Scripture are equally revealed both equally claim a share in Gods Veracity and till we can be resolved to Satisfaction how God may be such a one as pardons Iniquity and yet will by no means clear the Guilty till we can see how this seeming Contradiction may be Reconciled we shall either have none or but a faint and Dying knowledge of it But now Christ he is the very Life of this Knowledge for in his Death and Sufferings we see and know clearly that Gods Justice is satisfied upon Christ and his pardoning Mercy Magnified upon the Repenting and Believing sinner and thus to know God to be a Sin-pardoning God has indeed Life in 't For thus to use the words of the Learned Bishop Reynolds upon Psal. 110. A Way is found out that things may be all one in respect of Man as if the Law had been utterly Abrogated and that they may be all one in respect of God as if the Creature had been utterly Condemned pag. 500. This is all the Doctor here intends wherein though he should be mistaken yet has he not discovered a Fellonious Intention and so I hope it will not prove a Hanging Matter But yet our Author with his prying Eyes can see further into a Milstone than he that Pecks it And as our Critical Scholiasts upon the Poets discover Elegancies Figures and great Rarities which the poor man never Dreamt of so can our Author discover Errors multitudes of hideous Errors in the Doctor which he neither Sleeping nor Waking was ever aware of For says he He explains himself thus These things are Clearly Eminently and Savingly only to be discovered in Iesus Christ. Whether the Doctor say any such thing or no we shall take the Boldness to Catechise our Author by and by and make him produce his Chapter Paragraph and Page e're we have done or abide by the shame that is due to a Malicious Slanderer At present I only ask which of these Terms it is that he will Duel or will he throw down the Gantlet to them all that we may have Battle Royal 1 These things are only clearly to be discovered in Iesus Christ I see the most Innocent things may give Offence But who would have suspected that in this place For suppose that Sun Moon and Stars Gods general Goodness to his Patience with and Forbearance of Sinners might Intimate some such thing that there was Forgiveness with God yet surely there 's a more clear account given of it in Christs Person who was made sin for us 2 Cor. 5. 21. which the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 53. v. 10. calls making his Soul an Offering for sin And that methinks clears it up a little more than if we had been put to spell out the meaning of Patience and Forbearance with the Fescue of our own understanding And though the Scripture abundantly reveals Pardon of Sin yet the Manner how the Reason why which are the very Life and Soul of all Knowledge is revealed to be from the Mercy of God through the Blood of Christ Ephes. 1. 7. In whom we have Redemption through his Blood the Forgiveness of Sins according to the Riches of his Grace And the rather may we be bold to say that the pardon of Sin is cleared up in the Person of Christ because so Authentick so Infallible an Author as ours is has given us leave to believe pag. 20. that the Gospel-Covenant is sealed with the Blood of Christ and therefore we can desire no greater Security And this I am sure of from Heb. 8. 10. that the Summe and Substance of that Covenant is I will be their God and they shall be my People and a main Branch of that Covenant I will be Merciful to their Iniquities and Remember their Sins no more If then we could but clear this one Poynt that the Bliod which Sealed this Covenant was not the Blood of a Doctrine nor of an Office nor of the Church but the precious Blood of Iesus Christ the Son of God even the Blood of a Person it would then be clear also that God's pardoning Mercy is only clearly or so clearly however to be discovered in Iesus Christ. 2 For the Term Eminently if the Bluster be against that I shall not much trouble my self I am no great Friend to because poorly skilled in Metaphysical Notions but as it stands here in Conjunction with other honest words I see no harm in 't To me it denotes no more but that the Pardon of sin is Notably Chiefly Gloriously and in a most Special and Excellent manner discovered in the Personal Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ But if our Author after all this be not satisfied but finds himself Aggrieved the Law is open I plead no Protection let him take his Course and the Remedy the Law has given him 3 Therefore it must needs be that last word Savingly that is guilty of all and therefore must bear the Charge brought in against the whole Sentence That pardon of sin is only savingly discovered in Iesus Christ. I cannot tell but I do shrewdly conjecture that our Author has spoken as dangerous a thing as this comes to and has given us sufficient warrant to distinguish between a vain empty Insignificant Knowledge and an Useful Profitable and Saving Knowledge pag. 36. There is says he a larger Notion of the Knowledge of Christ which includes the Vertue and Efficacy of this Knowledge For how true soever our Speculations be the Scripture brands all those as Ignorant of God who do not love Reverence and Obey Him Now if the Doctors Book had had but the Happiness to have seen the World after our Authors he might have Explained himself so as to come off with a dry Head Notwithstanding what I have said of Gods Sin-pardoning mercy and the Knowledge thereof as in Him yet there is another Knowledge thereof which Includes and takes in the knowledge of this God to be our God and pardoning our sins which God is only in and through the Lord Iesus Christ and therefore the Scripture brands all those as Ignorant of God and his pardoning Mercy who know him not as their God in a Covenant of Grace whereof Christ is the Mediator and therefore without Him we can have no Saving-knowledge of or Interest in God or his Sin-pardoning Goodness whatever our Speculations may be of Mercy and Grace and Pardon to be in God But after all this Trouble our Author has put me to and just as much that I have put the Reader to the Mischief on 't all is this The Doctor says not one Word Syllable Letter Jot or Tittle of all this but the contrary I am sure the Reader is startled and his Hair begins to stand an end What no Truth on Earth Is Astraea more than in a Fable gone to Heaven Well Reader when thou art come to thy self and art a little more Cool and Composed Consult the Doctors Book pag. 90. Sect. 6. There are some of the most eminent Properties
Proof thereof For in Christ Jesus c. Did the Apostles Premises speak of one thing and his Conclusion of another 2. Here 's this lies in the way that no Cogent Reason can be assigned why we should depart from the Plain Ordinary Primary acceptation of the Word Christ for a Figurative Improper and Secondary acceptation but only to humour our Author for which at present I am not in the Mood 3. He is miserably short in his Foundation for after all his pains to prove that Christ signifies an Office a Doctrine a Church he must go over with all this again and prove that Jesus signifies a Doctrine and Jesus a Church or else he 's just in Statu quo For he had told us before that though Christ was an Homonymous word a Name of Desuetory Lubricous and Versatile sound Jesus was his Proper Name given him by the Angel before he was Born and therefore surely that has not been Warped and Twisted and Scrued at that Rate that this other poor Name has been for as it falls out unhappily Here 's Jesus joyned with Christ and that perswades us almost that a very Person is intended But yet secondly The apparent Falshood of it sticks more with me than all this I could easily down with a few Absurdities For I think and believe according to the Scripture That there is something besides a Vertuous Life of value to Recommend us to the Favour of God nay something more of Value and I shall not be Hector'd out of it by Blustering words 'T is the Righteousness of Jesus which I mean and we have the Apostles Warrant for it Ephes. 1. 6. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved If God should enter into Judgment with us according to the Exactest of our Obedience perhaps we should be willing to accept of Christ's Recommendation to the favour of God notwithstanding our most vertuous Lives but secondly I indite it of Falshood that he makes a new Creature and a vertuous Life equivalent Expressions For I had thought that a vertuous Life is but the Fruit that Grows on the Tree but the Tree must be made good e're the Fruit can be so A vertuous Life the Streams that flow from the Spring of the new Creature and the Fountain must be cleansed e're the Streams will be so In plain Terms the vertuous Life is but the Result of a new Heart the product of a Renewed Nature without which Principle of a vertuous Life and without Christ to Recommend both to God there is no hope to find favour in his sight His second place is Col. 2. 8. Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain Deceit after the Traditions of Men after the Rudiments of the World and not after Christ. Where says he after Christ is oppos'd to the Traditions of Men and Rudiments of the World and therefore must signifie not the Person but the Religion or Gospel of Christ. Must And what necessity of that I can see none from the Text But if our Author has impos'd upon himself an absolute and indispensible necessity of being Baptiz'd into Volkelius then indeed it must be so Interpreted no remedy Lib. 5. c. 10. p. 437 438. Divinitatis Nomine nec Dei nec Christi Natura sed Divinae voluntatis notitia Deique colendi ratio Intelligi porest atque ideo debet By the name Deity not the Nature of God or of Christ but the knowledge of the Divine Will and the manner of Worshipping God May be and therefore Must be understood The Reader is now satisfi'd why it must be so 1. It may be so and therefore necessarily it must be so 2. Volkelius says it must be and therefore it must But let us be Judg'd by the words following Not after Christ for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ver 9. Does the fulness the all fulness of the Godhead dwell bodily in the Doctrine or in the Person of Christ ver 10. And ye are compleat in him who is the Head of Principality and Powerâ—… Is iâ—… Christs Person that is that Head of Angels or his Doctrine and so the Apostle runs it on till he comes to the Cross of Christ ver 14. Must we now to Gratifie these Gentlemen renounce our Reasons and say that a Doctrine is the Head of â—…roncipality and Power A Doctrine is rais'd from the Dead That we are Buried in a Doctrine That the Hand-writing of Ordinances was Nailed to the Cross of a Doctrine I confess I would go as far as another for Peace-sake but here I must fairly shake hands and leave my Author and his Masters to their own ways But though the words following the Text do frown severely upon them and their Cause yet they promise themselves much from the foregoing ver 6. As you have therefore received Iesus Christ the Lord so walk ye in him i. e. Obey the Doctrine of Christ as you have been taught it by us It must be remembred what our Author is endeavouring to prove still I hope he has not forgot it and I hope we shall not viz. That the Name Christ signifies the Gospel Now it is easily granted that though the Name Christ do Immediately signifie the Person of Christ yet Mediarely it may imply the Doctrine and yet all this while the Name or Word Christ stand in its Original posture and Purport As the name King does primarily signifie the Person of a Supreme Magistrate and yet that Treason which is committed against the Person of a King is against his Law and yet none will say that because Treason against the King is Treason against the Law that therefore the name King signifies Law To violate the Commands of the Gospel reflects upon Christs Person and he that sins against the one sins against the other because of that Privity of Interest that is betwixt a King and his Laws a Prophet and his Revelations a Priest and his Sacrifice yet it were harsh to say that Prophet does signifie Revelation or Priest Sacrifice or King signifie Laws Those things may have Relation one to another one be Inferred from another and not the one signifie the other As 1 Cor. 7. 12. When ye sin against the Brethren and wound their weak consciences ye sin against Christ To sin against the Brethren is by consequence to sin against Christ. Yet none will say that the Name Christ signifies Brethren But more particularly I answer 1. That Christ Jesus the Lord does signifie in the first place a Person And secondly That consequently it Includes the Promises the Precepts the Revelations the Death Sufferings the Intercession and the whole of Jesus But his main strength lies here That after Christ is opposed to the Traditions of Men and the Rudiments of the World and therefore must not signifie the Person but the Religion or Gospel of Christ. So argues Volk Lib. 3. de verâ Relig. p. 125. His mundi Rudimentis omnem Divinitatis Plenitudinem in Christo
following of Adam as the Pelagians vainly talk but it is the corruption of the Nature of every Man whereby Man is very faâ—… gone from Original Righteousness and is enclined to Evil. So that in every Person born into the World it deserveth Gods Wrath and Damnation Surely here 's something that deserves our most serious Thoughts That which deserves Damnation at Gods Hands deserves consideration at ours He that can carry about with him daily a depraved Nature enclined to evil running counter to Gods Will and not lament it with a bitter Lamentation has taken some of our Authors Hypnoticks and how to bewail it without being sensible of it is a Mysterie perhaps as deep as any of those we owe to his Discovery And is not this to Reproach Christ himself Mat. 9. 12 13. They that be whole have no need of the Physitian but they that are sick Ay says he these are Metaphors and I will Rail them out of Credit and Countenance immediately Well you shall not fall out with Christ for a Metaphor if I can help it Read the Next words I come not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance And they must be sensible sinners that will regard the Call of Christ or think they need Repentance Another Quarrel he has against the Practice of their Religion is That they hold it absolutely necessary that we be sensible how Impossible it is for us to Attone the Wrath of God to have any righteousness of our own that can bear the severe Scrutiny of his Iustice. Be it so if there be no Remedy It seems then if we could work up our Imagination into a Presumption that Gods Anger against sin is very small and our Righteousness very great so great as to endure the severe Scrutiny of Gods Iustice we might purchase this Gentlemans favour But the Gospel has taught us otherwise Rom. 3. 10. That there is none righteous no not one That by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in Gods sight ver 20. But he lays about him and Reproaches the Spirit of Bondage the Spirit of Adoption and at last falls a Reviling Christs own Words We shall says he in his fleering way never Value and Prize Christ and go to him for Salvation till we are Convinc'd of the necessity of him and driven to him by the Threatnings of the Law and the Promise of Ease and Rest is made only to the weary and heavy Laden and those only shall be satisfied who Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness Really this Doctor Owen and his Fellows are dangerous Persons I wonder not now that some think it not fit they should live a day That ever they should be so bold to read or quote Matth. 5. 6. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be filled or that other place Matth. 11. 28. Come unto me all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest or to mention Galat. 3. 24. Wherefore the Law was our School-master to bring us unto Christ But did they make the Scriptures or coin and invent these words of their own heads or has our Author a License to expose the Expressions of the Holy Spirit as well as the Doctors Surely an awfull regard to the Authority of Jesus Christ speaking in them might have commanded some Reverence to them and controlled this unbridled liberty of prostituting Sacred Matters But thus much and too much of what they make of Conviction And now says he being thus stung with Sin it is time for us to look up to Christ as the Israelites did on the Brazen Serpent that we may be healed But is this Gentleman indeed a Minister a Teacher of others the Rector of St. George Buttolphs-lane and knows not that he reproaches Christ himself Ioh. 3. 15. And as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have Eternal Life And does not Christ himself authorize the Parallel That as none were healed in the Wilderness but those onely who sensible of pain looked up to the Brazen Serpent as Gods own Institution to which a Promise of healing was annexed so neither can we receive any benefit by Christ till under a deep sense of our sin and misery we accept of and close with a Redeemer whom the Father has held forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood for the Remission of sins But this is not all Now we must begin to see his fulness and perfection and suitableness to the wants and necessities of our Souls that he is our Attonement our Wisdom our Righteousness and all that we can desire or need Well and if they do conceive Christ to have both fulness and suitableness of all Grace and Mercy in him I hope it 's neither Felony nor Treason neither We have an Assurance Heb. 4. 15. That Christ is such a Priest as is touched with a feeling of our Infirmities and was in all points tempted like unto us yet without sin there 's great suitableness and we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of Grace that we may obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of need and there 's fulness And surely our Author does sometimes pray to Christ at least he is enjoyn'd by the Litany to say O God the Son Redeemer of the World have mercy upon us miserable Sinners Now if he can indeed discover no suitableness no fulness of Grace in Christ to answer the needs and wants of those miserable Sinners he had better save his Breath to cool his Pottage It is further charged upon them That when the sense of their sins and unworthiness makes them afraid to come to Christ they have recourse to their Acquaintance with Christs Person to answer their Doubts and quiet their Consciences Which charge though it has a Tincture and dash of our Authors good Nature in it they can easily bear and do confess that when the sense of their sins and Unworworthiness at any time discourages them from Comeing to God for the Pardon of sins they do relieve themselves from the Gospel which has spoken great things of the Ability and Readiness of a Mediator to save humble and repenting Sinners that are willing to receive him as God has offer'd him in the Covenant of Grace They do there find that Christ came into the World to save the chiefest of Sinners such as had been Blasphemers Persecutors and Injurious and yet have obtained Mercy that Christ in them might shew forth all long-suffering for a Pattern to them that should afterwards believe on him to Everlasting Life 1 Tim. 1. 15 16 17. And do further believe that to deny this is at once to renounce the whole Gospel and if it be not a Fruit of down-right Infidelity and Atheisme yet most apparently leads thither Our Author having destroy'd the Living begins to prey upon the Dead
1 Cor. 2. 2. I determined not to know any thing amongst you save Iesus Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even him Crucified The Person of Christ under that consideration as Crucified and the Reasons are as Cogent as the thing is clear For 1. In the Knowledge of Christ that very Christ whom the Father sent into the World consists Eternal Life This is Life Eternal to know thee the only true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent 2. VVe are Commanded to love this Iesus another great fault our Author finds with these Men but how to love him and not to be acquainted with him may be reckoned amongst the Impossibilities 1 Pet. 1. 7. At the appearing of Iesus Christ whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with Ioy unspeakable and full of Gloâ—…y The Apostle commends their love to and faith in an unseen Saviour whence it 's easie to conclude that it was the Person of Christ they loved for the Scriptures they had seen the Gospel the Church they had seen an Office I confess they could not very well see and yet they are praised for loving him that was not seen 3. VVe are commanded to Worship this Jesus to give Divine Honour to Him Iohn 5. 23. That all should Honour the Son even as they Honour the Father And accordingly we read that the Disciples did Worship Him Luke 24. 52. Nay the Command is given to the Angelical Nature Heb. 1. 6. Let all the Angels of God Worship Him But it 's a strange kind of Worship that we give Darklings One of the smartest Rebukes Christ gave the Samaritans was that they Worshipped they knew not what but We says Christ know what we Worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VVe must not only know who He is but what He is whom we worship 4. It 's our plain duty to acquaint our selves with God that we may be at peace Iob 22. 21. But Christ is true God very God witness the Athanasian and Nicene Symbols 5. VVe are in particular commanded to believe in Him John 14. 1. Ye believe in God believe also in me And it concerns us to know by what authority he Imposes his Commands upon us what is his Varacity that we may depend upon his Promises and what is his Power to carry us through the difficulties that ever attend conscientious Duties to Eternal Life I am the more for acquaintance with Christs Person because it 's so great a Venture to trust the unknown This Prudence all men will be sure to exercise in Common affairs much more where Souls and Eternal Life lie at stake and such did the Apostle Practise 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have believed 6. The whole Design of the Scripture leads us to an acquaintance with the Father Son and blessed Spirit Hence was the Apostle so Zealous that the Colossians might come unto all Riches of the full assurance of Understanding to the acknowledgment of the Mysterie of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Even of the Father and of Christ in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge VVhich are those Provoking words that have so often Ruffled our Authors thoughts into Disorder 7. The whole of the Scripture is an unaccountable Riddle without the Knowledge of Jesus Christ VVe are told there how God has been atoned by the Sacrifice of Oxen Sheep what a sweet smelling savour he has sented in the burned Flesh of the Holocaust which without Consideration of the Person of Christ and Reference to Him is Irrational To speak of the Death of Christ himself as reconciling God and man is also wholly Unintelligible without due regard to Him as Mediator what Office he bore what Place he filled in whose Stead he stood what that Covenant was that between the Father and his Son was agreed upon For according to our common apprehension of Things God should rather have Destroyed the World for Crucifying his Son than have been Reconciled and Propitiated by his Death Now I know well our Author will Reply that he good Man is no Enemy to acquaintance with Christs Person provided always we do not VViredraw New Doctrines from it and Extract greater and deeper Mysteries thence than are to be found out in the Gospel To which we Rejoyn That it 's not Christs Person that teaches us the Doctrine but the Doctrine that Acquaints us with his Person We study not the Person of Christ to find out Gâ—…spel Mysteries but to resolve them Not to Discover the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of New Truths but to Demonstrate to us the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Old But if after all that can be said our Author will be Clamorous we must be Content and Satisfie our selves with this that it 's the Nature of the Creature and some things we know are so untractable by their Constitution that though you Bray them in a Morter amongst Wheat with a Pestle yet their Crabbed Froward Awkward Tempers will not depart from them CHAP. III. Sect. 3. How unsafe it is to found Religion upon a Pretended Acquaintance with Christs Person I Foresee this Section will certainly prove Unanswerable the Comfort is it 's the onely one that appears to be such in the whole Book The Reader will judge with me that he must needs have a hard Task on 't and perhaps equal to any of Hercuâ—…es his Labours that shall maintain it safe To found Religion upon Hypocrisie and yet this must be his lot who will defend That it 's safe to build Religion upon a pretended Acquaintance with Christs Person Some report that that Goodly Beast which for Honours sake we will call a Porcupine keeps alwayes Two Avenues to her Cell that let the Wind sit where it will it shall never blow full in the Dore and let her Enemies besiege her how they can she has a secret Sally-port to creep out at With the same wisdom has our Author provided for his own Retreat in this Section For if any shall be so fool-hardy as to assault him with an Argument That it 's our Duty to be acquainted with Christs Person and for that end to search the Scriptures which testifie of him direct and lead us to him that so upon the Person of our Redeemer we may build our Faith as upon that Rock against which the Gates of Hell shall not prevail he can readily reply upon you True but it 's onely a Pretended Acquaintance with Christs Person that I so zealoâ—…sly declaim against I perceive it 's no small advantage in all Disputes to have the Priviledge to state the Question to our own good liking and he that has once got a Faculty for it is out of Gun-shot unless he be so incorrigible a Coxcomb as not to be aware of his own Interest That the Religion of Sinners is built upon a Mediator as the Religion of the Innocent was upon the Being of a God That this Mediator is the Lord
the Apostle has fixt the Notion for us And ver 5. we read Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God And ver 6. This is he that came by Water and by Blood even Iesus Christ. Ver. 9. This is the Witness of God which he hath Testified of his Son And ver 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the Witness in himself And ver 11. This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son And then follows the words under Examination He that hath the Son hath Life I conclude then that if by Son ver 5 6 9 10. c. he meant the very Son of God our Lord Iesus Christ then by Son in ver 12. is meant the very self same Person And I am the more Confirm'd in my Opinion because our Author p. 101. will not allow any to separate a single Sentence from the Body of the Discourse to make the Scripture speak their own sence Though I confess he intended it as a Caution to others that they may avoid it but a Canon to himself that he might observe it What to others was set up for a Buoy to discover a Rock to himself is hung out for a Lanthorn to discover his way But I shall take his Caution and charitably believe so well of the Apostles sincerity and judiciousness in Discourse that he would not speak of one thing in one Verse and another in the next under the same words without sufficient intimation of his Intention But now for having the Son of God that is the remaining enquiry Now in this our Author speaks more Truth than he is aware of What can having the Son signifie says he but having an Interest in Him Being made one with Him especially when we remember that it is called being in Christ and abiding in him which must signifie a very near Union between Christs Person and ours It must so If the Son signifie the very Son of God we must have Him as he is capable of being had and that 's only by Interest and Propriety through Compact agreement and the Constitution of God in a Gospel Covenant Ay but says our Author Some will be so Perverse as to understand it of believing and Obeying his Gospel Well and if they will be so Perverse without a Reason we shall take the freedom to be as Perverse as they can be and believe no more than we have proof for But let us practise with his Gloss a little By the Son he understands the Gospel and then his Paraphrase of v. 5. will run thus smoothly Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Jesus is the Gospel that is he that believes a Lye he is the man that overcomes the World Ay but we must remember that by Iesus he has understood the Gosple also and then indeed you will have a Paraphrase compleat in all Points Who is he that overcomes the World but he that believeth that the Gospel is the Gospel And sure he must be a Dull thing indeed that cannot and a Perverse one too that will not believe and Subscribe so Self-evident a Proposition But the World is full of perverse People and therefore no wonder if some will so understand it And amongst many others one Volkelius lib. 3. de verâ Relig p. 37. in John 1. 4. In him was Life Hoc est Ipsi commissa est vitae Eternae viae ad eam ducentis Anunciatio quâ Hominum animos mirificè collustravit Ignorantiae tenebras quantum in ipsa fuit ab iis depulit quod idem alio in loco edisserit 1 Joh. 5. 10. dum ait Hoc est Testimonium quod Deus Testatus est de filio suo quod vitam Eternam nobis dedit Deus haec in filio ejus est That is to him was committed the Declaration of Eternal Life and of the Way that leads thither whereby he wonderfully enlightened the Minds of Men and scattered the Darkness of Ignorance from them as much as in him lay which he Discourses also in another place 1 Iohn 5. 10. c. The Reader cannot but observe the Parenthesis That Christ enlightned men as much as in him lay if he could have done more he would But what would they expect from a Man Now when I observe our Author in this very place Deriding the Hopes of them who expect to receive free Comunications of Pardon and Grace Righteousness and Salvation from our Lord Iesus Christ Methinks I see Quantum in ipso fuit and whether he filled his Vessel from that Cistern or no is not so clear but this is certain that all came from the same Fountain To conclude this Head the Gloss of this Text according to the Proportion and Analogy of our Authors Faith must be this He that believeth and obeyeth the Gospel believeth and obeyeth Life and he that believeth not and obeyeth not the Gospel believeth not obeyeth not Life But our Gloss is this He that hath an Interest in Christ hath an Interest in Life and he that hath not in the one hath not in the other but the Wrath of God abides on him there being no means discovered whereby we can escape it but by Jesus Christ. It would have been small Satisfaction to our Author to pervert the Sence unless he might be allowed also to pour Contempt upon the Phrase of the Scripture which he has carried on to that height of Daring-provocation that I am certain he never met with his Superiour and do hope he may never find an Equal He is at last grown almost weary of Reproaching the Expressions of Men too mean a Quarry for one of his Wing to stoop at and now the Expressions of the Holy Ghost must find him Game that he may appear truly Great by great Enmities Erostratus was resolved to Eternize his Name though by Firing the Temple of Diana at Ephesus And Nero conceived great hopes from the Burning of Rome and his unsampled Butcheries to Inoculate his Name into History that he might upon any Terms survive his Funeral It 's some Alleviation to them who Groan under the burden of Obloquy that they meet with no harder Measure than their Lord and Master And it might quiet the grieved Spirit of a righteous Lot when his words are wrested when the holy Spirit of God is grieved with the Affronts put upon his Expressions The Disciple is not ought not expect to be above his Master nor the Servant above his Lord It 's enough that the Disciple be as his Master and the Servant as his Lord If they have called the Master of the House Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of the Houshold Mat. 10. 24. Let them therefore possess their Souls in patience and comfort one another with these words And thus our Author enters upon his Business It 's Self-evident that before we can be United
walking in the ways of God An. Concerning Active and Passive righteousness I shall say little but never flatter your self without walking in the Ways of God you can never be saved For it 's plain That no Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall Inherit the Kingdom of God Qu. But what then becomes of Free-Grace An. It 's quite shut out of some mens Principles but as to us we own it the great Spring of all our present enjoyments and future Expectations Qu. But is not this to Eke out the righteousness of Christ with our own An. I have told you our Holiness is no Patch to Christs Righteousness but has its Distinct concerns Peculiar uses and Proper employment in the Salvation of Believers Qu. Say you so I protest thou art the most Pertinacious Refractory and Obstinate Creature that ever I Catechised in my life But I let thee know I am resolved that they shall hold in spight of their teeth that Holiness and Obedience are not necessary to Salvation Now the short of all this long Discourse our Author gives us in these words That to know Christ is not to be thus acquainted with his Person but to understand his Gospel in its full Latitude and Extent It 's not the Person of Christ but the Gospel of Christ which is the Way the Truth and the Life To which I only say 1. It 's a strange Definition of the Knowledge of Christ that it is not to know Him To know is to be Ignorant to see is to be Blind 2. It 's impossible to understand the Gospel in its Latitude but we must thus know Christs Person he has Learnt little that has not Learnt the reconciliation made in the Blood of Christs Cross. 3. Though the Scriptures be the way and Means yet the Person of Christ is the way of Mediation whereby we come to the Father And though we have Direction Instruction Encouragements from the Scripture to walk in the way of Holiness yet we have Grace and Ability from the Lord Jesus Christ who is a Head of Influence as well as Authority to all that are in Covenant with him to walk in that Way At length the Gentleman having Discharged the Office of a Catechist will let us know how terrible he is for an Exorcist He falls a Raving and Conjuring at the acquaintance with Christ that the Candles seem to burn blew the Ground to tremble and in this Sulphureous Vehicle we shall see him Raise his Spirit Acquaintance with Christs Person is only a work of Fancy teaches the Arts of Hypocrisie undermines the Fundamental Design of the Gospel makes Men incurably Ignorant endless Talkers insolent Censurers and every Boy learns to Despise the Ignorance of his Teachers Our Author is Whistling over to himself his wild Notes just like a Black-Bird in the latter end of February that he may not be to seek in March So here he gives us a Synopsis of Scolding the brief Heads of things upon any of which he can Write a Book as long as this But what is the Matter Why Boys despise the Ignorance of their Teachers I had rather they should despise their Ignorance than their Knowledge Ay but they despise them for not knowing Christ and the Mystery of the Gospel Alas you do not pretend to know him but have described the Knowledge of Christ by Ignorance of him Oh! but the Laws of Christ will not down with them At this rate I believe they never will All Reverence to his Laws must cease when his Person is exposed to Contempt He that Teaches men to Mock at the Personal Excellencies Beauty Loveliness Fulness of the Law-giver does more surely though more slowly undermine the Foundation of Gospel-Obedience than he that brings his Mattocks to the Commandment itself The Reader perhaps is not aware what design our Author has upon him Why He hopes that good People will hereafter have better thoughts of him and his Fellows that they are not such Strangers to Christ as they may Imagine for he has a greater Reverence for him than to be so Rude and Unmannerly than to make bold with his Person and with his Laws I could heartily wish indeed our Author were no stranger to Christ but it 's better so than worse to be Ignorant of Him may perhaps prove his best Plea for Enmity against Him For his Boldness I cannot tell how more unmannerly he could well be he has divided his chiefest and most glorious Titles whereby the Spirit of God has Recommended him to our best Affections the Gospel Portraitures of Christs Loveliness c. he calls Romantick Descriptions he has Overthrown and Confounded all his Offices Cancel'd the main Ends of Christ's coming into the World turn'd all that 's Sacred into Drollery and yet he thinks he has not made bold enough with Christ. From hence he takes occasion to fall into some admiration of the Church Catechisme and the Wisdom of the Church in feeding her Children there with wholsome and substantial Food It will be long enough before he commends the Wisdom of the Church in her Articles put forth to be the Standard of the Faith of all that are to instruct the Churches Children I shall entreat our Author seeing he is so passionately in love with the Catechism to practise it more to keep his Hands from Picking and Stealing for Volkelius Shlictingius c. complain heavily of him and his Tongue from evil speaking lying and slandering and herein another sort of men make lamentable Complaints There is but one thing more whereof he will take Notice and I am heartily glad on 't for I feared when his hand was in there would have been no End of this rayling Humour But why he should call it one thing more I cannot imagine when 't is but the same strain of Prophane Scoffing at the Concerns of Religion But let us hear that one Thing When the Scripture speaks of the Knowledge of Christ it includes not onely the speculative part of Knowledge which consists in true Notions but the Virtue and Efficacy of it in the Government of our Lives Surely this is not the one thing he would speak to No no These men talk of an Experimental Knowledge of Christ Now he comes to it The meaning of which is that this Acquaintance with Christs Person warms and heats their Fancies moves their Passions sometimes they find great breakings of heart they melt and dissolve into tears for their sins when they remember their Lord suffered for them They see him hang upon the Cross c. It requires no great Wit to be Prophane common Abilities will serve to represent the Truth to disadvantage he that presumes his Tongue is his own may let it run ryot without Truth or Honesty 1. This Acquaintance with Christs Person says he heats their Fancies Thus he has told us before p. 95. That the workings of the Law the Offers of Christ and our entering into Covenant with him is
to us in the true Covenant Ioh. 6. 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no-wise cast out Eph. 2. 8. By Grace ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God And lest it should be Answered that Faith is indeed God's gift as all other things are wherein the Common Providence of God concurs with Humane industry The Apostle as if aware of such a petty Answer has laid in a Reply ready ch 1. v. 19. That they who believe do so by the exceeding greatness of God's power even according to the working of his Mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead Secondly we have a direct and express Promise too of that New-heart from which we give to God New-obedience nay of that New-obedience it self which proceeds from the New-heart or renewed Nature Ezek. 36. A new heart also will I give you and a new Spirit will I put within you and I will take away the heart of Stone out of your Flesh and will give you a heart of Flesh there 's the new Heart and v. 27. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Iudgments and do them there is new obedience thus also Heb. 8. 10. This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days saith the Lord I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts c. wherein it 's easy to observe 1. That this New-Covenant was founded upon God's free Grace v. 9. They continued not in my Covenant the old Covenant and I regarded them not saith the Lord They were a Covenant-breaking people deserved utter rejection yet God will make another a better a New-Covenant with them 2 That the promises of this Covenant were purely Spiritual writing his Laws in their minds and hearts 3. The parties Covenanting God and his Israel not all and every individual Son of Adam But 2. This Description gives us very little of the true Covenant of Grace here 's a Promise of Pardon and Life to them who believe and obey but perseverance in Faith and Obedience is left to the desultory and lubricous power of free-will whereas in the true Covenant of Grace there 's an undertaking that the Covenant shall be immutable both on God's part and the Believers Jer. 32. 38 40. They shall be my people and I will be their God and I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me There are but two things that we can possibly Imagine should make the Covenant fall short of perpetuity either God's turning away from his people or which is only to be suspected their turning away from their God Against both of these God has made sufficient Provision 1. God has promised that he will not turn away from them to do them good 2. He has promised that they shall not depart from him and to fix and determine their backsliding Natures he has promised to put his fear into their hearts which is the great preservative against Apostacy § 2. As it describes not the whole of the Covenant so it describes not the Nature of a New-Covenant The Gospel-Covenant may be called a New Covenant either in opposition to the Old Covenant of Works or the old Administration of the Covenant of Grace Now 1. This Covenant which he has here described is no new Covenant in opposition to the Old-Covenant of works The Covenant which God made with Adam promised Life upon condition of Obedience Now the Commands which God gave to Adam were as easy as those which are now given to all Mankind and much easier too if we consider first That he had more natural strength to obey and keep them and as for supernatural strength our Author will allow us none unless by a desperate Catachresis we will call Moral Arguments so which to a Creature dead in trespasses and sins signify just nothing without special power from on high to render them efficacious which neither will be allowed us And Secondly we are told that Christ has added to the Moral Law which is to lay more Load on those who were before overcharged so that as he makes Covenants Adam's was much the better Covenant of the two But he has wisely shuffled in a Promise of the Pardon of Sin which may seem to give his Covenant a preheminence above that of Adam But that will not mend the matter both because it 's better to have no sin in our Natures than such a Remedy better to have no Wound than such a Plaister and also because the Promise of Pardon is suspended upon the condition of Faith and Obedience which without supernaturally real influx of immediate Divine Power reduces the promise to an impossibility of performance 2. This Covenant which he has here described is no New-Covenant in opposition to the old Administration of the Covenant of Grace There were the same promises then that we have now the same moral precepts to observe that we have now and though the word Gospel comes in for a blind yet the Apostle assures us Gal. 3. 8. That Abraham had the Gospel Preached to him § 3. Upon the matter it 's no Covenant of Grace at all For 1. A Promise of Pardon and Life upon Condition of Believing and Obeying is neither better nor worse than a threatning of Condemnation and Death to them who Believe not and Obey not It may with equal right be called a threatning of Death as a Promise of Life It 's no more a Covenant of Grace than a Covenant of Wrath and therefore 2. if it be lawful to consider Man as the Word of God describes him as dead in Sins and Trespasses as one that of himself cannot think a good thought that can do nothing at all without Christ It 's no Covenant at all to him under his present circumstances for what is the nice difference between a Promise of Life to him that obeys when it 's certain before-hand he cannot obey and no Promise at all 3. This Covenant which he calls New and well he may for it 's of his own making or however of his own new-vamping assigns the same conditions of Pardon and Eternal Life but the Scripture requires other qualifications for Eternal Life than for the Pardon of Sin A Believer may be justified without a sinless perfection but without such a sinless perfection none shall enter into Glory He may be actually justified that has not persevered in Holy Obedience to the Death but without such perseverance he can never be made partaker of Eternal Life 4. This Covenant of his is supposed to be made with all Mankind and yet all Mankind never heard of it Now is it not very
Adams sake implies that Adams sin had an influence and it had this influence but how it could righteously or indeed possibly have that influence is still a Question and till that be resolved we shall never have the advantage from hence to know How the Righteousness of Christ could have an Influence upon God to shew us any kindness for Christs sake 3. God says he entail'd a great many Evils and miseries upon his Posterity for his sake Now seeing there are but a Many though a great many evils entailed upon them and not all Evils it 's very much our Interest to understand which are the Entailed evils and which our own Personal evils which are hereditary and which of our own procurement that so having found out which are entailed upon us we may search if there be not a way found to cut off the Entail by the Recovery wrought out by Christ. And the rather because the Text mentions not only Evils many Evils but seems to include all Evils As Life and Absolution comprehend all spiritual Mercies so Death and Condemnation comprehend all spiritual Curses And by these comprehensive words the Apostle expresses those Evils which God upon the Account of Adam's Sin has entailed upon Posterity I know how easily our Author presumes to dock the Entail by pleading that Death signifies onely Temporal Death but the Apostle has obviated that Cavil v. 11. As by one Man Sin entred into the world and Death by Sâ—…n and so Death passed upon all Men for that all have sinned By one man by Adam that Sin whose wages is Death and that Death which is the wages of Sin enter'd into the world even upon all his Posterity for that all have sinned And what that Death is which is the Wages of Sin he assures by opposing it to Eternal Life v. 21. As Sin reigned unto Death so might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal Life by Iesus Christ our Lord. So again Chap. 6. v. 23. The Wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life 2 Qu. What Influence has Christs Righteousness and Obedience upon our Acceptation with God And had our Author answered the former question to purpose he had answered this in it and saved himself a great deal of needless pains in a New prosecution of it But he answers God was so well pleased with the Righteousness of Christ Life and Death that he bestowes the Rewards of Righteousness on those who according to the strictness and rigour of the Law are not righteous That for Christs sake he hath made a New Covenant of Grace which pardons our past sins and follies and rewards a sincere though imperfect Obedience A few notes also I shall make upon this and so dismiss it at present And First here is certainly a great Iuggle in these words God says he was so well pleased with the Righteousness and Obedience of Christs Life and Death that he bestows the rewards of Righteousness upon us Now these rewards of Righteousness be they what they will or can are either the proper and immediate effects of the Life and Death of Christ or not If they be then I am sure he was tardy p. 323. The Apostles attribute such things to the Blood of Christ as are the proper and immediate Effects of the Gospel Covenant And what that is in his Dialect I hope we are not to seek at this time of day But if they be not the proper and immediate Effects of the Life and Death of Christ then 1. He has juggled here with his Reader placing the rewards of Righteousness as bestow'd for Christs sake before any Consideration of the Covenant 2. If not then he has not drawn a fair Parallel between the Influence of Adams Sin and that of Christs Obedience For he tells us that God for Adams sake entailed a great many Evils Miseries nay Death it self upon his Posterity there are particular evils entailed upon Individuals for the sake of Another without any intervention of their own personal Transgressions Ay but there our Author will perhaps tell me That the truth is he means all this while by a secret reserve that Adams Posterity when they commit Adams sin or and other they then render themselves obnoxious to those miseries evils and death it self But then this is not to the purpose for then 't is not for Adams sake but for their own Not for that One Mans Offence but for every mans own Offence that judgement came upon them to condemnation Which is not to interpret the Apostle but dictate to him and indite his Epistles for him Miseries then and a great many miseries none knows how many are entail'd upon Adams Posterity for his sake without any intervention of their own sin But now here 's no Blessing not one single Blessing entailed upon such spiritual Posterity of Christ that they shall receive any one the least Favour without the Intervention of their own Obedience And so things are where they were at first Secondly I must note also That he says God bestows the rewards of Righteousness on those who according to the strictness and rigour of the Law are not righteous That is as he explains himself they shall be justified or treated like righteous Persons Now 1. If God can treat them like Righteous Persons who are not really so because he is so well pleased with Christs Obedience why may not God conceive me to have done that which I have not done as well as to be what I am not Why not to have obeyed in Christ to have suffer'd in Christs sufferings as to be a righteous Person in my self when there is no such matter Andthus our Author has laid a block in our way at which a well-meaning man though against our Authors meaning may stumble upon the Notion of the Imputation of Christs Righteousness It 's altogether unintelligible how God should punish me for Adams fault with Justice if Adams fault were not some wayes or other my own and fully as unaccouutable How God should deal with me as righteous who am not so for the sake of Christs Obedience if Christs Obedience some way or other become not mine I can easier satisfie my Reason how the Righteousness of the second Adam may make me righteous and accepted of God than how the unrighteousness of the first should make me a sinner and yet Faith believes both though it conclude stronglier for Christ Rom. 5. 17. For if by one mans Offence Death reigned by one much more they c. 2. God he says bestows the rewards of Righteousness on those who in strictness are not righteous Let some enquire at his house as they go by What he means by the Rewards of righteousness Is it Inherent Righteousness Then it 's Non sence or worse God gives them inherent righteousness who have not inherent Righteousness which in sensu composito is Non-sence and in sensu diviso not agreeable to our Authors Principles But if he mean the
Another The short of the Business lyes here Our Lord Jesus Christ by his Resurrection Ascension into Heaven and sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high is visibly exalted to more Dignity and Honour he exercises his Regal power in a way more glorious and agreeable to his exalted state yet was he truely a King from his Incarnation and all along in this world and gave such Proofs of his Royal greatness and Power that the Devils had not Impudence enough to out-face them And now to conclude all with this excellent Gloss upon the whole matter It was an Act of his Regal Power to conquer Error and Ignorance to destroy the Kingdom of Darkness by the Brightness of his Appearing to erect his Throne in the Hearts and Consciences of Men. These Metaphors of conquering destroying erecting a Throne came in as luckily as the heart of man could wish to prove a Royal Power for what man will now be so refractory but he will confess and so senseless and stupid but he may smell a Kingdom in the wind when he hears such language but now if you strip these Metaphors to their bare skins and uncase them of all our Authors Bombast and Fustian they shrink into a mere declaration of Truth leaving the matter to the umpirage of an habitually prejudiced and prepossessed Will and some think here 's no great Kingship in all this for all this is done by the Power and evidence of Truth which argues a Prophet teaching an Oratour pleading or a Disputant arguing but little of a King commanding conquering and subduing the heart to himself and there erecting a Throne in opposition to all the force that Satan and Helâ—… can make against him We do freely own that to conquer and destroy the Kingdom of Darkness to erect a Throne in the Hearts of Men are proper Acts of Christs Kingly Office but then there goes a little more to the business than the bare Evidence of Truth the Arm of a King must be revealed as well as the Mouth of a Prophet opened a Power to deal with the enslaved and obstinate Will as well as a Light to shine into the darkened understanding which Light yet requires something of the Kingly energie to render it savingly enlightning to the mind and understanding And now our Author has made the kingly Office to swallow up the Prophetical have but patience till he has made it â—…at up the Priestly Office too and then â—…e day is his own for ever Secondly He comes to Attacque the Sacerdotal Office of Christ. He was saith he a Kingly Priest Well! so he was and so he might be and yet though both the Offices center'd in his Person they might be formally distinct in their Acts special Ends and proper Objects Nay we will allow that All his Offices conspiring in the same general Ends their Acts might have mutual respect and give reciprocal assistance each to other And he could not have chosen a fitter Instance than that of Melchizedek who being King of Salem and Priest of the most high God Heb. 7. yet would it savour of too gross Absurdity to say that when he offered sacrifice or blessed Abraham he appeared in the Quality of a King or when he enacted Civil Laws he bore the Character of a Priest but our Authors Proofs are as Pertinent as his Doctrine True His Doctrine is When he offered himself a Sacrifice for sin he acted like a King p. 6. Really one would think he acted as like a Priest as we could reasonably desire For 1. Here is a Sacerdotal Act he offer'd 2. A Sacrifice Himself And 3. This was for sin And what of a King do we spell out of all this The truth is there 's nothing in all this but a pitifull Socinian Iuggle who having resolved not to own Christ as a true and proper Priest at all and yet not daring to deny express phrases of Scripture found out this Expedient to own the thing in words and then to shuffle it off with a Metaphor The Proof of his Doctrine is of the same Leaven Ioh. 10. 18. No man took his Life from him he had power to lay it down and he had power to take it up again Our Author had told us p. 2. of a crafty sort of Men in the World that consider nothing but the sound of words and from thence form such uncouth Idaea's of Religion as are fitted to the meanness of their understanding and will tell us further p. 102. of some who Interpret Scripture by the Sound and Clink of Words and Phrases And it seems the Contagion of this vanity infected his own intellectuals he found the word Power in the Text and he runs away with a full crye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the Mischief on 't is it 's not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not a Physical but a Moral Power that Christ owns there a Power which is common to all his Offices he had Power or Commission to Preach Power or Authority to Rule and govern Power or warrant from his Father to lay down his Life for the great End that was agreed on between them both For he explains himself in the same Verse Not this Strength but This Commandement I received from my Father Nor yet is it denyed that Christ made use of his Kingly might in laying down his Life and taking it up again all we plead for is that the Offices and their peculiar Acts may not be jumbled and confounded together Thirdly Having dispatch'd out of the way the two great Eye-sores of the Prophetical and Priestly Office he thought it not amiss to send the third after them And that to which we commonly appropriate the Name of Regal Power that Authority he is vested with to govern his Church to send his Spirit to forgive sins to dispense grace and supernatural assistances to answer Prayers and raise the dead and judge the World All this is the reward of his Death and Sufferings I confess I wondre'd why he should make the Regal Office of Christ so over-top all the rest but I soon satisfied my self from Volkelius lib. 3. de verâ Relig. p. 41. Maximè Regibus id habebatur honoris ut Christi sive uncti appellarentur ita ut cum Christum dici audis Regem imprimis dici intelligas Kings had chiefly that Honour that they should be called Christs or Anoynted ones so that when you hear the Name Christ mention'd you must understand that a King is especially intended This I confess quieted me but why our Author should be so zealous to set up a King of his own making and then all o' th' sudden to pluck him down again to enthrone and dethrone at pleasure is at present to me unaccountable for I observe he has removed these great Things from his Kingly Office and placed them upon another Foundation viz. the reward of his death and sufferings Now take away Preaching the Gospel from
Transgressors and making Intercession for them Vers. 6. 10 11 12. By the Prophet Daniel was revealed his Death the precise Time of it and for what he dyed Dan. 9. 24 25 26. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy Holy City to finish the Transgression to make an end of sin to make Reconciliation for Iniquity to bring in everlasting Righteousness And after sixty two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off but not for himself And is all this Nothing just Nothing in our Authors Arithmetick If this be his Nothing for Charities sake let him tell us what is one of his somethings No all this while the Iews knew nothing at all of what Christ was to doe in order to our Recovery But it became our Author who was to assign little work very little to Christ when he was come to allow just nothing to be known of him before he came But then it seems the Apostle Paul was besides the Book as well as the Doctor for he protests Acts 26. 22 23. That he spoke none other things than those which Moses and the Prophets did say should come that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead Upon our Authors Principles it were easie to prove that Paul never spoke one word of Truth in the whole Course of his Ministry and the Apostle Peter was as lamentably mistaken as he 1 Pet. 1. 10. Of which Salvation the Prophets have enquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the Grace that should come unto you searching what and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them did signifie when it testified before-hand the sufferings of Christ and the Glory that should follow And yet we have the testimony of Christ himself a witness greater than all Exception Luke 24. 25 26 27. O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his Glory And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself No doubt many lazy and drowsie Iews not duely attending to the Concernment of their Souls in these matters knew little or to little purpose of what God spoke to them by Sacrifices and Types what that oeconomy pointed at they might not possibly regard the Prophesies or Promises of a Messiah nor is it any wonder when we consider how little sleepy Formalists dreaming Professors and sottish Hearers understand of him at this day who know no more of Christ his Person Office Work and Design than that ignorant Papist who being asked Who Christ was answer'd he believed he was as good a man as St. Patrick Or that other who concluded that Christ was something that was good or else they would never have put it into the Creed But then there were diligent Enquirers and Conscientious Searchers whose Faith engaged them in the pursuit of Eternal Life and these saw the day of Christ and rejoyced in the Sight But 2. It s an odde and perverse way to take the measure of the Jewish knowledge of Christ from our own clearer Light We see clearer than they yet will it not follow that they were stark blind though it be Mid-day with us it was not Mid-night with them and for my part I more wonder that they at the Break of day saw so much and we at Noon comparatively see so little and if some mens Designs take place we shall in a short time see less than they and what to the Jews was a difficulty must be to us a Crime viz. to have any Acquaintance with the Person of Christ. 2. And if indeed the Iews knew nothing at all of Christ they could not then mock the Gentiles who could not well be in a worse case nor come under a more dismal Character than to be without Christ. But to come a little nearer to our Author 1. What if some of the Gentiles also knew something and something very considerable of a Redeemer I take Iob to have been in that number and yet he knew that his Redeemer lived and that he should stand at the latter day upon the Earth Job 19. 25. Which place our Author cannot question referres to Christ seeing the Liturgy of the Church of England in the Office of Burial applies it so and I hope it shall never be said that as they Subscribe the Articles in Jest so they Worship God in Jest too But to purchase his Favour let it be supposed that the Gentiles knew nothing at all of Christ yet are we sure they knew God to be a sin-pardoning God For our Authors Discourse alwayes halts of one Leg at least and wears a Crutch if it be not like Homers Vulcan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 foundred of all four 2. The Iews they understood the Doctrine of the Pardon of sin to be in God but then they understood by Promises Prophecies Types Sacrifices and the Tenor of the Covenant of Grace that God had provided a Redeemer the Gentiles they knew Nothing of a Redeemer but then they knew as little of the Pardon of Sin But here our Author will knock the Matter Dead by an Argument Those Natural Notions the Heathens had of God and all those discoveries God made of himself in the works of Creation and Providence did assure them that God is very good and it 's not possible to understand what Goodness is without pardoning Grace Not possible that 's a thousand pities I have sometimes sat admiring our Authors singular Happiness in defining to an inch so precisely Necessaries and Impossibles which are the two extremes of the Modes of Being And yet our Author can at one stride or jump pass from Necessity to utter Impossibility Some did but venture to say that God could not pardon sin without some intervening security to his Iustice And there grew such a Hubbub and Out-cry upon 't as if the Turks and Tartars had over-run all Christendome and yet our Author who can climb up all the stairs from easie to difficult from difficult to impossible has resolved upon the Question that from henceforth all shall adjudge it impossible to understand what Goodness is without pardoning Grace But is there indeed such a close Connexion so inseparable a glewing together of these two that we cannot prescind them with the sharpest act of the Understanding Is it easier to cleave a Hair or divide an Indivisible than to part Goodness and pardoning Grace I question not when he shall be at leisure he can slit a thinner matter a great deal than this is But yet 1. The Apostle Paul Acts 14. 16 17. assures us That God left not himself without a witness in that he did good and gave them rain from Heaven and fruitfull Seasons It was more than he owed to Condemned Sinners to afford them any kind of Goodness he might have rained Fire from Heaven and showres of
than the Gofpel allows The Question then shall never be stated by me thus Whether we must Obey or no Keep the Commandments of Christ or no And that upon Peril of Eternal Damnation But whether out of this Obedience of ours may be gathered that righteousness in which we may safely venture to appear before the Iudge of all the Earth in the great day as that which we resolve to stand and abide by venturing our all upon it This is that the Doctor thinks the Apostle reproved Rom. 9. 31 32. Israel which followed after the Law of righteousness hath not attained to the Law of righteousness because they sought it not by Faith but as it were by the Works of the Law Where the Apostle Intimates that though we do not directly seek a righteousness by the Works of the Law yet to do it Obliquely and Indirectly is destructive and that the Doctor intends no more no other than this is evident from the words our Author calls in And though I would have walkt according to my own mind yet now I give up my self to be wholly guided by thy Spirit This Netled our Authors Conscience and he takes Sanctuary in the most wretched Subterfuge that ever betrayed it's Confider What a pretty Complement does the Soul make to Christ We are now sheer gone from the Truth of the Principle to the Truth of the Heart in receiving it If it proves a Complement in the Mouth of an Hypocrite yet in Thesi its a Truth That whoever receives Christ upon his own Terms does renouncing his own will and way give up himself wholly to be ruled by the Spirit speaking in the Scriptures At this wiâ—…d rate I have often heard a silly Quaker answer this Proposition Iesus Christ that Died at Jerusalem is the Saviour of the World Ay says he but doest thou witness that from the Light within 2. Others make Obedience necessary upon the account of Christs Fulness But this he says makes it no otherwise necessary then as we are necessarily passive in it However if it be necessary upon any account it 's enough to make him blush that flatly Charges it upon them to say it 's not necessary But to be passive in our Obedience is all the Soul means in giving up it self to be ruled by the Spirit of Christ. Then the Soul means Nonsence For to give it self to be ruled by the Spirit has something of Activity in it Our help and asistance to give up our selves is from the Spirit but the giving up is an an act of the Souls 'T is the Believer that obeys and yet the ability to obey is from the Holy Ghost It 's the Creature that works and yet its God that works in him to will and to do of his own good Pleasure Phil. 2. 13. It 's the man that believes and yet he believes according to the working of Gods mighty Power Ephes. 1. 19 20. What is it else that he prays to the Spirit for O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have Mercy upon us miserable sinners But all this might have been Superseded had our Author duly Recollected what he has Subscribed and openly given his Assent and Consent to in the 10th Art of the Church of England We have no power to do Good works acceptable to God without the Grace of God preventing us that we may have a good Will and Working with us when we have that good Will Allow but the Doctor the Benefit of the Clergie and he will need no more to bring him off though that very Article would prove our Authors Neck-verse In the Work of Grace the Spirit Acts according to the Nature of the Subject which is here the Rational Creature He gives not new Natural Powers but a new Moral ability to Exercise them he bestows not a new Will Physically but enlarges it from its Fetters discharges it from its Slavery and powerfully though Gently enclines it to Gods Testimonies not destroying its radical self-determining Power and hence I conclude our Author is but sorrily Skilled in the true meaning of souls when they Profess a subjection to Christ. The Soul meant honestly she had no Mental reservation none of these Quirks and Tricks but plainly and sincerely Designed to give up her self in all Obedience to her Lord and Saviour She in her Text intended very singly but our Author has Commented upon it Knavishly I said so indeed in haste another would have said perhaps Foolishly for what more Idle Chat could he have Learn't from the good Women his Neighbours at Billings-gate than a willingness to obey against ones Will. This is all our Author is willing to own of the Grounds of our Obedience but I shall help his weak and frail Memory a little though to his great Regret Doctor O. Com. pag. 212. Obedience says the Doctor is necessary as a Means to the End N. B. God hath appointed that Holiness shall be the Means the Way to that Eternal Life which as in it self and Originally is his Gift by Jesus Christ so with regard to his Constitution of our Obedience as the Means of attaining it is a Reward and God in bestowing of it a Rewarder though it be neither the Cause Matter nor Condition of our Justification yet it is the Way appointed of God for us to walk in for the obtaining of Salvation And therefore he that hath hope of Eternal Life Purifies himself as he is Pure and none shall ever come to that End who walketh not in that Way for without Holiness it is impossible to see God The bare Repitition of which words are as plain and full a Rebuke to all our Authors Dirty Nasty Reflections as a reasonable Creature can desire But these things we shall meet withall anon and therefore here they shall lie ready in Banco till our Authors Leisure shall call for them I had now eased my self and my Reader of any further Vexation in this Section had I not unhappily overseen one Passage in Mr. Watson from which our Author thinks he has some Advantage The words are these Evangelical Truths will not down with a Natural Heart such a one had rather hear some quaint Point of some Vertue or Vice stood upon than any thing in Christ c. Which he thus Canvasses Such sanctified Souls and Ears loath all Dull Insipid Moral Discourses which are perpetually Inculcating their Duty on them and Troubling them with a great many Rules and Directions for a good Life which he is pleased to call the Quaint Points of Vertue and Vice Good Sir be not angry have but a little Patience and all will be well to your Hearts Content Mr. Watson does not Inveigh against your Poynant Invictives against the one or your most Elaborate Encomiums of the other Run down sin at the highest rate of Zeal and Fervency you can render Prophaneness as Odious and expose her for a Fulsomè sâ—…urvy Baggage if you please Invent new Names for her
never told us that he was bottomless and boundless And if God be not a God of bottomless and boundless Mercy it will not bear a regular proportion to enquire Whether Christs Goodness became less Infinite and boundless than it was before 3. He considers The Holiness and Innocence of Christs Life that he was a great Example of unaffected Piety towards God c. Hence does he reasonably conclude that he came to restore the Practice of Piety c. which had been banisht out of the world by the hypocritical pretences of a more Refined Sanctity in washing of Hands and Dishes in tything Mint and Cummin as he calls it Now this is to be fear'd is not very regular and exaâ—… for some would conclude as if Christ came to destroy the Ius Divinum of Tythes but we are to understand that the Venome and Villany of this Hypocrisie did not lye in Tything Egges or Pigs Chickens Ducks or Goslings Apples Pears or Plumbs much less those fatter Praedial Revenues of the Church but only in those uncanonical things Mint Annise Cummine and bate but those two or three and Tythes are Sacred out of all things from the Cedar in Lebanon to the Hyssop upon the Wall 4. Our Saviour by his Example as well as Laws taught us Another Lesson that as we lost our Happiness at first by Sin so the way to regain the Favour of God and an Immortal Life is by the practice of a Sincere and Universal Righteousness I must freely confess I would never desire any man to be more ridiculous whilest I live than our Author in these few words If he has forgot his design or lost himself in a Wood yet does he presume the Reader also has his wits gone after him a Wool-gathering He has pretended over and over that he would give us Another Scheme of Religion from acquaintance with Christs Person more beautifull for Colour more exact for Proportion than what all other men have been able to shew and all this without Gospel-Revelation And yet here contrary to all the Laws of Proportion he takes in Christs Laws from which we must learn this other Lesson but though his Laws came in by an Anomaly surely his Example is Regular and that teaches us that The way to regain Gods Favour is by the practice of a sincere and universal Righteousness Now if Christ has taught us this by his Example we must suppose that He had once lost Godâ—… Favour but happily regain'd it by this Expedient of a sincere and universal Righteousness Whether this be a Truth or no in it self is out of our Charter to examine for we are obliged onely to consider the Regularity of his Proportions and the self-consistency of his Notions 5. When We remember that Christ died as a Sacrifice and Propitiation for sin this gives Us a great demonstration of Gods good will to us how ready he is to pardon former sins in that he hath appointed an Atonement for us and given no less a Person than his own Son for our Ransome It 's very strange that none else may be allowed to gather all this from the Revelation of the Gospel and yet our Author with his Scrues of Artificial Connexions and Regular Proportions can draw it every Letter and Syllable from an Acquaintance with Christs Person But by what secret wayes he became Master of this Mystery is to me a greater mystery How the Person of Christ the Death of Christ should teach us the proper Ends and Designs of his Death unless he had Acquainted us with them I am yet to seek and so was our Author himself within these few leaves pag. 78. The Incarnation and Life and Death and Resurrection of Christ were available to those Ends for which God designed them but the Virtue and Efficacy of them doth depend upon Gods Institution and Appointment and therefore can be known onely by Revelation 6. He assures us That the Death of Christ assures him of the Desert of Sin and what it is And I aâ—… heartily glad to hear the News and wish it had been attended with Proof from Scripture which is pregnant in it and not shuffled off with that which is next dore to none Surely then there was somewhat in the Death of Christ which Answer'd the Demerit of it which was Gods Anger and Displeasure against it or it will be impossible from Christs Death to learn Sins Demerit without a Scripture-Comment upon the Text of his Crosse and Sufferings 7. Christs Death seals the irrevocable Decree of Reprobation That 's as terrible News as the other was comfortable but I fear he must be beholden to the Gospel for his Intelligence or he will never learn it from a bare acquaintance with Christs Person And now we may fairly presume there is such a Decree so irrevocable so immutable else how does the Death of Christ seal it It 's supposed ever that the Decree is made e re it be sealed but the vigour and quickness of our Authors Fancy is incredible and so at length those poor wretches whose hard Fortune it was in our Authors phrase to be left out of the Roll of Election without any fault of theirs are in the same Predicament they were in before Our Author has reserved one thing for the shutting up of this Section which being a matter of very great importance and yet so easie and accountable we may not doubt but he has handled it with much Exactness It is the True Method of a Sinners Recovery by Christ. From hence says he it 's easie to understand what is the True Method of a Sinners Recovery by Christ. And there are two parts of his Undertaking 1. The Erecting of his own regular and exact Method 2. The demolishing the confused Method of others And First For his own Method for so he is pleas'd to Nick-name it for divers good and valuable Considerations him thereunto especially moving it is no more but this When we are so affected with all the powerfull Arguments to a New Life which are contained in his Christs Incarnation and Life and Doctrine and Example and Miracles and Death and Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven and his Intercession for us as to be sensible of the Shame and Folly of Sin and to be reconciled to the Love and Practice of true Piety and Holiness Then What then O then we partake in the Merits of His Sacrifice and find the benefit of his Intercession and have A Title to all the Blessings and Promises of the Gospel This is the True Method of a Sinners Recovery But still I doe not see the Regular Proportion of it to his Design for as has been oft observed he pretends to give us a Scheme of Religion from the Person of Christ never medling with his Doctrine and yet now when he thinks it so easie to give us from thence a Method of a Sinners Recovery he is glad to be beholden to the Doctrine of Christ for he sayes When we are
that Rhimes pretty well to your own Conceits But rather work up your Imagination to the prospect of some dreadful Dungeon where nothing but Ratling of Chains Blowing of Bellows Hissing of Serpents and the Yellings of Griesly-people strike a Horror into your Mind and then to be sure you shall purchase our Authors good word and never be Taxed for Interpreting by the Sound and Clink of words Thus if you meet with that Expression the Son of God be sure you do not understand a Person but a Thing and if at the long Run you should chance to Interpret it into No thing it will do best of all For then you may lay your Life on 't you have not Interpreted Scripture by the sound of words Now as much as our Author pleases himself with his Humour in this thing the truth is he did but Steal or to make the best on 't Borrow it from one of those he hopes to wound with it And well might the Eagle sigh to see her self shot through with a Dart which had borrowed its Feathers from her own Wing I will only burden him with one Passage The Papists having hatched that monstrous Figment of Transubstantiation upon the discovery of any Expressions amongst the Antients though made use of to another end cry out and Triumph as if they had found the whole Fardel of the Mass in its perfect Dress and their Breaden God in the midst of it Iust so says he it is in the case of Episcopacy Men of these latter Generations from what they saw in being and the usefulness of it to their Desires and Interests searching Antiquity not to Instruct them in the Truth but to Establish their Opinion whatever Expressions they find that fall in as to the sound of Words with what is now Insisted on instantly they cry out Vicimus Iö Poean And now either our Authors guilty Conscience or his Acumen will tell him to whom he stands Indebted for Observing to him the Danger of Interpreting by the sound of words And let him take this Caution along with him to forbear using that way of Reasoning which serves any mans turn as well as and most mens better than his own It will be now time to descend to Particulars that we may reduce his Rule into Practice And he has singled out these Expressions of knowing Christ Christ's being made Wisdom to us Having the Son To give us an Experiment what Wonders his Rule will work And 1. For the Knowing of Christ. They that Interpret Scripture by the sound of words Interpret the Phrase of Knowing his Person and all his Personal Excellencies and Beauties Fulness and Preciousness c. And so has the Expression been used Iohn 17. 3. This is Life eternal to know thee the only True God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Where the Person of the Messiah under that Personal Excellency of being sent of God Anointed and Appointed by him to Reveal and procure Eternal Life is made the Object of our Knowledge Again Iohn 1. 33. I knew him not but he that sent me to Baptize with Water the same said unto me upon whom thoushalt see the Spirit descending the same is He and I saw and bare Record that this is the Son of God Where to Know Christ is Interpreted by knowing Him to be the Son of God And all the fault of this Interpretation is that it comes a little too near the sound of words But that Learned Doctors practical Interpretations who interpreted Iesus by Iudas would have pleased our Author infinitly because it was more modest and durst not come so near the sound of the word Well But how does the Man himself expound the Phrase Nay as to that he is in a brown study and says never a word and that I assure you is a safe way to avoid the Odium of Expounding it by the sound of words But 2. Christ is said 1 Cor. 1. 30. To be made Wisdom to us And amongst many others I find Beza thus expounding it Datus est nobis a Deo ut in ipso omnem sapientiam consequeremur quae quidem eo nomine verè digna sit quum in Uno possumus Deum ejus Arcana contemplari quae ne suspicari quidem unquam cautissimi homines potuerunt He is given to us of God that in him we might attain Wisdom that truly deserves the Name seeing that in Him alone we may behold God and his Secrets which the most discerning Men otherwise could never have Ghessed at Let this Interpretation because it comes too near the sound of words only serve for a Foyle to set off the Lustre of our Author Some duller men says he can understand no more by it than the Wisdom of those Revelations Christ hath made of Gods Will to the World But I fear it 's more their Sullenness than their Dulness that they can see no more of Wisdom in Christ than a meer Ravelation of Gods Will. For had they not worn Racovian Spectacles they might have seen Satisfaction to Divine Justice in his Death as well as a Declaration of Gods Will to us issuing from his Mouth But then 3. Here 's another great Controversie What having of the Son should signifie But before we fall upon that we must deliver our selves from an Ambuscado secretly laid for our utter Ruine When men have Learnt says he from an acquaintance with Christ to place all their hopes of Salvation in a Personal Union with Christ c. He might for his Credits-sake have produced his Vouchers to make good his Charge I do indeed believe that as the Person of the Husband is related to the Person of the Wife and yet there is no personal Union made though they are one Flesh yet they continue two distinct Persons or Subsistences so Christ and Believers are Personally related each to other in the Covenant of Grace and are one Mystical Body one Spirit and yet they are not taken into Personal Union with Christ. Nay our Authors Conscience was fast asleep when he wrote this Twang For pag. 198. He Quotes these words from Doctor Iacomb This Mystical Union is an Union of Persons but yet no Personal Union And if our Author know not how to Distinguish these two Expressions he 's sadly Accoutred to Manage this Controversie And being now freed from all Danger in the Rear let us Advance to the Question What this having of the Son should mean 1 Iohn 5. 12. He that hath the Son hath Life and he that hath not the Son hath not Life Now the clearest way to resolve this Doubt that I can think on at present is to Examine who or what is meant by the Son and when we have Settled and well Fixt the Notion of that to try what further Light we may get into the Phrase of Having the Son For the former Who or what the Son is I know no more Hopeful and Promising way than to look into the Chapter to see if peradventure
to our being Holy our Election and Redemption is secure whether we be Holy or no. An. Good Sir excuse me we are Elected to Grace as well as to Glory and he that appoints to the end appoints to the necessary means leading to the end Qu. But is holyness necessary on our parts An. Yes indeed Sir that we be so but it 's necessary also that Grace make us so unless we can make our selves so Qu. But how can Obedience be for the Glory of the Father Son and Spirit when the necessity of Holiness is so destructive to free Grace An. Obedience in its proper place and for its proper end is not destructive to free Grace But when Hypocrites will assign it a room which God has not appointed as to justifie us before a righteous Iudge and give us a proper right to Heaven then it crosses the design of free Grace Qu. But how can Holiness be for our honour in making us like God when the perfect Righteousness of Christ would be more for our honour An. Good Sir be not angry and I l'e tell you Inherent Righteousness is much for our honour being compleat in its kind but Imputed righteousness is more for our honour being absolutely compleat Qu. But you say Holiness is for our Peace Must we then at last fetch our peace from our Duties and Graces is not this to renounce Christ An. Pray Sir be not so hasty we have our Reconciliation with God and Security from his Wrath by the Blood of Christ but we have our inward peace in the Conscience from the evidence of our Sanctification Qu. But does not Doctor O. say That we must not set about correcting our Lives for by the deeds of the Law no man is Justified and that if God should mark what is done amiss there 's no standing before him An. Yes indeed does he That we must not set about correcting our Lives in order to Justification before the Righteous Judge of all the Earth Qu. But how can Holiness serve for the Conviction of Enemies when it is not Essentially necessary to his Friends An. Indeed Sir if you will believe me it 's Essentially necessary to all his Friends and I pray it may prove more serviceable to the Conviction of his Enemies Qu. Wilt thou dare to Contradict me I tell thee I am resolved they shall hold that Holiness is not necessary to Salvation An. Nay pray Sir do not force them to that And if you can make any shift Rail at them upon some other account Qu. But how can Holiness be necessary to the Conversion of others when men may be Converted without it An. Ay indeed if your Worship can Inform us how to conceive of Conversion without Holiness you shall be owned for the Wisest man in all the Parish Qu. But why cannot the Righteousness of Christ keep the Judgments of God from others more effectually than the Holiness of men An. Because visible Holiness honours God most before men and therefore he will honour it most with visible Mercies Qu. But how can Obedience be necessary to the state of justified Persons when they are cloathed with the Robes of Christs righteousness which is the only Foundation of our Communion with God An. Very well Sir for though Christs righteousness be the Foundation of our Communion yet Holiness and Obedience give us a meetness and fitness for the exercise of that Communion Qu. But how can Holiness be neâ—…essary to Sanctification An. Holy Obedience is necessary to Sanctification because the new Creature is Nourisht by suitable Acts of Obedience even as all other things are fed by those things of which they are made Qu. But is not this Idem per Idem An. No I assure you Sir for the Vital Principle of Obedience and the Living Fruits of it are really two distinct things Qu. But yet I cannot see any necessary Obligation to Holiness from those mens Principles what should be the Reason An. I can soon tell you that Sir do younot remember you almost Pored out your Eyes in the second Section Qu. I have one question more answer me that and take all Is Holiness necessary to Salvation as a means to an End Now speak to the purpose An. Really Sir it is absolutely and indispensibly necessary Qu. This is indeed Home Pertinent and somewhat to the purpose bút yet I have a question or two more I am sure will Choak you Come on your ways young Man What say you What Holiness necessary to Eternal Life and yet neither the Cause Matter nor Condition An. Sir I perceive you have a frail Memory for you quoted the Doctor just before saying It was neither Matter Cause nor Condition of our Iustification And now you put the question about its being the Cause Matter or Condition of Eternal Salvation Qu. Did you spie that An. Do you think your Readers have all pored their Eyes out as well as your self Quest. Well hold your peace I will now Irrefragably prove Holiness to be a Cause at least Causa sine quâ non of Eternal Life What say you to that An. Pray spare your pains lest you spoil the Cause for if you can prove it no better a Cause you had as good let it alone for Causa sine quâ non non est Causa we allow it to be both the Condition and the Matter also of Eternal Life It 's the Condition for the Doctor has owned expresly That none shall come to the end who walks not in the way And it 's the Matter too for Grace is Glory begun and Happiness is Holiness perfected Qu. Well I will not Dispute about words I am content it should only be a necessary way to Eternal Life But what becomes of Christ then who is the only way An. Take you no care for that Christ is the only way of Merit Purchase and Procurement but Holiness is a way of Means preparatory Meetness and Fitness for Eternal Life I suppose you sometimes read the 11th Aâ—…t of the Church of England which acquaints you that we are Justified only for Christs Merits and yet justified by Faith only There may be several Only's in the same Effect and yet each the Only one in suo genere Qu. But is not the Righteousness of Christ able to save us without an additional righteousness of our own An. No Sir for the Righteousness of Christ being made ours by the appointment constitution and free Gift of God we must enjoy the benefits of it in that Method it pleases the Donour to Ordain It 's reason the Giver should dispose of his own Gift And yet it 's true the Righteousness of Christ is able to save us without any of our own employed for that special end for which the righteousness of Christ is used Qu. But do the Active and Passive Righteousness of Christ both free us from Guilt and Punishment and give us an actual Right and Title to Glory and yet can we not be saved without
told us p. 157. That our Union to Christ is not an Union to his Person but confists in a sincere Union to his Church And so again p. 151. and yet now If Christ and Believers are united their Persons are united too for he cannot understand no not for his heart I warrant you how they should be united without their Persons 2. He charges the Doctor with owning an Adhesion nay a Natural Adhesion of Persons I confess I never admired any mans Confidence more that in the face of the Doctors words which he himself had quoted directly affirming the contrary should charge him with asserting a Natural Adhesion of Persons Thus he reports the Doctors words The Person of Christ and Believers are united and yet it 's no Personal Union Again the Doctor thus It 's a Spiritual and Supernatural Conjunction Our Author had need tell nothing but Truth for he is the poorliest qualified for a Lyar that I have met withal And now let it be referred to the Groom-Porter Whether Adhesion be not as like to choak narrow throats as Conjunction 3. He says Christ and Believers are united by mutual Relations And then makes a Quaere upon 't Whether all the Absurdities he would fasten upon the Doctors words will not recoyl upon his own For it signifies no more than if he had said Christ and Believers are united by their Union and related by their Relation and thus Christ is Christ and Believers are Believers and Union is Union The Truce is now expired and he is once again falling upon Dr. Owen For as the Serpents in Africa lay aside their Poyson whilest they drink and then presently suck it up again so I was pretty secure our Author would lick up that vomit again which he had cast in Dr. Iacomb's face that he might serve the other with the same sawce But whilst I am considering his Extravagances there comes to my hand an Answer from the Doctor wherein since he has condescended to chastise our Author in person it may justly supersede any further attempt of mine in his Vindication At p. 243. I meet again with our Author where he falls upon that weighty point of Justification In his exposing of which Truth he takes occasion from a passage in Dr. O. I see I must mention him again Com. p. 55. There is no man whatever that hath any wants in reference to the things of God but Christ will be to him that which he wants I speak of those N. B. who are given him of the Father Is he Dead Christ is Life Is he weak Christ is the Power of God! Hath he a Sense of Sin upon him Christ is Compleat Righteousness Jer. 23. 6. The Lord our Righteousness Which words being fortified with express Scripture it concerned our Author to take good advice and to go gingerly to work in perverting of them Two Artifices he uses which like Fire and Water will make the strongest Cloth shrink And 1. He lops off one whole Sentence p. 214. and then exclaims This sounds like Universal Redemption What down-right Arminianism Really I am sorry for 't Is the Doctor sheer gone over to the Remoustrants Come come Sir you have a Card in your Sleeve pray produce it I speak says the Doctor of those who are given him of the Father Now where are your ears Does this chink like Universal Redemption But so true is the old Observation He that is prepossest with an Opinion finds it in all he reads 2. If that way fails another will hit What Comfort is this to us says he that Christ was Righteous if we continue wilful and incorrigible sinners Yes says the Doctor hast thou a sense of sin upon thee Christ is Compleat Righteousness Fie upon it put on a Mask for shame Is the Soul that labours under the sense of some particular sin a wilful and incorrigible sinner It 's the repenting the broken and the sorrowful sinner that the Doctor directs to Christ. Our blessed Saviour has invited those that labour and are heavy-laden to come unto him promising that he will give them rest I wonder our Author could forbear twitting him that he encouraged wilful and incorrigible sinners But pray what would our Author say to a Soul that has the sense of sin upon him without peradventure Repent of thy sin forsake thy sin c. And does he think that Repentance will save a wilful and incorrigible sinner one that Repents and sins and sins and Repents again and goes on in a circle of sinning and halfrepentance Say but the same for the Doctor He Counsels the Soul under the sense of sin to believe but then it 's only the Repenting sinner that will that can that ought to make his Address to Christ that he may find rest to his Soul For our Author's Method in prosecuting this great Point I dare not warrant it Such as it is Reader shall have it as cheap as I had it my duty is to Follow and not to Dispute 1. His first enquiry will be In what sense Christ is called our Righteousness and what the Scripture intends by those Phrases of The Righteousness of God the Righteousness of Faith or The Righteousness of God by Faith He begins with that famous place Jer. 23. 6. where Christ is expresly called the Lord our Righteousness To which our Author returns three things A pitiful Scoff a woful Evasion and a wretched Answer worse than both 1. He begins with a Scoff A very express place to prove that Christ is our Righteousness that is that the only Righteousness wherewith we must appear before God is the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us Who these men should be that thus expound it I cannot Divine unless it be the first Reformers of this Church and they do indeed tell us Artic. 11. That we are accountted Righteous before God only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ and not for our own Works and Deservings Wherefore that we are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine and full of comfort And I believe our Author experienced it to be a most sweet and comfortable Doctrine when he subscribed it for a fat Benefice But in the mean time these men whoever they be have a very hard task on t. For one while they must not draw one Conclusion from the Person of Christ which his Gospel has not expresly taught to use their own Reasons to deduce one single Inference from Gospel-premises is present Death But what now if they produce express Scripture that Christ is our Righteousness Why that 's as bad for this is to interpret Scripture by the sound of words 2. He retreats to a most woful Evasion Is there no other possible sense to be made of this Phrase If it be possible to procure another Sense for Love or Money it shall never go thus The Cause looks with a very desperate face when once it comes to this when men are ready to shoot the Pit
Incarnation nor was his Assumption of our Nature absolutely necessary to the discharge of his Prophetical but of his Priestly Office A Body was prepared him that he might have what to offer in Sacrifice to God Hebr. 10. 7 8. It was the Spirit of Christ that spake in the Prophets 1 Pet. 1. 11. and to deny this is to deny something more than all the Thirty nine Articles namely the Nicene Creed I believe in the Holy Ghost who spake by the Prophets But 2. I deny that to receive a Doctrine upon the Authority of Christ is the true and full Notion of believing on him Faith in general implies an assent to a Truth upon the Authority of the Revealer but to make this a saving a justifying Faith the assent of the Understanding must draw along with it the Consent of the Will A true Faith is described by such terms as include the Concurrent Acts both of the Will and the Understanding and therefore that which the Apostles Creed expresses I believe the Resurrection of the Body the Nicene Creed renders I look for the Resurrection of the Dead Taking in that Act of the Soul whereby it waits and stedfastly hopes for the goodness of the thing promised as well as credits the Veracity of God in the truth of the Proposition And thus Abraham believed in Christ he looked and waited for that rich Mercy wrap'd up in that promise of the Messiah and all those spiritual Blessings that were to come through him 3. The Reason of the Promise is the Object of Faith as well as the Truth of the Promiser Abraham believed the Promise to be true upon the Authority of him who gave it forth but he saw also that it was upon the account of Christ a Mediator that God would communicate to him the Blessings of the Covenant opitomized in that I will be thy God And this was that Gospel or Glad-tidings which was preached to Abraham Gal. 3. 8. But our Author threatens we shall hear more of this presently And I promise him when we do it shall be fully considered 2. He answers Affirmatively Abraham believed God To which I say Subordinat a non pugnant To believe God and to believe in Christ are very well consistent That Abraham believed in God and therefore he believed in Christ seems to me to carry as fair Reason as that other of his Abraham believed God and therefore he did not believe in Christ for the Scripture represents them as well agreed 1 Pet. 1. 21. Through Christ we believe in God 4. Our next Task must be to Combate with our Author's scruples and certainly never did man so snithe with prejudices against Truth It 's hard to conceive how Abraham should learn this Mystery from that general Promise In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Prejudice will I confess make an easier matter than this very hard and unbelief impossible to be conceived And yet were there not something worse than Prejudice at the bottom the difficulty could not be insuperable For 1. Abraham had one Promise that we know of to clear up the meaning of this Several Promises give Reciprocal light to one another The first Promise assured him That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head This shews to Abraham the necessity of having that Enmity removed which the Devil by sin had sowen between God and his Creature the removing of this Enmity could not be whilst Satan had the Dominion over the Creature A Seed is therefore promised to heal all that misery which sin brought into the World This Promise was committed to the Church of God which was a faithful Guardian to keep so precious a Iewel committed to its trust In this Seed which God had now revealed should come out of the Loyns of Abraham God promises Blessedness which mutually sends light to the other Promise that God would not only by the Promised Seed Deliver from evil but bestow all good 2. Abraham might have other and better Comments upon both these Promises than we are concerned to know it 's enough for us that we are taught in general that Abraham was justified the same way that we are and what that is the New-Testament abundantly declares And therefore it 's more ingenuous to conclude That Abraham was justified by a Faith in Christ because we are so than That we are not justified by the Righteousness of Christ because Abraham was not so 3. Abraham understood the true use of Sacrifices which are a clear Paraphrase upon the Promise in what manner God would reconcile the World to himself namely by laying the sins of the Offender upon the head of that Sacrifice which in the fulness of time should be offered for a Propitiation to God In the Faith of which grand Propitiation all true Believers lived and died And when at length he was exhibited to the World Iohn the Baptist points to him as the Accomplishment of all their former Sacrifiees and the Answer of all their Prayers and Hopes This is that Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the World John 1. 29. But 4. The Promise it self is not so obscure neither but that upon this single Supposition That God would bless the World with spiritual Blessings in the promised Seed they might easily conclude they could not be blessed in themselves and therefore not in their own works and deservings but in the Righteousness of another who must be more acceptable to God than themselves 5. We ought to entertain charitable thoughts of God of his Goodness and Mercy that he would not preach to Abraham the Gospel in an unknown tongue that is would not give him a Promise without the full latitude and extent of its meaning And 6. We are assured of the matter of fact that God did because he had the same Gospel preached to him That God would justifie the Heathen through Faith Gal. 3. 8. Now as it 's a strange way of Preaching to speak in a Language not understood so it 's as strange a Gospel that knows no Mediator no Redeemer Whatever then was the Object of a Gospel-Faith was the Object of Abraham's Faith for substance and whatever did constitute a Gospel-Righteousness made up his Righteousness And yet after all this our Author has muster'd up more self-created Prejudices to stumble his own belief of the way of Abraham's Justification For he supposes that Abraham must believe many things incredible and know many things not knowable before he could come to the knowledg of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness As 1. He must be well assured that the Blessings here meant are spiritual Blessings c. But if this be the worst on 't it would stumble me more to believe how he could believe Blessedness without pardon of sin and eternal life I cannot tell whether I shall satisfie another but I have satisfied my self in this matter from these Considerations 1. That Abraham upon his believing was
Devils the Will must also conspire with the Understanding For that which Faith is conversant about being not only true but good there must be an Act of Choice as Knowledg that the whole man may be employed about it 2. Says he The Object of Faith must be unseen things As the Being or Providence of God or a Future state something past or to come the Creation of the World or the final Dissolution of it or the accomplishment of any Promises or Predictions I grant indeed that these things may be called tropically the Object of our Faith but as they are things to be obtained they are more properly the Object of our Hope But that which Faith primarily eyes that which is its proper Object is the reason of its Assent and Consent And thus God in Christ through the Promise is the proper Object of a justifying Faith The mercles of the Covenant of Grace are many of them reserved for a future estate when the Soul shall be better qualified to enjoy them but Faith respects God actually giving himself in Covenant to be our God through a Mediator When we say we believe Heaven we belief Life Everlasting c. the meaning is only this we believe God has promised to give Heaven to give Life Everlasting through Jesus Christ I believe such a thing will be that is I believe God who has engaged that such a thing shall be The Authority of God speaking in the Promise is the true Reason and proper Object of Faith and the things contained in the Promise as they are such are not the Object of my Faith properly but have other powers of the Soul that are concerned about them 3. The different sorts of Faith says he result from the different Objects and Motives of it The Apostle takes notice of two kinds of Faith in this Chapter Hebr. 11. and faith in Christ makes a Third which are all the kinds of Faith the Scripture mentions Now I am afraid I shall grow every day less in love than other with our Author's Accurateness in Divinity For 1. What a mad way is this to distinguish Faith into its several kinds and sorts from the multiplicity of the things that it believes for at this rate he could have minted not three only or threescore but three hundred sorts and kinds of Faith The different sorts or kinds of Faith result says he from the different Objects and Motives of it But say I in his sence the Objects and Motives of Faith are innumerable and therefore the sorts and kinds of Faith are innumerable also The Object of Faith says he must be unseen things The Being or Providence of God or a Future state something past or to come c. Now according to this Doctrine we must believe the Being of God with one sort of Faith his Providences with another the Creation of the World with one kind of Faith its Dissolution with another Heaven with one kind of Faith Hell with another things past with one kind things to come with another Prophesies with one kind of Faith Promises with another And then for the Motives of Faith they are various The Power of God the Wisdom of God our Experience of God the Goodness of God So when I believe any thing and take the Power of God able to accomplish it for my Motive I believe it with a Faith of another kind from that whereby I believe the same thing and take the goodness of God for my motive And now there 's a Foundation laid for one of his plain Demonstrations that Abraham's Faith differed toto genere from Pauls because Abraham in believing took his encouragement from the faithfulness of him that had promised and Paul from his Abilities to keep what he had committed unto him So that I think I have not over-shot my self in saying That he may upon these principles coyn as many several sorts and distinct kinds of justifying Faith as he can possibly spend in seven years time and as he grows out of sorts he may stamp as many more 2. I am not satisfied that the Apostle mentions two and but just two sorts of justifying Faith in this Chapter For the Apostle mentions one and the same Faith By Faith we believe the Worlds were created by Faith Abel sacrificed by Faith Enoch walked with God by Faith the Elders obtained a good report by Faith Noah took Gods warning by Faith Sarah conceived by Faith Abraham offered up Isaac c. But if these Faiths were of several sorts and kinds the Apostle could not manage his Argument with Consistency nor should he so insensibly have passed from one sort of Faith to another without fair warning that he had no plot upon his Readers imbecillity 3. It 's full as easie to make All the sorts of Faith appear in the Chapter as two if it had pleased the Painter For 1. Here 's evidently the Faith of Christians vers 3. Through Faith we understand we Christians that the Worlds were framed by the Word of God 2. There 's Enoch's and Abel's Faith which our Author allots for a second kind of Faith And then 3. The Faith of Noah Abraham and all the rest and their 's constitutes the third sort oâ—… Faith 4. Much less am I satisfied that Faith in Christ makes a third kind of justifying Faith distinct from the other two Faith is but one the Reason into which our Faith is ultimately resolved is but one the Mean whereby we believe in God is but one even Jesus Christ by whom we believe in God But the things the good things propounded in the Promises are infinite So that I doubt not when any necessity shall urge him he can reduce all these three sorts of Faith into one again by Synaeresis or split any one of them into a couple by a Diaeresis But now let us look into his three sorts of Faith 1. § The first says he we may call A natural Faith I confess he may call things what he pleases only let him be sure he do not miscal them the rather because he has not Adams faculty to make inspection into their Natures But what is this natural Faith A belief says he of the Principles of natural Religion which is founded on natural Demonstrations and moral Arguments as that God is and that heis a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him But I am still of the same mind that there is no such thing nor ever was as a Religion of sinners whereby they can draw nigh to God and worship him with Acceptation but what supposes Divine Revelation as the means of Manifestation and a Redeemer as the medium of Reconciliation It is owned that this is a Principle of all Religion that God is and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him But there must be somewhat more than this namely Ability and strength from God that we may diligently seek him and a Mediator through whom we may seek him with him
Father of the faithful if Abraham's Faith and theirs differ toto Genere Those things that differ in their special Nature may yet agree in their common Nature but those things that are of divers kinds wherein shall they agree But all this is but a scandal thrown upon the Apostle who proves from Abraham's way of being justified the way of Christians being justified Rom. 4. As Abraham was justified without Works so are we Vers. 2. As Abraham had a Righteâ—…sness imputed to him even so have we Vers. 11. That Righteousness might be imputed to them also As Abraham's Righteousness was a Righteousness of Faith even so is ours Vers. 11. A Seal of the Righteousness of Faith As Abraham was justified by free Grace so are we V. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly Thus was his Righteousness the patern of ours his Faith the patern of ours And is it not a strange Copy that differs in kind from its Idaea That 's a huge way off from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As if you should propound a House for your patern and draw a Horse to sample it Once more look into Gal. 3. 8. The Scripture fore-seeing that God would justifie the Heathen through Faith preach'd before the Gospel to Abraham Now if Abraham had not our Faith what needed he to have our Gospel The end of preaching the Gospel is to beget Faith and it was an equivocal Generation if it begat a Faith of one kind in Abraham another in Christians What needed this circumspect Caution of Providence that Abraham should have the glad tidings of the Gospel preach'd to him which made him rejoyce and be glad if a Faith of a lower size would serve his turn for Justification Again vers 13. That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through Iesus Christ. If we have his blessing surely he had our Faith Or could Abraham get the blessing without Christ but Christians no other way but in Christ But thus has our Author vindicated the Apostles Reasonings as if he had secretly design'd as he openly professes of the Wriings of others to expose them to contempt It may be now seasonable to examine his Definition of a Gospel-Faith viz. Such a stedfast belief of all those Revelations which Christ hath made to the World as governs our lives and actions If this be to define put but a company of Letters in a bag shuffle them well together then shake them out and they will tumble into as good a Definition as this comes to But thus did Atoms by dancing in Infinite and Eternal Spaces justle one another so long till at last they produced this beautiful Fabrick of Heaven and Earth I except against it 1. Because the whole Priestly Office of Christ is excluded by it Propitiation Atonement Expiation of sin are shut quite out of all consideration and the Death and Sufferings of Christ of no regard unless perhaps they may come in by way of Motive to believe his Doctrine as a Prophet And if this be his Faith I must profess I would not venture my Salvation in his Church for the hopes of all the good or fear of all the evil this World can either flatter or affright me with however I beg Grace from God that I may not He that has but half a Christ had as good have no Christ and he that takes him not wholly into the Definition of his Faith may as safely leave him wholly out As half a heart in God's account is no heart so half a Saviour in Faith's esteem is no Saviour 2. I except against it because it may be found in Hypocrites They may so far believe the Revelations of Christ as to govern their lives and actions and yet their hearts never be purified by that Faith 3. It pretends to define Faith and yet gives us no Genus of it Faith is such a Belief as governs our lives and actions that is Faith is Faith that governs our lives and actions But the Question is What is that Faith that will so govern our lives and actions For it describes not any direct influence of Faith upon our Iustification but our obedience And whereas he pretends to assign some differences that may distinguish it from all other Faith true or false yet in plain terms they do nothing less 1. It 's a belief of those Revelations Christ has made to the World Now unless he can prove that those Revelations which Christ has made to the World are essentially distinct from those which God before made to the World their being revealed by Christ makes no essential difference For Christ came in his Fathers name under the New-Testament and the Spirit came in Christs name under the Old-Testament All Christ's Revelations in order to the governing our lives and actions may be reduced either to Precepts or Promises Now though some have been tampering at it I cannot find that Christ revealed either a new Moral Law or added any thing to the old Self-denial Taking up the Cross Praying for our Persecutors c. were Old-Testament duties though not met with in New-Testament phrase As a Rule of obedience Christ medled not with it all he did was to vindicate it from the corrupt Glosses the Scribes and Pharisees had put upon it As to Promises Christ has revealed no other Heaven no other Glory no other Salvation only he has cleared up these given us more light into them poured out more Grace that we might live more in fellowship with God and hopes of Glory But this and much more will make no essential difference in the Revelation 2. It 's such a Belief as governs our lives and actions But such a Belief was Enoch's Abel's Noah's Abraham s their 's govern'd their lives and actions too and somewhat more their Hearts and Consciences This therefore will make no essential difference 4. I except against it that it mentions not God as the proper Object of Faith For though Christ who is God be in the Definition yet not as God there 's nothing supposes him to be so no employment that necessarily requires it should be so assigned to him only he is allowed Revelation-work which a meer man instructed with God's Commission might have done And now once again he will reassume his Argument If by the Righteousness of Faith you understand the Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith and imputed to us you utterly destroy the Apostle's Argument for our Iustification by Faith for Abraham and all the good men of old were not justified by such a Faith as this is They never heard of Christ's Righteousness imputed to us c. Now how does it follow that because Abraham was justified by such noble and generous Acts of Faith therefore we shall be justified by Christ's Righteousness imputed But whoever overthrows the Apostle's Argument I have some things that will overthrow and utterly overthrow our Author's 1. That he begs and most shamefully begs the
purchase two bad ones at our Author's Hands for his pains Now Mr. Brookes you must know had said thinking no man no harm I dare say That Christ is generally rich rich in Houses Lands in Gold Silver in all Temporals as well as Spirituals with many more friendly expressions of the Fulness and Preciousness of the Grace that is in Christ To which our Author returns a solid though short Confutation That the Son of Man bad not a place whereon to lay his head And is not Mr. Brooks a rash and unadvised Man think you to rant it so high in extolling his Riches and to ascribe to him such vast revenues and possessions But let us be Charitable and put a favourable construction upon these dangerous words perhaps they are not so rank poyson as they seem to be 1. What if Mr. Brooks speaks not of what Christ was when he appeared in the form of a Servant but what he now is since he has reassumed his original Glory and as Mediator has all power in Heaven and Earth put into his hands and methinks it is no such flagitious Crime to assert that Christ has the disposal of all outward things for the good of his Church But I correct my self when I remember my Author has told us p. 162. That Christ has left the visible and external Conduct and Government of the Church to Bishops and Pastors and therefore it may be presumed also he has left the visible Revenues and Temporalties to their disposal also for it 's equitable that the Maintenance should go along with the work and therefore those Houses and Lands the Palaces the Tithes the Glebe the Gold the Silver which Mr. B. fancies are in Christ's hands are entrusted where they shall be converted to better uses 2. What if Christ for a season that he might feel our Infirmities and accommodate himself to that dispensation under which his wonderful Condescension had put him did wave the use of many things he had a Right to Yet 1. He had 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Title when he forbore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Use of those things 2. He used his Right too for others when he would not assert it for himself He was Rich even then when he for our sakes he became poor 2. Cor. 8 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let him not be reproached for his Love pardon him that wrong 3. That Christ had not where to lay his head signifies no more than that he had no fixed habitation at all times but generally went up and down doing good healing all manner of Diseases Preaching the everlasting Gospel for he had a House to hide his head in Ioh. 1. 39. They came and saw where he dwelt and a Pillow too to lay his head on Mark 4. 38. and could sleep securely in the midst of the Storm he wanted not conveniences for his life but was so swallowed up of his Fathers work that he accounted it his Meat and Drink to do his will and therefore I hope Mr. B. will out-live this assault and battery many a fair day And now all that I can instruct my self or my Reader in from this Discourse is That if Mr. Brooks or any of his Brethren shall assert the plainest Truth that ever the Sun shone upon our Author by the Laws of his Society is bound to oppose it SECT 3. Concerning the Nature of our Union to Christ Whereby we are entituled to all his fulness Righteousness c. WHen the Arm is in danger of being lost by a Gangraen it were unseasonable Diligence to attend the Cure of a Cut-finger When that Vessel in which all our common Concerns are embarqued is ready to sink it would be unpardonable folly in the the Passengers to study the security of their particular Cabbins like those whom the great Orator laughs at for presuming their Gardens Orchards and private Walks would be indemnified in the general Ruine of the City In this Section our Author lays his Axe to the Root of the Christian Religion leaving therefore particular persons to shift for themselves The Righteousness of Christs Life and the Sacrifice of his Death with that influence that they have upon our acceptance with God call for defence Many have been infamous for horrid Murders Cain is upon Record for a Fraâ—…ricide Saul for a Suicide Herod's Ambition was to have been a Deicide but this last Age seems to have out-done all in an Attempt to Murder the Death of Christ it self As if because Christ by his Death had destroyed him that had the power of Death these Men would avenge the Devils Quarrel and become his second hoping they may one day triumph over it and sing O Death we will be thy Death In Pag. 320. Our Author propounds this great Question What Influence the Sacrifice of Christ's Death and the Righteousness of his Life have upon our acceptance with God And he gives us both a Reason why he moves the Question and an Answer to it 1. The Reason why he moves this Question upon it Lest any should suspect that his Design is to lessen the Grace of God or to disparage the Merits and Righteousness of Christ. Now I would make a question upon it Whether his Answer to the Question will probably heal us of our suspicions or rather beget Iealousies where there were none and heighten those already conceived into violent presumptions if not plain demonstrations that such is his Design 2. His Answer to the Question is this All that I can find in Scripture about this is That to this we owe the Covenant of Grace That God being well pleased with the Obedience of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of his Death for his sake entred into a New-Covenant with Mankind wherein he promises Pardon of sin and Eternal Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel This Answer contains three things 1. A Description of the Covenant of Grace 2. An Assertion that this Covenant is owing to the Sacrifice of Christ's Death and the Righteousness of his Life 3. a Supposition that the Righteousness and Sacrifice of Christ has no other Influence upon our Acceptance with God but that for his sake he entred into such a Covenant as he has here described with Man-kind 1. His Description of the Covenant is this A promise of the Pardon of sin and Eternal Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel A Description so liable to exceptions that it describes neither the whole of the Covenant nor a New-Covenant nor upon the matter any Covenant at all § 1. This Description gives us little very little of the true Covenant of Grace for 1. though he thinks to put us off with a promise of Pardon and Life to those who believe and obey the true Covenant of Grace has given us a Promise of that Faith whereby we may believe and of that New-heart whereby we are enabled to obey the Gospel And first we have a Promise of the right Faith made
admirable and to be placed amongst the wonders of the New-Divinity that God should enter into a Covenant with all the World to Pardon and save them upon condition of Faith Obedience and yet not let many of them know a syllable of it Nay that he should expresly countermand the promulgating of the Gospel to them And yet so has God done even by the preaching of the true Covenant of Grace Acts 16. 6 7. Now when they had gone throughout all Phrygia and the Region of Galatia and were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to Preach the word in Asia After they were come to Mylia they assayed to go into Bithynia but the Spirit suffered them not 2. Let us now briefly consider his Assertion That the Covenant of Grace such a one as he has made for us is owing to the Sacrifice of Christ's death and the Righteousness of his Life That God being pleased with these for Christ's sake entred into a New Covenant with Mankind I must tell the Reader that I have narrowly pryed into this Section wherein I find frequent assertions of this Doctrine That the Covenant of Grace is owing to procured by founded on the Obedience of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of his Death and yet so unhappy have I been in my search that I cannot find any Proof or any attempt to prove it and therefore till I see evidence to the contrary I shall take it for granted that the Covenant of Grace is owing to founded on and given forth by that free Grace of God from whence it is justly denominated A Covenant of Grace though the intervention of a Mediator such a Mediator was absolutely necessary to put us into the Actual possession of those rich mercies designed for us by God in that Covevenant which Mediator himself is owing to founded on that Covenant of Grace and therefore the Covenant of Grace is not founded upon him but indeed for that Covenant which he is pleased to call a New-Covenant and a Covenant of Grace it 's no great matter where 't is founded and therefore let him dispose of his own Creature as he pleases 3. He supposes that Christ's Obedience and Sacrifice had no other influence upon our acceptance with God but that for his sake he entred into such a Covevenant with Mankind This is all however that he can find But this is a most miserable All and either is just nothing or very near it For § 1. Let him of Courtesy Answer one Question more since he is so good at it Whether God was ever at any time unwilling to pardon sin and give Eternal Life to those who did believe his Promises and obey his Precepts If he was unwilling Then let him shew how Christ's Obedience and Sacrifice did operate upon God to alter his will and of unwilling to make him willing what could there be in the Sacrifice of Christ's Death or the Righteousness of his Life that should make God more in Love with Faith and Obedience than he had been before But if God was willing and that without respect to Christ then how does he give the Pardon of sin and Eternal Life to them who Believe and Obey for Christ's sake I am sure of our Authors good-Nature in this point he will say he has said it That some that many were saved without respect to Christ The mercy and Grace of God it seems accepting their Belief of particular Revelations and their sincere Obedience to his Commands Repentance supplying the defects and shortness of their Conformity to the Law Now if God did all this without regard to Christ how does he do it for the sake of Christ But there 's an Answer to this that lies Dormant in the word Promise God did indeed Pardon sin and give Eternal Life to those who believed his Revelations and obeyed his Commandements but he never promised he would do it But now he has drawn out his Grace and good-will into a Promise to pardon sin and give Eternal Life upon the terms aforesaid and this he has done for Christ's sake And let us Audit the Account and all the influence that Christ's Obedience and Sacrifice bath upon our acceptation with God is that we have got a promise from God to do that which he would have done before to give us that he would have given us before only he would not promise to do it for us to give it to us Two things I shall briefly return 1. That God under the Old-Testament made explicite promises of the pardon of Sin and Eternal Life and if under that Dispensation I am sure our Author will say without respect to Christ that this was the Doctrine of the Old-Testament the Apostle asserts Act. 13. 40. To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins 2 Sam. 7. 14. I will be his Father and he shall be my Son and there 's enough in that to secure a promise of pardon to a repenting Child Mal. 3. 17. They shall be mine and I will spare them as a Father spares his own son that serves him but it it is added If he sin against me I will chasten him with the Rod of Men but my Mercy shall not depart from him Ps. 99. 8. Thou answeredst them O Lord our God thou wast a God that forgavest them though thou tookest vengeance on their inventions And as the pardoning Grace that was in God's Nature was revealed to them as the foundation of their Faith and obedience Ps. 130. 4. There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared So it is drawn out into a promise v. 8. He shall redeem Israel from all his Iniquities which without the pardon of them is simply impossible As for the Promises of Eternal Lise we find good old Iacob now giving up the Ghost and having no hope in this Life expressing his Faith thus Gen. 49. 18. I have waited for thy Salvation O Lord Which doubtless was Eternal Salvation beyond the Verge of that short time of his Life which he knew was expired Ps. 73. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy Counsel in my pilgrimage and afterwards receive me to glory but a more convenient place will offer it self for the discussing of this matter 2. If then this be all that the Obedience of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of his Death do contribute to our acceptance with God that for Christ's sake we have got a Promise or a more explicite Promise of the pardon of sin and Eternal Life than before then I must be of the same mind still that it contributes just nothing to the acceptance of our Obedience with God Let me have Liberty to put the Case of two Persons v. g. David and Paul let us suppose these two equally obedient to God's commands the former without such an express and explicite promise of Reward the other encouraged by stronger Arguments of clear and numerous Promises of Pardon and Eternal Life Which
as a secondary Use some surly ill-conditioned People would conclude that it was not used to confirm a Covenant because the other half was not imployed for that use 2. Another use of the Blood of the Sacrifice sprinkled was to procure the favour of God 2. Chron. 29. 21 22. where we read 1. That all these Lambs Bullocks Rams Goats were offered to God at the Altar Hezekiah commanded the Priests to offer them on the Altar 2. That when the Blood had been shed at the Altar it was afterwards sprinkled on the Altar 3. To shew that the great operation of the Blood even as sprinkled was by vertue of his having been once shed at the Altar The two Goats of the Sin-Offering were only slain by the Priests after they had laid their hands on them and thereby laid the sins of the People upon them in their Typical way but their Blood was not at all sprinkled upon the Altar and yet the greatest efficacy is ascribed to them as the Sin-Offering 4. The design of all these Sacrifices their Offering upon the Altar the shedding and then sprinkling of the Blood is said to be v. 24. to make Reconciliation with their Blood upon the Altar and to make Atonement for all Israel 5. And that none might harp upon the old humour that surely the People were fallen out among themselves were all in Mutiny and Civil-Wars and this Blood was to reconcile them and make them friends We are told It was for all Israel for the Kingdom the Sanctuary for Iudah for Church and State Prince and People All had offended God and this was the Typical way of recovering his favour and regaining a Communion with him in his Temple 3. The Blood was sprinkled also for Purification and Cleansing Lev. 14. 5. Answerable hereto God has promised in the Covenant of Grace that he will sprinkle his people with clean water and from all their Idols and Abominations will be cleanse them Ezek. 36. which he effects by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the Blood of Iesus Therefore are Saints called elect according to the foreknowledg of God the Father through the Sanctification of the Spirit uâ—…to obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Iesus Christ. 1 Pet. 1. 2. 4. The Blood was sprinkled before the Mercy-Seat Lev. 16. 15. When the Priest had shed the blood of the Sacrifice at the Altar and offer'd it to God he carries in some of the Blood into the most Holy place and by that Blood intercedes with God for the People Thus our Lord Jesus when by the once offering of himself he had made an Atonement with God for sin discharges the other great part of 〈◊〉 Priesthood becomes our intercessor at the throne of Grace and in the merit and vertue of that Blood which was once shed for the reconciling of God and procuring his favour he lives for ever to make intercession for us And now I suppose it may be left to all indifferent Persons to judg whether our Author has not most barbarously Murdered the Death of Christ it self and trampled his sacred Blood under his feet allowing no other end or use to it but that oâ—… confirming a Covenant whereas considered as the Blood of sprinkling it has far greater and higher ends and yet the Blood as sprinkled comprehends not the whole design of that Blood § 4. But yet supposing That all the ends of the Death of Christ were wrap't up in that one expression the Blood of sprinkling and supposing also that the Blood of the Sacrifices as sprinkled had no other end or use but the confirming of a Covenant yet how will this prove his main Assertion That we owe the Covenant of Grace to the Death of Christ All that will follow is that we owe the Confirmation of the Covenant to it and only the Confirmation of the Covenant and then another thing will follow too that we do not owe the Covenant it self to it unless he can prove that procuring and confirming are Terms of the same importance The advantage our Author has got by this way of Reasoning is that he has found out a way how to own all Scripture-Expressions and yet accommodate them to his own preconceived Opinions 1. Hence says he we are said to be justified by the Blood of Christ Rom. 5. 9. That is by the Gospel-Covenant which was confirmed and ratified by his Death To which I Answer 1. If we may be said to be justified by his Blood because his Blood confirmed the Covenant then we may be said more properly to be justified by his Miracles for they indeed had a proper direct immediate and sufficient evidence in them to confirm the Doctrine which he Preacht and it 's a Miracle almost as great as any of them that the Scripture should never once intimate that we are justified by Miracles which directly and properly confirmed his Doctrine and yet constantly affirm it of his Death which directly and properly confirmed it not 2. Then also with the same propriety of Speech we may be said to be justified by the Blood of the Martyrs which was a convincing Testimony that they believed their Doctrine to be true and then the old Popish Rhime will come in fashion again Tu per Thomae sanguinem quem pro te impendit Da nos Christe scandere quo Thomas ascendit 3. If the Blood of Christ contribute no more to our justification than as it confirmed the Truth of this proposition amongst others He that Believes and obeys the Gospel shall be pardoned and saved then it 's possible to be justified without the Blood of Christ God has given us many Arguments to confirm the Truth of the Gospel If then I believe the Truth of what Christ preached upon those Arguments which are suited to its confirmation as upon the evidence of Miracles c. and accordingly obey all its Commands It were very hard if I should miss of Pardon and Life for not believing it upon one single Argument and that but a probable one neither What if I Believe the Promise upon nine of God's Arguments and hit not upon the Tenth obey upon nine of God's Motives and want only that single String to my Bow shall my Faith and Obedience be rejected because not grounded upon every particular Reason that may possibly be Muster'd up to confirm them 4. It will be in vain ever to speak or write again if such far-fetcht Consequences be allowed to interpret what is spoken and written There are no two things in the world so remote each from other but they have some kind of Relation and Affinity and if this way will salve all there will hardly be found that thing in the World if it may but be conceived to have had any Relation as an Argument to our Faith and Obedience but we may be said to be justified by it We are said to be justified by the Blood of Christ True But how Why thus The Blood of Christ signifies
is the Son of God signifies the same thing too Joh. 20. 31. But here our Author has relieved himself from his old Artifice which never failed him the forceing Scripture over to him when he is lazy and will not stir a step to go to the Scripture The Text speaks its own Language thus These things are written that ye might believe that Iesus is the Son of God and believing ye may have life through his Name where the Evangelist says not They are justified by believing that Iesus is the Son of God but that having first satisfied their Faith from Scripture that Jesus is the Son of God which Truth being well studied well digested and improved will give us a marvelous light into the Mystery of the Gospel and without which the whole of the Gospel is involved in eternal Night and then believing they have eternal Life through his Name by his satisfactory Blood and Righteousness and the Authority which he has thereby with the Father But believe it here is harder work than all this behind for our Author will propound several Questions and when he has done answer them 1. Quest. What is it to believe that Christ is the Son of God Ans. That is says he That Messiah and Prophet whom God sent into the World Very good Now as I remember p. 4. he told us That Christ was anointed to be the Messiah at his Baptism let the Reader examine it Now if to be the Son of God be to be the Messiah and that he was not the Messiah till his Baptism then he was not the Son of God till his Baptism and then for about 30 years he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a mere Man and yet this is a great favour I assure you for his Baptism was about three or four years before his Resurrection and then they are to blame who will suspect this Principle to be Socinian well But yet to believe Christ to be the Son of God is to believe him to be the Messiah Ay But there 's one odd misadventure more in the thing that is that Hebrew is easier than Greek for if Messiah explain Christ any better I am very much out in my reckoning Some from hence will pretend to give us a Scheme of our Author's Faith about the Deity of Christ and perhaps should they deal with him as he has dealt with others or half so uncharitably it would be found dissonant to what he professedly owns in subscribing the three Symbols of Faith but I see no reason to fix an Opinion upon any Man that he will not openly avow 2. Quest. But what is the Messiah Ans. Why The Prophet whom God sent into the World to reveal his Will to us To believe him to be the Son of God is to believe him to be the Messiah and to believe him to be the Messiah is to believe him to be a Prophet and that is as near as I can measure it just one third part of his Mediatory Employment Surely he has mean thoughts of his Reader 's Intellectuals or great presumptions upon their good-Natures or a high esteem of the persuasiveness of his own Rhetorick that can hope to proselyte them into a belief without one Argument That the Son of God signifies no other than Messiah Messiah no more than Prophet and that the Prophetical-Office of this Messiah is the just compleat Object of our Faith 3. Quest. But what does this Belief of Christ to be the Messiah the Prophet include Ans. A general Belief of the Gospel which he preacht most rare Divinity I suppose we may be saved upon very cheap terms by and by For 1. A general Belief of the Gospel will serve the turn to justify 〈◊〉 well enough that is as far as Faith has ought to do in Justification If Faith believes Christ to be the Messiah that is a Prophet whom God sent to reveal his Will to us it has got a general Belief of the Gospel which may be without understanding in particular one syllable of what Christ has revealed of his Father's Will and then I suppose a general Obedience will serve well enough for a general Faith 2. We may believe Christ to be the Messiah yet if we believe not also what that Person is in whom the Office of Mediator resides we shall understand very little of its Nature Dignity and Efficacy To believe Christ to be Anointed signifies very little unless we understand also who it is that is so Anointed 5. To believe that God raised Christ from the Dead doth the same Doth the same the same what Why it includes a general Belief of the Gospel because his Resurrection was the last and great Confirmation of the Gospel Let us now put all this together We are said to be justified by believing that God raised up Christ from the Dead and that signifies the same with being justified by the Blood of Christ and both these signify to be justified by believing and obeying the Gospel and yet to believe that God raised up Christ from the Dead includes only a general belief of the Gospel In all which there is nothing but what is rotten at the Core 1. Let us examine in what sense we are said to be justified by believing that God raised up Christ from the Dead The place assigned is Rom. 10. v. 9. If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Iesus Christ and shalt believe in thine Heart that God â—…ath raised up him from the Dead thou shalt be saved Where Salvation is not promised to a Belief of this Proposition That God raised Christ from the Dead but to a Believing it with the Heart such a Faith as closes with the Redeemer included in that Proposition as is evident from the Faith of Thomas Joh. 20. 28. Our Lord Jesus willing to satisfy his doubts and scruples about the Truth of his Resurrection shews him his Hands and Feet gives him leave to put his Hâ—…nd into the Print of the Nails and the Hole of his Side upon this he is satisfied and expresses the Belief of his Heart in these words My Lord and my God When therefore the Apostle tells us That by believing with the Heart that God has raised Iesus from the Dead we shall be saved he intends such a Faith as accepts of and gives up the Soul mutually to a Redeemer as its own God and Lord and not a general Belief that Christ must needs be the Messiah because he was raised from the Dead and if the Messiah his Doctrine must needs be true be it what it will though we know nothing of it 2. It may be enquired whether such a general Belief that God raised up Iesus from the Dead be a true justifying Faith If it be An Implicite Faith will serve tum for all the Particulars of the Gospel and this would save abundance of needless pains that men take in reading of meditating upon the Scriptures and now instead of the Colliers Faith who believed as the
immediate Effects of the Covenant and not of the Blood of Christ What should move the Apostles always to speak improperly to affix Reconciliation Atonement Redemption c. to the Blood of Christ and never to our Obedience when yet we are neither properly reconciled properly redeemed nor God properly atoned by Christ's Blood but all these are the proper Effects of our Obedience And now one word to the Therefore And therefore says he All the Blessings of the Gospel are owing to the Blood of Christ because the Gospel-Covenant it self was procured and confirmed by the Blood of Christ A very learned Argument that is to say We owe the Blessings of the Gospel to that which is no true and proper cause of them The Blood of Christ is not the proper Cause of our Justification therefore we owe our Iustification to it His Blood is not the proper Cause of our Reconciliation and therefore we are indebted to his Blood for our Reconciliation All Effects are owing to their proper Causes whatsoever therefore is the proper Cause of our Iustification to that we are indebted for it But how naturally would this Conclusion follow from his Premise The Blood of Christ is not the proper Cause of Iustification Reconciliation and Redemption and therefore we do not owe our Justification Reconciliation and Redemption to the Blood of Christ Or thus We owe all the Blessings of the Gospel to the Blood of Christ and therefore the Blood of Christ is the proper Cause of those Blessings And now let the Reader observe how his Reason brought up in the Rear has routed his Reason that marched in the Van. The Blood of Christ is not the proper Cause of the Blessings of the Gospel there 's your Reason in the Front why we do not owe the Blessings of the Gospel to it And again The Gospel-Covenant was procured and confirmed by it There 's your Reason in the Rear why we do owe the Blessings of the Gospel to it But to do our Author justice I shall look over these things more severely The Gospel-Covenant it self says he was procured by the Blood of Christ. And does not this sound more honourably for the Blood of Christ than to say it only confirm'd a Covenant To procure if we might measure the import of the Word by its sound implies that the Blood of Christ had some Influence upon God that moved him to enter into such a Covenant with Mankind which without that Consideration he had never done but to confirm a Covenant that supposes there was such a Covenant in being only the Blood of Christ gave security to Men that it should be made good So that if we know when we are well we had best keep our selves so and sit down contented with this NewHonour and Efficiency ascribed to the Blood of Christ that it procured as well as confirmed the Gospel-Covenant lest whilst we labour to engross more than is due we lose what the Charity of our Author has given us But they who think they have right to All will hardly be perswaded to be put off with half and therefore I must a little further enquire into this new-start-up Notion of procuring the Covenant What this Gospel-Covenant is which our Author so frankly attributes to the Procurement of Christ's Blood he has told us p. 320. A Promise of the Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel I confess a clear and distinct Notion of what he calls Gospel would very much befriend us in our Enquiry The best I can find and it 's but a half-faced one neither is p. 34. To preach Christ says he is to preach his Gospel that is to expound all those Rules of Life and Articles of Faith which are contained in it Whether this be Gospel or no I shall not enquire or whether this be the Covenant of the Gospel I shall not torment him with but this is that which Christ has procured for us with his Blood A Promise of Pardon and Life to those who believe and obey all that 's revealed and commanded either in the Scriptures or the New-Testament or the Four Evangelists or in one of Christ's Sermons I think that must be it Now I must here entreat the Reader to open his Eyes and see how he has been cheated all this while 1. It 's very well known he propounded a Question at first What Influence the Righteousness of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of his Death have upon our Acceptance with God To this he answers separately concerning the Death of Christ and its Influence and will come all in good time to shew us What Influence the Righteousness of his Life hath upon God for that End Concerning the Influence of his Death he has been perswading us that it confirms the Covenant and now in the Close he has stollen-in a Word we never dreamt of that i procures this Covenant Now I suspect some fraud for what Influence has the Death of Christ upon God to procure us such a Govenant Had he shew'd us that he had deserved better of his Readers than by all this Amusing Sophistry 2. He has told us p. 42. That the Light of Nature the Works of Creation and Providence do assure us that God designs the Happiness of all his Creatures according to their Capacities and they are capable of being justified and saved And that God is so Holy that he has a Natural Love for all good Men and is as ready to pardon them when they return to their Duty as a kind Father is to receive a Humble and Penitent Prodigal And p. 43. Had Christ never appeared in the World yet we had reason to believe that God is thus good and merciful Now having such good security from the Light of Nature Reason being clear in the Point and the thing so natural and essential to God that he will pardon and is ready to it upon Repentance and Obedience though Christ had never appear'd what has the Death of Christ done to procure this Favour or more Favour from God We will grant that the Death of Christ has confirmed the Truth of it more but what has it added to the Procurement of the thing If it be said that Christ's Death did not procure a Willingness in God to Pardon but only a Confirmation of his Willingness I would ask what greater Confirmation a rational Creature could well desire than an Assurance from the Light of Nature that this was Natural and Essential to God And I would further know what the Procuring of a Confirmation amounts to more than a Confirmation 3. The Scripture has assured us Gen. 17. That God gave an explicite Promise to Abraham that he would be his God or a God to him that is that whatever Abraham should want and yet could not want but he must be eternally miserable that thing God would be to him For 't is an uncouth Interpretation of the Promises I will be thy God that
is I will be nothing to thee do nothing for thee of what thou mainly wantest but for all my Promise to be thy God I will suffer thee to lye under the guilt of Sin at present and to fall under eternal Condemnation here-after though thou walkest before me and art perfect If then there was such an Implicite and Virtual Promise in God's Nature revealed by the works of Creation and Providence to Reason and an Explicite one too in the particular Revelation that God would bestow Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life to those who walkt before God inuprightness The Question is How did Christ procure such an Engagement from God when it was procured before But supposing that there was never any such Promise made by God till Christ by his Death procured it then how did the Death of Christ prevail with God to make such a Promise which otherwise he had never made 4. But I suspect more than ever that we are merely gulled for he tells us That the Blessings of the Gospel are the proper Effects of the Covenant but not of that Blood of Christ so that we are justified by the Blood of Christ is properly false but improperly true that we are Redeemed by the Blood of Christ in an improper Sense may be said to be true but in a proper Sense is utterly false and then if the Apostles had penn'd their Epistles clean backward they would have been properly true whereas now they are properly false And now who can tell but when he says The Blood of Christ procured this Covenant he may not mean in some improper odd Sense that is not worth a Button But yet our Author seems to go higher than all this p. 330. Our Righteousness and acceptation with God it wholly owing to the Covenant which he hath purchased sealed with his Blood To Purchase is a very good word when applied to the Blood of Christ therefore because we meet with so few I shall make as much of it as I can It denotes procurement in a special way by a valuable price paid The Covenant of Grace then Christ has purchased that Covenant is a Promise of Pardon and Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel In this Covenant there are three things First the Material part the pardon of sin and eternal Life Secondly the conditional part Faith and Obedience Thirdly The form of the Covenant A Promise of the Material part upon performance of the Conditional part Now when he owns the Blood of Christ to have purchased this Covenant the question is whether the whole or some part of it only If not the whole then what part is the purchase of his Blood 1. For the Conditional part Faith and Obedience I may secure my self our Author will not put them into the particular of the purchase for then it would be scarce worth the while to mingle Heaven and Earth with Tragedies what the conditions of the Covenant should be if Christ had purchased the conditions themselves and therefore as to these let every man trust to himself 2. As for the Material part Pardon and Life I doubt our Author will not yield us neither that Christ has purchased them because he denies that the Blessings of the Gospel are the proper effects of Christ's Blood whereas had he purchased them with his Blood they would have been the proper effects of it 3. Then it remains that Christ has purchased a Promise of bestowing the Material part upon our performance of the Conditional part And thus we are just where we were two miles ago and these great words of purchasing and procuring are shrivel'd up to Confirmation of a Promise but if he will say that the Blood of Christ his Death and dreadful sufferings were a proper price paid to God to procure or purchase a word from God that he would do that which was natural and essential to him then we shall thank him that he has such honourable thoughts of it as to judg it worth a good word The Scripture every-where ascribes the Blessings of the Gospel to the purchase and procurement of the Blood of Christ but if this be all that he has got a word from God it supposes the the Scripture to swell with Scenical Language and high Tragical Phrase which seems to carry sublime matters in it but when it comes to be stript of Metaphor and Allegory is a mere Anatomy From this precarious Hypothesis that the Apostles always write like himself that is improperly and impertinently and attribute such things to the Blood of Christ which are the proper and immediate effects of the Gospel-Covenant he will unriddle to us many Mysteries which are vulgarly reputed matters of weight and worth but if we can spare him a little Patience he will so uncase them that we shall confess they contain nothing that may deserve or need the Blood of Christ or any great matter to be made about them 1. Concerning Reconciliation The Apostle had said 2 Cor. 5. 18 19. All things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Iesus Christ and hath committed to us the Ministry of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their Trespasses and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation v. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us what the import of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reconciliation and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to reconcile is will not create us any great trouble because our Author allowing a reconciliation to be made between Iew and Gentile secretly confesses that Reconciliation implies the taking away of an enmity and bringing the differing parties into a state of Peace and Friendship But the Apostle in this place instructs us further 1. That the proper effect of this Reconciliation is not-imputing Trespasses God is by Nature a Holy God as he is Governour of the World he is a Righteous Iudg sin is both Contrary to his holy Nature and his Holy Law And therefore as a Holy God he cannot but hate sin as a Righteous Iudg he cannot but punish sin And because this sin is inherent in and committed by Man God hates the sinner upon the Account of his sin his Person and his best services are an abomination to the Lord. From hence it follows that sin being a transgression of the Law in its preceptive part renders the sinner Guilty that is obnoxious and lyable to the Law in its Sanction to the punishment Now this Righteous Iudg will certainly charge the guilty sinner with the penalty due to his sin but there is a way found out that he may be reconciled and not impute to sinners their Trespasses and this clearly shews that the Reconciliation here spoken of is a reconciliation of God to the Sinner such a one as makes provision that God shall not impute iniquity 2. The Apostle instructs us further in the way whereby Christ made this Reconciliation of God v. 21. He was
shall be Pardoned and Saved if we Believe and Obey without any Ability purchased to Believe and Obey 2. Christ did not purchase any one single spiritual Benefit for us as the Cause of it immediate and proper 3. He purchased Nothing but that he may lose the whole Benefit of his Purchase 4. Obedience will as soon save us without the Blood of Christ as with it Lesser Obedience with that Blood is not more acceptable to God than Greater without it But this he will call an Influence upon our Acceptation with God I confess he is a Free-man for ought I know and may call or miscall Things as he has done Persons at his pleasure but surely no man whose understanding is his own would ever call this an Influence upon our Acceptation with God A contingent uncertain Influence it may have upon our Obedience but none at all upon the Acceptation of our Obedience An act of Love to God is as welcome and acceptable to God at this rate without Christ as with Him But this is the Misery of it when Men must say something and yet cannot tell well what to say but either on the one hand they must flie in the Face of the Scripture which they hardly dare do or else on the other hand renounce their beloved Errors which they are resolved never to do then must the Scriptures be wrested to their crooked Sentiments instead of Rectifying their crooked Notions by the straight Rule of the written Word 2 Having now Informed us what Influence the Death of Christ has upon our acceptance with God it remains that he Instruct us with equal Ingenuity what Influence the Righteousness of his Life has upon God for the same end But here he will be to seek for having assigned in words so much to the Death of Christ there is nothing left for his Life No matter upon which it may work but seeing all the former was in pretence there is Employment enough for it left still Though the pardon of sin and our justification be attributed says he to the blood of Christ yet I could never persuade my self that this wholly excludes the perfect obedience and righteousness of his life He cannot persuade himself very strange what had he attempted to satisfie his judgement about the exclusion of Christs righteousness and yet could he not be persuaded yes persuaded he was to exclude it but not wholly to exclude it there were some rubs and little scruples in the way that he could not get over but had he improved his own principles and built upon his own foundation I could have shewn him a way how he might wholly have excluded it for p. 243. he gives it us as a Note worth our observing that in the whole New Testament there is no such expeession as the Righteousness of Christ And p. 78. he lays it down as an infallible maxime That we cannot draw any one conclusion from the person of Christ which his Gospel hath not expresly taught seeing then we cannot safely draw any such conclusion from Christs Person and the Scripture has not expresly taught it what should hinder him from a plerophory in this point wholly to exclude that from his Creed which is not expresly taught in the Scripture and therefore may not be drawn from the consideration of his Person by consequence And if his scruples had been but as strong against the righteousness of Christ or he had been in the scrupling mood as against the justification of Abraham by the righteousness of Christ this matter had been put out of doubt with him wholly long before this In the mean time The righteousness of Christ is mightily beholden to his good Nature that when by his principles he might yet out of civility he would not and therefore could not wholly exclude it Some Place some Room it shall have some Remote and Improper causality as the Death of Christ had in our Acceptation with God But what may be the Reason why he could not altogether as well as almost exclude it O he tells us that the Apostle tells him Ephes. 1. 6. That we are accepted in the Beloved And is this the great difficulty Alas one of his Wedges would make this little Knot flie at the first stroke May there not possibly be given another meaning of it Must it needs be Interpreted of Acceptation through the active Obedience of Christ This would have done the work Or thus Our acceptation is ascribed to the Obedience of Christs Life because that has a great Influence upon us to make us Obedient which is that Righteousness for which we are accepted of God The Example of Christ has given us a Pattern of Obedience which when we Imitate we are accepted of God but what now if he had played one of his Omnipotent Machines against the Text he might have Batter'd down the Conclusion with ease By the Beloved is meant Christ by Christ is meant the Gospel by the Gospel is meant Obedience and then the sence is no more but this We are accepted in the Beloved that is We are accepted for our selves And I must needs say this had been a far more Rational Course than that he has taken with the Death of Christ Ay but says he whatever rendred Christ beloved of God did contribute something to our Obedience Something That 's a huge Kindness indeed There 's a vast distance between something and nothing and yet it may be such a something as is next to nothing Well we are glad of a little till we can get more For because he was beloved of God we are accepted for his sake That 's high and surprizing But still What kind of Cause was Christs Obedience of our acceptance One of the Poorest Lowest causes in the World is one that they Nick-name a Causa sine quâ non which yet is properly no cause at all And yet our Author when time was could tell us pag. 43. That had Christ never appeared in the World yet we have reason to believe God is thus Wise Good and Merciful to forgive us our sins when we return to our Duty Such a Cause was the Death of Christ of our acceptance Pag. 46. Gods requiring such a Sacrifice as the Death of Christ for the Expiation of our sins was not because he could not do otherwise If now we might have been accepted without his Incarnation I presume we might have been so without his Obedience and then it is not so much as that little nothing of a Causa sine quâ non But this is pure Trifling For the Question was What Influence Christs Righteousness has upon our acceptance with God He answers That because Christ was beloved we are beloved for his sake That is Christs Obedience has an Influence upon our acceptance but what that Influence is remains a Secret Suppose the Question had been Why are we accepted for Christs sake The answer might have been His Obedience has an Influence upon our acceptation Those
and then our Authors Argument will hold though his Cause break If God for the sake of Abrahams imperfect Obedience yet as he was the Head of the League gave so many temporal Mercie to Israel surely then God for the sake of Christ the Head of all that the Father hath given him will bestow Spiritual and Eternal Mercies for the Head and Members making but one Body the Obedience of the Head is reputed the Obedience of the Members And as the Blessings which God bestows for Christs sake are Transcendently gâ—…eater than those bestowed on Israel for Abrahams sake so is the Obedience which Christ performed upon it's own account and the Dignity of the Person infinitely beyond the imperfect Obedience of Abraham and the Union which Faith makes with Christ is a stricter Union than any Natural Civil Political Union that could possibly be between Abraham and his Posterity Thus I have endeavoured to Vindicate our Authors Argument but I am sure he had rather it should perish than be thus justified But is it not strange our Author should tell us That he knows how many Blessings God bestowed upon the Children of Israel for their Fathers sakes and yet not acquaint us with one single Blessing that God bestows on us for Christs sake For the sake of Christs Personal Obedience I wish I had so much Interest in any Friend of his that had that Interest in him to perswade him to acquaint us freely and open-heartedly what those blessings are and how procured Why just now he comes to it The Righteousness of his Life and the Sacrifice of his Death both serve to the same end to establish and confirm the Gospel-Covenant God was so well pleased with what Christ did and suffered with the obedience of his Life and Death that for his sake he entred into a Covenant of Grace with Mankind Very good what needed all this Circumlocution and Periphrase To beat about and about the Bush Had it not been more Civil to have given us our doom in plain English than to Tantalize us with sugared hopes and expectations of some great matter from Abraham Isaac and Iacob Some would say 1. That this ascribes more Influence to Abrahams Obedience than thus to Christs for God for the sake of Abraham's Active Obedience entred into a Covenant with Israel and chose them to be his peculiar People without the Death of Abraham but the Obedience of Christs Life and Death must both concur to procure this Covenant and yet it is such a one as I suppose God would not refuse upon as small an account as the sake of Abraham 2. Some will say this is not to Answer the Question but perplex it The Question at first was what influence the Righteousness of Christs Life and the Sacrifice of his Death have upon our acceptation with God He Answers They serve to establish the Covenant they confirm to us that God will pardon and save us if we believe and Obey but what if I Obey without such confirmation shall my Obedience be rejected without it be performed upon that Confirmation Ay but God entred into this Covenant of Grace for Christs sake Still I say that 's not an answer but the bandying the Question upon us again a hundred times over Why should his Life and Death have such an influence upon God to make that Covenant Why should they Operate that way What connexion is there between Christs active and passive Obedience and such a Covenant But sure we forget our selves for we are enquiring into the influence of Christs Active Obedience And 1. For Confirming a Covenant let any rational Man satisfie me how The Obedience of a Person perfectly holy pure spotless sinless being accepted of God should prove this promise That therefore God will accept them whos 's best Obedience is imperfect and defective This is so far from confirming it that God will accept me who am a Sinner that it leads to utter dispair of acceptance with him seeing I came so infinitely short of my pattern What hope can a sinner have of acceptance from a consideration that God has accepted Christ who was no sinner If Faith was ready to believe that God would accept him that believes and obeys yet had it seen Christs Faith and Obedience and his acceptance thereon it might have stagger'd him that ever such pitiful things as his Faith and Obedience should find favour with God And if Faith was so strong as to overcome that difficulty as to believe the Promise notwithstanding this staggering Example yet it 's far enough from Truth that a sinner should believe the promise ever the more that his imperfect Service should be accepted and rewarded because Christs entire obedience was so Nay without question it had been a greater confirmation of that promise to have had assurance that God had pardoned some hainous Offender some flagitious wretch who deserved Condemnation than to behold him accepting a Person not obnoxious to Condemnation So says the Apostle 1 Tim. 1. 16. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Iesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them who hereafter should believe on him to Life everlasting The Pardon of a Blasphemer one injurious a Persecutor is a stronger confirmation that God will pardon a sinner than the acceptance of Him that had done no wrong neither was guile found in his mouth 2. But now for Gods making such a promise for Christs sake or entring into a Covenant to pardon accept for Christs sake this answers not the Question in the least for 1. It onely asserts that God has declared openly that he will do it Now a Declaration of Pardon is not a Pardon a promise of acceptance is not acceptance and therefore a Reason of or Motive to such a Promise such a Declaration is not a Reason of or Motive to Pardon and acceptance Christs Obedience was so well pleasing to God that for his sake he made such a Promise Well but if my Obedience be little Christs Obedience will not make it accepted as if it were great if imperfect it will not render it accepted as if it were perfect 2. That God has made such a promise for Christs sake answers not the Question for it s but turning the Question into an Assertion As if we should enquire what Reason is there that God should accept me for Christs obedience And he should Answer there is a Reason why God should accept me for it but never shew the Reason Or thus What Cause is Christs Obedience of the Acceptance of our Obedience And he should say it is a Cause but not shew the Cause But then further The Obedience and Righteousness of Christs Life was one thing which made his Sacrifice so Meritorious I confess I question the Truth of the Proposition had Christ Sacrificed himself as soon as he came into the World his Sacrifice had been as Meritorious being the Sacrifice of him that as Priest was God and
Man and as Sacrifice was the Sacrifice of him that was Personally United with God but I am not concerned to insist upon that at present All I say is that it 's no Answer to the Question for to the best of my remembrance and it 's not a full Twelve-moneth since the Question came before us the Question was What influence the Righteousness of Christs Life hath upon our Acceptance and now we have got an Answer to another Question What influence the Righteousness of Christs Life has upon his own Acceptance with God As if we were at the Old Childish Game of cross Questions It was asked me How many Miles it is to London and it was answered me Thirteen shillings and a groat make a Noble For what is this Meritoriousness of Christs Obedience did he Merit for himself or for us If for himself onely then it 's out of the Olives If for us then that which he has Merited is ours Merit denotes a proportion between the Work done and the Reward received and it 's strict Justice in God to bestow upon us that which another has Merited for us if then Christ has Merited our Acceptance we cannot but be accepted it 's Iustice we should be so Again what is it that Christ has Merited Is it acceptauce Our Author will not say it what then Why a promise of acceptance that is that we shall be pardoned and saved upon Faith and Obedience And this is the bottom of the bag when he has turned his discourse into a thousand shapes and forms and varied his expressions infinitely yet all amounts to no more than this Christ has confirmed a promise procured a promise merited a promise that if we believe and obey we shall be pardoned and saved and yet the answer to the Question is to come For 1. There must be a better Reason assigned than the Righteousness of Christs Life why the Sacrifice of his Death should merit any thing for if his active obedience was due to Gods Law upon his own Personal account it could merit nothing for another The payment of a Debt will not merit a reward and if the Righteousness of Christs Life did not merit any thing it self it can never make his Death meritorious 2. To Merit for us a reward upon a condition and never to merit for us that condition is next to nothing as the Case stands with us For both Christ and we shall lose that which he has Merited if our Obedience be left to the desultoriness of our own will and the imbecillity of corrupt Nature Upon the whole Matter I conclude that according to his Principles our Author canot shew any one thing in all the Life and Death of Christ that may render our Persons and Services more acceptable to God than they would otherwise have been upon equal Holiness and Obedience and therefore we must make our Application to Persons of other apprehensions in Religion if we would have an honest satisfactory Answer to this Question What influence the Righteousness of Christs Life and the Sacrifice of his Death have upon our Acceptance with God There is a Text which some think will shew us more of that True influence that the Righteousness of Christ hath upon our Acceptance with God than all this tedious rambling Discourse of our Authors It is Rom. 5. 18 19. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all Men to Condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free gift came upon all Men to Iustification of Life For as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made Righteous From whence I have heard some Argue In the same sense that all are made sinners in the first Adam all that are righteous are made righteous in the second Adam but in the first Adam all are made sinners by the imputation of his Disobedience therefore all that are righteous are made so in the second Adam by the imputation of his Obedience Again If it was the Active Disobedience of the first Adam whereby many even all that were in him were made sinners then it is the active obedience of the second Adam whereby Many even all that are in him are made righteous but the former is true therefore so is the latter But says our Author This is the most that can be made of that place This What Why this something or this nothing which he had said before That God was so well pleased with the Obedience of Christs Life that for his sake he entred into a Covenant of Grace with Mankind And if this be all that can be made of that Text the Opposition must run thus As God was so ill pleased with the Disobedience of Adams Life that for the sake of it he entred into a Covenant of Works with Mankind So he was so well pleased with the Obedience of Christs Life that for the sake of it he entred into a Covenant of Grace with Mankind Really it must be so Reader take it or leave it for look what influence Adams Disobedience had upon God to provoke him to condemn the World the same influence had Christs obedience upon God to please him to save the World And will not this be a rare contrivance to fancy a Covenant of Works instituted after the Fall of Adam when we are certain it was established before his Disobedience And so was the Covenant of Grace before the Active and Actual obedience of Christ However let us consider the most he can make of it First says he there 's no necessity of expounding this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Righteousness of Christs Life or his active obedience This Answer of our Authors is like the Ariere banne it 's never raised but in a case of extreme urgency an Answer that will serve the turn of all the Atheists Hereticks and Miscreants upon Earth If you tell them that Eternal Salvation is promised in the Gospel they have it at their fingers ends that there is no necessity that Eternal should signifie a duration beyond the Horizon of time it 's used in other places for the lengthning out the existence of a thing to it 's own allotted period Thus the Aaronical Priesthood was an everlasting Priesthood it was to continue for the Ever of the Iewish World And as for that word Salvation there 's no necessity it should signifie a deliverance from Spiritual Evils for besides that there were no promises of any such Salvation in the old Testament the word is often used in the New for temporal deliverance As when the Apostle said Except these abide in the Ship ye cannot be saved Acts 27. But why is there no necessity of it It may well signifie no more than his Death because the Apostle tells us Phil. 2. 8. That Christ became obedient unto Death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but by his leave the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 does indeed signifie obedient in general and
Covenant made a Covenant his Righteousness and Obedience have procured a Covenant are the Meritorious cause of a Covenant when the total Summe of all is no more than this That God has promised to Pardon and Save us if we Believe and Obey the Gospel though we Obey not perfectly So that at last it 's our own Obedience that Recommends us to God our own Righteousness for which we are Iustified Whereas the Apostle is Peremptory That by the Obedience of Christ we are constituted Righteous His Conclusion is therefore this That the Righteousness of Christ is not the formal Cause of our Iustification but the Meritorious cause of that Covenant whereby we are declared Righteous and rewarded as Righteous I perceive the Righteousness of Christs Life and the Obedience of his Death are like to prove something ere long One while they Confirm and Seal another while they Procure and at last they Merit a Covenant I cannot but Examine particulars though I have often done it 1. The Righteousness of Christ is not the Formal cause of our Iustification Indeed I think it is not Never any Man in his Wits affirmed it so Give but us leave to call it the Material cause or the Meritorious cause immediately and properly of Justification and he shall take Formal cause and deal with it at his pleasure I think I have a Commission from all the Systematical Divines of Germany the Voluminous Tigurines and Bulky Low-Dutch with those few that are left in England to make a Bargain with him Hard and Fast That the Righteousness of Christ is not the Formal cause of our Iustification 2. Says he It is the Meritorious cause of that Covenant whereby we are declared Righteous A Meritorious cause sounds very high if it had an honest Meaning But what has it Merited Iustification By no means What then Any particular Mercy or Priviledge or Blessing By no means for then it would be a proper cause of it there 's an Exact and Severe proportion betwixt the Reward and the Work in all Merit What is it then the Meritorious cause of Why of a Covenant But are we made Righteous by the Covenant Not at all only we are declared Righteous But how does the Righteousness of Christs Life and the Obedience of his Death Merit such a Covenant at Gods Hands Nay That he will not tell us God was well pleased with them but why he should be so is a Secret which must be reserved for the coming of Elias 3. The last thing I shall Exmine is his Exceptions against our Interpretation of the Apostle 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shall be made Righteous says he is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shall be Iustified Well I agree to him But then I say the former Expression explains the way of our being Iustified that it is by Vertue of a Gospel-Law-Constitution or Appointment of God who considering all Believers as one with their Redeemer does Constitute them Just and Righteous there 's the Formal Cause in the Righteousness of Christ there 's the Material Cause of Justification as all the Posterity of Adam are constituted Sinners and liable to Condemnation by the Constitution of the old Law as Represented by him their Common Head 2. He excepts That the Apostle tells us ver 17. Who they are that are Iustified by Christ and shall Reign with him in Life not those who are Righteous by the Imputation of Christs Righteousness to them But I do not hear the Apostle telling me one such word whatever he has told our Author privately by way of Cabala I hear him saying plainly That as by one Mans offence many were made sinners so by one Mans Obedience many were made Righteous And because I cannot devise how possibly one Man should be made a sinner dealt with as a sinner Condemned and Judged as and for a sinner by another mans sin unless he be some ways or other guilty of sin and because it is not the making of that one mans sin their own by Immitation and Example that the Apostle speaks of but by a constitution of a Covenant or Law Therefore till I can find a better Term to express the Doctrine by I shall call Gods charging Adams sin upon his Posterity to their Condemnation his Imputing it to them And then because I cannot neither devise with my self how one man should possibly be made Righteous by the Obedience of another but that others Obedience must some way or other become his own and because to say Christs Obedience is ours by Imitation of his Example is to cross the Apostles paralel and to cross the Truth for we Imitate it but in part and very Imperfectly therefore I shall take the Freedom also to call Gods constituting Believers righteous by the Obedience of Christ his Imputing that Obedience to them for their Justification provided always that when more convenient and expressive Terms shall be found out to satisfie the Apostle this of Imputation be left indifferent Well but if not these who are then Why those who have received the abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness these are justified by Christ these shall Reign with him in Life It 's very true the Apostle does tell us no less And I cannot imagine how he should more fitly describe a justified person that others may know him and he should know himself than by the Fruits and Effects of Justification such as abundance of Grace are For whatever our Author thinks of the Apostle he does not use to describe a thing by it self or something equally obscure but by that which is more known and Obvious than the thing described and therefore the Apostle seems not to describe Justification but a justified Person by Sanctification They that have received abundance of Grace and the Gift of Righteousness these are justified Persons not that Justification is from any Inherent work but that the justified Person is only known to himself to be such by an Inherent work and to others by the fruits of it This answer I will deal truly with my Reader came next to hand I had it from our Author and I presumed he would accept a bad one of his own before a better of another mans The Apostle says he tells who those are that are thus justified by Christ Nay then thought I that will kill no body for a justified Person may be described by his Qualifications and yet his Righteousness wherein he stands accepted before God not consist in those Qualifications But to deal plainly with him I do humbly conceive that the Apostle describes an Imputed Righteousness by that expression They which receive the abundance of Grace and the Gift of Righteousness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was the over-flowing and Redundancy of Divine Love to accept a Surety to fulfill all Righteousness and Suffer for us and abundance of Grace too to let us in by Faith into the Righteousness of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of Christs Death
that remains in the Clouds still and upon our Authors Hypothesis must lodge there Eternally 3 Our Author fancies a Rigour and Severity in the Law now what that should be is not easily conceivable Is it any of the Ten Commandements which is so rigorous above the rest which is it or how many are there of them and where has God dispensed with them or it or what part of the Law is it the external or the internal part wherein the Rigour of the Law lies or is it no certain thing but left to Discretion such as hath a latitude in some greater in some less or rather is not this Rigour of the Law as 't is here applyed a great Name of Blasphemy and reproach against the Law and therein the Law-giver all whose Commands and every part and parcel thereof are holy just and good And in a word if God can dispence with his Law and indulge the Violation of it what Reason can be given why he may not dispense with all the rest Why so he may if our Author say true p. 45. That part of Justice which consists in Punishing Offenders was alwayes look'd on as an Instrument of Government and therefore the exacting or remitting Punishment was referred to the Wisdom of Governours who might Spare or Punish as they saw Reason without being unjust in either And therefore he concludes There was no Necessity for such a Sacrifice as the Death of Christ for the Expiation of Sin He is now drawing his Conclusion and I hope will draw to a Conclusion So that our Righteousness is wholly owing to the Righteousness of Christ. I am in hope it will be owing to something before he has done A little before it was owing not solely indeed but almost to humane Endeavours and now the Debt is transferred wholly to the Righteousness of Christ. And yet he flies higher in his Complements to the Righteousness of Christ Which says he in this sence may be said to be Imputed to us because without this Covenant which is founded on the Righteousness of Christ the best man Living could lay no claim to Righteousness or future Glory And is it come to this Is there a sence wherein the Righteousness of Christ may be said to be Imputed to us And must all men be Reviled and Persecuted with Scurrility because they cannot Jump just into his Sence And yet the sence of this way of Imputation is Invisible VVas it not possible for God to pardon without respect to Christ O yes Could he not reward sincere Obedience without regard to Christ O yes Could he not accept him that walkt uprightly before him without any consideration had of Christs Righteousness Oh yes Could not God have promised to do all this as well as do it without a promise No doubt of that VVhy then might not the best man Living lay claim to that which God promised upon performance of the condition of which he promised it Yes indeed he might had God promised it but before the appearance of Christ in the Flesh he made no such promise VVell then all we have got by the Bargain is a promise that God will do that now which he always would have done and did do though not promise that he would do before the appearance of Christ and if he never had appeared If then this be the only sence in which Christs Righteousness may be said to be imputed to us it may be said to be imputed in no sence at all for it gives us no right upon which we may make a claim only an evidence of right whereby we may lay claim to Righteousness and future Glory But why might not the best man living lay claim to Righteousness and future Glory Why he supposes there was no such Covenant in the World before the appearance of Christ and he supposes that this Covenant was founded upon the Obedience and Sacrifice of Christ. Here must needs be a great mistake 1. Upon his own Principles For pag. 252. he asserts That Natural Religion is founded upon Natural Demonstrations that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him And that upon this Foundation Abel and Enoch proceeded in their serving of God pag. 253. And that they pleased God by their Obedience the Apostle assures us Heb. 11. 4 5. And that Abel obtained witness that he was Righteous And that Enoch before his Translation had this Testimony that he pleased God Now that which God Spoke by Natural Demonstration to that upon their diligent seeking of Him they might lay claim but God Spoke by Natural Demonstration that he was a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him therefore to that Reward they might lay claim Yes no doubt a claim to that Reward But what was that A meer Temporal transitory Reward And was that all the Reward that righteous Abel was to have for his Sacrifice for his serving of God Doubtless for he was presently Murder'd for it And was that all the reward that holy Enoch might claim Doubtless for Good took him Ttranslated him to a better Life for before his Translation he received this Testimony that he pleased God 2. There 's a mistake upon better Principles That which God Spoke by Revelation to that they might lay claim but God Spoke to Abraham by Revelation that upon his walking uprightly before him He would be his God therefore Abraham upon his walking uprightly before God might lay claim to it that God should be his God Ay says our Author Be his God No doubt of 〈◊〉 But what does that signifie This was one of the great difficulties that lay in his way to believe that Abraham was justified by Christ. For then We must be well assured that the Blessings promised to Abraham were Spiritual Blessings pardon of Sin and Eternal Life And therefore this is Ignoratio Elenchi But I profess my Name on the other side And that the Promise that God would be Abrahams God comprehended all that ever God Promised or could promise to any of the Sons of Men When God could Swear by no greater he Swore by Himself and when he could promise no thing greater he promised Himself I will be thy God is the Abstract and Epitome of the whole Covenant of Grace 'T is that Gold in the Lump which was afterwards beaten out into greater breadth but still of the same weight Summe up all the particular Promises in the Gospel and the total Summe is no more than this I will be thy God And therefore when the Apostle gives us the Covenant of Grace Heb. 8. 10 11 12. He describes it thus I will be their God and they shall be my People That he will Write his Laws in their Hearts that he will pardon their Iniquities are some of the particulars included in that comprehensive Promise I will be their God 3. That which the Saints guided by the Infallible Spirit laid claim to that they might justly lay claim to but the Saints guided by the
justified in the sight of God and methinks it looks like a mere whimsey to fancy a Notion of Iustification in his sight that has neither pardon of sin included in it nor eternal life attending of it It 's strange to me to hear of Iustification before God against Temporal Evils And if Abraham had no other I think he was never perfectly justified 2. The Determination of the Church of England is no light matter with me Artic. 7. They are not to be heard that feign the Fathers looked only for Transitory Promises But it seems that in this one particular the Church was not infallible for they are to be heard and read and licensed and advanced too who dare fâ—…ign and write and preach That the Patriarchs either looked for none or at the best but Transitory Promises 3. When I read that Abraham was so earnest to see Christ's day by Faith and when he got a sight of it he was glad I begin to think with my self what should be the ground of so great a joy at so great a distance Spiritual Promise he is allowed none and was it worth the while to rejoyce in the foresight of some temporal Advantages that should come to the Jews when he should be turn'd to dust and nothing especially seeing the coming of Christ either brought spiritual Mercies 〈◊〉 the Seed of Abraham or none at all So that he had more cause to sit down and lament that he had no promise of Love from or Life with God either for his Person or Posterity Ay! but says he the Promise was not so clear but men might mistake iâ—… That may be I confess And so may the clearest that ever God gave to the sons of men If men will set their wits on work and serue and torture and vex and wrest every letter and syllable and in all this forsake the Conduct of God's Spirit and scorn the Catholick Judgment of the Church in all Ages to gratifie their Airy Crotchets I do not remember a Promise of God to secure them against mistaking his Promises Ay! but says he we know that the whole Iewish Church did so for many Ages If he knows it he knows more than I do but that is no great wonder and than any man alive besides his own Knowing self And yet they had more particular Promises concerning Christ than that was and yet expected only a temporal Prince I will deal openly with him I do not believe that the whole Iewish Church for any Age much less for many Ages no not for any one day in any Age did expect a Messiah to deliver them only from temporal evils That there was great degeneracy in that Church in some Ages I deny not there is so amongst Christians especially towards the latter times of their Church-state But that ever the whole Church so far degenerated as to lose the expectation of a Redeemer to deliver them from sin and its consequents and to endow them with spiritual Blessings I demand better proofs than Confidence before I subscribe And 1. For Abraham it 's evident he sought a heavenly Country and therefore I conclude That the believing Jews who had says our Author more particular Promises concerning Christ sought a heavenly one too or their more express Promises were ill bestowed on them Heb. 11. 9. By Faith he Abraham dwelt in the promised Land as in a strange Country The promised Land was a strange Country to him that sought a heavenly one whereof that was but the figure the rind and bark for that Promise had greater excellencies underneath to his discerning Faith ver 10. For he looked for a City that had foundations whose builder and maker is God Vers. 13. All these died in the Faith Confessing that they were Strangers and Pilgrims for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a Country Vers. 16. But now they desire a better that it a heavenly Country therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God 2. It 's evident that the Messiah was promised Isa. 53. 4. To bear their sins and carry their sorrows Vers. 5. To be wounded for their transgressions and bruised for their iniquities Ver. 6. To have all their iniquities laid upon him Ver. 8. To be stricken for the transgression of God's people Ver. 10. To have his Soul made an Offering for sin And now to assert That the whole Iewish Church expected only a temporal Monarch is to throw such dirt in the face of God's people as is very scandalous 3. If any of them at any time expected temporal Deliverances temporal Honours Revenues c. from the Messiah it was not inconsistent utterly with an expectation of better things from him for the Disciples themselves had been hammering some such conceit in their heads Acts 1. 6. perhaps mistaking in the Chronology and Antedating that Mercy which in its season they might have reason to expect and yet by our Author 's good leave I will be so charitable as to presume they looked for pardon of sin and eternal life from Christ Nay I could name instances nearer home of those that expect from the Gospel large in-comes and yet we may reasonably believe have nobler things in their eye and would scorn his Atheistical spirit who would not forgo his part in Paris for his share in Paradise 2. He must know that Christ was to die for our sins without which according to our Doctor it 's impossible God should forgive sins considering the Naturalness of his Vindictive Iustice to him Now to untie this knot in the Bulrush 1. I question not that Abraham understood clearly That God was essentially holy and that his Rectoral or Governing Iustice was founded therein Gen. 18. 25. Shall not the Iudg of all the Earth do right That it should be with the righteous as with the wicked or with the wicked as with the righteous were far from God Which Consideration might stagger his Faith about the pardon of his own sin and his only relief could be from the Faith of the Messiah's undertaking with God In which he had this satisfaction that however he found difficulties in the way of believing yet still he gave credit to God and his Testimony concerning a Redeemer leaving the Modes and Circumstances of the Mediatory Office as a secret in God's bosom 2. I am confident our Author cannot prove that Abraham knew nothing of Christ's death This I know he had Sacrifices which might sufficiently instruct him in the demerit of sin and what the sinner had deserved and in the necessity of Compensation to be made to God's Justice for his violated Law and reproached Government And whether Abraham might not once open his mouth to God to be instructed in their noblest signification and design I cannot tell 3. I do not know of any absolute necessity that Abraham should understand the Circumstances that should lead towards the fulfilling of the Mediator's work or in what particular way God would justifie a sinner