticall Sabbath and we have the Lords day the day of his resurrection from the grave to be the just eighth day as the Lords day was prefigurate to Abraham by the eighth day of the circumcision But let us account the number of dayes from the last formall Jews propheticall Sabbath and begin the accompt at the first day of the week according to the Jews computation of the dayes of their Sabbaticall week as both Jews and Gentiles were obliged to the Law of God and the Lords day is the just seventh day from the last formall Jews propheticall Sabbath and the true seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith more satisfactory to be declared hereafter What an admirable faith was this in Abraham to see the Lords day so far off as it was prefigurate by the Sacrament of circumcision though the Lords day be the true seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith as all men naturally descended of Adam are obliged to the command of the seventh day of the Law for without the command of the seventh day of the Law there is no Law to command man The fourth memorable point wherein the excellency of Abrahams faith did appear was in Abrahams readinesse at the command of God to offer up in sacrifice his son Isaac his only hope and heir of the promise and his only comfort next to God For it may justly amaze the heart of a naturall man that Abraham against nature by forgetting of all naturall affection should be so forward to attempt such cruelty with his own bloody hands to cut the throat of his so dearly beloved childe the only hope and heir of the promise Though this command was out of the infinite love of God to Abraham for God did never intend that Abraham should commit
any such cruelty But that Abraham and all men of the faith of Abraham might understand that God spared not his only Son the Son of his love to sacrifice him as it were with his own hands for his love which he doth bear to man For all the created powers of God were not able to bereave our Saviour of his life without his own gracious permission who out of his infinite love and mercy to man did most lovingly and mercifully lay down his life for man Here the question may be moved Was the Church of God upon earth then only in Abrahams family and his posterity and no where else I answer As the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of all his redeemed members the Lord from the beginning had his universall Church through all the Nations of the earth though his particular Church according to his promise was then in Abraham and in the posterity of Abraham for the time And therefore though the Apostle did tell the Gentiles that they were not of the circumcision Ephes 2.12 but aliens from the common wealth of Israel and as it were without any Christ and consequently without God For Christ according to the flesh was to descend of the circumcised yet the Gentiles had the propheticall Sabbath and the altar and sacrifice as it was prescribed to Adam and the Fathers before the promise was made to Abraham and consequently the covenant and formall obligement of the Law really one from the beginning And the Apostle doth acknowledge that the Gentiles did do the things contained in the Law Rom. 2.14 which was the ceremoniall works of the Law though the Gentiles did them not in that precise manner as they were done by the Jews And through the Apostle saith that the Gentiles did do the things contained in the Law by the light of their conscience yet that light was the light of the redeemed word of the Law of Righteousnesse of faith written in their heart which was really one with the light of the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath and with the ceremoniall light of the altar sacrifice whereby they were inabled to do the things contained in the Law And who should bar the free Spirit of God to blow where it listeth John 3.8 and to enlighten many of the Gentiles Did not the Lord commend the Centurions faith and say Luke 7.9 that he did not finde such faith in Israel And how greatly did our Saviour commend the faith of the Canaanitish woman Mat. 15.28 and the faith of one of the ten Lepers and Luke 17.19 yet the promise made to Abraham was not then fulfilled And did not Christ himself him according to the flesh descend of the Gentiles though immediately of the seed of Abraham Let no man therefore think but that the Lord had his universall Church in all ages though his particular Church was then in the family and posterity of Abraham And so much for the second age of the Church and for the reall unity of the covenant and formall obligement of the Law as the promise was made to Abraham which was really one with the covenant made with Adam CHAP. XXXI The continuation of the formall propheticall ceremoniall obligement of the Law in the third age of the Church THe third age of the Church from the beginning was in the time of Moses descended of Abraham whom God raised for the preservation of his Church then in the posterity of Abraham whose posterity the Lord according to his eternall purpose would not permit to be established in the Land of Canaan for the space of forty yeers to the end that God by the Ministry of his servant Moses might manifest the glory of his power in the protection of his Church against the great power of Satan and of his mighty instruments for which cause God inabled Moses with the power of wisdome valour and faith amongst the number of whose memorable acts I will only touch three leaving the rest to the Reader to be informed by the sacred History my purpose being only to shew that the covenant and the formall obligement of the Law was really one and the same from the beginning as it was made to Adam and to Abraham The first memorable act of Moses Ministry was in the delivery of the people from the Egyptian servitude who were the seed of Abraham of whom the promised blessed seed according to the flesh was to descend and were then miserably oppressed under the tyrannous hand of great King Pharoah the proud Egyptian King stirred up to that cruelty by the instigation of Satan and of his wicked seed For whose delivery God raised up his servant Moses To this end first God sent Moses to King Pharoah commanding King Pharoah that he would permit the people of Israel to depart from the Land of Egypt but God according to his eternall decree did harden the heart of Pharoah that he should not let the people of Israel depart from Egypt untill such time as God should make his continuall care appear in the preservation of his Church against the great power of Satan and the power of his mighty instruments in this life And therefore upon Pharoahs rebellious restraining of the people of Israel from time to time contrary to the Lords command God by the Ministry of his servant Moses from time to time did plague the proud Egyptian King and his kingdome and though plague after plague was with such fearfull miraculous and wonderfull judgements as did astonish the hearts of the whole world ye such was the obstinacy of Pharoahs rebellious heart stirred up by the inchantments of his Sorcerers whose power God did of purpose permit as Pharoah did resist the command of God with such a high hand thirsting after the destruction of the Church till Pharoah with his great army was overwhelmed in the red sea of Gods raging wrath which mighty act was done by the Ministry of Moses by stretching out his hand upon the red sea at the command of God By this miraculous overthrow of the Egyptians the mighty deliverance of the Church of God from the Egyptian servitude was wrought to the amanement of the world to the end that the Church of God in future ages might never distrust the Lords continuall care in the preservation of his Church against the power of Satan and against the power of his mightiest instruments upon earth In that night of the fearfull Egyptian plague of the born the sacrament of the Passeover was institute by God to remain in the Church with the sacrament of circumcision during the formall propheticall ceremoniall obligement of the Law by which ceremoniall sacrament of the Passeover the promise of the blessed was more significantly prefigurate then formerly For first by the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb which was commandded to be eaten the Lamb of God the promised blessed seed was signified who was to be sacrificed for the sins of man Secondly by the bitter herbs Exod. 12.8 with which
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
is most certain that all things that doth or can come to passe in this world falls under the compasse of Gods decree but all things that comes to passe in this life are not from the positive actuall power of his Decree For a world of things comes to passe by the permissive power of his Decree and so doth his suffering of his long patience to be so contemned by these wicked wretches on whom he hath decreed to shew his wrath and to declare his power to their eternall destruction which is never actually inflicted upon man till the great day because this fiery wrath of God doth proceed from the curse of the Law inflicted upon man in the full extent as he is man intellectuall and sensitive which never can be inflicted upon man in this life because of the dissolution of man in the intellectuall and sensitive nature of man and because of the new covenant whereby man hath all the day of this life to repent Out of this which is declared in these last two Chapters arising from the light of the truth of the sacred Word of God I do inferre this necessary conclusion That absolute imaginary decree whereby God is affirmed out of his alone meer pleasure to elect a certain number of men to salvation without all respect to the immediate object of his election without respect to his spirituall calling whereby the election doth stand without respect to the immediate object of his spirituall calling which is the Lords only merit and consequently without all respect to the Lord himself second person of the glorious Trinity And that absolute imaginary decree whereby God is affirmed out of his alone free pleasure to condemne the rest of the world to the eternall torments of hell which is the curse of the Law without all respect of mans meriting by his transgression of the Law without respect to the first covenant whereby God and man were mutually obliged without respect to the creation of man in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection whereby man was perfectly enabled to fulfill the command of the Law of Righteousnesse withot respect to the fâ—ll of man from that state of perfection under the eternall curse of the Law without respect to the redemption of man from that fearfull curse by the sacred blood of the Son of God without all respect to the new covenant whereby all the nations of the world are called to believe in the Lords merit by his fulfilling of the pomise of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest which the blessing of eternall life is most freely offered which is most freely cut off from all men by this miserable imaginary fictious decree for by this blasphemous fictious decree the immediate cause of the salvation and damnation of man is peremptorily affirmed to be the alone free act of the will and pleasure of God which is but the only immediate cause that God doth elect one and not another out of the redeemed estate of man for the immediate cause of his election is his eternall love to the elect in his Son Christ Jesus by his spirituall calling as the immediate cause of the condemnation of the reprobate is their own immediate act by their obstinate finall contemning of the long patience of God as may appear by the words of the Apostle faithfully delivered in these two last Chapters CHAP. XXXVIII The childe departing this life unbaptized is saved by the precious blood of Christ Jesus by the immediate act of the redemption NInthly it is objected out of our Saviours words John 3.5 Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdome of God Children therefore departing this life in originall sin unbaptized are condemned by the eternall curse of the Law I answer the inference is fallacious For first our Saviour speaks here to Nicodemus a Ruler and Teacher of the Jews and not to man that is a child Secondly Christ speaks not here to Nicodemus simply of the externall sacrament of Baptisme which was then administred by John and the Apostles but of spirituall Baptisme which the externall sacrament did represent by which spirituall Baptisme the naturall mans spirituall darknesse wherin he is shut up and dead as he is a spirituall man is spiritually inlightned by the sanctifying power of which spirituall light the naturall man is quickned again and raised a new lively spirituall man by spirituall faith who by the eyes of his spirituall faith doth now see to enter the spirituall Kingdome of God And this is the spirituall Baptisme which our Saviour doth call the birth of the Spirit and tels Nicodemus that a man by externall Baptisme simply without this spirituall Baptisme cannot enter the Kingdom of God because it is the free gift of God and not tied to the externall administration of the Sacrament of Baptisme And therefore our Saviour doth compare this free gift of God by regeneration Joh. 3.8 to the freedome of the wind For as the wind doth freely blow where it listeth so doth the spirituall light of God enlighten whom he listeth by dispercing the spirituall darknesse of the soul of man to see the way to enter into the Kingdome of heaven As concerning the childs departing this life unbaptized by the externall sacrament of Baptisme First the child is freed from the curse of the Law in Adam the redeemed head of man in whom the child transgressed the Law who by the perfection of the redemption is freed from the eternall curse of the Law by the first covenant Secondly there is no actuall sin in the child whereby the child can be liable to the curse of the law of faith by the new covenant which curse is due only for actual sin by final obstinate contempt of the Law of faith The child therefore is baptized with the sacred blood and water issuing from the blessed heart of our Saviour upon the crosse which the externall sacrament of Baptisme doth represent The child therefore departing this life is saved by the sacred blood of Christ Jesus and a glorious Saint in heaven for of such are the Kingdome of heaven As the child therefore is said to sin in Adam so the child is redeemed in Adam It is not therefore the want of externall Baptism which can condemne the child unlesse the child were of such discretion of understanding as the child did contemne the sacrament of Baptisme by the sacramentall water signifying the water of eternall life wherby the baptized is washed from his actuall sins wherein he is as it were drowned and dead and is raised to the new life of faith to believe in the Lords merit to save him from the second death For in the primitive Church they were only baptized who did actually believe Al children therefore in the Primitive Church departing unbaptized by the consequence of this fearfull objection should be damned contrary to the very words of the
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
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
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
the great propheticall Sabbath did necessarily give place wherby the Lords day was mystically prefigurate to succeed in place of the Jewes propheticall Sabbath The day of our Saviours resurrection therefore being the next day immediatly succeeding the last Sabbath wheron our Saviour rested in his sacred grave is the just seventh day of the Law from the last formall propheticall Jewes Sabbath As man naturally descended of Adam is obliged to the command of the seventh day of the Law of God implying the command of the whole Law The Lords day therefore the day of the Lords resurrection from the grave is the true seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of God decreed by God from all eternity Where three fundamentall points of faith are necessarily to bee observed by the Christian Reader First as the first seventh day of the Law was blessed sanctified by the Lords rest from the workes of the creation And as the next seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath was blessed and sanctified by the truth of the word of the Lords promised rest in the promise of the blessed seede to rest upon the last Sabbath from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam So the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith is blessed and sanctified by the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise by his Evangelicall rest The last period of whose fulfilled promise was in his conquest of his last enemy by his resurrection from the power of the grave upon the Lords day Whereby the Lord rested from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed By the power of whose infinit merit by his Evangelicall rest the Lords day is the blessed and sanctified seventh day of the Evangelicall Law the word of eternall life rest and the immediate object of Christian faith Secondly as the seventh day of the propheticall Sabbath was immediatly commanded by the power of the Lords word by his promised rest commanding Adam and the Fathers to beleeve in the truth of his merit by his promised rest which was then prophesied by the word of the propheticall Sabbath commanding the ceremoniall worship of the Sabbath immediatly as it was the seventh day of the propheticall Law and in the seventh day the obedience of man to the command of the whole propheticall Law by faith in the promise of the blessed seed to whose faith the eternall blessing of the Lords promised Sabbaticall rest was due by the propheticall Law So the Lords day is immediatly commanded by the power of his immediate word commanding all the nations of the world to beleeve the truth of his fulfilled promise by his seventh daies Evangelicall rest as the Lords day is the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law implying the command of the whole Law first immediatly commanding the seventh daies worship by faith in the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise to whose faith the blessing of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest is due by the Evangelicall Law of faith which is the blessing of the Lords day This is therefore the howre and blessed day which the Lord told the Samaritan woman should come when God should be worshiped In spirit and truth that is in the spirit of faith in the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise Thirdly as by the light of the propheticall Sabbath day Adam and the Fathers were literally lead to the blessing of the Lords promised rest So by the light of the Lords day all the nations of the world are literally lead to the blessing of the Lords merit by the truth of his fulfilled promise Whosoever therefore doth denie the light of the truth of the Lords day sealed by the precious blood of his blessed heart doth necessarily denie the Lord truth it selfe By this opening of the mystery of the Lords day blessed sanctified by his Evangelicall rest necessarily implying his bloody rest the judicious Reader may easily perceive the reason of the mistake of the lords day the only cause of which mistake is in the mistaking of the last Sabbath for the formall propheticall Jewes Sabbath which was no waies the Jewes propheticall Sabbath neither was either Jew or Gentile obliged to the command of this last Sabbath or had any hand in the fulfilling of the command of this last Sabbath being too hard and impossible a task for man as he is man Let us leave therefore the command of this last Sabbath to the Lord of the Sabbath who as he did in his great mercy oblige himselfe to the obedience of the command of this last Sabbath so in his love and mercy to man the Lord graciously fulfilled the command thereof for man Let us leave I say this last Sabbath to the Lord of the Sabbath who was only obliged to the command of this last Sabbath as it is the seventh day of the Law obliging the Lord himselfe as he is man and we shall have the Lords day the just seventh day of the Evangelicall Law as the Law of God obligeth man naturally descended of Adam And this is properly the Sabbath whereby the Lord is intituled Lord of the Sabbath And the Sabbath properly that the Lord saith was made for man For by the Lords fulfilling of this last Sabbath by his bloody rest the Lord rested from his cursed death of the Crosse for the redemption of man and by his bloody rest in the grave did merit the eternall rest lost by Adam By whose resurrection from the grave the Lord did triumphantly and Evangelically rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed This twofold rest of the eternall word arising from the last mysticall Sabbath was prefigurate by a twofold type and figure Of which twofold type and figure next CHAP. VI. The twofold type and figure whereby the last Sabbath was prefigurate THe last Sabbath according to the mysticall sense was prefigurate by a twofold type and figure First the fulfilling of this Sabbath was prefigurate by the blessed Virgin Secondly by the yeare of Jubile First therefore of the prefigurating thereof by the blessed Virgin As by the Arke with the word placed therein and the Cherubins overshadowing the Mercie-seat the blessed Virgin was prefigurate from her conception of the blessed seed till her delivery of the blessed Child So by the bessed Virgin the rest of Christ Jesus in the grave upon the last Sabbath till the day of his resurrection was prefigurate Wherein a threefold type most worthy of observation is to be marked First by the virginall conception of the blessed seed the virginall conception of the blessed body of our Saviour in the new hewen Tombe out of a Rocke wherein no man was ever laid was prefigurate Secondly by the Virgins going three quarters of a yeare with the blessed Child the three daies rest of the blessed body of Christ Jesus in the grave was prefigurate Thirdly as the renting the Vaile of the Temple did prefigurate the renting of of the sacred
Virgins wombe in the bringing forth of her first borne the word made flesh without the help of woman or man which was the naturall birth day of the Son of God So by the Virgins bringing forth of her first borne the word made flesh the mysticall bringing forth of the first borne evangelicall Word by the mysticall Virgin Sabbath without the help of any created power was prefigurate Which was the mystical birth day of the Evangelicall word Whose mysticall birth day being the just seventh day frō the last formall propheticall Jewes Sabbath as man naturally descended of Adam is obliged to the Law of God his mystical birth day is the true seventh day of the Evangelicall Law By the power of the word of his seventh daies Evangelicall rest commanding the Evangelicall worship of the seventh day of his Law by man and in the seventh day the Evangelicall obedience of man to his whole Evangelicall Law implied in the seventh day To whose faithfull obedience the eternall blessing of his Evangelicall birth daies rest is due by the Law of God The second type and figure whereby the mysticall Virgin Sabbath was prefigurate was the Sabbaticall yeare of Jubile For first as in the yeare of Jubile all bound men all sold and pawned Land the earth and the labouring Cattell were set at liberty So by the bloody rest of Christ Jesus blessed body in the grave for the space of the whole last Sabbath all men condemned and bound by the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam to eternall death and darknes and the creatures created for man where freed from the eternall curse of the Law and set at liberty Secondly as the yeare of Jubile by the immediate influence of God without all labour help or industry of man the earth of its owne accord did produce the fruit thereof for the comfort of man and for the creatures created for man So by the mysticall Sabbath without all the help aide or asistance of any man naturally descended of Adam did bring forth the Evangelicall word enabled by the immediate act of his owne infinit power upon the joyfull day of his resurrection Who is the life light and foode of man and by whom only man and all the creatures created for man doe live move and have the continuation of their redeemed being The blessed day of whose mysticall Evangelicall birth being the just seventh day from the last formall Jewes prophetical Sabbath as man naturally descended of Adam is obliged to the Law of God the blessed day therefore of the Lords resurrection is the true seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith whereby the Son of righteousnes in his blessed day began to shine one high by inlightning the ceremoniall darknesse of the propheticall Sabbath prophesying his death through all the Nations of the world by the light of his blessed day leading all men by the hands of faith to lay hold on the Evangelicall word the Lord of the life light and rest of man and of the creatures created for man to be inbelized by the thankfull praises and Jubiles of all the Nations of the world The mysticall Evangelicall birth day therefore of the Evangelicall word the Lords day is the true joyfull day of all the years of this life prophesied by the mysticall yeere of Jubile which by the truth of the Lords Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed arising from his bloody rest is the true Evangelical word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith next to be declared CHAP. VII The declaration of the Evangelicall word THe Evangelicall word is taken in a twofold sense first the Evangelicall word is taken essentially for the second person of the sacred Trinity God equal with the Father and Holy Spirit in which sense the Evangelical word is incommunicable to man or Angel Secondly the Evangelical word is taken for the word of the Lords day the 7th day of the Evangelical Law of faith as it is the Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus For as the Lords daies Evangelicall rest is the Image of the Lords eternall life and rest So the light of the Lords day is the Image of his inaccessable light and in this sense the Evangelicall word is communicable to man and it is the life and light of man and hath a twofold acception first the Evangelicall word is taken for the word of the Lords day as it is the Evangelicall word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith Secondly the Evangelicall word is taken for the word of promise and new covenant whereby both God and man are mutually obliged For though the word of the seventh day of the Law and the word of promise and covenant be really one yet they are of a formall difference First therefore of the Evangelicall word of the Lords day as it is the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith The Evangelicall word of the Lords day is the same reall word which was from the beginning And therefore it is said by Iohn 1.4.5 that in it that is in that word was life and that that life was the light of man which doth in this manner appeare First in the state of perfection by the word of the Law written in Adams heart spiritually enlightned Adam did live move and had the perfection of his naturall and spirituall being and felicity Wherby Adam was the Image of righteousnes and holines And the word of the first seventh day of the Law of righteousnes implying the command of the whole Law was objected to Adams externall senses obliging Adam to the command of the Law of righteousnes To the merit of whose perfect obedience the blessing of the first seventh daies eternall rest was due by the Law of righteousnes Wherby Adam had the continuation of his created estate of perfection and felicity while Adam did stand in the perfection of his obedience And was to have continued eternally upon earth to Adam by covenant if Adam had continued in the perfection of his obedience The word of God therefore to Adam before the fall as he was the head of all men naturall to descend of his loines was the word of the first seventh day of the Law of righteousnes implying the command of the whole Law Secondly Adam in whome as in the head all were created having transgressed the command of God of the Law of righteousnes the transgression was infinit for the transgression of the Law as it is the Law of righteousnes is an immediate contempt against the infinit Majesty of God and consequently the sinne infinit And the second Person of the Trinity in whom is only mercy being then not revealed to Adam the sinne was without any hope of revealed mercy wherby Adam and all men created in Adam as head naturally to descend of Adam were in the justice of God by covenant condemned to the eternall
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
therefore being commanded immediatly by the literall command of the law though necessarily implying the spirituall command in the command of faith the works of truth love and mercy are necessarily commanded which are the works of faith without which faith is but a dead faith and man but a dead man dead in actuall sin though he doth live all the days of this life To the knowledge of which actuall sin as the naturall man is led by the literall light of the law implyed in the command of the Lords day So by the knowledge of death by actuall sin the naturall man is moved to morall repentance And by repentance to amendment of life by the works of truth love and mercy to which he is morally enabled by the power of the redeemed Word of truth love and mercy in his heart which are the works of faith whereby the Lords merit is morally apprehended Eighthly the new covenant made between God and man being established upon the immediat command of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith as the Lord doth oblige himself to man to conferre the actuall blessing of the Lords dayes eternall rest to the faithfull believer so the Lord by his covenant doth oblige the finall contemner of his infinit merit to the actuall mercilesse eternall curse of his Law The Lords merit of mercy therefore being infinit there is mercy for man all the day of this life For the new covenant is made to all men whatsoever and at what time soever For Mar. 13.13 whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved This end to the naturall man is his finall perseverance in his morall obedience till the Lords prefixed time of his spirituall calling by the spirituall grace of faith whereby the naturall man being regenerate is saved who hath nothing to necessitate his morall disobedience And though he doth stumble and fall yet by the power of the redeemed word written in his heart the naturall man hath freedome to repent morally without necessitating of his impenitency for morall repentance must necessarily precede morall faith As the naturall man therefore is no wayes to dispaire of the Lords infinite mercy while there is day in this life for the dispairer of the Lords infinite mercy doth belie the Lords mercy and doth detract from the infinitensse of the Lords merit so the naturall man is no wayes by his presumptuous continuance in sin and wickednesse to contemn the Lords long patience leading him so graciously to repentance lest the Lord in his justice give him over to a reprobate minde that he cannot repent though he hath all the dayes of this life to repent by covenant Ninthly the law of God being eternall eternally obliging man as he is man and the reward of the law due by the law to the merit of man being according to the law eternall there must be therefore resurrection from the dead that man as he is man intellectuall and sensitive may receive the eternall reward of the law in the full extent to wit eternall life and rest to the faithfull believer in the merit of man Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God and the curse of the law by eternall death to the merit of man the proud finall contemner of the Lords infinit merit offered so freely to him in this life The reward therefore of the law in the full extent as the reward is eternall cannot be received by man till the last day Tenthly the Lord being the head of all men redeemed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam as the Lord hath his universall redeemed Church in all the nations of the world who by the power of the redeemed word of truth love and mercy written in their heart are all morally united by one faith in one body and by that faith morally united to their head the gracious Redeemer of all men So the Lord being the mysticall head of his mysticall members the Lord hath his mysticall universall Church all united in one mysticall body by spirituall faith and by spirituall faith all spiritually and indivisibly united to their mysticall head These are the first ten fundamentall points of faith arising from the literall light of the Evangelicall sound of the word of the Lords day by the Lords rest and resurrection from the grave leading the naturall mans understanding by faith to apprehend the Lords merit to save him from the curse of the law of faith Next therefore of the fundamentall points of faith arising from the Lords resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens to which his resurrection from his grave doth extend where the Lord sitteth at the right hand of the infinite power of the Father whence two fundamentall points of faith doth arise First the Lord according to his promise that the seed of the woman shall break the head of the old Serpent and the head of his cursed seed hath obliged himself by the new covenant that by his second coming from the heavens gloriously united to his mysticall members shall revenge the blood of man upon Satan and his cursed seed First the blood of man first betrayed by Satan to fall under the curse of the law Secondly the blood of man Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God by his redemption of man from the eternall curse of the law Thirdly the blood of the Lords mystical members persecute by Satan and his cursed seed for their valorous defending of his sacred truth in this life For the Lord as head united to his mysticall members is the mysticall man who must break the old Serpents head and the head of his cursed seed in the grat day afterwards more fully to be declared This breaking of the head of the old Serpent and of the head of his cursed seed is by the Lords judging condemning and by the actuall inflicting of the eternall curse and reward of the law in the full extent to the greâ—t glory of God the eternall comfort of the faithfull and to the finall eternall and utter confusion of Satan and his cursed seed in the great day The second fundamentall point of faith arising from the Lords resurrection from the earth by his ascention to the heavens is that the Lord hath graciously obliged himself by the covenant to send the Comforter John 16.7 the Spirit of truth by whose spirituall light enlightening the spirituall darknesse of the naturall man the Lords mysticall members are begot and by the spirituall power of whose spirituall life by that spirituall light the regenerate are enabled with the gift of patience to overcome all the afflictions and temptations of Satan and of his cursed seed in this life which is the Lords earnest of their incorruptible crown of glory in the life to come for their valor in their defence of his truth in this life In these twelve fundamentall points of faith as by the literall light of the sound of the word of the Lords day by his rest
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 world built thereon by which partition the Gentiles were barred from the judiciall service of God all are rased from the very foundation never to be reiterate in the Church of God Last of all Mary Magdalen did not know the Lord of life John 20.16 17 the eternall rest of his blessed day though Mary did see the Lord with her bodily eyes till she heard the sound of the word of the Evangelicall seventh dayes eternall rest calling Mary At the hearing of the sound of whose Evangelicall word while Mary knowing the Lord would have embraced him in her armes the Lord said Mary touch me not to wit but by thine arms of faith The Lord after his resurrection did first honour Mary to be the joyfull trumpeter to sound the news of the word of his mysticall Evangelicall birth-day to the Apostles themselves as the Lord of life the Son of God as he is man did honour Mary the blessed Virgin to be inclosed in her wombe and to be the first proclaimer of the joyfull day of his naturall birth Though woman therefore seduced by the false trechery of Satan was the instrument of the fall of man yet woman first and last was the most happy news-bringer of the most joyfull tidings that ever came to man or Angel Let a man therefore honour woman whom God the Lord hath so highly honoured For first woman was the happy instrument of the salvation of man and of the confirmed grace of the Angels Secondly woman was the happy instrument that man is crowned with the incorruptible crown of glory eternally in all heavenly happinesse whereas though man had stood in the state of perfection man must have enjoyed his perfection and felicity but eternally upon earth And so much for the declaration of the Evangelicall word as the word is the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith implying the command of the whole law which is the Lords day the blessed day of dayes We are next according to our method to declare the Evangelicall word as it is the word of the new covenant and promise of God But a question doth arise of the Lords day first necessarily to be answered CHAP. XIII The Evangelicall sense of the bowing of the knee at the name of Jesus THe Question here may be moved Since at the name of Jesus every knee must bow Phil. 2.10 11. of things in heaven of things upon earth and of things under the earth wherefore is not the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith called rather by the name of Jesus day then by the name of the Lords day I answer because it is by the light of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith by the truth of the Lords Evangelicall rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed that Jesus is known to be the Saviour of man the eternall Son of God Lord God and man equall to the Father and holy Spirit as hath been formerly declared by the infinite sanctified power of whose blessed merit the Lords day is blessed and sanctified and the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day immediatly commanded Though Jesus therefore be the name of the Son of God as he is man begot of the seed of the woman and the Saviour of man by his cursed death and bloody rest in the grave without whose resurrection from the dead Jesus the Son of God Adam and all men created in Adam as head must have diâ—d eternally under the eternall curse of the law yet the name Lord is 〈◊〉 name by his infinit power he hath overcome the power of death and the grave necessarily implying the name Jesus and Christ as hath formerly been declared The Lords day therefore is the day of our Lord Jesus Christ immediatly and not immediatly the day of Jesus And consequently the bowing of the knee at the name of Jesus is the bowing of the knee at the name of the Lord Jesus by which bowing of the knee the Evangelicall commanded worship of the Lords day is implied as may plainly appear by the Apostles words saying that God hath given him a name above all names that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and that every tongue shall confesse that Jesus Christ is the Lord For as the religious bowing of the knee is from the believing heart implying the Spirit of the mind that Jesus the Saviour of man is the Lord wherâ—by the internall and externall worship of God is expressed So the confession of the tongue as likewise from the Spirit of faith in the heart that Jesus the Saviour of man is the Lord by the truth of his merit by his Evangelicall rest and resurrection from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed upon the Lords day whereby the worship of the Lords day is commanded in spirit and truth In which commanded worship â—ll the internall and externall worship of God is necessarily implied In this sense thâ— Apostle saith Rom. 10.10 with the heart man doth believe to righteousnesse and with the mouth man doth confesse to salvation that is with the heart implying the Spirit of the mind enlightened by the light of the Lords day really one with the light of the redeemed word of the law in the heart man doth believe that the Lord hath fulfilled the law of righteousnesse by whose merit the believer is saved and with the mouth man doth confesse before God and man that he is saved by faith in the truth of the Lords only merit for as by his only merit all men are saved from the first death which is the curse of the law for the sin of Adam so all the faithfull are saved from the second death which is the curse of the law of faith The externall bowing of the knee therefore at the name of Jesus without adding or implying Lord proceeding from the believing of the heart is but a faithlesse and irreligious worship of God by man In these words of the Apostle concering the bowing of the knee which is a Prophesie and now fulfilled by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest and resurrection three speciall things are to be observed First though the name Jesus signifying a Saviour be given to man as at the power of the Lords command â—â—n is saved by man from temporall danger yet the name Jesus as he is Lord God and man is incommuâ—icable to man or Angel and a name above all names propâ—rly and immediatly ascribed to the Son the second person of the Trinity And therefore we see that in the Apostles salutations by their Epistles they do pray for peace and grace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ For as the Lord is man the Son of God equall with the Father and holy Spirit before all time so he is man the Son of God in time of the seed of the woman in the essentiall union of the divine nature of the Father Son and holy Spirit with the humane nature
Lord God and man And consequently the three coessentiall distinct Persons of the Trinity Lord God and man The second thing to be observed in the words is that by the things in Heaven the Saints departed this life and the blessed Angels are to be understood for as the Saints in Heaven doe with all humility acknowledge their glory and heavenly felicity to the only merit of the Lord Jesus Christ So doe the Angels with all humility acknowledge the conserved grace of their created perfection to the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom his merit doth extend who are conserved as ministring spirits for man First for man Christ Jesus while he was personally upon earth that his fooâ—e should not dash against a stone Luke 4.10 and secondly they are ministring spirits for his mysticall members that the foot of their fayth shall not be dashed totally and finally against the stony temptation of Satan and his instruments in this life The third thing to be observed is that by things upon earth man and the sensitive and insensitive creatures created for man are to be understood and by things under or within the earth the waters mineralls and other things created for the use of man which as they were all cursed for man so they are all redeemed from the curse with man in whose behalfe man is to bend the knees of his heart with all thankefulnesse to the Lord Jesus Christ and to testifie his thankfulnesse by his thank-worship of the Lords day as the Lord hath revealed himselfe by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest Lord Jesus Christ God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity And so much for the declaration or the Evangelicall Word as it is the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law Next according to our methode the Evangelicall Word is to be declared as it is the word of promise and new Covenant made by God with man CHAP. XIV The Evangelicall Covenant made by God with man in his Son Christ Jesus called the new Covenant The Evangelicall Word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith the Evangelicall Word of promise and new Covenant are really one but of a formall difference First of the reall unity of both and next of the formall difference The reall unity of both doth consist in this that the word of promise and new Covenant which is the Lords merit of eternall life by his resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed is the blessing of the Lords day For by the Lords infinit merit by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest the Lords day is blessed sanctified and commanded for the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law implying the command of the whole Evangelicall Law of faith And consequently the word of promise and new Covenant and the word of the Lords day really one for the one is necessarily implied in the other as may appeare by the severall names of the new Covenant First the new Covenant is called the Covenant of grace because the Lords merit of eternall life by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed which is the blessing of the Lords day is freely offered to all beleevers by the new Covenant without all respect to the merit of any man naturally descended of Adam whereby all beleevers are saved from the second death which is the curse of the Law of faith And consequently the word of promise and the word of the Lords day are really one Secondly the new Covenant is called the Covenant of truth because the Lord by his Evangelicall resurrection and rest from the faithfull fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed upon his blessed day did manifest himselfe truth to man by the truth of whose infinite merit by his Evangelicall rest the Lords day is blessed sanctified and commanded Which blessing of eternall life is word of promise and new Covenant and consequently the word of promise and the word of the Lords day really one Thirdly the new Covenant is called the Covenant of mercy because as the Lord by his Evangelicall rest did manifest himselfe truth to man so in that truth the Lord by his infinite merit did manifest himselfe love and mercy to man for as by his cursed death of the Crosse our Saviour did merit the salvation of all men from the curse of the Law for the sin of Adam So by his bloudy rest in the grave by his fulfilling of the law in the seventh day of the last Sabbath the eternall life and rest lost by Adam from the first seventh day of the law was due to the Lords merit whereby all beleevers are saved from the second death extending his twofold love and mercy to all men by the new Covenant whose mercy according to the truth of his infinite merit being likewise infinite The Lords gracious armes of mercy are outstretched to the penitent sinner for all the daies of this life by the new Covenant And this is the reason that wretched men do so insult upon the Lords infinite mercy by their continuance in sin and wickednesse because they see the daily love and mercy of God extended to all men in this life whose Sun doth shine and his rain doth fall both upon the just and the unjust Mat. 5.45 And this is likewise the reason that many though most unjustly do grudge the temporall blessings of God to the wicked who though they do enjoy the temporall blessings of the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest yet they are far from the spirituall blessing of the Lords merit whereby man is only saved But the Lord hath thus graciously obliged himself by the new covenant first that wretched man should not dispair of the Lords mercy while he hath all the dayes of this life to repent him of his actuall sins Secondly that the wicked may be excuselesse For though God willeth that all men should be saved 1 Tim. 2.4 by testifying of their thankfulnesse for their redemption by the works of truth love and mercy to which they are morally enabled by the redeemed word of the law written in their heart yet while the wicked man without any created power to necessitate his morall disobedience doth by his obstinate continuance in sin and wickednesse make himself the cursed seed of Satan The Lord doth justly give him over to a reprobate minde and doth most justly will his condemnation where by the way the difference between the first and second covenant is to be observed for the least transgression of the law by the first covenant was without all revealed hope of mercy or time of repentance but the second covenant both Prophetically and Evangelically is with all hope of mercy by repentance for all the days of this life Fourthly the new covenant is called the covenant of faith because the Lords merit of eternall life by his Evangelicall
rest which is the blessing of the Lords day is the immediate object of faith and therefore the Evangelicall law is called the law of righteousnesse of faith though the works of faith which are the works of truth love and mercy are equally commanded in the command of faith which is the necessary sole immediate efficient cause of the works of faith and therefore necessarily commanded in the command of faith while the Apostle therefore doth affirm that man is justified by faith without the works of the law we must understand that the works meaned by the Apostle are the ceremoniall works of the Propheticall law and not the Evangelicall works of faith to which works the Apostle doth exhort both the Jews and Gentiles and therefore the Apostle James saith shew me thy faith by thy works Now the Lords merit of eternall life which is the blessing of the Lords day being really one the word of promise and new covenant and the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law are really one and so much for the reall unity of both next of the formall difference The formall difference of both doth consist in this that by the new covenant God and man are mutually obliged in the Evangelicall word of the Lords day For as God by his new covenant doth formally oblige man to believe the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed by his Evangelicall rest So the Lord doth mutually oblige himself by the truth of his merit by his Evangelicall rest to save the believer from the curse of the second death obliging likewise the unbeliever and finall contemner of his free gracious offer to the mercilesse curse of the law of faith But by the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law the Lord doth formally command man to testifie his beliefe to the word of eternall life as the Lords Word is his law to man The chief precept of whose law is the commanded worship of the Lords day in which commanded worship the whole Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith as formally and necessarily commanded commanding the faith of man in the originall which is the love of the heart where the redeemed word of the law is written really one with the Evangelicall word of the seventh day of the law the Lords day by the power of which redeemed word in the heart which is the Image of God in his Son Christ Jesus truth love and mercy it self all men are morally enabled by the works of truth love and mercy to give morall obedience to the command of the Evangelicall law which are the works of faith the chief work whereof is the truth of the commanded worship of the Lords day whereby the Lord by his Evangelicall rest hath manifested himself truth love and mercy to man The judicious Reader therefore may plainly perceive that though there be a formall difference between the word of the seventh day of the Evangelicall law and of the word of promise and the new covenant yet they are really one and the one necessarily implyed in the other For as hath been formerly declared God cannot morally command man to his new covenant but by the immediate command of the word of the seventh day of the law implying the command of the whole Evangelicall law which is the Evangelicall word of the Lords day For there is neither life light or the power of command in any precept of the Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith but by the only immediate commanded worship of the Lords day in that commanded worship implying the command of the whole law And therefore the blessing of the Lords merit by the Lords dayes Evangelicall rest is only and immediatly due by the law to the faithfull worship of the Lords day for the fulfilling of the whole law which is fulfilled by faith in the Lords infinite merit by whose infinite sanctified merit by his Evangelicall resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise the Lords day is the word of eternall life and the immediate object of Christian faith without the command therefore of the Lord day as it is his law to man there is neither life or light for man or any law or new covenant or any object for the faith of man dead in actuall sin as all men freed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam are before they be regenerate by their transgression of the law of faith And therfore as our Saviour by his bloody rest in the grave by his fulfilling of the command of the seventh day did fulfill the whole law as our Saviour was oblieged to the law for man to whose merit the eternall life and rest lost by Adam is due by the law so the Lord Iesus Christ eternall life and rest by his resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed upon the day of his resurrection did obliege all men again to his new Covenant by the immediate command of the Lords dayes commanded worship blessed and sanctified by his merit to believe in his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of his merit of eternall life is due by the law which is commanded in the cōmanded worship of the Lords day as may appear by the word of promise new covenant Go and teach preach the Evangel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit Mar. 16.15 16. he that shal believe shall be saved but he that wil not believe shall be condemned The sense of the word of the covenant is this Go and preach the Evangel that is go and preach proclaim the glad tidings of my resurrection and rest this day from the fulfilling of my promise of the blessed seed which is the summe of the whole Evangel implied in the Lords day by the Lords Evangelicall rest go therefore preach the Evangel to all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit as my my resurrection and rest this day from the power of sin Satan hell eternall death the curse of the law and the power of the grave I have manifested my self by mine own infinit immediate power Truth to man by the fulfilling of my promise and in that truth love and mercy to man and in that truth love and mercy God and man in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the Trinity whosoever shall believe in me to wit eternall life and rest by the power of my infinit merit by my Evangelicall rest shall be saved from the curse of the second death for the transgression of the law of faith as by my bloody rest in the grave from the cursed death of the crosse all men are saved from the curse of the law for their transgression of the law in Adam which is the first death he that will not believe in me shall be condemned to
that day confounded Though the High Priest or any man that day without any feare might have entered the highest place and have touched and looked on the Arke but it was more then was then knowne to the high Priest Against this it may be objected Luke the Evangelist saith Luke 23 56. That the women according to the command of the Law rested from going to the sacred grave that day which command of the Law was the command of the propheticall Sabbath day I answer Luke the faithfull Historiographer of the sacred History doth faithfully relate the act of the religious women with the precise circumstance of the time of the act what the women then full of sorrow for the Lord of life were constrained to doe out of their respect to the command of the Sabbath which was that day in force for ought that the women did know But Luke doth not relate what the women might have done that day Neither had it been sitting for the Evangelist so to have done for the formall command of the Sabbath day as it was the formall propheticall Jews Sabbath day was not actually determined till it was determined by the next day the day of Christs resurrection from the grave to wit the Lords day though the prophesies of the Sabbath were then actually determined And so much for answer to the first Question To the second Question I answer That it had beene as impossible in any morall right by the command of the Law that the last Sabbath for the whole space whereof the blessed body of our Saviour rested in the sacred grave could have beene worshipped for the Lords day For first the mournfull sorrowfull and lamentable light of the sound of the word of the seventh day of the last Sabbath had been repugnant to the joyful Evangelicall sound light of the word of the Lords day Secondly the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day to have beene celebrate upon the last Sabbath had implyed a manifest contradiction in the command of the law for so the law should have commanded the day of the Lords resurrection to be worshipped in spirit and truth while as contrary to all truth the sensitive body of our Saviour did lye dead in the grave that day Thirdly by the commanded worship of that Sabbath to be celebrate by the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day had been contradictory to the sacred written Word of God by his eternall decree for the last enemy to be conquered by the Lord of life was the grave Fourthly the commanded Evangelicall worship of that day had been contradictory to Christs own prophesie which was that he should rise again the third day while by his Evangelicall worship he must have risen the second day Fifthly by such commanded Evangelicall worship of the last Sabbath the Apostles must have been false witnesses in preaching and proclaiming that the Lord was risen from the grave while his sacred body did rest in the grave Sixthly such Evangelicall worship of the last Sabbath had overthrown the chief Article of Christian faith For all Christians are obliged to believe that the Lord of life rose the third day from the grave and not the second day and so much for answer to the second question against this declaration of the Lords day three obejections are to be answered CHAP. XVI The reason that God is said to be Alpha and Omega the first and the last FIrst it may be objected that by the establishing of the Lords day for the Evangelicall morall seventh day of the law of faith there is one seventh day of the law implying the whole law lost in the account Now heaven and earth must perish before a jot or a tittle of the law shall perish Luke 86.17 For the law of God is eternall I answer By this account there is neither any jot or tittle of the seventh day of the law of God lost neither by this account is there my prejudice at all to the decreed six dayes work allowed by the law to man For the seventh day of the last Sabbath implying the whole law as Christ Jesus was obliged thereby as he is man was fulfilled by himself Now by the fulfilling of the law the law is established and not lost if man by his finall obstinate contempt of the law should escape the curse of the law at Christs second coming then the law we lost indeed Or if the Lord had not fulfilled the command of the seventh day of the last Sabbath as the Lord did oblige himself by the propheticall covenant the seventh day of the law implying the command of the whole law had been likewise utterly lost as man Christ Jesus the Son of God was obliged to the command of the law This objection therefore is easily answered by the former declaration For God and man being mutually obliged to the propheticall covenant by the seventh day of the law then by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord the obligement of man to the propheticall covenant was formally twofold First man to wit Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam were formally obliged to the command of the seventh day as it was then the propheticall Sabbath obliging the faith of man to believe the promised rest of the blessed seed prophesied by the prophetical Sabbath untill the promised rest was fulfilled by the blessed seed Secondly man the Son of God Christ Iesus the blessed seed was formally obliged by the propheticall covenant to fulfill his promised rest by his obedience to the command of the seventh day of the last Sabbath as it was prophesied by the propheticall Sabbath who having fulfilled the command of the last Sabbath by his obedience even to the death of the Crosse by his redemption of man from the curse of the law for the sinne of Adam And by his rest in the grave after his death upon the last Sabbath haveing fulfilled the whole law in the command of the seventh day The eternall life and rest of the first seventh day lost by Adam was redeemed likwise for man and due by the law to our Saviours merit Now the eternall life and rest of man being in our Saviour The Lord by his resurrection from the grave did manifest himselfe truth to man by the fulfilling of his promised rest and in that truth Lord God Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God God equall with the Father and holy Spirit the eternall life and rest of man The day of whose resurrection being the just seventh day of the law as man naturally descended of Adam is obliged to the law of God the Lord by the power of his merit by his Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of the law for man implying his bloody rest from the redemption of man from the curse of the law for the sinne of Adam doth command the day of his resurrection the Lords day to be worshipped by man for the seventh day of his Evangelicall law And therefore to conclude this answer The seventh
successors themselves and that all men under the heavens have the continuation of their redeemed light and life moving and being It is most certaine that there was great power given to the Apostles and in the Apostles to the Apostolicall successors though all the power given to the Apostles was not given to the Apostolicall successors and Ministers of the word But all the created powers of heaven and earth are not capable of any such power as to command the Evangelicall worship of the Lords day implying the command of the whole Evangelicall morall law of God The great power which was given to the Apostles was for the maintaining of the Evangelicall word of the seventh day of the law of righteousnesse of faith implying the whole word and law of God which the Lord of the Lords day did plant while he was personally upon earth and watered with his precious bloud for the enabling of the Apostles to the establishing and encrease whereof the Keyes of the kingdome of Heaven that rich Pearle were delivered to the Apostles which are the keyes of the Old and New Testament this power of the keyes of the kingdome of heaven delivered to the Apostles was threefold The first was the power of the light of the word which did shine from the word it selfe the Lord of the law of righteousnesse of faith By which power the Apostles were enabled to teach and preach the Evangell to all the Nations of the world The second power of the word was the power of healing disposessing and the power of miracles whereby their doctrine was confirmed and the Evangell established The third was the power of command whereby obedience was given to the word taught and preached by the Apostles The power of the light of the word whereby the Apostles were enabled to teach and preach was morall and spirituall the morall light was the light of the sound of the mediate word of the Lord of life by which light the Apostles were first literally led to the Lords merit by his Evangelicall rest which is the first light leading to the kingdome of heaven The glorious riches of this light bought at the price of the sacred bloud of the Lord of light was prefigurate by the light of the golden Candlesticks in the holy place and by the rich robe and vesture of the high Priest as also the sound of this rich word was prefigurate by the sound of the bells hanging at the high Priests rich vesture Exod. 28.33 The spirituall light by which the Apostles were enabled to teach and preach the Evangell was in the spirituall sanctifying understanding of the word of the law of righteousnesse which the Apostles received of the holy Spirit of the Lord of light and life immediately signified by our Saviourâ— breathing upon the Apostles John 20.22 while as he said Receive yee the holy Spirit by which power of sanctifying light the Apostles were enabled with the spiritual power to teach and preach and with the holinesse of spirituall action whereby they shined as pure light in the darkenesse of the world leading all men to the kingdome of heaven who were able to be led by that light This pure light of spirituall righteousnesse was likewise prefigurate Exod. 28.36 by the inscription of righteousnesse and holinesse ingraven in the Brest-plate of the high Priest and by the high Priests white pure vesture with which he was cloathed when he went in once a yeare into the holiest place to obtaine pardon of actuall sin at the Mercy-seat And this is the light and holinesse of life with which the Apostolicall successors are to be continually vested to goe in and out before their charge The second power of the Keyes of the word whereby the Apostles were enabled Marke 16.17 was the power of healing disposessing of possessed with evill spirits and with the power of miracles which was given to the Apostles for the confirmation of their doctrine and for the establishing of the Evangell planted by the Lord of the Lords day sealed by his precious bloud Which being established by the Apostles and the establishing thereof sealed likewise by their owne bloud the power of healing dispossessing and miracles did determine in the Apostles according to the eternall decree of God And this power of the word given to the Apostles was likewise prefigurate by Aarons Rod placed by the word in the Arke of the Covenant The third power of the Keyes of the word given to the Apostles John 20.23 which is likewise given in the Apostles to the Apostolicall successors is the morall power of commanding the obedience of man to the command of the word And this power doth consist in mercy and justice In mercy the authority is given to pardon the morall sin of the penitent scandalous contemner of the command of the word delivered by the Apostles and Ministers of the word The power of justice is in the authority of the morall sword of excommunication Whereby the proud rebellious contemners of the word preached by the Apostles and Ministers of the word are cut off from the visible Church and from the blessing of the Lords merit which is by the hearing of his word To the end that Evangelicall morall obedience may be given to the teaching and preaching of the word Now because the pardon of spirituall sinne is incommunicable to any created power of God The Lord therefore did obliege himselfe by Covenant to the Apostles and in the Apostles to the Apostolicall successors to remit or retaine spiritually what morall sin soever the Apostles should pardon or retaine morally upon earth which is a most admirable power given to the Ministers of the Word For by this power of the keys the proudest rebellious contemner of the command of God sounded by the Ministers of the word and sacraments is brought to subjection And that for two main reasons The first is because the proud contemner being excommunicate the sin is never pardoned by God before it be first pardoned by the Ministers of the Word which is a most fearfull case if the contemner should die in his impenitency and obstinacy The second reason is because the civill sword of the Magistrate is to second the power of the morall sword to free the Church of God from such proud contempt to whose protection the militant Church of God is committed as to the Father of the family to be preserved in the purity of the light of the word and in the freedome of the profession of the word in which respect the twofold portion of the first born is due by the law of God to the King The first is the inheritance of the crown for the enabling of the King to advance the obedient to the command of the word who are alwayes his most faithfull and loyall subjects The second is the power of the civill sword implying the power of the King to cut from the militant Church the proud contemner of the command of God by his Church that by
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
covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to the joyfull jubelizing of that blessed day The Lords day that decreed day sealed with the Lords precious blood no power day or time can determine but the second coming of the Lord the eternall day when his mysticall members shall rest in him their head crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory in the heaven of heavens eternally The Lords day therefore is the true evangelicall seventh day of the law of faith by the new covenant obliging and commanding all the nations of the world to the joyfull jubelizing of the Lords day Thus by the only and immediate assisting grace of the Lord of the Lords day without the aid or help of any mortall man have we finished these three books of the Theologicall key by manifesting of the revealed truth of his sacred day so long darkned and obscured by the darknesse of the miserable age And now for a full conclusion of this Tractate according to our pomise in the second Chapter of the second book the pretended absolute decree whereby the hearts of so many Christians hath been from time to time distracted shall be examined with other opinions in the like kinde concerning the sacred decree of Predestination which for the Readers better satisfaction shall be demonstratively resolved from the lowest and last effect in the supreme and first cause as the eternall word from the beginning hath execute the same by his first three covenants made with man as they are set down in the sacred written Word Certain Opinions concerning the sacred Decree of Predestination CHAP. I. The Pelagian and semipelagian opinions concerning the sacred Decree of Predestination COncerning the sacred Decree of Predestination there be four severall opinions set down by the Authors The first is the Pelagian and semipelagian opinion which in substance and effect are both one For by both the grace to fulfill the law of God is ascribed to the freedome of mans own election though by the semipelagian opinion the grace is parted between God and man Both the opinions are pretended to be grounded upon a fundamentall Theologicall principle which principle is set down in the first Chapter of the first book of the Theologicall key which is in this manner As God doth command the action of his intellectuall creature man as well upon the eternall curse of the law as upon the blessing of the seventh dayes rest So God in his justice by his covenant is obliged to enable man to the performing of the command of his law and man being the free intellectuall creature of God it is affirmed that it is in the freedome of mans own election to fulfill or transgresse the Law of God And that God out of his eternall prescience of mans fulfilling or transgressing of the law hath decreed accordingly the election or condemnation of man so that the suspending or not suspending of the sacred decree of Predestination by these opinions must stand at the beck of the creature The only truth of these two opinions is that the will of man is not necessitate by Gods eternall decree to transgresse the law Now because the untruth of these two opinions hath been from age to age condemned as contradictory to the sacred Word of God my purpose is not to do an act done but to declare the grosse error in the mistake of the fundamentall principle whereon the opinioâ—s are pretended to be grounded It is most certain that God in his justice doth oblige himself to man by his covenant to enable man to the fulfilling of the command of his law But by the favour of the authors and maintainers of these opinions the state of man must be considered wherein God doth oblige himselfe to man by his severall Covenant in which sense this principle is to be conceived and not simply It is without all doubt that God by his first Covenant made with man in Adam created in the state of naturall and spirituall perfection did oblige himselfe to Adam to enable Adam in the state of perfection wherein he was created by the eternall blessing of his first seventh daies rest But God did mutually oblige Adam to merit that blessing by the eternall perfection of his obedience to the command of his law obliging Adam likewise to the eternall curse of his law upon Adams disobedience whose obedience or disobedience by the first Covenant was left to the freedome of his owne election to stand or fall at his pleasure or perill for the freedome of Adams election wherein he was created was such as no increated or created power could necessitate Adams will to fall and yet Gods eternall decree was not suspendible by Adam as hath beene formerly and necessarily concluded to which I must referre the Reader So it is likewise most certaine that God hath entered his new Covenant with man in the redeemed state of man from the curse of eternall darknesse and from eternall death by that darknesse to which all men were condemned shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse till the naturall man be regenerate whereby man as he is a naturall man is enabled to give morall obedience to his calling by the new Covenant without any manner of necessitating the will of man either naturally or morally to disobedience It is likewise most certaine that God hath obliged himselfe by his new Covenant to the actuall continuation of the redeemed naturall and morall grace of man for all the day of this life upon the continuation of mans morall obedience till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling to whose finall perseverance in his morall obedience the spirituall grace of faith is then due to the naturall man by the new Covenant And therefore the Evangel is said to be the power of God to salvation from faith to faith that is from the grace of morall faith to the grace of spirituall faith But the maintainers of these two opinionâ— must understand that God by his new Covenant hath likewise reâ—liged man to the finall continuation of his morall obedience upon the mercylesse curse of the law of faith as well as upon the eâ—ernall blessing of the law by his Evangelicall seventh daies rest Now though neither Sâ—tan or his instâ—uments can necessitate the will of man to morall disobedience yet the naturall man having no spirituall grace till he be regenerate the naturall man is easily enâ—uced by Satan to the morall finall contempt of the law of God without Gods speciall objective concursive grace to which God is no waies obliged who in this case will shew mercy on whom he will shew mercy And therefore the finall perseverance of the naaturall man and his spirituall calling is the immediate free gift of God and no waies in the freedome of man election And this twofold grace in the Scripture is called the first and latter raine which is from God immediatly And therefore to conclude this point the judicious Reader may plainly perceive the grosse mistake of
righteousnesse Creator by his word of the first seventh dayes rest Secondly God of the law of righteousnesse of faith in the promise of the blessed seed by the word of his Sabbaticall seventh dayes rest whereby God did manifest himselfe to man God in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the Trinity Creator and Redeemer of man first Prophetically by the woâ—d the Propheticall seventh day of the law then by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord And now Evangelically by the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith Secondly by the word of election which is onely in the Lord Iesus Christ the eternall Sonne of God God equall with the Father and holy Spirit the creation of man in the state of perfection the obliging of man to the first covenant the fall of man under the eternall curse of the law and the redemption of man from the curse is necessarily implyed Thirdly by the condemnation of man out of the alone pleasure of God to the eternall torments of hell which is the curse of the law both the merit of man by the transgression of the law and the justice of God by condemning of man are necessarily implyed So that this absolute pretended decree which the Authors doe obtrude to us as free from all respect by the very tearms whereby they doe expresse their imaginary decree is charged with all manner of respect subordinate to God and consequently there is a flat contradiction between the furmised opinion and the tearmes whereby the opinion is expressed The absolute decree therefore being repugnant to the literall light and truth of the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law of faith necessarily implying the literall light of all the severall word of the seventh dayes rest from the foundation of the world The absolute decree according to our twofold Theologicall Canon set downe in the tenth Chap. of the second book of our Theologicall key is a false and adulterous tenent of faith arising from the spirit of error This error doth proceed from the confounding of the immanent and transeant act of God which must no wayes be confounded for the immanent act of God being God himselfe essentially is only absolute necessary infinite and incomprehensible by the act of any created understanding And his transeant act is only free which as it is transeant and terminate to man it is onely by his word which is his law to man the image of his eternall life and light of righteousnesse necessarily implying the naturall life and light of the word for by the onely power of the word written in the heart of man man is inabled to understand God by the word of the seventh day of the law as God hath revealed himselfe to man by his severall seventh dayes rest from the beginning Now the surmised decree being absolute and without all subordinate respect it is pretended to be the immanent act of God but because the immanent act of God is infinite The maintainers of the absolute decree are constrained to expresse their imaginary opinion by the tearmes of the transeant act of God which is by his word for the salvation and damnation of man is the twofold reward of the word and law of God to wit the blessing and curse of the law Fourthly and lastly by the salvation of man out of the alone pleasure of God without respect to the Lord Jesus Christ the alone pleasure of God doth intervene between the faith of man and the Lords merit whereby the faith of man is overthrown and by the damnation of man out of the alone pleasure of God without respect to the merit of man the alone pleasure of God by the condemning of man doth intervene between the merit of man by the transgression of the law and the law whereby the justice of God is overthrowne Now though the fearefull unworthinesse of this miserable opinion doth not merit the refutation thereof by any Theologicall penne yet for the Readers satisfaction I thus demonstrate that such a pretended absolute decree never was or could be decreed by God 1. That absolute decree whereby God is affirmed to elect and condemne man out of his alone pleasure without all respect to God as he is God of the law of righteousnesse That decree never was or could be decreed by God By this absolute decree God is affirmed to elect and condemne man out of his alone pleasure without all respect to God as he is God of the law of righteousnesse This absolute pretended decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God 2. That pretended absolute decree whereby God is affirmed out of his alone pleasure to elect and condemne man without all respect to his subordinate word as his word is his law to man That decree never was or could be decreed by God By this absolute pretended decree God is affirmed out of his alone pleasure to elect and condemne man without respect to his subordinate word as his word is his law to man This absolute pretended decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God 3. That absolute pretended decree whereby God is affirmed out of his alone pleasure to elect man to salvation without all subordinate respect of his love and mercy to man in his Sonne Christ Jesus that decreee never was or could bee decreed by God By this pretended decree God is affirmed out of his alone pleasure to elect man to salvation without all subordinate respect of his love and mercy to man in his Sonne Christ Iesus This pretended absolute decree therefore never was or could be concluded by God 4. That pretended miserable absolute degree whereby God out of his alone pleasure is affirmed to condemne man to the eternall curse of the law without any subordinate respect to the merit of man by transgressing of his law That miserable decree never was or could be decreed by God By this miserable pretended absolute decree God is affirmed to condemne man to the eternal curse of the law out of Gods alone pleasure without all subordinate respect to the merit of man by transgressing of the law This miserable absolute pretended decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God 5. That pretended miserable absolute decree which is repugnant to his suordinate justice by his law of righteousnesse whereby he decreed from all eternity to oblige both himselfe and man That miserable decree never was or could be decreed by God This miserable pretended absolute decree is repugnant to Gods subordinate justice by his law of righteousnesse whereby he decreed from all eternity to oblige both himselfe and man This miserable pretended decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God 6. That miserable absolute pretended decree whereby it is affirmed that the will of man in his state of perfection was necessitate to fall under the fearefull eternall curse of the law contrary to Gods obliging of himselfe by his
first covenant to man That miserable absolute decree never was or could decreed by God By this miserable pretended decree Adams will in his state of perfection is affirmed to be necessitate to fall under the fearfull eternall curse of the law contrary to Gods obliging of himself to man by his first covenant This miserable pretended decree therefore c. 7. That miserable pretended decree whereby it is affirmed that the elect only are redeemed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam by the sacred blood of the Lord of life and not all men naturally descended and to descend of Adam that decree never was or could be decreed by God By the maintainers of the absolute decree it is absolutely affirmed that the elect only and not all men naturally descended and to descend of Adam are redeemed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam by the sacred blood of the Lord of life This absolute miserablee decree therefore c. 8. That miserable absolute pretended decree whereby all the gracious promises to salvation made by the new covenant to all the nations of the world are restrained to the elect only that miserable distracting absolute decree never was or could be decreed by God By this miserable pretended distracting absolute decree all the gracious promises of salvation made by the new covenant to all the nations of the world are restrained to the elect only This miserable distracting absolute pretended decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God 9. That absolute pretended opinion which is transcendent and repugnant to the joyfull light of the Evangelicall seventh dayes rest necessarily implying his blody rest That decree never was or could be decreed by God This absolute pretended decree is transcendent and repugnant to all such subordinate joyfull gracious light This miserable pretended transcendent absolute decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God 10. By that miserable distracting opinion whereby the alone pleasure of God doth necessarily interveen between the subordinate respect of the faith of man and the merit of Christ Jesus by his Evangelicall seventh dayes rest that miserable decree never was or could be decreed by God By this miserable distracting opinion of the absolute pretended decree the alone pleasure of God doth necessarily interveen between the subordinate respect of the faith of man and the merit of Christ Jesus by his Evangelicall seventh dayes rest this miserable opinion therefore by this absolute pretended decree never was or could be decreed by God 11. By that miserable distracting pretended absolute decree whereby the absolute alone pleasure of God is affirmed to interveen and come between the merit of man by the transgression of the law and condemnation of man by God to the eternall torments of hell such a miserable pretended distracting absâ—lute decree never was or could be decreed by God By this miserable distracting absolute pretended decree the absolute alone pleasure of God doth interveen and come between the merit of man and the transgression of the law Such a miserable distracting pretended decree therefore never was or could be decreed by God And so much for the third opinion concerning the sacred decree of predestination CHAP. III. The fourth assertion concerning the sacred decree of Predestination BEcause the fourth assertion concerning the sacred decree of predestination is so much oppugned by the maintainers of the absolute decree The fourth assertion thererefore shall be set down as I finde it set down by the oppugners of the assertion which is in this manner God in his eternall purpose hath decreed from all eternity to offer his gracious promises of salvation in his Son Christ Jesus lost in Adam in the state of corruption of which corrupted estate God hath decreed from all eternity to elect a certain number by predestinating them to be glorified with his Son Christ Jesus and to relinquish the rest in their state of corruption who because they do wilfulfully contemn the grace so freely offered God therefore hath most justly decreed to condemn them This assertion I do affirm by receiving of a safe instruction to be the true effect of the sacred decree of predestination as the decree is execute by the eternall word immediatly by his severall covenants made with man established upon his immediate severall seven dayes rest which is the reason that this opinion is so distastfull to the maintainers of the absolute decree being so repugnant to such false adulterous light for this assertion doth necessarily imply all the respects which are denied by the absolute decree First by this assertion contrary to the absolute decree Gods free purpose of the election of man is with respect of his love and mercy to man in his Son Christ Jesus Secondly contradictory to the absolute decree Gods condemnation of man is with respect to the finall contempt of man by his contenming of the gracious promises of salvation so freely offered by the new covenant Thirdly contradictory to the absolute decree by this assertion Gods free election in his Son Christ Jesus is affirmed to be with respect to the object of his election which in the order of cause is the state called by them the state of corruption to wit the state of man freed from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam shut up in spirituall darknesse By which estate of mâ—â— man being deprived of spirituall action because the best morall action of the natâ—â—â—ll man before he be regenerate must be actuall spirituall unbeliefe and sin therefore the action of man in this redeemed estaâ—e is said to be corrupted by reason whereof this estate of man is commonly called the state of corruption which estate doth necessarily imply First the creation of man in his state of perfection Secondly his obliging to the first covenant Thirdly the fall of man under the curse of the law by the first covenant Fourthly the redemption of man from the curse of the law for the sin of Adam shut up in spirituall temporall darknesse called unbeliefe and originall sin Fourthly contradictory to the absolute decree this assertion is with respect to the naturall and morall freedome of the action of the naturall man by the immediate act of the redemption without any manner of necessitating of the naturall or morall act of man by any decree of God For by affirming that the gracious promises offered by the new covenant are wilfully contemned by man this redeemed freedome of naturall and morall action of the naturall man is necessarily implied Fifthly contradictory to the absolute decree this assertion is first with respect to the subordinate obliging of man to the law of righteousnesse by the first covenant necessarily implied in the corrupted estate of man named by the authors of the last assertion Secondly the assertion is with respect to the new covenant for the Evangelicall promises of salvation are offered by the new covenant Sixthly contradictory to the absolute furmised decree by this
referred to man where we shall meet with the two like collaterall causes all which 4. Causes as they are effects they are al produced by one and the same next and immediate superior cause from whence we arise to the supreme cause of all By the last and lowest effect therefore of the new Covenant as it is referred to God God in his Son Christ Jesus doth oblige the naturall man in his redeemed state of natural and morall grace First and immediately to the Evanglicall faithfull worship of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall law as the eternall word Christ Jesus hath revealed himselfe by his Evangelicall seventh dayes rest arising from his bloudy rest Truth in the fulfilling of his promise to man and in that truth God in the three coessentiall distinct persons of the glorious Trinity cleerely and Evangelically without all propheticall mystery or Ceremony Secondly God doth oblige the faithfull Evangelicall obedience of man to the command of his whole Evangelicall law of righteousnesse of faith implyed in the Evangelicall seventh dayes commanded worship both upon the eternal blessing of the Lords dayes Evangelical rest upon the mercilesse curse of the law of faith The immediate cause of Gods obliging of man thus by his new Covenant is Gods eternall purpose to manifest himselfe mercy and justice to man by rendring of the reward of his Evangelicall law of faith according to the faith of man obliged by his law The immediate cause whereof is Gods enabling of the naturall man with such freedome of naturall and morall grace as he is able to give morall obedience to his calling by the new Covenant without any manner of necessitating of his morall disobedience To the naturall mans finall perseverance in which morall obedience till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling the spirituall grace of faith is due to the naturall man by Covenant whereby he hath the temporall blessing of the Lords dayes of Evangelicall rest in this life and eternal rest in the life to come The immediate cause of such naturall morall grace is the perfection of the redemption of man And here we fall in with the two former causes of the first covenant for both the creation and redemtion of man are by the same immediate cause we must therefore yet stop our resolution till we meet with the fourth colatorall cause arising from the new covenant as the new covenant is referred to man which must be likewise resolved both as the new covenant is fulfilled by man and as the new covenant is broke and transgressed by man The last and lowest effect of the regenerate man as he is obliged to the command of the law of faith by the new Covenant is the faithfull Evangelicall worship of the Lords day to whose thankefull faithfull worship the blessing of the Lords daies Evangelicall rest is temporally naturally and spiritually united in this life and eternally in the life to come as the temporall naturall morall blessing of the Lords daies rest is morally united to the morall worship of the naturall man The immediate cause of the regenerate mans faithfull worship of the seventh day implying his obedience to the command of the whole law is his spirituall faith The immediate cause of his spirituall faith is his love to spirituall righteousnes The immediate cause of his spirituall love is the sanctifying light of the holy Spirit enlightning his understanding by his spirituall calling in the immediate act of regeneration The immediate cause of his spiritnall calling is the finall perseverance of the naturall man in his morall obedience according to the word of promise Mat 13.13 whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved This end to the naturall man is Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling for the naturall man by his spirituall calling being actually regenerate is saved by spirituall faith and consequently justified The immediate cause of the naturall mans finall perseverance in his morall obedience is first and immediately the perfection of the redemption and secondly Gods speciall free concursive grace in saving of the naturall man from being overcome by Satans temptations This immediate cause of the perfection of the redemtion doth fall in collaterally with the three former causes and so we have foure in number But yet we must not rise without resolution from these foure causes till the new Covenant be resolved as the law is finally contemned and transgressed by man obliged to the new Covenant The lowest and last effect to the Reprobate obliged to the new Covenant is his finall willfull obstinate contempt of the gracious promises of Salvation purchased by the sacred bloud of the son of God To the reprobates finall wilfull contempt whereof by his unthankfull merit the mercilesse curse of the law of fayth is eternally united whereby the reprobate is eternally condemned by God upon his eternall prescience of the reprobates finall contempt according to his eternall decree which is actually inflicted upon the soule of the reprobate so soone as he departeth this life and in the full extent both of soule and body in the great day while by the resurrection from the dead the soule and body being essentially reunited the curse of the Law in the full extent is actually and eternally inflicted upon man as he is man The immediate cause of the reprobates finall wilfull obstinate contempt is the hardning of his heart The immediate cause whereof is the reprobates wilfull impenitent obstinat continuance in all sin and wickednesse by his contemning of God in the contemning of his law and truth and of the professors of the truth The immediate cause whereof as the cause is externall is the objective temptations of Satan and of his wicked instruments whereby the reprobate is spiritually and morally corrupted from his childhood The immediate cause of the reprobates continuance in sin as the cause is internall is his wilfull yeelding to be induced by the temptations of Satan and of his instruments while there is nothing to necessitate his morall disobedience whereby the reprobate doth so wilfully ungraciously unthankfully and presumptuously contemn the blood of the new covenant Thus having the foure causes met together we are to ascend from the foure causes as they are effects produced by the next superior immediate cause to the supreme cause of all The immediate cause therefore of these foure severall effects as they are the immediate subordinate effects of the next and immediate superiour cause is Gods eternall purpose of the election of man in his Son Christ Jesus For the immediate object of Gods eternall purpose of election is the state of man redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darknesse shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse till he be regenerate For in this estate all men are equally redeemed from the curse of eternall death and darknesse for their sin in Adam all equally shut up in temporall spirituall darknesse all equally reconciled to the love and favour of God for that
first sin with such freedom of morall grace as all the created powers of God are not able to necessitate the will of the redeemed naturall man to morall disobedience To whose finall perseverance in his redeemed grace by his morall obedience till Gods prefixed time of spirituall calling the grace of spirituall faith is due by the new covenant which is established with all men in the grace of this redeemed estate Of this redeemed estate of man God without all impeachment to his justice did decree from all eternity to elect to his mercy a certain number of this redeemed state of man known to himself by preserving of them from being finally overcome by the temptation of Satan and of his instruments in this life and to leave a certain number known only to himselfe in this redeemed estate of naturall and morall grace to be induced or not induced by Satan and his instruments to finall disobedience at their pleasure and perill For there is nothing to necessitate their will morally and finally to disobedience The immediate cause of Gods election of man in this redeemed estate is the freedome of his mercy who in this case will shew mercy on whom he will have mery in his Son Christ Jesus The immediate cause of his shewing of mercy to some in this redeemed estate is his foreknowledge of them whom from all eternity he hath predestinate to be made like to the Image of his Son in this life The immediate cause that they are predestinate to be made like to the Image of his Son in this life is that Christ Jesus the eternall Son of God made flesh of the seed of the woman in time may be the first born amongst many brethren who are his mysticall members The immediate cause that they are the mysticall brethren and members of their mysticall head Christ Jesus is that as their mysticall head by the bloody persecution of Satan and his cruell instruments did seal the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed with his heart blood So his mysticall brethren and members by tasting of the cup of his afflictions by the bloody persecutions of Satan and his cursed crue may stand in the defence of the truth of their mysticall head valiantly to the end of this life The immediate cause whereof is to the end that whereas the Lords mysticall members hath born the Image of his bloody persecution in this life So in the great day they may in their mysticall head revenge the blood of man upon Satan by the finall breaking of the old Serpents head and the head of his cursed seed to their eternall confusion And that in recompence of their valour they may in their mysticall head be crowned with an incorruptible crown of glory eternally and triumphantly in all heavenly happinesse in the life to come The immediate cause whereof is the Lords promise of the blessed seed that the seed of the woman shall break the head of the Serpent which seed of the woman is first the Word the Lord Jesus Christ begot by his Father man of the seed of the blessed Virgine And next his mysticall brethren begot by the literall and spirituall light of the Word brought forth by the woman the Church The immediate cause of the Lords promise of the blessed seed is Gods eternall decree of predestination upon his eternall prescience of the full of man by the malicious treachery of Satan The immediate cause of Gods eternall decree is Gods infinite love a and mercy to man in his Son Christ Jesus the Word made flesh of the seed of the woman from whose infinite love to man as all the effects of his sacred decree do proceed So all return to the infinit eternall word second person of the glorious Trinity God and man God equall with the Father and holy Spirit to whom with the Father and holy Spirit three coessentiall distinct persons one incomprehensible indivisible infinite essence God of all power and majesty be ascribed of all creatures all eternall honour glory power praise and thanksgiving for his infinite truth love and mercy to man the only Rock and Rest of the faith of man FINIS
curse of the Law of righteousnes by the curse of eternall death and darknes Adam therefore and all men naturally to descend of Adam as head out of the infinit love and mercy of God to man in his Son Christ Iesus according to his decree from all eternity being redeemed from the curse of the Law by the cursed death of his only Son which was to be sustained in his prefixed time the word of the Law then written in the heart of man was the redeemed Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus by the power of which redeemed word Adam after the fall did live move and had his redeemed grace of naturall and morall being but shut up in spirituall darknes till he was regenerate And the word of the seventh day of the Law was then objected to Adams externall senses as it was the propheticall word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith in the promise of the blessed seed then by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord prophesying the rest of the Lord to wit the blessed seed upon the Sabbath from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam whereby Adam and all men naturally to descend of Adam till the promise of the blessed seed was fulfilled were obliged to beleeve the promised rest of the blessed seed To whose faith the blessing of the Lords promised rest by the propheticall Sabbath was due by the Law The word of God therefore to the Fathers till the promise was fulfilled was the propheticall word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith in the promise of the blessed seed by the light of the sabbaticall seventh day leading the faith of man to the blessing of the Lords promised rest of the blessed seed By which faith all the Fathers were saved before the promise was fulfilled in the Lords prefixed time according to his eternall decree Thirdly the promise of the blessed seed being fulfilled by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest as by the redeemed word of the Law written in the heart the naturall man doth live move and hath his redeemed grace of naturall and morall being shut up in spirituall darknes till he be regenerate So the Evangelicall word of the Lords day as it is the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith is objected to the externall senses of man as it is the word of the truth of the Lords Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed obliging the faith of all the Nations of the World to beleeve the truth of the Lords fulfilled promise to whose faith the blessing of the Lords merit of eternall life and rest by the fulfilling of his promise is due morally by the Law whereby the naturall mans redeemed grace of naturall and morall being is continued while he is in this life and being regenerat hath his eternall life light and rest in the life to come The judicious reader therefore may plainly observe that the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith is the same reall word which was from the beginning in the true knowledge wherof is the life light eternal rest of man for as by the literall light of the Lords day the naturall man is literally led to the morall blessing of the Lords merit by the Lords daies Evangelicall rest So by the Lords spirituall light in Gods prefixed time the naturall man apprehending himselfe dead in actuall spirituall sinne as sinne is a fearfull contempt against the infinit Majesty of God The naturall man in this spirituall feare being led by this spirituall light to the Lords infinit merit doth by the hands of his spirituall faith lay such spirituall hold on the Lords infinit merit as all the created powers of God and all the temptations of the Divell and the World are not able to part the naturall man being regenerate from the grace of his spirituall hold And this is that faith which the Lord saith is able to command the greatest Mountaine of temptation and to cast it selfe in the Sea if it stand in the way to seperate the regenerate man from his spirituall hold of eternall life Though his spirituall faith be so litle as a graine of mustard seed For the threatned Mountaine of naturall death it selfe is not able to seperate the regenerate man from this spirituall hold totally and finally This light of the Lords day therefore is that light of that spirituall fire which came downe from Heaven not the fearfull firie light of Gods consuming fire which came downe from Heaven to burne the Holocaust Sacrifice of the Lambe of God but the gracious light of the Lords deare love warning quickning inlightning and raising from the dead where it doth shine By which gracious light as all men were raised from the first death of the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam So this gracious light doth now shine to enlighten the faith of all the Nations of the World to save them from the merciles curse of the Law of faith which is the second death Heere two speciall things are to be observed by the reader CHAP. VIII THe first is the difference of the word of the Law written in the heart of man and the word of the seventh day of the Law implying the command of the whole Law externally objected to the externall senses of man Tâ—e second is the formall difference of the word of the seventh day of the Law from the beginning First in the state of perfection the word of the Law written in Adams heart was the power of the Image of righteousnes and holines enabling Adam to merit eternall life and rest upon earth And the word of the first seventh day of the Law of righteousnes was objected to Adams externall senses obliging the perfection of Adams obedience to the command of the Law of God to whose merit by his actions of holines the blessing of the first seventh daies eternall rest was due by the Law to Adams merit Secondly man being redeemed from the curse of the Law the word of the Law written in the heart is the redeemed word and Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus first in the promise of the blessed seed enabling Adam from faith to faith to beleeve the promise of the blessed seed And the word of the seventh day of the Law of righteousnes of faith by the name of the Sabbath of the Lord was objected to Adams externall senses prophesying the rest of the blessed seed upon the Sabbath from the redemption of man from the curse of the Law obliging and commanding Adam to beleeve the promised rest of the blessed seed to whose faith the blessing of the Lords eternall rest was due by the Law to Adams faith in beleeving the the promised rest of the blessed seed Thirdly after the Lords resurrection the promise of the blessed seed being fulfilled the
redeemed word of the Law written in the heart of man is the Image of God in his Son Christ Iesus in the truth of his fulfilled promise of the blessed seed enabling all men by morall saith to beleeve the Lords fulfilled promise of the blessed seed And the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith blessed and sanctified by the truth of the merit of the Lords Evangelicall rest is now objected to the externall senses obliging all the Nations of the World to believe the truth of the Lords merit by his rest from the fulfilling oâ— the promise of the blessed seed To whose faith the blessing of the Lords eternall rest is due by the Evangelicall Law of faith As for the formall difference of the word of every severall seventh daies rest of the Law from the beginning it doth consist in these two pointes First the formall difference of the seventh day of the Law implying the command of the whole Law doth arise from the formall manner of Gods revealing of himselfe by the word of his severall seventh daies rest by the formallity of which severall rest the formall worship of the seventh day is commanded The second difference is that by the least transgression of the Law of righteousnes in the state of perfection the sinne was without all hope of any revealed mercy or time of repentance But the transgression of the Law of righteousnes of faith is withall hope of mercy and time of repentance while there is day in this life Of this declaration of the Evangelicall word as it is the redeemed word of truth written in the heart of man And as it is the Evangelicall word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith implying the perfection of the redepmtion of man from the curse of the Law for the sinne of Adam I infer these subsequent necessary demonstrative conclusions CHAP. IX Conclusion 1. IT is by the redeemed word of the Law as the Law is spirituall immediatly written in the soule of man necessarily implying the power of intelectuall life and light that the soule doth live and hath its intellectuall moving and being which is the first act of the soule of man as he is intelectuall and a true humane spirit in potency to his second intelectuall act And it is by the word of the Law literally written in the heart of man necessarily implying the power of naturall life and light that man as he is man doth live move and hath his redeemed being which is the first act of man as he is man and a rationall creature in potency to his second naturall and morall act by the species of the externall sensitive object and this is the reason that Iohn saith Iohn 1.4 in it was life and that life was the light of man Conclusion 2. It is by the litterall light of the word of the Lords day the seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of faith objected to the externall senses which is one reall light with the literall light of the redeemed word of the Law in the heart that the understanding and will of the naturall man is formally and morally produced in act necessarily implying the naturall light without which the species of the externall object can neither be morally or naturally apprehended by the act of the understanding of man Conclusion 3. Though man as he is a spirituall man shut up in spirituall darknesse till he be regenerate be said to be dead as he is a spirituall man because he is deprived of the spirituall light of the holy Spirit for the time yet by the word of the Law immediately and spiritually written in the soule necessarily implying the intelectuall life and light the soule of man humane spirit doth live and move intelectually which intelectuall life and light the spirituall light of the holy Spirit doth necessarily presuppose for the formall action of holines doth as necessarily presuppose the intelectuall act of the soule as the formall morall action the naturall action of man which are both by one reall light though the intelectuall be a pure unmixed light and the naturall a mixed light by the essentiall union of the intelectuall and sensitive nature of man without which light man were neither an intelectuall or rationall creature as hath bin formerly demonstrate Conclusion 4. As by the internall word of the Law which is eternally spiritually and immediatly written in the soule the soule of man humane spirit is spiritually immediatly and eternally obliged to the Law as the Law is â—pirituall So by the eternall word of the Law literally written in the h art of man man as he is man is eternally and morally obliged to the Law of God and consequently the sensitive body being resolved from the soule must remaine in its principle to be reunited to the soule in the great day Conclusion 5. The Lords day blessed and sanctified by the Lords blessed resurrection and rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed in time was in the eternall purpose and councell of God before all time the decâ—eed seventh day of the Evangelicall Law of righteousnes of faith Conclusion 6. The literall light of the Lords day the seventh day of the Lords Evangelicall rest doth farre surmount the light of all the severall seventh dayes rest of the eternall word from the foundation of the world for by the literall light of the Lords day the naturall man is fundamentally and literally led to all the former seventh daies rest of the eternall word from the beginning all proceding from the love of God to man Conclusion 7. The literall light of the word of the Lords day doth emply the literall light of all the Scripture of God and consequently the whole excercite act of the sacred decree of predestination so farre as is revealed to man in this life Conclusion 8. By the Lords daies Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of his promise of the blessed seed arising from his bloody rest the Lord did manifest himselfe truth and in that truth love and mercy to man Conclusion 9. As our Saviour by his birth life death and by his rest in the grave did manifest himselfe true man and by his wonders and miracles did manifest himselfe the Son of God begot of the seed of the woman by the immediate unction of the holy Spirit So by the infinit power of his Evangelicall rest in his triumphant victory over the power of Satan sinne eternall death and darknesse of Hell over the power of the curse of the Law and over the power of the grave his last enemy the Lord did manifest himselfe Lord God and man in the three coessentiall distinct Persons of the glorious Trinity the maner whereof is clearly set downe in the Chapter following Conclusion 10. As by the Lords Evangelicall rest from the fulfilling of the promise of the blessed seed arising from his bloody rest was by his infinit power So his merit by his rest