that they offend God at every foot and yet this is what Men would establish from this Maxim That the justest Man sins Seven times a day Those who have a mind to Quote the Scripture should neither add to nor diminish from it they should not alter the Words nor divide Sentences from what goes before and what follows for otherwise there is no Absurdity or Impiety which may not be proved from the Word of God 5. But our Adversaries will say Whether that Place is alledged right or wrong it does not matter much since there are others which say the same thing in stronger Expressions Does not St. Paul say Rom. VII * Rom. VII I am carnal sold under sin for in me dwelleth no good thing for that which I do I allow not and what I would that do I not but what I hate that do I. I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of Sin which is in my Members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this Death If St. Paul himself speaks after this manner who can deny that the greatest Saints fall into very heinous Sins and have still a large stock of Corruption in them Those who draw this Inference from the Words of St. Paul make him speak that which is quite contrary to his thoughts He is so far from saying any thing that favours the cause of Sinners that on the contrary his design is to prove the necessity of a good Life and to make Men sensible of the Efficacy of the Gospel in reference to Sanctification He has this in his view in the VII Chapter to the Romans where he represents the difference between a Corrupt and a Regenerated Man and between the Condition of Man under the Law and his State under the Gospel So that all he says of the Carnal Man sold under Sin c. is to be understood of a corrupt Man living under the Law I am not ignorant that Divines otherwise Able and Pious Men have thought that St. Paul speaks of himself in this Chapter and that he represents there what passes within a Regenerate Man but I know likewise that a great many Orthodox Divines have rejected that Exposition as contrary to the scope of the Apostle to the constant Doctrine of the New Testament and to the Spirit of the Christian Religion It h a sad thing that when a place is capable of two Senses Men should pitch upon that which comes nearer to the Pretensions of Sinners I do not intend here to enter into a Dispute nor to offend those of a contrary Opinion I am persuaded that they have no design to countenance Corruption but as in all things we ought to seek the Truth and as the Truth here is of great Consequence for the promoting of Piety so I entreat those who might have Scruples concerning those Words to make these following Reflections 1. Let them seriously and impartially consider whether it may be said that St. Paul was a Carnal Man fold under Sin a Man who did no Good but Evil and a Man involved in Death these are the strongest Expressions which can be used and which the Scripture uses to give as the Character of Wicked and Impious Men To believe this of St. Paul is so very hard that a Man must be able to digest any thing who is not startled at it 2. I desire them to attend to the Drift of St. Paul he had undertaken to shew that the Doctrine of Justification by faith did not introduce Licentiousness this he had proved in the whole VI Chapter as may appear by the reading it Is it likely that in the VII Chapter he should overturn all that he had established in the preceding \ and say that the holiest Men are captivated to the Law of Sin If this be St. Paul's Doctrine what becomes of the Efficacy of Faith to produce Holiness and how could he have answered that Objection which he proposes to himself Chap. VI. 1. and 15. Shall we continue in sin shall we sin we that are under Grace St. Paul ought to have granted the Objection if it be true that the most Regenerate are sold to Sin But it is plain that in the VII Chapter he goes on to prove what he had laid down already to wit that the Gospel sanctifies Men and not only this but that the Gospel alone can sanctifie Men and that the Law could not This is the Scope of the whole Chapter In the very first Four Verses he shews that Christians are no longer under the Law nor consequently under Sin and that they are dead to the Law that they may bring forth fruits unto God He expresses himself more clearly yet in the 5th Verse where he says that there is a considerable difference between those who are under the Law and those who are in Jesus Christ He plainly distinguishes these two States and the time past from the present When we were in the flesh says he the motions of sin which were by the Law did work in our Members to bring forth unto death but now we are delivered from the Law that we should serve in newness of Spirit These are the two States The Sate past was a state of Corruption the presect State is a State of Holiness But as it might have been inferred from thence that the Law was the cause of Sin the Apostle refutes that imagination from the 7th to the 14th Verse After this he describes the miserable Condition of a Man who is not Regenerated by Grace and who still is under the Law He begins to do this from the 14th Verse by faying the Law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin c. And here no doubt it will be said that St Paul speaks of himself and not of those who were under the Law for says he I am carnal c. But one may easily see that the Apostle uses here a way of speaking which is very ordidinary in discourse and by which he that speaks puts himself in the room of those he speaks of And St. Paul had the more reason to express himself in this manner because he had been himself under the Law before he was converted to Christianity There are many instances in Scripture of this way of speaking and we find one in this very Chapter which is beyond exception St Paul says in the 9th Verse I was alive without the Law once c. If we do not admit here a figurative expression or if these words are strictly taken then we must say that there was a time when this Apostle was without Law which is both false and ridiculous As therefore it is plain that when he says Ver. 9th I was without Law he speaks of the State of those Men to wliom the Law was not given so it is unquestionalbe that when he says I am carnal c. he describes the State of a
Corrupt Man living under the Law and not his own This is the Key which lets us into the meaning of his Discourse in which the Law is mentioned almost in every Verse 3. Lastly That which makes it as clear as the Sun that this is his true sense is that when the Apostle considers and speaks of himself as a Christian he uses quite another Language To be satisfied of this we need but run over this Chapter and compare it with other places in his Epistles If he says here ver 7 8. That concupiscence is felt and reigns within a man who is under the Law he declares Gal. V. 24. That Christians have crucified the flesh with the lusts of it If he says ver 9 10. That sin lives within him and that he is dead he had said Chap. VI. 2 11. That he was dead unto sin and living unto God through Jesus Christ If he says ver 14. That he is carnal and sold under sin it is apparent that he does not there speak of himself since Chap. VIII 1 and 8. he tells us That those who are in Christ Jesus are not in the flest and that those who are in the flesh cannot please God and have not his spirit If he says here v. 18. I know that in me dwelleth no good thing he declares Eph. III. 17. that Christ dwells in our hearts by Faith If he says ver 19. The good that I would I do not and the evil which I hate that I do he testifies in many places That the faithful do that which is good and abstain from evil If he complains ver 21 22 23. of his being captivated to the Law of Sin he teaches Chap. VI. 17 22. That Christians are no longer the servants of Sin that they an freed front it and become the servants of Righteousness If he cries out ver 24.0 wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this Death It is manifest that these are not the Expressions of a Man Regenerated by Jesus Christ for he addâ— immediately I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is therefore now as Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit For the Law oft he Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death Chap. VIII 12. Now let any Body judge whether what is said in this Chapter can be applied to St. Paul considered as a Regenerated Christian Can it be said that Concupiscence reigns in him who has crucifyed it That Sin lives in him who is dead to Sin That he who is not in the Flesh is a carnal Man That he who is freed from Sin is sold to Sin That no good thing dwells in those in whom Christ dwells That a Man is at the same time miserable and happy a Slave and yet delivered by Jesus Christ dead and alive To say this is it not to call Good Evil and Evil Good to put Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness Is it not to admit downright Contradictions in Scripture But especially is it not to open a door to Licentiousness and to give us a strange Notion of a Regenerate Man By all that has been said I do not mean that there are no remnants of Corruption in those who are Regenerated Neither do 〈◊〉 deny but that in those whose Regeneration is but begun there is some such struggle as that which is described in this Chapter This is Musculus's Notion in his Commentary upon the Romans * Page 118. But that this Chapter should be the Picture of a Regenerate Man and of a true Member of Christ is a thing so contrary to the Gospel and to all he Ideas of Religion that one can hardly â—imagine how there could ever be Men who believed it But that which Corrupt Christians endeavour to prove by those Passages I have mentioned they think to put out of all question by the Examples of those Saints Whose Sins are recorded in Holy Writ To this purpose they alledge Noah Lot Abraham Sampson David Solomon St Paul St. Peter c and from these Instances they conclude that since those great Saints fell into such heavy Sins Sin is no Obstacle to Salvation and that it is not inconsistent with Piety If We did make a right use of the Word of God we would draw a quite contrary influence from these Instances and consider that it is absurd to plead Precedents against an express Law If we must needs be governed by Examples we ought certainâ—â— to chuse the good and not the bad one to imitate what is praise worthy in the Saints and not what deserves blame theâ— Faults being like so many Beacons set 〈◊〉 to keep us from striking upon the samâ— Rocks But to answer directly I say first Thaâ— we are a little too apt to rank among Sainâ— some Illustrious Persons mention'd in the Sâ—cred History who perhaps were nothing less than Holy Men and who it may be diâ—perish in their Sins tho' God thought iâ— to make use of them to carry on the Designs of his Providence and to deliver hiâ— People It would be a rash thing to pronounce upon any Man's Salvation or 〈◊〉 speak irreverently of those great Men bâ— the instance of Solomon whose Salvation has been at all times questioned by Divines should teach us not to be so hasty in placing those among Saints of whom the Scripture speaks with some honour and is sheltering our selves under their Examples As to those who by the Testimony of Scripture it self did truly fear God 〈◊〉 might observe that they fell but once into those Sins related in the Sacred History which would by no means favour impenitent and habitual Sinners But this answer does not fully satisfie for besides that it apposes a thing which in respect of several â—ersons cannot certainly be known there are â—ome Sins which are so black such as Adulteâ—y and Apostacy that a Man can hardly comâ—it them more than once except he is alâ—gether sold to Sin and further any one of â—ose Sins is incompatible with a State of â—egeneration We must therefore frankly own that â—hen those great Men sinned in that manâ—er they did not act like Saints that they â—ut themselves into a State which considerâ—d in it self was a State of Damnation and â—hat they had perished if they had contiâ—ued in it for as Ezekiel says Chap. XXXIII â—8 When the righteous turneth from his â—ighteousness and committeth iniquity he shall â—ven die thereby We may judge of the heinâ—usness and danger of those sins by the deâ—ree of Repentance which some of these Men â—ave expressed for them and by the publick â—cknowledgments they made of them What â—arms was David in when he composed he LI Psalm which is the Psalm of his Repentance What a deep sense had St. Peter of his fault in denying his Master What do then such Examples signify to â—hose who live
giving an account of his Dispute with St. Peter and of his reproving him for his too great Compliance with the Jews he affirms that we are justified by the Faith of Christ and not by the Work of the Law Why has not than difference been observed which St Paul makes about Works When he speaks of the Works of the Mosaical Law he calls them the Works of the Law or barely Works but when he treat of the Works which the Gospel prescribes he call them Good Works because they are really good holy and profitable in their own Nature but this Title of Good Works is never bestowed upon the Works of the Ceremonial Law which considered in themselves had nothing of Goodness or Holiness in them In a word Good Works in St. Paul's stile are quite another thing than barely Works or the Works of the Law If this had been considered such great â—ains needed not to have been taken to make * Rom. 3.27 St. Paul agree with St. James †Galat. 11.16 St. Paul says that Man is justified by Faith withâ—ut the Works of the Law | Jam. 11.24 and St. James â—hat Man is justified by works and not by Faith â—nly There is no contradiction between these two Apostles Both follow one Hypothesis and argue upon the same Principles St. Paul disputing against the Jews who wou'd tie Christians to the Observance of the Works of the Mosaical Law â—â—ffrms that Faith in Christ is sufficient provided it brings forth Good Work 's â—nd that it is not necessary to observe the Mosaical rites St. James disputing against â—ereticks who pretended that Faith did â—ave without Good Works and so did â—ntirely ruin our Saviour's Morals deâ—lares that Faith which does not proâ—uce Good Works is not sufficient to â—alvation Is not this the same Doctrine with St. Paul's But instead of reconciling these two Apostles some People find here great difficulties They do not reconcile St. James with St. Paul but they rather refute St. James by St. Paul St. James is expounded with great Caution as if he had gone too far by saying that Man is justified by works and not by Faith only This Proposition is softned as much as possible it is excused rather than explained but as for what St. Paul says that Faith alone justfiies without Works it is taken in the utmost strictness so that all is ascribed to Faith and nothing to Good Works Nay Faith is set in Opposition to Good Works and God to God himself the Passages of Scripture which speak of Faith being brought out against those which relate to Works It is true say some the Scripture says that without Holiness no manshall see God but it is likewise written that we are not justified by our Works but only by Faith And by this way of reasoning Men raise themselves above the reproaches and accusations of their own Consciences I say it once more this is to attack and confute the Word of God by it self and to charge the Holy Ghost with self-contradiction For in short if a Man can be justified without Good Works he can be saved without them too since the being justified is the same thing with the being saved Now if a Man can be saved without Good Works he may see the Face of God without Holiness which is directly contrary to what St. Paul tells us * Heb. 21.14 that without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. 2. A great many People imagine that it is one of the Priviledges of Christians not to be tied to the Observation of God's Law as the Jews were some mistaken places give occasion to that Error and particularly this †Rom. 6. We are no more under the Law but under Grace These words are thus interpreted The Law did prescribe Works but the Gospel requires only Faith the Law did threaten but the Gospel speaks only of Grace and Pardon So that to require Works at this time of day is to bring back the Dispensation of the Law There is something of Truth in this reasoning but those who make use of it to free themselves from the Observation of God's Commandments do very little understand either what the Law or the Gospel is and wherein these two Dispensations differ It is certain that the Law was a Dispensation of Severity it did not propose to Men remission of sins and salvation as the Gospel does The Law had not that power and efficacy to sanctify Men which Grace has The Law laid upon the Jews great many Obligation which were not only burdensom and painful but which besides had no intrinseâ—â—â— Holiness in them and those Duties were enjoyned under a Curse The Law it self was a time of Severity and Malediction in respect to all the Nations of the Earth since all the while that Oeconomy did subsist they were excluded from the Covenant which God had made with the Jews In these several regards we are not under the Law but under Grace But if from this that we are not under the Law we should infer that we are no longer bound to do what is just this Inference would overturn the whole Gospel and transform Religion into Libertinism Iâ— because we are under Grace we ought to speak no more of Works why should the Gospel prescribe Works and the same Works which the Law enjoyned excepting only the Ceremonies Why should this Gospel call us to a Holiness which exceeds that of the Jews and enforce this Obligation with more terrible Threatnings than those of the Law Why did our Saviour John the Baptist and the Apostles preach up Repentance and enter upon their Ministry with these Words | Mat. 3.2 and 4.4 repent ye According to the Hypothesis of these Men they should have spoken to them after this manner * Acts 11.17 This is the time of Grace the Law is past and the Covenant of Works is abolished therefore fear nothing let not your sins trouble you for Salvation is promised to all Mankind Whence comes it to pass that our †Mat. 5.6.7 Saviour speaks only of Works in his Sermon upon the Mount or that St. Paul declares that the natural intention and the proper effect of Grace is to teach Men to live according to the rules of Temperance Justice and Godliness Must we say that God is altered that he does not love Holiness so much now as he did heretofore of that Sin is become less odious to him since it was expiated by the death of his Son But it is said we are no more under the Law What are Christians then a Lawless People On the contrary we are under the Law I mean under the Law of Christ under | Rom. 8.2 the Law of the Spirit of life which makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death But let us hear St. Paul himself in what sense and respect does he say that we are no more under the Law but under Grace He says this precisely to shew that
which distinguishes us from Brutes and a Conscience which discerns between Good and Evil we ought then to live according to Reason and the Principles of Conscience and to do that which becomes the Nature of Man We are Men and by consequence Mortal we know we are not to live always in this World and knowing this we must either think of another Life or propose to our selves no other End than that of Beasts which follow their Instinct while they live and then die never to live again We are Men but we are not Independent we have a Creator and a Master and as we are endued besides with Understanding we are to give an account of our Actions before his Tribunal it is therefore agreeable to the Nature of Man to live like a Creature that depends upon God and that must be Judged So that this Consideration that we are Men is so far from excusing that it condemns Corruption But it may be said that we are weak Men. This is very true our Nature is frail and has besides a strong byass to evil But God speaks to us as to weak Men he commands us nothing but what is proportioned to that state of Imperfection we are in Besides this Excuse does not at all become Christians To say we are weak Men is to shew we have but little sense of God's kindness towards us We are not only Men but we are Christians too and this quality raises us above the natural condition of Men it makes us New Men and New Creatures Why do we then forget the Glory to which God has exalted our Nature through Jesus Christ Why would we still lie down under the burden of frail and corrupt Nature It is further said that we are not Angels But neither is it necessary that we should be so to do that which God Commands us When God gives us his Laws he knows he gives them to Men and therefore they are admirably suited to our present Condition in this World If we were Angels God would give us quite other Laws the Gospel would be abolished and the World should continue no longer in the state it is in It is therefore an absurâ— Imagination to think that one cannot perform the Duties of Religion without being of an Angelical Nature Let us then no longer pretend that because we are Men we are too weak to observe the Duties which Religion prescribes thâ—â— excuse charges God with injustice as if he did require from us such things as are not agreeable with our Nature and Condition it is injurious to the Gospel and to the Christian Religion as well as to the Grace of Christ and the power of his Spirit iâ— is false since the Scripture declares that Grace regenerates and strengthens us and that it makes us able to overcome the vitious inclinations of our Nature and to free our selves from the dominion of Sin And Lastly it is contrary to Experience for those many Saints and good Men who Practised the most * Jam. 5.17 sublime and difficult Duties of Piety were Men as we are and as the †Heb. 12.1 Sacred Writers observe they were subject to the same infirmittes with us and many of them perhaps had not those Advantages which we have 2. It is often alledged as an excuse That no Man is perfect and that every one has his Faults This is said every Day and some pretend with that saying to excuse every thing Excuses for the most part have something of truth in them This Proposition That no Man perfect is very true in one sense and altogether false in another No Man certainly is Perfect in the strict sense of that Word or as it imports a full and accomplished Perfection free from all defect such a Perfection is to be had no where else but in Heaven But there is a Perfection commenced or begun of which a Man Redeemed and Sanctified by Jesus Christ is capable If it was not so why should Christ and his Apostles exhort us * Mat. 5.48 Phil. 1.10 1 Thess 5.23 to be perfect Why should they tell us †1 John 5.9 that he who is born of God does not sin And that a Christian is ‖ 1 Cor. 1.8 2 Tim. 11.21 thoroughly furnished to every Good Work If you ask Who those Perfect Men are I answer That they are those who aspire to Perfection in whom Sin does not reign who do not allow themselves in any vitious Habit who sincerely and honestly apply themselves to Holiness and have accustomed themselves to practise 〈…〉 the Duties of it with delight Whoever is arrived at such a State has attained thaâ— Perfection which is attainable in this Life and to which Christians are called by the Gospel tho' there remain still in him some infirmities inseparable from Humane Nature and never totally to be rooted out before he gets to Heaven We cannot be Perfect in that first and strict Sense I have mentioned but we may be Perfect and God will have us be so in the second and Evangelical Sense of that Word It is therefore a frivolous Excuse in the Mouth of Corrupt Men to say That no Man is Perfect and that we cannot attain to the Perfection or to the State of the Blessed in Heaven for this is to shift the Question because that is not the Perfection which God requires We ought not to fix a false and absurd Sense upon God's Commandments that we may have a pretence not to obey them The Question is Whether Christians are not bound to do that which God would have them do and which they are able to do in this World this is the Perfection to which he calls us We may apply very near the same Answer to that other Excuse That every body has his Faults There are Faults which do not destroy Piety and God is graciously pleased not to impute such Faults to those that Fear him and in this Sense no Man â—s free from Faults but there is another â—ort of Faults which should not be called bare Faults or Defects those are the Vices and Passions which cannot consist with Piety the great the reigning the habitual or deliberate Sins True Christians are free from such Faults and those who are not free from them are not true Christians If this Maxim That every one has his Faults is not thus explained we must speak no longer of Vertue and Vice for this Excuse will serve for all Sins and acquit every Body If a Man is given to Swearing if he is Revengeful Passionate or False if he commits Adultry it is but saying Every one has his Faults and no Man is Perfect Such Language from a Man full of vitious Habits is unsufferable What dismal Consequences would not Libertines draw from such a Principle We must therefore understand this Proposition in the sense and with those restrictions I have observed and then it may be useful to comfort Good Men but it will never excuse those who are Vicious 3.
we ought to live no longer in Sin These are his own words * Rom. 7.14 15 16 17.18 What then Shall we Sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace God forbid On the contrary Sin shall not have dominon over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace you were formerly the servants of Sin but now being made free from Sin and become the servants of God Ye have your fruit unto holiness We need but read the sequel of his Discourse to see how he inveighs against those who turned the Grace of the Gospel into a pretense to live in Sin Before I leave this matter I shall taâ—â— notice of two Errors which are pretty common The First is the applying to Christians at this day all those things which were spoken of old by the Apostles to the Converted Jews It is said that we are no more under the Law and Christians are often exhorted to bless God for being no longer under the Curse of the Law and the Yoke of Moses And upon this a great many Oppositions are observed betwixt the Law and the Gospel For my part I do not think those Exhortations and Oppositions so very proper to be insisted on when we are speaking to Men who never were Jews unless we do it with a design to shew the Excellency of the Gospel-Covenant above that of the Law and the advantages of Christians above Jews For after all the Law was given only to the Jews and the Gentiles were never subjected to the Ceremonies or the Curse of it as the Jews were Why should we then say to People who never were under the Law You are no more under the Law The Apostles indeed spoke in that manner to the Converted Jews but as to those who were formerly Pagans it would be more fitting to tell them * Thess 1.9 Ephes 11.12 4.17 You have been converted from Idols to the living God Remember that ye were in times past Gentiles without hope and without God in the World and therefore live no longer like Heathens It is a great fault not to expound the Scripture according to the true scope of it and to apply all that it contains to all sorts of Persons without distinction The other Error is of greater consequence People fancy that because we are not under the Law which was a Covenant of Rigor we are now to speak of nothing else to Men but of Grace and Promises and that it is contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel to threaten and to denounce Curses against Sinners It has been said already in what sense the Law was a Covenant of Rigor in opposition to the Covenant of Grace but the Gospel has also its Curses and they are much more terrible than those of the Law The Gospel speaks of the future Punishments of another Life in much clearer and stronger Expressions than the Law does To be convinc'd of this we need but reflect upon that opposition which St. Paul makes between the Law and the Gospel in the Tenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three Witnesses of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God and has counted the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and has done despight unto the Spirit of Grace We know him that has said Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompense faith the Lord. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God 3. The Libertines do likewise abuse what St. Paul says in the Epistle to the * Gal. 5. Galatians concerning Christian Liberty when he declares that Christians are freed from the bondage of the Law when he exhorts them to stand fast in that Liberty and protests that Christ prositeth nothing to those who would be justified by the Law But a Man may see with half an Eye that the Apostle means only that Christians are no longer bound to observe Circumcision and the other Ceremonies of the Law of Moses That St. Paul has no other view or design but this will plainly appear to every one who will read the whole Epistle and particularly the second Chapter of it In the V Chapter we find two things which are decisive in this Matter 1. St. Paul speaks there expresly of Circumcision * Gal. V. Behold I Paul say unto you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing for I testifie again to every Man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole Law †ver 13. Christ is become of none effect unto yon whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace 2. It is very observable with what circumspection the Apostle delivers himself left his Doctrine should be wrested to favour Licentiousness after he had said You are called to liberty he adds immediately only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh He explains what he means by living after the Flesh by making an enumeration of those Sins which the Flesh produces and which exclude Men from the Kingdom of Heaven He exhorts Men to live after the Spirit and to practise the Christian Vertues In the Fourth Chapter he pursues the same Exhortations and he ends the Epistle with these remarkable Words which contain the summ of his Doctrine * Chap. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but a new Creature that is to say Whether a Man be a Jew or a Heathen it matters not so he believes in Jesus Christ and observes God's Commandments †ver 16. Peace and Mercy be on them all who walk after this Rule Is there anything plainer than this Doctrine And yet how clear soever it may be Christian Liberty is alledged to set Men free from the Obligation to keep God s Commandments All that St. Paul fays against Circumcision and the Ceremonies of the Law is by an Enormous Blasphemy turned against the Holy Commandments of the Son of God Can any thing more Odious or Prophane be imagined than the perverting of the Holy Scripture at this rate 4. Those who plead on the side of Corruption are wont to object against what is said in behalf of Holiness this Sentence of Solomon's | Ephes VII 16. be not righteous overmuch neither make thy self over-wise And what Inferences do they riot draw from thence They conclude from this Place That a Man ought not to pretend so much to Holiness or to set up for a good Man and that in all things Mediocrity is best One may easily apprehend that such Sentiments must needs introduce Licentiousness especially when they are thought to be supported by a Divine Authority But let us see whether or no such Conceits can be founded upon this Sentence of Solomon's I shall ask in the first place Whether it is possible for a