Law of Moses the motions of sin which were by the Law which grew more boisterous and unruly by the prohibitions of the law v. 8. did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death i. e. did betray us to those wicked actions which end in Death but now we are delivered from the law that being dead in which we were held that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter So that the reason why the Law of Moses was abrogated was because it could not make men good It nursed them up in a ritual and external Religion taught them to serve God in the letter by Circumcision and Sacrifices or an external Conformity to the letter of the law But the Gospel of Christ alone teacheth us to worship God with the Spirit to offer a reasonable Sacrifice to him to fulfil the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all that internal Righteousness of which those legal Ceremonies were the Signs and Sacraments This is the plain meaning of the Apostle which can never be reconciled with an imputed Righteousness which would make his argument foolish and absurd and therefore in other places he tells us what little reason we have to be so zealous for the law of Moses since we have the perfection of it in the Gospel what need is there of the Circumcision of the flesh which the law required when in the Gospel we have that Circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the Circumcision of Christ which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the perfection of that fleshly Circumcision What need is there of legal washings and purifications when they are all eminently fulfilled in the washing of Regeneration in the Gospel Baptism Thus we are compleat in Christ who hath perfectly instructed us in the will of God and instituted such a Religion as is the perfection of all external Ceremonies Col. 2. Ver. 10 11 12. We must now offer a nobler Sacrifice than the law of Moses commanded not the Sacrifices of dead Beasts but of a living and active Soul Rom. 12. 1. Hence Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the end of the law i. e. the perfection and accomplishment of the law as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies for righteousness to them that believe Rom. 10. 4. That is the Gospel of Christ requires that righteousness of us which the law did only typifie and represent that holiness and purity of mind which is the perfection of all legal righteousness for that Christ should be made the end of the law for righteousness by the imputation of his righteousness to us hath no foundation in the Text. The Apostle explains what he means by this in the following Verses where he gives us a description of the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of Faith The righteousness of the law is an external Conformity to the letter of the Law The man that doth them shall live in them i. e. shall enjoy all those temporal blessings of the Land of Canaan which were promised to the observance of the Law but the righteousness of Faith is a firm and stedfast belief of the Divine Authority of Christ that he is the Lord and more particularly a belief of his Resurrection from the dead as the last and great confirmation which God gave to the Divinity of Christs Person and Doctrine This is that Faith that overcomes the World and purifies the heart and transforms us into the likeness of God which is the perfection of all the ritual righteousness of the Law Upon this account Christ is said to be made unto us righteousness 1 Cor. 1. 20. But of him are you in Christ who of God is made unto us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption i. e. he is the Author of all this to us He is our Wisdom as he is our great Prophet and Teacher who instructs us in true Wisdom Our Righteousness as we are justified by Faith in him by a sincere belief of his Gospel which is the only Righteousness acceptable to God Our Sanctification because the law of the spirit of life in Christ Iesus makes us free from the law of sin and death that Divine and Spiritual law of Faith conquers the Power and Dominion of sin which the law of Moses could not do and our Redemption as by these means he hath deliver'd us from the bondage and pedagogie of the Jewish Law from the Idolatrous Customs of the Heathens and the Tyranny of wicked Spirits and from the wrath of God which is the just merit and desert of sin Thus you see how the Apostle opposes the righteousness of the law to the righteousness of Faith not as an Inherent and Personal to an Imputed Righteousness but as an External and Ritual to an Inherent real and substantial Righteousness this is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the foundation of all other mistakes in this matter that by the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of works most men understand an internal holiness the Conformity of our hearts and lives to all moral Precepts and Rules of a good life and then conclude that if this Righteousness will not please God nothing but an Imputed Righteousness can though I should rather have concluded that nothing can but the truth is the Righteousness of the Law and of Works in the New Testament signifies only an external Righteousness which cannot please God and that internal holiness which they call the righteousness of the Law is that very Righteousness of Faith which the Gospel commands and which God approves and rewards and this Imputed Righteousness is no where to be found that I know of but in their own fancies Let us now consider in what sense the Apostle opposes his own Righteousness to the Righteousness of God not having mine own Righteousness but the Righteousness which is of God by Faith and there is no great difficulty in this for the Apostle himself tells us that by his own righteousness he means the righteousness of the law and by the Righteousness of God the Righteousness of Faith And be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith and what that is you have already heard thus in Rom. 10. 3. For they being ignorant of Gods Righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted to the Righteousness of God where their own righteousness which the Jews so obstinately adhered to was the righteousness of the law and the Righteousness of God which they were ignorant of and would not submit to was the Righteousness of Faith for this was the great controversie between the Jews and Apostles which is the subject of this Epistle whether men were to be justified by the law of Moses or by the Gospel of Christ by a legal or Evangelical Righteousness as
IMPRIMATUR May 30. 1673. Sam. Parker A DISCOURSE Concerning the KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST AND Our Union and Communion with him c. By William Sherlock Rector of S t George Buttolph lane London LONDON Printed by I. M. for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops-Head in St Paul's Church-Yard MDCLXXIV THE PREFACE Christian Reader I Am conscious to my self of so honest a design in writing this Discourse that I am very very well armed against those various censures which are the usual reward of such Attempts for there is no such Sanctuary against the rudest clamours and the most unjust reproaches as a good Conscience I was heartily grieved to see so many well-disposed Persons abused with words and phrases which either signifie nothing or have a very ambiguous and doubtful or a very bad sense when I have observed that great zeal which some men have for the Worship of God I have often thought what great Instruments they might be of Gods glory were their zeal directed and governed with Knowledge and Iudgment and when I have observed how innocently and vertuously some of those men live who have espoused such Principles as naturally tend to make them bad I have thought what excellent Persons they might prove did they rightly understand so excellent a Religion as is published to the World in the Gospel of Christ such thoughts as these at first engaged me in this Work to rectifie those mistakes which will either make men bad or hinder and retard their progress in true goodness which is so pious and charitable a design as may at least plead my excuse though it should appear to be a mistaken zeal In the management of this Discourse I have carefully avoided all personal reflexions have not medled with the lives and actions of men which I am so charitable as to hope may be more orthodox than their judgments I have represented their opinions in their own words and am not conscious to my self that I have put any other sense upon their words than they intended and I cannot see what reason any man hath to take it ill that I repeat that which he himself thought fit to publish where they pretend to argue gravely I have examined their Arguments with all possible gravity and solemnity where they plainly toy and trifle I have so far complied with their humour as to smile sometimes though as modestly as any man can desire I have taken care not only to unteach men what was amiss but to explain and consirm the true notions of Religion lest any man should suspect that under a pretence of rectifying mistakes I designed to expose all Religion what men will account severe I cannot tell because the gentlest Arguments will appear severe to any man who is pinch't by them but I have given no hard words and have sometimes called things by softer names than they deserve on purpose to avoid the imputation of severity which is now the common artifice to teach men to despise and reproach what they cannot answer and if after all this I cannot escape without some hard names and hard censures I must be contented with my portion and indeed no man ought to expect better usage who considers that Mr. Baxter himself who hath deserved so well for his pious labours could not escape when he touch't upon their Darling Notions And now Christian Reader I shall beg no more of thee than to read this Discourse with an honest and unprejudiced mind and as I did not compose it without imploring the guidance and direction of God so I recommend it to thee with my hearty prayers that it may prove as useful as my intentions were honest and charitable Farewel THE CONTENTS THE Introduction concerning the various significations of the Name Christ in Scripture that it originally is the name of an Office but is used also to signifie the Person invested with this Office and the Gospel of Christ and the Church of Christ. Pag. 1. Of what use the consideration of Christs Person is in the Christian Religion 14 As first the greatness of his Person is a plain demonstration of Gods love to Mankind in that he gave his own Son for us 15 2. It gives great Reverence and Authority to his Gospel 17 3. It gives great Authority to his Example 18 4. This assures us of the infinite value of his Sacrifice and of the power of his Intercession 19 5. The Person of Christ is of no other consideration in the Christian Religion than as it hath an influence upon the great Ends of his Undertaking 21 Of the knowledge of Christ and the various ways whereby God hath manifested himself to the World 25 Dr. Owen's Notion of an acquaintance with Christs Person considered 38 How the Nature and Attributes of God may be learn't from an acquaintance with the Person of Christ. 42. And how we learn the knowledge of our selves with respect to sin 49. And to Righteousness 53. And our wisdom to walk with God 55 A new Scheme of Religion deduced from this acquaintance with Christs Person 57 How unsafe it is to found Religion on a pretended acquaintance with Christs Person which at most amounts to no more than uncertain conjectures or ambiguous and doubtful Reasonings 76 This way will serve other men as well as themselves and another Scheme of Religion from an acquaintance with Christ. 80 Of expounding Scripture by the sound of words 102 And by the Analogie of Faith 118 What is meant by our Union to Christ. 142 Those Metaphors which describe the Union betwixt Christ and Christians do primarily refer to the Christian Church 142 The Union of particular Christians to Christ is by means of their Union to the Christian Church 143 In what sense Christ calls himself a Vine 145 The Union betwixt Christ and the Christian Church is not natural but political 156 In what sense Christ is called a Shepherd Head and Husband 157. The reason of these Metaphors 159 This political Union is either only external and visible or true and real and what this external Union is 168 Wherein the real Union consists and concerning the subjection of our Souls and Spirits to Christ. 171 We are united to Christ by a participation of his Nature 172. And by a mutual and reciprocal Love 174 In what sense the Christian Church is called Gods Temple 175 This Union to Christ represented in the Sacraments of the New Testament 181 Fellowship and Communion with God and Christ in the Scripture-phrase signifie this political Union 186 The Lords Supper the only Act whereby our fellowship with God in this World is expressed 192 Of our Union to the Person of Christ 196 What is meant by the Person of Christ. 200 The Personal Excellencies of Christ considered 206 What is meant by the Fulness of Christ. 216 In what sense Christ is called our Life 228 Concerning the Personal Righteousness of Christ. 234 What is meant by the Lord our Righteousness 235 What is meant by the
Righteousness of Faith 245 What Abrahams Faith was whereby he was justified 247. Phil. 3. 8 9. considered 260 What St. Pauls Righteousness was while a Pharisee 261 In what sense the Apostle opposes the righteousness of the Law to the righteousness of Faith 264. And his own righteousness to the Righteousness of God 274 Concerning the Conjugal Relation betwixt Christ and Believers and whether this can intitle us to his Personal Excellencies Righteousness c. 281 Concerning the Legal Union and Christ's being the Saints Surety 287 Whether Christ fulfilled all Righteousness for us as our Mediator 296 What influence the obedience of Christs life and the Sacrifice of his death have upon our acceptance with God 320 That some men place our Union to Christ before holiness of life as appears from the whole progress of the Soul as they represent it to a closure with Christ. 337 That according to these Principles there is no certain way to get into Christ. 353. Nor any certain evidence of our being in Christ. 364 The Evidence of Sanctification considered 366 Concerning the Love of Christ to Believers 392 Concerning the Saints Love to Christ. 408 Errata Pag. 17. lin 22. for which was imitated by read which was an imitation of p. 52. l. 5. for truckle r. truck p. 62. l. 28. r. sense p. 65. l. 24. for thou r. then p. 76. l. 24 25. p. 77. l. 1. for guest r. ghest l. 21. r. Counsel p. 87. l. 5. r. Counsels p. 89. in the Margent for p. 19. r. 29. p. 95. l. 29. r. workings p. 97. l. 9. for the r. that p. 114. l. 8. for Lydo r. Lyaeo p. 118. l. 5. r. non-sense p. 126 l. 27. r. ghess p. 139. l. 8. r. in the government of our lives l. 15 r. sense p. 189. l. 10. for and that the r. and that this is the p. 225. l. 11. dele the p. 337. l. 16. r. did not continue there p. 383. l. 11. for zeal for God r. zeal for God THE INTRODUCTION CHAP. I. ALL errour hath some appearance of truth it being impossible to believe a plain and undisguised falshood but yet most men are so easie and credulous so impatient of severe inquiries or by assed by so many corrupt passions and interests that they are too often imposed on by very slight appearances And commonly the first and fundamental mistake is in a confusion of names in a doubtful and ambiguous use of words especially in matters of Religion which depend upon Revelation and must be judged by the publick and authentick Records of inspired men for it happens too often in this Case that men consider nothing but the sound of words and from thence form such uncouth Idaeas of Religion as are fitted to the meanness of their understandings or gratifie their natural Genius and disposition or are calculated to serve an interest And thus the Gospel of our Saviour is defaced and obscured by affected Mysteries and Paradoxes and senseless propositions and Christ himself who was the brightness of his Fathers glory and the express image of his Person who in the most plain and perspicuous manner declared the will of God to us is represented with a thicker Vail upon his Face than Moses and the glory of the second Covenant is much more obscured with a mist of words than the first was with Types and Figures This will appear to any man who shall observe what strange interpretations are commonly made of those Texts of Scripture especially in St. Pauls Epistles wherein Christ is mentioned what absurd propositions are built on them what pernicious consequences drawn from them to defeat the great ends of Christs appearing in the flesh I always took it for granted that Christ and his Religion were very well agreed but if we believe some men there is as irreconcileable a difference between the Religion of Christs Person and of his Gospel as between the Law and Grace For the Gospel of Christ is as severe a despensation as the Law which dooms all men to Eternal misery who live not very innocent and vertuous Lives but the Person of Christ is all Grace a meer refuge and Sanctuary for the wicked and ungodly Surely here must be a mistake somewhere for I am still of the mind that the Person of Christ is not at odds with his Gospel and that the Person of Christ will save none whom his Gospel condemns or if Christ would save those whom his Gospel condemns viz. impenitent and incorrigible Sinners I cannot imagine how men should know this without a particular Revelation and I hope they do not mean this by the private testimony of the Spirit to work assurance in them And yet we can think of no other way since the Gospel is so silent in this matter But it is easie to observe where the mistake lies for some men where-ever they meet with the word Christ in Scripture always understand by it the Person of Christ and thus Faith in Christ and hope in Christ and the like Phrases are expounded of a siducial relyance and recumbency on the Person of Christ for Salvation in contra-distinction to obedience to his Laws which sets up a Religion of the Person of Christ in opposition to the Religion of his Gospel And therefore the best way of rectifying this mistake which sets the Person and the Gospel of Christ at such odds is to examine the various significations of this name Christ in Scripture which shall serve as an Introduction to what follows And first Christ is originally the name of an Office which the Jews call the Messias or one anointed by God for under the Law their Prophets Priests and Kings were invested in their several Offices by the Ceremony of anointing them with Oyl which was typical of that divine Unction the Holy Jesus received at his Baptism when the Spirit of God descended on him like a Dove All those legal Unctions were accomplisht in Iesus of Nazareth whom God anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power Acts 10. Verse 38. which was his Consecration to the Mediatory Function and vertually contained all those Offices of Prophet Priest and King which are not properly distinct Offices in Christ but the several parts and different administrations of his Mediatory Kingdom His Preaching the Gospel which we commonly call his Prophetical Office was the exercise of his Regal Power and Authority in publishing his Laws and the conditions of Eternal Life Hence the Gospel is so often called the Kingdom of Heaven and our Saviour tells Pilate that he was born to be a King and the principal exercise of his Kingly Power in this World consists in bearing witness to the truth Iohn 18. 37. that is it was an Act of his Regal Power to Conquer errour and ignorance to destroy the Kingdom of darkness by the brightness of his appearing and to erect his Throne in the hearts and Consciences of men by the power and evidence of truth which is a true spiritual Kingdom
Christ for Salvation These two Faiths are of as different kinds as can well be imagined and therefore we cannot reason from one to the other and St. Paul certainly understood himself better than to argue at this weak rate And therefore to bring this discourse to an Head the difference between the Faith of Abraham and the Faith of Christians is this that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness and we believe in Christ and this is counted unto us for Righteousness Abraham believed those Revelations God made to him either immediately by himself or by the Ministry of Angels we believe all those Revelations God hath made to us by his own Son for God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past to the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Hebr. 1. 1. So that the first notion of Faith in Christ is a firm belief of his Divine Authority which necessarily draws after it a belief of the whole Doctrine of the Gospel thus in Iohn 20. 31. The Christian Faith is described by believing that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and 1 Iohn 5. 5. Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Iesus is the Son of God That is that he came from God with full power and Authority to declare his will and confirm and ratifie the new Covenant So that the difference between the Faith of Abraham and Faith in Christ is that Abrahams Faith was founded on the immediate inspirations of God or the Revelations of Angels but a Faith in Christ is founded on the Authority of Christ which is the first object of the Christian Faith and the reason and foundation of all other Acts of Faith Abraham had only some particular Revelations as the object of his Faith but now Christ hath made a perfect Revelation of the whole will of God which is the object of our Faith and thus the Christian Faith excells all other kinds of Faith as much as the Revelations of the Gospel excel all other Revelations made to Abraham and other good men but still the end of all Faith is the same to govern our lives and make us obedient in all things to God as Abraham was without which no Faith can justifie And the same difference there is between the Righteousness of Faith in a general notion as it is applyed to Noah and Abraham and those worthies of old and the Righteousness of God by the Faith of Iesus Christ Rom. 3. 22. and that Righteousness which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith Phil. 3. 9. The first signifies that Righteousness which is owing to an hearty belief of the Being and Providence of God and those particular Revelations which they received from God the latter is the effect of a sincere belief and obedience to the Gospel which is the most perfect Revelation which God ever made of his will to mankind This is so plain and easie an account of the rise and use of these phrases and of the force of the Apostles reasoning from the Faith of Abraham to the Faith of Christ which is unintelligible in any other way that could men be reconciled to plain sense it would need no other confirmation but the natural evidence of naked and simple truth But not to be wanting to a good cause let us now examine those Texts of Scripture which are abused by these men to set up the Personal Righteousness of Christ as the only formal cause of our justification as that alone which can make us righteous before God I shall begin and end with that famous place Phil. 3. 8 9. for the explication of this will give us occasion to consider all the material passages of Scripture which are applyed to this purpose yea doubtless and I account all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord for whom I have suffer'd the loss of all things and I do account them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith by my own righteousness these men understand inherent righteousness whatever good St. Paul had done either while he was a Jew or after his Conversion to Christianity this he rejects and therefore the righteousness which is through the Faith of Christ must needs be an imputed Righteousness the Personal Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith and imputed to us This is fairly offer'd but what proof have they for it That I confess I cannot learn only it is taken for granted that my Righteousness signifies inherent Righteousness and the Righteousness of Faith imputed Righteousness and it is a sufficient answer to this to say they need not signifie so My own Righteousness can signifie no more than that in which he placed his Righteousness whatever it was and what necessity is there to understand this of Inherent Holiness an external Righteousness serves most mens turn very well and this is the righteousness by which the Pharisees and amongst the rest St. Paul while he was a Pharisee expected to be justified for what his Righteousness was he tells us in Ver. 6 7. Circumcised the eight day of the stock of Israel of the Tribe of Benjamin an Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the Law a Pharisee who were mighty strict and punctual in observing all external Ceremonies and he exprest his zeal for the law of Moses by persecuting the Christian Church and touching the Righteousness which is in the Law he was blameless which last phrase touching the Righteousness of the law blameless signifies only an external blamelessness of Conversation as Mr. Calvin himself acknowledges for this was the Pharisees notion even of the moral law that the obligation of it did reach no farther than the outward man and Trypho the Iew in Iustin Martyr quarrels with the Gospel of our Saviour for this very reason that it requires the government of our thoughts and passions which he says is impossible for a man to do and thus we must understand this blamelessness here unless we will say that St. Paul while he was a Pharisee did perfectly observe the moral law was blameless before God as well as before men which I suppose those who talk so much of the impossibility of keeping Gods laws will be loath to owne So that my own Righteousness which is of the law is so far from signifying an inherent Righteousness an inward and vital principle of holiness that it signifies only an external Righteousness which consisted in some external Rites as Circumcision and Sacrifices c. or external priviledges as being of the Seed of Abraham and stock of Israel or an external Civility and blamelessness of Conversation and this Righteousness he had reason to reject because God will reject it This
bestows the rewards of Righteousness on those who according to the strictness and rigour of the Law are not Righteous that for Christ's sake he hath made a new Covenant of Grace which pardons our past sins and follies and rewards a sincere though imperfect obedience for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall be made righteous is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall be justified that is treated like righteous persons so that the Righteousness of Christ is not the formal cause of our justification that very Righteousness whereby we are righteous but the Righteousness of his Life and Death is the meritorious cause of that Covenant whereby we are declared righteous and rewarded as righteous persons for the Apostle tells us in Ver. 17. who those are who are thus justified by Christ and shall Reign with him in Life not those who are righteous by the imputation of Christs Righteousness to them but those who have received the abundance of Grace and the gift of Righteousness that is who by the Gospel of Christ which is the Grace and the abundant Grace of God are made Holy and Righteous as God is which Righteousness is called a gift because it is not owing solely to humane endeavours but is wrought in us by supernatural means by those powerful arguments and motives and divine assistances which God in infinite love and goodness has afforded the World by Jesus Christ. This gives a fair account how we may be said to be made righteous by the Righteousness of Christ not that his actual obedience is reckoned as done by us which is impossible but because we are made righteous both in a proper and forensick sense by the Gospel-Covenant which is wholly owing to the Grace of God and to the merits and Righteousness of Christ the great arguments and motives and powerful assistances of the Gospel form our minds to the love and practice of Holiness and so make us inherently righteous and the Grace of the Gospel accepts and rewards that sincere and Evangelical obedience which according to the rigour and severity of the Law could deserve no reward so that our Righteousness is wholly owing to the Righteousness of Christ which may in this sense be said to be imputed to us though that phrase never occurs in Scripture because without this Covenant of Grace which is founded on the Righteousness of Christ the best man living could lay no claim to Righteousness or future glory So that the Righteousness of Christ is our Righteousness when we speak of the foundation of the Covenant by which we are accepted but if we speak of the terms of the Covenant then we must have a righteousness of our own for the Righteousness of Christ will not serve the turn Christs Righteousness and our own are both necessary to our Salvation the first as the foundation of the Covenant the other as the condition of it The sum of this Section is this that there is no foundation in reason or Scripture to imagine any such Union betwixt Christ and Believers as should intitle them to all the personal Righteousness of Christ as much as if it had been performed by themselves but the vertue of Christs Obedience and Sufferings so far as it concerns our justification is contained in the Gospel-Covenant he is the Mediator of the Covenant and his blood is the blood of the Covenant and we must expect no other advantage from what Christ hath done and suffer'd but to be saved according to the gracious terms and conditions of the Gospel SECT IV. That these men place our Union to Christ before holiness of life I Have now explained to you the nature of our Union to the Person of Christ as these men represent it whereby they say we are entitled to all his Excellencies Graces Righteousness Preciousness c. and made it appear that there is no foundation for such a notion either in Scripture or reason but before I dismiss this it will be convenient to take notice of the great evil and mischief of this opinion which may satisfie any considering man though there were no other evidence of it how false it is and I shall observe two things to this purpose First That according to this notion men may nay must be united to Christ while they continue in their sins which according to my understanding overthrows all Religion and destroys the necessary obligations to an holy life Secondly That according to these mens discourses no man can certainly tell how to get into Christ or know whether he be in Christ or not As for the first that men may nay must be united to Christ while they continue in their sins it is easie to produce abundant evidence for the proof of it Mr. Shephard tells us expresly that obedience does not make us Gods people or God our God but he is first our God which is only by the Covenant of Grace and hence it is that he being ours and we his we of all others are most bound to obey as for the obligation to obedience we will consider that anon at present it suffices that we are Gods people and that by vertue of the Covenant of Grace before we obey him the same Author tells us that we are not united to Christ our life by obedience as Adam was to God by it but by Faith that is by such a Faith of which Obedience is no part otherwise he opposes a part to the whole and so the same thing to it self and therefore as all actions in living things comes from Union so all our acts of obedience are to come by Faith from the Spirit on Christs part and from Faith on our part which make the Union the meaning of which is this that we must first be united to Christ by this Faith of which more anon before we can do any thing that is good before this Union the best actions we can do are sins which is a plain demonstration of the truth of this charge because according to this principle we can do nothing but sin before we are united to Christ hence these men constantly place our justification before our sanctification that we are first accounted holy by God before we are made holy now our justification follows our Union to Christ and our fanctification follows our justification and therefore we must first be united to Christ so as to have a title to all the Promises of the Gospel to Justification and Eternal Life before we are sanctified that is before we are made Holy hence we are told that Holiness is a remote end of vocation but the next end is to come to Christ and the same Author makes a speech for Christ to a Sinner so gracious a speech that among all the invitations of Christ in the Gospel we find nothing like it though thou hast resisted my Spirit refused my Grace wearied me with thy iniquities yet come unto me and this will make me amends I require nothing of thee
great authority to his example He came to be our Prophet and our guide to teach us by his Precepts and his life now we love to imitate great Persons and none so great as he who was the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the express image of his Person His example secures the honour and reputation of vertue and gives us an evident demonstration wherein the perfection of our nature consists for he lived up to the perfection of humane nature and the only way to be perfect is to live as he lived Nay the greatness of his Person makes all the expressions of his love and goodness the more wonderful That the Son of God should become man that when he was rich for our sakes he should become poor that the great Lord of the Creation should become a Minister and Servant that the Lord of life and glory should suffer and die These are such expressions of love and goodness as we can never fully imitate because we can never be so great as he was but yet they powerfully convince us how reasonable it is for us to stoop to the meanest offices of kindness since we can never stoop so low as the Son of God did when he came down from Heaven and took up his Lodging in the grave Fourthly This assures us of the infinite value of his Sacrifice and the power of his intercession He was a Priest of a higher order than that of Aaron and his Sacrifice of a greater value than the bloud of Bulls and Goats God cannot but be pleased when his own Son undertakes to be a ransom and to make atonement for Sinners which is so great a vindication of Gods Dominion and Soveraignty of the authority of his Laws and the Wisdom and Justice of his Providence that he may securely pardon humble and penitent Sinners without reproaching any of his Attributes And we can reasonably desire no greater security for the performance of this Gospel Covenant than that it was sealed with the bloud of the Son of God which is such a confirmation of God's Covenant and Promise as the World never had before Christ is the surety of a better Testament Hebr. 7. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one who undertakes for the performance of it and the security he gives us depends on thè vertue of his Priesthood and Sacrifice and the power of his Intercession for so in Verse 21. the Apostle tells us that God had confirmed the Priesthood of Christ by Oath The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedec And whereas other Priests died and left their Priesthood to their Successors He continueth for ever and therefore hath an unchangeable Priesthood and is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them Verse 23 24 25. And who can desire a more powerful Mediator than the Son of God to whom God hath given such signal demonstrations of his favour and acceptance by a voice from Heaven and by the glory of his Miracles and his Resurrection from the Dead And that the vertue of Christs Sacrifice and Intercession depends very much on the greatness of his Person is plain from the Epistle to the Hebrews the design of which is to show how much the Priesthood and Sacrifice of Christ excels that of the Law and the Foundation of all is laid in the first Chapter where the Apostle discourses of his greatness and excellency that he was the brightness of his Fathers glory and the express Image of his Person the Heir of all things by whom he made the Worlds exalted above all Angels who hath an everlasting Throne and Scepter and shall continue when all other things moulder and vanish away But Fifthly The Person of Christ is of no other consideration in the Christian Religion than as it hath an influence upon the great ends of his undertaking i. e. we must expect no more from Christ upon account of his Personal excellencies and perfections than what he hath promised in his Gospel He hath told us there whatever he intends to do for us and hath charged us to expect no more from him Math. 7. 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven That is you must not expect that I will be better to you than my word and receive you into the Kingdom of Heaven upon easier terms than I have promised I shall be moved with none of your flattering speeches but how good and kind soever you may fancy me unless you obey those Laws I publish in my Fathers name I declare before hand that I will disown you when I come to judgment For indeed should he absolve and justifie those men whom the Gospel condemns that is wilful and incorrigible Sinners this were to disanul that Covenant which he had sealed with his bloud Christ is the object of our Faith and Hope only as he is our Saviour and he is our Saviour in no other sense than as he is our Mediator and he mediates for us as our Priest that is in vertue of that Covenant which he hath sealed with his bloud and therefore we have no reason to expect any thing from the Person of Christ which is not contained in his Covenant much less which contradicts it for that would be in effect to renounce his Mediation and to trust to the goodness of his nature And let any man judg whether this be not to set up a new Religion which hath no Covenant and no Promise for whatever we can expect from Christ by vertue of a Promise is contained in the Gospel and if we expect any thing else from him upon his Personal account it is without a promise which at best reduces us to the same state in which the World was before God had made an express revelation of his will when all their hopes were founded on that natural perswasion they had of the divine Goodness that Faith which is the Foundation of Natural Religion that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Hebr. 11. 6. thus these men trust in the Person of Christ without any Promise nay which makes the case much worse in contradiction to the terms of that Covenant which he sealed with his bloud they quit his Promise and his Covenant to rely and rowl upon his Person This is so very absurd at first sight that I know no man will be so senseless as to owne it in so many words nor do I charge any man with it but I say this is the natural interpretation of trusting in the Person of Christ in his blood and merits and satisfaction fulness and alsufficiency and of relying and rowling the Soul on Christ for Salvation and the like Phrases of a late date in which some men place the whole mystery
certainly be expiated by the Death of the Sinner Especially considering how holy our Priest and Sacrifice was we cannot reasonably conceive that he died or that he intercedes for incorrigible Sinners The Sacrifice of his Death extends no farther than the example of his life he was made manifest to destroy sin and in him was no sin Now though I dare not be so bold as to say what infinite Wisdom can do yet it is not imaginable how God could have contrived a more effectual way to reform the World which contains so many powerful obligations such forceable endearments such ravishing charms which makes such a pleasant and inviting representation of God to the World which so confirms our Faith and encourages our hopes and enflames our love and awakens our fears and excites our emulation which doth even affect our senses with the arguments of Religion and storm the lower and more bruitish faculties of our Souls and captivate them to the love and obedience of Christ. From hence it is easie to understand what is the true method of a Sinners recovery by Christ and what returns of love and gratitude we owe our Lord and Saviour When we are so affected with all the powerful arguments to a new life which are contained in his 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 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 his Gospel this was the design of Christ's coming into the World not to distract our guilty minds with the terrours of the Law and the inexorable justice of God not to bring us under a Legal dispensation of fear and bondage but to encourage us to forsake our sins and reform our lives by all the endearments of love and goodness and the lively hopes of a blessed Immortality mixt with an awful regard and Reverence for God who is a holy and righteous Judge and an irreconcileable Enemy to all sin This is such a method of converting Sinners as is proper to the Person of Christ and the manner of his appearance which was not designed to cause tempests and Earthquakes in our minds like the Thunder and Lightning from Mount Sinai but to work a reformation in the World by more silent and gentle methods and in more humane ways If our Faith in Christ have reformed our lives and rectified the temper and disposition of our minds and made us sincere Lovers of God and goodness Though we are not acquainted with these artificial methods of repentance have not felt the workings of the Law nor the amazing terrours of Gods wrath nor the raging despair of damned Spirits and then all on a sudden as if we had never heard of any such thing before have had Christ offered to us to be our Saviour and heard the woings and beseechings of Christ to accept of him and upon this have made a formal contract and espousal with Christ and such like working of a heated fancy and religious distraction though our conversion be not managed with so much art and method and by so many steps and gradations we are never the worse Christians for want of it For indeed this must needs be the effect of ignorance not of an acquaintance with Christ which suggests so many encouraging considerations to return to God as to a merciful and compassionate Father and not to tremble at his presence as a severe and inexorable judge And hence we learn that the truest expression of love to our Saviour is not some fond and amorous passions but obedience to his Laws and the greatest honour we can do him is to imitate his example and to express the power of his death and resurrection in the exemplary holiness of our lives for this best answers the end of his coming into the World is the fruit of his intercession for us and the greatest glory and ornament of his spiritual Kingdom Thus I have given you a brief Scheme and Hypothesis of Religion from an acquaintance with Christs Person and if they will owne this a safe way to build Religion on an acquaintance with Christs Person they must owne what I have now discoursed which is much more agreeable to the Person of Christ and the design of his appearing and more easily and naturally deduced from it than their own wild and fantastical conceits If they do not like this I must advise them to quit this way as the which will serve others as well as themselves and let us all fetch our Religion from the plain Doctrines and Precepts of the Gospel of Christ not from any pretended Personal Acquaintance with him SECT IV. How men pervert the Scripture to make it comply with their fancies THere is a very obvious objection against this whole discourse the answering of which will further discover the ill consequences of frameing such fanciful Idaeas of Religion from an acquaintance with Christ's Person And that is this that though these men deduce their Religion from an acquaintance with Christ yet there are no men that so abound in Scripture proofs to confirm what they say and therefore they do not lay the Foundation of their Religion on such uncertain conjectures and the truth is if you consult these mens Writings you shall find their Books stuffed with Scripture or if you talk with them their whole discourse is little else but Scripture phrase but that Reverend Doctor confessed the plain truth that their Religion is wholly owing to an acquaintance with the Person of Christ and could never have been clearly and savingly learn't from his Gospel had they not first grown acquainted with his Person And then it is no wonder if they can accommodate Scripture expressions to their own dreams and fancies For when mens fancies are so posfest with Schemes and Idaeas of Religion whatever they look on appears of the same shape and colour wherewith their minds are already tinctured like a man sick of the Jaundies or that looks through a painted Glass who seeth every thing of the same colour that his eye or Glass gives it all the Metaphors and Similitudes and Allegories of Scripture are easily applyed to their purpose and if any word sound like the tinkling of their own sancies It is no less than a demonstration that that is the meaning of the Spirit of God and every little shadow and appearance doth mightily confirm them in their pre-conceived opinions As Inenaeus observes of the Valentinians that they used one Artifice or other to adapt all the speeches of our Saviour and all the Allegories of Scripture male composito phantasmati to the ill contrived sigment of their own brain and thus the minds of men are abused with words and phrases and the
Scripture is prest to serve every new-fangled conceit in Religion The wildest and most extravagant opinions that were ever yet vented under the name of Religion have pretended the authority of Scripture for their Patronage though any unprejudiced man would wonder how the reading such places of Scripture should suggest such notions to them but this is no wonder when we consider that men first contrive their Religion as these acquaintances of Christ do and possess their Fancies throughly with their private opinions and then read the Scripture with no other design than to find something there to stamp Divinity on their own conceits For it is easie to pervert the plainest sense and by the help of a strong imagination to make any thing of any thing such men dote upon words and phrases metaphors and allusions as best fitted for their purpose they found their Religion on obscure Texts or Mystical interpretations of plain Texts and by the help of some arbitrary distinctions and limitations glosses and paraphrases by curtailing of Texts or transplacing words and comma's or separating a single sentence from the body of the discourse make the Scripture speak their sense as plainly as the Bells ring what every boy will have them Which is to deal with the Scripture as Irenaeus observes as if a man should take a Picture of the King which consisted of an artificial composition of precious stones and transplace all these stones into another form as suppose of an Ape and then should perswade silly people that that was the Kings Picture At this rate we may find the Alcoran in the Bible as well as make so many Books so different and contrary to each other from the various compasition of twenty four Letters This is plain and evident at the first proposal to any intelligent Reader but to put it out of all doubt I shall give you some Instances of it and show you how these familiar acquaintances of Christ and who may better make bold with him than they take the liberty to pervert his Gospel to serve their opinion There are two ways of expounding Scripture in great vogue among them First by the sound and clink of words and phrases which is all some men understand by keeping a form of sound words Secondly when this will not do they reason about the sense of Scripture from their own pre-conceived notions and opinions and prove that this must be the meaning of Scripture because otherwise it is not reconcileable to their dreams which is called expounding Scripture by the Analogy of Faith First they expound Scripture by the sound of words and phrases that is if they can find any words in Scripture which chime to the tune of their private conceits without ever considering the use of the words in those places where they are found they clap their own sense on them and then they serve for very solid and substantial proofs I shall give you several instances of this way Thus when men are possest with the fancy of an acquaintance with Christs Person then to know Christ can signifie nothing else but to know his Person and all his personal excellencies and beauties fulness and preciousness c. and when Christ is said to be made Wisdom to us this is a plain proof that we must learn all our spiritual Wisdom from an acquaintance with his Person Though some duller men can understand no more by it than the Wisdom of those Revelations Christ hath made of Gods will to the World Thus when men have first learn't from an acquaintance with Christ to place all their hopes of Salvation in a Personal Union with Christ from whom they receive the free Communications of Pardon and Grace Righteousness and Salvation what more plain proof can any man who is resolved to believe this desire of it than first Ep. Iohn 5. 12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life For what can having the Son signifie but having an Interest in him being made one with him though some will be so perverse as to understand it of believing and obeying his Gospel but the phrase of Having the Son confutes that dull and moral interpretation 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 us such as there is between two things which are within one another which makes all Christ ours and us Christs Now it is self evident that before we can thus be united to Christ we must go to him and therefore Faith which is the Instrument of this Union is very luckily called coming to Christ from whence it is very evident that to believe in Christ is to go to him for Salvation which Metaphors of coming and going are a very intelligible explication of believing But when the Soul is come to Christ is this enough no surely the Soul then must receive Christ as Saint Iohn tells us to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God Iohn 1. 12. That Faith which serves us for legs to go to Christ must be a hand to receive him and to apply all his merits and fulness and righteousness to our Souls and now when we have received him we must embrace him in our arms too as good old Simeon did when he found him in the Temple which is a little nearer Union as plainly appears from the example of the Patriarchs who saw the promises afar of and embraced them Hebr. 11. 13. and now we have Christ we must trust and lean upon him as we are often commanded to trust in God which signifies that Act of Faith whereby finding and feeling our own weakness as unable to support our selves we do lean and rest on Christ and if leaning be not enough we may make a little more bold and rowl on him as appears from Psalne 37. 5. rowl thy ways on the Lord as the Original Gal signifies which is that Act of Faith whereby we being laden with sin and seeking ease we at last discharge our Load and cast it on Christ. And this is plain from the phrase of believing In Christ and On Him 1 Peter 2. 6. for what can that signifie but leaning and rowling on Him laying and building our selves on him as on a Foundation And now we have thus brought our Souls to Christ we must commit them to his trust to take charge of them and save them and if they perish it will be his fault and he must give account of it Thus Saint Paul did 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day And now we must hide our selves in Christ from the fierce wrath and displeasure of God as the Dove hides in the Rocks Cant. 2. 14. O my Dove in the Clefts of the Rocks Christ's wounds are the
primarily refer to the Christian Church not to every individual Christian. Thus Christ is called a Head but he is the head of his Church which is his body as a Husband is the head of the Wife Eph. 5. 23 24. No particular Christian is the body of Christ but only a member in this body Christ is called a Husband but then the whole Church or Society of Christians not every particular Christian is his Spouse as St. Paul tells the Church of Corinth 2 Cor. 11. 2. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousie for I have espoused you to one Husband that I may present you as a chast Virgin to Christ. Christ is a Shepherd and the Christian Church is his Flock Iohn 10. For the relation between Shepherd and Sheep doth primarily concern the whole Flock Christ is the Rock upon which his Church is built the chief Corner Stone and the Christian Church a Holy Temple so that all these Metaphors in their first and most proper use refer to the whole Society of Christians and are designed to represent the Union between Christ and his Church Secondly I observe further that the Union of particular Christians to Christ is by means of their Union to the Christian Church the Church is the body of Christ and every Christian by being united to this body becomes a member of Christ as the Apostle tells the Corinthians 1 Cor. 12. 27. Now you are the body of Christ and members in particular The Church is the Temple of God built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ being the chief Corner stone and every Christian is a lively stone in this spiritual building The Church is Christ's Flock and every Christian who is of this fold is one of Christ's Sheep The Church is Christ's Spouse and every Christian is a member of that Society which Christ ownes for his Spouse but every Christian is not Christ's Spouse He is a great Enemy to Polygamy and hath but one Spouse as he hath but one body and one Church which quite spoils the prettiness and fantastical Wit of a late Exhortation to young Women to chuse Christ for their Husband because he is rich and beautiful and kind and hath all the properties of an excellent Husband which would have sounded much better in a Popish Nunnery than among such pretenders to reformation for this is the great Art whereby those cunning Priests wheadle silly Girls into a profession of perpetual Virginity by perswading them that in so doing they are marryed to Christ And to give every one their due the Papists are the most generous sort of Suiters for Christ for they perswade them to forsake all other Husbands for Christ which is more honourable and meritorious Thus to proceed Christ is called the Vine and Christians the branches in that Vine Iohn 15. which must be expounded to the same sense with what goes before where Christ speaking of himself saith I am the true Vine The meaning is that Church which is founded on the belief of my Gospel is the true Vine I signifies Christ together with his Church which is his body upon which account the Church is elsewhere called Christ as I observed above And my reasons for this exposition are these First Because the Jewish Church is frequently in the Old Testament compared to a Vine Isaiah 5. Ier. 2. 21. Hosea 10. 1. Now a Vine being the metaphor whereby the Church useth to be described we cannot reasonably understand it otherwise here I am the true Vine that is the Church which is founded on the belief of my Gospel is the only true Church which God now owns He having rejected the Iewish Synagogue as proving a degenerate Vine Especially when we consider that Christ himself applies the Parable of the Vineyard to the State of the Gospel Math. 21. 33. c. and the Christian Church is called an Olive Tree and the members of it expresly called branches Rom. 11. 17 18. which metaphor hath the very same nature and signification with the Vine and branches Secondly Because God is called the Husband-man who takes care to dress this Vine which cannot be understood of Christ but of the Church which is therefore called God's Husbandry Thirdly Christ speaks of such branches in him as bear no fruit now there can be no such branches in the Person of Christ for our very Union to his Person as those men acknowledge who talk of such an Union of Persons between Christ and believers will make us fruitful and therefore being in him can signifie no more than being members of his visible Church which is made up of Hypocrites as well as sincere Christians But fourthly To confirm all this and to prevent objections it is evident from this very Chapter that when Christ speaks in the first Person I and In me he cannot mean this of his own Person but of his Church Doctrine and Religion according as the circumstances of the place require thus in the 5. Ver. I am the true Vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing I would willingly learn what sense can be made of this if we understand it of the Person of Christ for it is not very intelligible how we can be or abide in the Person of Christ and it is more unintelligible still how we can be in the Person of Christ and the Person of Christ at the same time be in Us which is a new piece of Philosophy called Penetration of dimensions and that our fruitfulness should depend upon such an Union to the Person of Christ is as hard to my understanding as all the rest But if by He that abideth in me we understand the Christian Church he who makes a publick and visible profession of Faith in me and continues in Society with those who do so and by I in him the Christian Doctrine both the sense and Reason of it is very evident the sense is this That Church which owns my Doctrine and Religion is the true Vine and all you who make a publick profession of Faith in me of a belief of my Gospel and live in Communion with one another are the branches in this Vine and whoever of you continue stedfast in this profession and Communion and do not only make a visible profession of Faith in me but suffer my Doctrine and Precepts to dwell and abide in you to govern your will and affections and to direct your Conversation in the World all such of you will be very fruitful in good works for without such a sincere and hearty belief of my Gospel it is impossible you should do any thing that is good So that to abide in Christ is to make a publick and visible profession of Faith in Christ to be the members of his visible Church but because many are so who do not much credit their profession being branches in
Scripture mentions whereby our fellowship with God and Christ in this World is exprest hence it is called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Communion and fellowship 1 Cor. 10. 16. The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ And why he calls it the Communion appears from the following verses First because it signifies the Communion and fellowship of Christians with each other that they are all Members of the Body of Christ that they are all the Children of the same Father as being entertained by him at the same Table vers 17. And Secondly It is a Communion also as it signifies our fellowship with God Vers. 18. Behold Israel after the flesh are not they which eat of the Sacrifice partakers of the Altar The meaning of which is that the Sacrifice which was offered upon the Altar was reckoned as Gods meat as the Temple was his house and therefore those that eat of the Sacrifice were entertained at Gods Table which was a signification of their fellowship with him that he was their God and they his people Thus the Lords Supper is a Feast upon a Sacrifice even that great and stupendious Sacrifice of the Body of Christ which was offered upon the Cross and therefore to eat the consecrated Bread and drink the Wine which are the figures of his Body and Blood is to eat of that Sacrifice that spiritual food God hath provided for us Thus God entertains us at his Table as his own Children who are of his houshold and family as the Members of Christ who have a right to all the blessings of the new Covenant which was sealed with his blood This is the true Interpretation of all Feasts upon Sacrifice such as the Lords Supper in an eminent manner is that it is to eat of Gods food and to be entertained at his Table which is such an argument of our fellowship with God as eating and drinking together is among men always allowing for that infinite distance which is between God and us This is the only Act of Religion which in Scripture signifies Communion and Fellowship because it is the most proper signification of our fellowship with God and with each other but prayer and meditation and such like Acts of Devotion are no where called Communion with God though a prevailing custom hath in our days almost wholly appropriated that name to them fellowship with God doth not consist in transient Acts but is a state of life that relation we stand in to God and Christ and there is no Act of Religion which doth properly signifie this fellowship with God but only eating at his Table for you will not say that a poor man enjoys communion and fellowship with his Prince when he puts up a Petition to him to beg his charity or praiseth him for his clemency and bounty to pray to God is an Act of Homage which we owe him as he is our Maker and Father it is a duty which results from our relation to and fellowship with God but it is not in its own nature an act of fellowship and communion which expression I purposely avoid not only because it is improper and hath thrust out the true notion of our fellowship with God and not only the notion but the practice of it too for certainly did men understand what our fellowship with God is they would not so much neglect the Lords Supper which is the only Act whereby our Communion is exprest but also because men have abused it to great irreverence and familiarity with God in their addresses to him while they fancy that they are now acting the part of Gods Fellows and therefore may talk to him with such freedom as they use in common conversation I have discoursed these things at large because they are too commonly mistaken our Union to Christ hath been represented as a Riddle and Mystery which no body can understand the perfect knowledge of which must be reserved for the next World or the coming of Elias and the mistakes about it have had a bad influence upon all Religion not only to confound the notions but to debauch the practice of it The sum of what I have already said is this that those Phrases and Metaphors which represent our Union to Christ signifie our visible Society with the Christian Church and our sincere practice of the Christian Religion when we joyn in Communion with the Church of Christ and live in a regular subjection to our spiritual Governours and a mutual discharge of all Christian offices when we profess to believe the Gospel and to obey the Laws of our common Saviour then we are visibly united to Christ as Subjects to their Prince and Members to their Head and when this profession is sincere and hearty when we really are what we pretend to be then our Union to Christ is real and spiritual too A visible and real Union to Christ differ as a visible Professor and sincere Christian the one is a Christian only in show the other is what he pretends to be and this Union to Christ entitles us to his peculiar care and providence to the influences of his Grace to the power of his Intercession transforms us into his nature and likeness and makes us the Temple of God wherein he delights to dwell All this may be understood on this side Heaven and without sending for Elias to unriddle it and this is all the Scripture tells us of our Union to Christ. SECT II. Of our Union to the Person of Christ. I Know not whence it comes to pass that men love to make plain things obscure and like nothing in Religion but Riddles and Mysteries God indeed was pleased to institute a great many Ceremonies and many of them of very obscure signification in the Jewish Worship to awe their childish minds into a greater veneration of his Divine Majesty But in these last days God hath sent his own Son into the World to make a plain and easie and perfect Revelation of his Will to publish such a Religion as may approve it self to our reason and captivate our affections by its natural charms and beauties and there cannot be a greater injury to the Christian Religion than to render it obscure and unintelligible and yet too many there are who despise every thing which they understand and think nothing a sufficient tryal of their Faith but what contradicts the sense and reason of mankind I might give you too many instances of this but our present Argument may serve instead of many There is nothing more easie to be understood than our Union and Communion with Christ and it had certainly continued so had not some men undertook to explain it who have now made it more than mystical that is an unintelligible Union though indeed that is the least fault that it cannot be understood for as they have
in for a share at least in being the Fountain of Grace though the Dr. is pleased to take no notice of him But how excellent is the Grace of Christs Person above the Grace of the Gospel For that is a bounded and limited thing it is a strait gate and narrow way that leadeth unto life there is no such boundless mercy as all the sins in the World cannot equal its dimensions as will save the greatest the oldest and the stubbornest transgressors Thus the Love of Christ is an eternal Love because his Divine Nature is eternal and it is an unchangeable Love because his Divine Nature is unchangeable and his love is fruitful for it being the love of God it must be effectual and fruitful in producing all the things which he willeth unto his Beloved he loves Life Grace Holiness into us he loves us into Covenant loves us into Heaven This is an excellent Love indeed which doth all for us and leaves nothing for us to do we owe this discovery see you to an Acquaintance with Christs Person or rather with his Divine Nature for the Gospel is very silent in this matter All that the Gospel tells us is that Christ loved sinners so as to dye for them and that he loves good men who believe and obey his Gospel so as to save them and that he continues to love them while they continue to be good but hates them when they return to their old vices and therefore I see there is great reason for sinners to fetch their comforts not from the Gospel but from the Person of Christ which as far excels the Gospel as the Gospel excels the Law But methinks this is a very odd way of arguing from the Divine Nature for if the love of Christ as God be so infinite eternal unchangeable fruitful I would willingly understand how sin and death and misery came into the World For if this Love be so eternal and unchangeable c. because the Divine Nature is so then it was always so for God always was what he is and that which is eternal could never be other than it is now and why could not this eternal and unchangeable and fruitful love as well preserve us from falling into sin and misery and death as Love Life and Holiness into us for it is a little odd first to love us into sin and death that then he may love us into Life and Holiness which indeed could not be if this Love of God were always so unchangeable and fruitful as this Author perswades us it is now for if this Love had always loved Life and Holiness into us I cannot conceive how it should happen that we should sin and dye Not that I deny that the Love of God is eternal unchangeable fruitful that is that God was always good and always continues good and manifesteth his love and goodness in such ways as are suitable to his Nature which is the fruitfulness of it but then the unchangeableness of Gods love doth not consist in being always determined to the same object but in that he always loves for the same reason that is that he always loves true vertue and goodness where-ever he sees it and never ceases to love any person till he ceases to be good and then the immutability of his Love is the reason why he loves no longer for should he love a wicked man the reason and nature of his Love would change And the fruitfulness of God's Love with respect to the Methods of his Grace and Providence doth not consist in producing what he loves by an omnipotent and irresistible power for then sin and death could never have entred into the World but he governs and doth good to his Creatures in such ways as are most suitable to their natures He governs reasonable Creatures by Principles of Reason as he doth the material World by the necessary Laws of Matter and bruit Creatures by the Instincts and Propensities of Nature From hence he proceeds to shew how desirable Christ is in his Humanity by reason of his freedom from all sin both Original and Actual and his fulness of Grace that all Grace was in him for the kinds thereof and all degrees of Grace for its perfection This indeed doth represent him as a very excellent Person a spotless Sacrifice and a great Example to the World but these personal perfections cannot pass out of his Person to become ours But then Thirdly you must consider That all these perfections of the Divine and Humane Nature are united in one Person and this made him fit to suffer and able to bear whaetever was due unto us which no Creature could do for if the weight of our sins had been laid upon a meer innocent Creature how would they have overwhelmed him and buried him for ever out of the presence of God No doubt the Sacrifice of Christ who was God-Man was of greater value than the Sacrifice of any meer Creature could be but I know not what this is to his purpose and do as little admire his Philosophy But his being God and Man made him an endless bottomless Fountain of Grace to all that believe This he was as God as we were told before and his Grace was never the more bottomless for becoming Man The design you see of all this is to make the Person of Christ the Fountain of all Grace from whence we must drink pardon and mercy as long as we need any and such mercy too as his Gospel is unacquainted with he hath a fulness of all Grace in himself and from thence we must receive the communications of it And this brings me to the second sort of the Personal Graces and Excellencies of Christ his fulness to save from the Grace of Communion or the free consequences of the Grace of Union As for this Grace of Communion as he is pleased to call it though it sounds a little harsh to be a Personal Grace and yet communicated whereby Christ communicates his fulness to Believers I shall reserve it for its proper place and shall at present only consider what this Personal fulness in Christ is which he calls all the furniture he received from the Father by the Unction of the Spirit for the work of our Salvation and near of kin to this is his third Personal Grace his Excellency to endear from his compleat suitableness to all the wants of the souls of men There is no man whatever this sounds like universal Redemption that hath any want in reference to the things of God but Christ will be unto him that which he wanteth is he dead Christ is life is he weak Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God hath he the sense of guilt upon him Christ is compleat Righteousness the Lord our Righteousness many poor Creatures are sensible of their wants but know not where their remedy lies Indeed whether it be life or light power or joy all is wrapt up in him Now
neither of them could relish that plain simple Doctrine of a crucified Christ but whatever these men thought of it the Apostle tells us that this Doctrine of a crucified Saviour is the Power of God and Wisdom of God That is the most powerful Method which was ever used by God for the reforming the World and the contrivance and effect of excellent Wisdom and thus the Gospel of Christ is called the Power of God to Salvation to them that believe Rom. 1. 16. and by this foolishness of Preaching that is by preaching this foolish Doctrine as it was accounted by the Wise-men of the World of a crucified Christ it pleased God to save them that believe Christ indeed being now exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on High may in a proper sense be called the Power of God because all power is given to him both in Heaven and Earth and he hath the supreme government of all the affairs of this spiritual Kingdom and this is a Personal Power inherent in him which all good men shall find the blessed effects of but then the exercise of this Power is confined to the Rules of the Gospel he hath power to save those who believe and obey him and he hath power to destroy his enemies to accomplish all the promises and to execute all the threatnings of his Gospel So that this Personal Power in Christ can give us no greater encouragement than the Gospel doth It cannot save any man whom the Gospel condemns we have no reason to trust to his Personal Power unless we first obey his Gospel for how omnipotent soever he be his Gospel is the measure of his Actings if that condemns us his omnipotent Power will not save us But the chief Personal Grace which these men most vehemently contend for is still behind viz. the Righteousness of Christ Now no Christian will deny that Christ was very righteous a great Example of universal Holiness and Purity and it must be confessed that his Righteousness was not an imaginary imputed Righteousness but Inherent and Personal but what comfort is this to us that Christ was Righteous if we continue wilful and incorrigible Sinners Yes says the Doctor Hast thou the sense of guilt upon thee Christ is compleat Righteousness the Lord our Righteousness This makes Christ suitable to the wants of a Sinner indeed that he hath a righteousness for him which God infinitely prefers before any home-spun Righteousness of his own This is a very comfortable notion for bad men and such as I would not part with for all the World did I resolve to live wickedly and yet intend to get to Heaven But it is good to be sure in a matter of such importance and therefore let us consider in what sense Christ is called our Righteousness and what the Scripture intends by these Phrases of the Righteousness of God or the Righteousness of Faith or the Righteousness of God by Faith To begin then with that famous place in the Old Testament Ierem. 23. 6. where Christ is expresly called the Lord our Righteousness In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called The Lord our Righteousness a very express place to prove that Christ is our Righteousness that is as these men expound it that the only righteousness wherewith we must appear before God is the righteousness of Christ imputed to us but is there no other possible sense to be made of this Phrase Righteousness in Scripture is a word of a very large use and sometimes signifies no more than Mercy kindness and beneficence and so the Lord our righteousness is the Lord who does good to us who is our Saviour and deliverer which is very agreeable to the Reason of this name that in his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely And righteousness signifies that part of Justice which consists in relieving the injured and opprest thus David speaks in Psalm 4. 1. Hear me when I call O God of my righteousness i. e. Thou O God who maintainest my right and my cause Psalm 9. 4. Thus in Isaiah 54. 17. No weapon that is formed against Thee shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise up against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn this is the heritage of the Servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of me saith the Lord. Which is a parallel expression to the Lord our righteousness and signifies no more than that God will avenge their cause and deliver them from all their Enemies The like we have in Isaiah 45. 24. Surely shall one say in the Lord have I Righteousness and strength even to him shall men come and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed in the Lord shall all the Seed of Israel be justified and shall glory that is the Lord is that just and righteous judg who will justifie good men i. e. deliver them from the violence and injuries of their Enemies He is their righteousness and strength their righteous strong and powerful deliverer which agrees with that promise in Verse 14. In Righteousness thou shalt be established thou shalt be far from oppression thou shalt not fear and from terrour for it shall not come near thee And to name but one place more Isaiah 61. 10 11. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord my Soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath cloathed me with the garments of Salvation he hath cover'd me with the Robe of Righteousness as a Bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with Iewels for as the Earth bringeth forth her bud as the Garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth so the Lord will cause Righteousness and Praise to spring forth before all Nations This sounds very like an Imputed Righteousness for what can be meant by the Robe of Righteousness but that pure and spotless Robe of Christs Righteousness which covers all our sins and deformities and makes us appear as beautiful and lovely in the eyes of God as a Bride does who adorns her self with Jewels This is the effect of our espousal with Christ that we are cover'd and adorn'd with his Righteousness but if we will attend to the circumstances of the place and not to the bare sound of words we need seek no farther for the confutation of this fancy for the Garment of Salvation and the Robe of Righteousness signifie those great deliverances God promised to Israel in the former Verses which should make them as glorious in the eyes of men as a splendid garment would that Righteousness and praise which God would cause to spring forth before all Nations even as the Earth bringeth forth her bud and as the Garden causeth those things which are sown in it to spring forth That is that God would work such great deliverances for them by such improbable means and in such plenty and abundance as if they sprang
Gospel prescribes which is contained in the Sermons and Parables of Christ and consists in a sincere and universal obedience to the Commands of God That we may the better understand this we must observe farther that this Righteousness of God that which he commands and rewards is the Righteousness of Faith or Righteousness by the Faith of Christ Now Faith and Faith in Christ is often used objectively for the Gospel of Christ which is the object of our Faith or contains those matters which are to be believed and so the Righteousness of Faith or by the Faith of Christ is that Righteousness which the Gospel commands Thus in Acts 24. 24. Felix sent for Paul and heard him concerning the Faith of Christ that is concerning Righteousness Temperance and the judgment to come Ver. 25. which are the principal matters of the Gospel thus obedience to the Faith is obedience to the Gospel Rom. 1. 5. In this sense Faith and Works are opposed to each other in St. Pauls Epistles as hath been abundantly proved by others the great dispute in the Epistle to the Romans is whether we must be justified by the Law of Moses or by the Faith of Christ that is whether the observation of all the external Rites and Ceremonies of the Law and an external conformity of our Actions to the moral Precepts of it will justifie a man before God or that sincere and universal obedience which the Gospel of Christ requires which transforms our minds into the likeness of God and makes us new Creatures And that this Righteousness of Faith and this alone can recommend us to God the Apostle proves from the example of Abraham in the 4. Chapter who was accounted Righteous for the sake of his sincere and stedfast belief of Gods promises Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness Ver. 3. and this while he was uncricumcised which is a convincing argument against the Jews that Circumcision and the observance of the Law of Moses is not necessary to justification because Abraham who was the Father of the faithful and is set forth for the Pattern of our justification was justified without it But that we may understand what this justification by Faith is and how the Apostle argues from Abrahams being justified by Faith to prove that we must now be justified by the Faith of Christ it is necessary to enquire what that Faith was whereby Abraham was justified and what agreement there is between the Faith of Abraham and Faith in Christ. For Abrahams Faith was not a Faith in Christ but Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness Christ indeed was the Material object of Abrahams Faith that is he believed that promise which God made of sending Christ into the World upon which account our Saviour tells the Jews your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad Iohn 8 5 6. But no man could believe in Christ till he came that is could not believe any thing upon his Authority which is the true notion of believing in him as you shall hear more presently There is not a plainer argument how apt men are to pervert the Scriptures to reconcile them to their own prejudices and preconceived opinions than to observe what work they make with Abrahams Faith as if that Faith which was imputed to him for Righteousness were a fiducial reliance and recumbency on Christ for Salvation upon which the Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith was imputed to him for suppose this imputation of Christs Righteousness were revealed in the most plain and express words in the New Testament yet it is hard to conceive how Abraham should learn this great Mystery from that general and obscure promise In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed which is all that was ever revealed to Abraham concerning Christ This is such a train of thoughts from in thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed to the imputation of Christs Righteousness as Mr. Hobs himself could never have hit on for is there no possible way for God to bless the World but by the imputation of Christs Righteousness or is there such a natural and necessary connexion between this blessing and the imputation of Christs Righteousness that we cannot understand the one without the other Pray let us consider how many things Abraham must distinctly know according to these mens own principles before he could come to the knowledge of the imputation of Christs Righteousness and he would be a wonderful man indeed who could learn all this from that general promise without some more particular revelation As first he must be well assured that the Blessings here meant are spiritual blessings pardon of sin and eternal life and that Christ should be a spiritual King and Saviour and though this be the least difficulty of all yet the promise is not so clear and express in this matter but that men might mistake it and so we know the whole Iewish Nation for many Ages did who had more particular promises concerning Christ than this was and yet expected only a Temporal Prince who should sit on the Throne of David and subdue their Enemies under their feet and this was the great prejudice which the Iews had against Christ and his Religion that he so much deceived their expectations by his mean appearance And secondly Abraham must know too that Christ was to die for the sins of the World without which according to the Doctor it is impossible God should forgive sin considering the naturalness of his vindictive Iustice to him and this was more than the Apostles of Christ themselves understood till after his Resurrection though Christ had expresly told them of it And Thirdly He must understand also the perfect Holiness and Innocency of Christs life and that he fulfilled all righteousness not for himself but for us Nay Fourthly He must understand that great Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God for without this it is impossible to understand the vertue and efficacy of his expiation and Sacrifice and Righteousness since the sufferings of a meer man could never expiate sin nor his Righteousness serve any more than himself And Fifthly He must understand also that intimate oneness and Conjunction which is betwixt Christ and his Church by vertue of which Union believers may challenge a right to all that Christ did and suffer'd which is such a riddle as these men explain it as is not understood to this day And Sixthly He must understand too the nature of Faith of rowling the Soul on Christ for Salvation and renouncing all Righteousness of his own and then possibly he might without any more ado understand this great Mystery of the imputation of Christs Righteousness and he that can believe that Abraham could learn all this from that general promise In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed may believe what he will and
I suppose no man will trouble himself to confute him Now if you would know what the Faith of Abraham and of all good men in ancient times was the Apostle to the Hebrews gives us a full account of it in Hebr. 11. That he discourses there of a justifying Faith that is such a Faith as renders men approved of God which he will count for Righteousness appears from the whole tenour of this Chapter In the 2. Verse he tells us That by this the Elders obtained a good report i. e. the Fathers of the Old Testament were approved and rewarded by God for the sake of this Faith as he shows particularly that Abel obtained witness that he was Righteous v. 4. that Enoch had the testimony that he pleased God v. 5. that Noah became the Heir of Righteousness which is by Faith v. 7. c. Now this justifying Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a firm and confident expectation of thâ—se things we hope for and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an argument of the being of those things which we do not see that is Faith is such a firm and stedfast perswasion of the truth of those things which are not evident to sense as makes us confidently hope for them 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 and predictions the nature of Faith consists in such a firm assent to these unseen things as produces some answerable effects in our lives This is the general notion of Faith by which the Elders obtained a good report and the different sorts of Faith result from the different objects and motives of it the Apostle takes notice of two kinds of Faith in this Chapter and Faith in Christ makes a third which are all the kinds of Faith the Scripture is acquainted with The first we may call a natural Faith i. e. a belief of the Principles of natural Religion which is founded upon natural demonstrations or moral arguments as that God is and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him which was the Faith of Abel and Enoch whereby they pleased God for there being no mention made of the Faith of Abel and Enoch in the old Testament the Apostle proves that they were true believers because they had this Testimony that they pleased God now it is impossible to be sincerely Religious or to do any acceptable service to God without the belief of his Being and Providence and care of good men These are the first Principles of all Religion and God required no more of those good men who had no other particular Revelations of his will Secondly There is a Faith in God or a belief of those particular Revelations which God made to the Fathers of the Old Testament of this the Apostle gives us many examples in this Chapter Thus Noah believed God when he fore-warned him of the Universal deluge and in obedience to him provided an Ark for the safety of himself and his Family and this was imputed to him for Righteousness He became the Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith Thus Abraham in obedience to the Divine Revelation left his own Country and Fathers House and went into a strange Land thus Sarah by believing the promise of God received strength to conceive Seed and was deliver'd of a Child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised Thus Abraham in obedience to God offered his Son Isaac which was as Heroical an Act of Faith as was ever done by Man for besides that great and passionate kindness he had for his only Son which made this a very difficult tryal this command of offering his Son seem'd to thwart that former promise In Isaac shall thy Seed be called i. e. that from Isaac should proceed that numerous Ofspring which God had promised to Abraham which was not very likely when this very Isaac must be offer'd in Sacrifice and die without leaving any Child to succeed him but yet Abraham was so well assured both of the faithfulness and power of God that whatever impossibilities humane reason suggested he would neither disobey Gods command nor distrust his promise but did believe in hope against hope the like examples we have of the Faith of Isaac and Iacob and Ioseph and Moses c. who firmly believed all those particular Revelations God made to them and confidently expected the performance of all his promises how unlikely soever they appear'd to be This is that Faith whereby Abraham and all the good men in those days were justified viz. Such a firm belief of the Being and Providence of God and all those particular Revelations God made to them as made them careful in all things to please God and to obey him From hence we learn thirdly What Faith in Christ is which is now imputed to us for Righteousness as Abrahams Faith was to him for to make our Faith in Christ answer to the Faith of Abraham and all good men in former Ages without which the Apostles argument from Abrahams being justified by Faith to our justification by Faith is of no force our Faith in Christ must signifie such a stedfast belief of all those Revelations which Christ hath made to the World as governs our lives and Actions Abraham was justified by believing those Revelations which God made to him and we are justified by believing those Revelations which Christ hath made of Gods will to us for if by the Righteousness of Faith you understand the Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith and imputed to us you utterly destroy the Apostles argument for our justification by Faith for Abraham and all the good men of old were not justified by such a Faith as this they never hear'd of the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us Noah was made Heir of Righteousness that is was accounted a Righteous Person because he believed that the World should be drown'd and prepared an Ark at Gods command for himself and his Family Abrahams Faith was imputed to him for Righteousness because he left his own Country and followed God into a strange land and believed that God would give him a Son and make him the Father of many Nations when he and his Wife were so old that according to the course of nature they could not expect any Child and when Sarah by Faith had conceived and brought forth this Son of the Promise he offers this Son at Gods command without distrusting the performance of the Promise Now what hath all this to do with an Imputation of Christs Righteousness how does it follow that because Abraham was justified by such noble and generous Acts of Faith therefore we shall be justified by the imputation of Christs Righteousness by rowling our Souls on
the more you use it the more you prize it and the more you prize it the more you love it if you have a good friend the more you use him the more you prize him and the more you prize him the more you love him if you have a good Horse the more you use him the more you prize him c. if you have a good Knife the more you use it c. if you would love Christ use him much and then the more you will prize him and the more you will love him Now to let pass the rudeness of the Comparisons this using Christ must signifie his benefits and to prize and love Christ much because we use him much is to love him because we make great advantage of him and receive many benefits from him which is neither better nor worse than to love him for his benefits The occasion of all this contradiction and confusion in these mens discourses is that they do not distinguish between loving the benefit and loving the person upon account of his benefits It must indeed be acknowledged to be very bruitish and barbarous to delight in the gift and to take no notice of the giver to solace our selves in the effects of the divine bounty and goodness and to make no returns of love and thankfulness and duty to God this is to love the benefit but not the person who bestows this benefit but those blessings and benefits we receive from God and Christ are the true reasons why we are bound to love them and could we be supposed to love God and Christ for no reason or as these men phrase it purely for themselves without respect to those many blessings we have received from them it would not be accepted because this is not a reasonable love but an unaccountable and foolish passion The love we owe to God and Christ is no other than gratitude because God loved us first and our love is only a return of his now thankfulness and gratitude includes a necessary respect to those blessings and benefits we have received it is peculiar to God who wants nothing and can receive nothing from his Creatures to love without any respect to benefits but the love of indigent and dependent Creatures is a love of thankfulness is a grateful acknowledgment of those many blessings we receive from God Secondly These men oppose our love to the person of Christ to our love to our selves the first destroys the reason and the object of our love and this destroys the principle of it it is made the Character of a wicked man who wants an inward principle of love to God and Christ that though he seeks to honour God never so much yet all that he doth is done out of love to himself and therefore God abhors all that he performs All the good things such a wicked man doth are for himself either for self credit or self-ease or self content or self-safety he sleeps prays hears speaks professeth for himself alone hence acting always for himself he committeth the highest degree of Idolatry makes himself a God c. Hence the same Author thus exhorts Sinners away then out of your selves to the Lord Iesus go to him and take hold on him not with the hand of presumption and love to thy self to save thy self but with the hand of Faith and love to him to honour him and a little after describing the easie ways to Heaven all which lead to Hell he reckons among the rest the way of self-love whereby a man fearing terribly he shall be damned useth diligently all means whereby he shall be saved Here is the strongest difficulty of all to row against the stream to hate a mans self our own Souls and eternal Salvation and then to follow Christ fully now is not this a hard case that before we can love God and Christ as we ought we must root out the very principle of all love that we must learn to hate Salvation and eternal happiness before we can close with Christ for Salvation he might well say that this is the strongest difficulty of all for indeed it is impossible love to our selves is the foundation of our love to all other things even to God himself he that does not love himself will love nothing else he that hates himself and his own Soul and despises eternal Salvation will not care for Christ nor Salvation by him all the motives and arguments of the Gospel to perswade us to love and fear and obey God are founded on self-love for how is it possible that we should be affected with a due sense of Gods goodness to us that we should be excited and quickned by the hopes of such great rewards that we should be restrain'd and govern'd by the fears of punishment if we did not love our selves if we did not care what became of us whether we were happy or miserable for ever It is a vain thing to perswade a man not to love himself for this is as natural and necessary as it is for the fire to burn or Sun to shine it is not matter of our choice it is not in our power to do otherwise and all that such discourses as these can do is either to make men Hypocrites to pretend to do that which they cannot do or to make honest men who cannot thus cheat and delude themselves despair of their Salvation because they cannot find themselves contented without Salvation that Christ without Comfort and without Salvation cannot satisfie them It is true when men set up self in opposition to God when self-love tempts them to disobey God to despise his Counsels to renounce their Faith and Religion this is a very vicious and mistaken self-love such men neither love themselves nor God in a proper sense because it is our interest as well as duty to obey God such men are Idolaters as our Author speaks because they set up self above God and in opposition to him but when our love to our selves teaches us to love God and in all things to submit our selves to his will and pleasure we do as we ought to do and they who separate our love to God from our love to our selves from the care of our own happiness and Salvation do plainly declare that they neither understand the nature of man nor the Gospel of Christ. Thirdly They oppose our love to Christ to our own duties that is they oppose our love to Christ to the most proper and natural expression of our love to him herein Dr. Owen places the chastity of our affections to Christ which you know is a great marriage duty in not taking any thing as our own righteousness into our affections and esteem for those ends and purposes for which we have received Christ and God forbid that any Christian should for our own righteousness and duties cannot be our Mediators and Advocates cannot expiate for our past sins nor merit Heaven for us which Christ hath
Iesus Christ fast and pray and get a full tide of affections in them to carry thee to the Lord Iesus Christ that is to get more love of him more acquaintance with him more Union with him so sorrow for thy sins that thou maist be more fitted for Christ that thou maist prize Christ the more use thy duties as Noahs Dove did her Wings to carry thee to the Ark of the Lord Iesus Christ Or as it is with a poor man that is to go over a great water for a treasure on the other side though he cannot fetch the Boat he calls for it and though there be no treasure in the Boat yet he useth the Boat to carry him over to the treasure so Christ is in Heaven and thou on Earth he doth not come to thee and thou canst not go to him now call for a Boat though there is no grace no good no salvation in a pithless duty yet use it to carry thee over to the treasure the Lord Iesus Christ. When thou comest to hear say Have over Lord by this Sermon when thou comest to pray say Have over Lord by this Prayer to a Saviour c. So that it seems the whole business of our love to Christ and Evangelical Righteousness consists in some flights of fancy and imagination in admiring and valuing the person of Jesus Christ in getting an acquaintance with him and Union to him and the business of all Religion is to have over to Christ that we may love and prize his person and personal Righteousness above all things in the World It is not so much the business of Sermons to acquaint us with the nature and attributes works and providences of God and to instruct us in our duty to him and to encourage us to the practice of it by all the motives and arguments of the Gospel as to have over to Christ to acquaint us with his fulness and Righteousness and alsufficiency to save us without such a legal Righteousness of our own the design of Prayer is not so much to affect our Souls with a sense of the divine Majesty and greatness to worship and adore the great Creator of the World and to express our trust and affiance in him as to have over to Christ to fetch pardon and life and health and Righteousness from him that sorrow for sin is not so much to imbitter sin to us and to confirm and strengthen our resolutions against it as to teach us to prize and value the person of Christ more who is our Righteousness in a word the nature and design of Religion is now changed from being the homage and worship of God the certain means of pleasing him and transforming us into his nature and likeness which is the natural end of Religion into a Cock-Boat or Skuller to wast us over to Christ. Here we see the true reason why these men do so much despise morality in comparison with those Gospel duties of hearing Sermons and Prayer and Confession and Humiliation and Fasting c. Because as they handle the matter the practice of moral vertues cannot have us over to Christ cannot apply the Righteousness and fulness of Christ to us nor ravish our fancies with glorious images and Idaeas of his person and since all the duties of Religion are such pithless things which have no grace no good no salvation in them but as they have us over to Christ poor morality must needs be a worthless thing Thus I have finisht my designed task and upon a review of it it makes me amazed to think how strangely these men have transformed the Religion of our Saviour and disfigur'd the Gospel of Christ how they have undermined the fundamental design of the Gospel which is to make men good and vertuous and like to God how they have misrepresented the ends of Christ comeing into the World and abused his expiation and Sacrifice and Righteousness and Intercession to the Patronage of Vice and Wickedness how they have laid snares to betray some men to a licentious life and to entangle others in endless troubles and perplexities of mind how under a pretence of advancing the person of Christ they have in effect through ignorance and mistake and want of consideration for I am not willing to suspect any worse cause banisht his Religion out of the World I have faithfully and impartially stated the case examined their proofs from Scripture and reason and the result of all is no more but this that the only way to please God and to save our Souls is to obey the Precepts of the Gospel trusting in the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ who having perfected the work of our redemption is become the Author of Eternal Salvation to all them that obey him FINIS See Ch. 1. concerning the significa of the name Christ. Digr 2 Of the Excellency of Christ Iesus p. 89 〈…〉 Digr 2. p. 93. Ibid. p. 95. Ib. p. 97. P. 110. P. 112. P. 117. Digr 2. p. 119. Shepards sound Believer p. 80. * Watson's Christs Loveliness pag. 462. Watson's Christs Loveliness p. 467. Watson's Christian Character p. 60. The Spiritual Vine p. 167. Shepards sincere Convert p. 77. Watson's Christs Loveliness p. 462. I. O. Communion p. 63. * Of the Knowledge of Christ p. 19. Watson's Christs Loveliness Idem Watson Ibidem 〈◊〉 1 Watsons Christs Loveliness Idem Christs Loveliness Watson ibidem Watson's true brazen Serpent Watson's Spiritual Vine Watsons Christs Loveliness Watson Mystery the Lora Supper p. 64. Idem p. 65. Ibidem Dr. Owen's Communion with Christ Ch. 8. I. O. Excellency of Iesus Christ. Digr 2. p. 113. Ibidem p. 119. I. II. Thomas Vincent III. IV. Dr. Jacomb on Rom. 8. pag. 42. Pag. 45. Pag. 48. Pag. 49. Commun with Christ pag. 51. Ibid. p. 52. Pag. 64. Communion with Iesus Christ pag. 53. Communion p. 54. Communion with Iesus Christ. p. 55. Brooks Riches of Christ. Dr. Owen Com. 1. Dr. Owen Com. p. 60. Dr. Iacomb Rom. 8. p. 85. 2. Ibid. Communion with the Son Chap. 6. p. 182. Communion with the Son p. 178. Commun pag. 182. Pag. 184. Pag. 183. Pag. 181. Communion p. 183. Communion p. 182. Communion p. 185. Communion p. 167. Communion p. 184. * Dr. Owen's Communion p. 193. * Sound Believer p. 321. * P. 318. * P. 212. * Sound Believer p. 68. * P. 86. P. 85. P. 82. * P. 12◠P. 125. P. 141. * P. 128. P. 130. P. 152. P. 173 P. 185. * Chap. 3. * Sound Believer p. 126. * P. 133. * P. 137. * P. 138. * P. 144. * P. 145. P. 153. Sincere Convert p. 75. Ibidem P. 85. * Sound Believer p. 246. Ibidem p. 215. * Sound Believer p. 130. Dr. Iacomb Rom. 8. p. 65. * Rom. 8. p. 182. * Ibidem Shephards Saints Iewel pag. 192. Shephards sincere Convert p. 94 c. P. 167. * Ch. 4. Sect. 1. P. 186. * Ch. 4. Sect. 1. * Com. p. 158. W. B. Christs Personal excellency the object of our love p. 15. W. B. ibid. Shephards sincere Convert p. 4. ed. 1672. Pag. 84 Pag. 109. Communion p. 165. Shephards sincere Convert pag. 197. Sincere Convert pag. 170. I. O. Com. p. 63. Ibid. pag. 154. Pag. 140. Chap. 4. Sect. 2. Shephards sincere Convert pag. 173 Pag. 178.