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18701
AN
ANSWER
TO THE
Difcourfe
OF
Mr. WILLIAM SHERLOCK,
TOUCHING
The Knowledge of Chrift,
and our Union and Com-
munion with Him.
POLHILL
By EDWARD POL HILL of
Burwash in Suffex, Eſquire.
LONDON,
Printed for Ben. Fofter, and are to be
fold by moſt Book-fellers in
London. MDC LXXV.
BT
200
$56
руб
16
은
​Borde Coner
Request &. c. mix To THE
2-21-55
То
READER.
N that
excellent
Piece the Soul of
Man (which is too
great for this lower
World, and in the
very Frame of it afpires after an
Infinite Good) the Lapãov or upper-
most Room is the Underſtanding 3
and among all the Truths, which
are the Furniture thereof, none are
fo rich, as thofe Theological ones,
which are drawn out of the Gol-
den Mines of Scripture. Arts
and Sciences are in compariſon but
the Poor of the Mind, the Riches
and Treaſures of Knowledge lie in
A 3
Evan-
The Epiſtle
Evangelical Mysteries; thefe out
fbine the Sun, and out-weigh the
Earth: They have the highest
Certainty, as coming down imme-
diately from heaven; and with-
all the noblest Tendency, as leading
usthither: Infinite Truth is the
Fountain, and infinite Goodness
the Center of them. Thefe, when
in their Lustre, make a spiritual
Day, and derive fuch a pure In-
fluence upon the Hearts and Lives
of Men, as moulds them into the
Divine Image, and thereby makes
them meet for the bliss-making
Vifion in Heaven. No fooner
can theſe be under an Eclipfe, but
there will be a Night and a Chaos
of confufions; the Path of Life
and Happiness will be wrapt up
in darkness; black Legions of Er-
rors and Corruptions will creep
forth, and pious Souls will wish
for the day, I mean, for a freſh
Illuftra-
to the Reader.
Illuftration of Truths from that
facred Spirit, which at first breah-
ed them out into the World; and,
after all the Clouds and dark
Veils put upon them, can bring
them forth in their Oriency and
true Glory. Theſe to Believers
are as Pearls and facred Jewels,
dearer than the Apple of their Eye,
nay, than their own Souls: They
build upon them by Faith, efponfe
them by divine Love, lay them
up in a pure Confcience, diftil the
Vertue of them into a boly Life;
and, if it were poffible, they would
have none of the facred Light
put out, nor the least fot or Tittle
of thofe Truths fall to the ground.
O what a rate did the famous
St. Auſtin and others fet upon
God's Special Effectual Grace!
How highly did the heroical
Luther value the Point of Jufti-
fication! Jacente articulo Ju-
ftifica-
A A
The Epiftle
ftificationis jacent omnia,faith be,
as if a Chriftians All were in it.
When fuch Truths are violated,
Christians, how' meek foever in
other things, muft earnestly cons
tend, and not give place, no, not
for an hour; here, if ever, Lu,
ther's pia & fan&ta pertinacia is
in feafon.
Not to stay any longer on the ex-
cellencies and great Concerns of E-
vangelical Truths,which no tongue
of Men or Angels is able fully ta
expreß. 1 fhall now speak a little
touching Mr. Sherlock's Book.
When I read it, I thought my felf
in a new Theological World; Be
lievers appearing without their
Head for want of a Mystical Uni-
on, ſtrip'd and naked for lack of
imputed Righteousness; the full
treasures of Grace in Chrift,which
bave supplied all the veffels of
faith emptied out of facred his per-
fon
co the Reader.
fon,& transfufed into the doctrine
of the Gospel; as if according to
Pelagius all Grace were in doctrine
only: The holy Spirit, the great
Origen of Graces and Comforts, in
its Illumination feems to be fu-
perfluous, in its Teftimony to
Believers an Enthusiastical Fan-
cy, and in the work of Rege-
neration, if any, at most but a
partial Co-caufe, parting flakes
with the Will of Man: Faith in
Abel and Enoch lying as low as
Natural Principles; in Noah
and Abraham raiſed up a little
to particular Revelations, but
not fo high as the Meffiah: In
Christians ftanding off and at
a distance from Chrift its dear
Object, not daring to lay hold
on or ſo much as touch
?
him, to
from thence. As if Socinus
had hit it right, when he ſaid,
Chrifti,
draw any
any Vertue
:
The Epiftle
Chrifti apprehenfio merum com-
mentum & inaniffimum fomnium
eft. The immutable Love of
God,the only Cement of the Church,
feems to be turned off from Perfons
to Qualities, and towards Perfons
to be as variable as the fickle Will
of Man is; and yet he is immu-
table ftill, he loves for the fame
Reafon, or, as Socinus faith,
Non fine caufa mutat. The Pon-
tifician Thesis touching Juftifica-
tion by inherent Righteousness,
feems to be revived a fresh, and
that in a way lefs tolerable than
among the Romanists: They,
though they would have inherent
Righteousness come in for a ſhare,
yet allow the Imputation of Chrifts
paffive Obedience; but in the New
Scheme, inherent Righteoufnefs
takes up all the room, and leaves
none for imputed. The Drollery
and (arcastical Reflections in the
Book
to the Reader.
Book are but the Cover of it; with-
in there is a dark Eclipfe upon
many excellent Truths which bi-
therto have been owned in the
Churches of Christ, and particular-
ly in our own. Among other Truths
none have had a greater share of
fuffering than thoſe two, touching
our Myftical Union with Chrift,
and the Imputation of Chrift's
Righteouſneſs to us; both which
are to me very momentous. The
Mystical Union hath I ſuppoſe,
been generally received in the
Church. Indeed Gregory de Va-
lentia once cavilled at it, as if it
were Myfterium Calvinifticum;
and yet be feems to own it, when
he faith, Animum noftrum poffe
per fidem corpus Chrifti, etiam
ut in cœlo exiftens, atque adeo
ut eft extra Sacramentum mandu-
He that denies the Myfti-
care.
çal Union, cannot hold the head
Jeſus
The Epiftle
Jefus Chrift, from which all the
body by joynts and bands hath
nouriſhment miniftred, Col.2.19.
Take away that Union, and Chrift
is a Head of no Influence, the
Joynts and the Bands, which were
made to convey divine Nutriture
from him, are but empty Titles,
and fignifie no more than thoſe
Conduit-pipes do, which are fe-
vered from the Fountain. Again,
be that denies the Myftical Union,
must loſe that piece of his Creed,
the Communion of Saints; their
Communion among themselves pri-
marily depends on their Union
with Chrift the Head, from whom
the whole body is fitly joyned
together and compacted, as the
Apoftle tells us, Eph. 4. 16. All
the Harmonies in the Body Myfti-
cal hang on its Union with the
Head; without this Believers
could have no Communion one with
another
to the Reader.
another, fave in this only, that
they must all die one common
death, by being fevered from their
Head: The living Stones, once off
from their Foundation, can hang
no longer together in the Spiritual.
Building, but must totter down
into a Chaos of Confufion. More-
over, he that denies the mystical
Union, must turn off the Believer
from his true ftanding: according
to the Gospel, the Believer is a
man in Chrift; he is built on him,
as on a Foundation; he ſubfists in
him, as the Branches do in the
Vine ; he hath vital İnfluences
from him, as the Members have
from the Head; he is acted by his
divine Spirit in all the pure ways
to heaven, and all this is his fe-
curity, his prefervation in Jefus
Chrift: But take away the Myfti-
cal Union, he is a man out of
Chrift, he ftands upon his own
bottom,
The Epiftle
botttom, be fubfifts by himſelf a-
lone, he receives no influences from
Chrift the Head, nor is acted by a-
ny higher Spirit than his own;
and in fuch a cafe, the next news
we hear of him must be an utter
downfall. But to fay no more of
the Myftical Union; that other
Point touching the Imputation of
Chrift's Righteousness to us, bath
also been ever owned in the Church;
he that denies it, muft, I fear, in
the confequent, overturn the Law,
the Gospel, and the Satisfaction of
Christ. He must overturn the Law;
for be must own a fuftification
without a Righteousness anſwer-
ing thereunto; inherent Righteouf-
nefs being imperfect, and imputed
a Nullity, there is nothing to an-
fwer the Law, and yet we are ju-
ftified, which is as much as to say,
the Law is no Law: If it be a
Law, none can be juftified without
a Righ-
To the Reader.
a Righteoufnefs adequate to it; if
we may be juftified without fuch a
Righteoufnefs, the Law is no Law,
which is what. the Antinomians
would have: That a Law fhould
be in force, and a man ſhould be
juftified without an adequate Righ-
teoufnefs, and that before a moft
righteous Judge, who judgeth ac-
cording to truth, is utterly impof-
fible. Again he must overturn the
Gofpel, and that upon a-double ac-
count: The one is this: He muft
fubvert the Promises of Juftifica-
tion made in the Gofpel; the Pre-
mifes run thus; That we shall be
juftified by Chrift's blood, made
righteous by his obedience, that
his blood fhall cleanſe away fin,
and purge our confciences from
dead works; and how can thefe
be fulfilled without an Imputation?
To fay, that Christ's Blood found-
ed the Covenant, will not ferve the
turn
The Epiſtle
turn; theſe are Promifes of a Co-
venant founded already, and a
foundedCovenant doth not promife
the founding of it felf.Chrifts blood
as it founded the Covenant, is pre-
cedent to the Promifes, and by it as
fuch the Promifes cannot be fulfill-
ed; for then they ſhould be fulfilled
before they were made, or at least
in the making of them: It remains
therefore that Chrifts righteousness
must be made ours by imputation,
thereby the promiſesmay be made
good to us. If the Promifes mean as
they speak, then we must be justified
by Chrifts blood & obedience,which
infers Imputation; if the Promifes
(how plain,how emphatical foever
the words be) mean not, that we
fhall be justified by Chrift's Blood
or Righteousness, then Chrift ſhed
his Blood for us, that we might be
juftified without it; be fatisfied
for us, that we might be pardoned
with.
To the Reader.
without a fatisfaction, which is
an odd reflection on his fatisfacti-
on, if not a total evacuation of it.
The other is this; he muſt pervert
the Conditions of the Gospel from
their true end and Scope: Thefe
Conditions were in infinite Wif-
dom accommodated and attemper-
ed to the death of Christ which
founded them, they were made to be
Subordinate and fubfervient to
Christ's fatisfaction and the glory
of it: The Faith required in them
was not intended to be the matter
of our Fuftification, and in that
notion to diſcharge and justifie us ;
the main scope and end of thofe con-
ditions was to fhew upon what
terms Christ's righteofness and fa-
tisfaction ſhould diſcharge and ju-
ftifie us. Now as long as thefe con-
ditions are made but conditions, as
long as Faith keeps its proper fta-
tion, all is well and as it ought to
be; but if those conditions be ad-
Danced
The Epiftle
vanced above their own ftation, if
our inherent righteousness be made
the very matter of our Fukificati-
on, as indeed it must if imputed
Righteousness be denied, then the
conditions of the Gospel are corrup-
ted and perverted from their true
end, they are no longer fubordina-
ted to Chrift's fatisfaŝtion, but
made to fet up our inherent Righ-
teouſneſs in the room of it, they
hew no longer upon what terms
Chrifts fatisfaction shall discharge
us, but how our own Righteoufnefs
may do it, mhich is plainly to per-
vert the conditions of the Gospel.
Moreover he must overturn the fa-
tisfaction of Christ: Touching this
three things are confiderable, viz.
Christ's furrogation in our room,
Gods acceptation of the λύτρον on our
behalf, and the operation of that
AUTçov in our diſcharge; none of
λύτρον
which can stand without an impu-
tation. The first thing is Chrift's
Jur-
to the Reader.
furrogation, he fuffered άvì πoMar,
Matth. 20. 28. in ftead of many;
be was our antifex, putting his
Soul in the room of ours, or elfe he
could not have satisfied for us.
Now that Chrift should fuffer in our
room and ftead, and his fufferings
fhould not be accounted or imputed
to us, is a contradiction; take a-
way Imputation, and you take away
Surrogation; take away Surroga-
tion, and you take away Satisfa-
Etion. The fecond thing is Gods
acceptation of the Núτgov on our be-
half:Chriſts Sacrifice was a ſweet-
fmelling favour unto God,Eph.5.
2. God accepted it on our behalf,
or elfe Chrift could not have fatif-
fied for us. Now that Chrifts fuf-
ferings fhould be accepted by God
as on our behalf, and yet that they
fhould not be accounted or imputed
is utterly impoſſible;fo far asChrifts
Satisfaction was accepted by God
for us, fo far it must be imputed to
20 2
HS)
The Epiftle
us; if it was accepted only for a
remiſſibility, then it is imputed no
further; but then remiſſion will be
without fatisfaction, which is
what the Socinians would have;
but if (as the truth is) it was ac-
cepted for Remiffion and Justifica-
tion to be difpenfed upon believ
ing, then it is imputed to that end,
actually to juftifie and diſcharge
us: Take away Imputation, and
you take away Acceptation, and
with it Satisfaction. The third
thing is the operation of Chrift's fa-
tisfaction in our diſcharge. Satif-
faction is deftructio obligationis,
it doth really and properly dif-
charge him for whom it is made:
accepted abfolutely, it diſcharges
him immediately; accepted on terms
it diſcharges upon the performance,
and that as properly and really,
though not so foon as in the other
çaſe ; its vertue and efficacy,which
was fufpended by the condition,
breaks
to the Reader.
breaks forth into effect upon the
performance; this is the nature
and property of Satisfaction: A
Satisfaction which doth not dif-
charge, doth not fatisfie, that is, in
plain terms, it is no Satisfaction.
Now the fatisfaction of Chrift doth
not diſcharge us immediatly, but
upon believing, which is theEvan-
gelical Condition; and how doth
it do it? Surely one of these two
ways, either it diſcharges us meer-
ly as it founded the Covenant, or
elfe as it is made ours by Imputati-
on; the former cannot be, it found-
ed the Covenant before our believ-
ing, if it do no more after,it dif
charges us not, for it doth as much
before believing (before which it
difcharges not)as after:It founded
the Covenant for those that perish,
at least fo far, that upon believing
they might have been justified ; &
if it do no more for thoſe that are
faved, it diſcharges us not; for it
9 3
doth
The Epiſtle
doth operate as much and as far to
wards the difcharge of thofe that
periſh, who are never diſcharged,
as of thofe that are diſcharged and
faved; which plainly fhews, that it
properly diſcharges none at all: and
if it difcharge not, it fatisfies not,
that is, it is no fatisfaction. It re-
mains therefore, that Christ's Sa-
tisfaction is made ours by Imputa-
tion,and fo doth diſcharge us: If it
diſcharge us, it must be made ours
by Imputation, and if it diſcharge
us not, it is no Satisfaction. Soci
nus, who denied Chrift's Satisfa-
Elion, had reafon to deny imputed
Righteousness; and he, who de-
nies imputed Righteousneß, muft
in the confequent deny Chrift's Sa-
tisfaction, nay, he must fet up an-
other fatisfaction in ftead of it. In
Justification there must be fome
Righteousness or other, to be the
matter of our Juftification, and to
diſcharge us before God; if the im-
puted
to the Reader.
puted Righteousneß of Christ be not
fuch, then our own inherent Righ-
teousneß must be the very thing,
that must discharge us and fatisfie
for us; that indeed must be the
Jatisfaction much rather than
Christs, because it properly actu
ally difcharges us, which Christs
doth not: Unless we fay with the
Socinians, that there is Remiffion
without Satisfaction, there must
be fomewhat to be a Satisfaction,
and what that is very obvious:
That which is the matter of our
Justification, that which doth pro-
perly difchange us, that is the Sa-
tisfaction: if Chrifts Righteouf-
nefs imputed be not it, our inherent
Righteousneß must be fuch; and yet
alas ! what a poor thing is it to be
fo advanced? Its own defects call
for a pardon, and how should it
juſtifie or diſcharge us? "May that,
which wants a pardon it ſelf, ju-
ftifie; or may it first be pardoned it
Self
The Epiftle
felf, and then justifie its Subject in
which it is? Both are abfurd: Before
it is pardoned it ſelf, it cannot justifie ;
and after it is pardoned, it is very odd,
that it should give that which it felf
once wanted. Not to be tedious ; I have
endeavoured to 'return an Answer to
Mr. Sherlock's Book, not out of Paffi-
on or disrespect to his Perfon, who is my
acquaintance, and for whom I have re-
Spects; but meerly out of love to the
Truth, which is dearer to me than all
Relations. I have for the most part fet
forth his words at length; and where
Sometimes for brevities fake I bave con-
tracted them, it hath been my care to
be just to every thing of Emphaſis or
Argument. The Lapfes in this my An-
fwer beg the Readers pardon, and the
Truths in it call for his confent : If
anything in it tend towards she clear-
ing or establishing of facred Truth, it is
enough for him, who is
A Well-wisher to the Truth,
EDWARD POLHILL.
[1]
THE
INTRODUCTION.
CHAP. I.
で
​LL Error hath fome appear Mr. Sher-
ance of Truth, it being im- lock.
poffible to believe a plain
and undisguised falfhood.
A
It is fo indeed: The old Answer:
Fable is true, Truth firſt preſented her
felf to the World, and went about to
feek entertainment; but finding none,
ſhe refolved to leave Earth, and take
her flight to Heaven. But as fhe was
going up, the let fall her Mantle, and
Error waiting by, fnatched it up, and
ever fince hath gone about in it. Every
erroneous Opinion, which walks about
in the dress and appearance of Rea-
fon, tells us, that the oppofite Myſte-
ries are retired up to their great origi
B
nal
[2]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
nal above, there to complain againſt
an unbelieving World, for the hard.
ufages found here below.
The first and fundamental mistake is
in a confuſion of Names, in a doubtful
and ambiguous use of Words., eſpecially
in Matters of Religion; men confider no-
thing but the found of words, and from
thence form fuch uncouth Idea's of Re-
ligion, as are fitted to the meanness of
their underftending, or gratifie their na-
tural Genius and Difpofition, or are cal-
culated to ferve an Intereft; and thus
the Gospel of our Saviour is defaced and
obfcured, by affected Mysteries and Para-
doxes, and fenfeieß Propofitions ; and
Christ the brightness of his Father's Glory
is reprefented with a thicker Veil upon his
Face,than Mofes.
How truly this general Charge is
laid at the Door of thofe Worthies,
whom this Author oppofes, muſt be
tried by the inftances of the after Dif
courfe; in the mean time, I fear, that
fome men following the tinkling of
their own reafon, fhape fuch Idea's of
Religion as caft fmiles and flatteries
upon corrupt Nature, and ftrangely
darken the Gofpel by clearing away
thofe Mysteries, which are the glory
of it, and ftand above the level of hu-
mane
[3]
mane reaſon, as pregnant proofs of the
Divinity of the Goſpel, and fit objects
for the exerciſe of Faith.
If we believe ſome men; There is as ir- Mr.Sher-
reconcileable a difference between the Re- lock.
ligion of Christ's Perfon, and of his Gof
pel, as between the Law and Grace: for
the Gospel of Chrift is as fevere a difpen-
fation as the Law, which dooms all men
to eternal miſery, who live not very inno-
cent and virtuous lives; but the Perfon
of Christ is all Grace, a meer refuge and
Sanctuary for the wicked and ungodly,
that is, (as he after explains it) for im-
penitent and incorrigible finners.
Chriſt at odds with his Gofpel! Ab- Anſwer.
fit: The reafon is untrue on both fides.
That the Goſpel is as fevere a difpenfa-
tion as the Law; (which furely calls for
no less than finlefs obedience) is untrue
in it felf; that the Perfon of Chrift is
a refuge for impenitent finners; is not.
ſo much as truly affixed upon the Op-
pofites; their Writings deny it, their
hearts abhor it as prodigious. He that
goes about to deduce it from their
words, will have as little fuccefs, as that
attempt had, which would have extra-
&ted the Spirits of Turcifm out of the
Writings of Reverend Calvin. What
he means by virtuous and innocent
Bà
lives,
;
[4]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
lives, I know not; the Pelagian Julia-
nus uſhers in his Fabricius, Fabius, and
Scipio, as very virtuous men, and lifts
up their Chaſtity, Mercy and Juſtice,
as true Virtues, and well pleafing to
God. Will this ferve the turn? St. Au-
ftin can by no means endure it, but
breaks out in a holy paffion, O inimici
gratiæ; folo vocabulo Chriftiani! May
there be true virtue in animo fornican-
te à Deo? or can a man be juſt fine fide
Chrifti? Or is that virtue, in which
God is not ferved? Hoc eft, unde vos
maximè deteftatur Chriftiana Ecclefia,
thus that excellent Father. The Authors
fence in this matter will be further feen
in his after-diſcourſe about natural
Faith.
Faith in Chrift, and hope in Christ are
expounded of a fiducial reliance and re-
cumbency on the Perſon of Christ for fal
vation, in contradiftinction to obedience
to his Laws; which fets up a Religion
of the Perſon of Christ, in oppoſition to
the Religion of his Gospel.
Answer. If theſe pregnant Phrafes (of Faith
in Chrift and Hope in Chrift) do not
make him the Object of Faith, I know
not what can; when the Socinians dif
puted among themſelves, whether
Christ were the Object of Worſhip,
and
[5]
and fo of Faith; it was a very hard
cafe on the one fide,that he (according
to their Principles but a meer creature
ſhould be the object of faith; on the
other, that ſo many pregnant places of
Scripture ſhould be eluded; but had
they found out a way to interpret fuch
Phraſes (as believing and truſting in
him) in a fence abſtractive from his Per-
fon, they might all have concluded
that he was not the object of faith.
The Authour, as to a faith of recum-
bency on him and his merits, feems to
conclude the fame; for though he
ſpeak of truſting in Chrift and his
blood, he interprets himſelf thus, ex-
pecting to be faved according to the
terms of the Gospel Covenant, that is, by
believing and obeying the Gospel of Chrift,
pag. 24. The whole is placed in be-
lieving and obeying the Goſpel: Obe-
dience, as I take it, is no part of Faith.
Works fhew forth Faith, James 2. and
ſo are diſtinct from it; Faith produces
Obedience, Hebrews 11. and furely it
doth not produce it felf; We are mar-
ried to Chrift, that is, by Faith, that we
might bring forth fruit unto God, Rom.
7. I. And me thinks, Faith, which is
the efpoufal, fhould not be the Proge-
ny; Abraham's faith only is admitted
B 3
in
[6]
in Juftification, Romans 4. And his
works (though done after converſion)
are excluded, as being no part of it.
When Socinus faid, that, Chriſto credere
idem fignificat, atque illi obedire: The
Learned Calovius tells him; That it is
but a meer Fiction, to prevent the Arti-
cle of Juftification, and transform Faith
into Works: And withall adds, that,
Credere in nullo idiomate idem eft,
quod obedire, Obedience being no
part of Faith; that which remains is
only, believing the Goſpel which
is a Dogmatical Faith, fuch as be-
lieves the Goſpel to be true, and
inter alia, Jefus Chrift to be the Mef
fiah and Saviour. But, alas! This is
fo far beneath a faith of recumben-
cy, fuch as in the Apoſtle is ftiled,
πίςις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ αἵματι, faith in his
blood, Rom. 3. 25. that the very De-
vils are capable of it, who yet never
Lall have the leaft drop of that atone-
ing blood ſprinkled on them. In our Au-
thour the whole terms of the Goſpel
are believing and obeying it: Obeying
it, is not ſo much as a part of faith: Be-
lieving it is a part of faith, but far ſhort
of recumbency; and how the Authour
leaves any room at all for recumbency,
I fee not, if Faith, which uſes to reſt
in
[7]
in the wounds of Chrift, may be only
totally lodged in the Evangelical Axi-
om's; I fear that Chrift will be at
odds with the Goſpel; which (contrary
to its Native Genius, which is to ele-
vate faith unto him our Great Redeem-
er) reſerves all of it to it felf. But to
go on, the Authour faith, That they are
for a recumbency on Chrift in contradi-
ftinction to obedience to his Laws, which
Sets up a Religion of the Perfon of Chriſt
in oppofition to the Religion of his Gof-
pel. I answer, They make true faith
contradiftinct from obedience, not that
faith is alone in exiſtence, as if it had
no holy fruits of obedience hanging on
it, but that it is alone in the matter of
Juftification:And this I think is the Do-
ctrine of Proteftants and Fathers.
Which made Erafmus, as I have him
quoted by the Reverend Morton, ſay,
Hæc Vox, fola fides, tot clamoribus lapi-
data hoc feculo in Luthero,reverenteèr le-
gitur & auditur in Patribus; if faith,
though alone in juftification, do yet
fpread forth it felf into holy obedi-
ence; I hope the Gospel is not in the
leaſt oppoſed by ſfuch a recumbency, as
gives Chrift the glory of his blood and
righteousness. But now we muft hear
the fignifications of the word (Chrift.)
B 4
First,
[8]
ock.
Mr.Sher- First, Chrift is originally the Name of
an Office, which the Jews call the Meffi
as, or Anointed. Jefus Christ was a-
nointed with the Holy Ghoft and Power,
which was his confecration to the Medi-
atory Function, and virtually contained
all thofe Offices of Prophet, Prieft, and
King, which are not properly distinct Offi-
ces in Chrift, but the feveral parts and
different adminiftrations of his Media-
tory Kingdom; after which, the Au-
thour deſcribes thofe Offices to us.
Anfwer.
The Socinians, who deny the Satif
faction of Chriſt,have fome reaſon (ac-
cording to their corrupt Principles) to
jumble all the Offices of Christ toge-
ther, that the oriency of his Prieftly
Sacrifice might not appear;yet are they
caftigated for it by Calovius, and o-
thers; and Arnoldus calls the Racovian
Catechift, Hoftis crucis Christi, upan
that account: But why our Authour,
who owns the Sacrifice and Satisfaction
of Chrift, fhould confound them, I
know not; I conceive the Offices of
Chrift are diftinct, though he, who had
them all, performed them in fuch a juft
Decorum, as became him, who had all
of them in himself: Though he triumph-
ed upon
the Cross:and what he preach-
ed was a Law; yet Teaching is not
Reigning,
[9]
Reigning,nor is either Sacrificing:In his
Prophetical Office, Salvation was ex-
plicated: in his Prieftly, purchafed; in
his Kingly, applied: The first removes
Ignorance, the fecond expiates Guilt,
and the Third fubdues Corruption.
In the Authours deſcription of theſe
Offices, the Reader may make fome
Obfervations: In that of the Propheti-
cal Office, he mentions his outward
preaching, but paffes over in filence
that internal illumination of the Spi-
rit, which to me is the life of the other,
without which no man can fpiritually
difcern the things of God. Hence Re-
verend Bishop Reynolds, ſpeaking of the
Opinion of Epifcopius, that an unrege-
nerate man may understand fuch things,
Sine lumine fupernaturali, is bold to cen-
fure the fame as wicked words; In that
of the Priestly, he tells us ; That Inter-
ceffion is the Power of a Regal Priest to
expiate and forgive fins: I take it,
Chriſt on Earth had power to forgive
fins, and did expiate them by his once
offered Sacrifice on the Crofs. But
may we call it Interceffion? Or, is In-
terceffion here below? I ever took it
to be above, and to be Chrift's Appear-
ance in Heaven for us, and his prefent-
ing his meritorious Sacrifice to his Fa-
ther
[10]
ther in our behalf. When the Racovian
Catechifm defcribes his Interceffion by
his Power to avert Wrath, Arnoldus
cenfures it thus, Quis unquàm tam in-
epta, ftolida, infulja fuper claros Scriptu-
ræ textus gloffemata vel fomniare poffet?
Interpellare Christi in cælis nihil aliud
effe quam poteftatem? Que rei vel ver-
borum faltèm cognatio? in that of the
Kingly, he faith, That he conquers the
minds of men by the Power of his Word
and Spirit, and reduces them into Sub-
jection; by (Minds) I hope he takes
in Wills too, and all is excellent well,
may
it but ftand fo; but afterwards
the Authour denies irrefiftible Grace,
and then the Conqueft is but ad nutum
creaturæ,at the pleaſure of the conque-
red; the conquered, if he pleafe, may
be Conqueror, and the Conqueror muſt
drop his Crown into his Hand : and
ſhall we call this a Conqueft? Or if
we may, is it fuch, as becomes the
Throne of the Son of God, or the de-
fign of a Church? After he hath laid
the Foundation of his Kingdom in his
own blood, muſt he enter precariouſly,
and at the Nod of his Subjects? After
the Authour hath gathered up all the
Offices of Chrift into his Royalty, and
proclaimed him Conqueror over minds
and
[11]
and wills, muſt all depend on the will
of man? It is a very hard cafe, if any
thing could be fo to the Almighty.
Should fuch a thing be, that of St. Au-
ftin muft fall out, fallitur Deus, vincitur De Cor-
Deus, the Conqueft and Royalty too rept.cap.7.
muſt fail.
Chrift fignifies the Perfon invested Mr. Sher-
with this Office, and, (which I take for lock.
a new Notion) he faith, in the Gospels
he is alwayes called Jefus, in the Epiftles
he is as familiarly called Chrift.
I fuppofe this Notion cannot be Anſwer.
made good. In the Gospels he is fome-
times called Chrift(without Jefus) Thus
in the accounting of the Generations
from Abraham, Matth.1.11. Thus in the
enquiry touching his Birth, Matth. 2.4.
Thus in John's bearing of his Works,
Matth. 11. 2, and, to name no more,
Thus it is in Peter's Confeffion, Matth.
16. 16. The matter is not great, I fup-
poſe him, in all the Offices to which he
was anointed as Chrift, to be really a
Jefus. There can be no mistake in the
Perſon (as the Authour adds) by what
name he be called, whether it belong to his
Office or Nature, or circumstances of his
Life and Fortune, if there be but one, to
whom that name belongs. Fortune; I
wonder at that word. St. Auftin re-
pented
[12]
Ketract. 1. pented that ever he had uſed it;
1. cap. 1. Where Providence is, Fortune is not.
Were Fortune tolerable among the lit-
Mr. Sher-
lock.
tle Gnats and Flies; fure it cannot be
fo in the Great Concerns of Jeſus
Chriſt: however, it
may be proper e-
nough, if the reſult of his Merits and
Conqueſts finally hang on the Lottery
of man's will.
Chrift fignifies the Gospel and Religion
of Chrift, as Moles fignifies the Writings
and Laws of Mofes, and the Prophets,the
Writings or Sermons of the Prophets,
Luke 16. 29. and 31. and then he gives
ſome Scripture-inſtances for it.
Anſwer. Poffibly fometimes Chriſt may figni-
fie the Goſpel or Doctrine of Chriſt;
but I shall a little confider the inſtan-
ces; the first is that, Gal. 6. 15. In
Chrift Jefus neither circumcifion availeth
any thing, nor uncircumcifion, but a new
creature, that is, faith the Authour, in
the Gospel and Religion of Chrift,nothing
is of any value to recommend us to the
favour of God, but a new creature, a ho-
ly and virtuous life; unto which I an-
fwer, thoſe words, (in Chrift Jeſus)
may be fairly conftrued, to a man in
Chrift, one who (as it is in the former
Verfe) is crucified to the World; Thus
judicious Calvin upon the Words,
Ratio
[13]
<
Ratio est, cur fit mundo crucifixus, &
mundus illi,quia in Chrifto, cui infitus eft,
folùm nova valet creatura; and upon
the parallel place, in this Epiftle, In
Christ Jefus, neither circumcifion avail-
eth any thing, nor uncircumcifion, but
faith which worketh by love. St. Jerome
hath it, His qui in Chrifto Jefu vivere
volunt; and St. Chryfoftome, o 28 ToV
Χριςόν ενδυσάμμο, μεκέτι ταῦτα προ
ɛgjαlέw, he that puts on Chriſt, need
not be curious in fuch things. When
the Author in his way faith, Nothing re-
commends to God, but a new creature, I
hope he doth not exclude the Merits
and Righteouſneſs of Chrift; and when
afterwards he contradiftinguiſhes the
Goſpel from the Law I hope un-
der the latter the new Creature was
requifite. The next inftance is, Col. 2.
8. After the traditions of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after
Chrift; where, faith the Author, after
Christ, is opposed to traditions and rudi-
ments, and so must fignifie not the Per-
fon, but the Gofpel; that is, Have a care
left ye be corrupted with the opinions and
Superftitions of men, which are incon-
fiftent with the Chriſtian Philoſophy: un-
to which I fhall only fay, After Chrift,
is, as I take it, after Chrift himſelf,
the
[14]
the great Doctor of the Church, in
whom, as the Apoſtle tells us, are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
ver. 3. and, in whom, as he ſpeaks,
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily, ver. 9. Quid igitur opus eft extra
hunc alia aut documenta aut adjumenta
falutis quærere, faith the excellent
Davenant? fuch an admirable Teacher
may well be oppoſed to all the Philo-
fophers in the world: Neither is the
Author's Reaſon, That Chrift is here op-
poſed to traditions and rudiments, and
So must fignifie the Gospel, of any value;
for if we obferve what the Apoſtle faith
ver. 4. This I fay, left any man should
beguile you, and, what he faith in the
beginning of this 8. verf. Beware left
any man spoil you through Philofophy, it
is as clear as the light, that the oppo-
fition is between Perfons; between
the Perſons of ſeducing Philofophers,
and the Perſon of Chrift the great
Teacher. We may further obſerve,
That the Author, who honours the Gof-
pel with the Title of Chrift, doth fome-
what degrade it, by calling it Philo-
fophy, which I ever took to be but of
natural Extraction, and not, as the
Gofpel, of fupernatural Revelation;
however, it is more tolerable to call,
than
[15]
than make it fo, by introducing into
the Christian Religion thofe Dogmata
Philofophica, touching Free Will and
inherent Righteoufnefs, which as BP
Davenant notes, are drawn ex Ethicis
Philofophi, non ex Epiftolis Pauli. The
next Inſtance is, that in the 6. Verfe of
the fame Chapter, As you have therefore
received Chrift Jefus the Lord, fo walk
in him: By receiving of Chriſt, is meant
believing on him, as appears, Joh.1.12.
Biſhop Davenant obferves a great Em-
phafis in the words; Non dicit accepi- Expof. in
ftis Doctrinam Christi, fed Chriftum zper Epift. ad
fidem enim non modò percipimus Doctri- Col.
nam Chrifti, fed vivificum noftrum sal-
vatorem recipimus, & in corda recondi
mus ad falutem. By walking in Chrift, I
underſtand, with the fame Author,
living juxta hanc fidem & juxta du-
Aum Spiritus Chrifti: but faith the
Author, It is only to obey the Doctrine
of Christ as you have been taught ; for
the next Verſe faith, being eſtabliſhed in
the faith, as ye have been taught: I an-
fwer, The next Verfe faith not only,
eftablished in the faith, but rooted and
built up in him, that is, in Chriſt; and
the teaching, which is inward as well
as outward,was,that they might adhere
to Chrift as well as to his Doctrine.The
laft
[16]
laft Inſtance is Eph. 4. 20, 21. But je
have not ſo learned Chrift; if fo be ye have
heard him and been taught by him, as the
truth is in Jefus : Now what (faith the
Author) can learning Chrift fignifie but
learning the Gospel? and how could they
hear him in any other fence, or be in-
ftructed in him, as the Original carries it?
To which I anfwer, Learning of Chrift
here is not a meer Notion, but a Practi-
cal Knowledge of him, fuch as the A-
poſtle mentions, That I may know him,
and the power of his refurrection, and
the fellowship of his fufferings, being made
conformable to his death, Phil.3.10. And
whence had they this Learning? they
heard him, and were taught by or in
him; not from the perfonal Preaching
of Chriſt in the fleſh, but in and by
his Miniſters and holy Spirit: I add,
his holy Spirit, becauſe the Gospel a-
lone cannot do it ; which made St.
De Prad. Austin lay, Cùm Evangelium prædicatur,
quidam credunt, quidam non credunt;
Jed qui credunt, prædicatore forinfecùs
fonante, intùs à Patre audiunt atq; dif
cunt; qui autem non credunt, foris au-
diunt, intùs non audiunt, neque difcunt:
that fuch is the Learning meant here,
appears from the after words, As the
truth is in Jefus ; Truth is in the Go-
Santt.
Cap. 8.
ſpel
[17]
fpel notionally, but in Chriſt practical-
ly; all Graces being exemplified in
him, and the true learners are con-
formed to his Image, and, as the Apo-
ſtle hath it in the next Verfes, they
put off the old man and put on the new,
and fo are affimilated to his Death and
Refurrection.
It is acknowledged by all, that Chrift Mr.Sher
Sometimes fignifies the Church, which is lock.
his Body: Thus we must understand
thofe Phrafes, of being in Chrift, engraft-
ed into Chriſt, and united to Chriſt.
It is acknowledged by all, that Chrift Answer,
Sometimes fignifies the Church; how
then can he charge thofe whom he op-
pofes, that where-ever they meet with
the word Chrift in Scripture, they al-
ways underſtand by it the Perſon of
Chriſt, pag. 4? As for the Phraſes, of
being in Chriſt, &c. I fhall reſerve
them till I come to the Myftical Union.
To what the Author infers from the
various fignifications of the Name
Chriſt, That fuch miſtakes have been oc-
cafioned thereby, that ſome are very zea-
lous to advance Chrift's Perfon to the pre-
judice and reproach of his Religion, I
fhall only fay, It is not fo.
Instead of the Substantial Duties of Mr. Sher-
the Love of God and Men, and an uni- lock.
verfat
C
[18]
Answer.
verfal Holiness of Life, they have intro-
duced a fanciful Application of Chrift to
our felves, and Union to him, fet off
with thofe choice Phrafes, of clofing with
Chriſt, and embracing Chriſt, and getting
intereft in Chrift, and trusting and
relying and rolling our felves on Chrift.
Fanciful! alas! that a Chriftian, a
Divine,fhould let drop fuch a reproach-
ful word, on fo facred a thing as the
Application of Chrift! Without this,
the excellent Scripture muft, I fear,
labour under very odd Gloffes; fuch
as thefe A Believer may be in Chriſt,
and out of him; he may put him on,
and offat the fame time; he may have
Communion with him, without Uni-
on; and feed on him, without fo much
as reception; Chrift may dwell in the
Believer at a Diſtance, and abide in
him without the leaft approach: Which
are fuch kind of Abfurdities, as a man
would hardly name, for fear of grating
pious Ears and Hearts. But this is not
all: Without this, true Faith, which,
as Learned Dr Ward obferves, is appro-
priativa Christi, muft forfeit its Na-
ture,, unleſs it can appropriate with-
out Application; and Chrift, its pre-
cious Object, muft lofe the Vertue of
his Blood and Merits, unless they can
heal
[19]
heal at a diſtance: For what fhall we
fay? May an unapplied Chrift, be in
us the hope of Glory? or may his un-
applied Obedience make us righteous?
or his unapplied Blood juftifie us? or
his unapplied Death reconcile us to
God? It is not for ordinary Capacities
to apprehend it: However, if Appli-
cation fail, may the Univerfal Holi-
nefs of Life, which the Author fpeaks
of, confift? Our Saviour tells us, agis
qus,feparate from me, ye can do nothing,
Job. 15. 5. In which words the Mele-
vitan Fathers obferve a great Empha-
fis ; Non dicitur, fine me difficiliùs pote-
ftis facere, fed fine me nihil poteftis fa-
cere: And how any man ſhould, either
not be feparate from an unapplied
Chrift, or lead a Life of Univerfal
Holiness, in fuch a ftatu feparato, I can-
not imagine: But what ſpeak I of U-
niverfal Holiness? Never any man, off
from that divine Root of Grace, hath,
fince the Fall,bore ſo much as a Bloffom
of true Sanctity.
Inftead of Obedience to the Gospel and Mr. Sher-
Laws of Christ, they have advanced lock.
kind of Amorous and Enthufiaftick De-
votion; which confists in a paffionate
love to the Perfon of Chrift, in admiring
his perfonal Excellencies, Fulneß, Beauty,
C a
Love-
[20]
Answer.
Loveliness, Riches, &c. the foundation
of all which Riddles and Myfteries, is,
that they may make the Perfon of Christ
almoſt the fole Object of the Chriftian Re-
ligion.
3
To flight the Fulneſs, Beauty, Love-
linefs, Riches of Chrift, is very hard-
ly tolerable among Chriftians; and to
queſtion,why they fo paffionately love
fuch an one, is, as the Philofopher told
him, who asked, why men were fo
taken with outward Beauty, Túpλ Égá-
Tnux, a blind man's question: none but
the ſpiritually blind can wonder at the
loving of one altogether lovely. But
theſe men are for an Amorous and En-
thusiastick Love Amorous! all Love
is fo; but what in a grofs and carnal
way? No, it is far from thofe Men, who
are not at all a kin to Caftalio, who (as
is faid) called the Song of Solomon an
obfcene Ballad; not relifhing that di-
vine Love between Chrift and the
Church, which all along is pourtraied
therein, in Allegories and beautiful co-
lours: Enthufiaftick! why fo? poſſi-
bly becauſe it is a thing infpired from
the Spirit, it is fo; Scriptures and Fa-
thers will own fuch a bleffed Enthufi-
afm, Ipfe nobis fidem & amorem fui in-
fpirat, faith the Araufican Council:
But
[21]
But (which is the fundamental miſtake)
they make the Perſon of Christ almost the
fole Object of the Chriftian Religion: I
confefs, and it is no fhame to fay fo,
they eſteem themſelves compleat only
in Chrift; they truſt in him ; they love
and obey him; their acceptance is in
his Merits, therir affiſtance from his
Spirit; their Graces hang on him, as
Beams on the Sun; their good Works
are perfumed with his fweet-fmelling
Sacrifice they look on him as their
great All, and do all they do in him
and for him. Quicquid oratur, docetur,
vivitur, extrà Chriftum, eſt Idololatria
coram Deo & peccatum, faid Luther.
CHA P. II.
lock.
THofe men who talk ſo much of the Mr. Sher-
Perfon of Chrift, frequently with-
out any Senfe, and Generally without any
juft Ground from Reafon or Scripture,
are very clamorous, and alarm the world
with strange jealoufies and fears, as if
there were a Party of men started up, who
defign to make Chrift useless.
What! without Senfe, Reaſon, and Answer.
Scripture too? Alas, poor inconfider-
C 3
able
[22]
Col.
able Creatures! What need fuch ſtrong
impetuous oppofition be made againſt
them? or how are fuch men likely to
alarm the World with fears? But for
the thing it felf, I hope the Author
deſigns not to make Chrift uſeleſs; but
what he doth towards it, in denying
the Myſtical Union,let Bishop Davenant
Exp. in fay; Quicquid de obtenta Gratià, fancti-
ficatione,de obtinenda vitâ æterna homi-
nes fperant, merum ludibrium & infom-
nium eft, ſi non fint in Chrifto & Chri-
ftus in illis; jam verò Chriftus in nobis
& nos in illo fumus, cùm vinculo Spiri-
tus & Fidei per Spiritum impreffa in
cordibus noftris unimur huic capiti no-
firo: What in denying Imputed Righ
teoufnefs, the Church of England tells
at large, in the Homily touching the
Salvation of Man; I fhall quote but
one paffage : Christ is now the Righte-
onfness of all them that truly believe in
him; he for them paid the Ransom by his
Death; he for them fulfilled the Law in
his Life: fo that now, in him and by
him, every true Chriftian man may be
called a fulfiller of the Law; forafmuch
as that, which their infirmity lacked,
Christ's Justice bath fupplied; Which
plainly implies a neceflity of Impu-
ted Righteoufnels. What in bringing
111
[23]
in internal Holiness into Juftifica-
tion, the reverend Hooker faith, The
Church of Rome, in teaching Justi-
fication by inherent Grace, doth pervert
the Truth of Chrift. There are other
things, but I leave them to the Rea-
der's obfervation in the After-dif
courſe.
lock,
All Religion is founded on a belief of Mr.Sher-
God's Goodness: Natural Religion was
founded on thofe natural Evidences
of the divine Bounty and Goodness, in
making and governing the World: The
Mofaick Religion, on thofe miracu-
lous Deliverances God wrought for Ifra-
el, and that particular Providence which
watched over them: The Chriftian Re-
ligion, on the Incarnation, death and Re-
Jurrection of the Son of God.
The Chriſtian Religion is founded Anfwer.
fo, but dated much fooner than the In-
carnation; it was in Effence, though
not in Name, under the old Teftament:
all along there hath been but one Faith,
one Mediator, one Name under Hea-
ven, one Foundation of Salvation :
The Gospel was preached to us, as well as
unto them, Heb.4. 2. Through the grace
of the Lord Jesus we shall be faved even
as they, Act. 15. 11. They all drank of
that ſpiritual rock that followed them,
C4
and
[24]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
and that rock was Chrift, 1 Cor. 10. 4.
He is that Petra, vnde omnes credentes
falutem bauriunt, as one gloffes on thoſe
words: Salvation ſtreams from him
yeſterday, to day, and for ever; he that
will feek any other Fountain of Life,
muſt be ſaved Platonicè or Catonicè;
which to fay, is to depreciate the Chri-
ftian Religion, and render it as cheap
as any other.
He is our Saviour in no other fence,
than as he is our Mediator, and he me-
diates for us as our Priest, that is, in ver-
tue of that Covenant which he fealed with
his blood.
He fealed the Covenant with his
Blood, but did not turn over his Me-
diatory Office to it; he mediates in
vertue of his Blood and Merits, being
not, as Socinus would have it, a meer
Internuncial Mediator, but a Redeem-
ing, atoning, and Reconciling one:
He ratified the Covenant by his Blood,
but fo, that we have redemption through
his blood, Eph. 1. 7. peace through his
blood, Col. I. 20. and cleansing from fin
in his blood, 1 Joh. 1. 7. Hence, as the
learned Lubbertus hath obferved, the
Blood of Chrift differs from other in a
way of transcendent excellency; other
blood hath been uſed in confirming
Cove
[25]
Covenants, but Chrift's confirms the
Covenant, and befides expiates and
purges away fin; There is one Mediator
between God and men, the man Christ
Jefus, faith the Apoftle, 1 Tim.2.5. and
how he mediates, the next Verſe tells
us, Who gave himself a ransom for all :
The blood of Chrift purges the Confcience,
faith the Apoſtle, Heb. 9. 14. and then
adds, dià T&T, For this cauſe he is the
Mediator of the New Testament, that
he might purge away our fins. What
the Author afterwards fubjoyus, Thefe
men truſt in the perſon of Christ, without
any Promiſe, nay, in contradiction to it;
they quit his Promiſe, and rely and roll
upon his Perfon, is utterly denied, till
proof be made of it. The good men
oppofed are far from believing, that
they ſhall have any thing without a
Promife; neither do they quit his Pro-
mife, when they rely upon his Perſon
and Blood: And yet that Reliance is,
as I have before fhewed, a Faith far
higher,than that dogmatical one which
believes the Goſpel, and is diſtinct from
Obedience. When the Author fumms
up the Terms of the Gofpel, only in
believing and obeying, he falls fhort, in
omitting that Faith of Recumbency,
required therein under the Command
of
[26]
of Faith, which is more than a dogma-
tical Faith, and diſtinct from Obedi-
ence, which is the fruit, but no part
thereof.
Mr. Sher-
lock,
CHA P. III. Sect. 1.
W
Hen God chofe Abraham's Pofte-
rity, to be his peculiar People,
he did not design to exclude the rest of
the World from his care and Providence,
and all poffible means of Salvation, as
the Apoftle argues, in Rom. 3. 29. Is he
the God of the Jews only? is he not
alſo of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gen-
tiles alfo: Which Argument, if it have
any force in it, must prove Gods respect
to the Gentiles before the preach-
ing of the Gospel, as well as fince; be-
caufe it is founded on that Natural Re-
lation God owns to all Mankind, as their
merciful Creator and Governour; which
gives the Gentiles as well as Jews an In-
tereft in his Care and Providence: This
plainly evinces, that all those particular
favours, which God bestowed on Ifra-
el, were not owing to any partial fond-
nes and respect to that People, but the
Design of all was, to encourage the
whole
ર
[27]
whole World to worship the God of If-
rael.
What the Author means by all pof: Anſwer.
fible Means of Salvation, I know
not: Surely God could have given
as great Means to all other Nations
as he did to Ifrael, who was exalt-
ed above them all, in Laws, Re-
velations, Miracles, Protections, Sym-
bols of the Divine Prefence
5
in fo
ſignal a manner, that the Jews doubt
not to ſay, That the feventy Souls, that
went down with Jacob into Egypt, were
worth as much as the feventy Nations of
the World. As for that of the Apoſtle,
Rom. 3. 29. Is he the God of the Jews
only? Is he not also of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles alfo: The Apoſtle,
in the precedent Verfe, concludes, that
the only way of Juftification is Faith;
in this he fhews, that the one way of
Juftification was open to Gentiles, as
well as Jews; in the next Verfe he in-
fers, that it is one God who juſtifies
both of them in a way of Faith. He
ſpeaks not of being the Gentiles God,
in refpect of Care and common Provi-
dence. but in refpect of extending this
way of Juftification to them, upon their
coming in to Chrift, who was that
bleffed Seed of Abraham, in whom all
Nations
[28]
Nations were to be bleſſed: Howe-
ver till the Goſpel came to them, they
fate in darkness and in the shadow of
death, aliens from Ifrael, ftrangers from
the Covenant without God, without
Christ, without hope; ſeeing no further
than Nature, and that deſperately cor-
rupted,and not knowing whether there
were any fuch thing as Grace, or Glo-
ry, the Center of it. As for Ifrael, I
wonder that any man ſhould deny Gods
fpecial Love to that people: What!
did he call them his firft-born, his pecu-
liar treaſure, the apple of his eye, with-
out ſpecial Love? Did he fever them
from other people to be his own, Levit.
20.21. chuſe them to himſelf above all
people on the earth; fet his love upon
them, and that merely becauſe he loved
them, Deut. 7. 6, 7, and 8. Verſes, and
all this without fpecial Love? Were
theirs the adoption, and the glory, and
the covenants, and the giving of the Law,
and the fervice of God, and the promiſes,
Rom. 9. 4. and all this without fpecial
Love? He hath not dealt fo with any
nation, faith the Pfalmift. To call this
ſpecial Love partial fondness, is to me
a prefumption not unlike that of the old
Pelagians, who charged a Teow Toλnfíœ
or unjuſt Partiality upon Gods fpecial
Grace
7
•
*
[29]
cap.7.
Grace towards his own people; upon
whom St. Auſtin made fome fuch tart
Returns as theſe: Tolle quod tuum eft & Li.2.ad
vade; Annon licet mihi quod volo facere, Bonifac.
hic tota juftitia eft, hoc volo ; O homo, tu
quis es qui refpondeas Deo? with a great
deal more on God's behalf. But,faith
the Author, The end of all thofe particu
lar favours, was, that all Nations might
worship the God of Ifrael: Suppoſe ſo ;
if fuch particular favours to Ifrael a-
bove all other Nations argue not a ſpe-
cial love to Ifrael, what can do it? God
loves all Creatures (as the Schools
Speak) Uno & fimplici actu Voluntatis :
And if particular favours do not prove
his Love ſpecial, we muft fay, that he
loves Worms as much as Angels, and
Oxen, whom comparatively he cares
not for, as much as Men, upon whom
his Love hath been ſet above all other
Creatures.
Job. 14.6.7. Jefus faith, I am the Way, Mr. Sher-
the Truth and the Life: no man cometh lock.
unto the Father but by me. If you had
known me, you ſhould have known my
Father:and henceforth you have known
him and feen him; that is, I alone de-
clare the true way to Life and Happineß;
no man can thoroughly understand thewill
of God but by learning of me: Whoever
knows
[30]
Answer.
knows me, whoever is acquainted with
the Doctrine and Religion I preach,knows
my Father alfo, that is, is thoroughly in-
fructed in God's Mind and Will.
Christ is the Way, the Truth and the
Life; how fo? He declared the true way
to Life and happiness. Is this the all of
it? Is he only the Declarer and not
the Author of Life? Doth he not work
it in us by the power of his Spirit and
Grace? Hath he not purchaſed a place
in heaven for us by his Blood?" and
doth he not confecrate a new and liv-
ing Way thither through the Veil of his
Flesh? It cannot be denied. Hear the
Learned Bishop Wren against the Ra
covian Catechift. Vidit Dives in in-
ferno, ubi finus Abrahæ erat, fed moni
tus eft de magno Chafmate interceden-
te nè poffint congredi : Via arboris vitæ
extabat, fed ab acie verfatilis gladii cu-
ftodita: Eger ad Betheſdam pofitus din
jam viderat viam in ftagnum, fed move-
re fe clinicus non poterat : Nêrunt & piæ
femine viam in fepulchrum Domini ; pa-
riter norunt faxo obturari: Ipfi denique
Parenti horum Barjeſu oſtenſa eſt à Pâu-
lo converfionis & reconciliationis viaz
verùm ille eò fe cæciorem factum ducéque
plus egentem indicavit. Refpondeat igi-
tur, an viam Chriftus, quam oftendit,
a-
peruit?
[31]
peruit? an Pontem paravit trajiciendo
Chasmati? an verfatilem avertit gladi-
um ? faxum revolvit ? clinicum excita-
vit? cacum collyrio beavit fuo? Recon-
ciliationis hæ primaria partes funt ; fine
his præviis, nihil eft omnis converfio,
fruftrà via omnis convertendi, incaffum
omnis via oftenfio. And afterwards fpeak-
ing of Chrift being the way, he thews
how he was fo; Non folùm quòd reve-
lavit iis, quæ Deus volebat eos fcire, ſed
etiam quod ἐν ἀνθρώποις ευδοκία, Luc. 2.
14. (vel eapropter) conftitutus,quæ, ab ho-
minibus fine ipfo præstari non poterant,
pro ipfis præftiterit; fanguinifque fui me-
rito ità viam ad Deum Patrem perpurga-
vit, communivit, illuftravit, ut nos jam
ab ipfo voluntatem Dei edocti, veréque
ad Deum converfi, per fidem in fanguine
Chrifti, Propitiatione ea perfrui poffimus.
Thus he very excellently.. I know no
need at all for fuch an Interpretation
as takes the Will of the Father for
himſelf, or the Doctrine of the Son for
himſelf: the thing is plain : He that
knows the Son, in whom dwells all
fulness of the Godhead bodily, muſt
needs know the Father alfo.
To know God is to know the Will of Mr. Sher-
God, concerning the Salvation of Man- lock.
kind; to know Chrift is to understand
the
[[32]
Answer.
う
​the declaration of Gods will, that is, the
Goſpel which he preached ; which is there-
fore called the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face
of Chriſt, 2 Cor. 4.6. that is, that
glorious manifeftation God hath made of
himſelf by Christ: For the face of Chriſt
fignifies all that, whereby he made him-
Jelf known, as a man is known by his
face; that is, his Laws, Religion and
Miracles, whereby it appeared that he
was the Son of God.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
In the knowledge of God and Chrift,
God and Chriſt are the Objects, the
Goſpel is the outward Medium: Hence it
appears, that to know God and Chriſt
is, in propriety, no more to know the
Goſpel,than the Object of Knowledge
is the Medium; properly we know
God and Chriſt by the Gofpel. As for
that of the Apoſtle 2 Cor. 4. 6. I con-
ceive he difcourfes of fomewhat more
than external Revelation, even that of
internal Illumination, fet forth there by
the Creation of the firft Light, and
fhining in the heart, which gives the
Light of the knowledge of the Glory
of God in the face of Chrift, that is,
in the Perſon of Chrift, who is God
manifeſt in the Fleſh.
God was feen in Christ, Joh. 14. 9.
He
[33]
He that hath feen me, hath feen the
Father, that is, in plain terms, the Will
of God was fully declared to the World by
Chrift; upon which account too (as well
as with respect to his Divine Nature) he
is called the brightnefs of his Fathers
glory, and the exprefs Image of his
Perſon, Heb. 1. 3. (And a little after
he adds) It is plain, that in this ſence
Chrift is called the Image of God, 2 Cor.
4.4. Left the light of the glorious
Gospel of Chrift, which is the Image
of God, fhould fhine unto them?
Where Chrift's being the Image of God
comes in very abruptly, unless we under-
ftand it in this Sence, That he is the I-
mage of God with respect to the glorious
Revelations of the Gospel, which contain
a faithful account of God's Nature and
Will.
ž
He that hath ſeen me hath ſeen the Fa- Anſwer:
ther, that is, faith the Author in plain
terms, The Will of God was fully decla-
red by Chrift: Thus the Racovian Ca-
techiſt underſtands the words, de co-
gnitione eorum que dixit & fecit Jeſus
but if we confider our Author's inter-
pretation, there being God's Will and
Chriſt's Declaration both in the Gof-
pel, the refult of the words is this, He
that hath feen the Gofpel, hath feen
D
the
[34]
Mr.Sher-
lock
Answer.
the Goſpel. The plain fence of the
words is, That he that hath feen Chriſt,
the perfect Image of God, hath feen
the Father. That Heb. 1. The bright-
neſs of his glory and exprefs image of
his perſon, imports, as I take it, that he
was, according to the eternal Gene-
ration, Lumen de Lumine, as the Ni-
cene Creed hath it; and in his Incar-
nation, instar Speculi, as a Glaſs repre-
fenting the Majefty and Philanthropy
of God unto us. In thoſe words, 2 Cor.
4.4. Left the light of the glorious Gof-
pel of Christ, who is the image of God,
Should fhine unto them, that, of Christ's
being God's Image, comes in as a Rea-
fon why the Goſpel is fo glorious, viz.
Becauſe it fhews forth Chrift, who is
the ſubſtantial Image of God, and in
his Incarnation, a rare Mirrour of the
Divine Perfections: διὰ τότε * πατέρα
ogas, faith St. Chryfoftome on the place,
through him, that is, through Chriſt,
thon feeft the Father.
Whereas God formerly was known by
the Light of Nature, and Works of Crea-
tion and Providence, and partial and oc-
cafional Revelations of his Will made to
the World's now the only true Medium of
knowing God is the knowledge of Christ..
Ever fince that Protevangelium or
firft
[35]
firſt Charter of Salvation (The feed of
the woman shall break the Serpents head)
which pointed out Chrift, and was un-
derſtood fo to do, there hath been a
knowledge of Chrift in the Church;
though not in that Meridian fplendor
which broke out after his Incarnation:
He was Abraham's Seed, Jacob's Shiloh,
Job's Redeemer, Mofes's Prophet, and
David's Meffiah. Among the Jews al-
moſt every thing looked at Chrift; the
Tabernacle, Laver, Altars,Shew-bread,
Veil, Ark, Propitiatory, Manna, Paff-
over, Prieſts, Waſhings, Anointing, Sa-
crifices ſhadowed forth him who is the
Subſtance and Compleature of them
all; And no doubt but Believers under
the Old Teſtament looked beyond
thoſe outward Veils and Covers, and
faw him lying and wrapt up therein.
9
Job. 17. 3. This is life eternal, that Mr.Sher-
they might know thee, the only true lock.
God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou haft
fent, that is, The only way to eternal Life
is to know the Nature and Will of God;
and the only certain way to attain the
knowledge of God is by knowing Chrift,
whom God fent into the world to publiſh
the everlasting Gospel. And a little af
ter he faith, When we speak of the know-
ledge of Christ, we must confider him as
D 2
Our
[36]
our Prophet; and fo to know Chrift figni-
fies to know his Gospel. ·
In that Text, Joh. 17. God and
Answer Chrift are the exprefs Object of Know-
ledge, the Gospel, not there mention-
ed, is the outward Medium thereunto;
the Knowledge there ſpoken of is, as
I take it, not a mere Notional know-
ledge, but ſuch a Practical one, as is
(which is more than a Way) Eternal
Life it felf, in the firſt fruits of it; Hea-
ven it felf dawning in that inward
divine Light, which is the Firſt-born
of the New Creature, as the outward
Light was of the old. Chrift as a Pro-
phet is the great Origin of all our
knowledge of him; but whole Chrift,
or Chrift in his Royal and Prieſtly Of
fices, as well as in his Prophetical, is
the object of our knowledge: Truly
to know Chriſt as a Prophet, is to
know him to be fuch, not only in the
Goſpel or external Revelation, but in
internal Illumination alfo : He opens the
eyes, Pfal. 119, 18. or (if the Author
Gala laugh at this Pfal. as he doth at that o-
Sopard L.28. ther, quoted pag. 105.) he doth (as St.
Luke tells us) open the understanding to
understand the Scriptures, Luk. 24. 45.
He doth not only difpenfe the Scrip-
ture or Goſpel, but the holy Unction or
teaching
A
[37]
teaching Anointing, which St. John
mentions, 1 Joh. 2. 20. and 27. or that
Spirit of wisdom and revelation, which
St.Paul prays for, for the Ephefians,Eph.
1.17. To what the Author adds after-
wards, as if ſome did clamour, that
Chriſt were not preached, unleſs named
in every ſentence, I fhall only fay, Thofe
whom the Author oppofes, do not
worſhip Letters or Syllables, no, not
thoſe which make up the fweet Name
Jesus; But where-ever there is aliquid
Chrifti, they own and honour it, feeing
his Scepter in every Command, his
Charter in every Promife, his Spirit in
every Grace, his Purchaſe in every
Glimpſe of Eternal Life; and where
fuch a divine Senfe is, they muft own
him though unnamed.
SECT. 2.
lock.
After this account of the knowledge Mr. Shere
of Christ, it will be neceffary to ex-
amine another Notion, of the knowledge
of Chrift, which conteins a greater Se-
cret, than at first one would imagine;
and that is an acqaintance with the Per-
Son of Chrift, which, if we will believe
Some
D 3
[38]
Some men, is the only Fountain of faving
knowledge.
Christ the only Fountain of Saving
Answers knowledge? Yes doubtless, he is fo, and
of all faving Graces too, or elſe he
could be no Head, at least not a vital
one, to his Church: It is infinitly be-
low him to be a Caput mortuum, afford-
ing no influences of Grace to his peo-
ple. Acquaintance with Chrift is a fa-
cred pretious thing, no more to be
fought among meer Notions, than the
living are to be fought among the dead;
It imports no less than a nowwvia, or
Communion with Chriſt, a having all
Grace from him: Take away this, and
all the New Creatures in the World
muſt die in a moment, being no more
able to ſubſiſt without him, than a Ray
can be without a Sun, or a Stream with-
qut a Fountain. Take away this, and
immediately we fink into the Dregs
and foul Error of Pelagius, who, be-
fides that Liberum Arbitrium, which
however adored, is but meer Nature,
placed all Grace in External Revelati
on. This is evident, becauſe if Graces
come not down from him and his Spi-
rit, nothing remains but External Re-
Chrifti con- velation: Upon which Error St. Au-
tr. Fel. & Stim paffes this Cenfure; Legant & in-
Cel.cap.24
De grat.
telligant,
[39]
telligant, intueantur atque fateantur i
non Lege atque Doctrinä infonante forin-
fecùs, fed internâ atque occultâ, mirabili
ac ineffabili poteftate operari Deum in
cordibus hominum, non folùm veras re-
velationes, fed etiam bonas voluntates:
Definat igitur Pelagius & feipfum & a-
lios fallere, contra Dei Gratiam diſpu-
tando. And here Chrift, I fear, may be
again at odds with his Goſpel, if, con-
trary to its primitive Inftitution, which
was to be an Organ or Ordinance un-
der the free-breathing Spirit of Chrift,if
it affume all the Difpenfation of Grace
to it felf. But if we may not have ac-
quaintance with Chrift himſelf, may
we have one with the Goſpel? No, I
doubt not, the Goſpel tells us, That the
Spirit reveils the things of God, 1 Cor.
2. 10. and by neceffary confequence,
the Goſpel will lead us unto Chrift for
that Spirit, and to communion with
him; which is the thing oppofed by
the Author, but to me fo pretious, that
before I would open my lips againſt it,
I would put my felf under the penance
of Severus Sulpitius; who, having ful-
lied himſelf with Pelagianifm, after-
wards repented, and devoted himſelf
to perpetual filence, ut peccatum, quod Spond.
loquendo contraxerat, tacendo emenda-
An.430:
D 4
ret.
[40]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
ret. But now we muſt fee the Pious
Learned Dr. Owen brought upon the
Stage.
The Dr. tells us, that Chrift is not
only the Wisdom of God, but made Wif
dom to us; not only by teaching us wif
dom (by his Dodrine) as he is the great
Prophet of his Church, but alſo becauſe
by knowing of him we become acquainted
with the Wisdom of God, which is our
Wisdom: To which purpofe he applies
that Text, which ſpeaks of the Do&rines
of Chrift, to his Perfon, Col. 2. 3. For
in him dwell all the treaſures of Wif
dom and Knowledge.
Answer. A little before thofe words, the Do-
&tor's Deſign. (by which in all Candor
his After-difcourfe fhould be conftru-
ed) appears to be, that all Wiſdom is
laid up in Chriſt, and that from him
alone it is to be obtained, who is fo
hardy as to deny it? He that knows
him, becomes acquainted with one, in
whom dwell all the treasures of Wisdom
and Knowledge, and from whom are
derived all the Riches of Underſtand-
ing in the Saints. As in the corporal
vifion of an Object, there is requifite
Light in the Air, and another in the
Eye; fo in this intellectual Vifion, there
is external Revelation and internal Il-
lumination;
[41]
lumination ; and both are from Chrift.
Cui Veritas comperta fine Deo? cui Deus De Ani
ma cap.I.
cognitus fine Chrifto? cui Chriftus explo-
ratus fine Spiritu fancto? cui spiritus
Sanctus accommodatus fine Fidei Sacra-
mento? faith Tertullian. By that, Col.
2.3. In him are hid all the treasures of
wiſdom and knowledge, is, as I take it,
meant the Perſon of Chriſt;
the very
fame, which is pointed out, Ver. 9. In
bim dwelleth all the fulness of the God-
head; Ver. 10. in him ye are complete ;
Ver. 11. In himye are circumcifed ; and
Ver. 12. With him ye are buried in Bap-
tism, and with him ye are rifen, through
the faith of the operation of God,who hath
raiſed him from the dead: I can very
hardly underſtand all thefe of the Gof-
pel, neither did I ever find that it was
raiſed from the dead. But now let us
hear the Author's Inference.
Mr. Sher-
So that our acquaintance with Christ's
Perfon fignifies such a knowledge of what lock.
Christ is, hath done and ſuffered for us ;
from whence we may learn thofe greater,
deeper and more faving Mysteries of the
Gospel, which Christ hath not exprefly re-
veiled to us ; for fo the Doctor adds
That theſe Properties of God, Chriſt
hath reveiled in his Doctrine, in that
Revelation he hath made of God and
his
[42]
his Will, but the Life of this Know-
ledge lies in an acquaintance with his
Perſon, whereby the expreſs Image and
Beams of this Glory of his Father doth
ſhine forth, that is, that theſe things
are clearly, eminently and favingly
only to be diſcovered in Chrift: so
that, it ſeems the Gospel of Chrift makes
a very imperfect and obfcure difcovery of
the Nature, Attributes and Will of God;
and a little after: This fets up a new
Rule of Faith above the Gospel, acquain-
tance with Chrift.
Answer. Doth our Acquaintance with Chrift
teach us Myſteries not reveiled in the
Goſpel? No, by no means; neither
doth the Doctor fay fo; Redde verba
mea & vanefcet calumnia tua, faith St.
Auſtin to Julian. The Doctor faith,
thofe Properties are reveiled in the Do-
&rine: And in a Sentence interpoſed
by the Doctor, but omitted by the
Author, he faith, The knowledge of them
is expoſed to all; but faith the Dr.
The life of this knowledge lies in acquain-
tance with Christ: So it is; he is God
manifeft in the Fleſh, and fo a rare Mir-
rour of the divine Perfections; and
withall he is the Great Illuminator by
his Spirit, and fo opens our eyes to fee
the Myſteries in Chrift and the Goſpel :
Without
?
[43]
San&.c.8.
Without this Illumination the outward
Revelation gives not a faving Know-
ledge.. It may be the Author will (mile
at me; but hear St. Auſtin; Valdè re- De Prad,
mota eft à fenfibus carnis bac Schola, in
quâ Deus auditur & docet ; gratia ifta
Jecreta eft, gratiam uerò effe quis ambi-
git? Hear Bishop Davenant 3 Tales illy Exp. in
minationes fieri, &' talem #λn@googiœv Col.cap.2,
imprimi fidelium animis non credunt
mundani, experiuntur tamen pii. The
Goſpel is a perfect outward Revelati-
on, and Rule of Faith, yet our blind-
neſs needs an inward Illumination, that
we may ſpiritually diſcern the Myfſte-
ries therein. But now the Author will
fhew us, what Additions theſe men
make to the Gospel, from an Acquain-
tance with Chriſt's Perfon; and firſt
upon the doctors words, That the know-
ledge of God, the knowledge of ourſelves,
and skill to walk in Communion with
God, in which three is the sum of all
true Wiſdom, are obtained and manifeſt-
ed in and by the Lord Christ. The Au-
thor obferves, that [by] is fallacionfly
added, to include the Revelations Chrift
hath made. To which I anfwer; The
Dr. never excluded outward Revela-
tion ; but this alone cannot give ſaving
knowledge: All Wifdom is in Chrift,
as
[44]
as the Mirrour of divine Perfections,
and by Chriſt, as the great Illumina-
tor by his Spirit. We ſhould ufe out-
ward Revelation in the very fame po-
ſture as Zuinglius did, who, underſtand-
ing from St. Peter that the Scripture
Mel. Ad. was not of private Interpretation, In
cælum fufpexit, doctorem quærens spi-
ritum, looked up to heaven, feeking the
the Spirit for his great teacher.
in vit.
Zuing.
lock.
Mr. Sher- Had Chrift never appeared in the World,
yet we had reason to believe, that God is
Wife, and Good, and Holy, and Merci-
ful, becauſe not only the works of Nature
and Providence, but the Word of God af
fure us, that he is fo. And a little after
he adds; And is not this a confident
Man to tell us, That the love of God to
finners, and his pardoning Mercy could
never enter into the heart of man, but by
Chrift, when the Experience of the whole
World confutes him; for, whatever be-
comes of his new Theories, both Jews and
Heathens (who underſtand nothing at all
what Chrift was to do in order to our re-
covery) did believe God gracious and
merciful to finners.
Answer.
The Jews knew God to be gra-
cious and merciful, very true, but
through the promiſed Meffiah, whom
the Believers among them faw flain in
every
[45]
every Sacrifice
Sacrifice; or elſe, which is hard
to believe, they knew not the meaning
of that Service, or did it not in Faith.
The Gentiles, as I conceive, had fome
Glimmerings of pardoning Mercy in
his Patience towards them, fparing
Mercy being an hint of pardoning;
but this Patience was founded on the
Sacrifice of Chriſt, though unknown to
them. God upon the Fall of Angels
made a ſhort work, and immediately
caſt them down into Chains ; and that
he did not fo with Men, is only owing
to the Sacrifice of Chrift. As for the
Dr. I fuppofe, as to the Jews, he will
fully concurr with me ; and as to the
Gentiles, I muſt concurr with him, for
he faith, pag. 91. That pardoning Mercy
which is reveiled in the Gospel, ſhines not
with one Ray out of Chrift; the Mercy in
the Gospel exprefly relates to the Satisfa-
&ion of Christ, and as ſuch they knew it
not; though that Patience, which gave
Some glimpse of it, was founded on that
Satisfaction.
The Doctor tells us, That in Chrift Mr. Sher-
God hath manifefted the Naturalness lock.
of his Juſtice in puniſhing Sin, in that
it was impoffible that it thould be di-
verted from finners without the inter-
poſing of a Propitiation ; that is, God
is
[46]
is ſo juſt, that he cannot pardon with-
out Satisfaction. Now this is fuch a No-
tion of Justice as is perfectly new, which
neither Scripture nor Nature acquaints
us with.
Answer. Perfectly new! how fo? How many
grave Divines and worthy Champions
againſt the Socinians have affirmed,
That God, fuch is his infinite Sanctity
and Righteoufnefs, cannot pardon fin
without a Recompence or Satisfaction?
And how ftrongly have they urged it
out of Scripture and Reafon! In Scrip-
ture God is ſet forth as a Righteous
God, a Judge of the World, who will
do right; one who cannot look upon
iniquity, who will by no means clear
the guily; his puniſhing fin is attribu-
ted not meerly to his Will or Decree,
but to his juft Nature. Thus the ter
rible Tempeſt comes down upon the
wicked, because the righteous Lord loveth
righteousness, Pfal. 11. 6, 7. Thus the
vials of wrath are poured out, becauſe
God is righteouf, Revel. 16.5. In
God an hatred of Sin is as effential as
a love of Holiness; and in this hatred
is tacitly included a velle punire, as
fome Divines fpeak; and upon that ac-
count fin cannot go unpunished. The
Subjection of a Rational Creature to
its
[47]
its Creator is indiſpenſable, and this
Dependence, fo far as it is broken off
by fin, muſt be falved up by puniſh-
ment. Should God punish meerly from
his Will, then it feems, Sin or no Sin,
is all one to him. God is in his own
Nature no more moved with Impieties
and helliſh Blafphemies, than if there
were none; the puniſhing them or ab-
folving them is but an indifferent thing.
Socinus upon that Text, abfolvendo non
abfolvet, faith, That God, as propenſe as
he is to mercy and forgiveneſs, abfolves
no rebels and impenitent perfons remain-
ing in that eſtate: Yet, if he might
pardon without a Satisfaction, might
he not do it without Repentance allo?
The very Pagans knew δικαίωμα θες,
the juft judgment of God, or that he
would puniſh fin; and this not from
the reveiled Will of God, but from
the natural Principles and Sculptures
graven in their hearts; which fhews
that the puniſhment is not meerly from
God's Will. If Sin could have been
pardoned without Satisfaction, why
was the only beloved Son of God made
a Curfe? Why did he fear,and tremble,
and bow, and fweat, and pray, and
die upon a Croſs, as the Dr. patheti-
cally expreffes his Paffion? It feems all
this
[48]
this might have been spared. But faith
the Author, All Mankind ḥath accounted
it an act of goodneſs to remit injuries
without exacting punishment; and he is
So far from being just, that he is cruel
and favage, who will remit no offence,
till he hath fatisfied his revenge: That
part of Justice, which confifts in puniſh-
ing offenders, was always look'd on as
an instrument of Government ; and there-
fore the exacting or remitting punish-
ment was referred to the wisdom of Go-
vernours, who might spare or punish as
they faw reaſon for it. Unto which I
anfwer, The Compariſon between God
and Man holds not in all things: A
Man may renounce his Dominion over
his Servant, but God cannot renounce
his Dominion over his Creature ; that,
whileft a Creature, muſt be fubject un-
to him. A man (faith the Author) is
cruel, who will remit no offence till he
hath ſatisfied his revenge: But, I hope,
God is not fo, who never did, hath or
will remit any the leaſt offence with-
out fatisfaction; a man may remit a pri-
vate offence without it, but may a
Magiſtrate remit a publick one in all
cafes? No, furely, fometimes Juftice
and the Common Good calls for pu-
niſhment; Deus non vult, ut Princeps
* fcelerato
[49]
fcelerato Legum publicarum violatori pœ-
nam commeritam remittat, faith the
Learned Camero: God is here confider-
ed as a Magiſtrate, as the great Judge
of the World, and that he cannot remit
without fatisfaction, is not out of Im-
potence, or Cruelty,but becauſe of the
fupreme Perfection of his Justice and
Sanctity.
lock.
After the terrible difcovery of the Na- Mr Sher-
turalness of God's Juftice, the Doctor
makes fome amends for it; for now in
Christ, the Nature of God is discovered to
be love and kindness; a happy change this,
from all Justice to all Love! But hom
comes this to pass? why, the account is
very plain, because the Justice of God
bath glutted it ſelf with revenge on fing
in the Death of Chrift: And a little af
ter; God is Love and Patience, when he
hath taken his fill of revenge, as others
use to say, that the Devil is very good,
when he is pleased.
What! doth God glut himfelf with Aufwer.
Revenge? or is he, as the Devil,good
when he is pleaſed? I tremble at the
Expreffions, and verily believe, that
the Dr. would have laid down his neck
upon the Block before he would have
uttered them. Revenge or Vengeance
in God is nothing but pure immaculate
E
Juftice:
[50]
Juftice: Glutting with Revenge is an
Expreffion fit for malicious Men, or for
Devils rather, but not at all for God :
God out of Chrift is a confuming Fire,
but in Chriſt a gracious Father, recon-
conciling the World unto himſelf. Not
that there is a change in the unchange-
able One; but, according to his wife
and gracious Decree, his Juftice was
fatisfied in Chrift, and through that
Satisfaction his Love and Kindneſs
ſweetly ſtream out to Men: He that
dares deny this muſt forfeit his Chri-
ftianity. But if the Dr. did not utter
theſe horrid words, may any ſuch thing
be drawn from him by confequence?
This the Author would hint; for faith
he, The Dr. Speaks very honourably of
God; Whatever, faith the Dr. difcove-
ries were made of the Patience and Le-
nity of God unto us, yet if it were not
withal reveiled, that the other Proper-
ties of God, as his Justice and Revenge
for fin, had their actings affigned them
to the full, there could be little Con-
folation gathered from the former; That
is, faith the Author, he would not be-
lieve God himself, though he should make
neverfo many Promises of Grace to fin-
ners, unless he were fure, that he had first
Satisfied his revenge. To which I an-
ſwer,
[51]
fwer, Doth the Dr. by [Diſcoveries]
intend Promiſes of Graces? No cer-
tainly: In his very entrance into the
Difcourfe of Patience,he.tells us his De-
fign, viz. to prove, That the Glimpses of
Patience Shining out in works of Provi-
dence are exceedingly beneath the diſcove-
ry of it which we have in Chrift; and both
before and after the words quoted, he
gives Inftances of Gods Goodneſs in the
Rain & fruitful ſeaſons, &he ſhews what
kind of Patience he intends, that is, A
not immediate punishing upon the offence,
not a word or tittle of Promifes: Nei-
ther is it at all imaginable that he could
mean them; for he, who holds a ne-
ceffity of Satisfaction, as the Dr. doth,
could not ſo much as think one fingle
thought of a Promiſe to be the object
of his Faith, or indeed at all to be,
without a crucified Chrift, in whom
God's Juftice was fatisfied. And for
the Glimpses of Patience fhining out in
Works of Providence, which are com-
mon even to the poor Fagans, I may
well fay, that they are little, very little
confolations in comparison of thoſe
which Chriſtians have : Pagans may fee
God forbearing, but Chriftians fee him
fully fatisfied in the Blood of Chriſt:
Pagans fee God forbearing, but they
E 2
cannot
[52]
う
​cannot tell how long he may do fo, or
how foon his wrath may come daſhing
down upon them; but Chriſtians know
that they are delivered from the wrath
to come, and To God's Patience is very
fweet to them. But the Author goes
on in his charge: The Doctor faith,that
the nature and end of God's Patience and
Forbearance, is, God's taking a course
in his infinite Wisdom and Goodness,
that we should not be deftroyed notwith-
Standing our fins ; the Justice of God
being fatisfied, the greatest fins can do us
no hurt, we shall escape notwithstanding
our fins: But the Goſpel inftructs us,That
without holiness no man shall fee God:
Thus the Author. To which I anſwer,
Surely we ſhall eſcape notwithſtanding
our fins, or elſe we cannot eſcape with-
out pure finleſs perfection, and not-
withſtanding our greateft fins, or elſe
they exceed Gods Mercy and Chriſt's
Merit: But what, without Repentance
and Holiness? No, by no means, the
Doctor means no fuch matter, but faith
exprefly, That the end of Gods patience
is, that his Will concerning our Repent-
ance and Salvation may be accomplished,
and quotes that of St. Peter, 2 Pet. 3.9.
God is long-fuffering to us ward, not will-
ing that any ſhould perish, but that all
fhould
[53]
Should come to repentance; and furely
where true Repentance is, holineſs of
Life will follow.
lock.
As for the Wisdom of God, no doubt Mr. Sher-
but the Gospel of Chrift makes glorious
diſcoveries of it; but if Justice be ſo na-
tural to God, that nothing could fatisfie¸
him but the death of his Son, the Re-
demption by Chrift may diſcover his Ju-
ftice or Goodness, but not his Wisdom; It
requires no great Wisdom to chufe, when
there is but one poſſible way.
· No doubt, untraceable is the Wif- Answer
dom hid in Redemption, great the
Myſtery, God manifeft in the Fleſh:
And what if there were but one pof-
fible Way of Redemption or Salvation,
and that only in and by the fatisfacto-
ry Death of Chrift? Is this an Eclipfe
of the divine Wifdom? No, that one
poffible Way lay fo deep, that no wif-
dom of Merr or Angels could have
ſtarted a thought of it; nothing lefs
than the infinite Wiſdom of God could
have found it out, or brought it forth
to the World.
Upon the Doctors words, We learn Mr Shere
our diſability to anſwer the Mind and lock.
Will of God, in all or any of the obe
dience he requireth, the Author adds,
that is, It is impoffible for us to do any
E 3
thing
[54]
thing that is good, but we must be acted
as Machins by an external force, by the
irreſiſtible power of the Grace and Spirit
of God; this is a new discovery, we learn
no fuch thing from the Gospel. And pag.
109. the Author faith, After all the noife
they make about coming to Christ, they
mean being carried thither by an omnipo-
tent and irresistible power; and to the
fame purpoſe in other places.
Answer That there is ſuch a thing as irreſiſt-
ible Grace, ſuch as furely arrives at the
Effect, is a great Truth; the Goſpel
fhews forth the Glory of it, there it is
fet forth thus: It takes away the ſtony
Heart, that is, the very refifting Prin-
ciple: It writes the Law in the Heart,
that is, it gives fuch an inward Prin
ciple, as anfwers to the outward Com-
mand: It draws, opens, quickens, re-
generates, new-creates and conquers
the Heart, carrying it away by a tranf-
lation into the Kingdom of Chriſt: It
gives the very Willing, the very Be-
lieving, the very Acting, caufing us to
walk in his Statutes; and all this in a
way of Power, greatnefs, and exceed
ing greatnefs of Power, fuch as raifed
up Chrift from the dead, Eph. 1. 19.
And if this be not irreſiſtible Grace, I
know not what is. St. Austin clearly
owns
[55]
owns fuch a Grace, Hac Gratia (faith De Prad.
he) quæ occultè humanis cordibus divinâ San&.c.8.
largitate tribuitur, à nullo duro corde
refpuitur; Ideò quippe tribuitur, ut cordis
duritia primitus auferatur. The Fathers
in the Araufican Council tell us, That
believing, willing,defiring, endeavouring,
labouring, watching, praying, ſeeking,
knocking, and all is from Grace, Can. 6.
And that we may know how the Work
of Grace is wrought, they call it, Mu-
tatio dextræ excelfi, A Change wrought by
the right band of the most High, Can.15.
Our Church, in the Homily concern-
ing the Coming down of the holy
Ghoft, fpeaking of the Conception of
the Lord Chriſt,as a marvellous matter,
adds, But where the holy Ghoft worketh,
there nothing is impoſſible, as may farther
appear by the inward Regeneration and
Sanctification of Mankind; and withal
calls Regeneration or the new Birth,
The Great Power of the holy Ghost. The
incomparable Biſhop Uber afferts, That
Myft. of
no less power is requifite to the effecting of Incarn.;
the new Creature, than was at first to the P48.43.
producing of all things out of nothing;
and what can this be less than an irre-
ſiſtible Grace? Should there be only
reſiſtible Grace, thofe Prayers in Scri-
pture, Turn thon me, and I ſhall be turn-
E 4
çado
[56]
*
ed, Jer. 31. 18. and, Turp us unto thee,
O Lord, and we shall be turned, Lam. 5.
21. muſt have but a fick Confequence;
And thofe two great Petitions in the
Lords Prayer, Thy Kingdom come, and
Thy will be done, feem, as Mr. Rous ob.
ferves, to run after this rate, Lord, let
thy Kingdom be at my pleasure, and thy
Will at the will of my Free-will, whether
that fhall come, or this be done. In very
deed, the great Defign of a Church to
be purchaſed by Chrift's Blood, ga-
thered by his holy Spirit, and crown-
ed with Glory in Heaven, though it
cannot but be more eftimable than all
the Providences in Nature, muſt be a
meer Pendant on the fickle Will of
Man. But the Author urges upon the
Doctor, That it is impoffible for us, ac-
cording to his Principles, to do any thing
that is good, that is, I fuppofe without
Faith in Chrift, without which, our
Church in her Homily of good Works
declares, that no good work can be
done: I take it for a very Truth, That
from the firſt good Thought to the laſt
Act of an holy Life, all that is truly
good must come from Grace: But,faith
the Author, This turns us into peer Ma-
chins; aud pag. 379. he gloffes upon
one of his Oppoſites, as if Chrift were
to
[57]
to make us willing againſt our will:
Unto which I anſwer, The very fame
was caft into St. Auſtin's diſh by the
Pelagians; sub nomine, inquiunt, Gra- Ad Boni-
tiæ ita fatum afferunt, ut dicant, quia fac.lib.z.
nifi Deus invito & reluctanti homini in- cap. 5.
Spiraverit boni & ipfius imperfecti cupi-
ditatem, nec à malo declinare, nec bonum
poffet arripere: To which, as a meer
Calumny, St. Auftin returns, That a man
may as well call St. Paul, fati afferto-
rem, for ſaying, It is not of him that will-
eth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that sheweth mercy. Indeed it is a very
ſtrange charge; doth Grace deſtroy
Nature, or may we be willing againſt
our Will? It is impoffible: That of
the Schoolman may reconcile the mat-
ter, Voluntas humana induci poteft ab a-
gente creato, mutari ab agente increato, in fent.lib.
cogi à nullo: The Will, without ceaf-2.25.
ing to be it ſelf, cannot be compelled;
but Grace changes it without Coacti-
on, breaks off its Chains without de-
ſtroying its Liberty, and per fuaviſſi-
mam omnipotentiam makes the unwill-
ing Will willing,
Bonavent.
lock.
But ftill there is a more glorious Dif. Mr. Sher-
covery behind, that is, The glorious end
whereunto Sin is appointed and or-
dained, (I ſuppoſe the Dr. means by God)
1s
[58]
end
is diſcovered in Chriſt, viz. for the de-
monſtration of God's Vindictive Ju-
ftice in meaſuring out to it a juſt recom-
penſe of reward, and for the praiſe of
Gods glorious Grace in the pardon
and forgiveneſs of it; that is, It could
not be known how just and fevere God is,
but by punishing fin; nor how good and
gracious God is, but by pardoning it :
And therefore left his Justice and Mer-
cy should never be known to the World,
he appoints and ordains Sin to this end,
that is, Decrees that men ſhall ſin, that
he may make fome veffels of wrath, and
others veſſels of mercy: This is a Dif
covery which Nature and Revelation could
not make; for Nature would teach us,
that ſo infinitely a glorious Being as God
is, needs not fin and mifery to recom-
mend his Glory and Perfections ; and
that ſo holy a God, who fo perfectly hates
every thing that is wicked, would not
truckle with Sin and the Devil for his
glory; and that fo good a God had much
rather be glorious in the happiness and
perfection and obedience of his Creatures,
than in their fin and mifery: And Reve-
lation tells us the fame thing, That God
delights not in the death of a finner,
but rather that he ſhould return and
live, that is, He had rather there were
1
10
[59]
no occafion for puniſhing, than be made
glorious by fuch acts of vengeance: Vin-
dictive Justice and pardoning Mercy are
but fecondary Attributes of the Divine
Nature, and therefore God cannot prima-
rily defign the glorifying of them; for
that cannot be without defigning the fin
and mifery of his Creatures, which would
be inconfiftent with the goodneß and holi-
nefs of his Nature. And afterwards pag.
57. He appointed fin for the glory of his
Justice and Grace, and (fince nothing
can withstand the Decrees of God) it
pleafed God that Man ſhould fin, but when
he bath finned, he is extremely displeafed
with it, and now his Justice must be fa-
tisfied: This falls hard on thofe miferable
Wretches, whofe ill fortune it was, with-
out any fault of theirs, to be left out of the
Roll of Election, and who have no way
to ſatisfie divine Juſtice, but by their e-
ternal torments.
It is, I fuppofe, agreed by all, that
God did willingly permit the entry of
fin upon the World of Angels and Men:
he could have kept all the Angels up in
their primitive Station, and then there
would have been no Tempter to Man;
or,
had their been one, he could have
fent the holy Angels to warn him from
the late downcaft of their fellows, a-
gainſt
}
[60]
gainſt his own, and to tell him, that
the poyfon would come from the Ser-
pent; or, if not that, he could have
fent him fuch ſtrong auxiliaries of Grace
as ſhould have outwreſtled the tempta-
tion; he could, no doubt, as eaſily as
he confirms the Saints and Angels in
Heaven; he could for ever have barr-
ed out fin, but he would not, he free-
ly fuffered it to come in, only the que-
ftion is, How he did it? Whether there
be only a nude Permiffion, fuch as
leaves the event pendulous and un-
certain, till Man's Will hath determin-
ed; or whether there be a Preordina-
tion of the Event, fo that it falls out
infallibly, Deo permittente and Creaturä
liberè agente? Two things conſtrain me
to believe the latter: The one is this,
That without a Preordination, the E-
vent of finful Actions muſt be caſual,
and what then ſhall become of Pro-
vidence? The Moments, which hang
upon thoſe Events, are great and
weighty. Multitudes of Angels, Cour
tiers of Heaven, turn Apoftates; out
of their Fall comes a Tempter, who at
one blow draws Man and all his Pofte-
rity into fin; that entring into the
world makes way for a glorious Re-
demption by Chriſt: The Four firſt
Monarchies
[61]
Monarchies rowl about upon the Lufts
and Ambitions of Men; The poor
Church, like, the Ark, floats upon the
waters, and now and then a ſtorm of
perfecution comes daſhing down upon
it; Errors and Herefies fucceffively
break forth as fo many Torrents ready
to carry away every Article of our
Creed, and what mighty Concerns are
theſe? Admirable are the Methods and
Myſteries of Providence in and about
fuch Events; Joſeph's Brethren fell him
into Egypt, and the Church is provided
for in the famine; Abfolon goes in to
his Fathers Concubines,, and David is
vifited for his Adultery; Judah and
Tamar commit Inceft, and this way
came the holy One into the flesh; The
wicked Jews crucifie the Son of God,
and out comes the great Work of Re-
demption; Perfecutors fcatter the
Church, and God by this means fcat-
ters the Gospel, A&. 8. In fuch Actions
as theſe the Light ſhines out of Dark- ·
nefs; God's Mercy, Juftice, Wiſdom,
Holiness, Power, break forth out of
Man's Cruelty, Injustice, Folly, Filthi-
nefs and Weakness: In every Ataxy
God hath a fecret Order; either an Or-
der of Penalty, Sin puniſhing Sin; or
an Order of Conducibility, Good
coming
[62]
coming out of Evil. Nullum eft malum
in mundo (faith profound Bradwardine)
quod non eft propter aliquod magnum bo-
num, & forfitan propter aliquod majus
bonum. The Concerns being fo great,
fit down and confider; May fuch E-
vents be caſual? Did Angels and Man
fall by chance, or could that Provi-
dence, which is waky over Hairs and
Sparrows, fleep over fuch a Concern?Or
if it could, muft not the great work of
Redemption, pendent on a cafual Fall,
be cafual alfo? May Fortune ring the
changes over Empires and Churches,
or caft out Perfecutions and Herefies,
as roving Meteors to do her pleaſure?
May lots be caft upon the Genealogy
and Paffion of Chrift, or the Acts of
Gods Mercy, Juſtice, Wiſdom, Holi-
nefs and Power fhining out in fuch E-
vents hang upon a Peradventure? May
the All-wife and Almighty God fit,com-
plicatis manibus & oculis conniventi-
bus, as Amyraldus ſpeaks, whileft ſuch
vaſt and wonderful Concerns are in
agitation? Methinks no fober Man can
in Reaſon think it credible. For my
own part, did I once believe a Lottery
of fuch Events, I fhould think that my
next Fancy would be, That Epicurus
his Atoms by a lucky Hit made up that
•
World
[63]
World, which is fo fortuitoufly go-
verned in the very great Concerns of it:
He that allows not a determining ſtroke
of Providence in fuch things, May, as
Biſhop Davenant faith, avoid the fufpici-
on of Stoiciſm or Manicheifm, but very
hardly of Atheiſm. This is the firſt thing:
Thefe Events, if unordained, muft
needs be cafual, and without a Provi-
dence. Neither is this to be falved by
Divine Preſcience; Preſcience, as it is
infallible, is of things future and of de-
terminate Verity; and cafual unor-
dained Events, not being fuch, are no
fit Object for it: This made Epifcopius
doubt, whether Prefcience or at least the
knowledge of it were neceffary.But might
fuch a thing be of meer Cafuals, yet
Preſcience is not Providence. Had the
Epicurean Atoms rallied them felves in-
to a World, the Event, though fore-
feen, could not have been claimed by
Providence as its own, but muſt have
been left to thoſe Ethnick Names of
Chance or Fortune; and to the fame,
muſt every unordained Event be left,
over which there is nothing but meer
Preſcience. The other thing, which
conſtrains my Belief, is, That the holy
Scripture, from whence we muſt take
our trueſt Meaſures, exprefly, empha-
tically
1
[64]
tically own fuch a Preordination of the
Event; not to infilt on that Counſel of
Ahitophel, which yet obfervably hits
the Mark, only as God will have it, to
chaſtiſe David in the Concubines, but
not to deſtroy him in the purfuit;I fhall
inſtance in others; God turned his heart
to hate his people, Pfal. 105. 25. God
put it into their hearts to give their king-
dom unto the Beaſt, Rev. 17. 17. It was
of the Lord to birden their hearts, Joſh.
11. 20. The cauſe was from the Lord,
that Rehoboam hearkened not, 1 Kings 12.
15. Touching Abfolon's Inceſt, God
faith, I will do it, 2 Sam. 12.12. Touch-
ing the lying Spirit, he faith, Go, and
thou shalt prevail, 1 Kings 22. 22. An-
tiochus tears and blafphemes like a De-
vil, but that which was determined was
done, Dan. 11.36. The Jews crucifie
the Lord of Glory, but God's hand and
God's counjel had determined it, A&t. 4.
28. In fuch pregnant Scriptures can
there be any thing less than a determi
ning Providence, or what other inter-
pretation is tolerable? May we inter-
pret fuch emphatical places only of a
nude Permiſſion, which leaves the E-
vent pendulous and incertain? It can-
not be; the very Jefuite Ruiz will here
De Scient. confefs, Dei voluntate, decreto, confilio,
definitione
219.
4
[65]
definitione fieri peccatorum actiones figni-
ficat Scriptura: But, which is more va-
luable than Ruiz, the Senfus fidelium
(which is one of the beſt Interpreters
of Scripture) runs this way: It was not
you that sent me, faith Jofeph The
Lord hath taken away, faith Job: The
Lord hath faid, Curſe, faith David: Thou
haft ordained them for judgment, faith
Habbakkuk of the Chaldees: Still they
look up to the hand of Providence in
fuch Events. And in truth, what elſe
can they do in ſuch caſes? May they
fear, truſt in, or depend on Man? He
is but a Creature, and there is a Curſe
in it Shall they fear, truſt in, or de-
pend upon God? A God he is, but
fuch Events fall not under his Provi-
dence. In a word; Theſe things give
me fuch fatisfaction in this Point, that
if Humane Reaſon could object what I
`could not anſwer, I ſhould yet adhere
to the Truth, faying with St. Auſtin,
Petrus negat, Latro credit, O altitudo!
quæris tu rationem, ego expavefcam al-
titudinem; tu difputa,ego credam. How-
ever I fhall confider what the Author
faith; and firſt he tells us, That ſuch an
ordaining is not consistent with Gods
Holiness: To which I answer, Icon-
feſs this Objection in the Remonftrants
F
look'd
[66]
look'd to me, primâ facie, as a piece of
Tenderness towards God, left any blot
fhould light on the holy One; they
frame God's Decrees upon Preſcience,
and fuffer Man's Will to go formoft
in the Event of finful Acts: But re-
membring, that even in the Event of
good Actions, they frame Gods De-
crees upon Prefcience alfo, and let
Man's Will take the Primacy, it ap-
peared to me, that the great Center
of all was no other than the Will of
Man; and from fuch a Center, I defpair-
ed that any Divine Attribute fhould be
truly glorified. Indeed, after the Scri-
pture hath ſo often and pregnantly af
ferted a determining Providence over
fuch Events, for man to fay, That God is
holier than fo, is a piece of fondneſs
like that of the Maforeths, who in the
Hebrew Bible have put in fome words
in the Margin, as cleanlier than thoſe
in the Text: Nothing can be vainer,
than to imagine that Man fhould be
able to draw the Picture of God's Ho-
lineſs fairer than he himſelf hath done
in Scripture;or that what isſpoken there
touching his Providence, fhould in the
leaft reflect upon his Holiness. But for a
fuller Anfwer, I fay, Gods Providence,
which in finful Actions,is, as I take it,o-
perative
[67]
>
perative of the Entity, permiffive of the
Malice, difpofitive of the Order, & pre-
,ordinative of the Event,doth in none of
theſe caſt any blot on his Holineſs. As
to the Entity, God acts but as becomes
the Firſt Caufe; Arminius himfelf
would have it, Ut totus actus ritè Pro-
videntiæ fubjiciatur, quà actus efficien-
ti, quà peccatum permittenti Providen-
tie. As to the Malice, God is but a
Permiffor: Sin in the abſtract hath on-
ly a deficient Cauſe, viz. the Creature,
that, as defectible in it felf, hath
redire ad non effe à fe, and, as un-
der a Law diſtinct from it felf, may fall
ſhort of it: But God, who hath no o-
ther Law but his own Perfection, and
can no more decline from his Rectitude
than his Being, is a meer Permiffor.
As to the Order, God difpofes it; here
inſtead of a Blot, the Glory of God
breaks forth, in that he hath his holy
Line in the midſt of the Ataxies of
men; either an Order of Penalty,fuch
as becomes him as the Prima Justitia ;
or an Order of Coducibility, fuch as
futes him as the Prima Sapientia. In
the Sale of Joſeph Man was cruel, but
God merciful: In the Act of Judah
and Tamar, Man was unclean, but God
holy, aiming at the Meffiah in it: In
F 2
Rebo-
[68]
Rehoboam's rough Anfwer, Man was
fooliſh, but God wife, to accompliſh his
word: In the Affyrian Tyranny, Man
was unjust, but God righteous to cor-
rect his people: In the ſtrong Deluſions
fent to thoſe that love not the Truth,
Man was weak, but God ſtrong in Spi-
ritual Judgements; and, to name but
one more : In the Crucifixion of Chriſt,
there was Malice, Blood and Wicked-
nefs on Man's part, but Love, Juſtice
and Righteouſneſs on God's; one At-
tribute or other of his glitters in the
Event, with no more taint than is upon
the pure Sun-beams by their converſe
in unclean places. It's true, God needs
not Sin to recommend his Glory, no,
nor Virtue or Holiness in the Creature;
but fure he uſes Sin that way, and that
fo holily, that it deſerves a more reve-
rent Expreffion than trucking with fin
and the Devil. As to the Event God
preordains it. I confefs the Event of
finful Actions is evil in it ſelf, but in
ſome reſpect it may be good to a third
perfon: A railing Servant wrought a
cure upon Monica, as St.Austin relates:
Nay, in fome cafe it may be good to the
De Civit. finner; Audeo dicere fuperbis effe utile,
1.14.c.13. cadere in aliquod apertum manifeftúmque
peccatum, unde fibi difpliceant, qui jam
Confeff. li.
9.cap.8.
fibi
[69]
fibi placendo ceciderant, faith the fame
Author: And again on thoſe words,
Omnia cooperantur in bonum, Rom. 8.
he adds, Etiam fi deviant & exorbitent, DeCorrep.
hoc ipfum eis faciat proficere in bonum, cap.9.
quia humliores redeunt & do&tiores ; But
however the Event be evil to the fin-
ner, it is not ſo to God as Ordinator.
The Event of Adam's Fall was evil to
him, but, as it made way for the Re-
deemer, was not fo to God; which
made one cry out, O fælix culpa, quæ
tantum meruit Redemptorem! The E-
vent of the vile Affections in the Gen-
tiles was evil to them, but, as it was
punitive of their Idolatry,was not ſo to
God: Hence St. Auftin faith elegantly,
Tradit Deus in paffiones ignominia, ut Contr. Ful.
lib.5.
fiant que non conveniunt, fed ipfe con-
venienter tradit; even thoſe inconve-
nient Affections were convenient for
Gods Juftice to inflict on them. Is it
not good that Sin fhould be puniſhed
with Sin? The Scripture plainly affirms
it; and if the Event may be good as to
God, becauſe of the Order of juft pe-
nalty, why may it not be fuch becaufe
of the Order of wife Conducibility?
God by his holy Ordination aj¤Dóvet
Ta xaxa, as far as that Ordination is:
Hence the Apoſtle puts a
a dã
F 3
Dion, de
Div.Nom.
upon the
cap.4.
Event
[70]
96.
cap.
Dial.de. Event of Herefies; and Anfelm puts a
Ver.cap.8. Debet effe upon the Event of Sin; and
Euch. St. Auſtin lays it down clearly, Ut fint
& mala bonum eft, aliter nullo modo effe
finerentur ab omnipotente bono; every
thing is good fo far as ordinated by
him: In this fence the Medes are God's
fanctified ones without fanctity in them-
ſelves, and Events are good without
goodness in themſelves; that which is
evil in Specie, may be good in Ordine,
and fo far as it is good, it is a fit Ob-
ject for his Will; eſpecially ſeeing
it is ordained to come to
to pafs
Deo permittente on the one hand, and
Creaturâ liberè agente on the other. On
fuch Terms as thefe, I may fay, Deo or-
dinante, pulchra funt omnia. But, faith
the Author, The Creature cannot act
freely, for nothing can withstand the
Decrees of God. To which I anſwer,
Gods Providence is ever falvative of
the Creatures Liberty, inferring not a
neceffity of Coaction, but Immutabi-
lity: Inftances in Scripture are abun-
dant; Antiochus blafphemes according
to his own will, yet it was determined,
Dan. 11. 36. The Chaldees march in
violence and in the pomp of freedom,
infomuch that the Text faith, That their
Judgment and dignity proceeded of them-
Selves,
1
[71]
felves, yet God had ordained them for
judgment, Hab. 1. The Kings in Revel.
17. gave their Kingdom to the Beaſt,
and what freer than gift? yet God put
in their hearts to do fo: The Jews free-
ly crucified Chrift, yet God's hand and
counsel was in it. After fuch pregnant
Scriptures, ought we not to acquiefce
in this Truth, That God's Decree and
Man's Liberty may confift together.
Cajetan is an excellent Pattern for us,
who, laying down the Common Opi-
nion, That Humane Acts are evitable
as to us, but inevitable as to Provi-
dence; and then mentioning fome di-
ftinctions to reconcile the matter, pi-
ouſly concluded, that he would capti-
tivate his Uunderſtanding in obfequium
fidei; and fo we should all. Having fo
prolixly spoken of the Ordination of
fuch Events, a very little may ferve as
to the End; when God preordains ſuch
Events, to be fure he doth it in great
Wiſdom and Reafon, fome Erd there
is in it: If any will fay i was done,
quià l'oluit, I am coment, his Will is
never irrational; ifhe wut fy further,
that it was for his Glory, I am fatisfied,
that is the fupreme End; if he will
yet
go on and fay, it was for the manifeſta-
tion of his Juftice and Mercy, I can-
F 4
not
[72]
not tell how to affign a better End ; if
the after-uſe made of Sin may inter-
pret God's meaning,that ſhews forth the
Illuſtration of both thoſe Attributes:
The Apoſtle tells us, That God is will-
ing to fhew his wrath and power in fome,
and to make known the riches of his glo-
ry in others, Rom. 9. Suppofe there
were no Ordination, but only a nude
Permiffion, a man may ask, Why did
God permit fuch an Apollyon as Sin to
enter the World? Why fuffered he fo
many glorious Angels to fall into fin,
and immediately, without any place
for Repentance, to fink into Chains of
Darkneſs for ever? There is ſcarce any
appearance but of meer Sovereignty &
Juſtice in it: Why fuffered he Man and
all his Pofterity with him to fall into
fin and wrath? It is plain, that the work
of Redemption, in which Juftice and
Mercy were both fhewed forth, was
uſhered in upon it. It's true, as the
Scripture faith, That God delights not in
the death of a finner; not in death, as
it is the mifery of the Creatute; not
in the death of a repenting finner, his
Repentance, which is there oppofed
to Death, is more grateful: However,
the fins of men' fall under his Provi-
dence, and, without repentance, their
death,
[73]
death, as an act of Juſtice, wil be grate-
ful to him, infomuch that he will laugh
at it, Prov.1. There are behind yet two
other Expreffions; the one puts the
Doctor's Opinion into odious colours,
after this manner: It pleafed God that
Man ſhould ſin, but when he had finned,
he is exceedingly difpleafed at it: But
upon the very opening of it, all va-
niſhes into nothing; God's holy Ordi-
nation was his pleaſure, but Man's Sin
is hateful and provocative of wrath.
This cannot be ſtrange to any one ver
fed in Scripture: The Affyrian Ty-
rant was the Staff and the Rod in Gods
hand, ſent by him againſt his people ;
yet when the work was done, God
would punish the fruit of his ftout
heart, and kindle a fire under his Glo-
ry: Gods Hand and Gods Counſel was
in the Crucifixion of Chriſt, and yet
what an horrible tempeft of wrath
came down on the Jews for it? The
other Expreffion is this; This falls hard
upon thoſe miſerable wretches, who with-
out any fault of theirs were left out of the
Roll of Election: To which I anſwer;
It is very hard if God may not have his
Royal Prerogative of putting in or
leaving out whom he pleaſes in the
Book of Life; the Apoſtle is clear, He
will
[74]
t
Mr. Sher-
lock.
ifany
will have mercy on whom he will, whom
he will be hardens, Rom. 9. And if any
murmurhe muſt hear,Nay,but,0 man,who
art thou that replieft aginft God? As if the
Apoſtle had faid. If thou hadft, O Man,
but any Sentiments of thy own No-
thingneſs, or true Rayes of the divine
Glory, thou wouldst never dare to im-
plead thy Maker: Thou wouldſt not
endure to fee a little Fly or Ant, had it
Reaſon enough, to draw an Earthly
Prince into queſtion, and wilt thou do
fo to the great Lord of Heaven and
Earth? There is no Commune Jus, or
Common Meaſure between him and
thee to warrant fuch a prefumption.
This is not enough, faid the Do-
dor, that we are not guilty, we muſt
alſo be actually righteous ; not only all
fin is to be anſwered for, but all righ-
teouſneſs is to be fulfilled: Now this
Righteouſneſs we find only in Chriſt,
we are reconciled to God by his Death
and ſaved by his Life ; that actual Obe-
dience he yielded to the whole Law of
God is that Righteoufnefs whereby we
are faved; we are innocent by virtue
of his Expiation, and righteous with
his Righteouſnefs. Upon which words
the Author infers; This is a mighty
comfortable diſcovery, how we may be
righteous
[75]
righteous without doing any thing that
is good or righteous; but the Gospel tells
us that he is righteous who doth righte-
ousness; that without holiness no man
fall fee God; that the only way to obtain
pardon of fins, is to repent of and for-
fake them:The only thing that givesa right
to the promises of future Glory is to obey
the Laws and imitate the Example of our
Saviour, and to be transformed into the
Nature and likeness of God.
The Doctor is no enemy to Holiness, Answers
but cannot affign it an Ubi in Juſtifi-
cation; no more doth our Church,
who, in the Homily touching the Sal-
vation of Man, faith, All men are fin-
ners and breakers of the Law, therefore
can no man by his own Acts, Works and
Deeds (Jeem they never ſo good) be jufti-
fied and made righteous before God, but
every man is conſtrained to feek for ano-
ther Righteousness; which afterwards is
declared to be Chriſt's juiɲlling the Law
and making fa-isfaction. In Juftifica-
tion no other Righteoufnefs can take
place but that Active and Paffive one
of Chrift, which anſwers the pure and
rightecus Law in every point: He that
doth righteouſneſs is righteous, that is,
his doing fhews, but doth not make
him righteous in Juftification. Repen-
tance
[76]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
tance is an Evangelical Condition, but
no Cauſe of Pardon: Holiness and O-
bedience are the way to Glory, but
not the Cauſe of it: A Transformati-
on into God's Image makes us meet for
Heaven,but the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt
alone purchaſed a Title for us. As to
what the Author adds, Though our Obe-
dience be not perfect, if it be ſincere, we
Shall be accepted for the fake of Chriſt ; I
anfwer, Our Obedience is accepted,
but not to be the matter of our Juſtifi-
cation; Chriſt's Righteouſneſs alone
is that which anſwers the Law for us.
The third part of our Wifdom is to
walk with God, faith the Doctor, and
to that is required Agreement, Ac-
quaintance, a Way, Strength, Boldness,
and aiming at the fame Ends; and all
theſe with the Wiſdom of them are hid
in the Lord Jeſus : The Sum of which,
faith the Author, in fhort is this, That
Christ having expiated our fins, and ful-
filled all righteouſneſs for us, though we
have no perfonal righteousness of our own,
but are as contrary to God as darkneß is
to light, and death to life, and an uni-
verfal polution to an univerfal holiness,
and hatred to love; yet the Righteousnes
of Chrift is a ſufficient, nay, the only foun-
dation of our agreement; and upon that
of
'[77]
of our walking with God ; though St. John
tells us, If we fay we have fellowſhip
with him and walk in darkneſs, we lye
and do not the truth.
y
Chrift the fufficient and only Foun- Answer.
dation? No doubt he is fo; who can,
who dares lay any other? Had not he
fatisfied divine Juftice, there could
have been no room for agreement or
walking with God, but as curfed Exiles
we muſt have gone to our own place
in the loweſt Hell: But what Founda-
tion is he? Is he fuch an one, that pro-
phane perſons, contrary to God, as
Darkneſs to Light, Death to Life, Po-
lution to Holiness, and Hatred to Love,
may, whileft fuch, agree or walk with
God? Is he fuch,that fuch wicked ones,
walking in darkneſs, may have fellow-
ſhip with him, contrary to that of the
Apoſtle? Or that fuch may, as the Au-
thors phraſe is, become bold, and look
Justice in the face, and whet their knife
at the Counter-door, all their debts be-
ing difcharged by Chrift? Doth the Dr.
ſay ſo, or mean any fuch thing? No
furely; hear what he faith, not in re-
mote places, but upon this very point:
God is Light, we darkness, he Life, we
dead finners, he Holineß, we defiled, he
Love, we hatred; furely this is no foun-
dation
[78]
dation of agreement, or upon that, of
walking together; nothing can be more
remote than this frame from fuch a con-
dition: The foundation then of this is
laid in Chrift, he is our peace, he flew the
Enmity in his Body on the Crojs, he made
an atonement with God; God lays down
the Enmity on his part, and proceeds to
flay the Enmity on ours: We receive the
Atonement, lay down our Enmity to God,
and have acceſs unto the Father: Christ
gives us an Underſtanding to know him
that is true; he confecrates a new and
a living way into the holiest of all; and
this way is no other but himself, he is
the Medium of communication between
God and us; all influences of Love,Kind-
nefs, Mercy from God to us are through
him; all our returns of Love, Delight,
Obedience to God, are all through him;
nay, all our Strength is from him, by the
Spirit of life and power he bears us on
Eagles Wings in the paths of walking
with God; and in him we come to have
an aim and deſign at Gods Glory. Thus
and much more faith the Dr. in that
place, his excellent words need no A-
pology; let the curious Palate taſte
them at the Fountain, and then tell me,
if there be any Tack or Tincture of
thoſe black Confequences hinted by
the
[79]
the Author; if there be any print or
footſtep of any ſuch thing as this, That
profane men, without any perfonal fan-
&ity, in a state of contrariety to God,
may, whileft fuch, walk or have commu-
nion with him: Nay, let any unpreju-
diced Reader fay, if the contrary do
not appear; the Dr. faith, Nothing can
be more remote than this frame from fuch
a condition, as agreement or walking
with God; and as there are influences of
Love, Kindneſs and Mercy from God so
there are returns of Love, Delight, Obe-
dience from us. Afterwards, the Dr.
fpeaking only of defigning Gods glory,
the Author with the fame candor gloffes
thus; That is, I ſuppoſe, we deſign it by
truſting to the Expiation and Righteouf
nefs of Chrift, without doing any thing
our felves; not a jot or tittle of this ap-
pears in the Doctor.
God (according to the Dr.) is fo na- Mr. Sher-
turally juft, that he could not pardon lock.
without Satisfaction; That is, faith the
Author, he is fo juft, that he hath not
one dram of Goodneß in him, till his
Vengeance be fatisfied, which is a glori
ous kind of Justice.
What! not a dram of Goodnefs? Answer.
How then did he fend his Son into the
World? Was there not a dram in that
Act
[80]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Act immenfe Love? Or did not that
precede Satisfaction? Both are unde-
niable: If God's being fo naturally
jult, as not to pardon without Satis
faction, argue that there is not a dram
of Goodness in him before Satisfaction,
what doth his being decretively fo
juft? In this latter he might have wav-
ed fuch a Decree, but he would not;
neither doth he pardon any man with-
out a Satisfaction.
Justice being fatisfied, a comfortable
Scene appears; now God embraces finners,
and accounts them perfectly innocent in
Christ's Satisfaction: But this is not e-
nough, the Law muſt be fulfilled, as well as
bis Justice Satisfied; we must be righte-
ous as well as innocent; otherwiſe we
may escape punishment, but can expect no
reward: (though, I confeß, I ſhould have
thought, that Chrift had fatisfied for
fins of omiffion together with fins of com-
miffion: And as by his fatisfaction for
doing what we ought not to do, we are
reputed by God, as having never done any
thing amiß; So by his Satisfaction for
our neglecting what we ought to have
done, we might by the ſame reaſon be re-
puted by God perfectly righteous, to have
done all that we ought, to have kept the
whole Law; but it ſeems this was not ſuf-
ficient)
[81]
and therefore as Christs fatisfaction is
imputed to us for the forgiveness of fins;
So his righteousneẞis imputed to us, to
make us perfectly righteous.
God in his infinite wiſdom redeem- Anſwer:
ed the world,in fach a way, as was per-
fectly completive of the Law; we in
our lapſed eſtate were double debtors
to the Law; as rational creatures we
owed perfect Obedience, and as finful
creatures, eternal fufferings; the Law
calls for puniſhment, but that is not
all, it calls for perfect Obedience, that
it did primarily before fin entred, and
that it doth unalterably: The after-
fin did not diffolve the obligation;Now
Chriſts righteoufnefs was every way
completive of the Law; as active, com-
pletive of the mandatory part of it, as
paffive, of the minatory; thefe two
ought not to be divided or fevered the
one from the other: Now the Authors
Argument, which is this, That his fa-
tisfaction being for all fins of Omiffion,
as well as Commiffion, muft needs make
us perfectly righteous; runs upon an Hy-
pothefis, which I think is not to be ad-
mitted: viz. That Chrifts fatisfaction
may be confidered apart, or fevered
from his Obedience; his active and
paffive righteouſneſs both together,
G
taken
[82]
Sac. Nem.
33.34
taken in conjunction, are, as I con-
ceive, a perfect completure of the
Law, and do both expiate our fins,
and make us perfectly righteous before
God; But further,Innocent and Righ-
teous are not altogether the fame:
Hear the eminent Dr. Featly, There are
two forts of causes in Courts of Justice,
criminal and civil; in criminal its true,
idem eft effe infontem & juflum, it is all
one to be innocent and juft, but not in
civil, where Justice hath respect to a re-
ward; in that regard a guiltless man is
not neceffarily a just man, that is, a de-
Serving man; It was not enough for De-
mofthenes to plead for Ctesiphon, that
he was an harmless man, and therefore
ought to have the Crown, but that he was
a deferving man, and by Law ought to
have it. God is ſaid to be a righteous
Judge, not only in inflicting punishments,
but in conferring rewards, and Crowns
of Glory: Juftification hath respect to
both; two questions are put to us at Gods
Tribunal: First, why shouldst thou not
be condemned to Hell for thy fins? The
anſwer is, Chriſt hath satisfied for me :
Secondly, Why Shouldst thou receive a
Crown of Glory, fith thou hast not ful-
filled the Law? The answer is, Chrift
hath fulfilled the Law for me; both theſe
are
[83]
are expreffed by Anfelm, in his Book de
modo vifitandi infirmos, fi dixerit, me-
ruifti damnationem, dic Domine, mor-
tem Domini noftri Jefu Chrifti obtendo
inter me & mala merita mea, ipfiufqué
meritum offero pro merito, quod ego de-
buiffem habere, nec habeo; He that is free
from the guilt of all fins of omiſſion, and
commilfion, is righteous in regard of pu-
niſhment and guilt; but not ſo righteous,
as to have a title to a Crown of Glory,
the taking away of guilt doth not necef-
farily put merit: Thus that learned
man. Our Church in the Homily of
the falvation of mankind, puts Chrifts
fatisfaction, and his fulfilling the Law
together in juſtification; not aſcribing
all to fatisfaction.
Now God and finners may agree very
well, though they have guilt enough, and
be juſtice enough to deſtroy a world; get
there is no danger, fince Chrift hath faª
tisfied juſtice; and though he be infinite-
ly boly, and finners abominably filthy, yet
there is no fear he should loath and abbor
them, when they are cloathed with the
white and spotless robes of Chrifts righte-
ousness: They are very fecure, that nei-
ther their paſt ſins, nor preſent habitual
impurities can do them any hurt, they
fhall be faved notwithstanding their fins.
Thofe
G 2
Mr. Sher-
lock,
[84]
Anſwer. Thoſe who are in truth cloathed
with Chriſt's righteouſneſs, are ſecure,
if any thing can do it, againſt the wrath
of God; But are thoſe rich robes worn
by impenitent finners, rowling in their
beloved lufts? Or do thofe robes go a-
lone without the fanctifying Spirit?
Who, among thofe the Author op-
poſes, ever ſpake or meant fo? And
why are fuch odious hints caft forth?
The Papiſts indeed have charged ſome
fuch things upon Proteftants in the
point of juftification, which made
Chemnitius enter his proteſt thus, Ex-
Exam. preffè damnamus Simonis Magi blafphe-
Cone.
129.
miam, qui finxit hominibus gratis fide
Trid. falvatis liberum esse, ut agant quæcunque
velint, feriò abhorremus à Bafilidis blaf-
phemia, qui finxit ita nos fide falvari, ut
univerfa libido indifferenter ufurpari
poffit. But why one Proteftant fhould
draw up fuch a charge againſt another,
I cannot but wonder; however the Au-
thor triumphantly concludes, Thefe are
thoſe fundamental doctrines, with which
these men have bleffed the world, from a
pretended acquaintance with Chrifts per-
Son; which ought to be called the Religion
of Chrifts perfon, in oppofition to the Re-
ligion of his Gofpel: To which I ſhall
only fay, that I leave others to judge,
whether
[85]
whether any fuch thing as that oppo-
fition hath been made good hither-
to.
Mr. Sher-
Chriſt having ſatisfied and fulfilled the lock.
Law, we have nothing to do, but to get
an interest in his fatisfaction and righte-
ousness; he is very ignorant of Christ,
who hopes that any thing else will avail
him to falvation: All which the Au-
thor ſpeaks, as the fence of his Oppo-
fites.
Is there nothing to do after getting Anſwer.
into Chriſt? Who ever faid, or meant
fo? Is there no walking in Chriſt?
Are there no fruits of Holiness and
Righteouſneſs to be brought forth?
Or are thoſe meer unprofitable things,
and of no avail? None of the Oppo-
fites ever owned any fuch thing, how-
ever I confeſs none of our good works
muſt take Chriſts Prerogative, or fit
down in the room of his merits and
righteouſneſs.
Mr. Sher
Now that we may come to Christ, lock.
(faith the Author, pointing at his Op-
pofites) It is abfolutely neceffary, that
we be fenfible of our loft condition; we
must work our fancy into great terrors
and agonies, and a diſmal fear of the
wrath of God, and his natural justice z
the ſpirit of bondage must go before the
G 3
Spirit
[86]
Answer.
Spond.
Ann.
303.
Spirit of adoption, without this we shall
never value Christ, the promise of eafe is
made to the weary, thofe only fhall be fa-
tisfied, who hunger and thirst after im-
puted righteousness; now being ftung
with fin, it is time to look up to Chrift
to fee his fulness and perfection.
All this in a Drollery! and are we
come to that pafs, that we can ſport
our ſelves at ſuch things as theſe? Need
we prove that there are fuch things as
broken hearts, or repentant tears, or
forrow for fin? Are theſe the workings
of fancy or imagination? When Ge-
neftus was mocking on the Stage at
the Chriftian myfteries, he was on a
Domini fudden fo wrought on, by the Grace
of God, that he did feriò agere quod
jocis actitabat: May the Author ſpeed
no worſe, while he makes himſelf mer-
ry with this, and other Divine things:
Let us ſeriouſly confider doth fin hang
fo looſe on us, that we can ſhake it off
eafily without fo much fence or for-
row? Are we ſo propenſe to Chriſt,
that we will go to him without a feel-
ing of our wants? Why, or wherefore
fhould we do fo? Will we go to him
for righteouſneſs,who can work out one
at our fingers ends, or for regenerating
grace,
race, who can difpatch the matter our
felves
[87]
felves, or for a fupply of our wants,
who feel no fuch matter? Our Saviour
fpake indeed of the weary and heavy
laden: Such as Grotius faith, Peccati
onere fufpirant, & ad libertatem aſpi-
rant: But according to our Author,
it ſeems to fignifie little; the Apoſtle
ſpeaks of a ſpirit of bondage, but fome
it ſeems, never felt any fuch thing:
Afterwards the Author peaking of
their comforting Souls, afraid to come
to Chrift thus, Doth not God juſtifie
the ungodly? Did Chriſt take our
fleſh, and not our fins upon him? Com-
pare your diſtreſs and Chrifts compaf-
fion, your wants and Chrifts fulneſs,
your unworthiness and Chriſts freeneſs,
&c. He adds, And now if Chrift do not
prevail above thy fears, thou art not wor-
thy to be acquainted with him. But now
let Mr. Shepherd that excellent practi-
cal Divine come upon the Stage.
+
If thou objecteft (faith Mr. Shep- Mr. Sher-
herd what have I to do wirh Chrift? lock.
who have fuch an unholy, vile, hard,
blind, and moft wicked heart; O dif-
honour not the Grace of Chrift, thou
canſt not come to Chriſt, till laden
and ſeparated from fin, but no more
forrow for fin, no more feparation from
fin is neceſſary to this clofing with
G 4
Chriſt,
[88]
!
Anfwer.
Chrift, than fo much as makes thee
willing, or rather not unwilling, that
the Lord fhould take it away; know
if thou feekeſt for a greater meaſure of
humiliation, thou fheweſt the more
pride, who will rather go into thy felf,
to make thy felf holy and humble ;
than go out of thy felf unto the Lord
Jeſus to take away thy fin; thou think-
eft Chrift cannot love thee, until thou
makeſt thy ſelf fair, upon which feri-
ous words, the Author after his merry
way tells us, The reafon of all this is
very plain from our acquaintance with
Christ; he is our Physician, and we muſt
go to him with all our difeafes and fores
about us; be a fountain, and we must go
to him with all our filthiness, to be cleanf
ed; he is all fulness, it is not fit to carry
any thing to him, he is our righteousness,
and we must leave our own behind us, he
is all beauty, we must not carry any to
him, all we have to do, is to go to Chrift
weary and fick, and filthy, and naked,
Stript of every thing but our fins and im-
purities, to receive eafe and health, and
fulness and beauty from him.
The Author hints, as if according
to Mr. Shepherd, a man muft go to
Chriſt indulging his Lufts, and wallow-
ing in them, with all his fores running,
and
*
[89]
and filthineſs allowed, but how untrue
is this? Mr. Shepherd faith exprefly,
Thou canst not come to Christ, till thou
art loaden, and Separated from thy fins;
thou canst not be ingraffed into this Olive,
unless thou beest cut off from thy old root;
thou must be made willing, or rather
not unwilling, that the Lord fhould take
away thy fin: To come weary and
fick, and naked to Chrift, is not to
come indulging our fins, but groaning
under them; if there be no wants or
fence of them, how or why ſhould we
come to Chrift? Should we come to
him, to ſhew him the garments which
nature made, the innate or acquifite
vertue, and excellency which is in us?
Should we open our treaſures, and tell
him that we are rich, and increaſed in
Goods, and have need of nothing?
this is the way to be fpued out of his
mouth: The Philofopher being asked,
what God was a doing, could ſay, that
he was bufie in elevatione humilium, &
Superborum dejectione: We muſt
go to
Chrift weary and heavy laden under
our fins, but furely not ſtrip'd of them
altogether; could we ftrip off the guilt
and power of theſe without Chriſt,
we might be our own Saviours and
Sanctifiers, Chrift would have little or
nothing
[90]
Mr. Sher-
lock,
nothing to do for us: But faith the Au-
thor, We must receive Chrift by Faith,
and then what a bleſſed change is there in
us! For, though we continue as we were,
we have all in Chrift: What! may we
receive Chriſt, and be as we were?
Doth he bring nothing at all with
him? May we receive him, and not
have his righteouſneſs imputed, and his
ſpirit imparted to us? It is utterly vain
and impoffible: But now a touch for
worthy Mr. Watson.
Chriſt, as Mr. Watson hath it, faith
to a believer, with my body, yea, with
my blood I endow thee; and a be-
liever faith to Chrift, with my foul I
thee worship; As if, faith the Author,
Christ and a Believer were married by the
Liturgy.
Answer. I fuppofe our Church intended fome
fuch thing, and I mean it in good ear-
neft; for in the Communion Service,
fhe tells us, That we dwell in Chrift,
and Chrift in us; we be one with Chrift,
and Christ with us; and excellently
prayes, That our finful bodies may be
made clean by his body, and our Souls
washed through his most pretious blood,
and that we may evermore dwell in him,
and he in us: Sure fuch paffages import
a near Union and Communication be-
tween
[91]
tween Chrift and believers:But faith Mr.
Watfon, When a Soul is united to Chrift,
no condemnation can fall upon him;a wo-
man being married, her debts light upon
her husband: 0 bleſſed priviledge! faith
the Author, And who would be afraid of
running into debt with God, when he
bath fuch an Hufband to discharge all 3
and then how vile and impure foever men
are, their comfort is, they are married
to Chrift, and his beauty is put upon
them: To which I anfwer, No men
are more afraid to run into debt with
God, than thofe, who taſte of that
Grace, which forgives all; and drink
of that blood, which pays for all:
Our love to Chrift is a pure principle
of Obedience, and his love to us is a
Divine inflammative of ours, becauſe
he will diſcharge all, fhall we be pre-
fumptus and extravagant? Some
Gallants in Queen Elizabeths time,
hoping for fome Church-lands, run out
deſperately, crying out, Solvat Eccle-
fia; but ſhall believers, who have paſt
through the pangs of the new birth,
and tafted the hidden Manna of Gods
love, fin on and fay, Solvat Chriftus?
Nothing is, nor can be more unnatu-
ral, becauſe they know themſelves e-
ſpouſed to ſuch an husband as Chrift,
→
ſhall
[92]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
ſhall they be adulterous? Becauſe
Chriſt will be their friend, fhall they
be enemies? Theſe are ſtrange repug-
nancies indeed: As to what the Au-
thor adds, How vile and impure foever
men are, their comfort is, they are mar-
ried to Chrift; thofe words (how vile
and impure foever men are) are none
of Mr. Watſon's, but added by the Au-
thor; after which rate one may turn
any thing into non-fence, or blafphe
my.
And to crown all, when they are once
ingraffed into Chrift, they are fecure to e-
ternity; Chrift is not divided, amem-
ber cannot be lost, the union cannot be
diffolved.
This indeed is that, wherein the
Covenant of Grace lifts it felf up above
the Covenant of works; in that of
works, the ſtock was in mans hand;
but in this of Grace, it is in Gods;
in that there was no promife of perfe-
verance, but in this there are many
fuch promiſes, God shall confirm you un-
to the end, I Cor. 1.8. He will put his
fear in their hearts, that they shall not
depart from him. Jer. 32.40. The A-
poſtle praying for the Theffalonians,
that they may be preferved blameleſs
unto the coming of Chrift, immediate-
ly
[93]
ly adds, Faithful is he that calleth you.
who alſo will do it. 1 Theff. 5. 23, 24,
Evidently God undertakes it, and en-
gages his faithfulneſs in it; ſhall we
take the matter out of Gods hand into
our own, or turn about to the old Co-
venant? Shall we take theſe promiſes
conditionally? Then we muft utterly
evacuate theſe promiſes; for they muſt
run thus, if we will perfevere, we ſhall
perfevere, and ſo much was true under
the old Covenant, and without any
promiſe at all: Mr. Watfon argues thus,
If any branch be plucked away from Chriſt,
it is either becauſe Chrift is not able to
keep it, or becauſe he is willing to lose it:
But faith the Author, May not fin dif-
Solve the union? What if the believer
will not stay with Chrift? I anſwer, This
doth not at all anſwer the Argument
from Chriſts power;Hath he not power
to prevent fin from being, or from
being final? Hath he not power to
ftrengthen believers, in that which is
good, or if they lapſe, to raiſe them
up again? If ſo, his promife cannot
fail, his faithfulness will make it good;
neither doth fin committed, un-faint a
believer, as the Author hints; this was
the remarkable difference between the
two Covenants; in Adam one fin ex-
pelled
[94]
pelled perfect holiness, but in believers
it doth not extinguiſh inherent Grace,
though imperfect; ftill there is a feed of
God abiding in them, a well of water
fpringing up unto everlaſting life;
through Grace they fhall be revived a-
gain: But faith Mr. Shepherd, Chrift
hath taken upon him to purge his Spouſe;
upon which the Author, If he be not
purged, whofe fault can it be but his own?
To which I answer, Chrift hath under-
taken to purge believers, but not fo
as to prevent all lapſes; when they are
purged, it is meerly of Grace, but when
they fin, it is of their own: By fuch
lapfes God lets them know, as he did
Hezekiah, what is in their heart.
Mr.Sher- Let us now confider the confequential,
conjugal affections, the Soul must be en-
amoured with Chrift, fick of love to him,
he is maximè diligibilis, the very ab-
ftract and quinteffence af beauty; you
muft delight in his embraces, thirst after
more intimate acquaintance with him,
follow him from one ordinance to another,
and never be fatisfied unless you meet
with him in ordinances, there they hear
of his Beauty, Riches, Fulness, All-fuffi-
ciency, of all truths they favour the
truths of Christ best.
lock.
Answer.
And what needs all this? Thefe
truths
[95]
truths are too plain to be denied, and
too facred to be laughed at.
lock,
Such fanctified Souls loath all dull, in- Mr.Sher-
fipid, moral difcourfes, which are perpe-
tually inculcating duty, and troubling
them with a great many rules for a good
life: Which Mr. Watfon calls the quaint
points of virtue and vice. For this is
not to enjoy Christ in ordinances.
I fuppofe they cannot loath difcourfes
of duty; For as our Author tells us
a little after, they make Obedience to
Chriſt their husband, a conjugal act,
and in order to that they muſt hear of
duty; Only I take it, they had rather
hear duty ſpread before them, in a
plain Scriptural drefs, than in curious
fpeculations of meer humane reafon:
They would have duty inculcated, but
not ſo perpetually, as to exclude the
preaching up of that Divine Grace
which enables thereunto, without this
they deſpair of doing any thing aright;
but faith the Author, It is very hard to
find a proper place for Obedience in this
new Religion; for this is not neceſſary at
all, to our coming to Chrift, and closing
with him; nay, it is a great hinderance
to it, for we muſt bring nothing to Chrift
with us, the marriage is confummated
without it, and then we have leß need of
it,
Answer.
[96]
it than before, for then we are adorned
with Chrifts Beauty,holy with his holineß,
delivered by his expiation, righteous with
his righteousness, which gives us an actu-
al right to Glory; we need no righteouſ-
ness of our own to fave us, which were to
Suppose a defect in the righteousness of
Chrift; unto which I answer, Though
a man, with his arms of rebellion in his
hands, cannot poffibly, whileft in that
poſture, cloſe with Chrift; yet I take
it, Faith, which eſpouſes Chriſt, doth
precede true Obedience: Without faith,
faith the Apoſtle, it is impoffible to pleafe
God. Heb. 11. 6. Without faith, faith
our Church in the Homily of good
works, All that is done of us is but dead
before God, although the work feem never
fo gay and glorious before man, even as
the picture graven or painted, is but a
dead reprefentation of the thing it felf,
So be the works of all unfaithful perfons
before God, they do appear to be lively
works, and indeed they be but dead, not
availing to the everlasting life; they be
but fhadows and fhews of lively and good
things, and not good and lively things
indeed, thus our Church excellently;
which tells us what manner of Obedi-
ence we can bring to Chrift: After our
eſpouſals to Chrift by faith, Obedience
follows,
[97]
follows as a fruit and effect of Faith 3
though the Author faſten this opinion
exprefly on thoſe whom he oppofes,
calling them in fport, intimate acquain
tances of Chrift; yet our Church tells us
in the twelfth Article, That good works
do Spring neceffarily out of a true and
lively Faith: Chrifts righteouſneſs
makes us righteous in Juftification, but
doth it thence follow, that Obedience
is needlefs? No fure. It is a thing no-
ted in the Papifts, that they confound
Juftification and Sanctification toge
ther; but we must not do fo, if it be
neceffary to do Gods will, or promote
his Glory, or to give evidences of our
Faith in, and gratitude to Chrift; or
to walk in the way to Heaven and Sal-
vation, then fuch is Obedience; but
the Author cannot underſtand this gra-
titude, unless our Righteousneß and Obes
dience be due to Chrift in thankfulness to
him for faving us without Obedience and
Righteousnes, which is just as broad, as
long, and we get nothing by the bargain :
To which I anſwer, our Obedience is
a due gratitude to Chrift, who faves
us by his Blood and Righteouſneſs, and
and that without a perfect, perſonal,
finleſs Obedience in our felves; and
withal, it is neceffary as a proof of our
faith,
H
[98]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
faith, and as the way to Heaven
which our Saviour hath chalked out to
us.
5
The Soul (faith Dr. Owen) con-
fents to take Chrift on his own terms,
to fave him in his own way, and faith,
Lord, I would have had thee and fal-
vation in my way, that it might have
been partly of mine endeavours, and
as it were by the works of the Law;
but I am now willing to receive thee,
and to be faved in thy way, meerly by
Grace, that is, Without doing any thing,
without obeying of thee, as the Author
doth interpret him.
Without doing any thing, without
obeying of thee: Is this the Doctors
meaning? Do his words import ſo?
Nothing more remote from him; he
ſhews how the Soul clofes with Chriſt,
and takes him on his own terms; it
will not now be juſtified by its own
works, or legal righteouſneſs, but by
Chriſt and his righteoufnefs; it will
not now endeavour in its own ſtrength,
but under the duct of Grace; this is
his plain meaning: For before the words
quoted, he ſpeaks of accepting Chriſt
as Lord and Saviour, and after them,of
giving up our felves to be ruled by the
Spirit, which cannot be without Obe-
dience :
[99]
dience: Its true, the Author calls this
a pretty complement, but the Doctor
ſpeaks it as his ferious judgment: In the
eighth Chapter of the book quoted,
he tells us, Obedience is indifpenfibly
neceffary, if Gods Sovereignty is to be
owned, if his Love to be regated, if the
whole work of the ever bleſſed Trinity for
us, in us, be of any moment, our Obedi-
ence is neceffary: Thus fully the Doctor,
who yet is here conftrued by the Au-
thor to exclude Obedience; what
meaſure this is let others judge.
The Soul gives up it felf to be ruled by Mr. Sher
the Spirit of Christ, to be paffively, not lock.
actively good, to submit, as needs it
must, to the irresistible working of the
Divine Spirit, and to obey, when it can
rebel no longer: (Thus the Author
fports with his Oppofites.)
ie as it
is so
Sastwagik
Touching irreſiſtible Grace, I have Answer.
fpoken before; the Soul in the first act
of Converfion is meerly paffive, but
after the Divine Principles infufed, acta
agit, it moves under the fweet influ-
ences of the Spirit, without whofe in-
fpiration, as our Church tells us in the
thirteenth Article, Works done are not
pleasant to God, yet that infpiration
doth not, as the Author hints, force
the will of man, but fweetly lead it in a
H 2
way
[100]
T
way congruous to its liberty. And
now the Author ſhuts up this Section
thus: I have given thee Reader, an en-
tire ſcheme of a new Religion, refulting
from an acquaintance with Chrifts perfon,
in all its principles and practices; I think
there nee no more to expofe it to the
Scorn of every confidering man, who can-
not but difcover, how inconsistent the
religion of Chrifts Perfon, and of his
Gospel are. To which I fhall only fay,
the Author hath done his endeavour to
expoſe his Oppofites to fcorn, but how
new their Religion is, how inconfift-
ent with the Goſpel, and how juſt the
fcorn, I leave to confidering men to de-
termine.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
T
SECT. III.
Hefe men pretend to learn a Reli-
gion from Chriſts Perfon, but this
is at best to build Religion upon uncertain
conjectures, or ambiguous reasons; Sup-
pose them to be cautions, yet what aſſu-
rance can they have, that their inferences
are true; and as a reafon of this the
Author afterwards adds, There is not a
natural and neceffary connexion between
the person of Christ, and what he did
and
[101]
and ſuffered, and the Salvation of Man-
kind, the Incarnation, Life, Death, Re-
furrection of Chrift were available to
thofe ends, for which God defigned them;
but the vertue and efficacy of them doth
depend upon God's Inftitution and Ap-
pointment; and therefore can be known
only by Revelation: We cannot draw a
Conclufion from the Perfon of Chriſt,
which his Gospel hath not exprefly taught,
because we can know no more of the de-
Sign of it, than what is there revealed.
They learn from Chriſt's Perſon, but Anſwer.
what, without the Goſpel? No,by no
means; without this, they cannot,pre-
tend not to know, whether there be
fuch a Perſon as Chriſt or no, or what
are the Ends of his Incarnation, Life,
Death and Refurrection: Theſe de-
pend upon God's appointment, and
that is fet forth in the Goſpel : But ha-
ving the Goſpel as an outward Medium,
they ſee Chriſt and many Myfteries in
him, who is the Mirrour of divine Per-
fections, and the great Illuminator by
his Spirit. But, faith the Author, they
Such is their intolerable prefumption)
Shape Religion according to their Fancies,
and ftuff it with an infinite number of
Orthodox Propofitions ; none of which are
to be found in expreßTerms in Scripture,
H 3
bus
[102]
Urb.
but are pretended to be deduced from
thence by Such imaginary confequences,
from fome little hints of things; and is
not this unpardonable in thofe men, who
cry down Reaſon as a prophane and car-
nal thing, and yet lay the Foundation of
their Religion on fome little fhews and ap-
pearances of Reason? To which I an-
fwer, The harſh Cenfure of Eccius made
Urban a German Divine cry out, O in-
Melch. A-fælicem Urbanum, fi Eccii calculo cælum
dam in vit, datur & negatur ! Miferable were thefe
Men, if they were to ftand or fall by
the Authors Judgment. Thefe Men,
as the Author tells us, pag. 98. abound
with Scripture, ſtuff their Books with it,
and talk of little elſe; yet,alas! they ſhape
Religion according to their Fancies: If
they urge express Scriptures, they confider
only the found of words. Pag. 2. If they
urge Scripture-confequences, they stand
upon little hints and appearances of
things; Reaſon they cry down as a pro-
phane and carnal thing, and yet they found
their Religion on little fhews and appear-
ançes. Oh unhappy Men! But the beſt
is, all this, to fay no worſe, is but meer
Accufation; each of them can plead
Not guilty to it, and fay, as Urban ta
Eccius, Hominis judicium audio, Chrifti
tribunal expecto: They are Men who
defire
[103]
defire to ſet every thing in its due
place, Fancy below Reaſon, and Rea-
fon below Scripture; upon which laft,
as the unerring Rule they ftand, like
the Karai among the Jews, fo precife-
ly, that they are not willing to admit
any thing in Matters of Religion which
is not found there; according to that
of Origen, Sicut aurum, quod fuerit ex-
tra Templum, non eft fanctificatum, fic
omnis fenfus, qui extra Scripturam, non
eft fanctus.
lock.
When men argue from the Nature of Mr. Sher-
of God, his Works and Providences, from
the Nature of Mankind, and thoſe eter-
nal Notions of Good and Evil, and the
effential Differences of things; that is,
from plain and undeniable Principles
which have an unchangeable nature, and
fo can bear the stress of a just Confequence,
this is carnal Reafon.
I cannot imagine that they call or Answer.
think it fo:Principles of natural Theolo-
gy carry a Divine Stamp on them ; yet
I conceive theſe in Diſcourſes, if taken
within their proper Sphere of Natural
Light only, may not wear that Crown
fet on the Head of the Gofpel, to be
διακονία πνεύματα, The miniftration of
the Spirit, as the Apoſtle fpeaks, 2 Cor.
3.8. Should a Man preach fuch Prin-
H 4
ciples
[104]
भु
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Anfwer.
tiples only, without fetting forth
Chriſt and the regenerating Spirit, he
would ſcarce be worthy to be called
a Spiritual Evangelical Divine. But
now the Author gives a Scheme of Re-
ligion deducible from an Acquintance
with Chriſt's Perfon; I am glad that
he owns any fuch thing, and ſhall not
have much to fay upon it.
When we confider, that this heavenly
Ambafador and Mediator is no less than
the Son of God, by whom the Worlds were
made, we may reaſonably conclude,that he
came upon no leẞ Deſign than of univer-
fal Goodneß; for he can have no tempta-
tion to Partiality, as being equally con-
cerned in the Happines of all men; and
we cannot imagine, why he should lay a
narrower design of Love in the Redempti-
on, than in the Creation of Mankind :
When in the first Creation be defigned all
for Happiness, that in this new and fe-
cond Creation he should defign only the
Happiness of fome few, is to make him
lefs good in Redeeming, than in Creating
Mankind.
Chriſt in his Coming and fatisfactory
Sufferings had a refpect to all Men,fo far
as to procure for them Salvation on
Goſpel-terms, but he had not an equal
refpect to all; it being utterly unima
ginable
[105]
ginable that he ſhould have as great a
reſpect to thoſe in the Pagan World,
who have no Chriſt, no atoning Sacri-
fice, no Promiſe of Life and Salvation
revealed to them, as he hath to thoſe
in the Church, who have all theſe glo-
rious Objects evidently fet forth be-
fore them: Greater Donations argue
greater degrees of Love ; or elfe, which
is very hard to believe, God loves all
Creatures alike, notwithſtaneing that
he meaſures out his Goodness to them
in a very various and different manner,
to fome more, and to others lefs. But
becauſe the Author hath before laid
down a good Rule, That the Virtue and
Efficacy of Christ's Death doth depend on
God's Institution and Appointment, and
therefore can be known only by Revelati-
on, I shall apply my felf only to the
Scripture: There, as we find, he di-
ed that he might gather together the
Children of God that were fcatered,
Job. 11:52. He gave himself for his
Church,that he might fanctifié and cleanfe
it, Eph, 5. 26. He gave himself that he
might purifie to himſelf a peculiar people,
Tit. 2. 14. He laid down his life for his
Aeep, so as to bring them into his fold
and make them hear his voice, Joh. 10.
15, 16. He redeems some from among
men,
[106]
men, Rev. 14. 4. And out of every kin-
dred,and tongue, and people, and nation,
Rev. 5. 9. All which Scriptures do em-
phatically fhew, that Chriſt had a ſpe-
cial refpect in his Death unto his own
above others. But further; Chrift by
his precious Blood founded thofe Evan-
gelical Promifes, of taking away the
ftony Heart, writing the Law in the
Heart, and putting his holy Spirit
there; but did he found them for all
men? What, for thoſe whom God will
barden, Rom. 9? What, for thoſe Pa-
gans, who have not fo much as the
Law before them in the Letter, nor
that Goſpel which is Vehiculum Spiri-
tûs fancti? How, or which way, or by
what means can fuch Promiſes be made
good to them? How fhall they be re-
generate without the holy Spirit, or
have that without the Gospel? It is
not at all credible; fuch ſpecial Pro-
miſes in the Covenant founded by his
Blood,ſpeak a ſpecial refpect to his own
Elect. The Author's Reaſon from Cre-
ation cannot hold good: The lapſed
Angels had their fhare of Goodneſs in
Creation, but none at all in Redemp-
tion: God, who is the Great Donor
of his Son to the World, may give him
with what Reſpects and to what Intents
he
[107]
he pleaſes; and, if he have ſpecial pur-
poſes in it, no man may prefume to fay,
that he is partial or lefs good then he
ought to be.
lock.
Christ's Death and Sacrifice for fin feals Mr. Sher-
the Covenant of Grace and Pardon to all
penitent and reformed Sinners, and ſeals
the irrevocable Decree of Reprobation a-
gainst all others.
ذ
God's Decree of Reprobation may Answer,
be taken two ways; either for an A&
of Preterition, not giving men faving
Grace, but leaving them to final Sin
or for a Decree of Damnation: In this
latter God looks on Men as final Sin-
ners, and reveils his Juftice in their
Condemnation: In the former he doth
not look on men as final Sinners, but
paſs them by and leave them to them-
felves to become fuch; and in this he
ſhews forth his infinite Sovereignty in
diſpenſing Grace as he pleafeth.
This made the Divine Goodness forest- Mr. Sher
lefly zealous, and concerned for the re-lock.
covery of mankind; various ways he at-
tempted in former ages, but with little
Success; but at last God fent his own Son
our Lord Jefus Chrift into the world, to
be the great Shepherd and Bishop of
Souls, to feek, and to ſave that which
was loft,
Various
[108]
Anſwer.
Various ways attempted! what di-
ftinct and ſeparate from Chrift? Was
not Chrift in the firſt plot and defign of
our recovery? Was not he the Lamb
flain, from the foundation of the
world? Immediately after the Fall, he
was promiſed in the Seed of the wo-
man, and after that first Goſpel, the
light was ſtill a breaking out in a fuc-
ceffion of Promiſes and Sacrifices: Va-
rious ways,
faith the Author, were at-
tempted to little Succeß; what! was it
to any ſucceſs at all? Was ever any one
loft ſon of Adam faved without a
Chriſt, without a Satisfaction? No
Chriſtian ears will endure fuch an o-
pinion; however, God having a de-
fign in thoſe ways, as the Author im-
ports; why did not thofe plots take
effect, and fave Chrift the labour of
coming in the fleſh? May it become his
infinite wiſdom to attempt this and that,
and at laſt light upon the right way? Or
may it comport with his infinite power
to be poſed and nonpluſt, and that in
fo
great a concern, as Man's recovery?
To think fo, is, as S. Auſtin ſaith, To
Euchir. hazard the first Article of our Creed,
cap. 96. Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem s
And, if in thofe various ways there
could be an obstacle to the Almighty,
what
[109]
what might it be? Was it for want of
a fatisfaction? No, according to our
Author that was not neceffary, God
might have pardoned without it; or
was it becauſe the corrupt obſtinate
Will of man did fruftrate thofe defigns?
Very well, after that laft greateſt de-
fign by Chriſt, may it not do the fame?
According to our Author, God as
paffionately defirous, and reſtlefly jea-
lous as he is in this matter, affords yet
no higher than fuafory refiftible Grace;
and let any judge, how reconcileable
fuch opinions are with infinite wiſdom
or power, or indeed with the Scri-
pture, which tells us, That he doth
whatſoever he pleaſes: Pfal. 115. 3. It's
true, the great Grotius gloffes on that
place thus, Ideò homo libertatem habet,
quia Deus voluit, which is true within
the Text; but if that liberty be of ſo
vaſt a latitude, that it may fruſtrate ſo
great a defign, as that of Salvation by
Chriſt,the truth of the Text cannot pof
fibly confiſt.
Thofe fins, which are not expiated by Mr. Sher-
the Sacrifice of Christ, as none are, till we lock.
repent and reform, fhall certainly be ex-
piated by the death of the finner.
I conceive that Chrift expiated our
fins upon the Cross, but that expiation
avails
Anſwer:
[110]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
avails us not, till it be applied by faith;
He gave himself a ransom for all. 2 Tim.
2.6. But all do not repent and be-
lieve, fuch as continue in their hard-
nefs and unbelief cannot have the be-
nefit of that ranſom, but fall into
death eternal, ever ſuffering, but ne
ver able to ſatisfie or expiate their
fins.
If our Faith in Christ have reformed
our lives, and rectified the temper of our
minds, and made us fincere lovers of
God and goodneẞ; though we are not ac-
quainted with thofe artificial methods of
repentance, have not felt the workings of
the Law, nor the amazing terrors of
Gods wrath, nor the raging defpair of
damned Spirits; and then all on a fud-
den, as if we had never heard any fuch
thing before, have had Christ offered,
heard his woings, and made a formal
contract and efponfal with Chrift, and
fuch like workings of a heated fancy, and
religions diftraction; though our Conver
fion be not managed with ſo much art and
method, we are never the worſe Chrifti-
ans for want of it.
Answer. Certainly it is very fad, faith a wor-
thy Divine, That ſcoffing at the doctrines
of repentance and humiliation, which
was wont to be a badge of prophanes,
Should
[111]
fhould be adopted into religion: The Au-
thor tells us a little before, Chrift and
his appearance were not defigned to cause
tempefts and earthquakes in our minds ;
without fuch artificial methods of repen-
tance; faith the Author, our lives may
be reformed, and minds rectified; but
what faith the Scripture? Our Saviour
preached up repentance. S. Paul tells
us of a fpirit of bondage, going before
the ſpirit of Adoption. S. James would
have finners be afflicted, and mourn,
and weep, and to turn their laughter
into mourning, and their joy to hea-
vineſs, and to humble themſelves in
the fight of the Lord, that they may
be lifted up: And what faith Reaſon?
Sin of all things in the world, calls for
forrow, forrow was made for fin, if for
any thing at all; fin is fo intimately in
us, that it will not eaſily come out,
being contracted with joy, it muſt be
diffolved with forrow: The hard heart,
unleſs melted by the fiery Law, will
not run into the Goſpel-mould; nor
will the proud heart, unless bowed
down under the weight of fin and
wrath, ever ſtoop under the Divine
command; the new creature is not
born without pangs, nor the inward
Circumcifion, which cuts off the dear,
but
د.
[112]
but corrupt fleſh of the heart, done
without fome anguiſh; felf-judging
uſhers in juſtification before God,
and deſpair in our felves a lively hope
in our Saviour: On all hands we are
fummoned to methods of repentance;
the groaning Creation fhames us into
that poſture, and the indwelling fin
preffes us into it; the broken Law calls
for a broken heart, and the ſtorm of
wrath black in the threatning, for a
trembling one; a crucified Chrift asks
a mourning eye, and an exalted one
gives it: Why the Author ſhould call
theſe penitential acts, artifices, or ef
fects of ignorance, or think them un-
neceflary or improper, under the Gof-
pel, I fee no juft reafon at all for
it.
SECT. IV.
lock.
Mr. Sher T Hefe men abound in Scripture, but
THefe
they accomodate Scripture-expreffi-
ons to their own dreams and fancies, be-
ing poffeft with Schemes and Ideas of
Religion; whatever they look on, appears
of the fame shape and colour wherewith
their minds are tinctured; if any word
found like the tinkling of their own fancy,
it
1
[113]
it is no leẞ than a demonſtration, that
that is the meaning of the ſpirit of God
every little fhadow confirms them in their
preconceived opinions: As Irenæus ob-
ferves of the Valentinians, that they
ufed one artifice or other to adopt all
the fpeeches of our Saviour, and Alle-
gories of Scripture, malè compofito
phantafmati, to the contrived figment of
their own brain: Thefe acquaintances of
Chrift, first contrive their religion, and
poffeß their fancies with their private
opinions, and then read the Scripturė
with no other defign, than to find fome-
thing there to Stamp Divinitý on their
own conceits; they dote upon words and
Metaphors, and Allufions; they found
their Religion on obfcure Texts, or myfti-
cal interpretations of plain Texts, and
by the help of distinctions, and gloſſes,
curtailing of Texts, tranfplacing of words
and Comma's, or feparating a single fen-
tence from the body of the difcourfe
make the Scripture Speak their fence as
plainly, as the Bells ring what every boy
will have them; which is to deal with
Scripture; as Irenæus obferves, as if a
man fhould take a picture of a King,
which confiſted of an artificial compo-
fition of precious ftones, and tranfplace
all thofe ftones into another form; as
I fuppofe
[114]
Anſwer.
ſuppoſe of an Ape, and then ſhould
perfwade filly people, that that was
the Kings picture: At this rate we may
find the Alcoran in the Bible, as well as
make fo many Books different and contra-
ry to each other, from the various com-
pofition of twenty four letters: Thefe ac-
quaintances of Chrift: (And who may
better make bold with him than they)
pervert the Gospel to ferve their opinion;
there are two wayes of expounding Scri-
pture in great vogue among them: First,
By the found and clink of words, which
is all fome men understand by a form of
Sound words: Secondly, When this will
not do, they reason about the fence of
Scripture from their own preconceived
notions, and prove that this must be the
meaning of Scripture, because otherwiſe
it is not reconcileable to their dreams,
which is called expounding Scripture by
the Analogy of Faith.
It is the obſervation of that excellent
man, Jerome of Prague, in his defence
before the Council of Conftance; That
many worthy men have been unjustly con-
demned, fuch as Socrates among Pagans,
Ifaiah and other Prophets, nay, Chriſt
and his Apoftles: The Author hath put
in a long grievous charge againſt theſe
good men; but the Reader will ob-
ferve,
[115]
ferve, that it is a general one, and I
fuppofe, he will hang by his belief,
till proof be made by the after-in-
ftances: As for the Valentinians, theſe
men have nothing to do with them or
their ones; they were very high
flyers in their knowledge and perfecti-
ons: And as I find in the Magdeburgen-
fes, they held, That men, especially thofe
of their own Sect, naturâ falvos fieri,
were faved by nature; Which, whether
it may have any affinity with the natu-
ral faith allowed by the Author, I
know not: But now let us hear our
Authors inftances, and firſt for their ex-
pounding Scripture by the found of
words, If they find any words, faith the
Author, which chime to the tune of their
private conceits, they clap their own fence
on them.
Cont. 2.
cap.56
lock.
Thus when Christ is faid to be made Mr. Sher-
wisdom to us, this is a plain proof, that
we must learn all our fpiritual wifdem
from an acquaintance with his Perfon,
though fome duller men can understand
no more by it,than the wisdom of thofe Re-
velations Chriſt bath made to us of Gods
will.
External Revelation was never ex. Answer.
cluded by those whom the Author.op-
poſes, Chrift is made wiſdom to us, as I
I 2
have
[116]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
Life of
Chrift, fol.
461.
have anſwered before, becauſe all true
Wiſdom, that is, external Revelation
and internal Illumination are derived
from him, who is the Mirrour of di-
vine Perfections.
Thus when men have learn'd, from an
Acquaintance with Chrift,te place all their
hopes of falvation in a perjonal Union
with Chrift, from whom they receive Par-
don, Grace,Righteousness and Salvation;
what more plain proof can any man, who
is refolved to believe this, defire of it,than
1 Joh. 5. 12. He that hath the Son,
hath life: What can having the Son fig-
nifie, but having an interest in him
being made one with him: though fome
will be ſo perverſe as to underſtand it of
believing and obeying his Gospel.
>
Perfonal Union with Chrift? who
owns it? that is, of different Natures
in the fame Perfon, fuch as is not be-
tween Chrift and us; Myftical,the Au-
thor ſhould have faid; that I own, and
from thence are derived all fpiritual
good things to us: And fo much is
proved by that of St. John; Having the
Son, imports Union with him, or elfe
we may have all at a diſtance from him.
Hear the Learned Bishop Reynolds on
that Text: One thing cannot be the Prin
ciple of Life to another, except there be
Some
[117]
Commons,
Some Union, which may be the ground of
that conveyance;and this is that the Text
calls, the having of Chrift: And what
this Union is, he afterwards explains,
It is that whereby we and he are ſpiritu- Fol.468.
ally united to the making up of one myſti-
cal body, the formal Reaſon or Bond of it
is the Spirit of Chrift; from it doth im-
mediatly ariſe a Communion with him in
all good things. Hear the Glory of our
Church, Archbishop Ufher; No man par- Scrm.be-
ticipates of the benefits arising from Chrift fore the
to his ſpiritual relief, except he first have An. 1620
Communion with him ; we must have the
Son, before we have life; eat him we
must, that is, as truly be partakers of
him, as we are of our ordinary food: and
a little after, This is that great Myſtery
of our Union with Chrift, whereby we
are made members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bone. Hear the Learn-
ed Hooker; By vertue of this mystical Ecclef.Pol
Conjunction we are of him and in him; Lib.s.
even as though our fiefs and bones should
be continuate with his : No man is actu-
ally in him, but they in whom he actual-
ly is; for he which hath not the Son, hath
not life. And may we fay or think,
that fuch Pillars and Luminaries of the
Church, fhould follow the found and
clink of words and phrafes, chiming
I 3
to
[115]
Mr. Sher-
lack.
to the tune of their own Conceits?
One might rather take the Author to
be out, he underſtands that place of
obeying and believing the Gofpel: Believ
ing the Gospel is but a dogmatical
Faith, which entitles not to Chrift;
Obedience follows after Union with
him, and may be rather called walk-
ing in him, than having of him.
Before we can be united to Christ, we
must go to him; and therefore Faith,
which is the Instrument of this Union, is
very luckily called, Coming to Christ:
But this is not enough, we must receive
Christ, Joh.1.12. that Faith which ferves
us for Legs to go to Chriſt, muſt be an
Hand to receive him; when we have re-
ceived him, we muſt embrace him in our
Arms, as old Simeon did, when he found
him in the Temple, which is a little near-
er Union, as plainly appears from the
example of the Patriarchs, who embra
ced the Promifes: And now we have
Christ, we must trust and lean upon him,
as we are often commanded ; and, if lean-
ing be not enough, we may make a little
more bold, and rowl on him, as appears
from the Original: Gal. Pfal. 37. We
may discharge our load and caft it upon
Christ, and having brought our Souls
to Chrift, we must commit them to his
charge,
[119]
charge, if they perish it will be his fault:
Thus St. Paul did, 2 Tim. 1. 12. And
now we must hide our felves in Christ,
as the Dove in the rock, Cant. 2. 14.
Christ's Wounds are the clefts of the rock,
where the believing Soul hides it felf: But
this is not enough yet, we must put on
Christ, Rom. 13. 14. that is, his Righte-
oufness, which is a most beautiful Robe to
cover our nakedneß; if we would get the
blessing, we must go to God, as Jacob
did, in the Robes of our elder Brother ;
though this resemblance doth not very well
please me: For though Jacob was a good
man, yet this looks like a cunning trick,
to rob his elder Brother, and cheat his
blind Father; and men must not think,
that God is thus to be impofed upon; when
we are united to Chriſt, and made one
with him, all is ours, as the Apoſtle tells
us. And now what better proof can you
defire for all this, if you will be contented
with express words? No man would have
dream'd of fuch Interpretations of Scri-
pture, who had not been prepoſſeſt with
the mysterious Notion of a fanciful Union
to Chrift, and Application of Chrift to us ;
for here is no other proof of this, but
words and phrafes feparated from the body
of the Text, and the defign of the Dif
ourfe, and like ftraglers picked up and
I 4
lifted
[120]
listed into the ſervice of their Hypothe-
fis. The whole mystery of this and a great
deal more stuff of this nature confifts, in
wrefting Metaphorical expreffions to a
proper fence: When the Scripture defcribes
the Profeffion of Chriflianity, a fincere Be-
lief and Obedience to the Gospel,by having
of Chrift, being in bim, coming to him,
and receiving of him, these men expound
theſe phraſes to a proper natural fence, to
fignifie I know not what unintelligible
Union and closure of the Soul with him.
Answer. I never yet took any pleaſure in
Drollery, and leaſt of all when it ſports
it felf with Scripture, which is facred
all over to the loweſt Hem and Fringe
of Metaphors: Methinks no man can
play with thefe, but he will meet with
fome ftops or Remora's in Confcience;
the tragical Stories of Theopompus and
Theodedes mentioned by Jofephus,might
ferve for retractives, or the Reverence
of Scripture might fly in the face, as
the Fringe did in that Jew's, who was
addreffing himſelf to his forbidden
pleaſure. I conceive Faith, which is
the Inftrument of Union with Chriſt,
is not luckily, but purpoſely and in
wifdom called Coming; It being, as
our Church tells us, the firſt coming un-
to God, whereby we be justified. And
1. Hom. of
Faith
13
[121]
the Paffions.
in another place, The only mean and in- 2. Hom. of
ftrument of Salvation required of our
parts. The divine Spirit did not plant
thofe Metaphors in Scripture,as fo ma-
ny Flowers in a Garden, in vain or to
no purpoſe, but to fet and fhadow
forth in lively colours that excellent
Grace of Faith, which doth in ſo ad-
mirable a way unite to Chriſt, as if it
had all Motions, poſtures and Senſati-
ons ſpiritually in it ſelf,to take in Chriſt
with his incomparable Benefits into the
Soul Chriſt is the Center of Reft,
rich Treaſure,' infinite Beauty, fure
Foundation, Rock of Salvation, hea-
venly Covering, and the very Food
and Life of Souls; and Faith is coming,
receiving, embracing, leaning, hiding,
putting on, and feeding on him; de-
noting thus much to us, That Faith is,
as I may fay,the commune Senforium, or
common Capacity, which takes in Chrift
and his excellent Benefits in an appro-
priative way into the Soul. The Au-
thor indeed thinks this Union and Ap-
plication of Chrift to be but a Fancy;
but it is fuch an one, as without which
his Blood and Merits are like to avail
us little or nothing, as I before noted.
St. Auſtin upon that Text of receiving
Chrift, Job. 1. 12. faith, Et nos illum
poffi-
Tra&t. in
Fob.
[122]
poffideamu!, & ipfe nos poffideat, ille nos
poffideat ficut Dominus, nos illum polfi
deamus ficut falutem. Gregory Nyffen, as
I find him quoted by Gerard, faith, Nos
fide Chriftum recipere, ut intra conclave
noftrum, quod cor noftrum eft, perveniat.
St. Chryfoftome on that Text, Rom. 13.
14. would have us put on, nay
παντοθεν
we caredα, to be compaffed round a-
bout with Chriſt, he would have Chriſt
to dwell in us, and to be a garment about
us, that he may be all to us, cowbev ✯ ɧW-
έσωθεν યે ૭-
Jev, within and without; and a little af
ter, he tells us, That he is the Root,Food,
Life, the Foundation, Corner-ftone, and
what not to us, παντὶ τρόπω συγκολλῶν καὶ
συνάπτων ἡμᾶς, every way conjoyning and
conglutinating us to himself. That of
going to God in the Robes of our el-
der Brother, which pleaſes not the Au-
thor, not every way fuiting, as indeed
no Reſemblance doth, was hinted by
no leſs man than St. Ambrofe, who faith,
Et odoratus est odorem veftimentorum ;
& fortaffe iftud est, quia non aperibus
juftificamur, fed fide. And for the ne-
ceffity of this Application, our Church
hath laid it down in terminis; As it
2. Hom. of profiteth a man nothing to have Salve,
the Paffion. unless it be applied to the part infected, fo
the Death of Christ ſhall ſtand us in no
force
[123]
·
the Sacra-
incut.
force, unless we apply it to our felves, in
fuch fort as God hath appointed: Almigh-
ty God worketh by means, and in this
thing he hath ordained a certain mean ;
what mean is that? forfooth it is Faith:
And in another place, our Church 1. Hom, of
would have us come to the Lord's Sup-
per, not as ſpecially regarding the ter-
rene and earthly Creatures, but always
holding faſt, and cleaving by Faith to
the Rock, whence we may fuck the
ſweetneſs of everlaſting Salvation.
However, the Author, to whom all
thefe are Fancies, underſtands by fuch
Metaphors, believing and obeying the
Gofpel: Believing the Gospel is but a
dogmatical Faith, not entitling us to
Chriſt or Salvation; if that be all which
is meant, the Glory and divine Em-
phafis of thofe Metaphors is loft, and
the Texts themſelves muſt wither in a
very cold and jejune Sence: And for
Obedience, that follows after Union,
and, as our Church tells us in the 12.
Article, is a fruit of Faith.
Thus when they talk of our ſpiritual Mr. Sher-
impotency and inability to do any good lock.
thing, they prove it wonderfully from
our being dead in trefpaffes and fins ;
therefore as a dead man can contribute
nothing to his own Reſurrection, no more
can
[124]
can we towards our Conversion: Which
is true of Natural death, but will be hard
to prove of a Moral death, which confifts
in the prevalency of vicious habits con-
tracted by long custom (which was the
cafe of the Heathen, whom the A-
poftle there speaks of) which do enflave
the Will, that it is very difficult, though
not impoffible for fuch perfons to return to
the love and practice of Virtue.
Answer. Every man, who is acquainted with
himſelf, may learn his own impoten-
cy to good, from the inward preffure
of corruption which is in him: How-
ever the Apoſtle in that 2d. to the E-
phesians doth notably decypher it out
to us; there he ſpeaks not fo much of
a ſpiritual Death in actual cuſtomary
fins, as of fuch a Death in Original
corruption; for he oppoſes it to quick-
ning Grace which by divine Principles
infuſed heals the fame; and a little af
ter tells us, that we are by nature the
children of wrath. Hoc uno verbo, quaſi
fulmine, totus homo, quantus quantus
eft, profternitur, faith Beza on the place:
this fhews him dead indeed. It's true
Contra Ju- the Pelagians, as St. Austin tells us,
would have omitted the word, Nature,
and in ftead thereof have read, Prorsus,
altogether children of wrath, but the
lian.l.6.
C.4.
Church
[125]
Church would not fuffer it. This ſpi-
ritual Death in Sin is a total one, it
runs over all the Soul; there are, faith
the Apoſtle lufts or defires of the Fleſh,
the fenfitive Faculties, and of the
Mind, the rational Powers; nothing
is left in Man but what is dead in fin,
not a drop or a ſpark of Spiritual Life
or true Grace: For then a man ſhould
be naturally regenerate and under a
Promiſe of that Evangelical Mercy,
which is indulged to the leaſt meaſure
of Grace, though it be but as a fmoking
flax or bruised reed. Man is wholly
void of fpiritual Life by Nature, and
hence it evidently appears, that he is
not able to reach fo high as any fpiritu
al Act, ſuch as Converſion is, unleſs he
be elevated above his own Line by fu-
pernatural Grace: This is fully the
Doctrine of our Church, who tells us, 1.Hom for
Man of his own nature is fleshly, carnal, Whitfun-
corrupt, naught, finful, disobedient, with day.
out any spark of goodneß in him: And
in another place, The condition of Man, Article
after the Fall of Adam,is ſuch,that he can- the 10ths
not turn and prepare himſelf by his own
natural strength and good works, to Faith
and calling upon God: Wherefore we
have no power to do good Works plea-
fant and acceptable to God, without
the
I
[126]
Mr. Sher-
the Grace of God preventing us, that
we may have a good Will, and work-
ing with us, when we have that good
Will.
We are faid to be created to good works,
lock. and to become new Creatures, and there-
fore we can contribute no more to it than
to our first Creation; and we are born a-
gain which fignifies that we are wholly
palfive in it: Which were true indeed, if
our being created unto good works did
fignifie the Manner and Method of our
Converfion, and not the Nature of the
new Creature, which is the true meaning
of it; That as in the firft Creation we are
created after the Image of God, fo we are
renewed after the Image of God, in the
fecond; which is therefore exprefly call-
ed in other places the renewing of our
minds.
Anſwer.
The new Creature is indeed after
God and his Image, but it is alſo from
him and his glorious Power in a way of
Creation: He takes it upon himſelf;
A new heart will I give you, and a new
fpirit will I put within you, Ezek. 36.26.
His great Power is put forth in it, Eph.
1. 17. and it is brought forth in a way
of Creation, even as God commanded
the light to fhine out of darkness, 2 Cor.
4. 6. May there be a new Creature
with-
[127]
without a Creator? Or may poor,dead,
impotent Man without any fpark of
Goodness in himſelf be fuch? Orifhe
cannot do it alone, may he be a Co-
creator with his Maker, and put in for
a ſhare in fo great a work? No furely,
all muſt be afcribed to the Grace of
God alone: Non eft devotionis dediffe
prope totum, fed fraudis retinuiffe vel
minimum. faith Profper; We must not
rob God of the leaſt Atom in Nature..
For my own part, were I, as I am not,
under a neceffity to do one, I fhould
rather think it tolerable to ſteal away
the old World, as the Manichees did,
than with the Pelagians to take away
the new from him. But fuppofe a man
could indeeed, as fome have prefumed,
new-make his own Heart after God's I-
mage, might it be called a Creation?
Is not that Title too high for any Crea-
ture, and where doth the Scripture
give fnch an one to Man? 'Tis God's
Royal Prerogative to new-make the
Heart: of his own will begat he us, faith
the Apoſtle, Jam. 1. 18. To this our
Church agrees; It is the holy Ghoft, and 1. Hom.for
no other thing, that doth quicken the Whitfun-
Minds of Men; and a little after, He is
the only worker of Sanctification, and
maketh us new men in Christ Jesus.
when
day.
[128]
1x. Sherl
When this fails, they take another
courfe with Metaphors, to make them
Serve their purpoſe, that is, by confider-
ing all the properties of those things
Christ is compared to, and applying all
that will ſerve their turn to Christ, with-
out regarding the end, to which they are
uſed; thus the Kingdom of Heaven is
compared to a Pearl of great price: Mat.
13. This Pearl fignifies Chrift, who, as
Mr. Watſon faith, makes us worthy
with his worthiness; Though all the Pa-
rable means, is, that we should part with
all for the Gospel: Thus Chrift was pre-
figured by the Manna, this was circu-
lar, and fo a figure of Chrifts perfecti-
on; it was meat dreffed in Heaven,
and Chriſt was prepared of his Father,
it fuited every ones palate, and Chriſt
fuits every Chriftians condition; he is
full of quickning, ftrengthning, com-
forting virtue, that is, He is what every
man fancies him to be, relishes to their
gufto, what precious diſcoveries are here
of Chrift! What irrefragable proofs for
them? Thus Chrift is a Rock, 1 Cor.
10. A rock for defence, and for of
fence, and for comfort, to fcreen us
from Gods wrath, and contein the ho-
ney of the promiſes; Chriſt is refem-
bled by the brazen Serpent, Brafs as
inferiour
[129]
inferiour metal fignifies his humanity,
and as folid metal the power of his
Godhead, it ſhines but doth not dazle
the eyes, and fo fignifies the Godhead
veiled with Manhood ; thus the brazen
Serpent was like a Serpent, but no reall
one; fo Chrift was in the likeness of
finful flesh, but no finner; the Serpent
was lifted up to be looked on, and fo
was Chriſt to be looked fiducially up-
on: Never man fo happy in expounding
types, never Serpent fo fubtil: Thus
Chriſt is a Vine, a Vine is weak, Chrifts
humane nature was fain to be fupport-
ed by the Divine, the Vine grows in
the Garden, Chriſt in the Church, not
known among the Heathen: It had
been more grand, to have faid, that
Christ made the Garden, where he grows z
The Vine communicates to the Branch-
es, Chrift to Believers, the Vine hath
rare fruit, and the promiſes grow upon
Chrift; the Blood of Chrift is the
wine, which chears mans heart, What
fine work might a prophane wit make at
this rate, but further they jumble all to-
gether, and prove one thing from ano-
ther in a wonderful manner, as thus j
Chrift is lovely, that is, as Mr. Watson
hath it, he is lovely in his Titles, be-
ing the defire of all nations, the Prince
K
of
[130]
Answer.
of Peace, the holy one; lovely in his
Types, typified by Mofes, David, So-
lomon, who were lovely perfons; and
typified by lovely things, as the Pillar
of Cloud, the Manna, the Mercy-feat,
brazen Serpent,and Noah's Ark: Who can
forbear being Smitten with ſo lovely a Per-
fon? Befides all theſe, Chrift is reſembled
to the Rofe of Sharon, the Queen of
Flowers; to a Vine, the nobleſt of
Plants; to a Corner-ftone, a Rock, a
rich Treaſure, a beautiful Robe, and
all theſe are lovely, (and fo fhould a-
ny thing have been, that had come in
his way at that time;) thus Chrift is
altogether lovely.
The Author tells us, pag. 75. That
he had done enough to expoſe theſe men
to ſcorn: Yet we have here a very long
Harangue, ferving to very little uſe,
unleſs that ill one, which I prefume
the Author never intended; to gratifie
that ugly scoffing humour at Religion,
which runs about the prophane world:
God himſelf by ufing fimilitudes, hath
fanctified them to us; the Song of So-
lomon is an entire Allegory full of ſa-
cred myſteries, the writings of the an-
cient Fathers are in a great meaſure
like pieces of Arras or Tapeſtry, beau
tified with Allegorical Flowers, and I-
mages
[131]
in Amos:
Tra&.13.
mages of Divine things, to give a little
taſt: S. Cyril of Alexandria faith, That Comment.
chrift is inferted into us, ὡς λίθος ἀδάμας,
As if he were the Diamond of the heart:
S. Hilary tells us, That Chrift is Marga-
rita, quia nihil illo pretiofius invenitur,
Thefaurus ut in ipfo omnes divitiæ regno- De Patris
rum cœleftium recondite agnofcantur, & Fil.uni-
all riches and pretioufneß being in him; tate.
S. Auftin touching Manna, faith, Panem
Angelorum manducavit homo, quis eft in Foban.
panis Angelorum? In principio erat
verbum, quomodo manducavit homo?
Verbum caro factum eft, & habitavit in
nobis. And in another place, De Ce-
lo Manna veniebat, that is in Mr. Wat- De utilit.
fon's phrafe, It was meat dreffed in Hea-
ven, attende quem figurabat; ego fum,
inquit, panis vivus, qui de Cælo defcen-
di: For the Rock, let S. Ambrofe
come in, Chriftus petra dicitur, quia De file
credentibus fortitudinem, incredulis du- contra Ar.
ritiem preftat, that is, in Mr. Watſon's cap.6.
language; A Rock for defence, and a
Rock for offence; and for the Honey
in the Rock, our Church thinks it no
diſparagement to fav, That from this 1. Hom. of
Rock we may fuck the sweetness of ever- the Sacra-
lafting Salvation: As for the brazen
Serpent, let us hear Theophylact, Vide
figuram, confer cum veritate, illic Ser
pentis
K 2
•
Pænitent.
I
ment.
[132]
:
Comment. pentis fimilitudo, formam habet beftia,
in Fɔb.3.
venenum non habet, that is, in Mr. Wat-
Jon's words, It was like a Serpent, but
no real one: Ita ex hoc loco homo Domi-
nus, fed à peccati veneno liber, in fimi-
litudine carnis peccati venit ; that is, in
Mr. Watson's words, Chrift was in the
likeness of finful fleſh, but no finner :
Tunc videntesevadebant mortem corporis,
nunc autem qui vident, mortem animæ ;
that is,in Mr.Watfon's words,The Serpent
was lifted up to be looked on, and fo was
Chrift to be fiducially looked on. Touch-
ing the Vine, I must make bold to
vouch in St. Bernard, who, not feeing
all things, never dream'd fuch things
ſhould be ridiculous; he brings in
De Cana Chrift fpeaking thus; Ego fum vitis,
Dom. Sr. dans botrum dulciffimum cun&is palmiti-
bus; that is, in Mr. Watson, Igive the
Sap of Grace to all believers: Generans
vinum, quod latificat cor hominis; that
is, in Mr. Watſon, My Blood is the Wine
which chears Man's heart: And a little
after, Chriftus eft vitis, in quo est totus
humor, id eft, omnis plenitudo Spiritûs
fancti; The divine Spirit fills, or, as Mr.
Watfon faith, Supports his Humane na-
ture. And now I might bring the fame
Author for the Role of sharon, and
other things; but this may fuffice to
IO.
fhew,
[133].
Thew,that Mr.Watfon's words may carry
a fair Sence before a candid Interpre-
ter: The Author might have made no
lefs pretty ſport with thoſe ancient Fa-
thers, thoſe excellent devout Souls,
who ſpiritualize every thing, and re-
duce every thing to the great Center
of Scripture, Jefus Chrift. I fhall on-
ly add on Mr. Watſon's behalf, that he
never thought, that Chriſt, the Manna,
fhould be accommodated to Mens Fan-
cy, nor imagined the Church unplant-
ed by Chrift; neither did he dream
that his Diſcourſes of Chrift's Loveli-
nefs ſhould be traduced into carnal
Expreſſions, ſuch as that, Who would
not be Smitten with fuch an one? To
what the Author adds, as his own imi-
tation of theſe Men, being no other
than the playing of his Fancy with it
ſelf, I ſhall return juſt nothing, as ſee-
ing nothing confiderable therein.
lock.
When this will not do, they argue from Mr. Sher-
their own preconceived Notions, and pre-
tend to prove their own Scheme from
Scripture, but in truth prove the fence of
Scripture by its agreement with their
Opinions; which is just fuch a trick as
the Papifts have got, to prove the Church
from Scripture, and the Scripture from
the Church. Thus after all their talk of
being
K 3
[134]
being juſtified by the Imputation of Chrifts
Righteousness, the Scripture tells us, that
we are justified by Faith, have remiffion
by Faith, have peace with God by Faith,
are fanctified by Faith, are the fons of
God by Faith, are faved by Faith: Now
how is this reconcilable with being juſti-
fied by imputed Righteousness? Why,
thus ;Faith doth not juſtifie abfolutely,
as Faith, but relatively, as it brings us
toChrift, and apprehends his Righteouf-
nefs: This is their own preconceived Q-
pinion, or elſe no man could have ſtumbl-
ed on this Diftinction: But their Reason
is plain; Should Faith juftifie as Faith,
as our own Act,it would be as bad as good
Works, and irreconcilable with the Grace
of God; though modest men dream not of
meriting, though Faith had juftified as
our Act; fince the Reward doth fo infi-
nitely exceed the Work, that there can
be no fufpicion of Merit, and where
there is no Merit, the Reward is of
Grace.
Answer. I ſhall at preſent wave, who fymbo-
lizes moſt with the Papifts, and how
Juftification, Sanctification, Adoption
and Salvation are here jumbled toge-
ther, as if they were one thing: The
General Charge (having had fo many)
I fay nothing to, but I come to the In-
ftance;
!
[135]
ftance; The Scripture faith that we are
justified by Faith; very well; but what
by Faith exclufively of its Object,
Chrift's Blood and Righteouſneſs
No ſurely; then the Scripture, which
tells us, That we are
That we are justified by Faith in
his blood, Rom. 3. 25. and made righ-
teous by his obedience, Rom. 5. 19. muſt
contradict it felf; or what, exclufively
to the imputation of theſe? No nei-
ther, without the imputation of theſe
we cannot be entitled to them to our
Juftification: Now that Faith juſtifies
not abfolutely, and as our Act, may ap-
pear: In Juftification there is a judici-
al proceeding, and we muſt anſwer to
fomething, to the Goſpel only, or to
the Law allo; if to the Gofpel only,
then Evangelical Juftification is in a
way fruſtrative and not perfective of
the Law; there needeth only Faith
to anſwer the Gofpel, and not perfect
Righteouſneſs to answer the Law: But
what faith the Apoſtle to this? Hav-
ing concluded Juftification to be by
Faith, Rom. 3. 30. he immediatly adds,
Do we then make void the Law through
faith? Godforbid, yea, we establish the
Lam, ver. 31. And how is this? That
Faith, which anſwers to the Gospel,
receives that perfect Righteouſneſs of
K 4
Chrift,
[136]
Chrift, which anfwers the Law in eve-
ry point, Chrift being the end of the Lam
for righteousnes to every one that believ-
eth, as we have it, Rom. 10. Without
this, it is not at all imaginable how
Faith,or Juftification by it, fhould eſta-
bliſh or complete the Law; our fincere
Obedience, which flows from Faith,
can no more do it than imperfection
can reach perfection. Again, if to the
Goſpel only, then all the Pagans muſt
needs be juftified, for they have no-
thing to anſwer unto; not to the Gof-
pel, that is not reveiled to them; nor
to the Law of Nature, that is but the
relics and broken pieces of the Moral
Law: And if Chriftians, who have the
Moral Law in its entire perfection, are
not to anſwer to it, then furely Pagans,
who have only fome little Fragments
of it, need not answer thereunto, and
by confequence they must be recti in
Curia before God: But if (as of neceffi-
ty we muſt) we must answer to the Law
alfo, then Faith, as it is in it felf, and
our Act, cannot poffibly juftifie; it be-
ing but a piece of the Law, and that
imperfect; God, who judgeth accord-
ing to truth, will not eſteem thofe per-
fectly righteous, who are not fo indeed,
nor accept of a partial Righteouſneſs
for
[137]
for a total one. If reply be made, This
is true, when God judgeth Judicio Ju-
ftitia, but not when he judges Judicio
Mifericordia; he in his condescending
Mercy accepts of Faith in the room of
total, perfect Righteoufnefs: I anſwer,
this cannot poffibly ftand, God's Mer-
cy and Truth are never at variance;
his Truth will not eſteem us righteous
upon account of a partial imperfect
righteouſneſs, and his Mercy will not
condefcend fo far, as to interfere with
his Truth: But when he eſteems us
righteous upon account of a perfect
Righteoufnefs, which is not our own,
but Chriſt's, then Truth and Mercy
both ſhine forth; Truth, in that there
is a perfect Righteouſneſs to anſwer the
Law; and Mercy, in that it is not our
own, but our Sureties. But further;
If Faith be taken for a perfect Righte-
ouſneſs, then it is lifted up into the
room of Chriſt and his Righteouſneſs:
If you fay, no, Chrift's Righteouſneſs
is the foundation of this acceptance of
Faith; Ianfwer, Then will it follow,
that Chrift died not fo much for Per-
fons to juftifie them, as for Graces, to
elevate Faith above it felf into the e-
ſtimation of a perfect Righteouſneſs;
and withal, that Faith is our proper
Righte-
[138]
Righteouſneſs in an immediate formal
way, and Chrift but a remote Cauſe
only; much after the fame rate as the
Papiſts ſay, Bona opera tincta fanguine
Chrifti juftificant: Works are made
the immediate Caufe of Juftification,
and Chrift the remote. Moreover, it
isto be remembred, that nothing can
be Inftrumentum & inftrumentatum;
the Artificers Tools are not the Houſe
he makes; the Hyfops fprinkling of
Blood in the Jewish Sacrifices was not
the Blood of Chrift; Faith is not our
Righteouſneſs, but the Medium to it:
Hence, Phil. 3.9. we read of righteous-
ness by faith: it is not it felf our Righ-
teouſneſs, but a means to it. Thus it
appears, that Faith in it felf and as
our Act juſtifies not; therefore it juſti-
fies as it is that Evangelical Medium
which receives Chrift and his perfect
Righteouſneſs. Thus the Reverend
Hooker, Faith is the only hand, which
putteth on Christ to Justification, and
Chrift the only Garment which being fo
put on covereth the shame of our defiled
Natures, hideth the imperfection of our
Works, preferveth us blameless in the fight
of God; before whom otherwise the weak-
ncß of our Faith were cauſe ſufficient to
make us culpable, yea, to fout us from the
Kingdom
[139]
Kingdom of Heaven, where nothing that
is not abfolute can enter : Thus our
Church; The true underſtanding of this 2. Hom. of
Doctrine, That we are justified by Faith Salvation.
in Chriſt, is not, that this our own A&,
to believe in Chrift, which is within us,
dothjustifie us, and deſerve our Juſtifi-
cation; for that were to count our felves
juftified by fome Act or Vertue that is
in our felves. And in another place :
This Righteousness, which we receive of 1. Hom. of
Gods Mercy and Chriſts Merits, embra-Salvation.
ced by Faith, is accepted by God for our
perfect Juftification.
But this is past all doubt, when it is Mr. Sher-
confirmed by a Metaphor or two : A Ring lock.
which hath a precious Stone in it, which
will ſtanch blood, may be faid to ſtanch
it,but the Virtue lies in the Stone: Faith
is the Ring, Chrift the precious ftone;all
that Faith doth,is to bring home Chrifts
Merits to the Soul and fo it justifies,
an invention I never met with before:
And again; In the Body are Veins, that
fuck nouriſhment from the Stomach
Faith, is a fucking Vein, that draws Vir-
tue from Chrift: Is not this plain, that
we are ſaved by Chrift, as the Body is nou-
rifhed by the Stomach?
That of the Ring is no new or abfurd Answer.
invention, it was many years fince uſed
by
[140]
Melch. by Dr. Pomeran, in theſe words; Ut
AdinVi- Annulus magnò eftimatur & amatur pro-
ta Georg.
Anbalt. Pter gemmam, non propter aurum ; fic
dicitur, fide juftificari homines propter
gemmam Filium Dei: hanc autem gem-
mam fide ample&timur. With this Si-
militude George Prince of Anhalt was
much delighted. Neither need the
Author have found fault with that o-
ther Similitude, of a fucking Vein; all
fpiritual nourishment is drawn from
Chriſt, and that by Faith.
lock.
Mr. Sher. Now to make all clear, we may give a Phi-
lofophical Account why God chofe Faith
to be the Inftrument of our Justification :
Becauſe it is an humble Grace, and
gives the Glory of all to Free Grace:
IfRepentance ſhould fetch Juftification
from Chriſt, a man would be ready to
fay, This was for my Tears: (ftrange
deferving Creatures thefe, who can dream
of meriting Heaven with a few tears!)
But Faith is humble, it is an empty
Hand, and what merit can there be in
that? Doth the poor man's reaching
out his hand merit an Alms? (yes, juſt
as much as a few tears merit Heaven.)
Faith is only a golden Bucket, that
draws water out of the Well of Sal-
vation. But why may not those, who are
So apt to
to be conceited of Merit, grow as
proud
[141]
proud of a golden Bucket, as if the Well
were their own? They are civil to Faith,
to make it a golden Bucket ; but at other
times they tell us, That Faith may be a
fore and blear-eyed Leah, a fhaking
and a palfie hand, weak and bending
Legs, and have all the infirmities that
may be, and be never the worfe neither as
to the purpoſe of Justification; ſo that
Faith had need be a very humble Grace,
elſe it would take fuch language very ill
from them.
What need all this fport with Faiths Anſwer.
Humility or Infirmity? An humble
Grace Faith is, it empties the Soul of
it felf, gives all Glory to God, hangs
upon Chriſt and free Grace, and hath
all in a way of receiving and depend-
ence; and ſeeing its Nature and apti-
tude to Evangelical purpoſes is fuch,
it is no wonder at all, that God fet his
ſtamp upon it, and marked it out for
an Evangelical Medium, to receive
Chriſt and his Righteoufnefs unto Ju-
ftification; Therefore it is of faith, that
it might be by grace, faith the Apoſtle,
Rom. 4. 16. Fides & Gratia commeant,
mutuò ſe ponunt & tollunt; Fides fola
Gratia nititur, Gratia tantùm credenti
promittitur, faith the Learned Paraus
on the place. Let us hear our Church
in
[142]
2. Hom. of in this matter: This faying, that we be
Salvation. justified by Faith only, freely and with-
out Works, is spoken, to take away clearly
all merit of our Works, as being unable
to deſerve Juftification at Gods hands;
and thereby most plainly to express, the
weakness of Man and goodness of God,
the great infirmity of our felves, and the
might and power of God, the imperfect-
ness of our own works, and the most abun-
dant Grace of our Saviour Christ. But
to go on; infirm Faith is, becauſe of
the adherent Corruption, which is apt
to blear its eyes, and give it a palfie
hand and trembling legs; however, if
it be true, it entitles to Chriſt and his
Righteouſneſs: Invoco te, Domine, lan-
guidâ & imbecillâ fide, fed fide tamen,
faid Cruciger the German Divine. Thoſe
men, whom the Author oppoſes, hold
no fuch thing as meriting by Tears or
any thing elſe of our own, but caution
againſt it: Indeed the Author thinks
there is no danger in repentant Tears;
but Humane pride, fuch is its veno-
mous Nature, is ready to ſwell at any
ſmall matter, which hath but any fha-
dow of excellency in it: The heart of
good Hezekiah was lifted up, over his
Silver, and Gold, and Treaſures, and
precious things, which yet were of a
much
[143]
much lower value than his devotional
Tears, which fhews the proneneſs of
our Nature to that fin.
Thofe Scriptures (Without holiness no Mr. Sher-
man fhall fee God; The wrath of God is lock.
reveiled againſt all unrighteouſneſs ; In
every Nation he that worketh righte-
ouſneſs is accepted of God;Except your
righteouſneſs exceed that of the Scribes
and Pharifees, ye fhall in no wife en-
ter into Heaven; He that breaketh the
leaſt of theſe Commandements,
s, and
teacheth men fo, fhall be called the
leaſt in the kingdom of heaven ; and
he that doth and teacheth them ſhall be
called great there) affert the abfolute
neceffity of an holy life, to entitle us to
Gods Love and the Rewards of the next
Life, and perfectly overthrow their fun-
damental Notion of Justification by the
righteousness of Christ imputed to us.
Doth the neceffity of an holy Life
overthrow the Imputation of Chriſt's
Righteouſneſs? No furely, it's a very
groſs miſtake; a holy Life is fo far from
overthrowing Imputed Righteouſneſs,
that it preſuppoſes it: We are married
to Chrift, that we might bring forth
fruit unto God, Rom. 7.4. And our
Church in the 12. Article tells us, That
good Works follow after Justification :
Thofe
Anfaser.
[144]
Thoſe, who are true Believers, and
have Chrift's Righteoufnefs imputed to
them do, above all other men, obey
God's Commands, glorifie his Name,
and walk in holy Obedience towards
the Crown of Glory above: Obedi-
ence is neceffary, but not in that fence,
as if the leaft breach of a Command
ſhould finally exclude from Heaven,
for then it were, Wo, wo, to us: Nor
yet fo abfolutely, as that a Believer,
dying in the firſt inſtant of Faith and
before actual Obedience, ſhould be
fhut out of Heaven: Our Church hath
1. Hom. of taught us better: I can shew a man
good works that by Faith without Works lived, and
quoting St.
came to heaven, but without Faith ne-
ver man had life; the Thief, that was
hanged when Chriſt ſuffered, did believe
only, and the merciful God juftified him :
If any fay, that he lacked time; truth it
is, and I will not contend therein; but
this I will furely affirm, That Faith only
Saved him.
Chryfoft.
for it.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
But these men defie you, if you charge
them with destroying the neceffity of an
holy life; for they tell us, Tat this uni-
verfal Obedience and good Works (4
fufpicious word) are indifpenfibly ne-
ceffary,from the fovereign appointment
and Will of God; this is the Will of
God
[145]
God, even our Sanctification: It is the
Will of the Father, Son, and holy
Ghoſt; it is the end of their Difpen-
fation in the buſineſs of Salvation; it is
the end of the Father's electing Love,
Eph.1.2. of the Son's redeeming Love,
Tit. 2. and of the Spirit's fanctifying
Love; it is neceffary to the glory of
them all: And are not these men migh-
tily injured? Is it not great pity they
fhould be fo abused? But the truth is, all
this is not one fyllable to the purpose; for
the Question was about its neceffity to fal-
vation; and if we be justified and (aved
without it, all this cannot prove any ne-
ceffary obligation on us to the practice
of it: God hath commanded Obedience;
but where is the Sanction of this Lam?
Will he damn thofe who do not obey, for
their disobedience, and fave those who
do, for their obedience? Not a word of
this, for this destroys our Juftification by
Christ's Righteousnes only if after all
thofe commands, God hath left it indiffe
rent, whether we obey or not, Obedience
is not neceffary. And will the Father
elect, and the Son redeem none but thoſe
who are holy, and reprobate all others ?
If we be elected and redeemed without a-
ny regard to our being holy, our Election
and Redemption is fecure, whether we be
Li
holy
[146]
Anſwer.
holy or not; and ſo this cannot make
holineß neceſſary on our part, though it
may be necessary on God's to make us bo-
ly; but that is not our care; and how is
Obedience for the glory of the Father, Son,
and holy Spirit, when the necessity of ho-
lines is deftructive to free Grace, which
is the only glory God deſigns by Chriſt.
I ſuppoſe them injured and abuſed
to ſome tune, after they have in termi-
nis afferted the Neceffity of Obedi.
ence from ſtrong, invincible, Scriptu-
fal Arguments, they are yet charged
with deſtroying the Neceffity of an
holy Life. But, faith the Author, All
this is not one fyllable to the purpoſe ; for
the Question was about its neceffity to
Salvation ; if we be justified and Javed
without it, it is not neceſſary. I anſwer,
Here we have Juftification and Salva-
tion confounded; Obedience follows
after Juftification,as we heard but now
from our Church, but precedes Sal-
vation: But to pafs that; Is nothing
neceffary to Salvation but what jufti-
fies? Is not Sanctification neceffary to
Salvation, and yet diftinct from Jufti-
fication? and how then are we faved
without Obedience? But, faith the
Author, Where is the Sanction of this
Law? Will he damn thoſe that obey not,
and
[147]
and ſave those that do obey? If after all
thofe Commands God hath left it indiffe
rent, Obedience is not necessary: But
what a ſtrange Suppofition is this! Com-
manded and yet left indifferent? It is
utterly impoffible; no man will fay fo
fo much as of an Humane Command:
No doubt at all, but God will damn
the rebellious, and fave the obedient;
yet our Obedience no way claſhes with
Chrift's Righteouſneſs, neither is Eter-
nal Life given us for Obedience, as if
it merited the fame. What follows in
the Author, Will the Father elect and
the Son redeem none but those who are
holy? is a very ſtrange Queſtion: Will
they? as if the Book of Life were yet
unwritten, and the Blood of Atone-
ment yet unſhed: The Father hath e-
lected us, that we should be holy, Eph. í.
4. and how can he elect us being fuch?
The Songave himſelf for us,that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purifie to
himſelf a peculiar people zealous of good
works, Tit. 2. 14. and how could we
be holy before? However, no difre
gard is caft upon Holinefs, which
though it do not antecede Election and
Redemption, yet it ſweetly ſtreams and
iffues from thence; and Believers are
obliged to follow after it, as they will
L 2
anſwer
;
[148]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
Mr. Sher-
lock
anſwer the End of Election and Re-
demption; And whileft they are paff
ing on in that pure way, I dare be their
Bondſman, that they fhall not be met
with any fuch monstrous Conceit, as
if Holiness, which is exaltative of free
Grace, were deftructive of it.
Yet Holiness is neceffary to our honour,
for it makes us like to God: Prophane
men that they are! as if the perfect
Righteousness of Christ were not much
more for our honour, and did not make
us more like to God, than the rags and
patches of our own Righteousness.
A
very hard cafe, they muſt be pro-
fane for proving the Neceffity of Ho-
lineſs and likeneſs to God; but the rea-
fon is, this difparages the Righteouf-
nefs of Chrift; A fad ſtory ; but it will
be proved much about the time, when
Chiift's juftifying Righteouſneſs and
fanctifying Spirit fhall fall at odds and
variance among themſelves: So hor-
rid a thing cannot be, neither let a
ny Chriſtian Mind ſtart a thought
of it.
But it is for Peace; what! Peace of
Confcience? Muft we fetch our peace
from Duties and Graces? Is not this to
renounce Chriſt?
*
muſt we fet about
Miſerable men!
correcting our
Lives,
[149]
در
Lives, amending our Ways, performing
Duties, following after Righteouſneſs
according to the prefcript of the Law?
Why this is the courfe, wherein many
continue long with much perplexity,
hoping, fearing, tiring themfelves in
their way Afterwards they come to
the Apoſtle's Conclufion, By the works
of the Law no man is juſtified; and is
this the way to Peace? Is this the way
to Communion with God by our own
Righteoufnels? Doth not all our wiſdom
of walking with God confift in our ac-
quaintance with Chrift? God is Light,
we darkness; he Life, we dead; he
Holiness, we defiled; he Love, we ha-
tred; furely this is no foundation of
Agreement or Communion: the foun-
dation then ofthis Peace is laid and hid
in Chrift, who is our peace, and the Me-
dium of all Communications between
God and us: So that if this Gentleman's
(that is, Dr. Owen's) memory had not
failed him, he would never have told
us, that Holiness is neceſſary to our peace
and Communion with God.
All this is but a miſtake, for want of Anſwer.
diftinguishing between the Foundati-
on of our peace with God, and the
Senfe of it: The Foundation of our
peace is not laid in our Works, or Le-
>
L
3
gal
[150]
Melch.A.
dam in vit.
gal Righteouſneſs, but in the atoning
and fatisfying blood of Jeſus Chriſt,
which fpeaks peace to all believers:
A notable inſtance whereof we have in
Furecon that German John à Berg Father of
jult. Joachim, who in all his life was a zea-
lous Papift, tanding on his works and
legal righteouſneſs, but upon his death-
bed caft away thofe fig-leaves and poor
coverings, and repofed himſelf in the
merit and expiation of Chriſt, as the
only foundation of peace: But the
fence of this peace is found in a way of
holiness, whileft the believer is there;
the love of God coming down in the
witneſs of the fpirit, and ecchoing in
confcience, makes fuch a pure ferenity
in the heart, as outreliſhes all things in
nature: Now whether there be any in-
confiftency between the foundation of
our peace and the fence of it, I leave to
the Reader; theſe may as well ſtand
together, as Chriſts attonement and our
Obedience.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
لو
However Holinefs ferves for the con-
viction of enemies; how fo, when it is
not effentially necessary to his Friends?
and it is for the converfion of others;
why so, when men may be converted with
out it? It keeps off the Judgments o
God from men; But why cannot Christ
Righteousne
[151]
Righteousness do this more effectually
than the holiness of men?
Holineſs caſts forth a convictive Ray Anſwer.
and Glory into the dark world, yet it
is not effential to Believers to juftifie,
but to fanctifie them; It hath a Divine
tendency to convert others, yet the
first act of converfion precedes in habi-
tual Grace, and actual Holiness or O-
bedience follows after; Chrifts righte-
ouſneſs, without which there would be
nothing but wrath and judgments,is the
great fundamental reafon of keeping
them off; but Holineſs miniſters under
it to the fame end.
lock.
But it is neceſſary in respect of the ftate Mr. Sher-
and condition of juftified perſons, for
they are accepted and received into
friendship with an holy God; therefore
they must cleanse and purify themſelves :
what need of this? when they are cloath-
ed with the Robes of Chrifts Righteous-
nefs, which is the only foundation of our
Communion with God. And pag. 267.
They fulfill the Righteouſneſs of the
Law, not by doing any thing them-
felves, but by having all done for them,
by having this perfect righteouſneſs of
Chriſt imputed to them. And pag. 423.
The Doctor places Chrifts righteouf-
nefs in the room of ours, to be not on-
LA
ly
[152]
Cc.Trid
ly the foundation, but condition of the
Covenant; And then makes it an ex-
preffion of our chaft affections to Chrift,
quite to thrust out our own righteousness,
and to allow it no place in our Religion:
And pag. 427. The foundation of their
love to Chrift, Is a fond imagination.
that he will fave them by his righteous-
neß without any righteouſneß of their
own.
Ansover. What! Doth imputed righteouſneſs
make holiness needlefs? Under par-
don, this is neither better nor worse,
than an old Popish calumny, fuch as
hath been caſt into the face of Prote-
ftants over and over: Chemnitius af
ferting juftification by imputed Righ
teouiefs, rells us, Inde verò Pontificii
texunt calumniam, omnia decreta Tri-
de Fufuf dentina ita condita funt de juftificatione,
nt obliquè nos infimulent, quafi doceamus
credentes non renovari, quafi charita-
tem & obedientiam ita excludamus, ut
nec adfit, nec fequatur in reconciliatis:
And what return doth that learned man
make thereunto? Sed tantum Syco-
phantica & impudentes calumnia funt,
quibus ftrepitum excitant. The learn-
ed Chamier brings in Sapetes, charging
the Proteftants thus, Non effe nos justos,
niſt ſolà imputatione juftitiæ Chrifti, non
Char de
Sun lif.
cup. 20
autem
?
[153]
* De Habi-
autem ullâ inhærente qualitate: And
Cofterus thus,, Christus est noftra jufti-
tia, nulla eft ergo alia juftitia in nobis :
And Bozius thus, Ut falutem confequa-
ris & fis fanctus, aiunt omnes Prote
stantes, nihil eft neceffe boni aliquid ve-
lis, moliaris, aut facias, Chrifto fidas,
impunè quidvis audeas, & ad exitum
perduças; and then expreffes himſelf
thus, Immanem, ita me Deus amet, ca
lumniam: The excellent Davenant 2 tuali Fußt.
ufhering in Bellarmine and Campian, cap. 2.
and Becanus, as cafting the fame dirt
into the face of Proteftants; faith
plainly to the two firft, quot verba, tot
ferè mendacia; and to the third, ca.
lumnia eft, & apertè falfa. The Papifts
you fee, have caft out thefe calumnies,
but ſhould a Proteftant do fo? No
furely the Author I confefs, bath
done a great honour to theſe few Non-
conformifts, in cafting upon them that
reproach of Chrift, (for fe as a Prote-
ftant I must call it) which many a fon
of the Church of England would will
ingly bear, hoping to have the fpirit of
Glory reſt upon him; but I fuppofe, he
hath done no great right to the Prote-
ftant caufe therein: How vain this ca-
lumny is, doth affoon appear, as we can
open our eyes upon the common di-
ſtinction
[154]
ſtinction between Juſtification and San-
&tification: Juftification is an Action of
God without us,Sanctification an Acti-
on of the Spirit within us; the one is
by the perfect Righteousness of Chrift
imputed, the other by the holy Gra-
ces of the Spirit infufed and inherent
in us: In the one we are freed from
the Guilt of Sin, in the other from the
Corruption and Pollution of it: By
the one we have a Title to God's King-
dom, by the other a Meetneſs for it;
it being fuch as no unclean thing can
enter into the fame. And what colour
of Repugnancy is there between theſe
two? and how doth the one make the
other uſeleſs? Both are uſeful to the
Believer, and both in Harmony be-
tween themſelves; Obedience is fo far
from being needleſs, that it is a neceſſa-
ry confequent upon Juftification by
Chriſt's Righteouſneſs. St. Paul in the
Epiftle to the Romans firſt treats of Ju-
ftification, and then of Sanctification
as a confequent thereupon. Good works
as our Church tells us in the 12th Ar-
ticle) are the Fruits of Faith and fol-
Low after Justification. To me it is un-
imaginable, that the holy Spirit, which
is procured by Chrift's Righteouſneſs,
and before whofe inſpiration (as our
Church
[155]
Church tells us in the 13th. Article)
works done are not pleaſant unto God,
ſhould inſpire unjuſtified perfons to O-
bedience; nay, had it not been for
Chrift's Righteoufnefs, the holy Spirit,
I verily believe, would no more have
touched in the leaſt holy motion upon
Men than upon Devils. I fhall cloſe
this Point with the Authors own words;
Chrif's Satisfaction was for fins of Omif-
fion and Commiſſion, and by it we are
reputed by God as having done nothing
amifs; and as perfectly righteous, to have
done all, to have kept the whole Law, pag.
60. and yet I hope the Author doth
not eſteem Holiness needlefs; though
I cannot tell, how Chrift's imputed
Righteouſneſs whereof his Satisfacti-
on is a part) ſhould make any man more
than perfectly righteous.
However Holiness is neceſſary with Mr. Sher-
respect to Sanctification. We have in us lock.
a New Creature, which is fed, che-
riſh'd, nouriſh'd, kept alive by the fruits
of Holiness: God hath not given us
new Hearts to kill them in the womb,
or to give them to the Old Man to be
devoured, as Dr. Owen hath it: The
phrafe of this is admirable, and the rea-
foning unanswerable; if men be new Crea-
tures, they will certainly live new Lives &
And
[156]
Answer.
for it.
And this makes Holiness neceffary,
by the same reafon, that every thing
neceſſarily is, what it is, when it
is.
The new Créature is fed with fruits of
of Holiness; fo Dr. Owen: Upon which
the Author tells us in fport, that the
phraſe is admirable: I ſuppoſe it is fo:
Hear our Church: As Men that be very
1. Hum. of Men indeed, first have life, and after be
good works nourished; fo must our Faith in Christ
quoting St.
Chryfoft. go before, and after be nouriſhed with
good works: But for the reafon, I think
it cannot be answered: Exerciſe is ne-
ceffary for the Body, and is it not ne-
ceffary for the Soul? It is neceflary for
the Soul in meer Moral Virtues, and
is it not neceffary for it in fpiriritual
Graces too? Reaſon, though a natural
Talent only, neceffarily obliges us to
walk futably to it, and how much
more do Divine Graces, which
are altogether fupernatural, bind
us to live in a Decorum thereunto?
Theſe things to me are very co-
* A
Mr. Sher gent.
lock.
Well! but holiness is neceſſary as the
means to the end, but how? Though it
neither be the Cauſe, Matter, nor Con-
dition of our Juftification, yet it is the
Way appointed by God for us to walk
in
[157]
;
in for the obtaining Salvation; he that
hopeth, purifieth himself: none fhall
come to the End who walk not in the
Way, without Holiness it is impoffible
to fee God. This is all pertinent and
home to the purpoſe ; but it hath two
little faults in it, that it contradi&s it
Self, and overthrows their darling Opini-
ons, which I can pardon, if he can:
What? the neceſſary way to eternal Life,
and yet neither Cauſe, Matter nor Con-
dition? At least it might be the Caufa
fine qua non, and that will make it a
Condition: But not to dispute about
words; I am content it should be only
a way to life, but, what becomes of Christ
then who is the only way? Cannot
Chriſt's Righteousness fave us without our
own? Doth Chrift's Righteousness free
us from guilt, and entitle us to Glory,
and yet can we not be faved without Ho-
lineſs? What becomes of free Grace then?
Is not this to eek out the Righteouf
ness of Christ with our own? To make
Christ our Justifier, and our Works our
ૐ
Saviour?
This is all pertinent: It ſeems the Anſwer.
former Arguments drawn from the fo-
vereign Will of God, from the End
of the Love of the bleffed Trinity,
from
[158]
from the Glory of them all, from our
Likeness to God, from the Peace of
Confcience, from the Conviction and
Converfion of others, from the aver
fion of Judgments, from the State of
juftified Perfons, from the Work of
Sanctification, are but poor infignifi-
cant things with the Author; which
yet with me are of great Moment. This
is all pertinent, faith the Author, but it
contradicts it ſelf, and overthrows their
Darling-opinion: What? the neceſſary
way to eternal Life, and yet neither Cauſe,
Matter nor Condition? At least it might
be Caufa fine qua non, and fo a Condi
tion: But the Author might have ob-
ferved that the Doctor did not ſpeak
ad idem, to one and the fame thing;
his words are, Holiness is neither the
Cauſe, Matter nor Condition of Justifica-
tion, yet it is the way to Salvation; both
ftand well together without any ſha
dow of Contradiction: Obedience is
fubfequent to Juftification, and fo nei-
ther Cauſe, Matter nor Condition of
it; but it is antecedent to Salvation,
and the way thereunto. Well, the Au-
thor is content, that it only be a necef-
fary way to eternal Life, but what then
becomes of Chrift the only way? What
of Chrift's Righteousness and of free
Grace
[159]
ર
Grace? I hope there is no matter of
fear; our Holiness, unleſs it be lifted
up
above it ſelf into the room and Throne
of Chriſt, very well comports with
Chriſt and Grace: it is a way, but not,
as Chriſt, an Expiatory Meritorious
one; it ſtands as neceffary in Sanctifi-
cation, but eeks not out Chriſt's Righ-
teouſneſs in Juftification: It flows from
free Grace, and doth not overturn
but magnifie its Fountain. Afterwards
our Author draws up a long Charge a-
gainſt theſe men, That they prepoffefs
their Fancies with arbitrary Notions,
pervert the Scriptures, to juſtifie their
Darling-opinions; and that fometimes
with ſo ill fuccess, as to break fome stub-
born Truths into palpable abſurdities and
contradictions; their Fancies and Scri-
pture agree no better than the Church of
Rome and Scripture do: They add ſuch
limitations, distinctions, gloffes to Scri-
pture, as are neceffary to make them or-
thodox. Their Acquaintance with Chrifts
Perſon is only a work of Fancy, teaches
men Hypocrifie, undermines the Defign of
the Gospel; makes men incurably igno-
rant, yet conceited of knowledge; im
pertinent talkers and cenfurers of Man-
kind; deſpiſers of their Teachers, as if
ignorant and meer Moral Preachers ¿
Their
[160]
Their Acquaintance with Christ's Perfon
warms their Fancies, moves their Paffi-
ons; Sometimes they find breakings of
heart, and feel the horrors of damned
Spirits ; fometimes they are ravish'd with
his love and Beauty, refresh'd with the
Sweet careffes of his love: All which may
be no more than the working of a warm
Enthufiaftick Fancy, the transportation
of frantick Raptures and Extafies of
Love. Unto all which I fay two things
only; the one is this: In general
Charges, which may be drawn up a-
gainst the most innocent Souls under
Heaven, the intelligent Reader muſt
meaſure the truth of them only by the
Inftances, which before have been ex-
amined: The other is this, that the
Author tells us, That their breakings
for fin, and ravishments in Chrift, may
be but the working of a warm Enthuſia
fick fancy: In which Cenfure, I fup-
pofe there is no over-meaſure of Cha-
rity. There are yet Two things be-
hind, which, becauſe interwoven with
the general Charge, I have hitherto
omitted, but ſhall now recite them ;
the one is this; Prepoffeffed Fancies
force men (faith the Author) to pervert
the Scriptures to make them speak the
Orthodox Language; to this we owe all
those
[161]
De Ara
thoſe nice and ſubtil Diftin&tións, which
conftitute the Body of Systematical Di-
vinity, which commonly have no other
design than to evade the force of Scrip-
ture, or to bribe it to ſpeak on their fide.
I will now wonder no longer, that the
Author treats a few Nonconformists
with fuch rough hands; Behold! an
univerfal blaſt put on thofe excellent
Divines, which have ſtood in the Pro-
teftant World like burning and ſhining
Lights,and have ſet forth fo many learn
ed and worthy Systems of Divinity for
the Churches ufe:But this is All-a-mode
with the Remonftrants, who, as Vede-
lius tells us, have poured forth convi-
tia atrociffima in Formulas; not being mind.
afraid to lay, Ifta ars eft Sathanæ, call-
ing them humanam tyrannidem; and
proceeding ſo far as to fay, That that
Preface in Athanafius his Creed, Qui
vult falvus effe ante omnia credat, &c.
was a proud one: Syftems of Divinity
are to them as Bonds and Fetters, which
they would willingly break off, that
they might have the better Scope to in-
troduce their unfound and novel Opi
nions. The other is this: It is not,
faith the Authour, the Perfon, but the
Goſpel of Chrift, which is the way, the
truth and the life. It feems the new
M
and
can. Ar,
[162]
;
Mr. Sher
lock.
and living Way through his Fleſh may
be ſtop'd up, the great Prophet may
want the Title of Truth, the vital In-
fluences of Grace from Chrift may be
intercepted; and all this after Chrift
himſelf hath told us exprefly, I am the
Way, the Truth and the Life. Theſe
things, I fuppofe, will hardly be paſſ-
able with Chriftian Ears or Hearts: If
he be not the Way, there is no approach
for us to the Father; if not the Truth,
we are not bound to believe him or
his Goſpel; if not the Life, to quicken
our dead and unbelieving Hearts, we
fhould never believe in him, though
he were both the former.
CHAP. IV. Sect. 1.
Nthere a
Ext to the Knowledge of Christ,
there is not a greater Myſtery than
our Union to him and Communion with
him; on which, as these men repreſent
it, are built all thoſe wild and fanciful
Conclufions, which directly oppose the
Doctrine and Practice of Christianity:
Therefore it is of great concernment to
State this matter, and to examine, what
is meant in Scripture by Union to Chrift
and Communion with him; for the Scri-
pture
[163]
pture mentioneth fuch a Relation between
Chrift and Christians, as may be expreſſed
by an Union; and the phraſes of being
in Chrift, abiding in Christ, can fignifie
no less.
The Author owns fome kind of U- Anſwer.
nion, but our enquiry is after a fpiri-
tual, myſtical union between Chrift
and believers, who are knit together
by the Divine Ligatures of the holy
Spirit and Faith: The quickning Spirit
(as the right Reverend Uber hath it)
defcending downward from the Head, to Commons,
fore the
be in us a Fountain of fupernatural Life, 1610.
and a lively Faith (wrought by the Jame
Spirit) afcending from us upward to lay
fast bold upon him.
him. This Union is fully
fet forth in Scripture: We are called
unto the fellowship of his son Jefus Chrift,
I Cor.1.9. Our fellowship is with the Fa-
ther and his Son Jefus Chrift, 1 Joh.1.3.
And this nowwvia or Communion cannot
but import Union: We are faid to have
the Son, and to have life by him, 1 Joh.
5. 12. To eat his flesh and drink his
blood, fo as to live by him, Joh. 6.56,570
And, unleſs we dream of an oral Man-
ducation, what can this be but a My-
ftical Union? and what better proof
can be of it, than that divine Life
which iffues from
thence? Our Savi-
M 2
Our
2
Serm. be
[164]
our hath put it out of all doubt, He
that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, dwelleth in me and I in him, Joh.
6.56. And in another place he tells
them, Abide in me and I in you, Joh. 15.
4. What can be more emphatical and
expreffive of our Myftical Union? If
fuch words do not fignifie it, what can?
We are faid to be in him that is true, e-
ven in Jeſus Chriſt, 1 Joh. 5. 20. And
Chrift is faid to be in us the hope of glory,
Col. 1. 27. And how full are thefe Ex-
preffions? This our Saviour prayed for
in that folemn Prayer, Joh. 17. As thou
Father art in me, and I in thee, that
they may be one in us: This he promi-
ſed; At that day ye shall know, that I am
in my Father, and you in me, and I in
you, Joh. 14. 20. Surely that Union,
which is fet forth by the Union of the
Father and the Son in the bleffed Tri-
nity, muſt be a myftical one: The
Bonds of this Union are no lefs preg-
nantly exprefled; touching the holy
Spirit, which, as Bishop Davenant tells
us,is PrimariaCommiffura,by which Chrift
and we touch, the Scripture fpeaks ne-
gatively, If any man have not the Spi-
rit of Christ, he is none of his, Rom. 8.9.
that is, he hath no Union or Commu-
nion with him; and pofitively or af
firmatively,
[165]
firmatively, He that is joyned unto the
Lord, is one Spirit, 1 Cor.6,17. Hereby
we know, that we dwell in him, and he in
us, becauſe he hath given us of his Spirit,
1 Joh. 4. 13. Touching Faith, which,
as the Learned Uber faith, is the Soul of
all other Graces, the Scripture teaches
us, that Chrift dwells in our hearts by
faith, Eph.3.17. and that Faith comes,
receives, leans on, puts on,
feeds on,
and, in a word, poffeffes Chrift: In
one place,Gal.2. 20. we have both theſe
Bonds together, I live, yet not I, but
Chrift liveth in me, that is, by his Spi-
rit, and I live by the faith of the Son of
God; thefe two Make up the Myftical
Union. The Name of this Union is
alſo exprefly in Scripture; Fancy did
not baptize it, Myftical, but the holy
Ghoſt; This is a great mystery, to be
members of his body, of his flesh, and of
his bones, Eph. 5. 30, 32. Nay, The
riches of the glory of the mystery,is Chrift
in us the hope of Glory, Col. 1. 27. The
ancient Fathers were no ftrangers to
this Union; that of Ignatius, µaxde 101 Epist. ad
ὧν ἐπὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ θεοφόροι, πνευματοφόροι, να έρθ.
Eph.
opóa, points it out to us. In the times
of St, Cyprian and Julius Biſhop of
Rome, the Church, in the Lord's Sup-
per, which is a divine Seal of this U-
M 3
rion,
!
[166]
Cypr. E.
piſt.63.
Decret.
fuli in
Concil.
nion, uſed over and above to note it
out by mixing Water with the Wine:
Hence St. Cyprian faith, Quando in ca-
lice vinum aquâ mifcetur, Chrifto popu-
lus adunatur, & credentium plebs ei, in
quem credidit, copulatur & conjungitur.
And Julius faith, Si fit vinum tantùm,
eft Chriftus fine populo; fi aqua fola, po-
pulus fine Chrifto. St. Hilary and St. Cy-
ril of Alexandria compare our Union
with Chrift with that high Union
which is between the Father and the
Son: St. Cyril upon John tells us, as I
have him quoted by the Noble Sadeel,
that Chriftus per fidem ingreditur in nos,
&per Spiritum fanctum inhabitat. St.
Bafil Speaks of a vonlov soux, an intelle-
ual mouth in the inner Man, by which
we feed upon Chrift the Bread of Life.
St. Chryfoftom faith, that there is
Hom. II. τὸ πνεῦμα ἄνωθεν επιρεόμβρον, a Spirit
in Ephef. flowing from above, which touches all
the Members of Chriſt. Diximus fra-
tres (faith St. Austin) hoc Dominum
commendaffe in manducatione carnis fuæ
& potione fanguinis fui, ut in illo mane-
amus & ipfe in nobis ; maneamus au-
tem in illo, cùm fumus membra ejus,ma-
net ipfe in nobis, cùm fumus templum e-
De pecca- jus: And in another place, Homines
tor Mer. Sancti & fideles ejus fiunt cum homine
Christa
t
Tra&.27.
in Fob.
t.
cap.31.
[167]
qu. 8.
Christo unus Chriftus, unus Chriftus ca-
put & corpus, magna eft & mira digna-
tio. Theophylact faith, that a man is by In foh.15.
Faith Még eigns, part of the Root,
united to the Lord, and incorporated
in him: And to name no more; ge-
nerally thofe Sayings of the Fathers,
which the Papiſts plead, for an oral
Manducation of Chriſt, are fo many
proofs of the Myftical Union. The
Schoolmen concurr in the fame thing:
Aquinas faith, that Chrift and his Mem-
bers are but una Perfona myftica: And
Barthol. Medina expreffes it fully; Cùm In 3. par-
efficimur membra fub Capite Chrifto, mi- tem Thom•
rabili quâdam Spiritus fancti operatione
unimur, & tranfimus in Chriftum, indui-
múfque illum, & deiformi quâdam in-
fitione atque Unione illi inferimur. Mo-
dern Divines go the fame way; to
name but a few: Bishop Uber faith, Imman.
The Bond of this Myſtical Union between pag.50.
Chriſt and us, is on his part, the quick-
ning Spirit, and on ours, Faith. Eft in-
ter Chriftum & omnia Chrifti Mtembra,
continuitas quædam ratione Spiritus fan-
di, qui pleniffimè reſidens in Chrifto Ca-
pite, unus & idem numero ad omnia e-
jus membra diffunditur, vivificans fingu-
la & uniens univerfa; fo Bishop Dave-
nant. The Spirit knitteth us, as really,
M 4
though
In Cul.cap.
I. ver. 18.
་
[168]
Chrift,
457
crament.
Life of though myftically, unto Christ, as his Si-
news and Joynts do fasten the parts of
his facred Body together; thus Bishop
Reynolds. But I fhall fhut
But I ſhall ſhut up all with
the Authority of our Church: In the
Lords Supper there is no vain Ceremony,
no bare Sign, nor untrue Figure of a thing
abfent; but the Table of the Lord, the
Bread and Cup of the Lord, the Memory
of Christ, the Annunciation of his death,
1. Hom. of the Communion of the Body and Blood of
the Sa the Lord in a marvellous Incorporation,
which by the operation of the holy Ghost
(the very Bond of our conjunction with
Chrift) is through Faith wrought in the
Souls of the faithful, the true Under-
Standing of this Fruition and Union be-
ween the Body and the Head, between
Believers and Chrift, the ancient Catho-
lick Fathers perceiving themſelves, and
commending to their people, were not a-
fraid to call this supper, the Salve of Im-
mortality, a Deifical Communion, pledge
of eternal health and food of immortality.
This Myftical Union, we fee, is no Fan-
cy, no, very great moments depend
upon it: Tota veræ justitiæ, falutis, vi-
tæ participatio ex hâc perneceſſariâ cum
Christo nowwvia pendet, faith the Learn-
ed Zanchy: Without it, how should
Chrift profit us? which way should his
Blood
[169]
blood wash, or righteouſneſs cover us?
What illapſes of the holy spirtt, or vi-
tal influences of Grace could we look
for in a ſtate ſeparate from him? He is
the Saviour of the body, his merits and
righteouſneſs cover only thofe that are
in him; the effectual working of the
Divine Spirit is only in thoſe that are
parts of him, and united to him as their
head; a man can no more continue in
the Divine life, and walk in holiness
without this union, than the old Dio-
nyfius (as the fable runs) could walk
a great way with his head off: The o-
pinion againſt this myftical union, if
practical, would in a moment murder
all the new creatures in the world, and
make a more bloody day with the
Church, than that of the Pariſian Maf-
facre: This at one blow beheads the
Church Catholick, and cuts off that
neck of Faith, through which all
Graces and Divine influences are de-
rived from Chrift unto believers: But
now let us hear the Author.
Thoſe Metaphors which defcribe the Mr. Sher
relation and union between Christ and lock.
Chriftians, do primarily refer to the
Chriftian Church, not to every indivi-
dual Christian: Christ is the head, but
of his body, which no particular Chriſtian
is 3
[170]
is; Christ is an husband, but the whole
Church is his Sponfe; as St. Paul tells
the Church of Corinth, 2 Cor. 11.2. I
have eſpouſed you to one husband,
that I may preſent you as a chaft Vir-
gin to Chrift. Christ is a Shepherd,
and that concerns the whole flock; Chrift
is a Rock, a corner ftone, and the Church
an holy Temple: All these Metaphors in
their first and moſt proper uſe refer to the
whole Society of Christians; the union
of particular Chriftians to Chrift, is by
means of their union to the Church; the
Church is the body of Chrift, and every
Christian by being united to this body,
becomes a member of Chrift: As the A-
poſtle tells us, Now ye are the body
of Chriſt, and members in particular:
1 Cor. 12. 27. The Church is the Temple
of God, and every Chriſtian a lively ftone
in it; the Church is Christs Spouſe, and
every Chriftian a member of that Society,
but every Christian is not Chrifts Spouse;
be is an enemy to Polygamy, and hath
but one Spouſe, as he hath but one body,
and one Church; which quite spoils the
prettines and fantastical wit, of a late
exhortation to young women, to take
Chrift for their husband;which would have
founded much better in a Popish Nunnery,
than among fuch pretenders to reformati-
on 5
[171]
on; and to give every one their due, the
Papists are the most generous fort of futors
for Chrift, for they perfwade them to for-
jake all other husbands for Chrift, which
is more honourable and meritorious.
Theſe Metaphors refer to the whole Anſwer.
Church or body of Chrift very well;
but are not particular Chriftians united
to Chrift as their head, efpouſed to
him, under him as Sheep under a Shep-
herd, built on him as on a Rock? Yes
furely, The Church of Corinth (which
is the Authors inftance) was in proper
ſpeech, no more the whole body of
Chrift, than a particular Chriftian is,
and yet it was eſpouſed as a chaft Vir-
gin to Chrift; if a particular Chriſtian,
becaufe not the whole body of. Chrift,
cannot be eſpouſed to him, then nei-
ther can a particular Church, becauſe
not ſuch, be ſo eſpouſed: And fo the
grave words of S. Paul about the Co-
rinthian Church, as well as the phan-
taſtical wit of the late Exhorter, muſt
ſpoil together: But if a particular
Chriſtian may be efpoufed to Chrift,
why ſhould Miniſters who are Sutors
on that behalf, be checked with a
Popish Nunnery, as if thofe Efpoufals
ſmelt of a ſuperſtitious Vow? The Au-
thor himſelf tells us, pag. 180. Every
devout
[172]
Epift. ad
Tral.
devout Soul is Gods Temple, an in-
lightned mind is his Debir or Oracle, a
pure beart is his Altar, devout Prayers
are spiritual Incense, and sweet Perfumes,
the body it ſelf is a confecrated place,
and called Gods Temple: All which is
excellently ſpoken; and I think by the
fame reaſon a particular believer may
be called Chrifts Spoufe; but faith the
Author, The union of particular Chri-
ftians to Christ, is by means of their u
nion to the Church; that is, to the
whole Catholick Church, the whole
body of Chriſt, which is made up on-
ly of Believers and Saints; being as
Ignatius calls it, ἐκκλησία εκλεκτή, συνα
θροισμα άγιον, συναγωγὴ ὁσιών, This is the
-Church the Author here means, by
the whole Church or body of Chrift;
that body hath none but Believers and
Saints in it Now if particular believ-
ers are united to Chrift by their union
to this Church, how was the firſt be-
liever united to Chrift? Or afterwards,
how was the Church Catholick united
to him? Surely not by another Church,
but immediately; and then to me it is
unimaginable, that the whole Church
ſhould be immediately united to him,
and never a part fo united, or that all
believers fhould be fo united to him,
and
[173]
and never an one of them fo united:
Befides, the Church Catholick is part
militant on earth, and part triumphant
in Heaven; Thofe in Heaven are no
part of the viſible Church, afterwards
mentioned by the Author; and withal
they are at fo great a diſtance from us,
that we may as easily imagine an im-
mediate union to Chrift, as to them;
Thofe on earth are not all the body of
Chrift and fo not properly within the
Authors difcourfe; however if we con-
fider the buſineſs, thoſe vincula unionis,
the holy Spirit and Faith, which unite
them all immediately to Chrift, are re-
fident in particular Believers; and
therefore it is a wonder to me, that
thoſe particular Believers, in whom the
Divine Bonds refide, fhould not be im-
mediately united to Chrift: It is
ap-
parent, that in caſe thoſe Bonds in par-
ticular believers fhould be diffolved,
the whole Catholick Church on earth
would be diffolved alfo; and how
then can particular perſons be leſs than
immediately united to Chrift? Add
hereunto, that none are in the Church
Catholick but reall Believers, and in
the very inſtant of believing they are
united to Chrift; and therefore it is
not at all ſuppoſeable, that they ſhould
first
[174]
lock.
firſt be united to the Church, and by
that means to Chrift: That place in
the Corinthians quoted by the Author,
Now ye are the body of Christ, and mem-
bers in particular proves it not: The
Church of Corinth was not the whole
body of Chriſt, neither is there any
fyllable in it to prove, that firſt we are
united to the Church, and then to
Chriſt.
Mr. Sher. Christ Speaking of himſelf, faith, I am
the true Vine, John 15. The meaning
is, that Church which is founded on the
belief of my Gospel, is the true Vine; İ
fignifies Christ together with his Church,
which is his body, upon which account the
Church is elſewhere called Chrift.
Anſwer.
The Author is a little various here;
for he faith, I fignifies Chrift together
with his Church; but a little after, I,
and in me, cannot be meant of his own
perſon: So there it is the Church alone,
and not together with Chrift, neither
doth the Author agree upon
upon the
Church: Firſt he fpeaks of the body
of Chrift, which is the Church Catho-
lick; and a little after, of the viſible
Church, which the Church Catholick
is not; but that, I, doth not here figni-
fie the Church is apparent; The fame I
runs throughout the whole Chapter;
I have
[175]
I have loved you, verf. 9. I have kept my
Fathers Commandments: verf. 10. I
have spoken to you: verf. 11. I have
heard of my Father: verf. 15. I have
choſen you: verf. 16. I came: verf. 22.
I did the works: verf. 24. Iwill fend the
comforter: verf. 26. In none of theſe
I's is the Church meant, no more is it
meant in that firſt I, when he faith, I
am the true Vine; however the Author
offers fome reaſons for it: The firſt is
this, The Church in the old Teftament is
compared to a Fine: Efay 5. Jer. 2. Ho-
fea 10. and fo John 15. The Church is
the Vine; Chrift applies the parable of
the Vineyard to the state of the Gospel":
Matth. 21.33. And the Christian Church
is called an Olive, and the members of
it branches. Rom. 11. But I fancy not
this arguing: In fome places the Vine
is the Church, therefore it is fo in all ;
this is the very fame with that, which
the Author would charge upon his ad-
verfaries: pag. 4. Chrift fometimes fig.
nifies the perſon of Christ, therefore it
must do fo alwayes; after the fame rate
the Author, In ſome places the Vine is
the Church, therefore it is ſo in all: But
in the 15. of John, the context will not
bear it; one and the fame I, runs
through the whole Chapter, and in
many
[176]
many paffages no way futes to the
Church: The Vine in this Chapter dif-
fers from thofe quoted out of the Old
Teſtament; in thoſe the Church is the
Vine, no mention at all is made of
branches; but in this, the branches are
fet diftinct from the Vine, as appears
verſe 5. I am the Vine, ye are the branch-
es: The Branches and the Vine are di-
ſtinguiſhed by I and ye; the Church is
included in the branches, as the
branches taken afunder, fignifie parti-
cular Chriſtians, fo put together they
import the Church. The fecond rea-
fon is, God is called the Husbandman,
but he dreffes not Chrift, but the Church,
which is Gods Husbandry. To which
the Anſwer is eafie, God is the Hus-
bandman with reference to both, plant-
ing the Vine Chrift, and dreffing the
Branches Chriftians. The third rea-
fon is, Chrift speaks of branches in him,
which bear no fruit, and there can be
no fuch branches in the perſon of Chrift:
But as the Learned Whitaker hath ob
ſerved againſt Stapleton, that place, E-
very branch in me that beareth not fruit,
he taketh away: Joh. 15. 2. May be
read thus, Every branch which beareth
not fruit in me, he taketh away. The
words, in me, being referred not to
SA
the
[177]
the Branch,but to the Fruit: But being
read as is ufual, the anſwer is obvious;
our Saviour in this Verfe fpeaks not of
true real Branches, which are always
fruitful, but of feeming ones, which
are barren; they feem to be in Chriſt,
but are not.
When Chriſt ſpeaks in the firſt Perſon, Mr. Sherë
I, and in me, he cannot mean this of his lock.
Perfon, but of his Church and Doctrine,
according as the circumstances require:
Thus Ver. 5. I am the true vine, ye are
the branches, he that abideth in me,
and I in him, the fame bringeth forth
much fruit; for without me ye can do
nothing: I would willingly learn what
fence can be made of this, if we under-
ftandit of the Person of Chrift; for it is
not very intelligible, how we can be in
the Perfon of Chrift; and it is more un-
intelligible how we can be in the Perfon of
Christ, and the Perfon of Chrift in us at
the fame time, which is a new piece of
Philofophy, called Penetration of Dimen
•fions; and that our fruitfulneß ſhould des
pend upon fuch an Union, is as hard as
all the rest.
A
How various is the Author on this Answer.
Vine! Firſt, I, is Chrift together with
the Church; then the Church only,
and now the Doctrine is uſher'd in to
N
eek
[178]
eek out the Interpretation; and after
this rate we may come to the feventy
Faces which the Jews talk of in Scrip-
ture: But that 5. Verfe in the 15. of
John cannot be meant of Chrift's Per-
fon, why not? The Milevitan Coun-
cil Can. 5. and afterwards the Araufi-
can Council, Can. 24. did fo interpret
it; the words of the laft are remark-
able; Vitis fic eft in palmitibus, ut vitale
fubminiftret eis, non fumat ab eis, ac per
hoc, & manentem in fe habere Chriftum,
manere in Christo, difcipulis prodest,
x. Hom. of & non Chrifto: Our Church interprets
good works it of no other but Chrift; but it is not
intelligible, How we can be in the Per-
Son of Christ, and the Person of Christ
in us. Luther in his Conference at Mar-
purg with Zuinglius about the Eucha
rift, told him, that he muſt not Mathe-
Mel. Ad. matica huic negotio admifcere, nec car
nem Chrifti yewμeleev, fo will I ſay to
the Author, Phyficks and Mathema-
ticks muſt here lie by; here is no room
for Penetrations or Dimenfions, all is
fpi itual and divine: The Union be-
tween Chrift and Believers, though a
new piece of Philofophy, or rather no
part of it at all, is old Divinity, and,
though a very great Myſtery, not alto-
gether unintelligible: Our Divines ex-
prefs
in vita
Brentii.
[179]
prefs it plainly according to Scripture,
to be made by the Spirit and Faith.
The moſt Reverend Uſher tells us, That Serm. be
it is altogether ſpiritual and fupernatural, Commons,
no Physical nor Mathematical Continuity 1620.
or Contiguity is any way requifite there-
unto; it is jufficient for the making of
this Union, that Chrift and we be knit
together by thofe fpiritual Ligatures, the
quickning Spirit and a lively Faith.
>
lock.
If by,he that abideth in me,we under- Mr. Sher-
ftand the Chriftian Church, he who makes
a profeffion of Faith in me, and conti-
nues in fociety with those who do fo; and
by, I in him, the Chriftian Doctrine, the
Sence and Reaſon of it is very evident.
Why, in me fhould fignifie one Afwer,
thing, and, I, another, why, in me,
fhould be conſtrued, in the Church,
and, I, the Chriftian Doctrine, there
is no reaſon in the Text; however the
Author had fome reafon to interpret it
fo: For if in thoſe words, I in him, I
fhould fignifie the Church, as thofe
words, in me, are made to do, then e-
very particular Believer (hould have a
Church in hin which would be as
unintelligible, as that of Chrift's being
in us.
Mr.Sher-
To abide in Chrift is to make a pub- lock
lick and visible Profeffion of Faith in
Chriſt,
N.2
:
[180]
Answer.
Christ, to be Members of his viſible
Church; but becauſe many are ſo, who do
not credit their Profeffion, hence to dif
tinguish true Christians from hypocritical
Profeffors, he adds, And I in you, that
is, my words abide in you, Ver.7. Thus
you fee, that the Union of particular Chri-
ftians to Christ conſiſts,in their Union to
the Chriftian Church.
This Opinion, which denies that
particular Believers are immediately
united to Chriſt, being, as I take it, but
novel, hath not yet found its Center;
but rowls about from the Catholick
Church, which is made up all of Saints,
to viſible particular Churches, which
are made up of Believers and Unbelie-
vers: Firſt, the Author fpake of our
Union to the Body of Chrift, now of
it to the Church Viſible. Before I made
it appear,that particular Believers were
immediately united to Chrift in re-
fpect of the Church Catholick; and it
is as evident, that they are fo united to
him in reſpect of the Church Viſible:
On the one hand, all that are in the
Church Visible are not really united to
Chriſt, the hypocritical Profeffors do
but ſeem to be fo. It is obferved by
the Learned Whitaker, that Eccefiæ par-
ticulares vifibilibus nexibus colligantur,
Ecclefia
[181]
Ecclefia verò Catholica invifibilibus: A
Viſible Church as fuch is connected by
viſible Bands; and more the Conne-
Яtion cannot be, becaufe Believers and
Hypocrites (of both which the Church
is made up) cannot otherwiſe be knit
together; and how is it poffible, that
the Union of Believers to Chriſt, which
is made by invifible Ligatures, ſhould
confift in their Union to the Viſible
Church, which, as fuch, is only knit to-
gether by viſible Bands? On the other
hand,thofe,which are not of the Church
Viſible, may yet be really united to
Chrift: Thus the Catechumeni were but
in vestibulo,and not actually in the Vi-
fible Church, and yet,if Believers, were
united to Chrift. The fame may be
faid of unbaptized Believers: The Em-
peror Valentinian died before Baptifm,
but in real Union to Chrift; hence St.
Ambrofe faith, that he had in fe imagi-
nem Chrifti, and that his Soul was in
refrigerio. Believers, if unjustly ex-
communicate, are no longer in the Vi-
fible Church, and yet they are in Uni-
on to Chrift: The Apoſtles, as Chriſt
foretold them, were to be amorovázegor
caft out of the Synagogues but never to
be parted from Chriſt. Believing Mer-
chants may be at a vaſt diſtance from
the
N 3
[182]
Mr. Sher
Jock.
the Viſible Church, and yet in near
fpiritual Conjunction with Chrift: And
what if a Vifible Church turn Apo-
ſtate from the Goſpel? True Believers
will come out of her, and, I hope,
without any lofs of their Union to
Chriſt. Thofe 7000 which in the time
of Elias bowed not the knee to Baal,
were, I fuppofe, joyned to no visible
Church, and yet they were a choice
referved people unto God. Thus it
appears, that Believers are immediatly
united to Chrift,in reſpect of the Viſible
Church. As for what the Author, adds
Those words, I in him, Joh. 15. 5. are the
fame with thofe, My words abide in you,
Ver. 7. I anſwer, The 5. verf. faith, that
Chriſt is in Believers, and the 7. denies
it not, but declares, that where Chrift
is, there are his words alfo.
Hence it is, that the ancient Fathers
interpret all those Metaphors, which de-
cypher the Union between Christ and
Chriftians, to fignifie the entire Love and
Unity of Christians among themselves :
Thus st. Chryfoftome expounds Eph. 2.
19, 20, 21. to fignifie the Unity of the
Church in all Ages, the Jewifh and
Chriſtian Church being both united in
Chrift: Thus also St. Ambroſe to the
Jame purpoſe: Thus St. Chryfoftom, on
I Cori
[183]
tells us,
1 Cor.3. obferves, That the Apoſtle dif-
fwades from Schifms and Factions; and
that the Branch draws nouriſh-
ment and fatneſs from the Vine by its
Union to it, and the Building ſtands
firm by the ſtrong adheſion of its parts:
Which plainly fignifies, that our Union
to Chrift confifts in our Union to the Chri-
Stian Church:Thus the fame Author argues
from Joh.14.21.He unites us to each o-
ther by many Examples and Patterns of
the cloſeſt Union; he the Head, we the
Body; he the Foundation,we the Build-
ding,&c. According to the fence of this
holy Man,Chriftians are united to Chriſt,
by their Union to the Church; other-
wife I can- not understand, how our V-
nion to Christ can be an argument to V-
nity among our felves, if we are imme-
diately united to the Perfon of Christ,with-
out being first united to the Church.
Answer.
The Fathers interpret those Metaphors,
which decypher the Union between Chriſt
and Chriftians, to fignifie the Love and
Unity of Christians among themselves ;
fo the Author: And is there no Union
between Chrift and Chriftians accord-
ing to the Ancients? Or do they deny,
that particular Believers are immediatly
united to Chrift? Oh! no,St.Chryfostome·
on that place, Eph.2.19,20,21. faith ex-
prefly,
N 4
[184]
prelly, ἔχασες ὑμῶν νάος όξι, Every one
of you is a Temple for God: And upon
I Cor. 3. 11. Other foundation can no
man lay, than that is laid, which is Je-
Jus Christ, he adds (as our Author hath
it) Let us be built on Chrift, and cleave
to him as to a Foundation, and as a
Branch to the Vine, that there may
be no
distance between Christ and us; for if
there be, we immediatly perish. By the
way obferve, Chrift is the Vine in St.
Chryfoftome; and for the point in hand,
if there be no diftance between Chrift
and us, furely we are immediatly uni-
ted to him: And this is very emphati-
cal in the Greek, μηδέν ἔσω μέσον ἡμῶν τ
gis, Let there be no Medium between
Chrift and us; and if there be Tí μéσov,
any Medium,we immediately perish. No-
thing could be more emphatically ſpo-
ken for immediate Union; And in that
place, Job. 14. be expreffes (as the Au-
thor quotes him) plainly the Union of
Christians to Chrift. And for St. Am-
brofe, I fhall quote but one place, on
2 Cor. 13. 5. he faith, Qui fidei fuæ fen-
fum in corde habet, hic jcit Christum Je-
fum in fe effe. But, faith the Author, If
our Union to Chrift be immediate, it can
be no argument to Unity among our felves:
But the confequence fails; there can
be
[185]
be no greater argument to Unity a
mong our felves than this, That we
are all built upon one Foundation,
Chriſt, and have all one and the fame
Spirit in us; ſo it is with all that are
myftically united to him.
The Sacraments our Saviour bath in-
fituted, as Symbols of our Union with
bim, are a plain demonftration of it:
Baptiſm is the Sacrament of our admif-
fion into the Chriftian Church; For
by one Spirit we are all baptized
into one body, I Cor. 12. 13. In which
the Apostle feems to allude to Baptiſm,
which confers the holy Spirit on us all,
and thereby makes us all members of the
Body of Christ: But more exprefly in
Eph. 4. 4. There is one body, and one
Spirit; as ye are called in one hope of
your calling : One Lord, one Faith,
one Baptifm: That is, the Chriftian Ba-
ptiſm is but one, and is a Sacrament of
Union, making us all members of that
one Body; This is called being baptized
into Christ, that is, admitted into the
Church by a publick Profeffion of our
Faith in Chrift. Thus the Lord's sup-
per is a
Sacrament of Union, and
Signifies the near conjunction between
Chrift and the Church, and the mutual
fellowſhip of Chriſtians: Hence the A-
poſtle
Mr. Sher-
lock.
[186]
Answer.
poftle calls the Cup, the Communion of
Chrift's Blood; and the Bread, the
Communion of his Body: For we be-
ing many are one bread and one Body,
Cone Body reprefented by this one Bread)
for we are all partakers of that one
Bread, I Cor. 10. 16.
Sacraments are Symbols of our Uni-
on with Chrift,and why not of an imme-
diate Union? the Elements are immedi-
ately applied to individuals, and why
may not the ſignified Union be immedi-
ate?elſe how doth it correſpond to the
Sign?But to clear this point; firſt for Ba-
ptifm: Unbaptized Believers are really
united to Chrift, even before their
Baptifm; how elfe fhould the Thief
on the Crofs ever arrive at Paradife?
Or which way ſhould the unbaptized
Martyrs get thither? Baptifm admits
men into the Church Viſible, but, if
Believers, they are in the Church Ca-
tholick, that one Body of Chriſt, be
fore; nay, Baptifm fuppofes them to
be fo, becauſe it is a Seal of the Cove-
nant: If thou believeft with all thine
heart, faith Philip to the Eunuch, thon
mayeft be baptized, Act. 8. 37. and after
the holy Ghoft poured down on the Gen-
tiles, water could not be forbid them,
Act.10 47. And on the other hand,bap-
$
tized
[187]
tized perfons may yet not be really u
nited to Chriſt, they may be admitted
into the vifible Church, and yet not
in that one body of Chrift, which is
made up of Believers: Simon Magus
was baptized Acts 8. but for all that,
in the bond of iniquity; many are par
takers of baptiſmal water, in whom ap-
pears not a Scintilla Spiritus Sandi;
In like manner for the Lords Supper,
men may be, nay, fhould be in union
with Chrift before their receiving of
it; and yet many outwardly receive it,
who are not in union with him, receiv-
ing only Panem Domini, and not Pa-
nem Dominum (as S. Auſtin ſpeaks)
and eating only foris non intùs, in Sa-
cramento tantùm, non ufque ad spiritûs
participationem. To conclude; Sacra-
ments and vifible Churches muſt not be
diſparaged, yet truth muſt be owned;
a reall union to Chrift may be before
the uſe of Sacraments, nay, before en-
trance into the Church visible, and.
therefore it must be immediate, or
elſe it could in no caſe be before
them.
The intention of our Lord and Sa Mr. Sher
viour, in what he did and fuffered for lock.
us was not m.crly to reform and fave
ſome ſingle perſons, but to crest a Church,
and
[188]
and combine all his Difciples into a pub-
lick Society, to unite them by holy my-
fteries, and to engage them to a mutual
difcharge of all Christian Offices, where-
by the whole body may edifie it felf in
Love; and therefore our Saviour doth
not own any relation to particular men
Such, but as they are members of his
body, for he is the Saviour of the body,
and redeemed his Church with his own
Blood: Hence St. John tells, 1 Epift.
That which we have feen and heard
declare we unto you, that you may
have fellowſhip with us; and truly
our Fellowſhip is with the Father and
his Son Jefus Chrift: First, That ye may
have fellowſhip with us, become mem-
bers of the Church, by which means you
have fellowship with God and Christ.
Answer. Chriſt intended to erect a Church;
How fo! Common Philanthropy,
which does alike for all men, doth no
fuch fingular thing, as to cull and call
a Church, a ſelect company out of the
reft of mankind: No, it is impoffible,
becauſe the Love is common,
the work fingular ; no leſs than
ſpecial love muſt do it, fuch as God
fets upon his chofen ones; Chrift in-
tended to set up a Church; very true,
and he hath pitched upon the indivi-
and
dual
[189]
dual perfons, which ſhall make it up,
he hath fet down their names in the
Book of Life; or elſe his providence,
which is fo accurate in the little Flies
and Gnats, as to fet down every wing
and little part, which makes up thofe
minute animals, fhould be very lame
and imperfect in that great deſign of a
Church, a Church only being defigned,
and not the perfons of which it ſhould
confift: Christ intended to fet up a
Church; Yes, and he reſolved to give
fuch Grace, as ſhould infallibly effect
it: Providence, fuch is its wiſdom and
accurate perfection, never fails or falls
ſhort of its intent; no, not in a defign
of Juftice, and that to come to pass
through the hardeſt medium can be
uſed by it, we need not ſcale Heaven
for this, but have a Scheme let down
from thence, to affure us of it. 2 Chron.´
18. God intended tha Ahab fhould go
up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead; and
though the manner of it were by a lying
ſpirit, yet it infallibly came to paſs, how
much more muſt providence be unfail-
able in fuch a defign of Grace,as that of
a Church: Its true, fuafory reſiſtible
Grace cannot fecure it, becauſe it
leaves the iffue of all upon the will of
man; irreſiſtible Grace muſt come in,
or
[190]
Mr. Sher-
Lock.
or elſe we may lay by the defign of a
Church, and confefs with Corvinus,
Finis mortis Chrifti conftaret, etiamfi
nemo credidiffet. As for that place of
St. Jahn, That ye may have fellowship
with us, and our fellowship is with the Fa
ther and his Son Jesus Christ: By us is
meant S. John or the Apoſtles, not the
Church or body of Chrift: But were
that Church meant, it hinders not but
that they in the uſe of the Evangelical
Truths and Ordinances might come to
an immediate Communion with God
and Chriſt,as the Apoſtles had; thus the
Learned Grotius on the place, Ut &
vos ipfi non minùs quàm nos fructum
inde percipiatis, focietatem cum Deo &
cum Chrifto.
Thofe publick cenfures, whereby rotten
or dead members are cut off from the bo-
dy of Christ, confift in cafting fuch per-
fons out of the briftian Society, in de-
barring them from the Communion of
Prayers and Sacraments, and all religious
Offices, which is a plain demonftration,
that our union to Chrift, is not an union
to his perfon, but confifts in a fincere and
Spiritual communion with the Chriftian
Church; otherwiſe this external commu-
nion with the Church, could be no viſible
fignification of our union to Christ; nor
could
[191]
could our exciſion from the vifible Church
fignifie our feparation from him:
The Author argues thus, If union to Anſwer.
Christ be immediate, then our external
communion with the Church cannot fig-
nifie our union to Chrift, nor could our
exciſion from the vifible Church, fignifie
our feparation from him: To which I
anſwer, juſt before our Author ſaith,
Our union to Christ, is not an union to
his Perfon, but consists in communion
with the Church, that is, the viſible,
Church, as he afterwards calls it; and
therefore our communion with the Church
doth not fignifie our union to Chrift, but
is it; and our excifion from the Church
doth not fignifie our feparation from
Christ, but is it, according to our Au-
thor, which cannot poffibly ſtand; Be-
cauſe our union to the viſible Church
is external, and our union to Chrift
internal and fpiritual; our exciſion
from the Church is one thing, and our
feparation from Chriſt another; a man
may be united to the vifible Church,
and yet not really united to Chriſt;
for fo is the hypocrite; a man may be
cut off from the viſible Church, and
yet not cut off from Chrift, for fo is
the unjustly excommunicate.
The union between Chrift and the Mr. Sher-
Church lock.
1
[192]
us,
Church is not a natural, but a political
union; Chriſt is a King, and all Chri-
ftians his Subjects; and our union to
Chrift confifts in our belief of his Revela
tions, Obedience to his Laws, and ſub-
jection to his Authority, If you con-
tinue in my words, then are ye my Di
fciples indeed. John 8. 31. Which is
the fame thing with being in Chrift: And
by keeping his Commandments we a-
bide in his love; John 15. 10. and 14.
21. And to have his word abide in
Is a defcription of the clofeft and firmeft
union to him: John 15. 7. Thus Chriſt
is a Shepherd, and Chriftians his Sheep:
To fignifie the Authority he hath over his
Church, Shepherd is used as a name of
power; thus Chrift is a head, and the
Church his body, a Husband and the
Church his Spouse, which are names of
power. Eph. 5. 23. Chrift is called an
Head an Husband, because he hath the
Rule and Government of us, Head is a
name for Princes and Governours, Deut.
28.13. The Apostles alwayes expound the
Metaphor of Christs being a head, by pow-
er: Eph, 1. 20. 21. Col. 1. 18. so
Tęwτowν in that place fignifies one that
bath Authority; Chrift is the head of
all principalities. Col. 1o. He is an head
and husband, because he is invested with
Authority
[193]
authority to govern; the Church is the
body and spouse, because it must obeys,
alfo thefe Metaphors fignifie the mildness
and gentlenes of his Government, as a
good Shepherd he lays down his life
for his Sheep, John 1o. He loves his
Church with the natural kindness of an
head and husband, his Government is
only for the good of his Church; and
therefore his yoke is eafie, he gave
himſelf for his Church, that he might
fanctifie it: Eph. 5. 25, 26. Upon which
account we may be called members of
his body, of his flesh and bone, verſe
30. The Church being taken out of his
crucified body, as woman out of manz
Chriſt hath reconciled the Gentiles,
(that is, taken them into his Church)
in the body of his fleſh through death ;
because the Covenant which wis the foun-
dation of the Church was fealed with his
blood, Chriſt owns himself our friend :
John 15. Ye are my friends, if ye do
what I command you; which shews the
tenderness of his Government. He exer-
cifes his authority in methods of Love z
bence he is called a Father.
Our union to Christ, conſiſts in a be- Anſwer-
lief of his Revelations, Obedience to his
Laws, and Subjection to his Authority:
Thus the Author; To whom I anfwer,
Q
A be
1
[194]
A belief of Revelations is only a dog-
matical faith, which is found in many
not united to Chrift; Obedience is not
our myſtical union to Chrift, but a
fruit of it; Chrift and the Soul being
once eſpouſed, out-comes a bleffed
progeny of good works, as fo many
reall proofs of that Divine conjuncti
on, which is made by the Spirit and
Faith; and fhews forth it ſelf in fuch
effects, as the dead womb of nature
could never have produced: Subjection
to Chriſt's Authority, is either a formal
actual one, ſtanding in doing his com
mands, and that is the fame with O-
bedience, a fruit of our union to Chriſt,
or a virtual one, confifting in accept
ing Chriſt as our Lord, and this is part
of that Faith, which is a bond of that
Union. Thoſe words, If ye continue
in my words, then are ye my Difciples
indeed: John 8. 31. Were fpoken to
Believers, to men in union with Chriſt,
to exhort them to perfeverance, as a
reall proof of their Diſcipleſhip and
Union to Chrift: If ye keep my Com-
mandments, ye hall abide in my Love:
John. 15. 10. They were in his love
before; Verſe 9. But Obedience will
fhew it forth: Thus St. Auſtin on the
place, oftendit, non unde dilectio ge-
neretur,
[195]
neretur, fed unde monstretur, hinc ap-
parebit, quod in dilectione med manebitis,
fi precepta mea fervaveritis; Chrifts
promiſe to the Obedient is, That he
will love him, and manifest himſelf to
him. Joh. 14. 21. Chrift loved him
before, but now he will manifeſt it:
Thus St. Auſtin on the place, Quid est
diligam, tanquam dilecturus fit, &
nunc non diligat? Abfit, diligam & ma-
nifeſtabo, id eft, ad hoc diligam, ut ma-
nifeftem. Our abiding in Chrift, and
Christ's words abiding in us; are very
well joyned together: Joh. 15.7. To
fhew us, that where the Soul and Chrift
are in union, there the holy words will
have a manſion in the heart. Chrift
is a King, a Shepherd, an Head, an
Husband; and all in a fuperlative tran-
ſcendency above all others in thoſe re-
lations: He is a King who hath his
Laws without us, and an inward Scept-
er in our hearts, making the unwilling
will to become a willing one, in the.
day of his power: A Shepherd who
peaks to his Sheep, nay, and brings
them into the Fold, John 10. 16. who
before were not in it: A Head, who
tands above all in eminency, and in-
luences fpiritual life and motion into
he loweſt, meanest Believer on the
O 2
earth:
[196]
earth: An Husband who efpouſes us
unto himſelf, and inveſts us with a rich
Dowry out of his incomparable Graces
and Perfections. The Church was taken
out of the crucified body of Chrift: But
that place, We are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones, Eph. 5. 30.
plainly declares the myftical union, as
man and wife are one fleſh, ſo Chriſt
and Chriſtians are one fpirit. One
thing more may be obferved; Chrift,
farth the Author, hath reconciled the
Gentiles (that is, taken them into his
Church) in the body of his flesh through
death. Col. 1. 21. 22. This is a little
Strange, reconciled, that is, taken
them into his Church; Socinus on this
place, faith, That the reconciliation
here is, Omnium rerum non cum Deo,
cap. 8. fed fecum ipfis per Chriftum parta con-
cordia: And a little after, Universi
tam Gentes quàm Judæi unus Dei popu-
lus funt facti: But I hope our Author
doth not exclude reconciliation to
God.
De Servat
pars I.
•
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Chrift doth not govern us immediately
by himself, for he is afcended up into
Heaven, where he powerfully intercedes
for his Church, and by a vigilant provi-
dence fuperintends all the affairs of it;
but hath left the visible and external
conduct
[197]
conduct, and Government of his Church
to Biſhops and Paftors, who prefide in his
name, and by his authority: He governs
his Church, by men who are inveſted with
his authority, which is a plain demon-
ftration, that the union of particular
Chriftians to Chrift, is by their union
with the Chriftian Church, which confifts
in their regular fubjection to their fpiri-
tual Guides and Rulers, and in concord
and unity among themselves: For if our
union to Chrift, confift in our fubjection
to him, as our Lord, and this authority
is not immediately exercifed by Christ,
but by Bishops and Paftors; it follows that
we cannot be united to Chriſt, till we u-
nite our felves to the publick focieties of
Chriftians. and fubmit to the publick in-
ftructions, Authority and Difcipline of the
Church.
Chrift hath left the visible and exter- Answer.
nal conduct of his Church to Bishops and
Paftors: Very well, But the internal
Scepter and Rule over hearts, is in his
own hand only; and therefore the
Papifts, who make the Biſhop of Rome
Head of the Church, fecundum exteri-
orem gubernationem, are yet fo modeſt
as to leave Chrift to be the only Head,
fecundum interiorem influxum. Our u-
nion to Chrift is an internal, fpiritual
03
one
[198]
1620.
one, made by the Spirit and Faith,
fuch as cannot confift in any thing ex-
ternal; tuch as fubjection to Ecclefi-
aſtical Governours, who have the vi-
fible conduct, is. Hence the Reverend
Uſher tells us, Without that quickning
Serm. be- Spirit, no external communion with
fore the
Chrift or his Church, can make a man
Commons, a true member of his mystical body; this
being a most fure principle, that he which
hath not the Spirit of Chrift, is none of
bis. Rom. 8. 9. A wicked man may
be fubject to Ecclefiaftical Govern-
ment; yet while fuch, is not, cannot
be a member of Chrift, or his mystical
body; Bellarmine himſelf was ſo ſtruck
with the evidence of this truth, that
he confeffed, That wicked men, are but
membra mortua & arida, quæ folum ad-
hærent reliquis externa conjunctione,
non de Eeclefiâ nifi fecundum apparenti-
am exteriorem, & putativè, non verè;
that is, they are no members at all,
which makes it clear, that our union
to Chrift ftands not in fubjection to Ec-
clefiaftical Governours, and what ( for
fuch a thing is poffible) if the Eccle-
fiaftical Governour be a wicked man
himſelf? Is it imaginable, that the u
nion of one wicked man to another,
ſhould produce an union to Chrift?
OF
[199]
lock.
Or what if fuch a caſe ſhould fall out,
as once did, when under the Empe- Evag.Hift,
rour Bafilifcus, no less than five hun- L.3.
dred Biſhops condemned the Council
of Chalcedon? It would be very hard
in fuch a diſmal lapfe, to ſay, that all
the Chriſtians under them, had with-
out any default in themſelves, loft
their union with Chrift; and yet we
muſt ſay ſo, unless we allow that union
to be made and fupported by the in-
ternal bonds of the Spirit and Faith.
Schifmaticks are in the Church, juft Mr. Sher-
as Rebels are in a Kingdom, not as parts
of it, but enemies: The Apoftle tells us,
wherein the unity of the Church confiſts :
In Eph. 4. 16. Chrift is the Head
from whom the whole body fitly join-
ed together, and compacted by that
which every joint fupplieth, according
to the effectual working in the mea-
fure of every part, making increaſe of
the body to the edifying it ſelf in love:
That is, The Supreme power is invested in
Chrift, as Head, to whom the Church is
obedient and fubject; but to make this
union firm and lasting, there must be a
regular fubordination of the feveral
members, and a mutual difcharge of
Christian offices, which advances their
growth in Grace, and especially in love;
O 4
this
1
[200]
Answer.
this ſuppoſes a viſible ſociety of Christi,
ans, profeffing the Faith, and living in
communion with each other, if there be
no fuch visible Society, as in perfecution,
or degeneracy of the Church: Our union
to Chrift confifts in an acknowledgment
of his Authority and Subjection to his
Laws, which makes us members of the
univerfal Church, but when there is a vi-
fible Church, we are under an obligation
of communion; because herein our Sub-
jecwn to the Authority of Christ, and our
Union to him confifts.
,
up
Schifm is the concern of visible
Churches; but that place Eph.4. fpeaks
not of vifible Churches which are
made up of believers and unbelievers,
but of the Church Catholick made
of Believers and Saints only; This is
plain, the Church Catholick is that
whole body, συναρμολογόμβρον, fitly join-
ed together, all being Saints in it; but
in the vifible Church, there are be-
lievers and unbelievers, who can no
more ſtand in harmony than light and
darkneſs, Chrift and Belial, the Tem-
ple of God and Idols: In the Church
Catholick there is an effectual work-
ing in every part; but in the Church
vifible, there is no fuch energy in the
wicked: And fo in that parallel place,
Epb
[201]
Epb. 2. 20. The Church Catholick is
that πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή συναρμολογεμών,
That whole Building fitly framed together,
which groweth unto an holy Temple in the
Lord: But in the Church vifible the
wicked grow not into a Temple; nay,
there is not a ftone of the fpiritual
Building laid in them: And Eph. 1. 23.
The Church Catholick is not only
σώμα but πλήρωμα, not only the body,
but fulness of Christ: Every member
of it helps, as it were to fill up the
myftical body; but in the Church vi-
fible the wicked do not complete the
body,but corrupt it;they do not adorn,
but deform it. I have before ſhewed
that our union to Chriſt, ſtands not in
communion with a vifible Church, or
its Rulers: It is made by internal
and ſpiritual ligatures, and is invariably
one and the fame, whether there be a
Church vifible or not: But faith the
Author, We are under an obligation of
Communion with a Church viſible, when
there is one: But it is one thing what
our Duty is, and another what con-
ſtitutes our union with Chriſt; it is
our duty to be ſubject to civil Magi-
ſtrates, but I fuppofe our union to
Chrift confifts not in it; it is our duty
to hear the Minifters of Chrift; Luke
10.16.
[202]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Answer.
Mr. Sher
lock.
10. 16. But our union to Chriſt doth
not confiſt in it; indeed it is a facred
Ordinance which God is pleafed to uſe,
to bring us to Chrift; but the only
proper immediate bands of that union
are the Spirit and Faith.
If any particular Church apoftatize
from the Faith of Chrift, we are then
under the fame neceſſity of deſerting their
communion, as we are of obeying the
Laws, and fubmitting to the Authority of
our Lord and Maſter.
We muſt indeed defert an apoſtate
Church; but if, as our Author holds,
our union to Chrift confiſts in com-
munion with a vifible Church, then
upon our departure from it, though
never ſo juſt, our union to Chriſt muſt
fail; Which yet I think can never be
the lot of a true believer; he is part of
that Church built on the Rock, againſt
which the gates of Hell fhall not pre-
vail: Matth.16.18. Part of that build-
ing, which is an holy Temple, an habi-
tation of God through the Spirit; Eph.
2. 21. 22. and that Spirit makes and
maintains that union.
This Political Union betwixt Chrift
and his Church, may be either only ex-
ternal and viſible, and fo hypocritical
Profeffors may be ſaid to be united to
Chrift,
[203]
>
Chrift, or true and reall, which imports
the truth and fincerity of our Obedience
and Subjection to our Lord and Ma-
fter.
Contr.
Hypocrites may ſeem, but are not Anſwer.
members of Chriſt, or united to him:
non poteft Chriftus habere damnata mem-
bra, omnia išta membra, abfit omninò, Crefc. l.a.
ut in membris illius columbæ unica com- cap.21.
putentur, faith St. Austin; and in ano-
ther place, Si amas & amplecteris pec- Expoſ.in
cata tua, contrarius es Chrifto, intus Epift. Fo,·
fis, foris fis, Antichriftus es, intus fis, bannis.
foris fis; palea es, fed quare foris non
es? Quia occafionem venti non inve-
ništi: Our Obedience to Chrift our
Lord, is not the very myſtical union
it felf, but a Divine fruit of it.
The Spiritual Kingdom of Chrift re- Mr. Sher
quires the homage of the Soul, the Go- lock.
vernment of our thoughts and pallions,
the renovation of our minds and Spirits ;
we must be born again of water and of
the Spirit, if we would enter into Gods
Kingdom; that is, before we can be the
Difciples and Subjects of Chrift, we must
be born of water, make a publick pro-
feffion of our faith in Christ, and obe-
dience to him in our Baptifm, we must
be born of the Spirit too, that is, our
minds and Spirits must become ſubject to
Christi
[204]
Ciestr.
cap.22.
Chrift, our faith in Christ, and ſubjection
to him must be fincere and hearty, go-
verning all the motions of our Souls, and
making uſually ſuch as we pretend to be,
which is called, being born of the Spirit ;
becauſe all Christians Graces are in scri-
pture attributed to the Spirit, as the An-
thor of them.
Anſwer. Here are two things, Baptiſm and
Regeneration; both are not of a like
neceffity to make us Difciples of Chriſt,
Regeneration is fimply neceffary, but
fo is not Baptifm; unbaptized perfons
may be reall believers, and if they die
before Baptifm, as Valentinian did.
they enter into Bliſs: Impletur invifibi-
Don.l.1.4. liter, cum myfterium Baptifmi non con-
temptus religionis, fed articulus neceffi-
tatis excludit; faith St. Auftin: Baptifm
may be adminiftred by man, but Re-
generation is the fole work of the holy
Spirit, which breaths where it lifts,
and forms all thofe Graces, which make
up the new creature; hence we are
faid to be born of the Spirit, and all the
Graces in the new man are called the
fruits of the ſpirit: Hence Fulgentius
faith, ex eodem Spiritu renati fumus, ex
quo natus est Chriftus: The very fame
De Fuca- Spirit which formed Chrift in the womb,
forms him in the heart. And S. Ambrofe
va.cap.
20.
ſpeaking
[205]
ſpeaking of the Gracious Image of God
in us, faith, Pictus es ô homo, à Domi- Hexaem..
no Deo tuo, bonum habes artificem atque 6.cap.8.
pictorem: No other hand, but that of
the holy ſpirit only, is able to draw
fuch a picture of God, as is in the new
creature; we who naturally lye in a
Maſs and Chaos of corruption, are
not capable of doing any thing in
it.
As a viſible profeſſion is the foundation Mr.Sher-
of an external Political union between lock.
Chriſt and his Church, so this new na-
ture is the foundation of a real and Spi-
ritual union: And this the Scripture re-
preſents under several notions. First by
the Subjection of our minds and Spirits
to Chrift, as our fſpiritual King, when we.
put our Soals as well as our Bodies under
his Government: Hence Chrift.is ſaid to
dwell in our hearts by Faith; Eph. 3. 17.
That is to have the fole command and
Empire of our wills and affections, to go-
vern our hearts, as a man does the house
in which he dwells: Secondly by a parti-
cipation of the fame nature, which is
the neceſſary effect of the Subjection of our
minds to him; for the Gospel of our Sa-
viour is the trueft image of his mind, he
tranfcribed his own nature into his Laws;
and therefore a fincere Obedience to his
Laws
[206]
Answer.
Laws is a conformity to his nature:
Hence is that exhortation, That the
fame mind may be in us as was in
Chriſt: Phil. 2. 5. And to be his Di-
fciples, is to learn of him: Matth. 1 1.
29. Hence our union to Christ is de-
fcribed by having the Spirit of Chriſt :
Rom. 8. 9. If any man have not the
ſpirit of Chrift, he is none of his, that
is, unless he have that fame temper of
mind which Christ had, which is called
having the Spirit, by an ordinary figure
of the cause for the effect; for all those
Virtues and Graces, wherein our con-
formity to Chrift confists, are called the
fruits of the Spirit; and therefore what
the Apofile calls, having the Spirit, in
the next verſe he expreſſes by, If Chriſt
be in you,, that is if you be poſſeſt with
the fame. love of virtue and goodness,
which appeared fo eminently in him,
which is much to the fame fence with
that expreffion of Chrift being formed
in you: Gal.4. 19. Hence in 1 Cor.
6.17. He that is joyned to the Lord, is
one Spirit: Herein confists our union
to Christ, that we have the fame temper;
Souls are united by an harmony of wills,
this makes two one Spirit.
After a long difcourfe touching ex-
ternal communion with the Church;
the
[207]
the Author is now come to own a fpi-
ritual union with Chrift; and this
(faith the Author) the Scripture re-
preſents to us; first by the fubjection of
our minds to Chrift, as our King; Chrift
dwells in our hearts by Faith, Eph.3.that
is, he commands there; But I take that
place of the Apoſtle, to be an eminent
proof of the myftical union; it is not
faid Chriſt commands, (though that be
very true) but he dwells in our hearts,
not by a piece of faith, fuch as accepts
Chriſt as our Lord, but by an entire
one, fuch as receives him in all his of
fices: We have in thoſe words faith
expreffed, which is a bond of that my-
ftical union, and where faith is, there
is that other bond, the holy Spirit,
which flows as rivers of living water
in the believers heart; and juſt before
thoſe words of Chrifts dwelling in our
hearts by faith; the Apoſtle ſpeaks of
the holy Spirit in the inner man, Verſe
16. which is the principal bond of that
myſtical Union: And St. Chrysostom
on the words faith, that διὰ πνεύματος
ays, By the holy ſpirit in the inner man
Chrift doth dwell in our hearts by faith:
But (faith the Author) Secondly this
is repreſented in Scripture, by a parti-
cipation of the fame nature, which is the
neceſſary
[208]
necessary effect of the fubjection of our
minds to Chrift. To which I anſwer,
If by that fubjection be meant a re-
ceiving Chrift as our Lord, it is but a
part of that faith, which with its Sifter
Graces make up the new creature; all
Graces are found in the new creature,
and among others Faith, which re
ceives Chriſt in all his offices, and a-
mong other in his Kingly; but if by
that fubjection be meant Obedience to
his Laws, (which the Author after
mentions, calling it a conformity to his
nature) the new creature is not the
effect of Subjection or Obedience, but
the cauſe of it; true Obedience is too
pure a thing, to iffue out of an unre-
generate heart; before it can come
forth; Ipfum liberum arbitrium liber-
cap 106. andum eft: As St. Auſtin ſpeaks: Lap-
fed nature muſt be new-natured, and
its deadly wound healed by regener
ating Grace. First, according to Scri-
pture there muſt be a good tree, and
then good fruit: First a To evou déias,
A Divine ſtate or being (as Dionyfius
calls it) and then Divine operations
iffuing forth in a ſweet connaturalnefs
to the Heavenly principles within. To
.Hom, of this purpoſe let us hear our Church,
Almes. As the good fruit is not the canfe that
Enchir.
De Ecclef.
Hierar.
cap.2-
.
•
the
[209]
the tree is good, but the tree must first be
good, before it can bring forth good fruitz
fo the good Deeds of men are not the
Caufe, that maketh men good; but he is
first made good by the Spirit and Grace
of God that effectually worketh in him,
and afterwards he bringeth forth good
fruit. As for fuch as are regenerate
and new Creatures, I acknowledge
them to have the fame temper of Mind
with Chriſt, and that every Grace in the
new Man, anſwers to that in Chrift,
and morally unites to him; but the
Myſtical Union is made by the holy
Spirit and Faith, which hath this a-
bove other Graces, to receive Chriſt
and incorporate us into him. That
place, Phil. 2. of having the fame mind
with Chrift, holds out the fame temper,
in both; that in Matt. 4. II. calls us to
an imitation of him; that Gal. 4. 19.
expreffes the State of the new Crea-
ture which is moulded after the Image
of Chrift: But the other two places,
quoted by the Author, prove the My-
ftical Union; the one is that, Rom.8.9.
If any man have not the Spirit of Chrift,
he is none of his: By Spirit, is not meant
an holy temper of Mind, but the Spirit
it felf, the very fame which juft before
the words is called, The Spirit of God,
P
4
A
and
[210]
and ver. 11. The ſpirit of him that raif-
ed up Jefus from the dead, and by which
our mortal bodies shall be quickned: This
is that Spirit, which unites us to Chriſt,
in fuch an admirable manner, that Chrift
is faid to be in us,ver. 10. St.Chryfoftome
on the words faith, ὁ τὸ πνεῦμα έχουν,
He that hath the holy Spirit, hath Chrift
himſelf; the Spirit being preſent, Chriſt.
nay,the wholeTrinity must be fo: The other
is that, I Cor.6.17. He that is joyned unto
the Lord is one Spirit, that is, one and
the fame holy Spirit is in Chrift and Be-
lievers, myftically uniting them toge-
ther: This appears, as well by the op-
pofition of one ſpirit in this 17. Verſe,
to one flesh in the 16. Verfe: For, as
the Learned Beza notes on the place,
Ut conftet expofitio exterioris corporum
copula, & nostræ cum Chrifto interoris,
Spiritus nomen ufurpavit Apoftolus; as al-
fo by the after-words, What, know ye
not that your body is the Temple of the
holy Ghost, which is in you? ver. 19.
The holy Ghoft is that one Spirit,
which unites Chrift and Believers:
Hence the Reverend Usher, quoting
this place among others, concludes,
That the Mystery of our Union with
Christ confifts mainly in this, that the
Jelf fame Spirit,which is in him, as in the
Head
[211]
Head, is derived from him into every one
of his true Members.
lock.
There is yet a clofer Union, which con- Mr. Sher-
fists in a mutual reciprocal Love, when
we are transformed into the image of
Christ; he loves us, as being like to him,
and we love him, as partaking of his Na-
ture ; he loves us as the price of his Blood,
as his own workmanship created to good
Works, and we love him as our Redeemer
and Saviour.
ذ
I acknowledge there is a Moral U- Anſwer.
nion between Chrift and Chriſtians by
holy Love; but this Moral Union fup-
poſes a Myſtical one, made by the Spi-
rit and Faith: Where thefe are not,
there can be no fuch thing as Love to
Chrift: Hence the Apoſtle, Eph. 3.16,
17. first lays down the Myftical Union
with its two Bands, the Spirit in the in-
ner man,and Faith,whereby Chrift dwells
in the heart; and immediately after
adds the Moral one, That ye raay be
rooted and grounded in Love: Where-
ever the Mystical Union is, there is
holy Love to Chrift. What the Au-
thor afterwards adds, touching God's
dwelling in the Church as his Temple,
is fo far from oppofing, that it points
out the Mystical Union; efpecially
leing, as the Author confeffes, Parti-
culir
P 3
[212]
cular Chriſtians are in Scripture ftiled
the Temple of the living God: That place
quoted by the Author, Know ye not,
that ye are the Temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Cor.
3, 16. is very emphatical; Chriſtians
are the Temple of God, and made fo
by the indwelling Spirit, which is the
bond of the Mystical Union. Indeed
the Author faith, That the indwelling of
the Spirit primarily refers to the extra-
ordinary gifts of the Spirit, which God
in that Age bestowed on the Church ; this
was the true Shechinah or divine Glory
resting on them: But I conceive the
holy Spirit hath been in Believers in
all Ages: God dwelt in the Jewiſh
Temple in Types and Symbols of his
Prefence, but, which was far more excel-
lent than thofe outward (hadowsand ap-
pearances of Glory, he dwelt even then
by his Spirit in all true Believers. The
fweet ſtrains of Devotion in David did
plainly evidence, that the holy Spirit
was in him; the ſpiritual Imbroidery
or Needle-work in every Ffalm, tells
us, that the Finger of God was there:
The believing Ifraelites, in Mannâ Chri-
fum intellexerunt, ſaw Christ in their
Manna and fed on the fame fpiritual
Meat,as believing Chriftians do; which
is
A
[213]
*
is a clear proof that the holy Spirit was
in them. The Son of God coming in
the Fleſh, the holy Spirit was poured
down in extraordinary Gifts; and,
though thoſe Epiphanies of divine
Glory went off, yet the fame Spirit
hath been and ever will be in Believers.
This our Church acknowledges; Nei- 1. Hum for
ther doth the holy Spirit think it fuffici- Whitsun-
day.
ent inwardly to work the spiritual and
new Birth of Min, unless he do alfo dwell
and abide in him: And a little after,
our Church breaks out in an holy ad-
miration; O what comfort is this to the
beart of a true Chriftian, to think that
the holy Ghost dwelleth in him! The A-
poſtle tells the Ephefians, that they are
builded for an habitation of God ev
Avoμali, through the Spirit, Eph. 2. 22.
Indeed the Author interprets & πvóľ-
ἐν πνεύ
μan, a ſpiritual Temple, in oppoſition to
the material one, which St. Peter calls
oîn
πvolμatinos, a fpiritual house; but
I take it the Spirit it felf is meant :
Thus Grotius, as I have him quoted in
the Criticks, faith, Non tantùm tota
fidelium collectio, fed & fideles finguli
rectè appellantur Templum, quia in
ipforum mentibus Spiritus Dei habi-
fat.
Mr. Sker-
Baptiſm and the Lords Supper repre- lack.
P 3
ſent
[214]
Answer.
Sent and fignifie both our external and re
al union to Chrift.
Mr. Sher
lock.
Baptiſm doth fignifie to all baptized
an admiffion into the Church Visible,
and to Believers it feals the Myftical
Union with Chrift: Thus the Apoſtle,
fpeaking of Believers, fuch as are the
children of God by faith in Chrift, Gal.3.
26. faith, As many of you as have been
baptized into Christ, have put on Christ;
you are myftically united to Chriſt,
and Baptifm feals up that Union to you:
The Lord's Supper doth import to all
receivers a Communion with the Vi-
fible Church, and to Believers it feals
the Myſtical Union; hence the сир is
the Communion of Christs blood, and the
bread is the Communion of Christ's body,
I Cor. 10. 16. The Greek word is
κοινωνία, and why was it not μετοχής
St. Chryfostome upon the words an
fwers, Because the Apostle would shem
Something more, even ollu ovάdær,
πολλώ των συν άφθαν,
a great Conjunction with Christ.
Baptifm fignifies cur profeffion of be-
coming new men, of Conformity to Chrift
in his Death and Refurrection: We arè
buried with Chrift by Baptifm into
death, that like as Chrift was raiſed
from the dead by the glory of the Fa
ther, even fo we alſo ſhould walk in
£ ..
newne
[215]
newneſs of life, Rom.6.4. Baptiſm fig-
nifies our dying to fin and walking in
newness of life; He that is baptized in-
to Chrift, hath put on Chrift, Gal. 3.
27. that is, hath engaged himself to be
conformed to Chrift's image and likeness.
Baptifm fignifies our profeſſion of Con- Answer.
formity to Christ; very well: But firſt
of all it fignifies our Union to him,
without which there can be no partici-
pation of his Death and Refurrection,
nor conformity thereunto. In that
place, Gal. 3. putting on of Christ im-
ports an Union with him; and in that
Rom, 6. after that difcourfe of Can-
formity to Chrift's Death and Refur
rection, the Apoſtle immediately raiſes
up himſelf to the Fountain of that
Conformity, and tells us, that we are
ouμquoi, implanted in the likeneẞ of his
death and refurrection, ver. 5. Aptiffimà
tranſlatione ar&tiffimam illam noftri cum
ipfa Chrifti fubftantiâ conjunctionem, &
vivificam illam virtutem inde in nos
manantem expreffit, faith Beza on the
place. The Apoſtle by that Metaphor of
a Plant,expreffes our intimate Conjun-
ction with the very Subftance of Chriſt,
and the quickning virtue flowing from
thence unto us, to affimilate us to his
Death and Refurrection.
P 4
Thus
[216]
Pvir. Sher-
Thus the Lord's Supper is a spiritual
lock. feeding on Chrift, eating his flesh and
drinking his blood, which fignifies the
most intimate Union with him, that we
are fleſh of his fefh, and bone of his
bone, Eph. 5.30. That as we are redeem-
ed by his death, and ſo taken out of his
crucified Body; fo by this Spiritual feed-
ing on Christ, we are transformed into
the fame Nature with him, as much as if
we were of his flesh and bones : This is
eating the flesh and drinking the blood of
Christ, when the visible figures of his
death and fufferings, affect our minds
with such a strong and paſſionate ſenſe of
his love to us, and excite in us such a
firm hope in God, astransforms us into a
divine Nature: And this is our real V-
nion to Chrift.
Answer.
In the Lord's Supper all true Believ
ers feed upon Chrift: Thofe words of
our Saviour, He that eateth my flesh and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and
I in him, Joh. 6. 56. declare, as the
Immanuel moſt Reverend Usher hath it, That by a
mystical and fupernatural Union we are
as truly conjoyned with him, as the meat
and drink we take is with us: And what
this Mystical Union is,the fame Author
tells us, That it is made by the Spirit
and Faith. But, faith our Author, This
F
2.
[
Į
Spiritual
[217]
Commons
Spiritual feeding on Chrift is, when we
are transformed into the divine Nature:
But, I take it, that transformation can-
not poffibly exiſt, without a Myſtical
Union to Chriſt, who is the great Trea-
fury of Grace; nor without the Spirit
and Faith, which are the bonds of
that Union: Therefore our Saviour
tells us, He that eateth me fhall live by me,
Joh. 6.57. Spiritual Life follows after
eating or Union to Chrift: No man
(faith the Reverend Uſher) can partici- Serm. be-
pate in the benefits of Christ, except he fore the
first have comunion with Christ himself: 1620.
We muſt have the Son, before we
have Life; and eat him we muſt, that
is, as truly be made partakers of
him, as of our food, if we will live
by him. The Apoſtle tells us how the
divine Transformation comes; Behold-
ing as in a glaß the glory of the Lord, we
are changed into the jame image from
glory to glory,as by the Spirit of the Lord,
2 Cor. 3. 18. The heavenly Change is
from the two bands of the Mystical
Union, that is, from the Spirit, which
is called the Spirit of the Lord; and
from Faith, which is fet forth by a
transformative View of Chrift. Ex-
cellent is that of Calvin, and by him
quoted out of St. Chryfoftome, Vinculum Infi.1.4.c.
istius 17.
t
[218]
Mr. Sher.
lock.
1
iftius conjunctionis eft Spiritus Christi,
cujus nexu copulamur: Et quidem veluti
canalis, per quem quicquid Christus ipfe
& eft, & habet, ad nos derivatur: The
Spirit of Chrift is the Bond of Union be-
tween Chrift and us, and the Chanel of
derivation, whereby Christ and all that
he hath is conveyed to us.
I Joh. 1. 3. That which we have
feen and heard, declare we unto you,
that you may have fellowship with us;
and truly our fellowſhip is with the Fa-
ther and his Son Jefus Chrift. Obſerve,
that our fellowship with the Father and
Son is first founded on our fellowship with
the Chriftian Church, 1 Cor. 1. 9. God
is faithful, by whom ye are called into
the fellowſhip of his Son Jefus Chriſt
our Lord; where the fellowship of Chrift
can ſignifie no more, than the fellowship
of the Chriftian Church, whereof Chrift
is Lord and Head; and therefore the
Apoftle adds in the next Verfe, Now I
beſeech you Brethren by the Name of
our Lord Jefus Chrift, that you all
ſpeak the fame thing, that there be no
diviſions or ſchifms among you, but that
you be perfectly joyned together in
the fame mind, and in the fame judg-
mont: Where he argues from the nature
of their Faith in Chrift, to the obligati-
0138
[219]
ons of Peace and Unity; which plainly
evinces, that this fellowiship with Chrift
is that relation we stand in to him, as
Members of the Chriftian Church, where-
of he is Head: The true Notion of
nowwviα is plain, 2 Cor. 6. 14. where the
Apoftle diffwades from fellowship with
heathen Idolaters, where we have μeloxỳ,
κοινωνία, συμφώνησις, μέρες, συγκατάθεσις,
all which Expreffions decipher to us the
Nature and Foundation of Fellowship;
The Nature of it confists in the Union of
things, which in Rational Beings confifts
in mutual Relations and common Inter-
fts; and the Foundation of it is a like-
nes of Nature and Harmony of Wills:
And therefore the Apoſtle explains our
fellowship with God by our being the
Temple of God, and that God dwells
in us, and walks in us, ver. 17. 18.
As for that place, 1 Joh. 1. 3. I have
anſwered before: As for the other,
1 Cor. 1.9. Te were called into the fel-
lowſhip of his Son Jesus Christ, it is to
be confidered, that in the Epiſtles writ-
ten to Viſible Churches, fome things
are common to all, fome proper only
to Believers: Thofe Churches are made
up of Believers and Unbelievers, and
all things do not quadrate to all: Thus
in the quoted Chapter, that touch ing
↑
fcbifms
Answer.
F
[220]
fchifms and divifions is an Item to all,
ver. 10. but that fellowship of Christ,
ver. 9. is proper to Believers; fuch as
fhall be confirmed unto the end, ver. 8.
This place evinces not, that our Fel-
lowſhip with Chriſt is founded on our
Fellowſhip with the Vifible Church;
all that are in it have not Communion
with Chrift; thofe therefore, who walk
in darkneſs, have it not, and if they
ſay that they have it, the Apoſtle gives
them the lye in plain terms, 1 Job. I. 6.
Where by the way, it appears, that the
fellowship with Christ mentioned, ver. 3.
confifts not in Fellowſhip with a Vi-
fible Church; on the other hand all
that are out of it want not Communi-
on with Chrift: The unbaptized and
unjuſtly excommunicate, if Believers,
have it, and yet are not in a Viſible
Church. But, faith the Author, the
Apoftle, 1 Cor. 1. 10. argues from the
nature of their Faith in Christ to the ob-
ligations of Peace and Unity. To which
I anſwer, that the Apoſtle argues from
the precedent Commendations, that
the Grace of God as given to them,ver.
4. that in every thing they were inrich-
ed,, ver. 5. that they came behind in no
gift, ver. 7. that they had fellowship with
Chrift, ver. 9. which were only proper
to
[221]
to the Believers among them; and from
thence exhorts all to Unity, ver. 10.
Becauſe the Believers among them were
really ſuch, and the reſt would ſeem to
be fuch. Afterwards the Author tells
us, That the Foundation of nowwvíœ, or
Communion, is a likeness of Nature and
harmony of Wills. Now if we fpeak
of Communion with a Viſible Church
made up of Believers and Unbelievers,
theſe have not a likeneſs of Nature; the
one having a divine Nature in them,
the other only an humane and that cor-
rupt; nor an harmony of wills, the
Will of the one being fanctified, of the
other carnal and vitious; which ſhews
that a Viſible Church in the whole
Complex of it hath only external Li-
gaments to tye the Members of it toge-
ther: If we fpeak of Communion with
Chriſt, which is proper to believers,
they are myftically united to Chrift by
the Spirit and Faith, and withal have
an heavenly Nature and Will futing
to his.
Now becauſe the Lord's Supper is the
Mr. Sher
only Act, which the Scripture mentions, lock.
whereby our Fellowship with God and
Chrift is expreffed; hence it is called the
κοινωνία
nowwviα or Communion. 1 Cor. 10. 16.
The cup is the Communion of Chriſt's
blood
[222]
.
7
blood, the bread of his body: And he
calls it the Communion 5 1. Becauſe it
Signifies the Communion of Chriftians
with each other, that they are all Mem-
bers of Christs body, ver. 17. 2. Becauſe
it fignifies our fellowship with God,ver. 18.
Behold Ifrael after the flesh, are not
they that eat of the facrifice partakers
of the Altar? The facrifice on the Altar
was reckoned as God's meat, as the Tem-
ple was his House; therefore those, who
eat of the Sacrifice, were entertained at
God's Table, which was a fignification of
their Fellowship with him: Thus the
¿Lords Supper is a Feast upon a Sacrifice,
even that great ſtupendious one of the
Body of Chrift, which was offered on the
Croß; Therefore to eat the Bread and
drink the Wine, which are Figures of
his Body and Blood, is to eat of that Sa-
crifice, that ſpiritual food God hath pro-
vided for us: Thus God entertains us at
his Table as his own Children, who are
of his Family, as Members of Christ,
who have a right to all the Bleffings of
the New Covenant, which was fealed with
his Blood: This is the only Act of Reli-
gion which in Scripture fignifies Commu-
nion with God: But Prayer, Meditation,
and fuch like Acts of Devotion, are no
where called Communion with God s
though
[223]
though a prevailing custom hath in our
days almoſt wholly appropriated that namę
to them: Fellowship with God doth not
confist in transient acts, but is a state of
life, that relation we stand in to God
and Christ; and no act of religion pro-
perly fignifies this fellowship with God,
but only eating at his table: You will
not say, that a poor man enjoyes com-
munion with his Prince, when he puts up
his petition; to pray to God is an act of
homage, which we owe him, a Duty which
reſults from our fellowship with God, but
it is not in its own nature an act of com-
munion.
The Lords Supper is called nowwvía, Anſwer:
or Communion, but Prayer, Meditation,
and fuch like acts of Devotion, are no
where called fo; thus the Author: But
the nowvwvíα voμaт, mentioned 2
Cor. 13. 12. cannot be ſpared out of
Divine Ordinances, unless we would
ſtrip them of their Divine excellency,
and write upon them that Icha
bod, which is proper to their depart
ure: And what if there were no fuch
word as nowvwvía, in Scripture? No
more was the Nicene door, nor
the Ephefine on, the thing it
felf being there will fuffice all men but
Chimers, who only follow the found
of
[224]
of words: True Believers, as they are
θείας κοινωνοί φύσεως, Partakers of the
divine Nature, 2 Pet. 1. 4. moulded
and formed into the Refemblance and
beautiful Image of God, ſo they have
Communion with God in all holy Or-
dinances; there God meets them, and
difpenfes out fpiritual Bleffings to
them; there is a divine Converſe and
Entercourfe between God and believ-
ing Souls; the drawings of God are
anſwered with the Soul's running,Cánt.
1. 4. God faith, Seek ye my face, and
the Antiphon in the Soul is, Thy face,
Lord, will I feek, Pfal. 27. 8. In Pray
er the holy Spirit συναντιλαμβάνεται, Rom.
8. 26. lifts over againſt us to help up our
devotions, and the Great God above
makes fuch fweet returns of Grace and
Mercy, as if he were preſent and vo-
cally faid, Here I am, Ifai. 58. 9. While
we are devoutly mufing, the holy Fire
will perhaps drop down from Heaven,
and fet the Heart as a fpiritual Altar,
burning and aſpiring upwards towards
the great Origen of all Goodneſs and
Perfections: In the Difpenfations of
the Word, oh, what divine Influences
and Spirations are there on Gods part!
What Compliances and Refponfes on
the Believer's! Juſtice, it may be, ap-
pears
[225]
pears in a Threatning, and the Heart
trembles at the Word; Heaven opens
in a Promiſe, and the Heart leaps up
in the triumphs of Faith; the Rayes
of the divine Purity break forth in a
Command, and the holy Principles in
the heart ſparkle in a beautiful Corre-
fpondence thereunto; and is not this
Communion with God?Who would not
fay, God is here of a truth? When God in
Ordinances impreffeth formething of
himſelf upon the Soul, and draws an-
fwerable Affections of the Soul to him-
felf,there is Converſe with God indeed,
Further, a true Believer hath Commu-
nion with God in Providences; If Pro-
vidence pipe in Profperity, he dances
before the Goodneſs of the Great Do-
nor, in whom are all the Springs of
Happiness; If it mourn in Adverfity,
he couplies in an holy Silence under
the Will of that infinite Mind that or-
ders all: He looks upon himself (as the
excellent Mr. Shaw hath it) not as in Welcome te
himſelf, but in God, and labours to be- she Plage..
come oλws TE TEXTov, wholly God's, and
to live in the world only an Inftrument
in the hand of him that worketh all
things according to the counsel of his own
Will: Nay, I may add, a Believer, as
far as he acts like himſelf and expreffes
ว
the
[226]
Mr. Sher.
lock.
the Purity of the divine Life, hath
Communion with God in every thing;
how low foever his Calling be, therein
he abides with God, and the works
that he doth are wrought in him; he
would not live a moment without God
in the world, but be ever receiving Im-
preffions from him & giving up himſelf
to him after the fimilitude of a Plant that
is i fluenced by the benign Beams of the
Sun, and in the virtue of those Beams
Spreading it felf towards Heaven, as Mr.
Sham fpeaks. As for the Authors Simile,
That a Poor man, who begs of a Prince,
hath not Communion with him, it is e-
nough to fay, That Alms is called no-
ravia, Rom. 15. 26. God, fuch is his
condefcending Grace, takes us into
Communion with himſelf, notwith-
ftanding that infinite diftance, which
is between him and us, incomparably
greater than that which is between the
greateſt Monarch on earth and the
poorest Almefman.
No
SECT. II.
Othing more easie to be understood
than our Union with Christ; and
it had certainly continued fo, had not
Some
[227]
Dr. Ft.
jome men undertook to explain it, who
have made it more than mystical, that is,
an unintelligible Union: When we en-
quire what this Union is, they answer in
general, that it is a mystical Union
through the Spirit and Faith: This, My-
ftical, is a hard word, and therefore to
explain it, they tell us, that it is an V-
nion of Perfons, but no Perfonal Union:
The Perfon of Chrift is united to them, pag.
Perfon of the Believer, and the Perfon 45.
of the Believer is united to the Perfon
of Christ (as it must needs be, where the
Perfon of Chrift is united to the Perſon of
the Believer :) Which Union is made
by Faith, which receives the Perfon of
Chriſt, and therefore muſt unite to the
Perſon of Chriſt: (I doubt that confe-
quence is not good, for men are not uni-
ted to every thing they receive; but yet
what follows may help it out :) As it is
in the Marriage-union which joyns per-
fon to perfon: This is not very clear yet,
and therefore the fame Author defcribes
it thus: This Myſtical Union is that fu-
pernatural, fpiritual, intimous Oneness
and Conjunction, which is between the
Perfon of Chrift and the Perfon of Be-
lievers, through the Bonds of the Spi-
rit and Faith; upon which follows mu-
tual and reciprocal Communion with
Q 2
each
[228]
•
each other: This Oneness and Con-
junction are hard words ftill; and there-
fore to explain them, you must obferve,
that Chrift and Saints are united; how?
Why, in refpect of that Oneneſs and
Conjunction which is between them:
This is as plain, as one could wish; they
are one by their Oneneß: Union is Uni-
on, and Christ is Chrift, and Believers
are Believers, and Oneness is Oneneß;
and thus Chrift and Believers are united
by their Oneness: But what are the Bonds
of this Union? (though it had been con-
venient first to have understood the Uni-
on better) Why, they are the Spirit
and Faith; the Spirit unites Chriſt to
and Faith unites us to Chriſt: And
who can deny this to be a very Mystical
Union. But befides this mystical Union,
there is a Legal or Law-union between
Chriſt and Believers, as he is their
Surety; a Moral Union, the foundati-
on of which is Love: And thus Chrift
and Believers are united myftically,
legally, morally. The defign of theſe
diftinctions is to prove the Union of
perfons between Chrift and Believers :
And, because I find this Author hath
bewildred himself, I will help him
out; for it is a very plain cafe, if Chrift
and Believers are united, their perfons
us,
must
[229]
+
must be ſo: For the Perſon of Christ is
Christ himself, and the perfons of Be-
lievers are Believers themselves. I can-
not understand, how they can be united
without their perſons, that is, without
themſelves: But then they are united by
mutual Relations, or mutual affections,
or Common Interest; not by a natural
Adhesion of Perfons.
Never did I like Scoptical Divinity 3
ὑπὸ παντὶ λίθῳ σκορπίς ὑποδύεται. Almoft
every where in this Paffage there is a
flurt and a ſting at worthy Dr. Jacomb,
who yet may comfort himſelf, that sa-
deel, Zanchy, Davenant, Usher, Rey-
nolds, with many more are Co-fufferers
with him; all of them(however the Au-
thor be fo civil as not to name them)
hold the very fame Myſtical Union as
Dr. Jacomb doth: But what faith the
Author? Nothing is more eaſie to be un-
derstood than our Union to Chrift: No-
thing! how fo? St. Paul calls it a great
Mystery, our Church, a marvellous In-
corporation, Biſhop Reynolds, one of the
deep things of God, not difcernible with-
out the Spirit; and yet nothing more
eafie to the Author: Only jome men
have made it, as he tells us, more than
myftical, that is, an unintelligible Union.
More than myſtical they have not
Q 3
made
[230]
made it; yet the Learned whitaker
Delf faith, it is Ataximè myftica & planè mi-
1fbqrifica: Neither do they make it unin
telligible, though they would have it
received in Faith; according to the
meaſures of Scripture, and not of meer
Reaſon: This latter in the Socinians
cashier'd the Hypoftatical Union in
Chrift, becaufe it could not pierce
Racoe. into the Vinculum Unionis, which tacks
Cat.deper mortal and immortal, eternal and tem-
for.Chrifli
poral together in one Perfon; and, un-
lefs it be fubjected to Scripture, it may
do as much in us touching the myſtical
one.
But the Dr. faith, Faith receives
Chriſt and ſo unites to him; which con-
fequence is not good; for men are not
united to every thing they receive: But
Faith receives Chrift as fpiritual Food,
and cating Christ's flesh and drinking
his blood, as the Author tells us, pag.
184. fignifies the most intimate Union
with him, befides the Marriage-union,
which might have prevented the Ex-
ception. But Chrift and Saints are u-
nited in respect of the Oneness between
them: This is plain, faith the Author,
they are one by their Oneness. I fear the
Reader may think we are at Tittle-
tattle; How ſhould they be one with-
out Oneness? or who would deny or
cavil
[231]
cavil at it? But the Doctor fhould have
understood the Union first, before he had
come to the Bonds: And hath not the
Dr. in his Book ſet down the Proper-
ties of this Union? Or what can bet-
ter ſhew the Nature of it than the
Bonds thereof? But the Dr. in his de
fign to prove an Union of Persons is be-
wildred, and the Author will help him
out:Bewildred? Not by any Arguments
as yet; however it is kindly meant for
one, who hath interlaced his Difcourfe
with ſo many exceptions to very little
purpoſe. But Christ and Believers are
not united by a natural Adheſion : No,
who ever ſaid fo? Doth not the Dr.
make the Union and the Bonds of it
both ſpiritual? But the Author appre-
hends ſome ſtrange Myſtery in the bu-
finefs, which now muſt be heard.
Dr. Owen tells us, That by the Gra- M, Sher-
ces of Chriſt's Perfon, he doth not mean lock.
the glorious Excellencies of his Deity,
confidered in it ſelf, abſtracting from
the Office, which for us as God and
Man he undertook; nor the outward
appearance of his Humane Nature nei-
ther, when he converft here on earth,
nor yet now as exalted in Glory; but
the Graces of Chrift's Perfon, as he is
veſted with the Office of Mediation;
Q4
his
は
​[232]
his fpiritual Eminency, Comeliness,
Beauty, as anointed and appointed by
the Father, unto that great work of
bringing home all his Elect into his bo-
fom: Now, unless the Perfon of Christ as
Mediator be diftinct from his Perfon as
God-man, all this is idle talk; for what
perfonal Graces are there in Chrift as
diator, which do not belong to him
either as God or Man? The peculiar Du-
lies of that Office of Mediator are not
perfonal Graces; his Perfonal Graces
fitted him for his office, but he hath no
Perfonal Graces, as Mediator, which he
bath not either as God or Man. The
Dr. tells us, That Chrift is white in his
Deity, and ruddy in his Humanity;
but thefe belong to his Divine and
Humane Nature, and that without re-
gard to his Mediatory Office. Again
the Dr. tells us, That Chrift is excellent
in his Deity, and deſirable in his Hu-
manity: This looks like a contradiction
to what he said before, but he hath a Sal-
vo, which delivers him both from con-
tradiction and from fence, that he doth
not confider these Excellencies of his Dei-
ty or Humanity as abstracted from his
Office of Mediator, though he might if he
pleased; for thefe Excellencies would
have belonged to him as God and Man,
whether
[233]
whether he had been Mediator or not:
But what becomes of his diftinction of
the Graces of Chrift's Perfon as Mediator,
from the Graces of his Perfon as God and
Man? When there are no perfonal Graces
in Christ, but what belong to his Deity
or Humanity, anthen you can find no o•
ther Perſon to be the Subject of these per-
fonal Excellencies, unless his Office of Me-
diation must go for a distinct Perfon,
which is a new kind of Herefie.
It was the faying of Nazianzen, That
there is one Confideration of the Deity,
καθ' ἑαυτώ, and another κατ' οίκονομίαν.
Dr. Owen being to ſpeak of the Grace
of Chrift the Mediator, did not confi-
der the Excellencies of his Deity in it
felf or apart, nor the Excellencies of
his Humanity fingly and by it felf; but
the Excellencies of both Natures met
in conjunction in the Perfon of the
Glorious Mediator Jefus Chrift: This
muſt be a diſtinct Confideration from
the other, or elſe what is the Hypoſta-
tical Union? What the FάvowπⒸ,
the Immanuel, or Word incarnate?
What is that κοινωνία ἰδιωμάτων, or Come
munication of Properties, celebrated by
Divines? How did God purchaſe his
Church with his own blood? A&t. 20.28.
Or lay down his life for us? 1 Joh.3.16.
which
Anſwer.
[234]
which way was the bleſſed Virgin
o
Ton, as the ancient Council hath it?
What is the Grace of Unction, or all
thofe full Treaſures of habitual Grace
in the Humane Nature of Chriſt? And
what are the opera Sexvdeixa, or opera-
tions of God-man the Great Mediatour,
who hath the Excellencies of both Na-
tures in himſelf? This Confideration
being therefore a diſtinct one, the Dr.
fhews, that Chrift was white in his
Deity and ruddy in his Humanity, which
needed no more have been flighted,
than fuch allufions common in the an-
cient Fathers; but the humour of ex.
pofing to ſcorn provokes to fuch
things. The Doctor doth not, and, I
am fure, will not own any fuch thing,
as that the Perſon of Chrift, as Medi-
ator, is diſtinct from his Perfon as God-
man; or that the Graces of Chriſt's
Perfon,as Mediator, are diftiftinct from
his Perfon, as God-man. But, faith
the Author, What perfonal Graces are
there in Chrift, as Mediator, which do
not belong to him either as God or Man?
To which I anſwer The Grace of U-
nion was not peculiar to either Nature
in Chrift, but common to both; the
Humane Nature in him was only af
fumed, but the Divine and Humane
were
[235]
were both united; but faith the Au-
thor, Those excellencies would have be-
longed to him as God and man, whether
he had been Mediator or not: To which
Ifhall only fay: That Chrift ſhould be
God and man, and yet not Mediator
is fuch an extrafcriptural conceit, as I
ſuppoſe never entred into the Doctors
mind.
lock.
But what ever becomes of the diftin&ti- Mr. Shers
on, there is a very deep fetch in it; the
obferving of which will discover the
whole mystery of the Perfon of Chrift,
and our Union to him: For these men
confider that Chrift faves as Mediator,
and not meerly confidered as God or man,
they imagine that we receive Grace and
Salvation from Chrift's Perfon, juſt as
we do water from a Conduit, or a Lar-
ges from a Prince; that it flows to us
from our Union to his Perfon, and there-
fore they dress up the Perfon of the Me-
diator with all those perfonal Graces and
Excellencies, which may make him a fit
Saviour, that those who are united to his
Perſon, need not fear miſſing of Salva-
tion; hence they ransack all the bound-
les perfections of the Deity, and what
ever they can fancy as comfort to Sin-
ners; this is a perfonal Grace of the
Mediator, they confider the effects of his
Mediation
[236]
Anfwer.
Mediation, and what ever great things
are ſpoken of his Goſpel or Religion or In-
terceffion, thefe ferve as perfonal Graces
too, that all our hopes may be built not
on the Gospel-Covenant, but on the Per-
Son of Christ; so that the difpute now
lies between the Perfon of Chrift and his
Gospel, which must be the foundation of
our hope, which is the way to life and
happineß.
To what purpoſe all this is, I fee
not; Is not Chrift God-man, our Me-
diator? Do we not receive Grace and
Salvation from Chrift's perfon? And
if we do, is he a conduit only, and
not rather a Sea or Ocean of Grace?
S. Chryfoftome, as I have him quoted by
the Learned Jeans, calls him TαYO
άπaev, an infinite Sea, adding, Though
all the Saints that are, were, or shall be,
did, do, or fhall receive of his fulneß,
yet will he never be emptied, never the
leß full for all that; and why ſhould
the Author utter fuch a word, as dref
fing up of Christ? The inveftiture of him
with his facred Office of Mediator, is fo
far above a flight, that it is no leſs than
the work of infinite Love, Wiſdom
and Power; thoſe whom the Author
oppoſes, aſcribe nothing to Chriſt, but
what is founded on Scripture: And for
fuch
[237]
fuch as are united to Chriſt in truth, I
verily believe that they ſhall never fall
ſhort of Heaven, and to keep them in
the true way thither, God puts his fear
into their hearts, that they fhall not
depart away from him, but thefe men
ranjack all the boundless perfections of the
Deity? What is this for? Muſt we not
own that Chriſt is God, and hath all
the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in
him? Or may we be Chriftians with-
out it? but they would have us build all
our hopes, not on the Gospel, but on the
perfon of Christ: And where do they
utter any fuch word or fyllable? Or
how could they do fo? To reft upon
Chriſt, and caft away the Evangelical
warrant, to ſtand for the great pur-
chafer, and defpife or neglect the
Charter is utterly impoffible.
lock.
To make this appear, confider, Dr. Mr. Sher-
Owen tells us, That Chrift is fit to be
a Saviour from the Grace of Union;
and if we would understand what this
Strange Grace of Union is, It is the u-
niting the nature of God and man in
one Perfon, which makes him fit to be
a Saviour to the uttermoft, he lays his
hands upon God by partaking of his
nature: Zach. 13. 7. And he lays his
hands on us by partaking of our na-
ture
[238]
Anſwer.
Imman.
fol. 21.
ture: Hebr. 2. 14. And becomes a
Dayfman or Umpire between both.
Now though this be a great truth, that
the Union of the Divine and Humane
nature in Christ did excellently qualifie
him for the Office of a Mediatour; yet
this is the unhappiest man in expreffing
and proving it, that I have met with :
For what an untoward reprefentation is
this of Chrifts Mediation, that he came to
make peace by laying his hands on God
and men; as if he meant to part a fray,
or scuffle, and he might as well have
named, Gen.1.1. or Matth.1.1. or any o-
ther Scripture for the proof of it.
Strange Grace of Union! No Di-
vine is a ſtranger to the Gratia Unio-
nis: Nay, the Author himfelf confef
fes it to be a great truth, but the
ftrangeness is in the Doctor's untoward
expreffing of it, he being the unhappiest
man therein, that ever the Author met
with, that is, except Bishop Usher,
whoſe words are thefe, Christ the only
fit Umpire to take up this controverfie,
was to lay his hand as well upon God the
party fo highly offended, as upon man the
party fo bafely offending: But the Doctor
wight as well have named Matth. 1. or
Gen. 1. for the proof: The expreffion
was taken from Job 9. 33. And if that
expreffi-
[239]
expreffion, the man God's Fellow,
Zach. 13.7. do not prove Chriſt's Di-
vinity; and that other, he took part of
our flesh and blood, Heb. 2. 13. do not
prove his Humanity, what can do
it ?
From the Deity of Chrift, the Doctor Mr.Sher-
obferves, The endleſs, bottomlefs, lock,
boundleſs Grace that is in Chrift; it
is not the Grace of a creature, no, not
of the humane nature it ſelf, that can
ferve our turn; if it could be conceiv-
ed as feparate from the Deity: Surely
fo many thirsty, guilty fouls, as every
day drink deep and large draughts of
Grace and Mercy from him, would, if
I may fo fpeak, fink him to the very
bottom; nay, it could afford no fup-
ply at all, but only in a moral way;
and that is a very pitiful way in-
deed.
The condemned Pelagius would al- Answer
low meer moral Grace; but if there
be no more, what means the drawing,
quickning, renewing, regenerating,
creating, conquering Grace fo fignally
fet forth in Scripture? Or how fhould
poor, loft, lapfed, corrupted man,
dead in Sins and Trefpaffes, ever be
raifed up into the Divine life? Meer
fuafion operates only, as propofing an
object,
[240]
object, and not as ingenerating a
power or faculty; and were there no
other Grace, how ſhould the power of
repenting and believing, which are
things far above the Sphere of Nature,
ever be produced? Or which way
fhould the acts of repenting and be-
lieving ever come forth without a
power? S. Austin is not content with
meer fuafory Grace, but would have
fuch an one, Quà Gloria magnitudo non
Contr. Pe- folùm promittitur,verum etiàm creditur,
lag. lib.x. nec folùm revelatur Sapientia, verum
etiam & amatur, nec fuadetur folùm
omne bonum, verùm & perfuadetur :
And a little after, he tells Pelagius, That
he must confess such a Grace, if he would
be a Chriftian.
De Grat.
cap.10.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
The Dr. tells us, That ifall the world
fhould fet themſelves to drink free
Grace, and Mercy, and Pardon from
the Wells of Salvation; if they ſhould
fet themſelves to draw from one fingle
Promiſe, they would not be able to
fink the Grace of the Promiſe, (of the
Perfon of Christ he means, faith the Au
thor) one hairs breadth; The Infinite-
nefs of Grace with refpect to its Spring
or Fountain will answer all objections,
what is our finite guilt before it? Shew
me the finner that can fpread his Ini-
quity
[241]
quity to the dimenfions of this Grace
Here is Mercy enough for the greateſt,
the oldeft, the ftubborneft Tranfgref
for, &c. Enough in all reafon this ; what
a comfort is it to finners to have fuch á
God for their Saviour, whoſe Grace is
bottomleß, and boundleß, and exceeds
the largest dimenfions of fin, though there
be a world of fin in them!
The Grace of the Promife, faith the Dr. Answer:
of the Perfon of Christ he means, faith the
Author: This is juſt to as much pur-
pofe, as if the Author fhould tell us,
That the Grace of the Evangelical
Charter, and the Grace of Chrift the
great Purchaſer cannot confift toge-
ther, which as yet I never found ad-
mitted among Divines: The Infinite-
nefs of Chriſt's Grace is a thing no more
to be fcrupled or plaid withal, than
the Verity of his Deity. When the
Emperor Conftantine had unjustly and
unnaturally dipt his hands in the blood Spondan.
of his Son Crifpus, and Nephew Lici-
nius Junior, the Pagan Flamins were
nonpluft, and could tell of no way of
Expiation for fo horrible a Crime; but
the Chriſtian Doctrine furniſhed him
with one. No fooner doth a man become
Chriſtian, but he must own, that the
Grace of Chrift is infinite,and in a tran
R
fcendent
Annal.
[242]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
fcendent Excefs above all the dimen
Lions of fin, that the oldeſt and great-
eft Tranfgreffor may find mercy enough
in him; and in very deed, this is a
comfort for finners too high and ſa-
cred to be entertained with any other
laugh than that of the joy of Faith.
But what now if the Divine Nature it
Self have not fuch an endleß boundless,bot-
tomleß Grace? At other times the Dr.tells
us of the Naturalneſs of Vindictive Ju-
ftice.Though God be rich in Mercy,he never
told us yet, that his Mercy was jo bound-
les and bottomleß: He hath given a
great many demonftrations of the feveri-
ty of his Anger against finners, who could
not be much worse than the greateſt,
oldeſt, ſtubborneft Tranfgreffors. But
fuppofing the Divine Nature were ſuch a
bottomleẞ Fountain of Grace, how comęs
this to be a perfonal Grace of the Medi-
ator? For a Mediator
Mediator, as Mediator,
ought not to be confidered as the Foun-
tain, but as the Minister of Grace: God
the Father ought to come in for a share
at least in being the Fountain of Grace,
though the Dr. is pleaſed to take no no-
tice of him. But how excellent is the
Grace of Chrifts Perfon above the Grace
of the Gospel! for that is a bounded li-
mited thing; it is a ſtrait gate, and nar-
row
[243]
row way that leadeth unto life; there is
no fuch boundleſs Mercy, as all the fins
in the world cannot equal its dimenfi-
ons, as will fave the greateft, oldeſt,
ftubborneft Tranfgreffors.
Smalcius denies God's Mercy to be Anfurs
infinite and immenfe, and the Author
feems to hint fome fuch thing; But
Chriſt is God, and in his Divine Na-
ture there can be no finite Attribute;
and what if Divine Juſtice be natu-
ral and infinite too? Infinite Juſtice
and Infinite Mercy may ftand very well
together; or what if Divine Juftice
break out againſt finners? yet is Divine
Mercy infinite for all that; nay, what
if Divine Mercy had fhewed it felf in
gracious Effects to no one man in the
World? yet ftill would it have been
infinite rat low, in the divine Effence:
And what if the Author will not call
this a perfonal Grace in the Mediator?
It is doubtless a Grace in the Perſon of
the Mediator; and what if Chrift as
Mediator be God's Servant? yet is he
really God, and a Fountain of Cace,
and that without the leaft exclufion of
his Father being fuch: The Son made
and upholds all things, and yet, I hope,
the Father did and doth the fame ; and
what if in the Goſpel the Gate beftrait,
R 2
and
[244]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
and Way narrow? yet the Grace is ne-
ver the less infinite, becauſe it is dif
penſed in a way decorous to the Holi-
nefs of God: infinite Grace ftands open
to the greateſt Sinners; and yet none
fhall partake of it but upon the holy
Terms of the Gospel.
Thus the Love of Chrift is an Eternal
Love,becauſe his Divine Nature is Eter-
nal; an unchangeable Love, becauſe
his Nature is fo; a fruitful Love pro-
ducing all things which he willeth to
his beloved; he loves Life, Grace, Ho-
lineſs into us; he loves us into Cove-
nant, loves us into Heaven: This is an
excellent Love indeed, which doth all
for us, and leaves nothing for us to do;
we owe this difcovery to an Acquvintance
with Christ's Perfon, or rather with his
Divine Nature, for the Gospel is very fi
lent in this matter; all that the Gospel
tells us is, that Christ loved Sinners fo
as to die for them, and that he loves
good men who believe and obey his Goſpel,
fo as to fave them; and that he continues
to love them, while they continue to be
good, but hates them when they return to
their old Vices: And therefore finners
have reaſon to fetch their comforts, not
from the Gospel, but from the Perſon of
Christ, which as far excels the Gospel, as
the Gospel excels the Law.
The
[245]
The Dr. diſcourſes of the Love of Anfwar.
Chriſt as he is God: There is in God
Amor Complacentia, a Love of Compla-
cence, whereby he delights in good
men; but is there not Amor Benevo-
lentiæ too, a gracious purpoſe of bestowing
good things on us? All the good things
Temporal in the World, and Spiritual
in the Church, know no other Spring
or Origen than this; our Repentance,
Faith, Grace, Holineſs (unleſs we will
blafpheme the great Donor, and deny
them to be Gifts) are fo many pregnant
proofs of it: Hence the Apoſtle tells
ns, That God worketh in us to will and
to do, UTÉ & Sonias, of his good plea-
fure, Phil. 2. 13. And is not this Love
or gracious Purpoſe an Eternal one?
It can be no other; all the divine De-
crees are fo: His Works are in Time,
but his Decrees in the fame Eternity
with himſelf, as being no other than
Deus Volens. Should his Decrees be
made in time, the Divine Will
though it ever had an infinite Reaſon
and Wiſdom ſtanding by it, muſt
yet hang in fufpence, and float in un-
certainties touching things to come,
till its own Creature, Time, came forth
into Being; and then upon paffing
thofe Decrees, a new Generation of
R 3
Fu-
ว
[246]
Uffer. d;
Costesch,
Futures muſt ſtart up which were never
before, and withal a new Preſcience
in God to look upon thoſe novel Ob-
jects; both which are impoffible. But
this is a Love, which doth all for us, and
leaves nothing for us to do: Thus the
Author. The Semipelagians, to blaſt
the Doctrine of St. Aufin touching
God's Free Grace, formed out of their
own Brain a Story of the Predestinati-
ani, an odious Sect which, as was pre-
tended, held fuch a Notion, as rendred
an holy Life altogether unneceſſary:But
why the Author ſhould charge the Dr.
with any fuch thing, I know not, he
never faid or thought any fuch thing;
nay, he hath again and again urged the
Neceffity of Obedience: Neither do
I fee how there can be a more unnatu-
ral Confequence framed than this;
Chriſt loved us, and therefore we need
do nothing our felves: Our Love to
Chriſt is an excellent Principle of O-
bedience to him, and, to fet it a work-
ing, his Love to us is a divine Inflam-
mative to ours. But, faith the Author,
All that the Gospel tells us, is, That
Christ loved Sinners, so as to die for
them, and that he loves good men, who
believe and obey the Gospel: But fure
this is not all; Chrift in his Love doth
(1.
fome.
}
[247]
ſomething to the Quickning and Con-
verfion of men, and ſomething to the
fanctifying and eſtabliſhing of them :
This Laft I ſuppoſe the Author allows
not, for he tells us, That he loves them
while they continue good, and hates them
when they return to their old vices ; But
this is much after the rate of the Re-
monſtrants, who tell us, That as foon
as men believe, there is a kind of in-
complete Election, fuch as riſes and falls
with their Faith; and when they arrive
at the full point of Perfeverance, it be-
comes complete and peremptory: The
Divine Will, according to them, muſt
be fucceffive and make its progrefs
from an incomplete Election to a com-
plete one, and in its paffage to that
Completure, it muſt all the way vary
and turn about to every point as the
fickle Will of Man doth; that ſtanding,
there is an Election, that falling, there
is none; and ſo toties quoties, as often
as it pleaſes man to fhew himſelf vari-
able, Election will be fomething or
nothing as it happens. This Opinion
doth not aſcribe Eyes and Hands to
God, as the grofs Anthropomorphites
did, but it aſſimilates him to the filly
turnings and windings of the Creature.
But to ſpeak more directly to the Au-
thor;
R 4
[248]
thor; God's electing Love antecedes
all Goodneſs in in Men; and if his elect
Veffels fall into great fins, as holy Da-
vid did, and this after their Converfi-
on, however the Light of God's Coun-
tenance be for a time fufpended, how-
ever their habitual Graces be weak-
ned, and their Confciences wounded,
yet the Foundation of God ſtands fure;
electing Love remains unvariable, and
will revive them again by Repentance.
When God elected a People to him-
felf, he did not, as Mr. Shaw ſpeaks in
allufion to the words of the Apoſtle,
ufe lightness, or purpoſe according to the
flesh, after the manner of men, unsteady
and wavering in their determinations ;
Mr. Sher-
ock.
the foundation of God ftandeth fure,
the Lord knoweth thofe that are his.
no,
But if the Love of Christ be infinite,eter-
nal, unchangeable, fruitful, Iwould will-
ingly understand, how fin, and death, and
Mifery came into World; for if this Love
be fo, because the Divine Natures fo,
then it was always fo; for God always was
what he is, and that which is eternal,
could never be other than it is now; And
why could not this Love as well preferve
us from falling into Sin, Mifery, and
Death, as love Life and Holineß into usz
for it is a little odd, first to love us into
Śj z
[249]
Sin and Death, that then he might love
us into Life and Holiness, which indeed
could not be, if this Love were always fo
unchangeable, and fruitful,as the Dr. per-
Swades us? For if this Love had always
loved Life and Holiness into us, how
Should it happen, that we ſhould fin and
die.
The gracious Decree of Election is, Anſwer.
as becomes the Divine Nature, eternal,
unchangeable, fruitful; yet was it a
free Act, terminating upon what Ob-
ject it pleaſed: Hence God faith, Ja-
cob have I loved, and Efau have I hated;
he infallibly brings his Elect to Glory:
But no man may be fo vain or pre-
fumptive, as to limit the holy One, or
chalk a Way or Method for him to,
walk in, who works all things according
to the counsel of his own will. But how
then came fin and death into the World?
Why, furely it came in by Man's Tranf
greffion, and under God's Permiffion:
But why could not this eternal, unchange-
able, fruitful Love, preferve us from fall-
ing? I doubt not at all, but God, who
is Almighty, could have kept up Man
and all his Pofterity in their primitive
ſtation, as well as he did the ſtanding
Angels; but if you ask on, why did he
not do it? I have nothing to anſwer,
but
[250]
Mr. Sher.
lock.
but that it was not his pleaſure: God
loves no man into fin; the Expreffion is
too odd for a Chriftians Mouth or Ear;
but he ſuffers his very Elect to fall in-
to fin, yet is his Love eternal, un-
changeable, fruitful towards them; if
I may allude to that of Hezekiah, Ifai.
38. 17. He loves them from the pit of
corruption, he fetches them out of the
corrupt Mafs of Mankind by his effe-
&tual Grace; and though afterwards
they have many falls and lapfes, yet e-
lecting Love fets to its hand again, and
revives them by a freſh Repentance,
fhewing it ſelf fruitful in their reco-
very and fafe conduct to Heaven ; and
all this is managed in a way of unac-
countable Sovereignty.
Not that I deny, that the Love of God
is eternal, unchangeable, fruitful, that
is, that God was alwayes good, and al-
wayes continues good, and manifests his
love and goodneẞ in fuch wayes as are
fuitable to his nature, which is the fruit-
fulness of it; but then the unchangeable-
nes of Gods love doth not confift in being
alwayes determined to the fame object,
but in that he alwayes loves for the fame
reafon; that is, that he alwayes loves
true virtue and goodness, where-ever be
fees it, and never ceases to love any per-
Song
[251]
fon, till he ceases to be good; and then
the immutability of his love is the reaſon
why he loves no longer; far fhould be
love a wicked man, the reafon and na-
ture of his love would change, and the
fruitfulness of Gods love with respect to
the Methods of his Grace and Provi-
dence doth not confift in producing what
he loves by an omnipotent and irreſiſtible
power, for then fin and death could never
have entered into the world; but he 80-
verns and doth good to his Creatures, in
Such wayes as are most suitable to their
Natures; he governs reasonable Creatures
by Principles of Reafon, as he doth the
material World by the neceſſary Laws of
Matter, and bruit Creatures by the in-
ftincts and propensities of Nature.
After all the reft, the Author him- Anſwer,
felf confeffes, that there is in God an
eternal, unchangeable, fruitful Love;
how fo? There is a Love of Virtue and
Goodness; and is there not a Love
of Perſons too? The Scripture is ex-
prefs in it: St. Paul is a chofen veſſel,
Act. 9. Jacob was loved, and that before
he was born, or had done any good at
all, Rom.9. The Lord knoweth thofe that
are his, 2 Tim. 2. He calleth his ſheep by
Name, Joh. 10.3. Some are drawn of the
Father, Joh. 6. 44. Some are called ac-
cording
[252]
cording to purpoſe, Rom. 8. 28. On fome
God will have mercy, when he hardens
others, Rom. 9. 18, All which places
places prove that electing Love is of
particular perſons, who, as St. Auſtin
hath it, certiffimè liberantur, are cer-
tainly faved, when, others are left in
maffa perditionis. Unless this be own-
ed, that great Deſign of a Church,
which is the Maſter-piece of Provi-
dence, muſt be carried on in fuch a
lame and imperfect manner, as if God
(which is unworthy of him) ſhould
fay, I would have a Church, but I in-
tend not who ſhall make it up: Such a
Jeofail is hardly to be found in a pru-
dent Man. But faith the Author, The
Unchangeableness of God's Love doth not
confist in being determined to the fame
Object, but in that he always loves for
the fame Reafon, that is, he always loves
true Vertue and Goodneß, where-ever he
fees it, and never ceases to love any per-
fon, till he ceases to be good: he always
loves for the fame Reafon; where Good-
neß is, there he loves, where Goodneſs is
not, there he loves not: This is the Au-
thor's meaning, this is loving for the
fame Reafon: But if this had been ſo,
what could have become of Man, cor-
rupt, lapfed Man, in whom, as our
Church
[253]
Church tells us, there is not a fpark of
Goodness? How defperate muft his
caſe have been? Divine Love could
not poffibly have let out a drop of
Mercy to fuch an one, much less have
ſhewed forth it felf in fuch an unparal-
lel'd Act, as the Miffion of his own
Son for our Redemption, there being
not in any Son of Adam naturally, fo
much Goodness (the only reafon ac-
cording to the Author of divine Love)
as might attract the leaft crumb of
Comfort on Earth, or the leaſt mo-
ments Reprieve from Hell. But faith
the Author, Should he love a wicked
man, the Reason and Nature of his Love
would change: He cannot love a wick-
ed man with a Love of Complacence,
but cannot he love him in Defign, or
with a Love of Benevolence? Then,
(though, as the Author tells us, pag.88.
he did paffionately defire and deſign the
Happiness of Man) yet he could not de-
fign to him (being in a lapfed corrupt
Eſtate) a Chrift, or a Goſpel, or any
the leaſt Means of Salvation; Good-
nefs, the only reason of Love, being gone
by the Fall, nothing that is good could
be intended to him. The Author ac-
knowledges that God loves Goodness
in Men, but whence came that Good-
nefs?
[254]
uefs? Was it a Donative of Divine
Love or not? İffo, then he loved them
before they were fuch; if not, then
may we fay with the Pelagians, A Deo
habemus, quòd homines fumus, à nobis
ipfis, quòd justi fumus; though God be ne-
ceffary to our Being, yet he is not to our
Tract. 81. Goodness, as St. Austin obferves. I fhall
add no more to this, having fpoken
before touching irreſiſtible Grace.
in Fob.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Anfwer.
Chriſt being God and Man, made
him an endleſs bottomlefs Fouutain of
Grace to all that believe: Thus the Dr.
upon which the Author gloffes, This he
was as God, as we were told before, and
his Grace was never the more bottomless
for becoming Man: The deſign of all this
is, to make the Perfon of Chrift the Foun
tain of all Grace, from whence we must
drink Pardon and Mercy as long as we
need any.
His Grace was never the more bottom-
lefs for becoming Man; yet as God and
Man he is the Fountain of all Grace to
us; and unleſs he had been Man, there
would have been no Communication
of Grace to us. The moſt Reverend
Ufher, upon that Text, He that eateth
my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth
pag. 52. in me and I in him, faith Three things:
1. That by the mystical and fupernatural
Imman.
Union
[255]
Union we are as truly conjoyned with him,
as meat and drink is with us : 2. That
this Conjunction is immediately made
with his Humane Nature: 3. That the
Lamb flain, that is, Christ crucified, hath
by that death of his, made his fleſh bro-
ken, and his blood poured out for us, to
be fit food for the ſpiritual nouriſhment
of Souls, and the very Well-ſpring, from
whence by the power of his Godhead, all
Life and Grace is derived to us. To
the fame purpoſe ſpeaks the Learned
Zanchy.
To begin with the Fulness of Chrift;
and the first place wherein we meet with
it, is Joh. 1. 16. And of his fulneſs we
all received, and grace for grace: Now
what is meant by this Fulneß, we may
learn from ver. 14. The Word was
made fleſh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld his glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth: This Fulness which
was in Chrift, is a Fulness of Grace and
Truth ; and if we confult ver. 17. we shall
find, that this Grace and Truth is oppof-
ed to the Law of Mofes, The Law was
given by Mofes, but Grace and Truth
came by Jeſus Chriſt: So that Grace and
Truth fignifie the Gospel, which is a Co-
venant of Grace, and is exprefly called
Mr. Sher-
lock,
the
[256]
the Grace of God, Tit. 2. II.. and con
teins the moſt clear and perfpicuous Reve-
lation of the Divine Will, in oppofition
to the Types and Shadows under the Lawz
is Truth, in oppofition to Types and Fi-
gures; this is the Fulness we receive from
Christ, a perfect Revelation of the Di-
vine Will, concerning the Salvation of
Mankind, which conteins fo many excel
lent Promiſes, that it may be well be call-
ed Grace, and preſcribes ſuch a plain and
Simple Religion, fo agrecable to the natu-
ral Nations of Good and Evil, that it
may well be called Truth: This Fulness
dwelt only in Chrift, and from him alone
we receive it; for none of the Prophets,
who were before him, did fo perfectly un-
derstand the Will of God as he did : Na
man hath ſeen God at any time,but the
.only begotten Son, who is in the bofom
of theFather, he hath declared him,v.18.
No man ever before had ſo perfect a know-
ledge of the Will of God (which is here
called feeing God, because fight gives the
most perfect knowledge) but the Son, who
understood all his moft fecret counfels,
hath perfectly declared the Will of the
Father to us and hence that Fulness we
receive from Christ is explained by
Grace for Grace, which fignifies the a-
bundance of Grace manifefted in the
Goſpel.
[257]
Gospel. St. Auſtin expounds it, Pro Le
gis gratiâ quæ præteriit, gratiam E-
vangelii accepimus permanentem; bui
this feems to be a forced fence, for the
Law is no where called Grace, but Grace
is oppoſed to to the Law in the next verse:
But however, this they agree in, that by
the fulmes of Grace and Truth they un-
derstand the Gospel, that perfect declara-
tion which Chrift hath made to the World.
This Fulness was first in the Perfon of
Chrift, before he could communicate it
to us ; yet it is not this Perſonal Fulneſs
we are to attend to, but the Fulness and
Perfection of his Gospel, from whence
we must fetch the knowledge of the Di-
vine Will.
Jɔb. 1. 16. And of his fulneſs we all
received, and Grace for Grace: Upon.
this Text the only Quare is, Whether
by Fulneſs is meant, the Fulnefs of
Chrift's Perfon, or the Fulneſs of his
Gofpel? I conceive here is clearly
meant the Fulness of Chrift's Perfon;
it is in the Text his fulneſs, his, who is
God the Word, ver. I. his, who was in
the beginning with God, ver. 2. his, by
whom all things were made, ver. 3. his,.
who is the true light, that lighteth every
man that cometh into the world, ver. g.
his, who was made fleſh and dwelt among
S
US,
Anfacr,
[258]
1
us, ver. 14. None of theſe [his's] can
be attributed to the Goſpel, but they
are all proper to the Perfon of Chrift;
[his fulness] therefore muft fignifie the
Fulness of Chrift's Perfon, from whence
all Grace is derived, as Light is from
the Sun, and Senfe from the Head: All
truc Believers receive from him grace
for grace, that is, fay fome, Gratiam cu-
mulatiffimam, abundant Grace; or, as
others, Grace answering to the Grace in
Christ as the Child receives from his
Parents Limb for Limb, or the Glaſs
from the Face Image for Image. It is
further to be noted, that the words are,
we received ou το πλερώματο αὐτό, out
of his fulness: Had the Fulneſs meant
here been the Fulneſs of the Gospel,
the words would have been, We re-
received of his Fulness, even the whole
Goſpel; but becauſe here was intended
the Fulneſs of Chrift's Perfon, the
words are, We received of his fulness,
that is, a part or fhare of it, and, as
the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Eph. 4. 7. Grace ac-
cording to the measure of the gift of
Christ. We may then conclude, that
the Fulneſs is in Chrift's Perfon, and
fay of him, as our Church doth, He
Him. of is the alone Mediator between God and
Mifery. Man, which paid our Ransom; he is the
Phyſician,
Man's
[259]
Phyſician, which healeth all our dif
eafes; he is the Saviour, which fav-
eth us from our fins ; he is that flow-
ing and most plenteous Fountain, out
of whofe Fulness all we have received.
But faith the Author, We may learn
what this Fulness is, by ver. 14. We be-
held his glory, the glory, as of the only
begotten Son of God, full of grace and
truth; ſo that this Fulneſs is a Fulneſs of
Grace and Truth; and if we confult ver.
17. we shall find, that this Grace and
Truth is opposed to the Law of Moles, ſo
that Grace and Truth fignifies the Gospel
To which I answer, In the 14. ver. we
have only a deſcription of the Perfon
of Chriſt, whofe Glory is there fet
forth by being full of Grace and Truth,
not a tittle in it of the Goſpel: In the
17.verf. we have not the word, fulness,
but we have Grace and Truth oppoſed
to the Law of Mofes, but how? not as
if under the Law, taken in the whole
Complex and Adminiſtration of it,
there were no Evangelical Truths or
Graces: this is evident; for in the Se-
cond Commandment we have mercy
for thouſands: Upon the renewing of
the Tables we have God proclaiming
himſelfin thoſe ſtately Titles of Love,
The Lord gracious, merciful, longfuffer-
S 2
ing,
[260]
Ex&d.
ing, abundant in goodness and truth,
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity, tranfgreffion, and fin: In Dent
3467we have the circumcifion of the
heart; in the 37. Pfal. 31. we have
the Law of God in the heart, as the Cha-
racter of a righteous man: We have
the holy Spirit in the Saints; hence
David fiducially prayes, Take not thy
holy Spirit from me, Pfal. 51. 11. We
have Job looking to his living Redeemer,
Job 19. 25. Abraham rejoicing to fee
Christ's day, Joh. 8. 56. Abraham, Ifa-
ac and Jacob embracing the Promifes,
and looking to an heavenly countrey,Heb.
II. and, and to fay no more, all the
Types and Shadows in the Ceremonial
Law, were a kind of veiled Goſpel,
and pointed at Chrift, the great Center
of both Teftaments: And hence it ap-
pears, that, in cafe the Law be never
called Grace, yet Evangelical Truths
and Graces were not wanting under it.
But in that 17. verf. two things are
pointed out to us; the one is this,
That the Evangelical Truths and
Graces, after the coming of Chriſt
in the flesh, though in Subſtance but
the fame, were gradually far more ex-
cellent than before; thoſe Truths
which under the Law were in Shadows
and
[261]
and dark Refemblances, after the com
ing of Chriſt appeared in Splendour
and evidential Glory; thofe Graces,
which under the Law were but as
Drops and in leffer meaſures, after his
coming were as Showers and in great-
er plenty The other is this, That
Chrift is in a tranfcendent manner fu-
pereminent above Moſes; though there
were Grace under the Law, yet Mofes
could not communicate.it; he could
declare the Law or Doctrine, but be-
ing but a Man, a Miniſter, he could
go
no further: Juſt as John could baptize
with water, but then he was at his ut-
moft: Mofes could no more communi-
cate Grace then John could baptize
with the holy Ghoft and Fire ; but
Chriſt diſpenſes more than meer Do-
&rine, he communicates Grace it ſelf:
Hence it appears,
that in that 17.
verf. there is more than bare Do-
&trine oppoſed to the Law, and attri-
buted to Chrift. I confefs the Golpel
to be the Charter and Medium of Grace,
but it is in the Royal hand of Chriſt -
to communicate it, and that from his
own Perfon: He is a Prince and a Savi-
our, to give repentance and remiffion of
fins, A&. 5.31. Moreover, ifall Grace,
and the fulness of it be only in the Go-
S 3
ſpel,
[262]
M. Sher-
lock.
Ipel, in the outward Doctrine and De-
claration of Gods Will, as the Author
feems to hint, what becomes of the in-
fluences of Grace? What are the fup-
plies of the Spirit of Chrift? Phil. 1. 19.
What the inward drawings and teach-
ings? John 6. 44. 45. What the mea-
Jure of the gift of Chrift? Eph. 4. 7.
What the effectual working in every
part, which is from the Head Chrift?
Eph. 4. 16. All internal operations of
Grace, all vital influences from Chrift
muft utterly ceafe; the condemned
Pelagius may come in, and fet up the
very firft and rudeft draught of his
Herefie, which placed all Grace in Free
Will and external Doctrine; and the
Orthodox Fathers, which with might
and main oppoſed him therein, may
be juſtly cenfured for doing ſo.
To the fame purpose the Apostle dif
courses in Coloff. 9. 10. For in him
dwelleth all the "fulneſs of the God-
head bodily, and ye are complete
(TETλngwμévoi, filled) in him, who is
the head of all Principalities and
Powers: The expreffion is allufive and
Metaphorical: For God who is a Spirit,
cannot in a proper fence dwell bodily in
any thing: The Apostle's defign in this
Chapter is to perfwade the Coloffians to
adbere
[263]
adhere to the Gospel, not to be ſeduced
by Jews or Gnofticks, (who talk'd very
much in their canting phraſe of the Ple-
romata) to corrupt the Religion of Chrift
with Jewish Ceremonies, or Pagan Super-
ftitions; and the principal argument he
urges to this purpose is the perfection of
the Gospel-revelation, that in Chrift
(that is the Gospel) are hid all the
treaſures of wiſdom and knowledge;
Verſe 3. &πongupo, that is, not in whom
are hid, but in whom are all the hidden
treaſures of wisdom and knowledge, that
is, who hath now revealed to us all thoſe
treaſures, which in former ages were
hidden from the world; upon this he ex-
horts them to be firm to the Gospel, Verf.
6. 7. To beware left any man ſpoil
them through Philofophy and vain de-
ceit, after the traditious, of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not
after Chriſt; and then adds, For in
him (that is, in Chrift) dwelleth all
the fulneſs of the Godhead bodily:
So this must refer to the complete and per-
fect revelation of the Gospel, which
needs not be fupplied by the Philofophy or
Traditions of men. To understand the
reaſon of this phrafe, and the force of
Argument, we must consider, that this is
an allusion to Gods dwelling in the Tem-
$ 4
ple
[264]
1
ple at Jerufalem by Types and Figures,
which were the Symbols of his prefence:
The Temple was Gods houfe, the Mercy-
Seat and Cherubims, &c. were the em
blems of Gods prefence; he dwelt among
them by Types and Figures, and there-
fore instituted a typical and figurative
Religion, and this was an imperfect de-
claration of himself to the world: But
now God hath fent his fon to taber-
nacle among us. Joh. 1. 14. The Deity
it self dwells in the Temple of Chriſt's
Body, not by Types and Figures, but by
a real and immediate Prefence and Uni-
on; and therefore thofe revelations,
which are made by Christ, are answerable
to the inhabitation of the Godhead in
him, contain a true and perfect decla
ration of God's will, in oppofition to the
imperfect rudiments and types of the
Law, So that owμannis, or bodily, is
opposed to figurative and typical; and
this is a plain demonftration of the per-
fection of the Gospel-revelation, that the
fulnes of the Deity dwelt fubstantially
in Christ; his Religion answers the
greatneß of his Perfon, the Godhead
dwelt in him bodily, and his Religion iş
owμx too, all truth and fubftance, The
Law was but a fhadow of things to
come, but the body is of Chrift
Verfe
[265]
Verſe 17. His Religion is body, truth,
and fubftance, this place is exactly pa-
rallel with Joh. I. 14. the word ouúva-
O, tabernacled among us: Herein the
Figure of the Tabernacle was fulfilled,
that God dwelt in our flesh, and the Re-
velations he made of Gods Will did a-
gree with the manner of his appearance,
were full of Grace and Truth; not typi-
cal, but a plain and perfect declaration
of God's Will, and as the Evangelift tells
us, That of his fulneſs we have all re-
ceived, that we are perfectly inftructed
by him: So our Apostle adds here, And
ye are complete in him, filled in him
you need no Instructor but Chrift; ſo that
this fulness of the Godhead dwelling bo-
dily in Christ, does ultimately refolve it
Self into the perfection of the Gospel-re-
velation: For fince the fulness of the
Deity did inhabit in Chrift's Perfon, he
was able to acquaint us with the whale
Will of God; the force of this reafon our
Saviour takes notice of: John 3. 34,
35. He whom God hath fent, fpeaketh
the words of God, that is, declareth
his whole will to us; for God giveth not
the Spirit by meaſure to him; it is not
with him, as it was with the meaner Pro-
phets, who had only particular Revelati
ons: The fulness of the Godhead
dwells
[266]
Answer.
dwells in him bodily; the Father lov-
eth the Son, and hath given all things
into his hand.
That place Col. 2. 9. In him dwell-
eth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
fpeaks not of the Gofpel, but of the
Perſon of Christ, it being a moft preg-
mant, invincible proof of his Deity:
The Socinians would fain wreſt away
this Scripture: Here Biſhop Wren a-
gainſt the Racovian Catechifm, firſt
fetting down their odd interpretation,
and then paffing his worthy cenfure on
it, In Chrifto, id eft, in Evangelio, ha-
bitat, id eft, patefacta eft, omnis pleni-
tudo, ideft, tota voluntas, Deitatis, id
eft, Dei, corporalitèr, id eft, integrè &
reipfà: Ut placet verò! Quid malum!
Nafo fufpenditis has gloffas; fatifque ri-
dicule coact as effe clamatis! Erratis pro-
fectò Juvenes, neque fatis rem adfecuti
eftis; præter enim quod gratis dicta funt,
junt etiam infanum violenta, & Serio
execrande: Thus he. The interpreta-
tion was execrable in his eyes, and
well it might be fo, contrary to all
juſt rules of interpreting Scripture
without any neceffity at all urging
thereunto, they decline from the na-
tive proper fence of the words, and
run into Tropes and Figures; Chrift
is
[267]
is taken for Doctrine, Dwelling for
Manifeftation, the fulneſs of the God-
head for the Will of God, and Bodily
for Clearly and Perfectly; all is a meer
force and violence upon the Text:
Was it ever heard or read that the All-
fulness of the Godhead ſhould fignifie
the Will of God, or the knowledge
thereof; This is such a Catachrefis,
(faith Mr. Jeans) for which they can
bring no Precedent or Parallel; it found-
ed fo harſh in the ears of their own
Enjedinus, as that it draye him to af-
firm, That SEOTUT, was by the care-
lefness of tranſcribers crept into the O-
riginal, instead of OTTO; but the
thing is clear by the after-words, In
him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-
head bodily, faith the ninth Verſe:
What is this, In him? In him, who is
the Head of all Principality and Power:
Verſe 10. In him, in whom we are cir-
cumcifed with the Circumcifion made
without hands: Verſe 11. In him, with
whom we are buried in Baptifm: In him
with whom we are rifen through Faith:
In him, who was raiſed from the dead
Verſe 12. In him, who nailed the hand-
writing of Ordinances to his Croß,
Verſe 14. In him, who ſpoiled and tri-
umphed over Principalities and Powers &
د
Verfe
[268]
Verſe 15. All which are proper, not
to the Gospel, but to the perſon of
Chrift; In him therefore dwells the
fulness of the Godhead bodily, not in the
Gospel, but in the Perfon of Chriſt:
But faith the Author, The expreſſion is
allufive and metaphorical; for God who
is a Spirit, cannot in a proper fence dwell
bodily in any thing: I answer, God is
a Spirit, but I take it, that the wat
κως here is put for ὑποςατικῶς, bodily
is the fame with perfonally: For as
Biſhop Davenant obſerves, among the
Hebrews, Souls are put for Perfons:
Gen. 14. 21. And among the Greeks,
owμx fignifies a Perſon, and ſo it is uſed
in the vulgar Epigramm,
*
- σώματα πολλὰ τρέφειν.
ματια
In him dwells all the fulneß of the God-
head bodily; that is, by the hypoftatical
Union,the eternal Word affuming, and
the humane Nature affumed, becoming
one Perfon: The Apostle's defign in this
Chapter (faith the Author) is to per-
fwade the Coloffians to adhere to the Go-
Spel, and that, because of the perfection
of the Gospel; in Chrift, that is, in the
Gospel, are hid all the treasures of wis
dom and knowledge, or there are the bid-
den
[269]
den treasures: But I anfwer, the A
poſtle exhorts them to adhere to
Chrift; the Perſon of Chriſt, (In whom
are hid all the treasures of Wisdom and
Knowledge, Verfe 3. In whom dwelleth
all the Fulness of the Godhead bodily,
Verſe 9.) is oppoſed to the perfons of
the Seducers, with all their Philofo-
phy and vain deceit: Thus Biſhop
Wren faith, Christum ipfum iis opponi,
quia ipfa Deitas in Christo inhabitat :
Neither Verſe 3. nor Verſe 9. fpeak of
the Gospel, but of the Perfon of
Chrift: The Godhead (faith the Au-
thor) dwelt in Chrift bodily, not by
Types and Figures, and his Religion is
owμx too, all truth and substance; but
we muſt remember, that this owμa,
the ſubſtance of the Chriftian Reli-
gion was under the Law, though the
face of it did not fhine with fuch a
Luſtre and Glory as after the incarna-
tion; but the Author goes on, Te are
complete in him: Verfe Io. You need no
Inftructer but Chrift, who hath revealed
God's will to us; ſo that this Fulneẞ of the
Godhead dwelling bodily in Chrift, does
ultimately reſolve it ſelf into the perfecti-
on of the Gospel-revelation: To which I
anſwer, We are complete in him; but
is inftruction a Chriftians completure?
Oh !
[20]
Mr Sher-
lock,
ལྷ་
Oh! no, befides knowledge, there
must be juſtifying and fanctifying
Grace, Chrift's Righteouſneſs, and the
Holy Spirit with all its Divine Furni-
ture, to make a Chriftian complete,
and in whom, or in what is he com-
plete? Not in the Goſpel, (of which
the Apoſtle ſpeaks not) but in the
Perſon of Chrift: To which purpoſe
Biſhop Wren hath an excellent paffage,
Quid non funt præftituri fideles, atque
Summâ fide elaboraturi, ut divelli´ſe
nunquam patiantur ab illius (in quo &
feipfos quoque Divinitatis repletos effe
intelligunt, καί ἐσε ἐν αὐτῷ πεπληρωμένοι,
Verf. 10.) Spirituali & myfticâ Unio-
ne? Obferve, he owns that Believers
are united to Chrift by a myſtical U-
nion, and in him complete, and ac-
cording to the Creature-model, filled
with the Divinity: As for that in the
Author, That the Fulness of the God-
head ultimately refolves it ſelf into the
Gospel; If the meaning be only this,
the Fulneſs of the Godhead is in Chriſt,
therefore the Goſpel is Divine, I own
it; but if the meaning be, the Fulneſs
of the Godhead is in Chrift, and by
him transfuſed into the Goſpel, Iutter-
ly deny that transfufion.
In other places the Fulness of Christ
fignifies
[271]
fignifies the Church, Eph. 1. 22, 23. the
Church is called his body, the fulneſs of
him that filleth all in all; the Church
makes him (as it were) complete and
perfect ; for he cannot be a perfect Head
without a Body: Hence the Church is
called Chrift, 1 Cor. 12. 12. Beza tells
us,That this is the reaſon of that Phraſe,
which fo frequently occurrs in the
New Teftament, of being in Chriſt,
that is, being Members of the Chriſti-
an Church. Now the Church is called
Christ's fulness, with respect to its ex-
tent and univerfality, that it is not con-
fined to any particular Nation, as the Jew-
ifh Church was, but takes in Jews and
Gentiles, bond and free: This I take to
be the meaning of Col.1.19. For it pleaf-
ed the Father, that in him ſhould all
fulneſs dwell. Beza obferves, that fome
Expofitors by his fulness, underſtand
the Church; for ver. 18. the Apoftle tells
us, That he is the head of the body,
the Church, who is the beginning, the
firſt-born from the dead, that in all
things he might have the preeminence:
For it pleaſed the Father that in him
ſhould all fulneſs dwell: Where fulness
must be expounded of the Church, that it
pleafed God to unite his Church unto
Chriſt ; for the Apoſtle aſſigns this as the
Reason
[272]
Reaſon of Chriſt's being the Head of the
Church. And if you would know, why
the Church is called fulneſs, and all ful-
neſs ſaid to dwell in Chrift, the Reaſon
follows in 20, 21. And having made
peace through the blood of his Croſs,
to reconcile all things by him, I ſay,
whether they be things in earth, or
things in Heaven; and you, who were
fometimes alienated, and enemies in
your minds by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled: This is that fulness
that dwells in Christ, that he is made
the Head of the Univerſal Church, both
in heaven and earth, that Jews and Gen-
tiles are now united in one Body, that
Christ is the univerfal Shepherd and Bi-
Shop of Souls,by him to reconcile all things
to himself: And this is the meaning of
that phrafe, The fulneſs of him who
filleth all in all, theChurch is his fulneſs,
becauſe he filleth all in all, that is, doth
not confine his care and providence, and
the influences of his Grace to any one Na-
tion, but extends it to the whole World:
Thus the fulness of Chrift fignifies in Eph.
4. 13. Till we all come in the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
meaſure of the ſtature of the fulneſs of
Chrift, which is the explication, of, to a
perfect
[273]
perfect man, that is, to that perfection of
Faith and Knowledge, which becomes
the Chriftian Church; for nix fignify
ing the age, and growth and flature of
a Man,the fulness of Chrift cannot ſo pro-
perly be understood of any thing, as of the
Chriftian Church: This is all I can find
in Scripture concerning the Fulness of
Chrift, which either fignifies the Perfecti-.
on of his Gospel, or the Univerfality of
his Church ; which is a plain Demonftra-
tion of thofe mens skill in expounding
Scripture, who make this Fulneſs a Pèr-
fonal Grace in Chriſt.
Eph. 1. 22, 23. The Church is called Arfur.
Christ's body, the fulness of him that fill
eth all in all: But this is not the Church
Viſible, which is made up of Believers
and Unbelievers (thefe latter being
dead and putrid Members, do not as;
Bishop Davenant hath obferved, com-,
plere Corpus Chrifti, fed corrumpere &
deformare ;)but it is the Church Catho
lick which is made up only of Saints;
theſe make up the Mystical Body of
Chrift, and without them Chrift as
Head accounts not himself complete :
The Church is Chrift's Fulneſs, but is
there not a perfonal fontal Fulness in
Chrift? No doubt there is; the Text
tells us, Thit he filleth all in all, and
+
T
bak
で
​[274]
that he is head to the Church, and fo
muſt diſpenſe vital Influences of Grace
to all his Members: Hence the whole
Body is eeny'sufov, fupplied with
all the Furniture of Grace from him as
Head, Col. 2. 19. and all the Members
of that Body are πεπληρωμηροι, filled
with all graces in him, Col.2.10. With-
out this fontal Fulneſs in Chrift, what
would become of the Church? In a
moment the oux or Body would turn
into Corruption, and the newux or
Fulneß would vaniſh into Confuſion ;
but, becauſe it is myftically united to
him as a living Head, hence it is call-
ed Christ, 1 Cor. 12. 12. The phraſe,
being in Chriſt, fignifies the Myftical U-
nion with him: Hence Beza on that
place, There is no condemnation to them
which are in Chrift, Rom. 8. 1. faith,
Quia fumus per fidem facti unum cum
Chrifto. That place Col. 1. 19. For it
pleafed the Father, that in him should all
fulness dwell, fpeaks not of the Church
as Chrift's Fulnefs, but of the fontal
perfonal Fulneſs in Chrift; the Church
is called Chriſt's Fulneſs, but never the
All-fulness of him; the All-fulneſs is
not the Church's Fulnefs, but Chriſt's,
fuch as made him fit to be Head of the
Church, and the Origen of all Graces
in
[275]
in theChurch:The All-fulness is an ante-
cedent Reaſon, why Chrift was Head of
the Church, the Church's being Chriſts
Fulneſs is a confequent and refult from
thence. But faith the Author,The Church
is called fulness, becauſe ver.20,21.Christ
reconciled all things in heaven,and earth,
he is Head of the Church Univerſal in
heaven and earth, Jews and Gentiles are
now united in one body: To which I an-
fwer, Chrift is indeed the Head of the
Church Univerſal, but the All-fulneſs
made him meet to be fuch an Head,
elſe he could not have reconciled all
things. Christ (faith the Author) fill-
eth all in all, that is, he extends the in-
fluences of his Grace to the whole world:
This I fuppofe, is fomewhat hard to be
maintained; in the Pagan World it is
difficult to believe, that there are In-
fluences: There they are without God
in the world; the only Name, Jefus,
is not named; the holy Spirit, the
Fountain of all Grace, is not heard of;.
the holy Ordinances, the Chariot of
the Spirit, are wanting; and how cản
we think of the Influences of Grace
there? The Fathers in the fourthCouncil
of Carthage would have every Bishop
believe, that Extra Ecclefiam Catholi
cam nullus falvetur. I therefore con- cium.
T 2
clude
!
[276]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
clude with Camero, Vult Apoftolus o-
mnem plenitudinem effe à Chrifto, non
vult omnes participes effe hujus plenitudi-
nis: Thus faith the Author) the fulneſs
of Christ, Eph.4. 13. fignifies the fulness
of the Church; the measure of the Sta-
ture of the fulness of Chrift, is the ex-
plication of the perfect man; nia fignifies
#he age and ftature of a man,the fulneſs is
to be understood of the Chriftian Church.
I confess this Text may well be con-
ſtrued, as Eph. 1.23. ought to be,of the
Church;only whereas there the Apoſtle
fpeaks of the Churches being the Body
of Chriſt, here he fpeaks of its growing
to ripeneſs and full perfection, which is
chiefly accomplished above in Glory:
But we muſt ſtill remember, that the
Churches being Chrift's Fulneſs doth
not deny, but fuppofe a perfonal fontal
Fulness inChrift, who filleth all in all.
Let us now confider in what ſence
Christ is called our Life; he is called
Life with respect to his Doctrine; he
preached the Word of Life, and brought
life and immortality to light by the
Goſpel: In him was life, and the life
was the light of men, Joh. 14. 6. that is,
be preached the Word of Life, which en-
lightneth the dark Minds of men, it is
not imaginable how Life should be Light
in
[277]
in any other fence. Christ tells his Dif-
ciples, I am the way, the truth, and
the Life, Joh. 14. 6. that is, I declare
the true way to Life: Thus he calls him-
Self the bread of life, Joh. 6. with re-
fpect to the Doctrine he preached, ver.33.
and with respect to that Sacrifice he of
fered for the Life of the World; The
bread I will give is my fleſh, which I
will give for the life of the world,
ver. 51. Chrift is alfo our Life, because
he hath power to bestow immortal Life
upon all his fincere followers: Joh. II,
25. I am the Refurrection and the Life;
Job. 5. 25. The hour is coming, and
now is, when the dead fhall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they
that hear ſhall live: He first raises thofe
who are dead in fin, to a new spiritual
Life by the power of his Doctrine, and then
hath Authority to raise them to an immor-
tal life: Thus Col. 3. 3, 4. Ye are dead,
and your life is hid with Chrift in God:
When Chrift, who is our life, fhall
appear, then ſhall ye alfo appear with
him in glory: That is, you profeß your
felves dead to the world in conformity to
Christ's Death; and though that immor-
tal Life, which you expect to enjoy with
Christ, who is now riſen again from the
dead, be at prefent concealed from your
T 3
view i
[278]
view; yet when Christ, who is the Aus
thor of Eternal Life, and hath power to
raife us up from the dead, fhall appear
the ſecond time to judge the world,
then ſhall ye appear with him in glo-
ry. We must not dream of fetching
Life from the Perfon of Christ, as we
draw water out of a Fountain; but we
must stedfastly believe and obey his Go-
Spel, which is a Principle of divine Life
in us, and then we may expect a Refur-
rection and immortal Life.
Answer. Chrift preached the Word of Life, be
brought Life and Immortality to light,
that is, in a more illuftrious manifefta-
tion of it; Immortality, which did
but dawn and glimmer under the Law,
breaks forth in Luftre and Glory under
the Gofpel. That, Joh. 1. 4. The life
was the light of men, fpeaks not of
Chrift's Doctrinal Word, but of hiş
Creative, which lighted up an excellent
Reafon in Man: This is clear from the
Series of the Evangelift's fpeech, which
in this place makes its progrefs from
a ftate of Creation, unto Darkneſs or
the amiffion of Light, and from thence
to the inftauration of it. Chrift is the
life, Joh. 14. 6. not only declaring the
Way to Life, but infpiring that Spiri-
tual Life, which is a Seed of Eternal:
He
[279]
He is our Life with reſpect to his Sa-
crifice, Joh. 6. but then that Sacrifice
muſt be applied to us, by the quicken-
ing Spirit, which unites to Chriſt, and
by Faith, which feeds on him. He raiſes
up those that are dead in fins to a new
Spiritual Life, Joh. 5. 25. Not by his
Doctrine only, but by his Regenera-
ting Spirit; and when he hath raiſed
them up, he is their Life ftill by the
ſupplies of the Spirit, and influences of
Grace: Hence St. Auſtin upon the 26.
Verfe, As the Father hath life in him-
Self, ſo bath he given to the Son to have
life in himſelf, obſerves, That Chriſt
hath Life in himself, but the Believer
hath not Life in himſelf, but in Chriſt,
living but as a part or piece of Christ,
and ever in dependence on him." Chrift
is called our life, Col. 3. 4. that is, he
is the Fountain of the glorious Life in
Heaven, and withal of thoſe Graces
which are the firſt-fruits and buddings
of it. After all this, the Author con-
cludes thus: We must not dream of
fetching Life from the Perſon of Chriſt,
as we draw water out of a fountain:
This is durus fermo indeed, we muſt not
fetch Life from Chrift; he calls us to
come to him, nay, charges the unbe-
lieving Jews for not coming to him for
TA
Life,
[280]
›
Life, Job. 5. 40. yet we must not fetch
life from him. St. Paul did all things
brough Chrift strengthening him, Phil.4.
13. and did not live himfelf, but Christ
lived in him, Gal. 2. 20. yet we mult
not: Chrift is in Scripture an Head,
who gives all vital Influences to his
. Hom of Members; and in our Church Homily 4
Mans mi- flowing and most plenteous Fountain, of
whofe fulness we all receive; yet we muſt
s.
fery.
}
not: And what then muſt we do? We
must believe and obey the Gospel, which
is a Principle of divine Life in us 3 fo
the Author: But is Chrift and his Go-
fpel at odds indeed? If we fetch Life
from Chrift, may we not believe and
obey the Goſpel? Or if we believe
and obey the Gofpel, may we not
fetch Life from Chrift? What ſtrange
inconſiſtencies are theſe? The Ephefi-
ans tufted in Chrift, and yet heard the
Gofpel of Salvation, Eph. 1. 13. they
were for the great Purchafer and Foun-
tain of Life, and yet caft not away the
Charter; The Jews fearched the Scri-
ptures, and yet ſhould have gone to
Chrift for Life; they thought they had
Eternal Life in the Scriptures, and
which was their folly, they thought
they had it there in a way feparate
from Chrift; but he told them, that
the
[281]
the Scriptures, if they had digged deep
enough in them, would have teftified
of him unto them, and ſo have point-
ed out unto them the Fountain of Life
in Chrift, Joh. 5.39, 40. Nay, believ-
ing and obeying the Gofpel are ſo far
from being inconfiftent with fetching
Life from Chrift, that they cannot be
without it; Without Life from Chriſt,
how or which way fhould a man be-
lieve or obey the Gofpel? May Na-
ture, lapfed Nature do it? No furely,
that, which of it felf is not fufficient fo
much as to raiſe up an holy thought,
or to ſay, Jefus is the Lord, cannot of
it ſelf believe or obey the Gofpel: Or
may Nature and Doctrine do it? To
place all Grace in outward Doctrine is
meer Pelagianifm: It is a faying of St.
Austin, Solet dicere humana fuperbia, fi De Crat.
fciffem, feciffem; ideò non feci, quia ne- & Liber.
fcivi: Humane pride is wont to fay, had Arb.c.z.
I known, I had done it; asking only a
Rule, and prefuming upon its own power
for performance: But the Scripture tells
us of an internal Work, of inward.
Teachings, Drawings, Quickenings,
and New.creatings in the Heart; where
theſe things are, there the Gofpel is a
Principle of Divine Life in us: There
the Gospel comes not in word only, but in
power
[282]
Mr.Sher-
lock.
power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much affurance; as the Apoſtle hath it:
1 Theſſ. 1. 5. Believing and obeying
the Gospel, fuppofe internal operati-
ons of Grace; and theſe muſt come
from Chrift the fountain of life; In
him we are created unto good works, and
without him we can do nothing.
Thus to proceed, Christ is the Power
of God, and the wisdom of God, and the
Gospel is the wisdom and power of God:
1 Cor. 1. 24. Chrift the power of God,
and the wiſdom of God, that is the
Doctrine of a crucified Christ, as appears
by the verſes before; The Jews require
a Sign, and the Greeks feek after Wif-
dom, but we preach Chrift crucified,
to the Jews a ſtumbling-block, and to
the Greeks fooliſhneſs, but to them
who are called,both Jews and Greeks,
Chriſt the power of God, and the wif-
dom of God: The Jews were all for
Signs and Miracles, the Greeks for cu
rious Philofophical Speculations; neither
of them could relish the plain fimple Do-
rine of a crucified Chrift: But the A-
poftle tells us, that this Doctrine is the
power and wiſdom of God; the most
powerful method which was ever uſed by
God for the reforming of the world, and
the contrivance of excellent wisdom;
thus
[283]
thus the Goſpel is called, the
power of
God to them that believe : Rom.1.16.
And by this fooliſhneſs of preaching,
that is, by preaching this foolish Doctrine
(as it was accounted by the world of
a crucified Chrift; it pleaſed God to
fave them that believe: Chrift being
exalted to the right hand of Majefty,
may in a proper fence be called the power
of God, because all power is given to him
in Heaven and earth, and he hath the
Supreme Government of all the affairs of
this Spiritual Kingdom, and this is a
perfonal power inherent in him; but the
exerciſe of it is confined to the Rules of the
Gospel; he hath power to fave thofe that
believe and obey, and to destroy his ene-
mies; this power cannot fave any man
whom the Gospel condemns; we have
no reason to trust to his perfonal power,
unless we first obey his Gospel; however
omnipotent he be, his Gospel is the mea-
fure of his actings, if that condemn
us, his omnipotent power will not fave
us.
Chrift is the power and wiſdom of Anfwer.
God, and fo is the Gofpel, but are
they both in equal degree fuch? No
furely, the Goſpel is fuch organically,
and in a way of fubordination to Chriſt,
and he is fuch principally, and in a
way
[284]
way of excellency above the Gofpel:
The Goſpel is the wiſdom, of God, a
Glaſs of it, and a Divine Medium to
illuminate, and make us wife; but all
this under Chrift the brightneſs of his
Fathers Glory, and great illuminator;
from whom the unction or teaching an-
ointing of the Spirit of Wiſdom and Re-
velation deſcends down upon us, to o-
pen our eyes & hearts upon the glorious
things in the Gofpel: The Goſpel is the
power of God,a Divine Scepter, to fub-
due and overcome the wills and hearts
of men; but this is under Chrift, the eter-
nal word and power of God, who by
that Scepter produces that great and fu-
pernatural effect. The Apostles, though
earthen Veffels carried about the E-
vangelical treaſure with them; but the
ÚπеCoй, or the excellency of the
power was of God, and not of them:
2 Cor. 4.7. The believing Corinthi-
ans were the Apoſtles Epiftle, and
Chriſt's too, 2 Cor. 3. 2. & 3. but not
in equal degree: They were (faith
the Text) Chriſt's Epiftle miniftred by
the Apoſtles; the Apoftles were but
as the pen, which the Almighty Fin-
gers of the Spirit ufed to make the Im-
preffion or Divine Inſcription upon
their hearts: Hence the Text faith,
That
[285]
う
​That the fame was written, not with
Ink, but with the spirit of the living
God: The Text quoted by the Au-
thor, The Jews require a fign, and the
Greeks feek after wisdom; but we
preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
Stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks
foolishness, but unto them, which are
called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God
I Cor. 1. 22, 23 and 24. is a very re-
markable one; they all had the Go-
fpel, the external call; yet, to ſhew
that all was in the Royal hand of
Chriſt, the difpenfation is very differ.
ent: Thofe to whom Chrift preached,
was a Stumbling-block or Fooliſhneſs,
had not fo much as any internal illumi-
nation; For it is not at all imaginable,
that Chriſt the power of God, if truly
underſtood, could be a ftumbling-
block to the Jews, who looked after
figns; or that Chrift the wisdom of
God, if truly understood, could be
Fooliſhneſs to the Greeks, who fought
after wiſdom; but thoſe called ones a-
mong them, to whom Chrift was the
power of God, and wifdom of God,
had internal illuminations and opera-
tions of Grace: The Gofpel then is the
power and wifdom of God, but or
ganically
[286]
Mr Sher-
lock.
ganically and in fubferviency to Chrift,
who hath all the power in Heaven and
earth, and illuminates and fubdues
hearts by the Gospel, as he pleaſes;
he hath power to fave fuch as believe
and obey; but that is not all; he hath
power to make them believing and o-
bedient, and to fave them, not con-
trary to the Gospel-rules, but accord-
ing to them.
But the chief perfonal Grace is still be-
bind; viz. the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt:
Now no Chriftian will deny, that Christ
was very righteous, a great example of
univerſal holineẞ and purity; and it
'must be confeffed, that his Righteousness
was not an imaginary, imputed Righteous
nes, but inherent and perfonal; but
what comfort is this to us, if we con-
tinue wilful, incorrigible finners: Yes,
faith the Doctor, Haft thou the fence of
guilt upon thee? Chrift is complete
Righteousness, the Lord our Righte-
ouſneſs; this makes Chrift futable to
the wants of a finner indeed, that he
hath a Righteoufnefs for him, which
God infinitely prefers before any
home-fpun Righteoufnefs of his own.
This is a very comfortable Notion for bad
men, and fuch as I would not part with
for all the world, did I refolve to live
wickedly,
[287]
wickedly, and yet intend to go to hea-
ven; but it is good to be fure in a matter
of importance.
Chrifts Righteousness was not an imagi- Anſwer,
nary imputed Righteousness, but inhe-
rent and perfonal; thus the Author :
It was not imaginary, but inherent;
very true; but was it not imputed to
him? Then Chrift would never have
appealed to God, as he doth, Surely my
judgment is with the Lord, and my work
with my God, Ifai. 49. 4. God would
never have accounted him as righteous,
or promiſed him a Seed, Ifa, 53. 10. he
would never have ſaid, This is my well-
beloved son, in whom I am well pleafed,
Matth. 3. 17. neither would he ever
have exalted him, and given him a
name above every name, Phil. 2.9. In a
word; if his Active and Paffive Righ-
teouſneſs were not reckoned or ac-
counted of by God, then he could
not be our Saviour, or pay a Ranſom
or Satisfaction to divine Juſtice for us.
What follows in the Author, That this
Righteousness may be a comfort to wilful
incorrigible finners, is, as I have before
manifeſted, a meer Popish Calumny.
But before I proceed any further
with the Author, I fhall crave lieve of
the Reader a little to ſtate and
prove
this
[288]
this point, That we are juſtified before
God by the Imputed Righteoufness of
Chriſt, and then I fhall proceed with
the Author.
Juftification may be confidered in a
double Notion; there is Conftitutive
Juftification, whereby we are madè
righteous before God; and Sententi-
al, whereby we are pronounced fuch
at Judgment: I chiefly aim at the firſt,
upon which the fecond follows as a
confequent. Chrift's Righteouſneſs is
either Active, fuch as fulfilled the Com-
mand of the Law, or Paffive, ſuch as
bore the Curfe of it; Itake in both.
The Imputation of Chrift's Righteouf-
nefs is, either that Fundamental Im-
putation, whereby it is fo far reckoned
or accounted unto men in general, as
to make them capable of Juftification
upon Goſpel-terms; or that after par-
ticular Imputation, whereby it is fo
far reckoned or accounted to Believers
in particular, as to conftitute them
righteous before God: The firſt Im-
putation fevers men from lapfed An-
gels; the ſecond fevers Men from Men,
Believers from Unbelievers. The firft
we have in fuch Scripture-expreffions
as tell us, that Chrift died for us; for
unleſs his Death were in fome fence ac-,
counted
!
1
[289]
!
counted to us, it was no more for us
than for Devils: The fecond we have
in fuch Scripture-expreffions as tell us,
that we are justified by his blood; for
his Blood juſtifies us not, unless it be
actually particularly made ours, and
made ours it cannot be without an
Imputation: We have both together,
Col. 1. 20, 21. He hath reconciled all
things, and a little after, yet now hath
he reconciled you; all things in the firſt
fence,and you, O believing Coloffians,
in the fecond; Reconciliation was actu
ally particularly imputed unto them,
which was before applicable to all.I in-
tend the ſecond particular Imputation in
this diſcourſe. That which I affert is this,
That Believers are juſtified or conftitu-.
ted righteous before God,by the Active
and Paffive Righteouſneſs of Chrift
actually particularly applied unto
them.
And firſt, as is meet, let us open
our eyes upon Scripture, which is the
only infallible Rule there often oc-
currs that memorable phraſe, the righ-
teousneß of God, which cannot but be
of confiderable moment in this matter:
And what doth it import? our own
inherent Graces, or Chrift's Righte
oufneſs? Not our inherent Graces,.
U
for
[290]
for thefe, though they come down
from Heaven, are never called the
Righteouſneſs of God; nay, on the
contrary, they are called our own:
Hence the Fath of the Romans is call-
ed, your Faith, Rom. 1. 8. the Love of
the Corinthians, your Love, 2 Cor. 8.8.
the Patience of Chriſt's Diſciples, your
Patience, Luk. 21. 19. the Hope of the
ſcattered Chriſtians, your Hope, I Pet.I.
21. That which is called in Scripture
the Righteousness of God is not the
fame with that which is called our own
there, but it imports the Righteouf-
neſs of Chriſt, which by Imputation
is made ours: This is called the Righ-
teouſneſs of God, becauſe it is the
Righteoufness of Chrift who is God,
(for fo his Blood is called, the blood
of God, and his Life laid down
the life of God) and not a Righteouf-
neſs inherent in us: And withal it is a
perfect Righteouſneſs (which can con-
fift before the Tribunal of God himſelf,
and in which the pure Eyes of the ho-
ly One can find no fpot or blemiſh at
all) and not an imperfect one, fuch as
our inherent Graces are. But that the
Righteouſneſs of God imports Chriſt's
Righteouſneſs will further appear by
the places wherein that phrafe is ufed:
Thus
;
[291]
Thus Rom.1.17. For therein is the Right
teousness of God reveiled from faith to
faith: In the precedent Verfe he faith,
That the Gospel is the power of God to
falvation to every one that believeth; and
how fo? Why, becauſe it reveils the
Righteouſneſs of God, which faves the
Believer, and delivers him from the
wrath, which in the fubfequent Verſe
is declared to be reveiled from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteouf-
neß of men: And can
And can our inherent
Graces expiate fin and avert wrath?
Oh, no; theſe, ſuch are their spots and
imperfections, muſt paſs with God cum
Venia, with a pardon of their defects,
and under the Wings of Chrift's Righ-
teouſneſs; that, that alone expiates fin
and averts wrath; no other but that
can be the Righteouſneſs of God with-
in that Text. Thus Rom. 3.22. The
Righteousnes of God is by the faith of
Jefus Chrift unto all, and upon all them
that believe: Inherent Graces are not
upon us, but in us; but Chrift's Righ
teouſneſs, as that in the Text, is not in
us, but upon us: Inhererent Graces
are not the matter of our Juftification,
of which the Apoſtle there treats, but
of Sanctification; Chrift's Righteouf
nefs is not the matter of our Sanctifi
U 2
cation,
[292]
cation, but of our Juftification, which
is the very thing there treated of:
Hence it appears, that the Righteouf-
nefs of God in this place is that of
Chrift. Thus Rom. 10. 3. They Sub-
mitted not themselves to the Righteous-
ness of God; and what was that? The
next Verſe tells us, For Chrift is the
and of the Law for righteouſneß to every
one that believeth; and which way was
Chrift the End of the Law, by im-
parting inherent Graces to the believ-
er, or by his own perfect Righteouf-
nefs imputed to him? Not by the in-
herent Graces, alas! theſe are ſo far
from reaching the perfection of the
Law, that they are full of defects, and
every defeat is no lefs than ἀνομία,
falling fhort of the Law: Profectò il-
lud quod minus eft quàm debet, ex vi-
tio eft, faith St. Auftin, That which is
les than it ought to be, is ſo far finful,
as it is less than it ought to be: Nothing
less than the pure Righteouſneſs of
Chrift, which anfwers the Law in eve-
ry point, can be the Righteouſneſs of
God in this place. Thus 2 Cor. 5.21. He
hath made him to be fin for us, who knew
no fin, that we might be made the righ-
teousneẞ of God in him; The Apoſtle
doth not ſpeak of a Righteoufneſs in
our
[293]
our felves, but in him; not ofa Righ-
teouſneſs inherent, but imputed:
Chriſt's Righteoufnefs is made ours, as
our fins were made his, and that is on-
ly by Imputation. St. Austin pithily
expreffes it, Ipfe ergo peccatum, ut nos Enchirid.
juftitia, nec noftra, fed Dei fimus, nec cap.41.
in nobis, fed in ipfo ; ficut ipfe peccatum,
non fuum, fed nostrum, nec in fe, fed in
nobis conftitutum ; fimilitudine carnis
peccati, in qua crucifixus eft, demon-
ftravit. Thus Phil. 3. 9. That I may be
found in him, not having mine own
righteouſneß which is of the Law, but that
which is through the faith of Chrift, the
righteousness which is of God by faith:
By the Righteoufnefs which is of God
cannot here be meant inherent Graces;
thoſe words (that I may be found in
him) have a tacit relation to the Judg-
ment of God, and before that Tribu-
nal no Saint on earth can can ſtand in
his own Righteouſneſs: Job could not;
If I justifie my felf, my own mouth ſhall
condemn me, Job 9.20. David could
not; Enter not into judgment with thy
Servant, for in thy fight ſhall no man
living be juftified, Pfal. 143. 2. Daniel
could not; O Lord, righteousness be-
longeth unto thee, but unto us confufion
of faces. The Righteoufnefs which is
U 3
of
[294]
of God is not the fame with inherent
Graces; which, becauſe inherent, are
our own, and fo ftiled in Scripture;
neither is it the fame with Faith it felf:
The Apoſtle faith not, that it is Faith,
but that it is a Righteoufnefs through
the Faith of Christ, a righteousness
of God by faith: It is therefore no o-
ther than Chrift's Righteouſneſs, which
Faith receives, and God imputes. But
there is one place behind, which in
terminis calls the Righteoufaefs of God
the Righteoufnefs of Chrift, 2 Pet. 1. 1.
To them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteouſneſs
of God and our Saviour Jefus Christ :
Obferve, it is not through the Righ-
teouſneſs 78 8 i to ow Tĥę, of God
and of our Saviour Chrift, as noting
two Perfons, but Towne, of
God and our Saviour, as betokening
one, as Reverend Bishop Downham
hath obferved; like that, Tit. 2.
The glorious appearance of the great God
and our Saviour, where one Perfon is
intended: Hence it appears, that the
Righteoufnefs of God is the Righteouf
nefs of Chrift, who is God. Neither
can inherent Graces be here meant;
for Faith, the firft Radical Grace of
all, is faid to to be obtained through
13.
this
[295]
this Righteouſneſs. Thus far it ap-
pears, that the Righteouſneſs of God
is the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt. Now
it is evident that this Righteoufnefs is
imputed to us, or elſe it could never ar-
rive at thoſe glorious Effects which are
afcribed to it; how fhould it profit us,
unless it were applied and become ours?
Or how should it become ours but by
Imputation? Being the Righteouſneſs of
another, it cannot be ours fubjectively
and inherently; and if it at all become
ours, it muſt be ſo by Imputation.
Without the firſt fundamental Impu-
tation it could not render us juſtifiable
or favable,any more than it doth render
Devils fo, without the after particu-
lar Imputation it cannot juſtifie or fave
us: Unleſs this Righteouſneſs be im-
puted, it cannot fave, or avert God's
wrath, Rom. 1. It cannot be upon the
Believer to juſtifie him, Rom. 3. It can-
not be the end of the Law for Righte-
ouſneſs to him, Rom. 10. We cannot be
made the Righteoufnefs of God in
Chriſt, 2 Cor. 5. We cannot have the
Righteoufaefs of God to make us ftand
before God's Tribunal, Phil. 3. The vir-
tue of all depends upon Imputation.
Thus much touching that excellent
Phrafe, The Righteousneß of God, ſo of-
U 4
ten
[296]
ten mentioned in Scripture. I now
proceed to other Scriptures: To him
that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness, Rom. 4. 5.
λογίζεται, it is reckoned or imputed for
Righteouſneſs: Now is Faith taken
here properly abfolutely in it felf? or
is it taken relatively with refpect to its
Object, the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt?
Properly abfolutely in it felf it is a
Work; the Apoſtle oppoſes believing
to working, ver. 5. and fpeaks of a
Righteoufnefs without Works, ver. 6.
Faith therefore is not here taken abſo-
lutely; for fo Faith is a Work, and
believing working: Faith abfolutely
taken is our own; hence we meet with
thoſe Phraſes, Thy jaith, and My faith,
Jam. 2. 18. But that which juſtifies us
is not our own, but the Righteouſneſs
of God; the Righteoufnefs which ju-
ftifies is through Faith, Phil. 3.9. and
not Faith it felf: Faith is the hypost afis
of things hoped for, Heb. 11. 1. but the
juſtifying Righteoufnefs is not the by-
poftafis, but the very thing hoped for.
We by faith wait for the hope of righte-
oufness, Gal. 5. 5. That Righteouſneſs,
which juftifies us, is the Righteouſneſs
which is imputed to us; but we are
justified
[297]
juftified by Christ's blood, Rom. 5. 9:
we are made righteous by his obedience,
Rom. 5. 19. thefe therefore are impu-
ted to us for Righteouſneſs: It is not
Faith in it ſelf is our Righteouſneſs,
but its Object, the Blood and Obedi-
ence of Chrift. Another famous place
we have,Rom.5. there Adam and Chriſt
are ſet forth as two Roots; Adam con-
veying to the Branches, naturally in
him, Sin and Death; and Chrift con-
veying to the Branches, fpiritually in
him, Righteouſnefs and Life: As by the
offence of one judgment came upon all
to condemnation, ſo by the righteousness
of one the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life: As by one
mans disobedience many were made fin-
ners, fo by the obedience of one fhall ma-
ny be made righteous, ver. 18, 19. Here
the Apoſtle ſpeaks of Juftification; Ju-
ftification of Life is oppoſed to con-
demnation; Chrift's Righteouſneſs is
called Sixxíaux, becauſe it hath a virtue
in it to juſtifie others, and is oppoſed
to Adam's Tranfgreffion, which had a
power to involve others in condemna-
tion: By the obedience of Christ we are
made, or (as the Greek word xa!αsαdú-
GOVTα implies) conftituted righteous:
And how can Chrift's Obedience be-
ing
[298]
ing not inherent in us, make us righ-
teous? This, I confeſs, is above Philo-
ſophy, but the Apoſtle clears it: A-
dam's Tranfgreffion was not inherent-
ly ours, yet was it imputed to us to
Condemnation; in the fame manner
Chriſt's Obedience is not inherently
ours, yet was it imputed to us to Ju-
ftification of Life: Hence St. Bernard
expoftulates thus; Cur non aliunde ju-
Epift. 190. ftitia, cùm aliunde reatus? Alius qui
peccatorem constituit, alius qui juftificat
à peccato: An peccatum in femine pec-
catoris, & non juftitia in Christi fan-
guine? And indeed it would be very
ſtrange, that Adam's Sin ſhould be im-
puted to us, as the Church hath ever
acknowledged againſt Pelagians, and
yet Chrifts Righteoufnefs fhould not
be imputed to us. Another place I
ſhall inſtance in, is that, Rom. 8. 3, 4.
What the Law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh, God fending
his own Son, in the likeness of finful
flesh,and for fin condemned fin in the flesh,
that the righteousness of the Law might
be fulfilled in us: Unto which I ſhall
alfo add that other, Rom. 10. 4. Chrift
is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth. The Sixaiwμx
δικαίωμα
To vóμs, the Righteousness of the Law,
[299]
is a pure and ſpotleſs Perfection, thê
leaft defect makes a breach upon it,
and uthers in a Curfe: The chief and
primary End of the Law was abfolute
Obedience, and how is the Righteouf-
nefs of the Law fulfilled or its great
End attained? Our inherent Graces can
no more reach it, than defect can reach
perfection, or a ſpotted Face, abfolute
Beauty: Neither doth the Apoftle fay,
that the Righteoufnefs of the Law is
fulfilled, vou, by us, but er jüv, in
us, it is not our own work; but in the
Righteousness of Chrift the Law hath
its end and completion, and when that
Righteouſneſs is made over to us by
Imputation, then the Law may be faid
to be fulfilled in us. The Apoſtle,
Rom. 5. 18. faith, & ivòs dixαidual, By
the Righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men to justification of life
Here we have a Sixxiwux in Chriſt an-
ſwering to that in the Law, and, that
being ours by imputation, the Law is
fulfilled in us. St. Chryfoftome putting
the queſtion on that place, Rom. 8.
τί όξι το δικαίωμα; What is the Right-
oufness? What would the Law have?
And aufwering himfelf, ἀναμάρτητον είναι,
That we should be without fin, adds,
τετο τοίνυν κατώρθρωται νῦν ἡμῖν διὰ χεις,
бъ
This
[300]
This therefore is performed for us by
Chrift. The laft place I fhall quote is
that, Eph. 1.6. He hath made us accept-
ed in the Beloved: Where we may ob.
ſerve, that we are not accepted in our
felves, in our inherent Righteouſneſs,
but in Chrift the beloved; in his per-
fect Righteouſneſs, which becomes ours
by Imputation. Thus far I have affert-
ed Imputed Righteouſneſs by Scripture.
I ſhall now add fome Reaſons to prove
it. And
1. God the righteous Judge pro-
ceeds judicially in Juftification, his
judgment is according to truth, Rom.2.
2. he eſteems no man righteous which
is not fuch, nor doth he account an
imperfect Righteouſneſs to be a per-
fect one, ſuch as juftifies before him:
Hence it appears, that our inherent
Graces, becauſe imperfect, cannot be
our Righteouſneſs or the matter of our
Juftification; and what then ſhall we
doe? How may we be juſtified before
him? Muſt not the perfect Righteouf-
nefs of Christ come in, and, to make
it ours, a divine Imputation! No other
expedient can be thought of, becauſe
there must be a Righteoufnefs, and a
perfect one to juſtifie us, If any reply,
That in and through Chrift, our in-
herent
[301]
herent Graces, though imperfect, are
accepted of God in the room of a perfect
Righteouſneſs, I anfwer, God is merci-
full, but his Mercy never claſhes with
his Truth, which calls for a perfec
Righteouſneſs; He accepts of our Gra-
ces, but they muſt pafs (as St. Auſtin
faith of our Life) fub venia,under pardon,
and under the Wings of Chrift; he ac-
cepts them, but not as the Matter of our
Juſtification,not in the room of Chriſts
perfect Righteouſneſs: Juftification of
Life comes δι' ενός δικαιώματος, by one righ-
teouſneſs,as that place may be read,Rom.
5.18.and that one only Righteouſneſs is
the perfect Obedience of Chrift, no o-
ther Righteouſneſs may take away its
Crown.But further, fhould God accept
of an imperfect Righteouſneſs in Juſtifi-
cation, fome I fear might ask, why he
could not abate a little more,and accept
of a No-righteoufnefs? why he could not
pardon & juftifie wilful and impenitent
finners? which the impure Socinus him-
felf will not allow of? yet,if the true &
holy one might decline from a perfect
Righteousness in Juftification,what may
not men imagine or prefume upon?
2. God hath fet down in the Goſpel
his own Way and Method of Juftifica-
tion. The Apoſtle, Rom. 3. 28, 30.
having
[302]
having drawn his Conclufion up, That
a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the Law, that Circumcifion and
Uncircumcifion are juſtified in one and
the fame way of Faith, adds ver. 31.
Do we then make void the Law through
faith? God forbid! yea, we establish the
Law, vómov iswese, we make the Law to
Stand in its firmness and perfection: That
God might juftifie poor finners return-
ing and believing, he doth not abro-
gate the Law, and fo accept of their
imperfect Grace in the room of that
perfect Righteouſneſs, which the Law
calls for; but he introduces the per-
fect Righteouſneſs of a Mediator and
imputes it to Believers,and ſo ſtabliſhes
the Law, and juftifies in a way com-
pletive and perfective of it: Hence
Chrift is faid to be the End of the Law,
and the Law is faid to be fulfilled in us:
The Obedience of Chriſt anſwers the
Law in every point, and makes the
old Promife (Do this and live ) dead
through our Impotency, fpring and
bud again with life. Here the infinite
Wiſdom of God fhews forth it felf, that
as all the Types and Shadows of the
Law, which were but Temporaries,
were perfected in, Chrift the true Sub-
ſtance; fo all Moral Commands, which
are
。
[303]
are of an immortal Goodnefs, were
completed in his Righteoufnefs;it pleaf-
ed God through the perfect Righteouf-
nefs of Chriſt imputed to us, to juſtifies
that being a way perfective of the Law:
neither may any man prefume to con-
tradict his Method.
3. A man in Juftification is prefumed
to ſtand at God's Bar, and to anſwer
to fomewhat ; and what muſt he an-
ſwer to, to the Gospel only, or to the
Law allo? If to the Goſpel only, I con-
fefs Faith anſwers to the Terms of it;
but mean while all the Pagans in the
World muſt be in a juſtified State:
They as well as others are only to
anſwer to the Goſpel, and to that, be-
cauſe unreveiled, they need make no
anfwer at all; and having nothing to
make anſwer unto, they muſt needs
be in a juſtified condition: And mean
while alſo, all true Believers muſt be
in a ſtate of Perfection, the defects of
their Graces must be no fins; for the
truth of Grace in them anſwers to the
Terms of the Gofpel, and to more
than theſe they are not to anſwer:
But if in Juftification a man be to an-
fwer to the Law alfo, nothing lefs
than the perfect Righteouſneſs of Chriſt
(and that made his by Imputation)
can
[304]
can poffibly ſerve his turn; nothing elfe
is an anſwer to the pure perfect Law,no-
thing elſe can ftand before the divine
Tribunal of Heaven: Hence the Reve-
rend Biſhop Andrews faith, with reſpect
to that Name (Jehovah our righteous
Sermon of nes) we may fay, Efto juftitia, & fac
Fuftif in juftitiam; eſto juftitia, & intra in ju-
Chrift's
dicium cum fervo tuo: With this Righ-
Name.
teouſneſs, with this Name, we may
without fear appear before the King
executing Juſtice. If any here reply,
we are Chriſtians, the Moral Law de-
livered by Mofes obliges not us, I an-
fwer, I conceive it obliges all Chrifti-
ans, the Scripture urges it upon them:
St. Paul preffes the Romans, though
no Jews, to love, as the fulfilling of
the Law, Rom. 13.8, 9. and the Ephe-
fians, though no Jews, to honour their
parents, becauſe it is a commandment
with promife, Eph. 6. 2. St. James in his
Epiftle, which is general to Gentiles as
well as Jews, would have them fulfil
the Royal Law, according to the Scri
ptures, Jam. 2.8. The Matter of the
Moral Law is perpetual, and why
ſhouldGod put a temporary obligation
upon it? If the Moral Law bind us not,
then all the excellent Morals in the
Prophets, (which are but as fo many
Com-
[305]
Commentaries on the Moral Law) do
not belong unto us; and what a door
will this open to overthrow the Old
Teftament? I conceive therefore the
Moral Law delivered by Mofes ob-
liges us Chriftians, and I take it that
our Church is of the fame mind; for I
am fure fhe is too wife to command us
to Eccho to an abrogated Law in fuch
a devotional Prayer as that, Lord, have
mercy upon us, encline our hearts to keep
this Law: But, however this opinion
be touching the Moral Law as Moſaical,
without doubt, whatſoever is Moral
Naturall in it, whatfoever is the pure
Primitive Law of Nature muſt reach un-
to all, and bind all, all muft anfwver to
it; and, becauſe it calls for finless Per-
fection, nothing can anſwer it but the
perfect righteouſneſs of Chrift, and
that made ours by Imputation.
4. It is evident, that the Paffive Righ
teouſneſs of Chrift is imputed to us; In
Scripture the blood of Christ juſtifies
us. Rom. 5. 9. purges the confcience.
Heb. 9. 14. cleanses us from all fin. 1.
Joh.1. 7. washes us from our fins. Revel.
1.5. And how can it doe theſe great
things for us, unless it be applied and
made ours in particular! or how can
it be made ours but by a particular
Impu-
X
•
[306]
Imputation? fanguis Chrifti non hæret
in nobis ; it is not fubjectively in us,
but what ever it doth for us in Jufti-
fication,it doth as imputed to us; Hence
Chrift is called a propitiation through
faith in his blood. Rom. 2. 25. Faith
receives the atoning Blood, and God
imputes it: If there had been no firſt
fundamentall Imputation of that Blood
to us, it could not have been ſaid that
Chriſt dyed for us more than for Devils:
That Blood ſhed could not have render-
ed us pardonable or juſtifiable uponGo-
fpell-terms: And if there be not an af-
ter particular Imputation of that Blood
to us upon believing, it cannot be
faid actually to juftifie and waſh
us from our fins: As fhed for us it
makes us pardonable and juſtifiable,but
no more, till there be a particular impu-
tation:Without this it doth not actually
juſtifie and waſh us, becauſe it is not
particularly applied and made ours.
Should we be juftified or pardoned
without this Imputation, we ſhould be
juſtified or pardoned without that
Blood made ours, and by confequence
without a Aurea or Satisfaction made
ours in particular; that Satisfaction
without this Imputation being only in
common to all pardoned or unpardon-
ed,
[307]
7.2.0, 11.
ed, and particularly applied to none.
Bellarmine himſelf confeffes the Impu-
tation of Chrift's Paffive Obedience:
Solus Chriftus (faith he) pro peccatis no Defuſtific.
ftris fatisfecit, & illa fatisfactio nobis
donatur,& applicatur, & noftra repu-
tatur, cum Deo reconciliamur justifi-
camur: And why he might not as well
have allowed the Imputation of the
Active Obedience, I fee not; fave only
becauſe he would leave for our inhe-
rent Graces a room in Juftification:
But becauſe he allows not the Imputa-
tion of the Active Obedience, Biſhop
Andrews is bold to tell him, That he Sermon of
Fftific.
Spoils Chrift of one half of his Name,
that is, of that Name, Jehovah our Righ-
teousness: And withal the Biſhop urges
thus againſt the Papifts; By what pro-
portion do they proceed? They cannot
counterpoise an infinite fin but with an
infinite Satisfaction, and think they can
weigh down a reward every way as infi-
nite,with a Merit (to say the least) fure-
ly not infinite: Why should there be a ne-
ceffary use of Chrifts death for the one,
and not an use full as necessary for the
Oblation of his Life for the other ?
And again he faith, This nipping at
the Name of Christ is for no other rea-
Son, but that we may have fome honour
X 2
Dur
[308]
our felves out of our Righteousness: Hence
Bellarmine faith, Magis honorificum eft
habere aliquid ex merito: Rather than
they will lose their honour, Christ muſt
part with a piece of his Name. Thus
that Reverend Man. Let us there-
fore confeſs that all Chrift's Righteouf-
nefs Active as well as Paffive is made
ours by Imputation: His Obedience,
like his feamlefs Coat, all woven toge-
ther of Love and Philanthropy, from
his first breath of Holiness on Earth to
the laſt gafp upon the Cross,fhould not
be rent or divided, but preferved en-
tire for our Juftification and Salva-
tion.
5: When we are juſtified before
God, it must be by a Righteouſneſs,
either that of inherent Grace, or that
of Chriſt imputed to us; We are not
juftified by the firft, our inherent
Graces have all their ſpots and
wrinkles of imperfection; how faul-
tring is our Faith! How fluctuating
our Hope! How cold our Charity!
How much is there wanting of what
ought to be in every one of them!
All of them are but in part, and as it
were in their firft Lineaments, none
of them in plenitude or full meaſure
anfwering to the Law; they dwell
not
[309]
not alone; but alas ! there is a fad Inmate
of Corruption, a body of Sin dwelling
under the fame roof, ſo that the
pureft actions of the Saints on earth
come forth ex lafo Principio, out of
an Heart fanctified but in part, and
in their egrefs from thence gather a
taint and tincture from the indwelling
fin: Quotidie stillamus fuper telam
juftitiæ noftræ faniem concupifcentia
noftræ, faith one, Our concupfcence like
putrid matter is ever dropping upon the
web of our weak little holiness; If we
walk not poft concupifcentias, it is very
well; Non concupifces, which is a great-
er thing, we cannot reach in this Vale
of fins and forrowes; ſtill the Fleſh will
be lufting, and Corruption bubling up
in the heart; and can we think that
fuch imperfect Graces fhould be the
Matter of our Juftification? Again,
we have contracted many Guilts, and
every even the Leaſt ofthem, have a
kind of Infinity in them, becauſe againſt
an infinite Majeſty; and can our inhe-
rent Graces; which are but finite things,
ever expiate or blot out thofe guilts?
No furely, they cannot cover their
own ſpots and blemiſhes, but muft pray
in aid from the Grace and Righteouf
neſs of Chriſt to have them done away;
X 3
and
[310]
₹
and is it imaginable that thoſe Graces,
which want a pardon and covering for
their own Defects, fhould ever be able
to ftand before God and juftifie us at
his Bar? Who? were is the Saint in
Scripture that ever durft ftand before.
God in his own inherentRighteoufneſs?.
Job. though perfect, would not know
his own foul, Jeb. 9, 21. David though
a man after Gods own heart,would not
have him mark iniquities, Pfal. 130. 3.
Daniel, though a man of defires, prayes,
not for his own Righteouſneſs, but for
Gods great Mercies, Dan. 9. 28. Look
over the poſture of all Saints in Scrip-
ture, you find them not ſtanding upon
their own bottom, but in a ſenſe of
their wants, breathing after Holyneſs,
prefsing on towards perfection, flying
to a Mercy-feat, and (as it is expressed,
Hebr. 12. 2.) άpog@vies, looking off from
themselves unto Jefus the author and
finisher of their faith, in whom alone
perfect Righteoufnefs is to be found.
Now if, as appears, Juftification be not
by inherent Righteoufnefs, then it muſt
be by imputed, according to that of
St. Bernard touching fallen Man, Aſsi-
gnata eft ei juftitia aliena, qui caruit
Suâ.
Unto what hath been faid, I fhall
È
add
[311]
་
add a few Teſtimonies out of the Fa-
thers: τὶ ο ἄλλο τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἦ- Ad Diag
δενήθη καλύψαι ἢ ἐκείνο δικαιοσύνῃ ἐν τίνι δι
καιωθῆναι δυνατὸν τὸς ἀνόμος ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀσε
βεῖς, ἢ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ ὑῷ τὸ θεῖ· ὤ το γλυ
- κείας ἀνταλλαγῆς! What other thing could
cover our fins, but Chrift's Righteouſneſs?
In whom could we lawless and ungodly be
juftified, but in the only Son of God!
Oh fweet exchange! Thus Juftin Martyr.
The fulfilling of the Law by Christ the
First-fruits, όλω λογίζεται την φυράματι,
was to be imputed to the whole lump; fo
Athanafius. Chriſt having tranſlated the
filthiness of my fins to himself, hath made
me partaker of his purity,κοινωνον τὸ ἑαυτὸ
κάλλος ἀπεργασαμ, communicating
unto me his own beauty; fo Greg. Nyffen.
Non habeo unde me jactem, gloriabor in De facob.
Chrifto, non gloriabor quia juftus fum,
fed quia redemptus fum; non quia vacu- cap.6.
us peccati, fed quia remiffa peccata; thus
St. Ambrofe. "God fent his Son, that,
affuming our flesh and obeying his Father
in all things, SinciáСy тl άvoçáñɣ qúov
en Eα, that he might justifie the Na-
ture of Man in himself; lo St. Cyril of
Alexandria. Ὡς ἄν τις δύσης αυτῳ, If
thou believeft on Chrift, thou haft fulfill.
ed the Law, and more than it command-
ed; thon haft now received μegova
боново
X 4
σύνω,
& Vit. Be-
• at. lib. I.
[312]
Hon. in suvlw, a greater Righteousness, that is, in
Rom. 10. Christ the end of the Law; So St.
Chryfoftome. Domine,memorabor juftitia
tue folius, ipfa enim et mea; nempe
Sup. Cant. factus es mihi tu Juftitia à Deo: num-
Str. 61. quid mihi verendum, nè non una ambo-
bus fufficiat ! Non eft pallium breve, quod
non pofsit operire duos; Juftitia tua in
eternum me & te pariter operiet, quia
largiter larga & eterna Juftitia; thus
St. Bernard. Many other Paffages might
be quoted out of the Fathers, but this
Taft may fuffice: This divine Truth
touching imputed Righteoufnefs, fuch
is its Heavenly Oriency, hath extorted
a confeffion eyen from its enemies;
The very Schoolmen themſelves, as
Bishop Andrewes hath obferved, what-
ever they are in their Quodlibets and
Comments on the Sentences, yet in
their Soliloquies and devotional Medi-
tations acknowledge Jehovah juftitia
nostra, Cardinall Contarenus faith, Ego
prorsùs existimo, piè & Chriftianè dici,
quod debeamus niti tanquam re ftabili
juſtitiâ Chriſti nobis donatâ ; non autens
Jan&itate & gratia nobis inherente. And
Bellarmine himfelfe confefses, Propter
incertitudinem propriæ juftitia, & peri-
culum inanis glòria, tutiſſimum eft fidu
De just,
1.5. cap.7. Ciam totam in fola Dei mifericordiâ &
?
benignis
[313]
benignitate reponere. And now having
in hort afferted this great Truth, I
fhall attend the Author.
To begin with that famous place, Jer. Mr.Sher-
23.6. where Chrift is called exprefly, the lock.
Lord our righteousneß: In his days
Judah fhall be faved, and Ifrael fhall
dwell fafely: And this is the name
whereby he ſhall be called, the Lord
our righteouſneſs; a very expreß place to
prove, that Chrift is our righteousnes,
as these men expound it; that the
righteouſneſs of Chrift is imputed to us:
But is there no other poſſible fence to be
made of this phrafe ? Righteousness in
Scripture is a word of a very large use;
Sometimes it fignifies no more than mercy,
kindneß and beneficence, and fo the
Lord our righteoufness is the Lord,
who doth good to us, who is our Savi-
our and Deliverer; which is very agree-
able to the reaſon of this name; that in
his days Judah fhall be faved,and Ifrael
dwell fafely; and righteonfnes fignifies
that part of justice, which confists in
relieving the injured and oppreffed. Thus
David Speaks: Hear me, O Lord, of
my righteouſneſs, Pfal.4. Thus Ifai.54.
17. Their righteoufnefs is of me, faith
the Lord, which is a parallel expreſſion,
to the Lord our righteoufnels, and fig-
nifies
[314]
nifies no more than that God will avenge
their cauſe, and deliver them from their
enemies, the like we have, Ilai.45.24. In
the Lord have I righteoufnefs and
ſtrength; that is, the Lord the righte-
ons judge will deliver them from their
enemies, which agrees with that promiſe,
verf.14. Thou shalt be far from op-
preffion; and Ifai. 61. 10. He hath
clothed me with the garments of Sal-
vation, he hath covered me with the
robe of righteouſneſs. This ſounds like
imputed righteousness; but it fignifies
the great deliverances God promiſed to
Ifrael in the former verſes, which should
make them as glorious as a Splendid
garment would.
Anſwer. The Lord our righteousness is a very
illuſtrious Name of Chriſt: Biſhop An-
drews obferves the word, Jehovah; El
(faith he) is communicated to Angels;
their names end in it,as Michael,Gabriel,
Jah is communicated to Saints, their
names end in it, Ifaiah, Jeremiah: But
here is Jehovah to certifie us, that it is
not the righteousness of Saints, nor of
Angels that will ferve the turn, but the
righteousneß of God, very God: And in
his after diſcourſe upon that name, he
fairly builds on it the imputation of
Chrift's active and paffive righteouf
nels;
[315]
nefs; but our Author hath no mind to
it. The Socinians, who play in Homo-
nymies, familiarly enervate the force of
a word in one Text, by the different
fignification of it in another: Tell
them that Chrift is called God; they
will fay, ſo are creatures too ; tell them
of a λύτρον, ἀντίλυτρον, ἀπολύτρωσις, they
will reply, Mofes was a Aurens, AcĖS
7.35. I will not fay that our Author
imitates them, but he turns himſelf a-
bout, and is much concerned for ano-
ther interpretation of Chrift's name:
Is there no other poſſible ſence to be made
of this phrafe? Righteousness fometimes fig-
nifies mercy; and fo the Lord our righte-
ouſneß, is the Lord that doth good to us :
Thus the Author, righteouſneſs in ſome
places fignifies mercy.: Very well, but
where do we meet with Jehovah our
mercy? Or, becauſe it fignifies fo in
fome Texts, muſt it do ſo in all? The
queſtion is, what it fignifies in this
place; Chrift borrows not his Name
from temporal bleffings: no, that is
too low: The Salvation their ſpoken
of is a ſpiritual and eternal one,that Sal-
vation is procured by the active and
paffive righteouſneſs of Chrift, that
righteouſneſs is made ours by imputa-
tion. Hence Chrift is called the Lord
ONF
[316]
our righteousness: The Name of Chrift
muſt import ſomewhat peculiar to him-
felf, to do good to us is common to the
whole Trinity: but the active and
paffive righteouſneſs of Chrift is pecu
liar to himſelf, that therefore is import-
ed in this Name: This Name ſeems to
be attributed to the Church, Jer. 33.
16. becauſe the Church is myftically
united to Chriſt, in whom this per-
fect righteouſneſs is; and this righte-
ouſneſs, which is in Chrift, becomes
the Churches by imputation; Ob-
ſerve, this name is not given to all
men, but to believers, as pointing
out not common favours, but that
righteouſneſs of God, which is upon
thoſe that believe: The Kingdom of
Chriſt is a ſpiritual Kingdom, and the
Salvation muſt be ſuitable to it: And
this great Name, the Lord our righteous-
ness, is the foundation of both: As to
the places quoted out of Iſaiah by the
Author, that Ifai. 54. may poffibly
fpeak of a vindication, or juſtificati-
on againſt their enemies, that Ifai. 45.
24,25. In the Lord have I righteousness
and ftrength; in the Lord shall all the
feed of Ifrael be justified, and ſhall glory 5
fpeaks of a juftification by Faith in
Chriſt, that robe of righteousness, Ifai.61.
may
[317]
may be taken for Chriſts Rrighteouf-
nefs, which is the foundation of Salva-
tion; but however thefe be taken,
that firſt quoted place, Jer.23. 6. plain-
ly imports imputed righteoufnefs.
lock.
It is very obfervable, that in all the Mr Sher-
hiftories of the Gospel, which gives us an
account of our Saviours Sermons, and
parables; whereby he instructed the peo-
ple in all necessary truths, he makes no
mention at all of imputed righteousness:
but exacts from them a righteousness
of their own, if they would find mercy
with God: Now it is very strange, (if
imputed righteouſneſs be the great Go-
Spel-mystery) that our Saviour ſhould
not once mention it, nor warn his hea-
rers to beware of tructing in their own
righteouſneſs: but that instead of this
he should feverely enjoyn them the pra-
&ice of an univerſal righteousness, as the
only thing that pleafes God, and feverely
threaten thofe, who continue in any fin,
who break the least of his command-
ments, that they shall not enter heaven:
This to me is a very great prejudice a-
gainst fuch notions, as are fet up for the
fundamentals of Christianity, when there
is not the least foot-steps of them to be
Seen in the Gospel of our Saviour: Did
not our Saviour inftruct his hearers in
all
[318]
Answer.
all things neceſſary to Salvation? Or have
the Evangelifts given us an imperfect
account of our Saviours doctrine, and
omitted fo effential a part of it, as im-
putation of his Righteousness? Chufe
which fide you pleafe, and the confequence
is bad; if the first, then Christ was not
faithful in his prophetical Office; If
the latter, you over-throw the credit of
the Gospel,and by both deftroy the founda-
tion of our Faith: Our Saviours Ser-
mons were to be the rule of the Apostles,
had the Apostles taught any thing, as ne-
ceffary to Salvation, which our Saviour
had not taught, especially any thing that
did fo plainly contradict the Doctrine
of our Saviour, as this imputed righte-
ousness doth, it would very much have
weakned their credit with me; for this
had been to preach another Gospel than
our Saviour did, and we have St. Paul's
command to reject all fuch Preachers ;
though they were Apoftles, or an An-
gel from heaven, Gal. 1.8.9.
And is there no mention at all in the
Goſpel of imputed Righteouſneſs?
Are there no footſteps of it? Yes
furely, our Saviour tells us, Seek ye firſt
the kingdom of God ή δικαιοσύνην αυτό,
his righteousness, that is, Gods, Matth.
6.33. Inherent Graces are in Scripture
called
[319]
called our own; but here we have
Gods Righteouſneſs, which anfwers to
Jehovah our righteousneẞs in the Prophet,
and the righteousness of God in the Epif-
tles. Now theRighteoufnefs of God,that
is of Chriſt, as before hath been noted,
is made ours only by Imputation; but
where doth Chriſt ſpeak of his own
Righteouſneſs? See Math. 3. 15. Thus
it becometh us to fulfill all righteouſneſs,
faith he;he fulfilled all righteouſneſs, but
was it for himſelf or for us? Not for
himſelf, his humane Nature was no foon-
er affumed into his divine Perfon, but
it had a Title to Heaven, and might
have afended up thither; it was for
us therefore: Hence the Apoſtle faith
expressly, That he was made under the
Law to redeem us, Gal. 4. 4. What he
did as under the Law was for us; and
fuch was all his righteouſneſs, and
therefore that was for us; and what
was for us must be applicable to us,
and this cannot be without an imputa-
tion. It is faid that, Chrift gave his life.
Aûtgòv avlì πоMãν, a price or ransome for,
or instead of many, Math. 20. 28. Now
a Ranſome or Satisfaction implies Im-
putation, and avi properly imports a
Subrogation or Subſtitution of one in
the room of another: Chriſt died in
our
[320]
:
our room and fatisfied for us; this
Satisfaction is made ours particularly
by imputation, Hear the French Di-
vines; Hanc fatisfactionem loco noftro
præftitam à Chrifto nobis imputari, negari
non poteft, quis neget folutam à Fidejuff
ore pecuniam imputari Debitori? ex-
hibitam à Vade Ĵatifactionem imputari
ei cujus nomine facta eft? Ea igitur
Chrifti fatisfactio, nobis ex gratia Dei
Patris imputata atque donata, illa demuni
juftitia eft, quâ juftificamur in Dei
judicio. We fee therefore in the Go-
fpel Satisfaction owned, and that necef-
farily infers Imputation: Chrifts blood
was shed for many for the remffion of Sins,
as himself tells us, Matth. 25. 28.
Now it could not be ſhed for us with-
out the firſt fundamentall Imputation;
neither can it be made ours to juſtifie
us without an after particular Imputa-
tion; For his Blood, when it cleanfes
away our fins, is not ours by Inhefion,
therefore if it be at all ours to doe that
great Work, it muſt be fo by Imputa-
tion. Remiffion of fins was to be preached
in his name, Luk. 24. 47. and In his
name fhall the Gentiles truft. Math. 12.
21. This Name includes his Blood
and Righteouſneſs and theſe are made
ours by Imputation. If any reply,
plainer
[321]
plainer proof is defired, I anfwer
Several things are to be confidered by
us; There is no one place in the Gospels
to maintain Juftification by our own
Righteoufnels, or if there were, I
ſhall be bold to fay, that all the Pro-
teſtant Churches in the World are
bound to yeild the Caufe in this point
to their Adverſaries the Papifts. Obe-
dience to Gods Commandements is
indeed the way to heaven, but it is no
where made an ingredient into our Ju-.
ftification. That place, Math. 5. 19.
quoted by the Author, that Whosoever
Shall break one of the Leaft Commande-
ments fhall be the Leaft in the Kingdom
of Heaven, if taken in rigore juris,
were enough to fhut all men out of
heaven; it imports therefore, that
fincere Obedience is neceffary to thoſe
who will go thither: Again, the Evan-
gelicall Light brake out as it pleaſed
the Father of Lights, gradually and
fucceffively. In Math. 16. Peter makes
that famous Confeffion, Thou art Chrift,
and was by Chrift called, Bleſſed, for it;
and a little after Peter, as ignorant of
Chrift's Paffion, would have diverted
him from it, and for that was called,
Satan: Chrift's Pallion was fure a moſt
neceflary thing, vet he knew it not
Further
X
[322]
Further, our Saviour tells the Apoſtles,
that It was expedient for them, that he
Should go away, why fo? Then the
Spirit should come, which should guide
them into all truth, which should glorifie
Christ, which should take of Christs, and
Should fhew it unto them, Joh. 16.7,13,
14,15. Obferve, the Spirit was to o-
pen and diſplay the things of Chrift;
amongſt others, his blood and righte-
ouſneſs in their glory, and true uſe to
be made ours, and now it is no wonder
at all, if imputed Righteouſneſs be
more fully laid down in the Epiſtles,
than in the Sermons of our Saviour
Chriſt himſelf; the wiſdom of heaven
reſerved that fuller light, till the de-
fcent of the holy Ghoft. Moreover,
we muſt diſtinguiſh between the necef-
fity of Chriſts imputed righteouſneſs
in it felf, and the neceffity of the
knowledge of it: Imputed Righteouf-
nefs fince the fall hath ever been necef-
fary in it felf; no man was ever jufti-
fied without Chrift's blood applyed to
him, and that application is made up-
on believing by way of imputation ;
but the knowledge of it hath been
more or less neceffary, as the Evangeli-
cal light hath more or lefs reveiled it.
St. Peter at that time of his confeffion
was
[323]
1
was no doubt juftified by Chrift's
blood; and yet he then had not the
knowledge of his paffion. Laſtly, it
appears plainly, that our Saviour warn-
ed his hearers not to truſt in their own
Righteouſneſs: Thus the Pharifet and
the Publican are in the Parable fet
forth to those that trusted in themfelves,
that they were righteous, Luk. 18.
19. The Pharifee boaſts of his Juſtice,
Purity, Sanctity: The Publican cries
out of his fins, and begs for mercy;
and as our Saviour tells us, went awaj
juſtified rather than the other: So true
is that of Profper, Melior eft in malis
factis humilis confeffio, quam in bonis
Juperba gloriatio: To conclude, I hope
by theſe things it appears, that nei-
ther our Saviour was unfaithful in his
prophetical Office; nor the Evange-
lifts in giving us an account of our Sa-
viours Doctrine.
It is worth the observing, that in all Mr. Sher
the New Testament there is no fuch ex- lock.
preffion as the Righteousness of Christ, or
the imputation of Chrift's Righteousness;
we there only find the righteoufnefs of
God, and the righteoufnefs of Faith,
and the righteouſneſs of God, which
y the faith of Jeſus Chriſt ; which is
org jtrange: Did the whole Mystery of
Y 2
the
[324]
Answer,
the Gospel confist in the imputation of
Christ's Righteousness, that neither
Chrift nor his Apostles should once
tell us fo in expreß terms.
This is Bellarmine's own Argument,
Hactenus nullum omninè locum inve-
nire potuerunt, ubi legeretur Chrifti
1.2. cap.7. juftitiam nobis imputari ad juftitiam:
De juft.
But I hope our Author will not fol-
low the found and tinkling of words;
what ifit be not in Scripture fyllabi-
cally and literally? May it not fuffice to
be there in Sence & jult Confequence?
Ratio divina non in Superficie est, fed in
medullâ. The Author faith, That there is
no fuch Expreffion, as the Righteousness of
Chrift; but St.Peter tells us of the righte-
ousness of God & our Saviour Jefus Chriſt,
2. Pet. II, 1- Again he faith That
there is no fuch Expreffion, as the Impu-
tation of Christs Righteousness: But St.
Paul tells us, That we are made righ-
teous by Christs obedience, Rom. 5. 19.
But I will fay no more to thisObjection.
becauſe I have before proved Imputed
Mr. Sher- Righteouſneſs by Scripture.
lock.
That phrafe, theRighteoufnefs of God,
fometimes fignifies his Juftice Veracity or
Goodness,Rom.3.5.but most commonly in
thenew Testament it fignifies that Righte-
oufness which God approves,commands
and
[325]
and which he will accept for the Justi
fication of a finner, which is contained
in the Terms of the Gospel, Rom, 1.
17. For therein is the Righteouſneſs
of God reveiled: Thus it is called the
Righteousness of God, Math. 6. 33. Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God and his
righteouſneſs; which is the fame with
the righteousness of his Kingdome. Now
the Kingdom of God fignifies the State of
the Gospel, and the Righteousness of God
or of his Kingdom, that Righteousness
which the Gospel preſcribes, which is con-
teined in the Sermons and Parables of
Chriſt, and confifts in a fincere and uni-
verfalobedience to the Commands of God.
The Righteouſneſs of God is indeed Anfwer
that which he approves and accepts of
in Juftification, but not that which he
commands us to do;no then we ſhould
not be juſtified by Chriſts blood, Rom.
5.9. nor made righteous by his obedience,
Rom. 5. 19. then the Apoſtle would
not tell us of a righteouſneſs imputed
without works, Rom. 4. 6. Neither
would he as he doth in that place, ex-
clude the Works of converted Abra-
ham from Juftification; I fay, of con-
verted Abraham;for thoſe words (Abra-
ham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness, Rom. 4. 3.)
Y 3
were
[326]
were fpoken of Abraham divers years
after his Converfion. as Dr. Ward
hath obferved: Our Obedience is an
Arit. 12. Evidence of our Juftification, but till
it can expiate fin,and reach the top and
apex of the pure Law, it canuot be the
Matter of our Righteoufnefs before
God. Our Church places good Works
after Juftification, and moft exellently
ftates Juftification in three things;
1. Hom. of Upon Gods part his great mercy and
Salvation. grace; upon Chrifts part Justice that is,
the fatisfaction of Gods Justice, or the
price of our Redemption by the offering of
his Body & Shedding of his Blood,with ful-
filling of the Law perfectly & thoroughly;
and upon our part true and lively Faith
in the Merits of Jesus Christ, which is
not ours but by God's working in us: Thus
our Church, leaving no room at all for
Obedience In the point of Juftification.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
The Righteousness of God (that which
he commands and rewards) is the Righ-
teousness of Faith, or Righteousness by
the Faith of Chrift: Now Faith in Chrift,
is often uſed objectively for the Gospel of
Chriſt, which is the Object of our Faith
and fo the Righteousness of Faith, or by
the Faith of Chrift, is that Righteousness
which the Gospel commands: Thus Acts.
24 Felix fent for Paul, and heard him
concern
i
[327]
concerning the Faith of Chrift, that is,
concerning.righteouſneſs, temperance
and the judgment to come, vers 25.
which are the principal Matters of the
Gospel; Thus obedience to the Faith, is
obedience to the Gospel, Rom. 1. 5. In
this fence Faith and Works are oppoſed
in St. Paul's Epiftles: the Dispute in the
Epistle to the Romans is, Whether we
must be justified by the Law of Mofes,
or by the faith of Chrift, that is, whe-
ther the obfervation of all the external
Rites and Ceremonies, and an exter-
nal Conformity of our Actions to the mor-
al Precepts of it will justify a man be-
fore God, or that fincere univerfal Obe-
dience, which the Gospel of Chrift requires,
which tranfformes our Minds into the
likeness of God. and makes us new crea-`
tures? And that this Righteousness of
Faith, and this alone can recommend us
to God, the Apostle proves from the Ex-
ample of Abraham, in the 4. Chapter.
who was accounted righteous for the fake
of his fincere and stedfaft belief of Gods
Promiſes; verf. 3. Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for
righteouſneſs: And this, while he was
uncircumcifed, which is a convincing
argument against the Jews, that Cir-
cumcifion, and the obfervation of the Law
Y 4
of
[328]
Answer.
of Mofes, is not necessary to juftification,
becanje Abraham, the Father of the
faithful, and pattern for our juftifica-
tion, was juftified without it.
The Righteoufnefs of God, is the
Righteousness of Chrift: And this is
called the Righteoufuefs of God, be-
cauſe he accepts it, and imputes it to
us: And a Righteoufhefs through the
Faith of Chrift, becauſe Faith receives
it: The Righteoufncfs of God is not
Faith it felf, but a righteousness
through the faith of Chrift, Phil. 3. 9.
Faith, I confefs, is fometimes put for
the Gofpel; but the queftion is not
what it is in other places, but what in
thoſe which ſpeak of the Righteouf-
hefs of God: Mark that place, Rom.1.
*17. therein, that is,in the Gofpel, is the
righteousness of God reveiled from faith
10 faith. Here Faith is not put for the
Goſpel; for then the Righteouſneſs of
God fhould be reveiled from Gofpel'
to Gofpel: Nay, here we have the
Gofpel, the Righteoufnefs of God and
Faith, all fet down as diftinct things:
And in other Scriptures, we have the
Grace of Faith mentioned with the
Righteoufnefs of God, becaufe Faith
receives that Righteoufhefs: The Mo-
sal Law of Atojes required not only
external
[329]
*
external conformity; but internal
Sanctity, and that in all perfection; the
Apoſtle in the fourth Chapter to the
Romans, excludes not only external
obfervations; but the works of con-
verted Abraham from juftification;
Faith is accounted for Righteoufnets,
not properly abfolutely in it felf, but
relatively with refpect to its ob-
ject Jefus Chrift, as I have before
proved.
•
Abrahams faith was not a faith in Mr Sher-
Christ, but Abraham believed God, and lock
it was accounted to him for Righe-
oufneß: Chrift indeed was the material
Object of Abrahams Faith; that is, he
believed that promiſe, which God made
of fending Chrift into the world; upon
which account our Saviour tells the Jews:
Your father Abraham rejoyed to fee
my day, and he faw it, and was glad,
Job.8.56. But no man could believe in
Chrift till he came; that is, could not be-
lieve any thing upon his Authority which
is the true Notion of believing in him.
Some men make work with Abraham's
Faith, as if it were a fiducial reliance
or recumbency on Christ for Salvation;
upon which the Righteousness of Chrift,
apprehended by Faith, was imputed to
bim: Lut bow Should Abraham learn
this
[330]
;
this great Myſtery from that general and
obfcure promife; In thy feed fhall all
the nations of the earth be bleffed
which is all that was ever reveiled to
Abraham concerning Chrift; this is fuch
a train of thoughts from: In thy feed
ſhall all the nations of the earth be
bleffed; to the Imputation of Christ's
Righteousness, as Mr. Hobs himself could
never have hit on: Is there no poſſible
way for God to bleẞ the world, but by
imputation of Chrift's Righteouſneſs?
Or is there a natural connexion between
this bleffing and imputed Righteousness,
that we cannot understand the one with-
out the other? before Abraham could
come to the knowledge of imputed Righte-
oufness, he must diftinctly know, first,
that the blessings here meant are fpiri-
tual, pardon and eternal life: The whole
Jewish Nation for many ages, who had
more promises concering Christ, than this
was, expected only a temporal Prince;
and therefore they were prejudiced at the
mean appearance of Christ. Secondly,
That Chrift was to dye for the fins of the
World: And this the Apoftles themſelves
did not understand till after Christ's Re-
furrection. Thirdly, That he fulfilled
all Righteousness for us. Fourthly, That
great mystery of the Incarnation of the
Sora
[331]
-
Son of God, without which it is impoſſi-
ble to understand the vertue of his sa-
crifice and Righteousness. Fifthly, That
intimate onenes and conjunction be-
tween Chrift and his Church, which is a
riddle not understood to this day.
Sixthly, The Nature of Faith, rolling
the foul on Christ for Salvation ;
and then poffibly he might under-
stand this great mystery of imputed
Righteousneß; and all this must
be learned from that general pro-
mife: In thy feed fhall all Nations be
bleffed.
Abraham believed the promiſe of Anſwer.
the Meffiah; but his Faith was not a
Faith in Chrift: Why fo? no man
could believe in Chrift till he came;
that is, he could not believe upon his
Authority: But furely Chrift was a
Prophet under the Old Teftament, his
Spirit, and furely then his Authority
too was in the Prophets, 1 Pet. I. II.
And ſo it was in the Promiſe to Abra-
ham: Befides, true Faith in Scripture
imports a reliance or fiducial recum-
bency; fon and, in the Old
Teftament fignifies; and to thefe, (as
Dr. Ward proves by many parallels)
anfwers To sew, in the new, where
alſo we often find that phrafe, es xel-
[332]
SOV TISOLE, which is a phrafe totally
the holy Spirits, found in no humane
Author; I mean not for the Object,
but the form offpeaking, se eis Tivα,
is not any where but in Scripture (as
Dr. Ward obſerves) which furely muſt
import a reliance, or fiducial recum-
bency. According to this notion of
Faith, I conceive Abraham reſted on,
or truſted in the Meffiah for Salvati-
on; he being the Meffiah, he could not
but expect ſome great thing from
him; and what was it, Temporals or
Spirituals? Surely not Temporals, his
Faith was gone beyond the Line of
this World, even as far as the City
which hath foundations in another, Heb.
11.10. And how did he think to come
thither, but by the Meffiah? He did
not ſpeak to God, Gen. 18. trusting in
his own righteousness; But in the loweſt
poſture of humility: much lefs did he
think to enter Heaven upon the ac-
count of his own worthiness; he was
a man of great Faith, and the Father
of the faithful: The Promifes of the
Meſſiah were Spiritual Ones, The feed of
the woman ſhall break the ſerpents head,
Gen. 3. 15. that is, Chrift ſhould dif-
folve the works of the Devil, and e-
rect his own Kingdom of Grace and
Glory,
[333]
ኝ
Glory; In thy feed ſhall all nations be
bleſſed, Gen. 22. 18. That is, with all
fpiritual and eternal bleffings in Chriſt.
It is not imaginable; that God ſhould
fuffer the Faith of fo great a Believer
as Abraham, to hang in the thickets
of carnal things, when he had fuch
fpiritual Promiſes before his eyes; our
Saviour faith, Abraham faw his day and
rejoyced, Joh.8.56. He faw the day of
his Incarnation; and as fome, the day
of his Paffion: How far God carried
the eyes of his Faith, I know not
however he ſaw fo much, as put him
into thoſe joys and triumphs of Faith,
which pointed beyond this World to
that Salvation, which is the end and
center of Faith: To me it fuffices to fay,
that Abraham refted upon Chriſt for
Salvation, and then Chriſt's Righteouf-
nefs, though unknown to Abraham, was
imputed to him: The Author faith,
That, from in thy feed fhrall all nations
be bleſſed, to imputed righteousneß, is a
train of thoughts beyond Mr. Hobs, and
yet (Abraham difcerning the Meffiah in
that Promife) it may be abfolved in
two ſhort words, that the Meffiah (hall
merit Spiritual Bleffings for us, and
that that merit ſhall be applyed to us;
there being no other way of applying
of
+
[334]
Mr. Sher.
lock.
of what is anothers, but by Faith on
our part, and Imputation on Gods:
The Author ask's the queſtion, Is there
no poſſible way for God to bless the world,
but by imputed Righteousness? I an-
ſwer, had not Chrift dyed for us, which
involves an imputation, nothing of
bleffing could have been expected, the
wrath of God would no more have
fpared us, than it did lapfed Angels:
The Jews about Chrift's coming
thought only of a temporal Meffiah;
the very Apoſtles for a time thought
not of Chrift's death; but this was
becauſe they then lived in the dregs
and darkness of the Jewish Church.
I ſuppoſe in former ages the Jews had
another manner of Profpect of Chrift,
and above others Abraham, whofe
Faith ſtands in Scripture, with a more
than ordinary crown on it, probably
had fo.
Now if you would know what the
Faith of Abraham,and of all good men in
ancient times was; the Apostle to the He-
brews gives us a full account of it,Heb.
11. that he difcourſes there of a justifying
Faith; that is, fuch a Faith as renders
men approved of God, and which he will
count for Righteousneß, appears from the
tenour of this Chapter, in the fecond
verfe
[335]
verfe he tells us,That by this the elders
obtained a good report; that is, the
Fathers were approved and rewarded by
God for the fake of this Faith, as be
ſhews particularly, That Abel obtained
witnefs, that he was righteous, ver.4.
That Enoch had the teftimony, that
he pleaſed God, ver.5. That Noah be-
came heir of righteouſneſs, which is by
Faith, ver.7. Now this juftifying Faith
is the fubftance of things hoped for,
and the evidence of things not feen,
únbsxos, A firm and confident expecta-.
ὑπόςασις
tion of those things hoped for, and
EλeyXO, an argument of the being of
ἔλεγχα
thofe things, which we do not fee; Faith
is fuch a firm and stedfaft perfwasion of
the truth of those things, which are not
evident to ſenſe, as makes us confident-
ly hope for them: the object of Faith
must be unseen things, and the nature of
it confists in fuch a firm affent to thofe
unfeen things, as produces fome answera-
ble effects in our lives: This is the
geo
neral notion of Faith, by which the el-
ders obtained a good report.
ว
Faith is the fubftance of things hoped Answer:
for; the evidence of things not ſeen,
Heb.11. This, faith Erafmus, is enco-
mium fidei, rather than definitio Dia-
lectica: However be it, that juſtifying
Faith
[336]
Faith is here meant; Chrift (the mar
row and center of the Covenant
muſt be included in it; Faith is the
Substance of things hoped for; that is,
hoped for by vertue of the Promiſes,
and in a ſpecial fignal way, by vertue
of the prime fundamental promife
touching the Meffith, which (as we ſee,
Gen.3.15.) was delivered to Adam as
an heavenly treaſure, more worth than
a world; and by him was no doubt
handed down to his pofterity, not
meerly in the bare words and letters of
it (for that protevangelium, or firſt Pro-
mife of the Gofpel was minifterium
Spiritûs) but with fuch Divine Com-
mentaries upon it, as the illuminating
pirit was pleaſed to give in to the
heart of believing Adam; Faith, fuch
is its excellent nature, prefentiates
and makes to fubfift the good things
hoped for, in fuch a lively manner, as if
they were actually at hand, and.before
our eyes: Nay, as learned Pareus ob-
ſerves on the place, it makes them ſub-
filt, not only speculatively and affentive-
ly in the mind, but fiducially in the heart.
Now by Faith in the Mh the El-
ders had their divine Teftimony. Abe
was righteous before God; Enoch
pleafed God; Noah was an heir of
Righte-
[337]
Righteouſneſs, all of them were jus
ftified and accepted in their perfons
and holy walking: The Author makes
Faith to confift in a firm affent only
without any thing more in the nature of
it: Thus the Romanifts: Thus Bellarminé
proves it to be only affenfum firmum, sc
certum ad ea omnia que Deus credenda
proponit: And to that purpofe,among o
thers,quotes this Text, Heb. 11.But I can-
not find that this will down with Pro-
teſtants: Faith is fet forth by Jagoos,
confidence; TETTO! Inos, a firm perfwafion;
magnola, a fiducial liberty; wine cooeiα,
a perſwaſion with full fails; vnósαors, a
fiducial fubfiftence of things hoped for z
which expreffions fpeak more than a
naked affent: Faith receives Chrift,
puts on Chriſt, feeds upon Chrift, fuch'
an únosas, it was to the Fathers in the
days of Mofes, that they did eat the
fleſh, and drink the blood of the Son
of God, even before his Incarnation,
1 Cor.10.3, 4. Meer affent cannot do
this; Through faith we are justified, and
have peace with God, Rom.5.1. We have
our hearts purified,A&.15.9.We have the
Spirit of all grace, Joh. 7.38. We quench
the fiery darts of the Devil, Eph.6.16.We
have a victory over the world, Joh..
5.4. We rejoyce in the hope of the glory of
God,
Z
[338]
God, Rom.5.2. Nay, not only in the
hope of it: but with joy, unspeakable
and full of glory, I Pet. 1. 8. as if we
had a piece of heaven here below
meer affent cannot reach fuch admira-
ble effects: Nay, it may be in wicked
men, who have not the leaft mite of
thoſe Graces or Comforts: Our Savi-
our hath excellently expreffed the na-
ture of true Faith Every one which
Seeth the Son and believeth on him, hath
eternal life, Joh. 6. 40. Here are twó
acts, the one is Dewgeiv Tov yov, to fee the
Son, to affent that he is the Redeemer
of the World; the other is solev eis
autov, to believe on him, by fiducial re-
cumbency; by which, faith Bishop
Dav. Det. Davenant, Vitam à vita fonte haurimus,
& in ipfum quasi totos nos immergimus,
We draw life from the fountain of life,
and wholly drown our felves in him ;
It was well faid of the School-man;
Nullus poteft juftificari, nifi per unionem
ad Chriftum, prima autem unio ad Chri-
ftum fit per fidem; None can be juftified
but by an union with Chrift, and the first
union is by faith: Faith doth not only
look upon Chrift; but it unites to him,
and refts on him; It is not a meer
intellectual thing, but as Philip faid,
Ac.8.37. It is § öλns nagdias, out of the
165.
whole
[339]
of Salva
tion.
whole heart, the whole, not a Piece
only of the heart is refigned up to
Chriſt in believing, meer affent there-
fore is not the all of Faith, but there
is fiducial recumbency in it: Thus our
Church, The articles of our faith the 3. Hom.
devils believe, they believe all things
written in the New and Old Testament
to be true; and, for all this faith, they
be but devils, remaining fill in their
damnable eftate, lacking the very true
Christian faith; For the right and true
Chriſtian faith, is not only to believe that
holy Scripture, and all the Articles of
our faith are true; but also to have à
fure truft and confidence in Gods merci.
ful promifes to be faved from everlasting
damnation by Chrift; whereof doth fol
low a loving heart to obey his command-
ments. And again, our Church fets v. Han of
forth faith to ba, a true truft and con- tab.
fidence of the mercy of God, through our
Lord Jefus Christ, a trufting in God,
committing our felane wholly unto him,"
ji
hanging only upon him, and calling up-
on him: But it may be faid, that the
Author places Faith in fuch a firm al-
fent, as produces fome effects in our
lives, and fo not in meer affent: To
which Lanfwer, according to our Au-
thor: The nature of Faith ftands only
烹
​[340]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
în affent: Obedience indeed is an effect
of Faith, but it is not Faith it ſelf; it
is not an effential ingredient in the na-
ture of Faith; neither is it indeed the
effect of any Faith, but fuch an one as
is total and genuine; that is, which is
affentive and fiducial alfo.
The different forts of Faith refult from
the different Objects and Motives of it;
the Apostle takes notice of two kinds of
Faith in this Chapter; and Faith in
Chriſt makes a third, which are all the
kinds of Faith the Scripture is acquaint-
ed with: The first we may call a natu-
ral Faith; that is, a belief of the prin-
ciples of natural Religion,which is found-
ed upon natural Demonstrations or Mo-
ral Arguments, as that God is, and that
he is a rewarder of them that dili-
gently feek him; Which was the Faith
of Abel and Enoch, whereby they
pleafed God; for there being no mention
made of the Faith of Abel and Enoch
in the Old Testament: The Apostle
proves, that they were true believers;
becauſe they had this Teftimony, that
they pleaſed God: Now it is impoffi
ble to be fincerely religious, or do any ac-
ceptable fervice to God without the be-
lief of his being and providence, and
care of good men: These are the first
principles
[341]
principles of all Religion: And God re-
quired no more of thofe good men, who
had no other particular Revelation of his
Will. Secondly, There is a Faith in God,
or a belief of those particular Revelati-
ons, which God made to the Fathers of
the Old Teſtament: Thus Noah believed
God, being warned of the deluge; and
in obedience to him, provided an Ark;
and this was imputed to him for Righte-
oufness. Thus Abraham, in obedience to
the divine Revelation left his Country
and Father's houſe, and went into a
ftrange Land: Thus Sarah by believing
the promiſe of God, received ſtrength
to conceive feed, and was delivered of
a child, when ſhe was paſt age, becauſe
The judged him faithful, who had pro-
mifed: Thus, Abraham, in obedience
to God, offered up Ifaac, which was as
heroical an act of Faith, as was ever
done by man: The like examples we have
of the Faith of Ifaac, and Jacob, and Jo-
feph, and Mofes, &c. Who firmly be-
lieved all the particular Revelations
God made to them, and confidently ex-
pected the performance of all his pro-
mifes; how unlikely foever they appear'd
to be: This is that Faith whereby Abra-
ham, and all the good men in theſe
days were justified, viz. Such a firm be-
73
lief
[342]
lief of the being and providence of God,
and all thofe particular Revelations God
made to them, as made them careful in
all things to please God, and to obey
him.
After. It is the obfervation of the Learned
Dr. Prideaux, That in the dark age of
the School-men, Paulus ceffit Ariftoteli,
gratia naturæ: St. Paul was fain to
jield to Ariftotle, and grace to nature:
And I fear it will be fo again, we have
here fet before our eyes natural Faith ;
Faith natural in its believing princi-
ple, and natural in its Object; Reaſon
of it felf, and without any elevation
of Grace, may, nay, I fuppofe, muſt
admit the things of natural Theology,
as being within its own Sphere; and
Thall we call this faith, juſtifying faith,
which is nature,& nothing but nature?
Juftifying Faith,if we believe Scripture,
is every way fupernatural; fupernatural
in its Principle,& fupernatural in its O-
bject: Supernatural in its Principle,it is
called, faith of the operation of God,Gal.
2.12. It is not of our felves, but it is
the gift of God, Eph. 2.8. Not a natu-
ral gift, but a gift of meer Grace: un-
to you it is given to believe, faith the A-
poſtle, Phil. 1.29. ixaein, it is freely
graciouſly given to you to believe, it
is
3
[343]
iς θεόσδοτον ἀγαθόν, a good grace divinely
given. Hence the fecond Araufican
Council, exprefly tells us, that our be-
lieving is per infufionem & inspiratio-
nem fpiritus Sandi, Can. 6. Nay, the
very Council of Trent pronounces an
Anathema on thoſe that ſay, that a man
may believe without the inſpiration of the
holy Spirit: And Faith is alfo fuperna-
tural in its Object, it is a thing above
the to yrasov 78 98, above meer natu-
ral Theology: It is fixed in a God
in Covenant, and in his free Grace,
it hangs upon Chrift, and his fweet-
fmelling Sacrifice; it embraces the
promiſes of Grace and Remiffion, and
all theſe are fupernatural only:As in the
Authors Natural Faith, there is no-
thing but Nature; So in the true jufti-
fying Faith, there is nothing but fuper-
natural Grace: But the Author gives
us an inſtance of natural Faith in Abel
and Enoch, who believed the principles
of natural Religion, who believed that
God is, and that he is the rewarder of
them that feek him: And had Abel and
Enoch only a natural Faith? Did they
not believe in a Melfiah? Was that
firſt precious promife, Gen. 3. Given to
be hid and buried in oblivion? Or
was it not handed down to Abel and
7 4
Enoch
[344]
ૐ
Enoch? Surely it was, and they be
lieved in the Melfiah: How could they
come to God without a Mediator?
No man cometh to the Father but by me,
faith our Saviour, Joh. 14. 6. Or how
could they be reckoned among thoſe,
that insurow, feck out God, Heb. 11.6.
Nature may grope after God, but it
cannot indeed feek him out, as he is
in his gracious Covenant without a
Divine Call and Spirit: Or how could
they be juftified without Faith in a
Meffiah? By his knowledge shall my
righteous fervant juſtifie many, Ilai. 53.
11. To him give all the Prophets wit-
nes, that through his name,whosoever be-
lieveth in him, shall receive remiffion of
fins, A&t. 10.43. We fee, without be-
Jieving in him, there is no remiffion,no
pleafing of God. And were Abel and
Enoch without a promife; then they
were in a meer Pagan ſtate; and what
that is, the Apoſtle tells us, Eph. 2.12.
Having no hope, and without God in the
world; and this becauſe they were
without Chriſt, and without the cove-
nant of promife; as that place tells us,
Now if Abel and Enoch were without
God; then how could they be fincere-
ly Religious, or do him any true fer-
vice? And if they were without hope,
how
[345]
how could they look upon God as a
rewarder of them that feek him? In-
deed, there are fome rudera imaginiş
Dei in us: A natural man hath ſome ob-
fcure notions of God, and his remune-
rating goodneſs, but in the Apoſtle,
when God is laid to be a rewarder, it
is not to be taken Philofophicè, but E-
vangelicè; that is, that he is a rewarder
of Believers in and through the Mef-
fiab; and the Promiſes of Grace, and e-
ternal life made in him: Take away
the word, and you take away justify-
ing Faith: How fhall they believe in him,
of whom they have not heard? Rom. 10,
14. If Abel and Enoch had only natu-
ral Faith, and that juſtifying, meer Pa-
gans may have the fame, who yet have
not the name Jefus, the only name of
Salvation, who never heard of the ho-
ly Ghoſt, the Fountain of all Holinefs
3
who have not the Gospel, the Chariot
of the holy Spirit ; who know not what
Grace is, in its fupernatural nature, or
in its center; the glory of heaven;
notwithſtanding all this, they may
have juſtifying Faith: Before the Au-
thor told us, That the Gospel is the ful-
nes of Christ, the principle of a Divine
Life, the Wisdom and Power of God;
and yet without this Goſpel a man by
+
meer
2 2
7
[346]
628.
meer Nature may arrive at juſtifying
Faith By theſe things I hope it ap-
pears, that the Faith of Abel and E-
noch, was more than natural, even
Faith in the Meffiah: Remarkable is that
of the ſecond Araufican Council, Can.
Crabbe, 25. Abel justum, & Noe, & Abra-
3. tome, ham, & Ifaac, & Jacob, & omnem
antiquorum Sanctorum multitudinem,
illam præclaram fidem, quam in ipfo-
rum laudem prædicat Apoftolus Paulus,
non per bonum naturæ, fed per gratiam
Dei credimus fuiffe collatam: You fee,
they allow no natural Faith: Our
Church, reckoning up Abel, and the
reft of the Worthies, Heb. 11. faith,
2. Hom. of They did not only know God to be the
Maker and Governour of the World;
but they had a special confidence and truft,
that he would be their God, although
they were not named Christian men ; yet
was it a Chriſtian Faith that they had;
for they looked for all benefits of God the
Father,through the merits of his SonJefus
Christ, as we now do: And in the
eighteenth Article, our Church faith,
They are to be had accurſed, that preſume
tofay, that every man shall be faved by
the Law or Sect which he profeffeth; fo
that he be diligent to frame his life ac-
cording to that Lam, and the light of
Faith.
Natures
[347]
Nature: For holy scripture doth fet out
unto us only the name of Jefus Chrift, by
which men muſt be faved. And what
can be more full or zealous than theſe
paffages? I fhall only more add the
judgement of Biſhop Wren; Abelem,
qui per propterq; fidem Meffiæ defunct us
eft, etiamnum celebrari à nobis Christi-
anis, atq; in Ecclefiæ Chrifti Martyrolo-
giis (quæ vé pαgrigav, ritè appellan-
tur, Heb. 12. 1.) locum habere: Thus
much touching natural Faith. The fe-
cond fort of Faith mentioned by the
Author, is of particular Revelations
made to Noah, Abraham, and others,
whereby they were juſtified: Obferve,
the Author faith, That in the Eleventh
Chapter to the Hebrews, there are men-
tioned two kinds of Faith; that is, na-
tural Faith, and Faith of particular Re-
velations : So that it feems in this
Chapter (which reaches down from
Abel to the Maccabees, Nay, I fuppofe
after them, to the Incarnation of Chrift)
there is no Faith in Chriſt at all to be
thought of: But Noah and the reſt had
not only a Faith of particular promifes,
but a Faith in the Meffiah too, which
was that which made it juſtifying, A-
braham rejoyced to fee Chrift's day:
And that was the joy of Faith, Job.8.56.
(
Jacob
[348]
Jacob tells us of a Shiloh, to whom the
gathering of the people should be, Gen.
49.10. And furely he himſelf was ga-
thered to him by Faith. Mofes efteem-
ed the reproach of Christ greater riches
than the treaſure in Egypt, Heb. 11.29.
And ſurely he was no ftranger to
Chrift in his Faith: Job faith, I know
that my Redeemer livetb, Job 19. 25.
And O how piercing and appropriative
of Chriſt was his Faith! The Fathers in
Mofes's time did all eat the fame ſpiri-
tual meat, and all drink the ſame ſpiri-
tual drink; for they drank of that fpiri-
tual rock that followed them, and that
rock was Chrift, 1 Cor. 10. 3, 4. And
how this feeding on Chrift thould be
without Faith, I know not : Unto us
was the Gospel preached as well as unto
them, faith the Apoſtle, Heb.4.2. They
were εunyεoµfé, Evangelized; they
ευηγγελισμλίοι
had Chriſt ſet before them: And we
believe that through the grace of the Lord
Jefus Chrift we shall be faved even as
they, faith St. Peter, Act.16.11. We fhall
be faved, καθ᾿ ὃν τρόπον, according to
the very fame manner as they were
faved; that is, we and they are both
faved by Faith in Jeſus Chriſt and his
Grace. Again, it is to be confidered,
that the Sacrifices under the Law were
ordained
[349]
ordained to be as Types, and fhadows
of Chrift, to make an Atonement for
fin (as appears in Leviticus) not that
the Sacrifices themſelves were an abſo-
lute real Atonement in themſelves ; but
a typical one, pointing out the only
true atoning expiatory Sacrifice of
Jefus Chrift. Now either God did
reveil to the Jews, at leaſt wife to the
Believers among them; the typical-
nefs, the true ufe and end of thofe Sa-
crifices, or not: if he did reveil it to
them, then all true Believers among
them did not hang upon the Shadow,
and outward Sacrifice only; but by
their Faith did fix upon Chriſt and his
precious Blood: but if he did not re-
veil it to them, the Sacrifices, even of
thoſe Believers, muſt be all miſcarri-
ages, nothing but meer blots and Er-
rata's; they muſt be offered up not
in Faith, but in miſtake, in the belief
of an utter falfity; that is, in the belief
of that impoffible thing, That the blood
of bulls and of goats could take away fin:
There muſt be ſuch a groſs error in mơ-
do, a miſpriſion ſo horrible; that it is
not imaginable, that any one among
all the millions of Sacrifices under the
Law, could be rightly offered up, or
accepted by God: Such hard intole-
rable
[350]
rable confequences follow this opini-
on, that the Ancients had no know-
ledge of, or Faith in the Meffiah: On
the other hand, that they had ſuch a
Knowledg and Faith,may be gathered,
as from other things; fo from this con-
fideration, that they offered up their
Sacrifices in Faith, as Abel did; that
they were graciouſly accepted of by
God in their offering up thofe Sacri-
fices: Hence it is faid, that God had
respect to Abel and his offering, con-
fuming it, as is thought, by fire from
Heaven; and fo giving a divine Teſti-
mony to it. Hence alfo we find, that
when Noah offered burnt offerings,
the Lord did fmell a fweet favour, Gen.
8.21. becauſe thoſe Sacrifices had an
afpect upon the fweet Sacrifice of
Chriſt, in which God is ever well-
pleafed. Moreover, if the juftificati-
on of the ancients were, as it muſt be,
built upon the λÚTea, the death and
fatisfaction of Chriſt; then, unleſs it
were by a Faith in Chrift, the death of
Chriſt, one in it felf, muft found three
ways of juftification; one by natural
Faith, another by a Faith of particular
promiſes; and a third by Faith in
Chrift, which feems very strange and
incongruous: Thus much touching the
Ancients
•
[351]
Ancients Faith in Chriſt; unto which I
ſhall only add the Teftimony of our
Church. Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob
believed, and it was imputed to them for 3. Hom. of
righteousness was it imputed to them the Paffion.
only? And fhall it not be imputed to
us also? Yes, if we have the fame Faith
as they had, it shall be as truly imputed to
us, as it was to them; far it is one Faith
that must fave both us and them, e-
ven a fure and stedfaft Faith in Chrift
Jesus.
lock.
From hence we learn: Thirdly, what Mr. Sher-
Faith in Christ is, which is now im-
puted to us for righteousness, as Abra-
ham's Faith was to him; for to make
our Faith in Christ answer to the Faith
of Abraham, and all good men in for-
mer ages (without which the Apostles ar-
gument from Abraham's being justified
by Faith is of no force) cur Faith in
Christ must fignifie fuch a ftedfaft belief
of all thofe Revelations, which Chriſt
hath made to the world, as governs our
lives and actions: Abraham was juftifi-
ed by believing the Revelations, which
God made to lam, and we are justified
by believing thofe Revelations which
Chrift hath made of God's Will to us; for
if by the righteouſneß of Faith, you un-
derstand the righteousness of Christ ap-
prehended
[352]
prehended by Faith, and imputed to us s
you utterly destroy the Apostles argument
for our juftification by Faith; for Abra-
ham and all the good men of old were
not justified by fuch a Faith as this; they
never heard of the Righteousness of Chrift
imputed to us: Noah was made heir of
Righteousnes, becauſe he believed the de-
luge, and prepared an Ark at Gods com-
mand. Abraham's Faith was imputed to
him for righteousnes, because he left his
own Country, followed God into a strange
Land, believed that God would give himi
a ſon, and offered this fon at God's com-
mand. Now what hath all this to do
with an imputation of Chrift's Righte-
oufneß? How does it follow, that becauſe
Abraham was juſtified by ſuch noble and
generous acts of Faith; therefore we
ſhould be juſtified by imputed Righteous-
nes, by rowling our fouls on Christ?
Theſe two Faiths are of as different
kinds, as can be imagined; we cannot
reafon from the one to the other: The
difference between the Faith of Abra-
ham, and the Faith of Chriftans is this ;
Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him for righteousness; we be-
lieve in Chrift, and this is counted to us
for righteousness: Abraham believed the
Revelations God made to him; we be-
lieve
[353]
lieve the Revelations God hath made to
to us by his son, Heb. 1. 1. So that the
first notion of Faith in Chriſt, is a firns
belief of his divine Authority; which ne-
ceffarily draws after it a belief of the
whole doctrine of the Gospel: This Joh.
20.31. The Chriftian Faith is defcribed
by believing that Jefus is the Chrift, the
Son of God: And I Joh. 5. 5. Who is
he that overcometh the world; but
he that believeth, that Jefus is the
Son of God; That is, that he came from
God with full Power and Authority to de-
clare his Will,and confirm the Covenant:
Abraham's faith was founded on the im-
mediate Inspirations of God, or the Re-
velations of Angels; But a Faith in
Christ is founded on the Authority of
Christ, which is the first Object of the
Christian Faith; and the reafon and
foundation of all other acts of Faith t
Abraham had only fome particular Reve-
lations, as the Object of his Faith; but
Christ hath made a perfect Revelation
of the whole Will of God, which is
the Object of our Faith: Thus the Chri-
stian Faith excels all other kinds of
Faith, as much as the Gospel excels all o-
ther revelations made to Abraham and
other good men : but still the end of
all Faith is the fame to govern our lives,
A 3
and
[354]
Answer.
and make us obedient in all things to
God, as Abraham's was, without which
no Faith can justifie.
The ſtreſs of this difcourfe lyes upon
two or three fuppofals: One is this,
that the very act of Faith is properly,
and in it ſelf, our Righteouſneſs, or
the matter of our Juftification: Ano-
ther is this, that the whole nature of
Faith confiſts in an affent to Divine Re-
velation: A third is this, that Abra-
ham had only a Faith of particular Re-
velations; but no Faith in Chriſt:
Now, not to repeat things over and
over, I have before proved, that
Faith, as it is an Act, and abfolutely
in it ſelf confidered, is not our Righte-
ouſneſs, or the matter of our Juftifica-
tion; that there is in the nature of
Faith, over and above a meer affent,
a fiducial recumbency alfo; and that
the Faith of Abraham was not only
a Faith of particular promiſes, but a
Faith in the Meffiah: Theſe things be-
ing before afferted; the anſwer is very
eafie; Our Faith in Chrift very well
anſwers to the Faith of Abraham: A-
braham truſted in Chrift, and fo do we:
Theſe Faiths anſwer one another, and
that much more harmoniously, than
if we fay, Abraham believed particular
promiſes,
[355]
•
Promiſes, and we believe in Chrift &
for there the Objects are variant: In-
deed our Faith, as having more of E-
vangelical Light in it, is more explicit
than Abraham's was; but (this being
but a gradual difference) ftill they are
one Faith in fubftance and, center in
the fame Object, in the Melfiah. But
faith the Author, Abraham and the reft
never heard of imputed Righteousness 5
no, he and Noah believed particular Re-
velations, and what hath this to do with
imputed Righteousness? Doth it follow,
becauſe Abraham was justified by fuch
generous acts, that we should be juſtified
by imputed Righteousness? But I muſt
affert, that Abraham and Noah trufted
in the Meffiah, and fo Chriſt's Righte-
ouſneſs (though, fuppofe, unknown to
them in fuch a clear manner as it is to
us) was imputed to them; And in-
deed without it, I fee not how they
ſhould have (which, no doubt, they
wanted) remiffion in Chrift's Blood.
But (faith the Author) The first notion
of Faith in Chrift is a firm belief of his
Authority; the Chriftian Faith is defcri-
bed by believing, that Jefus is the son
of God, the very Christ, Joh. 20. 31. and
1 Joh. 5.5. that is, that he came from
God with full authority to declare his
will,
A a 2
[356]
Will, and confirm the Covenant: To
which I answer, That Jefus is the Son
of God, in its proper fignification im-
ports,that he is his Son by Eternal Ge-
neration, and from thence we may in-
ferr, that his Authority is Divine: But
we muſt remember, that Chrift was a
Prophet under the Old Teſtament; his
Spirit, and furely then his Authority,
was in the Prophets. The Author
feems to hint by thoſe places, Job. 20.
31. and I Job. 5. 5. that juſtifying
Faith confifts only in affent to divine
Principles, ſuch as that (That Jefus is
the Christ, the Son of God) is; but
though thofe places in the Letter found
only an affent to that divine Axiom,
That Jesus is the Son of God, yet more
muſt be taken into the conftruction; as
well becauſe the Scripture, which e-
ver confifts with it felf, doth in other
places affert, that in juſtifying Faith,
there is, over and above a meer affent,
a fiducial Recumbency on Chriſt; as
alſo becauſe wicked men, who have
no juſtifying Faith, may have an affent
to all Evangelical Axioms: Nay, the
very Devils cried out, and confeffed,
That Jesus was the Son of God, Matth.8.
29. and yet (as our Church obferves)
for all this they were but Devils.
Phil.
[357]
lock,
Phil. 3.8,9. Yea, doubtless, and 1 Mr. Sher-
account all things lofs for the excellen-
cy of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus
my Lord, for whom I have fuffered
the lois of all things, and 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, the righteoufnefs which is of
God by faith: By my own Righteousness
theſe men understand inherent Righteous-
neß, whatever good St. Paul had done,
either while he was a Jew, or after his
Conversion to Chriftianity, this he re-
jects; and therefore the Righteousness,
which is through the Faith of Chrift, must
needs be an imputed Righteousneß, the
perfonal Righteousness of Chrift appre-
hended by Faith and imputed to us:
This is fairly offered, but what· proof
have they of it? That, I confeß, I can-
not learn; only it is taken for granted,
that my Righteousness, fignifics inherent
Righteousness, and the Righteousness of
Faith, imputed. But they need not figni-
fie fo; my own Righteousness, can ſigni
fie no more than that in which he placed
his Righteousness, whatever it was, and
what neceffity is there to understand this
of inherent Holineß? An External Righ
teousness
A a 3
[358]
teousnes serves moft mens turn very well,
and this is the Righteouſneß by which the
Pharisees (and amongst the reft St. Paul
while he was a Pharifee) expected to be
justified: For what his Righteousness was
he tells us, in ver. 6,7. Circumcifed the
eighth day, of the ſtock of Ifrael, of
the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of
the Hebrews, as touching the Law a
Pharifee(who were mighty strict and pun
&ual in obſerving all externalCeremonies)
and he expreffed his zeal for the Law of
Mofes,by perfecuting theChriftian Church;
and touching the righteouſneſs which is
in Law he was blameleſs: which last
phrafe,touching the righteouſneſs of the
Law blameless, fignifies only an external
blamelesnes of converſation, as Mr. Cal-
vin acknowledges: For this was the Pha-
rifees Notion of the Moral Law, that the
obligation of it did reach no further than
the outward man; and Trypho the Jew
in Juſtin Martyr quarrels with the Gof-
pel of our Saviour for this very reason,
That it requires the government of our
thoughts and paffions, which, he fays,
is impoffible for a man to do: Thus
we must understand this blameleneß
bere; unless we will ſay, that St. Paul,
while he was a Pharifee, did perfectly ob-
Serve the Moral Law, which thofe, who
發
​talk
[359]
talk fo much of the impoffibility of keeping
Gods laws, will be loath to own:So that my
own righteouſneſs which is of the Law,
is so far from fignifying an inherent
Righteousness, that it fignified only an
external one, which consisted only in
fome external Rites, or external Privi-
leges, or an external Civility: This Righ-
teouſneſs he had reaſon to reject, becauſe
God will reject it: This was all the Righ-
teouſneſs he had, while he was a Pharifee,
and this be accounts dung and droſs for
the excellency of the knowledge of
Chrift Jesus our Lord; that is, for the
fake of the Gospel, which is the knowledge
of Chrift, which contains a more excel-
lent and perfect Righteousness than the
Law did and that he might win
Chriſt, that he might attain to Evange-
lical Righteousneß, fuch as Christ was the
Preacher and Example of: And that he
might be found in him, not having
his own righteouſneſs which is of the
Law; that at the last day he might ap-
pear to be a found and fincere Christian,
whose righteousness does not confift only in
external obfervances or external confor-
mity to Gods Law; but, that which is
through the faith of Chriſt, the righ-
teouſneſs which is of God by faith ;
that is, that inward vital Principle of
Holi
A a 4
[360]
}
Answer.
Holines, that new Nature which the Go-
Spel of Chrift requires of us, and which
this Chriftian Faith will work in us ;
which is a Righteousness of Gods own
chufing, which he commands, and which
he will reward.
We are now come to that famous
place, Phil. 3. 8.9. Yea doubtless, and 1
count all things but lofs for the excellen-
cy of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whom I have fuffered the lofs
of all things, and do count them but
dung that I may win Christ, and be
found in him, not having mine ownrigh-
teoufnefs, which is of the Law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteouſneſs which is of God by faith.
Learned Beza obferves, That those words
(and be found in Chrift) have a tacit
relation to the Judgment of God: The
Apoſtle here treats of Juftification,
and from that removes all things but
Chriſt and his Righteoufnefs: The Au-
thor indeed would have him only to
reject his external Righteoufnefs, ex-
ternal Obfervances, and Conformity
to the Law of God, that which he
had as a Pharifee, that which God will
reject. But let us confider the place:
Firſt the Apoſtle fets down a Catalogue
of his Privileges; He was circumcised
!
the
[361]
the eighth day, of the ſtock of Ifrael, of
the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the
Hebrews, as touching the Law a Pharifee,
concerning zeal perfecuting the Church,
touching the righteouſneſs which is in the.
Law blameless, ver. 5, 6. But then af-
ter all, he caſts away all this Jewish
and Pharifaical glory, What things were
gain to me, those I have counted lofs for
Christ, ver. 7. he would not be jufti-
fied by any of thofe things; but doth
he go no further? Doth he only ex-
clude his external Pharifaical Righte
ouſneſs? No furely, his difcourfe
goes
on, ἀλλὰ μενόνγε και ήγεμαι πάντα ζημίαν
Evo, Yea doubtless, and I count all
things but lofs for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ, verf. 8.
ἀλλὰ μενόνγε are Particles of amplifica-
tion, as if the Apoſtle had faid, Nay,
more than that, even now do I count
all things lofs: In the 7. Verfe he cafts
off his Jewiſh and Pharifaical gains,
but in the 8. he puts by dila, all things,
his inherent Graces not being admitted
to be the Matter of our Juftification;
In the 7. Verf. we have rua, in tem-
pore præterito, I have counted, but in the
8. we have nyua, in præferti, now I do
count all things lofs: Hence the excel-
lent Beza faith, Notandum præfens tem-
el
*
pus 5
[362]
Exam. Ye
135.
pus ; fic enim crefcit oratio, ut jam A-
postolus, quod ad juftificationem coram
Deo attinet, omnia opera excludat, tum
præcedentia, tum etiam confequentia fi-
dem. And Learned Chemnicius faith,
Fuftif.pag. Paulum non tantùm uti præterito tempo-
re йgua, de operibus præcedentibus con-
verfionem, fed præfenti vysµ¤, ut often-
dat quòd operibus fuis, etiam post reno-
vationem fact is, non tribuat Justificati-
onem coram Deo. Even our inherent
Graces (how precious foever they be
in Sanctification) must not affume the
Royal feat of Chrift and his Righteouf-
ness, they must not be our very Righ-
teouſneſs in Juftification. Bellarmine
indeed here cries out, Quanta, quæfo,
blafphemia est! How great is this blaf-
phemy, to call good works done out of
the Faith and Grace of Christ no better
than dung! But Pareus anſwers him
very well, That they are not fo called ab-
folutely in themselves, but comparatively
to the Righteousness of Chrift; nefas e-
nim ducit in ullis operibus fiduciam Ju-
ftificationis ponere coram Deo: In the
Matter of Juftification, the whole
Church calls her Righteouſneſs a filthy
Rag; St. Paul will not there own his
own inherent Graces,no more than ho-
ly Job would know his own Soul. But
this
[363]
this is yet more clear, ver. 9. The Apo-
file would be found in Chrift, not having
his own Righteousness, which is of the
Law; he excludes his own Righteouf-
nefs, that is, his inherent Graces in the
point of Juſtification; I ſay, his inhe-
rent Graces, for he had before ſhut out
his external Pharifaical Righteouſneſs,
ver. 7. and (his after-ſpeech being not
a Battology or vain repetition, but pro-
greffive or expreffive of more than
went before) he doth in the
9. Verle
put by his inherent Graces, under the
name of, his own Righteouſneſs; and
(which further confirms this Sence)
inherent Graces are in Scripture faid to
be our own: Hence we find, my faith,
and thy faith, Jam. 2. 18. and our Sa-
viour faith, Except your righteouſneſs
Shall exceed the Righteousness of the
Scribes and Pharifees, ye shall in no cafe
enter into the Kingdom of heaven, Matth.
5. 20. See here, a Righteoufnefs, and
that exceeding a Pharifaical one, call-
ed theirs. The Apoſtle excludes the
righteouſneſs which is of the Law: In
the 7. Verſe he had ſhut out the Righ-
teouſneſs of the Law taken in the Pha-
rifaical fence; but in the 9. Verſe he
goes on, and puts by the Righteoufnefs
of the Law taken in its own ſpiritual
Nature,
[364]
Nature, the Righteoufnefs which the
Law in its holy Commands preſcribes ;
and furely the Law calls for internal
Holiness, as well as external Confor-
mity. In another place the Apoſtle
That by the works of the Law
tells us,
Shall no flesh be justified, Gal. 2. 16. No
fleſh, not the holieft Saint on earth
whoſe Righteouſneſs is as much above
the Pharifees as Life is above pictures
and ſhadows) ſhall be juſtified by his
own Righteouſneſs or conformity to
the Law. But if the Apoftle would
not have his own Righteouſneſs, which
is of the Law, in Juftification, what
would he have? He would have the
righteousness which is through the faith
of Chrift, the righteousness which is of
God by faith: He doth not fay, a Righ-
teouſneſs which is Faith or other Gra-
ces, but a righteousness which is through
the faith of Christ, a righteousness which
is of God by faith: Now inherent Gra-
ces are never in Scripture called the
Righteouſneſs of God; The righteous-
nes of God is upon those that believe,
Rom. 3. 22. not in them, as inherent
Graces are: The righteousneß of God is
in Chrift, 2 Cor.5.21. not in our felves,
as our Graces are: The righteouſneſs of
God is one and the fame with the
righte=
[365]
righteousness of Christ,2 Pet.1.1. not the
fame with our Graces: The Apoſtle
therefore would have, the righteousness
which is through the faith of Chriſt, the
righteoufneß which is of God by faith;
that is, the perfect Righteouſneſs of
Chriſt, which Faith receives, and God
accepts on our behalf. By theſe things
it appears, that the Apoſtle in this
place doth not only exclude external
Pharifaical Righteouſneſs, but even
inherent Graces in the matter of Ju-.
ftification.
Mr. Sher-
There is a double Antithefis in the
words 5 the righteouſnefs of the Law lock.
is oppofed to the righteoufnefs which is
by the faith of Chrift, and my own
righteouſneſs to the righteoufnefs of
God: Now the surest way to understand
the meaning of this, is to confider how
theſe phraſes are uſed in Scripture. The
righteouſneſs of the Law (as you have
already heard) is an external Righteouf-
neſs, which consists in waſhings, and pu-
rifications, and facrifices, or an external
conformity, to the Moral Law: The
righteouſneſs which is by the faith of
Christ is an internal Righteousness,
which confifts in the renovation of our
Minds and Spirits, in the government
of our thoughts and paffions, which is
there-
[366]
therefore called being born again, be
coming new creatures, rifing with
Chrift, putting off the old man, and
putting on the new, which after God
is created in righteoufnefs and true
holinefs That Righteousness, which
God requires of us under the Gospel, muſt
be an inward Principle of Love and 0.
bedience, which transforms us into the
image of God, as if we were born again
or made new creatures. The reafon why
God fent Christ into the world, to die as
a Sacrifice for our fins, and to confirm
and feal the new Covenant with his Blood,
was, that the righteoufnefs of the Law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the fleſh, but after the fpirit, Rom.
8.3, 4. δικαίωμα, that is, τὸ τέλΘ, ὁ σκου
πός, τὸ κατόρθρωμα, as St. Chryfoftome
expounds it; that which the Law was
defigned to work in them, but was found
too weak to effect it, by reason of the grea-
ter power of fin; that is, the inward
holiness and purity of mind which was
repreſented and ſignified by thofe externať
Ceremonies of Circumcifion, Washing,
Purifications and Sacrifices: This was
the defign of the Gospel, to work in us
that inward Holiness and Purity, which
is the perfection and accomplishment of
the typical and figurative Righteousness
τό
of
[367]
any
of the Law. Iknow very well that this
place is expounded of the Imputation of
Christ's Righteouſneſs ; but is there
mention here of the Righteouſneſs
of Chrift? That he fulfilled all Righ-
teouſneſs for us, that his Righte-
ousness is imputed to us, and fo we
fulfil the Righteousness of the Law in
him? The Apostle's deſign is to shew the
great Virtue of the Gospel in delivering
from the power of fin, which the Law
could not effect: The Law of the fpirit
of life in Chriſt Jeſus, (that divine and
Spiritual Law, which Chrift hath given
us, which governs our Minds, and is a
Principle of Spiritual Life) makes us
free from the Law of fin and death;
(from the power and dominion of fin,
which is called a Law, and the Law in
our Members warring against the Law of
our Minds: For what the Law could
not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh (what the Law could not do,
to deliver us from the power and domi-
nion of fin) this God effected by fending
Chrift into the world to publifh the Gofpet
to us, and confirm the Promises and
Threatnings conteined in it with, his
Blood, that the righteouſneſs of the
Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the ſpirit:
How
[368]
+
How can Imputation come in here? What
pretty 'fence would this make of the
Apostle's Argument? The Law was too
weak to make men throughly good, to
conquer their fin, reform their hearts and
lives, therefore God fent his Son into
the world; What for? to give them
better Laws, more excellent Promifes,
and more powerful affiftances to do good?
No, by no means; but to fulfil all Righte-
oufness for them, that they may fulfil the
Righteousness of the Law, not by doing
any thing themselves, but by having all
done for them, by having Chrift's Righte
ousness imputed to them: There was no
reason to abrogate the Law of Mofes for
this end, it might have continued in
force ftill, and have been as available to
Salvation as the Gospel is, with the ſup-
plemental Righteousness of Christ; but
the weakness of the Law, the Apoftle com-
plains of, was not the want of an impu-
ted Righteousness (which might have
been had as well under the Law as under
the Gospel, if God had pleafed ;) but a
want of strength and power to fubdue the
Sinful appetites of men: It was weak
through the fleth; by the prevalency of
lufts, which the Law could not conquer s
therefore the Gospel must supply this de-
fect, not by imputed Righteousness, but by
an
[369]
an addition of power to enable men to
do that which is good, to fulfil the Righ-
teousness of the Law by a fincere and spi▪
ritual Obedience.
The Righteousness of the Law (as you Answer:
have already beard) is an external Righ-
teousness: Thus the Author: We have
heard fo from the falfe, Gloffes of the
Pharifees, we have had fuch a rumour
from the Socinians, as if the Law were
but a lame imperfect thing. Socinus (as
I have him quoted by Calovius) was
not afraid to ſay, That Præcepta Veteris
Teftamenti were levia, vana, parùm Deo
digna; but furely this will not down
with Chriſtians: The Law is Sanctio
Sancta, the Image of the divine Sancti-
ty, the Summary of all Duties. The
Pfalmift in the 19. Pfalm, having fet
forth how the Glory of God breaks
forth from the Sun and Heavens, ele-.
vates his diſcourſe to the pure Law;
which, as it enlightens the inner-Man,'
is a brighter Luminary than the Sun,
which thines to Senfe; and, as it com-
prizes all Duties within it felf, is a
nobler Circle in Morality, than the
Heavens, which environ all other Bo-
dies, are in Nature: The Law of the
Lord is perfect, converting the foul; the
testimony of the Lord is pure, making
B. b'
12/2
*
[370]
wife the ſimple, faith the Pfalmift in that
place: So perfect it is, that nothing is
to be added to it, or diminiſhed from
it, Deut. 4. 3. fo fpiritual, that even
the Saints under the Goſpel are but
carnal in reſpect of it, Rom. 7.14. It
calls upon us to love the Lord with all
our heart, with all our foul, and with all
our might, Deut. 6.5. to love him in
fuch a divine degree, as to love no-
thing elſe fuprà, æquè or contrà, and is
this external Righteoufnefs? Or what
is inner purity, if this be not fo? It tells
us, Non concupifces, and fo meets with
the very firft rifings of corrupt Na-
ture, with the very motions and titil-
lations of the flesh; it would have an
heart all of purity and holiness, with-
out any or reliques of corrup
tion in it, and what can be more di-
vine? St. Paul therefore faith, that in
his Pharifaiſm he was weis vóux, with-
out the Law, becauſe without a fenfe
of its ſpiritual Nature, Rom. 7.9. Un-
lefs we own its divine Spiritualty, we
are as it were without it. In a word,
whatſoever it be that makes up the
juſt poſture of Man towards God or
his Fellow-creatures, is there delinea-
ted in fuch accuracy and full perfecti-
on, as no man in this life, but Jehovah
our
[371]
our rightcoufneß only, ever arrived at e
But to go on with the Author, The
Righteousness, which is by the Faith of
Chrift, is internal: This God requires of
as under the Gospel. Thus the Author;
To which I answer, The Author, pag-
259. makes the Righteouſneſs of Faith
in thoſe under the Old Teftament, di-
ſtinct from the Righteouſneſs which is
by the Faith of Chrift; and here he
makes the Righteouſneſs which is by
the Faith of Chriſt, to conſiſt in inter-
nal holiness and renovation: But fure-
ly there were New Creatures under
the Old Teſtament, as well as there are,
under the New; Job was a perfect, an
upright man; and therefore a New
Creature: David a man after Gods own.
heart, and therefore a New Creatúre :
without this internal renovation there
could not have been that circumici-
fion of the heart, Deut. 30. 6. nor
the law in the heart, which is made
the Character of a righteous man, Pfal.
37.31. That Covenant of writing the
Law in the heart, Jer. 31. 33. was in
fubftance one and the fame in both
Teftaments: Thofe under the Old Te-
ftament, unleſs regenerate, could ne-
ver have entred fo holy a place as Hea-
ven, that navyees, or general Affem-
Bb z
My
[372]
4
bly (which takes in all the Saints of
the Old Teſtament) is the Church of
the first born, Heb. 12. 23. There are
none elſe but New Creatures in it:
However the Racovian Catechiſt ap-
propriates the New Creation to the
New Teftament;yet I muſt affert,that it
was under both Teftaments; but un-
der neither was it the juſtifying Righte-
ouſneſs: But the Author goes on, God
fent his fon into the world, that the
righteousnes of the Law might be ful-
filled in us, Rom. 8. 3, 4. that we might
have inward holineß and purity, that we
might be delivered from the power of fin,
and that by the Law of the Spirit of life
in Christ: Thus the Author, to which
I anſwer, God fent his Son indeed in-
to the world, that we might be fancti-
fied by his Spirit; but that was not all,
he fent him, that we might be juftified
by his Elood and Righteouſneſs; to
which purpoſe it will be worth while
to confider that place, Rom.8. The A-
poſtle in the first verse, fets forth be-
lievers, men in Chrift, by two excel-
lent things; first, by Juſtification, There
is no condemnation to them ; no,though
there be reliques of corruption in them,
as is imported in the feventh Chapter,
there is none; and then by Sanctifi-
cation
[373]
cation, which is in conjunction with
the other; they walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit: And in the other
verfes he confirms both, but inverſo or-
dine, firſt, he confirms their Sanctifica-
tion,from the great Origen of it;the ho-
ly Spirit, The Law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jefus hath made me free from the
Law of fin and death,verf.2. The power
of the holy Spirit hath fubdued the
power of fin; and then he confirms
their Juſtification from the ſufferings
of Chriſt (with which his active obe-
dience is to be taken in conjunction)
What the Law could not do in that, it
was weak through the flesh; God fending
his own Son, in the likeness of finful flesh,
and for fin condemned fin in the flesh,
verf. 3. Their fins were condemned in
the flesh of Chrift; there was an atone-
ment made for them, which certainly
muſt relate to Juſtification: from theſe
fufferings of Chrift (with which his a-
ative obedience muſt be taken in con-
junction) the Apoſtle inferrs, That the
righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us,
verf.4. The Law was not able to ju-
ſtifie us, for want of a perfect obedi-
ence in us; but God tranflated the
impletion of the Law upon Chriſt;
Chrift fulfilled all Righteouſneſs for
Bb 3
us,
[374]
Salvation.
us: Chrift bore the wrath of God for
ús, and (theſe things being imputed
unto us) the Righteousness of the Law
is fulfilled in us: But then the Apo-
ftle returns again to Sanctification, and
fubjoyns, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit ; aſſuring us, that
thoſe who are juftified by the imputed
Righteoufnefs of Chrift, are alfo San-
ctified and led by his holy Spirit : This
I take to be the meaning of the place:
But let us hear our Church treating up-
on this place in conjunction with other
1. Hom. of Scriptures: St. Paul faith, Rom. 3. We
are juſtified freely by his grace, through
the redemption which is in Chrift: And
Rom.10. Chrift is the end of the Law
for righteousness to every one that be-
lieveth: And Rom.8. That which was
impoffible by the Law; in as much, as it
was weak by the flesh; God fending his
own Son, in the fimilitude of finful flesh,
by fin, damned ſin in the flesh; that thẻ
righteousness of the Law might be ful-
filled in us, which walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit: In these places
the Apostle toucheth three things, which
must go together in our Justificati-
on upon Gods part his great mercy
5*
and grace; upon Christ's parte justice z
that is, the fatisfaction of God's juftice,
}
}
i
[375]
or the price of our redemption, by the
offering of his body, and hedding of his
Blood with fulfilling of the Law perfectly
and throughly; and upon our part true
and lively Faith in the merits of Jeſus
Chriſt, which yet is not ours, but by Gods
working in us: So that in our Justifi-
cation is not only Gods Mercy and Grace,
but also his Justice, which the Apoftle call-
eth the Justice of God, and it confifteth
in paying our ranſom, and fulfilling of
the Law: And fo the Grace of God doth
not shut out the Justice of God in our
Juftification, but only fbutteth out the ju-
stice of man; that is to say, the juſtice
of our works, as to be merits of deſerv-
ing our juſtification. And therefore St.
Paul declareth here nothing upon the be-
half of man, concerning his justification,
but only a true lively Faith, which never-
theleẞ is the gift of God, and not man's
only work without God; and yet that
Faith doth not shut out Repentance, Hope,
Love, Dread, and the fear of God to be
joyned with Faith in every man that is
justified, but it fhutteth them out from the
office of justifying; fo that although they
be all prefent in him that is juftified;
yet they justifie not all together. Theſe
are the excellent words of our Church,
worthy (without flattery be it ſpoken)
Bb &
to
[376]
}
to be written in Letters of Gold, but
much more in the hearts of all true
Chriſtians: We ſee here, that there is
in juſtification nothing on the behalf of
man but Faith only; no, internal Holi-
nefs, Repentance, Hope, Love, Fear of
God, are in the juftified, but ſhut out
from the office of juftifying: God's
Grace, and Chrift's Righteoufneſs are
the great cauſes of juſtification: But
faith the Author, Is there here any men-
tion of Chrift's Righteousness, or the im-
putation thereof? Ianfwer, Our Church
furely thought fo, and we have his
paffive Righteouſneſs expreffed, verf.3.
and where that is expreffed, the active
is implied: This is clear, when the
Scripture faith, That we are made righte-
ous by Chrift's obedience, Rom.5. 19. It
doth include his blood alſo, and when
he faith, That we are juftified by his
blood, Rom.5.9. It doth include his a-
Яtive obedience alfo, fo that the Scrip-
ture (becauſe it expreffes juftification
by both, and becauſe it muſt be con-
fiftent with it felf) in expreffing the
one, includes the other: When there-
fore, Rom.8.3. his fufferings are expreff-
ed, his active obedience is alfo includ-
ed, both therefore are intended, and
withall an imputation, without which
they
[377]
they cannot be profitable to us: But
faith the Author, The Law could not da
it; that is, the Law could not deliver
from the power of fin. I answer, The
Law could not do it of it felf, and
without the Spirit of Chrift; but if
that divine Spirit take the Law into
its hand, and write it in the heart, I
ſuppoſe there will be a New Creature:
But the Author faith, That the righte-
ousness of the Law may be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit, verf.4. How can imputation come
in here? What pretty fence will this
make of the Apostles argument? I an-
fwer, The fence is very clear, the
Righteouſneſs of the Law is fulfilled
in us, by Chrift's Righteouſneſs im-
puted to us; and withall, we to whom
that is imputed, walk after the Spirit;
the one is our Juſtification, the other
our Sanctification: Both the Apoſtle
proves to be in Believers, and both con-
fift very well together, as appears from
the firſt verſe: There is no condemnati-
on to them that are in Chrift, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the ſpirit.
The, No condemnation, appertains to
Juftification, and the walking after
the Spirit to Sanctification, and both
ſtand very well together: As to what
the
[378]
lock.
the Author faith afterwards, That there
was no reaſon to abrogate Mofes's Law, it
might have availed to Salvation; as well
as the Gospel,with the fupplemental righte-
ouſneſs of Christ, there might have been
an imputed righteouſneß as well under
the Law, as under the Gospel. I answer,
That I conceive, that the Moral Law
delivered by Mofes, obliges us Chriſti-
ans, as I have before proved; and I
ſuppoſe our Church is of that mind
too; for I cannot imagine, that ſhe
fhould in her Catechiſm inſtruct Chil-
dren in an abrogated Law: How there
ſhould be an imputed Righteouſneſs
without a Gofpel, I know not; it
pleaſed God to found the Goſpel upon
a λÚT, a fatisfaction, and that cannot
be, or be profitable to us without an
imputation: The impotency of the
Law was, as I noted before, that it
could not juſtifie us for want of perfect
obedience: But God tranflated the
impletion of the Law upon Chrift; and
his Righteoufnefs being made ours
by imputation, the Law is faid to be
fulfilled in us.
Mr.Sher- To the fame purpoſe the Apostle dif
courſes, Rom.7. 4,5,6. Wherefore, my
Brethren, you alſo are become dead to
the Law, by the body of Chrift, (who
put
[379]
put an end to that imperfect diſpenſation
by his death) that you ſhould be mar-
ried to another, even to him who is
raiſed from the dead, that we ſhould
bring forth fruit unto God; for when
we were in the flesh, (under that car-
nal and fleshly diſpenſation of the Law of
Moſes) the motions of fins, which were
by the Law (which grew more boifte-
rous and unruly by the prohibitions of the
Law, verf.8) did work in our members
to bring forth fruit unto death; That
is, did betray us to thoſe wicked actions,
which end in death: But now we are
delivered from the Law; that being
dead, in which we were held, that we
ſhould ſerve in newneſs of the Spirit,
and not in the oldneſs of the Letter:So
that the reaſon why the Law of Moſes
was abrogated, was, becauſe it could not
make men good, it nurſed them up in a
ritual external Religion, taught them to
ferve God in the Letter by Circumcifion,
Sacrifices, or external conformity to the
Letter of the Law; but the Goſpel of
Chrift alone teacheth us, to worship God in
the Spirit; to offer a reaſonable Sacrifice
to him; to fulfill the dialoux vous, all the
internal Righteousness, of which thoſe le-
gal Ceremonies were the Signs and Sacra-
ments: This is the plain meaning of the
Apoftle
1
[380]
Answer.
Apoftles, which can never be reconciled
with imputed Righteousneß, which would
make his argument fooliſh and abfurd :
Therefore he tells us in other places, what
little reaſon we have to be ſo zealous for
the Law of Mofes, fince we have the per-
fection of it in the Gospel: what need is
there of the circumcifion of the flesh,
which the Law required? When in the
Gospel we have the circumcifton made
without hands, Saiwux, of that fleshly
circumcifion: What need of legal wash-
ing and purgations? When they are all
fulfilled in the washing of regeneration,
in the Gospel baptifm: Thus we are com-
pleat in Christ, who bath perfectly in-
fructed us in the will of God, and in-
ftituted fuch a Religion as is the perfecti-
on of all Ceremonies, Col. 2. We must
now offer another Sacrifice, than the Law
of Mofes commanded, not the Sacrifices
of dead beafts, but of a living and active
foul, Rom. 12.
The Apoſtle, Rom. 7. verf. 4. Shews
that we are dead to the Law by the body of
Chrift; that is, by Chrift crucified, we
have remiffion, and the holy Spirit,
and ſo are dead to the curfing and ir-
ritating power of the Law, that we
might bring forth fruits of holy works
to God: Before, when we were in the
Aleſh
[381]
>
fleſh, in our corrupt unregenerate e-
ſtate, the motions of fin, which were
accidentally irritated by the Law, did
work in our members to bring forth
fruit unto death; that is, to bring
forth finful actions which tend to
death, verf. 5. But now faith the Apo-
ftle, we are delivered from the Law,from
the curfe and irritating power of it,
That being dead wherein we were held,
that we should ferve in newness of Spirit,
and not in the oldneß of the Letter, verſ.
6. That is, in thofe new Divine Prin-
ples, which our ſpirits have from Gods,
not in the old nature, which by the
outward Letter of the Law is irritated
unto fin: This I think is the fcope of
the Apoſtle, he difcourfes of the rege-
nerate and unregenerate; the one dead
to the Law, the other irritated by it;
he diſcourſes not of the difference be-
tween those under the Old Teſtament,
and thoſe under the New ; for the
regenerate under the Old Teftament,
were dead to the curfing and irritating
Law; they had internal Righteouf-
nefs, which the Author calls Sinαiwμα
vóμs; they had the circumcifion of the
heart, Deut. 30. 6. which in the Au
thor is the Sinaiaua, of the fleshly circum-
cifion, they had the law in the heart,
Pfal.
[382]
Pfal.37.31. And by confequence they
had true regeneration, in which (faith
our Author) all the legal washings and
purifications are fulfilled; they were
not irritated by the Law, but delight-
ed in it, as in their joy, choice, treaſure,
hony-comb of fweetnefs,and what not,
as appears in the Pfalms: They ferved
in the newness of the Spirit, in new Di-
vine Principles, which they had from
the holy Spirit, in the eafinefs of the.
New Creature; to which the Will of
God is natural: Even in their Rituals
and Sacrifices, they knew all muſt be
done in newneſs of Spirit, in the ex-
erciſes of internal Graces. The very
Heathens themſelves, thought that they
were to Sacrifice, Mente candidâ, &
expurgatâ confcientiâ: How much more
did the fervants of God under the Old
Teſtament do fo; they knew, that
there were better Sacrifices than the
outward ones: Sacrifices of righteouf-
neß, Pfal.4.5. And facrifices of a broken
Spirit, Pfal. 50. 17. They underſtood,
that the heart, the truth in the inward
parts, was more than all the reſt: On
the other hand, the unregenerate un-
der the New Teftament, they are in the
fleſh; the motions of fin carry all be-
fore them; they have nothing of in-
ternal
[383]
ternal Righteouſneſs, they are uncir-
cumcifed in heart, as well as in fleſh;
they are baptized, yet want the naiw
ux, of regeneration; they are irritated
by the Law, their inward malignity
fwells and riſes againſt the holy com-
mands which ſtand in Scripture as fo
many damms and bars to their impe-
tuous lufts: Whatever they do in E-
vangelical Ordinances, they do all in
the oldneſs of the Letter, the Letter,
the outward Rule preffes them to Du-
ty; but there is no inward acting of
Faith, no fuavity of Love or holy Af-
fections; all is done in a dead, dull,
flat manner, nothing is minded but the
opus operatum, the meer external work.
By this we fee clearly where the diffe-
rence lies: Its true, the Ceremonials
of Moſes were abrogated by Chriſt,
but, I fuppofe, the Moral Law was not,
its own intrinfecal Rectitude and Righ-
teouſneſs immortalizes it fo, that it
ſtands faſter than the Pillars of Heaven
and Earth, and muſt be ſo as long as
God's God, and Man Man: The Rea-
fon of Man muſt be bound in duty to
point to God as the Primum Verum,
and the Will of Man to refign to him
as the Primum Amabile : theſe are Foun-
dations never to be fhaken : The
δικαίο
[384]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
δικαίωμα
Snaigua, of the Law amounts to fo
much more than the inherent Righte-
ouſneſs of all Saints put together,that it
is no were to be found,but in the perfect
fpotless obedience of Chrift; neither
can that be made ours but by impu-
tation.
Hence Chrift is Tλ vóμx, the end
of the Law, the perfection and accom-
plishment of it, for Righteoufnels to
them that believe,Rom.10 4. That is,the
Gospel of Chrift requires that Righteous-
nefs of us, which the Law did only typifie
and repreſent, that holineß and purity of
mind; which is the perfection of all legal
Righteousness: For that Christ fhould be
the end of the Law, by imputation of his
Righteousness to us, hath no foundation
in the Text. The Apoſtle explains what
he means by this in the following verſes,
where he gives us a defcription of the
righteousness of the Law, and the righte-
oufness of Faith: The righteousness of
the Law is an external conformity, to the
letter of the Law; the man that doth
them ſhall live in them; that is, fhall
enjoy all the Temporal Bleffings of Cana-
an, which were promifed to the obfer-
vance of the Law: But the Righteous-
nefs of Faith, is a firm and ftedfast be-
lief of the Divine Authority of Christ,
that
[385]
that he is the Lord, and more particulary
a belief of his Refurrection from the
dead, as the last and great confirmation
which God gave to the divinity of Chrift's
Perfon and Doctrine: This is that Faith
that overcometh the world, and puri-
fies the heart, and transforms us into
the likeneſs of God; which is the
però.
fection of all the ritual righteousness of
the Law. Upon this account Chrift is
Said to be made to us Righteonfness,
I Cor.1.20. He of God is made to us
Wiſdom, Righteousness, Sanctification,
and Redemption: He is our Wiſdom,
as he is our great Prophet who inftructs us
in true Wisdom; our Righteoufnefs, as
we are justified by Faith in him, by a fin-
cere belief of his Gospel, which is the on-
ly Righteoufnefs acceptable to God; our
Sanctification, because the law of the
fpirit of life in him makes us free from
the law of fin and death; our Re-
demption, as by these means he hath de-
livered us from the bondage of the Jew-
ifh Law, from the idolatrous Customs of
the Heathens, and the tyranny of wicked
Spirits, and the wrath of God, which is
the merit of fin.
Christ is the end of the Law, even of
the Moral Law, and what did that call Appeara
for? Not external Conformity only,
C €
bus
[386]
ร
but all Holiness and Righteouſneſs
and that in pure finless perfection; this
our Faith or inherent Graces, becauſe
imperfect, can never amount to: The
Law therefore hath its end only in the
perfect spotless Righteoufnefs of Chriſt,
and, that being made over to Believers
by Imputation, Chrift is truly faid to
be the end of the Law for righteousness
to the believer. The man that doth them
Shall live in them, Rom. 10. 5. that is,
faith the Author, fhall enjoy the tempo-
ral bleffings of Canaan. Indeed the Ra-
covian Catechift will go no further;
Nufquam in Lege Mofis reperies vitam æ-
ternam promiſſam, faith he : But we
find the Saints in the Old Teſtament
fixing their Faith upon eternal Life;
My Redeemer liveth, and I fhall fee him,
faith Job, Job. 19. 25, and 27. Abraham
defireth a better country, that is, an hea-
venly, Heb. 11. 16. The juſt ſhall live by
his faith,Hab.2. 4. which is interpreted
of eternal Life, Rom. 1. 17. Whosoever
Shall call on the name of the Lord fhall be
Javed, Joel 2. 32. that is, with eternal
Life, as it is applied, Rom. 10. 13. Paul
faid no other things, than the Prophets
and Mofes did, Act, 26. 22. and yet
furely he spake of eternal Life: Mofes
and the Prophets are frequent in pro-
mifing
[387]
mifing the Meffiah, and in him all the
Promiſes are contained. Do this and
live, is meant of eternal Life; a Curſe,
that is eternal Death, is threatned to
the violaters of the Law, Gal. 3. 10.
therefore Life and that eternal is pro-
mifed to the keepers of it. When the
Lawyer asked, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life? our Saviour anſwered
him, that he must keep the Law, Luk.
10. 25, 28. If the Law did not pro-
miſe eternal Life, then it did not threa-
ten eternal Death, and by confequence
Chriſt, who redeemed us from the
Curfe of the Law, redeemed us only
from a temporal one: But to pafs on.
Chrift of God is made unto us righteous-
nes, 1 Cor. 1. 30. that is, faith the Au-
thor, we are justified by Faith in him,
by a fincere belief of his Gospel: That
we are juftified by Faith in Chriſt, I
acknowledge, but not in the Authors
fence; he makes Faith properly and as
an Act to juſtifie; he makes the nature
of Faith to conſiſt only in a firm afſent:
But I have before proved, that Faith
juſtifies as it receives Chrift and his
Righteousness; and that juftifying
Faith,, over and above affent, includes
in it a fiducial Recumbency. Christ
is made to us righteouſneß one of theſe
Cc 2
two
[388]
two ways, either by the Graces of his
holy Spirit imparted to us, or elfe by
his perfect Obedience imputed to us:
He is not made Righteousness to us by
the Graces of his Spirit imparted to us,
for with respect to thefe he is made
Sanctification to us; and Sanctification
and Juſtification must not be confound-
ed: As we have holy Graces from
him to fanctifie us, fo we have Righ-
teouſneſs from him to juftifie us: He
is therefore our Righteoufnefs, becauſe
his perfect Righteoufnefs by Imputati-
on becomes ours. Bellarmine,fpeaking
of this place, at first interprets it of
the inherent Righteoufnefs in us, which
comes from Chrift; but afterwards, as
convicted of the truth, he faith, Nobis
De juftif. imputari Chrifti juftitiam & merita,
11.2.c¹p. cùm nobis donentur & applicentur, ac
10.
fi nos ipfi Deo fatisfeciffemus; That the
Righteousness and Merits of Chrift are im-
puted to us, when they are given and ap-
plied to us, as if we our felves had fatif
fied God. Further, our Author upon
this Text faith, That Christ is our wif
dom, as he is our Prophet; our Righte-
oufnels, as we are juftified by believing
the Gospel; our Sanctification, as we
have the Law of the Spirit of life; and
our Redemption, as by these means
he
[389]
be hath delivered us. I fee not what
room is left here for the redeeming
Blood of Chrift; nevertheless I fup-
poſe the Author meant to include the
fame.
lock.
This is the пgãтov Jevd, the foun- Mr. Sher
dation of all other mistakes, that by the
Righteousness of the Law, and the Righ-
teousness of Works, most men underſtand
an internal Holineß, and then conclude
That if this Righteousness will not pleafe
God, nothing but an imputed Righteous-
nes can; though I should rather have
concluded that nothing can: But the
truth is, the Righteousness of the Law and
of Works in the New Testament fignifies
only an external Righteousness, which
cannot pleaſe God; and that internal
Holines, which they call the Righteouf
nes of the Law, is that very Righteouf
ness of Faith, which the Gospel commands,
and which God approves and rewards,
and this imputed Righteousness is no
where to be found, that Iknow of, but in
their own Fancies.
The Righteousness of the Law and of Answer,
Works in the New Testament fignifies
only an external Righteousness: Thus
the Author: And yet before the Au-
thor quoting that Text, Rom. 8. That
the righteousness of the Law might be
Cc 3
fulfilled
[390]
fulfilled in us, interprets it of internal
holiness in us: I confefs it is not meant
of our internal Holineſs; but neither
doth it fignifie external Righteouſneſs
only: The righteousness of the Law,
Phil. 3.6. doth by the circumftances
of the Text intend only an external
Righteouſneſs; but the righteousness of
the Law, ver. 9. reaches to an internal
one; for, as I before noted, the Apo-
ſtles fpeech there is progreffive,and ex-
preffes more than it did before. The
Works of converted Abraham are ex-
cluded from Juftification, Rom. 4. 2.
and yet furely they were more than
external ſhadows; By the works of the
law shall no flesh be justified, Gal. 2. 16.
not only the Pharifee with his exter-
nal Righteouſneſs, but no flesh, not
the holiest man on earth fhall be ju-
ftified by the works of the Law. The
Law in the New Teftament plainly
calls for internal Holiness; it is a holy,
juft, good, fpiritual Law, forbidding
Concupifcence, the very first rifings
and imperfect births of Corruption,
Rom. 7. commanding the love of God
with all the Heart, Soul and Mind,
Matth. 22. 37. And therefore it would
be very ſtrange, if the Righteouſneſs
or the Works of this Law (which is
repre-
[391]
repreſented in the New Teftament as a
divine fpiritual Law) ſhould in the fame
New Teſtament fignifie no more than
external Righteoufnefs, no more than
the meer shell or outward fuperficies
of true Sanctity, and that too in E-
piftles written not to Jews or Pharis
fees, who hung about the Letter of the
Law, but to the Romans, Galatians
Philippians, who, I fuppofe, underſtood
it better: They could not but fee
fome hints of inward Purity in the
Books of Pagan Philofophers; and
it is inimaginable, that they fhould
look for lefs in the Law of God:
Though the Pharifees, who had only
an external Righteouſneſs themſelves,
conftrued that Law, according to their
Model; yet why the believing Ro-
mans, Galatians, Philippians, who had
internal Graces in themſelves, ſhould
do ſo, I fee no reafon: Neither is it
to me credible, that the Romans, who
in the Epistle to them had the pure
Spirituality of the Law fet before them,
fhould ever conftrue the Righteouf
nefs or Works of the Law mentioned
in that Epiſtle to be only external.
As for internal Holiness, God indeed
approves of it, but not as that which
is the matter of our Righteouſneſs in
Juftification.
Cc 4
Let
[392]
Mr. Sher-
fack.
Let us now confider in what fence the
Apoſtle oppoſes his own Righteousneß ta
the Righteousness of God; and there is
no great difficulty in this; for the Apo-
file tells us, that by his own Righteouf
nes he means the Righteousness of the
Law, and by the Righteousness of God
the Righteousness of Faith; and what
that is you have already heard
Thus in
Rom. 10. 3. For they being ignorant
of Gods righteoufnefs, and going a-
bout to eſtabliſh their own righteouf-
nefs, have not fubmitted to the righ-
teouſneſs of God: Where, their own
Righteousness, which the Jews fo obfti-
nately adhered to, was the Righteouſneß
of the Law; and the Righteousness of
God, which they were ignorant of, and
would not fubmit to, was the Righteous
ness of Faith For this was the great
Controverfie between the Jews and Apo-
files (which is the Subject of this Epistle)
Whether men were to be justified by the
Law of Mofes, or by the Gospel of Chrift,
by a Legal or Evangelical Righteousness,
as appears from Rom. 9.3. Ifrael, who
followed after righteouſneſs, hath not
attained to the Law of righteouſneſs;
wherefore? Becauſe they fought it not
by faith, but as it were by the works
of the Law; that is, The Ifraelites,
who
[393]
who pursued fo earnestly after Righteouf
nes, are excluded from Righteousness or
forgiveness of fins, and are under a
Curfe, because they did not look for Righ-
teousness and Justification in the way,
which God prefcribed, which is by Faith
in Chrift or by Christianity, but by the
obfervance of the Law of Mofes. Now the
most obvious reaſon, why the Righteous-
nefs of the Law is called their own Righ-
teouſneſs, and the Righteouſneſs of Faith
Gods Righteouſneſs, is, becauſe this Le-
gal Righteousness was a way of Justifica-
tion, not of Gods appointment, but
their own chufing; God never defigned
that any man should be justified to eter-
nal Life by obferving the Law of Moſes,
but yet they confidently expected Juſtifi-
cation by that Law, and for that reafon
rejected the Gospel of Christ: But the
Righteousness of Faith is a Righteouſneſs
of God's chufing, this he approves and
accepts of for the Juftification of a finner:
By
this the Elders obtained a good re-
port; by this Enoch and Noah and A-
braham were juſtified before God: And
therefore this may well be called the
Righteousness of God, because this he
appointed, and this he will own and
reward.
Our own Righteoufnefs is, I confefs, Answer:
the
[394]
the Righteouſneſs of the Law, and
the Righteouſneſs of God is a Righte-
ouſneſs by Faith, or through Faith
becauſe Faith receives it, but it is not
Faith it ſelf; The righteouſneſs of God
is reveiled from faith to faith, Rom. 1.
17. Were Faith it felf the Righteouf-
nefs of God, the words muſt amount
to no more than this; Faith is reveiled
from Faith to Faith. We are made the
righteouſneſs of God in him, 2 Cor. 5.
21. and who ever conſtrued thoſe
words thus, We are made Faith in him?
Faith is inherent in our ſelves, but the
Righteouſneſs of God is in Chriſt, who
is Jehovah our Righteousness. The Jews
went about to establish their own righte
oufness, Rom. 10. 3. but it doth not
appear, that that was a meer external
one; we find, that they had a zeal of
God, Ver. 2. which furely was internal.
Zeal is a mixture of Love and Anger:
They had, at leaſt in pretence, a love
to God and his Glory; and an anger
at the Chriſtian Faith, as fuppofing it
an enemy to God and his Law. All
the Jews were not Pharifees, nor did
they ſtick meerly in the Letter or husk
of external Righteousness; the Scribe
could fay, That the love of God with
all the heart, was more than all burnt-
offerings
[395]
offerings and facrifices, Mark 12.33,
and ſome Jewiſh Rabbins ſay, That the
heart of man answers to the holy place;
there a place must be made for the Sheci
nah, the divine Majesty to dwell in,
and it must be the holy of Holies. No
queſtion the Jews, at leaſt fome of
them, did know, that there muſt be
fome inward Sanctity; but ftill they
ſtuck in their own Righteoufnefs, they
would not ſubmit to be juſtified by
the Righteoufnefs of another. Our
inherent Graces, as before I noted,
are called our own in Scripture, but
never the Righteouſneſs of God; that
is not our own but anothers, that is,
Chriſt's, and made ours only by Im-
putation. Ifrael followed after righte-
onfness, but attained not to the Law of
righteousness; wherefore? Because they
fought it not by faith, but, as it were, by
the works of the Law, Rom. 9. 31. they
attained not to the Law of Righteouf
nefs Had the Righteoufness of the
Law been only an external one, they
might have reached it; but the Law
called for all Righteouſneſs and that in
pure finleſs perfection, and that they
attained not, becauſe they fought it
not in Chriſt, in whom perfect Righ-
teouſneſs is, but in themſelves, where
}
it
[396]
it could not be found: But to go on,
God never defigned that any man should
be justified to eternal life, by obſerving
the Law of Mofes: So the Author: Its
true, God never intended to juſtifie
us fallen Creatures by our own Righte-
ouſneſs, or by the Righteouſneſs of the
Law performed by us: But if (as the
Author told us before) Abel and E-
noch were justified by a belief of the
Principles of natural Religion : If Noah
was justified by believing the Deluge; if
Abraham was juſtified by believing the
particular Revelations made to him, why
might not the Jews be juftified by be-
lieving the Law of Moses? Abraham
and all the good men in thoſe days were
juftified by ſuch a firm belief of the Being
and Providence of God, and the partcular
Revelations made to them, as made them
careful in all things to pleafe God: Thus
the Author, pag. 255. Why might not
Jews before the Incarnation of Chriſt
be juſtified by fuch a firm belief of the
Law of Mofes, as made them careful to
pleaſe God? The Law of Mofes was
a Revelation too, in its Morals point-
ing out a perfect Sanctity and Rightes.
ouſneſs; and in its Typicals aiming
at Chrift, the body and fubftance of
them all.
There
[397]
There is one Metaphorical expreffion Mr. Sher-
ftill behind, The unfearchable riches of lock.
Chriſt, Eph. 3.8. Where by the unfearch-
able riches of Chrift is meant the Gospel:
The Apoftle calls it unfearchable riches,
becauſe the grace of the Gospel is not a
narrow ftinted thing, not confined to a
particular Nation, as the Law was, but
is offered to all mankind: The Gospel
contains thofe glorious discoveries of
God goodness to all mankind, as may
well be called the riches of his Grace :
And is it not a great violation of the
Majesty of Scripture, to ſport and toy
with words and metaphors, as ſome men
with this riches of Grace? That he is
rich, becauſe he hath a rich dowry, Brooks
having all the world given him, that he riches of
keeps open houſe, and maintains all Chrift.
the Creation, that he doth enrich all
the Saints, and all of the Saints, their
Underſtandings with glorious light,
their Conſciences with quickness, &c.
that he after all this vaft expence is ne-
ver the poorer,that he is rich in Houſes,
Lands (though he had not a place where-
on to lay his head) Gold, Silver, Tem-
porals, Spirituals, that he is the great
Lord and owner of all: Thefe are fine
things to perfwade young women to accept¸
of Chrift for their Husband.
By
[398]
Anſwer. By the unfearchable riches of Chrift,
I ſuppoſe, are meant the infinite me-
rits of Chrift; the Goſpel is the Char-
ter of them, but no more his riches,
than the Deeds and Evidences are the
Lands and Mannors, which they con-
vey: The merits of Chrift are an in-
finite inexhauſtable Treaſure, and that
becauſe the fulneſs of the Godhead
dwells in him: But, I hope, no man
will fay, that the fulneſs of the God-
head dwells in the Goſpel: I fee no-
thing of sport or toyiag in the words
of Mr. Brook, but very fober and ex-
cellent truth: Though our Saviour had
not Houſes or Lands here, yet he
promifes an hundred-fold to thoſe
which forfake them for his names fake:
That of the young women, I paſs by as
a toy, which poffibly may gratifie
fome fancies, more than they do mine.
Mr.Sher-
lock.
T¹
SECT. III.
He union of perfons between Chrift
and Believers, which gives them
a propriety in all the perfonal graces of
Christ is commonly explained by a con-
jugal relation, and legal union, that mu-
tual relation which is betwixt Husband
and
[399]
and Wife; and that union, which is be-
twixt the furety and debtor : Now thefe
men ſay, That the Wife hath an intereſt
in her Husbands Eſtate, and is fecured
from all arrefts of the Law: And there-
fore, Chrift being our Hushand, all
his perfonal Excellencies, Righteouf
nefs, &c. are ours, and the Law can-
not take hold of us, but our Husband
muſt be reſponſable for our faults: A
very hard Law truly; and I think a Huf-
band is in a very ill cafe, when he has a
bad Wife. Now suppose this were the
cafe in fome earthly Marriages, it were
worth while to confider, whether this be
effential to Marriage: Or whether it de-
pends upon private contracts or publick.
Laws, which are arbitrary and muta-
ble; for if this be effential to Marriage.
how can we be fecure, that this is the Law
of our Spiritual Marriage, unless our Spi-
ritual Husband had told us fo; especially
confidering that this Spiritual Marriage
betwixt Chrift and his Church, is of a dif-
ferent nature from earthly Marriages ;
and if they differ in any thing, we cannot
be fure, but that they differ in this, un-
leẞ we have ſome better proof of it; than
this Analogy between earthly and Spiri-
tual Marriages: Nay, and better proof
too, than Dr. Owen gives us of it,
Cant.
[400]
Cant. I. Behold! thou art fair,thou haſt
Doves eyes: Cant. 3. 14. O my Dove!
thou art in the clefts of the rock: Or
Cant. 4.8. Come with me from Leba
non; look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Shenir and Hermon ;
from the lyons dens, and the mountains
of the leopards: Or Ifai. 4. 2. The
branch of the Lord is beautiful and
glorious and the fruit of the earth is
excellent and comely to them that are
eſcaped of Ifrael: Which are all the
proofs he can find for Chrift's giving
himself to the foul with all his excel-
lencies: Now how any such confequence
as this can be drawn from Doves eyes,
or the clefts of the rock, or from Leba-
non, Amana, Shenir, Hermon, or from
the lyons dens, or mountains of leo-
pards, is past my underſtanding to make
out: But let the Laws of Kingdoms and
Nations be as they will, there can be no
Law made to alter the nature of things;
there never was any Law, that the perſo-
nal virtues, and qualities, and perfecti-
ons of the Husband should be fettled on
his Wife for a joynture ; though the Huf
band be never fo fair, wife, virtuous, his
Wife may be ugly, a fool, or an harlot;
for perfonal excellencies paß not out of
the perfon, nor can be made over to any
3
other
[401]
other, as Aloney and Lands are: By our
Marriage to Chrift; his perſonal excel-
lencies cannot be ours, though his per-
fon were. In Marriages there are pris
vate contracts; and the truth is, Chrift
hath not made fuch an abſolute ſettlement
of himself upon us, as these men dream
he hath: for the Gospel contains the Ar-
ticles of this Marriage; and there we
must learn to what purpoſes, and upon
what conditions Chrift gives himself to
us, and must challenge no more from
Christ by vertue of our Marriage to him,
than what the Gospel, the Marriage Cove-
nant promiſes; and we find nothing there
of his perſonal Righteousneß to be madė
ours: And for what they tell us, That a
woman under covert is not liable to an
arreft at Law; but all muſt fall upon
her Husband: It is true as to matters
of debt but does not extend to crimes z if
a woman kill or rob, her being under co
vert fecures her not from the Gallois ?
How Secure foerier any van mov fancy.
himfelf of his Asarriage to Chry, • ¿could
not advije biṁ to venture too much
uрor
it; for if he be guilty of any großwilful
fin, there is fome dinger, that the Law or
Gospel may condemn bin, unleß be time-
ly repent, and reform: When the Scrip
tires calls Christ our, Husband, and the
P J
Church
[402]
Answer.
Church his Spouſe; it means no more
but that Christ is our Head and Gover-
nour, who rules his Church with as great
kindness, tenderneß, and compaffion, as
an Husband exercifeth towards his Wife,
and that we are to pay the fame Love,
Duty, and Obedience to Chrift, that Wives
owe to their Husbands: And here we
must have done with the Metaphor, un-
less we will turn Religion into a Ro-
mance.
Chrift being our Husband, his Righte-
oufness is ours; the Law cannot take hold
of us, our Husband must be reſponſable
for our faults: But this is a very hard
Law (faith the Author) and the Huf-
band in a very ill cafe: In truth our
Husband, though the eternal Son of
God, was made under the Law,wound-
ed, bruiſed, caft into a bloody ſweat,
made a curſe; and (as the Septuagint
hath it, Ifai.55.3.) he was veg is
άνθρωπο
πληγή ν
wλnyй av, a man fet in the stroke of
Gods wrath: But all this he was, not
by chance or fortune, but out of
choice and unparallelled Love to his
Spouſe: The effentials of Marriage lie
in a narrow room, a confent per verba
de præfenti does it; but the juft necef-
fary confequents of it, are, as the Civi-
lians tells us, Confortium omnis vitæ,
divini
[403]
divini & humani juris communicatio 3
the Wife participates of his facred and
civil good things; neither can it be o
therwiſe, where there is, as there is in
Marriage, fuch an intimate union of
minds and bodies; there muſt needs be
a communio bonorum,nature and reaſon
tells us; that theWife in fo near an union
muſt have T Seovтa,alimentum & indu-
mentum, food and raiment, out of the
Husbands eſtate; Nay, and all things
in a decorum thereunto; and can we
think that Chrift fhould do lefs for his
Spouſe, when her neceffities exceed all
thoſe in nature? Will he, who infinite-
ly tranſcends all humane Relations
leave his Spouſe to the rags of her
own Righteoufnefs, or fuffer her to
perish in an eternal prifon for debt;
and that, when he hath fulfilled the
Righteouſneſs, and bore the curſe of
the Law on purpofe to cloth her, and
fatisfie for her? The whole Book of
Canticles is a divine Ditty; which,
under the parable of Marriage, ftreams
all along, as a full torrent of Spiritual
Love interchangeably paffing between
Chriſt and his Church: Well might the
Doctor bring his proof from thence:
Chrift calls his Spoufe all fair, and
Without Spot, Cant. 4.7. She was not fo
D d z
matu-
[404]
naturally, but by Marriage; neither is
The fo in this life by inherent Graces;
but by the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt put
upon her by a gracious imputation :
Chrift calls her from Lebanon, from the
top of Amana, Shenir, and Hermon, from
the lyons dens, from the mountains of the
Leopards, verf. 8. That is, from the
brutish lufts and idolatries of the
World; and he calls her thus: Come
with me, with me, my Spouſe, as if he
had faid, that he would provide for
her as a Spouſe;and therefore ſhe ſhould
come away with him: But, faith the
Author, Perfonal virtues in the Husband
were never fettled on the Wife for a Joyn-
ture, by our Marriage to Chrift; his per-
fonal excellencies cannot be made over
to us. To which, I anſwer, the Righte-
ouſneſs of Chrift cannot be made ours,
fo as to inhere in us: But it may be
made ours by imputation; or if not,
neither can his blood be imputed to
us; and by confequence there can be
no fuch thing as fatisfaction or redemp-
tion through his Blood: But for the
truth of imputed Righteoufnefs, theſe
men defire to appeal no further than
the Articles or Marriage Covenant
contained in the Goſpel, beyond this
they defire to claim nothing from
Chriſt
:
[405]
Chriſt their Husband and Saviour:
But, faith the Author, A woman under
covert is not liable to debts, but he is to
crimes. I anſwer,Our debts are crimes,
and that above Felonies; they are
High-treaſons againſt the God of Hea-
ven; and if theſe fall not on our Huf
band Chriſt, they muft fall upon us;
and then who, where is the man that
can ſtand before the Divine Tribunal?
What room can there be for the leaft
drop of mercy or forgiveness? Re-
markable is the form, that in Anfelms
time was uſed in the Vifitation of the
fick, the weak man is there directed
thus: Si Dominus Deus te voluerit judi-
care, dic Domine, mortem Domini noftri
Jefu Chrifti objicio inter me & tuum ju-
dicium,alitèr tecum non condendo; & fi
ſt
tibi dixerit, quia peccator es, dic Domi-
ne, mortem Domini nostri Jefu Chrifti
pono inter me & mea peccata: He was
not to contend with God; but to put
the death of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt be-
tween himſelf and God's Tribunal 3
and to put it between himſelf and his
fins; unless our Husband had under-
taken to diſcharge our debts, we could
never have had any poffibility of Sal-
vation.
Chriſt and Believers are legally u Mr. Sher?
Dd 3
nited,
lock.
[406]
nited, Dr. Jacomb tells us, That Chrift
is the Saints eyfu, or Surety, he ftruck
hands with God (as the words im-
ports) put himſelf into their ſtead,
took their debt upon himſelf, and
bound himſelf upon this account to
make fatisfaction to God. Now in the
Law the debtor and furety are but one
perfon; the Law looks on them as
one, and makes no difference between
them; and therefore both are equally
liable to the debt ; and if the one pay,
it is as much in the eye of the Law, as
if the other had paid it: Thus it is
with Chriſt and us; he is our Surety,
he took our debt upon himſelf,engaged
to pay what we owed; upon this
Chriſt and we are but one perſon be-
fore God; and accordingly he deals
with us; for he makes over our fins to
Chriſt, and Chriſt's Righteouſneſs and
Satisfaction to us, he now, in a legal
notion, looks upon both but as one
perlon: Now I have two things to say
to this: First, I wonder why this should
be called the union of Saints to Christ ?
Or why Chrift should be called only the
Saints Surety? The Apoftle tells us
that he is tylvos diabúuns, Heb.7.22. The
Surety of a Teftament or Covenant :
Now there is a vast difference between
Christ's
}
•
[407]
Cbrift's being the Saints furety, and the
Surety of the Covenant; for the Cove-
nant respects both Saints and Sinners ;
therefore is antecedent to our union to
Chriſt as Saints; and to be furety of the
Covenant, fignifies no more bat to confirm
this Covenant, and to undertake for the
performance of it, that all the promiſes
of it shall be made good upon fuch terms
as are annexed to them: But to be a
Surety for Saints (as the Doctor explains
it) is to ftrike hands with God, to
put himſelf in their ſtead to do and
fuffer for them. Now this notion is dif-
ferent from the notion of a Surety of a
Covenant, and ſo it wants fome better
proof. But fecondly, fuppofe Chrift had
been called the Saints furety: I doubt
they are as much out in the Law of Sure-
tiſhip, as they were before in the Laws of
Marriage: For, first, the prime end of·
furetiſhip among men, is not that the
Surety, fhall without more ado, pay the
debt: but to give fecurity to the Credi-
tor, that the debt ſhall be paid; that is,
the Surety doth not make himſelf imme-
diate Debtor; but the Debtor is Debtor
Still, and bound to pay the Debt ; and
the Surety is liable only in caſe of his de-
fault: It is a strange definition of fure-
tiship, That it is an abfolute taking
Dd 4
the
[308]
5
the debt upon our felves, and an actu-
al difeharging the Debtor. No man in
his wits ever became furety for another
when he knew before hand; that, if he
did, be must pay the debt: but men be-
come fureties upon reasonable affurance,
that they shall suffer no injury by it;
Therefore when Christ died for us, he did
not dye as our Surety, but as our Sacri-
fice fubftituted in our room, which is the
·Scripture notion of it, and differs as much
from the notion of a furety; as paying the
debt doth from being bound with another,
that it shall be paid : Suppoſe, ſecondly,
That Chrift dyed for us as our Surety ;
yet did Christ fulfill all Righteousneß for
us as our furety too? Doth this aljo ex-
actly answer the cafe of furetiſhip among
men, so as that there needs no illuftra-
tion of it? The Doctor was fo wife, that
he would not affert this in the premiſſes,
but very craftily thrusts it into the con-
clufion; That therefore God makes
over our fins to Chrift, and Chrift's
Righteoufnels and fatisfaction to us;
But was there ever fuch a furety heard of
among men, that one man should difcharge
all offices of piety, virtue, juftice, tempe-
rance instead of another ? If such a thing
had ever been, fuch a man ought not to
have been called a furety, but a proxy?.
}
But
A
[409]
But humane Laws, as many defects as
there are in them, never admitted of
fuch proxies; for theſe are perſonal du-
ties, which none can perform for us ; you
may as well fay, that a man may live and
be a man by proxy, as difcharge thofe du-
ties, which are neceffarily entailed on his
perfon by a proxy. Proxies are allowa-
ble only in fuch caſes, where the materi-
al enquiry is, whether the thing be done,
not who doth it ; but where the confidera-
tion of the person that doth it, is effential
to the action; there is no place for a fure-
ty or proxy: becauſe it doth not ſatisfie the
Law, that the thing is done, unless it be
done by such a perfon. Thus it is in all
the duties of Piety and Religion; every
individual perſon is bound to do them:
Though there were never fo many righte-
ous men in the World, there righteousnes
çan avail none but themselves; Nay, the
righteousneßof God, which is more than
all the righteousness of men cannot make
an unrighteous man righteous; no exter
nal Relation can make the righteousnes
of another ours; because it is perfonal
righteousness, that is required of us, and
the righteousness of another can never be
our perſonal righteousness, unleß we be-
come one person with him: There is no
other way to make the perfonal righteous-
ness
[410]
neß, (which is the Righteousness re-
quired of us) but by a perfonal union to
Christ, by being chrifted with Chriſt,
as fome speak, how boldly foever, yet very
agreeable to thefe principles.
Answer. Chrift is the Surety of the Covenant,
Heb.7.22. And he is our Surety alfo,
he undertook the fatisfaction of our
debts; and therefore muſt be ſuch, Lo,
I come to do thy will, O God, faith he,
Heb. 10.7. Burnt offerings and Sacri-
fices could not pay our debts: The
blood of Bulls and Goats could not
take away fin, as the Apoftle there
tells us Christ therefore undertook
the doing of it, he was ſubſtituted in
our ſtead or room be gave his life,
XÚT CHÌ 20, Matth.20.28. A price
in the room or ftead of many;
he gave
himself, άvlínuтeg, 1 Tim.2.6. A counter-
price, or vicarious price for all; he was
our aliux, his Soul was in our Souls
ſtead, which could never have been,
unleſs as our Surety he had undertaken
to fatisfie for us: The fins of us all met
upon
that holy immaculate one, Ifai. 53. 6.
He was made fin for us, 2 Cor. 5.21. Sin
by imputation, who had not the leaſt
fpot by inheſion; aud this could by
no means have been, unleſs he had un-
dertaken fatisfaction as our Surety:
St. Paul
[411]
St. Paul could never have been charged
with the debt of Onefimus, unleſs as his
Surety; neither could Chriſt have been
charged with our fins, unless he had
been ours:he was nor only charged with
our fins, but made actual fatisfaction for
them;he paid that he never took,he was
wounded for our tranſgreſſions, Ilai.53·5·
He gave himſelf for our fins, Gal.1.4. He
made fuch fatisfaction,that he blotted the
bond or hand-writing that was against us,
Col. 2. 14. And theſe things he would
never have done, unless he had taken
them upon himſelf as our Surety; he
faith of himſelf,that he came to give his
life a ransom for many, Matth.20.28. He
came for that end, as being bound by
his furetiſhip fo to do: He was there-
fore our Surety, as well as the Surety
of the Covenant: Nay, it being plain-
ly the divine pleaſure, that there fhould
be no remiffion without fhedding of blood,
that all pardoning mercy fhould iffue
out to us through a fatisfaction; unleſs
he had been our Surety, unless he had
undertaken to fatisfie for us, he could
not have been Surety of the Covenant;
he could not have fecured the leaft
Grace or Mercy to us,more than to De-
vils; for whom he would not be fure-
ty, or make any fatisfaction: Now
being
1
[412]
being our Surety, he is one with us
Conjunctione legali, and fo he is with all
thofe for whom he is Surety, fo far
forth as he is Surety for them. But
poffibly Dr. Jacomb may ſpeak of the
Saints, becauſe the Payment or Satif
faction of Chriſt hath a ſpecial afpect
upon the Elect or chofen people of
God, and is particularly applied to
Believers and Saints; whileft in the
mean time to others, who receive not
the Atonement, it is totally ineffectu-
al, and in the event, as it were, none
at all: But, faith the Author, I doubt
theſe men are as much out in the
Law of Suretiſhip, as before in the
Laws of Mariage: To which I only ſay,
I hope they are out in neither. But be-
fore I come to the Authors Objections,
I ſhall crave lieve to offer one thing
to the Readers confideration,viz. That
the Titles given to Chrift in Scripture,
are all to be taken pox, in a way
of tranſcendent Excellency and Emi-
nency, not according to the narrow
Scantling of humane Laws or Rea-
fon : Chriſt is a Sacrifice, but when did
you
ever hear of a Sacrifice that offer-
ed up it felf, or of a Sacrifice and
Prieſt both in one? Or when was there
a Sacrifice that was offered up through
the
[413]
the eternal Spirit,or that had ſuch an Al-
tar as the Deity? Chrift is a Redeemer,
but when was there a Redeemer who
paid down himſelf as a Price,and, which
is more, paid down himſelf to himſelf?
For ſo Chriſt as God-man paid down his
humane Nature to himſelfasGod.Chriſt
is a Mediator, and where is there a Me-
diator, who hath two Natures in one
Perfon, or who gave himſelf a Ran-
fom for all? And to name but one in-
ſtance more, Chrift is a Surety for us;
but where was there a Surety ever pro-
cured by the Creditor only? Or a
Surety, who took another Nature to
be ſuch in? Chrift is a Surety of the
Covenant, where there is fomething
on Gods part, and fomething on Man's;
and who ever heard, that in Articles
of agreement, or reciprocal Covenants
between Man and Man, any one be-
came Surety for a performance of both
parts or fides of the Covenants? Theſe
things plainly fhew, that Chrift is all
theſe in a way of Eminency or Tran-
fcendency: So that, unless we will be
fo bold as to fpoil him of the glory
and excellency of his Titles, we mult
by no means crowd them into the Span
of humane Laws or Reafon. This, if
confidered, will prepare a way to an
fwer
[414]
fwer the Authors Objections, which
are now to be heard: The Surety doth
not make himself immediate Debtor, he
doth not abfolutely take the debt upon
himſelf; he is liable only in cafe of the
Debtors default: No man in his wits
would be Surety for another, when he
knew beforehand, that, if he did, he must
pay the debt: Men become Sureties upon
affurance not to fuffer injury by it: Thus
the Author: To which I anfwer, Sure-
ties are uſually bound to pay in caſe of
the Debtors default, but it is not at all
material or effential to Suretifhip,whe-
ther the Debtor be folvent or not; it
is not the Debtors fufficiency, but the
Sureties own Act, which makes him a
Surety; neither can a Surety, if pro-
fecuted, plead this in Law, that the
Debtor was a Non-folvent at the time
when he became Surety: But howe-
ver it be with Sureties among men,
Jefus Chrift was a Surety after another
rate than they are: Sureties among
men undertake to pay the debt upon
a meer contingency, that is, if the
Debtor make default; but Chrift un-
dertook to fatisfie for us, not upon
contingency, but certainty: he was
delivered afín ßoλjj, by a deter-
minate Counſel ; it was down in the
eternal
ذ
[415]
eternal Rolls, that he muſt make fatif
faction for us, there was not the leaft
Salvo, or Condition, or Contingency
in it. No man in his wits will be a Sure-
ty for a known Non-folvent: But Chrift
was by his love to us fo excordiated
and raviſhed out of himſelf, that he
would be Surety for us, though known
utter Bankrupts, though under the
τὸ ἀδύνατον το νόμο, under a perfect im-
poffibility to fulfil the Law or expiate
the leaſt breach of it: Nay, he would
be a Surety for us, for this very rea-
fon, becauſe he knew, thar we were
in a loft irrecoverable condition in our
felves. The Surety doth not abfolutely
undertake the debt: But Christ our
Surety did abfolutely undertake to
make Satisfaction, he was a Surety and
a Redeemer both in one: As a Surety
he paid down his Blood for fatisfacti-
on, and as a Redeemer he paid the
fame Blood for a price of Redempti-
A Redeemer, we know, doth not
depend on the Captive for paying
the Ranſom, but abfolutely undertakes
it himſelf; and fo did Chriſt our Re-
deemer for us: And if as Redeemer he
abſolutely undertook to pay down his
Blood for a price of Redemption, then
as a Surety too, he abfolutely under-
on.
took
[416]
took to pay down the fame Blood for
fatisfaction; otherwiſe his Redeemerſhip
and Suretiſhip could not poffibly confift
together.Sureties uſe to have aſſurance to
fave them harmles: But had Chrift any?
Or was any fuch thing poffible? It
pleafed the Lord to bruife him, Ifa.53.10.
There was an abfolute dei upon his
Death and Sufferings, Matth. 16. 21.
and how could he be faved harmleſs
againſt the Decree of Heaven? Nay,
if if he could, he would not; when
Peter would have had him fpare him-
felf, he calls Peter, Satan, one who in
that particular favoured not the things
of God. Thus we fee, Chrift is a
Surety in a way of Excellency above
humane Sureties. But faith the Au-
thor, Chrift died for us, not as our Sure-
ty, but as our Sacrifice: To which I
anfwer, Chrift died for us as a Sacrifice,
but he died for us as a Surety too; no
one Notion can take in all the Excel-
lencies of his Death: Though the
Effentials of his Suretifhip lay in his
undertaking to fatisfie for us, yet the
Satisfaction it ſelf was a juft neceffary
confequent of it: As he offered up
himſelf for us, fo he died for us as a
Sacrifice; and as he undertook to fatif-
fie for us, fo he died for us as a Surety.
But
[417]
But to paſs on with the Author: If
Christ died for us as a Surety, yet did
he fulfil all Righteousness for us as a Sure-
ty too? Was there ever fuch a Surety
heard of among men, that one man
fhould discharge all Offices of Piety, Vire
tue, Justice, Temperance in ftead of an-
other? Such a man must have been call-
ed not a Surety, but a Proxy ; bắt hu-
mane Laws admit no fuch Proxies; thefe
are perfonal Duties, which none can per-
form for us; no external Relation can
make the Righteousness of another ours 3
the Righteousness of another can never be
our perſonal Righteousness, unless we be-
come one perfon with him: Thus the
Author: To which I anfwer; Here
the Author makes a great wonder at
Imputed Righteousness; Was there ever,
Such a Surety heard of among men ?
faith he: To which I anfwer, Socinus
makes as great a wonder at the impu-
tation of fin to Chrift: Ego fanè non
video quid abfurdius aut iniquius
dici potuerit, quàm jure alicui poffe ali-
ena peccata imputari; I fee nothing (faith
he) more abfurd or unequal than that
the fins of one man should be imputed to
another: Yet for all this our Divines
do maintain, that our fins were im-
puted to Chrift; and indeed there can
E é
be
[418]
be no Satisfaction without it. The
Author here complains, that Chriſt
fhould be a Surety to fulfil all Righte-
ouſneſs for us, and fo that Righteouf-
neſs ſhould be imputed to us; but if
the fin of one man may be imputed
to another, why not his Righteouf-
neſs? The Apoſtle argues from the
Imputation of Adam's Sin, to the Im-
putation of Chriſt's Righteouſneſs;
As by the offence of one judgment came
upon all men to condemnation ;fo by the
righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men to juftification of life: As
by one mans difobedience many were
made finners, fo by the obedience of one
Shall many be made righteous, Rom. 5.
18, 19. What can be more expreſs, if
our Reaſon would fubmit to it? Bi-
De juftit. Shop Davenant tells us, that, Christus
babit.cap. Sponsor pro nobis factus noftro nomine
28,
non modò fubivit perpeffionem Crucis, fed.
impletionem Legis: Christ, not as our
Proxy, but as our Surety, did in our
name not only undergo the fufferings of
the Croß, but took on him the impletion
of the Law. But faith the Author,
Righteousness is a perſonal thing, to be per-
formed by our felves: I anfwer, What
Chrift performed for us, was not per-
formable by our felves in our lapfed
eſtates
[419]
eſtate; he fulfilled all Righteouſneſs
for us to the very higheſt pitch of the
Law, in order to our Juftification, and
that we could not reach in our own
perfons; and that fincere Obedience
which we pay in our own perfons doth
not fully anſwer the Law, and ſo ap-
pertains not to our Juftification, but
Sanctification: And this I take to be
the Method of Salvation which God
hath chalked out to us. It's true, the
Author urges, That the Righteousness of
another can never be our perfonal Righte-
ousness: But though it cannot be ours
by Inhefion, yet it may by Imputation;
it was only in Chrift's Perfon, yet may
be reckoned or accounted to us in Ju-
ftification, or elfe I cannot tell, how
the Blood of Chrift, which cleanſes a-
way all fin, ſhould ever be ours; that
was not inherent in us, and, if it be-
come ours, it muſt be by Imputation :
If we own not the Imputation of Chrifts
Paffive Obedience, we cannot own,
that Chrift gave himſelf for us as a
Ranfom or a Sacrifice; and if we own
the Imputation of his Paffive Obedi-
ence, we muſt alfo own the Imputa-
tion of his Active; for there was, not
to fay a tincture, but a great, and high
meafure of Active Obedience in his
Paffion,
E e 2
جتم
[420]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Paffion, and if his Paffion in its entire-
ty and complete perfection be imputed
to us, his Active Obedience muſt be
imputed to us alfo.
But now let us confider,whether in Law
the Debtor and Surety are one perſon ;
no confidering man can think it indif-
ferent, who pays the debt, the Surety or
the Debtor, or that they are both equally
obliged to it; the Debtor is the immedi-
ate Debtor ftill, and the Surety only ob-
liged in caſe of default, the Law doth
not account it indifferent which of them
pay it: For though it permit the payment
to be exacted from the Surety, in cafe
the Debtor refufe, yet it will look back
again, and allow the furety an action a-
gainst the debtor for fuch a refufal, which
is an Argument that the Law doth not
judge them one perfon: Thus it is in bail,
the Law doth not judge them one perſon,
for if the prisoner efcape, the bail or fure-
ty fhall be punished according to the nature
of the fact; and yet the prisoner is not
quitted by this means, but liable either
to the arrest of the Surety; or in Crimi-
nal Caufes to the Sentence of the Law, if
ever he be retaken. Thus in Sureties for
good behaviour (which founds as if it
were nearest a kin to the Imputation of
Christ's Righteousness as our Surety }
though
[421]
though the Surety be never ſo innocent
and virtuous, this will not ſerve him
for whom he is Surety; but if he prove a
Villain they fhall be both punish'd: so
that bumane Laws are strangers to this
Mystery of imputing the Righteousness of
a Surety to a bad man; Suretiſhip doth
not fo unite their Perfons, that whatever
one dotb, is always and to all pur-
poſes imputed to the other: And if this
will not hold good among men, it is a
very forry foundation for this bargain
and exchange betwixt Chrift and Believ-
ers,that he ſhould take their fins upon him-
Self, and impute his Righteousness to
them.
All this runs upon a miſtake, that Answer.
Chriſt cannot be a Surety, unleſs he be
fuch after the manner of men; the Sure-
tyſhip of Christ is not to be meaſured
by humane Laws, unto which (becauſe
variant among themſelves no leſs, I fup-
pofe, in points of Suretyfhip than in o-
ther things) it cannot poffibly corre-
fpond; but it is to be meaſured by the
holy Scriptures, which fet forth his un-
dertaking and fatisfying our debts in a
way of fuperlative Excellency above
all the Sureties in the world. Among
men, notwithstanding the Surety, the
Debtor is Debtor ſtill: But Chrift hath
Ee 3
as
[422]
as our Surety made fuch a plenary Sa-
tisfaction on our behalf, that if we re-
ceive him by Faith, we are Debtors no
longer, all our debts are croffed and
blotted out of Gods Book. Among men
the Surety, having made payment, may
have his Action against the Debtor, and
ordinarily he feeks to reimburſe him-
felf; But our heavenly Surety ſeeks no
fuch matter; he knows, that all the
Creatures in Heaven and Earth are not
able to repay him what he hath laid
down for us, neither if they could,
doth he defire it; but on the contrary
he woes and befeechs men to come in
to him, that their Debts may not be
charged on them by the Law for want
of imbracing the Gofpel. If upon the
eſcape of the Prisoner, the Bail be punish-
ed, jet is not the Prifoner quitted: But
our Surety Chrift, did not fuffer as a
Bail doth upon eſcape, upon accident
or contingency, but upon abfolute
and irrevocable certainty, fuch as
could not be avoided, and he fuffered
fo in our room and ſtead; and his Sa-
tisfaction is ſo far reckoned or imputed
to us, that upon our believing there is
not, there cannot be any condemnati-
on to us, or fatisfaction required of us
for ever.
In Suretiship for the Behavi
OHI
:717
[423]
our, the Virtues of the Surety are not
accounted to him for whom he is Surety:
But the Payment and Satisfaction of
Chriſt our Surety is upon Goſpel-terms
fo imputed and made over to us, that
the Law or Juſtice of God cannot de-
mand a ſecond Payment and Satisfacti
on from us: Hence it appears, that Chrift
and we are one perfon in Law, that his
Payment and Satisfaction is reckoned as
ours. And what matters it, if humane
Laws are ſtrangers to imputed Righte-
oufneſs,it fuffices us, that this Myſtery is
founded on the holy Scripture. When
the Romans would have no otherGods,
but what were approved of by the Se-
nate, Tertullian tells them, Apud vos de
humano arbitratu Divinitas penfitatur;ni-
fi homini Deus placuerit, Deus non erit :
But as long as we find Imputed Righte-
oufneſs in Scripture, we need not ſeek a
Probatu eft from humane laws or reafon.
Let us now try, whether the Notion of Mr. Sher-
a Mediator can do any better fervice than
the Notion of a Surety. Dr. Owen faith,
That Chriſt fulfilled all Righteouſneſs
as he was Mediator, and that what-
ever he did as Mediator, he did it for
them whofe Mediator he was, and in
whofe ftead, and for whofe good he
executed the Office of a Mediator be-
E e 4
Apoft.
cap.s.
fore
lock.
[424]
fore God; and hence is it that his com
plete and perfect Obedience to the
Law is reckoned to us: But that Chriſt
fulfilled all Righteousness as he was
Mediator must have good proof, the No-
tion of a Mediator includes no fuch thing.
A Mediator is one who interpofes between
two differing parties; but was it ever
beard of yet, that it was the Office of a
Mediator to perform the Terms and Con-
ditions himself: Mofes was the Media-
tor of the firſt Covenant, Gal. 3. 9.
and his Office was to receive the Law from
God, and to deliver it to the people, and
to command them to obferve the Rites
and Sacrifices and Expiations, which
God had ordained; but he was not to
fulfil the Righteousness of the Law for the
whole Congregation: Thus Chrift is now
the Mediator of a better Covenant, and
bis Office required, that he should preach
the Gospel, which contains the Terms
of peace between God and men ; and
fince God would not enter into Covenant
with finners without the intervention of
a Sacrifice; he dies too as a Sacrifice
and Propitiation for the fins of the
World, and confirms and feals this new
Covenant with his own Blood; and be-
ing rifen from the dead, he executes
this Office of Mediator with power and
glory,
[425]
glory, that is, he intercedes for us accord
ing to the Terms and Conditions of the
new Covenant, to obtain the pardon of
our fins, and the aſſiſtance of the divine
Grace to do the Will of God, and all
thofe other blefings that are promiſed:
But the Office of Mediator doth not ob-
lige him to fulfil the Righteousness of the
Covenant for us.
Chriſt is a Mediator but in a ſupere-
minent way; a Mediator, but above
all Peers or Parallels: Hence the Apo-
ftle tells us, that there is one Mediator
between God and men the man Chrift Je-
fus, 1 Tim. 2. 5. One Mediator; Moſes
was a Mediator too, but, becauſe Chrift
was a Mediator in a peculiar and fu-
perexcellent manner, there is but one
Mediator. Mofes was an internuncial
Mediator; but Chrift was a fatisfying
and atoning one: Hence it appears, that
the Mediatorſhip of Chrift must not be
meaſured by the Mediatorſhip of Mo-
fes or any other perfon in the world,
but must be conftrued according to
thoſe fingular Excellencies and Preemi-
nencies which the Scripture attributes
toit: The Apoſtle tells us what a Me-
diator he was; He gave his life a ran-
fom for all; and, as I noted before,
where his Paffive Obedience is expreff
ed,
Answer.
[426]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
ed, there the active is implyed : Chriſt
was a Mediator in that, which he did
for us; and on our behalf, and for us,
and on our behalf he fulfilled all
Righteouſneſs: This is evident ; that of
Chriſts which is imputed, and applyed
to us to juſtifie and make us Righte-
ous before God, was done for us, and
and on our behalf; and fuch was his
fulfilling all Righteoufnefs. Hence
the Apoſtle tells us; That by the righte-
ousness of one, the free gift came upon all
men to justification of life, and by the o-
bedience of one, shall many be made
righteous, Rom.5.18,19. Mofes was not
to fulfill the righteoufness of the Law
for the people, nor was he to dye as a
propitiatory Sacrifice for them, but
Chrift, a more excellent Mediator, did
both for us.
Dr. Owen first tells of an habitual
Righteouſneſs of Chrift, as Mediator
in his humane Nature, that this was the
neceffary effect of the Grace of U-
nion, that therby he was inavo, fit to
do all that he did for us; So that this
is not imputed to us, but was his own
proper Righteouſneſs: But Secondly,
There is the actual obedience of Chriſt,
which was his willing performance of
every thing that God by any Law did
require
[427]
>
require, beſides the particular Law of
the Mediator: Let us then firft confider
the peculiar Law of the Mediator, which
he tells us, reſpected himſelf meerly,
(So that we have nothing to do with this
neither) and it contains all thoſe acts
and duties of his, which were not for
our imitation; he inftances in his obe-
dience, which he thewed in dying,
(though St. John tells us, that we must
imitate him in this also, must lay down
our lives for the brethren, as Chriſt dy-
ed for us, Joh.1.3.16. And St. Paul tells
us, that we muſt be conformed to the
Death and Refurrection of Chriſt
Rom.6. which founds very like an imi-
tation) though in the next page he ex-
cepts the cafe of dying of his paffive
obedience; and tells us, that all the
reſt of his obedience to the Law of
meditation is not imputed to us as
though we had done it; So that by the
Law of meditation, he underſtands what-
ever Christ was bound to do as our Me-
diator, whatever was proper to his Medi-
atory office; all this (though ſometimes,
when he better thinks of it, he excepts
dying) is not imputed to us, as though
we had done it: I hope we shall find
Something at laſt to be imputed to us ; and
yet there is nothing left now. But thirdly,
>
That
3
[428]
Answer.
That which concerns him in a private
capacity, as a man fubject to the Law:
And now whatever was required of
us by virtue of any Law, that he did
and fulfilled: And this is that actual o-
bedience of Chrift, which he perform-
ed for us: This is very strange, that
what he did as Mediator, is not imputed
to us: But what he did not as our Me-
diator, but as a man fubject to Law
that is imputed to us, and reckoned as
if we had done it, by reafon of his being
our Mediator; and it is as strange to
the full, that Chrift should do whatever
was required of us by virtue of any Law,
when he was neither Husband, Wife, Fa-
ther, Merchant, Soldier, Captain; much
les a Temporal Prince ; and how he ſhould
diſcharge the duties of thofe Relations
for us,
when he was never in any of
thofe Relations, I leave to the fubtilty of
the School-men.
I know not of what moment this
diſcourſe is, only the Author would
feem to wrap the Doctor up in obfcu-
rity; but the Doctor hath expreffed
his mind in plain terms, pag. 182. his
words are theſe: God fent Christ as a
Mediator to do and fuffer whatever the
Law required at our hand for that end &
purpose that we might not be condemned,
but
[429]
but accepted of God. This fatisfies mé,
Christ our Mediator was made under
the Law, under the command, and un-
der the curse of it; he fulfilled the com-
mand of it by his active obedience, he
bore the curfe of it by his paffive: This
entire obedience of his, which fully an-
Swers the Law, is by God imputed to us z
not as if we were Mediators, or had done
it as Mediators; no,by no means,Chrift is
the great Actor of it, the Mediatorship is
his own : But it is imputed to us so far
as to justifie us, and make us righteous
before God; we were no efficients in it,
but are meer recipients; and it is apply-
ed to us in order to our juftification: It
is not for us to reach the works of our Sa-
viour; theſe are far above our Line, we
must indeed lay down our lives for the
Brethren, as St. John tells us: But what
in a way of atonement and expiation of
fin! No, it is too high for us fo to do:
Paul was not crucified for us, nor can
any other Saint be, only we must, as we
can, Procul ejus veſtigia ſequi, as Cal-
vin expreſſes it, imitate him as far as
our model goes: We must be conformed
to the Death and Refurrection of Chrift,
Rom.6. We must dye unto fin, and be a-
live unto God: But, after we have in
our little reſembled him, we must confess,
94
thas
[430]
that the merit is only in him, not in us,
we are but receivers, he is the great pur-
chafor: But, faith the Author, it is
Strange that Chrift ſhould do whatever
was required of us by vertue of any Law,
when he was neither Husband, Wife, Fa-
ther, Merchant, Soldier, Captain or
Prince; and how could be difcharge the
duties of those relations which he was ne-
ver in? To which, I anſwer, After this
rate would the Socinians rob us of the
fatisfactory paffion of Chrift: For, fay
they, If Chrift had ſatisfied for us, then
he must have suffered all that we should
have ſuffered; that is, eternal torments,
which he did not: But one anſwer ſerves
for both: Chrift fuffered the fame
which we ſhould have fuffered in the
ſubſtantials and effentials of it, though
not in the accidentals or circumftanti-
als of it; and what was wanting in the
duration of his fufferings was compen-
fated by the dignity of his perfon, and
Chrift fufilled the command of the
Law in the fubftantials and effèntials
of it, though not in every relation ;
this latter not being poffible for him to
do, becauſe he could not poffibly be
in all relations; he had that Love in
perfection, which is πλήρωμα νόμο, the
fulfilling of the Law, and what of acci-
dentals
[431]
dentals of obedience was not in him,
was compenſated by the dignity of his
perfon.
The Doctor tell us, That of this ex- Mr.Sher-
expreffion, as Mediator, there is a dou, lock,
ble fence, it may be taken ftrictly, as
relating folely to the Mediator, and fo
Chriſt may be faid to do as Mediator,
only what he did in obedience to the
Law, (that is only what he did as Me-
diator,which is a pretty Obfervation:)But
in the fence now inſiſted on (that is,
not strictly as Mediator, but as not Me-
diator, whatever Chriſt did, as a man
fubject to the Law,he did as Mediator,
becauſe he did it as part of the duty
incumbent on him, who undertook
ſo to be: The meaning is, that he
who was Mediator, being bound to do
fuch things, though not as Mediator, but
"as a man fubject to the Law; yet he did
them as Mediator, becauſe he was a Me-
diator who did them, which is fuch an
expoſition of Quâ, as fubtileft School-
men never yet thought of.
•
I fuppofe there is no need of the fubtil Answer.
Schoolmen, who yet fometimes take Quâ
Specificativè, fometimes repliducativè: I
fuppofe the Doctor wants only a fair
Interpreter, he tells us exprefly,pag.182.
God fent Chriſt as a Mediator to do and
Suffer
[432]
Mr Sher-
lock.
Suffer whatever the Law required at our
hands; for that end and purpofe, that we
might not be condemned, but accepted of
God. It was all to this end, that the
Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled
in us; that is,which the Law required of
us, conſiſting in duties of obedience; this
Chrift performed for us: The Doctor
doth not meerly intend that the Medi-
ator did fulfil the Law, or that he who
did fulfill it was a Mediator; but that
he did it as a Mediator, and was by
God fent to do ſo, and that for us.
This, I ſuppoſe, will appear to any
Reader, who ferioufly peruſes the
places in the Doctors Book; a little
piece of a face, and that wreſted, will
hardly repreſent the whole as it
ought.
The difficulty of Christ's doing thofe
things as Mediator, which did not be-
long to the Laws of his Mediation, is a
very material one and requires great
skill in Logick to get rid of it: but
however, it is wifely done to make a fhew
of Saying something, to that which can-
not be answered; for he was fenfible,
that what Christ did purely as Media-
tor could not be imputed to us, as though
we had done it, though the añoleλéoμała,
ór fruits of it are, because we were
never
[433]
never defigned to be Mediators, and the
Righteousnes of a Mediator is as impro
per to be imputed to thofe, who are not
Mediators, as it is to impute the Righte
ousness of a Prince to a Begger; therefore
he was forced to confider him not as Me-
diator, but as a private man, though this
too was impoffible; for he could not at
the fame time act so many different and
oppofite parts as there are relations and
conditions of men in the world; and jet
when be thought on't again, he found,
that it was not the Righteousneẞ of a pri-.
vate perfon, that would avail us (because
we have no way to come at it, to make it
ours) but only the Righteousness of the
Mediator, who did, what he did for us,
and in our flead; and fo wheels about
again, and is caugh in the net and laby
rinth of his making.
}
The Doctor afferts pofitively, that Anfoer.
Chriſt,as Mediator did do whatever the
Law required at our hands; and I can
never perfwade my felf, that he should
exclude the fulfilling of the Law from
the Laws of his Mediation: But then,
as the Author would have it, we run
upon another rock; that is, If what
Chrift did as Adiator be imputed to
us, then we must become, Mediators, and
much fuch an Argument against im
puted
Ff
[434]
puted Righteouſneſs, we have in Bel-
De juftif. larmine, whofe words are theſe, Si ve-
1.3.cap.7. re imputaretur nobis Chrifti juftitia, pro-
fectò non minus jufti haberi cenferiq;
deberemus quàm ipfe Christus, proinde
deberemus dici atq; haberi Redemptores
& falvatores mundi. Upon which Bi-
ſhop Davenant gives this cenfure, that
it is ridicula illatio; The Righteouf
neſs of Chriſt was in himſelf by inhefi-
on, or from him by perfonal action;
but it is ours only by imputation; and
who ever heard of a Mediator, made
fuch by imputation,or by that Righte-
ouſneſs, which another performed for
him? The Righteouſneſs of Chrift is
imputed to us, but what, Secundum
totam latitudinem,to all intents and pur-
poſes whatsoever ? Oh no, it is not im-
puted to us, to do that which is im-
poffible, to make us Mediators, or the
Efficients of it, but fo far only as to
make us Righteous before God; by the
imputation of it, we are juſtified and
faved, but we are not Mediators and
Saviours: The Righteouſneſs is for-
mally Chriſt's the one Mediators; but
materially it becomes ours by imputa-
tion, ſo far forth as to juſtifie us: The
Righteouſneſs it ſelf is one thing, and
the
[435]
the manner of application another?
Bellarmine himſelf, who made the ob-
jection, can fay in another place, paf-
fiones Christi, & quæ funt infiniti pretii, De Indu
applicari per indulgentias finito modo: gent.l.1.
So fay I, the Righteoufnefs of Chriftis cap.4.
imputed to us, not to all intents and
purpoſes; not to tranſlate a Mediator-
ſhip upon us, but in a limited manner,
to juſtifie and fave us, who are the re-
ceivers of it: It is imputed to every Be-
liever, but it makes never an one of
them, God-man; and no man that is a
meer man, or less than God-man can
be an expiating and faving Mediator;
or, if he could, he could not be fuch
without a Divine Call or Ordination,
which no Believer can pretend to: The
Mediatorſhip is totally, folely Chrift's;
but the Righteoufnefs which he per-
formed, is fo far imputed to us, as to
juftifie and fave us: The fatisfaction of
Christ's death is made ours, and that
by imputation; or elſe we muſt be par
doned without a AUTO; and yet that
imputation doth not make us fatisfying
Mediators: Our Church tells us, Chrift 1. Hum. of
is the Righteousness of them that believe, Salvation,
he for them paid the ranſom by his death;
be for them fulfilled the Law in his life:
so that now in him, and by hier, every
* f 2
trie
[436]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
true Chriſtian may be called a fulfiller of
the Law: And yet our Church never
dreamed of any fuch thing,as that ſuch
an imputation would turn a Believer in-
to a Mediator; there is therefore no ill
confequence, but an infinite comfort
in this affertion; that the Righteouf-
nefs of Chrift, our Mediator is imputed
to us.
ง
The Doctor tells us, That Chrift was
under no obligation to obey theſe
Laws himſelf; And to make this ap-
pear, he difcourfes particularly of the Law
of our Creation and the Ceremonial
Law given to the Jews: And for the
first, the Law of Creation, that compre-
hends thofe eternal Laws, which refult
from the effential difference of good and
evil, which all mankind are bound to
obferve by the very frame of their natures:
Now he dares not deny, that Chrift was
bound to obey this Law for himself; but
then his obedience was voluntary: And
what of that? For fo the obedience of
every good man is; for by voluntary he
tells us, he doth not mean
That it was
meerly arbitrary, and at his choice,
whether he would obey or not; but
on fuppofition of his undertaking to
be Mediator it was neceffary it
thould be fo; but he voluntarily and
#
2
willingly
[437]
willingly fubmitted to it: and fo ber
came really fubject to the commands
ofit. And is it not very plain now, that
Chriſt was not obliged to obey thoſe Laws,
becauſe he willingly ſubmitted to them ;
but he means fomewhat more by this, vo-
luntary, than he could tell how to ex-
preß; and all that I can guess is, that
whereas we are bound to obey thefe Laws
antecedently to our choice; it was not fo
with him, for his obligation was confe-
quential, upon his being born, and be-
coming man, which was his own choice ;
and yet, even then, as he tells us : As he
was Mediator God-man, he was not
by the inſtitution of that Law obliged
to it, being, as it were, lifted up a-
bove that Law by the hypoftatical
Union: Now this is very profound rea-
Soning; for the meaning of it is this :
That Christ had not been bound to live
like a man, unless he had become man z
and yet I can grant fomething more,
that it was impoffible that he should have
lived like a man, without being man :
But when he chofe to be man, he was
bound to discharge all the duties of a
man for himfelf: But how could be be
exempted from this Law, by being Me-
diator God and Man: When the Do-
For acknowledges, that
upon fuppofi
F f 3
tion
[438]
Answer.
tion of his being Mediator, it was ne
ceffary it fhould be fo; that is, that
he should obey, now, not to be obliged
by the Institution of the Law as Me-
diator; and that it should be neceffa-
ry for him to obey as Mediator, are
at so great a diſtance, that it may ferve
for another trial of skill to reconcile
them.
Chriſt, when he affumed the humane
Nature, was as man ſubject to the Law
of Creation; for his humane Nature
was but a Creature, and its will, not
being Supreme in it felf, was under
the Divine Will; but Chrift freely and
voluntarily became man; and fo put
himſelf of his own accord into the ftate
of fubjection; and as he was not made
man for himſelf, but for us: So neither
was he made under the Law for himſelf,
but for us. Hence the Apoſtle joyning
both theſe together; He was made of
a woman, made under the Law, Gal. 4.
4.5. Superadds as the end common to
both, that he might redeem us ; he af-
fumed humanity, and with it duty,nei-
ther for himself, but both for us, that
he might oλngo, fulfil the Law,Matth.
5.17. for us; not only doctrinally, by
opening the pure Spirituality of it; but
practically too, by fulfilling all the
Righte
[439]
Righteouſneſs thereof. Chrift as man
was bound by the Law; but this hin-
ders not, but that his obedience may be
for us, and may be imputed to us in
juſtification: No fooner was that Di-
vine Decree (which put a muſt upon
Chriſt's fufferings) made known to
him as man; but he was bound to dye,
and yet his death was a ſweet Sacrifice
for us, and a propitiation for our fins;
And as the Blood of Chriſt was the
Blood of God, ſo the obedience of
Chriſt was the obedience of God; be-
ing ſtamped with his Deity, it amount-
ed to an infinite fumm; enough for
himſelf, and a world befides. Chrift
was in fome fence,as it were, exempted,
and lifted up above the Law by the hy-
poſtatical Union; he might have carri-
ed up the Humane Nature into heaven,
in the very firſt inſtant of its affumpti-
on; he need not have performed the
Law, in fuch a debaſed manner, for fuch
a ſpace of time, and in fuch a place as
earth; he was not ſimply and abſolute-
ly bound to it in himself; but upon
fuppofition, that he took upon him the
Mediatory Office, he was bound to ful-
fil the Law for us as he did.
Though we ſuppoſe,that Christ as man Mr. Sher-
was bound to yield obedience to the Law lock,
Ff4
of
[440]
of Creation, yet the Dr. obferves, thạt
this is the only Law he could be liable
to as a man; for an innocent man in
a Covenant of works, as he was, need-
ed no other Law, nor did God give
any other Law to fuch perfons; the
Law of Creation is the only Law, that
an innocent Creature is liable to, with
what Symbols of the Law God is plea-
fed to add : But now Jefus Chrift yield-
ed perfect obedience to all the Laws
which came upon us by the occafion
of fin, as the Ceremonial Law; yea,
thofe very Inftitutions that fignified
the washing away of fin and repent-
ance from fin, as the Baptifm of John,
which he had no need of himſelf; this
therefore muſt needs be for us: This
looks fomething like, but I fear it will
prove like all the reft, that is, to no pur-
pofe: I would willingly have had fome
proof of it, that an innocent man can
be bound by no other Law than that of
Creation God, as he acknowledges,
might add what Symbols he pleafed
to that Law; (for he remembred the
Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge
of good and evil) and I know not what
thefe Symbols are, but pofitive Laws, and
Juch the Ceremonial Laws were; and if
God may require the obedience of
an in-
nocent
[441]
nocent man to one pofitive Law, he may,
if he pleaſe, enjoyn twenty. And though
they were at first commanded upon occa-
fion of fin, an innocent man may obſerve
them to good and wife purpoſes, as ſo-
lemn acts of Worship, external expreffi-
ons of Devotion, a publick profeffion of
a virtuous Life; to which purposes among
others, the Sacrifices and Ceremonies of
the Law and Baptism of John ferved:
And if there were no other reason, this
were enough, that an innocent man ſhould
Set an example of reverence to all divine
Institutions: But this is not worth con-
tending about; for the Righteousneß of
the Ceremonial Law could never justifie
any man ; neither can I understand, why
the Doctor fhould fuppofe, that Chriſt
fulfilled the Ceremonial Law for all
Believers, when the greatest part of
them, the Gentiles, were never under the
obligation of it.
God gave unto innocent Adam fym Anſwer.
bolical Precepts, over and above the
Law of Creation; but what were thoſe
Precepts? Not Waſhings, Purifications,
Circumcifions, Expiations, Sacrifices,
nothing that was fignificative of fin,
but fuch only as were congruous to
that State: The true One would not
have the leaft fhadow of a lye in his
Ser-
[442]
put
Service; neither is it to me imaginable
that Chrift fhould for his own fake be
under fuch Laws as are unfutable
to his Innocency; what need had he
of Circumcifion, who had no corrupt
fleſh in him, or of Baptifm, who was
without fpot? But, faith the Author,
an innocent man may obferve fuch Laws,
for profeffion or examples fake: But fure-
ly what he doth muſt be done in truth.
We find in Scripture, that at the Jew-
ifh Sacrifices there was a confeffion of
fin, the form of which, as their Do-
&ors fay, was thus ; O Lord, thy people,
the house of Ifrael, they have finned,
they have done wickedly, &c. and might
an innocent Ifraelite (had there been
fuch an one)have joyned in this confef-
fion, and that without the forfeiture of
his innocency? I doubt he could not :
Beſides, when the Scripture affigns no
fuch reaſon for Chrift's fubjection to
any Law, who may be fo bold as to do
it? But, faith the Author, Chrift's Obe-
dience to the Ceremonial Law justifieth
no man; Neither according to the
Author doth his Obedience to the Mo-
ral Law; and therefore he might have
left his Obedience, which is the com
pleature of all divine Laws, undivided
and in its entirety,
The
[443]
The Dr. faith, There can be no other Mr. Sher-
reaſon affigned of Chrift's Obedience lock.
to the Law of God, but only this,
that he did it in our ftead: Now this
Argument would be good, were it true
and were there not a great many things
done, which we cannot affign the reafon
of, and yet done for great and weighty
reafons; but this reafon is fufficient, be-
cauſe he was as much bound to it as any
other man. The Dr takes it for granted,
That if Chrift were not bound to obey
theſe Laws upon his own account, it
muſt be either for us, or to fit him for
his Death and Oblation ; but it was
not to fit him for his Death, therefore
it was for us: He tells us, that he an-
fwered all Types, and was every way
fit to be made an offering for fin by
his Union and habitual Grace: If his
Obedience were not for us, and upon
our account, there is no juft caufe to
be affigned, why he ſhould live here in
the world fo long as he did in perfect
obedience to all the Laws of God. Had
he died before, there had been per-
fect Innocence and perfect Holineſs by
his habitual Grace, and infinite Vir-
tue and Worth from the dignity of
his Perfon; and furely he yielded not
that long courſe of Obedience but for
fome
[444]
fome great and ſpecial purpoſes, in re-
ference to our Salvation: Tes truly;
but must this needs be his actual ful-
filling all Righteousness for us? What
do you think of his preaching the Gospel
throughout all Judea which would take
up fome time? What of the many Mira-
cles which confirmed his Doctrine? What
of training up his Apoftles to fucceed him
in his Miniſtry as Eye-witneſſes and Ear-
witneſſes of his Miracles and Doctrine?
What of the holy Example of his Life,
which was no les neceffary than his Laws?
Theſe are all great and special purpoſes
in reference to our Salvation, though we
fhould fuppofe him fit to have been a Sa-
crifice (as Herod defigned he should have
been) as soon as he were born; though by
the way, I think he could not have an-
fwered the Types and Predictions of him,
had he dyed fofoon, notwithstanding his
perfect innocence and holineß.
Answer. I take it the Doctor's Scope was this,
That the end of Chrift's Active Obedience
could not be affigned to be, that he
might be fitted for his death and oblati-
on, and that because be was every way
fit to be made an offering for fin, by
his Union and habitual Grace; the
Dr. intended not, that Chriſt lived
here fo long, only that he might o-
bey
[445]
bey, and for no other ends: It's true
that Chrift lived here fo long, that he
might preach, and do Miracles, and
inftruct his Apoſtles, and it's true, that
he lived here fo long, that he might
fulfil all Righteouſneſs, all theſe were
ends of his living here; but the Quare
is, What was the end of his Active O-
bedience? I never yet read, that the
end of that was his preaching, doing
of Miracles, or inftructing his Apo-
ftles; theſe were fimultaneous and
concurrent in time with his Obedience.
But Christ obeyed the Law, that he might
give us an holy Example by his Life: I
grant it, but that was not all; Chrift
died alfo for to leave an Example to
us, but there was much more in his
Death; in truth both were for our
Juftification: As we are justified by his
blood, Rom. 5. 9. ſo we are made righte-
ous by his obedience, ver. 9.
His Third Reafon to prove, that Christ Anſwer.
fulfilled all Righteousness for us, is from
the abfolute neceffity of it: For this is
the Term of the Covenant, Do this and
live; Life is not to be obtained, un-
lefs all be done that the Law requires ;
we being unable to do this, it is ne-
ceffary that Chrift our Mediator and
Surety ſhould fulfil the Law for us:
This
[446]
Anfwer.
This Argument is to prove that it ought
to be fo, not that it is fo; but we muſt
not prescribe methods to God. The fum
of the Argument is, that there never
was; nor never can be a Covenant of
Grace; that God ftill exacts the rigorous
perfection of the Law from us; that we
must not appear before him without à
complete and perfect Righteousness of our
own or of another: Now this is the thing
in question, Whether we must be made
righteous with the perfect Righteousness of
Chrift imputed to us, or whether God
will for the fake of Christ diſpenſe with
the rigor of the Law, and accept of a
Sincere and Evangelical Obedience in
Stead of a perfect and unfinning Righte-
oufne; fo that he only confidently af
firms what was in difpute, and this
for an Argument.
goes
We must not prescribe methods to God:
Nor may we deny thofe he hath fet
down and reveiled to us. The Scrip-
ture tells us, that Juftification under
the Goſpel is in a way completive and
perfective of the Law, fo that the
Law is eſtabliſhed, Rom. 3. 31. and hath
its end or complement, Rom. › 10.
4. and this cannot be without a per-
fect Righteoufnefs: And withal the
Scripture tells us where that Righteouf-
nels
[447]
neſs is, Chrift is the end of the Law for
righteousness to us, Rom. 10. 4. and,
We are made the Righteousness of God in
him, 2 Cor. 5. 21. The Righteouſneſs
of Chrift is made ours by Imputation,
& that anſwers the Law in every point.
But then(faith the Author) there can
be no covenant of Grace: If the perfect
Righteouſneſs were to be done by us in
our own perſons, there could be none
indeed; but may there be none, if
that Righteoufnefs be fulfilled by
Chriſt and imputed to us? The Papiſts
ufe to blaſt imputed Righteouſneſs
with many ugly names, as if it were
putative, an imaginary Fiction, a Spe-
drum of Luther's Brain, and the like;
but I never before heard, that the
Righteouſneſs of Chrift, made ours by
Imputation, did overthrow the Cove-
nant of Grace: Sure the Paffive Righ-
teouſneſs of Chrift doth not overthrow
it, and, if the Active be joyned with
that as it ought, no evil can enfue;
but we may in the conjunction of both
as in a Glaſs ſee the admirable Wiſdom
of God, which hath framed the Co-
venant of Grace in fuch a manner, that
we, who have no perfect Righteouf-
nefs of our own, are yet juftified by
the complete Righteoufnefs of Chrift
OUE
[448]
Mr. Sher
lock
Answer.
our Surety; fo that the Law, though
not fulfilled by us, hath its perfect com-
pletion. It's true, that God accepts of
our fincere Obedience, but not in Ju-
ftification; not in the room of Chrift's
perfect Righteouſneſs, but in its own
proper place, having its defects cover-
ed with Chrift's Righteouſneſs.
The Doctor makes a great flourish with
Some Scripture-phrafes, that there is al-
most nothing that Chrift hath done, but
we are faid to do it with him; We are
crucified with him, dead with him,
buried with him, quickned with him,
&c. But he is quite out in the reaſon of
thefe expreffions, which is not, that we
are accounted to do the fame things,
which Christ did, but because we do ſome
things like them: Our dying to fin is a
conformity to the death of Chrift, and our
walking in newneß of life, a conformity
to his Refurrection.
Iknow no Divine who interprets
thoſe Phraſes (of being crucified, dead,
buried, quickned with Christ) of impu-
ted Righteouſneſs, neither do I fup-
pofe that the Doctor ever intended a-
ny fuch thing; thofe Phraſes belong
to Sanctification: Then we are cruci-
fied with Chrift, when we feel the
power of his Crofs in our Mortifica-
tion
}
[449]
tion; then we are rifen with Chrift;
when we feel the power of his Refurre-
&tion railing of us up to the divine Life
and Likeness.
The Doctor cites that Text, Gal. 4. 4,
5. God fent forth his Son, made of a
woman, made under the Law, to re-
deem them that were under the
Law, and here he stops; but I shall
take confidence to add, That we might
receive the adoption of Sons: Now
by being made under the Law, he
tells us is meant, being difpofed of
in fuch a condition, that he muſt yield
ſubjection and obedience to the Law;
well, ſuppoſe this, and this was all to re-
deem us, and therefore our redemption
is by the obedience of Chrift imputed
to us: Fairly argued, but can his obedi-
ence to the Lam contribute no other ways
to our redemption, but by being reckoned
as done by us? But the truth is, this, us,
is not in the text, it is not to redeem us,
but to redeem them that were under the
Law, that is, the Jews, who were in bon-
dage under the Moſaical Law; from which
Chrift redeemed them by abrogating that
Law, and introducing a better covenant;
the adoption of fons: For in this Epistle,
say in this chapter, the Law is called a
fate of fervants, and of an heir under
G ce
ages
Mr. Shët
lock,
[450]
age, but the Gospel is the adoption of
fons, puts us into fuch a free and manly
State, as that of an heir at age, and there-
fore is called the Spirit of Adoption,
Rom. 8. 15. So that the meaning of this
Text is this, that God hath put an end to
the difpenfation of the Law, which is cal
led redeeming them that are under the
Law, in a state of fervitude and bon-.
dage, and hath eſtabliſhed a better Co-
venant in the room of it, which as much
exceeds the Law as the adoption of Sons
doth the state of servants; and this
God brought to paß by fending his Son
made of a woman, made under the
Law: For the understanding of which
words we must confider, what influence
Christ's appearing in the world had on
the abrogation of the Law, and that was,
that he accomplished all the Types and
Figures of the Law in his own Person;
and when all thofe Types were fulfilled,
they grew out of date: So that his being
made under the Law most probably fig-
nifies his being made fuch a Ferfon, as
ſhould exactly answer all the Types and
Figures of the Law, and fo to put an end
to it, as of no further ufe: Thus the
Temple was God's Houfe, but now the
Shechinah or divine Glory rested on
Chrift : When Christ the great High-
Prieft.
[451]
Priest came, and offered himself, all legal
Priefts and Sacrifices were of no use?
Thus by his being under the Law, and
accomplishing all the Types of it; he put
an end to all thofe beggarly rudiments,
and delivered the Jews from the bondage
of the Law; for though the Gentiles too
are redeemed by Christ, yet they were not
redeemed from the Law of Mofes, under
which they never were.
God fent forth his Son, made of a wo- Anfws,
man, made under the Law, to redeem
them that were under the Law, that we
right receive the adoption of fons : Thus
the Apoſtle, Gal.4.4, 5. The Son of
God was made of a woman, in his Incar-
nation, made under the Law; under
the rule of it in his active obedience;
under the curse of it, in his paffive; and
the end of all was, that he might re-
dcem us; that we, who were captives
under the wrath of God, might be re-
deemed ones. And further, that we
might receive the adoption of fons, that
who were children of wrath
might be fons of God, and fo heirs of
eternal life; and that it may be thus in-
deed,that Chriſt's being under the Law,
his active and paffive obedience may
procure fuch a redemption and adops
tion; fuch an exemption from wrath,
Gg 2
and
we,
?
[452]
د
and title to heaven for us: His obe-
dience muſt be applyed to us, and be-
come ours, which cannot be but by
imputation: But, faith the Author:
This, us, is not in the Text, it is not, to
redcem us, but to redeem them that were
under the Law; that is, the Jews: But
was not Chrift a Redeemer of the
Gentiles allo? Or is he not their Re-
deemer within this Text? Yes, furely,
obferve the words of the Apoſtle; To
redeem them that were under the Law
that we might receive the adoption of
Sons. The Apoſtle alters his phrafe,
and turns them into, we, which takes
in the Galatians into the adoption; and
by confequence into the redemption
too; and to make it more clear, he
alters his phraſe again, and turns we in-
to ye; in the next verfe which hangs
upon the former: And because ye are
fons, verf. 6. ye Galatians, ye Gen-
tiles are fons; and ye Galatians, ye
Gentiles, are redeemed ones within
the Text: Otherwife, which is very
ftrange, the Apoſtle fhould argue
from the Redemption of the Jews
only, to the Adoption of the Gentiles:
But to go on, Chrift, faith the Author,
redeemed the Jews from the bondage of
the Mojaical Law (that is, I fuppofe, the
Cere-
[453]
Ceremonial Law) and introduced a
better Covenant, the adoption of fons.
To which I answer, Chrift did in-
deed redeem from the bondage of Mo-
faical Rites and Ceremonies: But is
this all the Redemption within the
Text? If we ſtop here, we fall in with
the glofs of Socinus; who underſtands
only a freedom, Ajugo legis, ut Spiri- De fervat.
tûs fervilis oloco filialem ſpiritum adi-
part. 2. oleo
pifcerentur. The Redemption here is cap. 24.
not to be reſtrained to a freedom from
Mofaical Ceremonies only: Chriſt was
made under the whole Law, and the
Redemption, which muſt be parallel
to his being under the Law, muſt not
only be a Redemption from the Bon-
dage of the Ceremonial Law, but a
Redemption from the curfe of the Mo-
ral; of which the Apoſtle had dif
courſed but a little before, Gal. 3. 13.
Our Saviour was never made under
the whole Law to redeem from a part
of it only. Again, Redemption from
the Ceremonial Law was peculiar to
the Jews: But the Redemption here
ſpoken of reaches as far as the Gentiles
alfo; who, as I before noted, have a
fhare in the Adoption of Sons, as well
as the Jews: The Redemption here
fpoken of, is not a part or piece of
Gg 3
Re-
[454]
Redemption, but Redemption in its
fulness and excellency. Chrift by
coming into the flesh, introduceth a
better Covenant; that is, the beams of
Evangelical Light were purer, and the
effufions of the holy Spirit larger than
before: But ftill we must remember,
that the Covenant of Grace was for
fubftance, one and the fame under
both Teftaments: Under the Old Te-
ſtament, true Believers had the Law
in their hearts, the? Adoption of Sons,
the free Spirit, and a true title to eter
nal Life: And on the other hand, un-
der the New Teſtament, unbelievers
have the Law and Goffel too,but in the
Letter;their bondage is far greater than
that of beggarly Elements: The unclean
fpirit dwells and works in them; and
the dreadful wrath of God abideth on
them. Chrift's being under the Law,faith
the Author, is his being fuch a perſon,
as fhould exactly answer all the Types and
Figures of the Law: Unto which I
add: His being under the Law, is his
being fuch a perfon, as fhould exactly
anfwer all the demands of the Moral
Law, in its mandatory and minatory
parts.
Air Sher-
jock.
I fhall now examine what influence the
Sacrifice of Christ's Death, and the
Righte
[455]
Righteousness of his life have upon our
acceptance with God: And all that I can
find in Scripture about this, is, that to
this we owe the Covenant of Grace, that
God being well pleaſed with the obedience
of Christ's Life, and the facrifice of his
Death; for his fake entred into a new
Covenant with mankind; wherein he
promjes pardon of fin and eternal life to
those who believe and obey the Gospel:
This is very plain with reference to
Chrift's death. Hence the Blood of
Christ is called the blood of the cove-
nant, Heb. 10. 29. And Christ is call-
ed, the great Shepherd aud Bishop of
fouls, through the blood of the ever-
lafting covenant, Heb. 13. 20. And the
Blood of Christ is called, the blood of
ſprinkling, which ſpeaks better things
than the blood of Abel, Heb. 12. 24.
which is an allusion to Moſes, his
Sprinkling the blood of the Sacrifice,
whereby be confirmed the Covenant be-
tween God and the children of Ifrael
Heb.9.19,20,21. For when Males had
Spoken every Precept to all the people ac-
cording to the Law(when he had declared
the terms of this Covenant to them) he
took the Blood of Calves and Goats, with
Water and Scarlet Wool, and Hyfop,
and fprinkled both the Book, and all the
Gg 4 People
9
[456]
People,faying, This is the blood of the te-
tament, which God hath ordained to
you: Thus the Blood of Chrift is called,the
blood of fprinkling; Because by his Blood
God did feal and confirm the Covenant of
Grace, as the sprinkling of the blood of
beafts did confirm the MofaicalCovenant.
Hence we are faid, to be juſtified by the
blood ofChrift, Rom.5.9.that is,by the Go-
fpel-Covenant, which was confirmed with
his Blood: Chrift is called a propitiation
through faith in his blood, Rom.3.25.that
is,by a belief of his Gospel. Hence the scrip
ture uſes these phraſes promiscuously; To bę
juftified by Faith, and to be jultified by
the faith of Chriſt;and to be juſtified by
Chriſt,and to be juſtified through Faith
in his blood,& to be juftified and faved
by grace; Nay,by believing, that Chrift
is the Son of God, Joh. 20.31. And that
God raiſed him from the dead, Rom. 10.
9. All which fignifie the fame thing, that we
are juftified by believing and obeying the
Gospel, for faith, or faith in Chrift fig
nifies such a firm belief of the Gospel, as
brings forth all fruits of obedience, and
the Grace of God is the Gospel of Christ,
exprefly fo called, Tit.3.11. As being the
effect of Gods Grace, and Faith in the
Blood of Christ is a belief of the Gospel;
which was confirmed by his death, and
believing
1
"
[457]
believing, that Chrift is the Son of God,
the Meffiah, and Prophet, whom God
fent to reveil bis will, includes a general
belief of the Gospel, which he preached;
and believing that God raifed him from
the dead doth the fame, becauſe his Reſur-
rection was the last and great confirmar
tion of the truth of the Gospel. Hence
the Apostles attribute fuch things to the
Blood of Chrift, as are the proper imme-
diate effice of the Gospel-Covenant, be-
cauſe the Blood of Christ is the Blood of
the Covenant; and therefore all the blej-
fings of the Gospel are owing to it,becauſe
the Gospel-Covenant was procured and
confirmed by it: Thus the Gentiles, who
were a far off, are made nigh by the
blood of Chrift; and the Gentiles and
Jews were reconciled unto Cod in one
body by the crofs, Eph.2. 14, 15, 16.
That is, the Gentiles were received into
the fellowship of God's Church, and the
Jews and Gentiles united in one body:
Now this union of Jews and Gentiles is
owing to the Gospel, which takes away al!
marks of distinction and feparation, and
gives them both an equal right to the
bleffing of the New Covenant: This New
Covenant belongs to all mankind; there
is now no diftinction of perfons: Nei-
ther Jew, nor Greek, Barbarian,Scythi-
an
[458]
an,
bond nor free; but Chriſt is all, and
in all. No man is acceptable to God, be-
cauſe he is a Few or Greek; but the
only thing of any value is Faith in Chrift,
or a belief of the Goſpel, which is indif-
ferently offered to all. Now this is at-
tributed to the Blood of Chrift, and to
his death, becauſe thereby Chrift put an
end to the Mofaical Covenant; and feal-
ed this New Covenant of Grace with
Mankind, as the Apostle explains him-
felf, in the following verfes 17. 18. &c.
That Chrift having aboliſhed the Law
of Commandments by his death, he
came and preached peace, (that is,
the Gospel of peace) to them who were
a far off, to the Gentiles, and to them
who were nigh to the Jews, he abrogated
the Mofaical Law; That Law of Com-
mandments contained in ordinances,
which was peculiar to the Jews, and ſepa-
rated them from the rest of the World;
And he broke down the middle wall of
partition, which kept the uncircumcifed
Gentiles, though Profelites, at a distance
from God, as confining their worship to
the outward court of the Temple, which
the Apostle feems to refer to in that phraſe;
Them that were a far off. And now,
by the Gospel he admits the Gentiles to
as near an approach to God, as the Jews:
As
[459]
As he adds; For through him we have
an access by one Spirit to the Father,
verf.18.
The Author enquiring, what influ- Anſwer.
ence the obedience and death of
Chriſt have upon our acceptance with
God, refolves it thus: All that I can
find in Scripture is, that to this we owe
the Covenant of Grace. Chrift's Blood
is called the Blood of the Covenant, be-
cause it did feal and confirm the Cove-
nant. I answer, Chrift's Blood did in-
deed feal and confirm the Covenant:
But is this the all of it? Socinus will
own as much as this comes to; Sicuti
alicujus animantis fanguine fufo fœdera De fervat.
antiquitùs fanciebantur, & confirmaban- 1.1. cap.3.
tur, ita Chrifti filii fui fanguine fœdus
fuum novum atq; æternum, quod nobiſ
cum per ipfum Christum pepigerat, fan-
civit & confirmavit Deus: Thus he,
telling us too, that it is therefore call-
ed,Sanguis æternifæderis: To the fame
purpoſe ſpeaks the Racovian Catechiſt,
with others of the fame Tribe: But
the Scripture tells us more of the Blood
of Chrift, That we are justified by his
blood, Rom.5.9. But, faith the Author,
we are faid to be justified by his Blood;
that is, by the Gospel-Covenant, which
was confirmed with his Blood: This is a
Strange
[460]
ſtrange way of interpreting Scripture:
We are justified by his blood; that is, by
the Gospel: We may as well go on to
verſe 18. and fay, juftification of life is
by the righteousness of one; that is, by
the Goſpel: And to verſe 19. and ſay,
We are made righteous by the obedience
of one ; that is, by the Goſpel: And from
thence we may go on at the fame rate
with other Scriptures, as, He hath waſh-
ed us from our fins in his own blood,
Revel.1.5. that is, in his own Gofpel:
The blood of Jefus Chrift,who through the
eternal Spirit offered up himſelf without
Spot to God, fhall purge your confciences
from dead works, Heb. 9. 14. that is,
the Goſpel ſhall do it: This is my blood
of the new Teftament, which is fhed for
many, for the remiſſion of fins, Matth.
26.28. that is, this is my New Teſta-
ment of the New Teftament, which is
ſhed for many, for the remiffion of fins:
Rather than make fuch work with
Scripture; we were as good let the
Blood of our dear Lord ftand there, as
it ought, in its juftifying Glory: We
are juftified by Christ's blood; that is,
by the Gospel: And is Chrift's Blood the
Goſpel? Or where in all the Scripture
is the Blood of Chriſt ſo taken ? The
Scripture rarely, if ever, fpeaks of
being
[461]
It
being juſtified by the Gofpel, but
it fpeaks much and often of be-
ing juſtified by Chrift's Blood :
cleanses us from all fin, 1 Joh. 1. 7. IE
purges the conscience, Heb. 9. 19. It was
fbed for the remiſion of ſins, Eph. 1.
7.
It washes us from our fins, Rev. 1. 5.
And yet all this contrary to the exprefs
words and genius of Scripture, muſt be
underſtood not of the Blood of Chriſt,
but of the Goſpel; and why of the
Goſpel? Becauſe his Blood confirmed
the Gospel: And is juſtifying and con-
firming the Goſpel all one? Chrift's
Blood, according to the Author, con-
firmed the Covenant with all Mankind;
but all men are not juſtified: When
the Scripture ſpeaks of Chrifts Blood
and Death as confirmative of the Co-
venant or Goſpel, it ſpeaks ſometimes
in general of all men: Thus he died
for all men, 2 Cor. 5.15. Hee gave him-
felf a ransom for all, 1 Tim. 2. 6. with
many other places to the fame purpoſe:
But when the Scripture fpeaks of
Chriſt's Blood as jultifying, it fpeaks
not in general of all, but in particular
of Believers only; and yet if juſtify--
and confirming the Gospel were all
one, it might be as truly faid, that
Chriſt juſtifies all as that he died for
ali
[462]
part.4.
all The Gospel is the Charter of Ju-
ftification; but befides the Charter
their muſt be a Righteouſneſs to be the
Matter of our Juftification: God ne-
ver juftifies any man without a Righ-
teouſneſs, and what is it? Is it the ve-
De fervat. Ty Act of Faith? Thus Socinus would
have it, that the To Credere is loco justi-
cap.4. tia, in the room of all Righteouſneſs :
But I have before proved that Faith
as an A&t and abſolutely in it ſelf con-
fidered cannot juftife us; Or is it our
inherent Graces? This is the expreſs
Tenet of the Papifts: Thus Bellarmine
would have juftifying Grace to be
donum in Anima inhærens, Renovation
and Regeneration: Againſt this our
Proteſtant Divines have fufficiently
teftified. Indeed no man, who under-
ſtands, either himself and his own Erra-
ta's, or the neceffary diſtinction which
is to be made between Juftification
and Sanctification, can affert it: And
now nothing remains to be our
Righteouſneſs in Juftification but the
Obedience and atoning Blood of
Chriſt, and theſe cannot be applied to
us, and become ours but by Imputati-
on: By this it appears, that the Blood
of Chriſt doth not only confirm the
Covenant, but that it juftifies us alfo.
And
[463]
And this further appears by the place
quoted by the Author, Mofes fprinkled
the blood on the book and on all the
people, Heb. 9. 19. He did not only
confirm the Covenant, but ſprinkled
the People too; this was the Type or
Figure; but Chrift, who is the Sub-
ſtance, not only confirms the Cove-
nant, but ſprinkles the hearts of Be-
lievers by his Blood: Hence their hearts
are Sprinkled from an evil confcience,
Heb. 10. 22. and they have the ſprinkl
ing of the blood of Chrift, 1 Pet. 1. 2.
But to go on; The Scripture, faith the
Author, uses these phraſes promiscuously,
to be justified by Faith, by Christ, by
Grace; nay, by believing that Christ is
the Son of God, or risen from the dead:
To which I anfwer, All thefe concurr
to the fame Juſtification, but not in the
fame manner: Grace, which is the in-
ward impulfive Caufe of Juftification,
is not Chrift or his Blood; the Blood
of Chrift, which is the Matter of our
Righteouſneſs, is not Faith; Faith,
which is the Hand to receive Chrift
and Grace, is not the Gofpel, the Char-
ter of Juſtification, which contains the
Evangelical Axioms, fuch as thoſe
touching Chrift's being the Son of God
or touching his Refurrection from the
dead,
9
}
[464]
Mr.She.
lock.
dead, are: Theſe are diftinct things
and not to be confounded. As for that
place, Eph. 2. 14, 15, 16. the Apoſtle
fpeaks indeed of reconciling Jews and
Gentiles, but that is not all, he ſpeaks
too of reconciling both to God, ver. 16.
and of making them one new man in
himself, ver. 15. which notes a further
reconciliation than that among them-
ſelves, even a conjunction with God
and Chriſt, according to our Saviours
Prayer, That they may be one in us, Joh.
17.21. Chrift, faith the Au or, abro-
gated the Mofaical Law: I anfwer, He
did fo as to Types and Ceremonials ;
but the Moral Law, which is immorta-
lized by its intrinfecal, Sanctity, ftands
to this day, and the Grace, which was
under the Old Teftament, was not ab-
rogated, but made more illuftrious
than it was before. The Gentiles, faith
the Author, were at a distance from
God; But if they had natural Faith,
and could by it pleaſe God, the di
ftance was lefs and more tolerable;
though they were but in the outward
Court of the Temple, nay, though
they were a thousand miles off from it,
they would do well enough in the o-
ther world.
Thus the Jews are faid to be redeem-
ed
[465]
ed from the curfe of the Law, by the
accurfed death of Chrift upon the
Croſs, Gal. 3. 13. Because the death of
Christ put an end to that Legal difpenfa-
tion, and fealed a new and better Cove
nant between God and Man ; and the
Gentiles were redeemed from their
vain converſation, received from their
fathers, that is, from those idolatrous
and impure practices they were guilty of 5
not with filver and gold, but with the
precious blood of Jeſus Chriſt, 1 Pet;
1. 18, 19 Now the Gentiles were deli-
vered from their Idolatry by the preach-
ing of the Gospel,which is called their be-
ing redeemed by the blood of Chriſt,
becauſe we owe this unspeakable bleffing
to his death.
Thus the Jews are redeemed from the Answer.
curfe of the Law by the accurfed death
of Christ, Gal. 3. 13. fo the Author ;
and thus Socinus, Ad Judæos tantùm De Ser-
pertinet, This belongs only to the Jews: vat part.i
But the Curfe which fell upon Chrift, ap. 1.
was not a ceremonial one, but a real,
fuch as put him into Agonies and a
bloody Sweat; neither were the Jews
only redeemed from it, but the Gen-
tiles alfo ; what elſe was this to the
Galatians who were Gentiles? Were
not the Gentiles alſo under the Curſe,
Hh
and
[466]
lock
and by nature children of wrath? No
doubt they were, the Apoſtle faith,
That Chrift redeemed us from the curfe
of the Law, that the bleffing of A-
braham might come on the Gentiles
through Jefus Chrift, ver. 14. And fure-
ly he would not argue from the Re-
demption of the Jews only to the Be-
nediction of the Gentiles, but from
what was common to both of them.
The Gentiles were redeemed from their
vain converſation, that is, from their
idolatrous practices, with the blood of
Chrift; 1 Pet. 1. 18,19. that is, they were
delivered by the preaching of the Gospel ;
So the Author: But when they were
redeemed from their vain Converſati-
on, they were redeemed from the
guilt of it; and the λúrgov for this was
not the Gospel, but the precious
Blood of Chriſt, who was a Lamb with-
out blemish and without spot.
Dr. Owen
Cam. 193.
Mr. Sher- Those men are injurious to the Blood
of Christ, who attribute no more to it
than a non-imputation of fin; That
by his death Chrift, bearing and un-
dergoing the punishment due to us,
paying the ranſom due for us, deliver-
ed us from the wrath and curfe of God:
And thus by Chriſt's death all caufe
of quarrel is taken away: But then
*
this
[467]
this will not complete our acceptation,
the old quarrel may be laid afide, and
yet no new friendſhip begun ; we may be
not finners, and yet not fo far righteous,
as to have a right to the Kingdom of hea-
ven: So that the Blood of Chrift only
makes us innocent, delivers us from
guilt and puniſhment; but (if we will
take the Doctor's word for it) it can
give us no title to Glory; this is
owing to the Imputation of Chriſt's
Righteouſneſs, to the Obedience of
his Life: But you fee the Scripture
gives us a quite different account of it z
we are faid to be juſtified and redeem-
ed by the Blood of Chriſt ; nay,
We
have boldness to enter into the holieſt
by the Blood of Jefus, Heb. 10. 19.
which is an allusion to the high Priest's
entring into the Holy of Holies(which was
a Type of Heaven) with the blood of the Sa
crifice:Thus by the Blood ofChrist we have
admillion into heaven it felf, though the
Dr.fays, That the Blood of Chriſt makes
us innocent, but cannot give us a Title
to Heaven. The Scripture takes no notice
of their artificial Methods, That the
guilt of fin is taken away by the death
of Chrift, and that we. are made
righteous by his Righteousness: But
the Blood of Christ is faid to justifie is,
Hh 2
and
[468]
€
and to give us admiffion into the holiest
of all, into heaven it self; nay, we are
made righteous by the death of Chriſt too,
2 Cor. 5. 21. For he hath made him to
be fin for us, who knew no fin, that
we might be made the righteouſneſs
of God in him: That is, Chrift died as
aSacrifice for our fins, that we might
be reconciled to God: So that our Righ-
teousness as well as Innocence is owing to
the death of Chrift, to that Sacrifice be
offered for our fins ; his Blood had a
great vertue in it, to make us righteous,
to purge our confciences from dead
works, that we might ſerve the living
God; and our righteousness and acccep-
tance with God is wholly owing to that
Covenant, which he purchaſed and fealed
with his Blood.
Aufwer. I ſuppoſe the Author to be a very
unfit man to put in this accufation: Who
attributes moft to that Blood, the Au-
thor or theſe men, is a very fhort iſſue,
and will foon he tried: Chrift's Blood
fealed and confirmed the Covenant ;
this is the all of it faith the Au-
thor: Theſe men (though they do
not fint it with an All) yet they free-
ly own, That Christ's death did feal and
confirm the Covenant; evidently there-
fore they attribute as much to Chrift's
Blood
[469]
blood, as the Author doth: But do
they ſtay here? No, they fay with the
Apoſtle; That we are juftified by Chrift's
blood, Rom.5.9. And doth the Author
do fo? No furely, IVe are juftified by
his blood; that is, by the Gospel-Cove-
nant, which was confirmed with his blood:
Thus the Author: Now if juftifying
and confirming the Covenant be one
thing, then the Author allows juſtifi-
cation by Chriſt's blood; But juſtify-
ing and confirming the Covenant are
not one thing: Christ's blood, accord-
ing to the Author, confirmed the Cove-
nant for all; but it doth not juſtifie
all. Hence it appears, that the Author
allows not juftification by Chrift's
Blood; and yet he charges theſe men
with being injurious to it; to which
they attribute remiffion, or non-impu-
tation of fin: But for the matter it
felf, I conceive that the Obedience and
Blood of Chrift are to be taken in
conjunction; both together are the
completure of the Law both are
imputed to us, both juftifie us unto life
eternal. Hence I conceive where one
is expreffed in Scripture, the other is
implyed; when the Scripture faith,
That we are justified by Chrift's blood,
Rom.5.9. It doth include his Obedi
Hh 3
ence;
[470]
ence; and when it faith, That we are
made righteous by his obedience, Rom.
5.19. it doth include his Blood alfo.
Hence our Church takes in both into
1. Hom. of juftification: He paid the ransom for
Salvation. them by his death; he fulfilled the Law
for them in his life: fo that in and by
him every true Chriftian man may be
called a fulfiller of the Law.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
2
But though our pardon and juftifica-
tion be attributed to the Blood of Chrift;
yet I could never perfwade my ſelf, that
this wholly excludes the perfect Obedi-
ence and Righteousness of his life: For the
Apoſtle tells us That we are accepted
in the beloved, Eph. 1. 6. Whatever
rendred Chrift beloved of God, did con-
tribute ſomething to our acceptance: For
because be was beloved, we are accepted
for his fake: No man will deny, that
God was highly pleafed with his perfect
Obedience: We know how many bleffings
God bestowed upon the children of Ifrael,
for the fake of their Fathers, Abraham,
Ifaac and Jacob, who were great exam-
ples of Faith and obedience, which made
them very dear to God; and no doubt
God was more pleased with the Obedience
of Chrift, than with the Faith of Abra-
ham; and therefore we ought not to
think, that we receive no benefit by the
Rightes
[471]
Righteousness of Chrift, when Abraham's
pofterity was fo bleffed for his fake: But
then Christ's Righteousness and Death
Serve not two fuch different ends, as
theſe men fancy; but they both ſerve
the fame end to establish the Covenant:
God was fo well pleafed with what Chrift
did and fuffered; that for his fake he
entred into a Covenant of Grace with
man: As Abraham's Faith was not im-
puted to his Pofterity, as their act; but
for Abraham's fake, God entred into
Covenant with them, and chose them for
his peculiar people.
Here we have the Author acknow. Answer.
ledging, that the obedience of Chrift
did contribute fomething to our ac-
ceptance with God: The children of
Ifrael were bleſſed for Abraham's obedi-
ence; and why may not we for Christs?
The confequence is undeniable; but
there is a vaſt difproportion between
Abraham's obedience and Chriſts. A-
braham's was but the obedience of a
man, and of an impert man; but
Chriſts was the obedience of God: His
Blood is called, the blood of God; and
for the very fame reafon his obedience
may be ſtiled the obedience of God:
Abraham's had not a jot or tittle of
merit in it, he had nothing to glory in
Ah 4
before
[472]
Mr Sher-
lock.
before God: But Chrift's was fo rich-
ly meritorious as to purchaſe the Blef
fings of both Worlds: Abraham's was
not imputed to his Poſterity; it was
little enough, and (without Chrift's
Righteousness to cover its defects) too
little for himſelf: But Chrift's is im-
puted to us, and is long enough, and
broad enough to cover a multitude of
Believers, and to juſtifie them before
God. The Covenant made with Abra
kam was the very Covenant of Grace;
The Gospel was preached to Abraham
Gal. 3. 8. And Abraham Saw Chrift's
day and rejoyced, Joh. 8.56. And hence
it appears, that the Covenant with 4-
brabam was not founded in Abraham's
Righteouſneſs, but in Chriſt's; and
therefore the Apoſtle tells us exprefly,
That it was confirmed before of God in
Chrift, Gal. 3. 17. wecnenvę wμśvnv, be-
προκεκυρωμένην,
fore confirmed; The we tells us, that
the Goſpel was in Abraham's time.
The obedience of Christ's life was one
thing, which made his Sacrifice fo meri-
torious, which was the precious blood
of Chrift, as of a Lamb without ble-
miſh and ſpot; And this is the moſt that
can be made of; Rom. 5. 18,19. ´As by
the offence of one judgement came
all to condemnation : So by the
Righte
upon
[473]
Righteouſneſs of one, the free gift
came upon all to juſtification of life:
For as by one man's difobedience, ma-
ny were made finners; fo by the obe-
dience of one fhall many be made
righteous: There is no neceffity of ex-
pounding this, vπanon, obedience, of the
Righteousness of Christ's life; for it may
well fignifie no more than the obedience
of his death, notwithſtanding the Do-
&ors distinction, that doing is one
thing, and ſuffering another: For the
Apostle tells us, That he became obe-
dient unto death in,Phil.2.8. And
his offering himſelf in Sacrifice, is
called doing God's will, Heb.10.9,10.
And whether this be properly ſaid or
not, I will leave the Doctor to dispute
with the Apoſtle: It is plain, that in this
Chapter there is no express mention made
of any act of obedience and righteousness,
whereby we are reconciled to God: But
only his dying for us, in verf. 8. the A-
postle tells us, That Chriſt dyed for us:
In verf.9. That we are juſtified by his
blood: In the 10. That we are recon-
ciled by his death; which makes it more
than probable, that by his Righteousnes
and Obedience here, the Apostle under-
ftands his death and sufferings; because
this was the fubject of his difcourfe; but
yes
[474]
yet thefe expreffions, His righteouſneſs
and obedience, ſeem to take in the whole
compaß of his obedience in doing and
Suffering the Will of God; and the mean-
ing of the words is this: That as God
was fo highly displeased with Adam's
fin, that he entailed a great many evils
and miferies, and death it felf upon his
pofterity for his fake: So God was fo
well pleafed with the obedience of Christ's
life and death, that he bestows the re-
wards of Righteousness on those who ac-
cording to the rigor of the Law are not
righteous; that for Christ's fake he hath
made a new Covenant of Grace, which
pardons our past fins, and rewards a (in-
cere though imperfect obedience: For
δίκαιοι καταςαθήσονται, fhall be made
righteous, is the fame with Sixawenoor-
Tα, ſhall be juſtified; That is, treated
like righteous perfons: So that Chrift's
Righteousness is not the formal cause of
our juftification; that very Righteouf
neß, whereby we are righteous: But it is
the meritorious caufe of that Covenant,
whereby we are declared Righteous, and
rewarded as Righteous; for the Apoftle
tells us, in verf. 17. who thofe are, who
are thus juftified by Christ, and fhall
reign wiik him in life; not those who
are Righteous by the imputation of
Christ's
[475]
ร
Christ's Righteousness: But thofe who
have received abundance of Grace
and the gift of Righteouſneſs; that is,
who by the Gospel, which is the abun-
dant grace of God, are made holy and
righteous, as God is; which Righteous-
ne is called a gift, because it is not
owing folely to humane endeavours,but is
wrought in us by fupernatural means :
We are made righteous by the Righteouf
neß of Chrift, not that his actual obedi-
ence is reckoned as done by us (which is
impoffible) But because we are made
righteous, both in a proper and forenfick
fence, by the Gospel-Covenant, which is
wholly owing to Gods Grace and Chrift's
Merits and Righteousness: So that the
Righteousnes of Christ is our Righteouf-
neß, when we speak of the foundation of
the Covenant, by which we are accepted;
but if we ſpeak of the terms of the Co-
venant, then we must have a righteous-
neß of our own; for the Righteousness of
Chriſt will not ſerve the turn: Chrift's
Righteousness and our own, are both ne-
ceffary to our Salvation; the first as the
foundation of the Covenant, the other as
the condition of it.
We are now arrived at that famous Answer.
place, as by the offence of one judgement
came upon all to condemnation; so by
the
[476]
the Righteousness of one,the free gift came
upon all to justification of life; as by one
man's disobedience many were made fin-
ners; fo by the obedience of one fhall ma-
ny be made righteous, Rom. 5. 18, 19.
The Apoſtle here uſes two words,
anaíoμa, or Righteousnes; and inαнoй,
analwux,
or Obedience; both thefe fignifie the
doing of God's Will, which doing for
its rectitude is called Righteoufnefs;
and for its fubjection, Obedience, nei-
ther of them do properly fignifie fuffer-
ing: Meer fuffering, which is not fpi-
rited with a right and fubjective mind,
is not Righteouſneſs or Obedience :
The Apoſtle here fpeaks of Righte
ouſneſs in general, and Obedience in
general, and who may pare off ought,
and fay,it is not all Chrift's Righteouf-
nefs or Obedience,but fome;efpecially,
when that fome,the paffive,I mean,is lefs
properly ſuch than the active?and what
neceffity or cogent reafon is there for
doing fo? The Antithefis in the Text e-
vinces the contrary; Act is here ſet in
oppoſition againſt Act, Chrift's Obe-
dience againſt Adam's Difobedience,
Now, for what the Author alledges, I
fay, it is true, that of Christ's being obe-
dient, Phil. 2. 8. reaches down to his
death, but it takes in all the Obedience
of
[477]
of his life; and that of Chrifts doing Gods
will, Hebr. 10. 7. extends to the Sacri-
fice of himſelf, but it compriſes all the
righteouſneſs of his life too. It is truę,
that the Apoſtle in this 5. Chapter to
the Romans, doth firſt ſpeak of Chriſt's
Death and Sufferings; but his active
and paffive Obedience are fo 'near in
conjunction, that the Apoſtle may in
his diſcourſe eaſily pafs from the one to
the other: Nay, as I before noted,when
the one is expreffed in Scripture, the
other is implied; fo that the Apoſtle
doth not indeed pafs from one thing to
another, but only vary his Phrafe. The
Author himſelf confeffes, That thoſe ex-
preſſions, his righteousness and Obedience,
Seem to take in the whole compass of his
Obedience, in doing and fuffering the will
of God. And how doth the active and
paffive righteouſneſs of Chrift juſtify
us, or make us righteous? Why, thefe
procured that Gospel Covenant, whereby
we are declared righteous, and rewarded
as righteous. Now, this Interpretati-
on may ſtand good, when juſtifying
and procuring the Covenant fhall be,
what they can never be, one and the
fame thing: Chriſts active and paſſive
Obedience, according to the Author,
procured the Covenant for all Men; But
Lurely
[478]
furely they do not juſtify all Men. The
whole Obedience of Chrift may be con-
fidered two wayes: either as it is pro.
curative of the Covenant; and fo it ren-
ders us juſtifiable; or as is it received
by Faith, and fo it actually juftifies us:
But neither of theſe can be without a
Divine imputation; without that firſt
fundamental imputation (which is im-
plied in fuch Scripture expreffions, as
tell us, that Chrift died for us ) the O-
bedience of Chrift could not have ren-
dred us juſtifiable any more than it
doth Devils; and without that ſecond
particular imputation (which is im-
plied in fuch Scripture expreffions, as
tell us
That we are juſtified by Christs
Blood, that we are made righteous by
Christ's Obedience.) the Obedience of
Chriſt could not juſtify us; for it juſti-
fies us not as it procures the Covenant
(that is done, according to the Au-
thor, for all Men; and all Men are not
juſtified) but it juſtifies us, as it is par-
ticularly made ours; and made ours it
cannot be without an Imputation. Ac-
cording to the Author, the Apoſtle
muſt be interpreted thus: By the righ-
teousness of one, the free gift came upon
all unto Fuftification of life; that is, by
the righteousness of one the Covenant was
ૐ
pro-
[479]
procured: and fo, by the obedience of one
Shall many be made righteous ; that is, by
the obedience of one the Covenant was
procured. But this Interpretation is fo
harſh and ſtrange, that, I fuppofe, few
will be able to receive and own it: But
the Author tells us, That the Apoſtle, in
ver.17.acquaints us,who the juftified are,
not thoſe who are righteous by imputed
righteousness, but those who by the Gospel,
which is the grace of God, are made righ-
teous as God is; But by the grace of
God, verf. 17. is not meant the Gospel,
but the rich mercy of God; and by
the gift of righteouſneſs there, is not
meant inherent graces, but the righte-
oufnefs of Chrift, which is made over
to us by a gracious imputation; the ve-
ry fame righteoufnefs, which is called
the righteousness of one, verf. 18. and the
obedience of one, verf 19. The Apoſtle is
ſo far from ſpeaking of our own inhe-
rent righteouſneſs, that the great ſcope
of the Chapter is not of Sanctification,
but Juftification; and that not by a
righteouſneſs of our own, but of an-
other, that is, of Chrift. But now, let
us hear the Authors conclufion: Chriſts
righteouſneß and our own, are both ne-
cesary to our falvation; the first, as the
foundation of the Covenant ; the other, as
the
•
[480]
the condition of it. Very well, Faith in
Chriſt is indeed the condition of the
Covenant, and in us inherent; but I
had thought, the Author had been
treating of that righteouſneſs, which is
the matter of our juftification, and not
only of the condition of the Covenant:
To underſtand what that righteouſneſs
which is the matter of our juſtifica-
tion, we muſt confider,what it is which
we are to anſwer unto in the point of
juſtification; if we are only to anſwer
unto the terms of the Goſpel Cove-
nant, then indeed Faith anfwers there-
unto; but what will be the confe-
quences of this? If we are only to anf-
wer unto the terms of the Goſpel Co
venant, then our Saviour, contrary to
his words, came naтahua, to diffolve
the Law, to untye all the Bonds of it,
to loosen the very Foundation of it ;
then Juftification is not in fuch a way,
as eſtabliſhes the Law, as the Apoſtle tells
us, Rom. 3. 31. But in fuch a way as
voides and abrogates it, then all true
Believers muſt be in a ſtate of perfecti-
on, the defects of their Graces muſt be
no fins, for they have that true Faith,
which anfwers the terms of the Goſpel;
and to more then theſe they are not to
anſwer; then the Goſpel, the great
Char
[481]
}
Charter of Grace, hath no pardon in it,
for no more is required of us, but the
truth of Faith and other Graces; and
the want of true Faith and other Graces
the Goſpel doth not pardon: Then
Chriſt dyed not to obtain the pardon
of thofe fins, which are confiftent with
Goſpel-fincerity, but dyed to prevent
them from being fins, which otherwife
would have been fins, and to prevent
them from being pardoned by his
Blood;and to name but one thing more:
Then all the Pagans must be in a jufti-
fied ſtate; for the Gospel Covenant
being founded for them alfo, they are
only to answer to the terms of the Gol-
pel; and to thefe they have a very
eafie full answer, that they knew them
not: By theſe things it appears, that in
the point of Juftification, we muft anf
wer not to the terms of the Goſpel ons
ly, but to the pure perfect Law alfc
and to that, nothing of our own imper-
fect Graces can refpond; pothing lefs
can answer, but the perfect Righteouf
neſs and Obedience of Chrift, which is
made ours by imputation: Hence the
Apoſtle tells us, That by the righteous-
neẞ of one we have justification of life;
and by the obedience of one, we are made
er constituted righteous.
Ii
SECT
[482]
Mr. Sher-
lock
SECT. IV.
Ccording to the notion of theſe Men,
men may, nay, must be united to
Christ while they continue in their fins;
Mr shephard tells us exprefly: That O-
bedience doth not make us Gods Peo-
ple, or God our God; but he is firſt
our God (which is only by the Cove-
nant of Grace) and hence it is, that
he being ours, and we his, we of all
others are moſt bound to obey him :
We are Gods People, and that by ver-
tue of the Covenant, before we obey
him. The fame Author tells us: That
we are united to Chrift our life, not
by Obedience as Adam was to God by
it, but by Faith (that is, by ſuch a
Faith of which Obedience is no part
and therefore as all actions in living
things come from union, fo all our acts
of Obedience are to come by Faith
from the Spirit on Chrifts part, and
Faith on ours, which make the union;
The meaning is this, We must first be
united to Chrift by Faith, before we can
do any thing that is good; before this
union the best actions we can do are fins,
which is a plain demonftration of the
truth
و
[483]
truth of this charge; becauſe according to
this principle, we can do nothing but fin,
before we be united to Christ; hence
thefe Men conftantly place our Justifica-
tion before our Sanctification, that we are
first accounted holy by God before we are
made fo; now our Justification follows
our union to Chriſt, and our Sanctifica-
tion follows our Juftification; and there-
fore we must first be united to Christ, be-
fore we are fanctified, that is, before we
are made holy: Hence we are told, that
holyneſs is a remote end of vocation
but the next end is to come to Chriſt.
And the fame Author makes a speech
for Chrift to a Sinner (more gracious
than all the Gospel invitations ) though
thou haſt reſiſted my Spirit, refuſed
my grace, wearied me with thy iniqui-
ties; yet come to me, this will make
me amends, I require nothing of thee
elfe but to come.
We cannot indeed be united to Aufwer.
Chrift, whileft we continue in our fins,
in the wilful Indulgence of them; nei-
ther can we be holy, whileft we are
feparated from Chriſt,and the influence
of his Holy Spirit. Mr. Shephard fets
Faith in the first place, and then Obe-
dience after it as a fruit thereof; and
well he may do fo, Te are all the Chil-
li a
dren
[484]
*
dren of God, by Faith in Christ Jesus,
Gal. 3. 26. Faith makes us Gods Peo-
ple; Obedience, which comes after,
proves us fuch: Without Faith it is im-
poffible to pleaſe to God, Heb. 11. 6. and
therefore without Faith it muſt be im-
pollible to obey him: agus Tins
Faith in the beginning of life, faith Ig-
natius: Fides principium Chriftiani eft,
Faith is the first principle, or mover in
the new Creature,faith St. Ambrofe: Laudo
In Pfal. fru&um boni operis, fed in Fide agnofco
118. Scr. radicem, I praise the fruit of a good
work, but I acknowledge the root of it
Hift. ad
I pl.
20.
3 I
2
>
to be in Faith: So St. Austin: And a lit-
In Pfal. tle after he faith, That works before
Faith are but, inania & curfus celerri-
mus præter viam, Vain things and a
Swift running befide the way. Hence our
Church in the 1.Homily of good works
affures us That Faith giveth life to the
Soul, and that they be as much dead to
God that lack Faith, as they be to the
World, whofe Bodies lack Souls; that
without Faith all that is done of us is
but dead before God, all good works are
but shadows and fhews of good things;
that out of Faith come good works, that
be good works indeed, and without Faith
ne work is good before God. I fuppoſe
Mr. shephard cannot fpeak more fully;
it
[985]
may ſeem harſh to fome, that before
Faith in Chrift, there fhould be no-
thing good in us, that our beſt actions
ſhould be fins: but if we look on a wic-
ked Man, that is, a Man without Faith
in the Scripture-glafs, nothing can be
plainer; take him at an honeft calling,
The plowing of the wicked is fin, Prov.
21. 4. Take him in facred or Devo-.
tional affairs, His Sacrifice is an abomi-
nation, Prov. 15. 8. And fo is his Pray-
er too, Prov. 28. 9. Whatever his out-
ward work or poſture be; To the unbe-
lieving there is nothing pure, Tit. I. 15.
The very mind and confcience is defiled,
and will be fo till it be purified by
Faith. Mr. Shephard places Juftifica-
tion before Sanctification; and what
doth the Church of England do? It tells
us in the 12. Article, That good works
goodworks
are the fruits of Faith, and follow after
Juftification, that they spring neceffari-
ly of a true and lively Faith. And in
the 13. Article, That works done before
the Grace of Chrift, and the infpiration
of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God,for-
afmuch as they spring not of Faith in Jesus
Christ: Nay, in the clofe of that Arti-
cle, our Church faith of fuch works,
We doubt not but they have the nature of
fin, As for Mr. Shephards fpeech for
I i3
Chriſt,
[486]
Mr.Sher-
lock.
Chriſt, come in a ſenſe, that they have
in ſome meaſure refifted his Spirit, re-
fufed his Grace, and wearied him with
their iniquities; the inviting of fuch
is no more than that of our Saviour,
which calls the weary, and heavy laden,
to come to him for rest; in which all
are concerned, except fuch as can with-
out Chriſt earn a fanctity, or holyneſs
at the fingers ends of Nature, and take
a nap at home, in a prefumption of
their own worthineſs and ſelf made
righteouſneſs.
ງ
But let us confider, the whole progress
of the Soul to a closure with Chrift; the
Several feps to this are Conviction
Compunction, Humiliation, and Faith,
which is the uniting Grace. Now if
there be nothing of forfaking of fin inclu-
ded in all this, then Men must be united
to Christ before they forsake their fins:
Now, Conviction is a great fenfe of the
evil of fin, and the evil after it, of its
abominable & accurfed Nature, and the
Judgments which follow it; and this
is as it ought to be, Men muſt be awa-
kened to fee thefe evils, before they
will reform their lives; Reform ? nay,
you are out, this is not the end of Con-
viction to reform fin (that is a legal way)
but Compunction is the end of it; well
the
[487]
then, what is this Compunction? Why,
Compunction is firft a great fear of be-
ing damned, he fees death, wrath, eter-
nity near to him; next to this fucceeds
a great forrow and mourning for fin,
and that which perfects this Compun-
ction, is a feparation from fin; this is
fomething like, but by a feparation from
fin, you must not understand a leaving
fin, but ſuch a ſeparation as confifts with
living in it; For it is nothing but a be-
ing willing, or rather not unwilling,
that the Lord fhould take it away; the
Lord doth not wound the heart, that
the Soul thould firſt heal it felf, but
that it may defire the Phylician, the
Lord Jefus, to come and heal it: So
that all he means by feparation from fin,
is to be content that Chrift by an irrefifti-
ble power ſhould take away our fins: By
this Separation the Soul is cut off from.
the will to fin, not from all (no, nor
from any) fin in the will, for that muſt
be mortified by a Spirit of holyneſs,
after the Soul is implanted into Chriſt.
Now this is down right non-fenſe, for he
muſt be a fubtil Man, who can diftinguiſh
between a will to fin, and fin in the will;
and all that can be made of it is this
that this feparation is a willingneß, or
rather not unwillingness, that Chrift
11 4
fhould
?
[488]
jhould take away our fins against our wills;
and therefore he tells us, That this Sepa-
ration is no part of our San&tification:
The whole defign of this Compuncti-
on, is to work humiliation in us, which
is the work of the Spirit, whereby the
Soul, broken off from felf-conceit and
confidence, fubmitteth and lieth un-
der God, to be difpofed as he pleaf-
eth; this felf-confidence is any hope of
pleafing God, by Reformation, or ke
pentance,or any thing he can do. When
Men feel this Compunction, the great
danger is, left they should feek cafe, by
Repentance and Reformation; if they
can repent and reform, they have fome
hopes (as well they may if they do
fo) that this will heal their wounds
and pacify the Lord towards them,
when they fee no peace in a finful
courfe, they will try a good one: But
this is a dangerous miftake; for while
it is thus with the Soul, he is uncapa-
ble of Chrift: For he that trufts to o-
ther things to fave him, or makes him-
felf his own Saviour, or refts in his
duties without a Saviour (that is ac-
cording to this Author, all those who re
pont and reform he can never have.
Chrift to fave him: So that true Humi
liation is this; when the Soul feels its
own
ง
[489]
own inability and unworthiness, that
it may lye under God to be diſpoſed
of; that is, contented to be ſaved or
damned, as ſhall pleafe God; and
when the Soul is at this pafs, it is vas
capax, a veffe! capable of Grace: And
now they are made thus hollow and
empty by Humiliation, they are capa-
ble of receiving Chrift, as an hollow
veffel is of receiving any thing. This is
a new notion of our union to Chriſt, that
it is a receiving Chrift into us, as an hol-
low veſſel receives any liquor poured into
it: This is a Philofophical account of the
nature of Humiliation, that a man must
have ſuch a ſenſe of his inability to
pleaſe God, that he shall never dare to
be fo prophane as to attempt it, but muſt
leave repentance and reformation to car-
nal christles men; and that he may
fo fenfible of his unworthineß, that he
Shall contentedly Submit to God to be
damned or faved, as he pleafes: And
now the Soul being thus hollow, is fit to
receive Chrift; and being grown careless
of its Salvation, and indifferent whether
it be faved or damned, (for it is im-
poffible thus to fubrait without being in-
different in fome measure which God
fhall chufe) it is a fit object for mercy;
certainly it is a very hard thing to bring
be
any
[490]
any man in his wits to this; and I find
by this Author, that God is very hard
put to it to bamble the Soul thus: For he
is forced to irritate and ftir up origi-
nal corruption, to ſtir the dunghil (a
very unfit office for an Holy Being) that
Jo men finding themselves fenfibly, grow
worfe and worse, may defpair of growing
better, and leave off fuch vain attempts,
and fit down humble under God: Nay,
the Lord loads, and tires, and wearies
the Soul, by its own endeavours, till
it can ſtir no more; That is, when the
Soul labours to repent and reform; the
Spirit of God,which should affist fuch pious
endeavours withdraws it felf; becauſe
it knows the Soul would reft therein
without Chrift: Now I know not,who fuf-
fers most by this: The finner who is thus
humbled, or God who thus humbles him;
for it must needs be as contrary to the
holy merciful nature of God, to uſe ſuch
methods of Humiliation, as it is to the
proud heart of man, to be thus humbled:
Thus you fee that Humiliation hath no-
thing to do with repentance, and refor-
mation of our lives.
Answer. The steps of the Soul towards Christ,
are conviction, compunction, Humili
ation, Faith: Now if there be nothing
of forfaking of fin in all this then men
must
[491]
}
must be united to Chrift before they for
fake their fins : So the Author: But
doth Mr. Shepherd allow of no kind
of forfaking of fin before union to
Chrift? Yes furely, There is, faith he,
a feparation from fin; so much feparati-
on, as makes the soul willing, that fin
fhould be taken away: So much fepara-
tion, as is neceffary to the Souls cloſing
with Chrift: He never thought that a
man indulging his lufts, ſhould imme-
diately come, and be united to Chrift:
No, every ſtep or degree, which he
fets in the Souls progrefs to a cloſure
with Chriſt, proves the contrary, what
need conviction, compunction, humilia-
tion; If the Soul, wallowing in its lufts,
might be united to Chrift. But Mr.
Shephard makes the end of conviction
to be, not reformation of fin, but com-
punction: But how doth he fo? What,
that there is no tendency at all in con-
viction towards reformation? No, he
faith exprefly, that the next end of it is
compunction. Sorrow for fin is fo called
for in Scripture; that no man may
ny it to be one of God's methods, by
which he uſes to bring men home to
himſelf: Neither is it imaginable, that
fin our old joy, unlefs in fome meaſure
it become our forrow, fhould ever be
reformed
de-
[492]
reformed, as it ought, without compun
dion (faith Mr. Shephard) a finner will
never part with his fin: A bare con-
viction doth but light the Candle to ſee
fin; but compunction burns his fin-
gers, and that makes him dread the
fire: But Mr. Shephard (who places
this compunction in a fear of wrath,
forrow for fin, and ſeparation from fin)
means by feparation, not a leaving of fin,
but a being willing, or rather not un-
willing, that the Lord ſhould take it a.
way, and that by an irrefiftable power,
and that against our wills. Towhich, I
anſwer, touching irrefiftable Grace
and that objection, as if we were made
willing againſt our will, I have before
difcourfed: In compunction there is a
leaving of fin in fome meaſure; the
fear of wrath will make a man ſtart
from it; forrow for fin will make it
ceaſe to be joy; feparation from fin
fo as to be willing to have it taken a-
way, is a kind of withdrawing and de-
parture of heart from it: But indeed
in this compunction, there is not fuch
a leaving of fin, as if we could be our
own Phyſicians, and heal our corrupt
natures, as if we could our felves
reach that victory over the world and
its lufts, which is the triumph of Faith,
ая
[493]
as if we could mortifie the deeds of the
body, without that holy Spirit, which
is given to Believers for that end: This
were to render Chrift, Faith, the holy
Spirit unneceffary to our Sanctificati-
on, and to render our felves like thoſe
Pagans (of whom St. Auftin fpeaks)
who would not be made Chriſtians 2
Quia quafi fibi fufficiunt de bonâ vitâ Enarr.in
fua. Mr. Shephard faith, That this fe- Pfal.31,
paration from fin cuts off the Soul from
the will to fin, not from all fin in the
will, which is mortified by the Spirit of
Holineß: Now this (faith the Author)
is down right non-fence; for he must be
a fubtil man, who can diſtinguiſh be-
tween a will to fin, and ſin in the will
But, I ſuppoſe, no great fubtilty is re-
quired to folve this; by a will to fin
is meant that act of the will, whereby
it is carried out to fin as its beloved
Object; and by fin in the will is meant
that habitual corruption, which is
there: In compunction there is ſuch a
ſeparation from fin, that the will is not
in its acts carried out, as before, to fin
as its pleaſure, joy, and purfuit; but
not ſuch a ſeparation from fin, as if the
habitual corruption in the will were
mortified, as after Faith it is by the
holy Spirit: But, faith Mr. Shephard,
Humi-
[494]
Humiliation breaks off the Soul from
Self-confidence: after compunction men
are apt to feek eafe by repentance and re-
formation, to try a good course: but if
they trust in themselves, or reft in their
duties without a Saviour; they are unca-
pable of Chrift; that is, faith the Au-
thor, all those who repent and reform,
are uncapable of Chrift: And mult the
world believe, that Mr. Shephard is a-
gainſt repentance and reformation ?
Surely, there is no reafon at all for it,
the thing is very plain, if a man will
ftand like the proud Pharifee upon
his bottom; if with the Jews he will
go about sous, to make to ftand his
own weak cadaverous righteoufneſs, if
he will repent and reform in his own
ſtrength, and without coming to Chriſt
the Fountain of Grace: Surely he is
not, whilſt in this proud pofture, capa-
ble of Chriſt: Repentance and Refor-
mation are good things, but they muſt
be done in a good manner, they muſt
not be made our Chrift's or Saviours,
they muſt not keep us off from Jefus
Chriſt, or make us fay, as the Pagan
mentioned by St. Auftin did, Jam benè
vivo, quid mihi neceffarius eſt Chriſtus?
I can live well already, what need have I
of Chrift? All that reformation, which
is
[495]
bo-
is without Faith in Chrift, is, as our
Church faith of works without Faith,
But dead before God: Nemo computet
na opera fua ante fidem, faith St. Auftin,
If we would reform indeed, we muſt go
to Chriſt by Faith: But, faith the Au-
thor, in this Humiliation of Mr. Shep-
hards, a man must have such a ſenſe of
his inability to pleaſe God, that he must
not dare be fo prophane as to attempt it 5
and ſuch a ſenſe of his unworthiness, as to
fubmit to God, whether he will ſave or
damn him, he muft in fome measure be in-
different,whether he be faved or damned;
but it is an hard thing to bring a man in
his wits to this. To which, I anfwer,
for the firſt, a ſenſe of our inability to
pleaſe God, is a thing fo neceffary, that
our Saviour tells Laodicea, that he was
wretched, and miſerable, and poor, and
blind, and naked, and muft have her
gold, and raiment, and eye-falve, and all
from him: If we think we can pleaſe
God in our felves, & not in the beloved
Jefus Chrift; or that we can pleaſe
God, by walking in our own ſtrength,
and not in the power of Grace, we do
but deceive our felves, and our labour
will be but in vain; it will fare with
us, as it did with the man ftoried of in
one of the Jewiſh Rabbins, who in the
night
[496]
night lighted his Candle, and it went out
again, and lighted it again, and again,
and still it went out: Our Lamps of a
felf-made Sanctity and Righteoufnefs,
though trimmed over and over, with
our endeavours, will certainly go out,
and at laſt we muſt refolve, as he did,
to wait for the Sun, to have all Grace
come down to us in the healing Beams
of the true Sun of Righteoufnels, Je-
fus Chrift. And as for the ſecond thing,
a fenſe of our unworthiness, ſo as to
fubmit to God, whether he will fave
or damn us; it is no fuch ſtrange thing
to me, that poor finners fhould lye pro-
ſtrate at Gods feet, acknowledging
their worthiness to be for ever con-
demned, and Gods Soveraignty in
difpenfing Grace as he pleaſes; it is no
more but only to fubfcribe to that of
the Apoſtle, He will have mercy, on
whom he will have mercy; and whom he
will be hardneth, Rom. y. 8. Theodorus
Cornbertus, though in his life he had
writ againſt Calvin and Beza, in the
point of Predeftination, yet at his
death profeffed to God, se animam
fuam à Deo poffidere, quam Deo integrum
fit, pro fuo beneplacito, fervare vellet
an reprobare, fibi nil effe quod conquera-
tur: Either we have power in our
hands
[497]
hands to work true Faith in our felves,
to regenerate our own hearts, or not
if we fay, we have fuch a power in our
felves, how fhall thofe Scriptures be
falved, which tell us, That God begets
us of his own will, James 1, 18. That he
worketh the will of his own good plea-
fure, Phil. 2. 13. That the regenerating
Spirit bloweth where it listeth, Joh. 3.8.
That faith is not of our felves, but the
gift of God, Eph.2.8. How fhall Gods
Royal Prerogative, which is to make
a new heart,to take away the ftone of it,to
Sprinkle the clean water,to put his Spirit
into men,as we have it, Ezeck:36. ever
be preſerved inviolate? It cannot be,
but if, as becoms us, we fay, that God
is the great Worker of regenerating
Graces in us; how can we do less than
lye proftrate at his feet and pleaſure
for it? The cafe is very fhort, either
Gods will muft depend on Mans, or
Mans will muſt depend on Gods; and
one would think it very reaſonable,
that Man, a Creature, a meer Recei-
ver ſhould depend on him who is a God
and great Donor of all. The Fathers in
the fecond Araufican Council, Can, 4.
determine thus: Si quis, ut à peccato
purgemur, voluntatem nostram Deum
expectare contendit, non autem, ut etiam
Kk
pura
[498]
4
fin 262.
purgari velimus, per Sancti Spiritus in-
fufionem & operationem, in nos fieri con-
fitetur, refiftit ipfi Spiritui Sancto: You
fee they make Mans will hang upon
Gods, and not è contrà: This fub-
miffion to Gods will is not, as if we
might be indifferent whether we were
faved or damned; but that we muſt
lye at Gods feet, humbly confeffing
our defert of eternal damnation on the
one hand, and the Soveraignty of Gods
free Grace on the other: And that fuch
a man is in his wits, hear the judgement
of learned Biſhop Reynolds, That man,
Sinful. of who can in fecret and truth of heart will-
ingly, and uncompulsorily ftand on Gods
fide against fin, and against himself for
it, giving God the glory of his Righte-
oufness, if he should condemn him; and
of his unfearchable and rich mercy, that
he doth offer to forgive him; I dare
pronounce that man to have the Spirit of
Chriſt ; for no man by nature can willing-
ly and uprightly own damnation, and
charge himſelf with it, as his due portion
Thus he But, faith the Author, I find
God is very hard put to it, to humble the
Soul thus: For he is forced to stir up
original corruption, which is a very un-
fit office for an holy Being. To which,
I anfwer; God is too high to be put
into
[499]
into an office, and too wife to do that
which is unfit; yet in Scripture we
find him withdrawing from, and
hardening of men: The Church crieš
out, O Lord, why hast thou made us to
err from thy way! and hardened our
hearts from thy fear? Ifai.63.17. Ne-
vertheleſs God doth what he doth in
a juft decorum, in a way congruous to
himfelf; fo that his Holiness, or any o-
ther Attribute fuffers not thereby; and
withall in a way profitable to men:
When God left good Hezekiah to fall,
I doubt not but it was fo far profitable
to him, as it did humble him for the
pride of his heart: when he with-
draws and leaves the humbled finner
to the ſtirrings of inward corruption,
it hath a very merciful iffue; ifit car-
ry
him out of himſelf to Chrift:The ve-
ry withdrawings of the Spirit, are by it
felf made uſe of, to make the finner
haften out of himself to Chriſt.
lock
Mr. Shephard faith, That true Faith Mr. Sher-
is the coming of the Soul, not unto
duties of Holiness (which is obedience
properly) but unto Chrift, which no-
tion of our union to Chrift is ſuch, that
according to it, wicked men, who live
in fin, may be united to Chrift: But the
Scriptüre places the formal nature of
Kk 2
our
[500]
our union to Chriſt in a ſubjection to his
Authority, and obedience to his Laws; an
holy life must not only follow our union
to Christ, as an effect of it; but must
at least in order of nature go before it;
because by this we are united to Chriſt:
We are not real members of Christ, till
we fincerely obey him, till our minds are
transformed into his Image. Our union
to Chrift is more or leß perfect according
to our attainments in true Piety and Vir-
ine: The first and lowest degree of Uni-
on to Chrift, is a belief of his Gospel,which
in order of Nature must go before Obedi-
ence to it: But yet it includes a purpoſe
of obeying it; and in this fence we must
be united to Christ before we can be holy,
because this belief of his Gospel is the
great principle of Obedience, as our Savi-
our tells his Difciples: Abide in me,
and I in you, as the branch cannot
bring forth fruit of it ſelf, except it
abide in the vine; no more can ye, ex-
cept ye abide in me, Job.15.4. But then
our Union is not perfected without Obe-
dience: This makes us the true Difciples
of Christ, when we are fruitful in good
works, as he adds in verf. 8. Herein is
my Father glorified, that you bring
forth much fruit, fo fhall you be my
Difciples; A belief of the Gospel, and a
purpoſe
[501]
د
purpoſe of Obedience is all can be expect-
ed from beginners; but this doth not
give an actual title to all the promiſes of
the Gospel, unless we actually obey it: But
when in the strength of this Faith, we
conquer the world and the flesh, and
improve all opportunities of doing good:
This makes us the Diſciples of Chriſt in-
deed, and heirs of Glory. Nothing can
be a greater dishonour to our Saviour
nor a greater contradiction to his Go-
ſpel, than to affirm, that wicked men,
while they continue fuch, are actually n-
nited to Chrift, and thereby have an a-
dual right to pardon and eternal life :
St. John understood not this Doctrine,
when he told us : God is light, and in
him is no darkness at all: If we ſay,
we have fellowship with him, and walk
in darkneſs (live in any fin) we lye
and do not the truth: but if we walk
in the light, as God is in the light;
then have we fellowship one with ano-
ther, 1 Job.1.5, 6, 7. This dectrine doth
not only take away the neceffity of Holi-
ness, in order to our Union to Chrift; but
destroys the neceffary obligations to Ho-
lineẞ and Obedience for the future, and
So thrusts Holineß quite out of the Chri-
Stian Religion: Our Union to Chrift is
perfected, while we are unholy; and when
Kk 2
me
[502]
Answer.
we are united to Chrift, there is leẞ need
of Holines than before: For now the
merit of Christs death is imputed to
4s, to remove the guilt and punishment
of fin; and his actual obedience is im-
puted to us, to make us righteous, and to
give us an actual right to glory: So that
if men will obey Christ out of a princi-
ple of good nature and thankfulneß,
they may
but according to this notion
there is no neceffity of it, because they
are delivered from wrath, and have a
right to eternal life without it.
Still the Author goes on with this
charge, That wicked men, who live in
Jin, may be united to Chrifi. Mr. Skep-
hard holds, that we are united to Christ
by Faith: And are Believers wicked
men? they receive Chrift, whole
Chriſt, as their Prophet to teach them,
their Prieft to fatisfie for them; their
King to rule them: and upon account
of this receiving, they are the fons of
God, Job. 1.12.And are they wicked men
for all this? they have the promiſe of
pardon and juftification, A&.13.39. The
promife of the Spirit, Joh.7.38,39. The
promiſe of eternal life, Joh.3.16. And
may we call them wicked men? If
wicked men may be intitled to fuch
promiſes, there is no need at all of Holi-
nefs
[503]
neſs or Obedience: But, faith the Au
thor, an holy life must not only follow
our Union to Christ: But at least in
order of nature go before it, because by
this we are united to Chrift. To which
I anſwer; Without doubt that Faith,
which in Scripture phrafe doth come
to Chriſt, receive Chrift, put on Chrift,
and feed upon Chrift, muft needs unite
to him; and of this Faith, Obedience,
or an holy Life is not a part, but a
fruit; all thofe worthies, Heb. 11.
Firſt believed; and then by that Faith
produced all thoſe acts of Obedience
there recorded: Firſt, We are married
to Chrift by Faith, and then we bring
forth fruit unto God, Rom.7.4. And in
that fifth Chapter of John quoted by
the Author: Firſt, there are branches
in Chrift by Faith, and then there is
holy Fruit brought forth: An holy Life
muſt needs prefuppofe Faith, it flows
out of a pure heart, and the heart can-
not be ſuch without Faith: It is a con-
formity to the Divine Rule, and that
Rule cannot be affured to be fuch but
by Faith: It is levelled at the Glory of
God, and the fingle eye, which looks
at that great end, is Faith; without
which the whole Body of our Works
is full of darknefs: Now if Faith unite
Kk 4
to
[504]
"
to Chrift, and precede Obedience or
an holy Life; then it is evident, that
Obedience or an holy Life do not go
before our Union to Chrift, but fol-
low after it: But, faith the Author
our Union to Chrift is not perfected with-
out Obedience, Hence our Saviour faith,
Herein is my Father glorified, that you
bear much Fruit, fo fhall ye be my Difci
ples, Joh. 15. 8. To which, I answer;
Our Union to Chrift is not indeed
perfect before Obedience, as to its
Fruit and Confequences: but it is as
to its effentials; for the Believer in the
very inſtant of believing hath a true
title to the promiſes of pardon, of the
Spirit and of eternal Life:So that ſhould
he immediately, and before any one act
of Obedience depart this Life, he
should undoubtedly, and without any
fcruple enter that bleffed Region,
where are the fpirits of juft men made
perfect; as for that place, Job. 15. 8.
where our Saviour tells them, That
bearing of fruit they should be his Difçi-
ples, it is parallel to that place, If ye
continue in my word, then are ye my
Difciples, Joh.8.31. In both they were
Difciples before: In that Job. 8. 31.
they were Difciples before that period
of life, unto which their continuance
[505]
in the word extends it felf; or elfe
their diſcipleſhip muft have been ad-
journed to the other World: And in
that Job. 15. 8. they were Difciples
before their bearing of fruit, for they
could not bear fruit without being
branches in Chrift; and Branches they
could not be without being Diſciples:
when therefore our Saviour faith, ſo ſhall
Je be my Difciples, the meaning only is,
that by their fruitfulneſs they ſhould
give a real proof and demonſtration,
that they are indeed true Difciples and
Branches of Chriſt. But, faith the Au-
thor, This Doctrine deftroys the obliga
tions to holyneſs, and thruſts holyneſs out
of the Chriftian Religion; our union to
Christ is perfected while we are unholy,
and when we are united to Christ, there
is leſs need of holyness than before, for
now the righteousness of Chrift is impu
ted to us.
To which I anfwer, As to
that, that our union to Chrift is perfe-
&ed while we are unholy: If by unholy,be
meant only before a holy life, Believ-
ers before that are fo perfectly united
to Chriſt, as to have a true title to the
promiſes of Pardon, the Spirit, and Sal-
vation: Ifby unholy, is meant a wick-
ed Man, no wicked Man is united un-
to Chrift this would be a diſhonour
to
[506]
Mr.Sher-
lock.
to our Saviour, a contradiction to the
Goſpel; fuch a one walks in darkneſs,
and cannot have fellowship with God,
who is Light, as St. John fpeaks: But
a Believer (who before an holy life is
united to Chrift) is not, muft not be
called a wicked Man. As to the other,
That when we are united to Chrift, there
is no need of holyness, because of the righ-
teouſneſs of Chrift imputed to us. I anf
wer, That before I have proved, that
this affertion, that imputed righteouf-
neſs makes holyneſs needleſs, is but a
Popish calumny, and without any
ground at all.
A
SECT. V.
Ccording to theſe principles, there
is no certain way to get into Chrift;
the method preſcribed is, Conviction,
Compunction, Humiliation, and Faith,
which is the uniting Grace. Now I
obſerve first, that a Man is paffive in all
this, and can contribute nothing to it
himſelf, any otherwise than as he is acted
by an irresistible power; and it is a vain
thing to give fuch rules and directions,
as no man can follow; this only tells us,
by what methods God unites us to Chriſt,
not
[507]
not what we must do, but what we must
ſuffer in order to this union: A Sinner
may ftir up in himself fome natural Con-
viction of fin, fome natural fear, forrow,
&c. And in a fenfe of this, may set upon
the work of Reformation, of leaving his
fins and performing duties: But all this
they tell us, is to no purpose, for unles
this Conviction, Compunction, Humi-
liation, be wrought in us by the irre-
fiftible power of the Spirit of God, (which
no Man can poffibly tell whether it be or
not) it is not of the right ftamp, and will
avail us nothing; fo that the Sinner bath
nothing to do but to fit ftill, and pa-
tiently expect, till God will do all for
bim.
on,
The method is Conviction, Compuncti- Anfwer.
Humiliation, and Faith, but a Man
is paſſive in all this: How paffive? what
is he to fit ftill, and do nothing at all?
No furely, he may abſtain from out-
ward Acts of fin; he may do Acts of
Sobriety, Juſtice, Charity; he may hear,
pray, but internal Grace is Gods work.
Some have taken thoſe words, Let us
make Man, as if God hath spoke to
the four Elements, and faid, Vos date
Corpus, ego dabo Animam: Do you give
the Body, I'll give the Soul. If I may
allude to this Glofs, thus it is, Man
may
[508]
то
may frame a Body of outward Piety
but the dev , the inward life of
Grace, is from God only; it is he,
Who quickneth the dead in trefpaffes
and fins, Eph. 2. I. Believers are not
born of the will of Man, but of God, Joh.
I. 13. But, faith the Author, It is a
vain thing to give ſuch rules and dire-
&ions, as no Man can follow. To which
I anſwer, Rules are not therefore vain,
becauſe Man cannot follow them by
his own power; God gave not the Mo-
ral Law in vain, yet the ſpotleſs fan-
city of it was a To adora To, a meer im-
poffible thing to any fallen Man in the
World; God bid them not in vain, to
make a new heart, Ezek. 18. 31. and
yet claims it as his prerogative, and as
an act offpecial Grace to make fuch an
heart, Ezek. 36. 26. Chris did not in
vain call Men to come to him; and yet
withal tells them, That no Man could
come to him,except the Father drew him,
Joh. 6. 44. Mofes was but to lift up
Rod, but it was God only who could
divide the Sea; we are to uſe the means,
but it is God only who can work the
great work of Grace: Thefe Rules,
though we cannot follow them of our
felves, may yet fhew us our duty; and
if we reflect upon our felves, they may
the
point
kam
:
[509]
point out our impotency to us, and
withal they minifter under that Spirit,
which in the ufe of means infufes the
life of Grace into Men. Polychronius
in the 6. Council of Conftantinople, of-
fered by a Paper, containing in it the
Doctrine of the Monothelites, to raiſe
a dead Man to life again. Mr. Shephard
never thought that his rules, though
containing excellent truths in them,
could raiſe the Spiritually dead; but
this they do, they minifter under that
Divine Spirit, which breathes regene-
rating Graces into the Soul. St. Paul
would have Timothy instruct the Oppo-
fers, not as if they had a power
of
themſelves to repent, but if God per-
adventure would give them repentance,
2 Tim. 2. 25. All Rules and Inftructi-
ons do but minifter under the Holy
Spirit, who gives Faith and Repen-
tance as it pleaſeth. But faith the Au-
thor, Thefe tell us not, what we must do,
but what we must suffer in order to our
union to Chrift. To which I anſwer,
we are to uſe the means, and thus far
we muſt be doers, but, I fuppofe, we
muſt ſuffer the Holy Spirit to have the
glory of our Regeneration, we muſt
not prefume to be fuch doers, as if we
could work Regeneration our felves,
or
[510]
Mr Sher-
lock.
or by our works procure it. Pelagius
would have been a doer in this kind,
alledging that, Gratiam dari fecundum
merita, that is, in the Phrafe of the
Ancients in thofe dayes, fecundum ope-
ra, that Grace was given according to
works: But, unless he had recanted, he
had in the Palestine Council been by
the Church turned into a Sufferer, by
a juft Excommunication; neither is
our Church for any fuch doers, for it
tells us in the 13. Article, That works
done before Grace do not make Men meet
to receive Grace, or deferve Grace of
congruity; yea, rather they have the na
ture of fin. The Infpiration of the Spi-
rit (which that Article mentions) muſt
work the great work of Grace in us;
which when we fee in our felves, we
muſt needs acknowledge the infupera-
ble power that was in it.
upon
Christ
Suppose a Man have this Conviction,
Compunction, Humiliation, is this a
fufficient reason to lay hold
by Faith? by no means: The end of
Conviction is Compunction, the end
of Compunction Humiliation; and all
this carries us no nearer to Chrift, than
quietly to lye down before God, that
he may do what he will with us, he
fave or damn us: So that all this
may
con-
[511]
contributes nothing to our union to Chrift,
but brings us to fuch a temper of mind, as
to be content to have Chrift, or go with-
out him as God hall please; this is all
Men get by Humiliation, that if the Lord
intend to do them good, this is the way in
which he will do it; but though they be
humbled, they cannot be fure whether
God intend to do them good or not; there
fore we are told, we are as much bound
to fubmit to God, whether he will
fave or damn us, as we are to fubmit
to the diſpoſal of God, as to any com-
mon mercy; though you muſt pray for
mercy, it muſt be with fubmiffion to
Gods good will; faying, the Lords
will is good, whether it be to fave or
damn; but mine is evil, though it be
to be faved, and have Jefus Chrift:
Nay, we are much more bound to fub-
mit to God, whether he will fave or
damn us, than we are to fubmit in the
leffer concernments of this life; ifit be
pride to murmur, in cafe the Lord de-
ny you ſmaller matters, the off-alls of
this life; is it not greater pride to quar-
rel with him, if he deny the greater,
the things of another life? Is he bound
to give thee greater, who doth not
owe thee the leaft? The Lord gives
you life, but you ask for treaſures of
Grace
[512]
Answer.
Grace and Mercy; (now God hath gi›
ven you life, you would live for ever
an unpardonable fault this!)thouſands of
pounds, Chriſt and all he is worth, and
the Lord feems to deny you, and now
you fink and grow fullen; may not the
Lord fay, Was there ever fuch pride &
infolence? as to be unwilling to be damn-
ed for ever; though I dare fay, this is not
the pride which cast the Angels out of
Heaven; fo that though Humiliation be
the way to Chrift, yet it brings us never
the nearer him; when all is done, we are
where we were: Before Humiliation, it
was at Gods pleasure, whether we ſhould
have Chrift or not, and fo it is ftill.
The humbled Soul may,
without
doubt, lay hold upon Chrift; but we
muſt remember, that we cannot do it
by the power of Nature, but must do
it by the Grace of God: Faith is a great
receiver, it receives Chrift, and all
bleffings in and with him; but this
Faith, this very receiving, muſt be re-
ceived from Grace: Nothing is plainer
in Scripture, than that Faith is the gift
of Go; hence it is called the fruit of
the Spirit, Gal. 5. 22. and Faith of the
operation of God, Col. 2. 12. It is not
of our felves, it is the gift of God, Eph.
2. 8, And ſuch a gift it is, that ingeleni
it
[513]
it is freely gratuitouſly given, Phil. t. 29:
Seing then it is thus, ſhould we not
fubmit to God for every crumb of
bread,. drop of drink, and moments
patience, becauſe they are his gifts s
and muſt we not fubmit to him for
Faith, becauſe it is fuch? Had not God
given a Jefus, a Saviour, to Men, they
could not have made a juft complaint
against him; and now there being one,
that he is not known all the World
over, the Pagans may not open their
lips againſt God; and in the Church
where Chrift is known, that all Men
have no Faith, no Man may queſtion
God about it: Gifts are free and muſt
be fubmitted for. The Apoſtle afferts
Gods Soveraignty clearly: He will
have mercy on whom he will have mercy,
and whom he will be hardeneth, Rom.9.
18. And if any dare repy or find fault,
the Apoſtle takes him up: Nay, but 0
Man, who art thou that replieft against
God? If thou hadst but any fentiments
of thy own nothingness, or rayes of
the Divine Majeſty, thou wouldeſt ne-
ver dare to queſtion, or to implead
thy Maker; before whom thou art but
a Worm, a piece of Clay to be dif
pofed of at his pleafures: It is certain
that God owes us nothing. Though we
患
​are
[514]
Mr Sher-
lock.
are in the uſe of means earneſtly to
feek Chrift & Faith; and not in a care-
leſs indifferent manner (as without
cauſe the Author would hint Mr. Shep-
hards mind to be) yet we muſt ſtill
adore Gods Soveraignty, and lye at
his feet for all his Gifts, and particu-
larly for Faith. It was horrible inſo-
lence and prefumption in him, who
prayed: Redde mihi vitam æternam,
quam debes; And it would be no leſs
for any one to pray: Redde mihi fidem
vivam quam debes: Verbum (debet) ve-
nenum habet, as Peter Lumbard hath it.
Theſe things confidered,Mr. Shephards
words need no more but only a candid
Interpretation.
What then is to be done, in order to
our closing with Chrift by Faith? for hi-
therto there is no foundation for our
Faith. Why, you must not catch at
Chriſt, but ſtay till God give him to
you, till God take you into his Arms,
that you may lean upon your Beloved;
you muſt ſtay till God give you a par-
ticular call, to come to Chrift; and
whether that will be ever or never,no Man
can tell. Many a wounded Sinner will
be fcrambling from fome general re-
ports of him (Such as his Goſpel makes)
before the day and hour of Gods glo-
rious
(si5)
rious call: Now, for any Man to res
ceive Chriſt, before he is called, is
prefumption: I, unpardonable pre
fumption too, to attempt impoffibilities,
for no Body can come till he is called)
no man fhould come unleſs first called
(and therefore no crime to stay away) as
it is in calling to an Office, fo it is in
our calling to fpecial Grace: No Man
takes this honour, but he that is called
of God, Heb. 5. 4. (It is a great pre-
fumption to usurp the Office of a Priest,
Prophet, or King, without a defignation 5
and fo it is to be a good Man,or Chriſtian,
without a particular call.) For what hath
any Man to do with Chrift, to make
himſelf a Son of God and Heir of glory,
(to take care to please God, and to make
himſelf happy ) but he that is called of
God. Well, Sinner! wait with patience
till thou art called, and fo thy work is
at an end for this time.
The Author laughs at Mr. Shephards Infer;
particular call, let us therefore confi-
der it; there is a double call, agène-
ral external call reaching to all in the
Church, and a particular internal call,
vouchsafed to fome: The firft, is a com-
mand, a efficient warrant to come to
Chrift; The ſecond, is a fpecial Act of
Grace, which infallibly produces Faith
L12
fu
[516]
ว
in thoſe to whom it is given: This di
ftinction is clearly founded in Scrip-
ture, all in the Church are called,
but all are not drawn of the Father, all
do not hear and learn of the Father Joh.
6. 44, 45. For theſe taught and drawn
ones do all of them come to Chriſt
which all Men in the Church do not ;
all in the Church are called, but all are
not called according to purpoſe, Rom. 8.
28.for then all would love God,as thoſe
called ones do, and by confequence
all would have that Faith, which works
by love. We preach Christ crucified, to
the Jews a stumbling block, and to the
Greeks foolishness, but to them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Chrift the
power of God and wiſdom of God, I Cor.
1. 23, 24. All of them had an external
general call; thofe to whom Chrift
was a ftumbling block and fooliſhneſs,
had ſuch a call; for an unknown, an
unreveiled Chrift could not be a ftum-
bling block or fooliſhneſs: But befides
this call there is another, an internal
effectual call, fuch as makes Chrift the
power and wifdom of God to Men,
fuch as works Faith and other Graces
in Men : Hence the Apoſtle faith, That
they are the called, called with a more
internal and efficacious call than other
Men
[517]
Men are. Theſe things laid down, all
things in Mr. Shephard are very eaſie;
all Men in the Church have an exter-
nal call, and fo a fufficient warrant to
believe in Chrift, it will be no pre-
fumption at all in them to do fo. The
Object, Jefus Chrift is evidently fet
forth before their eyes, but that they
may believe in him indeed, they muſt
wait for a particular internal call, for
that Grace which works Faith in the
heart; if not, the work of Faith muft
be their own; they muſt believe of
themſelves: And this I fear, though the
Object, Chriſt be free for them would
be prefumption, becauſe the Scripture
affures us, that Faith is the gift of God.
All Men in the Church fhould come to
Chriſt, for the Evangelical command
makes it their duty; yet, if we believe
our Saviour, there muſt be internal
teachings and tractions from the Father,
to make us truly come to him: All in
the Church are by the Gofpel called to
be Believers, & fo to the xdx, to the
Royal dignity, to be Sons of God, Joh.
I. 12. to the Divine Offices, to be Kings
and Priests unto God, Rev. 1. 6. But
this beving is produced by that in-
ternal cacious call, which calleth
things hat are not as though they
LI 3
were
[518]
Mr.Sher-
lock
were; I mean, which calleth Faith in-
to being where it was not before. But
then faith Mr. Sherlock: The Sinner must
only wait till he is called, and fo his work
is at an end for this time. To which I
anfwer, His work is not at an end, be-
cauſe he is ſtill to wait; if the Scrip-
ture, which makes Faith the free-gift
of God, be true, there is no nearer paf
fage to Heaven, then by waiting upon
God for Faith in the uſe of means.
The Saints of God, if we obſerve their
poſture in the Scripture, endeavour all
they do in a way of dependance upon
the Grace of God; a famous inftance
is David in the 119. Pfalm: With my
whole heart have I jought thee, faith he:
But O let me not wander from thy Com-
mandments, verf. 10. I will run the
way of thy Commandments, but do thou en-
large my heart, Verf. 32. Confider how
I love thy Precepts, but quicken me ac·
cording to thy loving kindnes, verf.159.
Lord I have hoped for thy Salvation, and
done thy Commandments, verſ. 166. all
his endeavors were under Grace; and
if Believers in all their endeavors wait
upon the Grace of God, much more
ſhould Sinners wait upon God Faith
in the ufe of means.
But how fall a poor humbled Sinner
know
[519]
know when he is called, that then he
may
come to Christ? You muſt not miſtake
the general offers of the Goſpel for
this ſpecial call, for they are not a fuf-
ficient foundation for our Faith, though
they are made to the weary and heavy
laden: Men cannot, will not come at
ſuch a call, and they have no reaſon
to do it, for Chriſt is not intended for
all; therefore though he be offered to
all in the Gospel, yet it would be pre-
ſumption for every one to lay hold on
him, for Chrift doth not immediately
offer himſelf to all Men as a Saviour,
whereby they may be encouraged to
ſerve him as a King (that is he does not
promife Salvation and Eternal life in the
Gofpel, with a defign that every one that
will.fhould take encouragement from theſe
promiſes, to obey and ſerve him.) But
firft, as a King commanding them, to
caft away their weapons, and ſtoop un-
der his Scepter, acknowledging that
if ever he fave me, I will blefs him; if
he damn me, his Name is righteous in
fo dealing with me that is, every Man
is invited in the Gospel to fubmit him-
felf to the mercy of Chrift; but then Chrift
referves a liberty to himself to fave or
damn as he pleaſes; these are hard terms,
and fuch as found wore like the arbitrary
ว
L14.
will
[520]
Answer
will of an baughty Lord, than the condi
tions of a gracious Saviour.
}
Chrift died fo far for all Men, as to
found the general promifes of the Gof
pel for them, to make them faveable
upon Goſpel terms, which Devils are
not; and theſe general promiſes are a
fufficient ground-work and warrant,
for them to come to Chrift; it is no.
prefumption for any Man to do ſo, but
theſe general promifes are not that in-
ternal call, which produces Faith in
Men. Christ, faith Mr. Shephard, doth
not immediately offer himself as a Sa-
viour, to encourage them to ferve him
as a King; that is, faith the Author,
he doth not promife Salvation, with a de-
fign to encourage every one that will to
Jerve him. To which I answer, The
promiſe is an encouragement to all
Men to ſerve him; but, that this may
be done, they muſt lay down their
weapons, they must ftoop under his
Scepter, or elſe furely they cannot
ferye him. But Mr. Shephard goes on,
They must acknowledge, if he fave me I
will bless him, if he damn me he is righ-
teous; that is, faith the Author, every
Man is invited in the Gospel 10 fubmit to
the mercy of Chrift, but Chrift referves
a liberty to himjelf to fave or damn,
}
which
[521]
which are hard terms: To which, I
anſwer, God was under no neceffity to
give us a Jeſus, a Goſpel, a promiſe of
Salvation: What if there had been
none? would not the terms have been
harder,
or rather no terms at all?
What hope of Salvation could there
then have been? yet in all this God
would have been like himſelf, the
Righteous One; man could not have
uttered the leaft juſt complaint againſt
him: But now there is a Gofpel, what
is the Liberty to fave or damn which
Chriſt reſerves? Is it a liberty to fave
men, though unbelievers; or damn
men, though believers? No furely,
the Goſpel ſtands firm, that the be-
liever fhall be faved, the unbeliever
fhall be damned, and that without any
diasohn, or difference among men; but
ftill Chriſt reſerves to himſelf his Pre-
rogative, the key of David, to open
the hearts of men, as he did Lydia's, to
believe upon him; he difpenfes Faith
as he pleaſes: And no man may say to
him, what doft thou? He gives not
an account of fuch matters.
What then must we do now? Whys • Mr. Sher-
the only remedy is to venture and try, lock.
God hath elected but few: Chrift hath
hed his Blood for few; therefore we
muſt
[522]
muſt venture (and a hard venture it is,
where there is fuch great odds against us,
and yet our eternal happiness depends
upon the fucceß, too great a ſtake for ſuch
a venture) As many men among us do
now, who hearing of a good living
fallen; twenty will go for it, though
but one can have it (though did they
know it were irrevocably decreed, who
Should have it, none of them would ſtir,
but wait for the news: Good God! what
Merchant adventurers are poor finners,
who after all their ſeeking for Chriſt, are
in fuch danger of miffing him?) Or as
the Lepers in Samaria, if we ſtay here,
we muſt dye: If we go out to the Af
fyrians, we may live, which is the re-
Solution of desperate men, as it ſeems the
Gospel condemns us all to be. No previ-
ous difpofitions can give us encourage-
ment to come to Chrift, Humiliation
cannot do it: After this we muſt ex-
pect a call ftill; we are but probatio-
ners, and may
mifs him; nay, affu-
rance it felf cannot do it, for if
come to Chrift, becauſe you have af-
furance, (That is, if you come to Chriſt,
becauſe you are fure you are come) or
becauſe you feel fuch Graces and Hea-
venly impreffions of Gods Spirit in you,
then you may many a day and year
you
keep
[523]
keep at a diſtance from Chriſt, and live
without Chrift: This is an hard faying,
though we come to Christ, we may be at
a distance; nay, though we come be-
cauſe we are ſure we are come already :
It is time now to give over, when affu-
rance is no fecurity.
What then must we do now? We muſt
venture and try, God hath elected but Answer,
few : Chrift hath ſhed his blood for few ;
therefore we must venture, and an bard
venture it is, and great odds againſt us.
Thus the Author: To which, I anfwer,
God hath elected but few: But do fe-
cret things belong to us? May we pry
into the eternal Rolls, and make them
the meaſures of our acting? No furely,
the Rule is before us in the Goſpel,
which we muſt not wave; becauſe there
are ſecret Decrees: A man, that would
argue againſt himſelf; and his venturing
upon Chriſt from thefe principles,muft
do it thus:IfI am eternally reprobated,
then it is to no purpoſe to venture up-
on Chrift: but I am eternally repro-
bated; Ergo, it is to no purpoſe to
venture: But how doth he know the
Minor, or what reafon hath he for it?
What madneſs and deſperate raſhneſs is
it to ſay that which he cannot know,
and that againſt his own Soul and eter-
nal
[524]
nal Salvation? Is there any fuch repro-
bation in Scripture, as barrs out of
Heaven, fuch as by Faith venture
upon Chrift? No furely, Chrift hath
fo far dyed for all men, as to found
for them that general promife: who-
foever believeth, fall be faved: This is
a plain fure foundation for men to ven-
ture upon, none that by Faith venture
upon Chriſt ſhall be barred out of Hea-
ven by any Decree of God, becaufe his
Decree cannot claſh with his Promife:
It is very irregular arguing to ſay, I
know not Gods Decree, therefore I'll
neglect my duty. St. Paul exhorts the
Philippians to work out their Salvation
with fear and trembling; for it is God,
which worketh in you to will and to do
of his good pleasure, Phil. 2. 12, 13.
Might the Philippians have faid, how do
we know what Gods pleaſure is, or
what he will work in us? Why ſhould
we work at fuch a venture, or at the
pleaſure of another? No, the fear and
trembling in the Text was enough to
keep them back from arguing at that
rate: Suppofe now, that there were no
fuch thing as Election, will there not
be a paucity, and an hard venture ſtill ?
Our Saviour tells us, that few find the
way to life, Matth. 7. 14. And God,
whofe
[525]
whoſe preſcience is immutable, eternal-
ly forefaw that it would be fo; and
what muſt we do now? May we deny
the truth of Chrifts words, or of Gods
prefcience? Surely we ought not, or
may we argue thus: Few enter into
life, why ſhould I venture? Its an
hard venture, and great odds against me;
May I now cry out, Good God, what
Merchant adventurers are poor finners?
Surely it doth not at all become me; I
muſt look upon the Rule in the Word,
and endeavour to do my duty: Duties
belong to us, and iffues to God: But to
pafs on, according to Mr. Shephard, it
feems affurance it felf cannot fecure us,
to which the bare recital of Mr. Shep-
hards words will be anſwer enough:
they are theſe; The Call of Chrift is the
ground by which we first believe: It is
conftant ground of Faith; For, if you
come to Chrift, because you have affu-
rance, or becauſe you feel fuch and fuch
Graces, and heavenly Impreffions of Gods
Spirit in you, you may then many a day
and year keep at a diſtance from Chrift,
and lye without Chrift, for the feel-
ing of Graces and affurance of fa-
vour are not constant: His meaning
is very plain, the Call of Chriſt is the
ground of our first believing; and it
19
[526]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
is a conftant ground, if by after re-
newed acts of Faith we come to Chrift,
becauſe we have affùrance; we may
many a day live without Chrift, for af
furance is no conſtant thing, as the Call
is. The Author, I ſuppoſe, took out a
little out of Mr. Shephard, not to in-
terpret him, but to fport with him:
Afterwards we have the Author con-
cluding from Mr. Shephards particular
Call, That the general Call fignifies
nothing; that there is no foundation for
our Faith in Christ, but this particular
Call. To which I anfwer; The gene-
ral promiſes of the Goſpel fignifie
Gods will to fave Believers; and there-
fore are a fufficient foundation for a
man to believe in Chrift for Salvation;
a greater warrant we cannot have for
it, then Gods own Charter fealed with
the Blood of his Son Jefus Chrift: But
that which works this Faith in us, is a
fpecial Call, or internal Grace, which
ſhines into the heart, and calls forth
Faith into being.
But though we know not how to get in-
to Chrift; it would be fome comfort to
know, that we are in him: But this is
as impoffible as the other; As the only
foundation of our Faith in coming to
Chrift (aocording to theſe mens notions
iš
[527]
is a special call of the Spirit; So the
only infallible affurance that we are in
Chrift, is the testimony of the Spirit:
The fpirit of adoption, which teaches
us to cry, Abba, Father: And yet God
doth not afford this Teftimony to all 5
but fuffers many good Chriftians, to walk
in darkneß, and hides his face from
them; for no other reaſon, but becauſe
they are defirous of it,and would be quiet,
if they should know it; this is fomewhat
hard meaſure: But fuppofe you have, or
think you have this teftimony of the Spi-
rit; how can you be fure, that it is not
a cheat and delufion, the impofture of the
Devil, or of your own felf-flattering ima-
gination? to ſatisfie this we are directed
to marks: Thus this infallible affurance
from the testimony of the Spirit muſt in
its last refolve be founded upon fome Mo-
ral evidence: As it is with the Church
of Rome; who after a great noiſe and
cry of infallibility, are at laft forc'd to
refolve their Faith into fome Motives of
credibility, or to dance round in an
endleẞ circle: Well, what are the marks
of our being in Christ? You muſt en-
quire whether you have the Spirit of
Chrift; And it is just as eafie to know
this, as whether you be in Chrift: But
are you true Believers? Is your Faith
of
[528]
Dr. Fa-
comb. pag.
65.
of the right ſtamp? is it wrought by
the Almighty Power of God? Or is
it fuch an eafie, common, prefumptu-
ous, falſe faith, as that which is in the
generality of men? This is as eafie to
know, as any of the former: For if there
be fuch a false prefumptuous faith as takes
Christ, when he does not belong to us.
and refts and relies on Christ only for
pardon and falvation, and yet fall ne-
ver have Christ: How shall we know
whether our Faith be true and genuine,
Such as will make Christ ours? and the
answer to this brings us to that great
mark of Sanctification. You must con-
fider the effects of Faith; doth it pu-
rifie the Heart ? overcome the World?
work by Love? are you new Crea-
tures? Is the ſtate of your perfon
changed from a Child of wrath to an
Heir of Grace? (which is the thing to
be proved) Or is your nature changed?
Do you walk in newneſs of life? Have
you crucified the flesh with its lufts?
Do you bring forth fruit? That is, you
must prove your juftification by your fan-
&ification, your Faith by your Works. I
am glad it is no worse, that good works,
and an holy life may at least put in for
marks and evidences of a justified ſtate,
though the truth is this is a meer comple-
ment
[529]
ment to Holiness; and as they order the
matter,an holy life can no more be a ſign of
ajustified ſtate, than it can juſtifie us.
It would be fome comfort to know, that Answer
we are in Christ: But this is impoffible
Thus the Author: Impoffible? Nothing
plainer in Scripture; we read of the ear-
neft of the Spirit in our hearts, 2 Cor.1.12.
The fealing of the holy Spirit of promise
Eph. 1. 13. The witness of the Spirit with
our spirits,that we are the children of God,
Rom.8. 16. But God doth not afford this
testimony of the Spirit to all good men :
Very true, he doth not, a Saint of God
may walk in darkness: The face of God
may be hid from him: And that (faith
Mr.Shephard) because there is in many an
one an heart defirous of his Love,and this
would quiet them, if they were fure of it.
The Author thinks this hard meaſure:
But Mr.Shephard goes on;they never came
to be quieted with Gods will, in cafe they
think they shall never partake ofGods love;
but are above that, oppofite, refist, quarrel
with that; the Lord therefore, intending
his favour for humbled finners, hides his
face till they lye low: And now, I fup-
pofe,the meafure is fair, it is very fit we
fhould know our felves to be but recei-
vers; and withall unworthy of the Mer-
cies we receive: But how do we know that
Mm
[530]
:
it is the testimony of the Spirit indeed,
and not a cheat or impofture? To fatisfie
this we are directed to marks: Thus this
infallible testimony of the Spirit muſt in
its laftrefolve,be founded upon moral evi-
dence. So the Author: To which, I
anſwer, When the Spirit witneffeth
with our ſpirit; when Gods Spirit and
Mans concurr, and fo heaven and earth
agree in it ; one would think it might
paſs without further examination: The
Teſtimony of the Spirit is fuch, that he,
to whom it made, certainly knows, that
it is the Spirit of Truth it ſelf which
bears the Teſtimony, otherwiſe the Spi-
rit it ſelfteſtifies, and would not be be-
lieved by him, to whom the Teftimony
is made;that is,he teftifies,and doth not
teſtifie,if he do not make a man fure,who
it is that teftifies. The Teſtimony is to
make us fure,that we are the children of
God; it is to make us with confidence
cry out Abba,Father: It is to be an ear-
neft and feal of our Salvation; and how
can this be, if we know not who tefti-
fies. Hence St. Chrystom upon the place
faith, The Spirit beareth witneß,and Tolα
λorπov αµQißcλíα; What doubt can remain?
Hence reverend Dr. Ward faith, Parum
De certi- abeft à blafphemiâ dicere, non effe certum
eid. Grat. illum, cui teftimonium perhibet Spiritus
211.
San&us
[531]
Sanctus, utrum teftimonium illud à spi
ritu Sancto fit an à diabolo, & qıλαUTíα:
By this it appears, that the Teſtimony
of the Spirit is not fuch, as gives only
a conjectural certainty,but an infallible
one: But to proceed, What are the
marks of our being in Christ? Have jon
the Spirit of Chrift? This (faith the
Author) is just as eafie to know, as whe-
ther you be in Chrift: Yet this is a mark
in the Apoſtle, If any man have not the
Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his, Rom.
8.9.Is your faith of the right stamp,wrought
by the Almighty Power of God?This(faith
the Author is as eafie to know as the for-
mer: Yet the Apoſtle would have us ex-
amine our felves whether we be in thẻ
Faith; that is, whether we have a true
genuine Faith, 2 Cor.13.5. True Faith,
where ever it is, makes Chrift to belong
to him that hath it:Doth Faith purifie the
heart, overcome the world, work by love,
bring forth holy fruit? These are, as the
Author confeffes, true marks, but theſe
men do but complement Holiness: And
now we mult hear his reaſons for
it.
For first, Holineẞ is not neceffary to our Mr Sher-
Union to Christ; and therefore can be no lock.
neceffary ſign of it:We are united to Chrift
before we are holy, an unholy man may
Mm 2
be
united
[532]
a
unitéd to Christ; and how can Holineß be
the only fure mark of our Union to Chrift?
They tell us, That Holinefs doth necef-
farily follow Union: But no man knows
how long it may be before it follows; yet
all this, while fuch a perfon is united to
Christ, at least this gives evidence but
to one part of the question, an holy life
is an evidence of a man in Chrift; but
the want of it is no evidence, that
man is not in him: This mark may be
rejected by any one, who hath no mind
to it: Nay, fecondly, according to thefe
mens principles we cannot tell, whether
we be holy or not, till we know,whether we
be in Chrift or not, our Union to Chrift
must be an evidence of our Holiness, not
our Holineß an evidence of our Union;
till we are united to Chrift, we can do
nothing to pleaſe God: The best actions
of chriftless men are but Splendida pec-
cata, glittering impieties, appearing fair,
but odious to God, because the person who
does them is out of Christ: Our perfons
must be first accepted in Christ, and then
our Services; we cannot judge of Holi-
ne by the external performance of any
duties, nor by the inward fenfe of our
minds; but must first know, whether we
be in Chrift, whether our perfons be ac-
bepted in him, before we can tell, whe-
ther
[533]
ther any thing we do be good: And this
is a plain demonstration, that Holines
cannot be an evidence of our Union to,
Chriſt, becauſe we must first know our
Union, before we can know that we are
holy.
ANSEHER
Aft
So much Holiness, as is included in She
true Faith, is neceflary to our Union leek
to Chrift; an unholy man, that is, a
wicked man, cannot be united to
Chriſt, believers are not fuch; but an
unholy man that is, one who yet
hath not lead an holy life, may be u
nited to Chriſt, and his after holy life,
is a fure mark of that Union, becauſe
a neceffary effect thereof: But when
doth the holy life follow that Union ? I
anfwer,immediately: Thus our Church
tells us in the twelfth Article, That
good works do fpring neceffarily out of a
true and lively Faith; infomuch, that
by them a lively Faith may be as evi-
dently known, as a tree discerned by
the fruit: The want of an holy life, in
the very inftant of believing, is not an
evidence, that a man is not in Chrift,
but foon after, the want of it will tell
him, that his Faith was but a fancy,
and his being in Chriſt but a dream:
The best actions of chriftless men are, I
confefs, as our Church tells us in the
thirteenth
Mm 3
[534]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
1
thirteenth Article, not pleasant to God;
nay, they have the nature of fin, without
Faith it is impoffible to please God, in
our perfons or actions: our perfons
must first be accepted in Chrift, and
then our ſervices; the best actions of a
man, not in Chrift, are not acceptable
to God: Thofe actions cannot be ac-
ceptable to him, whofe defects are un-
pardoned, and the defects of thoſe a-
Яtions are unpardoned, whilft their A-
gent
is fo. But the Author from hence
concludes, That Holineß cannot be an
evidence of our Union to Chrift, becauſe
we must first know our Union, before we
can know that we are holy. To which,
I answer, Our Union to Chrift cannot
be known to be fo without a know-
ledge of Faith; nor an holy life can
not be known to be fo,without a know-
ledge of Faith; becauſe without Faith
neither can be in reality: when we ſee
our Faith flowing out in an holy life,
we ſee the truth of our Union to
Chrift, and the truth of our holy life
both at once: An holy life taken not
meerly in its outward acts, but in its ef
flux from Faith is an infallible mark of
our Union to Chrift.
At other times theſe Men make the
work of Sanctification ſo imperfect, and
چکو
[535]
fo like an unfanctified ſtate, that it is im-
poffible to distinguish a fanctified and un-
fanctified Man; upon this account holy-
ness must be a very forry evidence of our
union to Christ, when it is fo imperfect
that it cannot be known: An unregene-
rate Man is under the Law of fin, under
the reigning power of it; and a regenerate
Man (as they defcribe him) is in aftate
as like this, as one Egg is another: For
a regenerate Man may be carnal, fold
under fin, that is, a Slave and Captive
to it, he may do thoſe things he allows
not; nay, thoſe things which he hates,
that is, he may fin against the clearest con-
victions of conscience and fenfe of duty;he
may neglect to do thoſe things which
he knows he ought to do, and do thofe
things which he knows he ought not to
do; he may find a Law in his Members,
that when he would do good, evil is
preſent with him; a Law in his Mem-
bers warring againſt the Law of his
mind, which brings him into captivity
to the Law of fin, that is in his Mem-
bers:For fo they tell us,that St.Paul com-
plains of all this in the perſon of a rege-
nerate Man, Rom. 7. Now an unregene-
rate man does the very fame, and indeed
cannot do much worse; he fins against
confcience, is brought into captivity to
Mm 4
Siz
[536]
་
ac-
fin, is overpowered by indwelling fin ; he
finds natural fears and terrors, when he
is tempted to fin, which gives fume check
to him, and makes bim fin against his
own will with some unwillingneß and re-
luctancy; he approves the Law of God as
just and equal, bis confcience affents to it,
but there is a strong byas upon his will,
which runs counter to all thofe holy Com
mands, and makes him a Slave and Cap-
tive to his lufts. Now,not to diſpute which
of these two the Apofile means in Rom. 7.
I think it is hard to affign any difference
between them; the regenerate Man,
cording to this defeription, is full as bad
as the ungenerate; or if there be any dif
ference, the regenerate Man is the worst
of the two, because in the regenerate Man
the Spirit is led into captivity; but in
the ungenerate only natural confcience,
which is a much weaker principle, and
fo is capable of a better excufe, is led into
captivity: But which of these two it is, no
Man can tell, and therefore a regeneraķe
Man hath great reason to fear, that he
may be
unregenerates and an ungenerate
Man hath as much reafon to hope, that
ве may be regenerate; and what becomes
then of this evidence of Sanctification ta
prove our union to Chrift, when Sancti-
fication it felf cannot be distinguished front
an unfanctified ſtate.
AC-
2
[537]
According to theſe Men, we cannot di Anſwer.
ftinguish a fanctified and an unfanctified
man, an unregenerate man is under the
reign of fin, and a regenerate man (as
they defcribe him) is fo too. Why fo?
He may be Carnal, Rom. 7. 14. but not
as the ungenerate, totally altogether
Carnal, without any ſpark of Spiritual
life in him; but partially only, in re
fpect of the Reliques of corruption a-
biding in him: He is Spiritual, fo far as
he is regenerate; yet Carnal, becauſe
he hath ſome corrupt fleſh in him. This
appears, becauſe though regenerate, he
is ftill to go on mortifying the flesh,
and the flesh is yet lusting in him against
the Spirit: The Babes in Chriſt are
called Carnal, I Cor. 3.1. yet they were
not unregenerate, but their regenerate
Man is fold under fin, Rom. 7. 14. He
is fo; but what, as Ahab, who fold
bimſelf to work evil? What, as the unre-
generate are, who are willing Captives,
ready to obey the defires of the flesh?
no;but he is a captive againſt his will,he
cannot wholly rid himſelf of thofe lufts,
which lye as fo many heavy chains
upon him; ſo far as regenerate, he is
a free-man, but becauſe Regeneration
is imperfect, he is yet a Captive: But
their regenerate man may do those things
be
[538]
•
be allows not, nay, those things he hates,
Rom.7. 15. Not that, as the profane, he
does outward grofs acts of fin, and wal-
lows in them; but that the inevitabile
malum, that unavoidable concupiſcence,
(though he difallow & hate it & all its
progeny) will be ſtirring in his thoughts
and defires; nay, and fometimes pre-
vailing too. That the Apoſtle ſpeaks of
fuch unavoidable defects, is clear from
the following words: It is no more I
that do it, but fin that dwelleth in me,
verf. 17. which words can be only un-
derſtood of unavoidable defects: But
their unregenerate Man neglects duty, the
good he would do he does not, verſ. 19.
not that he doth not do duties to God,
but that the clog of corruption impedes
him from doing them, in that pure
and uninterrupted manner as he de-
fires: He finds a Law in his Members
warring against the Law of his mind,and
bringing him into captivity to the Law of
fin, which is in his Members, verf. 23.
He hath a Divine Spiritual life in him,
but becauſe Regeneration is imperfect,
the indwelling fin is ftill in him, ftrug-
ling, though not reignings by theſe
things it appears, that there is a vaſt
difference between a regenerate Man
and an ungenerate: But if we under-
frand
[539]
ſtand Rom. 7. of an unregenerate Man,
ſee if we do not faint him, and make
him a regenerate Man; A regenerate man
hates fin, Pf.119.128. and fo does the un-
regenerate, Rom. 7.15. which yet never
any unregenerate Man did reach unto:
A regenerate Man hath a will to that
which is good, and fo hath the unregene-
rate, Rom.7. 18. which is a lift beyond:
A regenerate Man delights in the Law of
God, Pfal. 1. 2. and fo does the unre-
generate, Rom. 7. 22. which is a Di-
vine ftrain much beyond him: A re-
generate Man groans under the burthen
of the indwelling corruption, and fo
ſo
does the unregenerate, Rom. 7. 24.
who yet hath little or no ſenſe of it:
A regenerate Man bleffes God for the
great deliverance by Jefus Chrift, and in
gratitude ferves him, and fo does the un-
regenerate, Rom. 7. 25. who yet never
made it his buſineſs ſo to do: And thus
the unregenerate Man is made as good
as the regenerate; to conclude, the ho-
lynefs of the regenerate, though imper-
fect and labouring under the indwell-
ing fin, is yet a good evidence of their
Union with Chriſt.
lock.
Dr. Jacomb, in his Difcourfe of the Mr. Sher-
Law of fin, attempts to affign the diffe-
rence between the Law of fin in the rege-
ne-
[540]
nerate, and it in the unregenerate; and
hath given fuch a Deſcription of an unre-
generate ftate, that there is scarce fuch
an unregenerate Man in the World; and
yet if we must judge what a regenerate
Man is, by inverting the Character of the
unregenerate, he is by odds much the
worfe Man: As firft, When the whole
bent and tendency of the heart is to-
wards fin, when the propenſities of the
Soul thereto are entire and unmixt,
there it is the Law of fin in the unrege-
nerate: But is every one a regenerate
Man, who hath fome good propenfities in
him? who hath fome wouldings and vel-
leities to that which is good? then there
are few unregenerate in the World.
Se-
condly, which is the explication of the
former, when all the feveral Faculties
of the Soul are altogether on fins fide,
and wholly take its part, then it is the
Law offin in the unregenerate; where
the underſtanding gives in its final po-
fitive dictate,that fin is good,repreſents
it as eligible to the will, the will upon
this cloſes with it,embraces it it,cleaves
to it, the affections, defire, joy,delight,
run out upon it; where it is thus, the
cafe is determined, yea, without con-
troverly: But where ſhall we find fuch a
Man? I believe there was never fuch 4
Man
[541]
Man born; too many chufe evil though
they know it to be evil, for the ſeeming
advantages of profit or pleasure; but to
chufe evil, as believing it to be good, and
to rejoyce and delight in it, as good and
eligible for it ſelf, is ſuch an unregenerate
ftate as the Devil never arrived at 3 for
though he be a wicked Spirit, yet he is
no Fool, as thofe muſt be, who miſtake evil
for good in fuch plain inftances: The
Heathens themselves at this rate were all
regenerate, for their confciences accufed
them for doing evil, Rom. 2. They knew
good to be good, and evil evil : There was
never fuch a Man as he defcribes, when
he tells us, That fin comes to the Sin-
ner, and fays: Art thou willing that I
ſhould rule? Yes, faith he, with all my
heart, I like thy commands, I am thine,
I fubmit to be at thy difpofe, I here
fwear fealty and allegiance to thee, &c.
This Oath, &c. might very well have been
Spared,for there is enough without it; and
yet if this be the difference,that the unre-
generate Man chufes fin, believing it to be
good, and the regenerate Man chufes fin,
though he knows it to be evil, it is plain
that the regenerate is much the worſe,
becauſe his fins have the greatest aggrava-
tions that any fins are capable of, which
the fins of an unregenerate Man have not:
viz,
I
[542]
Answer.
や
​viz. That they are fins against knowledges
and ſo, according to our Saviours rea-
foning, this regenerate Man will be beaten
with more ftripes.
Dr. Jacomb affigns the difference be-
tween the Law of fin in the regenerate
and in the unregenerate: Firlt, when
the whole bent of the heart is towards fin,
when the propensities are entire and un-
mixt, there it is the Law of fin in the
unregenerate. But, faith the Author, is
every one regenerate who hath some good
propenfities? Who hath fome wouldings &
velleities, to that which is good? Then
there are few unregenerate Men in the
World. To which I anſwer, The un-
regenerate may indeed have fome
wouldings and velleities to good, not
of himself; for in his flesh (and fuch he
is all over by Nature) there is no good,
but from the common motions and o-
perations of the Holy Spirit: Yet, not-
withſtanding theſe,the bent of his heart
is to fin, the power of fin is habitual in
him, which is all the intent and very
expreffion of the Doctor in that place.
Secondly, when all the faculties of the
Soul are on fins fide, when the under-
Standing gives in its final pofitive dictate,
that fin is good, reprefents it as eligible
to the will, the will clofes with it, the
affe-
[543]
affections run out upon it; there the caſe,
faith the Doctor, is determined. But,
faith the Author: Never fuch a Man was
born, as to chufe evil believing it to be
good, to delight and rejoyce in it, as good
and eligible for it felf. To which I
anfwer, The Authors difcourfe runs up-
on this, as if the Doctor had afferted,
that the underſtanding in the unrege-
nerate did reprefent fin as good; that
is,as conformable to the Law and Will
of God, and ſo good. Hence the Au-
thor tells us That the Devil, though a
wicked Spirit, is no Fool; that the very
Heathen know good to be good, and evil
evil: But all this is befides the ſcope;
the Doctor never faid or meant fo
when he faith, that the understanding
dictate's fin to be good: No Man, I pre-
fume, will interpret the words thus;
the underſtanding dictates fin to be
conformable to the Will of God, that
is, fin to be no fin: No, the underſtand-
ing knows fin to be fin, fin to be con-
trary to the Will of God; yet it repre-
fepts fin as good in other refpects, and
fo good as to caft the ballance in the
heart on fins fide; it may be there are
baits of profit or pleaſure in it: Nay,
it is my own thought, that the pravity
in finful actions comes fub ratione con-
ve-
[544]
venientia, and offers it ſelf as congru-
ous, and fo good to the corrupt Will
and heart of Man, the very difformity
or contradiction to the will of God, as
intrinfecally black as it is, bluſhes and
looks fair to that Carnal mind which
is enmity againſt God: An unregene-
rate Man drinks in iniquity as water,
Job 15. 16. being filthy himself, ini-
quity, though a very foul thing, goes
down naturally with him, and is as it
were his proper Element. St. Auſtin in
his Confeffions, fpeaking of his ſteal-
ing of Apples, faith that he was : Gra-
tis malus; Amavi defectum meum, de-
Confeff. li.
2 cap.4.6. cerpta projeci, epulatus inde folam iniqui-
tatem, quâ lætabar fruens ; fi quid illo-
rum intravit in os meum, condimentum
facinus erat. He confefles, the very ſin
it felf was grateful to him: If Sinners
did not believe fin to be good in fome
reſpect or other; if they did look on
it as evil, and nothing but pure impure
evil, it were utterly impoffible that
they ſhould chufe it or delight in it; the
will cannot appetere malum fub ratione
mali, for that were appetere non appe-
tible, which is impoffible. I conclude
with the words of the Doctor, in that
place: Whosoever upon deliberation
judges a finful course to be the best,
and
there-
[545]
thereupon chufes, embraces, falls in with
it, delights in it, continues in it, in this
Man 'tis the Law of fin; this Man is, as
I take it, a Servant offin, and willing it
fhould rule: There is, as learned Bishop
Reynolds faith, a Covenant, a virtual
bargain between him and his lufts, he a-
grees to ferve and obey them.
But Thirdly, The Law of fin hath dif- Mr. Shet
ferent workings in the People of God lock.
than in others; This working of the Law
of fin in Gods People, me thinks, is an ill
thing. But let us hear how it is: First,
Where fin is committed induſtriouſly
and defignedly, there it is the Law of
fin in the Graceless; unleß Men be very
cunning at the trade of fin, they are not
under the Law of it, as graceless perfons
are: Grace is consistent with taking all
fair opportunities of finning, fo we do not
deſign it before hand. Secondly, When
the temptation eafily prevails, then it
is the Law of fin in the unregenerate :
This is an Argument indeed, that a Man
is a willing Slave; but when a Man
is conquered by a temptation, though
be make ſome resistance, it is an Argu-
ment, that finis his Master, which rules
and governs, especially if this be often,
fuch a Man furely is none of Chrifts free-
men, and therefore not to fail. Third-
Nn
[546]
ly, When fin carries it in fpite of all
oppofition, againſt all external difcou
ragements, threatnings of the Law, the
Scepter of the Gofpel,the Love of God,
and his Wrath, the Death and Wounds
of Chriſt,Reproofs,Refolutions, Vowes,
Promiſes, &c. then it is the Law of fin;
So that it ſeems, when fin carries it in
defpite of all external oppofitions only, it
is the mark of an unregenerate Man; but
when it carries it against internal and ex-
ternal oppofitions, that is a sign of a re-
generate Man; for a regenerate Man has
the fame external oppofitions, to preſerve
him from fin, that an unregenerate Man
hath, and befides thefe he hath internal
oppofitions, the checks of his own con-
fcience, which he fays the unregenerate
Man has not. And Fourthly, When it
is finning and no fenfe of fin, no after
Repentance for it, then it is the Law
offin: Now what bad Man is there, who
does not at one time or other repent of his
fins, & complain of them? And how many
are there, that repent of their fins, and
make large Confeffions of them, and re-
turn to them again? There are no Men,
but do at one time or other expreß ſome
forrow for their fins, (which he calls Re-
pentance Jandthere are a great many,who
pretend thus to be forry for their fins,
who
[547]
who it is to be feared, are never the bet
ter Men for it; and yet were there any
fuch, who fin without any fenfe of it, they
would be much better then those regene
rate Men, who feel the gripes of con-
Science for fin, and yet return to it.
This working of the Law of fin in Gods Answer.
People is an ill thing. Oh! that we had
perfection! But while we are here fin
will be in us, and whileft it is in us,
it will work in fome meafure: Concu-
pifcere nolo & concupifco, faith St. Au- De Temp.
ftin. The first mark in the Doctor, is Sem. a
finning induftrionfly and defignedly, and
this is a fure one, and found in all the
unregenerate; although all of them are
not alike cunning, and Artiſts at the
Trade of fin, all more or less make
provifion for the Flesh, the frame of
their Heart, & ftream of their Thoughts
run this way. The Flesh (as the Do-
&tor fpeaks) hath the Tevov, the pro-
jecting and forecaſting ability at com-
mand in them, thus it is not with the
regenerate. The Second is, The temp-
tation easily prevails in the unregenerates
and what more certain? The old
heart is as day tinder, ready to take
fire upon every little fpark thus it
is not with the regenerate, who hath a
higher and a better Spirit than his
Na 2
owa
[548]
own, to guard him againſt the tempta-
tation: If he be overcome in a parti-
cular Act of fin, fin is not yet his Ma-
fter, becauſe it cannot gain the bent of
his heart, and the courſe of his life.
The third is, when fin carries it against
all external Diſcouragements, against the
threatnings of the Law, the Scepter of the
Gospel, the Love and Wrath of God, the
Wounds of Christ, Reproofs, Refolutions,
Vowes, &c. then it is the Law of fin.
Upon which the Author inferrs thus:
It ſeems when fin carries it againſt ex-
ternal oppofitions only, it is a mark of
an unregenerate Man; but when it car-
ries it against internal and external op-
pofitions, that is a sign of a regenerate
Man. To which I anfwer It is true,
when fin carries it in a regenerate Man,
it carries it againſt ſuch internal helps,
and principles of Grace as are not in
the unregenerate, but then it carries
it only in a fingle Act: But in the un-
regenerate it carries it in a courſe of
life too, againſt Law, Goſpel, Wrath,
Love, the Blood of Chriſt, the ſmitings
of Confcience, Reproofs, Promiſes,
Judgments, ſtill he will fin on, whileſt
he is unregenerate; thus the regene-
rate doth not. The Fourth is: When
'tis finning, and no fenfe of fin, no after
Re-
[549]
Repentance for it, then it is the Law of fin.
But,faith the Author : What bad Man is
there,who does not at one time or other re-
pent of his fins?and yet were there any fuck,
they would be better than those regenerate
Men, who feel the gripes of confcience for
fin, and yet return to it. Unto which I
anfwer, Surely all bad Men do not re-
pent of their fins, fuch as God gives
up to a reprobate mind, to a fat heart,
to a ſpirit of flumber, to a news, a
brawny hardneſs, which feels nothing,
do not do fo; and yet, I fuppofe, theſe
are the worſt of Men: Sinning againſt
gripes of Confcience is a great aggrava-
tion, but an hard ſenſeleſs heart is the
worſt ſtate imaginable on Earth. But
ſuppoſe bad Men have fome kind of
Repentance; is it fuch as the regene-
rate have after their falls? No furely,
the regenerate, as the Doctor hath it,
are greatly humbled, they recover again
by true Repentance, they rife after their
falls, thus unregenerate Men do not.
It is wonderful to confider, how little Mr.Sher-
a matter will ſerve for an evidence of lock
Grace, (after all their talk of Sanctifi-
cation) when they come to adminifter
comfort to diftreffed confciences. Oh,
faith the Soul, I find fin prevail, and
Sheph. Sts.
how can I be comforted! (not by San- Fewel.
Nn 3
&ifica
[550]
&ification fure.) Anſw. I will fubdue
your iniquities, and caft your fins into
the midst of the Sea. Obj. But the De-
vil will be bufie with me. Anf. God
will tread him down. Obj. But I can
not go to God by Prayer, to fetch com-
fort. (Comfort! what haft thou to do
with comfort? get quit of thy fins first,
and then it is time enough for comfort.)
Anf. Though it be fo, yet believe and
thou shall have thy defire. ( But I
doubt the Soul that cannot pray, cannot
believe neither.) Obj. But I am afraid
I fhall fall away from God. (Afraid
of it! thou art fallen from God already,
if fin prevail fo much, for fin is the great
Apoftacy from God.) Answer. None
can pluck thee out of Chrifts hands,
neither fin nor the Devil. (But how
if they be not in Christs hands yet, fin
I doubt may keep them out; if God cut
off barren Branches, there is fome danger
of putrid ones.) God hath faid, I have
made an everlaſting Covenant with
thee, I will not turn away from thee.
Obj. This is good news, had I a right
to the promife; but alas ! I cannot be
lieve, and take a naked promife. Anj
Doeſt thou defire to believe and to
have Chrift, and fay thus, If it were
poffible for Chrift and Heaven to be
fe-
[551]
ſeparated, I would rather defire Chriſt
without Heaven, than Heaven without
Chriſt. Obj. But this is a hard matter;
I cannot fay, I defire Chriſt on fuch
terms as I ſhould. (This ſaying is the best
fign of Grace I have met with; he is
an honeft Man, who will not contra-
dict the natural ſenſe of his mind, and
Say, he can do that which is impoffible to
be done: It is an odd propoſal in order to
comfort a poor Soul, that he must be will-
ing to be damned with Christ, before he
must take comfort in hopes of being faved
by him.) Anf. But is it the grief of thy
heart, that thou canst not deny thy
felf? Defireft thou to cloſe with Chrift
upon any terms? Obj. Alas! I cannot
grieve and mourn for fin. (Certainly
they are at croß purposes, their Objections
and Answers do fo ill agree.) Anf. Haft
thou any
will to it? Art thou willing
to part with thy fins? But the poor
Soul faith, I fear I ſhall never do this.
But art thou willing, that Chriſt ſhould
make thee willing, (against thy will
and pitch thee upon a promife and hold
thee there? (for shame, poor Soul, re-
fufe not this then comfort thy felf,
thou haft a right to Gods promiſes.
Thus this evidence of Sanctification is
dwindled away into a defire to be willing;
N n 4
Nay,
L
[552]
Answer.
Nay, into a desire to be made willing; and
he is a ſtrange Man, who cannot go fo
far.
When a Miniſter comes to comfort
poor afflicted fouls, he doth not offer
them the Altitudes, the higheſt Sta-
tures of Holiness to meaſure them-
felves by, that would be horrid cru-
elty; but he fets before them that
immenfe mercy, which ſtoops down,in
its acceptance, to the leaft feeds or
fparks of Grace, to grace latent in a
defire or willing mind; Nay, to that
poverty of the fpirit, which, though it
feem to it ſelf to have nothing at all of
Grace, hath yet a bleffedneſs entailed
on it; a broken heart, which hath fome
truth of Grace, may complain of the
prevalency of fin in fome fence. The
preffure of inherent corruption may
make him cry out: O wretched man!
the flesh may fo luft against the spirit,
that he cannot do the things that he
would, Gal.5.17. Yet comfort may and
doth belong to him, thofe promiſes of
fubduing iniquity, of treading down
Satan; may, without ftraining them
beyond their ſcope; let out their
fweetnefs to him: When he thinks,that
he cannot pray, God may find and ac-
cept of a prayer in his fighs and groans,
when
[553]
when he fears by reaſon of the ſtirring
lufts, that he ſhall fall from God;
Grace is fufficient and able to make
him ſtand, he may be in Chrifts hands,
and yet not know it to his comfort:
He faith, he cannot believe, and yet his
Faith, though little, and as the fmoak-
ing Flax may be true: The deep fenfe
which he hath of the power of fin and
want of Faith, argues fomewhat of
Faith and a Divine Life in him, which
ſtruggles againſt fin, and afpires after
more Grace: He faith, that he cannot
defire Chriſt, as he ſhould: And this
ſenſe of his want may ſpeak him, not
an honeſt man only, but a pious, ſuch as
indeed breaths after Grace: He faith,
he cannot grieve or mourn for fin; yet
that very faying argues a kind of
mourning and lamentation over his
hardneſs, and ſpeaks his heart not to
be totally hard or fenfelefs: He com-
plains his will is not fuch as it ſhould
be; and this ſhews, that in fome méa-
fure he looks up to that Grace, which is
able to make him willing, not as if he
were to be made willing againſt his
will; but that Grace can change an
unwilling will into a willing one: In
fuch dealings as thefe with broken
hearts; Sanctification is not dwindled
away
[554]
Mr.Sher-
lock.
away,
but comfort is adminiftred
from the loweſt meaſure of true
Grace.
But when they have a mind to take
down the confidence of men, who are apt
to prefume too soon,that their condition is
good they do ſo magnifie the attain-
ments of hypocrites, who shall never go
to Heaven, that it is impoffible, for any
fanctified man to do more than an hypo-
crite may
do: Sothat, notwithstanding
any evidences of Sanctification, he may
be a hypocrite ftill, which quite spoils the
evidences of Sanctification, becauſe we
cannot diftinguish a fanctified man from
a hypocrite: Thus for example, one may
plead: I have left my fins I once lived
in; I am no Drunkard, Swearer, Lyer.
Shep. Sinc. I answer, Thou mayſt be waſhed from
the mire, the pollution of the World;
and Fet be a Swine in Gods account
(which he proves from, 2 Pet. 2. 20.
Where the Apostle tells them: That if
they have eſcaped the pollutions of
the World through the knowledge of
Chrift, and are again entangled there-
in and overcome (if they return to
their old vices) then their latter end
is worſe than the beginning; Which is
point blank contrary to what he affirms,
that those, who have escaped theſe pol-
lutions
Convert.
[555]
lutions, and are not yet entangled
again in them, may, notwithstanding
that, be Swine in Gods account: For
So he adds; Thou mayft live a blame-
lefs, innocent, honeft, fmooth life, and
yet be a miſerable creature: But I
pray, fays fuch a man, and that often;
fo thou mayft, and yet never be faved,
Ifai.1.11. To what purpoſe is the mul-
titude of your Sacrifices? To great
purpoſe ſure, when they are offered by
men of blameleſs, innocent,honeſt,ſmooth
lives; the want of which made thoſe
facrifices abominable to God: But I faft
fometimes, fo did the Scribes and Pha-
rifees: But it was to devour widows
houſes, which was not the faft of an ho-
neft, innocent man: But I hear the
word, fo did the ftony ground, who
for a ſeaſon believed; And it had been
well, and a good ſign of Grace, if it
had continued: I read the Scripture, fo
did the Pharifees, who were perfect in
the Bible: But though knaves read the
Scriptures, and be never the better for
it; yet good men may read it to good
purpose; reading of Scripture is no argu-
ment, that a man is an hypocrite, becauſe
the Pharisees were; But I am grieved
and repent of my fins, fo did Judas ;
but be hanged himself, and that indeed is
no
[556]
;
no repentance to life: But I love good
men and their company, fo did the
fooliſh Virgins; But they flept and ſuf-
fered their Lamps to go out, which all
that love good men do not: But God
hath given me much knowledge, that
thou mayſt have and never be faved
Yes, and twenty good things more; but
if a blameless honeft man hath the keeping
of this knowledge, it is never the worſe
for him: But I keep the Lords day, fo
did the Jews; had he been as well ac-
quainted with the Scriptures, as the Pha-
rifees were, he would not have ſaid, that
the Jews kept the Lords day; however
this is one good thing, which doth well
in the company of more: But I have
good defires, and endeavours to get to
Heaven; theſe thou mayft have, and
miſs of Heaven; And yet, when he was
in a more gentle humour, he told the
poor doubting foul, that defire, nay, that
a defire only to defire, at two or three
removes was enough: But I am zealous,
fo was Jehu, and Paul while a Pharifee,
(in perfecuting the Church; and there-
fore an univerfal, religious, well-govern-
ed zeal for God can be no fign of Grace)
But I am conſtant, and perfevere in
godly courfes, fo did the young man;
all theſe have I kept from my youth,
Conly
[557]
(only he left Chrift for the ſake of his
riches, and fo did not perfevere :) But
I do all with a good heart for God;
ſo thou mayſt think of thy ſelf and be
deceived: (And if this be an objection,
let a man have what marks he will; the
objection will still be good, and fo all e-
vidences fignifie nothing; for after all a
man may be deceived in it, and think he
hath thoſe marks, when he hath them
not.) There is a way that ſeemeth
right to man, but the end thereof is
death; thou mayſt live fo, as to de-
ceive thy felf and others, and yet
prove an hypocrite; as if because fome
men may think themſelves good, who are
in a bad estate; no man could ever be
fure that he is in the right. And thus
farewel all evidences.
There is reaſon to adminifter com- Answer
fort to wounded Souls from the loweſt
meaſures of Grace, and no lefs to pluck
down the proud Plumes of Hypocrites
from the inward and pure fpirituality
of Religion: Our Saviour doth both,
he gave out gracious Promiſes to
mourners, and to the poor in fpirit,
and he poured out woes upon the Pha-
rifees, and upon all the pomp of their
external righteouſneſs: But, faith the
Author, they do fo magnifie the attain-
ments
[558]
ments of Hypocrites, that a fanctified
man can do no more than an Hypocrite z
and ſo all the evidences of Sanctificati-
on are spoiled: But how fo? do they
paint the Hypocrite fairer than he is?
Do they attribute to him a jot or tit-
tle more than what is true? No fure-
ly, an Hypocrite may be no Drunk-
kard, or Swearer; he may eſcape the
pollutions of the World; that is,
grofs fins; and, though he be not en-
tangled therein again; and ſo a Swine
in his outward converfes: yet he may
be fuch inwardly, his inward parts may
be wickedness and uncleannefs: He
may live a blameleſs, innocent, honeſt,
fmooth life, and yet be foul within:
He may faſt, pray, hear, read the Scrip-
tures, and yet his heart not right in
the fight of God: He may have fome
kind of forrow or repentance, fome
kind of love to good men ; and yet
like the fooliſh Virgins have no Öyl
in his Lamp; no true Grace with his
profeffion: He may have a notional
knowledge, and yet not be Sanctified
by the Truth: He may keep a Sab-
bath in the outward decorum of it;
and yet want the Spirit and Life of
it, a delight in the Almighty: He
may have ſome kind of zeal, and fome
defires
[559]
defires after Heaven; and yet not of
the right ſtamp: He may preſume that
he hath a good heart, and a godly
courſe, and be deceived in both, all
this is true: Now one Truth cannot
oppoſe another: The truth which
concerns the attainments of Hypo-
crites, cannot oppofe that which con-
cerns the evidences of Sanctification :
The outward reformation is an evi-
dence, not meerly as it is outward, but
as it flows from Faith, and a pure
heart: Fafting, prayer, hearing, reading
are evidences, not meerly in opere o-
perato, in the work done; but in the
doing of them in a Spiritual manner;
Faith, and Hope, and holy Love being
actuated therein: Keeping the Sabbath
is an evidence, not meerly in the out-
ward obſervation of it: But when it is
filled up with Duties, fpiritually per-
formed: Knowledge,Zeal, Repentance,
Love to good Men are Graces; when
of the right ſtamp, but meer notion
which fwims in the brain, is not that
fanctifying Knowledge, which influ-
ences Holiness into the Heart and Life:
Every heat upon a Religious account
is not true Zeal, but that celeftial Fire,
which rightly inflames the heart for
the glory of God: Every forrow or
pref
[560]
Mr. Sher-
lock.
preffure from the Law, is not true re-
pentance, but that which melts the
heart into tears for the finfulneſs of fin:
Every reſpect to good men is not the
right love, but that which flows out of
love to God, and points to the Divine
Image in them: Defires after Heaven
may be a mark of a good Eftate; but
then they muſt be ſuch as are vertual-
ly Grace, and iffue out of poverty of
fpirit. A man may think he hath a
good heart, and a godly courſe, and be
deceived therein; yet it follows not,
that we muſt bid farewel to evidences ;
an holy life iffuing out of a pure heart,
will ſtill be an evidence to him who
hath it.
But after all this, it would be worth
while to know, how to diftingufh a rege-
nerate from an unregenerate man; and
that he tells us may be done thus: An un-
regenerate man; let him go never fo
far, do never ſo much, yet he lives in
fome one fin or other: This now is very
Strange: What? go never so far? and
do never fo much? and yet live in fome
one fin or other; what live a blameleß,
innocent, honest, Smooth life, and yet live
in ſome one fin or other? Yet ſuppoſe he
did, a regenerate man may be, in capti-
vity to the Law of fin: And pray what's
the
[561]
the difference? But then an ungenerate
man cannot be poor in fpirit; and fo
carried out of all Duties to Chrift ;
That is, if an unregenerate man do good,
he is confcious to himself that he doth
it: If he have a good heart, he feels a
good heart in himſelf, and in all he doth,
and therefore feels not a want of all good,
which is true poverty of spirit: So that
according to this difcourfe, the ſureſt
mark of a regenerate man is either to
have no good in himſelf: or, if he have
any to be mistaken, and think he hath
none; either of which, I think, is a ves
ry odd fign of Grace: But then an un-
regenerate man comes to Chrift; but
he never gets into Chrift, never takes
up his eternal reſt and lodging in Je-
fus Chrift only; I thought coming had.
been believing, and that believing would
have done the business; And if fo, God.
forbid, that any man should be damned
for want of that other Metaphor of
taking up his eternal reſt and lodg-
ing in Chrift: Men in diftrefs of
confcience, (that is, unregenerate
men under fuch diftres) If they
have comfort from Chrift, they are
contented: If Salvation from Hell
by Chriſt, they are contented, (and İ
think they have some reason then to be
Oo contented)
[562]
Answer.
contented) But Chrift himself; that is,
without Comfort, and without Salva-
tion, contents them not. Now to be
contented with Chrift without comfort
and falvation; is so far from being
the mark of an unregenerate man, that
I am not yet fatisfied, that it is the mark
of an unreasonable man.
An unregenerate man, let him go ne.
ver fo far, do never fo much; yet, as
long as he is in his old Sphere, in cor-
rupt unregenerate nature, he lives in
fome one fin or other; in an unregene-
rate heart, while fuch, Gods throne is
not, cannot be, and therefore fins muſt
be there: Such an heart, as yet not
elevated by Grace to the true and im-
menfe goodneſs which is above, hunts
after an happineſs in the lower Sphere
of its felf and the world, embracing
fome vain Image or Shadow instead of
a Deity: The young man in the Go-
fpel, for all his fmooth, innocent life,
had
yet a regnant World within. Tra-
jan and Antoninus the Philofopher, as
fair Moralifts as they were, were yet e-
nemies to Chriftianity: But a rege-
nerate man, however he groan under
the indwelling fin, doth not indulge
his lufts; his heart, having found out
God the true center of Bleffedneſs
refts
[563]
reſts no where elſe: But,faith Mr. Shep-
hard, an unregenerate man cannot be
poor in fpirit, and fo carried out of ali
duties to Chrift. Upon which, faith the
Author, if an unregenerate man do good,
he is conſcious to himself that he doth itz
if he have a good heart, he feels it:
And is it fo indeed? If an unregenerate
man may have a good heart,and do that
which is truly fpiritually good; Rege
neration is altogether uſeleſs, internal
and fupernatural principles of Grace
are to no purpoſe: Nature, though
lame and lapſed, may do its own work:
But I fuppofe rather, that all this in the
unregenerate, is but pride and prefump-
tion; his feeling a good heart in him-
felf, but a lye and impofture. But,faith
the Author, the regenerate man is either
to have no good in himself, or to think
he hath none, either of which is an odd
fign of Grace. To which, I anſwer ;
To be a regenerate Man, and to have
no good in himſelf, is not poffible, to
think he hath none, if he know he hath
fome, is as little poffible as the other :
The regenerated man bath a Divine
Life and Principle in him; yet, by
reafon of inherent corruptions, fees
little or nothing in himself; and is e-
ver in dependance upon the treafures
003
of
{
[564]
of Grace in Chrift. An unregenerate
man may come to Chrift in Profeffion
or Ordinances, but not in believing:
He takes not up his reft in Chriſt: He
would, faith Mr.Shephard,like Judas,have
Christ and the bag too: Or, as the young
man, have Christ and the world too:
He would live in his Lufts; and, if at
laft Chrift would fave him from Hell,
it would be enough: But the regenerate
are in love with Chrift himfelf, ὁ ἐμὸς
Ερίβ. απ ἔρως ἐπαύρωται, My Love Chrift was cru-
cified, and with him my love to all other
things,faith Ignatius, and the Reverend
Uber, as Mr. Baxter relates, was of o-
pinion, That by the first act of Faith we
receive Chriſts perfon, and by a fecond
his benefits.
Rom.
Mr. Sher-
lock
11r. Shephard faith, That men tyred
and weary in themselves, go to Chriſt
to remove their fins: If they get theſe
fins fubdued and removed; if they
find power to do better, they hope to
be faved, (here is the evidence of San&ti-
fication) whereas thou mayſt be damn-
ed, and go to the Devil at laft, though
thou doft eſcape all the pollutions of
the World; and that not from thy
felf, and thine own ſtrength : but from
the knowledge of Chrift: Woe to you
if you dye in this ftate (with your fins
mortified
[565]
mortified and fubdued by Chrift) and
the reafon is, becauſe this is to come
to Chrift, to fuck juyce from him, to
maintain his own Berries (his own flock
of Graces) Alas! he is but the Ivy, he is
no Member, nor Branch in this Tree:
And hence he never grows to be one
with Chrift: So that Holines and Obe-
dience is no evidence of our Union to
Chriſt, though we fetch strength from
Christ to do his will; we may only grasp
about Christ all this while, as the Ivy
about the Oak; but never be united to
him, and become one with him.
Mr.Shephard's plain fcope is no more Anfwer.
but this, that poor finners tyred with
their fins, ſhould not reft in any thing,
no, not in fome power to fubdue fin,
and do better, without Union to
Christ And the Scripture-Method
calls for this, that we ſhould have our
being in Chrift, put on Chrift, and re-
ceive Chriſt, that we may have all be-
nefits from him. Hence our Church 1. Ĥm. of
tells us,That we must make Chrift our own,
and apply his merits to our felves. Thus
the Learned Zanchy, Tota vera justitia, De vers
vitæ, falutis participatio ex hac perne- difpenfat.
ceffarià cum Chrifto newvwvi, pendet: The
whole participation of Righteousness, Life,
Salvation, depends on our Union with
Oo3
Christ,
the Sacra-
ment.
}
[566]
Mr Sher-
lock.
Christ, which is most neceffary. A man
through the knowledge of Chrift, may
efcape the pollutions of the World;
that is, grofs fins; he may learn to do
better in his life; but true mortifica-
tion of fins flows from our Union to
Chriſt, and is effected by the holy
Spirit in Believers: Holincfs and Obe-
dience, fuch as indeed is true and
fpiritual, doth not go before Faith and
Union to Chrift, but follow after it,
and fo evidence it, as the Fruit doth
the Root. As for the Authors fub-
joyned exclamation: Good God! inte
what mazes and labyrinths do these men
lead poor diftreffed fouls? I muſt leave
it to the Reader to determine, whe-
ther there be any juſt cauſe for it or
not.
↑
The testimony of the Spirit concerns
the general adoption of Christians for the
Sons of God, not to testifie to any parti-
cular man, that he is a good Chriftian,
or in the estate of Grace: It is not a
private, but a publick teftimony given to
the whole Chriftian Church: That holy
Spirit, which God bestowed upon the A-
poftles and Primitive Chriftians, which
enabled them to work Miracles, ſpeak
Languages and Prophefie, was a plain
argument to all the World, that God
330
[567]
now owned the Chriftians, not the Jews,
for his chofen and elect people ; for his
fons and children: For this was the
great diſpute of those days, whether Jews
or Chriftians were the fons of God?
whether God now owned the Jewish or
Christian Religion? and the Apoftles de-
cide this Controverfie by the Teftimony of
the Spirit; for God could not give a
greater Testimony to the
the Chriftian
Church, than the gift of the holy Spirit ;
for it was a plain argument, that he
owned them for his fons, when he be-
stowed the Spirit of his Son on them,
as the Apoſtle, argues, Galat. 3. 2. Re-
ceived ye the Spirit by the Works of
the Law, or by the hearing of Faith?
that is, did God bestow his Spirit on
you,
while you were Jews, or upon your
converfion to Christianity? For if God
bestowed his ſpirit on Chriſtians: This is
a fufficient feal to the Chriftian Reli-
gion: This is plain and intelligible, the
Testimony of the Spirit affures us, that
all Christians are the Sons of God, and
Heirs of the Promiſes; and every mans
confcience will tell him, whether he be
a Chriftian, whether he heartily believe
and obey the Gospel; and herein conſiſts
our Union to Chriſt, and fellowſhip with
bim ; let us then leave thofe other dim no-
004
う
​2
tions
[568]
Answer.
tions to men, who can believe, what no
man can understand, who defpife every
thing, that can be understood, as if
it were no better than carnal reafon.
The Author, who hitherto hath
highly, though without cauſe, charged
his oppofites with violating the evi-
dences of Chriftians, doth now himfelf
blaft the higheſt of all evidences, the
Teſtimony of the holy Spirit, which is
fo clealy afferted by the holy Apoſtle,
that the Jefuits themſelves, though hot-
ly difputing againſt affurance,never yet
attempted totally to deny it: The Te-
stimony of the Spirit (faith the Author)
concerns the general adoption of Chrifti-
ans; not to teſtifie to any particular man:
It is not a private, but a publick Testi-
mony given to the whole Church. But
let us confider the Text it ſelf in the A-
poſtle: The Spirit it ſelf beareth witnes
with our spirits, that we are the children
of God, Rom.8.16. The Spirit, the A-
poſtle ſpeaks not of the Spirit, as fhew-
ing forth it felf in Miracles and
Tongues; but as fanctifying and feal·
ing Believers; he fpeaks of the spirit,
dwelling in them, verl. 9. Mortifying the
deeds of the body in them, verf.13. Lead-
ing of them, verf.14. Making them cry,
Abba, Father, verf. 15. And then fol
lows
[569]
lows, ἀυτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα, the felf Fame fpia
rit beareth witness: Here is not one jot
or tittle of Miracles or Tongues,the te-
ftimony of the Spirit in Miracles or
Tongues, is an external one,which runs
into the fenfes. But the Teftimony of
the Spirit in the Text is internal,it bear-
eth witneſs not to our fenfes,but to our
Spirits:It is faid to be fent forth into our
hearts, Gal.4.6. The Teftimony is not
without in Miracles or Tongues, but
within in the heart: The Spirit beareth
witneẞ with our Spirit ; the Apoſtle faith
not, it beareth witness with the Spirit
of the Church; for there is one body,
and one fpirit; the Spirit of the Church
Catholick is the holy Spirit, which
quickens the whole Myftical Body of
Chrift: And thefe words, The Spirit
beareth witness with our Spirit ; cannot
be tranflated thus: The Spiri beareth
witneſs with it felf; but the plain mean-
ing is: It beareth witness with our spirit ;
that is, with the fpirits and confciences
of particular Believers: And what doth
it teftific? The Apoſtle tells us, That we
are the children of God; We particular
Believers are ſo. Thus in another place,
ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of
Promife, Eph.1.13. Ye, particular Be-
lievers were fo, And again, He hath
Sealed
[570]
fealed us, and given the earnest of the
Spirit in our hearts, 2 Cor. 1. 22. He
hath dealt fo with us in particular. The
Teſtimony of the Spirit in the Goſpel
is, that all Believers are the Sons of
God: But the Teſtimony of the Spi-
rit in our ſpirits is, that we are Belie-
vers, and fo the Sons of God in parti-
cular. This Teſtimony of the Spirit,
(though fo fully afferted in Scripture:
Nay, and I will add, though fo fweetly
experimented by the dear Saints of
God, that they have thought them-
felves in the very borders of Heaven
in reſpect of it) is yet with the Au-
thor no better than a dim unintilligible
notion; and, as he ſpeaks a little be-
fore,a private Enthuſiaſm: But why un-
intelligible? cannot the holy Spirit fo
illuftrate and irradiate the heart, that
the truth of Grace may appear to the
Believer; that he may certainly fee in
his own heart, that this is precious
Faith, and that is love in incorruption;
and fo of other Graces there: Or,what
if it were unintelligible? Shall we caft
off the Divine Revelation, becauſe a-
bove our narrow reafon? What then
muſt become of thofe Myfteries of
the Trinity, and hypoftatical Union?
What of that peace of God, which
1
4
[571]
is úπeçέxxoa, paſſing or tranſcending all
understanding, Phil.4.7. Surely in fuch
things reaſon muſt vail and do homage
to Revelations : Ephraem Syrus difcern-
ing an heretical propenſity in his Difci-
ple Paulinus, gave him that excellent
advice, Vide, Pauline, ne te fubmittas
tuis cogitationibus, fed cum te perfecte
comprehendiffe Deum putaveris, crede
nec intellexiffe: We must not commit
Divine Myſteries to the meaſures of
Humane Reafon ; but take them as
they are in Scripture: But this Tefti
mony of the Spirit is but a private En-
thufiam, faith the Author. To which
I anſwer, We are now more afraid of
Enthuſiaſm, than they were of old:
Dyonifius would have the Hierarch to
be ἔνθεον και θείον άνδρα, to be a divine
ävdeg,
ävdeg
manand a kind of Euthufiaft: Ignatius in
the Epistle to the Romans, faith, That
he wrote yváμnv De, Secundum ar-
bitrium Dei, as if he had wrote by im-
pulfe and Inſpiration: And, as Dr.
Arrowsmith hath it, in Suidas, and He-
Sykius, Everorαoμòs, Enthuftafmis, when
the whole foul is irradiated by God:
And in this fence, I wish with him, V-
ținam effemus omnes Enthuſiaſte? Would
we were all Enthufiafts. Its true, there
is not now an Enthuſiaſm of gifts in an
5
extra-
De Ecclef.
Hierarch.
[572]
extraordinary way; but fure there
muſt be ſtill in the ufe of the means an
Enthuſiaſm of Graces in Regeneration,
and an Enthuſiaſm of comforts in the
Teſtimony of the Spirit; or elfe, which
is quite contrary to Scripture, there
muſt be no new Creatures, but what are
of Mans own making; nor no Divine
comforts for them, but what are of
Mans own gathering: The Juft need
no longer live by Faith, or in depen-
dence upon the Divine Spirit, but
may have his being and well-being,
his graces and comforts, all from him-
felf.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Anfwer.
Chri
CHAP. V. Se&. 1.
Hrift hath reveiled the whole mind
and will of God, in ſuch a plain and
familiar manner, that every one may un-
derftand it, who will but exercife the
fame reafon in it, that he doth to under-
ftand the Laws of his Prince.
Before the Author took away the
witneffing Spirit, now the illuminating
one: A Man may, according to him,
underſtand the things of God by the
exerciſe of his rcafon; Thus Epifcopius:
Men may by meer natural perception,
with-
་།
[573]
(
without any Supernatural fuperinfuſed
light, understand the Will of God. After
the fame manner ſpeak the Socinians :
The darkneſs (for fuch are all the un-
regenerate Men) may, it feems, com-
prehend the Evangelical light. But
the Apoſtle tells us, That the natural
Man receiveth not the things of the Spi-
rit of God, 1 Cor. 2. 14. That flesh and
blood doth not reveil theſe things, but
our Father in Heaven, Matth. 16. 17.
Hence the Apoſtle prays for the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation for the Ephe-
fians, Ephef. 1. 17. Hence our Church
tells us, That the Revelation of the Holy 2.Hom. of
Ghost infpireth the true meaning of Scripture.
Scripture into us: In truth we cannot
without him attain true faving know-
ledge.
lock.
According to thefe Men, the love of Mr. Sher-
Chrift is a love to the perſon of a Believer,
without confidering any other qualifica-
tions, than that he is fuch an individual
perfon; that is, the excellency of Chrifts
love confifts in this, that he loves for no
reaſon: Now I confeß this is a wonder-
ful love, but wherein the excellency of it
confifts, I cannot fee: I am fure we ac-
count that Man a Fool, who loves at this
rate; we who are reaſonable Creatures,
think that we are bound to govern all our
actions
[574]
actions, and the paſſions of our mind too,
by reafon; and we accouut it a reproach
to a Man, 'to act either againſt reaſon or
without it, to do any thing of which he
cannot give a reaſonable account: And
how that should come to be the perfection
of the Love of God, which is a reproach
to Men, is above my apprehenfion? In-
deed were this true, it would undermine
the very foundations of Religion: For the
great end of Religion is to pleafe God, and
to procure his love and favour; but if
God and Christ love for no reaſon, then
it is a vain thing for us to think of plea-
fing God, or procuring his love by any
thing we can do: Whether we obey him
or disobey him, it is all one in this cafe;
for if he pleafe to love us without
Son, our fins cannot hinder it ; and if it
does not pleafe him to love us, our Holy-
neẞ and Obedience cannot alter him. When
our Acceptation with God depends wholly
upon a foveraign and unaccountable will,
nothing we can do can hinder or promote
it, and therefore all Religion is in vain.
The foundation of this mistake is a Phi-
lofophical nicety,that God must act wholly
from himself, and therefore must not be
moved by any external caufe; whereas
hould be love us because we are holy, or
bate us because we are wicked, his love or
any rea-
hatred
[575]
hatred would depend upon an external
caufe: viz. The holyness or wickedness of
Creatures, which unbecomes an indepen-
dent Being, to depend upon any thing
elfe: The fum of which reafoning is this,
that because God is the first cause of all
things, on whom all things depend, and
he on nothing, therefore he must love or
hate his Creature without any reaſon, but
his own unaccountable will: For this is
all the inconvenience they can Objec‡,that
when God loves or hates, rewards or pu-
nishes his Creatures, the reaſon of this
difference he makes between hisCreatures,
must be fetched from the perſons them-
felves whom he thus loves or hates ; and
So it must of neceffity be, if he have any
reafon at all; for the reason of love or
hatred ought to be in the Object, not in
the Perfon who loves or hates; and yet in
propriety of speech, God cannot be faid to
depend on his Creatures, or any thing
without himself, for the reafon of his love
or hatred, but his own Nature is the rea-
fon of it: He is infinitely Holy, and there-
fore loves holyneßß and hates ſin ; and his
natural love to holyneß is the reason why
he loves holy Men, and his natural hatred
to fin, is the reaſon why he hates wicked
Men: his own holyness is the reason why
he loves holy Men, but the holyneẞ of the
Crea-
[576]
Answer.
2
Creature is the reafon, why he determines,
his love to any particular perfon; And if
they will call this a depending on creatures,
we must acknowledge that God does thus
depend on hisCreatures in the adminiftra-
tion of his Providence, in diftributions of
rewards and punishments; and he should
not be wife,& holy, and juft,& good if he
did not,that is,if he did not put ſuch a dif-
ference between things & perfons,as their
Natures require: It is a strange notion of
an independent Being, that he must have
no other reason for what he does, but his
own Arbitrary will; which is fo far from
being a perfection, that it deftroys all
the other perfections of the Divine Nature.
There is a double love in God: A
love of complacence, whereby he de-
lights in his own Holy Image in the
Creature, where ever he finds it; And
a love of Benevolence, whereby he de
figns to beſtow good things on his Crea-
tures: The firſt, points at goodness in
the Creature; the other, is the great
origen of all good things in the Crea-
ture. The first, Iffues out of the per-
fect fanctity of his Nature; The other,
proceeds according to his Soveraign
will and pleaſure. But then, faith the
Author, God loves for no reason, or with-
out reafon. To which I aufwer, Gods
love
[677]
Jove of Benevolence is no Cacus inpe
tus, there is ſumma ratio in it, it is irra
diated with infinite wiſdom; but the
reaſon of it is not in the Creature, but
in himſelf only: God would redeem
fallen Men not Angels; but furely the
reaſon was not in the Creature, for
then all the Grace, Mercy, and Free-
dom of God in that work vaniſhes :
The whole of it muſt proceed from the
Nature of God, as it refpects fome-
thing in the Creature, and by confe-
quence it could not fall out otherwife,
becauſe God cannot deny his Nature.
After the Fall it is ftrange how God
did fever, and pick out fome to him-
ſelf out of the reſt of Mankind. Ex A- De Republ
dami liberis tantùm Sethus, ex hujús Hebr li.3.
ftirpe Noachus, éx Nochi Filiis Semus,
ex illius pofteritate Abramus; ac poftre-
mò ex numerosâ Abrami fobole unus Ifa-
cus placuit electufque eft: Cujus Familiá
Ecclefiæ nomen atque dignitatem ineffa-
bili ratione, velut per fucceffionem, fibi
vindicaret, cæteræ gentes tanquam pró-
phanæ, fpretæque à numine funt. So the
learned Cun&us: And it will be an hard
thing to find a reafon in the Creature
for fuch a ſtrange feparation: God chofe
and fet his love upon his Children of
Ifracl, above all People in the Earth
PP
he
[578]
,
he fevered them from all other Nations
unto himſelf; and was the reafon in the
Creature? No furely; they muſt not
fo much as fay or mutter in their heart,
That they had the Land for their righte-
ousneß, Deut. 9.4. No, God tells them,
that they were a ftiff-necked People
verf. 6. but he chofe and loved them
because he loved them, Deut. 7. 7. and 8.
What he did was meerly out of his
good pleaſure, and without any rea-
fon on their part. God gives the Gof-
pel to fome Nations, not to others; and
is the reaſon in the Creature? No; the
Apoſtle tells us: That God calls us not
according to our works, but according to
his own purpoſe and Grace, 2 Tim. 1. 9.
Chrift was manifefted to a Thief, and
not to a Socrates or Plato ; Impenitent
Corazin and Bethfaida had a vifible
Deity before them in Chrifts Miracles,
when poor Tyre and Sidon,much nearer
to Repentance, had it not, Matth. 11.
21. Here the reaſon cannot be in the
Creature, unless we will fay with Pe-
lagius: Gratiam dari fecundum merita,
That Grace is given according to works.
But to come to the Church, there God
gives Faith and Repentance to one
Man, not to another; and is the rea-
fon in the Creature? Faith and Repen-
tance
[579]
tance are the very firſt Graces in Men,&
therefore cannot be given to them for
any precedent Grace in them,or indeed
for any reafon at all in them; unleſs,
which is very odd, we prefume them to
be given to them for the goodneſs of
their Nature: The Scripture clearly re-
folves it into the Soveraign will of God,
He will have mercy on whom he will have
mercy, Rom.9.18. He begets us of his owit
will, Ja.1.18. He begets us according to his
abundant mercy, I Pet.1.3. He worketh to
will & to do of his good pleasure, Ph.2.13.
Neither is it poffible to be otherwiſes
his love of Benevolence, is the Foun-
tain and great Origen of all the good-
nefs in the Creature; and how or which
way fhall the goodness of the Creature
be the cauſe or reaſon of that love? AlL
the goodness in the Creature is but a
donative of Divine love; and if fo,
then the Divine love was antecedent
to that goodness in the Creature. Now
theſe things being clearly fo in Scrip-
ture and reafon, I fuppofe there is little
reaſon, and leſs Religion, to fay, That
God loves for no reason, or without rea-
fon; that that Man is a Fool who loves at
this rate,that it is a reproach among Men
fo to Act; with fuch other ftuff, which
I pray God to forgive unto the Speak-
Pg 2
et.
[80]
er. If there be reaſon for any thing im
the World,there is forthis: That God
the fupream Donor, ſhould do what he
would with his own: That Man, the
poor Receiver, fhould not expoftulate
with God, or think to call him to an
account for any of his matters: That
the regenerating Spirit ſhould be at li-
berty and breath where it lifts: That all
Gods gifts ſhould be free, and of his
good pleaſure, there being in the Crea-
ture nothing that is good, but what is
a meer gift only. But, faith the Au-
thor, This undermines the foundations
of Religion, if God love for no reason,
whether we obey him or diſobey him, it is
all one; if God love us our fins cannot
hinder it, if he love us not our holyneß
cannot alter him, therefore all Religion is
but in vain. To which I answer, This
Argument runs upon two or three hy-
potheſes which are untrue:The Author
ſuppoſes firſt, that God's purpofe or de-
cretive love is, what it is not, the rule
of our acting; next, that there is in
God what indeed there is not, fome
purpoſe or decree to bar fome Men,
though never fo holy, out of Heaven.
And Thirdly,That there is not, what in
truth there is, a complacential love in
God towards all holy Perfons whoever
they
[58г]
they be. Now, theſe things are not ſo,
we ſay, that God commands all in the
Church to Repent and Believe, that
God hath made a general promife of
Salvation to all that do fo; and with-
al that God hath a complacential love
towards all holy perfons whoever they
be: And theſe things confidered, fure-
ly Religion cannot be in vain or to no
purpoſe. As for the Philofophical nice-
ty or verity rather, if God be, as he is,
a God and the fupream Donor of all;
in reaſon, all Creatures as Creatures
muft depend on him the Creator, and
as Receivers muſt depend on him the
Donor: And hence it is evident, that
all the grace and goodneſs in the Crea-
ture, becauſe a Creature, muft depend
on him its Maker; And becauſe a gift
muft depend on him the Donor there-
of. Man, though but a petty Benefa-
ctor, is free in his gifts, or elſe they
would not be gifts; how much more
muſt God the fupream Donor be fo?
It is true, when Men are good, God,
fuch is the fanctity of his Nature, doth
take pleaſure in them; but to diſpenſe
grace or goodness to the Creature is his
Royal prerogative, he doth it accor-
ding to the foveraign unaccountable
pleaſure of his will; he was under no
Pp 3
Na-
[582]
Natural neceffity to give a Chriſt, or a
Gospel, or a dram of Faith or holyneſs,
to any one fallen Man in the World,
what he gives, he gives as he pleaſes
out of meer Free grace. It is true too,
when Men are good, God, fuch is
his gracious promiſe, will greatly re-
ward them; but it is he only who
makes us good, and fo meet for the
inheritance in light; our goodness is of
Grace, and our reward is Grace upon
Grace, remunerating Grace upon fan-
&ifying; In a word, the love of Gods
Complacence refpects goodness in the
Creature, but the love of Benevolence
caufes it, and that freely in a way of
unaccountable Soveraignty ; and this is
fo far from being a love without rea-
fon, that without it, it is impoffible
that there ſhould be any goodneſs in
the Creature: Were there a goodneſs
in the Creature, antecedent to the love
of his Benevolence, it would be a beam
without a Sun, a gift without a Giver
a ftrange, independent, felf-originated
goodneſs, and that in the Creature,
which is as great an abfurdity as can
well be imagined.
Mr. Sher Secondly, Thefe Men tell us too, that
Chriſts love is immutable, having once
lock..
1
fixt his love upon us, though with-
out
[583]
out any reaſon, he can never alter: Sin
it felf cannot ſeparate us from the Love
of Chriſt. If fin foreſeen were not a-
ble to hinder him from planting his
heart on us: How then ſhall it (that is,
fin committed be able to over-turn
the thoughts of his heart, when once
they are fixed on us? This is a strong
fixed Love indeed, which fin it ſelf can-
not alter: But how wife, and holy a Love
it is, let any ran judge: Herein Dr.
Owen tells us the depth of Chriſts
Love is to be contemplated, that
whereas his holy Soul hates every ſin,
it is a burden, an abomination, a new
wound to him; and his poor Spouſe,
that is, finful Believers are full of fin,
failings, infirmities, he hides all, co-
vers all, bears all, rather than he will
looſe them. He adds indeed, by his
power preſerving them from fuch fins,
as a remedy is not provided for in the
Covenant of Grace. I fuppofe he means
the fin against the holy Ghoft; for there
is a remedy provided for all other fins
in the Covenant of Grace, and all other
fins a Believer it seems may be guilty of;
and Chrift will hide all rather than loſe
him. Now this is as down-right Anti-
nomianiſm, as ever Dr. Crifp or Salt-
marth vented; There have been, and are
Pp 4
•
30
[584]
to this day a great many wife learned
men, who contend for the perfeverance
of the Saints, that thofe, who are once in
a state of Grace, shall always continue
fu: But then they found this not on ſuch
an immutable Love, as fin it felf can-
not alter for this is not reconcilable
with the Holiness of the Divine Nature 3
or with these threatnings in Scripture
againſt ſuch back fliders: When the
righteous man turneth away from his
Righteouſneſs, and committeth ini-
quity and doth according to all the
abominations that a wicked man doth,
he thall dye, Ezek. 18. 24. If any man
turn back, my foul fhall have no plea-
fure in him, which is a plain demonftra-
tion, the truth of which is acknowledged
by all fober Writers, that if such men
can be ſuppoſed to relapse into a finful
State, God will cease to love them; there-
fore they found the immutability of Gods
Love to them on their perfeverance in do-
ing good, God loves all good men; but
if they cease to be good, he also must ceaſe
to love; Herein the immutability of
Gods Love confifts, not that he always
loves the fame perfon, but that he al-
ways loves for the fame reason: For it
is no perfection to be ſo fixt in our kind-
ness, that where we love once, we will
always
[585]
always love, whatever reason there may
be to alter our affections; for by this
means we may love undeferving Objects,
which is the greatest degeneracy of
Love; but the perfection of Love confifts
in loving deferving Objects,and in loving
upon bonourable reasons, and the im-
mutability of Love confiŝts in loving al-
ways for the ſame reaſons, which is the
only foundation of a virtuous immutabi-
lity: The reaſon of Chrifts Love to any
perfon is Holiness and Obedience: Ifany
love me, he will keep my words,
and my Father will love him; and we
will come to him, and make our abode
with him, Joh. 14.23. The unchangeable-
ness of his Love is feen in this, that he will
continue to love, while we continue to
obey him: If ye shall keep my Com-
mandments; that is, continue to do fo:
Ye ſhall abide in my Love; I will con-
tinue to love you: As I have kept my
Fathers Commandments, and abide
in his Love, Joh.15.20. This is the im-
mutability of the Divine Nature, that
God always acts upon fteddy, constant
Principles, that whatever changes there
are in the World, which may occafion
pery different administrations in his
providence; yet he is the fame ftill, and
never changes: Whereas, Should God
always
[586]
Answer.
always love the fame person; however
he changed and altered, God must change
and alter too; because though he still
loves the fame perſon; yet he must love
for different or contrary reafons, or for
none at all; and that is the much greater
change of the two, to alter the reason,
than the object of Love: If God love
a good man, because he is good, and con-
tinue to love him, when he is wicked,
his love is a mutable thing, which can
love goodness or wickedneß, which can
love for none, or for contrary reafons:
But if God always loves true goodneß,
and good men, and never loves any o-
ther; whatever change there be in Crea-
tures; God is the fame ftill, and un-
changeable in his Love.
The Author admits an immutable
Love in God towards goodness; but
the Scripture afferts an immutable
Love in God towards perfons; He
hath chofen us before the foundation of the
world,Eph. 1.4.Electing Love is eternal,
and therefore immutable: Non enim eſt
vera æternitas, ubi orttur nova voluntas,
nec eft immortalis voluntas, quæ alia et a-
lia eft: An eternal choice muſt be ever
the fame, and after one there cannot
rife another. The foundation of God
Standeth fure, having this feal; the
Lord
[587]
Lord knoweth them that are his, 2 Timi.
2.19. Election, which is the foundati-
on, is fure, and Gods fore-knowledge,
which includes invariable Love in it, is
the feal of it: The Book of Life hath
all the names of the Elect written in it,
and Gods Love is the Seal that con-
firms it; whom he did predeftinate,them
be alſo called, and whom he called, them
he alſo justified; and whom he juſtified,
them he alſo glorified, Rom.8.30. This
Golden Chain of Grace comprifes in
it certain individual perſons, as the
words (whom and them) which faſten
every link of it, doth evidently im-
port; and that which holds all the
links of it together,is immutable Love:
Nay, befides Scripture evidence, rea-
fon will evince this immutable Love
of the Elect; without this there can be
no defign of a Church, and without
the deſign of a Church, Chrifts blood
muſt needs be ſhed irrationally, or up-
on a meer peradventure; I ſay, with-
out this there can be no defign of a
Church; for the defign of a Church
muſt compriſe in it, thoſe individual
perfons, which ſhall make up a Church,
and undertake that they fhall infalli-
bly believe and perfevere till they
come to Heaven; it must first compriſe
in
[588]
*
in it thoſe individual perfons which
fhall make up a Church, or elſe it is
lame and imperfect, unworthy of the
Divine Wiſdom and Perfection; run-
ning much after this rate, as if God
fhould fay, I defign a Church, but I
care not of whom it confifts, which is
much one, as if God fhould defign an
Heaven, and not what Stars fhould be
in it; or an Earth, and not what
Plants ſhould be there: All the members
in mans body are written in Gods book,
Pfal. 139. 16. And can any man ima-
gine, that thoſe, who ſhould make up
the Myſtical Body of Chrift,as fo many
Members thereof, are not certainly de-
figned? God calleth them by name, Joh.
10. 3. Your names are all down in the
Book of Life, Phil. 4. 3. To deſign a
Church, and not who, is too weak a
thing for the all-wife Deity. Again,
the defign of a Church muft under-
take, that thoſe individual perfons
ſhall believe and perfevere; unless this
be granted, the deſign of a Church
muſt be framed thus: God gives a Sa-
viour and a Gofpel in common, and
over and above a power to men to
believe and perfevere; and fo, though
the iffue hang upon mans will, hopes
for a Church; But in Truth, this is not
to
[589]
to deſign a Church; but the poffibility
of one; there may be one, as it may
happen, and there may be none: And
is this like that Divine Providence,
which is perfect in all things, and e-
ſpecially in the great defign of a
Church? Nay, is it probable upon theſe
terms, that any ſhould believe and per-
fevere! Innocent Adam (and yet a-
las! how foon was that Star ſhot?)
was more likely to ftand in his inte-
grity, than any man fince upon thoſe
terms hath been to believe and per-
fevere: The diſparity clears it. The
Divine principles in Adam fweetly in-
clined him to obedience : But the
power of believing in men doth not
incline, but only put the will in æqui-
librio. The Divine Principles in Adam,
were pure and without mixture: But
the power of believing hath in the
ſame heart, where it dwells, an inmate
of corruption, which continually coun-
ter-works it. In innocency the tempta-
tion ſtood without a courting the
fenſes: But after the Fall it makes
nearer approaches, as having a party
within ready to open and betray eve-
ry faculty. Theſe things confidered,
methinks every one, who with hum-
ble eyes looks on that glaſs of Crea-
ture-
[590]
ture defectibility, which was made out
of the broken pieces of fallen Adam,
ſhould conclude it very improbable,
that any one in all the World upon
thoſe terms ſhould believe and per-
fevere; it being no less than a proud
thought for any to imagine, that upon
fuch great diſparities he could act his
part better than Adam did: And is it
reaſonable, that God fhould found the
deſign of a Church upon fuch improba-
bilities? The firſt Covenant, in which
the ſtock of Grace was in mans own
hand, and the ftrefs of all lay upon his
will, mifcarried and brought forth no
happineſs to man; and can we imagine,
that the All-wiſe God, who made the
fecond Covenant as a fecunda tabula to
repair the ruines of the firſt, ſhould
frame it in that very fame way in which
the firſt miſcarried? May the ſtock be in
mans hand again, and his Bankrupt
will truſtee a fecond time? Will God
hang up all upon a meer poffe in the
Creature, and expect it may do bet-
ter in lapſed than innocent man? A-
las ! what miferable fpecimens hath
Free-will given of it felf in fallen
Man! The old World, left to their
own Free-will (though, I ſuppoſe, ac-
cording to the Author, not with
out
[591]
out a poſſe) all but one Noah, de-
ſperately corrupted themſelves, till
the Flood ſwept them away: And for
that one Noah, it is not probable or in-
deed imaginable, that he, had he been
left to himſelf only with the com-
mon Grace afforded to the reſt, ſhould
have done better than they; nay, it is
a World againſt one man, that he
would have corrupted himſelf as they
did. After the flood (and that was a
ſtartling warning-piece) hath free Will
with the common Grace done better?
All Nations have walked in their own
ways, that is, in wayes of wickedness,
affording us a vaft experiment in milli-
ons of men, that free Will left to it ſelf
will miſcarry, and come to nought;
and withal a pregnant proof, that no-
thing less than fpecial effectual Grace
could fecure a Church or ſo much as a
fingle Noab unto God. Theſe things be-
ing fo, I conclude that the defign of a
Church doth not only give a power to
believe and perfevere, but Faith and
Perſeverance to thoſe individual per-
fons which make up a Church; Hence
our Saviour tells us, that all that the
Father giveth him, fhall come to him,
Joh. 6. 37. that is, fhall believe and
make up his myftical Body; and with-
al,
[592]
al, that it was his Fathers will, that none
of them should be loft, verf. 39. that is,
that they ſhould perfevere unto the end.
Now after all this difcourfe, if there be
fuch a deſign of a. Church, that com-
priſes in it thoſe individual perfons
which ſhall make up a Church, and fe-
cures Faith and Perfeverance unto
them, then the love of God towards
them can be no less than immutable,
pitching upon them in election, and
carrying of them through Faith and per-
feverance unto glory. Having faid thus
much to eſtabliſh the point, I now ſhall
attend the Authors objections, first he
tells us. That fin it felf cannot separate
us from this immutable Love. Very
well; I acknowledge it, that immuta-
ble Love, which gives Faith and Per-
feverance to his People, preferves them
fo, that fin, any other than unavoida-,
infirmity, ſhall not be at all; or if it be,
fhall not finally be in them: They fhall
not fin fuch fins, or if they do, the di-
vine Grace ſhall raife them up by Re-
pentance. They are, as Dr. Owen hath
it, preferved from fuch fins, for which a
remedy is not provided in the Covenant of
Grace; that is, not only, as the Author
gloffes, from the fin against the Holy
Ghost, but from final Impenitency too,
which
[593]
which is not remedied in the Covenant
of Grace:If they fin, they fhall not lie in
it by final Apoftacy & Impenitency, &
confequently they fhall never fall under
fuch threatnings againſt Backſliders and
Apoftates as that mentioned, Ezek. 18:
and in other Scriptures: and what Anti-
nomianifm there is in this I know not;
neither can I fee how that Love, which
preferves from final Impenitency,fhould
want Wiſdom or Holinefs. The Author
goes onz Many wife learned men there are,
who contend for Perfeverance; but they
found Gods immutable Love on their Per-
feverance: To which I anſwer, I know no
fuch: They, who are for Perfeverance,do
not found Gods immutable love,on per-
feverance,out perfeverance onGods im-
mutable love, which caufeth the fame:
Thus Fulgentius, Deus, Prædestinatione
Suà &doku Illuminationis ad credendum,
donu Perfeverantiæ ad permanendi &
donu Glorificationis ad regnandu, quibus
dare voluit præparavit ; nec aliter perficit
in opere,quam in fua fempiterna &incom-
mutabili voluntate habet difpofiti: Faith,
Perfeverance, Glory, all are the effluxes
of immutable Love.But the Author fur-
ther tells us, That the Immutability ofGodś
love confiftsin this not that he always loves
the fame perfon, but that he always loves för
૨૬
the
[594]
fame reafon; he always loves true good-
neẞ and good men, and never loves any
other, and fo is unchangeable: To which
I answer, God loves good men with
a Love of Complacence; he cannot
love a wicked man with a Love of
Complacence; but may he not love
him with a Love of Benevolence? Then
he cannot deſign the leaſt good to any
fallen Man in the World, all being by
Nature wicked,and children of wrath:
If God love good men,and never loved
any other, then he could not defign to
lapſed corrupt Man,a Chriſt,or aGofpel,
or any the leaft means of Salvation:
Goodneſs, the only reaſon ofLove being
gone by the Fall, nothing that is good
can be intended to man: This,as the Au-
thor tells us, would be the degeneracy of
Love,to love an undeſerving object;& eve-
ry man by Nature is no better:It is,faith
the Author, the greatest change of all to
alter the reason of Love; and therefore
according to this Principle, God (as
he would be a Self-preferver, and not
fuffer a Change in himſelf) having
loved innocent Man, was bound not
to love fallen Man; not to give him a
Chriſt, or a Gofpel, or any good thing.
But rather than run our felves into fuch
Confequences, I think we were as
good
[595]
good fay, God's Love of Complacence
is towards good men, but his Love of
Benevolence is towards men, even be-
fore they are good, and is the fontal
Cauſe of all that after-goodneſs in them
which is theObject of his Complacence.
As for that place, Job. 14.23. If a man
keep my words, my Father will love
him, the meaning is, God will ma-
nifeſt himſelf unto him, as it is, ver. 2Į
I will love him, and will manifeft my
Self unto him: If God did not love
him before, whence came his Obedi-
ence? It muſt be an odd independent
Self-originated Obedience, which came
not from the Grace or Love of the
great Donor.
SECT. II.
One mèn tell us, That as Chrift falls
Some
Mr Sher-
in love with our Perfons, fo we lock.
muſt in requital to him love the Perfon
of Chrift: This is as certain as ang De-
monftration in Euclide, that if we love
Christ, we must love his Person; for the
Perfon of Chrift is Chrift himself, and if
we love Chrift, we must love him: But
this will not ſerve their turn; they oppoſe
bur love to the Perſon of Christ to our
lout
Qq 2
[596]
This
love to him upon account of his bene-
fits, to our love to our felves, and to
our duties. Firſt, we muſt love the
Perſon of Chriſt in oppoſition to his
Benefits; that is, we must not confider
what advantages we do or may receive
from Chrift, what he hath done or fuffer-
ed for us, but we must love his Perfon
purely for himself without any other con-
fiderations to endear him to us.
matter is gravely stated and determined
by W.B. who tells us, 1. That it is a
good and lawful thing to love Chriſt
in reference to his benefits: This is a
very liberal grant, ; that Gratitude,which
bath bitherto been accounted a great and
excellent Virtue, is now owned as a law-
fur thing. 2. It is our duty to love
Chrift's Perfon : This is ſo true, that
thoſe men, who love Christ for his bene-
fits, love his Perfon: 3. The Excellen-
cy of Chrift's Perfon is not the Object
of my Faith, but Chrift crucified:
4. Though Chrift crucified be the Ob-
ject of my Faith, yet the perfonal Ex-
cellencies of Chrift are the Object of
my Love; yea, it is a more excellent
thing yet to love the Perſon of Chriſt,
than the Benefits of Chrift; to have my
heart drawn out in love to the Per-
fon of Chrift, than to have it drawn
out
[597]
out in love to him for his Benefits. Now
what can be the meaning of all this, but
that the Excellency and Perfection of our
Love to Chrift confifts in loving him for
no reaſon: The proper object and reaſon
of Love is Goodness; to love that which
is good for nothing is the folly and dege-
neracy of Love; and it is as foolish and
impoffible a task to love a perfon, who
hath been good to us, not because he hath
been good, but for no reason. Now this
is the cafe here; for if you separate the
Perfon and perfonal Excellencies of Chrift
from the confideration of his benefits, his
perfonal Goodness from the expreſſions of
his Love and Goodness to our felves and
others, it can be no Object or reason of our
Love for a Goodness which doth no
good, or never did any, or, which is all
one is confidered as doing none, is
So far from being the Object of our
Love, that it is not the Object of our
Understanding: For we
For we cannot un-
derstand what that Goodness means,
which never did any good. God chal-
lenges our Love, not upon account of an
imaginary Goodness of Nature, which
never did any good; but for the real and
fenfible Effects of his Goodness in the
works of Creation and Providence, and
Redemption by Chriſt: And Chriſt chal-
Q9 3 lenges
5
[598]
lenges our love for the like reafons; be-
cause he hath loved us, and died for us,
and now intercedes for us, and will at
the last day bestow a Crown of Glory and
Immortality on us, but never, as I can
obferve,, requires fuch an abstracted and
Metaphyfical Love to his Perfon, without
any respect to his benefits.
Anfwer. We love Chrift for his Benefits, thefe
are the firſt impulfives of our Love ;
but our love,once kindled,is afterwards
blown up into a purer flame by thofe
attractive Excellencies and ravishing
Beauties, which are in the Perſon of
Chrift; we come to love Chrift for
himſelf. The Spouſe in the Canticles
did not only love Chrift for his Sha-
dow and fweet fruits, for the Graces
and Benefits communicated from him,
but for himſelf, his incomparable Per-
fon, who is the chiefest among ten thou-
fand, and altogether lovely. Neither
is this Love to Chrift for himself (what
the Author would have it to be) a Love
for no reaſon, or a Love in its folly
and degeneracy: But it is a Love for
the greateſt Reafon, and a Love in per-
fection. There is a greater worthiness
and fo an higher attractive of our Love
in the Perfon of Chrift than in his Be-
nefits; and therefore in all reafon Love
[599]
is in a more high and fuperlative mea-
fure due to the one than to the other.
All the Benefits of Chrift are but as fo
many Mediums to draw up and attract
our Love to the Perfon of Chrift, and
our Love in its afcent up thither, muſt
not ſtay or take up its final reſt in
Means (for this would be to pervert
the nature of Means and transform
them into Ends;) but it muſt termi-
nate in Chriſt the great End and Cen-
ter. Should we love the Benefits more
than the Perſon of Chrift, we ſhould
be lovers of our felves more than lovers
of Chrift; our Love would then re-
turn and circulate into our felves, and
there reſt and center ut in ultimo ter-
mino, which is no less than Idolatry.
If we are truly efpoufed to Chrift, we
will not love the Rings and Jewels,
more than himſelf; nay, nor fo much:
The true noble Lover doth not acqui-
eſce in other gifts, but in Chrift, the
Gift above all other gifts. But, faith
the Author, A Goodness, which doth no
good, or never did any, is fo far from
being the object of our Love, that it is
not the object of our Understanding:
To which I anfwer, It's true, if God
had never done good, that is, had ne-
ver created a Creature, he could not
Q 4
have
[600]
have been the Object of any created
Love or Underſtanding; for there be-
ing no Creation,there could have been
no fuch thing as any created Love or
Underſtanding; however he had been
an Object for a greater Love and Un-
derſtanding than any created one, e-
ven for his own infinite Love and Un-
derſtanding. Had he never created a
Creature, he would have been for ever
happy by amatorious and intellectual
Reflections upon himself, and his own
Perfections. It is true that God calls
for our Love upon account of Creati-
on, Providence and Redemption; but
it is due to him for himſelf, for his Di-
vine Excellency and All-fufficiency.
Could we imagine, what is impoffible,
that there were a rational Creature,
who never received any good from
God, upon fuch a fuppofal, that Crea-
ture would be bound to love God for
his intrinfecal Goodness and Excellen-
cy
or elfe the Will of that Creature
might, which is very ſtrange, paſs by
the Supreme Good unfaluted. But to
leave that Suppofition; now we have
God and many bleffings before our
eyes, we are bound to love God above
all, as the complete and adequate Ob
ject of our Love: Should we love any
Bleffings
[601]
Bleffings without or above him, it
would be Cupiditas, Luft, (which is the
formale of every fin) and not Love.
I conclude with that of Bonaventure, Li.z. di-
Secundùm Charitatis legem, impoffibile ftinet.29.
eft aliquidplus vel æqualiter Deo amare, queftz.
Charitas enim, quia diligit Deum ut fum-
mum bonum, diligit eum fuper omnia;
quia diligit Deum ut finem ultimum, di-
ligit eum propter fe. Bleffings may be
motives to us to love God, but they
are not to be loved as the fupreme
End or Good, that is God only in his
infinite Goodneſs and Excellency ; up-
on account of theſe all Worſhip, and
among the reft, Love is due to him,
Indeed theſe men ſeem not to under-
ftand themselves; for when you enquire
what this Perſon of Chrift is, which is
the Object of our Love, then they defcribe
his Beauty and perfections, the Come-
linefs of his Perſon, the ſweetneſs of his
Diſpoſition, his great Riches, that he
is a Good futable to all our wants:
Now either all this fignifies the benefits
we receive by Christ, or it fignifics no-
thing; and how then do theſe perſonal
Excellencies differ from his benefits?
They teach us to uſe Chrift much, if we
would love his Perfon: Now this uſing
must fignifie his benefits, and to love Chrift
much,
Mr. Sher-
lock.
[602]
{
Answer.
Mr. Sher-
lock.
Anfwer.
much, because we use him, is to love him,
becauſe we receive many benefits from
him; which is neither better nor worse,
than to love him for his benefits.
We love Chriſt for his benefits, and
for himſelf too: Hence theſe men de-
ſcribe Chriſt's Perſon by both; they
ſet out his Beauty and Comelineſs in
himſelf, and withal his Suitableness to
our wants: The firſt riſe of our Love
to Chriſt is from his Benefits, and after-
wards our Love to him is for himſelf
alſo; the Excellency and Amiableneſs
of his Perfon in himſelf calls for our
love, and muſt have it.
The Love we owe to God and Christ is
no other than gratitude, because God lev-
ed us first, and our Love is only a return
of his Now thank fulness and gratitude
includes in it a necessary respect to thoſe
bleffings and benefits we have received:
It is peculiar to God, who wants nothing,
and can receive nothing from his Crea-
tures, to love without any respect to be-
nefits; but the Love of indigent and de-
pendent Creatures is a Love of thank ful-
neß, a grateful acknowledgment of those
many bleffings we receive from God. *
Our Love to God and Chriſt is grati-
tude: It is for Benefits, but is it only
for Benefits? No furely; we are to love
God
[603]
God and Chriſt for the infinite good-
nefs and excellency which is in them;
if we ask, what is the formal and ade-
quate reafon of Divine Worship? No
other anſwer can be given,but that it is
the infinite divine excellency and per-
fection which is in God: Our love to
God, which is a part of Worship,though
poffibly its firſt riſe or motive
may be
from benefits; yet it ftays not in the
benefits, but in and by them afcends
to God; the ultimate Object and Cen-
ter of Worſhip, who is to be loved in
and for himſelf.
lock.
Secondly, these men oppoſe our Love Mr. Sher-
to the perſon of Chrift, to our love to our
felves: The first deftroys the Reason, and
the Object of our Love; and this destroys
the principle of it: It is made the cha-
racter of a wicked man, who wants an
Shep.Sine.
inward principle of love to God and Convert.
Christ; That though he feeks to ho-
nour God never fo much, yet all that
he doth, he doth out of love to him-
felf, felf-credit, felf-eaſe, felf-content,
felf-fafety; he makes himſelf a God.
Hence the fame author exhorts finners:
away out of your felves to the Lord Je-
fus, take hold on him, not with the
hand of prefumption, and love to thy
felf, to fave thy felf; but with the hand
of
[604]
Y
of Faith and Love to honour him:
Here is the ſtrongeſt difficulty of all
to row againſt the ſtream, to hate a
mans felf, (our own fouls and eternal
Salvation) and then to follow Chrift
fully: Now is it not an hard cafe, that
before we can love God and Christ, as we
ought, we muſt root out the very princi-
ple of all love, that we may learn to hate
Salvation and Eternal Happineß, before
we can close with Chrift for Salvation!
This is the strongest difficulty of all; for
indeed it is impoffible: Love to our felves
is the foundation of our love to all other
things, even to God himself: He that
doth not love himſelf, will love nothing
elſe; he that hates himself, his own foul,
and defpifes eternal Salvation, will not
care for Chrift or Salvation by him: A!!
the Motives and Arguments of the Go-
Spel to perfwade us to love and fear, and
obey God, are founded on felf-love; for
how is it poffible, that we should be affect-
ed with a due fenfe of Gods goodness to
us? That we should be excited and quick-
ned by the hopes of fuch great rewards?
That we should be reſtrained and
ed by the fears of punishment? If we
did not love our ſelves, if we did not
çare what became of us; whether we were
govern-
happy
[605]
happy or miſerable for ever. It is a vain
thing to perfwade a man not to love
himſelf: For this is as natural and ne-
ceffary, as it is for the Fire to burn, or
Sun to fhine: It is not matter of our
boice; it is not in our power to do
otherwife, all that ſuch diſcourſes as theſe
can do, is either to make men hypocrites
to pretend to do what they cannot do, or
to make honest men, who cannot thus
cheat and delude themſelves, deſpair of
their Salvation, because they cannot find
themſelves contented without Salvation,
that Christ without Salvation cannot fa-
ti-fe them. It is true, when men ſet up
Jej oppofition to God; when felf-love
tempts them to disobey God, to difpife
his Counfels, to renounce their Faith and
Religion: This is a very vitious and mi-
Staken felf-love: Such men neither love
themselves nor God in a proper fence, be-
canje it is our interest as well as our
duty to obey God; fuch men are Idola-
ters, because they fet up felf above God,
and in oppofition to him: But when our
love to our felves teaches us to love God,
and in all things to ſubmit to his will and
pleasure: We do as we ought to do, they
who feparate our love to God, from our
love to our felves, from the care of our
Salvation, do plainly declare, that they
neither
[606]
Answer.
neither understand the nature of man,nor
the Gospel of Christ.
ງ
Mr. Shephard fpeaks of a wicked
man who wants an inward principle
of love to God and Chriſt, that he doth
all for himself, he fleeps, prayes, hears,
Speaks, profeffes, for himself alone, that
he commits the highest degree of Idola-
try, and makes himself a God: And adds
this reafon; For a man puts himſelf in
the room of God, as well by making him.
Self his finis ultimus, as if he should
make himfelf primum principium: And
is there any queſtion at all in this?
may not a wicked man (not to fay,
fleep, which every man doth) but
pray, hear, speak, profefs? No doubt
can be made of it, and if he do ſo, it
muſt needs be for himself; he having,
whilſt wicked, no Divine Principle,
nothing of grace to elevate him above
himſelf: But Mr. Shephard would have
men go out of themſelves to Chrift: And
this is hard to row against the stream,
to hate a mans felf: And, faith the
Author, this is impoffible, this is to root
up the very principle of Love: Love to
our felves is the foundation of our Love
to all other things, even to God himſelf.
To which I anfwer: No doubt we are
to love Chriſt for the purchaſed Salva-
tion
[607]
tion; neither doth Mr. Shephard deny
it, but we are not to love him for Sal-
vation, only or fupremely, no, but
for himſelf, his infinite goodneſs and
perfection: This is not to root up the
principle Love, but to rectifie it: In-
deed this is hard: Nay,I may add unat-
tainable by lapfed nature in it felf: but
Grace elevates nature above it ſelf,
to love Chrift (though not without a
reſpect to Salvation) yet above our
felves, and fo in a comparative fence
to hate our ſelves for him: Indeed, if
love to our felves were (as the Author
would have it) the foundation of our
Love to God, then it muſt be the mea-
fure of it too; and by confequence we
ſhould not need love God above our
felves; and our love of God might,
for ought I ſee, center and ultimately
terminate in our felves: But this can.
not be allowed; As long as God is
God, the fupreme good and laſt end,
he muſt be loved above all, and for
himſelf; that inclination, which is in
us to love our felves more than God,
is, as Bonaventure well obferves, not the
perfection, but the corruption of our Na»
tures: Bui, faith the Author, he that
doth not love or care for himſelf, will
not love God. To which I anſwer: If
We
[608]
we do not care for our ſelves in a way
of fooliſh neglect, we are unnatural to
our felves, and want true love to God :
But if we care not for our felves in a
Paroxiſm of holy Zeal for God, aš
when Mofes prayed, to be blotted out of
Gods book: Or when St. Paul wifhed
himſelf accursed from Chrift: then our
love to God is very great and fervent;
if, whilft we pay that debitum naturæ,
love to our felves; We fubordinate it
to the love of God, loving God a-
bove our felves, and in that fence com-
paratively not eſtimating our felves;
then our love to God is true, and as it
ought to be: We need not make men
hypocrites or defperate, we need not
break any of the fweet links, duty and
intereft may well confift together, our
love to God, and our love to our
felves may ſtand in conjunction ;
yet ſtill our love muſt keep its de-
corum, we muſt have a higher refpect
for Duty than for intereft; and our
love to God muſt be fuperlative, and
above our love to our felves.
Mr. Sher. Thirdly, they oppofe our love to Chrift
to our own Duties; that is, to the most
proper and natural expreffion of our love
to him: Herein Dr. Owen places the
chaſtity of our affections to Chrift
fock.
which
[600]
(which you know is a great marriage du
ty)in not taking any thing (as our own
righteousness) into our affection and e
fteem; for thoſe ends and purpoſes
for which we have received Chrift;
and God forbid that any Chriſtian
fhould, for our own Righteoufnefs and
Duties, cannot be our Mediators and
Advocates: What then is the diffe
rence? Why it is only this: The Doctor
places the Righteousness of Christ, in the
room of our righteouſneſs, to be not only
the foundation, but the condition of the
Covenant of Grace, and then makes it
an expreffion of our chaste affection to
Christ, quite to thrust out our own righte
ousness, and to allow it no place in our
Religion: He makes Chrift all to us,
and leaves no room for any thing elſe,
and then warns us upon our vows of
chaſtity, not to take any thing into
Christ's place; Whereas, as he has or-
dered the matter, we must take our own
righteouſneß into Chrift's place,or elfe caft
it quite away; for there is no other place
left for it: But is it not very strange,
that when our Saviour hath made our o-
bedience the principal expreffion of our
Love to him; Thefe men fhould make
Such a competition between our Love to
Christ, and our Obedience? should put
Rr
Juch
[610]
Sincere
Convert.
Answer.
209,210,
5c.
fuch jealoufies into peoples heads: What
great danger there is of their own Duties
and Righteousneß; left they ſhould
prove like fooliſh Lovers, who, when
they are to wooe for the Lady, fall
in love with the Hand-maid. Men
dote upon Duties,and reft in the naked
performance of them, (that is, in doing
good) which are only Hand-maids to
lead to Chrift. Is not this to perswade
people, that our love to Chriſt conſiſts in
fomething more refined, and ſpiritual than
obedience? Which will quickly teach
them to love Chrift without obeying of
him, and not run the hazard of doting
on duties.
Doth the Doctor quite thruft out
our own Righteoufnefs? Doth he al-
low it no place in our Religion? I
have before noted what charge this is.
The Doctor in his Book doth affert ;
Commun. That our Obedience is indifpenfibly ne-
fo. 208, ceſſary, and that, becauſe of the Sove
raign will of God the Father, Son, and
holy Ghost, because of the Fathers elect-
ing Love, the Sons purchafing Love, the
Spirits operative Love, because of the glo-
ry of the whole Trinity, becanfe Holi-
neß is our Honour, and makes us like
to God; our peace in communion with
God;
[611]
God; our uſefulneſs in our Generations,
becauſe it stops the months of enemies,
tends to the conversion of others, and
profit of all, becauſe justified perſons are
accepted, and admitted into Gods pre-
fence; they are new Creatures, and the
new Creature is not to be ftifled, becauſe
holineẞ is the way to eternal life, a Tefti-
mony and Pledge of Adoption, a (ign and
evidence of Grace. Now if this be not
enough to anſwer that charge, I muſt
utterly deſpair, that ever it can be
cleared: No man, that I know of, e-
ver dreamed of an oppofition between
Love to Chrift and Obedience; I ſhould
as foon be perfwaded, that the Sun was
fallen out with his Beams; or that all
the cauſes and effects of Nature were
at a variance among themſelves, as con-
ceit any fuch thing: Yet Chriſt muſt
be upon the Throne, and Duties muft
ſtand at his Foot-ftool: The Homage,
which is in Duties, proclaims the pre-
eminence of the Lord, we are not, as
Mr. Shephard hath it, to reft in Duties;
in the naked performance of them: Our
Duties must not fupplant Chrift's Righte
ousness, but pay a tribute of gratitude to
it; we must use them, as Noah's Dove
did her wings, to carry us to the Ark,
even to Jeſus Chriſt, in whom onlý is
Rr 2
the
[612]
Mr. Sher-
lock,
the Sabbath of Souls. But, faith the
Author, is not this to perfwade people,
that our love to Chrift confifts in fome-
thing more refined than Obedience ?
which will quickly teach them to love
Christ without obeying. To which, I
anſwer: Love without obeying is to
me an utter inconfiftency: If we in-
deed love Chrift, we do really will
Chriftum Regem, that he ſhould be King,
and reign in and over us: Love fets
his Throne in the Heart, and Obedi-
ence in the Life: The expreffion of
our Love to Chrift is in Obedience:
Nothing is more refined within than
Faith and Love, nor without than O-
bedience; it being, as it should, per-
formed in a due manner, in the actua-
tion of Divine Graces; for if it be on-
ly an outward naked performance, it
is but the ſhell, and ſemblance of obey-
ing without loving.
Let us now enquire, how they expres
their love to the perfon of Christ, and
that confists in preferring Chrift above
all, they value him above all other
things and perfons, above their lives,
above all Spiritual Excellencies, and
other Righteouſneſs whatever; he is
their Joy, Crown, Life, Food, Health,
Strength, Defire, Righteouſneſs, Sal-
vation
[613]
vation, Bleffednels; The meaning of all
is, that they prefer the perſon of Chriſt,
which hath fuch a perfect righteousness
for them, and will fave them without
requiring any legal conditions of them,
infinitely before the Religion and Gospel
of Chrift, before Obedience to his com-
mands; before the Love and Fear of
God; So that the foundation of their
love to Chrift is a fond imagination, that
he will fave them by his Rightconfneß,
without any Righteousness and Holiness
of their own: This makes them fo fond
of the perfon of Christ, because they look
on him as a refuge and fanctuary for the
wicked and ungodly, where the greatest,
oldeft, stubbornest tranfgreffor, may
Shelter himself from the wrath of God,
and I have fome reaſon to think, that
Christ will not much prize fuch Devoto's
as theſe, nor their obfequious flatteries
or praiſe.
They prefer Chriſt above all; and no Anſwer.
wonder, all the Saints and Martyrs
have done fo; he is worthy of love in
its height and talleſtStatures: A Believer
may love other things, but he loves
Chrift with a love more eminent and
over-topping, fuch as is congruous for
an Object ſo altogether lovely and de-
firable; he loves other things with re-
Rr 3
ference
[614]
ference to Chrift: But Chrift for him-
felf; his infinite excellencie and per-
fection: He loves Ordinances, becauſe
they are the Banqueting-Houfe of
Chrift; he loves the Gofpel, becauſe
it is his Royal Charter; he loves his
own Graces, becauſe they are his love-
tokens, and bear his Divine Image:
After all, the great center of his love
is Chriſt himſelf. But, faith the Au-
thor, the foundation of their love to
Chrift, is a fond imagination, that he
will fave them by his Righteousness, with-
out any Righteousness of their own, that
be will be a refuge and fanctuary for the
wicked and ungodly: To which I fay,
That I have before noted this to be as
it is, a Popish Calumny, and without a-
ny juſt ground at all for it; when Gro-
tius drew up fuch a kind of charge a
gainst the common Proteftant Do-
trine, as if it were enough to fay,
Credo juftitiam Chrifti mihi imputari,
as if there were no need of true Re-
pentance or holy walking. Dr. Ar-
Ta. Tomfmith makes this return; Quam
Sacr. fol. nollem hæc à te dicta vel ficta poti-
us, Hugo doctiffime, cum nihil fit à
praxi, nihil à fenfu noftro remo-
tius.
4 I
Mr Sher-
lock
The devotion of theſe men conſiſts in
admiring,
[615]
admiring, prizing, valuing the perſon of
Chrift. This is that Evangelical Righte
ouſneſs we muſt gain by Duties;
more prizing of acquaintance with, de-
fire, loving and delighting in Union
with the Lord Jefus Chrift; a Moral
man, who reſts in duties (that is, who
does what God commands and expects
to be faved by Christ) may grow in
legal Righteouſneſs; that is, in true
Holiness and Piety: But this will not a-
vail, unless we grow in this Evange- Sincere
lical Righteouſnefs: This is the great Convert.
end of Duties, to carry us to the Lord
Jefus. Hear a Sermon to carry thee
to Chrift; faft, pray, get a full tide of
affections in them, to carry thee to
Chrift; that is, to get more Love of
him more Acquaintance and Union
with him; forrow for fins, that thou
mayſt be more fitted for Chrift, and
more prize Chrift; ufe thy Duties, as
Noah's Dove did her wings, to carry
thee to the Ark of the Lord Jefus: As it
is with a poor man, that is to go over
a great water for a treaſure on the o-
ther fide, though he cannot fetch the
boat, he calls for it, to carry him over
to the treaſure: So Chrift is in Hea-
yen, and thou on Earth: He doth not
come to thee, thou canst not go to
Rr 4
him :
[616]
•
him: Now call for a Boat, though
there is no Grace, no Good, no Salva-
tion in a pithlefs duty; yet uſe it to
carry thee over to the Lord Chrift;
when thou comeft to hear, fay, have
over Lord by this Sermon; when to
pray, fay, have over Lord by this
Prayer to a Saviour, c. So that it
ſeems the whole busines of our Love to
Chrift and Evangelical Righteousneß,
confifts in ſome flights of fancy and ima-
gination, in admiring and valuing the
perſon of Christ, in getting an acquain-
tance and union with him: The busines
of all Religion is, to have over to
Chrift, that we may love and prize his
Perſon, and perfonal Righteouſneſs, a-
bove all things in the World. It is
not so much the bufines of Sermons to
acquaint us with the Nature, Attributes
and Works of God, to inftruct us in our
Duty, and encourage us to it by the Mo-
tives of the Gospel, as to have over to
Chrift: The design of Prayer is not fo
much to affect our Souls with a fenfe of
the Divine Majesty, to worship and a-
dore him, and to express our trust in him,
as to have over to Chrift. Sorrow for
fin is not fo much to imbitter fin to us,
and to ftrengthen us against it,as to teach
to prize Chrift:The Nature of Religion
[617]
is now changed from being the Homage
and Worship of God; the certain means
of pleasing him, and transforming us in-
to his likeness, which is the natural end
of Religion, into a Cock-boat and skul-
ler to waft us over to Chrift: Here we
fee the true reason why these men do fo de-
fpife Morality in compariſon of thoſe Go-
Spel-duties, of hearing Sermons, Prayer,
Confeffions, Humiliation, &c. becauſe
they handle the matter: The practife
of Moral Virtues, cannot have us over
to Christ, cannot apply the righteouf-
nefs and fulneſs of Chrift to us, nor´ra-
vifh our fancies with glorious Images
and Idea's of his perfon: And finee all
the Duties of Religion are fuch pithlefs
things, which have no Grace, no Good,
no Salvation in them, but as they have
us over to Chrift, poor Morality must
needs be a worthleſs thing.
That we are highly to prize Chriſt, Anſwer.
can be no queftion with Chriftians ;
when he comes in his Glory, he ſhall
be admired of all them that believe,
2 Theſſ.1.10. And before that coming,
we are as far as our Faith will
carry us, to admire him, who is in-
deed an Object, in whom Heaven and
Earth are fo admirably blended toge-
ther, that humane reaſon may well
د
lofe
[618]
lofe it felf, and ftand in a maze at fuch
an Union: That Chrift is to be highly
prized by us; we need go no further,
than the raptures and extatical paffions
of the Spouſe in the Canticles, which
are a kind of Commentary on that Ad-
miration, which is the genius and com-
munis fenfus of Chriſtians: Nature it
felf reveils God to be the great Objec
of Worſhip; but the Goſpel affures us
that there is no accefs, no coming to
God but by Chrift; That there is no
Righteouſneſs able to cover our per-
fons and duties with the defects there-
of but Chriſt's Righteousness; That
there is no doing Duties in a right and
Spiritual way acceptable unto God
but by the Spirit and Grace of Chriſt ;
and upon theſe ſtrong important Rea-
fons, the Goſpel calls and preffes upon
men to come to Chrift; and therefore
all Evangelical Duties (becauſe they
are by infinite Wiſdom framed in a
perfect Symmetry to the Gospel) muſt
needs be, not to fay Cock-boats and
Skullers, but Divine Mediums and Con-
veyances to have us over to Chrift;
without whom we cannot have any
access to God, or ſtanding before him,
or power to do any thing in a fpiri-
tual and acceptable manner. Sermons
د
are
[619]
are to inftruct us in our Duty, not as
if we could do any thing truly and
ſpiritually as of our felves: But that in
the fenſe of our own weakneſs and im-
potencie, we may be drawn to Chriſt,
the Wiſdom and Power of God; who
can teach us inwardly, and impower
us by his Grace to do the Will of
God: In Prayer we are to have a
fenſe of the Divine Majefty, to wor-
ſhip him, and expreſs our truſt in him:
But a true ſenſe of the Divine Majeſty
tells us, that we muſt not approach im-
mediately thither without Chrift our
Mediator, that our truft and other
afts of Worſhip muft find their ac-
ceptance only in and through Chrift;
Sorrow for fin without coming to
Chriſt and prizing him, is fo far from
being repentance unto life, that it
drives a man down into the Black
Gulf of horror and deſperation. The
Nature of Religion is not
changed, but only turned into fuch
a Channel, as is congruous to fallen
man, that all accefs and acceptance
with God may be in a Mediator, and
all Grace and Glory may be from
him. Morality is a beauty, and good
in fuo genere; but (becauſe it facri-
fices only to Reaſon, and Reaſon can-
now
not
[620]
not fupply the room of a Mediator) it
muſt needs fall much below that E-
vangelical Religion, which would have
all transacted through a Mediator:
Sermons, Prayers, Confeffions, Humi-
liations are Divine Media: But, if we
ſtay in the means, and never arrive at
the Mediator, we pervert the means
from their true end, and fall fhort of
that ſcope, to which they were ap-
pointed; poffibly the phrafe, have o-
ver to Chrift, may to fome have but a
rough afpect; yet the thing is as a-
miable as can be imagined, its impor-
tance being no more than that the
whole managery of Religion muſt be
in and through a Mediator.
To conclude, whether thefe men have
transformed Religion, disfigured the Go-
Spel, undermined the fundamental de-
Sign of it; mifreprefented the ends of
Chrift's coming, abufed his Expiation,
Sacrifice,Righteousness,interceffion to the
patronage of Vice, laid Snares to betray
Some men to a licentious life, and to en-
tangle others in endleſs troubles, have
under pretence of advancing the perfon
of Christ, banished his Religion out of
the world? I fhall leave to the judici-
ous Reader. Narciffus the old Biſhop
of Jerufalem laboured a while under
grievous
[621]
grievous accuſations: But at laſt provi-
dence brought forth his innocency as
clear as the Light: However, good
old Truths may be clouded, and
aſperſed for a time; yet fooner or la-
ter they will appear again in their lu-
ftre, recommending themfelves to the
Confciences of all true Chriftians,
FINIS.
ERRAT A's.
PAge the 6. line the 7. read pervert: p. II. 1. 19. r. bearing:
p.13. 1.10. r. unxéri : p.36.1.36. r. laugh at this Gal. p. 46.
1.25. r. righteous: p.61.130.r. penality: p.80, 1.1. r. of immense
Love: p.113.1.6. r. adapt : p.204. 1.4. r. us really : p. 234.1.22.
r. diftinct from the Graces of his perfon: p. 256. 1. 13. notions :
p.258.1.16.г. wupcoμal: p.258. 1,20. r. received his fulness :
p.280.1.21. r.trusted p.290.1.5.r. Faith: p.291. 1. 17. r. in-
herent: p.299. 1. laſt r. nlplτal: p.319. 1.16. r. afcended:
p.330, 1.22. r. concerning: p.399. 1.19. r. not eſſential: p.405.
1.19. r. contendo: p.409. I.laft, r. to make it our perſonal righteous-
nej's: p.43 1.1.28. r. reduplicative: p.471. L25. r. imperfect: p.484.
1.17. r. celerrimus: p.486, 1.1. r. they who come to Chrift, come in
a fenfe : p.536. 1.16. r. and after in two pages, unregenerate : P.539.
1.9. r. beyond nature; p.544. 1.28. r. appetibile.
am
O hap
Ofapt. 2 of quantitate
in
Offices of Ref.p.2
of
Person of Christ. p. 24.
30 182.37
Seed 2 of 4 KeyToledge of thrift p. 26
5344. 2. cliquamtans with y perfore of
Dhgift. p. 37.
p. 37.
storded to affund
Thrifts Torfor not fafs. p. 100.
TBS
น
mop
ophis
Jock 4. Mon for work y friptures to behold
Heir own funties. p. 112
Strax. 4. Sortion. 1. Of Union
P
Domunion with Chrift. p 162
soctalf & Mystical Union snmbeligions, 226
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