but the Spirit of God and he to whom he reveals him Why then it must pass through the strict Inquisition of the Doctor of Reasons Queries as First How can these things be Secondly How can this Man give us his Flesh to eat Joh. 6. 52. These are hard sayings who can hear them ver 60. Or Thirdly Thou art not yet fifty Years old and hast thou seen our Father Abraham And if our Lord stand to it and assert his Divine Nature by saying before Abraham was I am they will will be ready to Stone him for a Blasphemer because they knew his Mother and his supposed Father according to the Flesh therefore he cannot speak the Truth it will not pass with Doctor Reason Therefore Gods Truth must be condemned for Folly and Nonsense But woe unto those Men that will call evil good or good evil or truth error or error truth when God riseth up to contend with those Men he will make them know he is not such a one as themselves But our Accountant after all his Pains to build a Babel's Tower undermines it all at once in the winding up of his Reasons For he saith in his Tenth Reason and his last but one That the ascribing the Divine Natures incommunicable Perfections and worship to one and another or a third Person or self necessarily infers a Plurality of Gods and is a breach of the First Commandment hath many evil tendencies and is the Ground of all the Idolatry Antichristianism and Paganism This is a high kick indeed for here our Accountant charges the Angels with Folly and not only so but all the blessed Company in Heaven Nay that is not all but rather then not do his own business effectually he will enter into Judgment with God himself Well however B. R. S. or any under his care may slight him or his Book as thinking neither worth Answering yet I must needs say he is a stout bold Fellow for he dares to charge God himself with contradiction and with being accessary to the Breach of his own first Command For according to our Accountants Reason he suffers the Worship and Worshippers in Heaven to infer a Plurality of Gods and to lay a Foundation for all Idolatry Antichristianism and Paganism For in Revelations 5. we have an Account of the Worship of Heaven and in the 11 12 13. Verses we have an Account of the Angels and the Beasts and Elders giving Blessing Honour Glory and Power to him that sitteth upon the Throne and untothe Lamb for ever and ever ver 14. and the 4 beasts say Amen to all this and the 24 Elders fall down and Worship him that liveth for ever and ever Here is Divine honour and Worship Given to him that sitteth on the Throne and the same in the same breath given unto another to use my Authors own Words Even to the Lamb for ever and ever And yet God doth not charge them with Idolatry nor making to themselves another God No this is the Worship of Heaven and must continue so for ever and ever Sure if our Accountant had any good hope of Worshipping with this blessed Company in Heaven he would endeavour to imitate them while here on Earth A Man had need have a good Stock of Patience as also of Faith and every Grace of the Holy Spirit to live in a continual dependancy on him that gives Wisdom to such simple Ones as he pleaseth and understanding to as many of them as have no knowledge as seemeth good to Soveraign pleasure as also humbly to remember that the Ostrich hideth her Eggs in the Sand and forgetteth that the Wild Beast may crush them because God hath deprived her of Wisdom Or else a Man indu'd but with an Ordinary measure of Reason and not Balast'd with the aforesaid Graces of Gods Holy Spirit could not forbear the resenting this unreasonable assertion so as to give my Accountant a Character much below that of Master of Reason But I may not give ill Language having not so Learned Christ Neither is it fit for a Man of a mean capacity to say to such a Learned Gentleman thou art a blockhead nor shall I say any thing of the Impudency that there is in bringing in an Impeachment and Charge of the highest Treason and Idolatry that Can be against the whole Court of Heaven the Blessed Him that sitteth upon the Throne and the Lamb who is worthy of all blessing Honour Power and Glory not being exempted This is such a peice of Fool hardiness as none but those that dare Run upon the thick bosses of Gods Buckler can be guilty of I hope our Accountant will not discover so much Folly as to attempt to excuse himself of an error in this by Quoting 1 Chron. 29. 20. Where it is said All the Congregation blessed the Lord God of their Fathers and bowing their heads Worshipped the Lord and the King That being but an External or Civil Worship which the People paid to the King or that is due from Inferiours to Superiours And our Accountant himself tells me he could not bear the ascribing the same Glory to Christ in Prayer which is due to the Father whereby he publickly enters his dissent and protest against the Worship and Worshippers and Worshipped also in Heaven For the Truth is what ever Worship Kings and such may receive from their Subjects in this World yet there never was nor shall be any King Lord or Potentate that shall receive Honour Glory Blessing and Praise from all the Worshippers both Angels and Men that are in Heaven for ever and ever but he who is the only Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ who is the true God and Eternal Life 1 Joh. 5. 20. It is strange that there should not be one Doctor of Reason among all this Blessed Company to imitate Athaliah in crying out Treason Treason Idolatry Idolatry contradiction Nonsence because the right Heir is Crowned and receives the Glory of the Kingdom But upon Second thoughts it will not appear so strange as true for God hath not chosen many wise Men of this world and those few that are chosen from among them must first become Fools that they may be truly Wise For God hath chosen the Foolish things of this World to confound the wise 1 Cor. 20 27 to the end Thus we see the Scriptures made good The wisdom of this World is Foolishness with God For it is Written he taketh the Wise in their own Craftiness 1 Cor. 3. 18. There is yet another thing which our Accountant will needs call his Eleventh Reason or Stone in this Babel Building and his last But whether it may be called his Top Stone or Bottom no matter for that such as it is take it word for word Page 5th that it is saith he Great folly and boldness to affirm any thing Concerning God which is unreasonable or absurd yea which we do not understand to be true Surely what ever mistakes
gull the simple and unwary Reader There can be no Personal Vnion between God and a Creature he saith and pray why so why because the being of God doth not require the being of a Creature to his being or any thing but himself to make up his Person or Self This is a sort of Logick that the Gentleman may think may down well enough with Mechanicks and such like ordinary Fellows But it is strange the Doctors of Reason should send such stuff as this is abroad for sound Reason but I forget my Accountant and his Brother the Nameless Author are Doctors of Reason and perhaps they think they have ingrost all Reason into their own Hands and if so we must take what they will let us have and at their own price too or else one would think they could not be so vain and Foolish as to tell us there can be no Personal Union between God and a Creature Surely Almighty Power is able to take a Creature into Personal Union with himself and as for that Nonsensical pretended Reason that the being of God does not require the being of a Creature to his being What Sense or Reason is there in it If it had been necessary to his being it must have been Eternal as God himself is and then it could not be a Creature for no Creature is Eternal and then all the Condescention Grace and Love that the Scripture speaks of in Gods taking our Nature upon him must vanish away into Idle Tales or be led Captive at the Heels of our Accountants foolish Reason Pray try a little how this Argument will look in other Cases the being of God doth not require the being of any Creatures to make up his being happiness and blessedness therefore he cannot or will not descend to the Work of Creation and when they are all made they cannot all of them add one Tittle to his Essential Glory Therefore they were not made for nor are to his Glory now made Where is the wise Man where is the Scribe 1 Cor. 1 19 20. God will destroy the wisdom of the Wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent according to that old threatning against the Wise Men of this World Isa 29. 14. That wisdom should perish from the wise and the understanding of prudent Men shall be hid But I pass on to his Eighth Reason where I find our Accountant having past all bounds of â—ight Reason will needs break thorow all bounds of Truth and Modesty too and therefore tells us Whatever is said of Christ in Scripture is said of him as Man But he presently adds to cover this Story That the shift so many use of Christ speaking so and so as God and so and so as Man is unscriptural and Foolish and sounds no better then this that Peter as Peter denyed his Master but Peter as John did not deny his Master We look upon it as a prudential peice of Justice to suspect Common Lyars when they speak Truth and therefore I hope our Accountant will not think it any dishonour to him If I do by him as the Noble Bereans did by Paul search the Scriptures before I receive this assertion for Truth or sound Reason But upon a Second view of this Eighth Reason I find there is not one Scripture mentioned and therefore I may very honestly retort his assertion back upon him again and tell him this assertion is very Foolish and unscriptural But if I can give no other Answer than this I know my Accountant will out Reckon me by abundance for he is a Man of Reason and perhaps may be as ready to say to me concerning Reason as Zedekiah did to Micaiah concerning the Spirit and ask which way went Reason from him to me 2 Chron. 18. 23. But what faith the Scriptures in this Case for by them my Author thinks to dishonour our Lord Jesus Christ with no less then Robbing him of his Divine Nature Isaiah 9. 9. For unto us a Child is Born There his Humanity is spoken of but read out the verse and see if your Reason hath not robb'd you of all good Manners and Modesty You will not dare to give the Lye to the Spirit of God and there he is called the wonderful Counsellor the mighty God the everlasting Father The Prince of Peace see ikewise Rev. 1. 17 18. Now Sir will you have the impudence to give the Spirit of God the Lye in these two Scriptures or will you suffer your Reason to possess you with so much Madness and Folly as to charge the Spirit of God with Folly and say he speaks Nonsence chuse you whither But Our Accountant goes on and I am willing to follow him being willing to find out the reason of a thing and he tells us which he calls his Ninth Reason Page 4th That tho' Christ be truly said to be the Son of God yet he is never in Scripture caelled God the Son Now would I give you a Scripture to prove that he is called God the Son but you have told me already such Scriptures are dark but I cannot help that they are Scriptures notwithstanding and the darkness you speak of lyes in the weakness of your understanding and the Folly of your pretended Reason Besides the Scriptures were Written for this very purpose to give Wisdom to the simple but those that are Wise in their own conceit may be sent away as they came For you know God himself tells us that he sends the rich empty away Pray Sir Read Heb. 1. 8. but unto the Son he saith Thy Throne O God is for Ever c. I think this is not so dark a saying but you may understand him to be called God the Son in those Words and admitting it were dark or hard as those said who told our Lord his sayings were hard when he spoke of giving them his Flesh to eat And no doubt but they were as much above their understandings and as contrary to their Reason as the Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity is above or against yours yet were they the Words of Truth it self for all that And Solomon tells us Prov. 1. 5 6. A wise Man will hear and increase Learning And for this Reason among others to understand the Words of the Wise and their dark sayings But our Accountant and his Brother the Nameless Author are Wise Men whether it be in their own eyes or others no matter for that Their Reason is the Touch-stone of Gods Truth and therefore whatever God reveals must First come and make its acknowledgments to Mr. Licenser General our Authors Reason and if it pass Muster in his Foolish Noddle it may go for Truth but if not as what reasonable Man can think that the Mysteries of God should be comprehended by the Foolish corrupted unreasonable though pretended Reason of Man Especially seeing the Carnal Mind is Enmity against God and the Scripture yea Reason it self may inform us that none knows the things of God
and Errors the Trinitarians may be guilty of yet it is certain they cannot be guilty of greater not indeed so great Boldness and Folly as our Accountant is as we have seen but now in his last Argument For I do not find that they enter into Judgment with God nor charge the most high foolishly nor with folly and I pray Sir upon second thoughts tell me which is the greatest Folly and boldness to believe what God declares of himself to be reasonable and true though we do not understand it or to give God the Lye and and tell him that what he declares of himself is false unreasonable and absurd because we do not understand it Such an Answer as this from a Servant to a Master would be Accounted Impudent boldness and we see there is nothing more common among Men whose Understandings and Reason differ greatly yet far enough are they from differing infinitely yet among Men it is no new thing for the Wise and Learned to understand and know that to be true and Reasonable which the more Ignorant are rather more ready to wonder at than they are able to give a Demonstration of Yet are these Gentlemen so confident in their own Reason that they will give the Lye to God himself if he tell them the Father the Word and Holy Ghost are One So careful are these Gentlemen that their Faith may not stand in the Power of God but in the Wisdom of Men. But whether it be right in the sight of God to believe or obey Men rather than God judge ye Acts. 4. 19. I have now done with my short Accountant the rest of his Book being meerly Historical of what did pass between him and B. R. S. and the Church of which he was a Member but I have nothing to do with that my Business being only to contend for that Faith which was once delivered to the Saints and to believe the Truth as it is in Jesus I shall therefore now take a view of our Nameless Author again and see if he can produce any sound Reason to perswade us to deny our Lord Jesus Christ For I take it for granted that it is as great a denial of him to deny him to be as he is God over all blessed for ever more as it is to deny him to be our redemer For indeed the Holy One of Isarel is the Redeemer thereof But on a Second view of our Author in his Divine Vnity asserted I do not find any other Reasons than what I have already considered and find in my Accountant save only he is somewhat larger and in his 10th page Colume 1. he would deny the Divinity of our Lord and prove it too if he didbut know how from this Argument that Man is made after God's own Image Now saith he If God be a Trinity and Man be his Image we may find an Image of that Trinity in our selves But he excludes the Body from any part of this Image which may look tolerable enough at first view because God is a Spirit and if he had stopt here he might have carried his Sophistry off pretty fair but the Wits of our day must over shoot themselves He tells you the Reason why the Body is excluded because saith he It is imperfect and there is no Imperfection with God Good Sir did you expect to find the Soul of Man a perfect Image of God when you first entred on this Argument really you might well have spared your Pains here and have given the Spirit of God the Lye once more and you should have as good Reason so to do as you have to give our Lord himself the Lye as you do in your 15th page colume 2. where you say The same worship which is due to the Father is not to be given to Christ but that which may be given to a Creature for God's sake Wherein you do in plain English give Truth it self the Lye for he hth told us that all Men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father as hath been already proved by Scripture John 5. 23. and by the Example of the Worshippers in Heaven But if you had been sincerely looking for a faint Resemblance of the Image of God in Man as a Trinity to say nothing of that Moral Likeness that God at first stampt on Man's Nature of himself which consisted in Righteousness and true Holiness which indeed was the greatest Resemblance in Man to God And yet we have reason to believe that the Angels were every whit as much like God as in this sense Man was Therefore it must be something else in the make of Man that did bear some Image of God for which cause it is said he made Man in his own Image and if you had not wilfully shut your Eyes you could not but see that the Scripture speaks of Body Soul and Spirit in Man as the Apostle Paul prays for the Thessalonians 1 Thes 5. 23. that They might be sanctified throughout in Body Soul and Spirit And if there be such a thing as Body Soul and Spirit in Man then here is some faint Resemblance in Man of a Trinity in God I say a faint Resemblance for I am not so void of Reason as to think that a finite weak Man can be a perfect Image of God Yet our Author to shew what a Talent of Wit he hath spends all his 10th page both columes and part of 11th to prove that which no Body denies or that which is forreign to the purpose But in his 11th page his Wit runs over and his Invention will run too fast for his Reason do what he can for he saith That cannot be called Generation or Origination which never began to be generated or originated and if he had stopp'd here he might have danc'd in the Dark and they that have no Eyes could never have seen him But the Gentleman's Invention hangs in the Light of his Reason He tells us the Reason is That which never began to be a doing was never done and therefore ETERNAL GENERATION must be ETERNAL NONSENCE Well argued most Learned Doctor a Man would be ready to think you were a Pensioner to Hobbs to make way for and gain Proselytes to his Leviathan For by this Argument that which never began to be cannot have a Being and then the Fool may ask us Where is your God and the Truth is the Attribute of God's Eternity is as much above and out of your Reason as the Doctrine of the Trinity and if you tell me there is a difference between a Being and an Act. I Answer that an Eternal Act is as much without a Beginning as an Eternal Being and it is equally as great a piece of Nonsence and as derogatory to the Glory of God to say God was before he acted as to say he acted before he was Really Gentlemen but only for the great Names and Titles by which you are pleased to dignifie and distinguish your selves from the common
minded there If he tell me there is no hope of getting a Cardinals Cap because the Doctrine of the Trinity is maintained by the Church of Rome also I Answer the Being of God is an Article of their Creed too and yet I doubt not but Mr. Considerators great Learning hath delivered him from so much ignorance in Church History That he well knows some Atheists or Atheistical Fellows have by more Wit and Learning then by sound Reason Honesty and true God liness stept into the inâ—alible Chair for before now And this may serve for an Answer to Our Nameless Authors argument in his Pag. 18. where he would deny the Doctrine of the Trinity because t is maintained by the Church of Rome An Argument so Weak and Foolish that I did not think it worth my while to take any other Notice of it than occasionally by the way for sure we shall never be able to maintain the Protestant Doctrine If this be any Argument with us That we are right because we dissent from them or because in many or most things they are wrong but a foolish Cause must have foolish Arguments or none at all And indeed notwithstanding the Considerators vain glorious boasting of his great Learning I look upon him to be as great a dishonour to the Schools for want of Answerable measures of sound Reason as it must be an affliction to our Clergy to find such Hereticks harboured in the Bosom of our Church For although he boast so much of the Mighty Revolution that greater liberty in matters of Religion would make from Christianity to Socinianism or Deism yet if he had sonnd Reason and integrity answerable to his great Learning and the knowledge that he must needs have there by in Church History The remembrance of the Arrian Persecution must deliver him from that foolish Dream nor could he were his attainments in Divinity and sound Reason proportionable to his great Learning deny our Lord Jesus Christ to be the true God and Eternal Life according to the Scriptures 1 Joh. 5. 20. when he himself asserts That in his Pag. 11. Colum 2. and Page 26. Colum 2. which by sound Reason and by Just and necessary Consequence proves him to be so for he saith God neither hath nor can give him the incommunicable properties of the Deity such as Ominpotency Omnipresence Omniscience and the like so then it is but for me or any private Christian to prove that Christ hath those incommunicable properties of the Divine being and the Considerator himself will maintain that he is God Now Sir if you had not excepted against the Revelation of St. John as being no part of Divine Writ you know I could presently have proved that our Lord Jesus Christ is Omniscient Rev. 2. 23. I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts Pray Sir compare this with Jer. 11. 20 27. and 10. 9. But seeing the Seducers and Cunningly devising fable Men of our day under the Specious pretences of Learning and Reason would fain gather up us Lay-men as Branches cut off from the true Vine and may succeed therein among the withered Branches according to what our Lord hath foretold and threatned concerning such in the 15th of Joh. and the 6th Yet our Lord hath given his word for it that they shall not deceive the Elect though they may and shall deceive many Mat. 24. 4 5. and 22 23 25. And that those pretenders to Reason are those very deceivers among others there spoken of is evident not only from our Lords words in ver 11. calling them False Prophets and deceiving many which they could never be able to do if they did not pretend Reason for there Cnnningly devised Fables but also their own Practices should bewray them to be Wolves in Sheeps Clothing in treading in the very steps of the Grand Saddneers in our Lords-day who that they might carry on that Fundamental Herisie of denying the Resurrection the more successfully they denyed the greatest part of the old Testament and would own nothing for Divine Writ but the 5 Books of Moses and sticking there they thought to confound our Lord himself by their Rational and Learned Argument that there must be Confusion Contradiction Absurdity and Nonsence if the dead Rise And you know Sir they grounded their Argument upon Scripture and made their foolish Reason and ignorance of the Power of God Judge of the Cause Seeing therefore the Considerator is not ashamed to tread in the Sadduces Steps but will imitate them in denying part of the Word of God and yet at the same time as they did pretend Reason and Scripture for what they held And to give them their due there are as many contradictions and seeming impossibilities to Reason against the Resurrection as there are against the Doctrine of the Trinity and our Faith therein must be intirely resigned up unto the revealed will and Almighty Power of God But I say seeing the Considerator will imitate the Sadduces in denying part of the Scriptures I shall endeavour to follow the Example of my Lord Jesus Christ and prove from such part of the Scriptures as they will own that our Lord Jesus Christ is Omnicisent and and Omnipresent but at the same time protesting against their unreasonable partiality in choosing and refusing what they please for Divine Writ and saving to the Service of the Truth all those arguments that are or may be drawn from any part of the Gospel of St. John the Three Epistles and the Revelation for destruction from God is a terror to me and because of his greatness I cannot indure to add to those things nor take away from the words of the Book of this Prophesie least God should take away my part out of the Book of Life Job 31. 22. Revelation 18. 19. Now Sir I think you do not except against the Gospel of St. Mat. and there we read Chap. 28. ver 20. Christ Promised his Disciples to be with them alway to the end of the World Now Sir let me freely Discourse with you concenring this Promise our Lord Jesus Christ is gone to Heaven and his Humane nature is to continue there till the Restitution of all things neither can a Man be at two Places at one time Now what will you do will you give our Lord the Lye in this Promise or will you believe that a Man or the Humane nature of Jesus Christ is not only in the Sacrament of the Alter and so in Thousands of Places at the same time with the Papist but also every where in all places of the World where ever there is a Believer Or will you believe the Truth as it is in Jesus that he is the Omnipresent God and so is with his People in all places and in all Conditions according to his gracious Promise Joh. 14. 18. I will not leave you comfortless I will come to you Perhaps you will tell me that this is no more then Paul said of himself 1 Cor. 5.
and only moving Cause of God's sending his Son into the World and therefore all that he did in the World could not be the Cause nor so much as a Means ro procure his Mercy consider'd without respect to Justice John 3. 16. For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life Mercy and Love in God as the truly Rational and Heavenly Dr. Owen hath observed being no less than God's willing good to the Creature and whoever God wills Good to they must have that Good willed to them For God's Will in this Sence must infallibly be done both in Heaven and in Earth But God will not convey Good to any Creature in a way that shall destroy a greater Good then the Salvation of all the Men and Angels in Heaven and Earth will amount unto But such is the Manifestation of the Glory of God's Justice therefore though God's loving Kindness and Mercy was from everlasting and therefore needed not a Sacrifice in time to procure it much less a propitiatory one to appease it which is a Contradiction with a Witness but this is not to be taken Notice of in Men that have ingross'd all contradiction to themselves under the specious pretence of Reason for 't is below the pretended Wits of our Day the Great Vain glorious Freemen of the Common-Wealth of Wit and Learning to prove themselves little Fools But I say Mercy will never be extended in a way that in the least derogates from the Justice and Truth of God No Justice and Truth must be equally exalted with Mercy where-ever it is extended Therefore when God proclaims his Name in Exod. 34. 6 7. he proclaims himself to be a God that will shew Mercy and yet will by no means clear the guilty This you Men of Reason are pleased to contradict and do in so many words tell us that a Debt fully paid and yet freely for given is a contradiction Nameless Author page 6. col 1. And Mr. Considerator calls it a Mock Payment pag. 13. col 1. But we know the things of God useth to be accounted Foolishness with Men but Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ we do as well know that God hath made foolish the Wisdom of this World and that the foolishness of God is Wiser then Men 1 Cor. 1. 20 21 25 26 27. But in the aforesaid Exod. 34. The Lord proclaims himself to be the Lord God merciful and Gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness and Truth Pray observe goodness and Truth must go together and without Truth Goodness would cease to be so And in verse 7. He saith Keeping Mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity Transgression and sin and that will by no means clear theguilty Now Gentlemen are you not ashamed if you are not you may be to say a Debt fully paid and yet Freely forgiven is a Contradiction for do you not thereby Contradict God himself and Charge him with Folly and Falshood who saith he will pardon iniquity and forgive sin and yet will by no means clear the guilty Surely God is true and can no more Lye then he can dye or deny himself therefore his infinite wisdom hath contrived that which his Almighty Power hath effected a way to pardon sin and yet by no means clear the guilty This could not be done by offering up a Sacrifice to the Mercy of God nor was there any need of such a thing Mercy being the first moving Cause of setting infinite Wisdom to Work to find out a way to save the sinner and yet not clear the guilty and at the same time to save the Honour of Gods Law and to vindicate the immutability of his Truth to shew Mercy to the sinner and yet at the same time to magnifie his Law and make it Honourable Isa 44. 21. to magnifie his Mercy and yet at the same time and by the same way and means and with respect to the very same Persons to exalt his Justice This was a Work becoming God because no Created being had Wisdom and Power to do so and as it is wonderful in its own Nature so likewise should it be to us and Humbly and thankfully closed up with It is not to be quarrelled with but if you will reject the Counsel of God against your selves because it is Foolishness with you yet know you that to them that believe Christ is the Wisdom of God and the Power of God and they do receive this Truth with all manner of Acceptation And although it may seem to be foolishness to you wise Grecians yet to them that believe both Jews and Greeks Christ is the Wisdom of God and the Power of God hence it comes to pass that the Lord is well pleased for his Righteousness sake he thereby magnifying his Law and making it Honorable this answers the end of God both in Creation and Redemption The end of God was to manifie his own glory but for which he would not have descended into the Work of Creation nor Redemption For he bath made all things for himself even the wicked for the day of evil Prov. 16. 4. And we are Redeemed and Called for this very end that we may be to the Praise of the Glory of his Grace in Christ Jesus Eph. 1. 6 12. Yet so as that the Glory of his Justice might shine forth with equal Luster with his Mercy Rom. 3. 25 26. Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remison of sins that are past through the forbearance of God ver 26. To declare I say at this time his Righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus God doth all things becoming himself and Gods glory being the chiefest good and the manifestation thereof the Highest end God could have no Lower end than the manifestation of his own Glory as the first and chief end in the Work of our Redemption and our Salvation next thereunto A wise Man will not do great and Noble things for a base and low End how much less will God save sinners in a way that advances the Glory of one attribute to the abasement or in the least Ecclipsiing the Glory of another This would reflect on his Wisdom and Power but God will not God cannot extend Mercy in a way that may reflect on his Justice and Truth If the King pardon a Convicted Traytor he thereby extends his Mercy and shews a great deal of Pitty and Compassion and good Will to the Person of the Traytor But he cannot with respect to that Person but stop the Execution of Justice and the Law in that particular Falls to the Ground and that because he is Man and not God but not one jot nor Title of Gods Law shall Fall to the Ground neither shall Justice be in the least stopt or Suspended by Gods extending Mercy