let it alone sin it seems is one of those Adiaphorous Trifles that it needs not the Blood of Christ to satisfie for it for our own repentance without any respect to the Death of Christ will stop that Gap Wherein I confess I as little admire his Divinity as he does other mens Philosophy But 5. They argue from the Essential differences of Things and what rare Feats they can do from hence is Incredible For whereas other poor Sneaks only deal with the Rinde and Bark of Beings as they are cloathed with Circumstances and crusted over with Accidents these Gyants of Reason will strip your Nature stark naked and show her for a Sight at Bartholomew-Fair in her first callous Principles Thus our Author tells us pag. 94. That Christ came not to distract us with the Inexorableness of Gods Iustice and yet p. 95. He assures us that God is an Irreconcileable Enemy to all sin For he could pry out an Essential difference between the Inexorableness of his Iustice and his Irreconcileableness to sin And pag. 82. He can shew us the difference between being astonisht and surprised with wonder which though any other might have stumbled on Yet to shew you just to a Hairs breadth where Wonder ends and Astonishment begins this was reserved for the Acumen of a Rational Divine It were tedious though useful no doubt to Instance with what Dexterity they Wire draw Discoveries out of Immutable and Unchangeable Natures how they call Fire out of Smoak but never steams out of Light At what Killing undoing Rates they Syllogize how they run their Enemies all on Heaps and perplex their Discourses all into Snicksnarles but every one would Live as long as he can This though the better half is but one part of that Design which he is driving on Incognito The other is to Besmear a sort of pittiful Fellows he has often but never with respect mentioned For it 's a very great Question whether he be a greater admirer of his own Excellencies than a dispiser of other Mens Imperfections But what is their Crime Why they Cry down Reason for such a Prophane and Carnal thing as must not presume to Intemeddle in Holy Matters I have met with some who decry Carnal Reason but never with one that affirmed Reason was Carnal I know none that are very ambitious to put on Brute and put off Man and for those who are so Pelted with empty clamour I have ever found them as much in love with and as great Improvers of Reason as their Neighbours only their unhappiness is they have not so vast a Stock to set up with and sometimes may be out of Sorts However they are not ashamed to own or disown that Thing which many vend for reason as it behaves it self and for what I understand in this Matter I shall freely confess where I had it viz. From the Ninth Article of the Church of England of Original or Birth-sin This Infection of Nature doth remain yea in them that are Regenerated whereby the Lust of the Flesh called in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some do Expound the Wisdom some the Sensuality some the Desire of the Flesh is not subject to the Law of God I have met also with others who will not scruple to own 1. That Reason is the sole and proper Iudge within her own Iurisdiction and that as we must give unto Faith the things that are Faiths so must we yield to Reason the things that are Reasons let her move within her own Sphere and they will not Iostle her nor Enterfere with her Motions 2. They are earnest that the best Reason that can be got for Love or Money be employed in Spinning conclusions out of those Premises which are of pure revelation though for scanning the Truth of some propositions may be she 's not so good at it 3. They say that our Service and Worship of God ought to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a reasonable Service that in all our Worship of God our Actions be under the Conduct of Reason So Idle is our Authors reproach that they will not allow Reason to Intermeddle in Holy Matters Can she not meddle but she must be Lady Paramount Can she not look into the Temple but she must peep into the Holy of Holies 4. They say they never affirmed Hot nor Cold that Reason was Carnal but that there is some Carnal Reason That Carnal is not Epitheton generis as if all Reason were Carnal but only Specieâ—… that there is such a thing as Carnal Reason and they bring the Church of England for their Voucher On the other side they do affirm 1. That the Reasonings of Men as they are found in all the Sons of Adam are Vitiated and Corrupted they cannot see how Reason scaped better in the common Shipwrack than the other powers of the Soul 2. Hence they put a difference betwixt Reason in the abstract as it is in it self and as it is found Immerst in Matter and Drencht in Hyle betwixt Reason as it ran clear at first and as it now tastes of the Cask And when the Apostle Paul who passes now-a-days for an Obscure writer could give us the Hint of this Difference Rom. 1. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They became vain in their own Reasonings or Argumentations and their fool-heart was darkned Methinks they that Trade in the Essential differences of things should not have over-lookt it but Bernardus Non vidit omnia 3. Therefore where the Infallible Word of God has clearly revealed any Doctrine and propounded it to their Belief they look upon 't as their business to Believe not Dispute as owning the Reason of the Scripture to be the Supreme and Sovereign reason which is nothing but the Authority of an Infallible Revealer When therefore they cannot Grasp how some things should be with Consistence to their apprehensions they trouble not themselves much but are satisfied that Thus they are 4. That there are some Doctrines in the Scripture fairly laid down to be Faith which yet are above the most Exalted reason to give an account of any other way than by Faith's Old answer to all New Objections The Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it 5. These men are not aminded that those great Masters of Wit should have their reason to be the common standard and Assize of the Reason of all Men unless they can bring better Evidence that they are Clerks of the Market to seal all measures of Truth and Error Good and Evil then their new Lights hang out in Dark-Lanthorns If it come once to this that God must not be God unless he please their Humours If Scriptures must pass the Ordeal of their reasons before it be Canonical we humbly desire to be Excused if we rather chuse to Walk alone in the Ways of Truth than for companies-sake as well as we love them to be Seduced into their Misprisions This is the grand Crime of these men there are others not to be
of the Incarnation of the Son of God Understand the mystery of the Incarnation I assure you it 's fair if it be well believed I have not met with many not with any that understand the mystery of it to this day It 's more adviseable for our Author to secure his own Faith in this point than Abraham's Understanding Abraham was a Believer and received his Religion upon the Authority of the Revealer but our Author will own none but what approves it self to his Reason and whether the Incarnation of Christ have had that happiness with him I cannot tell and therefore to deal plainly with him I have some Conjectures that may weigh against his Prejudices which incline me to choose Abraham's Faith even in this particular before his own But however that be the Scripture assures us that Abraham was justified the same way that New-Testament-Believers are One God one Lord Iesus Christ one Holy Spirit yesterday to day and the same for ever and if his poor prejudices must controul divine Revelations I cannot help it An Atheist would believe there iâ—… a God but that he cannot get over all Objections and our Author would believe the Gospel-report of the way of Abraham's Justification but that he cannot weather all the Prejudices which he first creates and then pleads 5. He must understand the nature of Faith and of rowling the Soul on Christ for Salvation and renouncing all Righteousness of his own Answ. I question not but the Father of the Faithful one so much in the exercise of Faith understood very well the nature of it and that he would hardly have lighted his Candle at our Author's Torch but it 's grown the Mode for junior Understandings to vilifie the grey Heads of the Fathers and to count them all Blâ—…ck heads that think not to a hairs breadth with them Abraham knew that Faith consisted in a firm belief that what God had promised was true and that the things of the Promise were exceeding good and so to him He gave a full assent and consent to both with their special Reasons he embraced the mercy of the Promise with thankfulness and joy and credited the veracity of him that made the Promise with security of mind and he felt by experience that quiet and satisfaction of Soul that arises from an interest in him that gave and that Redeemer that was given in the Promise And if he must be jeered for rowling himself on God and on his Christ for ought I know he must bear his burden 5. And now conformable to his old awkward humour our Author will attempt the deciding the Controversie Which way Abraham was justified from Heb. 11. And this I say is a perverse and awkward way of proceeding to wave the proper places Rom. 4. Gal. 3. where the Apostle professedly disputes the point and fix upon one where he disputes it not Two things he would perswade us to believe him in 1. That the Apostle in this Chapter discourses of a justifying Faith To which I answer That the Apostle does indeed Treat of a Faith that justifies but not of Faith as it justifies A justifying Faith has many excellent and admirable uses does a Christian noble service besides that of justifying him before God It teaches him to trust God in all the ways and methods of his Providences to depend on him for all the good things of this life as well as those of a better It deals with the Promises of the life that now is and those of that to come It encourages us to pray Give us this day our daily bread as well as Forgive us our trespasses It instructs us to commit our concerns to his fatherly love and care to wrestle vigourously with all the oppositions we meet with in the Profession of Christianity to walk comfortably chearfully conscientiously in our particular Callings to despise the things that are seen which are but temponal in comparison of those which are not seen and are eternal It taught Abel to offer Sacrifice to God whereby he had the witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts And if our Author can see no difference between being made Righteous and having the witness of it in his Conscience he needs a Collyrium which I cannot help him to It taught Enoch also to walk with God from whence he had the same testimony that he pleased God The same Faith that justified him procured him a testimony of his Justification but not as it justified him The Direct Act of Faith is one thing and the Reflecting Act of Faith another It taught Noah also to take Gods warning of the approaching Deluge and to prepare an Ark to escape the danger Whereby he condemned the World and became heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith that is he had more full assurance of his Acceptation with God According to a common Rule Multa tunâ—… fieri dicuntur quando facta esse manifestantur 2. He would perswade us into his Notion of a justifying Faith This justifying Faith says he is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen But the Apostle does not here intend to give us a strict Definition of a justifying Faith but a Description of its most noble effects A justifying Faith produces these effects but not at all times nor in all persons justified it 's Faith in its vigour not in its essence that is here described By this Faith the Elders obtained a good report before men and their own Consciences yet was it not this Act of Faith that justified them before God though it was the same Faith that produced this Act by which they were justified Whereas therefore he would oblige us yet more by his critical skill in the Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a firm and confident expectation of those things we hope forâ—… and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Argument of the Being of those things we do not see For my part I am not much edified and therefore let him make merry with his own Talents That which follows will be more for our Information for he will now speak to the Act the Object and the several kinds of Faith 1. For the Act of Faith It is as he says such a firm and stedfast perswasion of the truth of those things that are not evident to sense as makes us confidently hope for them But this seems to me to be a hungry description of the Act of justifying Faith The Scripture has other apprehensions of this matter which describes the Act of faith by receiving John 1. 12. To as many as received him to them he gave power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name Where if the Evangelist may be trusted to make his own Exegesis Receiving of Christ and Believing on his name do mutually interpret each other It 's not enough that the Understanding be engaged in this work which may be found in the worst of men and
Which two things are more different than any of his three kinds of Faith Noah was an Heir of Righteousness that is he inherited those advantages which come by Righteousness he had the peaceable fruits of Righteousness As a Son by being his Fathers Heir inherits the Purchases Possessions Honours of his Father Thus Noah by being an Heir of Righteousness enjoyed whatever Priviledges the Promise of God had entailed upon Righteousness Noah was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Heir of Righteousness where Righteousness is not Geâ—…itivus materiae but efficientis It denotes not that Righteousness was the thing he inherited but the true Reason why he inherited those blessings Righteousness answers not to the Possession but to the Ancestor not what but from what he inherited And this is clear from this one Consideration That Noah was righteous before God before that particular Revelation was made to him He was not made righteous because he believed that particular Revelation but God made him that particular Revelation because he was already righteoâ—… Gen. 6. 8 9. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord Vers. 9. Noah was a just man and perfect in his Generations and Noah walked with God Vers. 13. God said unto Noah The end of all flesh is come before me Ver 14. Make thee an Ark of Gopher wood Ver. 17. And behold I even I do bring a Flood upon the Earth He proceeds to Abraham Who in obedience to the divine Revelation left his Country went into a strange Land offered his son Isaac which seem'd to thwart that former promise In Isaac shall thy Seed be called i. e. That from Isaac should proceed that numerous Off-spring which God had promised Abraham and yet he was so well assured of the power and faithfulness of God that whatever Impossibilities Humane Reason suggested he would neither disobey Gods Command nor distrust his Promise Now here would arise several Queries As 1. Whether then Abraham's Religion was of the right stamp seeing it would not approve it self to his Reason and Whether Abraham's Reason was not Carnal that suggested Impossibilities against God's Promise and Whether our Author had he been in Abraham's Circumstances ought not by his own Principles to have disobeyed and distrusted God both in his Precept and Promise because they did not approve themselves to his Reason 2. It might be enquired What inference he will make from hence and that he tells us is That the Faith whereby Abraham and all good men were justified before God was such a firm belief of the Being and Providence of God and all the particular Revelations God made to them as made them careful to please God in all things Now this is still the Question and is like so to continue for any assistance we are like to have from our Author's Arguments But 3. There is one thing that I shall particularly examine Whether that Promise Gen. 21. 12. In Isaac shall thy Seed be called be made good in that numerous Off-spring that issued from Isaac ' s loyns Now if any regard might be had to the Apostle he would soon decide the Controversie Rom. 9. 7 8. In Isaac shall thy Seed be called that is they which are the children of the Flesh are not the children of God but the children of the Promise are counted for the Seed See here now the vast difference in mens judgments In Isaac shall thy Seed be called id est says our Author from Isaac should proceed that numerous Off-spring No says the Apostle In Isaac shall thy Seed be blessed id est The children of the Flesh are not the children of God but the children of the Promise are counted for the Seed Again Rom. 4. 16. Therefore it the Promise is of Faith that it might be sure to all the seed not only to that which is of the Law but to that which is of the Faith of Abraham who is the Father of us all Gal. 3. 29. And if ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams Seed and Heirs according to the Promise 4. It were easie to evidence that what the Apostle speaks of Abraham's Faith in offering up his son related not to the Act of it whereby he was justified but to the Evidence of his Justification His third sort of Faith follows § 3. From hence says he we learn what Faith in Christ is which is now imputed to us for Justification From hence From whence If we never learn what faith in Christ is better than from the Faith of Abel Enoch Noah and Abraham which are the whole Heavens asunder each from other as he has ordered the matter we must be content to be ignorant of it till our lives end For who could learn the special Nature of one thing from another that differs from it in the kind But let us give him the hearing Our faith in Christ must signifie such a stedfast belief of all those Revelations which Christ hath made to the World as governs our lives and actions Why so To make our faith in Christ answer to the faith of Abraham and all good men in former Ages without which the Apostles Argument from Abraham ' s being justified by faith to our Iustification by faith is of no force There is a necessity then granted that our faith in Christ and Abraham's do answer one another lest the Apostle should be reproach'd with a Non-sequitur Now to perform this instead of making Abrahams to be a faith in Christ as it really is he debases faith in Christ as low as if not below the faith of Abraham He pretends to under-prop the Apostles Argument but really he undermines it and whilst he seems to provide an Expedient that his Reasonings may not be invalidated he renders them more than Nugatory For 1. How can faith in Christ answer to the faith of all those good men in former times Abel Enoch when their's was Faith without Revelations but faith in Christ is a Faith grounded upon Revelations The Motive of their Faith was Natural Demonstrations the Reason of ours is Revelation The Object of our Faith in his sense is Eternal Life but whether they had any such thing in their eye our Author will not grant for he that will not allow Abraham whose Faith was grounded upon Revelations to have had any spiritual Promises will less allow those poor good men the priviledg whose Faith was only built upon Natural Demonstrations 2. How can faith in Christ answer to the faith of Abraham He has laid it down as the bottom of this Discourse p. 252. that The different sorts of Faith result from the different Objects and Motives of it But Abraham's Faith had different Objects and Motives from ours as he tells us And therefore it 's of another nature sort and kind than ours for so he says expresly The Apostle takes notice of two kinds of Faith and faith in Christ makes a third Now will it not be hard for the Apostle to maintain his great Principle That Abraham is the
in lege Mosis per se honesta sunt Grot. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is any thing that God hath thought meet to appoint or command his People Dr. Hammond And now for to divert his Reader he has sprung us new game but I shall adjourn the Consideration of what immediately follows that we may not be bewildred and lost in a wood and shall fall in with him at p. 273. where he reassumes the present Subject Thus yâ—…u see says he how the Apostle opposes the Righteousness of the Law and the Righteousness of Faith not as an Inherent and Personal Righteousness to an Imputed Righteousness but as an External and Ritual to an Inherent and Substantial Righteousness but we have seen no such matter as yet and do believe we are not like to see it And the rather because he has thrown in a very suspicious word that would make any one think that though he sets a good Face upon the Matter yet he has little confidence in the Truth of his own Notions The Truth is lays he The Righteousness of the Law and of Works in the New-Testament signifies only an External Righteousness which cannot please God Now I began to think thus with my self Does the Righteousness of the Law signifie one thing in the New-Testament and another in the Old-Testament Does it signifie a real Inherent Substantial Righteousness in the Old and a Ritual External Righteousness in the New Sincerity in the one and Hypocrisie and Ceremony in the other this is very unaccountable Surely thought I when the Apostle argues with Jews or Judaizing Christians he speaks in their Dialect speaks to their Capacity speaks that he may be understood speaks ad idem They that had read Ps. 119. 144. The Righteousness of thy Testimonies of thy Law is everlasting would wonder to hear the Apostle speak against the Righteousness of the Law but alas he only equivocated and had a mental Reservation in his Sleeve and understood all the while Ceremony and hypocrisie But this is a Riddle which because our Author has made of his own Mother-wit he is the fittest Man alive to interpret it 3 His Second Antithesis is between my own Righteousness and the Righteousness of God and he is considering with himself in what sense they are opposed But there 's no great difficulty in this says he for the Apostle himself tells us that by his own Righteousness he means the Righteousness of the Law and by the Righteousness of God the Righteousness of Faith and therefore he will give this the gentle wipe and away But now he has quite spoiled the Humour of the double Antithesis for if by his own Righteousness he means the Righteousness of the Law and by the Righteousness of God the Righteousness of Faith then there 's but one single Antithesis between his own Righteousness which is of the Law on the one part and the Righteousness by the Faith of Christ even the Righteousness which is of God by Faith on the other part but at these rates he might have given us a treble quadruple sextuple Antithesis and have rung as many changes when his hand was once in upon two Bells as others can do upon six The Apostles Words indeed were clear very clear till our Author found it necessary to obscure them to deprave the Truth conciliate some small reverence to errour to which two Heads I foresaw from the first his whole Discourse might be reduced And thus much we are secured of That the Apostle has repudiated his own Righteousness from any concern in justification and that we may not doubt what that was he tells us 't is that of the Law What the Righteousness of the Law signifies is evident that which always bore that Name that which the Law commands and prescribes viz. An exact Conformity to the Law of God in Spirit Soul and Body so far as 't is attainable or not attainable He assures us next what he owns and adheres to viz. The Righteousness of Christ which is also called The Righteousness of God He further acquaints us how we come to be interessed in this Righteousness and that is by Faith and that we may not ignorantly or wilfully mistake Faith for the Doctrine of Faith he assures us that it 's by Believing by which we obtain this Righteousness Rom. 3. 22. The Righteousness which is by Faith of Iesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe To shut up his learned Exercitation or scholastical Dissertation or Diatriba of Antitheses our Author will favour us with a Reason nay with an obvious and the most obvious Reason why this Righteousness of the Law is called their own Righteousness because forsooth this Legal Righteousness was a way of their own chusing not of God's Appointment Now here he most falsly supposes that by the Righteousness of the Law is only meant a Righteousness made up of the Works of the Ceremonial Law but I think something has been offered to dash that fancy out of countenance I am in haste and intreat our Author to accept of short answers 1. God has not appointed a Righteousnes made up out of any observances of the Moral Law to be that Righteousness wherein Sinners shall stand justified before him If any will demand Iustification thereby God will demand exact and perfect Conformity If therefore Sinners will chase this way 't is their own Righteousness and it 's time to give it a bill of divorce God has not appointed it 2. External Washings External Conformity c. were no Righteousness at all much less the Righteousness of the Law that which it required to form a Righteousness and therefore chuse it or not chuse it this is nothing to the purpose The Apostle renounces his own Righteousness which is the Righteousness of the Law And this is further evident from Rom. 10. 3. which our Author quotes but miserably perverts For they being ignorant of Gods Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness have not submitted to the Righteousness of God Here is then the same Antithesis again between their own Righteousness that of the Law and the Righteousness of God which is by the Faith of Jesus Christ and the opposition is so direct and diametrical that 't was impossible to establish their own but they must shake off all subjection to Gods Righteousness The Question then will be Whether we are to be justified by a Legal or an Evangelical Righteousness And to this our Author agrees in words but his Words intend quite another thing from the Truth For by the Law he understands the Law of Moses and let that pass too for once But then by the Law of Moses he understands only the Ceremonial Law though sometimes he is content to take in External Acts of Conformity to the Moral Law and thus by a Legal Righteousness or the Righteousness of the Law he understands one made up of External Observations only wherein the Apostle has clearly
as a secondary Use some surly ill-conditioned People would conclude that it was not used to confirm a Covenant because the other half was not imployed for that use 2. Another use of the Blood of the Sacrifice sprinkled was to procure the favour of God 2. Chron. 29. 21 22. where we read 1. That all these Lambs Bullocks Rams Goats were offered to God at the Altar Hezekiah commanded the Priests to offer them on the Altar 2. That when the Blood had been shed at the Altar it was afterwards sprinkled on the Altar 3. To shew that the great operation of the Blood even as sprinkled was by vertue of his having been once shed at the Altar The two Goats of the Sin-Offering were only slain by the Priests after they had laid their hands on them and thereby laid the sins of the People upon them in their Typical way but their Blood was not at all sprinkled upon the Altar and yet the greatest efficacy is ascribed to them as the Sin-Offering 4. The design of all these Sacrifices their Offering upon the Altar the shedding and then sprinkling of the Blood is said to be v. 24. to make Reconciliation with their Blood upon the Altar and to make Atonement for all Israel 5. And that none might harp upon the old humour that surely the People were fallen out among themselves were all in Mutiny and Civil-Wars and this Blood was to reconcile them and make them friends We are told It was for all Israel for the Kingdom the Sanctuary for Iudah for Church and State Prince and People All had offended God and this was the Typical way of recovering his favour and regaining a Communion with him in his Temple 3. The Blood was sprinkled also for Purification and Cleansing Lev. 14. 5. Answerable hereto God has promised in the Covenant of Grace that he will sprinkle his people with clean water and from all their Idols and Abominations will be cleanse them Ezek. 36. which he effects by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the Blood of Iesus Therefore are Saints called elect according to the foreknowledg of God the Father through the Sanctification of the Spirit uâ—…to obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Iesus Christ. 1 Pet. 1. 2. 4. The Blood was sprinkled before the Mercy-Seat Lev. 16. 15. When the Priest had shed the blood of the Sacrifice at the Altar and offer'd it to God he carries in some of the Blood into the most Holy place and by that Blood intercedes with God for the People Thus our Lord Jesus when by the once offering of himself he had made an Atonement with God for sin discharges the other great part of 〈◊〉 Priesthood becomes our intercessor at the throne of Grace and in the merit and vertue of that Blood which was once shed for the reconciling of God and procuring his favour he lives for ever to make intercession for us And now I suppose it may be left to all indifferent Persons to judg whether our Author has not most barbarously Murdered the Death of Christ it self and trampled his sacred Blood under his feet allowing no other end or use to it but that oâ—… confirming a Covenant whereas considered as the Blood of sprinkling it has far greater and higher ends and yet the Blood as sprinkled comprehends not the whole design of that Blood § 4. But yet supposing That all the ends of the Death of Christ were wrap't up in that one expression the Blood of sprinkling and supposing also that the Blood of the Sacrifices as sprinkled had no other end or use but the confirming of a Covenant yet how will this prove his main Assertion That we owe the Covenant of Grace to the Death of Christ All that will follow is that we owe the Confirmation of the Covenant to it and only the Confirmation of the Covenant and then another thing will follow too that we do not owe the Covenant it self to it unless he can prove that procuring and confirming are Terms of the same importance The advantage our Author has got by this way of Reasoning is that he has found out a way how to own all Scripture-Expressions and yet accommodate them to his own preconceived Opinions 1. Hence says he we are said to be justified by the Blood of Christ Rom. 5. 9. That is by the Gospel-Covenant which was confirmed and ratified by his Death To which I Answer 1. If we may be said to be justified by his Blood because his Blood confirmed the Covenant then we may be said more properly to be justified by his Miracles for they indeed had a proper direct immediate and sufficient evidence in them to confirm the Doctrine which he Preacht and it 's a Miracle almost as great as any of them that the Scripture should never once intimate that we are justified by Miracles which directly and properly confirmed his Doctrine and yet constantly affirm it of his Death which directly and properly confirmed it not 2. Then also with the same propriety of Speech we may be said to be justified by the Blood of the Martyrs which was a convincing Testimony that they believed their Doctrine to be true and then the old Popish Rhime will come in fashion again Tu per Thomae sanguinem quem pro te impendit Da nos Christe scandere quo Thomas ascendit 3. If the Blood of Christ contribute no more to our justification than as it confirmed the Truth of this proposition amongst others He that Believes and obeys the Gospel shall be pardoned and saved then it 's possible to be justified without the Blood of Christ God has given us many Arguments to confirm the Truth of the Gospel If then I believe the Truth of what Christ preached upon those Arguments which are suited to its confirmation as upon the evidence of Miracles c. and accordingly obey all its Commands It were very hard if I should miss of Pardon and Life for not believing it upon one single Argument and that but a probable one neither What if I Believe the Promise upon nine of God's Arguments and hit not upon the Tenth obey upon nine of God's Motives and want only that single String to my Bow shall my Faith and Obedience be rejected because not grounded upon every particular Reason that may possibly be Muster'd up to confirm them 4. It will be in vain ever to speak or write again if such far-fetcht Consequences be allowed to interpret what is spoken and written There are no two things in the world so remote each from other but they have some kind of Relation and Affinity and if this way will salve all there will hardly be found that thing in the World if it may but be conceived to have had any Relation as an Argument to our Faith and Obedience but we may be said to be justified by it We are said to be justified by the Blood of Christ True But how Why thus The Blood of Christ signifies
findeth his own Brother Simon and saith unto him we have found the Messiah which is being Interpreted the Christ. A Person then there was who under the Title of Christ was alwayes laid before the Faith and Expectancies of the People of God And of so great Concernment was this Name that Peter joyns it with the Son of God Matth. 16. 15. Whom do ye say that I am Simon Peter answered in the Name of the rest Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God I shall not urge the Testimony of the Devils Luke 5. 41. Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God For he is a Lyar from the Beginning and would not have owned the Truth but to Disparage it by his Testimony yet it s somewhat sad there should be greater Heresies on Earth than in Hell Nor shall I insist upon that of the Souldiers who took it for granted that he was commonly Distinguisht by the Name Christ Mat. 16. 68. Prophesie unto us thou Christ who it is that smote thee But Christs own Testimony must pass Matth. 23. 8. 10. Be not ye called Rabbi for one is your Master even Christ and all ye are Brethren neither be ye called Master for one is your Master even Christ. A huge Bussle there has been about this place and our Authors Evidence had it been Subpoened in would have struck the Business dead One is your Master even an Office And now will you hear a Facetious and Merry Reason why He is alwayes called Iesus in the Gospels which contain the History of his Life and Death p. 8. Because forsooth all this time it was Disputed whether He were the Christ or not Great Disputes indeed the Devil has raised about the Lord Jesus some will dare to Dispute it whether He be very God or not others whether He be the Christ of God or not And not a few whether he offered himself a Propitiatory Sacrifice upon the Cross to an offended God for sin so that if Christ must never be owned till all Disputes be ended we must Prorogue his Naming till the coming of Elias The World was then as 't is now which would alwayes be Disputing things in themselves Indisputable Disputed then his Name was before his Resurrection and so has been ever since by Infidels and by those who Believed neither Disputed before nor after I have heard of a great Dispute of late amongst Persons of great Learning about the Reason of an Appearance in Philosophy when one of the Company wiser it seems than his Neighbours gravely Counselled them to Examine more Narrowly whether indeed the Thing were so in Fact or no before they did beat their Brains about giving a Reason why it should be so His Advice was hearkned to and upon severe Scrutiny they had been Arguing about a Non-entity Thus it had become our Authors Excellencie to have shewn that it is before he came to flie so high at the Why it is But it seems the Matter was not weighty whether he were the Christ or not it being determined by our Authors own Licenser that whatever is Disputable is inconsiderable Thirdly Christ signifies the Gospel and Religion of Christ As Moses signifies the Writings and Law of Moses and the Prophets the Writings of the Prophets Hold good Sir Create your self no further Trouble we will grant you more than you con Prove even as much as you Demand that we may purchase our Peace And that in Common Speech Christ may signifie his Laws by much stronger Reasons than Moses can signifie his Laws For Moses was but a Servant in His Masters House but Christ a Son in and over his own House Christ was the Law Maker Moses only an Instrument for their Promulgation and Execution But then it must be Remembred withal 1. That the Name Moses signifies Originally Properly and Primarily the Person of Moses the very Man Moses and only Obliquely Secondarily Figuratively or as your great Friend Vol. has it Analogico Figuratoque dicendi genere the Doctrine Writings Laws of Moses 2. That when we meet with a word that has a Proper and an Improper a First and a Second a Plain and a Tropical signification we always let that Proper Plain and Primary signification take the Wall and have the Upper hand of the Improper Tropical and Second-hand sence all ways provided that no Cogent Inexorable Reason taken from the Circumstances of the Place do Oblige to the Contrary 3. We must well understand what our Author Claims and what we Grant That it's usual nothing more usual in Common Speech than to call any Laws or Religion by the Name of the first Authors In Common Speech then this holds for if he will lay the Weight or Stress of any Disputable Point upon it that the word is so used in Scripture we must beg his Pardon and desire him to hold us Excused unless he can Prove it by Convincing Arguments and we lay down this Protestation before-hand that we shall not take High mounted Confidence nor Imperious Dictates nor Hungry jejune Glosses for Apodictick in the Case The rather because we are ascertained that the Name Christ does Properly Primarily Frequently nay Generally express a Person in Office and if our Author will needs have it signifie or Office or Church or Gospel or any Living thing else in all the Worldâ—… merely to evade the force of Truth or to hedge in any Whimsical Notions of his own he shall get his Ground by Inches and force his Way through the main Rocks for we shall part with nothing that we can Fairly and Honestly keep But we attend his Evidence Gal. 6. 15. In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature That is in the Gospel and Religion of Christ nothing is of any Value to Recommend as to the favour of God but a new Nature a Holy and vertuous Life p. 9. To which Gloss I oppose two small Incoveniencies First The Uncertainty Secondly The Apparent falshood of it First If there were nothing else to Disparage it its Uncertainty is enough for its merely Precarious that Christ must signifie so here If any has the Confidence to deny it though never so faintly the Cause is utterly blown up our Negative upon him puts him to Eternal silence When our Author is hard beset at any time he has one Answer ready Cut and Dried which serves for every Text in the Scripture as pag. 261. It is a sufficient Answer to this to say they need not signifie so If that will suffice him which others must be glad to be sufficed with he 's Answer'd But why not the Common Gloss In the Account of Jesus Christ Circumcision nor Uncircumcision avail nothing but c. And the strongest Probabilities lie on this side First The foregoing words whereof this Verse is rendred as a Reason do unquestionably speak of a Person ver 14. The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now comes in this Verse as a Reason or
he afterwards throwes up his Nose so scornfully at Some other matters may have a Room in our Consideration As 1 That this Knowledge of God was Natural had need be a little better trimmed than ordinary Natural either imports what is constitutive of our Beings or flows immediately from the Principles of Nature or else what is congruous and agreeable to our Natures as designed for such an Employment as is proper to them If he take Natural in the first sence I softly deny that The Knowledge of God which made or would have made Adam happy was Natural to him And my Reason is that what does so constitute Nature or flow immediately from the Principles thereof cannot possibly be separated from that Being but withall the very Being is destroy'd but we see damned Souls and Devils retain all that knowledge of God which did constitute their Essences and yet have lost all that knowledge of God which is or may be a Means to their happiness they retain their Beings are not physically stript of them though they are Morally devested of all the Comfort of their Beings but then if by Natural Knowledge no more be intended but that upon supposition God would create man to serve love and enjoy him it was due to a Being so posited to be so qualified If man must serve his Maker and in that service enjoy him and in that enjoyment be Happy in him then indeed is it natural such a Knowledge such a Will such a Heart should be bestow'd upon him but I would have this Bush soundly beaten by a better Huntsman than my self and ten to one he may from under it start a Pelagian 2 It would be enquired whether this Natural Knowledge was a sufficient means for Adams Happiness Our Author seems clearly to assert it but I confess I cannot joyn with him as believing that much more was required of and indeed bestow'd upon him than a Natural Knowledge of God He was made in the Image and likeness of God Gen. 1. 26 27. A main part of that Image lay in Righteousness Eccles. 7. 29. God made man upright 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rectum there was a Rectitude of all the Powers and Faculties an exact conformity of them to one another and of all to the Revealed Will of God And this appears In that the Image of God restored by Grace assures us what that Image was which he once had but since has lost Eph. 4. 24. And that ye put on the New Man which after God is created in Righteousness and True Holiness And indeed the first man not being capable of a forreign Righteousness whereby he might be justifi'd that Covenant either not needing it supposing he had stood or not admitting it on supposition of a Fall he must necessarily have a Righteousness inherent one of his own to qualifie him to hold Communion or to speak warrantably with our Author converse with God 3 I question much that Expression of Innocence as not very Innocent it has been taken upon suspicion many a time and sometime could not give a good Account of it self Casta quidem sed non credita And it has been the more narrowly observed since a Generation of Men arose in the world who would perswade us That the Perfection of Man in his first Creation lay not in any positive Qualities of Holiness Righteousness and Truth but in a bare Freedom from sin That is they would fancy Man to have been created as pure white and Innocent as a sucking Lamb but not so much as the first preparative blue towards the tincture of any Vertues but whether this one word in our Author may be iuterpreted so high time must discover And hitherto of the State wherein God created Man 2. A second Period of Time into which our Author has Thrown the World is that from Adam to Abraham inclusively Upon which Interval he Philosophizes even to our wonderment In after-Ages as Mankind grew more corrupt and declined to Idolatry Here I want our Authors Accuracy or must complain of a Fallacy for methinks it 's a deadly long stride to step from Adam to after-Ages without the Bridge of some Neat Transition he might have made two steps of this just now we found Man in the state of Innocency and now we find him corrupt and declined to Idolatry and yet none can imagine how this evil of Sin and Misery invaded the world The Heathens were at their wits-ends about it the Manichees could not invent a way to assoyl it but by assigning a double Eternal Cause or Principle the one of Good the other of Evil And now when we expected great matters from this Gentleman to be left in the lurch and fobb'd off with a blind account that this was done in after-Ages In after-Ages as Mankind grew more corrupt Oh! it seems they were Corrupt before and enclined to Idolatry but in these villanous after-Ages they grew more Corrupt Religion pass'd through many hands and in long Tract of time gathered Moss and Furre Men sliding insensibly none ever knew how into this degeneracy and Trace it up as high as you can yet Nilus hides his Head beyond the Mountains of the Moon That Men are corrupt and stark naught we see but how they became so or when first turn'd out of the way that 's hid in darkness and perpetual Night But there is one St. Paul as obscure an Author as some would represent him that would have spoken a thousand times more to our satisfaction than this Gentleman Rom. 5. 12. By one man sin entred into the World and Death by Sin and so Death pass'd upon all men in that or in whom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all have sinned V. 17. By one Mans Offence Death reigned by one V. 18. By the Offence of one Iudgement came upon all to Condemnation That the evil that we experience in the world and that 's abundance may be reduced to two heads it 's either Malum Culpae or Malum Poenae Either the Evil of Sin or the Evil of Punishment for sin Now this Excellent Author tells us that both these Evils came from one root one spring and that was one Man and that one Man was Adam This seems to have a probable face of the Origine of Evil but he was a dark Writer There is therefore another Author that wrote a Book called The Catholick Doctrine believed and professed in the Church of England one with whom our Author has some Reason to be acquainted for a Reason or two that I know of now this Author tells us Art 9. Of Original or Birth-sin That Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam as the Pelagians vainly talk N. B. but it is the Fault and Corruption of the Nature of every Man that Naturally is ingendred of the Off-spring of Adam whereby Man is very far gone from Original Righteousness and is enclined to evil so that the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and therefore in every person born
we become acquainted with the Wisdom of God Any man living might have said but this Doctor Owen and a very few more and have thought no great Harm neither What ails then our Author thus dismally to Paratragediate whence comes all this Clutterand Din Had Medaea Torn her Children piece-meal and scattered their reeking Entrails and bleeding Limbs about the fields Or had our Author been Invited to Thyestes his Banquet at the Honour whereof the amazed Sun muffled his face in Clouds Or had he perhaps at least in a Play seen Hippolytus drawn in Pieces with his own Coach-Horses Or Hercules stark Raging Mad with the Centaures poysoned Jerkin No not a Syllable of all this But one Doctor Owen had unadvisedly Quoted Col. 2. 3. In Him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge to prove that Christ is our Wisdom c. All this while the Honest Reader stands wondering what should be the Cause of this high Ferment and where the Lye should be that deserves this Stab But I shall satisfie him The Doctor thinks these words are true of the Person of Christ and our Author will needs have them applied to the Doctrine of Christ The Text says he speaks of the Doctrines and Revelations of Christ. Shall it then be Compounded by indifferent Arbitrators If our Author will not exclude Christs Person I dare undertake the Doctor shall not exclude his Revelations and so the Controversie shall be all Husht and Quiet Two things I shall modestly offer to the Reader 1. That in this Text the Person of Christ must necessarily be Included And I shall assign these two Reasons Reason 1. It 's dangerous to Interpret Scripture at that Rate as may destroy the Design of it and if this Course be taken I know nothing but that the Person of Christ may be Distinguisht and Interpreted out of the whole Bible If it stand not here necessarily it stands in all other places but precariously and when he sees good can show us a way how a Doctrine or a Revelation may be Born of the Virgin Mary and suffer also under Pontius Pilate Reason 2. The second Verse leads us plainly to a Person The Mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ. Hence I am apt to believe That since the Father and the Son are equally Conâ—…ern'd in the Argument are joyn'd together in one Sentence are Linckt in one even Tenour and Current of Discourse if the Father signifie a Litteral proper Father the Son also will prove a Litteral and proper Son And if the Son must be a Figurative Tropical Son the Father likewise in the Issue will be a Figurative and Tropical Father either let both be Real or both Figurative fince the Apostle has given us no Reason to think otherwise of the one than of the other Reason 3. How harsh would it sound in our Ears to say that God is the Father of a Doctrine an Office and whatever else our Author pleases and yet it 's plain that of that Son to whom God is a Father the Apostle affirms In Him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge Reason 4. It 's not conceivable how all the fulness of Wisdom and Knowledge can dwell in Christs Doctrines and Revelations without first conceiving them to dwell in his Person Commonly mens Writingâ—… are not fuller of Wisdom than their Heads whereas therefore our Author would Inâ—…er that the Text is not to be understood of his Persoâ—… because it is so of his Doctrines I should the â—…ther conclude it truâ—… of His Doctrine because it is first so and most absolutely so of His Person 〈◊〉 were a strange way of Arguing that the Fountain cannot possibly be full because the Vessel is so when it is therefore true that the Vessel is full in its limited Capacity because the Fountain is full â—…out such limitation Reason 5. The whole Current of the Chapter empties it self into a Person Thât Person or Thing be it who oâ—… what it will in which or in 〈◊〉 the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge are said to be hid ver 2. Is the same in which or in whom ver 9. All the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily Who or which v. 10. is the Head of all Priâ—…cipalitie and Power in which or in whom they were Circumcised Who or which ver 12. â—…as raised from the Dead to whose Cross ver 14 The Hand-writing of Ordinances was Nailed And who or which ver 15. Spoiled Principalities and Powers triumphing over them in it Reason 6. Because our Author sometimes when his Ingenuity works can be content to divide the Matter Thus pag. 32. Christ says he is called Heb. 1. 2. the Brightness of his Fathers Glory and express Image of his Person as the Will of God was fully declared to the World by Him as well as with respect to his Divine Nature And pray why may we not be allowed the same Liberty here to say All the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge are hid in Christ as well with respect to his Person as to his Doctrine 2 If this will not do I have one thing more to acquaint him with Let him leave that Imperious way of perpetual Dictatorship and fall to Proving and Arguing as hard as he can for it 's past that time of day with the World that has its Eyes open to receive Confident assertions for Demonstrations Before I dismiss this Period I must a little further Examine our Authors Connexions and Dependencies of things and the rather because they seem to hang together with no better Friendship than so many Pebbles in a Halter nor to maintain a stronger Correspondency each with other than the parts of a Thumb-rope made of Sand. And 1. He tells us That he may not do the Doctor wrong he must tell us what he means by acquaintance with Christs Person And then Quotes the words which we have just now discharged from our Consideration But say I this could not be that he might not wrong him but the contrary that he might be sure not to do him right For not to Insist upon so small a Matter that he Mutilates and Mangles the Doctors words it 's very plain that the Doctor does not there describe our Acquaintance with Christs Person but the Effect of it That in a Crucified Christ we behold the Glory of God pag. 78. 2. I cannot but observe what a Mad and Frantick Inference he draws from the Doctors words So that our acquaintance with Christs Person signifies in this man's Divinity such a Knowledge of what Christ is hath Done and Suffered for us from whence we may learn those Greater Deeper and more saving Mysteries of the Gospel which Christ hath not expresly revealed to us Now this is sure an excellent Invention and whereof our Author deserves the Patent to Slander Revile and Calumniate a Person that he may not do him wrong to Cut a mans Throat for fear you should hurt him to Pick his Pocket out of
mere tenderness of Conscience lest you should do him an Injury Our acquaintance with Christs Person teaches us no new Doctrine but only acquaints us with the Reason of the Old ones We learn from the Gospel that God pardons Iniquity Transgression and Sin and from the same Gospel we understand what Influence the Personal Sufferings of Christ have upon our forgiveness with God We learn from the Scriptures That God heareth the Prayers of his People offer'd in the Name of Christ And from the same Gospel we learn what the Intercession of Christ at the right Hand of the Father does contribute to the answer of our prayers The Person of Christ reveals no other much less greater and deeper Mysteries than are revealed in the Gospel only that upon the account of Christs Person his Offices his Undertaking we have a satisfactory account how those things which the Gospel reveals should be Possible and Feasible Thus Rom. 3. 26. we find that God is the Iustifier of him that believes And Faith that Resolves all its acts into the Veracity and Authority of the Revealer is ready to assent to and acquiesce in that Revelation But suppose God will gratifie the Inquisitiveness of our Spirits and clear up Matters to the satisfaction of our Trembling because guilty Souls the Gospel reveals all this to be in Christ He is set forâ—…h to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood Rom. 3. 25. In him is the Righteousness of God declared Upon His account God appears to be Iust even then when He is the most Gracious free and soveraign Iustifier of a Sinner If then at any time our Faith shall stagger how the Blood of Christ could be a Propitiation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Pacification with God for us we are presently Relieved from the Consideration of that Person whose Blood it was viz. The Blood of Him that is God Acts 20. 28. and therefore of infinite Value But because this will hardly pass when we tender it in Payment we have one to be our Voucher whose Word will go further than the Doctors Bond and it is our Authors own dear self Pag. 19. This assures us of the Infinite value of Christs Sacrifice God cannot but be well pleased when his Son undertakes to be a Ransome The clear and full account therefore of the deep Mysteries and great Difficulties in our Religion are to be Salved from a due Consideration of the Person Natures Offices Undertaking Active and Passive Obedience of Christ but the Revelations of all these things are Wholly Only and Entirely due to the Gospel There is one thing which I shall touch upon by the way That for any Doctrine or Proposition which his Adversaries do Abett he exacts Rigorously and they are bound to produce express Revelations Scripture to a Letter a Tittle but for any of his own phancies A feeble Conjecture some far-fetcht Consequence shall serve the turn well enough Such Laws did his Master Volkelius Lib. 3. de ver â Relig. Cap. 11. p. 62 once Impose upon the world That whosoever should bring a Text to prove that the Church of Old had the Promises of Eternal Life must bring one that did assert it Apertis Luculentissimisque verbis In plain express Terms Ay no doubt it must be written with a Sun-beam that will enlighten their minds who have no mind to see but if it be drawn with a Charcoal it will do when it s pressed to serve their Hypothesis Now though I much Question whether we be Obliged to abide by these new Laws of Disputation yet thus much is out of Question that our Blessed Saviour thought he quoted Scripture when he only drew an Inference from it Iohn 7. 38. He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of Living Waters But 3. As I am dissatisfied with our Authors Inference from the Doctors words so I am much more with the Reason that he assigns to make good his Inference His Inference is That the Doctor from Christs Person learns greater deeper Mysteries than Christ hath Revealed in his Gospel The Proof is this For so he adds soon after That these properties of God his pardoning Mercy Christ hath revealed in his Doctrin in that revelation he hath made of God and his Will The Sinews and Nerves of which Argument lie visible The Doctor asserts That these properties of God are revealed in the Gospel Ergo It 's plain that He asserts they are not revealed in the Gospel That is in broad English he denies because he affirms Or he says the Snow is Black because he proves as well as he can that it 's White Let none ever hereafter despair of the greatest Impossibilities this is one of the most hopeful Essays towards the Squaring of the Circle the Doubling of the Cube and setting on Foot a perpetual Motion And what cannot that Wit be able to do that can prove the Doctor affirms these Mysteries are not because he says they are in the Gospel I confess when first I read this Passage in our Author I examin'd the Doctors words with all possible care nay I wrested them almost in pieces and wrackt them most cruelly to try if with my weak strength I could extort any such conclusion from them and when I had tired my self was forced to sit down by this Determination that either our Author or all his Readers are certainly Frighted out of their Wits But yet there 's something follows in the Doctors that will yield matter of Cavil But the Life of this Knowledge lies in an acquaintance with Ghrists Person wherein the express Image and Beams of this Glory of his Father doth shine forth That is as our Author pretends to Gloss it from the Doctor These things are clearly eminently and savingly only to be discovered in Jesus Christ. I was apt to think at first sight that he might have some dreadful Pick at those words In his Person the express Image and Beams of this Glory of his Father shine forth But I soon Cured my self of that Suspition by remembring that pag. 32. Our Author himself was pretty well contented Christ should be so called upon the account of his Divine Nature although to please all Parties he had found out a Temper that he should be so called in respect of his Doctrines and Revelations And therefore without more ado I was satisfied that the Grudge lay against those other words The Life of this Knowledge lies in an acquaintance with Christs Person Now if I might presume so far upon my Acquaintance with the Doctors meaning as I think any one may it 's no more but this That whereas the Scripture every where reveals to us that God is a God pardoning Iniquity Transgression and Sin Exod. 34. 6. Yet the Matter is Clog'd with considerable Difficulties and attended with great Objections for the same Text assures us that He will by no means clear the Guilty Both the parts of this
the Apostle has fixt the Notion for us And ver 5. we read Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God And ver 6. This is he that came by Water and by Blood even Iesus Christ. Ver. 9. This is the Witness of God which he hath Testified of his Son And ver 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the Witness in himself And ver 11. This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son And then follows the words under Examination He that hath the Son hath Life I conclude then that if by Son ver 5 6 9 10. c. he meant the very Son of God our Lord Iesus Christ then by Son in ver 12. is meant the very self same Person And I am the more Confirm'd in my Opinion because our Author p. 101. will not allow any to separate a single Sentence from the Body of the Discourse to make the Scripture speak their own sence Though I confess he intended it as a Caution to others that they may avoid it but a Canon to himself that he might observe it What to others was set up for a Buoy to discover a Rock to himself is hung out for a Lanthorn to discover his way But I shall take his Caution and charitably believe so well of the Apostles sincerity and judiciousness in Discourse that he would not speak of one thing in one Verse and another in the next under the same words without sufficient intimation of his Intention But now for having the Son of God that is the remaining enquiry Now in this our Author speaks more Truth than he is aware of What can having the Son signifie says he but having an Interest in Him Being made one with Him especially when we remember that it is called being in Christ and abiding in him which must signifie a very near Union between Christs Person and ours It must so If the Son signifie the very Son of God we must have Him as he is capable of being had and that 's only by Interest and Propriety through Compact agreement and the Constitution of God in a Gospel Covenant Ay but says our Author Some will be so Perverse as to understand it of believing and Obeying his Gospel Well and if they will be so Perverse without a Reason we shall take the freedom to be as Perverse as they can be and believe no more than we have proof for But let us practise with his Gloss a little By the Son he understands the Gospel and then his Paraphrase of v. 5. will run thus smoothly Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Jesus is the Gospel that is he that believes a Lye he is the man that overcomes the World Ay but we must remember that by Iesus he has understood the Gosple also and then indeed you will have a Paraphrase compleat in all Points Who is he that overcomes the World but he that believeth that the Gospel is the Gospel And sure he must be a Dull thing indeed that cannot and a Perverse one too that will not believe and Subscribe so Self-evident a Proposition But the World is full of perverse People and therefore no wonder if some will so understand it And amongst many others one Volkelius lib. 3. de verâ Relig p. 37. in John 1. 4. In him was Life Hoc est Ipsi commissa est vitae Eternae viae ad eam ducentis Anunciatio quâ Hominum animos mirificè collustravit Ignorantiae tenebras quantum in ipsa fuit ab iis depulit quod idem alio in loco edisserit 1 Joh. 5. 10. dum ait Hoc est Testimonium quod Deus Testatus est de filio suo quod vitam Eternam nobis dedit Deus haec in filio ejus est That is to him was committed the Declaration of Eternal Life and of the Way that leads thither whereby he wonderfully enlightened the Minds of Men and scattered the Darkness of Ignorance from them as much as in him lay which he Discourses also in another place 1 Iohn 5. 10. c. The Reader cannot but observe the Parenthesis That Christ enlightned men as much as in him lay if he could have done more he would But what would they expect from a Man Now when I observe our Author in this very place Deriding the Hopes of them who expect to receive free Comunications of Pardon and Grace Righteousness and Salvation from our Lord Iesus Christ Methinks I see Quantum in ipso fuit and whether he filled his Vessel from that Cistern or no is not so clear but this is certain that all came from the same Fountain To conclude this Head the Gloss of this Text according to the Proportion and Analogy of our Authors Faith must be this He that believeth and obeyeth the Gospel believeth and obeyeth Life and he that believeth not and obeyeth not the Gospel believeth not obeyeth not Life But our Gloss is this He that hath an Interest in Christ hath an Interest in Life and he that hath not in the one hath not in the other but the Wrath of God abides on him there being no means discovered whereby we can escape it but by Jesus Christ. It would have been small Satisfaction to our Author to pervert the Sence unless he might be allowed also to pour Contempt upon the Phrase of the Scripture which he has carried on to that height of Daring-provocation that I am certain he never met with his Superiour and do hope he may never find an Equal He is at last grown almost weary of Reproaching the Expressions of Men too mean a Quarry for one of his Wing to stoop at and now the Expressions of the Holy Ghost must find him Game that he may appear truly Great by great Enmities Erostratus was resolved to Eternize his Name though by Firing the Temple of Diana at Ephesus And Nero conceived great hopes from the Burning of Rome and his unsampled Butcheries to Inoculate his Name into History that he might upon any Terms survive his Funeral It 's some Alleviation to them who Groan under the burden of Obloquy that they meet with no harder Measure than their Lord and Master And it might quiet the grieved Spirit of a righteous Lot when his words are wrested when the holy Spirit of God is grieved with the Affronts put upon his Expressions The Disciple is not ought not expect to be above his Master nor the Servant above his Lord It 's enough that the Disciple be as his Master and the Servant as his Lord If they have called the Master of the House Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of the Houshold Mat. 10. 24. Let them therefore possess their Souls in patience and comfort one another with these words And thus our Author enters upon his Business It 's Self-evident that before we can be United
he was pleas'd to institute a great many Ceremonies and many of them of very obscure Signification iâ—… the Iewish Worship to aw their Childish Minds into a greater Veneration of his Majesty Now let the Reader substract A many out of A great many and the Remainder will inform him just How many of God's Institutions had Any light in them Had this Divinity faln into some mens fingers they would perhaps have made desperate work with it For 1. Some might say Nay then if God's own Ceremonies were invented to aw Childish Minds we can never hope for better from Humane Ceremonies but that they should fright the Churches Children out of their wits 2. Others would censure it as guilty of horrid Prophaneness to assign such a Reason for God's sacred Institutions as must imply That he was forced to go subtly to work with his people and to use the Artifice of Mormo's and Scarce-crows to fright them into Reverence as women terrifie their children with Robin with the Raw-head and Bloody-bones And 3. Some would not stick to say That surely some prying pate or other would have discovered the design and then instead of conciliating more Reverence it would certainly have exposed his Ordinances if not the Author of them to contempt But they who had seen Mount Sinai all on flame and smoak they who had heard the sound of that dreadful Trumpet who felt the Earth-quake without and a greater Heart-quake within at the presence of the Almighty God were convinced that God needed not to have recourse to those little slights of Ceremonies to aw their Childish Minds into a Veneration of his Majesty 4. Others expect when our Author should make God himself a Ceremony contrived to manage this bulky and unruly World with more ease For some it seems have got it by the the end that Primus in Orbe Deos fecit Timor 5. But all agree in this That this Doctrine argues our Authors gross ignorance in the true end of those Ceremonies All which had a fair and clear Prospect towards a Redeemer Col. 2. 17. They were a shadow of good things to come but the body was of Christ. But men may speak their pleasure our Author has determined against them That God's Institutions were to fright Children But now says he in these last days God sent his Son to make a plain easie and perfect Revelation of his Will to publish such a Religion as may approve it self to our Reason Well! whatever we have gained I am sure Religion has got no great mattâ—…r by the Bargain For then their Reason was to crowch to God's Religion though in an obscure Ceremony but now poor Religion must stoop to Reason must appear before the Tribunal of Reason and if it does not acquit it self well and give a Rational and Satisfactory account of its Tendries it must be bored through the Tongue with a red-â—…ot Iron for an Heretick And which is the worst on 't this Reason holds its Consistory in our Authors brain so that if he be but 〈◊〉 with a Rheumatism the droppings of his Nose must be imposed upon us for Twice distilled Reason Nor yet can I perceive wherein Religion does more approve it self to our Reason than formerly to theirs For 1. As to the Moral part of Religion that was as agreeable to Natural Light then as ' â—…is now Murder Adultery Stealing were equally condemned by the Sentiments of all Mankind in all Ages 2. For the Ceremonial part which depends upon the mere Authority and Sovereign pleasure of the Legislator they had as good Reason for their obedience as we can claim for ours There was as fair Reason pleadable for Circumcision as for Baptism for the Passover as the Supper the first Reason from which all instituted Worship springs being the Will and the last Reason into which all is resolved being the Glory of the Supreme Law-giver 3. The Perfection of Christ's Revelation above that of God to the Iews lies not in giving us a new Moral Law or adding any thing to it but in exhibiting Himself as the Substance of their Ceremonial Law who was revealed though less clearly revealed to them in Types and Figures And now Dr. Owen shall have a short truce and respite from Persecution whilst the storm falls upon Dr. Iacomb Some cavilling spirits have made a Qâ—…estion How the Air and Earth could afford sufficient Matter for Rain to make an Universal Deluge But I more wonder whence our Author could furnish himself with such a vast stock of sâ—…olding Materials and Utensils as might maintain such a constant Tenor of Fury and Rage against these men What Cistern or Receptacle is able to hold such a body of Rancor as may feed that stream which perpetually turns his Mill Some thought surely these Doctors had a great hand in burning the City or have rob'd the Temple at Delphos or however that of Tholouse But I relieved my self against that Suspicion by a seasonable Consideration That it 's not the custom to hear ill but for doing well And therefore my thoughts began to reel to the other side Whether possibly they had not club'd together to build or endow some Hospital or Colledg or had bought in all the Impropriations and laid them to the Church because it must be some glorious Work that could purchase our Author's Indignation and at no lower rates could they entitle themselves to his severe displeasure At last with much beating about I found that they had both zealously and strongly engaged against the Socinians for the Doctrine of the Church of England and then no Penance shall ever expiate their Guilt or procure an Indulgence for such Delinquenâ—…y But then the Difficulty recurred upon me Why he should slip his Hold of the one and fasten upon the other Yet I considered that Nature is much delighted with Variety And I have heard some that pretend to know something in those matters say That it 's not Policy to fight long with one Enemy for in a while they will understand our manner of fighting and become as good at our Weapon as our selves But now attend When we enquire says he what this Union between Christ and Believers is They answer It 's a Mystical Union through the Spirit and Faith And truly they answer pretty well For that it is a Mystical Union they produce the Apostle Paul for their Voucher Ephes. 5. 32. This is a great Mystery but I speak concerning Christ and his Church The Apostle is there discoursing of that intimous Oneness good Sir be not angry that is between the Husband and the Wife That the Wife is the Husbands own self vers 28. He that loveth his wife loveth himself Now covertly the Apostle with one and the same labour will shew us how mystical and intimous that Union is which is between Christ and his Church v. 29. No man ever hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it even as the Lord the Church For we are members of
Incarnation nor was his Assumption of our Nature absolutely necessary to the discharge of his Prophetical but of his Priestly Office A Body was prepared him that he might have what to offer in Sacrifice to God Hebr. 10. 7 8. It was the Spirit of Christ that spake in the Prophets 1 Pet. 1. 11. and to deny this is to deny something more than all the Thirty nine Articles namely the Nicene Creed I believe in the Holy Ghost who spake by the Prophets But 2. I deny that to receive a Doctrine upon the Authority of Christ is the true and full Notion of believing on him Faith in general implies an assent to a Truth upon the Authority of the Revealer but to make this a saving a justifying Faith the assent of the Understanding must draw along with it the Consent of the Will A true Faith is described by such terms as include the Concurrent Acts both of the Will and the Understanding and therefore that which the Apostles Creed expresses I believe the Resurrection of the Body the Nicene Creed renders I look for the Resurrection of the Dead Taking in that Act of the Soul whereby it waits and stedfastly hopes for the goodness of the thing promised as well as credits the Veracity of God in the truth of the Proposition And thus Abraham believed in Christ he looked and waited for that rich Mercy wrap'd up in that promise of the Messiah and all those spiritual Blessings that were to come through him 3. The Reason of the Promise is the Object of Faith as well as the Truth of the Promiser Abraham believed the Promise to be true upon the Authority of him who gave it forth but he saw also that it was upon the account of Christ a Mediator that God would communicate to him the Blessings of the Covenant opitomized in that I will be thy God And this was that Gospel or Glad-tidings which was preached to Abraham Gal. 3. 8. But our Author threatens we shall hear more of this presently And I promise him when we do it shall be fully considered 2. He answers Affirmatively Abraham believed God To which I say Subordinat a non pugnant To believe God and to believe in Christ are very well consistent That Abraham believed in God and therefore he believed in Christ seems to me to carry as fair Reason as that other of his Abraham believed God and therefore he did not believe in Christ for the Scripture represents them as well agreed 1 Pet. 1. 21. Through Christ we believe in God 4. Our next Task must be to Combate with our Author's scruples and certainly never did man so snithe with prejudices against Truth It 's hard to conceive how Abraham should learn this Mystery from that general Promise In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Prejudice will I confess make an easier matter than this very hard and unbelief impossible to be conceived And yet were there not something worse than Prejudice at the bottom the difficulty could not be insuperable For 1. Abraham had one Promise that we know of to clear up the meaning of this Several Promises give Reciprocal light to one another The first Promise assured him That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head This shews to Abraham the necessity of having that Enmity removed which the Devil by sin had sowen between God and his Creature the removing of this Enmity could not be whilst Satan had the Dominion over the Creature A Seed is therefore promised to heal all that misery which sin brought into the World This Promise was committed to the Church of God which was a faithful Guardian to keep so precious a Iewel committed to its trust In this Seed which God had now revealed should come out of the Loyns of Abraham God promises Blessedness which mutually sends light to the other Promise that God would not only by the Promised Seed Deliver from evil but bestow all good 2. Abraham might have other and better Comments upon both these Promises than we are concerned to know it 's enough for us that we are taught in general that Abraham was justified the same way that we are and what that is the New-Testament abundantly declares And therefore it 's more ingenuous to conclude That Abraham was justified by a Faith in Christ because we are so than That we are not justified by the Righteousness of Christ because Abraham was not so 3. Abraham understood the true use of Sacrifices which are a clear Paraphrase upon the Promise in what manner God would reconcile the World to himself namely by laying the sins of the Offender upon the head of that Sacrifice which in the fulness of time should be offered for a Propitiation to God In the Faith of which grand Propitiation all true Believers lived and died And when at length he was exhibited to the World Iohn the Baptist points to him as the Accomplishment of all their former Sacrifiees and the Answer of all their Prayers and Hopes This is that Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the World John 1. 29. But 4. The Promise it self is not so obscure neither but that upon this single Supposition That God would bless the World with spiritual Blessings in the promised Seed they might easily conclude they could not be blessed in themselves and therefore not in their own works and deservings but in the Righteousness of another who must be more acceptable to God than themselves 5. We ought to entertain charitable thoughts of God of his Goodness and Mercy that he would not preach to Abraham the Gospel in an unknown tongue that is would not give him a Promise without the full latitude and extent of its meaning And 6. We are assured of the matter of fact that God did because he had the same Gospel preached to him That God would justifie the Heathen through Faith Gal. 3. 8. Now as it 's a strange way of Preaching to speak in a Language not understood so it 's as strange a Gospel that knows no Mediator no Redeemer Whatever then was the Object of a Gospel-Faith was the Object of Abraham's Faith for substance and whatever did constitute a Gospel-Righteousness made up his Righteousness And yet after all this our Author has muster'd up more self-created Prejudices to stumble his own belief of the way of Abraham's Justification For he supposes that Abraham must believe many things incredible and know many things not knowable before he could come to the knowledg of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness As 1. He must be well assured that the Blessings here meant are spiritual Blessings c. But if this be the worst on 't it would stumble me more to believe how he could believe Blessedness without pardon of sin and eternal life I cannot tell whether I shall satisfie another but I have satisfied my self in this matter from these Considerations 1. That Abraham upon his believing was
Devils the Will must also conspire with the Understanding For that which Faith is conversant about being not only true but good there must be an Act of Choice as Knowledg that the whole man may be employed about it 2. Says he The Object of Faith must be unseen things As the Being or Providence of God or a Future state something past or to come the Creation of the World or the final Dissolution of it or the accomplishment of any Promises or Predictions I grant indeed that these things may be called tropically the Object of our Faith but as they are things to be obtained they are more properly the Object of our Hope But that which Faith primarily eyes that which is its proper Object is the reason of its Assent and Consent And thus God in Christ through the Promise is the proper Object of a justifying Faith The mercles of the Covenant of Grace are many of them reserved for a future estate when the Soul shall be better qualified to enjoy them but Faith respects God actually giving himself in Covenant to be our God through a Mediator When we say we believe Heaven we belief Life Everlasting c. the meaning is only this we believe God has promised to give Heaven to give Life Everlasting through Jesus Christ I believe such a thing will be that is I believe God who has engaged that such a thing shall be The Authority of God speaking in the Promise is the true Reason and proper Object of Faith and the things contained in the Promise as they are such are not the Object of my Faith properly but have other powers of the Soul that are concerned about them 3. The different sorts of Faith says he result from the different Objects and Motives of it The Apostle takes notice of two kinds of Faith in this Chapter Hebr. 11. and faith in Christ makes a Third which are all the kinds of Faith the Scripture mentions Now I am afraid I shall grow every day less in love than other with our Author's Accurateness in Divinity For 1. What a mad way is this to distinguish Faith into its several kinds and sorts from the multiplicity of the things that it believes for at this rate he could have minted not three only or threescore but three hundred sorts and kinds of Faith The different sorts or kinds of Faith result says he from the different Objects and Motives of it But say I in his sence the Objects and Motives of Faith are innumerable and therefore the sorts and kinds of Faith are innumerable also The Object of Faith says he must be unseen things The Being or Providence of God or a Future state something past or to come c. Now according to this Doctrine we must believe the Being of God with one sort of Faith his Providences with another the Creation of the World with one kind of Faith its Dissolution with another Heaven with one kind of Faith Hell with another things past with one kind things to come with another Prophesies with one kind of Faith Promises with another And then for the Motives of Faith they are various The Power of God the Wisdom of God our Experience of God the Goodness of God So when I believe any thing and take the Power of God able to accomplish it for my Motive I believe it with a Faith of another kind from that whereby I believe the same thing and take the goodness of God for my motive And now there 's a Foundation laid for one of his plain Demonstrations that Abraham's Faith differed toto genere from Pauls because Abraham in believing took his encouragement from the faithfulness of him that had promised and Paul from his Abilities to keep what he had committed unto him So that I think I have not over-shot my self in saying That he may upon these principles coyn as many several sorts and distinct kinds of justifying Faith as he can possibly spend in seven years time and as he grows out of sorts he may stamp as many more 2. I am not satisfied that the Apostle mentions two and but just two sorts of justifying Faith in this Chapter For the Apostle mentions one and the same Faith By Faith we believe the Worlds were created by Faith Abel sacrificed by Faith Enoch walked with God by Faith the Elders obtained a good report by Faith Noah took Gods warning by Faith Sarah conceived by Faith Abraham offered up Isaac c. But if these Faiths were of several sorts and kinds the Apostle could not manage his Argument with Consistency nor should he so insensibly have passed from one sort of Faith to another without fair warning that he had no plot upon his Readers imbecillity 3. It 's full as easie to make All the sorts of Faith appear in the Chapter as two if it had pleased the Painter For 1. Here 's evidently the Faith of Christians vers 3. Through Faith we understand we Christians that the Worlds were framed by the Word of God 2. There 's Enoch's and Abel's Faith which our Author allots for a second kind of Faith And then 3. The Faith of Noah Abraham and all the rest and their 's constitutes the third sort oâ—… Faith 4. Much less am I satisfied that Faith in Christ makes a third kind of justifying Faith distinct from the other two Faith is but one the Reason into which our Faith is ultimately resolved is but one the Mean whereby we believe in God is but one even Jesus Christ by whom we believe in God But the things the good things propounded in the Promises are infinite So that I doubt not when any necessity shall urge him he can reduce all these three sorts of Faith into one again by Synaeresis or split any one of them into a couple by a Diaeresis But now let us look into his three sorts of Faith 1. § The first says he we may call A natural Faith I confess he may call things what he pleases only let him be sure he do not miscal them the rather because he has not Adams faculty to make inspection into their Natures But what is this natural Faith A belief says he of the Principles of natural Religion which is founded on natural Demonstrations and moral Arguments as that God is and that heis a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him But I am still of the same mind that there is no such thing nor ever was as a Religion of sinners whereby they can draw nigh to God and worship him with Acceptation but what supposes Divine Revelation as the means of Manifestation and a Redeemer as the medium of Reconciliation It is owned that this is a Principle of all Religion that God is and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him But there must be somewhat more than this namely Ability and strength from God that we may diligently seek him and a Mediator through whom we may seek him with him
fitted to return the Glory due to a Redeemer which an unhumbled unbelieving unconverted unsanctified Sinner could not possibly be 2 The Death of Christ devested of those its proper respects of a Sacrifice offered to God to atone and reconcile him a price paid to ransom and redeem us and a Punishment born to satisfie Divine Iustice was no infallible proof of the Doctrine which he preached For 1. Many have laid down their lives to Abett and endured extremity of Tortures rather than renege the Doctrine they have openly preached their Confidence the mean while supported either by a mistaken Conscience or perhaps some sinister respects All that it can prove in the largest judgment of Charity is That they suppose their Doctrine to be true or else would hardly lose their All rather than lose a Principle but not that therefore the Doctrine is true because the Preacher dies for it That which is false in it self will not become true by laying down our life for it In the Memory of the last Age there were some who sacrificed their lives to the Flames in defence of Contradictory Doctrines So that to say that the Death of Christ has no other use but To confirm the Truth of that Doctrine which he preacht is but a more modest civil and gentle way of saying it has no use at all 2. To whom should the Death of Christ confirm the Truth of his Doctrine to his Enemies or his Friends For his Enemies Many of his Sufferings the very greatest and sorest of his Sufferings were out of their notice either privately in the Garden or more privately in his Soul such as whereof they could take no cognizance and for these which were visible they looked on them as the just rewards of his violation of the Law As for his Friends his Death considered singly in it self without respect to its proper Ends was so far from confirming of their Faith or Belief of his Doctrine that it was that which shook their hopes and dasht their expectations out of countenance their Hearts died in his Death and those two expressed the Sense of more than their own diffidence Luk. 24. We trusted that it had been he that should have redeemed Israel But whether to Friends or Enemies the Death of Christ considered without his antecedent Miracles and subsequent Resurrection and concomitant Sacrifice was so improper a means to confirm that it had proved the clearest Confutation of his Doctrine that malice could have desired 3. The Death of Christ was so far from confirming this Doctrine That God would pardon Sinners that separate this one Consideration of it as satisfactory to Divine Iustice from his Death and it quite overthrows the credibility of the Doctrine and runs all the World down into utter despair For our Author must have a happy dexterity if he can conclude that because God dealt so severely with an innocent holy Person that therefore he will not fail to pardon repenting Sinners We must despair that ever repentance should make us personally equal with Christ If then God did these things in the green Tree what will be done in the Dry If Iudgment begun at God's own House where shall the Ungodly and Sinner appear He that spared not his own Son how much less will he spare the Sinner It could not be expected that any should believe Christ telling them God would pitty and pardon others who found him so severe to himself But that indeed the true Reason why God deals so graciously with the repenâ—…ing Sinner is because he had dealt so justly with his own Son voluntarily becoming his Surety and Substitute 4. There were proper proofs designed by God for the Confirmation of the Doctrine of Christ and no need at all to take sanctuary in that which nakedly considered was not so Those frequent clear stupendious Miracles wrought by Christ were fully adequate and commensurate to that End Reason will teach us to believe that God will not alter the course of Nature nor reverse its standing Laws to confirm a Lye to bear witness to a grand Imposture And surely they who would not believe Christ to be sent of God upon his Testimony to him in those Extraordinary Works would never believe it for his Death which was no wonder at all otherwise than as the fruit of his ineffable Love offering himself to God as a Sacrifice for Sin and so indeed it was the greatest Wonder of them all The Enemies of Christ triumpht in his Death that they had nailed his Cause with his Person to the Cross and that which they feared was his Resurrection A Miracle so far beyond all exception to confirm that he was sent of God and therefore his Doctrine must needs be true that their greatest care was to have prevented it by sealing the Stone and setting a Watch. 5. But supposing that the Death of Christ had confirmed his Doctrine and particularly this That God would pardon and save the Believing and Obedient Sinner Yet still what influence has this upon our Acceptance with God Will God accept our Obedience the more because we have greater helps to obey May our duty expect a greater Reward because we come easier by it But when all is said that our Author can say it 's our Obedience that hath the Influence upon our Acceptance with God and Christ's Death has only an Influence upon our Obedience The same Obedience given to the Commands of the Gospel without the motive of his Death had found equal if not greater Acceptance from him than when drawn from us by so cogent an Argument But if the Death of Christ may be said to have any influence upon our Acceptance with God because he thereby confirmed his Doctrine then the Death of the Martyrs also may be said to have an Influence upon our Acceptance with him for they by their Death 's confirmed the Truth which they preacht which Truth was the true Covenant of Grace And whereas many of them laid down their Lives with that Heroical Magnanimity with that gallantry of Spirit with more than that boasted Stoical valour kissing the Stake embracing the Flames triumphantly singing in the midst of their Torments professing they felt no more pain than in a Bed of Roses as if they were to ascend Heaven in that fiery Chariot to the Confutation of their Enemies the encouraging of their Friends and the credit of that Gospel they died for evidently assuring all that they were immediately supported from above to bear with patience nay with exultation those extremities which to Flesh and Blood were intolerable We see our Blessed Saviour on the contrary in his Sufferings strangely dejected amazed troubled in Soul earnestly begging that if it were possible that Cup might pass from him and crying out in the bitterness of his Soul That he was forsaken of God which consideration is enough to satisfy an impartial Enquirer That the Sufferings of Christ were fitted for some higher design than the confirming of
his Death His Death confirmed his Doctrine His Doctrine was he that believes and obeys shall be justified and saved Hereupon we believe it to be true and in process of time come to obey it our obedience justifies us and therefore the Blood of Christ may be said to justifie us And whereas Iudas his Covetousness the Jews Herod's Cruelty Pilates Flattery had a direct tendency to the Death of Christ why we may not be properly said to be justified by them also at this rate I profess I cannot apprehend Religion is fallen into most cruel and unmerciful hands in this latter Age who to give a â—…aint colour to any little sorry fancies of their own care not to interpret Scripture in such ways as shall certainly open a dore to elude the plainest Truths God is said to have made the World Now if any has a mind to eternize his Name which without some rare discovery cannot be let him take our Author's Course and he is secure of a Monument That is indeed a Scripture phrase but if you examine it throughly it signifies no more than that God made a company of Atoms and put them in Motion and then let them alone they will dance you so long in infinite spaces till they jostle themselves into that form wherein you see things at this day And thus here 's a fair Account how God may be said to have made the World because he made that which made the World and the Cause of the Cause you know may be said to be a Grand-Father-Cause of the thing Caused But this is infinitely beyond what our Author will allow the Blood of Christ of Causality in our justification for it 's only a Confirming Cause of the Promise and that in Commission with other things and they have a greater stroke in the business than it self then when we come to believe that Promise and that belief proves strong enough to perswade us into Obedience then we are justified for the sake of that Obedience But 5. The Consideration of the Text it self Rom. 5. 9. is enough to discredit this idle conceit for ever for Christ is said to dye for us and in order to our justification in the same sence that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of old 〈◊〉 who laid down Life for Life Blood for Blood Body for Body v. 6. Christ dyed for the â—…ngodly v. 7. For scarcely for a righteous Man will one dye yet peradventure for a good Man some one would even dare to dye v. 8. But God commendeth his love to us that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us v. 9. Much more then being now justified by his Blood c. 2. Christ says he is called a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood that is by a belief of the Gospel Covenant Rom. 3. 25. But how short this comes of the Apostle's design is obvious from the place Christ is set forth by God to be a propitiation through faith in his Blood to declare his Righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him that believes in Iesus But is God ever the more declared to be a just God demonstrated to be a Righteous God because Christ has confirmed his Doctrine and we believe and obey it The obedience of most men is so imperfect that when they have done all they will need mercy and that will declare one of God's attributes But what provision is here made that God may be declared Righteous and Iust All that he has assigned to the Blood of Christ turns not away the least of God's displeasure against sin or the sinner Christ dyed to confirm the Doctriâ—…e Well but still God is displeased with sinners for what Reason is there why God should be less displeased with them because Christ dyed to confirm his Doctrine Well but hereupon Man believes this Doctrine to be true but yet God's Anger is never the more turned away from the sinner because he believes what God says is true For what Reason is there why God should be less displeased with him who believes the Truth and yet will not obey his Commands So that neither the Blood of Christ nor Faith neither do reconcile God to us or propitiate him for us well at last Man gives obedience to the Commands and then God is propitiated and reconciled So that the true Scripture should have been had our Author had the pâ—…nning of it God hath set forth Man to be his own propitiation through his own obedience And why might it not have been said that God set forth the Martyrs to be a propitiation through Faith in their Blood For they willingly and chearfully shed their dearest Blood to confirm the Truth of the Gospel and upon their Confirmation of it some have believed it and upon their believing it have obeyed it and then by that obedience are reconciled to God And thus may Paul be said to have dyed for our sins and Peter to have been Crucified for us and both of them to have been set forth by God to be a propitiation through Faith in their Blood Nor let any say that the Death of the Martyrs was not so strong a confirmation of the Gospel as the Death of Christ For if we believe the Truth and obey it upon more infirm Evidence yet if that evidence produce a strong Faith and that a vigorous obedience such an obedience will not find less acceptance with God because it was begotten by weaker Motives 3 The Scripture says he uses these Phrases promiscuously to be justified by Faith and to be justified by the Faith of Christ and to be justified by Christ and to be justified through Faith in his Blood and to be justified and saved by Grace Nay by believing that Christ is the Son of God John 20. 31. And that God raised him up from the dead When our Author has a design upon any great Truth of the Gospel then the clearest expressions the wisdom of God's Spirit shall use are Phrases allusive figurative metaphorical tropical forms of Speech But the Scripture uses not these expressions promiscuously only our Author confounds them craftily Each of them have indeed something in common with the rest and no wonder all the Offices the Active and Passive Obedience of Christ the whole work of the Spirit the actings of Faith and every saving-Grace meet in this one great Project the glorifying of God the Electing love of the Father the Redeeming Love of the Son and the Sanctifying love of the Holy Spirit in the Iustification and Salvation of a Believer But yet each of these expressions carries in it something peculiar to it self for the Scripture abhors to speak at his dull and cloudy rate who by diversifying one and the same thing in twenty several shapes can vend it for so many several things when 't is but the same notion disguised in a new-fashioned expression One denotes the interest of Faith another speaks the concern of him who is Iehovah
immediate Effects of the Covenant and not of the Blood of Christ What should move the Apostles always to speak improperly to affix Reconciliation Atonement Redemption c. to the Blood of Christ and never to our Obedience when yet we are neither properly reconciled properly redeemed nor God properly atoned by Christ's Blood but all these are the proper Effects of our Obedience And now one word to the Therefore And therefore says he All the Blessings of the Gospel are owing to the Blood of Christ because the Gospel-Covenant it self was procured and confirmed by the Blood of Christ A very learned Argument that is to say We owe the Blessings of the Gospel to that which is no true and proper cause of them The Blood of Christ is not the proper Cause of our Justification therefore we owe our Iustification to it His Blood is not the proper Cause of our Reconciliation and therefore we are indebted to his Blood for our Reconciliation All Effects are owing to their proper Causes whatsoever therefore is the proper Cause of our Iustification to that we are indebted for it But how naturally would this Conclusion follow from his Premise The Blood of Christ is not the proper Cause of Iustification Reconciliation and Redemption and therefore we do not owe our Justification Reconciliation and Redemption to the Blood of Christ Or thus We owe all the Blessings of the Gospel to the Blood of Christ and therefore the Blood of Christ is the proper Cause of those Blessings And now let the Reader observe how his Reason brought up in the Rear has routed his Reason that marched in the Van. The Blood of Christ is not the proper Cause of the Blessings of the Gospel there 's your Reason in the Front why we do not owe the Blessings of the Gospel to it And again The Gospel-Covenant was procured and confirmed by it There 's your Reason in the Rear why we do owe the Blessings of the Gospel to it But to do our Author justice I shall look over these things more severely The Gospel-Covenant it self says he was procured by the Blood of Christ. And does not this sound more honourably for the Blood of Christ than to say it only confirm'd a Covenant To procure if we might measure the import of the Word by its sound implies that the Blood of Christ had some Influence upon God that moved him to enter into such a Covenant with Mankind which without that Consideration he had never done but to confirm a Covenant that supposes there was such a Covenant in being only the Blood of Christ gave security to Men that it should be made good So that if we know when we are well we had best keep our selves so and sit down contented with this NewHonour and Efficiency ascribed to the Blood of Christ that it procured as well as confirmed the Gospel-Covenant lest whilst we labour to engross more than is due we lose what the Charity of our Author has given us But they who think they have right to All will hardly be perswaded to be put off with half and therefore I must a little further enquire into this new-start-up Notion of procuring the Covenant What this Gospel-Covenant is which our Author so frankly attributes to the Procurement of Christ's Blood he has told us p. 320. A Promise of the Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel I confess a clear and distinct Notion of what he calls Gospel would very much befriend us in our Enquiry The best I can find and it 's but a half-faced one neither is p. 34. To preach Christ says he is to preach his Gospel that is to expound all those Rules of Life and Articles of Faith which are contained in it Whether this be Gospel or no I shall not enquire or whether this be the Covenant of the Gospel I shall not torment him with but this is that which Christ has procured for us with his Blood A Promise of Pardon and Life to those who believe and obey all that 's revealed and commanded either in the Scriptures or the New-Testament or the Four Evangelists or in one of Christ's Sermons I think that must be it Now I must here entreat the Reader to open his Eyes and see how he has been cheated all this while 1. It 's very well known he propounded a Question at first What Influence the Righteousness of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of his Death have upon our Acceptance with God To this he answers separately concerning the Death of Christ and its Influence and will come all in good time to shew us What Influence the Righteousness of his Life hath upon God for that End Concerning the Influence of his Death he has been perswading us that it confirms the Covenant and now in the Close he has stollen-in a Word we never dreamt of that i procures this Covenant Now I suspect some fraud for what Influence has the Death of Christ upon God to procure us such a Govenant Had he shew'd us that he had deserved better of his Readers than by all this Amusing Sophistry 2. He has told us p. 42. That the Light of Nature the Works of Creation and Providence do assure us that God designs the Happiness of all his Creatures according to their Capacities and they are capable of being justified and saved And that God is so Holy that he has a Natural Love for all good Men and is as ready to pardon them when they return to their Duty as a kind Father is to receive a Humble and Penitent Prodigal And p. 43. Had Christ never appeared in the World yet we had reason to believe that God is thus good and merciful Now having such good security from the Light of Nature Reason being clear in the Point and the thing so natural and essential to God that he will pardon and is ready to it upon Repentance and Obedience though Christ had never appear'd what has the Death of Christ done to procure this Favour or more Favour from God We will grant that the Death of Christ has confirmed the Truth of it more but what has it added to the Procurement of the thing If it be said that Christ's Death did not procure a Willingness in God to Pardon but only a Confirmation of his Willingness I would ask what greater Confirmation a rational Creature could well desire than an Assurance from the Light of Nature that this was Natural and Essential to God And I would further know what the Procuring of a Confirmation amounts to more than a Confirmation 3. The Scripture has assured us Gen. 17. That God gave an explicite Promise to Abraham that he would be his God or a God to him that is that whatever Abraham should want and yet could not want but he must be eternally miserable that thing God would be to him For 't is an uncouth Interpretation of the Promises I will be thy God that
is I will be nothing to thee do nothing for thee of what thou mainly wantest but for all my Promise to be thy God I will suffer thee to lye under the guilt of Sin at present and to fall under eternal Condemnation here-after though thou walkest before me and art perfect If then there was such an Implicite and Virtual Promise in God's Nature revealed by the works of Creation and Providence to Reason and an Explicite one too in the particular Revelation that God would bestow Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life to those who walkt before God inuprightness The Question is How did Christ procure such an Engagement from God when it was procured before But supposing that there was never any such Promise made by God till Christ by his Death procured it then how did the Death of Christ prevail with God to make such a Promise which otherwise he had never made 4. But I suspect more than ever that we are merely gulled for he tells us That the Blessings of the Gospel are the proper Effects of the Covenant but not of that Blood of Christ so that we are justified by the Blood of Christ is properly false but improperly true that we are Redeemed by the Blood of Christ in an improper Sense may be said to be true but in a proper Sense is utterly false and then if the Apostles had penn'd their Epistles clean backward they would have been properly true whereas now they are properly false And now who can tell but when he says The Blood of Christ procured this Covenant he may not mean in some improper odd Sense that is not worth a Button But yet our Author seems to go higher than all this p. 330. Our Righteousness and acceptation with God it wholly owing to the Covenant which he hath purchased sealed with his Blood To Purchase is a very good word when applied to the Blood of Christ therefore because we meet with so few I shall make as much of it as I can It denotes procurement in a special way by a valuable price paid The Covenant of Grace then Christ has purchased that Covenant is a Promise of Pardon and Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel In this Covenant there are three things First the Material part the pardon of sin and eternal Life Secondly the conditional part Faith and Obedience Thirdly The form of the Covenant A Promise of the Material part upon performance of the Conditional part Now when he owns the Blood of Christ to have purchased this Covenant the question is whether the whole or some part of it only If not the whole then what part is the purchase of his Blood 1. For the Conditional part Faith and Obedience I may secure my self our Author will not put them into the particular of the purchase for then it would be scarce worth the while to mingle Heaven and Earth with Tragedies what the conditions of the Covenant should be if Christ had purchased the conditions themselves and therefore as to these let every man trust to himself 2. As for the Material part Pardon and Life I doubt our Author will not yield us neither that Christ has purchased them because he denies that the Blessings of the Gospel are the proper effects of Christ's Blood whereas had he purchased them with his Blood they would have been the proper effects of it 3. Then it remains that Christ has purchased a Promise of bestowing the Material part upon our performance of the Conditional part And thus we are just where we were two miles ago and these great words of purchasing and procuring are shrivel'd up to Confirmation of a Promise but if he will say that the Blood of Christ his Death and dreadful sufferings were a proper price paid to God to procure or purchase a word from God that he would do that which was natural and essential to him then we shall thank him that he has such honourable thoughts of it as to judg it worth a good word The Scripture every-where ascribes the Blessings of the Gospel to the purchase and procurement of the Blood of Christ but if this be all that he has got a word from God it supposes the the Scripture to swell with Scenical Language and high Tragical Phrase which seems to carry sublime matters in it but when it comes to be stript of Metaphor and Allegory is a mere Anatomy From this precarious Hypothesis that the Apostles always write like himself that is improperly and impertinently and attribute such things to the Blood of Christ which are the proper and immediate effects of the Gospel-Covenant he will unriddle to us many Mysteries which are vulgarly reputed matters of weight and worth but if we can spare him a little Patience he will so uncase them that we shall confess they contain nothing that may deserve or need the Blood of Christ or any great matter to be made about them 1. Concerning Reconciliation The Apostle had said 2 Cor. 5. 18 19. All things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Iesus Christ and hath committed to us the Ministry of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their Trespasses and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation v. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us what the import of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reconciliation and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to reconcile is will not create us any great trouble because our Author allowing a reconciliation to be made between Iew and Gentile secretly confesses that Reconciliation implies the taking away of an enmity and bringing the differing parties into a state of Peace and Friendship But the Apostle in this place instructs us further 1. That the proper effect of this Reconciliation is not-imputing Trespasses God is by Nature a Holy God as he is Governour of the World he is a Righteous Iudg sin is both Contrary to his holy Nature and his Holy Law And therefore as a Holy God he cannot but hate sin as a Righteous Iudg he cannot but punish sin And because this sin is inherent in and committed by Man God hates the sinner upon the Account of his sin his Person and his best services are an abomination to the Lord. From hence it follows that sin being a transgression of the Law in its preceptive part renders the sinner Guilty that is obnoxious and lyable to the Law in its Sanction to the punishment Now this Righteous Iudg will certainly charge the guilty sinner with the penalty due to his sin but there is a way found out that he may be reconciled and not impute to sinners their Trespasses and this clearly shews that the Reconciliation here spoken of is a reconciliation of God to the Sinner such a one as makes provision that God shall not impute iniquity 2. The Apostle instructs us further in the way whereby Christ made this Reconciliation of God v. 21. He was
Man and as Sacrifice was the Sacrifice of him that was Personally United with God but I am not concerned to insist upon that at present All I say is that it 's no Answer to the Question for to the best of my remembrance and it 's not a full Twelve-moneth since the Question came before us the Question was What influence the Righteousness of Christs Life hath upon our Acceptance and now we have got an Answer to another Question What influence the Righteousness of Christs Life has upon his own Acceptance with God As if we were at the Old Childish Game of cross Questions It was asked me How many Miles it is to London and it was answered me Thirteen shillings and a groat make a Noble For what is this Meritoriousness of Christs Obedience did he Merit for himself or for us If for himself onely then it 's out of the Olives If for us then that which he has Merited is ours Merit denotes a proportion between the Work done and the Reward received and it 's strict Justice in God to bestow upon us that which another has Merited for us if then Christ has Merited our Acceptance we cannot but be accepted it 's Iustice we should be so Again what is it that Christ has Merited Is it acceptauce Our Author will not say it what then Why a promise of acceptance that is that we shall be pardoned and saved upon Faith and Obedience And this is the bottom of the bag when he has turned his discourse into a thousand shapes and forms and varied his expressions infinitely yet all amounts to no more than this Christ has confirmed a promise procured a promise merited a promise that if we believe and obey we shall be pardoned and saved and yet the answer to the Question is to come For 1. There must be a better Reason assigned than the Righteousness of Christs Life why the Sacrifice of his Death should merit any thing for if his active obedience was due to Gods Law upon his own Personal account it could merit nothing for another The payment of a Debt will not merit a reward and if the Righteousness of Christs Life did not merit any thing it self it can never make his Death meritorious 2. To Merit for us a reward upon a condition and never to merit for us that condition is next to nothing as the Case stands with us For both Christ and we shall lose that which he has Merited if our Obedience be left to the desultoriness of our own will and the imbecillity of corrupt Nature Upon the whole Matter I conclude that according to his Principles our Author canot shew any one thing in all the Life and Death of Christ that may render our Persons and Services more acceptable to God than they would otherwise have been upon equal Holiness and Obedience and therefore we must make our Application to Persons of other apprehensions in Religion if we would have an honest satisfactory Answer to this Question What influence the Righteousness of Christs Life and the Sacrifice of his Death have upon our Acceptance with God There is a Text which some think will shew us more of that True influence that the Righteousness of Christ hath upon our Acceptance with God than all this tedious rambling Discourse of our Authors It is Rom. 5. 18 19. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all Men to Condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free gift came upon all Men to Iustification of Life For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made Righteous From whence I have heard some Argue In the same sense that all are made sinners in the first Adam all that are righteous are made righteous in the second Adam but in the first Adam all are made sinners by the imputation of his Disobedience therefore all that are righteous are made so in the second Adam by the imputation of his Obedience Again If it was the Active Disobedience of the first Adam whereby many even all that were in him were made sinners then it is the active obedience of the second Adam whereby Many even all that are in him are made righteous but the former is true therefore so is the latter But says our Author This is the most that can be made of that place This What Why this something or this nothing which he had said before That God was so well pleased with the Obedience of Christs Life that for his sake he entred into a Covenant of Grace with Mankind And if this be all that can be made of that Text the Opposition must run thus As God was so ill pleased with the Disobedience of Adams Life that for the sake of it he entred into a Covenant of Works with Mankind So he was so well pleased with the Obedience of Christs Life that for the sake of it he entred into a Covenant of Grace with Mankind Really it must be so Reader take it or leave it for look what influence Adams Disobedience had upon God to provoke him to condemn the World the same influence had Christs obedience upon God to please him to save the World And will not this be a rare contrivance to fancy a Covenant of Works instituted after the Fall of Adam when we are certain it was established before his Disobedience And so was the Covenant of Grace before the Active and Actual obedience of Christ However let us consider the most he can make of it First says he there 's no necessity of expounding this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Righteousness of Christs Life or his active obedience This Answer of our Authors is like the Ariere banne it 's never raised but in a case of extreme urgency an Answer that will serve the turn of all the Atheists Hereticks and Miscreants upon Earth If you tell them that Eternal Salvation is promised in the Gospel they have it at their fingers ends that there is no necessity that Eternal should signifie a duration beyond the Horizon of time it 's used in other places for the lengthning out the existence of a thing to it 's own allotted period Thus the Aaronical Priesthood was an everlasting Priesthood it was to continue for the Ever of the Iewish World And as for that word Salvation there 's no necessity it should signifie a deliverance from Spiritual Evils for besides that there were no promises of any such Salvation in the old Testament the word is often used in the New for temporal deliverance As when the Apostle said Except these abide in the Ship ye cannot be saved Acts 27. But why is there no necessity of it It may well signifie no more than his Death because the Apostle tells us Phil. 2. 8. That Christ became obedient unto Death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but by his leave the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 does indeed signifie obedient in general and
Salvation in the House of his Servant David as he spake by the mouth of his Holy Prophets which have been since the world began ver 72. To perform the Mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember his holy Covenant the Oath which he sware to our Father Abraham where the firm Oath and Covenant of God to Redeem his People is assigned as the Reason of his giving Christ to be a Redeemer The places are too many to be insisted on that confirm this Truth Iohn 3. 16. 1 Iohn 4. 9 10. 2. Sect. Free grace is given as the true Reason of the Covenant of Grace Heb. 8. 8. For finding fault with them he saith behold the days come saith the Lord that I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel c. They were a faulty an undeserving an ill-deserving People yet Free grace will make a Covenant with them Nor is there any opposition between Free-grace and Christs Merits in this Case if we consider that Free-grace is the Original Reason of Gods designation and purpose to bestow the good things of the Covenant and the Righteousness of Christs Life and the Sacrifice of his Death the way of recovering these Mercies which by sin had been forfeited and lost 3. Sect. The Scriptures give us no intimation that Christ is the Foundation of Gods making this Covenant or the Original Reason of Gods design to bestow the Mercies of the Covenant though it abounds with Testimonies that Christ is the way of procuring for us and conveying to us these intended mercies and in those things which depend upon mere good pleasure Revelation must be our onely guide In this case we may conclude Negatively Non credimus quia non legimus And we may shrewdly conjecture that there is no pretence from Scripture for this Figment of our Authors because it 's the Foundation of all his mistakes and yet he has not so much as attempted the perverting of one Scripture to give colour to it which may be reckoned amongst the Admiranda Nili 2. His other Assertion is this Our own Righteousness is the condition of the Covenant which with his former Assertion is obtruded upon us without proof and therefore I suppose he intends they must both be maintained at the Charges of the Parish Now 1 It is agreed for ought I know that an inherent righteousness is a necessary condition of eternal Salvation Heb. 12. 14. Without Holiness no man shall see God It is a Condition in the Covenant though not of the Covenant such a Condition as is due to every Person in a Covenant-state it doth necessarily attend that state though it be not allowed as antecedent to a Covenant-state 2. As to the Constitution of the Covenant in Gods purpose and Counsel I know no condition at all They that talk of the right use of free-will future Faith or good works fore-seen as the Reason of that purpose talk without book and onely intimate what a rare Covenant they would have made for us had they had the modelling and Contrivance of it like him that boasted that if he had stood by God when he formed Man he could have told him how to have made him more commodiously Rom. 9. 11. The Children being not yet born neither having done any good or evil Where those words neither having done any good or evil must necessarily exclude all respect to the future good or evil they should do as the Reason of the purpose of God according to Election because it 's evident by the form of speech That they deny something more concerning the Children than the former words being not yet born and yet even they exclude Having done good or evil Actually 3. The Question then is whether An inherent Righteousness be the Condition required of us and in us antecedent to our first Covenant-state And I durst leave this Matter to be determined by the Church of England if our Author would do so too Art 17. Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God whereby before the Foundation of the World was laid he hath constantly decreed by his Counsel secret to us to deliver from Curse and Damnation those whom he hath chosen out of Mankind in Christ and to bring them by Christ to everlasting Salvation whence we are taught 1. That Election is not of all Mankind but of some out of Mankind 2. That this purpose of God was from everlasting 3. That it is a fixed constant decree 4. That the Design of it is to deliver those chosen out of Mankind from the curse under which Mankind was fallen and to bring them to everlasting Salvation 5. That the Reason of this eternal Election was his own counsel 6. That the Execution of this Decree is in and by Iesus Christ and the manner of it follows Wherefore they which be endued with so excellent a benefit be called according to the purpose of God working in due season by his Spirit They through Grace obey the calling they be justified freely they be made the Sons of God by Adoption they be made like the Image of his onely begotten Son they walk Religiously in good works and at length by Gods mercy they attain everlasting felicity Whence we are Instructed 1. That the calling of the Elect to a Covenant-state is from Grace as the reason and by Grace as it's efficient 2. Their obeying that call of God is by Grace 3. Good works necessarily follow effectual calling See also Art 10. 12 13. 4. Religious walking with God in good works is a necessary condition of eternal Felicity 5. That there is such a firm connexion in this golden chain of Salvation that no one linck can possibly be broken They are Elected freely called effectually justified freely Adopted graciously Sanctified gradually walk Religiously and at length by the mercy of God are saved eternally which the Apostle gives us more concisely Rom. 8. 30. Moreover whom he did Predestinate them he a so called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also Glorified I conclude then that our own righteousness is not the condition of the Covenant of Grace neither of the designment of the Father nor the procurement of the Son nor of the effectual Operation of the Holy Spirit nor of our Covenant-state nor of our Covenant-right nor of the first Covenant-mercy but of many after-mercies and of Eternal Salvation it is the condition 1. Sect. That is not the Condition of the Covenant required of us on our part which God promises to work in us on His part but God has promised to work in us Inherent-righteousness both Root and Fruit Ezek. 36. 26 27. A new Heart also will I give you and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Iudgments and do them 2. Sect. That which God in Covenant bestows cannot be the Condition of a Covenant-state but God in Covenant bestows the new Heart for