be suppos'd that our Sin is like theirs of the same Nature tho' differing in Circumstances and Qualities as a River alters from its Fountain I will not deny but this History of the Fall of the Angels may be apply'd by the Apostle to Illustrate the Conflicts and final Victory of the Church upon Earth against the Malice of Men and Hell and may very fitly be understood so in this same Chapter But this does in no ways derogate from the Truth of the Fall of the Angels and of their War in Heaven No but by supposing it and applying it to the Church does more strongly Confirm the Truth of it Or rather indeed does but continue the Story for the War that is now upon Earth 'twixt the Devil and the Church is but the continuance of the same Quarrel which he fought in Heaven against St. Michael and his Angels But the Collect for this Day applies the Consideration of the Epistle and Gospel and proper Lessons to the Angels of Heaven to which they primarily belong And there being many days indeed all the other Holy days of the Year wherein we remember the Conflict of the Church against the Devil let Us imploy this one Day as set apart to consider the first and great Battle that Lucifer fought in Heaven according to such light as the Scriptures give of it particularly those chosen for this Day Especially from these words of my Text. There was War in Heaven The Sin of the Devil is generally agreed to be Pride And that from good Authority of Scripture Is xiv 12. How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer Son of the Morning for thou hast said in thine heart I will exalt my throne above the Stars of God I will be like the Most High Again Ezek. xxviii 14. Thou art the anointed Cherub and I have set thee so thou wast upon the holy Mountain of God Thine heart was lifted up because of thy Beauty thou hast Corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy Brightness Tho' this by the Prophet was applyed to Men yet it was by allusion to the Pride of the Devil Thus far in the General that it was Pride And it 's commonly said to be an Aspiring to be Equal with God But that cannot be directly for we cannot suppose such Absurdity in an Angel but by Consequence if you please and from Consideration of the Nature of Pride which sets no bounds to its Ambition for he that desires to be High would he not be Higher and Highest which is in consequence to be God But now as to the Particular Instance of his Pride the Occasion the Contest and the Issue of this first Discontent of the Devil which rais'd a War in Heaven let us with Humility inquire bounding our thoughts within the Rule of Gods word to infer no Doctrine contrary to any express Command in Scripture let Us make a Resignation of whatever we earn in this Harvest by Dedicating the whole to Glorify and Exalt the Doctrine of Christ and vindicate His Virtue from its sorest Enemies We know the Incarnation of Christ was Reveal'd to Man Gen. 3.15 Four Thousand Years before it came to pass And we are not to suppose that so Glorious a Mystery was conceal'd from the Angels We are told 1. Tim. 3.16 that it was declared unto the Angels And Tit. 1.2 That it was promiss'd Before the World began which cou'd not be to Man And 1. Pet. 1.12 That the Angels desire to look into it And the like might be inferr'd from many places of Scripture Particularly from the Verses immediatly before my Text where the Apostle in a Vision seeing this War in Heaven as it were present before his Eyes plainly tells the Cause of it to be the Incarnation of Christ and the Malice that the Devil thence conceiv'd against Christ and against his Church The Dragon stood before the Woman to Devour her Child when she had brought it forth So she brought forth a Man Child who shou'd Rule all Nations And her Son was taken up unto God and to his Throne As you have it in the 4th and 5th ver and thereupon ver 7th he tells you there was a Battle in Heaven 'twixt Michael and the Dragon and their Angels on both sides You will observe that in this as in other Prophesies and Visions things long past and to come are Represented as present and therefore in this Chapter the first Ground of Difference among the Angels the War which thereupon Ensu'd in Heaven and which is still carry'd on to this day upon Earth and the final Issue thereof at the Consumation of the World are all told in one breath as all present together as in a Picture for such they were represented to St. John who in his Vision saw all at one view and thence he speaks of the first Revelation God gave of the Incarnation to Angels or to Man and of the fulfilling thereof in the fulness of time he speaks here of them without distinction as of the self same thing But we who must frame our knowledge by steps let Us begin with the first Revelation and thence Inquire into this War in Heaven and so descend by degrees till we see Christ actually Incarnate as had been Reveal'd Thus then we proceed When the Incarnation was first Reveal'd We reasonably suppose That the Good Angels look'd upon this Infinite Condescention of God as an Act of the greatest Glory in God and in Raptures of Love Ador'd the Divine Goodness But the other Angels who had their Eyes full of their own Glory thought such Condescention Unworthy of God and therefore were loth to believe it at least in that sense they cou'd not understand it being blinded with Pride it was not agreeable to that Notion of God which they had which consisted chiefly in Power and Greatness as they belong to Haughtiness they understood not the Nature of Love which only is Almighty and Conquers in its Condescending And therefore they Argued against it as St. Peter against Christ's Passion Mat. xvi 22. he could not believe Christ meant it in earnest But perhaps to try the Zeal of his Disciples to see how much they would be concern'd against it and shew themselves not indifferent that their God should Die and be Crucified like a Thief therefore Peter wou'd be the first to shew his love to his Master and to shew it more zealously he took upon him to Rebuke Christ for but speaking of such a Thing as if he had heard Blasphemy it was not so much as to be Nam'd or Imagin'd be it far from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee So little did Peter then understand the true Nature and Greatness of Love And to shew that this was the Error of Lucifer our Saviour there rebukes Peter in his Name Get the behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me as if he had been speaking to the Devil himself who first had a wrong Notion of Love and Instilled the
from what is Reveal'd to Us Heb. 2.16 in these Words He took not on Him the Nature of Angels but he took on Him the Seed of Abraham Which argues as if there had been some such Contest at least gives Us leave to think whether it might not be and from such a suppose you see not wholly Unwarrantable I have Endeavour'd to reconcile the common Notion of Lucifer's aspiring to be Equal with God and brought him in arguing for himself as you have heard Thus did he Exalt Himself in his Pride and thought his Arms Invincible Which yet were not proof against the Mighty Argument of Love wielded by St. Michael who stood Victorious in his Constancy on his Contemplation of the vastness of the Nature of Love which can Endure no Limits and when it Gives knows no Reserves whose Glory therefore is Extended by the Greatness of its Condescentions and therefore Infinite Love must find Infinite Condescentions to Exert it self And Man being the Lowest of Rational Beings which only are Capable of Union with God that must needs be the Creature which Infinite Love will choose to Exalt to the Extremity of Almighty Power to make it even one with God that so Love which is God may be All in All may be the First and the Last And in Man Spirit being joyn'd in one Person with a Body compos'd of the Four Inferior Elements God does by this advance into an Union with His own Nature the very lowest of his Creatures Gross Matter it self as far as possibly it can be made Capable That as all things Spring from His Love and from thence do perpetually flow so do they in this Misterious Incarnation for ever Return thither again He is Α. and Ω. the Highest and the Lowest for that he Ascended what is it but that He first Descended into the Lowest parts of the Earth For Descending and Ascending being Relatives they must hold the same Proportion Eph. iv 9.10 and therefore none can Ascend more than first he did Descend Now Jesus who Descended even into Hell is the same also that Ascended far above all Heavens that He might fill all things But such Glory of Love cou'd not arise from God's advancing the Highest Creature because that wou'd not be so great a Condescention and the Supream Angel might perhaps Attribute something of Merit to himself and Despise all below who might think themselves left behind or forgot by the Eternal Providence who yet had the same Original pretences being all brought from out the same Mother Nothing But in this wonderful Oeconomy of the Incarnation all Disparity of Creatures is taken away like that of Stars in the presence of the Sun Eternal Love having Gather'd together in one all things in Christ Eph. i. 10. both which are in the Heavens and which are on the Earth even in Him who by this has made Heaven and Earth into one Family iii. 15. and of whom they both are nam'd And Christ the Head of Both from whom Both being made thus into One the whole Body fitly Joyn'd together iv 16. and compacted by that which every joynt supplieth according to the Effectual working in the Measure of every part maketh Increase of the Body unto the Edifying of it self in Love So that the Glory of Almighty Love shines alone in the many Members of this Great Body that an Angel cannot say to a Man or to a Worm there is no need of you more then the Hand can Despise the Foot or the Eye reject the assistance of the Ear That therefore it is no Dishonor for the Greatest Creature to serve the Least since they are all Members of one Body and United in the Incarnation of God Therefore Michael and his Angels thought it not only Indispensible to Adore the Manhood in God but that it was the Pitch of their Glory the Sum of all possible Bliss to contemplate such Love as was Vnfathomable to the Eternal Increasing of flight of Abstracted and Enlightn'd Spirits And not only this but they Rejoyc'd to be made Ministring Spirits to the meanest of Christ's Members upon the Earth Heb. 1.6 7. And to take their Name of Angels or Messengers from that Office assign'd them even to little Children as you are Instructed from the Gospel for the Day Mat. xviii 2.10 Nay farther they were content to Learn of their Pupils and to be Taught by the Church the Manifold wisdom of God Eph. 3.10 But this Humility of Love Satan Despis'd and instead thereof accused Man before God as unworthy of His Union And both Parties appeal'd to God And what cou'd be the Event when Love was Judge The Accuser of our Brethren was cast down who Accused them before God day and night as you have heard in the Epistle And Michael was Justified who maintain'd the Cause of Love in that Almighty Condescention of it in the Incarnation and Death of Christ They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb says the Epistle that is that High Instance of Love in Defence of which Michael fought did out shine all the pretended Glories of Pride and left the Devil Overthrown Astonish'd and Desperate and in this did appear the Strength and Salvation and Kingdom of our God and the Power of his Christ that is Love in its utmost Condescention which is its Victory and most Noble Glory the Riches and Superabundance of its Grace it 's Natural and Belov'd Conquest And now Rejoyce O ye Heavens ye Angels of His who do His pleasure who have overcome in this Noble Contest and for your Reward feed Eternally on that Unexhaustible Fountain of Love whose Cause you have so truly maintain'd But wo to the Inhabitants of the Earth for the Devil is come down unto you having great wrath and he Deceiveth the whole World and is come to make War with the Remnant which keep the Commandments of God and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ You see the same War is carry'd on by Him upon Earth which He fought in Heaven But before we enter into this Second part of the Battle there is a Proeliminary to be adjusted which will be necessary to the carrying on of this War and that is that we find a Reason why the Devil did not Acquiesce in the Judgment which God gave since we suppose that he Appealed to it as Korah and his Company appealed to God against Moses and Aaron and appear'd with Censers in their hands before the Lord which Cause I have made instance of as a Copy of the Rebellion of Lucifer Towards Satifaction in this difficulty let us first consider the Nature of that Obstinancy which is generally found in Error Non persuadebis etiam si presuaseris is a true and common saying and we read in the Gospel of those who seeing see not and who close their Eyes lest they should see We know that Spight and Malice will provoke that Rage which it knows too strong for it and which will torment it and will
THE HISTORY OF Sin and Heresie ATTEMPTED From the First War that they Rais'd in Heaven Through their various Successes and Progress upon Earth To the final Victory over them and their Eternal Condemnation in Hell IN SOME MEDITATIONS Vpon the Feast of St. MICHAEL and all ANGELS LONDON Printed for H. Hindmarsh at the Golden-Ball over against the Royal-Exchange in Cornhil 1698. THE PREFACE IT may be Expected that I shou'd make an Apology for Attempting a Subject so seemingly Abstruse and out of the Common Road But Excuses signifie nothing the Performance must Answer for it self Readers are not to be Brib'd by Petitionary Writers and I must leave it whether I will or not to their Impartial Judgment whether I have walk'd Safely and Modestly in so Vn-Trod a Path or have Improv'd any thing Vseful and Christian from it The Gravity and Seriousness with which this Subject ought to be treated has not been Reguarded in the Adventurous Flight of Poets who have Dress'd Angels in Armor and put Swords and Guns into their Hands to Form Romantick Battles in the Plains of Heaven a Scene of Licentious Fancy but the Truth has been Greatly Hurt thereby and Degraded at last even into a Play which was Design'd to have been Acted upon the Stage And tho' once Happily Prevented yet has Pass'd the Press and become the Entertainment of Prophane Raillery This was one Reason why I have Endeavour'd to give a more Serious Representation of that War in Heaven and I hope I may say much better Founded than Milton's Groundless Supposition who in the 5th Book of his Paradice Lost makes the Cause of the Revolt of Lucifer and his Angels to have been that God upon a certain Day in Heaven before the Creation of this Lower World did Summon All the Angels to Attend and then Declar'd His Son to be their Lord and King and Applies to that Day the 7th verse of the Second Psalm Thou art my Son this Day have I Begotten Thee The Folly of this Contrivance appears many ways To make the Angels Ignorant of the B. Trinity And to take it ill to Acknowlege Him for their King whom they had always Ador'd as their God or as if the Son had not been their King or had not been Begotten till that Day This Scheme of the Angels Revolt cannot Answer either to the Eternal Generation of the Son which was before the Angels had a Being or to His Temporal Generation of the B. Virgin that being long after the Fall of the Angels But if Mr. Milton had made the Cause of their Discontent to have been the Incarnation of Christ then at that time Reveal'd to the Angels And their Contesting in such Manner as hereafter told for the Dignity of the Angelical above that of the Humane Nature his Contexture had been Nearer to the Truth and might have been much more Poetical in the severe and just measure of Poetry which ought not to Exceed the Bounds of Probability not to Expatiat into Effeminat Romance but to Express Truth in an Exalted and Manly Improvement of Thought Milton in the first Book of his Paradice Lost makes Lucifer suppose himself to be Self-Existing and so without Beginning Which seems Incongruous to the Knowledge of an Angel tho' he has Deluded some foolish Men into that Blasphemous and vain opinion as hereafter shewn p. 35. And Philosophers of Great Name have held the Eternity of the World because they were Ignorant of its Beginning so that there are more Foot-Steps to warrant this Conjecture of Milton's than the former which I have Mention'd In the Repetition of the several Heresies which Satan has Broach'd in the World against the Truth of the Incarnation of Christ I have but slightly Nam'd those of Former and Early Ages but Insisted a little more particularly upon those of our own Times because we are more Nearly Concern'd in them And I have now Added them to the rest of these Sheets which have lain by me these several years without any Intention of Making them Publick But now at last I have Adventur'd to let them run their Fate if perhaps they may Provoke more sufficient Pens to Correct or Improve these Thoughts to the Advantage of Religion and Benefit to the Souls of Men. I have taken a Text that I might keep closer to my Subject for it is no Objection against an Essay if the Discourse be as Regular as that of a Sermon THE CONTENTS I. THe Benefit of Contemplating the Fall of the Angels Page 1 II. This Text is likewise Applicable to the Conflicts of the Church upon Earth III. Pride the first Sin of the Devil p. 2 IV. Which Aspires by Consequence to an Equality with God V. The Incarnation of Christ shewn to be the Ground of this Contest in Heaven p. 3 VI. The Battel of the Good and Evil Angels Concerning it proceeding upon the Principles of Love and Pride p. 7 VII God's Determination of the Cause p. 14 VIII The same War carry'd on by the Devil upon Earth IX Why Lucifer and his Angels did not submit to the Determination of God p. 15 X. The many Heresies broach'd by the Devil against the Truth of the Incarnation of Christ p. 17 XI And of His Satisfaction p. 20 Wherein these Objections are Consider'd 1. That the Sufferings of Christ ought to have been Eternal p. 28 2. That Christ ought to have had Despair p. 29 3. That He took the Pollution as well as the Curse of our Sin as the Anti-Nomians hold p. 32 4. The Quakers and Bourignonists oppose the Satisfaction of Christ p. 33 5. Pride the Mother of these and All Heresies p. 35 XII The Dispute concerning Grace p. 37 XIII Of Faith and Works p. 38 Wherein 1. Of Imputation p. 41 2. Of Election and Reprobation p. 44 3. Of Fore-knowledge and Free-Will p. 46 XIV The various Successes of this War upon Earth before Christ came p. 51 XV. The Grand Conflict betwixt Christ and the Devil p. 53 XVI Application of the Whole p. 57 ERRATA PAge 14. line 3. dele the first of p. 15. l. 25. dele one and. p. 20. l. 1. r. strike p. 32. penult r. out of p. 37. l. 32. r. than p. 43. l. 31. for their r. there p. 45. on the Margent r. 1 Sam. vi 19. l. 8. r. Decrees p. 54. l. 35. r. Disciples l. 36. for as r. all p. 55. l. 2. for a r. as p. 56. l 14. r. was not l. 35 for Dictates r. Oeconomie MICHAEL MAS-DAY Rev. XII 7. There was War in Heaven THE Subject of this Day is a Great Mystery But Mysteries are to be Inquir'd into Why else were they Reveal'd But our Inquiries must be with Reverence and profound Humility Why else are they Mysteries Our Contemplation upon the Fall of the Angels may be of Excellent use to Us It will lay our Sin more lively before our eyes because the Angels Sinn'd first and Tempted Us to follow their Example and therefore it is to
same Principle into Men. And this I shew you for the first Sin of Lucifer and his Angels that it consisted in a wrong Notion of God which is the Great and Mother Heresie considering of him falsly in his attributes of Power and Sovereignity And therefore they cou'd not believe the Incarnation cou'd be meant litterally by God as being unworthy his Greatness and so vast a Diminution of His Majesty to Empty Himself into the Basest of the Order of Spirits and Mingle Infinit with Flesh and Blood and therefore Argued against it not knowing that true Power and Sovereignity are in the Conquests of Love which delights to Condescend it self and Advance others But the desire to over-power others by force and violence and Debase them under our Power is so far from Almightiness that it is an Impotent Vice which arises from Fear and want of Strength in our minds and the more we grow Powerful in that sense the more we fall from that which is true Power that is to Help or Advance others which we may perceive from this Experience Those who overcome by Love Advance those they overcome into their Love But who overcome by Force Subjugat those they overcome therefore the Conquest of Love is giving a greater Freedom and that must be by loosing us from some former Thraldom and that is truly Power and Greatness and therefore the Conquest of Force is taking from us some Freedom we had before but cannot be the giving of any Freedom for then it would not be Force and therefore cannot help or free from Thraldom and is therefore Impotence and shares nothing of Greatness But to Subdue one may give Freedom to another Is it not Noble to Rescue a Friend from his Enemy It is But in so far as it gives Help or Freedom it proceeds from Love And from this very pretence it may be argu'd that the Glories of Pride are but an Imitation of the Power of Love But it is more noble to overcome an Enemy by Love then by Force for by Force you only Rescue your Friend but by Love you Convert his Enemy and so Rescue him too Love has for its object only the giving Freedom to my Friend to commit Force upon his Enemy is no part of its Design for it wou'd rather Convert that Enemy and so make a Friend of him too and when it does Force an Enemy it does it unwillingly and thinks it no greater Bravery then to remove a Stone out of the way I am to go or to tread through a dirty Step. And this Mire is all that Pride delights in it delights in Mischief to do others Hurt and throw them down and thinks that in that consists its own Exaltation a Glory to which the Plague has a better Title then a Hero for the Plague Destroys more from which office the Devil the King of the Children of Pride takes his Title of Apollyon a Destroyer but God delights to be known by the name of Jesus a Saviour And if you think that a wild Beast has not more right to this Honour than any Man of Arms the best proof will be to see them Grapple together and then you will easily judge of their Strength and Courage If Wrath were a more noble Quality than Love Christ would not have chose the Lamb and the Dove for his Emblem and left the Dragon and the Serpent for the Arms of the Devil To Destroy is the Courage of a Beast I will deliver thee into the hand of Brutish Men Skilful to Destroy Says Ezek xxi 31. Whereas the Exaltation and Force of Love is in Humbling its self to do others Good and the Higher it Raises others the Greater is its Delight and Glory nor do's it fear to Raise others too High too near its-self which is the suspition of Pride because its Delight does Encrease by doing Good to others and therefore the Higher others Rise its Delight is the Greater and when it brings others to be even one with its self then its Joy is in Perfection From what we have Consider'd of the Nature of Love and Pride this then is the Result To be Conquer'd by Love is to be Exalted but to be conquer'd by Pride is to be Debased for Love Humbles it self to Advance others Pride Humbles others to Advance it self And which of these two is the most Noble is the state of the Case the Subject of our present Contemplation in the two greatest Instances of either that ever was or can possibly be in Heaven or on Earth Of the one in the Incarnation of Christ Of the other in the Revolt of the Angels We have now gain'd the ground of Quarrel which engag'd the Angels of Heaven in a War Next let us bring their mighty Armies into the Field and Examine the Conduct of their Chiefs by discussing their Arguments on both sides each in defence of their Principles For differing Thoughts is the Contest of Spirits And may we not be allow'd thus to Enquire For we shall be their Judges Know ye not that we shall Judge Angels says the Apostle 1. Cor. vi 3. The Good Angels as we have heard did believe the Incarnation when it was Reveal'd to them as being agreeable to the Notion of God which they had which was all Love and wherein they understood the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory of God to consist And therefore they did willingly submit to adore the Humanity joyn'd in one Person with the God-Head Submit did I say they Glory'd in it with all their Powers it was their most Natural Service for it was a more Noble Demonstration of the Nature of Love than ever they had known before which being a clearer Revelation of the Divinity was proportionably an Encrease of Happiness to them as being more nearly Reconcild or admitted to a nearer Participation of the Divine Goodness the Sum the Completion the Farthest of Created Bliss having all their Joy their Hopes their Exultation and Wonders of Love their Eternal Security and Confirmation all their Glory and Delight every Thought of their Capacious and Enlarg'd Vnderstandings all fill'd up gather'd together in one in the Contemplation of that stupendous Infinit Excess of Love the Incarnation of God! The vertue of which wrought up from Earth to the Heavens to the Confirmation and Perpetual Increase of Felicity to the Blessed Angels as we are taught from Ephes. 1.10 Col. 1.20 On the other side the Rebel-Angels could not Believe the Incarnation when it was Reveal'd unto them at least in the plain and litteral Sense of it as being contrary to that Notion of God which they had which was all Haughtiness and Pride or what they could suppose it is in God which holds proportion to Pride in Creatures for which we want a proper Name and in this they understood the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory of God to Consist And therefore as they cou'd not Believe neither cou'd they Submit to Worship Humanity in any Condition
the meaning of the Sacrifices under the Law The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit So that Repentance was no new Condition Nor indeed was any Doctrine of Christ new for He came to fulfil the Law And if we look into this it will convince Us beyond all we cou'd gather from our own Reason As much as a Picture is beyond a Description Behold therefore in the Law the Types of Christ how they were Expiatory and not meerly for Example Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for Vs 1 Cor. 5.7 Sacrifices were for Expiation and not for Example The Sin of the Party was Laid upon the Sacrifice and it was said to Die for His Sin Which was confest over the Scape Goat Lev. XVI 21.22 and put upon his head and he was to bear it away to a Land not Inhabited This was to shew that Death was the wages of Sin and that Christ was to bear it for us and Escape with it and carry it from Us. Chap. xvii 11. The life of the Flesh is in the Blood and I have given it to you upon the Altar says the Old Testament to make an Atonement for your Souls for it is the Blood that maketh an Atonement for the Soul And this is the Reason that almost all things are by the Law purged with Blood Heb. ix 22.23 and without shedding of Blood is no Remission It was therefore Necessary says the Apostle and so goes on to infer the Necessity of Christ's shedding his Blood according to his Types which He did to the least Jota Chap. xiii 12. even to His Suffering without the Gate This sets before Us as in a Picture the whole Oeconomy of Christ's Sufferings and from the first Sentence of Death pronounced against Sin In the Day thou Eatest thou shalt surely Dye we see this fulfilled in the Legal Sacrifices slain for the Sin of Man which Typified the Sheding of that Blood which cou'd indeed take away Sin which it was not possible for the Blood of Bulls and Goats to do Heb. x. 4 5. and therefore says Christ a Body hast thou prepar'd me and Lo I come Col. 1.20 He was the true Sacrifice and Expiation for our Sin having made Peace thro' the Blood of his Cross Eph. 1.7 In whom we have Redemption thro' His Blood To call all this only His being an Example to Us is so wide both from Reason and the Matter of Fact that it shews the very Impotence of our Enemy It was by the Blood of the Lamb they overcome him says the Epistle for this Day This Expiation of Christ takes away our Sin pays all our Debt and leaves nothing to the Spirit of Pride but to Feed on his own Envy and Malice and Mad Despair God has Guarded this last stake and great Rock of our Salvation as to render it Impregnable but by our supine Negligence He who can turn all that the Scripture speaks of the Expiation and Atonement and Ransom of Sin to a mere Example he must go against his own Conviction if ever we can determine it in any Case Nay I dare appeal to any such whether if he were Dying he would take greater Comfort in Considering Christ as his Surety who had paid his Debt as his Sacrifice and Expiation who cou'd plead to the Justice of God full Satisfaction for all his Sins whether his heart wou'd not Lean more to Christ thus as a Saviour then to look upon Him meerly as an Example which he has not follow'd Some wou'd go farther and let Christ be an Intercessor only and as such a Redeemer i. e. Who Redeems Us by His Interceeding with God for Us. That God appointed Him for this work but that it is against Reason to talk of his Answering to Gods Justice for that God needed no body to Pay a Debt to him He might forgive without all that if He pleas'd This has been Answer'd already But I wou'd fain ask one Question Whether God needs an Intercessor more then a Redeemer to Save Mankind How can People pretend Reason for the one and yet cry down the other as against all Reason And again to give Divine worship to this Intercessor and at the the same time to deny his Divinity as the Arians did and the Polonian Socinians do at this Day which is Reckon'd no less than Rank Idolatry by the new fashion'd Socinians which are got up amongst us who deny Divine Honor to be due to Christ and yet when these Socinians are pleading for Antiquity they Derive themselves from the Arians Tho' the Arians allow Christ to have a Being with God the Father before the Creation of the World And the Socinians say that he never was at all before he was Born of the Virgin Which is so wide a Difference besides that of Divine worship above told that nothing cou'd make them of the same Party but fighting under the same General And then their Cause will gain great Antiquity it came from the Prae-Adamites the Mighty Host's of Heaven who fell in this Quarrel and Manage it with greater success now on Earth 1. Others by their Instigation Argue in this Form against this Doctrin of the Satisfaction That if Christ Pay the Debt and undergo the Curse which was Due to Man for Sin He ought to Suffer the same Curse that was laid upon Man which was Eternal Death else He do's not Pay the Whole Debt or Suffer that which Man was to have Suffer'd Ans Man Suffers Eternally can Never come out of Prison because he can Never Pay the Vttermost Farthing which Justice do's Require Therefore Christ's Sufferings were not Eternal because they were Sufficient for the Dignity of the Person to make Full Satisfaction And not only because of the Dignity of the Person who was God but from the Nature of the thing For Sin being an Offence against Love or Goodness the Nature of Love do's Require that the Person Offending shou'd have a Sense of his Fault For while the Offender Remains Obstinate Insensible and Persists in his Ingratitude even Love cannot Forgive I say Cannot because tho' Love were willing Love is always willing yet the Insensible Offender is not Capable because the Forgiveness of Love is Restauration to Restore those to the Happiness and Enjoyment of Love who have fallen from it And all Happiness being Center'd in Love as before has been said for God is Love consequently till we Return to Love we cannot Return to our Happiness And an Vngrateful Man and Insensible of his Ingratitude to His Greatest Benefactor who still Courts and Invites him to Return is utterly Vn-capable while he Persists in his Vngratitude to Know or Enjoy the Blessings of Love and Consequently of the Forgiveness of Love which by its own Nature must Necessarily Hate all Baseness Envy Malice and whatever is Contrary to its own Nature Now as the Nature of Love do's Require that an Offender shou'd be Sensible of his Fault so likewise that he
have no Choice no Free-will to go to the Right hand or to the Left Have I any Pleasure at all that the Wicked shou'd Dye Ezek. xviii 23. ver 31. Saith the Lord God and not that he shou'd Return from his ways and Live And why will ye Dye O House of Israel Why Because they might say upon this Scheme you have Decreed us to Dye and we have no Choice no Power to do any otherwise then we do It is as if I shou'd Bind a Man Hand and Foot Lock him into a House then set Fire to it and ask him Why will you stay there and be Burn'd As I Live I have no Pleasure in your Death c. This wou'd be a Mocking and Insulting upon his Misery This wou'd be making God the Author of all the Sin in the World For where there is no Choice there can be no Sin Therefore those Creatures who have no Choice are Incapable of Sin as Trees Stones Beasts c. And as there cou'd be no Sin against God so cou'd there be no Offence against Man No man ought to be Punished for Murther Theft Robbery c. If he be carry'd to it by a Fatal Necessity which he cannot Resist Therefore Men Distracted or in Feavours are not Lyable to Law because they are not suppos'd Capable of the use of their Reason whereby they may Govern their Choice in their Actions I may Add that there is nothing more Self-Evident no not the Perception of our out-ward Senses than Free-will in Man who do's not Perceive that it is in his Power to do this or that And all the Repentance and Regret in Man for his Follies arises from this Consideration that he might have done otherwise Without this there cou'd be no such thing as Repentance no nor of Council and Advice or indeed of any Thinking at all Without this Man cou'd not be a Reasonable Creature for where there is no Choice there can be no Reason at least no use of our Reason It is Liberty and Free-will which Confounds all those Atheists who wou'd Reduce Every thing even God Himself to mere Matter For let Matter be Refin'd as far as Imagination can stretch it it can never come from under the Laws of Necessity All its Motions are Perscrib'd and must proceed Exactly according to its Mechanism and cannot vary in the least Tittle But the Freedom of Will to Act this way or the Contrary exceeds all Rules of Mechanism and is an Image of God which cannot be Impress'd upon Matter And when the Devil or Man by his Instigation wou'd shrow'd their Sin under this seeming Necessity it is to throw it upon God But their own Consciences fly in their Faces and tells them that they might have Helpt it and therefore that their Sin lys at their own Door How far any or All of the Errors and Heresies before Mentioned or what others of the like Nature did Prevail in the Ancient Ages of the World of which we have little Account and before the Flood we cannot now Determine But this we may be Assur'd of that there were Gross Errors and Heresies amongst them And that these as well as those of which we have the Account were Instigated and Promoted by the Arch-Enemy who first Tempted Man to Sin after his own Example And has and will to the End of the World Seduce Mankind as far as in his Power And God has Permitted him Great Power and Great Success which will all turn no Doubt to the Greater Glory of God in the End and to the Encrease of Endless Happinness to those who are subjected to Great Tryals and Tentations and shall Continue Faithful unto the End God has had His City from the Beginning and the Devil his Camp laying Siege to it and often Wasting and almost Destroying it whereby God shew'd His Almighty Power and Love to His Church in His Miraculous Defence of it amidst so many and Great Dangers Of which this Attempt is Design'd by way of a History Deduc'd from the Beginning of that first Revolt in Heaven and the various Successes of the same War carry'd on upon the Earth ever since the Fatal Seduction of our first Parents in Paradice And the Low Ebb to which the Church was often Reduc'd and yet still Deliver'd will strengthen our Hearts in those Afflictions and Depressions of this City of God which we see in our times And not only keep us from Despair but give us a Lively Hope Encrease our Faith and stir up our Courage always to Work and never to Despond when we know that God is on our side and that we must Overcome in the End if we Faint not and give up the Cause for want of Trust in God and Loose both our Labour and Reward Therefore that we may see that Nothing New has befallen Us Let us look into the Several Ages of the World Whom find we that walked with God or fought on his side but Abel Seth Enoch and Noah before the Flood Then was the whole World Destroy'd for its Wickedness except Eight Persons After the Flood how soon did Nimrod and the Builders of Babel declare their Pride And the whole World receiv'd this Principle of the Devil and Govern'd themselves by it And the Army of God was confin'd within the small Family of Abraham And when God had Rescu'd a Nation to Himself Deut. vii 7. Psal Lxxviii 9. Matt. xxiii 37. and given them His Law they were the Fewest of all People a Stubborn and Stifnecked Generation that set not their heart Aright nor sought after God they ston'd their Prophets and kill'd those whom God sent to Reclaim them Till at last God Remov'd Them too and Scatter'd them among the Heathen Then the Devil boasted in his Conquests and set up his Banners for tokens he Possest all the Temples and Thrones in the World None Appear'd against him but a few Heathen Philosophers who were themselves in half Pay with him had suck'd many of his Principles with their Milk but yet were assisted by God and Spoke Noble things in defence of Love till by it as by a clue they discover'd God Himself or found that Love was Almighty and they made it the first Former of all Things They batter'd Pride with mighty Arguments and brought upon themselves the Rage of the Devil who kept them Low and Poor and Despis'd and Arm'd Kings and States against them and Rais'd many of them to a sort of Martyrdom Thus Deplorable was the Condition of the World then a few stifled Embers only left and all the Torrents of the World all their Violence let loose upon them to Quench them It was now time for God Himself to Appear in Defence of His own Cause which in the hands of Men had been Betray'd Overpower'd Conquer'd and only not Intirely Lost And Lo He Comes a Body is prepar'd for Him and God was made Flesh Now let Us seriously attend this Conflict for never before nor ever again
be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the Breadth and Length and Depth and Height And to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge that thus ye may be filled with all the fulness of God Observe how the Inspir'd Apostle Rejoyces even to Extasie upon this Subject The fulness of God that is all we or any Creature can hold of Him consist's in what we Understand of the Nature of Love And then to our Eternal Comfort the Love of Christ passes all Knowledge that is no Knowledge can comprehend it all and therefore it can afford still new Matter of Joy and Rapture to all Created Understandings for Ever and Ever And may not this Contemplation raise us to the Courage of an Apostle it will certainly if we let this Good Seed stay in our hearts till it take Root if we do not choke it with the foolish Principles of Pride or make it give place to Cares and Riches and Pleasures of this Life it will bring our hearts to the firmness of an Angel and make Us see nothing that can Terrifie Us We will be ready to joyn with St. Paul in his holy Exultation and say Who shall seperate Vs from the Love of Christ shall Tribulation or Distress or Persecution or Famine or Nakedness or Peril or Sword as it is Written for thy sake are we kill'd all the day Long we are counted as Sheep for the Slaughter nevertheless in all these things we are more then Conquerors through Him who Loved us for I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor Height nor Depth Rom. viii 35. nor any other Creature shall be able to Seperate Vs from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And now as a Conclusion to all that has been said we may learn this that the best Guard we can have against falling into Heresie is to Watch carefully against all the Inroads and Temptations of Pride which I have shewn to lie at the bottom of all Heresies as the Source from whence they Spring It Corrupts the Will and by that Viciates the Vnderstanding and Inclines them by a strong Byass to the side of Error and in Prejudice of the Truth which is always Founded upon and Accompany'd with the opposit of Pride that is Love and Goodness which is Naturally Productive of a Sweetness and Humility of Temper that Renders us Docible and Vn-prejudic'd without which Truth cannot be Duly Discern'd but is Clouded from Perverse and Obstinate Minds And as the Humility of Love is the best Preservative against Error and Heresie so is it the surest Defence against most sort of Sins in our Private Conversation especially it Enables us most Effectually to Perseverance in the Faith against that Fiery Tryal of Persecution which in one sort or other 2 Tim. 3.12 comes to most Mens share that will live Godly in Christ Jesus But there is an higher Pitch of Perfection even than this And that which I wou'd raise Men to and desire to Imitate my self is that whereof the Dayly Exercise and Improvement is by Gods great Mercy and Goodness afforded to every one of us which is not only to bear the Persecution or the Pride of others which some may do even out of Pride Obstinacy or other Vicious Principle But chiefly to banish Pride out of your selves to look upon the meanest Man in the World as a Member of Christ and so equal to your self And therefore to Condescend to the Lowest Offices that may do him Good to bear his Infirmities and Injuries with Patience which is the true Magnanimity as Christ also did bear ours And that you think this so far from being Dishonorable as that you may esteem it the Greatest Glory and Praise of Love wherein the Happiness of Heaven does consist And if Angels were thrown out of Heaven for Despising Man and Christ Died to Redeem Man and is Himself a Man and Loves and Values the meanest Man what is that Man that Despises another And if even in Heaven there was War and Folly and Blasphemy among the Angels there and misunderstanding the Nature of God how shou'd this make us Patient to one anothers Infirmities How Solicitous and careful to Secure our selves How Reasonable will it hence appear to keep a watchful Eye upon the least progress of Pride or Self-conceit which was Potent to Disturb the Seat of the Blessed and overthrow Spirits which were Heavenly-Born That therefore you shou'd justly abhor the Pride of this World to see a Man Despise not only his Inferiors which was the Sin of Angels but his Equals and Superiors To think himself beyond every Man he meets and that it is below his Greatness Forsooth to receive an Injury from any this is the Character of a Hero so much courted in Romances and Plays the Gospel of this Worlds Honor a Fool swell'd with Pride even to Blasphemy Is it not Nauseous to see Him brave Thunder whose Scull is not proof against the sliding of a Tyle from a House top a weak piece of Flesh whose Foundation is in the Dust the food of Worms that is crushed before the Moth A man that is not able to Encounter a Disease to hear him Railly against God! and to think this either Wit or Courage that Men of Spirit as they call themselves shou'd be fond of a Vice which proceeds Meerly from want of Sense And not rather to follow the Advice and Example of a God which is that you wou'd think it your Greatest Honour to become Innocent and Harmless Loving and free from Pride as little Children are which is taught in the Gospel for this Day and that with such Courage that you wou'd rather Choose to Pluck out your Eyes and Cut off your Hands than to Offend the Least the most Inconsiderable of Mankind who are Created by God after His own Image and are the Price of the Blood of Christ That you wou'd believe the Argument of Honour to be Decided which has been Bandy'd by the Angels of Heaven and Determin'd there by God Himself that it Consist's in Love and not in Pride but more sensibly by the Incarnation and Sufferings of Christ which makes it as it were Visible to our Eyes That you wou'd therefore suffer your selves to be perswaded by your own Reason which will shew you the restless Miseries which attend upon Pride and the Beauties and Great Glory of Love in the which if â—â—u can 〈…〉 selves you have already tasted of Heâ—â—â—â— and are Heirs of Immortal Honour Amen And let this Comfort us in our Faint Longings Languid Attempts and many Failings in our Spiritual Warfare And let this silence all our weak Murmurings at the Providence of God which has for Infinitly wise Ends not Fathomable by us Permitted the Fall of Man and Wars and Divisions upon Earth since for this End no Doubt among many others He has made known to us that There was war in Heaven And that as the Conquest can be only by His Strength and Grace in us so it will End in Infinit and Eternal Victory and Triumph to those who Trust wholly in Him by Faith in Christ Humbled and Crucifi'd for us and who follow him Manfully to the end of that Race which He our Great Prophet and Guide has not only Pointed out to us but as our Captain has Led us and Run before us and Fought the same Fight which He wou'd have us to Fight and wherein he will Assist us and Protect us that the Gates of Hell shall never Prevail against us And has already in Our Cause and in in our Name and Nature Triumphed over every Power of the Enemy and taken Possession of Heaven for us as our Head the Soul and Life of that Body whereof we are Members And as the Soul do's Actuate all the Members of the Body consequently it must Raise all the Members with the Body So that all who Partake of the Spirit of Christ are sure that that Spirit must Raise up their Bodies as Certainly as it did Raise up the Body of Christ Rom. viii 9.11 Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His But if the Spirit of Him who Raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you He that Raised up Christ from the Dead shall also Quicken your Mortal Bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you Amen FINIS