sinner and so justification of him from any thing befalling him for the breach of the Law would have been of debt and not of grace no thanks Secondly But his justification in this case would have reached but a little way would have resulted no further than I have expressed For God might yet when he pleased have annihilated him for it seems not rational to affirm That if God make a rational Creature he may not lawfully and in equity unmake and annihilate it except it offend him this would be to impose hard terms on God But yet it would be of due debt that this annihilation should not be as a token of his displeasure and for the breach of the Law if he had not broken it as is supposed Secondly Suppose the Covenant ran thus If he obey he shall live eternally happy but if he sin he shall dye be damned as it is supposed it did First Here while man keeps his innocency That he be justified as innocent and not condemned as guilty is of natural equity and not of grace Which would have been enough had we no more to say to justifie the Apostle's speech if we take it not strictly but as we use to do other moral sayings the foundational and most immediately obvious part of justification being of debt Secondly But that this very justification should reach so far as right to continued life and happiness would be of grace because that promise that causes this right to result during him innocent was of grace and not of debt Thirdly Yet this justification thus resulting to continued life and happiness would not man continuing obedient have been of Gospel-grace of that kind of grace which the Apostle hath occasion mainly to speak of which is Mercy and Pardon it would not have been of Gospel-grace of forgiveness which is the thing the Apostle hath much in his eye No thanks would be due upon the account of forgiving him any thing Fourthly But to clear all beyond possibility of exception The Apostle only speaks ex hypothesi and on supposition for the Creature cannot possibly merit any thing of God but as above-said that if innocent he be not condemned as guilty and the Apostle knew their works were not meritorious that his opposers pretended were so Now suppose I say that obedience was meritorious of eternal life of the reward suppose man did any thing meritorious of Heaven then ex hypothesi salvation would not be of grace in any sense but properly of debt which is all the Apostle here affirmeth And it seems the Pharaisaical Jews went as high as some Papists do now as to hold their good works meritorious of eternal life and our Jewish Antiquaries manifest that this Tenent was common amongst them and you see if of meritorious works then not of grace in any sense And in this sense Adam's justification to life upon his unsinning obedience would not have been of meritorious works but of grace though not of pardon and Gospel-grace and Mercy It is easie to answer take it which way you will For if you will by works understand no more than perfect obedience to the Law then justification will not be of Gospel-grace which is pardon But if by works you will understand works properly meritorious of salvation then if of works not of grace at all And in some places the Apostle seems to take the words in one sense sometimes in the other For as here he seemeth to mean proper merit so Gal. 3. 10. As many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse for it is written Cursed is every one that continueth not c. implieth Man should have been blessed and not cursed as being justified by works had he fulfilled c. Here justification would have been of works not properly meritorious but being of Law-works it would not be by Gospel-grace and pardon though there would have been in such a case the Law-grace spoken of For to speak by way of anticipation if God was not bound in strict Justice to make such a promise If man obey perfectly he shall be happy if the making of it was of grace the making of it doth not hinder the performance of it from being of grace law-grace no more than God's making this law That sinner that repents and believes shall be saved maketh man's justification for being of Pardon and Gospel-grace Object The Jews Works and Priviledges were not meritorious nor perfect Therefore the Apostle doth not mean by works meritorious works or perfect Ans First It is true they were not meritorious else they would have been justified and saved of debt without Christ's satisfaction Secondly But they maintained and pretended their works such and this was to make Christ's death vain This very opinion made them slight Christ and kept them from submitting to the righteousness of God the Gospel-way of justification And by the way if any should now have this conceit concerning faith repentance sincere obedience works of charity viz. that they are meritorious of their justification and salvation a satisfaction for their sins recompence enough to Justice they would be in the same condemnation with these and Christ should profit them nothing For this was the reason why Circumcision and other observations of the Law would undo them Gal. 5. 2. not because they had that merit in them which they supposed for then they would have been justified and saved by them but because they conceited them meritorious making them worthy deserving men and so could not possibly during this conceit expect or desire justification in God's way of grace or Mercy through a Propitiation they could not but despise it as esteeming they had no need of it as indeed they had not if their conceit was true Fourthly Faith and Repentance are works it would move a man with pity to see the weakness of mens attempts to prove that faith is not a work when Christ himself calls it a work therefore his design is not to exclude every good work from any interest in justification else he would exclude Faith it self but only perfect or meritorious works or works conceited so to be which comes all to one for as works really compleat or meritorious would essentially hinder pardon by Christ's death being essentially inconsistent so a man conceiting his works meritorious is by God's Law of Grace excluded from any interest in this Propitiation For he hath made it a part of the condition That men be sensible of their unworthiness unrighteousness and undone estate without Christ and Pardon You see what the Apostle's meaning is not Now that you may see what his meaning is let these two things be well considered viz. What the Jews Opinions were and What the Apostle's Design was First What the Jews Opinions were which Paul opposed which are something plain from Scripture and are made more plain by the Writings of ancient Jewish Authors First They held their good works meritorious of eternal life yea some of
What do you think the wicked Jews meant when they said If we let this man alone all men will believe on him What did they mean some one act and that one act that many now hold to be only necessary to salvation though not agreed ordinarily what it is Surely they meant They will believe he is the Messiah and so love him obey him stick to him If one bid you believe in such a Physician trust in him and he will cure you cannot you easily understand he means also Take his Counsel follow his directions by believing in him So when he saith Believe and thou shalt be saved he meaneth Believe and carry as one that believeth love obey turn 4. Sometime called Repentance Repent that your iniquities may be blotted John preached repentance for the remission of sin Surely you will grant that is for Justification And Christ did not take away this Condition nay he preached it himself Except you repent you shall perish He meant believe obey also 5. Called Conversion Turn them from darkness to light that they Mar. 4. 12 may receive remission Lest they should see with their eyes and be converted and their sins should be forgiven them Implying the terms that God hath bound himself to by promise through Christ's death to the world so as he cannot in faithfulness break If converted he must forgive having made this new Law of Grace 6. Called Obedience Being made perfect through suffering having fully satisfied he became the Author of eternal salvation to those that obey him Surely this holdeth out the terms on which men shall have the justifying saving benefit of Christ's death But there is implied in this also the belief of the truth of the Gospel So Hear and your souls shall live That is obey for life for justification for right to salvation 7. Keeping the Commandments Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the tree of life Not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the doers of the Law shall be justified Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord but he that doth the will of my Father shall inherit the Kingdom If the Erek 18. 21. wicked turn from all his sins which he hath committed and keep all my statutes he shall live all the transgressions that he hath done shall not be mentioned This is not the Law of Works but the Gospel for the Law promiseth no mercy to the returning wicked Consider these three places In Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing but Gal. 5. 6. faith which worketh by love In Jesus Gal. 6. 15. Christ neither circumcision c. but a new creature Again In Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 7. 19. neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing but the keeping the Commandments of God Do not these three expressions mean the same thing the same Gospel-condition 8. Regeneration New Creature Except a man be born again c. Not by works of righteousness which we have Tit. 3. 15. done but according to his mercy hath he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost One would think you might gather hence what the Apostle Paul means by Works and what by Faith the Gospel-condition 9. Sanctification Except I wash thee thou canst have no part in me And without holiness none shall see the Lord. Godliness hath the promise of this life and that which is to come Is not Justification right to Heaven among the number of those things Wash you make you clean put away the evil of your doings learn to do well Come now though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow though red like crimson they shall be as wool I could name many other Names as Fearing God Hoping in him Trusting in him c. But I will name but one more 10. Sometime it is expressed by words that import a Continuance and this is indeed the condition of the continued Justification and right to Heaven To them he will give eternal Col. 1. 21 22 23. life who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for immortality Yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you blameless and unreproved in his sight if you continue in the faith grounded and setled and be not removed away from the hope of the Gospel which you have heard and was preached to every creature under Heaven That is upon condition that as you have received the Christian Faith so you continue in it to the end notwithstanding all sufferings by the encouragement of that hope which this Gospel supplies unto you If we 1 Joh. 1. 7 walk in the light as he is in the light the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin There is no condemnation to Rom. 1. 8. them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Whose house are we if we hold Heb. 3. 6. fast our confidence unto the end But yet believers are justified at present But you are sanctified but you are justified saith the Apostle you are so upon your first cordialconsent to the Gospel-terms It is here as in all other things of the like nature What makes a Servant but Consent When the Master is willing to have him and propounds the terms he consents to the terms I have set Life and Death before you and told you the condition of Life by Christ Would we go and consider this condition and the reasonableness of it and the glorious things that would come by it and would we go and in the strength of God and Christ call Heaven and Earth to record yea and Hell to witness That we consent give up our selves to be ruled and saved by Christ would we enter into Covenant to be the Lord's people and his Christ's to walk in all well-pleasing and not to allow our selves in any known sin or in the neglect of any known duty and to use the means God hath appointed to know his will and for the destruction of sin and this as honest men really intending performance even till death being so far from designing treacherously to turn aside in difficulties that it is our greatest fear and dread lest we should deal falsly in this Covenant From this time you are justified by this Law of Grace and have right to Heaven though you should have black and sad thoughts and think you are not and you may pray with encouragement Keep this in the thoughts of our heart for ever and confirm our hearts unto thee and God will keep those that thus commit themselves unto him But yet this is true if you should fall utterly away this Law of Grace would cease to justifie you because you withdraw this consent and so cease to have the condition of it and the reason why we do not lose Justification and right to Salvation is Because God keepeth his fear in our
he will be as ready to part with it to thee as ever Naaman was to Gehazi 5. Have nothing to do with Sin The Philistines would not tread on the threshold they thought brake their Idol Dagon's neck The Jews would not put the Thirty pieces given for betraying Christ into the Treasury because it was the price of blood Mat. 27. 6. Will you look on sin as gain on that which you have gotten by sin as gain It is the price of blood Should that be pleasing to thee which was so bitter to Christ David would not drink of the water his Worthies had ventured their lives for but poured it out and said Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives 2 Sam. 23. 17. Wilt thou put that Serpent into thy bosome that hath stung to death thy dearest Relation A strange sight for a Child to delight in that Sword or Knife that killed his Father Some will break God's Law for the gain of two-pence God made not such a leight matter of the breach of his Law Let this conspicuous Justice of God be as a flaming-sword to keep you from sin Since Christ hath dy'd for sin let us dye unto sin yea let us rather chuse to dye than to sin Lastly Live to your Lord Redeemer walk as they that are bought with such a price say to Christ as the people â—o Gideon Rule thou over us for thou hast delivered us from the hand of our enemies He died that they which live might not live to themselves A strong and constraining bond of obedience and thankfulness is laid upon us Offer up Souls and Bodies a living sacrifice to him that offered up himself a dead sacrifice for us Be cheerful in suffering for him grudg not at suffering any thing for him that suffered so much for thee Christ loved not his life unto the death for our sakes A Discourse concerning the Apostle Paul's meaning by Justification by Faith occasioned by some passages in the Sermons An Endeavour to make apparent That the Apostle Paul by Justification by works and by the Law means justification for mens deserts and merits or by unsinning obedience without pardon And by Justification by Faith means pardon of sin upon mens believing and turning from sin to God And that it is not in the least his design to exclude Repentance and sincere Obedience from being a condition of our justification but that he includes them in the word Faith FIrst We are sure whatever the Apostle teacheth is consistent with himself and the whole tenour of Scripture Therefore his meaning cannot be That it is not necessary or that it is dangerous for any to repent and turn from sin for pardon or justification and salvation But this I have already cleared Secondly We are sure Whatever the Apostle saith is true and his arguing cogent as when he tells us Rom. 4. 4. To him that worketh the reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt and Rom. 11. 6. If by grace then it is no more of works but if it be of works then it is no more of grace Now this would not be true for a reward may be of works and yet of grace unless by works he understand meritorious works or full and compleat innocency If there be a promise made of a reward to a work yet if the work be inconsiderable in value to the reward this reward is to be ascribed to the grace and favour and kindness of him that promiseth and giveth the reward and not to the merit of his work that receives it It would be in this case of Grace as the Cause though of Works as the Condition the Works not being meritorious Else it would be impossible for any promise to be a gracious promise that hath any duty for the condition of it which to affirm would be the abhorring of any rational soul yea though the condition was to be performed by the man 's own strength whatever any say to the contrary which yet is not in the case-in-hand I willingly grant yea a conditional promise would not be one jot less gracious if the condition was to be performed by man of himself and is not more gracious because God causeth us to perform it only this causing us to perform it is more of grace Dare any deliberately say these conditional promises were not of grace because a work made the condition viz. If the wicked turn he shall live Repent that your iniquities may be blotted out Nay do we not expresly read Such are of grace Jer. 3. 1 12. Thou hast playd the harlot with many lovers yet return and I will not cause mine anger to fall on you For I am gracious and merciful 2 Chron. 30 19. The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek c. though he be not cleansed according c. Nehem. 13. 22. Remember me my God concerning this also and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy Jonah knew if God spared Nineveh upon repentance it would be an act of grace I know thou art a gracious God and merciful Jonah 4. 2. Whatsoever any one gives or promises to another who works more than the merit of the work amounts to is of grace and the justification of any man upon any terms less than the obedience of the Law in every thing is of Gospel-grace to wit of pardon Thirdly The opposition of the Apostle is good and true if by works be meant meritorious works deserving the reward or full and compleat obedienee to the Law in every thing viz. If of meritorious works then not of grace then the reward is no more than what is owing in strict Justice and one need not cry gratias grace grace need not give thanks for such a reward And if of compleat unsinning obedience one needs not pardon cannot be pardoned cannot give thanks for the reward as having of it upon the account of sin pardoned Object But would not Adam's justification have been of grace if he had continued in his innocency though it would have been of works This some object against this Tenent That the Apostle meant it of meritorious works or full obedience and I never saw this well cleared and many are much puzled with it therefore I will speak the more largely to it Ans I distinguish here between justification simply taken as justification of an innocent man accused or accusable though falsly and between the justification of a man with the resultancies from it which though immediate resultancies yet come on him upon his meer justification by virtue of some gracious Law Promise or Covenant made on condition of his innocency First Suppose there had been no promise made of everlasting happiness to Adam on condition of continued innocency but only a threatning That if he sinned he should dye be damned First In this case while he had continued innocent it would have been of debt not to have condemned him as a
justification than any having more laws and more clearly revealed A man that would look to be justified by exact obedience to every precept and will look for no pardon will find these laws will be so far from justifying him and conferring right to any reward that they work only wrath and oblige him the more to condemnation For where there is no law there is no transgression Many of these things which you Jews sinned in omitting would have been no sins had not God thus revealed his will to you in such multitudes of commands and others not so great sins Ver. 16. Therefore happiness is not by the law that is by unsinning obedience or making all up by meritorious works but by faith that is in a Gospel-way by some promise made of pardon to sinners called the law of faith by some promise made to sinners to whom justification cannot be of debt upon their repentance belief and sincere endeavour of obedience And it is thus of faith that it might be of grace and mercy And it is thus of faith that the promise might be sure to all the seed that is to all that walk in the steps of Abraham's faith that believe repent obey God in difficulties whether they have those great priviledges you boast of as the Jews or none such as the Gentiles And so he is the father of us all both Jews and Gentiles i. e. a pattern of our justification both being justified the same way as he was Ver. 17. As it is written I have made thee a father of many nations Either this is a remote meaning of these words cited or it is an allusive accommodative making use of this citation which seemeth frequent with this Apostle The meaning however of the Apostle is this As I have received thee into favour upon thy believing me in every thing and obeying and following my call so many of several Nations both Jews and Gentils shall receive grace and favour and blessedness from me in thus turning from sin and believing and obeying me as thou hast and so be justified in such a way as thou art and so thou shalt be their Father a prime example or pattern of their justification Ver. 18 19 20 21. He sheweth the faith of Abraham was a great and strong faith he believed the most unlikely things upon God's credit believed against hope believed God was able to do what he promised though never so unlikely he never considered the difficulty it was a faith that carried him out to trust and obey God in every thing So would the Gentiles believe the resurrection of Christ which he compares there to Abraham's believing God could quicken the dead the dead womb and also dead Isaac Heb. 11. 19. and the almost-incredible things of the Gospel and be carried on by such belief to obey and follow God and Christ notwithstanding all their sufferings and discouragements they may be justified and saved without being circumcised and keeping the Ceremonial Law or perfectly the Moral Law as he applies this belief of God's raising the dead to his raising Christ from the dead v. 24. Ver. 22. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness That is as I have again and again explained it he was graciously accepted and acquitted and rewarded upon it and treated as if he had been an innocent just person though he was not so in the strict sense of the law or natural equity Ver. 23 24. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but we may make use of it it was written for some great end and therefore sheweth that though the Gentiles be unworthy persons and have no merits by such priviledges or observances as the Pharisaical opposers of their reception suppose themselves to have yet if they do as Abraham did they shall fare as he fared if they believe this great difficulty of raising Christ from the dead and carry sutable to such a faith righteousness shall be imputed to them also that is they shall be pardoned their sins shall not be imputed to them which was the thing to be proved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chap. 10. v. 11. The Apostle reassumes the same and here are some passages some may think make against what I have preached Ver. 2. The Jews have a zeal for God but not according to knowledg Ver. 3. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness i. e. his way of justifying sinners by pardon and going about to establish their own righteousness of perfect obedience or meritorious works have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God that is God's way of pardoning sinners by the Gospel as he explains it v. 6. Ver. 4. For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth It is to be acknowledged that the Law as every Law doth require as its end perfect obedience primarily and upon default of that secondarily the punishment of the transgressors But Christ hath satisfied this as much to God's honour and its content as if it had been perfectly obeyed or the penalty suffered by us And this Propitiation is for those that believe that perform the Gospel condition So that there is no necessity now of our unsinning obedience or our making satisfaction by meritorious works in order to our justification but only of our performing the Gospel-condition and they are ignorant of this way of God Ver. 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness of the law the Covenant of Works the way that they stick to for justification thus That the man that doth these things shall live by them i. e. without pardon Lev. 18. 5. Gal. 3. 12. Moses describeth that is these words of Moses taken in the strict law-sense as a law and in the sense you understand them represent that way you stick to for justification I say represent that way For it is apparent that those very words and the whole body of the Mosaical law were a Gospel-covenant of grace as they were given by Moses and understood and ought to be understood by the people The meaning was If you endeavour to do all these sincerely and lament your falling short you shall be justified blessed live otherwise you shall perish I could make this fully apparent that it was a gracious Covenant for it was spoken to sinners and with such words I am the Lord thy God and If you will obey my voice and Moses sprinkleth blood and saith Behold the blood of the Covenant which Covenant they restipulated to when they promised to obey his voice and God saith I have heard the words of this people and they have well said in all that they have said which he would not have said if the meaning had been We promise to do things impossible to make that it should be said We never have been sinners and we will perfectly obey in every thing without the least remisness in thought word or deed But to be short see Mr. Ant. Burgess
of things and I hope you will easily be convinced what are the terms 1. There are the same terms and conditions of Justification and of Salvation Whatsoever is the condition of the one is also of the other For the Apostle argueth in the same manner against salvation by works as justification by works Yea it is apparent in the nature of the thing for Justification passively taken as I told you before is nothing else but right to salvation and we need no more for Heaven than right to it Do but get and keep right to Heaven which is Justification and we need no more on our part As for possession that is God's work by his Angels carrying away souls raising bodies Many worthy men have said That Repentance sincere Obedience are only for Possession and not for Right But we are not to work for Possession at all we need not get upon a Hill when about to dye to save the Angels a labour of carrying our souls too far Do but get and keep Right and to deny Possession to us if we have right to it by Promise would be unfaithfulness in God which we need not to fear Therefore if you will grant that all the things I have spoken of are required necessary to salvation then they are also to justification Only still it is here as in all other things of like nature Consent hearty consent to the Gospel-terms immediately instateth us in Justification and right to Heaven But if we would have continuance of our Justification and right to Heaven we must continue to consent to those terms as to the sincerity of our hearts and endeavours else we should lose our Justification and right to Heaven and the reason why we cease not to be justified is because God keeps us from departing from him by keeping in us care and watchfulness Thus we see whatsoever we may lawfully do for Salvation the same we may lawfully do for Justification 2. Whatsoever duty there is that if we do not we should have no right to salvation or justification that is a condition of our salvation and justification It is too common a saying and a great upholder of the Antinomian way Do but believe say some and by believing they do not mean as I do the whole of Christianity but some one act as believing my sins are pardoned or reliance or accepting Christ for my Saviour and such acts as accepting Christ for Lord and sincere obedience will follow but they are not conditions of Justification and Salvation but put that one act and they will naturally and inevitably follow But ask them Suppose they do not follow They will answer You must not suppose it they will for they dare not ordinarily say That if they do not follow it you will yet have right to Heaven I will shew you the vanity of such talk This is virtually to say God never made promise to these as conditions never suspended salvation on them but they will follow faith naturally This is to say Godliness hath not the promise of this life or however not of that to come else it would be a condition of the promise The instance that is usually brought of it is this There cannot be a seeing-eye without the body yet it is the eye that only sees So Faith only is the Condition only attains right but cannot be without works Now I will bring this to make it like the case in hand Suppose one promise you such a reward if you bring him and give him the seeing eye of such a Beast we are sure if the meaning be according to the words you would have right to the reward if you brought him a seeing-eye without the body though indeed you cannot yet we are sure if you did you would have right and he would be unjust in denying you the reward though you brought not the body And on the contrary Suppose we be sure this is a truth If you should bring him a seeing-eye it would not attain right without the body Then we are equally sure that we mistook his words or meaning he spake synecdochically for then it is equally a condition that the body be brought as that the seeing-eye be brought and it is equally influential into right for come to those things that do naturally and universally accompany and follow one another and where but one of them is made the condition and the other not the absence of that which is not a condition would no way hinder right and so not right to Justification and Salvation If a man become a Christian indeed it naturally and inevitably follows he shall be hated of wicked men but God never suspending Justification and Salvation upon it never making this a Condition we may truly say If a man be a sincere Christian it would not hinder his justification and salvation though the wicked did not hate him So if it be true that a man cannot be a true Christian but he must eat drink and breathe these are natural Concomitants yet these not being made Conditions though he did never eat drink nor breathe he shall be saved If you can say of any Grace or any measure of Grace as Assurance or Joy That it is not necessary to justification and salvation Then only you may say They are not Conditions of these If any one beloved sin knowingly and wilfully continued in would hinder a man's pardon justification or right to Heaven then a sincere desire and endeavour according to his ability to get rid of that beloved sin is a Condition of his Pardon and Justification 3. All Conditions of Justification and Salvation are equally Conditions equally influential into right If only an accident or mode of a thing be made a Condition with the thing it is equally a Condition with the thing it self If one promise to bring me a white Horse and you shall have such a reward It is equally a condition and as much influential into right that it be White as that it be a Horse so in any instance you can bring either in fact or fiction If I promise something upon condition you bring me a Hundred and you bring only Ninety-nine you have no more right than if you brought none and the odd one is as much a Condition as Ninety-nine If any shall say The Condition is a working Faith then that it be working is equally a Condition and equally influential into right as that it be Faith 4. There is no such thing as receiving Righteousness or Justification or Pardon Many make this their great strong hold Repentance and sincere Obedience are not receptive receiving Graces as Faith is and so cannot receive Justification and Righteousness Now this falls for there is no act of receiving these Justification Right to Heaven Righteousness cometh on Men. The free gift came upon all to justification As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation As condemnation cometh upon men without any act of receiving it
For this Holiness they have in a more glorious manner than our Christ within us our imperfect holiness can present to their view This was not that Christ crucified that the Apostle did so prize the knowledg of And this work of Grace could never have been within us had it not been for a Christ without us and had it been within us yet it would never have been available to Salvation or Justification but for the Christ without us There is no blood no satisfaction in this Christ within us nothing but what would have been esteemed by God and is in reality as menstruous rags in respect of attaining Justification without this work of Christ without us upon the Cross And yet these would make Grace should I say I rather say Morality and Civility yea to speak truly of some of them Incivility and Discourtesie their righteousness though it be a Gospel-command to be courteous These delight so little in our Christ without us that it is with much difficulty that they will confess Christ come and crucified in the flesh if indeed they will confess it for-some shrink at such a question and would fain put it off And I dare say That any of you that ever heard them talk can bear witness that they speak not as men delighting in or making any account of this Propitiation Ransom c. Cursed are they that love not our Lord Jesus These honour not God The honour that cometh to God by works of Creation and Providence is counted as no honour in comparison of the honour that comes to him by this Redemption therefore it is said He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father God accounteth all honour as no honour in comparison of this Hence we read Ephes 3. ult Vnto him be glory in the Church by Jesus Christ Phil. 1. 11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God And Spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ And in Heaven the loudest and highest praises will be upon this account Worthy is the Lamb to receive honour c. These seeking to establish their own righteousness make void the righteousness of God through their ignorance of the righteousness of God Wonderful that ever the Devil should so bewitch people that ever the God of this world should so far blind men's eyes that ever he should so prevail with this device to work Christianity out of men's hearts so as to make them renounce the Christian Religion under pretence of high Christianity to look on Christ as a carnal Christ or the blood of Christ as a common or unholy thing on our Redeemer whom all Christians venerate and adore as a low nothing and to call his faithful Ministers Lyers and Deceivers But study you these things that you may admire Christ for he is and is to be admired in and of all his people Here is not such obscurity as to discourage your endeavoâ—rs nor such facility as to occasion your contempt You may easily see enough to admire all your days and yet still you are to learn It may be said to them of the highest form Go and learn what it means what Christ crucified means Here is a riddle of Mercy a riddle of Wisdom a riddle of Justice Christ is called Wonderful He is so in his Natures Offices Death Let these things be much in your mind It is like his complaint Diem perdidi I have lost a day to have cause to say I have lived another day and have not had a serious thought of Christ and his Death Do this in remembrance of me Look upon him whom we have pierced Study the reasons and ends of his sorrows and sufferings He dyed not as a fool dieth it was for some great End and this end must not be frustrated Wo to us if it be as to us This knowledg would be better to us than our daily bread this study is more necessary than our appointed food Is there but one Medicine in the World to heal us and will you not learn it study it and the use and virtue of it and how to apply it by Meditation that it may have its diversity of effects upon us St. Paul desired to know nothing but Christ and him crucified And Peter's last words of Exhortation in his last Epistle are Grow in grace and in the knowledg of our Lord Jesus And acting our faith and knowledg of these things by Meditation would be hugely influential to work and encrease Grace Come to other knowledg and he that encreaseth knowledg encreaseth grief and sorrow but he that encreaseth in this knowledg and is suitably affected with it layeth a foundation for perfect peace quietness and assurance for ever Let Ministers study this more and so preach this more I desire to know nothing among you that is to know so as to preach nothing among you save Christ and him crucified Preach not your selves but Christ Vse much plainness of speech Preach not like Moses with a vail on your face Let not people live and dye in ignorance of Christ if you can help it Discover all to sinners Let them see the Lord their Righteousness Now in studying and contemplating these things Admire 1. Admire the Justice of God Never was such Justice heard of since the world began Justice in a Mystery He spared not his Son that he might spare Sinners He hardned his heart against the cry of his Son that he might opeu his heart to the cry of Sinners Behold how he not only loved us but hated sin The dreadful instances of man cast out of Paradise the drowning of the World the destruction of Jerusalem the reservation of the faln Angels in horror and darkness are fearful Monuments of God's hatred of sin But here Justice and Holiness shine as the Sun in the Firmament When his beloved Son stood in the place and stead of Sinners he must dye such a shameful painful accursed death Surely had there been any respect of persons with God could Justice have been perverted and drawn aside with any considerations his only beloved Son should have escaped Here is inexorable Justice inflexible Justice This declared his Righteousness indeed that he would not spare Sin but punish it though on his innocent Son Here is infinite Justice fear it dread it Make this God thy fear and thy dread 2. Admire the love of the Father and the Son The Father Bless God for this Propitiation How dreadful was our condition How if Justice had taken thee by the throat and said Pay me what thou owest thou couldst not have reply'd Have patience with me and I will pay thee all God lays great engagements upon us in causing his Sun to shine in giving rain and fruitful seasons in making provision for our bodies but that which should endear him most to the world and should occasion our highest praises should be the providing a Righteousness for our souls Oh that
did in their own nature stir up teach and oblige you to holiness Ver. 9. But what were not we Jews better than the Gentiles so as they to be sinners and we holy worthy men No we confess on all hands the Gentiles were great sinners and so I will prove from the Scripture were the Jews also None righteous no not one none that doth good their throat is an open sepulcher Ver. 19. Now whatever the Law saith it saith to them under the Law that is whatever the Scripture speaketh it speaketh of them that lived in Scripture-places and this was written by David a Jew and so he meant it of the wickedness of the Jews So that all are sinners and under condemnation you Jews as well as others whatever your thoughts are to the contrary And no flesh can be justified in his sight by the deeds of the law no man shall be justified as being a man that deserves it or as having no need to have his sin pardoned so as his justification to be of debt and not to be of grace favour and pardon Ver. 25. But thus man's justification comes about God hath set forth Christ a Propitiation since all are sinners and God justifieth men by this for his sake pardoning their sins Ver. 27. Where is boasting then it is excluded but is not excluded by the Law of Works for if a man was justified that way he might boast God pardoned him nothing but by this Law of Faith by this Gospel-way of pardoning sinners without merits or strict Law-righteousness And therefore the Gentiles may be saved if they become Christians and have this heart-circumcision though they have not these outward priviledges which you account things of such great worth God pardoning their sins upon their believing the Gospel and having their hearts purified by it which you account such low ignoble things Chap. 4. This Chapter is accounted by the opposers of the doctrine I taught to have the greatest appearance against it but I shall manifest it doth not in the least oppose it The design of this Chapter as you will see is to prove the whole business That the Gentiles may be justified and saved by grace and pardon of sin upon their turning from idolatries and believing and obeying the Gospel without Circumcision and he proveth it by this argument viz. Abraham was a sinner and was not justified for any original righteousness as having never sinned nor for any meritorious works or priviledges of his that in Justice deserved the reward by making satisfaction for his sins for that would still be of debt from natural Law and Equity if a man could do something after great Crimes that satisfies for them all it would be so of Justice to acquit him as not to be of Grace it would however be as the Apostle expresseth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it were by the works of the law Rom. 9. 31. as it were by the works of the Law though not wholly or altogether yet in a sort or as it were They that grant they are sinners and yet suppose they make amends by some strict observance so that it would be hard and severe if God should condemn them do esteem their salvation due as it were by the works of the Law they esteem it not of grace But when it is said Abraham was justified the meaning is he was pardoned and if so God may justifie the Gentiles on that manner viz. by pardoning them Ver. 1. Shall we say that Abraham found i. e. all that kindness favour and justification from the flesh i. e. from works as we see in the following verse for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the flesh is in the following verse repeated and expounded by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by works So Gal. 3. 3. made perfect by the flesh he expounds v. 2 5. by the works of the law and so by the flesh may signifie unsinning obedience to the law or by the flesh might be meant some such meritorious priviledges as those the Jews boasted of for Phil. 3. 3. 4. in expounding what is meant by the flesh he reckons up Hebrew of Hebrews circumcised the eighth day a Pharisee We may here understand either but rather both for his arguing excludes both equally Ver. 〈◊〉 No sure For if he was justified in such a way by the law of works as having never been a sinner or by some high merits deserving such things from God then he had whereof to boast and say he was not pardoned and that his justification was of merit and not of grace But not before God i. e. but he could not boast and say God never pardoned his sins and that he was one of such worth and merits that whatever God did for him was due debt whatever glorying he might make of his innocency toward men Ver. 3. He proves it from Scripture that Abraham could not thus boast What saith the Scripture Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness Now this very word counted proveth this fully that i◠was not due debt from God and also that his believing did not merit it For the word counting is like the Law-word acceptilatio which word acceptilatio is used in such cases as when a man accepts from his debtor a penny for a hundred pound and acquits him upon it So this very word implieth that his believing was so low a thing as not to be any way meritorious of those great things God rewarded him with upon it He lays all the stress as you will see by the following verses upon this word counted that it signifieth graciously acquitted him and not as a just man that deserved it Ver. 4. If Abraham had been a man of high merits and deserts or his faith any thing meritorious it would not have been said God accounted it which signifies God graciously accounted it For to him that worketh i. e. that meriteth by his works the reward is reckoned of debt and not reckoned of grace as this word signifieth This very word implies that God might justly have refused to have justified him upon his believing This is the same argument with that Rom. 11. 6. If it be of grace then it is not of works i. e. of meritorious works otherwise grace is not grace and mercy but if it be of works i. e. meritorious works then it is no more of grace and mercy else works is not works that is merit is not merit merit doth not deserve which is a contradiction Ver. 5. Counted it to him for righteousness It cannot be said that a man's believing or repenting or any other duty is counted that is graciously counted for righteousness except the man be and these things be void of merit Therefore it implies That Abraham believed one that justified an ungodly man an undeserving man a sinner a man unjust justified a man in the strict sense of the law unjust by pardoning his sins his unrighteousness Yea it is probable that by the
token to seal and oblige himself to and assure others of this promise That whatsoever offender or offenders shall do as he did before his receiving of it he or they shall be acquitted from all penalties Here 1. The first receiving this Livery to be worn by him and his is given as a reward to him and not by way of sealing and as a peculiar token of the Royal favour and the same may be said of his exploits being mentioned in the promise to describe the condition by For it is to reward and cast an honour on him to make them a pattern to others These two agree to none else and therefore herein must the fatherhood lye 2. As a seal of the promise his Livery sealeth his particular acquittal only secondarily even by sealing the general promise primarily and immediately viz. That whoever do as he did shall be acquitted whether they have the Livery or no. That it is more assuring and comforting c. to his Family having the Livery and performing the condition I grant but pass it by as alien 3. The King by thus honouring him by giving him this Livery as a reward and also in giving him it first and also asâ— seal with this â—ignification thaâ— whosoever shall do such exploits c. also by making his exploits the pattern the regula and mensura hath put this honour on him to make him as it were a father of all after thus acquitted as receiving this honour to be the first and chief pattern of the acquitting of all that do as he did they being acquitted after him in like manner only as he was 4. He may also be called a causative father in the sense I have explained it of men after him doing as he did and consequently being acquitted as he was his exploits being morally influential to incline men to attempt to express and copy them out because so taken notice of by the King as to be propounded by him to notifie what kind and what manner of exploits they must be that this acquittal is promised to First A father or pattern of the manner of the justification of the Gentile-Christians representing that as he was graciously pardoned not justified for any worthiness of his own being a sinner and an idolater but pardoned upon his believing and obeying God and following his call yea while uncircumcised so may the idolatrous uncircumcised Gentiles that have none of the outward priviledges you Jews boast of be received into favour upon their turning from their idolataies and believing and obeying the Gospel and so he is their father Ver. 12. And secondly A father or pattern of the manner of the justification of us Jews that have these outward priviledges in that we must be justified as he was He was indeed circumcised as we are but his justification was not by that or any merit of that but the condition of his justification was his heart-circumcision his believing obeying fearing God and so must be and always was the justification of any Jew not by or by the merit of any outward priviledges but by God's pardoning their great sins in a Gospel-way upon their heart-circumcision or walking in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham Ver. 13. For the promise that he should be heir of the world that is have great things have great temporal and spiritual mercies Canaan and Heaven the world to come typified by it was not made to him and his seed that is such as he obedient believers as you may see by the places after cited through the law Obey perfectly and live without pardon and so not of Gospel-grace but through the righteousness of faith by a promise of forgiveness in a gracious Evangelical way upon their repenting believing obeying God See Rom. 10. 6. what is meant by the righteousness of faith to wit a law of grace Gal. 3. v. 14 15 16 17 18. is a place parallel to this where the Covenant confirmed of God in Christ to Abraham and his seed that is of an inheritance and blessedness to men walking in the steps of his faith is called the promise whereby he gave the inheritance to Abraham and by his seed there are meant believers as you may see plainly by v. 29. and by Christ v. 16. is meant Christ mystical viz. Believers as Expositors agree So also Heb. 9. 15. A Mediator of the new testament or covenant that they which are called i. e. effectually called obedient believers might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance Ver. 14. For if only they that are of the law that is they that are righteous without pardon that perfectly obey see Gal. 3. 10. be heirs are to have great things then faith is made void and the promise made of none effect that is then there is no place no reward for faith repentance and turning from sin to God for those that have been sinners or obey not the Law perfectly and that implied promise which is implied in God's justifying Abraham upon believing God not being partial but whosoever feareth God and worketh righteousness shall be accepted and that promise which was sealed in circumcision That whosoever should believe and obey God as he did shall find great reward as he did is made of none effect if men be to attain the reward by the Law of works without pardon And the Law given Four hundred thirty years after if it require perfect obedience so as to accept nothing less hath disannulled this promise Then none can be justified unless they be men of such merits as you suppose such outward observances and priviledges make you that it is due of strict Justice and not from a gracious promise made to sinners And also I will shew that you that are of the Law and stick to that cannot be justified or saved whatever you think to the contrary Ver. 15. For the law worketh wrath for where there is no law there is no transgression This proveth what he affirmeth before That happiness comes not by the Moral Law and so neither by any subordinate revelation which is reductively comprehended in it not by the whole system or body of precepts given by Moses as for instance by the command of circumcision which reductively belongs to the Moral Law for that is Obey whatever I shall any way command you or dye and none perfectly obey That place Gal. 3. 10. is like this As many as are of the works of the law i. e. stick to that for justification are under a curse for it is written Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the law to do them Which consequence of the Apostle's would be inconsequent but that it leans upon this implied foundation that none do so viz. all things written So here the meaning is this these laws take them as laws and commands they only work wrath and make sins more by multiplying commands more and so make the Jews more guilty than any and further from
Vindiciae Legis 24 Lect. proving by six Arguments That though the Law given by Moses taken strictly and abstractly as a rule holdeth forth life on no terms but perfect obedience yet take it as it was given and administred by Moses to the people as a Covenant and so it was a Covenant of Grace made in the blood of Christ promising justification and happiness upon sincere endeavours of obedience And Mr. Ball on the Covenant proveth the same of these very words and that the people did so understand it if you sincerely endeavour and ought so to understand it So Calvin l. 2. Instit c. 9. These Jews were for justification by it meerly as a Law and strict Covenant of Works as if there was no justification to be expected from it but by reaching the preceptive part in every thing and if so then there was an end of the Gospel preached to Abraham then this Law that was 430 years after it would have disannulled the promise made of God in Christ That whosoever should believe repent obey sincerely should be saved Whereas as it was given by Moses it was the Law of Grace and Faith as the following verse shews the same for substance that was made to Abraham and is now made to us But take it as a law a strict law of works and it is represented by that The man that doth these things shall live by them which is indeed essential to every law any law justifieth the doers of it and in this sense there can be no justification that is justification without pardon but by doing every thing if you be guilty of the least omission or negligence you are out of its justification and under its condemnation or curse Ver. 6. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise Say not in thy heart c. That is the tenour of the covenant or law of grace speaketh thus c. But now come to the Mosaical dispensation as it was a covenant of grace to be understoost with that Gospel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and moderation as it was given by Moses and is explained Deut. 30. 12 13 14 c. and in many other places and you will find it is the word of faith which we preach the same for substance with it For the Gospel-rule of justification the righteousness of faith in that Chapter mentioned saith Say not in thy heart Who shall ascend c. that is Be not now sollicitous do not perplex your selves in saying Alas I am hopeless for I have broken the law or I shall never be able exactly to obey it for the future in every thing Do not trouble your selves as if God required any thing of you that you could not perform though you was really desirous to do it with the prevailing-bent of your soul for as for those failings which are consistent with this though they be sins yet they should not cause despairing trouble For Christ by his satisfaction hath procured they shall not hinder your happiness he is the end of the Law as was said But all that is required of you for life and justification is a thing very easie was there but a willing mind God will not require what you have not as some troubled souls are apt to think what is so out of your power that you cannot do it though you fain would but will if there be a willing mind accept of what you have such poor stuff as our degenerate state is capable of performing if willing It is now brought to your own choice I have set life and death before you therefore chuse life v. 19. you cannot now chuse it on the terms of it and yet miss it Say not in thy heart Who shall asscend into heaven as if the obtaining of justification to thee a sinner was such a thing as could not be come by was set before thee on an impossible condition this is in effect to deny Christ is risen and ascended into Heaven for our justification for to bring Christ from Heaven is to do what in thee lies to deny to hinder his ascending into Heaven and you do it by this saying which is virtually to deny he hath finished his work to think you must do some impossible thing your selves as keep the law perfectly your selves for salvation Say not Who shall descend into the deep do some impossible thing to fetch up righteousness and life for us sinners This is in effect to deny Christ to have dyed for our sins What did he dye for if some difficult impossible thing be required of us Ver. 8. But what saith the Gospel-rule of righteousness the righteousness of Faith The thing is easie to come by that is required of thee it is nigh thee even in thy heart and mouth And this is the word of faith the Gospel that we preach do but confess with thy mouth and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead and carry suitably to such a belief and thou shalt be saved without the laborious and innumerable observances of the Jews which they can never perfectly observe whatever they pretend and so can never be justified their way These two it is probable he names as the most generally difficult parts of the Gospel-condition at that day To believe God hath testified him to be the Messiah by raising him from the dead notwithstanding all scoffs at the resurrection and endeavours to perswade you to the contrary and confessing him in the times of danger and difficulty when like to lose all by it and many apostatizing Christians maintained it was not necessary to confess but that they might deny him when danger approached so they but kept their hearts right which seemeth to be implyed in those ironical expressions 1 Cor. 4. 8 9 10 11. Ver. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness c. True hearty yeelding to the obedience of the Gospel is enough at first for justification but if you would have your justification so to continue as to reach salvation you must hold out to the end in confessing him though with the danger of your lives Ver. 11. For the Scripture saith Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed Ver. 12. For there is no difference between the Jew and Gentile For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him Ver. 13. For whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved It is all one as if he had said Whosoever believeth and carrieth suitably to such belief shall be saved and he useth calling on God and believing God promiscuously which would not be sense if they did not mean the same thing the same Gospel-condition And indeed as many promises of Justification and Pardon are made to Prayer as to Believing but the meaning is carry suitably to such prayer believe obey repent I am weary of easie work and so give over All those other places in this Apostle's Epistles that have any shew to