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 *TIM0 
 
THE 
 
 WORKS 
 
 REV.  JAMES  FRASER, 
 
 OF  1MTCALZIAN,  MINISTER  OF  THE  GOSPEL  AT  ALNESS,  ROSS-SHIRE. 
 
 THE  SCRIPTURE  DOCTRINE 
 
 OF 
 
 SANCTIFICATION, 
 
 WITH  AN  APPENDIX; 
 
 AND 
 
 SACRAMENTAL  SERMONS. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 R.   OGLE,  1.  ANTIGUA  STREET; 
 
 M.  OGLE,  GLASGOW;  W.  CURRIE,  JUN.  4  CO.  DUBLIN;  AND 
 JAMES  DUNCAN,  LONDON. 
 
 1831. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Life  of  the  Author, 
 
 Introduction  to  the  Explication  of  Romans  VI- 
 
 Explication  of 
 
 Ver.  1.  "What  shall  we  say  then  ? — 
 
 2.  God  forbid  ;  how  shall  we — 
 
 3.  Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us — 
 
 4.  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him — 
 
 5.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  together — 
 
 6.  Knowing  this,  that  our  old  man — 
 
 7.  For  he  that  is  dead,  is  freed  from  sin, 
 
 8.  Now  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ — 
 
 9.  Knowing  that  Christ  being  raised — 
 
 1 0.  For  in  that  he  died — 
 
 11.  Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves— 
 
 12.  Let  not  sin  therefore  reign — 
 
 13.  Neither  yield  ye  your  members — 
 
 14.  For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion — 
 
 15.  What  then  ?  shall  we  sin — 
 
 16.  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  yield — 
 1  7.  But  God  be  thanked — 
 
 18,  19.  Being  then  made  free  from  sin — 
 
 20.  For  when  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin — 
 
 21.  What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things, 
 
 22.  But  now  being  made  free  from  sin — 
 
 23.  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death — 
 
 Introduction  to  the  Explication  of  Romans  VII. 
 
 ication  of 
 Ver.  1.  Know  ye  not,  brethren— 
 
 2,  3.  For  the  woman  which  hath  an  husband— 
 4.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also — 
 What  is  meant  by  the  law, 
 What  by  being  dead  to  the  law, 
 
 How  by  being  married  to  the  law,  and  being  married  to  Christ, 
 How  the  marriage  with  the  law  is  dissolved 
 The  consequence  thereof, 
 
 Explication  of 
 
 Ver.  5.  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh — 
 
 6.  But  now  we  are  delivered  from  the  law— 
 
 7.  What  shall  we  say  then  ? — 
 
 8.  But  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment- 
 
 Page 
 v 
 
 11 
 
 37 
 
 40 
 45 
 47 
 51 
 53 
 62 
 65 
 67 
 ib. 
 70 
 73 
 77 
 80 
 86 
 87 
 90 
 92 
 93 
 94 
 ib. 
 96 
 
 98 
 
 Expl 
 
 «AJ 
 
 118 
 121 
 122 
 ib. 
 124 
 125 
 129 
 132 
 
 135 
 145 
 151 
 157 
 
iv  Contents. 
 
 Page 
 
 An  Essay  concerning  the  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law,     164 
 
 Explication  of 
 
 Ver.  9.  For  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once —  .  187 
 
 An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise  of  Spiritual  Blessings 
 under  the  Old  Testament,  .  .  194- 
 
 Explication  of 
 
 Ver.  10.  And  the  commandment  which  was —  .  210 
 
 11.  For  sin,  taking  occasion —                   .  .  212 
 
 12.  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy —                .  .  215 
 
 13.  Was  then  that  which  is  good —            .  .  ib. 
 
 A  Dissertation  concerning  the  General  Scope  and  Pur- 
 pose of  the  latter  context  of  Chapter  vii.  14* — 25.  220 
 
 Sect.  I.  Being  an  introduction  to  this  subject  and  inquiry,  ib. 
 
 Sect.  II.  Containing  general  considerations  tending  to  explain  the 
 
 scope  and  purpose  of  this  context,  .  .  224 
 
 Sect.  III.  That  nothing  represented  in  this  context  is  inconsistent 
 
 with  a  state  of  grace,  .  .  .  233 
 
 Sect.  IV.  Showing  that  this  context  contains  a  great  deal  that  is 
 
 inconsistent  with  an  unregenerate  state,         .  .  243 
 
 Sect.  V.  The  same  subject  continued,  and  verse  22  explained,  255 
 Sect.  VI.  The  same  subject  continued,  and  verse  25  explained,  264 
 Sect.  VII.  Containing  answers  to  the  objections  brought  against 
 
 the  foregoing  interpretation,  .  .  .  285 
 
 Sect.  VIII.  Marking  out  some  of  the  practical  uses  to  be  made  of 
 
 this  context,  ....  297 
 
 Explication  of  Chapter  VIII. 
 
 Ver.  I.  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation—  .  306 
 
 2.  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life —         .  .  314 
 
 3.  For  what  the  law  could  not  do —         .  .  319 
 
 4.  That  the  righteousness  of  the  law —  .  331 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Wherein  the  Apostle's  Doctrine,  Principles,  and  Rea- 
 soning, are  applied   to  the  Purposes  of  Holy  Prac- 
 tice, and  of  Evangelical  Preaching,  .  339 
 Sect.  I.  Containing  a  recapitulation  of  the  apostle's  doctrine  and 
 
 principles  in  the  context  here  before  explained,  .  ib. 
 
 Sect.  II.  Showing  the  advantage,  with  regard  to  holiness,  that 
 
 ariseth  from  persons  being  under  grace,         .  .  342 
 
 Sect.  III.   Containing  directions  to  sinners  seriously  concerned 
 about  their  salvation,  with  the  solution  of  divers  questions  res- 
 pecting the  conversion  of  sinners,  .  .  364 
 Sect.  IV.  Concerning  true  evangelical  preaching,              .               388 
 
A  SHORT 
 
 ACCOUNT  OF  THE  AUTHOR 
 
 OF  THE  FOLLOWING  WORK,  AND  OF 
 
 THE  PERSECUTIONS  SUFFERED   BY  HIS  PARENTS. 
 
 The  Rev.  Mr  James  Fraser  of  Pitcalzian,  Author  of 
 the  following  Treatise,  who  died  minister  of  Alness,  in 
 Ross-shire,  October  5,  1769,  was  son  to  the  Rev.  Mr 
 John  Fraser,  who  died  minister  of  the  same  parish,  in  the 
 year  1711. 
 
 The  father,  on  account  of  his  steady  adherence  to  the 
 principles  and  constitution  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
 suffered  persecution,  from  the  year  1679  or  1680,  till  the 
 happy  Revolution.  Having  gone  to  London  about  1680, 
 he  lodged  in  the  house  of  an  Anabaptist  minister,  whose 
 godly  conversation,  with  that  of  sundry  members  of  his 
 meeting,  he  was  much  taken  with,  insofar  that  he  had  a 
 strong  inclination  to  have  joined  that  little  church  and 
 body  of  Christians ;  and  for  that  end  communicated  his 
 mind  one  day  to  the  minister,  his  landlord,  who  heard  him 
 patiently,  and  then  replied:  'Mr  Fraser,  I  love  you,  because 
 4  I  think  you  love  Christ.  You  love  our  society,  because 
 4  you  think  God  is  amongst  us,  and  I  trust  he  is  so  in 
 '  truth.  But  I  must  tell  you,  if  we  have  our  beauties, 
 4  we  have  also  our  blemishes ;  and  the  congregations  in 
 1  our  way  are  mighty  few  when  compared  with  the  con- 
 «  gregations  in  that  church  in  which  you  have  been  edu- 
 4  cated  and  brought  up.  The  Church  of  Scotland,  whose 
 1  principles  you  have  hitherto  professed,  is  at  present  in 
 4  the  furnace,  but  the  Lord  will  in  due  time  bring  her 
 4  out  of  it.  You  are  but  young,  and  should  you  join 
 1  yourself  to  our  society,  your  sphere  of  usefulness  must 
 4  be  very  small  and  contracted.  You  know  not  as  yet 
 1  what  work  God  may  have  in  reserve  for  you  in  your  na- 
 1  tive  land,  where  you  may  have  a  large  circle  to  move  in. 
 6  My  advice  therefore  to  you  is  this^  that  you  forbear  at 
 1  present  to  join  yourself  to  us :  consider  further  of  the 
 1  matter,  and   seek   light  and  direction  from  the  Lord. 
 
 A 
 
vi  A  Short  Account  of  the  Author. 
 
 •  When  you  have  done  so,  if  you  continue  still  in  the 
 6  same  mind,  then  acquaint  me,  and  I  will  receive  you, 
 '  and  embrace  you  in  the  arms  of  love  and  affection.' 
 Mr  Fraser  took  his  advice,  and  was  wont  oft  to  say,  he 
 saw  much  of  God  in  it,  especially  when  he  came  after- 
 wards to  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  his  own  country. 
 
 Mr  Fraser,  during  his  residence  in  London,  waited 
 closely  upon  the  meetings  of  the  Dissenters,  which  were 
 enjoyed  frequently  till  the  years  1683  and  1684,  that  in- 
 formers turned  very  common,  being  spurred  on  by  the 
 twenty  pounds  sterling  of  fine  that  was  imposed  upon 
 every  landlord  in  whose  house  a  conventicle  was  kept,  be- 
 sides the  fines  from  the  preacher  and  hearers.  At  one  of 
 these  meetings,  where  the  memorable  Mr  Alexander 
 Shiells  preached,  was  Mr  Fraser  taken.  Most  of  the  hear- 
 ers being  Scotsmen,  they  were  ordered  down  by  sea  to 
 Scotland  ;  and  when  landed  at  Leith,  they  were  manacled 
 two  and  two,  as  the  greatest  malefactors,  and  brought 
 from  thence  to  Edinburgh  ;  the  Rev.  Mr  Alexander 
 Shiells  having  Mr  Fraser  for  his  companion. 
 
 A  short  time  after,  they  were  examined  by  the  council 
 upon  the  ordinary  ensnaring  questions  of  these  times;  but 
 not  giving  entire  satisfaction,  all  of  them,  except  Mr 
 Shiells,  were  sent  to  Dunotter  Castle,  May  18,  1685. 
 There  they  underwent  severe  treatment,  being,  with  many 
 others,  cooped  up  in  one  low  vault,  and  afterwards  in  an- 
 other, rather  worse ;  which  was  the  occasion  of  death  to 
 some,  and  great  danger  to  the  whole  of  them.  There  our 
 author's  father,  Mr  John  Fraser,  contracted  a  cough, 
 which  remained  with  him  all  his  days  thereafter. 
 
 Being  brought  back  from  Dunotter,  the  privy-council 
 sentenced  a  great  number  of  persons,  confined  indifferent 
 prisons,  to  be  transported  to  the  plantations,  and  made  a 
 gift  of  a  hundred  of  them  to  the  laird  of  Pitlochie,  who 
 engaged  to  carry  them  to  New  Jersey.  Our  author's  fa- 
 ther and  mother  were  part  of  the  number.  Pitlochie,  in 
 connexion  with  another  gentlemen,  hired  a  Newcastle  ves- 
 sel, and  took  the  prisoners  on  board  in  Leith  roads,  he  and 
 his  lady  going  along  in  the  same  ship.  After  the  prison- 
 ers were  all  on  board,  they  were  detained  fourteen  days 
 by  contrary  winds  :   however,  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
 
A  Short  Account  of  the  Author.  vii 
 
 tember  1685,  they  got  under  sail,  their  number  now  be- 
 ing about  800  souls. 
 
 Various  were  the  hardships  they  underwent  during  the 
 voyage;  for  by  a  manuscript  of  Mr  Fraser's,  it  appears, 
 that  soon  after  they  past  the  LandVEnd,  the  fever  began 
 violently  in  the  ship,  especially  amongst  those  who  had  been 
 prisoners  in  the  great  vault  at  Dunotter,  who  were  sick 
 when  they  came  on  board.  Besides,  the  flesh  which  the 
 captain  gave  to  the  prisoners  stunk  before  they  left  Leith 
 roads,  so  that  in  a  few  days  it  was  much  for  dogs  to  eat  it. 
 The  fever  increasing  in  the  ship,  about  a  month  after  they 
 sailed,  it  became  usual  for  three  or  four  dead  bodies  to  be 
 thrown  over  board  at  a  time.  The  leading  men  of  the 
 ship  were  all  removed  by  death,  excepting  the  captain 
 and  boatswain.  The  chief  freighter  of  it,  Pitlochie,  and 
 his  lady,  died  also.  The  captain  then  began  to  tamper 
 with  the  other  freighter,  one  Mr  Johnston,  to  steer  the 
 vessel  for  Jamaica,  where  he  was  to  give  Mr  Johnston  a 
 good  allowance  for  the  prisoners,  and  take  them  off  his 
 hand  ;  meaning  to  sell  them  all,  says  Mr  Fraser,  for 
 slaves.  While  they  were  thus  treating  together,  God  in 
 his  holy  and  wise  providence  defeated  their  schemes,  for 
 the  wind  blew  up  fresh  and  favourable  for  New  Jersey, 
 where  they  all  arrived  before  they  knew  well  that  they 
 were  nigh  the  place,  in  December  1685,  after  a  melan- 
 choly passage  of  seventeen  weeks. 
 
 Upon  the  whole  of  this  voyage,  Mr  Fraser  remarks,  that 
 between  those  who  voluntarily  left  Scotland  to  escape  per- 
 secution, and  the  banished  prisoners,  about  sixty  at  least 
 died  during  the  voyage,  whose  blood  will  be  found  in  the 
 enemy's  skirts,  as  really  as  if  they  had  shed  it  in  the 
 Grassmarket  on  gibbets. 
 
 During  this  winter,  and  the  spring  following,  they  re- 
 mained in  tovns  about  New  Jersey.  Places  which  had  not 
 the  gospel  planted  amongst  them,  showed  them  little  or  no 
 kindness,  but  what  they  purchased  with  their  money.  But 
 where  the  gospel  was  established,  there  they  were  freely  and 
 kindly  entertained.  Such  blessed  effects  does  the  gospel 
 produce.  But  the  foresaid  Mr  Johnston  (who  represented 
 Pitlochie,  whose  daughter  he  married,)  pursued  the  prison- 
 ers for  their  four  years'  service  :  the  consequence  of  which 
 
viii  A  Short  Account  of  the  Author. 
 
 was,  that  they  were  all  imprisoned  to  prevent  escape,  and 
 convened  before  the  chief  court  of  the  province ;  where 
 the  governor  having  called  a  jury  to  try  and  judge  in  the 
 affair,  they  brought  in  a  verdict,  finding  that  the  prison- 
 ers did  not  go  on  board  that  ship  voluntarily  and  of  their 
 own  accord,  nor  bargained  with  Pitlochie  for  money  or 
 service,  and  therefore  they  assoilzied  them  at  the  bar.  How- 
 ever, the  prisoners,  afraid  of  meeting  with  further  trouble 
 from  Mr  Johnston,  mostly  left  New  Jersey,  and  went  to 
 New  England,  where  they  were  kindly  entertained,  and 
 employed  according  to  their  several  stations  and  capacities. 
 
 Here  Mr  Fraser,  having  been  licensed,  if  not  ordained, 
 began  to  preach,  and  continued  to  do  so  with  great  faith- 
 fulness and  remarkable  success.  In  the  town  of  Water- 
 bury,  in  the  county  of  Hartford,  and  colony  of  Connecti- 
 cut, though  his  stay  in  New  England  was  but  short,  yet 
 from  a  note-book  which  he  kept  at  that  time,  it  appears 
 his  labours  were  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord,  for  he  has  no 
 less  than  the  names  of  twelve  persons  wrote  down,  whom 
 God,  by  means  of  the  word  preached,  had  translated  from 
 darkness  to  light,  and  brought  to  the  saving  knowledge 
 of  Jesus  Christ.  Here  he  married  the  author's  mother, 
 Mrs.  Jean  Moffat,  daughter  of  a  worthy  family  in  Tweed- 
 dale,  who  had  suffered  persecution  in  the  same  manner  as 
 her  husband  did,  and  for  whom  her  father  had  paid  at 
 sundry  times,  1000  merks  of  fine,  on  account  of  her  ab- 
 senting fron  the  parish  church,  and  frequenting  field 
 meetings,  prior  to  her  transportation. 
 
 Mr  Fraser  and  spouse  continued  in  New-England  till 
 they  heard  of  King  William's  accession  to  the  throne. 
 Then  they  returned  to  Scotland,  and  Mr  Fraser  was 
 settled  minister  at  Glencorse,  in  the  presbytery  of  Dal- 
 keith, Mr  David  Walker,  minister  of  Temple,  presiding 
 on  that  occasion.  As  there  was  then  a  scarcity  of  minis- 
 ters in  the  North  who  had  the  Gaelic  language,  the  As- 
 sembly sent  three  or  four  at  different  times  to  preach  in 
 these  parts.  Mr  Fraser  being  generally  one  of  that 
 number,  the  people  in  the  parish  of  Alness  fixed  their 
 thoughts  on  him  upon  the  death  of  the  curate ;  and  Sir 
 John  Munro  of  Fowles  joined  them  in  their  application 
 before  the  southern  judicatories:  but  they  rejected  the 
 
A  Short  Account  of  the  Author.  ix 
 
 call ;  and  the  parish  of  Glencorse  built  him  a  new  kirk  to 
 engage  him  to  stay  amongst  them. 
 
 But  next  year  the  parish  of  Alness  renewed  their  call, 
 and  appealed  to  the  General  Assembly.  The  evening  be- 
 fore the  sitting  down  of  said  Assembly,  the  last  seat  in  the 
 church  of  Glencorse  was  finished.  But  the  wright  not 
 being  attentive  to  extinguish  the  snuff*  of  a  candle,  the 
 church,  before  ten  o'clock  that  night,  was  all  in  flames: 
 upon  seeing  of  which,  Mr  Fraser  said  to  his  wife,  This 
 will  not  do,  I  must  use  the  little  remaining  Earse  I  have, 
 it  seems,  and  go  and  preach  Christ  in  my  native  country. 
 Mrs  Fraser  viewed  the  call  so  clear,  she  durst  not  say  nay, 
 but  cheerfully  acquiesced,  though  her  father  and  friends 
 lived  in  Tweeddale.  The  call  of  the  Alness  people  being 
 agreed  to  at  the  Assembly,  Mr  Fraser  was  admitted  their 
 minister  anno  1696.  There  he  continued  his  ministry 
 with  great  fidelity  and  success  till  his  death,  Nov.  1711. 
 
 The  Author  of  the  following  treatise  being  born  anno 
 1700,  was  but  very  young  when  his  father  died.  An 
 older  brother,  called  John,  grew  up  to  be  a  very  promis- 
 ing youth,  but  died  the  year  after  his  father,  in  the  full  as- 
 surance of  faith.  He  having  observed  the  genius  and  dis- 
 position of  his  brother  James,  earnestly  recommended  to 
 his  mother,  then  a  widow,  to  take  care  of  his  education. 
 This  was  accordingly  done,  and  having  finished  his  aca- 
 demical studies  in  philosophy  and  divinity,  he  was  soon 
 licensed. 
 
 About  that  time,  Mr  Daniel  Mackiligan,  who  succeed- 
 ed Mr  John  Fraser,  died  ;  and  our  author  succeeded  him 
 anno  1726,  being  then  twenty-six  years  of  age. 
 
 His  distinguished  abilities  as  a  sacred  critic  appear  in 
 the  following  treatise,  from  the  strong  and  masterly  manner 
 in  which  he  has  examined  and  refuted  some  of  the  most 
 eminent  Socinian  and  Arminian  commentators.  The  ju- 
 dicious reader  will  easily  see,  that  the  author's  understand- 
 ing was  quick,  clear,  and  penetrating,  his  judgment  solid, 
 and  his  learning  very  extensive.  His  public  ministrations 
 were  highly  edifying,  and  contained  rich  entertainment  for 
 the  learned,  as  well  as  the  unlearned. 
 
 In  judicatories  he  discovered  singular  prudence  and 
 judgment,  with  a  steady  adherence  to  the  principles  and 
 
x  A  Short  Account  of  the  Author. 
 
 constitution  of  our  church.  And  if  at  any  time  he  swayed 
 any  of  his  brethren  to  his  sentiments,  it  was  not  by  an  over- 
 bearing temper  orconduct,but  by  his  admirable  good  sense, 
 which  he  always  displayed  with  great  modesty  and  meek- 
 ness. All  who  knew  him,  can  bear  testimony,  that  he  was 
 richly  endued  with  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit. 
 He  was  remarkably  zealous  for  the  interest  of  truth  and 
 holiness,  and  lamented  greatly  the  progress  of  error  and 
 immorality.  He  appeared  to  have  been  set  in  a  peculiar 
 manner  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel,  in  opposition  to  the 
 pernicious  tenets  and  principles  that  have  been  spread  in 
 the  land.  As  he  applied  with  unwearied  diligence  and 
 activity  to  the  duties  of  his  ministerial  office,  which  was 
 followed  with  remarkable  success  ;  so  in  more  private  life 
 he  shone  in  all  the  virtues  of  the  Christian.  Though  of 
 very  quick  feeling,  yet  at  the  same  time  he  showed  the 
 greatest  patience  in  trials  and  adversities.  Singular  wis- 
 dom and  discretion,  with  equal  goodness  and  integrity, 
 were  visible  in  his  whole  conduct.  His  deportment  was 
 grave  and  cheerful,  his  conversation  most  entertaining. 
 He  was  a  kind  and  indulgent  husband,  a  steady  friend, 
 and  a  faithful  counsellor.  In^hort,  his  mannerly  and  cour- 
 teous behaviour  as  a  gentleman,  his  piety  and  goodness  as 
 a  Christian,  his  singular  knowledge  and  learning  as  a  di- 
 vine, made  him  highly  acceptable  to  all  ranks.  No  wonder 
 the  life  of  this  worthy  man  was  exceeding  useful,  and 
 greatly  valued  and  prized.  His  death,  October  5,  1769, 
 was  deeply  and  generally  lamented. 
 
 The  above  historical  account  of  Mr  Fraser  and  his  parents,  merits  the 
 fullest  credit,  being  compiled  by  a  gentleman  well  acquainted  with  that  fa- 
 mily, and  furnished  with  authentic  papers  by  a  surviving  branch  of  it.  The 
 character  of  the  following  Work,  and  of  the  worthy  Author  of  it,  was  drawn 
 up  by  the  Rev.  Mr  Alexander  Frasei  of  Inverness  ;  and  if  I  can  credit  some 
 of  the  best  judges,  rather  falls  short  of,  than  exceeds  the  truth.  I  reaped 
 much  instruction  from  perusing  the  manuscript,  even  before  it  had  received 
 the  Author's  last  corrections ;  for  it  is  proper  the  public  should  be  informed 
 that  this  Treatise  does  not  labour  under  the  common  disadvantage  of  pos- 
 thumous publications,  having  been  prepared  for  the  press  by  the  learned  and 
 ingenious  author.  I  am  assured,  the  talents  for  criticism  displayed  in  it 
 have  been  greatly  admired  by  some  gentlemen  of  ability,  attached  to  a  very 
 opposite  system  of  divinity. 
 
 JohnErskine. 
 Edinburgh,  April  28,  1774. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO  THE 
 
 EXPLICATION  OF  ROMANS  VI. 
 
 SHOWING 
 
 That  this,  and  the  preceding  Chapter,  are  not  meant,  as  Mr 
 Locke  interprets,  of  Believers  of  the  Gentiles  separately, 
 and  as  contradistinguished  to  Jewish  Believers. 
 
 It  is  of  great  consequence  in  interpretation,  to  discover  and 
 observe  carefully  the  general  scope  and  purpose  of  a  writer, 
 and  of  his  argument.  When  this  is  justly  conceived  and 
 understood,  it  serves  in  a  great  measure  as  a  key  in  inter- 
 preting particular  passages,  that  might  otherwise  be  ambigu- 
 ous or  dark.  But  when  the  general  scope  is  mistaken, 
 through  the  influence  of  prejudice  against  the  truth,  or  of 
 an  hypothesis  and  preconceived  opinion  possessing  the  mind, 
 this  often  occasions  a  forced  and  unnatural  interpretation  of 
 particular  passages,  and  giving  meanings  to  particular  ex- 
 pressions, that  are  not  agreeable  to  scripture  use,  or  to  the 
 use  of  speech  otherwise,  or  to  the  real  scope  of  the  writer, 
 and  of  his  argument. 
 
 I  cannot  help  thinking  that  this  hath,  in  some  degree, 
 happened  to  the  celebrated  Mr  Locke  ;  when  he  understood 
 the  fifth  and  sixth  chapters  of  this  epistle  to  the  Romans,  as 
 addressed  to  the  Gentile  converts  to  Christianity  separately, 
 and  as  contradistinguished  to  the  Jewish  converts  ;  to  whom 
 he  supposed  the  seventh  chapter  to  be  addressed,  as  contra- 
 distinguished to  the  Gentiles.  I  see  little  in  this  sixth 
 chapter  itself,  that  he  brings  to  prove  it  to  be  addressed  to 
 the  Gentile  converts  separately.  But  as  he  supposes  it  to 
 be  addressed  to  the  same  persons  as  the  fifth,  it  is  from 
 that  chapter  especially  that  he  brings  the  proof  that  the 
 whole  discourse  contained  in  both  is  directed  to  the  Gentiles. 
 This  notion  of  his  appears  to  have  brought  him  under  great 
 disadvantage  in  interpretation  ;  and  an  ill  superstructure 
 has  been  raised  upon  it.  It  is  therefore  needful  that  I  give 
 the  reasons  why  I  cannot  fall  in  with  it,  and  show  it  not  to 
 be  well  founded, 
 
12  Introduction  to  the 
 
 His  proofs  are  taken  chiefly  from  the  first  eleven  verses 
 of  chap.  v.  The  word  we,  in  the  first  verse,  he  will  have  to 
 mean  the  Gentiles  ;  and  thus  he  reasons  :  f  It  is  in  their 
 1  name  that  St  Paul  speaks  in  the  three  last  verses  of  the 
 •  foregoing  chapter,  and  all  through  this  section,  as  is  evi- 
 f  dent  from  the  illation  here,  Therefore  being  justified  by 
 1  faith,  we — ;  it  being  an  inference  drawn  from  his  having 
 1  proved  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  that  the  promise  was  not 
 '  to  the  Jews  alone,  but  to  the  Gentiles  also/  Very  well ; 
 if  he  proved  that  the  promise  was  not  to  the  Jews  alone,  but 
 to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles — that  is,  to  all  true  believers,  the 
 natural  consequence  is,  that  we  should  understand  the  illa- 
 tion, therefore,  as  introducing  not  privileges  and  comforts 
 belonging  to  one  sort  of  believers  separately,  but  to  all  be- 
 lievers in  common,  whether  of  the  Jews  or  of  the  Gentiles. 
 
 As  to  the  three  last  verses  of  chap.  iv.  with  which  the  il- 
 lative word  therefore  is  most  immediately  connected,  there 
 is  no  colour  of  reason  for  supposing  them  to  be  spoken  in  name 
 of  the  Gentiles  separately.  It  was  not  written,  saith  the 
 apostle,  chap.  iv.  2,3.  for  his  [[Abraham's]  sake  alone,  that  it 
 [[faith]  was  imputed  to  him  ;  but  (ver.  24.)  for  tts  also,  to 
 whom  it  shall  be  imputed,  if  we  believe; — that  is,  it  was  writ- 
 ten for  the  sake  of  us  also,  who  live  in  these  latter  times,  if 
 we  believe.  What  other  sense  can  be  given  these  words  ? 
 or  what  is  there  in  them  of  any  thing  special  respecting  the 
 Gentiles  as  contradistinguished  to  the  Jews  ?  Yea,  I  do  not 
 see  in  Mr  L/s  own  paraphrase  and  notes  on  these  three 
 verses,  any  thing  that  tends  to  restrict  their  meaning  to  the 
 Gentiles  separately.  Instead  of  that,  here  is  his  note  on 
 ver.  24. — c  St  Paul  seems  to  mention  this  here  in  particular, 
 e  to  show  the  analogy  between  Abraham's  faith  and  that  of 
 '  believers  under  the  gospel;  see  ver.  17«*  Right;  believers 
 under  the  gospel,  both  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles.  It 
 being  so,  then,  what  reason  to  think  that  the  illative  word 
 therefore  is  meant  to  introduce  any  other  matters  than  such 
 as  belong  in  common  to  believers  of  both  denominations  ? 
 
 However,  having  fixed  it  in  his  mind  that  the  apostle 
 here,  chap.  v.  &  vi.  means  the  Gentiles,  as  contradistinguished 
 to  the  Jews,  he  says  in  his  contents  of  chap.  v.  1 — 11. 
 1  In  this  section  he  comes  to  show  what  the  convert  Gen- 
 '  tiles,  by  faith  without  circumcision,  had  to  glory  in.' 
 They  had  indeed  these  things  to  glory  in :  but  had  not 
 Jewish  believers  the  same  cause  to  glory  ?  Or,  is  there  any 
 reason  why  all  believers,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  should  not  be 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  J  3 
 
 understood  to  be  meant  ?  The  author  mentions  three  things  : 
 for  thus  he  goes  on — ■  viz.  the  hope  of  glory,  ver.  2.' 
 Surely  this  was  common  to  all  believers  of  the  Jews  and  of 
 the  Gentiles.  But  had  they  not,  previous  to  this,  cause  to 
 glory  in  being  at  peace  with  God,  (ver.  1.)  and  in  being 
 brought  into  a  state  of  grace  and  favour  with  God,  (ver.  2)  ? 
 But  the  author  here,  without  reason,  doth,  in  mentioning  the 
 causes  of  glorying  which  the  believer  hath,  confine  himself  to 
 the  three  instances,  in  which  the  apostle  uses  the  word  glorying. 
 
 The  next  thing  he  mentions  that  the  Gentiles  had  to 
 glory  in,  was,  s  their  sufferings  for  the  gospel,  ver.  3.' 
 Surely  these,  and  the  consolations  of  faith  respecting  them, 
 were  common  to  believers  of  both  denominations.  The  chief 
 tribulations  of  the  Christians  of  these  times  were  by  perse- 
 cutions, and  the  chief  persecutors  then  were  the  unbeliev- 
 ing Jews, — the  weight  of  whose  malice  and  wrath  fell  espe- 
 cially on  the  believers  who  were  of  their  own  nation,  whom 
 they  considered  as  the  betrayers  and  enemies  of  their  nation 
 and  religion.  But  it  appears  not  that  the  apostle's  view  was 
 confined  to  sufferings  for  the  gospel,  when  he  mentions  tri- 
 bulation. As  to  tribulations  for  religion  and  the  gospel, 
 Christians  may  lay  their  account  with  them,  in  one  form  or 
 other,  in  all  times  ;  for  the  truth  is,  as  the  apostle  writes, 
 2  Tim.  iii.  12.  All  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall 
 suffer  persecution.  However  persons  religious  in  another 
 way  may  be  respected  in  the  world,  they  who  will  be  evan- 
 gelically religious,  (godly  in  Christ  Jesus,)  will  be  hated  by 
 the  world,  and  be  pursued  with  the  malice  and  contempt  of 
 the  world,  in  one  way  or  other.  But  what  is  there  in  this 
 to  distinguish  the  case  of  Gentiles  from  that  of  Jews  ? 
 
 In  the  third  place,  our  author  says,  (  The  Gentiles  had 
 '  cause  to  glory  in  God  as  their  God,  ver.  11.'  This  is  of 
 the  three  the  point  on  which  he  labours  most.  He  observes 
 how  the  Jew  is  represented,  chap.  ii.  17-  as  making  his  boast 
 of  God.  The  word  is  the  same  that  is  rendered  here  by 
 glorying.  In  Mr  L.'s  note  on  chap.  v.  2.  he  writes  thus — 
 '  Glory.  The  same  word  here  for  the  Gentile  converts, 
 i  that  he  used  before  for  the  boasting  of  the  Jews — plainly 
 '  shows  us  here,  that  St  Paul  in  this  section  opposes  the  ad- 
 (  vantages  the  Gentile  converts  to  Christianity  have  by 
 (  faith,  to  those  the  Jews  gloried  in  with  so  much  haughti- 
 '  ness  and  contempt  of  the  Gentiles.'  But,  allowing  that 
 the  apostle  meant  an  opposition  of  the  glorying  of  different 
 sorts  of  people,  Mr  L.  hath  not  conceived   or  stated  the  op- 
 
 a  5 
 
14  Introduction  to  the 
 
 position  in  a  just  or  right  manner.  He  should  have  stated 
 it  as  between  the  glorying  of  the  true  Christian,  of  whatever 
 nation,  and  that  of  the  unbelieving  carnal  Jew,  mentioned 
 chap.  ii.  ;  not  between  the  Gentile  converts  and  the  Jews 
 without  distinction.  For  (Acts  xxi.  20.)  there  were  many 
 thousands  of  the  Jews  who  believed,  and  were  zealous  of 
 the  law.  These  undoubtedly  had  their  part  in  the  glorying, 
 and  cause  of  glorying  mentioned  here,  chap.  v.  together  with 
 Christians  of  the  Gentiles. 
 
 To  conceive  the  matter  justly,  the  opposition  and  contrast 
 stands  thus  :  Upon  the  one  hand,  the  carnal  unbelieving 
 Jew  gloried  on  the  grounds  mentioned,  chap.  ii.  17-,  he  rested 
 in  the  law,  and  made  his  boast  of  God,  of  his  knowing  his 
 will,  and  approving  the  things  that  are  most  excellent,  &c.  on 
 such  grounds  as  the  apostle  mentions  as  in  his  own  case, 
 Phil.  iii.  5.  6.  Circumcised  the  eighth  day,  &c.  The  carnal 
 Jews  their  glorying  in  God,  was  the  glorying  of  an  ill  found- 
 ed carnal  confidence  in  men  insensible  of  their  own  sinful- 
 ness, and  of  what  their  true  case  required,  in  order  to  their 
 having  a  well  founded  glorying  in  God.  Upon  the  other 
 hand,  as  to  the  Christian's  glorying  in  God  here,  ver.  11.  if 
 he  glorieth  in  God,  it  is  through  Jesus  Christ,  by  wiiom  we 
 have  received  the  atonement :  by  virtue  of  which,  sinners,  re- 
 conciled to  God,  admitted  unto  his  grace  and  favour,  and 
 unto  covenant  with  him,  have  the  most  sure  and  solid  ground 
 of  glorying  in  God.  Here  is  a  clear  opposition  between  the 
 glorying  of  the  carnal  Jew,  or  hypocrite  of  that  denomina- 
 tion, and  that  of  true  Christians  through  faith  :  and  we  may 
 now  justly  substitute  in  place  of  this,  and  as  of  the  same 
 general  kind,  the  opposition  that  still  subsists  between  the 
 glorying  of  the  true  believer,  and  that  of  hypocritical  pro- 
 fessors in  the  Christian  church.  But  there  is  nothing  here 
 in  the  glorying  mentioned,  Rom.  v.  11.  that  is  peculiar  to 
 Gentiles,  and  that  is  not  common  to  believers  of  whatever 
 nation.       When  the  apostle   says,    Phil.   iii.   3.    We  are  the 
 
 circumcision,  which rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  (the  word  is 
 
 the  same  that  is  rendered  glorying  J  and  have  no  confidence 
 in  the  flesh  ;  there  is  an  opposition  between  the  glorying  of 
 the  true  Christian,  and  that  of  the  unbelieving  carnal  Jews, 
 mentioned  under  very  unfavourable  character  in  the  pre- 
 ceding verse  ;  whose  grounds  of  confidence  and  glorying  are 
 mentioned  in  the  next  following  verses.  But  I  expect  none 
 will  take  it  in  his  head  to  say,  that  this  glorying  in  Christ 
 Jesu3  is  peculiar  to  Gentiles.     Mr  L.  himself,  in  a  note  on 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  15 
 
 ver.  1 1.  of  Rom.  v.  writes  thus  :  '  And  not  only  so,  but  we 
 '  glory  also  in  God  as  our  God  ;'  (so  the  author  paraphrases 
 there) — e  And  thus  he  (the  apostle)  shows,  that  the  convert 
 e  Gentiles  had  whereof  to  glory,  as  well  as  the  Jews.' 
 Doubtless ;  as  well  as  the  Jews :  why  then  not  understand 
 what  is  there  of  believing  Jews  and  Gentiles  ? 
 
 We  are  not  indeed  to  understand  Mr  L.  to  have  meant 
 that  the  three  subjects  of  glorying  mentioned  by  him,  did 
 not  belong  to  believers  of  the  Jewish  nation  :  that  were  too 
 absurd.  These,  then,  afforded  no  reason  for  supposing  that 
 the  apostle  in  the  first  context  of  chap.  v.  and  in  chap.  vi. 
 meant  the  Gentile  Christians,  as  contradistinguished  to  the 
 Jews.  Upon  what,  then,  doth  the  learned  writer  indeed  found 
 that  notion  ?  This  we  have  in  the  following  passage.  '  An- 
 '  other  evidence  (saith  he,  note  on  chap.  v.  8.)  St.  Paul 
 '  gives  them  here  of  the  love  of  God  towards  them  — is  the 
 ■  death  of  Christ  for  them,  whilst  they  were  yet  in  their 
 c  Gentile  estate/  But  did  not  Christ  die  for  those  of  the 
 Jewish  nation,  (John  xi.  51,  52.)  though  not  for  that  nation 
 only  ?  He  goes  on — '  which  (their  Gentile  estate)  he  de- 
 *  scribes  by  calling  them  (note  on  ver.  6.  8.)  urd-ivug,  ?vith- 
 c  out  strength,  a<7&us>  ungodly,  apx^raXo!,  sinners,  i%$%a 
 '  enemies.  These  four  epithets  are  given  to  them  as  Gen- 
 (  tiles,  they  being  used  by  St  Paul,  as  the  proper  attributes 
 '  of  the  heathen  world,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Jewish 
 '  nation/  So  then  under  these  epithets  he  doth  not  include 
 the  Jews,  or  any  others  than  the  Gentiles  in  their  heathen 
 state.  As  the  criticisms  of  this  eminent  writer  on  these 
 four  epithets  tend  to  establish  misinterpretation  of  scripture, 
 of  considerable  and  hurtful  consequence,  it  is  the  more  need- 
 ful that  we  consider  them  carefully. 
 
 1.  arSmis,  rendered  here  (chap.  v.  6.)  according  to  its 
 precise  meaning  without  strength — e  The  helpless  condition 
 e  (saith  Mr  L.)  of  the  Gentile  world  in  the  state  of  Gen- 
 '  tilism,  signified  here  by  without  strength,  he  terms,  Col. 
 '  ii.  IS.  dead  in  sin,  a  state,  if  any,  of  weakness/  I  am 
 hereafter  to  consider  by  itself  this  expression,  dead  in  sin  ; 
 and  to  show  that  it  doth  not  contradistinguish  the  Gentiles 
 to  the  Jews ;  and  if  not,  then,  having  been  dead,  as  in  chap, 
 vi.  13.  the  other  text  he  adduces  certainly  doth  not  dis- 
 tinguish them.  Mr  L.  himself  says,  in  the  contents  pre- 
 fixed to  his  paraphrase  of  chap.  iii.  1 — 13.  whatever  ad- 
 vantages the  Jews  had,  that,  in  respect  to  their  acceptance 
 with  God  under  the  gospel,   they  had  none  at  all.     c  He 
 
16  Introduction  to  the 
 
 '  (the  apostle)  declares  that  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  are — 
 '  both  equally  incapable  of  being  justified  by  their  own  per- 
 c  formances/  And  in  his  paraphrase  of  ver.  20.  he  gives 
 the  apostle's  sense  thus:  '  It  is  evident  that  by  his  own 
 '  performances,  in  obedience  to  a  law,  no  man  can  attain  to 
 f  an  exact  conformity  to  the  rule  of  right,  so  as  to  be  right- 
 c  eous  in  the  sight  of  God/  One  would  think,  that,  ac- 
 cording to  this  general  doctrine,  he  should  have  understood 
 the  epithet,  without  strength,  to  belong  to  all.  For  if  all  are 
 equally  incapable  of  being  justified  by  their  own  perfor- 
 mances, this  clearly  implies,  that  all  were  without  strength. 
 
 We  have  seen  all  that  Mr  L.  adduces  to  support  his  in- 
 terpretation of  this  word.  Let  me  now  give  my  view  of  it, 
 and  of  that  text,  Rom.  v.  6.  There  are  two  things  in  the 
 wretched,  natural,  and  common  condition  of  men.  One  is, 
 to  be  ungodly,  guilty,  destitute  of  righteousness  with  which 
 they  can  appear  and  stand  before  God.  The  other  is  want 
 of  strength  to  help  themselves,  to  do  what  is  pleasing  to 
 God,  or  to  walk  with  God.  This  text  directs  sinful  men  to 
 look  to  Christ,  for  righteousness  and  strength,  by  virtue  of 
 his  death,  and  the  purchase  thereof.  So  it  answers  well  to 
 the  prophecy  concerning  him,  Is.  xlv.  24.  Surely,  shall  one 
 say,  in  the  Lord  have  I  righteousness  and  strength.  I  am 
 satisfied  with  this  view  of  that  text,  Rom.  v.  6.  If  any 
 others  are  not,  they  may  consider  what  is  offered  by  Dr 
 Whitby  on  the  place  ;  where  he  brings  a  good  many  in- 
 stances from  the  Seventy,  of  their  translating  the  Hebrew 
 wrord  that  signifies  to  stumble  or  fall,  by  the  Greek  word 
 rendered  here,  without  strength.  His  paraphrase  gives  it 
 thus:  ('  We  being  fallen,  at  the  appointed  time)  Christ 
 c  died  for  the  ungodly,  (for  us  who  since  our  fall  had  no 
 e  righteousness  of  our  own.')  But  neither  will  this  suit 
 Mr  L/s  purpose ;  for  being  without  strength  in  this  sense, 
 is  the  natural  condition  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  ;  all  have 
 fallen. 
 
 2.  The  second  epithet,  specially  denoting,  according  to 
 him,  the  Gentiles,  is,  ar&ag,  ungodly,  which  occurs  in  the 
 same  text  with  the  former,  chap  v.  6.  The  whole  of  what 
 he  adduces  in  his  note  on  this  text  to  his  purpose,  respect- 
 ing this  word,  he  gives  thus :  f  How  he  describes,  etet&iaiv, 
 e  ungodliness,  mentioned,  chap.  i.  18.  as  the  proper  state  of 
 fthe  Gentiles,  we  may  see,  ver.  21.  23/  That  the  Gentiles 
 were  chargeable  with  ungodliness  in  a  very  high  degree, 
 yea,  and  with  holding  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,   is  not  a 
 
Explication  of  Horn.  VI.  1 7 
 
 matter  in  question.  But  if  the  apostle  proves  that  against 
 the  Gentiles,  in  what  remains  of  that  first  chapter,  he 
 thereafter  proves  the  charge  of  ungodliness,  and  unrighteous* 
 ness  against  the  Jews  ;  and  certainly  they  were  move  charge- 
 able with  holding  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,  as  mentioned 
 ver.  18.  than  the  Gentiles,  as  they  had  more  knowledge  of 
 the  truth,  having,  besides  nature's  light,  that  of  revelation. 
 However,  Mr  L/s  meaning  is,  that  this  and  the  other 
 epithets  denote  the  Gentiles  nationally,  not  single  persons 
 of  them  universally.  For  in  his  note  on  this  place,  ver.  6. 
 and  8.  he  writes  thus  :    s  That  there  were  some  among  the 
 
 *  heathen  as  innocent  in  their  lives,  and  as  far  from  enmity 
 e  to  God,  as  some  among  the  Jews,  cannot  be  questioned. 
 '  Nay,  that  many  of  them  were  not  **•*&**,  but  <n£outyo', 
 '  worshippers  of  the  true  God,  if  we  would  doubt  of  it,  is 
 1  manifest  out  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.' 
 
 As  to  this  it  is  agreed,  that  the  persons  so  called  in  the 
 book  of  Acts,  chap.  xiii.  43.  and  chap.  xvii.  17-  were  Gen- 
 tiles by  nation  and  descent :  that  they  were  heathens  in 
 religion  is  very  wrong,  as  heathen,  in  our  use  of  speech, 
 imports  idolatrous  religion.  According  to  this,  heathens, 
 worshippers  of  the  true  God,  as  Mr  L.'s  passage  hath  it,  is 
 very  improper  speech.  These  mentioned  in  the  Acts  were 
 proselytes,  and  are  so  called  expressly  in  the  first  of  the 
 texts  now  mentioned :  Religious  (a-iZouivoi)  proselytes. 
 They  were  persons  who  knew  and  received  the  faith  of  the 
 church  of  God,  though  they  had  not  become  members 
 thereof  by  circumcision. 
 
 But  to  bring  what  concerns  this  epithet  to  some  issue, — 
 Mr  L.  proposed  it  as  a  general  rule,  to  interpret  St  Paul  by 
 St  Paul  himself.  But  in  this,  and  in  too  many  other  in- 
 stances, he  is  not  lucky  in  applying  that  rule.  According 
 to  that  rule,  it  is  reasonable  to  think  that  he  means  ungodly 
 here,  chap.  v.  6.  in  the  same  sense  in  which  he  uses  it  in 
 this  same  discourse,  chap.  iv.  5.  In  his  note  on  the  word 
 there,    Mr    L.    writes  thus :      c  By    these    words    St   Paul 
 
 *  plainly  points  out  Abraham,  who  was  et<ri£~g,  ungodly, 
 1  i.e.  a  Gentile,  not  a  worshipper  of  the  true  God,  when 
 1  God  called  him/  Here  are  several  things  not  justly 
 conceived.  1.  Ungodly  cannot  be  a  designation  given  to 
 the  Gentiles  of  Abraham's  time,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
 Jews,  who  did  not  then  exist.  All  the  people  God  had 
 then  on  earth  were  among  the  several  nations  of  the  world. 
 2.  There  appears  not  sufficient  cause  for  calling  Abraham 
 
18  Introduction  to  the 
 
 ungodly,  as  not  being  a  worshipper  of  the  true  Cod.  I  know 
 that  Joshua  says,  chap.  xxiv.  2.  Your  fathers  dwelt  on  the 
 other  side  of  the  flood  in  old  time,  even  TeraJi  the  father  of 
 Abraham  and  the  father  of  Nachor  ;  and  they  served  other 
 gods.  Yet  it  is  not  clear  that  Abraham  personally  served 
 other  gods.  But  the  expression  we  are  considering  is,  that 
 God justifeth  the  ungodly  ;  and  it  is  at  any  rate  unreason- 
 able to  think  that  Abraham  was  ungodly  in  Mr  L.'s  sense, 
 that  is,  a  worshipper  of  other  gods,  when  God  justified 
 him. 
 
 But  to  apply  Mr  L.'s  rule,  and  interpret  St  Paul  by  St 
 Paul  himself.  He  says,  ver.  5.  that  the  man  is  justified,  or 
 his  faith  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness,  who  believclh  on 
 him  thai  justi/ieth  the  ungodly.  The  blessed  apostle  ex- 
 plains the  meaning  in  the  very  next  following  words,  ver. 
 6,  7«  Even  as  David  also  describeth  the  blessedness  of  the 
 man  unto  whom  God  imputeth  righteousness  without  works, 
 saying,  Blessed  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  forgiven.  Here 
 it  is  plain,  that  the  apostle  states  in  opposition,  justifying 
 the  ungodly,  and  justification  by  a  man's  own  works  ;  which 
 behoved  for  that  purpose  to  be  perfect  and  sinless.  Every 
 transgressor  is  in  the  eye  of  the  law  ungodly ;  and  it  is  evi- 
 dent that  the  apostle  means  by  ungodly  every  one  who 
 needs  to  have  his  iniquity  forgiven  ;  as  he  explains  himself, 
 and  proves  his  doctrine  by  the  Psalmist's  words  to  that  ef- 
 fect. It  was  not  the  case  of  the  Gentiles,  but  his  own  case, 
 who  wras  a  Jew,  that  suggested  these  words  to  the  Psalmist. 
 It  is  then  very  clear,  by  the  manner  in  wrhich  the  apostle 
 introduces  these  words  of  David,  that  by  ungodly  he  means 
 every  one  who  can  be  charged  with  sin,  and  needs  forgive- 
 ness. Thus  we  have  the  meaning  of  ungodly,  chap.  iv.  5. 
 and  there  is  no  reason  to  think,  that  in  the  continuation  of 
 his  discourse,  chap.  v.  b\  he  uses  the  word  in  any  other 
 meaning.  The  consequence  is,  that  ungodly,  chap.  v.  6.  is 
 by  no  means  to  be  understood  as  a  special  epithet  of  the 
 Gentiles,  as  contradistinguished  to  the  Jews. 
 
 3.  Of  the  third  epithet  Mr  L.  thus  writes,  note  on  chap, 
 v.  6.  8.  (  That  he  (the  apostle)  thought  the  title,  u^x^tojXoi, 
 <  sinners,  belonged  peculiarly  to  the  Gentiles,  in  contradis- 
 '  tinction  to  the  Jews,  he  puts  it  past  doubt  in  these  words, 
 '  We  who  are  Jews  by  nature,  and  not  sinners  of  the  Gen- 
 '  tiles,  Gal.  ii.  15.  ^ee  also,  chap.  vi.  17 — 22. '  This  last 
 mentioned  context  does  indeed  represent  those  he  writes  to, 
 to  have   been  formerly  servants  of  sin.     But  if  that  is  the 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  19 
 
 case  naturally  of  Jews,  and  of  all  men,  it  says  nothing  to 
 the  purpose  for  which  it  is  adduced  here.  His  arguing  from 
 Gal.  ii.  15.  is  no  better  than  if  one  should  say,  sinners  is  the 
 peculiar  character  of  a  particular  nation,  to  be  presently 
 named,  who  were  noted  for  wickedness,  as  1  Sam.  xv.  18. 
 Go,  and  utterly  destroy  the  sinners,  the  Amale kites. 
 
 To  consider  the  matter  more  closely;  the  truth  is,  the 
 name  sinners  is  often  used  to  signify  persons  flagitious,  dis- 
 tinguished for  impurity  or  iniquity.  So,  Luke  vii.  37,  39. 
 Matth.  xi.  19.  Matth.  xxvi.  45.  Luke  vi.  32.  Luke  xv.  1.  2. 
 John  ix.  16.  24.  25.  31.;  and  so  in  many  instances  in  the 
 New  Testament,  and  likewise  in  the  Old  Testament,  which 
 one  will  easily  find  by  the  help  of  his  concordance.  In 
 this  sense  might  the  name  sinners  be  sometimes  given  to 
 the  Gentiles.  If,  however,  when  the  name  sinners  is 
 joined  to  the  name  Gentiles,  it  is  to  be  understood  as  a  cha- 
 racter of  them,  must  it  be  so  understood  when  the  name 
 Gentiles  is  not  mentioned  ?  I  would  think  it  so  should,  if 
 the  word  expresses  the  peculiar  character  of  Gentiles.  For 
 instance,  Luke  vii.  37-  And  behold,  a  woman  in  the  city 
 which  was  a  sinner  ;  doth  this  mean  a  woman  which  was  a 
 Gentile  ?  If  the  apostle  had  said,  Gal.  ii.  1 5.  We  who  are 
 Jews  by  nature,  and  not  sinners,  and  not  to  have  explained 
 the  matter  by  adding  of  the  Gentiles,  there  had  been  some 
 colour  for  the  criticism  :  the  scope  of  the  place  would  say 
 much  for  understanding  it  there  of  the  Gentiles.  But  when 
 he  explains,  and  expresses  as  he  does,  it  is  rather  contrary 
 to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  brought,  and  looks  as  if  he 
 was  sensible  that  the  word  sinners  would  scarce  be  under- 
 stood of  the  Gentiles,  if  he  had  not  so  added  expressly. 
 
 Again  :  If  a  designation,  epithet,  or  name,  is  given  to  the 
 Gentiles  on  some  particular  occasion,  are  we  to  understand 
 of  them  these  names  on  all  occasions  ?  The  Jews  called  the. 
 Gentiles  dogs,  Matth.  xv.  26,  27-  Shall  we,  wherever  dogs 
 are  mentioned  metaphorically,  understand  it  of  the  Gentiles  ? 
 The  apostle  says,  Phil.  iii.  2.  Beware  of  dogs.  If  one 
 should  say,  that  this  denotes  the  Gentiles,  as  contradistin- 
 guished to  the  Jews,  he  certainly  would  mistake  greatly  ; 
 for  it  is  plain  the  Jews  are  meant. 
 
 If  we  are  to  interpret  the  apostle  Paul  by  himself,  it  is 
 needless  to  go  so  far  as  Gal.  ii.  15.  to  interpret  the  word 
 sinners,  Rom.  v.  8.  when  the  apostle's  style  and  words  in 
 this  same  discourse  contain   enough  to  determine  the  mean- 
 
20  Introduction  io  the 
 
 ing  of  the  word  in  the  last  named  text.  Mr  L.  himself  ob- 
 serves in  the  contents  prefixed  to  Rom.  iii.  1 — 13.  that  c  he 
 (the  apostle)  declares  that  both  Jews  and  Gentles  are  sin- 
 ners.' In  this  same  chapter,  v.  19-  By  one  man's  disobe- 
 dience many  were  made  sinners  ;  is  this,  many  were  made 
 Gentiles  ?  The  apostle  had  in  the  first  three  chapters  of 
 this  epistle  proved,  that  none  can  be  justified  by  the  law  ; 
 and  that  by  this  general  principle,  chap.  iii.  23.  That  all  have 
 sinned.  So  all  whom  God  justifies,  they  being  sinners,  he 
 justifies  them  freely,  as  in  the  next  verse.  If,  then,  in  the 
 continuation  of  his  discourse,  he  draws,  chap.  v.  consolatory 
 inferences  from  this  doctrine,  no  man,  if  an  hypothesis  or 
 peculiar  conceit  did  not  give  a  wry  cast  to  his  mind,  could  be 
 at  a  loss  or  in  danger  to  mistake  the  meaning  of  the  word 
 sinners,  when  the  apostle  says,  ver.  8.  When  we  were  yet  sin- 
 ners,  Christ  died  for  us.  Surely  Christ  died  for  all  his 
 people ;  as  the  apostle  had  proved,  chap.  iii.  9.  that  both 
 Jews  and  Gentiles  are  all  under  sin.  This  epithet,  then,  or 
 character,  doth  by  no  means  contradistinguish  Gentiles  to 
 the  Jews. 
 
 4.  The  fourth  epithet,  said  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Gentiles, 
 and  to  denote  them  separately,  is  6%$%oi,  enemies.  '  As  for 
 '  lyfitoi,  enemies,  (saith  Mr  L.  ibid.)  you  have  the  Gentiles, 
 *  before  their  conversion  to  Christ,  so  called,  Col.  i.  21.' 
 The  words  are,  And  you  who  were  sometime  alienated,  and 
 enemies  in  your  minds  by  wicked  works,  yet  now  hath  he  re- 
 conciled.  But,  strange  !  is  every  thing  that  is  said  to  Gentiles 
 peculiar  to  Gentiles?  If  so,  then  all  that  Paul  says  to  the 
 Gentile  churches  he  writes  to,  concerning  men's  natural  con- 
 dition, or  concerning  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  must  be  under- 
 stood to  mean  something  peculiar  to  Gentiles.  Some  do  in- 
 deed labour  hard  to  turn  things  that  way  as  to  both,  absurd- 
 ly enough.  As  to  this  text,  Col.  i.  21. — enemies  in  your 
 minds, — this  enmity  is  in  the  mind,  or  is  inward  ;  not  in  their 
 outward  condition  or  state.  This  makes  it  reasonable  to 
 understand,  when  he  adds — by  wicked  works — that  there  is 
 a  metonymy  of  the  effect  for  the  cause  ;  wicked  works,  for 
 wicked  lusts,  that  are  the  cause  of  such  works.  The  like 
 metonymy  seems  to  be,  Rom.  viii.  13.  If  ye — mortify  the 
 deeds  of  the  body,—^boi\y  meaning  the  same  as  flesh ;  and 
 deeds  for  lusts,  t  e  inward  cause  of  deeds.  Now,  if  the  Co- 
 lossians  are  said  to  be  enemies  in  their  minds  by  wicked  lusts, 
 there  is  nothing  in  that  but  what  is  ascribed  to  the  carnal 
 mind  ;  Rom.  viii.  7-   The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against   God. 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  21 
 
 But  as  it  is  not  reasonable  to  restrict  the  enmity  of  the  car- 
 nal mind  to  the  Gentiles,  neither  is  it  reasonable  to  restrict 
 to  them  being  enemies  in  their  minds,  Col.  i.  21. 
 
 Let  us  consider  the  text  itself,  Rom.  v.  10.  the  expression 
 of  which  is  in  question :  When  we  were  enemies,  we  were  re- 
 conciled to  God  by  the  death  of'  his  Son.  Being  reconciled, 
 doth  certainly  presuppose  a  previous  enmity.  The  Sovereign 
 and  Judge  of  the  world  views  sinners  as  rebels  and  enemies 
 previously  to  this  reconciliation.  But  Jews,  being  sinners, 
 needed  to  be,  and  many  of  them  were,  reconciled  to  God  by 
 the  death  of  his  Son.  Therefore  the  character  of  enemies, 
 in  the  sense  of  this  place,  doth  not  denote  the  Gentiles  as 
 contradistinguished  to  the  Jews. 
 
 Mr  L.  however,  gives  an  account  of  this  reconciliation  and 
 peace,  that  tends  to  invalidate  the  account  I  have  given  of 
 enemies.  Thus  he  says,  (ibid.) — (  Hence  St  Paul,  who  was 
 1  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  calls  his  performing  that  office, 
 '  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  2  Cor.  v.  18/  As  to  this, 
 let  it  be  observed,  that  Christ  by  his  cross  hath  procured 
 reconciliation,  according  to  Eph.  ii.  first  of  Jews  and  Gen- 
 tiles ;  ver.  15.  Having  abolished  in  his  Jlesh  the  enmity,  even 
 the  law  of  commandments  ;  so  he  hath  reconciled  Jews  and 
 Gentiles,  making  them  one  body  and  church.  Next,  the 
 reconciliation  of  both  (Jews  and  Gentiles)  unto  God  in 
 one  body  by  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby.  The 
 consequence  is,  ver.  17-  he  came  to  preach  peace,  even  this 
 reconciliation,  to  them  who  were  far  off,  (the  Gentiles)  and 
 to  them  who  were  nigh,  that  is,  the  Jews.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
 served, in  the  next;  place,  that  Christ's  preaching  this  peace, 
 after  his  undergoing  the  cross,  was  not  in  his  own  person  ; 
 but  he  preached  by  his  apostles  and  other  ministers.  Par- 
 ticularly the  preaching  of  it  to  the  Gentiles  was  committed  to 
 Paul :  the  preaching  it  to  the  Jews  was  committed  to  Peter. 
 But  surely  it  was  preaching  the  same  peace  :  it  was  the 
 same  ministry  of  reconciliation   that  was  committed  to  both. 
 
 Let  us  consider  the  subject  of  this  ministry  and  preaching. 
 It  was,  ver.  19-  That  God  is  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world 
 unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.  Here 
 the  word  world  includes  the  Gentiles  ;  but  no  good  reason 
 can  be  given  why  it  should  not  include  Jews  also.  For 
 though  world  is  sometimes  meant  in  contradistinction  to  the 
 people  of  Israel,  yet  sometimes  it  is  used  with  respect  to 
 the  Jews  especially  ;  as  on  occasion  of  going  to  attend  the 
 solemnity  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles,    Christ  says    to   his 
 
22  Introduction  to  the 
 
 brethren,  John  vii.  7.  The  world  cannot  hate  you  :  but  me  it 
 hateth.  World  in  this  place  appears  to  be  particularly  meant 
 of  Jews.  Christ  says  to  Nicodemus,  John  iii.  1&  God  so 
 loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
 whosoever  believeth  on  him  might  not  perish.  If  world  in- 
 cludes here  the  Gentiles,  must  it  even  be  restricted  to  them  ? 
 That  were  poor  comfort  to  Nicodemus  a  Jew.  At  that  rate, 
 we  behoved  to  restrict  to  the  Gentiles  the  next  clause,  That 
 whosoever  believeth  might  not  perish;  and  understand  it, 
 Whosoever  of  the  Gentiles  ;  which  were  very  absurd.  If 
 the  reconciliation,  2  Cor.  v.  18,  19-  imports  God's  not  im- 
 puting to  men  their  trespasses,  I  hope  it  will  be  allowed, 
 that  Jewish  believers  had  their  part  in  this,  as  the  Gentiles 
 had. 
 
 Finally,  the  ground  on  which  this  reconciliation  and  peace 
 is  founded,  is  what  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  alike  concerned 
 in ;  and  that  hath  an  equal  respect  to  both  ;  ver.  21.  For  he 
 hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin  ;  that  we 
 might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.  Upon  the 
 whole,  though  the  apostle  Paul  was  the  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
 tiles, and  in  teaching  the  Corinthians,  as  he  doth,  ver.  18 — 
 21.  is  representing  the  subject  and  end  of  his  ministry,  yet 
 there  is  nothing  therein  peculiar  to  the  Gentiles.  If,  ac- 
 cording to  Christ's  words,  Luke  xxiv.  47-  Repentance  and 
 remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all 
 nations,  (which  is  indeed  the  ministry  of  reconciliation, 
 2  Cor.  v.)  our  Lord  adds,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  The  mi- 
 nistry of  reconciliation  was  designed  for  all  nations;  but  first 
 for  the  Jews.  So  it  was  very  unreasonable  for  Mr  L.  to  re- 
 strict the  ministry  of  reconciliation  to  the  gathering  in  of  the 
 Gentiles,  and  to  understand  being  enemies  previously  to  that 
 reconciliation,  as  an  epithet  or  character  distinguishing  Gen- 
 tiles from  Jews. 
 
 Mr  L.'s  views  we  shall  more  fully  understand,  by  observ- 
 ing what  he  adds  in  the  place  before  mentioned,  (note  on 
 chap.  v.  6.  8.) — c  And  here  in  this  chapter  (Rom.  v.  1.)  the 
 (  privilege  which  they  (the  Gentiles)  receive,  he  tells  them 
 '  is  this,  that  they  have  peace  with  God,  i.e.  are  no  longer 
 '  incorporated  with  his  enemies,  and  of  the  party  of  the  open 
 c  rebels  against  him  in  the  kingdom  of  Satan  ;  being  return- 
 '  ed  to  their  natural'  allegiance,  in  their  owning  the  one 
 (  true  supreme  God,  in  submitting  to  the  kingdom  he  had 
 1  set  up  in  his  Son,  and  being  received  by  him  as  his  sub- 
 I  jects.'     As  to  this,  it  is  true,   that  in    their  conversion  by 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  23 
 
 the  gospel,  the  Gentiles  turned  to  God  from  idols,  to  serve 
 the  living  and  true  God,  1  Thess.  i.  9*  and  God  received 
 them  as  his  subjects.  But  certainly  all  they,  whether  Jews 
 or  Gentiles,  who  truly  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  were 
 justified  by  this  faith,  have  received  the  remission  of  their 
 sins,  as  chap.  iv.  5,  6,  7-  This  is  the  principal  thing  in  the 
 reconciliation ;  God  not  imputing  to  them  their  trespasses, 
 but  receiving  them,  as  to  the  real  state  of  their  souls,  unto 
 grace  and  favour.  So  that  they  are  not  any  longer  under 
 the  curse  of  the  law,  nor  have  the  wrath  of  God  abiding  on 
 them  ;  as  is  the  state  of  many,  who  are  not  heathens,  in  the 
 party  of  open  rebels,  but  are  outwardly  of  the  kingdom  which 
 God  hath  set  up  in  his  Son.  To  neglect  this,  and  to  inter- 
 pret the  peace  with  God,  Rom.  v.  1.  of  the  outward  common 
 privilege  of  all  who  are  members  of  the  church,  is  what  I 
 cannot  consider  otherwise  than  as  enervating  and  grossly 
 perverting  the  scripture. 
 
 I  know  that  in  the  eleventh  of  Romans,  the  apostle  teaches, 
 ver.  1 5.  that  on  occasion  of  casting  away  the  Jews,  the  world 
 \\he  Gentiles]  were  reconciled,  which  implies  that  formerly 
 they  were  enemies,  in  a  particular  sense.  And  he  represents, 
 ver.  28.  that  the  Jews  cast  off,  and  no  longer  in  a  church-state, 
 were  thus  become  enemies.  But  let  the  expressions  be  under- 
 stood in  the  sense  to  which  the  scope  and  argument  in  that 
 place  determines  them.  It  appears,  however,  that  in  this 
 place,  Rom.  v.  10.  all  men,  being  sinners,  ungodly  in  the 
 eye  of  the  law,  and  needing  (as  chap.  iv.  7-)  the  forgiveness 
 of  their  sins,  are  in  the  apostle's  meaning  and  view  enemies, 
 whether  Jews  or  Gentles,  until  they  are  reconciled  to  God  by 
 the  death  of  his  Son,  being  (as  ver.  Q.)  justified  by  his  blood, 
 and  chap  iii.  25.  through  faith  in  his  blood.  So  that  enemies 
 is  not  a  character  peculiar  to  Gentiles. 
 
 These  criticisms  of  Mr  Locke's  on  the  four  epithets  have 
 some  appearance  of  being  ingenious.  But  the  ingenious 
 have  often  produced  conceits,  that  would  not  bear  strict  ex- 
 amination, while  they  have  been,  however,  the  source  or 
 support  of  very  gross  misinterpretation.  That  it  hath  thus 
 happened  as  to  Mr  L.'s  criticisms  and  interpretations  of  Rom. 
 v.  in  particular,  may  appear  in  a  strong  enough  light  to  such 
 as  will  peruse  the  writings  of  the  late  famous  Dr  Taylor. 
 Therefore  I  expect  to  be  excused  for  looking  a  little  farther 
 into  these  interpretations  of  Mr  Locke's.  His  notions  of  the 
 four  epithets  come  to  this,  That  they  import  the  national 
 character  of  the  Gentiles  in  their  state  of  heathenism  ;  and 
 
24  Introduction  to  the 
 
 that  the  comfortable  things,  stated  in  opposition  to  these  in 
 the  Christian  state  of  the  Gentiles,  do  import  national  privi- 
 leges and  advantages  accruing  to  the  Gentiles  by  the  grace 
 of  the  gospel :  and  that  in  such  way,  on  the  one  side  and  the 
 other,  as  to  their  former  state  of  heathenism,  and  their  latter 
 state  luider  the  gospel  ;  that  from  these  there  could  no  con- 
 clusions be  formed  concerning  the  real  spiritual  condition  of 
 particular  persons  before  God. 
 
 To  this  purpose  the  author  expresses  himself  thus,  note 
 on  Rom.  v.  6.  8.  '  If  it  were  remembered,  that  St  Paul 
 '  all  along,  through  the  eleven  first  chapters  of  this  epistle, 
 '  speaks  nationally  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  as  it  is  visible 
 ■  he  does,  and  not  personally  of  single  men,  there  wTould  be 
 1  less  difficulty,  and  fewer  mistakes  in  understanding  this 
 '  epistle/  So  he.  Concerning  these  things,  I  say,  in  the 
 first  place,  if  in  the  9th,  10th,  11th  chapters,  the  apostle 
 doth  frequently  speak  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  nationally  ;  let 
 him  be  so  understood  whensoever  his  expression,  or  the  scope 
 of  the  argument  give  cause  for  it.  But  to  apply  this  notion 
 to  the  preceding  eight  chapters,  is  altogether  without  reason  ; 
 yea,  is  contrary  to  the  evident  design  and  meaning. 
 
 This  will  be  very  clear,  if  we  consider  the  two  subjects  he 
 insists  especially  and  most  largely  upon.  The  first  is  that 
 of  man's  sinfulness  :  concerning  which  he  hath  this  con- 
 clusion, chap.  iii.  ^9.  That  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  and 
 all  the  world  may  become  guilty  before  God.  Every  mouth — 
 is  not  this  to  every  one  singly  ?  and  that  all  the  world  may 
 become  guilty, — is  this  as  to  general  national  character,  while 
 thousands  may  happen  not  to  be  guilty  ?  Surely  the  apostle 
 means  to  represent  the  case  of  all  men,  and  of  every  man 
 singly,  and  indiscriminately,  without  distinction  of  nations, 
 or  of  any  peculiar  national  character.  This  is  the  more  to 
 be  observed,  that  it  is  the  result  of  all  his  reasoning  hitherto 
 in  this  epistle.  When  he  adds,  ver.  20.  Therefore  by  the 
 deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight  ;  surely 
 this  is  not  to  be  understood  nationally,  but  of  every  man 
 singly  and  personally  ;  as  it  is  plain  he  includes  every  one 
 singly,  when  he  says,  ver.  23.  All  have  sinned,  and  come 
 short  cf  the  glory  of  God. 
 
 As  by  these  texts  just  mentioned  it  appears,  that  all  the 
 apostle's  reasoning  in  the  three  first  chapters  terminates  in 
 conclusions  that  respect  and  include  every  man  singly,  and 
 that  prove  the  sinfulness  of  every  one ;  we  might  from  this 
 expect,  that  what  he  next  produces  for  men's  encouragement 
 
Explication  of  Rom,  VI,  2j 
 
 and  comfort,  should  be  designed  for  men  singly — for  every 
 man  with  respect  to  his  own  case  in  particular.  So  it  is  in- 
 deed ;  for  he  immediately  passes  to  a  doctrine  concerning 
 justification  through  faith,  which,  without  distinction  of 
 nations,  concerns  every  one  singly,  who  truly  believeth  in 
 Jesus  Christ.  So  ver.  22.  Even  the  righteousness  of  God, 
 which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all,  and  upon  all  them 
 that  believe.  The  apostle's  conclusion  respecting  justification 
 is,  ver.  28.  That  a  man  is  jnstifed  by  faith  without  the  deeds 
 of  the  law.  A  man — certainly  this  respects  men  singly  and 
 in  particular.  As  he  had  said,  chap.  i.  16.  that  the  gospel  is 
 the  power  of  God  unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that  believeth, 
 to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek. 
 
 Upon  a  just  view  of  the  apostle's  expression  and  doctrine, 
 it  must  appear  extremely  absurd  to  suppose,  that  with  him 
 believing  is  a  national  character ;  or  that  justification  through 
 faith  is  a  national  privilege,  blessing,  or  attainment.  It  is  very 
 evident,  that  the  faith  he  speaks  of  is  true,  or,  as  he  calls  it 
 elsewhere,  unfeigned  faith  ;  and  that  this  is  not  a  national, 
 but  a  personal  thing.  It  is  no  less  evident,  that  justification 
 through  faith  is  a  personal,  not  a  national  blessing.  It  ap- 
 pears, then,  though  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  national  names, 
 that  what  the  apostle  asserts  of  men's  sinfulness,  is  not  to  be 
 understood  nationally,  but  personally  of  all  and  every  one  of 
 mankind  ;  and  that  his  doctrine  of  justification  through  faith 
 is  applicable  to  every  true  believer,  whether  Jew  or  Gentile, 
 singly,  and  to  none  else.  All  and  every  one  having  sinned, 
 they  who  are  justified,  are  so,  freely  by  grace,  through  the 
 redemption  that  is  in  Christ,  (chap.  iii.  23,  24.)  In  whom 
 (as  Eph.  i.  7-)  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the 
 remission  of sins  ;  he  being  (as  Rom.  iii.  25.)  set  forth  as  a 
 propitiation,  through  faith  in  his  blood.  The  reality  of  this 
 faith,  and  of  the  blessedness  that  cometh  by  it,  are  not  na- 
 tional, but  personal,  to  every  true  believer. 
 
 Now,  when  the  apostle  proceeds,  chap.  v.  to  set  forth  the 
 blessedness  and  consolation  arising  from  this  faith,  and 
 justification  through  faith,  what  should  we  expect  from  a 
 view  of  his  preceding  discourse,  and  of  the  evident  scope 
 and  drift  of  it,  but  a  representation  of  blessings,  consolation, 
 and  hope,  belonging  to  true  believers  singly  ?  not  national 
 advantages,  which  are  but  external,  and  take  effect  for  the 
 salvation  but  of  a  few  commonly. 
 
 Let  us  consider  the  first  of  these  privileges  and  blessings, 
 chap.  v.  1.  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God. 
 
26  Introduction  to  the 
 
 It  is  easy  judging  from  the  apostle's  preceding  discourse, 
 how  this  peace  is  to  be  understood.  He  had  proved  that  all 
 and  every  one  had  sinned  ;  that  they  are  the  ungodly,  chap. 
 iv.  5,  7-  who  are  justified  by  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins. 
 Previously  to  this,  being  guilty,  and  the  wrath  of  God  abid- 
 ing on  them,  (John  iii.  36.)  they  are  considered  as  enemies  ; 
 and  in  this  wretched  state  are  without  strength  or  ability  to 
 help  themselves.  What  then  should  we  understand  by  the 
 blessing  set  in  opposition  to  all  this,  even  the  peace  which 
 believers  have  with  God?  but  as  it  is  expressed,  ver.  10. 
 that  they  are  reconciled  to  God,  who  is  (2  Cor.  v.  19.)  recon- 
 ciling the  world  to  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto 
 them  :  and  that  (as  Rom.  viii.  31.)  God  is  for  them,  and  that 
 they  are  admitted,  as  in  the  next  following  words  of  chap. 
 v.  2.  unto  a  state  of  special  grace  and  favour  with  God. 
 
 Mr  Locke's  account  of  this  peace  with  God  we  have  seen 
 already.  It  is,  that  the  Gentiles  were  not  now  in  the  state 
 of  open  rebels,  as  when  in  heathenism  and  idolatry  ;  but 
 are  admitted  as  members  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ :  and  this 
 he  would  have  understood  of  the  Gentiles  nationally.  If  so 
 as  to  the  peace  with  God,  ver.  1.  then  certainly  all  that  fol- 
 lows must  be  so  understood  ;  nationally  rejoice  in  the  hope  of 
 the  glory  of  God  ;  nationally  glory  in  tribulation  ;  nationally 
 have  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts,  &c.  &c.  How 
 contrary  this  is  to  the  apostle's  view,  appears  from  what 
 hath  been  said  already. 
 
 It  is  fit  to  consider  in  this  place  one  argument  that  re- 
 mains, and  which  he  takes  from  the  connexion  of  the  apostle's 
 discourse,  which  cannot,  he  thinks,  be  accounted  for,  with- 
 out understanding  this  context,  chap.  v.  1 — 11.  as  he  has 
 done.  But  as  it  hath  been  shown  here,  that  his  interpre- 
 tation is  altogether  without  foundation,  that  gives  good 
 cause  to  think,  that  he  has  mistaken  the  connexion,  or  that 
 it  can  be  well  accounted  for  without  receiving  his  interpre- 
 tation. 
 
 Let  us,  however,  observe  how  he  manages  this  argument, 
 in  the  last  paragraph  of  his  note  on  ver.  b*.  8. — c  And,  in- 
 '  deed,  if  the  four  epithets  be  not  taken  to  be  spoken  here  of 
 '  the  Gentile  world,  in  this  political  and  truly  evangelical 
 c  sense,  but,  in  the  ordinary  systematical  notion,  applied  to 
 '  all  mankind,  as  belonging  universally  to  every  man  person- 
 '  ally,  whether  by  profession  Gentile,  Jew,  or  Christian,  be- 
 (  fore  he  be  actually  regenerated  by  a  saving  faith,  and  an 
 •  effectual  thorough  conversion,  the  illative  particle  where- 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  27 
 
 'fore,  in  the  beginning  of  ver.  12.  will  hardly  connect  it  and 
 1  what  follows  to  the  foregoing  part  of  this  chapter.  But 
 '  the  eleven  first  verses  must  be  taken  for  a  parenthesis, 
 '  and  then  the  therefore,  in  the  beginning  of  this  fifth  chap- 
 1  ter,  which  joins  it  to  the  fourth  with  a  very  clear  connec- 
 '  tion,  will  be  wholly  insignificant.' 
 
 Here  he  calls  the  sense  he  gives  of  the  four  epithets,  the 
 political  and  truly  evangelical  sense.  I  shall  add  nothing 
 about  the  political  sense  to  what  hath  been  said  already  about 
 the  national  sense,  as  he  had  been  calling  it  before  ;  but  only 
 take  occasion  from  the  word  to  say,  it  had  been  well  if  Mr 
 Locke  had  written  on  subjectsin  divinity,  as  well  as  he  did  on 
 some  political  subjects.  Meantime,  I  think  his  sense  is  far 
 from  being  truly  evangelical.  A  sense  and  interpretation 
 that  enervates  quite  a  context  so  full  of  consolation,  that 
 deprives  Christians  singly  and  personally  of  the  special  con- 
 solations belonging  to  them  as  true  believers,  justified  by 
 faith,  and  turns  all  to  matter  of  external  and  common  pri- 
 vilege, common  to  them  and  others,  members  of  the  church, 
 who  are  not  actually  regenerated  by  a  saving  faith,  as  he 
 speaks,  and  an  effectual  thorough  conversion. 
 
 Whatever  contemptuous  notion  this  author  and  some 
 others,  adversaries  to  the  doctrine  of  the  reformed  churches, 
 have  affixed  to  system  and  systematical,  (though  they  have 
 their  own  systems  and  systematical  notions  themselves)  it 
 is  very  evident  that  what  he  calls  the  systematical  notion  i9 
 the  true  notion  of  the  four  epithets  in  Rom.  v.  and  that  his 
 conceit  concerning  them  cannot  be  supported  by  any  argu- 
 ment or  just  criticism. 
 
 As  to  the  connexion  of  chap.  v.  1.  with  ihe  preceding 
 discourse,  expressed  by  the  illative  therefore,  it  is  very  clear  : 
 nor  is  there  need  of  Mr  L.'s  notion  to  make  it  so.  He  had 
 asserted  justification  by  faith,  and  now  infers, —  Therefore 
 being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God;  justifica- 
 tion imports  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  this  of  itself  imports 
 peace  with  God.  All  that  follows,  to  ver.  11.  is  comfortable 
 inference  from  justification,  and  the  apostle's  doctrine  con- 
 cerning it.  So  the  illative  therefore,  ver.  1.  represents  a 
 clear  connexion  ;  and  is  fraughted  with  inferences  of  the 
 utmost  importance  and  consolation.  There  is  no  need  of 
 making  the  intervening  context  to  ver.  12.  a  parenthesis. 
 There  is  nothing  in  it  but  what  the  illative  therefore,  ver. 
 10.  conveys  clearly  from  the  preceding  discourse. 
 
 Now,  as  to  the  connexion  by  the  wherefore,  ver.  12.  let  us 
 
28  Introduction  to  the 
 
 observe  how  Mr  L.  himself  represents  it.  He  gives  it  at 
 the  end  of  his  long  note  on  ver.  6.  8.  thus — c  We  Gentiles 
 f  have  by  Christ  received  the  reconciliation,  which  we  can- 
 (  not  doubt  to  be  intended  for  us,  as  well  as  for  the  Jews, 
 c  since  sin  and  death  entered  into  the  world  by  Adam,  the 
 (  common  father  of  us  all :  and  as  by  the  disobedience  of 
 '  that  one  condemnation  of  death  came  upon  all,  so  by  the 
 1  obedience  of  one,  justification  to  life  came  upon  all/  Let 
 us  now  see  whether  the  connexion  here  may  not  be  as  clearly 
 and  justly  accounted  for,  and  as  much  produced  by  it  for 
 the  interest  of  the  Gentiles,  according  to  the  common  inter- 
 pretation, as  Mr  L.'s  view  of  it  has  produced.  Let  us  for 
 this  take  the  paraphrase  of  ver.  12.  by  the  judicious  Dr. 
 Guise,  (from  which  that  of  a  more  late  very  worthy  writer 
 might  receive  correction  in  some  things)  the  sum  of  which 
 is  as  follows, — (  Since  therefore  under  the  gospel  state,  Gen- 
 e  tiles  as  well  as  Jews  are  in  fact  reconciled  by  the  death 
 '  of  Christ,  and  have  received  the  atonement  by  faith  in 
 '  him,  (ver.  10,  11.);  and  since — persons  of  all  nations 
 c  were  on  a  level — as  to  their  guiltiness  before  God,  and 
 
 *  their  need  of  the  gospel  way  of  justification — let  us  now 
 
 *  — go  back  as  far  as  the  original  apostacy,  in  which  the 
 \  Jews  were  without  doubt  equally  involved  with  the  Gen- 
 e  tiles. — Now,  as  this  is  the  case  of  one  and  all  in  Adam, 
 
 <  and  shows  that  the  Jew  is  as  much  under  guilt,  and  has 
 f  as  much  need  of  the  gospel-salvation  as  the  Gentile  ;  so, 
 
 <  as  we  shall  see  anon,  (ver.  18,  19.)  spiritual  blessings, 
 c  opposite  to  all  this  ruin  by  the  first  man,  are  brought  in 
 '  by  Jesus  Christ,  as  a  public  head  of  recovery  to  one  as  well 
 '  as  another  of  these  sorts  of  people,  through  faith  in  him/ 
 
 By  what  hath  been  observed,  it  is  evident,  that  there  is 
 no  need  of  Mr  L/s  notions  concerning  the  scope  and  mean- 
 ing of  the  first  context  of  chap.  v.  in  order  to  give  a  satisfy- 
 ing account  of  the  connexion  therewith  of  the  latter  context  of 
 that  chapter.  The  apostle  having  proved  that  all  and  every 
 one  of  mankind  are,  in  their  natural  condition,  under  condem- 
 nation, he  next  asserts  the  doctrine  of  justification  through 
 faith,  and  lays  open  the  great  consolations  that  arise  from  it : 
 and  concludes  his  discourse  on  these  subjects,  with  giving  a 
 view  of  the  origin,  source,  and  ground,  both  of  condemnation 
 and  of  justification ;  the  former  by  the  offence  and  disobe- 
 dience of  Adam,  and  by  the  many  offences  men  have  added 
 thereto  ;  the  latter  by  the  obedience  of  Christ.  He  then 
 finishes  his  discourse  on  these  subjects  with  the  most  comfort- 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  29 
 
 able  conclusion,  contained  in  ver.  £1.  which  may  be  consider- 
 ed as  a  very  brief  epitome  of  all  that  precedes  it  in  this  epistle 
 —  That  as  tin  hath  reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace 
 reign  through  right  ousness  (the  righteousness  of  one,  ver.  18. 
 the  gift  of  righteousness,  ver.  17.  or,  the  gifted  righteousness) 
 unto  eternal  I'fe,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
 
 There  remains  one  argument  yet,  by  which  Mr  L.  endea- 
 vours to  establish  his  notion  of  the  four  epithets,  and  by  that 
 means  to  warrant  his  interpreting  the  first  context  of  Rom. 
 v.  concerning  the  Gentiles  separately.  It  is  this,  that  the 
 sense  of  each  of  them  is  to  be  found  in  the  description  the 
 apostle  gives  of  the  heathen  state  of  the  Gentiles,  Eph.  ii. 
 But  what  doth  this  prove  ?  It  hath  here  already  been  made 
 very  evident,  that  the  four  epithets  mean  what  is,  in  natural 
 condition,  common  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  :  if  then  that  mean- 
 ing be  found  in  a  description  of  the  state  of  the  Gentiles,  that 
 doth  by  no  means  weaken  the  evidence  already  brought,  that 
 these  epithets  belong  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  However, 
 to  obviate  or  remove  all  difficulty,  I  shall  consider  what  the 
 learned  writer  takes  notice  of  as  to  his  purpose  in  Eph.  ii. 
 And  I  expect  it  will  appear,  that  some  things  which  he  un- 
 derstood to  be  there  said  of  the  heathens,  as  peculiar  to  their 
 case,  &~e  not  so,  as  he  conceived. 
 
 The  first  thing  is,  that  the  epithet  weak  (or,  without 
 strength,)  is  in  the  meaning  of  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
 Eph.  ii.  1.  5.  which  he  understands  as  restricted,  in  the  sense 
 of  it,  to  the  state  of  heathenism :  and  this,  being  dead,  is, 
 he  says,  a  state,  if  any,  of  weakness  ;  and  the  state  of  hea- 
 thenism being  represented,  as  he  understands,  by  being  thus 
 dead,  is  the  only  argument  that  I  see  he  brings  to  prove,  that 
 weak,  or  without  strength,  Rom.  v.  is  an  epithet  meant  in  a 
 peculiar  sense  of  the  Gentiles,  as  contradistinguished  to  the 
 Jews.  But  being  dead  does  not  import  merely  being  weak, 
 but  represents  a  state  of  utter  incapacity,  until  new  life  is 
 given  by  Divine  grace  ;  and  if  it  be  peculiar  to  heathens  to 
 be  dead  in  sins,  as  he  understood,  yet  how  can  this  prove, 
 that  to  be  weak  is  not  applicable  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles? 
 
 But  further,  if  being  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  is  not 
 meant  as  a  character  peculiar  to  the  state  of  heathenism ; 
 and  if  it  shall  appear  that,  according  to  the  apostle's  view, 
 the  Jews  in  their  natural  condition  were  also  thus  dead, 
 there  will  remain  no  colour  of  argument  to  Mr  L.'s  pur- 
 pose. Let  us  then  direct  our  inquiry  to  this  point,  and  see 
 how  the  matter  shall  come  out. 
 
30  Introduction  to  the 
 
 In  order  to  this,,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  upon  a  general 
 view  of  the  chapter,  Gentiles  and  Jews  are  therein  spoken  of 
 distinctly  and  separately.  This  is  very  clear  from  ver.  11. 
 downwards.  If  we  consider  it  closely,  we  shall  see  good  rea- 
 son to  think  that  it  is  so  from  the  beginning  of  the  chapter. 
 So  ver.  1.  You  who  were  dead,  i.  e.  you  Ephesians,  Gentiles. 
 Ver.  3.  Among  whom  also  we  all  (that  is,  believers  of  the 
 Jewish  nation)  had  our  conversation. — They  who  will  have 
 the  Gentiles  meant  in  this  third  verse,  account  for  the  pro- 
 noun we  by  saying  that  it  means  not  the  Jews,  but  the  Gen- 
 tiles ;  the  apostle  including  himself  with  them,  as  being  the 
 apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  But  this  would  be  as  likely  to  have 
 led  him  to  say,  ver.  1.  we,  or  us,  who  were  dead —  We 
 see  that  in  those  parts  of  the  chapter,  wherein  it  is  evident 
 that  the  Gentiles  separately  are  meant,  he  avoids  using  the 
 words  we,  or  us,  or  our.  He  in  these  places  says,  ye,  or 
 you.  So  ver.  1.  You  hath  he  quickened — Ver.  11.  12.  Ye 
 being  in  time  past  Gentiles, — ye  were  without  Christ — Ver. 
 13.  Ye  who  were  far  off.  And  so  again,  ver.  17.  to  you 
 who  were  far  off — Ver.  19-  Ye  are  no  more  strangers — Ver. 
 22.  In  whom  you  also. —  On  the  other  hand,  in  those  places 
 wherein  it  appears  that  he  includes  others  besides  Gentiles 
 under  we,  or  our,  or  us,  it  is  evident  he  doth  not  include 
 merely  himself  with  the  Gentiles,  as  being  their  apostle; 
 but  means  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  together.  So  ver.  14.  He 
 is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both  one — Ver.  15.  To  make  to 
 himself  of  twain  one  new  man. — So  the  word  us,  in  the  end 
 of  ver.  14.  The  middle  wall  of  partition  between  us.  And 
 ver.  18.  Through  him  we  both  have  an  access. — This  being 
 observable  in  the  apostle's  style  through  the  chapter,  it  gives 
 good  cause  to  think  that  we  all,  ver.  3.  is  meant  of  the 
 Jewish  believers  with  regard  to  their  former  state.  We  shall 
 see  presently  something  more  that  tends  to  establish  this 
 point. 
 
 Let  it  then  be  admitted,  that  the  first  verse  is  meant  of 
 the  Gentiles,  and  these  words  of  ver.  2.  Wherein  in  time  past 
 ye  walked  according  to  the  course  of  the  world,  according  to 
 the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  ;  yet  I  cannot  agree  that 
 they  are  the  Gentiles  who  are  meant  in  the  last  clause  of 
 that  verse — the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of 
 disobedience.  I  think  these  words  are  so  introduced  as  to 
 indicate  that  another  sort  than  Gentiles  are  meant.  This 
 designation  seems  more  likely  to  be  designed  for  the  charac- 
 ter of  the  Jews.     The  Gentiles  were  become  remarkable  for 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  31 
 
 the  obedience  of  faith.  The  prophecy  set  forth,  Is.  xlix.  18. 
 22.  was  now  a-fulfilling.  When  the  apostle  describes,  Gal. 
 iv.  the  gospel-church,  in  opposition  to  the  Jerusalem  that 
 now  is,  (as  he  speaks,  ver.  25.)  he  doth  it,  ver.  27.  in  words 
 cited  from  Is.  liv.  1.  which  do  evidently  mean  the  Gentiles, 
 and  the  Gentile  church. 
 
 The  Jewish  nation,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  remnant, 
 were  disobedient  to  the  gospel,  children  of  disobedience, 
 (uTTuS-uxg)  :  and  if  the  character  of  disobedient,  (otTretSovvris) 
 is  given  to  the  Jews  of  a  particular  place,  Acts  xiv.  2.  we 
 find  it  elsewhere  the  character  of  the  nation. 
 
 There  seems  to  be  good  cause  to  think  that  the  Jews  are 
 the  disobedient,  whom  the  apostle  Peter  hath  particularly  in 
 his  eye,  1  Epist.  ii.  7,  8.  as  the  two  texts  he  there  cites, 
 Psal.  cxviii.  22.  and  Is.  viii.  14.,  are  certainly  meant  of  Jews; 
 and  if  those  meant  by  Peter,  ver.  8.  stumbled  at  the  word, 
 (that  is,  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,)  being  disobedient,  we  see 
 the  apostle  Paul  using  the  same  expression  concerning 
 Israel,  Rom.  ix. ;  there,  speaking  of  Israel  in  general  and 
 nationally,  he  says,  ver.  31,  32.  They  attained  not  to  the  law 
 of  righteousness,  because  they  sought  it  not  by  faith,  but  as  it 
 were  by  the  works  of  the  law  ;  for  they  stumbled  at  that 
 stumbling  stone. — They  stumbled  at  the  word,  as  to  that 
 essential  article  of  gospel-faith. 
 
 This  matter  will  become  more  clear,  if  we  consider  Rom. 
 xi.  30,  31,  32.  The  apostle  observes,  that  the  Gentiles  in 
 times  past  had  not  believed  (*%(*§*<?  an,  obeyed)  God ;  but 
 that  now  the  Gentiles  had  obtained  mercy  through  their  un~ 
 belief  (ot7rei^eioi)  ;  and  ver.  32.  he  says,  God  had  concluded 
 them  (n.b. — them  should  not,  according  to  the  Greek,  be 
 here)  all  in  unbelief,  (&$  uir&Qei&v,  disobedience)  that  he 
 might  have  mercy  upon  all.  The  interpreters  whom  I  have 
 seen,  do  generally  understand  all  here  to  include  Gentiles 
 and  Jews  ;  not  at  once,  but  in  their  turns,  and  at  different 
 times,  concluded  in  unbelief.  The  Gentiles  in  time  past,  as 
 ver.  30.  the  Jews  now,  as  ver.  31.  By  this  it  appears,  that 
 at  the  time  the  apostle  wrote,  to  be  disobedient,  or  (according 
 to  the  Hebrew  idiom)  children  of  disobedience,  as  Eph.  ii.  2. 
 was  the  general  and  national  character  of  the  Jews,  as  con- 
 tradistinguished to  the  Gentiles,  who  had  now  obtained 
 mercy,  and  were  become  very  remarkable  for  the  obedience 
 of  faith. 
 
 According  to  this  view  of  matters,  we  see  that  Rom.  x. 
 20,  21.   where   the  apostle  is   clearly    contradistinguishing 
 
32  Introduction  to  the 
 
 Gentiles  and  Jews  to  one  another,  he  applies  to  them  thus 
 the  words  of  Is.  lxv.  1,2./  was  found  of  them  that  sought 
 me  not ;  I  was  made  manifest  unto  them  that  asked  not  after 
 me  :  (this  of  the  Gentiles.)  But  (so  the  apostle  goes  on)  to 
 Israel  he  saith,  All  the  day  long  have  I  stretched  forth  my 
 hands  unto  a  disobedient  people.  Upon  the  whole,  it  appears, 
 that  the  scripture-style  in  other  places  warrants  us  to  under- 
 stand, Eph.  ii.  2.  Children  of  disobedience,  as  the  national 
 character,  at  that  time,  of  the  Jews. 
 
 Other  circumstances  and  expressions  there  used,  accord 
 well  with  this  sense  of  children  of  disobedience,  and  tend  to 
 establish  it.  Particularly  when  it  is  said  of  the  prince  of  the 
 power  of  the  air  [[Satan,]  that  he  is  the  spirit  that  now 
 worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience.  Satan  reigned 
 openly  among  the  heathen  Gentiles  ;  he  and  his  inferior 
 demons  were  openly  and  solemnly  worshipped  by  them. 
 This  idolatry  was  the  thing  most  obvious,  remarkable,  and 
 universal  in  the  course  of  the  wrorld.  It  was  not  so  indeed 
 among  the  Jews.  Yet  the  unbelieving  Jews  (as  was  now 
 their  national  character)  were  no  less  truly  under  his  in- 
 fluence, and  practically  conformed  to  him.  So  the  Lord 
 says  to  a  company  of  them,  John  viii.  44.  Ye  are  of  your 
 father  the  devil ;  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do. 
 Accordingly,  Eph.  ii.  2.  though  the  Jews  did  not  so  openly 
 and  directly  serve  Satan  in  idolatrous  worship,  since  the 
 Babylonish  captivity,  as  the  Gentiles  ;  yet  he  was  in^yuv, 
 working  in  them.  The  Greek  word  sometimes  signifies 
 working  effectually ;  but  most  strictly  signifieth,  working 
 inwardly.  Dr  Whitby  takes  notice  of  this  meaning  of  the 
 word  in  his  note  on  the  place.  e  This  evil  spirit  (saith 
 '  he)  is  here  said  tn^yut  inwardly  to  work  in  the  children 
 '  of  disobedience.'  It  wTas  not  so  always  as  to  the  Jews 
 nationally,  when  they  were  the  church,  the  only  church  of 
 God.  But  now  he  wrought  inwardly  in  them  by  various 
 lusts  and  delusions,  by  which,  becoming  disobedient  to  the 
 gospel,  he  wrought  them  up  to  the  utmost  malice  and  fury 
 against  it. 
 
 It  is  likewise  to  be  observed,  that  when  the  apostle  doth 
 more  particularly  describe  the  conversation  and  practice  of 
 these  children  of  disobedience,  there  is  not  any  hint  of  out- 
 ward idolatrous  practice.  Their  conversation  was,  he  says, 
 in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and 
 of  the  mind. 
 
 Some  may  readily   suggest  on  this  occasion  thus :   Paul 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI.  33 
 
 here  ranks  himself,  as  to  his  former  state,  with  these  children 
 of  disobedience  :  but  can  it  be  thought,  that  when  he  was 
 the  Pharisee,  so  very  devout,  and  strictly  righteous,  that  he 
 had  his  conversation  as  is  here  described  ?  For  conceiving 
 justly  of  this,  let  us  remember  the  distinction  he  makes, 
 2  Cor.  vii.  1.  between  f  Witness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit.  Both 
 sorts  come  under  the  general  name  of  the  flesh,  as  that  word 
 is  sometimes  used.  So  here  there  is  first  the  general  thing  ; 
 their  conversation  was  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  :  then  he  dis- 
 tinguishes and  adds,  fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of 
 the  mind.  This  last,  the  mind,  is  the  thinking  and  under- 
 standing faculty.  By  the  account  Paul  gives  of  himself  when 
 under  the  law,  yea,  and  when  under  grace,  Rom.  vii.  he  well 
 new  the  motions  of  sin,  and  of  the  flesh,  in  various  forms. 
 Bu*  what  was  most  remarkable  in  his  case  was,  that  error 
 and  delusion  possessed  his  mind,  attended  with  what  may 
 be  called  intellectual  lusts  and  passions.  There  was  the 
 pride  of  self-righteousness,  with  an  ignorant  furious  zeal  for 
 the  Mosaic  law,  and  for  the  honour  and  dignity  of  Israel 
 beyond  all  nations  ;  by  which  he  became  the  blasphemer, 
 persecutor,  and  injurious.  So  it  is  not  without  cause  he 
 ranks  himself  with  the  children  of  disobedience,  as  to  his 
 former  condition  and  conversation.  What  was  his  case, 
 seems  to  have  been  pretty  generally  the  case  of  the  Jewish 
 nation  ;  to  whom  he  ascribes,  in  general  terms,  a  zeal  of  God, 
 Rom.  x.  2. 
 
 The  apostle's  general  purpose,  Eph.  ii.  appears  to  be  to 
 set  forth  the  riches  of  divine  grace  towards  Jews  and  Gen- 
 tiles, As  it  is  his  way  on  other  occasions,  he  first  represents 
 men's  former  and  natural  conditions  ;  and  having  described 
 the  state  and  way  of  the  Gentiles  in  the  first  verse,  and  in 
 the  first  part  of  ver.  2.  what  immediately  follows  makes  an 
 answer  to  such  a  question  as  Rom.  iii.  9-  Are  ?ve  better 
 than  they  ?  By  no  means.  For  though  Israel  had  great  ad- 
 vantage of  outward  privilege  and  means  of  salvation,  yet 
 otherwise,  as  to  real  spiritual  state,  whilst  Satan  reigned  with 
 more  open  sway  among  the  Gentiles,  he  worked  inwardly  and 
 efficaciously  in  us  Jews,  by  means  of  various  delusions,  pas- 
 sions, and  lusts,  and  we  were,  ver.  3.  by  nature  children 
 of  wrath  even  as  others  ;  even  as  Gentiles. 
 
 I  see  not  that  any  well  founded  argument  against  the  in- 
 terpretation given  of  children  of  disobedience  arises  from  what 
 Mr  L.  observes  in  his  note  on  Eph.  v.  6.  (  Children  ofdis- 
 '  obedience  here,  (saith  he)  and  chap.  ii.  2.  and  Col.  iii.  6.  are 
 
34  Introduction  to  the 
 
 c  plainly  the  Gentiles,  who  refused  to  come  in  and  submit 
 '  themselves  to  the  gospel,  as  will  appear  to  any  one  who 
 f  will  read  these  places  and  the  context  with  attention/  I 
 have  done  so ;  but  what  the  learned  writer  says  is  far  from 
 appearing  to  me.  What  appears  is  plainly  this  ;  if  there 
 were  whoremongers,  or  unclean  persons,  as  Eph.  v.  5.  or  per- 
 sons given  to  fornication,  uncleanness,  &c.  as  Col.  iii.  5.  they 
 were  well  entitled  to  the  designation  of  children  of  disobe- 
 dience as  their  personal  character,  in  ver.  6.  of  each  context, 
 whether  they  were  Jews  or  Gentiles.  But  as  to  refusing  to 
 come  in,  and  submit  to  the  gospel,  what  hath  been  here 
 above  observed,  makes  sufficient  reason  for  understanding 
 children  of  disobedience,  Eph.  ii.  2.  as  the  national  character, 
 not  of  the  Gentiles,  but  of  the  Jews. 
 
 Having  fixed  the  meaning  of  children  of  disobedience,  Eph. 
 ii.  2.  we  may  take  the  meaning  of  the  three  verses,  as  if  he 
 had  said — You  Ephesians,  Gentiles,  in  time  past  dead  in 
 trespasses  and  sins,  walked  according  to  the  course  of  this 
 world,  according  to  Satan,  whom  ye  openly  served,  and  wor- 
 shipped; and  wrho  indeed  doth  now  (since  divine  grace  is 
 manifested  to  the  Gentiles)  work  inwardly  and  effectually  in 
 the  unhappy  Jews,  children  of  disobedience :  among  whom 
 we  of  the  Jews,  who  are  believers  in  Christ,  all  of  us  had  our 
 conversation  in  time  past ;  and  by  nature  our  spiritual  con- 
 dition was  no  better  than  yours,  being  by  nature  children  of 
 wrath,  even  as  others. 
 
 One  step  yet  farther  forward.  The  apostle  says,  ver.  4, 
 5.  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy — even  when  we  were  dead 
 in  sins,  hath  quickened  us.  In  ver.  1.  it  was,  you.  Here  it 
 is,  when  we  were  dead  in  sins.  I  have  formerly  observed, 
 that  the  apostle  in  the  latter  part  of  this  chapter  doth  not  use 
 such  words  as  we,  us,  our,  but  where  it  is  plain  that  Jews  and 
 Gentiles  together  are  comprehended.  It  appears  to  be  so 
 here.  Having  said,  you  and  ye,  ver.  1,  2.  he  now,  ver.  5.  hath 
 we :  and  as  upon  the  intervening  part  of  the  context  it  hath 
 been  shown,  that  therein  he  means  the  Jews,  it  is  plain  that 
 when  he  says,  ver.  5.  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  he  means 
 that  Jews  and  Gentiles,  in  their  former  and  natural  states, 
 were  dead  in  sins. 
 
 If  any  shall  yet  hold,  that  children  of  disobedience,  ver.  2. 
 means  all  who  are  in  unbelief  and  disobedience  to  the  gos- 
 pel, whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  and  that  we  all,  ver.  3.  means 
 all  believers  of  both  denominations  ;  this  is  still  cross  to  Mr 
 L/s  purpose,  and  is  inconsistent  with  understanding  dead  in 
 
Explication  of  Rom.  VI,  3b 
 
 &in$  as  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Gentiles,  in  the 
 state  of  heathenism.  According  to  this  interpretation  also, 
 when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  ver.  5.  must  mean  the  former 
 and  natural  state  of  all  believers,  both  of  the  Jews  and  of 
 the  Gentiles. 
 
 I  have,  however,  given  good  reason  for  understanding 
 children  of  disobedience,  ver.  2.  as  the  national  character  at 
 that  time  of  the  Jews.  It,  at  any  rate,  tends  to  confirm  the 
 sense  of  dead  in  sins,  ver  5.  as  meaning  the  natural  state  of 
 Jews  and  Gentiles,  according  to  both  interpretations,  that 
 the  immediately  following  context  represents  comfortable 
 effects  of  divine  grace  common  to  persons  of  both  denomina- 
 tions, without  the  hint  of  any  thing  peculiar  to  Gentiles, 
 while  he  uses  the  words  we  and  us — Quickened  together  with 
 Christ, — raised  up  together  ; — made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly 
 places  in  Christ  Jesus, — God  purposing  in  this  way  to  show 
 the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace.  On  occasion  of  mentioning 
 this  divine  grace,  he  says  to  the  Ephesians,  ver.  8.  By 
 grace  ye  are  saved, — and  ver.  9*  not  of  works,  lest  any  man 
 should  boast.  Though  he  speaks  so  in  those  two  verses  to 
 the  Ephesians  apart,  who  were  Gentiles,  shall  we  say,  that 
 these  verses  contain  any  thing  peculiar  to  Gentiles  ?  No, 
 surely ;  for  salvation  by  grace,  not  by  works,  is  salvation, 
 and  a  way  of  salvation  common  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  So 
 also  is  what  follows,  ver.  10.  For  we  are  his  workmanship, 
 created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works. 
 
 The  characters  of  weak  sinners,  and  ungodly,  Mr  L. 
 pretended  to  find  ascribed  to  heathens  here,  Eph.  ii.  2,  3. 
 But  who  ever  doubted  that  these  heathens  were  weak 
 sinners,  and  ungodly  ?  But  it  hath  been  here  proven,  that 
 Rom.  v.  these  three  characters  or  epithets  are  meant  of  Jews 
 and  Gentiles.  The  epithet  enemies,  he  finds  in  the  11th  and 
 12th  verses  of  Eph.  ii.  though  the  word  is  not  there  used. 
 It  is,  however,  true,  that  these  verses  represent  what  comes 
 up  to  the  meaning  of  enemies,  Rom.  xi.  28.  But  it  hath 
 been  here  proven,  that  all  men  are  enemies,  in  the  sense  of 
 chap.  v.  until  they  are  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his 
 Son. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  now  very  evidently,  that  there 
 is  nothing  in  the  import  of  the  four  epithets,  from  which  Mr 
 L.  argues,  or  in  what  he  adduces,  to  support  his  meaning  of 
 these  from  Eph.  ii.  that  gives  cause  to  understand  that  con- 
 text, Rom.  v.  1 — 11.  to  respect  the  Gentiles  as  contradis- 
 tinguished to  the  Jews,  or  to  understand  it  otherwise  than 
 
36  Introduction  to  the  Explication  of  Rom.  VI. 
 
 as  it  hath  been  hitherto  generally  understood  by  judicious 
 and  worthy  interpreters ;  viz.  as  representing  privileges, 
 blessings,  and  consolations  common  to  all  true  believers,  of 
 Jews  or  Gentiles,  or  of  whatever  nation  ;  as  well  as  the 
 natural  condition,  expressed  by  the  four  epithets,  of  Jews 
 and  Gentiles,  that  is,  of  all  mankind  :  and  Mr  L.'s  notion 
 having  no  good  reason  to  support  it,  it  can  make  no  solid 
 foundation  for  the  superstructure  which  Mr  Taylor  of  Nor- 
 wich has  raised  upon  it. 
 
 Thus  1  have  endeavoured  to  clear  out  of  our  way  a  wrong 
 notion  of  the  general  scope  and  design  of  the  sixth  chapter. 
 The  chief  ground  of  this  notion  is,  that  the  sixth  chapter 
 must  be  meant  of  the  same  sort  of  men  of  whom  the  fifth  is 
 meant;  and  as  it  is  meant  of  the  Gentiles  separately,  and  as 
 contradistinguished  to  the  Jews,  that  the  sixth  chapter  should 
 be  so  understood  likewise.  But  it  now  appearing  that  this 
 notion  is  not  well  founded,  it  cannot  give  us  cause  to  inter- 
 pret any  part  of  this  sixth  chapter  of  the  Gentiles  separate]y. 
 So  we  have  gqt  rid  of  one  thing  that  hath  led  some  men  to  a 
 wrong  interpretation  of  some  parts  of  it. 
 
 I  shall  not  say  much  here  concerning  the  scope  of  the  sixth 
 chapter,  and  of  the  following  context,  so  far  as  I  have  pro- 
 posed to  explain.  Only,  in  the  general,  that  the  apostle's 
 subject  its  sanctification,  and  the  freedom  from  the  reign  and 
 dominion  of  sin  that  is  necessary  in  sanctification,  and  in 
 order  to  the  true  practice  of  holiness.  As  he  had  asserted 
 and  explained  a  doctrine  of  justification  common  to  Chris- 
 tians of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles,  we  have  cause  to  think, 
 from  a  general  view,  that  his  doctrines  and  explications  con- 
 cerning sanctification  have  an  equal  respect  to  Christians  of 
 both  sorts — to  all  Christians. 
 
 I  shall  not  endeavour  to  prepossess  the  mind  of  any  reader 
 by  a  more  minute  account  of  the  scope  and  design  of  the 
 particular  parts  of  the  context ;  or  by  prefixing  an  account 
 of  the  contents  :  let  us  search  for  that  in  the  context,  as  we 
 go  along  in  the  explication.  When  that  is  finished,  the  con- 
 tents and  scope  of  every  part  will  appear,  in  a  more  clear 
 and  satisfying  light,  in  such  a  recapitulation  of  the  apostle's 
 principles,  doctrine,  and  reasoning,  as  may  fitly  have  place 
 in  an  appendix. 
 
EXPLICATION   AND    PARAPHRASE 
 
 OF 
 
 ROMANS    VI. 
 
 TEXT. — Ver.  1.    What  shall  we  say  then  ?  shall  -we  continue  in  sln^  that 
 grace  may  abound  2 
 
 Explication. —  1  HE  first  clause,  which  is  in  form  of  a  ques- 
 tion, is  according  to  the  apostle's  usual  style,  when  he  is  to 
 introduce  an  objection  to  his  doctrine,  or  a  question  imply- 
 ing an  objection.      So  chap.  iii.  5.;  vii.  7- ;  ix.  14. 
 
 The  objection  in  this  place  appears  to  take  its  occasion 
 from  what  the  apostle  had  said  two  verses  before  this  ;  to 
 wit,  chap.  v.  20.  The  entering  of  the  law,  there  mentioned, 
 is  certainly  meant  of  the  solemn  promulgation  of  it  to  Israel 
 at  Sinai.  As  Mr  L.  explains  the  whole  of  that  verse,  and 
 the  next  after  it,  concerning  the  Jews,  one  would  think,  that 
 this  should  have  led  him  to  ascribe  the  objection  in  the 
 next  following  verse  rather  to  the  Jew  than  to  the  Gentile  ; 
 as,  indeed,  the  Jews  were  the  greatest  adversaries  to  the 
 apostle's  doctrine,  particularly  to  his  doctrine  of  justification, 
 and  the  most  ready  to  cavil  at  it ;  and  so  to  suppose  that  in 
 this  chapter  the  apostle  is  directing  his  reasonings  to  them, 
 rather  than  to  the  Gentiles,  as  he  understood  it. 
 
 But  as  I  do  not  think  the  apostle  is  directing  his  reason- 
 ing here  to  Jewish  or  Gentile  converts  separately,  some 
 consideration  of  chap.  v.  20.  from  which  occasion  is  taken 
 for  the  objection,  will  tend  to  make  the  matter  clear.  There 
 it  is  said,  The  law  entered,  that  the  offence  might  abound. 
 To  say,  that  the  design  of  giving  the  law  at  Sinai  to  the 
 Israelites,  was  to  increase  their  sin,  or  the  aggravations  of  it, 
 cannot  be  easily  received.  For  though  the  consequence 
 might  be  the  actual  abounding  of  sin,  and  of  its  aggrava- 
 tions on  the  part  of  the  Israelites,  through  their  corruption 
 and  perverseness ;  yet  it  cannot  be  admitted  that  this  was 
 the  design  of  giving  them  the  law.  Therefore  another  in- 
 terpretation of  the  words  must  be  looked  for. 
 
 In  order  to  this,  let  it  be  considered,  that  often  in  Scrip- 
 ture things  are  said  to  be,  when  the  meaning  is,  that  they 
 appear,  or  are  proved  to  be.  So  John  xv.  8.  Christ  exhorts 
 his  disciples  to  bring  forth  much  fruit,  by  this  argument, 
 So  shall  ye  be  my  disciples  ;  that  is,  so  shall  ye  appear  or 
 prove  yourselves  to  be  my  disciples.  For  the  true  order  of 
 b  5 
 
.38  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 things  is,  that  men  must  be  Christ's  disciples  before  they 
 can  bring  forth  good  and  acceptable  fruit ;  not  that  they 
 first  bring  forth  good  fruit,  and  thereby  become  his  disciples. 
 So  2  Cor.  xii.  9-  For  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
 ness ;  that  is,  the  Lord's  strength  appears — is  proved  to  be 
 perfect  by  the  weakness  of  his  servants,  and  the  effectual 
 support  he  gives  them.  So  James  ii.  22.  By  works  was 
 faith  made  perfect ;  that  is,  by  works  did  faith  appear,  and 
 was  proved  to  be  perfect — to  be  sincere  ;  as  is  in  Scripture 
 a  very  common  sense  of  the  word  perfect.  Thus,  I  doubt 
 not,  is  to  be  interpreted,  Rev.  xxii.  14.  Blessed  are  they  that 
 do  his  commandments,  that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree 
 of  life  ;  that  is,  may  appear  to  have  right — that  they  are 
 the  persons  who  have  right,  as  sons  and  heirs,  Rom.  viii. 
 17-  In  this  way,  the  sense  of  Rom.  v.  20.  comes  out  thus  : 
 The  law  entered,  that  the  abounding  of  sin  might  appear  by 
 its  light. 
 
 Thus  did  matters  stand  in  the  wrorld  before  the  giving  of 
 the  law  to  the  Israelites.  The  writing  of  the  law  in  the  na- 
 tural consciences  of  men  was  very  much  obliterated  ;  and  in 
 the  heathen  world  idolatry  and  all  sorts  of  wickedness  were 
 come  to  a  great  height.  The  ancestors  of  the  Israelites  had 
 indeed  divine  revelation  but  two  or  three  generations  before 
 this  time ;  but  that  light  even  among  them  was  become 
 very  dim  and  obscure.  They  were  become  very  ignorant ; 
 and  the  infection  of  Egypt,  as  to  idolatry  and  other  sorts  of 
 wickedness,  had  prevailed  greatly  among  them.  By  the  in- 
 crease of  ignorance,  and  of  all  wickedness,  the  distinction 
 between  moral  good  and  evil  was  in  danger  to  be  quite  for- 
 got, and  lost  in  the  world.  In  this  state  of  things,  God  be- 
 ing to  set  apart  a  peculiar  people  to  himself,  he  thought  fit 
 to  set  up  the  light  of  the  law  among  them,  by  a  new,  clear, 
 and  very  solemn  promulgation.  By  this  light  might  Israel 
 perceive  how  much  sin  abounded  with  themselves ;  as  by  the 
 law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin,  chap.  iii.  20.  By  it  appeared 
 in  what  fearful  degrees  sin  abounded  in  the  heathen  world 
 about  them ;  from  which  they  had  cause  to  adore  the  grace 
 that  had  so  favourably  distinguished  themselves.  By  this 
 light  of  the  law,  by  which  the  abounding  of  sin  appeared  so 
 clearly,  might  Israelites,  and  such  of  the  Gentiles  as  came  to 
 the  knowledge  of  this  law,  discover  the  need  they  had,  on 
 both  hands,  of  the  grace  that  pardoneth  sin,  and  of  that 
 Saviour,  and  gospel-way  of  salvation,  which  Moses  and  the 
 prophets  were,    from    time   to    time,  setting  before  them. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  39 
 
 When,  therefore,  on  occasion  of  mentioning  the  abounding  of 
 sin,  which  it  did  to  a  high  degree  among  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
 the  apostle  takes  occasion  to  say,  that  where  tin  abounded, 
 grace  did  much  more  abound,  it  is  plain,  that  this  hath  re- 
 spect to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  sin  had  abounded  with 
 both ;  grace  did  much  more  abound  towards  both  sorts. 
 Now,  as  it  is  from  a  proposition,  which  hath  respect  to  both 
 Jews  and  Gentiles,  that  occasion  is  taken  for  the  objection 
 here,  chap.  vi.  1.  what  cause  can  we  have  to  ascribe  the  ob- 
 jection to  one  sort,  when  there  is  nothing  said,  or  insinuated, 
 that  implies  it  ;  or  to  suppose  that,  in  answering  the  objec- 
 tion, the  apostle  means  any  other  than  doctrine  and  argu- 
 ments, which  all  believers,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  are 
 alike  concerned  in  ? 
 
 The  case  then  plainly  is,  that  the  apostle  here  suggests, 
 in  way  of  question,  an  objection  which  he  was  aware  some 
 might  make,  perhaps  did  make,  against  his  doctrine  of  men's 
 being  justified  and  pardoned  by  the  abounding  of  grace 
 through  Jesus  Christ ;  and  not  by  the  works  of  men's  own 
 righteousness :  as  if  this  doctrine  was  unfavourable  to  holi- 
 ness, and  encouraged  men  to  continue  in  sin.  It  is  not  the 
 apostle's  way  to  proceed  in  logical  or  systematic  method  ; 
 but  he  takes  proper  occasion  commonly  to  make  an  easy 
 transition  from  one  subject  to  another.  So  here,  by  suggest- 
 ing an  objection  against  his  own  doctrine  of  justification,  as  if 
 it  were  unfavourable  to  holiness,  he  takes  occasion  to  pass 
 to  that  subject  of  holiness,  and  sanctification  ;  and  he  an- 
 swers, explains,  and  argues,  in  such  manner  as  to  prove, 
 (as  we  shall  see  ere  all  is  done)  that  there  can  indeed  be  no 
 true  sanctification  of  a  sinner,  but  by  means,  and  in  conse- 
 quence of  grace  abounding  in  justification  by  faith,  and  not 
 by  works. 
 
 I  must  here  likewise  observe  Dr  Whitby's  annotation  on 
 this  verse.  <  Note  here/  says  he,  '  that  if  the  faith  to 
 c  which  St  Paul  in  this  epistle  doth  ascribe  justification,  did 
 *  not  only  oblige  us  to,  but  even  comprehend  evangelical 
 e  and  constant  obedience,  there  could  be  no  colour  for  this 
 (  objection.  That  therefore  must  be  a  mistake.'  It  had  in- 
 deed been  so  observed,  and  argued  formerly  by  many  ;  but 
 it  is  fair  of  this  learned  writer  to  make  such  observation  and 
 concession.  As  to  his  own  notion  of  justification  by  faith,  it 
 were  easy  showing  it  to  be  far  from  being  right,  if  this  were 
 a  proper  place  for  it. 
 
 The  sense  of  this  first  verse  may  be  given  in  the  following 
 
 Paraphrase.— 
 
40  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Paraphrase. — Ver.  1.  How  shall  we  judge  of  this  doc- 
 trine, that  justification  is  wholly  and  merely  by  grace  ;  even 
 by  grace  super-abounding  where  sin  hath  abounded  ;  and 
 that  a  sinner  is  justified  by  faith,  without  the  deeds  of  the 
 law?  It  seems  indeed  to  be  well  calculated  for  those  who 
 find  themselves  destitute  of  righteousness  ;  for  the  self-con- 
 demned and  humbled  sinners,  it  affords  great  consolation  on 
 that  side.  But  is  it  not,  at  the  sametime,  very  comfortable 
 and  encouraging  to  the  flesh,  and  unfavourable  to  holiness 
 and  good  works  ?  For  if  it  is  the  glory  of  divine  grace,  that 
 where  sin  hath  abounded  it  doth  much  more  abound,  is  it 
 not  a  just  inference,  that  we  should  continue  in  sin,  that 
 grace  may  be  thus  glorified  ?  For,  however  contrary  the 
 practice  of  sin  may  be  to  the  Divine  holiness,  yet  as  a  special 
 design  of  God,  in  the  salvation  of  sinners,  is  to  magnify  his 
 grace,  should  not  we  contribute  to  advance  the  glory  of  su- 
 perabounding  grace,  by  continuing  in  sin  ;  and  so  give  oo 
 casion  to  grace  to  display  its  utmost  richness  and  glory  ? 
 
 TEXT. — 2.   God  forbid  :    how  shall  zve  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any 
 longer  therein  ? 
 
 Explication. — The  Greek  words  p*  yivo.ro,  that  make  the 
 first  clause,  do  represent  such  an  aversation  and  abhorrence 
 of  an  event  or  practice,  as  is  commonly  expressed  in  our 
 language  by  saying — God  forbid,  or — Far  be  it  from  us. 
 
 Here  we  have  occasion  to  observe,  if  the  apostle  had 
 meant  the  faith,  to  which  he  ascribes  justification,  as  includ- 
 ing evangelical  obedience  and  good  works;  or,  that  its  vir- 
 tue and  effect  in  justifying  did  arise  from  its  certain  con- 
 nexion with  subsequent  holiness  and  good  works  ;  he  could 
 not  have  missed  to  answer,  and  say  to  this  purpose — You 
 unhappily  mistake  my  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  and 
 the  true  sense  of  my  words  ;  the  faith  I  mean  includes  good 
 works,  and  its  justifying  virtue  is  from  its  connexion  with 
 holiness  and  good  works,  which  necessarily  flow  from  it,  and 
 which  I  include  in  my  notion  of  faith.  What  absurdity, 
 yea,  what  nonsense  is  it,  to  charge  such  a  doctrine  of  justi- 
 fication by  faith  with  being  unfavourable  to  holiness,  or  with 
 favouring  and  encouraging  sin  !  This  answer,  if  such  were 
 his  notion  of  justifying  faith,  were  so  much  in  point,  so  full, 
 and  withal  so  very  obvious,  that  when  he  says  nothing  to  that 
 purpose,  it  gives  us  cause  to  be  well  satisfied  that  his  notion 
 of  justifying  faith  is  not  such  as  would  afford  that  answer. 
 
 Another  thing  yet  with  regard  to  this  point.     According 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  '  41 
 
 to  the  sentiments  of  those  who  hold  that  faith  justifies  by 
 virtue  of  its  connexion  with  holiness  and  good  works  ;  it 
 could  not  be  truly  said,  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith. 
 They  generally  hold,  that  the  faith  of  the  hypocrite,  which 
 is  not  attended  with  good  works,  is  in  itself  of  the  same  na- 
 ture and  kind  with  the  faith  of  the  true  Christian,  who  is 
 fruitful  in  good  works ;  and  that  it  is  good  works,  and  per- 
 severance therein  that  makes  the  distinction  ;  not  the  faith 
 itself,  which  is  of  the  same  kind  in  both.  So  then  the  case 
 stands  thus  :  VTery  many  who  have  the  same  true  faith,  as 
 to  its  own  nature,  that  the  sincere  Christian  hath,  yet  not 
 having  good  works,  are  not  justified  ;  whereas  whoever  hath 
 good  works,  he  is  thereby  justified.  From  this  it  is  very 
 plain,  that  it  is  not  faith  that  justifies,  according  to  these 
 men's  sentiment,  but  a  man's  good  works,  which  he  con- 
 nects with  his  faith. 
 
 But,  for  explaining  our  text,  although  he  doth  not  an- 
 swer to  the  objection,  as  the  above  mentioned  notion  of  faith 
 would  suggest,  yet  he  answers  and  suggests  an  argument 
 against  the  practice  of  sin,  arising  from  his  doctrine,  that  is 
 of  the  utmost  force.     Let  us  look  into  it. 
 
 It  is  of  great  consequence,  not  only  for  understanding  the 
 apostle's  answer  and  argument  here,  but  for  understanding 
 his  whole  discourse  in  this  chapter,  that  we  discover  and  fix 
 the  true  meaning  of  that  expression — dead  to  sin*  Mr 
 Taylor  of  Norwich's  paraphrase  gives  it  thus  :  '  How  can 
 f  any  man  imagine  the  gospel  allows  us  to  continue  in  a 
 (  wicked  life,  when,  by  its  principles  and  obligations,  we  are 
 '  set  at  the  greatest  distance  from  all  iniquity  ;  even  as  far 
 '  as  the  dead  are  separated  from  all  society  with  the  living?' 
 Is  this,  that  we  are  actually  put  at  such  distance  from  sin  ? 
 for  the  apostle's  expression  says  something  positive  and  ac- 
 tual — We — are  dead  to  sin.  Surely  to  be  actually  at  a  dis- 
 tance from  sin,  as  far  as  the  dead  are  separated  from  all  so- 
 ciety with  the  living,  is  the  attainment  only  of  that  place 
 whither  nothing  shall  enter  that  defileth. 
 
 Dr  T.  explains  himself  in  his  note  on  this  verse  :  '  Ver. 
 '  2.  How  shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin.  He  doth  not  mean 
 6  they  were  actually  dead  to  sin  ;  for  he  supposes  they 
 '  might,  in  fact,  live  after  the  flesh,  chap.  viii.  13.  ;  he 
 '  therefore  must  mean,  they  were  by  their  profession  obliged 
 f  to  be  dead  to  sin,  (2?4)  see  ver.  11,  and  the  note  upon 
 (  it.'  We  shall  soon  see  ver.  11.  As  to  his  note  upon  it, 
 there  is  nothing  in  it,  but  his  quoting  Col.  iii.  3.     And  as  I 
 
42  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 cannot  see  how  it  makes  for  his  purpose,  so  neither  doth  he 
 say  a  word  to  show  that  it  doth,  or  how  it  doth  so.  As  to 
 the  citation  from  Rom.  viii.  13.  the  words  do  not  imply  that 
 the  true  believer  may  in  fact  live  after  the  flesh,  and  perish  ; 
 the  apostle  doth  only  warn  Christians,  by  that  hypothetical 
 proposition,  of  the  certain  connexion  between  fleshly  liv- 
 ing, and  perishing.  But,  as  that  text  comes  again  in  my 
 way,  I  defer  till  then  speaking  more  largely  concerning  the 
 import  of  it.  Here  I  only  observe,  that  Dr  T.  doth  not 
 argue  agreeably  to  his  own  sentiments  concerning  perseve- 
 rance, when  he  says,  that  the  apostle  doth  not  mean  that 
 the  believers  he  wrote  to  were  actually  dead  to  sin  ;  nor 
 can  be  so  understood,  by  reason  of  what  he  supposes  (ac- 
 cording to  this  interpreter)  in  that  other  text,  chap.  viii.  13.  ; 
 for  they  might  actually  be  dead  to  sin  at  that  present  time, 
 as  much  as  ever  Christian  did,  or  could,  attain  in  this  life  ; 
 and  the  apostle  might  be  understood  to  assert  so  in  our  text, 
 consistently  (by  Dr  TVs  sentiments)  with  their  falling  after- 
 wards to  fleshly  living,  and  perishing. 
 
 He  therefore  must  mean,  saith  this  writer,  they  were  by 
 their  profession  obliged  to  be  dead  to  sin.  But  in  this  way 
 there  is  no  answer  to  the  objection,  ver.  1.  That  men  were 
 obliged  to  be  dead  to  sin,  is  what  the  objection  itself  implies  ; 
 otherwise  the  alleged  consequence  could  not  be  charged  as 
 an  absurdity  against  the  apostle's  doctrine.  We  may  con- 
 ceive the  matter  thus  on  both  sides. — Object.  All  men  are 
 obliged  to  die  to  sin  ;  that  is,  to  forsake  it,  and  put  them- 
 selves at  the  utmost  distance  from  it ;  yea,  what  man  is  there 
 who  doth  not  profess  himself  to  be  so  obliged  ?  Yet  your 
 doctrine  encourages  men  to  do  otherwise  ;  even  to  continue 
 in  sin  and  live  in  it.  Answ.  according  to  Dr.  T.,  God 
 forbid  !  how  shall  we,  who  by  our  profession  are  obliged  to 
 be  dead  to  sin  (which  is  implied  in  the  objection  itself)  live 
 any  longer  in  sin  ?  Here  plainly  there  is  no  answer  to  the 
 objection,  or  argument  against  what  it  imports,  though  it  is 
 clear  that  the  apostle  means,  from  the  Christian's  being  dead 
 to  sin,  to  bring  an  argument  of  special  evidence  and  force 
 against  what  the  objection  imports. 
 
 But  what  argument  doth  this  interpreter  bring  for  our 
 understanding  by  being  dead  to  sin,  that  we  are  obliged  to  be 
 so  ?  For  this  he  refers  to  sect.  274,  of  his  key  to  the  apostle's 
 writings. 
 
 There  he  says,  '  It  should  be  carefully  observed,  that  it 
 <  is  very  common  in  the  sacred  writings, to  speak  of  that 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  43 
 
 *  as  done,  which  only  ought  to  be  done,  and  which,  in  fact, 
 '  may  possibly  never  be  done/  One  of  the  instances  of 
 this  he  gives  thus :  Matth.  v.  13.  Ye  are  (ought  to  be)  the 
 salt  of  the  earth.  The  other  texts  he  there  mentions  are 
 Mai.  i.  6.  Rom.  ii.  4.  chap.  vi.  2.  11.  chap.  viii.  9.  Col.  iii.  3. 
 1  Pet.  i.  6.  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  1  Cor.  v.  7.  Heb.  xiii.  14.  1  John 
 ii.  12 — 15.  chap.  iii.  9-  chap.  v.  4.  18.  All  these  texts,  how- 
 ever, admit  of  a  commodious  interpretation,  without  such 
 supplying  of  words.  Translators,  indeed,  sometimes  found 
 themselves  obliged  to  supply  a  word  or  two  to  make  a  com- 
 plete expression  of  the  sense  ;  but  that  should  be  admitted 
 only  when  the  scope  of  the  place  appears  to  require  it,  and 
 words  should  be  supplied  only  to  make  a  sense  agreeable  to 
 the  evident  scope.  But  if  words  may  be  supplied  in  Dr. 
 T/s  way,  contrary  to  what  the  text  expresses,  without  any 
 thing  in  the  scope  of  the  place  that  requires  it,  every  text 
 may  be  turned  to  whatever  a  man  pleases,  and  so  the  scrip- 
 ture become  an  uncertain  rule,  good  for  nothing. 
 
 In  the  instance  we  are  considering,  the  matter  stands  thus 
 between  the  apostle  and  this  interpreter.  The  apostle  says 
 positively,  We — are  dead  to  sin.  No,  saith  Dr.  T.  not  ac- 
 tually dead  to  sin,  but  that  we  ought  to  be  so.  This  is  con- 
 tradicting, not  explaining;  which  is  a  way  not  uncommon 
 with  this  interpreter. 
 
 Eisner,  a  learned  writer,  shows,  as  Dr  Doddridge  reports, 
 how  frequently  moral  writers  among  the  heathens  speak  of 
 wise  and  good  men,  as  dead  to  sensualities  and  animal 
 pleasures.  But  Wolfius,  who  reports  likewise  these  obser- 
 vations of  Eisner's,  says,  that  the  learned  writer  himself  adds, 
 whatever  fine  expression  the  heathen  philosophers  used  on 
 this  subject,  that  we  are  not  to  expect  to  find  with  them 
 what  will  come  up  to  the  apostle  Paul's  meaning.  This  is 
 very  right. 
 
 Others  take  in  here  the  profession,  serious  purpose,  and 
 strict  engagements  of  Christians  against  sin.  The  truth  is, 
 it  hath  of  a  long  time,  and  generally,  been  understood  to  be 
 the  apostle's  meaning,  by  being  dead  to  sin,  to  denote  matter 
 of  duty,  (as  to  abstain  from,  to  resist,  to  mortify  sin,)  in 
 which  a  Christian  ought  to  advance  from  one  degree  to  an- 
 other. Hence  hath  come  into  use  that  expression,  '  to  die 
 c  more  and  more  unto  sin/  This  sense  is  in  itself  good  and 
 right,  and  agreeable  to  scripture-doctrine.  But  1  am  not 
 satisfied  that  this  manner  of  expressing  that  sense  is  agree- 
 able to  scripture  style.     I  do  not  see  that  the  scripture  ex- 
 
44  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 presses  mere  duty,  and  the  Christian's  progress  in  it,  by 
 c  dying,  and  dying  more  and  more  unto  sin/  The  scrip- 
 ture-expression here  is,  dead  unto  sin  ;  and  ver.  11.  Reckon 
 yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin  ;  and  1  Pet.  ii.  24. 
 That  we  being  dead  to  sin,  &c.  I  do  not  see,  that  to  be  dead 
 can  be  a  proper  and  right  expression  for  mere  matter  of  duty  : 
 and  if  a  man  is  actually  dead,  that  doth  not  admit  of  degrees 
 or  progress.  If  he  is  once  truly  dead,  he  cannot  be  more 
 and  more  dead. 
 
 It  seems  therefore  more  reasonable  to  think,  that  to  be 
 dead  to  sin,  signifies  an  advantage,  blessedness,  and  privilege 
 of  a  true  Christian's  state,  rather  than  mere  matter  of  duty. 
 Upon  this  view,  the  meaning  of  the  expression  may,  I  think, 
 be  taken  from  what  is  said  of  death  and  the  grave,  Job  iii. 
 19*  There — the  servant  is  free  from  his  master.  The  poor 
 slave  (such  were  commonly  the  servants  of  these  countries 
 and  times)  is  free  from  the  yoke  of  the  rigorous  lord,  under 
 whose  dominion  he  wras.  As  the  case  continued  to  be  the 
 same,  it  needs  not  be  wondered  at,  that  the  expression,  in 
 somewhat  the  proverbial  way,  should  continue  in  language 
 from  the  time  of  Job  to  the  time  of  Paul.  We  shall  likewise 
 find  a  great  deal  in  Paul's  discourse  here  that  directs  us  so 
 to  understand  the  expression. 
 
 Upon  the  one  hand,  sin  is  represented  as  reigning  ;  chap, 
 v.  21.  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death  ;  so  grace  reigns,  as  in 
 that  same  verse.  Doth  then  grace  greatly  abound,  even 
 where  sin  hath  abounded  ?  It  is  it  that  doth,  by  so  abound- 
 ing, put  an  end  to  the  reign  of  sin  ;  so  that  the  abounding 
 of  grace  can  give  no  encouragement  to  continuing  in  sin. 
 Thus  the  apostle  brings  a  pertinent  answer  to  the  objection 
 from  that  very  passage,  on  which  it  is  pretended  to  be  found- 
 ed. In  ver.  14.  and  downwards,  sin  is  mentioned  as  having 
 dominion,  such  as  a  lord  or  master  hath  over  his  slaves, 
 whom  he  employs  according  to  his  will,  in  all  his  service  and 
 drudgery.  So  Christians  are  represented  as  having  been 
 the  servants  (that  is,  slaves)  of  sin.  Thus,  ver.  17*  ye  were 
 the  servants  of  sin — Ver.  20.  when  ye  were  the  servants  of 
 sin. 
 
 Upon  the  other  hand,  Christians  being  made  free  from 
 sin  is  much  in  the  apostle's  view  through  this  discourse. 
 Yea,  ver.  7-  he  seems  himself  to  explain  being  dead,  by  be- 
 ing made  free  from  sin.  So  also,  ver.  18.  Being  then  made 
 free  from  sin — Ver.  22.  But  now  being  made  free  from  sin. 
 Yea,  when  the  apostle  comes  towards  the  conclusion  of  his 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  45 
 
 explications  on  this  subject,  he  says,  chap.  viii.  2.  The  law 
 of  the  Spirit  of  life — hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of 
 sin  and  death.  All  this  gives  sufficient  cause  to  think,  that 
 the  true  believer's  being  dead  to  sin,  is  no  other  than  the 
 privilege  and  blessedness  of  his  state  ;  viz.  to  be  made 
 free  from  the  reign  and  dominion  of  sin.  More  particular 
 explications  respecting  this  subject  we  may  look  for  in  the 
 apostle's  subsequent  discourse  and  reasoning.  In  the  mean 
 time,  what  a  pointed  and  pertinent  answer  he  makes  here 
 to  the  cavil,  and  objection  in  ver.  1.  we  may  see  in  the  fol- 
 lowing 
 
 Paraphrase. — 2.  By  no  means  :  how  shall  we  believers, 
 who  are  made  free  from  the  reign  and  dominion  of  sin,  (dead 
 to  it)  prove,  by  continuing  to  live  in  sin,  that  we  are  not  made 
 free  from  its  dominion,  but  are  yet  its  slaves  ?  yea,  can  it  so 
 happen,  as  to  the  common,  ordinary,  and  final  course  of  the 
 believer's  practice,  that  being  made  free  from  the  dominion 
 of  sin,  he  should,  in  practice,  continue  under  its  prevailing 
 influence  and  power  ?  or,  whatever  we  might  be  capable  of, 
 considering  us  as  we  are  in  ourselves,  free  agents,  in  whom 
 there  is  considerable  remainder  of  corruption,  can  it  be  sup- 
 posed, that  the  grace,  which,  in  the  superabounding  thereof, 
 hath  made  us  free  from  the  reign  of  sin,  hath  not  provided 
 various  and  effectual  means,  consistent  with  our  liberty,  for 
 preserving  us  from  continuing  in  sin,  and  so  (see  ver.  14.) 
 coming  again  under  its  dominion  ?  But  though  there  is 
 such  real  inconsistency  in  the  case,  that  it  cannot  reasonably 
 be  supposed,  yet  if  it  shall  be  supposed  but  in  imagination, 
 that  a  believer  should  be  made  free  from  the  dominion  of 
 sin,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  should,  by  living  ordinarily 
 in  the  indulged  practice  of  it,  affront  the  grace  that  hath 
 abounded  towards  him,  and  give  dishonour  to  the  precious 
 ransom  by  which  he  hath  been  redeemed  and  made  free, 
 will  not  the  very  imagination  of  it  give  horror  to  every  sincere 
 heart  of  a  Christian,  to  every  reasonable  and  ingenuous  mind? 
 
 TEXT. — 3.  Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  laptizcd  into  Jesus 
 Christ,  were  baptized  into  his  death? 
 
 Explication. — As  to  the  expression  in  the  first  clause, 
 baptized  into  Jesus  Christ,  there  is  a  similar  expression  1  Cor. 
 x.  2.  Our  fathers — were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud, 
 and  in  the  sea.  Though  Moses  is  commonly  considered  as 
 the  law-giver,  vyet  from  the  import  of  baptism,  and  the 
 spiritual  meat  and  drink  mentioned,  ver.  3,  4.  it  is  plain,  that 
 
46  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Moses  is  set  forth  there  as  a  minister  of  grace  :  and  being 
 baptized  unto  Moses,  must  mean  chiefly,  being  baptized  unto 
 the  faith  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  salvation  to  which  Moses 
 bare  witness  ;  and  receiving  the  typical  baptism,  as  a  sort  of 
 seal  of  that  grace. 
 
 But  we  are  directed  to  conceive  of  Christ  differently,  as 
 to  this  matter,  than  of  Moses.  Christ  sets  forth  himself  as 
 a  vine,  John  xv.  1.  and  his  people,  as  being  (not  by  nature, 
 surely,  but  by  ingraftment  and  by  grace)  branches  of  that 
 vine.  He  is  a  head,  which  hath  its  body  ^  and  each  believer 
 in  particular  is  a  member  of  that  body.  The  apostle  says, 
 1  Cor.  xii.  13.  By  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one 
 body.  By  one  Spirit,  and  by  the  faith  which  under  his  in- 
 fluence we  exert,  we  are  truly  united  to  Christ ;  as  by  the 
 external  ordinance  we  are  admitted  into  his  visible  body  the 
 church.  To  be  by  one  Spirit  truly  united  to  Christ,  is  not 
 likely  to  be  the  case  of  every  one  who  is  externally  baptized, 
 as  all  the  Roman  Christians  probably  were.  This  is,  per- 
 haps, the  reason  of  that  manner  of  expression,  As  many  of 
 us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ.  Though  the  apostle 
 commonly  addresses  the  churches  he  writes  to  as  true  be- 
 lievers, yet  there  is  frequently  the  hint  of  exceptions ;  nor 
 can  it  be  thought,  that  Simeon  the  sorcerer,  though  externally 
 baptized,  wTas  by  this  one  Spirit  truly  united  to  Christ. 
 
 But  so  many  as  are  so,  and  to  whom  this  grace  is  sealed 
 by  baptism,  they  are  baptized  into  Christ's  death.  This  last 
 clause  of  the  verse  comes  next  to  be  explained.  It  has  been 
 indeed  explained  by  many,  as  meant  of  the  professions  and 
 vows  which  Christians  come  under  at  baptism,  to  die  unto 
 sin,  and  to  mortify  it,  in  conformity  to  the  death  of  Christ 
 and  the  design  of  it.  That  adult  persons  at  baptism  came 
 under  such  engagements,  is  not  to  be  doubted.  This  is 
 likely  to  be  included  in  that  answer  of  a  good  conscience  to- 
 wards God,  mentioned  in  view  to  baptism,  1  Pet.  iii.  21. 
 Nor  is  it  to  be  doubted,  that  baptism,  and  the  grace  thereby 
 exhibited,  doth  of  its  own  nature  ^ix  such  obligation  upon 
 infants.  But  that  cannot  be  the  thing  here  intended,  as 
 there  is  not  the  least  mention  or  hint  of  baptismal  vows  and 
 engagements  ;  and  that  good  reasons  have  been  here  given 
 why  being  dead  to  sin  should  be  understood,  not  of  matter 
 of  duty  and  practice,  which  is  the  proper  subject  of  vows  and 
 engagements,  but  rather  of  the  blessedness  and  privilege 
 of  the  state  of  believers.  It  is  said,  ver.  10.  that  Christ  died 
 unto  sin  ;  and  therefore  believers  are  directed,  ver.  11.  to 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  47 
 
 reckon  themselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin — through  Jesus 
 Cluist.  It  is  said  of  Christ,  1  Pet.  ii.  24.  that  he  bare  our 
 sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to  sin, 
 should  live  unto  righteousness.  They  who  consider  being 
 dead  to  sin  as  matter  of  duty,  do  refer  it  to  men's  purposes 
 and  to  baptismal  vows  and  engagements.  But  in  these  two 
 texts,  we  see  being  dead  to  sin  referred  to  the  death  of 
 Christ,  and  immediately  connected  therewith.  So  when,  in 
 the  text  under  consideration,  Christians  are  said  to  be 
 baptized  into  Christ's  death,  we  have  cause  to  understand  by 
 it,  that  baptism  doth  apply,  exhibit,  and  seal  to  them  the  be- 
 nefits of  Christ's  death,  and  that  it  is  a  solemn  rite,  whereby 
 believers  are  invested  in  a  fellowship  of  interest  in  his  death 
 and  in  the  benefits  and  happy  consequences  of  it :  so  that 
 as  he  died  to  sin,  dying  in  their  vice,  so  by  virtue  thereof 
 they  are  dead  to  sin  ;  that  is,  made  free  from  its  reign  and 
 dominion.  This  the  ordinance  of  baptism  doth  exhibit  and 
 seal  to  their  faith. 
 
 Baptismal  vows  and  engagements  do  greatly  enforce  the 
 duty  of  forsaking,  resisting,  and  mortifying  sin.  Baptism, 
 according  to  its  own  nature,  as  here  explained,  doth  afford 
 strong  argument  and  powerful  excitement  to  that  duty.  But 
 to  restrict  the  apostle's  meaning  here  to  these,  hath  this 
 great  inconvenience,  that  it  tends  to  hide  from  Christians  the 
 great  consolation  and  encouragement  to  that  duty,  that  is  pro- 
 perly and  directly  meant ;  viz.  that  they  are  by  the  death  of 
 Christ  made  free  from  the  reign  and  the  dominion  of  sin,  and 
 that  the  same  is  ascertained  and  sealed  to  them  by  their  baptism, 
 
 TEXT — 4.  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death : 
 that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father  y 
 even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life. 
 
 Explication. — Christ  being  our  representative  and  surety; 
 when  he  died  for  our  sins,  it  is  as  if  we  by  our  own  death 
 had  expiated  our  sins ;  and  as  he  is  said  to  be  raised  for  our 
 justification,  the  case  is,  that  the  release  of  our  Surety  is  vir- 
 tually, and  in  effect,  our  release.  When  he  was  raised,  we 
 might  be  considered  as  having  been  raised  from  the  dead. 
 The  apostle  gives  this  view  of  the  matter,  when  he  says,  Eph. 
 ii.  4 — 6.  God — hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ,  and 
 hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heaven- 
 ly places  in  Christ  Jesus.  So  he  speaks  when  he  is  setting 
 forth  the  application  of  the  virtue  of  Christ's  death  and  re- 
 surrection to  believers. 
 
48  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Again,  Phil.  iii.  10.  the  apostle  expresses  his  aim  and 
 desire  thus, —  That  I  may  know  him,  and  the  power  of  his 
 resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  being 
 made  conformable  unto  his  death.  As  to  these  latter 
 clauses,  it  is  true  that  Christians,  in  their  sufferings  in 
 this  life,  have  a  fellowship  of  suffering  with  Christ,  and  a 
 conformity  to  his  death  ;  yet  there  is  no  good  reason  for 
 restricting  these  clauses  here,  in  Philippians,  where  the 
 context  hath  nothing  concerning  sufferings,  to  that  meaning 
 and  view,  more  than  there  would  be  for  restricting  the  power 
 of  Christ's  resurrection,  in  the  first  clause,  to  the  supports 
 the  apostle  had  under  his  tribulations,  by  virtue  of  the  re- 
 surrection and  life  of  Christ,  of  which  he  speaks,  2  Cor.  iv. 
 10,  11.  which  I  scarce  think  any  would  agree  to.  The 
 desire  and  aim  of  the  apostle  here,  (Phil.  iii.  10.)  seems  to 
 be  this  ;  as  he  had  already  known  and  experienced  the  power 
 of  Christ's  resurrection,  he  earnestly  desired  and  longed 
 for  the  full  fruit  and  effect  of  it,  as  in  perfect  and  final  justi- 
 fication, so  in  the  perfection  of  holiness,  and  in  eternal  life. 
 As  he  had  already  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  sufferings,  and 
 conformity  to  his  death,  in  being  by  means  thereof  dead  to 
 sin,  and  made  free  from  its  reign  and  dominion,  so  he 
 earnestly  desires  to  attain  the  full  effect  of  his  death,  in 
 being  not  only  free  from  the  reign  of  sin,  but  also  from  all 
 molestation  and  danger  by  it,  in  the  perfection  of  holiness, 
 when  nothing  of  sin  should  remain  in  him. 
 
 In  these  places,  (Eph.  ii.  and  Phil,  iii.)  the  apostle  does 
 not  appear  to  have  baptism  at  all  in  his  view.  He  considers 
 our  fellowship  of  Christ's  sufferings,  and  conformity  to  his 
 death, — our  being  quickened,  and  raised  together  with 
 Christ,  and  sitting  together  with  him  in  heavenly  places,  as 
 matters  of  privilege,  comfort,  and  hope,  arising  from  our 
 relation  to  Christ,  and  union  with  him.  A  true  believer  is 
 united  to  Christ,  and  is  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  and  alive 
 unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  (as  here,  Rom.  vi.  11.) 
 previously  to  his  baptism  ;  or  if  he  should  never  have  the 
 opportunity  of  being  baptised.  So  that  turning  the  matter 
 of  being  dead  unto  sin  on  this  point  of  baptismal  vows  and 
 obligations,  falls  greatly  short  of  the  apostle's  argument,  and 
 tends  to  obscure  instead  of  giving  light  to  it. 
 
 The  part  of  baptism  in  this  matter  is,  that  the  privilege, 
 blessings,  and  comfort  meant  by  the  apostle,  (and  from 
 which  there  arise  the  strongest  obligations  and  encourage- 
 ments to  holy  living,)  are  represented,  further  applied,  sealed, 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  49 
 
 and  confirmed  to  the  Christian's  faith  by  it.  Thus,  Col.  ii. 
 12.  s  Buried  with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  also  you  are  risen 
 with  him,  through  the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who  hath 
 raised  him  from  the  dead/  Here  our  being  buried  with  him 
 in  baptism,  (it  is  in  view  to  the  baptism  of  adult  persons  he 
 speaks,)  and  our  rising  therein  with  him,  are  both  ascribed 
 to  faith  ;  not  our  rising  with  him  only.  Beza's  note  on  the 
 place  seems  to  be  a  good  one:  '  Per  jidem,  id  est,  Mam  fide 
 c  a  vobis  apprehensam  virtutem  Dei,  efficientcm  ut  Christo 
 6  mortuo,  et  a  mortuis  excitato,  sitis  conformes.'  To  this  pur- 
 pose in  our  language  :  '  By  faith,  that  is,  by  your  laying 
 '  hold  on,  (or  apprehending)  through  faith,  that  divine 
 '  power,  by  the  efficiency  of  which  you  become  conformed 
 '  to  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ/ 
 
 Let  it  be  further  observed,  that  in  this  text  (Col.  ii.  12.) 
 Christians  being  buried,  and  rising  with  Christ  in  baptism, 
 is  not  ascribed  to  baptismal  engagements  to  die,  or  (as  they 
 speak)  to  die  more  and  more  unto  sin,  and  to  live  unto 
 righteousness ;  but  to  their  faith,  by  wThich  the  ordinance  is 
 made  effectual  to  its  proper  purpose,  and  by  which  Christians 
 perceive  the  comfortable  matters  which  it  is  designed  to  re- 
 present and  seal  to  them. 
 
 The  apostle's  argument  in  this  place  I  do  not  take  to  be, 
 that  Christians  are  by  their  baptismal  engagements  obliged 
 to  that  duty,  or  course  of  duty,  which  some  understand  by 
 dying  to  sin  ;  though  undoubtedly  baptism,  and  the  grace  it 
 exhibits,  doth  fix  such  obligation  to  duty  on  them.  But  his 
 argument  is  plainly  to  this  purpose,  that  the  baptism  of 
 Christians  doth,  in  way  of  figure,  signify  the  blessings  there- 
 by represented,  and  is  a  means  whereby  they  are  applied  to 
 them ;  and  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  comfortable,  solemn, 
 divine  ratification  of  their  interest  in  the  fruits  of  Christ's 
 death  and  resurrection  ;  this  particularly  of  being  dead  to 
 sin,  made  free  from  its  reign  and  dominion,  and  so  brought 
 unto  a  capacity  of  holy  living.  Christians  having  in  their 
 baptism  this  comfort,  with  respect  to  the  dominion  of  sin, 
 and  a  capacity  of  holy  living,  with  the  strongest  obligations 
 thereto,  and  that  by  the  grace  which  hath  abounded  towards 
 them  ;  how  extremely  absurd  to  suppose  continuing  in  sin  a 
 consequence  of  that  grace,  or  that  it  is  at  all  consistent  with 
 it? 
 
 To  look  now  more  closely  to  the  expression  of  this  ver.  4. 
 the  first  clause  is, '  Therefore  we  are  buried  wTith  him  by  bap- 
 tism into  death/     In  the  common  course  of  things,  a  man's 
 
50  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 burial  ascertains  his  death  to  beholders :  they  have  no  doubt 
 of  his  being  dead,  when  they  see  him  buried.  Thus  the 
 baptism  of  a  Christian  represented,  in  a  very  strong  mariner, 
 his  being  dead  ;  for  in  it  he  appeared  to  be  buried  by  his 
 immersion  under  the  water  ;  which  was  anciently  the  most 
 common  way,  at  least  as  to  adult  persons,  in  that  hot  climate. 
 
 But  there  remains  one  difficulty  in  the  apostle's  manner 
 of  expression,  Buried — into  death.  Now  death  is  previous 
 to  burial ;  but  by  the  form  of  the  expression  here,4  the  bap- 
 tismal burial  seems  to  be  previous  to  the  death  mentioned, 
 and  in  order  to  it,  a  burial  unto  death.  To  understand  this, 
 let  it  be  considered,  that  the  adult  believer,  while  yet  un- 
 baptised,  was  by  faith  truly  united  to  Christ,  and  so  saved, 
 according  to  the  general  meaning  of  that  word  :  and  yet  the 
 apostle  Peter  ascribes  to  baptism  his  being  saved,  1  Pet.  iii. 
 21.  '  The  like  figure  whereunto,  even  baptism,  doth  also  now 
 save  us.'  Again,  though  when  the  Christian  did  first  truly 
 believe  in  Christ,  (under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  faith) 
 he  was,  by  his  faith  and  by  that  Spirit,  united  to  Christ,  yet 
 that  union  with  him,  and  his  body,  is  ascribed  to  baptism  ; 
 1  Cor.  xii.  13.  '  For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptised  into  one 
 body/  So  here  in  the  text  under  consideration,  the  death 
 meant  is  ascribed  to  baptism,  as  the  effect  of  it,  according  to 
 the  form  of  the  expression,  though  the  thing  that  appears 
 to  be  really  intended  is,  that  the  baptismal  figurative  burial 
 represented,  and  sealed  to  the  believer,  for  his  greater  estab- 
 lishment and  comfort,  his  death,  his  being  dead  to  sin.  The 
 sense  may  be  taken  briefly  thus :  in  our  baptism,  as  by  a 
 figure,  we  are  buried  with  Christ,  to  ascertain  and  ratify  to 
 our  faith,  that  by  virtue  of  Christ's  death,  we  are  dead  unto  sin. 
 
 Follows  the  latter  part  of  the  verse,  *  That  like  as  Christ 
 was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory*  (that  is,  by  the 
 glorious  power  and  operation)  '  of  the  Father.'  He  doth, 
 Col.  ii.  12.  mention  our  being  risen  with  Christ  in  baptism. 
 Here,  after  mentioning  Christ's  being  raised  from  the  dead, 
 instead  of  adding,  as  there,  our  rising  with  him,  he  mentions 
 the  effect  of  our  so  rising,  in  our  practice  of  life,  thus,  '  Even 
 so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.'  So,  to  continuing 
 in  sin,  as  in  the  objection  ver.  1.  which  is  expressive  of  the 
 practice  of  sin,  he,  with  great  propriety,  and  very  emphati- 
 cally, opposes  the  practice  of  newness  of  life,  as  the  proper 
 and  necessary  consequence  of  the  Christian's  fellowship  in 
 the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  represented  and  sealed 
 to  him  by  baptism. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  51 
 
 Paraphrase. — 3.  Dead,  I  say,  unto  sin.  For  you  cannot 
 but  know  concerning  that  baptism,  by  which  we  are  exter- 
 nally admitted  into  the  church,  and  to  the  participation  of 
 its  privileges,  and  by  which  the  new  covenant,  with  all  its 
 grace  and  promises,  is  sealed  to  us, — that  to  all  those  of  us, 
 to  whom  it  is  truly  and  effectually  the  seal  of  our  ingraft- 
 ment  into  Christ,  and  of  our  fellowship  with  him  (xoiwvict, 
 1  Cor.  i.  9-)  it  doth  particularly  signify  and  seal,  to  our  great 
 comfort,  that  fellowship  of  his  sufferings  and  death,  by  vir- 
 tue of  which,  as  he  (ver.  10.)  died  unto  sin,  so  we  (ver.  11.) 
 are  dead  unto  sin. 
 
 Therefore,  (to  put  this  matter  out  of  question)  as  Christ's 
 being  actually  buried,  proved  his  being  truly  dead ;  so  we 
 have,  in  this  divine  ordinance,  a  baptismal  figurative  burial, 
 which  ascertains,  demonstrates,  and  seals  to  our  faith,  our 
 being  truly  dead  unto  sin,  set  free  from  its  reign  and  domi- 
 nion, by  virtue  of  his  death  ;  and  that  in  order  to  this  further 
 consolation  and  benefit,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  from 
 the  dead  by  the  glorious  power  and  operation  of  the  Father ; 
 even  so  we  also  being  by  our  fellowship  with  him  in  his 
 resurrection,  and  by  the  power  thereof,  raised  together  with 
 him,  which  our  baptism  also  represents  and  confirms  to  us, 
 (Col.  ii.  12.)  should  be  engaged,  disposed,  and  enabled  to  a 
 new  manner  of  life,  in  the  inward  and  outward  practice  of 
 holiness  and  righteousness.  How  unreasonable  then,  how 
 calumnious  and  absurd,  to  suggest  as  if  the  grace  that  had 
 abounded  towards  us,  with  such  design  and  effect,  did  in- 
 deed favour  sin,  or  men's  continuing  in  it ! 
 
 TEXT. — 5.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his 
 death  ;  rce  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection. 
 
 Explication. — It  is  generally  agreed,  that  the  apostle  hath 
 here  in  his  eye  the  true  Christian's  ingraftment  into  Christ, 
 as  a  scion  into  a  vine,  to  which  Christ  compares  himself, 
 John  xv.  1 .  I  see  with  the  learned  a  good  deal  of  criticism 
 here,  and  somewhat  various  notions  of  the  sense ;  which 
 seem,  for  most  part,  to  come  to  the  same  general  purpose. 
 I  conceive  the  scope  and  meaning  to  be  in  general  thus :  If 
 by  our  ingraftment  into  Christ  we  have  a  conformity  to 
 his  death,  being  dead  to  sin  ;  that  we  shall  also  have  a  con- 
 formity and  likeness  to  his  resurrection. 
 
 But  more  particularly  ;  the  apostle  had  mentioned,  verse 
 2.  Christians  being  dead  to  sin ;  and  ver.  3.  that  their  bap- 
 tism invested  them  in  an  interest  in  Christ's  death,  and  in 
 
52  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 this  special  benefit  thereby,  to  be  dead  to  sin  ;  and  ver.  4. 
 that  their  baptism  ascertained  this  death  to  them  by  the  bap- 
 tismal immersion  ;  which  was  a  kind  of  baptismal  figurative 
 burial.  When  he  mentions  here,  ver.  o.  Christians  being 
 planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  Christ's  death,  he  but 
 resumes  what  he  had  said  in  the  three  preceding  verses, 
 without  any  additional  sense,  though  there  is  some  variation 
 of  metaphorical  expression  and  ideas.  But  having  added  in 
 the  latter  part  of  ver.  4.  '  That  like  as  Christ  was  raised  from 
 the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should 
 walk  in  newness  of  life  ;'  this  is  what  he  had  said  nothing  of 
 before ;  and  what  he  says  here,  ver.  5.  is  added  to  explain 
 and  confirm  it ;  and  to  assert  the  connexion  of  these  things, 
 viz.  that  if  by  our  engraftment  into  Christ,  our  union  and 
 fellowship  with  him,  we  are  dead  to  sin,  and  made  free  from 
 its  reign  ;  so  we  shall  certainly  have  the  fellowship  of  his 
 resurrection  in  newness  of  life.  To  be  made  free  from  sin, 
 that  is,  that  sin  hath  not  dominion  over  us,  is  a  negative 
 proposition  ;  it  expresses  nothing  of  itself  concerning  fruit- 
 fulness  in  holiness  and  good  works.  But  the  Christian  is 
 not  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  in  order  only  to  be 
 barren  and  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  If  bv 
 means  of  his  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  death,  he  is  dead 
 to  sin,  he  at  the  same  time,  by  virtue  of  his  fellowship  with 
 Christ,  is  risen  together  with  Christ;  his  baptism  represents 
 to  him  the  one  as  well  as  the  other.  There  is,  however, 
 this  difference :  When  the  Christian  came  unto  union  with 
 Christ,  he  from  that  time  became  free  from  the  dominion  of 
 sin.  Though  it  remains,  infests,  and,  in  several  respects,  en- 
 dangers the  Christian,  yet  it  doth  not  reign,  nor  hath  do- 
 minion. But  as  to  conformity  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
 in  the  actual  practice  of  newness  of  life,  that  is  but  begun. 
 The  progress  in  this  life,  and  the  perfection  hereafter  of 
 conformity  to  Christ's  resurrection  is  future ;  and  that  may 
 be  the  reason  why,  in  this  latter  part  of  the  verse,  the  apostle 
 uses  the  future  tense,  to-optS-ci,  we  shall  be. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 5.  For  if  all  we  believers  are  together  in- 
 grafted into  Christ,  and  united  to  him,  and  so  in  a  likeness  to 
 his  death,  and  by  virtue  thereof,  are  dead  unto  sin,  free  from 
 its  dominion ;  we  are  not  to  conceive  the  matter  merely  un- 
 der that  negative  notion.  By  no  means  ;  by  virtue  of  our  fel- 
 lowship with  Christ,  we  are  risen  together  with  him  :  and,  as 
 his  resurrection  gives  us,  through  faith,  the  certain  prospect 
 of  a  resurrection  to  eternal  life,  when  we  shall  be  brought  to 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  53 
 
 a  perfect  likeness  to  his  resurrection,  in  holiness,  happiness, 
 and  glory;  so  on  this  side  of  that,  we  are,  by  the  power  of  bh 
 resurrection,  raised,  and  shall  be  more  and  more  so,  to  a 
 new,  active,  and  fruitful  life  of  holiness  ;  by  our  continuance 
 and  progress  in  which  we  are  to  reach  a  full  conformity  to 
 his  resurrection,  in  the  perfection  of  our  resurrection  state. 
 
 TEXT. — 6.  Knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  is  crucified  with  him,  that  the 
 body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin. 
 
 Explication. — The  subject  of  inquiry  in  the  first  clause  is, 
 what  is  meant  by  the  old  man;  and  what  by  his  being  crucified. 
 
 As  to  the  first,  Dr  T.  gives  for  it  in  his  paraphrase,  our 
 heathen  state.  The  old  man  he  explains  by  the  account  he 
 gives  of  the  new  man  ;  and  that  he  founds  on  Eph.  ii.  15.  so 
 he  says,  (Original  Sin,  p.  426.  ed.  3.)  'The  new  man  in- 
 'eluded  two  sorts  of  people,  viz.  believing  Jews  and  Gentiles; 
 1  and  was  created  (Eph.  ii.  15.)  when  Christ  abolished  in 
 1  his  flesh  the  enmity,  or  that  which  separated  the  Jews  and 
 '  Gentiles>t/br  to  make  or  create  (xt<ctj)  in  himself,  of  twain, 
 1  (i.e.  of  believing  Jews  and  Gentiles)  one  new  man.*  So  he 
 says,  p.  430.  '  The  new  man  is  either  the  Christian  state, 
 '  or  the  Christian  church,  body,  or  society/  According  to 
 this  notion,  he  explains  what  is  the  old  man.  In  the  page 
 just  now  cited,  he  says,  '  The  old  man  relates  to  the  Gentile 
 '  state  ;'  and,  p.  178.  '  The  old  man  has  reference  to  the  life 
 '  these  Christians  had  lived  while  they  were  heathens/  And 
 in  the  text  under  consideration,  he  gives  for  our  old  man, 
 our  heathen  state,  as  was  before  observed. 
 
 But  this  account  cannot  be  admitted.  It  is  to  be  consider- 
 ed, that  the  gospel-church,  called  the  one  new  man,  Eph.  ii. 
 had,  for  a  considerable  part,  converts  of  the  Jews ;  many  of 
 whom  were  truly  godly,  and  true  believers,  according  to  the 
 light  and  promise  of  the  old  Testament,  before  they  knew 
 that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  or  became  members  of  the  gospel- 
 church.  Acts  ii.  5.  'There  were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem,  Jews, 
 devout  men,  out  of  every  nation  under  heaven/  Another 
 very  considerable  part  of  the  new  gospel- church  had  been  in 
 a  state  of  proselytism  before  they  knew  the  gospel.  A  great 
 many  of  these  proselytes  were  men  that  feared  God,  and  were 
 truly  devout  and  godly.  Such  was  Cornelius,  a  proselyte  of 
 the  gate,  and  such  was  the  Ethiopian  eunuch.  Yea,  it  is 
 very  likely  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  new  gospel-church 
 in  these  times,  and  at  first,  were  the  Jews  and  proselytes  of 
 the  Gentiles.    The  notion  of  the  old  man  will  not  suit  these  : 
 
54>  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 and  the  old  man,  as  to  them,  cannot  mean  the  state  or  prac- 
 tice of  heathenism.  Dr  T.,  as  if  he  were  sensible  of  this, 
 although  he  makes  the  new  man  to  include  Jews  and  Gen- 
 tiles, yet  he  commonly  interprets  the  old  man  of  the  heathen 
 state, — a  state  which  a  great,  perhaps  the  greatest  part,  at 
 first,  of  the  Christian  church  had  not  been  in.  If  the  new 
 man  means  the  gospel  state  and  church,  the  old  man  is  of 
 the  same  extent  of  meaning ;  for  all,  before  becoming  mem- 
 bers of  the  new  man,  the  gospel-church,  were  in  a  previous 
 state;  which,  according  to  this  way  of  interpretation,  should 
 be  called  their  old  man.  But  the  character  of  old  man  will 
 not  apply  to  the  previous  state  of  a  great  part  of  the  gospel- 
 church  of  these  times,  devout  Jews  and  devout  proselytes. 
 
 One  would  think,  that  the  character  and  description  given, 
 Eph.  iv.  22.  of  the  old  man,  corrupt  according  to  the  deceit- 
 ful  lusts ;  and,  ver.  24.  of  the  new  man,  after  God  created 
 in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  might  lead  a  man  to  dif- 
 ferent notions  of  both.  Surely  the  character  of  corrupt  ac- 
 cording to  deceitful  lusts,  will  not  suit  the  state  of  devout 
 and  godly  Jews  and  proselytes.  But  the  Christian  may  be 
 sensible  what  that  hath  been  in  himself,  some  time  prevail- 
 ing and  dominant,  (and  of  which  too  much  continues  in  him,) 
 that  is  corrupt  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts.  That,  what- 
 ever other  name  be  given  it,  is  the  old  man,  according  to  the 
 apostle's  account ;  as  that  in  him,  which  after  God  is  created 
 in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  is  the  new  man.  Words 
 and  expressions  bear  sometimes  different  meanings  in  the 
 different  places  of  scripture,  which  the  scope  of  each  leads  a 
 reader  to  observe  and  understand.  In  one,  and  but  in  one 
 place,  Eph.  ii.  the  new  man  signifies  the  gospel-church,  con- 
 sisting of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  It  is  unreasonable  so  to  un- 
 derstand the  new  man  in  other  places,  where  the  scope,  yea, 
 and  the  description  and  character  added,  require  a  different 
 meaning  to  be  understood.  It  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  the 
 apostle  never  uses  the  old  man  to  signify  the  Christian's  pre- 
 vious state  of  heathenism.  The  Christian  having  in  pro- 
 fession, and  serious,  earnest  purpose,  Col.  iii.  9.  put  off  the 
 old  man,  and  having  in  like  manner,  under  the  influence 
 of  the  grace  that  hath  renewed  his  heart,  verse  1 0.  put  on 
 the  new  man  ;  it  becomes  him  to  advance  further  on  both 
 hands ;  to  put  off — anger,  malice,  &c.  as  ver.  8,  9.  which 
 belong  to  the  old  man  ;  and  to  put  on  bowels  of  mercies, 
 &c.  which  belong  to  the  new  man,  as  ver.  12 — 15.  Many 
 a  Christian  in  these  times  hath,  by  a  good  light  and  thorough 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  55 
 
 conversion,  put  off  all  at  once,  and  renounced  every  thing 
 peculiar  to  heathenism  ;  and  hath  not  needed  to  make  this 
 sort  of  progress  in  putting  off  the  old  man  of  heathenism, 
 according  to  Dr  T.'s  sense  of  it. 
 
 But  Dr  T.  himself  doth  (Orig.  Sin,  p.  427.)  bring  the 
 matter  to  this.  '  In  Eph.  iv.  22,  24.  he  considers  (saith 
 *  he)  the  one  and  the  other,  as  a  Christian  duty,  That  ye 
 1  put  off,  &c. —  That  ye  put  on,  &c.  The  Ephesians  as  well 
 1  as  Colossians  had,  by  profession,  put  off  the  old,  and  put 
 f  on  the  new  man  ;  and  therefore  were  obliged  to  do  it  ef- 
 '  fectually,  by  renouncing  the  spirit,  deeds,  and  conversa- 
 '  tion  of  the  one,  by  being  renewed  in  their  minds,  and  by 
 1  practising  the  virtues  of  the  other/  He  then  refers  to 
 1  Cor.  v.  7-  chap.  vi.  8 — 11.  2  Cor.  vi.  1.  But  did  the  author 
 mean  renouncing  the  spirit,  deeds,  and  conversation  of 
 heathenism,  restricting  the  apostle's  view  to  that  ?  the  texts 
 he  refers  to,  do  not  serve  that  purpose.  His  subject,  1  Cor. 
 v.  7.  is  particularly  enjoining  the  church  to  cast  out  a  lewd 
 man  for  that  sort  of  fornication  which  he  says,  ver.  1.  was 
 not  so  much  as  named  among  the  Gentiles.  Among  the  many 
 things  named,  1  Cor.  vi.  there  is  no  instance  but  idolatry  that 
 was  peculiar  to  the  heathens.  As  to  this  third  text,  2  Cor. 
 vi.  1.  there  is  nothing  at  all  in  it  that  can  serve  his  particu- 
 lar purpose.  I  need  say  no  more  about  it :  let  the  reader 
 look  to  the  place. 
 
 Any  thing  that  is  right  in  the  passage  just  now  cited 
 might  have  been  reached,  without  Dr  T.'s  new  conceit  con- 
 cerning the  old  man's  being  the  Christian's  previous  heathen 
 state  ;  which  is  a  notion  without  any  solid  foundation. 
 
 What  then  are  we  indeed  to  understand  by  the  old  man  ? 
 That  certainly  signifies  the  corruption  of  nature,  (this  is  it 
 that  Dr  T.  could  not  bear,  and  that  put  all  his  critical  wits 
 to  work  on  this  occasion),  the  principle  of  sin,  with  all  ics  vari- 
 ous lusts,  which  possess  and  influence  a  man's  faculties  and 
 powers ;  and  that,  so  far  as  it  remains  in  the  true  Christian, 
 who  is  renewed  by  grace,  and  in  whom  is  the  new  man  :  by 
 virtue  of,  and  in  comparison  with  which  in  him,  and  in  him 
 only,  the  former  is  the  old  man.  In  persons  unregenerate, 
 this  evil  principle  is  not  the  old  man,  but  continues  young, 
 in  full  strength  and  vigour.  It  is  the  old  man  only  in  per- 
 sons regenerate — in  true  Christians. 
 
 The  next  inquiry  on  this  first  clause  of  the  text,  ver.  6.  is, 
 what  it  means,  that  the  old  man  is  crucified  ?  The  Greek 
 word  might  be  rendered,  if  the  use  of  our  language  would 
 
56  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 admit  the  word,  by  co-crucified,  without  expressing  what  or 
 whom  the  conjunctive  particle  in  the  composition  of  the 
 word  hath  respect  to.  The  English  doth  for  that,  with  good 
 reason,  supply  him — crucified  with  him,  Christ. 
 
 The  apostle  Paul  says,  Gal.  ii.  20.  /  am  crucified  with 
 Christ.  But  there  is  great  difference  between  Paul's  being 
 crucified  with  Christ,  and  the  old  man's  being  crucified 
 with  him :  they  mean  very  different  things.  The  crucifixion 
 of  the  one,  the  old  man,  tends  to  his  death  and  destruction  ; 
 the  crucifixion  of  the  other,  of  Paul,  with  Christ,  imports  his 
 interest  in  Christ's  crucifixion,  and  tends  to  the  man's  con- 
 solation and  life. 
 
 Again,  it  is  said,  Gal.  v.  24.  They  that  are  Christ's  have 
 crucified  the  flesh,  with  the  affections  and  lusts.  But  this 
 seems  to  express  the  Christian's  doing  his  duty  in  mortifying 
 sin,  with  its  lusts ;  opposing  and  repressing  their  motions. 
 Whereas  the  old  man's  being  crucified  with  Christ,  seems  to 
 mean  an  effect  and  virtue  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  is  pre- 
 vious to  the  Christian's  practice  in  mortifying  sin.  Except 
 we  take  the  matter  thus  :  The  Christian  hath  taken  an  ef- 
 fectual course  to  crucify  the  flesh,  by  his  believing  in  Christ ; 
 whereby  the  virtue  of  his  cross  reaches  the  flesh,  the  old 
 man,  to  crucify  him,  with  the  affections  and  lusts ;  and 
 whereby  the  Christian  himself  is  enabled  to  resist  it  effec- 
 tually, and  mortify  it. 
 
 I  think,  however,  that  our  text  may  be  best  explained  by 
 Col.  ii.  15.  Having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he  made 
 a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in  it.  Here, 
 with  principalities  and  powers,  may  justly  be  included,  in 
 the  apostle's  view  and  meaning,  sin.  So  Bishop  Davenant 
 on  this  places  :  '  Principibus  igilur  et  imperatoribus  hisce 
 '  spiritualibus  proslratis,  prosternitur  simul  qui  quid  illis 
 '  militabat,  contra  humanam  salutem,  vetus  Adamus,  mors, 
 '  inferi,  mundus,  peccata  nostra. — Therefore  those  spiritual 
 c  princes  and  commanders  being  overcome,  there  is  over- 
 '  come  whatever  served  them  against  man's  salvation, — the 
 e  old  Adam,  death,  hell,  the  world,  and  our  sins.*  A  little 
 downwards,  after  citing  divers  scriptures,  particularly, 
 1  Cor.  xv.  55 — 57-  he  adds,  c  Mortem,  sepulchrum,  legem, 
 '  peccatum,  fuisse  videtis  in  numero  hostium  a  Chrislo  supe- 
 c  ratorum. — You  see  that  death,  the  grave,  the  law,  and 
 s  sin,  have  been  in  the  number  of  the  enemies  whom  Christ 
 '  hath  overcome.'  So  this  eminent  person.  Surely  when 
 it  is  said,  Gen.  iii.  15.  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  would 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  57 
 
 bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,  there  is  meant,  not  only 
 Satan,  but  sin  likewise  ;  that  with  him  it  also  should  be  de- 
 prived of  its  power  and  dominion,  and  be  finally  destroyed : 
 as  it  is  said,  1  John  iii.  8.  For  this  purpose  was  the  Son 
 of  God  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
 devil. 
 
 Now,  what  is  the  effect  of  Christ's  cross  against  princi- 
 palities and  powers,  and  against  sin  ?  The  apostle  says  to 
 the  Colossians,  that  he  spoiled  them ;  he  deprived  them  of 
 their  armour  wherein  they  trusted,  as  Luke  xi.  22.  Christ, 
 by  his  expiatory  sufferings  and  death,  redeemed  his  people 
 from  the  curse,  brought  them  under  grace,  and  procured  for 
 them  the  blessing  of  the  Spirit,  who  creates  in  them  the  new 
 man,  and,  dwelling  in  them,  supports  the  new  man  against 
 the  old  man,  and  gives  complete  victory  over  him  at  last. 
 It  is  said  there  (Col.  ii.  14.)  of  the  hand-writing  of  ordi- 
 nances that  was  against  us,  that  Christ  nailed  it  to  his  cross. 
 So  may  be  understood  the  apostle's  view  as  to  devils  and 
 sin :  Christ  nailed  them  to  his  cross,  and  so,  to  the  eye  of 
 faith,  made  an  open  show  of  them.  Himself  victorious  left 
 the  cross  and  grave,  and  left  principalities,  and  powers,  and 
 sin,  nailed  fast  to  the  cross,  crucified,  and  hard  bound,  tit 
 order  to  final  destruction.  The  virtue  of  his  cross  reaching 
 in  due  time  his  people  in  their  own  persons,  they  are  jus- 
 tified, delivered  from  the  curse,  brought  under  grace  ;  and 
 they  are  to  consider  the  old  man  in  them  as  crucified  ;  in 
 order  to  his  death,  and  total  extinction. 
 
 The  true  meaning  of  the  old  man's  being  crucified  with 
 Christ  is  as  hath  been  said.  At  the  same  time,  we  may 
 consider  crucifixion  as  representing  otherwise,  as  by  a  very 
 just  metaphor,  the  condition  in  which  the  old  man,  sin  and 
 the  lusts  thereof,  do  remain  in  the  believer,  not,  as  some- 
 time, at  full  liberty,  and  in  full  force  and  prevalence,  but, 
 though  alive,  living  in  pain,  checked,  resisted,  repressed, 
 and  mortified.  His  efforts,  as  of  one  in  desperate  condition, 
 may  be  w^ith  considerable  force,  and  too  often  with  ill  effect 
 to  the  slothful,  un watchful  Christian.  Yet  at  last,  like 
 what  happened  outwardly  to  the  crucified  thieves,  this 
 malefactor,  the  old  man,  will,  in  the  end  of  the  day,  be  slain 
 by  one  blow  of  Almighty  grace. 
 
 Before  we  leave  this  point,  it  is  fit  to  observe  Dr  T.'s 
 paraphrase  of  this  first  clause  of  ver.  6.  :  (  When  you  con- 
 £  sider  him  [[Christ]  as  crucified,  and  put  to  death,  you  may 
 1  take  in  this  sentiment,  That  our  heathen  state  was,  at  the 
 
58  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 *  same  time,  put  to  death/  Our  slate  put  to  death  !  this 
 is  rare  style.  But  what  may  not  a  masterly  critic  venture  to 
 say,  however  improper  or  incongruous  ?  The  expression, 
 however,  in  this  first  clause,  is  not,  that  the  old  man  is  put 
 to  death.  Persons  might  live  a  considerable  while,  yea 
 some  days,  on  the  cross.  Crucifixion  is  not  a  state  of 
 death,  but  a  state  of  pain  and  torment,  tending  to  death. 
 
 The  worthy  Dr  Doddridge  hath,  in  his  paraphrase  of  this 
 first  clause,  thus  :  '  The  whole  system  of  our  former  inclina- 
 f  tions  and  dispositions — hath  now,  as  it  were,  been  crucified 
 '  together  with  [[Christ ;]  the  remembrance  and  considera- 
 
 *  tion  of  his  cross  co-operating  in  the  most  powerful  man- 
 
 *  ner,  with  all  the  other  motives  which  the  gospel  suggests, 
 '  to  destroy  the  former  habits  of  sin,  and  to  inspire  us  with 
 c  "an  aversion  to  it/  This  is  in  itself  a  just  thought,  and 
 of  high  importance  in  religion.  Among  the  arguments  and 
 motives  that  can  be  suggested  against  sin,  the  remembrance 
 and  consideration  of  Christ's  cross  hath  the  most  special 
 virtue  and  efficacy.  Yet  this  doth  not  come  up  to  the  full 
 meaning  of  the  old  man's  being  crucified  with  Christ.  For 
 that  I  refer  to  what  hath  been  here  above  said  on  Col.  ii. 
 15.  The  cross  of  Christ  hath  virtue  against  sin  otherwise 
 than  merely  as  a  motive. 
 
 Concerning  the  second  clause  of  this  sixth  verse,  That 
 the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  there  come  in  like  man- 
 ner to  be  explained,  1.  What  is  meant  by  the  body  of  sin  f 
 2.  What  by  its  being  destroyed  ? 
 
 As  to  the  body  of  sin,  Dr  W/s  paraphrase  hath  it  thus  : 
 
 *  [i.e.  The  appetites  of  the  body,  which  subject  us  to  sin/) 
 By  the  first  clause,  the  old  man,  is  certainly  meant  sin,  in 
 all  the  extent  of  its  power  and  influence  in  us ;  and  the  body 
 of  sin  can  be  understood  in  no  less  extent  of  meaning.  But 
 have  we  sin  no  otherwise  in  us  to  be  crucified  and  destroyed 
 than  by  the  appetites  of  the  body  ?  Dr  W/s  paraphrase 
 looks  that  way  ;  and  so  doth  that  of  Mr  Locke,  which  gives 
 for  this  clause  thus  :  '  That  the  prevalency  of  our  carnal, 
 '  sinful  propensities,  which  are  from  our  bodies,  might  be 
 r  destroyed/  And  his  paraphrase  of  ver.  12.  hath  thus: 
 !  Permit  not  therefore  sin  to  reign  over  you  by  your  mortal 
 1  bodies/  This  last  he  gives  instead  of,  in  your  mortal 
 bodies  ;  and  in  his  note  he  observes  that  tv,  in  the  apostle's 
 writings,  often  signifies  by.  Then  he  adds,  *  And  he  here 
 <  — and  elsewhere,  placing  the  root  of  sin  in  the  body,  his 
 y  sense  seems  to  be,  Let  not  sin  reign  over  you  by  the  lusts 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  59 
 
 1  of  your  mortal  body.'  There  will  be  occasion  to  consider 
 this  again  on  ver.  12.  Here  I  observe,  that  the  learned  wri- 
 ter makes  our  carnal  sinful  propensities  to  be  from  the  body, 
 and  places  the  root  of  sin  in  the  body  ;  as  Dr  W.  to  the 
 same  purpose,  makes  the  body  of  sin  to  mean  the  appetites  of 
 the  body. 
 
 These  things  are  very  wrong.  If  we  will  speak  with 
 strictness  and  propriety,  all  lusts,  affections,  passions,  and 
 appetites,  have  their  seat  and  root  in  the  soul,  in  the  spi- 
 ritual substance  ;  mere  body  is  not  capable  of  any  of  these, 
 nor  of  moral  good  or  evil.  But  as  man  is  composed  of  soul 
 and  body,  so  united  that  the  one  powerfully  influences  the 
 other,  he  hath  propensities  and  appetites  by  the  influence  of 
 the  body,  which  receive  excitement  from  it,  and  in  the  gra- 
 tification of  which  he  hath  pleasure  by  means  of  the  body  ; 
 as  he  hath  at  the  same  time  propensities,  affections,  and 
 appetites,  such  as  a  mere  spirit  might  have  that  hath  no 
 connexion  with  body.  In  the  one  sort,  man  partakes  with 
 the  brutes ;  in  the  other  sort,  with  mere  spirits,  with  angels. 
 In  man's  corrupt  fallen  state,  he  hath  spiritual  lusts,  such  as 
 pride,  hatred,  malice,  envy,  deceit.  In  view  to  such  sort  of 
 unholy  lusts  and  passions,  our  Lord  says  to  the  Jews,  John 
 viii.  44.  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your 
 father  ye  will  do  :  he  was  a  murderer — and  abode  not  in  the 
 truth. 
 
 If  the  mention  of  body  gave  occasion  to  Dr  W.  to  think 
 of  appetites  of  the  body,  he  might,  from  sin  in  us  being  call- 
 ed the  old  man,  have  considered,  that  a  man  hath  a  soul 
 as  well  as  a  body  ;  and  therefore  that  the  old  man  compre- 
 hends evils  arising  from  the  soul  as  well  as  from  the  body. 
 If  the  apostle  does  in  Gal.  v.  1Q,  20.  ascribe  all  sinful  lust- 
 ings  and  works  to  the  flesh,  he  is  far  from  thinking  or  mean- 
 ing, that  all  sin  hath  its  root  or  source  in  the  body.  For 
 elsewhere  (2  Cor.  vii.  1.)  he  distinguishes  between flthiness 
 of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit  ;  and  Dr  VV.  had  no  reason  to 
 restrict  filthiness  of  the  spirit  to  idolatry  ;  nor  to  restrict 
 idolatry,  as  he  doth  on  Gal.  v.  19,  20.,  to  the  notion  of  a  sen- 
 sual crime :  there  might  be  idolatry  without  sensuality. 
 
 It  is  true,  indeed,  that  in  man's  embodied  state  the  in- 
 fluence of  the  body  doth  give  a  turn  or  bias  even  to  these 
 lusts  and  passions  that  have  their  special  root  in  the  spirit 
 or  soul,  towards  things  external  and  earthly  ;  and  it  is  ac- 
 cording to  this  view  that  Dr  W.  explains  all  the  works  of  the 
 flesh  mentioned,  Gal.  v.  19,  20.     But  if  man's  pride,  selfish- 
 
60  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 ness,  and  ambition  (for  instance)  are  in  this  life  turned  to- 
 wards things  earthly  or  bodily,  pertaining  to  this  life,  yet 
 it  were  most  unreasonable  to  say,  that  therefore  these  lusts 
 have  their  source  and  root  in  the  body.  Let  us  consider 
 how  sin  entered,  as  the  said  story  is  told,  Gen.  iii.  If  it  be 
 allowed,  that,  in  our  first  parents  considering  and  desiring 
 the  forbidden  fruit  as  good  for  food,  and  pleasant  to  the 
 eyes,  there  was  what  some  mean  by  appetite  of  the  body, 
 yet,  considering  and  desiring  it,  in  order  to  be  wise,  and  as 
 God,  knowing  good  and  evil,  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how 
 this  can  be  ascribed  to  bodily  appetite. 
 
 i£  sin  hath  its  root  in  the  body,  it  seems  to  be  a  natural 
 consequence,  that  when  the  soul  comes  to  be  separated  from 
 the  body,  it  should  have  no  sin  in  it.  Yet  I  scarce  think 
 that  any  will  say  so  ;  and  at  the  same  time,  I  see  not  how 
 they  can  avoid  this,  if  it  be  not  by  saying,  that  the  soul  hav- 
 ing been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  sin,  by  the  influence  of 
 the  body,  it  hath  contracted  habits,  which  it  brings  unto  a 
 separate  state.  Indeed,  some  Protestants,  (if  they  should  be 
 so  called )  have  in  our  time  said,  it  is  so  far  thus  with  many 
 of  the  souls  of  the  righteous,  that  these  habits  must  be 
 wrought  off  in  the  separate  state,  even  by  means  painful 
 and  distressing  to  a  high  degree.  This  notion  does  not  fall 
 to  be  considered  in  this  place.  Only,  as  to  the  present  pur- 
 pose, if  it  be  allowed  that  a  mere  spirit,  a  separate  soul,  may 
 have  in  itself  sinful  habits,  propensities,  and  passions,  though 
 it  may  be  said,  that  these  in  them  are  owing  originally  to 
 bodily  influence,  yet  what  reason  can  possibly  be  given 
 why  such  a  spirit  may  not  have  sinful  habits  and  propensi- 
 ties, from  another  cause  and  source  ?  Can  we  not  hold,  that 
 fallen  angels  have  sinful  lusts  and  propensities,  without 
 holding  that  they  have  bodies  in  which  sin  hath  its  root,  as 
 Mr  L.  speaks  ? 
 
 What,  then,  is  meant  by  the  body  of  sin  ?  Plainly,  as  the 
 expression  in  the  preceding  clause,  the  old  man,  is  figurative, 
 so  is  this  other,  the  body  of  sin,  and  doth  not  mean  the  hu- 
 man body,  but  that  whole  system  of  corrupt  principles,  pro- 
 pensities, lusts,  and  passions,  which  have,  since  the  fall, 
 possessed  man's  nature,  and  is  co-extended  and  commen- 
 surate to  all  the  human  powers  and  faculties.  Let  us  ob- 
 serve how  Bishop  Davenant,  on  Col.  ii.  11.  explains  this  ex- 
 pression, the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  :  '  Haze  interna 
 *  (circamcisio)  totum  corpus  peccati  solet  abo/ere — corpus  pec- 
 '  catorum  carnis,  id  est,  massam  vitionnn  et  pecatorum  qua; 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  6l 
 
 '  pullulat  ex  came,  hoc  est,  ex  corruptione  yiostra  insita  et 
 '  originali ;  qua  came  anima  uniuscuj usque  non  minus  cir- 
 *  cumdata  est  quam  came  hac  naturali.'  Which  is  to  this 
 purpose:  This  inward  circumcision  abolisheth  the  whole 
 body  of  sin,  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  jiesh  ;  that  is,  the 
 mass  of  vitiosity  and  sin  which  springs  from  the  flesh  ;  that 
 is,  from  our  original  corruption,  with  which  flesh  the  soul  of 
 every  one  is  no  less  vested  than  with  the  natural  flesh. — This 
 learned  writer  had  more  extensive  views  of  sin  in  men  than 
 to  express  it  by  appetites  of  the  body.  In  this,  as  in  divers 
 other  instances,  that  worthy  Bishop  of  Sarum  conceived  the 
 apostle's  meaning,  and  the  true  doctrine,  much  more  justly 
 than  the  learned  chantor  of  Sarum.  To  say  that  the  body 
 is  the  chief  seat  and  source  of  sin  in  men,  and  that  sin  in 
 them  hath  its  root  in  the  body,  as  Mr  L.  said  ;  as  it  is  an 
 error  in  divinity,  it  is  a  downright  blunder  in  philosophy. 
 
 The  remaining  thing  in  this  second  clause  to  be  explained 
 is,  the  destroying  the  body  of  sin.  Jt  is  true,  that  the 
 Greek  word  signifies  sometimes  to  be  abolished  or  destroyed. 
 If  we  take  it  so  here,  the  meaning  must  be,  that  the  old  man 
 is  crucified  with  this  design,  that  sin  may  in  due  time  be 
 totally  destroyed  and  extinguished  in  God's  people.  But  at 
 the  same  time  it  is  true,  that  the  word  often  signifies,  to 
 render  ineffectual  or  useless  ;  to  deprive  a  thing  of  its  sub- 
 stance, virtue,  or  force  ;  to  quite  enfeeble  it.  For  this  sense 
 are  adduced  Rom.  iii.  31.  chap.  iv.  14.  ]  Cor.  ii.  6.  chap, 
 xiii.  8.  chap  xv.  24-.  Eph.  ii.  15.  2  Tim.  i.  10.  There  might 
 be  added,  Luke  xiii.  7-  According  to  this  sense  of  the  word, 
 the  meaning  is,  that  the  present  effect  of  the  old  man's  being 
 crucified  is,  that  the  body  of  sin  hath  not  now  its  reigning 
 power  and  force,  but  is  enfeebled  and  enervated. 
 
 Dr  T/s  paraphrase  gives  this  second,  and  the  following 
 clause,  thus :  f  With  this  view,  that  the  whole  body  of  sin, 
 '  in  all  its  various  lusts  and  corrupt  practices  being  destroy - 
 '  ed,  we  should  from  henceforth,  in  our  Christian  state,  be 
 1  quite  disengaged  from  the  servitude  of  sin.'  He  renders 
 here,  destroyed,  and,  as  I  observed  before,  that  rendering 
 may  be  retained  with  this  meaning,  that  the  end  and  design 
 is,  that  sin  may  in  due  time  be  finally  and  wholly  destroyed. 
 But  he  does  not  take  it  so,  but  has  it,  being  destroyed,  as 
 respecting  the  present  time.  But  the  whole  body  of  sin,  in 
 all  its  various  lusts  and  corrupt  practices,  being  destroyed  in 
 this  present  time,  is  so  contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  and  the 
 
 c  5 
 
62  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 common  experience  of  Christians,  that  it  is  needless  to  offer 
 a  more  particular  confutation  of  this  interpretation. 
 
 Follows  now  the  third  clause  of  this  sixth  verse,  That 
 henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin  ;  that  is,  might  not  be  the 
 servants  or  slaves  (J*Agv«v)  of  sin,  now  that  it  is  enfeebled 
 and  deprived  of  its  reigning  power  and  dominion  ;  but  might 
 assert  our  liberty  by  resisting,  repressing,  and  mortifying  it. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 6.  I  have  said,  that  the  consequence  of 
 Christ's  rising  from  the  dead  is,  that  we,  in  conformity 
 thereto,  should  walk  in  newness  of  life,  in  which  we  bear 
 the  begun  likeness  of  his  resurrection.  But  this  is  not  to 
 be  so  understood,  as  if  this  newness  of  life  were  already  per- 
 fect. Alas,  no !  sin  remaineth  in  us  :  we  have  still  our  old 
 man,  and  this  is  very  nearly  connected  with  us.  It  is  we, 
 our  own  very  selves,  in  an  unholy  and  vile  form.  All  the 
 sin  he  doth  is  my  sin,  which  the  holy  and  righteous  law  of 
 God  would  charge  against  me,  though  grace  allows  me  to 
 distinguish,  and  say,  It  is  not  I,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in 
 me  ;  while  I  do  truly  distinguish  myself  from  this  old  man, 
 this  evil  principle,  by  habitually  resisting  it,  having  sorrow 
 and  regret  for  it.  This  evil  principle,  which,  like  another 
 man,  is  superinduced  upon  me,  pervades  all  the  faculties, 
 powers,  and  affections  of  my  soul  ;  and  so  hath  the  dimen- 
 sions, form,  and  members  of  a  man.  But  happily  this  man 
 is  become  old ;  the  new  man  created  in  us  hath  made  this 
 become  the  old  man  ;  and  (let  me  here  allude  to  Heb.  viii. 
 13.)  that  which  decayeth  and  waxeth  old  is  ready  to  vanish 
 away,  and  to  be  quite  extinguished.  Yea,  we  know  by  our 
 faith,  that  this  old  man,  by  a  power  superior  to  that  of  the 
 new  man  in  us,  even  by  the  power  and  virtue  of  the  cross  of 
 Christ,  is  adjudged  to  death,  crucified,  and  bound  fast,  as  to 
 Christ's  cross  ;  so  that  as  surely  as  the  cross  of  Christ  exists 
 in  virtue  and  efficacy,  so  surely  shall  he  die ;  and  the  pre- 
 sent effect  of  this  his  crucifixion  is,  that  this  old  man,  the 
 body  of  sin,  is  deprived  of  its  force  and  reigning  power,  is 
 enervated  and  enfeebled  ;  so  that  from  henceforth  we  are 
 not  in  servitude  to  it,  or  under  its  dominion,  though  it  re- 
 maineth in  us. 
 
 TEXT 7-  For  he  that  is  dead,  is  freed  from  sin. 
 
 Explication. — It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  word  here 
 rendered  is  freed,  (or  made  free,)  should,  according  to  its 
 common  use  and  meaning,  be  rendered  is  justified  ;  and  so 
 the  margin  of  our  books   have  it.     I  see  that  the  apostle's 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  63 
 
 using  the  word  justified  (the  Greek  word  that  so  meansj 
 has  given  some  difficulty  to  the  learned ;  and  they  have 
 accounted  for  it  somewhat  differently,  though  they  seem  to 
 be  generally  agreed,  that  the  scope  of  the  place  directs  us  to 
 understand  it  of  being  made  free  from  sin,  as  we  translate  it. 
 
 One  way  in  which  it  has  been  thought  that  the  matter 
 might  be  taken,  is  this  : — Sin  is  in  the  context  set  forth  in 
 the  figurative  way  as  a  person,  as  hath  been  often  observed 
 by  the  learned,  and  as  a  person  that  hath  exercised  tyranny 
 and  dominion.  Now,  if  we  consider  this  person  (sin)  as  still 
 claiming  to  reign,  and  to  have  dominion,  the  apostle  here 
 asserts,  that  the  Christian  being  dead  with  Christ,  and  by 
 virtue  of  his  death,  he  is  justified,  that  is,  (as  Dr  Guise 
 expresses  it)  he  is  legally  acquitted  from  any  claim  that 
 this  tyrant  could  pretend  to  have  to  his  obedience.  I  shall 
 not  contend  with  any  who  shall  thus  interpret  and  under- 
 stand this  text. 
 
 Yet  as  this  seems  to  be  a  somewhat  uncommon  meaning 
 of  the  word  justified,  it  were  well  if  we  could  light  on  an  in- 
 terpretation, that  would  more  clearly  accord  with  the  mean- 
 ing in  which  the  apostle  commonly  uses  the  word  in  this 
 epistle.  With  this  view,  let  what  here  follows  be  considered 
 by  the  learned  and  judicious. 
 
 Let  it  then  be  observed,  that  the  apostle  having  men- 
 tioned, ver.  2.  the  Christian's  being  dead  to  sin,  he  comes 
 now  to  speak  in  a  more  particular  way,  to  distinguish  and 
 explain,  in  order  to  show  more  clearly,  how,  by  the  death  of 
 Christ,  and  the  believer's  fellowship  and  interest  therein,  he 
 becomes  dead  to  sin,  and  is  made  free  from  its  dominion. 
 
 As  to  the  reign  and  dominion  of  sin,  there  is  to  be  made 
 this  distinction,  which  we  shall  find  the  apostle  hath  in  his 
 view  in  the  following  discourse.  There  is,  1.  The  reign  of 
 sin  as  to  penal  consequence,  which  hath  respect  to  the  penal 
 sanction  of  the  law,  and  is  derived  from  it,  as  it  denounces 
 death  to  the  transgressor.  This  is  the  reign  of  sin  men- 
 tioned chap.  v.  21.  rill  hath  reigned  unto  death.  There  is, 
 2.  The  dominion  of  sin  with  regard  to  inherency  in  nature ; 
 its  reigning  prevalence  in  men's  nature  and  practice,  with 
 respect  to  which  men  are  the  slaves  of  sin  :  it  requires  and 
 commands  their  obedience  to  it,  in  all  its  work  and  service. 
 The  reign  or  dominion  of  sin  in  these  two  respects  is  con- 
 nected. Whilst  a  man  is  under  the  reign  of  sin  as  to  penal 
 consequence,  obnoxious  to  the  penal  death  which  the  law  de- 
 nounces against  transgressors,   he  is,  at  the  same  time,  un- 
 
64?  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 der  the  dominion  of  sin  in  the  second  respect  before  men- 
 tioned ;  he  is  the  slave  of  sin,  detained  and  employed  in 
 serving  it.  But  when  he  is  made  free  from  the  reign  of  sin 
 as  it  reigneth  unto  death,  and  from  that  penal  consequence 
 of  it,  he  is  at  the  same  time  made  free  from  the  dominion  of 
 sin  in  nature  and  practice. 
 
 Now,  let  us  look  closely  into  the  words  of  the  text,  ver.  7« 
 For  he  that  is  dead — This  is  to  be  understood,  as  it  is  more 
 largely  expressed  in  the  next  following  words,  ver.  8.  If  we 
 be  dead  with  Christ — This  expresses  the  believer's  fellow- 
 ship and  interest  in  the  death  of  Christ.  When  his  blessed 
 Representative  and  Surety  underwent  the  death  denounced 
 by  the  law,  it  was  the  same  virtually  as  if  the  sinner  him- 
 self had  undergone  in  his  own  person  the  punishment  of  his 
 sins,  and  had  died  for  them  ;  and  so  the  Christian  is  taught 
 to  conceive  the  matter  by  faith.  The  consequence  is,  that 
 by  virtue  of  Christ's  death,  of  the  redemption  that  is  in 
 Christ,  and  by  his  blood,  and  by  faith  in  his  blood,  the  be- 
 liever is  justified;  and  what  now  is  the  consequence  of  his 
 being  thus  justified  ?  It  is,  that  his  sins  being  pardoned, 
 he  is  at  peace  with  God,  is  relieved  from  the  curse  of  the 
 law,  is  dead  to  sin  ;  that  is,  made  free  from  its  reign,  as  it 
 reigned  unto  death,  and  from  all  the  penal  consequence  al- 
 loted  to  sin  by  the  law,  instead  of  that  sad  view  and  pros- 
 pect, being  by  the  adoption  of  grace  a  son  and  heir,  he  hath 
 cause  to  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  in  the  pros- 
 pect, by  virtue  of  his  fellowship  and  interest  in  Christ's 
 death,  of  living  eternally  with  him.  Thus,  he  that  is  dead, 
 as  here,  ver.  7«  that  is,  dead  with  Christ,  is  justified  from  sin  ; 
 so  delivered  from  the  reign  of  sin  as  to  penal  effect,  and 
 hath  the  prospect  of  eternal  life.  This  purpose  and  view 
 the  apostle  seems  to  insist  in  to  ver.  11. 
 
 Then  he  brings  into  view  what  I  may  call  the  practical 
 dominion  of  sin ;  and  after  a  few  words  of  exhortation,  he 
 expresses  his  comfortable  doctrine  clearly,  and  says,  ver.  14. 
 c  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  ;  for  ye  are  not  under 
 the  law,^but  under  grace.'  Now,  let  us  consider  what  respect 
 the  sinner's  being  justified  hath  to  this  matter.  It  is  plain, 
 it  is  by  justification  he  is  brought  from  under  the  law  and 
 its  curse  ;  it  is  by  justification  he  is  brought  under  grace  ; 
 it  is  by  justification  that  he  is  brought  unto  that  state  in 
 which  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  him,  to  hold  him  as 
 a  slave  in  its  service. 
 
 We  see  then  how  much  to  the  apostle's  main  purpose  is 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  65 
 
 what  he  asserts  here,  ver.  7-  that  he  who  is  dead,  viz. 
 with  Christ,  is  justified  from  sin.  It  is  a  principle  he  im- 
 proves to  great  account  in  the  following  discourse  ;  and  the 
 mention  of  being  justified  is  in  this  place  exceedingly  con- 
 gruous and  fit.  It  was  against  his  doctrine  of  justification 
 by  grace  through  faith,  and  not  by  works,  that  the  objec- 
 tion, ver.  1.  was  brought,  as  if  it  favoured  men's  continuing 
 in  sin.  In  opposition  to  this,  the  apostle,  by  the  principle 
 he  lays  down  here,  ver.  7-  and  by  what  he  derives  from  it  in 
 his  following  discourse,  shows  that  justification  through  faith 
 doth  indeed  deliver  a  man  from  sin,  with  respect  to  its  legal 
 reign  and  its  practical  dominion  at  once.  How  unreasonable 
 then,  and  absurd,  to  charge  such  a  doctrine  with  favouring 
 sin  ! 
 
 There  is  this  advantage  likewise  by  the  explication  given 
 of  ver.  7.  that  it  gives  to  justification  in  that  verse  the  pre- 
 cise meaning  the  word  hath  in  all  the  apostle's  preceding 
 discourse  on  the  subject  of  justification. 
 
 As  to  that  manner  of  expression,  justified  from  sin,  we 
 see  the  apostle  expressing  himself  in  a  similar  manner  con- 
 cerning the  remission  of  sin,  Acts  xiii.  3Q*  '  By  him  all  that 
 believe  are  justified  from  all  things,  from  which  ye  could 
 not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses/ 
 
 Paraphrase. — 7-  For  (to  come  now  to  give  a  more  full 
 answer  to  the  cavil  above  suggested)  he  wrho  is  dead  with 
 Christ,  who  hath  fellowship  and  interest  in  his  death,  is  jus- 
 tified from  sin  by  grace  suberabounding  in  pardoning  it ; 
 which  is  the  point  from  which  the  cavil  pretends  to  derive 
 its  strength.  For  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  this  justi- 
 fication by  abounding  grace,  through  faith,  is  that  which 
 doth  effectually  destroy  the  interest  of  sin,  put  an  end  to  its 
 reign  and  dominion  in  those  who  are  justified,  and  insures 
 their  sanctification  ;  as  will  appear  clearly  by  the  explica- 
 tions 1  proceed  to  give. 
 
 TEXT — 8.  Now  if  we  le  dead  with  Christ,   we  believe  that  we  shall  also 
 live  with  him. 
 
 Explication. — The  first  clause,  If  we  be  dead  with  Christ, 
 has  been  explained  already.  It  has  been  taken  to  signify 
 our  being  dead  to  sin,  as  the  expression  is,  ver.  2.  I  take  it 
 as  meaning,  more  precisely,  a  man's  fellowship  and  interest  in 
 the  death  of  Christ,  the  actual  benefit  and  comfort  of  which 
 he  attains  through  faith  ;  and  then  being  justified,  (ver.  7-) 
 the  consequence  is,  being  dead  to  sin,  that  is,  made  free  from 
 
66  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 its  reign  and  dominion.     This  seems  to  be  the  true  order  of 
 things. 
 
 In  the  mean  time,  the  conclusion  which  the  Christian's 
 faith  infers  is,  as  here,  that  we  shall  also  live  with  Christ, 
 As  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  to  life,  his  people,  included  as 
 it  were  in  him,  and  represented  by  him,  have  (as  Eph.  ii.  5, 
 6.)  been  e  quickened  together  with  Christ/  and  have  been 
 '■  raised  up  together,  and  made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly 
 places  in  Christ  Jesus.'  The  fellowship  and  part  which 
 Christians  have  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  being  so  ex- 
 pressed in  that  place,  it  gives  us  cause  to  think,  that  here, 
 being  dead  with  Christ  hath  a  similar  meaning,  and  is  to  be 
 understood,  as  I  have  said,  of  the  Christian's  fellowship  and 
 interest  in  the  death  of  Christ. 
 
 If  Christ  died,  he  also  rose  again  to  life,  even  to  a  new  and 
 never-ending  life;  and  by  the  fellowship  and  part  his 
 people  have  in  him,  and  in  his  resurrection,  this  insures  to 
 them  a  happy  resurrection  to  eternal  life.  There  is  in  this 
 a  great  deal  against  the  practice  of  sin,  and  to  recommend 
 and  enforce  newness  of  life,  mentioned  ver.  4.  The  Chris- 
 tian hath  cause  to  think,  that  perfect  freedom  from  sin,  and 
 the  perfection  of  holiness  is  included  (Phil.  iii.  11,  12.)  in 
 this  his  hope  ;  and  therefore,  agreeably  to  that  hope,  he 
 should,  not  having  already  attained,  nor  being  already  per- 
 fect, follow  after,  and  reach  forth  unto  what  is  before  him  in 
 this  respect,  pressing  towards  the  mark,  the  perfect  holi- 
 ness, as  well  as  the  happiness  of  the  resurrection  state  ;  and 
 to  consider  the  practice  of  sin  as  quite  inconsistent  with  that 
 hope.  But  though  this  argument  for  holy  living  is  implied, 
 and  by  most  just  inference  deducible  from  what  is  said  in  this 
 second  clause  of  ver.  8.  yet  I  take  the  words,  shall  also  live 
 with  him,  to  have,  for  their  direct  and  most  proper  meaning, 
 the  attainment  and  enjoyment  of  eternal  life.  This  seems 
 to  be  most  agreeable  to  the  expression ;  and  we  shall  find  in 
 the  following  verses  what  tends  to  establish  this  sense. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 8.  Now  if  we  have  fellowship  and  interest 
 in  the  death  of  Christ,  surely  we  have  so  also  in  his  resur- 
 rection to  life,  (which  affords  arguments  of  the  utmost  force 
 for  newness  of  life)  ;  and  if  we  are  risen  together  with 
 Christ,  what  a  glorious  prospect  opens  to  us,  and  what  a 
 sure  and  blessed  hope  ariseth  thence,  through  faith  ?  even 
 that  we  shall  live  a  happy  and  glorious  life  with  him,  that 
 shall  not  be  cut  off  or  interrupted  by  death. 
 
 Let  me  explain  a  little  this  most  comfortable  subject,  by 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  67 
 
 saying  a  few  words,  ver.  9,  10.  concerning  Christ's  resur- 
 rection to  life  ;  and  then,  ver.  11.  concerning  its  consequence 
 to  you  and  all  true  believers. 
 
 TEXT. — 9.  Knowing  that   Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no 
 more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him. 
 
 Explication. — The  import  of  this  9th  verse  is  very  clear, 
 and  needs  little  or  nothing  to  be  said  for  explaining  it,  if  it 
 is  not  what  is  said  in  the  second  clause  concerning  the  do- 
 minion of  death,  which  implies,  that  death  had  sometime 
 dominion  over  Christ.  So  indeed  it  had  ;  but  its  dominion 
 over  him  was  not  absolute.  When  he  came  in  the  vice  of 
 sinners,  charged  with  their  sins,  death  had  a  right  to  have 
 him  subjected  to  it  by  virtue  of  the  law.  But  the  law  being 
 satisfied,  death  could  not  retain  its  dominion,  nor  hold  him 
 in  subjection.  God  his  Father  raised  him  up  ;  yea,  he  rose 
 by  his  own  power  (John  ii.  19.  chap.  x.  18.)  victorious  over 
 death,  which  cannot  seize  him,  or  bring  him  under  its  do- 
 minion any  more. 
 
 TEXT. — 10.  For  in  that  he  died^  he  died  unto  sin  once  :  hit    in   that  he 
 liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God. 
 
 Explication — The  expression  here  of  greatest  diffculty 
 is,  that  Christ  died  unto  sin.  The  learned  appear  to  have 
 been  much  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  expression,  and  have 
 given  various  senses  of  it.  Some  have  interpreted  it  by 
 saying,  he  died  to  procure  to  us  power  and  grace  to  mortify 
 sin  ;  or,  to  give  us  cause,  reasons,  and  motives  to  do  so. 
 But  there  is  nothing  here  of  our  mortifying  sin ;  not  the 
 least  word  that  imports  it.  It  is  of  Christ  himself  it  is  said, 
 directly  and  expressly,  that  he  died  unto  sin. 
 
 Dr.  W.'s  paraphrase  gives  it  thus,  (as  divers  interpreters 
 before  him  had  given  the  same  sense)  :  c  For  in  that  he 
 '  died,  he  died  once  to  sin,  (or  for  sin,  i.  e.  in  that  he  died 
 1  to  the  putting  away  of  sin,  Heb.  ix.  26,  28.  he  died  thus 
 '  once  for  all/)  As  to  the  expression,  he  died  to  sin,  they 
 did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it,  it  seems,  in  this  place  :  so 
 they  substituted  for  it,  he  died  for  sin.  But  however  inse- 
 parable these  things  are,  that  Christ  died  for  sin,  and  that 
 he  died  unto  sin,  as  appears  in  this  very  place,  yet  as  the 
 expressions  are  different,  they  must  mean  very  different 
 things.  Dying  for  sin,  and  dying  to  sin,  are  not  convertible 
 terms,  to  express  the  same  sense.     If  Christ  died  to  sin, 
 
68  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Christians  do  likewise  die  to  sin  :  but  Christians  do  not  die 
 for  sin,  as  he  did. 
 
 For  interpreting  this  expression,  that  hath  appeared  so 
 dark  and  puzzling,  I  venture  to  offer  what  follows. 
 
 Being  dead  to  sin  signifies  being  made  free  from  the  reign 
 of  sin  ;  as  hath  been  shown  on  ver.  2.  1  see  no  cause  for  un- 
 derstanding the  expression  otherwise  here  :  Christ  died  unto 
 sin,  that  is,  he  became  free  from  the  reign  of  sin.  This 
 implies,  that  our  blessed  Lord  had  been  under  the  reign 
 of  sin  ;  which,  at  first  sight,  may  appear  shocking  ;  but 
 will  soon  cease  to  be  so,  if  the  matter  be  duly  considered. 
 
 It  hath  been  already  observed,  that  it  is  said,  chap.  v.  21. 
 that  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death.  So  sin  exercises  its  reign 
 in  giving  death.  Now,  Christ  having  put  himself  in  the 
 vice  of  sinners,  and  bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
 tree,  he  was  there,  and  then,  under  the  reign  of  sin, — that 
 reign  which  I  have  called  the  legal  reign  of  sin,  the  power 
 of  which  it  derives  from  the  law.  Sin  finding  him  in  the 
 vice,  or  place  of  sinners,  and  bearing  their  guilt,  it  reigned 
 over  him  unto  death. 
 
 The  apostle  says,  1  Cor.  xv.  56.  The  sting  of  death  is  sin; 
 and  the  strength  of  sin  is  {he  law.  Now,  it  will  be  acknow- 
 ledged by  every  Christian,  (the  Socinian  hath  not,  I  think, 
 a  good  title  to  that  denomination)  that  Christ  came  under 
 the  strength  and  power  which  the  law  gives  to  sin  ;  and  that 
 the  sting  of  sin  was  truly  and  fully  in  the  death  which  he 
 underwent,  in  order  to  unsting  it  to  his  people.  Now,  this 
 amounts  to  as  much  as  to  say,  that  he  was  under  the  reign 
 of  sin  in  so  far,  and  in  the  sense  that  hath  been  explained  ; 
 and  that  in  regard  to  him,  sin  reigned  unto  death. 
 
 Further,  this  view  makes  the  connexion  clear  between 
 this  and  the  preceding  verse,  yea,  that  connexion  seems  to 
 make  this  sense  necessary.  He  had  said,  ver.  9-  that  Christ 
 dieth  no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.  It  is 
 plain,  that  the  words  here,  ver.  10.  are  intended  to  give  the 
 reason  of  this  ;  and,  by  the  interpretation  given,  the  reason 
 is  clear  and  strong.  Death  derives  its  dominion,  mentioned 
 ver.  9.  from  the  reign  of  sin  :  and  where  sin  hath  no  right 
 or  power  to  reign  unto  death,  there  death  can  have  no  do- 
 minion. So  it  is  then  that  Christ,  by  dying  and  expiating  sin, 
 satisfied  fully  the  law  ;  and  so  the  law  gives  no  more  strength 
 to  sin  to  reign  over  him  unto  death  ;  and  death  can  have 
 no  more  dominion  over  him  ;  which  is  the  thing  asserted,  ver. 
 9-  that  is  meant  to  be  proved  by  this  argument,  ver.   10. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  69 
 
 As  by  once  dying  he  took  away  sin,-— even  that  guiltiness  by 
 which  his  people,  and  himself,  when  substituted  in  their 
 stead,  became  obnoxious  to  death, — he  at  the  same  time  be- 
 came dead  to  sin  once  for  all  and  for  ever  ;  that  is,  he  be- 
 came free  from  the  reign  of  sin,  so  that  sin  cannot,  and 
 death  by  virtue  of  sin  cannot,  any  more  reign,  or  have  do- 
 minion over  him. 
 
 With  respect  to  the  explication  that  hath  been  given,  there 
 may  occur  to  some  a  difficulty,  arising  from  the  connexion 
 that  hath  appeared,  in  the  case  of  mankind  universally,  be- 
 tween being  under  the  curse  of  the  law,  or  the  reign  of  sin, 
 as  it  reigneth  unto  death,  and  being  under  the  practical  do- 
 minion of  sin,  with  regard  to  inherency  in  nature,  and  pre- 
 valence in  practice  :  so  that  to  say,  Christ  was  under  the 
 reign  of  sin,  in  the  one  respect,  would  give  cause  to  say,  he 
 came  under  its  dominion  in  the  other  respect  also,  which 
 were  very  absurd. 
 
 But  if  the  matter  be  considered,  this  difficulty  will  soon 
 disappear.  Whatever  connexion  hath  appeared  in  the  case 
 of  mankind  between  incurring  guiltiness  and  becoming  cor- 
 rupt and  depraved  in  nature  and  practice,  yet  it  is  certain, 
 that  this  corruption  or  depravation,  (however  it  may  be 
 justly  reckoned  to  be,  in  itself,  death  in  a  moral  sense)  is 
 not  included  in  the  death  threatened  by  the  law  for  trans- 
 gression, such  as  was  to  be  inflicted  by  the  Supreme  Judge. 
 So  it  is  no  part  of  the  punishment  of  sin,  which  Christ  was 
 to  undergo  for  us  ;  and  when  he  underwent  that  punishment 
 in  our  stead,  he  had  the  perfect  purity  of  his  own  human 
 nature ;  he  had  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  was  given  him  with- 
 out measure,  dwelling  in  him  ;  and  also  the  continued  union 
 of  his  divine  with  his  human  nature,  to  keep  him  even  from 
 the  possibility  of  sinning.  So  that  however  depravation 
 was  the  consequence  of  incurring  guiltiness  and  the  curse 
 of  the  law,  in  the  case  of  mankind,  yet  nothing  similar  to 
 this  can  be  inferred  from  Christ's  coming  under  the  reign 
 of  sin,  as  it  reigned  unto  death  ;  which,  as  to  the  reality  of 
 things,  imports  no  more  than  what  Christians  have  ever 
 held,  according  to  the  scriptures,  viz.  that  Christ  under- 
 went the  death  that  was  the  punishment  of  our  sins. 
 
 There  remains  the  second  clause  of  this  10th  verse,  In 
 that  he  liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God.  The  meaning  of  this 
 will  be  more  clear,  by  what  will  be  largely  and  more  fitly 
 suggested  in  explaining  the  latter  clause  of  the  following 
 verse.     Here  I  give  for  it  the  short  note  of  the  judicious, 
 
70  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Samuel  Clarke.  He  liveth  unto  God — an  immortal,  heavenly, 
 glorious  life,  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  to  the  glorv  of 
 God. 
 
 TEXT. — 11.  Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto 
 sin  ;  but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
 
 Explication. — This  last  clause,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
 Lord,  is  to  be  considered  as  connected  with  the  first,  as  well 
 as  with  the  second  clause;  thus,  dead  unto  sin  through  Jesus 
 Christ — alive  unto   God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 As  to  the  first  clause,  it  is  not,  ye  are  obliged  to  die,  or  be 
 dead  to  sin,  but  reckon  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto 
 sin  :  not  merely  by  virtue  of  profession,  vows,  and  gospel- 
 obligations,  as  if  matter  of  duty  were  meant ;  but  through 
 Jesus  Christ,  and  by  virtue  of  union  and  fellowship  with 
 him  ;  it  being  the  advantage  and  blessedness  of  the  believer's 
 state,  through  Christ,  that  the  apostle  means.  So  Calvin 
 chooses  to  render  it  more  precisely  according  to  the  Greek 
 (if  Xgigre*)  in  Christ,  as  more  expressive  of  our  ingraftment 
 into  Christ,  and  our  union  with  him,  by  virtue  of  which  we 
 have  fellowship  with  him  in  his  death,  so  as  to  be  dead  with 
 him,  rather  than  as  others  render  per,  by,  or  through 
 Christ.  But  in  the  one  way  or  the  other,  it  comes  to  much 
 the  same  thing.  He  had  said,  ver.  10.  that  Christ  died  unto 
 sin  ;  and  it  is  with  a  view  to  the  union  of  Christians,  and 
 their  communion  with  him  in  his  death,  that  now,  ver.  1 1 . 
 he  [directs  Christians  to  infer,  and  reckon  themselves  to  be 
 dead  indeed  unto  sin.  Christ  being  dead  unto  sin,  that  is, 
 having  become  free  from  the  reign  of  sin  he  had  been  under, 
 sin  cannot  any  more  reign  over  him  unto  death.  In  like 
 manner,  the  believer  being  in  Christ,  in  union  and  fellow- 
 ship  with  him,  and  so  dead  with  him  unto  sin,  it  cannot 
 reign  over  him  unto  death.  The  law,  which  is  the  strength 
 of  sin  in  this  respect,  will  never  give  it  strength  or  power  so 
 to  reign  over  the  believer. 
 
 But  doth  not  every  Christian,  even  the  best,  die  ?  True  ; 
 bu  t  there  is  nothing  penal  in  their  death  ;  whatever  there 
 m  ay  be  of  fatherly  chastisement  in  the  circumstances  of  it, 
 th  ere  is  nothing  of  the  reign  of  sin  in  it.  By  a  constitution 
 of  divine  wisdom,  (happy  for  the  general  interest  of  this  sin- 
 ful world,)  it  is  appointed  for  all  men  once  to  die.  With 
 r  egard  to  them  who  are  under  the  law  and  its  curse,  there 
 is  in  their  death  the  reign  of  sin.  Not  so  in  the  death  of 
 those  who  have  interest  and  fellowship  in  the  death  of  Christ. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  71 
 
 Tribulations,  afflictions,  sickness,  and  death,  came  originally 
 by  sin,  and  the  curse  of  the  law  for  sin ;  for  the  breach  of 
 the  first  covenant.  But  now  these  are  adopted  by  the  new 
 covenant,  not  for  penal,  but  for  salutary  purposes.  Sin  did 
 originally  reign  in  them.  But  now  the  reign  of  sin,  as  to 
 penal  effect,  being  at  an  end  with  regard  to  true  believers, 
 what  succeeds  to  that  reign  is,  (Rom.  v.  21.)  that  grace  now 
 reigneth.  Tribulations,  afflictions,  and  death,  do,  in  their 
 case,  belong  to  the  reign  of  grace,  terminating  in  eternal 
 life.  There  is  no  sting  of  sin  in  their  death,  nor  is  it  by  the 
 strength  that  the  law  gives  to  sin  that  they  are  chastised,  or 
 die. 
 
 Follows  the  second  clause,  But  alive  unto  God.  The  sense 
 of  this  clause,  is,  I  think,  to  be  taken  from  these  words  of 
 our  Lord,  in  arguing  with  the  Sadducee  concerning  the  re- 
 surrection of  the  dead,  Luke  xx.  31,  38.  Now  that  the  dead 
 are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,  when  he  calU 
 eih  the  Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
 the  God  of  Jacob.  For  he  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead,  but  of 
 the  living  ;  for  all  live  unto  him.  It  is  plain  that  our  Lord 
 doth  not  mean  this  merely  to  prove  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
 Jacob  lived,  as  to  their  souls,  in  their  separate  state ;  which 
 indeed  the  Sadducees  did  also  deny ;  but  to  prove  the  resur- 
 rection of  the  body,  against  which  they  had  on  this  occasion 
 pretended  to  bring  their  argument,  which  the  existence  and 
 life  of  their  separate  souls  would  not  prove.  NowT  our  Lord 
 argues  from  God's  covenant  of  grace,  by  which  he  became 
 the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  all  his  spiritual  seed  ;  and  from 
 this  he  argues,  as  ver.  38.  He  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead ; 
 that  is,  they  who  are  dead,  in  a  state  of  death,  dead  in  the 
 eye  of  God,  and  by  his  righteous  destination  ;  God  cannot 
 be  supposed  to  be,  nor  can  be  called,  their  God.  He  would 
 be  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God,  to  have  been  the  God 
 of  such  as  perish.  If  he  is  the  God  of  any,  they  must  be 
 supposed  to  be  living,  that  is,  in  God's  eye,  and  by  his  des- 
 tination, and  by  the  grace  of  his  covenant.  So  it  is  said, 
 John  iii.  36.  He  that  believeth — hath  everlasting  life;  and 
 John  xi.  26.  Whosoever  liveth,  and  believeth  in  me,  shall  never 
 die. 
 
 As  to  the  word  all,  in  the  last  clause  of  Luke  xx.  38.  the 
 universality  of  its  meaning  is  to  be  restricted  (as  in  innu- 
 merable instances)  according  to  the  subject  and  argument, 
 and  the  clause  to  be  understood  thus  :  For  all  who  have  part 
 in  the  covenant,  and  to  whom  the  Lord  is  their  God,  do  live 
 
72  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 unto  him  ;  they  are  in  a  state  of  life  in  his  sight ;  they  have 
 passed  from  death  to  life  ;  they  are  by  divine  grace  entitled 
 to  life,  and  so  shall  be  raised  in  their  bodies  to  eternal  life, 
 which  was  the  point  which  our  Lord's  argument  was  de- 
 signed to  prove. 
 
 Now  if  this  be  the  consequence  of  being  interested  in 
 God's  covenant  of  grace,  and  of  persons  having  him,  by  spe- 
 cial relation  and  interest,  to  be  their  God,  that  they  live  to 
 him  in  the  sense  now  given,  it  follows,  that  believers,  from 
 the  time  they  come  unto  union  with  Christ,  and  have  part 
 in  the  covenant,  do  even  in  this  life  on  earth  live  unto  God, 
 in  the  sense  in  which  Christ  meant  the  expression  ;  that  is, 
 are  the  heirs  of  eternal  life,  to  the  full  possession  and  enjoy- 
 ment of  which  they  shall  be  brought  in  their  complete  per- 
 sons at  the  resurrection.  In  this  sense  doth  the  apostle  de- 
 sire the  Christians  to  reckon  themselves  to  be  alive  unto  God; 
 that  is,  heirs  of  eternal  life,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
 
 This  may  satisfy  us  concerning  the  true  meaning  of  the 
 words  concerning  Christ  in  ver.  10.  In  that  he  liveth,  he  liveth 
 unto  God.  To  interpret  this,  as  some  have  done,  merely  of 
 his  living  a  life  acceptable  to  God,  and  to  his  glory,  doth  not 
 come  up  to  the  present  purpose  and  argument.  He  lived 
 such  a  life  before  his  death  and  resurrection  as  truly  as  after 
 these.  Whereas  it  is  evident,  the  words  mean  some  special 
 thing  that  is  the  proper  consequence  of  his  death,  by  virtue 
 of  which  it  was  that  he  became  dead  unto  sin,  and  liveth  to 
 God ;  and  a  consequence  of  his  resurrection,  viz.  that  he  is 
 entitled  to,  yea  possessed  of,  an  eternal  life,  out  of  the  reach 
 of  the  reign  of  sin,  and  of  that  dominion  of  death  mentioned 
 in  the  immediately  preceding  words  of  ver.  9- 
 
 It  is  needless  to  perplex  things  here,  by  asking  an  ac- 
 count how  a  right  to,  and  the  certainty  of,  eternal  life,  should 
 come  to  be  expressed  by  living  unto  God.  Some  account  of 
 that  may  be  learned  from  what  hath  been  already  suggested. 
 But  without  that,  the  use  of  speech  is  enough  for  determining 
 the  meaning  of  words,  whether  the  manner  and  view  in 
 which  they  came  to  that  use  and  meaning  can  be  accounted 
 for  or  not.  It  is  evide  t  our  Lord  used  the  words  in  the 
 meaning  now  explained,  Luke  xx.  38.  The  scribes  under- 
 stood him  so>  and  approved  ;  the  Sadducees  so  understood, 
 and  were  put  to  silence  ;  while  the  multitude  understood  in 
 the  same  way,  and  were  astonished,  Matth.  xxii.  33,  34-.  ; 
 nor  do  I  see  that  any  other  sense  better  suits  the  similar  ex- 
 pression of  the  apostle  here,  ver.   10,  11. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  73 
 
 The  sense  of  these  three  verses  I  have  been  last  explain- 
 ing, may  be  conceived  thus : 
 
 Paraphrase. — 9»  Having  said,  (ver.  8.)  that  in  consequence 
 of  our  fellowship  in  the  death  of  Christ,  being  dead  with 
 him,  we  shall  certainly  live  with  him,  I  come  now  to  ex- 
 plain that  matter  by  a  few  words  concerning  his  living  and 
 ours.  So  it  is  then,  as  we  know  with  the  utmost  certainty, 
 that  Christ  having,  in  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  over- 
 come death,  he  is  no  more  obnoxious  to  it.  If  he  was  once, 
 for  a  time,  under  its  dominion,  it  now  can  no  more  for  ever 
 have  dominion  over  him. 
 
 10.  For  the  dominion  of  death,  which  it  exercised  over 
 him  for  a  season,  being  no  other  than  the  reign  of  sin,  as  it 
 hath  reigned  unto  death,  our  blessed  Lord  being  substituted 
 in  the  vice  of  sinners,  and  so  coming  under  the  reign  of  sin 
 in  that  respect,  and  actually  undergoing  death ;  he  did,  by 
 that  expiating  death,  fully  satisfy  the  law  ;  and  it,  according 
 to  its  perfect  justice,  can  never  more  give  strength  or  power 
 to  sin  to  reign  over  him  unto  death.  It  is  the  consequence 
 of  his  dying  for  sin,  that  he  hath  thereby  died  unto  sin,  and 
 become  for  ever  free  from  its  claim  to  reign  over  him,  once 
 for  all  and  for  ever  :  and  that  having  gloriously  overcome  sin 
 and  death,  in  rising  anew  to  life,  he  liveth  a  glorious  eternal 
 life,  out  of  the  reach  of  all  reign  of  sin  or  death. 
 
 11.  In  like  manner,  as  I  have  said,  (ver.  8.)  that  in  con- 
 sequence of  our  fellowship  with  him  in  his  death,  we  shall 
 also  live  with  him,  so  accordingly,  from  what  I  have  said 
 just  now,  (ver.  10.)  you  have  cause  to  reckon,  with  assured 
 faith,  that  through  Christ,  and  by  virtue  of  his  having  died 
 unto  sin,  yourselves  are  indeed  dead  unto  sin,  and  so  are 
 made  free  from  it,  as  it  reigned  unto  death  ;  and  that  never 
 can  give  you  death  in  the  penal  way,  in  which  the  righteous 
 law  enabled  it  to  subject  you  to  it ;  and  at  the  same  time 
 that  you  have  through  him  a  sure  and  unquestionable  title 
 to  eternal  life,  wherein  you  shall  live  with  him,  in  a  perfect 
 conformity  to  his  life,  in  holiness,  happiness,  and  glory. 
 
 TEXT. — 12.  Let  not  sin  therefore  reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye 
 should  obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof. 
 
 Explication — The  apostle  now  proceeds  to  exhort  the 
 believers  against  sin,  and  to  the  practice  of  holiness  ;  and  in- 
 sists to  that  purpose  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Having  re- 
 presented the  privilege,  advantage,  and  blessedness  of  the 
 state  of  the  believer,  of  the  sincere  Christian  ;  what  he  had 
 
74  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 brought  forth  on  that  subject  gave  him  great  advantage  with 
 regard  to  the  exhortation  he  now  enters  on  ;  and  suggests 
 the  strongest  arguments  and  motives  imaginable  to  enforce 
 it  The  grace  that  hath  made  believers  free  from  the  reign 
 of  sin,  hath  put  them  under  the  greatestobligation  to  avoid,  re- 
 sist, and  mortify  it ;  under  the  greatest  obligation  to  all  duty, 
 and  to  the  practice  of  holiness.  If  by  being  made  free  from 
 the  reign  of  sin,  in  the  sense  that  hath  been  here  explained, 
 they  are  alive  unto  God,  and  have  the  prospect  of  eternal 
 life,  they  are  to  consider  that  they  are  to  enjoy  that  life  in 
 the  perfection  of  holiness  :  so  it  becomes  them  to  have  greatly 
 at  heart  to  advance  in  their  practice  towards  that  perfection 
 of  holiness  that  is  included  in  their  most  comfortable  hope. 
 
 Besides,  it  is  to  be  remembered  what  was  said  before, 
 viz.  that  while  one  is  under  the  reign  of  sin,  as  it  by  virtue 
 of  the  law  reigneth  unto  death,  he  is  at  the  same  time  under 
 the  dominion  of  sin,  as  a  slave  in  its  service,  and  no  longer. 
 So  the  apostle,  having  asserted  that  believers  are  made  free 
 from  sin  in  the  former  respect,  his  exhortation  proceeds  on 
 this  view,  that  they  are  made  free  from  it,  at  the  same  time, 
 in  the  latter  respect  also  ;  which  he  is  to  bring  forth  more 
 clearly  a  little  hereafter,  in  order  to  be  explained  and  es- 
 tablished. 
 
 It  appears  by  this  same  text,  that  whilst  Christians  are 
 in  this  life,  they  will  have  sin,  and  the  lusts  thereof  in  them. 
 For  the  exhortation  is  not  to  resist  temptations  from  without, 
 but  not  to  obey  sin,  or  the  lusts  thereof  within  them  ;  and 
 why  should  Christians  be  warned  (as  it  will  be  allowed  to  be 
 a  warning  fit  to  be  given  to  every  Christian,  in  every  time 
 of  life)  not  to  obey  sin  in  the  lusts  thereof,  if  there  would  be 
 no  such  lusts  in  them  ? 
 
 Further,  when  he  speaks  of  obeying,  this,  I  think,  im- 
 ports something  deliberate  and  voluntary.  For  it  would 
 seem,  that  what  a  man  doth  with  absolute  reluctance,  by 
 surprise  and  force,  doth  not  deserve  to  be  called  obedience. 
 
 Further  yet ;  the  exhortation  proceeds  on  this  view,  that 
 the  Christian  made  free,  is  in  such  condition  to  resist  the 
 reign  of  sin,  and  to  refuse  obedience  to  it,  as  he  was  not  in 
 formerly.  Christians  are  now  in  condition  to  resist  it  effec- 
 tually ;  and  to  prevent  its  reigning,  or  prevailing  in  their 
 practice.  If  sin  shall  now  reign  and  prevail,  it  must  be 
 owing  to  their  own  indolence,  unwatchfulness,  faulty  weak- 
 ness, or  treachery.  Sin  hath  not  now  force  enough  to  restore 
 and  maintain  its  own  dominion.     However,  as  unholy  lusts 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  75* 
 
 are  not  quite  eradicate,  it  should  be  the  care  of  the  Chris- 
 tian to  resist  their  motions  carefully  and  seasonably,  and  to 
 endeavour,  through  divine  grace,  that  they  do  not  take  effect, 
 or  prevail. 
 
 It  is  fit  now  to  offer  some  explication  of  that  expression, 
 your  mortal  body.  Let  it  then  be  observed,  that,  according 
 to  the  Hebrew  idiom,  and  that  of  some  other  languages,  soul 
 is  often  put  for  person  ;  and  his  soul,  or,  our  soul,  often 
 mean  no  more  than  he,  or,  himself;  we,  or  us.  This  hath 
 been  so  often  observed,  that  it  were  not  needful,  for  the  sake 
 of  any  of  the  learned,  to  produce  such  instances.  However, 
 here  are  few.  Exod.  xxx.  12.  Then  shall  they  give  every 
 man  a  ransom  for  his  soul ;  that  is,  for  himself.  Job  xxxiii. 
 22.  His  soul,  (that  is,  he)  draweth  near  unto  the  grave. 
 Numb.  xi.  6.  Our  soul  is  (that  is,  we  are)  dried  away. 
 Psal.  xliv.  25.  Our  soul  is  (that  is,  we  are)  bowed  down  to 
 the  dust.  Psal.  cxxiv.  4.  The  stream  hath  gone  over  our 
 soul,  (that  is,  over  us.)  So,  when  God  is  said  to  swear  by 
 his  soul,  it  is  rightly  rendered,  that  he  swears  by  himself. 
 Hundreds  of  instances  may  be  given,  wherein  soul  may 
 be  rendered  by  person,  or  by  the  pronoun  denoting  the  per- 
 son. 
 
 The  word  body  is  often  used  in  the  same  manner.  So 
 Rom.  xii.  1.  Present  your  bodies,  (that  is,  your  persons,  or 
 yourselves)  a  living  sacrifice.  1  Pet.  ii.  24.  Christ  bare  our 
 sins  in  his  own  body  (in  his  own  person,  or,  on  himself)  on- 
 the  tree.  Exod.  xxi.  3.,  of  the  Hebrew  servant  it  is  said,  If 
 he  came  in  with  his  body,  (so  the  Hebrew  and  the  English 
 margin)  he  shall  go  out  with  his  body  ;  justly  rendered  in 
 both  clauses  by  himself  So  the  Hebrew  in  the  last  clause 
 of  ver.  4.  he  shall  go  out  with  his  body  ;  which  we  render  as 
 before,  by  himself.  Thus,  also  Matth.  vi.  22.  Thy  whole 
 body,  (i.e.  thy  whole  person)  shall  be  full  of  light  ;  for  other- 
 wise the  body  in  itself  is  not  luminous,  nor  hath  visive 
 faculty.  So  James  iii.  6.  The  tongue  defileth  the  whole  body  ; 
 that  is,  the  whole  person.  According  to  this  use  and  mean- 
 ing of  the  expression,  the  apostle  is  to  be  understood  thus  : 
 Let  not  sin  reign  in  your  mortal  persons  ;  or,  in  you,  in  this 
 your  mortal  state. 
 
 It  appears  then,  that  from  the  mention  of  mortal  body  in 
 this  place,  Mr  L.  had  not  good  cause  to  say,  that  sin  hath  its 
 source  and  root  in  the  body.  However,  Dr  T.  had  the  same 
 view  ;  for  his  paraphrase  gives  it  thus  :  e  I  exhort  you — not 
 f  to  suffer  sin  to  have  a  governing  power  in  your  mortal. 
 
76  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 '  bodies,  by  yielding  obedience  to  it,  in  gratifying  the  ap- 
 f  petites  of  a  corruptible  mass  of  flesh.'  Was  there  indeed 
 no  danger  of  sin,  but  by  the  appetites  of  the  corruptible  mass 
 of  flesh  ?  One  might  think  from  these  notions  and  expres- 
 sions, that  these  writers  have  had  very  narrow  and  restrict- 
 ed views  of  sin,  and  that  a  great  deal  of  sin  had  escaped 
 their  observation. 
 
 It  has,  I  know,  been  observed,  that  the  gender  in  the  Greek 
 makes  it  necessary  to  connect  and  construct  these  last  words, 
 the  lusts  thereof,  not  with  sin,  but  with  the  word  body. 
 True  ;  as  body  is  mentioned,  the  word  constructed  with  it 
 behoved  to  be  of  the  same  gender.  But  that  makes  no  rea- 
 son against  the  interpretation  of  mortal  body,  here  given. 
 The  last  clause,  consistently  with  that  interpretation,  may 
 well  be  understood  thus  :  The  lusts  thereof,  that  is,  of  your 
 mortal  persons  ;  or  the  lusts  which  remain  in  you,  in  your 
 mortal  state. 
 
 Yet  it  is  not  without  special  reason  that  the  apostle,  ex- 
 horting against  sin,  and  the  danger  of  it  in  this  mortal  state, 
 mentions  the  mortal  body.  For  though  the  general  proposition 
 is  very  wrong,  that  sin  hath  its  source  and  root  in  the  body, 
 yet  it  is  certain,  that  much  sin  hath  its  source  and  root  in 
 the  body  ;  and  that  the  Christian  hath  great  cause  to  be 
 watchful  against  the  danger  from  that  side. 
 
 There  is  this  further  reason  for  the  apostle's  using  this 
 expression  here,  that  indeed  death  hath  the  chief  unfavour- 
 able effect  on  the  body.  The  soul,  separately  considered,  is 
 immortal,  not  capable  of  being  dissolved  into  corruption  and 
 dust,  as  the  body  :  and  as  to  the  soul  of  the  believer,  except 
 that  death  dissolves  its  natural  union  with  the  body,  the  ef- 
 fect otherwise  is  altogether  favourable.  It  departs,  and  is 
 with  Christ,  which  is  far  better. 
 
 Paraphrase — 12.  Alive  you  are,  I  say,  unto  God,  through 
 Jesus  Christ ;  through  him,  and  by  virtue  of  his  resurrection, 
 entitled  to  eternal  life,  to  a  happy  immortality  ;  when  there 
 will  be  no  molestation  or  danger  from  sin  ;  no  cause  of  fear. 
 But  on  this  side  of  that,  in  your  present  embodied  mortal 
 state,  there  is  much  danger  of  sin.  It  remains  in  you,  its  law 
 is  in  your  members,  and  its  various  lusts,  as  the  particular 
 commandments  of  that  law.  But  as  you  are  made  free  from 
 its  reign,  as  it  reigned  unto  death,  and  at  the  same  time 
 made  free  from  its  dominion  by  which  it  enslaved  you,  and 
 so  are  brought  into  a  capacity  to  resist  it,  and  maintain  war 
 against  it ;  let  me  earnestly  exhort  you  to  maintain  your 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  77 
 
 liberty  by  doing  so ;  and  to  be  anxiously  careful  that  sin  be 
 not  allowed  to  resume  its  dominion  in  any  sort  or  degree,  in 
 this  your  mortal  embodied  state  ;  so  as  that  you  should  yield 
 a  voluntary  obedience  to  the  lusts  which  infest  that  state. 
 Oh,  maintain  your  liberty  against  the  dethroned  tyrant,  by 
 constantly  refusing  obedience  to  these  his  commandments, 
 however  much  they  be  urged  upon  you  during  this  your  mor- 
 tality, when  sin  hath  so  great  advantage  from  the  wretched 
 condition  of  your  bodies,  besides  the  deep  root  it  hath  other- 
 wise in  your  souls.  If  I  have  been  thus  putting  you  in  mind 
 of  your  mortality,  and  your  danger  from  sin  during  the 
 continuance  of  it,  until  your  actual  death  ;  yet  be  encouraged 
 concerning  this :  There  is  nothing  of  the  reign  of  sin,  by 
 virtue  of  the  law  and  its  curse,  in  your  mortality,  or  in  the 
 tribulations  connected  with  it,  or  in  the  dissolution  you  are 
 to  undergo.  Now  life  and  death,  things  present,  and  things 
 to  come,  (1  Cor.  iii.  22.)  all  are  yours,  and  under  a  powerful 
 influence  and  direction,  to  work  for  you,  and  not  against  you. 
 Yea,  let  the  consideration  of  your  mortal  state,  as  a  state 
 that  will  soon  be  at  an  end,  encourage  you  with  respect  to 
 these  lusts,  the  motions  of  which  will  so  often  perplex  and 
 distress  you.  Not  one  of  them  in  you  will  survive  that  state 
 for  a  moment.  Therefore,  as  the  time  of  your  warfare  and 
 conflict  is  short,  acquit  you  against  them  like  men,  like 
 Christians,  like  Christ's  freed  men. 
 
 TEXT. — 13.  Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  instruments  of  un- 
 righteousness unto  sin :  but  yield  yourselves  unto  God,  as  those  tlutt  are 
 alive  from  the  dead  ;  and  your  members  as  instruments  of  righteousness 
 unto  God. 
 
 Explication. — The  apostle's  exhortation  in  these  two 
 verses  implies  two  things.  First,  that  the  Christian,  now 
 dead  to  sin,  was  come  to  a  capacity  of  avoiding  and  resist- 
 ing sin  effectually,  and  of  declining  its  service.  In  the 
 next  place,  made  free  as  he  wras,  that  possibly  he  might, 
 much  to  his  own  hurt,  return,  in  too  great  degree,  and  in 
 too  many  instances,  to  the  service  of  sin.  The  freed  man, 
 anciently  called  by  the  Romans  liberhts,  might  perhaps 
 retain  a  considerable  attachment  to  the  master  he  had 
 served,  and  perhaps  a  great  liking  to  the  service  he  had 
 been  used  to,  so  as  voluntarily,  habitually,  and  commonly 
 to  do  the  service,  yea,  the  meanest  and  coarsest  drudgery 
 of  his  former  master.  As  to  a  Roman  freed  man,  gratitude 
 might  make  a  good  and  laudable  reason  for  such  conduct  ; 
 
 D 
 
78  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 but  sin  is  a  master  to  whom,  being  once  made  free,  we 
 owe  no  gratitude,  nor  can  expect  better  from  its  service 
 than  hurt  and  mischief  to  ourselves,  with  the  charge  of  the 
 greatest  ingratitude  and  undutifulness  to  Him  whose  grace 
 hath  made  us  free. 
 
 In  this  verse  there  is  mention  of  two  masters  ;  sin  the  first 
 mentioned,  and  God  the  other.  The  service  of  the  former 
 is  termed  unrighteousness  ;  the  service  of  God  is  righteous- 
 ness :  and  a  man's  members  are  represented  as  employed  in 
 the  one  sort  of  service  or  the  other. 
 
 As  to  the  mention  of  members  here,  it  is  true  that  sin, 
 and  the  lusts  thereof,  do  exert  themselves  by  the  members 
 of  the  body.  Yet  the  apostle's  view  and  meaning  here  is  by 
 no  means  to  be  restricted  to  these.  By  comparing  other 
 texts,  we  shall  find  that  under  the  name  of  members  are  com- 
 prehended the  various  faculties,  powers,  passions,  and  affec- 
 tions of  the  soul,  as  well  as  members  of  the  body.  Thus 
 James  iv.  1.  From  whence  come  wars  and  fightings  among 
 you  ?  come  they  not  hence,  even  of  your  lusts  that  war  in  your 
 members?  Pride,  revenge,  covetousness,  &c,  (that  are  such 
 common  causes  of  outward  wars  and  fightings,)  having  their 
 inward  warring,  even  when  there  is  no  outward  exertion  of 
 them  by  the  members  of  the  body.  These  unholy  lusts  war 
 against  judgment  and  conscience:  and  thus,  mind,  will,  af- 
 fections, all  that  is  within,  have  inward  war  before  the  mem- 
 bers of  the  body  come  to  be  employed.  So  these  lusts  raise 
 war  in  and  among  all  the  faculties  and  powers  of  the  soul. 
 Again,  Col.  iii.  5.  Mortify  therefore  your  members  which  are 
 upon  the  earth  ;  inordinate  affection,  evil  concupiscence,  and 
 covetousness,  which  is  idolatry.  Surely  by  the  working  of 
 these  inwardly  there  is  much  unholiness  and  sin,  when  the 
 members  of  the  body  are  not  at  all  employed. 
 
 Now,  as  servants  or  soldiers  should  sist  themselves  with 
 their  arms  or  tools  (o7rXcc  signifies  both)  to  their  sovereign 
 or  master,  to  be  employed  in  his  service  ;  so  the  apostle  here 
 exhorts  Christians  not  to  sist  or  present  (so  the  word  we 
 render  yield,  more  properly  signifies)  their  members  as 
 weapons  or  tools  for  serving  sin  ;  but  first  to  sist  or  pre- 
 sent their  whole  selves  to  God,  and  then  to  sist  or  present 
 all  their  members,  that  is,  powers  of  soul  and  body,  to  be 
 the  instruments  of  righteousness  by  which  he  is  served. 
 
 Upon  the  word  obey,  in  the  preceding  verse,  I  observed, 
 that  obedience  implies  being  unforced  and  willing.  This  is 
 still  more  to  be  observed  concerning  the  word  here,  which 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  79 
 
 signifies  to  sist,  or  present.  For  a  man  to  sist  or  present 
 himself,  or  his  members,  to  sin  and  its  service,  it  implies  as 
 when  one  man  says  to  another — I  am  at  your  service,  that  is, 
 quite  willing  and  ready  to  serve  you.  This  is  the  real  dis- 
 position of  an  unregenerate  man's  heart — the  prevailing  dis- 
 position ;  however  conscience  may  remonstrate  and  check, 
 however  conscience,  aided  by  considerations  that  may  be  as- 
 cribed to  prudence  rather  than  to  conscience  itself,  may  give 
 restraint,  especially  as  to  the  outward  work.  But  the  pre- 
 vailing disposition  and  purpose  of  the  sincere  Christian  is  ac- 
 cording to  the  latter  part  of  the  verse. 
 
 The  argument  by  which  this  is  urged,  is  insinuated  in 
 these  words,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead.  It  is  the 
 happy  state  of  all  true  Christians,  as  ver.  11.  that  they  are 
 dead,  not  in  sin,  but  to  sin,  and  alive  unto  God :  and  the 
 words  here,  ver.  13.  are  so  evidently  used  with  a  view  to 
 these  words,  ver.  11.  that  if  we  restrict  the  words  in  ver.  13. 
 alive  from  the  dead,  to  a  particular  sort  of  Christians,  we  must 
 also  restrict  the  meaning  of  ver.  11.  to  them  ;  which  it  were 
 unreasonable,  yea,  absurd  to  do.  However,  the  Greek,  ik 
 vs*£&>y,  Mr  L.  renders,  from  among  the  dead  ;  and  in  his  note 
 interprets  thus  :  '  The  Gentile  world  wrere  dead  in  sins — 
 1  those  who  were  converted  to  the  gospel  were  raised  to  life 
 '  from  among  these  dead/  This  is  according  to  his  general 
 view  of  the  chapter,  as  addressed  to  the  Christians  of  the 
 Gentiles  separately,  and  as  contradistinguished  to  the  Jews; 
 and  is  one  instance  of  wrong  interpretation  that  that  general 
 view  of  the  chapter  led  him  to.  Yea,  this  is  one  of  the  things 
 in  this  chapter,  by  which  he  pretends  to  support  that  notion. 
 But  if  the  expression  may  on  some  occasions  perhaps  signify 
 from  among  the  dead,  yet  the  learned  writer  would  not  say, 
 it  should  still  be  so  rendered.  For  in  one  verse,  chap.  viii. 
 11.  Mr  L.  himself  in  his  paraphrase  renders  it  twice,  from 
 the  dead.  So  then,  as  in  the  introduction  to  this  chapter,  I 
 have  proved  that  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  is  the  natural 
 state  of  all  men,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  it  is  plain  there  is 
 nothing  in  the  expression  here,  alive  from  the  dead,  to  support 
 Mr  L/s  notion,  that  this  chapter  is  designed  peculiarly  for 
 Gentile  converts. 
 
 Paraphrase — 13.  And  do  not  present  or  sist  the  faculties, 
 affections,  and  powers  of  your  soul,  or  body,  to  sin,  that 
 usurper,  to  be  the  tools  of  unrighteousness  in  his  service ; 
 but  present  your  whole  selves  to  God,,  in  a  constant  and  will- 
 ing readiness  for  his  service,  who  is  your  rightful  Lord ;  and 
 
80  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 that  as  becomes  those  who  by  his  wonderful  grace  are  dead 
 unto  sin,  (made  free  from  its  reign,)  and  are  become  alive 
 unto  God  :  and  present  all  your  powers  to  God,  as  weapons 
 or  tools  fit  and  ready  for  the  warfare  and  work  of  righteous- 
 ness in  his  service. 
 
 TEXT. — 14.  For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you:  for  ye  are  nef 
 under  the  lazv,  but  under  grace. 
 
 Explication. — It  is  of  much  importance  to  conceive  aright 
 the  meaning  of  this  verse.  What  is  fit  to  be  first  considered 
 and  explained  is,  the  dominion  of  sin  mentioned  in  the  first 
 clause.  I  have  before  observed  a  distinction  between  the 
 reign  of  sin,  with  regard  to  its  penal  consequence,  as  it  hath 
 reigned  unto  death,  (chap.  v.  21.)  and  its  practical  dominion 
 in  men's  nature  and  practice;  and  have  shown,  that  ver.  10, 
 1 1 .  are  to  be  understood  to  respect  the  former. 
 
 Divers  commentators  appear  to  think  that  this  is  the  do- 
 minion of  sin  meant  here,  ver.  14.  Mr  L.,  indeed,  in  his 
 note  on  the  first  clause,  interprets  thus  :  '  Sin  shall  not  be 
 1  your  absolute  master,  to  dispose  of  your  members  and  fa- 
 c  culties  in  its  drudgery  and  service/  This  is  according  to 
 the  second  sense  of  dominion  above  mentioned,  and  respects 
 what  I  have  called  the  practical  dominion  of  sin.  In  his 
 note,  however,  on  the  next  clause,  in  a  sort  of  paraphrase, 
 representing  the  obligations  Christians  are  under  not  to  be 
 the  slaves  of  sin,  but  to  yield  themselves  up  to  God  to  be 
 his  servants,  in  a  constant  and  sincere  purpose  and  endea- 
 vour of  obeying  him  in  all  things  ;  he  adds,  '  This  if  ye  do, 
 6  sin  shall  not  be  able  to  procure  your  death,  for  you  Gen- 
 '  tiles  are  not  under  the  law,  which  condemns  to  death  for 
 '  every  the  least  transgression,  though  it  be  but  a  slip  of 
 '  infirmity/  According  to  this,  the  dominion  of  sin  here  is 
 its  procuring  death  to  transgressors.  These  two  notes  of  the 
 learned  writer  seem  to  give  very  different  views  of  the  matter. 
 
 Dr  W/s  paraphrase  gives  the  whole  verse  thus :  '  And 
 6  say  not,  this  is  beyond  your  strength,  seeing  the  law  in 
 c  your  members  leads  you  captive  to  sin  ;  for  sin  shall  not 
 c  have  dominion  over  you,  for  ye  are  not  under  the  pedagogy 
 e  of  the  law,  which  gives  the  knowledge  of  sin,  but  not  suf- 
 c  ficient  strength  to  mortify  it ;  but  under  that  economy  of 
 '  grace  which  affords  that  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  which 
 '  frees  us  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death/  The  words,  peda- 
 gogy and  economy,  should  not  have  been  here,  for  reasons 
 that  will  probably  be  suggested  in  another  place ;  otherwise 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  81 
 
 this  paraphrase  is  right.  But  though  in  his  note  the  Doctor 
 calls  this  a  pious  sense,  he  adds,  e  but  seems  to  give  no 
 f  place  for  the  following  objection.  Others,  therefore,  pars- 
 •  phrase  the  words  thus/  And  after  giving  that  paraphrase, 
 he  interprets  the  text  concerning  the  power  that  sin  hath  by 
 the  law  to  condemn  and  give  death  for  transgression.  What 
 the  occasion  is  of  the  objection  in  the  following  verse,  we 
 shall  see  when  we  come  to  it ;  and  that  there  is  not  for  that 
 a  sufficient  reason  for  the  Doctor's  receding  from  what  he 
 calls  the  pious  sense.  Mr  John  Alexander,  in  his  posthumous 
 commentary  on  this  context,  follows  Dr  W.'s  interpretation 
 in  his  note ;  and  I  think  Dr  Doddridge's  interpretation, 
 especially  in  his  note,  goes  much  the  same  way.  The  para- 
 phrase of  this  verse  given  by  the  judicious  Dr  Guise  is  too 
 large  to  be  inserted  in  this  place.  It  gives  the  sense  of  the 
 text  in  a  clear  and  just  manner.  I  much  wish  the  learn- 
 ed writer  had  added  a  note  to  support  his  interpretation, 
 which  wTould  probably  have  been  done  by  him  with  greater 
 advantage,  than  it  is  likely  to  be  done  here. 
 
 However,  as  I  am  convinced  that  the  dominion  of  sin  here, 
 means  that  power  which  sin  hath  in  the  nature  and  practice 
 of  persons  under  the  law,  by  which  they  are  its  slaves,  obey 
 it,  and  do  its  service ;  I  come  now  to  give  my  reasons  for 
 understanding  it  so 
 
 1.  I  observe,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  apostle  ap- 
 pears to  have  much  in  his  view,  a  dominion  of  sin  by  which 
 men  are  its  servants,  (slaves,  as  was  in  those  times  the  com- 
 mon condition  of  servants)  doing  its  service  and  obeying  it. 
 So  ver.  16.  His  servants  ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey  ;  whether 
 of  sin  unto  death  ; — ver.  1 7.  Ye  were  the  servants  of  sin ; — ver. 
 18.  Being  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  the  servants  of 
 righteousness ; — ver.  20.  When  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin  ; — 
 ver.  22.  Now  being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants 
 to  God.  Now,  as  having  dominion,  and  being  slaves,  are 
 characters  and  states  that  are  correlates,  that  is,  have  mutual 
 relation  ;  as  it  is  the  scope  of  the  exhortation  that  begins 
 ver.  12.  to  exhort  Christians  not  to  obey  sin,  but  to  serve 
 and  obey  God ;  and  as  he  encourages  Christians  with  this 
 consideration,  that  having  been  the  slaves  of  sin,  they  had 
 been  made  free  from  that  slavery  and  dominion  ;  and  with 
 this  consideration,  that  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over 
 them  ;  it  is  exceeding  clear,  that  the  whole  drift  and  scope 
 of  the  discourse  and  reasoning  leads  us  to  understand,  by 
 
82  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 the  dominion  of  sin  here,  ver.  14.  that  dominion  by  which  it 
 holds  men  as  its  slaves,  and  employed  in  its  service. 
 
 2.  The  same  thing  will  appear  in  a  clear  and  strong  light, 
 rf  we  observe  what  he  hath  concerning  this  subject  in  the 
 seventh  chapter.  There,  in  the  first  context,  (ver.  1 — 13.) 
 it  appears  the  Christians  behoved  to  be  dead  to  the  law,  and 
 to  be  married  to  Christ,  in  order  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto 
 God  ;  this  ver.  4.  and  ver.  5.  we  see  such  a  pervalence  of 
 the  flesh  (of  depravation)  in  those  who  are  under  the  law, 
 that  sinful  motions  and  lusts  do  prevail,  even  by  occasion,  in 
 some  sort,  of  the  law  itself,  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death. 
 One  must  (ver.  6.)  be  delivered  from  the  law  in  order  to  be 
 capable  of  serving  God  in  newness  of  spirit,  in  an  acceptable 
 manner.  Yea,  such  is  the  prevailing  of  sin,  and  of  sinful 
 depravation,  in  persons  under  the  law,  that,  ver.  8.  it  takes 
 occasion  by  the  commandment  itself,  to  work  in  a  man  all 
 manner  of  concupiscence.  It  takes  occasion,  ver.  1 1 .  by  the 
 commandment,  and  slays  a  man.  Though  the  commandment 
 is  holy,  just,  and  good,  yet  sin  discovers  its  most  malignant 
 nature,  and  its  power,  by  working  death  in  a  man  by  that 
 which  is  good. 
 
 It  is  true  there  is  frequent  mention  in  that  context,  chap, 
 vii.  of  sin's  working  death  to  a  man;  but  it  doth  so  by 
 working  in  him  all  manner  of  concupiscence,  and  by  bring- 
 ing forth  fruit  unto  death. 
 
 We  see  in  that  context,  sin  holding  men,  who  are  under 
 the  law,  as  in  strong  fetters,  detaining  and  disabling  them 
 from  serving  God  acceptably,  or  bringing  forth  fruit  unto 
 God.  We  see  in  it  sin  putting  a  man  under  the  law  to  its 
 service,  in  defiance  of  the  light  and  authority  of  the  law. 
 Surely,  according  to  this,  men  under  the  law  are  the  slaves 
 of  sin,  and  it  hath  great  power  and  absolute  dominion  over 
 them  to  command  their  service.  Now,  as  it  is  generally 
 agreed,  that  in  the  first  context  of  chap.  vii.  the  apostle  is 
 explaining  what  he  had  said  here,  chap.  vi.  14.  can  any  un- 
 biassed and  thinking  person  doubt,  after  the  account  he  gives 
 there  of  the  condition  of  persons  under  the  law  with  regard 
 to  sin,  that  by  the  dominion  of  sin,  connected  (chap.  vi.  14.) 
 with  being  under  the  law,  he  means  its  practical  dominion 
 in  men's  nature  and  practice  ? 
 
 This  point  is  exceeding  clear  by  what  hath  been  observed; 
 and  its  evidence  doth  by  no  means  depend  on  what  I  now 
 further  suggest  and  submit  to  the  judgment  of  learned  read- 
 ers.    I  observe,  then,  that  in  the  preceding  context  of  chap. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  83 
 
 vi.  when  there  is  mention  of  sin  reigning,  the  word  is 
 flmrtXsvup,  to  act  the  king,  from  fixo-ttevg,  a  king.  But  the 
 word  in  our  present  text,  ver.  14.  is  kv^hvhv,  to  act  the  lord 
 or  master,  as  a  man  over  his  slaves.  These  words  represent 
 quite  different  ideas. 
 
 A  legal  kingly  government  receives  direction  and  limita- 
 tion from  law,  and  is  to  be  exercised  by  fixed  established 
 law  ;  so  if  sin  is  said  (chap.  v.  21.)  fixc-itevuv,  to  act  the  king — 
 to  reign  unto  death,  it  doth  so  according  to  law,  and  by 
 authority  of  law.  Again,  under  a  legal  and  limited  kingly 
 government,  the  subject  enjoys  liberty,  more  or  less,  and  the 
 kingly  government  is  supposed  to  be  founded,  in  some  sort, 
 on  the  consent  of  the  people  who  are  the  subjects  of  the  go- 
 vernment ;  so  here,  (ver.  12.)  the  exhortation,  not  to  let  sin, 
 fixc-itevuv,  to  reign,  or  act  the  king, — is  addressed  to  Chris- 
 tians by  divine  grace  made  free,  in  whom  sin  could  not  at- 
 tain considerable  prevalence,  or  reign  without  their  consent. 
 
 The  case  is  very  different  when  the  ruler  is  %vys,  as  here, 
 ver.  14.  or,  hmo^s,  lord  or  master.  Then  the  government 
 is  despotic ;  the  subjects  are  all  slaves  absolutely,  and  can- 
 not claim  benefit  by  laws,  but  are  governed  by  the  mere 
 arbitrary  will  of  the  sovereign  or  lord.  That  is  the  only  rule 
 of  his  government,  and  of  their  subjection,  which  hath  no 
 other  limitation.  Thus,  in  our  present  text,  ver.  14.  the  do- 
 minion of  sin  is  expressed  by  kv^ivhv,  to  act  the  lord  or  master, 
 as  over  slaves,  who  are  absolutely  in  the  power  of  their  lord  ; 
 and  must  act  according  to  his  will,  whatever  service  or 
 drudgery  he  shall  put  them  to. 
 
 Mr  John  Alexander  allows,  that  the  dominion  of  sin  here 
 is  such  dominion  as  one  hath  over  his  slaves ;  but  he  makes 
 it  to  mean  'the  power  that  sin  acquires,  in  consequence  of 
 f  this  (of  obeying  it  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,)  to  destroy  his 
 '  captives,  and  which  he  exercises  with  a  merciless  hand/ 
 But  besides  that  among  men,  from  whom  the  similitude  is 
 taken,  such  power  was  very  rarely  exercised,  and  was  not 
 consistent  with  justice  or  the  law  of  God,  it  hath  been  al- 
 ready shown  that  this  dominion  of  sin  is  not  that  by  which 
 it  gives  death  to  its  slaves,  but  that  by  which  it  commands 
 their  obedience  and  service;  which  is  made  very  clear  by 
 the  several  verses  and  expressions  of  the  context  above  ob- 
 served, and  adduced  to  that  purpose. 
 
 The  next  inquiry  is,  What  is  meant  by  being  under  grace  ? 
 Mr.  L.'s  paraphrase  gives  it  thus  :  '  You  are  not  under  the 
 c  law,  in  the  legal  stale,  but  are  under  grace,  in  the  gospel- 
 
84  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 c  state  of  the  covenant  of  grace/  The  expression  here 
 seems  to  respect  different  dispensations  or  states  of  the 
 covenant  of  grace,  the  gospel-dispensation  of  it,  and  a  pre- 
 vious dispensation,  which  may  be  justly  denominated  the 
 legal  dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  Mr.  L.  indeed, 
 does  not  seem  to  understand  the  legal  Mosaic  state  to  have 
 been  a  state  or  dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  Of 
 this  more  hereafter.  But  as  to  his  expression  here,  when  he 
 says,  the  gospel-state  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  to  what 
 other  state  or  dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace  doth  he 
 contradistinguish  this  gospel-state  of  it  ?  Any  who  shall 
 take  pains  to  inquire  into  his  sentiments  will  find  things 
 inconsistent,  yea,  absurd  enough,  with  the  learned  writer 
 concerning  this  point ;  some  of  which  may  come  in  our  way 
 hereafter. 
 
 Meantime,  in  his  note  he  gives  the  sense  of  the  last  clause, 
 under  grace,  thus  :  f  You  Gentiles  are  not  under  the  law, 
 '  which  condemns  to  death  for  every  the  least  transgression 
 <  — but  by  your  baptism  you  are  entered  into  the  covenant 
 '  of  grace  ;  and  being  under  grace,  God  will  accept  of  your 
 '  sincere  endeavours  in  the  place  of  exact  obedience/ 
 
 As  to  this,  though  we  are  far  from  thinking  that  sincere 
 endeavours  do  now  come  in  the  place  of  exact  and  perfect 
 obedience,  in  what  concerns  the  sinner's  justification,  yet  it 
 is  certain,  that  the  sincere  endeavours  of  believers  in  a  justi- 
 fied state  are  now  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 From  the  beginning  of  the  world,  all  they  who  believed  in 
 the  promised  Saviour,  and  in  the  promise  concerning  him, 
 being  justified,  their  sincere  endeavours  were  accepted. 
 Yea,  faithful  Israelites  under  the  Mosaic  law,  being  justified 
 through  faith,  as  was  their  father  Abraham,  themselves  and 
 their  sincere  endeavours  were  accepted,  when  they  were  far 
 from  exact  and  perfect  obedience.  This,  therefore,  is  not 
 peculiar  to  the  gospel-state  ;  nor  is  there  any  thing  in  it  of 
 privilege  peculiar  to  Gentile  converts,  as  contradistinguished 
 to  the  Jews,  as  Mr.  L.  would  have  it. 
 
 To  understand  being  under  grace,  merely  of  being  under 
 a  dispensation  or  constitution  of  grace  that  accepts  sincere 
 obedience  and  pardons  imperfections,  will  make  the  apostle's 
 declaration  in  our  text  not  consistent  with  truth.  For  how 
 many  millions  are  under  grace  in  that  sense,  who  are  under 
 the  dominion  of  sin,  and  perish  ?  Some  may  endeavour  to 
 make  this  right  by  giving  it  thus  :  If  you  decline  obeying 
 sin,  and  endeavour  to  mortify  it, — and  if  you  shall  yield  your 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  85 
 
 faculties  to  God,  and  his  service  sincerely, — then  sin  shall 
 not  have  dominion  over  you,  being  under  grace.  This,  how- 
 ever, is  making  the  declaration  and  promise  in  the  text  con- 
 ditional ;  whereas  it  is  given  forth  by  the  apostle  as  absolute 
 and  certain,  not  suspended  on  the  Christian's  endeavours, 
 but  insured  by  the  grace  they  are  under.  As  there  is  no- 
 thing in  the  apostle's  speech,  so  neither  is  there  any  thing 
 else,  to  make  a  good  reason  for  understanding  otherwise. 
 There  are  many  conditional  promises,  but  this  is  none  of 
 them. 
 
 If  we  observe  the  apostle's  own  doctrine  and  style,  it  will 
 direct  us  how  to  understand  being  under  grace.  In  the 
 beginning  of  the  preceding  chapter  he  acquaints  us,  that 
 Christians,  being  justified  through  faith,  are  reconciled  and 
 at  peace  with  God  ;  and  further,,  that  they  have  access, 
 7T£o<rxyuyw,  the  bringing,  or  introducing  them  unto  that  grace, 
 wherein,  saitb  he,  we  stand  ;  not  in  a  fleeting  and  changing 
 condition,  but  as  in  a  fixed  state.  It  is  said,  John  iii.  36. 
 He  that  believeth  not  the  Son,  (that  doth  not  so,  truly  and 
 sincerely,)  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him.  But  the 
 Christian,  being  by  his  justification  through  faith  delivered 
 from  the  wrath  and  the  curse  he  had  been  under, — he  is 
 now  personally  under  the  actual  grace  and  favour  of  God, 
 and  in  a  state  of  grace,  as  to  his  real  spiritual  state  before 
 God. 
 
 Though  it  hath  been  observed,  that  grace  doth  commonly 
 signify  favour,  even  free  unmerited  favour,  yet  in  this  place 
 grace  certainly  signifies  more  than  being  in  favour  at  pre- 
 sent with  God.  Being  at  present  in  favour  with  God  would 
 not  secure  things  for  the  future,  as  in  our  text.  Whilst 
 Adam  continued  in  his  innocence,  he  was  under  Divine 
 favour ;  but  this  did  not  secure  against  his  falling  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin.  If  the  apostle  meant  nothing  here,  but 
 that  Christians,  being  under  grace,  would  be  secure  against 
 falling  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  upon  certain  conditions, 
 depending  merely  and  altogether  on  themselves,  the  com- 
 fort would  amount  to  little.  If  man  in  his  state  of  perfection 
 fell  short  of  the  conditions  prescribed  to  him,  how  likely 
 would  fallen  man  be  to  fall  short  ?  But  the  grace  of  the 
 new  covenant  doth,  as  chap.  v.  21.  reign  unto  eternal  life, 
 and  makes  it  sure  to  the  seed.  So  chap.  iv.  1 6.  It  is  of  faith, 
 that  it  might  be  by  grace,  (the  consequence  is,)  that  the  pro- 
 mise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed.  The  first  covenant, 
 though  it  promised  much  good,  upon  most  reasonable  and 
 
 d  5 
 
86  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 equitable  conditions,  yet  it  made  nothing  sure.  But  the 
 grace  and  promise  of  the  new  covenant  made  all  sure.  It 
 secures  to  the  believer  eternal  life,  and  the  safety  and  success 
 of  his  course  and  way  to  the  enjoyment  of  it,  according  to 
 Jer.  xxxii.  40. 
 
 In  what  manner,  and  by  what  means  grace  doth  contri- 
 bute to  preserve  them  who  are  in  a  state  of  grace  from  falling 
 again  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  must  be  referred  to  another 
 place,  where  the  important  matter  may  be  explained  more 
 largely  than  would  be  fit  here.     (See  Appendix,  sect.  2.) 
 
 There  remains  this  clause  of  ver.  14.  Ye  are  not  under 
 the  law.  But  this  falls  to  be  explained  at  some  length  in 
 the  explication  of  the  following  chapter ;  and  it  is  not  fit  to 
 anticipate  here  what  must  be  there  said.  See  on  chap, 
 vii.  4. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 14.  For  animating  you  to  refuse  the  ser- 
 vice of  sin,  and  earnestly  to  resist  its  demands  and  urgency, 
 and  to  endeavour  through  the  Spirit  to  mortify  it,  you  have 
 this  great  encouragement  and  consolation,  that,  being  made 
 free  from  the  reign  and  dominion  of  sin,  you  certainly  shall 
 never  come  again  under  its  dominion  :  and  of  that  you  may 
 assure  yourselves  from  this,  that  you  are  not  now,  as  former- 
 ly, under  the  law,  which  could  not  subdue  sin,  nor  enable 
 you  to  subdue  it,  so  that  you  then  remained  the  servants 
 (the  slaves)  of  sin  ;  but  that  you  are  under  that  grace  which 
 hath  made  you  free  ;  and  which,  according  to  the  tenor  and 
 promises  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  will  preserve  and  uphold 
 you  in  that  freedom  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  until  it  per- 
 fectly accomplish  all  its  purpose,  to  your  eternal  comfort  and 
 happiness. 
 
 TEXT. 15.   What  then  %  shall  we  sin,  because  tee  are  not  under  the  law, 
 
 but  under  grace  ?    God  forbid. 
 
 Explication. — I  do  not  take  this  to  be  a  new  objection 
 different  from  that  which  was  suggested,  ver.  1.  But  the 
 apostle  having  here,  ver.  14.  asserted,  that  the  Christian  is 
 not  under  the  law,  he  supposes  an  adversary  might  from 
 this  reinforce  his  argument  and  objection,  putting  it  in  anew 
 form,  suited  to  the  expression  of  ver.  14.  I  cannot  express 
 my  views  of  this  verse,  or  explain  it  better  than  by  the  fol- 
 lowing 
 
 Paraphrase. — 15.  What,  then,  may  I  suppose  that  a  Chris- 
 tian, who  mistakes  my  doctrine,  or  inclines  to  abuse  it,  or 
 that  an  adversary  of  grace,  may  infer  or  object  ?     Possibly, 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  87 
 
 such  may  suggest  and  argue  thus  :  You  have  said,  that  where 
 sin  abounded,  grace  hath  much  more  abounded  ;  viz.  in 
 pardoning.  This  hath  great  appearance  of  encouraging  per- 
 sons to  continue  in  sin.  But  now  you  have  made  things 
 much  more  strong  to  that  purpose,  by  saying,  that  the  Chris- 
 tian is  not  under  the  law.  The  law  strictly  prohibits  sin, 
 and  denounces  fearful  judgment  for  transgression;  and  might 
 by  that  means  greatly  discourage  and  repress  sin.  But  is 
 it  indeed  the  state  of  the  believer,  to  be  under  the  covert 
 and  protection  of  grace  that  superabounds  in  pardoning,  and 
 at  the  same  time  to  be  delivered  from  the  law,  and  to  be  no 
 longer  under  the  law,  that  breathes  forth  so  strongly  against 
 sin,  particularly  in  its  awful  threatening  ?  May  not  such  sin 
 freely  ?  for  what  cause  can  they  have  to  apprehend  hurt  or 
 danger  to  themselves  by  doing  so  ?  So  some  may  argue  ; 
 but  far  be  it  from  us  so  to  abuse  the  happy  privilege  which 
 we  have  by  grace.  Surely  the  doctrine  of  grace  imports  no- 
 thing that  would  encourage  us  to  do  so. 
 
 TEXT. — 16.  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to 
 obey,  his  servants  ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey  ;  whether  of  sin  unto  death, 
 or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness  ? 
 
 Explication. — One  might  readily  think  at  first  sight, 
 that  the  apostle  doth  not  here  answer  so  directly  and  clearly 
 to  the  objection  and  argument  in  the  preceding  verse  as 
 might  be  wished.  But  on  considering  this  text  closely,  we 
 shall  find  two  things  in  it.  First,  that  the  apostle  doth  here 
 insist  in  the  exhortation  he  had  begun,  ver.  12  ;  and  next, 
 that  he  doth  so  in  such  manner  in  this  verse,  as  to  make  a 
 very  sufficient  answer  to  the  argument  or  objection  in  the 
 preceding  verse. 
 
 I  say,  the  apostle  here  insists  in  the  exhortation  begun, 
 ver.  12,  13.  One  may  be  satisfied  about  this,  by  observing 
 the  style  of  this  verse  so  suited  as  it  is  to  the  style  of  ver.  13. 
 and  the  argument  here  so  much  suited  as  it  is  to  the  pur- 
 pose of  the  13th  and  preceding  verse.  There  he  exhorted 
 Christians  not  to  yield  themselves,  or  their  members,  to  the 
 obedience  or  service  of  sin,  but  to  the  service  of  God. 
 Here,  again,  is  mention  of  yielding  themselves,  and  of  both 
 sorts  of  service.     So  the  conformity  of  style  is  evident. 
 
 It  was  observed  before,  that  the  word  we  render  by  yield- 
 ing, properly  signifies  to  sist,  or  present  one's  self,  with  his 
 arms  or  weapons,  to  a  master  or  commander.  So  Mr  L. 
 observes,  and,  long  before  him,  Beza.     I  also  observed,  that 
 
88  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 one's  thus  sisting,  or  presenting  himself,  is  something  fully, 
 voluntary,  and  deliberate.  In  the  latter  context  of  chap.  vii. 
 there  is  much  represented  of  the  motions  and  strength  of  sin. 
 But  there  is  much  regret,  sorrow,  conflict,  and  outcry  of 
 misery.  The  case  directly  opposite  to  that  is  here  hinted  ; 
 the  case  of  one  deliberately  and  voluntarily  sisting  or  present- 
 ing himself,  and  his  faculties,  to  sin  and  its  service.  A 
 Christian  may  sin  through  mere  infirmity,  or  by  the  surprise 
 and  force  of  temptation  ;  the  effect  of  which  becomes  after- 
 wards very  bitter  to  him.  But  for  a  man  to  present  or  sist 
 (deliberately,  voluntarily)  himself  and  his  faculties  to  the 
 service  of  sin,  whether  in  his  general  course  of  life  and  prac- 
 tice, or  in  the  service  of  a  particular  predominant  and  in- 
 dulged lust ;  this  makes  a  very  ill  case,  against  which  Chris- 
 tians are  here  earnestly  exhorted,  and  this  enforced  by  a 
 strong  argument. 
 
 The  argument  seems  to  be  to  this  purpose.  A  person, 
 thinking  that  himself  hath  been  made  free  from  the  dominion 
 of  sin,  may  imagine  himself  to  be  acting  with  liberty  in  serv- 
 ing sin,  in  this  and  the  other,  and  in  very  many  instances. 
 But  the  reality  of  the  case  is,  that  by  thus  sisting  himself  to 
 sin  and  its  service,  he  doth  prove  himself  to  be  indeed  the 
 servant  of  sin,  and  its  slave.  Now,  to  a  Christian,  who  hath 
 been  made  sensible  of  the  misery  of  such  a  slavery,  and  of  the 
 valuable  privilege  and  advantage  of  being  made  free  from 
 that  slavery,  the  thought  of  coming  in  any  sort  or  degree 
 into  it  again,  and  showing  so  by  his  practice,  should  be  so 
 frightsome  and  shocking,  as  to  awaken  him  to  earnest  care- 
 fulness to  keep  himself  at  the  utmost  distance  from  it.  This 
 1  take  to  be  the  import  of  the  argument,  as  it  respects  the 
 subject  of  the  exhortation  in  ver.  12,  13. 
 
 I  said,  that  the  apostle  manages  this  argument,  so  as  at 
 the  same  time  to  suggest  a  sufficient  and  very  proper  an- 
 swer to  the  objection  in  ver.  15.  He  had  said,  ver.  14.  that 
 sin  would  not  have  dominion  over  the  believers,  they  not 
 being  under  the  law,  but  under  grace.  Ay,  then,  says  the 
 supposed  adversary,  if  so,  the  stroke  of  the  law  cannot  reach 
 us,  we  not  being  under  it ;  and  grace  will  protect  us  and 
 keep  us  safe  :  therefore  we  may,  without  any  apprehension, 
 take  full  liberty  in  sinning.  But  by  no  means  ;  such  an 
 abuse  of  grace  were  horrible,  and  the  reasoning  is  vain.  By 
 taking  such  liberty  to  sin,  a  man  will  prove  that  he  is  truly 
 its  servant  and  slave,  and  so  demonstrate  that  he  is  not  un- 
 der grace,  but  indeed  under  the  law,  whose  curse  and  judg- 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  89 
 
 ment  will  yet  reach  him  with  fearful  effect.  Thus,  ver.  16. 
 contains  this  very  pointed  and  striking  answer  to  what  was 
 suggested  in  ver.  15. 
 
 One  thing  yet  on  the  last  clause — or  (servants)  of  obe- 
 dience unto  righteousness.  The  service  of  God  is  (as  ver.  13. 
 and  here)  righteousness,  and  men  fulfil  and  do  that  service 
 only  in  way  of  obedience,  which  pre-supposes  divine  command 
 and  institution.  Therefore  superstitious  practices  in  religion, 
 and  will- worship,  which  have  not  the  warrant  of  the  Divine 
 command  and  institution,  and  do  not  come  under  the  notion 
 of  obedience,  whatever  show  they  may  have  of  wisdom,  yet 
 do  not  truly  belong  to  the  service  of  God,  or  to  the  practice 
 of  righteousness. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 16.  But  let  me  not  be  diverted  from  the 
 exhortation  I  have  begun  ;  but  let  me  still  earnestly  entreat 
 you  not  to  obey  sin  in  the  lusts  thereof,  nor  to  sist  your  fa- 
 culties to  its  service ;  but  to  yield  yourselves,  with  all  your 
 faculties  and  powers,  to  God  and  to  righteousness,  in  way 
 of  obedience.  For  if  I  have  said  that  ye  are  not  under  the 
 law,  it  was  far  from  my  meaning  that  you  might  withdraw 
 yourselves  from  the  authority  and  obedience  of  the  holy  com- 
 mandment, which  is  the  rule  of  righteousness  ;  so  that  no- 
 thing can  be  counted  righteousness,  or  the  service  of  God, 
 that  is  not  obedience  and  conformity  to  that  rule.  Let  me 
 then  enforce  my  exhortation  by  the  consideration  of  what 
 you  know, — what  every  one  knows  ;  viz.  that  to  whom  one 
 sists  himself  voluntarily  and  habitually  to  obey  and  serve 
 him,  he  thereby  proves,  that  he  whom  he  so  serves  and  obeys, 
 is  indeed  his  master  and  lord,  whether  it  be  sin,  who  gives 
 death  for  wages,  (ver.  23.)  or  God,  in  way  of  obedience  to 
 his  will,  commandment,  and  institutions,  in  order  to  com- 
 plete that  service  of  righteousness,  which  will  issue  in  eter- 
 nal life.  Have  you  then  been  sensible  of  the  great  wretch* 
 edness  of  being  the  servants  of  sin,  and  of  the  great  good 
 that  grace  hath  done  you,  in  making  you  free  from  that 
 thraldom  ?  be  warned  to  keep  yourselves  at  the  greatest  dis- 
 tance from  that  way  of  practice  that  would  give  suspicion 
 that  you  are  again  entangled  and  engaged  therein. 
 
 Now,  will  any  say,  because  persons  are  not  under  the  law, 
 but  under  grace,  that  therefore  they  may  freely  and  safely 
 go  into  a  course  of  sin  ?  surely  if  any,  with  the  high  praise, 
 perhaps,  of  grace  in  their  mouths,  shall  so  believe,  and  shall 
 presume  so  to  live,  the  reproach  and  real  abuse  of  grace  will 
 recoil,  and  fall  with  fearful  weight  on  their  heads.     There  is 
 
90  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 no  fallacy  in  the  promises  of  the  new  covenant,  or  in  the 
 doctrine  of  grace;  but  there  may  be  much  fallacy  and  de- 
 ception in  men's  notion  and  opinion  of  their  own  state.  They 
 who  so  argue,  and  so  live,  as  I  have  been  just  saying,  will 
 prove  nothing  truly  dishonourable  to  grace  ;  but  they  will 
 prove,  to  their  own  confusion,  that  they  have  not  been  truly 
 under  grace,  but  indeed  under  the  law  in  the  flesh,  under 
 the  dominion  of  sin,  serving  it ;  for  which  the  stroke  of  the 
 law  will  reach  them  fearfully  ;  especially  in  the  great  day  of 
 the  vengeance  of  grace,  and  of  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  ;  when 
 grace,  which  they  have  so  much  counteracted  and  affronted, 
 will  not  interpose  to  screen  them  from  the  righteous  judg- 
 ment. 
 
 TEXT 17.  But  God  be  thanked,  that  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin  ;  but 
 
 ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which  was  delivered 
 you. 
 
 Explication — When  the  apostle  says  here,  that  they  had 
 been  the  servants  of  sin,  it  may  give  occasion  for  some  ques- 
 tion concerning  the  ground   on  which  he  says  so.     If  the 
 Roman   Christians  had   been  universally  converted  imme- 
 diately from   heathenism,   some   might   suppose   he  had  no 
 other  in  view  than   their  former  state  of  heathenism.     But 
 that  was  not  the  case.     There  were  in  that  church  a  good 
 many  Israelites,  or  Jews,  as  appears  in  chap.  xvi.  who  were 
 brought  up  in  the  church  of  God.     There  might  be  also  a 
 good  many  who  were  brought  up  from  childhood  in  a  state 
 of  proselytism,  and  in  the  early  knowledge  and  faith  of  the 
 holy  scriptures,  as  was  Timothy,  under  his  pious  and  believ- 
 ing mother  and  grandmother.     Though  these  Romans,  who 
 had  been  converted  from  heathenism,  had  certainly  been 
 the  servants  of  sin,  yet  how  comes  he  to  say  of  that  church 
 universally,  and  without  the  hint  of  any  exception,  that  they 
 had  been  formerly  the  servants  of  sin  ?     If  he  addresses  the 
 churches  he  writes  to,  under  the  character  and  designation 
 of  believers,  without  giving  the  hint  of  any  exceptions,  there 
 was  reason  for  this  from  their  profession,  and  from  the  fa- 
 vourable judgment  of  charity.     But  such  Jews,  and  persons 
 brought  up  from  childhood  in  proselytism,  as  were  members 
 of  that  church,  had  not  been  by  profession  the  servants  of 
 sin  ;  nor  would  the  judgment  of  charity  direct  or  permit  him 
 to  call  them  so,  if  he  knew  them  not  better,  and  their  having 
 universally  proved   by   their   practice  that  they   were   so, 
 than  it  is  likely  the  apostle  did,  who  had  at  that  time  never 
 
Of  Romans  VL  Ql 
 
 been  in  Rome.  How,  then,  can  we  account  for  it,  that  he 
 says  of  them  universally,  that  they  had  been  without  excep- 
 tion, the  servants  (the  slaves)  of  sin,  but  on  this  ground  that 
 it  is  the  common  and  natural  condition  of  all  men  to  be  the 
 servants  of  sin  ? 
 
 The  last  clause  of  this  text,  which  was  delivered  you,  is 
 as  Castellio  renders,  and  which  Beza  calls  a  perverse  render- 
 ing. He  would  probably  have  spoke  more  softly  of  our 
 translation ;  though  he  and  the  Vulgar  had  good  reason  to 
 render  otherwise.  The  word  rendered  form,  doth  signify, 
 form,  rule,  or  pattern.  Sometimes  it  signifies  a  mould  ;  and 
 it  seems  to  be  here  determined  to  that  sense  by  the  expres- 
 sions connected  therewith  ;  which,  as  they  run  in  the  Greek, 
 are  to  be  thus  rendered,  into  which  ye  were  delivered  over> 
 or  cast.  Here  are  very  different  ideas.  Obeying  respects 
 the  authority  of  the  doctrine.  Being  delivered  over,  or  cast 
 into  it,  respects  the  doctrine  under  the  notion  of  a  mould, 
 which  gives  its  own  a  new  form  to  that  which  is  cast  into 
 it.  This  verse,  then,  doth  in  the  general,  represent  the  doc- 
 trine of  the  gospel,  and  men's  obeying  it,  yielding  it  the  obe- 
 dience of  faith,  as  the  great  means  of  sanctification,  and  of 
 freedom  from  the  slavery  of  sin: — Ye  rvere  the  servants  of 
 sin  ;   but  ye  have  obeyed. 
 
 For  explaining  the  matter  briefly,  as  here  set  forth  :  1 . 
 The  word  of  Christ  is,  as  hath  been  said,  the  mean  of  puri- 
 fying, and  of  freedom  from  the  slavery  of  sin.  So  John  xv. 
 3.  Ye  are  clean  through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto 
 you.  So  also  John  viii.  32.  Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the 
 truth  shall  make  you  free.  2.  The  truth,  or  doctrine  of  faith, 
 hath  this  effect,  through  men's  obeying  it,  or  yielding  it  the 
 obedience  of  faith,  and  that  with  great  freedom  of  will.  To 
 this  obedience  the  matter  is  ascribed  in  our  text.  But  is  this 
 obedience  merely  from  man's  own  will?  By  no  means  ;  for, 
 3.  There  is  in  it  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is 
 expressed  with  regard  to  a  main  branch  of  holiness,  viz. 
 brotherly  love,  1  Pet.  i.  22. — Ye  have  purified  your  souls  in 
 obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit,  unto  unfeigned  love 
 of  the  brethren.  Here  Christians  are  represented,  in  obey- 
 ing and  purifying  their  souls,  as  acting  with  the  freedom  that 
 is  essential  to  moral  agency  ;  yet  so  acting  and  purifying 
 their  souls,  the  one  and  the  other,  by  the  Spirit  and  his 
 powerful  influence.  There  seems  to  be  some  hint  of  this  in- 
 tended in  our  text,  s<$  ov  7tu^o^ati,  into  which  ye  were  de- 
 livered, or  cast.     The  verb   here  is  passive ;  the  Christian 
 
92  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 hath  been  so  delivered  over  and  cast  by  another  hand. 
 They  obeyed  the  doctrine  heartily;  in  this  they  were  active  : 
 yet  they  were  cast  into  the  mould  of  this  doctrine,  and 
 thereby  received  the  new  form  of  faith,  obedience,  and  ho- 
 liness, from  another  hand  and  influence.  So  that  they  were 
 active  in  obeying  the  truth  ;  and  at  the  very  same  time  and 
 instant,  were  passive  with  regard  to  the  superior  influence. — 
 Beholding — the  glory  of  the  Lord,  (2  Cor.  iii.  18.)  we  are 
 changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the 
 Spirit  of  the  Lord.  No  created  being  can  absolutely,  and 
 by  immediate  influence,  determine  the  will.  But  cannot  the 
 Creator  do,  by  his  instruction  and  influence,  what  no  created 
 being  can  ?  The  Psalmist  thought  so,  when  he  argued  and 
 prayed,  as  Psal.  cxix.  73.  Thy  hands  have  made  me,  and 
 fashioned  me;  give  me  understanding,  that  I  may  learn  thy 
 commandments.  They  who  hold  that  the  superior  influence 
 of  the  Creator,  effectually  determining  and  disposing  the 
 heart  to  that  which  is  good,  is  inconsistent  with  free  agency, 
 are  as  destitute  of  foundation  in  sound  reason  as  they  are 
 grossly  contrary  to  the  scriptures. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 17.  But  I  hope  better  things  of  you  than 
 to  sist  yourselves  to  the  service  of  sin,  and  see  cause  of  thank- 
 fulness to  God,  the  author  and  true  cause  of  the  great  effect ; 
 that,  whereas  you  had  been  the  servants  of  sin,  you  have  sin- 
 cerely and  heartily  obeyed  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel ;  into 
 which,  by  the  power  and  efficiency  of  a  superior  hand,  as 
 into  a  mould,  ye  were  delivered  over  and  cast :  and  so  the 
 truth  hath  made  you  free  from  the  dominion  which  sin  un- 
 happily had  sometime  over  you. 
 
 TEXT. — 18.  Being  then  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  the  servants  of 
 righteousness. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 18.  Being,  then,  through  your  obeying 
 the  truth,  which  conveyed  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  of 
 divine  grace  through  him  into  your  hearts,  and  through  the 
 faith  thereof,  under  the  powerful  influence  of  the  Holy 
 Spirit,  made  free  from  the  wretched  thraldom  of  sin^ — ye 
 became  the  servants  of  righteousness,  I  mean  the  servants  of 
 God,  (ver.  22.)  having  the  principles  of  righteousness  pre- 
 vailing and  dominant  in  your  hearts,  in  place  of  the  vile 
 principles  of  sin,  unrighteousness,  and  impurity,  which  for- 
 merly reigned  therein. 
 
Of  Romans  VI.  QS 
 
 TEXT — 19.  /  speak  after  the  manner  of  men,  because  of  the  infirmity  of 
 your  flesh  :  for  as  ye  have  yielded  your  members  servants  to  unclean- 
 ness,  and  to  iniquity  unto  iniquity  ;  even  so  now  yield  your  members 
 servants  to  righteousness  unto  holiness. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 19.  You  have,  through  the  infirmity  of 
 your  present  condition  in  the  flesh,  such  disadvantage  and 
 weakness  of  understanding,  in  conceiving  spiritual  things, 
 except  they  be  set  before  you  under  the  similitude  of  things 
 earthly,  (John  iii.  12.)  that  I  have  judged  it  needful  to  speak 
 of  what  concerns  your  spiritual  condition,  with  regard  to  sin 
 and  holiness,  in  language,  and  under  a  similitude  taken  from 
 the  manner  and  affairs  of  men,  respecting  masters  and  their 
 bond-servants,  which  you  Romans  are  well  acquainted  with. 
 Upon  the  same  view  to  your  infirmity — though  I  might, 
 upon  comparing  both  sorts  of  service  together,  reasonably 
 require  of  you  a  zeal,  fervency,  and  assiduity,  in  the  bet- 
 ter service  of  righteousness,  incomparably  beyond  what  you 
 showed  in  the  service  of  sin ;  yet,  as  this  perhaps  goes  be- 
 yond any  attainment  which,  in  your  present  infirmity  in  the 
 flesh,  you  are  likely  to  reach — and  so  might,  through  your 
 weakness,  occasion  your  forming  conclusions  too  unfavour- 
 able and  discouraging  concerning  your  condition — let  me 
 exhort  you  to  some  purity,  at  least,  of  endeavour  in  the  bet- 
 ter service  you  are  through  grace  engaged  in  ;  and  that  as 
 you  have  heretofore  yielded  your  members  servants  to  impu- 
 rity and  iniquity,  to  the  practice  and  increase  of  iniquity  ; 
 so  now  that  you  sist  all  your  faculties,  affections,  and  powers, 
 servants  of  righteousness,  to  the  practice  and  advancement 
 of  holiness. 
 
 TEXT. — 20.  For  "when  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  ye  were  free  from 
 righteousness. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 20.  It  may  be  a  very  cogent  argument  to 
 move  you  to  this,  that  when  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  you 
 were  free  from  the  dominion  of  righteousness.  However 
 you  might,  even  from  carnal  motives  and  ends,  comply  with 
 the  natural  notions  of  men  concerning  virtue  and  decency, 
 at  least  in  the  appearance  of  these,  yet  ye  were  in  no  true 
 subjection  to  righteousness,  or  to  the  law  of  God,  which  is 
 the  rule  of  it ;  nor  had  the  necessary  principles  of  acceptable 
 righteousness  any  influence  in  your  hearts.  Should  you  not 
 then  be  excited  by  the  consideration  of  this,  to  be  very  care- 
 ful, now  that  you  are  the  servants  of  righteousness,  (ver. 
 
94?  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 18.)  to  maintain  your  liberty  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  not 
 to  allow  it  to  prevail  with  you  in  any  sort,  to  yield  your- 
 selves, or  your  members  to  its  service  ;  but  that  ye  should, 
 as  I  have  been  exhorting  you,  be  faithful  and  assiduous  ser- 
 vants to  your  new  and  better  Master,  ever  sisting  all  your 
 powers  of  soul  and  body  ready  for  his  service,  in  the  prac- 
 tice of  holiness  ? 
 
 TEXT. — 21.    What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things,  thereof  ye  are  now 
 ashamed  9  for  the  end  of  those  things  is  death. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 21.  Let  me  further  argue  from  the  com- 
 parative consideration  of  the  fruit  and  consequence  of  both 
 sorts  of  service  and  practice  :  First,  as  to  the  service  of  sin, 
 what  fruit,  may  I  ask  you,  had  ye  by  yielding  your  members 
 to  its  service  ?  did  not  pride,  envy,  malice,  wrath,  revenge, 
 covetousness,  and  deceitfulness,  that  defiled  your  spirits, 
 bring  present  disturbance,  distress,  and  misery  upon  your 
 souls  ?  did  not  the  gratification  of  brutal  appetites,  that  are 
 the  filthiness  of  the  flesh,  waste  your  bodies  and  estates,  and 
 bring  misery  upon  your  families  ?  were  not  these  malignant 
 passions  and  foul  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season,  always  at- 
 tended with  pricking  and  painful  remorse  in  time,  and  with 
 sad  misgivings  of  heart  with  respect  to  future  judgment  and 
 eternity  ?  Indeed,  now  that  the  Lord  has  been  gracious  to 
 you,  these  practices,  in  which  ye  served  sin,  do,  on  recollec- 
 tion, give  you  that  shame  and  confusion  of  face  that  ever 
 accompanies  true  repentance ;  and  that  is  all  the  fruit  that 
 remains  with  you  of  a  practice  and  course,  which,  if  the 
 rich  grace  of  God  do  not  interpose,  doth  always  terminate  in 
 death  and  eternal  misery.  Let  me  next  observe  the  matter 
 to  you  on  the  other  side. 
 
 TEXT. — 22.  But  now  leing  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to 
 God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life. 
 
 Explication. — The  apostle  having  designed  to  give  a 
 comparative  view  of  the  fruit  and  consequence  of  both  sorts 
 of  service — that  of  sin  and  that  of  God — he  did  so  as  to  the 
 former  in  the  preceding  verse  ;  and  now  he  proceeds  here  to 
 give  a  view  of  the  fruit  and  consequence  of  serving  God  in 
 righteousness  and  holiness. 
 
 The  servant  of  God  here  is  the  same  as  the  servant  of 
 righteousness,  ver.  18.  God  is  the  Lord  and  Master;  righte- 
 ousness is  the  service. 
 
0/Roma?is  VI.  Q5 
 
 It  hath  been  observed  before,  that  the  notion  of  servants, 
 according  to  these  times,  includes  the  notion  of  slavery, — by 
 which  a  servant  was  the  property  of  his  master,  as  to  his 
 person  ;  and  behoved  to  be  absolutely  subject,  as  to  his  ser- 
 vice and  employment,  to  his  master's  will,  to  be  commanded 
 and  disposed  of  as  he  pleased.  The  servant  of  God  is  ab- 
 solutely his,  as  to  his  person,  and  that  by  the  original  right 
 of  creation  and  sovereignty,  and  by  the  superadded  right 
 of  grace  and  redemption.  Yea,  the  servant  of  God  hath 
 freely  and  fully,  by  his  own  choice,  given  himself  up  to  the 
 Lord,  to  be  his,  as  a  man's  bond-servant  is  his,  being  bought 
 with  his  money,  or  born  in  his  house.  So  the  Psalmist  ac- 
 knowledges, Psal.  cxvi.  16.  I  am  thy  servant,  and  the  son  of 
 thy  handmaid.  But  there  is  otherwise  great  odds,  with  re- 
 gard to  the  liberty  of  mind  and  spirit,  the  confidence,  con- 
 solation, and  hope,  very  opposite  to  a  state  of  slavery  or  bon- 
 dage, which  the  Christian  hath  in  the  service  of  his  natural 
 and  rightful  Lord  ;  whom  he  is,  at  the  same  time,  to  consi- 
 der as  his  Father,  and  himself  as  a  son  by  he  adoption  of 
 grace,  and  an  heir.  On  these  accounts,  though  the  Christian 
 is  the  absolute  property  of  his  Lord,  and  absolutely  sub- 
 ject to  his  sovereignty  and  will,  yet  his  state  is  not  that  of 
 slavery  and  bondage.  To  him  the  law,  which  expresses  his 
 Master's  will  and  is  the  rule  of  his  service,  is  the  perfect  lam 
 of  liberty,  James  i.  25. 
 
 We  may  now  be  fully  satisfied  concerning  the  distinction 
 suggested  with  regard  to  the  reign  and  dominion  of  sin.  If 
 Christ  died  unto  sin,  ver,  10.  this  can  be  understood  in  no 
 sense  suiting  the  expression,  but  that  of  his  becoming  by  his 
 own  expiating  death  free  from  sin,  as  to  its  penal  conse- 
 quence, as  it  reigned  unto  death.  Sinners  under  the  reign 
 of  sin  in  that  sense,  are  not  so  properly  the  servants  of  sin, 
 but  rather  the  victims  of  justice,  in  consequence  of  their 
 having  served  sin.  But  in  this  exhortation  which  was  be- 
 gun at  ver.  12.  and  is  insisted  in  downwards  throughout  the 
 chapter,  till  we  are  now  at  the  end  of  it,  when  we  have 
 mention  of  sinners  as  the  servants  of  sin,  sisting  themselves 
 and  their  faculties  to  its  service,  and  obeying  it,  and  some 
 made  free  from  that  slavery,  and  engaged  in  the  service  of 
 God  and  righteousness  ;  this,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the 
 other  sin  set  forth  as  a  master,  whose  service  is  done,  and 
 as  kv^os,  a  lord  having  dominion  ;  it  is  as  clear  as  any  thing 
 can  be,  that  this  can  be  understood  of  no  other  than  what  I 
 
96  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 called  a  practical  dominion — a  dominion  by  which  sin  power- 
 fully holds  sinners  its  slaves,  employed  in  its  service. 
 
 One  thing  yet  on  this  first  clause,  and  its  connexion  with 
 what  next  follows. — They  who  have  at  heart  to  be  the  ser- 
 vants of  God,  and  have  some  perception  of  the  happiness  of 
 that  state,  should  be  very  solicitous,  that,  in  order  thereto, 
 they  may  be  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  For  that 
 is  the  connexion  of  things  in  our  present  text,  Being  made 
 free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  of  God.  There  is  needful 
 here,  not  merely  good  purposes'and  some  sort  of  change  of 
 practice,  but  a  change  of  nature  and  of  a  man's  spiritual 
 state  ;  that  the  death  of  Christ,  and  his  resurrection,  with 
 the  benefits  thereof,  be  truly  and  effectually  applied  to  them 
 by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  by  faith  ;  the  Holy  Spirit,  renewing 
 the  heart,  and  being  in  it  the  Spirit  of  faith.  Good  pur- 
 poses and  resolutions,  and  some  sort  of  endeavours,  without 
 this,  may  make  a  self-deceiving  and  shining  hypocrite,  but 
 will  not  make  a  genuine  sincere  servant  of  God. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 22.  Let  us  next,  then,  consider  the  other 
 side  of  the  comparison,  and  the  advantage  of  being  the  ser- 
 vants of  God.  For  now,  being,  by  means  of  Christ's  death 
 and  resurrection,  brought  under  grace,  made  free  from  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  and  become  the  servants  of  God,  (which  ye 
 could  not  be  without  being  so  made  free  from  your  former 
 master)  ye  have  your  fruit  in  that  service,  to  the  advance- 
 ment of  holiness, — fruit  at  present  sweet,  healthful,  and 
 comfortable,  and,  as  to  futurity,  terminating  in  eternal  life. 
 
 TEXT — 23.  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death  ;   but  the  gift  of  God  is  eter- 
 nal life,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
 
 Explication. — The  Greek  o-J/vviov,  rendered  wages,  was 
 commonly  meant  of  the  pay  of  soldiers  in  provisions  or  mo- 
 ney. Dannhauerus,  cited  by  Wolfius,  gives  an  account  of  it 
 to  this  purpose  and  sense  :  It  commonly  signified,  he  says, 
 the  wages,  in  particular,  by  which  gladiators  were  hired  to 
 sell  their  blood,  to  give  pleasure  to  the  populace.  So,  as  the 
 gladiator,  for  wages  and  provisions  afforded  him,  gave  him- 
 self up  to  butchery  and  destruction,  for  the  amusement  and 
 diversion  of  the  cruel  and  barbarous  Roman  rabble  ;  so  the 
 sinner  doth,  for  the  present  pleasure  of  sin,  give  himself  up 
 to  eternal  destruction ;  whereby  he  gratifies  and  satiates  the 
 malice  of  devils. 
 
 Let  this  be  further  observed.  The  apostle  had  said  of 
 men's  sins,  ver.  21.  that  the  end  of  those  things  is  death*    So 
 
Of  Romans  PI.  97 
 
 to  believers  in  a  course  of  holiness,  ver.  22.  the  end  is  ever- 
 lasting life.     But  these  ends,  severally,  do  happen  in  a  very 
 different  way,   as  is   represented  here,   ver.  23.     Death  is 
 the  proper  wages  of  sin,  and  is  given  according  to  the  law, 
 and  the  true  demerit  of  men's  works.     Eternal  life  is  the  gift 
 of  God,  %Gc%tG-pct,  the  most  free  gift.     But  though  eternal  life 
 is  freely  given  to  us  of  God,  yet  it  is  through  Jesus  Christ 
 our  Lord ;  by  his  mediation  and  merit.     Yet  still  not  the 
 less  to  us  the  free  gift  of  God,  who  hath  of  grace  provided, 
 afforded,  and  accepted  the  price  of  our  redemption  and  life. 
 Paraphrase. — 23.  For   the    wages    which    sin,    by    the 
 strength  of  the  law,  and  according  to  the  tenor  of  its  right- 
 eous sanction,  doth  pay,  is  eternal  death,  suited,  and  justly 
 proportioned  to  the  true  demerit  of  the  work  and  service. 
 But  eternal  life,  in  which  the  believer's  course  of  holiness 
 terminates,  is  not  for  any  merit  of  ours,  but  is  to  us  the  most 
 free  gift  of  God,  and  that  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
 and  through  his  mediation  and  merit. 
 
 Now,  what  arguments,  motives,  and  means  of  suasion  can 
 any  created  mind  conceive  more  strong  and  powerful  in 
 themselves  ?  When  the  prospect  of  eternal  life,  so  clearly 
 set  forth  in  God's  word  and  promises,  and  the  terrors  of 
 eternal  death,  the  just  punishment  of  sin,  so  much  inculcated 
 by  the  word  of  God,  so  agreeable  to  the  light  of  reason,  and 
 to  the  dictates  and  impressions  of  conscience  in  every  man, 
 do  not  prevail  with  sinful  men  to  betake  them  to  Christ  by 
 faith,  to  forsake  their  sins  by  true  repentance,  and  to  engage 
 them  in  the  service  of  God ;  what  a  demonstration  is  it  of 
 the  dominion  that  sin  hath  over  them,  and  how  absolutely  it 
 hath  subjected  them,  with  all  their  faculties  and  powers,  to 
 itself,  and  its  service,  in  so  far  that  no  means  of  suasion 
 whatsoever  are  sufficient  to  work  the  good  effect  ? 
 
 Therefore  the  apostle  goes  to  show,  that  the  law,  however 
 much  its  precept  and  sanction  be  inculcated  on  the  minds 
 and  consciences  of  men,  cannot  make  them  free ;  that  no 
 other  than  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  (chap, 
 viii.  2.)  can  make  them  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  from 
 that  unhappy  law  of  sin  and  death,  by  which  they  have  been 
 ruled. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO  THE 
 
 EXPLICATION  OF  ROMANS  VII. 
 
 SHOWING 
 
 That  the  Apostle's  doctrine  and  reasoning  in  this  Chapter,  do 
 not  respect  the  Mosaic  ceremonial  law,  or  the  abolition  thereof. 
 
 It  is  of  great  consequence,  in  explaining  the  first  context 
 (ver.  1 — 13.)  of  this  chapter,  to  determine  what  is  to  be  under- 
 stood by  law  ;  and  from  what  law  the  believers  are  therein 
 said  to  be  delivered.  This  requires  to  be  more  largely  treat- 
 ed of  than  were  fit  in  explaining  any  particular  verse. 
 
 Many  have  understood  it  of  the  Mosaic  law.  This,  in  the 
 largest  sense,  comprehends  the  whole  system  of  laws  given 
 to  Israel  in  the  wilderness.  But  more  strictly,  it  signifies 
 the  law  that  prescribed  the  ordinances  of  worship,  the  rites, 
 ceremonies,  and  peculiar  observances  of  the  church  of  Israel; 
 commonly  called  the  ceremonial  law.  When  I  observe 
 every  place  in  this  epistle  in  which  law  is  mentioned,  I 
 do  not  see  cause  to  think,  that  the  ceremonial  law  is  meant 
 in  any  one  of  them,  or  that  the  apostle's  explications  and 
 reasoning  have  respect  to  it.  If  in  some  places  he  hath  at 
 all  in  his  eye  the  Mosaic  law,  as  chap.  v.  15,  20.  it  is  only 
 the  Mosaic,  or  Sinaitic  promulgation  of  the  moral  law  he 
 means  :  his  argument  doth  not  appear  to  have  any  respect 
 to  the  ceremonial  law.  In  proving  the  sinfulness  of  the 
 Gentiles,  chap.  i.  they  are  only  sins  against  the  moral  law 
 he  mentions  ;  as  indeed  they  could  not  be  charged  with 
 transgression  of  the  ceremonial  law,  which  had  not  been 
 given  them.  It  is  plain  it  is  the  same  moral  law  that  was 
 common  to  Jews  and  Gentiles,  (chap.  ii.  14,  15.)  that  he 
 hath  in  his  eye,  even  the  law  of  which  some  light  and  im- 
 pression remained  in  the  consciences  of  the  Gentiles,  when 
 he  says,  chap.  ii.  26.  If  the  uncircumcision  keep  the  right- 
 eousness of  the  law,  shall  not  his  uncircumcision  be  counted 
 for  -circumcision  ?  It  is  plain  that  the  ceremonial  law  is 
 excluded  from  all  concern  in  the  argument,  for  the  uncir- 
 cumcised  had  not  access  to  observe  the  ceremonial  law. 
 As  this  concerning  the  uncircumcision  is  a  part  of  his  rea- 
 soning with  the  Jews,  it  shows  that  in  his  reasoning  with 
 the  Jew  in  the  preceding  context  he  meant  no  other  than 
 the  moral  law. 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  99 
 
 In  that  second  chapter,  reasoning  with  the  Jew,  who,  ver. 
 17-  rested  in  the  law,  he  charges  only  transgressions  of  the 
 moral  law,  ver.  21,  22. ;  and  when  chap.  iii.  10 — 18.  he  cites 
 several  texts  of  the  Old  Testament  to  prove  sin  against  them, 
 in  many  instances  there  represented,  every  instance  respects 
 the  moral  law,  and  none  other. 
 
 The  apostle  doth  indeed  manage  his  argument,  respecting 
 justification,  in  such  way,  that  he  had  no  occasion  to  men- 
 tion the  ceremonial  law ;  at  least,  when  he  might  take  oc- 
 casion to  mention  it,  it  is  evident  that  he  avoids  it.  For 
 making  this  clear,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  moral  and  ac- 
 countable agents  may  be  justified  in  one  of  two  ways.  1. 
 Such  may  be  justified,  as  personally  and  perfectly  righteous ; 
 and  so  the  angels,  who  kept  their  first  state,  stand  justified 
 before  God,  according  to  the  law  they  are  under.  Jt  is  a 
 point  the  apostle  labours  much,  that  no  man,  Jew  or  Gen- 
 tile, can  be  justified  in  this  way,  as  he  proves  that  all  have 
 sinned.  2.  The  way,  and  the  only  way,  for  the  justification 
 of  the  sinners  is  by  grace  :  and  he  shows  that  this  grace  in 
 the  exercise  of  it,  is  founded  on  expiation,  or  redemption, 
 even  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ,  whom  God  hath  set  forth 
 as  a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his  blood  ;  so  he  says,  chap, 
 iii.  24,  25.  Here  indeed  he  might  have  taken  occasion  to 
 treat  of  the  expiations  and  purifications  of  the  Mosaic  law, 
 and  to  have  proved  their  insufficiency  for  taking  away  sin, 
 or  removing  the  guilt  of  sinners.  This  indeed  he  does  in 
 the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  This  was  especially  needful 
 for  them,  the  Jews  of  Palestine  and  the  east,  who  were  so 
 exceedingly  zealous  for  the  Levitical  service  and  Mosaic  in- 
 stitutions. But  the  Romans  were  a  church  of  Christians, 
 who  were,  for  most  part,  of  the  Gentiles,  whose  liberty 
 from  the  ceremonial  law  had  been  declared  before  this  time. 
 This  liberty  the  Gentiles  had  cause  to  value  much  :  and  it 
 appears  that  the  apostle  saw  no  occasion  for  proving  to  them 
 the  insufficiency  of  the  ceremonial  expiations*  (which  they  had 
 nothing  to  do  with)  for  the  justification  of  sinners  ;  and  it  is 
 evident,  that  in  treating  of  that  subject  in  this  epistle  he 
 doth  not  touch  that  point  at  all. 
 
 In  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters,  sanctifi cation,  and  de- 
 liverance from  the  dominion  of  sin  is  the  subject ;  and  it  is 
 clear  that  there,  particularly  in  this  seventh  chapter,  it  is  the 
 moral  law  he  hath  still  in  his  view.  As  it  is  by  it  that  there 
 is  the  knowledge  of  sin,  it  is  by  it  he  came  to  know  sin  ; 
 
100  Introduction  to  the 
 
 giving  an  instance  only  of  a  transgression  of  the  moral  law  : 
 so  ver»  7- 
 
 It  hath,  however,  been  the  opinion  of  divers  interpreters, 
 that  in  the  first  context  of  this  seventh  chapter  the  apostle 
 asserts  the  abrogation  of  the  Mosaic  ceremonial  law.  Dr 
 Hammond  says,  on  ver.  1.  c  The  design  and  matter  of 
 1  the  discourse  is  discernibly  this,  to  vindicate  his  doctrine, 
 e  (charged  on  him,  Acts  xxi.  21.  it  is  not  certain  whether 
 1  then  truly  or  no,  but  without  doubt  now  professedly 
 1  taught  by  him,)  that  the  Judaical  law  was  abolished  by 
 1  the  death  of  Christ,  Eph  ii.  15,  16.  Col.  ii.  14.  and  so 
 <  was  not  now  obligatory  to  a  Jew/  This  certainly  the 
 learned  author  means,  not  of  the  moral,  but  of  that  called 
 the  ceremonial  law.  Downwards  he  says,  '  This  abolition  of 
 '  the  law  to  the  Jews  is  here  evidently  proclaimed/  Gro- 
 tius  and  Whitby  have  the  same  view  of  the  general  scope  of 
 this  context. 
 
 Now,  when  Dr  Hammond  says,  that  it  is  uncertain 
 whether  the  preaching  that  the  Judaical  law  was  abolished, 
 and  was  not  obligatory  to  the  Jew,  was  charged  on  him  truly 
 or  no  on  that  occasion,  Acts  xxi.  21.  but  that  now  without 
 doubt  it  was  professedly  taught  by  him  in  this  epistle;  this 
 clearly  implies,  as  if  the  writing  of  this  epistle  was  posterior 
 to  that  story  related  Acts  xxi.  But  it  is  evident,  that  here 
 the  learned  man  hath  fallen  into  an  inadvertency  scarcely 
 excusable.  We  learn  from  Rom.  xv.  25,  26.  that  the  epistle 
 was  written  when  he  was  in  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  with  the 
 contribution  for  the  poor  saints  that  had  been  made  by  them 
 of  Macedonia  and  Achaia :  it  was  thereafter,  when  he  was 
 actually  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  with  these  contributions,  that 
 the  things  happened,  of  which  we  have  the  story,  Acts  xxi. 
 Certainly,  any  who  will  consider  the  apostle's  conduct  on 
 this  latter  occasion,  may  be  well  convinced,  that  to  interpret 
 any  passage  in  this  epistle,  as  declaring  or  asserting  the  abo- 
 lition of  the  Mosaic  law,  must  be  mistaking  his  meaning. 
 Of  this  more  hereafter. 
 
 To  proceed  the  more  distinctly  in  our  inquiry  concerning 
 this  matter,  I  observe,  that  there  are  two  things  on  which 
 the  apostle  labours  in  this  epistle,  and  in  that  to  the  Gala- 
 tians,  which  is  thought  to  have  been  written  before  it : 
 
 1.  That  a  sinner  is  not  justified  by  the  law,  or  by  the 
 works  of  the  law.  This  he  proves  by  principles  and  argu- 
 ments that  have  no  respect  particularly  to  the  Mosaic  law 
 and  institutions,  or  to  the  abolition  thereof.    This  is  the  sub- 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  101 
 
 ject  of  the  first  five  chapters  to  the  Romans;  wherein  he 
 establishes  the  one  way  of  justification,  common  to  both 
 Jews  and  Gentiles. 
 
 2.  He  proves,  that  the  Gentile  converts  were  relieved  by 
 the  gospel  from  the  necessity  of  undergoing  the  Mosaic  yoke. 
 This  he  is  zealous  about,  and  considers  it  as  an  essential 
 point  of  the  gospel.  The  truth  is,  as  the  Mosaic  or  Judaical 
 law  was  originally  given  to  the  Jews,  and  not  to  the  Gentiles, 
 there  were  divers  institutions  in  it  which  it  was  morally  im- 
 possible for  the  Gentiles  generally  to  observe ;  for  instance, 
 the  three  great  annual  feasts  in  Jerusalem.  The  case  was, 
 that  the  wisdom  of  God  thought  fit  to  have,  in  these  times, 
 one  nation  only  for  his  church  ;  and  so  he  appointed  ordi- 
 nances of  worship,  and  other  various  institutions,  suiting 
 that  one  national  church.  If  particular  persons  of  other 
 nations  came  to  be  converted,  and  would  enjoy  the  privilege 
 of  members  of  the  church  of  God,  they  behoved  to  accede 
 to  that  one  national  church,  and  submit  to  its  rules  and  in- 
 stitutions. But  when,  under  the  gospel,  the  church  became 
 catholic,  consisting  of  people  of  all  nations,  it  was  thought 
 fit  by  divine  wisdom,  that  those  of  other  nations,  the  Gen- 
 tiles, should  be  declared  free  from  the  obligation  of  Mosaic 
 ordinances,  which  were  not  suited  to  such  a  state  of  things  ; 
 and  should  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  church  of  God,  with- 
 out submitting  to  these. 
 
 As  to  the  first  of  these  subjects,  justification  not  by  works, 
 but  by  faith,  as  it  is  a  fundamental  point,  and  essential  in 
 religion  at  all  times,  the  apostle  is  full  and  clear  upon  it  in 
 both  epistles.  As  to  the  other  subject,  the  liberty  of  the 
 Gentiles  from  the  Mosaic  yoke,  he  insists  on  it  especially  in 
 the  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  whom  he  exhorts  to  stand  fast 
 in  this  liberty,  and  wrarns  them,  in  very  strong  terms,  of  the 
 danger  of  doing  otherwise.  In  this  epistle  to  the  Romans, 
 he  does,  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  the  Gentiles,  establish  the 
 doctrine  of  one  way  of  justification  by  faith,  common  to  Jews 
 and  Gentiles.  But  the  liberty  of  the  Gentiles  from  the  Mo- 
 saic yoke  does  not  appear  to  be  the  special  and  immediate 
 subject  in  this  epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  churches  of  Ga- 
 latia  appear  to  have  been  greatly  disturbed  and  divided  by 
 disputes,  and  by  the  arts  and  importunities  of  false  teachers, 
 concerning  this  subject.  I  do  not  see  any  thing  in  the  epis- 
 tle to  the  Romans,  that  gives  cause  to  think  they  had  much 
 question  concerning  it.  Therefore  though  the  apostle  still 
 manages  his   subject,  particularly  that  of  justification,  in  a 
 
 E 
 
102  Introduction  to  the 
 
 way  very  comfortably  favourable  to  the  interest  of  the  Gen- 
 tiles, yet  I  do  not  see  that  the  freedom  of  the  Gentiles  from 
 the  Mosaic  law  is  his  proper  and  direct  subject ;  so  that 
 Mf  L.  certainly  had  not  cause  to  consider  that  as  the  main 
 scope  and  drift  of  the  apostle's  discourse  and  reasoning  in  a 
 great  part  of  this  epistle,  as  much  as  he  does.  Viewing  mat- 
 ters so  much  in  that  light,  has  given  him  a  wrong  bias  in  in- 
 terpreting many  texts,  and  has  occasioned  his  falling  often 
 short  of  the  true  meaning,  in  a  manner  very  detrimental  to 
 the  faith  and  comfort  of  Christians. 
 
 There  are  yet  two  things  fit  to  be  considered  respecting 
 the  case  of  the  Gentiles  during  the  Mosaic  and  Old  Testa- 
 ment times. 
 
 1.  The  Gentile  converts  to  the  faith  of  the  church  of 
 Israel  would  certainly,  in  these  times,  have  great  advantage 
 in  being  outwardly  admitted  by  circumcision  to  be  actual 
 members  of  the  Jewish  church.  Without  this  they  would 
 not  have  the  comfort  of  partaking  of  the  paschal  lamb,  or  of 
 other  ordinances,  by  which  the  Lord  represented  and  con- 
 veyed the  blessings  of  his  grace  more  abundantly,  according 
 to  the  measure  of  these  times,  to  his  people.     Yet, 
 
 2.  This  disadvantage  did  not  amount  to  so  much,  but  that 
 persons  of  the  Gentiles,  enlightened  with  the  faith  of  the 
 church  and  word  of  God,  and  fearing  God,  were  in  these 
 times  truly  accepted  of  him,  without  being  circumcised,  or 
 coming  under  the  Mosaic  yoke.  Solomon's  prayer  at  the 
 dedication  of  the  temple,  1  Kings  viii.  41,  42,  43.  gave  rea- 
 son to  think  so  long  ago.  But  the  matter  is  clear  in  the  case 
 of  Cornelius,  Acts  x.  when  the  Lord  said  to  Peter  in  the  vi- 
 sion, ver.  15,  what  God  hath  cleansed,  call  not  thou  unclean  ; 
 that  is,  though  he  be  not  purified  or  cleansed  by  the  blood 
 of  circumcision.  The  apostle  thus  instructed,  says,  ver.  34, 
 35.  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  ; 
 hut  in  every  nation,  he  that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  right- 
 eousness,  is  accepted  with  him.  To  say,  or  infer  from  this, 
 that  persons  who  know  not  the  true  God,  or  the  way  of  sal- 
 vation he  hath  revealed,  may,  walking  honestly  according  to 
 the  light  of  their  own  religion  and  conscience,  be  saved,  hath 
 no  foundation  in  the  words  of  the  apostle  Peter.  He  is  by 
 no  means  speaking  in  that  latitude  of  meaning.  He  is 
 speaking  of  what  God  had  cleansed ;  of  Cornelius,  (whom 
 even  Dr  Whitby  considered  as  a  proselyte  of  the  gate,)  and 
 such  as  he,  of  whatever  nation,  who  were  enlightened  with 
 the  true  faith,  as  the  same  was  revealed  and  professed  in 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  103 
 
 the  church  of  God,  and  who,  by  the  influence  and  direction 
 of  that  light  feared  God,  and  wrought  righteousness,  though 
 they  were  not  Jews,  nor  initiated  by  circumcision  into  the 
 Jewish  church.  But  though  the  sentiment  just  now  mention- 
 ed hath  no  foundation  in  the  apostle  Peter's  words,  yet  it 
 may  be  justly  inferred  from  what  he  says,  that  whatever 
 might  be  the  advantage  of  being  members  externally  of  the 
 Jewish  church,  yet  believing  and  pious  Gentiles  might, 
 without  that,  and  without  coming  under  the  yoke  of  the 
 Mosaic  institutions,  be  accepted  of  God,  and  be  saved,  even 
 during  the  Old  Testament  times. 
 
 This  being  so,  the  Jewish  Christians  had  the  more  reason 
 to  be  reconciled  to  the  exemption  of  the  Gentile  converts  from 
 the  Mosaic  yoke  ;  and  it  appears  that  some  were  so,  Acts  xi. 
 18.  who  had  no  thought  at  that  time  that  the  Mosaic  law  was 
 abrogated.  The  Mosaic  law  had  been  given  to  Israel. 
 Though  proselytes  of  the  Gentiles  were  admitted  by  circum- 
 cision to  the  privileges  of  the  church  of  Israel,  yet  their 
 being  so  does  not  appear  to  have  been  strictly  required  ;  and 
 it  is  certain,  that  when  the  council  of  Jerusalem  declared  the 
 liberty  of  the  Gentiles  from  the  Mosaic  yoke,  this  did  not 
 import,  nor  imply,  the  abrogation  of  the  Mosaic  law ;  nor 
 was  it  so  understood  by  the  apostles  or  believing  Jews,  who 
 had  agreed  to  the  exemption  of  the  Gentiles  from  that  law. 
 
 However,  Dr  Hammond  says,  (  That  asserting  the  liberty 
 '  of  the  Gentiles  from  the  Mosaic  yoke,  and  preaching  the 
 1  gospel  to  them,  did  both  together,  by  way  of  interpre- 
 '  tation,  and  necessary  consequence,  contain  under  them 
 '  this  of  the  unobligingness  of  the  law  to  a  Jew  ;  for  the  law 
 e  of  the  Jews  commanding  a  strict  separation  from  the  Gen- 
 f  tiles,  all  that  were  not  their  proselytes  and  circumcised, 
 '  and  Paul  and  others  being  Jews,  their  conversing  with, 
 1  and  preaching  to  the  Gentiles,  could  not  be  allowed  on  any 
 (  score,  but  that  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Jewish  law,  which 
 '  accordingly  was  of  necessity  to  be  revealed  to  St  Peter  in 
 f  a  vision,  Acts  x.  (and  so  seems  to  have  been  to  St  Paul, 
 ■  Eph.  iii.  3.') 
 
 There  is  an  evident  mistake  here.  We  have  seen  that  the 
 thing  revealed  to  the  apostle  Peter,  Acts  x.,  was  no  more 
 than  this,  that  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  preached  to,  and  to 
 be  admitted  members  of  the  church,  without  being  subjected 
 to  the  Mosaic  yoke.  The  mystery  made  known  by  revela- 
 tion to  the  apostle  Paul,  Eph.  iii.  3.  was  no  other,  as  himself 
 tells  expressly,  ver.  6.  than  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow- 
 
104  Introduction  to  the 
 
 heirs }  and  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of  his  promise  in 
 Christ  by  the  Gospel.  There  is  nothing  in  either  place  of  the 
 abrogation  of  the  Judaical  law,  with  regard  to  the  Jews 
 themselves,  to  whom  it  was  given. 
 
 But  the  learned  writer  supposes  this  to  be  implied  in  the 
 other  ;  for  the  Jews  could  not  so  much  as  eat  with  the  Gen- 
 tiles, by  reason  of  certain  rules  and  prohibitions  of  their  law, 
 except  that  were  abolished.  But  this  seems  to  have  been 
 provided  for  in  the  decree  of  the  synod  of  Jerusalem,  which 
 required  (not  the  Jews  to  neglect  any  rules  of  their  own  law, 
 as  no  longer  obligatory,  but)  that  the  Gentile  converts  should 
 abstain  from  things  strangled  and  from  blood.  It  has  been 
 pretty  commonly  said,  that  this  was  ordered  to  prevent  too 
 great  offence  of  the  Jews.  But  I  do  not  see  what  this  could 
 amount  to,  as  to  the  offence  of  those  who  were  zealous  of  the 
 Jewish  law,  whose  offence  no  concessions  could  prevent, 
 without  the  Gentile  converts  submitting  to  circumcision,  and 
 the  whole  Mosaic  yoke.  But  it  did  much  to  obviate  this 
 difficulty,  how  Gentiles,  and  such  Jewish  converts  as  were 
 zealous  of  their  own  law,  yet  agreed  to  the  liberty  of  the 
 Gentiles,  might,  members  as  both  now  were  of  the  body  and 
 church  of  Christ,  converse  and  eat  together,  notwithstand- 
 ing the  distinctions  and  prohibitions  of  the  law  of  Moses  re- 
 specting meats.  1  doubt  not  but  the  Gentiles  would  under- 
 stand, from  the  general  reason  of  it,  that  the  injunction  was 
 meant  to  extend  to  all  meats,  which  by  the  law  of  Moses 
 were  prohibited.  Thus  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  might 
 converse  and  eat  together  freely  ;  which  they  could  not  do, 
 if  it  were  not  for  this  limitation,  wisely  put,  for  a  season,  on 
 the  liberty  of  the  Gentiles.  So  the  asserting  the  liberty  of 
 the  Gentiles  from  the  Mosaic  law,  did  by  no  means  imply 
 the  abrogation  of  that  law,  with  respect  to  the  Jews  ;  as  ne- 
 cessary in  order  to  the  believers  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles 
 conversing  and  eating  together. 
 
 Having  premised  these  things,  in  order  to  clear  our  way, 
 let  us  now  come  more  close  to  the  subject  and  question,  con- 
 cerning the  abolition  of  the  Mosaic  law,  as  alleged  to  be 
 meant  by  the  apostle  in  his  seventh  to  the  Romans.  That 
 that  is  not  meant  or  asserted  by  him  in  it,  is  very  evident 
 from  his  reasoning  in  it  concerning  the  law.  He  does,  ver.  4. 
 consider  men's  being  dead  to  the  law,  or  delivered  from  it,  as 
 necessary  in  order  to  their  having  part  in  Christ,  or,  as  he  ex- 
 presses it,  being  married  to  him  ;  as  necessary  to  their  bring- 
 ing forth  fruit  unto  God,  not.  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter,  but  in 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  105 
 
 the  newness  of  the  spirit.  Yea,  he  intimates,  chap.  vi.  14. 
 that  being  under  the  law,  gave  advantage  to  sin  to  have  do- 
 minion over  them.  Now,  if  all  this  is  to  be  understood  of 
 the  Mosaic  law  of  ordinances,  rites,  and  ceremonies,  surely 
 the  apostles  would  not  have  preached  the  gospel  at  all  to  the 
 Jews,  without  intimating  to  them  clearly  and  loudly,  that  the 
 abolition  of  the  Mosaic  law,  their  being  free  from  it,  and  re- 
 nouncing it,  was  absolutely  necessary  for  their  salvation. 
 For  1  scarce  think  that  any  will  deny  the  things  I  have 
 mentioned  to  be  so,  especially  when  the  gospel  was  so  fully 
 revealed.  Yet. if  we  observe  the  preaching  of  the  apostles  to 
 the  Jews,  and  their  discourses  to  them  on  divers  occasions, 
 as  set  down  in  the  book  of  the  Acts,  we  shall  not  find  any 
 thing  to  that  purpose  in  them  all.  Instead  of  that,  the 
 thousands  in  Jerusalem  and  Judea,  who  believed,  continued 
 zealous  of  the  law  ;  and  it  does  not  appear,  that  the  apostles 
 or  elders,  who  dwelt  among  them,  or  resorted  to  them,  did 
 at  all  disturb  them  with  declaring  the  abolition  of  the  law. 
 So  far  from  it,  that  the  apostle  Peter  was  influenced  by  the 
 brethren,  who  came  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch,  to  be- 
 have in  a  manner  that  tended  to  betray  the  liberty  of  the 
 Gentiles,  with  regard  to  the  Mosaic  law,  which  had  been 
 first  intimated  by  revelation  to  himself; — so  far  were  the 
 apostles  from  touching  the  law,  as  to  its  obligatory  force  with 
 respect  to  the  Jews.  Could  this  have  been  their  conduct, 
 if  the  freedom  of  the  Jews  from  that  law  had  indeed  been 
 necessary  for  purposes  so  essential  to  salvation,  as  are  men- 
 tioned, chap.  vii.  by  the  apostle  Paul,  in  his  discourse  con- 
 cerning the  law  ? 
 
 But  there  is  something  very  clearly  decisive  on  this  sub- 
 ject in  that  story,  Acts  xxi.  here  before  mentioned.  Let  us 
 now  consider  it.  Sometime  after  writing  this  epistle  to  the 
 Romans,  Paul  having  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  James  and  all 
 the  elders  being  present,  they  said  unto  him,  ver.  20,  21, 
 22,  23,  24.  '  Thou  seest,  brother,  how  many  thousands  of  Jews 
 there  are  which  believe,  and  they  are  all  zealous  of  the  law. 
 And  they  are  informed  of  thee,  that  thou  teachest  all  the  Jews 
 which  are  among  the  Gentiles,  to  forsake  Moses,  saying,  that 
 they  ought  not  to  circumcise  their  children,  neither  to  walk 
 after  the  customs.  What  is  it,  therefore  ?  &c.  What !  zeal- 
 ous of  the  law,  under  the  law,  and  married  to  the  law, 
 and  yet  believing,  and  so  married  to  Christ  ?  Could  the  fi- 
 delity, of  the  apostles  allow  them  to  connive  at  such  perni- 
 cious, inconsistent  pretensions  ?    Would  it  not  be  expected, 
 
106  Introduction  to  the 
 
 that,  on  this  occasion,  they  would  have  asked  the  assistance 
 of  the  apostle  Paul,  who  had  been  so  successful  among  the 
 Gentiles,  and  have  endeavoured  to  awaken  his  zeal  to 
 exert  himself  to  the  utmost  to  recover  his  countrymen  who 
 believed,  from  this  sad  mistake  ?  Instead  of  that  they  gave 
 Paul,  and  Paul  observed,  an  advice  of  very  contrary  ten- 
 dency. 
 
 But  what  is  it  now  that  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  were  in- 
 formed of  concerning  Paul  ?  The  very  same  thing  that  Dr 
 Hammond,  and  others  before  and  after  him,  assert  that  he 
 did  actually  in  this  epistle  to  the  Romans,  that  was  written 
 before  that  time,  and  on  other  occasions ;  viz.  that  he 
 taught  the  Jews,  which  were  among  the  Gentiles,  that  they 
 ought  to  forsake  Moses  and  his  law  ;  and  that  this  was  a  li- 
 berty that  they  ought  to  stand  to,  and  assert,  on  considera- 
 tions of  the  utmost  importance  to  their  salvation. 
 
 Let  us  now  consider  the  advice  that  is  unanimously  given 
 by  James  and  all  the  elders  present.  It  is,  that  he  should 
 confute  these  reports,  which  the  Jewish  Christians  had 
 heard,  and  which,  according  to  Grotius,  Drs  Hammond  and 
 Whitby,  all  three  learned  men,  were  very  true  reports ;  and 
 that  he  should  give  the  most  effectual  proof,  by  avowed  public 
 practice,  that  these  things  of  which  they  were  informed  con- 
 cerning him,  were  nothing, — had  no  foundation  in  truth,  and 
 that  himself  walked  orderly,  and  kept  the  law  ;  and  the 
 apostle  Paul,  we  see,  did  punctually  observe  this  advice. 
 
 We  may,  on  this  occasion,  observe  the  apostle  Peter's  con- 
 duct at  Antioch,  related  by  Paul,  Gal.  ii.,  and  how  Paul  then 
 behaved  and  argued  ;  and  what  a  Jewish  Christian,  who  had 
 seen  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  (if  it  is  to  be  understood  ac- 
 cording to  the  interpretation  of  the  learned  men  lately  men- 
 tioned) might  very  reasonably  have  said  to  him,  when  he 
 celebrated  the  expiration  and  fulfilment  of  his  Nazarite  vow. 
 What  is  this,  might  he  say,  that  I  have  seen  thee  doing? 
 thou  hast  been  openly  teaching,  that  these  Mosaic  laws  are 
 no  longer  of  force,  even  to  Jews ;  and  hast  suggested  consi- 
 derations of  the  utmost  consequence,  for  which  every  Jew 
 ought  to  assert  his  liberty  from  the  obligation  of  these  ordi- 
 nances and  observances  ;  yet  now  I  have  seen  thee  showing 
 serious  regard  to  these  institutions  in  thy  own  practice,  and 
 thereby  proving  openly,  that  there  was  no  truth  in  what  was 
 reported  of  thy  urging  the  Jews  to  forsake  Moses  and  his 
 law.  Surely  this  is  not  upright.  You  cannot  have  forgot 
 how  you  treated  the  apostle  Peter  at  Antioch,  when  for  such 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  107 
 
 fear  of  the  Jewish  believers,  which  yourself  do  now  show, 
 he  withdrew  from  the  society  of  the  Gentile  Christians.  You 
 withstood  him  ;  you  said  he  was  to  be  blamed ;  that  he  dis- 
 sembled himself,  so  that  the  Christians  of  Antioch,  and  even 
 Barnabas  himself,  were  carried  away  with  his  dissimulation. 
 So  you  said  when  you  reported  that  story.  You  said,  that 
 he  walked  not  uprightly  according  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel 
 You  did  obliquely  charge  him  with  building  up  the  things, 
 he  had  destroyed ;  as  he  had  so  great  a  part  in  declaring  the 
 immunity  of  the  Gentiles  from  the  Mosaic  law.  Thus  did 
 you  treat  that  eminent  apostle,  who  was  in  Christ  before  you, 
 and  was  so  eminent  among  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  the  service 
 of  the  gospel,  when  you  was  persecuting  it.  You  excused 
 yourself  in  this,  by  the  necessity  of  doing  so,  for  maintaining 
 the  truth  of  the  gospel :  but,  alas  !  how  shall  we  now  under- 
 stand your  conduct  ?  after  teaching  that  the  Jews  should  no 
 longer  observe  the  Mosaic  law,  you  have  gone  to  the  temple 
 and  to  the  priests,  you  have  brought  your  offering  (accord- 
 ing to  the  law,  Numb.  vi.  13,  14.)  one  he-lamb  for  a  burnt 
 offering,  one  ewe-lamb  for  a  sin  offering,  one  ram  for  a  peace 
 offering,  with  the  proper  meat  offering,  and  drink  offering. 
 Is  this  the  very  man  who  told  the  Jews  at  Rome,  so  very 
 lately,  that  the  Mosaic  law  was  no  longer  of  force,  and  that 
 they  should  assert  their  liberty  from  it,  as  they  wished  that 
 sin  should  not  have  dominion  over  them, — that  they  should 
 be  married  to  Christ,  and  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God  ?  Sure- 
 ly this  is  not  walking  uprightly,  or  according  to  the  truth  of 
 the  gospel.  This  is  building  up  very  openly  the  things  you 
 have  been  destroying  with  so  great  labour  and  zeal. 
 
 Dr  Whitby,  on  Acts  xxi.,  doth  not  take  notice  of  the  ob- 
 jection arising  from  Paul's  conduct  there  related,  against  his 
 own  interpretation  of  Rom.  vii.  But  he  seems  to  have  it  in 
 his  view,  and  to  be  greatly  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  apos- 
 tle's conduct  on  that  occasion ;  at  least,  that  is  likely  to  be 
 the  case  by  the  considerations  he  suggests  to  that  purpose, 
 annot.  on  ver.  26,  27.  they  fell  so  very  far  short  of  the  pur- 
 pose :  as,  c  1.  That  the  vow  of  Nazaritism  being  only  a 
 *  stricter  sort  of  separation  from  all  pollution  to  the  service 
 '  of  God,  and  to  be  holy,  and  free  from  all  kind  of  defile- 
 '  ment,  seems  very  consistent  with  the  spirit  and  design  of 
 '  Christianity.' 
 
 But  if  we  consider  the  moral  and  spiritual  design  of  Mo- 
 saic institutions,  which  of  them  is  it  that  was  not  consistent 
 with  the  faith,  spirit,  and  design  of  Christianity  ?     The  pre- 
 
1 08  Introduction  to  the 
 
 sent  question  doth  not  concern  what  was  moral  or  spiritual 
 in  these  institutions,  but  respects  the  external  administration 
 and  observance  of  ceremonial  ordinances.  Now,  what  can  be 
 named  in  all  the  system  of  Mosaic  laws,  that  was  more  pe- 
 culiarly Mosaic  and  ceremonial  than  the  appointments  con- 
 cerning Nazaritism  ?  Were  the  Jewish  Christians  to  be- 
 lieve and  assert  their  liberty  from  all  the  Mosaic  ceremonial 
 laws,  (as  the  Doctor  and  others  say  is  taught  the  Romans 
 here,)  and  yet  might  they  voluntarily  use  these  very  ceremo- 
 nial regulations  of  Nazaritism,,  when  the  Mosaic  law  itself, 
 when  in  its  fullest  force,  left  them  free  not  to  vow  Nazaritism 
 at  all  ? 
 
 e  2.  Observe/  says  the  Doctor,  '  that  the  offerings  of  the 
 f  temporary  Nazarite,  at  the  completion  of  his  vow,  being  a 
 '  burnt-offering,  and  a  sin-offering,  and  a  peace-offering, 
 '  Numb,  vi.,  14.  and  two  of  them  being  sacrifices  not  ap- 
 '  pointed  for  expiating  sin,  but  offerings  of  thanksgiving  to 
 c  God,  who  had  enabled  them  to  perform  their  vow,  and  of 
 '  acknowledgment  of  God's  sovereign  dominion — this  action 
 c  seems  to  have  little  or  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  doc- 
 c  trine  of  St.  Paul.' 
 
 Little  or  nothing  ? — I  think,  considering  the  person,  and 
 the  advice  by  which  he  acted,  the  Doctor  should  not  have 
 discovered  any  disposition  to  yield,  that  there  was  even  a  little, 
 or  any  thing  at  all,  in  the  action,  inconsistent  with  St  Paul's 
 doctrine.  But  let  us  consider  the  matter  more  closely.  The 
 law  concerning  the  sin-offering,  Lev.  iv.  is  so  express  to  that 
 purpose,  that  none  can  deny  (nor  do  I  know  of  any  that  doth 
 deny)  that  it  was  expiatory,  and  designed  to  make  atone- 
 ment. The  two  sacrifices,  then,  which,  according  to  the 
 Doctor  in  this  place,  were  not  expiatory,  were  the  burnt- 
 offering,  and  the  peace-offering.  It  is  likely  to  be  the  former 
 that  he  means,  by  the  offering  of  acknowledgment  of  God's 
 sovereign  dominion;  and  the  latter,  by  the  offering  of  thanks- 
 giving. Thus  some  others  of  the  learned  have  spoke ; 
 though  without  good  reason.  .For  though  they  were  not  in- 
 tended to  be  offered  for  expiation  of  particular  sins  and  tres- 
 passes, there  is  good  reason  to  think  they  were  offered  for 
 expiation  of  sin  in  general.  As  to  the  burnt-offerings  not 
 being  expiatory,  that  notion  is  of  set  purpose,  and  fully  con- 
 futed by  Dr  W.  himself,  in  his  notes  on  Eph.  v.  2.  and  on 
 Heb.  ix  19.  to  which  1  refer.  I  wonder  it  should  be  denied  by 
 any  who  considers  Lev.  i.  4.  and  I  think  it  strange  that  any 
 should  suppose  the  burnt-offering  of  the  morning  and  even- 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  109 
 
 ing  sacrifice,  accompanied  with  the  burning  of  incense  in  the 
 holy  place,  not  to  have  been  expilftory,  and,  indeed,  the  most 
 common  solemn  type  of  the  expiation  to  be  made  in  due  time 
 by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  These  daily  sacrifices  signified 
 clearly,  that  God  would  accept  of  no  service  or  worship  from 
 men,  but  by  means  of  the  expiation  of  sin.  That  all  bloody 
 sacrifices  were  in  some  sort  expiatory,  is,  I  think,  very  plain 
 from  what  the  Lord  says  concerning  the  blood,  when  he  pro- 
 hibits the  common  use  of  it,  Lev.  xvii.  11.  :  For  the  life  of 
 the  flesh  is  in  the  blood,  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the 
 altar,  to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls  :  for  it  is  the  blood 
 that  maketh  an  atonement  for  the  soul.  It  is  reasonable  to 
 think,  that  in  this  all  the  bloody  offerings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment did  typify  that  one  great  sacrifice  that  hath  truly  ex- 
 piated sin. 
 
 But  to  what  purpose  doth  the  Doctor  here  mention  ex- 
 piation at  all  ?  Is  it,  that  it  would  be  ill  to  account  for,  that 
 the  apostle  should  concur  in  offering  an  expiatory  sacrifice, 
 as  being  inconsistent  with  the  gospel-faith  of  a  complete  ex- 
 piation having  been  actually  made  by  the  blood  of  Christ ; 
 but  that  the  offering  of  burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings 
 (neither  of  which,  as  he,  in  contradiction  to  himself  insi- 
 nuates, was  expiatory)  was  not  inconsistent  with  that  faith, 
 or  with  the  abolition  of  the  Mosaic  law,  said  to  be  asserted 
 by  the  apostle  here,  chap.  vii.  ?  What  else  could  he  mean  ? 
 and  yet  if  this  was  his  meaning,  it  is  evidently  ridiculous  ; 
 especially  as  the  sin-offering  was  expiatory  at  any  rate. 
 
 To  this  second  observation,  he  adds  :  e  And  the  advice 
 1  here  not  being  personally  to  make,  or  present  these  offerings, 
 '  but  only  to  purify  himself/  (how  purify  himself,  say  I, 
 but  according  to  the  purification  of  the  Mosaic  sanctuary  ?) 
 1  and  to  help  the  Nazarites  in  bearing  some  part  of  the 
 (  charges  of  these  offerings.'  He  infers  as  above,  that  there 
 was  little  or  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  doctrine  of  St 
 Paul. 
 
 But  these  Nazarites  were  Jewish  Christians.  Did  he  tell 
 such  at  Rome,  Rom.  vii.  that  they  were  dead  to  the  law, 
 (that  is,  as  he  and  some  others  interpret)  free  from  the  obli- 
 gation of  the  Mosaic  institutions  ;  and  this  liberty  was  need- 
 ful to  be  asserted,  in  order  to  their  being  married  to  Christ; 
 and  bringing  forth  fruit  unto  God  ?  and  doth  he  now  contri- 
 bute to  confirm  such  persons  at  Jerusalem  in  their  conscien- 
 tious regard  to  that  law,  and  its  institutions,  by  officiously 
 contributing  to  the  expense  of  their  sacrifices  ?  These  things 
 E  5 
 
110  Introduction  to  the 
 
 are  not  quite  consistent :  besides,  that  this  assisting  merely  to 
 the  expense  hath  no  founffction  in  the  story. 
 
 3.  The  third  consideration  by  which  Dr  W.  endeavours 
 to  account  for  the  apostle's  conduct  on  this  occasion,  he  ex- 
 presses thus  :  c  Though  St  Paul  knew  that  these  constitu- 
 1  tions  were  not  now  obligatory  in  themselves ;  yet,  seeing 
 c  they  were  rites  belonging  to  that  temple,  which  was  yet 
 1  standing,  and  God  had  not,  by  any  express  declaration 
 c  made  to  the  Jews,  prohibited  the  continuance  of  them,  St 
 '  Paul  might  lawfully  submit  to  this  compliance  with  them, 
 (  to  prevent  the  scandal  of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  which 
 '  might  divert  them  from  that  Christianity  they  had  em- 
 *  braced.'  There  must  be  an  error  of  the  press  here,  (edit. 
 4.)  I  suppose  he  meant  to  say,  who  had  not  embraced  Chris- 
 tianity. But  how  comes  the  Doctor  to  say,  that  God  had 
 not  prohibited  the  continuance  of  these  ordinances  by  any 
 express  declarations  made  to  the  Jews  ?  Surely,  according  to 
 his  interpretation  of  Rom.  vii.  which  was  written  before  that 
 time,  the  declarations  there  made  are  express  enough  to  that 
 purpose.  If  then  the  apostle  thought  it  his  duty,  to  make 
 these  declarations  sometime  before  to  the  Jews  at  Rome,  in 
 addressing  them  (separately,  as  is  alleged)  in  that  chapter, 
 in  writing  which,  he  was  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost,  it  is  likely  to  have  been  as  much  his  duty  to  have 
 made  these  declarations  to  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  in- 
 stead of  confirming  them  in  the  opposite  sentiments  and 
 way,  by  such  thorough  and  remarkable  compliance  with 
 them,  in  a  very  solemn  instance  of  practice.  As  to  giving 
 offence  to  the  Jews,  by  refusing  such  compliance,  let  us  but 
 consider  how  great  offence  it  would  give  to  believing  and  un- 
 believing Jews,  when  they  should  have  occasion  to  observe 
 the  inconsistence  between  his  doctrine,  Rom.  vii.  (as  that 
 hath  been  interpreted,)  and  his  posterior  practice  at  Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 The  Doctor  concludes  his  annotation  on  Acts  xxi.  26,  27. 
 with  these  remarkable  and  very  instructive  words :  '  Whence 
 1  we  may  learn,  what  great  condescendence  in  lesser  matters 
 1  may  be  used  for  the  promotion  of  the  salvation  of  others.' 
 The  condescension  he  means  here  to  recommend,  seems, 
 from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  not  to  be  the  condescension 
 of  men's  forbearing  to  impose  and  urge  practices  contrary  to 
 the  sentiments  and  consciences  of  their  brethren,  but  the 
 condescension  of  others,  in  complying  with  the  use  of  rites, 
 ceremonies,  observances,  and  practices,    which  they  think 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  1 1 1 
 
 ought  not  to  be  imposed  ;  and  which,  perhaps,  they  think 
 cannot  be  complied  with  by  them,  as  their  light  and  views 
 are,  without  sin.  Indeed,  if  the  apostle  thought,  that  being 
 free  from  the  Mosaic  law  and  institutions,  and  asserting  that 
 liberty  was  needful  for  such  reasons  and  ends,  as  are  raem- 
 tioned  Rom.  vi.  and  vii.,  I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  the 
 compliance  mentioned  Acts  xxi.  was  a  great  deal  too  much, 
 and  was  an  example  not  safe  for  a  Christian  to  follow,  by 
 any  principles  or  rules  for  keeping  good  conscience,  or  con- 
 cerning offence,  that  I  can  learn  from  the  writings  of  the 
 apostle  himself,  or  from  the  scripture  otherwise.  However, 
 such  was,  according  to  the  Doctor,  the  apostle's  doctrine, 
 Rom.  vii.  And  so  did  he  conceal,  yea,  contradict,  that  doc- 
 trine, by  his  solemn  practice,  Acts  xxi.  in  compliance  with 
 the  dangerous  error  of  the  Jews  and  Jewish  Christians,  and 
 that  for  the  promotion  of  the  salvation  of  others.  Alas,  for 
 these  poor  peevish  persons  of  our  times  !  some  ceremonial 
 institutions  (little,  very  little  ones,  matters  quite  indifferent 
 in  the  eyes  of  the  imposers,  and  so  might  be  well  wanted,) 
 are  prescribed,  not  indeed  by  an  authority  altogether  so  ve- 
 nerable as  that  which  had  enjoined  the  Mosaic  ordinances. 
 We  see  how  Paul  condescended  and  complied.  But  these 
 modern  precisians  will  not  comply  with  these  ceremonial  in- 
 stitutions for  the  promotion  of  themselves  to  livings,  dig- 
 nities, &c.  in  the  church,  or  in  the  state,  (at  the  peril,  as 
 these  poor  narrow  souls  conceive,  of  their  salvation,)  or  to 
 save  themselves  from  low  circumstances,  and  much  needless 
 expense  ! 
 
 Yea,  the  Doctor  hath  brought  his  own  account  of  things, 
 respecting  the  apostle's  conduct,  under  very  great  difficulty, 
 by  what  he  hath  in  the  immediately  preceding  annotation  on 
 Acts  xxi.  20.  There  he  says,  (  The  zealots  among  the  be- 
 '  lievers  were  urgent  for  the  circumcision  of  the  Gentiles ; 
 t  — But  the  whole  body  of  the  converted  Jews,  bishops, 
 '  elders,  as  well  as  the  laity,  were  zealous  for  the  observa- 
 1  tion  of  the  laws  and  customs  by  the  Jews.'  Then  he  brings 
 quotations  from  Philo  and  Josephus,  to  show  how  much  the 
 Jews  would  suffer,  rather  than  abandon  God's  ordinances. 
 These  are  very  needlessly  brought,  since  godly  persons  of 
 all  nations  and  times  have  agreed,  that  it  were  better  to  die, 
 than  to  desert,  or  renounce,  or  counteract  divine  institutions 
 and  appointments.  Then  he  tells,  that  the  Jewish  Christ- 
 ians knew  of  no  revelation  made  by  God —  that  the  Mosaic 
 institutions  were  to  cease  after  the  death  of  the  Messiah. 
 
112  Introduction  to  the 
 
 Downwards  he  hath  these  words  :  (  Yet  it  pleased  God  not 
 '  yet  to  convince  them  of  this  error,  by  any  revelation,  or 
 '  any  afflatus  of  that  Spirit  which  many  of  them  had  re- 
 '  ceived.'  But  was  there  not  any  revelation,  or  afflatus,  or 
 divine  inspiration,  when  the  apostle  had  some  time  before 
 written  according  to  the  Doctor's  paraphrase,  thus,  Rom.  vii. 
 4.  c  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  as  the  woman  is  free  from  the 
 '  law  of  her  husband  by  his  death,  even  so  ye  also  are  become 
 e  dead  to  the  law,  and  so  free  from  it  by  the  crucifixion  of 
 1  the  body  of  Christ,  which  hath  dissolved  your  obligation  to 
 '  the  law,  as  the  death  of  the  husband  the  obligation  of  the 
 c  wife  to  him  ;  that  ye  should  or  may  be  married  to  another  9* 
 There  is  no  removing  these  difficulties  arising  from  the 
 apostle's  conduct,  Acts  xxi.  according  to  the  Doctor's  account 
 of  things.  But  upon  a  just  view  of  matters,  there  is  no  real 
 difficulty  at  all — no  inconsistence  between  the  apostle's  con- 
 duct, Acts  xxi.  and  any  doctrine  he  had  previously  taught. 
 He  practised,  Acts  xxi.  according  to  the  law  of  Moses,  being 
 an  Israelite.  But  he  had  not  before  that  time,  in  Rom.  vii. 
 or  on  any  other  occasion,  publicly  taught,  that  Israelites 
 were  made  free  from  the  obligations  of  that  law.  Yea,  his 
 practice,  Acts  xxi.  which  we  have  been  considering,  is  an 
 unanswerable  argument,  that  in  Rom.  vii.  he  did  not  so 
 teach  ;  and  that  he  is  misunderstood  by  those  who  interpret 
 him  in  that  way. 
 
 To  what  hath  been  said,  we  may  add  what  the  apostle 
 offered  on  different  occasions,  for  vindicating  himself  to  the 
 Jews,  or  to  others,  against  the  accusations  of  the  Jews.  We 
 are  told,  Acts  xxv.  7-  that  the  Jews  laid  before  Festus  many 
 and  grievous  complaints  against  Paul,  which  they  could  not 
 prove  ;  and,  ver.  8.  He  answered  for  himself  neither  against 
 the  law  of  the  Jews,  neither  against  the  temple — have  I  of- 
 fended any  thing  at  all.  It  could  not  be  accounted  for,  that 
 any  man  of  common  honesty,  who  had  in  so  public  man- 
 ner, as  in  an  epistle  to  the  church  of  Rome,  asserted  that  the 
 law  of  the  Jews  was  abrogated,  and,  consequently,  that  the 
 service  of  the  temple  ought  to  be  no  longer  celebrated, — 
 would  now,  before  the  seat  of  judgment,  assert,  that  he  had 
 not  offended  against  the  law  of  the  Jews,  nor  against  the 
 temple.  Nor  do  I  see  how,  in  the  supposed  case,  his  inge- 
 nuity could  be  vindicated,  when  he  said,  some  time  after 
 this,  at  Rome,  to  the  chief  Jews  of  that  place,  (when  it  is  not 
 unlikely  that  some  of  the  Christians  might  have  been  pre- 
 sent, to  whom  he  had  sometime  before  addressed  this  epis- 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  113 
 
 tie)  I  have  committed  nothing  against  the  people  or  customs  of 
 our  fathers.  Acts  xxviii.  17-  What  !  committed  nothing 
 against  the  customs  of  their  fathers  !  if,  in  the  epistle  he  had 
 written  some  time  ago  to  the  Christians  of  that  place,  he 
 had  asserted  the  abolition  of  all  these  customs  ! 
 
 For  my  part,  after  all  the  closest  attention  I  was  capable 
 of,  to  all  that  is  said  of  the  law,  or  of  any  particular  matter 
 respecting  it,  in  this  epistle  to  the  Romans, — I  am  well  sa- 
 tisfied that  there  is  nothing  in  it  of  the  abrogation  of  the 
 Mosaic  law  with  regard  to  the  Jews,  or  their  exemption 
 from  its  obligation, — that  it  is  nowhere  therein  asserted, — 
 that  it  is  not  a  principle  from  which  the  apostle  argues, — 
 nor  a  conclusion  he  infers  from  any  principles. 
 
 I  see  nothing  in  this  epistle  to  the  Romans,  that  can  be 
 urged  with  any  appearance  of  force,  as  importing  the  aboli- 
 tion of  the  Mosaic  law  ;  if  it  is  not  what  we  have  in  the  J  4th 
 chapter.  There  appears  in  it  a  considerable  difference  in 
 the  practice  of  Christians  about  meats  and  holy  days.  This 
 matter  was  the  occasion  of  judging  and  condemning  upon  one 
 side,  and  of  contempt  and  uncharitable  neglect  upon  the 
 other  ;  and  the  peace  of  the  church  was  much  endangered 
 by  the  difference.  This  we  may  learn  from  these  words, 
 ver.  19-  Let  us  therefore  follow  after  the  things  which  make 
 Jor  peace. 
 
 It  has  been  generally  thought,  that  these  weak  persons 
 were  Jewish  believers,  who  did  not  yet  understand  or  re- 
 ceive their  liberty  from  the  Mosaic  yoke.  If  indeed  they 
 were  Jews,  the  apostle's  calling  them  weak,  for  their  adhe- 
 rence to  the  rules  of  that  law,  would  imply,  that  the  autho- 
 rity and  obligation  of  that  law  had  ceased.  But  it  does  not 
 appear,  that  the  Jews  generally  had  sufficient  cause  to  think, 
 that  their  law  was  abrogated.  The  consequence  of  this  is 
 that  they  generally  had  good  reason  to  think  it  their  duty  to 
 observe  that  law  :  and  that  they  cannot  be  the  persons 
 charged  on  that  account  with  weakness.  Besides,  in  the  dis- 
 putes with  the  Jews,  the  question  commonly  turned  on  the 
 necessity  of  men's  being  circumcised,  and  so  brought  under 
 the  obligation  of  the  whole  Mosaic  law.  But  when  the  ques- 
 tion turned  on  the  subject  of  meats  and  holy  days,  I  incline 
 to  think  they  were  others  than  Jewish  converts  whose  scru- 
 pulosity is  there  represented.  The  many  thousands  of  the 
 Jews  who  believed  in  Judea  were  zealous  for  the  law.  The 
 apostles  themselves  at  Jerusalem  joined  with  them  in  the 
 
114  Introduction  to  the 
 
 temple  worship  and  service.  The  apostle  Paul,,  a  Jew,  came 
 under  the  Nazarite  vow,  and  celebrated  the  expiration  of  his 
 vow  according  to  the  rules  of  the  law,  as  we  have  seen. 
 These  things  being  so,  there  can  be  no  reason  to  think,  that 
 their  brethren  of  the  Gentiles,  who  probably  held  pious 
 Jewish  converts  in  much  veneration,  and  who  might  be  well 
 content  with  enjoying  their  own  liberty,  would  despise  the 
 believers  of  the  Jews  for  their  Judaical  observances  ;  or  that 
 any  differences  would  arise  among  them  upon  these  accounts, 
 that  would  endanger  the  peace  of  the  church.  The  peace  of 
 the  church  was  indeed  much  disturbed  by  the  endeavours  of 
 some  Jews  to  impose  the  Mosaic  law  upon  believers  of  the 
 Gentiles.  But  that  the  Gentiles  would  disturb  or  despise 
 believers  who  were  of  the  Jews,  for  observing  their  own  law, 
 is  by  no  means  likely. 
 
 There  is  nothing  in  this  14th  chapter  but  may  be  well 
 accounted  for,  by  understanding  these  weak  persons  to  have 
 been  believers  of  the  Gentiles  ;  nor  is  it  at  all  unreasonable 
 to  think,  that  there  were  of  them  such  weak  persons.  It  is 
 to  be  considered,  that  a  great  many  of  the  Gentiles,  who 
 had  been  converted  by  the  gospel,  had  been  proselytes  to 
 Judaism,  and  perhaps  had  been  the  children  of  such,  brought 
 up  from  childhood  in  that  way,  as  Timothy  had  been.  Al- 
 though these  might  agree  to  the  declaration  of  the  liberty  of 
 the  Gentiles,  as  to  the  main  of  things,  yet  we  may  easily 
 suppose  that  something  might  stick  with  them.  They  had 
 received  divine  revelation,  the  word  of  God,  and  the  faith, 
 by  which  they  expected  to  be  saved,  from  the  Jews.  It  is 
 no  wonder  if  for  this  they  did  retain  a  great  veneration  for 
 that  people,  and  for  their  institutions.  Besides,  they  might 
 think  that  the  distinction  of  meats,  clean  and  unclean,  had 
 a  more  early  authority,  and  more  extensive  obligation,  as  the 
 distinction  of  beasts  clean  and  unclean,  had  been  mentioned 
 by  God  in  his  directions  to  Noah.  Nor  need  we  wonder,  if 
 they  retained  a  regard  for  the  Jewish  holy  days.  We  know 
 how  tenacious  Christians  have  been  to  this  day,  of  ancient 
 festivals,  which  derive  their  origin,  some  of  them  from  Ju- 
 daism, some  of  them  from  heathenism  itself.  Although 
 they  knew  themselves  to  be  by  the  gospel  happily  set  free 
 from  these  peculiar  institutions  of  the  church  of  Israel,  to 
 which  they  were  obliged,  when,  as  proselytes  of  righteous- 
 ness, they  were  admitted  by  circumcision  to  be  members  of 
 that  church;  yet  they  might  think  themselves  still  obliged 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  115 
 
 to  these  rules,  which,  not  being  members  of  that  church,  but 
 proselytes  of  the  gate,  they  had  carefully  observed  ;  such  as 
 the  distinction  of  meats,  and  some  other  things  comprehend- 
 ed under  these,  called  the  precepts  of  the  sons  of  Noah.  It 
 may  also  be  easily  conceived,  that  they  would  be  likely  to 
 retain  a  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  these  days,  on  which  the 
 annual  feast,  and  the  several  great  festivals  were  solemnized. 
 This  may  be  the  more  easily  conceived  of  some  Gentile  con- 
 verts at  Rome,  if  we  consider  that  the  Galatians,  Gentiles 
 as  they  were  for  most  part,  were  so  prone  to  desert  wholly 
 their  valuable  liberty,  and  to  submit  to  the  whole  law  of 
 Moses,  as  appears  in  the  epistle  addressed  to  them. 
 
 The  apostle  doth  indeed  say  in  this  chapter,  Rom.  xiv.  14, 
 I  know,  and  am  persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  there  is 
 nothing  unclean  of  itself.  This  may  import,  that  there  is 
 not  in  any  sort  of  thing,  otherwise  fit  for  food,  any  intrinsic 
 uncleanness,  such  that  the  eating  thereof  would  bring  moral 
 defilement  on  a  man,  for  any  thing  in  its  own  nature.  This 
 was  clearly  implied  in  the  liberty  granted  to  the  Gentiles 
 from  these  regulations  concerning  beasts  clean  or  unclean ; 
 so  that  such  Gentile  converts  as  scrupled  the  use  of  them, 
 did  therein  show  weakness.  But  there  is  nothing  in  this 
 decisive  against  Jewish  converts,  or  to  prove  them  to  be 
 weak,  for  observing  the  regulations  of  a  law  which  they  did 
 not  know  to  be  abrogated,  with  respect  to  them  ;  even  while 
 they  might  acknowledge  that  there  was  no  natural  or  in- 
 trinsic uncleanness  in  the  prohibited  meats. 
 
 But  now,  upon  the  whole,  to  give  freely  my  own  opinion 
 concerning  the  abolition  of  the  Mosaic  law  and  institutions, 
 and  the  ceasing  of  their  obligation,  1  believe  there  was  good 
 reason  for  it  from  the  death  of  Christ.  So  it  was  said,  Dan. 
 ix.  27.  In  the  midst  of  the  week  (so  is  expressed  the  time  of 
 his  suffering)  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  oblation  to 
 cease :  his  death  was  the  cause  of  the  ceasing  of  these  ser- 
 vices. When  the  substance  and  body  was  exhibited,  the 
 reason  ceased  for  entertaining  the  church  with  these  sha- 
 dows ;  and  a  more  spiritual  way  of  worship  did  better  be- 
 come the  more  spiritual  dispensation  of  the  gospel.  This 
 became  good  reasoning,  when  it  became  the  reasoning  of 
 the  Holy  Ghost.  Otherwise,  this,  or  any  other  human  rea- 
 soning, could  not  make  a  sufficient  warrant  for  men  to  with- 
 draw from  subjection  to  a  law  and  ordinances  so  expressly 
 and  solemnly  instituted  and  promulgated  by  God  himself. 
 Nothing  could  be   sufficient  for  this  purpose  to  the  Jews 
 
11 6  Introduction  to  the 
 
 but  a  public,  clear,  express,  and  well  vouched  divine  revela- 
 tion. 
 
 When  the  gospel  was  first  preached,  we  do  not  find  in 
 the  book  of  Acts,  that  the  apostles  mentioned  on  any  oc- 
 casion, that  the  gospel  was  to  supersede  the  obligation  of  the 
 Mosaic  law,  as  to  the  Jews.     Therefore,  such  Jews  as  re- 
 ceived the  gospel  observed  the  Mosaic  law,  and  were  zeal- 
 ous for  it ;  and  we  find  that  the  apostles  were  so  far  from 
 giving  disturbance  or  offence  on  that  account,  that  they  or- 
 dinarily joined  with  them  in  that  way  of  worship.    Grotius, 
 on  Rom.  vii.  observes,  that  for   a  while  after  the  synod  of 
 Jerusalem,  Paul  contented  himself  with  intimating  where- 
 ever  he   came,   their   decree   concerning  the  liberty  of  the 
 Gentiles.     As  to  declaring  the  liberty  of  the  Jews  from  the 
 law  of  Moses,  he  says,  Nojidum  erat  tempus  ;  it  was  not  yet 
 the  proper  season  :  and  I  say  that  this  was  the  case  when 
 the  epistle  to  the   Romans  was  written,  and  for  some  time 
 thereafter.     Although  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
 apostles  themselves  did,  by  this  time,  know,  (at  least  Paul 
 probably  did  know)  that  the  Judaical  ordinances  were  to  be 
 abolished,  they  did  riot,  however,  think  it  yet  the  fit  season 
 for  giving  out  the  revelation  they  had  of  this  to  the  Jewish 
 converts,  nor  were  they  directed    yet  to  publish   it ;    and 
 that  for  such  good  reason  as  their  blessed  Lord  had  men- 
 tioned to  themselves,  John  xvi.  12.  /  have  yet   many  things 
 to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.     They  might 
 give  instruction  concerning  this  matter  to  more  advanced 
 Christians ;  and  it  might  be  a  part  of  that  wisdom  which 
 Paul  did  speak  among  them  that  were  perfect,  (grown  up 
 from  childhood  to  be   men  in    Christ) ;  but  being   under 
 the  direction  of  divine  wisdom,   they  did  not   think    fit   to 
 give  out  openly,  that  it  was   the   will   of  God  to  abolish 
 wholly  the  Mosaic  system  of  ordinances,  ceremonial  service 
 and  observances,  with  respect  to  the  Jews  themselves,  until 
 the  gospel-faith   should  be  well  established,  and  take  deep 
 root  with  the  Jewish  Christians. 
 
 We  find  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
 sians,  and  in  the  second  of  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians, 
 which  were  churches  of  the  Gentiles,  something  concerning 
 the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  ordinances.  These  epistles  were 
 written  some  while  after  writing  this  to  the  Romans,  (three 
 years  thereafter,  according  to  Dr  Whitby's  chronology,) 
 and  after  Paul's  conduct  at  Jerusalem,  related  Acts  xxi. 
 which  we  have  been  considering  ;   Paul  himself  being  then  a 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  117 
 
 prisoner  at  Rome.  It  was  sometime  thereafter  (about  two 
 years)  that  the  divine  revelation  concerning  this  matter 
 was  clearly  and  fully  given  forth,  in  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
 brews. A  great  event  was  to  happen,  that  would  tend  much 
 to  cause  the  Jewish  Christians  more  readily  to  receive  the 
 declaration  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Mosaic  law  :  that  was 
 the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  temple,  according  to 
 the  prediction  of  our  blessed  Lord  ;  by  which  it  became  im* 
 possible  to  celebrate  the  chief  ordinances  of  that  law.  Ac- 
 cordingly, about  five  years  before  that  event,  was  the  epistle 
 to  the  Hebrews  written.  It  might  take  that  much  time  for 
 that  epistle  to  be  sufficiently  spread  among  the  Hebrew 
 Christians  in  the  east,  and  for  it  to  operate  somewhat  in  their 
 minds.  Then,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  our  Lord,  the  re- 
 velation and  doctrine  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  con- 
 firmed by  the  dreadful  event  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
 and  the  temple,  and  the  awful  vengeance  that  was  executed 
 on  the  Jewish  nation. 
 
 In  that  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  who  of  all  the  Jews  had 
 the  warmest  zeal  for  the  Mosaic  institutions,  revelation 
 speaks  clear  and  full  of  the  abolition  of  these.  There  the 
 inspired  writer  shows  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  to  be  ineffectual 
 for  the  purpose  of  expiating  sin.  There  he  proves,  from  the 
 scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  that  God  intended  to  set  up 
 a  priesthood  different  from  the  Aaronic  ;  and  to  constitute 
 Christ  a  high  priest  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek.  From 
 this  he  argues  in  a  manner  clear  and  just,  chap.  vii.  12.  The 
 priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made  of  necessity  a  change 
 also  of  the  law.  So  with  the  abolition  of  the  Levitical 
 priesthood,  the  whole  system  of  the  Levitical  and  Mosaic 
 institutions  fell  down,  and  were  no  longer  of  force. 
 
 What  hath  been  said  may  satisfy  us,  that  when  the  apos- 
 tle says  here,  chap.  vii.  4.  Ye  are  become  dead  to  the  law  ; 
 and,  ver.  6.  We  are  delivered  from  the  law ;  he  doth  not 
 mean  it  of  the  Jews  being  made  free  from  the  obligation  of 
 the  Mosaic  ceremonial  law,  or  of  its  precepts  and  institu- 
 tions. None  mention  the  judicial  law  of  the  commonwealth 
 of  Israel  on  this  occasion  ;  nor  can  we  understand  him  as 
 meaning  to  derogate,  in  any  degree,  from  the  authority  or 
 obligation  of  the  commandments  of  the  moral  law.  What  the 
 apostle  means  by  being  dead  to  the  la?v,  and  being  delivered 
 from  it,  will  be  the  subject  of  inquiry  in  the  following  sheets  : 
 where  explaining  of  the  marriage  with  the  law  that  he  speaks 
 
118  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 of,  and  the  dissolution  of  that  marriage,    will  make  it  clear 
 in  what  sense  he  means  being  delivered  from  the  law. 
 
 This  might  be  a  fit  place  for  representing  the  general  scope 
 and  contents  of  this  seventh  chapter.  It  seems  to  be  ac- 
 knowledged by  learned  interpreters,  that  the  apostle  designs 
 in  it  to  explain  what  he  had  said,  chap.  vi.  14.  He  there 
 insinuated,  that  they  who  are  under  the  law,  are  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin.  It  is  obvious,  that  his  explanations  in  the 
 first  part  of  the  chapter,  ver.  1 — 13.  do  respect  that  point. 
 Whether  the  latter  context,  ver.  14 — 25.  doth  represent  the 
 condition  and  circumstances  of  those  who  are  under  grace, 
 with  regard  to  sin,  is  to  be  inquired  into  in  the  proper  place. 
 For  any  thing  more  particular,  it  is  fit  to  refer  to  the  explica- 
 tions here  following. 
 
 EXPLICATION  AND  PARAPHRASE 
 
 OF 
 
 ROMANS     VII. 
 
 TEXT. — 1.  Know  ye  not,  brethren,  (for  I  speak  to  them  that  know  the 
 law,')  how  that  the  law  hath  dominion  over  a  man,  as  long  as  he  liveth  ? 
 
 Explication. — These  writers  who  suppose  the  apostle  was, 
 in  the  5th  and  6th  chapters,  speaking  to  the  Gentiles  sepa- 
 rately, and  as  contradistinguished  to  the  Jewish  converts,  do 
 at  the  same  time  suppose,  that,  in  this  seventh  chapter,  he 
 speaks  to  the  Jews  separately,  and  as  contradistinguished  to 
 the  Gentiles.  There  were  indeed  a  good  many  Jewish  con- 
 verts in  the  church  at  Rome.  But  as  the  apostle  doth  all 
 along  consider  the  Romans  as  a  church  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
 commonly  addresses  them  as  such;  to  say,  that  in  a  particu- 
 lar place,  without  distinctly  intimating  that  view,  he  turns 
 aside  to  speak  to  the  Jewish  converts  separately  and  apart, 
 would  need  to  be  supported  by  good  reasons.  Two  things 
 they  adduce  from  this  verse -to  that  purpose.  One,  that  he 
 calls  them  brethren,  for  such  the  Jews  were  to  the  apostle 
 by  nation  and  descent.  The  other,  that  he  supposes  them 
 especially  to  know  the  law  ;  as  indeed  the  Jews  valued  them- 
 selves much  upon  the  law,  and  their  knowledge  of  it. 
 
Of Romans  VII.  11 9 
 
 But  these  things  do  by  no  means  make  out  the  point. 
 The  apostle  does  commonly  call  Christians  of  any  nation, 
 brethren.  In  the  beginning  of  chap.  x.  he  uses  the  compi- 
 lation, brethren,  to  the  Gentiles,  when  he  is  speaking  to  them 
 concerning  the  Jews.  No  church  was  more  to  be  denomi- 
 nated Gentile  than  that  of  Thessalonica.  For  of  the  con- 
 version of  the  Jews  in  that  place,  it  is  said,  Acts  xvii.  4.  that 
 some  of  them  believed.  The  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  is 
 related  in  these  words  :  Of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great  mul- 
 titude. If  we  suppose,  as  we  reasonably  should,  that  the 
 devout  Greeks,  or  proselytes,  were  not  idolaters,  it  would 
 seem  that  a  great  number  were,  after  this  good  beginning, 
 soon  converted  from  heathenism,  as  it  is  said,  1  Thess.  i.  £)• 
 that  they  turned  to  God  from  idols,  to  serve  the  living  and 
 true  God :  so  that  few  comparatively  of  that  church  were 
 Jews  by  nation.  Yet  in  his  first  epistle  to  them,  which  is 
 a  short  one,  compared  with  this  to  the  Romans,  he  uses  the 
 compellation  of  brethren  to  them  in  common,  no  less  than 
 sixteen  times. 
 
 In  his  supposing  that  they  knew  the  law,  whether  he  means 
 the  law  concerning  marriage,  of  which  in  the  next  verses, 
 and  which  was  common  to  the  Jews  and  other  nations,  or 
 the  law  in  general  ;  there  is  nothing  in  it  but  what  will  suit 
 the  Roman  Gentile  Christians,  as  well  as  those  who  were 
 Jews  by  nation.  Such  of  them  as  had  been  proselytes, 
 had  been  directed  to  study  the  Scriptures.  Timothy  was 
 brought  up  from  childhood  in  the  knowledge  of  them ;  and 
 the  Ethiopian  eunuch  returning  homeward,  and  sitting  in 
 his  chariot,  he  read  in  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah.  Christians 
 brought  from  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  did  doubtless 
 greatly  value  the  rich  treasure  of  light  and  knowledge  they 
 found  in  the  scripture,  and  studied  it  carefully.  So  that, 
 whatever  knowledge  the  Jews  had  of  the  law7,  or  of  any  di- 
 vine things  by  revelation,  was  communicated  to  the  converted 
 Gentiles  by  the  scripture ;  and  there,  as  in  the  fountain,  they 
 had  divine  truth,  without  that  mixture  of  traditional  and 
 superstitious  trash,  by  which  the  Jews  pretty  commonly  ex- 
 plained, darkened,  and  perverted  the  Scripture.  The  Gentile 
 converts  had  likewise  the  more  easy  access  to  the  Scriptures, 
 to  which  the  preachers  of  the  gospel  did  so  commonly  remit 
 them,  that  they  were  then  extant  in  a  language  (the  Greek) 
 pretty  commonly  known  in  all  civilized  nations.  So  the  two 
 things  above  mentioned  make  no  reason  at  all  for  thinking 
 
120  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 that  he  speaks  here  to  the  Jews  separately, — a  conceit  that 
 has  greatly  perplexed  things  in  explaining  this  chapter. 
 
 As  to  the  purpose  the  apostle  now  enters  upon,  it  appears 
 to  be  this:  He  had  said,  chap.  vi.  14.  Sin  shall  not  have 
 dominion  over  you  :  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
 grace.  This  insinuates,  that  whilst  persons  are  under  the 
 law,  they  are  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  There  was  great 
 need  to  explain  this.  The  law  is  the  rule  of  holiness,  and 
 strictly  requires  it.  Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law,  and 
 is  prohibited  by  every  precept  of  it,  under  a  heavy  sanction. 
 Whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  grace  aboundeth  in  the  pardon- 
 ing of  sin.  Now,  to  say  that  sin  hath  dominion  over  men, 
 by  occasion  of  being  under  the  law,  that  thus  prohibits  it, 
 and  denounces  wrath  and  judgment  for  it ;  and  that  men 
 become  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  by  being  under  grace 
 that  pardons  it,  hath,  at  first  sight,  great  appearance  of  pa- 
 radox, or  mystery.  It  is  indeed  the  mystery  of  the  gospel* 
 in  what  concerns  sanctification  ;  which  the  apostle  saw  it 
 of  great  consequence  to  explain ;  as  he  doth  in  the  follow- 
 ing context.  In  the  first  thirteen  verses,  he  carefully  vin- 
 dicates the  law  from  being  in  any  sort  blameable  for  the 
 sinfulness,  or  actual  sins  of  men.  He  at  the  same  time 
 shows,  that  all  the  light  and  authority  of  the  law  is  so  far 
 from  subduing  sin  in  men,  that  it  doth,  as  thereby  awakened 
 and  irritated,  the  more  exert  itself,  and  show  its  extreme 
 wickedness. 
 
 In  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  he  sets  out  with  illustrat- 
 ing his  doctrine  by  the  similitude  of  marriage  ;  and  in  this 
 first  verse,  he  lays  down  the  general  principle  contained  in 
 it.  It  appears  by  the  next  following  verses,  that  the  relation 
 between  the  law  and  those  who  are  under  it,  he  compares 
 to  that  between  husband  and  wife. 
 
 The  only  thing  besides  that  I  have  occasion  to  observe 
 in  this  Verse  is,  that  the  last  clause,  as  long  as  he  liveth,  is 
 so  expressed  in  the  Greek,  that  it  may  be  connected  with  the 
 law,  thus  ;  as  long  as  it  (the  law)  liveth,  or  is  in  force ;  or 
 with  man  thus ;  as  long  as  he  (the  man)  liveth.  Without 
 determining  precisely  in  favour  of  the  one  way  preferably  to 
 the  other,  there  seems  to  be  occasion  rather  to  observe  a 
 special  skill  in  the  apostle's  forming  his  expression  in  this 
 part,  so  as  that  the  last  clause  may  be  connected  at  once 
 with  both  the  antecedents,  thus:  The  law  hath  dominion 
 over  a  man,  as  long  as  liveth  the  law,  (which  hath  here 
 the  place  of  the  husband,)  or  the  person  that  hath  the  place 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  121 
 
 of  the  wife  in  relation  to  that  husband.  To  take  the  ex- 
 pression thus,  suits  the  nature  of  the  subject ;  as  marriage 
 is  dissolved  by  the  death  of  either  party  ;  and  though  in 
 setting  forth  the  similitude  in  the  two  following  verses,  he 
 mentions  only  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  by  the  death 
 of  the  husband,  (here  representing  the  law)  yet  in  the  4th 
 verse  he  asserts  the  deliverance  of  Christians  (meant  by  the 
 wife  in  the  similitude)  from  the  law  by  their  being  dead  to 
 it. 
 
 TEXT 2.  For  the  woman  which  hath  an  husband,  is  bound  by  the  law 
 
 to  her  husband  so  long  as  he  liveth  ;  but  if  the  husband  be  dead,  she  is 
 loosed  from  the  law  of  her  husband. 
 3.  So  then,  if  while  her  husband  liveth,  she  be  married  to  another  man,  she 
 shall  be  called  an  adulteress  :  but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is  free  from 
 that  law  ;  so  that  she  is  no  adulteress  though  sh-e  be  married  to  another 
 man. 
 
 Any  thing  here  which  it  were  of  consequence  to  explain, 
 will  be  more  fitly  considered  in  explaining  the  following 
 verses ;  wherein  the  matter  here  designed  for  a  similitude, 
 and  the  principles  concerning  it,  are  applied  to  the  apostle's 
 particular  purpose.  Any  explication  fit  to  be  suggested 
 here,  may  be  comprehended,  and  expressed  briefly  in  the 
 following 
 
 Paraphrase — 1.  I  have  said  (chap.  vi.  14.)  that  sin  shall 
 not  have  dominion  over  you  ;  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but 
 under  grace.  I  come  now  to  explain  the  important  subject 
 to  you  :  and  I  begin  to  lead  you  into  the  understanding  of 
 my  meaning  and  doctrine,  somewhat  in  the  allegorical  way, 
 and  by  a  similitude  taken  from  a  matter  of  which  you  can- 
 not be  ignorant.  For  I  presume  that  all  of  you,  my  dear 
 brethren,  and  fellow  Christians,  being  believers,  members  of 
 the  church  of  God,  and  having  his  word  for  the  rule  of  your 
 faith,  and  the  subject  of  your  study  and  meditation  ;  that,  I 
 say,  you  know  the  law,  and  this  principle  concerning  it,  that 
 the  law  hath  dominion  over  a  man,  such  as  a  husband  hath 
 oyer  his  wife,  (s£  ctov  %%ovov  £u)  for  so  long  time  as  liveth 
 either  the  law,  or  the  person  who  hath  been  under  the  law, 
 and  no  longer  ;  for  the  death  of  either  party  dissolves  the 
 marriage  covenant  and  relation,  and  the  obligations  arising 
 therefrom. 
 
 2.  For  to  (exemplify  this  upon  one  side)  the  woman  which 
 hath  an  husband,  is  bound  by  the  law  of  marriage,  and  by 
 the  marriage-covenant,  to  her  husband  as  long  as  he  liveth  ; 
 but  when  the  husband  is  dead,  she  is  loosed  from  the  mar- 
 
122  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 riage-law  and  covenant,  by  which  she  was  bound  to  her  hus- 
 band. 
 
 3.  The  consequence  then  is,  if  the  woman  during  her 
 husband's  life  shall  be  married  to  another  man,  that  she  shall 
 be  called  (shall  be  indeed)  an  adulteress  ;  but  if  her  husband 
 be  dead,  she  is  free  from  that  law,  according  to  which  she 
 might  be  charged  with  crime  and  reproach  ;  so  that  she  is  no 
 adulteress,  though  she  be  married  to  another  man.  In  like 
 manner,  if  you  have  been  married  to  the  law,  and  have  had 
 it,  by  a  sacred  covenant,  for  your  husband,  this  bond  could 
 not  be  dissolved  by  mere  will  or  fancy.  It  hath  been 
 a  covenant  and  relation  for  life  ;  so  it  is  death  that  dis- 
 solves it. 
 
 TEXT. — 4.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  are  become  dead  to  the  law 
 by  the  body  of  Christ ;  that  ye  should  be  married  to  another,  even  to 
 him  who  is  raised  from  the  dead,  that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit  unto 
 God. 
 
 Explication. — For  the  right  understanding  of  this  verse, 
 it  is  needful  to  explain,  1.  What  is  meant  by  the  law.  2. 
 What  by  being  dead  to  the  law.  3.  How  we  are  to  understand 
 being  married  to  the  law,  and  afterwards  to  Christ.  4.  How 
 the  marriage  with  the  law  is  dissolved,  and  by  what  means. 
 5.  The  consequence  of  that  marriage  being  dissolved,  and  of 
 our  being  married  to  Christ.  The  explaining  of  these  im- 
 portant points,  which  will  contribute  much  to  our  conceiving 
 justly  the  scope  of  this  whole  context,  as  well  as  the  sense  of 
 this  verse,  is  likely  to  come  out  to  a  considerable  length. 
 
 1.  What  is  meant  by  the  law. — It  has  been  proved  already, 
 that  the  law  here  is  not  to  be  understood  of  the  Mosaic  ce- 
 remonial law.  Mr  Locke's  notion  will  be  considered  by  it- 
 self hereafter.  Certainly  we  can  understand  no  other  here 
 by  the  law  than  the  moral  law,  that  universal  rule  of  duty 
 that  hath  been  given  to  mankind,  fenced  with  the  sanction 
 of  death  for  transgression,  which  may  be  reasonably  sup- 
 posed to  imply  a  promise  of  life  for  obedience,  and  which 
 contained  the  matter  of  the  first  covenant.  This  law  was 
 generally  known  by  men,  though  with  different  degrees  of 
 light.  The  heathens  did,  by  nature's  direction,  the  things 
 contained  in  the  law,  (chap.  ii.  14,  15.)  and  showed  the  work 
 of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  (not  the  work  of  sancti- 
 fying, for  that  is  not  the  work  of  the  law,  as  is  here  proven, 
 but)  the  marking  out  to  men  their  duty,  and  giving  the 
 knowledge  of  sin  and  of  judgment  for  it,  their  consciences 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  123 
 
 bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  accusing  or  excusing, 
 according  to  the  degree  of  light  they  had.  In  what  they 
 thought  their  duty,  they  could  have  satisfaction,  and  an 
 agreeable  self-approbation.  By  doing  ill,  the  peace  of  their 
 mind  was  disturbed;  their  consciences  accused  them,  and  they 
 were  self- condemned.  As  sin  abounded  in  them,  there  was 
 a  secret  misgiving  and  fear.  They  made  a  shift  to  make  life 
 as  agreeable  as  they  could  by  the  amusement  of  speculation, 
 or  by  exercise  and  employment,  or  by  temporary  earthly 
 enjoyments ;  in  which  pretty  commonly  they  went  to  a 
 length,  in  various  sorts  of  self-indulgence,  according  to  their 
 abilities  and  opportunities,  that  was  extremely  criminal.  By 
 such  means  they  often  smothered  and  overcame  apprehen- 
 sions, against  which  they  knew  not  the  true  comfort,  or  pro- 
 per remedy. 
 
 But  it  appears  that  in  the  heathens,  this  habitual  latent 
 fear,  that  ever  attends  a  state  of  condemnation,  was  easily 
 awakened,  so  as  to  rise  to  a  high  degree,  and  to  be  the  cause 
 of  much  superstition,  and  of  some  horrible  methods  for  ap- 
 peasing the  wrath  of  heaven,  and  averting  judgments. 
 
 The  church  of  God  anciently  had  a  much  more  clear  and 
 extensive  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  of  judgment  for  trans- 
 gression, and  that  by  the  solemn  promulgation  of  it  at  Sinai ; 
 and  afterwards  by  the  scripture,  which  contained  the  expli- 
 cation and  enforcement  of  it  from  time  to  time  by  the  pro- 
 phets. Though  the  apostle  doth  not  mean  here  to  restrict 
 his  doctrine  and  argument  to  any  law  that  was  peculiar  to 
 the  Jews,  yet  in  speaking  of  the  law,  he  seems  to  have 
 in  his  eye  that  clearer  light  of  the  law  by  revelation,  which 
 the  Jews  enjoyed  ;  as  we  have  cause  to  think  from  his  men- 
 tioning a  commandment  expressly  set  forth  in  the  decalogue, 
 in  which  the  sum  of  the  law  was  given  them,  Thou  shalt  not 
 covet. 
 
 In  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  find  men,  on 
 divers  occasions,  expressing  the  conviction  of  sin,  and  fearful 
 impression  of  judgment,  which  they  conceived  by  the  law  in 
 their  consciences.  In  the  first  time  of  the  gospel,  it  was 
 the  impression  and  authority  of  the  law  in  their  consciences, 
 roused  and  awakened  by  the  sermon  of  the  apostle  Peter, 
 Acts  ii.,  that  caused  his  numerous  hearers,  pricked  in  their 
 heart,  to  cry  out  to  him,  and  to  the  other  apostles,  ver.  37. 
 Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?  Though  the  jailor  at 
 Philippi  was  a  heathen,  and  so  a  stranger  to  that  light  of 
 the  law  that  shined  in  the  church,  yet  it  was  the  con  vie- 
 
124  'Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 tion  of  sin,  and  impression  of  judgment,  that  was  by  the 
 law  in  his  conscience,  suddenly  and  powerfully  awakened, 
 that  made  him  cry  out  to  Paul  and  Silas,  Acts  xvi.  SO.  What 
 must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  And  the  law  hath  still  the  same  effect 
 to  produce  in  souls  that  have  been  at  ease  in  their  sins,  to 
 awaken  them  to  a  serious  concern  about  their  salvation.  All 
 men  are, — every  man  singly  is,  as  to  his  real  spiritual  state, 
 either  under  the  law,  and  under  the  curse  and  wrath  that  it 
 denounces  for  sin  ;  or,  by  being  in  Christ,  united  to  him 
 truly  by  faith,  under  grace,  in  actual  grace  and  favour  with 
 God.  They  are  these  who  are  not  thus  under  grace,  but 
 under  the  curse,  having  the  wrath  of  God  abiding  on  them, 
 that  are  under  the  law  in  the  sense  of  the  apostle  here ;  as 
 we  shall  see  in  considering  the  several  verses  of  this  context. 
 
 As  I  have  given  my  view  of  what  the  apostle  means  here 
 by  the  law,  and  by  being  under  the  law,  1  desire  the  reader 
 to  observe,  as  we  go  along,  if  there  is  any  thing  in  this  con- 
 text that  doth  not  suit  this  view  ;  there  certainly  is  not. 
 Some  learned  men,  who,  from  attachment  to  their  particular 
 system,  are  averse  from  this  view,  and  endeavour  to  turn 
 things  another  way,  to  the  ceremonial  law  and  dispensation, 
 or  to  something  or  other  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  do  an  ill-office 
 to  Christians,  arid  labour  to  shut  up  from  them  a  source  of 
 much  useful  instruction.  Certainly,  several  things  are  here 
 said  of  the  law,  and  of  being  under  it,  that  cannot  be  applied 
 to  any  thing  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  or  to  the  Old- Testament 
 dispensation,  without  much  absurdity.  The  evidence  to  this 
 purpose  will  come  in  our  way,  as  we  go  along. 
 
 2.  What  is  meant  by  being  dead  to  the  law. — The  conse- 
 quences of  death  are  various,  with  respect  to  various  subjects. 
 Here  the  death  mentioned  hath  respect  to  marriage ;  and 
 evidently  means  the  dissolution  of  that  marriage  that  hath 
 been  between  persons  and  the  law.  As  death  dissolves 
 marriage,  so  the  dissolution  of  this  marriage  is  expressed  by 
 being  dead  to  the  law.  The  believer  is  no  longer  married 
 to  the  law  ;  he  is  made  free  from  that  yoke  ;  and  from  all 
 obligation  arising  from  that  connexion  and  relation. 
 
 He  had  also  mentioned,  ver.  1.  the  law's  having  dominion 
 over  a  man.  In  so  far  as  that  dominion  coincides  with  the 
 right  and  claim  of  the  law  as  a  husband,  being  dead  to  it 
 imports  being  made  free  from  that  dominion  of  the  law. 
 
 But  it  is  the  explication  of  the  remaining  points  that  are 
 proposed  to  be  the  subject  of  inquiry  on  this  verse,  that  will 
 fully  explain  the  meaning  of  being  dead  to  the  law  ;  and  that 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  125 
 
 will,  at  the  same  time,  show  a  special  reason  why  the  apostle 
 expresses,  being  made  free  from  the  law,  and  from  its  domi- 
 nion as  a  husband,  by  being  dead  to  it.  Without  anticipat- 
 ing things  out  of  their  more  proper  place ;  let  us  now  be 
 satisfied  with  the  general  view  of  the  matter  that  hath  been 
 given,  and  proceed  to  the  next  point. 
 
 3.  How  is  to  be  understood  being  married  to  the  law,  and 
 being  married  to  Christ. — The  special  thing  which  Dr  W. 
 supposes  to  be  in  view  under  the  metaphor  of  marriage,  is, 
 the  subjection  of  the  wife  to  her  husband,  and  so  the  subjec- 
 tion of  persons  to  the  law,  who  were  under  it  and  married  to 
 it.  The  Mosaic  law  he  means,  for  he  was  far  from  think- 
 ing that  persons  are  disobliged  from  subjection  to  the  pre- 
 cepts of  the  moral  law.  His  paraphrase  runs  thus  :  e  ver.  2. 
 '  The  woman  which  hath  an  husband,  is  bound  by  the  law  to 
 1  be  subject  to  her  husband — But  if  the  husband  be  dead,  she 
 '  is  then  free  from  the  law  of  subjection  to  her  husband. — 
 €  And  ver.  3. — If  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is  free  from  that 
 *  law,  which  bound  her  to  be  in  subjection,  and  yield  con- 
 4  jugal  affection  to  her  husband  only — And  ver.  6.  that  being 
 €  dead  wherein  we  were  held  in  subjection,  as  the  wife  is  to 
 '  her  living  husband/  Here  it  appears,  that  the  Doctor  un- 
 derstood, as  indeed  several  others  have  done,  the  apostle's 
 scope  and  meaning  to  be,  to  show  the  freedom  even  of  Jews 
 and  Jewish  converts  from  the  Mosaic  ritual  and  ceremonial 
 law  ;  and  from  the  obligation  or  subjection  thereto.  This 
 notion  has  been  sufficiently  disproved  in  the  introduction  to 
 this  chapter. 
 
 In  order  to  reach  the  apostle's  meaning,  it  is  fit  to  con- 
 sider the  special  things  that  do  naturally  arise  from  the 
 marriage  covenant  and  relation  between  a  woman  and  her 
 husband. 
 
 In  the  first  place,  the  woman  is  entitled,  by  the  marriage 
 covenant  and  relation,  to  support  and  protection  from  her 
 husband  ;  and  that  he  provide  for  her  welfare  and  happi- 
 ness ;  and  she  hath  cause  to  depend  on,  and  confide  in  him 
 for  this,  so  far  as  she  shall  show  herself  dutiful  to  him.  It 
 is  said  to  the  woman,  Gen.  iii.  1(3.  Thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy 
 husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.  There  is  no  question 
 but  the  expression,  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  im- 
 plies her  dependence,  as  it  does  when  it  is  used  concerning 
 Abel,  chap.  iv.  7-  But  then  it  implies  not  only  dependence 
 of  inferiority  and  subjection,  but  likewise  dependence  of  trust 
 and  confidence.     So  that  applying  this  to  the  apostle's  sub- 
 
126  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 ject  and  design  in  this  place,  it  comes  to  this  :  That  persons 
 married  to  the  law  have  had  dependence  on  that  husband  for 
 support  and  protection,  and  his  providing  for  their  welfare  ; 
 and  this  as  connected  with  subjection  to  the  rule  of  that  hus- 
 band, and  obedience  to  his  commands. 
 
 To  establish  the  meaning  I  have  given  of  that  expression, 
 it  is  fit  to  observe  the  meaning  and  use  of  it  in  some  other 
 places  ;  and  I  expect  that  fixing  the  meaning  of  the  expres- 
 sion will  give  considerable  light  concerning  the  meaning  of 
 these  texts  I  am  to  mention. 
 
 One  of  them  is  Isa.  xxvi.  8.  Yea,  in  the  way  of  thy  judg- 
 ments, 0  Lord,  have  we  waited  for  thee, — that  is,  trusted  in 
 thee.  It  looks  strangely,  to  profess  trust  and  confidence  in 
 God,  when  he  is  dealing  in  way  of  wrath  and  judgment  with 
 men.  But  the  church  accounts  for  this  trust  and  confidence, 
 and  shows  the  reason  and  sure  ground  on  which  it  is  found- 
 ed, by  adding,  The  desire  of  our  soul  (an  Hebraism,  the  same 
 as  our  desire — see  on  chap.  vi.  12.)  is  to  thy  name,  and  to 
 the  remembrance  of  thee, — rather,  to  thy  memorial,  as  the 
 word  is  rendered  in  the  text  to  be  presently  cited.  The 
 sense  of  this  is  to  be  taken  from  Exod.  iii.  15.  /  am  Jeho- 
 vah, the  God  of  Abraham — this  is  my  name  for  ever,  and 
 this  is  my  memorial  to  all  generations.  The  God  of  Abraham 
 is  the  summary  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  as  exhibited  to 
 Abraham,  and  to  the  faithful,  as  his  spiritual  seed.  So  when 
 the  church  expresses  her  trust  and  confidence  in  God,  Isa. 
 xxvi.  8.  even  when  he  was  dealing  with  her  in  way  of  anger 
 and  judgment,  she  gives  a  good  reason  for  it,  when  she 
 says,  Our  desire  is  to  thy  name,  and  to  thy  memorial ;  our 
 dependence  is  on  what  thou  hast  given  to  our  fathers  for  thy 
 everlasting  name  and  memorial ;  and  so  we  are  confident, 
 that  angry  as  thou  justly  art,  yet  thy  covenant,  O  unchange- 
 able almighty  Jehovah,  shall  stand  firm,  and  take  full  effect 
 in  our  behalf. 
 
 Thus  also,  1  Sam.  ix.  20.  On  whom  is  all  the  desire  of 
 Israel  ?  is  it  not  on  thee,  and  on  all  thy  father  s  house  ?  This 
 is  not  said  historically,  for  few  of  Israel  at  that  time  knew 
 Saul,  but  prophetically,  as  if  he  had  said, — Thou  art  to  be 
 King, — the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  on  whom  all  Israel  shall 
 have  their  dependence,  that  under  thy  shadow  (Lam.  iv.  20.) 
 they  shall  live  among  the  heathen. 
 
 So  likewise,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  5.  after  mentioning  God's  cove- 
 nant, everlasting,  well  ordered,  and  sure,  David  adds,  For 
 his  is  all  my  salvation  and  all  my  desire.     Of  which  last 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  127 
 
 expression  this  is  likely  to  be  the  meaning  :  This  covenant 
 of  God's  grace  is  that  on  which  I  have  my  dependence,  and 
 found  my  confidence  for  all  my  hope  and  my  salvation. 
 
 It  seems  reasonable  to  understand  in  the  same  sense  that 
 expression,  Hag.  ii.  7.  The  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come  ; 
 which  is  to  be  taken  as  said,  not  historically,  (as  was  observ- 
 ed concerning  the  words  of  Samuel  to  Saul,)  but  propheti- 
 cally— He  who  shall  be  the  desire  of  all  nations,  on  whom 
 God's  people  of  all  nations  shall  have  their  dependence,  and 
 found  their  confidence ;  as  all  nations  are  to  be  blessed  in 
 him. 
 
 The  sense  of  the  expression  is  now  pretty  clear  ;  and,  as 
 the  Lord  said  to  our  first  mother,  Thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy 
 husband,  so,  according  to  the  apostle's  similitude  and  style, 
 if  sinners  are  married  to  the  law,  the  consequence  is,  their 
 desire  is  to  that  husband ;  they  confide  in  and  depend  on 
 that  husband  (the  law)  for  protecting  them,  for  securing 
 their  standing  before  God,  for  providing  and  insuring  hap- 
 piness to  them,  in  consequence  of  their  obedience  to  the 
 commandments  of  that  husband.  But,  alas  !  this  wife  hath 
 broken  her  covenant  with  her  husband  ;  she  hath  gone  astray 
 from  him,  and  preferred  the  interest  and  gratification  of 
 others,  to  his  commands,  honour,  and  pleasure ;  she  hath 
 disregarded  his  commands,  and  dealt  most  undutifully  with 
 him.  Whatever  imaginary  hopes  she  may  still  entertain  of 
 good  from  him,  being  insensible  of  her  own  ill  behaviour, 
 she  hath  indeed  nothing  to  expect  from  him  but  just  rigour 
 and  wrath.  This,  viz.  that  the  sinner  cannot  attain  jus- 
 tification, or  any  of  its  comfortable  consequences,  by  the  law, 
 hath  been  the  apostle's  subject  in  the  first  four  or  five  chap- 
 ters of  this  epistle.  But  though  the  explaining  the  apostle's 
 similitude  of  marriage  led  us  to  say  so  much  of  the  matter, 
 and  that  by  the  way  we  found  occasion  to  offer  light  con- 
 cerning some  texts  of  scripture,  yet,  if  we  consider  some- 
 what closely,  we  may  be  soon  satisfied,  that  that  is  not  the 
 particular  matter  in  his  view  in  the  present  context,  chap, 
 vii.  1.13;  and  that  it  is  another  consequence  of  the  marriage 
 covenant  and  relation  that  he  hath  in  his  eye. 
 
 In  the  next  place,  then,  the  wife  expects  to  be  fruitful  by 
 means  of  her  husband.  That  this  is  the  particular  point 
 now  in  the  apostle's  view  is  evident.  During  the  former 
 marriage  with  the  law,  the  fruit  was,  as  ver.  5.  to  bring  forth 
 fruit  unto  death.  But,  as  in  this  4th  verse,  the  consequence 
 of  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  with  the  law,  arid  of  being 
 
128  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 married  to  Christ  is,  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God ;  and 
 being  delivered  from  the  law,  the  Christian  is  enabled  to 
 serve  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 
 This  evidently  suits  what  is  generally  observed  and  acknow- 
 ledged to  be  the  scope  and  design  of  this  context,  viz.  to 
 explain  what  the  apostle  had  said,  chap.  vi.  14.  where  in  en- 
 forcing the  exhortation  to  holiness,  he  suggests  this  encour- 
 agement, Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  ;  for  ye  are 
 not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace;  which  clearly  implies,  that 
 whilst  under  the  law,  and  married  to  it,  sin  having  dominion 
 over  them,  they  could  not  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God. 
 
 These  things  have  no  special  respect  to  the  peculiar  in- 
 stitutions of  the  Mosaic  law.  The  case  plainly  is,  that  men 
 in  all  times  are  concerned  with  the  law  of  God,  particularly 
 the  moral  law ;  which  includes  under  its  authority,  and  in 
 the  comprehensive  meaning  of  its  precept,  all  positive  divine 
 institutions,  whether  before  the  fall  or  after  it,  whether  under 
 the  Old  or  the  New  Testament  dispensation.  The  marriage 
 with  the  law  is  dissolved  but  in  one  way  here  mentioned. 
 Every  one  is  married  with  the  law,  and  is  under  the  dismal 
 consequence  of  being  so,  as  matters  stand  with  sinners,  un- 
 til they  be  delivered  from  the  law  in  the  way  here  suggested. 
 
 To  take  a  general  view  of  the  matter,  we  may  say,  that 
 this  marriage  with  the  law  hath  its  foundation  in  the  original 
 constitution  of  things,  and  in  the  covenant  God  made  at 
 first  with  man.  When  God  made  man,  and  gave  him  his 
 law,  with  the  threatening  of  death  denounced  against  trans- 
 gression, and  the  promise  therein  implied,  of  life  for  obe- 
 dience, it  was  by  obedience  to  the  law  that  man  was  to  live, 
 and  by  the  influence  of  its  light  and  authority,  he  was  to  be 
 fruitful  in  all  holiness  and  righteousness.  Although  there 
 hath  happened,  by  sin,  a  sad  alteration  in  man's  condition, 
 yet  still  the  right  of  the  law,  that  first  husband,  hath  sub- 
 sisted. It  continues  to  be  the  right  of  the  law,  that  none 
 shall  attain  justification  and  life  but  by  its  means,  and  by 
 perfect  obedience  to  it.  It  continues  to  be  the  right  of  the 
 law,  that  men  should,  by  the  influence  of  its  light  and  au- 
 thority, bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  Though  man  by  the 
 guiltiness  and  corruption  he  hath  incurred,  hath  become  in- 
 capable of  justification  or  sanctification  by  the  law,  (which 
 tends  to  make  his  condition  quite  deplorable,)  yet  such  doth 
 the  right  of  the  law,  the  first  husband,  continue  to  be,  until 
 the  marriage  with  the  law  is  dissolved  in  the  way  pointed 
 out  here  by  the  apostle. 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  129 
 
 Upon  the  other  hand,  if  we  consider  the  matter  on  man's 
 part,  we  shall  find,  however  obnoxious  man  is  to  the  law  by- 
 transgression  and  guilt — and  however  opposite  to  the  holi- 
 ness of  the  law  in  his  nature  and  practice — that  there  is  still 
 naturally  in  men  a  strong  attachment  to  this  first  marriage, 
 and  inclination  to  look  for  protection  or  justification,  for 
 fruitfulness,  sanctification,  and  final  happiness,  by  the  first 
 husband,  the  law.  The  light,  principles,  and  sentiments, 
 which  are  naturally  in  the  minds  of  men,  mark  out  to  them 
 no  other  way  to  life,  but  by  the  law,  and  obedience  thereto. 
 Nor  doth  nature  show  any  other  way  to  holiness  and  fruit- 
 fulness  but  by  the  concurrence  of  their  own  powers,  and 
 earnest  endeavours  with  the  light  and  authority  of  the  law. 
 
 Besides  the  sentiments  that  are  naturally  in  the  minds  of 
 men,  there  are  naturally  principles  in  the  hearts  of  men  that 
 favour  this  first  marriage,  and  that  contribute  to  its  subsist- 
 ing, even  when  it  can  yield  no  comfort  or  real  benefit.  The 
 way  of  life  and  fruitfulness  (however  now  impossible)  be- 
 tween this  first  husband,  and  the  natural  human  powers, 
 hath  something  in  it  that  greatly  suits  the  pride — that  self- 
 exalting  principle— that  is  naturally  in  the  hearts  of  men  ; 
 which,  while  it  honours  the  lawr  in  appearance,  doth  indeed 
 give  to  men  themselves  the  honour  of  all  their  good  works, 
 and  of  their  hope  of  eternal  life. 
 
 Thus,  by  the  original  right  of  the  law,  by  the  sentiments 
 of  men's  own  minds,  and  by  the  principles  that  naturally 
 prevail  in  their  hearts,  this  marriage,  with  the  law,  subsists 
 until  it  is  dissolved  by  the  death  of  one  or  other  party,  or  of 
 both,  according  to  the  apostle's  figurative  way  of  represent- 
 ing the  matter. 
 
 From  what  hath  been  said,  it  is  the  more  easy  to  under- 
 stand what  it  imports  to  be  married  to  Christ.  The  less 
 needs  be  said  on  it  in  this  place.  Briefly,  and  in  the  general, 
 the  believer's  being  united  to  Christ  by  faith,  and  by  the 
 Spirit  of  Christ — being  called  of  God  to  the  fellowship  of  his 
 Son,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — and  he  and  they  being  in  the 
 sight  of  God,  and  according  to  the  law  of  grace,  held  as  one  ; 
 they  have  the  fellowship  of  his  righteousness  for  their  justi- 
 fication, and  of  his  grace  otherwise  for  sanctification  and 
 fruitfulness,  and  for  their  complete  salvation  and  happiness. 
 The  fourth  thing  which  this  verse  offers  to  our  considera- 
 tion is, 
 
 4.  How  the  marriage  with  the  law  is  dissolved ;  and  by 
 what  means. — The  apostle,  in  setting  forth  the  similitude,  by 
 
130  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 which  he  illustrates  his  subject,  had  observed,  that  marriage 
 is  dissolved  by  death  ;  and  now  here,  ver.  4.  he  tells  the  be- 
 lievers, that  they  are  dead  to  the  law.  The  question  then 
 comes  to  this  :  How  is  this  death  to  the  law,  that  dissolves 
 the  marriage  with  it,  brought  about? 
 
 The  law  itself  contributes  its  part  to  this  event.  So  the 
 apostle  says,  Gal.  ii.  1  9.  /  through  the  law  am  dead  to  the 
 law.  The  law,  the  first  husband,  is  indeed  dead  itself, 
 as  to  the  power  of  effecting  the  design  of  marriage.  Never 
 was  any  more  dead  than  the  law  is,  as  to  the  power  of 
 giving  justification,  or  fruitfulness  in  holiness,  to  sinners. 
 Yet  it  lives  in  the  fearful  sanction  of  death  and  the  curse  to 
 sinners :  and  they  must  all  have  died  by  its  hands,  in  rigor- 
 ous and  just  revenge  of  their  nndutifulness  and  disobe- 
 dience, if  a  way  had  not  been  found  for  their  relief.  A  sinner, 
 whose  ear  hath  been  opened  to  the  law,  and  his  conscience 
 and  heart  awakened  by  it,  finds  its  demands,  as  to  a  justi- 
 fying righteousness  wholly  beyond  his  reach  ;  and  that  there 
 can  be  nothing  to  him  from  it,  but  wrath  and  destruction, 
 as  he  is  a  transgressor.  If  it  requires  fruitfulness  in  holi- 
 ness, it  is  as  a  hard  task- master,  and  doth  not  afford  the 
 means  and  assistance  necessary  for  the  work.  The  sinner, 
 receiving  a  just  view  of  this  with  deep  impression,  can  no 
 longer  have  his  desire  to  that  husband,  or  have  his  depen- 
 dence on  him,  for  any  good  to  himself.  Despairing  of  him- 
 self, and  of  the  law,  he  must  look  another  way  for  relief. 
 
 God  himself,  of  his  manifold  wisdom,  uncontrolable  sove- 
 reignty, and  rich  grace,  hath  provided  a  way  of  relief.  Mat- 
 ters having  failed  between  mankind  and  this  first  husband 
 he  had  assigned  them,  he  hath  provided  a  second  husband 
 for  them,  even  Christ.  So  in  our  text,  ver.  4.  Ye  also  are 
 become  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ ;  that  is,  by 
 Christ  crucified.  By  this  most  properly  and  effectually  are 
 persons  made  dead  to  the  law.  The  law  itself  hath  its  sub- 
 serviency, as  we  have  seen,  in  separating  sinners  from  that 
 its  first  husband..  But  by  the  body  of  Christ  crucified  is  the 
 happy  event  truly  brought  about.  If  the  first  husband  had 
 a  claim  of  justice  against  them  for  their  undutiful  be- 
 haviour, the  crucifixion  of  the  body  of  Christ,  whereby  sin 
 hath  been  expiated,  and  which  is  the  consummation  of 
 that  righteousness  by  which  he  hath  fulfilled  the  law,  hath 
 answered  the  claim  of  the  law.  So  the  resentment  of  that 
 first  husband  cannot  reach  them.  They  are,  as  by  death, 
 delivered  from  it ;  as  a  bond  servant  is  by  death  delivered 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  131 
 
 from  a  hard  master,  or  a  wife  from  the  yoke  of  a  rigorous 
 husband.  By  his  death  Christ  hath  acquired  his  people,  or 
 church,  to  be  his  own  spouse.  Thus  the  first  marriage  is 
 dissolved ;  the  law  cannot  claim,  as  a  husband,  that  persons 
 should  have  dependence  on  it,  as  they  are  provided  for  in  a 
 better  way. 
 
 Here  likewise  we  may  observe  a  reason  why  the  true  be- 
 liever's deliverance  from  the  law  is  very  properly  expressed 
 by  being  dead  to  it.  It  is  by  being  dead  with  Christ,  (chap, 
 vi.  8.)  by  their  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  death,  and  by 
 their  interest  in  his  death,  and  in  the  fruits  thereof,  that 
 they  are  thus  delivered  from  the  law,  and  that  an  end  is  put 
 to  their  relation  to  the  law  as  their  husband  ;  as  they  are  also 
 said  to  have  been  raised  together  with  Christ.  If  they  are 
 said  to  be  dead  to  the  law,  (which  they  are  by  their  fellowship 
 with  Christ  in  his  death)  and  yet  after  this  their  death  to 
 be  married  to  another,  there  is  no  incongruity  in  it.  If 
 they  are  dead  in  one  respect,  in  another  respect  they  live, 
 being  risen  together  with  Christ  to  a  new  being  and  life,  as 
 his  spouse  or  wife  ;  as  he  having  died  to  acquire  them  to 
 himself  for  his  spouse,  hath,  by  rising  from  the  dead,  prov- 
 ed himself  capable  to  cause  them  to  live,  and  to  do  the  part 
 of  a  husband  to  them,  in  protecting,  caring  for  them,  and 
 securing  effectually  their  eternal  welfare.  Hence  the  desire 
 of  true  Christians  is  to  this  their  new  husband,  and  they 
 have  their  dependence  on  him  for  all  things  ;  until  at 
 length  he  bring  home  his  church  to  himself,  when  she 
 shall  have  the  full  fruition  of  him,  in  everlasting  glory  and 
 blessedness. 
 
 Now  as  to  all  this  blessed  fruit  of  Christ's  death  and  re- 
 surrection, we  are  not  to  think  that  it  did  not  at  all  take 
 place  until  he  was  actually  crucified,  died,  and  rose  again  ; 
 or  until  the  subsequent  more  full  display  of  gospel-light. 
 These  things  are  indeed  now  set  forth  by  the  gospel  in  a 
 much  more  clear  light,  and  are  better  understood  than  under 
 the  former  more  dark  dispensation.  The  grounds  of  our 
 confidence  and  our  liberty  are  now  fully  exhibited  to  us  ;  and 
 since  Christ  ascended  up  on  high,  and  hath  received  gifts  for 
 men,  the  fruits  of  his  death  and  resurrection  are  much  more 
 abundant  and  plentiful  to  the  church.  But  we  are  not  to 
 connect  the  disadvantages  of  being  under  the  law,  here  men- 
 tioned, with  the  legal  pedagogy  of  the  Old  Testament ;  or 
 to  suppose  that  the  advantages  by  Christ,  here  set  forth 
 under  the  figure  of  being  married  with  him,  do  solely  belong 
 
132  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 to  the  gospel  times  and  dispensation,  and  are  connected 
 with  the  abrogation  of  the  Mosaic  law.  They  who  under- 
 stand the  apostle's  scope  and  meaning  in  that  way,  do,  in 
 explaining  the  matters  contained  in  this  context,  bring  them- 
 selves into  absurdity  and  embarrassment,  out  of  which  there 
 is  no  disentangling  them  on  their  general  view  of  the  apostle's 
 argument.  This  may  be  somewhat  understood  by  what  hath 
 been  said,  and  will  be  more  and  more  clear  as  we  proceed 
 in  the  consideration  of  this  context.  It  is  certain,  that  as 
 Christ  is  called  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
 world,  his  expiatory  sufferings  and  death  have  had  effect 
 from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  for  remission  of  sins  to  all 
 true  believers.  In  like  manner,  his  death  hath  had  effect 
 for  the  sanctifying  of  his  people  by  his  Spirit,  from  the 
 beginning.  As  it  was  the  Spirit  of  Christ  who  spoke  by  all 
 the  ancient  prophets,  1  Pet.  i.  11.,  so  did  his  Spirit  operate 
 powerfully  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  to  make  them  fruit- 
 ful in  holiness.  We  may  then  confidently  conclude,  that  the 
 apostle  doth  here,  by  being  married  to  the  law,  by  the  dis- 
 solution of  that  marriage,  and  by  being  married  to  Christ, 
 set  forth,  as  to  the  substance  of  things,  and  as  to  what  is 
 most  essential,  the  different  conditions  of  men,  in  the  state 
 of  nature,  and  in  the  state  of  grace  ;  both  under  the  legal 
 pedagogy  of  the  Old,  and  under  the  gospel-dispensation  of 
 the  New  Testament. 
 
 The  last  thing  in  this  verse  that  I  proposed  to  explain  is, 
 5.  The  consequence  of  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  with 
 the  law,  and  of  being  married  to  Christ. — It  is,  first,  that  the 
 law  hath  no  longer  a  right  to  execute  its  vengeance  for  dis- 
 obedience on  them  who  believe  in  Christ ;  and  next,  that 
 they  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God, — that  is,  the  fruit  of  holi- 
 ness and  righteousness,  by  which  God  is  served  in  a  confor- 
 mity to  his  will  and  holy  commandment.  God  delighteth 
 in  having  fruit  by  his  only  begotten  Son,  and  that  he  hath 
 by  his  marriage  with  the  spouse  which  he  hath  given  him  ; 
 and  she,  however  formerly  unfruitful,  is  made  fruitful  by 
 the  power  and  grace  of  her  glorious  Husband,  to  bring 
 forth  fruit  by  which  his  Father  is  glorified,  (John  xv.  8.)  and 
 by  which  she  is  (Eph.  i.  6.)  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
 grace.  How  this  fruitfulness  is  the  consequence,  is  a  point 
 to  be  hereafter  explained  ;  and  it  is  needless  to  say  more  on 
 it  here,  as  the  explication  of  the  verse  under  consideration 
 doth  not  require  it. 
 
 Though  the  explication  of  this  verse  hath  come  out  to  such 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  133 
 
 length,  yet  it  is  not  fit  to  leave  it  without  taking  notice  of 
 the  interpretation  given  by  Mr  John  Alexander,  in  his  post- 
 humous commentary  on  this  context,  lately  published.  He 
 will  have  it,  that  sin  is  meant  here  as  the  husband.  In  the 
 account  he  gives  of  the  sense  of  these  three  verses,  he  says, 
 in  a  sort  of  paraphrase  of  ver.  4.  c  You  have  been  formerly 
 c  under  engagements  to  sin,  to  whom  the  law  hath  bound 
 
 •  you  as  to  the  husband  of  your  choice,  in  a  connexion 
 '  which  nothing  but  the  death  of  one  of  the  parties  could 
 f  dissolve.'     A  few  lines  thereafter  he   says :   '  When  they 
 
 *  (men)  forsake  their  sins,  and  turn  to  God,  they  become 
 '  dead  to  the  law.'  And  in  the  next  sentence, — (  There  are 
 '  two  ways  (saith  he)  by  which  a  sinner  becomes  dead  to 
 1  the  law ;  either  by  breaking  off  his  sins,  or  by  suffering 
 c  the  punishment  due  to  them/  But  our  text  doth  not 
 ascribe  one's  being  dead  to  the  law  to  his  breaking  off  his 
 sins,  but  to  the  body  of  Christ.  That  one  should  become 
 dead  to  the  law  by  undergoing  the  punishment  it  prescribes, 
 is  not  easily  understood,  except  he  meant  that  that  punish- 
 ment is  annihilation  ;  which,  indeed,  by  putting  an  end  to 
 the  sinner's  existence,  would  withdraw  him  from  the  power 
 and  dominion  of  the  law.  This,  however,  is  one  way  of 
 escaping  punishment,  rather  than  undergoing  it.  But  if  a 
 sinner  exists  under  punishment,  he  is  certainly  not  dead  to  the 
 law,  or  delivered  from  it>  as  is  the  expression,  ver.  6.  but  the 
 dominion  and  power  of  the  law  is  exerted  upon  him,  so  long 
 as  he  is  under  punishment. 
 
 Leaving  this,  let  us  look  again  to  this  fourth  and  the  two 
 preceding  verses.  There,  after  setting  forth  the  similitude 
 of  marriage,  ver.  2,  3.  he  adds,  ver.  4.  Ye  are  hecome  dead 
 to  the  law — that  ye  should  be  married  to  another.  It  is  death 
 that  dissolves  the  first  marriage,  and  leaves  one  at  liberty 
 to  make  a  second  marriage.  The  believer  is  dead  to  the 
 law,  in  order  to  be  married  to  another.  Can  any  one  doubt 
 that  the  first  husband  here  is  the  law  ? 
 
 Mr  Alexander's  thought  had  been  much  more  congruous 
 and  just,  if  he  had  considered  sin  as  the  adulterer,  and  the 
 wife  as  incurring  the  guilt  and  infamy  of  an  adulteress,  by 
 complying  with  him,  to  the  dishonour  and  injury  of  the  hus- 
 band to  whom  God  had  joined  her.  But  how  came  these 
 parties  to  be  joined  and  bound  together,  sin  and  the  sinner  ? 
 We  have  that  in  the  author's  paraphrase  above  cited  :  '  To 
 '  whom  (viz.  sin)  the  law  hath  bound  you,  as  to  the  hus- 
 1  band  of  your  choice.'  This,  truly,  is  telling  an  odd  tale  of 
 f  5 
 
134  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 the  law.  The  dominion  which  sin  hath  in  a  sinner  we  know 
 that  the  law  cannot  break  or  subdue,  or  set  him  free  from  it. 
 That  is  what  the  apostle  asserts  and  proves  in  this  context. 
 But  the  sinner  having  made  such  a  vile  choice,  as  of  sin  for 
 a  husband,  that  the  law  should  bind  them  together,  so  that 
 nothing  but  death  should  part  them, — that  till  then  the  wife 
 (the  sinner)  should  be  obliged  to  love,  honour,  and  obey  this 
 husband  (sin),  as  all  these  are  due  from  a  wife  to  her  hus- 
 band, and  that  in  opposition  to  the  authority,  right,  and 
 holiness  of  the  law  itself, — is  a  very  strange  way  of  thinking 
 and  interpreting. 
 
 What,  then,  is  the  death  that  dissolves  this  marriage  with 
 sin  ?  This  he  gives  in  these  words  of  the  paraphrase  before 
 mentioned  :  '  For  which  reason  you  have  been  crucified  with 
 '  Christ,  that  the  body  of  sin,  which  was  the  former  hus- 
 f  band,  being  destroyed,  you  might  be  freed  from  those  fatal 
 (  engagements,  and  be  joined  to  him  who  is  risen  from  the 
 c  dead/  So,  according  to  him,  it  is  the  death  of  the  hus- 
 band (that  is,  of  sin)  that  dissolves  this  first  marriage.  But 
 what  occasion,  then,  did  the  apostle's  subject,  or  argument, 
 give  him  to  mention  those  who  held  the  place  of  the  wife, 
 being  made  dead  to  the  law,  in  order  to  be  married  to  an- 
 other ?  I  do  not  see  that  he  does,  or  can  give,  an  account  of 
 this.  There  is  enough  of  this  interpretation,  of  which  one 
 might  think  there  needed  no  other  confutation  than  to  repre- 
 sent it.  As  to  some  errors  in  doctrinal  sentiment,  that  are 
 more  than  hinted  in  this  writer's  comment  on  this  verse,  this 
 is  not  a  proper  place  to  consider  them. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 4.  So  accordingly  it  hath  happened  to  you, 
 my  brethren,  as  to  your  condition  and  state.  You  have, 
 indeed,  been  married  to  the  law  by  the  first  covenant,  ac- 
 cording to  which,  that  husband,  in  consequence  of  your  duti- 
 ful obedience  to  his  will,  was  to  protect  you,  and  to  secure 
 your  standing  before  God,  and  to  make  you  fruitful  in  all 
 holiness,  and  happy  for  ever.  At  the  same  time,  from  the 
 sentiments  that  were  naturally  in  your  minds,  and  the  prin- 
 ciples that  naturally  prevailed  in  your  hearts,  your  desire 
 was  to  that  husband,  your  dependence  was  on  him  for  justi- 
 fication and  protection,  and  for  fruitfulness  ;  and  this,  when, 
 for  ycur  undutifulness  and  disobedience  to  him,  you  had  the 
 most  fearful  things  to  expect  from  him,  when,  through  the 
 weakness  yourselves  had  incurred,  ye  were  become  incap- 
 able of  fruitfulness  by  his  instructions  or  authority.  But  now 
 there  is  a  happy  change  in  your  condition.     You  are  made 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  135 
 
 free  from  that  marriage  covenant,  and  from  your  relation  to 
 the  law  as  a  husband.  The  law  itself  (Gal.  ii.  19.)  hath  had 
 its  subservience  in  bringing  this  about  on  your  part,  by  con- 
 vincing you  of  the  sad  things  you  had  to  expect  from  it,  and 
 that  as  a  husband  it  could  not  help  your  wretched  state  ;  so 
 that  you  was  determined  to  betake  you  to  the  better  hope 
 which  the  gospel  set  before  you,  even  Christ  crucified ;  and 
 by  the  crucifixion  of  the  body  of  Christ  it  is,  that  the  de- 
 mands of  the  law  being  satisfied,  he  hath  acquired  you  to 
 himself.  So  that,  by  your  fellowship  with  him  in  his  death, 
 having  died  with  him,  you  became  dead  to  the  law,  so  far 
 as  concerns  marriage  therewith,  and  its  consequences  ;  and 
 you  having  risen  together  with  Christ,  are  married  to  him, 
 and  through  faith  your  desire  is  towards  him,  your  depend- 
 ence is  on  him,  as  your  most  loving  husband, — who,  by  his 
 resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  its  glorious  consequences,  is 
 capable,  as  to  secure  your  favourable  standing  before  God, 
 so  to  dispose  and  enable  you  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  holi- 
 ness and  righteousness  in  the  service  of  God,  and  to  his  glory, 
 and  to  make  you  eternally  happy  with  himself.  These  ends 
 and  purposes,  once  you  became  sinners,  could  not  be  attain- 
 ed by  your  marriage  with  the  law. 
 
 TEXT. — 5.  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  motions  of  sins  which  were 
 by  the  Zaw,  did  work  in  our  members  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death. 
 
 Explication. — We  shall  now  have  occasion  to  observe 
 and  explain  the  effects  of  the  law,  and  of  sin  by  the  law,  in 
 those  who  are  under  the  law,  and  married  to  it,  in  so  far  as 
 concerns  the  fruit  they  bring  forth  ;  and  shall  have  occasion, 
 at  the  same  time,  to  observe  and  explain  what  are  the  con- 
 sequences of  being  married  to  Christ,  so  far  as  is  mentioned 
 in  this  context. 
 
 It  will  tend  much  to  clear  our  way  as  to  these  matters, 
 that  we,  in  the  first  place,  explain  what  is  meant  by  flesh, 
 fleshly,  or  carnal,  and  being  in  the  flesh,  mentioned  in  this 
 ver.  5. 
 
 The  use  of  these  words  is  somewhat  various  in  scripture. 
 When  they  appear  to  have  a  moral  signification,  they  have 
 commonly  one  or  other  of  these  meanings. 
 
 1.  The  epithet  and  character  of  carnal  or  fleshly  is  given 
 to  the  Mosaic  ordinances  or  institutions.  The  epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews  calls  the  ceremonial  law,  the  law  of  a  carnal  com- 
 mandment, Heb.  vii.  16*.  ;  and  by  purifying  of  the  flesh,  or  a 
 fleshly  purifying,  appears  to  mean  an  external  ceremonial 
 
136  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 purification,  Heb.  ix.  13.  In  these  ordinances  there  was 
 much  external  labour,  and  great  variety  of  external  obser- 
 vances ;  and  the  Levitical  institutions  and  worship  had  in 
 them  great  external  ceremony,  stateliness,  and  pomp,  which 
 suits  the  disposition  of  the  flesh,  and  hath  been  ever,  and 
 continues  to  be,  most  agreeable  to  men  that  are  carnal,  whose 
 hearts  are  not  sufficiently  well  disposed  for  spiritual  worship. 
 Hence,  it  hath  happened,  that  a  prevailing  carnal  disposi- 
 tion, which  increased  as  men's  relish  of  spiritual  worship  de- 
 creased, hath  introduced  into  the  Christian  church  and  wor- 
 ship much  external  ceremony,  pageantry,  and  pomp.  Many, 
 in  latter  times,  have  complained,  that  the  reformed  churches 
 have  made  divine  worship  too  naked,  simple,  and  unadorn- 
 ed. The  great  men  of  the  world  seem  to  think  as  if  there 
 ought  to  be  that  stateliness  in  the  house  of  God  that  becomes 
 their  own  courts  and  attendance ;  and  carnal  men  are  com- 
 monly of  the  same  disposition  and  way  of  thinking.  But  as 
 we  think  it  most  right  and  safe  that  the  Lord  should  not 
 have  occasion  to  say  of  any  thing  in  our  worship,  It  is  what 
 I  commanded  not,  neither  came  it  into  my  mind,  Jer.  vii.  31.  ; 
 so  we  reckon,  that  external  plainness  and  simplicity  is,  in  its - 
 own  nature,  most  suited  to  the  worship  of  God,  who  is  a 
 Spirit,  and  desires  to  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth  ; 
 and  most  suited  to  the  more  spiritual  gospel  dispensation. 
 
 It  is  agreeable  to  the  notion  which  scripture  gives  us,  to 
 call  the  Old  Testament  state  of  the  church,  its  state  of  child- 
 hood, or  nonage  :  and  the  Lord  condescended  to  the  weak- 
 ness of  his  church  in  that  its  childhood,  in  appointing  ordi- 
 nances suited  to  it.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Corinthians,  the 
 apostle  doth,  to  the  notion  of  their  being  babes,  join  that  of 
 being  carnal,  so  to  the  childhood  of  the  church  the  Lord 
 accommodated  carnal  ordinances.  But  then  there  is  a  great 
 difference  between  being,  in  some  sort  and  degree,  carnal, 
 and  being  in  the  jlesh,  which  is  the  expression  here,  ver.  5. 
 The  former  is  said  of  the  Corinthians  who  were  in  Christ, 
 and  saints,  1  Cor.  iii.  1.  3.  and  who  could  not  be  said  to  be  in 
 the  flesh.  They  indeed  are  said  to  be  carnal,  for  the  carnal 
 lusts,  passions,  and  divisions  that  prevailed  among  them. 
 But  though  the  Old  Testament  ordinances  are  called  carnal, 
 I  do  not  see  that  even  carnal  or  fleshly  is  given  as  the  cha- 
 racter of  the  Old  Testament  church,  or  of  men  as  members 
 of  it.  But  to  be  in  the  flesh,  can  by  no  means  be  understood 
 as  their  character ;  as  will  appear  by  explaining  that  expres- 
 sion hereafter. 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  1.37 
 
 Yet  some  learned  men,  who  understood  the  apostle  as  rea- 
 soning here  concerning  the  Mosaic  law,  and  the  abolition  of 
 it,  endeavour  to  bring  about  this  of  being  in  the  flesh,  to  be 
 the  character  and  state  of  the  Old  Testament  church  and  its 
 members  ;  and  for  this  do  found,  in  some  sort,  on  the  cha- 
 racter of  carnal  given  to  the  Mosaic  ordinances.  Dr  Whitby 
 attempts  this  ;  but  somewhat  awkwardly.  His  paraphrase 
 gives  the  fifth  verse  thus  :  c  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh, 
 (  (i.e.  when  we  lived  under  the  carnal  ordinances,  without 
 ■  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit,)  the  lustings  of  sin/  &c.  But 
 by  what  warrant,  or  for  what  reason,  would  he  connect 
 these  things,  to  be  under  the  Old  Testament  ordinances, 
 and  to  be  without  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit  ?  The  Doctor 
 himself  is  not  satisfied  with  this ;  and  he  corrects  it,  for  a 
 good  reason  mentioned  in  his  note.  '  I  judge,  saithhe,  that 
 1  when  we  were  in  the  flesh  here  doth  not  only  signify  to 
 '  be  under  the  carnal  ordinances  of  the  law,  for  so  were 
 c  all  the  pious  Israelites,  from  Moses  to  the  gospel  times/ — 
 If,  say  I,  true  Israelites,  Israelites  indeed,  were  pious,  free 
 from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  holy  men,  as  there  were  many 
 such  under  the  Mosaic  ordinances,  carnal  as  these  ordinances 
 were,  then  surely  the  abolition  of  these  ordinances  and  of  the 
 Mosaic  law,  was  not  necessary,  in  order  to  free  men  from  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  and  of  carnal  lusts. 
 
 The  Doctor  goes  on  :  e  But  more  especially  relates  to 
 1  them  who,  living  under  these  ordinances,  were  themselves 
 '  carnal,  and  without  any  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit — 
 '  And  if  of  such  only  we  understand  the  apostle's  following 
 1  discourse  in  this  chapter,  the  sense  will  be  clear/  But  in 
 that  way  the  sense  will  be  far  from  being  clear  ;  yea,  the 
 apostle's  argument  will  be  quite  perplexed  and  unintelligible. 
 The  Doctor,  and  several  other  learned  men,  make  the  de- 
 sign of  the  apostle's  argument  to  be  the  abolition  of  the  Mo- 
 saic ordinances,  making  the  church  free  from  the  obligation 
 of  that  law  ;  and  to  give  reasons  for  it.  But  what  subser- 
 vience will  this  ver.  5.  have,  according  to  this  interpretation, 
 to  that  scope  and  purpose  ?  As  there  were  many  pious  Is- 
 raelites, holy  men,  having  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit,  so 
 there  were  many  who  were  carnal  themselves,  and  had  not 
 the  assistance  of  the  Spirit.  But  what  doth  this  say  for  the 
 abolition  of  the  Mosaic  ordinances,  more  than  it  would  for  the 
 abolition  of  gospel-ordinances,  that  there  are  now  under  these 
 many  who  are  carnal  themselves,  and  have  no  prevailing  as- 
 sistance of  the  Holy  Spirit  ? 
 
138  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Dr  Doddridge's  paraphrase  gives  it  thus  :  '  When  we  were 
 1  in  the  flesh,  that  is,  under  the  comparatively  carnal  dis- 
 *  pensation  of  Moses,  a  variety  of  sinful  passions,'  &c.  If 
 the  character  of  comparatively  carnal,  should  be  allowed  to 
 be  given  to  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  yet  that  makes  no  good 
 reason  for  holding,  that  men  for  being  under  it  were  in  the 
 flesh,  or  that  these  mean  the  same  thing,  to  be  in  the  flesh, 
 and  to  be  under  the  comparatively  carnal  Mosaic  dispensa- 
 tion ;  as  will  fully  appear  in  explaining  a  little  hereafter  what 
 it  is  to  be  in  the  flesh.  The  worthy  writer  certainly  did  not 
 reach  the  true  meaning  of  this  place. 
 
 2.  The  flesh  is  sometimes  mentioned  with  respect  to  men's 
 false  confidences  before  God,  and  the  grounds  thereof.     So 
 of  the  true  circumcision  it  is  said,  Phil.  iii.  3.  that  they  hare 
 no  confidence  in  the  flesh.     Dr  Whitby  paraphrases  it,  '  no 
 '  confidence  in  the  circumcision  of  the  flesh.'    I  see  no  reason 
 he  could  have  for    restricting  the  matter  to   circumcision ; 
 since,  a  little  below,  the  apostle  puts  a  great  deal  more  in  the 
 grounds  of  this  carnal  confidence,  particularly  his  zeal;  and 
 that  touching  the  righteousness  which  is  in  the  law,  he  was 
 blameless.     As  he  doth,  ver.   3.  to  confdence   in   the  flesh, 
 oppose  rejoicing  in   Christ  Jesus,  so,   ver.  9.  he  represents, 
 as  the  true  ground  of  a  sinner's  confidence  before  God,  that 
 righteoustiess  which  is  by  the  faith  of  Christ.     So,   upon  the 
 whole,  we  may  justly  reckon,  that  by  carnal  conjidence,  he 
 means  every  thing  different  from  this  righteousness  by  the 
 faith  of  Christ,  upon  which  carnal  self-deceiving  hearts  may 
 found  their  confidence,  such  as  external  privileges  and  ad- 
 vantages,  and   men's    own    righteousness,  which    tends   to 
 self- exaltation,  and  so  is  agreeable  to  the  temper  and  dispo- 
 sition of  carnal  hearts.     As  to  the  evangelical  grounds  of 
 confidence,  these  are  the  things  of  the  Spirit ;  and  so  it  is 
 the  illumination  and  influence  of  the  Spirit  that  prevail  with 
 our  hearts,  and  effectually  direct  us  to  found  upon  them  ; 
 according  to  Gal.  v.  5.,  We,  through  the  Spirit,  wait  for  the 
 hope  of  righteousness  by  faith.     Every  confidence  different 
 from  this  is  what  natural  principles,  and  the  self-exalting  dis- 
 position of  the  heart,  lead  men  to.     As  the  flesh  draws  a  quite 
 different  and  opposite  way  from  the  Spirit,  in  what  concerns 
 purity  and  holiness,  so  it  doth  also  in  what  concerns  men's 
 confidence,  and  the  grounds  thereof. 
 
 How  far  fleshly,  or  carnal  confidence,  is  concerned  in  the 
 subject  of  our  context,  we  may  see  hereafter.  But  certainly 
 it  is  not  in  view  in  this  fifth  verse,  where  being  in  the  flesh 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  159 
 
 is  mentioned  in  view  to  the  motions  of  sin,  and  bringing  forth 
 fruit  unto  death. 
 
 3.  Most  commonly  the  flesh  (used  in  a  moral  sense)  signi- 
 fies the  corruption  of  nature,  the  evil  principle  of  sin  in  men  ; 
 or  human  nature  as  corrupted  by  sin.  The  word  flesh  may 
 have  been  transferred  to  this  use  and  meaning,  from  a  view 
 to  the  body,  and  the  excitement  it  gives  to  various  evil  af- 
 fections and  lusts,  which  are  accomplished  and  gratified  by 
 the  body.  It  was  in  this  part  that  the  moral  depravation  of 
 nature  was  most  obvious,  striking,  and  sensible;  which  might 
 have  occasioned  the  corruption  of  nature  in  general  to  be 
 called  the  flesh.  But  it  would  make  odd  work  in  language 
 and  interpretation,  to  confine  the  meanings  of  words  to  what 
 they  would  import  by  their  derivation  and  original  mean- 
 ing. The  sense  of  words  is  to  be  determined  by  the  use  of 
 speech,  and  the  meaning  of  scripture-words  is  to  be  deter- 
 mined by  the  scripture-use  especially. 
 
 If  we  observe  the  scripture-use,  we  shall  find  the  flesh, 
 and  the  lust  of  the  flesh  in  a  more  restricted  sense.  So 
 1  John  ii.  16.,  the  lust  of  the  flesh  means  that  sort  of  lust,  in 
 particular,  which  receives  its  excitement  from  the  body,  is 
 accomplished  by,  and  brings  special  defilement  and  dishonour 
 on,  the  body.  But  the  ill  moral  meaning  of  the  flesh  is  not  to 
 be  restricted  to  this.  In  2  Cor.  vii.  1.  if  there  are  flit  hinesses 
 of  the  flesh,  there  are  also  flthinesses  of  the  spirit ;  and  the 
 Lord  doth,  John  viii.  44.  mention  to  the  Jews  the  lusts  of 
 their  father  the  devil.  But  there  is  in  scripture  mention  of 
 the  flesh  in  so  large  a  sense,  as  to  comprehend  filthinesses 
 of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit;  yea,  all  sinful  lusts,  and  cor- 
 rupt unholy  affections  whatsoever.  In  this  large  sense  of 
 the  word  is  flesh  mentioned,  Gal.  v.  19,  20,  21.,  where  we 
 have  a  numerous  list  of  these  called  works  of  the  flesh,  some 
 of  which,  it  is  plain,  have  place  in  creatures  that  have  no 
 body,  no  connexion  with  flesh  in  their  personal  constitution. 
 
 But  what  is  it  to  be  in  the  flesh  ?  We  have  several  simi- 
 lar expressions  in  our  own  language.  A  man  is  said  to  be 
 in  good  humour,  when  good  humour  is  prevalent  in  him  ;  to 
 be  in  wrath,  or  in  anger,  when  wrath  or  anger  is  prevalent 
 in  him  ;  to  be  in  drink,  when  the  influence  and  effect  of  drink 
 is  prevalent.  This  would  lead  us  to  think,  that  to  be  in  the 
 flesh,  signifies  to  be  under  the  prevalent  influence  and  power 
 of  that  corrupt  principle  or  depravation,  which,  we  have 
 seen,  the  scripture  means  by  the  flesh. 
 
 The  apostle  Paul  directs  us,  in  a  very  clear  manner,  to 
 
140  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 understand  the  expression  thus  :  He  mentions,  chap.  viii.  5. 
 being  after  the  flesh,  which  is  certainly  the  same  as  to  be  in 
 the  flesh,  ver.  8.  where  he  says,  They  who  are  in  the  flesh 
 cannot  please  God.  Will  any  say,  that  Israelites  of  old,  for 
 being  under  the  carnal  ordinances  of  the  Mosaic  law,  were 
 in  the  flesh,  and  so  could  not  please  God  ?  As  none  will  say 
 this,  it  is  plain  that  the  apostle  cannot  here  mean  the  Mosaic 
 law,  or  the  state  of  men  under  it.  He  helps  us  to  understand 
 fully  what  he  means  by  being  in  the  flesh,  by  what  he  states 
 in  opposition  to  it,  ver.  9-  Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the 
 Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.  Now,  if 
 any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his. 
 
 Here  it  is  evident,  that  being  in  the  Spirit  doth  not  sig- 
 nify merely  having  a  temper  and  disposition  conformed  to 
 Christ,  and  suitable  to  the  spirituality  of  the  gospel.  It  im- 
 ports to  have  the  Spirit  of  Christ, — the  Spirit  of  him  that 
 raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwelling  in  a  man,  as  ver.  10. 
 even  that  same  Spirit  by  whom  (as  in  that  same  ver.  10.) 
 God  shall  quicken  the  mortal  bodies  at  the  resurrection ; 
 which  doth  not  dwell  in  any  that  are  under  the  curse  of  the 
 law,  or  in  any  but  those  he  hath  brought  unto  union  with 
 Christ,  who  are  born  of  the  Spirit,  and  so  are  renewed  in  the 
 habitual  and  prevailing  temper  and  disposition  of  their 
 hearts.  It  is  clear,  in  the  apostle's  words,  that  it  is  by  that 
 Spirit,  and  by  his  operation  and  influence  in  men,  that  they 
 come  out  of  their  carnal  state,  and  from  being  in  the  flesh. 
 Being  in  the  Spirit,  and  having  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  upon 
 the  one  hand,  and  being  in  the  flesh,  destitute  of  the  Spirit 
 on  the  other,  are  the  characters  and  states  of  men  that  are 
 contradistinguished.  As  the  Spirit  cometh  not  by  the  law, 
 they  that  are  under  the  law,  being  without  the  Spirit,  must 
 be  in  the  flesh ;  and  they  who,  having  the  Spirit,  are  led  by 
 him,  (Gal.  v.  18.)  are  not  under  the  law,  as  is  there  said. 
 By  being  in  the  flesh,  is  certainly  meant  a  character  and  state 
 commensurate  to  being  under  the  law.  This  evidently  suits 
 the  apostle's  scope,  and  his  view  of  explaining  these  words, 
 chap.  vi.  14.  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you,  for  ye 
 are  not  under  the  law.  But  what  concerns  the  Mosaic  ritual 
 and  ceremonial  law  hath  in  this,  none  of  the  learned,  who 
 suppose  it  to  be  here  meant,  have  been  able  to  explain  to 
 the  satisfaction  of  any,  who  are  not  disposed  to  take  things 
 from  them  implicitly. 
 
 Let  us  now  look  to  Mr  Locke's  interpretation  of  being  in 
 the  flesh.     His  paraphrase  gives  it  thus:     (  When  we  were 
 
 I 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  141 
 
 '  after  so  fleshly  a  manner  under  the  law,  as  not  to  compre- 
 c  hend  the  spiritual  meaning  of  it — our  sinful  lusts/  &c 
 But  the  apostle  is  speaking  in  general  of  being  under  the  law, 
 and  married  to  it ;  not  of  being  under  it  in  a  particular  flesh- 
 ly manner.  Indeed,  in  the  latter  times  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, the  Jews  did  become  generally  ignorant  of  the  spirit- 
 ual meaning  of  the  Mosaic  law.  But  the  true  seed  of  Abra- 
 ham, the  truly  faithful,  in  all  times  of  the  Old  Testament, 
 were  not  so.  Yea,  in  that  very  evil  time  of  the  Jewish 
 church,  when  the  Son  of  God  came  in  the  flesh,  there  were 
 such  as  Zacharias,  Simeon,  Anna,  and  many  others,  who 
 waited  earnestly  for  the  consolation  of  Israel,  Luke  ii.  25. 
 and  those  who  looked  for  redemption  in  Jerusalem,  ver.  38. 
 who  certainly  understood  much  of  the  spiritual  meaning  of 
 the  Mosaic  law  and  institutions.  It  appears,  then,  that  being 
 under  the  Mosaic  law  did  not  of  itself  disable  men  to  un- 
 derstand the  spiritual  meaning  of  it.  So  there  is  nothing 
 here,  according  to  this  interpretation,  that  can  be  connected 
 with  the  general  purpose,  as  this  writer  understands  it,  of  the 
 necessary  abolition  of  the  Mosaic  law. 
 
 The  same  writer  says  in  his  note  :  '  The  understanding 
 '  and  observance  of  the  law  in  a  bare  literal  sense,  without 
 '  looking  any  farther  for  a  more  spiritual  intention  in  it,  St 
 c  Paul  calls  being  in  the  flesh.'  But  it  has  been  here  proven, 
 that  that  is  not  Paul's  meaning.  In  the  latter  part  of  that 
 same  paragraph,  he  cloth,  with  respect  to  the  ritual  law,  re- 
 fer to  Heb.  ix.  9,  10.  and  adds,  '  Which  whilst  they  lived 
 '  in  the  observance  of,  they  were  in  the  flesh.  That  part  of 
 c  the  Mosaic  law  was  wholly  about  fleshly  things,  Col.  ii.  14 
 '  — 23,  was  sealed  in  the  flesh,  and  proposed  no  other  than 
 1  temporal  fleshly  rewards/  But  if  that  part  of  the  Mosaic 
 law  employed  men  outwardly  about  fleshly  things,  were 
 they  not,  at  the  same  time,  shadows  of  good  things  to  come  ? 
 Heb.  x.  1.  Did  not  the  Mosaic  sacrificial  service  assure  them 
 of  a  future  real  expiation  of  sin, — yea,  foreshadow  heavenly 
 and  eternal  blessedness  ?  The  enlightened  holy  persons,  who 
 understood  in  some  good  degree  the  spiritual  meaning  and 
 intention  of  the  law,  (as  there  were  such  in  every  part  of  the 
 Mosaic  period)  were  they  indeed  in  the  flesh,  according  to 
 the  meaning  of  the  context  under  consideration  ?  This  learn- 
 ed writer  makes  great  show  of  his  method  of  studying,  and 
 the  rules  he  observed  in  interpreting  the  parts  of  Scripture 
 he  wrote  upon  ;  but  we  may  observe,  on  divers  occasions, 
 that  these  rules  were  better  observed  by  former  writers^ 
 
142  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 whom  he  does  not  mean  to  advance  in  the  esteem  of  his 
 readers.  If  he  meant  to  interpret  Paul  by  Paul  himself, 
 (which  is  one  principal  rule  he  frequently  mentions)  he  had 
 not  far  to  go,  in  this  same  discourse  of  his,  to  find  the  apostle 
 (chap.  viii.  5,  8,  9-)  interpreting  very  clearly  what  he  meant 
 by  that  expression,  being  in  the  flesh,  as  hath  been  shown 
 here  above. 
 
 As  these  things  are  so  clear,  I  cannot  but  wonder  that 
 Dr  Hammond  should  thus  paraphrase  this  fifth  verse : 
 c  This,  (viz.  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God,  ver.  4.)  while 
 1  we  lived  under  the  pedagogy  of  the  law,  was  not  done  by 
 c  us — For  while  we  were  under  these  carnal  ordinances, 
 '  though  all  sinful  practices  were  forbidden  by  that  law — 
 e  yet  our  sinful  desires  and  affections — that  law  had  not 
 c  power  to  subdue/ 
 
 Some  men  write,  as  if  being  under  the  pedagogy  of  the 
 law,  and  being  under  the  law  in  the  sense  of  our  context,  (in 
 that  sense  in  which  they  who  are  under  the  law  are  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  chap.  vi.  14.)  were  the  same  thing,  which 
 is  very  wrong.  The  true  church  of  God,  the  heir,  (Gal.  iv. 
 1,  3.)  whilst  a  child,  was  under  that  dispensation  and  peda- 
 gogy. But  we  must  not  say,  they  were  in  the  flesh,  in  the 
 sense  the  apostle  here  evidently  means,  and  wholly  destitute 
 of  the  Spirit  ;  or  that  there  were  so  many  holy  men  in  these 
 times,  without  the  sanctifying  grace  of  the  Spirit.  Some 
 men  do  not  allow  the  Spirit  his  proper  work,  in  sanctifying 
 men  under  the  New  Testament  dispensation.  It  would 
 sometimes  seem  as  if  they  thought,  that  under  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament, men  pleased  God,  and  became  good  men,  without 
 the  Spirit  altogether.  This  needs  be  the  less  wondered  at, 
 that  they  suppose  that  heathens  may  please  God  with  their 
 virtue,  without  any  revelation  of  the  law  or  gospel,  or  of  the 
 promise  of  the  Spirit.  But  the  scripture  gives  another  view 
 of  things.  If  under  the  gospel  dispensation  men  are  desti- 
 tute of  the  Spirit,  as  very  many  appear  to  be,  they  are 
 in  the  flesh  ;  and  men  under  the  Mosaic  pedagogy,  who 
 proved  by  their  disposition  and  practice  that  they  had 
 the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  them,  they  were  not  in  the 
 flesh,  nor  under  the  law,  as  law  is  meant  in  this  context ; 
 but,  as  to  the  real  state  of  their  souls,  under  grace,  and  in 
 favour  with  God.  Though  still,  as  hath  been  said  formerly, 
 allowance  is  to  be  made  of  greater  abundance  of  the  Spirit, 
 and  of  spiritual  blessings,  in  the  period  that  hath  succeeded 
 the  actual  propitiation  by  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and  the  ac- 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  143 
 
 tual  resurrection  and  ascension  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 What  a  strange  interpretation,  then,  is  this  of  Dr  Hammond  ! 
 Did  not  believers  anciently,  the  true  seed  of  faithful  Abra- 
 ham, did  not  the  heir,  though  a  child,  yet  being  truly  a 
 child  and  heir,  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God  ?  If  the  law  did 
 not  subdue  sinful  desires  and  affections  then,  neither  is  it 
 the  law  (to  the  authority  and  obligation  of  which  men  are 
 still  subject)  that  doth  now  subdue  and  mortify  these  desires 
 and  affections. 
 
 By  what  hath  been  said,  it  is  evident,  that  to  be  in  the 
 flesh,  and  destitute  of  the  Spirit,  is  not  to  be  connected  with 
 being  under  the  Mosaic  legal  pedagogy  ;  but  with  being 
 under  the  law,  in  that  sense  in  which  all  men  are  naturally 
 so,  until  they  become  dead  to  the  law  by  virtue  of  the  cross 
 of  Christ,  and  by  being  united  to  him  by  true  faith. 
 
 The  expression  that  falls  next  to  be  considered  is,  the  mo- 
 tions of  sins  which  are  by  the  law.  The  Greek  word 
 Tredhuxret,  signifies  more  precisely  passions,  or  affections,  as 
 the  English  margin  gives  it ;  and  the  affections  of  sins,  a 
 Hebraism,  is  the  same  as,  sinful  affections,  or  lustings. 
 These  are  naturally  in  men,  but  they  are  considered  here 
 as  put  in  motion,  or  excited  ;  and  this  by  occasion  of  the  law. 
 Mr  L/s  paraphrase  hath  it,  (  That  remained  in  us  under 
 1  the  law ;'  and  he  brings  some  instances  in  which  Si*  is  so 
 used.  Our  rendering  by  the  law,  which  is  according  to  the 
 most  common  meaning  of  that  preposition,  he  says  in  his 
 note,  '  is  a  very  literal  translation  of  the  words ;  but  leads 
 c  the  reader  quite  away  from  the  apostle's  sense,  and  is  fain 
 '  to  be  supported  by  interpreters  that  so  understand  it,  by 
 '  saying,  that  the  law  excited  men  to  sin  by  forbidding  it. 
 '  A  strange  imputation  on  the  law  of  God/  But  this  is  said 
 without  any  good  reason. 
 
 It  is  just  to  say,  that  the  precept,  prohibition,  and  fearful 
 threatening  of  the  law,  do,  instead  of  subduing  sinful  affec- 
 tions in  an  unrenewed  heart,  but  irritate  them,  and  occasion 
 their  excitement  and  more  violent  motion.  Nor  is  this  a 
 strange  imputation  on  the  law  of  God,  which  is  not  the  pro- 
 per cause  of  these  motions.  These  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
 corruption  of  men's  hearts,  which  the  apostle  insinuates, 
 when  he  ascribes  these  sinful  motions  by  the  law  to  men  in 
 the  flesh.  The  true  state  of  the  case  between  the  flesh,  or 
 the  evil  principle  of  sin,  and  the  law,  is,  that  the  flesh  or  sin 
 worketh  death  in  a  man  by  that  which  is  good,  as  is  repre- 
 sented here,  ver.  13.    The  matter  has  been  often  illustrated 
 
144  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 by  the  similitude  of  the  sun,  by  whose  light  and  heat  roses 
 and  flowers  display  their  fine  colours,  and  emit  their  fragrant 
 smell ;  whereas  by  its  heat,  the  dung-hill  emits  its  un- 
 savoury steams  and  ill  smell.  These  various  and  opposite 
 effects  are  from  the  different  objects,  and  their  different  na- 
 tures. So  the  law,  which  to  a  sanctified  heart  is  a  mean  of 
 holy  practice,  doth,  in  those  who  are  in  the  flesh,  occasion 
 the  more  vehement  motions  of  sinful  affections  and  lustings, 
 not  from  any  proper  casuality  of  the  law,  but  from  the  energy 
 of  the  sinful  principles  that  are  in  men's  hearts  and  na- 
 ture. There  was  great  wrath  and  sinful  passion  in  Jeroboam, 
 by  the  reproof  of  the  prophet,  1  Kings  xiii.  4.  This  was  not 
 to  be  imputed  to  the  prophet,  but  to  Jeroboam,  a  man  in  the 
 flesh.  In  David,  a  man  of  very  different  character,  Nathan's 
 very  sharp  reproof  had  no  such  effect.  If  the  apostle  meant 
 here,  ver.  5.  only  motions  of  sins  under  the  law,  this  would 
 give  him  no  occasion  to  vindicate  the  law,  as  he  does,  ver. 
 7-  Is  the  law  sin  ?  God  forbid.  Dr  W.,  in  answering  Mr 
 L.  concerning  this  point  in  his  note,  says,  *  Is  this  any 
 c  more  an  imputation  upon  the  law  of  God,  than  it  is  an  im- 
 s  putation  on  his  providence,  that  it  provides  the  corn  and 
 '  wine,  which  carnal  men  abuse  to  drunkenness  and  excess  ?' 
 Mr  John  Alexander's  late  commentary  before  mentioned, 
 says  on  this  verse,  '  To  ascribe  the  motions  of  sin  directly  to 
 •  the  law  of  God  as  their  origin,  is  not  more  impious  than  it  is 
 c  nonsensical.'  (It  is  not  to  the  law,  but  to  the  flesh,  that 
 interpreters  ascribe  sinful  motions  as  to  their  origin.)  He 
 goes  on :  '  And  to  account  for  this  afterwards  by  the  proneness 
 1  there  is  in  man  to  break  through  the  restraint  of  a  law, 
 c  merely  because  it  is  a  law,  and  something  commanded,  is, 
 '  to  say  the  least,  highly  ridiculous.'  (Not  merely  because 
 it  is  a  law,  but  because  it  commands  what  the  corrupt  heart 
 is  averse  to,  and  prohibits  what  the  corrupt  heart  loves.) 
 In  his  next  paragraph  he  says,  '  To  ascribe  the  existence 
 '  of  sin  to  the  law  of  God  inciting  and  irritating  it,  must  be 
 c  quite  out  of  the  question — I  do  not  say  with  an  inspired 
 '  writer,  but  with  any  writer  of  common  sense.'  But  none 
 ascribe  the  existence  of  sin  to  any  influence  of  the  law  of 
 God.  It  exists  as  an  evil  principle  in  the  corrupt  nature  of 
 man,  and  exerts  itself  in  sinful  affections  and  lustings  by  oc- 
 casion of  the  command,  prohibition,  and  threatening  of  the 
 law.  I  do  not  think  there  needs  any  more  answer  to  this 
 writer  than  hath  been  already  suggested.  The  young  man's 
 heat  put  forth  strong  words,  (impious,  nonsensical,  highly 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  145 
 
 ridiculous,  and  contrary  to  common  sense.)  But  when  he 
 was  so  warm  for  the  honour  of  the  law,  would  he  not  have 
 been  in  great  commotion  if  he  had  heard  a  man  say,  even  of 
 the  gospel  itself,  that  to  some  (2  Cor.  ii.  16.)  it  was  the 
 savour  of  death  unto  death  ? 
 
 For  the  last  clause  of  this  verse, — did  work  in  our  members 
 to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death,  Dr  Doddridge's  paraphrase 
 hath  thus — c  were  active  in  our  members  to  produce  vi- 
 '  sible  sinful  actions.'  So  indeed  they  do,  very  commonly, 
 in  men  who  are  in  the  flesh.  Yet  1  do  not  see  that  the 
 Greek  words  suggest  any  thing  about  visible  external  actions. 
 One  sense,  and  indeed  the  primary  sense,  of  the  verb  ivi^yuv, 
 is,  intus  efficere,  to  effect  inwardly.  According  to  this  one 
 sense  given  by  Erasmus  and  Vatablus  (in  Poole's  Synopsis) 
 is  secreto  agebant ;  nam  occulta  vis  (so  is  added  there,) 
 dicituTy  ivz£yziu,  velut  in  semine,  et  vis  mentis  in  homine-— acted 
 secretly ;  for  a  hidden  power  is  meant  by  the  Greek  word, 
 such  as  is  in  the  seeds  of  things,  or  in  the  human  mind. 
 The  interpretation  our  Lord  gives  of  the  seventh  command- 
 ment, Matth.  v.  28.  proves  that  sinful  lusts  may  be  very  ef- 
 fectual, bringing  forth  fruit  unto  death,  when  there  is  no 
 outward  or  visible  action.  A  particular  reason  for  my  taking 
 notice  of  this  here  may  appear  hereafter. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 5.  So  far  were  we,  whilst  under  the  law, 
 from  bringing  forth  fruit  unto  God,  that,  being  then  in  the 
 flesh,  in  our  corrupt  and  unregenerate  state,  under  the  do- 
 minion of  sin, — our  sinful  affections  or  lusts,  awakened  by 
 the  prohibition  and  threatening  of  the  law,  did  work  in  all 
 our  faculties  and  powers  such  unholy  fruit  as  tendeth  to 
 death ;  and,  if  grace  prevented  not,  would  certainly  termi- 
 nate in  death  ;  the  law,  with  all  its  strict  prohibitions  and 
 fearful  denunciations,  being  weak,  through  the  prevailing 
 power  of  the  flesh,  and  not  able  to  subdue  these  sinful  affec- 
 tions and  lustings  in  us. 
 
 TEXT. — 6.  But  now  we  are  delivered  from  the  law,  that  being  dead  where- 
 in we  were  held,  that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the 
 oldness  of  the  letter. 
 
 Explication. — The  expression,  ver.  4.  was  dead  to  the 
 law — here  it  is,  delivered  from  the  law.  The  sense  in  gene- 
 ral is  the  same.  But  there  is  some  question  about  the  right 
 reading  of  the  next  clause, — That  or  it  (viz.  the  law) 
 being  dead  wherein  we  were  held.  If  we  take  it  not  thus, 
 there  will  be  this  seeming  inconvenience  or  impropriety,—* 
 
146  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 that,  though  in  setting  forth  the  similitude  he  had  mentioned 
 — marriage  to  be  dissolved  by  the  death  of  the  husband, 
 without  any  mention  of  the  death  of  the  wife, — yet  there  is 
 nothing  of  the  death  of  the  husband  (the  law)  in  the  appli- 
 cation of  the  similitude  to  his  subject.  This  seeming  im- 
 propriety is  avoided  by  our  reading,  which  is  supported,  as 
 some  of  the  learned  relate,  by  one  ancient  copy,  (that  of 
 Vienna)  and  by  the  authority  of  Chrysostom ;  and  thus  la- 
 ter writers  do  commonly  take  it.  There  is  besides  a  suit- 
 ableness in  the  expression  to  that  of  ver.  2.  which  tends  to 
 favour  our  reading.  There,  setting  forth  the  similitude,  he 
 says,  If  the  husband  be  dead,  she  is  loosed  Cjcxrn^yY,rcnJ  from 
 the  law  of  her  husband.  So  here,  ver.  6.  where,  according 
 to  our  reading,  there  is  mention  of  the  death  of  the  law,  the 
 expression  is  (xarjj^y^^gv,)  we  are  loosed  or  delivered  from  the 
 law. 
 
 The  other  reading,  the  English  gives  on  the  margin :  we 
 being  dead  to  that  wherein  or  whereby  we  were  held, — and  so 
 the  matter  is  expressed,  ver.  4.  Ye  also  are  become  dead  to 
 the  law.  This  is  the  reading  of  the  ancient  MSS.  generally, 
 according  to  which  several  ancient  translations  render  ;  and 
 so  the  text  is  cited  generally  by  the  ancient  writers  of  the 
 church.  It  is  not  easy  to  find  arguments  sufficient  against 
 a  reading  so  well  supported  ;  though,  at  the  same  time,  after 
 saying  so  much  about  it,  it  makes  no  odds  as  to  the  main 
 subject  and  argument. 
 
 Concerning  serving  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the  old- 
 ness  of  the  letter. — The  last  part  of  the  verse  comes  now  to  be 
 considered, —  That  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  spirit  and 
 not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter.  It  is  plain  the  apostle  hath 
 in  his  view  the  difference  in  practice  of  those  who  we  under 
 the  law  and  married  to  it,  and  of  those  who  are  disengaged 
 from  that  first  marriage,  and  married  to  Christ.  He  had  re- 
 presented, ver.  4.  the  consequence  of  being  dead  to  the  law, 
 to  be,  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  Here  he  so  varies  the 
 expression  as  to  give  the  hint  of  the  particular  sort  and  man- 
 ner of  fruitfulness  ; — it  is  to  serve  God  in  newness  of  spirit. 
 But  as  to  these  who  are  married  to  the  law,  shall  we  say, — 
 they  had  no  religion  at  all — no  design  to  bring  forth  fruit 
 unto  God,  or  to  serve  him  ?  this  is  not  to  be  thought,  yea, 
 were  scarce  consistent  with  being  married  to  the  law.  But 
 they  served  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter.  When  was  it,  then, 
 that  men  served  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter  ?  In  the  general, 
 according  to  the  opposition  here  stated,  it  was  when  they 
 
 i 
 
Of  Romans   VII.  14-7 
 
 were  not  delivered  from  the  law — when  they  were  under  the 
 law,  and  in  the  flesh — as  we  have  seen  these  things  conjoined. 
 As  the  flesh  hath  its  impurity  and  wickedness,  it  hath  its 
 religion  too ;  but  this  is  not  to  be  connected  with  the  Old 
 Testament  dispensation,  as  peculiar  to  it.  If  many  were 
 carnal  in  religion  under  that  dispensation,  many  are  like- 
 wise now  carnally  religious  under  the  New  Testament  dis- 
 pensation. 
 
 It  will  make  matters  the  more  clear  respecting  this  sort 
 of  religion,  called  here,  serving  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter, 
 that  first  we  understand  what  it  is  to  serve  in  newness  of  spirit. 
 It  is  in  general,  to  serve  God  sincerely  from  such  principles, 
 dispositions,  and  views,  as  the  Spirit  of  God  gives  to  hearts 
 renewed  by  him,  and  under  his  influence.  More  particu- 
 larly, it  is  to  serve  God  with  faith  and  love  ;  with  thankful- 
 ness ;  with  entire  submission  and  resignation  ;  with  su- 
 preme purpose  to  honour  and  please  God  ;  submitting  every 
 desire  and  interest  to  the  chief  end  of  the  advancement  of 
 his  glory;  with  a  sincere  purpose  and  course  of  uniform, 
 universal,  and  cheerful  obedience,  joined  with  a  true  hatred 
 and  fear  of  sin.  This  new  way  of  serving  God  hath  in  it 
 spirituality  of  desire  and  affection,  raised  above  the  earth  and 
 earthly  views  ;  purity  of  aim  and  intention  ;  a  most  self- 
 abasing  humility,  and  self-denial,  that  suppresses  the  carnal- 
 ity of  self  confidence,  with  respect  to  our  righteousness  or 
 strength ;  and  founds  a  solid  confidence  on  Christ  only,  for 
 both  righteousness  and  strength,  which  is  the  sort  of  confi- 
 dence the  Holy  Spirit  directs  to,  and  which  he  inspires  into 
 all  that  are  taught  by  him,  and  under  his  influence. 
 
 As  this  new  way  of  serving  hath  for  its  principle  in  the 
 heart  the  prevailing  love  of  God  ;  so  there  is  joined  with 
 that  love,  and  flowing  from  it,  the  true  love  of  man  j  by 
 which,  besides  that  special  brotherly  kindness  which  Chris- 
 tians owe  to  one  another,  the  heart  is  turned  to  a  sincere, 
 universal,  and  fruitful  benevolence  towards  all  men  :  this  love 
 prevailing  over  these  malignant  passions  and  lusts  that  are 
 contrary  to  it,  such  as  selfishness,  pride,  malice,  wrath,  envy, 
 revenge,  cruelty ;  which  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  flesh.  Such 
 is  serving  in  newness  of  spirit,  by  the  Spirit  of  God  renewing 
 and  influencing  the  hearts  of  men. 
 
 Opposite  to  this  is,  serving  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 
 Let  us  now  consider  what  this  is.  Some  have  said,  that 
 this  is  serving  according  to  the  literal  expression  of  the  law, 
 in  outward  work  and  service  only.    But  this  doth  not  define 
 
148  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 the  subject  justly.  The  literal  expression  of  the  law  reaches 
 farther  than  to  outward  work  and  service.  The  law  says  ill 
 plain  and  literal  expression,  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God, 
 and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself;  and  the  sincerity  of  neither  is 
 in  serving  according  to  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 
 
 For  further  understanding  this  subject,  it  is  fit  we  have 
 recourse  to  that  place,  2  Cor.  iii.  6,  7.  Who  hath  made  us 
 able  ministers  of  the  new  testament ,  not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the 
 spirit  :  for  the  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life.  But  if 
 the  ministration  of  death  written  and  engraven  in  stones,  was 
 glorious,  &c. 
 
 Here  it  strikes  at  first  sight,  that  when  the  apostle  is 
 speaking  of  the  letter,  the  law  he  hath  in  view  is  not  the  ce- 
 remonial law.  It  is  plain,  that  by  letter  he  means  the  moral 
 law  ;  as  it  was  it,  and  it  only,  that  was  written  and  engraven 
 in  stones. 
 
 The  word  (y^ct^x,)  signifies  letter,  as  we  render  it,  but  is 
 often  put  for  writing;  and  seems  to  be  so  meant  here,  where 
 the  discourse  is  of  the  law  written — in  stones.  He  hath  made 
 us  able  ministers,  not  of  the  vjriting  ;  that  is,  not  of  the  law 
 written  in  stones.  Wolfius  on  this  place  (2  Cor.  iii.  6.)  re- 
 lates, that  some  of  the  learned  would  have  the  word  we  ren- 
 der letter,  rendered  simply  law.  He  adduces  some  instan- 
 ces to  this  purpose,  and  gives  a  particular  passage  of  Iso- 
 crates,  which  is  to  this  sense  :  That  wise  rulers  should  be 
 careful  to  have  the  love  of  justice  implanted  in  the  hearts  of 
 their- people,  rather  than  (ras  gtoxs  iiu,7ri7r\civcu  y^ccu^xrui)  to 
 have  their  public  galleries  filled  with  letters,  or  writings  ; 
 that  is,  with  laws  published  by  writings  on  their  walls.  Ac- 
 cording to  this,  the  apostle's  words  to  the  Corinthians,  ver.  6. 
 may  be  thus  understood  :  God  hath  made  us  able  ministers 
 of  the  new  testament,  not  of  the  law,  which  conveys  nothing 
 to  the  hearts  of  men,  to  give  it  effect,  but  of  the  gospel, 
 which  is  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit. 
 
 Let  it  be  next  observed,  that  serving  in  the  oldness  of  the 
 writing,  or  of  the  law, — that  is,  in  the  old  manner,  as  when 
 under  the  law,  is  to  be  so  understood,  as  to  include  nothing 
 in  it  that  proceeds  from  the  special  grace  and  influence  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit ;  for  serving  God  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  serving 
 in  the  oldness  of  the  letter,  are  the  things  that  are  here  (Rom. 
 vii.  6.)  stated  in  opposition. 
 
 The  consequence  is,  as  the  Spirit  cometh  not  by  the  law, 
 that  serving  God  in  the  letter  is;  such  service  as  the  law,  by 
 its  authority,  light,  and  terror,  can  procure  from  one  under 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  149 
 
 the  law  and  in  the  flesh,  not  having  the  Spirit,  or  his  sanc- 
 tifying grace  and  influence.  It  imports  such  service  as  the 
 law  in  the  conscience,  and  the  carnal  unregenerate  heart,  by 
 natural  strength,  with  the  exertion  thereof  in  earnest  endea- 
 vour, can  work  out  between  them.  The  authority  of  the  law 
 in  the  conscience  may  procure  from  one  in  the  flesh  and  un- 
 regenerate, not  having  the  Spirit,  a  considerable  outward  con- 
 formity, without  any  principle  within  better  than  a  selfish, 
 slavish,  mercenary,  carnal  disposition,  influenced  by  the  ter- 
 rors of  the  law,  and  the  pride  of  self- righteousness  ;  but  the 
 law,  and  the  greatest  efforts  of  one  under  the  law,  in  the 
 flesh,  cannot  set  the  heart  right  with  regard  to  the  love  of 
 God,  overcome  worldly  lusts,  or  give  truth  and  sincerity  in 
 the  inward  parts. 
 
 If  there  is  in  any  such  persons  the  semblance  of  good  af- 
 fection and  devotion  towards  God,  with  a  serious  design  to 
 do  well,  yet  to  such  we  cannot  ascribe  any  thing  that  cometh 
 not  but  by  the  special  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Holy 
 Spirit.  Such  indeed  may  sometimes  bear  amiable  appear- 
 ance and  character  in  the  world,  and  be  useful  in  it.  Such 
 doubtless,  was  that  rich  virtuous  young  man  in  the  gospel- 
 history  ;  which  relates,  that  Jesus  loved  him ;  yet  being  put 
 to  trial,  his  insincerity  soon  appeared.  Though  Paul  asserts 
 of  himself  before  the  Jewish  council,  /  have  lived  in  all  good 
 conscience  before  God  until  this  day,  yet,  whilst  he  was  under 
 the  law,  he  or  his  righteousness  were  not  pleasing  to  God,  nor 
 pleasing  to  himself,  when  he  came  to  be  better  instructed.  The 
 unbelieving  Jews  had  a  zeal  of  God,  and  followed  after  the  law 
 of  righteousness  ;  yet  their  religion  was  wholly  carnal,  there 
 was  no  true  holiness  in  it.  Men  may  have  their  minds  well 
 furnished  with  sublime  sentiments  concerningthe  amiableness 
 of  virtue,  and  with  this  abound  in  external  works  of  right- 
 eousness, and  be  in  condition  to  recommend  the  virtuous 
 course,  from  the  peace  and  self-approbation  men  may  have 
 in  that  way  ;  and  yet  all  the  time  their  righteousness  be  es- 
 sentially defective,  not  rising  above  the  oldness  of  the  letter, 
 nor  having  at  the  root  of  it  in  the  heart  the  necessary  and 
 essential  principles  of  true  holiness.  In  the  meanest  soul, 
 united  and  truly  married  to  him  that  rose  from  the  dead, 
 there  is  (often  with  great  disadvantage  otherwise)  a  sincerity 
 of  holiness,  as  to  inward  principles  and  uniform  practice, 
 that  makes  his  righteousness  to  exceed  the  righteousness  of 
 the  scribes. 
 
 Mr  Alexander,  in  his  note  on  this  verse,   says,  '  yippee, 
 
 G 
 
1.50  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 '  which  we  translate  the  letter,  denotes  the  writing  or  con- 
 c  tract  supposed  to  be  made  between  sin  and  sinners/  Well  ; 
 marriages  are  wont  to  be  preceded  by  contracts.  This  is 
 fanciful  enough  ;  but  to  what  hath  been  said  on  this,  nothing 
 needs  be  added. 
 
 At  the  same  time,  I  cannot  but  somewhat  wonder  at  Dr 
 W/s  way  of  expressing  himself.  He  says,  (annot.  on  Rom. 
 vii.  3.)  f  That  Israel  was  married  to  the  law,  or  to  him 
 '  that  put  them  in  subjection  under  it,  and  were  his  spouse, 
 *  Jer.  iii.  14.  and  so  obliged  to  serve  God  in  the  oldness  of 
 '  the  letter/  I  think  it  very  clear,  that  serving  in  the  old- 
 ness  of  the  letter,  is  of  very  different  kind  from  that  service 
 which  men  in  every  state  and  time  have  been  obliged  to, 
 even  after  all  the  allowance  that  is  to  be  made  of  a  greater 
 abundance  of  the  Spirit  under  the  gospel  dispensation.  But 
 the  learned  writer  thought  it  was  the  Mosaic  ceremonial  law 
 that  the  apostle  meant  in  this  context ;  a  notion  which  hath 
 been  shown  to  be  quite  destitute  of  foundation.  According 
 to  this  notion,  he  seems  to  have  thought,  that  serving  in  the 
 old  manner  of  the  letter,  or  law,  was  serving  God  in  the  ce- 
 remonial service  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  that  service 
 certainly  was  not  incompatible  with  serving  inspirit,  accord- 
 ing to  the  degree  of  these  times.  Whereas  here  these  two 
 ways  of  service  are  set  forth  as  opposite  and  incompatible  ; 
 and  it  is  plain,  that  serving  in  newness  of  spirit  here,  ver.  6. 
 is  the  same  with  bringing  forth  fruit  unto  God,  ver.  5.. 
 
 Let  us  observe  how  the  Doctor  doth  in  his  note  on  this 
 verse  explain  serving  in  the  newness  of  the  spirit.  He  says, 
 To  serve  God  in  the  spirit  is,  1.  To  serve  him  with  a  free- 
 dom from  the  prevalency  of  the  flesh,  by  virtue  of  the  Spirit. 
 2.  To  serve  God,  not  chiefly  with  bodily  service,  and  carnal 
 ordinances,  but  in  the  spirit  of  our  mind.  3.  To  serve  him 
 by  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit,  so  as  to  live  and  walk  in  the 
 Spirit.  But  did  not  the  Lord  require  under  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, that  all  these  three  things  should  be  in  the  service  of 
 his  people  ?  and  did  not  holy  men  indeed  so  serve  him  ?  I 
 know  the  Doctor  would  acknowledge  so.  According  to  him, 
 then,  persons  under  the  Mosaic  law  were  obliged  to  serve 
 God  with  all  that  he  includes  in  serving  in  newness  of  spirit, 
 and  were,  at  the  same  time,  obliged  to  serve  in  the  oldness 
 of  the  letter  ;  which  doth  by  no  means  consist  with  the  apos- 
 tle's way  of  representing  things  here. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 6.  But  we  believers  in  Christ  Jesus  are 
 now  delivered  from  the  law,  by  which  we  were  held  fast,  to 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  \5\ 
 
 be  dealt  with  as  to  life  and  death  absolutely  according  to  the 
 conformity  or  nonconformity  of  our  behaviour  to  its  will  and 
 command,  though  it  could  not  enable  us  to  bring  forth  good 
 fruit,  or  do  acceptable  service  ;  and  we  are  so  delivered  by 
 its  being  dead  to  us,  (or,  our  being  made  free,  as  by  our 
 own  death,  from  our  relation  to  it,  and  from  its  consequen- 
 ces); and  this  in  order  that  we,  being  married  to  Christ,  might 
 serve  God  in  a  new  manner,  agreeable  to  the  principles  and 
 disposition  of  souls  renewed  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  under 
 his  influence ;  not  according  to  the  old  manner  of  a  carnal 
 religion,  produced  by  a  fleshly  heart,  under  the  mere  influ- 
 ence of  the  light,  authority,  and  terror  of  the  law,  which  can 
 produce  or  procure  no  true  holiness  or  acceptable  service. 
 
 TEXT 7.    What  shall  we  say,  then  ?     Is  the  law  sin  ?     God  forbid. 
 
 Nay,  I  had  not  known  sin,  but  by  the  law  ;  for  I  had  not  known  lust, 
 except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not  covet. 
 
 Explication. — The  expression  here  in  the  first  clause,  is 
 such  as  the  apostle  uses  on  several  occasions,  when  he  intro- 
 duces an  objection  against  his  doctrine  or  explications,  as 
 hath  been  observed  on  chap.  vi.  1.  The  objection  here  seems 
 to  be  levelled  against  what  he  had  said,  ver.  5.  The  motions 
 of  sins  which  were  by  the  law. — The  objection  means  as  if 
 what  he  said  implied  that  the  law  favoured  sin,  and  was  the 
 cause  of  it ;  the  absurdity  of  which  were  very  evident.  He 
 rejects  that  inference  and  conclusion  with  abhorrence ;  and 
 brings  an  argument  to  prove  that  the  law  does  not  favour 
 sin,  nor  is  the  cause  of  it.  He  shows  that  the  law  forbids 
 sin,  and  not  only  prohibits  it  in  the  outward  practice,  but 
 pursues  it  in  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  soul,  and  directs 
 its  strict  prohibition,  and  awful  sanction,  against  the  first 
 motions  of  it  there.  It  not  only  forbids  the  outward  act  of 
 unrighteousness  and  rapine,  but  speaks  with  all  its  force  and 
 authority  to  the  heart,  saying,  Thou  shalt  not  covet.  It  dis- 
 covers by  its  light  the  secret  motions  of  sin  inwardly ;  re- 
 proves and  judges  them.  Therefore  the  cause  of  sinning 
 must  be  looked  for  elsewhere  than  in  the  law ;  and  indeed 
 he  had  given  the  hint  of  the  proper  source  and  cause  of  every 
 sinful  motion  by  saying,  ver.  5.  When  we  were  in  the  flesh 
 — It  was  the  flesh  (the  corruption  of  nature  thereby  meant) 
 that  was  the  true  cause  of  sinful  motions  by  occasion  of  the 
 law. 
 
 These  words,  Thou  shall  not  covet,  are  the  general  expres- 
 sion of  the  tenth  commandment;  and  the  apostle  may  mean, 
 
1  52  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 that  this  last  of  the  commandments  served  him  for  a  key  to 
 all  the  commandments,  to  lay  open  to  him  the  spirituality  of 
 them.  Yea,  we  may  suppose  the  apostle  to  be  speaking  on 
 a  more  extensive  view,  than  to  design  merely  the  tenth  com- 
 mandment. /  had  not,  saith  he,  known  epithymian,  except 
 the  law  had  said,  ouk  epithymeseis  ;  and  ver.  8.  Sin  wrought 
 in  me  pasan  epithymian.  The  English  reader,  seeing  the 
 words  in  our  common  characters,  has  access  to  observe,  that 
 what  we  render  by  three  different  words,  lust,  covet,  concu- 
 piscence, ought  strictly  to  be  rendered  by  one  of  them,  thus  : 
 /  had  not  known  lust,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not 
 lust  ;  and,  Sin  wrought  in  me  all  manner  of  lust.  Now,  as 
 the  carnal  mind  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  there  is  in 
 it  lusting  in  opposition  to  every  command  in  particular,  and 
 every  commandment  is  so  to  be  understood  as  prohibiting  the 
 particular  lusting  or  concupiscence  that  hath  the  least  ten- 
 dency to  the  prohibited  act.  This  appears  by  our  Lord's 
 interpretation  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  commandments,  in 
 Matth.  v.  ;  and  the  expression  in  our  context,  ver.  8.  seems 
 to  favour  this  interpretation.  The  comprehensive  expres- 
 sion, all  manner  of  concupiscence,  includes  each  particular 
 sort  of  concupiscence  as  directed  against  each  commandment, 
 — not  merely  the  concupiscence  that  is  a  transgression  of 
 the  tenth  commandment,  though  the  expression  of  that  com- 
 mandment, respecting  the  heart  only,  might  be  the  mean 
 leading  him  to  the  view  of  all  the  commandments  I  have 
 been  representing. 
 
 The  apostle  doth  here  give  an  instance  of  something 
 which,  by  the  teachers  and  other  Jews  of  his  time,  was  ge- 
 nerally thought  not  to  be  sin.  They  thought  there  was  no 
 transgression  or  sin  but  in  external  omission  or  commission. 
 Though  some  Jewish  writers  since  that  time  appear  to  have 
 thought  more  justly  on  this  point,  yet  it  was  in  former  times 
 as  hath  been  said.  It  is  needless  to  produce  quotations  from 
 Jewish  writers  to  this  purpose,  though  some  are  produced 
 by  the  learned.  When  our  Lord,  after  mentioning  (Matth. 
 v.)  the  sixth  and  seventh  commandments,  adds  concerning 
 them  severally,  But  1  say  unto  you,  Whosoever  is  angry  with- 
 out a  cause — Whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her, 
 ver.  22,  28.  it  is  plain,  it  had  been  needless  for  him  to  have 
 expressed  himself  in  this  manner,  as  in  opposition  to  others, 
 if  there  were  not  those  who  held  that  the  outward  work  only 
 was  sin, — not  the  inward  affection  or  lusting. 
 
 But  then  it  is  likely  that  the  apostle  meant  something  more 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  153 
 
 than  to  say,  that  it  was  the  prohibition  of  the  law  that  show- 
 ed him  this  to  be  sin  in  its  own  nature.  If  he  meant  no 
 more  than  that,  he  might  as  well  have  given  the  instance  of 
 some  outward  work,  as,  Thou  shalt  not  steal ;  as  the  sinful- 
 ness of  any  work,  outward  or  inward,  consists  in  its  contra- 
 riety to  the  law.  But  he  seems  to  design  not  only  to  say, 
 that  by  the  law  he  knew  what  was  sin  in  itself,  but  that  itwas 
 the  law  that  showed  him  sin  in  himself  that  he  had  not  been 
 sensible  of.  He  had  been  a  Pharisee,  and  with  great  zeal 
 and  earnest  effort  serving  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter,  as  he 
 understood  it.  His  mind  being  biassed  by  corrupt  teaching 
 and  sentiment,  he  thought  himself  chargeable  with  no  sin, 
 until  the  law  struck  at  his  heart  within  him,  as  subject  to 
 its  authority  and  direction  no  less  than  the  outward  man. 
 Then,  (as  if  he  had  said )  alas  !  how  much  sin  had  continued 
 in  power,  and  at  rest  within  me,  unreproved,  unresisted, 
 under  the  cover  of  external  righteousness,  and  screened  with 
 the  most  full  self-approbation  ;  until  the  law  entered,  and 
 darted  its  light  into  my  heart  with  awful  authority,  and  found 
 there  what  proved  me  a  wretched  sinner,  as  it  says  in  the 
 sense  of  every  commandment,  Thou  shall  not  hist.  Until 
 then  he  thought  all  his  works  were  good.  Now  he  sees  all 
 his  works,  taking  into  the  account  the  evil  principles,  and 
 the  concupiscence  which,  in  various  forms,  was  set  at  the 
 root  of  all  his  works,  to  be  evil.  Instead  of  keeping  all  the 
 commandments  from  his  youth  up,  he  then  saw  he  had  truly 
 fulfilled  none  of  them. 
 
 Grotius,  and  after  him  Dr  Hammond,  were  of  opinion, 
 that  in  this  context  the  apostle  doth  but  personate  others, 
 and  represent  their  case  as  if  it  had  been  his  own  ;  and  in 
 thus  thinking,  they,  and  some  osiers  since,  do  proceed  on  a 
 very  imaginary  supposition,  as  if  the  apostle  had  used  this 
 method  to  avoid  the  offence  of  the  Jews,  yet  adhering  zeal- 
 ously to  the  Mosaic  law  ;  though  it  is  indeed,  they  suppose, 
 the  case  of  these  Jews  he  means.  We  do  not,  however,  see 
 that  the  apostle  is  so  very  artful,  or  shy  of  displeasing  the 
 Jews,  when  he  is  explaining  and  defending  the  truth  against 
 them,  in  matters  wherein  their  salvation  and  his  own  fidelity 
 were  much  concerned.  If  any  Jews  were  to  read  the  ninth, 
 tenth,  and  eleventh  chapters  of  this  epistle,  I  dare  say  them- 
 selves would  not  think  that  he  much  feared  their  displeasure. 
 
 Possibly  there  was  something  more  than  they  express  that 
 pinched  these  learned  men.  Perhaps  they  had  so  good  opi- 
 nion of  Paul's  religion  before  he  knew  Christ,  (for  he  here 
 
154  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 speaks  of  that  time,)  that  they  could  not  think  such  things 
 as  he  mentions  could  be  applicable  to  him,  even  when  he  was 
 in  that  condition  and  way.  For  if  Paul,  who,  having  the 
 advantage  of  revelation  to  direct  him,  laboured  so  hard  and 
 with  zeal  of  God  to  be  righteous,  even  before  he  knew 
 Christ,  had  no  true  holiness,  nor  was  acceptable  to  God,  or  in 
 the  way  of  salvation, — will  not  this  tend  to  bring  very  low, 
 on  the  one  hand,  our  opinion  of  the  powers  of  nature  and  free 
 will,  and  our  opinion,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  salvation  of 
 virtuous^  heathens  and  Mahomedans,  who  never  in  this  life 
 come  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ  ?  I  leave  to  the  living  to 
 explain  themselves  on  this  matter  when  they  please. 
 
 I  see  that  Dr  Doddridge  falls  in  with  the  notion  of  the 
 apostle's  personating  others  even  in  this  first  context  of  chap. 
 vii.  In  his  note  on  this  text,  he  says,  e  The  character  as- 
 f  sumed  here  is  that  of  a  man  first  ignorant  of  the  law,  then 
 
 <  under  it,  and  sincerely  desiring  to  please  God.'  Those  un- 
 der the  law,  as  the  apostle  represents,  are  persons  in  the 
 flesh  ;  and  there  are  great  exceptions  to  the  sincerity  of  per- 
 sons in  the  flesh,  as  to  desire  to  please  God.  e  But  finding, 
 e  to  his  sorrow,  (so  the  Doctor  goes  on)  the  weakness  of  the 
 '  motives  it  suggested,  and  the  discouragement  under  which 
 *  it  left  him,  and,  last  of  all,  with  transport  discovering  the 
 f  gospel,  and  gaining  pardon  and  strength,  peace  and  joy  by 
 cit.'  It  is  the  Mosaic  law,  and  the  condition  of  persons  un- 
 der it,  that  the  Doctor  means,  as  appears  fully  by  his  para- 
 phrase and  notes  on  this  context.  Now  as  to  that,  allowing 
 still  that  there  is  greater  degree  of  light,  comfort,  and  strength 
 by  the  gospel  and  gospel  dispensation,  yet,  I  would  ask, 
 did  not  Abraham — did  not  his  spiritual  seed,  the  faithful  of 
 the  Old  Testament,  under  4he  Mosaic  law,  perceive,  in  the 
 promises  made  to  him  and  them,  (which  the  law  did  not 
 annul,  Gal.  iii.  1?.)  motives  very  powerful  to  engage  them 
 to  holiness  ?  did  they  not  receive  pardon  and  strength,  peace 
 and  joy,  by  these  promises,  by  which  they  were  encouraged 
 and  supported  in  a  course  of  holiness,  integrity,  and  fruit- 
 fulness,  until,  through  faith  and  patience,  they  at  last  act- 
 ually inherited  the  promises  ? 
 
 The  Doctor  concludes  that  paragraph  and  note  thus  : — 
 
 <  But  to  suppose  he  speaks  all  these  things  of  himself,  as 
 c  the  confirmed  Christian  that  he  really  was  when  he  wrote 
 1  this  epistle,  is  not  only  foreign,  but  contrary  to  the  whole 
 c  scope  of  this  discourse,  as  well  as  to  what  is  expressly  as- 
 '  serted,  chap.  viii.  2/     So  he.     It  is  plain,  that  these  things 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  155 
 
 the  apostle  speaks  here  of  himself  in  the  past  tense  ;  he 
 speaks  not  of  himself  as  the  confirmed  Christian  and  true 
 believer.  But  being  the  confirmed  Christian,  when  he  wrote 
 these  things,  he  had  that  experience  on  both  sides,  under 
 the  law,  and  under  grace  ;  in  the  flesh,  and  in  the  Spirit  ; 
 which,  on  different  occasions  he  has  brought  forth,  some- 
 times in  the  past,  sometimes  in  the  present  tense,  under  the 
 direction  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  the  benefit  and  instruction 
 of  the  church  to  the  world's  end. 
 
 Before  we  leave  this  verse,  there  is  yet  one  thing  fit  to  be 
 observed  respecting  that  question,  What  sort  of  concupiscence 
 or  lusting  is  here  meant?  The  Papists,  and  some  others, 
 have  held,  that  the  very  first  motions  of  lusting,  which  spring 
 up  spontaneously  in  the  heart,  previous  to  all  deliberation, 
 and  that  are  not  entertained  or  consented  to  by  the  will,  are 
 not  sin.  Concerning  this  I  see  in  the  Synopsis,  on  this 
 verse,  a  passage  of  James  Capel,  a  French  divine,  which  is 
 to  this  purpose  and  sense.  He  speaks  here,  saith  this  writer, 
 of  that  concupiscence  which  Paul  would  not  have  known  but 
 by  the  law,  as  is  here  said.  But  Paul  could  not  be  igno- 
 rant of  that  which  was  known  even  by  the  heathens,  viz. 
 that  a  determined  purpose  of  committing  a  wicked  action 
 is  sin,  or  that  avarice,  which  is  also  called  concupiscence,  is 
 sin.  He  must  therefore  be  understood  to  mean,  the  inde- 
 termined  will  of  sinning,  or  the  very  first  motions  of  appe- 
 tite, by  which  the  will  is  tickled  and  provoked  ;  which,  be- 
 cause it  is  not  in  our  power  to  prevent  them,  many  have  be- 
 lieved not  to  be  sin,  nor  had  Paul  known  them  to  be  sin,  if 
 he  had  not  looked  more  closely  into  the  meaning  of  the  law. 
 For  it  is  this  sort  of  concupiscence  that  is  meant  by  the  pro- 
 hibition of  the  tenth  commandment,  as  the  former  sort  is  in 
 the  preceding  commands.    So  that  learned  professor  of  Sedan. 
 
 As  to  these  things,  it  may  well  be  doubted  if  there  is  any 
 so  spontaneous  and  indeliberate  motion  of  concupiscence  of 
 any  sort,  that  hath  not,  in  some  degree,  the  consent  of  the 
 heart  and  will ;  and  there  is  good  appearance  of  reason  for 
 thinking  there  is  something  of  will  in  the  very  first  motions 
 of  irregular  appetite.  And  if  the  law  of  God  enters,  with 
 its  proper  light  and  authority,  it  will  surely  find  that  the 
 very  first  and  spontaneous  motions  of  irregular  desire  are 
 contrary  to  the  purity  and  rectitude  wThich  it  requires,  are 
 to  be  ascribed  to  the  pravity  of  the  heart,  and  consequently 
 are  sinful,  and  so  are  comprehended  in  the  sin  of  which 
 Paul  got  the  knowledge  by  the  law.     But  the  matter  seems 
 
156  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 not  to  be  restricted  to  this.  It  appears,  by  what  our  Lord 
 says,  in  interpreting  the  seventh  commandment,  (Matth.  v.) 
 that  there  were  those  who  then  held,  that  inward  lusting, 
 however  much  entertained,  was  not  sin.  There  is  a 
 further  proof  of  this  in  that  passage  of  Josephus,  the 
 Jewish  historian,  mentioned  by  Dr  W.  and  by  others  be- 
 fore him,  wherein  that  historian  says,  that  the  sacrilegious 
 purpose  of  king  Antiochus  was  not  sin,  as  it  was  not  brought 
 to  execution.  Some  heathens  may  have  known  better  than 
 so.  But  there  hath  been  sometimes  occasion  to  observe, 
 that  a  preconceived  and  darling  opinion  or  principle  hath 
 occasioned  men's  overlooking,  and  even  denying,  truths  very 
 evident  in  the  scripture,  and  known  by  the  very  heathens. 
 If  I  mistake  not,  we  shall  see  notable  instance  of  this  before 
 we  have  done  with  the  very  next  following  verse.  Paul, 
 having  been  brought  up  in  the  Pharisaical  school,  he  might 
 have  it  to  learn,  by  the  entrance  of  the  light  and  authority  of 
 the  law  into  his  conscience,  that  any  inward  lustings,  how- 
 ever much  entertained,  were  sin;  which  some  of  that  sect, 
 as  Josephus  in  particular,  did  not  think  to  be  so. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 7-  What  shall  we  think  then  of  this  ac- 
 count of  our  former  state,  as  we  stood  in  relation  to  the  law, 
 and  of  my  mentioning  motions  of  sins  which  were  by  the 
 law  ?  Some  will  say,  that  this  great  absurdity  may  be  justly 
 inferred,  that  the  righteous  law  of  God  doth  indeed  favour 
 sin,  and  is  a  cause  of  it :  but  by  no  means — I  can  relate  from 
 my  experience,  that  it  was  by  the  law  that  I  received  the 
 knowledge  and  conviction  of  sin  in  every  instance.  The 
 law  forbids  it,  and  that  not  only  in  the  outward  work,  but  in 
 the  first  appearance  of  it  in  the  heart,  in  the  secret  workings 
 of  irregular  desire,  and  the  very  first  motions  of  irregular 
 affections.  It  is  by  its  prohibition  that  I  came  to  know  lust 
 inwardly,  more  or  less  consented  to  and  entertained,  to  be 
 sin,  as  the  tenth  commandment  says,  Thou  shall  not  covet, 
 and  as  every  commandment  implies  the  prohibition  of  every 
 inward  lusting  in  opposition  to  the  duty  commanded,  or  that 
 hath  the  remotest  tendency  to  the  outward  sinful  work  for- 
 bidden ;  and  it  was  by  the  law  discovering  sinful  lustings 
 and  affections  within  me,  and  directing  its  sharp  reproof 
 and  awful  threatening  against  them,  that  I,  who  had  been 
 very  righteous  in  my  own  eyes,  saw  first  my  great  sinfulness 
 and  very  dangerous  condition.  It  being  then  the  truth  of 
 the  matter,  that  the  law  is  so  adverse  to  sin,  surely  the  cause 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  157 
 
 of  sin,  and  of  sinful  passions  and  lustings  in  the  heart,  is  to 
 be  looked  for  elsewhere  than  in  the  law. 
 
 TEXT 8.  But  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  wrought  In 
 
 me  all  manner  of  concupiscence.     For  without  the  law  sin  was  dead. 
 
 Explication. — In  the  fifth  verse  there  is  mention  of  the 
 motions  of  sin  which  were  by  the  law.  Here  it  is,  Sin  taking 
 occasion  by  the  commandment.  The  one  place  explains  the 
 other.  If  there  are,  as  ver.  6.  motions  of  sin  by  the  law,  that 
 is  not  that  the  law  is  the  cause  of  sin,  but,  as  here,  that  sin 
 taketh  occasion  by  the  commandment. 
 
 The  word  rendered  occasion,  Grotius  renders  impunity, — 
 sin  having  impunity  by  the  precept  or  commandment ;  and 
 he  adduces  a  place  of  Thucydides,  where  he  thought  the 
 word  signifies  so.  The  dictionary  mentions  no  such  mean- 
 ing ;  and  Raphelius,  cited  by  Wolfius,  shows  that  Grotius 
 did  mistake  the  place  referred  to,  where  the  word  hath  no 
 such  sense. 
 
 However,  Grotius  understanding  it  so  in  this  text,  explains 
 himself  by  saying,  Because  to  that  commandment  (respect- 
 ing inward  lusting,  Thou  shall  not  covet)  there  was  no 
 punishment  annexed,  as  to  the  commands  forbidding  adul- 
 tery and  theft,  therefore  it  was  despised.  Dr  Hammond, 
 who  very  commonly  follows  the  other  learned  writer,  speaks 
 full  to  the  same  purpose. 
 
 But  if  the  Lord,  the  Lawgiver  of  the  commonwealth  of  Is- 
 rael, in  prescribing  to  them  the  punishment  they  should  inflict 
 on  these  transgressions  of  his  laws  which  should  come  under 
 their  cognizance,  did  not  prescribe  punishment  of  trans- 
 gressions which  did  not  come  under  their  cognizance, 
 such  as  inward  transgressions  and  impurities ;  shall  we 
 therefore  say,  that  the  law  of  God  allows  impunity  to  inward 
 unholiness  and  impurity  ?  or  that  the  Supreme  Judge,  who 
 sees  men's  hearts,  is  not  to  punish  it?  Dr  W.  brings  for 
 one  reason  against  this  interpretation,  that  it  contradicts  the 
 words  of  the  law,  which  pronounces  a  curse  on  every  one 
 who  continues  not  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  the  law 
 to  do  them. 
 
 But  notwithstanding  what  Grotius  and  Dr  Hammond 
 have  said  of  the  impunity  of  inward  transgressions,  yet  it 
 must  be  agreed  to  on  all  hands,  in  the  general,  that  the  law 
 denounced  punishment  for  sin.  Dr  Hammond  makes  use  of 
 this  too  for  explaining  the  present  subject.  Sin  had,  or  took 
 occasion,  or  advantage,  from  this,  according  to  him,  that  the 
 
 g  5 
 
158  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 law  prescribed  punishment  without  giving  the  hope  of  par- 
 don. So  sin  took  occasion  from  impunity,  and  likewise 
 from  the  apprehension  of  punishment.  Though  he  is  wrong 
 as  to  matter  of  fact,  (so  1  may  call  it)  with  respect  to  the 
 law,  on  both  sides  ;  yet  on  the  general  and  abstract  view  of 
 the  matter,  these  things  are  not  inconsistent.  For  as  to  them 
 who  are  in  thcjiesh,  which  is  the  common  character  of  persons 
 under  the  law,  in  the  sense  of  this  context,  if  through  the 
 delusion  of  their  mind  there  is  confidence  of  impunity,  or 
 if  there  is  despair  of  mercy,  sin  dominant  in  such  souls  will 
 take  occasion,  in  the  one  case  and  the  other,  to  exert  itself, 
 and  show  its  great  power  and  malignity. 
 
 By  the  law,  it  is  the  law  of  Moses  that  these  writers  mean. 
 Concerning  it,  it  is  needful,  before  we  go  farther,  to  observe 
 a  distinction  that  is  proper  to  be  made.  First,  the  law  may 
 be  understood  to  signify,  the  whole  system  of  religion  in  the 
 Mosaic  times  of  the  Old  Testament.  Dr  Hammond  ex- 
 presses it  thus,  (annot.  on  Matth.  v.  17-)  :  '  *n  scripture  the 
 '  law  signifies  sometimes,  yea  often,  in  one  general  notion, 
 '  the  whole  way  of  economy  among  the  Jews  under  the 
 f  Old  Testament,  (taken  precisely  by  itself,  without  op- 
 *  position  to  the  reformation  wrought  by  Christ,  and  that 
 '  way  that  men  were  put  into  for  their  eternal  weal) — the 
 '  Old  Testament  course,  the  religion  of  the  former  age, — 
 c  the  whole  body  of  their  religion/  2.  The  law  may  be  under- 
 stood, in  a  more  narrow  sense,  to  mean  the  system  of  precepts, 
 or  commandments,  statutes,  and  judgments,  which  God  gave 
 to  Israel  by  Moses,  to  be  the  rule  and  practice.  Again,  as  to 
 this  last,  the  law  may  be  understood  of  the  moral  law,  which 
 hath  been,  and  continues  ever  to  be  in  force,  in  all  times:  or 
 it  may  signify  the  ceremonial  or  ritual  law  given  by  Moses, 
 which  was  peculiar  to  the  church  of  Israel,  and  times  of  the 
 Old  Testament :   which  last  is  most  strictly  the  Mosaic  law. 
 
 Now,  to  answer  on  the  question  about  remission  of  sins, 
 according  to  this  distinction ;  the  case  was,  that  the  precep- 
 tory  moral  law  contained  nothing  about  remission  of  sins  ; 
 nor  doth  it  now.  The  moral  law  is  still  in  force,  and  hath 
 annexed  to  it  the  curse  and  denunciation  of  wrath  against 
 transgressors ;  the  consequence  of  which  it  is,  that  he  who 
 believeth  not  the  Son,  hath  the  wrath  of  God  abiding  upon  him. 
 It  cannot  be  inferred  from  this,  that  there  is  no  remission  of 
 sins  now.  For  remission  of  sins,  and  the  happy  consequences 
 of  it,  come  not,  at  this  time,  by  the  law,  but  by  grace.  Thus 
 as  to  the  ancient  Israel ;  if  remission  of  sins  came  not  by  the 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  1 59 
 
 law,  yet  they  had  then  the  hope  of  remission,  of  acceptance 
 with  God,  and  of  blessedness,  and  that  by  grace,  and  by  the 
 promise,  which  was  manifested  to  Abraham  for  himself,  and 
 for  his  spiritual  seed,  the  faithful ;  and  which  the  law  after- 
 wards given  could  not  disannul,  as  Gal.  iii.  17.  Now,  if  in 
 the  religion  of  the  former  age,  the  whole  body  of  the  Jewish 
 religion,  as  Dr  Hammond  speaks,  that  is,  in  the  law  in  the 
 comprehensive  sense,  which  is  the  first  sense  he  gives  of  the 
 law,  there  was  ground  for  the  hope  of  the  remission  of  sins  ; 
 it  is  not  just  to  say,  that  sin  took  occasion  by  the  law  of 
 Moses,  as  not  giving  the  prospect  of  pardon  ;  or  to  mention 
 that  at  all,  in  interpreting  what  he  takes  to  be  a  reasoning 
 concerning  the  abrogation  of  the  Mosaic  law  ;  as  if  that  was 
 needful  for  giving  men  the  prospect  of  remission  ;  and  there- 
 by encouraging  them  to  repentance  and  reformation.  It  is 
 undeniable,  that  Israel,  under  the  Old  Testament,  were  en- 
 couraged to  repentance  by  the  promise  of  forgiveness  ;  nor  is 
 it  in  this  that  the  difference  consists  between  the  Old  and 
 New  Testament.  Let  us,  however,  consider  more  closely 
 how  Dr  Hammond  expresses  himself  concerning  this  matter. 
 
 Thus  then  he  writes  in  his  paraphrase  of  chap.  vi.  14. 
 1  It  were  the  vilest  thing  in  the  world  for  sin  to  have  do- 
 '  minion  over  you,  who  are  no  longer  under  the  weak  un- 
 1  efficacious  pedagogy  of  the  law,  (which  could  only  forbid 
 '  sin,  and  denounce  judgment,  but  never  yield  any  man 
 (  that  hope  of  mercy,  on  amendment,  which  is  necessary  to 
 '  the  working  reformation  on  him,  or  checking  any  sin  that 
 6  men  are  tempted  to,)  but  under  a  kingdom  of  grace,  where 
 '  there  is  pardon  for  sin  unto  repentance/ 
 
 This  passage  must  be  meant  of  sin  in  outward  practice ; 
 as  the  writer  allowed,  with  Grotius,  that  the  law  allowed 
 impunity  to  the  inward  working  of  unholy  lusts.  But  what 
 meant  he  by  the  pedagogy  of  the  law  ?  The  word  is  taken 
 from  Gal.  iii.  24.  The  law  was  our  schoolmaster  (Trxi'SxXayos, 
 pedagogue, J  to  bring  us  unto  Christ.  Now,  if  the  children, 
 the  heir,  was  under  tutors  or  governors,  (Gal.  iv.  1,  2.)  or 
 under  a  pedagogue  during  the  Old  Testament,  surely  we 
 are  not  to  say,  that  it  wras  his  condition  by  this  pedagogy,  not 
 having  the  remission  of  sin,  to  be  only  under  judgment  and 
 wrath.  The  apostle  gives  us  to  understand  otherwise,  but  that 
 it  wras  to  the  Jewish  church  a  pedagogue  to  bring  them  unto 
 Christ ;  except  any  shall  be  so  absurd  as  to  say,  that  the 
 Mosaic  law  had  this  tendency  and  effect  only  when  the  gos- 
 pel was  revealed,  and  the  law  came  to  be  abolished ;  but  that, 
 
160  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 whilst  it  subsisted,  it  had  no  such  effect  to  those  who  were 
 under  it. 
 
 It  is  plain,  that  if  in  the  pedagogy  of  the  law  there  was 
 denunciation  of  judgment,  there  was  also  the  hope  of  mercy 
 through  Jesus  Christ;  and  that  the  special  use  of  the  law, 
 as  a  pedagogue,  was  to  lead  men  to  Christ,  that  they  might 
 be  justified  through  faith.  This  was  the  way  in  which 
 Abraham  was  justified,  and  so  he  became  the  father  of 
 all  them  who  believe,  particularly  of  those  who,  being  of 
 the  circumcision,  did  also  walk  in  the  steps  of  the  faith  of 
 their  father  Abraham,  Rom.  iv.  12.  Certainly  the  Doctor 
 would  not  deny  that  there  were  many  such  under  the  peda- 
 gogy of  the  law;  so  that  it  was  quite  wild  for  him  to  say, 
 that  the  pedagogy  of  the  law  denounced  judgment,  but  gave 
 not  the  hope  of  mercy. 
 
 But  some  men  speak  of  the  pedagogy  of  the  law  as  if 
 they  who  were  under  it  had  been  under  a  proper  and  strict 
 covenant  of  works,  that  gave  no  hope  to  transgressors.  This 
 is  very  wrong.  God  did  never  make  a  new  promulgation  of 
 the  law,  by  revelation,  to  sinful  men,  in  order  to  keep  them 
 under  mere  law,  without  setting  before  them,  at  the  same 
 time,  the  promise  and  grace  of  the  new  covenant,  by  which 
 they  might  escape  from  the  wrath  which  the  law  denounced. 
 The  legal  and  evangelical  dispensations  have  been  but  dif- 
 ferent dispensations  of  the  same  covenant  of  grace,  and  of 
 the  blessings  thereof.  Though  there  is  now  greater  degree 
 of  light,  consolation,  and  liberty,  yet  if  Christians  are  now 
 under  a  kingdom  of  grace  where  there  is  pardon  upon  repent- 
 ance, the  Lord's  people  under  the  Old  Testament  were  (as 
 to  the  reality  and  substance  of  things)  also  under  a  kingdom 
 of  grace. 
 
 Terrible  as  the  appearance  was  at  giving  the  law  from 
 mount  Sinai,  yet  when  the  Lord  was  to  renew  the  writing 
 of  the  law  on  tables  of  stone,  Exod.  xxxiv.  1 — 9-  be  declared 
 his  name,  and  proclaimed,  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merci- 
 ful and  gracious,  &c.  There  certainly  could  be  no  religion 
 or  sincere  worship  in  the  Mosaic,  or  in  any  times,  without 
 the  prospect  of  forgiveness  So  David  understood,  Psal. 
 cxxx.  4.  There  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou  viayest  be 
 feared.  With  what  earnestness  and  humble  confidence  did 
 the  Psalmist,  as  often  in  his  other  psalms,  so  in  Psal.  li. 
 plead  for  pardon,  even  when  his  prayer  was  for  the  pardon 
 of  sins  in  particular,  for  which  the  Mosaic  law  had  provided 
 no  sacrifice,  but  had  ordered  capital  punishment?     Which 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  l6l 
 
 shows,  that  in  the  case  of  presumptuous  sins,  for  which  capi- 
 tal punishment  was  ordered ;  yet,  even  in  such  cases,  that 
 the  penitent  was  not  precluded  from  pardon. 
 
 Now,  if  there  was  under  the  legal  Mosaic  dispensation  that 
 grace  manifested,  that  taketh  away  sin  and  pardons  it,  it  is 
 certain  there  was  nothing  in  the  Mosaic  institutions  to  in- 
 tercept from  the  Lord's  people  the  comfort  of  that  grace. 
 Though  there  was  not  in  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  a  true  expia- 
 tion, but  instead  of  that  a  remembrance  kept  up  of  sin,  as 
 not  yet  truly  expiated,  yet  in  these  Israel  had  the  assurance 
 and  pledge  of  a  true  expiation  promised  and  provided.  This 
 was  according  to  the  import  of  the  name  which  Abraham  gave 
 to  the  mount  on  which  the  temple  was  afterwards  built, 
 Jehovah-jireh,  The  Lord  will  provide  himself  a  lamb  for 
 a  burnt- offering,  Gen.  xxii.  14.  Such  language  had  all  the 
 sacrificial  service  in  that  place,  until  at  length  He  appeared, 
 who  was  to  be  the  true  burnt- offering,  and  the  Baptist  marked 
 him  out  to  the  people,  saying,  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
 which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  John  i.  29.  The 
 virtue  of  this  sacrifice  availed  to  the  Lord's  people  from  the 
 beginning  of  the  world,  for  the  remission  of  sin. 
 
 But  did  Dr  Hammond  indeed  think  that  the  Mosaic  legal 
 pedagogy  did  not  yield  to  men  the  hope  of  mercy,  and  that 
 it  is  only  now  under  the  gospel  dispensation  that  men  are 
 under  a  kingdom  of  grace,  in  which  there  is  pardon  upon 
 repentance  ?  How  should  I  then  understand  what  he  says  in 
 the  passage  quoted  above,  that  the  law,  in  the  most  compre- 
 hensive sense,  signifies  that  way  that  men  were  put  into  for 
 their  eternal  weal — the  religion  of  the  former  age  ?  Could  men 
 be  put  into  any  way  for  their  eternal  wreal,  without  the  re- 
 mission of  sins  ?  These  things  that  the  learned  writer  hath, 
 concerning  the  Mosaic  pedagogy  and  law,  are  by  no  means 
 consistent. 
 
 What  hath  been  said,  makes  it  evident  that  the  advantage 
 which  sin  hath,  to  have  dominion  over  men  who  are  under 
 the  law,  and  to  work  in  them  all  manner  of  concupiscence, 
 is  not  to  be  understood  of  the  Mosaic  law  ;  and  that  the 
 apostle's  reasoning  intthis  context,  Rom.  vii.  1 — 13.  proceeds 
 on  a  quite  different  view. 
 
 What  then  doth  it  mean,  that  sin  takes  occasion  by  the 
 commandment,  to  work  in  a  man  all  manner  of  concupis- 
 cence ?  The  very  words  as  they  are  expressed  show  that 
 the  law  is  in  no  wise  the  cause  of  this  ill  effect ;  but  sin  tak- 
 ing occasion  by  it,  even  sin  reigning  in  them  who  are  under 
 
162  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 the  law.  Sin.  that  evil  principle  that  spreads  its  influence 
 over  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  finding  the  law  entering 
 with  great  force  into  the  conscience,  and  as  it  were  making 
 great  efforts  there  against  it,  doth  thereupon  awaken  all  its 
 powers ;  and  instead  of  submitting  to  the  prohibition  or 
 reproof  of  the  law,  or  fleeing  before  the  threatening,  it  puts 
 every  sinful  affection  in  motion  against  the  commandment. 
 Pareus  illustrates  the  matter  by  this  similitude :  A  physi- 
 cian forbids  his  patient  the  use  of  wine,  or  other  strong  drink. 
 The  patient,  who  perhaps  was  not  thinking  of  strong  drink, 
 does  now  eagerly  long  for  it,  and  calls  for  it  with  great  im- 
 patience. The  proper  cause  of  this  is  not  the  advice  of  the 
 physician,  which  is  good  and  right,  but  the  man's  own  heart 
 under  a  sickly  disposition. 
 
 Concerning  this  Dr  Doddridge  says  in  his  note :  c  It 
 *  must  surely  be  acknowledged,  that  all  lust  does  not  arise 
 c  from  hence,  (viz.  from  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  com- 
 '  mandment)  much  being  previous  to  all  possible  knowledge 
 c  of  God's  law,  whether  revealed  or  natural.'  This  will  be 
 readily  agreed  to,  that  all  lust  doth  not  thence  arise,  nor 
 does  any  say  that  the  apostle  means  so.  But  sin,  the  evil 
 principle  or  corruption  that  is  in  the  heart,  previous  to  all 
 knowledge  of  God's  law,  (as  the  worthy  writer  says)  is  ever 
 lusting  one  way  or  other,  but  most  remarkably  when  the 
 law  presses  hard  upon  the  conscience. 
 
 Mr  Alexander  says,  '  In  the  most  corrupted  ages  of  the 
 '  world,  laws  have  a  natural  tendency  to  lessen  the  number 
 <  and  prevalence  of  crimes.'  True,  as  to  crimes  outwardly 
 committed.  But  as  the  apostle  is  speaking  here  of  inward 
 concupiscence,  it  requires  something  else  than  the  laws  of 
 men,  even  than  the  law  of  God  itself,  to  restrain  and  sub- 
 due that. 
 
 Of  the  last  clause,  without  the  law  sin  7vas  dead,  there  hath 
 a  strange  interpretation  been  given  of  late.  Mr  Locke  gives 
 it  thus  in  his  paraphrase  :  '  Without  the  law'  (he  means  the 
 law  of  Moses)  '  sin  is  dead,  not  able  to  hurt  me.'  And  in 
 his  note  he  says,  '  Without  the  law,  which  annexes  death 
 f  to  transgression,  sin  is  as  good  as  dead,  is  not  able  to  have 
 '  its  will  of  me,  and  bring  death  upon  me/  But  as  I  am, 
 to  the  explication  and  paraphrase  of  this  verse,  to  subjoin  an 
 essay  on  the  penal  sanction  of  the  law,  and  his  notion  con- 
 cerning it,  I  say  no  more  of  it  here. 
 
 In  the  mean  time,  what  I  take  to  be  the  true  meaning  of 
 this  clause  I  give  as  follows.     The  first  part  of  the  verse 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  \6S 
 
 represents  sin  as  not  subdued  by  the  law,  but  (on  occasion 
 of  the  law  entering  with  force  into  the  conscience)  exerting 
 itself  vehemently  against  the  authority  of  the  law,  in  all 
 manner  of  concupiscence.  This,  doubtless,  behoved  to  give 
 the  sinner  great  disturbance  of  mind,  between  the  authority 
 of  the  law  pressing  hard  upon  one  side,  and  the  opposite 
 vehement  motions  of  sin  on  the  other.  The  apostle  seems  to 
 mean  by  the  last  clause  a  very  different  and  opposite  case. 
 Whilst  the  law  did  not  enter  into  the  man's  conscience  with 
 its  light,  authority,  and  force,  sin  was  asleep,  or  even  as 
 dead,  and  gave  no  more  trouble  or  uneasiness  than  a  dead 
 ravenous  beast,  that  he  carried,  would  do.  If  it  had  its  mo- 
 tions inwardly,  as  it  certainly  had,  they  were  not  violent,  or 
 much  observed.  That  they  were  little  observed  was  in 
 part  from  the  love  of  sin,  in  part  from  ignorance  of  the  law, 
 and  lastly,  from  the  absence  of  the  law,  with  regard  to  the 
 authority  and  force  of  its  precept  and  threatening  in  the  con- 
 science ;  so  that  sin  was  not  ruffled,  nor  disturbed  by  it.  In 
 this  condition  sin  was  as  a  strong  man  keeping  his  palace, 
 and  having  his  goods  in  peace.  Yea,  what  increases  this 
 deadness  of  sin  is,  that  it  is  often  coloured,  or  covered,  and 
 as  it  were  screened,  under  the  cover  of  some  sort  of  self- 
 righteousness,  that  keeps  it  quite  out  of  view  ;  yea,  perhaps, 
 under  the  cover  of  some  fine-spun  sublime  speculation  and 
 theory  concerning  virtue ;  as  there  are  many  who  seem  to 
 have  little  of  the  force  of  the  law  in  their  conscience,  who 
 have  a  great  deal  of  virtue  in  their  head.  The  opposition 
 that  appears  in  this  text,  between  sin,  by  occasion  of  the  law, 
 working  in  a  man  all  manner  of  concupiscence  on  the  one 
 hand,  and,  on  the  other,  sin  dead  without  the  law,  gives  good 
 reason  for  understanding  the  last  clause  according  to  this  in- 
 terpretation. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 8.  Certainly  the  law,  which  prohibits  all 
 sinful  motions  and  affections,  is  not  a  proper  cause  of  thes;? 
 in  the  hearts  of  men.  I  hinted  to  you  the  true  cause,  when 
 I  said,  ver.  5.  that  the  vehement  prevailing  motions  of  sins, 
 which  are  by  the  law,  do  happen  in  persons  who  are  in  the 
 flesh.  Take  some  explication  briefly  thus  :  Sin,  or  the  flesh, 
 that  evil  principle  in  corrupt  nature,  which  is  enmity  against 
 God  and  his  authority,  and  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God  ; 
 but  being  roused  and  awakened  by  the  strict  prohibition  and 
 fearful  threatening  of  the  law  ;  and  not  finding,  in  its  com- 
 mands or  terrors,  what  would  subdue  it,  and  withdraw  the 
 heart  from  its  dominion  ;  did  but  take  occasion,  from  the  law, 
 
]  64  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 to  exert  itself  in  all  manner  of  concupiscence,  in  a  rebellious 
 and  vehement  opposition  to  its  authority,  and  to  every  pre- 
 cept thereof  in  particular;  as  the  same  came  to  be  borne  home, 
 and  to  press  hard  upon  the  conscience  ;  for  without  the  law 
 thus  entering  with  authority  and  force,  sin  was  as  asleep, 
 without  such  vehement  and  sensible  motion,  and,  as  it  were, 
 dead  comparatively,  under  the  cover  perhaps  of  a  shining 
 self-righteousness,  or  of  refined  speculation  concerning 
 virtue,  with  little  reality  of  it. 
 
 AN  ESSAY 
 
 CONCERNING  THE  PENAL  SANCTION  OF  THE  LAW,  IN  VIEW  TO  THE 
 NOTION  OF  MR  LOCKE,  AND  OF  SOME  OTHERS,  CONCERNING  THAT 
 SUBJECT. 
 
 In  explaining  the  8th  verse  of  Rom.  vii.  we  have  seen 
 how  Mr  L/s  paraphrase  gives  the  last  clause  thus:  l  Without 
 •  the  law  sin  is  dead,  not  able  to  hurt  me/  A  reader,  who 
 knew  that  Mr  L/s  view  of  the  law  in  this  place  was  restricted 
 to  the  Mosaic  promulgation  of  it,  could  not  be  surprised  at 
 such  a  sentiment.  Mr  Locke's  notion  comes  now  to  be  repre- 
 sented and  considered. 
 
 It  has  been  the  opinion  of  divers  learned  men,  that  the 
 apostle's  reasoning,  Rom.  vii.  1 — 13.,  respects  the  Mosaic 
 ceremonial  law.  But  as  there  appears  nothing  particular  in 
 that  context  that  can  be  understood  to  have  any  respect  to 
 the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Moses*  law,  others  of  late,  still 
 retaining  the  general  notion  that  it  is  the  Mosaic  law  that  is 
 meant,  have  supposed  that  it  is  something  peculiar  to  the 
 Mosaic  promulgation  of  the  moral  law  that  is  especially  in 
 the  apostle's  eye;  and  having  fallen  in  with  an  opinion  that 
 hath  been  first  broached  (for  aught  I  know )  by  Mr  Locke, 
 I  shall,  for  the  reader's  more  full  satisfaction  concerning  their 
 views,  represent  his  sentiments ;  then  these  of  Dr  W. ;  and 
 thereafter  these  of  Dr  Taylor  of  Norwich,  in  their  own  words; 
 and  then  suggest  some  arguments  against  their  opinion  on 
 the  subject. 
 
 Mr  Locke  expresses  his  mind  thus,  in  his  paraphrase  of 
 Rom.  v.  13.  '  There  is  no  certain  determined  punishment  af- 
 '  fixed  to  sin,  without  a  positive  law  declaring  it/  And  in 
 his  note  there,  he  writes  thus :  c  Sins  can  never  be  taxed,  or 
 '  a  rate  set  upon  them,  but  by  the  positive  declaration  and 
 1  sanction  of  the  Law- Maker.  Mankind,  without  the  positive 
 '  law  of  God,  knew  by  the  light  of  nature,  that  they  trans- 
 '  gressed  the  rule  of  their  nature,  reason,  which  dictated  to 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  165 
 
 <  them  what  they  ought  to  do.  But  without  a  positive  de- 
 ■  claration  of  God  their  Sovereign,  they  could  not  tell  at 
 1  what  rate  God  taxed  their  trespasses  against  that  rule :  till 
 '  he  pronounced  that  life  should  be  the  price  of  sin,  that  could 
 '  not  be  ascertained,  and  consequently  sin  could  not  be 
 '  brought  to  account.  And  therefore  we  see,  that  where  there 
 '  was  no  positive  law  affixing  death  to  sin,  men  did  not  look 
 r  on  death  as  the  wages  or  retribution  for  their  sins  :  they  did 
 '  not  account  that  they  paid  their  lives  as  a  debt  and  forfeit 
 1  for  their  transgressions.' 
 
 At  first  sight,  one  might  readily  suppose  the  author  meant 
 no  more,  than  that  men  could  not  know  or  determine  what 
 is  the  punishment  of  sin,  except  that  was  determined  by  the 
 law  itself,  or  by  the  declaration  of  the  Lawgiver  otherwise. 
 But  it  means  more  when  he  says,  that  sin  could  not  be  brought 
 to  account.  That  he  so  meant,  is  very  clear  and  express  in 
 what  he  says  in  his  note  on  Rom.  v.  14.  :  '  In  this  verse 
 1  (saith  he)  St  Paul  proves  that  all  men  became  mortal  by 
 '  Adam's  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  by  that  alone,  be- 
 1  cause  no  man  can  incur  a  penalty  without  the  sanction  of 
 1  a  positive  law  declaring  and  establishing  that  penalty  ;  but 
 '  death  was  affixed  by  no  positive  law  to  any  sin,  but  the 
 '  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit :  and  therefore  men's  dying 
 1  before  the  law  of  Moses,  was  purely  in  consequence  of 
 1  Adam's  sin.'  Here  we  are  to  observe,  that  positive  law  is 
 not  meant  in  the  ordinary  sense  ;  as  positive  law  is  common- 
 ly meant  of  a  law  enacted  for  a  time  by  the  mere  will  of  the 
 Lawgiver,  in  contradistinction  to  a  law  moral  in  its  own  na- 
 ture and  of  perpetual  obligation.  It  is  plain,  the  author,  by 
 positive  law  here,  means  a  law  clearly  revealed,  and  fully  pro- 
 mulgated, expressly  determining  the  punishment  of  trans- 
 gression. We  see  then  in  the  passage  last  cited,  that  Mr  L. 
 held  that  no  man  can  incur  any  penalty  without  the  sanction 
 of  a  positive  law  declaring  and  establishing  that  penalty  ;- 
 and  that  from  giving  forth  the  command  concerning  the  for- 
 bidden fruit,  which  alone  enacted  death  for  the  transgressing 
 of  it,  death  was  denounced  for  no  sin  till  the  law  given  by 
 Moses :  and  we  have  seen,  that  in  his  paraphrase  of  Rom. 
 vii.  8.  and  in  his  note  on  it,  he  said,  that  without  such  law, 
 and  previously  to  the  law  of  Moses,  sin  could  not  hurt  a  man 
 or  bring  death  upon  him. 
 
 Thus  also  he  writes  in  his  note  on  Rom.  v.  IS.  :  '  This  is 
 '  plain,  that  St  Paul's  notion  of  a  law  was  conformable  to 
 '  that  given  by  Moses;  and  so  he  uses  the  word  y^uos,  life 
 
166  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 '  English,  law,  for  a  positive  command  of  God,  with  a  sanc- 
 1  tion  of  a  penalty  annexed  to  it;  of  which  kind  there  never 
 c  having  been  any  one  given  to  any  people  but  that  by 
 '  Moses  to  the  children  of  Israel,  till  the  revelation  of  the 
 1  will  of  God  by  Jesus  Christ  to  all  mankind — no  penalty/ 
 &c.  So,  according  to  him,  till  Moses'  time,  no  man  could  in- 
 cur a  penalty  for  any  sin,  except  that  of  eating  the  forbidden 
 fruit.  These  things  are  exceeding  crude.  However  much 
 the  celebrated  name  of  Mr  Locke,  or  the  interest  of  an  hy- 
 pothesis, may  give  to  some  a  bias  towards  these  notions,  I 
 must  for  myself  confess,  that  it  gives  me  concern  to  see  a 
 man  who  wrote  so  accurately  and  judiciously  on  divers  sub- 
 jects, fall  into  such  absence  of  thought  and  reason,  as  to  be 
 capable  of  writing  at  this  rate.  However,  he  hath,  as  to  this 
 subject,  had  his  followers. 
 
 According  to  this  notion  of  Mr  L.'s,  the  Lord  made  his 
 chosen  people  Israel  unhappy  beyond  all  people,  by  giving 
 them  that  law,  by  which,  for  every  sin,  yea,  as  he  speaks 
 somewhere,  for  the  least  slip  of  infirmity,  they  were  obno- 
 xious to  death,  which,  by  his  sentiments,  persons  of  other 
 nations  were  not.  But  he  pretends  to  prove,  that  there  was 
 no  hardship  in  this  to  the  Jew,  but  a  privilege;  and  what 
 cannot  be  proven  by  so  great  a  master  in  reasoning  ?  In 
 his  note  on  Rom.  v.  20.  he  thus  states  the  matter  :  '  All 
 '  mankind  was  in  an  irrecoverable  state  of  death  by  Adam's 
 c  lapse.  It  was  plainly  the  intention  of  God  to  remove  the 
 c  Israelites  out  of  this  state  (viz.  this  irrecoverable  state 
 1  of  death)  by  the  law — By  the  law  the  children  of  Israel 
 '  were  put  into  a  new  state — their  remaining  under  death, 
 '  or  their  recovery  of  life,  was  to  be  the  consequence,  not 
 c  of  what  another  had  done,  but  of  what  themselves  did. — 
 '  In  their  former  state,  common  to  them  with  the  rest  of 
 1  mankind,  death  was  unavoidable  to  them.  But  by  the  law 
 1  they  had  a  trial  for  life.  Accordingly,  our  Saviour  to  the 
 c  young  man  answers — Keep  the  commandments/  Here, 
 one  might  ask,  Did  the  law,  in  giving  them  a  trial  for  life, 
 give  them  a  chance  of  avoiding  death  wholly  ?  No ;  they 
 were  to  die  at  any  rate,  in  consequence  of  Adam's  sin.  But 
 the  author  means,  a  chance  of  continuing  irrecoverably  un- 
 der death  or  recovering  life,  according  as  they  should  behave. 
 But  was  it  easy,  or  even  possible,  for  an  Israelite  to  keep  the 
 law  so  perfectly,  that  he  would  not,  by  some  deed  of  his 
 own — some  one  transgression, or  slip  of  infirmity,  bring  death 
 on  himself  irrecoverably  ?     If  this  was  neither  easy  nor  pos- 
 
\ 
 
 The  Penal  Scuiction  of  the  Law.  167 
 
 sible,  the  privilege  in  the  case  evanishes  quite.  Even  Dr 
 T.  ventures  to  say,  that  here  Mr  L.  has  a  wild  conceit. 
 
 The  objection  arising  from  this  did  not  wholly  escape  Mr 
 L.'s  observation.  In  his  note  on  Rom.  vii.  8.  he  writes 
 thus :  c  Laying  aside  the  figure,  (viz.  sin's  being  set 
 (  forth  as  a  person)  the  plain  meaning  here  of  St  Paul  is 
 1  this :  Though  the  law  lays  a  stricter  restraint  upon  sin 
 '  than  men  have  without  it,  yet  it  betters  not  my  condition 
 1  thereby,  (may  the  well  meaning  Jew  say)  because  it  en- 
 ables me  not  wholly  to  extirpate  sin,  and  subdue  concu- 
 1  piscence,  though  it  hath  made  every  transgression  a  mortal 
 (  crime.  So  that  being  no  more  totally  secured  from  offend- 
 '  ing  under  the  law  than  I  was  before,  I  am  under  the  law 
 '  exposed  to  certain  death/  So  our  author  supposes  a  Jew 
 to  argue  and  object  ;  and  this  objection  he  supposes  the 
 apostle  means  to  obviate.  In  his  note  on  Rom.  vii.  13.  he 
 says,  f  In  the  five  foregoing  verses,  the  apostle  had  proved 
 '  that  the  law  was  not  sin.  In  this,  and  the  ten  following 
 f  verses,  he  proves  the  law  not  to  be  made  death,  but  that  it 
 f  was  given  to  show  the  power  of  sin  which  remained  in 
 { those  under  the  law,  so  strong,  notwithstanding  the  law, 
 1  that  it  could  prevail  on  them  to  transgress  the  law,  not- 
 '  withstanding  all  its  prohibition,  with  the  penalty  of  death 
 '  annexed  to  every  transgression.  Of  what  use  this  showing 
 '  the  power  of  sin  by  the  law  was,  we  may  see,  Gal.  iii.  24.' 
 The  words  of  that  text  are,  Wherefore  the  law  was  our  school* 
 master  to  bring  us  unto  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by 
 faith.  Well,  this  is  a  good  use  and  design  of  the  law.  But 
 if  Jews  did  not  fall  in  with  this  design  of  the  law,  were 
 not  actually  brought  to  Christ,  or  justified  by  faith,  did  not 
 they  die  irrecoverably,  for  their  own  sins,  according  to  the 
 sanction  of  their  own  law,  which  men  of  other  nations  were  not 
 under  ?  It  showed  the  power  of  sin,  that  it  prevailed  on  men 
 to  transgress,  notwithstanding  the  threatening  of  death.  But 
 still  it  is  not  proven  that  the  law  did  not  give  death  to  the 
 transgressing  Jews,  or  that  they  were  not,  by  being  under 
 such  a  law,  in  worse  condition  than  men  of  other  nations,  on 
 whom  their  personal  sins  could  not  bring  death,  as  not  being 
 under  a  law  fenced  with  such  a  sanction.  They  indeed,  by 
 wanting  such  a  law,  wanted  the  schoolmaster  to  bring  them 
 to  Christ  that  the  Jews  had.  But  at  the  same  time,  accord- 
 ing to  this  writer's  notions,  they  did  not  so  much  need  Christ 
 for  a  Saviour  as  the  Jews  did. 
 
 I  go  now  to  observe  how  Dr  Whitby  thought  on  this 
 
168  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 subject.  He  gives  this  paraphrase  of  Rom.  v.  13.  '  For  it 
 '  must  be  indeed  confessed,  that  until  the  law,  sin  was  in 
 'the  world  ;  but  it  must  also  be  acknowledged,  that  sin  is 
 '  not  generally  then  imputed  to  death,  when  there  is  no  law 
 1  condemning  men  to  death  for  it.'  And  in  his  annotation, 
 he  says,  '  I  add  generally,  because,  though  all  men  died 
 (  after  Adam,  all  were  not  punished  with  death  for  their  own 
 f  personal  sins,  but  only  the  antideluvians  and  the  Sodom- 
 (  ites.'  We  shall  hereafter  observe,  that  a  great  many 
 besides  these  died  for  their  own  sins  before  the  Mosaic  pro- 
 mulgation of  the  law.  But  if  a  whole  generation  of  man- 
 kind, except  eight  persons,  were  destroyed  by  the  flood  for 
 their  own  personal  sins,  as  the  scripture  asserts,  Gen.  v.  it 
 shows,  that  all  mankind  were  then,  before  the  law  of  Moses 
 was  given,  under  a  law  by  which  they  were  obnoxious  to 
 death  for  their  own  sins  ;  and  when  was  that  law  repealed  ? 
 In  the  next  paragraph  Dr  W.  says,  (  Here  also  note, 
 '  that  the  apostle  cannot  be  rationally  conceived  to  assert,  as 
 1  Mr  L.  suggests,  that  no  man  can  incur  a  penalty,  without 
 c  the  sanction  of  a  positive  law  declaring  and  establishing  that 
 *  penalty.'  It  seems  indeed  to  be  a  strange  argument  that 
 the  Doctor  here  suggests  against  Mr  L.  :  (  For,  says  he, 
 €  this  assertion  entirely  destroys  the  obligation  of  the  hea- 
 
 <  thens  to  perform  any  duty,  since  no  man  can  be  obliged 
 '  to  do  that  which  he  may  omit  without  fear  of  punishment, 
 '  and  renders  the  heathens,  who  had  no  positive  law  given 
 '  them,   incapable   of  incurring  any   penalty   by  any   sins 
 
 <  they  had  committed.'  This  were  indeed  absurd.  Yet 
 doth  this  entirely  destroy  the  obligation  of  the  heathens  to 
 do  their  duty  ?  Are  men  indeed  under  no  obligation  to  duty, 
 but  what  arises  from  the  consideration  of  punishment?  How- 
 ever, as  this  writer  asserts  here,  that  no  man  can  be  obliged 
 to  do  that  which  he  may  omit  without  punishment,  one 
 might  readily  think,  that  such  a  writer  should  necessarily 
 hold,  in  consequence  of  such  a  sentiment,  that  nothing  could 
 be  accounted  a  law  that  had  not  a  sanction  prescribing 
 punishment. 
 
 Let  us,  however,  observe  the  Doctor's  paraphrase  of  Rom. 
 vii.  9-  which  is  precisely  thus :  c  For  I  the  seed  of  Abraham 
 '  was  alive,  or  indeed  lived  without  the  law  once,  before  the 
 '  law  was  given,  I  not  being  obnoxious  to  death  for  that  to; 
 '  which   the   law  had  not  threatened  death  ;   but  when  the 
 
 <  commandment  came,  forbidding  it  under  that  penalty,  sin 
 t  revived,  and  I  died,  i.e.  it  got  strength  to  draw  me  to  sin, 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law,  169 
 
 (  and  to  condemn  me  to  death/  Here  there  is  only  men- 
 tion of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  in  the  interval  between  him 
 and  the  giving  of  the  law  by  Moses.  But  if  they  whose  sin 
 was  aggravated  by  the  advantage  they  had  of  divine  revela- 
 tion in  that  interval,  were  not  obnoxious  to  death  for  their 
 sins,  much  less  the  heathens,  wTho,  as  the  Doctor  says,  had 
 no  positive  law  given  them,  nor  revelation,  in  that  interval, 
 or  until  the  times  of  the  gospel. 
 
 I  now  observe  the  Doctor's  paraphrase  of  Rom.  v.  14. 
 which  is  thus :  •'  Nevertheless,  death  reigned  from  Adam  to 
 '  Moses,  the  giver  of  a  new  law,  threatening  death  to  the 
 '  transgressors  of  it,  even  over  them  who  had  not  sinned  after 
 1  the  similitude  of  Adams  transgression  ;  i.e.  men  were  all 
 (  the  while  subject  to  death,  though  they  sinned  not  as 
 *  Adam  did  against  an  express  law,  threatening  death  to 
 6  them  for  it,  and  therefore  death  must  reign  over  them  for 
 ?  the  sin  of  Adam.*  We  have  seen  the  Doctor  contradict- 
 ing Mr  L.'s  notion  ;  but  wherein  does  he  differ  from  him, 
 if  it  is  not  that  Mr  L.  says,  a  man  could  not  incur  punish- 
 ment  ?  Dr  VV.  says,  a  man  was  not  obnoxious  to  death,  until 
 the  law  was  given  by  Moses,  for  his  own  personal  transgres- 
 sions, as  no  law  until  then  was  given  to  mankind  threaten- 
 ing death.  However,  if  a  man  was  not  obnoxious  to  death, 
 unless  the  law  he  was  under  did  denounce  death  for  trans- 
 gression expressly,  as  Dr  W.  thought,  certainly  there  is  as 
 good  reason  for  saying  a  man  could  not  incur  punishment 
 unless  he  was  under  a  positive  law  denouncing  punishment 
 expressly  for  sin.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  evident,  though  these 
 writers  contradict  one  another,  that  they  were  on  the  main 
 of  the  same  opinion.  Dr  W.  contradicts  Mr  L/s  notion, 
 and  brings  arguments  against  it ;  and  yet  adopts  it  when 
 he  finds  use  for  it  to  explain  some  texts,  without  hurting  his 
 own  hypothesis  and  opinion  in  a  matter  of  doctrine. 
 
 Let  us  now  observe  the  sentiments  of  Dr  Taylor  of  Nor- 
 wich on  this  subject.  The  writings  of  this  author  are  now 
 in  the  hands  of  many  ;  and  with  some  he  bears  the  charac- 
 ter of  a  masterly  critic.  We  shall  here  have  a  swatch  of  his 
 skill  in  that  way,  and  of  the  accuracy  of  his  notions  and  ex- 
 pression. Dr  T.  held,  that  Christ  did  not  undergo  the  pu- 
 nishment of  our  sins  in  order  to  redeem  us  from  punishment 
 for  our  sins,  and  so  to  satisfy  the  sanction  of  the  law,  which 
 denounced  punishment  and  death  for  transgression.  Suitable 
 and  helpful  to  this  doctrine,  (hitherto  held  by  the  Christian 
 church  to  be  very  heretical)  is  this  notion,  That  a  sanction 
 
170  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 denouncing  punishment  and  death  for  sin,  is  not  essential  to 
 the  law  itself;  but  that  the  law  hath  been  for  many  ages 
 without  having  any  such  sanction  or  threatening  annexed 
 to  it.  There  is  no  cause  then  to  wonder  he  should  very 
 readily  fall  in  with  this  notion  of  Mr  L.'s.  This  is  not  the 
 only  instance  that  gives  occasion  to  say,  that  Dr  T.,  mounted 
 as  it  were  on  the  shoulders  of  Dr  W.  and  Mr  L.,  has  pre- 
 tended to  see  farther  than  either  of  them,  and  to  reject  every 
 particular  article,  almost  even  the  most  essential,  of  Chris- 
 tian faith  and  gospel  doctrine. 
 
 In  the  general,  he  acknowledges  that  every  transgression  of 
 the  law  doth,  in  its  own  nature,  and  in  strict  justice,  deserve 
 death.  It  may  seem  hard  to  think  that  the  other  two  writers 
 did  not  think  and  mean  so  too.  Yet  how  could  they  say, 
 that  a  man  could  not  incur  punishment  or  death  for  his  sin, 
 but  by  virtue  of  a  positive  law  expressly  threatening  it? 
 which  amounts  to  this,  that  however  men's  sins  deserved 
 punishment  and  death,  yet  they  could  not  incur  it ;  or,  which 
 is  the  same  thing,  God  could  not  punish,  according  to  their 
 deserts,  the  sins  of  the  far  greatest  part  of  mankind,  to  whom 
 such  a  law,  as  hath  been  mentioned,  was  not  given. 
 
 To  proceed  distinctly,  it  is  fit  to  represent  this  writer's  ac- 
 count of  the  different  senses  of  law.  In  his  note  on  Rom. 
 v.  20.  he  says,  c  The  apostle  uses  the  word  law  in  various 
 c  senses ;  sometimes  for  a  rule  in  general ;  sometimes  for 
 €  the  whole  Jewish  code,  or  the  Old  Testament ;  some- 
 '  times  for  a  rule  of  action  ;  sometimes  for  a  rule  of  ac- 
 *  tion  with  the  penalty  of  death  annexed,  as  here,  Rom.  v. 
 '  20.,  and  chap.  vi.  15.  ;  vii.  4.  &c.  Such  a  law  Adam  was 
 c  under,  (In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  dying  thou  shall 
 '  die; J  and  such  a  constitution  the  law  of  Moses  was  sub- 
 '  jecting  those  who  were  under  it  to  death  for  every  trans- 
 1  gression.'  In  like  manner,  {Orig.  Sin,  p.  390,  ed.  3.)  he 
 says,  '  By  law,  the  apostle  here  (Rom.  v.  13,  14.)  doth 
 c  not  only  mean  a  rule  of  duty,  but  such  a  rule  with  the 
 c  penalty  of  death  threatened  for  every  transgression  of  it. 
 '  Such  was  the  covenant  at  Sinai,  or  the  law  given  by  Moses 
 '  — and  such  was  the  covenant  under  which  Adam  ori- 
 1  ginally  was.'  I  wish  he  had  proven  this  last  assertion. 
 The  penalty  of  death  was  indeed  annexed  to  one  special  pro- 
 batory precept  respecting  the  forbidden  fruit.  But  I  see 
 not  in  the  history,  in  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis,  the  men- 
 tion or  hint  of  such  threatening  annexed  to  the  law  in  gene- 
 ral, or  to  any  other  particular  precept.    So,  for  aught  that  is 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  171 
 
 mentioned  there,  Adam  might,  according  to  this  writer's  no- 
 tions, have  transgressed  a  thousand  times,  and  not  be  ob- 
 noxious to  death,  if  he  had  not  meddled  with  the  forbidden 
 fruit.  I  would  be  glad  to  see  how  one  of  his  sentiments 
 would  prove  Adam  to  have  been  under  a  covenant  or  law, 
 making  him  obnoxious  to  death  for  every  transgression,  so 
 as  not  to  prove  that  men  in  all  times  were  under  such  a  law. 
 Law,  with  the  penalty  of  death  annexed  to  the  precept,  is 
 what  this  writer  calls  rigour  of  law  ;  and  Adam  having  been 
 under  such  a  law,  he  says  it  was  abolished  upon  his  fall.  So 
 he  says,  (Orig.  Sin,  p.  38Q.)  '  That  covenant  (under  which 
 '  Adam  was)  was  the  covenant  of  works,  the  same  in  nature 
 e  with  the  Sinai  covenant.  Under  this  covenant  Adam  was 
 *  when  he  sinned.  But  it  was  disannulled  immediately  after 
 '  that.  For  even  before  God  passed  sentence  upon  Adam 
 e  and  Eve,  grace  was  introduced  by  that  promise,  Gen.  iii. 
 '  15/  According  to  him,  then,  from  the  time  that  promise 
 was  given,  all  mankind  were  under  grace,  until  the  matter 
 was  altered,  with  respect  to  the  Jews,  by  the  law  of  Moses. 
 '  From  Moses  to  Christ  (saith  he,  Orig.  Sin,  p.  394.)  the 
 c  Jews  were  under  the  law.  But  the  rest  of  mankind,  though 
 '  they  always  had  a  rule  of  action,  yet  never  were  under  the 
 1  law,  in  the  sense  above  explained/  That  is,  not  under  a 
 law  fenced  with  a  threatening  of  death.  All  mankind,  accord- 
 ing to  him,  have  been,  from  the  time  of  the  first  promise, 
 under  grace. 
 
 So,  then,  by  this  writer's  notion  of  things,  the  first  promise, 
 Gen.  iii.  15.  disarmed  the  law  of  its  penal  sanction,  and  dis- 
 annulled the  covenant  of  works.  But  this  is  a  great  mistake, 
 and  is  asserted  without  any  warrant  or  good  reason.  It  is 
 true,  the  law,  or  covenant  of  wTorks,  by  its  tenor  could  not  be 
 a  covenant  of  life  to  sinners.  Grace  showed  them  a  way  to 
 escape  the  wrath  denounced  by  the  law  for  sin ;  and  we  know 
 by  gospel-light,  that  this  wras  such  a  way  as  did  not  abro- 
 gate or  disannul  the  penal  sanction  of  the  law,  but  satisfied 
 it.  Though  man  transgressed,  and  broke  the  covenant  of 
 works,  there  is  no  reason  to  say,  that  that  covenant  was 
 disannulled,  or  the  law  disarmed  of  its  penal  sanction.  The 
 case  plainly  is,  grace  being  manifested,  it  took  effect  from 
 thenceforth,  for  the  salvation  of  those  who  laid  hold  of  it  by 
 faith,  and  improved  it  for  salvation.  But  the  penal  sanction 
 of  the  law  continued  in  force,  takes  effect  at  all  times,  and  for 
 ever,  against  the  impenitent  and  unbelievers. 
 
 Law,  and  the  penal  sanction  being,  as  he  says,  abolished, 
 
172 
 
 An  E, 
 
 ssay  concerning 
 
 let  us  observe  some  of  the  consequences.  Dr  T.  hath  (Orig. 
 Sin,  p.  393.)  as  follows:  f  When  he  says,  (Rom.  v.  13.)  But 
 c  sin  is  not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law,  or,  when  law  is  not 
 '  in  being,  he  means  the  sins  of  those  persons  (from  Adam 
 f  to  Moses)  were  not  imputed  to  them,  so  as  to  subject  them 
 (  to  death,  because  law,  which  subjects  transgressors  to 
 '  death,  was  not  in  being.  Take  good  notice,'  (pray  do, 
 reader,  for  it  is  a  notable  sentiment  that  now  comes  forth) 
 c  according  to  the  apostle,  and  the  true  nature  of  things,  it 
 
 *  is  only  law  which  slays  the  sinner.  For  did  not  the  law, 
 '  or  the  constitution  of  the  Lawgiver,  condemn  him  unto 
 <  death,  he  might,  notwithstanding  his  sin,  live  for  ever,  for 
 
 *  he  might  from  time  to  time  be  pardoned/ 
 
 Here  are  rare  things.  Pardon  imports  remitting  the  pu- 
 nishment which  the  sinner  is  obnoxious  to,  and  obliged  to 
 undergo ;  and  must  be  so  understood  in  this  passage,  where 
 pardon  is  mentioned  as  that  by  which  the  sinner  might  live 
 for  ever,  and  be  saved  from  dying.  But  what  need  of  pardon 
 to  save  a  man  from  death,  who  is  not  for  his  sins  obnoxious 
 to  it,  and  is  not  under  a  law  condemning  him  to  death  for 
 his  sin  ?  I  would  likewise  ask,  if  a  man  was  under  a  law  con- 
 demning him  to  death  for  sin,  might  not  a  pardon  relieve 
 him,  and  save  him  from  it  ?  Old  Luther  and  Calvin,  who 
 were  in  use  to  call  things  by  their  proper  names,  would  have 
 called  the  author  of  such  a  passage,  nebulo.  However,  ac- 
 cording to  this  author,  from  Adam  to  Moses  there  was  no  law 
 condemning  men  to  death  for  their  sins  ;  all  mankind  were, 
 yea,  are  now  under  grace,  the  grace  of  the  new  covenant  ; 
 even  pagans,  who  never  heard  of  grace,  or  of  the  promise,  or 
 of  Christ,  through  whom  grace  is  conveyed  to  sinners.  We 
 know  from  what  source  this  notion  is  derived.  But  this  is 
 not  a  proper  place  to  enlarge  on  that  subject.  Let  us  now  see 
 the  evidence  Dr  T.  brings,  that  such  law,  as  he  describes, 
 was  introduced  among  the  Jews  ;  for  he  is  at  pains  to  prove 
 it. 
 
 In  his  note  on  Rom.  v.  20.  he  puts  the  question,  c  What 
 e  evidence  have  we  that  the  law  of  Moses  was  law  in  the  ri- 
 '  gorous  sense,  subjecting  to  death  for  every  transgression  ?' 
 I  would  not  have  troubled  the  author  with  such  a  question, 
 or  have  asked  a  proof  of  what  every  one  knows,  and  none,  I 
 think,  denies.  Let  us,  however,  observe  how  he  answers  it, 
 and  what  proof  he  brings.  (  The  apostle  (saith  he)  did — 
 '  certainly  so  understand  it,  as  appears  by  this  place  here ; 
 c  where,  having  spoken  of  Adam's  one  tt<»^tta»^,  lapse,  or 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law  173 
 
 '  offence,  he  tells  us,  that  the  law  entered  that  the  lapse  or 
 4  offence  might  abound,  or  be  multiplied.  Now  the  law  entered 
 1  only  among  the  Jews,  and  it  could  not  enter  so  as  to  mul- 
 '  tiply  the  lapse  or  offence,  which  before  was  but  one,  if  it 
 *  were  not  of  the  same  nature  with  the  law  given  to  Adam.' 
 By  the  explication  I  have  elsewhere  given  of  this  text,  it  is 
 made  very  evident,  that  it  will  by  no  means  answer  this 
 writer's  purpose.     (See  on  Chap.  vi.  1.) 
 
 Dr  T.  supposes,  that  7ru^oi7rraff^x,  rendered  offence,  is  to  be 
 restricted  to  such  as  subjects  the  guilty  to  death,  which  he 
 thought  sins  of  men  before  the  Mosaic  law,  since  the  fall  of 
 Adam,  did  not ;  and  so,  whereas  Adam's  sin  in  eating  the 
 forbidden  fruit  was  the  only  lapse  before,  yet  now  the  Mosaic- 
 law,  annexing  death  to  sin,  the  lapse,  or  ^^ccktmucc,  was  mul- 
 tiplied to  as  great  a  number  as  all  the  sins  of  the  millions 
 who  were  under  that  law.  But  what  warrant  had  he  to 
 make  this  distinction  between  lapses  and  other  sins  !  He  did 
 not,  he  could  not  say,  that  otpx^rux,  had  any  thing  special  in 
 the  sense  of  it  more  than  our  language  expresses  by  the  word 
 sin.  Yet  every  one  knows,  that  these  two  words  are  inter- 
 changeably used,  yea,  are  so  in  the  very  verse  he  is  com- 
 menting on.  The  first  clause  is,  The  law  entered,  that  the 
 offence  (woi^oi^ra^ct)  ?night  abound.  The  next  clause  is,  But 
 where  sin  abounded. — It  is  plain,  that  sin  in  the  one  clause, 
 and  offence  in  the  other,  are  words  of  the  same  meaning. 
 It  were  vain  to  say,  that  as  the  words  are  different,  they 
 mean  differently.  The  evident  design  and  scope  of  the  verse 
 will  not  allow  it ;  and  the  matter  is  put  beyond  question  by 
 ver.  16.  the  last  clause  of  which  is,  The  free  gift  is  of  many 
 offences  unto  justification.  Here  the  word  is  ttoc^cctttojux,  the 
 same  as  in  the  first  clause  of  ver.  20.  And  it  is  plain,  that 
 the  word,  ver.  16.  includes  the  offences  of  men  of  all  nations 
 and  times,  who  are  justified  or  pardoned.  It  appears,  then, 
 though  the  word  is  used  in  this  context,  concerning  the 
 one  sin  of  Adam,  that  there  is  no  good  reason  for  restricting 
 its  meaning  in  the  first  clause  of  ver.  20.  since  in  the  last 
 clause  of  ver.  16.  in  the  same  context,  the  word  appears 
 without  restriction  to  Adam's  sin,  or  to  sins  against  the  Mo- 
 saic law ;  but  includes  sins  that  are  neither  the  one  or  the 
 other  of  these. 
 
 To  this  he  subjoins  another  argument,  to  prove  that  the 
 law  of  Moses  subjected  the  transgressor  to  death  for  every 
 sin ;  thus  :  c  Besides  this,  (saith  he)  he  (the  apostle)  give? 
 '  a  substantial  and  undeniable  proof,  taken  out  of  the  law 
 
 H 
 
m 
 
 174  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 c  itself,  Gal.  iii.  10.  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not, 
 '  &c.  This  denunciation  of  the  law  we  find,  Deut.  xxvii. 
 c  26/  A  few  lines  downwards  he  argues  and  says,  e  This 
 c  curse,  without  doubt,  rendered  the  transgressors  obnoxious 
 (  to  death/  It  certainly  did  so.  But  did  he  indeed  think 
 that  the  law  which  the  Gentiles  were  under,  which  was  not  the 
 law  of  Moses,  did  not  assign  the  curse  to  transgressors  ? 
 Alas !  many  were  the  sad  symptoms  that  proved  that  the 
 curse  lay  heavy  upon  them.  He  might  in  Gal.  iii.  a  few 
 verses  below  that  cited  by  him,  have  observed,  ver.  13,  14. 
 Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse. — The  Galatians  were 
 Gentiles  who  had  not  been  under  the  law  of  Moses.  The 
 apostle  all  along  considers  them  as  such,  and  warns  them 
 to  hold  fast  the  privilege  and  liberty  he  had  been  asserting 
 for  them  as  Gentiles.  But  how  vainly  had  he  said  to  them, 
 Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being 
 made  a  curse  for  us,  if  the  law  they  had  been  under,  not 
 that  of  Moses,  did  not  subject  them  to  a  curse  for  their 
 sins  ?  Thus  far,  in  order  to  be  the  better  acquainted  with 
 Dr  T/s  way  of  reasoning  and  criticism,  we  have  followed 
 him  in  the  arguments  he  brings  laboriously  to  prove  what 
 none  ever  denied,  viz.  that  the  law  of  Moses  denounced 
 death  and  the  curse  to  transgressors,  which  he  calls  law  in 
 the  rigorous  sense. 
 
 Let  us  now  proceed  to  observe  the  consequence  to  the 
 Jews,  of  law  in  the  rigorous  sense  being  introduced  among 
 them.  The  effect  of  it  is  thus  expressed  by  Dr  T.  (Orig. 
 Sin,  p.  292.)  :  '  When  the  commandment  came  with  the 
 c  penalty  of  death  annexed  to  it,  then  sin,  the  sting  of  death, 
 1  revived  ;  then  it  acquired  full  life  and  vigour,  and  the  Jew 
 f  died,  i.e.  was  a  dead  man  in  law,  upon  the  first  transgres- 
 c  sion  he  committed.'  Alas,  for  the  peculiar  and  favourite 
 people  !  How  could  a  man  of  Israel,  or  the  nation  subsist 
 for  a  day,  under  such  a  law,  which,  according  to  our  author, 
 no  other  nation  were  burdened  with  ?  But  the  author  (we 
 thank  him)  soon  relieves  our  anxiety  for  the  Jew,  in  the 
 next  following  words  :  e  Though  he  had  the  relief  of  the 
 '  gospel  as  well  (so  this  author)  as  the  rest  of  mankind,  to 
 c  heal  the  deadly  wound/  I  can  understand  that  the  Jew 
 had  relief  by  the  gospel ;  for  the  gospel  (according  to  Gal. 
 iii.  8.)  was  preached  to  Abraham  ;  but  it  is  not  so  easily  un- 
 derstood, how  the  rest  of  mankind  (during  the  peculiarity 
 of  the  Jews)  had  the  relief  of  the  gospel.  However,  by  this 
 account  all  is  well  for  the  Jew  ;  now  we  see  the  difference,  as 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law,  175 
 
 to  their  spiritual  state,  between  the  Jews  under  rigorous  law, 
 and  the  Gentiles.  The  Jews,  obnoxious  to  death  by  the  law 
 they  were  under,  might  attain  salvation  by  the  grace  they 
 were  under  at  the  same  time.  The  Gentiles,  continuing  im- 
 penitent, were  to  perish  eternally,  Rom.  ii.  12.  which  they 
 could  not  be  adjudged  to,  but  according  to  the  law  they  were 
 under.  Is  this  now  all  that  Dr  T/s  critical  labour  on  this 
 point  has  produced  ? 
 
 Having  given  a  view  of  the  sentiments  of  these  writers, 
 with  such  remarks  on  the  several  passages  as  occurred,  I 
 now  come  to  consider  more  closely  and  distinctly  the  subject 
 itself.  The  truth  which  we  hold  is, — That  every  man,  of  all 
 nations  and  in  every  time,  hath  been  obnoxious,  for  sin,  to 
 death,  in  all  its  extent  and  meaning,  by  the  law  of  God,  and 
 its  just  sanction.  The  opposite  notion  is, — That  as  no  man  is 
 obnoxious  to,  or  can  incur  death  or  punishment,  but  by  a 
 positive  law,  expressly  determining  that  punishment;  so  no 
 man  or  nation,  since  the  fall  of  Adam,  hath  been  under  such 
 a  law,  adjudging  them  to  death  for  their  personal  sins,  until 
 the  law  given  by  Moses,  under  which  the  Jews  alone  were. 
 
 The  case  of  the  antediluvians  and  Sodomites  do  strongly 
 contradict  this  notion.  Dr  W.  speaks  concerning  the  for- 
 mer thus,  (note  on  Rom.  v.  13.)  e  To  say  that  they  who 
 '  were  swept  away  by  the  flood  with  an  untimely  death  did 
 1  not  die  for  their  own  sins,  but  for  Adam's  sin,  is  to  con- 
 c  tradict  God  himself,  saying,  /  will  destroy  man  from  the 
 c  earth  ;  for  the  iniquity  of  man  is  very  great,'  &c.  Gen.  v. 
 
 Something  hath  been  said  on  this  case  before.  Mr  L.  an- 
 swers, (note  on  Rom.  v.  1 5.)  and  says,  That  some  have  been 
 led  so  far  out  of  the  way,  as  to  allege,  that  men  in  the  deluge 
 died  for  their  own  sins.  Was  this  going  far  out  of  the  way, 
 or  was  it  not  true  ?  His  own  very  next  words  do  so 
 acknowledge.  '  It  is  true/  says  he,  '  they  did  so ;  but  it  is 
 c  as  true,  that  by  their  own  sins  they  were  not  made  mortal : 
 '  they  were  so  before  by  their  father  Adam's  eating  the  for- 
 c  bidden  fruit.  So  that  what  they  paid  for  their  own  sins, 
 (  was  not  immortality,  which  they  had  not,  but  a  few  years 
 1  of  their  own  finite  lives ;  which  having  been  let  alone, 
 1  would  every  one  of  them  in  a  short  time  have  come  to 
 '  an  end/  This  answer  is  far  from  being  satisfying.  Men 
 became  universally  mortal  by  Adam's  sin.  But  the  inflic- 
 tion of  actual  death  on  the  antediluvians  for  their  own  per- 
 sonal sins,  as  is  asserted  in  Scripture,  behoved  to  be  by  a 
 law  they  were  under,  which  assigned  death  to  men  for  their 
 
170  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 personal  sins  ;  and  by  that  sad  instance,  it  appears  to  have 
 been  a  law  that  would  have  adjudged  them  to  death,  though 
 they  had  not  been  in  a  state  of  mortality  before.  But  I  say 
 further,  when  the  law  of  Moses  entered,  threatening  death 
 to  the  men  of  Israel  for  every  transgression,  was  it  by  this 
 law  the  men  of  Israel  became  mortal  ?  This  will  not  be  said. 
 It  might  then  be  said  of  the  men  of  Israel,  of  the  Mosaic 
 period,  as  Mr  L.  says  of  the  men  of  the  former  period, 
 what  they  paid  for  their  own  sins  was  not  immortality,  but  a 
 few  years  of  their  own  finite  lives.  As  to  those  who  held 
 that  no  more  was  imported  by  the  death  threatened  for  eating 
 the  forbidden  fruit,  than  mere  natural  death,  or  the  dissolu- 
 tion of  their  natural  frame,  I  would  ask  one  thing  yet :  Did 
 the  Israelites  under  the  Mosaic  law  undergo  death  more,  or 
 in  a  more  terrible  manner,  than  other  nations  ?  For  if  Is- 
 rael was  brought  under  a  law,  with  such  a  sanction,  which 
 other  nations  were  not  under,  we  might  reasonably  think  the 
 consequence  would  be — more  dying,  more  of  sudden  and  pre- 
 mature deaths,  death  in  a  more  terrible  manner  and  form, 
 •  than  in  any  other  nation.  But  as  to  the  ordinary  course  of 
 things,  this  distinction  did  not  appear.  Other  nations  were 
 cut  off  by  sword,  famine,  and  pestilence  ;  and  death  appear- 
 ed among  them  in  every  terrible  form.  If,  on  some  occa- 
 sions, Israel  were  subjected  to  distinguishing  judgments, 
 this  was  owing  to  the  special  aggravations  of  their  sin, 
 to  God's  special  care  of  them,  and  his  special  attention  to 
 their  behaviour  and  welfare,  (Amos  iii.  2.)  ;  yet  when  he 
 made  an  end  of  other  nations,  he  did  not  so  deal  with  them 
 to  this  day.  These  things  give  good  cause  to  think,  that 
 Israel  were  not  brought  under  any  penal  sanction  but  that 
 which  other  nations  were  under. 
 
 Dr  W.  says,  (on  Rom.  vii.  9.)  that  in  the  antemosaic  pe- 
 riod, the  seed  of  Abraham  were  not,  by  any  law  they  were 
 under,  obnoxious  to  death  for  their  personal  sins.  But  here 
 are  two  notable  instances,  even  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  wTho 
 suffered  death  for  their  personal  sins  in  that  period,  Gen. 
 xxxviii.  7*  Er — was  wicked  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
 Lord  slew  him  ;  and  ver.  10,  The  thing  that  he  [Onan]  did 
 displeased  the  Lord,  wherefore  he  slew  him  also. 
 
 In  the  period  before  giving  the  law  at  Sinai,  when,  ac- 
 cording to  these  writers,  none  of  mankind  were  obnoxious 
 to  death  for  their  personal  sins,  Pharaoh,  and  a  great  army 
 of  Egyptians,  were  put  to  death  in  the  Red  Sea,  for  their 
 personal  sins,  by  the  immediate  hand  of  God.     The  Mosaic 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  1 77 
 
 law  could  not  be  a  rule  of  conduct  or  judgment  respecting 
 the  seven  nations  of  Canaan  ;  yet,  when  the  measure  of  their 
 iniquity  came  to  be  full,  they  were  appointed  to  be  destroy- 
 ed, Deut.  vii.  and  chap.  xx. ;  and  the  whole  nation  of  the 
 Amalekites  were  ordered  to  utter  excision  for  other  sins  than 
 that  of  Adam. 
 
 One  argument  respecting  this  subject  from  Gal.  iii.  13, 
 14.  has  been  urged  before,  and  it  has  been  proved  by  it,  that 
 the  Gentiles,  who  were  not  under  the  Mosaic  law,  were  ne- 
 vertheless under  the  penal  sanction  and  curse  of  God's  law, 
 by  the  law  they  were  under.  I  go  now  to  observe  what  the 
 apostle  Paul  says,  Rom.  ii.  12.  As  many  as  have  sinned  with- 
 out  law,  shall  also  perish  without  law  ;  and  as  many  as  have 
 sinned  in  (or  under)  the  law,  shall  be  judged  by  the  law.  Mr 
 L.'s  note  on  this  observes  the  different  words  in  the  first  and 
 second  clause,  octtoXowtoci,  shall  perish,  and  K^Yia-evrcii,  shall 
 be  judged ;  and  says,  '  St  Paul  doth  not  use  these  so  emi- 
 1  nently  differing  expressions  for  nothing.'  The  eminent 
 difference  of  meaning  in  this  place  I  have  not  perceived. 
 What  he  understood  himself  here  by  perishing,  he  hath  not 
 explained.  It  is  very  likely  he  meant  the  same  with  a  wri- 
 ter to  be  presently  mentioned,  viz.  going  to  non-existence, 
 or  ceasing  to  be.  But  if  this  same  is  what  the  law  they 
 were  under  adjudged  impenitent  Gentiles  to,  that  law  had  a 
 heavy  and  awful  sanction.  However,  his  notion  of  the  word 
 rendered  perish,  is  fully  confuted  by  Dr  W.  and  Wolfius  on 
 the  place.  The  former,  in  opposition  to  the  extravagant 
 opinion  of  Dr  Dodwel,  brings  divers  texts,  wherein  the 
 word  is  used  with  regard  to  persons,  who,  Dr  Dodwel  would 
 acknowledge,  would  be  subjected  to  everlasting  suffering 
 and  misery,  as  the  reader  may  see  by  looking  to  those  texts 
 themselves  wherein  the  word  is  used,  without  my  saying 
 any  thing  particular  concerning  them.  Rom.  xiv.  15.  1  Cor. 
 viii.  II.  2  Cor.  ii.  15.  2  Thes.  ii.  10.  2  Peter  iii.  9.  John  xvii. 
 12.  Mark  i.  24.  Matth.  v.  29.  chap,  xviii.  14.  Matth.  x.  3g. 
 chap.  xvi.  25.  Matth.  x.  28.  Dr  T.  gives  this  text,  Rom. 
 ii.  12.  thus:  '  They  who  shall  be  found  to  have  transgres- 
 1  sed  against  the  mere  light  of  nature,  shall  not  come  under 
 '  the  same  rule  with  such  as  have  enjoyed  an  extraordinary 
 '  revelation.'  No,  they  shall  not  be  so  heavily  punished  as 
 they  whose  sin  is  more  aggravated.  But  Dr  T.'s  paraphrase 
 is  contrived  to  hide  much  of  the  light  of  this  text  from  his 
 reader.  The  text  says,  they  shall  perish  ;  the  true  sense  of 
 which  appears  by  the  texts  just  now  cited.     Gentiles  then 
 
178  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 were  under  a  law  that  adjudged  them  to  perish  for  sin.  A» 
 to  the  latter  word,  rendered  shall  be  judged,  it  also  very 
 commonly  means,  condemned  ;  of  which  it  is  needless  to 
 bring  instances,  as  none  will  deny  it.  But  to  what  were 
 Jews  sinning  under  the  law  condemned,  but  to  perish  or  die 
 eternally  ? 
 
 Further,  the  point  we  are  upon  is  very  clear  by  what  we 
 have  besides  in  that  chapter,  Rom.  ii.  If  we  trace  from 
 ver.  5.  there  it  is  said,  that  the  impenitent  do  treasure  up  to 
 themselves  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  ;  when  ver.  6. 
 God  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds  ;  to  some, 
 ver.  7-  eternal  life ;  to  others,  ver.  8,  9*  indignation  and 
 wrath  ;  tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul  of  man  that 
 doth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the  Gentile.  By 
 this  it  appears,  that  the  Gentile,  though  not  under  the  law 
 of  Moses,  was  under  a  law  that  assigned  to  him  for  sin  in- 
 dignation and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish.  What  we 
 have  seen  in  this  chapter,  (Rom.  ii.)  on  which  these  learned 
 writers  have  been  able  to  say  so  little,  to  support  their  opi- 
 nion, is  as  good  as  a  hundred  arguments,  to  confute  the 
 strange  notion  concerning  the  law  that  we  are  considering. 
 
 I  here  observe  an  odd  sentiment  of  Dr  W/s,  or  a  senti- 
 ment oddly  expressed,  concerning  the  law,  on  Rom.  vii. 
 8 — 11.  Arguing  against  those  injudicious  commentators, 
 as  he  calls  them,  who  thought  that  the  advantage  which  sin 
 got  by  the  law,  was  because  the  law  assigned  no  penalty  for 
 inward  impurities,  covetousness,  for  instance :  '  If,'  says 
 he,  '  the  law  given  them  encouraged  them  to  covet,  be- 
 '  cause  it  had  no  present  penalty  annexed  to  it,  they  must 
 t  be  more  free  to  covet,  or  follow  their  natural  or  carnal  in- 
 '  clination,  when  there  was  no  law  at  all  forbidding  them  to 
 '  covet.'  No  law  at  all !  when  was  it  so?  He  must  mean, 
 before  the  Mosaic  promulgation  of  the  law ;  and  those  at  all 
 times,  who  had  not  the  light  of  that  law.  Yet  as  to  the 
 Gentiles,  against  whom  the  transgression  of  that  law  could 
 not  be  charged,  we  find  covetousness  mentioned  among  the 
 sins  which  they  are  said,  Rom.  i.  32.  to  have  known,  by  the 
 light  of  the  law  in  their  own  consciences,  to  have  been  sins, 
 and  worthy  of  death  by  the  righteous  judgment  of  God ; 
 and  so,  according  to  what  did  appear  on  Rom.  ii.  12.  for  co- 
 vetousness unpardoned,  they  behoved  to  perish  by  the  law 
 written  in  their  own  conscience. 
 
 Let  us  now  consider  what  the  apostle  says  of  the  heathen 
 Gentiles,   Rom.  i.  32.  Who  knowing  the  judgment  of  God, 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  179 
 
 (that  they  who  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of  death)  not 
 only  do  the  same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them. 
 On  this  Dr  W.  says,  (  That  murder,  adultery,  and  unna- 
 '  tural  lusts  deserved  death,  they  knew,  not  only  by  the 
 c  light  of  nature  and  of  conscience,  but  by  their  own  laws, 
 1  condemning  them  to  death/  But  in  the  list  there  given 
 by  the  apostle  of  sins  common  among  the  Gentiles,  he  men- 
 tions not  only  these  three  very  atrocious  sorts,  but  also  co- 
 vetousness,  maliciousness,  backbiting,  envy,  &c.  Therefore 
 the  Doctor  adds,  '  That  all  these  sins,  being  species  of  in- 
 '  justice,  condemned  by  the  law  of  nature,  rendered  them 
 '  obnoxious  to  the  displeasure  of  God,  who  is  the  governor  of 
 €  the  world,  and  the  avenger  of  all  unrighteousness,  and  so 
 '  obnoxious  to  death  for  violating  the  law  he  had  given  them/ 
 Thus  the  learned  writer,  who  said  on  Rom.  vii.  9-  that  even 
 the  seed  of  Abraham,  whose  sins  before  the  Mosaic  law 
 were  more  aggravated  than  those  of  the  heathens,  were  not 
 obnoxious  to  death  for  their  sins  until  that  law  was  given, 
 — says  here,  that  the  heathens,  who  were  never  under  that 
 law,  were  obnoxious  to  death,  even  for  inward  sinful  lusts. 
 
 This  text  bears  hard  on  Mr  Locke's  notion  of  the  law. 
 Let  us  observe  how  the  learned  gentleman  endeavours  to 
 evade  or  prevent  the  objection  by  a  various  reading  of  the 
 text,  thus  :  '  Who  knowing  the  judgment  of  God,  did  not 
 '  understand  (ov*  svwctm)  that  they  who  commit  such  things 
 t  are  worthy  of  death/  So  he  would  have  the  text  say  the 
 quite  contrary  to  that  for  which  I  have  adduced  it.  How- 
 ever, the  text,  according  to  this  same  reading,  says,  the 
 heathens  knew  the  judgment  of  God;  and  (saith  Dr  \V.) 
 what  righteous  judgment  of  God  could  they  know  to  be  due 
 to  them  who  did  these  things,  who  knew  not  that  they  were 
 worthy  of  death  ? 
 
 Mr  L.  says,  there  is  another,  besides  the  Clermont  copy, 
 that  reads  so  ;  but  tells  not  which.  Beza  mentions  the  Cler- 
 mont copy,  and  says,  it  is  according  to  our  common  read- 
 ing in  all  the  Greek  MSS.  copies  besides  that  he  saw ;  and 
 he  saw  a  great  many.  Dr  Mills,  according  to  his  humour 
 of  unfixing  the  reading  of  every  text,  when  he  could  find 
 any  the  least  pretence  for  it,  prefers  the  Clermont  reading. 
 Dr  W.  in  his  Examin  Millii,  confutes  him,  and  does  very 
 sufficiently  support  the  common  reading.  Wolfius  hath  done 
 so  more  lately ;  and  to  them  I  refer,  to  avoid  prolixity. 
 
 The  Clermont  reading  seems  by  no  means  to  suit  the 
 apostle's  scope.     That  appears  to  be,  not  only  to  show  men's 
 
180  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 guilt,  but  also  to  show  the  aggravations  of  their  guilt ;  as, 
 that  they  sinned  against  light,  and  the  natural  notions  of 
 God,  ver.  20,  21.  And  so  in  this  ver.  32.  it  would  tend  to 
 aggravate,  that  they  knew  that,  by  doing  such  things,  they 
 became  obnoxious  to  death.  But  to  say  that  they  under- 
 stood not  this,  tends  greatly  to  alleviate,  which  is  cross  to 
 the  apostle's  evident  purpose. 
 
 But  what  could  be  the  view  in  saying,  as  this  reading 
 hath  it,  that  they  understood  not,  or  knew  not,  that  they 
 who  did  such  things  were  worthy  of  death  ?  It  doth  clearly 
 hint,  or  insinuate,  if  they  had  known  so,  that  they  would 
 not  have  behaved  as  they  did.  This  were  to  make  the 
 apostle  speak  contrary  to  the  truth  of  experience  and  to  the 
 most  certain  common  observation,  which  shows,  that  ill 
 men  practise  in  the  same  way,  who  know  the  penal  sanction 
 of  the  divine  law,  by  the  most  sure  and  clear  revelation  ; 
 and  it  were  unreasonable  to  insinuate  the  contrary  concern- 
 ing persons  of  whom  it  was  said,  a  few  verses  before,  that 
 they  were  given  up  to  a  reprobate  mind. 
 
 After  all,  if  we  allow  the  reading  that  Mr  L.  prefers,  the 
 text  atFords  a  strong  argument  to  the  purpose  for  which  it 
 hath  been  adduced.     For, 
 
 1.  According  to  it,  though  they  did  not  know  or  under- 
 stand it,  yet  so  indeed  the  case  was,  that  they,  Gentiles  as 
 well  as  Jews,  who  commit  such  things,  are  obnoxious  to 
 death.  Why  should  notice  be  taken  of  their  ignorance,  if 
 it  was  not  a  point  of  truth  which  they  are  said  not  to  have 
 known  or  understood  ?   But, 
 
 2.  We  are  not  obliged  to  understand  the  word,  as  mean- 
 ing their  ignorance.  I  find  by  my  lexicon  (Hederici)  that 
 the  word  may  be  understood  to  import,  that  they  did  not  ad- 
 vert, think  of  it,  or  consider  it.  So,  according  to  that  same 
 reading,  the  text  may  be  understood  thus  :  Who  knowing 
 the  judgment  of  God,  (the  rule  of  righteousness  God  gave 
 them  in  the  precepts  of  his  law,  and  the  rule  of  his  own 
 righteous  judging,  set  forth  in  the  sanction  of  it,)  they,  being 
 given  up  to  a  reprobate  mind,  (ver.  28.)  did  not  advert, 
 think  of  it,  or  consider  duly,  that  by  such  practices  they  be- 
 came obnoxious  to  death. 
 
 Whichsoever,  then,  of  the  readings  mentioned  shall  be 
 chosen,  there  is  still  a  good  argument  from  this  text  to 
 prove,  that  by  the  law  the  Gentiles  were  under,  the  im- 
 pression of  which  was  in  their  consciences,  (though  they, 
 being  fully  possessed,  and  hurried  on  by  their  lusts,  did 
 
 , 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  181 
 
 not  advert  to,  or  consider  it,)  they  were  obnoxious  to  death 
 for  their  sins. 
 
 We  may  now  judge  of  the  justness  of  the  interpretation 
 given  by  Dr  W.  and  some  others,  of  Rom.  v.  14.  I  much 
 suspect  that  this  is  one  of  the  texts,  for  interpreting  which, 
 without  hurt  to  their  own  scheme  and  hypothesis,  they  are 
 so  fond  of  the  notion  concerning  the  sanction  of  the  law  we 
 are  considering.  Dr  W.  gives  it  thus  in  his  paraphrase  : 
 *  Death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that 
 1  had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adams  transgression  : 
 1  i.e.  men  were  all  the  while  subject  to  death,  though  they 
 1  sinned  not,  as  Adam  did,  against  an  express  law  threaten- 
 6  ing  death  to  them  for  it.'  But  by  the  evidence  that  hath 
 been  brought,  it  appears  that  this  interpretation  cannot 
 stand  ;  as  from  Adam  to  Moses,  and  at  all  times,  the  sins 
 of  men  were  against  a  law  that  assigned  death  to  them  for 
 their  sins. 
 
 If  it  be  objected  or  asked,  When,  or  how  was  the  pro- 
 mulgation of  the  law,  with  penal  sanction  of  death,  made 
 to  men  universally  ? — for  it  cannot  be  held  to  be  law  that  is 
 not  made  known  to  those  concerned,  and  promulgated — I 
 answer,  The  sanction  assigning  death  for  transgression,  was 
 promulgated  to  mankind  when  God  said  to  Adam  concern- 
 ing the  forbidden  fruit,  In  the  day  thou  eatest,  thou  shalt  die  ; 
 which  did  sufficiently  intimate,  that  the  punishment  of  all 
 and  every  transgression  of  the  law  of  God  was  to  be  death. 
 Since  that  time,  besides  the  divine  revelation,  of  which  the 
 church  had  ever  the  advantage  from  the  beginning,  the 
 sanction  of  the  law  appears  to  have  been  universally  made 
 known  by  the  light  and  impression  of  it  in  the  minds  of 
 men,  of  the  Gentiles,  even  of  the  worst  sorts  of  them,  as 
 we  have  seen  in  Rom.  i.  32.  If  they  had  their  bloody  sa- 
 crifices, there  hath  been  observed  by  the  learned,  in  their 
 writings,  and  in  history,  what  shows  that  they  considered 
 the  victims  as  substituted  in  their  stead,  to  save  them  from 
 the  death  and  destruction  they  were  obnoxious  to  for  their 
 sins.  Whatever  shift  they  made  ordinarily  to  keep  their 
 minds  easy,  yet  their  apprehensions  of  destruction  by  the 
 wrath  of  heaven  for  their  sins  were  easily  awakened*  On 
 such  occasions  they  multiplied  their  sacrifices,  and  whole 
 hetacombs  were  offered.  If  there  were  greater  appearance 
 of  judgment  and  destruction  threatened,  human  sacrifices, 
 sometimes  in  considerable  number,  were  offered.  There  is 
 a  very  shocking  instance  of  such  human  sacrifice  recorded, 
 
 h  5 
 
182  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 2  Kings  iii.  27-  when  the  king  of  Moab  saw  providence  giv- 
 ing the  advantage  to  his  enemies  against  the  greatest  efforts 
 of  him  and  his  people  ;  he,  to  save  himself  and  them  from 
 destruction,  and  to  appease  the  wrath  of  heaven,  took  his 
 eldest  son  that  should  have  reigned  in  his  stead,  and  offered 
 him  for  a  burnt- offering  on  the  wall. 
 
 But  the  light  and  impression  of  the  precept  and  penal 
 sanction  of  the  law  in  the  minds  and  consciences  of  men, 
 having  become  dim  and  weak,  the  wisdom  of  God  saw 
 meet  to  make  to  his  church  a  new,  clear,  full,  and  very  so- 
 lemn promulgation  of  the  law,  and  of  its  sanction,  at  Sinai, 
 and  otherwise,  by  the  ministry  of  Moses.  But  by  what  hath 
 been  adduced  from  the  scripture  to  that  purpose,  it  appears 
 how  vainly,  and  without  any  good  reason,  it  hath  been  said, 
 that  the  Sinaitic  and  Mosaic  promulgation  added  any  thing, 
 as  to  penal  sanction,  to  what  was  originally  in  the  law  given 
 to  mankind,  and  under  which,  with  different  degrees  of 
 light  and  impression,  men  have  been  every  where,  and  in 
 all  times  of  the  world. 
 
 Before  leaving  this  subject,  it  is  fit  to  say  something  con- 
 cerning the  death  which  the  law  hath  annexed  to  transgres- 
 sion, and  concerning  the  extent  of  meaning,  in  which  the 
 death  threatened  is  to  be  understood.  Dr  Taylor  held, 
 (Orig.  Sin,  p.  20.)  that  in  the  threatening,  and  afterwards 
 sentence,  intimated  to  Adam,  there  wras  not  meant  *  any 
 *  other  death  but  that  dissolution  which  all  mankind  under- 
 '  go  when  they  cease  to  live  in  this  world,  whatever  that 
 c  dissolution  be/  It  seems  it  was  a  question  with  this 
 writer,  what  the  dissolution  is  which  men  undergo  at  death  ? 
 It  has  been  generally  agreed,  that  it  is  the  dissolution  of 
 the  union  between  the  soul  and  body,  by  which  the  soul 
 goes  into  a  separate  state,  and  the  body  is  dissolved  into 
 dust.  In  this  there  appears  to  be  nothing  but  what  is 
 clear,  and  easily  understood.  But  this  writer  makes  it 
 matter  of  question,  what  the  dissolution  is  that  happens  at 
 death,  and  seems  not  to  be  satisfied  with  the  common  notion 
 of  Christians  concerning  it.  Did  he  think  or  suspect,  as 
 some  have  held,  that  the  soul  itself  is  mortal ;  and,  being 
 material,  is  dissolved  in  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  and 
 hath  no  existence  or  life  until  the  resurrection,  when  the 
 body  shall  arise,  endowed  with  the  breath  of  life,  and  with 
 rational  powers  and  faculties  ?  He  was  shy  of  giving  his 
 mind  clearly  on  this  point — only  gives  the  hint  by  the  doubt 
 above  mentioned.     What  important  or  fundamental  truth  is 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  183 
 
 it,  on  which  this  author  would  not,  in  some  sort,  blow  his 
 baneful  breath  ! 
 
 It  is  true,  he  speaks  of  eternal  death  as  meant  by  the 
 threatening  of  the  law.  But  let  not  the  reader  mistake  him. 
 The  passage  is  in  his  note  on  Rom.  v.  20.  There  having 
 observed  that  law  sometimes  signifies  a  rule  of  action,  with 
 the  penalty  of  death  annexed,  he  says,  '  Such  a  law  Adam 
 '  was  under,  and  such  a  constitution  the  law  of  Moses  was 
 (  subjecting  those  who  wTere  under  it  to  death  for  every 
 *  transgression,  meaning  by  death  eternal  death,  without 
 '  hopes  of  a  revival  or  resurrection.*  The  death,  then,  that 
 the  law  of  Moses  denounced,  was  the  same  death  that  was 
 threatened  for  eating  the  forbidden  fruit;  and  we  saw  just 
 now,  that  that  death  imported  no  more  than  the  dissolution 
 which  men  undergo,  when  they  cease  to  live  in  this  world. 
 So  by  eternal  death,  it  appears  that  he  means  here  as  de- 
 nounced by  the  law  nothing  more  than  that,  undergoing 
 dissolution,  they  should  continue  so  for  ever,  without  revival 
 or  resurrection.  However,  he  also  held  that  Christ  procured 
 resurrection  to  life  for  mankind  universally.  But  if  men 
 shall  then  be  punished  with  eternal  misery  for  their  sins  and 
 impenitence,  this,  according  to  what  we  have  seen  of  his 
 opinion,  cannot  be  by  virtue  of  the  law,  which,  by  his  ac- 
 count, did  not  threaten  or  denounce  any  such  thing. 
 
 But  if  the  law  given  to  Adam,  and  that  of  Moses,  were 
 of  the  same  nature,  and  threatened  the  same  death,  there 
 is  something  in  the  matter  that  is  not  easily  understood,  or 
 accounted  for,  if  this  death  were  no  other  than  the  depriva- 
 tion of  natural  life.  All  mankind  were,  in  consequence  of 
 Adam's  sin,  doomed  to  death  in  that  sense,  and  were  un- 
 dergoing it  universally,  with  the  certainty  that  it  would  so 
 continue  to  the  world's  end.  This  being  the  case,  and  the 
 established  constant  course  of  things,  what  occasion  for 
 threatening  this  death  by  the  law  of  Moses  ?  Is  it  not  im- 
 peaching the  divine  wisdom,  to  say,  that  God  would  with 
 such  solemnity  give  forth  the  threatening  of  death  for  trans- 
 gression, if  that  death  signified  no  more  than  the  depriva- 
 tion of  natural  life  ?  Why  pretend  to  make  a  new  addition 
 to  the  law  as  given  to  Israel,  beyond  what  was  in  the  law, 
 which  other  nations  were  under,  if  there  was  nothing  in  the 
 additional  threatening  of  death,  but  what  Israel  and  all 
 other  nations  were  in  common  subjected  to  from  the  begin- 
 ning ?  Ay,  but  the  law  given  at  Sinai  threatened  death  for 
 every  transgression :  not  so  the  law  given  to  other  nations, 
 
184  An  Essay  concerning 
 
 who  were  only  suffering  death,  not  for  their  own  sins,  but 
 in  consequence  of  Adam's  sin.  But  what  alteration  did  this 
 make  in  the  state  of  the  Israelites  ?  If  they  underwent  death, 
 those  of  other  nations  did  so  too.  If  the  Lord  cut  off  some 
 Israelites  with  sudden  and  fearful  strokes,  many  instances  of 
 that  sort  happened  in  other  nations,  who  were  not  under  the 
 Mosaic  law.  Yea,  among  Israel  in  the  Mosaic  period  it  was 
 observed,  that  the  worst  of  men  passed  the  course  of  life  often 
 in  an  easy  and  prosperous  manner,  and  underwent  death 
 without  any  unfavourable  visible  symptom.  So  we  see  in 
 Psal.  lxxiii.  Shall  we  say,  that,  the  law  prescribing  for 
 men's  sins  nothing  but  the  dissolution  of  their  frame  by 
 death,  in  the  manner  common  to  all  men,  these  men,  after 
 passing  life  more  prosperously,  and  death  more  easily,  than 
 other  men,  had  nothing  further  to  fear  as  the  consequence  of 
 their  distinguished  wickedness  ?  As  this  will  not  be  said, 
 shall  we  say  that  after  this  life  punishment  awaited  them 
 beyond  what  the  law  they  were  under  prescribed  ?  Certain- 
 ly this  were  absurd. 
 
 Let  us  then  consider  what,  besides  deprivation  of  natural 
 life,  is  included  in  the  death  threatened  by  the  law.  It  is  a 
 just  sentiment,  that  as  the  natural  life  of  the  human  person 
 consists  in  the  union  of  the  soul  and  body,  so  it  is  the  spi- 
 ritual life  of  the  person  to  be  in  union  with  God,  enjoying 
 his  favour.  So  Psal.  xxx.  5.  In  his  favour  is  life.  But  sin 
 separates  the  sinner  from  God,  and  from  his  favour ;  which 
 must  be  accounted  death  by  every  one  who  comfortably  en- 
 joyed it,  by  every  one  who  thinks  justly.  The  curse  im- 
 ports so  much,  though  what  Dr  T.  says  of  it  amounts  to  no 
 more  than  this,  (note  on  Rom.  vi.)  '  This  curse  without 
 '  doubt  rendered  the  transgressor  obnoxious  to  death ;  as 
 e  Saul's  curse  was  understood  to  touch  Jonathan's  life/  As 
 to  Saul's  curse,  it  could  indeed  reach  no  farther  than  Jona^ 
 than's  life ;  but  the  curse  of  God,  and  of  his  righteous  law, 
 can  and  doth  reach  much  farther.  This  curse  certainly  im- 
 ports, besides  deprivation  of  natural  life,  to  be  cast  out  of 
 God's  favour  and  fellowship,  deprived  thereof,  and  of  the 
 light  of  his  countenance;  which  they  who  judge  that  in 
 God's  favour  is  life,  will  certainly  consider  as  a  real  death. 
 If,  according  to  the  scripture,  we  consider  it  in  that  light, 
 what  good  reason  can  be  given,  why  it  should  not  be  includ- 
 ed in  the  death  threatened  by  the  law  for  sin,  which  certain- 
 ly separates  between  men  and  God  ? 
 
 But  there  is  what  the  scripture  calls  the  second  death, 
 
The  Penal  Sanction  of  the  Law.  185 
 
 which  imports  everlasting  pain  and  misery.  As  it  is  called 
 the  second  death,  Rev.  xxi.  8.  so  it  is  expressed  by  the  name 
 of  death,  Rom.  viii.  13.  If  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall 
 die  ;  and  chap.  vi.  23.  The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  Some  en- 
 deavour to  answer,  or  prevent  the  argument,  by  suggesting, 
 that  in  both  places  the  apostle  hath  in  his  eye  a  course  of 
 fleshly  living  and  sinning,  continued  in  impenitently  to  the 
 end.  But  though  it  be  allowed  that  this  is  the  case,  as  to 
 the  two  places  now  mentioned,  yet  this  doth  not  hinder  our 
 understanding  the  apostle  as  giving  forth  a  general  doctrine 
 or  maxim,  particularly  in  Rom.  vi.  23.  The  wages  of  sin  is 
 death.  What  determines  the  wages  of  sin  is  the  law.  Now 
 we  know  of  no  determination  of  the  law  on  this  subject,  other 
 than  that  it  determines  the  curse  and  death  for  the  wages  of 
 sin.  Therefore  the  second  eternal  death,  and  the  spiritual 
 death  before  mentioned,  must  be  included  in  the  death  as- 
 signed by  the  law  as  the  wage's  of  sin. 
 
 Dr  T.  himself  expresses  something  that  tends  to  this  pur- 
 pose. (Orig.  Sin,  p.  394. )  '  And  certain  it  is/  saith  he, 
 '  .iiat  now  we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace,  Rom. 
 1  vi.  14.  Nor  will  the  law  be  in  force,  to  give  sin  its  deadly 
 *  destructive  power,  till  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the 
 '  Lord,  when  those  who  impenitently  have  lived  after  the 
 '  flesh  shall  die,  Rom.  viii.  1 3.'  Passing  the  interpretation 
 he  hints  of  Rom.  vi.  14.  of  which  formerly,  I  now  say  con- 
 cerning this  passage:  1.  Dr  T/s  notion,  as  here  expressed, 
 clearly  implies,  that  the  law,  with  regard  to  its  penal  sanc- 
 tion, hath  not  the  authority  and  force  of  a  law  till  it  comes 
 to  be  executed,  which  is  very  absurd.  The  Supreme  Ruler 
 brings  men  under  a  dispensation  of  grace,  uses  forbearance, 
 delays  executing  of  judgment,  and  hath  appointed  a  day 
 wherein  he  will  judge  the  world.  Is  it  therefore  just  to  say, 
 that  the  sanction  of  the  law  hath  not  all  along  and  still  au- 
 thority and  force,  nor  will  be  in  force  till  the  last  day  ?  Sure- 
 ly it  must  be  by  virtue  of  the  law  and  its  sanction,  that  it  is 
 said  of  a  man  in  this  life,  of  him  that  believeth  not  the  Son, 
 (John  iii.  36.)  that  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him.  For 
 (Rom.  iv.  15.)  it  is  the  law  that  worketh  wrath.  2.  The  Doc- 
 tor says,  that  it  is  the  law  that  will  give  sin  its  deadly  and 
 destructive  power  in  the  great  day.  But  certainly  it  could 
 not  do  so,  but  as  in  its  penal  sanction  it  adjudges  death  and 
 destruction  for  sin.  As  God  hath  given  to  men  his  law  to 
 be  the  rule  of  their  behaviour,  so  when  he  shall  come  to  act 
 as  a  Judge,  he  certainly  will  make  that  same  law  his  rule  in 
 
186  An  Essay,  fyc. 
 
 judging  their.  It  were  dishonourable  to  God  as  a  Judge, 
 to  say  that  he  would  judge  moral  agents  at  last  otherwise  than 
 according  to  the  law  he  had  put  them  under  when  they  acted 
 their  part  in  life. 
 
 It  appears,  then,  by  Dr  TVs  sentiment,  as  set  forth  in  this 
 passage,  that  the  damnation  and  perdition  of  sinners  at  the 
 day  of  judgment  will  be  by  virtue  of  the  sanction  of  the  law, 
 which  denounced  death  for  sin  ;  which  proves  very  clearly, 
 that  this  everlasting  perdition,  this  second  death,  (and  not 
 merely  the  deprivation  of  natural  life)  must  be  understood 
 to  be  included  in  the  death  threatened  by  the  law.  It  proves 
 further,  at  this  second  death,  this  eternal  perdition,  will  hap- 
 pen at  last  to  every  man,  of  every  nation,  and  of  all  times, 
 who  is  not  saved  by  grace,  and  in  the  way  marked  out  by  ii, 
 that,  besides  deprivation  of  natural  life,  the  second  death  is 
 adjudged  for  sin  by  the  law,  which  men  of  all  nations  and 
 times  have  been  under.  So  that  it  is  not  the  law  given  to 
 Adam,  concerning  the  forbidden  fruit  only,  or  thereafter 
 only  the  law  given  at  Sinai,  that  denounced  death  and  a 
 curse  for  sin.  How  far  these  things  are  consistent  with  Dr 
 T.'s  other  speculations  concerning  the  law,  which  we  have 
 seen  formerly,  the  reader  may  judge.  That  writer  had  very 
 crude  and  undigested  sentiments  and  reasonings  on  this,  as 
 on  divers  other  subjects. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  it  has  been  sufficiently  proved,  that  the 
 law  of  God,  which  is  the  rule  of  duty  to  all  men  in  common, 
 hath  at  all  times,  and  with  regard  to  men  of  all  nations,  been 
 fenced  with  a  penal  sanction,  which  adjudged  death  to  trans- 
 gressors,— even  death  in  all  the  extent  of  meaning,  that  hath 
 been  here  shown  from  the  Scripture.  So  that  we  may  now 
 be  satisfied,  how  destitute  of  all  foundation  in  scripture  or 
 reason,  is  the  conceit  of  Mr  Locke,  expressed  in  his  para- 
 phrase, and  note  on  Rom.  vii.  8.  where  he  says,  that  without 
 the  law  (of  Moses)  sin  could  not  hurt  a  man,  or  bring  death 
 upon  him  ;  and  hisnotion,  that  since  the  fall,  mankind  were 
 not  under  a  law  threatening  death  for  transgression,  until 
 the  law  given  by  Moses,  which  was  given  only  to  Israel ; 
 which  notion  appears  to  have  been  adopted  by  Dr  Whitby, 
 in  his  paraphrase  of  ver.  9.  which  I  come  now  to  consider. 
 Most  of  readers  would  not,  I  suppose,  need  to  have  so  much 
 said  on  this  point.  But,  considering  what  weight  the  cha- 
 racters of  these  writers  might  give  to  their  sentiments  and 
 arguments  in  the  eyes  of  many,  it  seemed  fit  to  consider  the 
 subject  the  more  thoroughly  and  largely. 
 
Explication  of  Romans  VII.  187 
 
 TEXT.—  Ver.  9.  For  I  was  alive  -without  the  law  once  :  but  when  the 
 commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died. 
 
 Explication. — As  to  the  first  expression  here,  /  was 
 alive,  some  render  it,  /  lived  once,  or  sometime ;  I  lived 
 without  the  law  ;  as  if  he  meant  no  more  than  to  say,  that 
 sometime,  for  a  part  of  the  time  of  his  life,  he  had  been 
 without  the  law  ;  supposing  there  is  no  particular  emphasis, 
 or  more  special  meaning  of  being  alive.  But  as  the  expres- 
 sion in  the  end  of  the  sentence,  /  died,  certainly  means 
 something  else  than  the  death  that  puts  an  end  to  natural 
 life,  so  the  antithesis,  or  opposition  that  is  evidently  intend- 
 ed, requires  that,  by  saying,  I  was  alive,  we  understand 
 something  else  than  natural  life,  or  a  part  of  its  duration. 
 It  is,  in  short,  that  being  without  the  law,  and  so  not  know- 
 ing his  great  guiltiness,  and  the  prevailing  of  sin  in  him,  he 
 was  alive,  with  respect  to  confidence  and  conceit  of  his  own 
 good  state ;  confident  of  the  favour  of  God  and  of  eternal 
 life  :  which  confidence  was  destroyed  by  the  coming  of  the 
 commandment. 
 
 Grotius,  Drs  Hammond  and  Whitby,  and  also  Mr  Locke^ 
 agree  in  holding,  that  the  apostle  means  not  here  himself 
 personally,  but  the  Jews  in  general ;  that  being  without  the 
 law,  he  means  of  the  time  before  the  law  was  given  at  Sinai ; 
 and  by  the  coming  of  the  commandment,  the  promulgation  of 
 the  law  on  that  occasion,  with  the  curse,  or  penalty  of  death 
 annexed.  This  the  two  last  named  did  suppose  was  not 
 threatened,  except  in  the  single  case  of  eating  the  forbidden 
 fruit,  until  that  time. 
 
 But  why  suppose  that  Paul  here  personates  others;  or 
 that  he  does  not  represent  his  own  former  personal  case  ? 
 Considering  his  style  and  expression,  there  can  be  no  cause 
 for  understanding  him  otherwise,  except  there  can  be  shown 
 some  absurdity  in  applying  to  himself  personally  what  he 
 says.  I  see  not  that  Grotius  brings  any  reason  from  the 
 verse  itself  for  this  notion  of  his  ;  but  Dr  Hammond  does. 
 '  That  he  was  once  without  the  law,  can,  he  says,  with  no 
 '  appearance  of  truth  be  affirmed  of  Paul's  person,  who  was 
 '  born  and  brought  up  a  Jew,  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
 c  Mosaic  law.'  But  Paul  might  have  had  great  knowledge 
 of  the  Mosaic  law,  and,  being  brought  up  at  the  feet  of 
 Gamaliel,  might  have  been  very  learned  in  the  various  cases 
 and  questions  respecting  the  Mosaic  rules  of  divine  service, 
 ceremonial  pollutions,  and  ceremonial  methods  of  purifica- 
 tion, and  yet  have  little  knowledge  of  the  moral  law  in  its 
 
188  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 extent,  and  very  little  knowledge  of  the  power  and  energy 
 of  the  law  in  his  conscience  and  heart. 
 
 He  mentions  in  the  same  context,  what  proves  his 
 knowledge  of  the  law  to  have  been  very  defective.  He  says, 
 ver.  7.  /  had  not  known  lust,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou 
 shall  not  lust.  There  was  a  time  when  he  did  not  know  the 
 inward  lustings  of  the  heart  to  be  sin ;  when  he  had  no  con- 
 cern or  anxiety  about  the  disposition,  aims,  or  affections  of 
 his  heart ;  but  thought  all  was  well  if  he  did  what  was  ex- 
 ternally good.  As  to  this,  it  is  to  be  considered,  that  the 
 moral  actions  of  rational  creatures  are  not  to  be  judged  of 
 merely  by  what  they  are  in  the  outward  work,  but  also  by 
 the  inward  principles  and  disposition  of  the  heart ;  so  that 
 an  action  may,  as  to  the  outward  part,  be  good  material!}', 
 when,  on  the  whole,  as  it  comes  to  be  judged  of  by  an  all- 
 seeing,  heart- searching  God,  according  to  the  holiness  and 
 spirituality  of  his  law,  it  is  sin,  and  that,  perhaps,  of  the 
 most  atrocious  and  aggravated  kind  and  degree.  By  this  it 
 appears,  that  when  Paul  was  a  Pharisee,  if  his  works  were 
 outwardly  good,  or  in  their  outward  nature  indifferent,  yet, 
 not  knowing  that  the  law  reaches  the  heart,  he  had  not  that 
 light  and  knowledge  of  the  law  which  would  enable  him  to 
 judge  justly  in  what  class,  of  good  or  evil,  to  state  even  those 
 outward  works,  as  connected  with  his  inward  views  and  dis- 
 position :  besides,  that  much  sin  inwardly,  not  immediately 
 connected  with  any  outward  action,  was  not  known  or  ob- 
 served by  him.  This  was  to  be  without  the  law  in  a  great 
 degree.  However  learned  Paul  had  been  in  the  divinity  of 
 the  Pharisaical  school,  yet  his  knowledge  being  so  essential- 
 ly defective,  with  respect  to  duty  and  sin,  certainly  there 
 was  no  impropriety  or  exaggeration  in  saying,  when  he  came 
 to  know  better,  I  was  without  the  law  once. 
 
 But  besides,  an  important  thing  to  be  considered  here  is, 
 that  the  law  did  not  enter  into  his  conscience  with  its  proper 
 authority,  energy,  and  impression.  Many  a  man  there  is 
 of  very  clear  and  extensive  knowledge,  into  whom  the  law 
 doth  not  thus  enter,  to  give  the  view  and  conviction  of  sin, 
 with  the  proper  impression.  Upon  the  whole,  Dr  Ham- 
 mond was  far  from  having  reason  to  say,  that  it  could  not  be 
 affirmed  of  Paul  personally,  that  he  was  without  the  law  once. 
 However,  the  sentiment,  particularly  of  Dr  W.  and  Mr 
 L.  is,  that  the  apostle,  personating  others,  says,  /  was  with- 
 out the  law  once;  that  is,  for  between  two  and  three  thou- 
 sand years  from  the  fall  of  Adam.     For  though  they  some- 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  189 
 
 times  speak  only  of  the  Jews,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and 
 seem  to  restrict  the  matter  to  the  time  between  Abraham 
 and  the  giving  of  the  law,  yet  their  scheme  and  opinion  al- 
 lows no  room  for  this  restriction.  All  mankind  were,  ac- 
 cording to  them,  without  a  law  denouncing  death  for  trans- 
 gression, from  the  fall  until  the  law  was  given  at  Sinai.  So 
 that,  in  interpreting  this  verse,  by  the  notion  of  Paul's  per- 
 sonating others,  they  view  mankind  as  contracted  into  one 
 long-lived  man,  who  was  indeed  very  old,  (more  than  four 
 thousand  years  old,)  when  he  says  in  the  text,  I  was  alive 
 without  the  law  once.  It  seems  to  have  required  consider- 
 able vivacity  and  force  of  genius  to  have  thought  of  interpret- 
 ing the  text  by  a  figure  so  very  bold, — rather,  wild  and  extra- 
 vagant. But  what  is  it  that  gives  the  hint  of  such  a  mean- 
 ing, or  that  makes  it  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  so  strange 
 an  interpretation  ?  That  which  hath  been  more  commonly 
 given,  is  simple,  natural,  obvious,  and  agreeable  to  the  proper 
 import  and  use  of  the  expressions  of  the  text,  embarrassed 
 with  nothing  that  deserves  to  be  called  difficulty  or  incon- 
 venience. Mr  L.'s  opinion  has  indeed  led  him  to  express 
 himself  in  a  strange  manner,  particularly  in  his  paraphrase 
 of  this  verse.  '  There  was  a  time,  (saith  he)  when  I, 
 '  being  without  the  law,  was  in  a  state  of  life.'  And  this 
 he  means  not  of  men's  own  conceit,  or  sense  of  things  re- 
 specting their  state,  but  of  a  real  state  of  life,  not  obnoxious 
 to  death.  So  that  for  one  instance,  for  many  instances,  for 
 a  million  of  instances  of  transgression,  sinners  had  not  death 
 to  fear.  Dr  W.'s  notion  to  the  same  purpose,  we  have  seen 
 in  his  paraphrase  of  this  verse.  I  should  think,  with  due 
 deference  to  Mr  L/s  and  Dr  W.'s  characters,  that  represent- 
 ing fairly  such  extravagance  of  sentiment  and  expression, 
 were  enough  for  confutation  to  any  thinking  or  judicious 
 reader.  I  have,  however,  bestowed  an  essay  on  the  subject, 
 to  which  I  refer. 
 
 After  all,  the  expression  of  the  text  is  not,  When  the 
 threatening  of  death  for  transgression  came  ;  nor  yet,  When 
 the  law  came  ;  which  they  would  suppose  included  or  implied 
 that  threatening ;  but,  when  the  commandment  came,  which 
 is  something  very  different  from  the  threatening.  I  can 
 easily  admit,  that  law  and  commandment  may  be  interchang- 
 ed in  expressing  the  same  meaning  ;  and  I  see  they  are  so 
 interchanged  here,  as  I  believe,  at  the  same- time,  that 
 the  divine  commandment  is  to  be  understood  to  have  had, 
 at  all  times,  the  penal  sanction  of  death  for  transgression 
 
190  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 annexed  to  it,  whether  expressed  or  not.  Yet  3f  it  were 
 otherwise,  and  that  the  commandment  had  been  for  many 
 ages  without  such  penal  sanction,  we  may  be  confident, 
 when  mention  was  to  be  made  of  introducing  a  law  fenced 
 with  such  a  new  and  unusual  sanction,  that  the  expression 
 would  not  be  simply,  When  the  commandment  came,  which, 
 according  to  the  notion  of  these  writers,  implies  no  such 
 thing  as  the  threatening  of  death. 
 
 This  then  is  the  second  clause,  But  when  the  command- 
 ment came,  sin  revived.  It  did  so  in  two  respects.  1.  By 
 the  conviction  he  received  of  his  own  manifold  guiltiness. 
 He  had  become  guilty  in  many  respects,  especially  by  the 
 inward  prevailing  of  sin,  which,  through  his  ignorance  of  the 
 law,  he  had  no  sense  of.  Besides,  the  conviction  and  im- 
 pression of  sin,  that  he  had  sometime  been  conscious  of, 
 came  by  time  to  disappear  and  be  defaced.  But  when  the 
 law  entered  into  his  conscience  with  light  and  force,  armed 
 with  a  terrible  denunciation  of  wrath,  it  showed  him  sin 
 that  he  had  not  been  sensible  was  sin  ;  and  what  sin  he  had, 
 in  some  sort,  been  conscious  of,  it  brought  to  remembrance 
 with  a  fearful  sting. 
 
 2.  Sin  revived  in  these  sinful  affections  that  are  by  the 
 law  (as  ver.  5.)  ;  and  the  more  the  law,  with  its  authority, 
 light,  and  terror,  reached  the  heart  and  sin  in  it,  sin  exerted 
 itself  the  more  vehemently,  in  all  manner  of  concupiscence 
 (as  ver.  8.)  in  opposition  to  the  law.  The  consideration  of 
 the  context  seems  to  lead  us  to  think,  that  it  is  the  reviving 
 of  sin  in  this  second  respect,  not  excluding  the  former,  that 
 the  apostle  hath  chiefly  in  his  eye.  The  sinner,  convinced 
 of  his  guiltiness  and  danger  by  transgressing  the  law,  doth 
 yet  incline  to  hope  well  of  himself,  if  he  shall  do  well  in  all 
 future  behaviour.  So,  being  sensible  by  the  coming  of  the 
 commandment,  that  it  is  necessary  that  the  heart  be  right, 
 he  labours  upon  it.  But  the  more  he  doth  so,  the  more  he 
 perceives  the  wickedness  of  his  heart.  Hence  awakened 
 sinners  so  commonly  complain,  that  they  find  their  hearts 
 become  daily  worse,  instead  of  becoming  better.  They  find 
 in  it  a  perverse  aversion  to  God  and  to  his  holiness,  that 
 the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  and  is  not  subject 
 to  his  law  ;  and  if,  through  manifold  guiltiness  by  past  prac- 
 tice, they  find  themselves  under  the  fearful  sentence  of  the 
 righteous  law,  sin  also  reviving  in  the  unholy  workings  of 
 an  evil  heart,  and  in  those  motions  of  sin  which  are  by  the 
 law,  this  especially  destroys  every  false  confidence. 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  191 
 
 Thus  the  consequence  of  the  coming  of  the  command- 
 ment, with  its  light,  authority,  and  terror,  and  of  the  re- 
 viving of  sin  on  that  occasion,  is,  as  the  Apostle  expresses 
 it,  /  died, — I  found  myself  a  dead  man,  and  nothing  on  my 
 part  to  encourage  me  to  entertain  any  confidence  or  hope. 
 
 Though  the  word  here  used  concerning  sin  is,  sin  revived, 
 that  doth  not  oblige  us  to  think,  as  if  it  had  been  altogether, 
 as  to  the  conviction  of  sin,  or  as  to  its  rebellious  motions  by 
 the  law,  (as  the  apostle  speaks,  ver.  5.)  even  before  the 
 commandment  came,  in  the  manner  here  meant.  The  pre- 
 position xvx,  that  is  in  the  composition  of  the  Greek  verb 
 here,  hath  not  always  that  effect  in  the  signification  of  a 
 word  ;  for  sometimes  a  verb  so  compounded,  hath  no  other 
 than  the  simple  meaning  of  theuncompounded  verb  ;  as  in- 
 stances of  which  are  mentioned,  uvoifiXccrzviiv,  ccvanXXuv, 
 xvirxcSai,  for  which  the  dictionaries  may  be  looked  into. 
 
 I  represented  before  (in  the  Essay  on  the  Penal  Sanction 
 of  the  Law)  Dr  W.'s  paraphrase  of  this  verse,  by  which  he 
 would  have  it  mean,  that  before  the  law  of  Moses  was  given, 
 a  man  of  the  seed  of  Abraham  was  not  obnoxious  to  death  for 
 sin,  as  there  was  then  no  law  that  threathened  death  for  it 
 His  note  on  this  verse  is  in  these  words :  (  7r^o  t»  tAcav7iu<;> 
 <  before  the  law  of  Moses  came.  So  Chrysostom,  Oecu- 
 '  menius,  Theophylact.'  It  is  a  way  not  uncommon  with 
 this  writer,  to  give  such  a  list  of  names  when  he  hath  not  a 
 better  argument  to  support  his  interpretation. 
 
 Before  I  leave  this  verse,  there  is  one  thing  yet  which  it 
 is  needful  to  consider.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  objected,  that, 
 in  the  history  of  Paul,  we  cannot  find  any  period  or  time 
 when  he  could  observe  in  himself  that  revival  of  sin,  on 
 the  coming  of  the  commandment,  or  could  have  that  expe- 
 rience of  the  workings  of  sin,  on  occasion  of  the  law,  in 
 persons  in  the  flesh,  that  are  represented  in  this  context  : 
 and  if  so,  then  he  must  necessarily  be  supposed  to  be  per- 
 sonating others,  not  setting  forth  his  own  experience.  The 
 argument  may  be  conceived  thus.  He  was,  on  his  journey 
 to  Damascus,  a  Pharisee,  possessed  with  the  delusions  of 
 that  sect,  and  in  full  confidence  of  his  own  good  state  ; 
 when  the  Lord  having  manifested  himself  to  him,  he  did,  at 
 the  same  time,  manifest  to  him  the  consolations  of  grace ; 
 yea,  said,  Acts  xxvi.  16.  /  have  appeared  to  thee  for  this 
 purpose  to  make  thee  a  minister,  &c.  adding  words  of  the  ut- 
 most encouragement  and  comfort.  Here  there  was  no  in- 
 terval or  time,  to  observe  the  motions  of  sin  that  are  by  the 
 
192  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 law.  This  was  prevented  by  the  speedy  manifestation  of 
 grace ;  by  which  being  brought  under  grace,  he  could  not 
 have  in  himself  the  experience  of  a  man  in  the  flesh,  and 
 under  the  law,  that  is  represented  in  this  context.  This  de- 
 serves to  be  considered. 
 
 I  begin  with  observing  what  the  learned  and  judicious 
 Dr  Guyse  suggests  (note  on  Acts  xxvi.  16.)  to  this  pur- 
 pose :  That  it  is  not  necessary  to  think  that  all  the  com- 
 fortable things  related  there,  verse  16,  17-  were  spoken  by 
 the  Lord  to  Paul  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  at  his  first  ap- 
 pearing to  him.  The  historian  Luke,  or  Paul  himself,  may 
 have  joined  together  what  the  Lord  spoke  to  him  at  diffe- 
 rent times.  Paul  himself  reports,  chap.  xxii.  14,  15.  that 
 Ananias  spoke  to  him  of  the  future  revelations  and  minis- 
 terial commission  that  the  Lord  was  to  vouchsafe  to  him  ; 
 and  the  Lord  himself  might  have  said  more  fully  to  him,  to 
 the  purpose  expressed,  chap.  xxvi.  16,  17-  on  that  other  oc- 
 casion mentioned,  chap.  xxii.  17*  and  afterwards.  If  in 
 his  first  appearance  to  him  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  the 
 Lord  said  any  thing  to  him  of  ministerial  office,  and  of  pro- 
 tection and  support  in  it,  it  might  be  in  general  and  dark 
 hints,  (not  so  well  understood  or  attended  to  by  Paul,  in 
 the  condition  he  was  then  in,)  to  be  more  fully  explained 
 afterwards.  Indeed  in  the  account  given,  Acts  ix.  6.  when 
 Paul,  upon  hearing  the  Lord's  reproof  and  expostulation, 
 trembling  and  astonished,  said,  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
 me  to  do  ?  the  answer  is,  Arise,  and  go  into  the  city,  and  it 
 shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do.  This,  I  think,  makes  it 
 probable,  that  any  special  comfort  to  him  was  referred  to  the 
 time  when  Ananias  in  Damascus  was  sent  to  him. 
 
 If  any  shall  happen  not  to  be  satisfied  with  this,  yet  the 
 matter  may  still  be  accounted  for  by  what  we  find  in  his 
 history.  Let  it  then  be  allowed,  that  on  his  first  appearing 
 to  him,  the  Lord  said  very  comfortable  things,  as  it  is  not 
 uncommon  for  him  to  suggest  some  comfortable  matters  for 
 the  present  support  of  distressed  souls,  when  they  are  not 
 yet  capable  of  receiving  full  consolation  through  faith.  So, 
 whatever  matter  of  comfort  was  suggested,  Paul  was  not 
 yet  susceptible  of  the  comfort.  The  sense  of  his  guiltiness 
 by  the  wicked  course  he  had  been  in,  and  the  apprehension 
 of  judgment  for  it,  even  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  (2  Cor.  v. 
 10.)  was  uppermost,  and  possessed  his  whole  soul.  As  he 
 trembled  and  was  all  astonished  when  he  heard  the  Lord's 
 reproof  and  expostulation,  so,  being  blind,  he  did  not  eat  or 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  193 
 
 drink  for  three  days  and  nights.  This  represents  a  condition 
 of  great  distress ;  nor  do  we  find  with  him  any  symptoms  of 
 comfort  till  Ananias  came  to  him,  acquainted  him  of  the 
 ministry  to  be  committed  to  him,  and  called  on  him  to  re- 
 ceive baptism,  the  seal  of  divine  grace  ;  and,  using  it  with 
 faith  to  wash  away  his  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
 Acts  xxii.  14 — 16. 
 
 In  these  primitive  times,  the  law  and  the  gospel  had  very 
 powerful  and  speedy  effect  on  the  souls  of  men,  as  we  may 
 observe  in  divers  instances.  If  we  suppose  a  man  blind, 
 and  diverted  by  no  external  objects,  having  his  heart  filled 
 with  the  sense  of  his  sinfulness,  and  of  the  great  aggrava- 
 tions and  fearful  consequences  thereof,  with  his  mind  turn- 
 ed to  the  most  serious  thought  about  his  most  important  in- 
 terests, with  the  most  intense  application  ;  if  with  this  we 
 consider  the  velocity  with  which  things  pass  in  the  human 
 mind,  especially  in  such  a  condition,  we  may  be  assured, 
 that  in  these  three  days  and  three  nights,  Paul  acquired 
 great  experience  of  his  own  heart,  of  the  flesh,  that  cor- 
 rupt principle  in  him,  and  the  law  now  come  clear  and  strong 
 into  his  conscience, — these,  the  flesh  and  the  law,  striking 
 powerfully  the  one  against  the  other.  Paul,  deeply  sensible 
 of  his  own  wretchedness,  did  doubtless  labour  much  on  this 
 occasion  to  reform  his  heart  unto  a  conformity  with  the  holi- 
 ness and  spirituality  of  the  law,  which  he  now  understood 
 better  than  ever  before.  He  might  at  that  time  have  all  the 
 experience  he  represents  in  this  context,  of  sins  reviving, 
 and  exerting  itself  vehemently,  and  of  the  prevailing  power 
 of  the  flesh,  with  all  its  sinful  affections  and  lustings,  in  op- 
 position to  the  authority  and  holiness  of  the  law.  Thus  we 
 find  a  period  in  his  history  wherein  he  was  likely  to  have 
 personally  all  the  experience  here  set  forth  ;  which  makes  a 
 sufficient  answer  to  the  difficulty  or  objection  suggested. 
 
 Some  have  explained  and  accounted  for  the  advantage 
 that  sin  hath  by  the  law,  by  this  :  That  the  law  did  not  pro- 
 mise, to  those  who  were  under  it,  spiritual  blessings  and 
 eternal  life,  which  is  necessary  for  purifying  the  heart  and 
 subduing  sin.  This  is  of  importance  to  be  more  largely  con- 
 sidered ;  and  I  subjoin  an  Essay  concerning  that  subject, 
 after  representing  the  sense  of  this  ninth  verse,  according  to 
 the  interpretation  I  have  given  of  it,  in  the  following 
 
 Paraphrase. — 9.  Sin  being  thus  dead,  as  in  the  absence  of 
 the  law,  a  self- flattering  deluded  heart  entertains  great  confi- 
 dence of  a  man's  good  state,  until  the  coming  of  the  com- 
 
194?  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 mandment  discovers  to  him  the  delusion  he  hath  been  in. 
 Of  this  I  have  had  sad  experience.  For,  being  sometime 
 without  the  law,  I  was  alive,  in  great  confidence  of  my  good 
 state,  of  my  interest  in  the  Divine  favour,  and  eternal  life. 
 But  when  the  commandment  came,  and  entered  into  my 
 conscience  in  its  extent  and  spirituality,  and  with  its  proper 
 authority,  light,  and  force ;  as  this  awakened  me  to  a  more 
 serious  consideration  of  my  spiritual  state,  sin  awakened 
 also.  Not  only  did  the  conviction  of  by-past  guiltiness  re- 
 vive in  me,  but  sin,  not  subdued,  but  awakened  and  ruffled 
 by  the  reproof  and  threatening  of  the  law,  did  exert  itself  in 
 all  manner  of  concupiscence ;  and  gave  me  such  proof  of  the 
 pravity  of  my  nature  and  heart,  as  did  especially  contribute 
 to  overturn  all  my  false  confidence,  and  to  make  me  sensible 
 that  I  was  a  dead  man,  by  virtue  of  the  judgment  of  the 
 righteous  law,  my  guiltiness,  and  the  extreme  wickedness 
 of  my  heart ;   by  which  my  case  became  quite  deplorable. 
 
 AN  ESSAY 
 
 CONCERNING    THE    PROMISE    AND  HOPE    OF    SPIRITUAL  BLESSINGS, 
 AND  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE,  UNDER  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT. 
 
 I  am  now  come  to  consider  another  account,  that  of  Gro- 
 tius,  of  sin's  having  advantage  by  the  law,  and  by  men's 
 being  under  it.  He  says  upon  Rom.  vi.  14.  that  as  the  law 
 promised  nothing  beyond  what  is  earthly,  it  gave  not 
 strength  enough  for  purifying  the  soul.  But  the  gospel,  by 
 the  promise  of  things  heavenly,  gives  great  strength  to  those 
 who  will  use  it.  The  gospel  indeed  gives  great  strength  in 
 this  way,  and  otherwise  too  than  by  proposing  the  best  of 
 motives,  and  that  in  a  way  very  effectual,  though  not  quite 
 agreeable  to  this  writer's  notions.  On  chap.  vii.  5.  he  says, 
 €  Most  men  in  these  times  were  carnal,  and  had  no  hope,  or 
 (  but  small  hope,  of  another  life  ;  and  so  were  addicted  to  the 
 <  present  life,  and  to  the  pleasures  of  it.' 
 
 The  former  account,  that  of  Dr  Hammond,  (considered  in 
 explaining  ver.  8.)  and  this,  are  so  far  connected,  that  if  un- 
 der the  law  there  was  no  ground  for  men's  hope  of  the  re- 
 mission of  sins,  there  could  be  no  hope  of  eternal  life.  Yet, 
 on  the  other  hand,  if  there  was  then  no  ground  for  the  hope 
 of  forgiveness,  as  there  certainly  was,  there  behoved  to  be 
 good  warrant  for  the  hope  of  future  life  and  happiness.  For 
 men  might  justly  conclude,  that  God  would  not  pardon  sin, 
 and  so  bring  men  into  favour  and  amity  with  himself,  with- 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  1 95 
 
 out  providing  for  them,  as  the  fruit  of  that  amity,  something 
 better  than  an  earthly  portion,  which  is  more  commonly  en- 
 joyed in  its  highest  degree  by  those  who  are  strangers  to  God, 
 and  under  the  guilt  of  unpardoned  sin. 
 
 What  the  words  last  cited  say,  *  that  most  men  in  these 
 c  times  were  carnal/  is,  I  apprehend,  the  case  now,  even  un- 
 der the  light  and  encouragement  of  gospel  revelation.  If  it 
 was  so  with  the  ancient  Israel,  the  cause  of  it  was  not,  that 
 God  did  not  encourage  them,  or  that  piety  was  nor  encou- 
 raged with  the  hope  of  eternal  life.  Grotius  says,  in  the 
 words  immediately  preceding  those  last  cited,  that  the  few 
 who  in  that  state  were  spiritual,  were  not  so  ex  sola  vi  legis, 
 merely  by  virtue  of  the  law.  In  this  I  agree  with  him  ; 
 and  I  believe  the  law,  strictly  so  called,  will  not  in  any  time 
 make  men  spiritual,  as  of  old  the  promise  that  he  should  be 
 heir  of  the  world,  was  not  to  Abraham,  or  to  his  seed  through 
 the  law.  But  that  is  nothing  to  the  present  purpose.  For, 
 if  the  ancient  Israel,  together  with  the  law,  had  the  promise 
 of  future  life  and  happiness,  to  encourage  their  pursuit  of 
 holiness,  and  of  spiritual  and  heavenly  things,  then  their 
 being  under  the  legal  pedagogy  could  not  be  a  cause  of  men's 
 being  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  or  in  the  flesh.  When 
 this  eminent  writer  doth,  on  Rom.  vi.  14.  contradistinguish 
 the  gospel  as  having  the  promise  of  heavenly  things,  to  the 
 law  as  having  no  such  promise,  he  must  by  the  law  be  un- 
 derstood to  mean  the  whole  system  of  the  ancient  Jewish 
 faith  and  religion.  So  that  when  he  says,  on  Rom.  vii.  5. 
 that  men  had  then  generally  small  hope,  or  none  at  all,  of 
 future  life,  it  was  evidently  his  mind,  that  God  gave  them 
 not  sufficient  ground  for  such  hope,  by  his  dealing  with  them, 
 or  by  the  revelation  he  gave  them,  however  some  of  them 
 might  console  themselves  with  some  weak  hope  of  that  sort. 
 This  is  a  matter  of  such  importance  as  deserves  to  be  seri- 
 ously considered,  and  carefully  explained. 
 
 In  the  first  place,  I  say,  in  general,  that  an  Israelite  might, 
 from  God's  dealing  with  their  nation,  and  with  particular 
 persons  in  it  who  feared  him,  conclude,  with  the  utmost  cer- 
 tainty of  rational  deduction,  that  he  had  provided  a  future 
 happiness  for  pious  persons.  He  exalted  them  to  be  his  pe- 
 culiar people,  and  gave  them  very  sensible  proofs  of  his  fa- 
 vour and  regard,  beyond  what  he  had  ever  given  to  any 
 nation.  Could  any  rational  person  allow  himself  to  think, 
 that  the  Lord  had  in  view  no  other  than  an  earthly  transi- 
 tory happiness  for  such  a  people  ?    that  they  who  honoured 
 
196  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 him  most  with  their  faith,  confidence,  and  obedience,  were, 
 if  they  prospered  in  this  world,  but  as  fed  for  the  slaughter  ; 
 when  death  should  feed  on  them  without  any  hope  beyond 
 it  ?  Surely  it  might  be  rationally  concluded  that  God  would 
 account  it  dishonourable  to  himself  to  assert  any  special 
 friendly  relation  to  them,  if  he  made  no  special  provision  for 
 them  beyond  this  life.  If,  serving  and  fearing  God,  they 
 had  earthly  felicity,  nations  had  so  too,  in  a  greater  degree 
 than  they  had  whom  God  accounted  and  declared  his  ene- 
 mies. Israel,  in  all  times,  had  occasion  to  see  pious  per- 
 sons in  worldly  and  external  misery,  and  dying  with- 
 out any  change  to  advantage  in  their  condition  outward- 
 ly. It  was  not  only  so  on  occasion  of  the  distresses  of 
 the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  the  following  times  of  their 
 church  and  nation,  when  Grotius  allows,  that  hints  were 
 given,  and  more  hope  conceived,  of  eternal  life :  but  in  an- 
 cient times  pious  men  often  underwent  great  misery  of  out- 
 ward condition.  They  were  for  a  considerable  time  in  great 
 misery  and  distress  in  Egypt.  Shall  we  say,  that  the  many 
 pious  Israelites,  who  died  in  that  time,  had  no  ground  or 
 warrant  given  them  for  the  hope  of  better  things  after  death  ? 
 In  the  times  of  the  Judges,  yea,  in  all  the  times  preceding 
 the  reign  of  king  David,  they  had  great  vicissitudes,  and 
 recurring  times  of  great  and  long  continued  distress.  Many 
 thousands,  who  were  pious,  are  likely  to  have  died  in  these 
 calamitous  times  of  their  nation,  in  circumstances  of  much 
 external  misery,^  without  seeing  what  the  renewed  mercy  of 
 God  did  for  their  people.  Had  all  these  no  hope  for  them- 
 selves in  their  death  ?  or  might  they,  after  all  the  privilege 
 God  had  dignified  them  with, — after  all  their  faith  in  him, 
 and  their  upright  walking  with  him,  amidst  the  backslid- 
 ings  of  their  nation,  that  brought  judgments  on  them, — might 
 they  say,  that  they  had  nothing  by  it,  but  to  be  of  all  men 
 the  most  miserable  ?  If  the  Ephesians,  in  their  state  of 
 heathenism,  being  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
 were  without  hope,  it  certainly  were  very  unreasonable  to 
 say,  that  those  of  the  commonwealth  of  Israel  were  so  too. 
 Upon  the  general  view  of  these  things,  it  is  certainly  just  to 
 say,  that  from  God's  dealing  with  that  people,  in  such  in- 
 stances and  cases  as  are  before  mentioned,  an  Israelite, 
 thoughtful  about  futurity,  might  infer  the  hope  of  future 
 happiness  to  pious  persons,  with  as  great  certainty,  and  ac- 
 quiescence of  judgment  and  understanding,  as  he  could  in- 
 fer any  conclusions  from  any  principles. 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  197 
 
 It  will  perhaps  be  said,  that  indeed  pious  persons  did, 
 from  such  views  of  things  as  I  have  been  representing,  form 
 the  hope  of  future  happiness,  and  that  not  altogether  with- 
 out reason  ;  but  that  it  is  still  true  that  God  did  not  give 
 them  ground  for  that  hope  by  any  revelation  or  promise  he 
 gave  them.  As  to  this,  it  hath  been  shown,  by  what  is 
 above  written,  that  God  did  give  them  ground  for  that  hope. 
 As  to  what  his  revelation  or  promise  imported  to  that  pur- 
 pose, let  us  now  direct  our  inquiry  to  that  point,  and  see 
 what  God  gave  to  Israel  by  his  word  and  promise,  to  found 
 the  hope  of  eternal  life. 
 
 The  Lord  called  himself  their  God,  and  denominated 
 himself  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  Exod.  iii. 
 6.  15.  This  expressed  the  covenant;  the  sum  of  which 
 was  in  these  few  words,  /  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall 
 be  my  people.  Let  us  consider  what  this  imported.  It  is 
 not  merely,  that  as  he  was  the  God  they  acknowledged  and 
 worshipped,  so  they  were  the  people  he  would  acknowledge 
 as  his,  and  whose  services  he  would  accept.  The  expres- 
 sions import  a  great  deal  more ;  even  a  most  special  mutual 
 interest  which  God  and  his  people  should  have  in  one  an- 
 other, by  virtue  of  the  covenant.  When  the  true  Israel 
 agreed  sincerely  to  be  his  people,  it  imported  a  resignation 
 of  themselves  to  him,  to  be  wholly  his  ;  to  be  disposed  of 
 for  his  glory,  and  separated  to  his  service.  Hence,  as  God 
 hath  an  original  right  to  them  of  property  and  dominion,  as 
 his  creatures,  so  he  had  a  special  acquired  right  to  them  by 
 the  covenant,  and  by  their  own  choice  and  self-dedication. 
 
 In  like  manner,  on  the  other  hand,  when  God  conde- 
 scended in  the  covenant  to  be  their  God,  it  imported,  that, 
 of  infinite  grace,  he  engaged  himself  to  be  theirs,  that,  as 
 the  Lord's  portion  is  bis  people,  so  the  Lord  should,  by  the 
 covenant,  be  their  portion — The  portion  of  Jacob,  Jer.  x. 
 16.  /  am  my  beloved's,  saith  the  church,  and  my  beloved  is 
 mine,  Cant.  vi.  3.  That  promise,  including  all  the  grace  of 
 the  covenant,  imports  no  less  than — for  all  that  is  signified 
 in  being  God,  I  am  thine,  so  far  as  is  requisite  for  thy  sup- 
 port, protection,  and  endless  happiness.  I  am  thine,  to  be 
 thy  shield  and  exceeding  great  reward,  Gen.  xv.  1.  There 
 was  sufficient  and  very  evident  ground  for  every  pious  soul, 
 laying  hold  of  God's  covenant,  to  entertain  the  hope  of  eter- 
 nal life.  Sadducees  of  old  might  overlook,  modern  critics 
 or  philosophers  may  overlook  or  dispute  it,  when  the 
 scheme  of  doctrine  they  have  adopted  requires  their  doing 
 
198  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 so.  But  certainly  a  thinking  rational  soul,  believing  God's 
 word,  would,  at  departing  this  life,  find,  in  this  expression 
 and  promise  of  the  covenant,  a  very  sufficient  foundation  to 
 rest  on  comfortably,  for  the  hope  of  future  life  and  happi- 
 ness. If  a  pious  Israelite  comforted  himself  by  the  Lord's 
 saying,  /  am  thy  God,  in  going  through  all  the  stages  and 
 vicissitudes  of  this  life,  often  forgoing  the  comforts  of  this 
 life  for  keeping  a  good  conscience  towards  God  ;  shall  we  say, 
 that  the  Lord's  being  his  God  imported  nothing  at  all  to 
 him  in  his  last  gloomy  and  solemn  hour  ;  but  that  all  the 
 consolation,  arising  from  the  Lord's  being  his  God,  was  to 
 expire  with  his  last  breath  ?  If  one's  hope  in  man  should 
 thus  terminate,  yet  God  is  not  man.  If  enemies  were  dis- 
 patching a  pious  person  from  this  life  with  bloody  hands, 
 how  would  it  especially  be  as  a  sword  in  his  bones,  if  he  had 
 not  in  the  promise,  /  will  be  thy  God,  what  would  fortify 
 his  heart  against  the  reproach  and  insult,  Where  is  now  thy 
 God?  Such  a  pious  person,  when  death  was  on  his  lips, — 
 when  the  failure  of  natural  spirit  and  strength  prognosticates 
 the  speedy  dissolution  of  his  frame, — yet  from  this,  /  am  thy 
 God,  he  had  cause  to  say,  When  heart  arid  strength  fail,  tJwu 
 art  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my  portion  for  ever. 
 
 We  have  the  best  confirmation  possible  of  the  justness  of 
 this  reasoning  from  our  Lord's  using  it  to  the  same  purpose 
 against  the  Sadducees,  in  Matt.  xxii.  23.  and  Luke  xx.  37, 
 38.  No?v  that  the  dead  are  raised,  Moses  showed  at  the  bush, 
 when  he  calls  the  Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of 
 Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  As  it  was  fit  to  argue  out  of 
 the  writings  of  Moses  against  the  Sadducees,  who  are  said  to 
 have  acknowledged  no  other  Scripture,  it  is  certain  that  no- 
 thing is  to  be  found  in  all  the  Scripture  more  to  the  purpose 
 of  proving  the  resurrection,  than  God's  covenant  expressed 
 in  these  wrords.  The  Lord's  argument  from  them,  as  ex- 
 pressed, Luke  xx.  38.  comes  to  this  ; — he  is  not  the  God  of 
 the  dead — of  those  who  at  death  shall  perish  ;  for  it  were 
 highly  dishonourable  to  him  to  be  reckoned  to  be,  by  special 
 relation  of  grace  and  covenant,  their  God.  He  is  not  the 
 God  of  any  but  of  such  who,  by  virtue  of  his  being  so,  are 
 the  heirs  of  eternal  life,  and  who  shall  be  introduced  to  it 
 by  a  happy  resurrection.  Shall  now  any,  who  shall  consi- 
 der the  matter  itself,  or  who  regards  the  authority  and 
 judgment  of  the  greatest  Master  of  reason  that  ever  appear- 
 ed in  our  nature,  say,  that  an  ancient  Israelite,  who  had  at 
 heart  to  lay  hold  of  and  improve  the  grace  of  the  covenant, 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  1J)J) 
 
 had  not  in  these  words,  /  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  a  most  sure 
 ground  to  rest  on  for  the  hope  of  a  happy  futurity,  and  the 
 most  sure  warrant  for  the  hope  of  eternal  life  ?  The  in- 
 spired writer  to  the  Hebrews  thought  so,  when  he  said, 
 Heb.  xi.  \6.  Wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their 
 God,  for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a  city. 
 
 I  shall  now  show  by  another  Scripture,  that  God's  cove- 
 nant, as  it  was  proposed  to  his  people  anciently,  did  found 
 the  hope  of  eternal  life,  and  that  the  promise  thereof  was 
 so  meant.  In  Isa.  lv.  3.  mention  is  made  of  the  sure  mer- 
 cies of  David.  Indeed  the  mention  of  sure  mercies  might, 
 at  first  sight,  convince  any,  that  other  sort  of  mercies  are 
 intended  than  such  as  are  earthly,  temporary,  and  transient. 
 Wc  need  be  at  no  loss  to  understand  who  this  David  is. 
 David,  king  of  Israel,  had  been  dead  some  centuries  before. 
 This  David  was  to  come  when  Isaiah  wrote,  as  appears  by 
 the  following  words:  Behold  I  have  given  him  for  a  witness 
 to  the  people,  a  leader  and  commander  to  the  people.  Behold, 
 thou  shalt  call  a  nation  that  thou  know  est  not,  and  nations 
 that  knew  not  thee  shall  come  unto  thee.  It  is  plain  it  is  the 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  mentioned  on  other  occasions  by  the 
 prophets  under  the  name  of  David,  who  is  here  intended  ; 
 and  the  expression  of  '  mercies  being  sure  to  him,'  imports 
 that  God  would  raise  him  from  the  dead  to  eternal  life.  We 
 may  be  the  more  confident  of  this  interpretation,  when  we 
 observe  the  blessed  apostle  going  before  us  in  it,  Acts  xiii.  34. 
 where,  proving  to  his  hearers  from  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  that  God  was  to  raise  Christ  from  the  dead,  his 
 Scripture  quotation  and  argument  he  gives  thus  :  As  con- 
 cerning that  he  raised  him  up  from  the  dead,  now  no  more  to 
 return  to  corruption,  he  said  on  this  wise,  I  will  give  unto  you 
 the  sure  mercies  of  David.  We  see  what  the  sure  mercies  pro- 
 mised to  Jesus  Christ  do  mean.  To  bring  this  to  the  pur- 
 pose of  our  present  argument,  I  next  observe,  that  these 
 sure  mercies,  importing  resurrection  to  eternal  life,  are  by 
 Isaiah  extended  to  all  the  faithful,  as  the  mercies  of  the  co- 
 venant. It  is  implied,  agreeable  to  the  common  doctrine 
 of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  covenant  is,  in  the  first  place, 
 made  with  Jesus  Christ  the  second  Adam  ;  and  hence  God 
 is  called  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 Therefore  the  promises  and  blessings  of  the  covenant  de- 
 scend through  Christ,  and,  in  his  right,  to  them  who  believe 
 in  him.  Accordingly,  these  are  the  prophet's  words,  Isa.  lv. 
 3.  Hear,  and  your  souls  shall  live ;  and  I  will  make  an 
 
200  ¥  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 everlasting  covenant  with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  Da- 
 vid. Here  it  is  evident,  that  as  the  resurrection  to  eternal 
 life  was  promised  to  Christ,  so  it  is  set  forth  as  the  promise 
 of  the  covenant  to  his  people,  that  they  should  partake  in 
 the  same  sure  mercies,  in  the  like  resurrection  and  eternal 
 life.  If  the  Jews,  who  were  Paul's  hearers,  did  not,  and 
 could  not,  contradict  Paul,  and  say,  that  sure  mercies  did 
 not  import  to  Christ  the  raising  him  from  the  dead  to  eter- 
 nal life,  as  little  can  any  say,  that  the  promise,  as  it  is  ex- 
 tended by  the  prophet,  does  not  mean  resurrection  and  eter- 
 nal life  to  believers  of  these,  and  of  all  times. 
 
 As  to  the  law  itself,  it  is  very  true,  that,  considered  sepa- 
 rately from  grace,  it  gave  no  promise  of  eternal,  nor  even  of 
 temporal  life  to  sinners.  Yet  at  the  sametime  it  is  to  be  observ- 
 ed, that  when  God  gave  his  law  to  Israel  from  mount  Sinai, 
 he  introduced  it  thus  :  /  am  the  Lord  thy  God.  The  reason 
 was  this  :  He  then  gave  out  his  law  with  circumstances  of 
 the  utmost  terror  to  sinners.  Yet,  according  to  the  hint 
 given  in  the  preface  prefixed  to  it,  he  designed  it  in  subser- 
 viency to  his  grace.  It  appears  to  have  been  his  declared 
 and  special  view  to  give  his  law  on  this  occasion  to  them 
 whom  he  took  for  his  peculiar  people,  to  whom  he  was  their 
 God,  and  who,  from  his  being  so,  were  to  expect  to  have,  for 
 the  end  of  their  conformity  thereto  in  holiness,  eternal  life  ; 
 and  to  have  their  obedience  to  it  rewarded,  according  to  the 
 grace  of  the  covenant,  with  an  eternal  inheritance.  So  it 
 cannot  be  said,  that,  even  as  the  law  was  given  by  Moses, 
 and  terribly  promulgated  at  Sinai,  Israel  were  not  encourag- 
 ed to  obedience  by  the  promise  of  eternal  life,  though  this 
 was  not  included  from  the  law  itself,  but  from  the  grace  of 
 the  covenant,  by  which  the  Lord  became  their  God ;  for 
 such  he  could  not  be  to  sinners  by  virtue  of  the  law,  but  of 
 grace,  and  by  virtue  of  the  covenant  of  grace. 
 
 In  the  time  of  Moses,  Baalam  says,  Numb,  xxiii.  10.  Let 
 me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like 
 his.  Grotius  gives,  from  the  Jewish  Gemara,  an  interpreta- 
 tion of  this,  as  if  it  was  only  a  wish  that  he  might  not  die  an 
 immature  or  violent  death,  as  the  Lord  promised  to  those 
 who  obeyed  him.  Himself  did  well  to  add,  that  these  ex- 
 pressions do,  however,  hide  a  more  deep  mystical  sense ;  yet 
 this  that  he  calls  a  mystical  sense  appears  more  open  and  ob- 
 vious than  that  other  given  by  the  Gemara.  It  is  plain, 
 that  the  words  mean  the  hope  that  is  in  death  possessed  by 
 righteous  persons,  even  if  their  death  should  be  immature  or 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  201 
 
 violent,  (as  that  afterwards  of  Eli  and  Josiah,  and,  long  be- 
 fore Balaam's  time,  that  of  righteous  Abel)  or  with  whatever 
 external  circumstances  it  should  be  attended. 
 
 Solomon  saith,  Prov.  xiii.  32.  that  the  righteous  hath  hope 
 in  his  death.  But  it  is  not  easy  to  see  what  should  furnish 
 hope  to  a  man  leaving  this  life  with  all  its  satisfactions  and 
 enjoyments  at  death,  if  there  was  not  the  hope  of  future  life 
 and  happiness. 
 
 The  view  that  Solomon  gives  of  the  course  of  things  in 
 the  world  makes  clearly  and  strongly  to  the  present  purpose, 
 when  he  says,  Eccl.  ix.  1,  2.  No  man  knoweth  love  or  hatred 
 by  all  that  is  before  them  :  all  things  come  alike  to  all  : 
 there  is  one  event  to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wicked.  What 
 the  words  intimate  is,  that  there  happens  not,  in  the  course 
 of  providence  respecting  men  in  this  life,  any  thing  that 
 proves  God's  special  favour  and  love  to  one  sort  beyond 
 others.  So  the  wise  man  observed,  even  in  these  times  of 
 the  Old  Testament.  Yet  it  could  not  be  thought  that  God's 
 special  favour  and  love  to  his  people  does  not  produce  suit- 
 able effects  and  fruits  to  their  advantage.  Therefore  the 
 Holy  Ghost  declaring,  that  none  such  are  to  be  looked  for 
 in  this  life,  it  amounts  to  an  assurance,  and  could  not  but 
 be  so  understood  in  these  times,  that  the  special  fruits  of 
 Divine  favour  are  certainly  awaiting  them  in  a  future  happy 
 state. 
 
 Let  us  likewise  consider  these  words,  Isa.  iii.  10.  Say  ye 
 to  the  righteous,  it  shall  be  well  with  him,  for  they  shall  eat 
 the  fruit  of  their  doings.  Woe  unto  the  wicked,  it  shall  be 
 ill  with  him,  for  the  reward  of  his  hands  shall  be  given 
 him.  The  former  text  showed  that  there  is  nothing  distin- 
 guishing in  God's  providential  dealings  with  the  righteous 
 and  wicked  in  this  world.  Yet  this  text  asserts,  that  it  shall 
 be  well  wTith  the  righteous — that  he  shall  enjoy  the  fruit  of 
 his  works  ;  and  that  it  shall  be  ill  with  the  wicked — that  he 
 shall  receive  a  reward  suited  to  his  wTorks.  Now,  if,  ac- 
 cording to  Solomon's  observation,  the  one  or  the  other  hap- 
 pens not  in  this  world,  it  is  certain,  and  might  have  appear- 
 ed so  in  Isaiah's  time, from  these  scriptural  declarations,  that 
 it  behoved  to  be  after  this  life. 
 
 God  gives  warrant  and  commission  here,  in  the  words  ot% 
 Isaiah,  to  say  to  the  righteous,  without  excepting  any  con- 
 dition or  time  of  life,  that  it  shall  be  well  with  him.  It  is  at 
 death  especially,  when  a  man  is  finishing  his  course  of  right- 
 eousness, that  he  may  be  determined  to  be  righteous  ;  and 
 
202  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 it  is  then  especially  that  a  man  needs  the  consolations  of  God's 
 word.  Let  us  suppose  such  a  one  in  the  convulsions  and 
 throes  of  death,  and  that  a  pious  friend  says,  Fear  not :  God 
 hath  said,  it  shall  be  well  with  the  righteous :  you  are  now 
 to  eat  the  fruit  of  your  doings.  Let  us  suppose  such  a  one 
 to  answer,  (as  persons  in  darkness  of  condition  are  often 
 very  ready  to  argue  against  themselves) — How  can  it  be  well 
 with  me,  and  what  can  my  hope  be  ?  Alas  !  my  course  is  at 
 an  end  :  I  shall  enjoy  no  more  time,  nor  any  good  in  this 
 world.  Surely  it  would,  in  this  case,  be  replying  justly,  to 
 say  :  God's  promise  to  such  as  you  is  absolute,  and  without 
 limitation  to  time,  or  the  things  of  time.  The  power  of 
 God  can  cause  you  to  live.  Imitate  the  faith  of  Abraham 
 concerning  his  son  Isaac,  through  whom  the  promises  were 
 to  have  their  accomplishment:  He  accounted  (Heb.  xi.  19.) 
 that  God  was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead. 
 Death  itself  is  not  strong  enough  to  disappoint  the  promise, 
 or  make  it  of  none  effect.  You  need  not  apprehend,  that 
 the  power  or  faithfulness  of  God  shall  fail  in  any  thing  that 
 is  comprehended  in  the  extent  of  his  word  and  promise. 
 It  shall  therefore  be  well  with  you  when  you  depart  hence  : 
 you  shall  enjoy  the  fruit  of  your  doings. 
 
 This  text  indeed  doth  not  say  eternal  life  ;  and  the  de- 
 mand of  some  is,  to  find  in  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment a  promise  or  declaration  mentioning  explicitly  and  ex- 
 pressly eternal  life;  not  merely  inferring  it  by  reasoning 
 from  dark  texts.  This,  however,  is  very  unreasonable, 
 and  not  better  than  if  the  Sadducees  had  replied  to  our 
 blessed  Lord, — You  do  but  argue  from  a  dark  text,  in  which 
 there  is  no  express  mention  of  resurrection,  or  of  eternal  life. 
 The  force  of  the  argument  did  so  strike  them  as  to  disable 
 them  to  make  such  answer  to  it.  It  doth  not  become  us  to 
 contend  captiously  with  God  about  words  and  vocables. 
 Certainly,  no  words  of  any  promise  could  more  clearly  and 
 strongly  ensure  future  life  and  happiness  to  a  righteous  man 
 when  dying,  than  the  promise  of  Isaiah  doth.  As  to  the 
 exprpssion,  eternal  or  everlasting  life,  we  shall  even  find  it 
 in  the  promise  presently. 
 
 We  see  Daniel  writing  expressly  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
 dead,  chap.  xii.  2,  3.  And  many  of  them  mho  sleep  in  the 
 dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and 
 some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt.  And  they  that  be 
 wise  shall  shine  as  the  frmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
 righteousness,  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.     If  Daniel  had, 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  203 
 
 in  the  preceding  context,  been  prophesying  of  the  distresses 
 of  the  Jews  by  the  oppressions  of  Antiochus,  he  doth  here 
 promise,  not  merely  outward  deliverance  from  these,  but  sets 
 forth  what  makes  the  chief  consolation  of  the  church  against 
 all  temporal  distresses  and  afflictions.  It  is  common  with 
 the  prophets,  Isaiah  in  particular,  to  comfort  the  church  of 
 Israel,  against  the  tribulations  they  foretel,  by  lofty  repre- 
 sentations of  the  glories  of  Christ's  kingdom  to  the  end  of 
 the  world,  and  after  it  for  ever.  Thus  doth  Daniel  here 
 comfort  the  church  against  the  extreme  distresses  he  had 
 foretold,  by  representing  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
 the  glory  that  shall  follow.  If  the  word  is  many,  it  hath 
 been  observed,  that  sometimes  the  word  signifies  the  same 
 as  all.  So  Rom.  v.  J9»  By  one  mans  disobedience  many 
 were  made  sinners.  It  is  plain  that  nothing  less  than  the  re- 
 surrection of  the  dead  comes  up  to  the  propriety  and  obvious 
 meaning  of  Daniel's  words  ;  and  the  promise  to  himself  can 
 mean  no  less  than  his  having  his  part  comfortably  in  that 
 resurrection  ;  ver.  13.  Bid  go  thou  thy  way  till  the  end  be  ; 
 for  thou  shall  rest,  and  stand  in  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the  days. 
 
 Let  us  now  look  into  the  New  Testament,  and  to  some  of 
 the  accounts  which  we  find  therein  of  the  faith  of  the  Old 
 Testament  church  respecting  heaven  and  eternal  life,  and 
 the  hopes  which  believers  of  these  times  entertained  of  it. 
 For  Christians  may  be  well  assured,  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
 would  not  in  the  New  Testament  represent  these  to  have 
 been  otherwise  than  as  indeed  they  were. 
 
 The  apostle  Paul  put  the  cause  between  him  and  his  per- 
 secutors on  this,  Acts  xxiii.  6.  that  it  was  concerning  the 
 hope  and  resurrection  of  the  dead  that  he  was  called  in  ques- 
 tion. And  he  says  before  Agrippa,  Acts  xxvi.  6,  7,  8.  / 
 stand  and  am  judged  for  the  hope  of  the  promise  made  of 
 God  unto  our  fathers  :  unto  which  promise  our  twelve  tribes, 
 instantly  serving  God  day  and  night,  hope  to  come  ;  for  which 
 hopes  sake,  King  Agrippa,  I  am  accused  of  the  Jews.  Why 
 should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you,  that  God 
 should  raise  the  dead  ?-  In  like  manner,  ver.  22,  23,  he  as- 
 serts, that  he  said  none  other  things  than  Moses  and  the  pro- 
 phets  did  say  should  come,  thai  Christ  should  suffer,  and  that 
 he  should  be  the  frst  that  should  rise  from  the  dead.  In- 
 deed, this  promise  of  rising  from  the  dead,  to  Christ  and  his 
 people,  is  clearly  enough  expressed,  Isa.  lv.  3.  as  hath  been 
 shown  formerly.  It  may  have  the  appearance  and  pretence 
 of  advancing  the  honour  and  value  of  the  gospel,  and  of  the 
 
204  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 Christian  revelation,  to  assert  that  it  was  by  it  first,  and  never 
 before,  that  the  promise  was  given,  and  a  foundation  laid 
 for  the  hope  of  the  resurrection,  and  of  eternal  life.  But  I 
 do  not  understand  that  it  can  consist  with  the  credit  of  the 
 Christian  revelation  to  suppose,  that  Christ  and  his  apostles 
 pretended  to  find  in  Moses  and  the  prophets  what -was  not 
 truly  in  them. 
 
 We  find,  Heb.  xi.  9,  10.  that  Abraham,  while  he  receiv- 
 ed believingly  and  thankfully  the  promise  of  Canaan  to  his 
 posterity,  as  a  pledge  of  something  better  to  himself,  and  to 
 his  spiritual  seed,  yet  for  his  own  personal  and  chief  inte- 
 rest, he  by  faith  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise,  as  in  a 
 strange  country,  very  contentedly  dwelling  in  tabernacles 
 with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same  pro- 
 mise. So  he  and  these  other  patriarchs  showed  by  their 
 conduct,  that  they  looked  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations, 
 whose  builder  and  maker  is  God. 
 
 Thus  too  the  same  inspired  writer  gives  an  account  of  the 
 faith  and  hope  of  these  fathers,  ver.  13 — 16.  He  says, 
 These  all  died  in  the  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises, 
 but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and  were  persuaded  of  them, 
 and  embraced  them,  and  confessed  that  they  were  strangers 
 and  pilgrims  on  earth.  He  then  says,  they  hereby  declared 
 plainly,  that  they  did  seek  a  country  ;  not  that  from  whence 
 they  came  out :  they  showed  that  they  desired  a  better,  that 
 is,  a  heavenly  country.  Whatever  besides  was  in  these  pro- 
 mises, it  is  evidently  the  apostle's  view,  that  there  was  that 
 in  them  that  determined  these  fathers  to  account  themselves, 
 yea,  to  choose  to  be,  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  earth,  and  to 
 desire  a  heavenly  country. 
 
 Downwards,  ver.  24 — 26.  he  represents  how  Moses  did 
 forego  the  prospect  of  high  worldly  advancement,  took  a 
 share  in  the  afflictions  of  the  people  of  God,  and  in  the  re- 
 proach of  Christ:  for,  saith  the  inspired  writer,  he  had 
 respect  unto  the  recompence  of  reward.  This  was  not  a  re- 
 ward on  earth,  or  to  share  in  the  rest  and  happiness  of  Is- 
 rael in  Canaan,  which  he  did  not  attain  ;  but  a  recompence 
 and  reward,  the  hope  of  which  did  not  disappoint  him. 
 Thereafter,  ver.  35.  he  mentions  some,  who  were  tortured, 
 not  accepting  deliverance,  that  they  might  obtain  a  better  re- 
 surrection. After  all  this,  I  cannot  but  wonder  that  some 
 learned  men  should  not  be  able  to  find  in  the  religion  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  or  in  the  covenants  of  promise,  which  were 
 the  grounds  and  principles  of  that  religion,  a  clear  and  suffi- 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  205 
 
 cient  warrant  for  the  hope  of  future  happiness,  and  of  eternal 
 life.  Our  blessed  Lord  himself,  John  v.  39-  bids  the  Jews 
 to  search  the  Scriptures  ;  for  in  them,  saith  he,  ye  think  ye  have 
 eternal  life.  He  gave  them  no  hint  on  this  occasion,  that 
 their  opinion  of  finding  eternal  life  in  these  Old  Testament 
 Scriptures  was  ill  founded.  Yea,  if  it  were,  it  had  been  de- 
 luding them  to  direct  them  to  look  for  it  there. 
 
 It  were  easy  to  add  here  divers  instances  of  holy  persons 
 in  these  times,  whose  profession  of  their  faith  and  hope  of 
 future  life  appears  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament, 
 and  who  profess  this  hope  in  such  a  manner  as  did  sufficient- 
 ly warrant  the  same  hope  to  others,  in  their  own  and  after 
 times.  There  is  less  need  to  enlarge  in  that  way,  that  even 
 Socinus  and  his  followers  acknowledge  that  several  of  them 
 did  actually  entertain  that  hope ;  at  the  same  time  that  they 
 assert,  that  God  gave  them  no  such  promise,  nor  the  war- 
 rant of  such  hope ;  and  allow  that  the  heathens  also  had  that 
 hope :  so  that  God's  Israel  were  without  hope,  as  to  any  sure 
 ground  of  hope,  as  well  as  the  heathens  who  were  aliens 
 from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
 covenants  of  promise,  Eph.  ii.  12.  But  the  great  difference 
 between  Israel  and  the  heathens,  as  to  the  grounds  of  their 
 hope,  doth  very  clearly  appear  by  what  we  have  said  on  the 
 subject.  However,  as  to  the  hope  actually  entertained  by 
 them,  these  few  instances  (besides  what  hath  come  in  our 
 way  before)  may  be  observed,  Gen.  xlix.  18.  2  Sam.  xxiii. 
 5.  Psal.  xvii.  15.   Psal.  xlix.  14,  15.   Psal.  lxxiii.  24 — 26. 
 
 If  we  consider  attentively  how  matters  were  ordered 
 under  the  Old  Testament  as  to  Israel,  we  may  see  cause 
 to  conceive  of  them  thus.  When  the  Lord  chose  and  sepa- 
 rated the  seed  of  Jacob  to  be  his  church,  and  brought  them 
 into  covenant  with  himself,  he  dealt  with  them  as  he  never 
 did  before,  or  since,  with  any  people.  A  particular  article 
 of  his  covenant  and  promise  to  them  was,  to  give  them  a 
 good  land,  Canaan,  for  an  inheritance.  He  promised  them 
 the  enjoyment  of  that  land,  and  prosperity  in  it,  on  condi- 
 tion of  maintaining  his  truth  and  worship,  and  the  purity  of 
 his  institutions,  with  which  he  had  dignified  them  beyond 
 any  other  people,  and  of  universal  obedience  to  all  his  com- 
 mandments :  intimating  to  them,  that,  from  a  contrary  be- 
 haviour, they  should  expect  his  judgments  to  come  on  them- 
 selves and  their  land ;  to  make  them  unhappy  in  it,  or  to 
 expel  them  from  it.  At  the  same  time,  he  assured  them  of 
 his  mercy,  by  which  he  would,  upon  their  repentance,  renew 
 
 i  5 
 
206  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 the  prosperity  of  their  nation,  and  restore  them  to  the  pos- 
 session of  their  earthly  inheritance,  if  they  had  been  dis- 
 possessed of  it. 
 
 Upon  this  view  of  things,  we  need  not  wonder  that,  in 
 giving  them  his  law  by  Moses,  the  Lord  should  encourage 
 their  nation  to  a  due  regard  to  his  laws  and  ordinances,  by 
 the  promise  of  national  and  temporal  prosperity,  in  the  land 
 he  gave  them  for  an  inheritance,  and  should  deter  them 
 from  disobedience,  by  denouncing  temporal  judgments  and 
 strokes  to  come  on  them  and  on  their  land,  in  consequence 
 „of  it.  It  like  manner,  when  their  prophets  did  deal  with 
 that  people  about  the  unhappy  circumstances  in  which  they 
 often  were,  as  they  did  acquaint  them  that  their  sins  were 
 the  cause,  so  they  commonly  encouraged  them  to  repentance 
 and  reformation  by  the  promise  of  temporal  prosperity  to 
 their  nation,  and  the  affluence  of  the  good  things  of  the 
 earth.  Indeed,  when  the  weal  and  prosperity,  the  misery 
 and  distresses  of  nations  are  the  subject,  these  views  will 
 suit  the  case  of  all  nations  at  all  times.  God  doth  not  give 
 heaven  to  whole  nations,  but  doth  commonly  connect  na- 
 tional good  behaviour  and  obedience  with  temporal  national 
 prosperity.  It  is  likewise  true,  that  under  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, as  heavenly  and  eternal  things  were  more  sparingly 
 revealed,  temporal  prosperity  and  success  was  more  common- 
 ly bestowed,  to  encourage  the  integrity  of  single  persons, 
 than  under  the  gospel,  when  the  cross  is  recommended  to 
 Christians,  after  the  example  of  Christ  himself,  as  the  way  to 
 glory.  These  things  may  account  for  a  great  deal  of  what 
 is  to  be  found  with  Moses  and  the  prophets,  of  which  an 
 improper  use  hath  been  made,  with  regard  to  the  spiritual 
 state  and  hope  of  the  Lord's  people  in  ancient  times. 
 
 What  is  expressed  in  the  Old  Testament  Scripture,  on 
 such  views  as  1  have  been  observing,  is  by  no  means  to  the 
 purpose  of  the  doctrine  of  justification,  nor  doth  it  derogate 
 from  the  hope  of  eternal  life  in  the  times  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment. If  Moses  or  the  prophets  are  signifying  to  Israel,  by 
 what  means  their  nation  may  attain  or  recover  the  Divine  fa- 
 vour and  their  national  prosperity,  we  are  not  to  conceive 
 it,  as  if  the  Holy  Ghost  were  showing  how  a  sinner  is  justi- 
 fied before  God,  with  spiritual  and  eternal  consequences.  I 
 believe  a  nation  may,  according  to  the  common  rule  and  me- 
 thod of  Divine  conduct,  attain  the  favour  of  Providence  by 
 their  own  works  and  good  behaviour  :  and  the  favour  of 
 Providence  may  sometimes,  by   Divine  sovereignty,  be  be- 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  207 
 
 stowed,  as  the  reward  of  the  integrity  and  well-doing  of 
 single  persons,  as  more  commonly  happened  in  the  times  of 
 the  Old  Testament.  But  it  doth  not  by  any  means  follow, 
 that  a  sinner  is  justified  before  God  by  his  own  works  or 
 righteousness,  or  that  it  is  by  these  that  a  sinner  is  intro- 
 duced into  a  state  of  grace  and  favour  with  God.  At  the 
 same  time,  if  the  Lord  encouraged  Israel  to  obedience,  re- 
 pentance, and  reformation,  by  the  promises  of  peace,  earthly 
 prosperity,  and  national  happiness,  they  shall  greatly  mistake, 
 who  shall  think  that  he  invited  men  to  piety  by  no  higher 
 views,  and  by  no  better  promises. 
 
 The  case,  in  short,  hath  stood  thus :  Godliness  hath  still 
 had  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to 
 come.  Under  the  gospel,  the  promise  of  the  life  that  it  to 
 come  is  more  clearly  exhibited,  and  more  inculcated.  Dur- 
 ing the  Old  Testament,  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
 did,  in  a  greater  degree,  include  temporal  prosperity,  and 
 was  more  inculcated  than  since.  They  who  were  carnal  fol- 
 lowed after  righteousness  with  that  view ;  and  generally 
 they  did  not  miss  of  their  reward.  But  they  whose  hearts 
 were  formed  to  spiritual  things,  as  their  views  entered  far- 
 ther into  true  holiness,  they  pursued  that  course  with  a  high- 
 er aim  of  spiritual  good  things,  and  of  eternal  blessings,  and 
 found  sufficient  ground  for  such  aim  and  hope  in  the  promises 
 of  the  covenant. 
 
 It  doth  not  become  us  to  prescribe  rules  to  divine  wisdom, 
 concerning  the  measure  of  light  that  ought  to  be  afforded  in 
 the  different  periods  of  time.  It  is  said,  2  Tim.  i.  10.  that 
 Christ  hath — brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the 
 gospel.  Much  use  hath  been  made  of  this  against  what  hath 
 been  here  advanced.  But  no  more  can  be  justly  made  of 
 these  words,  than  that  life  and  immortality  is  brought  out  of 
 the  obscurity  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  is,  together  with 
 the  special  grounds  of  the  hope,  set  forth  in  a  clear  and  full 
 light  by  the  gospel.  But  this  doth  by  no  means  import  that 
 in  the  preceding  state  and  period  there  was  no  revelation  or 
 promise  of  life  and  immortality. 
 
 That  the  expression  used  in  writing  to  Timothy  doth  not 
 import  so,  will  appear  by  considering  expressions  fully  as 
 strong,  used  concerning  other  subjects.  For  instance,  Eph. 
 iii.  the  Apostle  says,  That  the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow -heirs 
 and  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of  his  promise  in  Christ, 
 by  the  gospel,  ver.  6.  was  a  mystery  made  known,  ver.  3.  to 
 himself  by  revelation.       A  mystery  ver.  5,  which  in  former 
 
208  An  Essay  concerning  the  Promise 
 
 ages  was  not  made  known  to  the  sons  of  men,  as  it  is  now  re- 
 vealed to  his  holy  apostles  and  prophets  by  the  Spirit.  We 
 must  not  for  this  say,  that  the  mystery  of  the  calling,  and 
 incorporating  of  the  Gentiles  into  the  church,  was  not  at  all 
 revealed  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  For  we  find 
 these  Scriptures,  on  divers  occasions,  quoted  to  that  purpose  ; 
 and  particularly,  Rom.  xv.  9 — 12-  we  see  the  apostle  ob- 
 serving the  prediction  of  that  event  in  divers  places  of  the 
 Old  Testament :  and  we  shall  easily  find  it  foretold  in 
 several  places,  not  less,  rather  more,  clearly  than  in  those 
 mentioned  by  the  apostle.  As  if  he  intended  to  assist  those 
 he  wrote  to,  to  observe  the  prediction  in  these  places  where 
 there  were  but  dark  and  brief  hints  of  it ;  leaving  to  them- 
 selves to  observe  these  places  where  the  matter  was  more 
 obvious,  and  presented  in  a  more  clear  and  full  light.  But 
 as  he  says  to  the  Ephesians,  of  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles, 
 that  it  was  not  formerly  made  known,  as  it  is  now  revealed 
 by  the  Spirit  to  the  holy  apostles  and  prophets  ;  so  we  may 
 justly  paraphrase  the  words  to  Timothy  thus :  Life  and 
 immortality  were  not  formerly  made  known  as  they  are  now 
 revealed  by  the  Spirit  to  the  holy  apostles  and  prophets,  and 
 by  them  to  the  church  through  the  gospel.  Life  and  im- 
 mortality are  now  brought  to  light,  compared  with  the  for- 
 mer obscurity. 
 
 In  like  manner,  the  apostle  Peter  says  of  Christ  to  those 
 he  writes  to,  that  he  was  fore-ordained  before  the  foundation 
 of  the  world  ;  but  (so  he  adds)  was  manifested  in  these  latter 
 times  for  you.  The  word  man  if est,  here,  and  in  2  Tim.  i. 
 10.  brought  to  light,  do  very  precisely  render  the  words  of 
 the  Greek ;  and  to  bring  to  light,  and  to  make  manifest,  are 
 expressions  evidently  of  the  same  meaning.  But  if  Christ 
 is  said  to  be  made  manifest  in  the  latter  times,  those  of  the 
 gospel,  would  any  infer  that  there  was  no  revelation,  no 
 promise  of  him  under  the  Old  Testament  ?  To  make  the 
 like  inference  concerning  life  and  immortality,  from  2  Tim. 
 i.  10.  were  no  less  absurd. 
 
 It  cannot  be  understood  how  religion  could  be  at  all  main- 
 tained in  ancient  times,  or  at  any  time  sincerely,  in  the 
 church,  without  the  promise  and  hope  of  spiritual  blessings, 
 and  of  eternal  life ;  or  how  without  the  pursuit  and  hope  of 
 these,  there  could  be  true  purity  of  heart,  or  true  holiness. 
 When  the  apostle  Paul  proceeds  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
 epistle  to  the  Colossians,  as  is  usual  with  him  in  all  his 
 epistles,   to  exhort  the  Colossians   to   holiness,   he  begins, 
 
Under  the  Old  Testament.  209 
 
 chap.  iii.  1.  with  exhorting  them  to  seek  the  things  that  are 
 above  ;  to  set  their  affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things 
 on  the  earthy  and  to  mortify  their  members  (their  corrupt 
 lusts  and  affections)  that  are  upon  the  earth.  If  we  observe 
 the  view  the  Scripture  gives  us  of  the  matter,  we  shall  see 
 there  is  nothing  more  contrary  to  holiness  and  purity  of 
 heart,  than  to  have  the  heart  set  on  the  earth,  and  addicted 
 to  earthly  satisfactions  and  enjoyments,  and  to  the  pursuit  of 
 them.  Though  Grotius  is  wrong,  when  he  writes  so  un- 
 favourably of  the  hope  of  eternal  life  during  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, yet  his  view  is  so  far  right  in  general,  that,  sup- 
 posing the  Lord  not  to  give  the  hope  of  any  good  beyond 
 what  is  earthly,  there  would  not  be  the  strength  (nor,  I  say, 
 the  disposition)  needful  for  purifying  the  heart.  To  say  the 
 trnth,  how  could  men  be  found  fault  with  for  pursuing  and 
 resting  in  the  happiness  of  earthly  wealth  and  pleasure,  if 
 nothing  better  was  set  before  them  ?  And  however,  on  oc- 
 casion of  remarkable  Divine  pleasure,  fasting  and  prayer 
 might,  at  any  rate,  be  proper,  even  for  the  recovery  or 
 continuance  of  earthly  enjoyments  ;  yet,  in  the  common 
 course  of  things,  might  it  not  be  reckoned  just  and  prudent 
 to  say,  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die  ?  For 
 why  should  not  men  set  their  hearts  on  that  good,  which  is 
 the  greatest  object  of  hope,  that  they  find  even  revelation 
 setting  before  them  ? 
 
 The  Lord  might  indeed,  by  the  regulations  prescribed  to 
 civil  and  ecclesiastic  rulers  ;  by  the  severity  of  his  judgments 
 on  Israel  for  their  sins ;  and  by  the  extraordinary  interpo- 
 sitions of  his  providence,  at  other  times,  in  their  behalf;  by 
 the  ministry  of  his  prophets,  and  the  authority  he  conciliated 
 to  them  by  extraordinary  gifts  and  miraculous  powers  :  he 
 might,  I  say,  by  all  these  means  procure  considerable  regard 
 to  his  laws  as  to  outward  obedience,  and  deter  men  from 
 the  outward  practice  of  wickedness;  and  so  maintain  some 
 order  in  society.  But  I  am  confident,  it  is  agreeable  to  the 
 Scriptures,  and  to  the  nature  of  things,  to  say,  that  all  these 
 means  could  not  procure  true  holiness  and  sincerity  of  obe- 
 dience, or  the  purifying  of  the  heart,  if  the  word  of  God 
 proposed,  for  the  object  of  hope,  nothing  above  what  is 
 earthly. 
 
 It  will  not  be  enough  to  say,  that  many,  in  these  times, 
 from  the  direction  of  their  reason  or  understanding,  from 
 the  inclination  of  their  own  hearts,  or  from  some  secret  in- 
 stinct of  grace,  did  indeed  desire  and  hope  for  spiritual  bless- 
 
210  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 ings  and  eternal  life,  though  God  did  not  by  any  revelation 
 or  promise  give  them  any  direction  or  ground  to  warrant  such 
 desire  and  hope.  Even  the  Socinians  allow  so  much.  But 
 that  certainly  must  be  deemed  sufficient  in  religion,  which  is 
 agreeable  to  the  revelation  God  hath  given.  If  the  revela- 
 tion did  not  warrant  and  found  the  hope  of  spiritual  blessings 
 and  of  eternal  life,  we  must  either  say,  that  the  desire  and 
 hope  of  these  is  not  necessary  in  religion,  or  that  divine  re- 
 velation in  the  times  of  the  Old  Testament  was  essentially 
 defective  ;  which  were  so  dishonourable  to  God  and  to  re- 
 velation, that  I  scarce  think  it  will  be  admitted  by  any  per- 
 sons of  Christian  profession. 
 
 I  apprehend  that,  of  the  two  things  I  have  mentioned, 
 those  I  have  in  my  eye  will  choose  the  first ;  viz.  to  say, 
 that  though  the  desire  and  hope  of  spiritual  and  eternal  bles- 
 sings are  of  great  advantage  in  religion,  yet  they  are  not 
 absolutely  necessary.  Accordingly,  I  observe,  that  they  who 
 hold  that  ancient  Israel  had  little  hope  of  eternal  life,  and  no 
 ground  for  such  hope  by  God's  word  or  promise,  do  generally 
 incline  to  think  favourably  of  those  they  call  virtuous  hea- 
 thens ;  and  that  their  wanting  this  hope,  and  good  grounds 
 for  it,  and  the  want  of  its  influence  in  their  heart  and  prac- 
 tice, was  not  such  an  essential  defect  in  the  religion  of  the 
 heathens,  but  that  without  it  they  might  attain  to  the 
 pleasing  of  God,  and  to  future  happiness.  Whatever  argu- 
 ments he  used  to  guard  against  the  consequence  of  these 
 sentiments,  yet  their  tendency  is,  and  their  consequence 
 will  commonly  be,  with  those  who  receive  them,  though  they 
 themselves  have  presented  to  them  the  revelation  and  pro- 
 mise of  eternal  life,  that  they  will  be  led  by  such  notions  to 
 think,  (what  the  carnality  of  men's  hearts  is  otherwise  prone 
 to)  that  the  way  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  more  easy  than 
 it  is  indeed,  and  that  with  fatal  effect  to  the  souls  of  men. 
 
 TEXT — Ver.  10.   And  the  commandment  which  was  ordained  to  life,  I 
 found  to  be  unto  death. 
 
 Explication. — The  unfavourable  consequence  of  the 
 coming  of  the  commandment,  here  seems  not  to  be  merely 
 condemning  the  transgressor,  and  adjudging  death  to  him, 
 which,  according  to  the  notion  of  some  late  writers,  it  never 
 did  but  in  one  instance,  until  the  Mosaic  promulgation, 
 which,  they  say,  first  added  to  the  commandment  the  sanc- 
 tion of  death  for  transgression.  If  we  consider  the  context 
 from  ver.  5.  we  may  see  cause  to  think,  that  the  apostle  hath 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  211 
 
 especially  in  his  view  the  effect  produced  by  the  unregener- 
 ate  heart  and  the  law,  between  them  ;  viz.  the  revival  of 
 sin  in  its  more  vehement  lustings  and  unholy  affections. 
 
 As  to  the  law's  being  ordained  to  life,  it  did  originally 
 promise  life  to  those  who  should  perfectly  obey  it.  It  was 
 designed,  and  in  itself  calculated  to  lead  them  in  the  way 
 that  would  terminate  in  life.  It  represents  an  amiable  scheme 
 of  holiness,  a  perfect  system  of  duty,  by  which  it  might 
 recommend  itself  to  every  rational  mind,  as  tending  in  its 
 own  nature  to  make  man  happy.  By  its  light  it  marked 
 out  to  men  the  way  to  life;  the  Divine  authority  in  it  did 
 powerfully  enforce  it  ;  as  did  the  promise  of  life,  and  threat- 
 ening of  death  annexed  to  it.  To  the  rational  and  unde- 
 praved  mind  and  heart  it  gave  the  most  powerful  excite- 
 ment to  holiness.    Thus  the  commandment  was  ordained  to  life. 
 
 But,  alas  !  human  nature  hath  undergone  a  sad  change,  a 
 powerful  depravation.  Now,  sin,  or  the  flesh,  that  evil  prin- 
 ciple dominant  in  the  unregenerate  soul,  being  urged,  reprov- 
 ed, and  condemned  by  the  law,  it  doth  awaken  with  all  its 
 force,  and  exert  itself  in  sinful  affections,  in  all  manner  of 
 concupiscence,  terminating  in  death.  As  the  evident  scope 
 of  the  preceding  context  tends  to  give  this  view  of  the  pre- 
 sent text ;  so  we  see  the  expression  and  sense  of  the  next 
 following,  ver.  11.  suits  the  same  view- 
 
 I  do  not,  however,  think  that  the  death  here  meant  is  to 
 be  understood  merely  of  the  death  denounced  by  the  law, 
 to  which  the  activity  of  sin  deservedly  exposes  a  man.  it 
 seems  likely,  that  by  death  he  especially  means  here  the 
 prevalence  of  sin  itself  in  his  soul.  He  mentions,  chap.  vi. 
 6.  the  body  of  sin,  and,  ver.  24.  of  this  chapter,  he  cries  out, 
 Who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  body  of  death  ?  We  have  no 
 cause  to  think,  that  the  object  of  his  earnest  wish  in  this 
 latter  text  is,  to  be  freed  from  the  body.  It  is  rather  what 
 he  had  in  the  former  text  called  the  body  of  sin,  that  he  calls 
 here,  the  body  of  death.  The  inherent  plague  of  sin  showing, 
 by  occasion  of  the  law,  its  great  power  and  prevalence,  was 
 to  him  as  death ;  and  why  might  he  not  justly  call  it  death, 
 that  disabled  him  from  all  vital  activity,  from  activity  in  ho- 
 liness, without  which  he  would  not  reckon  that  he  had  life  ? 
 
 Some  writers,  whom  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  men- 
 tion, have  held  that  law  in  this  context  is  to  be  understood 
 in  a  restricted  sense,  of  a  law  with  the  sanction  of  death  for 
 transgression,  such  as  never  was  given  forth  to  sinful  men 
 until  the  Mosaic  promulgation  ;  and  this  some  of  them  call 
 
212  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 rigour  of  law.  But  how  could  it  be  said  that  this  law  was 
 ordained  to  life  to  sinful  men  ;  for  it  was  to  such  it  was  given 
 at  Sinai  ?  it  could  not  possibly  bring  sinners  to  life.  If  they 
 should  say  the  law  was  ordained  to  life,  as  it  was  first  given 
 to  Adam  in  innocence,  yet  even  thus  it  will  not  answer,  ac- 
 cording to  the  strange  notion  of  Dr  T.  who  says,  that 
 Adam,  in  his  first  state,  could  not  stand  under  what  he 
 calls  rigour  of  law,  (that  is,  law  denouncing  death  for  every 
 transgression,)  more  than  any  of  his  posterity.  If  so,  then, 
 according  to  him,  the  law  could  not  bring  man  in  his  best 
 state  to  life  ;  and  none  will  say  that  the  law  could  give  life 
 to  sinners.  How  then,  according  to  these  men's  notions, 
 could  Paul  say,  the  law  was  ordained  to  life  ? 
 
 Paraphrase. — 10.  And  thus  the  commandment,  which 
 was  originally  designed  to  give  life  to  all  who  would  per- 
 fectly obey  it,  and  which  to  undepraved  and  innocent  man 
 gave  the  best  direction,  and  the  most  powerful  excitement 
 to  the  holiness  and  obedience  that  is  the  way  to  life,  did,  as 
 by  accident,  (as  causa  per  accidens,)  through  the  sad  cor- 
 ruption of  my  nature,  which  did  not  yield  to  its  authority, 
 nor  was  subdued  by  its  power,  but  exerted  itself  the  more 
 vehemently  in  all  sinful  affections  and  lustings,  work  a  real 
 death  in  me,  as  it  denounced  eternal  death  to  me  ;  and  so 
 (ver.  90  destroyed  that  confidence  by^which  I  was  sometime 
 vainly  alive  in  my  own  conceit* 
 
 TEXT. — 11.  For  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  deceived  mer 
 and  by  it  slew  me. 
 
 Explication. — Dr  W.  in  his  annotations  on  ver.  8 — 11. 
 and  after  his  particular  annotation  on  ver.  10.  says,  '  The 
 '  old  and  common  interpretation  is  this,  that  the  prohibition 
 c  of  what  we  desire  makes  us  to  think  the  enjoyment  of  it 
 ■  more  sweet  and  valuable  ;  or  at  least  provokes  the  carnal 
 i  mind,  which  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  to  a  more 
 1  fervent  lusting  after  it,  dum  prohibita  non  tarn  refugit  quam 
 1  ar dentins  ex  pet  it,  and  this  agrees  very  well  with  the  ex- 
 6  pression.'  The  matter  may  be  illustrated  by  this  simili- 
 tude : — If  a  man  who  bears  an  inveterate  hatred  to  another, 
 whom  he  reckons  his  enemy,  ever  desiring  and  endeavour- 
 ing to  destroy  him,  should  see  this  other  man  before  him 
 and  near  him,  this  would  readily  awaken  his  passion  to  an 
 extreme  degree  against  him,  and  put  him  upon  showing  his 
 hatred  and  opposition  to  him  in  a  vehement  manner.  So  sin, 
 finding  the  commandment  come  home  upon  the  conscience 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  213 
 
 with  much  force,  seeking  its  destruction  ;  this  awakens  the 
 malignity  of  sin,  and  it  exerts  itself,  and  all  its  members,  its 
 various  lusts  and  psssions,  in  the  most  keen  opposition  to 
 the  law. 
 
 He  had  said  before,  that  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  com- 
 mandment, wrought  in  him  all  manner  of  concupiscence. 
 Here  he  says,  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  de- 
 ceived him.  So  there  is  deception  in  the  case.  There  is 
 so  great  evil  in  sin,  and  the  consequences,  as  set  forth  by 
 the  righteous  law,  are  so  terrible,  that  it  were  not  likely  the 
 heart  of  man  would  fall  in  with  it,  without  being  in  some 
 way  deceived.  So  the  Greek  here  is  il^TroLT^i,  it  deceived, 
 as  the  Seventy  hath  in  Eve's  answer,  Gen.  iii.  1 3.  the  ser- 
 pent YiTXTYiri  beguiled  me.  We  know  that  men's  lusts  and 
 passions  have  great  influence  on  their  mind  and  imagination. 
 Thus  sin,  and  the  various  lusts  thereof,  awakened  and  irri- 
 tated by  the  contrary  commandment,  set  the  imagination  to 
 work  according  to  their  own  turn  and  disposition,  to  repre- 
 sent in  the  most  alluring  colours  the  pleasure  to  be  attained 
 by  their  gratification  and  enjoyment.  This  further  inflames 
 the  sinful  passion  and  lusting.  These  sinful  passions  and 
 desires  upon  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  the  false  co- 
 lours in  which  the  imagination  represents  the  object,  do  mu- 
 tually co-operate  to  give  advantage  to  sin  and  its  deceit. 
 
 Dr  Doddridge,  in  his  paraphrase,  mentions  another  way 
 of  deception,  (to  which,  however,  the  deceiving  is  by  no 
 means  to  be  restricted,)  thus  :  '  Sin — taking  occasion  by  the 
 '  terrors  and  curse  of  the  violated  commandment,  and  repre- 
 '  senting  the  great  Lawgiver,  as  now  become  my  irrecon- 
 '  cilable  enemy,  deceived  me  into  a  persuasion  that  I  could 
 <  be  no  worse  than  I  was.'  The  truth  is,  a  persuasion  that 
 a  man  cannot  be  in  a  worse  state,  or,  in  other  words,  a  des- 
 pair of  mercy,  doth  in  persons  under  the  power  of  their  lust, 
 very  commonly  operate  in  this  way,  even  for  a  man  to  run 
 the  more  vehemently  in  an  evil  course,  with  an  affected 
 thoughtlessness  about  futurity. 
 
 At  the  sametime,  there  is  another  sort  of  deception  no 
 less  common,  arising  from  the  suggestion  of  impunity  :  thus, 
 Deut.  xxix.  18,  19- — Lest  there  should  be  among  you  a  root 
 bearing  gall  and  wormwood,  and  it  come  to  pass  when  he 
 heareth  the  words  of  this  curse,  that  he  bless  himself  in  his 
 heart,  saying,  I  shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in  the  imagi- 
 nation of  mine  heart.  A  self- flattering  heart,  (deceitful 
 above  all  things,  Jer.  xvii.  9.)  can  readily  enough  suggest. 
 
214  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 in  flat  contradiction  to  the  law,  as  the  tempter  did  of  old, 
 (Gen.  iii.  4.)  Ye  shall  not  surely  die.  This  is  perhaps  sup- 
 ported by  some  delusion,  which  the  heart  is  very  ready  to 
 entertain  concerning  the  goodness  of  God,  and  by  extenuat- 
 ing thoughts  of  sin,  and  perhaps  by  the  notion  of  some 
 works,  or  some  particular  virtue  on  which  a  man  values 
 himself,  and  which  he  vainly  thinks  makes  compensation  for 
 his  sin.  Thus,  for  instance,  some  worthless  men  of  our 
 times,  who  have  sold  themselves  to  their  lusts  in  the  prac- 
 tice of  lewdness,  do  abound  in  almsgiving,  from  a  senseless 
 notion  of  the  meaning  of  that  text,  1  Pet.  iv.  8.  Charity  shall 
 cover  a  multitude  of  sins.  Thus  sin  makes  out  its  purpose 
 by  one  way  or  other  of  deceiving. 
 
 Dr  T.  doth  here  alter  the  translation,  and,  instead  of  sin 
 taking  occasion,  he  renders,  '  sin  having  received  force  by 
 '  the  commandment/  He  says,  (note  on  ver.  8.)  that  all 
 the  commentators  (and  some  of  them  understood  the  Greek 
 exceeding  well)  have  mistaken  the  signification  of  the  Greek 
 word  here  rendered  occasion,  when  it  really  signifies  force, 
 advantage.  That  force  he  understands  of  the  force  which 
 sin  hath  got  by  the  Mosaic  law  to  give  death  to  the  trans- 
 gressor. Grotius  on  ver.  8.  renders  the  Greek  word,  impu- 
 nity, which  implies  the  law's  wanting  force.  Dr  T.  will 
 have  it  mean,  the  law's  having  force,  and  giving  destructive 
 force  to  sin.  Enough  has  been  said  elsewhere  concerning 
 Grotius'  rendering.  I  see  not  that  Dr  T.  gives  any  autho- 
 rity or  reason  for  his  sense  of  the  word  ;  if  it  is  not  that  it 
 best  suits  his  notions  and  doctrine,  and  the  misinterpreta- 
 tion he  has  given  of  divers  other  texts.  I  see  in  my  dic- 
 tionary, occasion,  given  for  a  sense  of  the  word.  But  that 
 of  Grotius,  or  of  Dr.  T.  are  not  among  the  senses  given  of 
 it.  If  critics  will,  in  interpreting  Scripture,  give  senses  to 
 words  upon  no  better  authorities,  they  may  assert  and  esta- 
 blish what  doctrines  they  please. 
 
 The  sense  of  this  verse  may,  with  little  variation  from 
 the  paraphrase  of  the  worthy  Dr  Guyse,  be  given  thus  : 
 
 Paraphrase. — 11.  For  sin  in  me,  that  evil  principle  so 
 deeply  rooted  in  my  depraved  nature,  being  impatient  of 
 restraint  by  the  law,  took  a  perverse  occasion  from  the  strict- 
 ness of  the  commandments  contained  in  it,  to  rise  up  in  re- 
 bellion against  it,  as  if  it  was  too  unreasonable  and  severe 
 an  imposition  to  be  laid  upon  human  nature  ;  and  by  this 
 and  various  other  means  of  deception,  beguiling  me  as  the 
 serpent  did  Eve,  (Gen.  iii.  13.)  it  ensnared  me,  and  drew 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  215 
 
 me  to  the  commission  of  many  evils,  which  God  had  forbidden ; 
 and  by  this  means,  brought  me  more  and  more  under  the 
 heaviest  sentence  of  condemnation  and  death  ;  and  when 
 afterwards  it  came  home,  in  its  spirituality  and  power,  to 
 my  conscience,  it  slew  the  high  towering  thoughts  and  con- 
 fidences which  I  before  had  entertained  about  my  own  suf- 
 ficiency to  keep  it,  and  my  own  righteousness  to  recommend 
 me  to  God. 
 
 TEXT. — 12.  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy  :  and  the  commandment  holy,  and 
 just,  and  good. 
 
 I  have  no  occasion  to  enlarge  on  the  epithets  and  cha- 
 racters here  given  to  the  law  and  commandment ;  the  sense 
 of  which  is  obvious.  The  purpose  and  sense  of  what  this 
 verse  contains  may  be  conceived  and  expressed  briefly  ac- 
 cording to  this 
 
 Paraphrase. — 12.  I  have  shown  the  true  cause  of  all  sin- 
 ful motions  ;  of  every  sinful  concupiscence.  Wherefore, 
 although  the  evil  principle  in  the  hearts  of  men  doth  pro- 
 duce such  concupiscence,  and  sinful  motions  more  vehe- 
 mently, by  occasion  of  the  commandment  ;  yet  the  law  in 
 itself  is  holy,  and  the  commandment  holy,  just,  and  good: 
 and  so  not  at  all  favourable  to  sin,  which  it  pursues  into  the 
 the  heart,  discovers,  and  reproves  in  the  very  inward  mo- 
 tions thereof. 
 
 TEXT. — 13.  Was  then 'that  which  is  good,  made  death  unto  me  ?  God 
 forbid.  But  sin,  that  it  might  appear  sin,  working  death  in  me  by 
 that  which  is  good  :  that  sin  by  the  commandment  might  become  exceed* 
 ing  sinful. 
 
 Explication. — Let  us  begin  with  observing  Dr  TVs  in- 
 terpretation of  the  first  part  of  this  verse.  According  to  the 
 notion  that  has  been  entertained  by  him,  and  some  others, 
 that  this  chapter  is  addressed  to  Jewish  converts  separately, 
 he  makes  several  passages  in  it  to  be  the  words,  question,  or 
 objection  of  a  Jew,  with  the  apostle's  answer  annexed.  So 
 here  his  paraphrase  gives,  in  way  of  dialogue,  thus  :  e  Jew, 
 1  And  yet  you  say,  we  were  made  subject  to  death  by  the 
 1  commandment.  Could  that  which  is  so  good  (ver.  J  2.) 
 *  become  deadly  to  us  V  By  this  the  Jew,  as  he  is  repre- 
 sented here,  considers  the  law's  denouncing  death  for  trans- 
 gression as  a  doctrine  of  the  apostle's,  which  Jews  had  not 
 known,  nor  ever  received  ;  and  reasoning  against  it  as  hard, 
 and  inconsistent  with  the  goodness  of  the  law,     But  it  is 
 
216  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 very  incongruous  to  put  an  objection  against  the  law  in  the 
 mouth  of  a  Jew,  The  Jew  gloried  in  the  law,  and  would 
 not  object  against  it  on  the  account  here  mentioned,  or  on 
 any  account.  When  the  curses  were  solemnly  proclaimed 
 from  mount  Ebal,  Deut.  xxvii.  all  the  people  were  directed 
 to  say  at  hearing  each,  Amen.  They  did  so  at  hearing  the 
 last  comprehensive  one  denounced  against  all  and  every 
 transgression,  ver.  26.  Their  assent  and  consent  to  this, 
 on  that  solemn  occasion,  appears  as  a  condition  of  the  cove- 
 nant of  that  nation  with  God.  They  greatly  mistake,  who 
 think  the  design  here  is  to  vindicate  the  penal  sanction  of 
 the  law  against  the  objection  of  a  Jew*  What  the  vindica- 
 tion hath  respect  to,  we  have  seen  in  part,  and  will  presently 
 see  more  fully. 
 
 Let  us  now  see  the  answer,  as  Dr  T.  gives  it  thus: 
 K  Apos.  No. ;  take  me  right.  It  was  not  the  commandment 
 c  itself  which  slew  us,  but  sin.     It  was  sin  which  subjected 
 
 *  us  to  death,  by  the  law  justly  threatening  sin  with  death.' 
 The  truth  in  this  matter  is  easily  conceived.  Sin  merits 
 death :  death  is  threatened  and  inflicted  by  the  law  and  by 
 the  Lawgiver.  There  is  faultiness  in  sin,  so  meriting  ;  but 
 no  faultiness  on  the  part  of  the  law,  or  Lawgiver.  But  to 
 say,  it  was  not  the  law  that  slew  sinners,  or  subjected  them 
 to  death,  is  not  agreeable  to  truth  ;  nor  is  it  consistent  with 
 what  this  Doctor  says  elsewhere.  In  his  note  on  ver.  8.  he 
 writes  thus :  '  That  sting  (viz.  of  death)  is  sin.  But  death 
 '  would  have  no  power  to  thrust  that  sting  into  the  sinner's 
 f  heart,  were  it  not  for  the  law  of  God  condemning  him  to 
 g  death.'  And  a  little  downwards  :  e  The  law  is  the 
 '  force,  by  which  the  terrible  sting  is  plunged  into  the  sin- 
 '  ner's  vitals.     For,  ver.  8.  without  the  law,  sin,  the  sting 
 
 *  of  death,  is  itself  dead,  and  quite  unable  to  slay  the  sin- 
 '  ner.'  Thus  this  acute  Doctor  introduces  the  Jew,  quite 
 out  of  character,  objecting  against  the  law,  and  its  penal 
 sanction ;  and  makes  the  inspired  apostle  give  an  answer 
 inconsistent  with  the  Doctor's  own  account  of  things  ;  an  an- 
 swer contrary  to  truth  and  common  sense.  How  could  the 
 man  say,  it  was  not  the  commandment  that  slew  us,  but 
 sin,  when  he  held  that  sin  prevailing  for  many  ages  did  not 
 slay  men,  until  the  law  was  given  at  Sinai? 
 
 As  it  is  quite  vain  to  think  that  the  apostle  means  here 
 to  introduce  a  vindication  of  the  law,  for  assigning  death  as 
 the  punishment  of  transgressions ;  so  the  just  view  of  his  de- 
 sign is  easily  learned  from  the  preceding  context.     He  had 
 
Of  Romans  VII.  217 
 
 mentioned,  ver.  5.  the  motions  of  sins  which  were  by  the  law. 
 He  had  said,  ver.  8.  that  sin  taking  occasion  by  the  command* 
 ment,  wrought  in  him  all  manner  of  concupiscence:  and  ver. 
 
 10.  that  the  commandment  which  was  ordained  to  life,  he 
 found  to  be  unto  death:  and  ver.  11.  that  sin  taking  occasion 
 by  the  commandment,  deceived  him.  By  this  it  is  evident, 
 that  what  is  here  meant  is  a  vindication  of  the  law  from  the 
 charge  of  being  truly  the  cause  of  sin  in  a  man's  heart  and 
 practice,  or  of  these  motions  of  sins,  and  of  that  concupis- 
 cence and  deception  that  is  by  occasion  of  the  law.  As  we 
 distinguish,  with  regard  to  offence,  between  offence  given 
 and  offence  taken,  which  last  may  be  when  indeed  there  is 
 no  offence,  or  cause  of  offence,  given :  so  here,  as  to  occa- 
 sion, the  law  did  not  give  occasion ;  but  sin  did  perversely 
 and  wickedly  take  occasion,  such  as  the  context  represents. 
 The  vindicating  of  the  law  with  regard  to  this,  and  showing 
 that  it  is  not  by  any  means  the  cause  of  sin,  is  the  evident 
 and  special  scope  of  this  place. 
 
 The  true  cause,  then,  of  these  motions  of  sins,  ver.  5.  of 
 that  unholy  concupiscence,  ver.  8.  of  that  deception,  ver. 
 
 11.  is  sin.  So  the  apostle  says  here  :  Sin  that  it  might  ap- 
 pear sin,  working  death  in  me  by  that  which  is  good.  Here 
 two  things  are  to  be  considered  and  inquired  into.  1.  What 
 is  here  meant  by  death  ?  I  have  said  before,  that  the  holy 
 apostle  would  certainly  reckon  as  a  very  death  in  his  soul 
 the  prevailing  of  sin  in  its  motions  and  activity  in  his  heart. 
 Yet  this  not  to  exclude  sin's  working  death  in  and  to  him 
 by  virtue  of  the  sanction  of  the  law.  Not  as  if  this  was  the 
 effect  by  a  peculiarity  or  peculiar  sanction  of  the  Mosaic 
 law,  but  by  virtue  of  the  sanction  that  was  ever  in  the  law, 
 and  connected  with  the  commandment :  the  consequence  of 
 which  was,  that  every  new  motion  or  act  of  sin,  or  concu- 
 piscence, subjected  him  to  new  condemnation  to  death,  by 
 virtue  of  the  threatening  of  the  law. 
 
 2.  The  other  thing  to  be  here  inquired  into,  is,  what  is 
 meant  by  sin  in  this  clause, — sin  that  it  might  appear  sin. 
 Divers  commentators  have  observed,  that  sin  is  in  this  con- 
 text, by  a  figure,  represented  as  a  person  ;N  and  some  seem 
 to  mean  no  more  by  this  figurative  person,  than  a  general 
 notion,  comprehending  or  including  all  particular  sorts  of  sin. 
 But  we  see  in  this  context  sin  distinguished  from  sinful  act- 
 ing, as  we  have,  ver.  8.  sin  working  in  a  man  all  manner 
 of  concupiscence.  This  last  imports  inward  acts  of  sin,  pre- 
 vious to  which  is  sin  working  this  concupiscence,  and  the 
 
218  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 efficient  cause  of  it.  So  that  sin  thus  working  is  not  to  be 
 considered  as  a  thing  merely  ideal,  an  abstract  idea,  or  no- 
 tion, which  cannot  be  truly  the  cause  of  any  thing.  Sin  here 
 is  something  real — a  cause,  which,  by  its  powerful  influence, 
 works  concupiscence,  every  particular  lusting,  or  unholy  af- 
 fection, [t  is  the  cause  or  principle  of  sinning,  deeply  rooted 
 in  men's  nature,  in  this  state  of  depravation,  what  the  learn- 
 ed have  called  peccatum  peccans — the  sinning  sin — sin  the 
 cause  of  all  actual  sins  in  the  inward  and  outward  practice. 
 The  remainder  of  which  evil  principle  in  the  regenerate  he 
 had  called  (chap.  vi.  6.)  the  old  man.  It  is  otherwise  called 
 the  jiesh  ;  which  is  itself,  previous  to  these  unholy  actings, 
 inward  or  outward,  called  (Gal.  v.  19-  &c.)  the  works  of  the 
 flesh.  How,  on  any  other  view,  can  be  understood  sin  work- 
 ing concupiscence  ?  This  activity,  in  the  way  of  concupis- 
 cence, or  of  deceiving,  doth  certainly  presuppose  a  previous 
 acting  cause.  The  sum,  then,  of  the  apostle's  argument  is, 
 as  hath  been  several  times  said,  that  the  law  or  command- 
 ment is  but  the  innocent  occasion,  and  by  no  means  the  cause 
 of  such  sinful  motions  as  are  said  (ver.  5.)  to  be  by  the  law  ; 
 but  that  sin,  that  evil  principle  in  human  nature,  is  the  true 
 proper  cause  of  all  sinful  motions  and  actions. 
 
 Nor  will  it  make  a  valid  objection  against  this,  that  is 
 somewhere  suggested  by  Mr  L.,  that  sin  cannot  be  the  cause 
 of  itself.  True ;  nothing  can  be  the  cause  of  itself.  But 
 sin,  in  one  sense  and  respect,  may  be  the  cause  of  sin  in 
 another  sense  and  respect.  This  is  easily  explained  by 
 James  i.  15.  It  will  be  acknowledged  that  the  lusting  there 
 mentioned  is  sin,  especially  when  it  hath  inwardly  conceived  ; 
 and  there  it  is  said,  When  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth 
 forth  sin.  Here,  then,  sin  (lust  inwardly  conceiving)  is  the 
 cause  of  sin  in  the  outward  work  and  deed.  Besides  this,  it 
 appears  in  our  context  that  there  is  sin  in  nature,  previous 
 even  to  the  inward  lusting,  and  which  is  the  cause  of  it, — 
 sin  working  in  a  man  all  manner  of  concupiscence. 
 
 Now,  as  to  the  last  clause,  That  sin  by  the  commandment 
 might  become  exceeding  sinful ;  it  has  been  observed  before, 
 that  sometimes  things  are  said  to  be,  when  the  meaning  is, 
 that  they  appear,  or  are  proved  to  be.  To  the  instances  of 
 this  sort  adduced  on  chap.  vi.  1.  may  be  added  (chap,  ill-  19.) 
 That  all  the  world  may  become  guilty  before  God.  It  is  not 
 by  the  declaration  or  testimony  of  God's  word  that  men, 
 properly  and  indeed,  become  guilty  ;  but  thereby  it  appears 
 that  they  are  guilty.     So  here,  as  in  the  preceding  clause, 
 
Of  Romans  VI L  219 
 
 it  is  said,  Sin  that  it  might  appear  sin  ;  to  the  same  purpose, 
 with  some  variation  of  expression,  it  is  in  the  last  clause, 
 That  sin  by  the  commandment  might  become  (that  is,  might 
 appear,  or  be  proved  to  be)  exceeding  sinful 
 
 Paraphrase. — 13.  But  after  all  that  hath  been  offered  to 
 vindicate  the  law  from  the  charge  of  being  the  true  and  pro- 
 per cause  of  sin,  yet  having  (ver.  5.)  mentioned  the  motions 
 of  sin  which  are  by  the  law,  and  (ver.  8.)  all  manner  of  con- 
 cupiscence arising  by  occasion  of  the  law  ;  and  (ver.  10.) 
 that  you  found  the  commandment  to  be  unto  death  to  you  ; 
 and  (ver.  11.)  that  sin,  by  occasion  of  the  commandment, 
 deceived  and  slew  you  ;  may  it  not  be  justly  concluded,  that 
 the  law  which  you  have  commended  for  its  goodness  is,  in- 
 deed, made  death  to  you,  not  merely  by  adjudging  death  to 
 you  for  transgressing  and  rebelling  against  the  commands 
 and  authority  of  the  Almighty,  (which  all  the  world  must 
 acknowledge  to  be  agreeable  as  to  the  holiness  and  justice, 
 so  also  to  the  goodness  of  the  law)  but  that  it  is  also  made 
 death  to  yon  by  increasing  the  activity  of  sin  in  you,  or  in 
 me,  which  is  so  contrary  to.  so  inconsistent  with, the  activity 
 of  a  better  and  true  life  in  our  souls  ;  and  thus  it  is  a  true 
 cause  of  death  in  us  of  sin,  as  well  as  of  death  to  us  of  pu- 
 nishment ?  That  the  law  should  in  this  way  be  made  death 
 to  me,  or  to  any,  I  cannot  easily  conceive  to  be  consistent 
 with  that  holiness  or  goodness  which  you  ascribe  to  the  law. 
 
 But  far  be  it  from  us  to  think  so  concerning  the  divine 
 law  and  holy  commandment.  The  effect  mentioned  is,  as  1 
 hinted  (ver.  5.)  only  in  them  who  are  in  the  flesh,  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  (chap.  vi.  14.)  ;  and  I  still  say,  that  it  is  sin, 
 or  the  flesh,  that  evil  principle  and  plague  inherent  in  my 
 depraved  nature,  that  wrought  death  in  me  and  to  me  ; 
 thereby  appearing  in  its  own  colours,  and  to  be  what  it  truly 
 is,  the  vilest  thing  in  the  world,  even  to  be  sin,  (than  which 
 nothing  worse  can  be  said  of  it,)  the  fruitful  and  abounding 
 source  of  all  transgression  inward  and  outward,  meriting 
 death ;  and  proving  at  once  its  wickedness  and  power,  in 
 working  death  in  me  by  that  which  is  good,  that  so  (not 
 only  by  its  ordinary  motions,  but  especially  by  its  more 
 lively  and  powerful  activity,  on  occasion  of  the  command- 
 ment's coming  home  into  my  conscience,  then  exerting  itself, 
 as  in  defiance  and  despight  of  its  light  and  authority,  and  of 
 the  divine  authority  in  it),  sin  in  me  might  appear  by  the 
 light  of  the  commandment  thus  outrageously  despised  and 
 counteracted,  to  be  a  most  aggravated  evil, — evil  beyond  all 
 
'V 
 
 220  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 conception — an  abounding  and  overflowing  source  of  trans- 
 gression, impurity,  and  iniquity, — the  powerful  cause  of  in- 
 creased condemnation  and  death, — yea,  in  a  word,  to  be  (as 
 Jer.  xvii.  9-)  desperately  wicked. 
 
 We  have  seen  the  case  of  persons  under  the  law  in  the 
 flesh,  and  so  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  Whether  the  latter 
 part  of  this  chapter,  which  now  follows,  doth  represent  the 
 case,  with  respect  to  sin,  of  persons  under  grace,  whilst  they 
 continue  in  this  life,  is  to  be  the  next  subject  of  inquiry. 
 But  here  I  find  it  expedient  to  alter  my  method. 
 
 A  DISSERTATION 
 
 CONCERNING  THE  GENERAL  SCOPE  AND  PURPOSE  OF  THE  LATTER 
 PART  OF  CHAP.  VII.  14-25.  IN  ORDER  TO  DETERMINE  WHETHER 
 IT  REPRESENTS  THE  CASE  OF  A  REGENERATE  OR  UNREGENER- 
 ATE  person;  THE  CASE  OF  A  PERSON  UNDER  THE  LAW,  OR  OF 
 ONE  UNDER  GRACE  ;  WHEREIN  THE  PARTICULAR  EXPRESSIONS 
 OF   THAT   CONTEXT  ARE  EXPLAINED. 
 
 Sect.  1 . — Beitig  an  introduction  to  this  subject  and  inquiry. 
 It  has  been  said,  that  the  ancient  writers  of  the  church 
 did  universally  understand  the  apostle  as  here  personating 
 an  unregenerate  person,  until  Augustine  introduced  a  dif- 
 ferent interpretation.  Wolfius,  on  verse  9-  of  this  chapter, 
 mentions  a  learned  writer  (Calovius)  who  has  proved,  he 
 says,  that  these  ancient  writers  before  Augustine  did  not 
 universally  so  understand  the  apostle.  Augustine  himself, 
 who  had  at  first  so  understood,  says,  that  in  the  opinion 
 which,  on  more  close  consideration  of  the  context,  he  fell  in 
 with,  he  followed  the  interpretation  of  several  writers  of  note, 
 whom  he  mentions.  By  the  passages  he  quotes  from  Am- 
 brose of  Milan,  it  is  very  evident  that  that  eminent  person, 
 who  wrote  before  him,  understood  Paul  as  representing  here 
 his  own  case  and  experience  in  a  state  of  grace.  This  is  in 
 Augustine's  second  book  against  Julian. 
 
 In  later  times,  Socinus,  that  noted  adversary,  under 
 Christian  profession  of  the  Christian  faith,  said,  Beware  as 
 of  the  pestilence,  that  you  understand  not  this  context  of 
 persons  regenerate  and  under  grace.  Arminius,  the  first 
 who  did,  in  the  bosom  of  a  reformed  church,  broach  that 
 scheme  of  doctrine  that  hath  its  name  from  him,  made  the 
 first  discovery  of  his  sentiments  in  his  lectures  on  this  con- 
 text, in  which  his  interpretation  differed  from  that  which  was 
 generally  given  by  the  reformed  divines.  He  afterwards 
 published  an  elaborate  dissertation  upon  it,  written  with  con- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI L  14—25.         221 
 
 siderable  learning  and  acuteness.  On  the  former  part  of  the 
 chapter  we  saw  different  opinions  and  interpretations  ;  but 
 on  this  part  men  have  become  more  warm  and  keen  in  their 
 reasoning,  and  whilst  they  differ  otherwise,  they  seem  on 
 all  hands  to  agree  in  this  one  thing,  the  importance  of  un- 
 derstanding this  context  aright. 
 
 Among  those  who  think  the  apostle  here  personates  an 
 unregenerate  man,  there  is,  however,  some  difference  in 
 their  manner  of  stating  the  matter.  Arminius  supposes  we 
 have  here  the  case  of  a  man  under  the  powerful  influence  of 
 the  law  in  his  conscience,  the  law  doing  in  his  conscience 
 all  that  could  be  done  by  its  light  and  authority,  convincing 
 of  sin,  condemning,  and  giving  him  great  excitement  to  his 
 duty  ;  the  case  of  a  man  in  the  very  next  step  to  regenera- 
 tion and  conversion.  But  the  writers  on  that  side  do  appear 
 sometimes  to  change  their  ground.  Some  understand  the 
 man  personated  to  be  the  Jew  under  the  law,  and  even  of 
 such  an  one  as  Ahab,  one  of  the  worst  of  Jews,  one  of  the 
 worst  of  men,  far  from  regeneration.  Several  have  recourse 
 to  heathen  fable,  and  introduce  the  story  of  the  witch  Medea, 
 and  the  words  which  the  poet  puts  in  her  mouth,  to  exemplify 
 and  illustrate  their  interpretation  of  this  context ;  as  if  we 
 had  nothing  here  but  what  suits  the  character  and  disposition 
 of  an  Ahab,  or  a  Medea. 
 
 Dr  Whitby  states  the  question  thus :  c  Whether  Paul 
 c  speaketh  here  in  his  own  person,  or  in  the  person  of  a  re- 
 '  generate  man,  or  only  in  the  person  of  a  Jew  conflicting 
 f  with  the  motions  of  his  lusts,  only  by  the  assistance  of  the 
 '  letter  of  the  law,  without  the  aids  and  powerful  assistance 
 
 •  of  the  Holy  Spirit—' 
 
 It  is  not  easy  to  see  with  what  propriety  the  name  and 
 character  of  Jew  is  here  introduced  at  all.  Holy  men  from 
 Moses  to 'Christ  were  generally  Jews;  and  it  cannot  be  said 
 that  they  were  without  the  aids  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  according 
 to  Dr  YV.  himself  on  ver.  5.  It  seems  to  be  especially  hard 
 that  he  should  thus  represent  a  Jew,  as  not  having  the  aids 
 of  the  Spirit,  even  when  conflicting  against  the  motions  of 
 his  lusts,  considering  what  himself  allows  in  favour  of  the 
 heathens,  annot.  on  Rom.  ii.  14.  where  he  says,  '  If  any  of 
 '  them  did  arrive  at  such  a  state,  as  made  them  indeed  to 
 c  fear  God,  and  work  righteousness,  they  did  this  not  merely 
 
 •  by  the  strength  of  natural  light ;  for  though  some  of  them 
 c  seem  to  say,  that  nature  or  philosophy  was  a  sufficient 
 '  guide  to  virtue,  yet  that  they  meant  not  this  exclusively 
 
 K 
 
222  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 '  of  the  Divine  assistance,  which  they  saw  necessary  to  pre- 
 *  serve  them  against  the  infirmity  of  human  nature,  their 
 '  own  words  do  fully  testify/  I  stay  not  to  make  observa- 
 tions on  the  doctrine  or  interpretation  contained  in  this  pas- 
 sage. Only  as  to  what  concerns  the  present  purpose,  it  re- 
 presents to  us,  heathens  arriving,  according  to  this  writer, 
 at  the  character  of  fearing  God,  and  working  righteousness, 
 (  w  hich  they  could  not  do  without  conflicting  successfully 
 against  their  lusts),  and  that  not  without  Divine  assistance. 
 Alas  for  the  poor  Jew  under  the  law,  and  having  the  advan- 
 tage of  Divine  revelation,  that  to  his  character  it  should  be 
 affixed,  as  a  thing  distinguishing  him  from  both  the  Christian 
 and  the  heathen,  to  be  conflicting  with  his  lusts  without 
 that  assistance  ! 
 
 I  would  ask,  was  there  anv  universal  sufficient  grace  in 
 these  Jewish  and  Old  Testament  times  ?  I  should  think, 
 that  the  principles  that  would  necessarily  infer  the  doctrine 
 of  such  grace  at  one  time,  would  prove  it  with  respect  to 
 every  time.  If  there  was,  as  Dr  VV.  held,  I  see  not  how 
 a  Jew  could  be  supposed  to  be  sincerely,  seriously,  earnestly 
 ( I  think  the  author  must  mean  so — certainly  our  context 
 represents  so)  in  conflict  with  the  motions  of  his  lusts ;  and 
 yet  not  have  sufficient  Divine  aids  to  enable  a  person  so  dis- 
 posed, and  so  exercised,  to  overcome  them. 
 
 After  all,  how  comes  he  to  suppose  a  Jew  of  the  Apostle's 
 times  to  be  conflicting  with  his  lusts  at  all,  when  these 
 Jews  were  generally  of  opinion,  that  the  motions  of  lusts  in 
 the  hearts  of  men  were  not  sins  or  transgressions  of  the  law, 
 if  they  did  not  take  effect  externally  ?  as  this  learned  writer 
 proves  in  his  annotation  on  Matth.  v.  20,  21.  to  have  been 
 the  opinion  of  the  most  prevailing  sect,  and  of  their  teachers, 
 as  they  were  indeed  comparatively  but  few  of  the  Jews 
 who  were  not  followers  of  that  sect  of  the  Pharisees.  Upon 
 this  view,  it  were  certainly  more  congruous  to  have  marked 
 out  and  distinguished  the  JewT,  as  one  who,  whatever  guard 
 he  kept  on  his  outward  behaviour,  did  not  inwardly  main- 
 tain a  conflict  with  his  lusts  at  all,  rather  than  as  one  who, 
 without  the  aid  of  the  Spirit,  was  in  earnest  and  sad  conflict 
 with  them,  crying  out,  as  in  this  context,  Wretched  man  that 
 I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  !  For  my  part,  I  cannot  help  con- 
 sidering it  as  very  opposite  to  the  clear  doctrine  of  the  Scrip- 
 ture, to  suppose  the  Jew,  or  any  man,  to  be  in  sincere  con- 
 flict against  the  motions  of  his  lusts  and  corrupt  affections 
 within  him,  with  the  view  and  desire  of  holiness,  and  purity 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI  J.  14—25.  2Sfl 
 
 of  heart,  without  being  under  the  present  influence  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit. 
 
 It  seems  some  followers  of  Pelagius  of  old  did  likewise 
 understand  this  context,  as  if  it  set  forth  the  language  of  a 
 Jew  personated.  But  Augustine  did  well  observe,  (contra 
 Julianum,  lib.  S.  cap.  26.  J  that  these  words,  Wretched  man 
 that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me? — The  grace  of  God  through 
 Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  (so  he  read,  instead  of,  /  thank  God, 
 as  we  have  it,)  could  not  be  the  language  of  a  Jew,  or  be 
 used  by  the  apostle,  as  personating  a  carnal  Jew,  who  would 
 not  speak  thus  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  same  person,  he 
 observes,  who  says,  Grace  will  deliver  me  through  Jesus 
 Christ,  who  said,  /  see  another  law  resisting  the  law  of  my 
 mind.  How  Dr  T.  endeavours  to  hide  this  glaring  incon- 
 gruity, we  shall  see  when  wre  come  to  explain  that  part  of 
 the  context. 
 
 Though  Dr  W.  in  stating  the  question  (when,  if  ever,  he 
 should  have  spoke  with  some  exactness)  will  have  the  apostle 
 to  be  speaking  here  as  in  the  person  of  a  Jew,  yet  in  his 
 paraphrase  of  ver.  14.  he  expresses  a  more  extensive  view, 
 thus  :  '  The  law  is  spiritual:  but  every  natural  man  hath 
 '  cause  to  say  of  himself,  I  am  carnal.'  As  there  is  then 
 no  colour  of  reason  for  mentioning  the  Jew  on  this  occasion, 
 let  us  take  the  view  of  the  writers  of  that  side,  on  the  general 
 point  that  the  apostle  here  personates  an  unregenerate  man, 
 that  none  may  complain  of  unfairly  representing  their  opinion 
 by  restricting  the  matter  to  the  Jew. 
 
 They  who  hold  this  interpretation,  do  most  commonly 
 seem  to  understand  by  what  good  is  here  ascribed  to  the  un- 
 regenerate, no  more  than  the  light  of  reason  in  the  mind  or 
 understanding,  with  the  urgent  testimony  for  duty,  and 
 against  sin,  that  is  in  the  conscience  of  the  unregenerate,  with 
 different  degrees  of  light  and  force.  But  if  they  can  by  any 
 arguments  persuade  men  that  it  is  the  case  of  the  unrege- 
 nerate that  is  here  represented,  I  see  they  have  further  use 
 to  make  of  that  interpretation  in  the  dispute  concerning  the 
 moral  powers  of  nature.  But  this  will  come  in  our  way  more 
 fully  hereafter,  in  explaining  the  particular  parts  of  the  con- 
 text that  they  argue  from. 
 
 There  is  another  point  of  doctrine  which  writers  of  that 
 side  have  at  heart  to  support.  As  they  labour  much  to  ad- 
 vance the  moral  powers  of  nature,  and  of  free-will  in  men's 
 natural  and  unregenerate  state,  they  are  no  less  anxious  to 
 advance  the  power  of  free-will  in  a  state  of  grace,  beyond 
 
224  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 proper  bounds.  This  has  led  them,  at  least  some  of  the  most 
 eminent  of  them,  to  hold,  that  a  sinless  state,  and  perfection 
 in  holiness,  is  within  the  reach  of  free-will  in  this  life.  But 
 it  tends  utterly  to  confound  that  notion,  if  this  very  eminent 
 saint  and  Apostle  shall  be  understood  to  speak  in  this  con- 
 text as  in  his  own  person,  and  to  be  representing  how  mat- 
 ters stood  with  himself  as  to  sin  and  holiness. 
 
 So  these  writers  have  their  system  to  take  care  of  and 
 support,  in  interpreting  this  part  of  Scripture; — none,  how- 
 ever, more  ready  to  accuse  their  neighbours,  the  divines  of 
 the  reformed  churches,  of  interpreting  Scripture  by  their  sys- 
 tem. Whatever  may  be  of  this  upon  one  side  or  other,  yet 
 there  is  no  good  cause  for  scepticism.  The  true  and  certain 
 meaning  of  scripture  may  be  reached  by  humble,  sincere,  and 
 impartial  inquiries  after  truth.  Let  the  reader  be  warned  to 
 be  on  his  guard,  that  none  impose  the  mere  notions  of  his 
 system  upon  him  for  Scripture.  At  the  same  time,  I  may  be 
 allowed  to  warn  him,  not  to  let  a  pre-conceived  opinion  shut 
 out  the  truth  from  his  mind,  or  harden  him  against  its  evi- 
 dence and  impression.  Let  us  now  go  a  step  nearer  to  the 
 main  subject. 
 
 Sect.  2. — Containing  general  considerations  tending  to   ex- 
 plain the  scope  and  purpose  of  this  context. 
 
 1 .  The  first  consideration  arises  from  the  great  difference 
 in  the  style  and  expression  between  the  former  and  this 
 latter  context.  He  had  been  speaking  of  himself  in  the  past 
 tense,  showing  how  matters  had  been  with  him  formerly, 
 when  under  the  law  ;  and,  in  his  own  case,  representing 
 how  it  is  with  persons  under  the  law,  who,  as  long  as  they 
 are  so,  are  in  the  flesh,  and  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  He 
 now,  from  ver.  14.  speaks  of  himself  in  the  present  tense.  It 
 is  what  naturally  occurs  to  one's  mind  from  this  change  of 
 the  tense,  that,  as  formerly  he  had  been  showing  his  own 
 case  whilst  under  the  law,  so  now  he  shows  how  things  go 
 with  him  at  present,  in  a  state  of  grace,  as  he  was  when  he 
 wrote.  They  would  need  to  bring  very  cogent  reasons,  who 
 would  have  us  understand  him  in  a  sense  so  very  different 
 from  what  his  expression  naturally  leads  us  to.  He  could 
 easily  set  forth  in  plain  speech  the  case  of  persons  unrege- 
 nerate,  as  he  had  done  before  in  this  and  the  preceding 
 chapters,  without  darkening  matters,  and  making  his  dis- 
 course quite  ambiguous,  by  altering  his  style.  He  had  in 
 a  very  plain  manner  represented,  from  his  own  past  expe- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  225 
 
 rience,  the  case  of  persons  under  the  law ;  what  good  reason 
 -can  possibly  be  given  for  his  becoming  obscure  now,  by 
 speaking  in  the  present  tense,  as  of  himself,  (a  person  rege- 
 nerate and  under  grace,)  what  must  be  understood  of  persons 
 unregenerate  and  under  the  law,  without  giving  any  hint 
 that  he  so  means  ? 
 
 It  hath  been  said,  that  the  apostle  doth  on  divers  occa- 
 sions speak  in  his  own  name,  when  he  doth  indeed  person- 
 ate others.  Several  instances  are  adduced,  some  of  which 
 cannot  be  justly  so  interpreted.  But  if  it  be  allowed,  that, 
 on  some  occasions,  he  doth  in  very  few  words  express  the 
 arguments,  objections,  and  reproaches  used  by  others  against 
 himself,  his  doctrine,  or  conduct,  yet  in  every  such  case  the 
 thing  evidently  appears  by  the  obvious  import  of  the  expres- 
 sions, and  by  the  answers  immediately  subjoined,  so  that 
 there  is  not  room  left  for  mistaking.  But  it  is  quite  unlikely 
 that  he  would  continue  to  speak,  as  of  himself,  through  so 
 long  a  passage,  and  yet  mean  it  of  others  all  the  time, 
 without  intimating  by  any  expression  or  hint,  that  to  be  his 
 design.  At  any  rate,  his  personating  on  some  other  occa- 
 sions, does  not  give  us  cause  to  think  he  personates  here* 
 unless  very  good  reasons  were  given  for  our  understanding 
 him  so;  and  what  reasons  are  offered  to  that  purpose,  are  to 
 be  here  considered. 
 
 One  account  of  the  matter,  somewhat  plausible,  is  given 
 by  Dr  W.  (annot.  on  Rom.  vii.  25.)  thus  :  '  He  saith  not, 
 '  as  he  might  have  done,  you  that  are  under  the  law  are 
 
 *  carnal ;  but,  representing  what  belonged  to  them  in  his 
 1  own  person,  and  so  taking  off  the  harshness,  and  mollify- 
 
 *  ing  the  invidiousness  of  the  sentence,  by  speaking  of  it  in 
 1  his  own  person,  he  saith,  /  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin. 
 f  So  Photius  and  Oecumenius.'  This  is  far  from  being  sa- 
 tisfying ;  and  I  wish  the  learned  writer  had  told  us  what 
 there  is  in  the  names  Photius  and  Oecumenius,  to  make  a 
 bad  reason  a  good  one.  <  He  saith  not,  You  that  are  under 
 1  the  law.'  Surely  he  could  neither  say  nor  mean  this  with 
 repect  to  these  he  writes  to.  For,  even  supposing,  as  some 
 would  have  it,  that  this  chapter  is  addressed  to  the  Jews  se- 
 parately, yet  it  must  be  supposed,  that  it  is  to  the  Jewish 
 converts  or  believers.  Now,  to  them  he  had  said  in  this 
 chapter,  that  they  were  dead  to  the  law,  and  delivered  from 
 it ;  nor  could  he,  in  the  personating  way,  or  otherwise,  say 
 that  they  were  sold  under  sin,  in  the  sense  in  which  Dr  W. 
 and  other  Arminians  explain  that  expression.     If  it  shall  be 
 
226  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 supposed,  that  he  means  the  infidel  Jews,  how  was  this 
 grave  lecture,  contained  in  an  epistle  to  the  Roman  Chris- 
 tians, to  be  conveyed  to  them  ?  If  it  should  be  conveyed  to 
 them,  certainly  the  strong  things  he  says,  as  of  himself,  they 
 wrould  all  agree  to  belong  to  himself  in  the  worst  sense ;  and 
 if  having  sold  themselves  to  sin  and  wickedness  is  said  of 
 these  revolters  from  the  true  religion,  in  the  times  of  the 
 Maccabees,  who  are  mentioned  in  the  interpretation  of  this 
 context,  surely  the  infidel  Jews  would  readily  say  that,  in  as 
 strong  sense  as  Dr  W.  uses  the  expression,  ver.  14.  it  be- 
 longed to  Paul  himself,  that  noted  revolter,  as  they  judged 
 of  him.  This  is  all  the  advantage  the  apostle  would  be  like- 
 ly to  gain  at  the  hands  of  the  infidel  Jews,  by  his  mollify- 
 ing art. 
 
 But  why  speak  of  mollifying  ?  When  the  pravity  of  men's 
 nature,  and  the  wretchedness  of  their  condition  is  to  be 
 shown,  it  doth  not  suit  the  fidelity  of  God's  messengers,  and 
 was  far  from  the  apostle's  way,  to  take  off  the  harshness  of 
 truths,  and  to  molify  them,  though  too  many  do  often  ma- 
 nage in  that  way,  when  indeed  the  hearts  of  men  do  more 
 need  to  be  roused  and  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  extreme 
 wretchedness  in  a  state  of  sin. 
 
 A  prudent  caution,  a  holy  art,  (as  they  represent  in  this 
 case)  to  avoid  giving  offence  by  plain  speech  to  those  he 
 writes  to,  is  on  some  occasions  ascribed  to  the  apostle  with- 
 out cause.  His  words,  ver.  5.  imply,  that  they  who  are 
 under  the  law  are  in  the  flesh.  Is  not  this,  compared  with 
 chap.  viii.  8,  9.  strong  and  harsh  ?  Is  it  not  so,  when  his 
 words,  chap.  vi.  14.  clearly  imply,  that  they  who  are  under 
 the  law  are  under  the  dominion  of  sin  ?  He  had  in  the  pre- 
 ceding sixth  chapter  told  the  Romans  they  had  been  the 
 servants  (the  slaves)  of  sin,  in  a  shameful  course,  and  in 
 the  way  to  perdition  and  death  eternal.  Is  he  now  afraid 
 to  provoke  the  self-righteous  legalist,  or  impenitent  sinners, 
 so  as  to  put  on  caution  here,  from  ver.  14.  to  avoid  offence, 
 and  soften  things,  by  telling  very  darkly  their  case,  and 
 saying  as  concerning  himself,  what  it  would  be  very  dange- 
 rous (so  Dr  W.  says)  for  them  to  understand  as  true  of  such 
 a  man  as  he  then  was,  and  that  without  cautioning  them  by 
 the  least  hint  against  that  dangerous  notion  ?  In  fine,  what- 
 ever be  understood  by  law,  it  is  plain  that  the  apostle  doth, 
 without  mincing  or  mollifying,  set  forth  in  a  clear  and 
 strong  light,  in  the  preceding  context  of  this  chapter,  and 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  227 
 
 chap.  vi.  14.  the  very  unhappy  condition  of  persons  under 
 the  law. 
 
 Let  us  now  go  a  little  farther  in  observing  the  variation  of 
 the  apostle's  style,  (of  which  see  Dr  Guyse,  note  on  ver.  14.) 
 and  compare  his  expression  here,  ver.  14 — 25.  with  what 
 he  hath  in  this  and  the  preceding  and  following  chapters, 
 concerning  the  unregenerate.  These  (chap.  vi.  16 — 20.) 
 yielded  (that  is,  sisted  or  presented)  themselves  ser- 
 vants to  sin;  they  yielded,  or  sisted  their  members  as  ser- 
 vants to  uncleanncss,  and  to  iniquity  ;  wThich  implies  the  full 
 and  habitual  consent  of  the  will.  But  here,  ver.  23.  there  is 
 a  law  in  a  man's  members  warring,  and  bringing  into  capti- 
 vity that  which  is  against  the  habitual  bent  and  inclina- 
 tion of  the  man's  will. 
 
 As  to  the  unregenerate  who  are  after  the  flesh  and  in  the 
 flesh,  they  are,  chap.  viii.  7«  enmity  agaist  God,  and  not 
 subject  to  his  law.  But  the  man,  in  our  context,  from  ver. 
 14.  consents  to  the  law,  that  it  is  good  ;  delights  in  the  law  of 
 God  after  the  inner  man  ;  and  with  his  mind  he  himself  serves 
 the  law  of  God. 
 
 As  to  the  man  in  our  context,  what  is  holy  and  good  is 
 what  he  willeth  ;  sin  is  what  he  willeth  not.  But  in  the  con- 
 text preceding  ver.  14.  where  the  case  of  the  unregenerate 
 man  under  the  law  is  certainly  set  forth,  sin  doth  by  oc- 
 casion of  the  law  work  in  him  all  manner  concupiscence, 
 deceives  him,  slays  him,  and  reviving  in  him,  destroys  all 
 his  confidences  ;  but  it  is  not  said  of  him  that  he  hates  it, 
 that  it  is  the  thing  he  would  not,  nor  doth  he  cry  out  of 
 wretchedness  by  it,  as  in  the  latter  context. 
 
 They  who  interpret  this  latter  context,  of  a  man  in  the 
 flesh,  and  under  the  law,  do  ascribe  all  the  good  mentioned 
 in  it  to  the  man's  understanding,  reason,  and  natural  con- 
 science. But  though  these  are  in  the  unregenerate,  who 
 are  certainly  meant  in  the  context  preceding  ver.  14.  yet  in 
 no  part  of  that  context  are  they  said  to  love,  to  hate,  to  de- 
 light, to  will,  to  serve,  as  in  this  ;  nor  in  the  former  con- 
 text is  there  any  mention  of  the  inner  man,  of  the  mind,  or 
 of  the  law  of  the  mind. 
 
 The  several  expressions  in  the  latter  context  come  again 
 in  our  way,  to  be  more  particularly  explained.  I  here  only 
 observe  the  variation  of  the  apostle's  style  and  expression. 
 Upon  a  general  view,  the  great  difference  and  variation  of  the 
 style  and  expression  gives  good  cause  to  think,  that  from  ver. 
 1 4.  there  is  represented  a  person  and  state  very  different  from 
 
228  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 being  under  the  law,  in  the  flesh,  as  we  have  here  a  style  and 
 expression  never  used  concerning  such. 
 
 2.  Here  we  see  that  the  apostle  speaks  with  a  special  view 
 to  the  spirituality  of  the  law  of  God,  as  it  gives  rule  to  a 
 man's  heart  and  spirit  within,  and  to  all  inward  thoughts 
 and  motions  in  the  soul.  It  seems  indeed  to  be  clear,  that 
 it  is  with  this  view  he  speaks  all  along,  even  in  the  preced- 
 ing context.  The  motions  of  sin's  working  in  a  man's  mem- 
 bers, ver.  5.  are  inward  :  the  particular  instance  condes- 
 cended on,  ver.  7-  Thou  shalt  not  covet,  is  inward.  So  it  is, 
 ver.  8.  when  sin  works  in  a  man  all  manner  of  concupis- 
 cence ;  and  when,  ver  Q.  sin  revives.  If  it  were  the  prac- 
 tice of  sin  in  outward  works  and  behaviour  that  were  meant 
 in  that  context,  certainly  what  he  says  would  not  universally 
 suit  the  case  of  persons  in  the  flesh,  and  under  the  law. 
 Many  such  have  been  outwardly,  as  to  the  righteousness 
 which  is  in  the  law,  blameless.  So  the  apostle  himself  was 
 when  in  that  state,  and  in  appearance  very  religious,  yea, 
 having  much  at  heart  to  be  so.  It  had  been  a  too  partial, 
 restricted,  and  incomplete  view  of  the  general  character  of 
 persons  in  the  flesh,  and  under  the  law,  if  he  had  consider- 
 ed and  represented  only  the  outward  practice ;  nor  would  it 
 give  a  just  account  of  the  character  in  general  of  persons  in 
 the  flesh  ;  whereas  upon  the  view  we  are  taking  of  the  apos- 
 tle's discourse,  it  answers  to  that  character  and  state  univer- 
 sally. Those  in  the  flesh,  as  the  apostle  represents,  do 
 mean  in  their  way  to  serve  God,  if  not  in  the  newness  of 
 gpirit,  yet  according  to  the  oldness  of  the  letter.  It  is  so 
 that  the  distinction  is  stated,  ver.  6.  Not  that  the  one  sort 
 serve  God,  and  the  other  sort  do  not  intend  to  serve  him  at 
 all.  If  those  in  the  flesh  have  their  unholiness,  and  unholy 
 lustings  and  affections,  (which  in  many  of  them  break  forth 
 outwardly  in  much  impurity  and  iniquity,)  yet  they  have 
 also  their  carnal  religion,  and  their  carnal  confidence  founded 
 upon  it.  If  the  impurities  and  iniquity  of  the  flesh  have 
 fearfully  prevailed  in  the  world,  a  carnal  religion,  in  one 
 form  or  other,  hath  no  less  overspread  the  world. 
 
 But  when  the  apostle  doth,  ver.  14.  where  he  begins  to 
 speak  of  himself  in  the  present  tense,  mention  expressly  that 
 the  law  is  spiritual,  it  serves  as  a  key  to  the  following  con- 
 text, with  which  that  expression  and  assertion  is  more  pre- 
 cisely connected.  Now,  it  is  not  only  that  his  nature  and 
 heart  had  been,  as  to  its  inward  workings,  in  the  utmost  re- 
 bellious and  unholy  opposition  to  the  law,  in  his  unregenerate 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  229 
 
 state,  but,  as  if  he  had  said,  When  I  consider  the  law  in 
 this  point  of  view,  as  it  is  spiritual,  alas,  I  am  (yet,  I  am 
 stilly  carnal,  even  in  my  present  more  comfortable  state  ! 
 alas,  what  of  impurity  and  iniquity  remains  inwardly  with 
 me  !  If  he  had  considered  the  law  as  a  rule  only  to  the  out- 
 ward actions  and  behaviour,  he  might  at  any  rate  say,  that 
 it  is  holy,  just,  and  good;  but  might  easily,  at  the  same 
 time,  think  himself  likewise  holy,  just,  and  good.  But  when 
 he  views  the  law  as  spiritual,  he  finds  great  opposition  and 
 disconformity  to  its  holiness  to  observe  with  sorrow,  even 
 now  in  his  better  state  under  grace.  When  he  considers 
 that  the  law  requires  not  only  the  external  acts  of  worship., 
 but  also  requires  the  worshipping  of  God  in  spirit  and  in 
 truth  ;  that  it  not  only  requires  the  external  acts  of  obe- 
 dience, but  also  demands  to  love  God  sincerely,  yea,  in- 
 tensely to  the  utmost  of  our  faculties  and  powers,  with  all 
 our  might  and  strength  ;  that  it  not  only  prohibits  outward 
 acts  of  impurity  and  iniquity,  but  also  prohibits  ail  devia- 
 tion of  the  heart  from  God,  and  from  holiness,  by  evil  lust- 
 ing inwardly ;  that  it  not  only  requires  all  outward  duty  to 
 our  neighbour,  (including  our  enemies)  but  also  that  our 
 heart  inwardly  be  sincerely  well  affected  to  him  ;  that  not 
 only  killing  a  man,  but  also  to  be  angry  at  him  without  a 
 cause,  is  a  transgression  of  the  sixth  commandment;  that 
 not  only  the  outward  act  of  adultery,  but  also  to  look  on  a 
 woman  to  lust  after  her,  is  a  transgression  of  the  seventh; — 
 it  is,  I  say,  considering  the  law  as  thus  spiritual,  thus  giv- 
 ing rule  to  his  heart  and  spirit  within  him,  and  prohibiting 
 the  inward  motions  and  activity  of  sin,  and  comparing  him- 
 self, and  the  inward  motions  and  inclinations  of  his  heart, 
 with  the  strict  holiness  and  spirituality  of  it,  that  he  repre- 
 sents his  present  feelings  and  observations  concerning  him- 
 self as  he  doth. 
 
 It  hath  been  argued  by  some,  that  whatever  may  pass 
 inwardly  in  the  heart,  even  of  a  true  Christian,  yet  the  ex- 
 pressions of  this  context  convey  more  than  what  is  merely 
 inward,  even  the  doing  of  evil  in  the  ordinary  outward 
 course  and  practice  of  life,  which  is  certainly  inconsistent 
 with  a  state  of  grace.  It  has  been  said,  that  the  three  words 
 here  rendered — to  do,  or  to  perforin,  viz.  now,  n^cccc-a, 
 KXTi^yet^opou,  can  be  understood  of  no  less  than  external  work, 
 action,  and  course. 
 
 But  this  is  not  so  clear  or  evident.  Not  to  enlarge  more 
 than  is  needful  on  this  point,  it  is  enough  to  observe,  in  ge- 
 
 K5 
 
 L 
 
230  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 neral,  that  in  all  languages  commonly  the  actions  and  opera- 
 tions of  the  mind  are  very  often  expressed  by  words  which 
 do  primarily  signify  bodily  action  or  operation  in  general,, 
 or  bodily  sensation.  So,  although  the  words  mentioned 
 should  be  allowed  to  be  used  most  commonly  concerning 
 outward  doing  or  work,  it  doth  not  follow  that  the  operations 
 of  the  mind  may  not  be,  yea,  are  not  often,  meant  by  them 
 in  the  use  of  speech.  The  only  word  of  the  three  that  would 
 be  most  likely  to  import  more  is  KocTi^yu^o^cct,  But  I  observe, 
 in  ver.  20.  If  I  do  (now)  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no  more  I 
 that  do  it,  {y^iTi^yx^ouoct  glvto,)  that  this  latter  verb  is  inter- 
 changed with  the  other  ;  and  as  it  is  certain  that  the  former 
 hath  not  always  that  force  and  meaning  to  signify  full  doing 
 or  performing  in  the  outward  work,  there  is  reason  to  think 
 that  neither  hath  the  latter,  as  used  here.  It  is  likewise  to 
 be  observed,  that,  in  this  same  chapter  (ver.  8.)  the  apostle 
 says — Sin  wrought  in  me  (Kccru^yoiG-aro)  all  manner  of  concu- 
 piscence ;  where,  it  is  plain,  that  the  word  respects  the  mo- 
 tions and  lustings  of  sin  inwardly  ;  or,  as  Dr  W.'s  paraphrase 
 hath  it,  all  manner  of  concupiscence,  or  vehement  desires 
 after  that  which  is  forbidden  by  the  law.  So  there  is  no- 
 thing here  to  disprove  the  account  given  of  the  apostle's  view 
 with  regard  to  the  spirituality  of  the  law.  Men's  overlook- 
 ing the  apostle's  view  and  respect  to  the  law  as  spiritual,  and 
 to  the  disconformity  of  his  heart,  to  what  the  law  requires  in 
 this  respect,  and  considering  all  the  accounts  here  given  by 
 him  as  respecting  the  outward  ordinary  practice,  has,  I  ap- 
 prehend, been  a  main  cause  of  their  falling  in  with  the 
 notion,  that  though  he  speaks  of  himself  in  the  present 
 tense,  yet  he  must  be  understood  as  personating  unregene- 
 rate  persons. 
 
 3.  The  third  general  consideration  I  suggest  is  this  :  The 
 more  holy  a  person  is,  and  the  more  his  heart  is  truly  sanc- 
 tified, it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  he  shall  have  the  more  quick 
 sense  and  painful  feeling  of  what  sin  may  remain  in  him  ; 
 and  that  he  shall  utter  his  complaint  of  it  in  the  more  strong 
 expressions,  and  with  the  greater  bitterness  of  heart. 
 
 A  person  nasty  and  drabbish,  who  hath  been  commonly 
 employed  in  the  dunghill,  can  be  nasty  all  over,  without  any 
 uneasiness  ;  whereas  it  gives  a  person  of  more  delicate  breed- 
 ing and  manners  much  shame  and  uneasiness  to  observe  a 
 small  spot  of  filth  upon  himself.  An  unregenerate  person, 
 who  is  in  a  course  of  impurity  and  iniquity,  like  a  sow  wal- 
 lowing in  the  mire,  (that  is  the  scripture  similitude)  his  sins 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom,  VII.  14—25.  281 
 
 give  him  little  or  no  uneasiness,  not  even  the  unholiness  of 
 his  outward  practice  ;  much  less  the  unholiness  of  his  heart. 
 There  is  a  notable  difference  between  the  sense  of  things  the 
 two  sorts  of  persons  entertain,  and  often  express.  Such  an 
 unregenerate  person  as  I  have  mentioned,  however  freely  he 
 takes  his  course  in  ill  practice,  will  often  give  favourable 
 accounts  of  himself  for  an  honest  heart,  for  certain  praise- 
 worthy qualities,  and  good  deeds  ;  will  often  represent  him- 
 self as  righteous,  and  say  such  things  of  himself  as,  accord- 
 ing to  their  true  import  and  meaning,  can  suit  only  righteous 
 persons,  and  those  truly  regenerate;  when  persons  truly 
 holy,  however  pure  and  fruitful  they  are  in  outward  behavi- 
 our, yet,  from  what  they  observe  of  the  evil  of  their  hearts, 
 will  be  heard  sometimes  to  speak  of  themselves  in  a  style 
 that  may  seem,  at  first  sight,  to  suit  only  the  worst  of  men. 
 
 Thus  the  matter  stands  on  both  sides.  A  person  unholy 
 and  impenitent,  fixes  his  attention  on  any  good  thing  he  can 
 observe  with  himself,  whereby  he  can  in  any  degree  support 
 a  favourable  opinion  of  his  own  state,  and  be  somewhat  easy 
 in  an  evil  course.  On  the  other  hand,  a  person  truly  sanc- 
 tified is  ready  to  overlook  nis  own  good  attainments,  to  for- 
 get the  things  that  are  behind  in  this  respect,  and  rather 
 consider  how  far  he  is  behind,  and  defective  in  holiness, 
 and  to  fix  his  attention  with  much  painful  feeling  on  his  re- 
 maining sinfulness,  for  matter  of  godly  sorrow  or  serious 
 regret  to  him.  With  a  just  view  of  the  majesty  and  holi- 
 ness of  God,  he  is  ready  to  say  with  Job,  chap.  xlii.  6.  /  ab- 
 hor myself. 
 
 All  professed  Christians  will  acknowledge,  that  it  is  very 
 consistent  with  a  state  of  grace,  to  have  much  imperfection 
 in  holiness,  and  much  remaining  sinfulness.  Upon  this 
 view,  it  is  most  reasonable  to  suppose,  according  to  what  hath 
 been  said  above,  that  the  farther  one  is  advanced  in  holiness, 
 and  the  more  his  heart  is  truly  sanctified,  he  will  have  the 
 greater  sensibility  with  regard  to  sin,  and  it  must  give  him 
 the  more  pain  and  bitterness.  If  we  shall  suppose  that  an 
 angel  should  find  an  unholy  thought,  or  imagination,  to 
 spring  up  in  his  mind,  surely  the  first  view  and  feeling  of 
 it  would  give  him  great  apprehension  and  distress,  and 
 could  not  miss  to  put  such  a  holy  being  into  agonies.  Let 
 us,  but  for  once,  make  the  supposition,  that  the  blessed 
 apostle  Paul  found  some  sin  and  unholy  affections  remain- 
 ing and  stirring  in  his  heart ;  as  he  was  a  person  advanced 
 to  a  very  uncommon  degree  in  holiness,  it  would  be  the 
 
 , 
 
232  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 natural  consequence,  that  he  would  express  himself,  con- 
 cerning the  matter,  in  language  uncommonly  strong  and 
 bitter.  Followers  of  Arminius,  at  least  some  of  them,  have 
 held,  that  Christians  may,  in  this  life,  attain  the  perfection 
 of  holiness,  yet  they  would  acknowledge  that  this  is  not  the 
 attainment  of  many.  If  then  they  should  suppose  a  man  to 
 be  so  holy  as  to  be  in  the  very  next  degree  to  perfection, 
 should  they  not  acknowledge,  even  consistently  with  their 
 own  notions,  that  such  a  person  will  have  a  much  more 
 quick  feeling  and  bitter  complaint  of  sin  than  another  good 
 man,  who  is  yet  less  holy  ? 
 
 There  is  something  here  of  important  consideration  and 
 usefulness  in  dealing  with  souls  serious  and  sincere.  A 
 Christian  says,  I  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious, 
 and  methinks  I  have  found  my  heart  undergo  a  happy 
 change,  with  a  powerful  determination  towards  God  and 
 holiness.  I  have  thought  that  I  had  good  evidence  of  true 
 conversion,  and  of  a  heart  truly  regenerated  by  grace.  But 
 then  I  know  that  the  effect  should  be  to  grow  in  grace,  to 
 advance  in  holiness,  and  that  sin  remaining  in  my  heart 
 should  become  weaker  and  weaker.  But  I  find  otherwise ;  I 
 find  grace  rather  become  more  weak ;  and,  however  my  out- 
 ward deportment  is  regulated  by  a  good  conscience  in  ways 
 of  purity  and  integrity,  yet  in  my  heart  I  feel  sin  very 
 strong,  and  rather  growing  more  and  more  so.  Evil  lusts, 
 carnal  affections,  and  disorderly  passions  are  daily  stirring, 
 often  with  great  vehemence,  and  defiling  my  heart  and 
 spirit.  Alas  !  after  all  I  have  experienced  of  divine  good- 
 ness, I  have  cause  to  apprehend,  that  1  may  be  found  to 
 have  been  in  a  delusion,  and  that  matters  may  have  a  fatal 
 issue  with  me  at  last.  The  unholiness  of  my  heart,  in  which 
 grace  feels  so  weak,  and  sin  so  strong,  gives  me  constant  re- 
 gret and  sorrow  ;  and  the  dread  of  the  final  consequence 
 sometimes  strikes  terror  through  my  whole  soul. 
 
 To  consider  the  case  with  judgment ;  as  it  is,  in  the  first 
 place,  to  be  acknowledged  that  a  Christian  hath  great  cause 
 of  serious  regret,  and  to  be  greatly  humbled  for  his  remain- 
 ing sinfulness,  yet  it  is  one  thing  for  sin  to  be  growing 
 more  and  more  strong  indeed  ;  it  is  another  and  very  dif- 
 ferent thing,  for  his  sense  of  sin  to  be  growing  more  and 
 more  so.  If  sin  was  indeed  growing  more  strong  in  a  Chris- 
 tian's heart,  he  would  feel  it  less,  as  the  increasing  strength 
 of  sin  is  always  attended  with  a  proportional  hardness  of 
 heart  and  insensibility.     When  Hezekiah  was  humbled  for 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  233 
 
 the  pride  of  his  heart,  it  is  likely  that  he  observed  the  mo- 
 tions of  that  evil  lust  strong  in  him,  and  as  if  it  had  grown 
 more  and  more  so,  compared  with  his  former  feeling  and 
 observation.  Yet  it  was  now  that  that  lust  was  truly  be- 
 come weaker,  and  the  real  growth  of  grace  appeared  in  the 
 quick  and  humbling  sense  he  had  of  it.  On  a  former  oc- 
 casion, when  he  was  gratifying  his  vanity  in  entertaining 
 the  ambassadors  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  the  pride  of  his 
 heart  had  much  influence,  yet  gave  him  no  annoyance  or 
 uneasiness.  It  was  then  that  the  interest  of  sin  was  strong 
 and  prevailing,  and  that  of  grace  and  holiness  weak.  There 
 are  too  many  Christians  whose  sense  of  sin  and  of  its  mo- 
 tions in  them  is  not  so  great  as  it  ought  to  be  ;  and  this, 
 alas  !  comes  too  often  to  discover  itself  in  outward  instances 
 of  unholy  conversation  and  practice.  Christians  may  be  as- 
 sured, that  a  growing  sensibility  of  conscience  and  heart 
 with  respect  to  sin,  outwardly  and  inwardly,  is  among  the 
 chief  evidences  of  the  growth  of  grace,  and  of  good  advances 
 in  holiness,  that  they  are  likely  to  have  on  this  side  of  heaven. 
 For  the  more  pure  and  holy  the  heart  is,  it  will  naturally 
 have  the  more  quick  feeling  of  what  sin  remaineth  in  it; 
 and  it  will  be  taking  the  just  view  of  the  context  now  before 
 us,  to  consider  it  in  this  light. 
 
 4.  The  last  general  consideration  I  suggest  is,  that  the 
 expressions  here  are  not  used  by  another  concerning  a  per- 
 son historically,  but  by  himself  in  the  way  of  bitter  regret 
 and  complaint.  A  man  may  in  this  way,  and  in  the  bitter- 
 ness of  his  heart,  say  very  strong  things  concerning  himself 
 and  his  condition,  which  it  were  unjust  and  absurd  for  an- 
 other to  say  of  him,  in  giving  his  character  historically. 
 But  this  will  come  in  our  way  again. 
 
 Sect.  3. — That  nothing  represented  in  this  context,  ver.  14--25. 
 is  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  grace. 
 
 The  arguments  of  those  who  will  have  the  apostle  to  be 
 here  personating  others,  come  under  this  general  head,  that 
 there  are  divers  things  in  this  context  which  he  could  not 
 say  or  mean  of  himself,  and  which  are  inconsistent  with  a 
 state  of  grace.  Let  us  consider  the  particular  things  that 
 are  observed  and  alleged  to  this  purpose* 
 
 1.  The  first  thing  of  this  sort  that  is  adduced  is  in  ver, 
 14. — /  am  carnal.  To  be  carnal,  or  to  be  in  the  flesh,  (so 
 it  is  argued)  is  the  character  of  a  person  unregenerate,  and 
 
234  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 under  the  law,  and  not  applicable  to  a  person  in  a  state  of 
 grace,  as  the  apostle  was. 
 
 Answ.  To  be  in  the  flesh,  can  indeed  be  said  of  none  who 
 are  in  a  state  of  grace,  according  to  the  scripture  use  of  the 
 expression.  But  to  be  in  the  flesh,  and  to  be  in  some  respect 
 carnal,  are  not  words  convertible,  or  of  the  same  meaning. 
 They  may  be,  and  are  said  to  be  carnal  in  particular  re- 
 spects, and  on  a  special  view,  who  are  in  a  state  of  grace. 
 Here  is  a  clear  instance.  The  Corinthians  the  apostle  ad- 
 dresses as  saints,  and  considers  as  being  in  Christ ;  yet  to 
 them  he  writes  thus,  1  Cor.  iii.  1 — 3. 1  could  not  speak  unto 
 you  as  unto  spiritual,  but  as  unto  carnal,  even  as  unto  babes 
 in  Christ. — For  ye  are  yet  carnal ;  for  whereas  there  is  among 
 you  envying,  and  strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and 
 walk  as  men  ? 
 
 I  know  not  what  can  be  replied  here,  if  it  is  not  this. 
 The  apostle  severely  blames  the  Corinthians  for  being  car- 
 nal ;  so  that  we  cannot  suppose  that  he  means  of  himself, 
 when  he  says  here,  /  am  carnal. 
 
 Yet  still  his  charging  the  Corinthians,  whom  he  considers 
 as  saints,  and  truly  in  Christ,  with  being  carnal,  it  makes 
 out  this  general  point,  that  persons  regenerate  may  be  car- 
 nal in  particular  respects.  To  be  in  the  flesh,  denotes  per- 
 sons absolutely  unregenerate  and  destitute  of  the  Spirit,  as 
 we  see,  Rom.  viii.  9*  But  as  to  Christians  being  charged 
 with  carnality,  in  particular  respects,  this  admits  of  great 
 variety.  The  blessed  apostle  was  by  no  means  carnal  in  the 
 same  respect  or  degree  as  the  Corinthians.  He  charges  them 
 with  being  so,  because  they  could  be  fed  only  with  milk  ; 
 had  envyings,  strifes,  and  divisions  among  them  ;  in  a  word, 
 that  they  were  but  babes  in  Christ ;  though  grace  was  real 
 and  sincere  in  them,  it  was  weak  :  so  the  flesh  remained 
 strong  and  little  subdued  in  them.  This  was  shameful  to 
 them,  and  very  reprovable.  But  it  was,  on  comparing  him- 
 self with  a  much  higher  standard  than  that  of  men  adult 
 and  come  to  full  stature  in  Christ,  even  with  the  strict  holi- 
 ness and  spirituality  of  the  law  of  God,  that  he  here  calls 
 himself  carnal.  This  was  matter  of  bitter  regret  to  himself ; 
 but  was  far  from  that  more  blame-worthy  kind  and  degree 
 that  he  charges  the  Corinihians  with. 
 
 As  here,  speaking  to  the  Corinthians,  he  states  the  oppo- 
 sition between  spiritual  and  carnal,  even  as  to  persons,  each 
 sort,  in  a  state  of  grace,  it  is  plain  that  he  hath  the  same 
 opposition  of  characters  in  view  as  to  persons  in  the  same 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  23.i 
 
 state  of  grace  :  Gal.  vi.  1.  If  a  brother  be  overtaken  in  a  fault, 
 ye  which  are  spiritual  restore  such  an  owe.  Where  it  is  plain, 
 he  considers  the  person  overtaken  in  a  fault  as  carnal, 
 though  a  brother.  All  this  is  enough  to  show,  that  his  say- 
 ing /  am  carnal,  though  it  imports  something  in  its  own 
 nature,  contrary  to  holiness,  yet  doth  not  import  the  man's 
 being  in  the  ficsh,  unregenerate. 
 
 2.  The  next  thing  objected  is  in  the  same  ver.  14.  Sold 
 under  sin.  And  the  argument  from  this  expression  is  thus 
 stated.  Anciently,  when  regular  cartels  were  not  agreed  on 
 between  powers  at  war,  the  prisoners  or  captives  became  the 
 slaves  of  the  victors,  or,  being  sold  by  them,  the  slaves  of 
 such  as  bought  them.  Sometimes  men  became  slaves  by 
 their  having  of  their  own  will  resigned  their  liberty,  and 
 sold  themselves:  so  in  general  this  expression,  sold  under 
 sin,  imports  to  be  a  slave  of  sin,  (so  it  is  argued)  ;  and  this 
 cannot  be  said,  in  any  sense  or  degree,  of  a  person  regenerate 
 and  under  grace.  On  this  occasion,  (as  we  have  already 
 seen  in  a  citation  from  Dr  W.)  is  introduced  the  expression 
 used  concerning  Ahab,  that  surely  can  never  be  applicable 
 to  a  regenerate  person;  1  Kings  xxi.  25.  But  there  was  none 
 like  unto  Ahab,  which  did  sell  himself  to  work  wickedness,  in 
 the  sight  of  the  Lord. 
 
 To  this  I  answer,  that  the  instance  of  Ahab  (to  begin 
 with  that)  is  very  improperly  adduced  to  explain  or  illus- 
 trate the  expression  in  our  text.  Jn  the  words  quoted, 
 Ahab  is  represented  as  singular  among,  yea,  above  the  most 
 wicked.  The  inspired  historian  says,  There  was  none  like 
 unto  Ahab  ;  and  it  is  to  explain  this  that  he  adds,  which  did 
 sell  himself  to  work  wickedness  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  ;  that 
 is,  he  wholly  abandoned  himself  to  all  manner  of  wickedness, 
 in  open  defiance  of  the  Almighty.  Now,  if  the  apostle  shall 
 be  supposed  to  be  representing  in  our  context  the  general 
 and  common  case  of  persons  unregenerate,  in  the  flesh,  and 
 under  the  law,  can  the  case  of  Ahab  answer  that  purpose  ? 
 can  such  things  be  said  of  all  who  are  unregenerate  ?  Ar- 
 minius  supposes  that  our  context  exhibits  the  case  of  a  man 
 who  is  not  regenerate,  but  is  in  a  very  promising  way,  as 
 in  the  next  step  to  conversion  ;  but  by  the  description 
 given  of  Ahab,  he  was  at  the  utmost  distance  from  it.  Yea, 
 Dr  W.  in  explaining  this  place  by  the  character  given  of 
 Ahab,  seems  not  to  be  quite  consistent  with  himself.  In  a 
 passage  of  his,  to  be  hereafter  quoted,  he  labours  to  prove 
 from  this  context,  what  good   an  unregenerate  man  can,  in 
 
236  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 that  state,  attain  and  do.  He  can  will  that  which  is  good, 
 hate  sin,  and  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inner  man. 
 Could  such  things  be  said  of  one,  who,  as  Ahab,  had  sold 
 himself  to  work  wickedness  ?  It  is  plain  that  the  expression 
 used  concerning  Ahab,  arid  that  of  our  text,  /  am — sold 
 under  sin,  are  not  of  the  same  import  or  meaning.  If  the 
 latter  should  mean  as  the  former,  it  would  not  express  the 
 common  case  and  character  of  persons  regenerate  or  unre- 
 generate,   under  the  law  or  under  grace. 
 
 As  to  slavery,  there  wras  a  great  difference,  according  to 
 the  different  way  in  which  a  man  came  into  that  state.  If 
 in  the  course  of  war  a  man  happened  to  be  taken  captive, 
 he  was  unwillingly  a  slave,  regretted  his  own  condition,  and 
 truly  longed  for  deliverance,  as  he  might  expect  it  from  the 
 future  successes  of  his  proper  lord.  A  man  having  such  a 
 disposition  and  prospect,  though  captivated  for  a  season, 
 might  still  justly  reckon  himself  the  subject  and  soldier  of 
 the  lord  under  whose  banner  he  had  fought,  and  solace 
 himself  with  the  prospect  of  his  working  his  relief.  But  if 
 a  man  peacefully  and  voluntarily  sold  himself,  he  had  not 
 the  same  reason  to  look  for  relief;  and  would  be  likely  to 
 live  without  the  hope  of  it ;  without  being  anxious  about  his 
 condition. 
 
 It  must  accordingly  be  allowed,  that  there  is  a  great  dif- 
 ference between  a  person,  who  with  full  determination  of 
 heart  and  will,  peacefully  yieldeth  himself  a  slave  to  sin,  to 
 the  outward  and  inward  practice  of  it,  and  a  person  who, 
 to  pure  and  upright  inward  behaviour,  adds  the  utmost  so- 
 licitude about  inward  conformity  to  the  strict  holiness  and 
 spirituality  of  the  law,  with  an  ordinary  conflict  against 
 every  thing  within  him  contrary  thereto.  The  former  proves 
 himself  to  be  in  an  unregenerate  state ;  the  latter,  with  all 
 his  bitter  and  tragical  complaint,  is  not  so  ;  yea,  this  can 
 suit  none  other  than  a  person  in  a  regenerate  state. 
 
 As  to  the  instance  of  Ahab,  if  instead  of  its  being  his* 
 toricalh)  said  of  him  that  he  sold  himself,  we  had  over- 
 heard him,  or  any  other  such,  striking  his  thigh  like  Eph- 
 raim,  and  bemoaning  himself,  saying,  Ah,  how  carnal  I 
 am,  and  sold  under  sin  !  it  would  surely  have  made  a  vast 
 difference  ;  we  should  see  cause  to  judge  such  a  man,  like 
 Ephraim,  to  be  a  true  penitent,  under  the  full  influence  of 
 regenerating  grace. 
 
 In   interpreting  the  language  of  sorrow  and  complaint, 
 great  allowance  is   to  be  made,  so  as  not  to  take   strong 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  237 
 
 words  rigidly,  in  their  most  full  ordinary  meaning.  They 
 would  make  absurd  and  foolish  work  of  it,  who  would  so  in- 
 terpret it  in  many  instances  that  occur  in  holy  writ.  In 
 this  way,  for  instance,  one  might  argue  and  say,  Job  was 
 certainly  an  ill,  yea,  a  vile  man,  for  so  he  testifies  of  him- 
 self, Job.  xl.  4.  Behold,  I  am  vile.  Job  uttered  this  humble 
 expression  on  his  having  got  a  very  affecting  view  of  the 
 Divine  majesty  and  holiness.  In  like  manner,  with  an  eye 
 to  the  authority  and  holiness  of  God  revealed  in  his  law,  and 
 of  the  inward  purity  it  required,  as  being  spiritual,  the 
 apostle  cries  out,  /  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin.  If  one  over- 
 heard a  serious  upright  Christian  saying,  on  some  occasion, 
 with  much  deep  regret,  (as  many  such  have  done)  Ah, 
 what  a  slave  am  I  to  carnal  affections,  to  unruly  passions  ! 
 how  do  they  carry  me  away,  and  captivate  me  !  would  he 
 hastily  say,  that  this  complaint  had  no  foundation  at  all  in 
 truth  ?  or  would  he  conclude,  if  it  had,  that  this  man  was 
 truly  and  absolutely  a  slave  of  sin,  and  a  person  unregenerate  r 
 I  should  think,  that  a  person  so  judging,  would  deserve  no 
 other  than  to  be  unfavourably  regarded.  If  the  apostle's 
 exclamation,  sold  under  sin,  shall  be  considered  in  this 
 view,  as  it  certainly  ought  to  be,  it  is  so  far  from  proving 
 the  person  who  thus  speaks  to  be  truly  a  slave  of  sin,  that  it 
 evidently  tends  to  prove  the  contrary. 
 
 3.  To  the  expression  we  have  been  last  considering,  ver. 
 14.  we  may  join  that  other,  as  near  of  kin  to  it  in  meaning, 
 ver.  23.  /  see  another  law — bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the 
 law  of  sin.  To  be  actually  brought  into  captivity  to  sin,  and 
 to  be  sold  under  sin,  signify  much  the  same  thing;  so  that 
 what  hath  been  said  of  the.other  expression,  ver.  14.  maybe 
 applied  to  this. 
 
 We  have  no  cause  to  think,  that  the  apostle  was,  even  in 
 his  regenerate  state,  altogether  a  stranger  to  the  sudden  hurry 
 and  surprise  of  passion,  such  as  cannot  be  without  some  de- 
 gree of  sin,  however  soon  checked  and  overcome,  yet  not  so 
 soon  but  that  he  might  observe  as  much  of  it  as  would  greatly 
 annoy  his  holy  heart.  If  we  consider  things  in  view  to  the 
 third  general  consideration  above  suggested,  we  ought,  from 
 a  heart  so  sanctified  as  was  that  of  the  apostle  Paul,  to  ex- 
 pect no  less  than  the  expression  of  bitter  regret  on  such  ac- 
 counts. 
 
 Dr  W.  in  a  descant  he  hath  on  these  words  of  verse  23. 
 speaks  as  if  they  expressed  the  case  of  one  yielding  himself 
 captive  to  the  law  in  his  members.     But  certainly  they  do 
 
238  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 not  represent  one  so  yielding  himself  captive,  but  one  in 
 earnest  struggle  against  that  law,  which  he  found  warring 
 against  his  soul,  and  striving  to  bring  him  captive.  What- 
 ever may,  on  some  occasions,  have  happened,  these  expres- 
 sions do  not  truly  import  the  law  in  its  members  to  have  got 
 the  better,  or  to  have  actually  overcome  him.  To  this  pur- 
 pose serves  what  hath  been  observed  by  the  critics,  That 
 words  properly  signifying  the  action  and  the  effect  together, 
 are  sometimes  so  used  as  to  mean  no  more  than  the  action, 
 and  its  tendency.  Here  is  an  instance,  Ezek.  xxiv.  13.  / 
 have  purged  thee,  and  thou  wast  not  purged.  If  the  first  clause, 
 /  have  purged  thee,  (which  imports,  in  the  common  use  of 
 speech,  both  the  action  and  the  effect)  should  be  understood 
 in  the  proper  and  full  sense,  it  would  be  a  contradiction  to 
 say,  as  in  the  next  words,  thou  wast  not  purged.  But  it  is 
 plain,  that  the  words,  /  have  purged  thee,  mean  no  more  than 
 the  Lord's  having  used  means  tending  greatly  to  that  effect. 
 This  use  of  such  words  cannot  be  denied  by  any  who  shall 
 agree  to  Dr  W.'s  interpretation  of  John  vi.  44.  according  to 
 which,  the  Father  draweth  many  to  Christ,  who  yet  are  not 
 effectually  drawn,  or  actually  brought  to  him.  So  here,  I 
 Jind  a  law  in  my  members  bringing  me  into  captivity,  means 
 no  more  than  working  hard,  and  of  strongly  tending  to  cap- 
 tivate me,  and  to  make  me  a  slave  of  sin  in  this  and  the 
 other  instance.  So  that  they  who  infer  from  this  expression, 
 that  the  person  here  represented  was,  in  fact  and  in  good 
 earnest,  according  to  the  full  sense  of  the  words,  habitually 
 a  captive  and  slave  of  sin,  and  that  he  yielded  himself  to  be 
 so,  do  infer  what  the  expression  doth  by  no  means  import  or 
 give  any  ground  for. 
 
 4.  A  fourth  thing  that  is  said  to  be  inconsistent  with  a 
 state  of  grace,  is,  a  will  to  do  good  that  hath  not  effect  in 
 practice.  Thus,  ver.  15.  What  I  would  that  I  do  not  ;  ver. 
 18.  To  will  is  present  with  me,  but  how  to  perform  that  which 
 is  goody  I  Jind  not ;  and,  ver.  19-  The  good  that  I  would,  I 
 do  not.  This,  say  they,  cannot  be  the  case  of  a  person  in  a 
 state  of  grace  ;  for  of  such  the  apostle  says,  that  God  work- 
 eth  in  them  to  will  and  to  do,  or  perform. 
 
 This  is  to  come  in  our  way  elsewhere  hereafter.  But,  as 
 to  the  purpose  of  this  place,  if  the  apostle  says,  How  to  per* 
 form  that  which  is  good,  I  Jind  not,  we  have  not  reason  to 
 think  from  this,  that  it  was  still,  or  most  commonly  so  with 
 him ;  nor  do  the  words  oblige  us  to  understand  him  so.  I 
 doubt  if  our  opposites  will  allow,  that  it  is  always,  and  in 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  15—25.  239 
 
 every  instance,  thus  even  with  persons  unregenerate.  I  put 
 the  question,  Is  it  so,  indeed,  that  an  unregenerate  man  is 
 still,  and  in  every  instance,  unable  to  perform  that  which  is 
 good  ?  Is  it  so,  that  he  cannot  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  is 
 ever  ready  to  assist  men  of  every  condition  and  state,  who 
 sincerely  will  that  which  is  good,  perform  it  in  any,  yea,  in 
 many  instances  ?  I  would  be  glad  to  know  how  they  would 
 answer  this  upon  their  own  principles.  If  they  shall  say, 
 that  an  unregenerate  man,  willing  that  which  is  good,  can 
 perform  it  in  some,  yea,  in  many  instances,  they  must  at 
 the  same  time,  acknowledge,  that  these  words,  How  to  'per- 
 form that  which  is  good,  I  Jind  not,  do  not  mean  that  this  is 
 always  the  case  with  him  who  here  speaks.  What  good 
 reason  then  can  they  give  for  thinking  that  the  apostle  could 
 not  say  so  of  himself,  consistently  with  his  performing  his 
 duty  in  many,  yea,  in  most  instances,  though  in  some  in- 
 stances, to  his  great  regret,  he  found  himself  unable  to  per- 
 form it,  as  he  here  says  ?  If  they  say,  that  an  unregenerate 
 man  doth  indeed  sometimes  perform  that  which  is  good,  but 
 not  so  constantly,  or  in  so  good  a  manner  as  he  ought,  is  it 
 not  still  more  reasonable,  understanding  the  words  here 
 of  Paul  himself,  to  say  they  only  mean  that  even  he  doth  not 
 perform  that  which  is  good,  so  constantly,  and  in  so  good  a 
 manner  as  he  ordinarily  willeth  and  wisheth  ? 
 
 Yea,  even  from  the  representation  here  given,  it  is  certain 
 that  the  person  whose  case  is  meant,  must  be  supposed  to  do 
 and  to  perform  a  great  deal  that  is  good.  He  saith  several 
 times,  that  it  is  good  that  he  willed  to  do,  and  that  to  will  it 
 was  present  with  him.  He  saith  not,  that  he  willed  that 
 which  was  evil ;  though  it  is  true  that  he  could  not  do  evil 
 without  his  will  being  in  it  in  some  sort  and  degree.  But  as 
 he  never  says,  that  he  willed  that  which  was  evil,  it  implies 
 that  such  will  was  not  the  habitual  and  prevailing  will.  But 
 when  he  mentions  oftener  than  once  that  he  willed  that  which 
 was  good,  and  says,  that  to  will  so  is  present  with  him,  he 
 hereby  shows,  that  the  prevailing  habitual  inclination  and 
 determination  of  his  will  was  towards  good.  Now,  if  it  was 
 so,  it  is  certain  from  the  nature  of  things,  and  from  the  na- 
 tural course  of  things  in  rational  agents,  that  good  behoved 
 to  prevail  in  his  conduct  and  practice  outward  and  inward, 
 But  whatever  good  he  attained,  or  whatever  good  he  per- 
 formed, yet,  according  to  what  hath  been  formerly  said, 
 overlooking  his  attainment  in  that  way,  his  attention  is  fixed> 
 with  great  concern  and  regret,  on  what  he  hath  not  attained 
 
240  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 or  performed.  Alas  !  (as  if  he  had  said)  in  how  many  in- 
 stances doth  it  happen,  that  I  do  what  I  allow  not ;  that  I 
 do  not  that  which  I  would  ;  that  when  to  will  is  present  with 
 me,  yet  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I  find  not ! 
 Surely  this  is  very  consistent  with  the  prevailing  of  grace  in 
 the  heart.  The  truth  is,  serious  Christians  are  so  much 
 often  in  this  way,  and  thus  expressing  their  complaint,  that 
 if  one  was  to  form  a  character  of  them  according  to  what 
 they  say  and  represent  in  this  style,  it  would  often  be  more 
 unfavourable  than  just. 
 
 Further,  we  are  to  remember  that  the  apostle  hath  in  his 
 eye,  all  along,  what,  at  first  setting  out  in  speaking  of  him- 
 self in  the  present  tense,  he  had  mentioned,  ver.  14.  even 
 the  spirituality  of  the  law,  as  a  rule  not  only  to  his  outward 
 behaviour,  but  also  to  his  heart  and  spirit  within  him.  If 
 with  this  in  view  he  should  say,  To  will  even  the  absolute 
 perfection  and  purity  which  the  law  of  God  requireth,  is 
 present  with  me  ;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good, 
 according  to  the  strict  holiness  and  spirituality  of  the  law,  I 
 6nd  not ;  alas,  I  find  not  in  any  instance  whatsoever  !  will 
 any  say  that  tftis  is  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  grace  ?  Let 
 us  consider  what  is  likely  to  have  been  the  aim,  the  will  and 
 wish  of  so  holy  a  person.  He  willed  that  the  love  of  God 
 should  fill  his  heart,  and  prevail  in  it  in  the  most  intense 
 degree ;  that  his  heart  should  be  wholly  spiritual  and 
 heavenly,  in  all  its  thoughts  and  affections ;  that  when  he 
 came  before  God  in  exercises  of  worship,  his  whole  soul  should 
 be  animated  and  elevated  with  a  heavenly  flame  of  devotion  ; 
 that  vain  thoughts,  sin  and  sinful  imperfections  should  never 
 hold  him  short  of  such  perfect  attainment  in  his  duty.  Will 
 any  say  it  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  this  to  be  what  he 
 willed  ?  or  can  any  good  reason  be  given  for  supposing  that 
 Paul,  whilst  he  was  in  the  body,  found  nothing  that  made 
 him  fall  short  of  so  high  an  aim  in  holiness  ? 
 
 Let  it  be  added  here,  when  the  apostle  says,  ver.  18. 
 How  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I  find  not,  that  the  word 
 rendered  perform,  is,  Kur^yx^crB-xi  -,  which,  though  it  may 
 sometimes  mean  no  more  than  simply,  facere,  to  do.  as  hath 
 been  shown  formerly,  yet  it  more  properly  signifies,  per* 
 ficere,  peragere,  to  do  thoroughly,  or  completely.  The  apostle, 
 having  the  strict  holiness  and  spirituality  of  the  law  in  his 
 eye,  willed  to  do  what  is  good  thoroughly  and  completely  ; 
 as  in  the  outward  work,  so  in  his  heart  and  spirit  within 
 him.     But,  after  all  that  the  Christian  attains,  there  is  some- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI I.  14—25.  241 
 
 thing  as  to  doing  thoroughly  and  completely  that  he  doth 
 not  reach  in  this  life.  There  is  not  a  just  man  that  doth  good, 
 and  sinneth  not.  There  is  still  imperfection ;  something  of 
 sin  that  cleaves  to  men's  best  doings.  So  that,  in  view  to 
 the  proper  standard  and  rule,  the  best  may  say,  (according 
 to  Isa.  lxiv.  6.  that  even  all  their  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy 
 rags.  The  common  case  of  Christians  is  according  to  Gal. 
 v.  17-  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit 
 against  the  flesh  ;  so  that  ye  cannot  do  the  things  that  ye  would. 
 These  considerations  account  for  the  apostle's  saying,  How 
 to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I  find  not;  and  show  that 
 therein  there  is  nothing  inconsistent  with  being  regenerate 
 and  under  grace,  and  nothing  to  give  cause  to  think  that 
 the  apostle  personates  the  unregenerate  man. 
 
 5.  Some  have  argued  from  that  expression,  ver.  20.  Sin 
 that  dwelleth  in  me.  Arminius  labours  to  prove,  and  boasts 
 of  having  proved,  that  sin  dwelling  in  a  man  signifies  its  rul- 
 ing, or  having  dominion  in  him.  Indeed,  if  he  had  proved 
 this,  it  might  have  saved  him  all  the  labour  he  bestowed  on 
 other  arguments.  This  one  were  absolutely  decisive ;  and 
 his  long  dissertation  on  this  context  might  have  been  a  very 
 short  one.  But  if  a  man,  who  is  head  of  a  family,  dwelleth 
 in  his  own  house,  it  is  true  that  he  ruleth  there;  but  he 
 doth  so  as  being  head  of  the  family,  not  merely  because  he 
 dwelleth  there,  for  it  is  as  properly  said  of  the  family,  that 
 they  dwell  there,  as  of  him.  If  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
 in  a  Christian,  it  is  true  that  he  ruleth  in  him  ;  and  so,  if 
 Christ  dwelleth  in  a  man's  heart  through  faith  ;  but  still  it 
 is  not  the  word  dwelleth  that  imports  so.  If  Arminius  found 
 that  any  expression,  where  the  word  dwell  occurs,  did  im- 
 port ruling,  as  in  several  texts  mentioned  by  him,  yet 
 that  notion  arises  from  something  else  than  merely  the  word 
 dwelling. 
 
 If  a  man  dwells  in  this  city,  or  in  that  country,  and  it  is 
 so  said,  doth  indeed  the  expression  import  that  he  ruleth  in 
 that  city  or  country?  The  prophet  says,  Amos  iii.  12.  So 
 shall  the  children  of  Israel  be  taken  out  that  dwell  in  Samaria, 
 in  the  corner  of  a  bed,  and  in  Damascus  in  a  couch.  Is  it 
 that  Israel  had  dominion  in  these  places,  where  they  are  said 
 to  dwell ;  when  it  is  plain  they  are  represented  as  in  distress, 
 and  hiding  themselves  in  these  places  ?  So  Zech.  ii.  7.  De- 
 liver thyself,  0  Zion,  that  dwelleth  with  the  daughter  of  Baby- 
 lon. Surely  it  would  be  very  ill  to  infer  from  this,  that  the 
 Jews  in  captivity  at  Babylon  had  the  dominion  there. 
 
242  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 Now,  if  the  word  in  its  proper  use  doth  not  import  rule,  or 
 dominion,  there  can  be  no  reason  for  making  that  the  mean- 
 ing of  it,  when  it  is  transferred  to  the  figurative  use.  Christ 
 says,  John  vi.  5(5.  He  that  ealeth  my  flesh,  and  drinketh  my 
 blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and  I  in  him.  So  1  John  iv.  13. 
 Hereby  we  know  that  we  dwell  in  him,  and  he  in  us,  because 
 he  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit.  It  is  just  to  say,  that  God 
 or  Christ  dwelling,  or  abiding  in  a  man,  do  rule  in  him.  But 
 it  were  nonsense  and  blasphemy  to  put  that  hi  the  meaning 
 of  the  word,  when  the  Christian  is  said  to  abide  or  dwell  in 
 God  or  in  Christ.  So  it  is  plain,  that  the  word  dwell  doth 
 not  of  itself  import  rule  or  dominion  ;  and  that  there  is 
 good  reason  for  the  distinction  between  sin  reigning  in  men, 
 as  it  doth  in  the  unregenerate ;  and  sin  merely  dwelling  in 
 them,  as  it  doth  in  them  who  are  regenerate.  This  argu- 
 ment rather  gives  the  hint  of  an  argument  against  the  ex- 
 position of  Arminius.  If  the  apostle  meant  to  represent  here 
 persons  unregenerate,  he  had  a  fair  occasion  to  make  the 
 matter  clear  by  that  one  word,  by  saying,  instead  of  dwelling, 
 Sin  that  ruleth,  or  hath  dominion  in  me.  When  he  doth  not 
 so,  but  uses  a  word  that  hath  no  such  meaning,  this  rather 
 gives  the  hint  at  least,  or  makes  a  likelihood  in  favour  of  the 
 interpretation  against  which  Arminius  argues. 
 
 6.  It  is  like-wise  argued,  that  there  is  something  inconsis- 
 tent with  a  regenerate  state  in  the  expression,  ver.  23.  0 
 wretched  man  that  I  am  ! — Arminius  gives  it  in  the  form  of 
 syllogism,  to  this  purpose  :  All  that  are  regenerated  and 
 under  grace,  are  happy;  by  no  means  wretched :  but  this 
 man  is  wretched ;  therefore  he  is  not  regenerate. 
 
 But  this  is  a  most  wretched  argument.  Though  a  man 
 who  is  regenerate  is  happy  on  the  whole,  yet  such  a  man 
 may  be  wretched  in  several  respects,  and  may  complain 
 bitterly  of  being  so.  If  a  good  Christian,  in  the  distressing 
 paroxysm  of  a  chronical  disease,  of  gout  or  gravel,  should 
 cry  out,  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  or  if  Job,  in  his  great 
 distress,  had  used  these  very  words,  (as  he  used  very 
 strong  ones),  it  were  surely  rash  and  foolish  to  conclude  that 
 he  was  unregenerate,  and  not  under  grace.  A  sanctified 
 heart,  conscious  of  the  motions  of  sin  in  itself,  hath  certainly 
 no  less  cause  to  cry  out  of  wretchedness. 
 
 Arminius  concludes  what  he  hath  on  this  argument,  by 
 saying,  men  cannot  be  called  wretched,  who  have  conflict  by 
 sin,  and  are  buffeted  by  a  messenger  of  Satan;  but  it  is 
 truly  wretched  to  be  overcome.     Yet  a  man  cannot  be  called 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  243 
 
 wretched,  who  being  sometimes  overcome,  is  more  commonly 
 victorious  against  the  world,  sin,  and  Satan.  This  appears 
 to  be  so  much  the  case  in  our  context,  that  Arminius  hath, 
 by  these  concessions,  quite  undone  his  own  argument. 
 
 7.  Some  have  argued  from  that  expression  in  this  same 
 ver.  23.  Who  shall  deliver  me  ?  as  if  it  implied  despair ; 
 which  is  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  grace.  As  to  this,  it 
 will  be  allowed,  that  final  absolute  despair  is  so.  But  we 
 must  not  judge  so  of  the  suggestions  of  despair,  even  when 
 these  are  uttered  in  strong  enough  terms,  from  the  force  of 
 temptation.  There  are  not  wanting  instances  of  this  sort  in 
 scripture,  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  saints.  But  the  apostle's 
 expression  here  doth  not  amount  even  to  so  much.  It  ex- 
 presses the  painful  feeling  he  had  of  sin ;  the  great  difficulty 
 he  found  in  overcoming  it ;  and  that  it  required  the  hand  of 
 one  more  powerful  than  himself,  together  with  his  solicitude, 
 his  most  vehement  desire,  and  longing  to  be  delivered. 
 That  there  is  no  despair,  appears  in  the  words  he  utters,  as 
 with  the  same  breath, — I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 Thus  I  have  considered  all  that  I  have  observed  to  be  ad- 
 duced with  any  colour,  from  the  apostle's  words,  as  incon- 
 sistent with  a  state  of  grace  ;  and  I  think  it  may  by  this  time 
 be  reckoned  very  clear,  that  none  of  these  things  in  particu- 
 lar, nor  the  whole  together,  are  so. 
 
 Sect.  IV. — Showing  that  this  context  contains  a  great  deal 
 that  is  inconsistent  with  an  unregenerate  state. 
 
 I  come  now  to  show,  that  in  the  case  here  represented, 
 there  is  much  that  is  inconsistent  with  an  unregenerate  state, 
 and  such  as  none  else  than  a  true  believer  under  grace  and 
 regenerated,  is  capable  of.  To  this  purpose,  the  general 
 appearance  hath  something  at  first  sight  very  striking,  I 
 mean  the  bitter  complaint  that  is  all  along  of  sin  dwelling  in 
 the  man,  or  in  his  flesh.  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin. 
 Taking  this  as  the  language  of  bitter  and  heavy  complaint, 
 as  it  evidently  is,  what  unregenerate  man  hath  such  a  sense 
 of  sin  prevailing  in  him  as  would  produce  in  sincerity  such 
 a  complaint  ?  or  if  the  unregenerate  man  hath  right  senti- 
 ments in  his  head,  what  man  in  this  state  hath  so  sad  an 
 impression  of  the  case  in  his  heart  ?  How  sad  the  impression, 
 and  the  exclamation,  ver.  24.  0  wretched  man  that  1  am,  who 
 shall  deliver  me  from  this  body  of  death  ! 
 
 As  to  this  last  expression,  this  body  of  death,  some  have 
 understood  it  of  the  body  properly  so  called.     But  however 
 
244  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 the  apostle  knew  it  was  better  for  him  to  depart  and  be  with 
 Christ,  yet  amidst  all  his  distresses  in  the  body,  we  never 
 find  him  wishing  and  crying  out  to  be  disunited  from  the 
 body,  or  to  be  by  such  an  event  withdrawn  from  the  service 
 of  Christ,  and  of  his  church  on  earth.  Much  less  is  it  con- 
 gruous to  suppose  an  unregenerate  man,  (who  is  said  to  be 
 here  personated)  crying  out  for  death,  in  order  to  be  with- 
 out sin.  No  such  man  was  ever  so  weary  of  sin,  or  had  such 
 a  prospect  respecting  it,  for  futurity,  as  to  wish  and  cry  out 
 for  his  dissolution  on  such  account.  But,  as  hath  been 
 formerly  said,  the  body  of  death,  in  this  24th  verse,  is  likely 
 to  mean  the  same  thing  as  the  body  of  sin,  chap.  vi.  6.  and 
 shows  how  bitter  and  sad  the  sense  of  sin  is  in  the  man  who 
 cries  out,  as  in  this  place. 
 
 I  know  that  an  unregenerate  man  may,  in  great  terror  of 
 the  penal  consequence  of  sin,  loudly  complain  of  it.  But  it  is 
 not  sin  itself,  but  the  penal  consequence  that  is  bitter  to 
 such.  I  know  also,  that  a  person  who  labours  to  establish 
 his  own  righteousness,  (which  is  in  great  opposition  to  God, 
 and  to  the  sincerity  of  holiness)  may  have  much  vexation, 
 and  much  discouragement  to  that  sort  of  hope,  by  sin.  But 
 that  sin  itself,  for  the  evil  it  hath  in  its  own  nature,  and  its 
 contrariety  to  God,  to  duty,  to  holiness,  in  view  to  the  spi- 
 rituality of  the  law,  should  be  so  bitter  to  a  man,  is  quite  re- 
 mote from  the  disposition  of  such  a  self-righteous  unregene- 
 rated  soul. 
 
 Dr  W.  will  have  the  case  of  a  man  who  had  sold  himself  to 
 work  wickedness,  as  Ahab,  to  come  under  the  representation 
 in  this  context:  and  there  are  few  of  his  way  of  thinking,  who 
 do  not  use  that  instance  in  interpreting  it.  Can  any  imagine, 
 that  such  an  abandoned  person  would  be  thus  affected  with 
 regard  to  sin  ?  or  would  he  be  thus  truly  sick  of  sin  ?  We 
 read,  indeed,  of  Ahab's  once  retiring  to  his  bed,  turning 
 away  his  face,  and  refusing  to  eat.  Something,  doubtless, 
 lay  heavy  on  his  mind.  But  it  was  his  lust's  being  crossed 
 by  Naboth's  refusal  of  his  vineyard  ;  not  his  sin.  We  also 
 read  of  his  humbling  himself,  and  wearing  sackloth  ;  but  it 
 was  for  the  terrible  denunciation  against  him  and  his  family, 
 by  a  person  of  very  established  character  as  a  prophet ;  not 
 merely  or  chiefly  for.  his  sin.  Can  any  one  conceive,  that 
 a  man  is  truly,  and  willingly,  a  slave  of  sin,  yielding  himself 
 to  its  service,  and  selling  himself  to  wTork  wickedness,  and 
 yet  finding  sin  so  bitter,  so  painful  to  his  heart  ?  The  notion 
 is  quite  absurd.     The  sincere  expression  of  pain  and  bitter- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  245 
 
 ness  by  sin,  and  the  sorrowful  exclamation  against  it  that  is 
 here  used,  is  altogether  incompatible  with  an  unregenerate 
 state. 
 
 To  be  more  particular :  he  says,  ver.  1 5.  That  winch  I  do, 
 I  allow  not.  The  Greek  word  rendered  allow,  is  not  the 
 same  that  is  so  rendered,  chap.  xiv.  22.  The  word  here  is 
 yuiorKu,  what  I  know  not.  But  as  this  more  common  mean- 
 ing of  the  word  doth  not  suit  this  place,  it  is  fit  to  take 
 another  meaning  that  is  not  uncommon  in  Scripture  use,  by 
 which  the  word  signifies,  to  love.  So  Psal.  i.  (J.  The  Lord 
 knowcth  (that  is,  loveth)  the  way  of  the  righteous.  Matth. 
 vii.  23.  I  never  knew  {i.e.  loved,  or  had  complacence  in)  you  ; 
 depart  from  me.  Psal.  xxxi.  7-  Thou  hast  known  (hast  loved, 
 or  testified  thy  love  to)  my  soul  in  adversity.  John  x.  14. 
 /  am  the  good  Shepherd,  and  know  {i.e.  love)  my  sheep ; 
 and  am  known  {i.e.  loved)  of  mine.  This  sense  well  suits 
 our  text,  Rom.  vii.  15.  That  which  . I  do,  I  allow,  or  know 
 not,  that  is,  love  not.  For  what  in  the  last  clause  of  the  verse 
 he  opposes  to  this,  is  not  mere  disapprobation,  but  hatred  : 
 what  I  hate,  that  I  do.  So  he  expresses  here,  that  sin  he 
 loved  not ;  he  hated  it.  This  is  emphatic.  Nature  did 
 spontaneously,  and  with  strong  inclination,  produce  the  mo- 
 tions of  sins  ;  the  flesh,  depraved  nature,  produced  irregular 
 unholy  passions  and  lusts,  which  he  understood  by  the  spi- 
 rituality of  the  law  to  be  sin ;  but  by  the  fixed,  deliberate, 
 and  prevailing  disposition  of  his  sanctified  heart,  he  loved  it 
 not, — he  hated  it. 
 
 What  nature,  or  the  flesh  produceth  in  the  manner  that 
 hath  been  said,  being  what,  by  the  prevailing  disposition  of 
 his  heart,  he  would  not,  he  infers,  ver.  16.  I  consent  unto 
 the  law,  that  it  is  good.  Assent  and  consent  do  differ,  as 
 the  former  is  of  the  understanding,  respecting  truth,  which 
 is  its  proper  object :  the  latter  is  of  the  heart  and  will,  res- 
 pecting good,  which  is  the  special  object  of  the  will.  Now, 
 though  the  Greek  G-vupvipi,  may  sometimes  be  used,  and 
 but  very  rarely,  for  the  assent  of  the  mind  and  judgment, 
 as  that  use  of  the  word  is  observed  by  Grotius  and  by  Hede- 
 ricus's  lexicon,  to  occur  in  Sophocles  and  Euripides,  yet  that 
 cannot  be  the  meaning  in  this  place,  as  it  is  here  used  ex- 
 pressly with  relation  to  good,  that  the  law  is  good,  which  is 
 the  object  of  the  will ;  and  it  is  from  the  inclination  of  his 
 will,  If  I  do  that  which  I  would  not,  that  he  makes  the  in- 
 ference, /  consent  unto  the  law,  that  it  is  good.  This,  how- 
 ever, doth  not  suit  the  disposition  and  prevailing  principles 
 
 L 
 
246  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 of  the  unregenerate.  Let  such  argue  in  rational  theory  ever 
 so  much,,  for  the  goodness  of  the  law,  and  assent  to  all  that 
 can  be  said  to  that  purpose,  yet  the  heart  and  will  do  not 
 consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good;  and,  as  Dr  W.  hath 
 it,  commands  what  is  good  for  me  to  do.  When  it  comes 
 from  mere  theory  to  doing,  the  heart  and  will  give  it  against 
 the  holy  and  spiritual  law  ;  and  every  unholy  lust,  inordi- 
 nate affection,  and  irregular  passion,  hath  the  consent  of  the 
 will  to  the  goodness  of  itself,  and  it  hath  its  course  in- 
 wardly, in  opposition  to  the  holiness  of  the  law  ;  even  when 
 there  may  be  great  restraint,  from  various  causes  and  means, 
 as  to  outward  practice. 
 
 I  am  aware  of  what  may  be  excepted  against  this  reason- 
 ing. The  case  described  in  the  lines  here  immediately  pre- 
 ceding, that,  viz.  of  the  unregenerate,  is  the  very  case, 
 may  one  say,  described  in  our  context.  Whatever  favour- 
 able views  the  man's  mind  may  give  of  the  law ;  yet  when 
 it  comes  to  doing,  his  unholy  lust  and  passions  decide  against 
 the  holiness  of  the  law,  and  he  doth  what  he  would  not 
 For  answer  to  this,  it  is  certainly  without  reason  that  the 
 will  of  the  unregenerate  can  be  supposed  to  be,  as  to  its  pre- 
 vailing bent  and  inclination,  on  the  side  of  the  law  and  its 
 holiness.  As  to  doing,  the  Apostle  doubtless  found  it 
 with  himself  in  too  many  instances,  as  he  reports.  Na- 
 ture, so  far  as  unrenewed,  or  the  flesh  in  him,  was  pro- 
 ducing or  doing  what  he  would  not ;  at  least  by  its  ac- 
 tivity or  inward  working ;  which  he  appears  to  have  in  his 
 view  here  especially.  Yet  as  to  habitual,  ordinary,  delibe- 
 rate practice,  and  the  common  disposition  and  course  of 
 life,  we  must  suppose  that  this  was  according  to  what  he 
 willed,  according  to  the  inclination  of  his  heart  consenting 
 to  the  goodness  of  the  law.  To  suppose  otherwise,  were  to 
 suppose  what  is  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  things  ;  in- 
 consistent with  the  natural  connexion  of  the  faculties  in  re- 
 tional  and  moral  agents.  It  is  reasonable  then  to  consider 
 it  as  a  fixed  point,  that  to  consent  to  the  goodness  of  the 
 law,  as  it  is  spiritual,  giving  rule  to  men's  hearts  and  spi- 
 rits, which  is  the  Apostle's  special  view  in  this  place,  is  far 
 from  the  disposition  of  any  unregenerated  soul. 
 
 To  proceed;  the  Apostle  says,  ver.  17-  Now  then  it  is 
 no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  What  here 
 would  strike  every  mind  free  of  bias  is,  that  this  [_I~]  on  the 
 side  of  holiness  against  sin,  is  the  most  prevailing,  and 
 what  represents  the  true  character  of  the  man ;  and  that 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  247 
 
 sin,  which  he  distinguishes  from  this  QI]  is  not  the  pre- 
 vailing reigning  power  in  the  man  here  represented  ;  as  it  is, 
 however,  in  every  unregenerate  man. 
 
 Further,  we  see  all  along  in  this  context,  the  man's  will 
 is  represented  as  on  the  side  of  duty  and  holiness,  and 
 against  sin.  It  is  true,  that  sin  could  not  do  or  effect  any 
 thing,  without  having  the  will  and  affections  in  its  interest 
 in  some  degree.  Yet  he  never  saith  here,  that  sin  or  evil 
 is  the  thing  that  he  willeth  ;  but  still  what  he  willeth  not. 
 Often  as  he  mentions  willing,  and  sin,  and  doing,  yet  he 
 never  mentions  his  willing  as  on  the  side  of  sin ;  that  is  still 
 what  he  would  not.  How  shall  we  account  for  this,  if  it  is 
 not  by  saying,  that  the  will  to  duty  and  holiness  is  prevail- 
 ing, and  his  will  is  habitually  on  that  side,  which  cannot  be 
 the  case  with  a  man  in  the  flesh  under  the  dominion  of  sin  ? 
 He  says,  ver.  18.  To  will  is  present  with  me;  that  is,  to 
 will  what  is  good  and  holy  ;  and  thus  it  is  with  him  habitu- 
 ally. This  can  import  no  less  than  that  the  will  to  holiness, 
 and  to  the  very  perfection  thereof,  is  habitually  ready  with  him. 
 He  says  indeed,  ver.  21.  I  find  a  law,  that  when  I  would  do 
 good,  evil  is  present  with  me.  So  it  was  ;  the  flesh  remain- 
 ing in  him,  sin  was  its  natural  production,  it  was  spontane- 
 ous and  ready  on  the  side  of  sin ;  ever  ready  to  avoid,  and 
 resist  every  holy  thought,  motion,  or  action.  Yet  sin  was 
 not  what  he  willed.  It  was  against  the  deliberate,  fixed  in- 
 clination and  determination  of  his  will ;  and  so  was  not  the 
 dominant  principle  in  him,  as  it  is  in  all  who  are  in  the  flesh. 
 Sin  could  not  be  dominant  in  him,  without  having  the  pre- 
 vailing inclination  of  the  will  favourable  to  it.  But  here 
 there  is  no  hint  given  of  this  concerning  the  will. 
 
 Let  us  now  observe  how  these  expressions  I  have  been 
 taking  notice  of  are  accounted  for  and  interpreted  by  those 
 who  apply  them  to  the  unregenerate. 
 
 Grotius  says,  that  these  things  are  spoken  figuratively, 
 and  by  metonymy  ;  giving  to  the  cause,  that  is,  to  reason  or 
 conscience,  a  name  from  the  effect  it  ought  to  produce. 
 That  is,  for  instance,  the  man  is  said  to  hate  sin,  and  to 
 will  what  is  good,  because  conscience  and  its  dictates  ought 
 to  have  that  effect.  As  to  this,  we  know  that  metonymy 
 gives  to  the  cause  a  name  from  the  effect  which  it  naturally 
 and  commonly  produces  ;  but  to  give  to  a  thing,  under  the 
 notion  of  a  moral  cause,  a  name  from  the  effect  it  ought  to 
 produce,  but  most  commonly  it  doth  not  produce,  hath  no 
 warrant  in  the  use  of  speech ;  yea,  is  quite  absurd.     In  thi? 
 
24-8  A    Dissertation  concerning 
 
 way  a  very  wicked  man  might  brag,  and  say,  My  heart  is 
 pure,  sincere,  and  holy  ;  my  outward  conversation  and  beha- 
 viour is  according  to  the  rule  of  purity  and  righteousness. 
 A  person  acquainted  with  his  character,  overhearing  him, 
 would  readily  say,  Strange  !  a  person  notoriously  lewd,  pro- 
 fane, and  wicked  to  a  high  degree,  to  talk  so  impudently  of 
 his  purity  and  virtue.  But  one  might  vindicate  him  by 
 Grotius'  notion  of  metonymy,  and  say,  The  man  speaks 
 rightly  enough  by  a  metonymy,  which  gives  him,  by  virtue 
 of  his  conscience  (for  ill  as  he  is,  he  hath  a  conscience  within 
 him)  a  character  from  the  effect  it  ought  to  produce;  for  it 
 requires  all  that  he  has  been  ascribing  to  himself.  What 
 adds  to  the  unreasonableness  of  this  interpretation  is,  that 
 conscience,  whatever  good  a  man  ought  to  do  by  its  dictates, 
 is  by  no  means  a  cause  adequate,  in  sinful  men,  to  such 
 effect  as  is  here  mentioned.  There  is  not  such  an  effect  in 
 any  soul  without  the  influence  of  a  superior  cause  and  power. 
 To  give  to  a  thing,  as  a  cause,  the  name  of  an  effect,  which 
 it  doth  not  naturally  or  commonly  produce,  yea,  is  insuffi- 
 cient of  itself  to  produce,  is  a  sort  of  metonymy,  which  the 
 use  of  speech  cannot,  never  did,  admit.  This  is  a  criticism 
 which  Grotius,  as  he  was  in  that  way,  could  not  support. 
 
 Let  us  now  see  how  Dr  Whitby  accounts  for  these  things. 
 He  has  not  recourse  to  metonymy  ;  but  takes  the  expressions 
 in  their  true  and  proper  sense,  without  any  figure  ;  and  hath 
 an  important  purpose  to  serve  in  doing  so, — even  to  give  a 
 favourable  idea  of  the  moral  powers  of  a  natural  and  unrege- 
 nerated  man,  such  as  he  thinks  is  here  personated.  Some 
 men  have  not  been  contented  with  so  interpreting  this  con- 
 text, that  the  general  interest  of  their  system  shall  not  lose 
 by  it :  they  expect  to  gain  considerably  by  it  for  the  estab- 
 lishing of  their  own  sentiments.  This  view  and  interest  has, 
 doubtless,  made  them  the  more  warm  and  keen.  Dr  W.  in 
 his  book  on  the  five  points,  (ed.  1710.  p.  331,  332.)  in  an- 
 swering an  argument  taken  from  this  context,  among  other 
 things,  writes  thus  :  '  Whereas  they  make  their  lapsed  man 
 '  to  have  lost  the  power  even  of  willing  to  do  good,  and  to 
 '  be  totally  enslaved  both  as  to  his  will,  mind,  and  action, 
 '  (perhaps  affection)  the  man  here  mentioned  hath  a  will 
 '  to  do  the  good  he  doth  not,  and  to  avoid  the  evil  that  he 
 '  doth  ;  yea,  the  evil  that  he  doth  is  hateful  to  him ;  and  he 
 c  delighteth  in  the  law  of  God  in  the  inner  man,  and  with 
 f  his  mind  serves  the  law  of  God/  He  then  quotes  a  pas- 
 sage from  Origen,  (one  of  his  masters  in  orthodoxy — not 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  I'll.  14— $5.  249 
 
 the  very  best)  which  imports,  that  he  (the  unregenerate 
 man)  is  not  wholly  alienated  from  good  things,  but  is  in  his 
 purpose  and  will  inclined  to  them,  though  not  yet  sufficient 
 to  perform.  The  doctor  then  argues,  and  puts  the  question 
 thus,  p.  332  :  '  Now  I  inquire,  (saith  he)  whether  in  this 
 1  will  to  do  good,  this  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  this  hatred 
 1  of  sin,  this  man  doth  well  or  ill  ?  If  well,  (so  the  Doctor 
 '  thought,  and  so  do  I,)  he  can,  even  in  the  state  here  men- 
 '  tioned,  do  something  that  is  good ;'  in  an  unregenerate 
 state,  as  he  understood. 
 
 Well,  it  is  no  small  acquisition  the  Arminian  makes  here 
 in  favour  of  nature  and  free  will.  But  that  the  expressions, 
 delighting  in  the  law  of  God,  and  with  the  mind  serving  it, 
 suited  not  this  purpose,  will  appear  when  I  come  hereafter 
 to  consider  them,  and  ver.  22,  25.  separately.  But  to  say  a 
 little  in  this  place,  it  is  certainly  reasonable  to  think,  that 
 he  who  willeth,  hateth,  delighteth,  in  the  manner  here  said, 
 can  not  only  do  something  that  is  good,  but  can  do  a  great 
 deal  in  the  way  of  holy  practice  and  duty.  But  as  Dr  W. 
 and  others  of  his  sentiments,  do  interpret  our  context  as  re- 
 presenting the  case  of  persons  who,  like  Ahab,  sold  them- 
 selves to  work  wickedness,  1  Kings  xxi.  20.  or  like  these  re- 
 volters  from  the  true  religion,  1  Mac.  i.  15.  surely  they  put 
 very  opposite  and  inconsistent  things  in  their  character, — to 
 have  abandoned  themselves  to  wickedness,  and  at  the  same 
 time,  to  hate  sin,  to  will  that  which  is  good,  and  to  delight 
 in  the  law  of  God,  even  when  they  are  under  the  thraldom 
 and  dominion  of  sin.  I  cannot  but  wonder,  that  reasonable 
 and  thinking  men  would  not  find  their  reason  quite  shocked, 
 at  expressing  sentiments  and  reasoning  that  proceed  on  join- 
 ing in  the  state,  character,  disposition,  and  practice  of  any 
 description  of  persons,  things  so  evidently  and  grossly  in- 
 consistent. 
 
 But  if  a  natural  man,  destitute  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  can 
 sincerely  will,  love,  delight,  and  hate,  as  is  here  said,  I 
 would  wish  to  know,  what  is  left  for  divine  grace  to  do  in 
 regeneration,  according  to  the  sentiments  of  these  writers  ? 
 What  but  external  revelation,  and  moral  suasion  wrell  incul- 
 cated, to  give  the  proper  excitement  to  the  more  languid  will, 
 inclination,  and  affection  towards  holiness,  which  a  man  in 
 nature  hath,  from  rational  nature  itself,  that  these  may  exert 
 themselves  with  due  activity  and  force?  This  is  divine  grace, 
 and  the  human  will  consenting  to  this  suasion,  and  so  exert- 
 ing itself  in  practice,  is,  according  to  them,  regeneration, 
 
250  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 Moral  suasion  must  indeed  have  its  own  place  in  dealing 
 with  rational  creatures.  They  are  not  dealt  with  as  stocks 
 or  stones  under  the  hand  of  the  mechanic.  Conversion  to  God 
 through  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  holiness,  is  the  consequence  of 
 proper  evidence,  and  of  proper  motives.  Conversion  is  the 
 effect  of  suasion,  but  not  of  that  merely — suasion  is  not  of 
 itself  a  cause  adequate  to  such  an  effect  in  sinful  men.  In 
 using  that  suasion,  and  that  the  proper  evidence  and  motives 
 should  have  effect  on  the  hearts  of  men,  there  is  needful  the 
 immediate  operation  and  influence  of  Divine  power  and  grace 
 on  the  hearts  of  men  ;  not  to  work  on  them  as  the  mechanic 
 doth  on  a  stock  or  a  stone,  (as  some  men  foolishly  speak,  in 
 arguing  against  the  doctrine  of  grace)  but  with  a  much 
 greater  efficacy  of  power,  by  which  God  quickeneth  the 
 dead,  gives  sight  to  the  blind,  or  causes  the  lame  to  walk, 
 which  are  similitudes  the  Scripture  affords  respecting  this 
 subject. 
 
 The  minds  of  men  are  spiritually  so  blind  as  to  be  inca- 
 pable of  perceiving,  in  a  just  light,  the  evidence  and  excel- 
 lency of  spiritual  things ;  and  their  hearts  so  possessed  by 
 sin,  that  they  cannot  be  duly  affected  or  excited  by  the  best 
 motives,  until  of  Divine  mercy  they  are  saved  from  the  pre- 
 vailing influence  and  effect  of  sin,  by  the  washing  of  regene- 
 ration and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  it  wTere  not  so, 
 how  could  it  happen,  that  on  so  great  a  part  of  mankind,  yea 
 of  the  wise  and  prudent,  whose  intellectual  faculties  have 
 been  highly  improved  with  respect  to  other  subjects,  yet  the 
 best  evidence  and  motives  set  before  them  by  the  gospel, 
 have  no  effect  for  their  good  and  salvation,  when  these  things 
 are  happily  and  effectually  revealed  to  babes  ?  The  gospel 
 hath  effect  beyond  what  the  law  ever  hath,  not  merely  by 
 its  better  light  and  means  of  suasion,  but  especially  as  it  is 
 the  ministration  of  the  Spirit,  and  that  thereby  is  conveyed 
 into  the  souls  of  men  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  give  efficacy  to  its 
 suasion,  to  enlighten,  convert,  and  sanctify.  To  say  that 
 without  this,  men  in  their  natural  condition  can  have  their 
 will  truly  inclined  to  holiness,  and  can  delight  in  the  holy 
 and  spiritual  law  of  God,  is  to  depreciate  grace,  and  to  feed 
 nature  with  delusion. 
 
 Another  query  yet :  If  a  man  in  nature,  and  in  the  flesh, 
 doth  will,  love,  delight,  and  hate,  as  is  here  said,  what  re- 
 mains to  distinguish  between  him  and  a  person  truly  rege- 
 nerated and  in  a  state  of  grace  ? 
 
 The  answer  to  this  that  is  given  by  some,  is  taken  from 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  251 
 
 ver.  18.  To  will  is  present  with  me,  but  how  to  perform 
 that  which  is  good,  I  find  not.  So  the  defect  of  the  natural 
 man  is  not  in  his  will,  which  is  inclined  to  what  is  good  and 
 holy;  but  he  cannot  perform.  Whereas  (so  Dr  W.  argues) 
 in  the  true  Christian,  God  worketh  not  only  to  will,  but  to  do, 
 Phil.  ii.  13.;  so  he  not  only  willeth,  but  can  perform  that 
 which  is  good. 
 
 To  this  I  answer :  There  is  certainly  great  inadvertency 
 in  the  Arminians  so  arguing  from  this  text  of  Philippians, 
 which  ascribes  to  divine  grace,  not  only  to  work  in  the  true 
 Christian  to  do,  but  also  to  will.  God  not  only  in  creating 
 him  works  in  him,  to  S-sAduos,  the  will,  or  the  faculty,  but 
 (so  the  Greek  hath  it)  to  S-zXuv,  to  will,  or  the  exercise  and 
 act  of  the  faculty.  So  this  text  effectually  confutes  their 
 interpretation,  who  understood  the  willing  of  that  which  is 
 good  and  holy,  in  our  context,  Rom.  vii.  to  be  of  a  man  un- 
 regenerated.  To  suppose  that  God  worketh  in  men  to  will 
 that  which  is  good,  without  enabling  them  at  all  to  perform 
 that  which  is  good,  is  not  agreeable  to  this  text,  Phil.  ii.  13. 
 which  joins  both  together,  and  both  as  the  work  and  effect 
 of  divine  grace  ;  not,  the  one  as  the  production  of  nature, 
 the  other  as  the  working  or  effect  of  grace. 
 
 It  is  true,  indeed,  that  a  sincere  Christian  may  occasion- 
 ally be  so  much  under  the  influence  of  the  flesh,  as  to  be 
 thereby  unable  to  perform  what  he  habitually  willeth  and 
 wisheth ;  yea,  so  as  to  be  much  ensnared  in  evil :  and  God, 
 who  worketh  in  Christians  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
 pleasure,  may  leave  him  in  some  instances,  thus  to  prove  his 
 weakness,  for  making  him  more  humble,  watchful,  and  de- 
 pendent. But  to  say  that  a  man  can  sincerely  and  habitu- 
 ally have  his  will  well  affected  to  God  and  holiness,  with 
 a  true  hatred  of  sin,  and  not  habitually  and  commonly  per- 
 form that  which  is  good,  is  quite  contrary  to  the  nature  of 
 things.  The  sincere  Christian  willing  that  which  is  good, 
 doth  also  in  practice  perform  it  in  a  manner  that  the  unre- 
 generate  man  is  incapable  of ;  and  notwithstanding  the  im- 
 perfection of  his  doing,  he  is  therein  accepted  through  Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Let  us  now  see  how  Dr  Taylor  of  Norwich  accounts  for 
 these  things  I  have  been  observing,  as  peculiar  to  a  regene- 
 rate man,  and  which  he  supposes  to  be  in  the  case  and 
 character  of  the  Jew  under  the  law,  and  the  unregenerate, 
 even  the  worst  sort  of  them.  Here  are  some  instances  from 
 his  paraphrase. 
 
252  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 The  words,  ver.  15.  What  I  would,  that  I  do  not,  his 
 paraphrase  gives  thus :  '  What  his  (the  sinner's)  reason  ap- 
 c  proves  and  dictates,  that  he  doth  not/  But  if  a  sinner's 
 reason  approves  and  dictates  what  is  right,  is  that  the  same 
 as  to  say,  what  is  holy  and  right  is  what  he  willeth,  o  &Aa/, 
 as  the  apostle's  expression  is  ? 
 
 The  next  words, —  What  I  hate,  that  I  do,  he  gives  thus  : 
 (  What  he  (the  sinner)  hateth,  (this  he  explains  by  what 
 '  he  adds)  wThat  is  abhorrent  from  his  reason,  that  he  doth.' 
 But  if  sin  is  contrary  to,  or,  if  you  please  to  give  force  of 
 sound  to  the  expression,  abhorrent  from  his  reason,  it  is  true 
 that  the  unregenerate  hateth  it  ?  or  do  these  expressions 
 mean  the  same  thing  ?  Drunkenness  is  contrary  to,  is  abhor- 
 rent from  the  reason  of  the  habitual  drunkard.  Were  it  for 
 this  just  to  say,  that  the  habitual  drunkard  hateth  drunken- 
 ness ? 
 
 These  words,  ver.  17.  It  is  not  I  thai  do  it,  his  para- 
 phrase gives  thus  :  t  It  is  not  I  in  the  best  sense,  it  is  not 
 '  a  man's  reason  separately  considered,  that  produces  the 
 wicked  action.'  But  what  sense  or  philosophy  is  here  ?  a 
 man's  reason  considered  separately  from  his  other  faculties, 
 produces  no  action,  good  or  bad. 
 
 The  words,  ver.  18.  To  will  is  present  with  me,  he  gives 
 thus  :  '  To  will  is  present,  is  adjoined  to  a  man — God  hath 
 f  endowed  him  with  faculties,  to  approve  and  choose  what  is 
 c  good.'  But  if  a  sinner's  understanding  and  conscience  ap- 
 prove what  is  good,  doth  it  mean  no  more  to  say  that  to  will 
 what  is  good  is  present  with  him  ?  This  is  gross  dealing 
 with  words.  The  apostle's  wTords  do  not  say  merely,  that 
 the  faculty  to  distinguish  between  good  and  evil,  and  to  ap- 
 prove and  choose  what  is  good,  is  given  him.  The  natural 
 faculty  in  general  every  man  hath.  But  the  apostle's  ex- 
 pression, as  hath  been  formerly  observed,  is,  to  SiXuv,  actual 
 willing  and  choosing  what  is  good. 
 
 These  words,  ver.  19.  The  good  that  I  would,  he  gives 
 thus  :  e  What  good  actions  his  (the  sinner's)  reason  chooses.' 
 And  as  the  apostle  had  said,  ver.  16.  If  then  I  do  that  which 
 I  would  not,  he  gives  it  thus :  c  If  a  carnal  man  doth  these 
 1  things  which  are  not  the  choice  of  his  own  reason — '  But 
 choosing  is  not  an  act  merely  of  a  man's  understanding  or 
 reason.  A  man  doth  not  choose  but  by  the  determination  of 
 his  will  to  that  which  his  understanding  or  reason  recom- 
 mends to  it.  To  say,  the  choice  of  reason,  or,  what  reason 
 chooses,  is  but  an  artful  impropriety,  if  not  rather  nonsense. 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  253 
 
 The  words,  ver.  22.  i"  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  he  para- 
 phrases thus :  '  It  is  granted,  that  the  Jew  in  the  flesh  may 
 {  esteem  the  law  of  God — '  Do  delight  and  esteem  truly 
 signify  the  same  thing  ?  If  it  were  said  that  a  lewd  man  de- 
 lighted in  the  practice  of  uncleanness,  would  that  import 
 that  with  his  mind  and  reason  he  esteemed  it?  I  doubt  if 
 this  author  himself  would  admit  that  paraphrase. 
 
 In  these  instances,  we  see  that  Dr  T.  doth  all  along  as- 
 cribe to  reason,  willing,  delighting,  hating,  choosing.  This 
 is  throwing  aside  the  distinction  of  human  faculties  ;  it  in- 
 volves our  thoughts  in  confusion,  and  tends  to  make  lan- 
 guage useless.  The  understanding  is  the  seat  of  reason,  and 
 is  the  reasoning  faculty.  There  is  besides  in  the  human 
 soul,  the  will,  and  affections.  But  according  to  Dr  T.  if  the 
 understanding  perceives,  judges,  reasons,  it  also  wills,  loves, 
 hates,  delights,  chooses.  But  the  author  may  have  had  his 
 own  reason  for  this  strange  and  unnatural  way  of  represent- 
 ing things.  They  who  interpret  this  context  of  a  person  re- 
 generate, have  observed,  that  in  an  unregenerate  man,  his 
 conscience,  or  (as  some  choose  to  speak)  his  reason,  that  one 
 faculty  is  on  the  side  of  duty  and  holiness,  testifies  for  it, 
 and  requires  it,  God  having  maintained  in  this  one  faculty 
 a  testimony  for  his  authority  and  holiness  within  man.  But 
 in  one  unregenerate,  sin  possesses  his  will  and  affections,  hath 
 these  wholly  on  its  side,  and  so  hath  the  man  under  its  do- 
 minion. That  in  persons  regenerate,  and  under  grace,  as 
 by  Divine  grace  their  conscience  is  more  enlightened  and 
 strengthened,  so  their  will  and  affections  are,  by  habitual 
 and  prevailing  inclination,  on  the  side  of  duty  and  holiness, 
 and  grace  hath  its  powerful  influence  and  effect  on  all  their 
 faculties.  That  this  is  evidently  the  case  proposed  in  this 
 context,  the  mind,  conscience,  or  reason,  representing  holy 
 practice  and  duty  as  good,  lovely,  and  delightful,  the  man 
 doth  actually  will  that  which  is  good,  loves  it,  and  delights 
 in  the  law  of  God  and  its  holiness.  So  they  conclude  with 
 good  reason,  as  it  cannot  be  thus  in  the  unregenerate,  that  it 
 is  certainly  the  case  of  a  person  truly  regenerate,  even  of  the 
 apostle  himself,  (so  his  expression  and  style  import)  that  is 
 here  exhibited. 
 
 Dr  T.  doth  by  a  bold  stretch  of  genius  evade  this  argu- 
 ment. He  forms  reason  into  a  person,  and  the  willing  of 
 good,  hating  evil,  and  delighting  in  the  law  of  God  in  our 
 context,  which  are  the  exercise  of  human  personal  faculties, 
 he  ascribes  to  that  one  faculty,  that  fictitious  person,  reason. 
 
 l  5 
 
254  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 We  have  seen  how,  according  to  him,  that  person,  of  his 
 own  creating,  wills,  chooses,  hates,  and  delights.  The 
 question  remains,  as  to  the  person,  the  man  speaking,  or 
 personated  in  our  text,  how  is  it  that  he  willeth  ?  Dr  T. 
 gives  his  mind  thus,  in  a  marginal  note,  (Orig.  Sin,  p.  216.J 
 on  these  words  here,  ver.  14.  Sold  under  sin  :  '  He  means, 
 saith  he,  '  a  willing  slavery,  as  Ahab  had  sold  himself  to 
 '  wTork  evil/  Truly  the  apostle  crying  out,  as  of  his  wretch- 
 edness,, in  these  words,  is  far  from  representing  a  willing 
 slavery.  However,  the  slavery  of  sin  must  be  a  willing 
 slavery.  A  man's  body  may  be  bound,  and  carried  hither 
 and  thither,  and  he  may  be  a  slave  as  to  his  bodily  or  out- 
 ward condition,  much  against  his  will.  But  he  cannot  be  a 
 slave  in  a  moral  sense,  as  to  his  fixed  ordinary  character  ;  or 
 a  slave  to  ill  principles,  habits,  or  lusts,  a  slave  of  sin,  with- 
 out his  will  being  on  the  side  of  these.  So  that  Dr  W/s 
 supposing,  as  we  have  seen  with  him,  a  man  to  will  what  is 
 good,  to  hate  evil,  and  to  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  whilst 
 he  is  a  slave  of  sin,  and  under  its  dominion,  is  quite  absurd. 
 
 A  sentiment  of  Dr  T.  (note  on  Rom.  vii.  15.)  is  this: 
 {  A  man  may  assent  to  the  best  rule  of  action,  and  yet 
 '  still  be  under  the  dominion  of  lust  and  sin/  1  do  not  see 
 cause  to  differ  from  him  concerning  this.  But  it  is  plain, 
 that  by  his  notions,  and  way  of  interpreting,  he  lays  a  good 
 ground  for  one  to  argue  and  object  against  the  person  speak- 
 ing in  our  context,  thus  :  You  say,  that  you  will  that  which 
 is  good,  holy,  and  right,  &c.  but  that  certainly  is  not  true  of 
 you.  You  in  words  artfully  give  a  favourable,  but  false  co- 
 lour to  every  ill  matter  and  case.  You  deceitfully  ascribe 
 to  yourself  personally  what  belongs  to  reason,  that  excel- 
 lent person  that  lodges  in  every  man's  breast.  But  reason 
 and  you  are  very  different  persons,  whose  will,  inclination, 
 and  affections  go  very  different  ways.  How  can  you  ascribe 
 to  yourself  a  will  to  do  what  is  good  and  holy,  when  you  are 
 a  willing  slave  of  sin  ?  You  say  of  the  propensity  that  is  in 
 you  to  evil,  it  is  not  I.  But  if  you  have  any  faint  ineffec- 
 tual inclination  to  what  is  good  in  any  instance,  you  might 
 say  much  more  justly,  It  is  not  I,  but  reason  that  dwelleth 
 in  me :  even  reason,  whose  suggestions  within  me  are  too 
 weak  against  the  prevailing  force  and  dominion  of  sin.  You 
 might  add,  according  to  the  truth  of  your  case  :  1  do  indeed 
 by  the  evidence  and  force  of  reason,  assent  in  my  mind  to 
 the  best  rule  of  action  ;  I  rather  wish  I  could  avoid  that  as- 
 sent, for  I  am,  myself  personally,  in  opposition  to  that  best 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  1  i — 25.  255 
 
 rule  of  action,  still  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  of  my 
 lusts.  Thus,  while  Dr  T.  sets  forth  reason  as  an  imaginary- 
 person,  ascribing  thereto  the  various  faculties,  and  qualities 
 of  a  person,  he  denies  what  the  apostle  asserts  of  himself 
 personally,  or  of  the  man  personated  by  him,  as  to  the  pre- 
 vailing habitual  inclination  of  his  faculties,  consenting,  lov- 
 ing, hating,  willing,  and  delighting  on  the  side  of  duty  and 
 holiness  ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  his  account  of  things  is 
 flatly  contradicting  the  apostle,  instead  of  interpreting. 
 
 There  remain  several  things  to  be  adduced  to  the  same 
 purpose  from  two  verses,  which  it  is  fit  to  consider  separate- 
 ly, and  more  largel}'. 
 
 Sect.  V. — The  subject  continued,  and  ver.  22.  explained. 
 
 Ver.  22.  /  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  inward 
 man.  There  hath  been  great  labour  and  difference  in  inter- 
 preting this  verse.  The  inquiry  is,  1 .  What  is  meant  by  the  in- 
 ward man  ?  2.  What  is  meant  by  delighting  in  the  law  of  God? 
 
 1.  Wrhat  is  meant  by  the  inward  man  ?  We  say,  it  means 
 the  same  as  the  new  man,  or  the  soul  so  far  as  renewed  by 
 divine  grace.  Dr  W.  says,  it  cannot  mean  the  new  man — 
 which  is  not  put  on — till  we  have  put  off  the  old  man  with 
 his  deeds.  Did  the  learned  writer  truly  think,  that  the  new 
 man  could  not  be  in  a  Christian  whilst  any  thing  of  the  old 
 man  (even  in  a  crucified  state,  as  chap.  vi.  6.)  remained  to 
 be  put  off,  or  of  his  deeds  ?  There  is  something  in  this  mat- 
 ter that  he  seems  not  to  have  adverted  to,  and  that  is, 
 when  the  Christian  hath  put  off  the  old  man,  it  is  not  so 
 perfectly  done  but  that  there  remains  occasion  for  the  ex- 
 hortation, to  put  off  the  old  man,  and  to  put  on  the  new  man, 
 as  Eph.  iv.  22.  24.  And  though  the  Colossians  had  put  off 
 the  old  man,  as  in  the  verses  of  Col.  iii.  cited  by  the  Doc- 
 tor, still  there  remained  in  them  members  of  the  old  man 
 to  be  mortified,  as  he  exhorts  them,  ver.  5. ;  and  he  found  in 
 them  what  occasioned  his  saying  to  them,  ver.  8.  Now  also 
 put  off  all  these,  anger,  wrath,  malice,  &c.  which  pertained 
 to  the  old  man.  The  Doctor  goes  on  :  '  For  sure  this  (viz. 
 c  that  he  had  put  off  the  old  man)  cannot  be  said  of  him 
 c  who  is  still  carnal,  sold  under  sin,  and  captivated  to  the 
 '  law  of  sin/  This  argument  hath  a  full  answer  in  what 
 hath  been  said  already  on  those  expressions  of  our  con- 
 text on  which  it  is  founded.  These  expressions  convey  the 
 sorrowful  complaint  of  one  who  appears  to  have  indeed  put 
 off  the  ol  I  ra  m  ;    - 
 
256  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 of  the  members  of  the  old  man  remaining  and  stirring  in 
 him ;  and  who  hath  at  heart,  according  to  the  exhortation 
 directed  to  the  Ephesians  and  Collosians,  to  put  off  the  old 
 man,  and  to  mortify  his  members,  more  and  more,  and  longs 
 to  be  delivered  from  the  body  of  death. 
 
 The  learned  writer  proceeds,  and  having  asserted  that  it 
 only  means  the  mind  of  man,  the  va$,  as  he  says  the  apostle 
 explains  himself,  verse  25.  he  adduces  the  authority  of 
 Origen,  (none  of  the  best  divines,  or  interpreters  of  Scrip- 
 ture) and  of  three  others  of  the  ancients,  who  say,  that  the 
 soul,  using  the  body  as  its  instrument,  is  called,  o  tea  «»-^&/^, 
 the  inward  man.  But  there  needed  no  authority  to  prove, 
 that  in  the  composition  of  the  human  person,  the  body  is 
 the  outward,  the  soul  the  inward  part  of  man,  and  the  prin- 
 ciple of  life  and  action,  which  useth  the  other  as  its  instru- 
 ment ;  nor  is  there  any  absurdity,  if  men,  in  expressing 
 their  own  mind  in  common  speech,  shall  call  the  one  the 
 inward,  the  other  the  outward  man.  But  we  are  now  in- 
 quiring concerning  the  Scripture-use  of  the  word,  inward 
 man,  and  that  certainly  is  not,  to  signify  the  soul,  in  contra- 
 distinction to  the  body. 
 
 This  is  certain  from  the  apostle's  evident  scope  and  ar- 
 gument in  the  place  we  are  considering.  From  that  it  is 
 clear,  that  he  means  by  the  inward  man,  that  in  him  to 
 which  nothing  contrary  to  delighting  in  the  law  of  God 
 could  be  ascribed.  He  had  said,  verse  21.  I  find  then  a  law, 
 that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me.  For  (so 
 he  adds,  ver.  22.)  /  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  raw 
 ward  man.  It  were  making  the  apostle  talk  in  an  incon- 
 sistent manner,  to  give  delighting  in  the  law  of  God,  as  the 
 peculiar  and  distinguishing  character  of  his  inward  man,  in 
 opposition  to  that  law,  by  which  evil  was  present  with  him, 
 if  that  law  was  likewise  to  be  ascribed  to  his  inward  man, 
 which  were  certainly  the  case,  if  the  inward  man  signified 
 the  soul,  in  contradistinction  to  the  body.  The  body  con- 
 sidered separately,  is  not  the  subject  of  moral  good  or  evil. 
 In  the  human  person  the  soul  is  especially  and  most  pro- 
 perly the  seat  of  moral  good  and  evil.  If,  as  Origen  speaks, 
 it  uses  the  body  as  its  instrument  in  doing  good,  it  also  uses 
 it  as  its  instrument  in  accomplishing  and  gratifying  the  cor- 
 rupt lusts  and  passions  that  are  inherent  in  the  soul.  It  is 
 plain,  that  the  apostle  means  to  ascribe  delighting  in  the 
 law  of  God  to  a  good  principle  in  him,  which  he  contradis- 
 tinguishes to  another  principle  in  his  soul,  by  wThich,  as  in 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 85.  257 
 
 the  preceding  words,  evil  was  present  with  him  ;  and  that 
 good  principle  can  be  no  other  than  that  called  in  Scripture 
 the  new  man,  and  here,  the  inward  man. 
 
 If  we  look  into  the  writings  of  our  adversaries  on  this 
 point,  we  shall  see,  that  though  their  general  arguing  some- 
 times tends  to  prove  that  the  inward  man  signifies  the  soul, 
 in  contradistinction  to  the  body,  yet  themselves  do  not  in- 
 deed mean  so  in  explaining  this  context.  By  their  explica- 
 tions they  appear  to  mean  the  mind,  understanding,  or  con- 
 science. So  Dr  W.  understood  the  mind  of  man,  the  y»$, 
 to  be  meant ;  and  though  in  giving  Origen's  sense,  he  makes 
 it  to  be  the  soul,  yet  in  the  citation  he  gives  from  Origen 
 against  Celsus,  the  word  is  vug,  the  mind  or  understanding, 
 which  is  not  the  same  as  soul,  but  signifies  a  particular  fa- 
 culty of  the  soul.  Now,  though  there  might  be  some  reason 
 from  the  nature  of  things,  why  we  might,  in  our  own  use  of 
 speech,  call  the  soul,  which  is  the  inner  part  in  the  composi- 
 tion of  the  human  person,  the  inward  man,  there  is  not  the 
 same  reason  to  distinguish  the  mind  or  understanding  from 
 the  other  human  faculties  by  that  name.  The  will  of  man 
 and  his  affections  are  as  inward  and  as  essential  to  the  soul 
 as  the  mind. 
 
 I  see  it  observed,  that  Plato  uses  the  phrase,  o  ivroq 
 clv3-£z>7to$,  for  the  rational  part  of  our  nature.  I  would  have 
 no  quarrel  with  Plato  for  so  conceiving  and  expressing  ; 
 though,  at  the  same  time,  I  would  not  expect  to  find  with 
 the  heathen  philosopher,  the  apostle  Paul's  particular  notion 
 and  view  of  the  inward  man. 
 
 That  is  the  subject  op  our  present  inquiry,  and  in  pro- 
 ceeding to  consider  the  only  two  other  places  in  which  the 
 expression  occurs,  I  begin  with  2  Cor  iv.  16.  For  which  cause 
 we  faint  not ;  but  though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  in- 
 ward man  is  renewed  day  by  day. 
 
 Dr  W.  says,  that  the  outward  man  which  perisheth,  sig- 
 nifies only  the  body;  the  inward  is  only  the  soul  and  spirit 
 that  is  in  man.  One  thing  that  occurs  on  a  general  view  of 
 that  interpretation,  is  this,  that  it  makes  the  apostle's  words 
 represent  something  that  is  not  common  or  natural,  and 
 which  Christians  ordinarily  have  not  cause  to  expect.  For 
 when  the  body  becomes  weak  and  fades,  most  commonly 
 and  naturally  weakness  comes  on  the  mind  and  spirit  of  a 
 man  too,  instead  of  the  perishing  of  the  outward  man  oc- 
 casioning the  soul  to  be  renewed  in  vigour  and  alacrity, 
 which  are  the  words  of  his  paraphrase.     But  understanding 
 
258  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 the  inward  man  of  the  new  man,  the  matter  becomes  intel- 
 ligible and  very  clear.  The  Christian,  though  the  gifts  by 
 which  he  perhaps  shined  do  as  the  flower  of  the  grass  fall 
 away,  yet  he  becomes  more  humble  and  poor  in  spirit, 
 more  sincere  and  upright,  holds  Christ  more  precious,  hath 
 his  heart  more  weaned  from  the  world,  doth  more  earnestly 
 desire  the  things  that  are  above,  and  is  more  solaced  by  the 
 hope  of  the  eternal  inheritance.  In  all  this  there  is  great 
 improvement  of  the  new  man.  While  the  Christian  lades 
 and  declines  in  his  body,  and  likewise  in  his  spirit,  and  the 
 natural  faculties  thereof,  yet  at  the  same  time,  as  to  what 
 belongs  to  the  new  man,  and  what  truly  constitutes  the  cha- 
 racter of  the  Christian,  or  righteous  person,  he  flourishes 
 like  a  palm-tree,  he  bringeth  forth  fruit  in  old  age,  and  is, 
 under  all  his  natural  fading,  fat  and  flourishing  in  the  best 
 sense.  As  this  doth  show  that  the  Lord  is  upright,  so,  to 
 the  praise  of  his  faithfulness,  it  is  no  uncommon  case  among 
 those  whom  grace  hath  sanctified. 
 
 That  in  2  Cor.  iv.  16.  the  inward  man,  and  the  renewing 
 thereof,  means  the  new  man,  or  principle  of  grace  and  holi- 
 ness, and  its  improvement,  is  very  evident  by  the  account 
 the  apostle  himself  gives  of  that  improvement,  or  renewing, 
 in  the  very  next  words :  For  our  light  affliction,  saith  he, 
 which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worheth  for  us  afar  more  exceed* 
 ing  and  eternal  weight  of  glory,  while  we  look  not  at  the 
 things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen. — 
 Thus  then  it  is  that  the  inward  man  is  daily  renewed  and 
 improved  by  tribulations,  while  these  do  more  and  more  fit 
 the  Christian  for  glory,  dispose  and  determine  him  the  more 
 to  look,  not  to  the  things  that  are  seen,  but  to  the  things 
 that  are  not  seen.  This  cannot  be  said  of  the  soul  simply, 
 but  of  the  principle  of  grace  and  holiness,  or  the  new  man, 
 which  alone  is  capable  of  such  improvement,  or  of  the  soul, 
 so  far  as  it  is  renewed  by  Divine  grace.  Otherwise,  how 
 many  souls  are  there  which,  being  unrenewed,  receive  no 
 such  improvement  by  tribulations  and  afflictions  ! 
 
 Another  place,  in  which  this  expression,  the  inward  man, 
 occurs,  is  where  the  apostle  prays  for  the  Ephesians,  chap, 
 iii.  16,  17-  thus:  That  he  would  grant  you,  according  to  the 
 riches  of  his  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might,  by  his  Spi- 
 rit in  the  inner  man  ;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts 
 by  faith  ;  that  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  &c.  It 
 may  be  easy  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  inner  man, 
 for  any  who  shall  observe  the  scope  and  connexion  of  this 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  259 
 
 passage,  which  are  easy  and  obvious.  He  wishes  Christ  to 
 dwell  in  their  hearts  by  faith,  which  is  not  merely  wishing 
 them  to  have  faith,  for  that  he  supposes  these  Ephesians  to 
 have  already  ;  but  that  they  might  be  more  steady  and  esta- 
 blished in  faith,  that  they  might  be  more  habituated  to  liv- 
 ing practically  by  faith,  that  so  Christ  might  be  in  them, 
 not  as  by  transient  visits,  but  might  dwell  in  them,  for  their 
 most  established  consolation  and  abounding  fruitfulness. 
 His  wish  is  not  merely  that  they  may  have  love,  but  that 
 they  may  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  love.  Now,  it  is  in  or- 
 der to  this,  that  he  prays  that  they  may  be  strengthened  with 
 might  in  the  inner  man.  Their  being  so  he  considers  as 
 having  for  its  natural  consequence,  that  Christ  shall  dwell  in 
 their  hearts  by  faith,  &c.  He  considers  these  things  as  na- 
 turally connected. 
 
 But  there  is  no  such  connexion,  if  the  inner  man's  being 
 strengthened  shall  be  understood  merely  of  the  soul,  with  its 
 natural  faculties,  that  inward  part  in  the  composition  of  the 
 human  person,  and  its  being  strengthened  with  might,  even 
 by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for  we  read  of  the  Spirit  of  God  com- 
 ing, on  divers  occasions,  upon  men,  to  give  them  vigour  of 
 spirit,  and  to  inspire  them  with  zeal  and  fortitude  for  public 
 service, — not  to  strengthen  their  faith  or  love,  a*  these  are 
 the  principles  of  spiritual  life  and  of  true  holiness.  Yea,  in 
 our  times,  if  there  are  men  who  give  signal  proof  of  prowess 
 and  of  heroic  fortitude,  wTe  have  cause  to  consider  it  as  a  par- 
 ticular gift  of  God  and  of  his  Spirit,  strengthening  them 
 with  might  in  their  souls  and  spirits,  while,  without  this, 
 others  do  show  themselves  weak  and  dastardly.  Yet  as  to 
 these  gallant  persons,  so  strengthened  with  might  and  forti- 
 tude of  soul  and  spirit,  how  commonly  doth  this  appear,  with- 
 out any  symptom  of  having  Christ  dwelling  in  their  hearts 
 by  faith,  or  of  any  other  thing  that  doth  accompany  salva- 
 tion ?  Upon  the  whole,  if  the  inner  man  shall  be  understood 
 here  of  men's  soul  and  spirit  in  general,  there  appears  no 
 connexion  of  these  things,  which  yet  it  is  evident  the  apostle 
 means  to  connect.  But  understanding  the  inner  man  of  the 
 new  man,  or  principle  of  spiritual  life,  the  connexion  is  quite 
 clear,  and  easily  understood.  As  the  new  man  owes  his  be- 
 ing to  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  it  is  by  the  influence  and  power  of 
 the  same  Spirit  that  he  on  all  occasions  receives  might  and 
 vigour.  Then  if  the  new  man,  the  principle  of  spiritual  life 
 (or  the  inner  man)  is  strengthened,  the  natural  consequence 
 will  be  what  the  apostle  mentions,   that  the  Christian  will 
 
260  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 have  great  establishment  in  faith,  unmoved  by  the  shocks  of 
 tribulation,  or  by  the  temptations  of  the  enemy  ;  so  that 
 Christ  shall  dwell  in  him,  and  he  shall  be  rooted  and  ground- 
 ed in  love. 
 
 Thus  we  have  seen  how  we  are  to  understand  the  inward 
 man  in  these  two  texts,  2  Cor.  iv.  16.  and  Eph.  iii.  l6.  And 
 by  what  hath  been  observed,  it  appears,  that  we  cannot  justly 
 conceive  the  apostle's  argument,  or  enter  into  the  views 
 which  he  appears  to  have  in  these  places,  without  under- 
 standing the  inner  man  of  the  new  man.  As  to  the  text 
 especially  under  our  consideration,  Rom.  vii.  22.  it  has  been 
 observed  before,  that  the  inward  man  there  must  be  under- 
 stood, not  of  the  soul  merely,  but  of  that  special  principle  in 
 the  soul,  by  which  the  man  delighted  in  the  law  of  God ; 
 and  that  as  distinguished  from  another  principle  also  in  the 
 soul,  by  which  evil  was  present  with  him.  All  these  things 
 make  it  appear,  that  by  the  inward  man  here  we  are  to  un- 
 derstand what  the  apostle  calls  elsewhere  the  new  man. 
 What  is  here  ascribed  to  the  inward  man  is  very  decisive 
 to  the  same  purpose.  This  brings  us  to  the  next  thing  pro- 
 posed, for  explaining  ver.  22. 
 
 2.  What  is  meant  by  delighting  in  the  law  of  God  ? 
 
 The  Greek  word  properly  and  strongly  signifies  delighting: 
 and  none  need  to  be  told  what  delighting  is.  But  the  pre- 
 position, a-vv,  with,  being  joined  in  composition  with  it, 
 (rvvYdopzh)  it  has  been  endeavoured  to  make  something  of 
 that.  If  indeed  it  was  said  by  one  man,  with  respect  to 
 another,  it  might  signify  joining  in  delight,  or  pleasure, 
 with  him.  But  when  it  is  spoken  with  respect  to  the  law  of 
 God,  what  can  be  made  of  it  but  as  we  render,  to  delight  ? 
 If  we  consider  the  law  by  way  of  prosopopoeia,  as  a  person, 
 then  rwrdopxt,  condclector,  may  mean  as  if  he  had  said,  I  de- 
 light in  the  same  that  the  law  delights  in,  and  that  is,  true 
 and  perfect,  outward  and  inward,  obedience  and  holiness. 
 This  is  what  the  law  requires,  and  recommends  to  me,  as 
 delightful ;  and  what,  agreeably  to  the  law,  I  delight  in  ; 
 what  would  be  most  delightful  for  me  to  attain  ;  what  I  aim 
 at,  and  pursue  with  delight,  whatever  bitterness  and  pain 
 I  have  from  the  law  in  my  members,  in  my  way  to  that 
 attainment.  At  any  rate,  delighting  in  the  law  of  God,  and 
 in  the  holiness  thereof,  doth  very  much  distinguish  a  person 
 regenerate  from  the  unregenerate,  who  are  incapable  of  such 
 delight  in  the  law,  or  in  holiness. 
 
 However,  Dr  Whitby's  paraphrase  gives  it  thus :  M  /  de- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  26l 
 
 1  light  in  the  law  of  God,  my  mind  approving,  for  some 
 1  time,  and  being  pleased  with  its  good  and  holy  precepts/ 
 But  doth  the  mind  or  judgment  approving,  or  being  pleased 
 with  a  proposition  or  law,  as  true  or  right,  come  up  to  the 
 meaning  of'  delighting  ?  Words  will  be  useless  for  the  ex- 
 pression of  meanings,  if  they  may  be  paraphrased  or  per- 
 verted at  this  rate.  Besides,  as  to  approving,  or  being 
 pleased  with  the  law  for  some  time,  what  these  last  words 
 import  is  taken  from  the  Doctor's  own  notion,  that  it  is  the 
 hypocrite,  or  unregenerate  person  that  is  here  represented, 
 as  such  may  have  a  good  disposition  for  sometime.  But  it 
 is  plain,  that  the  apostle  means  delighting  in  the  holiness  of 
 the  law,  as  the  quality  and  disposition,  not  for  a  time,  but 
 always  habitually  of  his  inward  man  :  there  is  nothing  in 
 the  expression  to  restrict  it  to  some  time.  Finally,  this  ad- 
 dition, '  for  some  time/  doth  not  well  suit  Dr  W/a  own 
 notions.  For  though  some  sort  of  disposition,  favourable  to 
 holiness  and  good  practice  in  an  unregenerate  man  may  last 
 but  for  a  time,  and  soon  go  off,  yet  the  Doctor  would  al- 
 low, that  his  v*s,  his  mind  or  judgment,  which  he  sup- 
 poses to  be  meant  by  the  inward  man,  (to  which  he  ascribes 
 all  the  good  things  expressed  in  this  context)  would  never- 
 theless continue  to  approve  the  law,  and  what  it  prescribes, 
 even  though  the  man  had  sold  himself  to  work  wickedness, 
 like  Ahab :  so  that  by  his  own  principles  he  should  not  have 
 added,  c  for  some  time/ 
 
 The  Doctor  says  in  his  annotation :  c  That  this  delight 
 6  is  no  evidence  of  a  regenerate  man,  is  evident  from  the 
 '  example  of  the  stony  ground,  which  heard  the  word  with 
 '  joy,  Matt.  xiii.  20. ;  of  Herod,  who  heard  John  the  Baptist, 
 '  Tjhaq,  with  delight,  Mark  vi.  20. ;  of  the  Jews,  who  rejoiced 
 '  in  his  light,  John  v.  35.  and  heard  our  Saviour  gladly, 
 '  Mark  xii.  37/ 
 
 I  shall  begin  my  answer  to  this  by  observing,  that  the  in- 
 stance of  the  hearers  compared  to  the  stony  ground,  must 
 be  very  improperly  adduced  on  this  occasion  by  an  Armi- 
 nian  divine.  Those  of  that  denomination  do  generally  hold, 
 that  temporary  faith  is  the  same  for  nature  and  kind  with 
 saving  faith,  and  falls  short  of  being  saving  only  by  the 
 want  of  fruitfulness  and  perseverance ;  and  therefore,  they 
 argue  from  instances  of  this  sort  of  faith,  and  persons,  against 
 the  doctrine  of  the  certain  perseverance  of  the  saints.  If  it 
 is  so,  then  certainly  they  who  have  this  sort  of  faith  (which 
 the  stony  ground  hearers  are  said  to  have)  are  regenerate  for 
 
262  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 the  time,  as  I  do  not  expect  it  will  be  said,  that  persons  may 
 have  true  faith,  who  are  not,  for  the  time,  regenerate.  So 
 that  this  is  an  instance,  according  to  their  notions,  of  persons 
 regenerate  brought  to  prove  what  persons  unregenerate  are 
 capable  of,  which  is  very  far  from  just  reasoning. 
 
 This  is  a  sufficient  answer  upon  their  principles.  I  shall 
 now  give  an  answer  more  suitable  to  my  own  sentiments, 
 and  to  the  truth  of  the  case.  Jt  is  said,  Matth.  xiii.  20. 
 that  the  hearers  there  mentioned  heard  the  word,  and  anon 
 with  joy  received  it;  and  it  is  true,  that  nothing  gives  joy 
 that  would  not  give  delight.  But  then  it  is  to  be  observed, 
 that  our  Lord  is  not  there  speaking  of  the  law  ;  but  of  the 
 gospel,  called  in  the  preceding  verse,  the  word  of  the  kingdom. 
 Now  there  can  be  no  question  but  the  good  things  thereby 
 represented,  such  as  remission  of  sins,  deliverance  from  the 
 wrath  to  come,  with  eternal  happiness  and  glory,  may,  in  the 
 hearing,  affect  with  some  sort  of  delight  and  joy,  souls  that 
 do  by  no  means  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  or  in  the  holiness 
 which  it  manifests  and  requires.  Yea,  will  not  all  Christian 
 divines  acknowledge,  that  generally  this  is  one  thing  that 
 especially  demonstrates  that  the  delight  and  joy  which  some 
 have  had  by  the  gospel,  real  as  it  hath  been  in  its  kind,  is 
 no  sufficient  evidence  of  regeneration  or  true  conversion, 
 nor  is  it  profitable  or  saving  in  its  nature  or  effect. 
 
 Whatever  freedom,  or  severity  of  reproof,  was  in  the 
 preaching  of  John  Baptist,  yet,  as  Matth.  iii.  2.  he  preached 
 that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  at  hand  ;  which,  as  they  un- 
 derstood it,  might  give  delight  and  joy  to  the  most  carnal  of 
 the  Jews,  his  hearers;  and  to  those  of  them  who  were 
 farthest  from  delighting  in  the  law  of  God. 
 
 It  is  certainly  not  uncommon  for  men  to  hear  the  gospel, 
 (especially  when  it  is  preached  with  some  advantage  in  the 
 manner)  with  present  satisfaction  and  affection,  whose  hearts 
 were  never  reconciled  to  the  holiness  of  the  law  of  God. 
 Though  Ezekiel  often  brought  heavy  messages,  yet  there 
 were  unregenerate  unholy  men,  who  had  some  sort  of  pleasure 
 in  hearing  him  ;  concerning  whom  the  Lord  saith  to  him, 
 Ezek.  xxxiii.  31,  32.  They  come  unto  thee  as  the  people  cometh, 
 and  they  sit  before  thee  as  my  people,  and  they  hear  thy  words, 
 but  they  will  not  do  them  :  for  with  their  mouth  they  show 
 much  love,  but  their  heart  goeth  after  their  covetousness.  And 
 lo,  thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a 
 pleasant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument ;  for  they 
 hear  thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not.     Though  carnal  men 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  263 
 
 have  some  pleasure  in  hearing  the  word  of  God,  yet  they 
 are  so  far  from  delighting  in  the  law  of  God,  that  the  pre- 
 vailing of  the  contrary  disposition  is  a  chief  cause  why  the 
 word  of  God  is  not  truly,  or  with  saving  effect,  received  into 
 their  hearts.  Men  in  our  times  can  be  greatly  pleased  with 
 a  sermon  preached  or  read  to  them  ;  may  admire  the  skilful 
 composition,  the  propriety  and  elegance  of  the  expression, 
 with  the  strong  reasoning  in  favour  of  goodness  and  virtue  ; 
 may  in  the  hearing  be  as  much  affected  almost  as  with  the 
 best  composed  and  best  acted  tragedy,  and  bestow  encomiums 
 on  the  preacher,  that  might  shock  the  most  vain  glorious  ; 
 when  yet  their  disposition,  conversation,  and  behaviour,  prove 
 that  they  never  truly  delighted  in  the  holiness  of  the  law, 
 or  in  the  grace  of  the  gospel. 
 
 As  to  Herod,  if  he  heard  John  Baptist  gladly,  or  with  de- 
 light, shall  we  say,  that  the  tyrant,  who  was  in  the  common 
 practice  of  iniquity  and  oppression,  living  openly  in  inces- 
 tuous lewdness,  did  indeed  delight  in  the  law  of  God  ?  This 
 is  too  absurd  to  be  deliberately  maintained.  What  hath  been 
 said  on  these  several  instances,  accounts  likewise  for  Dr  W.'s 
 last  instance  of  the  common  people's  hearing  our  Saviour 
 gladly,  though  many  of  them  unprofitably. 
 
 Dr  Taylor  (Orig.  Si?i,  p.  218.)  brings  Is.  lviii.  2.  where  it 
 is  said  of  a  nation  that  did  not  righteousness,  They  seek 
 me  daily,  and  delight  to  know  my  ways.  It  is  easy  an- 
 swering this. 
 
 There  is  in  mankind  a  lust  of  knowledge,  of  knowing 
 good  and  evil.  Many  Jews  became  learned  in  the  law  ;  and 
 it  is  very  likely  that  Paul,  in  his  unregenerate  state,  brought 
 up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  became  very  learned  in  this  way, 
 and  could  resolve  many  a  question  respecting  the  Mosaic  law. 
 Their  scribes  and  lawyers  delighted  in  increasing  their  know- 
 ledge of  it.  The  apostle  says  to  the  Jew,  Rom.  ii.  18,  19* 
 Thou  knowest  his  will,  and  approvest  the  things  that  are  more 
 excellent,  and  art  conjident  that  thou  thyself  art  a  guide 
 to  the  blind  ;  when  he  doth  ver.  21 — 24.  charge  them  with 
 much  wicked  practice.  The  Jews  in  Isaiah's  time  did  seek 
 God  daily,  and  did  delight  in  approaching  to  God,  as  he  says 
 in  the  text  cited,  which  can  be  understood  of  no  other  than 
 external  worship,  in  which  they  were  zealous  and  laborious. 
 Yet  as  it  is  not  said  or  meant,  that  they  sincerely  sought 
 God,  or  approached  him  with  their  heart;  so  if  they  delighted 
 to  know  God's  ways,  yet  it  is  not  said  or  meant,  that  they 
 delighted  in  these  ways,  or  in  the  law  of  God,  which  marks 
 
264  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 them  out  to  men.  That  is  a  very  different  thing.  The 
 apostle's  words  in  our  context  represent  one  delighting  in 
 these  ways,  not  merely  in  the  knowledge  of  them  ;  and  who 
 delighted  in  the  law  itself,  with  a  view  to  its  holiness  and 
 spirituality,  which  he  had  asserted,  ver.  14. 
 
 We  see  then  that  the  instances  of  joy  and  delight,  in  the 
 case  of  hypocrites  and  persons  unregenerate,  that  have  been 
 adduced,  do  not  come  up  to  the  meaning  of  delighting  in  the 
 law  of  God,  in  the  text  under  consideration. 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  we  find  in  Scripture,  that  delighting  in 
 the  law  of  God  is  given  as  a  special  evidence  of  a  person  rege- 
 nerate, holy,  righteous,  and  blessed.  The  Psalmist  in  Psal. 
 cxix.  hath  divers  expressions  to  this  purpose  concerning  him- 
 self; particularly  ver.  47.  /  will  delight  myself  in  thy  command- 
 ments,  which  I  have  loved.  Indeed  the  commandments  can- 
 not be  the  delight  of  any  man  farther  than  they  are  loved  by 
 him  ;  which  shows  the  absurdity  of  understanding  delighting 
 in  the  law  of  God,  in  our  text,  of  an  unregenerate  man  who 
 is  incapable  of  loving  the  law.  The  Psalmist's  words  are  very 
 direct  and  clear  to  the  present  purpose,  Psal.  i.  2.  where  he 
 gives  it  as  the  mark  of  a  man  who  is  truly  blessed,  that  his 
 delight  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord:  as  he  likewise  gives  it  for 
 a  mark  of  the  righteous,  Psal.  xxxvii.  31.  that  the  law  of  God 
 is  in  his  heart.  Now,  shall  we  say  there  is  any  thing  so 
 weak  or  silly  in  the  inspired  writings,  as  give  for  the  mark 
 of  persons  blessed,  righteous,  and  regenerate,  any  thing  they 
 have  in  common  with  persons  unregenerate  and  ungodly  ?  or 
 can  it  be  good  arguing  that  proceeds  on  such  a  supposition  ? 
 
 We  have  now  seen  that  the  new  man,  the  principle  of  spi- 
 ritual life  and  holiness,  is  the  same  that  is  meant  by  the  in- 
 ward  man,  according  to  the  constant  use  of  scripture.  We 
 have  likewise  seen,  that  to  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  is,  ac- 
 cording to  the  scripture,  a  most  special  and  distinguishing 
 mark  of  a  person  righteous  and  blessed.  So  that  in  this  one 
 proposition,  ver  22.  /  delight  in  the  law  of  God  according  to 
 the  inward  man,  we  have  two  arguments  of  great  clearness 
 and  force,  proving  that  the  case  represented  in  our  context 
 is  that  of  a  person  regenerate  and  under  grace. 
 
 Sect.  Vl.-The  same  subject  continued,  and  ver.  25.  explained. 
 
 We  might  be  well  satisfied  with  the  evidence  that  has 
 been  already  brought  from  this  context,  to  determine  the 
 general  scope  and  purpose  of  it ;  but  there  remains  a  great 
 deal  more  evidence  in  the  concluding  verse  of  this  seventh 
 chapter.   The  first  clause  is,  /  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI L  14 — 25.  265 
 
 our  Lord.  Here  we  have  the  expression  of  the  Apostle's 
 thankfulness  for  the  advantage  he  had  already  obtained 
 against  the  flesh ;  and  the  freedom  he  had  by  divine  grace 
 attained  from  the  law  in  his  members.  By  no  means,  say 
 others.  It  is  but  his  thankfulness  for  the  prospect  and  com- 
 fortable expectation  he  had,  through  the  grace  of  God  in 
 Jesus  Christ,  of  being  delivered  from  the  body  of  death  ;  for 
 which  he  had  expressed  such  an  earnest  wish  and  longing  in 
 the  preceding  verse.  Be  it  so  ;  as  indeed  both  his  past  ex- 
 perience, and  his  good  prospect  for  futurity,  may  be  well 
 together,  as  the  matter  of  his  thankfulness.  But  if  we  should 
 restrict  it  to  the  matter  last  mentioned,  his  thankfulness  in 
 that  same  view  implies  his  faith  and  confidence  of  being  de- 
 livered from  what  he  calls  the  body  of  death.  It  is  easy 
 using  words,  and  many  have  used  the  preceding  words,  O 
 wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  never  had  any  true  sense  of 
 wretchedness  by  the  strength  of  sin  in  them.  So  it  is  easy 
 for  men  to  express  thankfulness,  and  to  profess  the  faith  of 
 total  deliverance  from  sin,  in  such  words  as  are  here  used, 
 who  have  not  the  faith  they  express  in  their  hearts.  But 
 for  a  man,  who  hath  great  bitterness  of  heart  by  the  expe- 
 rience of  sin  in  him  ;  who  finds  the  working  out  of  deliver- 
 ance from  it  exceed  all  his  own  powers,  and  utmost  efforts, 
 and  all  created  power  besides  ;  who  cries  out,  with  a  com- 
 plaint sincere  and  earnest,  of  his  wretchedness  by  it;  for 
 such  a  man,  I  say,  to  express,  as  with  the  same  breath,  his  «. 
 joyful  thankfulness  for  the  prospect  arid  hope  of  deliverance 
 from  the  body  of  death,  could  not  be  without  that  faith  sup- 
 porting and  solacing  his  heart,  that  is  a  certain  fruit  and  evi- 
 dence of  regeneration.  For  it  will  be  often  found,  that  the 
 children  of  God  have  no  greater  trial  of  faith,  or  greater  dif- 
 ficulty in  exercising  it,  than  in  what  concern eth  their  comfort 
 in  reference  to  sin  that  dwelleth  in  them,  and  their  hope  of 
 deliverance  from  it.  But  to  suppose  that  an  unregenerate 
 man,  having  such  a  painful  feeling  of  sin,  of  which  he  is  the 
 absolute  and  willing  slave,  to  have  at  the  same  time  such 
 thankful  confidence  of  deliverance  from  it,  is  to  suppose  what 
 is  quite  inconsistent  with  that  character  and  state. 
 
 It  was  observed  before,  that  it  is  charging  the  apostle 
 with  a  very  gross  incongruity  and  inconsistency,  to  suppose 
 him  to  be  personating  an  infidel  Jew,  and  yet  to  represent 
 that  Jew  speaking  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  in  the  first  clause  of 
 this  verse.  Dr  T.  endeavours  to  hide  the  absurdity  by  the 
 sort  of  a  paraphrase  he  gives  of  ver.  24,  25.  thus :  c  Now  what 
 
266  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 (  shall  a  sinner  do  in  this  miserable  condition  ? — How  shall 
 1  such  a  wretched,  enslaved,  condemned  Jew  be  delivered  ? 
 e  He  is  delivered  and  obtains  salvation,  not  by  any  strength 
 '  or  favour  the  law  supplieth,  but  by  the  grace  of  God  in 
 '  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  which  we  are  bound  to  be  for 
 '  ever  thankful/  So  indeed  the  Apostle  himself  might  say 
 of  the  Jew,  or  any  other  man  in  the  supposed  condition,  in  a 
 doctrinal  way  ;  but  though  the  nature  and  rule  of  paraphrase 
 allowed  him  to  vary  somewhat  and  amplify  the  expression, 
 yet  if  the  design  was  to  personate  the  Jew,  as  this  Doctor 
 thought,  that  did  not  give  him  a  right  to  represent  any 
 other  as  speaking  than  a  Jew ;  and  if  there  was  any  thing 
 said  inconsistent  with  that  character,  he  should  have  been 
 convinced  that  the  design  was  not  to  personate  the  Jew. 
 Was  the  man  indeed  sensible  of  this  difficulty,  that  he  avoids 
 it  in  the  manner  we  have  seen  in  his  paraphrase  ?  However, 
 this  is  no  other  than  a  too  artful  and  unfair  way  of  hiding, 
 not  removing  the  difficulty  that  occurred  with  regard  to  his 
 interpretation.  Surely  the  Apostle  was  not  capable  of  such 
 incongruity,  rather  gross  absurdity,  as  to  make  an  infidel 
 Jew  to  speak  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  manner  here  expressed. 
 
 In  the  remaining  part  of  this  ver.  25.  we  have  the  result 
 and  conclusion  of  all  the  representation  the  Apostle  had  been 
 making  from  ver.  14.  And  here  surely  we  may  expect  some- 
 thing that  will  further  help  us  to  understand  and  fix  the 
 general  scope  and  purpose  of  the  preceding  context.  The 
 words  are,  So  then,  with  the  mind  I  myself  serve  the  law  of 
 God  ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin.  In  the  first  of  these 
 clauses  we  have  occasion  to  consider  these  three  expressions, 
 and  the  sense  of  them  :  1.  /  myself.  2.  The  mind.  3.  Serv- 
 ing the  law  of  God. 
 
 I.  ctvrog  tym,  I  myself;  so  rendered  precisely  according  to 
 the  Greek.  But  some,  without  giving  any  good  reason  for 
 it,  will  have  it  rendered,  /  the  same  man,  (of  whom  he  had 
 before  spoken,  not  I  Paul  writing  this  epistle.)  So  Dr 
 Whitby.  But  if  that  were  the  sense  designed,  we  should 
 have  had  in  this  place,  not  uvrcg  iya,  but  o  ccvrog  iyu,  as  Beza 
 observes,  who  says,  he  never  saw  it  so  in  the  text,  in  any 
 copy,  and  he  had  seen  a  great  many.  The  reason  with  these 
 interpreters  for  attempting  to  make  this  alteration  in  the  text, 
 may,  I  think,  be  learned  from  these  words  of  Dr  W.'s  an- 
 notation, '  Not  I  Paul  writing  this  epistle.'  If  the  expres- 
 sion I  myself,  be  retained,  however,  precisely  according  to 
 the  Greek,  they  seem  to  be  sensible,  that  it  will  strongly  in- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Eom.  VII.  14—25.  267 
 
 timate  that  the  apostle  is  indeed  representing  his  own  present 
 case,  and  how  it  was  then  with  himself.  So  indeed  the  words 
 import ;  and  must  we  agree  to  alter  the  text,  to  be  free  of 
 this  inconvenience  ?  In  order  to  have  this  agreed  to,  they 
 should  have  shown  us  their  translation  to  be  warranted  by 
 the  use  of  speech  in  the  Greek,  or  else  have  shown  us  a  dif- 
 ferent reading,  to  be  wTaranted  by  ancient  manuscripts  of 
 good  authority.  It  seems  neither  of  these  could  be  done. 
 My  lexicon  for  the  Latin,  idem,  the  same  man,  gives,  o  xvrog, 
 and  the  words  in  our  text,  uvrcg  iyu,  is  still  rendered  as  here, 
 /  myself.  So  Luke  xxiv.  39-  That,  xvrog  iyu  upt,  it  is  I  my- 
 self;  Rom.  ix.  3.  For  I  could  wish  that,  ctvrcg  iyu,  myself  were 
 accursed;  Rom.  xv.  14.  And  avrog  iyu,  I  myself  also  am  per- 
 suaded ;  2  Cor.  x.  1.  uvrog  Js  lyu  Uoiv^og,  No?v  I  Paul  my- 
 self beseech  you  ;  chap.  xii.  13.  Except  that,  uvrog  iyu,  I  my- 
 self was  not  burdensome  to  you.  This  is  enough  for  vindi- 
 cating our  translation,  and  to  show  that  the  different  render- 
 ing is  not  warranted  by  the  use  and  common  meaning  of 
 the  words. 
 
 As  this  expression  shows,  that  it  is  the  case  of  the  apostle 
 himself,  writing  this  epistle,  which  is  here  represented, 
 there  is  this  further  in  it,  the  expression  clearly  implies,  that 
 the  character  of  the  person  here  represented  is  to  be  taken, 
 and  himself  to  be  denominated  from  this,  as  from  the  most 
 prevailing  principle  in  him,  and  in  his  course,  that  with  his 
 mind  he  served  the  law  of  God  ;  he  himself  did  so.  Surely 
 if  this  was  the  prevailing  disposition  and  practice,  it  must 
 be  allowed  to  be  a  strong  argument  and  proof  of  regenera- 
 tion ;  and  that  the  Apostle  is  not  here  personating  an  un- 
 regenerate  man,  or  a  carnal  Jew.  Indeed,  this  way  of  ex- 
 pressing the  matter  is  quite  suitable  to  what  he  had  said, 
 ver.  17.  Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that 
 dwelleth  in  me.  And  again,  ver.  20.  If  I  do  that  I  would 
 not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me. 
 It  is  putting  his  conclusion  in  language  very  suitable  to 
 such  premises  and  declarations,  to  say  here,  ver.  25.  So 
 then  I  myself  with  my  mind  serve  the  law  of  God. 
 
 However,  his  distinguishing  thus  pathetically  and  anxious- 
 ly between  himself,  ver.  17-  20.  and  sin  dwelling  in  him, 
 is  not  to  be  understood  as  if  he  designed  to  alleviate  his  sin, 
 or  to  excuse  himself.  That  were  not  like  the  disposition  of 
 a  man,  who  was  making  such  sorrowful  confession  and  com- 
 plaint of  sin.  For  if  he  had  whereby  to  excuse  himself,  or 
 meant  so,  why  should  he  cry  out,  Wretched  man  that  I  am? 
 
268  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 But  though  he  was  far  from  designing  to  excuse  himself, 
 or  sin  in  him,  yet  having  such  sorrowful  sense  of  his  con- 
 dition by  sin,  he  much  needed,  as  the  true  state  of  the  case 
 gave  him  ground,  to  encourage  himself  by  observing,  that 
 the  better  principle  prevailed  in  him,  and  that  with  his  mind 
 he  himself  served  the  law  of  God. 
 
 2.  The  word  in  this  clause  to  be  next  considered  is,  the 
 mind,  for  which  the  Greek  word  is,  vug.  Now,  shall  we 
 say,  that  an  unregenerate  man  may  justly  demand  that  his 
 character  be  taken  from  his  mind  and  conscience,  and  from 
 the  office  which  it  performs  within,  so  that  it  should  be  said 
 that  this  is  he  himself,  and  that  the  apostle  is  so  to  be  un- 
 derstood in  this  place  ? 
 
 It  would  seem  that  Dr  Whitby  inclined  to  think  so.  For 
 on  the  words  of  ver.  17-  just  now  quoted,  he  says:  '  Here 
 e  the  apostle  seems  to  speak  according  to  the  philosophy  of 
 1  the  heathens,  with  which  the  Jews  began  to  be  acquaint- 
 <  ed,  that  a  man  was  not  to  be  denominated  from  his  body, 
 (  or  his  sensual  and  carnal  part,  but  from  his  mind,  his  vug, 
 1  or  XoyiKv  dixvoia,  which,  in  Philo's  phrase,  is  the  man 
 '  within  us — the  true  man,  the  man  properly  so  called/ 
 So  the  unregenerate  man  may  say,  in  the  apostle's  words, 
 that  with  his  vug,  his  mind,  which  is  himself,  (the  true 
 man,  the  man  properly  so  called)  he  serves  the  law  of  God. 
 This  is  what  the  Doctor  aims  at. 
 
 As  to  this,  if  human  nature  is  to  be  considered  in  the 
 most  general  view,  and  man  is  to  be  described  as  he  is  to  be 
 distinguished  from  the  other  animals  on  this  globe,  I  allow 
 that  he  is  to  be  denominated  from  his  soul  or  mind,  and 
 rational  faculty  and  conscience,  which  is  the  better  and  the 
 distinguishing  part  in  his  frame.  So  when  we  say,  that  man 
 is  a  reasonable  creature,  endowed  with  a  conscience,  that  is 
 denominating  him  from  his  soul  or  mind,  which  alone  is 
 capable  of  rationality  and  conscience. 
 
 But  all  this  is  nothing  to  the  present  purpose.  The  apos- 
 tle's view  doth  not  respect  the  general  frame,  or  constitution 
 of  man,  or  of  human  nature.  His  discourse  respects  moral 
 character,  and  the  different  case  of  a  person  regenerate,  and 
 under  grace,  and  of  a  person  unregenerate,  under  the  law, 
 with  regard  to  moral  character.  Though  I  denominate  man 
 in  general  from  the  reason  and  conscience  he  is  endowed 
 with,  shall  I  therefore  give  the  moral  character  of  an  ill 
 man,  of  one  who  has  abandoned  himself  to  work  wickedness 
 like  Ahab,  from  reason  and  conscience,  and  say  the  man  is 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  269 
 
 a  person  of  reason  and  conscience  ?  What  Dr  \V.  suggests 
 on  this  occasion  from  philosophy,  is  but  an  attempt  to  give 
 his  interpretation  a  colouring,  which,  if  duly  considered, 
 must  appear  fallacious,  yea  extremely  absurd. 
 
 The  writers  on  that  side  express  themselves  as  if  they 
 thought  that  in  every  man  all  was  right  on  the  part  of  the 
 >»$,  the  mind  or  reasoning  faculty,  whatever  pravity  may 
 have  affected  the  will,  affections,  and  body,  through  ac- 
 quired ill  habits,  or  otherwise.  In  interpreting  this  context, 
 they  do  not  advert,  that  in  this  fallen  state  the  human  mind 
 hath  come  under  great  weakness,  yea  blindness,  in  spiritual 
 matters,  and  in  the  things  of  God.  Besides  what  there  is  of 
 this  common  to  all  men  in  their  natural  condition,  the 
 Scripture  distinguishes  some  men  as  of  corrupt  minds  in  a 
 special  degree.  The  persons  spoken  of,  Tit.  i.  15.  had  their 
 mind  (0  vv$)  and  conscience  dejiled.  These  in  Rom.  i.  28. 
 were  given  up  (u$  a$oxi{uov  vav)  to  a  reprobate  mind.  Paul 
 says,  Eph.  ii.  3.  that,  in  an  unconverted  state,  we  all — were 
 fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  fiesh,  and  (tuv  ^ixvomv)  of  the  mind. 
 Chap.  iv.  17.  he  exhorts  the  Christians  not  to  walk,  as  other 
 Gentiles  do,  in  the  vanity  (t*  voog  ccvrwv)  of  their  mind.  He 
 speaks  of  a  man,  Col.  ii.  18.  vainly  puffed  up  by  (rx  voog  tt,$ 
 o-cc^kos  awns)  his  fieshly  mind.  He  mentions,  1  Tim.  vi.  5. 
 perverse  disputings  of  men  ($ti$$ci£[Aiv»v  rot  vug)  of  corrupt 
 minds,  and  so  likewise,  2  Tim.  iii.  8.  It  appears  then,  that 
 in  unregenerate  men,  even  the  vs$,  the  mind  itself  is  not  so 
 good  a  thing  as  some  imagine,  but  is  sadly  tainted  with  sin  ; 
 and  is  so  in  some  to  a  high  degree.  Such  men  as  Ahab, 
 who  have  sold  themselves  to  work  wickedness,  have  their 
 vug,  their  mind  as  corrupt  as  any  men ;  and  such  are  sup- 
 posed, by  the  interpreters  we  have  to  do  with,  to  be  here 
 personated  by  the  apostle.  Can  such  men  justly  say,  With 
 these  our  minds,  fleshly  minds,  corrupt  minds,  reprobate 
 minds  as  they  are,  we,  even  we  ourselves,  serve  the  law  of 
 God  ?  or,  when  such  a  one  sins,  can  he  say,  It  is  not  I,  for 
 I  am  to  be  denominated,  and  my  character  taken  from  my 
 vss,  mind,  my  Xoyix*)  dixvoict,  my  rational  understanding, 
 vain,  corrupt,  and  fleshly  as  that  is  ? 
 
 Let  us  now  consider  the  natural  course  of  things  in  the 
 human  soul  and  practice.  It  is  certain  that  a  man  doth  not 
 follow  any  sinful  course  farther  than  even  his  mind  and  un- 
 derstanding is  on  the  side  of  sin.  The  mind  or  understand- 
 ing is  on  the  side  of  duty  in  many  cases  in  theory ;  but 
 when  it  comes  to  the  actual  practice  of  sin,  it  is  certain  that 
 
 M 
 
270  A  Dissertation  concernijig 
 
 the  mind  doth  first  represent  it  as  good,  before  it  can  pro- 
 ceed to  practice.  The  mind  may  in  this  be  biassed  by  affec- 
 tions, senses,  lusts,  and  appetites.  But  from  whatever  source 
 the  bias  comes.,  so  it  is,  that  the  mind  doth  represent  evil 
 under  the  notion  of  good,  before  the  will  can  possibly  be  de- 
 termined to  it.  This  is  the  fixed  and  unalterable  order  of 
 things  in  rational  agents.  To  suppose  the  will  to  determine 
 itself  to  any  sort  of  action  or  course  without  this,  were  to 
 make  it  a  brutal  faculty,  not  the  faculty  of  a  rational  agent. 
 To  say  that  the  human  will  may,  by  a  sort  of  sovereign 
 liberty,  determine  itself  to  any  action  or  pursuit  deliberately, 
 without  the  mind  representing  it  as  good,  is,  in  order  to 
 ascribe  to  man  the  liberty  of  his  will,  to  degrade  him  from 
 the  rank  of  a  rational  agent.  It  is  certainly  impossible  in 
 nature,  that  such  an  agent  can  will  or  choose  any  thing, 
 good  or  evil  as  it  may  be  in  itself,  but  what  the  mind  repre- 
 sents as  good.  Be  it  so,  then,  that  the  mind,  understanding, 
 or  conscience,  hath  a  certain  light  and  urgency  on  the  side  of 
 holiness,  or  of  duty,  so  far  as  they  are  enlightened  in  an  un- 
 regenerate  man  ;  yet  this  light  and  urgency  is  faint  and 
 weak.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mind,  influenced  by  a  cor- 
 rupt heart,  represents  the  pleasures  of  sin  as  good,  and  this 
 it  performs  in  a  strong  light,  and  urges  powerfully ;  which, 
 being  agreeable  to  the  corrupt  disposition  of  the  heart,  pre- 
 vails against  the  weak  and  ineffectual  suggestion  of  mind 
 and  conscience,  in  favour  of  holiness  and  duty,  and  so  takes 
 effect  in  the  practice.  Thus,  even  the  v«$,  the  mind  itself, 
 comes  to  be  on  the  side  of  sin,  in  men  corrupt,  unsanctified, 
 and  unregenerate. 
 
 This  being  the  case,  from  which  part  is  the  unregenerate 
 man  to  be  denominated  ?  Is  it  from  the  faint  light  in  his 
 mind,  and  the  weak  ineffectual  urgency  of  his  conscience  in 
 favour  of  duty  ?  or  is  it  from  the  more  prevailing  bias  of 
 his  mind  itself,  of  his  will  and  affections  on  the  side  of  sin  ; 
 and  from  the  free  course  it  hath  in  his  practice?  How 
 much  soever  he  is,  in  the  several  faculties  of  his  soul  de- 
 termined on  the  side  of  sin,  in  opposition  to  true  holiness, 
 yet  as  any  degree  of  light  that  remains  in  his  mind  and  con- 
 science is  the  better  part  in  him;  is  he,  from  this,  even 
 when  he  goes  on  in  sin,  yea  is  under  the  dominion  of  it,  en- 
 titled to  denominate  himself,  as  to  moral  or  spiritual  charac- 
 ter, from  this  better  part ;  and  to  say,  of  all  the  evil  that  he 
 practises,  It  is  not  I  ? — This  is  absurd. 
 
 But  to  come  still  closer  to  the  subject,  let  us  endeavour 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI I.  14 — 25.  271 
 
 to  explain  what  is  here  meant  by  the  mind.  We  have  here, 
 ver.  25.  the  mind  and  the  flesh,  instead  of  the  law  of  his  mind, 
 and  the  law  in  his  members,  mentioned  ver.  23.  It  is  need- 
 less to  seek  a  reason  from  this  variation  in  the  expression. 
 If  there  had  been  a  repetition  in  this  ver.  25.  of  the  word 
 law  four  times  thus  :  I  with  the  law  of  my  mind  serve  the 
 law  of  God  ;  but  with  the  law  in  my  members  the  law  of 
 sin  ;  therp  might  be  some  disadvantage  in  sound  and  ele- 
 gance. One  word,  striking  the  ear  so  often  in  one  sentence, 
 might  be  unpleasing,  which  is  avoided  by  substituting  the 
 words,  his  mind,  and  the  flesh. 
 
 It  is  likely,  however,  that  by  his  mind  here  he  means  the 
 same  thing  as  the  law  of  his  mind,  ver.  23.  Let  us  then  in- 
 quire into  the  meaning  of  the  Ian)  of  his  mind.  We  may  be 
 helped  in  this  by  considering  what  is  meant  by  the  law  in 
 his  members,  which  he  states  in  opposition  to  it.  This  last 
 certainly  is  not  any  directing  light,  to  be  opposed  in  that 
 respect  to  the  light  of  his  mind  and  conscience.  In  general, 
 the  law  in  his  members  is  a  powerful,  energetic,  operative 
 principle.  We  must  then,  as  the  opposition  is  stated,  under- 
 stand the  law  of  his  mind,  not  merely  of  the  light  of  his 
 mind  and  conscience,  suggesting  to  a  man  the  law  and  rule 
 of  practice,  but  of  another  powerful,  energetic,  operative 
 principle.  So  that  here  we  have  one  active  principle  dispos- 
 ing and  determining  the  man's  heart  to  holiness ;  and  it  is 
 plain  that  this  is  here  represented  as  the  more  prevailing 
 and  ruling  principle  in  him.  There  is  another  active  prin- 
 ciple, the  law  in  his  members,  the  flesh,  exerting  itself  in 
 various  lusts,  carnal  affections,  unruly  and  unholy  passions  ; 
 and  by  these  warring  against  that  other  and  better  principle 
 of  life  and  action,  and  so  serving  the  law  of  sin. 
 
 It  will  tend  to  our  better  understanding  this  subject,  and 
 at  the  same  time  show  a  reason  of  the  expression,  the  law  of 
 my  mind,  to  observe  that  Scripture,  Heb.  viii.  10.  This  it 
 the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel  after 
 those  days,  saith  the  Lord :  1  will  put  my  laws  into  their 
 mind,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts.  This  is  not  merely 
 what  the  apostle  mentions,  when  he  speaks  of  the  natural 
 conscience  that  is  in  the  Gentiles,  Rom.  ii.  15.  The  work 
 of  the  law,  as  there  mentioned,  is  not  the  work  that  the  law 
 prescribes,  but  the  work  which  the  law  itself  in  the  con- 
 science performs  ;  representing  duty  and  sin,  excusing  or 
 accusing.  But  it  is  something  very  different  from  what  was 
 naturally  in  the  Gentiles,  and  something  more  excellent  and 
 
272  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 effectual,  that  is  meant  by  the  promise  of  the  new  covenant, 
 when  it  is  said,  Heb.  viii.  /  will  put  my  laws  into  their  minds, 
 and  write  them  in  their  hearts.  This  is  something  more 
 than  natural  conscience  can  arrive  to  in  any  man  :  it  is  a 
 writing  by  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  in  the  fleshly  tables 
 of  the  hearts.  It  is,  that  God  by  his  Spirit  puts  the  holiness 
 of  the  law,  or  puts  the  love  of  God,  (which  is  the  great  com- 
 mandment, and  the  sum  of  holiness)  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
 of  his  people ;  implants  in  them  a  new  and  efficacious  prin- 
 ciple of  spiritual  life,  effectually  producing  in  them  confor- 
 mity to  his  law,  and  securing  against  the  breaking  of  the  co- 
 venant, as  had  happened  with  respect  to  the  first  cove- 
 nant, before  mentioned.  So  that  this  promise  is  so  far 
 parallel  to  that  Jer.  xxxii.  40.  /  will  put  my  fear  in  their 
 hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depart  from  me. 
 
 From  what  hath  been  observed,  we  have  good  reason  to 
 think,  that  the  law  of  the  mind  here  is  the  principle  of  holi- 
 ness in  a  mind  and  heart  enlightened  and  sanctified  by  the 
 Holy  Spirit,  which  is  a  powerful,  operative,  and  prevailing 
 principle  in  every  regenerate  person. 
 
 3.  The  third  expression  in  this  second  clause  is,  serving 
 the  law  of  God.  This  can  import  no  less  than  a  true  con- 
 formity to  the  holiness  of  the  law  of  God,  with  submission 
 and  obedience  to  its  authority,  in  the  sincere  and  constant 
 purpose  of  the  heart,  and  in  habitual  endeavour ;  and  this 
 is  incompatible  with  the  character  and  state  of  an  unregenerate 
 person,  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  It  is,  however,  endea- 
 voured to  reconcile  this  serving  the  law  of  God,  with  the  con- 
 dition of  such  a  person.  Dr  Hammond  hath  it  thus  in  his 
 paraphrase  :  c  The  carnal  man — with  his  understanding  he 
 '  serves  the  law  of  God  ;  is  delighted  and  pleased  with  those 
 c  things  wherewith  that  is  delighted/  Dr  T.  thus  :  e  That 
 '  same  I,  the  same  person,  in  his  inward  man,  his  mind  and 
 '  rational  powers,  may  assent  to,  and  approve  the  law  of  God.* 
 Dr  W.'s  mind  we  have  seen  to  the  same  purpose.  Let  us 
 consider  these  things  a  little. 
 
 These  writers  suppose,  that  this  context  represents  the  case 
 of  a  person  enslaved  by  his  lusts,  habitually  led  captive  by 
 them,  and  quite  destitute  of  the  spirit.  Yea,  they  explain  and 
 exemplify  the  case  in  instances  of  the  grossest  sinners.  On 
 the  other  hand,  they  observe,  that  the  unregenerate  man  hath 
 naturally  a  rational  mind  and  conscience,  but  of  small  force 
 or  effect  in  practice.  The  light  in  his  rational  mind  so  far  as 
 it  is  enlightened,  shows  him  what  is  duty,  and  what  is  sin. 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  V1L  14 — 25.         273 
 
 Yea,  in  some  cases,  his  conscience  incites  him  with  great 
 urgency  to  do  his  duty ;  and  when  he  acts  in  the  contrary 
 way,  accuses  and  condemns  him.  But  with  regard  to  the 
 light  in  his  conscience,  the  person  under  the  dominion  of  sin 
 is  altogether  passive,  reluctant,  and  rebellious.  As  to  serv- 
 ing the  law  of  God,  the  conscience  doth  indeed  serve  it,  as  a 
 witness  for  its  authority  and  holiness  ;  and  God  serves  him- 
 self of  the  conscience,  for  the  interest  of  his  justice,  and  for 
 that  likewise  of  his  grace  and  holiness.  But  shall  we  say, 
 and  give  it  for  the  interpretation  of  this  place,  that  an  un- 
 regenerate  person,  because  he  has  reason  and  conscience  mark- 
 ing out  to  him  duty  and  sin,  may  be  said  to  serve  the  law  of 
 God  ;  when,  in  the  prevailing  disposition  of  his  heart,  and 
 his  whole  course  of  life  and  practice,  he  is  in  the  utmost 
 contrariety  to  it?  may  such  justly  say,  I  myself,  or  (if  you 
 please)  I  the  same  carnal  man  and  slave  of  sin,  do  serve  the 
 law  of  God  with  my  reason  and  conscience,  which,  with  my 
 will  and  affections,  I  do  resolvedly  disobey  and  counteract, 
 in  the  allowed  lustings  of  my  heart,  and  in  all  my  conversa- 
 tion and  practice?  Surely  such  an  interpretation  is  intoler-* 
 able,  and  an  insult  upon  common  sense. 
 
 The  great  hurt  which  these  writers  pretend  to  fear  from 
 the  interpretation  they  oppose  is,  that  wicked  and  unholy 
 persons  are  thereby  encouraged,  as  they  think,  to  consider 
 their  practice  as  not  inconsistent  with  being  truly  in  Christ, 
 and  in  a  state  of  grace.  But  by  this  time  it  may  be  pretty 
 clear  to  any  impartial  person,  that  the  interpretation  of  the 
 context  here  given,  affords  no  encouragement  to  men  in  un- 
 holy practice  ;  and  the  proper  consequence  and  improvement 
 of  it  is  to  be  hereafter  shown.  In  the  meantime  these  in- 
 terpreters, and  they  who  receive  their  notions,  would  do  well 
 to  consider,  if  their  own  interpretation  tendeth  not  greatly  to 
 encourage  men  in  an  ill  condition  and  course,  when  they 
 make  Paul  teach  persons  unregenerate,  wTicked,  and  unholy, 
 that  when  they  do  ill,  they  may  justly  and  warrantably  say, 
 according  to  the  style  of  this  scripture,  It  is  not  I,  but  sin  that 
 dwelleth  in  me  ;  for  with  the  mind  I  do  serve  the  law  of  God. 
 Is  it  possible  that  unholy  persons  can  apply  such  language  to 
 themselves,  without  conveying  thereby  alleviating  notions  of 
 their  wickedness,  and  favourable  notions  of  their  condition, 
 into  their  own  hearts,  already  wofully  deluded  by  their  lusts, 
 and  that  with  the  worst  consequences  to  them  ? 
 
 Dr  Taylor  (note  on  ver.  25.)  says,  '  Serving  the  law  of 
 '  God,  is  not  a  stronger  expression  than  hating  sin,  ver.  15. 
 
274  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 '  and  delighting  in  the  law  of  God,  ver.  22.  But  these  ex- 
 1  pressions  are  applied  to  the  Jew  in  the  flesh,  or  enslaved 
 1  with  sin  ;  consequently,  so  may  serving  the  law  of  God.' 
 
 Good  reason  hath  been  here  given,  why  we  should  reckon 
 it  very  absurd  to  apply  any  of  these  expressions  to  a  person 
 enslaved  to  sin.  But  it  is  not  only  the  Jew  in  the  flesh,  and 
 under  the  Mosaic  law,  to  whom  what  this  context  represents 
 is  applied  by  these  interpreters  :  recourse  is  had  to  heathen 
 fable  ;  and  Medea,  whom  the  poets  represent  as  a  monster 
 of  wickedness,  is  brought  on  the  stage,  to  have  her  part  in 
 this  farce  of  interpretation.  So  the  perfidious  cruel  witch 
 Medea  (if  she  had  been  the  apostle's  contemporary)  might  say 
 of  all  her  wickedness,  c  It  is  not  I,  bid  sin  that  divelleth  in 
 (  me.  Do  not  denominate  me,  or  take  my  character,  from  this 
 1  wickedness,  but  from  that  best  thing  that  is  in  me,  my 
 (  reason  and  conscience,  which  accuse  and  condemn  me  for  it; 
 '  for  I  myself,  or,  I  the  same  person,  who  so  grossly  counter- 
 '  act  my  reason  and  conscience,  in  all  my  practice ;  even  the 
 1  same  person  whom  the  apostle  Paul  has  so  notably  repre- 
 '  sented,  (though,  good  man,  he  writes  as  in  his  own  name 
 c  and  person,  to  mollify  the  harshness,  and  to  avoid  giving  of- 
 1  fence  to  my  delicate  ladyship,  and  to  such  as  I)  even  I,  the 
 '  same  person  do,  notwithstanding  all  my  ill  practice,  yet  with 
 1  my  mind  and  reason  serve  the  lawof  God.'  It  were  indeed 
 mollifying  with  a  witness  for  the  apostle  to  write  as  he  has 
 done,  with  such  meaning  and  intention.  Was  he  indeed  so 
 shy  of  giving  offence  even  to  the  Jews,  whom  he  had  it  so 
 much  at  heart  to  do  good  to  ?  See  Acts  xxviii.  25 — 27-  Rom. 
 xi.  8—10.  1  Thess.  ii.  15,  16. 
 
 Medea  is  introduced  in  this  interpretation  particularly  for 
 the  words  which  Ovid  (a  man  not  very  noted  for  sanctity 
 himself)  has  put  in  her  mouth  ;  by  which  several  interpre- 
 ters have  exemplified  the  expressions  of  our  context.  Dr 
 T.  brings  them  in  thus,  (note  on  ver.  15.)  e  A  heathen  poet 
 '  (saith  he)  gives  us  a  like  description  of  the  combat  between 
 *  reason  and  passion/ 
 
 Sed  trahit  invitam  nova  vis,  aliudque  cupido 
 Mens  aliud  suadet,  video  meliora  -pxohoque 
 Deteriora  sequor 
 
 He  gives  it  in  English  thus : 
 
 My  reason  this,  my  passion  that  persuades, 
 
 I  see  the  right,  and  I  approve  it  too, 
 
 Condemn  the  wrong  ; — and  yet  the  wrong  pursue. 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  27.5 
 
 By  the  interpretation  here  given,  our  context  represents 
 a  conflict  between  a  prevailing  principle  of  holiness,  under 
 the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  grace,  in  a  sanctified  heart,  with 
 so  much  of  the  flesh,  and  its  lustings  and  passions,  as  remains 
 in  it.  It  is  true,  at  the  same  time,  that,  in  the  unregene- 
 rate,  reason  and  conscience  oppose  sin  ;  and  especially  in  its 
 grosser  actings,  according  to  the  words  of  Ovid,  they  have 
 some  sort  of  conflict  with  it.  The  distinction  between  these 
 different  sorts  of  conflict  I  leave  to  the  practical  writers.  But 
 it  is  fit  to  say  something  here,  to  account  for  the  wTords  as- 
 cribed by  the  poet  to  Medea. 
 
 Notwithstanding  the  fearful  effect  of  the  fall  upon  human 
 nature,  mankind  have  ever  retained  some  notion  and  impres- 
 sion of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  that  he  ought  to  be  wor- 
 shipped. There  have  been  at  all  times  notions  of  social 
 virtues,  with  considerable  impression  and  effect  in  the  minds 
 of  men.  Every  man  in  particular  is  sensible  of  his  own  in- 
 terest in  these,  and  of  their  importance  in  society.  God,  the 
 great  patron  of  human  society,  hath,  in  great  mercy  to  the 
 world,  carefully  maintained  the  impression  of  these  in  the 
 minds  of  men,  even  in  those  whose  disposition  and  practice 
 are  very  remote  from  holiness.  Gross  acts  of  iniquity,  that 
 are  contrary  to  all  social  virtue,  excite  horror,  even  in  those 
 who  are  guilty  of  them.  Medea's  character  is  that  of  a  noted 
 sorceress.  She  betrayed  her  father,  and  her  country  ;  she 
 murdered  her  brother,  and  mangled  his  body  in  a  most  in- 
 human manner  ;  having  formed  an  extravagant  and  pas- 
 sionate love  to  Thesus,  she  bore  him  several  children  ;  and 
 when  she  followed  him  to  his  own  country,  being  there  dis- 
 appointed of  her  expectation  from  him,  she  murdered  the 
 children  she  had  by  him.  In  the  end,  being  a  witch,  she 
 raised  wind  and  tempest,  went  aloft,  and  made  her  way 
 through  the  air  to  a  remote  region.  So  the  poets  have  told 
 the  story  of  Medea.  Such  acts  of  perfidy,  cruelty,  impetu- 
 ous lust,  and  sorcery,  are  shocking  to  h umanity  itself.  She 
 is  made  to  speak  as  sensible  of  this  herself,  and  as  if  her 
 own  heart  recoiled  at  the  thought  of  them.  But  our  context 
 represents  one  wTho  viewed  the  spirituality  of  the  law  of  God, 
 as  it  prescribes  a  rule  to  the  motions  and  temper  of  the 
 heart  inwardly ;  one  wTho  bitterly  laments  the  motions  and 
 activity  of  sin  within  him,  without  mentioning  any  gross 
 acts  of  sin  outwardly.  All  that  is  here  said,  can  be  ac- 
 counted for  without  supposing  any  thing  of  that  sort.  To 
 interpret  this  context  by  such  instances  as  Medea,  and  by 
 
276  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 the  account  given  of  her  in  the  lines  inserted  above,  is  utter- 
 ly unwarrantable. 
 
 So  then,  in  the  second  clause  of  this  ver.  25.  we  have  these 
 three  things  : — 1.  The  man  here  represented  is  to  be  deno- 
 minated, and  his  character  taken  from  the  better,  as  it  is  the 
 most  prevailing  principle.  Reason  and  conscience  are  not 
 the  prevailing  principles  in  an  unregenerate,  unholy  person. 
 But,  as  in  the  man  here,  the  better  principle  prevails,  it  is 
 he  himself.  2.  There  is  not  only  reason  and  conscience  re- 
 quiring him  to  serve  the  law  of  God  ;  but  he  doth  actually 
 serve  it :  so  the  text  expressly  says.  3.  This  he  doth  by  a 
 new  principle,  his  sanctified  mind  ;  the  law  of  his  mind  ; 
 even  the  law  of  God  put  in  his  mind  and  heart  by  the  grace 
 of  the  new  covenant,  a  law  or  principle  opposing,  in  a  pre- 
 vailing manner,  the  law  in  his  members.  Thus  in  the  con- 
 clusion, in  this  last  verse,  of  the  representation  given  in  this 
 context,  we  have  three  things  very  decisive  concerning  its 
 general  scope,  that  it  is  the  case  of  a  regenerate  person, 
 under  grace,  that  is  exhibited  in  it. 
 
 There  remains  the  last  clause  of  this  text,  But  with  the 
 fiesh  the  law  of  sin.  The  words,  /  serve,  which  are  in  the 
 preceding,  are  to  be  understood  to  be  in  the  sense  of  this 
 clause,  though  not  repeated  in  it,  thus  :  With  the  flesh  I 
 serve  the  law  of  sin.  For  the  Apostle  doth  not  mean  to  say, 
 that  what  of  sin  came  from  the  flesh  was  not  his  sin,  or  done 
 by  him,  having  said,  ver.  15.  What  I  hate,  that  I  do,  and 
 ver.  19-  The  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  Yet  it  is 
 evident,  by  the  way  this  last  clause  is  introduced  and  con- 
 nected, that  the  flesh  was  not  the  dominant  or  reigning  prin- 
 ciple in  him.  Dr  T.  will  have  it  understood  that  it  was. 
 For  in  the  last  paragraph  of  his  note  on  this  verse,  he  says ; 
 '  Serving  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin  cannot  well  be  ap- 
 *  plied  to  a  true  Christian,  or  such  an  one  as  Paul  was.'  To 
 confirm  this,  he  uses  the  words  of  chap.  viii.  1,  2.  When 
 we  come  to  consider  these  verses,  it  will  appear  very  evi- 
 dently, that  they  do  not  by  any  means  suit  the  purpose  for 
 which  he  refers  to  them.  He  adds  there:  €  Serving  and 
 '  delighting  in  the  law  are  properly  enough  used  in  the  case 
 '  of  a  wicked  Jew.     For  how  little  soever  his  life  was  con- 
 
 <  formed  to  the  law  of  God,  he  would  notwithstanding  glory 
 6  in  it,  and  profess  a  high  esteem  for  it,  chap.  ii.  1 7 — 24. 
 
 <  See  also  Is.  lviii.  1,  2/  Of  this  last  text  enough  hath 
 been  said  before.  The  wicked  Jew  might  profess  an  esteem 
 for  the  law,  without  loving  it ;  and  he  might  glory  in  it,  as 
 
 . 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25. 
 
 the  peculiar  privilege  of  his  nation,  and  in  his  own  knowledge 
 of  it,  without  delighting  in  it,  or  in  the  holiness  it  represents 
 and  requires.  Serving  and  delighting  in  the  law  cannot  be 
 ascribed  to  a  wicked  Jew,  or  to  any  other  wicked  man,  but 
 with  the  utmost  impropriety,  yea  glaring  absurdity. 
 
 That  writer  paraphrases  the  two  latter  clauses  thus  :  '  To 
 f  conclude  ;  the  sum  of  what  I  have  advanced  concerning 
 '  the  power  of  sin  in  the  sensual  man,  is  this;  namely,  that 
 '  the  same  I,  the  same  person,  in  his  inward  man,  his  mind, 
 e  and  rational  powers,  may  assent  to,  and  approve  the  law 
 1  of  God,  and  yet  notwithstanding,  by  his  fleshly  appetites, 
 '  may  be  brought  under  servitude  to  sin.'  But  how  came 
 he  to  express  serving  sin  by  being  brought  under  servitude 
 to  sin  ?  That  with  the  flesh  he  served  sin  may  be  accounted 
 for  by  single  instances  and  acts  in  the  full  sense  of  the  ex- 
 pression, but  to  be  brought  under  servitude  to  sin  denotes 
 a  man's  state, — to  be  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  its  servant 
 or  slave.  For  example  :  if  a  sincere  Christian  shall,  from 
 the  influence  of  the  flesh,  be  angry  with  his  brother  without 
 a  cause,  and  through  the  impetuosity  of  his  passion  shall  call 
 him  Raca,  or,  Thou  fool,  he,  in  that  instance,  doth  serve  the 
 law  of  sin  ;  yet  it  would  be  unjust  and  absurd  to  say,  he  is 
 under  servitude  to  sin.  This  author,  however,  seems  to  have 
 understood  by  the  flesh  here  only  sensuality  and  fleshly  ap- 
 petites, as  in  his  paraphrase.  To  what  then  shall  we  ascribe 
 causeless  anger,  and  one's  calling  his  brother  Raca,  if  it  come 
 not  under  the  general  denomination  of  the  flesh  ? 
 
 But  how  came  he  for,  serving  the  law  of  sin,  in  the  last 
 clause,  where  serving  is  not  expressed,  to  give,  brought  un- 
 der servitude  to  sin  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  former 
 clause,  where  it  is  expressed,  to  render  it  by  no  more  than 
 assenting  to,  and  approving  in  his  rational  powers,  the  law 
 of  God,  which  might  be  without  serving  it  at  all  ?  When 
 the  Apostle  says,  With  my  mind  I  serve  the  law  of  God,  sure- 
 ly there  is  good  reason  to  conclude,  that  the  man,  being  made 
 free  from  sin,  (from  its  dominion)  was  the  servant  of  right- 
 eousness, the  servant  of  God,  (  as  chap.  vi.  18.  22.)  rather 
 than  to  say,  he  was  under  servitude  to  sin  ;  even  though  the 
 flesh  in  him  prevailed,  in  too  many  instances,  to  serve  the 
 law  of  sin. 
 
 Mr  John  Alexander,  who  understands  this  context  of  an 
 unregenerate  man,  yet  differs  from  all  that  I  know  of,  in  the 
 interpretation  of  this  verse.  As  to  serving  the  law  of  God, 
 he  says,  it  is  more  than  to  assent  to  the  law  that  it  is  good, 
 
 m  5 
 
278  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 — yea,  it  can  be  said  of  none  but  the  true  Christian  and 
 servant  of  God  ;  of  whom,  according  to  him,  it  cannot  be 
 said,  that  with  the  flesh  he  serves  the  law  of  sin  ;  which 
 could  not,  he  thought,  agree  with  what  our  Saviour  says,-— 
 no  man  can  serve  two  masters.  (  It  must/  he  says,  (  be  pre- 
 *  dicated  of  the  same  person  at  different  times  of  his  life.' 
 Yet  it  is  plain,  the  man  here  speaking  represents  his  own 
 case  in  both  clauses,  as  it  was  at  the  present  time  ;  nor  can 
 he  be  otherwise  understood,  without  taking  a  liberty  in  in- 
 terpretation that  were  quite  intolerable.  However,  the  writer 
 speaks  very  strongly  thus  :  f  Surely  he  (the  Apostle)  could 
 1  not  intend  to  speak  of  a  monster  which  never  existed  in 
 '  nature,  equally  governed  by  two  opposite  principles,  which 
 '  are  directly  subversive  of  each  other/  I  shall  not  say  that 
 true  believers  are  monsters,  but  certainly  they  possess  a  very 
 peculiar  character  in  their  present  state.  Angels  are  all  ho- 
 liness, without  any  sin ;  devils  are  all  sin,  without  any  holi- 
 ness. Unregenerate  men  are  wholly  under  the  dominion  of 
 sin,  its  servants  or  slaves, — quite  free  from  righteousness  ; 
 whereas  the  true  believer  is  holy  by  his  general  character, 
 and  prevailing  disposition  ;  yet,  having  the  flesh  in  him,  he 
 thereby  serves  the  law  of  sin.  But  the  monstruosity  will 
 evanish,  and  the  difficulty  disappear,  if  you  throw  out  of 
 Mr  Alexander's  sentence  the  word  equally,  which  the 
 apostle's  language  gave  him  no  warrant  to  put  in  it.  It  is 
 very  clear  in  the  expression  of  this  ver.  25.  that  he  did  not 
 say  or  mean  that  he  was  equally  governed  by  two  opposite 
 principles. 
 
 A  little  afterward,  Mr  Alexander  says :  c  Teaching  us  that 
 1  the  mind  or  understanding  must  lead  and  predominate 
 ( in  the  servant  of  God,  as  the  flesh  does  in  the  servant  of 
 (  sin,  he  shows  us  how  the  mind  being  restored  to  its  do- 
 '  minion  over  the  man  by  the  gospel,  and  the  flesh  at  the 
 1  same  time  subdued  or  crucified,  the  law  of  God  comes  to 
 '  be  kept.'  But  did  this  writer  think,  that  in  the  servant 
 of  God  the  flesh  is  so  subdued  or  crucified,  that  it  hath  no 
 motion  or  activity  at  all  ?  If  so,  where  shall  we  find  a  ser- 
 vant of  God  in  this  world  ?  If  not,  then  the  flesh,  though 
 crucified,  yet  having  life  and  motion,  exerts  itself,  for  instance, 
 in  a  fit  of  sinful  anger,  and  thereby  serves  the  law  of  sin. 
 Doth  the  man,  for  this,  cease  all  at  once  to  be  the  servant  of 
 God  ?   But  there  is  enough  of  this  conceit  of  Mr  Alexander's. 
 
 We  must  not,  however,  leave  this  verse  and  chapter,  with- 
 out observing  how  Dr  Taylor  connects  this  last  verse  of  it 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI L  14 — 25.  279 
 
 in  his  paraphrase,  with  the  preceding  and  following  ones. 
 He  paraphrases  ver.  24.  with  the  following  one,  thus :  '  And 
 1  now,  what  shall  a  sinner  do  in  this  miserable  situation  ?  He 
 1  is  under  the  power  of  such  passions  and  habits  as  the  law 
 4  declares  to  be  sinful,  and  which  even  his  own  reason  dift- 
 1  approves,  but  is  too  weak  to  conquer  ;  and  being  a  Jew 
 '  under  the  law,  he  stands  condemned  to  death  for  his 
 '  wicked  compliances  with  them.  How  shall  such  a  wretch- 
 1  ed,  enslaved,  condemned  Jew  be  delivered  from  the  do- 
 '  minion  of  sinful  lusts,  and  the  curse  of  the  law,  which 
 '  subjects  him  to  death  ?'  Then,  after  giving  ver.  25.  as  we 
 have  seen,  he  adds,  '  Thus  under  the  weak  and  lifeless  dis- 
 c  pensation  of  the  law,  the  sinner  remains  in  a  deplorable 
 1  state,  without  help  or  hope,  and  sentenced  to  death.  But 
 1  now,  (chap.  viii.  1.)  under  the  gospel  the  most  encourag- 
 '  ing  hopes  smile  upon  us,  and  we  have  the  highest  assur- 
 '  ance,  that  those  are  quite  discharged  from  the  penalty  of 
 '  the  law,  and  disengaged  from  the  servitude  of  sin,  who 
 1  embrace  the  faith  of  the  gospel ;  if  so  be — '  &c. 
 
 By  the  first  of  these  passages,  the  sinner  is  miserable  by 
 the  power  of  sinful  passions  and  habits.  There  is  some 
 further  unhappiness  in  the  case  of  the  Jew  ;  being  a  Jew, 
 under  the  law,  he  stands  condemned  to  death.  According 
 to  this  writer,  a  heathen,  however  wicked,  was  not  obnoxious 
 to  death,  as  not  being  under  a  law  that  allotted  death  for  sin, 
 but  the  Jew,  and  he  only,  was  under  such  a  law  ;  so  he 
 stood  condemned  to  death  for  transgression.  But  we  have 
 had  enough  of  this  absurd  notion  before. 
 
 It  appears  that,  according  to  this  author,  the  Jews  were 
 in  a  most  wretched  condition  during  the  Mosaic  dispensation, 
 being  enslaved,  and  condemned,  without  help  or  hope  from 
 the  weak  and  lifeless  dispensation  of  the  law  they  were  under. 
 Yet  there  were  many  thousands  of  pious  persons  in  these 
 times;  who  were  not  under  condemnation,  nor  enslaved  to 
 sin.  As  to  the  dispensation  they  were  under,  it  was  not  a 
 weak  and  lifeless  dispensation  of  mere  law.  God  never 
 brought  his  people  under  such  a  dispensation,  since  grace 
 was  first  manifested,  Gen.  iii.  15.  nor  were  such  a  dispensa- 
 tion consistent  with  God's  having  a  people  at  all.  Sinners 
 of  the  Jews,  who  were  the  slaves  of  sin,  might  come  out  of 
 that  state  by  a  proper  improvement  of  the  grace  that  was  set 
 before  them  under  that  dispensation,  as  others  had  done. 
 Dr  T.  could  not  deny  this. 
 
 The  Jews,  who  were  in  the  worst  condition,  were  such  as 
 
280  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 delusively  turned  the  dispensation  they  were  under  to  a  dis- 
 pensation of  mere  law  to  themselves,  by  neglecting  and  re- 
 jecting grace,  and  founding  all  their  confidence  on  the  law, 
 and  works  thereof.  Of  these  the  apostle  says,  Gal.  iii.  10. 
 As  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the  curse* 
 They  at  the  same  time  persecuted  outrageously  the  teachers 
 and  professors  of  the  gospel,  rejecting  and  opposing  it  with 
 great  zeal  and  fury.  Let  us  observe  how  Dr  T.  gives  his 
 thoughts  concerning  these  in  other  places  of  his  book.  When 
 we  state  these  thoughts  of  his  in  contrast  with  what  he  says  of 
 them  in  his  paraphrase  and  notes  on  the  texts  wTe  have  been 
 last  considering,  we  shall  see  some  things  that  are  not  quite 
 consistent.  But  before  we  observe  his  opinion  of  the  infidel 
 Jews,  let  us  make  our  way  to  it,  by  taking  some  notice  of  his 
 opinion  concerning  the  heathens. 
 
 In  the  title  and  contents  of  chap.  xiii.  of  his  Key,  are  these 
 words  concerning  the  heathens  :  '  Virtuous  heathens  shall 
 '  be  eternally  saved/  He  labours  this  point  much.  In 
 that  chapter,  sect.  289-  he  says  :  '  This  noble  scheme  (that  of 
 c  the  gospel)  was  not  intended  to  exclude  any  part  of  the 
 c  world,  to  whom  it  should  not  be  revealed,  from  the  present 
 (  favour  of  God  or  future  salvation.'  And  a  little  below  : 
 '  There  might  be  some  virtuous  persons  among  them/  And 
 downwards:  c  In  that  solemn  day  (the  day  of  judgment) 
 (  the  virtuous  heathen  will  not  be  rejected  because  he  did 
 e  not  belong  to  the  visible  kingdom  of  God  in  this  world, 
 '  but  will  then  be  readily  accepted  and  received  into  the 
 c  kingdom  of  glory.' 
 
 For  a  further  discovery  of  this  author's  opinion  on  this 
 subject,  let  us  observe  how  he  expresses  himself  concerning 
 the  necessity  of  revelation.  In  his  note  on  chap.  ii.  1 5.  he 
 hath  this  proposition :  c  There  is  a  law  of  nature  which  is 
 '  of  true  guide,  and  sufficient  to  bring  a  man  who  has  no 
 f  other  light,  to  eternal  happiness.  Objection  : — But  if  the 
 c  law  of  nature  be  so  sufficient,  what  occasion  for  the  gospel  ? 
 '  Answer.  Reflect  upon  chap.  i.  17-  to  the  end.  No  law,  or 
 '  light,  how  sufficient  soever  of  itself,  to  save  mankind,  when 
 '  duly  attended  to,  is  sufficient  to  reform  them,  when  they 
 (  generally  neglect  and  pervert  it ;  because  that  very  thing 
 '  that  should  reform  them,  is  neglected  and  perverted.'  All 
 this  might  be  said  concerning  the  gospel,  and  says  no  more 
 for  the  necessity  of  the  revelation  that  hath  been  given  than 
 it  doth  for  the  necessity  of  a  new  revelation  besides  the 
 gospel.     He  adds  another  objection  and  answer.     c  Object. 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  281 
 
 •  But  if  we  live  according  to  the  light  of  nature,  we  shall  be 
 4  saved,  though  we  pay  no  regard  to  revelation.  Ans.  To 
 1  despise  or  disregard  any  discoveries  of  God's  will  and 
 '  goodness,  to  neglect  any  scheme  he  has  formed  to  promote 
 '  virtue  and  happiness,  especially  such  a  glorious  and  noble 
 t  scheme,  is  foolish,  wTicked,  and  a  capital  transgression  of 
 
 •  the  law  of  nature/  So  the  gospel  is  a  valuable  discovery 
 of  God's  will  and  goodness,  and  is  a  glorious  and  noble  scheme 
 for  promoting  virtue  and  happiness  :  but,  according  to  this 
 writer,  men  might  be  virtuous,  so  as  to  reach  happiness,  and 
 the  kingdom  of  glory,  though  they  had  never  heard  of  it  ; 
 yea,  if  such  revelation  had  never  been  made,  I  knowT  that 
 several,  who  have  shown  much  ability  in  defending  the  ge- 
 neral truth  of  the  Christian  revelation,  have  been  of  the  same 
 mind  with  this  writer  on  this  subject ;  and  I  cannot  help 
 thinking  that,  on  this  account,  their  writings  against  the  in- 
 fidels are  essentially  defective.  They  have  entertained  no- 
 tions and  principles  that  have  disabled  them  from  making  a 
 thorough  confutation  of  Deism  ;  and  that  they  have  too  great 
 tendency  to  make  the  infidel  easy  in  his  mind,  in  rejecting 
 the  gospel. 
 
 Let  us  now  observe  this  author's  notions  concerning  the 
 infidel  Jews ;  and  certainly  we  may  expect  he  would  not  think 
 their  case,  if  they  were  virtuous,  who  had  the  divine  law  by 
 a  clear  revelation,  worse  than  that  of  virtuous  heatheii3. 
 Heathens  might  be,  he  says,  virtuous  and  finally  happy,  which 
 they  could  not  be,  without  obtaining  pardon,  and  being  made 
 free  from  the  slavery  and  dominion  of  sin.  Surely  the  Jew 
 under  the  law  was  not  in  worse  condition  as  to  this.  Con- 
 cerning these  Jews,  who  seem  to  have  been  in  the  worst  case 
 that  ever  Jews  were  in,  Dr  T.'s  opinion  was  what  I  come  now 
 to  show.  In  his  fourth  note  on  Rom.  v.  20.  he  puts  this 
 question :  c  But  suppose  the  Jew  through  mere  mistake  should 
 i  verily  believe  that  he  ought  to  continue  under  the  law  of 
 •'  Moses,  doth  it  follow,  that  he  was  therefore  to  remain  un- 
 '  der  condemnation  for  ever  ?'  I  would  not  indeed  have  ex- 
 pected that  any  Christian,  who  would  be  at  the  pains  but  of 
 a  little  thinking,  would  ever  put  such  a  question;  as  it  is  cer- 
 tain that  many  Jews,  (thousands,  Acts  xxL  20.)  who  were 
 true  believers,  and  holy  persons,  did,  for  some  time  after  their 
 conversion  by  the  gospel,  verily  believe  in  the  manner  the 
 question  supposes.  Though  probably  many  of  them  died  in 
 that  persuasion,  yet  I  scarce  think  that  ever  Christian  ima- 
 gined they  would  for  this  continue  under  condemnation  for 
 
282  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 ever.  But  the  author  inclined  not  to  disturb  or  shock  his 
 reader  all  at  once,  by  putting  the  question  in  the  full  form 
 that  he  meant.  It  is  plain  he  meant  Jews,  who  to  believing 
 the  perpetuity  of  the  Mosaic  law,  joined  the  rejection  of 
 Christ  and  the  gospel  ;  as  wre  shall  see  presently. 
 
 He-answers  the  question  thus :  (  No,  surely  ;  no  more  than 
 1  it  follows,  that  any  other  man  shall  remain  under  con- 
 '  demnation  for  any  mere  mistake  of  judgment  in  religious 
 '  affairs.  Such  a  Jew  must  be  in  the  same  state  with  any 
 '  other  honest  man,  who  is  in  a  simple  error/  What  he 
 means  by  mere  mistake  of  judgment,  and  being  in  a  simple 
 error,  I  shall  not  determine.  But  if  be  meant  (and  I  see  not 
 what  else  he  could  mean)  mistakes  and  errors  that  are  not 
 connected  with  any  thing  very  ill  in  the  disposition  and  prac- 
 tice of  men ;  as  it  is  not  reasonable  to  think  that  errors  can 
 be  such,  that  amount  to  a  denial  of  the  important  and  essen- 
 tial truth  of  faith,  so  it  is  evident  that  the  error  of  the  Jew 
 was  connected  with  what  was  very  ill  in  his  disposition  and 
 practice.  He  proceeds  in  the  same  place  thus :  '  Notwith- 
 €  standing,  it  was  the  apostle's  duty  to  set  him  right;  be- 
 '  cause  such  a  mistake  was  very  prejudicial,  not  only  as  it  led 
 ■  him  to  place  his  dependance  and  hope  upon  the  law,  a 
 '  weak  and  ineffectual  principle.' — (This  indeed  was  ex- 
 tremely prejudicial,  if  we  consider  the  matter  as  the  apostle 
 doth,  Rom.  ix.  31 — 33.  and  chap.  x.  3,  4.)  He  goes  on 
 thus  :  *  Not  only  as  it  hindered  him  from  seeing  and  im- 
 '  proving  the  gracious  provision  God  had  made  for  puri- 
 1  fying  his  heart,  perfecting  his  joy  and  comfort,  and  pre- 
 
 *  paring  him  for  happiness' —  (But  might  not  a  virtuous 
 person,  even  a  heathen,  have  his  heart  purified,  and  he  be 
 prepared  for  happiness,  though  he  had  never  known  or  heard 
 of  the  gracious  provision  God  had  made  for  these  purposes  ? 
 He  might,  according  to  this  author;  who  thus  proceeds,) 
 
 *  But  also  as  it  engaged  him  to  oppose  the  preaching  and  re- 
 1  ception  of  the  gospel,  the  only  scheme  of  life,  peace,  and 
 '  salvation,  and  to  despise  the  very  grace  which  must  pardon 
 
 *  his  mistakes  and  errors,  if  ever  he  was  pardoned  and  saved.' 
 Concerning  Paul,  this  writer  says,  (Key,  sect.  302.)  e  Being 
 1  fully  persuaded,  that  the  Jewish  dispensation  was  instituted 
 1  by  God,  never  to  be  altered,  but  to  abide  for  ever,  he  really 
 1  believed  that  Jesus  and  his  followers  were  deceivers ;  and 
 '  that  it  was  his  duty  to  oppose  them,  and  to  stand  up  cou- 
 '  rageously  for  God  and  his  truth.  Thus  he  honestly  followed 
 '  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience.' 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  283 
 
 We  have  now  Dr  TVs  notions  concerning  the  subject,  for 
 which  these  passages  were  here  transcribed  pretty  fully  ; 
 and  we  see  that  according  to  him,  1.  The  salvation  and  fu- 
 ture happiness  of  the  virtuous  heathen  is  not  to  be  doubted 
 of;  and  if  so,  why  should  there  be  any  doubt  of  the  salva- 
 tion of  an  honest  and  virtuous  Jew  ?  For  what  virtuous 
 heathen  was  ever  heard  of,  of  whom  there  is  a  higher  cha- 
 racter for  virtue,  and  better  supported,  than  that  which  is 
 given  of  the  Jews,  Rom.  x.  2.  that  they  had  a  zeal  of  God ; 
 and,  chap.  ix.  31.  that  they  followed  after  the  law  of  right- 
 eousness ?  2.  That  the  Jew's  error  concerning  the  perpetuity 
 of  the  Mosaic  law  was  a  mere  mistake  of  judgment,  and  a 
 simple  error,  such  as  would  not  hinder  the  salvation  of  any 
 honest  man.  Yea,  3.  It  is  to  be  considered  as  such  a  sim- 
 ple error  and  mere  mistake  of  judgment,  even  as  connected 
 with  the  consequences  above  mentioned,  of  trusting  to  the 
 law,  of  rejecting  and  persecuting  the  gospel  in  a  furious  man- 
 ner ;  as  for  these  consequences,  he  says,  that  such  a  mistake 
 was  very  prejudicial.  Now,  if  the  JewT's  mistake  respecting 
 the  law,  and  respecting  Jesus  Christ,  really  believing  him 
 and  his  followers  to  be  deceivers,  wras  consistent  with  honesty 
 and  sincerity,  it  were  hard  to  say,  that  acting  consequen- 
 tially would  not  be  consistent  with  honesty.  Accordingly, 
 the  author  says,  that  Paul  in  opposing  the  gospel  acted  ho- 
 nestly, according  to  his  conscience ;  though  Paul  himself 
 says,  that  in  doing  so,  he  was  the  persecutor,  blasphemer, 
 injurious,  and  the  chief  of  sinners.  But  though  Dr  T.  con- 
 sidered the  error  of  the  Jew  as  a  mere  mistake  of  judgment 
 and  simple  error,  consistent  with  one's  being  an  honest  man, 
 yet  Christians,  who  will  consider  the  matter  in  the  light  in 
 which  the  Scripture  presents  it,  cannot  but  be  convinced, 
 that  there  was  great  and  wilful  blindness,  hardness  of  heart, 
 perverseness,  and  insincerity,  in  the  error  of  the  Jews  con- 
 cerning Christ  and  the  gospel ;  considering  the  evidence, 
 and  powerful  demonstration  with  which  it  was  proposed  and 
 supported  ;  and  that  by  this,  and  their  conduct  in  conse- 
 quence of  their  inexcusable  error,  they  brought  on  them- 
 selves great  guilt,  and  fearful  wrath. 
 
 This  author  indeed  says,  as  we  have  seen  above,  that  the 
 error  of  the  Jew  was  very  prejudicial,  as  it  led  him,  among 
 other  things,  to  oppose  the  gospel,  the  only  scheme  of  peace, 
 life,  and  salvation,  and  to  despise  the  very  grace  which  must 
 pardon  his  mistakes  and  errors,  if  ever  he  was  pardoned. 
 But  though  the  error  of  the  Jew  was  in  these  respects  very 
 
2  84  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 prejudicial,  it  does  not  follow,  that,  according  to  the  notions 
 of  this  writer,  it,  and  the  Jew's  consequential  honest  con- 
 duct, did  hinder  the  Jew's  being  at  present  accepted  of  God, 
 or  hinder  his  future  salvation  and  happiness.  For  if  the 
 virtuous  heathen  was  to  be  saved,  without  knowing  Christ 
 or  the  gospel,  why  should  it  not  be  thought,  that  the  vir- 
 tuous Jew,  acting  from  a  zeal  of  God,  in  opposing  and  des- 
 pising the  scheme  of  grace,  might  not  be  saved  ;  as  all  this 
 on  his  part  proceeded  from  a  mere  mistake  of  judgment, 
 that  put  him  in  no  worse  condition,  as  our  author  says,  than 
 any  other  honest  man  ?  This,  however,  is  not  a  proper  place 
 fbr  enlarging  on  these  subjects.  We  have  seen  that,  ac- 
 cording to  Dr  T.  the  infidel  Jew,  even  continuing  such,  was 
 far  from  being  in  a  hopeless  condition. 
 
 Upon  the  other  hand,  if  we  look  into  the  same  author's 
 paraphrase  of  Rom.  vii.  25.  there,  according  to  him,  the  per- 
 son represented  is  the  enslaved  Jew,   under  the  dominion  of 
 sinful  lusts,  and  the  curse  of  the  law;   under  the  weak  and 
 lifeless  dispensation  of  the  law  he  remains  in  a  deplorable 
 condition,  without  help  or  hope,  enslaved  to  sin,  and  sen- 
 tenced to  death. — This  is  his  account  of  the  Jews  in  general 
 in  this  place.     The  author  says  there  indeed,  c  He  is  de- 
 6  livered,  and  obtains  salvation  by  the  grace  or  favour  of 
 1  God,  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ/     How  shall   we  under- 
 stand this,  but  as  he  explains  in  the  paraphrase  of  the  next 
 following  verse,  (chap.  viii.  1.)  '  Now  under  the  gospel  the 
 6  most  encouraging  hopes  smile  upon  us,  and  we  have  the 
 1  highest  assurance  that  those  are  quite  discharged  from  the 
 '  penalty  of  the  law,  and  disengaged  from  the  servitude  of 
 1  sin,  who  embrace  the  faith   of  the  gospel/     But  accord- 
 ing to  this,  whatever  effect  the  encouraging  hope  of  the  gos- 
 pel may  have  in  favour  of  them  who  embrace  it,  it  can  have 
 no  good  effect  for  them  who  reject  and  oppose  it ;  and  how- 
 ever they  who  truly  embrace  the   faith  of  the  gospel  may 
 be  thereby  discharged  from  the  penalty  of  the  law,  and  the 
 servitude  of  sin,  yet  these  expressions  imply,  that  the  Jew 
 who  embraces  it  not,  continues  under  the  condemnation  of 
 the  law,  and  servitude  of  sin,  still  in  a  deplorable  condition. 
 Any  who  can  reconcile   Dr  T/s  notions  concerning  the 
 unbelieving  Jew,  in  his  notes  on  Rom.  v.  20.  and  in  his  Key 
 to  the  apostolic  writings,  with  what  we  have  seen  in  his  para- 
 phrase of  Rom.  vii.  25.  may  do  it,  I  cannot.    But  in  making 
 the  paraphrase,  the  writer  minded  carefully  his  general  no- 
 tion, that  the  context  represents  especially  the  case  of  the 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VI L  14—25.  285 
 
 Jew  under  the  law,  the  slave  of  sin  :  he  did  not  mind  the 
 sentiments  he  had  elsewhere  expressed  concerning  such  a 
 Jew. 
 
 The  true  meaning  of  this  text,  chap.  vii.  25.  has  been 
 made  sufficiently  clear,  and  I  now  proceed  to 
 
 Sect.  VII Containing  answers  to  the  objections  brought 
 
 against  the  foregoing  interpretation. 
 
 Clear  and  full  evidence  hath  been  brought,  proving  that 
 in  this  context  the  apostle  represents  his  own  case  and  ex- 
 perience, in  the  state  wherein  he  was  when  he  wrote  it  ; 
 which  was  a  state  of  grace. 
 
 As  to  those  who  hold  that  the  apostle  personates  a  man 
 unregenerate,  the  slave  of  sin,  their  strongest  argument 
 consists  chiefly  in  two  things:  1.  In  this,  that  they  under- 
 stand the  apostle's  language  here  of  bitter  complaint  con- 
 cerning sin,  in  the  fullest  and  most  extended  meaning  of  the 
 words;  as  if  those  were  used  concerning  the  man  in  the  cool 
 historical  way.  2.  In  this,  that  in  interpreting,  they  ascribe 
 to  the  understanding,  conscience,  or  reason,  what  can  by  no 
 means  be  ascribed  to  that  faculty.  Their  unreasonableness 
 in  both  hath  been  shown.  I  go  now  to  consider  arguments 
 of  another  sort,  that  are  used  by  way  of  objection  against  the 
 interpretation  itself  in  general. 
 
 Dr  Hammond,  on  Rom.  vii.  note  (J),  brings  what  is  con- 
 tained ver.  8,  9.  to  prove,  that  in  this  chapter  the  apostle 
 doth  not  represent  his  own  case  in  his  regenerate  state.  But 
 as  the  question  only  concerns  the  latter  context,  where  he 
 alters  his  style,  and  speaks  of  himself  in  the  present  tense, 
 from  ver.  14.  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  the  learned  writer's 
 arguments,  so  far  as  he  founds  on  any  thing  preceding  that 
 verse,  are  quite  wide  of  the  purpose. 
 
 The  writers  on  that  side  would  have  it  thought,  that 
 Augustine  was  the  first  who  interpreted  this  context,  as  hath 
 been  done  here,  contrary  to  what  he  sometimes  thought ; 
 but  that  he  was  led  to  change  his  opinion  by  the  heat  of 
 dispute  with  the  Pelagians.  But  this  amounts  to  no  more 
 than  some  sort  of  prejudice,  and  is  no  real  argument  against 
 our  interpretation.  He  was  not  the  first  who  did  so  inter- 
 pret, as  hath  been  observed  before  ;  and  as  to  the  heat  of 
 dispute  with  the  Pelagians,  it  is  certain  that  the  false  doc- 
 trines of  heretics,  and  their  subtility  in  defending  them, 
 have  often  given  occasion  to  good  men  to  consider  things 
 more  closely  ;  to  think,  and  speak,  and  interpret  Scripture 
 
I  / 
 
 ' 
 
 286  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 more  correctly.  If  Augustine  saw  cause  to  change  his 
 opinion  concerning  this  context,  he  seems  to  have  the  better 
 of  Dr  Whitby,  who  suggests  these  prejudices  against  him  ; 
 and  who  did  himself,  without  such  good  reason,  change  his 
 mind  on  a  subject  of  much  greater  importance.  After  he 
 had,  in  his  annotations  on  the  New  Testament,  maintained 
 the  divinity  of  our  Saviour  by  many  good  arguments,  in- 
 sisted on  by  the  learned  before  him  to  good  purpose,  and 
 to  which  neither  himself,  nor  any  one  else,  could  give  a 
 good  answer,  he  left,  as  his  legacy  to  the  church,  his  post- 
 humous treatise  against  that  fundamental  article  of  Chris- 
 tian faith.  As  to  the  present  subject,  and  these  prejudices 
 against  Augustine,  the  reader's  best  method  will  be  to  di- 
 vest himself  of  prejudice,  to  consider  arguments  carefully  and 
 coolly,  and  to  judge  as  evidence  shall  determine  his  mind. 
 
 I  go  now  to  consider  more  particularly  the  objections  of 
 Dr  Whitby  and  Arminius.  The  former  brings  about  seven 
 arguments,  or  considerations  against  our  interpretation. 
 The  sum  of  all  comes  to  this  : — The  person  here  represented 
 '  is  carnal,  sold  under  sin/  (so  indeed  the  Apostle  bitterly 
 complains)  ;  '  hath  no  power  in  him  to  do  any  good* — (the 
 apostle  doth  not  say  so,  though  he  bemoans  himself  that  he 
 could  not  do  good  in  the  degree  and  manner  he  willed. 
 Yea,  how  could  it  be  thus  argued  by  Dr  W.  who,  in  a  place 
 formerly  noticed,  argues  strenuously,  from  the  language  used 
 in  this  context,  that  the  person  here  represented,  even  the 
 unregenerate,  of  whom  he  understands  it,  is  not  without  a 
 power  to  do  good  ?  e  Living'  (unfairly  ;  as  this  word  im- 
 ports the  habitual  outward  and  inward  practice  of  life)  '  in 
 1  the  commission  of  things  that  he  hated* — (indeed  the 
 flesh  in  him  served  the  law  of  sin  ;  and  in  that  part  there 
 was  a  too  ordinary  activity  of  sin,  springing  up  spontaneous- 
 ly, and  sometimes  impetuously.  But  the  character  of  his 
 life  was  not  be  taken  from  this  ;  as  he  says  of  it,  //  is  not 
 J,  bid  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.)  '  Still/  (unfairly  still ;  no- 
 thing in  the  apostle's  expressions  imports  what  that  word 
 means)  c  doing  that  which  he  allowed  not:'  (the  flesh  in- 
 deed was  commonly  active  in  that  way  ;  but  the  man  him- 
 self, and  his  manner  of  life  were  to  be  denominated  from  a 
 better  principle,  by  which  he  served  the  law  of  God : — 
 •  made  captive  to  the  law  of  sin  /  (to  that  tended  indeed 
 the  efforts  of  the  law  of  sin ;  and  the  apostle's  words  import 
 no  more.  Dr  W.  in  his  second  argument  represents  un- 
 fairly, as  if  the  man  confessed  that  he  yielded  himself  a  cap- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  287 
 
 tive  to  the  law  of  sin,  whereas  he  appears  all  along  in  re- 
 sistance and  conflict  against  it,  however  much  in  some  par- 
 ticular instances  it  might  prevail.) 
 
 With  these  and  such  like  expressions,  unfairly  enough 
 represented,  the  Doctor  compares,  under  so  many  different 
 heads,  and  in  so  many  different  paragraphs,  a  considerable 
 number  of  texts,  which  prove  that  the  apostle  could  not, 
 and  that  a  true  believer  cannot,  be  the  slave  of  sin,  &c. 
 Some  of  his  readers,  of  no  very  extensive  acquaintance  in  the 
 learned  world,  might,  from  his  way  of  reasoning,  conceive 
 very  strange  notions  of  the  men  whose  interpretation  he 
 pretends  to  confute.  They  might  readily  ask,  What  sort  of 
 persons  can  these  be,  who  can  join  in  one  character  the  true 
 believer,  yea,  an  apostle,  and  at  the  same  time  a  slave  of 
 sin,  captivated  to  his  lusts  ?  Yet  the  interpretation  here 
 given,  is  that  of  the  generality  of  the  divines  of  the  reformed 
 churches ;  of  many  men  eminent  for  piety,  and  of  as  greaf 
 ability  and  learning  as  any  Protestant  church  or  nation  hath 
 produced ;  of  the  learned  Bishop  Davenant,  and  of  divers 
 other  eminent  writers  of  the  church  of  England.  From  this 
 consideration  one  might  suspect,  upon  a  little  reflection,  that 
 Dr  W.  in  this  arguing  of  his  had  not  hit  the  point.  How- 
 ever, he  has  proved,  that  a  regenerate  man  cannot  be  a  slave 
 to  his  lusts,  and  on  this  he  has  bestowed  more  than  a  folio 
 page,  in  which,  though  so  much  writing  amounted  to  some 
 labour,  yet  the  work  otherwise  was  very  easy.  Now,  let 
 us  observe  more  particularly  his  objections  and  reasonings, 
 in  his  note  on  ver.  25. 
 
 1.  Our  interpretation,  he  says,  makes  the  apostle  con- 
 tradict what  he  says  of  himself  to  the  Thessalonians,  1  Epist. 
 ii.  10.  and  to  the  Corinthians,  2  Epist.  i.  12. ;  1  Epist.  iv.  4. ; 
 1  Epist.  ix.  27.  Could  he  say  such  things  as  he  says  of 
 himself  in  these  texts,  who  is  carnal,  sold  under  sin,  &c.  ? 
 Ansrv.  He  could  say  such  things  as  in  these  texts,  very 
 consistenly  with  the  sorrowful  and  bitter  complaints  he  hath 
 of  sin,  and  of  the  flesh,  in  our  context.  Yea,  it  is  the  man 
 who  shows  such  sensibility  with  regard  to  the  motions  of 
 sin  within  him,  and  conflict  against  them,  who  is  most  likely 
 to  have  all  his  conversation  and  behaviour  which  the  cited 
 texts  represent. 
 
 2.  How  often  doth  the  apostle  propose  himself  as  a  pat- 
 tern to  the  churches;  requiring  them  to  be  followers  of  him, 
 as  he  was  also  of  Christ*?  1  Cor.  xi.  1.  and  again,  Phil.  iv. 
 8  ;  that  is,  be  ye  carnal,  sold  under  sin — and  the  God  of 
 
288  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you — this  sure  (so  he  adds)  is 
 an  absurd,  if  not  blasphemous  exhortation  ;  and  yet,  accord- 
 ing .to  this  interpretation,  it  must  be  suitable  to  the  mind  of 
 the  apostle.  Answ.  Blasphemous  indeed,  as  he  interprets 
 these  expressions  of  our  context ;  he  needed  not  have  spared 
 his  censure.  But  no  such  absurdity  or  blasphemy  follows 
 from  our  interpretation.  If  the  apostle's  outward  conversa- 
 tion, which  the  churches  had  access  to  observe,  set  before 
 them  a  good  pattern,  surely  when  he  lays  open  his  inmost 
 heart  to  them,  and  shows  himself  in  a  sorrowful  struggle  and 
 conflict  against  the  flesh,  and  the  first  motions  of  sin  within 
 him,  that  is  not  the  part  of  his  example  least  worthy  to  be 
 followed  by  those  who  have  at  heart  to  live  holily  and  right- 
 eously. 
 
 3.  With  what  indignation  doth  he  reject  the  accusations 
 of  them  who  looked  upon  him  as  walking  after  the  flesh  ? 
 yet  if  he  were  carnal,  sold  under  sin,  if  with  the  flesh  he 
 served  the  law  of  sin,  &c.,  he  doth  here  in  effect  confess  what 
 there  be  peremptorily  denies.  Answ.  By  no  means.  In  the 
 explication  it  hath  been  made  very  clear,  that  none  of  the 
 expressions  in  our  context  imports  what  this  writer  interprets. 
 It  doth  not  represent  him  as  one  that  walked  after  the  flesh  : 
 but  as  one  who  had  it  greatly  at  heart  not  to  walk  so.  That 
 he  did  so  walk  is  not  said.  But  more  of  this  on  chap.  viii.  I. 
 In  the  mean  time,  as  to  serving  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin, 
 should  it  not  be  observed,  that  he  says,  ver.  25.  that  with  his 
 mind  he  himself  served  the  law  of  God  ? 
 
 But  why  should  I  tire  the  reader  with  more  of  this  sort  ? 
 all  this  Doctor's  arguments  derive  their  force  from  his  own 
 interpretation  of  the  particular  expressions  of  the  apostle's 
 doleful  complaint  of  sin  remaining  in  him,  which  I  have 
 shown  not  to  be  just  or  well  founded.  There  is  no  appearance 
 of  force  in  his  objections,  compared  with  our  interpretation  ; 
 but  all  his  seven  arguments  come  to  nothing  if  it  stands 
 good,  and  the  expressions  are  to  be  understood  as  we  have 
 showed  ;  and  for  that  I  refer  to  what  hath  been  said  to  esta- 
 blish our  interpretation. 
 
 However,  to  make  it  the  more  easy  for  readers  to  satisfy 
 themselves  with  regard  to  what  remains  of  Dr  W.'s  objec- 
 tions, I  shall  suggest  a  few  considerations. 
 
 1.  It  is  given  as  a  certain  mark  of  persons  who  are  in 
 Christ,  (2  Cor.  v.  17.)  that  old  things  are  passed  away,  and 
 all  things  are  become  new.  Yet  I  do  not  expect  any  wTill  say, 
 it  is  meant,  that  sin  doth  not  remain  in  such  as  are  in  Christ. 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 2/5.  289 
 
 If  it  doth  remain,  it  may  be  justly  said,  that  among  all  the 
 new  things  that,  by  divine  grace,  are  in  such  a  man,  there  is 
 nothing  more  new,  and  more  different  from  a  man's  former 
 disposition  and  exercise  in  his  natural  state,  than  to  have 
 his  heart  so  affected  with  regard  to  sin,  as  is  here  expressed. 
 Sin  had  formerly  the  dominion,  and  was  served  by  sinners, 
 in  the  day  of  its  power,  as  by  a  willing  people.  Now  it  is 
 dethroned,  sorrowed  for,  sincerely  and  vigorously  opposed, 
 even  in  its  first  motions  within.  The  man  had  been  hard- 
 ened, and  sin  was  sweet  and  pleasant  to  him.  But  old  things 
 are  passed  away  ;  things  are  become  new  with  him  in  this 
 respect.  All  the  great  and  multiplied  distresses  he  un- 
 derwent from  without,  never  brought  such  a  doleful  cry 
 from  his  heart,  as  he  now  uttered  itself,  0  wretched  man 
 that  I  am  ! 
 
 2.  There  is  nothing  in  this  latter  context  of  chap.  vii.  that 
 shows  the  person  therein  represented  to  be  in  the  same  case  as 
 formerly,  with  regard  to  what  is  mentioned,  ver.  5.  where 
 first  ra  ;ntion  is  made  of  the  motions  of  sin  that  were  by  the 
 law  ;  and  next,  that  these  did  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death. 
 The  disparity  appears  clearly.  The  man  now  feels  the  mo- 
 tions of  sin  in  him  :  what  true  Christian  doth  not  ?  But  it 
 is  not  said,  that  these  motions  of  sin  are  by  the  law.  A  re- 
 newed soul  is,  by  its  prevailing  disposition,  well  affected  to 
 the  law  ;  and  hath  a  prevailing  habitual  delight  in  the  holi- 
 ness thereof.  There  is  in  such  a  heart  what  dutifully  en- 
 tertains the  precept,  though  the  flesh  inclines  a  different  way. 
 Such  a  soul  is  relieved  from  the  curse  of  the  law.  The  chief 
 effects  of  the  law  in  the  heart  are  not,  as  in  the  unregenerate, 
 that  the  holy  commandment  rouses  the  powers  of  sin,  or 
 that  the  curse  irritates  the  rebellious  disposition  of  the  heart. 
 In  the  precept  the  regenerate  person  perceives  the  beauty  of 
 holiness  ;  and  the  curse  of  the  law  being  altogether  just  and 
 right  in  his  eyes,  his  deliverance  from  it  exalts  the  Lord  in 
 his  eyes,  endears  his  grace,  and  engages  him  more  and  more 
 to  the  Lord's  yoke,  disposing  him  to  set  to  his  seal,  that  now, 
 by  divine  grace  and  love,  it  is  easy. 
 
 Again,  it  is  not  said,  that  the  motions  of  sin  have  ordinarily 
 their  course,  to  bring  forth  fruit,  as  in  the  man,  ver.  5.  If 
 he  finds  himself  enticed  by  his  lust,  it  is  not  said,  that  lust 
 conceiving  doth  ordinarily  being  forth  fruit  in  the  practice. 
 It  may  so  happen  in  particular  instances  to  true  Christians  ; 
 but  there  is  nothing  that  imports  that  that  is  commonly  the 
 case  with  the  man  in  our  context. 
 
290  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 3.  The  regenerate  man  truly  mortifies  sin,  and  the  lusts 
 thereof;  and  hath  habitually  at  heart  to  do  so.  There  is 
 nothing  contrary  to  that  in  the  person  who  here  speaks. 
 Would  to  God  that  all  Christians  had  the  quick  sense,  and 
 painful  feeling,  with  the  conflict  against  sin,  that  is  here  re- 
 presented! We  might  justly  say,  in  that  case,  that  sin,  cor- 
 rupt lusts,  and  carnal  affections,  were  more  in  the  way  to  be 
 thoroughly  mortified,  than  they  commonly  appear  to  be  in 
 most  Christians. 
 
 4.  In  persons  regenerated,  sin  is  crucified,  and  Gal.  v.  24. 
 They  that  are  Christ's,  have  crucified  the  flesh,  with  the 
 affections  and  lusts — True,  they  have  done  so.  Accordingly, 
 as  to  the  man  in  our  context,  it  is  very  evident,  though  sin 
 exerted  great  vigour,  that  indeed  it  was  bound,  did  not 
 act  at  liberty,  but  was  in  a  crucified,  suffering,  and  dying 
 condition. 
 
 The  great  objection  against  our  interpretation  is,  that, 
 according  to  it,  the  context  presents  what  is  of  dangerous 
 tendency  to  the  morals  of  Christians,  After  considering  what 
 Dr  Whitby  hath  offered  to  that  general  purpose,  let  us  now 
 consider  it  as  it  is  urged  by  Arminius,  who  has  bestowed 
 much  labour  upon  it  in  the  dissertation  formerly  mentioned, 
 and  has  enlarged  much  on  the  ill  use  that  may  be  made  of 
 our  context,  as  we  interpret  it. 
 
 I  do  not,  however,  expect  that  any  will  sustain  it  as  a  good 
 argument  against  a  proposition,  interpretation,  or  doctrine, 
 that  men  make  an  ill  use  of  it.  God  is  merciful,  and  gra- 
 cious ;  and  I  doubt  if  any  doctrine  or  proposition  hath  ever 
 been  published  to  the  world,  of  which  men  very  commonly 
 do  make  a  worse  use,  hardening  themselves  therefore  in  their 
 sins  ;  yet  it  is  not  the  less  true,  or  the  less  needful  to  be 
 held  and  proclaimed.  Arminius  relates,  that  Augustine 
 had  observed  what  ill  use  men  might  make  of  his  interpre- 
 tation ;  and  he  brings,  very  needlessly,  some  large  quotations 
 from  him,  to  prove  that  he  did  so  observe.  But  he  might, 
 at  the  same  time,  have  observed,  that  this  great  asserter  of 
 the  truth  did  not  see  in  this  a  good  argument  against  the 
 interpretation  he  had  given.  The  truth  may  still  be  vindi- 
 cated against  all  abuse,  by  arguments  consistent  with  itself, 
 and  that  do  not  overthrow  it.  It  is  the  proper  work  of  all 
 the  preachers  of  the  truth,  as  to  show  the  right  and  proper 
 practical  use,  so  to  guard,  in  a  proper  manner,  against  the 
 abuse  of  it.  For  what  important  truth  is  there  that  may  not 
 be  abused  ? 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  291 
 
 The  abuse  Arminius  insists  on  is  this,  that  a  man,  doing 
 what  is  evil  against  some  reluctance  of  his  mind,  and  the 
 witnessing  of  his  conscience,  may  make  himself  easy,  and 
 encourage  himself  in  doing  it,  by  supposing  himself  to  be 
 thereby  in  the  case  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  other  true  be- 
 lievers, according  to  our  interpretation.  But  there  is  no  en- 
 couragement to  this  abuse  by  it,  as  we  shall  see  presently. 
 Persons  who  are  bent  on  sinning  may  imagine  other  encou- 
 raging matter  to  themselves  in  that  course,  by  wnich  they 
 will  be  more  likely  to  serve  themselves,  than  by  any  thing 
 in  this  context,  as  we  interpret.  For  instance :  as  it  will 
 be  acknowledged  on  all  kands,  that  a  person  in  a  state  of 
 grace  may  commit  sin  against  the  witnessing  of  his  con- 
 science, and  some  reluctance  of  his  mind,  through  the  surprise 
 and  force  of  temptation  ;  and  that  such  a  person  may  be 
 recovered  by  repentance,  and  be  finally  saved  ;  so  from  this 
 some  may  encourage  themselves  to  commit  sin.  Is  therefore 
 the  doctrine  not  true,  that  even  the  chief  of  sinners,  or  a 
 regenerate  person,  after  falling  into  heinous  sins,  may  upon 
 repentance  be  saved  ?  or  is  it  to  be  rejected,  as  calculated  to 
 encourage  men  in  sin  ? 
 
 Arminius  relates  an  instance  that  came  within  his  own 
 observation,  of  a  person's  encouraging  himself  to  sin  from 
 this  context,  according  to  our  interpretation.  I  apprehend 
 there  is  need  of  some  caution  in  taking  such  stories  on  the 
 report  of  an  adversary.  There  is,  however,  one  instance  so 
 plain,  that  it  could  not  easily  be  mistaken  ;  and  as  he  swears 
 to  the  truth  of  it  very  solemnly,  (much  in  the  words  of  Paul, 
 Rom.  ix.  1.)  it  were  not  reasonable  to  question  his  veracity. 
 A  man,  he  says,  being  warned  against  committing  sin  in  a 
 particular  instance,  answered,  that  indeed  the  inclination  of 
 his  will  was  against  it ;  but  he  had  to  say  with  the  Apostle 
 Paul,  that  he  found  himself  not  able  to  perform  the  good  that 
 he  would ;  and  so  he  went  on  in  his  way,  against  his  consci- 
 ence and  the  warning  given  him.  Could  not  such  an  acute 
 person  have  found  in  the  context,  as  explained  by  his  breth- 
 ren, a  proper  and  sufficient  answer  to  this  ?  surely  he  might 
 have  argued  and  said,  The  apostle  having  a  heart  that  de- 
 lighted in  the  holiness  of  the  law,  had  it  greatly  at  heart  to 
 perform  his  duty,  though  he  did  not  attain  to  perform  it  in 
 the  perfect  manner  he  willed.  He  struggled,  and  was  as  a 
 man  grievously  oppressed  by  the  motions  and  resistance  of 
 the  flesh  disabling  him.  The  very  first  motions  of  sin  within 
 him  gave  him  grief.     If,  by  the  lusting  of  the  flesh  against 
 
292  A  dissertation  concerning 
 
 the  Spirit,  he  could  not  do  or  perform  as  the  Spirit  suggested, 
 so,  by  the  effectual  opposition  of  the  Spirit,  he  could  not  do 
 what  the  flesh  prompted  him  to.  But  you  are  in  a  case  quite 
 contrary  to  that  of  Paul.  You  grasp  at  a  pretence  to  make 
 yourself  easy  with  regard  to  the  inward  motions  of  the  flesh 
 prompting  you  to  evil — you  encourage  yourself  to  overcome 
 the  urgency  of  your  conscience — and  against  its  light  you 
 resolutely  go  on,  even  in  the  outward  practice,  to  do  evil  ; 
 and  so  you  are,  as  with  your  eyes  open,  deliberately  putting 
 yourself  in  the  road  to  perdition.  A  man  less  acute  than 
 Arminius  could  easily  have  suggested  such  an  answer  ;  but 
 the  man  was  then  forming  his  scheme,  and  seems  to  have 
 been  more  disposed  to  have  something  whereof  to  make  a 
 handle  in  dispute,  than  to  give  the  proper  answer  to  the 
 wicked  excuse  and  pretence  he  represents. 
 
 As  to  another  case  he  relates  of  a  man,  who,  being  reproved 
 for  something  he  had  actually  done,  contrary  to  the  com- 
 mandment of  God,  answered,  that  he  therein  came  into  the 
 case  of  the  apostle,  who  said,  The  evil  that  I  would  not,  that 
 I  do  ;  an  answer  could  be  given  in  like  manner.  The  apostle 
 represents  in  our  context  the  greatest  sense  of  wretchedness 
 by  the  force  of  sin  within  him.  This  man  makes  himself 
 easy — screens  and  hardens  himself  against  reproof  for  sin 
 outwardly  committed  by  him.  Upon  the  whole,  if  a  man 
 doth,  on  any  pretence  whatsoever,  previously  encourage  and 
 harden  himself  to  commit  sin  ;  or  doth,  after  committing  it, 
 harden  himself  against  reproof,  and  exclude  from  his  heart 
 the  sorrow  and  contrition  he  ought  to  have  for  sin  ;  this  is 
 so  opposite  to  the  disposition  and  sense  of  things  expressed 
 by  the  apostle,  as  we  interpret,  that  no  such  person  can  en- 
 courage himself  by  it,  without  the  utmost  absurdity.  Cer- 
 tainly no  sentiment  or  interpretation  can  be  charged  with 
 falsehood  or  faultiness,  by  reason  of  such  abuse,  as  hardened 
 sinners  cannot  make  of  them,  but  by  means  of  misconception, 
 delusion,  and  absurdity. 
 
 The  reader  will,  perhaps,  see  cause  to  think  I  have  con- 
 sidered these  things  too  largely,  when  he  observes  what  I 
 am  next  to  set  before  him. 
 
 It  is  fit  then  to  inform  him,  that  the  abuse  concerning 
 which  Arminius  argues,  respects  what  he  calls  actual  good 
 or  evil,  (malum  ct  bonum  actuate)  ;  that  is,  as  I  understand 
 it,  the  acting  of  sin  in  the  external  work  and  practice  ;  and 
 so  is  directed  against  their  interpretation,  (if  there  are  any 
 such,  who  understand  here  of  the  apostle  himself,  or  the  re- 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  289 
 
 generate  man,)  who  extend  the  meaning  of  these  and  such 
 like  words,  The  evil  that  I  would  not,  thai  I  do,  to  the  out- 
 ward practice  and  conduct  of  life,  and  to  the  common  cha- 
 racter and  course  thereof. 
 
 But  concerning  Augustine's  interpretation,  which  is  the 
 same  with  ours,  he  hath  these  words,  '  Fateor  etiim  Jugustini 
 1  sententiam,  quce  de  concupiscentice  tantum  actu  et  motu, 
 '  locum  inierpretatur,  nihil  neque  gratice,  neque  bonis  moribus 
 *  injurice  aut  detrimenti  inferre,  ctiamsi  de  homine  regenilo  lo- 
 e  cum  cxplicet.'  That  is,  '  I  confess  that  the  opinion  of 
 '  Augustine,  who  understands  this  place  of  Scripture  only 
 (  as  respecting  the  actings  and  motions  of  concupiscence  (in- 
 '  wardly)  imports  nothing  detrimental  to  grace  or  good  mo- 
 1  rals;  even  interpreting  it  in  that  way  of  persons  regenerate.' 
 
 One  might  readily  think,  that  this  acknowledgment  would 
 put  the  argument,  from  the  ill  consequence  to  men's  morals, 
 quite  off  the  field.  Yet  he  insists  upon  it  still,  though  I  ap- 
 prehend the  reader  will  be  greatly  at  a  loss  to  imagine  how 
 he  can  do  so,  after  the  acknowledgment  we  have  seen.  Thus, 
 however,  he  proceeds.  If  once  the  general  notion  be  im- 
 pressed on  the  minds  of  men,  that  it  is  the  case  of  a  regenerate 
 person  that  is  here  treated  of,  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  hin- 
 der them  from  understanding  what  remains  of  the  context, 
 and  is  therein  ascribed  to  the  person  spoken  of,  in  the  sense 
 in  which  (according  to  him)  it  ought  to  be  understood  ; 
 agreeably,  as  he  asserts,  to  the  text  itself,  and  to  the  apostle's 
 scope  ;  that  is,  as  these  expressions  are  to  be  understood  of  a 
 person  under  sin,  and  under  the  law.  Of  this  abuse  the 
 story  he  had  related,  and  is  here  lately  mentioned,  is,  he 
 says,  an  instance. 
 
 The  occasion  of  the  abuse  here  mentioned,  is  the  tacking  of 
 his  interpretation  very  improperly  to  ours.  Did  the  author 
 suppose,  that  a  man  would  understand  the  particular  expres- 
 sions, as  setting  forth  what  denotes  one  a  slave  to  sin,  and  to 
 his  lusts,  as  Arminius  understood  without  good  reason  ;  and 
 that,  at  the  same  time,  he  would  think  the  context  repre- 
 sented the  case  of  a  person  regenerated  and  sanctified  ?  This 
 were  supposing  a  man  to  be  absurd  and  thoughtless  to  a  great 
 degree.  All  that  the  arguing  of  Arminius  here  doth  prove, 
 is,  that  his  interpretation  of  the  particular  expressions,  (which 
 hath  been  shown  to  be  very  ill  founded,)  joined  with  our  ac- 
 count of  the  general  scope,  as  expressing  the  case  of  a  re- 
 generate person,  makes  a  very  ill  composition,  dangerous  to 
 the  souls  of  men.  Although  there  have  been  men  inattentive, 
 not  given  to  much  thinking ;  men  blinded  by  their  own  lusts  ; 
 
 N 
 
294  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 perverted  by  wrong  sentiments,  which  their  corrupt  minds 
 have  entertained,  and  tenaciously  held  ;  and  those  who  have 
 wrested  the  writings  of  Paul,  (2  Pet.  iii.  16.)  as  they  have 
 the  other  scriptures,  to  their  own  destruction,  we  are  not, 
 for  the  abuse  of  such,  to  charge  faultiness  on  the  Scripture, 
 or  any  interpretation  of  it,  that  is  otherwise  just  and  well 
 warranted. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  that  Arminius  had  no  cause 
 to  retract  or  enervate  the  concession  he  had  made  ;  and  if  he 
 said,  that  Augustine's  interpretation  had  nothing  tn  it  preju- 
 dicial to  good  morals,  we  have  right  to  use  the  concession  as 
 superseding  all  occasion  of  dispute  with  him  on  that  po:nt. 
 
 Some  do  seem  to  have  found  difficulty  respecting  our  in- 
 terpretation, as  they  could  not  allow  themselves  to  think, 
 that  this  blessed  apostle  had  any  remainder  of  sin  in  him, 
 or  could  be  charged  with  any  disconformity  to  the  holy  com- 
 mandment, in  these  times  wherein  he  wrote.  There  is  cause 
 to  wonder  that  any  should  doubt  or  find  difficulty  concern- 
 ing this,  considering  what  the  apostle  John  says,  1st  epist.  i. 
 8.  and  that  Paul  himself  doth,  Phil.  iii.  12.  deny  his  being 
 perfect.  This  cannot  mean,  that  he  was  not  perfect  in  the 
 sense  in  which  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  are  men- 
 tioned, Heb.  xii.  23.  or  that  he  had  not  attained  that  per- 
 fection of  his  human  nature,  in  all  respects,  that  belongs  to 
 the  resurrection- state.  It  were  idle  for  a  man  to  disclaim 
 perfection  in  these  senses,  while  he  was  seen  in  an  embodied 
 state,  sharing  so  much  in  the  infirmities  and  miseries  of  this 
 life.  So  we  must  understand  it  of  his  not  being  perfect  in 
 holiness,  nor  altogether  without  sin. 
 
 What  if  no  instance  of  his  falling  into  sin  or  particular 
 transgression  were  recorded  in  sacred  history  ?  That  is  but  a 
 negative  argument,  such  as  none  would  sustain  in  proof. 
 His  own  account  in  our  context  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  he 
 was  not  without  sin,  or  without  the  stirrings  and  activity  of 
 it  within  hinj.  When  he  relates,  2  Cor.  xii.  7.  a  thorn  given 
 him  in  the  flesh,  lest  he  should  be  exalted  above  measure 
 through  the  abundance  of  the  revelations,  may  we  not  think 
 that  he  was  likely  to  have  felt  some  stirrings  of  that  evil 
 tendency  that  made  him  so  readily  understand,  and  be  so 
 much  reconciled  to  the  salutary,  though  painful  remedy  that 
 Divine  wisdom  had  administered  to  him  ? 
 
 There  are  two  places  besides,  in  which  the  matter  seems 
 to  be  more  clear.  One  is,  Acts  xxiii.  2 — 5.  the  high  priest 
 Ananias  having  commanded  to  smite  him  on  the  mouth, 
 Paul  said  to  him,  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall.    On 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  2Q5 
 
 this  Dr  Guyse  says,  •  Perhaps  the  apostle  might  use  this 
 1  opprobrious  title  with  rather  too  much  warmth  of  temper, 
 '  under  a  violent  effort  of  the  law  of  his  members  against 
 1  the  law  of  his  mind,  according  to  his  complaint,  Rom.  vii. 
 '  23,  24.  through  inattention,  sudden  surprise,  and  high 
 '  provocation/  So  that  judicious  divine.  In  whatever  way 
 this  speech  be  taken  or  accounted  for,  it  is  plain  it  was  not 
 according  to  his  example,  (1  Pet.  ii.  23.)  who  when  he  ?vas 
 reviled,  reviled  not  again,  and  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened 
 not.  It  has  been  thought,  that  Paul  spoke  under  the  influ- 
 ence of  the  spirit  of  prophecy  on  this  occasion,  and  uttered 
 a  prophecy  against  Ananias,  which,  according  to  history, 
 was  afterwards  accomplished.  But  this,  if  it  was  so,  doth 
 not  prove  that  there  was  no  sinful  infirmity  in  the  case.  We 
 find,  John  xi.  that  wicked  Caiaphas  the  high  priest  uttered 
 something  very  remarkable,  of  which  the  sacred  historian 
 says,  ver.  51.  This  spake  he  not  of  himself ;  but  being  high 
 priest  that  year,  he  prophesied  that  Jesus  should  die  for  that 
 nation.  Here  it  is  clear,  that  Caiaphas  spoke  according  to 
 the  wicked  passion  of  his  own  heart.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand, 
 he  was  so  under  the  over-ruling  influence  of  the  spirit  of 
 prophecy,  (being  high  priest)  that  his  words  were  clearly 
 prophetic.  Paul  had  a  heart  very  much  sanctified  ;  yet  there 
 is  no  inconsistency  in  supposing,  that,  by  the  sudden  provo- 
 cation of  an  atrocious  injury,  he  fell  into  a  violent  passion, 
 and  uttered  words  expressive  of  that  passion,  which,  as  to 
 the  threatening  part  of  them,  might  be  prophetic,  by  a  su- 
 perior influence  and  direction. 
 
 The  apostle  being  found  fault  with  for  so  reviling  God's 
 high  priest,  said,  ver.  5.  /  wist  not  that  he  ?vas  the  high 
 priest ;  for  it  is  written,  Thou  shall  not  speak  evil  of  the  ruler 
 of  thi)  people.  But  though  he  knew  him  not  to  be  high  priest, 
 he  knew  himself  to  be  standing  before  the  sanhedrim,  or  su- 
 preme council  of  his  nation,  and  that  the  person  he  spoke  to 
 was  a  member  of  it,  and  then  sitting  in  the  seat  of  judgment. 
 So  his  words  import,  ver.  2.  Siitest  thou  to  judge  me  after 
 the  law  ?  He  knew  then  that  he  was  one  of  the  rulers  of  his 
 people,  and  so  came  under  the  meaning  of  the  text  he  men- 
 tions. The  matter  being  thus,  may  we  not  take  this  to  be  a 
 just  paraphrase  of  the  apostle's  words,  ver.  5.  *  I  wist  not 
 that  he  wras  high  priest  at  this  time ;  but  being  a  member 
 of  this  august  court,  I  call  to  mind  that  law,  Thou  shalt  not 
 speak  evil  of  the  ruler  of  thy  people.  And  therefore,  how- 
 ever ill  I  have  been  treated,  I  insist  not  in  justifying  my 
 emotion,  or  all  the  expressions  I  have  uttered/ 
 
29^  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 Another  place  we  may  consider  on  this  occasion,  is  Acts 
 xv.  37 — 40.  It  may  well  be  allowed,  that  Paul  was  in  the 
 right  to  urge  that  there  should  be  some  testimony  of  their 
 disapprobation  of  John-Mark's  conduct  in  the  matter  men- 
 tioned. But  there  is  cause  to  suspect,,  that  the  dispute  on 
 this  subject  was  not  without  human  and  sinful  infirmity. 
 The  sacred  historian  says,  ver.  3$.  that  the  contention  rvas 
 so  sharp  between  Paul  and  Barnabas,  that  they  departed 
 asunder  one  from  the  other.  Contention  is  rather  too  soft  a 
 word  for  the  Greek  7rcc£o%vrpios  (paroxysm.)  It  signifies  a 
 mutual  irritation,  or,  (as  Beza  renders,  exacerbatio)  that 
 their  temper  and  spirit  became  hot  and  imbittered.  Nor  is 
 there  any  hint  that  this  heat  and  discomposure  of  temper  was 
 greater  upon  the  one  side  than  the  other ;  it  was  mutual. 
 
 The  matter  being  so,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  think,  that 
 on  cool  reflection,  the  blessed  and  holy  apostle  Paul  might 
 reflect  and  say  with  himself  to  this  purpose  :  Though  I  am 
 satisfied  I  was  in  the  right  in  advising  and  urging  as  I  did 
 with  regard  to  Mark,  yet,  alas !  that  my  corrupt  heart  and 
 violent  passion  should  have  got  so  much  the  better  of  me  in 
 dealing  with  my  blessed  brother  Barnabas,  who  was  in  Christ 
 before  me,  who  was  preaching  Christ  when  I  was  perse- 
 cuting him  and  his  gospel,  who  condescended  with  so  much 
 tenderness  and  affection  to  me  when  other  disciples  avoided 
 me,  who  introduced  me  in  so  kindly  manner  to  the  ac- 
 quaintance and  confidence  of  the  apostles,  who  was  assign- 
 ed me  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  special  companion  in  the 
 service  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  who  laboured  with  me  in 
 that  work  with  so  much  zeal  and  success  ;  even  Barnabas, 
 that  son  of  consolation,  justly  so  surnamed  by  the  apostles  ; 
 whose  conversation  and  preaching  have  often  been  so  com- 
 fortable to  myself  and  others.  If  I  have  peace  of  mind  with 
 regard  to  the  matter  of  duty  itself  about  which  we  differed, 
 yet  how  much  doth  my  manner  of  doing  duty  sometimes 
 give  me  disquiet  of  mind  !  How  much  hath  my  irregular 
 and  unholy  passion  hurried  me  away ;  as  it  were  bringing 
 me  captive  with  great  violence — Wretched  man  thai  1  am  ! 
 There  is  nothing  unreasonable  in  supposing,  that  on  occasion 
 of  this  paroxysm,  or  passionate  debate,  Paul  might  see  oc- 
 casion for  such  reflections.  Another  man  confident  of  his 
 being  right  as  to  the  main  of  the  difference,  might  thereby, 
 perhaps,  justify  all  the  passion  he  showed  in  defending  his 
 own  opinion.  It  would  not  be  likely  to  be  so  with  this  holy 
 apostle.     What    the  judicious,   elegant,    and   pious   Calvin 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14—25.  297 
 
 has  written  on  this  story  in  his  commentary,  deserves  to 
 be  often  read. 
 
 Having  answered  all  the  objections  that  have  any  appear- 
 ance of  force  against  our  interpretation,  let  us  now  proceed  to 
 
 Sect.  VIII. —  Marking  out  some  of  the  practical  uses  to  be 
 made  of  this  context,  according  to  the  foregoing  interpreta- 
 tion ;  together  with  the  paraphrase  of  the  several  verses 
 14—25. 
 
 Having  vindicated  our  interpretation  against  the  charge 
 of  ill  consequence  in  practice,  it  is  fit,  before  we  leave  it,  to 
 mark  out  some  of  the  good  uses  that  are  to  be  made  of  it, 
 which  are  of  great  importance  with  regard  to  holiness  and 
 the  comfort  of  Christians. 
 
 1.  From  the  case  and  example  here  laid  before  us,  we 
 learn  how  careful  a  Christian  ought  to  be  about  the  inward 
 purity  of  his  heart,  and  what  constant  earnest  opposition 
 he  should  make  to  the  very  first  motions  of  every  unholy 
 passion  and  inordinate  affection  or  lusting  in  his  heart.  The 
 heart  is  the  proper  and  chief  seat  of  holiness.  Holiness  in 
 the  heart  is  the  chief  part  of  our  conformity  to  the  holy  and 
 spiritual  law  of  God  ;  nor  is  any  outward  work  considered  as 
 holy,  if  the  heart  within  is  not  right  before  God,  who  sees 
 and  tries  the  heart,  and  to  whom  it  cannot  otherwise  be  ac- 
 ceptable. 
 
 Every  unruly  passion  and  unholy  lusting  is,  in  the  na- 
 ture of  things,  contrary  to  our  own  happiness.  By  the  pre- 
 vailing of  these  in  the  heart,  the  conscience  is  hurt  and  dis- 
 quieted; and  inordinate  affections  make  the  heart  itself  in- 
 capable of  happiness.  Holiness  of  heart  is  absolutely  neces- 
 sary to  bring  us  into  a  capacity  of  happiness,  which  can  be 
 had,  properly  and  perfectly,  by  no  object  but  one,  a  holy  God. 
 
 Yea,  inward  purity  of  heart,  and  conflict  with  the  motions 
 of  sin  therein,  are  absolutely  necessary  for  maintaining  ex- 
 ternal purity  of  practice,  integrity,  and  faithfulness.  What 
 prevails  in  the  heart,  will  be  likely  to  come  forth.  When 
 sin  in  general,  or  a  particular  lust  prevails  in  the  heart,  and 
 is  there  entertained,  it  will  be  likely  some  time  or  other  to 
 force  an  eruption.  The  many  snares  of  an  evil  world,  the 
 devices  of  invisible  enemies,  yea,  the  righteous  judgment  of 
 God,  will  all  concur  in  this,  even  to  discover  what  is  in  a 
 man's  heart.     Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence,  Prov.  iv.  23. 
 
 From  what  hath  been  said,  the  impartial  reader  may  judge 
 if  our  interpretation  hath  any  thing  in  it  unfavourable  to  holy 
 and  righteous  practice.     Arminius   saith  it  hath  not,   and 
 
298  A  Dissertation  co?icerning 
 
 afterwards  endeavours  to  prove,  without  reason,  that  it  hath. 
 Dr  Whitby  reckons  it  a  dangerous  interpretation  ;  and,  as 
 he  would  have  the  particular  expressions  mean,  it  would  be 
 extremely  so.  It  is  well  it',  when  the  sentiments,  reasoning, 
 and  explications  of  men  of  their  way  of  thinking  are  well 
 examined,  they  be  not  found  to  fix  the  standard  of  purity 
 and  holiness  much  lower  than  this  context  doth,  according 
 to  our  interpretation.  If  they  did  not,  I  apprehend  they 
 would  have  lower  thoughts  of  the  moral  powers  of  nature, 
 and  higher  thoughts  of  the  necessity  and  efficacy  of  divine 
 grace.  But  it  is  some  men's  way  to  bring  up  the  power  of 
 free-will  to  holiness,  by  bringing  holiness  down  to  the 
 power  of  free-will.  There  will  not,  however,  be  wanting 
 sublime  speculations,  and  general  language,  strong  and  lofty 
 enough,  concerning  holiness  and  virtue. 
 
 2.  We  have  something  here  that  may  be  exceedingly  useful 
 to  support  and  encourage  those  who  go  heavily  under  the 
 evil  of  their  hearts.  It  were  not  right  to  suggest  any  thing 
 that  would  tend  to  exclude  the  contrition  for  sin,  that  ought 
 to  be  in  the  heart  of  every  child  of  God.  Yet  from  the 
 light  and  sensibility  that  is  in  every  sanctified  heart  with 
 regard  to  sin,  the  consequence  might  be  extremely  hurtful 
 to  the  comfort  and  stability  of  a  Christian,  if  the  word  of 
 God  hath  not  provided  something  encouraging  respecting  the 
 case,  as  there  is  in  this  context.  So,  if  there  are  those  who 
 may  abuse  this  passage,  as  they  do  also  the  other  scriptures, 
 to  their  own  destruction,  serious  Christians  find  cause  to  bless 
 God  for  having  provided  for  their  comfort  and  for  their 
 direction  in  faith  and  duty,  by  this  very  valuable  portion  of 
 holy  writ. 
 
 I  only  add  concerning  this  point  the  following  words  of 
 Augustine,  (Serm.  45.  cle  tempore) :  *  Constituit  tibi  ante 
 '  occulos  pugnam  suam,  ne  timeres  tuam.  Si  enim  hoc  non 
 i  dixisset  beatus  apostolus  ;  quando  videres  moveri  concu- 
 1  piscentiam  in  membris  tuis,  cui  tu  non  consentiris,  tamen 
 (  cum  earn  moveri  videres,  forsitan  desperares  de  te,  et  di- 
 f  ceres,  Si  ad  Deum  pertinerem,  sic  non  moveret.  Vide  apos- 
 '  tolum  pugnantem,  et  noli  te  facere  desperantem.'  This  is 
 the  sense  :  '  He  hath  set  before  thee  his  own  conflict,  that 
 i  thou  mightest  not  fear  thine.  For  if  the  blessed  apostle 
 c  had  not  thus  spoke,  When  thou  shouldst  observe  the  mov- 
 e  ing  of  lust  in  thy  members,  to  which,  however,  thou  didst 
 '  not  yield  thy  consent,  yet  finding  it  to  move,  thou  wouldst 
 1  perhaps  despair  of  thyself,  and  say,  If  I  belonged  to  God, 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14 — 25.  tff 
 
 '  there  would  be  no  such  motions  in  me.  Observe  the  apos- 
 1  tie  in  conflict,  and  do  not  thou  despair.' 
 
 3.  I  add  an  observation  and  inference  respecting  a  doc- 
 trinal subject.  We  have  here  occasion  to  observe  the  sad 
 corruption  which  human  nature  hath  undergone  ;  how  deep 
 the  root  of  sin  hath  gone  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  how 
 great  its  force  and  activity  is  in  the  best  of  men. 
 
 We  have  seen  in  the  context  preceding  ver.  1 4.  the  case 
 of  a  person  unregenerate  with  respect  to  this.  He  is  under 
 the  law,  and  when  the  commandment  cometh,  as  ver.  9-  with 
 its  light,  authority,  and  force,  into  the  conscience,  it  may  be 
 supposed  to  awaken  him  to  great  carefulness  about  curbing, 
 subduing,  or  restraining  the  motions  of  sin  in  his  heart.  It 
 might  be  thought  that  the  authority  and  light  of  the  law  in 
 the  conscience,  with  the  impression  of  the  terrible  threaten- 
 ing, might  give  great  excitement  to  this,  and  help  a  man 
 much  to  it ;  yet  we  have  seen  how  little  the  law  could  do  in 
 this  way.  So  far  was  it  from  subduing  sin,  and  the  motions 
 of  it  in  the  heart,  that  sin  did  but  move  the  more  vehemently, 
 and  show  the  more  its  great  wickedness  and  force. 
 
 In  this  latter  context  from  ver.  14.  we  have  the  case  of  a 
 man  under  grace,  who  had,  with  great  sense  and  experience 
 of  the  love  of  God,  his  heart  commonly  full  of  consolation 
 by  the  assured  prospect  of  eternal  happiness  and  glory  ; 
 whose  heart  was  greatly  raised  above  things  earthly  and 
 temporary,  in  full  desire  and  pursuit  of  the  things  that  are 
 above  ;  whose  soul  was  animated  with  the  warmest  zeal  for 
 God,  and  for  holiness ;  and  who  had  made  great  advances 
 in  holiness,  inferior  to  no  mere  man  we  know  of.  Yet  what 
 heavy  and  sore  complaint  doth  he  make  of  sin  dwelling  in 
 him  ?  he  did  by  its  force  what  he  allowed  not ;  and  what  he 
 seriously  would,  he  could  not  perform.  Though  he  delighted 
 in  the  law  of  God  according  to  the  inward  man,  yet  he 
 found  a  law  in  his  members  warring  against  the  law  of  his 
 mind,  and  working  hard  to  bring  him  into  captivity  to  the 
 law  of  sin ;  so  that  he  cries  out,  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  ! 
 
 Shall  we  now  say,  that  the  greatest  advantage  and  strength 
 which  sin  hath  in  the  heart  of  any  man,  is  only  by  deep 
 rooted  habits,  contracted  merely  by  frequent  acts,  and  the 
 continued  custom  of  sinning,  proceeding  only  from  the  un- 
 happy use  that  each  man  makes  of  his  free-will ;  who  hath 
 come  into  the  world  with  his  nature  in  the  same  original 
 purity  with  which  man  was  at  first  created  ?  or,  (if  we  rise 
 not  so  high)  with  no  more  depravation  than  a  man  can  get 
 the  better  of  by  his  own  efforts,  and  exertion  of  his  moral 
 
300  A  Dissertation  concerning 
 
 powers  ?  We  have  here  before  us  what  doth  not  allow  us 
 to  think  so.  If  man's  nature  itself  were  not  depraved  and 
 corrupted  to  a  high  degree, — if  human  nature  retained  its 
 full  liberty  and  moral  powers,  without  any  greater  disadvan- 
 tage than  acquired  habits  could  have  brought  upon  them, — 
 what  mere  habits  could  be  so  strong  but  they  might  be  fully 
 overcome  by  the  most  serious  and  earnest  endeavours  of  a 
 man  under  the  sharp  discipline  of  the  law  in  his  conscience  ? 
 Hut  if,  in  this  state  and  way,  a  man  could  not  do  it ;  might 
 we  not  suppose,  that  a  man  made  free  from  the  dominion  of 
 sin,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost,  and  brought  under  grace,  (which  hath  that  in 
 it  that  tendeth  to  engage  a  man  most  effectually  to  holiness) 
 would  be  able,  by  his  more  sincere  and  powerful  endeavours, 
 and  earnest  exertion  of  all  his  moral  powers,  with  the  assist- 
 ance of  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  him,  to  overcome  any 
 small  remaining  degree  of  natural  depravation,  and  every 
 evil  habit,  in  the  most  effectual  and  complete  manner  ;  so 
 that  there  should  not  be  the  least  remainder  of  any  evil  habit, 
 or  of  sin  at  all  in  him ! 
 
 But  which  of  the  saints  is  it  whose  experience  hath  tes- 
 tified any  such  thing  ?  There  is  none  of  them  in  whose 
 experience  we  might  more  readily  expect  to  find  it  than  this 
 eminent  apostle,  considering  his  attainment  in  grace,  light, 
 and  holiness.  Yet  how  far  from  this  is  the  case  here  repre- 
 sented ?  In  the  persons  most  eminent  for  holiness,  of  whom 
 we  have  the  history  at  any  length  in  the  Scripture,  this 
 evil  fountain  hath  discovered  itself  by  the  streams  it  hath 
 sent  forth.  If  this  blessed  apostle  was  preserved  from  re- 
 markable lapses  in  outward  practice,  yet  here,  where  he 
 lays  open  his  heart,  he  shows  the  source  of  sin  yet  remain- 
 ing within  him  ;  by  which  he  had  matter  of  constant  ex- 
 ercise, of  struggle,  and  of  godly  sorrow,  and  what,  from  his 
 own  experience,  afforded  good  reason  for  giving  the  salutary 
 advice  to  every  other  Christian,  Thou  standcst  by  faith  :  be 
 not  high  minded  hit  fear.  The  Scripture  acquaints  us,  that 
 there  is  not  a  just  man  that  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not.  We 
 have  here  what  accounts  for  it,  and  shows  it  shall  ever  be 
 so,  whilst  Christians  are  in  this  life. 
 
 This  is  that  original  sin,  which  every  one  hath  derived 
 from  a  corrupt  original ;  and  which  is  itself  the  original 
 and  source  of  all  a  man's  moral  deficiencies,  and  actual 
 transgressions  in  outward  and  inward  practice ;  and  whose 
 root  is  so  deep  in  human  nature,  as  never  to  be  wholly  era- 
 dicated in  this  life.     The  power  of  divine  grace,  and  of  the 
 
The  General  Scope  of  Rom.  VII.  14— !2;5.  301 
 
 Holy  Spirit,  could  doubtless  soon  do  it  perfectly,  if  Divine 
 wisdom  had  not  thought  otherwise  fit,  and  that  Christians 
 should  labour  under  imperfection,  and  having  the  remainder 
 of  sin  dwelling  in  them  to  struggle  with  ;  that  with  minds 
 well  enlightened,  and  hearts  truly  sanctified,  they  might, 
 from  what  they  constantly  feel,  perceive  sensibly,  and  un- 
 derstand thoroughly,  the  wretched  state  from  which  divine 
 grace  saves  them  ;  might  be  kept  from  trusting  in  them- 
 selves, and  might  ever  hold  all  their  consolation  and  hope  of 
 the  rich  and  free  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  through  faith. 
 
 It  is  matter  of  very  serious  consideration  to  observe,  after 
 what  high  attainments  eminent  saints  have  discovered  much 
 of  sin  remaining  in  them.  Moses  was  at  two  different  times 
 forty  days  and  forty  nights  in  the  mount  with  God,  and 
 God  had  often  spoken  to  him  face  to  face,  as  a  man  doth  to 
 his  friend ;  yet  it  was  after  this  that  an  unholy  passion  in 
 him  made  its  eruption,  in  a  manner  very  provoking  to  God. 
 David  was  under  great  influence  of  grace  in  his  ordinary 
 course  and  behaviour,  and  was  often  under  divine  inspira- 
 tion ;  yet  thereafter  it  appeared,  in  fearful  instances,  that 
 the  root  of  sin  still  remained  in  him,  so  as  to  give  him  oc- 
 casion to  look  back  to  his  original  depravation,  and  to  say, 
 Psal.  li.  5.  Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did 
 my  mother  conceive  me.  The  sinful  failures  of  prophets  might 
 be  here  mentioned.  For  one  instance,  Jonah  had  received  fre- 
 quent revelations  from  God,  yet  after  this,  how  great  proof 
 did  he  give  of  sinful  mistrust  and  fear,  of  remaining  rebel- 
 liousness against  the  government  of  the  Almighty,  (even 
 after  being  delivered  out  of  the  whale's  belly,)  and  of  tur- 
 bulent and  violent  passion,  as  is  narrated  in  the  short  history 
 that  bears  his  name. 
 
 Paul,  a  New  Testament  saint,  made  great  advances  in 
 light  and  holiness  ;  he  laboured  hard  against  sin  within  ; 
 he  kept  under  his  body  ;  he  had  great  helps  to  the  mortify- 
 ing of  sin,  even  in  the  various  outward  trials  and  distresses 
 that  he  was  very  commonly  exercised  with.  With  all  this, 
 he  had  abundance  of  revelations,  and  was  even  rapt  up 
 into  the  third  heavens  some  years  before  he  wrote  to  the 
 Romans.  But  after  being  in  heaven,  he  needed  the  acutely 
 painful  thorn  in  the  flesh,  to  keep  the  evil  root  that  yet  re- 
 mained in  him  from  springing,  and  least  he  should  be  exalted 
 above  measure  ;  even  least  (so  he  emphatically  repeats  it)  he 
 should  be  exalted  above  measure.  In  our  context,  how  sad 
 the  representation  he  gives  of  sin  dwelling  in  him  !  Ah,  how- 
 deep  hath  sin  gone  in  human  nature  !     Christians  have  the 
 
 N  5 
 
302  A  Dissertation,  Sfc. 
 
 use  to  make  of  the  case  here  set  before  them,  that  Paul  him- 
 self made  of  it,  who  not  only  at  his  first  conversion,  but 
 ever  after,  had  it  greatly  at  heart  to  be  found  in  Christ,  not 
 having  his  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but  that 
 which  is  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is 
 of  God  by  faith.  Christians  will,  whilst  in  this  life,  carry 
 about  with  them  what  may  give  them  a  sensible  proof  and 
 deep  impression  of  the  obligation  they  are  under  to  the  free 
 grace  of  God ;  what  great  power  of  grace  it  requires  to  pre- 
 sent them  at  last  a  church  glorious  and  without  spot ;  and 
 what  is  the  exceeding  riches  of  God's  grace,  in  his  kindness 
 towards  us  through  Christ  Jesus. 
 
 Enough  seems  to  have  been  said  to  vindicate  the  true 
 sense  of  this  context ;  and  some  of  the  practical  uses  thereof 
 have  been  marked  out.  Though  the  learned  Dr  Whitby 
 shows  no  great  superiority  of  genius,  and  his  arguments  on 
 this  subject  are  sometimes  extremely  blunt,  yet  he  could 
 give  a  keen  enough  edge  to  his  expressions  otherwise  ;  as 
 when  he  says  of  our  interpretation  :  '  That  it  is  as  great  an 
 '  instance  of  the  force  of  prejudice,  and  the  heat  of  opposi- 
 '  tion,  to  pervert  the  plainest  truths,  as  can  be  haply  pro- 
 '  duced/  For  my  part,  when  I  observe  that  the  man  who 
 speaks  here  is  one  who  delighted  in  the  law  of  God,  and  in 
 the  holiness  thereof  in  the  inner  man  ;  who  willed,  loved, 
 and  endeavoured  what  was  good  and  right ;  who  hated  sin, 
 and  was  conflicting  against  it,  crying  out  sorrowfully  of  his 
 wretchedness  by  it  ;  and  who  (himself)  with  his  mind  ser- 
 ved the  law  of  God  :  I  cannot  help  considering  it  as  one  of 
 the  phenomena  in  the  learned  world  the  most  difficult  to  ac- 
 count for,  that  any  men  of  learning  and  judgment  could  in- 
 terpret these  things  of  persons  unregenerate,  under  the  law, 
 destitute  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  yea,  of  persons  who  have 
 abandoned  themselves  to  wickedness,  as  Ahab,  and  the  re- 
 volters  from  the  true  religion  before  mentioned.  Let  the 
 reader  judge  for  himself. 
 
 TEXT. — 14.  For  xve  know  that  the  laze  is  spiritual;  but  I  am  carnal, 
 sold  under  din. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 14*.  We  know  that  the  law  of  God  is 
 spiritual  ;  that  its  authority  and  demand  reaches  to  a  man's 
 spirit  and  heart,  to  prescribe  rule  thereto,  and  to  every 
 inward  motion  of  the  soul  ;  and  it  is  by  its  being  thus 
 spiritual,  that  I  heretofore  received  the  thorough  conviction 
 of  my  sinfulness.  When,  upon  this  extensive  view  of  the 
 law,  I  do  now  compare  myself  with  it,  and  consider  the 
 
Paraphrase  of  Rom.   VII,  15 — 17-  303 
 
 perfect  inward,  as  well  as  outward   purity  it  requires,   bow 
 great  a  disconformity  to  its  holiness  doth  still  remain  with 
 me  !    I  do  not  only  refer  to  the  time,   when  I  was  in  my 
 natural    condition,   in   the   flesh,    (ver.   5.)    when   that   evil 
 principle  was  absolutely  dominant  in  me,  being  under  the 
 law,  and  its  curse,  destitute  of  the  Spirit,  when  sin  had  its 
 full  course  in  me,  iu  one  form  or  other  ;  but  even  at  this 
 time,  being  under  grace,  thereby  delivered  from  the  law, 
 and  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  ;  even  yet  alas  ! 
 though   now   in   such   a   comfortable   state,   how   far  from 
 that   holiness  of  heart  which  this  spiritual  law  requireth  ! 
 I  am  carnal  ;  the  flesh,  that  corrupt  source  and  principle 
 of  evil,  though  deprived  of  its  dominion,  yet  still  remaineth 
 in  me,   with  much  force  and   activity  ;  and  though  by  the 
 grace  of  God,  I  am   not  as    Ahab,  who,    with  full  determi- 
 nation of  his  heart,  sold  (abandoned)   himself  to  work  evil, 
 yet  the  flesh,  with  its  violent  corrupt  affections,  and  unholy 
 passions,  having  the  advantage  of  concurring  temptations, 
 doth  often,  yea  too  commonly,  carry  me  away  as  a  captive 
 and  slave,  contrary  to  the  habitual,  and  habitually  prevailing 
 inclination  of  my  heart  and  will. 
 
 15.  For  that  which  I  do,  I  allow  not :  for  what  I  would,  that  do  I  not  ; 
 but  -.chat  I  hate,  that  do  I. 
 
 15.  I  say,  against  the  habitually  prevailing  inclination  of 
 my  will.  For  what  I  do,  through  the  unhappy  influence  of 
 the  flesh  in  the  way  I  have  mentioned,  is  what  indeed  I  do 
 not  favour  or  love.  For  what  my  will  inclines  by  its  habi- 
 tual determination,  that,  obstructed  by  the  flesh,  and  the 
 weakness  which  remaining  corruption  brings  upon  me,  I  do 
 not ;  but  what  I  truly  and  sincerely  hate,  that,  through  its 
 influence,  I  too  often  do. 
 
 16.  If  then  I  do  that  which  I  would  not,  I  consent  unto  the  law  that 
 it  is  good, 
 
 16.  If  then  what  my  heart  worketh  and  doth  within  me 
 by  means  of  the  evil  that  springeth  up  from  the  flesh  and 
 corrupt  nature,  contrary  to  the  holy  and  spiritual  law,  is  in- 
 deed what  is  contrary  to  the  fixed  and  habitual  inclination 
 of  my  will,  then  I  do  not  only  by  my  understanding  or  mind 
 assent  to  it  as  a  truth,  that  the  law  is  good,  but  this  habitual 
 inclination  of  my  will  shows  that  I  heartily  consent  to  the 
 goodness  of  the  law  ;  that  it  is  good  in  itself,  as  I  said  but 
 just  now,  (ver.  12.)  and  that  it  prescribes  that  which  is  good 
 for  me,  with  respect  to  my  duty  and  happiness. 
 
 17.  Now  then,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  il,  but  sin  that  dwcllnth 
 in  me. 
 
304  Paraj)h rase  of  Rom.  VII  1 7 — 2 1 . 
 
 17.  Now  then,  though,  strictly  speaking,  it  is  I  who  do  all 
 that  is  done  by  the  activity  of  sin  in  my  heart,  and  though 
 I  cannot  justify  myself  before  this  holy  and  spiritual  law,  nor 
 say,  I  am  not  chargeable  with  it ;  yet  grace,  under  which  I 
 am,  and  which  hath  special  and  tender  regard  to  the  sincerity 
 of  the  heart  and  will,  allows  me  to  take  some  comfort,  with 
 respect  to  the  sad  case,  by  distinguishing,  and  saying,  It  is 
 not  I  myself  who  do  the  evil,  which  I  sincerely  hate,  and  is 
 so  contrary  to  the  habitual  inclination  of  my  will ;  but  my 
 most  hateful  enemy  sin,  which  continueth  its  habitation, 
 though  not  its  dominion,  in  me. 
 
 IS.  For  I  know,  that  in  me  {that  is,  in  my  flesh)  dwelleth  no  good  tiling : 
 for  to  will  is  present  with  me,  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I 
 find  not. 
 
 18.  It  is  grace  that  alloweth  me  thus  to  distinguish;  yea, 
 the  real  distinction  that  is  in  me  is  of  grace,  the  honour  of 
 which  is  to  be  ascribed  to  its  blessed  Author ;  for  as  to  me 
 otherwise,  as  I  am  by  nature,  and  so  far  as  my  nature  is  yet 
 unrenewed  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  (which  is  what  natural- 
 ly, and  abstracting  from  grace,  I  call  my  own,  and  my- 
 self,) I  know  that  no  good  thing  dwelling.  For  though, 
 through  grace,  there  is  a  readiness  in  me  to  will  that  which 
 is  good,  yet,  through  the  obstruction  which  the  flesh  giveth, 
 I  find  not  myself  able  to  perform,  in  the  constant,  thorough, 
 and  perfect  manner  which  I  will,  and  which  the  holy  law 
 requires. 
 
 19.  For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not  ;  but  the  evil  which  I  would 
 not,  that  I  do. 
 
 19-  For  the  whole  good  that  my  will  is  fully  bent  on  and 
 inclined  to,  I  do  not;  but  sin  ever  springing  up  in  me,  through 
 remaining  corruption,  is  what,  on  the  part  of  the  flesh,  I  do; 
 and  that  against  the  fixed  determination  of  my  will. 
 
 20.  Now  if  I  do  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin 
 that  dwelleth  in  me. 
 
 20.  Now  as  a  man's  moral  character  is  to  be  taken  from 
 the  sincere  habitual  inclination  of  his  heart  and  will  ;  if,  by 
 the  influence  of  the  flesh,  I  do  what  is  contrary  to  the  spirit- 
 ual and  holy  law,  and  what  my  will  is  averse  to,  it  is  not 
 I,  (let  me  again  encourage  myself  somewhat  with  the 
 thought)  it  is  not  my  very  self  that  does  it,  but  sin  that  dwell- 
 eth  in  me. 
 
 21.  I  find  then  a  law,  that  when  I  -would  do  good,  evil  is  present  tt  ith  me. 
 
 21.  I  find  then  a  law,  not  such  as  hath  a  true  light,  and 
 just  authority,  but  a  principle  strong  and  effective,  that  when 
 my  will  is  well  determined  to  that  which  is  good,  evil,  even 
 
Paraphrase  of  Rom.  VII.  22 — 25.  S05 
 
 the  unholy  motions  that  are  spontaneous  in  corrupt  nature, 
 takes  the  start  of  my  better  will,  and  prevents  its  effect ;  so 
 that  I  cannot  do  what  I  would  in  the  inward  and  outward 
 practice  of  holiness. 
 
 22.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  inward  man. 
 
 22.  As  I  have  been  saying,  that  now  when  I  am  under 
 grace,  my  will  by  its  habitual  inclination  is  really  on  the  side 
 of  holiness ;  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  I  sincerely  de- 
 light in  the  law  of  God,  and  in  the  holiness  which  it  recom- 
 mends and  requires,  according  to  my  inward  man,  that  new 
 man  in  me,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and 
 true  holiness. 
 
 23.  But  I  sec  another  Jaw  in  my  members,  warring  against  the  law  of 
 my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  laze  of  sin,  which  is  in  my 
 members. 
 
 23.  But  though  by  this  delight  in  the  holiness  of  the  law, 
 my  heart  hath  got  an  habitual  and  prevailing  determination 
 to  holiness,  yet  I  find  a  law  in  my  members,  which  hath  in 
 some  degree  taken  possession  of  all  my  faculties,  giving  false 
 light  and  prejudice  to  my  mind  and  judgment  ;  a  corrupt 
 bias  often  to  my  will,  putting  my  affections  and  passions  in 
 irregular  and  impetuous  motion,  and  so  warring  against  the 
 law  of  my  mind,  that  good  principle  and  law,  which  God, 
 according  to  the  promise  of  the  new  covenant,  ( Jer.  xxxi.  33. 
 Heb.  viii.  10. )  hath  put  in  my  mind,  and  written  in  my  heart; 
 so  warring  against  my  soul,  (1  Pet.  ii.  11.)  and  labouring 
 hard,  and  wTith  too  much  success  in  some  particular  instan- 
 ces, to  captivate  me  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  mem- 
 bers. 
 
 24.  O  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
 this  death  ! 
 
 24.  What  a  miserable  condition  this  !  To  be  free  of  this, 
 1  would  count  myself  happy  in  all  such  various  perils  as  1 
 have  gone  through,  such  multiplied  tribulations  as  I  have 
 undergone.  Those  have  not  made  me  miserable ;  but  this 
 worst  of  enemies  within  myself.  By  means  of  this,  ah, 
 what  a  wretched  man  am  I  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this 
 body  of  death,  from  which  it  hath  hitherto  exceeded  all  my 
 powers  of  nature  or  grace  to  rescue  me  ! 
 
 25.  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  So  then,  with  the 
 mind  I  myself  serve  the  taw  of  God  ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin. 
 
 25.  I  thank  God,  who  hath  provided  comfort  for  me  with 
 respect  to  this  my  present  wretchedness,  through  Jesus  Christ 
 our  Lord  ;  by  virtue  of  whose  cross  the  old  man  in  me  is 
 crucified  :   which  gives  me  the  sure  and  delightful  prospect, 
 
306  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 that  this  body  of  sin  and  death  shall,  in  due  time,  be  absolute- 
 ly destroyed,  and  I  completely  and  for  ever  delivered  from  it. 
 So  then,  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  is  :  With  my  mind, 
 that  good  and  most  prevailing  law  which  divine  grace  hath 
 put  in  my  mind  and  heart,  I  my  very  self  do  (if  imperfectly, 
 yet)  truly  and  sincerely,  serve  the  law  of  God  ;  though,  alas, 
 with  the  flesh,  the  cause  of  my  greatest  sorrow,  the  law  of  sin. 
 
 CHAP.  VIII. 
 
 TEXT — 1.    There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  arc 
 in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  ajter  the  fleshy  out  after  the  Spirit. 
 
 Explication. — This  proposition  is  introduced  in  way  of 
 inference,  expressed  by  the  word  therefore.     Without  men- 
 tioning the  different  views  that  interpreters  have  had  of  this, 
 I  take  it  to  be  an  inference  from  the  apostle's  whole  dis- 
 course and  doctrine  in  the  preceding  part  of  this  epistle.    He 
 had  treated  largely  of  the  justification  of  sinners  by  grace 
 through  faith,  in  the  first  five  chapters.     A  proper  inference 
 from  that  is  this  :     There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to 
 them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus.      In  the  sixth  and  seventh 
 chapters  he  had  treated  of  what  concerns  sanctification.    He 
 had  represented  persons  under  the  law  as  being  in  the  flesh, 
 under  the  dominion  of  sin,  and   its  servants ;  but  persons 
 brought  under  grace  by  free  justification,  as  being  made  free 
 from  that  servitude, — as  being  become  the  servants  of  God, 
 and  having  their  fruit  unto  holiness.     From  his  doctrine  in 
 this  part,  which  he  insists  on  to  the  end  of  chap.  vii.  he  had 
 proper  occasion  to  add,  as  the  mark  of  persons  in  Christ, 
 justified   and    free    from    condemnation,    that     they     walk 
 not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.     It  is  not  their  so 
 walking  that  frees  them  from  condemnation,  but  being  by 
 gratuitous  justification  freed  from  condemnation,  and  brought 
 under  grace,  and  thereby  made  free  from  the  dominion  of 
 sin,  (chap.  vi.  14.)  they  will,  in  their  ordinary  course,  walk 
 as  is  here  said  ;  and  that  so  certainly,  that  if  any  do  not  so 
 walk,  but  walk  after  the  flesh,  it  may  be  justly  concluded, 
 that  they  are  not  truly  in  Christ  as  to  their  real  spiritual 
 state.     This  is  the  view  that  the  apostle's  discourse  directs 
 us  to  take  of  the  matter.     After  making  the  complex  infer- 
 ence (ver.  1.)  from  his  doctrine  of  justification  and  sanctifi- 
 cation, the  apostle  doth,  through  this  whole  eighth  chapter, 
 discourse  in  the  mixed  way,  with  an  eye  to  both  subjects, 
 and  concerning  the  consolation,  and  the  obligation  to  duty 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  1.  307 
 
 and  holy  living  arising  from  both,  according  to  the  insepa- 
 rable connexion  that  is  established  between  them  in  the 
 economy  of  salvation.  So  that,  if  we  look  through  this  whole 
 eighth  chapter,  it  is  a  discourse  that  hath  this  first  verse,  in 
 both  parts  of  it,  for  its  text. 
 
 If,  in  all  the  seventeen  or  eighteen  verses  immediately 
 preceding,  he  had  been  describing  the  case  only  of  persons 
 unregenerate — the  slaves  of  sin,  one  might  readily  think  that 
 the  inference  in  our  text  comes  in  somewhat  awkwardly,  and 
 not  in  its  proper  place.  But  if,  from  the  fourteenth  verse 
 of  the  preceding  chapter,  the  case  of  a  person  is  represented 
 who  walked  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit,  which 
 is  the  truth  of  the  matter  ;  then  the  comfortable  inference 
 and  description  in  this  text  are  very  properly  introduced. 
 
 Let  us  now  look  more  closely  to  the  particular  expressions 
 of  the  text.  Them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  some  have 
 rendered  or  interpreted  thus  :  Them  who  are  Christians.  So 
 Castalio  and  Le  Cleic,  as  is  observed  by  Dr  Whitby,  who 
 adds — f  But  if  either  of  them  mean  only  Christians  by  pro- 
 1  fession,  or  being  only  members  of  the  Christian  church, 
 1  this  will  by  no  means  agree  with  this  place,  or  any  other 
 '  of  the  like  nature;  since  freedom  from  condemnation,  and 
 '  other  benefits  conferred  upon  us  through  Jesus  Christ,  will 
 f  not  follow  our  being  Christians  in  this  sense,  but  upon  a 
 ( lively  faith  in  Christ,  our  union  to  him  by  the  Spirit/  &c. 
 Le  Gere  says,  that  being  in  Christ  is  often  used  by  St  Paul 
 for  being  a  Christian.  I  do  not  observe  instances  of  his  using 
 the  expression  in  that  lax  and  large  sense,  but  the  quite  con- 
 trary. For  which  see  1  Cor.  i.  30.  2  Cor.  v.  1~-  1  Thess. 
 iv.  16. ;  and  to  these  places  of  Paul  we  may  add,  1  John  v.  20. 
 Rev.  xiv.  13.  John  xv.  5.  and  the  words  of  Paul,  Phil.  iii.  9. 
 In  which  places  it  is  plain,  that  being  in  Christ  means  not 
 only  being  Christians  by  profession  and  outward  church  pri- 
 vilege ;  but  being  sincere  believers,  in  real  union  with  Christ, 
 and  in  consequence  thereof,  being  holy  in  life,  happy  and 
 blessed  in  death. 
 
 As  to  the  second  clause, — who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but 
 after  the  Spirit — the  reading  in  the  Greek,  and  in  our  trans- 
 lation, is  vindicated  by  Dr  W.  in  his  Examen  miUii.  This 
 wTay  of  walking,  as  to  the  ordinary  course  of  life,  is  a  certain 
 consequence  of  being  in  Christ.  For  (2  Cor.  v.  17.)  If  any 
 man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature  ;  and  (1  Cor.  i.  30.) 
 to  them  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  he  is  made  ivisdom,  and 
 righteousness,  and  sanctijication. 
 
 Some  interpret  and  object  thus :  Mention  is  here  made  of 
 
S08  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 walking  after  the  flesh  ;  which  is  certainly  expressive  of  the 
 case  represented  in  the  context  immediately  preceding,  in 
 which  the  man  speaks  so  strongly  of  the  flesh  in  him,  and 
 the  law  in  his  members  captivating  him.     So  some. 
 
 But,  if  we  consider  the  matter,  we  shall  find  that  this  is 
 far  from  being  the  case  in  the  apostle's  view.  There  is  in- 
 deed a  man  represented  complaining  bitterly  of  the  flesh,  and 
 the  law  in  his  members,  and  of  its  force  and  too  great  pre- 
 valence. I  cannot  but  wonder  that  any  should  take  such  a 
 sense  of  things,  and  such  a  complaint,  as  proof  of  a  man's 
 walking  after  the  flesh.  A  man  may  come  under  such  con- 
 sequences of  an  ill  life  with  respect  to  his  person  outwardly, 
 or  his  affairs,  that  may  set  him  a  complaining  bitterly  of  his 
 prevailing  lusts  and  ill  practice,  when  it  is  not  sin  that  is 
 truly  bitter  to  him,  but  these  outward  ill  consequences  of  it ; 
 but  in  the  preceding  context,  we  find  a  man  feeling  painfully, 
 and  lamenting  bitterly  the  motions,  force,  and  prevalence  of 
 sin  within  him,  in  opposition  to  the  spiritual  and  holy  law  of 
 God,  without  mentioning  any  ill  consequence  externally.  Sin, 
 and  sinful  affections,  and  their  motions  within  him,  are  what 
 he  would  not,  and  what  he  hates,  abstracting  from  all  penal 
 and  ill  consequences.  If  sin  remains  in  him,  we  see  him  in 
 conflict  with  it.  This  doth  not  suit  the  notion  of  walking 
 after  the  flesh.  Walking  imports  a  man's  habitual  and  de- 
 liberate course,  in  which  he  freely  proceeds,  without  force, 
 struggle,  or  constraint,  neither  violently  drawn,  carried,  or 
 captivated  ;  but  going  according  to  the  motion  and  inclin- 
 ation of  his  own  will.  If  the  flesh  hath  its  law  or  command- 
 ment, it  may  be  said  of  the  unregenerate  man,  with  respect 
 to  the  commandment  of  that  law,  as  is  said  of  Ephraim,  with 
 respect  to  a  particular  instance  of  fleshly  walking,  (idolatry, 
 Gal.  v.  20.)  and  the  law  requiring  it,  Hos.  v.  11.  that  he 
 walked  willingly  after  the  commandment.  So  the  unregenerate 
 man  doth  with  regard  to  the  commandment  of  the  law  of  sin, 
 as  to  the  habitual  and  prevailing  inclination  of  his  will, 
 whatever  check  conscience  may  give.  If  this  is,  as  it  cer- 
 tainly is,  walking  after  the  flesh,  the  preceding  context  re- 
 presents a  man  whose  character,  disposition,  purpose,  and 
 earnest  endeavour,  are  very  contrary  to  it. 
 
 I  here  add  a  passage  of  Dr  Davenant  (afterwards  bishop  of 
 Sarum)  on  Col.  i.  7-  c  Renati  possunt  incidere  in  peccata,  sed 
 '  non  solent  ambulare,  nee  possunt  vivere  in  peccato;  ambulat 
 '  enim  in  peccato,  qui  lubenter,  assidue,  et  plena  voluntate 
 1  peccat/  That  is,  '  The  regenerate  may  fall  into  sin  ;  but 
 4  they  are  not  wont  to  walk,  nor  can  they  live  in  sin.     For 
 
Of  Romans  Fill.  1.  309 
 
 1  he  walketh  in  sin  who  sinneth  by  his  hearty  choice,  in 
 <  his  constant  course,  and  with  the  full  consent  of  his  will/ 
 
 The  mention  of  the  Spirit  here  has  been  the  occasion  of 
 another  argument,  respecting  the  meaning  of  the  immediately 
 preceding  context.  On  occasion  of  speaking  on  the  subject 
 of  holiness,  the  apostle  very  commonly  mentions  and  brings 
 into  view  the  Spirit  of  God,  with  his  powerful  operation  and 
 influence :  and  the  mutual  opposition  is  commonly  stated 
 between  the  Spirit  and  the  flesh.  But  there  is  no  mention 
 of  the  Spirit  in  the  case  proposed  in  the  latter  part  of  chap, 
 vii.  as  there  is  here  ;  which,  according  to  them,  gives  cause 
 to  think,  that  it  is  here  only  (chap.  viii.  1.)  that  the  apostle 
 begins  to  speak  of  the  case  of  true  believers,  truly  regenerated; 
 and  that  in  the  preceding  context,  where  there  is  no  mention 
 of  the  Spirit,  the  case  of  the  unregenerate,  destitute  of  the 
 Spirit,  is  represented.     So  Arminius  and  others  argue. 
 
 I  would  not  indeed  expect,  (if  there  were  not  a  point  of 
 dispute  in  the  case)  that  the  mention  of  the  Spirit  would  be 
 the  thing  of  which  some  men,  though  denominated  Christians, 
 would  perceive  the  greatest  want  in  the  reading  of  any  context; 
 as  I  do  not  see,  if  their  scheme  and  sentiments  are  well  looked 
 into,  that  they  generally  put  any  thing  in  religion,  as  to  its 
 ordinary  causes,  principles,  and  practice,  but  what  might  be 
 accounted  for,  if  there  was  no  mention  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
 the  Scriptures,  or  in  the  world  at  all.     As  to  the  argument, 
 
 It  is  true,  that  the  Spirit  is  not  mentioned  in  the  preced- 
 ing context,  nor  is  he  mentioned  in  all  the  sixth  chapter, 
 where  the  case  of  sincere  believers,  with  respect  to  sin  and 
 holiness,  is  so  largely  treated  of.  They  have  in  them  the 
 old  man  and  the  body  of  sin,  ver.  6. ;  they  are  (ver.  22,)  the 
 servants  of  God,  and  have  their  fruit  unto  holiness.  Yet  all 
 along  in  that  chapter  there  is  no  mention  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
 If  it  be  said,  that  there  is,  however,  in  that  chapter  what 
 sufficiently  distinguishes  the  case  of  the  true  Christian,  and 
 regenerate  person,  as  there  meant,  the  same  may  be  said  of 
 the  latter  context  of  chap.  vii.  as  hath  been  shown  largely 
 and  clearly  in  the  explication  of  it. 
 
 At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  considered,  that  the  law  of  the 
 mind,  and  the  law  in  the  members,  are  expressions  that  are  to  be 
 found  nowhere  else  in  the  Scriptures.  Yet  we  cannot  justly 
 infer,  that  what  is  meant  by  these  expressions  occurs  no- 
 where else.  That  the  opposition  and  conflict  of  the  law  of 
 the  mind  against  the  flesh,  or  law  in  the  members,  is  not 
 that  of  natural  conscience  or  mere  reason,  hath  been  shown, 
 as  it  hath  been,  that  the  law  of  the  mind  of  the  principle  is 
 
310  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 holiness,  implanted  in  the  soul  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  or  the 
 law  of  God  put  in  the  mind  and  heart,  according  to  the  grace 
 and  promise  of  the  new  covenant. 
 
 There  is  indeed  great  complaint  of  the  flesh  ;  yet  nothing 
 appears  in  the  preceding  context  that  amounts  to  walking 
 after  the  flesh.  But  on  the  contrary,  we  have  cause  to  con- 
 clude, that  a  heart  habitually  delighting  in  the  holiness  of 
 the  law  of  God,  and  in  ordinary  conflict  with  the  inward 
 motions  of  sin,  as  is  there  represented,  is  as  great  an  evi- 
 dence of  a  man's  not  walking  after  the  flesh,  as  can  possibly 
 be  imagined  to  be  in  the  case  of  any  man  in  whom  sin  re- 
 maineth  at  all. 
 
 Let  us  now  observe  how  Dr  Taylor  interprets  this  text. 
 Here  is  the  first  part  of  his  paraphrase  of  it :    c  But  now 
 
 •  under  the  gospel  the  most  encouraging  hopes  smile  upon 
 1  us,  and  we   have   the  highest   assurance,   that   those  are 
 
 *  quite  discharged  from  the  penalty  of  the  law,  and  disen- 
 '  gaged  from  the  servitude  of  sin,  who  embrace  the  faith  of 
 '  the  gospel ;  if  so  be  they  make  that  faith  a  principle  of 
 c  obedience,  and  do  not  choose  to  live  in  wickedness,  accord- 
 '  ing  to  the  instigation  of  fleshly  appetite/ 
 
 In  this  passage  several  things  come  to  be  observed.  1.  For 
 — them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus, — he  gives,  '  Who  em- 
 9  brace  the  faith  of  the  gospel/  This  falls  in  with  the  no- 
 tion of  Castalio  and  Le  Clerc,  for  confuting  which  enough 
 hath  been  said  already.  2.  The  paraphrase  expresses  wrhat 
 is  now  under  the  gospel ;  and  what  the  writer  states  in  op- 
 position thereto,  is  the  Mosaic  law,  the  weak  and  lifeless  dis- 
 pensation, as  he  calls  it,  of  the  law,  (which  is  an  erroneous 
 and  absurd  way  of  representing  that  dispensation,)  and  the 
 condition  of  a  wretched,  enslaved,  condemned  Jew  under  it. 
 Yet  nothing  can  be  marked  out  in  the  paraphrase,  as  now 
 under  the  gospel,  but  what  did  truly  (though  not  with  the 
 same  degree  of  light  and  comfort)  take  place  under  the  Mo- 
 saic legal  dispensation.  In  that  time  and  state  of  things, 
 the  most  encouraging  hopes  did  smile  on  men,  and  they  had 
 the  highest  assurance  of  being  quite  discharged  from  the 
 penalty  of  the  law,  and  disengaged  from  the  servitude  of  sin, 
 who  sincerely  embraced  the  faith  of  the  promise,  by  which, 
 even  in  these  time-,  the  gospel  was  preached  to  them.  In 
 these  times  there  were  good  men,  who  made  their  faith  a 
 principle  of  obedience,  &c.  3.  The  expression  of  the  para- 
 phrase implies,  that  persons  may  be  in  Christ  in  the  sense  of 
 the  text,  who  do  not  make  their  faith  a  principle  of  obe- 
 
Of  Romans  VI II.  1.  311 
 
 dience  ;  which  is  inconsistent  with  what  hath  been  shown  to 
 be  the  apostle's  meaning. 
 
 The  paraphrase  proceeds  thus  : — c  But  (do  choose  to  live) 
 '  in  faith  and  holiness,  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  in- 
 '  ward  man,  or  the  rational  faculty/  That  the  inward  man 
 means  something  more  than  merely  the  rational  faculty,  hath 
 been  here  proved,  on  chap.  vii.  22. 
 
 His  putting  c  the  rational  faculty/  for  the  Spirit,  as  in 
 the  text,  he  endeavours  to  justify  in  his  note.  There  he 
 says,  '  nnvux,  Spirit,  certainly  is  not  used  in  the  same  sense 
 '  throughout  this  chapter.  Ver.  10.  16'.  it  signifies  the  spirit 
 '  of  our  mind — the  supreme  part  of  our  constitution,  or  the 
 e  principle  of  reason,  by  which  we  discern,  approve,  and 
 1  choose  the  truth/  These  two  are  all  the  places  in  this 
 chapter  that  he  brings  as  meaning  by  the  Spirit  the  human 
 spirit,  or  principle  of  reason.  But  they  do  not  answer  his 
 purpose  in  interpreting  this  first  verse.  For  in  ver.  16.  our 
 spirit  being  set  in  opposition  to  the  Spirit  itself,  shows,  that 
 by  the  former  is  there  meant  the  human  spirit.  The  ex- 
 pression is  not  so,  ver.  1.  but  absolutely,  the  Spirit.  If  the 
 word  spirit  is  in  any  place  so  connected  with  another  word, 
 expression,  or  argument,  as  shows  it  is  there  to  be  understood 
 of  the  human  spirit,  this  makes  no  reason  for  understand- 
 ing it  so,  when  the  spirit  is  mentioned  absolutely,  without 
 any  such  connexion,  or  particular  reason  for  understanding 
 it  in  that  way. 
 
 As  to  ver.  10,  he  there  alters  our  translation  in  the  column 
 opposite  to  his  paraphrase,  and  for,  The  body  is  dead,  because 
 of  sin,  he  translates,  with  respect  to  sin,  and  so  he  gives 
 the  next  clause,  The  Spirit  is  life,  (not  because,  as  in  our 
 translation,  but)  with  respect  to  righteousness.  And  to  this 
 translation  of  his  own,  he  suits  his  paraphrase  thus  :  c  The 
 1  sinful  appetites  and  affections  of  the  body  are  slain  in  you, 
 {  — your  spiritual  part  is  alive,  is  in  a  healthy  vigorous  con- 
 r  dition  with  respect  to  righteousness/ 
 
 This  method  is  far  from  being  fair.  If  he  would  give  our 
 translation  in  one  column,  as  he  pretends  to  do,  he  should 
 give  it  as  it  is,  and  if  he  should  prove  in  a  note  that  our 
 translation  was  not  just,  he  might  thereby  warrant  his  para- 
 phrase. It  occurs  happily,  however,  that  in  his  note,  when 
 he  meant  to  support  his  paraphrase,  himself  brings  forth  what 
 justifies  our  translation.  Aix,  with  an  accusative,  says  he, 
 signifies  with  reference  to,  or  on  account  of.  But  could  the 
 preposition,  as  himself  relates,  be  rendered,  on  account  of 
 sin,  and  on  account  of  righteousness,  doth  this  make  such 
 
I 
 
 312  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 odds  of  sense  from,  because  of  sin  and  because  of  righteousness, 
 that  our  translation  should  be  altered  for  it,  when  it  could 
 well  stand,  according  to  what  he  mentions  concerning  the 
 preposition  ? 
 
 But  what  reason  can  be  offered  for  using,  instead  of  body, 
 ver.  10.  sinful  appetites  and  affections  of  the  body,  and  for 
 the  Spirit,  to  put  your  spiritual  part  ?  Dr  T.  has  certainly 
 mistaken  the  meaning  of  this  tenth  verse.  I  venture  to  ex- 
 press myself  concerning  it  as  follows.  As  the  apostle  hath 
 in  his  eye  the  comfortable  subject  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
 dead,  suggested  more  fully  in  the  following  verse,  I  think 
 the  word  body  ver.  30.  may  be  taken  for  person,  (see  on 
 chap.  vi.  12.)  ;  and  the  Spirit  is  evidently  meant  of  the 
 Spirit  of  God,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  9th  verse,  and 
 twice  in  the  immediately  following  verse.  So  the  sense  of 
 the  whole  verse  may  be  thus  expressed  :  '  If  Christ  be  in 
 you  by  your  having  his  Spirit,  even  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell- 
 ing in  you,  (as  ver.  9-)  you  are,  as  to  the  present  bodily  state 
 and  frame  of  your  persons,  appointed  indeed  to  die  because 
 of  sin,  even  the  sin  of  the  first  Adam,  for  which  all  man- 
 kind have  been  adjudged  to  death  ;  but  the  Spirit  of  God, 
 and  of  Christ  in  you,  will  bring  you  to  life  at  the  resurrection, 
 because  of  righteousness,  even  the  righteousness  of  One,  the 
 second  Adam/  as  is  more  fully  expressed  in  the  next  verse. 
 See  Dr  W.  on  the  place. 
 
 We  have  Dr  TVs  criticism  concerning  the  Greek  preposi- 
 tion Aix,  with  an  accusative,  in  ver.  10. ;  we  may  next  see  how 
 he  manages  with  it  as  constructed  with  a  genitive.  This  is 
 in  ver.  11.  and  as  we  have  come  so  near  it,  it  is  not  amiss 
 that  we  observe  it.  There  for  hu — 7rvsv^ar6g,  he  gives,  Be- 
 cause of  the  Spirit.  What  reason  could  he  give  for  this  ?  It 
 is  the  case  that  §<#  in  that  construction  very  commonly  sig- 
 nifies per,  by  ;  and  my  lexicon  gives  that  as  the  first  sense 
 of  the  preposition  in  that  construction,  according  to  which 
 we  translate.  Hedericus  gives  no  sense  of  the  preposition 
 with  a  genitive  that  will  answer  this  writer's  purpose  ;  nor 
 doth  Pasor,  who  mentions  very  many  instances  of  it  in  that 
 construction.  But  the  author  seems  to  have  been  more 
 anxious  to  screen  his  particular  hypothesis  and  opinion  from 
 hurt,  than  to  give  a  just  and  well- warranted  interpretation 
 of  this  text.  That  heavenly  Being  or  Agent,  which  is  com- 
 monly called  the  Holy  Ghost,  (as  he  speaks,  note  on  ver.  1.) 
 he  did  not  believe  more  than  he  believed  the'Son  to  be  truly 
 and  by  nature  God.  But  he  was  sensible  that  it  would  be 
 a  striking  proof  of  his  being  so,  if  quickening  the  dead,  or 
 
Of  Romans  Fill.  1.  313 
 
 raising  the  dead,  were  ascribed  to  him.  So,  instead  of  our 
 translation,  which  renders  justly,  according  to  the  use  of  the 
 Greek  language,  He  that  raised  up  Christ  shall  also  quicken 
 your  mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit, — he  gives — because  of  his 
 Spirit ;  and,  according  to  this,  he  gives  in  his  paraphrase 
 thus  :  (  He  who  raised  Christ,  will  restore  to  a  glorious  im- 
 '  mortal  life, — even  your  bodies,  because  you  are  sanctified 
 1  by  his  Spirit/  But  this  cannot  be  supported  by  any  just 
 criticism. 
 
 We  have  seen  that  the  two  texts,  which  Dr  T.  brings  out 
 of  this  same  chapter,  (viz.  ver.  10,  16.)  do  not  answer  his 
 purpose  in  rendering,  after  the  Spirit,  by,  e  according  to 
 *  the  dictates  of — the  rational  faculty.'  Neither  these  two 
 verses,  nor  any  other  that  he  could  bring,  give  any  counte- 
 nance to  that  paraphrase.  In  that  expression  (ver.  1.)  which 
 walk — after  the  Spirit,  the  apostle  certainly  speaks  in  rela- 
 tion to  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  have  sufficient  cause  to  think 
 so,  from  the  manner  in  which  the  apostle  states  the  opposi- 
 tion between  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit,  (mentioned  here,  ver.  1.) 
 and  follows  it  out  through  the  following  context ;  wherein, 
 after  opposing  flesh  and  Spirit  several  times,  he  at  length  ex- 
 plains what  he  means  by  Spirit  in  this  opposition,  when  he 
 tells  the  Roman  Christians,  ver.  9-  that  they  were  not  in  the 
 flesh,  but  were  in  the  Spirit,  by  having  the  Spirit  of  God 
 dwelling  in  them.  It  is  that  Spirit  that  is  meant,  ver.  10,  11. 
 as  hath  been  just  now  observed  ;  and  when,  ver.  13,  he  men- 
 tions Christians  through  the  Spirit  mort'fying  the  flesh,  it  is  the 
 Spirit  of  God,  in  opposition  to  the  flesh,  that  is  meant,  even 
 according  to  Dr  T.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted,  that  walking  after 
 the  Spirit,  in  the  first  verse,  means  the  same  way  of  walking 
 and  the  same  influence  that  is  meant,  ver.  1 4.  where  it  is  said, 
 As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 
 God,  They  who  walk  after  the  Spirit,  ver.  1.  are  the  same 
 who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  ver.  14. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  I  conceive  the  matter  thus  :  In  the  7th 
 chapter  he  mentions  the  inward  man  as  delighting  in  the  law 
 of  God,  and  says,  ver.  25.  With  the  mind  I  myself  serve  the 
 law  of  God.  These  expressions,  the  inward  mail,  the  mind, 
 and  the  law  of  his  mind,  signify  the  soul  itself  as  renewed, — 
 the  new  man,  and  principle  of  holiness  within  him.  Here  in 
 the  next  following  verse,  chap.  viii.  1.  he  means  the  same  way 
 of  walking  and  serving  God,  according  to  the  inward  man, 
 and  law  of  his  mind,  with  the  superadded  idea  of  the  Spirit 
 of  God  dwelling  in  the  Christian,  and  continuing  to  influence 
 the  inward  man  and  law  of  the  mind,  in  this  way  of  walking. 
 
314  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Having  here,  ver.  1 .  once  mentioned  the  Spirit,  we  see  he 
 keeps  him  much  in  view,  with  regard  to  his  various  influence 
 and  assistance  granted  to  Christians,  down  to  ver.  27. 
 
 The  dictates  of  the  rational  faculty  (if  men  understood 
 them)  and  the  Spirit  of  God,  do  direct  and  lead  to  the  same 
 way  of  walking.  But  there  is  a  power  and  efficacy  in  the  in- 
 fluence of  the  Spirit,  that  is  not  in  the  dictates  of  the  rational 
 faculty.  The  apostle's  meaning  by  the  Spirit,  as  stated  in 
 opposition  to  the  flesh  in  this  eighth  chapter,  is  so  very  clear, 
 that  it  was  very  wrong-,  and  somewhat  perverse,  to  use  in 
 paraphrase  for  the  Spirit,  the  rational  faevdty. 
 
 Paraphrase. — J.  As  I  have  showed,  that  true  Christians 
 are,  by  the  faith  that  hath  truly  united  them  to  Christ, 
 brought  into  a  justified  state,  and  have  the  blessedness  that 
 God  imputeth  righteousness  to  them  ;  and  have  showed  that 
 true  believers,  being  dead  to  sin,  and  made  free  from  its  do- 
 minion, are  become  servants  of  God  and  of  righteousness,  in 
 ordinary,  sincere,  and  earnest  conflict  against  the  motions  of 
 sin  within  them  ;  it  clearly  follows  on  the  one  hand,  that 
 there  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  truly  united 
 to  Christ,  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  is  the  certain  cha- 
 racteristic of  such,  that  their  conversation  and  w;;ik  is  not 
 regulated  or  directed  according  to  the  flesh,  or  the  lusts 
 thereof,  (whatever  temptation  and  sad  exercise  they  may 
 have  by  these)  but  by  the  principle  of  holiness  in  the  new 
 man,  and  by  the  holy  Spirit  of  God,  under  whose  special 
 influence  the  new  man,  the  law  of  their  mind,  is. 
 
 TEXT — 2.  For  the  late  of  the  Spirit  of  life,  in  Christ  Jesus,  hath  mad* 
 me  free  from  the  laiv  of  a  in  and  death. 
 
 Explication. — In  the  preceding  verse  there  is  a  doctrinal 
 proposition  by  way  of  inference,  which,  in  the  comprehen- 
 sion of  the  expression,  includes  and  respects  all  true  be- 
 lievers. Here  the  expression  is  of  himself  personally  ;  yet 
 so  as  to  be  evidently  designed  to  explain  the  general  doc- 
 trine of  the  preceding  verse. 
 
 Some  have  considered  this  second  verse,  as  particularly 
 connected  with  the  first  clause  of  the  preceding,  There  is  now 
 no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jcsas ;  and  as 
 being  designed  to  give  some  explanation  about  being  made 
 free  from  condemnation.  But  as  in  the  sixth  and  seventh 
 chapters,  those  immediately  preceding  this,  the  subject  is 
 sanctification,  any  thing  concerning  justification  falls  in  but 
 incidentally,  and  as  connected  with  sanctification,  and  in 
 subserviency  to  his  explanations  on  that  subject. 
 
Of  Romans  Fill.  2.  315 
 
 I  therefore  think  this  second  verse  is  to  be  considered  as 
 particularly  connected  with  the  second  clause  of  ver.  1. 
 who  walk  not  after  the  ficsh,  hut  after  the  Spirit.  It  might 
 have  been  suggested  thus  :  Men  in  their  natural  condition 
 are  the  slaves  of  sin,  and,  in  that  state,  certainly  they  can- 
 not walk  after  the  Spirit,  being  destitute  of  the  Spirit.  Men's 
 so  walking  shows  them  to  be  blessed  with  a  happy  liberty 
 from  the  slavery  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  law  of  sin,  which 
 they  have  been  under  formerly.  This  second  verse  explains 
 how  Christians  have  been  made  free  from  that  slavery  and 
 dominion,  as  the  third  verse  doth  still  further  explain  the 
 matter. 
 
 As  to  the  particular  expressions  of  this  text,  the  word  law 
 comes  first  to  be  explained,  as  it  seems  to  have  different 
 senses  in  this  one  verse.  In  the  latter  clause,  the  law  of  sin 
 and  death  hath  by  some  been  understood  of  the  law  of  God, 
 as  it  assigns  death  to  the  transgressors  ;  and  whilst  men  are 
 under  it,  they  are  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  Sin  is  so  far 
 from  being  subdued  by  it,  that  there  are  motions  of  sins  by 
 the  law,  and  sin  taketh  occasion  by  the  commandment. 
 This,  however,  cannot  be  the  meaning.  It  were  not  consis- 
 tent with  the  reverence  due  to  the  law  of  God,  nor  with  the 
 truth,  to  call  it  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  Yea,  it  could  not 
 be  so  called,  but  in  plain  contradiction  to  the  vindication  the 
 apostle  hath  made  of  it,  chap.  vii.  7-  Is  the  law  of  sin  ?  God 
 forbid  ;  and  ver.  13.  Was  that  which  is  good  made  death  to 
 me?   God  forbid. 
 
 We  need  not  be  at  a  loss  for  the  meaning  of  this  last  clause 
 of  the  text.  He  had  (chap  vii.  25,  the  next  verse  save  one 
 preceding  this)  mentioned  the  law  of  sin,  which,  by  means 
 of  the  flesh,  had  held  sinners  in  subjection  and  slavery  ;  and, 
 in  the  verse  preceding  that,  he  had  mentioned  the  body  of 
 death.  The  law,  then,  of  sin  and  death,  is  no  other  than  that 
 evil  principle  dominant  in  a  man,  from  which  the  true  Chris- 
 tian is  made  free.     How  made  free  ? 
 
 This  the  apostle  ascribes  to  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
 Christ  Jesus.  Here  is  another  law  ;  and  if  the  law  in  the 
 last  clause  signifies  a  principle  within  a  man,  this  may  seem 
 to  signify  also  an  inward  principle—a  better  principle  wrought 
 and  implanted  by  the  Spirit  of  life,  even  the  same  which 
 he  had  called  (chap.  vii.  23.)  the  law  of  his  mind.  By  this 
 principle  is  a  man  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  the  other 
 principle  or  law.  This  is  not  widely  different  from  what  I 
 take  to  be  the  more  precise  meaning. 
 
 It  seems  most  likely,   that  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
 
3l6  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 means  the  gospel.  So  it  was  understood  by  Methodius,  an 
 ancient  writer,  as  mentioned  by  Dr  \V.  If  the  apostle  men- 
 tion (chap.  iii.  27-)  the  law  of  faith,  he  doth  not  recede  any 
 farther  from  strict  propriety  in  giving  here  the  name  of  law 
 to  the  gospel,  that  is  the  means  of  faith.  It  is  certain  that 
 laiv  is  often  in  the  Old  Testament  put  for  the  word  of  God 
 in  general,  of  which  there  are  many  instances  in  the  11 9th 
 Psalm.  The  Psalmist  says  (Psal.  xix.  7.)  The  law  of  the  Lord 
 is  perfect,  converting  the  soul.  It  is  plain  that  he  there  means 
 the  doctrine  of  gospel -grace,  as  then  set  forth  in  the  word  of 
 God ;  for  without  this,  the  law,  strictly  so  called,  doth  not 
 convert  the  soul.  At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  observed,  that 
 the  designation  given  here  to  the  gospel  is  not  absolutely  the 
 law,  but  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  ;  thus  distinguishing  it 
 from  the  law,  by  which  the  Spirit  is  not  given. 
 
 The  gospel  brings  men  to  the  liberty  here  mentioned,  only 
 as  it  is  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life.  He  is  called  here  the 
 Spirit  of  life  very  appositely,  in  opposition  to  that  other  law 
 of  sin  and  death,  as  he  now  gives  a  spiritual  life  in  the  souls 
 of  men  ;  and  hereafter,  when  he  shall  quicken  their  bodies 
 at  the  resurrection,  shall  raise  them  to  the  perfection  of  life 
 in  soul  and  body. 
 
 Now  this  is  a  very  important  thing,  in  which  the  gospel 
 is  set  in  opposition  to  the  law,  and  hath  the  advantage  of  it, 
 that  it  is  (2  Cor.  iii.  8.)  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit  which 
 (ver.  6.)  giveth  life  ;  and  so  the  gospel  is  the  law  of  the  Spirit 
 of  life. 
 
 In  our  text  is  added,  in  Christ  Jesus ;  which  may  be 
 understood  thus :  The  Holy  Spirit  was  bestowed  on  Christ 
 the  Mediator  without  measure ;  he  hath  been  anointed  with 
 this  gladdening  oii ;  and  it  being  poured  on  him  as  our  great 
 High  Priest  and  Head,  as  on  the  head  of  Aaron,  (Psal. 
 exxxiii.  2.)  it  runs  down  on  the  body  and  members.  So  the 
 Holy  Spirit  is  in  Christ,  as  in  a  fountain,  out  of  which  every 
 one  receives  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ, 
 Eph.  iv.  7-  Or  the  expression  may  be  taken  thus  :  as  the 
 preposition  gy,  in,  is  often  put  for  Atct,  per,  by,  (so  Matth. 
 v.  13,  35.  and  vii.  6.  and  in  divers  other  places)  the  sense 
 may  be  taken  thus  :  The  Spirit  of  life  by  Jesus  Christ, — by 
 him  purchased  and  bestowed. 
 
 We  now  come  to  consider  the  good  effect,  and  that  is,  to 
 be  made  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  This,  the  inter- 
 preters of  opposite  sentiments  to  ours,  concerning  the  scope 
 and  meaning  of  the  preceding  context,  consider  as  a  key  to 
 open  and  determine  the  scope  and  sense  of  it.     Here,  say 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  2.  317 
 
 they,  the  apostle,  after  giving  a  general  doctrine,  (ver.  1.) 
 begins  to  speak  of  himself  indeed.  He  had  (chap.  vii.  1 4 — 25.) 
 been  setting  forth  the  case  of  one  carnal,  sold  under  sin,  a 
 captive  and  slave  to  the  law  of  sin.  The  apostle,  though 
 speaking  as  of  himself,  yet  could  not  truly  mean  himself,  as 
 then  in  a  state  of  grace,  but  was  certainly  personating  an- 
 other, a  man  under  the  law  ;  and  of  such  an  one  it  could  not 
 be  said,  as  here,  that  he  was  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
 death.  Here,  then,  he  is  speaking  of  himself  indeed,  and 
 stating  his  own  present  condition  in  opposition  to  that  he  had 
 been  representing  :  this  is  clear,  express,  strong,  and  decisive 
 on  the  subject,  according  to  some.  Softly ;  let  us  consider 
 the  matter  a  little. 
 
 It  hath  been  made  to  appear  very  clearly,  that  the  strong 
 expressions  in  the  preceding  context  being  the  language  of 
 sad  complaint,  there  is  nothing  in  it  inconsistent  with  a  re- 
 generate state.  None  will  say,  that  true  believers,  made 
 free  in  the  sense  of  our  text,  have  not  sin  remaining  in  them; 
 yea,  oftentimes  too  much  prevailing,  especially  as  to  its  in- 
 ward motions.  Surely  the  bitter  complaint  of  persons  on 
 this  account  is  no  sign  of  their  being  under  the  dominion  of 
 sin  ;  but  the  contrary.  Persons  under  the  dominion  of  sin 
 may  indeed  have  much  outcry  against  it,  on  account  of  its  con- 
 sequences of  misery  and  punishment,  as  hath  been  former- 
 ly observed.  So  a  passionate  man,  for  instance,  may  cry 
 out  of  his  own  hasty  and  outrageous  passion,  merely  because 
 it  brings  him  into  much  inconvenience,  into  many  a  fray, 
 and  perhaps  to  the  commission  of  crimes  of  capital  conse- 
 quence. A  lewd  man  may  cry  out  against  his  own  practice, 
 for  the  loathsome  rottenness  of  disease  it  hath  brought  on 
 him,  and  the  ruin  it  hath  brought  on  his  affairs.  Yea,  an 
 awakened  sinner  may  cry  out  still  more  seriously  and  ear- 
 nestly against  sin,  under  the  sad  impression,  by  the  force  of 
 the  law  in  his  conscience,  of  Divine  wrath,  and  eternal  judg- 
 ment. Yet  in  these  cases  the  prevailing  disposition  of  heart, 
 will,  and  affections  may  be  still  truly  on  the  side  of  sin  it- 
 self, though  under  considerable  restraint.  But  to  say  that  a 
 man,  setting  before  him  the  holiness  and  spirituality  of  the 
 law,  doth  delight  in  the  holiness  of  the  law  after  the  inward 
 man  habitually  willeth  that  which  is  good,  hateth  sin,  crieth 
 out  sincerely  against  it,  and  is  habitually  in  earnest  struggle 
 and  conflict  against  its  inward  motions ; — to  say  that  such  an 
 one  (however  strongly  he  may  express  his  feelings  of  sin)  is 
 indeed  under  its  dominion,  and  its  slave,  is  what  I  cannot 
 
 o 
 
0I8  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 help  considering  as  a  most  glaring  absurdity.  When  a  man 
 is  inclined  and  affected  with  regard  to  sin  and  duty,  and 
 maintains  a  struggle  and  conflict  with  sin,  as  is  expressed  in 
 the  preceding  context,  it  makes  a  clear  and  full  proof  that 
 he  is  not  the  slave  of  sin,  but  that  he  is  indeed  made  free 
 from  its  dominion  and  tyranny.  It  is  not  easy  to  imagine  a 
 stronger  proof  that  he  is  so,  whilst  sin  doth  at  all  remain  in  him. 
 
 A  similitude  taken  from  human  affairs  may  somewhat  il- 
 lustrate the  matter.  Our  neighbours,  the  Hollanders,  cast  off 
 the  yoke  of  a  cruel  arbitrary  tyrant,  then  the  most  powerful 
 monarch  in  Christendom,  and  asserted  their  liberty.  For 
 this  they  had  war  a  long  time,  between  seventy  and  eighty 
 years,  with  some  interval  of  truce.  In  the  course  of  it  they 
 were  very  successful  on  the  whole,  and  became  truly  rich. 
 Yet  there  was  great  distress  and  danger.  They  were  some- 
 times foiled  in  battle ;  their  country  was  plundered ;  towns 
 sacked  ;  ships  and  rich  merchandize  lost ;  their  men  taken, 
 and  brought  into  captivity.  Private  persons  in  these  times 
 might,  yea,  the  republic  might,  often  cry  out,  Ah,  what 
 wretchedness,  what  misery  !  Yet  still  in  all  this  distress  and 
 wretchedness  they  were  a  free  people ;  they  suffered,  they 
 groaned,  they  struggled,  they  fought,  and  were  free.  They 
 proved  themselves  to  be  so,  whilst  they  held m their  arms  in 
 their  hands,  and  stood  out  with  noble  resistance  in  the  war 
 which  their  old  master  carried  on  against  them,  to  subject 
 them  again  to  his  tyranny-  They  found  themselves  some- 
 times very  weak  ;  but  when  their  affairs  were  lowest,  yet 
 weak  and  resisting,  still  they  were  free.  At  length  the  most 
 illustrious  republic  attained  a  state  of  complete  liberty,  and 
 their  old  tyrant  ceased  from  having  pretensions  to  their  ser- 
 vice in  any  instance. 
 
 It  is  thus  as  to  the  matter  before  us,  which  is  of  incom- 
 parably greater  importance  to  individuals,  than  their  interest 
 in  the  worldly  condition  or  affairs  of  any  state  or  common- 
 wealth. True  Christians  are  in  earnest  conflict  and  strug- 
 gle with  sin,  as  represented,  chap.  vii.  by  which  they  have 
 often  much  distress ;  so  that  one  of  that  character  may  find 
 just  cause  to  cry  out,  Wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  de- 
 liver me  from  this  body  of  death  !  Yet  by  this  sense  of  things, 
 and  by  this  conflict,  however  distressing,  they  show  them- 
 selves to  be,  not  the  slaves  of  sin,  but  to  be  free  from  its  do- 
 minion. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  Christians  are  made  free  from  the  do- 
 minion of  sin,  whose  willing  slaves  they  had  been  ;  and  that 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  S.  319 
 
 by  the  power  of  the  gospel  in  their  hearts,  as  it  is  the  law  of 
 the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  by  the  grace  of  God, 
 which,  sin  remaining  in  them,  hath,  according  to  the  first 
 promise,  put  enmity  in  them  against  it ;  against  the  serpent, 
 and  what  of  his  poison  remaineth  in  them.  Continuing  ill 
 this  resistance  to  sin,  they  will  at  length  attain  a  state  of 
 most  perfect  liberty,  when  sin  shall  do  them  no  more  hurt, 
 nor  ever  more  give  them  any  molestation. 
 
 Paraphrase. — 2.  I  have  represented  my  sad  condition  by 
 sin  which  dwelleth  in  me,  and  have  expressed  my  thankful- 
 ness.to  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  I  have  been  dis- 
 posed and  enabled  to  resist  and  maintain  conflict  with  it, 
 with  good  prospect  of  success,  and  final  victory,  and  to  be, 
 amidst  all  the  disadvantage  that  sin  brings  upon  me,  serving 
 God  and  his  law  with  earnest  and  sincere  endeavour,  walk- 
 ing not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  I  now  come  to 
 account  for  it,  and  to  explain  to  you  how  I  have  been  brought 
 into  a  capacity  thus  to  resist  and  struggle,  and  thus  to  walk, 
 who  have  been  sometime  the  slave  of  sin.  This  hath  not  hap- 
 pened by  the  force  of  the  mere  dictates  of  reason  in  my  mind, 
 nor  by  any  resolutions  or  endeavours  that  were  the  mere 
 consequence  of  these.  Nor  did  it  happen  by  the  power  and 
 effect  of  the  law  in  my  conscience.  I  have  represented,  that 
 when  I  was  most  affected  with  the  authority,  light,  and  terrors 
 of  the  law,  I  found  myself  but  the  more  fastened  in  the  fet- 
 ters of  sin ;  and  sin  awakened  and  irritated  by  the  law,  did 
 then  move  the  more  vehemently  in  me,  and  show  itself  to  be 
 exceeding  sinful.  I  acknowledge,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of 
 j  Divine  grace,  that  it  was  the  power  of  the  gospel,  that  better 
 •  law  for  us,  as  it  is  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit,  the  law  of 
 the  Spirit  of  life,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  as  in  a  fountain, 
 and  cometh  by  him  to  us,  that  hath  made  me  free  from  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  putting  within  me  that  inward  principle  of 
 holiness,  which  I  have  called  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  which 
 now  resists  these  evils  and  enemies  that  war  against  my 
 soul,  and  maintains  warfare  against  the  law  of  sin  and  death, 
 over  which  it  will  be  finally  and  completely  victorious. 
 
 I  TEXT  3. — For  what  the  law  could  not  do  in  that  it  was  weak  through  th 
 flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son,  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for 
 sin  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh. 
 
 Explication. — This  is  a  text  of  great  importance  to  be 
 'ightly  understood  ;  as  it  contains  a  summary  of  the  most  es- 
 *~ntial  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  at  the  same  time,  com- 
 
320  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 pletes  the  apostle's  explications  concerning  the  subject  of  the 
 two  preceding  chapters.  Yet  few  texts  have  been  more 
 teazed  with  the  criticisms  of  the  learned,  which  do  often 
 tend  rather  to  darken,  than  to  give  light  to  it,  or  to  the  sub- 
 ject of  it.  I  shall  lay  open  very  freely  what  I  think  con- 
 cerning the  general  scope  of  it,  and  concerning  the  sense  of 
 the  particular  expressions,  in  the  order  in  which  they  lie. 
 
 For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through 
 the  flesh — The  first  inquiry  is,  What  is  it  that  the  law  could 
 not  do  ?  Divers  commentators,  whom  I  much  esteem,  do 
 understand  this  to  be  the  justifying  of  sinful  men.  This  is 
 likewise  Dr  Whitby's  view  of  it. 
 
 Yet  I  am  not  satisfied  with  this  interpretation  ;  yea,  1  am 
 well  satisfied  that  it  doth  not  hit  the  apostle's  view  and 
 meaning.  For,  1.  Though  it  is  true  that  the  law  cannot 
 justify  a  sinner,  as  the  apostle  had  proved  in  the  former 
 part  of  this  epistle,  yet  that  is  not  the  present  subject.  It 
 is  evident,  that  sanctih* cation  hath  been  the  subject  from  the 
 beginning  of  chap.  vi.  and  the  deliverance  of  persons  from 
 the  dominion  of  sin.  The  subject  of  the  immediately  pre- 
 ceding verse  is,  the  making  a  sinner  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
 and  death  ;  that  is,  from  the  power  of  natural  corruption, 
 and  the  dominion  of  sin.  This  was  the  last  thing  the  apos- 
 tle had  mentioned  ;  and  it  seems  very  clear  from  the  con- 
 nexion, and  the  manner  in  which  this  third  verse  is  intro- 
 duced with  the  casual  particle  (y*%,forj  that  the  great  thing 
 thus  to  make  free,  ver.  2.  is  what  the  law,  ver.  3.  could  not 
 do  :  it  could  not  make  free  from  the  dominion  and  law  of  sin. 
 
 2.  The  reason  he  gives  suits  that  subject  more  properly 
 than  it  doth  the  doctrine  of  justification, — In  that  it  was 
 weak  through  the  flesh.  Now,  that  is  not  the  reason  why  the 
 law  cannot  justify.  Though  in  proving  the  sinfulness  of 
 Gentiles  and  Jews,  chap.  iii.  10 — 18.  the  apostle's  reason- 
 ing, and  quotations  from  the  Scripture,  do  abundantly  prove 
 the  dreadful  universal  corruption  of  human  nature,  yet  the 
 precise  point  upon  which  his  argument  turns,  is,  ver.  23. 
 that  all  have  sinned ;  whereby  they  have  incurred  the  curse 
 of  the  law,  as  he  elsewhere  suggests,  Gal.  iii.  10.  Though 
 there  were  no  such  inherent  pravity  of  nature,  as  the  Scrip- 
 ture sets  forth  under  the  name  of  the  flesh,  yet  the  law 
 could  not  justify  any  who  had  sinned,  who  had  at  all  incur- 
 red guilt. 
 
 To  turn  the  disability  of  the  law  to  justify  the  sinner, 
 upon  the  corruption  of  his  nature,  as  this  text  would  do,  ac- 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  3.  34  I 
 
 cording  to  the  interpretation  I  am  considering,  would  imply 
 something  by  no  means  consistent  with  the  apostle's  clear 
 doctrine  ;  viz.  that  after  a  person  had  transgressed,  he  might 
 be  justified,  even  by  the  law,  for  returning  to  his  duty,  and 
 for  his  subsequent  righteousness,  if  the  weakness  and  pravity 
 of  his  nature,  called  the  flesh,  did  not  disable  him  from  doing 
 his  duty ;  which,  how  contrary  it  is  to  Scripture  doctrine,  I 
 need  not  stay  to  prove,  the  thing  is  so  clear. 
 
 We  have  next  to  inquire,  what  law  is  here  meant.  As  to 
 the  ritual  or  ceremonial  law  of  Moses,  which  is  most  strictly 
 the  Mosaic  law,  and  which  some  do  so  commonly  bring 
 into  view  in  interpreting  this  context,  the  institutions  of  it 
 were  appendages  to  the  gospel,  as  obscurely  represented  du- 
 ring that  more  dark  dispensation.  They  were  figures  or  sha- 
 dows that  prefigured  Christ,  and  divine  grace  through  him. 
 So  to  those  who  used  them  with  faith,  they  could  not  be  ab- 
 solutely denied  to  have  virtue  and  effect,  with  regard  to 
 sanctification. 
 
 It  remains,  that  the  lawT  here  must  be  the  moral  law,  which 
 all  mankind  are,  and  ever  were  concerned  with ;  and  which 
 can  be  called  Mosaic  only  with  respect  to  the  particular  man- 
 ner of  its  promulgation  at  Sinai,  and  the  subsequent  expla- 
 nations of  it  by  Moses.  This  law  expressing  the  conditions 
 of  the  first  covenant,  doth  by  its  precept  require  holiness  and 
 .obedience.  In  its  penal  sanction  is  terrible  denunciation 
 against  sin,  and  its  promise  gave  great  encouragement  to 
 obedience.  By  all  this  the  law  might  have  had  great  effect 
 with  man  in  a  state  of  perfection,  had  he  duly  attended 
 thereto.  But  as  it  could  not  hinder  the  transgression  of  man 
 in  a  state  of  perfection,  much  less  can  it  recover  the  fallen 
 sinner  from  the  slavery  of  sin,  or  set  him  free  from  its  do- 
 minion. 
 
 The  apostle  had  shown,  chap.  vii.  5.  and  ver.  7 — 13. 
 how  matters  stand  in  this  respect  between  the  law  and  per- 
 sons under  it,  in  their  natural  condition,  in  the  flesh ;  and 
 represents  them  so  as  to  prove  what  he  had  insinuated,  chap, 
 vi.  14.  viz.  that  persons  under  the  law  are  under  the  do- 
 minion of  sin.  It  is  evident  then,  that  what  the  law  could 
 not  do,  was,  to  make  a  man  free  from  this  dominion  of  sin. 
 The  law's  being  weak  through  the  flesh  comes  to  the  same 
 thing  as  to  say,  that  the  flesh  is  too  strong  for  the  law,  with 
 all  its  light,  authority,  and  terrors,  and  could  not  be  sub- 
 dued or  cured,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  life  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
 ceding verse  ;  and  this  Spirit  comes  not  by  the  law. 
 
3C22  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 — God  sending  his  own  Son,  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh. — 
 The  Son  of  God  did  not  assume  human  nature  in  its  beauty, 
 strength,  and  natural  perfection,  as  sinless  flesh,  or  as  Adam's 
 in  his  creation- state ;  he  assumed  it  in  its  present  natural 
 weakness,  obnoxious  to  the  miseries  of  this  life,  as  sinful  men 
 are  ;  designing  to  bear  our  griefs,  and  carry  our  sorrows. 
 
 We  have  occasion  here  to  observe  Dr  Taylor's  sense  of 
 this  clause,  as  he  gives  it  in  his  paraphrase  thus :  f  God  by 
 '  sending  his  Son  to  live  as  we  do,  in  the  flesh,  frail,  and 
 1  liable  to  sin' —  That  Christ's  human  nature  had  the 
 frailty  that  is  now  natural  to  man,  is  certainly  meant  by  the 
 apostle's  expression.  But  to  extend  it  to  moral  frailty,  is 
 extremely  shocking.  That  Christ's  human  nature  having 
 come  into  being  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
 subsisting  in  personal  union  with  the  divine  nature  ;  that,  I 
 say,  this  blessed  divine  Person  should  be  said  to  be  liable 
 to  sin,  must  by  Christians  be  accounted  quite  blasphemous. 
 
 But  this  writer  differs  from  Christians  in  this  essential  ar- 
 ticle of  their  faith,  the  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God.  He  con- 
 siders him  as  a  glorious  being,  (on  whom  he  fails  not  to  be- 
 stow high  language,)  who  was  by  God  truly  created  before 
 the  world ;  and  in  the  question  of  his  catechism  respecting 
 the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  he  says,  c  He  became 
 '  man  by  assuming  a  body  like  unto  ours/  without  men- 
 tioning a  human  reasonable  soul.  A  human  body  animated 
 by  this  pre-existent  created  being,  is  according  to  him,  the 
 person  of  Christ ;  which,  by  his  account,  is  a  person  neither 
 truly  God  nor  truly  man.  That  this  created  spirit,  and  hu- 
 man body  united,  should  be  a  person  liable,  in  a  state  of  pro- 
 bation, to  sin,  does  well  enough  suit  his  notions. 
 
 This  is  not  a  proper  place  for  considering  or  confuting  the 
 heretical  doctrine  of  the  Arians  concerning  the  divinity  of 
 our  Saviour.  They  who  would  study  that  subject,  if  they 
 will  not,  or  cannot  read  the  writings  of  learned  foreigners,  in 
 the  Latin  tongue,  in  defence  of  the  truth,  will  find  that  great 
 article  of  Christian  faith  sufficiently  established  by  what  hath 
 been  written  in  our  language  above  forty  years  ago  ;  where- 
 by the  Scripture  evidence  of  the  truth  hath  been  set  forth  in 
 a  clear  light,  and  the  subtilty  of  the  Arians  hath  been  ex- 
 posed and  confuted  with  great  abilit}'  and  learning. 
 
 To  be  liable  to  sin  (as  in  Dr  T.'s  paraphrase)  doth  not  suit 
 the  expression  of  our  text.  The  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  must 
 certainly  mean  something  that  could  not  be  said  of  sinless 
 flesh  ;  otherwise,  why  should  the  distinction  and  character 
 
Of  Romans  Fill.  3.  334 
 
 of  sinful  be  here  used  at  all?  There  is  a  great  difference 
 between  being  actually  sinful,  and  being  liable  to  sin.  Adam, 
 in  his  creation-state,  was  liable  to  sin,  yet  could  not,  in  that 
 state,  be  called  sinful  flesh.  To  be  in  the  likeness  of  sinful 
 flesh  must  certainly  mean  something  else  than  to  be  liable  to 
 sin  ;  for  even  sinless  flesh  was  liable  to  sin. 
 
 Dr  T.  did  indeed  hold,  that  no  man  is  chargeable  with 
 sin,  in  any  respect,  or  is  sinful,  until  he  becomes  so  by  his 
 own  actual  transgression.  But  this  clause  we  are  consider- 
 ing doth  not  look  favourably  on  that  sentiment.  Our  Lord 
 underwent  the  infirmities  common  to  man,  and  the  miseries 
 of  life  meant  in  this  clause,  in  his  birth  and  early  infancy, 
 and  therein  was  like  unto  sinful  flesh.  The  common  infir- 
 mities of  human  nature,  in  this  lapsed  state,  and  the  miseries 
 of  life  in  every  period  of  it,  without  distinction,  are,  by  thi> 
 clause,  connected  with  men's  sinfulness,  or  their  being  sinful 
 flesh.  If,  then,  mankind  are  subjected  to  the  now  natural 
 infirmities  and  miseries  of  human  life,  in  that  early  period  of 
 infancy  and  childhood, — and  if  Christ  was  in  the  likeness  of 
 sinful  flesh  in  that  early  period,  wherein  men  are  incapable 
 of  moral  agency,  or  of  actual  transgression,  it  is  plain  that 
 they  are  sinful  flesh,  before  they  are  capable  of  actually  sin- 
 ning in  their  own  persons.  The  sense  of  this  clause  being 
 clear,  we  proceed  to  the  next : 
 
 And  for  sin. — The  Greek  ?rs£<  upcteric&s,  which  is  the 
 expression  here,  is  very  commonly  the  name  of  the  sin-offer- 
 ing, or  sacrifice  for  sin,  of  which  the  English  margin  gives 
 the  hint,  rendering  thus  :  and  by  a  sacrifice  for  sin.  Dr 
 Whitby,  on  the  place,  mentions  between  thirty  and  forty 
 instances  of  the  Septuagint  translation,  wherein  this  expres- 
 sion means  the  sin  offering  ;  and  hints  that  a  good  many 
 more  instances  might  be  given.  In  the  New  Testament  we 
 see  that  (Heb.  x.  6.)  the  expression  occurs  in  that  sense. 
 Our  translators  have  supplied  the  word  sacrifice,  putting  it 
 in  a  different  character,  which  scarce  needed  to  be  done,  as 
 sacrifice  for  sin  is  so  common  a  sense  of  the  words  as  they 
 are  in  the  Greek. 
 
 This  did  not  so  well  suit  Dr  T.'s  notions,  ami  therefore 
 he  gives  for  it  in  his  paraphrase — '  And  by  sending  him  about 
 f  the  affair  of  sin* —  This  writer  had  unhappily  adopted  the 
 doctrine  of  the  Socinians,  in  denying  the  substitution  of 
 Christ  in  bearing  the  punishment  of  our  sins  ;  and  what  im- 
 portant article  of  Christian  faith  hath  he  not  laboured  to 
 subvert  ?     In  his  note  on  this  verse,  he  says  the  expression 
 
324  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 means,  as  DrW.  mentions,  when  joined  with  a  bullock,  lamb, 
 &c.  (either  expressed  or  understood)  appointed  by  the  law 
 for  a  sin-offering;  '  but/  saith  he,  '  offering  here  is  not  the 
 4  thing  to  which  %i^i  ecpetgriots  hath  relation,  but  to  God's 
 '  sending  his  Son.' 
 
 Mr  John  Alexander,  who  follows  the  sentiments  of  the 
 other  writer  pretty  closely,  observes  that  r^xyo^  m^i  ctua^rixs 
 may  be  rendered,  the  goat  for  the  sin-offering.  '  But  (so  he 
 '  adds)  this  will  not  prove  that  the  words  have  such  a  signi- 
 1  fication  in  themselves,  or  when  joined  with  things  not  usual- 
 ly offered  in  sacrifice  for  sin,  which  is  the  thing  that  ought 
 1  to  be  proved,  in  order  to  show  that — (the  Greek  expression 
 '  here)  may  properly  be  rendered,  sending  his  Son  an  offer - 
 1  ingfor  sin.'  In  the  beginning  of  the  next  following  page 
 (123)  he  says :  '  Since,  therefore,  there  is  nothing  in  the  con- 
 f  text  or  phraseology  in  this  place,  which  directs  us  to  under- 
 '  stand  7Ti£i  upxeriaq  in  a  sacrificial  sense,  we  must  necessarily 
 e  take  the  words  in  their  more  common  acceptation  of  for  or 
 f  concerning  sin,  and  explain  them  of  one  of  the  great  ends  of 
 '  Christ's  mission,  which  was,  to  reform  the  world. 
 
 It  is  true,  that  one  great  end  of  Christ's  mission  was  to 
 reform  the  world — to  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people ; 
 but  the  doctrine  of  these  writers  tends  much  to  counteract 
 that  design,  by  denying  what  the  wisdom  and  righteousness 
 of  God  found  necessary  for  accomplishing  it,  even  Christ's 
 delivering  men  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  from  the 
 punishment  of  their  sins,  by  his  own  bearing  it.  They  allow 
 that  the  Greek  expression  here  signifies  a  sacrifice  for  sin, 
 when  joined  with  things  usually  offered  in  sacrifice.  Now, 
 though  Christ  was  not  usually  (being  but  once)  offered  in 
 sacrifice,  yet  it  is  plain  that  the  Scripture  very  usually  repre- 
 sents him  as  a  sacrifice,  and  as  offering  sacrifice,  and  the 
 sacrificial  style  is  very  often  used  concerning  him.  For  this 
 see  particularly,  Eph.  v.  2.  Heb.  ix.  26,  28.  Yea,  Dr  T. 
 adopts  this  style  of  scripture,  and  frequently  uses  sacrificial 
 language  concerning  him. 
 
 Mr  Alexander  says,  (p.  123.)  there  is  nothing  in  the  con- 
 text or  phraseology  in  this  place,  wrhich  directs  us  to  under- 
 stand 7rs£i  ecftct^riets  in  a  sacrificial  sense.  But  he  much  mis- 
 took the  matter  ;  for  the  apostle's  subject  and  argument  in 
 this  place  do  direct  us  to  understand  the  expression  in  the 
 sacrificial  sense  ;  and  the  phraseology  or  expression  being  so 
 very  commonly  used  in  that  sense,  there  is  very  special  rea- 
 
Of  Romans   VIII.  3. 
 
 son,  arising  from  the  subject  and  argument,  for  understand- 
 ing it  in  that  sense  here. . 
 
 To  explain  this,  let  it  be  observed,  that,  as  hath  been  for- 
 merly shown,  the  subject  here  is  making  men  free  from  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  and  sanctifying  them.  Let  it  next  be  ob- 
 served, that  purifying  and  sanctifying  is  often  in  Scripture 
 connected  with  the  sufferings,  death,  and  sacrifice  of  Christ, 
 as  the  consequence  thereof.  For  instance,  John  xvii.  19. 
 For  their  sake*  I  sanctify  myself,  that  they  also  might  be 
 sanctified  through  the  truth.  More  clearly,  Tit.  ii.  14.  Who 
 gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  lis  from  all  iniquity, 
 and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people.  More  clearly  still, 
 Eph.  v.  25,  26.  Christ — loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself 
 for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing 
 of  water  by  the  word.  So  likewise  1  Pet.  i.  18,  19-  Foras- 
 much as  ye  know  that  ye  were  not  redeemed  (sAvt^Svjts)  with 
 corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold,  from  your  vain  conver- 
 sation received  by  tradition  from  your  fathers,  but  with  the 
 precious  blood  of  Christ. 
 
 Thus  the  general  point  is  clear,  that  the  Scripture  con- 
 nects making  men  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  with 
 Christ's  sufferings  and  sacrifice.  More  particularly,  the 
 verse  preceding  our  present  text,  mentions  the  Spirit  of  life 
 in  Christ  Jesus,  as  making  the  Christian  free  from  the  law 
 of  sin.  But  how  cometh  the  Spirit  to  sinful  men,  the 
 wretched  objects  of  the  curse  ?  Of  this  we  are  told,  Gal.  iii. 
 IS,  14.  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
 being  made  a  curse  for  us  ; — that  we  might  receive  the  pro- 
 mise of  the  Spirit  through  faith,  (that  is,  through  the  gos- 
 pel, the  doctrine  of  faith  ;  compare  ver.  25.)  And  thus  the 
 gospel  becomes  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus. 
 Having  then  mentioned  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
 Christ  Jesus,  the  explaining  of  this  in  our  present  text  evi- 
 dently required  the  apostle's  representing  Christ  as  a  sa- 
 crifice for  sin,  the  condemning  of  sin  as  the  consequence 
 thereof,  and  his  procuring  the  Spirit  of  life  for  freeing  men 
 from  the  slavery  of  sin,  and  sanctifying  them.  The  true 
 sense  of  the  expression  in  question  is  now  sufficiently  cleared 
 and  vindicted,  and  it  appears  that  Dr  T.  and  Mr  Alexander 
 were  very  wrong  in  thinking  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
 context  or  phraseology  in  this  place,  which  directs  us  to 
 understand  m^i  uuu^rtxg  in  the  sacrificial  sense. 
 
 I  had  written  an  essay,  to  be  inserted  in  this  place,  on 
 redemption,   against  the  pernicious  notions,   explanations, 
 
 o  5 
 
326  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 and  reasoning  of  Dr  T.  ;  but  have  laid  it  aside,  as  too 
 large  for  this  place,  though  too  contracted  for  the  import- 
 ant subject.  Enough  has  been  here  said  to  prove  the  true 
 sense  of  the  expression  in  our  text;  and  whether  I  shall 
 overtake  to  finish  what  I  have  written  and  designed  on  the 
 subject,  the  Lord  knows.  If  I  should  not,  there  remain 
 many  abler  friends  and  asserters  of  the  ti  uth. 
 
 One  thing,  however,  it  is  fit  not  to  neglect.  The  English 
 translators  have,  in  the  margin,  prefixed  the  particle  by,  (and 
 by  a  sacrifice  for  sin.)  It  seems  they  considered  the  word 
 ecfAx^Tidy  as  signifying  by  itself  a  sin-offering,  or  sacrifice  for 
 sin.  So  it  doth,  2  Cor.  v.  2.  and  the  Hebrew  word  an- 
 swering to  it,  is  very  often  in  the  Old  Testament  put  for 
 sin-offering.  Upon  this  view,  then,  that  the  substantive 
 noun  doth  of  itself  signify  sin-offering,  they  for  the  preposi- 
 tion prefixed  translate  by.  It  may,  however,  be  doubted 
 that  the  use  of  the  Greek  warrants  that  rendering  of  the  pre- 
 position. There  is  no  need  or  reason  for  understanding  it 
 so  here,  as  both  the  words  together,  the  preposition  and 
 the  noun  joined  in  the  expression,  make  so  very  commonly 
 the  name  of  the  sin-offering.  God  sent  his  Son  a  sacrifice 
 for  sin.  By  his  being  subjected  to  the  infirmities  of  human 
 nature  in  this  lapsed  .state,  and  to  the  miseries  of  this  life, 
 he,  being  in  himself  perfectly  innocent  and  guiltless,  was  so 
 far  bearing  our  sins  all  along,  and  was  marked  out  from  the 
 womb  as  the  sacrifice  for  sin.  He  was  accordingly,  in  due 
 time,  completely  and  solemnly  offered  up  as  such.  We  go 
 on  to  the  following  expression  : 
 
 Condemned  sin. — In  general,  we  must  understand  this  as 
 corresponding  with  the  subject  the  apostle  means  hereto  ex- 
 plain, which  is,  as  he  had  expressed  it,  ver.  2.  making  men 
 free  from  the  law  of  sin,  or  relieving  them  from  its  dominion. 
 But  it  is  necessary  to  give  an  exact  explication  of  the  words. 
 I  observe,  that  xxtcck^ivuv,  to  condemn,  (which  is  the  word 
 here)  andx^ivuv,  to  judge,  are  sometimes  in  Scripture  used  in 
 the  same  sense  ;  that  is,  that  the  latter  sometimes  means 
 the  same  as  the  former.  For  though  the  latter  word  strictly 
 and  properly  signifies  to  judge,  yet  sometimes  it  hath  a 
 more  restricted  sense,  and  signifies  judging  favourably ,  as 
 Psal.  xxvii.  l.x^vcv^s,  (so  the  Septuagint,)  Judge  me,  0  Lord ; 
 that  is,  judge  in  my  behalf;  and  so  in  many  other  instances. 
 Sometimes  it  hath  the  restricted  sense  of  judging  unfavour- 
 ably, of  which  there  are  likewise  divers  instances.  So  John 
 xvi.  1 1.  Of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged; 
 
Of  Romans  VI II.  3.  8*7 
 
 that  is  condemned.  The  word  is  to  be  understood  in  the 
 general  meaning  of  judging,  or  in  one  or  other,  the  favourable, 
 or  unfavourable  restricted  meaning,  according  to  the  scope 
 or  circumstances  of  the  particular  passage. 
 
 Now  I  observe,  that  in  the  last  clause  of  John  xvi.  1]. 
 the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged ;  it  evidently  bears  the 
 unfavourable  sense  (as  I  said  before)  of  condemning,  as 
 KctTotK^tntv,  in  our  text:  the  prince  of  this  world  is  condemned. 
 For  the  meaning  of  this  we  may  have  recourse  to  John  xii. 
 31.  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world;  ?w?v  shall  the 
 prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.  As  to  the  first  of  these 
 clauses,  Dr  WVs  annotation  on  it  is  :  '  Now  shall  the  men 
 '  of  this  world  be  condemned,  who  believe  not  in  me/  But 
 I  think  the  favourable  meaning  best  suits  the  place,  thus : 
 Now  is  judgment  in  favour  of  this  world,  to  deliver  it  from 
 Satan's  delusions  and  thraldom.  Agreeable  to  this,  is  the 
 consequence,  ver.  32.  that  Christ  being  crucified,  shall  draw 
 all  men  after  him;  that  is,  not  only  Jews,  who  had  of  along 
 time  been  God's  peculiar  people,  but  men  of  all  nations ; 
 as  the  expression,  all  men,  must  be  here  understood,  and  is 
 so  explained  even  by  Dr  Whitby.  The  case  was  thus  :  in 
 consequence  of  Christ's  death,  which  he  had  now  in  near 
 view,  judgment  was  to  be  given  in  favour  of  the  world,  and 
 Satan  the  prince  of  the  world  to  be  cast  out  from  his  throne 
 and  dominion,  so  that  Christ  by  the  gospel  would  draw  men 
 of  all  nations,  among  whom  Satan  had  reigned,  to  himself. 
 So  then,  that  Satan  the  prince  of  the  world  is  judged,  John 
 xvi.  11.  means  as  John  xii.  31.  that  he  is  cast  out  from  his 
 dominion  and  kingdom. 
 
 We  have  seen  what  it  means,  that  Satan  is  judged  or 
 condemned.  We  are,  I  think,  to  understand  most  reason- 
 ably the  condemning  of  sin  here,  Rom.  viii.  3.  in  the  same 
 way ;  as  sin,  with  the  lusts  thereof,  is  that  by  which  Satan 
 had  ruled  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  in  the  world.  Sin  hath 
 had  the  dominion  in  men.  It  is  the  fruit  and  effect  of  the 
 death  of  Christ,  and  his  being  therein  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  (as 
 in  our  text)  that  sin  is  condemned,  and  cast  out  from  its 
 dominion  over  men,  in  order  to  its  final  and  complete  des* 
 truction.  Thus  a  judgment  in  favour  of  men  being  passed 
 against  sin,  they  are  made  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
 death,  and  are  no  longer  under  its  thraldom.  This  was  the 
 thing  mentioned,  ver.  2.  which  the  apostle  has  explained  in 
 this  ver.  3.  It  is  by  his  being  thus  made  free,  that  the 
 Christian  hath  the  liberty,  disposition,  and  power  to  main- 
 
328  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 tain  such  conflict  against  sin,  as  is  represented  in  the  latter 
 context  of  the  preceding  chapter.  That  a  person,  who  ex- 
 presses so  much  sorrow  with  regard  to  sin  dwelling  in  him, 
 should,  by  the  prevailing  disposition -of  his  soul,  yet  be  ad- 
 verse to  sin,  and  in  conflict  with  it,  is  well  accounted  for 
 and  explained  by  what  we  have  here,  chap.  viii.  2,  3.  The 
 last  expression  of  our  text  is  this : 
 
 — In  the  flesh. — What  jlesh  is  here  meant  ?  or,  in  what 
 flesh  is  sin  condemned  ?  I  take  flesh  here  in  its  more  gene- 
 ral meaning,  as  signifying  human  nature.  It  so  means  in 
 this  same  verse.  Christ  was  sent  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh. 
 Here  flesh  signifies  human  nature  in  general.  The  corrupt 
 state  of  human  nature  is  expressed  by  the  prefixed  epithet, 
 sinful.  It  was  by  what  Christ  suffered  in  the  flesh,  (in  his 
 human  nature,  being  a  sacrifice  for  sin)  that  sin  came  to 
 be  condemned,  and  to  lose  its  dominion.  This  hath  been 
 accomplished, 
 
 1.  With  respect  to  the  flesh,  or  human  nature  of  Christ 
 himself.  The  apostle,  as  was  formerly  observed,  saith  Rom. 
 v.  21.  that  fin  hath  reigned  unto  death.  Men,  by  virtue  of 
 the  law,  became  obnoxious  to  death  by  the  power  and  reign 
 of  sin.  Now  the  greatest  instance,  beyond  all  that  ever 
 have  been,  or  ever  shall  be,  of  this  power  and  reign  of  sin, 
 appeared  in  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God,  when  he  put  him- 
 self in  the  place  and  stead  of  sinners.  But  then  it  is  con- 
 demned, and  by  this  great  exertion  of  its  reigning  power 
 and  strength  on  the  Son  of  God,  it  hath  lost  its  power  of 
 thus  reigning  any  more,  with  respect  to  him,  and  his  hu- 
 man nature.  So  the  apostle  says,  chap.  vi.  9- — He  dieth 
 no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.  If,  as  Heb. 
 ix.  27 y  28.  It  is  appointed  for  all  men  once  to  die  ;  so  Christ 
 was  once  offered,  by  which  the  whole  power  of  sin  and  death 
 over  him  was  exhausted. 
 
 The  consequence  to  his  people  with  regard  to  the  reign  of 
 sin  in  their  bodily  part,  and  as  to  this  effect,  is,  that,  though 
 according  to  God's  wise  constitution  it  is  appointed  for  them, 
 as  for  all  men,  to  die  ;  yet  as  to  them  death  hath  not  that 
 penalty  in  it  which  the  sentence  of  the  law  imports  ;  the  sting 
 of  sin  and  the  curse  of  the  law  is  not  in  it.  There  is  nothing 
 of  the  reign  of  sin  in  their  death.  There  is  blessing  in  their 
 death,  by  virtue  of  the  grace  of  the  new  covenant. 
 
 2.  Sin  is  condemned  to  lose  its  dominion  with  respect  to 
 its  inherence  in  the  souls  of  God's  people,  and  the  absolute 
 prevalence  it  hath  had  in  their  hearts  and  practice.     Though 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  3.  329 
 
 the  flesh  or  human  nature,  absolutely  and  generally  express- 
 ed, includes  the  whole  human  race,  yet  here  it  must  be  un- 
 derstood with  such  limitation,  as  must  reasonably  be  admit- 
 ted in  many  places  of  scripture,  in  which  divine  grace,  its 
 design  and  effect,  is  mentioned  in  general  terms.  Here  is 
 an  instance,  lit.  iii.  4,  5.  But  after  that  the  kindness  and  love 
 of  God  our  Saviour  towards  man  appeared — according  to  his 
 mercy  he  saved  us  hy  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renew- 
 ing of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  first  clause  of  these  the  ex- 
 pression is  general  and  comprehensive — The  love  of  God  to- 
 ward man.  Yet  the  effect  in  view  and  expressed,  the  renew- 
 ing of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  not  to  all  men.  So  in  our  present 
 text,  though  the  expression, — condemned  sin  in  the  jiesh}  in 
 human  nature,  is  general,  it  is  not  meant  that  the  happy 
 effect  takes  place  in  all  men  universally  and  singly. 
 
 This  second  point  is  certainly  the  special  thing  (not  alto- 
 gether excluding  the  other)  which  must  be  especially  in  the 
 apostle's  view  here.  The  matter  he  is  explaining  is  the 
 making  men  free  from  the  law  of  sin,  ver.  2.  which  had  do- 
 minion over  them.  The  condemning  of  sin  in  human  na- 
 ture must  respect  the  ejecting  it  from  this  dominion,  and 
 depriving  it  of  its  power. 
 
 Interpreters  do  generally  think  there  is  in  this  verse  an 
 ellipsis,  a  word  or  two  wanting,  that  must  be  supplied,  to  ex- 
 press fully  the  sense  ;  and  some  supply  thus  :  What  the  law 
 could  not  do,  God  hath  done.  But  1  think  there  is  scarce 
 any  need  of  supposing  such  an  ellipsis,  or  of  supplying  it. 
 The  sense  seems  to  be  fully  expressed  by  the  words  as  they 
 are  ;  and  the  construction  seems  to  be  clear  and  regular  with- 
 out supplying.  The  verb  to  be  constructed  with  the  word 
 God,  is  expressed,  God  condemned  sin.  These  words,  What 
 the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh, 
 may  be  considered  as  in  parenthesis  ;  or  in  interpreting  by 
 way  of  paraphrase,  may  be  transposed  to  the  end  of  the  sen- 
 tence, thus:  God  hath  condemned  sin — which  the  law  could 
 not  do. 
 
 The  matters  contained  in  this  verse  are  so  very  important, 
 and  it  hath  appeared  so  dark,  that  very  learned  and  judicious 
 interpreters  have  differed  widely  about  the  scope  and  mean- 
 ing of  it.  By  all  this  it  became  needful  to  consider  it  in  the 
 most  careful  and  exact  manner ;  and  so  the  explication  hath 
 reached  to  a  considerable  length. 
 
 Paraphrase — 3.  I  have  represented  to  you  in  my  own 
 name,  and  from  my  own  sad  experience,  the  case  of  a  true 
 
330  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 Christian  whilst  in  this  life,  groaning  under  sin,  which 
 dwelleth  in  him  ;  and  in  ordinary  conflict  with  it,  in  its  in- 
 ward motions.  Such  a  person,  as  to  the  general  character 
 of  his  behaviour,  must  certainly  be  one  who  walketh  not 
 after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  A  person  so  exer- 
 cised inwardly,  and  so  wralking,  is  certainly  not  the  slave 
 of  sin,  or  under  its  dominion.  He  hath  been  made  free 
 from  its  law  and  ruling  power  ;  as  I  have  told  you,  that 
 I  have  been  by  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus. 
 I  come  now  to  explain  to  you  further,  how  this  happy  de- 
 liverance from  sin's  dominion  hath  been  brought  about,  and 
 to  show  you  what  part  a  gracious  God,  and  his  ever-blessed 
 Son,  have  had  in  this  great  change  ;  which  hath  been  actually 
 effected  by  the  more  immediate  operation  and  influence  of 
 the  Holy  Spirit.     Thus  then  it  is : 
 
 God,  the  blessed  Author,  and  original  cause  of  all  our  sal- 
 vation, hath  sent  his  own  only  begotten  Son  in  our  nature ; 
 not  vested  with  the  dignity,  beauty,  and  vigour  of  its  first 
 and  best  state ;  but  in  a  humble  condition,  partaking  in  the 
 infirmities  that  are  natural  to  us  in  our  lapsed  state,  and  in 
 the  common  miseries  of  human  life,  which  on  account  of  sin 
 we  have  been  subjected  to:  so  that  from  his  birth,  being 
 perfectly  innocent  himself,  he  bore  the  penal  consequences 
 of  our  sin,  and  at  length,  in  due  time,  became  a  proper  sacri- 
 fice for  our  sin,  God  having  made  him  a  sin-offering  for  us. 
 On  which  account  he  hath  given  forth  judgment,  as  against 
 Satan,  so  against  sin  ;  the  gracious  God,  by  the  sacrifice  of 
 his  Son,  and  through  faith  in  his  blood,  bringing  sinners  into 
 a  state  of  reconciliation  and  peace  with  himself;  and  under 
 grace,  hath  condemned  sin  to  be  dethroned,  and  deprived  of 
 the  dominion  it  hath  unhappily  had  in  them  ;  and  so,  mak- 
 ing them  free  from  its  thraldom,  he  hath  put  enmity  between 
 them  and  it,  which  will  end  in  its  complete  destruction,  and 
 in  their  complete  salvation. 
 
 Thus,  by  the  death  and  sacrifice  of  Christ,  God  hath  put 
 an  end  to  that  power  of  sin,  by  which  it  reigned  unto  death, 
 even  over  his  Son,  so  that  death  can  have  no  more  dominion 
 over  him,  and  so  that  the  death  of  his  people  hath  nothing 
 of  the  penal  consequence  or  reign  of  sin  in  it ;  and  he  hath, 
 by  the  same  means,  deprived  sin  of  its  dominion  in  them,  by 
 which  it  hath  held  them  its  servants  and  slaves ;  Christ  hav- 
 ing, by  bearing  our  curse,  redeemed  us  from  the  curse,  and 
 made  way  for  our  receiving  the  blessing  of  the  Spirit  through 
 (the  doctrine  of)  faith,  the  gospel ;  the  gospel  is  thereby  be- 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  4  331 
 
 come  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life,  making  us  free  from  the 
 law  of  sin  and  death. 
 
 This  great  deliverance  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  mak- 
 ing ns  free  from  it,  the  law,  however  contrary  to  sin,  could 
 not  effect ;  for  as  it  conveyed  not  the  Spirit,  the  flesh,  (the 
 total  corruption  of  nature  so  called)  and  the  power  of  sin  in 
 it,  was  too  strong  for  the  law,  with  all  its  light,  authority, 
 promises,  and  terrors. 
 
 Thus  have  I  explained  to  you  what  I  intimated,  chap.  vi. 
 14.  and  what  might,  at  first  sight,  appear  a  strange  paradox, 
 viz.  that  persons  under  the  law  and  its  curse,  are  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  its  servants  and  slaves  ;  and  that  sin  shall 
 not  have  dominion  over  them,  who,  by  the  sacrifice  of  the 
 Son  of  God,  by  the  blood  of  his  cross,  and  by  faith  in  his 
 blood,  are  brought  under  grace. 
 
 TEXT — 4.    That  the  righteousness  of  the  lam  7night  be  fulfilled  in  us^ 
 -who  walk  not  after  the  fleshy  but  after  the  Spirit. 
 
 Explication. — The  Greek  word,  iauumfim,  admits,  yea, 
 requires,  to  be  somewhat  variously  understood  in  different 
 places.  In  the  plural  number  )mm»^mds,  sometimes  means 
 the  commands  of  the  moral  law,  and  so  it  is  to  be  understood 
 in  Rom.  ii.  2b\  //  the  uncircumcision  keep  the  righteousness 
 QiKxiupctru)  of  I  he  law.  The  word,  in  the  singular  number, 
 signifies  the  rule  of  right  taken  in  general,  (saith  Mr  L.  on 
 the  place)  ;  and  the  plural  word  here  (chap.  ii.  26.)  signifies 
 the  particular  branches  of  it  contained  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
 that  is,  the  moral  law  of  the  Mosaic  promulgation.  In  Heb. 
 ix.  1.  dixzi&pccTci  Xxt^uxs  means,  as  our  translation  gives  it,  the 
 ordinances  of  divine  service. 
 
 In  the  singular  number,  as  in  our  text,  it  may  be  rendered 
 righteousness,  as  in  our  translation,  or  right  (jus,)  as  ren- 
 dered by  Beza  and  the  Dutch.  It  seems  to  make  little  differ- 
 ence in  the  sense  wThich  of  the  two  words  be  taken  ;  though 
 I  think  the  latter  word  suits  the  place  best,  and  to  render 
 the  clause  thus  :  That  the  right  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled, 
 or  take  its  full  effect.  Now,  the  righteousness  of  the  law 
 which  it  requires,  or  the  right  of  the  law,  is  two-fold. 
 
 1.  That  sin  be  punished  or  expiated  according  to  the 
 sanction  of  the  law.  This  right  of  the  law  is  fulfilled,  or 
 hath  taken  full  effect,  in  us,  by  means  of  Jesus  Christ  made 
 a  sacrifice  for  sins,  and  by  means  of  our  union  with  him,  he 
 being  in  us,  and  we  in  him  by  faith, — the  righteous?iess  of 
 God  in  him,  2  Cor.  v.  21.     This  Dr  VV.  takes  to  be  the  sub- 
 
332  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 ject  of  the  preceding  ver.  3,  and  he  does  not  allow  it  to  be 
 in  the  meaning  of  this  fourth  verse,  which  he  gives  thus  in 
 his  paraphrase  :   '  That  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  (i.e.  the 
 
 *  inward  purity  and  righteousness  the  law  required)  might 
 'be  performed  and  fuljilled  in  and  by  us,  who  walk  not  after 
 6  the  lusts  of  the  jiesh,  but  after  the  motions  of  the  Spirit.' 
 Toward  the  end  of  his  annotation  on  this  verse,  he  writes 
 thus  :   c  Now,  these  two,  viz.   freedom  from  condemnation, 
 
 *  and  the  vouchsafement  of  the  Spirit,  being  always  connected, 
 '  the  apostle  goes  frequently  from  the  one  to  the  ^ther,  first 
 1  mentioning  our  freedom  from  condemnation,  then  our  walk- 
 e  ing  in  the  Spirit,  ver.  1,2;  our  freedom  from  the  guilt  of 
 
 *  sin  by  the  death  of  Christ,  ver.  3  ;  and  then  our  fulfilling 
 
 *  the  righteousness  of  the  law  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  ver.  4.' 
 
 I  have  given  good  reasons  for  not  understanding  ver.  3. 
 as  this  writer  does  ;  and  have  shown  that  what  the  law  could 
 not  do  (ver.  3.)  is  not  justifying  the  sinner,  but  the  making 
 him  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  Though  the  Doc- 
 tor is  right  in  interpreting,  m^  up^na,?,  as  divers  critics 
 have  done,  of  Christ's  being  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  yet,  as  to  the 
 following  clause, — condemned  sin, — the  learned  writer  has 
 certainly  come  short  of  the  meaning,  when  he  interprets  it, 
 in  his  paraphrase,  of  taking  away  sin's  power  to  condemn  us. 
 It  hath  been  here  proved,  that,  according  to  the  scope  of  the 
 place,  and  the  style  of  Scripture  elsewhere,  the  expression  is 
 to  be  understood  of  taking  away  the  dominion  which  sin  had 
 in  us,  so  that  we  should  be  free  from  its  power,  and  from 
 being  its  slaves.  The  just  way,  then,  of  conceiving  the  con- 
 nexion and  sense  of  these  two  verses,  is  not  that  the  apostle 
 passes  from  one  subject,  our  freedom  from  condemnation, 
 ver.  3.)  to  our  fulfilling  the  righteousness  of  the  law  by  the 
 Spirit,  ver.  4  ;  but  having  mentioned  (ver.  3.)  Christ's  being 
 a  sacrifice  for  sin,  (by  which  we  are  freed  from  condemna- 
 tion) and  also  the  condemning  of  sin  to  be  deprived  of  its 
 dominion,  by  which  it  made  powerful  and  successful  oppo- 
 sition to  the  law  of  God  ;  he  proceeds  to  give  a  comprehen- 
 sive view  of  the  end  and  design  of  the  blessed  scheme  of 
 divine  grace,  (ver.  4.)  viz.  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law 
 might  he  fulfilled,  or  that  the  right  of  the  law  might  take  full 
 effect ;  and  it  being  certainly  the  right  of  the  law,  that  the 
 transgression  of  it  should  be  punished,  as  it  hath  been  by 
 Christ's  bearing  our  sins  ;  surely  there  is  good  reason  for 
 including  this  in  the  righteousness,  or  the  right  of  the  law, 
 in  this  first  clause  of  ver.  4. 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  4.  333 
 
 2.  It  is  the  right  of  the  law  that  the  authority  of  its  com- 
 mandments should  be  made  good  and  maintained,  and  that 
 it  should  be  the  rule  of  life  and  practice.  This  is  an  unalter- 
 able and  unalienable  right  of  the  law  of  God.  The  Lord 
 could  no  more  dispense  with  the  authority,  holiness,  and 
 righteousness  of  his  law,  than  he  could  deny  himself.  The 
 grace  of  God  manifested  in  the  gospel  is  by  no  means  to  be 
 conceived  as  derogatory  to  this  right  of  the  law  ;  nor  can  any 
 atonement  for  transgressing  the  law  set  God's  creatures  free 
 from  the  authority  and  obligation  of  his  holy  commandments. 
 Divine  grace,  and  the  expiation  made  by  Christ,  are  wholly 
 calculated  for  establishing  the  law,  even  in  this  view,  and  for 
 giving  it  full  effect. 
 
 We  have  seen  that  Dr  W.  would  allow  this  ver.  4.  only 
 to  mean  that  righteousness  of  the  law  which  Christians  per- 
 form by  the  Spirit,  walking  according  thereto.  Some  other 
 very  learned  persons  will  have  this  verse  to  respect  only  that 
 right  of  the  law  I  have  first  mentioned,  which  hath  been  ful- 
 filled in  Christ's  bearing  our  sins,  and  in  us  by  the  applica- 
 tion thereof  to  us  ;  and  will  not,  by  any  means,  allow  that 
 sanctification  and  holy  practice  is  included  in  the  righteous- 
 ness of  the  law  here  mentioned,  as  to  be  fulfilled  in  us. 
 Thus  Wolfius  (a  learned  Lutheran  divine)  says  on  the  text, 
 that  this  phrase,  ev  ypiv,  in  us,  hath  by  no  means  any  respect 
 to  the  obedience  to  the  law  to  be  performed  by  us,  but, 
 to  the  satisfaction  given  by  Christ  as  an  expiatory  sacrifice, 
 without  us,  and  for  us.  He  adds,  if  the  apostle  had  meant 
 the  demand  of  the  law  to  be  performed  by  us,  his  expression 
 would  not  have  been  gv  >j^<v,  in  us,  but  such  as  behoved  to 
 be  rendered,  per  nos,  or,  a  nobis,  by  us.  This  argument  seems 
 not  to  amount  to  much.  As  our  obedience  to  the  law  in 
 actual  and  active  practice  is  the  immediate  and  certain  con- 
 sequence of  making  us  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and 
 the  sanctifying  of  our  nature  and  heart,  which  are  effects 
 produced  by  divine  grace  in  us,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  in- 
 clude in  the  meaning  of  the  right,  or  righteousness  of  the 
 law  to  be  fulfilled  in  us,  our  conformity  to  that  law  in  holi- 
 ness ;  as  the  general  scope  of  the  apostle's  discourse  requires 
 that  the  words  be  so  understood. 
 
 Dr  Guyse,  in  his  note  on  this  verse,  says :  c  We  cannot  be 
 ■  properly  said  to  fulfil  the  righteousness  of  the  law  by  our 
 '  own  imperfect  (though  sincere)  obedience  to  its  precepts  ; 
 1  much  less  to  give  satisfaction  to  its  threatenings,  both  of 
 1  which  go  into  the  righteousness  that  a  broken  law  demands,' 
 
334  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 These  sentiments  of  the  judicious  and  worthy  writer  are  quite 
 just.  But  the  interpretation  here  offered  doth  not  make  the 
 words  to  mean,  that  the  right  of  the  law  takes  full  effect,  or 
 that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  is  fulfilled  by  the  imperfect, 
 though  sincere,  obedience  of  any  Christian  in  this  life.  This 
 seems,  indeed,  to  be  Dr  W.'s  opinion.  But,  however,  the 
 true  believer  being,  and  continuing  to  be,  in  union  with 
 Christ,  and  in  a  justified  state  through  faith,  both  himself 
 and  his  sincere  (though  imperfect)  services  are  graciously 
 accepted,  yet  to  say,  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  is 
 fulfilled  by  this  imperfect  obedience,  is  evidently  absurd,  and 
 amounts  to  no  less  than  a  contradiction  in  terms.  For  im- 
 perfect obedience  is  an  obedience  that  comes  short  of  what 
 the  law  requires  ;  if  it  did  not,  it  would  be  perfect  obedience. 
 Now,  to  say  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  is  fulfilled  by 
 an  obedience  that  falls  short  of  what  the  law  requires,  is 
 evident  contradiction. 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  though  it  be  allowed  that  both  the  ac- 
 tive and  passive  perfect  obedience  of  Christ  was  necessary, 
 in  order  to  the  sinner's  being  not  only  freed  from  condemna- 
 tion, but  also  being  received  into  a  state  of  adoption, — an 
 heir  of  eternal  life,  and  of  the  heavenly  inheritance  ;  yet  still 
 the  right  of  the  law  subsists  as  to  the  demand  of  perfect  obe- 
 dience and  conformity  on  the  part  of  them  who  are  in  a  jus- 
 tified state,  and  under  grace.  If,  sincerely  aiming  at  walking 
 in  the  light,  they  fall  short  and  sin,  it  is  happy  for  them, 
 that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  (1  John  i.  7-)  cleanses  them 
 from  and  takes  away  their  sin.  But  there  would  be  no 
 need  of  this  to  persons  in  a  state  of  grace,  if  the  right  of  the 
 law  to  require  perfect  obedience  did  not  still  subsist  with  re- 
 spect to  them.  But  it  is  the  design  of  divine  grace  to  bring 
 God's  people  to  a  state  wherein  the  righteousness  which  the 
 law  hath  right  to  require,  shall  be  fulfilled  in  the  perfect  obe- 
 dience and  conformity  of  these  objects  of  grace.  The  text 
 doth  not  say,  that  it  is  fulfilled  in  their  walking,  in  this  state 
 of  imperfection,  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  But 
 as,  ver.  1.  it  was  given  as  the  mark  of  them  who  are  truly  in 
 Christ  Jesus,  and  made  free  from  condemnation,  that  they 
 so  walk  ;  so  here,  ver.  4.  as  to  them  in  whom  divine  grace 
 hath  purposed  that  the  right  of  the  law  shall  take  full  effect, 
 or  the  righteousness  of  it  be  fulfilled,  on  the  one  hand,  by 
 the  fulfilment  thereof  by  their  blessed  Surety  in  their  stead 
 and  behalf,  and  on  the  other,  by  their  own  personal  perfect 
 conformity  thereto  at  last ;  it  is  again  given  as  their  distin- 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  4.  335 
 
 guiauig  mark  and  characteristic,  even  in  this  life,  that  they 
 walk  not  after  the  fleshy  but  after  the  Spirit.  Their  so  walk- 
 ing, though  with  much  imperfection,  is  the  sure  mark  of 
 them  in  whom  the  righteousness  of  the  law  will  sometime 
 be  fulfilled,  in  their  perfect  conformity  thereto  in  holiness. 
 The  apostle's  mentioning  here  again  this  very  distinguish- 
 ing mark,  gives  him  occasion  to  pass  to  these  doctrines  and 
 explications  concerning  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit,  which  are 
 presented  in  the  following  context,  which  hath  not  fallen 
 within  my  design  to  explain  in  this  work. 
 
 With  respect  to  the  explication  here  given  of  ver.  4.,  I 
 subjoin  the  following  passage  of  Parseus. 
 
 1  In  explicatione  dubiorum  in  cap.  8.  ad  Romanos  ;  et  in 
 responsione  ad  dubium  quartum,  ex  versu  quarto. 
 
 (  Est  autem  jus  legis  duplex,  1.  Condemnandi  et  puniendi 
 peccatores.  2.  Post  paenam,  si  emerserint,  rursus  exigendi 
 perfectam  obedientiam. — Significatur  ergo  geminus  mortis 
 Christi  efFectus  in  nobis ;  justificatio  et  sanctificatio.  Per 
 illud  impletur  jus  legis  in  nobis  imputatione — per  istam  lex 
 impletur  in  nobis  inchoatione — haec  inchoata  obedientia  per- 
 fecta  dici  potest,  perfectione  partium — perfecte  vero  imple- 
 bitur  in  nobis  quando  id  quod  est  ex  parte  cessabit/  It  is 
 needless  to  translate  this  passage,  as  I  have  given  the  sense 
 of  it  largely  in  the  explication  of  this  ver.  4.  immediately 
 preceding,  which  it  appears  is  not  new,  as  the  same  hath 
 been  given  long  ago  by  this  eminent  divine. 
 
 Before  we  conclude  our  explication  of  this  fourth  verse 
 with  the  paraphrase  of  it,  it  is  fit  that  from  what  we  have 
 seen  in  this  context,  we  observe  what  hath  been  the  design, 
 and  what  the  real  consequence  of  the  wonderful  grace  of  God 
 the  Father,  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
 with  regard  to  the  holy,  just,  and  good  law  of  God.  This 
 is  the  more  to  be  adverted  to,  that  the  most  true  and  just 
 account  of  the  doctrine  of  grace  hath  been  considered  and 
 represented  by  some,  as  derogating  from  the  honour  and  au- 
 thority of  the  law.  But  if  the  apostle  has  proved  that  the 
 law  cannot  justify  any  man,  this  reflects  no  dishonour  on 
 the  law,  man  having  transgressed.  In  this  case  it  became 
 the  law,  not  to  justify,  but  to  assign  just  punishment.  The 
 honour  and  authority  of  the  law  required  this. 
 
 He  hath  also  proved,  that  the  law  cannot  sanctify  a  sin- 
 ner. But  this  is  owing  to  the  pravity  and  perverseness  of 
 men's  nature,  in  which  sin,  with  its  various  lusts,  hath  do- 
 minion, not  to  the  defect  of  any  thing  that  should  be  in  the 
 
336  Explication  and  Paraphrase 
 
 law,  which  marks  out  to  men   perfectly  their  duty,  with  a 
 sanction  of  suitable  promise  and  threatening. 
 
 Surely  there  is  no  honour  given  to  the  law  by  those  proud 
 zealots  of  the  law,  who  think  by  their  own  righteousness, 
 doing  in  some  poor  sort  what  it  was  at  any  rate  and  ever 
 their  duty  to  do  perfectly,  that  they  can  cover  the  defects  of 
 their  obedience  to  the  law,  and  make  the  transgression  of  it 
 pass  for  nothing. 
 
 Nor  do  they  give  honour  either  to  grace  or  to  the  law, 
 who  suppose  that  the  grace  of  the  new  covenant  hath  made 
 abatement  of  the  holiness  required  by  the  law,  and  hath 
 substituted  sincere,  though  imperfect  obedience,  in  the  place 
 of  the  perfect  obedience  which  the  law  hath  originally  and 
 every  required.  Grace  hath  provided  much  otherwise  for 
 the  comfort  and  salvation  of  sinners,  and  for  the  honour  of 
 the  law.  The  righteousness  of  the  law  must  at  any  rate  be 
 fulfilled  in  us,  and  its  right  have  full  effect. 
 
 If  they  who  give  full  scope  to  their  lusts,  in  the  indul- 
 gence and  gratification  of  them,  do  offer  dishonour  to  the 
 law  of  God,  some  noisy  and  pretending  zealots  of  the  law, 
 and  of  good  works,  come  into  the  next  class  to  those  for  of- 
 fering dishonour  and  disgrace  to  the  perfectly  holy  and 
 righteous  law  of  God. 
 
 If  sinful  man  was  to  be  saved,  it  did  not  fall  to  the  part  of 
 the  law  to  produce  the  great  effect.  It  could  not  possibly  be 
 effected  but  by  grace  :  and  the  sinner  is  justified  by  grace 
 through  faith,  not  by  the  law  or  by  his  works.  He  is,  at  the 
 same  time,  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  in  him,  not 
 by  the  law  properly  so  called,  but  by  the  gospel,  as  it  is  the 
 law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  ;  and  by  the  sanctification  of  the 
 Spirit  is  he  made  holy ;  and  all  this  of  the  most  free  and 
 abounding  grace.     But  we  proceed  to  the 
 
 Paraphrase. — 4.  The  divine  scheme  and  method  of 
 grace  effects  and  accomplishes  the  salvation  of  God's  people 
 in  a  way  highly  honourable  to  the  law.  Grace  frees  from 
 condemnation,  and  justifies  them  through  the  redemption 
 that  is  in  Christ,  and  by  his  blood,  and  by  his  having  be- 
 come a  sacrifice  for  sin  :  God,  as  from  infinite  love  to  his 
 people,  so  from  infinite  regard  to  his  righteous  law,  not 
 sparing  his  own  Son,  when  he  was  substituted  in  their  stead 
 to  bear  the  punishment  of  their  sin :  and  thus  the  right  of 
 the  law,  with  respect  to  the  punishment  of  transgression, 
 hath  taken  full  effect,  for  the  redemption  of  the  transgressors, 
 in  a  manner  most  honourable  to  the  law,  and  to  its  autho- 
 
Of  Romans  VIII.  4.  33T 
 
 rity,  and  hath  taken  effect  in  them  by  virtue  of  their  union 
 with  Christ,  and  their  being  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
 him. 
 
 God's  people  being  thus  brought  under  grace,  sin  cannot 
 have  dominion  in  them.  Being  made  free  from  the  curse  of 
 the  righteous  law,  sin  is  at  the  same  time  deprived,  by  a 
 just  sentence  of  condemnation,  of  its  dominion  ;  they  are 
 blessed  with  the  Spirit ;  by  him  they  are  made  free  from  the 
 law  of  sin  ;  and  being  sanctified,  they  are  advanced  in  holi- 
 ness from  one  degree  to  another,  until  at  length  they  are  per- 
 fected therein.  Nor  doth  grace  bring  its  blessed  objects  to 
 the  perfection  of  bliss  and  happiness,  but  at  the  same  time 
 that  it  brings  them  to  the  perfection  of  obedience  to  the 
 authority  of  the  law,  and  to  perfect  conformity  to  its  holi- 
 ness ;  and  thus  the  right  of  the  law  taketh  full  effect  in  them, 
 as  to  all  its  demand  of  punishment,  or  of  obedience  and  con- 
 formity. Thus,  if  from  the  law  there  arose  a  necessity,  for 
 the  saving  of  sinners,  of  the  most  rich  and  abounding  grace, 
 grace  doth  save  them  in  such  way  as  not  to  make  void  the 
 law,  but  to  establish  it.  The  holy  divine  law  and  divine 
 grace  reflect  glory  ;  the  one  upon  the  other  reciprocally  ;  and 
 both  will  shine  forth  with  joint  glory  eternally  in  heaven. 
 The  law  setting  forth,  in  the  brightest  light,  the  beauty  of 
 holiness,  and  the  vileness  and  fearful  demerit  of  sin,  will 
 show  the  abounding  grace  that  hath  brought  the  children  of 
 wrath  thither,  with  infinite  lustre  and  glory  ;  and  grace  will 
 do  honour  to  the  law,  by  showing  in  sinners,  formerly  very 
 vile  and  polluted,  the  purity  and  holiness  of  the  law  fully  ex- 
 emplified in  their  perfect  sanctification ;  and  Christ,  the 
 Lamb  that  was  slain,  by  whom  the  interests  of  the  law  and 
 of  grace  have  been  happily  reconciled  and  inseparably  unit- 
 ed, will  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  them  who 
 believe. 
 
 We,  in  whom  the  righteousness  of  the  law  doth  already 
 take  place  in  a  good  degree,  and  in  whom  it  shall  be  com- 
 pletely fulfilled  hereafter,  being  such  as  are  distinguished,  in 
 this  life,  by  walking,  not  after  the  flesh,  (which  is  not  sub- 
 ject to  the  law  of  God,)  in  the  grosser  gratification  of  its  lusts, 
 or  in  the  more  refined  way  of  a  slavish,  mercenary,  self-ex- 
 alting, carnal  religion  ;  but  after  the  Spirit,  who  writes  the 
 law,  with  its  authority  and  holiness,  in  our  hearts,  enabling 
 us  to  mortify  fleshly  lusts,  and  to  serve  God  in  newness  of 
 life,  under  his  influence ;  who  is  not  a  spirit  of  fear,  but  of 
 power,  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind  ;  we  having,  according 
 
338         Explication  and  Paraphrase  of  Rom.  Fill.  4. 
 
 to  the  necessity  of  our  state  of  imperfection,  the  blood  of 
 Jesus  to  cleanse  us  from  all  sin  ;  even  that  blood,  in  the 
 shedding  of  which  the  right  of  the  law  did  so  remarkably 
 take  effect,  and  by  the  daily  and  constant  application  where- 
 of to  us,  the  right  of  the  law  takes  effect,  and  its  righteous- 
 ness is  fulfilled  in  us. 
 
339 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 WHEREIN  THE  APOSTLE'S  DOCTRINE,  PRINCIPLES,  AND 
 REASONING,  ARE  APPLIED  TO  THE  PURPOSES  OF 
 HOLY  PRACTICE,  AND  OF  EVANGELICAL  PREACHING. 
 
 Sect.  I. — Containing  a  Recapitulation  of  the  Apostle's  Doc- 
 trines and  Principles  in  the  context  before  explained. 
 
 Having  searched  carefully  into  the  scope  of  this  context,  and 
 the  meaning  of  the  particular  parts  thereof,  it  now  appears 
 very  clearly,  that  the  apostle's  design  is,  therein  to  set  forth 
 and  explain  the  gospel  doctrine  of  sanctification.  This  sub- 
 ject he  keeps  all  along  in  view,  until  he  doth,  in  the  first 
 four  verses  of  chap.  viii.  give  the  summary  of  all  the  doc- 
 trines and  explications  contained  in  the  two  preceding  chap- 
 ters concerning  it.  In  the  course  of  his  reasoning,  he  la- 
 bours carefully  to  show  the  different  condition  of  persons 
 under  the  Jaw,  and  of  those  under  grace,  with  regard  to  sin 
 and  the  practice  of  holiness. 
 
 Divers  interpreters  have,  by  being  under  the  law,  or  under 
 grace,  understood  being  under  the  Mosaic  law,  or  under  the 
 grace  of  the  gospel- dispensation  ;  and  that  the  apostle's 
 view  and  purpose  is,  to  show  to  believers  who  were  of  the 
 Gentiles,  that  they  were  free  from  the  obligation  of  that  law, 
 had  no  need  of  it,  nor  had  any  disadvantage  by  not  being 
 subjected  to  it ;  and  to  convince  those  believers  who  were  of 
 the  Jews,  that  they  acted  contrary  to  their  real,  and  most 
 valuable  interest,  by  their  attachment  to  the  Mosaic  law, 
 now  that  God  did  set  even  them  also  free  from  its  obligation. 
 
 Enough  hath  been  said  to  disprove  this  interpretation; 
 and  it  hath  been  shown,  that  we  have  no  reason  to  think  the 
 apostle  means  by  the  Law  in  this  discourse,  any  other  law 
 than  that  which  all  men  have  been  concerned  with.  To 
 say,  that  by  being  under  the  Mosaic  law,  persons  were  under 
 the  dominion  of  sin,  (mentioned  chap.vi.  14.)  were  extreme- 
 ly unreasonable.  True  believers,  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abra- 
 ham, were,  during  the  Old  Testament,  under  grace;  and 
 the  case  of  millions  proves,  that  men  may  be  under  the  New 
 Testament  dispensation  of  grace,  and  not  be  under  grace  as 
 to  the  real  state  of  their  souls,  nor  made  free  from  the  do- 
 
340  Recapitulation  of  the  Apostle* s  Doctrine. 
 
 minion  of  sin.  But  referring  for  these  things  to  what  hath 
 been  said  in  the  proper  places,  we  find  with  the  apostle  in 
 this  context,  these  important  matters  : — 
 
 1.  To  be  under  the  law,  and  to  be  married  or  united  to 
 Christ,  are  conditions  of  men  that  are  incompatible.  Persons 
 become  dead  to  (free  from)  the  law,  chap.  vii.  4.  that  they 
 may  be  married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  raised  from 
 the  dead. 
 
 2.  Persons  under  the  law,  not  married  to  Christ,  are  inca- 
 pable (while  in  that  state)  of  bringing  forth  fruit  unto  God. 
 Persons  not  delivered  from  the  law,  are  (ver.  (>.)  incapable 
 of  serving  in  newness  of  spirit.     What  accounts  for  this  is, 
 
 3.  That  whilst  persons  are  under  the  law,  they  are  (chap, 
 vii.  5.)  in  the  flesh,  under  the  power  and  prevalence  of  na- 
 tural corruption;  being  (chap.  viii.  9-)  destitute  of  the  Spirit, 
 which  cometh  not  by  the  law,  Gal.  iii.  2.  So  that  they  who 
 are  under  the  law,  in  the  flesh,  cannot  please  God,  cannot 
 do  what  is  acceptable  to  God,  Rom.  viii.  8. 
 
 4.  In  this  state,  the  law,  with  its  whole  force  directed 
 against  sin,  yet  doth  not  subdue  sin.  Instead  of  that,  there 
 are  in  men  in  the  flesh,  under  the  law,  motions  of  sins  by 
 the  law,  chap.  vii.  5.  and  ver.  8.  Sin  taking  occasion  by  the 
 commandment,  and  thereby  awakened,  worketh  in  a  man  all 
 manner  of  concupiscence.      Hence, 
 
 5.  Sinners  under  the  law,  and  in  the  flesh,  are  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin,  its  servants  and  slaves,  chap.  vi.  14.  17*  20. 
 unable  by  any  powers  of  their  own  to  deliver  themselves 
 from  that  slavery,  or  from  under  that  dominion.  The  notion 
 of  dominion  and  slavery  imports  no  less. 
 
 6.  It  is  Christ  who  maketh  a  sinner  free  from  this  slavery, 
 and  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  Whosoever  committeth  sin,  is 
 (John  viii.  34.)  the  servant  of  sin.  So  here,  chap.  vi.  16. 
 To  whom  men  yield  themselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants 
 they  are  to  whom  they  obey.  But  (John  viii.  36.)  They 
 whom  the  Son  shall  make  free,  shall  be  free  indeed.  The 
 apostle's  discourse  explains  this  general  matter  by  the  fol- 
 lowing particulars. 
 
 7.  Sinners  owe  their  being  made  free  from  sin,  or  being 
 dead  to  sin,  to  the  death  of  Christ,  and  to  their  fellowship 
 with  him  in  his  death,  and  in  the  benefits  and  fruits  thereof, 
 which  is  exhibited  and  sealed  to^Christians  in  their  baptism, 
 chap.  vi.  3,  4.     For, 
 
 8.  Christ,  in  his  death,  was  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  chap.  viii.  3. 
 And  as  this  was  not  for  his  own  sin,  but  for  the  sins  of  his 
 
In  the  Context  before  explained.  341 
 
 people,  the  law  which  denounced  death  to  sinners  in  its 
 righteous  sanction,  is  satisfied  in  their  behalf,  by  his  death.  So, 
 9-  Christians  are  redeemed  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
 (Gal.  iii.  13.)  by  Christ's  being  made  a  curse  for  them  ;  and, 
 as  here,  (chap.  vii.  4.)  they  are  dead  to  (made  free  from)  the 
 law,  and  the  death  and  fearful  curse  it  denounces,  by  the  body 
 of  Christ  crucified.  If  sin,  by  virtue  of  the  law  which  gave 
 it  that  strength,  hath  reigned  unto  death,  Christ,  coming  in 
 our  place  and  stead,  did  become  subject  to  that  reign  of  sin. 
 But  by  his  death,  (chap.  vi.  10.)  he  died  unto  sin,  and  so  be- 
 came free  from  that  reign  of  sin  unto  death  ;  and  therefore 
 it  is,  as  ver.  9-  that  he  dieth  no  more — death  hath  no  more  do- 
 minion over  him  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  believers  should 
 reckon  themselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  ver.  11.  So 
 that  now  their  death  is  not  by  the  reign  of  sin,  nor  is  the 
 sting  of  it  in  their  death. 
 
 10.  The  consequence  of  Christ's  becoming  a  sacrifice  for 
 sin  is,  likewise,  that  God  hath  condemned  sin  to  be  dethroned 
 and  deprived  of  the  dominion  it  hath  had  in  his  people,  chap, 
 viii.  3. 
 
 1 1.  This  judgment  and  condemnation  is  executed  by  the 
 gospel  conveying  the  Holy  Spirit  into  the  souls  of  God's 
 people,  and  so  becoming  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  (in  or 
 through)  Jesus  Christ,  making  them  free  from  the  law  and 
 dominion  of  sin  and  death. 
 
 12.  Thus  sinners,  being  justified  through  faith  in  Jesus 
 Christ,  even  through  faith  in  his  blood,  (Rom.  iii.  24,  25.) 
 and  sanctified  by  being  born  of  the  Spirit,  (John  iii.  5. 
 2  Thess.  ii.  13.)  they  pass  from  death  to  life;  from  being 
 under  wrath  and  the  curse  of  the  law,  to  be  under  grace, 
 Rom.  v.  1,2.  And  so  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  them, 
 according  to  chap.  vi.  14. 
 
 13.  Yet,  whilst  they  continue  in  this  life,  sin  remaining  in 
 them  will  give  them  trouble,  and  they  will  be  ever  in  such 
 danger  of  hurt  by  it,  that  their  case  will  require  constant  fear, 
 watchfulness,  and  conflict.  But  whilst,  by  their  groaning  for 
 sin  that  dwelleth  in  them,  and  their  conflict  against  it,  they 
 prove  that  they  are  not  its  slaves,  ncr  under  its  dominion, 
 they  have,  at  the  same  time,  cause  to  thank  God  through 
 Jesus  Christ,  as  for  making  them  free  from  its  dominion,  so 
 for  the  sure  prospect  of  being  hereafter  perfectly  delivered 
 from  it. 
 
 14.  Christians  having  sorrow  or  serious  regret  for  sin  in 
 them,  and  being  in  earnest  conflict  with  the  law  in  their 
 
 p 
 
 ■ 
 
342         *  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 members,  with  the  lusts,  and  irregular  passions,  and  inordi- 
 nate affections  of  the  flesh,  their  way  of  walking  cannot  (as 
 to  their  ordinary  and  habitual  course)  be  after  the  flesh  ;  nor 
 can  they  be  the  slaves  of  sin  ;  but  being  made  free  from  sin, 
 and  become  servants  to  God,  (chap.  vi.  22.)  they  walk  after 
 the  Spirit,  have  their  fruit  unto  holiness,  (which  is  the  ne- 
 cessary and  certain  characteristic  of  the  true  Christian)  and 
 the  end  everlasting  life  ;  to  which  end  and  final  issue  holi- 
 ness is  indispensably  necessary — though,  however  necessary, 
 yet  eternal  life  is  not  proper  wages  which  men  win  by  their 
 holiness,  but  is  the  gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 SECT.  II.— Showing  the  advantage,  frith  regard  to  holiness^  that  ariseth 
 from  persons  leing  under  grace. 
 
 The  advantage  to  sinners,  with  regard  to  holiness,  is  either 
 such  as  is,  in  some  sort,  extrinsic,  arising  from  the  blessed 
 privilege  and  benefits  of  a  state  of  grace  ;  or  such  as  ariseth 
 from  genuine  principles  of  holiness,  and  of  holy  practice  in 
 the  souls  of  those  who  are  under  grace,  that  cannot  have  place 
 or  operate  in  any  who  are  not  so. 
 
 To  explain  the  advantage,  with  regard  to  holiness  and  holy 
 practice  that  is  in  some  sort  extrinsic,  arising  from  the  privi- 
 lege of  a  state  of  grace,let  the  following  matters  be  considered. 
 
 1.  When  men,  by  their  guiltiness,  were  under  the  curse  of 
 God's  law,  this  withheld  from  them  these  blessings  and  fa- 
 vourable influences  of  heaven,  by  which  their  souls,  being 
 made  good  soil,  might  become  fruitful  in  holiness  and  good 
 works.  As  the  earth,  when  the  curse  seized  it,  was  to  pro- 
 duce naturally  thorns  and  thistles,  so  the  hearts  of  persons 
 under  the  law  and  its  curse,  do  produce  no  fruit  truly  good 
 and  acceptable.  Men  being  in  the  flesh,  in  an  unjustified 
 state,  and  sin  having  the  dominion  over  them,  Satan  hath 
 ruled  in  them,  and  by  means  of  sin,  and  the  lusts  thereof, 
 he  hath  wrought  effectually'  in  them.  But  it  will  not  be  so 
 with  them  who  are  under  grace,  in  a  state  of  favour  with 
 God.  These  enemies  may  infest,  but  shall  not  have  the 
 dominion  over  them.  The  virtue  of  Christ's  death  having 
 reached  them  in  their  being  born  of  God,  and  in  their  gra- 
 tuitous justification,  sin  is  condemned  to  lose  its  rule  in  them  ; 
 the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged  and  cast  out.  If  it  is  com- 
 fortable in  relation  to  our  outward  enemies,  it  is  especially 
 so  with  respect  to  our  invisible  and  spiritual  enemies,  as 
 Rom.  viii.  31.  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? 
 Christians  being  justified  by  faith  and  under  grace,  this, 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Graec.  343 
 
 as  hath  been  hinted  above,  opens  to  them  the  treasures  of 
 heavenly  blessings.  The  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ,  (now  become  their  God  and  Father  through  him,) 
 blessing  them  (as  Eph.  i.  3.)  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
 heavenly  places  in  Christ.  This  must  have  much  sanctify- 
 ing effect.  Particularly  and  especially  having  been  born  of 
 the  Spirit,  justified,  and  brought  into  a  state  of  grace,  God 
 giveth  them  his  Spirit  to  dwell  in  them,  chap.  viii.  9-  and 
 they  are  sealed  by  the  Spirit  unto  the  day  of  redemption. 
 Formerly  Satan  wrought  in  them  by  means  of  the  blindness 
 and  errors  of  their  mind,  and  by  means  of  the  various  lusts 
 that  prevail  in  their  unrenewed  hearts.  But  now  the  strong 
 man  is  despoiled  of  his  armour,  the  curse  of  the  law,  and 
 sin  dominant  in  them  ;  and  he  hath  not  the  advantage  over 
 them  that  he  hath  formerly  had.  Being  renewed  in  the 
 spirits  of  their  minds,  and  having  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling 
 in  them,  he  doth  direct  and  rule  their  renewed  faculties  for 
 the  advancement  of  their  sanctification.  His  more  special 
 reproofs  and  consolations,  his  humbling  and  quickening  in- 
 fluences, he  measures  variously  to  them,  with  infinite  wis- 
 dom, in  the  manner  most  proper  for  further  subduing  sin,  and 
 promoting  holiness.  Dwelling  in  them,  and  being  in  them 
 as  a  well  of  water  springing  up  unto  everlasting  life,  he  will 
 be  in  them  an  effectual  principle  of  spiritual  and  heavenly 
 desires  and  pursuits,  and  a  true  source  of  holiness, — a  prin- 
 ciple effectually  directing  and  disposing  them  to  wralk  after 
 the  Spirit. 
 
 2.  By  reason  of  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  thus  dwelling 
 in  them  who  are  under  grace,  and  entitled  to  the  comforts  of 
 it,  they  will  find  their  comfort  much  concerned  in  holy  liv- 
 ing and  practice.  The  comfort  of  Christians  arises  from  ob- 
 jects which,  however  agreeable  to  right  reason  when  revealed, 
 yet  are  above  the  reach  of  reason  to  discover,  and  are  not 
 suitable  to  the  principles  and  disposition  natural  to  the  hearts 
 of  men  ;  such  objects  as  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
 neither  hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man.  So  the  apostle 
 says  concerning  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  of  grace,  1  Cor. 
 ii.  9'  •  As  we  need  the  Spirit  that  is  of  God,  ver.  12.  that 
 we  may  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  us  of  God ; 
 so  to  maintain  usually,  and  with  advantage,  the  comfort  of 
 our  heart  on  such  grounds,  requires  the  ordinary  and  favour- 
 able influence  of  the  same  Spirit  of  grace.  But,  as  sin  in- 
 dulged and  entertained  in  the  heart,  or  having  course  in  men's 
 speech  and  behaviour,  grieveth  the  Holy  Spirit,  (as  the  apostle 
 
344  The  Advantage }  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 speaks,  Eph.  iv.  SO.)  the  consequence  will  be,  that  he  shall 
 withhold  his  favourable  influence,  and  leave  them  to  that 
 sense  of  condemnation  that  is  natural  to  the  hearts  of  the 
 guilty,  and- to  the  darkness  of  mind  and  inward  frame  that 
 naturally  flows  from  it.  In  this  case  the  reasoning  of  their 
 own  minds,  however  just,  will  have  but  very  weak  influence 
 or  effect  for  recovering  their  peace,  and  for  enabling  them 
 to  overcome  the  temptations  which  the  enemy  of  their  peace 
 and  comfort  will  in  such  cases  be  ever  ready  to  suggest. 
 Now,  as  the  peace  and  comfort  of  his  mind  from  grace  is  a 
 very  important  interest  of  every  one  who  is  under  grace, 
 the  connexion  between  holiness  and  comfort  by  the  influence 
 of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  I  have  been  representing,  is  a  con- 
 stant and  most  cogent  reason  to  every  such  person,  to  be 
 watchful  against  sin,  and  earnestly  studious  of  holiness. 
 
 3.  Holiness  is  greatly  promoted  by  the  advantage  which 
 persons  under  grace  have  in  worship.  Divine  worship,  in- 
 ward and  outward,  public  and  private,  makes  of  itself  a  con- 
 siderable branch  of  holy  practice  ;  and  when  it  is  followed 
 out  with  good  conscience,  sincerity,  and  success,  hath  much 
 good  effect  in  all  the  course  of  holy  practice  and  good  works. 
 One  under  grace  approaches  God  in  worship  with  great  ad- 
 vantage. I  observe  this  connexion  in  the  apostle's  words, 
 Heb.  ix.  14.  where  he  represents  the  blood  of  Christ  as  purg- 
 ing the  conscience  from  dead  works,  to  serve  (xxt^svuv)  the 
 living  God.  When  the  conscience  unpurged  lieth  under  guilt 
 and  condemnation,  one  is  greatly  at  a  loss  in  serving  and 
 worshipping  God.  But  when  one  is  justified,  brought  under 
 grace,  and  hath  his  conscience  purged  from  guilt  and  con- 
 demnation, he  may  approach  and  worship  God  with  confi- 
 dence and  comfort.  Godly  persons  under  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, however  truly  under  grace,  had  not  this  benefit  in  so 
 great  a  degree  as  now  under  the  New  Testament,  when  grace 
 is  more  fully  displayed,  and  the  Spirit  given  in  greater  ordi- 
 nary measure.  Now  all  believers  are  priests,  with  respect 
 to  the  privilege  of  near  approach  unto  God.  Yea,  (which 
 exhibits  the  matter  in  a  still  stronger  light,)  whereas  ancient- 
 ly the  high  priest  only  went  into  the  most  holy  place,  in 
 near  approach  to  God's  throne,  the  mercy- seat;  now  all  be- 
 lievers have  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood 
 of  Jesus,  through  the  vail  that  was  rent, — that  is  to  say, 
 his  flesh,  and  to  come  up  as  to  God's  very  throne  of  grace. 
 Believers  have  (according  to  Eph.  iii.  12.)  boldness,  or  liberty 
 (in  opposition  to  bondage  of  spirit)  and  access  with  confidence, 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  34.r> 
 
 by  the  faith  of  him.  This  makes  the  worship  of  God  comfort- 
 able. When  the  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmity  in  such  holy 
 exercise,  making  intercession  for  us,  according  to  the  will  of 
 God,  and  likewise  in  return  intimates,  in  due  time  and  mea- 
 sure, the  love,  mercy,  and  favour  of  God  to  the  heart,  this 
 further  engages  the  heart  to  God,  which  is  of  itself  the  fur- 
 ther sanctifying  of  it,  and  gives  great  alacrity  and  vigour 
 in  walking  with  God,  and  in  all  good  works.  When  in 
 worship  God  gives  inwardly  the  sense  of  his  favour,  and  the 
 light  of  his  countenance,  or  when  he  gives  in  outward  pro- 
 vidence proofs  of  his  faithfulness,  mercy,  and  care,  in  con- 
 sequence of  eai-nest  recourse  to  him,  and  as  in  answer  to 
 prayer,  it  powerfully  disposes  the  heart  to  say,  as  Psal. 
 cxvi.  1,  2.  /  love  the  Lord,  because  he  hath  heard  my  voice, 
 and  my  supplications.  Because  he  hath  inclined  his  ear  unto 
 me,  therefore  will  I  call  upon  him  as  long  as  I  live.  And 
 ver.  9*  I  will  walk  before  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living. 
 And  ver.  12.  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  ?  Such  is 
 the  good  consequence  of  comfortable  and  successful  recourse 
 to  God  in  worship.  It  is  easy  to  understand  what  happy 
 effect  this  sort  of  intercourse  with  God  must  have  in  all  holy 
 practice,  and  in  walking  with  God.  Thus  they  who  are 
 under  grace  have  the  strongest  engagements,  and  the  greatest 
 excitements  to  holy  living,  by  the  advantage  which  they 
 comfortably  have,  in  their  intercourse  with  God  in  worship, 
 beyond  what  men  can  have  who  are  under  the  law  and  its 
 condemnation. 
 
 4.  The  grace  they  are  under  doth  especially  give  efficacy 
 to  the  doctrine  of  the  word  of  the  gospel,  to  every  part  of 
 the  word  of  God,  and  to  all  divine  institutions,  as  the 
 chief  ordinary  means  of  promoting  holiness.  The  prayer  of 
 the  great  Intercessor,  that  God  might  sanctify  them  through 
 his  truth,  will  have  effect  upon  all  his  true  disciples.  The 
 light  of  God's  word  doth  mark  out  to  them,  in  every  part, 
 the  way  in  which  they  ought  to  walk ;  and  giveth  them  in- 
 struction in  righteousness.  God's  Spirit  bringeth  his  holy 
 commandments  and  righteous  judgments  into  their  renewed 
 hearts,  in  such  a  manner  as  makes  them  sweeter  to  them 
 than  honey — than  the  honey-comb.  By  God's  word  they  re- 
 ceive seasonable  and  apposite  correction  and  reproof,  agree- 
 ably seasoned  with  the  love  of  their  best  friend.  If  the 
 threatenings  of  it  are  made  useful  for  curbing  the  rebellious- 
 ness and  wickedness  of  the  flesh,  the  promises  and  comforts 
 of  it  are  especially  made  useful  for  strengthening  and  quick- 
 
M, 
 
 346  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holifiess, 
 
 ening  the  principles  of  grace,  and  for  making  them  active 
 in  all  fruits  of  holiness.  The  good  hope  through  grace 
 which  God's  word  holds  forth  before  them,  is  made  effectual 
 for  raising  them  above  the  world,  and  making  them  victo- 
 rious over  the  terrifying  and  alluring  temptations  of  it,  and 
 for  encouraging  them  to  be  stedfast  and  immovable,  always 
 abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  The  securities  of  God's 
 promises  give  vigour  to  their  hearts  in  walking  with  God, 
 and  in  maintaining  the  Christian  warfare  against  sin  in- 
 wardly, and  outwardly  also ;  even  if  there  should  be  occa- 
 sion to  resist  unto  blood,  striving  against  sin.  If  we  observe 
 how  it  happens  as  to  them  who  are  yet  in  an  unconverted 
 state,  and  under  the  curse,  whilst  they  are  under  the  same 
 dropping  of  the  word  of  God,  usually  with  little  effect ;  we 
 have  occasion  to  say,  it  is  happy,  with  a  view  to  the  sancti- 
 fying effect  of  the  truth,  for  one  to  be  under  grace,  as  to  his 
 real  state  before  God. 
 
 5.  The  grace  which  God's  people,  freely  justified,  are 
 under,  will  direct  every  thing  in  an  effectual  tendency  to  their 
 sanctification  and  furtherance  in  holiness.  It  will  give  that 
 direction  to  all  providential  dispensations.  If  these  be  fa- 
 vourable, it  will  be  for  encouraging  and  strengthening  them 
 in  the  Lord's  ways.  For  sometimes  they  are  encouraged  to 
 serve  the  Lord  their  God  with  joyfulness  and  gladness  of 
 heart,  in  the  abundance  of  all  things.1  If  they  have  the 
 cross  to  bear,  that  will  tend  to  make  the  fruits  of  the  cross  of 
 Christ  the  more  precious  to  them  ;  to  take  off  their  hearts 
 from  the  world  ;  to  preserve  them  from  the  prevailing  evils 
 of  it ;  and  for  that  end,  to  co-operate  with  divine  grace  to 
 mortify  their  members  that  are  upon  the  earth  ;  to  cause  the 
 consolations  of  grace  have  the  better  relish  in  their  hearts  ; 
 to  humble  them,  and  keep  them  in  the  greater  dependence 
 on  the  Lord  and  on  his  grace. 
 
 Nor  are  strokes  and  crosses  dispensed  to  them  indiscri- 
 minately. The  Lord  corrects  them  in  judgment,  not  in 
 mere  anger.2  In  measure  when  it  shooteth  forth,  doth 
 he  debate  with  it ;  he  stayeth  his  rough  wind  in  the  day 
 of  his  east  wind.3  Judgments  are  not  proportioned  to 
 the  demerits  of  those  who  are  under  grace,  but  are  suited 
 to  their  strength,  and  the  good  purposes  to  be  accomplished 
 by  them.  God  is  faithful,  and  will  not  suffer  that  the  ob- 
 jects of  his  grace  and  special  favour  be  tempted  above  that 
 
 1  Deut.  xxviii.  47. — 2  Jen  x.  24. — 3  Is.  xxvii.  8. 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  Ml 
 
 they  are  able.1  If  they  are  chastened,  it  is  in  order  to 
 separate  them  from  their  sins.  The  declared  intention  of 
 all  God's  chastisements  is  the  profit  of  his  children,  that 
 thereby  they  may  be  made  partakers  of  his  holiness/2 
 If  there  is  special  danger  from  a  particular  lust  of  the  flesh, 
 (for  instance,  from  pride,  or  being  exalted  above  measure, ) 
 the  Lord  knoweth  how  to  give  some  special  trial  or  thorn 
 in  the  flesh,  to  prevent  its  operation  and  effect.  If  the 
 flesh  breaks  forth  in  evil  works,  he  will  visit  their  transgres- 
 sions with  the  rod,  and  their  iniquity  with  stripes.5 
 When  the  Lord  sees  that,  through  their  weakness  and  the 
 greatness  of  their  distress  and  trouble,  they  are  in  danger  to 
 fail  in  their  faith,  or  in  their  general  integrity,  he  will  re- 
 lieve them  by  a  seasonable  interposition  of  his  providence. — 
 He  repenteth  himself  for  his  servants,  when  he  seeth  that 
 their  power  is  gone.*  If,  through  their  unwatchfulness, 
 the  flesh  and  the  devil  prevail  against  them,  and  they  fall 
 into  grievous  sins,  (the  leaving  them  to  which  is  the  most 
 fearful  of  all  providential  dispensations)  yet  divine  grace, 
 wisdom,  and  omnipotence,  will  make  even  this  to  contribute, 
 as  to  making  them  more  humble,  so  to  the  making  them 
 more  circumspect  and  holy  in  all  their  ways  ;  as  we  have 
 cause  to  think  concerning  David  and  divers  other  saints. 
 What  wonder  of  grace  this  !  Such  is  the  direction  which 
 the  grace  they  are  under  gives  to  every  sort  of  providences 
 respecting  God's  people,  causing  all  things  co-operate  with 
 grace  for  good  to  them,  sanctifying  all  dispensations  to  them, 
 to  be  the  means  of  sanctifying  them.  How  different  the 
 case  of  the  men  of  the  world,  who,  though  under  an  external 
 dispensation  of  grace,  yet  are  not  under  grace  as  to  the  real 
 state  of  their  souls  ! 
 
 6.  The  habitual  view  and  impression  of  the  great  day  of 
 the  Lord  must  give  great  excitement  to  watchfulness  against 
 sin  and  temptation,  to  holiness  and  fruitfulness  in  good 
 works.  But  to  them  who  are  under  condemnation,  the 
 thoughts  of  that  day  bring  so  great  terror,  as  tends  to  turn 
 away  their  mind  from  the  view  of  it ;  or,  if  they  cannot  do 
 so,  to  give  them  such  alarm  and  confusion,  as  bring  distress 
 and  perplexity  upon  them,  with  so  much  weakness  as  is  pre- 
 judicial to  holiness.  But  a  soul  truly  converted  to  God, 
 justified  and  under  grace,  has  cause  to  think  of  that  day 
 with  great  comfort ;    looking  for  the  grace  that  is  to  be 
 
 1  I  Cor.  x.  13 — *  Heb.  xii.  10 — 3  Psal.  lxxxix.  32. — 4  Deut.  xxxii.  36. 
 
348  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 brought  unto  him  ac  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ/ 
 which  will  bring  him  complete  deliverance  from  sin,  re- 
 demption from  misery  and  death,  with  the  consummation 
 of  holiness  and  happiness.  Fie  may  with  confidence  wait 
 for  the  Son  of  God  from  heaven,  whom  God  raised  from 
 the  dead,  even  Jesus,  which  delivered  us  from  the  wrath  to 
 come.2  Such  is  the  advantage  of  being  under  grace, 
 whereby  a  Christian,  delivered  from  the  wrath  to  come, 
 may  fix  his  mind  on  that  day  with  peace  and  comfort ;  ex- 
 cited by  the  hope  he  hath  in  Christ  Jesus  against  that  day, 
 to  purify  himself  as  he  is  pure  ;3  while  there  remain  to  be 
 considered,  consistently  with  the  consolations  of  grace,  those 
 awful  circumstances  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  that  may, 
 though  without  confusion  or  amazement,  awaken  in  the 
 Christian  the  utmost  concern,  to  be  found  of  him  in  peace, 
 without  spot  and  blameless.4 
 
 7.  As  the  people  of  God  are  the  purchase  of  Christ's 
 blood,  so  when  his  blood  is  actually  applied  to  them,  and 
 they  are  justified  and  brought  under  grace,  they  are  from 
 thenceforth  his  most  special  charge,  committed  to  himself  to 
 rule  and  preserve  them,  and  complete  their  salvation.  He 
 is  sufficient  for  the  charge,  and  faithful  in  the  execution  of 
 it.  He  doth  fulfil  the  will  of  his  Father,  of  which  he  saith, 
 John  vi.  39.  This  is  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  that  of  all 
 which  he  hath  given  me,  I  should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise 
 it  up  again  at  the  last  day.  With  a  view  to  this  important 
 charge  of  its  happy  objects,  which  divine  grace  commits  to 
 the  Redeemer,  all  things  are  delivered  to  him  of  his  Father, 
 who  hath  given  him  power  over  all  flesh,  that  he  should 
 give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  he  hath  given  him.5  All 
 power  is  given  him  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ;6  and  it  is 
 given  him  to  be  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church.7  The 
 Captain  of  our  salvation,  infinitely  powerful  in  himself,  and 
 mighty  to  save,  being  furnished  with  such  extensive  power 
 in  his  mediatory  character  for  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory, 
 the  great  work  he  hath  to  do  upon  them,  upon  his  church, 
 is,  that  he  may  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of 
 water  by  the  word,  that  he  may  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious 
 church  !s  It  is  when  all  his  church  shall  be  gathered  in, 
 and  fully  sanctified,  that  he  shall  bring  them  home  to  God, 
 (his  and  their  Father)  to  be  perfectly  happy  in  the  immedi- 
 ate fruition  of  him— when  God  himself  shall  be  to  his  people 
 
 1   1  Pet.  i.  13 2   1  Thess.  i.  10 5  1  John  iii.  3 4  2  Pet.  ii.  14 
 
 *  John  xvii.  2 6  Matth.  xxviii.  18 1  Eph.  i.  22 8  Eph.  v.  26,  27, 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  349 
 
 eternally  all  in  all.  x  Thus  the  sanctification  of  believers 
 is  insured  by  their  being  given  in  charge,  for  that  purpose, 
 to  him  who  died  for  them,  and  rose  again. 
 
 He  is  the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  who  saith,  (John 
 x.  28.)  They  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  pluck  them 
 out  of  my  hand.  Is  this  merely,  that  the  enemy  cannot  pluck 
 them  by  force  out  of  the  hands  of  Christ  or  of  his  Father  ? 
 Surely  this  is  not  the  way  in  which  the  enemy  chiefly  at- 
 tempts to  work  against  Omnipotence.  '  But  this  may  be 
 <  done'  (saith  a  learned  writer,  Dr  W.)  '  by  deceit  and  allure- 
 '  ments,  through  the  negligence  of  men  who  have  the  free- 
 '  dom  of  their  wills ;  for  such  men,  who,  by  the  allurements 
 1  of  the  world,  the'flesh,  and  the  devil,  thus  cease  to  obey 
 1  Christ's  laws,  are  not  snatched  out  of  Christ's  hands,  but 
 f  choose  to  go  from  him/  But  if  souls  may,  in  this  way,  be 
 brought  away  from  Christ,  and  from  his  ways,  to  perdition, 
 (as  this  is  the  way  in  which  the  enemy  doth  ever  attempt  it, 
 even  by  allurements  or  terrors,  or  some  means  or  other  of  de- 
 ceiving, to  gain  their  will)  is  not  this  snatching  them  out  of 
 Christ's  hands  ?  And  if,  through  the  cunning  of  the  enemy, 
 and  their  wandering  disposition,  the  sheep  are  brought  aside 
 from  their  pasture  and  from  the  right  way,  and  finally  pe- 
 rish, alas  !  what  a  small  matter  doth  the  care  of  the  great 
 Shepherd  amount  to  ?  If  one  might  perish  by  these  means, 
 and  by  the  choice  of  their  own  will,  however  influenced, 
 might  not  all  ?  and  so  this  great  Shepherd  have  no  flock  to 
 bring  home  to  the  fold  in  the  end  of  the  day ;  and  Christ, 
 having  died  for  his  church,  that  he  might  sanctify  it,  and 
 present  it  a  glorious  church,  in  the  end  have  no  church  to 
 present  ?  Can  we  not  hold  what  is  just  concerning  the  liber- 
 ty of  human  will,  without  holding  concerning  it  what  would 
 make  it  possible  that  the  Son  of  God  should  have  no  work 
 to  do  at  his  glorious  second  coming,  but  to  execute  eternal 
 vengeance  upon  them  all  whom,  when  he  came  first,  he  re- 
 deemed with  his  blood  ?  Surely  the  divine  council  of  grace, 
 and  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God,  have  been  contrived  by 
 infinite  wisdom  with  greater  certainty  of  effect. 
 
 8.  It  appears,  then,  that  the  Lord's  people  have  very  great 
 advantage  with  regard  to  sanctification  and  the  preserving 
 them  in  holiness,  by  their  being  under  grace.  But,  further, 
 this  is  secured  by  a  sure  covenant.  The  grace  they  are  un- 
 der is  the  grace  of  the  new  covenant.  If  we  consider,  that 
 man,  in  his  first  and  perfect  state,  did  fall  from  God  through 
 1  1  Cor.  xv.  28. 
 p5 
 
3.;0  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 the  temptation  of  the  enemy,  and  his  abuse  of  the  freedom  of 
 his  own  will — if  we  consider  what  place  and  strength  sin 
 retains  now  in  the  hearts  of  the  best  whilst  in  this  life,  how 
 weak  they  are,  and  what  innumerable  snares  and  temptations 
 they  are  surrounded  with — we  may  venture  to  say,  that  it 
 were  not  becoming  the  wisdom  of  God  to  make  a  new  display 
 of  his  grace  to  such  creatures,  in  a  new  covenant,  without 
 ordering  it  so  as  would  secure  the  effect  of  grace.  It  be- 
 comes us,  indeed,  to  reason  modestly  concerning  the  wisdom 
 of  God,  and  what  becometh  it.  But  with  regard  to  the 
 present  subject,  we  may  thus  reason  the  more  confidently,  that 
 his  word  hath  declared  his  new  and  second  covenant  to  be 
 everlasting,  wrell  ordered,  and  sure. 
 
 Here  is  the  sum  of  it,  as  the  Lord  hath  given  it  forth,  Jer. 
 xxxii.  40.  /  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them,  that 
 I  will  not  turn  away  from  them  (Heb.  from  after  them)  to  do 
 them  good  ;  but  I  will  put  my  fear  i?i  their  hearts,  that  they 
 shall  not  depart  from  me.  Here,  besides  the  general  decla- 
 ration, that  the  covenant  will  be  everlasting,  the  Lord  doth 
 more  particularly  describe  how  it  shall  become  so.  Upon 
 the  one  hand,  he  promises  that  he  will  not  turn  away  from 
 after  them  to  do  them  good.  Thus  he  expresses  and  pro- 
 mises his  constant  care  of  them.  As  they  are,  whilst  in  this 
 life,  but  as  children  learning  to  walk,  and  still  in  danger  of 
 stumbling,  he  will  set  them  before  him — he  will  follow  after 
 them,  to  observe  them,  to  care  for  them.  Thus  the  Psalm- 
 ist, Psalm  xli.  12.  :  As  for  me,  saith  he,  thou  upholdest  me  in 
 mine  integrity,  and  adds  for  comfortable  explaining  this,  Thou 
 sett  est  me  before  thy  face  for  ever.  As  if  he  had  said,  I  am 
 ever  before  thy  face — under  thine  eye,  to  be  seasonably 
 corrected  and  helped  by  thee  ;  and  thus  it  is  that  thou  up- 
 holdest me  in  mine  integrity.  Thus  also,  Gen.  xvii.  1.  The 
 Lord  said  unto  Abram,  I  am  the  Almighty  God  ;  walk  before 
 me,  and  be  thou  perfect.  Here  there  is  a  hint  to  him  of 
 being  careful  to  be  perfect,  or  upright  and  sincere,  as  walking 
 before  an  all-seeing  God.  Yet  God's  omniscience  is  only 
 implied,  not  expressed.  The  thing  expressed  is  God's  being 
 almighty  ;  and  the  encouragement  meant  we  may  conceive 
 thus:  When  I  have  engaged  thee  to  walk  in  my  way,  have 
 good  courage ;  consider  thyself  as  a  child  walking  before, 
 and  under  the  eye  of  a  kind  father  ;  consider  me  as  ever  after 
 thee,  to  observe  and  care  for  thee,  to  assist,  support,  and  pro- 
 tect thee.  Thus  the  Lord  promises  (Jer.  xxxii.  40.)  that 
 he  will  not  turn  from  after  his  people,  to  do  them  good. 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  361 
 
 The  only  thing,  then,  that  can  be  imagined  to  deprive  them 
 of  the  benefit  of  this  divine  care  and  grace,  is,  that  they 
 should  depart  from  the  Lord,  and  from  his  ways,  and  so 
 refuse  his  care,  resist  it,  and  withdraw  themselves  from  it. 
 But  this  is  provided  against  by  the  promise,  1  will  put  my 
 fear  in  their  hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depart  from  ?ne.  If  the 
 tenor  of  the  covenant  were  thus  :  I  will  not  cease  to  do  them 
 good,  on  condition  that  they  cleave  to  me,  obey  me,  and  not 
 depart  from  me  ;  if,  I  say,  the  covenant  amounted  to  no  more 
 than  this,  it  would  be  a  law-covenant,  even  if  there  should  be 
 some  abatement  in  the  condition,  in  condescension  to  human 
 infirmity.  Whereas  the  covenant  of  grace  is  a  covenant  of 
 promise,  that  gives  security,  by  mere  grace,  on  all  hands, 
 with  regard  to  the  sanctification  of  God's  people,  and  their 
 preservation  in  a  state  and  course  of  holiness,  to  their  final 
 salvation.  The  right  inheritence  is  not  by  the  law,  or  by 
 works.  For  if  they  which  are  of  the  law  be  heirs,  faith  is 
 made  void,  and  the  promise  made  of  none  effect.  Therefore 
 it  is  of  faith,  that  it  might  be  by  grace,  to  the  end  the  pro- 
 mise might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed,  Rom.  iv.  14,  16. 
 
 But  is  it  not  true,  if  the  Christian  should  wholly  and  finally 
 depart  from  God,  that  this  would  deprive  him  of  all  the  be- 
 nefit of  grace  ?  I  answer,  This  hypothetic  proposition  is  of 
 undoubted  truth ;  yea,  the  truth  of  it  is  implied  and  pre- 
 supposed in  the  promise  itself,  which  is  likewise  of  certain 
 and  infallible  truth, — /  w ill  put  my  fear  in  their  hearts,  that 
 they  shall  not  depart  from  me. 
 
 But  how  can  it  be  consistent  with  that  freedom  of  will  that 
 is  essential  to  moral  agency,  that  the  sanctification  and  per- 
 severance in  holiness  of  God's  people  should  be  thus  pre- 
 viously secured  by  grace,  and  by  the  promise  ? 
 
 Answ.  It  is  acknowledged  that  none  can  be  called  moral 
 agents  who  do  not  act  with  freedom  of  will  ;  yet  there  are 
 moral  agents  who  are  incapable  of  doing  what  is  evil,  and 
 at  the  same  time,  do  not  act  with  the  less  freedom  of  will ; 
 yea,  they  enjoy  the  liberty  of  the  will  in  its  perfection.  Thsre 
 are  likewise  moral  agents  who  cannot  do  what  is  truly  mo- 
 rally good,  yet  act  with  free  will.  This  is  acknowledged  by 
 the  greatest  patrons  of  the  pretensions  of  free  will.  So,  the 
 general  proposition,  that  the  power  alike  to  do  good  or  evil 
 is  essential  to  the  freedom  of  the  will,  and  is  necessary  to 
 moral  agency,  is  deserted,  I  see,  by  the  most  able  and  learn- 
 ed of  them.  The  saints  in  a  state  of  glory  will,  by  the  grace 
 that    brought  them  to  that  state,  be  preserved  in  holiness 
 
352  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 eternally,  and  that  very  consistently  with  the  freedom  of 
 their  will.  Shall  it  be  said  concerning  the  saints  on  earth, 
 amidst  their  own  imperfections,  and  the  snares  that  abound 
 in  the  world,  that  it  is  indeed  beyond  the  reach  of  infinite 
 wisdom  and  grace  to  preserve  them  in  holiness,  to  advance 
 and  perfect  them  therein,  without  destroying  the  freedom  of 
 their  will  ?  It  certainly  were  very  unreasonable  to  say  so. 
 As  it  is  certainly  true,  that  men,  as  all  other  moral  agents, 
 do  act  with  free  will,  so  we  have  seen  that  God's  covenant 
 of  grace  and  promise  hath  secured  the  sanctification  and  per- 
 severance of  those  who  are  under  grace.  The  word  of  God 
 abounds  with  promises  to  that  purpose.  If  any  say  that 
 God  cannot  accomplish  with  certainty  these  purposes  of  his 
 grace  and  providence,  that  are  to  be  brought  about  by  means 
 of  moral  agents  endowed  with  free  will,  without  destroying 
 the  freedom  of  their  will,  they  are  far  from  being  well  found- 
 ed in  philosophy  or  sound  reason,  and  speak  in  extreme 
 opposition  to  the  word  of  God,  yea,  to  the  common  notions 
 of  mankind,  who  pray  to  God  to  bring  about  events  that 
 must,  by  the  nature  of  things,  be  brought  about  by  the  free 
 will  of  rational  agents,  without  ever  thinking  that  he  is  to 
 destroy  or  suspend  the  liberty  of  their  will. 
 
 We  have  been  considering  the  advantage,  in  some  sort  ex- 
 trinsic, respecting  holiness  and  freedom  from  the  dominion 
 of  sin,  even  that  which  ariseth  from  a  state  of  grace,  from 
 the  believer's  being  under  grace,  the  object  of  special  divine 
 favour.  Let  us  now  consider  the  advantage  of  an  intrinsic 
 sort,  which  the  true  Christian  hath  by  being  under  grace,  as 
 to  the  true  and  necessary  inward  principles  of  genuine  holi- 
 ness, which  cannot  take  place  or  have  effect  in  any  soul 
 that  is  under  the  law  and  its  curse,  under  guilt  and  con- 
 demnation. 
 
 It  is  of  essential  consequence  with  regard  to  holiness,  that 
 a  man  have  right  inward  principles  in  all  his  actions.  A 
 man's  external  actions  and  behaviour  may  be  good,  and  yet 
 have  nothing  of  true  holiness,  if  all  doth  not  proceed  from 
 right  inward  principles.  Yea,  a  man  doing  much  good  out- 
 wardly, from  evil  principles,  and  to  a  wrong  end,  his  course 
 upon  the  whole  may  be  quite  diabolical  and  wicked.  A 
 man's  external  practice  when  it  is  good,  makes  but  one  side, 
 the  outside  of  practice.  From  rational  moral  agents,  God, 
 who  is  a  Spirit,  requires  the  worship  and  service  of  the  heart 
 and  spirit ;  and  their  practice  is  to  be  judged  of  by  Him  who 
 gearcheth  the  reins  and  heart,  (Jer.  xvii.  10.  Rev.  ii.  23.) 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  353 
 
 according  to  the  inward  disposition  and  principles  that  in- 
 fluence it.  If  one  should,  from  ambitious  views,  as  Absa- 
 lom, strive  to  reach  by  iniquity  a  state  of  life  in  which  he 
 might  gratify  every  lust,  and  after  obtaining  it,  recommend 
 himself  to  men  by  all  acts  of  kindness  and  beneficence,  by 
 mercy  and  liberality  to  the  poor,  by  avoiding  every  immo- 
 rality, yea,  and  by  showing  great  regard  to  religion  and  de- 
 votion ;  should  this  man's  practice  be  denominated  holiness  ? 
 No,  surely  ;  all  his  apparent  goodness  is  from  sinful  lusts  do- 
 minant in  him.  Men  may,  yea  ought,  to  judge  favourably 
 of  one,  when  his  speech  and  behaviour  express  only  what  is 
 good  ;  but  this  is  still  with  a  reserve  to  the  judgment  of  the 
 heart-searching  supreme  Judge,  who  only  can  with  absolute 
 certainty  judge  of  a  man's  holiness.  It  is  therefore  of  es- 
 sential consequence  to  advert  to  the  inward  principles  of  prac- 
 tice and  behaviour ;  and  if  even  the  good  outward  behaviour 
 of  a  person  yet  under  the  law  and  its  condemnation,  can- 
 not proceed  from  right  and  holy  inward  principles  ;  if  these 
 can  only  have  place  and  effect  in  the  heart  of  one  under 
 grace,  it  proves  the  advantage  with  respect  to  holiness,  of 
 being  under  grace  ;  yea,  that  sin  will  have  dominion,  and 
 there  cannot  be  true  holy  practice  with  any  who  is  not  in  a 
 state  of  grace. 
 
 We  learn  from  the  word  of  God,  that  there  is  no  good  or 
 acceptable  work  without  faith  and  love.  The  doctrine  con- 
 cerning the  first  of  these  is  precise  and  clear,  Heb.  xi.  6. 
 Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God.  The  inspired 
 writer  explains  this,  and  gives  the  reason  thus  :  For  he  that 
 cometh  to  God,  mast  believe  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that 
 diligently  seek  him.  Dr  Whitby  says,  in  his  annotation, 
 that  this  is  the  heathen's  creed — (I  thought  there  could  be 
 no  creed  without  revelation)  ;  and  thereafter  he  says  :  '  God 
 '  must  either  have  laid  upon  them  no  obligation  to  please 
 '  him,  or  required  what  he  knew  to  be  impossible,  or  given 
 r  them  sufficient  means  to  know  this/ — viz.  that  he  is  a 
 rewarder  to  sinful  men  who  seek  him,  and  are  virtuous. 
 This  is  rare  divinity.  One  thing  appears  in  it  at  first  sight, 
 viz.  that  the  gospel  revelation  was  not  necessary  to  lead 
 men  to  a  state  of  acceptance  with  God,  and  to  happiness  ; 
 natural  religion,  influenced  by  the  heathen's  creed,  being 
 sufficient  for  that  purpose.  As  many  who  write  well  in  de- 
 fence of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  revelation,  do  yield  this 
 point,  I  apprehend  their  doing  so  hath  a  greater  tendency 
 
854*  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holi?iess, 
 
 to  make  many  infidels  easy  in  their  mind  than  their  ingenious 
 defences  of  revelation  have  to  bring  such  over  to  the  faith. 
 I  observe  the  speculations  of  divers  heathen  philosophers 
 adduced  by  Dr  W.  concerning  the  regard  the  gods  (as  they 
 spoke,  according  to  their  creed)  have  for  good  men,  and  their 
 care  of  such.  It  was  indeed  easy  for  the  self-flattering  hearts 
 of  men,  who  esteemed  their  own  goodness  and  virtue,  to  en- 
 tertain such  favourable  notions,  overlooking  their  own  sin- 
 fulness, and  the  charge  which  the  holy  and  righteous  Sove- 
 reign of  the  world  had  against  them  on  that  account.  But 
 certainly  the  learned  writer  could  not  show,  from  all  the 
 heathen  writers  he  was  acquainted  with,  that  they  knew  any 
 true  and  sufficient  grounds  on  which  they  could  believe  that 
 God  would  be  a  rewarder  to  sinful  men.  They  could,  at 
 best,  have  but  doubtful  unfounded  speculations  concerning 
 it — could  not  possibly  have  the  faith  of  it,  according  to  the 
 description  of  faith  there,  ver.  1 . 
 
 The  Scripture  shows  us  the  only  true  and  solid  ground  on 
 which  sinful  men  can  have  faith  in  God,  1  Pet.  i.  21.  Who  by 
 him  (Christ)  do  believe  in  God  that  raised  him  up  from  the 
 dead,  and  gave  him  glory,  that  your  faith  and  hope  might  be 
 in  God.  The  atonement  made  for  men's  sins  by  Christ's 
 sufferings  and  death,  and  God's  testifying  his  acceptance 
 thereof  by  raising  him  from  the  dead,  together  with  the  tes- 
 timony of  the  word  of  God  concerning  divine  grace  through 
 Christ,  makes  the  only  proper  and  solid  ground  upon  which 
 sinful  men  can  have  faith  in  God,  or  believe  him  to  be  to 
 them  a  rewarder.  Now  it  is  by  this  sincere  faith  in  Christ, 
 and  in  God  through  Christ,  that  sinners  do  pass  from  death 
 to  life,  and,  being  justified,  come  under  grace  ;  nor  can  it  be 
 an  habitual  principle  of  practice,  in  any  who  are  not  so,  as 
 to  their  real  state  before  God.  So,  whatever  appearance  of 
 virtue  or  goodness  they  may  have,  they  who  are  in  the  flesh, 
 (and  so  are  yet  under  the  law)  cannot  please  God,  Rom. 
 viii.  8.  nor  have  for  a  principle  of  action  and  service  that  faith, 
 without  which  it  is  impossible  to  please  God. 
 
 The  other  principle  essential  to  true  holiness,  to  acceptable 
 obedience,  and  good  works,  is  love.  This,  according  to  the 
 apostle,  Rom.  xiii.  8.  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  lam  ;  and  if  it  is 
 so  with  respect  to  the  second  table,  which  he  hath  there  par- 
 ticularly in  his  view,  it  is  so  as  to  the  first,  according  to 
 Matth.  xxii.  36,  37.  The  great  commandment  in  the  law  is, 
 Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God.  This  is  indeed  the  sum 
 of  the  whole  law,  and  a  necessary  principle  of  obedience  to  it 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  355 
 
 in  every  part.  But  how  cloth  this  love  enter,  and  reside  in 
 the  heart  of  man,  to  whom  it  certainly  is  not  natural  ?  The 
 apostle  accounts  for  this,  1  John  iv.  10.  Herein  is  love,  not 
 that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to 
 be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  Faith  representing,  with 
 satisfying  conviction,  to  the  heart  of  an  awakened,  serious, 
 and  humbled  sinner,  this  most  wonderful  and  endearing  love 
 of  God,  testified  in  redeeming  us  from  death  and  wrath  by 
 the  death  of  his  Son,  engages  the  heart  to  him,  to  love,  and 
 to  serve  him.  When  the  love  of  God,  thus  manifested  in 
 Christ  Jesus,  touches  the  heart  with  comfortable  effect,  it 
 doth,  as  the  flame  of  one  candle  touching  another,  kindle  the 
 love  of  God  in  the  heart.  But  then,  if  this  love,  that  is  es- 
 sential to  holiness,  enters  into  and  arises  in  the  heart  only 
 by  means  of  that  faith  by  which  one  comes  under  grace,  it 
 is  plain  it  can  be  a  principle  of  practice  only  in  the  hearts  of 
 such  as  are  under  grace.  It  is  faith  that  worketh  by  love, 
 Gal.  v.  6. 
 
 The  true  inward  progress  and  connexion  of  things  re- 
 specting the  principles  of  holy  practice  and  obedience,  we  find 
 1  Tim.  i.  5.  Now  the  end  of  the  commandment  is  charity,  out 
 of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith  un- 
 feigned. It  is  worth  while  to  consider  this  verse  somewhat 
 closely. 
 
 As  to  the  first  clause,  The  end  of  the  commandment  ;  this, 
 saith  Dr.  W.'s  annotation,  some  refer  to  the  law.  Himself 
 rather  thinks  it  here  refers  to  the  gospel ;  and  to  this  pur- 
 pose observes,  that  the  Greek  word  here,  and  the  two  other 
 words  he  mentions,  are  always,  in  the  epistles,  used  of  the 
 gospel.  But  as  these  three  words  have  not  in  the  use  of 
 i  language  the  same  meaning,  so  as  to  the  word  in  this  text 
 (7rcc^xyyiX(u,)  I  see  not  in  my  lexicon  any  sense  of  it  that 
 would  favour  that  interpretation.  As  to  the  only  two  texts 
 he  mentions,  (1  Thess.  iv.  2.  and  here,  ver.  18.)  the  word  is 
 justly  rendered  as  we  translate  ;  nor  is  there  any  tiling  in 
 the  scope  that  requires  rendering  otherwise  than  by  com- 
 mandment  and  charge.  It  is  plain  that  the  apostle  hath  in 
 his  eye  some  who,  as  ver  7.  desired  to  be  teachers  of  the  law  ; 
 against  whom  he  reasons  concerning  the  law  in  the  following 
 verses.  The  law,  or  commandment,  is  the  subject  in  this 
 place.  As  he  charges  these  men  with  ignorance,  ver.  7-  not 
 understanding  (so  the  Doctor's  paraphrase)  the  scope  or  true 
 meaning  of  the  law  ;  here  he,  ver.  5.  goes  on  to  speak  con- 
 cerning the  law,  or  commandment,  by  representing,  in  oppo- 
 
356  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 sition  to  them,  the  true  scope  and  end  of  the  law  in  its  hoi] 
 commandment.  But  though  the  rendering  and  sense  is  t< 
 be  retained  as  we  have  it,  (the  end  of  the  commandment)  ye* 
 it  is  certain  this  end  of  the  commandment  cannot  be  attainec 
 by  sinful  men,  as  to  the  conformity  it  requires,  but  by  mean.' 
 of  the  gospel,  and  the  grace  which  it  exhibits  ;  and  th* 
 apostle  gives  such  a  view  of  the  subject  here  as  makes  this 
 clear,  as  we  shall  see. 
 
 The  end  of  the  commandment  is  charity. — This  word  in 
 our  language  hath  undergone  a  considerable  change  of  mean- 
 ing in  the  use  of  speech.  The  Greek  word  is  no  other  than 
 the  common  word  for  love ;  as  it  hath  been  observed,  that 
 love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  The  apostle  shows  here  how 
 this  love  is  connected  in  the  heart,  and  mentions  a  series  of 
 causes  by  which  the  true  love,  whereby  the  end  of  the  com- 
 mandment is  obtained  in  the  practice  of  men,  is  produced. 
 
 1.  It  is  love  out  of  a  pure  heart.  Without  giving  any 
 prolix  explication  of  this,  we  may  learn  what  a  pure  heart 
 means,  from  James  iv.  8.  Purify  your  hearts,  ye  double- 
 minded.  The  pure  heart  here  is  the  same  with  a  true  heart, 
 Heb.  x.  22.  and  means  its  sincerity.  So  love  out  of  a  pure 
 heart  is  the  same  as  out  of  a  sincere  heart ;  and  the  apos- 
 tle's expression  means  the  sincerity  of  love. 
 
 2.  This  sincerity  of  love  comes  from  a  good  conscience. 
 A  man's  conscience  may  be  called  good,  in  general,  when 
 it  hath  in  it  a  true  light  to  direct  a  man's  way  and  be- 
 haviour, with  such  impression  of  the  authority  of  God,  the 
 great  Lawgiver,  as  powerfully  and  effectually  enforces  con- 
 formity and  obedience  to  its  dictates.  In  short,  it  is  a  good 
 conscience  that  doth  its  office  in  the  proper  manner.  But 
 the  apostle's  special  meaning  of  a  good  conscience  here,  is, 
 I  think,  to  be  understood  as  opposed  to  an  evil  conscience, 
 mentioned  Heb.  x.  22.  Having  your  hearts  sprinkled  from 
 an  evil  conscience.  There  is  evidently  in  these  words  an 
 allusion  to  the  ancient  typical  sprinkling  of  the  blood  by 
 which  atonement  was  made,  and  persons  were  made  free 
 from  the  charge  of  guiltiness  and  defilement,  and  from  the 
 consequences  of  it.  An  evil  conscience  is  a  conscience 
 charging  guilt,  a  condemning  conscience,  that  gives  the  sad 
 impression  of  wrath  and  judgment  for  sin. 
 
 Now,  it  is  (Heb.  ix.  14.)  the  blood  of  Christ  that  purgeth 
 the  conscience,  so  as  that  (Heb.  x.  2.)  there  shall  be  no 
 more  conscience  of  sins  ;  the  conscience  once  purged,  retain- 
 ing no  longer  a  charge  of  guiltiness,  and  of  judgment  for  it 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  357 
 
 So  there  are  two  ways  of  having  a  good  conscience  ;  one  19, 
 by  not  having  transgressed  ;  the  other  is,  by  having  the 
 guilt  taken  away  by  the  application  of  that  blood  which 
 taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
 
 By  means  of  a  conscience  condemning,  and  terrifying  with 
 the  apprehension  of  wrath  and  judgment,  God's  enemies 
 may  (as  Psal.  lxvi.  3.)  submit  themselves  unto  him,  (or,  ac- 
 cording to  our  margin,  yield  feigned  obedience :  Heb.  lie 
 unto  him.)  But  whilst  the  conscience  retains  the  charge  of 
 guilt,  condemnation,  and  wrath,  there  cannot  be  purity,  or 
 sincerity  of  heart  toward  God,  or  sincerity  of  the  love  of 
 God.  Human  nature  is  so  formed,  that  it  cannot  love  any 
 object  that  is  adverse  and  terrible  to  it.  There  is  good 
 sense  in  a  passage  of  Simplicius,  a  heathen  writer,  as  Dr 
 W.  on  Heb.  xi.  6.  gives  it  thus  :  '  We  cannot  love,  honour, 
 '  and  worship  the  Deity,  whatsoever  reasons  may  be  alleged 
 €  for  so  doing,  if  we  conceive  him  hurtful,  and  not  profit- 
 *  able  to  us,  because  every  living  creature  flies  wThat  is 
 1  hurtful,  and  the  causes  of  it ;  and  affects  and  follows  what 
 4  is  profitable/  So  that  philosopher.  (As  to  the  purpose 
 for  which  Dr  W.  adduces  this  passage,  on  Heb.  xi.  6'.,  upon 
 what  good  grounds  could  such  a  man  assure  himself  that 
 the  holy  and  righteous  Ruler  and  Judge  would  be  favour- 
 able to  the  guilty,  or  that  such  could  have  profit  by  him, 
 with  regard  to  their  spiritual,  everlasting  state  ;  if  they  had 
 I  any  firm  belief  of  an  everlasting  state,  which  many  of  the 
 most  eminent  heathen  philosophers  had  not?  Here  was  an 
 :  essential  defect  in  the  religion  of  the  heathen.  This  by  the 
 by.    Now  to  our  present  purpose.) 
 
 It  is  when  the  conscience  is  relieved  from  the  sense  of 
 condemnation  and  wrath,  and  from  the  sad  misgivings 
 which  haunt  them  who  do  most  labour  to  be  easy  in  that 
 condition  ;  I  say,  when  it  is  relieved  from  these  impressions 
 and  apprehensions,  and  that  by  means  so  wonderfully  en- 
 dearing as  the  redeeming  love  of  God  and  of  our  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ ;  it  is  then  that  the  heart  kindles  in  love,  and 
 comes,  with  purity  and  sincerity  of  heart,  to  be  wrell  affected 
 to  God,  and  to  his  service.  Then  God's  people  come  to 
 serve  him  (Luke  i.  74,  7^-)  in  holiness  and  righteousness, 
 without  fear;  then  the  Christian  hath  boldness  and  access 
 with  confidence ;  the  conscience  being  purged  from  dead 
 works,  he  serves  God  comfortably.  The  fear  arising  from 
 an  evil  conscience  hath  torment,  and  excludes  love.  But 
 ;his  fear  being  removed  by  the  heart's  being  sprinkled  from 
 
358  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 an  evil  conscience,  and  love  entering,  it  (1  John  iv.  18.) 
 casteth  out  fear ;  for  there  is  no  fear  in  love.  If,  through 
 the  Christian's  neglect  and  unwatchfulness,  fear  shall  return 
 with  some  bondage  and  torment,  love  recovering  itself, 
 with  the  proper  force,  casts  it  out.  The  Christian,  sensible 
 of  being  under  Divine  grace  and  favour,  love  hath  free 
 course  and  prevalence  in  his  heart,  and  alloweth  him  not  to 
 entertain  harsh,  or  unfavourable,  or  discouraging  thoughts 
 of  God.  So  wisdom's  ways  become  to  the  Christian  ways  of 
 pleasantness  ;  he  walks  cheerfully  in  them,  and  is  encouraged 
 to  say,  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? — There  is, 
 
 3.  Unfeigned  faith.  This  is  at  the  top  of  the  series  in 
 this  text ;  and  is  in  the  Christian  the  proper  source  of  those 
 other  principles  of  holy  practice  here  mentioned.  Concern- 
 ing it  these  general  things  are  to  be  considered  : 
 
 1.  It  is  unfeigned.  Not  merely  as  opposed  to  a  false  and 
 lying  profession,  when  there  is  not  within  a  faith  of  any 
 sort.  It  is  a  sincere,  in  opposition  to  an  insincere  faith  : 
 which,  however,  may  be  real  in  its  kind.  Awttojc^tcs  (if 
 the  use  of  speech  with  us  would  admit  it)  might  be  render- 
 ed precisely,  unhypocrite ;  a  faith  of  such  kind  as  hypo- 
 crites never  have.  The  apostle  John  says,  1  epist.  v.  I'. 
 Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  is  born  of  God. 
 This  faith  is  not  a  mere  assent  of  the  mind  to  the  truth  of 
 the  proposition,  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ;  for  such  faith  the 
 devils  have :  it  is  such  a  faith  as  is  an  evidence  that  one 
 is  born  of  God,  as  this  text  says.  So  also,  John  i.  they 
 who  believe  in  Christ  (ver.  12.)  are  (ver.  13.)  born  of  God. 
 When  Philip  preached  Christ  at  Samaria,  it  is  said,  Acts 
 viii.  13.  that  Simon  (the  sorcerer)  himself  also  believed.  It 
 is  not  said  merely,  that  he  professed  to  believe,  which  one 
 might  do  who  had  inwardly  no  faith  at  all, — The  Scripture 
 is  not  to  be  contradicted,  that  says  expressly,  he  believed: 
 Yet  the  man  remaining  (ver.  23.)  in  the  gall  of  bitterness 
 and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity,  surely  he  was  not  born  of  God, 
 nor  had  the  faith  that  is  the  fruit  and  consequence  of  being 
 so.  We  see,  2  Thess.  ii.  13.  that  sanctifcation  of  the  Spirit 
 and  belief  of  the  truth  are  connected. 
 
 It  is  said,  John  ii.  23,  24,  that  many  believed  in  his  name, 
 but  Jesus  did  not  commit  himself  unto  them.  Can  it  be  said, 
 that  these  were  born  of  God,  or  had  that  faith  that  comes  by 
 being  born  of  God  ?  We  are  told  (John  vi.  80,  6l.)  that 
 many  of  Christ's  disciples  murmured  and  were  offended  at  his 
 doctrine  ;  and  (ver.  64.)  Christ  said  to  them,  There  are  some 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  359 
 
 of  you  that  believe  not;  for  (so  the  evangelist  adds)  Jesus 
 knew  from  the  beginning  who  they  were  that  believed  not,  and 
 who  should  betray  him.  Here,  upon  the  one  hand,  these  men 
 were  disciples,  which  they  could  not  be  without  some  sort  of 
 faith  ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  they  believed  not — Christ  told 
 them  so — they  had  not  the  unhypocritic,  the  unfeigned  faith, 
 which  they  have  who  are  born  of  God. 
 
 By  what  hath  been  said,  we  may  be  satisfied  that  the  opi- 
 nion is  far  from  being  well  founded  which  hath  been  held 
 by  some  learned  men,  agreeably  to  their  scheme  and  system, 
 viz.  that  the  faith  of  hypocrites  and  that  of  sincere  Christians 
 are,  in  themselves,  of  the  same  nature  and  kind. 
 
 2.  This  unfeigned  faith  is  such  as  hath  for  its  natural  and 
 proper  consequence  a  good  conscience,  with  love  in  purity 
 and  sincerity  of  heart.  We  have  here  occasion  to  observe 
 the  sentiments  expressed  by  Dr  Taylor  in  his  paraphrase  of 
 Rom.  viii.  1.  and  which  he  gives  as  the  meaning  of  the  bless- 
 ed apostle  in  that  place :  c  Now — we  have  the  highest  assur- 
 '  ance  that  those  are  quite  discharged  from  the  penalty  of 
 1  the  law,  and  disengaged  from  the  servitude  of  sin,  who 
 c  embrace  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  if  so  be  they  make  that 
 c  faith  a  principle  of  obedience,  and  do  not  choose  to  live  in 
 f  wickedness,  according  to  the  investigation  of  fleshly  appe- 
 '  tite,  but  in  truth  and  holiness/  &c. 
 
 I  had  occasion  to  make  observation  on  this  passage  for- 
 merly :  what  I  now  observe  is,  that  it  is  therein  implied, 
 that  a  man  may  have  that  faith  by  which  he  comes  to  be  in 
 Christ,  (which  is  the  expression  of  the  text,  and  which  is  the 
 effect  of  being  born  of  God)  and  yet  continue  under  the  ser- 
 vitude of  sin,  and  choose  to  live  in  wickedness.  As  to  this 
 of  choosing,  it  is  true,  that  if  a  man  live  in  the  practice  of 
 wickedness,  or  of  holiness,  he  doth  the  one  or  the  other  by 
 his  free  choice  ;  though,  in  the  last  mentioned  sort  of  prac- 
 tice, there  is  a  superior  hand,  to  which  the  right  choice  is 
 especially  owing.  It  is  also  true,  that  a  Christian  should 
 have  at  heart  to  advance,  as  in  faith,  with  regard  to  light 
 and  establishment,  so  in  holiness,  obedience,  and  all  good 
 works  ;  and  that  Christians  do  too  often  fall  short  in  these, 
 yea,  deviate  too  often  from  purity  and  holiness.  But  to  say, 
 that  a  man  may  have  true  faith,  by  which  he  comes  to  be 
 indeed  in  Christ,  and  unto  real  union  with  him,  as  that  ex- 
 pression imports  ;  and  that  holiness  and  obedience,  in  the 
 man's  habitual  and  ordinary  practice  only  comes  by  an  un- 
 certain and  merely  arbitrary  choice  and  determination  of  his 
 
360  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Hoimess, 
 
 will,  which  might  determine  him  to  live  in  wickedness,  not- 
 withstanding his  faith;  is  in  extreme  opposition  to  the  scrip- 
 ture, yea,  to  the  nature  of  things,  if  we  consider  the  human 
 faculties,  and  the  natural  order  of  their  operation. 
 
 We  have  seen,  that  (2  Thess.  ii.  13.)  faith  is  connected 
 with  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit.  To  say  that  a  man, 
 having  the  faith  that  comes  by  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
 may  choose  to  live  in  wickedness,  is  evidently  absurd. 
 
 As  it  is  said  (1  John  v.  1.)  that  he  who  believelh  is  born  of 
 God,  so  it  is  said  (1  John  iii.  9-)  Whosoever  is  born  of  God 
 doth  not  commit  sin,  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him,  and  he 
 cannot  sin,  because  he  is  horn  of  God.  Dr  T.  says  (Key,  sect. 
 274.)  that  it  is  very  common  in  the  sacred  writings  to  speak 
 of  that  as  done,  which  only  ought  to  be  done,  and  which,  in 
 fact,  may  possibly  never  be  done.  To  this  purpose  he  adduces 
 several  texts,  in  not  one  of  which  there  is  reason  for  that 
 way  of  interpreting;  and  in  some  of  them  there  appears  what 
 clearly  forbids  it.  However,  according  to  this  observation 
 of  his,  he  supplies  in  such  texts,  or  substitutes  in  place  of  the 
 scripture  words,  ought  to  he,  or  some  such  expression.  Thus, 
 (Matth.  v.  13.)  Ye  are  (ought  to  be)  the  salt  of  the  earth. 
 Thus  he  makes  a  way  for  himself  to  contradict  very  express 
 declarations  of  Scripture.  Among  other  texts,  he  mentions 
 this,  (1  John  iii.  9.)  without  quoting  the  words.  But,  ac- 
 cording to  his  rule,  the  first  clause  is  to  be  understood  thus  : 
 Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  (ought  not  to)  commit  sin. 
 But  what  reason  to  mention  being  born  of  God  to  that  pur- 
 pose, when  it  might  be  said  of  any  man,  whether  born  of  God 
 or  not,  that  he  ought  not  to  commit  sin?  What  then  would 
 the  writer  say  of  the  following  clause  :  He  cannot  sin  be- 
 cause he  is  horn  of  God  ?  It  seems  he  did  not  extend  his 
 view  to  that  clause.  Concerning  the  interpretation  of  the 
 first  clause  just  mentioned,  Dr  W.  says,  e  Vain  is  that  sense 
 f  which  some  put  upon  these  words,  viz.  He  that  is  born  of 
 1  God,  non  debet  peccare,  ought  not  to  sin,  or  that  it  is  ab- 
 '  surd  for  him  to  sin  ;  for  the  apostle  speaks  not  of  what  he 
 '  ought  not  to  do,  but  of  what  he  doth  not/ 
 
 The  interpretation  of  Dr  Hammond  on  the  place,  note  c, 
 comes  to  this :  '  The  affirming  here,  of  the  regenerate  pious 
 1  convert,  that  he  cannot  sin,  is  not  the  affirming  that  he 
 1  cannot  cease  to  be  what  he  is — but  that  remaining  thus,  a 
 1  pious  follower,  imitator,  and  so  a  child  of  God,  he  cannot 
 1  yield  deliberately  to  any  kind  of  sin/  Dr  W.  on  the 
 place,  says.  '  False  seems  to  be  the  sense  which  Origen,  &c. 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  36 1 
 
 1  put  upon  the  words,  that  he  that  is  bom  of  God,  sinneth  not, 
 i  quamdiu  renatus  est,  whilst  he  is  born  of  God,  because  he 
 1  ceaseth  to  be  a  child  of  God  when  he  sins/  Indeed,  ac- 
 cording to  Origen's  and  Dr  Hammond's  interpretation,  these 
 two  contradictory  propositions  are  true  at  once  :  He  that  is 
 born  of  God  cannot  sin  ;  and,  He  that  is  born  of  God,  can 
 sin  :  even  understanding  sinning  in  the  same  sense  in  both 
 propositions. 
 
 It  is  true,  Dr  W.  is  not  quite  consistent  with  himself  as 
 to  this  text,  in  different  parts  of  his  writings.  His  long  an- 
 notation on  this  text  seems  to  be  pretty  harmless,  with  re- 
 spect to  the  doctrine  of  the  reformed  churches  concerning  the 
 perseverance  of  the  saints,  and  the  argument  taken  from  this 
 text  to  that  purpose.  But  in  his  book  on  the  five  Arminian 
 points,  (ed.  1710.)  he  says,  p.  468.  '  The  interpretation 
 <  which  many  of  the  ancient  fathers  give  us  of  these  words, 
 c  are  a  demonstration  that  they  believed  not  the  doctrine  of 
 '  the  saint's  perseverance,  for  they  expound  the  words  thus : 
 1  He  that  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not,  neither  can  sin,  quam- 
 9  diu  renatus  est,  whilst  he  is  born  of  God,  because  he  ceas- 
 1  eth  to  be  a  child  of  God  when  he  sins  ;  and  this  (saith  the 
 1  Doctor)  must  necessarily  be  the  import  of  the  words,  if  you 
 1  interpret  them  of  living  in  an  habit  or  any  course  of  sin/ 
 So  indeed  they  must  be  understood;  for  as  to  acts,  even 
 gross  acts  of  sin,  the  Doctor  had  with  good  reason,  rejected 
 the  interpreting  of  them  by  these.  So  the  interpretation 
 which  he  called  false,  when  he  wrote  his  annotations,  he  con- 
 sidered as  the  necessary  and  true  interpretation  when  he  wrote 
 on  controversy. 
 
 But  the  text  says  clearly  and  expressly,  that  he  who  is  born 
 of  God  hath  his  seed  remaining  in  him,  (which  is  inconsist- 
 ent with  his  ceasing  to  be  born  of  God)  ;  and  he  cannot  sin, 
 because  he  is  bom  of  God ;  which  shows  clearly,  that  by 
 being  born  of  God,  and  having  his  seed  remaining  in  him, 
 he  hath  a  sure  preservative  against  sinning,  or  falling  into  a 
 course  of  sinning.  This  sufficiently  proves  against  Dr  T. 
 that  a  man  having  true  faith,  that  is,  the  fruit  and  evidence 
 of  being  born  of  God,  cannot  be,  or  choose  to  be,  in  servitude 
 to  sin,  or  to  live  in  wickedness. 
 
 The  same  thing  appears  from  its  being  said,  Acts  xv.  9. 
 that  God  put  no  difference  between  believing  Jews  and  the 
 Gentiles  there  mentioned,  purifying  their  hearts  by  faith. 
 But  though  God  conveyed  to  them  the  light  of  faith,  how 
 could  it  be  said,  that  he  purified  their  hearts  by  faith,  if 
 
362  The  Advantage,  with  regard  to  Holiness, 
 
 faith  had  not  efficacy  by  its  proper  influence  in  the  heart  to 
 purify  it ;  but  that  a  man,  notwithstanding  his  faith,  may 
 still  choose  to  live  in  wickedness  ? 
 
 It  is  said,  Gal.  v.  6.  In  Christ  Jesus,  neither  circumcision 
 availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  faith  which  worheth 
 by  love.  Here  the  true,  unfeigned,  unhypocritic  faith  is  dis- 
 tinguished from  the  false  faith  of  hypocrites,  by  this,  that  it 
 worheth  by  love.  But  how  could  love,  and  working  by  love, 
 be  ascribed  to  faith,  if  faith  hath  in  itself  no  efficacy  or  power 
 in  the  heart  thus  to  work  ?  Christian  love  and  holy  walking 
 might  be  ascribed  to  the  will  of  the  man,  who  so  chooses, 
 when  he  might  choose  to  live  in  wickedness.  But  when 
 working  by  love  is  ascribed  to  faith,  it  certainly  imports, 
 that  true  faith  hath  efficacy  so  to  work,  and  to  determine 
 the  heart  to  the  choice  of  what  is  right  and  holy.  So  this 
 shows,  that  there  is  in  the  nature  of  the  true  unfeigned  faith 
 that  which  is  not  in  the  faith  of  hypocrites,  whose  faith 
 hath  no  such  efficacy,  no  such  fruit ;  whose  faith  therefore  is 
 in  itself  of  a  different  nature  and  kind  from  the  genuine  faith 
 of  the  true  Christian. 
 
 However,  the  notion  of  some  has  been,  that  a  person 
 coming  to  true  faith,  and  having  faith  of  the  same  nature 
 and  kind  with  that  of  the  true  Christian,  doth  nevertheless, 
 at  believing,  stand  as  {in  bivio)  where  roads  part,  to  choose 
 going  to  the  right  or  left,  without  any  thing  in  his  faith  to 
 determine  effectually  his  choice,  as  to  wicked  or  holy  living. 
 How  contrary  this  is  to  the  views  the  Scripture  gives  of  the 
 matter,  hath  been  shown. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  as  the  apostle  doth,  Rom.  viii.  1.  give  it 
 as  a  certain  distinguishing  mark  of  them  that  are  in  Christ, 
 united  to  him  by  faith,  that  they  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but 
 after  the  Spirit,  (much  contrary  to  Dr  TVs  interpretation)  ; 
 so  in  the  text  we  are  now  especially  considering,  (1  Tim.  i. 
 5.)  it  is  plain  that  the  love  that  is  the  end  of  the  command- 
 ment, is,  as  to  the  ordinary  habitual  disposition  and  practice 
 of  the  Christian,  certainly  connected  with  unfeigned  faith, 
 and  is  its  native  certain  consequence.  One  thing  remains 
 yet  to  be  observed  for  explication,  concerning  faith  as  here 
 meant. 
 
 3.  Faith,  in  the  comprehensive  view  of  it,  doth  in  various 
 ways  influence  holy  practice.  When  the  inspired  writer  is 
 to  show,  Heb.  xi.  how  faith  enabled  holy  men  of  ancient  times 
 to  do  and  to  suffer  as  they  did,  he  sets  out,  ver.  1.  with  giv- 
 ing this  general  and  comprehensive  description  of  it :  Faith  is 
 
Arising  from  Persons  being  under  Grace.  36$ 
 
 the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not 
 seen.  Faith  doth,  by  the  light  and  authority  of  the  word  of 
 God,  demonstrate  with  powerful  conviction  and  impression, 
 and  realizes  to  the  heart  the  being,  and  grace  of  God,  ver. 
 6.  27.  It  inwardly  realizes  divine  threatening.?  and  pro- 
 mises, ver.  7.  13,  &c.  It  realizes  Christ,  and  the  things  of 
 Christ,  to  the  heart. 
 
 But,  then,  as  1  have  said  before,  that  a  good  conscience  is 
 most  fitly  to  be  understood  here,  (1  Tim.  i.  5.)  as  opposed 
 to  an  evil  conscience  ;  so  that  a  good  conscience  is  a  con- 
 science relieved  from  condemnation,  a  conscience  that  en- 
 joys and  gives  peace ;  it  seems,  upon  this  view,  that  faith  is 
 to  be  considered  here  in  the  special  view  and  precise  notion, 
 as  it  is  connected  with  our  justification,  reconciliation,  and 
 peace  with  God.  The  apostle's  doctrine  concerning  that 
 subject  he  thus  expresses,  Rom.  iii.  24,  25.  Being  justified 
 freely  by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus 
 j  Christ,  (compare  Eph.  i.  7«)  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be 
 a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his  blood. 
 
 It  is  the  blood  of  Christ  (he  having  given  his  life  a  ran- 
 son  for  many)  that  hath  made  peace.  It  is  by  the  appli- 
 cation of  it  to  the  conscience,  that  the  sinner,  thereby  truly 
 purged,  hath  no  more  conscience  of  sins,  Heb.  x.  2.  It  is, 
 chap.  ix.  14.  this  blood  that  purges  the  conscience.  It  is  by  it, 
 chap.  x.  22.  that  our  hearts  are  sprinkled  from  an  evil  con- 
 science. This  is  that  blood  of  sprinkling,  chap.  xii.  24.  that 
 speaketh  better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel. 
 
 Now  faith  in  Christ,  faith  in  his  blood,  is,  under  the  in- 
 fluence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  intellectual  means,  or  instru- 
 ment, by  wrhich  this  blood  is  effectually  applied,  as  by 
 sprinkling,  to  the  conscience,  to  free  it  from  condemnation, 
 and  to  give  it  peace;  to  free  it  from  fear  and  terror  of 
 wrath,  and  so  to  diffuse  comfort  through  the  soul,  from  a 
 isense  of  reconciliation  and  peace  with  God. 
 
 Let  us  now  take  a  brief  view  of  the  series  of  inward  prin- 
 ciples of  holiness,  as  contained  in  the  text  under  our  eye, 
 beginning  at  the  first.  An  unfeigned  faith  in  Christ,  and  in 
 his  bloody  gives  peace  in  the  conscience,  and  removes  that 
 'apprehension of  wrath  that  is  so  powerfula  cause  of  the  aliena- 
 tion of  the  heart  from  God.  By  this  the  heart  comes  to  be 
 •econciled  to  God's  sovereignty;  and  holiness,  and  love,  out 
 Df  a  pure  sincere  heart,  prevails ;  and  thus  the  end  of  the 
 commandment  is  truly  attained,  according  to  the  Christian's 
 measure  in  this  state  of  imperfection 
 
364  Directions  to  Sinners 
 
 Though  these  principles  of  holiness  are  formed,  and  have 
 real  effect  in  the  heart  of  a  Christian,  yet  often  he  is  not  so 
 sensible  thereof  as  he  hath  cause,  and  as  his  comfort  would 
 require.  This  is  often  owing  to  ignorance  and  mistake,  to 
 the  remaining  darkness  of  his  mind,  to  the  perplexity  that 
 sin  which  dwelleth  in  him,  and  the  motions  thereof,  give 
 him,  and  to  the  various  temptations  of  the  enemy.  Yet 
 these  principles  have  place  and  real  effect  in  every  soul  that 
 is,  through  Christ,  brought  under  grace,  however  much 
 such  souls  may,  for  the  causes  just  mentioned,  not  have 
 the  distinct  view  or  sense  thereof,  nor  the  proper  degree  of 
 comfort. 
 
 At  the  sametime,  it  is  evident  that  these  essential  prin- 
 ciples of  true  holiness  cannot  exist  in  a  soul  yet  under  the 
 law  and  its  curse,  and  not  under  grace.  Such  an  one  being 
 destitute  of  the  faith  that  would  unite  him  truly  to  Christ, 
 and  bring  him  under  grace,  and  not  having  his  heart  sprink- 
 led from  an  evil  conscience,  is  incapable  of  the  love  of  God, 
 that  is  the  end  of  the  commandment ;  and  so  is  incapable 
 of  true  holiness,  whatever  appearances  may  have. 
 
 SECT.  III. — Containing  several  directions^  which  the  doctrine  of  the  con. 
 text  before  explained  affords  to  the  souls  of  sinners  who  are  seriously 
 concerned  about  their  most  important  interests^  with  the  explication  and 
 solution  of  divers  questions  respecting  the  conversion  of  sinners. 
 
 We  have  been  observing  the  advantage,  with  regard  to 
 sanctification  and  holy  practice,  which  they  have  who  are 
 under  grace,  by  the  privilege  of  their  state,  and  the  benefit 
 thence  arising  of  having  divine  grace,  faithfulness,  care,  and 
 power  to  act  for  them  ;  and  by  the  true  and  genuine  prin- 
 ciples of  holy  practice  in  their  existence  and  operation,  and 
 which  cannot  be  in  any  such  as  are  under  the  law,  and  its 
 curse,  and  not  under  grace.  From  the  scripture  light  and 
 doctrine  concerning  these  matters,  there  is  important  direc- 
 tion to  those  who  have  at  heart  their  greatest  interest.  I 
 begin  with  suggesting  two  things  that  ought  to  be  particu- 
 larly adverted  to. 
 
 One  is,  that  persons  should  not  rest  or  found  their  hope 
 on  mere  external  privilege.  All  the  members  of  the  visible 
 church  are  under  a  dispensation  of  grace,  that  encourages 
 sinners  to  seek  God,  and  to  return  from  their  strayings,  by 
 the  prospect  of  pardon  and  acceptance  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 But,  as  hath  been  formerly  observed  on  chap.  vi.  14.  many 
 are  thus  under  a  dispensation  of  grace,  who  are  not  under 
 
Seriously  concerned  about  their  Salvation.  sGo 
 
 grace  as  to  their  true  spiritual  st^te  before  God,  but  remain 
 under  the  curse  of  the  righteous  law,  and  have  the  wrath  of 
 God  abiding  on  them.  Men's  trusting  to  external  privilege 
 with  regard  to  the  state  of  their  souls,  is  not  better  than  the 
 vain  confidence  of  Jews  heretofore,  who  said  within  them- 
 selves, (Matth.  iii.  9)  that  they  had  Abraham  to  their  father, 
 and  so  were  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  covenant.  A 
 man  may  have  been,  by  virtue  of  birth-right,  solemnly  ad- 
 mitted a  member  of  the  church — he  may  have  a  sort  of  faith 
 that  is  no  effect  or  evidence  of  being  born  of  God,  and,  by 
 virtue  of  his  profession  of  it,  may  externally  enjoy  all  exter- 
 nal church-privileges  as  a  believer,  as  one  in  Christ,  and  under 
 grace  ;  but  how  little  may  all  this  amount  to  as  to  his  pre- 
 sent real  state  ?  as  he  may  all  the  time  be  destitute  of  that 
 faith  by  which  he  would  be  truly  united  to  Christ,  and  so  be 
 a  member  of  that  church  of  the  first-born  (Heb.  xii.  23.) 
 which  are  written  in  heaven. 
 
 Another  thing  that  should  be  carefully  adverted  to  is,  that 
 persons  trust  not  to  their  own  works  of  righteousness  for 
 their  acceptance  with  God,  or  for  changing  their  natural 
 state  into  a  state  of  grace  and  favour.  All  have  sinned,  and 
 so  incurred  the  curse  of  the  righteous  law.  If  a  man  should 
 thereafter  do  his  duty  as  completely  in  every  part  as  an  angel, 
 he  but  doth  in  so  far  what  he  was  bound  to  do  ;  and  this 
 doth  not  make  amends  for  transgression,  nor  is  pleadable 
 against  the  curse  of  the  law.  This  must  be  removed  by 
 other  means  than  the  righteousness  of  a  man's  own  works. 
 What  makes  the  delusion  of  trusting  to  these,  for  bringing  a 
 man  into  a  state  of  grace,  still  the  more  absurd,  is,  that,  ac- 
 cording to  the  apostle's  doctrine,  which  we  have  been  illus- 
 trating, a  man  is  incapable  of  the  true  acceptable  practice  of 
 righteousness  and  holiness,  until  he  is  under  grace  as  to  his 
 real  spiritual  state,  being,  until  then,  under  the  real  dominion 
 of  sin. 
 
 We  learn  from  the  apostle's  doctrine,  that  the  condition  of 
 a  person  under  the  law  is  truly  very  wretched.  To  be  de- 
 livered from  the  law  (chap.  vii.  6.)  is  a  great  deliverance  ; 
 and  to  be  dead  to  the  law  (that  is,  to  be  set  free  from  the  thral- 
 dom and  bondage  of  it,  (as  ver.  4.)  is  a  happy  freedom. 
 Without  this,  one  is  incapable  of  bringing  forth  fruit  unto 
 God,  and  of  serving  in  the  newness  of  the  Spirit.  This  de- 
 liverance and  liberty  hath  been  purchased  at  a  costly  rate— 
 the  crucifixion  of  the  body  of  Christ.  For  the  law  (chap. 
 .v.   15.)   worketh   wrath  to  sinners;  it  denounces  a  curse 
 
 Q 
 
366  Directions  to  Sinners 
 
 against  every  transgressor,  so  that  the  natural  condition  of 
 every  one  not  delivered  from  the  law  is,  to  be  under  wrath, 
 and  under  the  dominion  of  sin. 
 
 As  divine  love  and  mercy  hath,  with  infinite  wisdom, 
 made  a  way  for  the  relief  and  deliverance  of  sinners,  which 
 is  set  before  them  by  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  it  is  of 
 the  utmost  consequence,  in  order  to  persons  improving  sea- 
 sonably, truly,  and  effectually,  the  great  means  of  salvation 
 which  the  gospel  sets  before  them,  that  they  should  have 
 the  most  serious  consideration,  and  deep  impression  of  their 
 most  wretched  spiritual  condition  by  sin,  and  the  curse  of 
 the  law. 
 
 Such,  however,  is  the  vanity  of  the  mind — the  self-flat- 
 tering disposition  of  the  heart,  with  a  strong  inclination  in 
 men  to  keep  their  mind  at  ease,  and  this  often  supported 
 by  erroneous  notions  and  principles,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  the 
 utmost  difficulty  to  bring  persons  to  a  fixed  consideration, 
 just  views,  and  serious  impressions  of  their  present  spiritual 
 wretchedness,  and  of  their  fearful  prospect  of  a  future  eter- 
 nal state.  The  strongest  reasoning,  and  the  most  cogent  ar- 
 guments, often  appear  to  have  little  or  no  effect  in  this  way. 
 They  who  become  truly  serious  about  their  salvation,  have 
 commonly  occasion  to  observe  a  superior  hand  bringing  them 
 to  it ;  by  some  sudden  alarming  providence,  bringing  their 
 sins  to  remembrance,  awakening  their  conscience  and  heart 
 — by  continued  or  repeated  tribulation  and  affliction  opening 
 their  ears  to  discipline — or  by  the  word  of  God,  particularly 
 of  the  holy  and  righteous  law,  conveyed  in  a  striking  man- 
 ner into  the  conscience. 
 
 But  wrhen  it  so  happens,  the  love  of  inward  ease  inclines 
 the  heart  to  avoid  and  divert  these  sad  views  and  apprehen- 
 sions. As  when  Felix  trembled,  on  hearing  (Acts  xxiv. 
 25.)  Paul  reasoning  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judg- 
 ment to  come,  and  said,  Go  thy  way  for  this  time  ;  when  I 
 have  a  convenient  season,  I  will  call  for  thee  ;  so  men  often 
 deal  with  their  own  consciences  suggesting  to  them  fearful, 
 but  just  apprehensions;  they  divert  them,  and  resolutely 
 endeavour  to  avoid  them.  So  it  is  done  by  many  sinners, 
 with  fatal  consequence  to  themselves. 
 
 It  were  well  that  sinners  would  lay  their  heart  and  con- 
 science open  to  the  light  of  God's  word  and  holy  law ;  that 
 they  should  have  full  views  of  their  manifold  sinfulness; 
 that  their  sins  and  transgressions  should  come  particularly 
 to  their  remembrance;  and  that  the  righteous  judgment  of 
 
Seriously  concerned  about  their  Salvation.  367 
 
 God,  and  the  wrath  to  come,  should  appear  in  their  awful 
 reality  to  their  apprehension.  But  as  nature  avoids  and 
 abhors  every  thing  that  gives  dread  and  terror  ;  and  as 
 men's  hearts  are  disinclined  to  every  view  of  things  that 
 tends  to  give  them  low  and  humbling  views  of  themselves, 
 there  is  need  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  whose  office  it  is  to  con- 
 vince of  sin.  If  the  law  gives  the  knowledge  of  sin,  and 
 worketh  wrath  in  the  sense  and  apprehension  of  sinful 
 men,  it  doth  not  so  with  the  proper  force  and  effect,  until 
 it  is  conveyed  into  the  heart  and  conscience  by  the  power 
 of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  that  with  a  degree  of  light,  im- 
 pression, and  energy,  such  as  the  self-conceit,  the  vanity, 
 and  carnality  of  the  heart,  cannot  surmount  or  overcome,  so 
 as  to  divert  or  extinguish  it.  If  awakened  sinners  under- 
 stood their  true  interest,  they  should,  instead  of  avoiding  or 
 resisting  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  the  convictions  of  sin,  and  the 
 impressions  he  gives,  rather  pray  earnestly  for  the  Spirit  to 
 do  this  his  office  more  and  more  powerfully  in  their  hearts 
 and  consciences.  If  they  understood  the  merciful  design  of 
 God,  during  this  day  of  salvation,  in  thus  awakening,  search- 
 ing, bringing  their  sins  to  remembrance,  and  pleading  with 
 them  by  his  Spirit  and  law  in  their  consciences,  they  might 
 see  cause  thankfully  to  submit  themselves  to  this  his  dis- 
 cipline in  their  conscience,  and  be  disposed  to  fall  in  with 
 the  gracious  design  of  it,  betaking  themselves  by  faith  to 
 Christ,  who  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every 
 one  that  believeth. 
 
 But  matters  do  not  commonly  take  this  turn  all  at  once. 
 If  the  conviction  of  sin,  and  the  impression  of  wrath  continue 
 to  go  deep  in  the  heart,  and  the  arrow's  of  the  Almighty 
 stick  fast  in  it,  the  sinner  is  led  naturally  from  this  to  groan 
 and  cry  out,  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?  And  whatever 
 encouraging  and  comfortable  answer  to  the  important  ques- 
 
 Ition  is  suggested  by  the  gospel  revelation,  nature  doth  se- 
 cretly insinuate  its  own  way,  and  gives  a  different  direction. 
 The  awakened  conscience,  sensible  of  the  eternal  and  indis- 
 pensable obligation  to  holiness,  to  all  manner  of  duty  and 
 good  works,  applies  itself  thereto,  and  labours  in  reformation 
 of  life  and  practice.  So  far  it  is  right  in  itself.  Indeed,  if 
 there  is  in  an  awakened  conscience  a  sense  of  the  danger  of 
 sinning,  with  an  impression  of  divine  wrath  for  sin,  and  yet 
 the  lusts  of  the  heart  so  far  prevail,  as  to  have  a  free  course, 
 and  to  exclude  reformation  in  practice,  it  makes,  for  the  pre- 
 sent, a  condition  of  very  unpromising  appearance. 
 
#   f 
 
 368  Directions  to  Sinners 
 
 But  although  practical  reformation  is  right  in  itself,  the 
 unhappiness  often  in  the  case  is,  that  sinners  incline  to  trust 
 thereto,  and  to  found  their  confidence  of  pardon,  reconcilia- 
 tion, and  acceptance  with  God,  on  their  own  righteousness 
 and  good  works.  Indeed,  in  the  first  state  of  mankind,  it 
 was  by  the  law,  and  by  works  of  righteousness  in  conformity 
 thereto,  that  men  were  to  be  justified.  Man  being  without 
 sin,  in  the  perfection  of  his  nature  and  moral  powers,  the 
 law  could  have  given  life;  and  in  that  state  of  things,  verily 
 righteousness  should  have  been  by  the  law ;  but  the  state  of 
 things  is  altered  ;  the  Scripture  (Gal.  iii.  21,  22.)  hath  con- 
 cluded all  under  sin  ;  and  the  law,  with  all  the  righteousness 
 of  a  man  in  conformity  thereto,  cannot  justify  the  sinner,  or 
 bring  him  to  a  state  of  acceptance  with  God.  Yet  this  hav- 
 ing been  the  old  way,  the  bias  of  nature  is  still  towards  it. 
 Though  the  minds  of  men  under  the  gospel  may  have  or- 
 thodox notions,  yet  the  ground  of  hope  which  the  gospel 
 sets  before  them  is  contrary  to  the  previous  conceptions  of 
 the  natural  mind.  It  is  necessary  that  the  ground  of  con- 
 fidence and  hope  which  the  gospel  presents  should  be 
 realised  to  it  by  a  superior  light  and  power.  Until  it  is  so, 
 the  natural  man  doth  not  receive  the  things  of  the  Spirit, 
 (I  Cor.  ii.  14.)  which  are  no  other  than  the  things  of  Christ, 
 (John  xvi.  14.)  which  he*  is  to  show  to  men  effectually  :  I 
 say,  the  natural  man  doth  not  receive  these  things  of  Christ 
 and  of  the  Spirit,  so  as  to  rest  his  soul  on  that  sure  founda- 
 tion which  God  hath  laid  in  Zion.  In  that  view,  the  heart 
 treats  them  as  foolishness,  and  doth  not  trust  to  them  for 
 hope  and  salvation.  The  self-exalting  way  of  self-righte- 
 ousness is  what  the  natural  mind  suggests, — is  what  the 
 natural  heart  inclines  to  trust  to.  It  was  not  owing  to  any 
 thing  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  but  to  principles  that  are  natural 
 to  mankind,  that  (Rom.  x.  3.)  going  about  to  establish  their 
 own  righteousness,  they  submitted  not  themselves  to  the  righte- 
 ousness of  God. 
 
 However,  an  awakened  serious  sinner,  going  on  in  this 
 way  of  self- righteousness,  hath  what  the  apostle  dignifies, 
 Rom.  x.  2.,  with  the  character  of  a  zeal  of  God.  He  labours 
 earnestly  for  higher  and  higher  degrees  of  devotion  ;  he  la- 
 bours hard  in  reforming  his  practice,  and  in  every  good  work. 
 But  they  to  whom  the  Lord  doth  at  length  give  a  better  light, 
 and  brings  unto  a  better  way,  have  occasion  to  observe  and 
 acknowledge,  that,  whilst  they  were  in  the  course  I  have 
 been  now  representing,  they  have  felt  a  struggle  between 
 
Seriously  concerned  about  their  Salvation.  Sftj 
 
 the  law  in  their  conscience  and  the  flesh,  or  the  power  of 
 sin  in  their  hearts,  according  to  the  sad  experience  repre- 
 sented in  the  past  time  by  the  blessed  apostle,  Rom.  vii. 
 5 — ]  3.,  and  that  all  their  concern  and  labour  to  avoid  and 
 subdue  sin,  and  to  be  truly  holy,  hath  been  miserably  un- 
 successful. 
 
 Being  yet  in  the  flesh,  not  having  their  nature  renewed, 
 nor  being  under  the  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Spirit  of 
 grace,  if  the  law  in  their  conscience  hath  strict  and  urgent 
 demands  of  holiness,  and  all  manner  of  duty,  yet  the  flesh, 
 which  (Rom.  viii.  7-)  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  acts 
 rebelliously  against  it,  and  exerts  itself  in  unholy  lustings  and 
 affections.  So  that  with  those  who  are  in  the  flesh,  there  are 
 motions  of  sin,  even  by  the  law,  though  it  opposes  sin  with 
 all  its  light  and  authority.  If  the  deluded  sinner  formerly 
 thought  of  the  law  as  only  requiring  external  conformity,  and 
 so  found  it  easy  to  have  a  good  opinion  of  his  own  purity 
 and  righteousness,  yet  now  the  law,  which  is  spiritual,  en- 
 tering into  the  heart,  saying,  Thou  shall  not  lust,  prohibiting 
 and  condemning  the  inward  lustings  and  affections  of  the 
 heart  that  are  contrary  to  holiness  ;  he  now  hath  by  the  law 
 the  knowledge  of  sin  in  good  earnest, — hath  amazing  and  con- 
 founding views  of  the  extent  of  sin's  dominion — of  the  deep 
 root  and  great  power  it  hath  in  his  nature.  But  though  sin 
 is  thus  discovered  in  its  extent  and  power,  all  the  endeavours 
 of  a  serious  soul,  with  all  the  authority  of  the  law  in  the  con- 
 science, are  not  able  to  subdue  it.  Instead  of  that,  sin 
 taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  thereby  awakened 
 and  irritated,  (chap.  vii.  8.)  works  in  the  heart  all  manner  of 
 concupiscence.  If  the  conscience  of  the  sinner  is  awakened 
 by  the  law  coming  with  force  into  it,  sin  in  the  heart,  with 
 its  unholy  lusts  and  affections,  is  thereby  likewise  awakened, 
 and  exerts  itself  with  the  greater  vehemence.  So  sin,  work- 
 ing death  to  the  wretched  sinner  by  that  which  is  good,  (ver. 
 13.)  becomes  (shows  itself  to  be)  exceeding  sinful,  exceeding 
 rebellious  and  wicked,  unconquerable  by  mere  human  power. 
 
 The  consequence  will  be,  as  Paul  found  it,  and  represents, 
 chap.  vii.  9-  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once  ;  (without  its 
 light  and  authority  he  entertained  a  good  opinion  of  his  own 
 condition)  :  but  when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived, 
 saith  he,  and  I  died.  Former  sins  revived  in  his  conscience 
 with  a  fearful  sting,  and  apprehension  of  wrath  ;  and  the 
 conscience,  enlightened  by  the  holy  commandment,  feeling 
 the  force  of  its  authority,  and  insisting  most  urgently  for 
 
370  Directions  to  Sinners 
 
 present  conformity,  the  issue  is  far  otherwise  than  it  ought. 
 Instead  of  the  heart's  conforming  cheerfully  and  dutifully 
 with  the  holiness  of  the  law,  sin  revives  in  its  various  lust- 
 ings,  unholy  affections,  and  rebellious  motions;  nor  doth  the 
 sinner  find  that  the  authority  of  the  law,  or  the  force  of  his 
 conscience,  or  all  the  endeavours  of  his  yet  carnal  heart,  under 
 the  bondage  of  the  law,  and  not  truly  sincere  on  the  side  of 
 holiness,  can  subdue  these  unholy  motions  and  lustings  of 
 his  soul.  His  heart  being  searched  by  the  holy  law,  his  best 
 devotions,  good  works,  and  righteousnesses,  do  now,  (Is.  lxiv. 
 6.)  appear  to  him  as  filthy  rags.  However  wretched  his 
 condition  had  appeared  by  the  wrath  which  his  guiltiness 
 subjected  him  to,  yet  whilst  he  expected,  by  his  serious 
 care  and  earnest  endeavours,  to  bring  not  only  his  outward 
 practice,  but  his  heart  inwardly,  unto  a  conformity  with  the 
 holiness  of  the  commandment,  he  still  had,  in  his  own  ap- 
 prehension, some  resource  in  himself,  with  regard  to  his  com- 
 fort, and  the  confidence  of  divine  mercy  and  acceptance. 
 But  when,  after  serious  endeavour,  under  the  authority  and 
 impression  of  the  law,  to  restrain  sin,  and  to  work  up  his 
 heart  to  a  holy  temper  and  practice,  the  effect  is,  that  sin 
 taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  worketh  in  him  all 
 manner  of  concupiscence  ;  that  sin,  actively  disposed  to  lust, 
 taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  deceives  him,  and  so 
 slays  him ;  that  sin,  that  evil  principle,  showing  its  extreme 
 wickedness  and  power,  worketh  death  in  him  by  that  which 
 is  good,  even  by  that  good  law,  by  the  direction  and  in- 
 fluence whereof  he  sometime  hoped  to  come  to  a  good  con- 
 dition and  state  ;  it  is  now  that  the  sinner  dieth  indeed,  in 
 his  own  sense  and  apprehension,  and  that  his  self-confidence 
 evanishes. 
 
 But  there  is  hope  in  Israel  concerning  this  case.  God  is 
 merciful.  So  he  hath  proclaimed  his  name,  Exod.  xxxiv.  6. 
 The  Lord,  the  Lord  God  merciful  and  gracious.  He  hath 
 favoured,  yea,  he  hath  purposed  the  salvation  of  sinful  men, 
 and  hath,  with  infinite  wisdom,  provided  for  accomplishing 
 of  it,  in  a  way  consistent  with  all  his  perfections,  tending  to 
 establish  the  authority  of  his  law,  and  to  maintain  the  ho- 
 nour and  dignity  of  his  government.  He  hath  provided  a  Sa- 
 viour, and  laid  help  upon  One  who  is  mighty.  He  hath  sent 
 his  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  hath  made  him  to 
 be  a  sin-offering  for  us,  though  he  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might 
 be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.  A  good  ground 
 is  laid  for  the  reconciliation  and  peace  of  sinners  with  God 
 
Seriously  concerned  about  their  Salvation.  371 
 
 by  the  blood  of  the  cross.  If  God  doth,  by  the  instructions 
 and  discipline  of  the  law  in  the  consciences  of  sinners,  as  with 
 a  violent  shower  of  hail,  sweep  away  the  refuge  of  lies,  which, 
 through  the  delusion  of  their  hearts,  they  have  trusted  to, 
 he  doth,  at  the  same  time,  acquaint  them  in  the  preceding 
 words,  (Isa.  xxviii.  16.)  that  he  hath  laid  in  Zionfor  a  foun- 
 dation, a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a  sure 
 foundation  :  he  that  believeth,  shall  not  make  haste — He  that 
 believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  confounded,  as  1  Pet.  ii.  6.  A 
 Mediator  hath,  by  the  appointment  of  the  Father,  interpos- 
 ed to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  and  to 
 maintain  the  peace,  and  all  the  interests  of  his  people,  by  his 
 continued  intercession,  being  able  (Heb.  vii.  25.)  to  save 
 them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  hy  him,  seeing  he 
 ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them.  He  is  a  Captain 
 of  salvation,  appointed  to  bring  the  many  sons  unto  glory, 
 and  as  he  hath  been  consecrated  to  this  office  through  suf- 
 ferings, he  is  able  to  execute  it  by  his  power. 
 
 It  is,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  considered,  that,  according 
 to  the  various  ways  in  which  Christ  is  set  forth  and  repre- 
 sented to  us  in  the  word  of  God,  there  is  requisite  a  suitable 
 acting  of  men's  minds  and  hearts  corresponding  thereto.  Is 
 he  set  forth  as  a  propitiation,  and  his  blood  (his  giving  his 
 life  a  ransom)  as  that  which  taketh  away  our  guiltiness  and 
 condemnation  ?  This  requires^/az/A  in  his  blood, — the  faith  by 
 which  the  sinner  shall  trust  in  that  blood  for  pardon  and 
 peace, — the  faith  by  which  the  heart  shall  be  sprinkled  from 
 an  evil  conscience,  and  so  the  conscience  purged  from  dead 
 works, — the  faith  that  giveth  confidence,  with  reference  to 
 that  blood,  in  approaching  unto  God,  even  as  unto  the  ho- 
 liest, according  to  Heb.  x.  19«  22.  Having — boldness  to  enter 
 into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  &e.  j  and  according  to 
 Eph.  iii.  12.  In  whom  we  have  boldness  and  access  with  con- 
 fidence through  the  faith  of  him. 
 
 Is  Christ  represented  as  the  sure  foundation  which,  not 
 man,  but  God  hath  laid  in  Zion  ?  then  believing  on  him 
 is  the  soul's  secure  resting  on  that  foundation,  and  building 
 thereon  a  good  hope,  which  will  not  give  disappointment 
 or  shame  to  any,  not  to  the  chief  of  sinners.  For,  1  Pet. 
 ii.  6.  He  (any  sinner ;  whosoever  heareth  the  gospel)  who 
 believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed. 
 
 Is  Christ  set  forth  as  a  Saviour,  and  offered  as  such  to 
 perishing  sinners?  then  faith  is  a  receiving  him  (John  i.  12.) 
 with  an  eye  to  the  several  offices,  by  which  he  executes  the 
 
372  Directions  to  Sinners 
 
 great  undertaking  of  saving  sinners  :  to  receive  him  not 
 only  in  the  character  of  our  great  High  Priest,  to  procure 
 for  us  reconciliation  and  peace,  and  all  the  blessings  of  grace, 
 but  also  in  the  character  of  the  great  Teacher  and  Prophet, 
 submitting  our  minds  absolutely  to  his  light  and  instruction, 
 "with  regard  to  all  the  truth  he  reveals  ;  and  likewise  in  the 
 character  of  Lord  and  King,  subjecting  ourselves  to  his  go- 
 vernment in  the  way  of  cheerful  universal  obedience,  yield- 
 ing ourselves  to  be  ruled  by  him,  and  trusting  in  his  power 
 for  all  the  purposes  of  our  salvation. 
 
 Thus,  I  say,  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is,  in  the  acting  there- 
 of, somewhat  varied  according  to  the  various  views  in  which 
 the  word  of  God  exhibits  him  to  us.  Yet  we  are  not  to  con- 
 ceive as  if  this  variation  in  the  acting  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
 made  so  many  different  kinds  of  faith.  For  the  truth  is, 
 that  true  faith  in  every  soul  in  which  it  is,  hath  in  it  all  that 
 these  different  forms  of  it  import;  and  that  either  implicitly, 
 or  more  explicitly  and  sensibly,  according  as  the  different 
 Scripture  views  of  Christ  do  strike  the  mind,  suitably  to  the 
 different  views  and  feelings  of  the  soul,  in  which  the  in- 
 fluence and  power  of  a  superior  hand  is  to  be  acknowledged. 
 
 But  man  is  a  reasonable  being.  His  trust,  and  his  whole 
 conduct,  will  be  directed  naturally  according  to  the  light  that 
 is  in  his  mind.  He  cannot  found  his  confidence  or  hope  on 
 any  thing,  without  having  in  his  mind  a  true  perception  of 
 it,  and  a  satisfying  conviction  of  its  truth  and  reality.  Now 
 the  Scripture  represents  the  minds  of  sinful  men  as  ignorant 
 and  blind  with  regard  to  the  matters  of  God,  the  things  of 
 Christ  and  of  the  Spirit.  These  things  of  Christ,  and  of 
 salvation  through  him,  are  not  deducible  from  any  princi- 
 ples or  notions  that  are  naturally  in  the  minds  of  men. 
 They  are  (1  Cor.  ii.  9-)  such  as  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
 heard)  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man.  Now,  as 
 it  was  the  Spirit  of  God  that  discovers  these  divine  counsels 
 of  grace  in  the  gospel-revelation,  so  it  appears  that  the  in- 
 ward instruction  and  illumination  of  the  mind  by  the  same 
 Spirit  is  needful,  in  order  to  men's  knowing  effectually  these 
 spiritual  and  gracious  truths,  according  to  ver.  12.  We  have 
 received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of 
 God,  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to 
 us  of  God :  (see  also  2  Cor.  iv.  6.  It  is  to  be  considered, 
 besides,  that  this  method  of  salvation  is  not  agreeable  to  the 
 disposition  of  the  natural  and  carnal  heart,  (as  hath  been 
 formerly  observed,)  which  powerfully  inclines  to  seek  the 
 
Seriously  concerned  about  their  Salvation.  31$ 
 
 grounds  of  a  man's  justification  and  acceptance  in  himself, 
 and  to  tract  to  a  man's  own  powers  and  endeavours  for  sanc- 
 tification.  Hence  it  is  that  men  are  so  averse  to  submit 
 themselves  unto  the  righteousness  of  God,  or  to  despair  of 
 their  own  powers  and  endeavours,  with  regard  to  any  thing 
 in  the  practice  of  religion.  As  there  is  need  of  a  divine 
 illumination  of  the  mind,  there  is  need  of  a  powerful  di- 
 vine influence  to  renew  the  heart,  and  change  the  disposition 
 of  it. 
 
 Until  this  divine  illumination  and  influence  take  effect  in 
 the  mind  and  heart,  the  awakened  sinner  must  be  in  great 
 perplexity,  being  painfully  sensible  of  the  curse  of  the  law 
 for  transgression,  that  excludes  all  possibility  of  the  sinner's 
 working  out  a  justifying  righteousness  for  himself;  and 
 having  a  deep  impression  and  experience  of  such  dominion 
 of  sin,  as  makes  it  impossible  for  him  to  subdue  it,  or  to 
 sanctify  himself  in  any  true  degree,  or  in  sincerity,  whilst 
 under  the  law,  and  in  his  natural  state  in  the  flesh.  Under 
 these  views  and  impressions,  I  say,  the  condition  of  a  se- 
 rious awakened  sinner  will  be  very  doleful.  His  condition 
 may  be  fitly  represented,  in  the  figurative  way,  by  the  case 
 of  Hagar  the  bond- woman,  as  related,  Gen.  xxi.  15,  16,  19. 
 When  her  own  provision  was  spent,  she  sat  desponding  and 
 weeping,  until  God  opened  her  eyes,  and  she  saw  a  well  of 
 water  ;  which,  it  seems,  was  near,  when  she  was  most  sor- 
 rowful and  despondent,  though  she  did  not  perceive  it  until 
 God  opened  her  eyes. 
 
 In  this  condition  the  sinner  is  called  to  be  assiduous  and 
 earnest  in  prayer  to  God  for  his  mercy,  and  for  his  Holy 
 Spirit,  to  give  that  illumination  and  influence  that  will  en- 
 able him  to  live  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  attend  in 
 the  most  careful  and  earnest  manner  on  the  preaching  of  the 
 gospel,  by  which  divine  grace  works  so  great  effects  on  the 
 souls  of  men  ;  thus  endeavouring  to  watch  daily  at  Wisdom's 
 gates,  waiting  at  the  posts  of  her  doors. 
 
 There  is  an  objection  that  may  be  suggested  here  to  this 
 purpose;  viz — By  what  good  reason,  or  to  what  good  pur- 
 pose, can  such  sinners  be  urged  and  exhorted  to  do  as  hath 
 been  now  said,  if  the  truth  of  the  case  is  indeed,  that  a  sin- 
 ner in  his  natural  condition,  in  the  flesh  and  under  the  law, 
 cannot  do  any  thing  pleasing  to  God,  or  acceptable  ;  and 
 that  no  assurance  can  be  given  him  of  any  spiritual  mercy 
 or  blessing  to  be  certainly  connected  with  the  utmost  exer- 
 tion of  his  natural  powers,  which  in  that  state  he  is  capable 
 
 Q5 
 
57  *  An  Objection  Answered. 
 
 of,  in  seeking  God  and  his  mercy  ?  Yea,  if  we  will  deal  rea- 
 sonably with  such  sinners,  in  advising  and  exhorting  them 
 to  earnestness  in  using  the  means  of  grace  and  of  salvation, 
 should  we  not  assure  them,  if  they  do  what  they  can  by 
 their  natural  powers,  that  grace  will  not  be  wanting,  to  con- 
 nect certain  spiritual  blessings  with  their  earnest  endea- 
 vours ?  Are  we  not  well  warranted  in  giving  them  such  assur- 
 ance, by  what  our  Lord  says,  Luke  xi.  9 — 13.  Ask,  and 
 it  shall  be  given  you — For  every  one  that  asheth}  receiveth,  fyc. 
 Concerning  this,  I  have  these  several  things  to  suggest. — 
 
 1.  It  does  not  appear,  that  the  meaning  or  design  is  to 
 connect  the  promise  in  this  text  with  any  thing  of  duty  or 
 means  that  a  sinner  is  capable  of  by  his  natural  powers, 
 whilst  in  an  unregenerate  state.  The  foregoing  and  follow- 
 ing parables  show  the  contrary.  Which  of  you,  ver.  5.  shall 
 have  a  friend — and  ver.  8.  Though  he  will  not  rise  and  give 
 him,  because  he  is  his  friend — and  ver.  13.  If  ye  then,  being 
 evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children.  It  ap- 
 pears then,  that  they  are  these,  who,  by  their  spiritual  state, 
 are  the  friends  and  children  of  God,  that  the  Lord  means  by 
 this  declaration  and  promise  to  encourage  to  importunity  and 
 perseverance  in  prayer.  It  appears  by  the  Scripture,  that  it 
 is  only  the  prayer  of  faith  that  will  be  acceptable,  and  will 
 procure  blessings  :  Ask  (in  faith),  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ; 
 and,  Every  one  that  (thus)  asketh,  receiveth.  So  Dr  WVs 
 paraphrase  of  ver.  9,  10.  And  the  faith  by  which  men 
 please  God,  and  by  which  their  prayers  become  acceptable, 
 cannot  proceed  from  the  heart  of  any  sinner  without  special 
 divine  influence.  But,  however  we  understand  the  promise 
 in  this  place,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  on  all  hands,  that  a 
 command  to  seek  God,  and  to  pray  to  him,  is  directed  to 
 persons  who  are  in  their  natural  unregenerate  state.  So  also 
 are  they  commanded  to  turn  to  God  with  their  whole  heart, 
 to  repent,  and  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  the 
 encouraging  promise  of  mercy  and  acceptance  through  him. 
 But  these  commands  to  repent  and  believe,  with  the  promises 
 annexed,  do  not  establish  a  connexion  between  the  promised 
 mercy  and  any  thing  that  sinful  men  are  capable  of  doing, 
 by  the  utmost  exertion  of  their  mere  natural  powers. 
 
 2.  Though  sinners,  yet  in  the  flesh,  and  under  the  law, 
 can  do  no  work  in  the  manner  pleasing  to  God,  or  that  would 
 entitle  such  to  any  spiritual  blessings  by  any  divine  pro- 
 mise, yet  such  are  capable  of  conceiving,  with  deep  impres- 
 sion, their  extreme  wretchedness  by  sin,  and  its  consequences. 
 
An  Objection  Answered.  375 
 
 Though  their  sense  of  sin  and  misery  does  not  proceed  from 
 the  same  principles  and  views  as  in  the  children  of  God,  yet 
 they  may  have  a  deep  sense  of  their  misery  by  the  curse  of 
 the  law,  and  the  divine  judgment,  to  which,  by  sin,  they 
 have  become  obnoxious  ;  and  by  their  inability  to  make  them- 
 selves free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  in  their  nature  and  heart, 
 to  subdue  sin  and  the  lusts  thereof,  or  to  sanctify  their  own 
 hearts.  They  are,  even  in  their  yet  unregenerate  state, 
 capable  of  such  a  sense  of  things  in  these  respects,  as  will 
 destroy  their  carnal  confidences,  and  bring  them  very  low 
 in  their  views  respecting  their  state,  despairing  of  all  help 
 from  themselves  or  others, — sensible  that  there  can  be  no 
 help  for  them  but  from  divine  sovereign  grace  and  mercy 
 alone.  Surely  it  is  in  this  posture,  and  with  this  sense  of 
 things,  that  sinners  ought  to  lay  themselves  before  the  foot- 
 stool of  divine  mercy.  If  the  Lord  will  show  the  riches  of 
 his  mercy,  and  the  abounding  of  his  grace,  surely  he  will  be 
 most  likely  to  do  it  to  those  by  whose  views  of  their  own 
 state  his  grace  and  mercy  will  be  most  exalted  and  most 
 glorified. 
 
 3.  ft  were  most  unreasonable  to  say,  that  sinners,  in  their 
 natural  condition,  should  not  be  exhorted  to  pray,  to  repent, 
 or  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  without  assuring  them  of  a  cer- 
 tain connexion  between  their  own  exertion  of  their  natural 
 powers,  and  their  obtaining  saving  mercy  and  blessings.  The 
 apostle  Peter  did  not  think  so,  when  he  said  to  that  vilest  of 
 men,  (Acts  viii.  22.)  Repent,  and  pray  God,  if  perhaps  the 
 thought  of  thine  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee. 
 
 4.  The  command  to  seek  God,  and  to  believe  in  Jesus 
 Christ — to  believe  the  testimony  and  record  of  God  concern- 
 ing him,  lays  obligation  to  these  duties  on  every  one  to  whom 
 such  command  is  directed,  as  it  is  to  every  one  who  hears 
 the  gospel.  It  therefore  becomes  every  such  sinner  to  be 
 very  careful  that  his  conscience  and  heart  be  duly  affected 
 with  the  authority  and  encouragement  of  such  command,  and 
 with  the  obligation  it  lays  upon  him,  so  as  to  exert  himself 
 in  the  duties  required,  and  that  with  the  most  earnest  en- 
 deavour. Will  a  person  under  the  law,  and  feeling  its  force 
 and  authority  in  his  conscience,  exert  himself  in  other  com- 
 manded duties,  as  prayer,  aim- deeds,  and  every  good  work 
 besides  ;  and  should  he  not,  with  a  view  to  the  authority  of 
 the  divine  commandment,  exert  himself  in  earnest  attempts 
 to  obey  it  in  such  duties  as  have  been  now  mentioned ;  yea, 
 should  he  not  be  very  much  excited  thereto,  by  considering. 
 
376  An  Objection  Answered. 
 
 that  it  is  a  matter  of  very  great  encouragement  to  his  dark 
 and  comfortless  soul,  that  such  command  hath  been  directed 
 to  him  ? 
 
 Christ  is  offered  to  the  sinner — he  should  attempt  to  lay 
 hold  of  him.  His  hand  is  withered  ;  but  be  should,  without 
 hesitation,  stretch  forth  his  withered  hand  at  Christ's  com- 
 mand, which  is  a  command  of  grace,  and  often  conveys  the 
 strength  needful  for  the  obedience  required.  He  should  en- 
 deavour to  apply  to  his  wounded  conscience  and  troubled 
 heart,  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  by  which  there  is  peace.  He 
 should,  as  his  need  requires,  endeavour,  on  every  occasion, 
 to  feed  his  famished  soul  with  the  bread  of  life, — with  the 
 flesh  and  blood  of  a  crucified  Saviour,  as  the  gospel  repre- 
 sents it  before  him.  Nor  should  he  for  this  require  any  other 
 internal  call  than  that  of  his  needy  condition.  Neither 
 should  he  require  to  have  his  faith  warranted,  by  having  the 
 secrets  of  the  divine  counsels  displayed  to  him  ;  nor  needs 
 he  to  entertain  notions,  not  sufficiently  warranted  in  the 
 Scripture,  as  that  Christ  gave  himself  alike  a  ransom  for  all 
 and  every  one  of  mankind.  He  hath  most  sufficient  warrant 
 for  his  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  by  the  full  and  free  offer  and 
 call  of  the  gospel,  and  by  God's  testimony  and  command. 
 
 The  sinner,  continuing  in  this  way  of  serious  efforts,  hath 
 no  cause  to  despond,  being  under  such  a  dispensation  of 
 grace.  Though  his  natural  powers  and  endeavours  come 
 short,  it  may  happen  to  him  as  to  the  impotent  man  at  the 
 pool  of  Bethesda,  (John  v.)  with  respect  to  an  outward 
 bodily  case.  Still  sensible  of  his  ill  condition,  he  continued 
 to  make  earnest  efforts.  But  being  quite  impotent,  his  na- 
 tural powers  and  his  endeavours  came  short.  When  he  had, 
 however,  cause  to  despair  of  any  good  coming  in  that  way, 
 divine  mercy  interposed  seasonably,  and  the  Saviour  cured 
 him  with  a  word  of  power.  Such  an  issue  the  sinner  may 
 look  for,  in  continuing  the  serious  use  of  means  and  suitable 
 endeavours. 
 
 What  gives  effectual  relief  to  the  heavy  laden  soul  of  a 
 sinner  is,  when,  by  the  direction  of  divine  sovereign  grace, 
 the  word  of  the  grace  of  God  doth  seasonably  impress  the 
 mind  wTith  special  light  and  power,  so  as  to  realize  to  it  the 
 unseen  things  of  Christ,  and  of  his  gospel,  with  full  and 
 satisfying  conviction  of  the  truth  thereof,  and  of  the  report 
 of  the  gospel  concerning  the  abounding  grace  of  God,  the 
 sufficiency  and  efficacy  of  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and  the  suf- 
 ficiency of  Christ  as  a  Saviour,  mighty  to  save  ;  as  well  as 
 
An  Objection  Answered.  377 
 
 of  the  free  offer  and  call  of  the  gospel,  as  warranting  him  in 
 particular  to  receive  Christ,  to  apply  the  blood  of  sprinkling 
 to  his  conscience,  and  to  have  peace  thereby.  By  this  light, 
 and  by  the  satisfying  views  of  the  love  of  God,  as  manifest- 
 ed in  Jesus  Christ,  the  heart  is  gained  to  God  :  and  if  a 
 sense  of  guiltiness  and  condemnation  in  the  conscience,  and 
 if  the  terrors  of  the  law  affecting  it,  do  tend  to  put  the  soul 
 to  a  distance,  with  alienation  of  heart  from  God  ;  yet  by  the 
 comfortable  light  which  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God  have 
 diffused  into  the  mind,  it  conceives  such  satisfying  views  of 
 Christ  and  his  redemption,  as  disposes  and  enables  the  sin- 
 ner to  have  that  faith  in  his  blood  by  which  he  is  justified, 
 and  comes  under  grace  ;  even  unto  that  happy  state,  in  which 
 he  hath  the  advantages  with  respect  to  communion  and  inter- 
 course with  God,  and  walking  with  him  in  newness  of  life, 
 that  hath  been  formerly  explained.  Nor  is  there,  with  re- 
 spect to  the  particular  things  I  have  hinted,  in  the  conver- 
 sion of  a  sinner,  occasion  to  think  of  priority  or  posteriority 
 of  time,  or  of  a  progressive  work  or  exercise  ;  all  is  instan- 
 taneous in  the  soul,  and  in  the  exercise  of  its  faculties,  with 
 regard  to  these  blessed  objects,  from  which,  by  a  divine  illu- 
 mination, it  receives  peace,  life,  and  comfort. 
 
 There  are,  however,  some  things  respecting  the  subject, 
 of  which  it  may  be  fit  to  give  some  further  explication.  We 
 learn  from  John  i.  12,  13.  that  they  who  truly  and  sincere- 
 ly believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  are  born  of  God,  and  their  faith 
 is  a  consequence  and  evidence  of  their  being  so.  Now,  this 
 new  birth  is  sometimes  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  John 
 iii.  5.  Born  of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit.  Sometimes  it  is  as- 
 cribed to  the  word  of  God,  as  1  Pet.  i.  23.  Being  bom  again, 
 not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of 
 God.  So  James  i.  18.  Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the 
 word  of  truth.  How  is  it  to  be  understood,  that  this  new 
 birth  is  ascribed  to  these  different  causes  ? 
 
 But  there  is  no  difficulty  in  the  matter.  These  are  not 
 opposite  or  inconsistent  causes  ;  but  causes  co-operating,  the 
 one  in  subordination  to  the  other.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
 according  to  Gal.  iii.  14.  we  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
 through  faith  ;  that  is,  the  doctrine  or  word  of  faith,  the  gos- 
 pel :  and  (as  2  Cor.  iii.  8.)  the  gospel  is  the  ministration  of 
 the  Spirit.  So  by  the  gospel  the  Spirit  is  conveyed  into  the 
 heart.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Spirit  gives  efficacy  to  the 
 gospel  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men.  He  doth  by  a  plea- 
 sant exertion  of  mighty  power  change  the  disposition  of  the 
 
37  S         Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained. 
 
 heart,  forming  it  for  God,  and  putting  a  new  spiritual  life 
 and  strength  into  it ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  by  the  word 
 of  the  promise,  or  of  the  gospel,  (the  blessed  means  by  which 
 he  worketh,)  he  conveys  that  comfortable  light,  and  satisfy- 
 ing conviction  into  the  mind,  that  hath  the  happy  effects  be- 
 fore mentioned,  of  turning  the  heart  to  God,  with  faith  in 
 the  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  thus  working  on  the  souls  of  men  in 
 a  manner  suitable  to  their  faculties  and  rational  nature. 
 
 On  this  occasion  some  may  readily  suggest  what  they 
 consider  as  a  considerable  difficulty,  thus  :  In  that  regenera- 
 tion by  which  men  are  begotten,  or  born  of  God,  the  prin- 
 ciples of  holiness  are  infused  into  the  soul.  If  then  this  be- 
 ing born  of  God,  is  previous,  in  order  of  nature,  to  the  faith 
 by  which  the  sinner  is  justified,  it  follows  that  the  sinner's 
 sanctification  is  previous  to  his  justification,  by  which  he 
 comes  under  grace ;  which  they  may  readily  consider  as  a 
 notion  of  hurtful  tendency,  and  contrary  to  the  statements 
 concerning  sanctification  we  have  given. 
 
 It  will  tend  to  elucidate  this  matter,  that  we  distinguish 
 between  the  habit,  or  physical  principle  of  sanctification,  and 
 the  practice  of  holiness.  As  to  the  first  of  these,  it  is  plain 
 from  the  texts  formerly  cited,  (John  i.  12,  13.  and  1  John 
 v.  1.)  that  being  born  of  God,  is  previous  to  a  man's  truly 
 believing  in  Jesus  Christ.  Yea,  we  may  be  satisfied  about 
 it,  by  considering  the  nature  of  things.  If  faith  is  not  pro- 
 perly or  merely  an  act  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  an  act  of  the 
 human  soul,  it  cannot  be  produced  without  a  principle  in  the 
 soul  that  shall  be  an  adequate  cause  of  such  an  act.  A  gra- 
 cious act,  as  faith  is,  cannot  be  without  a  gracious  principle 
 producing  it. 
 
 It  is,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  observed,  that  when,  for  the 
 relief  of  a  burdened  and  distressed  soul,  the  word  of  faith 
 enters  into  the  mind,  with  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  faith, 
 whose  power  renews  the  heart,  the  first  thing  that  must  fol- 
 low in  such  a  soul,  by  means  of  the  light  which  the  Holy 
 Spirit  introduces  into  it  by  the  word  of  God,  is  that  faith  in 
 Jesus  Christ,  and  in  his  blood,  by  which  the  sinner  is  justi- 
 fied, and  so  comes  under  grace. 
 
 From  this  it  follows,  that  the  practice  of  holiness  and  good 
 works  cannot  intervene  between  a  man's  being  born  of  God, 
 and  his  coming  under  grace  by  his  justification.  It  appears 
 also,  that  asserting  a  man's  being  born  of  God  to  be  previ- 
 ous to  justifying  faith,  is  very  consistent  with  what  hath  been 
 said  in  the  explanations  formerly  given,  viz.  that  a  man  can- 
 
Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained.  379 
 
 not  have  all  that  is  essentially  requisite  to  the  true  and  ac- 
 ceptable practice  of  holiness,  until,  being  justified  by  faith, 
 he  comes  under  grace. 
 
 As  it  appears  by  the  texts  formerly  cited,  that  being  born 
 of  God  is  previous  to  one's  exercising  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
 the  same  thing  appears  further  from  the  language  used  in 
 these  texts  which  mention  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit 
 previously  to  believing.  So  (2  Thess.  ii.  13.)  God  hath  from 
 the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of 
 the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth.  So  also  (1  Pet.  i.  2.)  Elect 
 — through  sanctijication  of  the  Spirit  unto  obedience,  (that  is, 
 obedience  to  the  gospel  by  that  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  which 
 it  especially  requires)  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus 
 Christ.  It  is  still  to  be  remembered,  that  this  sanctification 
 of  the  Spirit  is  the  consequence  and  fruit  of  Christ's  having 
 died — having  risen  again — having  ascended  to  the  right 
 hand  of  God — and  his  having  (John  xvii.  2.)  received  power 
 over  all  flesh,  that  he  might  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as 
 the  Father  hath  given  him. 
 
 As  the  Scripture  evidence  respecting  this  point  is  clear,  I 
 think  none  need  to  apprehend  any  ill  consequence  from  as- 
 serting, that  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  same 
 in  the  stricter  sense  as  being  born  of  God,  is,  in  the  nature 
 of  things,  previous  to  the  faith  by  which  the  sinner  is  jus- 
 
 |  tified. 
 
 But  with  respect  to  holy  practice — as  it  is  a  rational  prac- 
 tice, proceeding  from  a  right  and  sincere  disposition  of  the 
 heart,  influenced  by  right  views,  to  a  right  end,  the  truth 
 stands  that  hath  been  here  asserted,  that  none  is  capable  of 
 such  a  practice  and  course  but  one  who  is  justified  and  un- 
 der grace;  and  that  such  practice  of  holiness  and  good  works 
 
 I  cannot  intervene  betwixt  the  sanctification  of  the   Spirit  and 
 
 I  the  sinner's  being,  through  faith,  justified,  and  brought  un- 
 
 i  der  grace,  as  hath  been  said  before. 
 
 What  hath  been  now  observed,  may  serve  to  answer  a 
 question  which  has  been  thought  to  have  some  difficulty  ; 
 viz.  How  can  it  be  accounted  for,  that  in  the  chain  of  grace 
 represented  Rom.  viii.  30.  a  matter  so  important  as  sancti- 
 fication is  not  mentioned  ?  It  has  been  endeavoured  to  solve 
 this  difficulty  in  various  ways.  But  as  the  calling  is  by  the 
 sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth,  I  see  no 
 good  reason  why  sanctification  may  not  be  understood  to  be 
 included  in  the  calling  there  mentioned,  which  is  a  holy  call- 
 
S80         Questiofis  respecting  Conversion  Explained. 
 
 ing,  2  Tim.  i.  Q. ;  and  Christians  are  said  to  be  called  saints, 
 Rom.  i.  7-  ;  1  Cor.  i.  2.  that  is,  saints  by  their  calling. 
 
 It  will  not  be  amiss,  in  this  place,  I  think,  to  consider 
 another  question  respecting  the  conversion  of  a  sinner,  viz. 
 Which  takes  place  first  in  such  souls,  repentance,  or  faith  in 
 the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  I  expect  it  will  appear,  by  a  due 
 consideration  of  this  point,  that  it  is  not  of  such  importance 
 as  some  have  thought.     But  to  proceed  distinctly — 
 
 Sometimes  repentance  is  mentioned  in  Scripture  in  a  more 
 large  and  comprehensive  meaning.  So  Luke  xxiv.  47.  That 
 repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his 
 name.  Acts  iii.  19-  Repent  ye  therefore,  and  be  converted,  that 
 your  sins  may  be  blotted  out.  And  Acts  v.  21.  Him  hath  God 
 exalted — to  be  a  Pr'uice  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance 
 to  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins.  Now,  as  justification  and 
 remission  of  sins  are  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  not 
 mentioned  in  these  texts,  it  is  plain,  that  repentance,  which 
 alone  is  mentioned  in  them,  as  required  in  order  to  remis- 
 sion of  sins,  includes  that  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  with  which 
 justification  and  remission  of  sins  is  connected.  We  are 
 therefore  by  repentance,  in  such  texts,  to  understand  all  that 
 is  comprehended  in  the  conversion  of  a  sinner  ;  and  so  it 
 seems  to  be  for  explication  of  repentance,  according  to  this 
 larger  meaning,  that,  being  converted,  is  added,  Acts  iii. 
 19'  Repent — and  be  converted. 
 
 At  other  times,  repentance,  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  are 
 distinguished,  and  distinctly  expressed;  as  Acts  xx.  21. 
 Testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  repent- 
 ance towards  God,  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 1.  Repentance  towards  God.  The  sinner  hath  strayed 
 from  God.  He  set  up  his  own  will,  his  lust,  and  the  desire 
 of  self- gratification,  in  opposition  to  God.  He  withdrew 
 himself  from  his  authority  and  rule,  and  sought  his  happi- 
 ness in  the  creature,  and  not  in  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed 
 for  ever.  The  heart,  under  the  influence  of  carnal  lusts, 
 wanders  in  pursuit  of  good  and  happiness  in  the  enjoyment 
 of  the  creatures  ;  and  being  insatiable  by  any  thing  found  in 
 them,  says,  (so  do  the  many,  Psal.  iv.  6.)  Who  will  show  us 
 any  good  ?  But  the  soul  of  the  sinner,  deeply  convinced  of 
 sin,  and  its  fearful  consequences,  by  the  law,  distressed  with 
 its  terrors,  persuaded  of  the  vanity  of  its  former  pursuits 
 after  imaginary  happiness  ;  being  now  renewed  by  the  sanc- 
 tification  of  the  Spirit  before  mentioned  ;  and  viewing  God 
 in  the  encouraging  and  amiable  light,  in  which  the  gospel 
 
Qiiestio?is  respecting  Conversion  Explained.         381 
 
 represents  him,  doth,  with  shame  and  sorrow  for  his  past 
 conduct  and  straying  from  God,  return  to  him,  to  seek  his 
 happiness  in  him,  in  his  favour  and  enjoyment,  as  Psal  iv. 
 6.  Lord,  lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  us  ; 
 yields  himself  to  his  government  and  rule,  with  sincere  pur- 
 pose of  dutiful  obedience.  Thus  .we  see  repentance  explain- 
 ed by  turning  to  God,  Acts  xxvi.  20. —  That  they  should  re- 
 pent,  and  turn  to  God.     See  also  1  Thess.  i.  9. 
 
 2.  Faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  faith  here 
 mentioned,  is  not  the  faith  of  God's  being  and  perfections  ; 
 nor  the  faith  of  the  word  of  God,  as  it  marks  out  to  us  the 
 way  in  which  we  ought  to  walk;  nor  the  faith  of  a  future  life 
 and  happiness.  All  these  are  indeed  comprehended  in  faith, 
 in  the  large  sense  of  it.  But  the  faith  here  mentioned,  with 
 respect  to  the  conversion  of  a  sinner,  is  faith  towards  the  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ.  God  hath  in  himself  infinite  glory,  excellency, 
 and  amiableness  ;  but  it  is  the  glory  of  God  that  shineth 
 in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  (2  Cor.  iv.  6.)  that  makes  him 
 especially  amiable  in  the  eye  of  the  sinner,  and  that  doth 
 effectually  attract  his  heart  toward  God.  It  is  Christ,  and 
 him  crucified,  that  the  sinner  needs  to  be  told  of,  to  encou- 
 rage his  conversion  and  approach  to  God.  It  is  the  blood  of 
 sprinkling  that  alone  gives  confidence  to  the  guilty  soul  in 
 returning  and  approaching  to  God.  By  his  mediation,  Christ 
 is  the  way,  John  xiv.  6.  and  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
 but  by  him.  In  the  conversion  of  the  sinner,  God  is  the  end, 
 and  Christ  is  the  way  to  that  end  ;  and  thus  it  is  that  the 
 conversion  of  the  sinner  imports  repentance  towards  God, 
 and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 Now,  as  to  the  question  concerning  the  priority  of  repen- 
 tance or  faith,  the  one  to  the  other,  it  is  right  to  understand 
 and  hold,  that  the  light  which  entereth  into  the  mind  by  the 
 illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  by  the  word  and  doc- 
 trine of  the  gospel,  showing,  in  the  most  satisfying  manner, 
 the  truth,  reality,  and  excellency  of  the  things  of  God,  of 
 Christ,  and  of  things  unseen,  must  be  prior  in  the  soul  to 
 any  particular  acting  of  grace,  which  is  necessarily  directed 
 and  influenced  by  this  light,  which  is  the  light  of  faith,  as  it 
 is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen. 
 
 But  if  we  consider  the  question  as  respecting  the  activity 
 of  the  soul  in  conversion,  then,  as  I  have  said,  that  in  con- 
 version God  is  as  the  end  in  which  it  terminates,  and  Christ 
 the  way  to  that  end,  through  faith  in  him ;  the  only  way  in 
 which  the  sinner  can  come  to  God  acceptably,  and  with  any 
 
382         Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained. 
 
 well  founded  confidence  :  then  the  question  concerning  the 
 priority  of  repentance  or  faith  is  such  as  this  other  question  : 
 Which  is  first,  in  order  of  time,  or  of  nature,  my  setting  out 
 for  Edinburgh,  or  my  taking  the  way  to  it  ?  which  were  an 
 useless  question. 
 
 It  has  been  right  and  useful  to  consider  faith  in  Jesus 
 Christ,  and  repentance,  separately,  and  to  give  different  de- 
 finitions of  them.  Yet  as  they  are  acted  in  the  soul,  they 
 are  involved  the  one  in  the  other  ;  and  as  they  are  acted  in- 
 wardly, both  might  well  be  comprehended  in  the  following 
 definition — c  Repentance  unto  life,  or  the  conversion  of  the 
 '  sinner,  is  a  saving  grace,  whereby  a  sinner,  from  a  true 
 €  sense  of  his  sin,  and  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God  in 
 (  Christ,  turns  from  sin  unto  God,  founding  his  confidence, 
 •  and  resting  on  Jesus  Christ  for  pardon  and  acceptance 
 ■  with  God  through  his  mediation,  and  for  complete  salva- 
 f  tion/ 
 
 I  know  that  some  will  not  bear  to  hear  that  repentance  is 
 previous  to  justification,  but  will  have  it  to  be  wholly  the 
 consequence  and  effect  of  a  sinner's  being  justified,  and  com- 
 ing under  grace,  and  that  repentance  is,  from  thenceforth, 
 the  continued  exercise  and  practice  of  the  Christian  to  the 
 end  of  his  course.  1  doubt  not  but  many  such  do  mean  what 
 is  right  in  the  main,  though  their  way  of  conceiving  things 
 hath  this  evident  inconvenience,  that  it  would  direct  them 
 to  express  themselves  in  a  way  contrary  to  the  language  of 
 Scripture,  which  calls  on  sinners  to  repent,  in  order  to  (and 
 so  previously  to)  the  remission  of  sins. 
 
 Jt  may  tend  to  give  some  further  light  concerning  this 
 point,  that  we  consider  how,  and  in  what  cases,  the  true  be- 
 liever is  required  in  Scripture  to  repent,  or  is  said  to  repent. 
 
 1.  I  observe,  that  when  such  have  considerably  declined 
 with  respect  to  their  love,  fruitfulness,  or  integrity,  they  are 
 called  on  to  repent.  Thus,  Rev.  ii.  after  giving  commenda- 
 tion to  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Ephesus,  the  Lord  says, 
 ver.  4,  5.  /  have  somewhat  against  thee,  because  thou  hast 
 left  thy  first  love.  Remember  therefore  from  whence  thou  art 
 fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  ivories.  Thus  also  in  that 
 same  chapter,  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Pergamos  having 
 much  offended  the  Lord,  by  suffering  those  who  held  the 
 doctrine  of  Balaam,  and  those  who  held  the  doctrine  of  the 
 Nicolaitans,  the  Lord  says  to  him,  ver.  16.  Repent.  So 
 likewise  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Laodicea  having  fallen 
 
QuestioTis  respecting  Conversion  Explained.         383 
 
 into  a  fearful  condition  of  lukewarmness,  the  Lord  says  to 
 him,  chap.  iii.  19-  Be  zealous,  therefore,  and  repent. 
 
 2.  When  a  Christian  hath  come  under  the  predominance 
 of  any  particular  lust,  he  is  called  to  repent  and  forsake  it, 
 and  the  practice  that  hath  been  the  consequence  thereof. 
 Thus  the  apostles  having,  Matth.  xviii.  1.  shown  pride  and 
 ambition  to  be  very  predominant  in  them,  the  Lord  said  to 
 them,  ver.  3.  Except  ye  be  converted,  (the  same  in  meaning 
 as,  Except  ye  repent,)  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall 
 not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Job  was  happy  as  to 
 his  state  and  general  character,  and  gave  a  very  exemplary 
 proof  of  patience;  yet  in  one  thing  he  was  dangerously  wrong, 
 because  (chap,  xxxii.  2.)  he  justified  himself  rather  than  God  ; 
 so  far  even  as  to  insinuate  what  was  reproachful  to  God  with 
 regard  to  his  dealing  with  him  ;  saying,  (as  Elihu  represents, 
 chap,  xxxiii.  9,  10.)  1  am  clean,  without  transgression — Be- 
 hold,  he  findeth  occasions  against  me. — This  in  Job's  views  and 
 disposition  might  continue  to  be  matter  of  controversy  be- 
 tween God  and  him.  But  by  Elihu's  pleading  with  him, 
 and  more  especially  by  the  Lord's  own  appearance  and  plead- 
 ing, he  was  at  length  brought  down  from  his  height ;  and 
 after  so  confident  pleading  his  own  righteousness,  and  im- 
 peaching divine  providence,  he  comes  to  this,  chap.  xlii.  6. 
 /  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.  It  was  then, 
 and  not  till  then,  that  the  Lord  gave  forth  jugment  for  him 
 against  his  friends,  and  turned  the  captivity  of  Job.  It  is 
 only  in  such  special  cases  as  these,  that  I  observe  sincere  be- 
 lievers, or  true  Christians,  called  on  to  repent,  or  the  word 
 repent  used  with  respect  to  their  disposition  and  course. 
 
 According  to  our  conception,  we  may,  perhaps,  say,  that 
 the  whole  life,  exercise,  and  practice  of  a  true  Christian  is  no 
 other  than  repentance  continued  and  extended  to  the  end  of 
 his  course  ;  nor  can  I  think  that  way  of  conceiving  things 
 is  to  be  found  fault  with.  But  we  are  inquiring  here  con- 
 cerning the  Scripture  meaning  of  the  word,  and  as  to  that,  I 
 have  not  observed  any  where  in  Scripture,  that  the  ordinary 
 exercise  and  practice  of  the  Christian  is  set  forth  under  the 
 name  of  repentance.  These  things,  which  some  do  conceive 
 as  a  continuation  of  repentance,  should,  according  to  Scrip- 
 ture style,  be  accounted  fruits,  or  works  meet  for  repentance, 
 Matt.  iii.  8.  Acts  xxvi.  20.  rather  than  be  called  any  of  them, 
 or  the  whole  together,  by  the  name  of  repentance. 
 
 Let  me  observe,  by  the  way,  this  affords  what  may  satisfy 
 us  about  the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  expression,  Luke  xv.  7» 
 
384         Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained. 
 
 where  he  explains  his  parable  of  the  hundred  sheep,  whereof 
 one  was  lost,  and  recovered,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  owner  ; 
 /  say  unto  you,  that  likewise  joy  shall  he  in  heaven  over  one 
 sinner  that  repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  per- 
 sons, which  need  no  repentance.  It  seems  reasonable  to  think, 
 that  the  ninety  and  nine  sheep  are  creatures  of  the  same 
 species  with  the  sheep  that  went  astray ;  that  is,  not  angels, 
 but  men.  Who  then  are  the  ninety-nine  just  persons  among 
 men,  who  need  not  repentance  ?  What  hath  been  just  now 
 observed  helps  us  to  answer — They  are  those  sincere  Chris- 
 tians, who  walk  uniformly  in  a  pure  and  upright  course, 
 free  of  any  remarkable  sins,  or  predominant  lust,  labouring 
 earnestly  to  perfect  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God.  These,  ac- 
 cording to  the  Scripture  style  and  use  of  the  word,  need  not 
 repentance. 
 
 Some  earnestly  maintain,  that  repentance  is  not  previous 
 to,  but  is  a  consequence  of  justification,  in  order  to  secure 
 against  the  legal  disposition,  which  men  are  so  naturally 
 prone  to,  or  rather,  that  is  so  deeply  rivetted  in  men's  hearts 
 naturally,  and  which  is  indeed  of  the  worst  tendency  and 
 consequence  to  the  souls  of  men.  Upon  the  same  view,  some 
 have  denied  regeneration,  or  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
 to  be  previous  to  faith  or  justification.  It  is  certain,  how- 
 ever, where  true  regeneration  is,  and  the  sincerity  of  repen- 
 tance, that  there  is  a  disposition  of  heart  the  most  remote 
 from  legal.  At  any  rate,  when  men  would  provide  an  anti- 
 dote against  error  upon  one  hand,  they  should  be  very  care- 
 ful that  they  strike  not  against  the  truth,  on  the  other  hand, 
 or  give  advantage  to  the  adversaries  of  the  truth.  To  me  it 
 appears  to  be  the  truth  clearly  set  forth  in  the  word  of  God, 
 that  no  sinner  is  justified  but  the  penitent  sinner  ;  and  that 
 the  penitent,  or  repenting  sinner,  is  justified  by  faith  alone, 
 by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  his  blood;  from  which  blessed 
 object  faith  derives  its  virtue  to  justify  the  sinner,  and  not 
 from  any  thing  in  a  man,  previous,  concomitant,  or  subse- 
 quent to  his  faith,  however  certainly  connected  true  unfeign- 
 ed faith  is  with  good  dispositions  and  good  works.  To  re- 
 present repentance  distinguished  from  faith,  as  in  a  class  of 
 co-ordinate  conditionally  with  faith  in  the  matter  of  justifi- 
 cation, or  attaining  an  interest  in  the  covenant  of  grace  and 
 blessings  thereof;  I  cannot  consider  otherwise  than  as  a  no- 
 tion ill  founded,  and  of  hurtful  tendency. 
 
 Thus  we  take  considerable  time,  and  use  many  words,  in 
 explaining  what  happens  instantaneously  in  the  human  soul, 
 
Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained.  385 
 
 so  as  not  to  be  measured  by  time.  A  ray  of  divine  light,  by 
 one  declaration  or  promise  of  God's  word,  entering  the  mind 
 and  heart,  with  an  effectual  touch  of  divine  power,  may  effect, 
 in  an  instant,  in  the  soul  of  a  serious  and  humbled  sinner, 
 all  that  hath  been  here  said  concerning  the  sanctification  of 
 the  Spirit,  repentance  towards  God,  and  that  faith  in  Jesus 
 Christ,  and  in  his  blood,  with  which  the  justification  of  the 
 sinner  is  immediately  connected,  and  that  hath  for  its  cer- 
 tain consequence,  freedom  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  holy 
 practice. 
 
 One  or  two  things  remain,  however,  which  it  is  fit  to  add 
 in  this  place.  Though  as  to  the  great  substance  of  it,  the 
 conversion  of  the  sinner  is  effected  as  hath  been  represented, 
 yet  there  may  be  a  considerable  variety  as  to  manner  and 
 circumstances.  The  spiritual  state  of  all  men  by  nature  is 
 the  same,  yet  there  may  be  a  great  difference  as  to  circum- 
 stances. Some  are  in  great  ignorance;  their  course  hath 
 been  in  remarkable  opposition  to  purity,  and  they  have  per- 
 haps fallen  into  ways  of  gross  wickedness,  highly  dishonour- 
 able and  provoking  to  God.  In  such,  the  law  giving  the 
 knowledge  of  sin,  and  working  wrath,  often  strikes  the  con- 
 science with  greater  force  and  terror,  and  alarms  the  whole 
 soul  to  a  high  degree ;  so  that,  if  divine  goodness  and  care 
 did  not  secretly  work  to  prevent  it,  the  consequence  might 
 be  fearful.  In  such,  when  divine  grace  directs  these  con- 
 victions to  a  happy  issue,  their  conversion  and  relief  by  faith 
 may  be  more  evident  and  observable,  and  sensibly  comfort- 
 able in  a  higher  degree.  The  Lord  may  likewise  design  to 
 prepare  some  for  more  special  usefulness,  o»r  for  more  special 
 trials,  by  greater  experience  of  the  terrors  of  the  law,  and  of 
 the  consolations  of  grace.  Yea,  some  have  greater  softness, 
 vivacity,  and  sensibility  in  their  natural  spirit  and  temper  ; 
 and  thereby  more  sensible  terrors  and  consolations  than 
 others  who  have  perhaps  the  reality  of  this  work  in  greater 
 degree,  and  with  greater  effect  in  all  holiness  and  good  fruits. 
 
 Upon  the  other  hand,  some  have  been  brought  up  under 
 the  purity  of  the  gospel,  and  with  a  greater  degree  of  light 
 and  knowledge,  perhaps  under  the  best  examples,  which 
 have  not  altogether  been  without  effect,  being  preserved  from 
 the  more  gross  ways  of  the  world  ;  and  possessing,  perhaps, 
 greater  natural  vigour  of  spirit,  with  greater  equality  and 
 sedateness  of  natural  temper.  Though  such  have  expe- 
 rienced most  serious  conviction,  and  deep  impressions  of 
 their  sinfulness,  and  their  wretchedness  by  sin,  yet,  per- 
 
386  Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained. 
 
 haps,  the  law  of  God  doth  not  strike  them  with  such  sensi- 
 ble force,  or  alarm  them  so  very  much  by  its  terrors.  The 
 law  may  impress  them  more  gradually,  and  may  (if  I  may 
 with  propriety  use  the  expression)  soak  by  degrees  into  their 
 minds  and  consciences.  In  such,  their  relief,  peace,  and 
 comfort,  through  faith,  may  at  first  be  less  sensible  and  ob- 
 servable ;  but  the  word  of  the  grace  of  the  gospel  entering 
 into  their  minds  and  hearts  by  slower  degrees,  their  faith 
 grows  up  to  greater  strength,  and  with  its  proper  effect  in 
 holiness  and  fruitfulness  in  every  good  work. 
 
 At  any  rate,  as  to  vital  principles,  whatever  difference  may 
 be  as  to  manner  and  circumstances,  yet  matters  will  be  with 
 every  soul  truly  converted  to  God,  according  to  the  general 
 views  given  by  the  Scripture,  which  acquaints  us,  that  they 
 are  (Matt.  ix.  12.)  the  sick  who  need  the  physician  ;  that 
 (1  Pet.  ii.  7.)  to  them  who  believe,  Christ  is  precious  ;  that 
 true  faith  will  not  allow  the  Christian  to  be  habitually  (2  Pet 
 i.  8.)  idle  and  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  It  will 
 be  an  active  working  principle,  a  faith  that  worketh  by  love% 
 
 Another  thing  fit  to  be  added  here  is  this :  However  need- 
 ful the  ministry  and  discipline  of  the  law  in  the  conscience 
 and  heart  of  a  sinner,  giving  the  knowledge  of  sin  and  of 
 wrath,  is  to  determine  him  to  flee  for  refuge,  yet  he  is  not 
 to  consider  the  views  and  impressions  that  come  in  this  way, 
 as  qualifications  that  entitle  him  to  the  comforts  of  the  gos- 
 pel, or  to  think,  as  if  without  these  in  a  certain  measure 
 and  degree,  it  were  unwarrantable  and  unfit  for  him  to  lay 
 hold  of  Christ,  or  of  any  comforts  of  grace.  If  he  is  truly 
 and  seriously  convinced  of  his  need  of  a  Saviour,  it  were  well 
 for  him  even  immediately  to  betake  himself  to  him,  believing 
 in  him.  If  they  are  the  sick  that  need  the  Physician,  it 
 were  vain  and  highly  imprudent  to  stand  off  till  they  were 
 more  sick.  Many  a  life  has  been  lost  in  that  way.  What- 
 ever the  disorder,  whatever  the  pain,  as  to  the  degree  of  it, 
 it  were  good  for  a  man  to  betake  himself  soon  and  seasonably 
 to  the  Physician.  Delay  in  such  cases  is  often  hurtful,  and 
 extremely  dangerous.  It  were  good  for  a  man  to  be  often 
 thinking  seriously  concerning  his  spiritual  condition,  which 
 is  his  most  important  interest.  When  he  is  so,  and  obtains 
 increased  views  and  impressions  of  sin  and  wrath,  it  were 
 good  for  him,  having  Christ  and  his  grace  set  before  him, 
 and  freely  offered,  to  endeavour,  having  an  eye  upward  for 
 divine  influence,  to  lay  hold  of  Christ  by  faith,  to  apply  the 
 blood  of  sprinkling  to  himself,  for  giving  him  peace  ;  and  to 
 
Questions  respecting  Conversion  Explained.  387 
 
 apply  the  comforts  of  free  and  rich  grace,  and  of  the  pro- 
 mise, suitable  to  his  condition  ;  yet  this  still  so  as  that  the 
 conscience  and  heart  shall  be  kept  open  to  further  views  and 
 convictions  of  sin,  and  of  judgment  for  it,  from  the  law  ;  in 
 order  to  cause  a  man  take  the  more  fast  hold  of  the  hope  set 
 before  him,  (which  is  the  hope  of  righteousness  through  faith, 
 Gal.  v.  5.)  to  hold  Christ  the  more  precious,  to  have  the 
 greater  relish  of  the  consolations  of  grace,  and  of  the  promise, 
 and  to  have  ever  the  greater  fear  of  sin,  as  of  the  greatest  of 
 all  evils. 
 
 The  special  design  of  this  section  was,  to  point  out  what 
 direction  the  Scripture,  particularly  the  context  we  have  been 
 considering,  gives  to  sinners  yet  in  their  natural,  unconvert- 
 ed state,  with  respect  to  their  most  important  interest,  espe- 
 cially with  regard  to  their  justification  and  sanctification. 
 When  the  sinner,  who  hath  been  at  ease  in  his  sins,  is  first 
 awakened  to  seriousness,  what  especially  affects  his  mind  and 
 conscience  is,  the  law  as  it  worketh  wrath ;  and  the  great 
 concern  is,  to  be  freed  from  condemnation  and  judgment. 
 Some,  when  they  have  got  some  kind  of  peace  and  settle- 
 ment of  mind  with  regard  to  this  matter,  take  their  ease,  and 
 have  no  further  concern.  They  rest  in  a  form  of  religion 
 with  no  real  holiness,  or  fruitfulness. 
 
 But  they,  in  whom  this  work  comes  to  a  better  issue, 
 through  the  mercy  of  God,  are  led  farther  into  themselves, 
 to  perceive  the  alarming  dominion  which  sin  hath  in  them, 
 and  their  inability  to  sanctify  themselves.  This  becomes 
 matter  of  weighty  concern  with  them. 
 
 The  remedy  with  respect  both  to  the  sinner's  guilt  and 
 his  depravity,  is,  to  be  made  free  from  the  law  and  its  curse. 
 Whilst  he  is  in  this  condition,  as  he  is  under  wrath,  so  sin 
 hath  dominion  in  him.  He  is  at  once  delivered  from  the 
 divine  wrath,  from  the  dominion  of  sin  in  his  heart  and  na- 
 ture, and  made  capable  of  holy  practice,  by  being  justified 
 through  faith,  and  brought  under  grace,  Rom.  v.  1,  2.  with 
 chap.  vi.  14.  Sinners  coming  into  union  with  Jesus  Christ 
 by  faith,  they  (Rom.  vii.  4.)  become  dead  to  the  law  (free 
 from  its  curse  and  bondage)  by  the  body  of  Christ,  that  they 
 should  be  married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  raised  from 
 the  dead,  that  they  should  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  This 
 is  the  doctrine  of  the  Scripture,  and  the  way  which  it  marks 
 out  to  sinful  men,  in  which  alone  they  can  come  to  a  capa- 
 city of  bringing  forth  fruit  in  a  practice  truly  holy  and  ac- 
 ceptable to  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 
38&  Concernuig  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 We  should  now  show  what  direction  our  context  affords, 
 as  to  comfort,  and  holy  practice,  to  persons  now  truly  in  a 
 state  of  grace  But  as  this  will,  in  some  form,  come  in  our 
 way  hereafter,  I  shall  not  lengthen  this  section,  by  saying 
 any  thing  particular  concerning  it  in  this  place. 
 
 SECT.  IV. — Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 We  proceed  now  to  point  out  some  directions  that  our  con- 
 text, and  the  apostle's  doctrine  in  it,  afford  to  the  preachers 
 of  the  gospel.  As  there  are  commonly  persons  differing  as 
 to  their  spiritual  condition  and  state  in  every  public  audience, 
 the  discourses  should  exhibit  things  suited  to  such  various 
 conditions  of  men.  There  may  be  such  difference  in  the 
 case,  even  of  persons  in  the  same  unconverted  state,  that 
 may  require  their  being  addressed  and  treated  in  a  different 
 manner.  Some  such  are  quite  secure  and  thoughtless  about 
 their  condition,  whilst  others  of  them  are  serious,  and  under 
 the  sharp  discipline  of  the  law  in  their  conscience.  There 
 may  also  be  considerable  difference  in  the  particular  condition 
 and  circumstances  of  persons  in  a  state  of  grace  ;  some  such 
 are  weak,  others  are  strong.  A  distinction  that  includes 
 all  the  members  of  the  church  is,  That  some  are,  in  their 
 natural  condition,  under  the  law  and  its  curse,  and  under  the 
 dominion  of  sin  ;  and  that  others  are  in  a  state  of  grace.  As 
 the  apostle  says  of  the  ancient  Israel,  Rom.  ii.  28.  He  is  not 
 a  Jew  which  is  one  outwardly,  neither  is  that  circumcision 
 which  is  outward  in  the  flesh;  and  chap.  ix.  6.  They  are  not 
 all  Israel  which  are  of  Israel;  so  may  be  said  of  the  New 
 Testament  Israel,  the  gospel- church,  all  members  of  the 
 church  externally  are  not  the  true  circumcision  described, 
 Phil.  iii.  3. 
 
 It  is,  however,  the  way  of  some  preachers  to  consider  all 
 their  audience  under  the  general  character  of  believers  and 
 Christians,  (as  they  are  by  profession  and  outward  privilege,) 
 and  to  exhort  them  indiscriminately,  without  any  hint  of  the 
 difference  that  may  be,  as  to  their  real  spiritual  state,  to  the 
 practice  of  holiness  ;  explaining  it  and  each  particular  virtue, 
 and  enforcing  these  with  such  motives  as  the  nature  of  the 
 subject  affords  ;  pressing  them  to  labour  earnestly  to  over- 
 come their  evil  habits,  and  withdraw  themselves  from  under 
 the  power  of  them,  and  by  careful  attention  to  their  heart 
 and  practice,  to  acquire  new  habits  of  holiness  and  virtue  ; 
 encouraging  sometimes  their  sincere  endeavours  in  this  way, 
 with  the  prospect  of  the  aids  and  assistances  of  the  Holy 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  589 
 
 Spirit.  As  to  these,  the  children  of  God  do  indeed  need 
 them,  with  regard  to  all  their  course,  work,  and  exercise  ; 
 but  persons  in  their  natural  state  need  much  more  than  par- 
 ticular aids  and  assistances. 
 
 This  way  of  preaching  tends  to  keep  persons  in  ignorance 
 of  their  natural  condition,  and  of  the  sad  disadvantage  which 
 they  therein  labour  under  with  respect  to  true  holiness ;  or 
 to  cause  them  overlook  it,  and  to  imagine  their  powers  amount 
 to  more  than  they  do.  It  is  cercain  there  can  be  no  true 
 holiness,  no  sincere  serving  of  God,  until  a  person  is  made 
 free  from  sin—- from  its  dominion.  It  is  in  that  order  that 
 the  apostle  conceives  and  represents  things,  chap.  vi.  22. 
 Being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to  God,  ye 
 have  your  fruit  unto  holiness.  It  is  right  that  a  man  should 
 strive  against  ill  habits  ;  but  there  is  a  great  deal  more  in 
 the  dominion  and  slavery  of  sin  than  acquired  evil  habits. 
 The  dominion  of  sin  is  too  strong  for  any  human  power  or 
 endeavour.  The  apostle  says,  chap.  viii.  3.  that  the  law 
 could  not  make  a  man  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death. 
 Why  ?  the  law  doth  not  encourage  reformation  (so  some  ex- 
 plain) by  any  promise  of  pardon.  True  ;  but  this  is  not  all ; 
 nor  is  it  to  this  that  the  apostle  ascribes  the  disability  of  the 
 law  ;  but  he  says,  the  law  could  not  make  a  man  free,  in  that 
 it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  the  corruption  of  our  nature, 
 that  evil  principle  in  men,  whose  tendency  and  influence  is 
 ever  in  opposition  to  the  direction  and  demand  of  the  holy  law. 
 
 The  case  hath  required  a  great  deal  more  than  were  requi- 
 site for  curing  and  reforming  any  mere  ill  habits.  It  requir- 
 ed, as  we  have  seen,  that  Christ  should  become  a  sacrifice 
 for  sin  ;  as  to  procure  pardon,  and  to  bring  sinners  under 
 grace,  so  to  procure  that  sin  should  be  condemned  to  be 
 ejected  from  its  throne  and  dominion.  It  becomes  sinful 
 men  to  labour  in  every  way  of  duty  and  means  against  sin. 
 But  the  condemning  sentence  against  sin  must  be  first  truly 
 executed  by  a  superior  hand,  before  a  man  can  do  any  thing 
 sincerely  and  successfully  in  the  matter.  So  the  apostle 
 says,  chap.  viii.  2.  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
 Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  deaths 
 
 The  first  main  intention,  therefore,  of  the  preacher  with 
 respect  to  such  sinners,  should  be,  to  bring  them  truly  to 
 Christ,  by  the  faith  that  would  truly  unite  them  to  him, 
 and  derive  from  him  peace  and  comfort,  sanctifying  influence 
 and  strength,  that  so,  being  married  to  him,  they  might 
 bring  forth  fruit  unto  God. 
 
390  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 Subservient  to  this  main  intention  is  this  other  ;  viz 
 to  acquaint  such  sinners  with  the  wretchedness  of  their  con- 
 dition, by  the  light  of  the  law  ;  to  show  them  the  evil  of  sin 
 in  itself,  and  the  fearful  judgment,  curse,  and  wrath,  which 
 by  the  law  is  due  to  it ;  to  explain  to  them  the  holiness 
 which  the  holy  and  spiritual  law  requires ;  and  besides  their 
 actual  sins,  to  mark  out  to  them  the  contrariety  to  this  holi- 
 ness, which  they  may  observe  in  their  own  nature  and  heart, 
 by  comparing  these  with  the  perfect  rule,  and  the  light  of 
 the  word  of  God ;  and  to  convince  them  by  the  word  of  God, 
 and  what  they  may  find  in  their  own  experience,  how  im- 
 possible it  is  for  them,  (being  slaves  of  sin,  and  it  having 
 invested  all  their  faculties  and  powers,)  to  reform  or  sanctify 
 their  own  hearts,  or  to  practise  holiness  in  a  manner  truly 
 sincere  and  acceptable  to  God. 
 
 At  the  same  time,  with  a  view  to  sinners  becoming  seri- 
 ous and  earnest  in  the  matter  of  salvation,  it  is  fit  that  the 
 preacher  lay  fully  before  them  the  abounding  and  exceeding 
 riches  of  divine  grace  ;  the  sufficiency  of  the  Saviour  ;  his 
 love  to  sinners ;  the  complacency  he  hath  in  their  betaking 
 themselves  to  him  ;  and  the  absolute  freeness  (without 
 money  and  without  price)  with  which  Christ,  and  all  grace, 
 is  offered  in  the  gospel,  even  to  the  chief  of  sinners.  This 
 should  be  done  in  such  a  manner  as  to  obviate  the  tempta- 
 tions of  various  sorts,  which  arise  from  their  own  ignorance 
 and  mistake,  or  from  the  device  of  the  enemy ;  which,  by 
 reason  of  the  darkness  and  weakness  of  their  minds,  they  are 
 commonly  too  ready  to  entertain  to  their  great  hurt.  It  was 
 appointed  anciently,  that  the  highways  to  the  city  of  refuge 
 should  be  open  and  clear,  that  nothing  might  impede  the 
 course  of  a  man  thither,  when  he  was  fleeing  from  the  aven- 
 ger :  So  should  the  preacher  labour,  by  the  direction  of  the 
 word  of  God,  to  obviate  and  remove  every  thing  that  might 
 discourage  or  hinder  the  motion  of  a  serious  and  humbled 
 sinner  towards  Christ  by  faith,  for  refuge  and  salvation. 
 
 I  have  noticed  the  directions  which  our  context  affords  to 
 sinners  themselves,  with  regard  to  their  wretched  natural 
 state.  As  these  may  serve  likewise  for  the  use  of  the 
 preacher  in  dealing  with  such,  I  shall  insist  no  longer  on 
 this  part  of  the  subject. 
 
 The  other  class,  of  whom  the  preacher  ought  to  have  much 
 consideration,  are  sincere  believers,  who  are  truly  in  a  state 
 of  grace.  The  important  intention  with  regard  to  them  is, 
 the  building  them  up  in  holiness  and  comfort ; — in  comfort, 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  391 
 
 particularly  in  what  concerns  their  sanctification  ;  as  indeed 
 their  feelings  and  experience  do  often  occasion  more  sorrow 
 and  discouragement  with  regard  to  this  subject  than  with 
 regard  to  any  other.  Yet  it  is  of  great  importance  that  their 
 comfort  and  joy  should  be  maintained,  as  the  joy  of  the 
 Lord  is  their  strength. 
 
 We  see  the  apostle  in  our  context  acting  on  this  view  very 
 remarkably.  His  special  purpose  is  to  exhort  to  the  prac- 
 tice of  holiness,  to  the  avoiding  and  resisting  of  sin.  But 
 he  brings  forth  every  argument,  clothed,  as  it  were,  with 
 consolation,  respecting  the  subject  (concerning  which  Chris- 
 tians do  commonly  find  such  cause  of  discouragement)  and 
 respecting  the  happy  and  certain  issue.  To  be  dead  to  sin, 
 (chap.  vi.  2.)  affords  a  strong  argument  why  Christians 
 should  not  live  in  sin.  But  how  great  the  comfort,  to  be 
 made  free  from  its  dominion,  as  that  expression  imports  ? 
 Christians  are  obliged  to  be  in  practice  conformed  to  Christ's 
 death,  and  to  the  design  of  it.  But  how  great  the  comfort, 
 that  they  have  fellowship  with  him  in  his  crucifixion  and 
 death,  so  that  though  sin  remain  in  them,  and  gives  them 
 much  molestation,  yet  the  old  man  is  crucified  by  virtue  of 
 the  cross  of  Christ,  and  so  being  enervated  and  weakened, 
 they  may  take  courage  to  decline  its  service  !  If  Christians 
 have  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  death,  whereby  they  are 
 made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  how  unspeakably  great 
 the  consolation,  that  they  shall  be  planted  together  in  the 
 likeness  of  his  resurrection,  and,  having  died  with  him,  that 
 they  shall  live  with  him  in  newness  of  life  here,  and  in  eter- 
 nal life  hereafter  ;  and  may  reckon  themselves  to  be  dead 
 indeed  unto  sin,  (made  free  from  its  reign  and  dominion) 
 and  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ !  Such  consola- 
 tions tend  greatly  to  sweeten  and  recommend  to  the  heart 
 the  arguments  enforcing  holiness  and  holy  practice. 
 
 This  particularly  hath  that  tendency,  chap.  vi.  14.  Sin 
 shall  not  have  dominion  over  you ;  for  ye  are  not  under 
 the  law,  but  under  grace.  As  if  he  had  said,  The  law  would 
 have  left  you  wholly  to  your  own  free  will,  to  stand  or  fall 
 according  to  its  direction  and  determination.  If  a  sinner 
 were  delivered  from  the  law,  and  that  miserable  condition 
 into  which  his  sin  had  brought  him,  and  put  anew  under 
 the  law,  he  could  have  no  security  for  preserving  himself 
 from  coming  anew  and  quickly  under  the  dominion  of  sin. 
 But  the  Christian  being  under  grace,  the  object  of  special 
 divine  favour,  yea,  a  child  of  God,  divine  grace  will  take 
 
59^  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 care  that  he  fall  not  under  that  thraldom  again,  according 
 to  the  declaration  of  the  last  mentioned  text,  and  according 
 to  the  promise  of  God's  covenant  of  grace,  Jer.  xxxii.  40. 
 And  though  the  means  needful  to  be  used,  by  way  of  chas- 
 tisement, may  be  so  bitter  and  painful  as  may  make  sin 
 ever  fearful  to  him,  yet  he  will  be  recovered  from  his  stray- 
 ing, and  from  his  disordered  frame ;  his  faith  shall  not  fail, 
 or  be  quite  eradicated,  but  his  seed  shall,  by  Divine  influence 
 and  care,  abide  in  him.  Thus  the  apostle  goes  on,  com- 
 forting and  exhorting  at  once,  by  the  most  encouraging 
 considerations,  and  the  most  cogent  arguments,  to  ver.  22. 
 But  now,  being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to 
 God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting 
 life  ;  in  which  words  he  gives  a  summary  of  what  he  had 
 said  more  largely  in  the  whole  chapter. 
 
 Let  us  go  a  little  farther  in  observing  how  the  apostle 
 manages  this  subject.  As  the  condition  of  sinners  under 
 the  law  is  so  extremely  miserable,  the  apostle  sets  out  on 
 that  subject,  chap.  vii.  4.  with  stating  this  very  comfortable 
 sentiment  to  Christians ;  viz.  that  they  were  dead  to  the 
 law,  and  entered  into  marriage  with  a  better  husband,  by 
 whom  they  would  become  fruitful  in  holiness.  It  is  not  un- 
 til after  this,  that  he  shows  from  his  own  experience,  when 
 under  the  law,  how  great  the  power  of  sin,  in  opposition  to 
 holiness,  is,  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  under  the  law. 
 But  as  sincere  Christians,  acquainted  with  the  spirituality 
 of  the  law,  and  with  their  own  hearts,  might  find  still  with 
 themselves  what  was  very  opposite  to  the  holiness  of  the 
 law,  there  was  great  need  of  providing  comfort  against  this. 
 He  doth  so  by  representing  his  own  case  and  experience  in 
 his  state  of  grace,  in  order  (as  Augustine  said  judiciously) 
 that  a  sincere  soul  might  not  conceive  excessive  dread  or 
 discouragement  from  what  the  apostle  found  in  his  own 
 case  ;  and  in  the  end  he  leads  the  true  Christian,  ver.  25.  to 
 a  joyful  thanksgiving  to  God  for  what  he  had  attained,  and 
 for  his  happy  prospect. 
 
 Thus  the  apostle's  arguments  against  sin,  and  for  enforc- 
 ing the  practice  of  holiness,  are  all  along  dipped  in  consola- 
 tion, and  this  way  ought  the  preacher  of  the  gospel  to  fol- 
 low in  exhorting  Christians  to  holiness. 
 
 Yet  often  it  is  needful  in  dealing  with  Christians,  to  ad- 
 minister something  else  than  mere  consolation.  The  case 
 even  of  true  Christians  is  commonly  various.    If  some  espe- 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  3Q3 
 
 cially  need  comfort,  others  need  something  else  in  the  mean 
 time. 
 
 For  this  we  may  observe  the  apostle's  distinction  and 
 advice,  1  Thess.  v.  14.  Warn  them  that  are  unruly,  or  dis- 
 orderly. If  a  Christian  doth  in  his  practice,  perhaps  in  a 
 remarkable  degree,  leave  the  rule  of  holiness,  and  act  con- 
 trary thereto,  it  is  needful,  for  recovering  him,  to  warn 
 him  with  proper  authority,  and  sharpness  of  rebuke,  ac- 
 quainting him  with  the  danger  of  his  present  course  :  it  is 
 not  comfort  that  is  then  most  needful  or  fit.  Comfort  the 
 feeble-minded. — Some  Christians,  through  the  weakness  of 
 their  spirit,  do  not  retain  their  comfort ;  but  it  is  easily 
 shaken  or  overturned;  especially  when  there  is  the  pressure 
 of  heavy  affliction  and  tribulation,  with  various  temptations. 
 Their  case  needs  to  be  carefully  attended  to,  and  all  pro- 
 per means  used  to  revive  and  strengthen  them,  and  to 
 establish  them  in  comfort  and  hope  through  faith.  Support 
 the  ?veak. — Some  labour  under  too  great  degree  of  ignorance, 
 (as,  for  instance,  of  the  Christian  Gentiles,  their  full  liberty 
 from  all  the  Mosaic  yoke,  which  was  the  weakness  of  some 
 heretofore,  Rom.  xiv.)  and  with  unsteadiness  of  temper 
 otherwise;  their  ignorance  makes  them  easily  stumble,  or 
 puts  them  in  danger  of  going  out  of  the  right  way.  Such 
 need  to  be  supported  by  those  who  are  strong,  particularly 
 by  their  teachers,  with  proper  instruction,  increase  of  light, 
 and  with  charitable  condescension  to  their  weakness,  so  as 
 not  to  give  them  needless  offence.  Though,  as  to  matters  of 
 necessary  and  strict  duty,  other  Christians  or  ministers  are 
 not  to  be  brought  into  bondage  to  their  weakness,  by  virtue 
 of  any  claim  they  can  found  on  considerations  of  offence. 
 
 Thus  true  Christians  should,  according  to  their  different 
 cases,  be  somewhat  differently  treated.  But  it  is  still  true 
 in  general,  that  Christians,  from  their  inward  and  outward 
 condition  in  this  evil  world,  do  need  that  care  should  be 
 taken  by  preachers  and  others,  to  labour  in  advancing  and 
 establishing  their  comfort,  in  the  proper,  seasonable,  judi- 
 cious, and  well  warranted  manner. — I  should  now  proceed  to 
 the  other  special  purpose  which  a  preacher  of  the  gospel 
 should  have  in  view,  with  respect  to  true  Christians,  and 
 that  is,  the  advancing  them  in  holiness.  But  I  choose  a 
 following  place  for  that  subject. 
 
 Before  we  go  farther,  we  have  full  occasion  to  observe, 
 of  how  great  importance  it  is,  to  preach  the  special  doctrine 
 of  the  gospel,  the  doctrine  of  faith  ;   and  that,  not  only  in 
 
394<  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 order  to  give  sinners  encouragement  respecting  free  justifi- 
 cation, but  also  with  regard  to  sanctification.  The  gospel, 
 the  doctrine  of  faith,  is  the  special  truth  of  God,  and  of  di- 
 vine revelation  ;  this  is  the  great  means  of  sanctification,  ac- 
 cording to  that  declaration  and  petition  of  our  blessed  Sa- 
 viour to  his  Father,  John  xvii.  17-  Sanctify  them  through 
 thy  truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth. 
 
 It  is  not  always  the  gospel  that  is  delivered  from  the 
 pulpit.  A  man  may  preach  very  sensibly  concerning  the 
 divine  perfections,  and  the  authority  of  God's  government 
 and  laws.  He  may  set  forth  the  general  obligations  to  duty 
 and  obedience.  He  may  inculcate  the  amiableness  of  vir- 
 tue in  general,  or  of  particular  virtues ;  and  may  represent 
 many  worthy  examples,  for  men's  encouragement  and  ex- 
 citement. He  may  earnestly  call  on  men  to  repent  of  their 
 sins,  and  to  reform  the  disposition  of  their  hearts,  and  their 
 course  of  life.  He  may  inculcate  this  with  all  the  advan- 
 tage of  elocution,  earnestness,  and  action,  th?t  would  en- 
 title him  to  the  character  of  the  complete  orator.  The  com- 
 position may  be  very  skilful,  the  language  elegant  and 
 pathetical,  and  the  preacher  may  be  so  greatly  applauded, 
 that  it  may  sometimes  be  said,  He  hath  his  reward.  Not 
 only  may  the  ears  of  the  hearers  be  tickled,  but  their  minds 
 may  be  very  agreeably  entertained  with  sentiments  that  are 
 in  themselves  just,  and  with  many  a  good  thought.  Yet 
 in  all  this  there  may  be  nothing  by  which  a  soul  may  be 
 relieved  and  refreshed,  that  labours  and  is  heavy  laden  ; 
 nothing  by  which  a  serious  soul  may  be  directed  to  the  pro- 
 per sources  of  sanctification.  A  discourse  may  have  in  it 
 much  truth  that  is  consistent  with  the  gospel,  and  presup- 
 posed by  it,  and  yet  have  nothing  in  it  of  the  gospel,  pro- 
 Iperly  so  called.  Of  such  a  discourse,  with  all  its  advantage 
 of  sentiment  and  expression,  it  may  be  said,  as  the  apostle 
 says  of  the  law,  that  it  is  weak  through  the  flesh.  The  cor- 
 ruption of  nature,  in  which  sin  hath  dominion,  is  too  strong 
 for  philosophy,  logic,  and  rhetoric — too  strong  for  refined 
 speculation,  strong  argument,  and  the  greatest  oratory. 
 
 It  is  only  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  that  can  make  men 
 free  from  that  unhappy  law  of  sin  and  death,  that  prevails 
 naturally  in  the  hearts  of  men  ;  and  what  arguments  or  ex- 
 hortations will  prevail  with  the  hearts  of  men  to  be  truly 
 holy  and  virtuous,  whilst  they  are  under  the  miserable  law 
 and  dominion  of  sin  ?  It  is  the  gospel  that  is  the  ministra- 
 tion of  the   Spirit.     Men  receive  the  Spirit  through  faith, 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  395 
 
 Gal.  iii.  14.  by  the  hearing  of  faith,  Gal.  iii.  2.  It  is  the 
 gospel  that  exhibits  God's  highest  glory,  which  he  chiefly 
 designs  to  display  before  sinful  men,  even  that  glory  of  God 
 that  shineth  in  the  face  of  Christ.  It  is  the  gospel  that 
 sets  forth  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
 himself  is  glorified  ;  and  it  is  it  that  will  be  honoured  with 
 the  concomitant  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  true, 
 after  all,  that  whilst  the  faithful  preacher  may  be  to  God 
 (2  Cor.  ii.  15,  16.)  a  sweet  savour  of  Christ,  he  may  be  to 
 them  who  perish  the  savour  of  death,  through  their  own  fault; 
 yet  the  powerful  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  likely  to 
 attend  any  other  means,  even  any  other  truth,  than  the 
 truth  and  doctrine  of  faith,  the  gospel,  which  will  be  the 
 savour  of  life  unto  life  to  some.  But,  however  it  may  hap- 
 pen to  hearers,  or  however  the  blessings  of  grace  may  be 
 dispensed,  it  is  happy  for  the  preacher  that  himself  should 
 be  to  God  a  sweet  savour  of  Christ. 
 
 If  it  should  now  be  asked,  what  is  that  special  doctrine  of 
 the  gospel,  and,  strictly  speaking,  the  doctrine  of  faith  ?  I 
 shall  answer  briefly — 
 
 All  revealed  truth  ought  to  be  greatly  valued,  and  re- 
 ceived by  faith  ;  and,  if  properly  used,  may  be  subservient 
 to  the  main  subject  and  design  of  the  gospel.  But  the  spe- 
 cial subject  of  the  gospel  is  Christ ;  and  preaching  Christ, 
 according  to  the  light  and  direction  of  the  word  of  God,  is 
 preaching  the  gospel.  The  angel  preached  it  to  the  shep- 
 herds, Luke  ii.  10,  11.  saying,  Fear  not ;  for  behold,  I 
 bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all 
 people.  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David, 
 a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  To  preach  Christ  the 
 Saviour  and  the  Lord,  is  the  sum  of  gospel-preaching. 
 To  exhibit  him  as  a  powerful  Saviour,  not  merely  to  save  us 
 from  our  ignorance  or  our  errors,  as  a  Prophet  and  Teacher 
 sent  from  God,  or  merely  as  a  powerful  Lord  to  protect  us 
 during  our  course  of  obedience  to  him  in  our  way  through 
 this  world,  and  at  last  to  raise  us  up  by  his  power  to  eter- 
 nal bliss ;  but  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense,  to  save  us 
 from  our  sins.  Under  this  character  was  he  introduced  into 
 the  world,  Matth.  i.  21.  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus: 
 for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins.  The  whole  ex- 
 tent of  this  salvation  is  comprised  in  these  few  words, 
 1  Cor.  i.  30.  He  is  of  God  made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  right- 
 eousness, and  s  a  notification,  and  redemption.  Besides  that 
 illumination  of  our  minds,  and  instruction  by  his  word,  that 
 
3Q6  Concerning  True  Eva??gelical  Preaching. 
 
 is  contained  in  the  sense  of  his  being  made  unto  us  ivisdom, 
 the  two  great  parts  of  our  salvation  that  are  to  be  carried  on 
 and  effected  in  this  life,  are  his  being  made  unto  us  right" 
 eousness  and  sanctification :  and  how  he  is  the  Saviour  to  us 
 with  respect  to  both  these,  is  what  the  blessed  apostle  ex- 
 plains and  asserts  in  the  context  I  have  been  explaining,  and 
 in  the  preceding  part  of  the  epistle. 
 
 With  regard  to  the  first  of  these,  as  he  had  proved,  chap, 
 iii.  19.  that  all  the  world  is  guilty  before  God  ;  so  he  had 
 shown  how  Christ  is  made  unto  us  righteousness,  and  how 
 sinners  are  justified,  ver.  24,  25.  formerly  cited;  to  which 
 is  to  be  added,  Eph.  i.  7«  And  as  to  the  other  part,  our 
 sanctification, — as  by  his  being  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  he  hath 
 procured  the  condemning  of  sin  in  the  flesh,  so  he  doth 
 make  sinners  free  from  its  thraldom  by  his  Spirit,  and  car- 
 ries on  their  sanctification  by  his  Spirit,  by  his  word,  and 
 by  his  providence,  until  at  length  he  shall  present  his 
 church  a  glorious  church  without  spot.  Thus  is  Christ  a 
 Saviour,  saving  us  from  our  sins.  When  we  were  under 
 the  guilt  and  dominion  of  sin,  thus  hath  he  saved  us  by 
 him,  Tit.  iii.  5,  6,  7«  '  Not  by  works  of  righteousness,  which 
 '  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us  by 
 1  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
 c  Ghost ;  which  he  shed  on  us  abundantly,  through  Jesus 
 '  Christ  our  Saviour ;  that  being  justified  by  his  grace,  we 
 c  should  be  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life.' 
 
 We  may  observe  how  exceedingly  careful  the  apostle 
 was,  in  preaching,  to  make  Christ  and  his  cross  his  chief 
 subject.  To  the  Corinthians,  those  Greeks  who  were  as 
 much  taken  up  about  wisdom  of  sentiment,  refined  specu- 
 lation, and  elegance  of  language,  as  the  men  of  most  po- 
 liteness and  fine  taste  in  our  times,  he  says,  1  Epist.  i.  17. 
 Christ  sent  me — to  preach  the  gospel ;  not  with  wisdom  of 
 words,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be  made  of  none  effect. 
 W hen  men  labour  greatly  about  artful  composition,  refined 
 philosophical  sentiment,  and  well  turned  expression,  it  were 
 well  that  this  saying  of  the  apostle  should  occur  to  their 
 minds  ;  and  that  they  would  beware  lest  the  tendency  of 
 their  labour  should  be  to  make  the  cross  of  Christ  of  none 
 effect.  It  appears  the  blessed  apostle  wished  not  that  the 
 brightness  of  the  preacher,  or  his  performance,  should  ob- 
 scure the  glories  of  the  cross,  or  should  obstruct  its  virtue 
 and  effect  in  the  consciences  and  hearts  of  men.     We  preach 
 
Cojicerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching,  3D7 
 
 not,  saith  he,  2  Cor.  iv.  5.  ourselves,   but    Christ  Jesus   the 
 Lord. 
 
 Although  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified  was  to  the 
 Greeks  foolishness,  yet  he  asserts,  that  Christ  crucified  is 
 (ver.  24.)  to  them  who  are  called,  the  power  of  God,  and  the 
 wisdom  of  God.  So,  to  these  same  polite,  speculative,  wise, 
 and  elegant  Greeks,  he  says  again,  chap.  ii.  1,  2.  '  And  I, 
 '  brethren,  when  I  came  to  you,  came  not  writh  excellency 
 '  of  speech,  or  of  wisdom,  declaring  to  you  the  testimony  of 
 *  God.  For  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among 
 f  you  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified/  VVTe  have  rea- 
 son to  think  the  apostle  had  very  extensive  knowledge  ; 
 but  from  whatever  part  in  the  circle  of  knowledge  he  drew 
 his  lines,  they  all,  with  him  and  in  his  preaching,  centred 
 in  Christ,  or  were  drawn  from  that  centre  in  every  direction. 
 
 In  all  this,  the  preacher  hath  large  scope  for  his  medita- 
 tions and  discourses.  But,  with  propriety,  purity,  and  gra- 
 vity of  language,  it  is  only  the  most  unaffected  plainness 
 and  simplicity  of  style  that  can  suit  subjects  so  very  su- 
 blime. To  endeavour  to  set  forth  such  subjects  with  flourish 
 and  ornament  of  speech,  is  silly  and  pedantic,  hath  nothing 
 in  it  of  true  oratory,  and  shows  that  the  man's  own  heart 
 is  not  seriously  enough  affected  with  the  importance  of  the 
 subject  to  himself  and  to  his  hearers.  Though  propriety  of 
 style,  with  gravity  and  plainness,  is  commonly  fittest,  yet 
 there  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  in  what  was  said  long  ago  by 
 an  eminent  person:  Qui  pueriliter,  qui  trivialiter,  (I  would 
 add  here,  sed  non  fut'diter,)  is  utiliter.  The  low,  but  de- 
 cent and  grave  homely  style,  is  most  adapted  to  the  profit, 
 commonly,  of  the  greatest  part  of  an  audience  ;  and  they 
 of  better  rank  and  education  who  wish  to  have  their  con- 
 science open  to,  and  their  hearts  seriously  affected  by,  the 
 word  of  God,  may  reap  the  most  valuable  advantages  by 
 those  sermons  that  are  most  profitable  to  persons  of  lower 
 condition. 
 
 What  shall  I  say  of  that  most  foolish  custom  of  reading 
 sermons  to  the  congregation,  which  hath  come  from  the 
 Southern,  (I  know  not  if  it  takes  place  in  any  other  coun- 
 tries) to  be  in  use  of  late  with  some  in  the  Northern  part 
 of  the  Island  ?  It  is  too  dull  for  the  orator,  and  puts  such  a 
 man  in  fetters;  and  it  hath  a  strange  appearance,  that  an 
 ambassador  of  Christ  should  deliver  his  message  in  this  way. 
 What  the  Lord  hath  given  in  writing,  he  should  read  to  his 
 people ;  and  if  the  minister  should  from  a  distance  send  an 
 
 r  5 
 
398  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 epistle  to  his  congregation,  the  clerk  might  read  it  to  them 
 from  the  desk.  But  that  the  messenger  of  Christ  should 
 appear  personally,  and  address  the  consciences  and  hearts 
 of  his  people,  praying  them,  beseeching  them,  2  Cor.  v.  20. 
 earnestly  exhorting  them  from  his  papers,  is  extremely  in- 
 congruous. We  speak  of  a  man's  getting  a  discourse  by 
 heart ;  and  it  were  right  that  preachers  should  (in  a  sense 
 somewhat  different  from  the  more  common  meaning  of  that 
 expression)  have  their  sermons  by  heart,  and  preach  from 
 the  heart  to  the  heart.  At  any  rate,  the  appearance  of  this 
 is  the  most  becoming,  the  most  likely  to  be  profitable,  and 
 generally  the  most  acceptable.  Some  hearers  who  have,  or 
 pretend  to  have,  better  judgment  and  taste  than  their  neigh- 
 bours, may  like  the  reading  of  sermons;  but  it  may  well  be 
 doubted  if  these  are  the  sort  who  have  the  best  taste  of 
 gospel-preaching,  or  are  most  serious  in  religion.  With  us, 
 this  way  is  hitherto  so  generally  disgusting  to  congrega- 
 tions, sometimes  without  the  exception  of  a  single  person, 
 that  often  the  reader  may  be  vindicated  from  the  charge 
 of  setting  up  for  applause  ;  if  it  is  not,  perhaps,  the  self-ap- 
 lause,  which  his  notion  of  his  own  superiority  makes  him 
 fond  of,  with  the  contempt  of  others.  I  would  not,  however, 
 be  understood  to  mean,  that  the  church  should  be  wholly 
 deprived  of  the  useful  preaching  of  those  who,  through  old 
 age,  or  accidental  infirmity,  are  disabled  from  delivering 
 sermons  in  any  other  manner  ;  but  I  have  known  very  few 
 instances  of  that  kind  among  those  who  could  prepare  such 
 discourses,  or  could  preach  at  all. 
 
 I  have  been  saying,  that  the  chief  thing  in  preaching 
 should  be  to  preach  Christ,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel 
 concerning  him.  Too  many  sermons  come  abroad  into  the 
 world  that  are  much  wanting  in  that  respect.  I  venture  to 
 give,  for  an  instance  of  this,  a  sermon  of  the  Reverend  John 
 Alexander,  said,  in  the  title-page  of  the  book  in  which  it  is 
 contained,  to  have  been  composed  (which  I  much  doubt  of) 
 by  the  author  the  day  preceding  his  death.  This  circum- 
 stance might  have  afforded  reason  not  to  mention  it  here  in 
 this  way,  if,  after  its  being  published,  it  did  not  appear 
 needful  to  report  such  a  circumstance,  in  order  to  make 
 some  observations  on  it,  for  the  sake  of  the  living. 
 
 The  text  is,  Eccl.  ix.  10.  c  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth 
 f  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might ;  for  there  is  no  work  nor 
 c  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom  in  the  grave,  whither 
 c  thou  goest/ 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching-.  3.99 
 
 The  heads  under  which  he  enlarges  on  this  text  are  two. 
 The  first,  What  is  implied  in  the  advice  in  the  text.  On 
 this  he  says  :  1.  It  teaches  us  diligence  and  assiduity  in  the 
 daily  employments  of  life.  2.  The  speedy  execution  of 
 every  worthy  and  important  scheme.  3.  The  constant  and 
 strenuous  exertion  of  all  our  faculties  in  the  proper  business 
 of  reasonable  and  moral  agents  ;  the  improvement  of  our 
 minds,  and  the  government  of  our  passions  and  affections, 
 &c.  The  second  general  head  is,  to  illustrate  the  motive 
 contained  in  the  text.  As  to  this,  there  is,  1.  The  nature 
 of  that  state  upon  which  we  enter  by  death.  There  is  nei- 
 ther work,  &c.  It  is  a  state  of  perfect  ignorance  and  inac- 
 tivity, in  which  we  retain  no  sense  of  our  present  condition, 
 no  memory  of  former  transactions,  nor  any  of  the  pleasing 
 capacities  of  action  and  enjoyment — (so  it  is  indeed  in  the 
 full  sense,  if  after  death  there  remain  no  more  of  man  than 
 what  goes  to  the  grave.)  2.  This  state,  as  it  is  real  and 
 certain,  so  it  is  continually  approaching — the  grave  to  which 
 thou  goest. 
 
 This  is  the  sum  of  the  sermon.  He  mentions  the  second 
 life,  to  wThich  we  aspire,  by  the  favour  and  goodness  of  the 
 Creator  ;  and  a  little  thereafter,  mentions  the  reviving  pros- 
 pect of  immortality,  and  that  glorious  hope  of  a  resurrection, 
 which  is  promised  in  the  gospel.  One  might  think,  if  the 
 writer  relished  that  subject,  that  here  was  a  fair  opportunity 
 of  mentioning  Christ,  who  by  his  death  and  resurrection 
 abolished  death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light 
 through  the  gospel.  A  few  lines  from  the  end  of  the  sermon 
 he  says,  *  We  must  live  to  God,  and  lead  an  heavenly  life, 
 '  if  we  ever  expect  to  reach  those  blissful  abodes  ;  and  we 
 '  must  form  the  habits  of  goodness  and  holiness,  in  order  to 
 '  be  admitted  there/  Wrould  the  Apostle  Paul  have  des- 
 coursed  of  living  to  God,  of  living  a  heavenly  life,  of  form- 
 ing habits  of  goodness  and  holiness,  without  making  mention 
 of  Christ,  or  of  his  death  and  resurrection  ?  This  may  be 
 judged  of  from  the  context  we  have  been  considering.  This 
 author  had  learned  from  the  gospel,  that  there  is  the  hope  of 
 the  resurrection  and  future  life  ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  all 
 the  sermon  by  which  one  would  learn  that  ever  he  had  heard 
 of  Christ  the  Saviour,  or  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  or  the  need 
 which  sinful  men  have  of  the  one  or  the  other  :  nothing  of 
 these  subjects  is  insinuated  or  hinted  in  the  remotest  man- 
 ner ;  only  the  name  Christian  occurs,  from  whatever  root 
 that  word  is  derived.     It  might  be  thought,  that  in  the  full 
 
400  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 light  that  hath  come  by  the  gospel,  a  preacher  of  the  gospel 
 could  not  easily  preach  on  that  same  text,  Eccl.  ix.  10.  with- 
 out setting  Christ  before  his  hearers. 
 
 There  has  an  apology  been  provided  for  such  a  case  by  a 
 very  celebrated  preacher,  who  gave  as  his  excuse  for  not 
 mentioning  Christ  in  his  sermon,  that  he  was  not  mentioned 
 in  his  text.  Nor  is  he  mentioned  in  that  text,  Eph.  ii.  8. 
 By  grace  ye  are  saved,  through  faith  ;  yet  one  might  think 
 it  wrere  not  easy  to  preach  properly  on  it,  and  give  the  pro- 
 per explanations,  exhortations,  and  directions,  without  men- 
 tioning Christ.  It  is  however  possible,  that  though  the  name 
 Christ  is  not  mentioned,  the  sermon  may  be  truly  evangeli- 
 cal ;  and  also  that  Christ  may  be  often  mentioned,  and  the 
 sermon  be  far  from  being  evangelical.  After  all,  it  would 
 seem  more  becoming  a  minister  of  Christ,  to  take  all  occa- 
 sions to  set  Christ  and  his  grace  before  his  hearers,  rather 
 than  be  so  ready  to  sustain  for  himself,  and  offer  to  others, 
 an  excuse  for  having  nothing  about  him  at  all.  Such  preach- 
 ers would  do  well  to  compare  their  sermons  with  our  context, 
 yea,  with  all  the  epistles  of  Paul,  where  we  see  he  could  not 
 proceed  a  step  without  introducing  that  important,  necessary, 
 and  favourite  subject.  But  since  the  time  of  that  blessed 
 apostle,  many  have  appeared  to  be  far  from  the  disposition  he 
 expresses,  Rom.  1 .  1 6,  1 7*  1  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of 
 Christ  :  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation — For  there- 
 in is  the  righteousness  of  God  revealed. — There  are  some  who 
 speak  much  about  righteousness,  who  seem  not  to  be  fond  of 
 that  righteousness  of  God  meant  by  him,  and  which  he 
 counted  the  glory  of  the  gospel,  and  a  special  cause  why  he 
 should  not  be  ashamed  of  it.  As  they  incline  not  to  borrow 
 righteousness  from  Christ  for  justification,  so  neither  do 
 they  appear  to  see  need  of  Christ  for  practical  righteousness 
 and  holiness  ;  if  it  is  not  for  a  clearer  illustration  of  the  law 
 that  is  the  rule  of  it.  Many,  who  wrish  not  to  bear  the  cha- 
 racter of  infidels,  do,  under  Christian  profession,  appear  to 
 have  gone  far  in  the  way  to  a  sort  of  philosophical  heathen- 
 ism, borrowing  from  the  gospel -revelation  what  they  think 
 fit  for  adorning  and  recommending  their  new  form  of  hea- 
 thenism. 
 
 But  if  it  is  fit  and  necessary  to  preach  Christ,  and  him 
 crucified,  and  the  special  doctrine  of  the  gospel  concerning 
 him,  it  is  also  necessary  to  set  forth  and  to  inculcate  ear- 
 nestly the  design  of  his  death,  and  of  the  grace  manifested 
 in  the  gospel  through  him.     If  it  was  his  gracious  design  to 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  401 
 
 bring  sinners  to  peace,  grace,  and  favour  with  God,  and  at 
 last  to  a  state  of  blessedness  and  glory,  it  was  no  less  his 
 design  to  sanctify  them.  So  Eph.  v.  25 — 2?.  He  gave 
 himself  for  his  church,  that  he  might  sanctify  it  ; — and  Tit.  ii. 
 14.  He  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
 iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of 
 good  works.  The  demand  for  preaching  Christ  and  free 
 grace  is  so  far  from  being  opposite  to  the  end  of  preaching 
 holiness  and  good  works,  that  indeed  men  cannot  preach  ho- 
 liness and  good  works  to  good  purpose,  and  with  good  effect, 
 without  bringing  along  with  them  all  the  way  the  doctrine 
 of  Christ,  and  of  free  grace.  It  is  at  the  same  time  true, 
 that  men's  preaching  is  essentially  defective,  if  they  preach 
 not  Christ  in  a  manner  subservient  to  holiness.  Some  men, 
 when  they  hear  a  demand  for  evangelical  preaching,  and  the 
 doctrine  of  grace,  with  complaints  of  legal  doctrine,  have 
 been  ready  to  exclaim,  and  to  say,  that  those  who  make 
 them  cannot  bear  to  hear  of  holiness  and  good  works.  This 
 is  far  from  the  disposition  of  pious  souls  who  have  a  true 
 relish  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  a  just  zeal  for  it.  Yet, 
 if  the  manner  in  which  some  preach  holiness  and  good 
 works  gives  disgust,  there  is  often  too  much  cause  for  that 
 disgust.  They  are  particularly  happy  who  have  the  skill 
 to  give  free  grace  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  holiness,  their 
 proper  place,  in  a  proper  connexion  the  one  with  the  other. 
 In  the  meantime,  if  faithful  men  are  most  frequently  em- 
 ployed in  preaching  Christ,  and  the  doctrine  of  grace,  there 
 is  special  reason  and  need  for  it.  The  consciences  of  men 
 have  naturally  in  them  light  and  impressions  favouring  ho- 
 liness and  good  works  ;  whereas  the  peculiar  doctrine  of  faith, 
 in  which  all  the  comfort  and  hope  of  sinful  men  are  founded, 
 are  such  as  nature  gives  no  hint  of.  They  are,  according  to 
 that  text  formerly  cited,  1  Cor.  ii.  Q,  10.  things  which  eye 
 hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
 heart  of  man,  and  which  we  could  not  have  discovered  by 
 any  light  or  principles  naturally  in  our  minds,  nor  have 
 come  to  the  knowledge  of  them,  if  God  had  not  revealed 
 them  to  us  by  his  Spirit.  Yea,  as  hath  been  also  formerly 
 observed,  there  are  principles  and  dispositions  naturally  in 
 the  hearts  of  men,  which  tend  to  lead  them  to  some  ether 
 foundation  of  their  confidence  and  hope,  than  that  which  the 
 gospel  and  the  doctrine  of  grace  directs  them  to.  It  is  the 
 more  necessary  to  labour  much  in  explaining  and  establish- 
 ing the  truth  concerning  Christ  crucified,  and  all  the  proper 
 
402  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 doctrines  of  faith  that  are  connected  with  that  fundamental 
 subject,  and  in  inculcating  these  upon  the  consciences  and 
 hearts  of  the  hearers.  When  the  truths  of  faith  are  effec- 
 tually received  into  the  heart,  they  of  themselves  dispose  it 
 to  holiness  ;  and  the  true  faith  of  these  truths  works  by  that 
 love  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  Indeed,  in  sincere 
 Christians,  love  to  God  and  men,  with  its  fruits,  in  all  kinds 
 of  duty,  and  of  holy  dispositions,  is  to  be  considered  as  the 
 effect  rather  of  the  doctrine  of  grace  itself  received  into  the 
 heart,  than  as  the  consequence  of  the  direct  exhortations  to 
 that  love  and  duty :  so  that  when  a  preacher  is  not  employ- 
 ed in  direct  and  explicit  exhortations  to  holiness,  but  in  set- 
 ting forth  the  love  and  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  he  is 
 not  so  remote  from  the  purpose  of  advancing  holiness  as 
 some  apprehend. 
 
 But  still  the  practice  of  holiness  and  good  works  is  of  too 
 much  consequence  not  to  be  insisted  on  and  urged  in  the 
 most  careful,  direct,  and  earnest  manner.  Some  who  insist 
 only  on  the  encouragements  and  consolations  of  grace,  are 
 defective  in  this  respect.  1  am  not  apprehensive  of  very 
 considerable  danger  by  this  to  true  believers,  sincere  Chris- 
 tians, for  the  reason  I  have  been  just  now  suggesting.  But 
 as  all  who  have  the  appearance,  are  not  truly  such,  many 
 may  be  much  hurt  in  this  way.  The  doctrine  of  Christ 
 crucified,  and  the  consolations  arising  from  the  richness  and 
 freeness  of  divine  grace  through  him,  may  be  to  many  as  a 
 very  lovely  song  (Ezek.  xxxiii.  32.)  of  one  that  hath  a  plea- 
 sant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument ;  when  these 
 doctrines  have  never  been  truly,  and  with  proper  effect,  re- 
 ceived into  their  hearts.  There  is  a  description  of  sermons 
 that  do  not  urge  the  holiness  which  the  hearts  of  too  many 
 professed  Christians  are  not  disposed  to,  that  do  not  reprove 
 their  vices  and  unholy  passions,  or  the  false  and  foul  steps 
 in  their  walk,  or  their  unfruitfulness  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  the  preachers  themselves  may  be 
 greatly  applauded,  whilst  their  preaching  is  very  defective. 
 Yea,  as  the  children  of  God  themselves  have  the  remainders 
 of  the  flesh  in  them,  they  sometimes  have  much  of  the  fruit 
 thereof  in  their  disposition,  temper,  and  behaviour,  that  they 
 do  not  choose  should  be  touched  or  exposed  in  a  proper  light, 
 even  to  their  own  view.  Yet  the  health  and  purity  of  their 
 souls  require  that  these  evils  should  not  be  cherished  under 
 any  disguises. 
 
 The  doctrine,  then,  of  faith,  and  of  Christ  crucified,  should 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  403 
 
 be  exhibited  in  its  proper  connexion  with  holiness  and  good 
 works.  This  connexion  hath  been  much  mistaken  by  some, 
 who  represent  holiness  and  good  works  as  necessary  to 
 men's  having  an  interest  in  Christ  and  being  justified,  which 
 is  very  contrary  to  the  gospel,  and  is  extremely  hurtful  and 
 dangerous.  Some,  upon  the  other  hand,  who  teach  justifi- 
 cation by  faith,  and  not  by  wTorks,  and  have  just  sentiments 
 concerning  the  necessity  of  holiness  in  the  general,  yet  in 
 preaching  are  too  negligent  in  insisting  upon  the  certain  and 
 necessary  connexion  between  faith  and  good  works — between 
 justification  and  true  holiness  ;  the  one  as  the  fruit  and  con- 
 sequence of  the  other.  As  this  may  be  of  pernicious  effect 
 to  hypocrites  in  the  church,  it  cannot  be  doubted  but  it  must 
 be  very  hurtful  to  those  who  are  sincere,  not  to  have  the  in- 
 structions and  excitements,  with  respect  to  holy  disposition 
 and  practice,  that  are  proper. 
 
 It  is  then  to  be  considered,  that  the  gospel  and  doctrine 
 of  grace  is  the  doctrine  that  is  according  to  godliness,  1  Tim. 
 vi.  3.  which  tendeth,  in  the  whole  and  in  every  part  of  it,  to 
 promote  the  practice  of  godliness.  Let  us  likewise  consider 
 what  the  apostle,  in  divers  places,  means  by  sound  doctrine, 
 and  wholesome  words,  particularly  1  Tim.  i.  9,  10,  11. — 
 The  law  is  made — -for  the  lawless — -for  liars  and  perjured 
 persons,  and  if  there  be  any  other  thing  that  is  contrary  to 
 sound  doctrine,  according  to  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  bless- 
 ed God.  Here  it  is  plain,  that'  sound  doctrine,  (yyiowaqn 
 dtdxG-xc&Xici,  healthful,  wholesome  doctrine)  is  the  doctrine  of 
 the  holy  commandment,  the  rule  of  duty,  as  enforced  by  the 
 gospel.  So  chap.  vi.  after  he  had  (ver.  1,  2.)  enforced  the 
 duty  of  Christian  servants,  he  adds,  ver.  3.  If  any  man  teach 
 otherwise,  and  consent  not  to  wholesome  rvords,  (vyicuvxo-t 
 hoyoi$)  he  is  proud,  knowing  nothing.  Thus  also,  Tit.  ii.  1.  But 
 speak  thou  the  things  which  become  sound  doctrine,  ver.  2.  that 
 the  aged  men  be  sober,  &c.  And  so  he  goes  on,  speaking  of 
 practical  matters,  the  duties  of  Christians  in  the  several  rela- 
 tions, ranks,  and  conditions  of  life.  I  conclude,  if  any  do 
 urge  holiness  and  good  works,  without  connecting  these,  as 
 the  proper  consequences,  with  the  doctrine  of  Christ  crucifi- 
 ed, and  with  faith,  they  certainly,  according  to  the  whole 
 tenor  of  the  gospel,  have  not  sound  healthful  doctrine.  At 
 the  same  time,  if  any  do  separate  the  doctrine  of  faith  and 
 of  Christ  crucified  from  that  of  holiness,  practical  righte- 
 ousness, and  good  works,  surely,  according  to  the  apostle 
 
404  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 Paul,  in  the  places  I  have  been  observing,  neither  is  their 
 doctrine  sound,  wholesome,  or  healthful  doctrine. 
 
 It  appears  in  the  context  we  have  been  considering,  how 
 much  the  apostle  had  at  heart  to  excite  Christians  to  the 
 practice  of  holiness.  This  is  so  obvious  through  the  whole 
 of  it,  that  after  the  close  view  we  have  been  taking  of  it,  we 
 need  not  speak  more  particularly  on  it  here. 
 
 Let  us  then  proceed  to  observe  what  arguments  remain, 
 consistent  with  the  doctrine  of  grace,  by  which  the  preacher 
 may  excite  Christians  to  watchfulness  against  sin,  and  to  the 
 practice  of  holiness  and  all  kinds  of  good  works. 
 
 It  is,  in  the  first  place,  needful  that  Christians  should  be 
 deeply  impressed  with  the  authority  of  the  laws  of  God,  their 
 Creator  and  Supreme  Lawgiver,  and  that  preachers  should 
 inculcate  this  on  all  classes  of  their  hearers.  Some  who,  I 
 am  persuaded,  did  not  mean  any  thing  unfavourable  to  ho- 
 liness, or  to  any  duty,  seem  to  have  thought  as  if  the  be- 
 liever's being  delivered  from  the  law  included  in  its  mean- 
 ing their  being  released  from  this  original  obligation  of  the 
 law,  and  their  having  substituted  in  its  place  to  them  the 
 law  of  Christ.  That  expression,  the  law  of  Christ,  doth  in- 
 deed occur  in  one  place,  Gal.  vi.  2.  where  it  evidently  signi- 
 fies the  law  of  mutual  brotherly  love,  by  which  Christians 
 bear  one  another's  burdens,  which  is  the  subject  of  exhorta- 
 tion there.  As  to  the  law  in  general,  it  is  to  be  acknowledged 
 that  the  law  and  holy  commandment  coming  to  believers 
 from  the  great  Prophet  and  Apostle  of  their  profession,  and 
 being  the  instrument  and  rule  of  his  kingly  government  over 
 them;  there  is  a  great  deal  in  this  view,  and  way  of  con- 
 veyance of  it  to  them,  to  sweeten  and  recommend  it  to  their 
 hearts. 
 
 But  still  it  is  wrong  to  set  up  the  law  of  Christ  in  opposi- 
 tion to  the  authority  of  the  law  of  the  great  Creator  and 
 Sovereign  of  the  world,  or  to  suppose  that  the  doctrine  of 
 faith  gives  any  reason  for  this,  or  any  countenance  to  it. 
 When  the  apostle  is,  Rom.  vii.  giving  an  account  of  things 
 respecting  those  who  were  strangers  to  Christ,  being  in  the 
 flesh,  and  under  the  law,  he  commends  the  law  as  holy,  just, 
 and  good.  This  certainly  is  the  law  of  God  the  Creator. 
 When,  a  few  words  thereafter,  he  says,  ver.  14.  the  law  is 
 spiritual,  it  is  plain  it  is  the  same  law  he  speaks  of,  as  he 
 gives  no  indication  of  his  using  the  word  in  a  different  sense, 
 now  that  he  speaks  with  a  view  to  the  case  of  a  believer. 
 A  little  downward  he  says  of  the  same  law,  that  he  delighted 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  405 
 
 in  it  according  to  the  inward  man  ;  and  concludes  the  chap- 
 ter with  saying,  that  with  his  mind  he  served  the  law  of  God. 
 If  he  served  it,  surely  he  was  under  its  authority. 
 
 Our  apostle  says,  Rom.  viii.  7-  that  the  carnal  mind  is 
 not  subject  to  the  law  of  God.  Shall  it  be  said,  that  the  spi- 
 ritual mind  and  spiritual  man,  under  the  influence  of  the 
 Spirit  of  grace,  doth  voluntarily  conform  to  the  law  of  God, 
 but  is  not  indeed  subject  to  it,  or  to  its  authority  ?  this 
 would  seem  to  be  too  absurd.  For  as  the  unhappy  distinc- 
 tion of  the  carnal  mind  is  not  to  be  subject,  we  must  sup- 
 pose the  spiritual  mind  to  have  the  opposite  character  of  be- 
 ing subject  to  the  law,  and  its  authority. 
 
 The  apostle  says,  Rom.  iii.  31.  Do  we  make  void  the  law 
 through  faith?  God  forbid ;  yea,  we  establish  the  law.  It 
 is  true,  that  the  law  was  greatly  established  and  magnified 
 by  the  satisfaction  Christ  gave  it  ;  yet  it  is  not  easy  to  con- 
 ceive that  a  doctrine  did  not  tend  to  make  void  the  law,  if 
 indeed  it  released  all  true  Christians  from  its  authority  and 
 obligation. 
 
 If  the  matter  be  justly  considered,  the  obligation  which 
 true  believers,  or  others,  are  under  to  regard  and  submit 
 to  Christ  the  Mediator's  kingly  government,  and  his  other 
 mediatory  offices,  is  founded  upon,  and  proceeds  from  the 
 authority  of  God  the  Sovereign  Lawgiver,  and  of  his  law. 
 If  it  were  possible  for  them  to  be  loosed  from  the  obligation 
 of  the  law  of  God  the  Creator  and  Supreme  Lawgiver,  they 
 would  at  the  same  time  be  set  free  from  the  government  of 
 the  Mediator.  But  they  are  subject  to  the  kingly  govern- 
 ment  and  authority  of  the  Mediator,  by  virtue  of  their  be- 
 ing, and  continuing  to  be,  under  the  authority  and  law  of 
 him  wTho  said,  Psal.  ii.  6.  /  have  set  my  King  upon  my  holy 
 hill  of  Zion.  They  regard  him  as  the  great  Prophet,  by 
 virtue  of  his  authority,  who  said  from  heaven,  Matth.  xvii. 
 5.  Hear  ye  him,  and,  as  Deut.  xviii.  1.5 — 18.  They  con- 
 sider him  as  their  great  High  Priest,  for  his  being  called  of 
 God,  as  was  Aaron,  Heb.  v.  4 — 6.  Let  not  then  the  Chris- 
 tian think,  that,  by  being  free  from  the  law  in  the  sense 
 meant  by  the  apostle,  Rom.  vii.  he  is  not  under  the  autho- 
 rity of  the  holy  commandment,  as  it  is  the  law  of  the  Crea- 
 tor and  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  world. 
 
 Another  set  of  arguments  that  ought  to  be  carefully  urged 
 and  inculcated,  are  these  that  arise  from  the  grace  of  God, 
 and  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  authority  of  God  in  his 
 laws  is  that  which  doth,  and  still  ought  to  effect  the  con- 
 
406  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 science.  But  consolatory  arguments  are  these  which  do 
 most  effectually  and  powerfully  affect  the  heart.  The  ex- 
 ceeding riches  of  the  grace  of  God,  in  his  kindness  to  us 
 through  Jesus  Christ,  should  make  the  authority  of  his  go- 
 vernment and  laws  venerable  and  amiable  to  us,  and 
 every  one  of  his  commandments  acceptable  to  us ;  and 
 ought  for  this  end  to  be  much  inculcated.  The  love  of  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  loved  his  people,  and  gave  himself 
 for  them,  is  a  most  powerful  argument  for  that  love,  which 
 engages  the  heart  to  the  Lord,  and  to  the  study  of  holiness. 
 Ye  are  not  (saith  the  apostle,  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  20.)  your  own  ; 
 ye  are  bought  with  a  price.  This  is  wonderful  grace,  inex- 
 pressibly comfortable  ;  and  how  strong  and  engaging  the 
 argument  it  affords  for  Christians  to  glorify  God  in  their 
 bodies,  and  in  their  spirits,  which  are  his  !  In  temptations  to 
 sin,  how  powerfully  may  that  thought,  Do  ye  thus  requite 
 the  Lord,  strike  the  heart  that  hath  any  sincerity  in  it ! 
 
 A  strong  argument  to  enforce  holiness,  arises  from  the 
 necessity  of  it,  in  order  to  the  actual  attainment  of  future 
 happiness  and  eternal  life  ;  and  the  certain  inseparable  con- 
 nexion between  fleshly,  unholy  living,  and  eternal  death. 
 Heb.  xii.  14.  Follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without 
 which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.  On  the  other  hand,  Rom. 
 viii.  13.  If  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die.  Upon  this 
 latter  text  some  have  unreasonably  commented,  and  argued 
 thus  :  Therefore  it  is  evident,  say  they,  that  true  believers 
 and  saints,  (and  the  apostle  considered  the  Romans  he  wrote 
 to  as  such,)  may  fall  wholly  off  from  holiness  to  fleshly  living, 
 and  die  eternally,  else  why  should  they  be  thus  warned  ? 
 But  there  is  no  ground  for  this  argument  in  the  apostle's 
 proposition.  The  thing  asserted  is,  according  to  the  nature 
 of  such  hypothetical  propositions,  the  certain  connexion  be- 
 tween one  thing  and  another :  between  continued  fleshly 
 living,  and  dying  eternally.  Let  us  apply  this  way  of  ar- 
 guing to  such  another  hypothetical  proposition,  and  see  how 
 it  will  hold.  When  the  mariners  attempted  to  leave  the 
 ship  wherein  Paul  was,  he  said,  Acts  xxvii.  31.  Except 
 these  abide  in  the  ship,  ye  cannot  be  saved.  Would  it  be 
 inferred  from  this,  that  the  mariners  might  actually  leave 
 the  ship,  and  that  the  other  people  aboard  might  all  actually 
 perish,  notwithstanding  God's  having  absolutely  promised 
 them  by  his  angel  and  by  Paul,  ver.  22.  24.  that  there 
 would  not  be  the  loss  of  any  man's  life  among  them  ?  Surely 
 this  could  not  be  inferred.     Neither  from  the  conditional 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  407 
 
 proposition,  Rom.  viii.  13.  can  any  thing  be  inferred  con- 
 trary to  the  absolute  promises  of  God's  covenant,  Jer.  xxxii. 
 40.  The  truth  declared  to  the  Romans  is,  that  eternal 
 death  will  be  the  certain  consequence  of  living  after  the 
 flesh  ;  and  the  conviction  and  impression  of  this  in  the 
 minds  and  hearts  of  God's  people,  and  powerfully  affecting 
 them,  is  one  considerable  means  by  which  the  purpose  and 
 promise  of  God  will  take  effect,  in  their  perseverance  and 
 salvation.  There  is  nothing  in  the  promises  of  God  that 
 derogates  from  this  certain  truth, — If  men  shall  live  after  the 
 flesh,  that  they  shall  die ;  nor  any  thing  in  this  that  de- 
 rogates from  the  truth  and  certainty  of  the  promises  of  the 
 new  covenant. 
 
 It  is  likewise  needful  and  fit  that  Christians  consider,  and 
 that  preachers  inculcate  upon  them,  that  the  practice  of  holi- 
 ness and  good  works  is  the  sure  way  to  attain  and  maintain 
 the  fixed  and  habitual  assurance  of  their  good  state,  and  of 
 their  eternal  salvation.  If  (as  Rom.  viii.  16.)  the  Spirit  of 
 God  shall  bear  witness  with  our  spirits,  that  we  are  the  chil- 
 dren of  God,  and  so  heirs  of  God,  this  is  the  evidence  by 
 which  our  spirit,  mind,  and  conscience  hath  its  parts  in  this 
 witnessing.  It  is  by  their  fruitfulness  in  holiness,  (as  1  Pet. 
 i.  4 — 7-)  that  Christians  are  exhorted,  ver.  10.  to  make 
 their  calling  and  election  sure.  When  the  apostle  com- 
 mends the  Hebrews,  chap.  vi.  10.  for  their  good  works,  he 
 desires  them,  ver.  11.  to  show  the  same  diligence,  to  the  full 
 assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end.  A  Christian  may  have  well- 
 founded  present  consolation  by  the  direct  exercise  of  faith 
 on  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  promises  of  a  new  covenant;  but 
 fixed,  habitual,  and  well  established  comfort,  as  to  their 
 state  and  hope,  cannot  be  maintained  but  in  the  way  of  pu- 
 rity and  upright  walking  with  God  ;  nor  will  the  Holy 
 Spirit,  whose  influence  is  needful  in  this  case,  countenance 
 or  support  the  comfort  and  hope  of  the  Christian  in  any  other 
 course.  As  something  hath  been  formerly  (Sect.  II.)  said 
 on  this  and  the  next  following  point,  the  less  needs  to  be 
 said  on  either  in  this  place. 
 
 There  occurs  next  the  consideration  of  divine  chastisements. 
 Fatherly  chastisements  indeed  they  are  to  believers,  the  chil- 
 dren of  God,  and  designed  to  make  them  partakers  of  his 
 holiness ;  but  how  fearful  may  these  chastisements  be  for 
 what  is  wrong  or  defective  in  the  Christian's  general  course, 
 or  for  particular  deviations  from  purity  and  integrity!  Many 
 instances  of  this  sort  are  related  in  the  word  of  God,  with 
 
408  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 respect  to  those  to  whom  grace  did  abound  in  pardoning. 
 Thus,  Psal.  xcix.  8.  Thou  wast  a  God  that  forgavest  them ; 
 though  thou  tookest  vengeance  of  their  inventions.  What 
 terrible  dispensations,  outward  and  inward,  may  be  included 
 in  this  vengeance  !  A  child  of  God,  who  had  great  assurance 
 that  things  would  go  well  with  him  finally,  felt  as  he  ex- 
 presses, Psal.  cxix.  120.  My  jiesh  trembleth  for  fear  of  thee, 
 and  I  am  afraid  of  thy  judgments. 
 
 Further,  it  is  in  the  way  of  holiness  that  the  Christian 
 may  have,  not  only  inward  peace,  but  that  fellowship  and 
 intercourse  with  God,  and  light  of  his  countenance,  that  will 
 make  wisdom's  ways,  ways  of  pleasantness  to  him.  Thus, 
 1  John.  i.  7«  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we 
 have  fellowship  one  with  another.  By  this  the  Lord  some- 
 times putteth  more  gladness  in  the  hearts  of  his  people  than 
 the  world  have  (Psal.  iv.  7-)  by  the  increase  of  their  corn 
 and  their  wine.  The  apostle  John's  words  show  us  in  what 
 way  and  course  this  may  be  looked  for.  Indeed,  in  any 
 course  that  the  Christian  can  hold,  whilst  in  this  life,  sin 
 will  cleave  to  him  and  to  all  his  best  works  and  righteousness, 
 wrhich  might  make  him  very  uncomfortable,  if  it  were  not 
 for  what  is  added, — And  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son 
 cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.  But  if  the  Psalmist  had  so  much 
 gladness  by  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  he  experienced 
 also  a  contrary  dispensation,  Psal.  xxx.  7*  Thou  didst  hide 
 thy  face,  and  I  was  troubled.  Ver.  8.  /  cried  to  thee,  0  Lord. 
 Ver.  Q.  What  profit  is  there  in  my  blood,  when  I  go  down 
 to  the  pit  ?  They  who  have  the  experience  of  these  various 
 dispensations,  and  of  walking  (Psal.  lxxxix.  15.)  in  the  light 
 of  God's  countenance,  will  feel  great  weight  in  this  argument 
 and  motive  for  fruitful  and  holy  walking  with  God. 
 
 Finally,  a  very  powerful  argument  to  encourage  and  excite 
 the  Christian  to  holiness,  to  advancing  therein,  to  avoid  and 
 strive  against  sin,  arises  from  that  comfortable  consideration 
 and  principle  suggested,  chap.  vi.  14.  that  sin  shall  not  have 
 dominion  over  him.  This  is  express  and  clear,  and  the  in- 
 conceivably valuable  advantage  of  this  is  represented,  not  as 
 depending  merely  on  the  slippery  free-will  of  man,  but  on 
 the  Christian's  being  under  grace.  This  grace  he  is  under  ; 
 and  that  Christ  is  set  at  the  head  of  the  kingdom  of  grace,  a 
 Captain  of  Salvation,  secures  the  Christian  from  ever  falling 
 again  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  There  is  a  great  deal  in 
 this  to  excite  the  Christian  to  labour  in  advancing  in  holi- 
 ness and  good  works,  maintaining  warfare  against  sin,  an 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  409 
 
 enemy  already  dethroned  and  deprived  of  its  power  and 
 dominion,  with  a  sure  prospect  of  complete  victory  over  it 
 at  last.  The  apprehended  impossibility  of  accomplishing 
 their  design,  doth  often  hinder  men  from  beginning  or  pro- 
 ceeding with  courage  even  in  a  laudable  attempt  or  under- 
 taking. But  to  be  called  to  a  course  of  holiness,  in  warfare 
 against  an  enemy  already  deprived  of  his  power,  and  that 
 with  sure  prospect  of  victory  and  glory,  surely  there  is  in 
 this  very  much  to  give  incitement  to  every  soul  that  can 
 think  wisely  and  dutifully  on  the  important  subject. 
 
 Such  are  the  arguments  that  may  be  suggested  to  Chris- 
 tians for  enforcing  holy  practice,  consistently  with  the  doc- 
 trine of  grace,  and  with  the  comforts  of  the  grace  they  are 
 under.  Yet  the  cry  with  some  is,  as  if  by  this  doctrine  the 
 necessity  and  care  of  holiness  were  quite  superseded,  and 
 as  if  there  remained  not  arguments  and  motives  sufficient  to 
 enforce  holiness.  But  do  there  not  remain  sufficient  reasons 
 and  motives  for  holiness  and  good  works,  unless  we  delude 
 sinners,  by  directing  them  to  look  for  their  justification  be- 
 fore God  by  their  own  righteousness  and  works  ?  which  is  a 
 way  of  justification  incompatible  with  the  condition  of  a  sin- 
 ner. If  there  were  no  other  wray  of  justification,  certainly 
 sinners  behoved  to  be  under  condemnation  for  ever.  Yea, 
 this  would  exclude  true  holiness  and  works  truly  acceptable 
 to  God,  from  among  men  for  ever,  as  is  clear  from  the  apos- 
 tle's doctrine  in  the  context  which  we  have  been  explaining  ; 
 in  which  it  is  evident,  that  the  sinner  must  be  gratuitously 
 justified,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ,  and  by 
 faith  in  his  blood,  and  so  brought  under  grace,  before  he 
 is  capable,  being  delivered  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  of  holy 
 and  righteous  practice,  or  of  works  truly  good  or  acceptable 
 to  God.  However,  though  men's  good  works  have  no  place 
 or  part  in  justification,  yet  the  doctrine  of  grace,  and  the 
 experience  of  that  grace,  directs  Christians  to  say,  as,  Eph.  ii. 
 10.  We  are  God's  workmanship,  (not  our  own  workmanship,) 
 created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which  he  hath  before 
 ordained  (7r^ortroiucc<7iv,  before  prepared)  that  we  should  walk 
 in  them.  And  the  glorious  preparation  which  divine  wisdom 
 and  grace  have  made,  for  bringing  sinners,  who  were  at  the 
 same  time  under  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  under  the  domi- 
 nion of  sin,  unto  a  state  of  grace  and  favour,  and  unto  a 
 course  of  holiness  and  good  works,  is  what  our  context  ex- 
 plains and  proposes  in  a  clear  and  strong  light. 
 
 But  can  there  be  arguments  sufficient  to  enforce  holiness 
 
410  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 and  good  works,  if  God's  purpose  and  promise  do  absolutely 
 secure  the  salvation  of  every  one  of  God's  true  people  ?  We 
 have  seen  in  the  various  arguments  formerly  suggested,  that 
 there  are  indeed  such  ;  and  if  these  have  not  effect,  it  proves 
 the  person  to  be  under  such  dominion  of  sin,  as  will  be  too 
 strong  for  all  arguments  and  motives  whatsoever. 
 
 Some  seem  to  think  it  the  only  way  to  enforce  holiness  ef- 
 fectually, to  acquaint  men  that  their  salvation  depends  ab- 
 solutely and  merely  on  their  own  behaviour,  and  the  deter- 
 mination of  their  own  will  ;  and  that  if  Christians  are  de- 
 livered by  God's  promise  and  covenant,  and  by  their  faith 
 therein,  from  the  terrors  of  damnation  and  the  wrath  to  come, 
 that  there  can  remain  no  sufficient  force  in  any  argument  or 
 motive  to  holiness.  But  the  truth  is,  if  Christians  have  no 
 security  against  the  wrath  to  come,  otherwise  than  from  their 
 own  behaviour  and  use  of  their  free-will,  they,  conscious 
 of  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  and  of  their  own  hearts,  and  of  all 
 the  temptations  and  hazards  attending  their  course,  might 
 see  reason  always  for  terror  and  dread,  in  a  manner  and  de- 
 gree not  favourable  to  holiness.  For,  though  fear  hath  its 
 use  for  the  restraining  and  curbing  of  sin,  yet  the  proper 
 principle  of  true  holiness  is  love,  and  the  faith  which  worketh 
 by  love.  But  if  the  Christian  hath  nothing  to  look  to  for 
 securing  him  against  damnation  and  wrath  but  his  own  use 
 of  his  free-will,  with  such  aids  and  assistances  as  his  free- 
 will may  use  or  neglect,  there  will  be  cause  for  continual 
 fear  and  terror,  even  such  fear  as  hath  torment,  and  is  in- 
 consistent with  the  love  that  is  the  principle  of  holiness, 
 according  to  1  John  iv.  18. 
 
 But  the  divine  scheme  of  grace  hath  mixed  and  tempered 
 things  well  for  the  advancement  of  holiness.  Is  the  sal- 
 vation of  God's  people  secured  upon  the  best  and  most  solid 
 foundation  ?  yet  there  remains  a  great  deal  for  the  children 
 of  God  to  fear,  with  regard  to  sin  and  its  consequences — 
 with  regard  to  God's  threatenings  against  the  sins  of  his 
 children,  and  the  terrible  dispensations,  outward  and  in- 
 ward, that  may  be  the  actual  consequences  of  their  sins. 
 This,  in  so  far  that  it  is  among  the  marks  of  God's  people, 
 that  they  tremble  at  God's  word ;  and  we  see,  Ezra  ix.  4. 
 that  the  special  designation  and  character  of  godly  persons 
 is,  that  they  tremble  at  the  words  of  the  God  of  Israel. 
 
 There  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  sure  and  well  founded  hope, 
 a  strong  consolation,  an  exalted  prospect,  the  most  endearing 
 and  attractive  motives,  tending  to  increase  love  to  God,  to 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  411 
 
 his  sovereignty  and  holiness,  and  to  strengthen  the  hearts 
 of  Christians  in  labouring  for  conformity  to  it.  Certainly  it 
 was  the  best  scheme  for  promoting  holiness,  that,  with  a  pro- 
 per curb  of  fear  upon  the  unholy  lusts  and  unruly  passions 
 of  the  heart,  did  and  still  doth  contribute  most  to  the  advance- 
 ment of  love,  and  strengthening  the  hearts  of  Christians  in 
 their  course.  Thus  then  it  is,  while  by  divine  grace  the 
 Christian  hath  the  greatest  cause  for  the  love  that  is  the 
 true  principle  of  holiness,  there  remains  at  the  same  time  a 
 fear  subservient  to  this  love,  and  to  holiness,  not  a  torment- 
 ing fear,  inconsistent  with  love,  but  a  fear  that  hath  its  root 
 and  spring  chiefly  in  love. 
 
 Some  who  seem  not  to  employ  much  thought  on  the 
 argument,  express  it  thus  in  general : — If  God's  purpose  of 
 grace,  and  his  promise,  hath  absolutely  secured  the  salvation 
 of  God's  people,  then  they  may  go  on  as  they  please  in 
 unholiness  and  fleshly  living, — their  salvation  being  so  well 
 secured.  But  for  the  argument  to  strike  against  the  doctrine 
 of  grace  we  have  been  asserting,  it  should  be  formed  thus : — 
 If  God's  purpose  and  promise  have  secured  the  perseverance 
 of  his  people  in  faith  and  holiness,  to  the  attainment  of  a 
 final  and  complete  salvation,  then  they  may  live  as  they 
 list  in  unholiness  and  impurity.  This  is  the  only  form 
 in  which  the  argument  can  strike  against  the  doctrine  of 
 grace ;  and  the  glaring  absurdity  it  contains  supersedes  all 
 occasion  of  giving  it  any  direct  answer. 
 
 Concerning  holiness,  this  is  evidently  the  issue  of  our 
 whole  discussion,  viz.  that  the  grace  of  the  new  covenant 
 hath  provided  for  the  advancement  of  holiness  and  good 
 works,  and  for  the  sanctification  of  God's  people,  in  a  manner 
 and  degree  much  beyond  what  the  sentiments  of  the  adver- 
 saries of  grace  will  allow  them  to  admit. 
 
 As  to  the  argument  taken  from  the  liberty  of  the  will, 
 that  impotent  idol,  that  hath  been  set  up  against  the  glories 
 of  divine  grace,  something  hath  been  said  before  concern- 
 ing it,  and  I  shall  here  add  but  a  little,  briefly.  All  moral 
 agents  act  with  free  will.  But  there  is  a  principle  in  nature 
 of  powerful  influence  and  effect,  previous  to  all  exercise  of 
 free  will,  that  directs  and  determines  the  will  in  its  actings, 
 and  in  the  use  of  its  liberty.  In  angels  and  saints  in  a  con- 
 firmed state  of  holiness,  this  principle  is  the  perfect  rectitude 
 of  their  nature,  that  directs  their  free  will  to  that  only  that 
 is  holy,  just,  and  good.  In  some  other  moral  agents,  the 
 previous  principle  is  the  corruption  or  pravity  of  their  nature, 
 
412  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching, 
 
 or  the  dominion  of  sin  therein,  which  directs  the  will  to  that 
 which  is  evil,  and  makes  it  at  present  incapahle  of  true 
 holiness.  In  both  cases  the  moral  agent  acts  freely,  according 
 to  the  direction  of  his  own  mind,  and  according  to  his  in- 
 clination, without  any  sort  of  force  or  violence  ;  and  so  the 
 will  may  have  all  the  liberty  that  is  necessary  to  moral 
 agency,  whilst,  at  the  sametime,  it,  and  all  the  faculties  of 
 the  soul,  may  be  enslaved,  and  under  the  dominion  of  sin, 
 until  it  shall  be  made  free  according  to  the  glorious  scheme 
 of  grace  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  him.  So  that  when 
 Luther  was  publishing  his  answer  to  Erasmus*  book  on  free- 
 will, he  did  very  properly  entitle  his  own  excellent  treatise, 
 Concerning  the  Enslaved  Will,  (de  Servo  Arbitrio.)  Free  it  is 
 in  its  manner  of  acting,  yet  truly  enslaved  to  sin  in  every 
 natural  man,  until  the  Son  shall  make  him  free  indeed. 
 
 True  believers,  wThilst  they  are  in  this  life,  are  in  a  sort  of 
 middle  state  between  the  two  characters  before  mentioned. 
 Their  nature  is  renewed  by  grace,  and  they  have  the  seed  of 
 holiness  in  them,  which  seed  shall  remain  in  them.  They 
 have  also  in  them  a  sad  remainder  of  the  original  corruption  ; 
 and  both  these  draw  different  ways,  so  that  they  cannot  do 
 completely  the  things  that  they  would,  Gal.  v.  17.  But 
 though  this  remaining  corruption  considerably  disables  them, 
 and  too  often  draws  them  aside  from  the  right  way,  yet  the 
 grace  they  are  under  will  preserve  them  from  ever  falling 
 under  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  will  rather  care  effectually 
 for  their  safety  in  the  final  issue,  according  to  out  context, 
 chap.  vi.  14.  Should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  that 
 the  sincere  Christian  should  be  certainly  kept  by  the  power 
 of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ? 
 
 But  how  can  we  conceive  or  comprehend,  that  the  previous 
 certainty  of  God's  prescience  of  future  events,  that  are  to  be 
 brought  about  in  concurrence  with  the  will  of  man,  or  that 
 the  certain  accomplishment  of  Divine  counsels  and  purposes 
 that  are  accomplished  by  means  of  the  human  will,  can  be 
 consistent  with  the  freedom  of  the  wTill  ?  Can  the  will  be  free 
 in  its  determination,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  that  deter- 
 mination of  the  will  be  fixed  and  certain  in  the  Divine  pre- 
 science and  decree  ?  So  it  is,  however,  on  both  sides  ;  there 
 is  such  a  previous  certainty  of  events,  and  the  human  will 
 having  its  part  in  bringing  about  those  events,  is  free.  Be- 
 sides that  the  Divine  prescience  and  decree,  and  the  certainty 
 thereof,  can  be  proved  by  just  reasoning  from  the  infinite 
 perfection  of  the  Divine  nature,  so  the  doctrine  can  be  satis- 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  413 
 
 factorily  confirmed  from  the  Scripture  ;  and  it  can  be  shown, 
 by  very  many  particular  instances  recorded  in  the  word  of 
 God,  that  this  previous  certainty  of  events  in  the  counsel 
 and  purpose  of  God,  is  consistent  with  the  liberty  of  the 
 will. 
 
 What  if  we  cannot  conceive  or  comprehend  how  it  is  so  ? 
 We  shall  comprehend  it  when  we  shall  be  as  gods.  The 
 mischief  of  aspiring  to  know  and  comprehend  beyond  our 
 sphere  and  capacity  began  very  early  with  us.  But  it  be- 
 comes us  to  confine  our  understanding,  as  to  knowledge,  in- 
 quiries, and  conceptions,  within  its  proper  limits  and  capa- 
 city. It  will  be  a  happy  time  and  state,  when  the  mind  shall 
 be  satiated  with  the  best  knowledge,  without  aspiring  to 
 comprehend  all  things  ;  even  things  which  no  finite  mind 
 can  comprehend  ;  more  than  we  shall  aspire  to  the  dignity 
 and  glory  of  God  in  general.  I  do  indeed  suspect,  that  in 
 this  matter, — viz.  to  comprehend  the  consistency  of  the 
 liberty  of  the  will,  with  the  previous  certainty  of  events  to 
 be  brought  about  by  it,  there  is  something  of  this  sort, — some- 
 thing that  cannot  be  fully  comprehended  by  finite  beings  in 
 any  state.  I  therefore  cannot  think  they  have  been  wisely 
 employed,  who  have  pretended  to  explain  this  matter,  so  as 
 to  bring  it  within  the  grasp  of  human  minds.  I  see  that 
 some  with  great  and  vain  pretension  to  be  ingenious,  have 
 produced  on  this  subject  speculations  of  most  mischievous 
 tendency, — speculations  adverse  to  all  freedom  of  will,  and 
 at  the  sametime  to  all  moral  agency  ;  consequently  adverse 
 to  all  virtue  and  religion.  The  rule  of  our  faith  and  duty  is 
 set  before  us,  and  we  should  be  satisfied  with  it.  To  pursue 
 our  inquiries  in  divine  things  beyond  what  this  light  and 
 rule  direct  us,  will  be  vain  and  dangerous. 
 
 But  as  this  is  not  a  proper  place  for  enlarging  much  in  the 
 controversial  way,  I  shall  conclude  this  point  with  giving 
 the  sense  of  a  passage  of  the  great  Augustine,  in  his  book 
 De  Spiritu  et  Litera,  thus  :  'Do  we  then  make  void  free  will 
 '  by  grace  ?  Far  be  it  from  us  :  we  rather  establish  free- 
 '  will.  For  as  the  law  is  not  made  void  by  faith,  so  neither 
 '  is  free-will  by  grace,  but  established.  For  the  law  is  not 
 *  fulfilled  but  by  the  free-will.  But  by  the  law  is  the  know- 
 '  ledge  of  sin  ;  by  faith  is  grace  obtained  against  sin ;  by 
 c  grace  is  the  soul  cured  of  the*  disease  of  sin  ;  by  this  cure 
 '  or  health  of  the  soul  is  the  will  free.  By  the  will's  being 
 1  made  free,  is  delighting  in  righteousness  ;  by  delighting 
 1  in  righteousness,  comes  the  doing  of  the  duties  of  the  law. 
 s 
 
414  Concerning  True  TLvaiwelical  F *  reaching. 
 
 c  So,  as  the  law  is  not  made  void,  but  established  by  faith, 
 '  as  faith  obtains  the  grace  by  which  the  law  is  fulfilled  ;  in 
 c  like  manner,  free-will  is  not  made  void,  but  established, 
 '  because  grace  so  heals  the  will,  that  righteousness  is  freely 
 c  delighted  in.  These  things  which  I  have  connected  as  in 
 '  a  chain,  can  be  warranted  by  texts  of  Scripture  to  the  sense 
 c  of  each.  The  law  saith,  Thou  shall  not  lust.  Faith  says 
 e  and  prays,  Heal  my  soul,  for  I  have  sinned  against  thee. 
 c  Grace  says,  ho,  thou  art  made  whole,  sin  not,  lest  worse 
 '  happen  to  thee.  The  soul  healed  saith,  Lord  my  God,  I 
 c  have  cried  unto  thee,  and  thou  hast  healed  me.  Free-will 
 '  saith,  /  will  offer  a  free-will  offering  to  thee.  Delighting 
 '  in  righteousness  saith,  The  unrighteous  have  told  me  what 
 '  they  delighted  in,  but  they  are  not  according  to  thy  law. 
 '  How  then  should  wretched  men  dare  to  be  proud  of  their 
 c  free-will  before  they  are  made  free,  without  observing  that 
 c  the  very  word  free-will  imports  the  will  being  made  free  ? 
 c  for  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.  If  then 
 c  persons  are  the  slaves  of  sin,  why  should  they  boast  of 
 e  free-will  ?  for  his  slave  one  is,  of  whom  he  is  overcome. 
 '  But  if  they  are  made  free,  why  should  they  boast  as  of 
 c  their  own  work,  and  glory  as  if  they  had  not  received  ? 
 '  Are  they  so  free,  that  they  will  not  submit  to  have  him  for 
 '  their  Lord,  who  saith  to  them,  Without  me  ye  can  do  no- 
 '  thing  ;  and,  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  then  shall  ye  be 
 'free  indeed  ?'  So  far  the  excellent  Augustine. 
 
 But  with  all  this  excitement  to  the  practice  of  holiness  and 
 good  works;  there  is  one  thing  yet  remains  which  Christians 
 should  have  much  at  heart,  and  in  which  faithful  preachers 
 should  labour  to  assist  them.  As  Christians  should  look 
 anxiously  to  the  sincerity  of  their  hearts,  to  the  sincerity  of 
 grace  and  love  in  them  ;  so  ought  they  to  labour  carefully 
 for  the  increase  of  that  knowledge  and  light  that  is  needful 
 to  direct  the  good  principles  that  are  in  them,  in  their  oper- 
 ations ;  and  herein  they  may  have  great  benefit  by  faithful 
 and  judicious  teachers. 
 
 There  are  two  places  of  Scripture  especially  worthy  to  be 
 considered  on  this  occasion.  One  is  Col.  i.  9,  10.  where 
 the  apostle  earnestly  prays  for  the  Colossian  Christians  thus  : 
 That  ye  might,  saith  he,  be  filed  with  the  knowledge  of 
 his  will,  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding :  that 
 ye  might  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing,  being 
 frtiitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increasing  in  the  knowledge 
 of  God.     Here,  after  great  commendation  of  their  faith  and 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  41/> 
 
 love,  in  the  preceding  verses,  we  see  he  reckons  their  being 
 filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God,  so  necessary  in 
 order  to  their  walking  worthy  of  the  Lord,  and  being  fruit- 
 ful in  every  good  work,  that  he  makes  the  most  earnest  ad- 
 dresses to  the  throne  of  grace,  on  this  account  for  them. 
 
 The  other  place  is    Phil.  i.  9>  10,  11.    '  And  this  I  pr; 
 '  that  your  love/  (some  would  express  it  in  our  more  usual 
 language,   '  that   your  grace')  c  may  abound  yet  more  and 
 (  more  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  judgment ;  that  ye  may  ap- 
 1  prove  things  that  are  excellent/     The  margin  hath  it,  That 
 ye  may  try  things  that  differ.     I  take   the  meaning  to  be, 
 that  they  might  have  that  knowledge,  good  judgment,  and 
 spiritual  sense  by   which  they  might  be  able  to  distingi 
 between  duty  and  sin,  and   to  discover  their  duty  in  every 
 case,  however  dark,  doubtful,  or  disputable  it  might  appear. 
 He    wishes  their  love  to  increase   and  abound,  but  at   the 
 same  time  that  their  knowledge  and  judgment  might 
 giving  their  love  the  proper  direction,  in    ever  ee  of 
 
 conduct  and  behaviour.  It  is  in  this  way,  and  not  other- 
 wise, he  expects  they  might  be,  as  he  adds,  '  Sincere,  and 
 1  without  offence  till  the  day  of  Christ;  being  filled  \ 
 '  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  which  are  by  Jesus  Christ,  un- 
 :  to  the  glory  and  praise  of  God.'  There  is  nothing  has  a 
 more  unpleasant  and  painful  effect,  than  when  a  Christian, 
 truly  sincere  in  love,  and  in  a  zeal  of  God,  falls  into  mis- 
 taken courses,  through  want  of  needful  light,  by  which  to 
 distinguish  between  sin  and  duty,  and  which  might  obviate 
 and  counteract  the  influence  of  his  own,  and  other  men's 
 passions.  Yet  so  it  happens.  Some  abound  in  light  and 
 knowledge,  who  are  not  so  anxious  about  the  sincerity  of 
 their  hearts,  and  the  uprightness  of  their  walk,  as  they 
 ought  to  be.  Others,  conscious  and  confident  of  their  own 
 sincerity,  are  no  less  confident  on  that  account,  whatever 
 light  or  arguments  oppose  it,  that  their  course  is  right;  and 
 so  they  despise  and  reject  the  offer  of  better  light,  that 
 might  show  them  what  is  wrong  in  their  way.  Therefore 
 it  were  good  not  to  engage  hastily  in  any  new  course  ;  for 
 when  once  Christians  are  so  engaged,  too  many  things 
 concur  to  exclude  the  light  that  may  be  unfavourable  to 
 their  course. 
 
 In  this  preachers  should  labour  much  to  be  useful  to 
 Christians,  for  increasing  their  light  and  knowledge,  and 
 improving  their  judgment  in  all  cases  of  duty  and  sin. 
 Here  they  have  a  very  large  field,  and  great  scope  for  show- 
 
41 6  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 ing  at  once  their  ability  and  fidelity,  in  setting  forth  the 
 obligation  and  necessity  of  holiness,  in  explaining  its  gene- 
 ral nature  and  ingredients,  in  explaining  particular  virtues 
 and  duties,  and  in  enforcing  them  ;  showing  the  fallacy 
 of  the  various  colours  and  disguises,  under  which  a  sin- 
 ful work  or  course  may  be  recommended  to  them.  It  is 
 from  the  word  of  God  that  Christians  are  to  derive  all  their 
 light  and  knowledge  concerning  such  subjects ;  and  as  their 
 teachers  have  commonly  more  opportunities,  and  greater 
 advantage  for  studying  and  understanding  the  word  of  God, 
 so  should  they  endeavour  to  enlarge  their  own  stores,  for 
 the  use  of  Christians,  out  of  that  treasure  of  divine  wisdom. 
 Let  a  man  exert  all  the  vivacity  and  vigour  of  his  mind  in 
 refined  speculation — let  him  abound  in  quaint  and  striking 
 thought  and  expression — let  him  collect  all  that  is  most 
 valuable  concerning  virtue,  in  the  writings  of  the  philoso- 
 phers and  wise  men  of  the  world, — all  will  come  much  short 
 of  the  light  and  instruction,  concerning  such  subjects,  that 
 is  to  be  obtained  from  the  word  of  God.  2  Tim.  iii.  16,  1?. 
 c  All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  pro- 
 e  fltable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
 c  tion  in  righteousness' — (is  profitable  for  giving  the  know- 
 ledge of  divine  truth  ;  for  convicting  and  refuting  contrary 
 errors  ;  for  conveying  the  light  and  reproof  that  tend  to 
 correcting  what  may  be  wrong  in  men's  course  and  works  ; 
 and  for  instruction  in  all  that  concerns  the  practice  of  righte- 
 ousness)— c  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
 '  furnished  unto  all  good  works  ;'  that  the  Christian  may 
 be  complete  in  that  character,  and  furnished  for  every  good 
 work  ;  that  the  man  of  God,  so  called  in  a  more  special 
 sense,  may  be  complete  in  the  character  of  a  minister  of 
 God,  and  thoroughly  furnished  for  every  good  work  per- 
 taining to  his  office  ;  for  advancing  the  profit  and  salvation 
 of  his  people ;  particularly  in  giving  them  from  the  Scrip- 
 ture all  the  instruction  needful  with  regard  to  the  practice 
 of  righteousness. 
 
 There  are,  however,  several  things  respecting  this  matter 
 which  it  were  fit  for  preachers  to  observe.  1.  That  they  es- 
 pecially use  the  language  of  the  word  of  God.  This  is  the 
 style  most  proper  for  such  subjects  ;  the  style  most  grave, 
 serious,  and  emphatic.  Human  language,  especially  when 
 it  is  much  laboured,  and  wrought  up  to  elegance  and  oratory, 
 may  tickle  the  ears  and  minds  of  hearers,  and  conciliate  their 
 esteem  of  the  preacher's  talents ;  but  will  never  make  such 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  417 
 
 impression  on  the  hearts  of  persons  serious  in  religion,  or  be 
 received  with  such  relish,  as  the  language  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 properly  used.  He  was  a  good,  and  very  successful  preacher, 
 who  said,  1  Cor.  ii.  13.  Which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in 
 the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy 
 Ghost  teacheth  ;  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual ; 
 that  is,  as  some  understand  the  last  clause,  very  suitably  to 
 the  matter  and  scope  of  the  verse,  suiting  spiritual  language, 
 such  as  the  Holy  Ghost  himself  useth,  to  spiritual  things  ; 
 which,  in  the  next  following  verse,  he  calls  the  things  of  the 
 Spirit. 
 
 2.  That  on  occasion  of  explaining  and  urging  duty,  or 
 particular  instances  thereof,  they  direct  Christians  to  discover 
 and  observe  what  may  have  been,  in  omission  or  commission, 
 contrary  thereto  in  their  practice  ;  and  to  the  renewed  ap- 
 plication by  faith,  of  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  for  renewing  and 
 supporting  their  inward  peace  and  comfort.  With  thee  (  Psal. 
 cxxx.  4.)  there  is  forgiveness,  that  thou  mai/est  be  feared. 
 Faith's  views  and  improvement  of  the  blood  of  sprinkling, 
 and  of  pardoning  grace,  is  essential  in  the  religion  of  a  sin- 
 ner. Whatever  improper  use  hypocritical  and  insincere  per- 
 sons may  make  of  pardoning  grace,  the  view  and  comfort 
 of  it  is  exceeding  needful  for  every  serious  and  sincere  soul, 
 for  encouragement  and  support  in  godliness,  amidst  the  views 
 such  may  have  of  their  own  strayings  and  failures. 
 
 3.  That  in  explaining  holiness,  and  the  particular  virtues 
 and  good  dispositions  that  are  included  in  it,  they  mark  out 
 the  opposite  vices  and  corrupt  tempers  that  are  naturally  in 
 the  hearts  of  men,  that  they  show  the  fallacy  of  these  ap- 
 pearances of  virtue,  that  do  oftentimes  but  colour  over  a  very 
 sinful  disposition  and  practice;  that  they  mark  out  to  Chris- 
 tians the  opposite  plagues,  lustings,  and  unholy  affections, 
 which,  through  remaining  corruption,  are  yet  commonly  and 
 in  too  great  a  degree  in  their  hearts,  with  the  difficulty 
 thence  arising  in  the  practice  of  each  virtue,  and  the  hin- 
 derance  this  gives  to  their  progress  and  advancement  in  holi- 
 ness. To  represent,  as  in  contrast,  the  several  virtues  and 
 holy  dispositions,  with  the  opposite  evils  of  men's  hearts, 
 happily  suits  the  real  case  of  Christians.  Without  this,  mere 
 theories  concerning  virtues  and  duties,  however  just,  and 
 however  much  the  nature,  amiableness,  excellency,  and  ad- 
 vantage of  virtue  be  set  forth,  will  not  be  really  profitable. 
 Some  content  themselves  with  setting  forth  the  righteous  and 
 good  man,  and  the  man  to  whom  they  give  a  designation 
 
418  Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching. 
 
 from  some  particular  virtue,  in  such  a  way  as  if  indeed  the 
 man,  in  his  real  disposition  and  practice,  did  represent  righte- 
 ousness and  goodness,  or  the  particular  grace  or  virtue,  as 
 completely  as  the  preacher's  definitions  and  illustrations  do. 
 This  is  flying  too  much  above  the  heads  of  Christians.  It  is 
 by  all  means  fit  to  acquaint  them  fully  with  the  operation 
 and  influence  of  the  opposite  principles  that  remain  in  them, 
 in  order  to  put  them  on  their  guard  against  those  evils  on 
 the  part  of  the  flesh,  which,  if  unobserved,  may  have  a  very 
 ill  effect  with  regard  to  their  disposition  and  course. 
 
 It  is  fit,  at  the  same  time,  that  for  their  encouragement, 
 Christians  be  acquainted  with  the  condescensions  of  divine 
 grace,  which  often  doth  grant  favourable  acceptance,  through 
 Jesus  Christ,  of  the  sincerity  that  is  attended  with  much 
 failure  and  imperfection,  yea,  hath  a  very  considerable  mix- 
 ture of  what  is  evil. 
 
 But  if,  with  proper  descriptions  of  Christian  virtues  and 
 duties,  men's  hearts  be  searched,  with  a  view  to  show  the 
 opposite  evil  dispositions  and  corrupt  biases  which,  on  the 
 part  of  the  flesh,  are  in  them,  as  this  will  tend  to  make, 
 them  the  more  watchful,  so  will  they  be  thereby  led  to  have 
 the  necessary  recourse  to  the  fulness  that  is  laid  up  for  them 
 in  him  in  whom  it  hath  pleased  the  Father  that  all  fulness 
 should  dwell,  and  that  for  the  renewed  and  more  powerful 
 influences  of  the  Spirit. 
 
 Christians  are  often  too  easily  satisfied  with  the  disposition 
 and  frame  of  their  own  hearts.  But  if,  with  sincere  and 
 earnest  desire  to  advance  in  holiness,  they  looked  more 
 closely  into  the  law,  as  it  is  spiritual,  and  into  their  own 
 hearts,  they  would  see,  to  their  great  benefit,  more  of  these 
 motions  of  sin  in  them,  by  which  they  do  what  they  would 
 not,  and  are  unable  to  do,  in  manner  and  degree,  as  they 
 would  ;  as  the  blessed  apostle  represents  in  our  context, 
 chap.  vii.  14 — 25.  Such  views  and  feelings  contribute  great- 
 ly to  the  Christian's  purity  in  heart,  and  in  the  practice  of 
 life,  and  to  his  advancement  in  holiness.  The  things  above 
 suggested  in  this  section  belong  to  the  profitable  and  evan- 
 gelical way  of  preaching,  and  enforcing  holy  practice. 
 
 But  now,  to  bring  this  work  to  a  conclusion  :  it  is  good  for 
 them  who  are  the  servants  of  sin,  and  under  its  dominion, 
 to  become  sensible  of  the  wretchedness  of  that  condition,  and 
 to  betake  themselves  to  the  Son,  to  make  them  free  indeed; 
 to  pray  earnestly  for  that  Spirit  of  life,  which  cometh  by 
 Christ  Jesus,  to  make  them  free ;  without  trusting  to  any 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  419 
 
 powers  or  endeavours  of  their  own  for  recovering  their  liberty. 
 It  becomes  them,  who,  by  being  justified  through  faith,  and 
 brought  under  grace,  are  made  free,  to  acknowledge  the  grace 
 which  hath  made  them  so  ;  to  keep  ever  in  their  eye  the  rule 
 of  duty,  with  earnest  endeavours  to  attain  conformity  to  it; 
 knowing  that  the  design  of  divine  grace,  in  delivering  them 
 from  the  law  and  its  curse,  and  m  making  them  free  from 
 the  dominion  of  sin,  was,  according  to  our  context,  that  they 
 might  be  the  servants  of  righteousness.  It  becomes  them  to 
 have  habitual  recourse  to  the  Lord,  and  to  the  promises  of 
 the  new  covenant,  for  renewed  influences  of  grace,  to  enable 
 them  to  hold  on  in  their  course  of  faith  and  holiness,  and  to 
 encourage  their  hearts,  and  support  their  hope  with  this 
 comfortable  consideration,  that  sin  shall  not  have  dominion 
 over  them,  as  not  being  under  the  law,  but  under  grace.  It 
 becomes  ministers  to  labour  in  leading  persons  to  know 
 themselves  and  to  know  Christ,  to  mark  out  to  them  by 
 the  light  of  God's  word  the  way  in  which  they  ought  to  walk, 
 and  to  enforce  holy  practice  by  evangelical  principles,  argu- 
 ments, and  motives,  which  alone  will  have  effect. 
 
 THE  END. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 PRINTED   BY  J.  &  D.  COLLIE. 
 
Concerning  True  Evangelical  Preaching.  419 
 
 powers  or  endeavours  of  their  own  for  recovering  their  liberty. 
 It  becomes  them,  who,  by  being  justified  through  faith,  and 
 brought  under  grace,  are  made  free,  to  acknowledge  the  grace 
 which  hath  made  them  so  ;  to  keep  ever  in  their  eye  the  rule 
 of  duty,  with  earnest  endeavours  to  attain  conformity  to  it ; 
 knowing  that  the  design  of  divine  grace,  in  delivering  them 
 from  the  law  and  its  curse,  and  in  making  them  free  from 
 the  dominion  of  sin,  was,  according  to  our  context,  that  they 
 might  be  the  servants  of  righteousness.  It  becomes  them  to 
 have  habitual  recourse  to  the  Lord,  and  to  the  promises  of 
 the  new  covenant,  for  renewed  influences  of  grace,  to  enable 
 them  to  hold  on  in  their  course  of  faith  and  holiness,  and  to 
 encourage  their  hearts,  and  support  their  hope  with  this 
 comfortable  consideration,  that  sin  shall  not  have  dominion 
 over  them,  as  not  being  under  the  law,  but  under  grace.  It 
 becomes  ministers  to  labour  in  leading  persons  to  know 
 themselves  and  to  know  Christ,  to  mark  out  to  them  by  the 
 light  of  God's  word  the  way  in  which  they  ought  to  walk, 
 and  to  enforce  holy  practice  by  evangelical  principles,  argu- 
 ments, and  motives,  which  alone  will  have  effect, 
 
SERMONS 
 
 ON 
 
 SACRAMENTAL   OCCASIONS. 
 
The  following  excellent  Sermons  are  printed  from  the  Author's  manu- 
 scripts. It  is  uncertain  whether  they  were  intended  by  him  for  the  press  ; 
 but  one  thing  is  evident,  that  they  are  as  accurately  written,  as  if  that  had 
 been  the  Author's  original  intention.  The  homely  style  in  which  they  ap- 
 pear, it  is  hoped,  will  not  render  them  the  less  extensively  useful. 
 
 The  Author  possessed  a  singular  talent  for  the  illustration  of  the  scrip- 
 tures ;  and  this  is  happily  displayed  by  him  in  these  Sermons  :  for  in  them 
 appear  that  solid  judgment,  true  learning,  and  genuine  piety,  so  eminently 
 conspicuous  in  his  celebrated  piece  on  Sanctiflcation. 
 
 I  had  the  honour  to  be  personally  acquainted  with  the  Author,  and  con- 
 sider that  acquaintance  as  one  of  the  happiest  circumstances  of  my  life.  In 
 him  concentered  all  the  amiable  qualities  of  the  divine,  the  scholar,  and 
 the  Christian.  Indeed,  one  may  say,  without  exceeding  the  bounds  of 
 truth,  that  the  illustrious  title  marked  out  for  gospel  ministers  by  Paul, 
 when  he  says,  c  that  they  are  the  glory  of  Christ/  eminently  belonged  to 
 him. 
 
 Having  myself  been  much  edified  with  the  perusal  of  these  Sermons,  I 
 know  not  how  to  render  a  more  important  and  essential  service  to  my  Chris- 
 tian friends,  and  particularly  to  my  younger  brethren  in  the  ministry,  than 
 to  be  happily  instrumental  in  putting  them  into  their  hands. 
 
 I  have  no  object  in  view  by  contributing  mine  endeavours  towards  their 
 publication,  but  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  glory.  And  that  this 
 object  may  be  attained,  through  the  blessing  of  God  accompanying  the  at- 
 tentive perusal  of  them,  is  what  I  sincerely  wish  and  pray  for. 
 
 JOHN   RUSSELL. 
 
 Kilmarnock,  Aug.  16,  1785. 
 
 I  read  the  following  Sermons,  in  manuscript,  with  much  satisfaction. 
 They  are,  in  my  opinion,  judicious,  scriptural,  and  savoury  discourses. 
 The  first,  on  Hebrews  ix,  14.  contains  a  very  sensible  illustration  of  some 
 important  doctrines  of  the  glorious  gospel :  the  two  last,  on  James  i.  22. 
 enforce  the  practice  of  holiness  upon  the  professors  of  Christianity,  by  evan- 
 gelical and  powerful  motives.  I  readily  concur  in  recommending  them  to 
 the  perusal  of  my  friends  and  connexions ;  hoping  and  wishing,  that, 
 through  the  Divine  blessing,  they  may  be  profitable  for  their  direction  and 
 instruction  in  righteousness. 
 
 JAMES   ROBERTSON. 
 
 Kilmarnock,  Aug.  16,  1785. 
 
SERMONS 
 
 OS 
 
 SACRAMENTAL   OCCASIONS. 
 
 SERMON     I. 
 
 Heb.  ix.  14. 
 
 •'•  lion'  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christy  who,  through  the  eternal 
 Spirit,  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your  conscience  from 
 dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God  ?" 
 
 The  inspired  penman  of  this  epistle  (whom  many  suppose, 
 not  improbably,  to  be  the  apostle  Paul)  does,  from  the 
 beginning  of  this  chapter,  agreeably  to  the  general  design  of 
 the  epistle,  make  a  parallel  and  comparison  between  the 
 Levitical  tabernacle,  priesthood,  sacrifices,  purification,  on 
 the  one  hand,  and  the  great  high  priest,  sacrifice,  and  purifi- 
 cation of  the  gospel,  on  the  other.  He  does,  in  these  13th 
 and  14th  verses,  bring  the  matter  to  something  of  a  period 
 and  conclusion,  showing  the  advantage  to  be  infinite  on  the 
 side  of  the  gospel. 
 
 He  does,  in  these  two  verses,  consider  the  effect  of  both 
 kinds  of  atonement  and  purification.  The  Mosaical  atone- 
 ment and  purification  did,  he  says,  ver.  13.  c  sanctify  to  the 
 '  purifying  of  the  flesh.  The  blood  of  Christ/  he  says, 
 '  purges  the  conscience/ 
 
 The  first  e  sanctified  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh.'  For 
 opening  the  sense  of  this  clause,  ver.  13.  I  observe  one  or  two 
 things,  relating  chiefly  to  the  explication  of  the  words  of  it. 
 
 1.  As  to  purifying  the  flesh;  this  is  not  said  with  a  view 
 
424  Sermon  I. 
 
 to  the  body  ;  for  though  the  blood  of  sacrifices  and  the  ashes 
 of  an  heifer,  in  the  water  of  purification,  (of  which,  Numb,  xix.) 
 were  sprinkled  on  the  body ;  yet  was  not  the  body  thereby 
 cleansed,  but  rather  outwardly  defiled.  Purifying  of  the 
 flesh  I  take  to  be  a  Hebrew  idiom,  which  we  would  express 
 by  calling  it  a  fleshly  or  carnal  purification.  Now  carnal  is 
 an  epithet  of  the  ceremonial  law.  Hence  do  we  read  of 
 s  carnal  ordinances/  ver.  10.  and  f  the  law  of  a  carnal  com- 
 '  mandment,'  chap.  vii.  16.  And  so  were  the  institutions 
 of  that  law  called,  not  chiefly  because  men's  bodies  were 
 much  concerned  in  them,  but  rather  and  principally  because 
 in  that  infancy  of  the  church,  the  Lord  did  suit  these  rudi- 
 ments or  elements  to  the  carnality  of  men's  minds,  which 
 affect  what  is  outward,  showy,  and  pompous  in  worship. 
 
 2.  I  observe  that  the  apostle  says,  not  that  these  atone- 
 ments typified  or  prefigured — so  indeed  they  did, — but  he 
 says  in  direct  and  proper  terms,  that  they  sanctified  ;  which 
 would  imply,  that  there  was  a  proper  atonement,  in  some 
 kind,  by  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testament.  For  explaining 
 this,  I  notice,  that  there  was  in  this  matter  considered,  on 
 the  one  hand,  an  uncleanness  or  guilt ;  on  the  other,  an 
 atonement.  The  uncleanness  wras  not  moral,  at  least  in  this 
 case  it  was  not  considered  as  such.  In  many  cases  the 
 uncleanness  was  absolutely  unavoidable;  or,  if  otherwise, 
 was  indispensable  moral  duty ;  as  was  on  many  occasions 
 defilement  for  the  dead.  So  then,  it  was  only  carnal  or 
 ceremonial  uncleanness.  It  had,  however,  thus  much  of  a 
 real  effect,  that  it  suspended  a  man's  church  privilege  with 
 respect  to  the  service  of  God ;  debarred  him  the  camp  and 
 the  tabernacle;  and  he  that  neglected  the  purification  required, 
 incurred  a  moral  guiltiness,  as  neglecting  God's  institution. 
 As  the  uncleanness  was  only  ceremonial,  such  was  the  atone- 
 ment ;  a  ceremonial,  carnal  atonement  by  the  blood  of  goats 
 and  of  calves,  and  the  ashes  of  an  heifer.  By  this,  in  virtue 
 of  God's  appointment,  a  man  was  purged  from  his  ceremonial 
 guiltiness,  and  so  restored  to  his  church  privilege  as  an 
 Israelite.  All  this  has  a  special  respect  to  atonement,  and 
 the  immediate  effect  of  it,  viz.  remission.     But  I  notice, 
 
 3.  That  the  apostle  expresses  it  by  the  word  sanctijieth, 
 which  is  commonly  understood  of  another  matter  than  justifi- 
 cation, or  remission.  For  explaining  this,  I  say  sanctification 
 may  be  understood  two  ways  :  1.  There  is  a  relative  sancti- 
 fication. 2.  An  inherent  sanctification.  In  the  most  general 
 notion,  which  includes  both  these,,  that  is,  holy,  (sanctified) 
 
Sermon  I.  425 
 
 that  is,  set  apart  for  God,  and  is  his  in  a  special  manner. 
 Such  is  the  church,  a  society  set  apart  from  the  world  for 
 God  ;  therefore  are  the  Israelites  so  oft  called  an  holy  people  ; 
 and  the  infants  of  believing  parents  are  said  to  be  holy, 
 1  Cor.  vii.  14.  Those  without  the  church  are  common;  or, 
 in  another  word,  unclean;  for  the  word,  ver.  13.  translated 
 '  unclean/  is  in  the  original,  (  made  common.'  Both  words 
 are  sometimes  joined  in  the  same  sense,  as  by  Peter,  Acts  x.  14. 
 '  I  have  never  eaten  any  thing  that  is  common  or  unclean/ 
 While  an  Israelite  was,  for  his  uncleanness,  debarred  the 
 fellowship  of  the  camp  and  tabernacle,  he  was  common  :  but 
 by  the  legal,  ceremonial  atonement,  taking  away  his  cere- 
 monial uncleanness  and  guiltiness,  he  was  sanctified;  restored 
 to  his  holy  privileges.  This  distinction  of  relative  and 
 inherent  sanctification  obtains  with  respect  to  believers.  They 
 obtain  a  relative  sanctification  by  being  justified ;  by  which 
 being  taken  into  covenant  with  God,  they  become  his  peculiar 
 people,  his  portion  :  '  God's  portion  is  his  people,  Jacob  is  the 
 '  lot  of  his  inheritance,'  Deut.  xxxii.  9.  It  belongs  to  their 
 covenant  state  that  they  should  be  no  longer  common  to 
 Satan,  to  the  world,  to  sin.  This  is  what  they  should  have 
 a  dutiful  consideration  of.  This  is  what  the  grace  of  God 
 has  made  good  to  them  who  have  put  on  Christ.  '  They  are 
 '  dead  to  sin,'  Rom.  vi.  2. ;  by  which  the  apostle  expresses, 
 not  their  ordinary  duty  in  the  practice  of  holiness,  but  the 
 standing  privilege  of  their  justified  state,  in  so  far  as  '  sin 
 c  shall  not  have  dominion  over  them,'  Rom.  vi.  14.  Believers 
 are  inherently  sanctified  in  their  natures,  by  a  work  of  grace 
 and  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  their  souls.  This  distinction 
 may  help  us  to  a  right  view  of  some  places  where  sanctifying 
 is  mentioned  ;  particularly,  1  Cor.  vi.  11.  e  Ye  are  washed' — 
 How  ?  he  expresses  it  in  another  word,  f  ye  are  sanctified' 
 — How  sanctified?  In  two  respects.  1.  Relatively,  as  to 
 your  state,  f  being  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.' 
 2.  Inherently,  with  respect  to  your  nature,  c  by  the  Spirit  of 
 our  God.'  So  sanctification  is  first  mentioned  in  that  place, 
 as  comprehending  the  other  two. 
 
 Such  was  the  ceremonial  discipline  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 The  principal  design  of  which  was  to  lead  to  the  knowledge 
 and  faith  of  Christ,  and  of  that  method  of  purification 
 expressed  in  our  text. 
 
 In  the  meantime,  we  are  to  notice,  that  the  ceremonial 
 atonement,  above  mentioned,  had  an  effect  which  was  real  in 
 its  kind.     This  not  only   the   apostle's  manner  of  speech 
 
430  Sermon  1. 
 
 conscience,  of  which  he  speaks  ;  therefore  I  understand 
 purging  of  the  conscience  to  import  an  effectual  removing  of 
 condemnation,  so  as  to  produce  peace  of  conscience.  As  we 
 say  in  common  speech,  when  a  man  is  like  to  be  found  guilty 
 in  judgment,  that  he  is  not  clean  ;  so  while  the  conscience 
 lies  under  condemnation,  it  is  not  clean.  Implanted,  inherent 
 grace  makes  the  soul  otherwise  clean  ;  but  the  taking  away 
 of  condemnation,  giving  peace,  in  view  of  peace  with  God, 
 is  that  purging  which  makes  the  conscience  clean.  How  far 
 inherent  holiness  is  the  consequence  of  this,  we  shall  see 
 hereafter. 
 
 3.  When  he  mentions  the  effect  of  this  purging  to  be,  '  to 
 '  serve  the  living  God/  in  opposition  to  those  dead  works,  he 
 has  a  view  to  the  effect  of  the  ceremonial  purifications,  which 
 was,  to  restore  men  to  their  privilege  in  the  worship  or  ser- 
 vice of  God,  from  which  their  uncleanness  debarred  them  ; 
 and  what  he  means  is,  to  express  the  privilege  of  them  who 
 are  justified,  with  respect  to  their  access  and  communion  with 
 God,  and  their  walking  with  him.  Now  the  doctrine  of  the 
 text  is,  in  short,  this — 
 
 Doct. — That  the  blood  of  Christ  doth  most  effectually  purify 
 the  conscience,  to  which  it  is  applied,  from  all  the  guilt 
 that  lies  upon  it ;  and  so  gives  the  sinner  access  to  com- 
 munion with  God,  and  to  walk  with  him. 
 For  opening  up  this  doctrine,  I  propose  to  speak  on  these 
 four  most  important  points. 
 
 I.  To  explain  what  is  the  nature  and  office  of  the  conscience, 
 in  relation,  chiefly,  to  the  guiltiness  of  the  sinner,  and 
 what  purification  it  requires. 
 
 II.  To  show  the  absolute  suitableness  of  Christ's  blood,  to 
 the  purpose  of  purging  the  conscience. 
 
 III.  I  propose  to  inquire,  by  what  means  this  blood  is  ap- 
 plied to  the  conscience. 
 
 IV.  What  are  some  of  the  principal  effects  of  the  applica . 
 tion  of  this  blood,  and  purification  effected  by  it,  in  re- 
 lation to  the  service  of  the  living  God. 
 
 I.  To  explain  what  is  the  nature  and  office  of  the  con- 
 science, in  relation,  chiefly,  to  the  guiltiness  of  the  sinner, 
 and  what  purification  it  requires. — And  here  I  find  myself 
 greatly  at  a  loss  to  put  a  large  variety  of  things  together,  in 
 any  method,  consistent  with  the  brevity  needful.  But  to  be 
 as  distinct  as  possible,  I  say,  1.  It  will  be  generally  granted, 
 
Serman  I.  42J 
 
 that  is  the  life.  We  hold  our  life  from  God,  the  author  of 
 it,  and  who  is  vested  with  the  sovereign  dominion  over  it. 
 Sin,  which  is  a  black  treason  against  heaven,  has  forfeited 
 the  life,  and  the  life  must  go  for  it ;  so,  <  the  wages  of  sin  is 
 c  death/  Rom.  vi.  23.  Therefore,  if  one  shall  be  substituted  in 
 place  of  another,  in  order  to  his  redemption,  the  life  of  the  one 
 must  fall  for  the  life  of  the  other.  But  then  what  kind  of  life 
 must  this  be,  that  shall  be  a  ransom  and  redemption  for  the 
 life  of  man  ?  Under  the  old  law,  the  Israelites  offered  the 
 life  of  brute  creatures  for  atonement.  What  kind  of  atone- 
 ment this  was,  has  been  explained.  But  could  the  life  of 
 a  brute  truly  redeem  the  lost  and  forfeited  life  of  a  man  r 
 By  no  means.  There  was  no  equality,  or  adequate  propor- 
 tion betwixt  them.  That  were  eluding  the  justice  of  God 
 and  the  eternal  laws  of  heaven.  To  suppose,  that  the  justice 
 of  God  could  be  so  satisfied,  that  the  sentence  of  the  law 
 could  be  so  accomplished,  or  rather  eluded  or  trifled  away, 
 were  some  degree  worse  than  to  overlook  the  sovereign 
 dominion,  justice,  and  faithfulness  of  God  wholly  in  the 
 matter ;  which  were,  however,  denying  God  blasphemously, 
 with  respect  to  some  of  his  most  essential  glories  and  per  . 
 fections.  No,  c  it  was  not/  says  the  apostle,  chap.  x.  4 
 '  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take 
 away  sins  /  that  their  life  could  redeem  the  life  of  the 
 sinner  from  the  forfeiture  it  underlay  by  sin.     Therefore, 
 
 2.  It  is  suggested,  that  this  blood,  this  life,  was  of  a  more 
 suitable  kind  ;  it  was  a  more  likely  ransom  for  our  life  ;  for 
 it  was  e  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  offered  himself/     And, 
 
 3.  '  He  offered  himself  without  spot/  How  much  those 
 two  considerations,  that  the  offering  was  himself,  and  with 
 this  special  quality,  of  being  spotless,  make  for  the  purposes 
 of  atonement  and  purification,  we  shall  have  better  leisure 
 and  occasion  to  notice  hereafter. 
 
 4.  What  is  of  most  special  consequence  is,  that  '  he  offered 
 k'  himself  through  the  Eternal  Spirit/  Some  understand  this 
 of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  third  Person  of  the  glorious  godhead. 
 No  doubt,  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  wherewith  he  was 
 anointed  above  measure,  working  in  his  human  nature  inex- 
 pressible love,  zeal,  and  strength,  c  .itributed  to  dispose  and 
 qualify  him  eminently  for  his  hard  service  :  however,  I  choose 
 rather  to  understand  it  of  his  own  Divine  nature  ;  for  which 
 these  reasons  are  assigned — 1.  Though  the  Holy  Ghost  be 
 eternal,  yet  he  is  never  mentioned  with  that  epithet.  2. 
 Christ's  divine  nature   is   elsewhere,   several  times,    called 
 
 t  5 
 
428  Sermon  I. 
 
 '  his  spirit/  Mark  ii.  8.  Speaking  of  what  the  scribes  reasoned 
 in  their  hearts,  it  is  said,  '  Jesus  perceived  it  in  his  spirit ;' 
 which  can  be  understood  of  no  other  than  his  omniscient 
 Divine  nature.  Again,  it  is  called  '  the  spirit  of  holiness,' 
 Rom.  i.  3,  4.  where  there  is  distinction  made  between  his 
 flesh  or  human  nature,  (according  to  which  he  was  of  the 
 seed  of  David,)  and  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  according  to  which 
 he  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  declared  to  be  so  by  his  resur- 
 rection from  the  dead  ;  so,  1  Pet.  iii.  ]  8.  3.  We  see,  in  the 
 two  last  mentioned  places,  and  often  on  other  occasions,  the 
 Holy  Ghost  setting  his  human  and  Divine  nature  in  an  op- 
 posite view  together;  judging  it  needful,  where  there  is  a 
 view  of  the  mean  character  and  circumstances  of  the  flesh, 
 to  suggest  the  supereminent  glory  of  his  godhead.  Now  that 
 reason  holds  in  this  place.  It  contains  a  view  of  Christ  in 
 his  lowest  circumstances, — his  human  nature  offered  a  sacri- 
 fice. It  was  very  suitable,  by  the  mention  of  the  Eternal  Spirit, 
 to  suggest  the  glory  of  his  godhead.  Besides,  this  sense  is 
 most  suitable  to  the  doctrinal  purpose  of  the  place  ;  which  is, 
 to  show  the  infinite  value  and  efficacy  of  his  blood  with  re- 
 lation to  the  conscience.  And  this  is  founded  upon  the 
 dignity  which  his  sacrifice  derives  from  the  union  of  the 
 godhead  with  the  human  nature  in  his  person.  For  these 
 reasons,  we  understand  the  Eternal  Spirit  of  his  godhead. 
 Through  this  he  offered  himself.  No  doubt  he  was  a  priest 
 according  to  both  natures  ;  and  his  human  nature  was,  in 
 several  respects,  active  with  relation  to  the  offering  of  itself. 
 Nevertheless,  principally,  by  his  Divine  nature,  was  his 
 manhood  offered.  It  at  the  same  time  was  the  altar  on 
 which  the  sacrifice  was  born  up  and  offered  ;  and,  as  the 
 Lord  says,  Matth.  xxiii.  19.  '  whether  is  better  the  gift,  or 
 '  the  altar  that  sanctifies  the  gift  ?'  So  was  the  Divine 
 nature  of  Christ  the  altar  that  sanctified  the  gift ;  that  gave 
 it  infinite  dignity  and  value. 
 
 5.  It  is  observed  to  whom  he  offered  himself, — to  God. 
 How  this  offering  was  by  the  Father  provided,  and  accepted 
 for  the  ends  of  propitiation,  we  shall  hereafter  show.  In  the 
 meantime,  though  Satan,  as  a  kind  of  executioner  with  re- 
 spect to  the  curse  of  the  law,  be  represented  as  holding  the 
 sinner  captive  ;  yet  was  not  the  ransom  due,  or  to  be  offered 
 to  him,  but  to  trie  public  justice  of  Heaven,  and  to  God  the 
 sovereign  lawgiver.  In  which  case,  though  all  the  Persons 
 of  the  ever  blessed  godhead  be  alike  the  party  offended,  yet 
 in  the  case  of  receiving  satisfaction,  suitably  to  the  economy 
 
Sermon  I.  433 
 
 pressions  that  are  in  the  natural  conscience  of  the  heathen, 
 Rom.  i.  32.  '  Who  knowing  the  judgment  of  God,  that  they 
 *  who  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of  death/ 
 
 4.  These  things  lead  me  to  two  or  three  cautions  with 
 respect  to  this  subject.  And,  I  st,  I  say,  we  are  not  to  measure 
 the  demand  of  conscience  upon  the  sinner  by  his  present 
 light.  Sin  has  darkened  the  light  of  his  conscience,  with 
 respect  to  which  he  is  himself  highly  faulty.  This  darkness 
 is  so  great,  that  at  present  he  may  be  said,  for  most  part,  to 
 be  without  the  law,  and  for  that  reason  only  alive.  Yet  when 
 his  conscience  awakens,  when  the  commandment  comes,  whe- 
 ther on  occasion  of  God's  word  and  Spirit  entering  upon  it  in 
 time,  or  on  occasion  of  final  judgment  hereafter,  or  otherwise, 
 then  conscience  will  extend  its  light,  accusation,  and  demand 
 as  far  as  the  law,  which  alone  it  acknowledges  for  its  rule.  I  do 
 not  mean  this,  however,  of  laws  merely  positive,  of  which  the 
 sinner  hath  had  no  revelation.  These  certainly  can  never 
 affect  the  conscience,  or  be  laid  in  account  to  the  sinner,  in 
 judgment  by  it ;  so  the  apostle  declares,  Rom.  ii.  12.  '  For  as 
 c  many  as  have  sinned  without  law/  &c.  2d,  Caution.  We 
 are  not  to  measure  the  demand  of  conscience  by  what  is  pre- 
 sently under  the  view  of  the  soul,  or  urges  presently  upon  it. 
 There  is  a  narrowness  in  the  conscience  as  well  as  in  every 
 other  faculty  of  the  soul,  so  that  it  cannot  comprehend  all  in 
 one  view.  Time  likewise,  constant  divisions,  and  the  con- 
 stant accession  of  new  things,  weaken  and  wear  out  former 
 impressions  and  convictions ;  but  conscience  is  like  a  great 
 book  of  record  ;  when  it  is  open,  you  see  the  face  of  it  but  in 
 one  page  ;  when  that  is  written  out,  or  perused,  the  leaf  is 
 turned,  the  face  of  the  book,  in  a  new  page  only,  is  then 
 under  the  view,  and  so  on.  The  impression  of  grosser  guilti- 
 ness, or  of  more  late  or  present  things,  fill  up  the  page  of 
 conscience  that  is  under  the  present  view ;  but  when  a  throne 
 of  judgment  is  set,  when  the  books  are  opened,  and  this  great 
 book  is  opened,  when  all  its  awful  contents  are  produced  at 
 once,  how  then  will  those  things  that  were  asleep  awaken  ? 
 and  those  things  that  the  sinner  forgot  and  despised,  as  long 
 ago  dead,  revive,  and  slay  him,  and  be  as  a  dark  cloud  that 
 shall  cover  all  the  heavens  from  his  eyes, — as  a  cloud  dis- 
 charging thunder  and  terrible  tempest  upon  his  head  ?  From 
 those  two,  follows  the  third  caution.  It  is  this,  that  there  is 
 great  vanity,  danger,  and  folly  in  a  sinner's  imposing  peace 
 upon  his  conscience,  in  its  ignorant  or  its  sleepy  and  seared 
 condition.     A  little  formality  in  good  things,  an  atheistical 
 
434  Sermon  I. 
 
 saying,  a  shameless  sophism,  may  then  suffice  to  please  it,  to 
 fill  its  right  hand  with  a  lie,  or  at  least  to  insult  and  divert 
 it.  Many  deal  by  their  conscience  as  a  man  that  owed  a 
 great  sum  to  an  ignorant  country  man,  or  to  one  whom  he 
 should  overtake  in  a  fit  of  drunkenness  or  lethargy,  and 
 should  take  his  advantage.  He  may,  in  such  case,  pay  a  great 
 sum  with  a  few  farthings,  or  perhaps  with  good  words,  and 
 procure  ample  discharge  under  a  man's  own  hand ;  but  when 
 he  recovers,  he  will  reclaim ;  thousands  will  not  then  satisfy. 
 Among  men,  if  one  should  prove  himself  thus  notoriously 
 cheated,  it  would  reverse  and  annul  even  the  amplest  writs  : 
 the  judge  would  favour  the  injured,  and  put  him  in  his  own 
 place,  to  the  shame  and  ruin  perhaps  of  the  other  party.  So 
 a  man  oft  deals  with  his  conscience  in  its  evil  condition.  He 
 has  a  little  righteousness, — is  conscious  of  some  good  quality 
 by  which  he  supposes  he  excels  others, — has  the  honour  of  some 
 swelling  privileges, — perhaps  some  great,  some  notable  good 
 work.  These  things  dazzle  easily  the  eye  of  conscience  in  its 
 dimness.  Or,  he  has  some  set  of  poor  reflections  concerning 
 preachers,  or  concerning  the  ordinary  profession  of  godliness, 
 offences,  and  so  forth,  that  make  the  conscience  as  it  were 
 ashamed  to  insist.  So  it  allows  a  man  to  judge  of  himself  to 
 his  mind  ;  or,  if  it  insist  with  more  urgency,  a  man  runs  some 
 heats  in  a  course  of  duties  and  good  works,  and  the  form  must 
 be  kept  up  when  there  is  no  more  fervour  to  maintain  it. 
 Thus  will  conscience  be  easily  satisfied  or  diverted  ;  but  it 
 will  recover,  reduce  the  false  and  wrongous  claim,  and  dis- 
 possess a  man  of  his  unrighteous  peace.  The  Judge  of  all 
 the  earth  will  favour  it,  and  put  it  in  its  own  place  ;  and,  if 
 this  is  when  the  day  of  a  man's  visitation  is  over,  will  arm  it 
 with  an  eternal  vengeance  against  him.  It  is  then  of  ever- 
 lasting concern  and  importance  for  a  man  to  look  for  peace 
 in  such  manner  as  will  do  full  justice  to  his  conscience, 
 which  can  happen  in  no  way  under  heaven,  but  that  which 
 the  Spirit  of  God  lays  open  in  our  text. 
 
 5.  What  has  been  said  leads  me  to  observe  a  twofold  de- 
 fect ordinarily  in  the  consciences  of  men.  1.  A  defect  of 
 light.  Upon  this  I  shall  add  none  to  what  has  been  formerly 
 said  or  hinted  at.  2.  There  is  a  defect  of  vigour  and  strength. 
 The  conscience,  in  most  of  people,  is  like  a  bow  off  bend,  or 
 but  very  little  bent.  It  shoots  ;  but  alas,  how  faintly !  Its 
 arrows  strike  the  skin,  but  cause  not  the  sinner  to  make  a 
 stand,  or  much  alter  his  course.  But  when  conscience  is  in 
 its  vigour,  like  a  bow  fully  bent,  how  will  it  shoot  ?  how  will 
 
Sermon  I.  431 
 
 I  hope,  that  every  man,  naturally  and  originally,  has  a  con- 
 science. When  sin  deprived  man  of  his  original  rectitude 
 and  conformity  to  the  law,  only  conscience  remained,  after 
 the  general  ruin,  greatly  depraved,  and  some  vestiges  of  the 
 law  itself,  the  greater  lines  thereof  in  it.  Hence,  the 
 apostle  says  of  the  heathen,  Rom.  ii.  15.  that  ( they  show  the 
 '  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience 
 *  also  bearing  witness/  Infinite  wisdom  ordered  it  thus. 
 The  Lord  maintained  conscience,  at  least  in  being,  amidst 
 the  general  ruin  ;  because  he  would,  by  means  thereof,  keep 
 some  restraint  on  the  boundless  wickedness  of  men,  while  the 
 world  is  to  subsist  under  his  providential  government ;  be- 
 cause he  would  not  leave  himself  without  a  witness,  by  which 
 (  he  might  be  justified  when  he  speaks,  and  be  clear  when  he 
 '  is  judged/  Psal.  Ii.  4.  And,  further,  with  respect  to  the 
 effect,  he  would  maintain  conscience  in  being,  that  therein 
 they  might  sometime  receive  the  influence  of  the  blood  of 
 Christ ;  and  so  it  might  be  to  them  the  instrument  and  mean 
 of  their  everlasting  consolation,  through  him,  as  it  had  been 
 formerly  the  instrument  of  their  most  awful  condemnation. 
 
 2.  As  to  the  nature  of  it ;  conscience  is  that  faculty  in 
 man,  by  which  he  judgeth  of  himself,  his  actions,  nature  and 
 state,  with  relation  to  God,  and  his  supreme  judgment.  The 
 understanding  in  man  is  otherwise  employed  about  an  endless 
 variety  of  objects,  that  it  is  not  concerned  with ;  but  as  to 
 conscience,  it  is  employed  about  what  is  of  most  immediate 
 everlasting  concern.  A  man's  actual  sins  lie  openest  to  the 
 observation  of  the  conscience.  From  these  it  judgeth  con- 
 cerning a  man's  nature  ;  and,  by  further  reflection  and  in- 
 ference, makes  a  conclusion  concerning  his  state.  In  con- 
 science there  is  a  witnessing  and  a  judgment.  Sin  bears  wit- 
 ness there.  Sin,  as  to  the  action  of  it,  is  transient ;  it  passes, 
 and  ceases  to  have  an  existence,  once  committed ;  but  it  re- 
 mains, and  has  a  continued  being  in  the  conscience.  There 
 it  testifies.  '  Though  our  iniquities  testify  against  us/  Jer. 
 xiv.  7-  It  is  said  of  Abel,  with  respect  to  his  faith,  '  by  it, 
 '  he  being  dead  yet  speaketh/  Heb.  xi.  4.  ;  so,  as  to  sin,  when 
 it  is  passed  by  conscience,  it  yet  speaketh, — speaketh,  as  Abel's 
 blood  did,  when  it  cried  to  the  Lord  from  the  ground  for 
 vengeance.  And,  as  the  Lord  said  to  Cain,  c  Thou  art 
 (  cursed  from  the  earth,  which  hath  opened  her  mouth  to  re- 
 (  ceive  thy  brother's  blood/  Gen.  iv.  10,  11.  ;  so  sinner,  thou 
 art  cursed  from  thy  own  conscience,  which  thou  hast  wounded, 
 polluted,  and  laid  waste  by  thy  sin.     Again,  by  his  conscience 
 
432  Sermon  1. 
 
 a  man  beareth  witness  against  himself,  and  judgeth,  con- 
 demning himself  for  sin.     Further  yet,  by  the  conscience  God 
 bears  witness  and  judges  the  sinner.     Conscience  is  a  window, 
 by  which  the   sinner  perceives  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God, 
 looking  in  into  the  darkest  recesses  of  his  heart.     Nor  have 
 sinners  a  greater  demonstration  of  the  being  and  presence  of 
 God  than  what  they  have  by  their  conscience  in  this  respect ; 
 for  by  the  conscience  does  the  Lord  give  a  present  experi- 
 mental   proof  to    the   sinner,  that  he  tries  the  heart   and 
 searches  the  reins.    See  1  Cor.  xiv.  24,  25. ;  Heb.  iv.  12,  13. 
 3.  As  there  is  in  the  conscience  a  witness  and  a  judgment, 
 this  must  be  by  a  rule.     And  the  rule  is  not  any  set  of 
 principles  a  man  does  voluntarily  form  to  himself.     It  is  the 
 law  of  God,  Rom.  ii.  15.  '  which  shows  the  work  of  the  law 
 1  written  in  their  hearts/     This  law  hath  two  parts  that  the 
 conscience  is  principally  concerned  in ;  the  precept,  which 
 shows  the  duty  required  ;  and  the  sanction,  which  imports  the 
 punishment  of  sin.     J .  The  precept,  requiring  duty,  which 
 consequently  discovers  sin  ;  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge 
 of  sin.     The  original  writing  of  this  precept  of  the  moral  law 
 upon  the  heart  is  sadly  defaced  by  sin.     Nothing  but  the 
 more  rough  lines  are  visible ;  the  greater  letters  only  are 
 legible.     However,  when  the  light  of  the  word  of  God,  re- 
 vealing anew  the  holiness,  spirituality,  and  breadth  of  the 
 law,  enters,  then  the  law  in  the  heart,  which  was  darkened, 
 and  as  it  were  folded  up  in  a  small  compass  in  the  conscience, 
 opens  and  extends  itself  all  that  length,  so  as  to  receive  and 
 comprehend  all  the  revealed  explication  of  the  law.     Yea,  as 
 the  reason  of  all  obedience  is  fundamentally  in  the  moral 
 law,  that  is,  in  the  natural  conscience  ;  so  the  revealed  positive 
 commands   of  God  are  ingrafted  upon  it,   and  become  the 
 ground  of  accusation  and  conviction,  even  in  the  natural  con- 
 science.    As  when  a  sinner  accuses  himself  for  neglecting  the 
 instituted  means  of  grace,  which  a  natural  conscience  however 
 could  not,  of  itself,  ever  have  directed  him  particularly  to. 
 2.  The  next  part  of  the  law  is  the  sanction,  which  declares 
 the  punishment  of  sin.     This  is  likewise  in  the  conscience. 
 It  is  true,  an  ignorant   sinner   cannot,   perhaps,   express  in 
 words,  what  is  the  precise  wages  of  sin  ;  but  the  sense  of  it 
 produces  a  horror,  and  secret  looking  for  of  vengeance.     This 
 terror,  this  secret  apprehension  of  vengeance,  hath  something 
 boundless  in  it ;  and  this  boundless  vengeance,  which  the 
 conscience  suggests,  can  amount  to  no  less  than  death,  which 
 is  the  king  of  terrors.     So  the  apostle  constructs  of  the  im- 
 
Sermon  I.  435 
 
 its  arrows  pierce  the  soul  ?  By  such  arrows  were  the  multi- 
 tude (Acts  ii.)  pricked  in  their  hearts  till  they  cried,  at  their 
 wits  end,  '  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?'  The 
 poison  of  such  arrows  drinks  up  a  man's  spirits.  Such  ar- 
 rows stuck  fast  in  the  Psalmist,  till  his  bones  waxed  old 
 through  his  roaring  all  the  day  long,  till  his  moisture  was 
 turned  to  the  drought  of  summer.  How  terrible  was  such 
 arrow  to  the  jailor?  He  would  run  a  sword  into  his  own 
 bowels.  And  if  that  was  the  cure,  what  must  the  disease 
 have  been  ?  Now  its  vigour  the  conscience  recovers  by  se- 
 veral means,  and  on  several  occasions.  As,  when  terrible 
 judgments  are  perceived,  then  the  conscience  awakens  with 
 a  sudden  start.  We  have  heard  of  a  heathen  commonwealth 
 that,  when  judgments  threatened  hard,  offered  two  hundred 
 of  their  noblest  youth  in  sacrifice,  to  appease  Heaven.  There 
 was  no  dissimulation  in  this,  nor  could  religious  custom  have 
 had  such  force.  It  could  be  from  no  less  than  a  sense  of 
 '  the  wrath  of  God,  revealed  from  heaven,  against  all  ungod- 
 liness and  unrighteousness  of  men,  who  hold  the  truth  in 
 unrighteousness/  Rom.  i.  18.  But  such  fright  of  conscience 
 very  commonly  goes  off  as  soon  as  the  impending  cloud  seems 
 to  disappear.  Again,  conscience  recovers  its  vigour  when  the 
 word  and  Spirit  of  God  enter,  to  convince  of  sin.  By  what 
 means  and  in  what  manner  the  Spirit  of  God  works  on  the 
 conscience  antecedently  to  conversion,  and  with  what  differ- 
 ent symptoms,  I  shall  not  now  insist  on.  I  am  but  pursuing 
 the  same  subject  in  a  somewhat  different  view.  In  end,  it 
 recovers  its  vigour  at  the  final  solemn  judgment,  when  it  is 
 raised  eternally  to  its  full  light,  vigour,  and  strength. 
 
 6.  As  there  is  in  conscience,  not  only  a  witness,  but  a 
 judgment,  in  the  unconverted,  condemning  for  sin,  the  sixth 
 thing  I  notice  is,  a  certain  power  it  hath  with  respect  to 
 some  present  execution  of  this  judgment ;  which  leads  us  to 
 consider  some  of  the  effects  of  a  condemning  unpurified  con- 
 science, such  as  shame,  fear,  terror,  which  make  a  bondage 
 upon  the  soul.  These  have  a  deep  root  in  human  nature. 
 But  besides  the  ordinary  common  symptoms  of  these,  the 
 Scripture  speaks  of  a  spirit  of  bondage  attending  an  awaken- 
 ed conscience,  and  belonging  to  their  state  who  are  under  the 
 law,  Rom.  viii.  15.  Gal.  iv.  24.  and  2  Tim.  i.  7-  On  these 
 things  I  am  not  to  enlarge.  But  there  is  this  further  effect 
 that  an  awakened  conscience  has  upon  an  unrenewed  heart, 
 that  it  produces  special  symptoms  of  enmity  against  God. 
 Hence,  many  that  smother  sharp  and  continued  convictions 
 
436  Sermon  I. 
 
 of  sin,  going  on  in  a  course  of  sin,  discover  special  enmity 
 against  the  power  of  inward  and  real  religion.  The  wicked- 
 ness of  the  devil  cannot  be  represented  in  stronger  features 
 than  it  is  by  such.  There  is  with  this,  again,  a  distance  and 
 flying  from  God,  that  follows  self-condemnation  in  the  con- 
 science. It  may  be  said,  perhaps,  that  this  does  not  appear, 
 for  hypocrites  have  great  boldness  in  drawing  near  to  God ; 
 and  when  a  man's  conscience  is  awakened,  it  ofttimes  puts 
 him  to  pray  oft,  and  to  do  may  things.  To  this  I  answer,  ]. 
 That  the  formalities  of  hypocrisy,  yea  the  painful  labours  of 
 self-righteousness,  do  not  contain  a  real  approach  of  the  soul 
 to  God.  2.  The  seeming  boldness  of  many  proceeds  from  a 
 sleepiness  or  searedness  of  conscience  ;  for  we  find  it  given 
 as  one  part  of  the  character  of  some  who  speak  lies  in  hypo- 
 crisy, that  e  they  have  their  conscience  seared  as  with  a  hot 
 iron/  ]  Tim.  iv.  2. ;  so  that,  from  cases  of  that  nature,  we 
 cannot  judge  concerning  the  native  effects  of  a  condemning 
 conscience.  In  so  far  as  it  is  awake  and  vigorous,  doing  its 
 duty  in  condemning  the  impenitent  sinner,  it  will  no  less 
 really  have  the  effect  in  every  sinner  of  making  him  avoid 
 God,  than  it  had  in  Adam  when  he  fled  from  God  to  hide 
 himself;  or  in  Cain,  when  he  went  out  from  the  presence  of 
 the  Lord,  from  the  place  of  light  and  religion  where  he  lived 
 near  his  parents.  There  may  perhaps  be  a  forced  painfulness 
 in  duties  of  outward  religion,  but  the  heart  in  its  bondage 
 will  fly  from  God.  Besides  what  I  have  said  of  the  case  of 
 the  unconverted,  when  the  conscience  is  under  the  kindly, 
 gracious  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  his  people,  its  dis- 
 coveries and  reproofs  will  have  such  effects  as  are  mentioned, 
 2  Cor.  vii.  11. 
 
 7.  Now,  to  bring  this  long  deduction  of  things  to  the 
 point,  the  last  thing  on  this  head  I  am  to  speak  of,  is,  the 
 purification  of  the  conscience.  The  defilement  of  sin,  or  its 
 uncleanness,  so  far  as  it  affects  the  conscience,  is  the  condem- 
 nation it  produces  there.  Its  purification  is,  when  the  sin- 
 ner is,  on  good  grounds,  satisfied  concerning  his  peace  with 
 God,  or  the  removal  of  his  guiltiness  and  condemnation,  that 
 '  sin  shall  not  be  imputed/  Psal.  xxxii.  2.  Now,  it  appears 
 that  these  two  questions — What  will  satisfy  the  conscience 
 as  to  its  peace ;  or  will  purge  it  ?  and,  What  will  satisfy  the 
 law,  and  the  justice  of  God  expressed  in  it  ? — come  to  one 
 and  the  same  purpose.  Nothing  will  serve  the  purpose  of 
 the  former,  but  what  is  required  to  the  latter.  However 
 conscience  may,  in  its  evil  condition,  (darkness  and  weakness,) 
 
Sermon  I.  437 
 
 be  imposed  on,  yet  it  will*  as  you  heard,  sometime  certainly 
 reclaim.  No  atonement  then  will  be  a  suitable  purification 
 of  the  conscience,  but  what  is  fully  adequate  to  the  sanction 
 and  curse  of  the  law,  and  answers  all  the  ends  of  atonement, 
 in  the  acceptation  and  judgment  of  God ;  to  which  conscience 
 will  have  its  appeal  from  the  delusions  of  a  heart  deceitful 
 above  all  things.  This  leads  us  full  upon  the  second  general 
 head  of  discourse  proposed. 
 
 II.  To  show  the  absolute  suitableness  of  Christ's  sacrifice 
 and  blood,  to  satisfy  and  purify  the  conscience,  and  to  give  it 
 peace.  This  absolute  suitableness  appears  by,  and  is  found- 
 ed on,  these  several  things  : — 
 
 1.  The  nature  of    the    sacrifice, — '  He   offered    himself.' 
 Now,  by-the-bye,  herein  it  is  that  the  great  law  of  Christ  to 
 his  people  appeared.     Job  lost  a  family  of  children,  and  an 
 immense  wealth,  and  bore  it  patiently.    Ay,  but,  says  Satan, 
 (  skin  for  skin  ;  'all  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give   for  his 
 '  life/  Job  ii.  4.     Had  Christ  given  all  that  was  precious  in 
 heaven  and  earth  for  the  redemption  of  his  people,  it  were  no 
 proof  of  his  love  like  this,  that  '  he  gave  himself/  not  to  be 
 happy  with  the  church  his  spouse,   but  to  suffer  death  and 
 a  curse  for  her.     How  great  would  this  love  be  accounted  in 
 another,  whose  love  would  be  infinitely  less  valuable  ?   The 
 apostle,  in  his  love  to  Israel,  could  wish  himself  to  be  ac- 
 cursed from  Christ   for   them  ;    even  the  apostle,  who  had 
 such  inexpressible  sense  of  the  comfort  of  communion  with 
 Christ,  that  he  sustains  the   loss  of  all  things,  and  i  accounts 
 '  them  but  dung  that  he  may  win  Christ/  Phil.  iii.  8. ;  yet  to 
 be  accursed  from  him !  The  apostle's  zeal  in  this  has  been  a  won- 
 der and  a  mystery  to  the  world  ever  since.  Many  choose  rather 
 not  to  understand  his  words,  than  believe  them  in  their  pro- 
 per meaning.     Christ  was  incomparably  more  sensible  of  the 
 blessedness  of  his  Father's  countenance  and  fellowship  ;  yet 
 not  in  a  wish,  but  actually,  he  undergoes  to  be  separated  and 
 accursed  from  him.     '  O  the  breadth  !'  &c.  Eph.  iii.  18,  19. 
 But  to  the  present  purpose, — the  purpose  of  the  conscience. 
 Christ  offered   himself.     It   was  a  human  sacrifice  !     What 
 was  a  brute  creature,  such  as  were  before  offered  in  sacrifice, 
 that  it  should  be  substituted  in  the  room  of  a  rational  crea- 
 ture ?     e  It  was  not  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of 
 1  goats  should  take  away  sins.'     The  justice  of  heaven  would 
 not,   nor   would  conscience    accept    of  such   a  substitution. 
 The  law  behoved  to  have  its  course,  if  not  upon  the  person, 
 yet  certainly  upon  the  nature  that  sinned.     When  the  hea- 
 
438  Sermon  I. 
 
 thens  knew,  by  tradition  from  the  Church,  the  necessity  and 
 institution  of  sacrifice  for  expiating  sin,  even  nature's  light 
 seems  to  have  led  them  from  all  confidence,  on  many  occa- 
 sions, in  brute  sacrifices.  Hence  came  these  many  barbarous 
 and  terrible  human  sacrifices  among  them,  of  which  there  are 
 so  many  instances  in  profane  history.  Even  a  natural  con- 
 science then  showed  them  the  insufficiency  of  their  ordinary 
 sacrifices,  and  would  not  be  satisfied  with  them,  though  it 
 could  not  direct  them  aright.  Yea,  there  are  reasons  suit- 
 able to  infinite  wisdom  and  justice,  why  he  who  was  to  expi- 
 ate sin,  since  elect  children  did  partake  of  flesh  and  blood, 
 should  partake  of  the  same,  and  be  made  like  to  them  in  all 
 things,  sin  only  excepted.  And  this  exception  of  sin  is  that 
 quality  and  character  of  the  nature  of  our  propitiatory  sacri- 
 fice, that  conscience  would  indispensably  require.  Conscience, 
 that  is  so  sensible  of  the  terribleness  of  sin,  must,  if  applied 
 to,  consider  the  matter  ;  be  further  sensible,  that  if  our  sa- 
 crifice were  not  free  from  the  guilt  and  impurity  of  sin,  his 
 own  guiltiness  would  exhaust  his  suffering  capacity  to  eter- 
 nity ;  so  that  there  could  be  no  superplus  or  supererogation 
 that  could  do  it  service.  Conscience,  enlightened  and  awaken- 
 ed, that  is  so  sensible,  from  its  own  experience,  that  no  ser- 
 vice truly  acceptable  could  proceed  from  a  heart  affected 
 with  the  defilement  of  sin,  could  have  no  comfort  by  a  sacri- 
 fice, with  respect  to  which  it  could  have  such  suspicion.  All 
 these  considerations  receive  confirmation  as  to  their  truth 
 and  importance,  from  the  care  the  Spirit  of  God  has  taken  to 
 satisfy  the  conscience  as  to  this  particular  with  respect  to 
 Christ.  Hence  does  He  so  carefully,  under  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, in  these  sacrifices  that  prefigured  Christ,  require  that 
 they  should  be  of  a  clean  kind, — clean,  perfect,  without  spot. 
 Hence  does  the  apostle  Peter  notice  with  particular  emphasis, 
 that  c  he  was  as  a  lamb  without  spot  ;**  and  this  apostle,  in 
 our  text,  that  'he  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God.' 
 For  the  same  reason  is  it  so  carefully  observed,  that  fhe 
 '  was  holy,  harmless,  undefiled  ;*+  that  though  '  made  to  be 
 '  sin/  i.e.  a  sin-offering,  '  yet  he  knew  no  sin  ;%  that  (  he 
 1  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  ;'||  that 
 6  he  suffered,  the  just  for  the  unjust. '§  All  the  race  of 
 Adam  were  fallen,  not  into  an  ordinary  mire,  but  were 
 drowning  in  an  ocean  of  uncleanness.  Of  all  the  race,  only 
 the  Man  Christ  has  kept  this  foot  on  dry  ground.    He  escapes, 
 
 •   I   Pet.  i.  19.  X  2  Cor.  v.  21.  §  1.  Pet.  iii.  18. 
 
 t  Heb.  vii.  26.  ||   1  Pet.  ii.  22. 
 
Sermon  I.  439 
 
 to  save  his  perishing  brethren ;  to  stretch  a  hand  to  perishing 
 souls.  When  conscience  sees  sin  sweeping  away  all  its  con- 
 fidences besides,  what  comfort  must  it  have  when  it  views 
 with  faith  Christ,  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  its  great  High- 
 priest,  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  by  the  alone  sacrifice  of 
 himself,  procuring  judgment  against  the  serpent,  the  prince 
 of  this  world,  at  the  sametime  that  he  is  capable  by  power 
 to  execute  it,  by  bruising  his  head  ? 
 
 2.  The  absolute  suitableness  of  Christ's  sacrifice  and  blood 
 for  the  purposes  of  the  law  and  of  the  conscience,  appears  by 
 the  kinds  of  suffering  he  underwent.  The  sentence  and  judg- 
 ment of  the  law  denounced  to  the  sinner  sorrow ;  so  to  the 
 man,  Gen.  iii.  17-  '  In  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat;'  and  to  the 
 woman,  ver.  16.  '  I  will  greatly  multiply  thy  sorrow/  Now 
 Christ  was,  in  the  superlative  degree,  a  man  of  sorrows.  Read 
 Isaiah  liii.  2,  3,  4.  How  strong  and  moving  were  the  out- 
 ward symptoms  of  his  sorrow  !  Isa.  Iii.  14.  What  constant 
 abundant  matter  of  deep  sorrow  had  he  !  such  as  the  prospect 
 of  the  misery — the  manifold  misery,  sin  had  brought  upon 
 the  world.  The  world  !  a  stage  of  misery  and  wretchedness  ! 
 affording  a  dismal,  melancholy  scene  every  way  he  could  look  ! 
 There  were  then  the  temptations  of  Satan  that  he  suffered 
 himself ;  the  disadvantage  and  trial  of  his  outward  mean  cir- 
 cumstances in  the  world ;  the  hatred,  enmity,  reproach, 
 snares,  persecution  of  the  world,  even  of  those  who  on  many 
 accounts  are  called  his  own,  for  c  he  came  unto  his  own,  and 
 (  his  own  received  him  not/  There  was  further,  the  hypo- 
 crisy and  treachery  of  professors,  the  weakness,  instability, 
 various  provocations  of  his  most  genuine  followers.  In  his 
 human  nature  he  was  not  of  adamant ;  to  our  great  comfort, 
 he  had  a  soul  most  tenderly  sensible  of  trial  by  all  these 
 things ;  otherwise  they  could  have  been  no  temptations  to 
 him.  But  the  apostle  says,  Heb.  iv.  15.  e  He  was  in  all 
 '  points  tempted,  like  as  we  are/  Those  temptations,  it  is 
 true,  could  not  produce  sin  in  him,  as  they  do  in  us ;  but 
 they  produced  sorrow.  So  as  to  his  life  in  the  flesh,  it  was 
 the  character  of  it,  that  he  was,  in  the  highest  degree  that 
 human  nature  was  capable  of,  '  a  man  of  sorrows/  But  then 
 the  period  of  life  is  death.  The  law  had  denounced  against 
 the  sinner  death, — that  was  the  wages  of  sin  ;  death  tem- 
 poral, the  separation  of  soul  and  body, — that  he  underwent ; 
 death  spiritual,  the  separation  of  the  soul  from  God, — that 
 he  underwent  ;  death  eternal,  inconceivable  torment  and 
 anguish — that,  likewise,  in  kind,  he  underwent.     To  consi- 
 
440  Sermon  I. 
 
 der  it  more  closely  with  respect  to  what  was  outward  and  ex- 
 posed to  view,  as  well  as  what  was  inward,  there  was  in  his 
 death,  all  the  trial,  to  the  uttermost,  of  treachery,  enmity, 
 shame,    cruel  mocking,    buffetting,    reproach,    torture,    and 
 pain.     The  prince  of  this  worlds  with  full  permission,  did, 
 on  this  occasion,  exert  his  whole  strength,  not  only  by  him- 
 self immediately  (for  '  he  had  departed  from  him/  Luke  iv. 
 13.  '  but  for  a  season/)  but  by  blowing  up  his  instruments  to 
 their  whole  extent  of  wickedness  and  cruelty.     Consider  how 
 Christ  expresses  his  case,  Psal.  lxix.  2,  4,  7,  8,  12,   19,  20, 
 21.,  for  this  had  he  spoken,  as  verses  1  and  2.     See  likewise 
 Psal.  xxii.    7,  12,  13,  14,  16,  17,  18.     But   what  was  most 
 terrible,  the  very  quintessence  of  the  law's  curse,  was  the  fill 
 of  wrath  his  soul  received,   and  the   hiding  of  his  Father's 
 countenance  at  the  same  time.     This  was  the  ingredient  in 
 his  cup,  that  made  his  soul  shrink,  that   made  him  e  exceed- 
 (  mg  sorrowful,  even  unto  death/  with  the  prospect  of  which 
 he  was  amazed, — that  made  him  ( sweat  great   drops  falling 
 '  to  the  ground  like  blood/ — that  made  him  cry,   c  My  God, 
 c  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?' — that  made  him  need 
 an  angel  to  comfort  him.     And  how  much  would  our  bowels 
 be  moved  for  a  great  king,  if  we  saw  him  in  such  circum- 
 stances of  distress,  deserted  by  all,  that  the  assistance  of  a 
 poor  beggar  would  comfort  him  ?   And  how  low  is  Christ,  the 
 King  of  glory,  when  he  needs  comfort  from  an  angel, — a  poor 
 creature  that,  to  speak  so,   had  ever  subsisted  by  his  own 
 alms  and  bounty  ?  None  of  his  own  disciples  were  capable  to 
 give  him  any  encouragement  or  assistance  on  this  occasion. 
 If  the  encouragements, — at  least  the  concern  and  sympathy 
 of  some  of  them, — could  have  been  of  use  to  him  in  his  secret 
 agonies,  yet  could  he  not  obtain  this  ;  even  that  three  dis- 
 tinguished disciples  should  watch  with  him  to  be  witnesses 
 of  his  trial,  to  pray  for  themselves,  or  the  success  of  his  un- 
 dertaking,— e  Couldst  thou    not  watch  with  me  one  hour?' 
 When  he  came  to  a  more  public  trial,  the  boldness  of  one 
 of  them,  the  only  instance  of  boldness  or  courage  given  by 
 any  of  them,  had  like  (as  it  often  happens,  to  the  increasing 
 of  the  grief  and  trial  of  innocent  and  dutiful  sufferers,)  had 
 like,  I  say,  to  have  done  more  harm  than  good,  when  he  cut 
 off  the  servant's  ear,  Matt.  xxvi.  51.;    '  suddenly  thereafter, 
 6  all  the  disciples   forsook   him   and  fled/    Matt.  xxvi.  56. 
 When  one  of  the  most  forward  and  zealous  ventures  farther 
 and  nearer  than  the  rest,  it  was  only  to  add  to  his  trial,  by 
 denying  him  thrice,  Matt.  -xxvi.  75.     Little  comfort  had  he 
 
Sermoti  /.  441 
 
 then,  in  his  distress,  from  his  disciples;  for  whose  comfort,  some 
 hours  before,  he  had  laboured  and  provided  so  carefully;  parti- 
 cularly ,  by  instituting  his  supper,  and  by  these  wonderful  dis- 
 courses extant,  John  xiv.  xv.  and  xvi.  chapters.  The  faith 
 of  God's  people  has  done  wonderful  and  astonishing  things  on 
 very  trying  occasions ;  but  never  was  the  faith  of  disciples 
 cast  into  a  more  universal  deliquium  or  swoon  than  on  this 
 occasion.  This  is  of  very  humbling  consideration.  However, 
 it  was  a  very  wise  providence  that  ordered  it  so,  that,  '  when 
 1  the  Shepherd  was  stricken,  the  sheep  should  be  scattered/ 
 Zech.  xiii.  7- ;  that,  c  when  he  was  to  tread  the  wine-press 
 (  of  the  people,  there  should  be  none  with  him/  Isa.  lxiii.  3. ; 
 that,  c  when  Christ  was  under  a  cloud,  there  should  be  dark- 
 '  ness  over  all  the  earth/  Luke  xxiii.  44. ;  that,  when  dark- 
 ness covered  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  the  lesser  planets 
 should  undergo  an  eclipse ;  that,  when  the  wrath  of  Heaven 
 was  poured  upon  the  Surety,  the  principals,  with  respect  to 
 the  guilt  and  obligation,  should  be  struck  with  the  most 
 gloomy  damp  into  an  awful  attention  to  the  matter  itself,  and 
 to  the  event.  This  however,  in  another  view,  was  a  part  of 
 his  suffering,  and  at  least  an  aggravating  circumstance  of  his 
 distress.     But,  to  return  to  our  chief  purpose  : — 
 
 The  sting  of  death.  The  most  awful  sting  of  it  was  this 
 wrath  of  God  which  Christ  underwent,  with  the  concomitant 
 circumstances  above  mentioned.  I  will  not,  however,  say  that 
 Christ  actually  expired  with  this  wrath  on  his  soul  and  with 
 the  sense  of  it ;  all  that  he  suffered  was  as  the  wages  of  sin ; 
 yet  are  we  to  distinguish  betwixt  this  wrath  he  underwent, 
 and  what  he  suffered  otherwise.  This  wrath  was  not  an 
 ingredient  in  every  part  of  his  suffering.  It  was,  as  it  wrere, 
 served  in  a  cup  by  itself.  I  think  there  is  reason  to  say, 
 that  this  cup  he  fully  drank  out  while  he  lived  upon  the  cross  ; 
 and  that,  in  great  part,  it  might  be  with  respect  to  this,  he 
 said,  '  It  is  finished  /  and  that  it  was  with  the  comfort  of  this 
 he  said,  '  Unto  thy  hand,  Father,  I  commend  my  spirit/ 
 Yet  so  precisely  must  the  letter  of  the  law  be  fulfilled,  that 
 he  must  actually  die,  and  his  human  nature  undergo  its 
 dissolution ;  yea,  as  by  the  judgment  of  the  law  the  sinner 
 must  return  unto  the  dust,  though  Christ's  body  saw  no  cor- 
 ruption, yet  so  precisely  must  the  letter  of  the  law  be  fulfilled 
 in  this  too,  that  his  body  must  go  to  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 
 In  all  this,  indeed,  there  was  no  despair  or  eternal  duration ; 
 but  these  are  only  consequential  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
 finite,  mere  creature  under  wrath,  who,  because  he  cannot 
 
442  Sermon  /. 
 
 drink  it  fully  out,  is  in  hell  eternally  hopeless.  But  this  is 
 not  essential  to  what  the  law  requires.  It  is  further  true, 
 that  the  inherent  prevalency  and  power  of  sin  and  the  power 
 of  Satan  belong  to  the  curse  of  the  law  upon  the  sinner ;  yet 
 it  is  only  a  consequence  of  the  curse  upon  the  sinner  himself, 
 and  so  could  not  affect  our  Surety,  as  not  being  any  kind  or 
 part  of  what  the  law  and  justice  of  Heaven  required  for 
 expiation  and  atonement,  but  absolutely  contrary  to,  and 
 inconsistent  therewith.  It  appears  that  there  is  no  kind  of 
 expiatory  suffering  the  law  requires  more  than  he  underwent, 
 or  that  the  most  awakened  conscience  can  justly  require. 
 The  most  awakened  conscience  may  be  fully  satisfied,  that 
 the  Supreme  Judge,  to  whom  the  vengeance  belonged,  and 
 who  knew  how  to  measure  it  out,  hath  not  fallen  short  of  the 
 needful  measure  and  kind ;  but  that  Christ  hath  undergone 
 it  all.  But  besides  the  suitableness  of  Christ's  suffering, 
 with  respect  to  degree  and  kind,  to  the  purposes  of  divine 
 justice  and  of  the  conscience,  3.  There  is,  after  all,  remaining 
 a  most  relevent  and  competent  demandthat  the  conscience  hath 
 to  make,  and  it  is  this :  There  is  an  infiniteness  of  evil  and 
 demerit  in  every  sin.  What  proportion  of  value  does  Christ's 
 propitiatory  sacrifice  bear  to  this  infinite  demerit  of  every 
 one  of  the  infinite  sins  of  the  whole  elect  multitude,  of  every 
 tongue,  language,  and  kindred,  that,  as  John  says,  Rev.  vii. 
 9.  (  cannot  be  numbered  ?'  This  is  a  demand  unexception- 
 ably  competent,  that  can  be  answered  no  way  but  by  con- 
 sidering and  believing  the  eternal  Godhead  of  Christ.  This 
 is  so  necessary,  and  evidently  required,  that  they  who  deny 
 his  Godhead,  do  exert  all  their  strength  to  disprove,  if  possi- 
 ble, the  truth  of  his  proper  satisfaction  for  sin,  at  the  same 
 time.  Hence  then  is  the  dignity  and  infinite  value  of  Christ's 
 blood,  that  he  is  God,  that,  through  the  Eternal  Spirit  he 
 offered  himself.  The  Godhead  acted  not  in  this  case,  as  on 
 other  occasions,  by  foreign  instruments,  means,  and  second 
 causes,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things.  The  Godhead  is 
 united  in  the  same  person  with  the  human  nature ;  and  it  is 
 so  united  with  the  Godhead,  that  it  has  a  right  to  be  called 
 himself — c  He  offered  himself ;•  therefore  has  the  Spirit  of 
 God  been  so  careful  in  this  likewise  to  satisfy  the  conscience, 
 by  laying  before  it  so  oft  the  evidence  and  glory  of  Christ's 
 Godhead ;  especially  on  these  occasions  when  his  humiliation, 
 blood,  sufferings,  and  death  are  mentioned.  Hence  is  this 
 represented  as  the  fundamental  mystery  of  godliness,  '  God 
 "made  manifest  in  the  flesh/  1  Tim.  iii.  16.    To  this  purpose 
 
Sermon  1.  443 
 
 h  his  name,  Isa.  ix.  6.  the  first  epithet,  the  first  letter 
 whereof,  is,  '  The  Wonderful ;'  what  follows  shows  in  what 
 respect.  Though  he  be  e  a  Son  given,  a  Child  born  unto  us,' 
 yet  is  he  '  the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father/  Again, 
 as,  Acts  xx.  28.  the  church  of  God  is  said  to  be  purchased 
 with  his  own  blood,  so,  1  John  iii.  16.  c  hereby  perceive  we 
 '  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us/  In 
 like  manner,  Phil.  ii.  8.  (  He  who  became  obedient  to  death, 
 '  even  the  death  of  the  cross/  is  the  same,  ver.  6.  '  who, 
 '  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal 
 with  God/  Infinite  justice  refuses  every  thing  else  that  could 
 be  thought  on.  Heb.  x.  5.  ' Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst 
 '  not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me/  No  body  besides, 
 made  as  glorious  as  creating  power  could  make  it ;  but  e  a 
 '  body  prepared  me ;'  a  body,  says  the  Son  of  God,  in  which 
 I  may  suffer,  and  become  a  sacrifice.  Now  the  question  is 
 concerning  the  proportion  of  value  betwixt  the  sins,  or  the 
 forfeited  lives  of  an  elect  world,  and  this  price  of  their  redemp- 
 tion. But  the  ransom  exceeds  all  proportion,  as  God  is  beyond 
 all  proportion.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  proportion  betwixt 
 Him  and  all  his  creatures.  But  if  we  will  speak  of  propor- 
 tion, see  what  it  amounts  to,  Isa.  xl.  15.  '  The  nations  are  as 
 f  the  drop  in  the  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  small  dust 
 c  of  the  balance  before  him/  Now  let  an  accusing  conscience 
 bring  forth  its  strong  reasons,  and  Satan  his  rhetoric.  Let 
 things  be  laid  in  the  balance.  If  all  nations,  compared  with 
 him,  are  but  as  the  small  dust  that  does  not  at  all  affect  the 
 balance,  then,  must  not  the  sins  of  the  elect,  who  are  but  a 
 small  part  of  all  nations,  be  sufficiently  expiated,  and  their 
 life  be  effectually  redeemed,  when  the  ransom  is  the  life,  the 
 blood  of  God  ?  The  temptations  then  of  a  troubled  soul  con- 
 cerning this  subject  are  a  great  dishonour  to  the  eternal 
 godhead  of  Christ ;  and  it  appears,  that  unbelief  is,  because 
 the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ  does  not,  with 
 respect  to  this  great  subject,  shine  into  the  heart. 
 
 4.  The  fourth  thing  upon  which  the  suitableness  of  Christ's 
 blood  for  purging  the  conscience  is  founded,  is,  the  accept- 
 ableness  of  it  to  God  the  Father  for  that  end,  and  for  all  the 
 purposes  of  Divine  justice,  and  the  evidence  the  conscience 
 has  from  the  word  of  God  thereof.  With  respect  to  the 
 things  already  insisted  on,  and  with  respect  to  the  substitu- 
 tion of  Christ  in  the  room  of  sinners,  after  all  that  has  been 
 said,  conscience  must  have  this  question;  will  God  the 
 Father,  will  the  supreme  Governor  of  heaven  and   earth, 
 
 u 
 
444  Sermon  I. 
 
 accept  of  this  ransom,  or  of  such  substitution  ?  It  is  there- 
 fore a  very  competent  and  suitable  part  of  the  man's  question 
 in  3Iicah  vi.  7-  '  Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  ?"  As  if  he  had 
 said,  To  me  thousands  of  rams,  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of 
 oil,  seem  to  be  of  immense  value  ;  but  '  will  the  Lord  be 
 '  pleased  with  all  this  ?'  The  conscience  has  the  same 
 question.  I  therefore  think  it  may  be  of  good  use  to  insist, 
 somewhat  largely  and  particularly,  on  these  various  proofs 
 that  God  the  Father  has  given,  both  in  word  and  in  deed, 
 of  the  acceptableness  of  Christ's  blood  to  him  as  the  price  of 
 our  redemption  and  salvation. 
 
 I  say,  then,  if  the  soul  were  in  a  believing  frame,  which 
 is  of  great  consequence  in  this  matter,  it  might  observe,  at  a 
 distance,  what  might  satisfy  it  about  this  point  :  for  how  has 
 the  world  stood,  and  the  everlasting  gospel  been  sent  to  all 
 the  parts  of  it,  and  the  report  of  it,  and  ordinances  thereto 
 belonging,  been  kept  up  till  now,  in  a  wonderful  manner  ? 
 How  can  even  this  be  accounted  for,  if  it  be  not  that  the 
 Father,  being  fully  satisfied  with  his  Son's  blood,  as  a  pro- 
 pitiation for  sin,  will  give  it  full  course  for  the  salvation  of 
 the  elect  seed  ? 
 
 But  to  look  nearer  into  the  matter,  and  into  the  evidence 
 the  word  of  God  gives  more  clearly  concerning  it,  I  say  the 
 Father's  full  acquiescence  in  his  Son's  blood  and  death,  for 
 the  ends  of  atonement  and  reconciliation,  may  appear  by,  and 
 be  most  satisfyingly  inferred  from,  these  considerations  : 
 
 1.  It  has  been  offered  by  virtue  of  the  contrivance  and 
 appointment  of  his  own  infinite  wisdom,  council,  and  will. 
 When  the  Lord  chides  with  the  Israelites,  Jer.  xxxii.  35. 
 about  causing  their  sons  and  their  daughters  pass  through 
 the  fire  to  Molech,  he  says  not,  how  insufficient  must  this 
 be  of  itself  for  purification  of  the  conscience  ?  That  he  does 
 not  insist  on  ;  but  says,  (  W^hich  I  commanded  them  not, 
 -  neither  came  it  into  my  mind.'  It  cannot  be  so  said  in  this 
 case,  that  tha  service  and  suffering  Christ  underwent  came 
 not  into  his  mind.  It  was  the  eternal  device  of  his  own 
 infinite  wisdom, — it  was  a  sacrifice  he  provided  for  himself. 
 For  this  he  allows  his  church  to  be  designed,  '  Jehovah  Jireh, 
 •  the  Lord  will  provide/  Gen.  xxii.  14.  Christ  acted  and 
 suffered  all  e  according  to  the  will  of  God  and  the  Father,' 
 Gal.  i.  4.  This  was  his  delight  in  his  suffering,  Psalm  xl. 
 8.  <  To  do  thy  will  I  take  delight.'  Why  did  he  take  the 
 frightful  cup  into  his  hand,  all  amazed,  when  his  human 
 nature  shrinked  at   it  !     when  his  human  nature   of  itself 
 
SermoJi  I.  445 
 
 would  have  drawn  back  !  but  upon  this  reason,  (  Not  my  will, 
 
 1  but  thy  will  be  done/  Matt.  xxvi.  39. 
 
 2.  There  deserves  here  to  be  mentioned  by  itself,  the 
 solemn  audible  testimony  given  from  heaven,  first  at  his 
 baptism,  next  on  the  holy  mount.  The  circumstances  at- 
 tending it,  on  both  occasions,  show  of  what  consequence  it  is; 
 and  the  blessed  apostle  lays  great  stress  upon  it.  The  man 
 in  Micah  says,  '  Will  the  Lord  be  pleased?'  The  conscience 
 sticks,  and  after  all  says,  ■  Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  V  Con- 
 sider then  the  honour  and  glory  he  received  from  the  Father, 
 when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excellent 
 glory,  (  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,' 
 
 2  Pet  i.  17. 
 
 3.  Consider  in  testimony  of  the  Father's  well-pleasedness, 
 the  support  the  Father  gave  him  in  all  the  hardest  parts  of 
 his  work  and  suffering.  Was  it  without  commission,  that  an 
 angel,  a  faithful  ministering  Spirit,  '  appeared  to  him/  Luke 
 xxii.  43.  '  from  heaven  ;  strengthening  him  ?'  '  Behold/  says 
 the  Lord,  Isa.  xlii.  1.  cMy  servant  whom  I  uphold/  and 
 verse  6.  '  I  the  Lord  have  called  thee  in  righteousness,  and 
 '  will  hold  thine  hand  and  keep  thee/ 
 
 4.  There  is  the  most  real  demonstration  of  the  Father's 
 satisfaction  by  his  Son's  blood  and  death  as  the  price  of  our 
 redemption,  in  his  raising  him  up  from  the  dead,  Acts  ii. 
 24.  (  Whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of 
 '  death.'  Had  death  any  more  to  require  ?  Would  justice 
 have  received  him  out  of  its  hands  ?  Would  it  have  concurred 
 with  him  in  an  unjust  breaking  of  prison,  without  full  and 
 acceptable  payment  of  the  debt  ? 
 
 5.  There  is  his  ascension  and  reception  into  heaven. 
 '  Whom  the  heavens  must  receive/  Acts  iii.  21.  Would  he 
 have  been  received  into  heaven,  in  the  quality  of  our  fore- 
 runner, as  a  free  man,  to  speak  so,  if  his  satisfaction  had 
 not  been  complete  and  fully  acceptable  for  the  purchase  of 
 such  a  privilege  to  us  and  to  himself  as  our  representative  ? 
 This  is  that  proof  by  which  the  Spirit  convinceth  of  righte- 
 ousness ;  of  the  completeness  of  Christ's  righteousness,  John 
 xvi.  10.  '  of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the  Father,  and 
 '  ye  see  me  no  more.' 
 
 6.  There  is  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  dispensed  to 
 the  church.  This  is,  as  from  Christ,  so  from  the  Father  to 
 him,  and  to  the  church  on  his  account.  There  was  at  the 
 beginning  a  wonderful  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  an 
 extraordinary  manner.     The  Spirit  is  still  dispensed  in  the 
 
446  Sermo?i  I. 
 
 church  in  an  ordinary  way.  Have  you  ever  felt,  accompany- 
 ing the  word  of  God,  any  breath  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  of 
 an  awakening,  quickening,  or  comforting  tendency  ?  Or, 
 believe  you  that  there  is  any  such  thing  ?  Now,  whence 
 could  there  be  any,  the  least  breathing  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
 church  ?  Do  such  things  come  in  the  way  of  devils,  who  are 
 kept  in  chains  ?  Have  you  ever,  by  seeing  or  hearing,  been 
 sensible  of  special  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  shining  in  the 
 particular  members  or  officers  of  the  Church  ?  How  are  these 
 things  to  be  accounted  for  ?  Thus,  Acts  ii.  33.  (  Therefore 
 e  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received 
 '  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed 
 *  forth  that  which  ye  now  see  and  hear/  Now,  could  he 
 have  received  from  the  Father,  in  accomplishment,  this  pro- 
 mise ;  this  great  part  of  what  the  Father  engaged  for  in  the 
 covenant  of  redemption,  if  he  (the  Son)  had  not  performed 
 his  part,  fully  and  acceptably,  with  respect  to  that  blood  and 
 sacrifice  by  which  he  was  to  purchase  it  ?  Could  this  blessing 
 of  Abraham,  as  it  is  called,  Gal.  iii.  14.  and  which  pre-sup- 
 posed  the  removal  of  the  curse,  have  taken  place,  unless  by 
 Christ's  becoming  a  curse  for  them,  his  people  were  effectually 
 redeemed  from  the  curse  ?  Has  he  thus  '  received  gifts  for 
 '  men,  for  the  rebellious  ?  This  sure  is  in  consequence  of 
 '  His  leading  captivity  captive  ;'  so  that  neither  sin,  nor  the 
 law,  has  any  right  to  keep  the  believer  or  his  conscience  in 
 captivity  or  bondage. 
 
 7.  All  the  covenants,  and  all  the  exceeding  great  and  pre- 
 cious promises  of  it,  held  forth  to  the  people  of  God,  as  they 
 lie  throng  in  the  scriptures,  hold  forth  the  same  thing  ;  the 
 sure  foundation  that  is  laid  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  It  is  in 
 Christ  that  the  promises  of  God  are  all  yea  and  amen.  It 
 is  in  him  that  the  covenant  is  confirmed.  It  is  his  blood 
 that  is  the  blood  of  the  covenant.  Yea,  in  another  view,  the 
 covenant  and  all  the  promises  are  Christ's  own  testament  to 
 his  church,  and  receive  force  and  validity  only  by  the  death 
 of  the  testator.  So  far,  then,  as  diffidence  takes  place,  with 
 respect  to  the  absolute  suitableness  of  Christ's  blood  to  purge 
 the  conscience,  so  far  is  the  covenant  and  all  the  promises 
 called  in  question,  the  wisdom  of  God,  in  proposing  them, 
 made  vain,  and  his  faithfulness  made  of  no  account.  This, 
 then,  is  the  foundation  of  all  that  Christ's  blood,  with  respect 
 to  atonement,  acceptableness,  and  purchase,  extends  as  far 
 as  the  covenant  built  on  it ;  whereof  this  is  the  fundamental 
 promise,  (intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  conscience,)  '  I  will 
 
Sermon  I.  447 
 
 i  forgive  their  iniquity,  and   I  will  remember  their   sin   no 
 '  more/  Jer.  xxxi.  34. 
 
 8.  There  is  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  which  imports, 
 2  Cor.  v.  19.  that  e  God  is  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to 
 '  himself ;  has  committed  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  ;' 
 and  '  has  sent  to  preach  peace  to  them  that  were  far  off,  and 
 1  to  them  that  are  nigh.'  This  certainly  is  sufficient  proof, 
 that,  in  the  account  of  God  the  Father,  the  blood  of  Christ 
 answers  all  the  purposes  of  justice  and  of  the  conscience  ;  and 
 that  he  sees  good  reason  for  it  to  be  reconciled  to  sinners  ; 
 and  therefore,  against  all  the  powers  of  hell  has  maintained 
 the  ministry  of  reconciliation  in  the  world  till  this  day. 
 
 9.  Consider  the  ancient  saints  who  have  gone  to  Heaven 
 from  the  beginning  of  the  world  till  now  ;  '  the  elders,  who 
 '  through  faith  have  obtained  a  good  report/  Heb  xi.  2.  Now 
 upon  what  title  did  they  obtain  heaven  for  an  eternal  in- 
 heritance, but  this,  in  the  verse  after  the  text,  c  that  by 
 '  means  of  death,  for  the  redemption  of  the  transgressions, 
 f  they  which  are  called  might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal 
 '  inheritance  ?'  Now  has  God  not  only  received  Christ  our 
 forerunner  into  heaven,  his  holy  place,  with  his  own  blood, 
 but  likewise  received  the  thousands  of  his  ransomed  ones 
 thither  on  the  same  account  ?  and,  is  he  not  most  fully  satis- 
 fied with  that  blood,  as  the  price  of  redemption  ?  and,  should 
 not  the  conscience  be  so  too  ?  What  then  would  unbelief 
 raging  in  a  troubled  conscience  be  at  ?  Would  you  not  only 
 damn  yourself,  but  damn  all  the  saints  of  God,  by  distrust- 
 ing the  foundation  of  their  salvation  ;  by  distrusting  the  suf- 
 ficiency of  that  ladder,  by  which  they,  through  faith,  reach- 
 ed up  to  heaven  ? 
 
 To  add  a  little  yet  to  those  particulars,  I  say  there  is  most 
 evident  reason,  why  the  Father  should  acquiesce  in  the  obe- 
 dience and  satisfaction  of  his  Son  Christ.  For  though  our 
 reason  of  itself  be  a  faculty  the  conscience  has  little  cause  to 
 trust  to,  and  though  any  evidence  it  would  of  itself  produce 
 could  have  but  little  force  in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  yet  the 
 reasons  I  add  have  likewise  their  foundation  in  the  word  of 
 God. 
 
 1.  Then,  it  was  the  obedience  and  the  blood  of  his  only 
 Son.  A  man  has  more  intense  pleasure  in  the  good  service 
 of  an  only  son,  than  in  the  same  or  greater  service  of  a 
 stranger.  The  eternal  and  infinite  love  which  God  bore  to 
 his  own  Son  must  produce  an  infinite  complacency  in  his 
 obedience. 
 
448  Sermon  L 
 
 2.  Such  obedience,  among  men,  was  most  singular  ;  there- 
 fore the  more  valuable.  If  a  great  king  had  one  province, 
 ever  and  without  exception  mutinous,  disaffected,  and  re- 
 bellious, how  would  he  value  the  firm,  zealous,  and  steady  ad- 
 herence of  a  faithful  subject  to  his  interests,  among  such  a 
 crew  ?  Mankind  make  one  great  province  of  God's  dominion, 
 ever  in  rebellion ;  not  one  faithful  subject  naturally  since 
 the  fall  of  Adam.  But  among  this  race,  the  God-man 
 Christ ;  how  firm,  steady,  zealous  for  God,  for  his  interest, 
 dominion,  and  holiness,  amidst  and  against  the  powers  of  hell 
 and  of  the  world !  '  To  do  thy  will  I  take  delight/  Psal.  xl. 
 8. ;  *'  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up/  Psal.  lxix.  9. 
 Such  an  instance  among  men  !  What  may  not  heaven  yield 
 to  the  behoof  of  his  vile  countrymen,  kinsmen,  and  brethren, 
 for  the  sake  of  so  loyal  a  friend  and  subject !  This  to  be 
 found  among  men  !  The  obedience  of  angels  was  nothing  to 
 this  !  It  is  said  e  there  is  more  joy  in  heaven  for  one  sinner 
 c  recovered,  than  for  ninety-nine  just  persons  that  went  not 
 '  astray/  Luke  xv.  7«  In  like  manner,  there  is  more  pleasure 
 to  heaven  by  the  obedience  of  Christ  among  men,  than  by  the 
 obedience  of  all  the  angels  in  heaven. 
 
 3.  The  law  could  be  glorified  in  no  way  so  much  as  by 
 Christ.  That  the  Son  of  God  should  be  made  under  the  law, 
 was  greatly  to  the  glory  of  the  law.  A  man  of  ordinary  rank 
 would  account  it  a  huge  honour,  that  a  prince  should  hold  of 
 him,  was  it  but  a  small  part  of  his  estate  ;  that  he  should 
 have  a  prince  so  far  bound  to  any  acts  of  vassalage  or  obe- 
 dience to  him  :  so  is  it  great  honour  to  the  law  to  have  the 
 Son  of  God,  with  respect  to  his  human  nature,  bound  to  its 
 obedience.  But  further,  as  to  its  sanction,  the  law  might 
 avenge  itself  eternally  on  sinners  for  disobedience,  but  could 
 never  be  magnified  and  made  honourable  by  a  complete,  ac- 
 complished, and  finished  obedience  and  satisfaction,  any  other- 
 wise than  by  Christ.  There  is  therefore  good  reason  on  all 
 accounts  to  believe  that  the  Father  and  his  infinite  justice  is 
 therewith  fully  satisfied ;  that  his  honour  is  repaired ;  that 
 there  is  sufficient  foundation  laid  for  reconciliation  and  peace. 
 There  is  through  Christ  good  reason  for  both  parts  of  the 
 angels'  song,  Luke  ii.  14.  '  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ;  and 
 1  on  earth,  peace,  good  will  towards  men/ 
 
 Now  what  would  the  conscience  require  ?  It  hath  indeed 
 a  loud  cry  of  vengeance  ;  but  the  vengeance  is  the  Lord's. 
 '  Vengeance/  says  he,  '  is  mine/  Rom.  xii.  19.  Hath  it  then 
 any  scruple   that  it  cannot  win  through  ;  any  difficulty  of 
 
Sermon  I.  441) 
 
 which  it  cannot  extricate  itself,  concerning  the  nature  and 
 quality  of  the  sacrifice,  the  due  manner  of  offering,  the  ade- 
 quateness  of  the  ransom,  or  its  acceptableness  to  the  justice 
 of  heaven  ?  This  may  answer  every  scruple,  solve  every 
 difficulty  at  once  ;  the  evidence  the  conscience  hath,  by  word 
 and  deed,  that  God  is  fully  satisfied,  well-pleased  in  his  Son. 
 This  completes  and  closes  the  evidence  on  this  whole  point, 
 viz.  the  absolute  suitableness  of  Christ's  sacrifice  and  blood 
 for  the  purposes  of  divine  justice,  and  for  purification  of  the 
 conscience  ;  so  that  there  was  reason  for  insisting  the  longer 
 upon  it. 
 
 III.  The  third  thing  to  be  considered  relating  to  the  gene- 
 ral subject,  is,  the  application  of  Christ's  blood  to  the  con- 
 science, and  by  what  means  it  is  applied.  The  apostle's  doc- 
 trine implies  this  application  :  for,  how  can  it  purge  away 
 uncleanness  from  the  conscience,  without  being  applied  to  it  ? 
 In  all  the  sacrifices  and  purifications  of  old,  such  application 
 was  represented,  Heb.  ix.  19.  cWhen  Moses  had  spoken 
 1  every  precept  to  all  the  people  according  to  the  law,  he 
 '  took  the  blood  of  calves  and  of  goats,  with  water,  and  scar- 
 1  let  wool,  and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the  book  and  all 
 {  the  people/  The  ashes  of  the  heifer  in  the  water  of  puri- 
 fication behoved  to  be  applied,  by  sprinkling  the  unclean, 
 verse  13.  By-the-bye,  how  shall  we  judge  of  their  doctrine 
 who  hold,  that  men  who  never  heard  of  Christ,  by  living  up 
 to  the  rules  of  their  several  religions,  may  be  saved  even 
 through  Christ  ?  This  is  diminishing  the  special  mercy  of 
 God  to  us,  to  whom  Christ  is  preached  ;  to  lead  those  who 
 hear  of  him  to  think  that  themselves  have  a  wide  gate  to  enter 
 at,  when  Christ  says  it  is  narrow;  it  is  to  open,  by  the 
 sovereignty  of  our  charity,  the  gate  to  those  on  whom  God 
 hath  shut  it ;  it  is  giving  the  lie  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  who 
 saith  concerning  all  by  whom  the  gospel  is  not  both  heard 
 and  received,  that  '  they  are  without  God,  without  hope  in 
 c  the  world,'  Eph.  ii.  12.  Is  the  character  and  state  of  those 
 who  have  not  heard  of  Christ  now  better  than  what  is  repre- 
 sented, Eph.  iv.  17,  18.  ?  Our  fond  imagination  may  con- 
 trive charitable  schemes  of  doctrine,  in  favours  of  them  who 
 are  in  ignorance  of  God's  law,  and  of  the  way  of  salvation  ; 
 but  the  Spirit  of  God  has  no  other  doctrine  concerning  them 
 than  this,  Rom.  ii.  12.  e  As  many  as  have  sinned  without  law, 
 '  shall  also  perish  without  law  ;'  and  does  he  not  prove  that 
 (  all  have  sinned,'  chap.  iii.  9,  23.  ?  And  from  our  text,  we 
 say,  how  can  the  consciences  of  such  be  purged  by  the  blood 
 
450  Sermon  I. 
 
 of  Christ,  to  whose  conscience  he  hath  not  subjectively,  nor 
 so  much  as  objectively,  been  revealed  ?  or,  does  God  leave  his 
 own  witness  in  their  souls  in  such  a  case,  as  to  be  capable  of 
 doing  no  other  warrantably  than  condemning  of  them  whom 
 yet  himself  would  be  supposed  to  justify  ?  It  is  true,  Rom. 
 ii.  15.  it  is  said,  their  conscience,  as  it  accuses,  so  it  excuses  ; 
 but  it  is  one  thing  for  the  conscience  to  excuse  (with  respect 
 to  particular  instances  of  sin  or  duty,)  another  thing  to  re- 
 port to  a  man  the  remission  of  his  sins.  Now,  upon  what 
 ground  can  the  conscience  of  them  who  know  not  Christ  re- 
 port or  suggest-the  remission  of  sin  ?  If  it  does  so  upon  this 
 ground,  that  a  man  has  lived  up  sincerely  to  the  rules  of  that 
 religion  he  holds,  and  that  he  knows  infinite  mercy  to  be  an 
 attribute  of  God,  (and  it  can  pretend  no  other  ground,)  then, 
 of  necessity,  either  that  man's  conscience  suggests  a  lie  and 
 is  deluded,  or  the  death  of  Christ  was  needless  and  vain. 
 But  further,  we  may  from  this  judge  of  the  vain  peace  and 
 hope  of  many  hardened  and  impenitent  sinners  within  the 
 church.  They  hope  to  be  saved  ;  but,  upon  what  ground  ? 
 By  the  mercy  of  God  ;  for  God  is  infinitely  merciful.  But 
 this  makes  not  a  sufficient  ground  of  hope.  God  would  be 
 infinitely  merciful ;  and  yet,  in  consistency  with  that  mercy, 
 have  adjudged  you  and  all  the  fallen  race  of  Adam  to  eternal 
 damnation^  as  he  hath  done  the  devils.  But  such  a  man  pre- 
 tends to  have  hope  in  Christ ;  Christ  died  and  shed  his  blood 
 for  sinners  of  mankind.  Such  things  a  man  has  heard  and 
 his  tongue  reports  ;  but  does  your  conscience  suggest  so  to 
 you  ? — your  conscience  which  the  blood  of  Christ  never 
 reached,  which  never  felt  its  influence,  to  which  it  never 
 was  applied  ? 
 
 Now  the  blood  of  Christ  is  applied  to  the  sinner:  1.  Judi- 
 cially, by  God  imputing  it  to  the  believer's  account,  with  re- 
 spect to  his  person  and  state,  in  order  to  his  justification. 
 2.  There  is  an  immediate  and  internal  application  of  it  to  the 
 conscience.  The  question  concerning  this  is,  By  what  means 
 is  it  so  applied  ?  Here  there  are  three  things  to  be  consider- 
 ed: J.  The  word  of  God;  2.  Faith;  3.  The  immediate 
 operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
 
 1.  The  word  of  God,  '  the  word  of  the  everlasting  gos- 
 '  pel,  of  the  ministry  of  reconciliation/  2.  Cor.  v.  19.  which 
 he  hath  sent,  Eph.  ii.  17.  '  to  preach  peace  to  them  which 
 c  were  far  off,  and  to  them  that  were  nigh  :  the  word  of 
 '  faith/  Rom.  x.  8.  This  is  it  that  carries  the  report  of 
 Christ's  blood  to  the  ear  and  to  the  conscience ;  it  is  '  the 
 
Sermon  I.  453 
 
 means  careful  that  we  do  not  contrive  schemes  concerning  it, 
 lay  foundations,  or  offer  warrants  for  it,  that  will  be  otherwise 
 contrary  to  the  analogy  of  faith,  or  form  of  sound  words.  In 
 the  meantime,  I  say, 
 
 3.  That  there  is  in  the  word  of  God  and  in  the  gospel  a 
 foundation  and^  warrant  for  strong  faith.  To  describe  faith 
 in  such  a  maner  as  will  only  suit  the  weakest  and  smallest  de- 
 grees of  it,  and  to  suppose  that  the  manner  of  faith  can  be 
 only  by  a  progress  from  weak  to  strong  faith,  is,  we  suppose, 
 not  so  just.  However  we  may  be  at  a  loss  in  explaining 
 some  things  that  concern  the  warrants  of  faith,  as  we  must 
 likewise  be  at  a  loss  in  explaining  many  things  concerning  the 
 production  and  acting  of  faith,  Eccl.  xi.  5.  yet  I  think  it 
 should  be  acknowledged,  that  there  is  in  the  word  of  God 
 and  in  the  gospel  a  foundation  and  warrant  for  strong  faith, 
 in  the  most  immediate  and  primary  actings  of  it.  Having 
 premised  these  things,  I  shall  be  the  more  brief  in  the  ac- 
 count to  be  given  of  the  nature  of  faith. 
 
 I  say  then,  that  as  faith,  in  the  general,  hath  for  its  found- 
 ation the  word  of  God,  '  the  faithful  saying/  the  report  of  it 
 concerning  Christ,  and  the  offer  of  the  gospel,  and  as  the 
 views  and  discoveries  of  it  are  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
 natural  understanding,  and  by  another  light  than  the  natural 
 understanding  ever  hath  ;  so  particularly, — 
 
 1.  This  faith  contains  in  it  a  perception,  a  satisfying  per- 
 ception, of  the  glorious  and  absolute  sufficiency  of  Christ's 
 obedience,  sacrifice,  blood  and  death,  for  our  ransom,  our  re- 
 demption ;  for  procuring  the  remission  of  sin,  and  reconcilia- 
 tion ;  for  our  peace ;  for  the  purchase  of  all  grace  and  salva- 
 tion. This  includes,  1.  A  satisfying  view  of  the  glorious 
 method  of  divine  wisdom  and  grace,  with  respect  to  the  me- 
 diation of  Christ,  and  the  substitution  of  him  for  sinners. 
 2.  Some  just  view  of  the  glory  of  the  person  of  Christ,  whose 
 name  is,  '  The  wonderful ;  who  is  Immanuel,  God  with  us  ; 
 *  who  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  who  through  the  Eternal 
 '  Spirit  offered  himself/  Such  view  of  this  as  does,  with 
 much  wonder  and  astonishment,  satisfyingly  convince  the 
 soul  of  the  singular  and  infinite  dignity  and  preciousness  of 
 his  oblation  and  blood.  3.  A  view  of  the  holiness  and  justice 
 of  God  (with  which  the  conscience  is  principally  concerned,) 
 as  being  fully  glorified  in  Christ,  and  by  having  full  repara- 
 tion from  him.  That  faith  contains  such  perception  and 
 views  of  such  knowledge,  is  evident  from  those  Scriptures 
 that  show  the  immediate  effect  of  the  gospel  to  be,  Acts.  xxvi. 
 
454  Sermon  I. 
 
 18.  '  opening  men's  eyes,  and  turning  them  from  darkness 
 c  to  light  f  that  show  unbelief  to  be,  2.  Cor.  iv.  4.  by  ' the 
 c  blinding  of  men's  eyes,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel 
 c  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should  shine  unto  them  ;' 
 that  show  this  unbelief  and  rejection  of  the  gospel  to  be  over- 
 come, verse  6.  '  by  receiving  the  light  of  the  glory  of  God  in 
 f  the  face  of  Christ  f  that  declare,  as  John  xvii.  3.  '  This  is 
 '  life  eternal,  to  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus 
 (  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent.' 
 
 2.  Faith  contains  a  satisfying  conviction  and  view  of  the 
 most  free  and  full  offer  of  Christ  in  the  gospel,  and  the  par- 
 ticular direction  of  that  offer  to  the  sinner  himself.  By 
 means  of  which,  the  sinner,  distressed  with  a  sense  of  condem- 
 nation and  wrath,  perceives  Christ  to  be  a  city  of  refuge,  the 
 way  to  which  is  prepared  and  plain,  not  long  or  distant, 
 Deut.  xix.  3,  6. ;  perceives  his  blood  to  be  (as  Zech.  xiii.  1.) 
 '  a  fountain  opened  for  him  to  wash  in,  for  sin  and  for  un- 
 '  cleanness/ 
 
 3.  Faith  imports  a  confident  acceptation  of  Christ,  with 
 the  benefit  and  comfort  of  his  blood.  Here  are  two  things  to 
 be  considered.  1.  Acceptation;  2.  Confidence  therein.  1. 
 Acceptation.  That  faith  imports  this,  appears,  first,  from  1 
 Tim.  i.  15.  where  the  apostle,  recommending,  as  is  evident, 
 Christ  to  the  faith  of  sinners,  says,  c  This  is  a  saying  worthy 
 1  of  all  acceptation  f  and  from  John  i.  J  2.  where  faith  is  ex- 
 pressed by  receiving ;  '  to  them  that  received  him,  even  to 
 '  them  that  believe  on  his  name/  2.  From  these  places  that 
 show  the  unbelief  of  sinners  and  express  it,  as  Matth.  xxiii. 
 37.  '  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  your  children,  and 
 f  ye  would  not  ?'  and  John  v.  40.  '  and  ye  will  not  come  to 
 '  me  that  ye  might  have  life/  And  this  is  such  a  full  and 
 hearty  acceptation  as  may  be  supposed  to  flow  from  a  tho- 
 rough sense  of  a  desperate  condition,  from  such  views  of  re- 
 demption by  Christ  as  are  mentioned  ;  and  from  the  agree- 
 able, sweet,  and  overpouring  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
 But  further,  there  is  confidence  ;  for  I  called  it  a  confident 
 acceptation.  That  such  a  confidence  suits  the  nature  of  faith, 
 is  evident  from  the  nature  of  the  thing ;  for  how  shall  a  dis- 
 tressed and  humbled  sinner,  surprised  with  a  discovery  of  the 
 suitableness  and  sufficiency  of  Christ,  of  the  free  and  parti- 
 cular offer  of  him,  and  satisfyingly  convinced  of  all  this,  be 
 supposed  to  receive  Christ  but  with  confident  acceptation  ?  If 
 it  be  said,  that  it  is  the  soul's  reflection  upon  its  own  acting, 
 in  way  of  acceptation  and  faith,  that  produces  this  confi- 
 
Sermon  1.  451 
 
 '  entry  of  this  word'  into  the  conscience,  overclouded  with 
 the  dark  apprehension  of  wrath,  '  that  gives  light/  Psal. 
 cxix.  130.  '  Remember  the  word  unto  thy  servant,  upon 
 '  which  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope/  Psal.  cxix.  49. 
 
 Now,  in  the  experience  of  souls,  the  word  of  God  may  con- 
 vey this  benefit  of  Christ's  blood  to  the  conscience  in  a  differ- 
 ent manner  and  with  different  circumstances.  Sometimes 
 the  word  may  enter,  in  these  parts  of  it  which  do  more  di- 
 rectly express  the  virtue  of  Christ's  blood  and  its  use  for  our 
 redemption,  and  so  procure  a  more  explicit  consent  and  faith 
 in  relation  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  with  a  more  sensible  effect 
 upon  the  conscience.  At  another  time  a  promise  of  God's 
 word  may  come  in  the  soul,  that  expresses  some  particular  be- 
 nefit and  comfort  of  the  covenant,  suited  to  that  which  the 
 soul  is  most  particularly  exercised  about :  however,  it  being 
 in  Christ  only  that  the  promises  of  God  are  yea  and  amen, 
 the  particular  comfort  is  so  conveyed  into  the  soul,  that  the 
 conscience,  at  the  same  time,  though  in  a  more  implicit  way, 
 is  fully  satisfied  about  the  ground  thereof  in  Christ,  and  in 
 his  blood  ;  which,  as  was  hinted,  by  the  removal  of  the  curse, 
 alone  doth  entitle  to  the  blessings  of  Abraham,  or  of  the  co- 
 venant. 
 
 2.  There  is  faith.  By  faith  it  is  that  Christ  is  received, 
 John  i.  12.  :  by  it  the  soul  feeds  on  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
 the  Son  of  man,  John  vi.  47,  48,  51. ;  the  mouth  it  is  of  the 
 soul,  by  which  this  blood  entering,  doth,  as  it  were,  fall  down 
 upon  the  conscience.  In  a  word,  e  God  hath  set  forth  Christ 
 "to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his  blood/  Rom. 
 iii.  25. 
 
 It  may  be  proper,  upon  this  occasion,  to  give  some  account, 
 1.  Of  the  nature  of  this  faith ;  2.  Of  its  office  with  respect 
 to  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  conscience.  1 .  Of  the  nature 
 of  faith.  Upon  this,  to  be  the  better  understood,  I  premise 
 these  three  things  : 
 
 1.  That  the  object  of  faith  is  various  and  extensive.  Faith 
 acts  variously,  suitably  to  the  variety  presented  to  it  in  the 
 word  of  God  ;  to  all  the  length  and  breadth  of  which,  with 
 respect  to  every  various  and  different  matter,  our  faith  ought 
 to  extend  itself.  Now  the  benefit  of  faith,  with  respect  to 
 our  justifications  and  purging  of  the  conscience,  being  from  its 
 object,  and  there  being  many  objects  presented  to  it  from  the 
 word,  which  have  not  a  proper  immediate  relation  to  our  jus- 
 tification or  the  purging  of  the  conscience,  (for  instance,  Heb. 
 vi.  3.)  it  follows,  that  there  are  many  actings  of  true   faith 
 
 u5 
 
452  Sermon  7. 
 
 that  do  not  belong  to  our  present  subject  and  consideration  ; 
 and  that  it  is  justly  that  justifying  faith,  or  the  justifying  act 
 of  faith,  is  distinguished  from  the  other  actings  of  true  faith. 
 If  we  decline  this  distinction,  and  say  that  faith,  in  relation 
 to  our  justification,  is  to  be  considered  in  its  most  compre- 
 hensive view,  I  do  not  see  but  it  must  follow,  that  faith  must 
 justify  by  means  of  its  own  proper  conditionality  in  the  new 
 covenant.  To  say,  on  this  supposition,  that  its  influence  as 
 to  our  justification  is  from  its  object,  cannot  be  understood  in 
 this  case,  when  many  of  the  objects  of  its  particular  actings 
 have  no  relation  to  our  justification.  When  we  propose,  then, 
 to  consider  the  nature  of  faith  as  relating  to  our  justification, 
 or  purging  our  conscience,  it  is  plain  we  must  mean  those 
 actings  of  it  that  relate  to  the  priestly  office  of  Christ,  as  he, 
 Rom.  iv.  25.  c  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and  raised  again 
 1  for  our  justification  ;'  and  as  he  is  in  that  view  exhibited 
 f  and  offered  in  the  gospel/  Rom.  iii.  25. 
 
 2.  That  as  the  faith  of  the  Lord's  people  does  often,  perhaps 
 for  most  part,  fall  short  of  the  large  foundation  afforded  it  in 
 the  gospel,  our  present  inquiry  is  not,  in  what  lowest  degrees 
 faith  may  subsist.  We  will  perhaps  find  considerable  incon- 
 venience in  such  inquiry,  both  with  respect  to  the  use  of  it, 
 and  our  want  of  light  concerning  it.  When,  in  natural 
 things,  we  view  those  seeds  that  are  great  and  large,  it  is  oft- 
 times  easy  for  us  to  say,  such  and  such  part  being  crushed  or 
 broken  off  will  do  no  great  harm  ;  but  if  such  another  part  is 
 damaged,  or  broken  off,  it  will  destroy  the  seed,  and  hinder  its 
 vegetation :  but,  when  we  consider  the  very  small  and  mi- 
 nute food  of  other  plants,  it  is  not  so  easy  for  us  to  tell  which 
 part  being  broken  off  does  no  harm,  or  which  part  being 
 damaged  will  effectually  destroy  the  vegetative  power  of  the 
 seed.  In  like  manner,  if  we  consider  faith  under  the  view 
 and  notion  of  a  very  small  and  weak  seed,  it  is  the  more  dif- 
 ficult for  us  to  judge  about  it.  The  more  small  we  suppose 
 it,  the  more  it  is  below  our  observation,  and  out  of  the  reach 
 of  being  measured  by  many  of  the  rules  we  would  lay  down 
 concerning  it.  In  this  case,  however,  it  were  fit  for  us  not  to 
 be  rash  in  determining  ;  to  be  tender  of  absolutely  discourag- 
 ing such  as  may  have  this  seed  in  the  smallest  degree  ;  on  the 
 other  hand,  not  to  encourage  those  to  sit  down  with  an  appre- 
 hension of  some  small  and  dubious  attainments  in  faith,  who 
 ought  to  be  provoked  to  believe  in  such  a  manner  as  would  be 
 most  for  their  comfort,  strength,  and  success  in  spiritual  life 
 and  holiness.     And,  in  exhorting  to  great  faith,  to  be  by  all 
 
Sermon  J.  4o7 
 
 enabled  in  his  conscience  to  absolve  himself,  and  to  have 
 abundant  consolation  and  good  hope  through  grace. 
 
 So  much  concerning  the  nature  of  faith,  and  its  office  with 
 respect  to  the  conscience  in  the  application  of  Christ's  blood 
 to  it.  With  respect  to  which,  the  third  thing  chiefly  con- 
 siderable is, 
 
 3.  The  special  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  That  the 
 conscience  does,  in  order  to  its  peace,  necessarily  require  the 
 immediate  operation  of  God's  Spirit,  appears  by  these  reasons  : 
 1 .  That  the  satisfying  efficacy  of  Christ's  blood  in  the  con- 
 science depends  upon  views  that  the  natural  man  is  not 
 capable  of,  these  things  being  hid  to  him  ;  for,  1  Cor.  ii.  14. 
 ( the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
 '  God,  neither  can  he  know  them.'  2  Cor.  iv.  4.  f  The  god 
 '  of  this  world  hath  blinded  his  mind.'  I  mean  chiefly  a 
 supernatural  believing  view,  such  as  has  been  spoken  about 
 already,  of  the  glory  and  eternal  Godhead  of  Christ,  by  which 
 he  offered  himself ;  without  this  the  blood  of  Christ  will  be 
 but  like  common  blood.  There  may  be  good  notions  of  his 
 glory  in  the  head  and  imagination,  that  will  serve  to  cover  or 
 colour  over  a  delusion  ;  but  this  will  have  no  real  effect  upon 
 the  conscience.  To  that  it  is  needful  that  i  God  who  com- 
 (  manded  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness  should  shine  into  the 
 (  heart,'  2  Cor.  iv.  6.  2.  The  immediate  instruction  and 
 powerful  operation  of  the  Spirit  is  further  needful  with 
 respect  to  the  conscience,  because  the  method  of  grace  is  so 
 far  out  of  the  road  of  the  natural  conscience  and  of  the  old 
 covenant,  the  impressions  whereof  remain  in  it,  directing 
 strongly  to  a  self-righteousness,  that  it  cannot  of  itself,  by 
 any  moral  suasion,  fall  in  with  the  method  of  grace  by  the 
 imputed  righteousness  of  another ;  therefore  must  it  be 
 effectually  instructed  and  led  right  by  the  Spirit,  who  hath 
 received  of  the  things  of  Christ,  to  show  them  unto  us,  John 
 xvi.  14.;  by  whom  only,  and  not  by  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
 we  can  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  us  of  God, 
 1  Cor.  ii.  14.  3.  The  operation  of  the  Spirit  is  needful  by 
 reason  of  the  disease  that  is  in  the  conscience.  The  demands 
 of  an  awakened  conscience  are  unexceptionably  reasonable  ; 
 but  then,  with  this,  through  sin,  it  labours  under  a  disease. 
 What  satisfies  does  not  pacify.  A  physician  may  administer 
 most  suitable  potions,  and  apply  good  medicines  ;  but  it  is 
 the  immediate  creating  power  of  God  that  must  heal  the 
 sick  ;  so,  Psal.  cvii.  speaking  of  people  in  distress  by  sickness 
 of  body,  he  says,  verse  20.   '  He  sent  forth  his  word/  the 
 
458  Sermon  I. 
 
 creating  word  of  his  power,  '  and  healed  them  :'  so  in  this 
 case,  conscience  is  so  far  satisfied  that  it  cannot  reclaim  ;  yet 
 it  is  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  must  cure  its  sick- 
 ness, remove  its  disturbance,  lay  the  wind  and  the  waves 
 that  rise  there  ;  that  must  create  its  peace,  Isa.  lvii.  19. 
 '  I  create  the  fruit  of  the  lips :'  it  is  the  fruit  of  the  lips, 
 the  fruit  of  the  word  and  gospel  preached  ;  yet,  e  I  create 
 c  the  fruit  of  the  lips  ;  peace,  peace/  What  great  occasion 
 have  we  then,  after  all  the  comfortable  doctrine  we  have 
 been  offering  to  the  conscience,  to  cry  to  God  for  this  effectual 
 instruction  and  powerful  influence  of  his  holy  Spirit  ! 
 
 So  much  concerning  the  application  of  Christ's  blood  to 
 the  conscience,  which  was  the  third  general  head  of  discourse 
 we  proposed  to  speak  upon. 
 
 IV.  What  are  the  effects  of  the  application  of  Christ's 
 blood  to  the  conscience  ? 
 
 1.  Peace.  As  the  effect  of  the  imputation  of  Christ's 
 blood  and  righteousness  to  us  in  our  justification  is  real  peace 
 with  God ;  so  the  effect  of  this  application  of  it  to  the  con- 
 science is  sensible  peace  there.  Then  does  the  sinner  un- 
 derstand that  character  of  him,  that  '  He  is  our  peace,'  Eph. 
 ii.  14.  ■  the  Prince  of  peace/  Isa.  ix.  6,  7-  *  of  the  increase  of 
 g  whose  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end.'  Christ 
 is  a  priest  of  a  special  order,  that  of  Melchizedec,  whose 
 name,  Heb.  vii.  2.  by  interpretation  is,  first,  f  king  of  righte- 
 
 *  ousness  ;*  and  after  that,  also  f  king  of  Salem,  that  is  king 
 c  of  peace.'  When  the  conscience  receives  the  benefit  of  a 
 Mediator's  righteousness,  then  to  it e  the  work  of  righteousness 
 
 *  is  peace ;    and  the  effect  of  righteousness,  quietness  and 
 
 I  assurance  for  ever/  Isa.  xxxii.  17-  When  this  sacrifice  was 
 offered  to  God,  it  was  to  him,  Eph.  v.  ii.  (  an  offering  and 
 '  sacrifice  of  a  sweet  smelling  savour.'  He  was  well  pleased, 
 as  it  is  said  of  Noah's  sacrifice,  that  '  the  Lord  smelled  of  it 
 a  sweet  savour,'  or  a  savour  of  rest,  Gen.  viii.  21.  c  and  said, 
 
 I I  will  no  more  curse  the  ground :'  so  when  this  blood  is 
 applied  to  the  conscience,  it  smells  of  it  a  savour  of  rest ; 
 the  fiery  sulphureous  steams  of  the  curse  are  dissipated,  the 
 thunders  of  the  law  cease:  Cant.  ii.  11,  12.  '  For,  lo,  the 
 '  winter  is  past  ;  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth,  the  time 
 '  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle 
 '  is  heard  in  our  land.'  Now  this  is  not  man's  peace,  as  many 
 say,  Deut.  xxix.  19.  s  I  shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in 
 '  the  imagination  of  my  heart  /  Phil.  iv.  7-  it  is  *  the  peace 
 
Sermon  I.  45f> 
 
 dence,  I  acknowledge,  that  such  reflection,  under  the  direc- 
 tion of  God's  Spirit,  is  a  mean  of  comfort  and  establishment  ; 
 but  I  add,  that  without  reflection,  Christ  and  the  offer  of  him 
 is  sufficient,  as  before  explained,  to  produce  hearty  and  confi- 
 dent acceptation  of  the  report  concerning  him  ;  so  that  the 
 sinner,  convinced  of  His  excellency,  and  his  own  need  of  the 
 free,  particular,  and  sincere  offer,  shall  receive  him  confidently, 
 joyfully,  &c.  Such  a  confidence  appears  further  to  be  suit- 
 able to  faith  in  its  full  and  distinct  acting,  likewise  from  the 
 style  of  the  Scripture,  expressing  it  by  trusting,  assurance, 
 resting,  glorying  in  the  Lord ;  and  from  many  other  argu- 
 ments that  need  not  be  insisted  on. 
 
 I  have  considered  faith  chiefly  as  it  acts  upon  those  views 
 of  Christ  that  concern  the  conscience.  In  the  meantime,  we 
 are  to  notice  that  faith,  in  its  actual  exercise,  is  not  so  re- 
 stricted, but  comprehends  a  full  view  of  Christ,  as  of  God 
 made  to  us,  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
 demption ;  and  is  a  glorying  in  him  upon  all  this  large  and 
 extensive  ground. 
 
 2.  After  this  much  concerning  the  nature  of  faith,  the  next 
 thing  to  be  considered  on  this  subject,  is  the  use  and  office  of 
 faith  with  respect  to  the  blood  of  Christ  and  the  conscience. 
 I  shall  speak  a  little,  before  I  go  farther,  concerning  our  jus- 
 tification. 
 
 *  Justification  is  God's  pardoning  of  all  our  sins,  and  ac- 
 e  cepting  us  as  righteous  in  his  sight ;  only  for  the  righteous- 
 '  ness  of  Christ  imputed  to  us  and  received  by  faith  alone/ 
 
 As  to  our  justification,  faith  is  said  to  have  the  office  of  an 
 instrument,  and  so  to  justify  in  virtue  of  its  object,  Christ 
 our  righteousness,  apprehended,  laid  hold  of,  and  pleaded  by 
 faith,  as  the  instrument  of  the  soul.  In  the  meantime,  I  add, 
 that  faith  hath  not  in  itself  any  virtue,  by  which  it  can  reach 
 such  an  instrumentality  with  respect  to  our  union  with  Christ 
 or  justification  by  him  ;  we  must  therefore  further  take  in, 
 in  this  matter,  the  consideration  of  God's  institution,  and  his 
 acting  suitably  to  this  institution,  in  being  the  justifier  of 
 him  that  believeth  in  Jesus.  And  this  consideration  may 
 serve,  in  some  respect,  to  account  for  the  manner  of  expres- 
 sion frequent  with  many  divines,  unexceptionably  sound  and 
 orthodox,  when  they  speak  of  faith  as  a  condition.  Others 
 indeed  mean  the  conditionality  of  faith,  thus — That  Christ 
 having,  by  his  death  for  all  men,  so  far  reconciled  God  as  to 
 make  way  for  his  entering  into  a  new  covenant,  the  condition 
 of  this  covenant  is  faith,  (by  which  some  mean  faith  itself 
 
456  Sermon  I. 
 
 precisely,  others  include  all  that  subjection  to  Christ's  yoke, 
 or  that  obedience  which  faith  engages  to ;)  which  faith,  ac- 
 cording to  the  tenor  of  the  covenant,  is  that  which  of  itself 
 does  immediately  entitle  the  sinner  to  remission  of  sins,  &c. 
 The  former,  though  they  give  faith  the  name  of  a  condition, 
 yet  still  hold  that  the  immediate  reason  of  justification  is  the 
 imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness  ;  with  respect  to  which, 
 faith  hath  the  office  of  an  instrument,  laying  hold  of  it.  The 
 latter,  though  they  hold  the  death  of  Christ  and  his  blood  to 
 be  the  foundation  of  the  new  covenant,  yet  hold  that  the  im- 
 mediate reason  of  justification  is,  our  faith  itself  being  ac- 
 counted to  us,  or  imputed  for  righteousness.  So  they  explain 
 the  word,  Rom.  iv.  3.  Gen.  xv.  6.  And  this  (whether  the 
 word  condition  is  used  or  not  used  concerning  faith,)  I  take 
 to  be  the  precise  and  proper  state  of  this  controversy ;  the 
 importance  of  which  I  shall  afterwards  take  notice  of. 
 
 Now  if  we  speak  of  the  conscience,  and  say  that  faith  is 
 the  condition  of  its  peace,  the  word  condition  in  this 
 case  must  be  inconsistent  either  with  truth  or  with  all 
 propriety  of  speech.  I  see  not  what  can  be  understood 
 by  it  but  this,  that  the  sinner,  finding  himself  to  have  be- 
 lieved, hath  thereby  peace,  having  performed  the  condition 
 required.  But  this  is  no  other  than  the  Arminian  doctrine 
 above  described,  and  is  a  sad  misleading  of  the  conscience. 
 I  acknowledge  that  the  believer  having  attained  to  the  know- 
 ledge of  his  own  faith,  it  helps  his  understanding  to  form 
 very  solid  rational  conclusions  concerning  his  state  ;  but  then 
 I  say,  that  the  precise,  the  only  and  immediate  cause  of 
 peace  to  the  conscience  is,  its  perception  of  Christ's  blood 
 and  the  expiation  of  sin  by  it.  If  we  acknowledge  this  to  be 
 the  benefit  of  faith  to  the  conscience,  and  yet  still  call  it  a 
 condition  with  respect  to  the  peace  of  the  conscience,  it  is 
 just  as  we  said,  that  the  hand  is  the  condition  of  handling  or 
 taking  hold,  that  the  eye  is  the  condition  of  seeing,  the  ear 
 of  hearing,  the  understanding  the  condition  of  perceiving  ; 
 in  fine,  the  conscience  the  condition  of  self-condemnation. 
 Now  were  not  all  this  jargon,  not  to  instruct,  but  to  confound  ? 
 This  is  surely  what  propriety  of  speech  would  require  to 
 say,  that  the  eye  is  the  organ  by  which  we  see,  the  under- 
 standing the  faculty  by  which  we  perceive  and  judge,  the 
 conscience  the  faculty  by  which  the  sinner  condemneth  him- 
 self. In  like  manner,  I  say,  faith  is  that  instrument,  or  that 
 faculty  of  the  soul,  created  by  the  power  of  God,  whereby 
 the  sinner  perceives  the  virtue  of  Christ's  blood,  and  so  is 
 
Sermo?i  I.  459 
 
 '  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding/     c  I  will  extend 
 peace  to  her  like  a  river/  Isa.  lxv.  12. 
 
 2.  Liberty.  You  have  heard  of  the  bondage  that  belongs 
 to  an  evil  conscience.  A  bondage  that  affects  a  man's  state, 
 so  he  is  a  lawful  captive,  affects  his  future  prospect  and  hope  ; 
 so  it  produces  fear ;  affects  him  with  respect  to  every  duty, 
 work,  and  suffering  he  is  called  to,  and  in  all  these  makes 
 him  slavish.  But  by  the  blood  of  Christ  upon  the  conscience, 
 there  is  a  turning  back  the  soul's  captivity ;  there  is  accom- 
 plished what  the  Lord  Jesus  received  in  charge,  Isa.  xlii.  7- 
 '  to  bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  prison/  The  soul  is 
 set  at  large,  that  was,  as  it  were,  crushed  and  breathless  in 
 a  narrow  room ;  Psal.  cxviii.  5.  '  I  called  on  the  Lord  in 
 '  distress ;  the  Lord  answered,  and  set  me  in  a  large  place/ 
 
 3.  Sensible  access  to  God,  and  confidence  therein.  Sin  has 
 separated  between  God  and  the  sinner.  A  sense  of  sin  and 
 guiltiness  in  the  conscience  drives  the  sinner  from  God. 
 When  Adam  sinned,  he  fled  from  God  to  hide  himself.  He 
 was  driven  from  paradise.  An  angel  with  a  flaming  sword 
 guarded  it  against  him.  The  unclean  in  Israel  were  debarred 
 the  camp  and  tabernacle.  The  people  at  Sinai  were  com- 
 manded distance.  Even  at  the  temple  there  was  the  court  of 
 the  people  ;  they  had  not  access  to  the  temple  itself.  By  so 
 many  different  emblems  did  the  Lord  signify  how  sin  had  ob- 
 structed our  access  to  God.  The  blood  of  Christ  has  again 
 opened  this  access ;  and  that  blood,  being  applied  to  the  con- 
 science, procures  the  soul's  sensible  access  and  confidence 
 therein.  Heb.  x.  19.  '  Having  therefore,  brethren,  access 
 c  with  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus/ 
 and,  Eph.  iii.  12.  'in  whom  we  have  boldness  and  access 
 *  with  confidence  through  the  faith  of  him/  If  access  belong- 
 ed to  any,  it  was  in  special  manner  to  priests;  if  boldness  be- 
 longs to  any,  it  is  in  special  manner  to  kings.  Now7  believers 
 are  a  royal  priesthood.  You  find  in  Heb.  x.  19.  that  '  be- 
 (  lievers  have  access  unto  the  holiest  /  this  represents  the 
 most  near  and  intimate  access  they  have.  When  Uzziah,  of 
 old,  though  a  king,  ventured  to  enter  but  into  the  holy  place 
 to  burn  incense,  the  wrath  of  God  came  speedily  against  him; 
 but  now  a  believer,  without  distinction  of  condition,  has 
 privilege  to  enter  through  the  new  and  living  way,  unto  the 
 holiest,  whither,  of  old,  only  the  high  priest  entered,  and 
 that  but  once  a-year.  But  then  if  believers  are  priests,  where 
 is  their  temple  ?  No  doubt  it  is  a  temple  wherever  his  ordi- 
 nances are  dispensed.     It  is,  no  doubt,  a  temple  wherever  a 
 
460  Sermon  I. 
 
 believer  has  special  congress  with  God,  meets  with  him.  So 
 Jacob  says  (though  there  was  no  outward  temple,  or  place  of 
 worship,)  '  this  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God,  and  this 
 '  is  the  gate  of  heaven  ;  and  he  called  the  name  of  that  place 
 '  Bethel/  Gen.  xxviii.  17*  In  the  meantime,  the  temple, 
 wherein  believers,  this  royal  priesthood,  have  especially  access 
 to  God,  is  themselves,  their  own  souls,  1  Cor.  iii.  16. ;  2  Cor. 
 vi.  16. ;  Heb.  iii.  6.  In  this  house,  this  temple,  God  dwells, 
 which  is  the  distinguishing  privilege  of  a  temple.  In  this 
 temple  his  priests  draw  near  him,  and  offer  incense  and  sacri- 
 fice ;  their  spices,  like  incense  flowing  out,  Song  iii.  6.  and 
 iv.  16.  and  as  Psal.  cxli.  2.  In  this  temple,  God,  as  sitting 
 on  a  mercy-seat,  between  the  cherubim,  as  of  old,  in  the 
 holiest,  answers  his  people  by  testimonies  of  his  presence,  and 
 communications  of  his  grace  and  love.  In  this  temple  have 
 believers  confidence  (as  the  high-priest  of  old  with  the  blood 
 of  others,  so  they  with  the  blood  of  another,  of  Christ)  to 
 enter  into  his  nearest  presence.  4.  From  a  conscience  purg- 
 ed by  the  blood  of  Christ,  ariseth  love  to  God.  The  Psalmist 
 says,  Psal.  cxvi.  1.  *  I  love  the  Lord/  What  gives  him  occa- 
 sion to  begin  with  such  warm  and  pathetic  expressions  of 
 love  ?  It  was  the  sense  of  his  former  dismal  case,  and  the 
 wonderful  deliverance  he  obtained.  His  former  case  he  ex- 
 presses in  such  language  as  will  well  suit  the  condition  of  an 
 awakened  conscience,  verse  3.  c  The  sorrows  of  death  com- 
 
 *  passed  me,  and  the  pains  of  hell  got  hold  upon  me :  I  found 
 
 *  trouble  and  sorrow.'  But  the  mercy  of  God  wrought  his 
 deliverance ;  therefore,  with  a  warm  sense  of  this  he  begins 
 the  psalm,  '  I  love  the  Lord  ;'  and  throughout  the  psalm, 
 what  large  and  impetuous  streams  of  praise  and  thanksgiving 
 flow  from  the  springs  of  this  love  !  The  blood  of  Christ  upon 
 the  conscience  hath  an  inexpressible  savour  and  report  of 
 Christ's  love.  With  what  strong  impression  of  this  hath 
 John  that  doxology,  Rev.  i.  5,  6.  '  Unto  him  that  loved  us, 
 '  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath 
 '  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his  Father ;  to  him 
 '  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever,  amen  ?'  This 
 proof  of  Christ's  love,  that  the  conscience,  once  purged,  hath 
 to  report,  has  a  sweet  and  unavoidable  constraint,  2  Cor.  v. 
 14.  It  determines  the  soul  effectually  and  practically,  with 
 a  return  of  love,  to  judge,  as  verse  15.  '  that  they  which  live,' 
 who  owe  their  life  to  his  marvellous  love,  '  should  not  hence- 
 1  forth  live  to  themselves,  but  unto  him  that  died  for  them.' 
 It  appears,  then,  that  it  is  by  means  of  the  fruit  of  free  grace 
 
Sermon  I.  461 
 
 to  the  conscience,  that  the  law  or  commandment,  which  was 
 weak  of  itself,  Rom.  viii.  3.  doth  reach  its  end  ;  for  1  Tim.  i. 
 5.  '  the  end  of  the  commandment/  or  the  design  and  scope  of 
 it  '  is  charity/  or  love,  c  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good 
 '  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeigned/ 
 
 5.  When  the  conscience  is  purged  by  the  blood  of  Christ, 
 that  same  faith  that  receives  the  conviction  of  righteousness 
 for  the  benefit  of  the  conscience,  has  room  to  extend  itself 
 upon  the  same  ground  ;  and,  by  immediate  and  just  conse- 
 quence, to  take  a  view  of  the  soul's  advantage  against  Satan  : 
 consequently  against  sin  and  the  world,  the  instruments  of 
 his  government.  The  same  spirit  and  the  same  faith  convince 
 of  judgment ;  because  'the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged/ 
 John  xvi.  11.  The  dominion  of  Satan  and  of  sin  are  founded 
 upon  the  curse  of  the  law.  While  the  soul,  by  an  evil  con- 
 science, finds  itself  under  the  curse  of  this  law,  it  finds  itself, 
 at  the  same  time,  the  prey  of  the  mighty,  Isa.  xlix.  24.  the 
 lawful  captive  of  that  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children 
 of  disobedience,  Eph.  ii.  2.  :  therefore,  while  the  sinner  is 
 under  the  law,  sin  hath  all  manner  of  advantage,  Rom.  vii.  5.  ; 
 c  for  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  motions  of  sin,  which 
 '  were  by  the  law,  did  work  in  our  members  to  bring  forth 
 '  fruit  unto  death.'  But  the  conscience  being  relieved  from 
 the  curse,  of  consequence,  hath  this  comfortable  doctrine, 
 Rom.  vi.  14.  '  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  ;  for  ye 
 '  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace.'  This  is  faith,  the 
 victory  of  the  soul,  in  what  concerns  its  sanctification,  1  John 
 v.  4.  '  This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world  /  com- 
 pare, chap.  ii.  16.  c  even  our  faith.'  What  is  it  that  gives 
 this  special  virtue  to  faith  ?  It  is,  verse  5.  that  it  is  c  a  be- 
 f  lieving  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God.'  But  what  does  faith 
 perceive  in  this  glorious  object  to  the  purpose  of  overcoming 
 and  of  holiness  ?  It  is  this,  verse  6.  that  '  he  came  by  water 
 1  and  blood :'  and  it  is  added,  for  caution,  very  suitably  to 
 our  purpose,  and  to  the  concern  of  the  conscience  for  its  ad- 
 vantage with  respect  to  sanctification,  '  not  by  water  only, 
 1  but  by  water  and  blood.' 
 
 6.  An  effect  of  the  conscience  being  purged  by  Christ's 
 blood  is  hope.  One  of  the  effects  of  our  peace  with  God, 
 Rom.  v.  1.  that  the  apostle  mentions,  is  this,  verse  2.  that 
 1  we  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.'  That  redemption 
 of  transgression,  by  means  of  Christ's  death,  which  giveth 
 peace  to  the  conscience,  has  been  contrived  and  executed  for 
 no  lower  purpose  than  this,    Heb.  ix.  15.  that   ( they  which 
 
462  Sermon  I. 
 
 '  are  called  might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inheritance/ 
 We  have  observed  from  Rom.  iv.  25.  the  respect  that  Christ's 
 resurrection  hath  to  our  justification.  In  this  is  there  a  sure 
 foundation  of  hope ;  insomuch,  that  the  soul  cannot  be  sup- 
 posed to  perceive  the  fruit  of  Christ's  resurrection  for  justifi- 
 cation and  peace  of  conscience  without  lively  hope.  Hence, 
 1  Pet.  i.  3.  c  which  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope, 
 '  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.'  What 
 follows,  shows,  1.  The  object  of  this  hope,  verse  4.  '  an  in- 
 i  heritance  incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
 '  away ;'  2.  The  security  of  this  inheritance  to  the  believer, 
 with  respect  to  the  certain  reservation  of  it  for  him,  and  the 
 certain  preservation  of  him,  through  grace,  for  it,  verses  4,  5. 
 '  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
 '  God,  through  faith,  unto  salvation/  We  observed  already, 
 that  the  conscience,  in  receiving  the  influence  of  Christ's 
 blood,  hath  inconceivable  proof  of  God's  love.  Now,  a  sense 
 of  God's  love  does  naturally  produce  a  certainty  of  hope ;  by 
 the  apostle's  reasoning,  Rom.  v.  5.  e  And  hope  maketh  not 
 (  ashamed,  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our 
 '  hearts/ 
 
 7.  All  these  great  effects  of  the  conscience  being  purified 
 require  the  Spirit.  A  good  conscience  cannot  produce  liberty, 
 confidence,  love,  &c.  but  by  the  Spirit.  Not  that  the  purity 
 of  the  conscience  doth  produce  the  grace  of  the  Spirit ;  but 
 that  the  giving  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  inseparably  connected 
 with  the  purging  of  the  conscience,  and  is  the  privilege  of  it ; 
 as  c  Christ  came  by  water  and  blood,'  1  John  v.  6.  In  order 
 to  be  the  better  understood,  I  say  these  two  things  :  1.  The 
 faith  that  is  instrumental  in  purging  the  conscience  doth 
 presuppose  the  Holy  Ghost  and  his  operation  in  the  soul ;  for 
 faith  is  a  fruit  and  evidence  that  a  man  is  born  of  God, 
 1  John  v.  1.  ;  so,  John  i.  12,  13.  f  they  which  believe  are 
 '  they  which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  but  of  God ;'  that  is,  as 
 chap.  iii.  5.  f  born  of  the  Spirit.'  I  have  likewise  showed  be- 
 fore, that  the  conscience  is  under  a  subjective  incapacity  of 
 being  purged  by  Christ's  blood  any  otherwise  than  through 
 the  operation  of  God's  Spirit  upon  it ;  so  it  appears,  that 
 both  faith  and  the  purification  of  the  conscience  do  presup- 
 pose the  Holy  Ghost  operating  in  the  soul.  Nevertheless, 
 2.  I  say,  that  in  another  respect  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  gift  and 
 privilege  consequential  to  faith  and  to  the  purging  of  the  con- 
 science. What  relation  the  purging  of  the  conscience,  and 
 this  attainment  of  the  Spirit,  hath  to  one  another,  we  may 
 
Sermon  I.  463 
 
 collect  from  Gal.  iv.  5,  6. ;  and  what  place  faith  hath  in  this 
 matter  is  expressed,  Gal.  iii.  13,  14.  '  Christ  hath  redeemed 
 €  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  that  we  might  receive  the 
 e  promise  of  the  Spirit  through  faith  ;'  and,  Eph.  i.  13.  '  In 
 '  whom  also,  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  that 
 '  Holy  Spirit  of  promise.'  To  understand  this  dispensation 
 of  the  Spirit  only  of  that  extraordinary  and  miraculous  dis- 
 pensation that  took  place  in  the  primitive  church,  were 
 certainly  a  great  error :  for,  1.  All  believers  in  that  time  did 
 not  partake  in  that  extraordinary  dispensation ;  whereas  the 
 apostle  still  speaks  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  view  we  have  now 
 under  consideration,  as  belonging  to  all  believers ;  and  intro- 
 duces it  on  every  occasion  as  a  doctrine  all  believers  were 
 alike  concerned  in,  and  as  a  privilege  they  had  a  right  to  in 
 common,  without  ever  adding  the  least  hint  of  caution  or  dis- 
 tinction that  would  serve  the  purpose  of  such  an  interpreta- 
 tion. 2.  In  Gal.  iii.  14.  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  is  mention- 
 ed as  a  great  and  most  special  part  of  the  blessing  of  Abra- 
 ham. Now  the  blessing  of  Abraham  is  no  other  than  that 
 with  respect  to  which  it  was  said  to  him,  Gen.  iii.  3.  '  In  thee 
 1  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed  ;'  and  the  ex- 
 tending of  this  blessing  to  the  Gentiles,  Gal.  iii.  13.  is  no 
 other  than  the  extending  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  of 
 grace  to  them ;  and  especially  this  blessing  of  the  Spirit,  to 
 which  all  believers  should  have  a  right,  in  common  with 
 Abraham,  who  is,  Rom.  iv.  11.  '  the  father  of  all  them  that 
 '  believe/  3.  The  Holy  Ghost,  as  received  by  faith,  is  said, 
 Eph.  i.  14.  to  be  '  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  until  the 
 1  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession  ;'  and,  Eph.  iv.  30. 
 to  be  that  wherewith  believers  c  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
 •  redemption  ;  which  is  there  used  as  a  motive  to  enforce  an 
 exhortation,  addressed  to  believers  universally,  to  purity  and 
 holiness.  Now  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession 
 being  the  term  or  period  mentioned,  shows  the  blessing  to 
 belong  to  every  intermediate  time.  All  believers  are  alike 
 concerned  in  the  inheritance  ;  in  the  redemption  of  the  pur- 
 chased possession.  Now,  is  it  only  the  first  believers  that 
 were  to  receive  an  earnest  of  the  inheritance,  or  that  needed 
 to  be  distinguished  and  secured  for  it  by  God's  seal  ?  It  is 
 certain  the  extraordinary  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
 principally  intended  in  subserviency  to  another  purpose,  viz. 
 that  of  propagating  the  gospel,  and  setting  up  Christ's  king- 
 dom at  that  time.  In  the  meantime,  what  the  whole  import 
 of  the  sealing  above  mentioned  is,  I  shall  not  now  inquire  : 
 
464  Sermon  I. 
 
 but  I  say,  a  heart  purged  from  an  evil  conscience,  does  (and 
 that  for  measures,  I  suppose,  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of 
 faith)  receive  the  Spirit  of  God  as  the  spirit  of  adoption  ;  for 
 this,  see  Gal.  iv.  5,  6. ;  Rom.  viii.  15.  ;  2  Tim.  i.  7«  This  Spirit 
 dwells  in  believers  as  in  his  temples  ;  instructs  them,  shows 
 them  the  things  of  Christ,  glorifies  him  in  them,  directs 
 their  way,  helps  their  infirmities,  sanctifies  and  preserves 
 them. 
 
 Such,  then,  are  the  effects  of  the  purification  of  the  con- 
 science by  the  blood  of  Christ.  I  doubt  not  but  some  of  the 
 Lord's  people  may  say,  that  such  effects  are  so  insensible  and 
 imperceptible  with  themselves,  that  the  mention  of  them  does 
 effectually  darken  and  disprove  all  the  conclusions  they  have 
 ever  formed  concerning  their  state.  I  would  not  wish  such 
 improvement  to  be  carried  too  far.  In  the  meantime,  these 
 things  may,  at  least,  suggest  to  us,  what  are  these  effects,  by 
 the  purification  of  our  conscience,  that  we  should  all  have  in 
 view  to  attain  to,  in  the  best  degree.  And  that  therefore  we 
 should  have  at  heart,  above  all  things,  to  have  our  conscience 
 purged  in  the  most  distinct  and  sensible  manner,  by  means 
 of  the  strong  actings  of  faith,  and  the  gracious  influence  of 
 God's  Spirit.  Since  the  greater  our  faith  in  the  bl^ood  of 
 Christ  is,  and  the  more  sensible  the  purification  of  our  con- 
 science, the  more  sensibly  and  plentifully  will  the  blessings 
 mentioned  flow  upon  our  souls,  for  their  comfort,  establish- 
 ment, sanctification,  and  for  their  safety  and  security  against 
 the  evils  that  surround  them  in  the  world. 
 
 All  the  above  blessings  and  privileges,  I  suppose,  the 
 apostle  includes  in  one  word  in  our  text,  c  to  serve  the  living 
 '  God/  From  what  has  been  said,  it  may  be  perceived  how 
 natively  every  thing  that  pertains  to  the  serving  of  him,  to 
 communion  with  him,  and  holiness,  flows  from  the  conscience 
 being  purged  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  As  justification  is  the 
 ground  of  all  the  saving  privileges  of  a  believer's  state,  so  it 
 appears  that  a  purified  conscience  is  a  fruitful  spring  of  actual 
 sanctification.  Such  is  the  view  that  Zacharias  expresses  in 
 his  triumphant  song,  Luke  i.  especially  verses  74,  75.  \  That 
 (  he  would  grant  unto  us,  that  we  being  delivered  out  of  the 
 e  hands  of  our  enemies,  might  serve  him  without  fear,  in  holi- 
 (  ness  and  righteousness  before  him,  all  the  days  of  our  life.' 
 
 Having  now  gone  through  the  explications  I  intended,  I 
 am  come  to  the  improvement  of  this  subject ;  and  the  field  is 
 so  wide,  that  I  have  been  much  at  a  loss  what  things  to  men- 
 tion or  insist  most  upon. 
 
Sermon  I.  465 
 
 1.  It  appears  that  the  whole  subject  and  doctrine  of  the 
 gospel  has  been  contrived  and  adapted  for  the  most  full  and 
 comfortable  purification  of  the  conscience,  and  the  glory  of 
 Christ,  and  of  free  grace  thereby.  What  immediately  affects 
 this  subject  is  most  fundamental  with  respect  to  the  gospel, 
 and  the  very  life  of  religion ;  by  which  it  appears  that  the 
 doctrine  of  our  text  affords  us  a  general  key  with  respect  to 
 the  various  schemes  of  doctrine.  From  this  I  infer,  on  the 
 one  hand,  that  we  are  bound  to  have  most  charitable  judg- 
 ment concerning  those  men,  societies  of  men,  or  churches 
 (whatever  unhappiness  there  may  be  with  respect  to  terms 
 of  communion,)  that  do  retain  sound  doctrine  in  what  per- 
 tains to  the  purifying  of  the  conscience ;  on  the  other  hand, 
 that  such  doctrine  as  tends  to  mislead  the  conscience  from  its 
 proper  remedy,  to  obscure  the  glory  of  it,  or  to  weaken  the 
 force  and  efficacy  of  it  upon  the  conscience,  is  of  the  utmost 
 bad  consequence,  and  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  mere 
 matter  of  opinion,  but  as  most  pernicious  to  the  souls  of 
 men.  Therefore  hath  this  been  justly  called  the  article 
 upon  which  the  standing  or  falling  of  the  church  depends. 
 
 2.  I  infer  next,  that  there  must  be  a  preparation  of  the 
 conscience,  for  perceiving  the  influence  of  Christ's  blood. 
 There  hath  been  much  question  concerning  these  called  the 
 preparatory  works  of  God's  Spirit ;  how  far  necessary  or  not  ? 
 I  acknowledge  that  the  Spirit  works  sovereignly,  and  in 
 different  degree  and  manner.  I  say  further,  if  the  question 
 shall  be  concerning  preparations  of  the  heart  for  Christ  by 
 good  dispositions,  frames,  and  duties,  from  which  we  should 
 take  our  encouragement  to  lay  hold  on  Christ,  and  apply  his 
 comforts  to  ourselves,  Rom.  iv.  5.  that  such  questions  lead 
 to  delusion.  But  I  think  it  follows,  from  what  I  have  said 
 concerning  the  office  of  the  conscience,  and  the  purging  of  it, 
 that  the  conscience  must,  by  the  thorough  conviction  of  sin, 
 of  condemnation  and  a  desperate  state,  be  prepared  for  per- 
 ceiving, by  the  instruction  of  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God, 
 the  sufficiency,  efficacy,  and  comfort  of  Christ's  blood. 
 
 Upon  this  a  question  will  be  suggested  concerning  the 
 needful  degree  and  measure  of  such  conviction  of  sin.  To 
 which  I  answer, — 1.  Such  conviction  of  sin  is  needful,  and 
 with  such  force,  as  will  fix  the  sinner,  and  cause  him  make 
 a  stand.  When  men  hunt  a  wild  beast,  and  that  an  arrow  or 
 ball  wounds  him,  yet  so  as  not  to  affect  the  seat  of  life  or 
 organs  of  motion,  he  will  but  run  the  more  furiously  off;  but  if 
 the  arrow  reaches  the  seat  of  life  or  the  organs  of  motion,  he 
 
466  Sermon  I. 
 
 falls,  and  is  caught.  The  Lord  does,  Jer.  ii.  24.  compare  the 
 sinner  to  the  wild  ass  ;  cMen  will  not  weary  themselves  with 
 c  a  vain  pursuit  of  her  ;  but  in  her  month,  when  she  is  heavy, 
 '  she  will  be  overtaken/  So,  that  measure  of  conviction  of  sin 
 is  needful  that  will  make  the  sinner  heavy ;  that  will  dis- 
 able him  from  following  out  his  course ;  that  will  fix  him  to 
 the  consideration  of  his  conscience  and  state,  and  to  the  care 
 of  salvation  above  every  concern.  2.  I  say,  that  measure  of 
 conviction  of  sin  is  needful,  that  will,  in  some  respect,  raise 
 the  conscience  above  the  reach  of  delusions,  with  respect  to 
 our  peace  with  God  and  our  hope.  A  small  wound  is  easily 
 cured  or  skinned  over,  or  at  least  easily  borne,  a  deeper 
 wound  will  hurry  a  man  to  his  ordinary  physicians ;  but  if 
 the  wound  is  felt  to  be  mortal  (and  every  wound  of  the  con- 
 science is  in  itself  so,)  physicians  will  be  given  over,  and  the 
 remedy  that  will  then  be  of  use,  must  have  something  above 
 nature  in  it.  3.  Such  conviction  of  sin  is  needful  as  will 
 determine  the  soul,  under  the  instruction  of  God's  word  and 
 Spirit,  to  hold  Christ  precious  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
 for  the  benefit  of  his  blood  towards  our  reconciliation,  and 
 for  all  his  grace  ;  and  if  the  soul  doth  truly  so  esteem  Christ, 
 or  have  received  evident  proofs  of  his  love  and  grace,  surely 
 those  are  not  to  be  called  in  question,  upon  account  of  a 
 greater  or  lesser  degree  of  former  awakening  and  conviction. 
 
 3.  We  have,  from  the  doctrine  of  the  text,  great  occasion 
 offered  us  of  adoring  the  inconceivable  love,  the  infinite 
 wisdom,  the  free  and  rich  grace  of  God,  who  hath  laid  such 
 a  foundation  for  reconciling  of  souls  to  himself;  who  hath 
 provided  such  a  purification  for  the  conscience  ;  who  exhibits 
 himself  to  it  under  its  guiltiness,  by  the  character  of  c  him 
 ( that  justifies  the  ungodly/  Rom.  iv.  5.  This  is  a  subject  upon 
 which  the  thoughts  and  praises  of  ransomed  ones  will  be 
 extended  eternally ;  and  I  choose  rather  to  leave  it  to  the 
 meditation  of  them  whom  God  hath  wrought  to  the  faith  of 
 it,  than  to  multiply  words  that  will  rather  darken  than  set 
 it  in  a  due  light. 
 
 4.  I  have,  in  the  meantime,  the  most  weighty  matter  of 
 exhortation,  which  I  would  especially  address  to  them  who 
 are  fully  convinced  of  their  need  of  this  purification,  and  are 
 careful  about  it. 
 
 The  exhortation  is  this ;  that  they  open  their  condemning 
 polluted  conscience,  and  expose  it  to  the  influence  of  the 
 blood  of  sprinkling,  which  alone  can  make  it  speak  better 
 things ;   for  '  it   speaketh  better   things  than  the   blood   of 
 
Sermon  I.  467 
 
 (  Abel ;'  that  they  allow  not  unbelief  to  withdraw  their  ear 
 from  the  joyful  sound ;  that  they  would  bathe,  as  it  were, 
 and  drench  their  conscience  in  this  healthful  blood,  ( this 
 '  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanness ;'  that  they 
 would  betake  themselves  thereto,  and  confidently  plead  it  with 
 God  ;  that  they  would  fly  for  refuge  to  take  hold  of  the  hope 
 set  before  them  ;  in  line,  that  they  would  receive  and  give 
 faith  to  our  report. 
 
 For  motives  to  enforce  such  exhortation,  there  would  cer- 
 tainly be  none  other  needful,  did  God  set  the  things  we  have 
 insisted  on,  in  due  light,  before  us ;  did  we  hear  and  learn 
 these  things  of  the  Father,  there  would  be  no  demur  about 
 coming  to  Christ,  John  vi.  45.  Instead,  therefore,  of  offering 
 any  other  motives,  I  shall  apply  myself  to  consider  a  consider- 
 able objection  that  is  used  against  the  believing  acceptation 
 of  the  gospel  offer.     And  it  is  this — 
 
 Object. — I  would  most  willingly  embrace  Christ,  and  the 
 offer  of  him  and  salvation  through  him,  if  I  saw  any  cause  to 
 think  that  he  was  intended  for  me  ;  but  I  most  certainly 
 know,  that  in  the  unchangeable  council  of  God,  this  salvation 
 is  provided  for  some  and  not  for  others  ;  and  Christ's  death 
 intended  for  the  redemption  of  some  and  not  of  others.  How, 
 then,  can  I  have  warrant  for  my  faith  ?  or  what  certain 
 benefit  can  I  have  by  any  attempt  to  lay  hold  on  the  peace 
 and  salvation  offered,  while  I  have  no  evidence  that  the  death 
 of  Christ,  which  is  the  foundation  of  that  offer,  is  intended 
 for  me  ?     I  answer, — 
 
 1st,  The  council  of  God,  concerning  the  extent  of  Christ's 
 death,  hath  no  relation  at  all  to  our  warrant  for  laying  hold 
 of  Christ  by  faith.  They  that  will  seek  a  foundation  for  the 
 general  offers  of  the  gospel  and  for  faith,  in  these  councils  of 
 God,  are  in  the  way  to  unavoidable  error  and  temptation. 
 These  are  secrets  which  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God  ; 
 and  they  are  only  the  things  that  are  revealed  that  belong  to 
 us,  Deut.  xxix.  29. 
 
 2d,  Any  man  would  reckon  such  objection  and  such  conduct 
 most  absurd  in  any  other  matter.  Suppose  you  stood  before 
 a  piece  of  ordnance  that  were  to  be  immediately  discharged, 
 and  were  desired  to  step  aside,  would  you  refuse,  and  stand 
 till  you  were  satisfied  what  were  determined  concerning  your 
 safety  and  escape  in  the  council  of  God,  which  hath  deter- 
 mined every  thing  concerning  you,  yea,  concerning  the 
 sparrows  ?  By  no  means,  if  in  your  right  wits.  Now,  are 
 not  both  cases  exactly  paraDel  in  this  respect  ?     The  artillery 
 
468  Sermon  7. 
 
 of  heaven,  the  wrath  of  God,  is  ready  to  be  discharged  upon 
 you :  there  is  a  refuge  set  before  you ;  yet  you  will  not  fly 
 to  lay  hold  of  it,  till  you  may  be  satisfied  what  the  purpose 
 of  God  concerning  you  imports. 
 
 3d,  God  hath  declared,  in  innumerable  places  of  his  word,  to 
 this  purpose,  that  '  he  that  believeth  shall  be  saved ;'  and 
 that  e  to  them  that  receive  Christ,  he  giveth  power  to  become 
 (  the  sons  of  God/  Now,  do  you  believe  the  decrees  of  his 
 eternal  council  to  be  unchangeable,  and  do  you  not  likewise 
 believe  the  faithfulness  of  his  word  to  be  unchangeable  ?  You 
 need  not  be  apprehensive  that  infinite  wisdom  hath  left  these 
 things  in  danger  of  interfering.  I  say,  heaven  and  earth  may 
 sooner  pass  away  ;  yea,  I  say,  all  the  eternal  decrees  and  pur- 
 poses of  heaven  may  perish,  change,  or  come  to  nothing,  as 
 soon  as  this  declaration  and  rule  of  grace,  c  he  that  believeth 
 '  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  cometh  unto  me,  will  I  in  nowise 
 '  cast  off/  fail,  or  come  short  in  truth  and  accomplishment. 
 
 4th,  Say,  does  the  command  to  believe  in  Christ  concern 
 you  ?  Surely  it  does.  Now,  does  he  require  you  to  believe  ? 
 Does  he  encourage  you  to  it  with  the  promises  of  salvation  ? 
 Does  he  threaten  the  rejection  of  his  offers  with  an  aggravated 
 damnation  ?  Does  he  declare  that  they  who  believe  do 
 greatly  honour  him  ?  and  have  you  then  no  warrant  to  be- 
 lieve ?  Though  you  could  not  conceive  it,  are  you  not  safe 
 to  trust  God,  that  such  believing  is  well  warranted  when  he 
 requires  it  ?  You  have  perhaps  believed  a  lie  implicitly, 
 upon  the  credit  of  a  false  teacher,  or  other  deceiver  ;  you 
 have  perhaps  done  a  wicked  thing  against  God  and  your  con- 
 science, in  obedience  to  some  man  having  power  over  you  ; 
 but  you  will  not  rest  and  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
 for  salvation,  upon  the  authority  of  God,  on  the  credit  of  his 
 report  and  record  concerning  him  ! 
 
 5th,  Consider  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  committed  to 
 us  :  how  we  are  ambassadors  employed  by  God  and  by  the 
 Mediator,  with  full  powers  from  his  Father,  for  this  very  af- 
 fair, to  treat  of  and  procure  reconciliation.  Now,  say,  have 
 we  warrant  to  offer  Christ  to  all,  and  so  to  you  ?  Surely  if 
 there  is  a  fault  through  want  of  due  war  ant  to  you  to  receive 
 the  offer,  that  fault  will  lie  first  at  our  door  for  making  it ; 
 yet  I  suppose  you  will  not  be  rash  to  say  so.  The  blessed 
 apostle  knew  full  well  that  the  purpose  of  God  concerning 
 Christ  was  restricted  and  particular  :  he  knew  full  well  that 
 none  other  would  actually  embrace  his  invitation  and  believe, 
 but  such  as  were  ordained  to  life,  Acts  xiii.  48. ;  yet  does  he 
 
Sermon  1.  469 
 
 (and  you  may  suppose  upon  good  warrant)  by  no  means  re- 
 strict his  invitation  or  offer,  but  calls  all  he  writes  to,  and 
 all  to  whom  these  should  come,  f  in  the  name  of  God  and  of 
 1  Christ,  to  be  reconciled  to  God/  2  Cor.  v.  20.  There  you 
 have  God  and  Christ  and  his  ambassador  all  at  once  giving 
 a  general  call  to  believe,  to  be  reconciled  to  God ;  and  that 
 upon  no  more  special  or  particular  ground  than  that  we  still 
 lay  before  you,  verse  21,  '  that  he  had  made  him  to  be  sin 
 '  for  us,  though  he  knew  no  sin/ 
 
 6th,  You  have  the  same  foundation  and  warrant  to  believe 
 and  lay  hold  of  Christ,  that  believers  have  generally  had  be- 
 fore you.  It  is  true,  we  have  read  of  some  who  were  called 
 and  set  apart  by  immediate  and  special  revelation  ;  but  the 
 whole  cloud  of  saints  generally  had  no  other  warrants  for 
 faith  than  are  offered  to  you.  Now,  are  all  the  Lord's 
 people  fools  ?  Have  all  who  have  died  in  the  faith  upon 
 these  warrants,  died  as  fools  ?  Surely  you  may,  with  the 
 utmost  safety,  trust  to  so  sure,  so  well  proven  and  tried  a 
 foundation. 
 
 I  conclude,  that  the  objection  against  your  warrant  to  be- 
 lieve is  vain  ;  therefore,  that  there  can  be  no  reason  for  your 
 coming  short  of  the  benefit  offered  you  through  Christ's  blood 
 but  this,  that  obstinately  you  put  it  from  you,  and  judge 
 yourself  unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  Acts  xiii.  46. 
 
 5.  I  infer,  that  the  sure  way,  the  way  of  lasting  benefit, 
 in  laying  hold  of  the  promises  and  benefits  of  the  word  of 
 God,  is  to  lay  hold  of  them  as  they  are  through  Christ, — as 
 the  purchase  of  his  blood.  This  is  a  direction  commonly 
 given.  Our  present  subject  shows  the  importance  of  it.  For 
 this  is  it  that  engages  the  conscience  on  the  side  of  our  com- 
 forts. Many  times  the  heart  seems  inclined  to  lay  hold  of 
 the  promise  ;  yea,  seems  to  have  much  present  comfort  by 
 it ;  but  the  conscience  is  not  right ;  its  peace  is  not  distinct  ; 
 not  being  adverted  to  and  provided  for  in  way  of  believing  : 
 therefore  it  is  not  satisfied  with  these  comforts,  or  the  soul's 
 interest  in  them.  Hence  arises  much  temptation,  many  ex- 
 ceptions, and  innumerable  scruples,  that  disturb  the  soul  in 
 the  possession  of  the  most  valuable  comforts.  The  conscience 
 not  being  presently,  distinctly  satisfied  with  views  of  the 
 blood  of  Christ,  makes  a  great  weakness  in  the  foundation, 
 that  gives  advantage  to  Satan,  the  accuser  of  the  brethren, 
 to  batter  down  all  the  comforts  we  build  upon  the  promise. 
 Every  thing  in  the  promise  and  covenant  has  relation  to  the 
 blood  of  Christ,  which  is  the  blood  of  the  covenant ;  therefore 
 
470  Sermon  I. 
 
 all  the  promises  of  the  covenant  are  in  him  yea  and  amen. 
 The  Lord  has  laid  a  sure  foundation  in  the  blood  of  his  Son. 
 Upon  this  ground  hath  he  engaged  his  word  and  oath,  Heb. 
 vi.  18.  '  for  strong  consolation  to  them  who  have  fled  for  re- 
 '  fuge  to  take  hold  of  the  hope  set  before  them/  Thus  hath 
 lie  fully  provided  for  peace  to  the  conscience,  and  comfort  to 
 the  hearts  of  his  people  at  once.  And  when  both  these  are 
 joined  by  a  faith  extending  itself  suitably  to  the  large 
 foundation,  then  will  the  soul  have  an  established  and  solid 
 comfort,  that  will  not  be  exposed  to  that  unresolvedness  and 
 doubting,  that  secretly  hath  its  root  in  an  evil  conscience. 
 
 6.  From  the  doctrine  of  the  text,  and  what  I  have  made 
 evident  in  the  explication  of  it,  I  further  infer,  that  in  order 
 to  his  well-being,  a  believer  stands  in  need  of  two  things  : 
 1.  To  have  always  a  conscience  awake  ;  2.  To  have  an  ordi- 
 nary gracious  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
 
 1.  To  have  always  a  conscience  awake  ;  and  that  not  only 
 to  direct  his  walk,  and  to  maintain  by  it  that  watchfulness 
 and  holy  fear  of  sin,  which  Solomon  says  it  is  still  his  happi- 
 ness to  have,  but  particularly  for  the  sake  of  his  comfort  by 
 Christ.  This  awakenedness  of  conscience  in  a  believer  is  not 
 to  be  measured  by  what  he  may  have  formerly  felt  by  the 
 law.  He  may  himself,  perhaps,  through  mistake,  measure 
 too  oft  by  this  rule,  and  God  may,  in  great  displeasure,  on 
 some  occasions  punish  him  in  this  way  ;  but,  ordinarily,  I 
 reckon  there  is  something  that  pertains  to  the  privilege  of  a 
 believer's  state  that  makes  an  odds  in  this  respect.  In  a  child 
 of  God,  whose  heart  is  fully  reconciled  to  his  law,  '  which  a 
 k  carnal  mind  is  not  subject  to,  neither  indeed  can  be/  recon- 
 ciled to  Christ's  yoke,  and  whose  sharpest  and  most  humbling 
 convictions  are  under  the  direction  of  a  spirit  of  adoption, 
 there  must  be  a  great  difference  betwixt  the  state  of  his 
 conscience,  and  that  of  the  unconverted  under  the  law.  But 
 still  I  say,  that  the  blood  of  Christ  is  a  remedy  provided  for 
 the  sicknesses,  wounds,  and  pollutions  of  the  conscience  ; 
 and  therefore,  in  order  to  the  believer's  having  the  ordinary 
 sensible  benefit  of  this  remedy,  it  is  needful  for  him  to  have 
 always  a  conscience  awake,  heedful,  tender,  and  lively.  I 
 say  he  needs, 
 
 2.  An  ordinary  gracious  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  I 
 shall  not  repeat  what  I  have  said  to  this  purpose,  speaking  of 
 the  first  application  of  Christ's  blood  to  the  conscience  ;  only 
 I  add,  that  this  gracious   influence  of  the   Spirit  is  not  only 
 
Sermon  I.  471 
 
 then  needful,  but  ever  after ;  and  that  without  it  the  believer 
 will,  of  himself,  be  at  a  loss  about  the  believing  improvement 
 of  Christ's  blood  as  much  as  ever. 
 
 I  shall  carry  this  matter  a  little  farther,  and  for  a  founda- 
 tion to  what  I  add,  I  lay  down  this  principle — That  a  child 
 of  God,  who  would  wish  to  have  the  ordinary  and  uninter- 
 rupted benefit  of  a  good  conscience  by  the  blood  of  Christ, 
 must  not  only  have  at  heart  to  be  led  right  with  respect  to 
 the  peace  of  his  conscience  objectively,  but  likewise  has  it  for 
 him  to  see  the  subjective  soundness  and  health  of  the  con- 
 science itself. 
 
 From  this  I  infer, — That  it  is  not  enough  for  a  Christian, 
 in  relation  to  his  peace,  that  he  endeavour  to  maintain  clear 
 views  and  just  impressions  in  his  soul  of  free  grace,  justify- 
 ing through  Christ ;  but  that  he  be  likewise  most  tenderly 
 careful  of  his  conscience  with  respect  to  holiness  of  heart  and 
 life  ;  for  this  concerns  the  subjective  soundness  and  health  of 
 the  conscience  itself;  without  which,  it  will  be  incapacitated 
 and  indisposed  to  perform  a  comfortable  office. 
 
 If  a  man  will,  by  any  unwatchful,  fearless,  and  stumbling 
 walk,  by  indulging  the  lust  of  his  heart,  and  by  the  practice 
 of  sin  in  his  life,  hurt,  wound,  and  sicken  his  conscience,  it 
 is  vain  for  him  to  think  that  his  conscience  will  or  can  be  a 
 vessel  for  his  soul  to  retain  the  comforts  of  Christ's  blood  for 
 him  :  it  hath  received  these  comforts  for  other  purposes,  and 
 when  sickness  is  brought  upon  it,  will  heave  them  up. 
 
 I  take  this  occasion  further  to  observe  the  noxious  ten- 
 dency of  two  very  opposite  schemes  of  doctrine  to  the  con- 
 science, with  respect  to  what  concerns  it  objectively  and 
 subjectively — I  mean  Arminianism,  with  respect  to  our  justi- 
 fication and  peace,  and  Antinomianism,  with  respect  to  our 
 sanctification.  Both  do,  upon  very  opposite  extremes,  offer 
 what  is  detrimental  to  the  believer's  enjoyment  of  full  and 
 solid  comfort  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
 
 1.  Arminianism.  This  imports,  so  far  as  concerns  our 
 present  subject,  that  according  to  the  new  covenant,  it  is  the 
 faith  and  sincere  obedience  of  the  Christian  to  the  precepts 
 of  the  gospel  that  is  the  condition,  the  performance  of  which 
 doth,  by  the  tenor  of  that  covenant,  immediately  entitle  him 
 to  the  peace  and  favour  of  God  and  to  life.  These,  it  is  true, 
 do  hold  that  it  is  the  blood  of  Christ  which  alone  hath  ex- 
 piated sin, — that  it  alone  is  the  foundation  upon  which  God 
 hath  entered  into  a  new  covenant,  upon  terms  suited  to  our 
 
472  Sermon  I. 
 
 present  state, — that  to  this  blood  we  owe  it,  that  God,  who 
 hath  still  right  to  insist  on  perfect  obedience,  yet  doth  accept 
 of  our  faith  and  sincere  obedience  to  the  gospel,  and  imputeth 
 it  to  us  for  righteousness  and  justification, — that  to  this  blood 
 we  owe  the  grace  that  assisteth  our  free  will,  much  hurt  by 
 sin,  in  performing  that  faith  and  obedience.  Upon  the  whole, 
 they  declare,  that  in  general  we  are  indebted  to  the  free  grace 
 of  God  through  Christ  for  our  salvation. 
 
 All  this  amounts  to  the  Pharisee's  '  God,  I  thank  thee,' 
 Luke  xviii.  11.  If  there  is  any  use  of  the  true  remedy  offer- 
 ed to  the  conscience,  it  is  but  like  applying  the  leather  side 
 of  the  plaister  to  the  wound ;  if  it  can  have  any  influence,  it 
 must  be  very  remote,  weak,  and  dubious. 
 
 In  the  meantime,  the  soul  doth  immediately  feed  upon 
 its  own  faith  and  obedience  for  its  life,  and  not  upon  the 
 flesh  and  blood  of  the  Son  of  man,  who  hath  said,  John  vi. 
 57.  e  He  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me.'  Yea, 
 faith  is,  in  this  case,  represented  to  feed  upon  itself;  while 
 the  just  is,  by  his  faith,  to  live  upon  Christ. 
 
 The  word  of  reconciliation  committed  to  us  to  preach  is 
 this,  2  Cor.  v.  19.  '  That  God  is  in  Christ  reconciling  the 
 '  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  to  them  their  trespasses.' 
 Now  the  declaration  here  is  not,  that  God  is,  upon  the  terms 
 of  a  new  and  easier  covenant,  reconciling  the  world ;  but 
 that  he  is  so  immediately  and  directly  in  Christ,  e  whom  he 
 ■  made,'  verse  21.  e  to  be  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made 
 •  the  righteousness  of  God,'  not  in  ourselves,  but  .'  in  him.' 
 Upon  this  immediate  ground,  and  that  condition  only,  doth 
 he  call  sinners  believingly  to  fall  m  with  the  treaty  of  recon- 
 ciliation, and  to  accept  of  his  peace. 
 
 Further,  Christ  himself  is  said  to  be  our  peace,  Eph.  ii.  14. 
 Isa.  ix.  6.  Now,  in  what  respect  is  he  our  peace,  any  other- 
 wise than  the  peace  of  Mahometans  and  heathens,  for  whom 
 he  is  supposed  to  have  shed  his  peace-speaking  blood  as  much 
 as  for  any  others  ?  Only  they  through  misimproving  the 
 sufficient  grace,  the  natural  revelation  afforded  them  (which 
 is  all  the  new  covenant  Christ's  blood  has  obtained  for  them,) 
 do  fall  short  of  God's  further  condescension  :  whereas  we 
 improve  things  to  better  account,  and  by  coming  up  to  the 
 terms  of  our  covenant,  procure  right  to  the  blessings  of  it  : 
 one  of  which  is  the  remission  of  our  sins  and  peace  with  God. 
 Thus  Christ,  for  being  called  our  peace  and  the  Prince  of 
 Peace,  has  done  for  us  only  what  he  has  done  for  the  repro- 
 
Sermon  I.  473 
 
 bate ;  and  the  immediate  objective  ground  of  our  peace  is  in 
 ourselves. 
 
 I  conclude,  that  this  doctrine  is  contrived  for  robbing 
 Christ  of  his  glory,  in  the  matter  of  reconciliation,  impro- 
 priated to  him  ;  and  for  misleading  the  consciences  of  wretch- 
 ed sinners  from  their  peace  in  him. 
 
 2.  There  are,  on  the  other  hand,  Antinomians.  These  do 
 offer  prejudice  to  the  comforts  of  believers  by  the  blood  of 
 Christ,  while  they  hold  things  that  tend  to  hurt  the  con- 
 science, with  respect  to  its  own  subjective  soundness  and 
 well-being.  This  they  do  when  they  hold  things  detrimental 
 to  the  principles  and  interests  of  holiness. 
 
 Against  this  it  is  said  in  defence,  that  there  is  no  design 
 against  the  interests  of  holiness,  but  only  to  forward  it  by 
 such  principles  as  are  supposed  to  be  most  effectual. 
 
 For  answer :  The  question  is  not  concerning  the  intention, 
 which  may  have  been  good  in  general,  as  to  many.  As  to 
 practice,  as  it  is  possible  that  true  faith  in  the  heart  may, 
 though  with  great  disadvantage,  operate  savingly,  notwith- 
 standing of  some  wrong  principles  in  the  head  concerning 
 justification ;  so  we  question  not  but  the  grace  of  God  in  the 
 heart  may  operate  effectually  towards  sanctification,  not- 
 withstanding of  some  principles  in  men's  heads  detrimental 
 to  it. 
 
 I  do  likewise  acknowledge,  that  the  principles  naturally 
 in  the  conscience,  cannot  of  themselves  produce  holiness  of 
 heart,  in  any  part.  Surely,  in  this  respect,  '  the  law  is  weak 
 '  through  the  flesh/  Rom.  viii.  3.  It  is  only  the  principles 
 and  doctrine  of  free  grace  taking  root  and  place  in  the  heart, 
 that  will  make  the  principles  of  the  conscience  of  effectual 
 use  to  holiness.  In  the  meantime,  we  are  to  conceive  and 
 inculcate  the  principles  of  grace  in  such  a  manner  as  shall 
 not  tend  to  obscure,  hurt,  or  eradicate  the  principles  which 
 the  sovereign  Lawgiver  himself  hath  implanted  in  the  con- 
 science ;  without  which  its  health  and  soundness  cannot  sub- 
 sist :  such  are  the  impressions  of  the  authority  of  God,  and 
 of  the  unchangeable  and  eternal  obligation  of  his  law.  There 
 may  be  motives,  from  the  love  and  grace  of  God,  offered  to 
 allure  the  heart  to  duty ;  and  for  certain  it  must  be  effectually 
 allured  and  excited  by  such  motives  ;  but  if  the  principles 
 above  mentioned  are  overlooked,  or  operate  not,  the  conscience 
 is  deprived  of  its  most  special  interest  and  office,  in  relation 
 to  duty  and  sanctification.  What  will  follow  is,  that  the 
 conscience  being  put  out  of  order  and  sickened,  betwixt  its 
 
474  Sermon  I. 
 
 own  native  principles,  and  principles  destructive  of  them, 
 will  come  under  a  subjective  indisposition  for  the  offices  of 
 peace  and  comfort  through  Christ. 
 
 It  will  be  objected,  that  a  fearful  apprehension  of  the 
 wrath  of  God,  and  acting  from  that  principle,  is  natural  to 
 the  conscience  ;  whereas  it  is  contrary  to  the  filial  disposition 
 and  obedience  of  a  child  of  God. 
 
 For  answer :  It  is  true  that  sin  hath  produced  several 
 things  in  the  conscience,  that  do  not  originally  belong  to  it, 
 that  grace  must  cure  or  remove.  In  the  meantime,  as  to  an 
 apprehension  of  the  wrath  of  God,  as  the  just  and  proper 
 wages  of  sin,  that  is  a  principle  necessarily  belonging  to 
 the  conscience  ;  and  though  the  influence  of  it  in  a  slavish 
 way  of  obedience  be  not  warrantable  nor  suitable  to  a  child- 
 like disposition,  yet  the  consideration  of  it,  in  a  right  man- 
 ner, hath  its  own  place  as  a  motive  of  duty,  very  consistently 
 with  the  sweetest  and  most  alluring  motives  of  grace.  With 
 respect  to  the  believer's  peace  and  comfort,  this  principle  and 
 impression  in  the  conscience  imposes  no  greater  hardship  upon 
 him  than  what  the  Lord  imposed  upon  the  man-slayer,  when 
 he  should  have  fled  to  the  city  of  refuge  ;  viz.  that  he  should 
 abide  and  remain  in  it,  and  not  come  without  the  borders  of 
 the  city  of  his  refuge,  Num.  xxxv.  25,  &c.  If  he  did  other- 
 wise, a  kind  Providence  might  overrule  matters  so,  that  the 
 avenger  of  blood  should  not  meet  with  him  ;  yet  while  he 
 wandered  carelessly  or  contemptuously  from  the  city  of  his 
 refuge,  he  had  good  reason  for  most  awful  apprehensions. 
 So,  I  say,  whatever  unhappy  fits  of  sin  and  unbelief  may 
 seize  a  child  of  God,  a  well  ordered  and  sure  covenant  has 
 secured  that  the  avenger  shall  not  actually  meet  with  him  ; 
 yet  while  through  unbelief  he  wandereth  from  his  refuge, 
 the  principle  above  mentioned  in  his  conscience  hath,  with 
 great  consistency,  very  awful  things  to  suggest  to  him :  nor 
 should  we  for  fear  of  this  endeavour  to  knock  it  absolutely 
 out  of  the  soul  :  the  existence  of  it  in  the  soul  is  of  use  to 
 drive  the  soul  back  to  its  refuge  ;  and  the  only  inference  is, 
 that  e  the  just  shall  live  by  his  faith/  In  this  way  of  living, 
 the  principles  of  his  conscience  have  nothing  contrary  to  the 
 greatest  establishment  of  his  peace  and  comfort.  The  man- 
 slayer,  confining  himself  within  the  city  of  his  refuge,  had 
 as  uninterrupted  peace  and  liberty  in  doing  his  work  and 
 affairs  as  the  most  innocent  inhabitant.  This  was  no  pre- 
 judice to  the  law  that  confined  him  there. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  the  soundness  and  health  of  the  conscience 
 
Sermon  I.  47-r> 
 
 itself  being  needful,  in  order  to  the  believer's  enjoying  peace 
 in  it  through  Christ's  blood,  the  principles  that  do  originally 
 belong  to  the  conscience  ought  to  be  maintained  :  it  is  by 
 these,  under  the  saving  instruction  of  God's  Spirit,  that  the 
 soul  will  always  be  disposed  to  hold  Christ  precious  for  his 
 blood  taking  away  its  guiltiness,  for  the  power  of  his  grace 
 against  corruption,  and  for  fitting  and  establishing  in  every 
 good  word  and  work  :  in  fine,  that  the  believer,  with  respect 
 to  conformity  and  benefit,  will  be  brought  up  to  that  of  the 
 blessed  apostle,  1  John  i.  7-  '  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he 
 1  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another  ;  and 
 '  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.' 
 7-  To  conclude  all  that  we  intended  to  offer  concerning 
 the  improvement  of  this  most  important  subject — the  most 
 great  and  awful  view  of  the  Lord's-supper — is,  that  it  imports 
 a  solemn  and  near  approach  to  God,  i  to  our  God,  who  is  a 
 4  consuming  fire/  Heb.  xii.  29.  The  great  duty  in  every 
 duty,  is  to  approach  to  God :  it  is  so  particularly  as  to  this 
 ordinance.  We  have  endeavoured  to  lay  open  the  sure  founda- 
 tion of  confidence  in  every  such  approach.  We  have  need  to 
 look  upwards  for  the  Spirit  of  faith.  The  exhortation  I  give 
 in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  Heb.  x.  19 — 21.  '  Having 
 '  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by 
 1  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living  way  which  he  hath 
 '  consecrated  for  us,  through  the  vail,  that  is  to  say,  his 
 1  flesh  ;  and  having  an  High-Priest  over  the  house  of  God/ 
 (what  follows,  verse  22.  I  would  not  have  the  Lord's  people 
 to  take  as  the  matter  of  a  discouraging  charge,  but  rather  as 
 importing  the  most  evangelical  comfort,  and  inexpressible 
 encouragement,)  e  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  full 
 •  assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil 
 '  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water.' 
 
 i5 
 
476 
 
 SERMON     II. 
 
 James  i.  22. 
 
 '  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your 
 ownselves.y 
 
 There  is  naturally  in  the  minds  of  men  a  source  of  endless 
 error  and  delusion.  The  strong  general  bias  of  men  thereto 
 appears  in  this,  that  no  sooner  does  the  force  of  the  light  and 
 the  evidence  of  the  truth  drive  men  from  one  error,  than  they 
 run  to  the  opposite  error  ;  so  difficult  a  thing  it  is  to  cause 
 men  settle  upon  that  sure  and  solid  truth  that  lies  in  the 
 midst,  between  the  extremes  of  delusion. 
 
 The  general  purpose  and  occasion  of  this  epistle,  brings 
 into  our  view  a  very  remarkable  instance  of  this  kind.  It 
 prevailed  much  among  men,  that  a  man  is  to  be  justified  in 
 the  sight  of  God  by  his  own  righteousness,  and  to  be  entitled 
 to  his  favour  by  his  own  good  works.  There  is  no  error 
 more  deep  in  human  nature.  Indeed,  this  was  the  first  cove- 
 nant of  life,  and  men's  reason  suggests  no  other  ;  though  a 
 little  attention  to  reason,  or  rather  to  the  light  which  the 
 word  of  God  suggests  to  men's  reason,  might  easily  convince 
 men,  that  this  is  a  way  for  justification  and  acceptance  that 
 is  absolutely  and  eternally  out  of  the  reach  of  the  sinner. 
 The  blessed  apostle  Paul  labours  greatly  against  this  innate 
 delusion.  He  asserts,  Rom.  iii.  25,  26.  that  f  God  hath  set 
 c  forth  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  be  a  propitiation,  through 
 •  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness,  that  he 
 '  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in 
 i  Jesus/  His  doctrine  is,  that  c  to  him  that  worketh  not, 
 '  but  believeth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith 
 '  is  counted  for  righteousness/  Rom.  iv.  5. 
 
 Indeed,  the  necessity  of  holiness,  and  the  effectual  influence 
 of  Divine  grace  towards  sanctification,  shines  brightly  in  all 
 the  epistles  of  Paul.  However,  men  were  no  sooner  put 
 from  that  delusion  of  trusting  to  their  own  works  and  righte- 
 ousness, than  they  run  to  the  opposite  and  no  less  dangerous 
 extreme  of  thinking,  since  they  expected  to  be  justified 
 otherwise  than  by  their  works,  that  there  was  no  necessity 
 whatsoever  of  good  works;  no  danger  by  ungodly  living  and 
 unholy  practice.     It  would  seem  that  with  many  this  did 
 
Sermon  II.  477 
 
 not  remain  in  mere  speculation,  but  that  these  sentiments 
 had  too  free  course  in  practice.  The  sharpness  of  this  apostle's 
 reproofs,  and  the  awfulness  of  his  denunciations,  give  some 
 reason  to  think  so. 
 
 It  is  then  the  chief  design  of  this  epistle  of  the  apostle 
 James,  to  show  the  wickedness  and  danger  of  unholy  practice, 
 and  to  assert  the  necessity  of  good  works.  The  necessity  of 
 them  is  especially  asserted  in  the  second  chapter  ;  but  in 
 this  first  chapter,  he  makes  his  way  to  that  subject  by  sug- 
 gesting divers  things  that  make  much  to  that  general 
 purpose. 
 
 I  shall  look  no  farther  back  in  this  context  than  the  18th 
 verse ;  there  the  apostle  acquaints  us  with  a  great  effect  of 
 Divine  grace  by  means  of  the  word  of  God:  '  Of  his  own  will 
 
 *  begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth/  From  this  he  exhorts, 
 as  verse  19.  c  Wherefore,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear, 
 '  slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath/  Some  loved  to  set  out  their 
 knowledge  in  the  talkative  way  ;  and  wrathful  contentions 
 and  disputations  abounded.  The  exhortation  imports,  as  if 
 he  had  said,  since  so  great  good  hath  been  done  us  by  means 
 of  the  word  of  the  gospel,  as  that  God  hath  thereby  begotten 
 us  ;  since  so  great  and  so  important  good  to  our  souls  is  to  be 
 further  had  by  it,  through  the  influence  of  Divine  grace,  let 
 us  be  diligent  and  careful  in  attending  to  the  word,  with  a 
 view  to  the  good  it  may  do  our  souls,  and  to  the  blessings 
 which  Divine  grace  may  communicate  to  us  thereby.  Let 
 it  not  be  our  way,  as  it  is  with  too  many,  to  be  for  ever 
 taking  occasion,  from  what  we  hear,  to  amuse  others  with 
 our  own  speculations,  or  to  disturb  and  hurt  them  by  our 
 wrathful  disputings.  Instead  of  dealing  with  others  con- 
 cerning what  we  hear,  in  that  manner,  let  us  be  anxious  to 
 get  good  to  our  own  souls. 
 
 One  might  say  against  this — Why,  shall  we  have  no  concern 
 about  others,  no  zeal  for  God's  interests,  or  for  seducing  our 
 brethren  from  the  errors  of  their  sentiments  or  practice? 
 The  apostle  says  nothing  against  that.  In  the  meantime, 
 wrath  is  not  the  proper  mean.  It  is  but  a  carnal  weapon, 
 and  none  of  those  that  wrill  be  mighty  through  God,  2  Cor. 
 x.  4.  to  glorify  God,  or  do  good  to  men.  The  wrath  of  man 
 may  suit  a  man's  own  spirit  and  interests;  but,  says  the 
 apostle,  verse  20.  e  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  therighte- 
 
 •  ousness  of  God/ 
 
 How,  then,  shall  we  hear  the  word  of  God,  and  be  conver- 
 sant about  the  gospel  ?     An  answer  to  this  question  we  have, 
 
 i 
 
478  Sermon  II. 
 
 verse  21.  c  Wherefore,  lay  apart  all  filthiness,  and  superfluity 
 '  of  naughtiness,  and  receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted 
 1  word,  which  is  able  to  save  your  souls/  Here  the  word, 
 in  order  to  do  us  good,  must  be  ingrafted.  Our  business 
 with  it  is  not  merely  to  lay  up  in  our  heads  the  stores  of  a 
 talkative  profession,  or  of  angry  disputes  ;  it  must  be  in- 
 grafted in  our  hearts,  although  its  being  so  should  require 
 the  piercing  or  cutting  of  them. 
 
 That  it  may  be  thus  ingrafted,  the  word  must  be  received 
 with  meekness.  With  that  meekness  that  subjects  the  whole 
 soul  to  the  authority  of  God  speaking  by  it ;  with  that  meek- 
 ness that  is  opposite  to  the  evil  disposition  and  temper  towards 
 men  which  he  had  mentioned. 
 
 In  order  that  this  gracious  temper  may  have  place  in  the 
 heart,  there  is  certain  vile  trash  to  be  thrown  out,  viz.  *  all 
 '  lilthiness  and  superfluity  of  naughtiness/  What  are  we 
 especially  to  understand  by  these  expressions  ?  I  here 
 observe,  that  the  apostle  Peter  appears  evidently  to  have  a 
 discourse  and  exhortation  to  the  same  purpose  and  scope  with 
 that  of  my  context  ;  1  Pet.  i.  he  observes  that  the  Christians 
 he  writes  to,  *  were  born  again  by  the  word  of  God/  verse 
 23.  ;  even  as  he  says,  verse  25.  ( by  the  word  of  the  gospel 
 1  which  was  preached  unto  them/  In  order  to  their  further 
 profiting  thereby,  he  adds,  as  immediately  follows,  chap.  ii. 
 1,  2.  '  Wherefore,  laying  aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile,  as 
 '  new  born  babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that 
 4  ye  may  grow  thereby/  This  discourse  of  Peter's  is  so  pre- 
 cisely to  the  same  purpose  in  every  part  with  that  of  the 
 context  under  our  consideration,  that  we  may  reasonably  ex- 
 plain the  one  by  the  other  ;  and  so  suppose  that  the  apostle 
 James  does,  by  filthiness  and  superfluity  of  naughtiness, 
 especially  mean  what  Peter  expresses  more  distinctly  and 
 particularly,  viz.  malice,  guile,  hypocrisies,  envies,  evil 
 speakings,  and  such  like  unholy  passions  and  practices. 
 
 When,  laying  apart  these,  Christians  do  with  meekness 
 receive  the  ingrafted  word,  the  apostle  says,  it  is  able  to  save 
 their  souls.  As  it  was  the  mean  by  which  Divine  grace  did 
 beget  them,  by  which  God  did  begin  a  good  work  in  them  ; 
 so  shall  it  be  the  mean  by  which  he  will  advance  that  good 
 work,  until  he  perform  and  finish  it  against  the  day  of  Christ, 
 Phil.  i.  6. 
 
 On  this  occasion,  a  serious  Christian  might  say,  I  endea- 
 vour to  have  my  heart  free  from  every  disposition  and 
 passion   that  would  obstruct   my  profiting   by  the  word,  or 
 
Sermon  II.  479 
 
 that  would  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  who  is  the  proper 
 Author  of  my  profiting  ;  there  is  nothing  I  have  so  much  in 
 view  as  the  real  good  of  my  own  soul  in  hearing  ;  I  wish,  by 
 the  blessing  of  God  on  the  word  I  hear,  to  increase  my  light, 
 to  advance  in  my  knowledge  of  the  glorious  mystery  of  the 
 new  covenant,  and  of  the  love  and  grace  of  God  through 
 Jesus  Christ,  to  reach  a  spirtual  and  holy  frame  of  heart ; 
 to  attain  to  an  establishment  of  comfort  and  hope,  and  to  a 
 victory  over  my  own  unbelief,  and  the  temptations  which 
 Satan  suggests  against  my  peace. 
 
 To  such,  I  say,  all  this  is  well.  The  sincerity  of  such 
 views  and  dispositions  is  certainly  from  above,  and  will  not 
 be  altogether  without  suitable  influences  from  above,  an- 
 swering to  such  views  ;  yet  there  is  one  thing  further  to  be 
 adverted  to,  that  must  necessarily  be  brought  along  ;  that  is, 
 doing  of  the  word.  The  apostle  has  a  c  but,'  a  mark  of  cau- 
 tion to  that  purpose,  'but  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  not 
 '  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  ownselves/ 
 
 We  come  now,  after  so  long  an  introduction  concerning 
 the  right  manner  of  hearing  the  word,  to  what  concerns  the 
 practising  thereof;  the  enjoining  of  which  is  the  scope  of 
 my  text.     In  it  I  observe  three  things — 
 
 I.  A  general  obnoxiousness  of  men  to  self- deceiving, — ( de- 
 '  ceiving  your  ownselves/ 
 
 II.  The  particular  matter  of  self-deceiving  here  cautioned 
 against  ;  and  that  is,  men's  satisfying  themselves  with 
 being  hearers  only  of  the  word. 
 
 III.  The  character  and  conduct  required  and  recommended 
 in  opposition  to  this  ;  that  is,  to  be  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 I.  The  general  obnoxiousness  of  men  to  self-deceiving. — 
 For  any  man  to  be  a  deceiver  of  others,  is  one  of  the  vilest 
 of  characters,  and  one  of  the  strongest,  most  special  resem- 
 blances that  any  can  bear  of  the  old  serpent,  that  grand  de- 
 ceiver. But  that  any  should  deceive  himself,  is  very  strange  ; 
 it  is  for  a  man  to  be  the  devil  against  himself.  Shall  we  say 
 that  any  man  could  deceive  himself?  or  is  it  possible  for  any 
 man  to  design  it  ?  But,  however  the  case  be  as  to  designing, 
 there  is  certainly  an  inclination  and  tendency  in  human  na- 
 ture to  self-deceiving,  that  works  as  effectually  as  the  most 
 resolved  and  most  explicit  intention. 
 
 It  is  true,  it  is  but  a  particular  case  of  self-deceiving  that 
 the  text  mentions,  which  may  not  to  some  appear  sufficient 
 
480  Sermon  II. 
 
 to  found  any  general  observation ;  but  let  us  consider  it  a 
 little.  For  a  man  to  please  himself  with  being  a  hearer  only, 
 and  not  a  doer  of  the  word,  can  any  thing  in  the  world  be 
 more  absurd,  or  more  evidently  so  ?  Can  any  thing  be  ima- 
 gined more  contrary  to  the  clearest  light  of  the  word  itself ; 
 any  thing  that  is  in  greater  contradiction  to  the  light  that  is 
 in  every  man's  own  conscience,  or  to  the  professed  sentiments 
 of  all  the  world?  Can  any  conduct  be  of  more  acknow- 
 ledged, dangerous,  and  fearful  consequence  ?  Surely,  if  a 
 man  can  deceive  himself  in  so  very  clear  a  case,  he  may  be 
 supposed  capable  of  deceiving  himself  in  any  thing  else. 
 That  a  man  should  be  capable  to  deceive  himself  in  so  very 
 clear  and  important  a  case,  does  clearly  imply  and  demon- 
 strate a  general  obnoxiousness  and  tendency,  in  the  hearts  of 
 men,  to  self-deceiving. — Upon  this  head,  I  shall, 
 
 1.  Inquire  into  the  causes  of  this  obnoxiousness  to  self- 
 deceiving. 
 
 2.  Offer  some  directions  against  it. 
 
 1 .  I  am  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  this  obnoxiousness  to 
 self-deceiving. 
 
 1st,  The  first  I  name  is,  men's  blindness  and  ignorance  of 
 God.  There  is  nothing  more  certain  and  acknowledged  by 
 the  conscience  than  the  glorious  sovereignty  and  power  of 
 God  ;  yet  the  heart  doth  not  effectually  perceive  it.  There 
 is  something  in  the  carnal  mind,  which  is  not  subject  to  the 
 law  of  God,  that  suggests,  f  Who  is  the  Lord  that  I  should 
 4  obey  his  voice  ?'     Exod.   v.  2.  ;  and,    (  What  is   the  Al- 
 
 •  mighty  that  we  should  serve  him  ?'  There  is  nothing  that 
 will  be  less  contradicted  by  men's  profession,  than  God's  om- 
 niscience ;  yet  their  hearts  perceive  it  not,  nor  receive  the 
 impression  of  it.  They  say,  c  God  hath  forgotten ;  he  hideth 
 1  his  face,  he  will  never  see  it/  Psal.  x.  11.  ;  and,  '  the  Lord 
 
 •  shall  not  see,  neither  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  it,'  Psal.  xciv. 
 7.  Yea,  holy  and  righteous  as  God  is,  yet  the  wicked  is 
 charged  with  thinking  thus — '  Thou  thoughtest  that  I  was  alto- 
 '  gether  such  an  one  as  thyself/  Psal.  1.  21.  Yea,  what  has 
 l>een  men's  ignorance  of  God,  who  would  represent  him  by 
 
 •  an  image  made  like  unto  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and 
 
 •  four  footed  beasts  ?'  Rom.  i.  23.  Men's  ignorance  of  God 
 makes  them  capable  of  any  delusions  concerning  him  ;  and 
 men's  delusions  concerning  God  make  them  capable  of  every 
 delusion  and  self-deceiving  besides.     God  is  an  all-seeing,  in- 
 
Sermon  II.  481 
 
 finitely  holy,  righteous,  and  powerful  being.  Did  men,  in 
 coming  to  God,  truly  believe  that  he  {i.e.  a  being  of  these  at- 
 tributes, and  not  an  idol  of  their  own  heart)  exists,  that  faith 
 would  certainly  produce  other  sort  of  temper  and  works  than 
 what  men  commonly  please  themselves  in.  If  God's  omni- 
 science, holiness,  and  righteousness  did  appear  to  men's  hearts 
 in  a  true  light  and  with  suitable  impressions,  they  could  not 
 possibly  deceive  themselves  as  they  do. 
 
 2d,  A  second  cause  of  it  is,  our  ignorance  of  ourselves. 
 We  are,  if  I  may  speak  so,  very  near  ourselves.  What  have 
 Ave  better  access  to  know  than  ourselves  ?  Yet  there  are 
 many  folds  in  our  heart.  There  is  a  depth  in  it.  The  in- 
 ward thought,  (if  I  may  allude  to  that  expression  of  the 
 Psalmist)  and  the  heart  is  deep,  Psal.  lxiv.  6.  '  The  heart 
 '  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked  ;  who 
 k  can  know  it?'  Under  the  direction  of  a  complication  of 
 wicked  lusts,  men  can  fight  against  Christ  himself,  the  Lord 
 of  glory  ;  as  he  said,  f  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  ?' 
 They  can  kill  the  saints  and  servants  of  the  Most  High. 
 Here  is  desperate  wickednesss  ;  who  would  not  perceive  it  r 
 Yet  c  the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  ;'  and  so  it  is, 
 as  John  xvi.  2.  Jehu  was  keen  in  shedding  the  blood  of 
 Jezreel,  (which  was  afterwards  avenged  on  his  house,  Hos.  i. 
 4.)  yet  the  word  was,  (  Come  with  me,  and  see  my  zeal  for 
 *  Jehovah/  2  Kings  x.  16.  ;  and  perhaps  in  the  present  fit, 
 the  thing  appeared  under  that  colour  to  himself,  though  the 
 acquisition  of  a  kingdom  was  at  bottom.  Saul  rebelled 
 against  God  in  the  case  of  the  Amalekites,  yet  his  story  is, 
 '  the  people  spared  of  the  best  to  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  thy 
 c  God,'  1  Sam.  xv.  15.  The  heart,  in  all  its  various  forms 
 of  wickedness,  gives  itself  such  colourings  as  keep  men  very 
 commonly  in  an  entire  ignorance  of  themselves,  of  their  true 
 disposition,  and  of  the  real  springs  of  their  actions ;  and  so 
 keeps  them  in  the  way  of  perpetual  self-deceiving. 
 
 3d,  Every  particular  lust  in  the  heart  partakes  of  the 
 general  nature  of  the  heart,  as  to  deceitfulness ;  and  so  every 
 particular  lust  becomes,  in  so  far  as  it  prevails,  a  strong 
 principle  of  self- deceiving.  We  have,  Eph.  iv.  22.  this 
 character  of  them  all,  c  the  deceitful  lusts.'  When  we  hear 
 of  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  the  deceitfulness  is  in  the  inward 
 lust.  When  we  hear  of  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  that 
 deceitfulness  is  not  in  the  object,  riches ;  the  matter  of 
 riches  is  the  good  creatures  of  God :  it  is  the  lust  of  riches 
 hat  is  deceitful.     Every  lust  paints  its  object  to  its  own 
 
482  Sermon  II. 
 
 mind,  and  so  deceive  us.  Excess  of  strong  drink  speaks  very 
 ingeniously,  and  of  itself  promises  nothing  but  sorrow,  con- 
 tention, babblings,  wounds  without  cause,  redness  of  eyes, 
 sickness,  vomiting,  disgrace,  and  ruin  of  affairs;  uncleanness 
 promises  no  other  than  wasting  of  person  and  substance,  and 
 the  various  effects  of  divine  judgments  that  occur  to  common 
 observation  :  yet  many  wanton  songs  show  in  what  an 
 amiable  light  these  sorts  of  wickedness  do  appear  to  self- 
 deceiving  hearts.  That  is  one  instruction  to  be  learned  from 
 many  lewd  performances  of  wit.  This  ofttimes  sets  out 
 wicked  revenges  as  a  brave  sort  of  heroism.  Lust  promises 
 pleasure, — those  pleasures  of  sin  that  are  for  a  season  ;  and 
 men,  under  the  power  of  their  lusts,  are  lovers  of  these 
 pleasures  more  than  lovers  of  God.  Sin  deceived  me,  said 
 one  who  knew  well  the  deceiving  influence  of  sin,  though  he 
 was  first  and  last  restrained  from  the  practice  of  it  beyond 
 the  generality  of  men.  But  what  is  this  deceiving  of  sin  ? 
 It  is  no  other  than  men,  under  the  influence  of  their  lusts, 
 deceiving  their  ownselves. 
 
 The  children  of  God  are  secured  against  the  final,  fatal 
 effects  of  delusion  suggested  from  without  or  from  within  : 
 the  Lord  has  represented  that  as  impossible,  Matt.  xxiv.  24. 
 Yet  as  they  have  in  them  a  remainder  of  sin,  and  of  the  lusts 
 thereof,  in  so  far  there  remain  in  them  the  principles  of  self- 
 deceiving.  They  are  represented  as  e  having  escaped  the 
 (  pollution  that  is  in  the  world  through  lust/  2  Pet.  i.  4. ;  as 
 disengaged  from  the  grossly  unholy  practice  of  the  world ;  yet 
 they  are  not  to  consider  themselves  as  altogether  above  the 
 danger  of  self-deceiving  even  in  respect  to  these  practices. 
 They  need  the  guard  of  watchfulness  and  fear,  and  of  divine 
 grace  on  that  side. 
 
 But,  besides,  they  are  to  remember  that  there  are  filthinesses 
 of  the  spirit,  as  well  as  of  the  flesh,  which  are  no  less  dan- 
 gerous ;  and  as  there  are  filthinesses  of  the  spirit,  they  are 
 capable  of  more  spiritual  colourings,  and  so  of  being  the 
 more  effectual  means  of  self-deceiving.  After  all,  they 
 belong  to  the  general  root  and  principle  of  the  flesh  ;  and  are 
 put  together  in  that  one  class  of  the  works  of  the  flesh,  GaL 
 v.  19 — 21.  '  adultery,  fornication,  uncleanness,  lascivious- 
 \  ness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  emulations, 
 1  wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envyings,  murders,  drunken- 
 1  ness,  revellings ;'  and  all  of  them  come  under  that  one 
 general  sentence,  that  '  they  which  do  such  things  shall  not 
 '  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God/     One  might  wonder,  at  first 
 
Sermon  II.  483 
 
 sight,  what  might  be  the  occasion  of  this  discourse  of  the 
 apostle  to  the  Galatians  concerning  the  works  of  the  flesh, 
 and  living  after  the  flesh.  Were  such  things  as  adulteries, 
 fornications,  drunkenness,  become  the  remarkable  special 
 stain  of  that  people  ?  I  do  not  observe  any  thing  that  imports 
 that  special  charge  against  them.  The  charge  against  them 
 respected  dangerous  doctrines  and  religious  contentions.  By- 
 looking  to  the  discourse  preceding  the  16th  verse  of  this  5th 
 chapter,  it  will  appear,  that  it  is  on  occasion  of  these  matters 
 that  he  introduces  his  discourse  concerning  the  works  of  the 
 flesh  ;  among  which  he  reckons  seditions,  heresies ;  and  it  is 
 likely  that  it  was  concerning  these  matters  that  their  hatred, 
 emulations,  wrath,  strifes,  were  employed;  and  he  classes 
 them  all,  as  works  of  the  flesh,  with  adultery,  fornication,  &c. 
 Certainly  the  Galatians  did,  in  the  light  of  their  own  lusts, 
 see  these  things  in  a  quite  different  view.  They  apprehended, 
 that  in  these  things  they  were  doing  for  God.  Thus,  as 
 Satan  transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  lusts  trans- 
 form themselves  into  graces,  vile  passions  set  themselves  out 
 for  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  wickedness  for  holiness ;  and 
 men  become  confident  of  being  very  acceptable  to  God  in 
 serving  the  devil.  Such  subtle  self-deceiving  are  men 
 capable  of  through  their  lusts. 
 
 So  far  I  have  considered  the  lusts  of  men's  hearts,  as  being 
 universally  and  singly  the  principles  and  causes  of  self- 
 deceiving.  All  men's  lusts  are  of  that  nature ;  and  every 
 lust  singly  works  deceit  in  its  own  province  and  sphere. 
 But, 
 
 4th,  There  are  some  lusts  that  are  of  a  more  general  and 
 extensive  influence  in  the  matter  of  self-deceiving.  Here  I 
 name  together,  men's  pride,  their  inordinate  carnal  self-love 
 and  sloth.  There  is  a  carnal,  unwise  self-love  that  does, 
 with  great  force,  and  upon  any  the  most  delusive  grounds, 
 maintain  a  favourable  opinion  in  what  concerns  our  state  and 
 hope.  Our  pride  inclines  us,  however  contrary  to  light  and 
 truth,  to  maintain  a  good  esteem  of  ourselves,  our  dispositions, 
 abilities,  condition,  and  course.  Men's  pride  shuts  out  the 
 conviction  of  what  is  vile  and  sinful  in  their  heart  and  way  ; 
 resists  every  view  and  impression  that  tends  to  humble  them. 
 Their  self-love  shuts  out  every  thing  that  would  give  them 
 apprehensions  or  dread  concerning  their  state  and  prospect ; 
 and  their  sloth  resists  every  impression  that  would  tend  to 
 excite  them  to  activity  and  fervency  in  the  concerns  of  their 
 souls  and  in  matters  of  religion.     All  these,  combining  in 
 
484  Sermon  II. 
 
 their  influence  on  a  carnal  and  hard  heart,  do  make  a  strong 
 interest  in  favours  of  every  thing  by  which  men,  otherwise 
 under  the  power  of  their  lusts,  may  deceive  their  ownselves. 
 
 5th,  Errors  in  matters  of  opinion  and  doctrinal  principles  of 
 religion,  such  as  abound  in  the  world,  have  no  small  part  in 
 this  matter,  and  do  not  a  little  forward  this  mischief  of  self- 
 deceiving.  I  need  not  specify  these  very  particularly.  God 
 hath  given  the  light  of  his  word  to  obviate  and  overcome  all 
 these  delusions  which  have  prevailed  among  the  blind  and 
 dark  world  ;  but  the  interest  of  delusion  hath  put  some  upon 
 setting  up  human  reason  in  a  place  of  authority,  above  that 
 of  God  speaking  in  his  word.  On  this  ground,  these  mysteries 
 of  faith  have  been  rejected,  which  God,  in  his  great  grace, 
 hath  revealed  and  proposed  for  the  solid  ground  of  his  people's 
 consolation  ;  and  men  have  declined  to  believe  the  report  of 
 a  faithful  God,  any  further  than  their  poor  understandings 
 can  comprehend  how  these  things  can  be  so.  The  word  of 
 God  sets  out,  in  a  strong  light,  men's  great  guiltiness,  spiritual 
 importance,  the  depth  and  desperateness  of  their  misery  and 
 lost  condition,  that  they  may  be  made  to  prize,  and  excited  to 
 lay  hold  of,  his  rich  and  free  grace  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 But  some  have  laboured  to  lessen  men's  opinion  and  impres- 
 sions of  their  miseries  and  plagues  ;  to  exalt  the  good  qualities, 
 dispositions,  and  abilities  of  human  nature,  in  order  to  bring 
 it  within  their  reach  to  be  justified  by  their  works,  and  sanc- 
 tified by  their  own  strength  and  the  determination  of  their 
 own  hearts.  And,  if  they  cannot  bring  themselves  up  to  the 
 just  and  original  condition  of  works,  many  bring  down  works, 
 by  an  imaginary  abatement  of  that  sort  of  condition  of  life, 
 to  their  own  rate.  And  if  they  cannot  bring  up  their  abili- 
 ties to  true  holiness,  they  give  notions  of  holiness  that  tend 
 to  bring  it  down  to  the  measure  of  their  abilities  ;  and  will 
 make  both  meet,  by  means  of  certain  external  assistances  (so 
 they  may  be  called)  of  grace,  that  leave  room  to  men  to  glory  in 
 themselves  and  have  confidence  in  the  flesh.  Many,  that 
 cannot  be  reconciled  to  true  holiness,  do  readily  vent  or  en- 
 tertain high  opinions  concerning  the  rites  of  superstition  that 
 tend  to  substitute  them  in  the  place  of  it.  Many,  who  will 
 not  part  with  their  lusts  in  this  world  and  in  this  life,  are 
 fond  of  the  notion  of  purgations  after  this  life,  by  however 
 painful  means,  that  they  may  enjoy  their  lusts  here,  with  the 
 prospect  of  reaching  heaven  some  time  or  other. 
 
 I   need  not  go  farther  in  this   way.      These  hints  and 
 instances  may  suffice  for  examples.     Such  doctrinal  errors  are 
 
Sermon  II.  485 
 
 maintained  and  supported  in  the  world  with  great  zeal,  with 
 much  human  learning  and  eloquence,  and  with  great  strength 
 of  party.  The  natural  self-deceiving  principles  of  men's  hearts 
 are  the  original  source  of  them.  They  have  not  arisen  from 
 mere  mistake  or  weakness  of  the  understanding.  They  have 
 had  deeper  sources  in  the  hearts  of  men.  And  when,  with 
 all  the  advantages  mentioned,  they  are  advanced  and  propa- 
 gated in  the  world,  these  productions  of  self-deceiving  hearts 
 do  further  strengthen  self-deceiving  in  every  heart  into  which 
 they  make  their  way.  When  they  are,  with  artful  mixture 
 and  cunning  adulteration,  insinuated  together  with  some  uni- 
 versally received  principles  of  the  gospel,  and  under  the  com- 
 mon language  of  the  gospel,  they  are,  like  gilded  pills,  agree- 
 ably received,  and  enable  men  the  more  resolvedly  and  ad- 
 visedly, as  it  were,  to  be  deceiving  their  ownselves. 
 
 6th,  In  the  last  place,  men  are,  in  a  special  manner,  obnox- 
 ious to  deceiving,  yea,  to  self-deceiving,  by  the  cunning  and 
 influence  of  Satan.  We  need  not  take  up  or  amuse  ourselves 
 with  philosophical  accounts  of  his  operation  and  influence. 
 What  the  scripture  represents  may  satisfy  us.  By  it  we 
 learn,  that  from  the  time  we  first  listened  to  his  deceitful 
 suggestion,  and,  by  that  means,  fell  into  the  hands  of  our 
 enemies,  Satan  doth,  as  the  god  of  this  world,  rule  over  men 
 in  their  natural  state.  '  He  worketh  (worketh  effectually) 
 '  in  the  children  of  disobedience/  As  he  worketh  effectually, 
 he  worketh  in  the  deceiving  way ;  and  he  hath  abundant 
 means  to  work  by,  as  we  learn  from  that  place,  Eph.  ii.  2,  3. 
 such  as,  outwardly,  the  course  of  this  world  ;  inwardly,  the 
 lusts  and  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind  there  mention- 
 ed. The  word  of  God  marks  out  to  us  most  fearful  instances, 
 more  general  and  more  particular,  of  his  deceiving ;  as  in- 
 deed his  hand  is  in  all  the  deceivings  that  are  in  the  world. 
 Of  the  kind  last  mentioned,  we  see  what  a  miserable  bargain 
 Judas  was  influenced  to  make,  for  thirty  pieces,  when  Satan 
 had  entered  into  him  ;  and  what  a  miserable  cheat  Ananias 
 and  Sapphira  put  upon  themselves,  for  an  interest  of  the 
 same  kind.  There  are  seasons  when  he  is,  in  a  special  sense, 
 loosed,  to  go  out  and  deceive  the  nations,  Rev.  xx.  7>  8. ; 
 otherwise,  he  goeth  about,  at  all  times,  seeking  whom  he  may 
 devour  in  this  way.  Paul  was  not  ignorant  of  his  devices  in 
 the  church  and  among  Christians.  We  see  how  anxious  he 
 was  for  the  Corinthians,  2  Cor.  xi.  3.  'lest,  as  the  serpent 
 '  had  beguiled  Eve,  their  minds  should  be  corrupted  from  the 
 '  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ/     Deceiving  in  matters  of  faith. 
 
486  Sermon  II. 
 
 and  consequently  of  practice,  is  his  constant  aim  and  endea- 
 vour for  the  ruin  of  souls.  But  he  works  insensibly  and  im- 
 perceptibly ;  and  men,  influenced  by  this  grand  deceiver,  yet 
 acting  by  principles  that  are  in  their  own  hearts,  do,  in  the 
 meantime,  deceive  their  ownselves. 
 
 I  go  now  to  the  next  thing  I  proposed  on  this  subject,  and 
 that  was, — 
 
 II.  To  offer  some  directions  against  self-deceiving.  If  we 
 would  wish  to  escape  it  and  be  saved  from  it,  it  is  needful 
 and  useful, 
 
 1st,  That  we  should  be  upon  our  guard  against  it,  by  just 
 views  and  a  suitable  impression  of  our  danger  by  it.  Other 
 evils  and  dangers  may  perhaps  attack  us  in  a  more  open 
 manner ;  and  although  their  aspect  and  appearance  may  be 
 more  sensibly  terrible,  yet  the  hazard  by  them  is  not  so  really 
 great ;  but  deceiving,  whether  we  consider  it  as  coming  from 
 others,  or  as  having  its  source  in  ourselves,  the  more  sensibly 
 it  operates,  it  is  the  more  really  dangerous  and  often  fatal  in 
 its  consequences.  Delusion  and  self-deceiving  works  in  a 
 hidden  manner.  It  undermines  our  souls,  and  at  length  does, 
 all  at  once,  blow  them  up  with  an  unforeseen,  sudden,  and 
 most  terrible  ruin.  Satan  takes  incomparably  more  fortresses 
 in  this  way  than  by  open  assault  and  storming.  The  case 
 requires  all  along  the  utmost  skill  and  good  instruction  to 
 discover  these  mines,  and  to  prevent  their  effect.  But,  in 
 the  first  place,  it  is  especially  needful  that  we  should  be  ap- 
 prised of  our  hazard.  It  requires  all  proper  means,  and 
 generally  something  beyond  the  power  of  all  means,  to 
 awaken  us  sufficiently  to  the  attention  and  care  that  is  need- 
 ful for  us  against  self-deceiving. 
 
 For  this  end,  let  us  consider  the  danger  we  are  in  by  the 
 consequences  of  self-deceiving  ;  the  danger  we  are  in  to  be 
 self-deceived ;  and  the  great  difficulty  there  is  in  being  dis- 
 engaged and  delivered  from  the  power  of  delusion,  when 
 once  it  has  prevailed. 
 
 The  consequence  of  self-deceiving,  the  natural  consequence 
 of  it  in  religion,  is,  to  forego  the  great  salvation,  to  incur  in- 
 expressible and  everlasting  misery  and  ruin.  Men  who  are 
 not  extremely  addicted  to  worldly  things,  are  nevertheless 
 sensible  that  to  cheat  themselves,  through  the  inattention  or 
 delusion  of  their  minds,  unto  loss  in  small  matters,  is  ex- 
 tremely vexatious ;  but  how  will  it  add  to  the  tortures  of 
 hell,  to  think  that  after  all  the  counsel  God  has  offered,  men 
 
Sermon  II.  487 
 
 have  plunged  themselves  into  unquenchahle  flames  by  de- 
 ceiving their  ownselves  ! 
 
 Yet  how  liable  are  we  to  self-deceiving !  Our  ignorance  of 
 God  and  of  ourselves  has  made  a  woful  darkness  within  us,  in 
 which  it  is  easy  for  us  to  stray  ;  the  various  errors  that  are 
 in  the  world  make  false  lights  to  mislead  us  ;  the  various 
 lusts  of  our  hearts  do  importunately  pretend  to  the  guiding 
 of  us,  and  will  never  guide  us  right  ;  and  Satan  has  the  ut- 
 most artifice  and  diligence  to  improve  these  occasions  and  in- 
 struments of  self-deceiving  against  us.  When  we  consider 
 the  concurrence  of  such  powerful  causes,  might  we  not  readily 
 cry  out,  Who  then  can  be  saved  from  delusion  and  self- 
 deceiving  ? 
 
 Further,  let  us  consider  the  power  of  delusion  when  it 
 prevails,  and  how  difficult  it  is  to  be  delivered  from  it.  Look 
 to  that  place,  Isa.  xliv.  20.  '  A  deceived  heart  hath  turned 
 f  him  aside,  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  nor  say,  Is  there 
 1  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand  ?'  He  is  speaking  of  the  idola- 
 ter, whose  sentiments  and  practice  are  absurd  to  the  last  de- 
 gree,— to  worship  an  image,  and  a  stock  or  a  stone,  as  a  gcd  ! 
 it  is  something  far  beyond  brutality.  Could  not  a  little  com- 
 mon sense  and  reflection  deliver  him  from  it  ?  could  he  not 
 readily  suggest  to  himself  and  say,  as  in  the  preceding  verse, 
 i  I  have  burnt  part  of  it  in  the  lire  ?  shall  I  make  the  residue 
 '  thereof  an  abomination  ?' — a  god  ?  e  Shall  I  fall  down  to 
 '  the  stock  of  a  tree  ?' — is  not  such  a  god  a  mere  vanity  and 
 a  lie  ?  '  But  a  deceitful  heart  hath  turned  him  aside/  His 
 delusive  and  self-deceiving  heart  hath  so  powerfully  perverted 
 him,  that,  clear  as  the  case  appears,  yet  he  cannot  deliver 
 Hmself  from  this  most  absurd  delusion,  or  say,  Is  there  not  a 
 lie  in  my  right  hand  ? 
 
 The  light  of  the  gospel  did  once  banish  this  gross  idolatry 
 out  of  the  Christian  world.  It  was  then  exposed  in  so  strong 
 a  light,  that  one  might  think  it  would  never  return  again. 
 But  let  us  look  to  Popery  and  Papists,  who  seem  to  go  be- 
 yond all  the  world  for  ail  the  various  forms  of  gross  idol- 
 atry. Let  us  consider  their  greatest  solemnity.  The 
 priest,  the  maker  of  his  god,  as  their  bold  and  stupid  blas- 
 phemy expresses  it  ;  he  mumbles  some  words  in  a  strange 
 language,  with  certain  gestures  and  actions  of  legerdemain, 
 and  forthwith  wine  becomes  real  blood  ;  and  a  wafer,  remain- 
 ing to  all  appearance  as  it  was,  becomes  (so  they  believe)  the 
 very  real  body  of  Christ  that  hung  on  the  cross  ;  and  is  there- 
 upon worshipped   with   the   highest  adoration.     Have  these 
 
488  Sermon  II. 
 
 men  no  knowledge,  no  reason  at  all.,  no  common  sense  ? 
 None  exceeds  many  of  them  in  these.  Could  not  then  a  little 
 reflection  or  common  sense  deliver  them  from  such  gross  de- 
 ceiving ? 
 
 Could  not  a  man  say  with  himself, — When  I  apply  to  this 
 object  all  my  senses  which  God  hath  given  me,  as  the  proper 
 means  of  judging  concerning  all  material  objects  that  come 
 within  their  reach,  as  the  natural  means  of  evidence  concern- 
 ing them,  I  am  obliged  to  judge,  and  cannot  but  judge,  that 
 this  is  bread,  and  not  the  crucified  body  of  Christ.  Has  God, 
 the  Author  of  my  nature,  given  means  and  organs  of  percep- 
 tion of  material  objects  that  cannot  in  such  case  but  deceive 
 all  the  world  by  their  testimony  ? 
 
 Might  it  not  easily  occur  to  a  man,  Why,  at  the  first  insti- 
 tution of  this  ordinance,  Christ  himself  was  in  his  body  sound, 
 entire,  and  living  at  the  head  of  the  table.  Is  it  possible  that 
 the  broken  pieces  of  bread,  which  he  gave  out  of  his  hands  to 
 his  disciples,  were  at  the  same  time  that  very  body  in  which 
 he  was  presently  speaking  to  them  ?  It  is  said  of  Christ, 
 Acts  iii.  21.  c  that  the  heavens  must  receive  him  until  the 
 '  times  of  the  restitution  of  all  things/  Might  not  one  easily 
 suggest  to  himself, — Is  it  not  surely  impossible  that  his  body, 
 now  glorified,  should  be  going  corporally  into  the  mouths  of 
 thousands  upon  earth;  yea,  should,  in  the  form  of  a  wafer, 
 be  subject  to  all  these  indignities  that  may  accidently  happen 
 to  it  ? 
 
 These  absurdities  may  to  us  appear  so  evident  and  palpable, 
 that  many  will  be  ready  to  think,  that  surely  these  things 
 are  indeed  believed  by  none.  But  they  who  think  so,  know 
 not,  or  advert  not  to,  the  power  of  delusion,  how  great  it  is. 
 Men  may  be  wise  and  rational  in  every  thing  else,  and  may 
 be  foolish  and  brutal  in  religion.  They  are  things  that  are 
 in  fact  very  consistent,  for  men,  exceeding  acute  and  in- 
 genious in  other  matters,  to  fall  under  delusion  and  deceive 
 their  ownselves  in  the  things  of  God,  to  the  highest  degree. 
 
 We  may  perhaps  be  ready  to  trust  to  the  strength  of  our 
 own  understandings,  and  the  means  of  light  we  enjoy,  as 
 sufficient  to  secure  us  against  such  great  delusions,  as  we 
 hear  to  prevail  abroad  in  the  world  ;  but  we  had  need  to 
 look  to  ourselves,  lest  as  great  delusions  prevail  among  us, 
 for  all  the  means  of  light  we  enjoy,  as  among  others.  Here 
 is  one  instance.  For  a  secure,  Christlcss,  graceless,  and  un- 
 holy soul  to  be  confident  of  the  favour  of  God  now  and  here- 
 after, is  certainly  as   great,  and  absurd,  and  ruining  a  delu- 
 
Ser?non  II.  489 
 
 sion  as  any  thing  in  paganism  or  popery.  To  worship  God 
 under  the  form  of  an  image,  is  indeed  extremely  opposite  to 
 the  spirituality  and  immensity  of  his  nature  ;  but  a  man  who 
 lives  in  his  sins,  and  is  confident  of  the  present  favour  of 
 God,  and  of  eternal  life  hereafter,  makes  to  himself  a  repre- 
 sentation of  God  as  contrary  to  what  he  is,  and  as  truly  dis- 
 honourable to  him,  as  he  who  represents  him  by  a  stock,  or  a 
 stone,  or  a  wafer.  And  yet,  alas  !  after  all  the  light  that 
 shines  about  us,  how  many  are  there  among  us  who  do  in 
 this  way  deceive  their  ownselves  !  If  then  we  are  so  ob- 
 noxious to  self- deceiving, — if  the  difficulty  is  so  great  of  ex- 
 tricating ourselves  from  it,  and  if  the  final  consequence  of  it 
 be  so  dismal, — we  have  abundant  reason  to  be  awakened,  to 
 fear  it,  and  guard  against  it.     This  is  the  first  direction. 
 
 2d,  For  securing  us  against  self-deceiving  and  all  delusion, 
 let  us  carefully  improve  the  word  of  God.  This  is  the  light 
 with  which  God  hath  blessed  us,  in  order  to  guide  us  safe 
 amidst  the  delusions  that  abound.  It  is  that  more  sure  word 
 of  prophecy,  to  which  we  shall  do  well  to  take  heed,  as  to  a 
 light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place. 
 
 If  we  wish  to  know  God,  i  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 
 e  time  j  the  only  begotten  Son  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the 
 1  Father,  he  hath  declared  him/  John  i.  18.  It  is  only 
 Christ,  speaking  by  his  Spirit  in  his  prophets  and  apostles, 
 who  gives  true  instruction  concerning  God,  the  perfections 
 and  mysteries  of  his  nature.  The  councils  of  God  are  these 
 deep  things  of  him  which  our  understanding  and  reason  could 
 never  penetrate  unto  :  ■  What  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a 
 '  man,  save  the  spirit  of  a  man  which  is  in  him  ?  Even  so  the 
 1  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God,' 
 1  Cor.  ii.  11.  It  is  he  who  in  the  word  hath  revealed  them. 
 It  is  good  counsel  here,  not  to  lean  to  our  own  understandings. 
 We  should  come  to  the  word  of  God  to  learn  these  deep 
 things  of  God,  with  an  impression  of  the  weakness  of  our 
 minds,  of  their  obnoxiousness  to  delusion  ;  and  our  impression 
 of  this  should  be  heightened  with  the  view  of  the  miserable 
 delusions  in  the  matters  of  God,  which  the  vain  imaginations 
 of  men,  even  of  men  c  professing  themselves  to  be  wise/  Rom. 
 i.  £2.  have  filled  the  world  with.  If  we  have  good  judgment 
 and  critical  learning,  there  is  use  enough  for  them,  in  dis- 
 covering what  the  Holy  Ghost  doth  truly  express  in  his  word, 
 although  we  should  not  subject  the  truth  of  what  he  says  to 
 be  tried  by  the  rule  of  our  preconceived  notions,  or  reject 
 these  deep  things  of  God,  because  they  exceed  our  compre- 
 
490  Sermon  IT. 
 
 hension  :  for,  What  is  there  in  God,  or  even  in  the  works  of 
 his  hands,  that  doth  not  so  ?  In  matters  in  which  God  hath 
 condescended  to  give  us  revelation,  it  would  become  us  to 
 yield,  that  the  authority  of  it  should  cast  down  imaginations 
 and  every  high  thing  in  us  which  exalteth  itself  against  the 
 knowledge  of  God,  and  bring  unto  captivity  every  thought  to 
 the  obedience  of  Christ.  We  should  pray  to  God  for  his 
 grace  to  bring  us  to  this  dutiful  disposition,  so  becoming 
 them  who  would  learn  from  God  ;  and  to  bring  down  that 
 pride  of  understanding  in  us  that  doth  so  readily  betray  us 
 unto  self- deceiving  in  the  matters  of  God. 
 
 Again,  if  we  wish  to  know  our  duty,  and  the  way  wherein 
 we  ought  to  walk,  (  it  is  the  word  of  God  that  will  be  a  lamp 
 e  unto  our  feet  and  a  light  unto  our  path/  Psal.  cxix.  105  : 
 it  is  by  means  of  its  instructions  that  f  we  may  be  filled  with 
 '  the  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God,  in  all  wisdom  and  spirit- 
 (  ual  understanding  ;  that  we  may  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord 
 i  unto  all  pleasing/  Col.  i.  9,  10.  But  if  we  want  to  be  di- 
 rected by  this  light  in  our  duty,  we  should  not  come  with  the 
 previous  biases  and  determinations  of  our  own  hearts  con- 
 cerning our  way,  as  if  we  wanted  rather  to  employ  our  art  in 
 making  the  word  of  God  speak  to  our  mind,  than,  in  simpli- 
 city and  humility,  to  receive  our  direction  from  it.  This  is 
 the  way  of  too  many,  who  are  therefore,  in  the  righteous 
 judgment  of  God,  given  up  to  deceive  their  ownselves ;  and 
 to  return  with  responses,  as  from  these  divine  oracles,  ac- 
 cording to  the  idols  of  their  own  hearts.  Simplicity  and  god- 
 ly sincerity  are  the  proper  characters  of  them  who  wish  to  be 
 taught  of  God. 
 
 We  should  not  only  search  the  scriptures  for  direction  in 
 the  more  remarkable  cases  of  duty,  but  we  ought  to  have 
 such  extensive  knowledge  of  the  word,  as  that  we  should  have 
 of  it  a  store  laid  up  in  our  hearts,  for  all  the  occasions  of  duty 
 and  temptation.  W7e  should  have  the  word  of  Christ  dwell- 
 ing in  us  richly.  Alas  !  in  how  small  measure  doth  it  dwell 
 even  in  many  sincere  Christians  ?  But  it  should  dwell  in  us 
 richly,  in  all  wisdom  ;  not  as  some  who  have  it  to  produce  in 
 plenty,  but  in  all  folly  :  or,  as  many  others,  who  have  it 
 plentifully,  with  much  perverseness  and  wickedness. 
 
 One  thing  further  we  ought  especially  to  advert  to,  and 
 that  is,  that  we  let  our  consciences  and  hearts  lie  open  to  the 
 word  of  God  for  the  conviction  and  reproof  of  the  errors  of 
 our  sentiments,  dispositions,  and  practice,  otherwise  our  own 
 self-deceiving  will  prevail.    We  should  be  in  dread  of  screen- 
 
Sermon  II.  491 
 
 ing  it  from  the  conviction  and  reproof  of  the  all-seeing  God 
 speaking  by  his  word,  thereby  finding  us  out,  and  for  that 
 end  bringing  it  as  a  candle  through  our  hearts.  c  Faithful 
 (  are  the  wounds  of  a  friend ;  but  the  kisses  of  an  enemy  are 
 '  deceitful/  Prov.  xxvii.  6.  One  who  hath  the  health  and 
 safety  of  his  soul  at  heart  will  be  sensible  that  he  who  re- 
 buketh  him  doth  him  greater  friendship  than  he  that  flatter- 
 eth  with  the  tongue,  Prov.  xxviii.  23.  If  we  decline  the  re- 
 proofs of  God  and  his  word,  it  is  but  just  that  he  should  give 
 us  up  to  the  self- flattery  by  which  wre  shall  deceive  our  own- 
 selves. 
 
 Thus  ought  we  to  improve  the  light  of  God's  word,  to  save 
 us  from  deceiving  our  ownselves,  either  in  faith  or  practice. 
 
 III.  It  is  a  direction  of  the  utmost  importance  to  us 
 against  the  danger  of  self-deceiving,  that  we  be  doers  of  the 
 word.  To  exhort  us  to  be  so,  is  the  chief  design  of  my  text. 
 I  have  it  to  consider  more  directly  and  fully  hereafter.  Here 
 I  consider  it  in  this  particular  view,  as  it  is  an  useful  and  ef- 
 fectual antidote  against  the  plague  of  delusion  and  self-de- 
 ceiving. The  text  gives  one  instance  (a  very  comprehensive 
 one  indeed)  of  self-deceiving  ;  and  requires,  in  opposition  to 
 it,  to  be  doers  of  the  word.  But,  if  we  consider  it,  it  is  a 
 needful  mean,  and  of  universal  use  against  all  self-deceiving. 
 Let  us  consider  the  matter  on  both  sides,  as  not  doing  of  the 
 word  exposes  men  to  the  danger  of  delusion ;  and  as  to  be 
 doers  of  the  word  tends  to  men's  safety  against  all  delusion. 
 
 I  say,  that  to  be  not  doers  of  the  word,  exposes  men  to  the 
 danger  of  delusion  and  of  deceiving  their  ownselves.  This  is 
 set  out  in  a  strong  light,  and  by  tremendous  examples  in  the 
 word  of  God.  '  My  people  would  not  hearken  to  my  voice  ; 
 '  and  Israel  would  none  of  me.  So  I  gave  them  up  unto  their 
 '  own  heart's  lust ;  and  they  walked  in  their  own  counsels. 
 1  O  that  my  people  had  hearkened  unto  me,  and  Israel  had 
 1  walked  in  my  ways  !'  Psal.  lxxxi.  11 — 13.  Here,  because 
 Israel  hearkened  not  to  the  Lord's  voice,  because  they  walked 
 not  in  his  way,  he  gave  them  up  to  their  hearts'  lusts,  '  the 
 '  deceitful  lusts,'  to  walk  in  their  own  counsels.  Surely  these 
 were  deluding  counsels,  by  which  they  deceived  their  own- 
 selves.  This  is  an  instance  from  the  Old  Testament  church 
 and  dispensation. 
 
 Here  is  an  instance  in  the  New  Testament  church  :  c  Be- 
 1  cause  they  received  not  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they 
 '  might  be  saved.  And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them 
 1  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a  lie ;  that  they 
 
 Y 
 
492  Sermon  II. 
 
 c  all  might  be  damned,  who  believed  not  the  truth,  but  had 
 '  pleasure  in  unrighteousness/  2  Thess.  ii.  10 — 12.  Here  we 
 see,  in  the  character  of  the  people  here  represented,  that  they 
 believed  not  the  truth.  It  might  have  been  thought,  at  first 
 sight  of  the  words,  ver.  10.  that,  though  they  had  not  re- 
 ceived the  love  of  the  truth,  they  had  received  the  truth 
 itself;  that  there  was  no  failure  in  that  part;  that  though 
 they  had  not  love,  they  had  faith, — a  naked  faith,  without 
 works  and  without  its  proper  fruits.  But  their  case  was  in- 
 deed, that  '  they  believed  not  the  truth/  So  it  may  always 
 be  justly  concluded  concerning  them  who  have  not  the  proper 
 fruit  of  the  truth.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  naked  true 
 faith  without  good  fruits. 
 
 Faith  always  worketh  by  love.  The  one  and  the  other 
 they  had  not ;  particularly,  for  this  is  first  mentioned,  '  they 
 '  received  not  the  love  of  the  truth.'  That  love,  which  is  the 
 fulfilling  of  the  law,  which  is  the  end  of  the  commandment ; 
 that  love,  these  works  and  fruits,  which  the  truth  requires, 
 '  they  received  it  not ;'  it  did  not  relish  with  them ;  their 
 hearts  refused  to  submit  to  it.  The  truth  itself  they  pro- 
 fessed to  receive,  and  were  satisfied  with  being  hearers  of  the 
 word  only  ;  but  '  the  love  of  the  truth/  the  love  which  it 
 doth  dictate  and  require,  this  they  could  not  digest,  and  did 
 not  receive  ;  but,  in  opposition  to  it,  '  they  had  pleasure  in 
 '  unrighteousness/  ver.  12. 
 
 Now  the  judgment  of  God  against  them  for  this  is,  '  that 
 e  God  sent  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a 
 (  lie/  This  context  gives  us,  in  awful  terms,  a  prophecy 
 concerning  the  apostacy  of  Christians  unto  Popery.  They 
 must,  belike,  have  considerable  prejudice  in  its  favours,  that 
 can  satisfy  themselves  with  any  other  interpretation  of  it. 
 Popery  is  called,  ver.  7-  '  the  mystery  of  iniquity/  There 
 is  a  great  deal  of  that  sort  of  mystery  in  it.  But  there  is 
 one  thing  concerning  it  that  might  be  a  great  mystery,  and 
 that  is,  considering  that  vein  of  glaring  absurdity  that  runs 
 through  it  all,  and  its  clear  and  universal  contradiction  to  the 
 word  of  God,  how  Christians,  enjoying  so  bright  a  light  of 
 divine  revelation,  having  the  scriptures  of  truth  in  their 
 hands,  professing  the  gospel  with  so  great  zeal  and  with  so 
 great  fruit,  for  a  season,  in  the  primitive  times, — how  they 
 could  at  length  have  fallen  into  such  horrible  delusion,  and 
 have  submitted  to  be  rid  upon  with  such  dismal  usurpation 
 over  their  persons  and  consciences. 
 
 But  this  mystery  is,  in  this  most  remarkable  prophecy, 
 
Serynon  II.  493 
 
 laid  open  and  accounted  for ;  churches  soon  fell  from  their 
 first  love  and  first  works,  Rev.  ii.  4,  5.  ;  and  at  length,  '  not 
 1  receiving  the  love  of  the  truth,  but  having  pleasure  in  un- 
 1  righteousness,  God  did/  in  most  righteous  and  fearful 
 judgment,  *  send  them  strong  delusions,  that  they  might  be- 
 '  lieve  a  lie/  We  may  readily  think  that  we  in  this  land 
 have  so  much  light,  and  so  full  a  view  of  that  same  delusion 
 of  Popery,  that  it  has  been  so  much  generally  cried  out 
 against,  and  that  mens  conviction  is  generally  so  strong 
 against  it,  that  we  should  be  in  no  great  danger  of  its  pre- 
 vailing much,  or  gaining  ground  among  us,  even  though  it 
 should  have  that  authority  and  power  on  its  side  which  it 
 lately  aspired  to :  but  men  can  easily  deceive  their  ownselves 
 with  an  imaginary  security  against  delusion,  even  when  thev 
 have  these  things  in  their  heart  and  way  that  give  the  great- 
 est advantage  to  delusion.  If  men's  '  not  receiving  the  love 
 •  of  the  truth,  but  having  pleasure  in  unrighteousness/  paves 
 the  way  for  delusion,  surely  a  great  many  are  prepared  for 
 being  a  ready  prey  to  the  deceitful  arts  of  Popery,  who  think 
 themselves  very  remote  from  it.  A  considerable  party  have 
 already  fallen  in  with  some  of  its  special  principles,  rules, 
 and  usages,  although  they  have  not  prevailed  to  bring  their 
 idol  to  the  place  in  this  island  they  wished  for  him,  (the 
 Lord  be  thanked  !)  yet  his  attraction  hath  prevailed  to  bring 
 them  a  considerable  part  of  the  way  to  Rome  where  he  is  ;  and 
 if  the  object  were  fixed  nearer  them,  it  is  but  too  likely  that  this 
 sort  of  attraction  would  operate  with  full  power  and  efficacy. 
 
 Thus  we  have  seen,  in  the  apostle's  prophecy,  the  special 
 liableness  of  those  to  delusion  who  are  not  doers  of  the  word. 
 It  had  not  been  just  to  have  named  the  righteous  judgment 
 of  God  as  one  of  the  proper  causes  cf  delusion  ;  but  we  have 
 shown  various  powerful  causes  in  men  themselves,  that  will 
 certainly  operate  with  great  force  when  they  have,  by  not. 
 obeying  his  word,  provoked  God  to  give  them  up  to  their  full 
 and  unrestrained  influence. 
 
 Let  us  now  consider  the  matter  on  the  other  side,  and  see 
 what  prospect  the  word  of  God  gives  to  them,  who  are  the 
 doers  of  it,  of  their  being  kept  safe  from  delusion  and  self- 
 deceiving. 
 
 As  to  this,  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  they  are  still  free  of 
 all  error.  The  most  upright  men,  while  they  are  in  this 
 world,  will  have  their  degree  of  ignorance,  and  their  mistakes 
 and  misconceptions  concerning  some  truths  of  the  word  of 
 God.     And  we  would  judge  much  amiss,  if  we  took  every 
 
494  Sermon  II. 
 
 error  in  sentiment  as  a  proof  that  men  are  not  doers  of  the 
 word  ;  although  people's  temper  hath  often  too  great  a  tend- 
 ency to  this  way  of  judging  their  brother.  The  Lord  permits 
 it,  that  the  most  sincere  of  his  people  (as  to  these  general 
 characters)  should  have  their  different  and  wrong  apprehen- 
 sions in  diverse  matters  of  opinion  and  behaviour,  and  these 
 sometimes  of  no  small  importance.  He  hath  thus  permitted, 
 that  men  may  have  to  humble  them  and  make  them  wary  and 
 diligent  in  their  searches  after  truth  and  duty.  Here  we 
 know  but  imperfectly  and  in  part.  Upright  Christians, 
 doers  of  the  word,  will  be  preserved  from  all  fatal  delusions  ; 
 but  they  shall  be  perfectly  free  of  all  errors  and  mistakes, 
 only  where  they  shall  be  perfect  doers.  Perfect  light  and 
 perfect  holiness  are  the  privileges  of  one  and  the  same  place. 
 Here,  as  there  shall  still  be  imperfection  of  light,  and  mis- 
 takes, so  there  shall  still  be  need  of  forbearance.  They  wIig 
 will  not  use  forbearance  towards  other  Christians,  and  even 
 churches,  are  not  fit  for  the  society  of  the  church  upon 
 earth  (which  commonly  they  do  not  sufficiently  value ;)  and 
 had  need  to  try  themselves  well,  lest  their  zeal,  which  doth 
 so  much  outrun  the  course  and  way  of  a  holy,  gracious,  and 
 forbearing  God,  have  not  something  in  its  company  and  at  its 
 root  that  will  exclude  them  from  the  society  of  the  church 
 above.  This  it  is  more  fit  for  them  to  inquire  and  examine 
 themselves,  than  for  others  to  judge  about. 
 
 But  mistakes  the  doers  of  the  word  may  have  ;  only,  I  say, 
 they  shall  be  kept  safe  from  pernicious  and  fatal  self-deceiv- 
 ing and  delusion.  This  is  clear  from  our  Lord's  words, 
 Matth.  xxiv.  24.  for  I  suppose  it  will  be  agreed,  that  the 
 elect  there  mentioned  are  the  doers  of  the  word.  And  the 
 Lord,  speaking  of  the  greatest  means  and  occasions  imagin- 
 able of  delusion,  says,  '  Insomuch  that  (if  it  were  possible) 
 '  they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect ;'  clearly  intimating  that 
 this  cannot  happen. 
 
 It  is  the  wise  man's  maxim,  Prov.  xi.  3.  '  The  integrity  of 
 '  the  upright  shall  guide  them  ;'  and,  verse  5.  ( the  righte- 
 '  ousness  of  the  perfect  shall  direct  his  way/  We  heard 
 before  of  some  whom  a  deceived  heart  hath  so  turned  aside, 
 that  they  cannot  deliver  themselves  from  the  absurd  de- 
 lusions there  represented.  They  are,  perhaps,  otherwise 
 wiser  in  their  generation  than  many  of  the  children  of  the 
 light ;  but  if  such  should  not  have  great  skill  of  their  own  to 
 deliver  them,  yet  '  the  righteousness  of  the  perfect  shall  de- 
 liver them.'     No  doubt  but  an  upright,  sincere  aim  and  in- 
 
Sermon  II.  495 
 
 tention  is,  in  itself,  of  great  use  against  delusion  ;  but  we 
 must  not  ascribe  it  altogether  to  that,  but  especially  to 
 the  good  guiding  of  a  gracious  God,  '  whose  countenance 
 '  doth/  favourably,  '  behold  the  upright/  Psal.  xi.  7-  '  The 
 *'  meek/  as  Psal.  xxv.  9.  '  will  he  guide  in  judgment,  and 
 f  the  meek  will  he  teach  his  way.'  Many  a  time  it  hath 
 happened  that  a  serious  humble  Christian  hath  come  'under 
 strong  impressions  of  the  arguments  and  spirit  of  those  who 
 went  in  deceiving  dangerous  courses,  and  hath  sustained  a 
 great  shock  thereby  ;  and  yet  hath  escaped  the  snare,  to 
 his  great  comfort  afterwards  ;  which  he  hath  found  cause  to 
 ascribe,  not  so  much  to  the  clearness  of  his  own  light  or 
 acuteness  of  judgment,  as  to  the  gracious  guidance  of  God, 
 '  who  bringeth  the  blind  by  a  way  that  they  knew  not ;  who 
 '  maketh  darkness  light  before  them,  and  crooked  things 
 '  straight/  Isa.  xlii.  16.  They  who  have  it  at  heart,  by  being 
 doers  of  the  word,  not  to  stray  from  the  Lord's  way,  are  most 
 likely  to  be  under  that  influence  of  his  mercy  that  will  pre- 
 serve them  from  the  self-deceivings  and  delusions  that  would 
 bring  them  aside  from  it. 
 
 Agreeably  to  this  is  what  our  Lord  says,  John  vii.  17- 
 '  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine, 
 1  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  wThether  I  speak  of  myself/  The 
 Jews  had  said,  verse  15.  '  How  knoweth  this  man  letters, 
 (  having  never  learned?'  They  had  not  prejudice  in  his 
 favours ;  so  they  suspected  there  was  something  more  than 
 human  in  it,  even  that  Satan  instructed  and  sent  him  out  on 
 the  business  of  deceiving.  Christ  answers,  verse  16.  '  My 
 c  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me.'  There  was  in- 
 deed something  more  than  human  in  it.  He  had  never 
 learned  in  their  schools.  He  had  received  his  doctrine  and 
 instructions  (he  speaks  of  his  Father's  messenger  and  prophet) 
 from  him  that  sent  him,  from  God.  Well  pretended  to, 
 might  some  have  said ;  but  how  shall  we  know  if  your  doc- 
 trine is  from  him,  or  that  you  are  an  impostor  ?  How  shall 
 we  escape  the  danger  of  deceiving  ourselves  on  this  important 
 point,  and  of  being  deceived  by  you  ?  His  answer  is  as  if 
 he  had  said,  True,  the  danger  of  deceiving  'is  what  men 
 cannot  be  too  much  on  their  guard  against ;  the  wise,  and 
 prudent,  and  learned  may  be  deceived  :  and  though  I  have 
 many  arguments,  testimonies,  and  proofs,  to  show  of  my 
 being  sent  of  God,  and  that  my  doctrine  is  from  him,  yet  I 
 would  not  have  you  altogether  to  trust  to  your  own  capacity  of 
 judging  of  such  proofs;  but  look  sincerely  to  God  to  direct  your 
 
496  Sermon  II. 
 
 minds  and  hearts  to  judge  aright  of  my  doctrine,  and  the 
 proofs  of  its  being  from  God.  And  in  respect  to  this,  take 
 it  for  a  direction  of  the  utmost  importance — e  If  any  man  do 
 '  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God/ 
 
 Of  such  great  consequence  is  it  against  the  danger  of  de- 
 ceiving our  ownselves  of  imposture  and  delusion  of  every 
 kind,  that  we  should  be  doers  of  the  will  and  word  of  God. 
 
 IV.  Against  the  danger  of  deceiving  ourselves,  or  being 
 deceived,  it  is  especially  of  consequence  to  us  to  pray  earnest- 
 ly to  God  for  the  instruction  and  guidance  of  his  Holy  Spirit. 
 There  is  the  spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error,  1  John  iv. 
 6.  The  apostle  John  shows  us  the  effectual  benefit  of  hav- 
 ing this  spirit  of  truth  against  delusions,  1  John  ii.  26.  he 
 says,  '  These  things  have  I  written  to  you  concerning  them 
 '  that  seduce  you/  His  encouragement  concerning  them  he 
 writes  to  against  these  seductions,  is  this,  verse  27-  '  But  the 
 (  anointing  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth  in  you/  And, 
 chap.  iv.  speaking  of  the  delusions  and  deceivers  that  were 
 abroad  in  the  world,  and  infesting  the  church,  he  says,  verse 
 .").  e  They  are  of  the  world ;  therefore  speak  they  of  the  world, 
 (  and  the  world  heareth  them/  What  had  secured  true 
 Christians  against  these  deceivers  ?  This  he  had  told, 
 verse  4.  c  Ye  are  of  God,  little  children,  and  have  overcome 
 i  them  ;  because  greater  is  he  that  is  in  you  than  he  that  is 
 c  in  the  world/  All  our  care  and  prudence,  with  the  best 
 directions  that  can  be  suggested  to  us,  cannot  enable  us  to 
 overcome  the  deceivers  that  are  in  the  world,  or  the  principles 
 of  deceiving  that  are  in  ourselves,  without  this  ;  therefore,  to 
 all  our  care,  watchfulness,  and  endeavours,  let  us  add,  to  pray 
 for  the  promised  Spirit  of  truth  to  lead  us  unto  all  truth  ; 
 which  promise,  not  only  apostles  had  right  to,  but  also  all  the 
 Lord's  people,  who  shall  be  all  taught  of  God. 
 
 I  come  now  to  the  point  which  I  proposed  to  discourse  of 
 from  this  text,  and  that  is, 
 
 II.  The  particular  matter  of  self-deceiving,  against  which 
 the  apostle  doth  here  warn  Christians  ;  and  that  is,  satisfying 
 themselves  with  being  hearers  of  the  word  only. 
 
 A  particular  matter  I  have  called  it,  though,  indeed,  if  we 
 consider  it  justly,  it  is  exceeding  general  and  comprehensive. 
 For  there  is  no  essential  matter  in  faith  or  in  religion,  about 
 which  men  come  into  delusion  and  deceive  their  ownselves, 
 but  it  affects  the  weighty  affair  of  doing  the  word  ;  and 
 throws  men  out  of  the  class  of  doers  into  that  of  hearers  only, 
 according  to  the  apostle's  comprehensive  view  in  this  division 
 
Sermon  II.  497 
 
 of  characters  of  professed  Christians.  And  so,  if  being  hear- 
 ers only,  and  not  doers,  doth  include  and  imply,  according  to 
 its  practical  tendency,  all  the  self-deceivings  which  professed 
 Christians  are  commonly  liable  to,  we  have  had  the  more  full 
 and  just  occasion  to  speak  so  largely  concerning  self-deceiv- 
 ing in  the  general,  as  a  proper  subject  of  my  text. 
 
 But  now,  as  to  this  second  point,  I  observe  in  the  general 
 from  that  part  of  the  words,  that  it  is  the  common  duty  of 
 all  Christians  to  be  hearers  of  the  word  of  God.  The  apostle 
 Paul  says,  that  '  faith  cometh  by  hearing/  Rom.  x.  17-,  even 
 by  hearing  of  a  preacher ;  as  he  says  there,  c  How  shall  they 
 '  hear  without  a  preacher  ?'  Some  are  fond  of  the  designa- 
 tions of  priests  and  priesthood ;  and  of  these  many  are 
 pleased  to  follow  the  hint,  and  must  needs,  as  priests,  have 
 somewhat  to  offer,  as  priests  were  heretofore  ordained  to  offer 
 gifts  and  sacrifices.  Hence  we  hear  with  some  now-a-days, 
 (good  Protestants,  no  doubt)  of  the  oblation  of  bread  and 
 wine,  yea,  of  the  proper  propitiatory  sacrifice  to  be  offered  by 
 these  priests  for  the  quick  and  the  dead.  The  Lord  hath  in- 
 deed, in  the  blessed  ordinance  we  have  been  celebrating,  ap- 
 pointed his  people  to  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come. 
 But  popitiatory  oblation  and  sacrifice,  commemorative  or 
 otherwise,  he  hath  not  required ;  neither  did  it  come  into  his 
 mind ;  '  for  by  one  offering  he  hath  perfected  for  ever  them 
 1  that  are  sanctified/  He  hath,  in  this  blessed  ordinance, 
 offered  to  his  people  the  food  which  their  souls  should  feed 
 on  ;  but  he  is  far  from  requiring  them  to  offer  propitiatory 
 sacrifice  of  any  kind,  as  altar  entertainment  to  him.  The 
 Lord  preserve  us  from  delusions  so  strongly  contradicting  the 
 gospel  and  the  doctrine  of  our  salvation  !  Such  may,  in  dis- 
 paragement of  their  mission  and  ministerial  character,  give 
 others  the  designations  of  teachers  or  of  preachers  ;  but  they 
 have  no  cause  to  decline  these  names.  Priests  we  hear  of 
 none  in  the  scriptures  to  be  in  the  gospel  church,  besides  the 
 people  of  God  in  common,  who  are  all  a  holy  priesthood, 
 under  the  great  High  Priest  of  our  profession  ;  nor  sacrifices, 
 but  those  spiritual  sacrifices  which  they  all  offer  in  common. 
 But  teachers  and  preachers  are  proper  and  scriptural  names 
 of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  Eph.  iv.  11.  Christ  hath  given 
 some  to  his  church  in  the  quality  of  pastors  and  teachers  ; 
 and  the  character  and  work  of  those  that  are  sent,  Rom.  x. 
 15.  is  to  be  preachers.  They  will  do  well  to  satisfy  them- 
 selves and  others  concerning  their  mission  and  the  warrants 
 thereof  from  the  word  of  God,    One  thing  I  am  sure  of,  that 
 
498  Sermon  It. 
 
 the  New  Testament  warrants  the  mission  of  teachers  and 
 preachers,  but  doth  nowhere  warrant  priests,  or  priestly 
 service,  under  the  gospel,  besides  what  is  common,  as  I  said 
 before,  to  all  the  Lord's  people. 
 
 A  great  and  chief  part  then  of  the  work  of  ministers  of  the 
 gospel  is  to  preach  the  word  of  God ;  that  word  of  the  king- 
 dom, as  it  is  called,  by  which  chiefly  the  kingdom  of  our 
 Redeemer  is  advanced  here  upon  earth ;  to  sow  that  seed, 
 from  which  all  the  crop  is  to  arise  which  the  Lord  expects 
 from  his  field  in  this  world. 
 
 Under  the  Old  Testament,  anciently,  the  faith  of  God's 
 people  was  entertained,  in  great  part,  with  the  dumb  show 
 of  solemn  ceremonial  services;  though  it  is  true  that  he 
 provided,  in  every  period.,  for  the  instruction  of  his  people, 
 in  some  measure,  out  of  his  word,  and  by  his  servants  ordinary 
 and  extraordinary.  As  light  increased  under  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, at  length  the  reading  of  the  word,  with  some  explica- 
 tion and  exhortation,  became  the  stated  exercise  of  the  Lord's 
 people  in  their  synagogues  through  the  land ;  but  now  that 
 the  Lord  hath  removed  all  ceremonies  from  the  ordinary 
 worship  of  his  people  (except  the  few  very  simple  ones  we 
 have  in  the  sacraments,)  that  evangelical  light  hath  come  to 
 its  height  in  the  church  below ;  those  types  and  shadows  are 
 evanished,  and  Christ,  the  body  and  substance  of  them  all, 
 clearly  and  directly  exhibited ;  the  preaching  of  Christ  and 
 his  word  hath  a  chief  place  among  God's  ordinances  in  the 
 common  solemnities  of  his  people. 
 
 Since,  then,  the  Lord  hath  prescribed  it,  as  a  chief  work 
 to  his  servants,  to  be  preachers,  it  follows,  that  it  is  one 
 chief  part  of  his  people's  duty  to  be  hearers.  This  the 
 expression  of  my  text  implied;  for  when  it  cautions  men 
 not  to  be  hearers  only,  it  clearly  implies  that  they  are  to  be 
 hearers ;  therefore  doth  the  apostle  so  anxiously,  in  the  con- 
 text, give  direction  about  hearing ;  desiring  Christians  to  be 
 4  swift  to  hear,  and  to  receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted 
 '  word  ;'  even  that  word  by  which  (  God  hath  of  his  own 
 '  will  begotten  us,'  by  which  t  we  are  born  again ;'  even  the 
 word  (as  the  apostle  Peter  speaks)  which,  '  by  the  gospel,  is 
 <  preached  unto  us.' 
 
 Without  doubt,  there  is  great  profit  to  be  had  by  reading 
 the  word  of  God,  and  those  good  compositions  that  are  calcu- 
 lated to  assist  in  the  understanding  and  improving  of  it  ; 
 but  still  the  hearing  of  the  word  preached  is  to  be  regarded, 
 not  only  as  a  mean,  in  its  own  nature,  adapted  to  our  profit,, 
 
Sermon  II.  409 
 
 but  as  an  ordinance  of  God,  as  a  part  of  our  obedience  to  the 
 gospel,  and  as  a  mean  of  grace,  having  its  part  in  all  these 
 promises  of  God  that  do  encourage  the  faith  of  his  people 
 with  respect  to  all  his  institutions. 
 
 But  to  come  closer  to  the  matter  now  before  us,  what  are 
 we  to  understand  by  hearers  of  the  word  only?  Many  enter- 
 tain a  good  opinion  of  themselves,  as  if  all  were  well  with 
 them,  as  if  they  did  every  thing  well,  and  were  free  of  the 
 bad  marks  and  characters  in  the  word  of  God  which  do  truly 
 belong  to  them,  merely  because  they  unreasonably  narrow 
 and  restrict  the  expressions  of  the  scripture,  and  thereby 
 only  enable  themselves  to  judge  favourably  of  their  case  and 
 way,  so  deceiving  their  ownselves.  If  therefore  we  would 
 wish  not  to  deceive  ourselves  in  being  truly  hearers  of  the 
 word  only,  one  thing  we  should  carefully  advert  to  is,  that 
 we  do  not  deceive  ourselves  in  our  notions  concerning  the 
 meaning  of  this  character  of  hearers  of  the  word  only.  To 
 give  it  therefore  its  true  extent  of  meaning,  according  to  the 
 apostle's  view,  we  have  reason  to  think  that  he  means  to 
 divide  all  those  who  hear  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  (as  all 
 who  have  a  full  profession  of  Christianity  do)  unto  these  two 
 classes,  as  comprehending  all  of  them  upon  the  one  side  or 
 the  other ;  viz.  doers  of  the  word,  and  them  who  are  hearers 
 only.  Men  may,  besides  simple  hearing,  have  various  good- 
 like dispositions,  inward  feelings  and  attainments  in  know- 
 ledge and  practice,  and  yet  not  to  be  entitled  to  the  general 
 good  character  of  being  doers  of  the  word.  These  all  fall 
 into  the  other  class,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  doth  not  here  give 
 us  any  other  class  in  which  to  place  them.  In  this  view  of 
 the  matter,  we  shall  find  many  in  the  class  of  hearers  only, 
 who  commonly  think  of  themselves  that  they  have  a  great 
 deal  more  ;  yet  as  they  have  not  what  would  give  them  right 
 to  be  placed  among  the  true  and  proper  doers,  they  do  but 
 deceive  themselves  in  their  favourable  opinion  of  themselves. 
 I  shall  name  several  sorts  of  them,  according  to  their  different 
 degrees. 
 
 1.  Some  come  to  be  bodily  present  where  the  word  is 
 preached,  without  giving  it  so  much  as  common  attention. 
 They  are  present  for  one  reason  or  other,  or  perhaps  with 
 little  consideration  of  any  reason  at  all,  but  that  some  way 
 or  other  they  have  been  introduced  to  the  custom  of  it. 
 Their  hardened  hearts  are  entirely  indifferent  about  the 
 subject.  Their  own  carnal  minds,  their  eyes,  and  vain  imagi- 
 nations, find  entertainment  for  them ;  or  they  sleep  out  the 
 
 y5 
 
f>00  Sermon  11. 
 
 sermon.  They  have  those  dreams,  when  awake,  that  keep 
 them  easy  in  an  absolute  neglect  of  their  souls  and  of  religion. 
 And  being  wholly  at  ease  concerning  these  subjects,  they 
 choose  to  abandon  themselves  to  sleep  and  proper  dreaming, 
 rather  than  give  any  attention  to  the  message  and  instruc- 
 tions which  God  directs  to  them.  I  own  it  is  with  some 
 impropriety  that  these  can  be  called  hearers  of  the  word  at 
 all ;  but  that  they  are  so  called,  and  pretend  to  be  so,  and 
 that  they  are  a  sort  not  to  be  quite  overlooked  on  this 
 occasion,  since,  alas  !  there  are  so  many  of  whom  we  have 
 little  reason  to  have  a  better  opinion. 
 
 But,  will  God  be  mocked  ?  Doth  God's  call  directed  to 
 you  import  no  more  than,  as  in  some  letters  of  common  style, 
 the  favour  or  the  honour  of  your  presence  ?  Do  you  want 
 nothing  for  your  own  concern  and  interest  ?  Or  think  you 
 only  that  it  avails  to  God  that  you  should  externally  give 
 him  your  countenance,  and  honour  his  service  with  your 
 presence  ?  He  will  some  time  give  you  bitter  conviction  of 
 the  contrary. 
 
 Yet  such  miserable  souls  will  be  ready  to  say,  they  are 
 waiting  at  the  pool  of  ordinances,  (with  an  ignorant  and 
 senseless  allusion  to  the  man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda,) 
 waiting  until  the  angel  come  down  and  stir  these  waters. 
 But  they  will  have  other  sort  of  feeling  of  their  misery  and 
 plagues,  and  concern  about  their  cure ;  or  else,  what  they 
 call  their  waiting,  will  issue  in  the  stirring  of  unquenchable 
 names  for  them. 
 
 2.  There  are  somewhat  more  rational  hearers.  They  have 
 some  sort  of  conviction  that  it  is  the  word  of  God,  and  find 
 themselves  obliged  to  hear  with  some  regard  and  decency,  as 
 under  the  inspection  of  their  own  consciences,  besides  the 
 observation  of  others  ;  yet  their  hearts  have  no  effectual  sense 
 of  duty  with  respect  to  the  word,  nor  concern  about  their 
 interest  in  the  subject  of  it.  However,  they  give  exact 
 attention  to  the  word  in  the  hearing ;  they  are  inclined  to 
 take  that  opportunity  of  increasing  their  knowledge  of  the 
 matters  of  the  word  and  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  they 
 are  content  to  observe  how  the  man  handles  his  subject,  and 
 to  be  in  condition  to  give  some  judicious  opinion  concerning 
 him  and  it ;  and  are  more  employed  commonly  in  doing  so, 
 than  in  forming  a  just  opinion  of  themselves,  their  condition, 
 and  way.  These  have,  however,  somewhat  more  rational  in 
 their  way  than  the  former  sort.  The  former  sort  might  be 
 called  a  brutal  kind  of  hearers,  who  have  the  bodily  organs 
 
Sermon  II.  501 
 
 -of  hearing,  but  employ  their  understanding  in  no  way  about 
 it.  This  sort  of  hearers  do  hear  in  some  degree  like  men  ; 
 yet  they  are  far  from  hearing  as  Christians.  And  if  the  word 
 in  the  hearing  make  any  degree  of  impression,  yet  doth  it 
 not  truly  enter  into  the  hardness  of  their  hearts.  It  is  but 
 like  the  seeds  which  fall  by  the  way-side ;  the  fowls  come 
 and  devour  them  up :  the  wicked  one  cometh,  and  catcheth 
 away  that  which  was  sown  in  the  heart. 
 
 3.  Some,  in  hearing  the  word,  have  considerable  concern 
 about  the  condition  of  their  souls  ;  an  awakened  conscience 
 sets  their  sins  in  order  before  them  ;  and  perhaps  the  terror 
 of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  deprives  them  of  all  peace  ; 
 it  may  be  that  diverse  distressing  and  awakening  providences 
 strike  home  the  impression  with  still  greater  force.  These 
 are  not  unconcerned  hearers.  The  interest  of  their  inward 
 peace  makes  them  serious  and  attentive  to  the  means  by 
 which  any  peace  or  comfort  may  be  had.  To  these  the  news 
 in  the  word,  of  a  Saviour  delivering  us  from  the  wrath  to 
 come,  may  be  of  good  relish ;  they  may  hear  the  word,  and 
 anon  with  joy  receive  it ;  they  may  have  some  taste  of  the 
 good  word  of  God,  with  some  elevated  devotional  frame ; 
 and  from  the  good  tidings  they  hear,  and  the  goodlike  dis- 
 positions they  feel,  they  may  have  peace  and  good  opinion  of 
 their  state.  Having  escaped  the  gross  pollutions  of  the  world, 
 and  being  adorned  with  the  gifts  perhaps  of  knowledge  and 
 utterance,  their  profession  of  religion  may  have  a  promising 
 appearance ;  and  their  own  good  opinion  of  themselves  may 
 be  easily  confirmed  by  the  good  opinion  of  others. 
 
 All  these  things  may  be,  and  yet  they  fall  short  of  the 
 character  of  doers  of  the  word.  Trials  because  of  the  word, 
 or  the  duty  it  requir  js,  (and  what  times  are  so  good  but  in- 
 tegrity will  be  tried?)  will  wither  all:  or,  because  these 
 things  have  no  true  root,  they  may  in  time  fade  of  themselves, 
 or,  at  best,  settle  in  a  barren  unfruitful  formality.  But 
 however  it  happen  as  to  external  appearance  and  character, 
 yet  persons  may  have  the  feelings,  dispositions,  and  gifts  I 
 have  mentioned,  and  yet  have  had  no  true  sense  of  the  evil 
 of  sin ;  have  never  had  Christ  for  the  object  of  their  faith, 
 as  he  is  made  unto  us  sanctification :  consequently,  they 
 have  never  known  the  life  of  faith  in  true  kind,  or,  in  its 
 proper  extent.  Their  plagues  have  been  hid  from  them  by 
 their  spiritual  attainments,  not  cured  by  the  power  of  grace 
 Their  hearts  have  never  been  separated  from  their  lusts,  or 
 thoroughly  engaged  in  the  way  of  true  holiness.     These  are 
 
502  Sermon  II 
 
 not  doers,  but  hearers  only  of  the  word,  deceiving  their  own 
 selves. 
 
 4.  Some  hearers,  with  less  spiritual  attainment  perhaps 
 than  the  former,  but  with  some  conviction  and  relish  of  the 
 truth  and  goodness  of  the  word  of  God,  and  with  considerable 
 force  of  conscience,  do  seem  to  set  out  in  religion,  in  a  manner 
 more  solid,  and  that  promises  more  lasting  fruitfulness,  and 
 make  considerable  progress  in  that  way ;  but  worldly  lusts, 
 rather  covered  than  subdued,  rather  pruned  and  dressed  than 
 eradicated,  do  in  reality  retain  the  rule  in  their  hearts  and 
 way.  These  do  secretly  obstruct  their  integrity,  and  at 
 length  their  influence  prevails  over  all  their  conversation, 
 and  chokes  the  good  seed,  in  its  most  promising  appearance 
 of  fruitfulness  (like  thorns  growing,  as  from  a  strong  root  in 
 ground)  in  hearts  still  under  the  curse  of  original  corruption, 
 unrenewed.  By  this  it  appears  that  their  natures  were  never 
 truly  sanctified  ;  that  they  never  became  thoroughly  and 
 properly  doers  of  the  word.  I  shall  not  mention  more  par- 
 ticulars on  this  head.  I  observed  before,  that  all  who  come 
 short  of  the  character  of  doers  of  the  word,  do  fall  into  this 
 class  of  hearers  only,  taking  it  in  its  full  extent.  When 
 therefore  we  come  to  the  next  general  head,  the  explication 
 of  the  character  of  doers  of  the  word  will  exclude  several 
 who  pretend  to  it  ;  and  so  will  serve  for  further  explication 
 of  the  character  of  hearers  only. 
 
 From  what  has  been  said,  we  may  observe,  how  great  a 
 number  of  the  hearers  of  the  gospel  are  likely  to  be  taken  up 
 by  the  several  classes  of  hearers  only.  Such  have  need  to 
 reflect  and  consider, — What  have  they  by  the  gospel,  and  by 
 being  hearers  thereof?  Some  of  them  come  to  some  sort  of 
 considerable  attainment  by  means  of  it,  and  do  many  things 
 in  conformity  to  it  ;  but  as  their  minds  and  hearts  have  not 
 been  made  thoroughly  subject  to  the  word,  they  will,  in  the 
 last  day,  be  found  among  them  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of 
 our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  All  their  promising  attainments  and 
 gift*  will  not  answer  the  charge  of  the  word  against  them. 
 Though  they  should  say  to  their  Judge,  '  Have  we  not  pro- 
 '  phesied  in  thy  name  ?  and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out  devils  ? 
 •  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful  works  ?'  yet,  as  they 
 have  not  been  really  doers  of  good  works,  they  shall  have 
 judgment  awarded  to  them  as  they  that  work  iniquity,  Matth. 
 vii.  12,  13.  All  their  light,  gifts,  and  seeming  attainments, 
 will  but  concur  with  their  more  real  unbelief,  hypocrisy,  and 
 unholiness,  in  more  plentifully  treasuring  up  to  them  wrath 
 
Sermon  II.  50.' J 
 
 against  the  day  of  wrath  ;  so  that  it  shall  come  out  in  the 
 issue,  that  it  had  been  better  for  them  not  to  have  known  the 
 way  to  righteousness  at  all. 
 
 Of  how  unspeakably  great  consequence,  then,  is  it  to  us 
 that  we  should  attain  to  that  by  the  word,  and  by  the  grace 
 of  God  conveyed  with  it  to  our  hearts,  that  would  bring  us 
 up  to  the  true  character  of  doers  of  the  word  ! — That  is  to  be 
 the  subject  of  the  next  discourse. 
 
504 
 
 SERMON  III. 
 
 James  i.  22. 
 
 4  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your 
 ownselvesS 
 
 Having  spoken  at  good  length  concerning  men's  general  ob- 
 noxiousness  to  self-deceiving,  and  concerning  the  comprehen- 
 sive matter  in  which  all  the  delusions  and  self-deceivings  of 
 professed  Christians  terminate,  viz.  their  satisfying  them- 
 selves with  being  hearers  of  the  word  only,  I  come  now  to 
 the  main  subject  of  the  text — 
 
 III.  The  character  and  conduct  required  and  recommended 
 in  opposition  to  this  self-deceiving ;  viz.  to  be  doers  of  the 
 word.     Upon  this  I  shall, 
 
 I.  Offer  some  general  observations,  tending  to  open  up 
 and  explain  the  subject,  founded  chiefly  upon  the  ex- 
 pression of  the  text. 
 
 II.  I  shall  suggest  some  arguments  and  motives  to  enforce 
 this  exhortation. 
 
 III.  Propose  some  proper  directions  and  cautions ;  and, 
 
 IV.  Some  marks  by  which  we  may  be  satisfied  if  we  are 
 truly  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 I.  I  shall  offer  some  general  observations  that  tend  to  ex- 
 plain and  open  up  the  subject,  founded  chiefly  upon  the  ex- 
 pression of  the  text.     As, 
 
 1.  The  doing  required  is,  doing  of  the  word  of  God.  The 
 apostle  knew  of  no  other  doing,  required  or  accepted  in  reli- 
 gion, but  doing  of  the  word.  How  few  are  indeed  doers  of 
 the  word !  The  doing  of  the  word  is  too  large  and  extensive 
 a  compass  of  doing  for  the  aim  and  intention  of  many  in  re- 
 ligion ;  yet,  as  if  it  were  too  narrow,  men  will  not  be  confined 
 within  that  compass.  These  parts  of  their  religion,  which 
 themselves  oft-times  practise  with  greatest  heat  of  zeal,  and 
 which  they  obtrude  on  others  with  the  greatest  urgency,  to 
 the  oppressing  of  them,  and  many  a  time  to  the  shedding  of 
 their  blood,  are  these  parts  of  it  that  are  beyond  the  line  and 
 
Sermon  HI.  506 
 
 compass  of  the  word.  The  religion  warranted  and  prescribed 
 by  the  word  is  God's  religion.  The  other  is  their  own  religion, 
 and  they  are  the  fonder  of  it.  They  ofttimes  act  as  if  they 
 meant  to  leave  it  to  God  to  avenge  the  neglect  of  his  religion, 
 as  he  will  certainly  do  (for  people  can  generally  live  easy 
 enough  with  that  sort  of  men  in  neglecting  of  it,)  but  as  if 
 they  thought  that  it  fell  especially  to  men's  share  to  avenge 
 the  neglect  of  human  religion. 
 
 But  what  is  the  aim  of  all  practice  in  religion,  if  it  is  not 
 to  please  God,  and  be  accepted  of  him  in  it?  and  what 
 imaginable  ground  can  be  shown  us  for  expecting  acceptance 
 with  him,  in  doing  a  service  which  he  hath  not  required,  and 
 which  is  not  doing  of  his  word  ?  When  the  Lord  is,  Jer.  xix. 
 5.  reproving  men  for  burning  their  sons  with  fire  for  burnt- 
 offerings  unto  Baal,  his  pleading  is  thus, — '  Which  I  com- 
 '  manded  not,  nor  spake  it,  neither  came  it  into  my  mind.' 
 -Might  not  the  Lord  have  offered  other  strong  and  affecting 
 arguments,  taken  from  the  nature  of  the  thing  itself,  against 
 the  offering  of  their  sons  for  burnt-offerings  ?  It  is  easy  to 
 see  he  might.  But,  then,  if  men  should  be  obliged  always  to 
 state  the  argument  on  the  nature  of  things,  the  reasonableness 
 or  unreasonableness,  the  decency  or  indecency  of  things,  in 
 their  own  nature,  conscientious  and  godly  persons  might  often 
 be  put  to  a  bay  by  their  more  ingenious  adversaries,  especially 
 in  cases  not  so  clearly  unreasonable  in  their  own  nature  as 
 was  that  horrible  practice.  But,  then,  as  that  is  not  the 
 proper  state  of  the  argument  upon  the  main,  so  the  Lord 
 suggests  and  insists  only  on  an  argument  clear,  easy,  sufficient, 
 and  withal  within  the  reach  of  every  one  of  his  people.  Here 
 they  stand  secure  and  upon  the  proper  ground,  with  respect 
 to  every  religious  practice ;  not  to  be  moved  or  affected  with 
 all  the  plausible  things  that  human  rhetoric  can  produce  to 
 set  out  human  device,  until  it  can  be  shown  them  that  it  is 
 a  thing  that  came  into  the  Lord's  mind,  which  he  spake, 
 which  he  commanded.  The  consciences  of  the  Lord's  people 
 are  not  obliged  to  any  doing  but  the  doing  of  his  word. 
 
 It  is  well  known  how  the  public  worship  of  God  hath  been 
 burdened  and  defaced  with  other  doing  than  the  doing  of  the 
 word.  The  church  hath  long  and  often  groaned  under  it. 
 But  this  is  a  mischief  that  hath  spread  farther  in  men's  prac- 
 tice. When  men  are  satisfied  about  a  good  end,  purpose,  and 
 interest,  respecting  religion,  which  they  are  to  pursue  or 
 support,  and  are  perhaps  confident  about  the  sincerity  of  their 
 own  end   and  aim  in  so  doing,   it  too  often  happens  that 
 
506  Sermon  III. 
 
 they  are  not  duly  careful  about  the  temper,  method,  and 
 means  they  use ;  that  these  should  likewise  be  agreeable  to 
 the  word,  and  that  in  these  they  should  be  doers  of  the  word. 
 As  the  word  directs  us  to  the  ends  and  interests  we  should 
 intend,  so  ought  we  to  take  our  directions  from  it  as  to  all 
 proper  methods  and  means.  But  men  often  act  as  if  they 
 thought  that  the  particular  good  interest  they  had  at  heart 
 did  sanctify  and  warrant  all  means  whatsoever,  by  which 
 they  think  it  may  be  advanced.  Men's  unbelief  will  not 
 trust  to  God  in  the  use  of  such  means  as  he  hath  prescribed, 
 and  of  the  conduct  to  which  he  hath  confined  them ;  and 
 their  passions  will  not  be  subject  to  his  authority,  or  restricted 
 by  it.  The  abominable  absurdity  of  supererogation  in  religion 
 hath  been  exploded  by  the  word  of  God  wherever  its  light 
 hath  reached ;  yet  men  would,  in  some  kinds  of  practice,  be 
 still  at  supererogating,  and  act  as  if  they  meant  to  be  holier 
 than  God.  But  when  men  do  thus  outrun  the  word  of  God, 
 if  they  were  wrell  tried,  they  would  be  found  to  have  too  many 
 and  considerable  defects  and  exceptions  in  their  characters 
 as  doers  of  the  word.  Let  this  then  be  a  fixed  point  with 
 us,  that  I  have  made  my  first  general  observation  on  this 
 head,  that  no  doing  is  required  or  accepted  in  religion,  but 
 doing  of  the  word. 
 
 2.  Every  part  of  the  word,  in  some  respect  or  other, 
 requires  doing,  otherwise  it  might  have  been  answered  to 
 the  apostle,  Why  require  doing,  in  such  absolute  terms,  of  the 
 word,  when  there  is  so  much  of  the  word  that  does  not 
 require  any  doing  ?  Is  it  not  enough  with  respect  to  such 
 parts  of  it  that  we  be  hearers  only?  What  else  do  they 
 require  ?  But  he  speaks  absolutely ;  and  there  is  no  part  of 
 the  word  but  his  exhortation  hath  a  respect  to.  There  is  no 
 part  of  the  word  but  by  some  relation,  connexion,  or  conse- 
 quence, in  some  way  or  other,  requires  doing. 
 .  The  manifestations  therein  made  of  the  divine  nature  and 
 councils,  the  declarations  therein  made  of  the  mercy  and 
 grace  of  God  by  his  promises,  or  by  the  doctrine  of  his  word 
 otherwise,  to  which  may  be  added  the  histories  of  the  word 
 that  tend  to  confirm  these,  all  require  a  certain  activity  of 
 mind  and  heart,  in  way  of  faith  and  the  fear  of  God. 
 
 The  threatenings  of  the  word  with  all  the  doctrines  and 
 declarations  of  it  that  are  of  that  import,  and  these  histories 
 that  tend  to  illustrate  or  confirm  God's  threatenings,  do  by 
 no  means  admit  of  indolent  hearing.  It  is  a  mark  by  which 
 the  Lord  himself  distinguishes  his  people,  that  they  tremble 
 
Sermon  III.  507 
 
 at  his  word.  His  works  may  make  the  most  stout-hearted 
 sinner  to  tremble ;  but  his  people  tremble  at  his  word.  We 
 should,  like  the  prudent  man  using  these  parts  of  the  word 
 as  a  prospective  glass,  foresee  the  evil  and  go  to  hide  our- 
 selves. 
 
 As  the  commandments  of  the  word  do  more  directly  respect 
 doing,  so  those  of  them  that  are  conceived  in  negative  form 
 have  nevertheless  their  positive  side,  and  mark  out  somewhat 
 to  be  done.  So,  there  is  no  part  of  the  word  of  which  we 
 are  to  be  hearers  only,  or  that  is  calculated  for  mere  infor- 
 mation or  speculation  only ;  every  part  of  it,  in  some  view  or 
 other,  requires  doing. 
 
 3.  To  be  doers  of  the  word  imports  and  requires  to  be 
 doers  of  the  whole  word.  As  the  whole  word,  and  every 
 part  thereof,  requires  doing,  (so  I  just  now  observed)  ;  so 
 there  is  no  degree  of  doing,  nor  no  consideration  whatsoever, 
 for  which  we  can  dispense  with  ourselves,  as  to  any  part  of 
 the  word,  that  we  should  not  be  the  doers  thereof.  The  ex- 
 pression of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  my  text  is  strictly  general, 
 universal,  and  comprehensive,  to  be  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 Is  there  any  part  of  the  word  of  which  we  have  it  not  at 
 heart  to  be  the  doers,  and  do  deliberately  and  habitually 
 indulge  ourselves  therein  ?  Why,  with  respect  to  that  part, 
 we  are  hearers  of  the  word  only.  This  may  appear  to  us  of 
 small  account,  because  we  are,  in  every  other  respect,  doers 
 of  the  word ;  so  we  may  easily  flatter  ourselves :  but  our 
 willing  failure  in  that  part  will  give  us  our  denomination, 
 and  fix  our  character,  c  hearers  of  the  word  only.'  He  whose 
 proper  character  is  a  doer  of  the  word,  is  a  hearer  only  of  no 
 part  of  it.  He  who  heareth  all  the  prohibitions  and  denuncia- 
 tions of  the  word  against  drunkenness,  and  continueth  a 
 drunkard,  is,  in  point  of  character,  a  hearer  of  the  word  only, 
 not  a  doer,  if  he  had  a  thousand  practices  of  devotion  and 
 good  works  to  show  for  him  ;  so,  he  that  hears  the  prohibi- 
 tions and  denunciations  of  the  word  against  adultery,  yet  in 
 practice  is  an  adulterer,  his  character  is  a  hearer  only,  not  a 
 doer,  if  he  had  a  thousand  good  works  otherwise  to  boast  of. 
 Some  of  these  sorts  of  men  whom  I  did  before  class  among 
 hearers  only,  when  explaining  that  subject,  are  men  who  may 
 have  many  good  works  of  diverse  kinds ;  yet  for  the  reason  I 
 am  now  insisting  on,  could  be  classed  only  among  hearers 
 only,  not  doers. 
 
 It  is  said  of  Herod,  that  when  he  heard  John  Baptist,  he 
 did  many  things,  not  a  few  good  works  j  yet  he  was  by  n© 
 
508  Sermon  III. 
 
 means  a  doer  of  the  word,  but  a  hearer  only  ;  as  the  word 
 itself  admits  of  no  middle  class.  Let  us  go  ever  so  far  in  the 
 practice  of  righteousness ;  yet  if  we  make  deliberate,  habi- 
 tual exceptions  in  the  matters  of  the  word,  we  shall  be  but 
 of  Herod's  class, — that  we  did  many  things  which  exhaust 
 and  comprehend  our  whole  character  :  it  will  not  be  absolutely 
 that  of  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 This  same  apostle  James  says,  chap.  ii.  10.  (  Whosoever 
 '  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is 
 '  guilty  of  all.'  This  is  a  large  supposition,  of  keeping  the 
 whole  law,  '  yet  if  he  offend  in  one  point/  that  is,  as  I  take 
 the  principal  intention  of  it,  if  there  is  one  point  of  the  law 
 and  holy  commandment  of  God,  which  he  stumbles  at,  of 
 which  he  will  not  submit  to  be  the  doer,  he  is  guilty  of  all. 
 Just  as  if  one  should  pretend  to  exercise  a  dispensing  power 
 with  respect  to  one  or  two  parts  of  the  law,  although  he 
 should  not  actually  extend  it  to  more  instances,  yet  he  would 
 be  reckoned  to  overturn  the  constitution  and  destroy  the 
 authority  of  the  whole  law.  So  our  nation  sometime  ago  judged 
 in  the  case  of  a  monarch  noted  in  our  history,  and  acted 
 happily  on  that  view.  He  who  absolutely  stumbleth  at  any 
 one  point  of  the  law,  and  doth  not  practically  submit  thereto, 
 is  to  be  classed  with  them  the  apostlejPeter  mentions,  1  Eph. 
 ii.  8.  '  even  them  which  stumble  at  the  word,  being  dis- 
 '  obedient;'  not  with  them  who  are  the  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 It  is  true  that,  through  ignorance,  inadvertence,  sloth,  un- 
 belief, strong  lusts  and  passions,  and  weak  graces,  the  Lord's 
 people  do  come  in  fact  greatly  short,  both  as  to  the  matter 
 and  manner  of  their  duty.  They  will  all  join  in  saying  with 
 this  apostle,  chap.  iii.  2.  ( In  many  things  we  offend  all.' 
 Yet  true  doers  of  the  word  have  no  fixed  exception  in  the 
 matters  of  the  word.  Grace  and  a  good  conscience  do  de- 
 termine them  to  have  respect  to  all  the  commandments 
 thereof.  Their  fixed  aim  is  to  be  doers  of  the  whole  word. 
 The  scripture  often  expresses  sincerity  by  being  perfect,  and 
 the  sincere  is  the  perfect  man  ;  and  accordingly,  imperfect  as 
 they  are  in  every  thing,  their  sincerity  and  integrity,  as  doers 
 of  the  word,  hath  this  of  perfection  in  it,  that  it  truly  aims  at 
 the  whole  word,  and  truly  presses  forward  to  that  mark. 
 
 4.  To  be  doers  of  the  word  is  to  be  inwardly  so,  as  well 
 as  outwardly.  This  is  a  consequence  of  the  former  observa- 
 tion about  being  doers  of  the  whole  word.  Nor  shall  I  be 
 more  particular  as  to  the  matter  or  manner  of  our  doing  in 
 this  place. 
 
Sermon  III.  509 
 
 The  word,  of  which  the  text  calls  us  to  be  the  doers,  is 
 not  the  word  of  man.  The  word  and  authority  of  men  doth 
 not  reach  farther  than  the  outward  man.  But  this  is  the 
 word  of  God,  who  trieth  the  heart,  and  hath  pleasure  in  up- 
 rightness. It  is  he  who  knoweth  our  hearts  who  only  can 
 judge  of  our  uprightness  ;  and  as  it  is  his  peculiar  province 
 to  know  and  judge  of  our  uprightness,  so  by  the  uprightness 
 of  his  people  he  hath  peculiar  pleasure. 
 
 As  our  heart  and  inward  man  is  exposed  to  his  observation  ; 
 so  doth  the  light,  authority,  and  command  of  his  word  reach 
 the  inward  man.  The  word  is  indeed  the  mean  by  which 
 the  Lord  doth  commonly  give  men  the  strongest  and  most 
 sensible  proof  and  impression  of  his  omniscience ;  according 
 to  1  Cor.  xiv.  24,  25.  '  If  one  who  believeth  not,  or  one  un- 
 (  learned/  come  in  to  hear  the  word,  '  he  is  convinced  of  all, 
 6  he  is  judged  of  all :  and  thus  are  the  secrets  of  his  heart 
 c  made  manifest ;  and  so,  falling  down  on  his  face,  he  will 
 '  worship  God,  and  report  that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth.' 
 So  the  word  is,  in  a  sort,  an  omniscient  heart-searching  thing, 
 and  God  is  in  it  of  a  truth.  Therefore  doth  the  apostle  speak 
 of  the  word  in  expressions,  which,  strictly  speaking,  do  suit 
 God  only,  Heb.  iv.  12.  e  The  word  of  God  is  quick  and  power- 
 '  ful,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
 (  heart/ 
 
 The  Lord  says,  Jer.  xvii.  10.  c  I  the  Lord  search  the  heart, 
 '  I  try  the  reins,  even  to  give  every  man  according  to  his 
 '  ways,  according  to  the  fruit  of  his  doings/'  Without  search- 
 ing the  heart,  he  could  not  judge  men  according  to  their  ways 
 and  doings.  Of  every  work  of  man,  we  may  say  that  only 
 the  half  is  outward,  and  that  perhaps  the  half  of  least  account 
 in  God's  sight ;  as  indeed  it  is  of  no  account  at  all,  without 
 the  inward  part  of  it  be  joined  to  make  up  its  integrity  : 
 besides,  that  the  word  requires  much  inward  doing  that  hath 
 no  immediate  connexion  with  present  outward  works.  To 
 explain  particularly  that  inward  doing,  and  the  inward  prin- 
 ciples and  manner  of  all  doing  according  to  the  word,  does 
 not  suit  the  general  view  and  design  of  these  observations  : 
 only,  let  us  consider  the  word  as  joining  this  demand,  c  My 
 '  son,  give  me  thy  heart/  to  every  matter  in  which  we  would 
 attempt  to  be  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 5.  To  be  a  doer  of  the  word  imports  to  be  so  to  the  end. 
 '  He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved.  Be  thou  faith - 
 '  ful  unto  the  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life/ 
 The  text  speaks  of  doers  of  the  word  absolutely,  not  doers  for 
 
510  Sermon  III. 
 
 a  season.  It  is  the  property  of  bad  ground,  Luke  viii.  14.  to 
 bring  no  fruit  to  perfection.  This  imports  the  same  sense  as 
 the  expression,  Matt.  xiii.  22.  c  he  becometh  unfruitful/  It 
 is  the  good  ground  which  alone  represents  the  doers  of  the 
 word,  that  brings  forth  fruit  with  patience,  or  perseverance, 
 Luke  viii.  15.  with  that  patience  which  hath  its  perfect  work. 
 It  only  is  accounted  fruitful.  The  other  ground,  which  brought 
 fruit  the  greatest  length  of  any  bad  ground,  is  accounted  un- 
 fruitful, that  is,  such  are  hearers  only,  not  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 Should  we  suppose  a  man  to  live  long  in  the  practice  of 
 righteousness,  and  in  end  to  turn  away  from  the  holy  com- 
 mandment, from  which  period  of  life  shall  he  be  denominated 
 a  doer  or  not  doer  ?  From  the  longest  or  the  last  ?  The  Lord 
 himself  determines  this,  Ezek.  xxxiii.  13.  '  If  he  trust  to  his 
 '  own  righteousness  and  commit  iniquity,  all  his  righteousness 
 '  shall  not  be  remembered  ;  but  for  his  iniquity  that  he  hath 
 '  committed,  he  shall  die  for  it."  He  is  not  a  doer  of  the 
 word.  The  precious  consolation  of  the  new  covenant  re- 
 specting this  matter  is  not  my  present  subject.  I  consider 
 matters  in  the  light  of  duty,  and  what  brings  a  man  properly 
 under  the  character  of  a  doer  of  the  word.  Let  this  there- 
 fore be  an  argument  by  which  grace  shall  work  on  the  heart 
 of  every  doer  of  the  word,  that  c  he  only  who  endureth  to  the 
 c  end  shall  be  saved/  2  John  8.  '  Look  to  yourselves  that  we 
 6  lose  not  those  things  which  we  have  wrought,  but  that  we 
 '  receive  a  full  reward/  Gal.  vi.  9.  e  And  let  us  not  be  weary 
 c  in  well-doing  ;  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint 
 c  not/     I  come  now  to  the  second  thing  on  this  subject. 
 
 II.  To  suggest  some  arguments  and  motives  to  enforce  this 
 exhortation  to  be  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 The  word  which  requires  this  regard  is,  the  word  of  God  : 
 It  is  he  who  speaketh  to  us  in  it.  And  so,  doing  the  word  is 
 our  obedience  to  him,  doing  his  will,  and  doing  things  pleasing 
 to  him.  For  which  it  becometh  every  one  of  his  people  to 
 regard  the  following  considerations. 
 
 1.  Consider  his  various  relations  to  you,  the  obligations 
 these  bring  you  under,  and  the  right  he  thereby  hath  to  your 
 obedience.  Consider  his  absolute  sovereignty,  which  is 
 founded  in  his  own  infinite  excellency,  and  in  that  goodness 
 and  power  by  which  he  hath  given  us  our  being,  and  upholds 
 it ;  which  is  a  relation  which  nothing  could  put  an  end  to  but 
 what  would  put  an  end  to  our  existence. 
 
 How  much  should  it  recommend  the  word  of  this  great 
 Sovereign  of  the  Universe  to  us,  that  he  speaketh  it  to  us  by 
 
Sermon  III.  511 
 
 his  Son,  whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things;  that 
 we  have  the  law  to  receive  from  his  mouth  ;  for  he  is,  in  the 
 most  eminent  degree,  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  ; 
 that  it  is  committed  to  him  to  exercise  the  more  immediate 
 government  and  rule  over  his  people,  according  to  the  holy 
 laws  of  his  eternal  Father ;  while,  at  the  sametime  that  he 
 ruleth  his  people  as  his  Father's  great  Vicegerent,  {  he  is  our 
 1  great  high  priest,  to  do  for  us  in  all  things  pertaining  to 
 c  God  ;  so  that,  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the 
 c  Father/  Without  this  it  might  be  said,  ye  cannot  serve 
 the  Lord,  for  he  is  an  holy  God.  Thus  while  Christ,  the 
 king  of  Zion,  maketh  the  laws  and  word  of  God  his  Father 
 effectual  with  his  people,  he,  at  the  sametime,  maketh  their 
 acceptance  effectual  and  sure  with  God. 
 
 Consider  the  comfortable  relations  of  grace  unto  which  God 
 hath  brought  his  people.  From  being  rebels,  the  objects  of 
 his  wrath,  he  hath  brought  them  to  be  his  people,  servants, 
 and  children  ;  he  hath  become  their  Lord,  their  master,  and 
 father,  through  Jesus  Christ :  all  the  present  privilege  of  these 
 relations,  all  the  hope  of  this  calling,  is  of  his  infinite  love  and 
 grace ;  and  what  astonishing  works  of  love  have  appeared  in 
 the  method  of  bringing  all  this  about !  It  came  not  of  us,  as 
 Christ  said,  John  xv.  16.  f  ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have 
 f  chosen  you ;'  so,  Psal.  c.  3.  '  It  is  he  that  hath  made  us,  and 
 '  not  we  ourselves  ;  we  are  his  people  and  the  sheep  of  his 
 '  pasture  ;'  and,  Deut.  xxxii.  6.  '  Is  not  he  thy  father  that 
 '  hath  bought  thee?  hath  he  not  made  thee  and  established  thee?' 
 
 Should  they  refuse  the  most  absolute  and  unlimited  sub- 
 jection to  his  sovereignty,  who  owe  so  great  things  to  the 
 riches  and  sovereignty  of  his  grace  ?  Can  you  hear  this  in- 
 finitely exalted  sovereign,  this  infinitely  condescending  Master 
 and  Father  speak,  and  that  by  his  own  Son,  whom  he  hath 
 sent  '  to  redeem  you  by  his  blood  ;'  and  can  you,  with  respect 
 to  any  thing  he  speaketh,  be  hearers  only?  May  it  not  then 
 be  said,  as  Deut.  xxxii.  6.  '  Do  ye  thus  requite  the  Lord,  O 
 foolish  people  and  unwise !' 
 
 2.  Consider  the  hazard  of  being  hearers  only,  and  not  doing 
 his  word ;  how  fearfully  the  consequence  may  come  out  be- 
 tween God  and  you.  The  most  common  case  is  not  of  a  man's 
 rejecting  directly  the  whole  word  of  God,  or  declining  avow- 
 edly all  regard  to  his  authority  :  the  defect  in  doing  the 
 word  is  more  commonly  in  some  particular  matter,  in  which 
 perhaps  a  right  eye  or  a  right  hand,  &c.  cause th  him  to  offend 
 and  stumble  at  the  word.     But  even  with  respect  to  a  parti- 
 
512  Sermon  III. 
 
 cular  work  or  instance  of  duty,  that  may  be  the  subject  of  the 
 deliberation  of  your  mind  and  conscience,  and  about  which 
 deceitful  lusts  may  suggest,  as  Lot  said  of  Zoar,  '  Is  it  not  a 
 little  one  ?'  How  great  things  may  it  amount  to  between 
 God  and  you?  I  shall  give  an  awful  instance  from  1  Sam. 
 xv.  2,  3.  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts'  to  Saul,  e  Now  go 
 f  and  smite  Amalek,  and  utterly  destroy  all  that  they  have, 
 '  and  spare  them  not ;  but  slay  both  man  and  woman,  infant 
 (  and  suckling,  ox  and  sheep,  camel  and  ass/  This  was  a 
 judgment  which  the  righteous  Judge  of  all  the  earth  had  de- 
 clared his  intention  about  long  ago.  Now,  after  so  long  re- 
 prieve, he  will  have  it  executed.  Accordingly,  ver.  4.  '  Saul 
 '  gathered  the  people  together,  and  numbered  them  in  Telaim, 
 '  two  hundred  thousand  footmen,  and  ten  thousand  men  of 
 e  Judah/  Here  was  great  preparation  for  being  a  doer  of 
 the  word  of  God.  Verses  7,  8.  '  And  Saul  smote  the  Ama- 
 1  lekites  from  Havilah  until  thou  comest  to  Shur,  that  is  over 
 '  against  Egypt.  And  he  took  Agag,  the  king  of  the  Ama- 
 •  lekites  alive,  and  utterly  destroyed  all  the  people  with  the 
 1  edge  of  the  sword.'  Here  is  a  great  deal  actually  done. 
 But,  ver.  9.  '  Saul  and  the  people  spared  Agag,  and  the  best 
 e  of  the  sheep  and  of  the  oxen/  &c.  Who  would  think  but 
 so  much  doing  might  cover  this  much  defect  in  doing  ?  But 
 the  arrogance  of  thus  far  dispensing  with  the  word  and  com- 
 mand of  God  marred  all  his  doing  ;  and  the  consequence  to 
 Saul  we  see,  ver.  23.  '  Because  thou  hast  rejected  the  word 
 '  of  the  Lord,  he  hath  also  rejected  thee  from  being  king.' 
 Had  Saul  imagined  that  the  thing  had  amounted  to  this  in 
 the  consequence,  would  he  have  spared  Agag  and  a  few  cattle 
 at  so  great  a  risk  ?  It  would  become  us  to  consider  every 
 trying  case  of  doing  the  word  (and  we  should  judge  every 
 case  that  is  the  subject,  as  I  said,  of  the  deliberation  of  our 
 mind  and  conscience  to  be  such)  in  this  view  and  light.  If 
 we  venture  to  decline  or  limit  our  obedience  in  this  instance, 
 may  not  perhaps  utter  rejection  be  the  consequence,  as  in  the 
 case  of  Saul  ? 
 
 Be  it  so,  that  the  Lord  hath  by  grace  secured  the  state  and 
 hope  of  his  people  ;  that  his  mercy  to  them,  (as  he  says  to 
 David,  2  Sam.  vii.  15.)  is  not  as  his  mercy  to  Saul,  from 
 whom  he  took  his  mercy,  and  whom  he  put  away  before  him ; 
 but,  that  he  hath  made  with  them  an  everlasting  covenant, 
 as  David  comforts  himself,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  5.  'that  he  hath 
 c  made  with  them  all  an  everlasting  covenant,  even  the  sure 
 '  mercies  of  David/  as  Isa.  lv.  3.     Yet  still  these  sure  mer- 
 
Sermon  III.  513 
 
 cies,  and  that  grace  of  the  everlasting  covenant  take  effect  as 
 by  other  means,  so  by  this,  of  making  all  true  doers  of  the 
 word  consider  the  fate  of  hypocrites,  as  a  beacon  to  warn 
 them  not  to  split  upon  the  same  rock. 
 
 Yea,  in  great  consistency  with  the  security  of  that  grace 
 wherein  the  Lord's  people  do  stand,  (Rom.  v.  2.)  if  some  of 
 them  would  understand  and  report  the  case  as  it  has  happen- 
 ed to  them,  it  would  appear  that  sometimes  a  particular  in- 
 stance, wherein  they  have  failed  in  their  integrity,  in  their 
 purity,  in  their  doing  of  the  word,  has  brought  a  reverse 
 upon  their  circumstances,  both  outward  and  inward,  that  they 
 have  never  got  the  better  of  in  this  life.  How  great  terror  is 
 there  (though  no  doubt  the  consolation  prevails)  in  that 
 word,  Psal.  xcix.  8.  e  Thou  wast  a  God  that  forgavest  them, 
 '  though  thou  tookest  vengeance  of  their  inventions.'  Thus 
 will  he  make  his  people  to  know  and  see  '  that  it  is  an  evil 
 '  thing  and  bitter  to  forsake  the  Lord  their  God,  and  that  his 
 '  fear  should  not  be  in  them/  Jer.  ii.  19. 
 
 We  see,  then,  upon  the  whole,  that  not  to  be  doers  of  the 
 word  may  have  fearful  consequence  between  God  and  us, 
 even  in  respect  to  particular  instances  of  not  doing  the  word. 
 
 3.  Let  all  who  are  indebted  to  the  saving  grace  of  God 
 consider,  that  the  holiness,  righteousness,  and  practice  of 
 good  works,  which  is  the  doing  of  the  word,  and  whereof  the 
 word  is  the  rule  while  they  are  upon  this  earth,  is  the  design 
 and  end  of  all  the  grace  which  God  hath  shown  them. 
 
 Have  the  Lord's  people  been  elected,  or  predestinated  ' ac- 
 '  cording  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things  after 
 c  the  counsel  of  his  own  will  ?'  Eph.  i.  11.  The  Holy  Ghost 
 explains  the  end  of  this  great  grace,  Eph.  i.  4.  e  He  hath 
 :  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that 
 c  we  should  be  holy,  and  without  blame  before  him  in  love/ 
 
 This  text  acquaints  us,  that  fwe  are  chosen  in  Christ 
 c  Jesus/  The  inheritance  to  which  we  are  chosen  or  predes- 
 tinated, ver.  11.  could  be  reached  only  by  his  means.  Heb. 
 ix.  15.  It  is  (  by  means  of  his  death,  for  the  redemption  of 
 '  transgressions,  that  they  which  are  called,  according  to  his 
 '  purpose,'  Rom.  viii.  28.  '  do  receive  the  promise  of  eternal 
 1  inheritance/  Thus  the  purchase  of  Christ's  death,  for  our 
 benefit,  is  an  eternal  inheritance.  At  the  same  time,  a  great 
 design  of  his  death,  for  his  glory  and  service,  is  represented, 
 Titus  ii.  14.  c  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem 
 (  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar 
 '  people,  zealous  of  good  works/ 
 
514  Sermon  III. 
 
 Agreeably  to  this  view,  a  little  before  he  underwent  death 
 for  us,  by  which  he  was  to  merit  all  grace  for  his  people,  he 
 prays  to  his  Father  thus, — f  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth. 
 '  And  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself,  that  they  also  might 
 '  be  sanctified  through  the  truth/ John  xvii.  17-  19.  The  Son 
 of  God  did  sanctify,  or  devote  himself  to  be  a  sacrifice,  to 
 bear  our  curse,  that  we  might  be  sanctified.  In  like  manner, 
 it  is  said,  Eph.  v.  25,  26.  that  c  Christ  gave  himself  for  his 
 *  church,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the 
 (  washing  of  water  by  the  word/  He  died  that  his  people 
 might  be  sanctified  and  cleansed  by  the  word,  through  the 
 effectual  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (which  is  represented 
 by  the  water  in  baptism)  attending  it.  In  short,  for  this  end 
 he  died,  and  purchased  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  his 
 people,  that  they  might  thereby  be  made  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 Further,  c  whom  God  hath  predestinated,  them  he  also  call- 
 ed/ Now,  what  is  the  nature  and  end  of  this  calling  of 
 grace  ?  It  is  holy  in  respect  to  both  its  nature  and  end  ; 
 e  who  hath  saved  us,  and  called  us  with  an  holy  calling,' 
 2  Tim.  i.  9.  '  God  hath  not  called  us  unto  uncleanness,  but 
 unto  holiness/  1  Thess.  iv.  7-  Accordingly,  the  believers  at 
 Rome  are  said  to  be  '  called  (to  be)  saints/  that  is,  they  were 
 saints,  or  holy,  by  means  of  this  holy  calling ;  so  that  the 
 calling  of  grace,  by  which  Christians  are  called  unto  the  fel- 
 lowship of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  and  to  the  fellowship  of  all 
 the  grace  and  glory  which  he  hath  purchased  by  his  blood, 
 that  effectual  calling  which  is  given  them  by  the  word  and 
 grace  of  God,  is  in  its  nature  a  holy  calling,  and  hath  for  its 
 end  to  make  them  saints,  or  holy,  that  is,  to  make  them  doers 
 of  the  word. 
 
 (  Whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified/  In  this  justifi- 
 cation, sinners  are  reconciled  to  God ;  and,  as  the  prophet 
 Amos  says,  chap.  iii.  3.  *  Can  two  walk  together  except  they 
 '  be  agreed  ?'  so  when  God  and  sinners  are  agreed,  one  end 
 hereof  is,  that  they  should  walk  together  ;  that  sinners,  for- 
 merly alienated  in  their  minds  by  wicked  works,  should  walk 
 with  God,  according  to  his  word.  By  justification  sinners 
 are  brought  under  the  protection,  government,  and  banner  of 
 grace ;  and  we  see  how  the  apostle  argues  from  that,  Rom. 
 vi.  14.  '  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  :  for  ye  are 
 '  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace/ 
 
 If  the  Lord  doth,  in  his  great  grace,  give  his  Spirit  to  his 
 people  to  dwell  in  them,  what  is  one  great  end  of  that  grace  ? 
 Surely  it  is,  that  they  may  walk  after  the  Spirit.    By  this  doth 
 
Sermon  III.  51."> 
 
 the  apostle  characterize  believers,  and  upon  this  doth  he  sus- 
 pend their  comfort  of  a  justified  state.  Rom.  viii.  1.  '  There  is 
 '  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ 
 '  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after  the  Spirit.' 
 And  thus  doth  he  exhort  the  Galatians,  whose  carnal  temper 
 and  walking  was  so  offensive ;  Gal.  v.  25.  c  If  we  live  in  the 
 '  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  in  the  Spirit  ;'  as  if  he  had  said, — If 
 we,  being  regenerated  by  him,  have  much  peace  and  comfort 
 (so  I  take  this  meaning)  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
 abound  in  hope  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
 is  for  sinners,  who  were  lately  '  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
 *  children  of  wrath,  and  heirs  of  damnation/  to  live  indeed. 
 If  we  thus  do  live  in  the  Spirit,  by  the  renovation  and  conso- 
 lation he  hath  given  us,  let  us  agree  and  submit  to  his  direct- 
 ing of  our  walk  also.  Now,  by  what  rule  doth  he  direct  our 
 walk  ?  Surely  it  is  not  by  mere  inward  impulse  ;  for  we 
 should  not  ordinarily  distinguish  between  the  impulse  of  the 
 Spirit  and  of  the  flesh,  if  there  was  no  other  rule  but  impulse. 
 But  the  whole  word  is  given  by  inspiraton  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost :  every  impulse  or  direction  from  within  us,  that  is 
 not  agreeable  to  the  word,  is  from  the  flesh  and  from  a  prin- 
 ciple of  self-deceiving ;  for  to  walk  after  the  Spirit,  and  to 
 walk  after,  or  according  to  the  word,  is,  as  to  the  way  itself 
 and  the  matter  of  our  walking,  precisely  the  same  thing. 
 For  this  then,  as  for  one  great  end,  doth  God  give  his  Spirit, 
 that  we  may  be  doers  of  the  word.  The  hope  of  eternal 
 blessedness,  wherein  all  the  grace  of  God  to  his  people  doth 
 terminate,  doth  require  the  same  thing.  But  this  I  am  to 
 consider  separately  hereafter. 
 
 This  then  is  one  great  and  special  end  for  which  God  hath 
 elected,  redeemed,  called,  justified  his  people,  and  given 
 them  his  Spirit  to  dwell  in  them  ;  even  that  they  should  be 
 holy,  blameless,  zealous  of  good  Avorks,  doers  of  his  word, — the 
 only  rule  to  us  of  all  holiness  and  good  works.  If  therefore 
 there  be  any  consolatiou  or  joy  by  electing  and  redeeming 
 love,  or  by  calling,  justifying,  sanctifying  grace,  can  we  ex- 
 pect to  hold  or  enjoy  it,  and  not  be  doers  of  the  word  ?  This 
 introduceth  another  argument. 
 
 4.  It  is  by  being  doers  of  the  word  that  we  shall  prove 
 to  the  world,  and  especially  to  ourselves,  the  truth  of  our 
 grace  and  of  our  state  of  grace.  This  is  an  important  point 
 to  be  demonstrated  to  satisfaction.  Our  natural  state  is,  to 
 be  in  the  flesh,  under  the  law,  that  is,  under  the  curse,  and  in 
 a  perishing  condition.     How  important  is  it  then  to  give 
 
516  Sermon  III. 
 
 proof  of  a  state  of  grace  ?  and  how  can  it  be  proven  but  by 
 this,  that  grace  appears  to  have  that  effect  upon  a  man  which 
 I  have  been  showing  to  be  the  end  and  design  of  grace  in  all 
 the  steps  of  it  ?  Where  that  holiness  and  practice  of  good 
 works,  by  which  a  man  is  a  doer  of  the  word,  is  wanting, 
 shall  we  say  electing,  redeeming,  justifying  grace,  have 
 wholly  come  short  of  their  end  ?  that  is  the  same  as  to  say. 
 that  the  counsel  of  God  is  frustrated,  and  that  Christ  hath 
 died  in  vain :  or  is  it  not  easier  to  say,  and  the  only  thing 
 that  it  is  just  to  say  in  this  case,  that  the  man  is  an  entire 
 stranger  to  all  this  grace,  and  hath  no  part  in  it  ?  and  how 
 sad  a  thing  is  it  when  a  man's  conduct  allows  of  no  other 
 conclusion  concerning  him  ?  The  apostle  Peter  doth  thus  ex- 
 hort, 2  Pet.  i.  10.  c  Wherefore  the  rather,  brethren^  give 
 '  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  election  sure  :  for,  if  ye 
 c  do  these  things,  ye  shall  never  fall.'  Now,  concerning  this, 
 it  is  clear  that  it  is  the  calling  of  grace,  by  which  God  doth 
 actually  elect  us  out  of  the  world,  and  separate  us  for  himself, 
 (c  according  to  his  purpose/  Rom.  viii.  28.)  that  doth  bring 
 us  into  a  state  of  grace.  How  shall  we,  according  to  him, 
 prove  and  make  sure  this  calling  and  state  of  grace  ?  That  is 
 clear  from  his  words,  •  For  if  ye  do  these  things,  ye  shall  never 
 6  fall  ;*  your  state  is  that  sure  state  of  grace,  from  which  ye 
 shall  never  fall.  Now,  what  does  he  mean  by  these  things  in 
 this  10th  verse?  The  same  that  he  meant  by  the  same  ex- 
 pression, verse  9.  '  He  that  lacketh  these  things ;'  and  there 
 it  means  the  same  as  verse  8.  ■  for,  if  these  things  be  in  you  ;' 
 and  in  the  words  immediately  preceding  verse  8,  we  see 
 very  particularly  what  these  things  are  :  thus,  verses  5,  6, 
 7.  '  And,  besides  this,  giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your 
 c  faith,  virtue  ;  and  to  virtue,  knowledge  ;  and  to  knowledge, 
 c  temperance ;  and  to  temperance,  patience  ;  and  to  patience, 
 *Jgodliness  ;  and  to  godliness,  brotherly  kindness ;  and  to 
 6  brotherly  kindness,  charity.'  All  these  things  are  included 
 in  this  one  expression,  to  be  doers  of  the  word.  And  it  ap- 
 pears that  it  is  by  these  things,  even  by  being  thus  a  doer  of 
 the  word,  that  a  Christian  will  make  sure  and  prove  that 
 calling  and  state  of  grace  from  which  he  shall  not  fall. 
 
 It  is  true  that  the  Holy  Spirit  doth  testify  our  good  state  ; 
 but  then  it  is  certain  he  never  will  do  it  in  the  absence  of 
 that  evidence  and  proof  that  will  warrant  the  concurring  tes- 
 timony thereto  of  our  spirit  and  conscience ;  that  candle  of 
 the  Lord  that  [searched  all  the  inward  parts  of  the  belly, 
 Prov.  xx.  27.     Now  the  word  of  God,  by  which  the  con- 
 
Sermon  III.  517 
 
 science  must  be   directed,  doth  warrant  that  testimony  in 
 favours  of  none  but  the  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 But  of  how  great  consequence  is  it  to  a  Christian  to  prove 
 and  make  sure  that  calling  and  state  of  grace  ?  It  opens  a 
 scene  of  comfort  to  him  for  eternity  ;  as  he  is  called  thereby 
 to  inherit  a  blessing,  and  as  God  hath  thereby  called  him 
 unto  his  kingdom  and  glory.  It  openeth  a  scene,  as  it  were, 
 of  great  comfort  to  him,  respecting  his  condition  and  way  in 
 this  world,  and  respecting  his  dangers  and  temptations 
 therein.  And  that  as  this  calling  of  grace  hath  the  faithful- 
 ness of  God  engaged  thereto  in  many  precious  promises,  in 
 view  to  which  the  apostle  doth  so  often  encourage  believers, 
 thus  is  the  Christian  required  to  (  hold  fast  the  profession  of 
 '  his  faith  without  wavering/  as  Heb.  x.  23.  It  is  a  comfort- 
 able addition  to  the  exhortation,  (  For  he  is  faithful  that 
 '  promised/  Should  he,  as  1  Thess.  v.  23.  be  careful  that 
 c  his  whole  spirit,  and  soul,  and  body,  be  preserved  blameless 
 *  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ/  it  is  a  happy 
 encouragement  that  is  added,  verse  24.  e  Faithful  is  he  that 
 '  calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it.'  Is  he  required  to  be 
 steady  and  firm  unto  the  end,  here  is  encouragement  to  that 
 purpose,  1  Cor.  i.  8,  9.  '  Who  also  shall  confirm  you  to  the 
 '  end,  that  ye  may  be  blameless  in  the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
 '  Christ.     God  is  faithful  by  whom  ye  are  called.' 
 
 Thus,  to  be  doers  of  the  word  proves  our  state  and  calling. 
 The  evidence  of  our  calling  brings  unto  view  the  most  com- 
 fortable encouragements  in  doing  of  the  word.  These  things 
 have  a  happy  reciprocal  influence  upon  one  another.  If  bv 
 being  doers  of  the  word,  we  prove  that  the  call  of  the  word 
 hath  become  effectual  in  our  hearts,  this  again  will  become  a 
 mean  by  which,  in  our  doing,  the  Lord  will  strengthen  us 
 with  strength  in  our  soul,  as  Psal.  cxxxviii.  3.  and  upon  this 
 ground  we  may  sing  and  pray,  confidently  at  once,  as  in  the 
 conclusion  of  the  psalm, — '  The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which 
 -  concerneth  me ;  thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  endureth  for  ever  : 
 '  forsake  not  the  works  of  thine  own  hands.'  So  doing  will 
 give  us  the  comfort  of  our  calling ;  and  the  comfort  of  our 
 calling,  with  all  these  promises  of  God  that  are  connected 
 therewith,  will  strengthen  us  in  doing.  How  cogent  an 
 argument  should  this  be  with  Christians  to  be  doers  of  the 
 word  ! 
 
 5.  A  Christian  having  evidence,  in  the  manner  just  now 
 explained,  of  his  calling  and  state  of  grace,  as  that  is  a  state 
 of  favour  with  God,  he  may  comfortably  look  for  the  effects 
 
518  Sermon  III. 
 
 of  that  divine  favour  in  what  concerns  his  condition  and  way 
 in  this  world,  if  there  is  not  something  to  obstruct  the  course 
 of  these  effects  of  favour  towards  him.  So  it  is,  his  sins  may 
 obstruct  their  course,  and  his  unholy  walking.  How  strong 
 are  these  expressions  of  divine  favour,  love,  and  sympathy, 
 Isa.  lxiii.  9.  *  In  all  their  affliction  he  was  afflicted,  and  the 
 '  angel  of  his  presence  saved  them  :  in  his  love  and  in  his 
 '  pity  he  redeemed  them,  and  he  bare  them,  and  carried 
 c  them  all  the  days  of  old !'  The  next  words  show  the  effect 
 of  sin  and  provocation,  verse  10.  e  But  they  rebelled,  and 
 '  vexed  his  Spirit  ;  therefore  he  was  turned  to  be  their 
 '  enemy,  and  he  fought  against  them/ 
 
 It  is  only  in  the  way  of  holiness,  obedience,  and  doing  his 
 word,  that  we  can  expect  the  fruits  of  divine  favour  to 
 abound  sensibly  and  comfortably  to  us.  We  will  in  this  way 
 be  likely  to  find  his  favour  and  countenance  to  have  comfort- 
 able effect  to  us  in  what  concerns  our  condition  in  the  world  ; 
 to  make  it  prosperous  or  comfortable  to  us.  Or  if  there  is 
 need  be,  as  the  apostle  Peter  speaks,  for  our  having  trials  and 
 afflictions  in  the  world,  we  will  find,  by  the  divine  favour 
 towards  us,  as  doers  of  the  word,  a  peace  of  God,  which 
 passeth  understanding,  to  keep  and  fortify  our  hearts  and 
 minds  through  Christ  Jesus,  as  well  as  a  happy  issue  of  our 
 afflictions  and  difficulties.  The  good  effect  of  being  doers  of 
 the  word,  in  what  concerns  our  condition  and  the  course  and 
 issue  of  our  affairs  on  the  earth,  has  been  so  clear,  from  ob- 
 servation and  experience,  that  even  the  world  has  adopted 
 that  maxim  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  '  He  who  walketh  uprightly 
 (  walketh  surely/     I  need  to  insist  the  less  on  this  part. 
 
 They  who  by  God's  calling  are  in  a  state  of  grace,  have 
 precious  fruits  to  expect  from  God's  fellowship,  favour,  and 
 the  light  of  his  countenance,  inwardly,  as  to  the  increase  of 
 their  consolation,  joy,  and  strength,  which  are  not  to  be 
 looked  for  otherwise  than  as  they  are  the  doers  of  his  word. 
 
 For  this  I  adduce  the  testimony  of  the  word  itself,  in  these 
 following  passages :  1  John  i.  6,  7-  '  If  we  say  that  we  have 
 <■  fellowship  with  him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do 
 
 <  not  the  truth ;  but  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the 
 
 <  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another/     John.  xiv.  21. 
 
 <  He  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it 
 ( is  that  loveth  me  ;   and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of 
 
 <  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself 
 
 <  to  him/     Verse  23.  ( If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my 
 
Sermon  III.  519 
 
 *  words ;  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come 
 1  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him/ 
 
 Much  of  our  intercourse  with  God,  while  we  are  in  this 
 world,  is  by  our  prayer  to  him,  and  his  favourable  regard 
 thereto.  Now,  as  to  this,  the  Psalmist's  doctrine  was  this, 
 Psal.  lxvi.  18.  e  If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord 
 c  will  not  hear  me/  And  this  is  the  doctrine  of  the  apostle 
 John,  1  John  iii.  22.  '  And  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  receive 
 '  of  him,  because  we  keep  his  commandments,  and  do  those 
 '  things  that  are  pleasing  in  his  sight/  By  prayer  we  ask 
 that  the  Lord  would  assist  us,  do  us  good,  and,  if  I  may  so 
 speak,  that  he  would  please  us ;  and,  shall  we  expect  that  he 
 should  please  us,  while  we  have  it  not  at  heart  to  please 
 him,  by  being  doers  of  his  word  ?  '  If  our  hearts  condemn 
 us  not'  as  to  this,  e  then  have  we  confidence  towards  God,' 
 1  John  iii.  21.  In  this  did  the  blessed  apostle  Paul  labour, 
 even  in  instructing  people  how  they  ought  to  walk,  (1  Thess. 
 iv.  1.)  and  to  please  God. 
 
 If  there  be  any  who  have  the  Psalmist's  sense  of  things, 
 Psal.  iv.  6,  7-  '  Lord,  lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  counte- 
 c  nance  upon  us.  Thou  hast  put  gladness  in  my  heart,  more 
 '  than  in  the  time  that  their  corn  and  their  wine  increased' 
 — surely,  to  such,  what  I  have  been  just  now  representing, 
 must  make  a  very  forcible  argument  for  their  being  doers  of 
 the  word. 
 
 6.  It  is  by  being  doers  of  the  word  that  Christians  can 
 glorify  God.  This  is  the  supreme  end  of  all  the  works  and 
 counsels  of  God,  and  ought  to  have  the  same  supreme  place 
 with  his  creatures.  Christians  are  under  special  obligation 
 as  to  this.  God  hath  ordained  for  them  salvation  with 
 eternal  glory ;  c  even  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
 (  glory/  They  can  add  no  glory  to  him  ;  but  to  show  forth 
 his  glory,  is  a  care  and  work  becoming  the  objects  of  his  so 
 great  grace.  The  glorifying  of  all  the  attributes  of  God,  is 
 the  duty  of  all  his  creatures ;  but  grace  is  an  attribute  of 
 God  displayed,  in  all  its  glory  and  excellency,  to  his  people  ; 
 and  which  therefore  they  are  under  particular  obligation  to 
 glorify.  Shall  the  enemies  of  God  have  occasion  to  say  or 
 think  in  their  hearts,  that  divine  grace  hath  undergone  great 
 dishonour  by  being  so  much  exerted  in  favour  of  such  objects, 
 as  it  hath  produced  no  suitable  or  worthy  effect  or  fruit  in 
 them  ?  This  would  reflect  dishonour  indeed  upon  God  and 
 upon  his  grace ;  but  we  might  say  of  it  to  Christians,  as  the 
 
520  Sermon  HI. 
 
 apostle  doth  in  another  particular  case,  '  This  is  unprofitable 
 c  for  you/ 
 
 The  Lord's  people  are,  by  his  grace,  c  a  chosen  generation, 
 c  a  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people/  1  Pet. 
 ii.  9.  for  this  end,  'that  they  might  show  forth  the  praises 
 '  (or  virtues)  of  him  who  hath  called  them  out  of  darkness 
 c  into  his  marvellous  light/  And  his  praises  they  do  show 
 forth  most  effectually  by  their  good  works,  and  by  being 
 doers  of  the  word.  Matt.  v.  1 6.  c  Let  your  light  so  shine 
 !  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
 ■  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven.' 
 
 7-  Let  us,  in  the  last  place,  consider  the  doing  of  the  word, 
 with  respect  to  the  possession  of  enjoyment  of  the  eternal 
 inheritance  and  blessedness  of  which  the  word  gives  the  sure 
 hope  through  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 As  it  hath  pleased  God  that  the  promised  inheritance 
 should  be  at  some  distance,  there  must  needs  be  a  way  in 
 which  the  heirs  thereof  shall  walk  and  make  their  way  to  it. 
 This  cannot  be  the  broad  way  in  which  the  many  jwalk ;  it 
 leadeth  to  destruction.  There  is  a  way,  a  narrow  way,  which 
 leadeth  to  life. 
 
 When  the  children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wilderness,  they 
 were  not  left  to  choose  their  own  way.  The  Lord  did  lead 
 them ;  he  went  before  them  in  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and 
 in  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night.  The  Lord  continueth  to  lead  his 
 people  still ;  and  the  light  by  which  he  leadeth  them  is  the 
 light  of  his  word  ;  and  to  be  the  doers  of  his  word  is  their 
 way  through  this  wilderness  to  the  possession  of  the  promised 
 inheritance. 
 
 They  have  the  truth  of  God's  promises  in  the  new  covenant 
 for  their  souls  to  rest  on,  in  the  hope  of  heaven.  This  is  like- 
 wise the  truth  of  God,  proposed  to  believers  to  enforce  an 
 exhortation  to  holy  practice.  Rom.  viii.  13.  '  If  ye  live  after 
 'the  flesh,  ye  shall  die;'  and  that,  Heb.  xii.  14.  'Follow 
 '  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
 '  shall  see  the  Lord/ 
 
 There  are  in  the  word  certain  promises  expressed  in  con- 
 ditional form,  with  a  respect  to  certain  gracious  qualifications 
 with  which  the  Lord  doth  connect  particular  blessings  :  such 
 as  Matt.  v.  6,  7-  '  Blessed  are  they  which  hunger  and  thirst 
 e  after  righteousness ;  for  they  shall  be  filled.  Blessed  are 
 *  the  merciful ;  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy/  Shall  they  who 
 are  unmerciful  expect  that  God  shall  deal  mercifully  with 
 them?     Shall  they  expect  to  be  filled,  who  never  hungered 
 
Sermon  III.  52J 
 
 after  righteousness ;  to  be  comforted,  who  never  mourned  ? 
 and  shall  they  look  for  heaven,  which  comprehends  all 
 blessings  and  the  fulfilment  of  all  promises,  who  are  destitute 
 of  these  gracious  qualifications  by  which  the  heirs  of  heaven 
 are  marked  out  in  the  word  ?  Surely  this  were  not  suitable 
 to  the  doctrine  of  the  word. 
 
 The  right  of  God's  people  to  heaven  is  originally  by  the 
 gift  of  God,  Rom.  vi.  23.  c  The  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life 
 '  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'  The  particular  method  of 
 grace  in  respect  to  this  gift,  is  to  entitle  them  thereto  by  a 
 free  and  gracious  adoption  through  Jesus  Christ.  They 
 become  c  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus/  Gal. 
 iii.  26.  e  And  if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God  and  joint 
 '  heirs  with  Christ,'  Rom.  viii.  17-  By  being  the  children  of 
 God,  they  have,  by  the  privilege  of  their  state,  a  right  to  the 
 inheritance  of  his  children. 
 
 At  the  sametime,  the  promise  of  the  inheritance,  and  of 
 the  blessedness  to  be  awarded  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
 is  represented  in  the  word  as  containing  the  reward  (alto- 
 gether by  grace)  of  their  works.  For  this,  see  Matth.  xvi. 
 27.  Col.  iii.  24.  Heb.  xi.  26.  Upon  this  ground  doth  the 
 apostle  Paul  encourage  the  good  works  of  the  Corinthians,  1 
 Cor.  xv.  58.  c  Therefore  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  stedfast, 
 c  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
 v  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the 
 
 *  Lord/  And  how  not  in  vain  ?  By  reason  of  the  reward  at 
 the  resurrection,  of  which  he  had  been  speaking.  It  is 
 upon  the  same  view  that  he  directs  the  Hebrews  to  continue 
 their  diligence  in  good  works,  as  the  proper  means  to  esta- 
 blish and  assure  their  hope  of  this  reward,  Heb.  vi.  10,  11. 
 '  For  God  is  not  unrighteous,  to  forget  your  work  and  labour 
 f  of  love,  which  ye  have  showed  towards  his  name,  in  that  ye 
 
 *  have  ministered  to  the  saints,  and  do  minister.  And  we 
 c  desire  that  every  one  of  you  do  show  the  same  diligence,  to 
 '  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end/  What  is  this 
 same  diligence,  which  he  recommends  for  the  assuring  of  their 
 hope  ?  It  is  very  clear  it  is  the  same  diligence  he  had  com- 
 mended them  for  in  the  work  and  labour  of  love,  which  is 
 that  same  particular  sort  of  work  that  shall  be  commended 
 in  the  great  day,  when  the  King  shall  say,  c  Come,  ye  blessed 
 *'  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
 £  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  for  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye 
 c  gave  me  meat/  Here,  all  their  glory  flows  originally  to 
 them  from  their  being  blessed  of  the  Father,  'who  hath 
 
f>22  Sermon  III. 
 
 •  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in 
 '  Christ/  Eph.  i.  3.  :  and  the  kingdom  is  prepared  for  them 
 from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  by  the  sovereign  good 
 pleasure  of  the  Father,  as  it  is  said,  Luke  xii.  32.  '  Fear  not 
 
 •  little  flock  ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give 
 1  you  the  kingdom/  So  the  apostle  says,  Eph.  i.  II.  £  In 
 '  whom/  viz.  Jesus  Christ,  ( also  we  have  obtained  an  inheri- 
 '  tance,  being  predestinated  according  to  the  purpose  of  him 
 '  who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will/ 
 Yet  at  awarding  this  inheritance,  in  the  great  day,  works 
 shall  have  their  praise  and  their  reward  :  '  Inherit  the  king- 
 '  dom  ;  for  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  meat/ 
 
 How  doth  it  relieve  the  doers  of  the  word  of  a  burden 
 greater  than  they  could  bear  ?  and  with  how  great  peace 
 and  comfort  may  the  believers  in  Christ  Jesus  labour  in  good 
 works,  that  they  have  not  their  heaven  to  purchase  thereby  ? 
 At  the  same  time,  what  an  inconceivable  encouragement  is  it 
 to  them,  in  their  good  works,  that  heaven  will  reward  all 
 their  works,  without  omitting  the  least  in  making  the  account, 
 even  a  cup  of  cold  water  rightly  bestowed.  Upon  good 
 grounds  did  the  Lord  say,  Matt.  xi.  30.  '  My  yoke  is  easy/ 
 In  the  view  of  what  I  have  observed  (besides  a  great  deal 
 more)  his  people  will  say,  as  1  John  v.  3.  '  his  command- 
 ments are  not  grievous/ 
 
 There  is  one  scripture  yet  of  strong  expression  to  this 
 purpose,  Rev.  xxii.  14.  '  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  com- 
 '  mandments,  that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life, 
 '  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city.  That 
 '  they  may  have  right/  some  understand  it,  that  they  may 
 appear  to  have  right  (and  no  doubt  such  kind  of  expressions 
 in  scripture  are  often  to  be  so  understood)  ;  yet  still  it  is 
 clear,  that  men's  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  to  enter  in  by 
 the  gates  into  the  city,  must  be  made  evident  by  their  doing 
 God's  commandments,  by  their  being  doers  of  his  word. 
 
 To  these  particular  arguments  I  shall  add  the  general 
 commendation  given  by  our  blessed  Lord  to  the  doers  of  the 
 word,  Matth.  xii.  50.  '  For  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my 
 f  Father  which   is  in  heaven,  the   same  is  my  brother,  and 
 
 •  sister,  and  mother/  Shall  any  then  pretend  that  he  hath 
 special  relation  to  Christ,  who  is  not  a  doer  of  the  word  ? 
 Again,  John  xiii.  17-  '  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye 
 c  if  ye  do  them/  Not  happy  by  knowing  or  hearing  only ; 
 both"  are  needful ;  but  the  word  is,  f  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
 '  them/ 
 
Sermon  III.  .r)i2/> 
 
 e  our  Saviour  towards  men  appeared/  But  what  reason  on 
 our  part  moved  God  to  this  kindness  ?  or  was  there  any 
 such  ?  The  words,  verse  5,  imply  there  was  not ;  c  Not  by 
 '  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done/  This  might 
 be  easily  believed  from  the  account  he  had  given,  verse  3. 
 Works  of  righteousness,  acceptable  to  God,  were  not  likely 
 productions  of  hearts,  foolish,  disobedient.  How  then  hap- 
 pened it  ?  The  apostle  tells  :  '  But  according  to  his  mercy  he 
 (  saved  us  ;  viz.  from  that  miserable  condition  of  heart  and 
 nature  he  had  described.  He  did  so  according  to  his  sove- 
 reign mercy,  by  which  '  he  will  have  mercy  on  whom  he  will 
 '  have  mercy ;  and  whom  he  will  he  hardneth/ — leaveth  to 
 the  natural  course  of  their  hearts. 
 
 But  by  what  means  did  he  save  us  from  that  most  miser- 
 able condition  of  our  natures  ?  It  was  not  merely  by  the 
 force  of  such  light  as  he  set  before  us,  or  by  means  of  mere 
 persuasion  ;  nor  is  there  any  mention  here  of  the  word,  the 
 great  mean  of  light  and  persuasion. 
 
 But  '  he  saved  us  by  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  re- 
 
 *  newing  of  the  Holy  Ghost/  Some,  by  the  washing  of 
 regeneration,  incline  to  understand  the  sacrament  of  baptism, 
 which  receives  efficacy  by  the  renewing  grace  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  It  matters  not  much  as  to  my  present  purpose,  yet 
 there  seems  to  be  this  good  reason  for  not  understanding  it 
 so.  This  discourse  is  particularly  adapted  to  the  case  of  Paul 
 and  Titus,  as  well  as  other  believers.  Now  they  were  thus 
 actually  saved  by  regeneration  itself,  before  they  came  to 
 that  eternal  laver.  No  adult  persons,  such  as  they  were, 
 were  admitted  to  baptism,  but  upon  profession  of  faith  in 
 Jesus  Christ ;  which,  in  Paul  and  Titus,  was  certainly  sin- 
 cere. Now,  none  have  that  faith  but  they  who  are  actually 
 regenerated,   or  born  again;  as  we  see  by  John  i.  12,  13. 
 
 *  Even  to  them  who  believe  on  his  name  ;  which  were  born, 
 4  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of 
 (  man,  but  of  God  ;  even  of  him  who  of  his  own  will  begat 
 4  us/  James  i.  18.  ;  so  that  it  seems  the  apostle  doth,  as  is 
 very  common  in  language,  just  mean  the  very  same  thing  by 
 two  sorts  of  expression,  the  one  more  figurative,  the  other 
 more  proper,  when  he  says,  (  He  saved  us  by  the  washing  of 
 4  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost/  It  was  the 
 great  and  first  lesson  of  religion  which  the  Lord  taught  that 
 ruler  of  the  Jews,  John  iii.  3.  '  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
 '  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God/ — *  born/  as  he  says  after- 
 wards, f  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit/     And  his  next  words, 
 
526  Sermon  111. 
 
 verse  6.  give  the  reason  of  the  necessity  of  this  new  birth, 
 '  that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh  :'  and  surely,  by  the 
 scripture  notion  of  the  flesh,  it  cannot  enable  a  man  to  be  a 
 doer  of  the  word  of  God.  He  adds,  verse  8.  '  The  wind  blow- 
 1  eth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  nearest  the  sound  thereof, 
 '  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth  ; 
 
 •  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit/  These  words  do 
 express  a  mystery  to  be  in  the  case,  and  something  that  ex- 
 ceeds the  reach  of  our  understanding  to  account  particularly 
 for.  This  cannot  be  the  case  with  respect  to  the  word  and 
 Providence,  and  all  concurring  external  means,  or  with  re- 
 spect to  their  natural  or  moral  effect  upon  men's  understand- 
 ings or  passions.  There  is  no  mystery  in  that ;  but  the 
 immediate  operation  of  the  Spirit  upon  men's  hearts  is  myste- 
 rious. The  effects  thereof,  indeed,  are  evident  and  sensible 
 upon  these  whom  it  maketh  the  doers  of  the  word,  other- 
 wise the  operation  of  the  Spirit  in  itself  cannot  be  particu- 
 larly explained.  And  as  the  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth, 
 without  any  cause  within  the  reach  of  our  knowledge  to 
 determine  its  motion,  so  it  is  without  any  cause  on  our  part 
 that  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  falleth  upon  one  beyond 
 another,  by  his  sovereign  mercy,  '  who  will  have  mercy  upon 
 
 •  whom  he  will    have    mercy :    and  who  of  his    own    will 
 
 •  begat  us,'  as  in  the  connexion  of  my  text. 
 
 But  besides  these  general  authorities  and  reasons  to  prove 
 the  necessity  of  regeneration,  in  order  to  our  being  doers  of 
 the  word,  the  same  thing  will  appear  by  more  particular  con- 
 siderations. 
 
 It  is  the  scripture  doctrine,  that  true  faith  must  be  the 
 principle  of  that  doing  of  the  word  that  will  be  acceptable  to 
 God.  But  to  be  capable  of  true  faith,  in  particular,  requires 
 to  be  born  of  God,  John  i.  12,  13.  ;  1  John  v.  1.  The  natural, 
 unrenewed  soul  cannot  have  true  faith.  The  character  of  such 
 a  soul  is,  Eph.  iv.  18.  to  have  '  the  understanding  darkened  ; 
 '  to  be  alienated  from  the  life  of  God/  A  darkened  under- 
 standing is  contrary  to  the  light  of  faith,  and  that  light  in  the 
 mind  which  true  faith  imparts.  A  heart  alienated  from  the 
 life  of  God  is  contrary  to  cheerful,  fixed,  habitual  trusting 
 in  God,  which  faith  imports.  To  recommend  trusting  in 
 God  is  the  evident  scope  of  that  context,  Psalm  xxxvii. 
 3 — 7.  ,*  one  form  in  which  it  is  required  is,  verse  4.  '  de- 
 -'  light  thyself  in  God/  It  is  certain  that  God  will  not  be  the 
 object  of  a  sinner's  fixed,  habitual,  cheerful,  and  comfortable 
 rrust,  any  further  than  he  and  his  blessed  attributes  are  de- 
 
Sermon  III.  S23 
 
 How  strong  are  these  arguments,  taken  together  or  singly, 
 to  enforce  men's  doing  of  the  word?  I  am  very  confident 
 they  are  all  consistent  with  that  doctrine  of  grace,  respecting 
 our  justification  and  sanctifi cation,  and  our  whole  salvation, 
 upon  which  the  true  and  solid  comfort  of  God's  people  is 
 founded.  And  the  case  being  so,  I  may  justly  conclude, 
 that  the  doctrine  of  grace  is  exceeding  consistent  with  good 
 works  ;  as  it  is  indeed  the  doctrine  of  grace  alone  that  fur- 
 nisheth  the  best  arguments  for  them,  and  such  as  the  proper 
 doers  of  the  word  will  be  most  affected  with,  and  by  which 
 they  will  be  most  effectually  excited  and  encouraged  in  that 
 way.     I  proceed, 
 
 III.  To  propose  some  directions  and  cautions,  proper  to  be 
 considered  by  them  who  wish  to  be  successful  doers  of  the 
 word. 
 
 1.  Before  we  can  be  doers  of  the  word,  the  word,  or  rather, 
 God  by  his  word,  hath  a  work  to  do  upon  us.  This  our  con- 
 text represents,  verse  18.  '  Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us  with 
 c  the  word  of  truth/  It  was,  no  doubt,  of  his  own  will  that 
 he  sent  to  some  the  word  of  truth,  and  not  to  others ;  but  all 
 who  had  the  word  of  truth,  were  not  thereby  begotten.  But 
 it  was  of  the  sovereign  will  and  purpose  of  him  who  worketh 
 all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  who  hath  mercy 
 on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  that  they  were  begotten  of  the 
 word  of  truth,  and  not  others. 
 
 The  condition  of  men's  nature,  and  the  effect  of  grace  upon 
 their  natures  we  see,  Col.  iii.  13.  '  And  you,  being  dead  in 
 •  your  sins,  and  the  uncircumcision  of  your  flesh,  hath  he 
 c  quickened  together  with  him,  having  forgiven  you  all  tres- 
 k  passes.'  This  '  being  dead,'  cannot  be  restricted  to  the 
 sentence  of  the  law  against  transgressors,  as  we  say  a  criminal 
 is  dead  in  law.  Men  are  dead  naturally  in  the  uncircumci- 
 sion of  their  flesh. 
 
 This  respects  the  condition  of  men's  nature,  not  their  state 
 merely  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  as  might  be  easily  shown  by 
 the  several  places  of  scripture  where  circumcision  and  un- 
 circumcision occur  in  the  figurative  use  and  in  the  spiritual 
 meaning.  Now,  to  be  dead  implies  an  incapacity  of  all  sen- 
 sation, enjoyment,  and  action  ;  and,  as  it  is  to  be  here  under- 
 stood in  the  spiritual  sense,  it  must  import  that  men,  in  their 
 natural  condition,  are  incapable  of  spiritual  sense  and  under- 
 standing, and  of  all  spiritual  enjoyment,  and  of  doing  that 
 which  is  spiritually  good  and  acceptable  to  God.  Men  are 
 thus,  as  dead,  incapable  of  what  is  spiritual,  by  means  of  the 
 
 z5 
 
T>24  Sermon  III. 
 
 power  of  the  opposite  carnal  principle  of  sin  and  the  lusts 
 thereof.  That  to  be  dead  in  the  uncircumcision  of  the  flesh 
 is  to  be  thus  understood  of  the  power  of  sin  in  men's  natures, 
 making  a  spiritual  incapacity,  is  particularly  clear  from  verse 
 11.  '  In  whom  also  ye  are  circumcised  with  the  circumcision 
 6  made  without  hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of 
 <  the  flesh." 
 
 Their  recovery  from  this  spiritual  death,  he  expresses  in 
 these  words,  verse  13.  c  You,  being  dead,  hath  he  quickened 
 "  together  with  him*  (Christ.)  This  is  Christians  being- 
 planted  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection,  Rom.  vi.  5.  which 
 certainly  respects  newness  of  life ;  as  there,  verse  13.  '  So 
 '  God  hath  quickened  his  people  together  with  Christ,  having 
 c  forgiven  them  all  trespasses/  By  this  forgiveness,  being 
 delivered  from  the  curse,  they  are  made  capable  of  the  bless- 
 ing of  grace,  for  the  quickening  of  their  heart  and  nature 
 spiritually  ;  and  in  both  these  are  they  made  to  know  the 
 power  of  Christ's  resurrection  with  respect  to  their  state  and 
 nature. 
 
 There  is  also  a  strong  description  of  the  natural  corruption 
 of  men's  heart  and  the  efficacy  of  regenerating  grace,  Tit.  iii. 
 3,  4,  5.  '  We  ourselves  were  sometimes  foolish,  disobedient, 
 *  deceived,  serving  divers  lusts  and  pleasures,  living  in  ma- 
 '  lice  and  envy,  hateful  and  hating  one  another/  &c.  This 
 is  a  description,  not  of  persons  only  who  were  quite  profligate 
 and  abandoned  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  for  we  see  the 
 apostle  Paul  classes  himself  under  that  description,  whose 
 outward  deportment  never  was  profligate  or  wicked, — yea, 
 we  see  how  he  gives  it  as  a  reason  wrhy  Christians  should  be 
 gentle,  verse  2.  f  showing  all  meekness  unto  all  men.'  Why  ? 
 '  for  we  ourselves  also  were,'  as  above  described  from  verse 
 3. ;  as  if  he  had  said,  '  we  shoulds  how  meekness  to  all,'  even 
 the  most  wicked,  for  whatever  additions  there  may  have 
 been  as  to  external  appearance,  yet,  as  to  the  true  condition 
 of  our  natures,  dispositions  of  our  hearts,  and  true  principles 
 of  acting,  we  ourselves  were  sometime  foolish.  Shall  we  say 
 that  persons,  whose  hearts  are  under  the  power  of  such  prin- 
 ciples and  dispositions,  are  truly  capable  of  being  doers  of  the 
 word  ?     Surely  not. 
 
 But  by  what  means  were  they  cured  of  these  plagues  of 
 their  natures  ?  was  it  by  their  own  reason,  understanding, 
 or  experience  ?  or  did  they  owe  it  to  other  men  ?  By  no 
 means.  He  ascribes  it  wholly  to  the  kindness  and  love  of 
 God,  verse  4.  '  But  after  that  the  kindness  and  love  of  God 
 
Sermon  III.  529 
 
 the  word  will  find  acceptance  with  him.  This  is  the  first 
 and  main  thing  whereby  a  sinner  glorifies  God.  It  is  said  of 
 Abraham,  Rom.  iv.  20.  that  c  he  was  strong  in  faith,  giving 
 glory  to  God/  And  in  this  respect,  particularly,  it  is  the 
 will  of  God,  as  John  v.  23.  e  that  all  men  should  honour  the 
 '  Son,  even  as  they  honour  the  Father.  He  that  honoureth 
 '  not  the  Son,  honoureth  not  the  Father  which  hath  sent  him.' 
 Accordingly,  Christ  says,  John  xiv.  1.  '  Ye  believe  in  God, 
 believe  also  in  me.'  As  this  is  the  matter  of  God's  command 
 to  sinners,  it  is  the  first  and  chief  thing  wherein  he  wants 
 his  authority  to  be  regarded.  As  it  is  the  matter  of  his  re- 
 port in  his  word,  it  is  the  great  matter  in  which  he  wants 
 his  faithfulness  to  be  regarded,  1  John  v.  10.  '  He  that  be- 
 '  Jieveth  not  God,  hath  made  him  a  liar,  because  he  believeth 
 (  not  the  record  that  God  gave  of  his  Son/  This  of  true  faith 
 in  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  first  and  main  point  as  to  our  pleasing 
 of  God,  and  the  main  point  upon  which  all  our  salvation 
 turns  ;  for,  as  Acts  iv.  12.  '  there  is  not  salvation  in  any  other  : 
 
 *  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men 
 '  whereby  we  must  be  saved/  But  I  introduced  this  sub- 
 ject in  way  of  direction  to  us  as  doers  of  the  word,  and  with 
 a  view  to  the  influence  and  importance  of  faith  in  Christ, 
 with  respect  to  all  our  doing  and  works  besides. 
 
 To  consider  the  matter  in  that  light,  the  great  view  in  all 
 our  doing  of  the  word  is,  therein  to  please  God.  But  surely 
 no  sinner  can  safely  venture  to  sound  his  hope  of  pleasing 
 God  upon  his  own  doing,  or  his  own  works.  The  voice  from 
 heaven  said,  Matt.  iii.  17-  '  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
 c  I  am  well  pleased/  It  is  the  subject  of  the  gospel  message 
 and  report,  that  c  God  is  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to 
 '  himself/  Our  interest  in  this  view  is  to  be  looked  to,  pre- 
 viously to  our  being  successful  and  acceptable  doers  of  the 
 word.  We  do  not  become  acceptable  to  God  for  our  works  ; 
 but  in  order  to  the  acceptance  of  our  works,  we  must  our- 
 selves be  accepted  in  the  beloved,  Eph.  i.  6.  The  true  order 
 of  these  things  is  as  in  the  case  of  Abel,  Gen.  iv.  4.  i  and  the 
 '  Lord  had  respect  to  Abel*  first,  i  and  to  his  offering'  next. 
 It  is  needful  that  we  be,  as  the  expression  is,  2  Cor.  v.  21. 
 
 •  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him/  (in  Christ  Jesus)  before 
 our  practice  of  righteousness  be  accepted  with  God.  If  they 
 deceive  their  ownselves  who  are  hearers  of  the  word  only, 
 they  will,  in  the  end,  be  found  in  the  way  of  miserable  self- 
 deceiving  who  pretend  to  be  doers  of  the  word,  with  any  other 
 view  of  acceptance 
 
530  Sermon  III. 
 
 Our  acceptance  with  God  in  the  course  of  doing  his  word, 
 and  in  every  good  work,  must  be  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 
 All  our  good  doings  are  our  spiritual  sacrifices,  and  these  the 
 apostle  Peter  represents,  1  John  ii.  5.  as  acceptable  to  God 
 only  by  Jesus  Christ.  No  works  are  more  likely  to  be  ac- 
 ceptable to  God  than  the  prayers  of  the  saints  ;  yet  it  is 
 Christ's  intercession  alone  that  procures  acceptance  to  these. 
 He  is  represented,  Rev.  viii.  3.  as  having  much  incense,  '  that 
 '  he  should  offer  it  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints/  Incense 
 is  used  against  unpleasant  smells.  These  prayers  would  be 
 ef  unpleasant,  unacceptable  savour  with  a  holy  God,  if  it  was 
 not  for  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  if  it  be  so  as  to 
 mens  prayers,  yea,  the  prayers  of  saints,  even  of  all  saints, 
 the  most  eminent  and  most  holy,  shall  men  look  for  accept- 
 ance to  any  work  besides,  otherwise  than  by  faith  in  Christ 
 Jesus,  that  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man  ? 
 
 Again,  the  necessary  principle  of  all  acceptable  doing  is 
 love.  This  is  the  sum  of  the  whole  law  ;  and  the  apostle 
 Paul  calls  it,  Rom.  xiii.  10.  c  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.'  It  is 
 so  with  respect  to  both  tables  of  it.  Our  most  eminent  good 
 works,  without  charity  or  love,  will  profit  us  nothing,  as 
 1  Cor.  xiii.  3. 
 
 Now,  it  is  faith  that  worketh  by  love.  The  flesh,  or 
 natural  principles  may  set  us  a- working,  and  a-doing  of  the 
 word,  without  love  :  it  is  only  faith  that  worketh  by  love. 
 The  apostle  Paul  acquaints  us  that  the  end  of  all  the  word  of 
 God  is  not  hearing  only,  but  doing  ;  1  Tim.  i.  5.  His  word  for 
 it  is  charity,  or  love,  that  great  sum  and  principle  of  all  doing, 
 as  I  observed  just  now ;  and  he  says,  £  The  end  of  the  com- 
 1  mandment  is  charity,  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good 
 1  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeigned/  So  we  see  he  repre- 
 sents love,  as  having  unfeigned  faith  for  its  source  in  the 
 soul.  It  is  that  faith,  by  which  we  apprehend  the  love  of 
 God  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  alone  introduces  love  into  the  heart 
 of  a  sinner. 
 
 I  add,  to  this  purpose,  another  scripture  quoted  before,  I 
 John  iii.  23.  After  speaking  of  our  keeping  the  commandments 
 of  God,  he  says  there,  '  And  this  is  his  commandment,  that 
 c  we  should  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and 
 •  love  one  another,  as  he  gave  us  commandment/  He  seems 
 here  to  have  in  view  both  the  tables  of  the  law,  respecting 
 the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  man.  And  the  sum  of  the 
 second  table  he  gives  in  much  the  same  form  as  Moses 
 dnth,  '  that  we  love  one  another/     But,  instead  of  mention- 
 
Sermon  III.  T>27 
 
 lighted  in  a  carnal  soul  that  is  enmity  against  God,  an  enemy 
 in  his  mind  through  wicked  works,  as  it  is  incapable  of  de- 
 lighting in  God,  is  incapable  of  true  faith  ;  and  for  the  same 
 reason,  and  by  the  same  cause,  is  incapable  of  the  true  love 
 of  God;  and  there  is  no  doing  of  the  word  acceptable  to  God, 
 which  proceedeth  not  from  both  these  principles. 
 
 It  has  been  an  old  objection,  that  a  man  cannot  be  obliged 
 to  do  any  work  or  duty  for  which  he  hath  not  sufficient 
 strength  or  ability.  This  objection  comes  ill  from  sinners 
 who  have  the  revelation  and  oifer  of  a  Saviour  made  to  them  ; 
 and  at  any  rate  comes  ill  from  any  sinner. 
 
 Let  us  suppose  a  sinner  to  argue  the  case  with  God  upon 
 this  argument,  his  pleading  must  import  to  this  purpose. 
 Lord,  thy  condition,  which  is  holy,  just,  and  good,  and  must 
 be  acknowledged  to  be  so,  doth  require  me  to  set  about  doing 
 what  it  was  originally  my  duty  to  do,  in  obedience  to  thee  : 
 but  now  I  plead  to  be  excused  from  all  such  doing,  because 
 I  am  become  unable  to  do  any  thing  in  the  manner  accept- 
 able to  thee.  And  to  acknowledge  frankly  the  truth  of  the 
 case,  my  inability  to  do  what  is  truly  good  is  by  the  wicked- 
 ness of  my  nature.  I  not  only  do  what  is  evil,  but  I  am  in 
 my  very  heart  and  nature  wicked,  an  enemy  to  thee,  and 
 to  thy  sovereignty  and  holiness ;  to  such  degree,  as,  like  the 
 devil  who  hath  infused  his  poison  into  me,  to  be  incapable  of 
 every  thing  that  is  truly  good  and  holy ;  therefore,  excuse  me 
 for  declining  to  do  thy  will,  and  charge  not  guiltiness  against 
 me  on  that  account. 
 
 How  horribly  would  be  the  sound  of  such  arguing  ?  and  yet 
 there  is  nothing  in  it  but  what  the  objection  above-mentioned 
 imports.  Surely  it  would  be  liker  the  pleading  of  one  to  be 
 accounted  a  vessel  of  wrath,  fitted  to  destruction,  than  any 
 thing  else.  But  it  becometh  us,  in  other  manner,  to  humble 
 ourselves  before  God.  If  his  word  hath  affected  our  con- 
 sciences, if  our  hearts  are  awakened  to  a  concern  about  beini: 
 doers  of  the  word,  let  us,  from  the  doctrine  of  the  word,  and 
 our  experience  in  any  serious  attempts  to  be  doers  of  it,  learn 
 the  great  wretchedness  and  plague  of  our  nature,  and  cry 
 earnestly  to  the  God  of  all  grace  concerning  the  case,  look- 
 ing to  Jesus  Christ,  who  became  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  for  the 
 condemning  of  sin  in  the  flesh ;  and  who  rose  from  the  dead 
 to  be  the  author  of  new  life  to  sinners.  Let  us  attend  serious- 
 ly and  earnestly  on  the  means  of  grace,  particularly  the  word 
 which,  by  the  gospel,  is  preached  unto  us ;  by  which,  as  of 
 incorruptible  seed,  sinners  are  born  again,  through  the  bless- 
 
528  Sermon  III. 
 
 ing  of  God.  Let  us  attend  indeed,  seriously  and  carefully, 
 at  that  pool,  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water,  or  for  the 
 Lord's  looking  upon  us  in  his  great  compassion,  and  saying, 
 Wilt  thou  be  healed  ?  and  his  sending  forth  his  great  power 
 to  cure  us  of  our  spiritual  lameness,  as  when  he  said  to  the 
 lame  man,  '  Rise  and  walk/ 
 
 I  have  insisted  the  longer  in  this  direction,  as  the  renova- 
 tion of  our  natures  by  divine  grace  is  of  such  fundamental 
 and  essential  consequence  to  our  being  doers  of  the  word. 
 It  is  great  pity  that  some  who  seem  to  wish  not  to  deceive 
 themselves  by  neglecting  to  be  doers  of  the  word,  do  yet  de- 
 ceive themselves  by  their  pretensions  to  be  doers  of  it ;  while 
 they  are  insensible  what  an  operation  and  influence  of  grace 
 they  need,  to  put  God's  law  into  their  mind,  and  write  them 
 in  their  hearts,  in  order  to  make  them  capable  of  being  truly 
 (and  not  in  the  self- deceiving  way)  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 2.  In  doing  of  the  word,  let  us  especially  believe  in  the 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  not  pretend  to  be  doers  of  the 
 word,  and  neglect  this.  There  is  indeed  a  self-deceiving 
 principle  in  men's  hearts  that  inclines  them  to  be  confident  of 
 their  own  good  condition  at  any  rate,  and  to  entertain  good 
 hope ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  the  same  principle  will  in- 
 cline men  to  flatter  themselves  with  the  opinion  of  an  interest 
 in  every  thing  that  is  comfortable  in  Christ,  and  with  pre- 
 tensions to  have  faith  in  him.  But  they  are  the  fewest,  who, 
 from  a  true  and  just  sense  of  their  own  condition,  do,  by  faith, 
 truly  betake  themselves  to  Christ,  as  he  is  of  God  made  unto 
 us  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctifi cation,  and  redemption  ;  or 
 who  have  due  concern  about  it. 
 
 It  is  not  to  be  accounted  for  (in  the  light  of  spiritual  wis- 
 dom and  duty)  that  men  should  set  out  with  pretensions  to 
 good  works,  and  neglect  this  chief  work.  When  the  Jews 
 asked  Christ,  John  vi.  28.  '  What  shall  we  do  that  we  might 
 4  work  the  works  of  God  ?'  his  answer  is,  verse  29.  e  This  is 
 *  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath 
 1  sent/  The  apostle  John  does,  Jst  epist.  iii.  22,  23.  speak  of 
 our  keeping  his  commandments,  and  doing  those  things  that 
 are  pleasing  in  his  sight  ;  then  adds,  '  And  this  is  his  com- 
 1  mandment,  That  we  should  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son 
 4  Jesus  Christ/  This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment  of 
 the  word,  as  it  is  directed  to  sinners.  If  it  was  not  for  what 
 it  implies,  God  would  have  directed  no  other  part  of  his  word 
 to  sinners.  And  if  the  report  of  the  word  concerning  Christ 
 ftnd  not  due  acceptation  with  us,  no  part  of  our  obedience  to 
 
Sermon  III.  531 
 
 ing  the  love  of  God  for  the  sum  of  the  first  table,  he  has,  that 
 we  should  '  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ/ 
 He  seems  to  design  to  give  out  the  commandment  in  a  manner 
 adapted  to  sinners.  To  say,  '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
 '  God  with  all  thy  heart/  might  be  successfully,  for  the  prac- 
 tice of  it,  addressed  to  creatures  in  a  state  of  perfection  and 
 innocence  ;  but  the  case  of  sinners  is  different.  God  cannot 
 become  the  object  of  their  love  otherwise,  first,  than  as  his 
 glory  shineth  in  the  face  of  Christ,  and  is  beheld  by  faith  ; 
 therefore  to  procure  the  love  of  sinners  to  God,  he  directs 
 them  to  the  view  of  Christ.  The  first  and  great  command- 
 ment to  sinners  is,  ( to  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God, 
 '  Jesus  Christ/     This  will  bring  along  the  love  of  God. 
 
 Further,  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  is  necessary  for  us  as  doers 
 of  the  word,  as  he  is  the  source  of  all  our  strength  and  fruit- 
 fulness.  Our  doing  of  the  word  is  our  fruitfulness.  Now 
 Christ  is  the  true  vine,  and  we  can  bring  forth  no  good  fruit 
 otherwise  than  as  branches  in  that  vine.  He  expresses  it 
 strongly,  John  xv.  5.  '  For  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing  ;' 
 but  a  branch  abideth  in  him  bringing  forth  much  fruit :  so  he 
 says  there.  And  the  apostle  Paul  says,  in  no  less  strong  ex- 
 pression, Phil.  iv.  J3.  eI  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
 '  which  strengthened  me/  He  had  in  view  a  particular 
 mattter  about  which  he  said  in  the  preceding  words,  e  Every 
 '  where  and  in  all  things  I  am  instructed  both  to  be  full 
 '  and  to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer  need/  It 
 was  a  great  matter,  and  of  extreme  difficulty,  to  bear  and  be- 
 have rightly  with  wealth  or  want.  Few  are  so  well  instruct- 
 ed as  his  word  is.  He  might  justly  conclude  that  the 
 strength  that  would  suffice  for  both  these  conditions  might 
 bear  him  out  in  any  thing  ;  so  that  the  general  conclusion 
 comes  seasonably,  c  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ/ 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  if  by  Christ  alone  we  have  the  acceptance 
 of  all  our  works,  if  in  him  we  find  the  chief  and  most  special 
 reason  to  love  God,  if  he  is  the  source  of  all  our  strength  and 
 fruitfulness,  faith  in  him  must  necessarily  go  as  a  line 
 through  all  our  works,  as  doers  of  the  word.  The  blessed 
 apostle  said,  Gal.  ii.  20.  '  The  life  which  I  now  live  in  the 
 '  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me, 
 1  and  gave  himself  for  me/  Was  it  not  a  life  of  holiness  and 
 righteousness  ?  Indeed  it  was  so,  very  eminently,  as  to  the 
 practice  of  life  ;  but  as  to  the  cause  and  means  of  his  spiritual 
 life,  and  to  consider  the  matter  in  that  view,  his  whole  life, 
 not  only  with  respect  to  his  peace  with  God  and  hope,  but  as 
 
532  Sermon  III. 
 
 a  doer  of  the  word,  was  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and 
 they  will  miserably  deceive  their  ownselves,  who  will  pretend 
 to  the  life  of  doers  of  the  word  from  any  other  principle  and 
 source. 
 
 3.  If  we  wish  to  be  doers  of  the  word,  let  us  live  and  walk 
 needfully.  If  men  will  walk  in  the  negligent  and  careless 
 way,  their  general  practice  cannot  be  pleasing  to  God ;  they 
 must  fall  unawares  into  snares,  and  fail  of  their  duty  in  the 
 most  important  cases  that  occur.  The  Psalmist  puts  a  ques- 
 tion, Psal.  cxix.  9.  c  Wherewith  shall  a  young  man  cleanse 
 '  his  way  V  and  answers  it  thus,  '  By  taking  head  thereto  ac- 
 '  cording  to  thy  word/  Here  are  two  objects  of  needfulness. 
 He  is  to  take  heed  to  his  way,  or  to  the  matter  of  his  walk- 
 ing and  conversation.  He  is,  at  the  sametime,  to  take  heed 
 to  the  rule  of  his  conversation,  the  word  of  God,  '  according 
 '  to  thy  word/ 
 
 It  is  particularly  needful  that  he  take  heed  to  the  word, 
 as  the  light  and  rule  by  which  he  is  to  direct  his  way :  other- 
 wise he  may  take  heed  to  his  way  according  to  the  views  of 
 human  prudence  and  worldly  wisdom  ;  but,  in  order  to  please 
 God,  he  must  take  heed  thereto  according  to  the  word ;  as, 
 to  be  a  doer  of  the  word  is  the  subject  of  the  exhortation  in 
 my  text. 
 
 It  is  for  this  end  needful  that  we  labour  for  an  extensive 
 knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  word,  and  besides  the 
 use  of  all  common  means,  that  we  pray  earnestly  to  God  for 
 his  instruction  and  the  assistance  of  his  grace  in  the  matter. 
 This  is  the  Psalmist's  view  in  that  prayer,  Psal.  cxix.  19. 
 'lama  stranger  in  the  earth  ;  hide  not  thy  commandments 
 '  from  me/  This  prayer  was  exceedingly  proper  for  a 
 stranger,  who  is  in  such  hazard  to  lose  his  way.  How  an- 
 xious is  he  to  receive  in  his  heart,  as  in  store,  this  mean  of 
 safe  walking?  verse  11.  *  Thy  word  have  I  hid  in  mine 
 *  heart,  that  I  might  not  sin  against  thee/ 
 
 The  apostle  does,  2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17.  recommend  the  in- 
 spired scripture  as  profitable  c  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
 '  ness,  that  the  man  of  God/  particularly  so  denominated, 
 and  consequently,  every  Christian,  '  may  be  perfect,  tho- 
 c  roughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works/  There  he  hath  all 
 the  light  needful  to  direct  his  way ;  all  the  encouragements 
 and  consolations  needful  to  strengthen  his  heart  in  it ;  and 
 every  consideration  proper  to  deter  him  from  sin.  Having 
 •<aid  so  much   concerning  the  scripture,  in  way  of  direction 
 
Sermofi  III.  533 
 
 against  the  danger  of  self-deceiving,  I  will  say  no  more  about 
 that  point  here. 
 
 But  by  the  Psalmist's  advice,  a  man  is  also  to  take  heed 
 to  his  way  ;  to  the  matter  of  his  actions  and  walk  ;  to  the 
 principles  by  which,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  acts  ;  to 
 the  seasons  of  duty  ;  to  all  the  circumstances  of  these  sea- 
 sons ;  to  the  circumstances  and  various  relations  of  his 
 actions  ;  to  all  the  temptations,  hinderances,  and  discourage- 
 ments that  may  be  unfavourable  to  his  duty  ;  to  all  the  oc- 
 casions and  temptations  by  which  he  may  be  in  danger  of  sin. 
 Here  is  abundant  matter  for  needfulness  and  watchfulness, 
 and  no  small  matter  of  godly  fear. 
 
 This  expression,  f  take  heed,'  is  common  in  scripture  ex- 
 hortations. I  observe  that  it  is  commonly  used  in  important 
 cases,  in  which  we  are  in  special  hazard  through  negligence 
 and  carelessness.  I  shall  mention  some  particular  instances. 
 by  which  we  may  learn  some  of  the  general  cases  in  which  it 
 is  especially  proper  for  us  to  take  heed  to  our  way. 
 
 Deut.  iv.  15,  16.  '  Take  ye  therefore  good  heed  unto  your- 
 c  selves,  lest  ye  corrupt  yourselves  and  make  you  a  graven 
 4  image/  And,  chap.  xii.  30.  '  Take  heed  to  thyself,  that 
 '  thou  be  not  snared  by  following  them,'  the  nations  whom 
 they  succeeded,  '  and  that  thou  inquire  not  after  their  gods/ 
 All  the  nations  of  the  world  were  now  and  had  been  of  long 
 time  idolaters.  The  Israelites  were  prone  to  idolatry  like- 
 wise, from  the  same  principles  of  delusion  that  prevailed  in 
 the  practice  of  the  world. 
 
 The  general  matter  of  heedfulness  that  this  suggests  to  us 
 is,  that  we  take  heed  to  ourselves,  lest  the  common,  yea  uni- 
 versal practice  of  the  world,  of  numerous  powerful  parties  of 
 vain-glorious  denominations,  influenced  by  the  natural  prin- 
 ciples of  men's  hearts,  and  supported  with  human  learning 
 and  wisdom,  and  pretensions  to  antiquity,  do  not  prevail  on 
 us  to  lead  us  aside  from  God's  way.  If  we  walk  with  God, 
 we  must  be  separate  from  the  world  ;  and  if  we  mean  to  be 
 doers  of  the  word,  that  must  be  our  supreme  rule.  We  can- 
 not act  by  different  contrary  rules,  more  than  we  can  serve 
 two  masters. 
 
 Isa.  vii.  4.  Isaiah  is  ordered  to  say  to  Ahaz,  and  to  God's 
 people  with  him,  (  Take  heed  and  be  quiet ;  fear  not,  neither 
 c  be  faint-hearted  for  the  two  tails  of  these  smoking  flre- 
 1  brands,  for  the  fierce  anger  of  Rezin  with  Syria,  and  of  the 
 '  son  of  Ramaliah.'  The  general  lesson  of  heedfulness  that 
 this  instance  suggests,  is,  that  we  take  heed  lest  circum- 
 
.534  Sermon  III. 
 
 stances  of  special  distress  and  danger  do  surprise  us  into  a 
 diffidence  of  God,  of  his  promises  and  power.  It  requires 
 great  needfulness,  in  such  an  appearance  of  things,  to  main- 
 tain quietness  and  composure  of  spirit  in  waiting  upon  God. 
 
 The  Psalmist  says,  Psal.  xxxix.  1.  *  I  will  take  heed  to  my 
 '  ways,  that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue/  The  general  lesson 
 is,  that  in  watching  over  our  own  ways,  our  tongue  and 
 speech  afford  no  small  business  for  needfulness  and  keeping 
 good  guard.  *  That  I  sin  not'  said  he,  '  with  my  tongue.' 
 How  few  are  duly  heedful  against  sinning  with  their  tongue  ! 
 It  is  a  great  matter  not  to  offend  in  word.  '  If  any  man  of- 
 '  fend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man/  said  the  apostle 
 James,  chap.  iii.  2.  Words  oft  times  go  heedlessly  from 
 us,  as  the  levity  of  our  minds  or  the  passions  of  our  hearts 
 throw  them  out.  But  it  may  be  often  said,  as  there,  verse 
 .5.   '  Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  !' 
 
 The  Lord  says,  Matth.  vi.  1.  '  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not 
 '  your  alms  before  men,  to  be  seen  of  them.'  The  general 
 lesson  here  is  against  ostentation  in  good  works  ;  and  that  we 
 do  them  from  good  conscience  towards  God.  Indeed  our 
 light  should  shine  before  men ;  but  how  easily  doth  the  lust 
 of  ostentation  steal  in  upon  men's  hearts,  to  mar  their  sin- 
 cerity ?  We  have  great  occasion  for  needfulness  against  this. 
 The  Lord  says,  Matth.  xvi.  6.  '  Take  heed,  and  beware  of 
 '  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees/  These  last 
 were  boldly  prophane,  and  lived  much  in  contempt  of  reli- 
 gion :  the  Pharisees  perverted  and  disgraced  it  with  a  vain- 
 glorious and  malicious  zeal,  chiefly  about  the  lesser  matters 
 of  the  law  ;  and,  in  great  part,  about  things  that  were  not 
 warranted  by  the  word  of  God  at  all.  The  opposite  plagues 
 of  profaneness  and  hypocrisy  prevail  much  ;  and  this  sug- 
 gests an  important  and  necessary  lesson  of  needfulness  to  the 
 true  doers  of  the  word,  lest  the  bold  profaneness  of  the 
 enemies  of  religion,  on  one  hand,  or  the  silly  foppery  of  a 
 venomous  zealotism,  pretending  high  on  the  side  of  religion, 
 upon  the  other  hand,  do  infect  our  sentiments  or  conversa- 
 tion. In  some  times  and  occasions  especially,  it  is  not  easy 
 to  be  heedful  enough  against  these  extremes. 
 
 2  Chron.  xix.  6,  7-  King  Jehoshaphat  delivered  a  very 
 solemn  charge  to  the  judges  thus — '  Take  heed  what  ye  do  ; 
 '  for  ye  judge  not  for  man,  but  for  the  Lord,  who  is  with  you 
 1  in  the  judgment.  Wherefore  now  let  the  fear  of  God  be 
 '  upon  you  ;  take  heed  and  do  it :   for  there  is   no  iniquity 
 
Sermon  III.  535 
 
 f  with  the  Lord  our  God,  nor  respect  of  persons,  nor  taking 
 '  of  gifts.' 
 
 They  are,  comparatively,  but  a  small  number  of  Christians 
 who  are  directly  concerned  in  this  charge  ;  but  Christi;m*> 
 generally  have  an  interest  in  the  subject  of  it.  When  frail 
 men  are  placed,  as  the  deputies  of  the  Almighty,  the  Judge 
 of  all  the  earth,  in  the  throne  of  judgment,  how  great  occa- 
 sion have  they  to  take  heed,  lest,  through  inattention,  sloth- 
 fulness  in  thinking  and  study,  or  through  weakness  of  under- 
 standing, or  through  biasses  arising  from  interests  of  public 
 faction  or  of  private  concern,  or  by  means  of  their  passions 
 otherwise,  they  conceive  and  give  out  wrong  judgment  ? 
 Conscientious  doers  of  the  word,  placed  in  the  seat  of  judg- 
 ment, will  be  very  sensible  that  this  matter  requires  a  very 
 constant  and  anxious  heedfulness.  And  if  they,  who  are 
 called  to  the  seat  of  judgment,  have  occasion  for  this  heedful- 
 ness, all  others  of  us  should  take  good  heed  that  we  commit 
 not  two  evils  at  once,  to  usurp  God's  throne  of  judgment, 
 and  then  pass  iniquitous  judgment  upon  others,  the  servants 
 of  another  master.  Many  are  not  so  heedful  in  this  as  they 
 ought  to  be. 
 
 The  apostle  says,  1  Cor.  viii.  9.  c  But  take  heed,  lest  by 
 '  any  means  this  liberty  of  yours  become  a  stumbling-block 
 c  to  them  that  are  weak.'  It  were  good  that  this  were  more 
 heeded  among  the  doers  of  the  word.  It  is  true  that  many, 
 in  their  weakness,  seem  to  usurp  a  sort  of  rule  over  the  con- 
 sciences and  liberty  of  others  in  right  of  this  principle,  that 
 offence  should  not  be  given  them.  The  rights  of  conscience 
 and  of  liberty  ought  to  be,  in  tender  and  heedful  manner,  as- 
 serted against  this  sort  of  important  usurpation.  It  is  also 
 true  that  some  do  mistake  the  meaning  of  offences  and 
 stumbling-blocks,  as  if  these  words  signified  only  to  cross 
 their  sentiments  or  passions  ;  whereas  it  were  ofttimes  giv- 
 ing them  occasion  of  offence  and  proper  stumbling,  not  to 
 cross  both,  in  doing  steadily  every  thing  that  imports  doing 
 of  the  word.  But  still,  in  every  thing  that  is  properly 
 within  the  line  of  our  liberty,  there  is  great  occasion  of  heed- 
 fulness,  that  we  use  not  our  liberty  in  the  manner  that  would 
 disturb  the  comfort,  or  endanger  the  consciences  of  others. 
 There  is,  to  this  purpose,  a  weighty  lesson  of  heedfulness 
 which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  gives,  in  the  discourse  concern- 
 ing offences,  that  begins  at  Matth.  xviii.  6. :  he  says,  verse  10. 
 (  Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones/  viz, 
 as  to  the  offending  of  them. 
 
536  Sermon  HI. 
 
 The  Lord  saith,  Luke  xi.  35.  '  Take  heed,  therefore,  that 
 '  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  not  darkness/  He  had,  verse  34. 
 commended  the  single  eye ;  that  is,  as  I  understand  it,  an 
 eye  not  squinting,  as  when  a  man  seems  to  look  one  way, 
 truly  looks  another  way.  The  thing  may  be  more  easily 
 understood  from  Matt.  vi.  22.  where  he  speaks  in  the  same 
 manner  concerning  the  single  eye,  and  that  which  is  evil  : 
 after  recommending  to  his  hearers  not  to  lay  up  treasures 
 upon  earth,  but  to  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven,  and  just  before 
 telling,  verse  24.  that  ■  no  man  can  serve  two  masters,  God 
 f  and  mammon ;'  so  that  the  evil  eye,  filling  the  body  with 
 darkness,  seems  to  import,  as  it  were,  a  squinting  eye,  seem- 
 ing to  look  towards  heaven,  truly  looking  towards  the  earth  ; 
 seeming  to  serve  God,  truly  serving  mammon.  Here  is  a 
 most  important  lesson  to  us  of  heedfulness  against  the 
 doubleness  and  corruption  of  our  hearts,  that  will  make  us 
 all  darkness,  when  we  seem  to  be  children  of  the  light. 
 Great  reason  we  have  to  take  heed  with  respect  to  this 
 squinting  of  our  heart  and  mind,  lest,  when  we  seem  to  be 
 spiritual,  we  be  truly  carnal ;  lest,  when  we  seem  to  be  look- 
 ing towards  heaven,  our  hearts  be  truly  on  the  earth ;  lest, 
 when  we  seem  and  profess  to  be  serving  God,  we  be  truly 
 serving  our  lusts.  What  great  need  have  we  of  heedfulness 
 to  our  hearts,  that  they  be  single  and  sincere ;  and  that 
 through  this  deceitful  squinting,  the  light  that  is  in  us  be 
 not  darkness  ! 
 
 The  apostle  says,  1  Cor.  x.  12,  (  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
 
 •  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall/  Here  heedfulness  is 
 recommended  to  such  indeed  as  very  commonly  are  most  un- 
 heedful,  %  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth/  When  a  man  is 
 truly  in  a  comfortable  and  prosperous  condition  in  religion, 
 he  is  in  danger  of  falling  ;  but  when  he  becomes  conceited  of 
 his  good  condition,  thinketh  he  standeth,  then  the  danger  of 
 falling  is  near.  If  this  is  a  condition  in  which  we  are  likely 
 to  be  most  unheedful,  it  is  the  more  truly  dangerous ;  and  we 
 have  it  for  us  the  more  to  be  on  our  guard  to  take  heed  to 
 ourselves. 
 
 One  instance  yet  of  this  sort  of  warning,  to  take  heed  : 
 the  Lord  says,  Luke  xxi.  34.  '  and  take  heed  to  yourselves, 
 '  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting 
 
 •  and  drunkenness,  and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day 
 -  come  upon  you  unawares/  Here  is  an  important  lesson  of 
 heedfulness,  that  the  day  of  the  Lord's  coming,  that  death 
 and  judgment  do  not  surprise  us,  and  find  us  oiF  our  guard. 
 
Sermon  III.  537 
 
 We  should  be  especially  heedful  against  these  things,  by 
 which  we  shall  be  In  greatest  danger  of  this,  even  against 
 our  own  lusts,  and  the  consequences  of  them  in  different 
 circumstances.  We  should  be  heedful,  lest  in  opulent  cir- 
 cumstances, our  lusts  glut,  and  surfeit,  and  intoxicate  ih 
 with  the  good  things  of  the  earth ;  lest,  in  disadvantageous 
 circumstances,  they  distract  our  hearts  by  the  cares  of  this 
 life ;  lest,  by  the  one  or  the  other  we  be  put  or  kept  in  a 
 condition  unsafe  for  us  against  that  day  of  the  Lord,  which 
 we  should  be  always  looking  for  with  the  utmost  heedfulness. 
 
 Here  are  so  many  instances  of  solemn  warning  in  this 
 form,  viz.  to  take  heed,  that  do  suggest  general  cases  in 
 which  heedfulness  is  especially  necessary  for  all  who  would 
 be  doers  of  the  word.  Indeed,  constant  fear,  watchfulness, 
 and  heedfulness  are  necessary.  Without  these,  how  great 
 advantage  will  Satan  be  likely  to  have  against  us  from  our 
 own  lusts ;  from  the  infection  of  others ;  from  seasons  and 
 circumstances  unfavourable  to  duty ;  from  occasions  and  cir- 
 cumstances favourable  to  sin ;  from  the  various  arts  of  his 
 cunning  and  temptations,  to  bring  us  aside  from  doing  of  the 
 word  and  to  ensnare  us  unto  sin  ?  What  time  of  our  life, 
 what  part  of  our  way  shall  we  be  safe  in,  as  to  our  purity  and 
 integrity,  except  we  use  the  utmost  heedfulness,  according 
 to  the  Psalmist's  advice,  f  taking  heed  to  our  way  according 
 'to  the  word ?■ 
 
 4.  It  is  a  proper  caution  and  direction  to  the  doers  of  the 
 word,  that  they  carefully  regard  God's  positive  institutions 
 therein  enjoined  to  us.  Some,  who  pretend  greatly  to  doing 
 well,  proceed  wholly  upon  the  directions  of  their  natural 
 lights,  and  these  notices  of  moral  good  and  evil,  which  their 
 natural  consciences  give  them.  As  the  precious  faith,  revealed 
 in  the  word,  hath  truly  no  place  in  their  hearts,  they  regard 
 little  the  clearer  and  better  light  which  the  word  gives  con- 
 cerning true  morality  and  holiness,  and  have  great  contempt 
 of  God's  positive  institutions  and  ordinances.  As  they  have 
 not  consciences  regardful  of  God's  authority  in  these,  their 
 hearts  do  not  duly  regard  or  value  the  spiritual  blessings 
 which  they  convey  to  the  souls  of  God's  people. 
 
 But  the  profession  of  Christians  is  to  be  doers  of  the  word. 
 Others  may  be  doing  with  the  dictates  of  natural  religion, 
 with  the  improvement  of  some  borrowed  lights  from  God's 
 word,  and  with  the  issue  it  shall  bring  their  matters  to.  We 
 have  cause  to  bless  God  for  his  word,  that  more  sure  word  of 
 prophecy.      There  we  have  divers  positive  institutions  for 
 
f>38  Sermon  III. 
 
 the  tests  of  our  obedience,  and  the  means  of  our  profiting. 
 If  we  will  be  doers  of  the  word,  let  us  be  doers  of  it  in  that 
 part. 
 
 The  matter  of  other  precepts  and  conditions  may  have 
 much  in  the  common  light  of  reason  and  conscience  to  recom- 
 mend them.  These  institutions  are  founded  merely  on  the 
 authority  of  God  in  his  word ;  therefore  doers  of  the  word 
 should  have  special  regard  to  them ;  as  we  find  that  the 
 Lord  is  especially  jealous  of  his  authority  with  respect  to  that 
 sort  of  precepts  and  rules,  and  doth  punish  the  disregard  of 
 them  with  special  strictness  and  severity.  We  see  what  a 
 fearful  general  ruin  came  upon  this  lower  world  for  the 
 transgression  of  a  positive  institution  and  ordinance ;  we  see 
 the  danger  even  Moses  was  in  of  his  life  for  the  neglect  of 
 such  an  ordinance.  The  effect  of  God's  anger  was  very 
 terrible  against  Korah  and  his  company  for  opposition  to 
 God's  positive  institution  concerning  the  priesthood ;  as  it 
 was  even  against  Nadab  and  Abihu,  priests,  for  deviating 
 from  the  rule  of  the  institution.  Uzzah  lost  his  life  suddenly 
 for  touching  the  ark,  even  in  his  zeal  for  its  safety ;  as  this 
 was  not  agreeable  to  the  rule  of  the  institution  for  him,  who 
 was  but  a  Levite,  not  a  priest,  to  do;  and  by  this  the  Lord, 
 at  the  sametime,  signified  his  displeasure  against  the  whole 
 congregation,  for  having  the  ark  carried  in  a  cart,  though  a 
 new  one,  contrary  to  the  institution.  And  we  know  what 
 judgment  and  disgrace  came  upon  LTzziah,  a  king,  for 
 encroaching  upon  the  rule  of  God's  positive  institutions. 
 These  things  should  serve  us  for  examples.     ■ 
 
 I  did  not  design  to  mention  particular  matters  of  doing ; 
 but  that  there  were  the  particular  reasons,  already  hinted  at, 
 for  giving  particular  caution  for  matters  of  this  sort.  Besides 
 the  regard  due  to  these  institutions  and  ordinances  for  the 
 special  concern  of  the  authority  of  God  in  them,  his  people 
 have  this  further  special  reason  for  carefully  regarding  of 
 them,  that,  upon  the  view  of  being  doers  of  the  word,  they 
 learn  by  its  light  so  much  concerning  themselves,  and  the 
 work  which  they  have  to  do,  as  convinces  them  that  they 
 greatly  need  all  the  light,  comfort,  grace,  and  strength  which 
 the  Lord  conveys  to  his  people  by  these  institutions.  If  we 
 will  therefore  be  doers  of  the  word,  as  we  would  regard  the 
 Lord's  commandments  otherwise,  let  us  likewise,  in  the  most 
 conscientious  manner,  regard  these  his  ordinances ;  as  it 
 makes  the  complete  practical  character  of  these  two  eminent 
 doers  of  the  word,  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth,  Luke  i.  6.  that 
 
Sermon  III.  539 
 
 '  they  were  both  righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all  the 
 1  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless.' 
 
 5.  It  is  a  direction  of  great  consequence,  in  order  to  our 
 being  successful  doers  of  the  word,  that  we  should  be 
 ordinarily  and  earnestly  employed  in  mortifying  the  lusts  and 
 passions  of  our  hearts.  These  do  commonly  so  much  oppose 
 our  duty,  that  in  any  weighty  cases  in  which  they  give  us  no 
 occasion  of  conflict,  we  have  reason  either  to  suspect  the 
 matter  itself  which  we  take  for  our  duty,  and  for  which  per- 
 haps our  passions  are  greatly  engaged,  or  to  suspect  our  own 
 hearts ;  lest,  by  their  unperceived  influence  there,  they  may 
 be  undermining  our  sincerity,  as  to  our  manner  and  ends  in 
 doing  what  it  is  our  duty  to  do. 
 
 The  psalmist  was  anxiously  apprehensive  of  secret  faults, 
 by  means  of  hidden  deceitful  principles  of  evil  in  him  ;  so  he 
 prays,  Psal.  xix.  12.  '  Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults.' 
 
 We  should  always  have  a  watchful  eye  of  reflection  turned 
 inwards;  and  we  should  earnestly  pray  to  the  Searcher  of 
 hearts  to  help  us  to  know  ourselves.  The  most  comfortable 
 way  for  Omniscience  to  search  us,  in  order  to  find  out  our 
 secret  evils,  is  when  prevailing  and  self-denying  sincerity 
 doth  earnestly  apply  thereto  for  that  end.  If  secret  lusts  are 
 hid,  through  our  negligence  or  treacherous  bias  in  their 
 favours,  the  Lord  will  find  them  out ;  and  expose  them  and 
 us  in  a  strong  light,  and  with  bitter  and  humbling  conse- 
 quence, Rev.  ii.  23.  It  is  best  that,  from  a  sense  of  the 
 hazard,  we  give  divine  mercy  the  searching  work  to  do ;  so 
 David  did,  Psal.  cxxxix.  23,  24.  '  Search  me,  O  Lord,  and 
 '  know  my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts,  and  see  if 
 c  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the  way 
 c  everlasting/  He  was  sensible  there  might  be  in  him, 
 unperceived,  some  wicked  way,  not  only  in  outward  walk, 
 but  also  in  his  heart  and  thoughts,  that  might  have  hurtful 
 influence  upon  him,  with  respect  to  what  he  calls  the  way 
 everlasting,  and  with  respect  to  his  course  as  a  doer  of  the 
 word ;  and  that  his  heart  was  so  dark  a  place  that  he  needed 
 Omniscience  to  bring  his  candle  into  it,  to  show  him  all  its 
 recesses. 
 
 Indeed,  to  see  the  evils  and  strong  deceitful  principles  of 
 our  hearts  in  a  proper  light,  is  a  great  mean  to  save  us  from 
 their  influence ;  yet  the  case  requires  more.  If  we  find  what 
 is  to  us  like  a  right  eye  or  a  right  hand  that  offends  us,  i.e. 
 causeth  us  to  stumble  at  any  part  of  our  duty,  or  to  stumble 
 at  the  word  in  any  part,  the  word  is,  '  pluck  it  out,  cut  it  off.' 
 
 a  a 
 
540  Sermon  I1L 
 
 The  case  requires  self-denial ;  but  it  is  a  self-denial  without 
 which  we  cannot  be  disciples  and  followers  of  Christ :  and  it 
 will  be  needful  for  us,  in  such  case,  to  apply  to  our  hearts, 
 towards  awakening  of  them  to  a  due  sense  of  the  matter,  the 
 awful  words,  Matth.  xviii.  9.  e  It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter 
 e  into  life  with  one  eye,  than  having  two  eyes  to  be  cast  into 
 <  hell  fire/ 
 
 The  apostle  Paul  says,  Rom.  viii.  13.  '  If  ye,  through  the 
 6  Spirit,  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live/  He 
 speaks  of  the  Spirit,  as  at  command  with  us  in  this  weighty 
 part  of  duty.  It  is  the  encouragement  of  believers  that,  if 
 they  have  the  mortifying  of  their  corrupt  lusts  and  affections 
 at  heart,  they  shall  not  want  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
 which,  he  says  in  that  context,  verse  9.  dwelleth  in  them- 
 Indeed  the  Spirit  in  true  Christians  doth,  of  himself,  still 
 direct  his  force  against  that  corrupt  principle  in  them  ;  and 
 will  continue  to  do  it  with  great  power  and  success,  if  they 
 do  not  grieve  him,  and  treacherously  and  wilfully  oppose  his 
 operation  and  influence :  for  if  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the 
 Spirit,  the  Spirit  doth  so  against  the  flesh,  as  Gal.  v.  17. 
 
 Upon  the  whole,  '  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God ;' 
 so  is  every  thing  of  the  carnal  mind  that  remaineth  in  a 
 Christian  ;  '  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  in- 
 '  deed  can  be  ;  therefore,  the  discovery  and  mortifying  of 
 every  carnal  thing  in  him  must  be  a  great  part  of  the  ordi- 
 nary Christian  exercise  of  every  one  who  hath  at  heart  to  be 
 a  doer  of  the  word. 
 
 6.  In  order  to  be  successful  in  the  practice  of  religion*,  it 
 will  be  most  useful  that  our  hearts  be  acquainted  with  the 
 comforts  of  religion  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  our  hearts  feel 
 the  consolations  of  the  word  through  faith,  is  most  useful  for 
 us,  in  view  to  our  being  doers  of  the  word.  It  is  by  this 
 means  especially,  that  wisdom's  ways  will  be  to  us  ways  of 
 pleasantness;  and  it  is  not  likely  that  our  hearts  will  be 
 thoroughly  engaged  in  them  any  farther  than  they  are  so. 
 
 There  is  an  inconceivable  consolation  by  the  sense  of  the 
 love  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  The  blessed  apostle  found 
 the  powerful  influence  of  it,  (constraining,  he  calls  it,)  2 
 Cor.  v.  14,  15.  without  respect  to  practical  life,  to  cause  men 
 to  live,  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  who  died  for 
 them,  and  rose  again. 
 
 There  is  indeed  a  peace,  and  a  joyful  peace,  which  a  doer  of 
 the  word  may  have,  by  the  testimony  of  his  own  conscience, 
 Qf  his  godly  sincerity.     The  apostle  represents  it,  2  Cor.  i. 
 
Sermon  III.  f>41 
 
 12.  '  for  our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our  conscience/ 
 But  there  is  something  more  attainable  and  useful  to  a  doer 
 of  the  word,  even  the  comfort  of  the  promises  and  hope  of 
 the  gospel,  which  doth  not  arise  merely  from  the  testimony  of 
 the  conscience,  but  comes  by  faith  and  the  influence  of  Divine 
 grace.  The  same  apostle  speaks,  Rom.  xv.  13.  of  the  God  of 
 hope  (this  respects  the  influence  of  grace)  filling  Christians 
 with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  (here  is  the  faith  of  the 
 word  of  God,)  that  they  may  abound  in  hope  through  the 
 power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Elsewhere  he  speaks  in  divers 
 places  of  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  recommends  rejoicing  in  the 
 Lord  and  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 
 
 There  needs  little  pains  to  demonstrate  the  influence  of 
 these  consolations  of  the  word  on  men,  as  doers  of  the  word. 
 The  apostle  gives  a  description  of  religion  thus,  Rom.  xiv. 
 1 7-  *  For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but 
 c  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;'  that 
 is,  as  I  understand  the  meaning,  true  religion  doth  not  con- 
 sist in  such  ceremonial  or  superstitious  observances  as  he 
 mentions,  but  in  the  practice  of  righteousness,  in  the  peace 
 arising  from  it,  and  in  that  joy  of  spiritual  blessings  and 
 hope  which  the  Holy  Ghost  giveth  :  and  he  giveth  it  through 
 the  faith  of  the  word  of  God.  We  see  how  he  expresses  a 
 Christian's  perseverance,  Heb.  iii.  6.  to  be  c  holding  fast  the 
 '  confidence  and  the  rejoicing  of  the  hope  firm  unto  the  end.' 
 
 A  renewed  heart  hath  the  love  of  holiness  itself;  yet  we 
 may  reasonably  think  that  it  is  chiefly  for  these  comforts  of 
 the  word  that  the  psalmist  says,  Psalm  cxix.  103.  e  How 
 1  sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my  taste  !  Yea,  sweeter  than 
 '  honey  to  my  mouth.'  And,  in  that  same  psalm,  wherein 
 he  appears  in  so  strong  a  light  a  doer  of  the  word,  we  need 
 not  doubt  but  he  hath  in  great  part  in  his  view  the  influence 
 of  these  consolations,  when  he  speaks  so  often  of  quickening 
 him  ;  particularly  verse  88.  c  Quicken  me  after  thy  loving 
 '  kindness ;  so  shall  I  keep  the  testimonies  of  thy  mouth.' 
 
 Indeed,  while  the  way  is  plain  and  easy,  men  make  a  shift 
 to  uphold  themselves  in  it,  and  to  walk  in  it,  under  the  com- 
 mon influence  of  their  consciences  ;  but,  when  trying  cases 
 occur,  they  are  the  special  comforts  of  the  word  of  God  that 
 are  needful  for  their  strength  and  maintaining  their  integrity. 
 And  trying  cases  and  matters  in  the  course  of  doing  the  word 
 are  more  ordinary  and  common  than  perhaps  people  advert 
 to.      What  from  without  doth  most  try  and  endanger  the 
 
542  Sermon  III. 
 
 doers  of  the  word  are  the  good  and  the  evil  things  of  the 
 world. 
 
 The  good  things  of  the  world  are  all  vanity  ;  yet,  if  the 
 lust,  enjoyment,  and  care  of  them  do  not  altogether  choke 
 the  good  seed  of  the  word,  to  make  it  unfruitful,  how  do 
 they  deaden  and  make  men  heavy  in  their  way  ?  The  sense 
 of  this  made  the  psalmist  pray,  Psal.  cxix.  37-  c  Turn  away 
 4  mine  eyes  from  beholding  vanity,  and  quicken  thou  me  in 
 f  thy  way/  In  cases  in  which  worldly  interests  have  a  par- 
 ticular interference  with  duty,  it  often  appears  what  a  fatal 
 influence  they  have  upon  men's  integrity  in  walking  with 
 God.  And  when  this  is  not  remarkably  the  case,  as  to  the 
 particular  instances  of  duty,  yet  the  affections  of  the  heart 
 towards  the  good  things  of  the  world,  how  do  they  deaden 
 men  in  the  life  of  godliness  ?  It  is  the  setting  of  our  affec- 
 tions on  the  things  that  are  above,  that  will  effectually  with- 
 draw them  from  things  on  the  earth,  and  that  will  effectualy 
 controul  the  hurtful  influence  which  earthly  affections  have  on 
 men,  in  respect  to  doing  the  word.  It  is  the  force  of  such 
 affections  towards  things  above,  and  the  comfort  of  that  hope. 
 Col.  iii.  4.  that  '  when  Christ  who  is  our  life  shall  appear, 
 c  then  shall  we  also  appear  with  him  in  glory/  that  will  have 
 the  greatest  force  against  earthly  affections  ;  therefore  it  is 
 in  a  very  proper  place,  after  setting  before  them  the  comfort 
 of  that  hope,  that  the  apostle,  verse  5.  enjoins  the  Colos- 
 sians,  '  Mortify  therefore  your  members  which  are  upon  the 
 '  earth/  The  young  man  of  whom  the  story  is  from  Matth. 
 xix.  16.  seemed  even  to  have  eternal  life  at  heart,  and  went 
 a  considerable  length  in  external  doing  of  the  word,  when  he 
 could  report  of  himself  concerning  the  commandments  men- 
 tioned to  him,  c  All  these  things  have  I  kept  from  my  youth 
 '  up ;'  but,  when  his  perfectness  or  integrity  came  to  be 
 further  tried,  he  chose  to  part  with  Christ  rather  than 
 with  his  estate.  But  the  faith  and  consolation  of  unseen 
 things  caused  Moses  esteem  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
 riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt. 
 
 Then  as  to  the  evil  things  of  this  world,  these  the  Lord's 
 people  who  are  the  doers  of  the  word  may  lay  their  account 
 with,  partly  from  the  world  for  the  sake  of  their  duty,  part- 
 ly from  the  immediate  hand  of  God  for  chastisement  or  trial. 
 But  how  weak  shall  they  be  in  their  course  as  doers  of  the 
 word,  if  the  faith  and  consolation  of  unseen  things  do  not 
 give  strength  to  their  hearts?  The  hearers  compared  to 
 stony  ground,  did,  when  the  sun  became  hot,  wither  away, 
 
Sermon  11 L  5  13 
 
 and  there  was  an  end  of  their  fruitfulness.  Demas  forsook 
 the  gospel,  and  so  do  thousands  in  particular  trying  cases  of 
 duty,  for  the  love  of  the  present  world.  But  though  the  cross  of 
 Christ  seems  a  heavy  burden  upon  the  doers  of  the  word, 
 yet  the  comforts  of  the  word  will  make,  as  Christ  says,  his 
 burden  light:  so  the  apostle  Paul  testifies,  2  Cor.  iv.  17- ; 
 *  Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment/  he  calls  it. 
 Trials  by  present  tribulation  are  very  shaking  and  weakening 
 things  ;  but  it  appears  by  the  apostle's  discourse,  1  Cor.  xv. 
 at  the  end,  that  they  are  the  comforts  of  religion  that  can 
 make  a  doer  of  the  word  e  stedfast,  immoveable,  always 
 (  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord :'  therefore  will  it  be 
 good  for  them,  towards  making  them  more  vigorous  and 
 fruitful  doers  of  the  word,  to  have  '  the  eyes  of  their  under- 
 4  standing  enlightened  (more  and  more,)  that  they  may 
 '  know  what  is  the  hope  of  God's  calling,  and  what  is  the 
 '  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  inheritance  in  the  saints/ 
 
 7-  It  will  be  exceeding  useful  that  we  improve  spiritual 
 intimacy  with  them  who  are  the  doers  of  the  word,  in  order 
 to  our  own  having  comfort  and  success  in  that  course. 
 
 We  may  know  how  hurtful  and  infectious  the  fellowship 
 is  of  them  who  are  worldly  and  profane.  The  psalmist  un- 
 derstood so.  He  does,  Psalm  xxvi.  3.  profess  thus,  '  I  have 
 '  walked  in  thy  truth ;'  as  if  he  had  said,  I  have  been  a  doer 
 of  thy  word.  With  this  he  connects  verses  4,  5.  e  I  have 
 1  not  sat  with  vain  persons ;  neither  will  I  go  in  with  dis- 
 '  semblers.  I  have  hated  the  congregation  of  evil  doers ; 
 '  and  will  not  sit  with  the  wicked/  If  he  had  sat  with  vain 
 persons,  &c.  he  had  not  been  so  likely  to  have  walked  in  God's 
 truth,  as  he  said  before ;  or,  as  he  says  next  downwards,  e  to 
 '  wash  his  hands  in  innocency/  Persons  may,  from  the 
 society  a  man  follows,  ofttimes  guess  at  a  man's  present  dis- 
 position, and  what  is  likely  to  be  his  fate,  as  to  his  future 
 walk  and  works. 
 
 The  society  and  spiritual  intimacy  of  them  that  fear  God 
 will  have  the  contrary  tendency  and  effect  from  what  I  have 
 been  just  now  observing.  '  As  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a  man 
 '  sharpeneth  the  countenance  of  his  friend/  Prov.  xxvii.  17- 
 so  will  doers  of  the  word  to  one  another  in  that  course  of 
 life. 
 
 It  is  a  native  consequence  of  the  doers  of  the  word  their 
 
 being  influenced  by  the  same  views  and  principles,  that  they 
 
 should  relish  and  regard  one  another's  society.     This  appears 
 
 in  the  psalmist,  Psal.  cxix.  79.  'Let  those  that  fear  thee 
 
 Aa  3 
 
f)44  Sermon  II L 
 
 '  turn  unto  me,  and  those  that  have  known  thy  testimonies/ 
 So  he  had  said,  verse  63.  fhma  companion  of  all  them  that 
 (  fear  thee,  and  of  them  that  keep  thy  precepts/  I  was  say- 
 ing before,  that  the  consolations  of  religion  are  exceeding 
 useful  to  men  as  doers  of  the  word  ;  but  when  the  comforts 
 of  a  man's  own  heart  are  low,  how  much  may  he  be  helped 
 by  those  of  another,  who  may  say,  as  Psalm  lxvi.  16.  '  Come 
 '  and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  I  will  declare  what  he  hath 
 (  done  for  my  soul/ 
 
 The  observations  and  reproofs  of  a  friend  may  be  of  the 
 utmost  usefulness ;  and  all  true  doers  of  the  word  know  what 
 is  the  benefit  of  mutual  excitement.  When  the  apostle  saw, 
 in  the  circumstance  of  the  Hebrews,  what  gave  him  particular 
 occasion  to  exhort  thus,  Heb.  x.  23.  '  Let  us  hold  fast  the 
 4  profession  of  our  faith  without  wavering  ;  the  first  useful 
 mean  to  that  end  that  he  next  exhorts  them  to,  is,  verse  24. 
 *  And  let  us  consider  one  another,  to  provoke  unto  love  and 
 '  to  good  words/  And  it  is  in  view  to  the  usefulness  they 
 might  be  of  to  one  another,  as  steady  professors  and  doers  of 
 the  word,  that  he  says,  chap  iii.  12.  (  Take  heed,  brethren, 
 c  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  de- 
 '  parting  from  the  living  God :'  and,  verse  13.  '  But  exhort 
 1  one  another  daily,  while  it  is  called  to-day,  lest  any  of  you 
 '  be  hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin/ 
 
 8.  The  last  direction  I  offer  is,  to  be  given  to  prayer. 
 They  who  have  at  heart  to  be  doers  of  the  word  will  find 
 that  in  themselves  and  in  their  work  that  will  make  them 
 sensible  what  occasion  they  have  for  this  :  and  that,  if  they 
 take  the  rule  of  their  work  from  God  and  from  his  word, 
 they  do  no  less  need  his  assistance  in  their  work.  The  pro- 
 phet says,  Jer.  x.  23.  (  O  Lord,  I  know  that  the  way  of  man 
 6  is  not  in  himself:  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct 
 c  his  steps/  It  is  a  proper  consequence  of  this  to  advise,  as 
 Prov.  iii.  5,  6.  c  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart ;  and 
 c  lean  not  unto  thine  own  understanding.  In  all  thy  ways 
 '  acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall  direct  thy  paths/ 
 
 It  is  an  important  advertisement  that  is  given,  Rom.  xi. 
 20.  <  Thou  standest  by  faith ;  be  not  high-minded,  but  fear/ 
 To  be  high-minded  for  our  own  understanding,  or  integrity, 
 or  strength,  is  a  dangerous  prognostic  to  the  doers  of  the 
 word.  And  if  we  have  cause  of  fear  on  our  own  part,  we 
 have  no  security  for  our  standing  but  in  God  and  in  his  grace  ; 
 and  this  the  apostle  signifies  by  saying,  '  thou  standest  by 
 '  faith/     Now,   a  chief  way  in  which  faith  exerts  itself  is 
 
Sermon  III.  545 
 
 prayer.  So  we  find  the  psalm^t,  that  great  doer  of  the  word, 
 practising,  on  innumerable  occasions,  particularly  Psal.  cxliii. 
 8.  *  Cause  me  to  know  the  way  wherein  I  should  walk ;  for  I 
 f  lift  up  my  soul  unto  thee.'  And,  verse  10.  '  Teach  me  to 
 '  do  thy  will,  for  thou  art  my  God  :  thy  Spirit  is  good,  lead 
 '  me  into  the  land  of  uprightness/ 
 
 We  need  understanding  and  light  concerning  our  duty ; 
 for  although  the  word  be  a  most  perfect  light  in  itself,  we 
 are  subject  to  much  imperfection,  weakness  of  understanding, 
 and  dangerous  bias  in  our  search  m  after  light ;  therefore  the 
 psalmist  prayed,  Psal.  cxix.  33,  i54.  l  Teach  me,  O  Lord,  the 
 
 *  way  of  thy  statutes  :  give  me  understanding,  and  I  will 
 c  keep  thy  law/ 
 
 There  may  be  various  difficulties  and  obstructions  in  the 
 way  itself  and  work  of  doing  the  word,  and  that  from  Satan; 
 from  the  world,  and  the  sovereign  dispensation  of  Providence 
 concerning  us,  that  will  make  our  way  very  rough,  which 
 may  give  us  occasion  to  betake  us  to  God,  as  Psal.  v.  8. 
 '  Lead  me,  O  Lord,  in  thy  righteousness,  because  of  mine  ene- 
 '  mies ;  make  thy  way  straight  before  my  face/  And  as 
 Psal.  xxvii.  11.  *  Teach  me  thy  way,  and  lead  me  in  a  plain 
 '  path,  because  of  mine  enemies/ 
 
 As  we  need  assistance  and  influence  of  grace  at  all  times, 
 so  there  are  special  times  of  need;  as  the  times  of  prosperity, 
 the  times  of  adversity  and  affliction,  when  we  are  called  to 
 special  work,  or  when  special  temptations  occur.  The  sincere 
 doers  of  the  word  will  not  find  themselves  equal  to  the  adoes 
 and  difficulties  of  such  times.  There  will  be  occasion  to  be- 
 take them,  as  Heb.  iv.  16.  e  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that  they 
 (  may  obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need/ 
 There  was  an  answer  to  such  prayer  given,  once  for  all,  for 
 the  encouragement  of  all  true  doers  of  the  word,  in  all  the 
 greatest  difficulties  of  their  way,  2  Cor.  xii.  9.  c  And  he  said 
 
 *  unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee ;  for  my  strength  is 
 
 *  made  perfect  in  weakness/  As  prayer,  then,  is  so  needful, 
 not  only  as  a  part  of  the  work  itself,  that  is  meant  by  doing 
 of  the  word,  but  likewise  as  a  mean  of  great  benefit  with  re- 
 spect to  all  our  doing  of  the  word  besides,  there  is  one  most 
 necessary  caution  ;  and  that  is,  when  we  profess  to  depend  on 
 divine  grace  and  pray  for  it,  that  we  be  careful  not  to  resist 
 that  grace,  by  following  in  our  practice,  wilfully,  the  dictates 
 of  our  own  hearts ;  and  when  we  profess  to  depend  on  God 
 for  guidance,  that  our  hearts  do  not  predetermine  us,  accord- 
 ing to  their  own  bias.     In  that  story  which  is  recorded,  Jer. 
 
546  Sermon  III. 
 
 xlii.  3.  the  people  seemed  to  be  very  well  disposed  to  ask  and 
 take  counsel  from  the  Lord  by  the  prophet ;  but  after  the 
 Lord  had  condescended  to  give  them  counsel  by  his  servant, 
 they  took  their  own  way,  and  that  to  their  ruin.  It  is  a 
 caution  to  be  heeded  in  all  cases,  but  especially  when  we  be- 
 take us  to  the  throne  of  grace,  for  guidance  and  strength, 
 that  we  have,  Psal.  lxvi.  18.  '  If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my 
 '  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me  :'  and  if  by  this  means  our 
 application  to  the  throne  of  grace  be  unsuccessful,  we  will  be 
 in  danger  to  come  from  it  with  hearts  filled  with  their  own 
 delusion.  Some  other  directions  may  be  learned  from  what 
 shall  be  suggested  in  the  next  and  last  head  of  discourse  on 
 this  subject.     We  come,  then, 
 
 III.  To  give  some  distinguishing  marks  of  the  true  doers 
 of  the  word. 
 
 This  may  to  some  appear,  at  first  sight,  not  so  reasonable 
 an  inquiry.  If  we  inquired  concerning  marks  of  true  faith 
 and  the  sincerity  of  grace  in  our  hearts,  this  were  to  be  pro- 
 ven by  men's  works,  and  by  their  being  doers  of  the  word  : 
 but  as  to  our  being  doers  of  the  word,  it  might  be  thought 
 that  this  proves  itself;  and  that  to  inquire  for  further  marks 
 of  that  again  were  to  make  self-examination  endless. 
 
 But,  upon  considering  the  matter  a  little  more  closely,  we 
 shall  see  cause  to  judge  otherwise.  Had  not  that  young  man, 
 of  whom  we  have  the  story,  Matt.  xix.  6.  great  pretensions 
 as  a  doer  of  the  word  ?  yet  it  appeared,  that  his  character  was 
 not  a  doer  of  the  word ;  for  when  the  Lord,  who  tries  the 
 heart,  did  take  trial  of  his  perfection  or  integrity  by  a  special 
 command,  he  came  out  to  be  a  hearer  only,  and  resolutely, 
 though  sorrowfully,  went  away  such. 
 
 Paul,  before  his  conversion,  was,  touching  the  external 
 righteousness  which  is  in  the  law,  blameless  ;  but  what  had 
 become  of  him  if  he  had  not  afterwards  obtained  mercy  ?  Can 
 we  doubt  but  that  many  pharisaical,  self-righteous  souls,  es- 
 teemed greatly  by  themselves  and  others  as  doers  of  the 
 word,  shall  in  the  end  have  this  fearful  sentence — '  I  never 
 f  knew  you;  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity  lJ  Surely, 
 then,  they  were  not  true  doers  of  the  word. 
 
 It  is  of  the  last  consequence  that  we  do  not  deceive  our 
 ownselves  by  being  hearers  only.  And  it  is  of  no  less  conse- 
 quence that  we  do  not,  still  more  miserably,  deceive  ourselves 
 with  the  opinion  of  being  doers  of  the  word,  when  truly  we 
 are  not  so. 
 
 It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  distinguishing  marks  of  the  true 
 
Sermon  III.  54/ 
 
 doers  of  the  word  make  the  subject  of  a  most  important  and 
 necessary  inquiry. 
 
 Divers  things,  useful  to  give  light  in  this  inquiry,  may  be 
 gathered  from  the  arguments  and  directions  I  have  suggest- 
 ed, so  that  I  may  leave  them  for  that  use,  to  the  judgment 
 and  reflection  of  every  one  for  himself,  without  mentioning 
 them  again.  Yet  some  of  them  I  must  mention  vet,  but 
 shall  be  the  more  brief  on  these,  as  I  shall  be  upon  the  whole 
 of  this  part. 
 
 1.  First,  then,  the  true  doers  of  the  word  are  of  spiritual 
 mind  and  affection.  The  word  is  the  Spirit's  rule  ;  and  if 
 the  doers  of  the  word  do  take  the  rule  of  their  life  and  work 
 from  the  Spirit,  the  same  Spirit  doth  certainly  rule  their 
 mind  and  affections,  to  make  them  mind,  relish,  and  desire 
 the  things  of  the  Spirit,  even  these  things  which  the  natural 
 man  doth  not  receive,  and  cannot  know,  but  accounts  them 
 foolishness. 
 
 To  explain  the  matter  a  little,  the  things  of  the  Spirit  are 
 no  other  than  the  things  of  Christ ;  the  proper  things  of  the 
 gospel,  respecting  the  Christian's  ground  of  confidence,  the 
 matters  of  present  enjoyment  through  faith,  and  of  his  hope. 
 They  are  called  the  things  of  the  Spirit,  because  '  God  hath 
 *  revealed  them  to  us  by  his  Spirit/  1  Cor.  ii.  10,  12;  be- 
 cause the  knowledge  of  them  is  effectually  taught,  and  the 
 reality  of  them  imparted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  as  John 
 xvi.  14.  c  He  shall  glorify  me,  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine, 
 c  and  shall  show  it  unto  you/ 
 
 The  true  doer,  whose  doing  is  according  to  the  rule  of  the 
 Spirit  and  the  word,  is  led  by  the  Spirit,  and  taught  in  what 
 concerns  the  ground  of  his  confidence  before  God ;  he  hath 
 the  faith  and  good  relish  of  the  doctrine  of  the  free  and  effi- 
 cacious grace  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ ;  '  the  true  cir- 
 '  cumcision,  which  worship  God  in  the  Spirit,  they  do  re- 
 c  joice  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh/ 
 as  Phil.  iii.  3. 
 
 They  are  spiritual  in  what  concerns  present  spiritual  en- 
 joyment, as  Psal.  iv.  6.  c  There  be  many  that  say,  Who  will 
 '  show  us  any  good  ?  Lord,  lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy 
 (  countenance  upon  us/ 
 
 They  are  spiritual  in  what  concerns  their  hope,  c  hoping 
 '  for  the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto  them  at  the  revela- 
 '  tion  of  Jesus  Christ/  1  Pet.  i.  13.  Their  present  groaning. 
 (Rom.  viii.  23.)  under  outward  and  inward  spiritual  miseries, 
 do  prove  that  their  desires  and  hopes  do  truly  terminate  in 
 
548 
 
 Sermon  III. 
 
 the  glorious  adoption  that  shall  appear  at  the  redemption  of 
 the  body. 
 
 Shall  we  think  that  men  can  be  doers  of  the  word,  and 
 walk  according  to  the  rule  of  the  word  truly,  which  is  the 
 same  as  to  the  matter  of  the  work  as  to  walk  after  the  Spirit, 
 and  not  be  taught,  led,  and  influenced  by  the  Spirit,  to  the 
 knowledge,  faith,  and  affection  of  the  things  of  the  Spirit, 
 as  above  represented  ?  Certainly  it  is  by  these  spiritual  views 
 and  affections  that  they  are  engaged  so  fully  and  thoroughly 
 to  be  doers  of  the  word,  and  to  the  practice  of  righteousness, 
 that  their  righteousness  doth  greatly  exceed  that  of  the 
 Scribes  and  Pharisees.  Others  who,  having  only  the  spirit 
 of  the  world,  do  not  know  the  things  of  the  free  grace  of 
 God,  are  carnal  in  their  confidence,  having  confidence  in  the 
 flesh  ;  they  truly  and  habitually  mind  earthly  things,  and 
 are  carnal,  hypocritical,  and  partial  in  their  doing,  not  ge- 
 nuine doers  of  the  word.  The  great  day  of  the  Lord  will 
 class  them  among  those  that  work  iniquity. 
 
 2.  The  true  doers  of  the  word  have  habitually  a  quick  and 
 bitter  sense  of  their  sins,  and  of  their  continual  sinfulness. 
 Others  who  pretend  to  good  doing  have  perhaps  heretofore 
 had  their  troubles  of  mind  by  the  charge  of  their  consciences 
 for  sin ;  but  if,  somehow  or  other,  they  have  come  to  peace, 
 their  wound  is  healed,  the  bitterness  of  death  is  past,  and 
 their  sorrow  for  sin  is  past  with  it.  If  they  have  sometime 
 beheld  the  natural  face  of  their  souls  (I  allude  to  the  simili- 
 tude following  my  text)  in  the  glass  of  God's  word,  or  if  that 
 glass  hath,  whether  they  would  or  not,  been  presented  to  their 
 consciences,  to  show  them  their  guiltiness,  yet  how  soon 
 they  have  got  any  inward  peace,  they  go  their  way  and  forget 
 what  manner  of  men  they  were.  And  their  present  good 
 doings  please  them  too  well  for  their  hearts  to  conceive  any 
 great  uneasiness  or  concern  for  the  present  sinfulness  which 
 they  are  somewhat  sensible  of.  Yea,  it  is  good  if,  like  the 
 festival  entertainment  of  that  woman's  peace-offerings  men- 
 tioned Prov.  vii.  their  comforts  concerning  their  good  state 
 and  good  condition,  be  not  improved  for  deliberate  and  ha- 
 bitual criminal  indulgences. 
 
 It  will  not  be  thus  with  a  true  doer  of  the  word.  If  he 
 have  attained  to  inward  peace  by  the  abounding  grace  of  him 
 who  saith,  Isa.  xliii.  25.  '  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out 
 '  thy  transgressions  for  mine  own  sake,  and  will  not  remem- 
 '  ber  thy  sins ;'  yet  his  sins  are  not  forgotten  with  himself. 
 Even  such  an  one's  sense  of  the  peace  of  God  will  have  the 
 
Sermon  III.  54(* 
 
 effect  mentioned  Ezek.  xvi.  63.  e  That  thou  mayest  remem- 
 '  berand  be  confounded,  and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more 
 1  because  of  thy  shame,  when  I  am  pacified  toward  thee,  for 
 w  all  that  thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord/  David's  peniten- 
 tial psalms,  which  he  appears  to  have  composed  when  he  had 
 notable  views  of  pardoning  grace,  afford  great  examples  to 
 us  of  this. 
 
 When  the  apostle  Paul  was  a  Pharisee,  and  a  great  good 
 doer  in  his  way,  his  sinfulness  does  not  seem  to  have  given 
 him  great  uneasiness.  He  was  then,  in  great  part,  '  without 
 '  the  law/  Rom.  vii.  9.  but  afterwards,  when  the  law  was 
 writ  in  his  heart,  and  he  became  a  genuine  doer  of  the  word, 
 how  bitter  is  his  complaint  of  his  present  remaining  sinful- 
 ness, as  expressed  downwards  !  c  I  am/  says  he,  '  carnal,  sold 
 c  under  sin ;  I  know  that  in  me  (that  is,  in  my  flesh)  dwell- 
 '  eth  no  good  thing/  And  at  last,  '  O  wretched  man  that 
 ( I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  V 
 The  true  doers  of  the  word,  even  when  they  have  the  testi- 
 mony of  their  consciences  with  respect  to  their  sincerity, 
 when  they  can,  to  their  bitterest  regret  of  their  sinfulness, 
 like  the  apostle's  e  O  wretched  man/  join  thanksgiving,  as 
 he  doth  there,  Rom.  vii.  25.  '  I  thank  God  through  Jesus 
 '  Christ  our  Lord  /  when  they  have  much  comfort  through 
 faith  in  Jesus  Christ ;  yet  their  sense  of  their  sinfulness  and 
 of  the  plagues  of  their  hearts  causes  them  eat  the  most 
 delicious  food  of  their  souls  as  with  bitter  herbs. 
 
 It  is  but  reasonable,  from  the  nature  of  things,  that  the  case 
 should  be  as  I  have  been  representing  it.  Others  take  but 
 a  superficial  view  of  the  rule  of  their  duty,  and  are  the  more 
 easily  satisfied  about  their  own  conformity  to  it ;  but  the 
 true  doers  of  the  word  do  look  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty, 
 as  verse  25.  downwards  from  my  text.  The  word  is  the 
 same  which,  1  Pet.  i.  12.  is  used  concerning  the  mysteries  of 
 the  gospel,  and  the  angels'  attentive  looking  in  to  them  ;  it 
 properly  signifies  to  pry  into ;  as  when  men  stoop  down  to  prv, 
 or  look  into  a  thing  in  the  most  attentive  manner.  Looking 
 thus  attentively  into  the  great  rule  of  duty,  a  doer  of  the 
 word,  perceiving  its  spiritual  nature  and  strict  holiness,  hath 
 other  views  and  impression  of  sinfulness  in  practice  and 
 nature  than  others  have.  And  this  law  being  writ  in  his 
 heart,  his  escapes  in  practice  do  wound  him ;  the  remaining 
 corruption  of  nature  is  his  burden ;  and  what  he  finds  of  it 
 cleaving  to  his  best  doings,  makes  him  join  in  that  confession 
 
550  Sermon  III. 
 
 which  the  church  hath,  Isa.  lxiv.  6.  c  We  are  all  as  an  unclean 
 6  thing,  and  all  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags/ 
 
 The  most  refined  and  adorned  hypocrite,  who  pretends  to 
 the  character  of  a  doer  of  the  word,  hath  never  been  truly 
 sanctified  by  grace.  A  true  doer  of  the  word  is  one  whose 
 nature  hath  been  truly  sanctified  and  renewed ;  God  hath  put 
 his  laws  in  his  mind,  and  hath  writ  them  in  his  heart.  By 
 natural  and  necessary  consequence,  this  latter  must  have  a 
 tender  and  quick  sense  of  sin  that  the  other  hath  not.  In  the 
 former,  a  faint  and  low  sense  of  sin,  with  a  considerable 
 opinion  of  his  own  goodness,  is  a  consequence  of  his  want  of 
 true  grace  and  genuine  holiness ;  in  the  latter  a  bitter  sense  of 
 sinfulness,  that  prevails  so  far  as  to  swallow  up,  in  a  manner, 
 all  the  symptoms  of  grace  he  could  discover  in  himself,  is  the 
 consequence  of  the  truth  and  power  of  grace  in  him.  And 
 so,  these  very  things  that  bring  him  very  properly  under  the 
 character  of  a  doer  of  the  word,  do  make  him  quite  ashamed 
 to  lay  any  claim  to  it.  He  apprehends  he  grows  worse,  and 
 is  going  farther  and  farther  backwards  from  his  aim  in  doing  ; 
 but,  while  a  sharp  observation  and  tender  feeling  of  sinful- 
 ness grows  with  him,  it  truly  demonstrates  that  the  principles 
 of  holiness  grow  with  him,  and  that  he  is  making  a  propor- 
 tional progress  as  a  doer  of  the  word. 
 
 3.  The  true  doer  of  the  word  is  distinguished  by  his 
 humble  and  self-denying  disposition  in  doing.  This  is  a  con- 
 sequence of  what  I  have  been  just  now  suggesting  concern- 
 ing his  sense  of  his  sinfulness.  Indeed,  as  humility  is  a 
 native  fruit  of  grace,  so  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  a  man's 
 being  a  doer  of  the  word  at  all,  Psal.  x.  4.  '  The  wicked, 
 '  through  the  pride  of  his  countenance,  will  not  seek  after 
 '  God  ;'  nor  will  his  pride  allow  him  to  submit  his  neck  en- 
 tirely to  God's  yoke.  When  Jeremiah  brought  the  Jews 
 counsel  from  God,  Jer.  xliii.  2.  '  then  spake  Azariah  and 
 c  Johanan,  and  all  the  proud  men,  saying  unto  Jeremiah, 
 c  Thou  speakest  falsely.'  When  Hezekiah's  messengers 
 called  the  people  of  the  ten  tribes  to  observe  the  solemnity  of 
 the  passover  at  Jerusalem,  there  were  many  such  proud  men 
 who  laughed  them  to  scorn,  and  mocked  them,  and  despised 
 God's  ordinances :  '  nevertheless  divers  of  Asher  humbled 
 '  themselves,'  to  do  their  duty,  2  Chron.  xxx.  11.  When 
 men  are  called  to  duties  that  are  in  disuse  in  the  world,  and 
 cross  to  their  own  common  sentiments  and  lusts,  it  is  the 
 powerful  work  of  grace  to  humble  them  in  such  case  to  be 
 doers  of  the  word. 
 
Sermon  111 .  551 
 
 The  humility  and  self-denial  of  a  doer  of  the  word  appears 
 especially  in  what  concerns  the  end  of  his  working,  and  the 
 strength  by  which  he  worketh.  As  to  the  end  of  men's 
 working,  some  do  work  and  sweat  at  it,  in  order  to  establish 
 their  own  righteousness,  and  many  there  are  who  do  stumble 
 at  that  stumbling-stone,  Rom.  ix.  32.  But  the  views  of  a 
 true  doer  of  the  word  are  very  remote  from  that ;  he  doth 
 good  works,  because  that  is  the  way  that  God  hath  ordained 
 for  him,  Eph.  ii.  10.  (for  we  are  his  workmanship,  created 
 <  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which  God  hath  before 
 c  ordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them/  He  is  justified, 
 not  by  works,  but  by  grace  ;  and  what  he  doth  in  good  works, 
 is  from  the  disposition  and  view  expressed  by  the  psalmist, 
 Psal.  cxvi.  12.  (  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all 
 
 *  his  benefits  towards  me  ?' 
 
 As  to  the  strength  by  which  men  work,  the  hypocrite 
 being,  like  Ishmael,  born  after  the  flesh,  his  good  doings  are 
 the  productions  of  the  flesh  and  of  nature  ;  but  true  doers 
 of  the  word  are,  like  Isaac,  the  children  of  the  promise. 
 By  ( the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises,'  and  the 
 grace  thereby  conveyed,  c  they  have  been  made  partakers  of 
 a  divine  nature/  2  Pet.  i.  4.  c  God  having  of  his  own  will  be- 
 c  gotten  them  with  the  word  of  truth/  Accordingly,  after- 
 wards, as  they  have  the  wisdom  to  count  the  cost  of  every 
 good  work,  if  the  works  appear  great,  their  strength  small, 
 and  the  temptations  frightful,  they  do  all  by  the  faith  of 
 God's  promises  and  of  the  grace  of  his  covenant :  the  strength 
 by  which  they  can  do  all  things  is  by  Christ  strengthening 
 them  ;  and  if  there  is  any  comfortable  success  in  good  works, 
 their  souls  breathe,  like  the  psalmist,  Psal.  cxv.  1.  c  Not  unto 
 c  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name  give  glory,  for 
 
 *  thy  mercy  and  for  thy  truth's  sake/ 
 
 4.  The  true  doers  of  the  word  do  especially  prize  and  relish 
 that  grace  of  God  that  justifieth  freely,  through  the  redemp- 
 tion that  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  Others  attempt  to  be  doers  of 
 the  law  and  word  of  God,  in  view  to  be  justified  by  their 
 works.  These  know  not  the  law,  nor  the  work  it  requires, 
 nor  themselves.  The  doers  truly  of  the  word,  being  such  as 
 have  looked  well  into  it,  they  dare  not  deal  with  the  law  in 
 that  way ;  but  the  law,  which  is  holy,  just,  and  good,  being 
 truly  writ  in  their  hearts,  there  is  nothing  for  which  they 
 prize  the  grace  of  God  more  than  for  enabling  them  to  be 
 doers  of  it.  But  when  a  man,  who  truly  knows  and  loves  the 
 holiness  of  the  law  and  word  of  God,  doth  truly  apply  it  to 
 
 Bb 
 
552  Sermon  III. 
 
 his  heart,  carefully  studying  and  endeavouring  conformity 
 to  it,  what  a  disconformity  doth  he  see  !  what  unholiness  ! 
 what  sin  !  and  that  cleaving  to  his  best  doing.  If  ever  for- 
 merly, when  God  was  translating  him  from  darkness  to  light, 
 he  valued  free  justifying  grace,  surely  now  he  values  it  more  : 
 and  after  going  far  in  his  course  as  a  doer  of  the  word,  he 
 would  not  for  the  world  venture  his  standing  before  God  on 
 his  own  doing.  Never  did  any  find  more  need  and  occasion 
 to  believe  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly  than  the  true 
 doers  of  the  word. 
 
 The  apostle  John  requires  and  recommends  walking  in 
 the  light  thus,  1  John  i.  7-  '  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he 
 '  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another ;  and 
 c  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin/ 
 Without  this  we  needed  not  think  of  walking  in  the  light,  or 
 of  having  fellowship  with  God  in  that  way.  None  are  so  sen- 
 sible of  this  as  the  doers  of  the  word,  or  do  so  much  prize  the 
 sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Christ  for  cleansing  them  from  all 
 sin.  Of  all  the  good  fellowship  they  are  come  to,  as  repre- 
 sented Heb.  xii.  there  is  nothing  which  their  sense  of  things 
 makes  them  value  more  than  this,  verse  24.  that  they  are 
 come  '  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the 
 '  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  the 
 '  blood  of  Abel.' 
 
 When  Paul  was  the  Pharisee,  a  wondrous  doer  in  his  own 
 esteem,  he  was  not  sensible  how  much  he  needed  a  Redeemer's 
 righteousness.  When  he  came  to  understand  his  condition, 
 and  to  see  himself  a  chief  of  sinners,  he  tells  us,  Phil.  iii.  7- 
 e  But  what  things  were  gain  to  me,  these  I  counted  loss  for 
 '  Christ ;'  so  he  speaks  in  the  past  tense ;  but  how  would  he 
 speak  in  the  present  tense,  now  that  he  is  a  doer  of  the  word, 
 a  saint,  an  apostle,  who  laboured  more  abundantly  than  they 
 all?  His  present  sense  of  things,  when  he  bore  all  these 
 characters,  and  his  present  value  for  Christ,  as  he  is  the  Lord 
 our  righteousness,  he  expresses  in  the  present  tense  thus, 
 verses  8,  9.  c  Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss 
 c  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  my 
 '  Lord,  for  whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and 
 c  do  count  them  but  dung  that  I  may  win  Christ,  and  be 
 '  found  in  him,  not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is 
 *  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ, 
 f  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith/  Such  doers  as 
 have  a  different  sense  of  matters,  have  never  entered  far  into 
 the  business  of  doing:,  and  are  not  true  doers  of  the  word. 
 
Sermon  III.  553 
 
 5.  The  true  doers  of  the  word,  from  the  nature  of  the 
 genuine  principle  of  holiness  that  is  in  them,  do  make  pro- 
 gress in  well-doing,  and  advance  to  greater  and  greater  de- 
 gree of  holiness  aud  fruitfulness.  There  are  others  who 
 would  have  inward  disquiet  in  certain  degree  of  wickedness, 
 and  find  a  certain  degree  of  righteous  practice  needful,  in 
 order  to  be  tolerably  easy  :  when  they  have  reached  this,  they 
 sit  down ;  their  lusts  and  their  sloth  allow  of  no  more  pro- 
 gress ;  nor  have  they  a  true  principle  of  holiness  in  them  that 
 would  drive  them  farther  forward.  As  for  what  remains, 
 their  righteousness  and  their  lusts  dwell  easily  together. 
 
 It  is  not  so  with  the  true  doers  of  the  word.  Every  step 
 they  make  in  holiness  opens  a  new  prospect  before  them  ;  and 
 the  principle  of  new  life  that  is  in  them  urges  them  forward ; 
 t  being  justified  by  faith,  they  have  peace  with  God  through 
 c  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;'  but  this  peace  gives  commence- 
 ment to  a  perpetual  war  against  what  of  the  serpent  is  in 
 them  ;  and  the  principle  of  grace  that  is  in  them  will  never 
 have  peace  with  remaining  corruption.  If  corruption  dwells 
 with  their  grace, — the  old  man  with  the  new  in  them  ;  yet  is 
 not  the  old  man  at  peace,  but  is  crucified,  and  will  be  so,  un- 
 til the  body  of  sin  be  destroyed.  Whatever  progress  such 
 have  made,  they  rest  not,  but,  '  forgetting  those  things  that 
 '  are  behind,  they  reach  forth  unto  those  things  that  are 
 '  before/  Phil.  iii.  13.  Although  there  remains  of  sin  in  them 
 what  causes  them  think  meanly  of  their  attainment  in  holi- 
 ness, yet  their  conflict  with  it  proves  that  they  have  no  less 
 at  heart  than  to  cleanse  themselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the 
 flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God. 
 
 It  is  needless  in  this  inquiry  to  multiply  marks.  If  you 
 have  these  marks,  notwithstanding  you  find  yourself  much 
 short  of  the  holiness  of  the  law,  I  may  be  confident  to  say, 
 God  hath  writ  his  law  in  your  heart ;  and  blessed  is  the  man 
 whose  strength  is  in  the  Lord  ;  in  whose  heart  are  the  ways 
 of  them  who  go  from  strength  to  strength ;  every  one  of  them 
 in  Zion  appeareth  before  God  ;  you  are  a  doer  of  the  work, 
 and  shall  be  blessed  in  your  doing. 
 
 Now,  the  God  of  peace  make  you  perfect  in  every  good 
 work,  &c. 
 
 THE  END. 
 
EDINBURGH l 
 PRINTED  BY  J.  AND  D.  COLLIE. 
 
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