benefits of his Righteousness Where is the Drs. enervating Christs Laws if this was his judgment Doth not this Correspond with that of the Apostle Eph. 1. He raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus doâ—h not this evince that all the Elect were raised up with Christ and do now sit with him in Heaven being in his Heart as the twelve Tribes were upon Arons Breast-Plate when he went into the Holy of Holies Are they not in the Heart of Christ and doth he not pray for those that God gave to him if so then all saving Blessings belong to them only the Doctor had not the happiness to word it to please Mr. W. therefore is quarrell'd at But next he sweetens all and having broken the Doctors Head gives him a Plaister thus I have carefully avoided any Reflection on Revereâ—d Dr. Crisp whom I believe a Holy Man For which respect I return many thanks and bless God for fulfilling his word that when a mans ways please the Lord he makes his Enemies at peace with him But may I not wonder that those that have uttered so great Invectives that he was for dethroning Christ should yet be convinc'd from the strain of his writings that he was a Holy Man This is agreeable to what treatment he met with in the Heat of Peoples flocking by thousands to hear him which he was much maligned for yet there was not a man of all his detractors that ever charged him with the least immorality or indecency or neglect of exactest holiness though there was scarce ever seen a wrinkle in his Brow he being chearful in Conversation even to admiration yet as solemnly devout in the Worship of God on Lords days and Fast days as the greatest legalist so that his Enemies gave him his due Character for exact holiness But now for Mr. W. to say Dr. C. was holy and Reverend Dr. C. and but a few Lines before to say all the rest of his Opinions follow in a Chain to the dethroning of Christ c. seems strange but without doubt it is from a mighty over-ruling Providence of God not only out of the mouths of Babes and Sucklings the unlearned to perfect praise to his Name but to still the Enemy and Avenger Mat. 11. Ps 8. Not only do the simple Celebrate the Praises of God for the opening the Rich Mercies of Free-Grace by the Dr. but the Learned that seem to be his Enemies and come out against him with Vengeance God doth still them nay after high reproach he engages them to acknowledge this Dethroner of Christ I believe was a holy Man this is like Bellarming propter incertitudinem tutissimum est c. 'T is absolute Sovereign grace in Christ nothing in us that saves us when all is done Before I leave Mr. W. in this good temper I hope it may be useful as well for setling the wavering as confirming the sound To quote a passage or two I met with occasionally out of unquestionable Authority for Orthodoxy in the Faith for a suffrage to Dr. Crisp in what he is opposed by Mr. W. and that is out of the Reverend Dr. Harris of Hanwell an eminent member of the famous Assembly of Divines Anno 1652. I begin with his asserting That Christ sustained the Person of a sinner This is a grand charge against Dr. C. that Christ was a reputed sinner but this eminent Dr. H. makes no scruple to Assert it roundly without any ambiguity and saith directly in his Sermon called Absaloms Funeral in fol. 215 Christ he stood in our room and sustained the Person of a sinner though in himself sinless could not he though he was the Heir and first born escape until his Blood was shed and flesh rent and Soul poured forth as an Offering Then make good that thou art in Christ and so a new Creature or else take thy leave of all hope and comfort I add if this were not true that Christ sustained the Person of a sinner how could God punish him or how could the Apostle say to the seven Churches He loved us and washed us from our sins in his Blood sure those us were in Christ when he shed his Blood and iâ— his own Person as head he sustained them and all other sinners that he shed his Blood for else how were they Crucified with him and raised with him and made sit with him in Heavenly places now because Reason and Philosophy cannot fathom this shall we reject plain Scripture and say that the Elect have no interest in Christ till they believe though God say plainly grace was given them in Christ before the World was and they were chosen in him before the World Dr. H. gives his Testimony against the new sort of Divinity which may look better from him than Dr. Crisp and may reconcile to his Doctrine or rather Christs that nothing must come in of ours to joyn with Christ for Justification and saith in fol. 36. from Rom. 8.1 No Condemnation to those in Christ the Doctrines of later Editions Arminians drive mostly at this to wrest you from your Estate in Christ hence the superadding of our Righteousness to Christs ad Corroborandum look to your standing find all your Hopes Joys Life in him alone owe to him all Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification Redemption and Salvation This is far from the New Scheme of Gospel Ordination of Christs purchasing that Faith Holiness c. have their use in Gospel Benefits from their Conformity to the Rule of the Promise not of the Precept this taking us off from our superadded Righteousness ad corroborandum to strengthen our Title clearly evinces that he was not for Faith and holiness giving a Title no Faith can only receive it and Holiness Evidence it Dr. H. answers for Dr. C. as being charged that if God acts us in beleiving and God beleives and God repents and saith in fol. 64. Not only the power but the Act too is from God Phil. 2. He works in us to will and to do if it be thus say the Jesuits and others then Man shall not be master of his own Acts then God shall be said to repent and believe Man shall do nothing but all shall be resolved unto God Answ May not Man be said to understand though God do powerfully inlighten so also to hate love c. They the Jesuits yield that God worketh upon the Vnderstanding and the Affections and yet man understands and affects and why should not the same be true of the Will Secondly God first works all things in us and then by us he prevents and acts us and then we work under God Object This takes off all endeavour nay this quickens our Care and endeavour if St. Paul may be heard Phil 2.13 Therefore we must work out all because we depend on God for all saith the Apostle neither doth God only work in his People a power of willing but the very Act also and indeed the acting of the will of man is more than giving him a power only to will The Covenant of grace is this be content to accept of anothers Obedience and to lay hold of the Righteousness of Christ for Justification he soars as high as Dr. C. and saith there is nothing required of us more than this to disclaim our selves and to make Christ alone our Teacher our head and all-sufficient Saviour nay in fol. 35. he is clear and saith What can we do toward the getting of a new Heart Answ Man cannot concur to the renewing of himself as a Cause or an Agent If this be good Divinity in Dr. H. and the Assembly of Divines why should it be quarrel'd at in Dr. C. Would it not be more becoming the greatness of Mr. W's Spirit to have encountred the Assembly in these particulars than Dr. C. yea doubtless But there was a new Scheme to be erected and this would more easily obtain against a single Person than the established Religion of the Nation which in the chiefest points objected against Dr. C. concurs with him yea after all when Mr. W. finds by the strong Proofs brought against him that his Scheme will not take he betakes himself to the Substance of what he Objects against the Dr. as in time may be made evident in the mean time I humbly conceive I have made it appear that his Preface hath not only wronged the Dr. but the truth which I doubt not but in a great measure he sees Thus begging of the Lord that some glory may rise to his Name by some few hours investigating the Truth I conclude as well for Mr. W. and all that desire the Truth as it is in Jesus may take place as for my self let the Words of my Mouth and the Meditation of my Heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord Tzuri ve Goeli my Rock and my Redeemer Amen FINIS
of Grace as I do ye I doubt not but I should be highly recompensed for this labour of love and should find refreshment under many rufflings from the Lord on my Person and Family Thus beseeching the Lord to pour out abundance of his Spirit on you all and the unhappily engaged Mr. Williams whom I truly love and respest That the people may be prepared for the Lords glorious appearance now hastning To him I recommend you and subscribe Your Servant and an unworthy Son of Dr. Crisp S. C. Clapham January 21st 1692 3. Christ alone Exalted IN Dr Crisp's Sermons Partly Confirmed in Answer to Mr. Williams Preface to his Gospel Truth stated and Vindicated by Comparing some of his unfair Accusations of the said Doctor with the Scripture and the Doctrine of the Gospel Established by Law in the Homilies c. WHEN Peter who seemed to be a Pillar was come to Antioch I withstood him to the Face because he was to be blamed saith the Apostle Gal. 2.9 10. And if an Apostle who seemed a Pillar might Err in Ceremonies and be blamed so may our seeming Pillars some of them Err in Substance conjoyning our Gospel Holiness with Christs Righteousness and be blamed Now I perceiving what I suppose will appear a great Error in the Preface of Mr. Williams to his Arraignment of Gospel Truths in Dr. Crisp's Sermons and supposing none will mind the Preface that design to Answer the Book but pass it over as a Cursory Discourse I think it not ungrateful to studious Christians to animadvert on the brief Systems of Religion which Mr. Williams hath there given the World in opposition not so much to Dr. Crisp as to the plain express Scripture and the sound sense thereof held out by the great Orthodox Divines that were Staunch against Aâ—minianism upon our first coming out of Popery when Zeal for Christ alone in Salvation was warm Wherein I beseech the Lord so to guide my Thoughts and Pen that I may mind only his Glory in and through our Lord Jesus The Meek he will guide in Judgment which meekness I beg of the Lord though a Golden Calf of Mans Gospel Holiness to be set up in the place of Christs Righteousness would provoke a Moses Yet I hope to retain as well Meekness as Integrity till I die It is beyond all doubt Man since the Devil deceived him that upon eating he should be as God doth think with himself he can tho' dead do something which is proper only to God that is he can quicken his own dead Soul he can Convert himself he can be a God to himself hereupon there is a great Outcry against any that assert That our Lord Jesus Christ is all in all in the Salvation of poor Sinners and Dr. Crisps Sermons because fuller than ordinary of the free Grace of God in Jesus Christ are singled out to be battered and with them the Gospel of our Salvation is run down into terms utterly Forreign to the Scripture and because the Doctor adheres and sticks close to the Scripture terms of our being dead dead dead in sins and our sins our very sins Christ bare in his Body on the Tree as the Apostles Peter and Paul expresly say he is exclaimed against And that this great Champion might appear compleatly armed in opposing Dr. Crisp he puts on the great shield of being solicited to this Work by several worthy Ministers and that this may appear true he hath emblazoned his honour in this great Atchievement by the Hands of several indeed worthy Ministers who are most of them in my Experience eminent Servants of our Lord Jesus however their Zeal for Gospel Holiness may have been imposed upon to countenance Mr. Williams making Christ's Righteousness to be our Gospel Holiness Though I have a great honour for all those of them whom I know yet I suppose they will not think themselves dishonoured to say I think most of them were imposed upon in getting their subscribing to what they never throughly examined I am sure one of them tho' next the first yet nulli secundus for a sweet Christian Spirit among them said a few Weeks before Dr Crisps Sermons were reprinted to an Eminent Mininister in a great Company If Dr. Crisp be an Antinomian so am I and I am sure he said in a Sermon December 12. 1669. We are first made active by Christ in order to his bringing us to God and September 24. 7. 1672. Christ hath brought the Law to its end it hath no more to require be is the abolishing end the Law is quite out of doors as to justify plant a Crab-Tree in the best Soil it brings forth crabs till planted in Christ so that there must be Vnion to Christ by Gods planting us in Christ before any good Fruit. So this Gentleman and so Doctor Crisp in his Faith the Fruit of Union contrary to Mr. Williams and yet this excellent person is by Mr. Williams Art taught to say with the rest We judge our Reverend Brother hath in all that is material fully and rightly stated the Truths and Errors mentioned as such and do account he hath in this work done considerable Service to the Church of Christ and so will I say when by it he hath ingaged Able Pens to vindicate the truth from Sophistical Glosses that he hath done considerable service against his will I reckon this Preface is the marrow of his Book and I shall begin with as great a point as any I know of in the Bible next to the Deity of the Lord Jesus and yet 't is that which is the chief Fruit of his Deity which is his Righteousness as God-Man made ours by Faith by Mr. Williams his treating this he discovers his whole Soul concerning Justification that great Article stantis vel cadentis Ecclesiâ—â— of the standing and falling of that Church that holds it as Luther said in that a little Leven here leveneth the whole lump Here Mr. Williams hath made very bold with the expression of the Apostle Paul in Phil. 3.9 That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by Faith here Mr. Williams instead of extolling this righteousness of Christ and the rich Grace of God to impute this to us he runs Counter to the stream of the Gospel and dashes to pieces all the comfort that thousands have found in this Scripture as signifying Christs Righteousness our cloathing before God and gives his Romish gloss upon it in these words I exclude not this Righteousness Christs imputed when I affirm that the Righteousness of God Phil. 3.9 Principally intends the Gospel Holiness of a Person Justifyed by Christs Righteousness which in plain Words is this When I Daniel Williams say in the preceding words his Righteousness imputed is the cause for which we are justifyed and saved when we do answer the Gospel Rule now I explain
we had never heard of the Gospel What Riches of grace is this in Mr. Williams's gospel the sum whereof is It hath made a difference between Faith and Unbelief Holiness and Profaneness Love and Enmity Duty and Rebellion O what Encomiums must the World raise to such a Discoverer of that which Nature without either Law or Gospel teaches every man But some hidden Treasure must lye under this Rubbish of Divinity 't is not for nothing that Gospel grace is dignified with procuring these four Blessings therefore Mr. W. must mean that Conformity to the Rule of the Promise is in our imperfect Faith sincere Holiness love of God and spiritual Duties and these are the Conditions on which the gospel promiseth pardon now how correspondent Mr. Williams gospel is to the Prophet Isaiah's Account the world may judge from Isaiah 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions for mine own sake This is the Rule for Pardon in the sense of Doctor Crisp and of all that love the Lord Jesus for obtaining this gospel grace and for those that differ I beseech the Lord to open their Eyes and subdue their Hearts to the simplicity of the gospel that they may lay down their strong Reasonings which indeed are foolishness not only with God but to every Child of seven Years old that hath learnt his Assemblies Catechism But now I think on 't Mr. Williams hath slur'd that by his new unsound one come we next to his Conclusion of his great point of our Conformity to the Rule in order to obtain pardon wherein he saith thus God in dispensing of gospel promised Blessings doth judicially determine a conformity to THIS Rule of the Promise We must observe that decisive word this Rule no gospel Blessing without a Conformity to this Rule that is the four Pillars of his Babel to build Pardon upon our imperfect Faith our sincere Holiness our love of God our spiritual Duties which include every Precept Counsel and Direction in the Bible as much as to say Stand by blessed Jesus I have heard of thy pretious Blood a Ransom I have heard of thy saving to the uttermost all that come to God by thee I have heard of thy passing by when poor Sinners lay in their Blood dead in Sins and saying Live I have heard thou didst say Publicans and Harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you Pharisees that justify your selves Mâ—â—h 21 3â— But there is risen up in this last Age a Generation of strong Reasoners that say Our formal Pardon is not in thy Blood but we must get it as it were by the VVorks of the Law by Faith Holiness Perseverance Love Spiritual Duties and this Doctrine O Jesus I must adhere to or I shall be accounted a Dethroner of thee and an enervater of thy Laws though there is not one word either in the Law or Gospel that enjoyns these as Conditions to obtain Pardon But thy Righteousness is by them interpreted to be our gospel Holiness and upon this they ground our obtaining Pardon not by the one work of the Law Thou shalt love the Lord with all thine heart but by the many works of the gospel O that ever mens Learning and Parts should be so vitiated as to decry the simplicity of the Truth as it is in Jesus Believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved set up their Scheme of a gospel Promise of Pardon upon a Conformity to this prescribed Rule of Duties innumerable besides Repentance Faith Love sincere Holiness Perseverance Obedience and when all this is mentioned there comes in a boundless c. O to the Law and to the Testimonies let t is say which directs us plainly Look to me and be ye saved all the ends of the Earth come unto me and ye shalt find rest for your Souls After all this Pudder Mr. Williams comes to himself and also Doctor Crisp and though he had been setting up his Connexions and Conformity in Faith Holiness Obedience c. At last he comes to Bellarmins's Tutissimum to the Sheet Anchor To the alone true Gospel way of Salvation true uniting Faith in Christ I was in an Amazement to find that God extorted this Confession from him after his long Deviation That true uniting Faith was the Wedding Garment This is like a Minister of the gospel of our Lord Jesus if he can stay here but alas the next Page throws this good Mist down however we will make much of this for here he Centers with the choicest Christians when he saith thus God upon a View of his guests he cast out him that had not on the Wedding Garment viz. true uniting Faith Then I quaere What 's become of the Long Bed-Roll of Spiritual Duties Faith Love Repentance Holiness Obedience c. If true uniting Faith be the Wedding garment sure this Wedding garment was not worn without Pardon of Sins through the Blood of Christ washing them off from this guest if this were by true uniting Faith and nothing else was lookt after by the Master of the Feast but that his Guests owned him by wearing him their Righteousness by Faith then avoid the Scheme of our holy Performances from having any thing to do in our being admitted to fit with the King at his round Table But what shall we say unstable as water Reuben was no sooner hath Mr. Williams writ clear gospel that nothing but true uniting Faith kept a Man from being cast out but the next Clause brings in persevering Holiness with the Train of all spiritual Duties to give admittance to the wise Virgins so that one while we are justified by Faith another while by persevering Holiness If you are to go to the Wedding Feast you are to put on true uniting Faith If you are to enter with the Bridegroom to the Marriage then 't is the Spirit of grace and persevering Holiness gains you admittance these are his words As by keeping out the foolish Virgins for not having Oyl in their Lamps viz. the Spirit of grace and persevering Holiness so by admitting the wise Virgins he judicially declared they had a Spirit of grace and persevering Holiness Here 's not one word of Faith or of Christ or of his Righteousness for these poor Virgins to get into the Wedding House by not one syllable of being justified by Faith But according to his sense they said to Christ Lord we have the Spirit of grace and persevering Holiness we have prophesied in thy Name against too much exalting Free Grace we have done many wonderful Works we have persevered in our Holiness till thy coming But will Christ give them admission on this Plea of a Spirit of grace and holiness without a word of Faith in our Lord Jesus No sure he will say I know you not you would not know me to be your Righteousness You come in your gospel Holiness I know you not This is to make the gospel yea and nay 'T is yea to day true uniting
the other opposes Peter and Paul contended but Free Grace Paul was too hard for Legal Peter who complyed too far Gal 2.11 and so at last will Dr. Crisp's Doctrine be to those that as it were bring in somewhat with Christs righteousness for Justification As for the provincial Synod that opposed by Name Doctor Crisp I fear much of their Spirit is in those that pretend to moderation while they oppose this Doctrine they were for bloody Bonners Argument against Dr. C. Fire and Faggot it would have come to I remember I went when a Boy to Prison to see an Eminent Christian whom that Synod had secured there for promoting the Publishing Doctor Crisp his Works a rare way of Rectoral Distribution of Benefits by a Gospel Rule and were Power in the hands of those several worthy Ministers that Doctor Williams saith oft solicited him to engage in this Work I question not but they would at length prevail with him as well to imprison Doctor Crisp his Defenders as to aver those things to be Errors that he hath not proved so We are engaged in a new Opposition to the grief of such as perceive the tendency of these Principles Here 's new Nonsense in the great Champion for Man's Righteousness to fit him for Christ's here 's a these without naming any well and what are we engaged in Truly 't is to grieve such as consider these things To the grief of such as perceive the tendency of these Principles we are ingaged in a new Opposition he saith and I am of his mind he or they that assisted him did ingage therein to the grief of such as saw the tendency of the Principles he opposed But to take his meaning if it can be hit 't is thus to their grief we are by them engaged in a new opposition but will it not be more to their grief to find your Opposition is to the Truth which by your opposing will be more radiant I believe many abettors of these Notions have grace to preserve their minds and Practices from their Influence D. W. Here 's great Concession first these Errors then these mistakes and now these Notions at last I hope it will be these pure streams of Gospel Grace I perceive your Eyes begin to dazle by long poring on the Truth the Lord grant a clear sight you believe the Abettors have Grace O blessed be God that gives to the most unworthy But they ought to consider that the generality of Mankind have no such Antidote D. W. That is the generality of Mankind have not Grace to preserve them from the influence of Errors and mistakes I doubt so too but methinks this word the generality of Mankind not having such an Antidote savours as if the generality of Mankind had some Antidote or as the Arminian says all have still sufficient by nature if they would improve it to preserve them O how apt are we to refer somewhat of good to the generality of mankind whereas in truth not only the generality have not Antidotes to keep them but the contrary is most true no man whatsoever unconverted hath any Antidote to keep himself from the Poyson of any Error ever broached I must encounter another Plunder I see and pick out the meaning Who can wonder at the general abatement of Humble walking when so many affirm I sins are not to be feared D. W. I have heard of fearing God by every Christian and Christ saith I 'll tell you whom you shall fear but I never heard of fearing sins or a complaine that sins are not feared The Pagans do fear the Black Devil they say lest he should do them hurt but never any Christian I think had any such reverence in him toward sin probably he means many affirm they ought not to be afraid to commit sin if he mean so he was unhappy in his expressing himself and he would do well to cite some of his many that say so as for Dr. Crisp I suppose he will not offer at it though his words look very uncharitable that way which the Dr. flatly denies fol. 510. and saith Let me not be mistaken I do not say we must not be afraid to sin but they need not be afraid of their sins But as to his meaning that no Believer ought to fear any hurt can be done him by his sin as Dr. Crisp his assertion when he quotes any thing of Dr. Crisps tending that way I will prepare for an Answer in the mean time I suppose he will not deny but God often turns that which seems most dreadful to be most beneficial as the Small Pox to Cure a Consumption so sin the worst of Evils to the advancing God's glory and best of goods but he wont say Dr. Crisp taught that therefore we ought to sin that Grace may abound an old objection of Satan answered by the Apostle and Dr. Crisp in his Sermon 8. Christian Liberty no Licentious Doctrine God hath no more to lay to the Charge of the wickedest Man if he be Elected than he hath to lay to the Charge of a Saint in glory M. Williams in his Charge This harsh Expression when compared with the Scriptures quoted by Dr. Crisp will be better reconciled to our Spirits than that Christ the Holy Jesus in his most perfect state of most perfect holiness as God the Father is Holy was made sin and a Curse and yet God blessed for ever is it more astonishing that a Sinner in his blood in his highest Sins as Manasseh should be lookt upon in Christ as chosen in him loved in him from all Eternity to all Eternity and look'd on by God in Christs righteousness should have nothing to be laid to his Charge is this more harsh than for Christ in his most compleat holiness to be lookt on by God to be a Curse for us Dr. Crisp will be found not to have spoken of sinners as in themselves but as lookt on in Christ and then the time of being in blood was a time of Love And a little Charity in D. Williams might have lead not to make a scare-crow of such an Expression but if the Apostles Opposers fetch'd wrong conclusions from his Blessed premises of Free Grace so it will be to the end of the World by self Justitiaries but of this in its more proper place Again The Elect are not governed by fear or hope M. W. charge No why should they be governed by any but their Lord Jesus who is both their fear and hope For the Laws of Christ have no promises nor threats to rule them by W. This is a most false Charge for Dr. Crisp owns they are under the Law to Christ and inforces it and saith expresly in fol. 561. Do not mistake me I have no thoughts as if Wrath and Vengeance were not to be preached and made known even to Believers yea Beloved wrath and Vengeance is to be made known to them and that as the Deserts of sin and as the means to
Mr. Frith have insisted on No manner of Works make us right wise and no works make us unright-wise and all good Works must be utterly excluded and stand apart that grace may appear free Now are not Repentance Holiness new Obedience perseverance and Mr. Williams his c. Good works yet they must stand apart and be far from such a Conformity to the Rule of the Promise in our salvation as Perfect Obedience was to the Rule of the Precept O that God would teach Men to lower their high towering Opinions of our Holiness concurring to our Salvation and cry Grace grace to all from the Foundation to th◠Top-stone still not of works though this galls proud Flesh lest any boast For a farther satisfaction in this great point let us see what our great Men presently after the down-fall of Popery in this Nation have said as to our works in the matter of Salvation The Homilists say in fol. 27. All good Works spring from Faith and cannot be done without Faith then I argue if they spring from Faith and that we are justifyed by Faith then good works have no hand in our Justification because that is over in order of nature before a good work sprung up then what have we to do with Mr. Williams Gospel Obedience conforming to the Promise in order to pardon The Homilists say farther from those words without me you can do nothing That what work is done without Faith is sin and without Faith all done of us is dead and Austin saith fol. 31. Whether thou will or no that work that comes not of Faith is naught There is one work in which is all good Works that 's Faith This is the Work of God to believe in him so that Christ called Faith the work of God and as soon as a man hath Faith anon he shall flourish in good Works Thus Holy Austin was for Faith alone without the Trumpery of our Obedience with c. in order to pardon Mr. W. fixeth Repentance and Faith with Holiness c. to be the Terms of Pardon How far this c goes it may be Mr. Williams may tell us in the next Edition or by the Athenian Mercury but for the consolation of humble Enquirers into the truth I 'll tell them what our Homilists say of this great grace of Repentance which Mr. W. puts before Faith and which he makes one of the terms of Pardon with his c. in fol. 258. these Homilists say We must return to the Lord yea to him alone and never rest till we have taken bold upon him but this must be done by Faith and he himself in his Gospel doth cry out I am the way the Truth and the Life therefore they are greatly deceived who preach Repentance without Christ so that with the Homilists 't is first Christs ours by Faith then Repentance they that think they have done much of themselves towards Repentance are so much more the farther from God This is not like our new Gospel Truth stated that a man without saving Faith in Jesus may repent of his sins yet say the Homilists but 't is such a Repentance as Judas's such as puts him farther from God and in fol. 263. they confirm their Doctrine of no sound Repentance without Faith in Jesus the way to it and say We must beware we in no wise imagin we can repent aright hy our own strength for this must be verifyed in all Men without me you can do nothing Mr. W. will say he owns that Christ enables us to repent 't is true but doth he own a Man is in Christ believes in Christ before he repent if he do not own that then he comes not up to the Text where Christ speaking of all his to the Branches in him he saith upon that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without me or out of me you can do nothing you cannot repent or do new Obedience if not a branch in me by Faith Again in fol. 268 they say They that preach Repentance without a lively Faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ do teach Judas his Repentance It is evident tho' we be never so earnestly Sorry for our sins acknowledge and confess them all these are but means to bring us to utter despair except we do stedfastly believe that God our heavenly Father will for his Son Jesus Christ's sake pardon and forgive us our Offences To them I add the Testimony of as great a Scholar and as sound a Protestant as Mr. Williams who above 100 years ago gave a better account of Faith and Holiness than Mr. W. doth and that is Mr. Perkins no Antinomian who saith in fol. 236. The law promises life to him that performs Obedience perfect The Gospel promises Salvation to him that doth nothing in the cause of his Salvation but only Believes in Christ yet not for this Faith or for any work else but for the merit of Christ this is a big word what do nothing in the cause of Salvation but believe no nothing saith Mr. Perkins and before Mr. Williams can confute him he must prove Christs Righteousness ours by Faith is meant of our Gospel Holiness that is God saith 't is Christ's Righteousness but he means quite otherwise viz. 't is our Gospel Holiness Mr. Perkins is in good earnest that we are to do nothing for Salvation but believe and answer several Objections as follow Objection 4th saith Mr. Perkins To believe is a work therefore one work is commanded in the Gospel and is necessary to Salvation Answer The Gospel considers not Faith as a Vertue or Work but as a Hand to apprehend Christ for Faith doth not Cause or effect or procure our Justification and Salvation but as the Beggars Hand receives them being wholly wrought and given of God and in fol. 247 he saith we must first be Justified before we can do a good work and in fol. 287. Paul teaches that works set up as Causes of Salvation with Christ make void the grace of God And is not this making them causes of Salvation with Christ to say Christ purchased this Grace that our Sincere Obedience Faith Holiness Perseverance should be accepted to answer the rule of the Gospel Promise for pardon Well doth Mr. Perkins proceed to reject our Righteousness in the matter of Salvation and Saith in fol. 955 of vol. 1st A mans Conscience must in some sort be settled touching his reconciliation with God before he can begin to Repent wherefore Justification and Sanctification in order of Nature go before Repentance but if we respect time then Grace and Repentance are together This is intelligible Doctrine and strenuous for the advancement of Christ alone and the same in effect as Mr. Perkins had asserted contrary to Mr. Williams in fol. 84. Saying From Sanctification Repentance is derived because no man can earnestly repent except he denying himself do hate sin and embrace Righteousness this no man can perform but such an one as is in the sight of God
is wholly shut out there is to be no boasting and 't is shut out by the law of Faith by that Faith I just now mentioned all you have to do in the point of Justification is Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved Do these Men seek a Law here 's the Law this is his Commandment that you believe in the name of the Lord Jesus John 3.23 when they said What shall we do that we might work the works of God Jesus answered and said unto them This is the work of God that ye believe in him whom he hath sent so the Apostle here do you seek a Law that excludes from boasting I 'll tell you the Law 't is the law of Faith to believe on him that is just and the justifier of the Ungodly upon his believing and yet this Mr. W. brings for confirmation of his sincere holiness that God regards in his giving pardon But thus it pleaseth God to confound the wise by quoting a Text in order to adulterate it when in the Issue no Text is more sharp upon him A farther Confirmation of his setting up works for concurring to pardon is in the next words thus And it the gospel specially insists on that sincerity of grace and holiness which the rule of the Promise makes necessary in its description of the Person whom it makes partaker of its included Benefit sure never was the free grace and love of God to Man so fetter'd and obscured by dark expressions had any Sophister industriously set himself to vitiate the true meaning of Gods Love in these words God so loved the World that he gave his only beloved Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life he could not possibly I think have done it worse than to explain hem in Mr. W. expressions of the gospel insisting on grace and that sincere and on holiness and that such as the rule of the Promise makes necessary and that rule of the Promise is in its description of the Person to be benefited by it which description must needs be the whole word of God and when this person hath all that holiness that we find the word of God recommends then this person by this rule with this holiness is partaker of an included benefit God of his rich mercy pour out his Spirit and grant his Servants may be inabled to deliver his clear plain Scripture offers of life and Salvation by Jesus Christ with clearer Evidence than this Is this the way of confuting Dr. C. who asserts Gospel Grace in plain Gospel Terms That Christ came to seek and save the lost that he seeks and finds his lost sheep and brings them home upon his Shoulders that he carries the Lambs in his Arms and gently leads those with young and instead of such Soul-saving encouragements to poor sinners to put them off with our grace and holiness and not a word of Gods saving them in Christ but our coming up to the rule which the promise makes necessary And who shall be able to say when he hath done all that he comes up to Mr. Williams rule of believing c. his Obedience c. his persevering c. from such stating of Gospel Truth O Lord deliver thy People Now we come to the Use Mr. Williams makes of his premises of salvation from our conformity to Gospel rule of new obedience c. which he summs up in few words viz. And the main of our Ministry consists in pressing men to Answer the Rule of the Gospel Promise But the main of the Apostles was to know nothing but Christ and him crucified and to press men to be found in him and so Mr. W. once did when he preach'd that Christ indured the utmost God bated him nothing the atonement was so compleat that God can demand no other from Christ or from any Soul this Atonement is applyed to This he deduced from this Doctrine The reconciling of sinners to God is effected by the concurring influence of the Priestly and Kingly Office of Christ Well then Christ hath effected this reconciliation what remains for poor man to do but accept it and be thankful not to come in with his Gospel Holiness for God to have regard to in our reconciliation to God But it seems this stream of Gospel grace must not run so clear now in his Book here must be conformity to Gospel Rule before we have any benefit by Christ which consists in Repentance Faith c. to all the rest and now this is prest and the main of our Ministry consists in this whereas the main of the Apostles was to beseech Men to be reconciled to God because God was in Christ and when upon the Cross reconciling the world to himself when by one Offering he for ever perfected the Work and cryed out it is finished and then after Union after engrafting into Christ after being in a blessed state of Salvation secured so as never to fall away then the Apostle presses to walk worthy of this Gospel of this free Salvation by Jesus Christ Mr. Williams proceeds viz. We call men to be reconciled to God upon which we know God will be at peace with them This I thought it would come to at last First we must come to God and be reconciled to him and then God will be at peace with us which is just contrary to the Apostle when we were Enemies we were reconciled Rom. 5.10 But when Men will be pampering with our holiness for God to look to in our acceptance in Christ they will fall into a Covenant of Works and call it Gospel Grace that our works are accepted in order to our Justification and Salvation we must first be reconciled to God saith Mr. W. that is we must first comply with the gospel rule of not only Faith but Holiness Repentance and perseverance in new Obedience and having thus brought our selves to that reconciled posture then God will be at peace is this fulfilling Christs commission Go Preach the gospel to every Creature he that believeth shall be saved Is this proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord When thou wast in thy Blood I said to thee Live and for mine own Name sake I will remember their sins no more God waits to be gracious knocking at the Door of poor sinners hearts crying Open to me let me come in I bring my Supper I bring my Son only let him in only receive him by Faith God don't say my Son and I will be at peace with you after you have washt you and made your selves clean but he comes to tell you he loved you and washt you from your sins in his blood on the Cross and you that believe in me are the Persons I was reconciled to you then and am come now to offer it to you and beseech you to be reconciled to me Thus with these words of his first love he draws poor sinners to be reconciled to him and do not damp