Ages there is yet no Remedy tendred by this Law to prevent his being eternally miserable Yes for all this such a Command of Repentance in the Moral Law is not only to great purpose but absolutely necessary for to own to God with Shame and Sorrow the Injury we have done him by our Sins is a Duty which we owe to him our offended Soveraign tho he had never promis'd to forgive us nay tho he had plainly declar'd that he would never be reconcil'd It is a Duty then to which Adam after his Fall was bound by the same Law which he obey'd in his Innocency to which he was bound when amaz'd with all the Horrors of a despairing Mind looking for nothing but Vengeance and Ruin from the Anger and arm'd Power of the Almighty It is a Duty to which he was tied before any new Covenant of Grace made and before God had reveal'd any Thoughts of Favour to him or any Purposes of Grace in that first Promise of the Seed of the Woman breaking the Serpent's Head If then it was Adam's Duty to repent before he had receiv'd any Promises of Mercy there must be some Precept obliging him to it since that and Duty mutually infer one another no Precept could it be of the Gospel for that was not yet proclaim'd and therefore it must be the proper Precept of the Moral Law which was the thing to be prov'd If any one will peremptorily deny Repentance to have been Adam's Duty before God had promis'd Mercy the same Person must consequently assert that it was no Fault in him to run from God that he did very well in excusing himself in throwing the great Part of the Guilt upon God in standing upon his own Justification and that if he had continued an obdurate harden'd Wretch if he had acted as a bold desperate Rebel and instead of confessing his Crimes and expressing his Sorrow had further dar'd and out-brav'd offended Justice he had been innocent in all this and had not in the least broken any Precept of the Law nor transgress'd the Bounds of his Duty For if Repentance was not commanded before the Gospel publish'd then the worst Impenitence in Adam would have been no Sin because forbidden by no Law I know very well that Arminius boldly affirms all this That the Covenant of Works being broken the Law was abrogated too and that God no longer required Obedience from his sinful Creature till he brought in a new Law which is the Gospel commanding Faith and Repentance and that God accepts this Obedience to the Precepts of this his new Law instead of perfect Obedience to the old violated Moral Law But I know too very well that most prodigious and amazing Absurdities will be the natural Products of this monstrous Opinion It will follow that the first Sin dethron'd God not only out of Man's Heart but out of his Seat of Majesty in Heaven too until to regain his Crown and Dominion and for the recovery of his lost Sovereign Power he was forced to condescend to treat with his Rebels upon lower Terms and to propose a new and milder Law accommodated to the weaker Circumstances of their State Thus God loseth his Soveraignty by the Disobedience of his Creature and his Laws signified so little that they were all repeal'd and disannull'd when Man would observe them no longer And who can once think that the Great God should lose his Power to command when his Creatures refus'd any more to obey him and that Man by becoming a Rebel should cease to be a Subject and that therefore a new Law giving new Precepts and proposing other more moderate Conditions was absolutely needful to adjust the desperate Affair and to set all things right again Adam also by his Fall having according to the Assertion of Arminius broken all Ties and Bonds of Obedience if before the Promulgation of the Gospel or new Law to him he had blasphem'd God had sworn and forsworn had dissembled kindness to his Wife with the deepest Oaths while he had nothing in his Heart but Thoughts of Malice and Designs of Revenge against her for betraying him to ruin had most barbarously murder'd her and afterward kill'd himself he yet had not sinned in all this because before the new Law given he was oblig'd to no Duty Believe this who will for my part I cannot And now what is the Ground of this desperate Assertion Why truly only this That because the Law once broken there were no longer any Promises made to the Obedience of a Sinner therefore the Covenant between God and Man was entirely vacated and so the Sinner was no longer bound to obey till a new Law came with other Precepts of Faith and making Promises to lower degrees of Duty and then upon this new Account the Creature stands bound again Now all this is founded upon one grand Mistake which is that our Obedience to God is establish'd upon his Covenant with us and that the only Tie upon us are Promises or Threatnings Whereas our Duty to God immediately results from the infinite Greatness of his Being which is therefore supream and hath an undoubted Right to command and from the unalterable Relation of a Creature to his Maker So that Adam as soon as he had Existence was presently bound to obey God in all that he would command him tho he had made no Promise to him of any Reward And if God had plac'd him in a dismal Desart instead of settling him in Paradise if he had sharpen'd his Life with Sorrows and Miseries in the room of those Blessings and Comforts which he enjoy'd yet he might have commanded him all that he pleas'd and it would have been his Duty to have paid a ready Obedience And this clears the Difficulty lying in our way that tho the Law made no Promises to Sinners as the Gospel doth yet that hinders it not from commanding and engaging them to repent for by what I have prov'd it appears that Promises do not lay the Foundation of a Duty but are only the Encouragements of it Well then tho Adam saw not any thing in the Law to renew Life to a Penitent Offender tho he could not read in it one Syllable of a Pardon yet the same Law which requir'd Obedience of him commanded after he had sinn'd to repent and return to his Duty tho he had no hopes of succeeding in it and had no assurance that a justly provoked and angry God would forgive and descry'd not the least Promise shining in Heaven to favour him And as it was Adam's Duty to repent so it is the Duty of all Men now living upon Earth A Duty to which Heathens who are not under the Dispensation of the Gospel to whom this new-stil'd Law never came who never heard a word of its pretended Precepts or real Promises are indispensably oblig'd Whence have they this binding Precept of Repentance From the Gospel How can that be when the least Sound of it never
till he have set Judgment in the Earth and the Isles shall wait for his Law That by his Law is meant a Declaration of Free Grace is apparent from the genuine Sense of the Hebrew word which in our English Bibles is translated they shall wait for his Law the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies they shall hope with earnest Desires expect it And thus Piscator who had an unquestionable Skill in that Language renders it We may then by a necessary Consequence conclude that by Law here is meant a publication of Free Grace by Christ since the poor Sinners of the Gentiles could not desire or hope for any other But without any Criticisms on the Hebrew Language the foregoing Verse of the Prophet Isaiah instructs us to a right understanding of the following Isa 42. 3. A bruised Reed shall he not break and the smoking Flax shall he not quench he shall bring forth Judgment unto Truth Now if Christ had brought in a new Law with Precepts superadded to the old One this would have been to break the bruis'd Soul with repeated Strokes in greater strength and fierceness There is another Scripture produc'd by my Learned Brother to be examin'd which he urgeth to prove That the Gospel as a new Law promiseth Blessings to the Performers of its Precepts and threatens to punish all those who neglect them Luke 19. 27. But those mine Enemies which would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me Now as I think who am very willing to be better inform'd our blessed Lord Jesus asserts only his Right as Universal Monarch of the World which we are so far from denying that we heartily pray that his Kingdom may come in all the Shine of its Glory as we are sure it will at the determin'd Time Well but to soften the harsh word Law he adds the more allaying one of Grace But this will not do the Business for a Law prescribing Works is no Covenant of Grace if it be true what the Apostle says Rom. 11. 6. And if by Grace then is it no more of Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace But if it be of Works then is it no more Grace otherwise Work is no more Work Therefore his no angry Brethren are in no Passion to hear the Voice of the Law if the old Moral One as a continuing Rule to Believers is meant and they are very glad of the joyful Sound of Grace they only gaze and admire at the strange Prodigy of those two unnaturally join'd together to compound a Covenant of Grace And tho with the greatest rejoicing we most thankfully accept God's new Covenant of Grace yet we cannot own a new Law of his making till we hear it more clearly proclaim'd by God himself I must confess I was a little surpriz'd at what I next read in my Reverend Brother's Learned Discourse The Law of Grace we speak of says he is both New and Old in different respects It is New in respect of the Covenant of Works made with Adam in his State of Innocency What! is it a new Law of a fresher Date that the old One being useless God saw it needful to promulgate another lower'd to lesser degrees of Duty and so suted to the present Estate of Sinners I am confident my Learned Brother will not assert this tho it unhappily falls out that his Words seem to imply it There remains nothing more than to examine his Humane Authorities which I will do tho there is the greatest uncertainty in the Citation of Authors to abet an Opinion when Men only take care and labour to wrack and torture them to a forced Confession of their own Sense For if the Words of the Holy Ghost himself who deliver'd his Meaning most distinctly and with the greatest exactness are yet wrested and perverted to contrary Purposes all Humane Writings are much more liable to be disfigur'd by wrong Interpretations I will yet consider in order the several Authorities alledg'd and first as to that of Justin Martyr Any one who distinctly regards the Design of that Father's Writing will see that however he makes use of the word Law by which to name the Gospel yet by Law he means no more than a new Doctrine or Dispensation of Grace For his Design is to prove against a Jew who was a great Admirer of his own Law and its august Ceremonies and Worship That all that solemn Pomp was excelled by the plain Evangelical Doctrine that this new Discovery of the Blessings of Grace in the real and solid Substance was infinitely preferable to all the old Representations and Shadows of those good Things And therefore by this new Law or this new Instruction of Grace coming those old Rudiments go off as useless to teach us any longer The Gospel as a new Doctrine of Grace appearing the old Institutions of Sacrifices and External Rites civilly are to withdraw to give place to a superiour and better Instructor To prove this is the Design of that Father's Dialogue against the Jew and all that can be gather'd from his calling the Gospel a New Law is only this that it is a fuller and clearer Revelation of the Grace of God in Christ as is evident from what follows a little after those Words cited by my Learned Brother where Justin Martyr expresseth his Meaning about the Gospel's being a New Law that it is so as it is a new and clearer Dispensation of Grace for having cited that Place in Isa 55. 3 4. expressing the Nature of the Gospel and upbraiding the Jew for his Confidence in old Legal Performances in Circumcision in eating unleavened Bread in washing in the Laver of Water in the Blood of Sheep and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer It is not by these says he that Sinners are purified but by the Blood of Christ and his Death who died for that very Purpose as Esa himself hath spoketh it And then he largely recites the six last Verses of the 52d Chapter and Chap. 53. entire and the six first Verses of the 54th Chapter of that Prophet which contain the most clear and full Discovery of the Doctrine of Grace as is in all the old Testament So that all which the Father intends by the Name of a new Law given to the Gospel is that it is a Doctrine of Grace newly revealed And in this Sense I am very willing to call it so too But let us see if Cyprian gives his Vote for my Learned Brother It is true that he speaks frequently in his 11th Epistle of the Law of the Gospel but it is certain that as he wrote this Epistle to complain of and to rectify the Relaxation of Discipline in the Churches that those who had fallen into great and notorious Sins were yet re-admitted into Communion before they had given any Testimony of their Repentance so by the Law of the Gospel he means only that due Discipline which ought to be
question by Scripture and Reason since also I do not think that People are oblig'd to mispend their Time to read long Discourses to entertain themselves unprofitably with those personal Reflections with which such are usually stuff'd more than with Arguments since it doth not concern them to know whether such or such a Man be so wise and so rational as he is apprehended to be or silly and ridiculous but only what is Truth and the Danger of 〈◊〉 in the Faith which may be clear'd to them in very few words I 〈◊〉 accordingly study brevity and plainness as much as ever I can and shall reduce my following Discourse to as narrow a Compass as possible and so consider in that of the Learned Mr. Lorimer no more than what seems most to the Purpose I will not at all affect Niceties or subtile Evasions and indeed any Opinion which needs them and I know not how many perplexing Distinctions to maintain it may very well be suspected for Truth never seeks Corners to hide in nor can endure to be set in a false Light but loves to appear in its pure native Brightness And it is our Duty who by Office and Commission as Ministers of Christ are to teach the Gospel to the People that we do not scatter Mists about them as if throwing Dust in their Eyes was the way to clear their Sight that we do not amuse them with new Terms fetch'd from the Civil Law and make it necessary for them to study Justinian Bartolus and Cujacius to read the Pandects and the Codes that they may know how they are justified This instead of instructing would be to confound those whom we are to lead into the Truth by the clearest Expressions of God's Holy Word and to inform them in the plainest manner that we can What I have proposed to my self to debate in the present Discourse is Whether the Gospel be a new Law Without multiplying words which doth but obscure the clearness of Things the Question in dispute is not Whether the Gospel be a new Law if by that Word is meant a Doctrine of Grace newly reveal'd after the Covenant of Works was broken wherein God hath declared in what Order and Manner he will save guilty condemned Sinners If by a new Law no more is meant than this it is presently granted and the Controversy is at an end What is denied is this That the Gospel is a Law commanding new Precepts as Conditions of obtaining its Blessings and established with a Sanction promising Life and Happiness to the observance of them and threatning the Neglect Tho according to the Laws of a Discourse I should first urge Arguments to prove that the Gospel is not such a Law yet my first Design being to answer the Reverend Mr. Lorimer's Apology I shall first shew how little to his Purpose he eagerly catches at the word Law where-ever he can meet with it in the Scriptures or in the Writings of Men. And first I shall demonstrate that where-ever the Gospel is nam'd a Law either in the Old or New Testament only a Doctrine of Grace is to be understood by it CHAP. II. That the word Law is of a various and doubtful meaning From the original Signification of the Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is proved that then the Gospel is called a Law in the Old Testament no more is intended than a Doctrine This is evinc'd and confirm'd from the Interpretation of several Scriptures Psal 1. 2. Psal 19. 7. Psal 119. 97 98 c. Jer. 31. 33. Isa 2. 3. Micha 4. 2. THE word Law is of such various Signification that it is not at all strange if we find the Gospel called by that Name both in the Scriptures and among the Antient Fathers and later Protestant Writers when yet neither the Holy Ghost nor any of those Authors meant to describe the Gospel as a new Rule of Works enacted with a milder Sanction When that stated Order of Things whereby the Actions even of inanimate Creatures are regulated according to the Appointment of the great Creator's Will when he first framed them and push'd them into Motion is called the Law of Nature we cannot apprehend it as a Precept or Rule of Duty establish'd with a Sanction to those things which being without Sense or Life know nothing of the Matter This Law is not a Precept given to such Creatures but the Power of God working in them and acting them to move according to that Order which he hath set for the Administration of all things in the Universe Who will say that the Sun doth its Duty in performing its constant laborious Course or that a Reward is due when it hath done its Work And yet it is by a Law tho not any Precept that it moves so orderly and a Law it is without any promise of Recompence for observing and keeping duly the mark'd-out Course or threatning a Penalty for deviating from it It is by the same Law of Nature that the Fire always burns the Planets perpetually move the Earth never totters from its Centre and yet they are not to be recompenc'd for such their exact Observance And if on the contrary the Fire should freeze us the Planets stop their orderly Dance or march so irregularly as to break all their Ranks and the Earth shake and fall from it s plac'd Foundation they would not be liable to undergo any Punishment And now Fire Air Earth and Water and the Heavenly Bodies are well enough said to act by a Law tho they have no Rule of Duty given them nor are obnoxious either to Rewards or Punishments Well then as the settled Order of the Universe is called a Law the Gospel may obtain the same Name in that Sense It is without doubt a most certain establish'd Order of our Salvation by Christ alone and this more unchangeable and irreversible than all the Laws of the Creation since it is more impossible to be pardon'd and justify'd in any other Method than that set by God of applying Christ's Blood and having his Righteousness imputed than for all the Heavenly Bodies to move contrary to their stated Courses In this sense the Gospel is a Law without being a Rule of Duty since it only tells us the Order God hath set of our being saved purely by his Grace And a Law it is too like that of the Medes and Persians unalterable and which will not admit of the least Change not so much as to compose the Differences of contending Parties with prejudice to any of its Truths If we take the word Law in a farther meaning as it signifies any Doctrine publish'd and made known to the People it will be easily granted that the Gospel is such a Law since there is nothing more sure than that it is a Doctrine of Grace Now every one knows that the word Law is us'd in this comprehensive Sense First For the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Torah Law it denotes any
as explanatory of the former undeniably prove If we look next on that place of Scripture in Micah 4. 2. which is not meerly parallel to the forecited in Esa but perfectly agreeing with it we shall see it imports Christ not as a new Legislator to have given a new Law of Works on more moderate Terms but to have taught a pure Doctrine of Grace The words of Micah 4. 2. are these And many Nations shall come and say Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his Ways and we will walk in his Paths for the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem The Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Torah in our English Version translated Law is by Junius and Tremellius as well as by Piscator rendred Doctrine Out of Zion goes forth the Doctrine And Piscator in his short Notes on the Text critically observes that however the word Torah is rendred by others Law yet it will not accord with the genuine meaning of this Text because it speaks of the Gospel And in his brief Exposition on the next Words And the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem This says he is the Word of Grace i. e. concerning the Grace toward those who believe on Christ Which way of explaining of the former Expression Law to be the Doctrine of the Gospel by the following Words the Word of the Lord as exegetical of those other Calvin that Apostle of the Reformed Religion also takes This says he is but the Repetition of the former Sentence as 't is usual Therefore by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Torah the Prophet intended nothing else but Doctrine But further to shew that all but Papists Socinians and Arminians harmoniously agree in explaining such places after such a manner as may not give the least colour to the Opinion of the Gospel's being a new Law in the sense of the three mentioned Parties Tarnovius a Lutheran between whom and the Calvinists what great and at present irreconcileable Differences in other Points of Religion there are all the World knows perfectly accords with Calvin in this Interpretation of the Prophet Micah It is such a Law of which the Prophet speaks that in the Hebrew says he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Torah which word by the Force of its Etymology notes all and every Doctrine since it is from the Root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jarah which in Hiphil signifies he hath taught that it is frivolous to design from this Text to prove the Gospel to be a new and more perfect Law made by Christ in the New Testament whenas tho indeed by this Hebraism the Gospel is call'd a Law by the Apostle Rom. 8. 2. as also by the Psalmist Psal 19. 8. yet with a Restriction but the Law is never called a Gospel And the latter Words the Word of the Lord he makes consonantly with Calvin to be exegetical of the former Law c. as demonstrating that nothing but the Doctrine of the Gospel is thereby signified But really there need no more than carefully to review the Context to be satisfied that by the word Law here is meant the Doctrine of Grace in the Gospel For all this 4th Chapter of Micah is a Word of Consolation to an afflicted People from the refreshing Springs of its gracious Promises as Junius notes The Law then by consequence must signify the Doctrine wherein those are contained And the Acclamations too of the rejoicing People proclaim the same thing who mutually exhort one another in the second Verse to go up to this glorious Mountain because there Christ would teach them this Doctrine of Grace Micah 4. 2. And many Nations shall come and say Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his Ways and we will walk in his Paths for the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem I know it may be objected that the Phrase And we will walk in his Paths seems to imply a Precept and Command and so a Law in the strictest Sense to which they vowed Obedience But this may as easily be denied as 't is asserted precariously for since according to the usual Language of God's Word to walk in God's Paths is to observe his Orders and Appointments the Expression here may denote no more than that they would punctually keep to the Way of Salvation mark'd out by him which I wish with all my Soul was the hearty Resolve of all who hear the Gospel and seek to be justify'd no otherwise than by Christ's Blood and Righteousness as the Law or Doctrine of the Gospel prescribes There is a Difficulty remains arising from the third Verse which at first sight seems to point to us that the Gospel is such a Law by which Christ exerciseth Judgment as on a Tribunal and executes Justice But the Appearance of Difficulty is so slight and thin that it will vanish as soon as seen if we do but consider that the word Judg may very well import no more than that Christ will judg what Course of Salvation is best for us to take that he will determine the Case and it is better for us to acquiesce in the Decision of his unerring Judgment which cannot be deceiv'd nor ever will mislead us than to pursue our own mistaken Apprehensions which bewilder us continually But if we take his Judging as having an Influence or Effect upon those who are under his Kingdom and Judgment it may be considered not as the Act of a Judg pronouncing Sentence and Condemning but as the Administration of a Wise Good and Gracious King preserving and protecting his Subjects and defending them against their Enemies That the word Judging is taken in such a large Sense in the Hebrew Language there needs no more to prove it than that the Princes of Israel whom God rais'd up and spirited to be the Liberators of his People from the Tyranny of Moab Ammon and Midian and to defend them against those cruel and implacable Enemies are not only call'd Judges but the Book which contains the History of their Administration and Government is titled by that Name Or if we attribute to Christ the rigorous Administration of a severe Judg and that he comes in all the terrible Solemnities of Justice yet this doth not belong to the Dispensation of his Gospel but to the Oeconomy of his Laws when he comes to avenge the Violation of them by Sinners To those who live and die under a Covenant of Works he is a Judg to be sure and a dreadful One too and they who seek Righteousness by the Works of any Law he will deal with in that way of Trial which they have put themselves upon and they shall stand at the Bar of Judgment which by their own
that it condemns and dooms us to Death not to seek Life by it any more and no longer to have the least Commerce with it in the Affairs of our Justification or to be dead to the Law is no more to be obnoxious to its condemning Sentence in that it cannot exact from thee its threaten'd Punishments tho indeed as a Rule of Duty it always unalterably requires Obedience To be dead to the Law is no longer to be under its Dominion and Reign as it is a Covenant of Works Thus a King hath no Authority over a Subject whom Death hath transported out of his Territories into the Regions of another World nor can the Power of the Greatest reach beyond the Confines of the Grave In all these Meanings the Apostle asserts himself to be dead to the Law And what was it made him so What! but the Law or Doctrine of Grace revealed in the Gospel which so happily instructed him in the knowledg of free and compleat Justification by Christ This Sun no sooner riseth but all those little wandering Stars which as false Lights had before so wretchedly misled him do set presently and all his natural and rooted Inclinations to seek Justification by the Works of the Law lessen and at last wholly vanish and disappear at the glorious Appearance of the Sun of Righteousness who comes with healing in his Wings All those treacherous Hopes which he repos'd before in his Obedience to the Law in the severe Observance of its Precepts and strict Performances of Duties are utterly extinguished and all the Sparks of them being quite dead do not scatter any longer the least Glimmerings in his Soul Thus the Law or Doctrine of the Gospel teaching him how that Christ his Surety being made under the Law for him hath redeem'd him from its Curse answered all its Demands and silenced every Accusation hath stopp'd its Mouth and taken away its Strength and not only so but depriv'd it of Life as well as Voice the Apostle's Mind being thus illuminated with the Light of his new Law or Heavenly Doctrine to know more than ever he did before that Christ hath slain the Law as it is a Covenant of Works as well as the Enmity which Sin had caused between God and miserable Sinners he accordingly looks on the Law as a dead Thing which can neither hurt in respect to Condemnation nor do him any good as to Salvation and Life He answerably regards it with other Eyes than before and his former Zeal and Affection he had to it for the Purposes of Justification are not only abated but extirpated out of his Heart not meerly cool'd and damp'd but perfectly quench'd and dead Now then that the Gospel is called a Law by the Apostle not in the strict Sense as importing Works of any kind but as a meer Doctrine of Grace is evident from all these Effects which it produc'd It perfectly mortified him to a Law of Works and therefore could not be one it self unless we can imagine that the Apostle became dead as to seeking Justification by the Works of any Law whatever and that no otherwise than by giving entertainment to and putting himself under the Conduct of a new Law of Works which things do not seem very well to agree And that by Law when the Gospel is so nam'd in this Gal. 2. 19. the Apostle means a pure Doctrine of Grace and not a more moderated Law of Works appears from ver 21. I do not frustrate the Grace of God for if Righteousness come by the Law then Christ is dead in vain It is as if he should have said However others despise the Grace of God and think it too mean and ignoble to owe their Life to it it shall be my great Zeal to magnify it to illustrate its Glory and to pay unto it the highest Honour However others are Obstacles to its Progress and endeavour to put a stop to its Victories and Triumphs or attempt to render all its Power and Force vain and ineffectual yet for my part I will neither say nor do any thing to frustrate it and none of my Actions nor any Article of Doctrine which I teach shall in the least degree have such a Tendency I will not let fall a Word which may but seem to lessen or disparage the Favours of my blessed Redeemer who loved me and gave himself for me And can there be a greater Slight than when he hath done and suffered so much to save me not to rest satisfied with his Undertaking and Work as compleat but to be solicitously endeavouring how to supply the Deficiencies and to perfect it my self To esteem Christ as insufficient is certainly to despise him in the highest measure and he doth not suffice me if I join my own Righteousness to his or add Works done by me in Obedience to any Law unto his great Performances Nay if I should assert Righteousness to come by any Law whether New or Old I should dishonour Christ so much as to insinuate that he died very unwisely or unadvisedly For what could be more unadvised than to come and suffer all sorts of Miseries and at last to expire in Torments and that only to the Purpose of effecting what might have been done very well without such expence of his inestimable Blood For if by my Obedience to some Law I may be justified and the Works of that can be my Righteousness why should Christ die or to what purpose was he obedient since no other Ends of his Death and Obedience are assigned but the Justification of a Sinner And if this Business can be effected by this Sinner's own Works of what Nature soever the Blood and Righteousness of Christ comes in uncalled for and when there is no great or urgent need of them But far be it from me to defeat the Designs of the God of all Grace to misprize the greatest Favours which can be bestowed upon a Creature or to darken and obscure the Glory of the Grace it self and therefore I am firm to it and will unmoveably maintain it that Righteousness comes by no Law whatever nor are Sinners justified by the performance of any Conditions in obedience to it And therefore when I before ver 19. call'd the Gospel a Law you must by no means understand it to be a soften'd and milder Law of Works but a Doctrine of Grace in which Sense I also us'd the word Law in my Epistle to the Romans where I call the Gospel a Law of Faith Rom. 3. 27. Thus I have endeavour'd to give briefly the Apostle's Sense in this Text which proves his Meaning in the other where he calls the Gospel a Law that he understands only a Doctrine of Grace by that Word CHAP. IV. That the Fathers of the Primitive Church when they call'd the Gospel a Law meant only a Doctrine by it proved by a few Instances out of Clemens Alexandrinus Eusebius Theodoret Origen and Chrysostom THIS might be enough if my
of their true Sense and Meaning I will not multiply Citations one or two are enough and indeed Luther and Calvin are an Army alone Luther tells us That all Justiciaries esteem Christ to be a new Legislator and judg the Gospel to be no other than a Book which contains new Laws concerning Works as the Turks dream about their Alcoran But there are Laws enough in Moses The Gospel therefore is a preaching concerning Christ that he forgives Sins gives Grace justifies and saves Sinners But now that Precepts are found in the Gospel those are not the Gospel but Expositions of the Law and Appendixes of the Gospel Now any one would think that this Luther would never call the Gospel a Law and yet so he doth expounding a little after the 19th Verse and is before cited by me And in what Sense he means the Gospel to have that Name he informs us plainly in his Comment on Isa 2. 3. Out of Zion shall go forth the Law This is the Cause says he of the Multiplication of the Church and of the Amplification of Christ's Kingdom viz. the Preaching of the Gospel For he here promiseth a new Word For unless he signified a new Doctrine what need was there at length to promise a Law which had been made so many Years before And he manifestly signifies the difference in that he adds out of Zion As if he should say I first gave a Law in Sinai I will now give another in Mount Zion which shall not be a Doctrine of Works but of Faith not of Laws but of Grace not accusing but bestowing pardon of Sins c. Calvin also agrees with Luther in this And indeed those two Holy Men tho they differed in some things yet they very well accorded in the main Substance of the Gospel They believed on the same Jesus and lov'd the Truth of his Grace Calvin likewise says that when the Gospel is called Law a Doctrine of Salvation is only meant by it For says he explaining Isa 2. 3. since the Rule of Holiness is to be fetch'd from the Law by a Synecdoche they were accustomed to comprehend the whole Doctrine of God under that Name as also the Worship of God under the Name of an Altar Now as it would be absurd to infer that the Ministers of Christ are Levitical Priests because the Apostle says that they ought to be partakers with the Altar and live by the Gospel or to endeavour to prove that the old Jewish Worship is yet standing and that Sacrifices should be offer'd under the New Testament because the Apostle speaks of an Altar too to which Believers came and of which they have right to eat Heb. 13. 10. So the way of arguing would be equally impertinent to conclude from the Gospel's being nam'd a Law that it is a Doctrine of Works Musculus also tells us how we must apprehend the word Law when made use of to signify the Gospel The Prophet says he understands no other by the Law than the Word of the Lord nor by Zion than Jerusalem Nor can it be understood of any other Doctrine than what is Evangelical And Rodolphus Gualther explaining what the Apostle means when he calls the Gospel a Law After the manner of the Jews says he he speaking of a Doctrine useth the word Law and he calls the Law of Works that Doctrine which asserts that we are justified by Works but the Law of Faith that Doctrine which shews Righteousness in the Merit of Christ who is apprehended by Faith alone When the Holy Ghost himself who inspir'd the Minds and guided the Pens both of the Prophets and Apostles and not only suggested things to their Thoughts but the fittest Words too by which to express them If this holy infallible Spirit calling the Gospel a Law means no other than a Doctrine of Grace any one would think that we could not be at a loss how to understand the Word I need not therefore multiply Instances a few more may suffice Zacharias Vrsinus when he calleth the Gospel a new Form of Law takes care to direct us to his right Sense and punctually tells us that he means no more by it than a new Doctrine of Grace The Prophet says he expounding Isa 2. 3. signifies that a new Manifestation of God and a new Form of Law and Worship is to be expected out of Zion that is to say Christ being reveal'd and the Ceremonies abolish'd But when he says that the Law shall go forth out of Zion it is queried Whether by this and the like Places the Opinion of the Papists is established who will have it that Christ came that he might be a new Law-giver who should publish a better and more perfect Law than had been before delivered by Moses that Men for the future living according to that Law might by this their Obedience please God and obtain Eternal Life The Answer is easy from this most usual Phrase in Scripture by which under the Name Law the whole Doctrine is understood c. Therefore that Monkish Opinion is to be avoided as the Plague and Subversion of all Christianity and an obscuring of the Offices and Benefits of Christ and as not differing from the Opinions of Heathens Jews Turks and other Sects concerning our Justification before God Chemnitius also gives direction how to understand the word Law when employ'd to denote the Gospel That also says he is a general signification of the Word when under the name of a Law the universal Doctrine divinely revealed is understood as Psal 19. 8 9. and Psal 119. where the Law is said to comfort and edify Hearts So Esa speaks of the Gospel Chap. 2. v. 3. The Law shall go forth out of Zion Rom. 8. 2. The Law of the Spirit of Life Rom. 3. 27. The Law of Faith Gal. 2. 19. I by the Law am dead to the Law But it is a Hebrew Phrase in which Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Torah hath its name from Instructing and Teaching To these Antient Worthies I might add the concurrent Testimonies of Modern Divines who are Orthodox in the Faith But whereas I might produce many I will content my self to alledg one which is that of Whittichius the present Learned Professor of Divinity if not lately dead in the University of Leyden and who tho he espous'd the New Philosophy yet it had no Malignant Influences to infect him with any new-contrived Schemes to solve the Phenomena's in Divinity He in his short but full and clear Exposition on the Romans explaining Chap. 3. ver 27. tells us what the Apostle intends by that Phrase a Law of Faith The exclusion of Boasting says he is made by the Law of Faith which here denotes by way of Eminency the Doctrine of Faith as it is taught in the New Testament without Obligation to any Works as the Cause of Justification as the Works of the Moral Law perfectly and constantly perform'd by Adam would
have been or as the necessary Prerequisite of Justification Well then when we meet with the word Law if we would not be impos'd on by the meer Sound of a Word we must carefully view the Text on all sides and survey and consider all its Circumstances When what is proper to the Gospel is attributed to the Law the word Law is not to be apprehended in the strict Sense as signifying a Rule of Duty and threatning Penalties to the Disobedient or as importing a Doctrine of Works but a Doctrine of Grace Thus when the Law is said to turn the Soul and to rejoice the Heart Psal 19. 8 9. since these are not the Effects of the Law as a Doctrine of Works for that rather effects a Sense of Wrath than any hope in the Heart of a guilty condemned Sinner and its Efficacy is more suted to wound him with anxious Fears or tormenting Despair rather than to comfort him Rom. 4. 15. we must by no means conceive a proper Law consisting of Precepts and Menaces to be meant but the Doctrine of the Mercies of God in Christ which only can have those Virtues and Influences And so when the Apostle too calls the Gospel a Law of Faith since he makes the Righteousness of the Law opposite to the Righteousness which is of Faith Rom. 10. 4 5 6. and Rom. 3. 20 21 22. he must consequently mean not a Law in the strict Sense not a Doctrine of Works but of pure Grace And by this Rule we are to proceed when we find the Gospel call'd a Law we are not to understand it in the strict meaning as a Rule of Duty with a Sanction which is the proper and peculiar Nature of the Moral Law but as a revealed Instruction to us what the Mind of God is concerning our Recovery and Salvation by Christ And when we hear of the Precepts and Threatnings of the Gospel and read them in that part of the Bible which we call the New Testament whether in the Sermons of our Saviour or in the Writings of the Apostles we are not to surmise presently that these are any Parts of the Gospel properly so titled as it is a Word of Grace and the Doctrine of our Redemption by Jesus tho they are contain'd in that Book to which we commonly give that Name For this would be to perplex our Notions of Things which are entirely distinct in their Natures and Idea's and to jumble them so confusedly together that we should not be able upon sight to discern and know one from the other For by the same Method of proceeding I might frame an Imagination to my self and strive to impose it on other Men that the Moral Law is the Gospel because there are so many Declarations of God's Love to Sinners of his Mercies to pardon them and so many Promises of Grace interspers'd in the Psalms and Prophets and other Books of the Old Testament all which tho so much of the Gospel be contain'd in it is so frequently call'd the Law both by Christ and his Apostles the Primitive Fathers and Protestant Divines So that in a Word as the Promises of the Gospel spread through the Books of Moses and the Prophets is no Argument to prove the Law to be the Gospel So it is as false a Demonstration that the Gospel is a Law because there are so many Precepts and Threatnings repeated in the Evangelists and Epistles All that can be concluded is that as there are Promises in one Volume of the Bible so there are Commands and Menaces in the other But yet as it is the Gospel which promises Grace in the First so it is the Law which commands and threatens in the Second And to clear the Equation it is only needful to bring all the Precepts in both to one side and the Promises to another and then we have distinct Law and Gospel CHAP. VII The Arguments us'd by the Apologist to prove the Gospel to be a new Law examin'd That from the Precepts Commands urg'd and Threatnings denounc'd in the New Testament nothing can be concluded to this Purpose IT is now very easy to answer my Reverend Brother's Arguments and with one gentle Stroke to wipe off all his Citations since they all are establish'd meerly upon the Ambiguities of the word Law Such reasoning is very fallacious to endeavour to prove the Gospel to be a new Rule of Duty fortified with a Sanction because we find it to be nam'd a Law both in the Scriptures and Humane Writings for the Sum of the whole Demonstration amounts to no more than this a Law is a Law the Gospel is a Law therefore the Gospel is a Law which is a pretty way of arguing and without doubt unanswerable But the clearing the Sense of the Terms answers all without any more to do which I think I have done and the more largely because I would do all the Justice to a bad Cause as could reasonably be ask'd and allow to it the fullest Scope and Play possible I have therefore offer'd Arguments for it my self I have consider'd what might be alledg'd I have produced those Scriptures which with any colour may be urg'd to prove the Gospel to be a new Law omitted by my Learned Brother and yet as aware that they might be summon'd I have brought them in and endeavour'd to clear their Words from that false Meaning which might be fasten'd on them to so ill a Purpose I shall now particularly consider those which he brings and shew that they do not prove the Matter in Dispute His first set of Scriptures are such as express the Gospel to be either giving Precepts and issuing out Commands and prescribing what is our Duty or reproving the Negligent or threatning the stubborn Offenders or promising Blessings on the Condition of such Duties perform'd as are requir'd It would make this Discourse too large which is I know not how grown under my Hands to a greater Bulk than I first design'd if I should particularly examine every Text it will be enough to shew that however there are Precepts and Commands in the Books of the New Testament yet these are not properly the Gospel but parts of the Law only employ'd in its Service that the Threatnings denounc'd do not properly belong to the Covenant of Grace for what hath Love and Mercy and Favour to do with Wrath and Justice and Expressions of Vengeance but it useth the Ministry only of a violated Law whose proper Office it is to threaten the Disobedient to condemn the Unbelieving and Impenitent Sinner and to demand Justice against him If I also shew at last that those places of Scripture which look like Promises of Blessings to us on condition that we perform the commanded Duties viewed nearly prove to be no more than so many Declarations of the Connexion of the Blessings of Grace and that as Faith is the first bestow'd it goes not alone but is attended with a numerous Off-spring When all this is
own Obstinacy which have this fatal Effect 'T is true indeed that an Unbeliever's Guilt is aggravated by his Contempt of the Gospel and by rejecting Mercy and despising the Riches of God's Grace he lays himself open to a severer Sentence brings an heavier Ruin on his Head and sharpens his own Punishment For as the Fire of Hell is the Wrath of God and the avenging Furies of Conscience those Flames will burn with more fierceness in a Soul which makes terrible Reflections how while it lived in this World it slighted that Grace and that Redeemer by which others were saved Thus a Pardon offer'd to Rebels doth not condemn them for not accepting it the Refusal only leaves them expos'd to the Severity of the Law by which the unpardon'd Offender is judg'd and condemn'd Tho indeed the Criminal recalling to mind the Pardon once offer'd him and his own obstinate Contempt of Mercy will with greater Horrors of Soul at the Place of Execution curse his own Folly and Madness as the Cause of his infamous Death There now remains nothing more than to shew that the Promises of Eternal Life made to the Believer and the Ruin denounc'd against every Unbeliever do not prove the Gospel to be a new Law and that such Expressions as these which we so often meet He who believes shall be sav'd and except you repent you shall all likewise perish do not speak Faith and Repentance to be properly commanded by the Gospel nor promises Pardon and Justification on condition these Precepts are obey'd nor threatens Death if they are neglected That it is not the Gospel but the Law which threatens Death I have already proved that the Promises of the Gospel are not made unto Men on condition of Obedience perform'd to it is evident from this that if they were so they would not differ in their Nature from the Promises of the Law and so the Covenant of Grace would be a Covenant of Works which if the Apostle Paul says true as I really believe he doth is a flat Contradiction Rom. 11. 6. And if by Grace then is it no more of Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace But if it be of Works then is it no more Grace otherwise Work is no more Work For the Promises of the Law were made to Men on condition that its Precepts were obey'd If now the Promises of the Gospel are also made to Men on condition that its Precepts are obey'd then the Promises both of the one and the other are of the same Nature and King being both made to Obedience It is but a poor shifting Evasion to say that there is a great difference because that the Law requires perfect unsinning Obedience and the Gospel insists only on lower degrees of Duty for this will not so much as prove the Obedience to be of different Kinds but only of greater or lesser Measures which as every one knows doth not alter the Species But if it should be granted that Obedience to the Law is of a various Nature from that enjoin'd by the Gospel yet the Promises made to them both must be of the same Kind for both of them are Works since to obey a Precept is to do a Work or I know not what to make of it and all the Difference then is that the Promises of the Covenant of Works were made to Obedience to the old Law and the Promises of the new Covenant of Grace were made to Obedience unto the new Law Both are Promises to the Obedience of Laws and the two Laws will be distinguished no otherwise than that the one proves to be older than the other by many Ages And thus the Gospel will be only the superannuated Law of Works reviv'd with some Abatements of its requir'd Duties And if this be not as utterly false as there is Truth in the Scriptures as I am sure there is let all unprejudic'd Men judg And yet this absurd Confusion of Law and Gospel is the unavoidable Consequence of this Annertion that the Gospel promises Justification and Eternal Life to Men on condition they perform the Obedience which it commands If also from this Proposition He that believeth shall be saved we argue that the Gospel is a new Law promising Life upon the observance of this its Precept it will follow that God in the promulgation of this new Law offers Life universally to all Men to Tartars Negroes and the Savages in America to all the Nations from Peru to Japan on condition they obey the Command of the Gospel and believe and repent For if God in giving his Moral Law to all reasonable Creatures said universally to Angels and Men Do this and you shall live by the same Rule if the Gospel is a new Law God speaks generally to all Men Believe and you shall live Now from this two amazing Absurdities will naturally spring the one is that God should by this his new Law promise Pardon and Life on condition they believe on his Son to People who have never heard that there is such a thing as the Christian Religion in the World nor such a Person as Christ and to whose Ears not so much as the sound of his Name ever arriv'd Doth this become the Wisdom of God to act so preposterously How can we think that the Depths of that Knowledg as the Apostle speaks Rom. 11. 33. hath such shallow Designs as to proclaim a Pardon to all Men on condition they believe and yet to make no Provision that the least Syllable of this gracious Proclamation should ever come to their Ears It is also as repugnant to the Wisdom and Goodness of God to promise a Pardon to all Men on condition they believe when he knows that the Performance is impossible to them all by their mere natural Powers deprav'd as they are when he knows also that without his All-conquering Grace they cannot believe and repent To promise to them all Life on condition they do so and at the same time to resolve to withhold this Grace from the greatest part of Mankind without which it is impossible for them to do it what is this but to illude Men For any one to offer Food to a Wretch who hath not a Limb whole starving in a Dungeon on condition that he would come up and receive it and yet refuse to put forth a Finger to give him the least lift what would this be but to mock him and to make a sport of his Misery To avoid these Absurdities the Arminians who do not want Wit or Reason to discern the Consequences of their Opinions as boldly own and maintain them And as they assert that God offers and promiseth Life to all on condition they perform Obedience to this new Law they speak consistently with themselves and affirm too that all Men have sufficient Means afforded them to do it and that God gives them Helps enough to enable them to believe if they will and whenever themselves please If we are then
fond of any Arminian Opinions we must take the whole System of them together and assert roundly as they do without mincing the Matter what hath an inseparable Connexion with a false Proposition for there are Consequences among Errors as well as Truths and as the one are chain'd the other are link'd together We may then be certain that these Expressions in Scripture He that believeth shall be sav'd but he that believeth not shall be damn'd Mark 16. 16. And whoever believeth on Christ shall receive remission of Sins Acts 10. 43. And except you repent you shall all likewise perish Luke 13. 5. which are urg'd by my Reverend Brother do not signify that God passeth his Word to all Men by a new Law establish'd among them that if they obey it and believe and repent they shall assuredly be saved for God always speaks the Purposes of his Mind and none of his Words contradict his Heart but he never decreed either absolutely or conditionally that all Men should be eternally happy for if he had he would have taken effectual Care that they should be so since the Intents of his Mind and Will always obtain infallibly their desir'd Effect If we also understand that Expression He who believes shall be sav'd that it is promis'd to all that on the performance of this Condition they shall be thus eternally bless'd then by the same Rule we must say that eternal Death and Ruin is threaten'd to them on condition they do not believe But the Threatnings of this Wo are not denounc'd against Men for not believing but as due to them for not perfectly obeying the Law of Works and their Unbelief only leaves them in that perishing Condition wherein they were born as I have prov'd before tho as I said their Unbelief aggravates the Misery and inflames the Anguish of it But what meaning then must we apprehend these Scriptures to bear Why truly they have the same Sense as that Text in Heb. 12. 14. Follow Peace with all Men and Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. What! is Holiness the Condition of obtaining the Beatifical Vision No tho it doth naturally dispose the Soul and make it meet for and capable of this blissful Enjoyment No more therefore is meant than that Holiness and this Vision of God are inseparably join'd together and that no unholy Soul can possibly come to his Presence and Sight Thus it is also true that he who believes shall be sav'd which imports no more than this that all Believers are sav'd and none but they and that there is such an unchangeable Connexion between the Blessings of the Gospel that Faith Repentance and Holiness are indissolubly fasten'd with Pardon Justification and Eternal Life in the same Person or in a Word that God justifies and saves no Man but whom at his own due appointed Time he makes a Believer brings him to Repentance I speak in this of Adult Persons and sanctifies his Nature and whoever asserts this is no Antinomian nor so much as like to such an execrable Monster however invidious Names are flung about as thick as Stones in the Streets I might insist more largely on this Argument but I begin to think that the Consideration of it will more properly belong to another Discourse wherein I design with the Assistance of my Lord Jesus Christ who hath help'd me in this beyond the natural Abilities of my own Mind to him be all the Glory to prove that the Covenant of Grace doth not promise nor confer the Blessings on condition of performing Duties requir'd CHAP. VIII Those Texts of Scripture which are urg'd by the Apologist as expresly giving the Name of a New Law to the Gospel recover'd to their right Sense His Testimonies out of the Fathers and Protestant Writers evinc'd to be useless to serve his Design I Shall now examine those Texts alledg'd by my Dear Brother wherein the Gospel is call'd a Law and the Citations produc'd by him wherein the Fathers and Protestant Authors give to it the same Name I shall do it but briefly for I need not be large since any Reader who hath with any intention of Mind perus'd my poor Writing may resolve them all at first sight The first Text produc'd is that known one in Rom. 3. 27. Where is boasting then It is excluded By what Law of Works Nay but by the Law of Faith Without looking on the Context we may be satisfied by what the Apostle saith in the same Verse that by the Law of Faith he means no more than that Doctrine of Grace which declares a believing Sinner to be justified by the Righteousness of Christ which by Faith he receiveth for it is such a Law of Faith that excludes all boasting Now then if it commanded Faith and promis'd Justification on condition that this its Precept was obey'd Boasting would not be excluded but rather a great Occasion would be given to promote it For why should not a Man glory in his Faith if it be an Act of Obedience to this new Law which by the Statute of it makes his Justification to depend on this his Performance He may then as well plead that he hath done what was requir'd and so he may as well claim Life and Happiness on the Account of having done all that this new Law made necessary to Salvation as Adam if continuing in his Primitive State might have form'd a Plea of his Right to Life for having discharg'd all that Duty which the Law of Works commanded and propos'd as the Condition of his being eternally Blessed If he might have boasted for having faithfully observ'd the Covenant of Works the Believer too may assume some Glory to himself for having acted his Duty punctually to the Law of Faith if the Constitution of this Law be such that it makes the promis'd Salvation dependant upon this his Obedience in believing It will signify nothing to say that the Law by which Adam was to have been justified enjoin'd Works as the Terms of his being so but that this new Law insists only on two Acts of Obedience Faith and Repentance as all that it requires for our Justification For these two are Works done by us and so we might boast that we have done something tho not arising to that height of Duty incumbent on our first Father by which according to the Tenor of this new Law we are justified By the Opposition which the Apostle makes of the Law of Faith to a Law of Works it is also manifest that by the first he intends a pure Doctrine of Grace and by the other a Law commanding something to be done For if the Law of Faith requires any Works and constituted them to be Conditions of our obtaining the Blessings make these Works as few as you will and call them by what Names you please Faith and Repentance yet this will result from it that both are Laws of Works only with this difference that the one rigorously insists on
Redeemer and Repentance do not seem to be in the least so much as hinted in any of its Commands For since the Law was given as a Rule of the Actions of Holy and Innocent Creatures who needed not a Redeemer there could be no occasion to command them to believe on One and Adam in his State of Integrity was no more oblig'd to such a Faith than the Blessed Angels are to believe on the Saviour of lost and wretched Men. And since Repentance is a Duty too which presupposeth the Person engag'd to it to be an Offender and guilty How could it be commanded to a Creature who had never sinned How could it be a Duty for him to own his Crime with Shame and Sorrow who never yet had transgressed or prevaricated in his Obedience Since therefore Faith in Christ and Repentance are Duties which suppose the Man to be a Sinner it would seem that such Precepts are not implied in a Law given to him before his Fall but are the proper Precepts of a second Remedial Law which God hath provided for the Relief and Help of this miserable Creature This I must confess looks very plausible at first sight and the Argument seems to be strongly conclusive But if we consider the Nature of Faith it will be manifest that it was not only commanded to Adam in Innocence and that it was his Duty but that it is absolutely necessary to every holy and good Creature For if we take it as an Act of the Mind assenting readily to all that God reveals as infallibly true it is that to which every Creature in the right Constitution of his Being is indispensably oblig'd It is the Duty of Angels themselves to believe that Jesus is the Son of God that he is the Saviour of Elect Men that the Pardon and Justification of a Sinner is by his Blood and Righteousness alone that God's Justice is satisfied by the Sacrifice of his Son For all these Truths being publish'd and made known by God for the Illustration of his infinite Mercy among all his rational Creatures and that the Praises of his Free Grace might resound as well in the Songs of Angels as from the Mouths of Men it is needful and required as a Duty from them both who are to honour God in the Celebration of all his Attributes that they heartily believe all these Truths of the Gospel in which alone God's Perfections of Mercy and Grace do illustriously shine forth And as for Man in Innocence though it was not in express Terms required from him to believe the Gospel not yet revealed to him or to act Faith on Christ undiscovered yet such a Command was included and implied in that general one that he should without any Doubt or Hesitancy give Credit to all that God said and that as he was to believe the Sincerity of God's Promise and the Reality of his Threatnings when the Covenant of Works was made with him and without doubt he acted such a Faith so by the same Precept he was commanded and bound to believe every word which God afterward should speak to him and without scrupulous disputing presently assent to those Truths which were to be reveal'd assoon as it appear'd to him that they were so So that indeed the Belief of the Gospel and Faith in Christ Jesus were comprehended in this general Precept of Believing in God and indeed Christ himself tells us so and useth it as an Argument why they should act Faith on him because they were oblig'd to it by the same Command which required them to believe on God John 14. 1. Let not your Heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me If we regard too the other Act of Faith which is a firm Reliance of the Soul upon God and heartily trusting of him and chearfully committing all our Concernments our Life our Happiness all we enjoy or hope for to his faithful Love and Care this was certainly our first Father's Duty and given in Precept to him in the Law as well as the other of assenting to all that God declared as undoubtedly true And indeed if it was Adam's Duty in his Primitive Condition to believe in God it was commanded by the Law for that only could make it become so And what can we ever wildly imagine that our first Father was not bound to act Faith on God his Creator and constant Benefactor and upon whom he was to have a perpetual Dependance or he could not live a moment What! can we think that to have rejected God's Word as of suspected Truth to have refused or but to have suspended his Assent to it when propos'd had been no fault in him That to have distrusted God to have renounced Dependance on him would not have been a Crime the greatest as could be committed by him But all this is the unavoidable Consequence of this Assertion That the Precept of Faith is not in the Law for neither would Faith have been a Duty nor Unbelief a Sin to Adam had not the Law which was the only Rule of his Obedience commanded the one and forbidden the other Were it not for this he might have been a stubborn obstinate Unbeliever without being a Sinner when on the contrary it appears from the short Relation of his Apostacy that Unbelief was his very first Sin For what is Faith but to trust in God upon his Word and Promise for all our Life and Happiness and what is Unbelief but to distrust him And was not Adam while flourishing in his State Innocence a real and sincere Believer and so long as he persisted in acting Faith did he not continue to be happy And was it not the Neglect of the due Exercise of Faith which at last plung'd him into the Depths of Misery and Despair As long as he believed God and entirely confided in him as long as he lived in constant Dependance upon the Love and Care of his Creator as long as he thankfully acknowledged that he received all the Blessings of Life as the Fruits of his Bounty as long as he trusted in God upon his Word that he would not only continue them unto him but bestow greater to come which by the Promise he had reason to hope for and expect all this time he liv'd by Faith and his Days were clear and happy and it was Unbelief made all his Glories set in a gloomy Evening It was this begun his Apostacy not exercising Faith any longer he would throw off his Dependance upon God and seek to be bless'd in some new and fond Way of his own He indulg'd a surmizing Thought that God whose solemn Promise he had so freshly heard either could not or was not willing to make him so happy as he aspir'd to be and that he refused to advance him to those degrees of Bliss of which he fancied himself capable And thus he ceas'd acting that Faith in God on which depended his Life and Blessedness he disbelieved God and believed the