could have a distinct notion of all that was contained and implied in the Promise as now it is opened and unfolded in the Writings of the New Testament it does appear was wrapt up in it And therefore though I think I may well found a Discourse of the New-Covenant upon the Promise made to Abraham as it is now explained in the New Testament yet I would not be understood to suppose Abraham's apprehension or Faith to have then been commensurate to the Promise as it is so explained Supposing then the Promise to Abraham to be the New Covenant it self in a more imperfect Edition of it than afterward came forth I shall now a little farther consider what it was and what the New-Covenant is and ever hath been in the general nature of it since it first commenced And it is a new Law or Covenant made by way of Remedy against the rigour and extremity of the Law of Nature under which Man was Created For the Law of Nature the Law of God's Creation as well as his Instituted Law in Paradise being violated and impossible to be kept inviolable by Man in his Lapsed state by reason of his moral Impotency and the Pravity of his Nature derived from Adam he must inevitably have sunk and perished under the Condemnation of it unless there had been a new Law instituted to supercede the procedure of this Law against him in its natural and proper course If Salvation had been attainable by Man in his Lapsed state without this remedying Law of Grace there would have been no need of a New Covenant If there had been a Law given which could have given Life verily righteousness should have been by the Law Gal. 3 21. But there was no such Law given besides this New Law Nor could the Original Law be repealed for the relief of faln Man it being founded in the nature of God and the nature of Man as he was created after God's own Image and is no more changeable than the nature of Good and Evil are changeable And therefore as I said there was a necessity that Man must have Perished under the Condemnation of the Law of his Creation as the lapsed Angels did under theirs unless a Law of Indemnity had been Enacted But God whose tender Mercies are over all his Works to the end so great and considerable a part of his Creation as Man is might not be wholly lost and undone to all Eternity out of his infinite Compassion Mercy and Love did constitute a New Law or Covenant for Mans Relief which well may be called the Covenant of Grace against the rigour and extremity of the first Law Which new Law was in some degree though but obscurely made known to Man not long after Adam's Fall or else there would have been no ground for that Faith which we are assured was in Abel Enoch c. Heb. 11. But it was doubtless somewhat more fully declared to Abraham than to any before and at last compleatly established and published by Jesus Christ the Mediator of it who was given for a Covenant to the people And this new Law in the last Edition of it under the Gospel is variously denominated being called the Promise the New Covenant the Law of Faith the Law of Liberty the Gospel the Grace of God or the Word of his Grace And so we come Sect. 2. To consider what the design of God was in this New Covenant or Promise unto Abraham Next to his own Glory it was to recover the humane Nature from its degenerate state to a state of Holiness to that likeness to God in which Man was at the first made and therein and thereby to a state of Happiness both which were lost by the Fall Holiness Love and Goodness as they were once the Glory and Happiness of Man before he lost them so are still perfective of his Nature And therefore it is impossible in the nature of the thing to recover Man to Happiness without recovering his Nature to a conformity to God in these or for Man to be perfectly Happy whose Nature is not perfected in them Sin is the Disease and Sickness of the Soul and it 's as possible for a Sick Man to enjoy the pleasure of Health as it is for the sinful and corrupt Nature of Man while such to enjoy the pleasure which the humane Nature did naturally enjoy or was capable of enjoying in its Innocency and Purity But when the Nature of Man is once recovered to perfection in Knowledge Holiness Love and Goodness it will then be matter of unspeakable delight to him to love God Angels and Men and to do the will of God in every thing It is so to the holy Angels And it was so to our Blessed Saviour who counted it as his meat and drink to be doing the will of his heavenly Father And to what degree the Nature of Man is here in this World restored towards its proper perfection to the same degree it is matter of pleasure and delight to him to act holily and righteously and to be doing good It is joy to the Just to do judgment Prov. 21.15 It is a pain to a Man to act contrary to the bent and inclination of his Nature by compulsion or fear And therefore unless the corrupt Nature of Man were changed Heaven would not be Heaven to him in case he were there Those Divine and Heavenly Exercises which are there the unspeakable delight of Saints and Angels would be his Pain and Torment as being contrary to his Nature and the pleasures of that state as having not what will satisfie the unsatiable lust of Mans corrupt Nature would not be such to him but add rather to his anguish For as it would be a Torment to a Man to be in eâ—tremity of Hunger and Thirst and to be without Meat and Drink and all hopes of any to satisfie him So will it be a grievous Torment to the corrupt Nature of Men in another World to retain their lusts and the violent cravings of them and yet to be without all hope of having wherewith to satisfie them which yet is like to be the condition of Men in Hell Here Mens unnatural Lusts are not such a Torment to them because they can make provision to satisfie them or live in hopes so to do and in the mean while drown the noise of them by diversion But in Hell it will be quite otherwise And therefore it 's easie to imagine that the Torment which will arise from the corruption of Mens Natures there will be unspeakably great besides the piercing sence of the Happiness they have lost and the other intollerable pains which they must indure and therefore as whoever hath not his Nature renewed in this World is never like to have it renewed in another so without renewing of it it is impossible he should be happy there Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Joh. 3.3 That is he cannot enjoy it
or in his keeping of it CHAP. II. For what Ends the Law was added to the Promise I Now come to shew in the next place for what end the Law of Moses was added to the Promise And before I do this in particular I shall note only in general That it was not added to cross or confront the Promise or God's Design in it but to be subservient to it Gal. 3.21 Is the Law then against the Promises God forbid For it is not to be thought that God would prevaricate in his Design so that when he had once made a New Law of Grace for the Saving of faln Man he would yet afterwards give any Law but what should one way or other subserve to the same End if Men do not deprive themselves of the intended Benefit by perverting it And therefore to be sure God did not intend to revive the Old Covenant of Works made with Adam in Paradise in the after promulgation of the Law of Nature which we call the Moral Law already broken He did not therein come to demand his full Debt of Innocency in Mans Broken and Bankrupt Condition or to let him know that he would without any other Condition than perfect Innocency cast him into Prison until he had paid the utmost farthing For if he had then the Law indeed would have been against the Promise which declares quite otherwise It is true the Law of Nature as it is a perfect Rule of natural Righteousness founded in God's Nature and Man's Nature doth of it self require perfect Innocency and can require no less being suited to the Nature of Man in its perfect State But when God brings this Law forth and sets it before Men that are now faln from that state as he doth in the promulgation of it it is to let them know indeed what they once were and from whence they are fallen and how unhappy their Condition now is according to the Tenour and Terms of that Law and that it would have continued so for ever if God had not made a New Law of Grace to over-rule that Law and to let all know that they shall still remain in that Condition that wilfully exclude themselves from the benefit of the Law of Grace by not performing the Condition of it But not to let them know they should have no better terms from him than that Law affords them nor to make their perfect keeping of it the condition of their Justification But the Law of Moses entirely taken in all its parts was rather given as an Appendix to the Promise both as a Rule of the material part of that Obedience which God would now require of the Israelites in conjunction with their Faith in the Promise and as a Motive to that Obedience This in general The Question is put Gal. 3.19 Wherefore then serveth the Law And the Answer there is That it was added because of transgression until the Seed should come And it was added because of transgression in more respects than one 1. It was added to discover Sin to make that known to be Sin which was so of it self and in its own nature before the promulgation of the Law For by reason of that grievous Wound which Man got in his Understanding by the Fall and by reason also of a progressive Degeneration in Mankind the natural Sense of Moral Good and Evil was to a great degree worn out of the minds of Men. For the repairing of which decay a promulgate Law the Ten Commandments answerable to the Law of pure Nature in the Spirituality of it was set on foot in the World And by this Law came Sin and Duty to be more clearly known than they were before Rom. 3.20 By the Law is the knowledge of Sin Rom. 7.7 I had not known Sin but by the Law For I had not known Lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not Covet 2. The Law was added not only barely to make known that to be Sin which was so of it self before but to set it out in its Colours to make it known in the horrid nature and consequence of it that Men might be the more afraid to have to do with it The Law entred that the offence might abound That is that by that means it might be rendred the more Criminous and Demeritorious That Sin by the Commandment might become exceeding sinful Rom. 5.20 and 7.13 3. The Law as it discovered Sin and made it more criminous and the People the more sensible of guilt and more apprehensive of their obnoxiousness to punishment was given to set off so much the more the Glory Beauty and Desirableness of God's Grace in the Promise of Pardon and Salvation Rom. 5.20 The Law entered that the offence might abound But where Sin abounded Grace did much more abound By how much the more Sin appeared Sin and was enhanced and aggravated and rendred manifestly mischievous by a Promulgate Law by so much the more Grace appear'd to be Grace in all its Glory that brought Deliverance from it Rom. 5.21 That like as Sin hath reigned unto death viz. by the Law that being the strength of Sin 1 Cor. 15.56 Even so Grace might reign through Righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. After Christ came the Rest which he gave was so much the more sweet to those Jews who received him by how much they had been weary and heavy-laden under a Spirit of Bondage before 4. The Law saith St. Paul was our Schoolmaster to bring â—s unto Christ that we might be justified by Faith Gal. 3.24 That is It was a lower sort of Institution accommodated to the weak and more imperfect state of the Church until afterward it should deliver them over to a more perfect Institution under Christ Parents first teach their Children to Speak and after put them to School to learn Letters Syllables Words and Sentences the use and design of all which they do not understand while they are Children as they do when they come to be Men. In proportion to this hath God dealt with his Church in the World beginning with a lower and more imperfect sort of Instruction Precepts and Promises and so proceeding to those that are higher and more perfect and so by certain gradations to lead on and build up his Church to a more perfect Spiritual and compleat state of Faith and Holiness To all the riches of fulness of understanding of the Mystery of God of the Father and of Christ Col. 2.2 And thus the Law as Schoolmaster had a double end and use The one respecting the time then present The other that which was then future and to come The then present use of it was twofold also 1. To reclaim and restrain them from the Superstitious Customs of the Heathen to which they were addicted in which respect also it was added because of transgression The Heathen-Worship stood in divers Superstitious Rites or Ceremonies And because the Israelites were addicted to a bodily Worship
sin And when he delivered them his Law with the greatest terrour and astonishment to them yet even then he assured them That he would shew Mercy to Thousands of them that love him and keep his Commandments as in the Second Commandment And in ease of their miscarriage to the drawing down of God's Judgments upon them he bespeaks them thus When thou art in tribulation and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days if thou turn to the Lord thy God and shalt be obedient to his Voice for the Lord thy God is a merciful God he will not forsake thee nor forget the Covenant of thy Fathers Deut. 4.31 and 30.1 2 3. Levit. 26.39 c. From all which grounds the Faithful among them had such a hope and confidence of pardon of Sin and of a future Happiness in another Life upon their Repentance and sincere Obedience as did effectually induce them to have good thoughts of God to love him and to endeavour to please him by having respect unto all his Commandments This made him say Psal 130.4 There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared And under this hope and confidence the twelve Tribes did instantly serve God day and night and grounded this Hope of theirs upon the Promise made of God unto their Fathers as St. Paul tells us Acts 26.6 7. And indeed it was the unanimous Faith of the most eminent among them from Age to Age that God had both made and would keep a Covenant to shew Mercy to those that love him and keep his Commandments or that walk before him with all their Heart For that they looked upon as the Condition of God's Promise of shewing Mercy This we may see in Moses David Solomon and in Daniel and Nehemiah Deut. 7.9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keepeth Covenant and Mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments So David Psalm 103.17 18. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to such as keep his Covenant and to those that remember his Commandments to do them And thus Solomon 1 Kings 8.23 And he said Lord God of Israel there is no God like thee who keepest Covenant and Mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart So Daniel in his 9th Chap. 4th ver O Lord the great and dreadful God keeping the Covenant and Mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his Commandments And Nehemiah likewise Chap. 1.5 I beseech thee O Lord God of Heaven the great and terrible God that keepeth Covenant and Mercy for them that love him and observe his Commandments This we see was the serious and constant Profession of the Faith of the Servants of God in those Times And in this Faith and Practice doubtless it was that they lived and died and were saved CHAP. IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham IN the next place I am to shew That the Law of Moses did contain a Covenant distinct and of a different nature from the Covenant which God made with Abraham and his Spiritual Seed Besides the general Promise which God made to Abraham respecting the Gentiles as well as the Jews In thee all Nations of the Earth shall be blessed he made a Special Covenant with him as a Reward of his signal Faithfulness to give unto his Natural Seed the Land of Canaan Nehem. 9.8 Thou foundest his heart faithful before thee and madest a Covenant with him to give the Land of the Canaanites to his Seed In order to the fulfilling of which Promise after he had brought them out of Egypt he united them under himself as Head in one Political Body by a Political Covenant Exod. 19. c. which is the Covenant I am now to discourse of In which discourse I would 1. Shew in what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham 2. Prove that it did contain such a different Covenant 3. For farther illustration consider it in its parts and their relation one to another 4. And in what respect this Covenant is called the first Covenant when as the Covenant of Grace was made before it 1. In what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham The Law of Moses comes under a twofold consideration 1. As in conjunction with the Promise to Abraham to which it was annexed it made up one entire Law by which the Israelites were to be governed and directed in the way to Eternal Life And in this conjunction the Promise was the Life and Soul as it were of the Body of the Mosaic Law properly taken And in this sense as the word Law signifies the Pentateuch or five Books of Moses which contain the Promise as well as the Law it is sometimes used in the New Testament Gal. 4.21 22. 1 Cor. 14.34 Luke 16. And in this sense doubtless we are to understand the Law upon which David bestowed so many glorious Encomiums as he did saying The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul c. Psal 19.2 We are to consider the Law of Moses as given at Sinai in a stricter sense as it was an Instrument or Rule of Government in the Commonwealth of Israel The Law in the former sense of it promised Eternal Life though but obscurely to those that did believe its Promises and sincerely obey its Precepts In the latter sense it promised only temporal Blessings to those that strictly observed it in all the parts of it and threatned those with temporal Calamities that did not The same Laws materially of this Political Covenant related to both the Covenants As Eternal Life was promised in the Covenant of Grace upon condition of sincere Obedience to those Laws as an effect of Faith in the Promise so those Laws in conjunction with the Promise were as I may so say Evangelical But as temporal Benefits only were promised in that Covenant upon condition of strict Obedience to those Laws and as those Laws were enjoyned under temporal Penalties as they were Commonwealth-Laws so that Covenant containing those Laws was Political and in this Political respect it was another Covenant If the Law of God and the Law of Man command or forbid things materially the same yet if the one command or forbid them under pain of Damnation and the other only under temporal Penalties these Laws are not formally the same The Commonwealth of Israel had no Commonwealth-Laws but what God himself gave them the which Laws they also Covenanted with him to observe by which Covenant they were united under him as Head of that Political Body And therefore when they would needs choose them a King like other Nations God told Samuel saying They have not rejected thee but they have rejected me that I should not
Eternal Redemption for us Heb. 9.12 4. They differ in respect of the Sins made pardonable by each Covenant respectively There were many sins for which the first Covenant granted no Pardon upon any terms whatsoever They that despised Moses's Law died without mercy Heb. 10.28 But the Covenant of Grace makes promise of the pardon of the Greatest Sins upon Repentance All manner of Sin and Blasphemy except the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost are pardonable upon Repentance This difference is set down Acts 13.39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses We may well suppose that the first Covenant did finally Condemn some which the Covenant of Mercy Pardoned David in the matter of Vriah did that which was unpardonable by the first Covenant it was a Fact to have been punished with Death by the Law but that there was none but God that could duly inflict it upon him in his capacity and yet upon his Repentance it was pardoned as to his Eternal Concerns as well as Temporal by virtue of God's Covenant of Mercy On the other hand a Man probably might be so Righteous in the Eye of the first Covenant as not to be visibly blameable and yet even then be obnoxious to the Curse of the Everlasting Covenant Paul while he was Saul and in the state of Unbelief was even then as touching the righteousness which is in the Law blameless as he himself saith Phil. 3.6 So different were these two Covenants that him whom the one Condemned the other might Justifie and likewise Justifie him whom the other Condemned 5. They differed in respect of the condition to be performed on Man's part for the obtaining of pardon Pardon was promised in the first Covenant upon condition of Doing only without reference to Faith but so are not the pardons of the New Covenant Gal. 3.11.12 But that no man is justified by the Law in the sight of God it is evident for the Just shall live by Faith And the Law is not of Faith but the man that doth them shall live in them So much concerning the first Part of the Sanction of the first Covenant Come we now to the second The other part of the Sanction of this Covenant did consist in the Curse of it denounced against the breakers of it Though it 's true that every Man is under a Condemnation that would be Eternal unless he comes to be absolved by virtue of the Law of Grace yet more than temporal Death was not expresly threatned for breach of the Political Covenant as such 1. For first a violent Death inflicted by the hand of the Magistrate for Capital Offences is called the Curse Deut. 22.23 He that is hanged is accursed of God or is the Curse of God 2. Christ who did not suffer Eternal Punishment for Man's Sin did yet suffer the Curse of the Law in that he was hanged on a Tree Gal. 3.13 It is true indeed that by that temporary Sufferings of his he redeemed us from Eternal Punishment which we were obnoxious to 3. Those who Apostatize from Christ and reject his Gospel merit sorer punishment than what was inflicted on them that despised Moses's Law and yet sorer Punishment for kind they cannot suffer if Eternal punishment had been the penalty of that Covenant as such Heb. 10.28 29. 4. As the Promises of that Covenant when particularly expressed did appear to be but temporal so the Curses of it appear to be no other in the particular enumeration of them As for instance a violent Death inflicted by the Hand of the Magistrate was the punishment threatned for many Capital Offences Such as was Idolatry Blasphemy Witchcraft Working on the Sabbath invading the Priests Office and for being a false Prophet and also for Murder Adultery Sodomy Buggery Man-stealing Cursing or Smiting of Parents or being stubbornly Rebellious against them and some other And a cutting off from among the People whither by God's hand immediately or by Man's I determine not was the penalty threatned for eating Leavened Bread within the time prohibited for not Purifying ones self when Unclean for profaning holy things for ones eating of the Sacrifice with his Uncleanness upon him for offering Sacrifice any where but at the Tabernacle for eating of Blood and for eating of the Fat of the Sacrifice for neglecting to keep the Passover and for not afflicting the Soul in the Day of general Atonement and for several other Offences And those Offences for which cutting off from among the People is threatned being less criminous than the former we have no reason to think the penalty of cutting off from among the People to signifie more if so much than the suffering of a temporal Death We may observe how the Israelites various Punishments are exprest for their manifold Crimes in the Wilderness by God's overthrowing them in the Wilderness by Pestilence and otherwise 1 Cor. 10. In brief The temporal Evils threatned in this Covenant were either Personal Domestick or National The Personal and Domestick Evils were no less than whatsoever tended to the infelicity of Man's Life as Diseases in Body Perplexity of Mind Unfruitfulness in Body in Cattel in Ground Scarcity Poverty Oppression loss of Relations fewness of Days and an untimely cutting off from the Promised Land The National were wild Beasts Pestilence Sword Famine Captivity and such like These were inflicted when the breach of the Covenant became National in the generality of the People But especially when those who had the management of Publick Affairs Civil and Ecclesiastick did not restrain the People by a due Execution of Laws but rather led them into sin by their Example and sometimes by their Commands corrupting Religion and perverting Justice Levit. 26. Deut. 28. And the Evils threatned being National as the Covenant it self was they must needs be but Temporal because there is no Judging Condemning and Executing Nations as Nations but in this World 4. Come we now to shew reason why this Covenant is called the first Covenant since there were others made before it as that with Adam in Paradise and that Covenant of Salvation with Adam after his Fall and with Noah and Abraham And 1. Negatively It is not so called as if it were the same for substance with that which was first made with Adam in Paradise as many have thought or because it was proposed upon the same terms For First That Covenant was established upon the terms or condition of perfect Innocency no provision being made in it for pardon in case of failure upon any condition whatsoever But it was otherwise in this Mosaick Covenant as I have shewed in that it contained several Laws of Indemnity for the Relief of delinquent Persons upon certain possible and practicable Conditions Secondly If this and the Paradisical-Covenant had been of the same nature then it and the Promise made to Abraham and his Spiritual Seed would have been inconsistent the
in a Way of Sincere Obedience according to the Tenour and Import of such a Declaration p. 17. What Faith as Evangelical and Christian is p. 17. The first reason why Faith is made the Condition of the Promise is that the Grace of God to Man might the more shew it self The Second Reason because it best answers God's Design in this Covenant p. 18. 19. 20. Sect. 8. What we are to understand by God's counting Abraham's Faith to him for Righteousness p. 21. Two things make up the Righteousness of the Law of Grace First the Righteousness which consisteth in the Forgiveness of Sins Secondly the Righteousness of Sincere Obedience p. 22. This cleared p. 23. CHAP. II. For what ends the Law was added to the Promise not to cross or confront it p. 24. A Question wherefore then serveth the Law ibid. Answer it was added because of Transgression until the Seed should come And that in many respects first to discover Sin that it might be known to be Sin Secondly to set it out in its own Colours Thirdly to set off the Beauty and Glory of God's Grace in the Promise of Salvation Fourthly because it serves as a School Master to Lead us to Christ and as a School-Master hath a double End respecting the present and future time The present use twofold First to Reclaim and Restrain them from Heathenish superstitions 2dly for Tryal of Obedience in lesser things p. 25. The use of the Law for the time to come was first to facilitate the knowledge of the mystery of their Redemption by Christ Secondly to facilitate and Strengthen their Belief in Christ Thirdly the Law was given to the Jews for the general Good of all the World p. 27. CHAP. III. Wherein is shewed by what Faith and Practise persons under the Law were saved That the Jews had not a clear and full Knowledge of all that was included in the Promise made to Abraham p. 28. and yet that they had the Promise of Blessedness to all Nations in Abraham's Seed They had the addition of several other predictions concerning the Messias p. 30. They had large Significations of God's special Favour above all People ibid. They had exprâ—ss Declarations from God of the Goodness of his Nature By all which they were induc'd to Love God and to endeavour to please him ibid. CHAP. IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham p. 31. In what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham ibid. The Law of Moses under a twofold consideration first as in Conjunction with the Promise made to Abraham 2dly as given at Sinai in a stricter Sense as it was a Rule of Government in the Common-Wealth of Israel In the former sense is obscurely promised Eternal Life in the Latter temporal Blessings p. 32. This Covenant consisted first of Laws 2dly the Sanction of these Laws The Laws were of two sorts 1st the Law of Duty 2dly the Laws of Jndemnity p. 33. Laws of Duty what p. 33. Laws of Jndemnity what p. 34. The Sanction of these Laws consisted in Promises made to the observing them and a Curse denounced against the Transgressors ibid. The Promises considered negatively and Affirmatively p. 35. 36. 37. A five-fold difference in reference to remission of Sin between the first Covenant and the Covenant of Grace p. 38. 39. That more than a temporal Death was threatned for a Breach of the political Covenant as such p. 39. The temporal Evils threatned for a Breach of this Covenant were Personal Domestick or Nationall whereof in particular p. 39. and 41. CHAP. V. The Grand mistakes of the Jews about the Law and Promise and how St. Paul Counter-argues these Mistakes p. 41. First they held Circumcision of the Flesh to be the special Condition upon which God's Covenant-Blessings with Abraham did depend never Vnderstanding that Spiritual Circumcision which was primarily intended p 42. St. Paul's arguing against their Belief in this point p. 42. Secondly That the Promised Messias shou'd not by suffering Death become a Sacrifice for Sin ibid. and yet his Death was necessary how St. Paul â—onsutes their Belief in this point p. 44. Thirdly They held another Error that the Legal Sacrifices did expiate Sin ibid. This Error opposed p. 45 Fourthly That without Circumcision and observing Moses's Law the Gentiles cou'd not be saved ibid. This Error Refuted ibid. Fifthly they held that the Law of Moses was unalterably perpetual and this opposed p. 47. Another Errror of theirs was That they held the First Covenant alone together with the Covenant of Literal Circumcision which they made a part of their Law to be the Covenant of Salvation ibid. And to this they peremptorily adher'd ibid. and disprov'd ibid. CHAP. VI. How St. Paul's Doctrine of Justification by Faith and not by Works was then Mistaken by some The Mistake of those Jews who laid the stress of their Salvation upon Believing only without a virtuous and Holy Life p. 53. Neither did they discern Faith to be necessary in the operative and practical Nature of it p. 54. How the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without Works in the sense wherein the Apostles asserted it was understood p. 55. CHAP. VII That the Doctrine of St. Paul and St. James about Faith and Works in reference to Justification do not differ but are wholly one p. 60. Ten Considerations to prove this p. 61. First that Works of Evangelical Obedience are never in Scripture opposed to God's Grace ibid. Secondly That St. Paul in speaking against Justification by Works gives Caution not to be Vnderstood to speak against Evangelical Obedience p. 62. Thirdly Regeneration or the New Creature is opposed to Works of the Law as well as Faith ibid. Fourthly Evangelical Obedience as well as Faith is opposed to Works of the Law in order to Justification p. 63. Fifthly Evangelical Obedience alone is opposed to Works of the Law in reference to Salvation ibid. Sixthly That Faith is an act of Evangelical Obedience ibid. Seventhly That by Evangelical Obedience Christians come to have a Right to Salvation p. 64. Eightly That as the promise of forgiveness is made sometimes to Believing so it is to Obedience p. 66. Ninthly That Evangelical Obedience is a part of the Condition of Justification p. 67. Tenthly That Repentance is one Eminent Act of Evangelical Obedience ibid. FINIS A DISCOURSE ON FAITH MEN's Eternal Estate of Weal or Wo in another World and their Peace and Comfort in this being very much concerned in their right understanding or mistaking the nature and difference of that Faith which is Saving and of that which is not I shall here state the nature and difference of those two kinds of Faith with what brevity and perspicuity I can I cannot I confess think that the nature of Faith which is of absolute necessity to the Salvation of the meanest Christian is in it self hard to be
Principles of Natural Religion only and who having no other Law did by Nature the things contain'd in the Law Rom. 2 14. But to constitute a Man truly Religious and to denominate his Religion the Christian Religion it is farther necessary that he moreover act upon Christian Principles such as not the Light of Nature only but the Gospel of our Saviour does reveal unto us for In the day when he shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ it will be St. Paul tells us according to his Gospel Rom. 2.16 And so main a part in his Gospel were the Principles of reveal'd Religion that he told the Corinthians he determined not to know any thing amongst them save Jesus Christ and him Crucified 1 Cor. 2.2 that is the Means and Methods of our Salvation by a Crucified Saviour which can be known only by Revelation he was resolv'd should be so much the Subject of his Preaching amongst them that they might almost conclude he himself knew nothing else and did not much care whether they did also Thus the Christian Religion you see is out of Christian Principles to lead an holy good Life Nor Thirdly Is it enough to render the Religion of us Christians compleat III. Dependance upon the Mediation of Christ that our imperfect Righteousness may be accepted also necessary that by the force of good Christian Principles we lead good Lives but together therewith we must depend upon the Mediation of Christ with the Father for us that our imperfect Righteousness may be graciously accepted to our Justification For alas the best of us all must consider this That when we have done all that is commanded us we are but Vnprofitable servants Luk. 17.10 But alas the best of us all do exceedingly fail in doing all that is commanded us for we have all sinned and come short of the glory or Approbation of God Rom. 3.23 And therefore as there is One Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2.5 So we are strictly commanded Col. 3.17 that whatsoever we do in word or in deed we should do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus And particularly as to that so considerable part of Religion Prayer it is ordain'd we are told Joh. 15.16 That whatsoever we shall ask of the Father in his Name he will give it us And also as to that other great Duty of Christian Worship Thanksgiving we are solemnly enjoyn'd Eph. 5.17.20 As we will shew our selves not to be unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is to give thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and In him we have boldness and access with confidence by the Faith of him Eph. 3.12 The meaning of which and innumerable other places that might be produc'd to this purpose is this That considering our own Vileness and Unworthiness by reason of our Sins we should ground all our Hopes and Expectations of Favour and Acceptance and Reward solely upon Christ That we should offer all our Deeds to God as Sacrifices and Services unworthy of acceptance in themselves and as proceeding from us but pleasing and acceptable to God only for his sake Such Dependance the Distinguishing Character of a true Christian And now this I take to be the grand distinguishing Character of Christianity which ought therefore never to be omitted when we pretend to give a full Account thereof As to a good Moral Life some Pagans did arrive to great degrees in Vertue such as I wish may not rise in Judgment against us Christians now a-days and as for their acting this upon good Principles I can hardly imagine that those who had such noble and worthy Thoughts of God and of their own Souls and who plac'd their Happiness in Purity and Uprightness were so much wanting in that Ingredient also of Virtue viz. The acting it upon good Principles as some do think They seem to me only to have wanted the Knowledge and Belief of some more and better Principles which we do enjoy to render their Virtue compleat in that respect also But that the best of our Performances are so imperfect that it was thought requisite in the Divine Wisdom that the Son of God should become a Sacrifice to expiate their Guilt and a Mediator with his Father to obtain their Acceptance is what the proud Hearts of natural Men never thought of and no Religion but the Christian ever taught But on the contrary when they had done well they did proudly over-value it and did arrogantly challenge the Reward not as of Grace but of Debt Dependance upon Christ necessary to take down an arrogant Conceit of our own Righteousness a Temper of Mind most displeasing to God And therefore to take down this proud and arrogant Presumption in us so natural to Man and so dishonourable to God together with his Design of making us Holy it was withal God's Intent by such a Dispensation of his Mercies as is given us in the Gospel to create in us such a Reliance and Dependance upon Christ for Salvation as to expect it not on the account of our own holy Performance but in the Vertue of his Mediation with the Father for us for so it is written 1 Cor. 1.29 30 31. That to the end that no flesh may glory in God's presence Jesus Christ is by him made to us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption that so he that glorieth might glory in the Lord. And indeed it does exceedingly tend to the praise and glory of his Grace that he hath made us accepted in the Beloved as it is said in Eph. 1.6 This does eminently set forth the exceeding Lustre of his Mercy towards us in the Gospel that our imperfect if sincere Obedience shall be accepted through the Mediation of Christ It does utterly exclude Boasting and all occasions of proud Reflections on our Parts as if so mean an Obedience as ours could deserve such infinite Rewards as are made over to us in the Gospel a Temper of Mind which as it is very apt to get Entertainment in our Souls so ought of all things to be supprest within us And thus I have given you a larger account of the Nature of the Christian Religion than otherwise I should have done that I might clear the way towards coming to the Knowledge of those Fundamental Principles thereof which I told you are the proper Matter of a Christian Catechism And now answerably hereunto The Nature of fundamental Principles the fundamental Principles of our Religion must be such Doctrines as being well understood and throughly believ'd do most powerfully and forcibly perswade and move Men to be thus Religious as to tend to destroy the Power of Sin to mortify our Lusts and all wicked Inclinations within us to render us pious and devout towards God just and charitable and peaceable Neighbours and sober chast and orderly Livers in this World And which shall
and why It is not only from God's Decree or established Law to the contrary that he cannot but also from the utter incapacity of his Nature as corrupt Wherefore all the Vessels of Mercy are such as God aforehand prepares unto glory Rom. 9.23 They are such as are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Col. 1.12 Such as God hath wrought for the self same thing 2 Cor. 5.5 So that as I said there is a necessity in the nature of the thing that if God would design the Restoration of the Nature of Man to Happiness that in order thereto he should design a Restoration of it to Holiness as indeed he hath He hath chosen us to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit 2 Thes 2.13 And therefore the end of Christ's great undertaking for the Redemption and Restoration of Man is described by his saving his People from their sins By his redeeming them from all iniquity and purifying to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works By his washing and sanctifying of them that he might present them to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing That this was the design of God's Promise to Abraham appears in that at the very first it was propounded to him by way of Motive to quit the Idolatry of his Fathers and the evil Customes of his Country for they served other Gods Josh 24.2 Get thee out of thy Country and from thy Kindred and from thy Father's house and I will make of thee a great Nation and thou shalt be a blessing and in thee shall all the Families of the Earth be blessed Gen. 12.1 2 3. In which God had a farther design than to reform Abraham only His design in him and by him was to set on foot the Reformation of the World and the recovering the Nations thereof from the dregs of Idolatry into which they were sunk And therefore God said unto him Thou shall be a Blessing And this he designed not only in giving him a numerous Issue and making them a great Nation whose Education in the Worship of the true God was founded in Abraham but also in making both him and them eminent Examples of his special favour in the sight of the Nations by which they might see how much better it was to serve the God of Abraham than the Gods of the Nations And thereby to invite and draw them from their Idolatry Superstition and Ungodliness to Worship and Serve the true God And God in promising to Abraham both the Messias in his Seed and also that he would bless them that should bless him and curse them that should curse him and that his Seed should possess the gate of his Enemies had it should seem this in design viz. to encourage and quicken them to a holy Life Luke 1.72 73 74 75. To perform the Mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember his holy Covenant The Oath which he sware to our Father Abraham that he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life But besides all this considering that the Promise made to Abraham was the New-Covenant as it was then exhibited as I have shewed before the benefits therein promised had a proper tendency in them to restore Man again to a likeness to God in the Moral perfections of his Nature For the great and precious Promises contained in the New Covenant as such are given for this very end that by them we might be partakers of a Divine Nature the glory whereof is knowledge purity and charity 2 Pet. 1.4 And for God by such Promise to make overtures unto Man of Love and Good-will and of desires of Reconciliation is the direct way and method of recovering faln Man from a state of enmity against God to a mind reconciled to him to think well of him to love him and delight in him For we love him because he first loved us 1 Joh. 4.19 And God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and how by not imputing their trespasses to them but being willing upon their repentance and returning to their duty to forgive them 2 Cor. 5.19 God useth the same way of overcoming Mans enmity against him which he hath taught us to use to overcome Mans enmity against us and that is by overcoming their evil with our good Rom. 12.21 David dealing so with Saul though a bitter Enemy melted him into Tears and made him cry Is this thy voice my son David 1 Sam. 24.16 And to whom much is forgiven the same Person loveth much Luke 7. 42 47. And if God by these methods do once recover Mans love to him he will quickly recover him to his loyalty and duty of which Love is the proper Source and Spring If a Man love me he will keep my Words Joh. 14.23 Now that God's Promise to Abraham did contain expressions of wonderful grace and love and consequently what is most apt to beget in Man a love to God again and all the desireable effects of it will appear if we consider the special benefits comprehended in that Promise which is the third thing now to be considered Sect. 3. The special benefits contained in the Promise made to Abraham were such as these 1. It contained a Promise of the Messias a Promise of sending Christ into the World and that he should come of his Seed In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Gen. 12.3 and 18.18 and 22.18 which Seed is Christ as is said Gal. 3.16 And in this Promise of sending Christ were implyed the things he was sent for the things by which he should bless the World as his Death and Resurrection and what else pertained to his Mediatory Office because these are the things by which the Nations of the Earth became blessed in him which was the thing expresly promised That such things were implyed in the Promise appears not only by the reason of the thing but also from St. Paul's Testimony Acts 13.32 33. We declare unto you glad tidings how that the Promise which was made unto the Fathers God hath fulfilled the same unto us their Children in that he hath raised up Jesus again I do not say that Abraham from a Promise that was but so generally expressed as that was could apprehend in particular what the Messias should both do and suffer though they were wrapt up in it He apprehended so much by it in general that God Would send the Messias into the World and that he would send him upon such terms as that his coming should be matter of great benefit to the World Abraham had such a prospect of this though at that distance as made him rejoyce and be glad So saith our Saviour himself John 8.56 Your Father Abraham rejoyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad And the Promise
precious Promises is the way of recovering Man again to a participation of the Divine Nature as I have shewed it is then the Promise of God to Abraham which was expressive of the greatest Grace and Love and contained in it Promises than which there are not materially greater nor more precious was a wise and gracious contrivance of God to recover Man to a likeness to himself wherein the glory and perfection of his Nature did first consist Sect. 4 The next thing to be considered is the extent of the Promise of God to Abraham The greatness of God's Love and Good-will was not expressed only in the greatness of the benefits promised to Abraham but also in the extent of the Promise reaching not only to the Jewish People and their Proselytes to which another Covenant was restrained but even to all Nations of the Earth Gen. 12.3 and 22.18 Which shews it to be of the same nature with the general Promise in the Gospel though it was not so intelligible then as it is since made by the Gospel But God we see so loved the world as first to promise and after to give his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3.16 Christ gave his life for the life of the world Joh. 6.8 He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world 1 Joh. 2.2 He gave himself a ransom for all 1 Tim. 2.6 And tasted death for every man Heb. 2.9 Sect. 5. Consider we in the next place the Security given by God for the performance of his Promise to Abraham and his Seed For because men knowing how ill they have deserved from God having made themsâ—lves Enemies to him would be apt to question whether there were indeed so much Love and Good-will in God to them as the greatness of his Promise did import therefore God to remove all jealousie of this nature and to give them the greatest security and assurance he could of the reality of his intentions and of his heart and good-will towards them confirmed his Promise by an Oath swearing by himself because he could swear by no greater And this he did that they to whom the Promise did extend might have strong consolation from God such as might work in them strong and vigorous affections to him such as were in Abraham through which he was wrought to an entire resignation of himself to God and to his will and by which he was denominated the Friend of God Heb. 6.17 28. Wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by an Oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us Sect. 6. The next thing I have to shew is That this Promise of God to Abraham was Conditional If the Promise of sending Christ was Absolute yet the actual collation of the great benefit of Remission of Sin and Eternal Life by him was not promised but upon condition of Faith and Repentance as appears by the Scriptures frequent explanation of the general Promise Abraham believed in the Lord and it was counted unto him for righteousness Gen. 15.6 If Abraham had not believed God he had not been justified notwithstanding the Promise So that this Justification depended as well upon his performing the condition of the Promise as upon the Promise it self And when God said to Abraham Walk before me and be thou upright and I will make a Covenant with thee Gen. 17.1 The Lord made Abraham's upright walking before him the condition of his keeping as well as making Covenant with him Besides it is apparent that God made Circumcision to be the Covenant to be kept on Abraham's and his Seed's part as the condition of what God had promised on his part Gen. 17.4 7 10. As for me my Covenant is with thee c. Thou shalt keep my Covenant therefore thou and thy Seed after thee in their generations And this is the Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you every Man-child among you shall be circumcised By which is to be understood not so much Circumcision in the Flesh as in the Spirit as I shall shew anon And the truth is it would not suit with God's end and design in his Covenant of restoring Man to the rectitude of his Nature mentioned before to do it without Man's endeavours in the use and exercise of his natural faculties of Understanding and Will as he is a rational Creature and free Agent For God works that change in Man's nature designed in his New Law or Covenant not meerly Physically but Morally also 1. By proposing great and important Truths to his Mind and Understanding and in assisting this natural faculty in considering how his happiness is concerned in that which is proposed in case it should prove true and in considering likewise what reason there is to believe that it is true and in discerning the truth of it upon consideration And 2. By proposing Motives to the Will to incline it to follow the dictates of the enlightned mind and by assisting the Will to be governed thereby So that Man himself is not wholly passive in this change or what goes to the making of it but is so far active in it as to denominate what he doth by God's assistance to be his own act So that the Man is said to Believe to Repent to obey when he doth believe repent and Obey For so he is every where in Scripture said to do God doth not repent in Man but Man repents through his grace and assistance And therefore God's grace and Man's endeavours in working this change are very conâ—istent Phil. 2.12 13. Work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure If Man do but what he can do through the assistance of God's common Providence in whom we Live and Move and have our Being God is most ready through his good Pleasure or out of the goodness of his will and pleasure to work in him both to will and to do savingly to carry the work quite thorow Otherwise if there were nothing that Man could do in a way of common Providence towards his Salvation why should he be exhorted and perswaded to do that which yet will not be done to effect and quite through without the Assistâ—nce of God's Grace and good Spirit The Co-operation of God's grace with Man's endeavours in this change in the nature of Man which is necessary to his Salvation is a Doctrine that lies very fair and plain in the Scriptures And therefore Men are called upon to make themselves new hearts Ezek. 18.31 Make you a new Heart and a new Spirit for why will ye dye O house of Israel And God is said to make them new hearts also Ezek.
practical Faith which I have described eyes as well the condition upon which the saving Benefits are promised through Christ as the Promise it self of those benefits and expects the enjoyment of those benefits upon God's Promise and Christ's Purchase no otherwise than as he with the assistance of God's Grace is careful to perform the Condition Which belief of his makes him as careful to perform the Condition in discharge of his own duty therein as ever he hopes to enjoy the promised Pardon and Salvation by Christ and to escape the Damnation threatned against those who perform not the condition So that a Man by this practical Faith belives one part of God's Declaration in the Gospel as well as the other and his own duty to be as well necessary to his Justification as the condition appointed by God as the Grace of God through Christ it self is upon another account And by this belief he is effectually moved as well to act in a way of duty to God as to expect mercy from him considering how his Happiness is concerned in both when he hath the whole of God's Declaration in all the parts taken together in prospect as the Object of his Faith When he hears that God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life When he hears that God hath set forth Christ to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood And when he hears again that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them he believes all this to be true as coming from God that cannot lye and accordingly is incouraged to hope in God's Mercy and is comforted thereby But then when he hears again that except we repent we shall all perish that except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God That without holiness no man shall see the Lord and that the pure in heart shall see God That not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of the Father which is in Heaven That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angles in flaming fire to render vengeance to all those that know not God and which obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ But that he is the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him I say when he hears all this he as verily believes this part of God's Declaration in the Gospel to be the faithful and true Sayings of God as he acounted the other to be And accordingly doth as seriously and sincerely set upon the Work of Repentance and as carefully useth God's appointed means for the changing of his Heart and renewing of his Nature for the purifying of himself as God is pure and doth as carefully obey all the Precepts of the Gospel as he hopes upon the account of Christ's Sufferings and God's Promise to be Pardoned and Saved as beliving that those Benefits are neither promised nor can be obtained but in this way of performing the Condition And I doubt not to say that this practical Faith as it respects God's Declaration touching Man's duty in conjunction with his own Grace in Christ is where the Gospel comes the only saving justifying Faith 3. Come we now to shew Reason why Faith is made the Condition of the Promise 1. It is of Faith that it might be of Grace saith the Apostle Rom. 4.16 It is that the Grace of God to miserable Men might the more shew it self For so it doth not only in promising unspeakably great things through Christ to Man who is not only undeserving but illdeserving also but also in that these are promised upon such a possible practical easie Condition as Faith is considering the means and assistance promised by God to work it And considering also that the Promise is made to the truth unfeignedness and sincerity and not to perfection of Faith Repentance and new Obedience in their utmost degree So that Christ might well say my Yoke is easie and my Burden light Matth. 11.30 Whereas the old way of promising the Inheritance on the Law-terms would have been to have promised it upon impossible conditions as the case now is with fallen Man And if God should have promised never so great things to Man in his impotent and miserable state upon an impossible condition he would have been so far from manifesting abundance of Grace Compassion and Love to him in that condition as that he would rather have seemed to insult over him in it And therefore if the Promise should have run upon the Law-terms and not of Faith it would utterly have frustrated God's design of manifesting his Grace to Man and of recovering Man's Love and Loyalty to him thereby Rom. 4.14 If they which are of the Law be Heirs Faith is made void and the Promise made of none effect But it is of Faith that it might be by Grace to the end the Promise might be sure to all the Seed not to that only which is of the Law but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham ver 16. 2. This may be another reason why such a Faith as I have described is made the condition of the Covenant of Salvation viz. Because it best answers God's design in this Covenant of renewing the Nature of Man in Holiness and Righteousness and by that means restoring it to Happiness For by Faith Men are born of God or made the Children of God Gal. 3.26 Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Joh. 1.12 13. As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to those that believe on his Name Which are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Now to be born of God or which is the same to be made the Child of God is to have ones Nature restored to the likeness of God in which Man was first made and is the same thing with that which is called Regeneration and a being born again and a new Creature Which new Creature or the Nature of Mâ—n renewed by Faith is also called the new Man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephes 4.24 To be born again is to have the Faculties of Mans Nature restored to a rectitude in their motions and operations in reference both to God and Man to be restored to their proper moral use for which they were made It is in a word that which is called a being made partakers of a Divine Nature For those which are begotten of God are begotten in or to his likeness Men can adopt those which are not their natural Children to inherit their Estates but they cannot adopt them to a participation of their Moral Endowments But God adopts his Children to a participation with him in the
Inheritance by adopting them to a participation of the Moral Perfections of his Nature that is to a consimilitude to him in them And this we say is done by Faith that is by Faith in God and by Faith in his Word For in order of Nature God is first believed to be a God of Truth before his Word is believed to be the Word of Truth And the creditableness of his Word depends upon the knowledge or belief or the fidelity of his Nature And this Truth of God and of his Word is the immediate Object of Faith By Faith a Man believes that to be true which God reveals or declares as his Mind and Will let the Import of it be what it will But then this Faith operates upon the Will and Affections according to the Tenour and Import of that which is Revealed If it be matter of sad import it works a hatred to him that threatens it and a fear of the thing threatned if it be apprehended to proceed from an enemy And this is the effect of the Faith of Devils who believe and hate God who believe and tremble Jam. 2.19 But if that which is Revealed by God and Believed by Man betoken unspeakable love and good-will in God to Man and matter of the greatest benefit to him as a proof of such love then it worketh love to him that expresseth such love for Faith worketh by Love Gal. 5.6 and a longing desire after the promised benefit And as the Soul grows more and more in love with God because of his love in love with his Blessed Nature and Divine Perfections such as are his Love and Goodness Truth and Faithfulness Purity and Patience Mercifulness and readiness to Forgive which render him altogether lovely so it contracts a likeness to God in these upon the Soul and so changes and renews the Moral habit and constitution of the Soul and consequently the whole Life There is an aptness and promptness in Men to imitate that in others and so in God for which they love them And frequent imitating Acts beget Habits Custom changing Nature And hence it is that through Faith we are made partakers of a Divine Nature We all with open face beholding as in a Glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord 2. Cor. 3.18 This beholding the glory of the Lord is by Faith For we walk by Faith and not by sight 2. Cor. 5.7 and by it Moses saw him who is invisible Heb. 11.27 And the medium by which this Prospect is taken is the Gospel by which the Lord in his lovely Perfections is now openly revealed And Faith being from time to time busied in beholding of and conversing with these Perfections it transforms the Soul into the same Image or likeness from glory to glory that is gradually as by the Spirit of the Lord that is through the co-operation of God's Spirit with Man's Faith To comprehend the breadth length depth and heighth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge is the way to be filled with all the fullness of God by transcribing all his imitable Perfections upon the Soul Ephes 3.18 19. And it is by virtue of their Relation to Christ and being thus begotten and born of God and made partakers of a new Nature conformable to God's that Men can with confidence call God Father This blessed effect of God's Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption by which they cry Abba Father And it is this new Nature that is the Spring and Fountain of a good Life of all pious and virtuous Actions As it is said of God Thou art good and dost good so it is true of all those that are born of him A good Man out of the good treasure of his heart thus renewed bringeth forth good fruit The Tree being good the Fruit will be good And as this new Creature groweth up to strength and maturity so doing of good and acting worthily will become natural and pleasant to him in whom it is To such an one the Commandments of God are not grievous but he will be able in some good measure to say I delight to do thy will O God yea thy Law is in my heart And for sin it being contrary to this New Nature there is a kind of Moral Impotency in him in whom it is to commit sin He cannot sin because he is born of God 1 Joh. 3.9 Or if such an one be overtaken in a fault it will work a disturbance in the Soul just as that will in the Stomach which a Man hath eaten against which he hath an antipathy in Nature But as for such as perform Religious Duties and do things materially good only by the strength of extrinsecal Motives and not from an inward Principle of this New Nature or love to the things themselves to such those Actions being unnatural become grievous and burdensome and will be continued in no longer than those Motives continue in their strength Sect. 8. The last thing I proposed to consider about God's Promise to Abraham is What we are to understand by God's counting Abraham's Faith to him for Righteousness And I take it to signifie thus much That God in a way of special Grace or by virtue of a New Law of Grace and Favour which was established by God in Christ Gal. 3.17 that is in reference to what Christ was to do and suffer in time then to come did reckon his Practical Faith to him for Righteousness that is that which in the eye of the New Law should pass in his estimation for Righteousness subordinate to Christ's Righteousness which procured this Grant or Law For otherwise Faith neither as it is the Condition of the Promise of Remission of Sin through Christ nor as it works Repentance for sins past or sincere Obedience for time to come is Righteousness in the Eye of the Original Law For that accounts no Man that hath though but once transgressed it to be Righteous either upon the account of anothers suffering for his sin or his own Repentance or sincere imperfect Obedience but Curseth every Man that from first to last continueth not in all things which are contained in that Law But it is as I said an Act of God's special Favour and by virtue of his New Law of Grace and as it is established in Christ that such a Faith as I have described comes to be reckoned or imputed to a Man for Righteousness and through God's imputing it for Righteousness to stand a Man in the same if not in better stead as to his Eternal Concerns as a perfect fulfilling of the Original Law from first to last would have done Christ's Righteousness being presupposed the only Meritorious Cause of this Grant or Covenant And thus indeed the Faith which I have described is a Man's Righteousness in the Eye of this New Law because it is summarily all that is required of him himself to make him capable
of the subject-matter of their Epistles did differ just as the Errors they engaged against did differ The Errors of the unbelieving Jews consisting much in denying Justification to be by Christ and Faith in him and in placing it in their own Works of Circumcising Sacrificing and other Mosaical Observations And St. Paul designing in some of his Epistles to antidote the Christians against the Infection of them and to establish them in the saving Doctrine of the Gospel was led of course to bend his Discourse in great part against Justification by Works of the Law and on the contrary to assert it to be by Faith in Christ in his Death and in his Doctrine without those Works Whereas St. James having to do in his Epistle with such as professed the Christian Faith and Justification by it but erring dangerously about the nature of Faith as justifying thinking that opinionative Faith would save them though destitute of a real change in the moral frame and constitution of their Souls and of a holy Life Hereupon it became in a manner as necessary for him to plead the Renovation of Man's Nature and Evangelical Obedience to be some way necessary unto Justification as it was for St. Paul to contend for Justification by Faith without the deeds of the Law And therefore though their Doctrines in this respect did in great part differ yet they did not differ as Truth differs from Error nor as opposites but only as one Truth differs from another For otherwise when St. Paul had to do with the like Erroneous and Scandalous Christians as those were which St. James expostulated the matter with When he had to do with such as had a form of Godliness but denyed the power thereof he could and did decry a reprobate Faith and plead the necessity of a Faith that is unfeighned and of a holy Life as well as St. James as appears in part by what was said in the former Chapter and will I doubt not be made sufficiently evident in this In order whereto I shall recommend to consideration these ten things 1. That Works of Evangelical Obedience are never in Scripture opposed to God's Grace 2. That St. Paul in speaking against Justification by Works gives sufficient Caution not to be understood thereby to speak any thing against Evangelical Obedience in reference thereto 3. That Regeneration or the New Creature as including Evangelical Obedience is opposed to Works in the business of Man's Justification as well as Faith is and as well as the Grace of God it self is 4. That Evangelical Obedience as well as Faith and together with Faith is opposed to the Works of the Law in reference to Justification 5. That Evangelical Obedience alone is opposed to the Works of the Law 6. Faith it self is an Act of Evangelical Obedience 7. By Evangelical Obedience Christians come to have a Right to Salvation 8. The Promise of benefit by the Blood of Christ is made to Evangelical Obedience 9. Repentance And 10. Forgiving Injuries are both Acts of Evangelical Obedience without which a Man cannot be justifyed And if these things be made out they will I think amount to such a demonstration as that we cannot well desire a clearer or fuller proof that St. Paul together with others the Apostles taught Justification by Evangelical Obedience as the effect of Faith as well as St. James 1. The Works of Evangelical Obedience as the effects of Faith and Regeneration by Faith are never in St. Paul's Epistles or any other the holy Scriptures opposed to God's Grace in reference to Justification and Salvation Works and Grace indeed are opposed to each other But then by Works we are to understand either Works antecedent to Conversion or as they are denied to merit at the hands of God Or the Works of the Law of Moses as Erroneously contended for by the Jews Or the Works of the Law as Typical and as opposed to things Typify'd Or the Works of the Law as the Law is in its rigour opposed to the milder Oeconomy of the Gospel But the Works of Evangelical Obedience are never opposed to Grace no more than Faith it self is And there is no reason why they should because Evangelical Obedience is the effect of Divine Grace as well as Faith it self is and tends to the praise of it and is accepted and will be rewarded through Grace Contrary hereunto those words in Titus 3.5 Not by works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us are wont to be alledged to prove that Works after Conversion as well as those before are opposed to the Mercy of God in the saving of Men. But whether this be duly collected from these words will best appear by opening the scope and meaning of the words with the Context The words in the 3 4 and 5 Verses are these For we our selves also were sometimes foolish serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards Man appeared Not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost By their being Saved here is meant their being rescued and delivered from their sinful state mentioned vers 3. In that this is said to be done not by Works of Righteousness which they had done but according to God's Mercy The plain meaning I doubt not is that this change of their condition and deliverance from their sinful state was not effected or so much as begun among them by any Reformation of their own till the Gospel came to work it which is meant by the appearing of the Kindness and Love of God vers 4. and is of like import with that Chap. 2.11 12. which God of his Mercy and not of their Desert sent among them to that end And if this be the meaning of the words the Apostle was far from intending by Works of Righteousness in this place Works after Conversion I might rather well argue on the contrary from this place That Baptism which is an act of Evangelical Obedience in the Person Baptized and Regeneration which is Evangelical Obedience in the Root and Principle are together with the Mercy of God and as subordinate to it opposed to the Works of Righteousness here mentioned in the Work of Salvation For it is probable that by the washing of Regeneration here is meant Baptism as the Figure of Regeneration and by the Renewing of the Holy Ghost Regeneration it self By both which as subordinate to God's Mercy therein they were said to be saved and not by the Works of Righteousness which they had done before these There is another place in 2 Tim. 2.9 which is wont to be urged with this to Titus to the same purpose But it being of the same nature with this the same Answer may serve both with a little variation 2. St.
in perfecting holiness in the fear of God And therefore there is great need for those that are Spiritual Guides to the People to insist much upon the necessity of Repentance Regeneration and a holy Life as well as Faith in order to their being justified and saved by Christ Jesus For the People yea the better sort of them stand most in need as of being well-grounded touching the Truth of the Christian Religion so especially of having the Doctrines of Morality inculcated upon them the Precepts of the Gospel being almost all of that Nature thought some speak diminutively of moral Preaching and tend to the perfecting of the Nature of Man in regulating the Internal Operations of the Soul and the External Actions of Life in reference both to God and Man our Selves and Others The recovering of Men to which is God's great Design by the Gospel in order to their being made perfectly Happy at last as I have shewed in Chap. 1. There is indeed an absolute necessity of Believing the Gospel in order to Christian Practice And therefore our blessed Saviour did not only Preach the necessity of Faith in him and his Doctrine but also wrought abundance of Miracles to beget this Faith in Men. And yet he knowing the great danger of Men's miscarrying in point of Morality in the disposition of Soul and actions of Life insisted chiefly in his Preaching upon Doctrines of that nature as you may see in his Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere He taught the necessity of being born again Of making the Tree good that the Fruit might be good And to inforce this Doctrine of his he was not wont to tell his Auditors that every Man shall be Rewarded according to his Belief but that when the Son of Man shall come every Man shall be rewarded according to his Works That those that have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life and those that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation That by their words they shall be justified which are no more Faith than Works are and by Their words they shall be condemned That in the Great Day of the Tryal of all Nations every Man shall be Acquitted or Condemned according to the Good they have done or neglected to do Mat. 25 And that then not every Man that had Faith enough to Cry Lord Lord or to Prophesie cast out Devils or do wonders in his Name shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but such and such only as have done the will of his Father Great need there is therefore of Peoples examining themselves impartially and of being often admonished to take heed lest they mistake and decâ—ive themselves in the nature of Religion and in what is absâ—lutely necessary to be done on their part â—ecause Men are very aâ—t to flatter and deceive themselves in that and to think that whâ—n their Faith is right in the object of it as wâ—en they â—elieve in the true God and in his Son Jesus Christ and expect Salvation by him alone that then they are true Believers and such as shall be saved especially if therewith they joyn the frequenting of God's Ordinances and the paring off of some of the grosser Enormities of their Lives though in the mean while they make no Conscience of cleansing their Hearts and governing their Spirits of subduing their Passions and inordinate Affections and of bridling the Tongue For this cause it is that Christians are so often in Scripture cautioned to take heed lest they should be deceived Be not deceived God is not mocked For whatsoever a Man sows that also shall he reap Gal. 6.7 8. Little Children let no Man deceive you He that doth Righteousness is Righteous even as he is Righteous 1 Joh. 3.7 1 Cor. 6.9 Ephes 5.6 FINIS THE CONTENTS Of The Discourse of the Nature Ends and Difference of the Two Covenants INTRODUCTION THE Principal cause why the Jews rejected Christ and his Gospel To Remove which the Apostle St. Paul used various reasonings wherein some things are hard to be Vnderstood Which others mistaking ran into a Contrary extream The method which the Author proposes to remove mistakes CHAP. I. The Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham What is necessary to open the Nature of it Sect. 1. That it 's of the same Nature with the New Covenant tho' they differ in the Administration For First The Covenant delivered to Abraham was confirmed by Christ as well as the Gospel Secondly the Gospel was Preached to Abraham Thirdly he was Justified by Faith and therefore by a New Covenant Fourthly St. Paul Argues against the Jews from Abraham's being Justified by Faith That Abraham had not a distinct Notion of all that was imply'd in the Promise What the New Covenant is namely a New Law by way of Remedy against the Rigour and Extreamity of the Law of Nature under which Man was Created Page 1. 2. 3. This proved and Reasons for it p. 4. Sect. 2. God's design in the New Covenant or Promise made to Abraham next to his own Glory was the Recovery of Humane Nature from its degenerate State to a State of Holyness without which no Happiness p. 4. and 5. This proved p. 6. Sect. 3. The Benefits contain'd in the Promise made to Abraham First of sending the Messias and what a benefit this was p. 7. and 8. Secondly a Promise of Remission of Sin to all who would Believe in him Repent and become sincerely Obedient for the future ibid. Thirdly A Promise of Divine Assistance to Men in their faithful endeavours tho' tacitly ibid. Fourthly a Promise of Eternal Life tho' implicitly ibid. Sect. 4. The Extent of God's Promise to Abraham p. 9. That it did extend to all Nations of the Earth p. 10. Sect. 5. The Security given by God for the Performance of the Promise made to Abraham p. 10. The Reason why God gave such a Security ibid. Sect 6. That the Promise made to Abraham was Conditional ibid. That Repentance and Faith were to be performed by Man as his part of the Covenant p. 11. The Reason of this ibid. How God Works that change in Man's Nature designed in the New Covenant First by proposing important Truths to his Vnderstanding Secondly By proposing Motives to the Will to incline it to follow the Dictates of the Mind p. 12. Sect. 7. That the Condition of the Promise made to Abraham was a practical Faith p. 13. The Nature of Abraham's Faith p. 14 The difference of believing God and believing in God ibid. A Description of Faith in General ibid. Faith Strictly taken is an Assent unto the Truth of any proposiion upon the Credit of the Speaker ibid. Yet Saving Faith is of a more Comprehensive Nature If God 's Threatnings against Sinners be taken in the definition will be this Faith is such a hearty Belief of God's Declaration concerning his own Grace and Displeasure and Man's Duty as doth effectually cause a Man to expect from God and to act
Domestick Head viz. the Husband in respect of the Wife and so likewise is Christ the Head of the Church and he is the Saviour of the Body Eph. 5.23 And indeed the Holy Spirit does love to Represent him as such a Head as also by the Title of a Shepherd over the Flock to signify the Gentleness of his Government and the Sweetness and Goodness of his Laws tending all for the Good of those he Governs And Thirdly There is the Natural Head of the Body which is the Fountain of Life and Spirit from whence it is deriv'd into all the Parts of the Body to enable and enliven all the Members thereof to discharge their several Offices and Duties And in Allusion to this Christ the Mystical Head of the Church is Christ said to be the Mystical Head of the Church from whom all the Body by Joynts and Bands having Nourishment ministred increaseth with the Increase of God Col. 2.19 And thus I have at length sufficiently in order to my Design of Explaining this Article Wherein I was made a Member of Christ shew'd you What kind of Body the Church of Christ is And by the By from what has been said it does appear That the Church of Christ is a Spiritual Kingdom put up in the World by God The Church of Christ a Spiritual Kingdom on purpose to reduce Man to his due Allegiance to his Maker and to destroy the Dominion of Satan which he had so long Usurpt over Mankind It is a Kingdom as it consists of inferior Governours and Subjects combin'd together by special Laws of Allegiance to the Sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords and by Priviledges granted by that Supreme Head and Governour to such his Subjects and therefore it is so often in the Scripture call'd a Kingdom But you see withal it is a Spiritual Kingdom by the Nature and Design of which God is to Rule in the Hearts and Spirits of Men and therefore it is all over the New Testament call'd the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of Christ For Christ does Reign and Rule therein by his Gospel as the Laws of that Kingdom over the Spirits of Men and those are the People or Subjects of this Kingdom who own him for their King and his Gospel for the Laws of this Kingdom and who do give themselves up wholly both Body Soul and Spirit to be Governed by those Laws And the Church is also often call'd in the Holy Scripture the Kingdom of Heaven for indeed it is not a Kingdom of this World supported with outward State and armed Forces in order to promote and to secure from those who would Invade 'em our temporal Interests If my Kingdom were of this World then would my Servants fight that I should not be deliver'd to the Jews Joh. 18.36 but it is a Kingdom or Society of Men associated together and Listed to Fight under Christ the Great Captain of our Salvation against much more formidable Enemies than any Earthly Potentates Even against Principalities and Powers against the Rulers of the Darkness of this World against spiritual Wickedness in high Places Eph. 6.12 that is against the Devil and his wicked Angels who would despoil us of our Heavenly Inheritance Listed I say to fight under Jesus Christ the Great Captain of our Salvation for so he is call'd Heb. 2.10 and to our Comfort who are to fight under him he has already Spoiled these Principalities and Powers and has made a shew of them openly upon the Cross triumphing over them in it Col. 2.15 So that our Work is in a great measure already done under his Conduct for he himself has divested the Devils of much of their Power he has thrown 'em out of their Temples silenc'd their Oracles and does daily by his Assistances enable us to Foil ' em So that the Church of Christ you see is a Spiritual Kingdom But yet notwithstanding that this Society the Church But yet notwithstanding a Visible Society is a Spiritual Kingdom both as its Laws are Spiritual reaching to the Government of the Inward Man and also as it is a Body Listed under a Spiritual King to fight against Spiritual Enemies Yet however from what has been said it does appear that the Church or Kingdom of Christ is a Visible Society of Men consisting of such who make an Outward and Visible Profession of Allegiance to Christ having visibly by an Outward Sacrament Enter'd into Covenant with him and being such as do visibly Communicate together in his Holy Ordinances And therefore it is not only of such who by an inward real and true Faith are United to Christ that the Church and Kingdom of God in this World does consist but of all those outward Professors of Christianity who by the Sacrament of Baptism have Enter'd into Covenant with God Such indeed as besides an outward Covenanting which is certainly necessary are Renew'd withal to the Image of God in Knowledge Righteousness and true Holiness are the only Persons of which the Invisible Church as it is call'd does consist in this World these perhaps being meant by the Little Flock Luk. 12.32 and of such only will the whole Church in the World to come be made up being of The many that are Called the few that are Chosen Matth. 20.16 But if we consider the Church of Christ in its fully Latitude and in that imperfect State wherein it now is on this side Heaven many Hypocrites and bad Men as well as truly sincere and good Christians do belong to it for the Church of Christ here on Earth is compar'd Matth. 13.24 25. to a Field which contains Wheat and Tares growing up together and to a Net ver 47. wherein there are Fish both good and bad Such you see is the Nature and Temper of that Body of Christ his Church concerning which I thought it requisite to give you a more than ordinary full account even in this place before we come to the Article I believe the Holy Catholick Church because that otherwise it cannot be so well apprehended What it is to be a Member of Christ's Church Secondly What it is to be a Member of Christ's Church which now the way being so far clear'd I shall in few words shew you And from what has been said it does easily now appear that a true Member of the Church of Christ is one who belongs to that Society of Christians which consists of Lawful Governours and Pastors and of the People of God committed to their Charge the one Ministring in Holy Things and the other Partaking thereof at their Hands He is not a Member of that narrow and enclos'd Society of Worshipers the Jewish Synagogue who by their peculiar Rites and Ways of Worship were confin'd to one Nation and Place no more than he is one of the Gentile World at large but he is One who either himself was call'd or is descended of those who were call'd from out of the wicked World
Observe his different Policies at this Day And in learned and Philosophical Ages he is as shy in appearing lest he should destroy the prevailing Sadducism Now we live in a Learned and Inquisitive Age wherein Men are naturally very suspicious and not easy to believe what they do not see And therefore partly through such an incredulous Temper of Mind and partly through a Spirit of Atheism and Sadducism now Reigning many like the Sadducees of Old will Believe no Spirits And therefore now we do very seldom hear of any Apparition and the Atheist cannot not obtain One tho' he desires it and would go many Miles to see One. The Reason is plain Should the Devil appear to him it would convince him there are those Invisible Powers which now he denies and therefore Satan who is so Politick will be as backward to appear now as he was forward then Because it is as much his Interest to detain Men in Atheism and Sadducism in this as in Superstition in former Ages Fourthly IV. As to the skilfulness of the Seedsman Satan is wonderfully cunning in makeing choice of fit and proper Instruments and in furnishing those with the proper Arts of Deceiving and with suitable Qualities whom he employs to sow the Seed of corrupt Doctrine in the Souls of men And that there may be nothing wanting to compleat his Delusions Satan is wonderfully cunning in making choice of fit and proper Instruments and in furnishing those out both with all the plausible Arts of Deceiving and also with suitable Qualities whom he employs to sow the Tares of corrupt Doctrines in the Souls of Men. This the Holy Spirit is particularly careful to Inform us of and to Forewarn us against 'em especially 2 Cor. 11.14 where the Apostle tells us That As Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of Light which he is when under the plausible Appearance and Colour of Advancing God's Honour in some of his Attributes and of setting up Gospel-Truths as he would have 'em taken to be he does Introduce Heresies and Vile Practices into the Church that do most effectually undermine God's Authority amongst Men and wholly Overthrow all Reverence to him So that those Teachers his Agents who do Infuse any of his false Doctrines into Men's Hearts Are deceitful Workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ ver 13. They are deceitful Workers Teaching the Doctrines of Christianity by Halves sometimes Advancing Morality and a Virtuous Life with the Neglect if not with the Contempt of and in opposition to an Orthodox and sound Faith sometimes on the other side placing all Religion in Believing aright concerning God and Christ and decrying the Interest of Good Works in our Justification before God And to the End they may be the better fitted to Deceive he is not wanting to Furnish out his Instruments with all the most plausible Arts of Deceiving And their deceitful Working is usually in the very same manner as the Devil 's was That wicked Spirit would have Tempted our Saviour desperately to throw himself down from the Pinacle of the Temple and to presume upon God's working of a Miracle to preserve him in so doing And to Encourage him therein he quotes a Text of Scripture which is in Psal 91.11 12. For he shall give his Angels charge over thee and they shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy Foot against a Stone In the Quotation of which Place of Scripture you may observe he leaves out what makes against him which are these Words To keep thee in all his ways The Words entire are He shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all his ways meaning That so long as a Man keeps himself in the Ways of God and in the Use of those due Means which he has prescrib'd he will not fail to Preserve him And in the very same manner do most Heretical Deceivers delude the World They will pretend the highest Veneration and Respect for Scripture and none are so apt to quote it for every Thing they say as they But then if you observe them they either leave out such Expressions as make against them or consider not the Scope and Meaning thereof with reference to the Context and Meaning of the fore-going and following words or they put some forc'd and violent Interpretation upon 'em not at all agreeable to the meaning thereof in that Place Thus they are Deceitful Workers And They will Transform themselves into the Apostles of Christ putting on the Garb and outward Appearance of Apostolick Vertues and Graces when they go forth into the World to disperse these their Errors Indeed Satan is careful to furnish those whom he sends out with suitable and agreeable Qualities according to the Nature of those Errors they are to sow in the World If their Business is to undermine the Faith of Christians to disparage the more mysterious Doctrines of Christianity of a Trinity of Persons in one Divine Nature Such as place all Religion in Morality shall be adorned with Humanity and of the Divinity and Satisfaction of Christ and to place the whole of the Christian Religion in Morality and a Good Life why then he will adorn his Agents with the fair and plausible Vertues of Humanity and Courtesy and Civility of Manners which are most taking amongst Persons of better Quality the likeliest Soil to sow Heterodox Opinions of that Nature in But on the other side Is it his Design to starve that Part of Christianity which consists in the Practice of moral Vertues and to Represent it all as Mystery Such as turn it all into Mystery shall be Gifted with Canting Why then his Agents shall have the Gift of Uttering themselves in Canting Phrases and obscure and dark Forms of Expressions that seem to have something of Mysteriousness in them And all they teach it shall look as if it were inspir'd being pour'd forth with mighty Noise and Vehemence accompany'd sometimes with Tremblings and Shakings as if under some strong Impulse from a Spirit within And yet to see the Crooked Windings of this Subtle Serpent And yet sometimes the Crooked Serpent by Men seeming Godly will propagate Principles extreamly Immoral you shall observe which is a wonderful Artifice of Satan even those very Persons whose Doctrines do directly tend to render an Honest and Upright Conversation very insignificant in Religion to be notwithstanding themselves very Demure and in outward Appearance Sanctify'd Persons no Swearers nor Riotous Livers and free from those gross and scandalous Immoralities which some of the Professors of a much better Religion are perhaps notoriously Guilty of insomuch that the undiscerning Part of Men do often Embrace those very Heresies which naturally and directly tend to Encourage Sin and Dishonesty and Unmercifulness And in a word To render Men secure in the Practice of any Wickedness meerly for the sake of the appearing Holiness of those Men's Lives who teach those Principles tending to
those most excellent Words of the Apostle to the Eph. 6.10 11 12. with which I shall conclude Finally Brethren be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his might Put on the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the Wiles of the Devil For we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high Places Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand in the Evil Day and having done all to stand And so goes on in several Verses shewing with what Armour you must prepare your selves wherewith to defend your Innocency against the Assaults of Satan viz. with Truth or the Knowledge of the Gospel with Righteousness Charity Faith the Hope of Salvation and the word of God And then adds as I before directed you That you must Pray always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all Perseverance THE Fourteenth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh HAVING already in order to the Explication of these Words shew'd you Who the Devil is what are his Works what is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works and how necessary it is we should absolutely do so I come now Secondly In like manner to Explain unto you What is meant by the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and to shew you in what Sence and how far you must Renounce the wicked World with its Pomps and Vanity What 's meant by the Pomps and Vanity of the wicked World and in what sence and how far we must Renounce the wicked world w th its Pomps and Vanity Three things here to be explain'd and accordingly Renounced 1. The World 2. The wicked World and 3. The Pomps and Vanity of this wicked world To Renounce the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World There is not a word here but will require some Explication As to the word Renounce indeed it may suffice what I before told you that it is of various Significations according to the Nature of the Thing to be Renounc'd by us And there being Three Things in these Words necessary to be Explain'd First The World Secondly The wicked World and Thirdly The Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World I will Expound to you the Meaning of each and will withal shew you in what sence and how far you are to Renounce every One of them And First I am to shew you what is meant by the World and in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce the World The World in Scripture does generally pass under a very bad Character and for the most part is mention'd as what does directly oppose God's Glory and our own Happiness The World a great Enemy to God's Glory and our own Happiness Thus Jam. 4.4 Know ye not that the Friendship of the World is Enmity with God and whosoever therefore will be a Friend of the World is an Enemy of God And on the contrary Gal. 6.16 St. Paul gives this Character of himself That through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ the World is Crucified unto him and he unto the World And 1 Joh. 5.4 it is universally declar'd that Whosoever is born of God overcometh the World And therefore in the Second Chapter of the same Epist 15 16. we are commanded Not to love the World neither the Things that are in the World being assur'd that If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him And indeed if we shall search throughout the whole Book of God we shall find such frequent and earnest Commands to Renounce this World and to beware of its Temptations that nothing except Satan the Ring-leader of all our Adversaries seems to be a more Mortal Enemy to the Happiness and Salvation of Mankind than this World And all this consider'd as also that it is made so material a Part of our Baptismal Covenant to Renounce as the Devil so the World I think it concerns you to be well informed what is meant both in Scripture and your Catechism by that World which you are so oblig'd to Renounce and in what sence and how far you are to Renounce it And a more nice and critical Enquiry and State of this Matter is the rather necessary because the World as hardly as it is spoke of is not absolutely and in its own Nature Evil as the Devil is for consider'd in it self it is the Creature of God and consequently very Good according to that Divine Testimony given thereunto Gen. 1.31 God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very Good And it is only Evil accidentally by our Abuse of it That therefore you may Err on neither side neither despise the Workmanship of God's Hands to the Disparagement of God's Goodness in giving us of his Creatures for our Use and Convenience nor too much Dote upon the Creature to the Neglect of the Creator which is a Degree of Idolatry I will with what Skill God shall enable me state this whole matter to you and shew you What is meant by the World and in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce it And for the more full and compleat Explication of this Point I will do it both Generally and Particularly It is to be consider'd both generally and particularly And First as to the World in General it is visible what is meant by it viz. The whole Frame of Nature which we behold with whatever is contain'd therein True it is the World is put many times in Scripture as Joh. 7.7 and often elsewhere to signify Evil Men because that the Wicked make up the greatest Part of Men in this world But this is an improper and figurative meaning of the World Evil Men being but a part of the World and in this Sence will better be consider'd by us under the next general Point to be spoken to viz. The wicked World But Matth. 4.8 and in innumerable other Places of the Scriptures by the World is meant that whole Frame of Nature which we behold and all that Variety of Creatures which it contains and is given us by the Bounty and Goodness of God for our Use and Benefit I. By the world in general is meant that whole Frame of Nature which we behold and all that variety of Creatures which it contains and is given us by the Bounty and Goodness of God for our Vse and Benefit And now the great Question will be In what Sence and how far we must Renounce the World in this Sence of the Word And there are not ordinary Mistakes about it For some shall Cry out most grievously against this World as the Author of all their Sin and Misery and therefore many have endeavour'd
to fly out of it as it were into Desarts living separate from Mankind and without the Conveniencies of Life as the Hermits of Old and into Cloysters and Monasteries as the several Orders of Monks and Friars at this Day The World in this Sence is not in it self Evil but only accidentally by Man's abuse of himself or it in the Church of Rome But certainly the World does not deserve to be so spitefully us'd as the Words and Actions of Superstitious and mistaken Men do import For to use the words of a great Man The World is certainly in it self Good and is not Evil but accidentally by Man's Abuse of himself or it It doth contain a general supply of Objects answerable to the Desires of our sensible Nature and the Exigencies and Conveniencies of it It is a great Shop full of all sorts of Wares answerable to our Wants or Conditions There is Wealth and Places and Delights for the Senses and it becomes an Enemy to us by reason only of the Disorder and Irregularity of those Lusts and Passions that are within us and by reason of the Over-value that we are apt to put upon them They are indeed Temptations but they are only Passive as the Wedge of Gold did Passively Tempt Achan but it was his own Lust and Covetousness that did him the Harm The Rock doth not strike the Ship but the Ship strikes the Rock and breaks it self Nay this World as it is not Evil in it self Consider'd in it self it is very Good and convenient to us so most certainly it is full of Goodness and Benevolence to us It supplies our Wants it is accommodate to the Exigencies and Conveniencies of our Nature it furnishes us with various Objects and Instances of the Divine Goodness Liberality Bounty of his Power and Majesty and Glory of his Wisdom Providence and Government which are so many Instructions to teach us to Know and Admâ—â—e And as it is not absolutely in it self evil so neither is it entirely to be renounc'd but being good in it self it may in some measure be desired and enjoy'd by us and Magnify him to walk Thankfully Dutifully and Obediently unto him to teach us Resignation Contentedness Submission and Dependance upon him A good Heart will be made the better by it and if there be Evil in it it is such as our own corrupt Natures occasions or brings upon it or upon our selves by it and it is a great Part of our Christian Warfare and Discipline to teach us to use it as it ought to be used and to subdue those Lusts and Corruptions that abuse it and our selves by it So that the World you see is not absolutely and in it self Evil nor is it consequently entirely to be Renounced by us But it is in it self Good and as such it may in due measure be desir'd and enjoy'd by us Nevertheless through our own Corruption Nevertheless through our own Corruption whereby we abuse the good Things of the world it becomes accidentally the occasion of most of our Sins and of our Estrangement from God our sovereign Good whereby we abuse these good Things of the World which the Divine Bounty has bestowed upon us for our Support Comfort and Convenience the World becomes Accidentally the occasion of most of our Sins and of our Estrangement from God our sovereign Good And how the World does accidentally become the occasion of much Sin committed by us and as such how far it ought to be Renounced I take to be a Point that is very requisite you should be well instructed in And the Case you must know betwixt us and the World stands thus Man is a Compound Being made up of Two different and distinct Natures a Body and a Soul the one purely Material and Earthly the other Spiritual and Heavenly the one Inferior the other Superior in Worth and Dignity the one Mortal and Perishing the other Immortal and Everlasting Hence Man is by some called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Akin to Two Worlds the Knot as it were that ties 'em both together or the Button that fastens 'em one to another How the World becomes so Now Man consisting of these Two Principles according to One whereof and that the Principal he is nearly ally'd to God for according to his Soul he is the very Image of God it is very reasonably requir'd of him That he should chiefly mind Heaven and Heavenly Things his near and chief Relations if I may so say which he is Everlastingly to enjoy and that he should not much concern himself with the Things of this world which he must shortly leave behind him and then all Relation betwixt 'em will cease But all the time of his Pilgrimage here Living and Conversing for the most part with the Things below he becomes sooner acquainted with them and they with him they have an easier Access to him than Heavenly Things and have therefore greater Opportunities to court his Affections and to win upon 'em So that in the End it too often falls out that St. Paul's Rule is liv'd Counter to and Men generally Set their Affections on things below and not on things above In what manner it does Captivate us and draw us from God The manner how the world Captivates and Enslaves and Draws the whole Man in Triumph after it is this It presents to the Senses Riches Honours and Pleasures and dazles 'em with their Glory and Beauty Men's outward Senses being so extreamly taken with these do easily bribe the Affections to love 'em above all other and cause 'em to Covet and Lust after ' em The Affections becoming hereby most eagerly desirous of 'em do put a false Biass upon tâ—e Judgment so that our Understanding and Reason usually becomâ— thereby so far Corrupted as to dictate to the Will that these outward and sensible good Things are the Objects which are above all others worthy of its Choice And hereupon the Will does immediately choose the present Objects of Sense the Riches Honours and Pleasures of this World preferring 'em far before spiritual Things And thus the whole Man Body and Soul is made a Slave to the world and neglects Heaven and minds not to perform the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace the way thither So far therefore as it engages our Affections too closely to it so as to make us Inordinately and Irregularly to mind it and to neglect our great Concern the Business of Religion it is to to be Renounced and Rejected by us So that upon the whole Matter the World is so far only our Enemy and to be Renounced and Overcome by us as it Engages our Affections too closely to it so as to make us Inordinately and Irregularly that is with an Affection to it or any Thing in it beyond its due Desert to mind it and too much to neglect our great Concern the Business of Religion and the Performance of the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace
Bosoms at last with infinite Advantage and Interest Which brings me in the And Lastly by suffering the loss thereof rather than Apostatize from the Faith Last Place to shew you How far the Rich are to Renounce their Wealth in Parting with it in Works of Mercy and in suffering the Loss thereof rather than Incur Apostacy And to give you my Sence thereof in a few words God true it is does not always make it the Condition of a Disciple to Sell all that he hath and to give it to the Poor as he commanded him in the Gospel upon an extraordinary Occasion Nor does he always put us upon the fiery Tryal either to leave all or preserve a good Conscience But however there is doubtless requir'd a better Use to be made of Riches and larger Distributions of what God hath Blest them withal to Pious and Charitable Uses than most of our Rich Ones do commonly think And it is also requir'd that tho' we are not always put to the actual Tryal whether we will follow Christ in the Adherence to Truth and by renouncing of Error or retain our Riches Yet it is ever requir'd that we should be readily dispos'd to Forsake all and follow Christ suppose there were Occasion which must be the Import of these words Mat. 16.24 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me Every One is not actually call'd to take up the Cross by abandoning his worldly Possessions or in any other way but the meaning must be that every Disciple must let this World's Goods hang very loose about him so that he could easily put 'em off when call'd to it And God who searches the Heart and tries the Reins sees whether we are so dispos'd or no. And tho' he puts us not to the actual Tryal he will however Judge us accordingly as he sees we are actually dispos'd And let this suffice for the present whereby you have seen how far we must Renounce the World in general and also in that particular Instance of its Goods the Riches thereof There are several other Ingredients of which this World does consist and in what Sence and how far you must Renounce them shall also God willing be shew'd you But of this the next Opportunity THE Fifteenth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE Point that we are now upon is to lay before you the Strength of those Temptations which do arise from the World in General and the several Things therein contain'd in Particular whether they be the Goods or the Evils thereof or such as are of a middle Nature and to shew you in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce ' em And as to such Considerations which concern the World in general and also that first and principal of its Materials the Riches thereof and which are necessary to be laid before you This I have already done and now I am to pass on to the Consideration of A Second of its Particulars viz. The Honours thereof and to shew you what they mean and in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce the Honours of this World What is meant by the Honours of this World in what sence and how far they are to be Renounced Honour is accounted one of the Principal of this World's Goods and tho' it be much supported by Wealth and Riches yet it is often and sometimes deservedly prefer'd before ' em And Honour properly and strictly does signify an inward Esteem bore to a Person upon the account of some worthy Accomplishments and Advantages he is possest of and this inward Sence of his Worth testified by some outward and suitable Respects exprest either by our Carriage towards him or by our Speeches to or concerning him This is what Honour does strictly signify What is meant by Honour properly and strictly But in the more general and usual Meaning of the Thing both in Scripture What in the general meaning of the Word and common Language by Honours are also meant the Advantages or Qualities themselves upon the account of which Persons are so Honour'd and Esteem'd and Respected and those outward Respects given 'em upon the account of those Advantages And they may be reduc'd to these following Nobility or Gentility Pre-eminence or Authority and Dignities and Promotions which are call'd Posts of Honour Also an High Esteem and Reputation amongst Judicious Wise and Good Men upon the account of a Person 's Wisdom and Vertue or some worthy and glorious Action perform'd by him Or the Vulgar Applause of the Croud of Men upon what they account Praise-worthy and Honourable And lastly the Outward Expressions of Respect either by Word or Deed usually given upon the account of any of these I shall consider all these Kinds of Honour apart and allowing to Persons who any-wise deserve Honour all that is consistent with Innocency I will shew in what Sence and how far they are to Renounce it as its Tempts 'em to Sin against God and to Trample under Foot his Authority and Laws And First as to Nobility or Gentility I. Nobility or Gentility This is an Honour derived down upon Persons from their Fore-fathers who are suppos'd to have Ennobled their Names and Families by some excellent Atchievments in Peace or War either in Learning Arts or Arms or whatever worthy Performances whereby they have signally Benefited their Country The original Nature of Nobility or Gentility and who upon that account have been distinguisht by certain Badges and Titles of Honour from the Croud of Men whose Ancestors have not been so eminently Famous and Deserving And such Honour as this is highly agreeable both to Scripture and Reason In the Scriptures we do not only find the Princes of Israel Heads of the Houses of their Fathers who were the Princes of the Tribes and were over them Numb 7.2 but also that they bore several Coats of Arms for Distinction which what they were you may see Gen. 49. And in Reason there is as great a Necessity that there should be a Distinction of Members more or less Honourable in the Body Politick as in the Natural and therefore in both Vpon some Members we bestow more abundant Honour 1 Cor. 12.23 And indeed such a Distinction of Persons upon the account of their Merit or Desert of their Families does serve to raise the Emulation of Men to Atchieve some noble and worthy Enterprize and to shake off that Sloth which would otherwise Enfeeble their Activity And for this reason it is that God has Planted this Passion of Emulation in Persons Natures to rouze 'em up to Imitate the noble Vertues and great Examples of Others that they likewise might Transmit a Name worthy to be Imitated in future Generations Such is the Original and Nature of True Nobility and so
Obedience to 'em insomuch that God will reckon himself as has been before said in Justice and Faithfulness bound both upon the account of Christ's Purchase and his own Covenanted Promises to forgive us our Sins as you may see 1 Joh. 1.9 and will then own us to have a Right to the Tree of Life Rev. 22.14 We shall then I say have a Right and Title to the Blessings of the Covenant not by virtue of any outward Merit and Desert in our Performances but by virtue of the Divine Promises and Engagements to those who having solemnly entred into Covenant with him do take care faithfully to perform the Conditions of it So that this alone gives us mighty Assurance of the Divine Mercies that we are entitled thereunto by his having Covenanted them unto us as well as he is the more entitled to our Repentance Faith and Obedience because we have Covenanted to perform ' em But yet the more firmly to entitle as God to our Obedience so us to his Mercies because we never take our selves to be so well ensured of the performance of Articles as when we have 'em solemnly sealed to by both Parties God did therefore in compliance with our own Ways and Methods graciously please to Seal to his part the Promises and required us to do the like to our part the Conditions that he might be the better secured of our Covenanted Performances and we of his promised Mercies And then since he has condescended to ensure unto us not only by meer Covenant but moreover to seal unto us these unspeakable Benefits and we on the other side have also sacramentally sealed to the Counter-part of the Covenant the Conditions of it what can there be further thought of to entitle God to our Obedience or us to his Mercies And let this suffice as to the Sacrament or Solemnity whereby we entred into the Covenant of Grace which was by Baptism Baptism as you have seen is an Outward Rite or Sacrament of our Saviour's own Appointment for the solemn admitting of Persons into the Covenant of Grace instituted by Christ for the better Confirmation and Ensurance of its Terms the Promises on God's Part and the Conditions on ours it being thus mutually seal'd to betwixt God and us For agreeably to our Frame and Nature as I have told you which consists of Bodily Senses as well as Spiritual Faculties God has given us besides those most rational Terms and Conditions of the Covenant Recorded in the Gospel being such Promises as are becoming the Wisdom and Goodness of God to make and such Conditions as are highly befitting us to perform besides these he has appointed to us those Outward and Express Solemnities we call the Sacraments to seal these Things betwixt us And because that Baptism is a Rite most significative in it self and would be most acceptable to all sorts of People Jews and Gentiles he was therefore pleas'd to Adopt that to be the Solemnity of our Entrance into and Sealing the Covenant with him And this Covenant you have seen he would have thus mutually Sealed to betwixt Him and us that the Obligations to Performance might be the stronger upon us both to discharge each his Part of the Covenant And thus having spoke to the Sacrament or Solemnity whereby we enter into Covenant exprest in these Words In my Baptism the next thing to be shewed you is the great Obligation which lies upon us to Perform this our Covenant with God THE XXVI Lecture Quest Dost thou then think that thou art bound to Believe and to Do as they have promised for thee Answ Yes verily IN my Exposition of the Preliminary Questions and Answers of your Catechism having already given you a general Account first of the Nature of the Covenant of Grace and secondly of the Sacrament whereby you did solemnly enter into it I shall now think my self Happy if I can but convince you of the mighty Obligations that lie upon you accordingly to perform it And this the Words that I have now read do manifestly lead me to declare unto you for taking the Question and Answer both together they do plainly import this Doctrine viz. The vast Obligations upon us from the Mercies of the Covenant especially from our Vow in Baptism faithfully and conscientiously to discharge our Covenant with God The vast Obligations lieing upon us both from the Mercies of God and our Baptismal Vow to perform the Covenant of Grace And what those several Obligations are which arise from each of these Considerations I will with as much clearness and force of Reason as I can declare unto you And to begin with the Mercies of the Covenant there is not one Article of Grace or Favour on God's Part contain'd therein but if the Nature and Importance of 'em be truly considered they do each of 'em lay inviolable Obligations upon us faithfully and conscientiously to discharge that our Covenant The Obligations thereunto 1. as Members of Christs Church As first if we consider our selves as Members of Christ or Members of the Christian Church why there cannot be a greater Argument to keep us right in a regular orderly Conversation than that one Consideration should be For to be a Member of Christ's Church what else I pray you is it but to be one of those Disciples of our Saviour who by the Preaching of the Word and under the Solemnity and Bond of Sacraments are Called and Chosen out of the rest of the World to live another sort of Life than the World is accustomed to To this purpose it would be exceedingly well worth your while to consult and throughly consider 1 Pet. 2.9 10 11 12. where you have such Characters given of the Church of Christ and the Members of it as speak it to be a selected separated Body of Men who are Consecrated as it were to God's Service And such Inferences are drawn from thence concerning living at an excellent rate upon that very Score as speak the strongest Obligations upon all the Members of Christ's Church to approve themselves therefore upon that very account excellent Men. In the 8th Verse immediately foregoing the Apostle speaking of those who would not come into the Bosom and Pale of the Church he terms them a Disobedient People but coming in the 9 10 11 12. Verses to speak of the Members of the Church But ye says he are a Chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a Peculiar People that ye should shew forth the Praises of Him who hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light Which in time past were not a People but are now the People of God which had not obtained Mercy but now have obtained Mercy 11 12. Verses Therefore dearly Beloved I beseech you as Strangers and Pilgrims abstain from Fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul having your Conversation honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speak against you as Evil-doers they may by your good Works which they
Persons are much more subject to fall into these Violations of their Covenant by sinful Immoralities now than by Paganish Apostacies they were then Nor Lastly Is it at any time a hard and unreasonable Imposition upon the Godfathers and Godmothers to make 'em give Security for the Christian Education of other Peoples Children We are all of us to be helpful to one another especially to be assistant in those things which concern the good of their Immortal Souls and there is none but a cruel and murderous Cain would have said Am I my Brothers Keeper And if the utmost that the Sureties do Promise and Vow in behalf of the Infant does extend to no more than this to see that he shall be Train'd up in the Principles of Religion and Admonish'd to live up according to what he has solemnly Covenanted and openly and solemnly to confirm this his Covenant when he comes to an Age of Understanding and this only upon the natural Parents neglect Why this truly 't is confest will cost some Pains and perhaps too some small Charge but then let such a one consider he has an opportunity put into his Hands to save a Soul and let him withal consider what the Apostle says for his Encouragement therein James 5.20 that He which shall save a Soul from Death shall cover a multitude of Sins So that thus you see what reason the Church had to appoint Godfathers and Godmothers not only to represent the Infant but to engage for it in Baptism But IV. And Lastly For a further Justification of the thing out of Scripture I will prove from thence as a Power and Authority given by Christ to the Governours of the Church to appoint such reasonable Circumstances as they shall think fit for the greater Order and Decency of Divine Administrations and the better Edification of the Souls of Men so that their appointment of Godfathers and Godmothers was a most excellent and useful Institution to this purpose But this as it is a Point that must have a great deal said to the Proof and Enlargement of it so I shall defer the speaking to it till the next Opportunity THE XXXII Lecture Q. What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you Answ They did Promise and Vow three things in my Name IN order to the Explication of these Words and to the Justification and Proof of the Doctrine contain'd in them I have already led you I. Into the meaning of the Words Godfathers and Godmothers II. Into the Nature of their Office III. I have shew'd you what Reason the Church had to appoint Godfathers and Godmothers both to Represent and Engage for the Infant in Baptism And now Lastly For the further Justification out of Scripture of the use of Godfathers and Godmothers to Introduce you to Baptism I will prove from thence As a Power and Authority given by Christ to the Governours of the Church to appoint such reasonable Circumstantials as they shall think fit for the greater Order and Decency of Divine Administrations and the better Edification of the Souls of Men so that the Churches appointing of Godfathers and Godmothers was a most excellent rational and useful Institution to this purpose And I have reserv'd this Head of Discourse for the last and shall make one entire Discourse upon it not only to shew the Lawfulness and Expediency of Godfathers and Godmothers but withal with a design to lay such Principles in the Heart as will sufficiently Justifie our Church in all its other Rites and Usages in Divine Administrations and will enable you to oppose those that shall Gainsay To proceed therefore I say IV. Besides the reason of the thing IV. A further Justification of the use of Godfathers and Godmothers In order to justifie out of Scripture the use of Godfathers and Godmothers to introduce Infants to Baptism I will prove from thence as a Power and Authority given by Christ to the Governours of the Church to appoint such reasonable Circumstances as they shall think fit for the greater Order and Decency of Divine Administrations and the better Edification of the Souls of Men so that their appointing of Godfathers and Godmothers was a most excellent and useful Institution to this purpose I say besides the reason of the thing It is a sufficient Justification of any Ecclesiastic Institution that it be reasonable tho' not supported by any express Scripture It is a very unhappy Prejudice which some do labour under that the best reason is no proof with them without some express Scriptures to command that very Particular tho' it be not a Matter above Reason but left by Scripture to the Determination of it Now to come to a right Understanding of this Matter we must distinguish upon such Points as are not and such as are to be determin'd by meer Reason And 1. There are some great Points of Faith 1. The sole Authority whereon to ground the Belief of the Mysteries of Religion must be Divine Revelation such as the Mystery of the Trinity of the Incarnation Mediation and Satisfaction of Christ above the reach of Human Reason to have found out and now that they are Reveal'd beyond the compass of it fully to comprehend which Articles we call the Mysteries of Christianity And these we are bound to Believe according as they are Reveal'd to us without adding to or taking from 'em being fully assur'd that the Holy Scripture that Word of God which does Reveal these Truths to us is it self most Infallibly true as being the Testimony of him who is Infinite Wisdom and cannot be deceiv'd himself and is Infinite Justice and will not cannot deceive others And therefore with respect to these Sacred Truths it is the part of every Christian to Cast down Imaginations or Reasonings and every high thing that exalteth it self against i the knowledge of God bringing into Captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Christ 2 Cor 10.5 Not but that Reason has its Use here in Judging of the sufficiency of those Proofs from Scripture which are produc'd to establish the Truth of any Article of Faith But as it is beyond the Power of meer Natural Reason to have discover'd God's Methods of saving us by Christ and the like so it wou'd be the highest Presumption to oppose our narrow scantling of Reason to God's Wisdom in his Dispensations towards us 2. In the next place there are other Points in Religion 2. Both Faith and Practice as to the Articles of Natural Religion and Moral Duties grounded both upon the Word of God and right Reason as well Articles of Faith as Moral Duties to regulate both our Belief and Practice in reference to which we are left to Scripture and Reason conjunctly with this difference that we must have our Eye upon Scripture as the only perfect Rule such are the Articles of Natural Religion as the Belief of God of a Providence of the Immortality of the Soul and of Rewards and
at first created what 227 The Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God what 1. In the Unregenerate Nature the Original Frame and Constitution of Man wherein he was created is broken 228 2. The Image of God wherein he was first created defaced Lastly the Tendency of all the Faculties both of Soul and Body are towards the Creature 229 1. To renounce the Flesh is to be renewed in the whole Frame and Constitution of our Nature after the Image of God The Image of God must be restored as far as it can in this Corrupt State It must be renewed to a perfection of Parts tho' not of Degrees 230 2. To renounce the Flesh is to be converted in the whole Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God 231 LECT XXI The sinful Lusts of the Flesh what 232 The sinful Lusts of the fleshly Mind what 1. When we are curious to know Things which are either hurtful to be known or not proper for Man to know 233 2. When we do immoderately study to be exquisitely skilled in whatever Humane Arts and Sciences to the neglect or contempt of Divine Knowledge The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other 234 The necessary Points of Christian Knowledge 3. When out of Pride Prejudice and Contradiction to all sacred Truths we set up our own carnal Imaginations and fleshly Reasonings against those spiritual Notions and those mysterious Articles of our Faith which are delivered to us in Scripture 235 This Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from meer Pride This corrupt Will what and how to be renounced 236 3. The Affections what and how to be renounced 237 1. As they are misplaced upon wrong Objects 2. As they are disproportionate to the Love Worth and Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly affected in moderate Degrees 3. The Lusts and Appetites are such sinful Lusts of the Flesh as are to be renounced 238 1. As they do desire undue Objects 2. As they desire them in immoderate Measures Lastly the inferior and bodily Powers viz. the Affections Lusts and Appetites to be renounced as they rebel against right Reason 239 The Business of Religion is to reduce Man as near as possible to his primitive State of Innocence and Integrity To this purpose of keeping under our fleshly Lusts it was that our Reason was given us 240 3. To renounce ALL the sinful Lusts of the Flesh what There must be no one fleshly Lust suffered to reign in us Our Business is particularly to oppose Lusts of Temper and Constitution This because it is a hard Doctrine to the Carnal Man is much evaded 241 The Objection from Rom. 7. clear'd We must renounce the Flesh and all its sinful Lusts so as to have an Aversion an Antipathy in our Hearts thereunto This the hard Part. 242 243 The reason of having enlarged so much upon this one Article of renouncing the Devil c. 244. LECT XXII Articles of Christian Faith of what Nature The whole Bible the Object of a Christian's Faith both the Old and New Testament 259 Some Instances of such Truths What it is to believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness 261 Our Belief thereof must be operative and practical Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And such an operative and practical Principle is Faith whenever the things believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us 262 263. 2. To believe savingly we must apply our selves to Jesus Christ to intercede with God the Father for our gracious Acceptance What to believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith 1. To believe them All does import that we must assent to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contain'd in the Apostles Creed 264 Such as tend to destroy a good Life and send us to other Mediators than Christ to intercede with the Father for its Acceptance no Articles of Christian Faith 2. To believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith is to be fully perswaded of all and of every of those single Truths contain'd in each of those Articles 265 A Heretick may be such by believing only of one of those Truths contain'd in the Article 266 LECT XXIII 1. What it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments The Nature and Measures of Christian Obedience 267 1. Our Obedience must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisy or a false and feigned pretence of obeying him when in truth we serve our own selves does not forbid us all intending our own Advantage in the performance of his Commandments 268 But 1st That man's Obedience is insincere who together with his Intention of serving God joins another Intention of serving Sin 2dly When he designs some temporal Ends in the practice of Vertue as much or more than he intends God's Service 2. Evangelical Obedience must be entire viz. 1st The Obedience of the whole Man that is in the first place of the Mind and Vnderstanding 2dly of the Will 3dly of the Affections 269 270 This the distastful part and therefore endeavoured to be shifted off 271 2dly It must be an Obedience to the whole Law This endeavoured to be evaded by Excuses But in vain 3dly What it is to walk in the same all the days of our Lives 272 God will not endure a constant Revolution of Sin and Repentance 273 The difference between Evangelical and a Legal Obedience This difference not so great but that our wilful and chosen Sins will put a Barr to our Salvation 274 Some Sins are directly and expresly wilful Some indirectly and interpretatively 275 But the difference is 1st that those who sincerely and entirely obey shall not be called to an account for unchosen and involuntary Sins The first cause of an innocent Involuntariness Ignorance of our Duty Provided it be not wilful 2d Inconsideration excuses 1. When through surprize 276 2. When through natural weariness and the length and strength of a Temptation Lastly When by the violent discomposure of our thinking Powers our Minds are so disturbed that we cannot think what we do Ignorance and Inconsideration excuse not those Sins 1. which we have time to understand and observe nor 2. Crying Sins nor 3dly Those we do not endeavour against nor lastly which we are not sorry for 277 The 2d difference between Legal and Evangelical Obedience That our wilful and more heinous Sins when repented of through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us Remission of Sins upon Repentance the great Doctrine of the Gospel Repentance will be accepted to our pardon for our unknown or secret Sins whether wilfully or unwillingly committed but now forgot though generally repented of 2. For our most known and wilful Sins if
deny in the World to come his knowing of or having any thing to do with you as he declares he will Matth. 10.33 You see in Matth. 26.70 how Peter being asham'd of his persecuted Lord and Master and afraid for himself did deny his Saviour But withal you see how severely he smarted for it for being prick'd at the heart with an extreme remorse of Conscience for such a base piece of Cowardice he went out and wept bitterly v. 75. And it was well he did or else he had perish'd everlastingly So that to conclude you must not only rehearse that is give an Account of the Christian Faith to us the Ministers of Religion and pronounce it amongst those who are Friends to it in the House of God but upon all just occasions you must elsewhere even in the Face of its greatest Enemies openly declare and profess your Belief of those great Christian Truths and that when you are sure to suffer the severest Persecutions and Reproaches for so doing This last I must confess is not so directly the meaning of the Word Rehearse in this place But if ever there were occasion to extend the Importance of it to such a Sense it is now when the Confidence of Infidels in professing their impious Principles and the Cowardice of Believers in Confessing the True Articles of their Christian Faith is so extremely and on both sides so shamefully great And thus I have given you the utmost that I conceive can be the Importance of these Words Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief which may serve as a Prefatory Discourse to the Exposition I design by God's Assistance to make you of the Creed upon the Explication of which I shall next enter THE XXIX Lecture I Believe COmmenting upon these Words Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief I have given you by way of Preface to the Exposition of the Creed it self an Account of its Authority how that it is a summary Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine collected as is highly probable by the Apostles themselves however undoubtedly containing the most weighty and essential Points of Apostolical Doctrine that are necessary to be Believ'd in order to Salvation And then as to the Importance of the Word Rehearse I have told you how necessary it is 1. that you should give a good Account to God's Ministers of what you Believe 2. That you ought openly and solemnly to pronounce your Belief every time you meet together to worship God in the Publick Assembly Nay and 3. That you must undauntedly confess and own all these Christian Truths before the Face of any Man though you should incur the greatest Danger of Life Livelihood or whatever is most dear to you or expose your selves to the Reproaches of wicked Men for so doing And having thus by way of Preface to the Creed it self spoken what I thought necessary to its Authority and the Confession you are to make of it I come now by God's Assistance to lay open before you the Meaning and Importance of every particular Truth therein contain'd And that which does first offer it self to our Consideration and will indeed require a very large and full Explication is the single Word Believe Every particular Article of the Creed and every single Truth as there are many contain'd in each Article is to be Believed by us It is therefore I presume very requisite that we should with all possible Clearness and Exactness explain the Nature of Faith and shew you what it is to Believe to your Soul's Health before we come to consider the several Truths that are to be Believed accordingly Faith and Belief are two Words that signifie the same thing Faith and Belief synonomous Terms and so indispensable a Condition of our Justification and Salvation it is to Believe that not to mention more Texts Rom. 3.28 It is said a Man is justify'd by Faith And Mark 16.16 we are told in plain and express Words that he who Believeth shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned You must not therefore think me tedious if in the Explication of this Point I shall be something large since to Believe is a thing which you are not only to do in reference to every particular Article of our Creed but that also as ever you will be justify'd and sav'd And for the more full Explication of this Point I will do these Three Things I. I will shew you in general what it is to Believe together with the Effects and Fruits of True Believing II. I will more particularly explain unto you the Nature of Justifying and Saving Faith And then III. By way of Inference I will lay before you wherein the Defect of several sorts of Faith does lie which we find by Scripture and Experience that many do rely upon but yet will by no means justifie and save ' em And 1. I am to shew you in general What it is to Believe And to Believe both in the proper and in the common Meaning of the Word is to give Credit to the Report of another Faith is founded upon a credible Testimony And herein it is distinguish'd from those other Acts of the Mind Opinion Experience and Knowledge that Opinion is when one varies in his Judgment being not without some doubt whether the thing may not be otherwise than he thinks Experience is when one's own Senses tell one it is so and so and Knowledge is when I gather from undoubted Causes and Reasons that the Effect is thus But Belief as it is more certain than Opinion so it is founded not upon my own Experience and Knowledge but upon the Authority of some one else who does relate the thing to me It is indeed thought by some that to Believe in the Language of the Scriptures which are the Words of plain Men spoke to the general Bulk of Mankind does many times signifie a full Perswasion of the Mind whether wrought within us by the Evidence of the Matter or by our own Sense or Experience or by some strong Argument and Reason as well as by some Credible Testimony and accordingly we Believe God's Being and Existence by the strongest Evidences of Reason but yet however tho' the Belief of God's Being be indeed a Knowledge that he Is a Knowledge I say that we have from several demonstrative Proofs and Reasons besides what we have from the Testimony that he Himself has given us of his own Existence yet as the Testimony that he has given us by Miracles Prophecies and his Providences are properly his Attestation to the Truth of the Article so it is the nearest and the plainest Proof thereof and that upon which the Faith of the far greatest part of Mankind who do not much employ their Reason to search after Truth is founded so that generally as well as properly speaking to Believe is to give Credit upon the Authority and Testimony of another that his Relation is true Human Faith upon Human Testimony And
CERTAIN SELECT DISCOURSES On those most Important Subjects requisite to be well understood by a CATECHIST In laying the FOUNDATION of Christian Knowledge in the Minds of Novitiates Viz. First DISCOURSES on I. The Doctrine of the TWO COVENANTS both LEGAL and EVANGELICAL And II. On FAITH and JUSTIFICATION By WILLIAM ALLEN SECONDLY DISCOURSES ON I. The COVENANT of GRACE or Baptismal Covenant Being Catechetical Lectures on the Preliminary QUESTIONS and ANSWERS of the CHURCH-CATECHISM II. Three CATECHETICAL LECTURES on Faith and Justification By THOMAS BRAY D. D. LONDON Printed by S. Hawes in the Year MDCXCIX TWO DISCOURSES The FIRST of the NATURE ENDS and DIFFERENCE OF THE TWO COVENANTS And the SECOND A PRACTICAL DISCOURSE ON FAITH SHEWING The Nature and Difference of that Faith which is Justifying and that which is Not and the Reason of that Difference By WILLIAM ALLEN THE PREFACE THE following Discourse upon the NATURE ENDS and DIFFERENCE of the TWO COVENANTS may be well reckon'd the Opus Palmare of the Judicious Mr. WILLIAM ALLEN though nothing came from the Pen of that very judicious Writer which may not be esteemed among the best in its Kind And even in his Polemick Discourses such was his Discretion and Temper that every Thing he spoke was very convincing but never provoking so that he had the Happiness which few Controvertists enjoyed that even his Adversaries wou'd not mention him without Expressions of Esteem But the Character I had from two most Excellent and Learned Bishops not many Years since deceased of the subact Judgment of this truly Great Man and particularly as it appeared in this Tract of the TWO COVENANTS were sufficient with me to value with a particular Regard whatever came from him and This in a more especial Manner The learned Bishop Williams who had been intimate with him said of him That though be was the most candid Person living and never heard him pass harsh Censures of Men and their Writings yet such was that Awe with Respect to him which the greatest Men in those Times as well as himself found upon their Spirits that whenever they gave Dr. Tillotson a Turn at his Tuesday's Lecture at St. Lawrence if they should happen to cast an Eye upon Mr. ALLEN in the Congregation they could not help being under some Concern lest an Expression should drop out of their Mouths which could not bear the Test And the Reverend Bishop LLOYD being ask'd his Opinion concerning the Reprinting this Discourse of the TWO COVENANTS He advis'd it with these Words By all Means It was that Tract of Mr. ALLEN made me a Divine I never met with the Person who did not easily allow this Excellent Prelate to be the greatest Scripturist perhaps of any Age. A Man indeed like Apollos mighty in the Scriptures And this Tract of Mr. ALLEN is a Key of excellent Use to the Opening of them as it discovers in the different Oeconomies and Dispensations of the Law and the Gospel the Aim of God in both to be the same Namely the selecting to himself a Church out of the wicked World and the tying the same in the closest Bonds of Allegiance to him by Covenant but yet by such as tho' different in Appearance and Circumstances according to the Difference of Times and Persons yet agreeing in the main Design of Erecting and Preserving a Church to God and the Salvation of Men thro' one Mediator Jesus Christ And that the Old and New Testament are but as distinct Editions of the same Covenant in Substance The Occasion of Printing it in Folio after a former Edition in 8 vo but before all his Works were collected in folio was to prefix it to the Lectures on the Preliminary Questions and Answers of the Church Catechism the Subject of the Baptismal Covenant to which this of Mr. ALLEN 't was thought wou'd be the best Introduction And that they would most naturally cohere together the one treating upon that great and comprehensive Subject the Doctrine of the Covenant in general the other of the Covenant of Grace into which we Christians are baptiz'd in particular And both Tracts were bound up together to be bestow'd into the Parochial Libraries then begun and which God be prais'd still continue to be dispers'd so far as the Stock of Books will reach in some of the poorer Livings throughout the Kingdom The Design of these Parochial Libraries is to supply the Ministers in such mean Cures as will not enable them to furnish themselves with Necessary Books To supply them I say with the Means whereby they may be enabled to declare unto the People both by Preaching and Catechising the whole System of Christian Doctrine so as to be able with St. Paul at their Departure whether by Death or Cession to call them to Record that they have not shunned to declare unto them the whole Counsel of God Acts 20 27. And as in a Scheme of such Libraries the Books ought to be adapted to the whole System and the several Parts thereof so they cou'd not be form'd upon a better Plan it was suppos'd than that of the Two Covenants and more especially the Covenant of Grace or Baptismal Covenant On the Nature Terms and Conditions of the same both the Mercies on God's Part and the Conditions to be perform'd on ours On the great Mediator and Mediation by which it was obtain'd for us by what Assistance and Means we shall be enabled to perform it under what sacramental Seals we entred into it and lastly on that Repentance after Breach of Covenant whereby alone we can be re-instated in the Divine Favour Under these Heads is comprehended the whole System of Saving Doctrine at least of Catechetical according to that best Plan thereof ever exhibited by any Church Antient or Modern the Catechism of the Church of England And the same in a more enlarg'd Manner ought to be the Subject of the Concionatory Scheme But tho' it be infinitely desireable with Regard to the Eternal Salvation of both Minister and People that the former should not shun both in the Catechetical and Concionatory Method thus to declare unto them the whole Counsel of God and in thus doing they will no doubt be judg'd to have duly fed the Flock of Christ which he purchased with his Blood and over which the Holy Ghost hath made them Overseers Acts 20 25. yet how is it possible humanly speaking to do this without the Help of Books And those not a few as would appear when the several Articles of Christian Faith necessary to be believ'd included in the general Summary thereof call'd the Apostle's Creed come to be considered more especially when the vast Series and Chain of Duties of the Christian Life necessary to be practised shall be drawn out into a View of the Particulars Each of the former requires particular Explanations and Proof and of the latter particular States of their several Natures together with proper Application And as often entire Tracts are written upon
the several Points both Doctrinal and Moral How can it be expected any Minister should sufficiently discharge his Duties by thus instructing them without the Supplies of such Books written on the several Subjects both general and particular No it is not possible out of the mean Profits of most Parishes scarce sufficient to provide the mere Necessaries of Life he should be capable to buy himself such necessary Helps It was for these Reasons thought a great Work of Piety or Charity to the Souls of Men not the least wanted in this Nation where there are more Cures of Souls unprovided of necessary Maintenance than in any Establish'd Church perhaps throughout Christendom to furnish as many as possible with Parochial Libraries Some of which tho' slenderly provided of Books at first may probably in time become well replenish'd And as such Parochial Libraries are form'd in the main Part thereof the Didactical on the Plan of the Doctrine of the Covenant consider'd both in its general Nature and its particular Terms both Mercies on God's Part and Conditions to be perform'd on ours on the Means by which we shall be enabled to perform our Covenant Engagement On the Seals of the Covenant and on Repentance after Breach thereof And the first general Doctrine in such Plan being the Doctrine of the Two Covenants on which Subject Mr. ALLEN having written so judiciously in the following Tracts as not to be omitted in any one Library and is therefore so material an Ingredient in the whole Collection so it was thought not improper here to give some Account thereof and with what View it has been publish'd so as to appear Introductory as it were to all that follows As to the Discourse on Faith annext to his Discourse on the Two Covenants that also has its peculiar Excellency as coming from the Pen of so judicious a Person And being so stated by him as not to exclude Conditions in the Covenant necessary to be perform'd on our Part in order to our Justification through CHRIST is very requisite to be perus'd in order to the better understanding the Covenant it self and was therefore annex'd by the Author himself to his former Discourse on the Two Covenants A DISCOURSE OF THE Nature Ends and Difference OF THE Two Covenants THE mistake of the unbelieving Jews about the true import of God's Promise to Abraham and of the Law of Moses was a principal cause of the rejecting Christ and his Gospel and their own Salvation thereby To rectifie which mistake the Apostle St. Paul used various Reasonings according to the various Errors contained in it In which Reasonings of his there being some things hard to be understood there are others again which probably mistaking the Apostles reasonings against the Jewish Notion of Justification by Works ran into a contrary Extream thinking they might be Saved by Faith without Works as on the conrary the incredulous Jews thought they might be Saved by Works without Faith And if many in our days had not run into somewhat alike Extream through a misunderstanding also of the Apostles Writings labour and pains would not have been so necessary as now they are to rectifie their mistake and to prevent it in others To the end therefore that the plain Truth may the better appear touching God's Promise to Abraham touching the Law of Moses and the Apostles arguings about these I shall very briefly endeavour these seven Things I. To open the Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham And to shew II. For what end the Law was added to the Promise III. By what Faith and Practice the Iews under the Law were saved IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham V. The grand mistakes of the unbelieving Iews and St. Paul's counter-arguings touching both the Law and the Promise VI. The Mistake of some pretended Christians in the Apostles days Touching the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without Works VII That the Doctrine of St. Paul and St. James about Faith and Works in reference to Justification do not differ I shall begin with the first of these CHAP. I. The Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham I Shall endeavour to open the Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham Which Promise is also called the Covenant Act. 3.25 Gal. 3.17 In doing of which these eight things will come under consideration 1. What the Nature of this Promise is in general 2. What the Design of it is 3. What are the special Benefits promised 4. What the Extent of it is 5. The Security given by God for the performance of it 6. That this Promise was Conditional 7. What the Condition of it was 8. What we are to understand by God's accounting Abraham's Faith to him for Righteousness Sect. 1. Of the Nature of it in general This Promise I take to be of the same nature with that which in the Gospel is called the New-Covenant It 's true indeed they greatly differ in the Administration the one being but general implicite and obscure and the other more particular express and perspicuous But though in this they differ yet in their general nature they agree in one and are the same For 1. This Covenant as delivered to Abraham was confirmed in Christ as well as the Gospel afterwards Gal. 3.17 and that 's a Character of the New-Covenant Mat. 26.28 2. The Gospel is said to have been Preached to Abraham in the Promise that was made him Gal. 3.8 3. He was justified by Faith which he could not have been but by vertue of a New-Covenant And it was by Faith in the Promise made to him by God by which he was justified Which two things supposed it necessarily follows That that Promise was of the Nature of the New-Covenant 4. St. Paul argues against the erroneous Jews in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians the necessity of Evangelical Faith unto Justification now under the Gospel from Abraham's being justified by Faith and from God's setting him forth for a Pattern and Example to all after-Ages of his justifying both Jews and Gentiles upon the Condition of Believing The strength of which arguing seems to depend upon this supposition That the Promise by the belief of which Abraham was then justified and the Promise in the Gospel by the belief of which Men are now justified do both agree and are one in the general nature of them And upon these grounds and under this notion of the Promise to Abraham I intend to discourse of it But when I consider for what reason he that is least in the Kingdom of God is said to be greater than John the Baptist though not Abraham himself nor any of the Prophets were greater than he and when I consider likewise how ignorant the Apostles were for a time touching the necessity of the Death and Resurrection of Christ notwithstanding the many plainer Revelations thereof in the Prophets than we find Abraham had I cannot I confess think that Abraham had or
one promising Eternal Life upon Believing the other only upon condition of sinless Obedience If this had been the case the Law would have been against the Promise which God forbid it should Gal. 3.21 and the one would have excluded the other according to St. Paul's reasoning Rom. 11.6 If by grace then it is no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace But if it be of works then is it no more grace otherwise work is no more work But 2. Affirmatively It is called the first Covenant because it is the first of the two under question and dispute between the Apostles and unbelieving Jews The Question and Controversie between them was which of the two Covenants that by Moses or that by Christ was to be finally adhered to as the way of Salvation In the handling of which Controversie that by Moses is called the first and the Gospel-Covenant established by Christ as was Prophesied by Jeremiah is called the second Even as the one is called the Old Covenant not because it was the oldest of all Covenants but because opposed to that which was Prophesied of under the name of a New Covenant It is observable that where we meet with the first mention of the first Covenant under that denomination it is not stiled the first Covenant absolutely but that first Covenant as pointing at that under Dispute Heb. 8.7 For if that first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have been sought for the second CHAP. V. The grand Mistakes of the Jews about the Law and Promise and how St. Paul counter-argues these Mistakes I Am now in the next place to shew the fatal mistakes of the unbelieving Jews about God's Promise to Abraham and the Law of Moses and how St. Paul doth counter-argue these mistakes A distinct understanding of which Errors and of St. Paul's arguings against them sometimes severally and sometimes conjunctively and in the gross will be as a Key to open many passages in his Epistles which otherwise will be hard to be understood 1. They held Circumcision in the Flesh to be the condition in special upon which all the Blessings of God's Covenant with Abraham were promised but did not understand that Spiritual Circumcision viz. the Mortification of sinful Affections and Lusts was principally intended when God made Circumcision the condition of his Covenant For they were it seems grosly ignorant of the necessity of Regeneration and so of the Spiritual design of Circumcision which was the reason why Nicodemus though a Ruler among the Jews answered Christ so aukardly as he did when he Preached to him the necessity of being born again Joh. 3. An Ignorance that some allowance possibly might have been made for had not the Circumcision of the Heart and the making themselves a new Heart been expresly called for as it was Deut. 10.16 Jer. 4.4 Ezek. 18.31 Now this Ignorance of theirs in the Doctrine of the Circumcision of the Heart and the sense they put upon God's making Circumcision to be the condition of his Covenant of being their God was doubtless the reason why they placed so very much as they did in Literal Circumcision For although Circumcision first given to Abraham by way of Covenant was afterwards incorporated with the body of Moses's Law yet it should seem these Jews considered it not so much as it was a part of that Law but chiefly as a Condition of God's Covenant with them in Abraham as they were his Seed And therefore St. Paul where he reckons up his Jewish Privileges whil'st he was a Pharisee puts Circumcision in the head of them all and as accounted by him while a Pharisee a Privilege distinct from his being blameless touching the Righteousness which was in the Law Phil. 3.5 6. Whence also the Judaizers said it was needful to Circumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses Acts 15.5 24. As if Circumcising did import something different from or at least something more than keeping of the Law did though otherwise it was a part of the Law Upon this account doubtless it was that we find them more zealous for Circumcision than for any other Point of the Law besides Against this Erroneous Opinion of theirs touching Literal Circumcisions being the condition of the Spiritual Benefits of the Covenant St. Saul argueth several ways First By maintaining that the Covenant did chiefly respect Circumcision in the Spirit Rom. 2.28 29. He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh that is it was not that Circumcision which would savingly avail them as they thought it would but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of Men but of God Again by shewing that Abraham could not have been Justified before Circumcision if the great Benefits of the Covenant of which Juâ—tification was one were suspended upon that as a necessary condition And yet that he was Justified vvhen not Circumcised there is the express Authority of Scripture for This he asserts Rom. 4.9 10. For we say that Faith was reckoned to Abraham for Righteousness How was it then reckoned when he was in Circumcision or in Vncircumcision Not in Circumcision but in Vncircumcision Afterwards he proceeds to undeceive them in the apprehension they had that the Benefits of the Covenant were entailed upon Abraham's Natural Seed as such or at least as such with the addition of a Literal observation of Circumcision and the Law without respect to the Spiritual and New Birth Rom. 9.6 7 8. They are not all Israel which are of Israel as they thought they were neither because they are the Seed of Abraham are they all Children But in Isaac shall thy Seed be called That is those shall be called Abraham's Seed which are born as Isaac was by Faith in the Promise which are therefore called Children of the Promise For so the Apostle expounds it saying They which are the Children of the flesh these are not the Children of God but the Children of the Promise are counted for the Seed to wit such as are born after the Spirit as it is explained Gal. 4.28 29. And this agrees to what he had said before Rom. 2.28 He is not a Jew which is one outwardly c. Against which corrupt Opinion John the Baptist did oppose himself when he admonished the Pharisees to bring forth fruit meet for Repentance and think not to say within your selves we have Abraham to our Father Mat. 3.7 8. The Apostle labours to cure this grand Error about Literal Circumcision as disjoyned from Spiritual in many other places and shewâ— how that Circumcision availeth nothing but a New Creature such as Spiritual Circumcision makes a Man to be Gal. 6.15 Not Circumcision but Faith Gal. 5.6 Not Circumcision but keeping the Commandments is that which would only reach those great Ends which they sought after in Literal