Abraham which worship God in the SPIRIT in a true SPIRITUAL way of Worship and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no considence in the flesh which they the legal Worshippers have they are fieshly we are after the Spirit and worship God in the Spirit They have considence in the flesh we have none Now what is this confidence in the flesh which the Concision the Dogs and evil Workers had but the true Worshippers had not This the Apostle explains at large in the 4 5 and 6. verses For saith he if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might TRUST in the FLESH I more What is that of the Flesh wherein he might glory if he would He tells us ver 5. I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the Tribe of Benjamin an Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the Law a Pharisee or blameless so iâ— follows ver 9. as touching the righteousness which is in the Law blameless that is as touching the letter of the law Moral or Ceremonial This is the matter of fleshly glorying or boasting which you see is made up either of external Rites and Priviledges or the external obedience to the moral law That which he calls flesh is an external thing Now that fleshly and legal are Synonymous or words importing the same thing and so used by the Apostle is not onely clear in this Scripture but in other Scriptures for instance Gal. 3.3 Are ye so foolish having begun in the Spirit that is a Gospel-way are ye now made perfect by the flesh that is will ye end in a legal that is a fleshly way Fleshly and Legal are all one Now the way of the Flesh is an external way made up of outward Rites Ceremonies Priviledges and Performances therefore a legal way is a way in which men please themselves with external Priviledges and Performances I shewed before that those that are addicted to the way of works durst not pretend to an universal conformity to the law in a strict sense of it and yet do seek to be justified by Works therefore they must have some Works to glory in and to uphold their Spirits in a confidence of Divine acceptance Now therefore what can these Works be other then external conformities to the ceremonial or moral law and these ceremonies either as given by God or else superstiously invented by themselves I shall now a little further exemplifie what I then asserted and that by some assistance from the second thing premised in shewing that in all times the evil sort of Worshippers which because they are not Evangelical must be legal have done and do exceedingly please themselves in external Priviledges and Performances in doing which I shall avoid useless repetitions We find The first external priviledge which the Iews gloried in that the Jews who were as well to be condemned for Legality before the dayes of the Gospel as under it there having been always a fleshly and spiritual Seed were exceedingly taken with their being circumcised and of the Seed of Abraham and made a peculiar people to God in the Lump and Body of the Nation which did not hinder at all but for particular persons they might be wicked enough strangers to God and heirs of wrath Thus the Jews as Jews scorned the Gentiles called them Dogs and the sinners of the Gentiles or Nations whereas to be Jews born was nothing but an external Priviledge And therefore the Apostle when he comes to convince them of this folly and vain fleshly boasting he makes no more ado but to cut them off from this stump that they stood upon by that great distinction so frequent in his Epistles of Israel according to the flesh and the true Israel or the true Seed according to the Promise that is Believers All are not Israel that are of Israel saith he and he is not a Jew that is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. Now that which amongst us may answer to such a fleshly boast as this was of the Jews for I chiefly aim at the usefulness of this Doctrine to our selves may be this viz the Name of Christians and the general Baptism that all amongst us can pretend unto Though this cannot be accounted so great a Priviledge to us now that Christendom is so large as Circumcision and being natural or proselyted Jews was to them who were a single Nation chosen for a peculiar people to God out of all the Nations of the World I come therefore to some other things They gloried also very much in their Temple The second external priviledge the â—â—ws gloried in there is an eminent place amongst many for this Jer. 7.4 Trust ye not in lying words saying The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are THESE that is THESE BUILDINGS THESE COURTS pointing as it were with their singer at the Buildings of the Temple as much as if they had said See! we have the Temple of the Lord with us and his Worship and Service amongst us and therefore no evil can come to us whatever these Fanatick Prophets threaten us with Now see what a strange infatuation and besottednesse these men were under for they were as wicked as men could be by oppression and blood-guiltiness yea Idolatry it self as you may see in ver 10. Will ye steal murder and commit Adultrey and swear falsly and burn incense unto Baal and walk after other Gods whom ye know not and come and stand before me in this House which is called by my Name and say we are delivered to do all these abominations It this House which is called by my Name become a Den of Robbers in your eyes Behold even I have seen it saith the Lord. Here is a crew of Legal-Worshippers of Carnal-Worshippers that certainly could not pretend to Justification by the strict Law of God yet trusted in the Temple and Temple-Worship ver 8. Behold ye trust in lying words that cannot profit and what those words are you have seen in ver 4. Trust ye not in lying words saying the Temple of the Lord c. No saith the Lord. ver 3. Amend your wayes and your doings and I will cause you to dwell in this place Here is Mercy Grace Pardon here they are put upon the way of believing ver 5 6. For if ye throughly amend your wayes and your doings and if ye throughly execute judgement between a man and his Neighbour if ye oppress not the stranger then will I cause you to dwell in this Land that I gave to your Fathers for ever and ever But else never think that the Temple or Temple Worship can save you or deliver you Ver. 12. Go to Shiloh go unto my place which was in Shiloh
they believe it that if they do such and such things which are not made the condition of pardon by God for going such a pilgrimage for taking such a penance c. they shall have their sins pardoned for so long a time And wherein doth Justification consist so much as in pardon of sin Therefore they seek Justification by Works even by inventions of their own which is worse then by Works commanded Now that which is so gross amongst them may be as truly though more refinedly amongst our selves I have now done with the two first particulars in the Conviction I shall onely now recollect what I have said and proved that so I may borrow some strength for what follows and so proceed Is it so then that all mankind is so exceeding apt to seek Justification by Works And is it such an hidden and unsearchable evil of heart that we cannot easily know it it hath so many self-deceits and runs through so many contradictions Doth it lie in opinion of Merit yet is Merit so generally disowned and yet so many real votaries to it What need then have we to search and try if we are not guilty in this particular and how far we may possibly be guilty For though we have found out the very notion in which it must lie viz. The Opinion of Merit yet this will not serve usually to find it out by for who of us doth not renounce Merits and yet who of us if the foregoing assertions be true is not addicted to Legality I shall come therefore to some other ways of discovery of this evil distemper of heart some marks and signs of it some effects which discover their cause though never so occult and hidden before And this is the third particular in the Conviction which I promised The first was to discover that there are such men as seek Justification by Works The second was to discover wherein their Legality lies And this third to discover by some signs where this Legality is to be found either in a predominancy or in any less degree Now for the discharge of this last part of my Work in the Conviction The third thing in the Conviction viz. the Characters I shall first premise two things and then come to the Characters The first is this That all men in the world are either prophane and Atheistical or else in some way or other Religious as for those that are prophane and atheistical I have nothing to do with them in this Discourse for that they have nothing to do with Justification who make no pursuit after it at all The second observation that I would premise is this That as for the Religious World those that treat with God after any sort for their salvation they are all reducible to one of these two sorts they are either Legal or Evangelical in their service and obedience for there being but two wayes of Justification either in the Scripture or imaginable by us by unerring obedience and meriting or by the way of mercy which accepts an humble sincerity I say there being onely these two ways all that seek Justification must be of one of these two ways and hence I would infer that where-ever we find in Scripture any two ways of serving God that have followers and abettors being two opposite ways whereof one is good and acceptable the other evil and displeasing to God there are these two ways of Legal and Evangelical service and the Characters of the good way may be referred to the head of Evangelical the Characters of the bad unto the head of Legal Worshippers Or if we cannot make a clear reference of every miscarriage in Religion unto legallity yet this I dare affirm and shall prove That the distinction of Legal and Evangelical Worshippers or of such as are fleshly and such as are spiritual in the Worship of God is very ancient nay as ancient as all Antiquity so that throughout all ages in the Scripture and in our own age in undeniable experience there may be traced these two sorts of religious persons and that by Characters that are visibly Legalor Evangelical And whatever be the infinite perty differences of Sects in any age or place yet all men professing Religion may be reduced to these two classes or sorts of Legal and Evangelical Worshippers and these are the great things that are to be minded in them if you find that they are spiritual Worshippers pass by their petty differences if they are fleshly be not deceived by that fair shew which they make in the flesh for the Antiquity and continual suceession of these two sorts of Worshippers and that as they include all sorts of Religious persons see one Scripture then I come to the Characters it is in Gal. 4.29 But as then that is in Abraham's time he of the one side that was born after the flesh the son of the Bond-woman Hagar the Son of a Covenant of Works perseâ—nted him on the other side that was born after the Spirit that is the true Son of the Promise the Evangelical Worshipper so it is now As it was in the beginning so it is and ever wil be to the end of the World two sorts of Worshippers which two sorts all Religious persons may be referred unto If it were proper to enlarge upon this observation I could give more ample proof of it Now for the Characters 1 It is a 〈◊〉 way which â—e joiceth and glorieth in external priviledges and performances The proof that the legal way is an external fleshly way the first shall be this They that are for a Covenant of Works for the Law are much and chiefly for external services this I have partly touched before but I have a very fair occasion to speak to it here again and I dare promise the Reader to free him from the trouble of needless repetition I say those that are under predominant Legality in treating with God for their justification and acceptation they are chiefly for external services in their Worship and expressions of their obedience unto God This the Apostle calls flesh or a fleshly outward way of serving God in Phil. 3.2 3. the Apostle speaks home to this Character I will give you saith the Apostle in the first ver some SAFE advice and counsel what sort and party of men you should avoid and what sort you should close with Ver. 2. Beware of Dogs beware of evil workers beware of that evil sort of Worshippers that are in the sight of God no better then Dogs and not children Now who are they Why the concision 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By the Concision is usually understood the Circumcision or legal Jew that gloryed in his Circumcision here called the Concision by an Ironical Paronomasia alluding to the Factions and Schisms which they made every where Beware of these saith the Apostle and do not receive them nor adher to them for we are the Circumcision that is the true Children of
come it will not tarry This was the very case with the wicked King last instanced out of 2 King 6.33 if the Visiontarry wait for it But now it follows ver 4. If you will not wait if your soul be lifted up in you with pride and impatience why this soul that is lifted up is not upright in him this Spirit is quite contrary to the Spirit of a just and justified man But the just shall live by Faith that is will be patient in such straits this is the great famous place which the Apostle Pau. makes use of to prove Justification by Faith in three several Epistles Rom. 1.17 Gal. 3.11 Heb. 10 38. Ergo Impatience weariness of the service of God is a great argument and symptom of a Legal Spirit in the service of God the thing that we have now under demonstration Now to apply this Character So far as thou findest thy self sloathful sluggish in the service of God ready to draw back and to be weary of well-doing contentious against God with Job angry as Jeremy and Jonah were in their sits of distemper So far Legality is discovered to be the principle of serving God For the Spirit of the Gospel is humble chearful I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him saith the Church in Micah ch 7 9. If God defers to hear and answer prayers yea gives denials yet the true Saints of God think it their duty to wait patiently on the Lord and to find out the cause of these denials in themselves Christ calls the woman of Canaan Dog Truth Lord saith she yet the Dogs eat of the crumbs And this is commended for an high piece of faith Mar. 7.28 I join these Scriptures of Old and New-Testament together and use them promiscuously for proof of the same thing because it is plain there were spiritual Worshippers under the Old-Testament as wel as there are Legal-Worshippers in the new Now in a consonancy to and connexion with this latter part of this last Character viz. the irksomness heaviness and weary somness that there is often found in a Legal Spirit as to the service of God I might make this a third Character That a Legal Spirit is weak and feeble and devoid of all strength in the service of God But I shall make this rather an Observation then a Character of a Legal Spirit yet I shall insist some what upon it I say then The Legal spirit is without strength in the service of God That the legal-Legal-Worshipper is faint-hearted weak in the service of God like Ephraim in Hos 7.11 as a silly Dove without heart and it may very well be for the joy of the Lord alone is our strength Neh. 8.10 Which joy the Legallist never partakes of having never any true sence of divine acceptance And indeed what strength can the Law give us that is now through our fall become a poor weak feeble thing it self What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh c. Rom. 8.3 The Law became weak through our sinful flesh so that it can neither justifie nor sanctifie and it gives no quickness at all in the service of God it gives quickness to the body of death indeed and to the motions of sin in our members as it is Rom. 7. â— but none at all to serve God with The A postle therefore appeals to the Galatians experience that they never received the Spirit by all the preaching of the Law which they had amongst them Gal 3 2. And this was the very reason of God's nâ—aâ—ing a new Covenant of his removing his old Dispensat on by Moses which was so full of Law and so like a Covenant of Works Heb 7.8 19. For there is verily a disannulling of the Commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof for the Law made nothing perfect Thus the Law being weak the Legallist must needs be a weak imperfect thing in the service of God But now it is said They that wait on the Lord by Faith shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wirgs like Eagle they Well run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint Isa 40.31 He that believeth on me saith our Saviour out of his belly shall flow kavers of living water this spake he of the Spirit which they that believed on him should receive John 7.38 39. The Gospel of Christ is and in its preportion ever was so far as at any time it was understood and embraced in the times of the Old Testament the Ministration of the Spirit In Col. 1.11 the Apostle prays for his Colossians that they may be strengthened with All might according to his glorious power in the Gospel there is ALL Mâ—GHT and a gâ—orious Power to strengthen and quicken the Saints with no wonder therefore if this quicken and encourage them mightily in the service of God beyond what ever the Law can do for its dependants and admirers I might here take fair occasion to discover what infinite quickning considerations and motiveâ— the Gospel carries in it unto the spiritual service of God beyond what the Law could afford But seeing I do not so much as make this a Character I shall not take the liberty to enlarge further upon it I shall onely now acquaint the Reader why I do not make this a Character and then pass on And truly one great reason is for the sakes of some good people I may say very many that we have amongst us who if we should make this a Character of a legal spirit that it is weak sluggish heartless in the service of God that it is not lively active and vigorous they would presently apply it to themselves and cry out that they are legal for that they find themselves that they are just thus whereas yet it is true that every true Saint the meanest Saint in the World hath more life and vigor of heart in his serving God then the devoutest and strictest legallist in the World And what if I should say in comparing the two Dispensations of the Old and New-Testament that there is never a Gospel-Saint since the day that the Spirit came down upon the Apostles but hath more life and spirit or it is hâ—s fault if he have not then the highest true Saint under the Old-Testament Would not that Scripture bear me out in it which says that John the Baptist was the greatest that ever was born of a woman before him and yet that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven which is often interpreted of the Gospel-state of the Church is greater then he Matth. 11.11 And would not that other Scripture countenance it which saith The feeble shall be as David Zech. 10.8 And accordingly I might affirm that if these complaining Saints had but the true courage of Saints and the true Character of themselves and at the same time the Character of the highest legallists yea of the most
will not like this neither and it is because it is the duty of the Creature to serve its Creator whether he promiseth any reward or no. Now this will not look neither like a Gospel-principle being the very Law of Creation Well then what principles will they suggest for Gospel-principles Why such as these Love and Ingenuity and Gratitude and apprehending an excellency in the wayes of God Now I confess these are good principles and these are right Gospel-principles the fruit of the Spirit is love And we love him because he loved us first 1 John 4.19 which is gratitude Shall we continue in sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace and that so Grace may abound God forbid This were highly disingenuons Rom. 6.1.15 And in keeping thy Commandments there is great reward Psal 19.11 There is a sight of the excellency of the precept But pray observe that where nobleness and ingenuity is the onely Principle of Actions there is no necessity for any thing to be done at all for actions of nobleness and ingenuity and gratitude come under no Law but are left free to the Agent to do or not to do only that hereby as he doth them or not the Agent will discover whether he be of an unworthy Spirit or no. And thus these men have brought things to a fair pass that God is to be served under the Gospel onely upon courtesie so that any that will may slip their neck out of Christs yoke and their back from under his burthen or else they must acknowledge that men ought to serve God because there is a MUST upon it 't is our duty as Creatures if we will not there is an Hell to punish but to encourage you in it if you will there is an Heaven to reward And what if a Legal Spirit go to work with these principles ONELY as indeed I think he hath no other and that he may have all these in a degree viz. the sense of his Obligation as a Creature the fear of Hell and some general hope of Heaven I say What if he may have all these principles are they evertheless good or unsuitable to the Gospel because he useth them If he used them to good ends or used them aright they would do him good as well as they do others good the reason why these do him no good is for that in the use of the same principles in the general which a good man may use A Legallist hath always these three gross defects that undo him Three ruining defects in the service of a Legallist First though the hope of Heaven in general as a place of happiness may somewhat quicken him in what he doth yet he hath no true notion or apprehension of Heaven that the happiness of it consists chiefly in likeness to God in holiness which if it were his notion of Heaven he could not find in his heart to desire it much less to endeavour after it The second gross defect is this All the endeavours that he makes to please God in one thing or in another as I have instanced in several wayes never reach to a thorough heart-work whereas that is the chief thing that God looks after because he is a Spirit the Father of Spirits And the lastthing is this That yet for all this slightiness hypocrifie of a Legal Spirit the very rule that he proceeds by in his expectations of his Reward is That God is bound to give it him as having well deserved it at his hands Now what though a Legallist may make use of the same principles that an Evangelical Spirit doth unsuccessfully yet what should hinder but the Evangelical Worshipper may use the same principles rightly and with acceptation from God May not a good thing be abused or not rightly used And doth this destroy the nature of it Let us now a little examine the word Mercenary because indeed it sounds harshly as if it were a low principle for a Christran to act towards God by and then we will see briefly what other Principles there are in conjunction with it in every true Saint of God The word Mercenary founds so ill meerly from the common usage of it not so much from the Etymology or native signification the Natural signification of it is when any one acts for wages or for a reward the use of it is when a man that is engaged to do courtifies or at least stands not in any need to receive courtesies will yet do no good turns for any without a good reward in his hand or well assured to him nay perhaps will do any mischief if he may be well rewarded so that Mercenariness is a Vice alwaies contrary to Nobleness that is more free to do than receive courtesies and often contrary to justice but now this Mercenariness especially as contrary to nobleness is a Vice onely or chiefly amongst equals and those that stand not in need of one another as for those that are far inferiour it is pride with them to be unwilling to receive courresies or rewards for wherefore are any advanced in place but that they may do good to those that are below them 'T is no dishonour at all for a poor man that wants bread to hire our his labour for a reward nor for a child that is bound to do what his facher commands to be encouraged by any reward that his father proposeth to any action Now let us apply these things to the bufiness before us and we shall see how ill or how well Mercenariness becomes us in our service of God First of all we are not here to consider the Saints as doing evill things for a reward that is the worst Mercenariness of all no but they serve God for a reward Now wherein can the sordidness of this Spirit lye is it that we need not to receive courtesies at the hands of God or that we cannot endure to receive a courtesie which we know we are not able to requite Such a struin of nobleness there is sometimes found amongst men out if we should aim at such a strain of nobleness with God How will such men ever offer to receive heaven especially when they did not work for it which makes it far more obliging Truely in my minde it is very high pride for a poor creature that is poor and blind and naked and in want of all things that when God offers to supply his poverty to cure his blindness to cover his nakedness he shall not be exceedingly over-joyed at it and seeing that these supplies are of this nature that they cannot be compleatly obtained till we come to heaven nor yet certainly obtained except we persevere whilest we are here to labour after them it seems a strange wantonness to me that men should not labor and own it that they do labour for them as the command is No fault in labouring for the reward except it be for the reward of a debt Labour for
and from the same person sick he expects not the same that he doth from him when he is in health nor from a married man the same as to acts of devotion that he doth from the unmarried Person 1 Cor. 7.32.33 Now this I dare not let pass without these cautions 1. That I have delivered this onely for the comfort of those that are apt to accuse and censure themselves unreasonably not for any loose-principled people who are ready to say They do all they can and God is merciful 2. That this Doctrine that God proceeds according to the proportions of talents entrusted with us is not more comfortable to some than terrible to others You that have great parts and great opportunities cannot be saved with the same improvements that others may if he that had five talents had brought in but six or seven to his Master he could no more have entred into the joy of his Lord then he that laid up his one talent in a Napkin Matt. 25.20 21. Or at least he should enter difficultly and with great loss 1 Cor. 3.15 Now as there may be these unreasonable fears and doubts about their ESTATE in the hearts of the Saints which is so much of a spirit of bondage for that all unreasonable fears of God are the effects and univocal proper productions of a spirit of bondage I say as there may be these fears as to their state and condition so there may be as to PARTICULAR ACTIONS an absurd fear that we may not do them and a guilt after we have done them when indeed they were lawful to be done which usually argues a spirit of bondage and so a legal spirit in these actions Yet I will acknowledge that to do actions though lawful with a doubting mind makes them sins and may justly affect us with a guiltiness But many times one does an action freely and without doubting and afterwards with a scrupulosity reflects upon the action and then hath a fear and a guilt Now I say if this action upon which we reflect thus was a lawful action then is our guilt and fear which we have impressed upon us an argument of Legality or a Spirit of Bondage for the reason above given But yet there is something more to be said as to the clearing of this matter for I will not dare to call all cautious wary proceeding in searchingout what may or may not be the wil of God and my duty in such or such an action to call call this Legality and the effect of a spirit of bondage God forbid this were Doctrine for a Ranter to vent not for any sober person But this is that which I affirm That we ought to enquire faithfully and seriously what may be our duty and what may be our liberty in such or such an action before we adventure upon it and if we cannot understand such a thing to be our liberty as for instance to take usury-money to take an oath c. we ought not to do it but yet I say and that is the chief thing I intend in this particular that if we determine against our own liberty it not onely argues a weakness of judgement but usually a spirit of bondage for that our very determination proceeds from a false opinion and an over-timorous apprehension of God We think that he will not allow his servants such liberties as indeed he doth we think him an hard Master as it is Matth. 24.25 There are some men whom I dare not but think good men that yet think a Christian a Saint of God should be so exact so circumspect in things that are of no consideration so superstitious I may say in gestures habits language as if a Christian when once such were not to converse with other men but must go out of the world as the Apostles phrase is speaking in such a case as this 1 Cor. 5.9 10. And these men I make no doubt have done much prejudice to Religion by their great reservedness and narrowness of principles which I shall take liberty here to call Legality and a spirit of bondage for that it usually proceeds from a wrong apprehension of God as if he were hard and austere and cruel to his creatures And this narrowness of spirit and scrupulosity hath been a common and powerful principle in people so long till at last it hath issued out in a party and faction amongst us and it is as I conceive one of the most considerable ingredients in their Religion whom we call Quakers I have done with this third Character I come now to a fourth which is this A Legal spirit is a persecuting spirit and that especially of those that are the true Gospel-Saints and Worshippers of God I shall presently give my Scripture for this it is in Gal. 4.28 29. Now we Brethren as Isaac was are children of the promise but as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit even so it is now He that is born after the flesh was the son of the Bond woman from Mount Sinai for justification by works as all the Allegory wil witness especially ver 23. he that is born after the spirit is the son of the promise that rests upon the promise in the Gospel-way for Justification Now as there have always been from the beginning these two seeds these two sorts of Worshippers so there was alwayes an enmity between them and they that are after the flesh and for the Law alwayes persecuted them that are for the Gospel those that are for the Law are ful of persecuting principles against all that differ from them they would fain have all forced to be of their way but yet their persecution is most fiercely directed against the true Worshippers they cannot endure that they should live upon the face of the earth Cain was a right Legallist he brings of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord but never minds with what heart he offers it yet takes it for granted that God would accept of it and like it very well And when he finds that his offering is not accepted and that his younger Brother's is he cannot bear it he hates his Brother and longs for the blood of his Brother and wherefore flew he him saith the Scripture Alas for no other reason is the answer made in the same place but for that his own works were evil and rejected and his Brothers righteous and accepted 1 John 3.12 not that his Brother had done him the least wrong imaginable Wherefore did Ishmael the son of the bond-woman persecute Isaac which persecution we find not to be other than scoffing at him Gen. 21.9 but onely because he was the son of the promise mocking him perhaps with some such taunt as this There goes a young Puritan a young Precisian the Son of the promise But come we down to the New-Testament and who there are the great persecutors of our Saviour and his Apostles