think the Papists do generally ruine themselves by resting upon externals nay inventions in the service of God So much for the cautions and for the Character as it concerns those that are under predominant Legality Now because the same character that will discover it at this height will discover it also where it is in any less degree and for that I have asserted that there is a mixture of Legality in the services of the best Christians and Saints of God I think it good to improve this character yet further for the discovery of that Legality which may be found in the Saints themselves That Legality of the Saints therefore which is discoverable and reprovable by this Character is 1. That I doubt not but some good men have a Conscience of some superstitious observations and I would not for all the world think the contrary lest I should condemn the generat on of the just and think too hardly of some dear Saints of God And I must needs confess there is too much occasion given men to run into this extream of Superstition by the irreverence of others perhaps good men in the service of God How ordinaâ—ily do many sit at prayers in the Church when they are not necessitated by weakness or any other occasion and with their Hats upon their heads Now how easily may this give occasion to others that take offence at this irreverence out of a fear lest they should not be reverent enough in the service of God to approve of kneeling at the Sacrament which I doubt not but many good men may be very zealous for as also forbowing at the Name of Jesus But yet I reckon that good men are in greater danger of Legality in the matter of Moral duties then in ceremonies and superstitions for though I have acknowledged that some good men may have a conscience of some superstitious observations being misled by the care to be sufficiently reverent yet to be greatly superstitious in Gospel-days is a shrewd sign of a rotten heart and so not so incident to good men 2dly For the duties of the Moral Law good mens Legality lies in two particulars 1. When they have performed a duty rightly and spiritually they are apt to reflect upon it with a spiritual pride and ready to lay too much stress upon it and to think that now God must needs grant the Petitions they have asked whereas perhaps they have answer enough in the very sweetness of the duty it self and the communion with God which they have enjoyed in it and therefore if they are not humbled after such a duty to see their great unworthiness notwithstanding all they have done they are so far guilty of Legality Or which is more usual 2dly The Saints too often content themselves with doing their tale and number of duties praying morning and evening perhaps reading so many Chapters but are not spiritual in what they do watching over their hearts that they worship God in a right manner with those spiritual affections stirring in prayer that attention in reading that should be this is commonly known by the name of resting in duties this is â—egality and yet I think that which is found more or less in all the Saints and so far indulged to themselves by some Saints till at last they have a general deadness and benummedness in all their Graces and then they fall into sad complaints of desertions and run into a maze and a Labyrinth of doubts and troubles of mind which perhaps they get not out of for some years together As for those Saints that pick and choose amongst the Commandments that are high-flown in their notions and yet err grosly in matters of common Justice and honesty that are indeed not only slanderously reported or unworthily suspected to be so disobedient to Magistrates with other like irregular Christians I have nothing to say to them here I refer these to the head of hypocritical Legallists that expect to be justified by a parcial obedience to the Commands of the Moral Law these not being spots of Gods Children There are other miscarriages of the Saints in duties that are to be referred to their Legality of Spirit as for instance if they chance through extraordinary occasions to have missed the time of prayer morning or evening to have missed the reading their number of Chapters or doing any good task which they had laid upon themselves then they have a great fear and terror lest God should be angry and displeased with them though indeed Mercy was at ended instead of Sacrifice but such as these belong to another head or character of a Legal Spirit to wit a Spirit of Bondage which I shall come unto anon I have now perfectly done with the first Character as to its explication proof and application both to Legality predominant and that which is found in a less degree in which I may be thought tedious enough Onely I would not leave so much as a cavil without some endeavour at least of an answer to it Now I am sensible that thoughts may arise in some as if this whole particular were impertinent Obj. Whoever thought before may they chance say that Superstition was Legality that a partial performance of the Moral Law either by the less strict or more strict Morallists was Legality If men would seek to be justified by the Law they would endeavour at least to keep the whole Law and if they knew they fell short of it as those prophane wicked men which you mention out of Isaiah Jeremiah and other places that were very wicked did and yet rested in Ceremonious performances and external Priviledges these indeed deserve the Name of wicked men but not of Legallists or such as seek justification by the Law Now to this I answer and I shall say but little more then what I have said before 1. 'T is true none ought to seek Justification by the Law but those that have perfectly kept it hitherto and undertake to keep it for the future part of their lives 2. If any seek justification any other way they do but be-fool themselves 3. But yet the Jews and Galatians did seek justification by Works by the Law ASIT WERE by the Works of the Law else the Apostle had disputed against no adversary And yet they did not pretend to perfect and unerring obedience So I reckon the objection is answered already that men may seek Justification by the Law that have not nor think they have the exact Works of it But yet to give some overplus of answer There being a generation of men that do seek Justification by the Works of the Law yea forasmuch as all men are apt to seek it this way it must be in some kind of actions or other Now I have shewn that these very men that are taxed for Legality by the Apostle viz. the Jews and Galatians they were also taxed for their being so much in love with ceremonies and superstitions and with external
for the Gospel yet all of a sudden like men bewitched away they turn to the Law and in effect though not in profession they leave the Gospel From whence again I add new proof as I promised to the first thing proposed in the conviction which is my third observation Therefore certainly mankind is exceedingly addicted to this way of works 3 Obser though not in a-strict way yet in this mixt way which comes all to one at last and must be called by the same Name I say I may justly infer from this one example of the Galatians That mankind is exceedingly addicted unto this way of works For though an argument ab exemplo be not ordinarily cogent yet such an example as this wil of it self almost amount to a demonstration for it is not an example of one man but of a great company of men they were the Churches of Galatia as it is in chap. 1. ver 2. and Galaria was not a Town or a City but a large Countrey that had many Churches up and down in it and these were such as had gladly received the Gospel they had received the Apostle Paul as if he had been an Angel of God even as Christ Jesus they blessed themselves exceedingly in this that they had heard the Gospel from him they received the Spirit by it c. Now notwithstanding all this no sooner do a company of Law-Preachers come that could do no Miracles at all could not convey the Spirit in their Ministry and yet the Galatians are so bewitched and besotted with them through their own natural inclinations to a Legal Righteousness that they fall off to the Law in the sight and view of all those demonstrations and convictions to the contrary and swallow down four several contradictions to boot Ergo hence it evidently appears that men are exceeding apt to run into this way of Justification by Works unless we shall imagine that this inclination in whole Churches of Galatia was some strange kind of special distemper arising from the soyle or some such trifling cause that hinders it from being common to us with them I say I take it for proved and granted from this example which is to me much like an Induction the whole Nation of the Jews the Churches of Galatia that were Gentiles were wholly given to this way therefore this way is mighty natural to mankind and we have all a strong propension and inclination to it but here comes in one considerable objection upon the answering of which the truth of this last Assertion wil be much clearer and that is this You say Object that because the Nation of the Jews and the Gentile Galatians were so much addicted to the way of Justification of Works therefore it is an argument that all mankind is addicted to this way and that we are in danger of running into this way but you do not seem to observe the great snare and stumbling-block that lay in their way to put them upon it and that was the Ceremonial Law which they did not understand as typical of Christ and Gospel-Mysteries but looked upon it as a task of duties which if they did go thorow and do their best to keepe they should undoubtedly please God and be saved Now this Ceremonial Law was given to the Jews and not perfectly out of use when the Galatians were thus led aside by it but was preached up by the devout Jews that were turned to Christianity that if they were not circumcised and kept not the Law of Moses they could not be saved Act. 15.1 Now this the Galatians receiving as true and holding the Gospel with it they did with the Jews too much dote upon Ceremonial Observances and so their Gospel which they professed with it was sowred and spoiled by it but we are not in this danger we know that the Ceremonial Law is down and so we are free from this snare and danger therefore we need not fear lest we run into a Covenant of Works or seek Justification by works This is the objection and you see it is considerable to which I shall endeavour an answer And first of all I answer by way of concession in three particulars Ans 1. 'T is true the Jews had the Ceremonial Law imposed upon them by God and the Galatians by the seduction of false Teachers received it likewise as their duty 2. The Ceremonial Law was apt to prove a snare to all that were under it in leading them into a Covenant of Works For to be set to do a great many things which we understand no meaning almost in how naturally will it teach us to take up with the opus operatum the work done to look no further Which easily mis-leads us into an opinion of Merit especially when we think our selves prettily well to have discharged our selves of the duties of the Moral Law besides 3. Let it be granted that this did actually prove a great snare both to the Jews and Galatians which appears from this that the Apostle when he is rebuking the Galatians for their Legality he instanceth for proofs often in their observing the Ceremonial Law Gal. 4.8 9. I winder saith he that after ye were set free from bondage to Idols by the Gospel of Christ ye should desire again to enter into bondage to ceremonies which there he calls beggarly rudiments and in ver 10 11. saith he Ye observe dayes and months and times and years I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain Nay the Apostle instanceth so frequently in the business of the Ceremonial Law that an incurious Reader might think that all thrir fault was but this that they made Conscience of keeping the Ceremonial Law though 't is certain and I have proved it already that this was not the greatest fault they had fallen into for then the Apostle would onely have gone about to convince them that the Ceremonial Law was abolished by the death of Christ or at least that they being Gentiles need not have their Consciences obliged to it which doth not scarce at all appear to have been any part of his design but his main design is to beat them off from a Covenant of works unto which the Ceremonial Law served for an Inlet And indeed this was the nature and genius of their mischievous error they thought as the Jews also did that though they were not so strict as they should be in observing the great weighty duties of the Moral Law yet if they were strict and careful in observing the Ceremonial this would make some amends for their other great defects and herein we see the Ceremonial Law proved a great snare Thus our Saviour chargeth the Jews even whilest it was their duty to keep the ceremonial Law that they placed the observances of the ceremonial Law in the room of their obedience to the moral Law Ye pay tythe of Mint and Annise and Cummin and have omitted the weightier matters
lose heaven or be cast into hell methinks it is a piece of self-hatred or at least too high a breach upon that innate principle of self-love which God hath planted in the soul And certainly that instance of love in our Saviour his dying for us which yet was the highest instance in the world of regular love was not of such a kind as this for he did not dye for us to remain accursed but under-went the curse that so he might procure the blessing for his people yea and for himself Hebr. 12.2 Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and despised the shame But in the third place not to undertake to censure Saint Paul especially in such an action where if there was an error it was onely in excess of love to men's souls and high nobleness and generosity I may safely adde this that I prosess I cannot see how his action or that of Moses are imitable by us for I know not by what rule we are obliged or so much as permitted to do any such action though some would perswade us that we are obliged to be content to be damned that God may be glorified thus far I shall go with them That it is every ones duty to be so humble as to think that if God cast us into hell he doth us no wrong But I cannot go so far in compliaure with their fantasticall expressions of love and submission to God and designs for his glory as to say that if God may be glorified in my destruction I am content c. Alas What good can my destruction do to God Or what glory can God have in destroying me if I walk sincerely with him and therefore these are but foolish suppositions and idle offers which perhaps some good people may make much-like those in another case of enjoying communion with God they will say If God were in Hell his Presence would make Hell to be Heaven and they had rather be in Hell with God than in Heaven without him People had better shew their love to God and their humility in those actions and duties which he calls them unto then in such suppositions and fantastical expressions and imaginations as these That is the third observation I see not how this action of Moses or St. Paul are imitable by us 4. Neither were they in constant practice by themselves or at least they were not the onely principles which they acted by for Moses I have proved already that he had respect to the recompence of reward and that encouraged him in doing and suffering for God And as for St. Paul we find him pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and exhorting others so to do Phil. 3.14 15. And though I doubt not but St. Paul did preach the Gospel willingly yet he tells us that he did not preach meerly as a free-will-offering to God but there was a necessity upon him he MUST do it Though I preach the Gospel saith he yet I have nothing to glory of as if I had done a thing that I was not bound to do for necessity is Iaid upon me a dispensation is committed to me yea wo is unto me if I preach not the Gospel 1 Cor. 9.11 And so we find in the same chap. ver 24. this advice So run that ye may obtain which argues that the obtaining the prize not onely may be but ought to be in our eyes and ver 27. he tells us of himself that he kept under his body and brought it into subjection lest himself should be a cast-away So that you see besides these high Principles of nobleness ingenuity gratitude which are all good and excellent yet there are other principles that are good and commendable yea Evangelical * When I say they are Evangelical Principles I mean they are either so properly or by way of reduction to confonary with â—vangelical Principles properly so called they are at least allowed if not brought to light onely by the Gospel such as these that it is our duty and that else there is a wo pronounced against us that we may obtain the prize that we may not be cast-aways I shall just give a brief account of the order of principles in a Christians acting for God as I apprehend them to lie and then shew why this of mercenariness cannot be made a Character of a Legal Spirie and then come to give some more true Scripture-Characters The order of principles in every Saints heart in his acting for God The 3. first Now I suppose that the order of Principles in every Saints heart is this 1. He considers himself a Creature and so bound to obey his Creator and since God hath alwayes proposed some reward to the keeping and threatning to the breach of his Law therefore these three principles may go hand in hand together and these are the first Principles that any is to begin with in serving God Now I think there is no exceeding in any one of these Principles a man cannot be too sensible of his obligation as a Creature to serve his Creator a man cannot be too sensible of the greatness of the reward nor of the danger of Hell yet I think every Christian hath somewhat more to move him in his service to God then barely these three Principles as for instance some such as I have named love to God gratitude yea many times nobleness of heart We love God saith the Apostle speaking in the name of all the Saints because he loved us first c. and these further Principles seem to follow in this order from the first that when I am thoroughly convinced that it is my duty to live to God when I consider what danger I avoid in it what good I obtain by it I am engaged to love that God Then Love who takes such care of his Creatures that he would not have them perish nay that he would not have them do their duty for nought here is now another Principle a Principle of Love beyond the three first Principles Again I consider the greatness of the reward the richness of the grace in providing it by the gift of Christ the Fathers giving him and his giving himself the sending the Spirit into our hearts to perswade us and win upon us to accept of this grace all the care that the Lord takes about us and hereby I am yet more and more engaged to love and gratitude Aster that nobleness One may easily be here set all in a flame of love not counting his life dear for such a God for such a Saviour if there be the least spark of Nobleness in one's natural spirit it will enflame the whole soul to do some excellent service for God not as the Legallist doth supposing that hereby he shall oblige God and that perhaps onely in some fantastical service as rich sacrifices or multitudes of superstitious observations but the
convinceth of it yet I shall in searching out this distemper viz. Ignorance and neglect of Christ both in Ministers and People prove it to be a symptome of Legality from another character mentioned And truly I cannot guess what should be the reason of this ignorance and neglect of Christ so general and common even amongst those that are good but from a listlesness and irksomness to and weariness of the waies and knowledge of God Good people may chance think that they know a great deal of God already they know enough for their converse between man and man and for many duties of worship to God and they find this as much as they can attend together with their businesses and imployments in the world and so much they know of Christ that he died for their sins and intercedes with his Father for them and this is enough to satisfie them what should they trouble themselves any more about any Gospel Mysteries concerning Jesus Christ as his Mediatorial Kingdom and the like how God the Father orders and disposes of all things by him how they are to make their applications to him Now this listlesness carelesness I made before a plain symtom of Legality for the more Evangelical we are the more chearful we are in the service of God the more attentive to and inquisitive about any thing that he makes known to us especially concerning Jesus Christ every dust of this Pearl is precious I come in the second place to condemn predominant Legality from this Character Predominant Legality discovered from this Character 1. In the Jews and this wil convince two or three sorts of men of predominant Legality And first of all to be sure this convinceth the Jews of predominant Legality both those that were at the time of Christ's coming and have been ever since unto this day for that they denied then and still deny to receive Christ at all If they had been Evangelical under the Old-Testament they would gladly have received Christ who is the substance and spirit of all that Gospel which they had but darkly discovered in their dispensation They that love the dawnings of the day-light how much more would they be in love with the Sun of Righteousness but because their hearts were set upon the Law before Christ came therefore were they such enemies to Christ when he was come and there is no clearer proof of the charge which the Apostle oftentimes draws up against them viz. That they were legal than this that they are the great enemies of the cross of Christ and the same may be all applied to the present Jews that are enemies to Christ 2dly This discovers the Legality of the Modern Scribes and Pharisees and Zelotical Ceremonialists as Dr. Moore calls them those that are so much for the externals of Religion in the days of the Gospel that would set up a ceremonial Law again of their own inventing these argue their great affected ignorance of Christ and the Gospel by which these shadows are certainly done away for that the Body is come and this I look upon as a very shrewd sign though perhaps not absolutely concluding of predominant Legality But of these I have spoken largely already and therefore shall not enlarge further about them though they come here upon a new account to be convinced and reproved Lastly and so I shal end my Characters as I begun them vide pag. 117. the second observation premised to the Characters All those that have a zeal for God in the dayes of the Gospel and yet are not for a single Christ and for the purity and simplicity of the Gospel are legal for that all Religion which is not the right Religion is Legal The Jews corrupted the Gospel by adding the observations of the Law to it The Greeks and Philosophers destroyed the Gospel by inventions of worshipping Angels and other voluntary humilities Col. 2.8.18 Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and NOT AFTER CHRIST ver 18. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen NOT HOLDING THE HEAD both these forts the Apostle sets himself vigorously against in several places of his Epistles Now whosoever shall in a likeness to either Jew or Grecian Philosopher go about to destroy the simplieity of the Gospel or the simplicity that is in Christ as it is called 2 Cor. 11.3 let him have never so much zeal in his way is legal and the reason is this for that whosoever goes about to establish his own righteousness is legal Rom. 10.1 2 3. Now all those that destroy the simplicity of the Gospel yet have a zeal for God go to establish their own righteousness I have now done with the Characters Having discharged now after a sort these several great parts of my Work shewn first that the Law could not justifie and that yet men wil needs seek Justification by the Law and having given the description of their Legality what it is formally in it self as also by the several characters of a Legal Spirit wherein it discovers that distemper which is otherwise many times unsearchable I hold my self now to be a little at leisure to speak unto some things in general touching Justification which I had no sitter place to speak unto then this and wil yet I hope further conduce unto the clearing and explaining of the great subject that is before us There may be therefore these several questions spoken to about Justification 1. At what time or times a person is ustified 2. For what act or acts a person is ustified These two questions the first of which contains several questions in it I shall first dispatch and then speak unto some others that wil arise to be spoken to The first Question is this The first question about justification At what time or times is a finner justified At what time or times is a sinner justified This contains these two questions 1. Whether or no a sinner be justified from eternity 2. Whether if he be onely justified in time Justification considered as God's act be one or more that is be done once for all at his strst Justification or else repeated often upon the person justified according to the exigency of the person For the first Q. Whether Justification be from eternity or in time Now to answer and resolve this Question 1. I should not have made this Question at all but for that some have asserted that we are justified from Eternity and I have heard it openly affirmed several times that Justification is an immanent act in God like the eternal generation of the Son 2. Now for the actions or acts which we may conceive in Eternity they either respect God himself or the Creatures Those that respect himself are such as whereby he understood loved and enjoyed himselfe and
these words I finde it only this That the sins that are past should be meant of the sins of a man's life past before he comes to believe which is a good honest sense for it is very true That when a man comes to believe in Christ and in his blood all the sins of his past life shall be forgiven him but that this is not meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sins that are past seems clear to me from that term of opposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at this time which is certainly meant of the times of the Gospel in opposition to a former time in which those sins past were committed and therefore that former time was the time before the Gospel-dayes which observation is strengthened by that parallel place in the Acts where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is opposed in the very same case to the times of Ignorance and Forbearance which God winked at I have now finished my proof of the second Assertion and so I have done with what I thought necessary to adde by way of Appendix to the former treatise the designe of which was to shew how the great business of Justification came to be transferred from Works to Grace from the Law to Faith in which I must needs say I reckon is contained the most considerable piece of Gospel-mystery in the whole Book of God The Lord give Me thee Reader a spirit of Illumination rightly to understand it and rellish it I come now to the Uses of the whole Discourse fore-going and here I need not be so large as otherwise I might be having inserted applications in several places of the body of the Discourse for that the very Discourse it self is altogether practical but most especially for that the chief end of the Discourse was the discovery of Legality and this I have so done my endeavour unto in the characters and their applications that I shall have nothing at all of that to do in the Uses Yet something I shall adde by way of application And first of all Is it so as I have above evinced that the Law was our natural way of Justification which we were born under 1 Use of Inso mation that we had all made our selves obnoxious to the wrath and curse of it that that had seised of us as Prisoners and Mâ—lefactors and that yet notvvithstanding all this we are all of us now either under the tender of Grace or in the state of Grace Favour vvith God all this in a comly and honourable vvay for the Lavv. Then this gives us matter of Information of or rather Admiration at the several Attributes of Goodness Wisedom and Holiness in God I shall be as brief as I may be in this Use because these things are obvious But here is certainly eminent goodness and grace to mankinde shevvn in this vvonderfull change of Justification from Works to Faith 1 Of the grace and goodness of God in this Gospel-way What that vvhen vve had undone our selves as to the Law had not only weakened our ovvn strengths when we were weak Christ died for the ungodly but weakened the Law it self for the Law was made weak through our Flesh so as it could not justifie us that then the Lord should not only seek out a vvay to support us from falling and sinking but set us into a better a more easie and more glorious vvay of salvation than we vvere in before this is a wonder of Grace and Mercy 1. For the glory of this way When an earthly Adam had betrayed all his trust for his posterity and undone us that then vve should have a second Adam who is the Lord from heaven and vvho is infinitely to be preferred before the first vve have a glorious representation of him in his similitude unto and dissimilitude from the first Adam in Rom. 5. from the 14. ver to the end 2. For the easiness of this way That vvhen we had made not found the Lavv not only difficult but impossible to be kept by us so that the going about to fulfill that novv would be like climbing up to heaven descending dovvn to hell and getting up again nay raising a Saviour thence or like compassing the vvhole world that instead of this novv vve should have a vvay set before us so plain That wayfaring men though fooles shall not erre therein Esay 38.5 so near us that vve need not go out of our selves for it if I may so express it the word is nigh thee even in thine heart and in thy mouth that thou mayest do it even the word of Faith Rom. 10.8 so easie that vve may run in it I will run the way of thy Commandements Psal 119.32 His Commandements are not grievous 1 John 5.3 My yoke is easie and my bur-then is light Math. 11.29 30. This way of salvation is so easie to every honest soul that it is but Ask and have seek and finde knock and it shall be opened Math. 7.7 And Rom. 10.13 Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved though this easiness be not found by wicked men Knowledge is easie TO HIM THAT UNDERST ANDETH and to him only Prov. 14.6 Neither is it easie to us without the assistances of the Spirit but these assistances are at hand to good men and therefore the way of Gospel-Justification and Salvation is wonderfull easie and delightsom and this is a very great argument of the goodness of God If God had proposed the highest difficulties imaginable and made it our duty to overcome them if we would obtain the Crown of Glory proposed to us we should have had no reason to complain but when he hath taken us off from a difficult nay an impossible way though once the true way that we were upon and set us upon an easier way that that is pleasant and delightsom and still proposeth the same or a greater reward this is grace and mercy indeed here are riches of Mercies Mic. 6.8 He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord REQUIRE of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God What canst thou do less What wouldst thou do else Thy very work is reward enough and yet thou shalt have a reward infinitely more glorious than thy work deserves Besides in this way the holiness of God 2 Of the Holiness of God that is his hatred of and displeasure against sin is made very illustrious in that his Law must be taken off honourably before the way of Grace must enter I am sure this is so for us under the Gospel and if under the Old Testament men were saved another way I should think it very strange but of this above Lastly 3 Of the Wisedom of God not to mention the power of God discovered in this way in the Miracles of Christ his Apostles raising Christ from the dead c. The Wisedom of God is exceedingly manifested
of Works as it seems to have been to Adam who had but a few other commands besides viz. such as we call Positive and if every man by Nature be under a covenant of works though a stranger to the Old-Testament or New as having never heard of either being under the law of his creation how much more were the Israelites under a covenant of Works who besides the moral law had the judicial and ceremonial added for them to observe and altogether given them vvith this language of a covenant of Works these ye shall observe which if a man do he shall live in them I am the Lord. I shal add onely one observation more to strengthen the objection and it is this That when St. Paul disputes against the Galatians for embracing a covenant of Works most of his Work lyes in beating them off from the ceremonial law vvhich they were exceedingly addicted to as looking upon the lavv of Moses to be very much of the nature of the covenant of Works and the ceremonial law as a great sign of it there being so much vvork cut out for them in it and verily believing that if they vvere pretty strict in keeping the ceremonial law God vvould justifie and save them Therefore it is very probable that the law of Moses was given to them as a covenant of Works for this reason as well as others that there were so many ceremonies appointed for them to observe most of which it is more then probable the greater number did not understand and so must take up und satisfie themselves with the Work done then which vvhat can look more like a covenant of vvorks for men to do a great many things which they did not understand meerly because God had commanded them Now for answer to this objection and I shall give it in several particulars A. 1 I confess that the ceremonial law proved a great snare and a stumbling-block unto the careless Jews and so to the Galatians for when they found such a great task of ceremonies set them they cared not much to study the meaning of them but took up with the doing of them which to do did not much trouble their hearts or consciences and so placed themselves by it under a covenant of vvorks in their treating with God for Justification 2dly I grant that the ceremonial law was a great burthen and an unsupportable yoke even to those that were good amongst the Jews Acts 15.10 and it is a great piece of the liberty of the Gospel to be freed from it 3dly I grant that the laws moral judicial and ceremonial were given altogether and are included in that place where a covenant of vvorks or the righteousness of the Law is said to be described by the Apostle and I grant in this particular that though the law of nature alone is a covenant of vvorks to those that are in a state of nature though they never received any positive law from God yet that it is possible for a ceremonial lavv or a law consisting of many ceremonies or positive laws to be a part of a covenant of vvorks as we find in Adam's covenant of works there was a Sacrament as some reckon it of the Tree of life and there was a positive law concerning the forbidden fruit which vvere neither of them branches of the law of Nature and he might have been as well forbidden as allowed all the trees save one if the Lord had pleased he might have had a systeme of positive and ceremonial laws inserted in his covenant of vvorks if the Lord had thought good and no wrong had been done him for he was able to have kept them 4thly Yet here I deny that the ceremonial law was any part of a covenant of works though brought in near that place where the righteousness of the law is said by the Apostle to be described and that for this reason which fully answers the objection That the ceremonial law did contain Gospel in it which cannot be said of any branch of the covenant of works I allowed indeed above that the law taken strictly for a covenant of works did preach the Gospel virtually or by consequence as it burthened the sinners conscience and so made him seek further for a righteousness but I said then it is the law taken in a large sence onely as it contains the whole Old-Testament or at least a considerable part of it that teacheth Christ and the Gospel formally and expresly VVhy now the ceremonial law teacheth Christ in many perhaps in all the parts of it if wel understood VVhat could the shedding of so much blood for remission of sins signifie but the shedding of Christs blood for them and us all which is the great mysterie of the Gospel Now if any say they understood it not and yet must do it and so it was all one to them as if it had not singnified any thing at all and therefore must still pass with them as a covenant of works I answer 1 in the words of the Apostle Rom. 3 3. What though some did not believe did not understand must their unbelief and ignorance make the Faith of God that Doctrine of Faith which the ceremonial law preached of none effect or signification But you will say they could not see the blood of Christ in the blood of a sacrifice having no clearer discoveries then they had of Christ I ans I confess I cannot say they could see so much though still so much was contained in it as now we well understand But yet if they could not see so much yet somewhat they might have learned for certainly God appoints no idle useless insignificant ceremonies in his Worship therefore I suppose they might have learnt thus much by their ceremonies and particularly by their sacrifices which I suppose was known even amongst Heathens in their sacrifices that when they killed a Beast for attoning the anger of God here life went for life and God might as well have taken their lives from them as accepted the life of that Beast and so by this they might see that their lives and salvations did depend purely upon the Mercy and Grace of God now this sufficiently weaned them from the law or covenant of works which had no Grace or Pardon in it it was therefore the grossest mistake of all to understand the ceremonial law for a part of the covenant of Works when it was greatly intended to be a Gospel to them 5thly and lastly If yet it were dark and did confound them with the multitude of duties which it imposed Why might it not herein do the good turn that a covenant of Works did for them Which was to make them study and search and long for the pure and clear discoveries of that rich Grace which we now see in the dayes of the Gospel I have now done with this objection also which I of purpose kept out from the rest in which I only considered the moral law as a
the Law for a righteousness Here was a great mixture you see of Gospel with their way And in the 3d. ver of Gal. 5. we see they thought it was not their duty to keep the whole Law but that I have spoken to already in ver 4. You may see yet the strangest mixture of Gospel in their way which yet the Apostle calls Legal that can be imagined for they did profess themselves all this while they so cryed up the Law were such admirers of it and Votaries to it they did profess themselves to be under Grace to be in the way of Grace Gal. 5.4 Christ is become of none effect unto you whosoever of you are justified by the Law â—e are fallen from Grace that is from the way of Grace and Mercy to be upon perfect strict exact terms with God Ye renounce the Grace of God the benefit of Christ's death Christ can do you do good let your false Preachers call what they preach Gospel while they will and you may think you are removed to another and better Gospel then what you received from me chap. â— v. 6 7 8. But there is no other Gospel but what I preached Some indeed have perverted the Gospel of Christ and made it a mongrel thing but it 's Name now muse not be Gospel any longer but Law and Works not Grace and Gospel Here you have â—â—en that they did not only avoid the rigor of the Law in exacting perfect obedience to a tittle but did take in the Gospel-Principles into their way of Justification such as the Death of Christ and the Grace of God and yet these were legal all this while else the Apostle had disputed impertinently where he had no Adversary Now what was that which soured all their Gospel which made their Grace no Grace and their Christ no Christ and made them perfect Debtors to the Law thus unexpectedly to themselves but this that they went to make a compromise betwixt the Law and the Gospel in the matter of Justification they would join them together that were as irreconcilable as fire and water The Law is not of Faith if it be of Grace then it is no more of works otherwise work is no more work Now by reasoâ— of the incompossibility and incompatibleness of these two in their * For else as the Elements are said to be mixed in a natural body losing their proper forms so the Lâ—w and Gospel will well mix one of them viz. the Law losing as I may say its natural form of a Covenant of works may be well reconciled to the Gospel and mixed with it for the matter of it proper and precise notion and nature they that mix these two must destroy one of them they can never agree togegether in this business of Justification any otherwise then heat and cold agree in water that look unto what degree the one is there the other is expelled so much as there is of cold so much there is wanting of heat and so much as there is of heat so much there is wanting of cold so here so much as there is wanting of legality in any heart so much there is of a Gospel-Spirit é contra Now because these Jews and Galatians did more hanker after the Law then after the Gospel though they owned many Gospel-principles and durst not own the Law in the strictness of it yet their predominancy of inclination to the Law for righteousness justly gave them the denomination of Legal as the predominancy of cold in water justly gives it the name of cold water and the Evangelical or Gospel-like men and women though they have always had some Legal-mixtures in their obedience yet because Gospel-Principles are predominant they obtain the name of Spiritual and Evangelical And according to this representation which I have now given of Legal-persons that is that they are more propending and inclining to the Law then to the Gospel doth the Apostle be-speak them and speak of them he speaks to them so in Gal. 4.21 Tell me saith he you that Desire to be under the Law They were such as though they durst not quit the Gospel and come off wholly to the Law yet had a desire to be under the Law So he speaks of them Rom. 9.31 32. But Israel which followed after the Law of righteousness hath not attained unto the Law of righteousness Wherefore because they sought it not by Faith but as it were by the works of the Law And this though it were but anâ— as it were and a Desire yet it ranked them under a Covenant of Works and accordingly the Apostle useth such arguments against them as would have served any that had perfectly renounced the way of Faith and the Death of Christ and wholly betaken themselves to the Law of Works I have done with the second particular in the Conviction viz. the explication of the Legality which is so generally to be found and wherein the deceit lies that men who acknowledge themselves sinners and profess themselves Christians may yet set themselves under a Covenant of Works for their Justification They that wil after what I have said deny that there may be or hath been such a thing such persons to be found that did acknowledge themselves sinners and profess themselves Christians and yet sought to be justified by the works of the Law let them quarrel with the Scriptures and with the Apostle Paul if they dare out of whom I have so clearly described them and confute him if they can Again if any one questions that which I have asserted to be the manner how this comes to pass that these persons are justly denominated and reputed Legal self-Justificiaries viz. by the predominancy of their inclination to the Law more then to the Gospel let them shew a more probable way and I shall gladly quit this Now the explication and proof of this matter being the very great thing of all should not pass without some improvement or observation from it which I shall perform by and by in the mean time methinks a sober person might very well desire to be further satisfied in this great business viz. the explication of the nature of a Legal-Spirit I suppose it will be acknowledged that that which gives denomination to a Legal-Spirit is his greater propension to the Law then to the Gospel but yet it may be queried Wherein doth this propension exert and shew it self in what one word or more then one would you express it Now this I confess is the great difficulty hic labor hoc opus est this were worthy of the most excellent Saint and the most learned and accurate Head to discover I can do it onely after my manner that is rawly enough but would God I could provoke some able man to undertake it in the strength of God Very many of those that have medled with it have dealt rudely and yet saucily with this subject I mean the Autinomians They will express the whole
of the Law Judgement Mercy and Faith these ought ye to have done and notto leave the other undone Matth. 23.23 and so in Isa 1. chap. ver 10. And this I think is the judgement of all Divines to have been the error of the Jews and Galatians Now let these three things be granted yet in the 4th place by way of direct answer to the objection Though the Ceremonial Lâ—w were apt to prove a Snare and actually did prove a Snare to the Jews and Galatians yet it was their natural inclination to Legality to a Legal way of treating with God for their Justification and acceptation that betrayed them into this Snare or that made it prove such a Snare to them For else the Ceremonial Law was in its true use and in the design of the Lord when he first gave it a great blessing unto the people of Israel it was a part of that Dispensation which is called their wisdom and their glory in the sight of the Nations Deut. 4.6 I say the Ceremonial Law was not in its own nature unavoidably such a snare as would lead them to a Covenant of Works nor in the design of God who gave it nay it was designed to be to them a sigurative Gospel and therefore though it was somewhat capable of being made use of to such an end to serve the turn and humor of a Legal Spirit yet none but those that were so addicted could have made such a perverse and destructive use of it or if it had been unavoidably I say make the supposition that it had been unavoidably such a dangerous snare to the Jews who had the Ceremonial Law given them from Mount Sinai yet the Gentile Galatians had not such a temptation to receive it with that veneration that the Jews had and having received the Gospel before and stil retaining the profession of it might have been well antidoted against the danger of it and yet they receive it suddenly in this noxious and mischievous use of it And for what reason can we imagine all this to have come to pass but because they were naturally disposed and exceeding apt to catch at any occasion of serving God as it were by the works of the Law or according to a Covenant of Works 5thly I say therefore that though we have not the Ceremonial Law of the Jews to prove a Snare to us yet we have this radicated inclination to a Covenant of Works which betrayed the Jews and Galatians by occasion of the Ceremonial Law into the prosecution of Justification by Works and this I think was formerly evinced from the example of the Jews and Galatians as by an induction 6thly As for the ceremonial Law perhaps it would be granted that if we had such reason to receive it as the Jews had before Christ when it was their duty to observe it or but such a seeming reason as the Galatians after their seduction thought they had perhaps it would be granted that if the case were so with us as it was with either of them that then we should be in great danger to do as they did and to vent that natural Legality or addictedness to the way of works which hath been evinced to be in all men in ceremonial observances Now let but so much be granted and then I have this to offer That though we are free from the ceremonial Law of the Jews know it abrogated by Christ's death yet we may stil have a like danger though not the same nay the Christian Church hath for many hundreds of years I shall not meddle with the present state of things I say the Christian Church hath for many hundreds of years together formerly been under as great a danger from ceremonies as the Jewâ— were in from the ceremonial Law and for proof of this I shal onely quote some passages out of the preface to the Book of Common-Prayer under the title Of Ceremonies why some be abolished and some retained where you have these besides other expressions Some Ceremonies are put away because the great excess and multitude of them hath so encreased in these later days that the burthen of them was intollerable whereof St. Austine in his time complained that they were grown to such a number that the estate of Christian people was in worse case concerning that matter then were the Jews and he counselled that such yoke and burthen should be taken away as time would serve quietly to do it But what would St. Austine have said if he had seen the Ceremonies of late dayes used amongst us whereunto the multitude used in his time was not to be compared This our excessive multitude of Ceremonies was so great and many of them so dark that they did more confound and darken then declare and set forth Christs benefits unto us There are other considerable passages concerning ceremonies in that Preface but this that I have transcribed serves sufficiently for my purpose and I suppose fully takes off the objection that since the ceremonial Law is down Christians cannot be in the same danger that the Jews Galatians were from ceremonies I have yet one more particular to add by way of answer to the objection and it is this in the seventh place That I verily believe though the Jews had had no such Law given them nor the Gentile-Galatians such a Law preached amongst them by the Jews nor had any such ceremonies ever been set up in the Church of Christ as the quotation speaks of yet both the Jews and Galatians and we all have such an inclination to such an earnest desire after the way of Works that without a strict hand over our selves from giving way to this natural disposition we should be all exceeding apt to find out some way or other of venting this humour either by inventing ceremonies and superisttions or doing the duties of the Moral Law superficially and yet resting upon them for our Justification As for duties or good works that are truly good though they may be abused after their performance by a spiritual pride adhering to them nay though they may perhaps be spoiled sometimes by an opinion of merit yet because I cannot think it possible for a man that doth exercise himself to serve God with a perfect heart to turn all his really-really-good Works into Legal-Works by an opinion of Merit I shal except this from being a third way in which Legality predominant may exert and shew it self But for the other two ways of invented ceremonies or superstitiuâ—s observances and an external obedience to the duties of the Moral Law I think the nature of man is so addicted to the way of Works that though there were no ceremonial Law amongst us at present either from God or men yet men would generally find out one or both of those ways to vent their Legality even to an opinion of merit in them This I shal shew to have been usually practised in the times of the Scripture and since and
where I set my Name at the first and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel Now did God destroy his people at Shiloh for their wickedness the place where God set his Name at the first and cannot he deal as severely with a second place Therefore saith God except ye repent and amend your ways I will do unto this House as I did to Shiloh and I will destroy you as I did my people at Shiloh for all your Temple But here we see how men may dote upon a Temple so as to think themselves secure from God's Judgments though they themselves are ful of wickedness Whysomewhat like this are our people ready to do tho God forbid there should be such a gross thing found amongst us in the dayes of the Gospel as this of the Jews was yet how do many dote upon Churches and consecrated places crying as it were The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord and that after our blessed Saviour hath told us as much as this in my apprehension that one place is no holier then another neither Jerusalem nor Mount Gerizim but men should worship the Father in spirit and truth and in every place saith the Apostle perhaps we might gloss in every place alike men should lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting and yet how are some apt to think that if they pray in a Church though the Assembly be not there that a prayer in a Church is far more acceptable then in their Closet at home Not as if I did not far more prefer publick Worship then private or secret devotion or that I were against a convenient decent Meeting-place Again The Iews gloried in ceremonious services how did this Jewish Legal Carnal righteousness please pride it self in the ceremonial service of Sacrifices and the like but never look at the heart Isa 1.11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me saith the Lord I am full of Burn â—fferings of Rams and the fat of fed Beasts I delight not in the blood of Bullocks or of Lambs or of He-Goats Ver. 13. Bring no more vain Oblations incense is an abomination unto me the new Moons and Sabbaths I cannot away with Not as if all these things were at this time unlawful for they were their duty but here you see they were abundant in these and failed in matters of common honesty and justice as we may see ver 15 16 17. Your hands are full of blood wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgement relieve the oppressedâ— judge the fatherless plead for the Widow These things they ought to have done and not to leave the other undone and when ye have done these things saith the Lord Come now and let us reason together though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be white as Snow c. ver 18. Here was Gospel that if they would mind the true reformation of their hearts and lives they might expect the pardon of their sins but these Legal Jews they never mind this inward holiness no nor common honesty and yet make no question but they shall make God amends very wel by keeping Festivals New-Moons Sabbaths days of solemn Assemblies and by Sacrifices of Rams Lambs Bullocks He-Goats as if God were fed with the blood and fat of these beasts and were migtihly attoned by incense sweet perfumes See Psal 50. from 7. to 14. as if then he must needs smel a savour of rest in all that they did And the Gal. we find were come to this Gal. 3.10 Ye observe days and months times and years that is Jewish Feasts I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain When they once came to observe them there was a great deal of danger and cause for the Apostles sear that they would rest in the observance of them for that this was the reason why they took to observing of them when it was not now any longer the Jews duty so much as to observe them because of their inclination to a Covenant of Works which chiefly expresseth it self in an external service So likewise the Colossians amongst whom the same pestilent Law-Preachers had been they were ensnared to the making conscience of dayes Sabbaths and new Moons and also in the business of meats that some were clean and others unclean which was once the Jews duty to observe insomuch that Peter tells the Lord he had been so strict in the business hitherto that nothing common or unclean meaning of the flesh of unclean Beasts and Fowls had entred into his mouth Acts 11.6.8 But now was not only not their duty any longer but at least to the Gentiles a sin to make any conscience in it for that they could hardly begin such a thing at such a time upon the inticement of false Teachers for none else perswaded the Gentiles to it but from an evil inclination of swerving from the pure Gospel which they had received from the Apostles unto a Covenant of Works thus served out to them by their false Teachers And it argues almost as ill a disposition in the Galatians and Colossians but to take up these things as their duty as it did in the Jews to place so much in them when they were their duty Let no man judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of an holy-day or of the new Moon or of the Sabbath-dayes which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ Col. 2.14 16 17. These things when they were in use and were mens duties were at best but shadows and yet these shadows did men exceedingly glory in and preferred them before true holiness and the spiritual Worship of God yea they thought verily that whilest they did observe these things they might commit all manner of Villanies and yet escape the judgement of God Yea they thought they were delivered to do all sorts of abominations as it is in Jer 7.10 The Apostle finds out such a generation of Jews in his time Rom. 2. from the 17. to the 25. Behold thon art called a Jew and restest in the Law a full expression I think of one that seeks Justification by the Law and makest thy boast of God and knowest his will And the Apostle proceeds to describe a great Lawyer indeed one that thought himself sit to be a Guide of the blind a Light of them that walk in darkness an instructer of the foolish a teacher of babes and one that had the form of knowledge and of the truth in the Law Yet what kind of man is he for his Morals Why he is a Thief an Adulterer a Sacrilegious person what not ver 21 22. Thou therefore which teachest another teachest thou not thy self thou that preachest a man should not steal dost thou steal Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery dost
kept themselves from Legal uncleannesses and from eating every thing that was unclean and placed too much in this whilst it was their duty to observe these things The Colossians erred but in making conscience of the Legal uncleanness of Meats Let no man judge you saith the Apostle in meat or drink that is value no man's judgement let no man abridge you of your liberty in it Now for our selves we are wholly free from Jewish Observations about meats and I think pretty free from any Religious Observations at all about meats and if we are forbid flesh in Lent those that are healthy yet the reason which the Law gives is civil and political for the breed of Cattel but if we should come to have our Consciences ensnared to think that flesh were not as lawful in it self all the Lent-time as at another time this were a symptome of Legality venting it self in superstition But now if we go over amongst the Papists what conscientious observations of Meats are there To eat an Egg in Lent is punished with imprisonment c. that upon a religious account which is a plain argument of legality amongst them very rise I might instance in Priests Vestments as I apprehend an high piece of formality very fit to please the humour of a Legal Spirit that for want of substance pleases it self with shadows shews and outsides but I shall not proceed further to touch at things he that hath an eye to see let him look into the Scriptures and he that hath an ear to hear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches But we may speak freey of the Papists their Superstitions not onely in doing but in putting themselves upon needless sufferings What Pilgrimages and Processionings what Abstinencies and Penances do they put themselves upon wearing Sackcloath scourging themselves What crossings cringings and sprinklings do they impose upon themselves 't were endless almost but to name the kinds of their inventions Yea some of our own people will say over the Creed and ten Commandments for a prayer and when they come as beggars at your door they will say over the Lords Prayer as if it were a charm to the house from all mischief Now I look upon all Superstitions where they are with any seriousness practised as those things which do exactly sit a Legal Spirit for as I have several times intimated your Legallists cannot endure to come at the Law in the spiritual sense of it so none but a Gospel-Spirit doth it is Faith alone that establisheth the Law and obeys the Law Now because the Legallist cannot endure to come up to the true spiritual obedience of the Law and yet seeks to be justified by Works he is fain to find out a thousand things to please himself and satisfie his Conscience with whereby he thinks he makes God amends and we have seen in the instances before us how that though men are as wicked as they could be by lying swearing and committing adultry yea and Idolatry too yet they cryed The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord they thought God must love them because they were Jews especially when they brought him rich Sacrifices and burnt rich Incense and kept all their Festivals in the time and manner appointed Now what then their over-valuing the Commands of the Coromonial Law was that is Superstition to us now For not having such a Law left us by God we find out somewhat like it and place the same considences in it that they did in their Law onely ours is so much the worse by not being of Divine institution I have now only one particular more belonging to this Character of external fleshly service and that is an external partial conformity to the moral Law which is indeed the last and strongest fort of a Legal-spirit As for these external Priviledges or Ceremonies and Superstitious Performances which I have insisted upon they are a slighty thin covering if we come once to try it and rationally to examine it and though people wrap themselves in it yet they cannot bear out any rough argument from galling or pinching through it External conformity to the duties of the Moral Law What defence is it for an Harlot to say This day have I paid my vows to one that can convince her of being a common Whore Prov. 7.14 But now if men have lived in some conformity to the duties of the Moral Law as the young man in the Gospel had done All these have I kept from my youth saith he speaking of the commandments Believe it our Saviour himself shall not by an ordinary word perswade him that he lacketh any thing more Let us see the beld audacious Pharisee in the Parable that goes into the Temple to pray how doth he challenge his acceptance with God and upon what terms We have it in Luke 18.11 God I thank saith he that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this Publican I fast twice in the week I give tythes of all that I possess Really the man might well have thanked God as he did had it not been for two things 1. His making comparisons 2 His valuing those things which he mentions as a sufficient Righteousness It was good not to be an Extortioner Unjust an Adulterer it was good to fast and to give tythes of all and he might well bless God that he was enabled to do these things but this was but a partial holiness for all the Commands are not reckoned up here then perhaps it was but an external obedience to these commands that are referred to he was no actual Adulterer but might he not commit heart-Adultery He was no Extortioner or unjust person as he saith But if it were true at all it may be it was onely thus That he was not so in the highest degree perhaps what others accounted injustice and extortion he did not But I need not go upon a Perhaps I will lead the Reader to a certain place of Scripture where the Legallist prides himself and challenges acceptance from God onely upon a partial and external obedience unto some duties of the first Table it is Isa 58.2 3. In the 2d ver we have an high commendation as one would think of them They seek me daily and delight to know my ways as a Nation that did righteousness and forsook not the Ordinances of their God they ask of me the Ordinances o◠of Justice they take delight in approaching to God These are great matters and upon these the Jews grew high and argue the case with God for his acceptance they wonder when they are so good that God should make so little reckoning so small account of them ver 3. Wherefore have 〈◊〉 fasted say they and thou seest not Wherefore have 〈◊〉 afflicted our soul and thou takest no knowledge The Lord answers them in the same verse Behold in the day of your fast ye find pleasure and exact all your
〈◊〉 bour behold ye fast for strife and debate and to smitâ— with the fist of wickedness They did something in oâ— after their Fasts which was contradictory to the nature and design of a Fast they did indeed observâ— the ontside of the duty as ver 5. tells us they dâ—â— afflict their soul they went with heads bowed down aâ— butrush and did spread saâ—kcloth and ashes under theâ— Here was all the outside of a Fast But what saitâ— the Lord wilt thou call this a Fast and an acceptaâ— day unto the Lord Ver. 6. Is not this the fast which I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free and that ye break every yoke Here is a fast indeed all others are but mock-fasts the outside and Formalities of a Fast which when over-much attended use to eat up the substance of a duty Here you see external conformities to the duties of the moral Law may fill men with a pride so far as to challenge divine acceptance making no question but they have well deserved the favour of Almighty God whilst in the mean time they are oppressors and exactors which argues that a legal way in the service of God is a fleshly and external way And besides I observe in this Scripture that we may as well let our Legality run out in Divine Services in duties of Worship as in second-Table-duties and indeed I think that is a worse kind of Legality for it is usually attended with more wickedness than when men take up with being just and true in their dealings with men Thus our rude people if they go to Morning and Evening prayer and join with the Church in the service bymaking their responds and observing the several gestures of sitting standing and kneeling they are ready to please themselves with an opinion that they are very well accepted of God though they are known wicked people I shall now apply the Character though I have done little else all this while but now I shall do it more professedly Wouldst thou know if thou bee'st under the predominancy of this dangerous evil of Legality Then try thy self by this Character The application or uâ—e of the Character How dost thou find thy self affected with any external priviledges Dost set thon but only a due value upon them For though we may not over-value them we must not slight them What conscience hast thou of places days meats Beware of having thy conscience ensnared by them for this wil presently betray thee into legality for first you come to have a conscience of these things and then you let the strength of your spirits and of your devotion run out into them and so they prove as a Wen unto all the true spiritual Worship of God If thou valuest these things beyond the true spiritual Worship of God thou art a Legallist of the worst sort for there are two kinds of Legal persons better then thy self who yet perish But to leave this I come to the external conformities unto the Moral Law the partial obedience to this and mans resting in it and here is the greatest danger of all First sort or Moral Legal 〈…〉 such as dependchiefly upon a partial Motality There are some men that are not far from the Kingdom of God as the expression is Mark 12.34 and think themselves in it and of it that yet are not Now these can be none other but such as have high conformities to the commands of the Moral Law for notwithstanding all the observation of Ceremonies whilst they were in force notwithstanding all the external priviledges that men might have yet without a great conformity to the Moral Law men might be at a vast distance from the Kingdom of God but to be near it not far from it supposes great strictness of life that none shall be able to say Black is that persons eye as the proverb is Now I say there may be many of these that yet are not justified and so have not put themselves upon the right way of Justification Now what can be their ruine Truly nothing but one of these two Either that they know some lust in themselves which they wil not part with or else that they have deluded themselves to think that they are holy enough and so holy as God is well pleased with them Now I am so charitable as to think that when men have come up so high as to be near the Kingdom of God they do not allow themselves in a gross known sin therefore their ruine must arise from hence that they think themselves holy enough and that they have merited the favour of God by being so much better than their neighbours as the Pharisees in the Parable did and this yet is Legality and that which is most properly so called Now though there are many that are near the Kingdom of God and yet perish by Legality A second sort of moral Legallists yet there is a greater number still that are not so high in their conformity to the Moral Law that yet perish by resting in their conformity to the Moral Law such as it is And of this sort I take to be very many of our ordinary people that perish God knows who they are I judge no man but many of our ordinary people that perish who are not high Devotionists nor in any excess superstitious yet use no great endeavours to get to Heaven are at no pains with their hearts to get in Grace to cast out lusts to get the knowledge of God and Christ find no difficulty in Religion understand it not at all to be a Warfare a wrestling with Principalities and Powers a race a great piece of Merchandise wherein we venture all for the Pearl and are often like Merchants in danger of losing all which things I suppose no true Christian can be utterly senseless of all they that they do is this they live a plain quiet life mind their business manage their trade do Justice between man and man which things are good and commendable in themselves and perhaps they may may have Prayers morning and evening in their Families yet such men though this be the whole of their lives wil expect to go to Heaven when they dye they 'l cry God mercy for their fins in a general way and with a Lord have mercy upon them they make no doubt to get to Heaven Now these must lay the stress of their hopes and expectations upon this That they wronged no man they have given every man his own and perhaps have had some duties morning and evening in their Families and therefore that he that made them may well afford to save them Here these men trust upon a conformity to some second table duties and a slighty performance of some duties of the first Table By what I have said I suppose men may examine themselves whether they are guilty of predominant Legality by resting upon an
principle shall be onely an humble love and gratitude and the action shall be a true useful and ingenious action wherein some real service shall be done for God I shall give an instance in the Apostle Paul in that place last mentioned 1 Cor. 9.17 18. a place where you have the Apostle doing two things one of necessity that had a wo upon it if he did it not so that whether he did it willingly or unwillingly he must do it and that was the preaching the Gospel the other purely voluntary and so free lest him that he might have done the contrary to what he did and not have sinned at all and that was as to his maintenance for preaching he might have expected from them that they should maintain him but he would not he would maintain himself and this he took such comfort in that he calls this his glorying as I take it and he would rather dye then that any man should make this his glorying void Now the principle of this his action was not Legal as if he thought by this to lay some obligation upon God or his Lord Christ Jesus for he knew that he was so far obliged to the Lord for his mercies that he could never lay an obligation upon God The principle therefore was onely this of gratitude and nobleness he had such a good Master that he could never do enough for and therefore when he had sent him to preach the Gospel which he must unavoidably do the Apostle spyed out an opportunity of doing his duty herein more effectually and that was if he would preach the Gospel upon free-cost though he was allowed by his Master to have demanded a reward and now spying out this how he might do an eminent service which yet was a free-will offering he catches at it and will rather dye then let go this opportunity Ver. 5. It were better for me to dye then that any man should make my glorying void upon which take this paraphrase of a learned Commentator I have preached the Gospel on free-cost and would rather choose to famish by doing so then be deprived of this way of advancing the Gospel and I would not for all the world lose this comfors and joy that I have preached to you without receiving any thing from you Here you see at the same time the Apostle can act from a principle of necessity and also of voluntariness or nobleness he preaches the Gospel from the consideration of a necessity and he takes nothing for his preaching out of a principle of nobleness and yet this second service is a real service and advantage to the Gospel not such a foolish thing as for men to whip themselves or to offer to the shrine of some Saint or to say such a tale of Pater nosters c. That therefore is another Christian Principle in acting for God viz. Gratitude and Nobleness I shall onely mention one more and it is this When one hath been used to serve God The last and highest principle of action is from the excellency of the work it self the wayes of God are so good in themselves that a man will find a great sweetness and satisfaction in them that they are the onely ways that perfect a mans nature they are the only ways that are rational he shall more and more see every sin to be a gross absurdity according to that Scriptuture Heb. 5.14 Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age even those who by reason of use have their sences exercised to discern good and evil And believe it this is an high attainment to have a sense of what is good and excellent and of what is evil and base and to love the first and hate the latter for it self this is certainly the very love and hatred that God himself hath Now though I have allowed that there are these three Gospel-principles of Love and Gratitude Nobleness and Generosity loving and hating things for their own desert which men may arrive at yet I dare not speak a light word of the three first principles mentioned especially of that first viz. of serving God as our Creator which I think wil be an everlasting principle of service after we have received the fullest reward And for those principles of acting in hope of the reward and to avoid Hell I say first as before that they are good and warrantable nay Evangelical principles of action and therefore cannot simply considered be reckoned for legal principles yet perhaps I might say this in agreement with those that make them characters of a legal spirit that if they could be discovered in any person to be the onely principle of action as in Ahab and Pharoah the avoiding the Judgements that they were sensible of to hang over them were visibly the onely motives of their religious acts that person might be adjudged legal But of this more when I come to speak of a Spirit of Bondage which is the next Scripture-Character that I shall give of a Legal Spirit Onely in the mean time I reckon that I have evinced that taking it in the general without that distinctness in which we are to proceed so it is not a sufficient argument nor any argument at all of a Legal Spirit to act towards God for fear of punishment or in hope of the reward I come now to a third Character of a Legal Spirit The third Character of a Legal Spirit and it is this To be under a Spirit of Bondage is an argument of a Legal Spirit That this is an Argument or Character of a Legal Spirit first let us see some Scripture-proof and then I shall come to shew what a Spirit of Bondage is Now for Scripture-proof I think there is no Character of a Legal Spirit plainer in the Scripture then this I reckon indeed that the first viz. That it is external and fleshly in the serâ—ice of God was a plain Scripture-Character but I think this is rather plainer in Gal. 4.22 23. For it is written that Abraham had two sons the one by a bond-maid the other by a free-woman but he who was of the bond-woman was born after the FLESH but he of the free-woman was by promise which things are an Allegory for these are the two Covenants The one from Mount Sinai which gendreth to bondage which is Hagar This is the Law-Covenant Ergo Legalists are under a spirit of Bondage and they that are predominantly or properly said to be under a spirit of Bondage are Legalists the Proposition is convertible by reason that a spirit of Bondage is a property of a Legal spirit Again for a little more Scripture-proof 1. 'T is proved from its contrary the spirit which is contrary to a spirit of Bondage is a spirit of Adoption or Son-ship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now this Spirit of Adoption is a peculiar priviledge of the Gospel therefore the spirit of Bondage must belong to the Law Rom. 8.15 For ye have not received the
out Rom. 11.33 2. 2 Use of Information of the perversness of man This discourse informs us of the strange unreasonable perversness of the sons of men That when God hath in so much mercy and wisedom found out and appointed such a glorious easie way of saving sinners they should yet generally dislike this way and take to a more ignoble way to wit their own righteousness and an impossible way to wit the keeping of the Law which I have proved above at large that they do and it acquaints us with the strange infatuations which pride leads us into for that is by the Apostle chiefly glanced at as the reason of so many mens adhering to the way of Works because they would establish their own righteousness which they prefer far before the righteousess of God that is that righteousness which he hath sufficiently manifested he will alone accept They that are for the Law are for boasting and glorying this humour of self-confidence and fleshly boasting doth so besot them that they run upon the most absurd and irrational designs in the whole world but of this enough above 3. 3 Use of Consolation There is great matter of consolation which offers it self unto us from what hath been discoursed above Is it so that the Lord hath remitted of the rigour of his Law nay that he hath taken off the Law wholly from requiring an account of those that are married unto Christ as being their Husband no longer Is the condition of Justification altered from unerring obedience to faith and sincerity in obedience then here is comfort for all faithfull sincere hearts Art thou honest to God hast thou no Delilah in thy bosome art thou faithful to the interest of Christ and his Saints thou art safe thou art secure it is not necessary that thou be in the highest form of Christians 't is true it were well if thou wert there and it is thy duty to endeavour it but it is not absolutely necessary to thy being a Saint or in favour with God There are of all sorts and sizes See more of this pag. 202 203. above of all ranks and ages that are accepted with God There are babes and young men and strong men and fathers there are lambs and there are sheep that are with young only without sincerity without a lively faith they cannot be so much as Christ's little ones Now this is a matter of comfort which we may often reflect upon it is ready at hand unto us Art thou in any distress or trouble at any time either from without from men or from within by the bufferings of Satan turn in presently upon thy soul and examine see how thou hast lived and what thy present frame of heart is 2 Cor. 1.12 Our rejoicing is this the testimony of our conscience that IN SIMPLICITY GODLY SINCERITY not with fleshly wisedom but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world Now if thou hast such a testimony as this from thine own conscience thou maist conclude thou art in the favour of God and that therefore all things shall work together unto thee for good but herein do not deceive thy self with an imagined honesty of heart to God as many do but deal faithfully with thy self in the examination whether thou have a sincerity or no. If I should here give all the marks of sincerity that I could finde throughout the Scripture I should not be impertinent in so doing but yet seeing that hath been done well by many I shall forbear I shall only say this that if thou settest thy self any boundary or stint to thy attainments in holiness short of perfection thou art so far insincere or if thou avoidest any opportunity which thou canst by any means certainly understand to be an opportunity of honouring God thou art so far insincere Lastly if thou givest way to sin in the little degrees or appearances of it thou art so far insincere and if the interest of the flesh or of the world prevail in thy heart above the interest of God and Christ thou art altogether infincere whatever good desire and good affections thou maist have in thy heart I might here mention the other more principal condition of Gospel-justification viz. Faith and bid thee if thou wouldest have comfort enquire if thou have faith this St James tells thee how thou mayest know whether thou hast it oâ— no even by thy works thou maist discover it both unto thy self and others by these Jam. 2.18 Shew me thy faith without thy works and I will shew thee my faith by my works For though I affirm that the Apostle James doth not speak only in that Chapter of the demonstration of Faith by Works but also of real Justification before God by Works as they are a part of the condition of Gospel-justification according to the 14. ver of that Chap. If a man say he hath faith and not works SHALL FAITH SAVE HIM yet it is certain that he speaks there also of the demonstration of Faith by Works and both these designes I think may be as we understood in that chap. of James as in the 24 of Mat. we may understand our Saviour speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the World But instead of giving marks and signes of true faith I shall rather proceed to an use of Exhortation unto the high and frequent exercise of Faith which when we are engaged in we shall have marks and signes enough to discover our faith by In the next place therefore I come to an use of Exhortation 4 Use of Exhortation Is it so that Faith is made the great and principal condition of our Justification that Faith bears so great a stroke in the business of Gospel-justification that the whole way should receive denomination from itâ— Rom. 4.14 If they which are of the Law be heires FAITH is made void Is the righteousness of God in the Gospel said to be revealed from faith to faith Is the Gospel-righteousness called the righteousness of faith nay is faith it self accepted as our righteousness then let this provoke us to the constant lively exercise of all the various excellent acts of Faith Let us do as all the Saints of old have done and if it be possible let us out-do them in believing By faith saith saith the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews the Elders obtained a good report so he begins the chap. ver 2. These all saith he obtained a good report through faith so he ends it ver 39. What that great good report which they obtained was he tells you ver 33 34 35. Through faith they subdued Kingdomes wrought righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouthes of Lions quenched the violence of fire c. My first motive that I shall begin with to quicken this Exhortation shall be from the wonderfull things that faith hath wrought and can work 1 Mâ—tive Faith hath a virtue in it