conformity to the Gospel Promise even as perfect obedience had in conformity to the Precept or Covenant of works I shall shew farther by the opinion of sound Orthodox Writers and begin with that famous Martyr in Scotland burned Anno 1532. for adhering to salvation by Jesus Christ without works in his Treatise set forth by Mr. John Frith an English Martyr in the same Cause Burned in 1533. he hath these Expressions viz. No manner of works make us right wise and no works make us unright wise if any evil works make us unrighteous then the contrary works should make us righteous the proof is we believe that a man shall be justifyed without works Rom. 3. and we believe in Jesus Christ that we may be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the deeds of the Law good works make not a good man nor evil works an evil Man but a good man bringeth forth good works and an evil man evil works good Fruit makes not the Tree good nor evil Fruit the Tree evil but a good Tree beareth good Fruit and an evil Tree evil fruit If works make us neither righteous nor unrighteous then thou wilt say it maketh no matter what we do I answer if thou do evil it is a sure Argument thou art evil and wantest Faith if thou do good it is a sure Argument thou art good and hast Faith Here is no sophistication of Faith Holiness Obedience c. answering the Rule of the Gospel promise as perfect Obedience answered the Law and moreover he gives the reason why we are so saved by Christ Because saith he Thou madest the fault and he suffered the pain and that for the love he had for thee before thou wast born now sith he was punished for thee thou shalt not be punished Finally he hath delivered thee from Condemnation all evil and desireth nought of thee mark that but that thou wilt acknowledge what he hath done for thee and bear it in mind and help others for his sake as he hath helped thee for nought Thou wilt say Shall we then do no good deeds I say not so but I say we should do no good works for the intent to get the Inheritance of Heaven or the remission of sin Thus this blessed Martyr asserted the Gospel in these truths worth laying down ones life for but I hope none will be put to lay down their life for asserting our imperfect Obedience answers the Gospel as Adams perfect Obedience If he had had it would have answered the Law for any to die upon such a point would be to be a Martyr for his own Righteousness not for asserting Christs now comes Mr. Frith and gives his Observations as full of Antinomianism as his Author Mr. Hamilton or as Dr. Crisp and just such an Antinomian as the A. Paul was and saith Therefore wheresoever any question or doubt ariseth of Salvation or our justifying before God there the Law and All good Works must be utterly excluded and stand apart that grace may appear free the Promise simple and that Faith may stand alone which faith alone without Law or Works worketh to every Man particularly his Salvation through meer promise and the free grace of God this word particularly I add for the particular certifying of every Mans heart privately and particularly that believeth in Christ so Faith is the instrumental Cause by which every Man applyeth the Body of Christ particularly to his own Salvation so that in the action and office of Justification both Law and Works all good Works above be here utterly secluded and exempted as things having nothing to do in this behalf The reason is this for seeing that all our Redemption universally springeth only from the body of the Son of God Crucified then is there nothing that can stand us in stead but that only wherewith this body of Christ is apprehended now for so much as neither the Law nor Works but Faith only is the thing that apprehendeth the Body and death of Christ therefore Faith only is that matter which Justifieth every Soul before God through the strength of that Object which it doth apprehend for the Object only of our Faith is the body of Christ like as the brazen Serpent was the other only of the Israelites looking by the strength of which Object through the promise of God immediately proceeded health to the Beholders so the Body of Christ being the Object of our Faith striketh righteousness to our Souls Thus far Mr. Frith Here 's good sound strong home-spun Divinity that came from the heart of an early English Martyr in the days of Hen. VIII It came not from Rome or Amsterdam or Poland and because the Book of our blessed Martyrs is in few hands I 'll transcribe some more of Mr. Frith's contrariety to our new way of stating Gospel Truth hoping it may tend to the establishing Souls whom the Sophistry of some Men may amuse with their Connexions of c. to Faith and Holiness in the business of pardon of sin to which Mr. Frith saith as follows In a Christian mans life there 's the Law there 's Repentance there is Hope Charity all which in mans Life and Doctrine are joyned and yet in the action of justifying there is nothing else in man that hath any Part or Place but only Faith apprehending the Object which is the body of Christ Jesus for us Crucified in whom consisteth all the worthiness of our Salvation by Faith that is by our apprehending and receiving of him according as it is written John 1. Whosoever received him he gave them Power to be made the Sons of God even all such as believed in his Name For so much therefore as the Truth of the Scripture in express words hath included our Salvation in Faith only we are enforced necessarily to Exclude all other causes and Means in our Justification and to make this difference between the Law and Gospel between Faith and Works affirming with the Scripture and Word of God that the Law condemneth us our Works of all sorts do not avail us and that Faith in Christ doth only justifie us and this ought diligently to be learned of all Christians especially in all conflicts of Conscience between the Law and the Gospel Faith and Works Grace and Merits Promise and Condition Gods Free Election and Mans free Will so that the light of the Free grace of God in our Salvation may appear to all Consciences to the Immortal glory of Gods holy Name Amen Thus said this blessed Servant of the Lord Jesus and this he sealed with his Blood and this was good Doctrine in those days among the Reformed this was thought worthy to be inserted in our famous Book of Martyrs and approved by the whole Body of Christians in the Nation and not scandalized as the same expressions are in Dr. Crisp's Sermons I would fain know what more stabbing words can be said against Mr. Williams Thesis or Position than both Mr. Hamilton and
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
Cross all the sins of the Elect were transferred to Christ If this be the grand Error then the Prophet Esay must be called to account for it with the Apostle Peter The Lord laid on him the Iniquity of us all who in his own Body bare our sins on the Tree 'T is admirable strange the bold front of humane reasoning to oppose the most plain express Scriptures in the Bible the sins of the Apostle and those he wrote to were committed several years after Christ was crucifyed and yet he saith Christ bare them on the Tree If Men will fight against plain Scripture and cry 't is dethroning Christ to urge the truth thereof then farewell the Gospel But to expostulate a little either our sins were laid on Christ then or never for Christ suffers no more and if they be laid on him now or when a sinner is converted then Christ must come down again and suffer or sin could not be expiated but sure 't is somewhat else Mr. Williams means as that sin was never laid on Christ but that when Christ died he suffered for this end that if we live a good life repent and believe the Gospel we shall be saved but grant that which can never be granted for no man can do one good Act without true saving Faith in Christ a sacrifice for his sins what becomes of our sins if Christ did not bear them on the Tree they must lye some where for they cannot be laid on Christ now then they must lye on the Sinner which would have sent him to Hell presently but he purged away sin by the Sacrifice of himself which he could not do if they were not on him when he was on the Cross when he became that Sacrifice God forbid that Mr. Williams by his Gospel Truth stated should call us to a new Gospel as he would by making it an Error to say that the sins of the Elect were on Christ upon the Cross His next is of smaller moment but to be taken notice of viz. 'T is one part of his Scheme of Dr. Crisps Errors that he holds that at the first moment of Conception a Title to all those decreed Blessings is personally applyed to the Elect and they invested actually therein Sure this is no horrid Blasphemy since God saith of Jacob and Esau before they had done good or Evil being yet unborn Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated and Jeremy being sanctifyed in the Womb Jer. 1.5 It must be before he had done much good sure an Heir of Glory is as soon an Heir to it as an Heir of a Kingdom and if a young King should be married but one Night and die the next Morning if that Kingdom was purely Hereditary the States of that Kingdom would not suffer the Widdow Queen to Marry again 'till they see whether she proved with Child or no and if she prove with Child and that Child be born I would fain know when that Child began to be an heir it must be at the first moment of his Conception or not at all But some Men will hardly allow God the Prerogative to give Titles to his Heirs as they will allow a Man to do by a settlement on Marriage they will grant that a King may go to Jail and choose out the worst Offender there and save him but God may not without Faith foreseen choose Vessels of Glory to himself and make them Heirs as soon as they have a Being Hence the Elect have nothing to do in order to an interest in those Blessings Mr. Williams This Assertion is both right and wrong as it may be taken for if by having nothing to do in order to an interest if Mr. Williams means that Dr. Crisp asserts the Elect have nothing to do in order to original right and Interest by Election of the Father before the World then he is in the wrong when he charges Dr. C. with an Error in holding with the Apostle that there was Grace given in Christ Jesus before the World began 2 Tim. 1.9 For in that respect the Elect have no more to do in order to an Interest in those Blessings than an Heir to an Estate setled on him before he was born hath to do to gain him an Interest therein and accordingly the Apostle is plain in Ephes 1.3 He hath blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings according as he chose us in him before the foundation of the World 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even as he chose us in Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and according to his own grace given to us before the World began if he blessed with all blessings even as he choose us and if he gave his own grace to us before the times of Ages sure then those so chosen and so endowed with grace before time have nothing to do to get an original right or interest in those Blessings that were then given to them and afterwards bestowed by God upon them no more than the Law coming 430 years after the Promise to Abraham had to do to obtain or evacuate the Promise But if Mr. Williams means that Dr. Crisp holds That the Elect have nothing to do in order to the applying their Interest in these Blessings then he is in the right and Dr. Crisp wrong when Mr. Williams proves it on the Dr. But he doth the Dr. wrong in so charging him for there are whole Sermons of the Doctors to the contrary and particularly the 17th of Vol. 2. Of the assurance of Faith in P. 486 wherein he saith from Acts 13.39 You shall see there how necessarily it must be received that Faith gives Interest in the priviledges of Christ These are the very words in flat contradiction to what Mr. Williams Charges him with when he saith Dr. Crisp holds the Elect have nothing to do in order to an Interest in those Blessings where this passage of the Dr. may convince Mr. Williams of a false Accusation and Slander contrary to the ninth Command Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour But saith the Wise man who can stand before Envy I hope those eminent Divines that favoured his Book will desire their Names may not stand to his Preface lest they be brought in to savour this false Charge Dr. Crisp goes on upon that Text Acts 13 39. By this man is Preached to you forgiviness of sins and whosoever believeth on him he is justifyed from all things from which he could not be Justifyed by the Law of Moses from which text the Doctor treating not of original right or interest in the Blessings but of the Application or Evidence hereof he saith farther in fol. 486. thus out of this Text I argue thus If there be Justification where there is Believing this believing is a proof of Justification If therefore thou dost believe this is a certain Truth thou art Justified it is an undeniable Argument because that the Apostle doth affix Justification to believing Here by the way besides
their Comforts by telling them I will be at peace if you be reconciled to me but revives their hearts by telling them that the peace is already wrought in God and for sinners by Christ at his death for that he made peace by the Blood of his Cross and by him reconciled all to himself Col. 1.20 Christ did not stay till we were reconciled to him as Mr. W. seems to intimate when he calls men to be reconciled to God upon which he knows God will be at peace with them This I take to be setting the Cart before the Horse to invite Men to be reconciled thereby to get God to be at peace whereas the sweet heavenly strain of the gospel is Come for all things are ready come to Jesus who is already made of God to you that come Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption who is the Author and finisher of your Faith O Jesus thus draw and we will run after thee and thus he hath drawn thousands by the Prophets and Apostles preaching and his faithful Servants after him to come to God and to holy Obedience in Love whereas the legal drawing of walking holily and then God will be at peace keeps poor Souls in perpetual doubts and works the Soul but to a Spirit of Bondage Next comes the Top-stone of this New system of gospel Truth which looks as if it were hewed and squared at Rome with only a little Varnish at Amsterdam viz. These things Gods promising life by forgiveness and yee insisting on some Degree of Obedience will help thy Conceptions still remembring that the merit of Christ are the cause of this gospel Ordination Can any spiritual inlightned mind read this and not blush for Mr. W. and think he is hard put to it to support his cause of laying our salvation on our gospel holiness joyned with Christs righteousness when he flies to such an Assertion as the Papists have been forced to forsake being beaten out of that Trench by our great Divines That Christ merited that we should merit this they asserted but found it would not hold water therefore Bellarmin flies to his Tutissimum and saith in his Book de Justif l. 5. ch 7. pro. 3. Propter incertitudinem propriae Justitiae periculum inanis gloriae Tutissimum est totam fiduciam in sola Dei misericordia benignitate reponere Because of the uncertainty of our own righteousness and the danger of vain glory it is safest to put all our trust in the alone mercy and bounty of God Here the Jesuit flies from the gospel Ordination that Christ merited that God should have regard to our gospel holiness and our conformity to gospel Rule for obtaining gospel promise this chimed well with him in his long arguments for Justification by works but upon his review of his strong reasons he flies from it and betakes himself to Gods meer mercy and bounty which must be in Christ and so I hope the great opposer of Dr. Crisp will do But in regard this is so broad and wide a gap to let in the whole body of self Justiciaries with their good works to come in for sharing with Christ in salvation I must make some opposition to it both from Scripture and sound Protestants The merits of Christ saith Mr. W. are the cause of this Ordination that is that our answering the gospel rule obtains us interest in the gospel Promise or which is all one Do and live Christ merited that if we do we shall live the only difference is the first doing and live was perfect Obedience to the Law and this doing and live of Mr. VV. is sincere obedience to the gospel in all its commands counsels c. which every true Christian trembles to think on Is this the upshot of Christs Death to merit that our Gospel Obedience should be the ground of our obtaining Benefit by Christ then I say again it must come to this that Christ merited that we should merit for there can be no benefit to a Sinner but by merit Christ did not absolutely merit the Benefit for us say they but merited that we doing so and so should obtain the Benefit then our doing so and so must merit it for it is injustice of God to himself and his Righteous broken Law to give a Sinner that deserves Hell any good unless that good be merited and this is left to the Sinner to obtain by Gospel Obedience which therefore must of necessity be from merit So that here it must rest or we make God unjust to himself and so say Christ purchas'd this that we should do so is Nonsense Mr. Williams can hardly assoyle himself from this Charge till he retract this Assertion That the merits of Christ are the cause of that Gospel Ordination he had laid down As for the Scriptures that oppose this Divinity those already mentioned are abundantly more than sufficient to throw down the House built on this Sandy Foundation as that God so loved the World that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life Here is nothing required but believing to everlasting life So the Apostle Acts 16. Believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved Here 's complying with no other Gospel Rule for Salvation but believing in the Lord Jesus To which I may add the whole Stream of the New Testament to come and take the Water of Life freely Rev. 22. They that hunger and thirst after this Righteousness of Christ they shall be filled If God by his grace have begot a true hunger a true desire after it they shall have it Come to me if weary if laden cast your self on me and you shall find rest for your Souls But the great Scripture is Not to him that worketh not to him that thinks to obtain gospel Benefits by complying with gospel Rule of walking in holy Obedience to obtain pardon by it but to him that believes on him that justifies the Vngodly This Scripture is enough to confound the whole Scheme of the new fashion'd stating of gospel Truth The Apostle states gospel Truth thus Not to him that worketh no Works at all must come in in the business of our Salvation as concurring to it Thus the Apostle held saith Mr. Williams This lets in Licentiousness I have found a better way of staring gospel Truth that is To him that worketh to him that complies with gospel Rule to him that is godly not his Faith alone but his Faith with sincere Obedience That is his gospel Holiness which the Apostle intends when he speaks of being found in the Righteousness of God by Faith this gives right to gospel Benefits O what heart touched with love to the Lord Jesus and poor Souls but must ake to see the gospel thus mangled and the Crown upon our gospel Obedience jointly with Christ If this be not Evacuating and Invalidating the compleat Mediation and Atonement of the Lord Jesus then what can do it For he will not have any
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