said to be set forth or ordained to be a propitiation through faith in His blood Rom. 3. 25. For we are not immediately made justifiable either by Christ dying or Christ pleading but by Christ dying and pleading believed upon The righteousnesse of God is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe Rom. 3. 22. This is an unspeakable comfort to sinfull guilty man deserving to be sentenced unto eternall death and the extreme punishments in Hell that 1. There is a Court of Grace Equity and Mercy ever kept in Heaven 2. A propitiated and most merciful God is the Judge 3. Jesus Christ His Son being once tempted and having suffered cruel punishments is very sensible of our miserable condition and full of compassion 4. Every penitent and believing sinner on Earth is his client and he will vndertake his cause and plead it as his own 5. A prayer a sigh a groan will mind him of our cause 6. A most righteous Advocate pleading vehemently and before a Father of eternal mercy for penitent believing and heart-bleeding sinners and that with his own blood and urging Gods own promise must needs prevaile Oh! fear not guilty Wretch thy cause will be carried in Heaven There can be no doubt of it Yet the Saints of God who lived and died before Christ's exaltation to glory had faith in Christ and were justified by it as Abraham was Their faith indeed was implicit and far short of ours yet it pleaded Mercy a Promise a Messias a Sacrifice though very darkly and God did look upon Christ though to come as a Propitiatour and intercessour and for his propitiation and intercession foreseen and fore-accepted and imperfectly yet sincerely believed did justifie them This Faith whereby we are justified is opposed by the Apostle Paul § IV to the Faith of the Jew in his Letter to the Romans to the Faith of the Judaizing Christian in that to the Galatians unto the Faith of Jews of Philosophers of the Worshippers of Angels in that to the Colossians It s opposed to these severall faith 's in a twofold respect 1. As an assent and perswasion 2. As a confidence or reliance The Jew believed that he might be justified by the Works of the Law and so trusted unto and relied upon his own Works alone The Judaizing Christian believed that Christ alone without the Law could not save him but with the Law he might and so his confidence was not in Christ alone but in Christ and the Law The Jew the Jewish Christian the Philosopher the Worshipper of Angels were perswaded either that Christ was needlesse or yet if he was needful he was not sufficient without the Law or without Philosophy or without the Worship of Angels and did either trust in Christ with these or in these without Christ and none of these would be compleate without or with Christ without some of these The Doctrine of the Gospel different from and opposed to all these proposeth Christ and him only and Christ alone as the complete High Priest Sacrificing himself and pleading his Sacrifice as the meanes and only meanes of justification Justifying faith believes all this and out of this belief rests upon Christ and Christ alone and pleads him and him alone and none else nothing else This Faith is not a perswasion that our sins are already forgiven § V nor a speculative assent to the truths of the Gospel concerning Christ as our Saviour which vanisheth with the speculation and doth not pierce the inwards of the soul nor is it any kind of resting upon Christ as our High Priest and Mediatour neither is it a sincere receiving of Christ as our Lord and King much lesse is it a generall act of faith in God Redeemer meerly considered under that generall notion 1. It cannot be a perswasion that our sins for Christs sake are already forgiven For we must believe before we can be justified much more before we can be assured that we are justified But this perswasion follows justification and remission it self It puts the act before the object and the reward before the performance of the duty and so makes justifying faith which is antecedent to be consequent and needlesse and from hence its consequent that a man may be justified without faith by a faith which follows justification But these things are absurd to a considerate Christian. 2. It 's not a mere speculative assent to the truths of the Gospel concerning Christ for it presupposeth practicall acts antecedent and issues from a practicall habit It looketh upon and closeth fast with the object wherein there be the Highest and most powerfull motives unto practise and obedience that ever were or possibly can be How is it possible that a man should believe seriously that stupendious love of God which moved him to give his onely begotten Son That whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life and not be powerfully stirred up to love that most loving and mercifull God who loved him so much How can Faith look upon the Son of God bleeâ—ing and dying for his sins upon the Crosse and not hate sin with an eternall hatred and give himself wholly to Christ as infinitely more pretious and beneficiall to him then many Worlds Our reformed Writers had good reason to say that though this faith in receiving Christ Satisfying meriting interceding was Sola yet not Solitaria for it must of necessity work and work by love For it 's a lively principle of all heavenly virtues and sincere obedience That faith which is not predominant over all lusts and a mother of universall obedience is no faith whereby a man can be justifiable and justified 3. It 's not any kind of resting upon Christ as our High Priest and Mediatour For we may rest in part on Christ and in part on the Law and our own Works and in Saints and Angels and Superstitious rites of men We may rest on Christ for benefit and not duty We may rest on Christ and yet continue in sin be Hypocrites and so presume It must be a totall and a sincere dependance with a detestation of sin 4. It 's not a receiving him as Lord and King in that it presupposeth him as so received already For faith it self is a duty of obedience and presupposeth a submission unto him as Lord and King to command and bind us to obedience But it 's one thing to receive Christ for duty another to receive him for benefit Justification is a Benefit a reward not a duty not an act of obedience And though faith receiving Christ as Priest for justification be a duty as doing that which is commanded yet it 's but the generall nature of it whereby it agrees with and differeth not from any duty commanded by God Redeemer And consider it as a duty it 's a work and faith it self as a Work is not justifying But to come more closely up to the point and head of the matter now by some
absolute Power might have done so yet His Wisdom did not think good to do it neither do we read that he doth it The principal thing to be noted is that this is the principal if not the onely place that speaks of Imputation of Righteousness and this Imputation is Remission of Sinne by a Sentence of the Supream Judge 3 Remission and Justification and Eternal Life is ascribed to the Sacrifice of Christ's Death as the meritorious cause thereof in many other places especially Heb. 9. And Christ is said by one Offering to have perfected that is consecrated the Sanctified for ever Hebr. 10. 14. To be consecrated for ever is to be made compleat Priest to serve the Living God in the Temple of Heaven and to be eternally glorified And this is ascribed to the Death and Offering of Christ. QUESTION III. Whether Justification continued and finally consummate be by Works and not by faith alone as the first Justification is MIne Answer hereunto is negative § XII that neither Justification continued nor finally consummate is by Works but faith onely though that faith be not alone For the Scriptures inform us that there is but one way of Justification of a sinfull man and that is by faith in Christ. For seeing the Apostle determines but two wayes possible the one by Works the other by faith and proves that no man living by Works can be justified in God's sight because all are sinfull no man no not the best without sin no man performs perfect and perpetuall Obedience it seems strange to me that any man should affirm that Justification either continued or finall should be by Works If it be by Works then the reward of Righteousnesse is of debt according to the Law of Works and then it 's not of Grace If it be by works then works must be perfect and such as can endure the severity of God's Justice at our last triall If by works then the worker is so righteous in himself by reason of them that no one can lay any thing to his charge For Justification first and last must look upon man as chargeable with no sin otherwise he will not be justifiable by the most just God But no works of man are such If by works then by faith as a work we may be justified but that cannot be If by works then works may receive Chirst as our Propitiatour and Intercessour But that 's the proper act of faith If by works then we receive not the reward of righteousnesse and eternall Glory as merited by Christ and derived immediately from Christ to us as believing on him and renouncing all righteousnesse in our selves If by works then our finall Justification is not a Remission of sin If by good works then our good works may be pleaded in the title unto righteousnesse and eternal life before the Tribunal of God But the Promise it self and the Reward promised were merited by Christ and God promiseth this righteousnesse and reward for Christ's sake and for his sake alone and he promiseth it unto him and onely unto him that resteth upon Christ and Christ alone for it and pleads Christ's merit and onely Christ's merit upon the promise of God If by good works then good works can expiate our sins and satisfy for our evill works If by works then there is some promise made in the Gospel to justifie us by them and as righteous through them and so righteous that we need not plead Christ or remission upon Christ's propitiation But there is no such promise in the Gospel The Law indeed saith Do this and live But the Gospel saith Confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead and thou shalt be saved Rom. 10. 9. If by works then why doth the Apostle say By Grace you are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works c. Why might he not as well have said By Grace ye are saved through faith and works It was as easy for him to say the one as the other The power to do good works and our doing of them is a reward derived from Christ by faith For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Ephes. 2 8 9 10. After that we are once ingrafted into Christ Jesus we derive all the good from first to last whether for duty or reward from him All the vertues which we have all the good works which we do on earth or in heaven presuppose us in Christ and justified by and for his merits All good works of regenerate persons are virtually in faith receiving Christ and no such faith continuing can be without good works It is certain that as God in the Gospell commands good works commends such as do them promiseth rewards unto Well-doers â—o he will in his last Judgment justifie good Works and the doers of them so as Wisdom is justified of her Children But this Justification is onely Approbation whereby man may justify God as well as God justify man in this manner Therefore we must needs say that as good Works are commanded by God pleasing unto God so they are approved and rewarded of God They so farr as good prevent future guilt take away no former guilt do evidence our faith and Title unto everlasting Glory strengthen our union with Christ because they strengthen faith confirm our hope glorify God give good example unto men make us more capable of Communion with God tend towards the possession of Glory distinguish us from the prophane and hypocrites give some content to our Consciences and there is a kind of happinesse in the doing of them and in the remembrance of them done Blessed are they who alwayes abound in them For they know that their labour is not in vain in the Lord. Yet Bellarmin though a great advancer of Merit thought it not onely safe but the safest Way to put our whole and sole trust not in these our good Works but in Christ. But it is not onely the safest but the onely way so to do if we would be justified before God To say that good Works are a condition of the Covenant of Grace we shall be judged according to our works remission of Sin is promised to such as forgive others and that such as love God fear him serve him do his commandements shall be rewarded and have eternall life therefore We are not justified by faith alone but by good works also is no good arguing If the Sequel be denied as it must be no wit of man can prove it and make it good They may be a condition of the Covenant yet not such a condition as faith receiving Christ as Propitiatour and Advocate and resting upon God's Promise in him alone and such must of necessity be that condition whereby we are justified and stand blamelesse and without Spot before the Throne of God Though we shall be judged according to our works it
doth not hence follow that we shall be justified by our works In the matter of Judgment and the Cause to be tried there are two things the Merit and the Evidence And who dare say that good works are the merit of the cause which are only the Evidence Gregory the Great distinguisheth in this case saith we shall be judged and so rewarded Secundum sed non propter Opera Where Promises of Life Blessing Reward and of Glory and of Remission of Sin are made to such as do works of Mercy or suffer for Christ's sake or love God or serve and fear him we must observe that where any one of these is named all the rest are meant and that the Person qualified with one is qualified with all and the reason is because there is such a connexion between them that where one is predominant and in sincerity all the rest are inseparably joyned Yet none of these can be where faith in Christ is not neither can a living faith continue without all these or any of these and where such a faith is not none of these can be in such a Subject or if they could be without it yet without it they could not be acceptable nor rewardable Neither could this qualifie the Person aright nor faith qualify aright if it were not fixed on Christ. The Apostle James indeed saith that Abraham was justified by works and that by works a man is justified and not by faith onely Chap. 2. 23. Yet we must consider 1. That he speaks of the same justification of Abraham wherein Paul instanceth who affirmeth that Abraham was justified by faith and not by works and proves it out of Psal. 32. 12. 2. That James speaks against such as professe â—aith without practise and his principall Scope is to shew that a vain faith a dead faith a faith without works the faith of Devills which may be in Devills cannot justify nor can any man be justified by such a faith and implies that when Paul or any Apostle speaks of justifying faith they do not mean such a faith and that no Solifidian can be justified at all before God He speaks of such works as follow faith and Justification by saith which did evidently prove the sincerity of their faith and the certainty of their Justification One cause of this mistake both in them of Rome and others is 1. Because they do not consider that the Righteousnesse required before the Judgment Seat of God especially at last triall must be perfect and such as the party to be justified cannot by law that Law which should be the Rule of Judgment be chargeable with any the least Sin 2. They do not consider that the party to be justified is in himself a guilty Sinner and as such can in no wise be justifiable before the most just and sin-detesting Judge 3. That the Justification so much spoken of in Scripture especially in the Apostles writings is Remission and onely Remission of Sin in which respect no man guilty can be justified by Works For all the good works a man can do in a thousand years cannot expiate one Sin antecedent intervenient or consequent nor free him from the guilt of eternall death Austin saith truly that our righteousnesse is true because referred to the right end yet in this life it consists potius remissione Peccatorum quà m perfectione Virtutum rather in Remission of Sin then perfection of Virtue For as he manifestly shews our righteousnesse of good works is imperfect many wayes imperfect therefore he exhorts us to give thanks to God for our good works whereby he implies that they are God's gifts and more God's then ours And certainly they are so and God never gave them to us that we should stand upon Terms with God and plead that the Righteousnesse of them was such as that for them he in Justice was bound to justify them No penitent Sinner dare plead so No wise man will plead so and the best of men in that last day of Triall will wave the Plea of Works and will onely plead God'â— Mercy and Christ's Merit and his own faith in the one and the other onely What shall we plead Merit or righteouâ—ness of works or any title to reward by them because God hath freed us from the Dominion of Sin and the Power of Satan and by his Spirit enabled us to do a few good Works and the same through our own default imperfect whereas he might have bound us to a thousand years oâ— Penance and as many of service in good Works without promising any Reward the least Men may dispute acutely and subtilly for justification by Works now and here but then and there summond to be tried before the great glorious and most just King they will recant be ashamed of their arguments and abhor themselvs as in themselvs most sinfull and guilty wretches God did never ordain good works which are the fruits of a sincere faith in Christ to acquire a right unto Remission of Sin and eternall life but to be a means whereby we may obtain the Possession of these Rewards he hath promised And whosoever will take the words of St. James in proper Sense neglecting the true Scope of the Apostle can hardly avoid it but must contradict the Doctrine of St. Paul agree with the Papists in their Doctrine of justification by Works for the main use the same arguments to maintain it and give the same Answers to Objections against it which they do though in some Terms and Circumstances they may differ CHAP. XXIII Of the several Branches Parts and Degrees of Justification and the continuance of them unto us until the Final Judgment HItherto of Justification by Faith in Christ § I in general After which follow the several Branches or Parts and degrees thereof if we may so call them and the continuance of them to us till the final and universal Judgment of our great and glorious Lord and King-Redeemer These are Regeneration Reconciliation Adoption Ministery of Angels and the rest And they may be considered 1 As they free us from the guilt and punishment of sin Whether the punishment be privative or positive 2 As they make the estate of the justified person of miserable to be happy and blessed The first is Regeneration which in the Execution of this great and special Judgment frees us from that great Penalty of Original Unrighteousness the Dominion of sin and slavery under Sathan of this you have heard before and shall hear more distinctly and particularly of it in the continuance hereafter For the first thing in order though not in time seeing all go together is the restoring of the regenerating and sanctifying Spirit to abide in us after it hath prepared us and it is so necessary a part of Justification that if we distinguish between the Sentence removing the guilt and the Execution removing the punishment the Sentence without the Execution could be little advantage unto us nor could it minister any
Whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used in the New-Testament and translated Redemption Ransome c. And it signifies a gift or price or something offered to him that hath power of life and death and accepted as a sufficient satisfaction it frees the party liable to death because an Enemy or guilty of some capital Crime from Death and that Obligation unto Death The word Lutron comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 free from death That which made sinful man liable to death was the Will of the Law-giver expressed in the Law and binding man to Obedience or Death Man disobeying justly deserves Death and God the Supream Judge might justly condemn him and nothing could free man from the Obligation but Pardon Pardon might be granted two ways either ex nudâ voluntate absolutely and freely out of meet mercy without any consideration of or respect unto His Law and Justice or à Satisfactione upon consideration of something done suffered offered for satisfaction unto Divine Justice violated And this satisfaction might be made either by the Party offending or some other taken as a Surety or Hostage whose life is engaged for the life of another In this particular case pardon is granted not without consideration For that could not stand with the honour of the Law and Divine Justice but upon satisfaction to be made This satisfaction could not be made by the Parties offending who were guilty and unworthy Therefore it was made by another Christ Jesus the Word made flesh who became an Hostage for sinful Man and engaged His life And as He had engaged His Life so He gave Himself a Ransome for ALL 1 Tim. 2. 6. And here many things are observable 1. That Christ being the Word made Flesh and Innocent was fit and onely He was fit to be a Hostage 1. As Flesh. 2. As Flesh united to the Word 3. As Innocent 4. As freely upon God's Command and Commission offering Himself 2. That God in strict Justice might have refused the Hostage and the Ransome and Satisfaction offered and made because neither the one nor the other were in the Obligation of the Law 3. Yet He in free mercy accepted both in behalf of and for sinful Man 4. The proper effect in respect of God which followed upon the Ransome or Lutron given and accepted was that God was propitious and willing to pardon and save 5. Yet Divine Wisdome in respect unto His Justice and Holiness determined the tearms upon which Pardon should be actually given and expressed the tearms in the Promise which was grounded upon the Death of Christ accepted 6. For God to be propitious was to be willing to turn away His Wrath and forbear to punish and also to be favourable unto Man In respect of the former Christ's Death is called Satisfaction of the latter Merit yet both are really the same and was a changing of Justice into Mercy which took away or rather immediately made the Punishment of Pain and Loss removable And Christ's Death accepted may be said onely to merit Yet because this Merit was upon a Wrong done and presupposed it 's called Satisfaction Seeing the immediate Effect of this Sacrifice is Merit § V in respect of Christ and Propitiation in respect of God and this Merit in respect of sinful Man is a Propitiation active or a Propitiating God offended and in respect of Christ merit of Reward Therefore let 's consider 1. What Christ merited for Man 2. What He merited for Himself Christ merited for Man 1. The Abrogation of the Law of Works and requiring perfect and perpetuall Obedience as the onely condition of Life 2. The Promises of the NewCovenant making Faith the onely condition of Life 3. Upon these that God should be placable Sin pardonable and Eternal Liâ—e possible 4. The power of the sanctifying Spirit to enable man to keep the Conditions annexed to the Promises without which all the rest had been vain The mediate Effects are such as Christ merited to follow upon the performance of the Condition which are Conversion and Faith And these principally are Justification Reconciliation Adoption Eternal Glory upon the Resurrection The Apostle Heb. 9. beginning at the 11th vers reckons up five Effects of the Sacrifice and Death of Christ. 1. By it He obtained Eternal Redemption The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Expiation and Remission For God upon this Sacrifice offered presented and accepted was willing to grant Eternal Pardon without expectation of any other Sacrifice to be offered or other satisfaction to be made The 2d Is the purging of the Conscience from Dead Works to serve the Living God ver 14. The Conscience is the Immortal Soul Dead Works are sins compared to dead Bodies or unclean things which did legally pollute so that the persons could not be admitted with the rest of God's People to worship God in the Tabernacle or Temple till they were purified To purge is to justifie and sanctifie and free from sinne that so we may be fit to serve our God and when our Purification and Consecration is finished that we may serve the Living God in the Temple of Heaven The 3d Effect is the Confirmation of the New Covenant or Testament as Mediatour and Priest thereof For as the Promises of Remission and the Eternal Inheritance formerly made to the Called for and in the consideration of the Death and Sacrifice of Christ had been void and of none effect if Christ had never dyed So upon this Death and Sacrifice they were firmly established and of full force to convey the Inheritance upon the Called so that if they obey the Heavenly Call they may certainly expect as they shall certainly receive Remission and the Eternal Inheritance ver 15 16 17. The Fourth Effect is His entrance into Heaven to appear in the Presence of God for Us ver 24. For upon our Repentance Faith Prayers upon Earth He as our Advocate and Intercessour pleads before the Throne of God with His own Blood to obtain Remission and Acceptance for Us. This Intercession made by Him as an ever-living Priest is made effectual for us by vertue of this Sacrifice and the efficacy and success depends upon this Vnspotted Blood Therefore is it written for our comfort That if any man sinne we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous who is the Propitiation for our sins 1 Joh. 2. 1 2. And His Plea is this That though His Client hath sinned and deserved death yet he ought not to suffer and dye because He Himself hath suffered God accepteth His Death the sinner confesseth repenteth and believeth and God his Father and supream Judge at whose Bar He pleadeth hath promised Pardon and Salvation upon those tearms The Fifth and last Effect is the Actual Collation and enjoyment of Eternal Glory For unto them who look for Him He will appear the second time without sin that is suffering for sin unto Salvation For the
fittest of all others to represent that Priest Jesus Christ who had no Predecessour from whom he might derive his right nor successour because he live in Heaâ—ven a Priest for ever who alone hath right to receive tithes and homage 〈◊〉 his people and blesse them with spiritual and eternall blessings And the Throne and Scepter of David and his successours in his Kingdome did shadow him whose Throne is for ever and ever and his Scepter a right Scepter Faith and obedience to pure morals to be performed to God Redeemer by the power of the renewing Spirit were alwayes required by the Lawes of this Kingdom for the Lawes of Faith and obedience to pure Morals were alwayes the same Yet to these Lawes of Faith and obedience in pure morals were added from the beginning divers positive and ceremoniall precepts especially that of sacrifice And when the promise of the Messias to descend of 〈◊〉 was renewed of Abraham circumcision was instituted as a Seal of the righteousnesse of faith and a solemn right of engagement unto their Saviour and of his admiâ—sion of them into the Church upon their submission And this was by his command to be administred to Infants born in the Church When Israel came out of Aegypt the Passeover was ordained in remembrance of that great deliverance and did continue till that great Paâ—chal Lamb was slain by whose blood we are redeemed from the wrath of God Hell and everlasting death But after that the posterity of Abraham Isacc Jacob being multiplyed into a nation were reduced by God into a Common-Wealth both civil and Ecclesiasticall and presented before God appearing in a glorioâ—s and retrible manner upon Mount Sinai they entred into a solemn Covenant with their God He promiseth to be their God to protect and blesse them and they engage themselves solemnly to be his loyall subjects Upon this Foundation of a Kingdom once layd God proceeds as their Lord and Soverenig to give them morall judiciall ceremoniall Lawes In the morall he reduceth all morall dutyes to certain heads in a brief exact and excellent method in the Ceremonials he reduceth all former rites and ceremonials Instituted by himself into order and adds many more as he saw convenient for that people in that time In the judicials he dilivered them a perfect body of the civill Law These judicials were for direction in judgment and the adminstration of their civil state The moralls and ceremonials were for the Church and looked far higher The moralls tended to give them a more perfect knowledge of morall dutyes to be a rule of moral obedience to let them see their inability to keep it their impossibility to be justified by it to make them sensible of their sin and seek a Saviour who should deliver them from the curse and paenaltyes threatned by the Law and deserved by their disobedience The ceremonial was more mysticall 〈◊〉 therein God did prescribe a Tabernacle a Priest and a solemn 〈◊〉 of service The Tabernacle was a type of the Heavenly Temple the High Priest of the great eternal Universall High Priest and the Services especially that 〈◊〉 Sacrifice and most of all that yearly Sacrifice of expiation to be offered onely by the High Priest the 10th day of the 7th moneth with the blood whereof he ente 〈◊〉 into the most holy place was a type of that sacrifice of Christ by which he obtayned eternal Redemption Besides that these did signifie heavenly things they were given to this people to keep and preserve them pure from Heathenisâ— Idolatry and superstition to continue them seperate especially in Religion and Divine Worship from all other nations of the world Tâ—ey were for the multitude and charge of them a burthen and heavy yoke to keep them undeâ—â— and cause them to long for their Messias who should free them from those dark and mysterious shadows give them a clearer and more glorious light and a perfect liberty and ease from this servitude This time was the time of the infancy and minority of the Church for as the Heyr so long as he is a Child differeth nothing from a Servant though he be Lord of all but is under Tutours and governours untill the time appointed of the Father So they when they were Children that is under age were in bondage under the elements of the world But when the fullnesse of that time that was appointed by God their Father was come God sent his Son made of a Woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law c. Wherefore after that they were no more Servants but sons Gal. 4. 1 2 3 4. 7. The time of the Gospel therefore is a time of emancipation and liberty not onely from the Ceremonials but from the curse and servitude of the law of works which that law of Moses did threaten and could no wayes free them from it For in that law there was no promise of the Spirit to enable them for to obey the morall law nor of pardon though they did transgresse it Neither was there any Sacrifice Priest or Service that could expiate sin and purge the conscience from dead Works For though their expiations lustrations and purifying ceremonyes might free them from legall pollutions yet from sin they could not This covenant was not the same with that of the seed of the Woman § II which should break the Serpents head nor with the same renued more explicitly unto Abraham That in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed much lesse was it the same with the promises of the Gospel made in Christ exhibited And by the way we may take notice that the Apostle Gal. 3. puts a difference between the Promise the Law Faith The promise looks at Christ to come and was made more particularly to Abraham The Faith is the same with the Gospel and looks at Christ already come This law comes in between along time after the promise and a longer time before the Gospel And one end why it entred in between both was that sin might abound Rom. 5. 20. and it was added because of transgression till the seed that is Christ should come and before Faith that is Christ and the Gospel came they were kept under the Law shut up unto the Faith which should afterwards be revealed So that the Law was their School-Master or Tutour unto Christ Gal. 3. 19. 23. 24. By all this we may easily understand that this Law and Covenant made onely with the Jew of whom Christ was to come considered as God intended it was neither against the Promise nor the Gospel but subordinate to both And though it was not the same with the Law of works given to Adam innocent yet it had much affinity with it For it 's said Do this and live and Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written and contained in it yet it promised no power to observe it nor pardon if not observed as was said before And the
Jew was much mistaken when he conceived that it made voyde the Promise For the Covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ the Law which was 430. yeares after could not disannull that it should make the promise of none effect Gal. 3. 17. If it had been given for to give life it certainly had made voyd the promise But that was not God's intention in giving the Law And the regenerate Saints of God who lived under the Law were sanctified justified and saved not by vertue of the Law but of the promise confirmed of God in Christ. The law was proper to the Jew and Proselytes incorporated into that state and Church and bound them and no others unto the Ceremonialls to be performed by them in the land of Canaan And though the moral law doth alwayes bind all men to obedience upon certain terms yet it was given in Mount Sinai to them alone and in special relation unto them as appeares by that preface to the decalogue I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of Egypt out of the house of Bondage The law is called the law of workes and the first Covenant in respect unto the Gospel preached first unto the Jew and to be renned unto them in the latter dayes From all this § III it is apparent that from the times of Adam after that God had said The seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpent's head the fundamentall lawes of God-Redeemer were the same After that John Baptist appeared in the Wildernesse God began to administer this Kingdome in a different manner For all the Prophets and the law prophesied unto John Math. 11. 14. He was the Horizon as some expresse it between the Old and New Testament Moses and the Prophets foretold Christ more darkly and at a great distance But Hee 1. Signifies that he was neer at hand and that a farr more glorious administration of this Spiritual Kingdome would shortly follow 2. God by him institutes a new rite of admission that was Baptism 3. He Baptizeth Christ the Messias 4. By his Baptism and Doctrin he made way for him 5. Upon the Baptism of our Saviour he discovers him to the people and perswades his disciples to believe in him and gives an excellent testimony of him Yet these things neither tooke away the law nor brought in the Gospel but were a preparative for the same After that Christ was initiated by Baptism § IV and entred into his Office he began to act publickly He baptiseth teacheth the Doctrin of the Kingdom more clearly reveales the mysteryes of Heaven gathereth Disciples ordaines Apostles adds 70 Assistants to them layes the foundation of the Church Christian and by his miracles manifests himself to be the Son of God and Saviour of the world Yet all this was done in the Land of Canaan and amongst his own People For he was sent first to gather the lost sheep of Israel Thus he continued to administer the Kingdom in his own person till his death After and immediately upon his Resurrection he receives universall power manifests himself to his Apostles and many of his Disciples gives commission to his Apostles to go and preach to all Nations after that he had given them instructions and commanded them to stay at Jerusalem till he should send down the Holy-Ghost and begins to exercise his universall power And so that administration which shall continue to the end of the World without alteration did commence But before I speak of this more particularly § V order requires that I say something of his Exaltation which as the Scripture informs us was a reward of his humiliation For because he taking upon him the forme of a Servant became obedient unto death the death of the Crosse therefore God exalted him and gave him a name above every name c. Philip. 2. 8 9 10. This exaltation was properly in respect of his humane nature For as he that exalted him was God so the nature exalted was Man The Power of the Godhead was infinite and eternall and could neither be increased nor communicated The Resurrection of Christ is made by many to be the first degree of his exaltation Yet this considered in it self did give him no power but it freed him from mortality and all kind of sufferings and by it he was made immortall Yet instantly upon his resurrection he was made an everlasting Priest and King and ready and fit as a Priest to Minister and as a King to reign in Heaven This Resurrection for the manner was glorious and wonderfull and for the manifestation of it full and 〈◊〉 That 〈◊〉 the manner it was wonderfull and glorious God made it appear because at the time there was an Earthquake the stone that shut the entrance of his grave was tumbled away an Angel descends with a glorious light the guard that kept the Sepulcher was terrified and fled the bodyes of the dead aroâ—e out of their graves and divers of the Saints raised up together with Christ did appear in the Holy City Thus did God manifest the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead Ephes. 1. 19 20. This manner of Resurrection became him who was the first fruits of them that slept 1 Cor. 15. 20. and the head of all those which rise again to glory and his rising is a pattern of the universall Resurrection God is said in many places to have raised him from the dead yet so that his own immortall soul might have some hand in that work For he had power to lay down his life and power to take it up again Joh. 10. 18. He did not rise to dy again as Lazarus did but to be immortall For being raised from the dead he dyeth no more death hath no more dominion over him Rom. 6. 9. The time of his Resurrection was no sooner that he might appear to be dead and no later lest his Disciples Faith already shaken should have â—ayled This day was a day of greater blisse and glory then any since the Creation It was the beginning of the new World and the foundation of the Christian Sabbath celebrated in all times since by the universall Church in memory of this blessed and glorious work This was his justification the confirmation of his satisfaction and merit and Gods acception of that great sacrifice and an absolute Conquest of death which is the last enemy to be subdued in the bodyes of the Saints who are his Church By this also sin and Satan received a fatall wound and Regeneration and the hope of eternall glory depend upon the same They depend upon it not onely in respect of divine institution but because as he had merited so he received a power to regenerate all such as should believe in him and to raise them up to eternall Life For to whomsoever he gives his Regenerating Spirit in this Life that very Spirit once dwelling in us is an evidence and assurance
4. It had annexed the whole Body of the Judicials and Ceremonials to continue in force whilest they should be a State Civil and Ecclesiastical even till the glorification of Christ and the Revelation of the Gospel 5. It had joyned with it many Temporal Promises and Curses Yet as before 1. It did minister no power of the Spirit to keep it 2. It promised no Pardon or Spiritual Blessing for those belonged unto the Law of grace in Christ who was promised to Abraham 3. It had no Priest that could expiate Sin or Sacrifice which could purge the Conscience from dead Works 4. It ran in strict tearms as Do this and live 5. It was given in such a manner as to strike a terrour into them as guilty Wretches who seemed to be summoned before God not so much to receive a Law as to hear the Sentence of Death passed upon them The special use therefore unto them was to give them a clearer and more perfect knowledge as of their duty so of their sin and misery Of their Sin by the Precepts of their misery by the threatnings And this to humble them cause them to desire a remedy and have recourse unto the Promise of Christ and that with a longing after his Exhibition And seeing there was no promise of power to keep it or of pardon and the Priesthood Sacrifices and other Services being in themselves an heavy burthen could no ways be able to free them from the guilt of sin they had the greater cause to rely upon him and expect his coming It was also a Rule of their lives both as single persons and as Members of a Body Politick that by obedience unto it they might live happily in that good Land of Canaan and not be obnoxious to those fearful judgments God had threatned and their Posterity for their sin did afterwards suffer Other uses of it as joyned with the Ceremonials I have formerly delivered That many of them sought Righteousness and Justification by this Law together with the Ceremonial was their great mistake For 1. There was no power in the Moral Law to justifie them except they could keep it but seeing they could not do it it was added for transgression Gal. 3. 19. 2. The Law Ceremonial had no power to sanctifie them and free them from sin For the Law was weak and unprofitable and made nothing perfect that is it justified and sanctified no man Heb. 7. 18 19. The Priests by their Offerings and Sacrifices could not take away sin Heb. 10. 11. The use of it to the Church § X especially Christian who have a clearer knowledge of Moral Duties by the example of our Blessed Saviour who was the perfect Mirrour of all Heavenly Virtues and by the Doctrine of the Gospel is 1. To discover Sin 2. To be a Rule of Obedience And of this use it was always both to Patriarchs to Israel and to all Christians The first end is to discover Sin For as where there is no Law there is no Sin so where there is no knowledge of the Law there is no knowledge of Sin Therefore it is said that by the Law is the knowledge of sin Rom. 3. 20. And the more clearly and distinctly God in his Law shall represent our Duty and that measure of Righteousness and Holiness which God requires at our hands and we by the Law of Creation were bound to perform or else suffer eternal death the more vile abominable and miserable we plainly see our selves to be We easily understand what need we have of Christ's death and intercession God's mercy and the Spirit of Regeneration lest we run on endlesly upon this heavy score The more we know our vile and sad condition the more we know the freeness of God's grace and the abundance of his mercy if He will be pleased to deliver us And lest the Law should work despair it was always in the Church joyned with Christ either to come or else exhibited Therefore it 's said That the Law entred that the offence might abound but where sin abounded grace did much more abound From which words we may understand 1. That the Law was not given to justifie us 2. It 's never to be separated from Christ and God's abundant grace in Jesus Christ our Lord. And this is one use to be made of the Law not onely before we are in Christ to prepare us for him but also after that we are in Him that we may renew our Faith and Repentance till we be fully sanctified Yet the Law without the power of the Divine Spirit can never so clearly and distinctly represent unto us our sins and make us sensible of them or keep us from despair In this respect the Law may be said to be Evangelical because subservient to the Gospel He that shall preach the Law without Christ is truly a legal Preacher And he that shall preach Christ without the Law to discover sin is an Antinomian This use cannot be made of the Law without Self-examination and a serious and distinct Review of our lives laid to the Line of this Law And though the Moral Law be the principal in this use yet all positive Laws in force serve to the same end This was not the proper and first intended end for as it found man holy and righteous at the first so it required he should continue Obedience and life were the end To discover disobedience and man's sad condition thereupon and to cause him to look and cast about for a Deliverance and desire Christ represented as a Saviour was not intended at the first but made an end by God-Redeemer in Christ to prepare him for Christ. This use was merely accidental to the Law and was super-added by the Divine Wisdom and Mercy and in this respect it can no ways belong to the first Covenant of Works To strike terrour into guilty man cause him to despair of life might be an effect of it according to that Covenant And now if it be represented as first given to Adam it can have no other effect But thus it was not to be understood after God had signified that He would provide a Redeemer Another use in the second place § XI is to be a Rule of Obedience But 1. It 's not a bare Rule to inform our Understanding of the Duty and so give direction but it 's a binding Rule as every Law is It 's not merely given us for Advice Exhortation Perswasion but with a strong Obligation 2. This Obedience is performed by sinful Man by way of Return For this Law finds man sinful guiltys and disobedient both by Nature and Practise Therefore the Scripture calls so often for turning to the Lord which implies two things 1. That turning from our sins we should for time to come subject our selves to God as our Redeemer and acknowledge Him 2. That being subjected we should be obedient unto His particular Commands And this Obedience by way of Return is called Repentance which cannot
Heavens and in them the Sun declares the glory of God in an eminent manner and measure And the Souls of men and the Angels those glorious and immortall Spirits resemble him most of all his works Yet these stand at an infinite distanâ—e below his Majesty and God did never command man to Worship him in or by these more lively Images and resemblances of â—is infinit excellency Surely iâ— we have not farr higher apprehensions and more excellent notions of him we cannot possibly worship him aright How therefore should the Image or visible likenesse of any bodily and visible being molded and fashioned by the hand or art of man represent him so glorious The stock is a Doctrin of vanityes Jer. 10 8 In this respect the Molten Image is a teacher of lyes Hab. 2. 19. It 's falshood Ier. 10. 14. 2. As an Image must not be made to represent God lest our conceits and worship oâ— him be base and corrupt so we must not think that there is any Divine power in an Image made and consecrated by man or at the appointment of man For the power of things made by Gods own hand must needs be farr more excellent then the power and vertue of any thing made by Man For the works made and consecrated by God are as far more excellent as the Heaven is above the Earth Yet there is no Divinity nor divine power in them no not in the Angels of Heaven Images may indeed be conceived by some to have some strange power when the Devil 's in them or by them or near unto them work some strange effect But these are but the Delusions of the Vnclean Spirits and the cheats of his damned Flamins and Priests The Image it self can do nothing neither could the Brazen Serpent for it was God that healed such as being stung with fiery Serpents looked upon it 3. We must not think that any Image or any other thing made by man without warrant direction command and promise from God can be a sign of his special presence as the Ark the Tabernacle the Temple were God may voluntarily bind himself to be present in a speciall manner in some special place to his people worshipping him in that place according to his commandement But it 's not in the power of any Man or Angel either to tye God's special presence to any Image or to any place The Devil if God permitted it might by compact with the cursed Conjuring Priests bind himself to be in an hollow Image to speak out of it or appear or do some strange thing near unto it Thus the Heathen no doubt were deluded and confirmed in their Image-worship And its lamentable that Christians should be thus inchanted and bewitched by their jugling Priests 4. We must not make an Image or similitude in Belief that it wil help or further our religious Worship or make it more acceptable to God neither must we use them or rather abuse them to that end To worship the true God in or by an Image is a Corruption of his Service as any rational impartial man may easily understand Therefore Moses said to Israel Take heed therefore unto your selves for you saw no manner of similitude on the day the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the mid'st of the fire lest you corrupt your selves and make you an Image c Deut 4. 15 16. 5. We must not think either that an Image consecrated or the use of it in religious Worship hath any sanctifying power For nothing can be effectual in this kind or conducing to mans spiritual good which is not instituted by God with a promise of his concurrence thereunto The second act or acts prohibited are § V Bowing down unto an Image or serving it These imply that the former act of making these Images and resemblances is here forbidden as relating to religious worship 1. To bow down is an act of Worship and Adoration wherein by some outward gesture or carriage of the body before the thing to be worshipped we testifie the inward acknowledgment of the excellency of that thing and our submission to it These outward reverentiall acts are testifications of the inward deportment of our Soules and they are specified not meer from the object but the inward recognition of the Soul Some of these are common so that the same outward acts may be performed to God or man the inward cannot For they must of necessity be either Civil or Religious One and the same cannot be both If it be the custome of any people or nation or persons to make some of these outward acts and testifications proper unto a Diety and to be performed thereunto then to use them to any thing else is Idolatry These are many â—s bowing the head kissing the hand kneeling prostrating the body and such like all signified here by the word Bowing 2. The other act here mentioned is so serve or worship and so sometimes may be the same with the former But it 's here understood as distinct to signifie Sacrificing Burning Incense Praying and the like Both these acts are usually tendred to and before Images and that several way 1. To the Images as gods endued with a Divine Power able to hear Man's Prayer bless him and deliver him and this is directly to terminate the Worship upon it as a god against the former Commandement 2. Some direct this Worship to the Image as representing some other thing besides and the same more excellent then it self The thing represented may be either the true God or some Saint or Angel or Soul of Man departed or the Devil yet not conceived to be the Devil or some other thing 1. To perform any Worship any ways unto the Devil is abominable 2. To direct Divine and Religious Worship to and terminate it upon any thing but the true God is Idolatry 3. To terminate Worship any ways upon an Image is not onely unlawful but irrational and absurd for an Image is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a thing made by the Art and Device of Man and there is no excellency in it to make it a fit Object of Worship 4. To terminate Worship partly upon the Image as a partial Object and partly upon the thing represented is impossible if the act of Worship be one and the same individual Act. 5. If any perform the Worship onely before the Image without any thoughts of the Image and terminate it onely and merely upon the thing represented it is to make no use at all of the Image as altogether needless and vain to that act Yet thus to do hath a colour of Superstition if not of Idolatry and can no ways be excused because that Image was no sign of God's special presence by Institution or Promise from God 6. To worship God in or by an Image made by the hand and art of man must of necessity be a corruption of that divine performance and there is no Warrant or Command from God to make or
just Judge and that is either by their own righteousnesses and perfect obedience or by the mercy of this eternall Judge propitiated pardoning their disobedience upon a certain condition By the former way the Blessed Angels were but man cannot be justifiable or justified 3. It 's man as a Believer For though every man that 's justifiable and justified is a sinner and may be so considered specificative as the School-men speak yet as a sinner for maliter et reduplicative he cannot be justifiable For then every sinner should be justified Therefore it is so often said that man a sinner is justified by Faith 4. To be a Believer so as to be justifiable presupposeth Christ 1. As Propitiatour and Intercessour 2. Faith in him as such It 1. Presupposeth Christ who Christ is what his person natures with the union and distinction of them and his offices be Who sent him and upon what inward motive and to what end he was sent what his work was what the immediate effects and the mediate of the redemption applied were you have heard before and all these things must be understood believed and remembred But the principall thing here to be considered is how Christ made God propitious and placable and how he procures actuall remission That which made God propitious and mercifull to sinfull man was his great Sacrifice That which obtaines actuall remission is his intercession Both these are proper acts of him as Priest and Mediatour For mediatour and Priest the Apostle takes to be the same as if you consider you may observe Heb. 7. 25. 8. 6. 9. 15. He may be called a Mediatour Nuntius inter Deum hominem A messenger between God and Man as Moses was between the Lord and Israel as a third person really and essentially distinct from both Gal. 3. 19. So Christ never was Or he may be a Mediatour participating in nature with both being God with God and Man with Man But though it 's true that Christ may be called Mediatour in these two respects yet where doth the Scripture call him so in either way The man Christ Jesus is the one mediatour between God and Man as giving himself a ransome for all that is as a Priest 1 Tim. 2. 5 6. That He as Priest is the propitiation for our sins through his blood is expresse Scripture Rom. 3. 25. For by his own blood entring once into the holy place he obtained eternal Redemption or Remission for ever Heb. 9. 12. For as the High Priest in the Sacrifice of the great and generall expiation when the Sacrifice was slain enters with the blood thereof into the holiest place and presents and sprinkles it before the throne of God and then comes out again So Christ having suffered and shed his blood being slain presently enters into the Holy place of Heaven and presents his soul as separated from his body and so himself as having suffered and so the propitiation and the eternal expiation was made And to signifie this instantly the Vail of the Earthly Sanctuary was rent from top to bottome that men might know that the great High Priest was entred the eternall Sacrary of Heaven to appear before the Tribunall of the great Judge This Sacrifice was truly propitiatory and by the eternall spirit being offered without spot to God had power to purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God in the Heavenly Temple to confirme the everlasting Covenant to consecrate the Sanctified for ever Heb. 9. 14 15. 10. 14. And He that knew no sin was made sin that is a Sacrifice for sin for us that we might be the righteousnesse of God through him 2 Cor. 5. â—1 He knew no sin for he was holy and without sin in his Conception Birth Life Death And perfectly obeyed all the Commandements of God Otherwise he could not have offered himself without spot Heb. 9. 14. Nor have been an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Savour as he was Ephes. 5. 2. Without this purity this sacrifice could have had no expiatory and redemptory power So that we might be Redeemed from our vain conversation with his blood as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot 1 Pet. 1. 19. And as without this spotlesse purity He could not have offered this spotlesse Sacrifice so though He was pure yet without this sacrifice and death He could not have bin a propitiation for sinfull man So that purity and death must both concur to satisfie Gods justice and make sin pardonable Yet sinne can never be actually pardoned nor immediately pardonable to any particular person except this propitiation is made and accepted be pleaded in Heaven by him that was consecrated by Death constituted upon the Resurrection and confirmed upon his Assension to be the High Universal and Eternall Priest in Heaven after the order of Melchizedeck For if we have sinned as who hath not we must have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for ours sins c. 1 John 2. 1 2. This Christ and Son of God is King and Prophet yet neither as King or Prophet doth He either make propitiation or intercession but only as a Priest and after His first service of sacrifice was finished and He made immortall and set at His Fathers right hand He begins this second service of His Priest-hood and shall continue it till all His Saints be fully justified for ever And oh How happy are they that have Him Advocate in the Heavenly Court Though Christ hath done all things § III to make sin pardonable and is ever ready to procure actuall pardon this yet is not sufficient except the sinner to be pardoned doth believe in him both as propitiating and pleading his propitiation And here it 's to be noted that He makes intercession in Heaven only for penitent and believing sinners for whom alone His intercession is effectuall For though He died for man as a sinner to make his sin pardonable yet He pleads only for a sinner believing to obtain actuall pardon He ever liveth to make intercession for such as come to God by Him Heb. 7. 25. Where we must observe 1. That the place speaketh of Christ as a Priest 2. Such a Priest as having offered the great Sacrifice of expiation is risen again and entered into the Temple of Heaven 3. Such a Priest as hath obtained an unalterable Priest-hood confirmed to him by the Solemn Oath of the eternall God 4. Such a Priest as is immortall and ever liveth 5. This Priest doth make perpetuall intercession 6. Those for whom he makes intercession are such as come to God by Him 7. To come to God is to present our selvs before His Throne of grace and sue for pardon and Salvation 8. To come to God by Him is to sue for these in His Name by Faith in Him For otherwise there is no accesse for guilty persons to the Throne of grace Therefore is He