Sii^

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

TRUE R1:LIGI0N DELINEATEb;
OR,
Experimental Religion,
A8 DISTINGUISHED FROM FORMALITY ON THE ONE HAND, AND
enthusiasm' ON THE OTHER,
SET IN A SCRIPTURAL AND RATIONAL LIGHT,
IN WHICH
SOME OI" THE PRINCIPAL JURORS BOTH OF THE ARMINIANS AND AN'
TINOMIANS ARE CONim"! ED....THE FOUNDATION AND SUPER-
5TEUCTDRE OF THEIR DIFFERENT SCHEMES DE
MOLISHED.... AND THE TRUTH, AS IT
IS IP JESUS, EXPLAINED
'•"AND PROVED.
The whole adapted to the weakest capacities, and designed for
the establishment, comfort, and quickening
of the people of God.

BY JOSEPH BELLAMY, D. D,
LATE OF BETHLEM, CONNECTICUT.

WITH A PREFACE BY THE REV. MR. EDWARDS.

Isaiah xxk. 2\.... And thine ears shall hear a 'xord behind thee, saying. This
is the way, nuali ye in it, •xhcn ye turn to the right hand, and vi^en yf turn
to the left.
Matthew vii. 13, Xi. ...Enter ye in at the strait gate ; for viide is the
gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
•vihich go in thereat : Because strait is the gate, and nairoiu is ihf way ¦..¦;l it !•
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

BOSTON, PRINTED. .,1750.
MORRIS-roWN,
RE-PRINTED BY HENRY P.RtrSSELr,.
1804.

PREFACE.

A HE'beingof GOD is reckoned the first, greatest,
and most fundamental of all things that are the objects of
knowledge or belief ; and, next to that, must be reckoned the
nature of that religion which God requires of us, and must be
found in us, in order to our enjoying the benefits of his fa
vor : Or rather this may be esteemed of like importance with
the other ; for it in like manner concerns us to know how we
may honor and please God, and be accepted of him, as it con
cerns us to know that he has a being. This is a point of infi
nite consequence to every single person ; each one having to
do with God as his supreme judge, who will fix his eternal
state, according as he finds him to be with or without true reli
gion. And this is also a point that vastly concerns the public
interests of the Church of God.
It is very apparent that the want of a thorough distinction in
this matter, through the defect either of suiEcient discernment or
care, has been the chief thing that has obscured, obstructed,
and brought to a stand aU remarkable revivals of religion which
have been since the beginning of the reformation ; the very
chief reason why the most hopeful and promising beginnings
have never come to any more than beginnings ; being nipt in
the bud, and soon followed with a great increase of stupidity,
corrupt principles, a profane and atheistical spirit, and the tri
umph of the open enemies of religion. And from hence, and
from what has been so evident, from time to time, in, these lat
ter ages of the church, and from the small acquaintance I have
with the history of preceding times, I cannot but think, that if
the events, which have appeared from age to age,, should be

IV PREFACE.
carefully examined and considered, it would appear that it has
been thus in all ages ofthe Christian Church from the begging.
They, therefore, who bring any addition of light to this great
subject, The nature of true religion, and its distinction from
all counterfeits, should be accepted as doing the greatest possi
ble service to the Church of God. And attempts to this end
ought "not to be despised and discouraged, under a notion that
it is but vanity and arrogance in such as are lately sprung up
in an obscure part ofthe world, to pretend to add any thing on
this subject, to the informations we have long since received
from their fathers, who have lived in former times, in New-
England, and more noted countries. We cannot suppose
that the Church of God is already possessed of all that light, in
things of this nature, that ever God intends to give it ; nor that
all SatarCa lurking-places have already been found out. And
must we let that grand adversary alone in his devices, to en
snare and ruin the souls of men, and confound the interest of
religion amongst us, without' attempting to 'now any thing
further of his wiles than others have told us, though we see
cVeiy day the most fatal effects of his hitherto unobserved
snares, for fear we shall be guilty of vanity or want of modes
ty, in attempting to discern any thing that was not fully ob
served by our betters in former times ; and that, whatever
peculiar opportunities God gives us, by special dispensations
of his providence, to see some things that were over-looked
by them ?
The remarkable things that have come to pass, in late times,
respectmg the state of religion, I think, will give every wise
observer great reason to determine that the counterfeits of the
grace of God's spirit are many more than have been general-
ly taken notice of heretofore ; and that, therefore, we stand in
great need of having the certain and distinguishing nature and
marks of genuine religion more clearly and distinctly set forth
than has been usual ; so that the difference between that and
every thing that is spurious may be more plainly and surely
discerned, and safely determined.

PREFACE. V
As enquiries of this nature are very important and necessa
ry in themselves, so they are what the present state of religion
in New-England, and other parts of the British dominions,
do in a peculiar manner render necessary at this season ; and
also do give peculiar opportunity for discoveries beyond what
has been for a long time. Satan, transforming himself into an
angel of light, has shewn himself in naany of his artifices more
plainly tlian ordinary ; and given us opportunity to see more
clearly and exacdy, the difference between his operations, and
the saving operations and fruits of the spirit of Christ : And
we should be much to blame, if we did not improve such an
advantage. The author of the ensuing treatise has not been negligent of
these opportunities. He has not been an unwary or undis-
cerning observer of events that have occurred these ten years
past. From the intimate acquaintance with him, which I have
been favored with for many years, I have abundant reason to
be satisfied that what has governed hini in this publication, . is
no vanity of mind, no affectation to appear in the world as an
author, nor any desire of applause ; but a hearty concern for
the glory of GOD, and the kingdom and interest of his Lord
and Trlaster, Jesus Christ : And, that as to the main things
he here insists on, as belonging to the distinguishing nature
and essence of true religion, he declares them, not only as be--
ing satisfied of them, from a careful consideration of important
facts, (which he has had great opportunity to observe), and ve
ry clear experience in his own sOul ; but the most diligent
search of the holy scriptures, and strict examination of the na
ture of things ; and that his determinations concerning the
nature of genuine religion, here exhibited to the world, have
not been settled and published by him without long considera
tion, and maturely weighing all objections which could be
thought of, taking all opportunities to hear v/hat could be said
by all sorts of persons against the principles here laid down,
fr6m time to time conversing freely and friendly with gentle
men in the Armitiian scheme, having also had much acquaint-

,vi PREFACE.
anee, and frequent and long conversation with many ofthe geo-
'ple called Separatists, their preachers, and others.
- And I cannot but express my sincere wishes,, that what is
here written by this reverend and piou? author, may be taken
-notice of, read without prejudice, and thoroughly considered:
As I verily believe, from my own perusal,. it will, be found a
discourse wherein the proper essence and, distinguishing na
ture of saving religion is deduced from the, first principles of
the oracles of God, in a manner tending to a great increase of
light in this infinitely important subject... .discovering truth,
,and,at the same time, shewing the grounds of, itj or shewing
what things are true, and also why they are true.,..nianifest.
ing the mutual dependance of the various parts of the true
scheme of religion, and also the foundation of the whole....
things being reduced to their first principles in .such a manner,
that the connection and reason of things, as well as their -agree
ment with the word of God, may be easily seen ; and the true
source of the dangerous errors concerning the terms of God's
favor and qualifications for heaven, which are prevailing at this
day, is plainly discovered ; shewing their falsehood at the ve
ry foundation, and their inconsistence with the very first prin
ciples ofthe religion of the bible.
Such a discourse as this is very seasonable at this day : And
although the author (as he declai-es) has aimed' especially at
the benefit of persons of vulgar capacity ; and so has not la
bored for such ornaments of style and language as might be^t
suit the taste of men of polite literatm-e ; yet the matter or sub
stance that is to be found in this discourse, is what, I trust,
will be very entertaining and profitable to every serious and
impartial reader, whether learned or unlearned.
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
Northampton, August Ai, 1750.

THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

W E are designed, by GOD our "maker, for an endle.'is existence.
In this present life ^ye just enter upon being, and are in a state introduc
tory to a never-ending duration in another world, where we are to i^e for
ever unspeakably happy, or miserable, according to our present conduct.
This is designed for a state o{ probation ; and that, for a state of retsards
und punishments. We are now upon trial, and God's eye is upon us eve
ry moment ; and that picture of ourselves, which we exhibit in our con
duct, the whole of it taken together, will give our proper character, and
determine our state forever. This being designed for a state of trial,
God now means to try us, that our conduct, under all the trials of life,
may discover what we are, and ripen us for the day of judgment ; when
God will judge every man according to his works, and render to every
one according to his doings.' He does not intend, in the dispensations of
his providence, to suit things to a state of ease and enjoyi'nent, which is
what this life is not designed for ; but to a state of trial : He puts men
into trying circumstances of set purpose, and, as it were, contrives meth
ods to try them. One great end he has in view, is, that he may prove
them, and know what is in their hearts.
He did not lead the children of Israel directly from Egypt to Canaan, but
first through the Sed Sea, and then out into a wilderness, where there was
neither water, nor bread, nor flesh ; and made them wander there forty
years, that he might try them,, and prove them,, and knovi ixhat vxas in their
hearts.... Tieut. viii. 2. So, when the christian religion was introduced in
to the world, it was not in such a way as men would have chosen, but in
a manner suited to a state of trial. The Son of God did not come in
outward glory, but in the form of a servant — not to reign as an earthly
prince, but to die upon the cross : And his apostles imade but a mean ap
pearance in the eyes of the world ; and that sect was every where spoken
against, and persecuted ; and many were the stumbling-blocks Of the
times : And these things were to try the temper of mankind. And When
christian' churches were erected by the indefatigable labors of St. Paul
and others, that God might thoroughly try every heart, he not only suf
fered the wicked world to rise in arms against tliem, but also let Satan
loose, to transform himself into an Angel ,f Light, and, as it were, to in
spire, and send forth his ministers, transformed into the apostles of Christ,

Vlllto vent heretical doctrines, and foment strife and division. In th« mean
wiiile, the secure and wicked world looked on, pleased, no doubt, to see
tTieir debates and divisions, and glad they could have such a handle agamst
Christianity, and so good a plea to justify their infideUty ¦: And God de-
lighted to have things under circilmstances so perfectly well adapted to a
•state of trial. He loved to try the apostles, to see how they would be af-
iected and act ; when not only the world was in arms against tliem, but
many of their own converts turned to be their enemies too, by the influ-
ence of false teachers. He loved to try private christians, to see how
their hearts woiild be affected towards the truths of the gospel, and the
true ministers of Christ, and towards their temporal interest, while the
truths of the gospel were denied or perverted, and the true ministers of
Christ despised and stigmati?ed Ijy heretics, and their temporal interest
exposed to the rage of a wicked, merciless wirld : And he loved to try hyp.
ecrites, to see whether they would not renounce the truth they pretended so
¦highly to value, and become disaffected towards the ministers of Christ they
seemed so dearly to love, and follow false teachers, or fall off to the world.
It is reasonable and fit, and a thing becoming and beautiful, that beings
in a state of probation should be Hried ; and God looks upon the present
outward ease and comfort even of his own people, as a matter of no im-
.portance, compared with things spiritual and eternal. Eternity, with all
its importance, lies open to his view ; and time appears as a point, and
all its concerns as things comparatively of no worth. If the wicked
are in prosperity, and the righteous in adversity, or all things come alike
to an, God is well pleased, because things of time are of .so little impor
tance, and because such an administration of things is suited to a state of trial
There -wiU be time enough hereafter for the righteous to he rewarded, and
the wicked punislied. In this view of things, we may, in a measure, un
derstand the darkest, and account for the most mysterious, dispensations
of divine providence, and discern tlie v.-isdom of the divine government.
It has doubtless appeared as a thing strange and dark to many pious'
persons, and occasio:>ed not a little perplexity of mind, to observe what
has come to pass in New-England since the year 1740.. ..That there should
be so general an out-pouring of the spirit— so many hundreds and thou^
sands awakened all over the country, .and such an almost •universal exter-
jial reformation, and so many receive the word with joy ; and yet, after
all, things come to be as they now are : so many fallen away to carnal
security, and so many tiimed enthusiasts and heretics, and the country so
.generaUy settled in their prejudices against experimental religion and the
doctrines of the gospel, and a flood of Jrminianism and immoralitv
ready to deluge the land . biit, as strange and dark as it may have seemed'
yet (loubtless if any of us had lived with the Israelites in the wilde
ex in tl>e Ihree first ages afcer Chri,st, or in the time of th- ref • '

THE author's preface. ix
ft-om Fopery, the dispensations of Divine Providence vvould, upon the
whole, have appeared much more mysterious than they do now. And
yet those were times when God was doing glorious things for his Church.
— And indeed, it has happened in our day, however strange it may seem
to us, no otherwise than our Savior foretold.it commonly would under the
gospel dispensation, at least till Satan is bound, that he may deceive the
nations no more. The somer goes forth to sow, and some seed falls by the
way-side, and some on stony, and some on thorny, and some on good
ground ; and while he is sowing good seed, an enemy in the night, the
devil, unobserved, sows tores : Now when the wn is up, i.e. when new
times come on, and trials approach, the main of the seed is lost ; not only
what fell by the way-side, but also -what feH*on the stony and thorny-
ground. And \vhen the good ground is about to bring forth fruit, the tares
begin to appear too.... ilfaf. xiii. Thus it has always been. — This is a state
of trial, and God has permitted so many sad and awful things to happen
in times of reformation, with design to prove the children Of men, and
know what is in their hearts.
The young people almost all over New-England professed they would
for ever renounce youthful vanities, and seek the Lord. " 'V^ell," God,
in the course of his Providence, as it were, says, " 1 will try you."
Seeming converts expressed great Ibve to Christ, his truths, and ministers,
and vpays ; " 'Well," says God, " I will try you." Multitudes, being
enemies to all true religion, longed to see the whole refdrmation fall into
disgrace, and things return to their own channel ; and they sought for
objections and stumbling-blocks : " 'Well," says God, " 'Ifou may have
" them, and I wUl try and see how you will be affected, and whit you
" will say, and whether you will be as glad when the cause of my Son
"is betrayed by the miscarriages of those th jt profess to be his friends,
" as the yews of old were, when iny Son himself was betrayed ihto their
hands by yudas." Thus God means to try every one.
A compassionate sense of the exercises, which godly persons, especial
ly among common people, might be under, in these evil days, while some
are fallen away, and others are clapping their hands and rejoicing with
all their hearts to see Zion laid waste ; while Arm,inians are glossing their
scheme, and appealing to reason and common sense, as though their
principles were near or quite self-evident to all men of thought and can
dor ; and while enthusiasts are going about as men inspired and immedi
ately sent by the Almighty, pretending to extraordinary sanctity, and bold
in it that they are so holy in themselves, and so entirely on the Lord's
side, that all godly people must, and cannot but see as they do, and fall
in with therh, unless they are become blind, dead and carnal, and gotten
back into the world ; a compassionate sense, I say, of the exercises of
mind, which pious persons among common people might have, in such a
B

X THE author's PREFACE.
trying situation of things, was. the first .motive which excited me t° «^«
upon this work,. which.I now offer to the public : And to ^^^e ^'^'
truths plain to such, and to strip error naked.before their eyes, that they
might be established, a«d comforted, and quickened in their way heaven
ward, was the end I had in view : and, accordingly, I have labored very
much to adapt myself to the lowest capacities, not meanmg to write a
book for the learned and polite, but for xommon people, and especially,.
for those who are godly among them.
To these, therefore, that they may read what I h3V.e written with the
greater profit, I will offer these two directions :
1. .Labor after determinate ideas of God, and a sense (f Ms infinite
Slory. This will spread a light over all the duties and doctrines of reli-
gion, and help you to understand the law and the gospel, and to pry into
the mysteries, and discern the heauties, of the divine government. By
much the great-est part of what I have written, besides shewing what
God is, consists in but so many propositions deduced from the divine
perfections. Begin here, therefore, and learn what Coo is, and then
what the moral law is ; and this will help you to understand what our
ruin is, and what the way of our recovery by free grace through Jesus
Christ. Tie Bible is designed for rational creatures, and has God for
its author ; and you may therefore depend upon it, that it contains a
scheme perfectly rational, divine and glorious ; and the pleasure of divine
knowledge will a thousand times more than recompence all your reading,
, study and pains : only-content not yourselves with a general superficial
knowledge, but enter thoroughly into .things.
2. Practice, as well as read. The end of reading and knowledge is
practice : and holy practice will heln yoai to understand what you read.
Love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself ; and you cannot
but understand me, while, in the first Discourse, I shew what is implied
in these two great commands : and practice repentance towards God,
and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ ; and the second Discourse)
which treats of the nature of the gospel, and a genuine compliance there
with, will naturally become plain and easy • and while you daily study
divine truths in your heads, and digest them well in your liearts, and
practice them in your lives, your knowledge and holiness will increase,
and God's word and providence be better understood, your perplexing
difficulties will be more solved, and you be established, strengthened and
comforted, in your way heaven-ward ; and your light shining before
men, they will see your good works, and your Father which is in Heaven
will be glorified.— All which are the hearty desire and prayer of
Your Servant "in Jesus Christ,
JOSEPH BELLAMY.
Betblem, April 25, 1750.

Crite iaeligion UelineateD,

DISCOURSE L

SHEWING THE NATURE OF THE. DIVINE LAW, AND WHEREIN
CONSISTS A_ REAL .CONFORMITY TO IT.

HAT. XX-II. 37,38,39,40.
^esus-said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ...This is tlie first and great coln-
m.andinent,...And the second is liieunto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
*^.'^{f- —On these twa commandments hang all the. law. and the prophets .
THE INTRODUCTION..
A RUE religion consists in a conformity to the laiv of
God, and in a compliance with the gospel of Christ. The re
ligion of innocent man consisted only in a conformity to the
law — ^the law of nature, with the addition. of one positive pre
cept : he had no need of gosgel-grace. Butwhenman lost
his innocency, and became guilty and depraved — when he fell
under the wrath of God and power of sin, he needed a redeem-
,er anda sanctifier ; and m the gospel a redeemer and a sanc-
tifier are providedj anda way for our obtaining pardoning mer
cy and sanctifying grace is opened — a compliance with which
does now, thei'efore, become part of the religion of a fallen
creature. Now, if we can but rightly understandthe law, and
rightly understand 'the gospel, we may easily see wherein a
conformity to the one, and'a compliance with the other, does
consist ;- and so' what true religion is.
For the present, let us take the law under consideration. —
And it will be proper to enquire into these following particu-

2 ; TRUte ilELIGION DELINEATEB, AND
lars : — 1. What duty does God require of us in his law ? — 2.
From what motives must that duty be done ? — 3. What is that
precise measure of duty which God requires in his law? And
a short, but vefy clear and plain answer to all these questions
we have before us in our text ; which is the words of our blessed
Savior, and in which he does upon design declare what the sum
' and substance ofthe law is. He had a question put to him in diese
words: "Master, which is the great commandment in the
law ?" To which he answers — " Thou shalt love the Lord,^
thy pod with all thy heart, &c. ; this is the first : The .secon(|
is like unto it, &c." The ten commandments are summed up'
in these two ; and every duty enjoined in the law, and incul
cated in the prophets, is but, a deduction from these two,
in which all are radically contained. A thorough under-S
standing of these two will therefore give us an insight into
all. Let us now, therefore, beg^n with taking the first of these'
into particular consideration. — Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, &c....Here is — 1. The duty required,
viz. love to God. — 2. The. grounds and reasons of the duty ia.
tima.ted....Because heis the Lord our God. — 3. The measure of
duty required.. ..With all thy heart, &c.
In discoursing upon these words, I will therefore endeavor
to shew,
I. What is implied in love to God.
II. 'From what motives we are required to love him.
III. What is the measure of love which is required.
SECTION I.
SHEWING WHAT IS IMPLIED IN LOVE TO GOD.
I. I am to shew what is implied in love to God.
And
/ 1. A true knowledge ofGod'is implied; for this lays the foun
dation of love. A spiritual sight of God, and a sense of his
glory and beauty, begets love. When he that commandec^
the Ught to shine out of darkness, shines in our hearts, and
gives us the light ofthe knowledge of the glory of God ;' and
when we, with open face, behold, as in a glass, the glory of th*

DIS'riNGUISHED FROM; .^LL COUNTERFEITS. 3
Loixi,;then we are changed into the same image : the temper
and ftaiTie of our hearts beeonie like God's^ : (to speal? after
the manner of men) we begin to feel towards God, in a meas
ure, as he does towards himself ; i. e. to love him with all our
hearts.. ..II Cor. iii. 18. & iv. 6. For now we begin to perceive
the grounds aiid reasons of that infinite esteem he feas of him
self, and infinit;e complacency in himself, and why he commands
all the world to love and adjope him : And the same grounds and
reasons which move him thus to love himself, and compiandall
the world to dp sp too, do enkindle the divine flame in our hearts.
When we see God, in a measure, such as he sees himself to be,
and have a sense of his glory and beauty in being what he is, in
a measure, as he himself has, then we begin to love him with,
the same kind of love, and from the same motives, as he himself
does ; only in auinfinitely inferior degree. This sight and sense
of God discovers the grounds of love to him : We see why h^
requires us to love him, and \vhy we ought to love him- — ^how
right and fit it is ; and so we cannot but love him.
This true knowledge of God supposes, that, in a measure,
we see God to be just such a one as he is ; and, in a measure,
have a sense of his infinite glory and beauty in being such.
For if our apprehensions of God are not right, it is not God,^
we love, but only a false image of him framed in our own
. fancy.* And if we have not a sense of his glory and beauty.
• How false and dangerous, therefore, is that principle, " That it is no
matter what men's principles are, if their lives be but good." — Just as if
that external conformity to thfe law might be called a good life, which
does not proceed from a. genuine love to God, in the heart : or just as if
a man might have a genuine love to God in his heart. Without having
ri^ht apprehensions of him !...or just as if a man might have right appre
hensions of God, let his apprehensions be what they will ! Upon this
principle, Heathens, jfenss, and JUahometans, may be saved as well as
Christians. And, uporf this principle, the heathen nations need pot much
irouble themselves to know which is the right God among all the gods
that are worshipped in the world ; for it is no i-natter which God they think
is the true, if their lives are but good. — But why has God revealed him
self in his word, if right apprehensions of God be a matter of such indif
ference in religion i and why did St. Faul take such pains to convert the
heathen nations to Christianity, and so much fill up his epistles to them
afterwards with doctrinal points, and be so strenuous as to say, " If an an
gel from heaven should preach any other gospel, let him be accur
sed," if right apprehensions of God, and right principles of religion be a

4 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
in being what he is, it is impossible we should truly love
and esteem him for being such. To love God for being what
- he is, and yet not to have any sense of his glory and beauty in
being such, implies a contradiction ; for it supposes we have
a sense of his glory and beauty when we have not : a sense of
the beauty and amiableness of any object being always neces
sarily impUed in love to it. Where no beauty or amiableness '
is seen there can be no love. Love cannot be forced. Forced
love is no love. If we are obliged to try to force ourselves to
love any body, it is a sign they are very odious in our eyes, or
at least that we see no beauty or amiableness in them, no
form or comeliness, wherefore we should desire or delight in
ihera.....Cant. viii. 7. In all cases, so far as we see beauty, so
far we love, and no farther.
Most certainly thalt knowledge of God which is necessary^
to lay a foundation of genuine love to him, implies not only
right apprehensions of what he is, but also a sense of his glory
and beauty in being such ; for such a knowledge of God as
consists merely in speculation, let it rise ever so high, and be
matter of such indifference ? — It is strange that such a notion should' be
ever once mentibned by any that pretend to be Christians, since it is sub
versive of the whole Christian religion : making Christianity no safer a way
to heaven than Paganisin : Yea, such a principle naturally tends to make
all those who imbibe it leave love to God and faith in Christ out of their
religion, and quiet themselves with a mere empty form of external duties :-
Or, in other words, it tends to make them leave the law and the gospel out
-of their religion, and quiet themselves with mere heathen ¦morality ;, for a
man cannot attain to lotie to God ¦i.nOi faith in Christ, without right appre
hensions of God and Christ : Or, in other words, a man cannot attain to a
real conformity to the law, and to a genuine compliance with the gospel,
unless his principles respecting the law and gospel are right : but a man
•may attain to a good life, externally, let his apprehensions of God and
Christ, of 'law and gospel, and all his principles of religion, be what they
will. Let him be a heathen, or Jew, a Mahometan, or Christian ; yea,
if a man be an Atheist, he may live a good life externally ; for any man
has sufficient power to do every external duty ; and it is many times much
to men's honor and worldly interest to appear righteous outwardly before
»ira....Mat. xxiii. 28.
N. B. What is here said, may, with a little alteration, be as well appli
ed to some other sorts of men. So the Moravians say " They care not
what men's principles are, if they do but love the Savior." So, in New^
England, there are multitudes who care little or nothing what doctrines
men believe, if they are but full of tlaming zeal. Just as if it were no
matter what kind of Sa-oior we frame an idea of if we do but love hitn ;
nor what we are zealous about, if we 'are but flaming hot.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 5
ever so clear, will never move us to love him. Mere specula
tion, where there is no sense of beauty, will no sooner fill the
heart with- love, than a looking-glass will be filled with love by
the image of a beautiful countenance, which looks into it : and
a mere speculative knowledge of God, wiU not, cannot, beget
a sense of his beauty in being what he is, when there is naturally
no disposition in our hearts to account him gloriousin being such,
but wholly to the contrary. Rom. viii. 7, ...The carnalmindis en
mity against God. When natures are in perfect contrariety,
(the one sinful, and!^the other holy,) the more they are known
to each other, the more is mutual hatred stirred up, and their
entire aversion to each other becomes more sensible. The
more they know of One another, the greater is their dislike, and
the plainer do they feel it. — Doubtless the fallen ' angels have
a great degree of speculative knowledge ; they have a very, clear
sight and great sense of what God is : but the more they kno'\'«
of God, the more they hate him : i. e. their hatred and aver
sion is stirred up the more, and they feel it plainer. So, awa
kened sinners, when under deep and thorough conviction, have
comparatively a very clear sight and great sense of God ; but
it only makes them see and feel their native enmity, which be
fore lay hid. A sight and sense of what God is, makes them
see and feel what his law is, and so what their duty is, and so
¦"what their sinfulness is, and so what their danger is : It makes
the commandment come, and so sin revives, andthey die.... ^om.
vii- /, 8, 9- The clearer sight and the greater sense they have
of what God is, the more plainly do they perceive that perfect
contrariety between his nature and their's : their aversion to
God becomes discernible : they begin to see what enemies
they are to him : and so the secret hypocrisy there has been in
all their pretences of love, is discovered — and so their high con
ceit of their goodness, and all their hopes of finding favor in the
sight of God upon the account of it, cease, die away, and come
to nothing. Sin revived, and I died. The greater sight and
sense they have of what God is, the plainer do they feel that
-they have no love to him ; but, the greatest aversion : for the

6 TilUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
more they know of God, the more their native enmity is stirred
up. So, again, as soon as ever an unregenerate sinner entersf
into the world of spirits, where he has a much clearer sight
and gr'eater sense of what God is, immediately his native en
mity works to perfection, and he blasphemes like a very devil :
and that although perhaps he died full of seeming love and joy.
As the Galatians, who once loved Paul, so as that they could
even have plucked out their eyes aiid given theni to hini ; yet,
when afterwards they came tp know more cleariy what kind of
man he was, then they turned his enemies : And so, finally, all the
wicked, at the day of Judgment ,when they shall see very clears
^ ly what God is, will thereby only haVe all the enmity of theif
hearts stirred to perfection. — From aU which it is exceedingly
manifest that the clearest speculative knowledge of God, is so
far from bringing an unholy heart to love God, that it ¦will ohl^'
stir up the more aversion ; and therefore that knowle'dgb of
God which lays the foundation of love, must imply not only
right apprehensions of what God is, but also a seuse of his glo
ry and beauty in being such.*
Wicked men and devils may know what God is, but non*
tut holy beings have any seme of his infinite glory and beauty in
being such; which se;**^, in scripture-language, is called sm«^
and kriowing. I. John iii. 6. Whosoever sinneth,hath not seen
him, neither known him. III. John, ver. U. Jle that doth evtl
hath not seen God. I. John ii. 4. Jle thai saith, I knmv him,
andkeepeth not his commandments, is a lihr.^ and the truth is not
* I grant, that if all our enmity against God arise merely from our
conceiving him to be our enemy, then a manifestation of his love to our
souls will cause our enmity to cease, and bring us to love him ; nor will
there be any need of a sense ofthe moral excellency of his nature to pro-
duce It ; and so there wdl be no need of the sanctifying infh^ences of th»
holy spmt. A manifestation of the love of God to our sb™ll eff ct^
^'f'^hf =' :f God ^:j^z^ r^mTtf of r r r ^i" ^^^'
^&:^^^^^±^^^^^ ^-1.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 7
in him. Because wicked men have no sense of his glory and
beauty, therefore they are said not to know God : For all
knowledge without this is vain ; it is but the form of knowledge
....Rom. ii. 20. It will never enkindle divine love. And, in
scripture, sinners are said to be blind, because, after all their
light and knowledge, they have no sense of God's glory in be
ing what he is, and so have no heart to love him. And hence
also they are said to be dead. They know nothing of the in
effable glory of the divine nature, and the love of God is not
in them.... yote V. 42. and viii. 19,55.
2. Another thing implied in love to God is estom. Esteem,
stricdy speaking, is that high and exalted thought of, and value
for, any thing, which arises from a sight arid sense of its own
intrinsic worth, excellency and beauty. So, a sense of the infi
nite dignity, greatness, glory, excellency and beauty of the
most high God, begets in us high and exalted thoughts of him,
and makes us admire, wonder and adore. Hence, the heaven
ly hosts fall down before the throne, and, under a sense of his
ineffable glory, continually cry, jffoly, holy, holy. Lord God Al
mighty, the whole earth is full of thy glory. And Saints here
below, while they behold, as in a glass, the glory ofthe Lord,
are ravished ; they esteem, they admire, they wonder and
adore ; and, under some feebler sense of the ineffable glory of
the divine nature, they begin to feel as they do in heaven, and
to speak their language, and say, " Who is a God like unto
thee ! thy name alone is excellent, and thy glory is exalted
above the heavens."
This high esteem of God disposes and inclines the heart to
acquiesce, yea, to exult, in all the high prerogatives God as
sumes to himself.
God, from a consciousness of his own infinite excellency, his
entire right to and absolute authority over all things, is dispos
ed to take state to himself, and honor and majesty, the king
dom, the power and the glory ; and he sets up himself as the
most high God, supreme Lord and sovereign Governor of the
whole world, and bids all worlds adore him, and be in a most

8 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
perfect subjection to him, and that with all their hearts ; and
esteems the wretch, who does not account this his highest hap
piness, worthy of eternal damnation. God thinks it infinitely
becomes him to set up himself for a God, and to command all
the worid to adore him, upon pain of eternal damnation. He
thinks himself fit to govern the world, and that the throne is his
proper place, and that alUove, honor and obedience are his-due,
" I am the Lord, (says he) and besides me there is no God,
" I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give
" to another. And thus and thus shall ye do, for I am the
" Lord. And cursed be ever>' one that continues not in all
" things written in the book of the law to 4o them," Now it
would be infinitely wicked for the highest angel in Heaven to
assume any of this honor to himself ; but it infinitely becomes
the most high God thus to do- And when we see his infinite
dignity, greatness, glory and excellency, and begin righdy to
esteem him, then his conduct, in all tins, will begin to appear
infinitely right and fit, and so infinitely beautiful and ravishing,
andworthyto be rejoiced andexulted in. Psalm xci. l....The
jMrd reigneth, let the earth rejoices let the multitude ofthe isles
be glad thereof.
And a sight and sense of the supreme, infinite glory and ex
cellency ofthe divine nature, will not only make us glad that he
is God, and King, and Governor ; but also exceedingly glad
that we live under his government, and are to be his subjects
and servants, and to be at his disposal.... It will shew us the
grounds and reasons of his law... how infinitely right and fit it is
that we should love him with all our hearts, and obey him in
every thing ; how infinitely unfit and wron,g the least sin is, and
how just the threatened punishment : and, at the same time, it
will help us to see tiiat all the nations ofthe earth are as a drop
ofthe bucket, or small dust ofthe balance, before him ; and
that we ourselves are nothing and less than nothing in his sight.
So that a right sight and sense of the supreme, infinite glory of
God, will make us esteem him, so as to be glad that he is on
the throne, and we at his footstool....that he is king, and we his

distinguished BROM all COUNTERFEITS. 9
»ubjects...that he rules and reigns, and> that we ai-e absolutely
in subjection, and absolutely at his disposal. In a word, v.e
shall be glad to see him .take aU that honor to himself which he
does^and shall be heartily reconciled to lus government, and
cordially willing to take our own proper, places ; and hereby a
foundation will begin to be laid in our hearts- for all things to
come to rights. Job slii. 5, &.... I have heard of tliee by thehcar-
ing ofthe ear: but noxv mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore Lab-
hor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Isa. ii. \X..^The-<hfty
looks ofman.shall be humbled, and. the haughtiness of man shall
be brought dozvn,. and. the Lo:-d .alone shall be exalted.... And that
all this is implied in a genuine love to God, not only the rea
son of the thing and the plain tenor of scripture manifest,
but it is even self-evident ; for if we do not so esteem God as
to be thus glad to have him take his place, and we ours, it argues
secret dislike, and proves that there is secret rebellion in our
hearts : Thus, therefore, must we esteem the gloripus God, or
be reputed rebels in his sight.
3. Another thing, implied Jnlof^-e to , God may be GaUedrie-
nevolence.. When we are acquainted with any person, and he
appears, veiy excellent in our eyes, and we highly esteem him,
it is natural now heartily to wish him well ; we. arcconqemed
for his interest ; we are glad to see it go well with him-, and
gorry to see it go iU with him ; and ready at all times chearful-
ly tp dp what we can to promote his welfare. Thus Jonathan
felt towards David : and thus love to God will ma'ze us feel to
wards him, his honor, and inteixst in the world. When .God
is seen in his infinite dignity, greatoess, glory and excellency,
as the most high God,^ supreme Lord and soveEeign governor
of the: whole world, and a sense of his infinite worthiness is
herebj' raised in our hearts, thi^ enkindles a holy benevolence,
the naturallanguage of which is. Let. God be glor/Jied......Ysaln\
xcvi. 7,. 8.. And. be thou exalted,. Q God, above the heavens : let
thy glory be aba.ve. all th& earth ....Vsaim. Ivii. 5, 11.
This holy disposition sometimes expresses itself in earnest
longings that God would glorify himself, and honor his great

10 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
name ; and bring all the world into an entire subjection to him.
And hence tiiis is the natural language of true love....Ourfather
which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.... M&t. vi. 9, 10.
And hence, when God is abput to bring to pass great and glo
rious things to the honor of his great name, it causes great joy
and rejoicing. Psalm xcvi. 11, 12, 13....Let the heavens rejoice,
and let the earth be glad : let the sea roar and the fulness there
of: let the field be joyful, and all that is therein : then shall the
trees ofthe wood rejoice before the Lord ; for he cometh,for he
tometh to judge the earth : he shall judge the world with rights
eousness, and the people with his truth.
And hence again, when God seems to be about to do, or per
mit, any thing, which, as it seems tP us, tends mpst certainly to
bring reproach and dishonor upon his great name, it occasions
the greatest anguish and distress. Thus says God to Moses,
" This is a stiff-necked people, let me alone that I may destroy
" them in a moment, and I will make of thee a great nation."
But says Moses, " What will become pf thy great name ?
" What will the Egyptians say ? And what will the nations all
" round about say V And he mourns and wrestles, cries and
prays, begs and pleads, as if his heart would break : and says
he, " If I may not be heard, but this dishonor and reproach'
" must come upon thy great name, it cannot comfort me to tell
" me of making of me a great nation : pray let me rather die
" and be forgotten forever, and let not my name be numbered
" among the living ; but let it be blotted out of thy book."
Well, says God, " I will hear thee. But, as truly as I live, I
" will never put up tiiese affronts ; but the whole world shall
" know what a holy and sin-hating God I am, and be filled
" with my glory : for the carcases of all those who have treat-
" ed me thus shall fall in the wilderness ; and here they shall
" wander till forty years are accomplished, and then I will do
" so and so to their children, and so secure the honor of my
" pov^er, truth and faithfulness," And now Moses is content
to live in the wilderness, and do, and suffer, and undergo any

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 11
thing, if God will but take care of his greatname. Bxod.xxsii.
Numb. xiv.... And as it is distressing to atrue lover of God, to
see God's name, and works, and ways fall into reproach and
contempt ; and as, on the other hand, there is no greater joy than
to see God glorify himself (Exod. ssi.) ; hence, this world,
even on this account, may be fitly called a vale of tears to the
people of God, because here they are always seeing reproach
and contempt cast upon God, his name, his works and his ways :
And hence, at the day of judgment, all these tears shall be
wiped away from their eyes, because then they shall see all
things turned to the advancement of the glory of his great name,
throughout the endless ages of eternity.. ..i^ew. xix. 1,2,3,4, 5.
Again, this divine benevolence, or wishing that God may •
be glorified, sometimes expresses itself in earnest longings that
all worlds might join together to bless and praise the name of
the Lord ; and it appears infinitely fit and right, and so infi
nitely beautiful and ravishing, that the whole intelligent creation
should forever join in the most solemn adoration : yea, and
that sun, moon, stars. ,..earth, air, sea.,,.birds, beasts, fishes.,,.
mountains and hills, and all things, should, in their way, dis
play the divine perfections, and praise the name of the Lord,
because his name alone is excellent, and his glory is exalted
above the heavens. And hence the pious Psalmist so often
breathes this divine language : Psalm ciii. 20, 21, 22.. ..Bless
the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength — that do his com
mandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word,. ..Bless ye the
Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure....
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion :
Bless the Lord, 0 my soul. Psalm cxlviii, 1 — 12.. ..Praise ye
the Lord.... Praise ye the Lord from the heavens : praise him in
the heights, ...Praise hitn, all ye his angels : praise him, all his
hosts.,.. Praise him, sun and moon, &c, — Let them praise the
name ofthe Lord ; for his name alone is excellent, &c. See al
so the 95, 96, 97, & 98th Psalms, &c. &c.
Lastly, from this divine benevolence arises a free and genu
ine disposition to consecrate and give up ourselves entirely to

12 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND'
the Lord forever— to walk in all his ways, and keep all his com-
mands, seeking his glory :. For if we desire that God may be
glorified, we shaU naturally be disposed to seek his glory. A
sight and sense of the infinite dignity, greatness, glory andex-
ceUency of God, the great creator, preserver and governor of
the worid, who has an entire right unto, and an absolute author*
ity over all things, makes it appear infinitely fit that all things
should be for him, and him alone ; and that we should be en-
tirely for him, and wholly devoted to him ; and that it is infi
nitely wrong to live to ourselves, and make our own interest
our last end. The same views which make the godly eamesti.
ly long to have God glorify himself, and to have all the world
, jpin to give him glory, thoroughly engage them for their parts
to live to God. After David had called upon all others to bless
the Lord, he concludes with. Bless the Lord, Omiy soul: And
this is the language of heaven — Rev. iv. 1 1 . . . . Thou art worthy^
0 Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power : For thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were crea
ted. Apd it was their maxim in the Apostles' days, Whether
they ate or drank, or whatever they did, all must be done to tlie
glory of God... .1 Cor. x. 31. And it was their way, not to.Uvf
to themselves, but to the Lord. ...11 Cor. v. 15 : Yea, Whethet
they lived, to live to the Lord ; or whether they died, to.die to the
Lord....B.o7Xi. xiv. 7, 8. This was what they commended....
Phil. ii. 20, 21. And ftiis was what they enjoined, as that, in
which the very spirit of true religion consisted.. ..Eph. vi. 5, 6,
7. — I Cor. vi. 20. — Rom. xii. 1. &vii. 4., '
All rational creatures, acting as such, are always influenced"
by motives in their whole conduct. Those things ar§,always
the most powerful motives, which appear to us most worthy erf
our choice. The principal motive to an action, is always the
ultimate end of the action : Hence, if God, his honor and inte
rest, appear to us as the supreme good, and mpst worthy pf our
choice, then God, his honor, and interest, will be the principal ^
motive and ultimate end of all we do. If we love God su
premely, we shall live to him ultimately ; if we love him with

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 13
all our hearts, we shall serve him with all our souls : Just as,
on the other hand, if we love ourselves above all, then self-love
will absolutely govern us in all things ; if self-interest be the
principal motive, then self-interest will be the last end, in our
whole conduct : Thus, then, we see, that if God be highest in
esteem, then God's interest will be the principal motive and the
last end ofthe whole conduct of rational creatures ; and if self
be the highest in esteem, then self-interest will be the principal
motive and last end : And hence we may pbser\'e, that where
se^interest governs men, they are considered in scripture as
serving themselves.....Tios. x. 1. — Zee. vii. 5, 6. And where
God''s interest governs, they are considered as serving the Lor4
....II Cor. V. 15. — GaL i. 10. — Eph, vi. 5,6,7. compared with
Tit. ii- 9, 10. To love God sp as tP serve him, is what the
law requires ; — to love self, so as to serve ^elf, is rebellion
against the majesjty of heaven : And the same infinite obliga
tions which we are under to love God above ourselves ; even
the same infinite obligations are we under to live to God ulti
mately, and not to ourselves : And therefore it is as great' a sin
to live to ourselves ultimately,as itis to love ourselves supremely.
4. and lastly. Delight in Gpd, is also implied in love to him.
By delight we commonly mean that pleasure, sweetness and
satisfaction, which we take in any thing that is very dear to us.
When a man appears very excellent to us, and we esteem him,
and wish him all good, we also, at the same time, feel a delight
in him, and a sweetness in his company and conversation ; we
long to see him when absent ; we rejoice in his presence ; the
enjoyment of him tends to make us happj' : So, when a holy
soul beholds God in the infinite moral excellency and beauty of
his nature, and loves him supremely, and is devoted to him en
tirely, now also he delights in him superlatively. His delight,
and complacency is as great as his esteem, and arises from a '¦
sense ofthe same moral excellency and beauty. From this de- '
light in God arise longings after further acquaintance witli him,
and greater nearness to him. Job xxiii. 3...0 that I knew where
I might find him, that I might come even to his seat ! — Longings

14 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
after communion with him. Psalm Ixiii. 1, 2....0 God, thou art
my God; early will I seek thee : my soul thirstethfor thee : my
flesh longethfor thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water
is....To see thy poxver and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in
the sanctuary. Verse Q....My soul followeth hard after thee.
A holy rejoicing in God. Hab. iii. 17, 18....Although the fig.^
tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine ; the la
bor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat ; the
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in
the stalls.... I'd I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God
of my salvation. Finally, from this delight in God arises a ho
ly disposition to renounce all other things, and live wholly up
on him, and take up everlasting cpntent in him, and in him
alone. Psalm Ixxiii. 25, 2&....Whom have I in heaven but thee ?
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. ...My flesh
and my heart faileth : but God is the strength of my heart, and
my portion forever. The vain man takes content in vain com
pany ; the worldly man takes content in riches ; the ambition^
man in honor and applause ; the philosopher in philosophical!
speculations ; the legal hypocrite in his round of duties ; the
evangelical hypocrite in his experiences, his discoveries, his
joys, his raptures, and confident expectation of heaven : But
the true lover of God takes his content in God himself. Psalm
iv. 6, 7. And thus we see what is imphed in love to God.
And now, that this is a right representation ofthe nature of
that love which is required in the first and great commandment
of the law, upon which chiefly all the law and the prophets i
hang, is manifest, not only from the reason of the thing, and
from what has been already said, but also from this, that such
a love to God as this lays a sure and firm foundation for all ho
ly obedience. That love to God is of the right kind, which will
effectually influence us to keep his commands. John xv. 14.
I. John ii. 3, 4, 5. But it is evident, from the nature of things,5
that such a love as this will effectually influence us to do so.
As self-love naturally causes us to set up self and seek self-inter
est, so this love to God will naturally influence us to set up God

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 15
and seek his interest. As delight in the world naturally makes
us seek after the enjoyment of the world, so this delight in God
will naturally influence us to seek after the enjoyment of God :
And while we love God primarily for being what he is, we
cannot but, for the same reason, love his law, which is a trans
cript of his nature, and love to conform to it. If we loved him
only from self-love, from the fear of hell, or from the hopes of
heaven, we might,at the same time, hate his law : but if we love
him for being what he is, we cannot but love to be like him ;
which is what his law requires. Tp supppse that a man Ipves
Gpd supremely for whathe is, and yet does not love to belike
him, is an evident contradiction. Itisto suppose a thing supreme
ly loved ; and yet, at the same time, not loved at all : So that,
to a demonstration, this is the very kind of love which the Loi-d
our God requires of us. So, saints in heaven love God perfectiy,
andso the gQod man on earth begins, in a weak and feeble manner,
to love God : for there is but one kind of love required in the
law; and so but one kind oflove which is of the right sort: for\
no kind of love can be of the right sort, but that very kind of
love which the law requires : There is, therefore, no difference
between their love in heaven, and ours here upon earth, but
only in degree,
SECTION IL
SHEWING FROM WHAT MOTIVES TRUE LOVE TO GPD TAKES
ITS RISE,
II. I npw prpceed to shew more particularly y}-oni rvhat mo
tives rue are required thus to love God. Indeed, I have done
this in part aheady ; for I have been obliged all along, in shew
ing what is implied in love to God, to keep my eye upon the fii'st
and chief ground and reason oflove, namely, -what God is in
himself. But there are otiier considerations which increase our
obligations to love him and live to him ; which ought, there-
fpre, to come into the account : And I design here to take a
general view of nil die reasons and motives which ought to in
fluence us to love the Lord our God ; all which are implied in
D

16 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
those words, The Lord thy God. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, i. e, because he is the Lord and our God.
1, The first and chief motive which is to influence us to love
God with all our hearts, is his infinite dignity and greatness, gU,
sry and excellency ; or, in one word, his infinite amiableness.-^
We are to love him with all our hearts, because he is the Lord-
— because he is what he is, and. just such a Being as he is, — On-
this account, primarily, and antecedent to all other coiisiderai
tions, he is infinitely amiable ; and, therefore, on this account,
primarily,, and antecedent to all other considerations, ought he
to appear infinitely; amiable in our eyes. This ' is the first and
chief reason, and. ground upon which, his /aw is founded, I am
THELoRD.„f.E;co^. XX. 2. — Lev.xt.7L. J This, therefore, ought
to be the first and chief motive to influence us to. obey. The
principal reason which moves him to. require us to love him,.
ought to be the principal motive of our Jove. If the fundamen-;
tal reason of his requiring us to love him with all our hearts, is
because he is what he is, and yet the bottom of our love be some
thing else, then our love is not what his law requires, but a thing
of quite another nature : Yea, if the foundation of oiir love to
God is not because he is what he is, in truth, we love him not
at all. If I feel a sort of respect to one of my neighbors^ whg
is very kind to me, and either do not know what sort of man
he is, or, if I do, yet do not like him, it is plain, it is his kind
nesses I love, and not his person ; and all my seeming love to
him is nothing but self-love in another shape : And let him
cease being kind to me, and my love will cease : Let him cross
me, and I shall hate him. Put forth thine hand now, and touch/,
all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face, (Job i, 11),
said the devil concerning Job ; and, indeed. Job would have donfr;
so, had not his love to God taken its rise from another motive than'
God's kindnesses to him. But why need I multiply words ?
For it seems even self-evident that God's loveliness ought to
be the first and Chief thing for which we love him.
Now, God is infinitely lovely, because he is what he is ; or,
in other words, his infinite dignity and greatness, glory and ex-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 17
cellency, are the result of his natural and moral perfections :
So that it is a clear sight and realizing sense of his natural and
moral perfections, as they are revealed in his works and in his
word, that make him appear, to a holy soul, as a Being of in
finite dignity and greatness, glory and excellency. Thus, the
.Queen of ^'jeia, seeing and conversing with Solomon, and view
ing his works, under a sense of the large and noljle endow
ments of his mind, was even ravished ; and cried out. The one
half was not told me J And thus the holy and divinely enlight
ened soul, upon seeing God, reading his word, and meditating
on his 'wonderful works, under a sense of his divine and in
comprehensible perfections, is ravished with his infinite dignit}-,
majesty, greatness, glory and excellency ; and loves, admires,
and adores ; and says. Who is a God like unto thee !
His natural perfections are,
(1.) His infinite understanding, whereby he knows himself,
and aU things possible, and beholds all things past, present and
to come, at one aU-comprehensive view. So that, from ever
lasting to everlasting, his knowledge can neither increase nor
diminish, or his 'views of things suffer the least variation ; being
always absolutely complete, and consequendy necessarily al
ways the same.
(2,) His a/;»/^A^ jftower, whereby he is able,, with infinite
ease, to do any thing that he pleases.
And his moral perfections aie,
(1.) His infinite wisdom, vrherehj he is able, and is inclined
to contrive and order all things, in aU worlds, for the best ends^
and after the best manner,
(2.) His perfect holiness, whereby he is inclined infinitely to
love right, and hate wrong : Or, according to scripture-plirase,
to love righteousness and hate iniquity.
-(3.) His impartial justice, whereby he is unchangeably in
clined to render to every one according to his deserts,
(4,) His irfi nite goodness, whereby he can find in his heart
to bestow the greatest favors upon his creatures, if he pleases ;
and is inclined to bestow all that is best, all things considered.

18 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
(5,) His truth and faithfulness, y^hereby he is inclined to
fulfil all his will, according to his word: So that there is an ever
lasting harmony between his will, his word, and his performance.
And his being, and all his natural and moral perfections,
^nd his glory and blessedness, which result from them, he has
in himself, and of himself, underived ; and is necessarily infi
nite, eternal, unchangeable, in all ; and so, absolutely mdepen-
dent, self-sufficient and all-sufficient.
" This is the God, whom we do love !
" This is the God, whom we adore !
" In him we trust.... to him we live ;
" He is our all, for evermore.
Now there are three ways by which the perfections of God are
discovered to the children of men : By his works, by his word,and
by his spirit. By the two first, we see him to be what he is ;— by
the last, we beholdhis infinite glory in beingsuch : — The two first
produce a speculativeknowledge ; thelast,asenseofmoralbeauty.
First. These perfections of God are discovered by his works,
i. e. by his creating, preserving, and governing the world; and by
his redeeming, sanctifying, and saving his people.
1. By his creating the world. He it is, who has stretched
abroad the heavens as a curtain, and spread them out as a tent
to dwell in,,., who has created the sun, moon and stars, and
appointed them their courses. ,„who has hung the earth upon
nothing,... who has fixed the mountains, and bounded the seas,
and formed every living creature. All the heavenly hosts he
hath made, and created all the nations that dwell upon the earth :
and the birds of the air, and the beasts ofthe field, and the fishes
of the sea, and every creeping thing, are the works of his hands:
and the meanest of his works are full of unsearchable wonders,
far surpassing our understanding : So that the invisible things
of God, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being
understood by the things tliat are made, evefi his eternal power }
and Godhead : As St, Paul observes, in Rom. i. 20. ' *
2. By his preserving the world. His eyes run to and fro,'
throughout all the world, beholding every thing. His eyes are

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL, COUNTERFEITS. 19
upon all his works j so that even the sparrows are not forgotten
by him, and the very hairs of our head are all numbered : And
he holds all things in being ; and the opening of his hand fills
the desires of every living creature : even the whole family of
heaven and earth Uve upon his goodness, and are maintained by
his bounty: In a wprd,his infinite understanding sees all.. ..his
infinite ppwer upholds all.,., his infinite wisdom takes care of
all, and his infinite goodness provides for all — and that every
moment ; so that the invisible things of God are discovered in
preserving as well as in creating the world : And hence, when
the pious Psalmist meditates on the works of creation and pres
ervation, he sees God in them, and views his perfections, and
is touched at heart with a sense of his glory ; and is filled with
high and exalted, and with admiring and adoring thoughts of
God, So, Psalm xix. i....Tlie heavens declare the glory ofthe
Lord, he. And Psalm xcv, 1....0 come let us sing unto the
Lord, &c. — But why ? — Verse 3. ..For the Lord isa great God,
and a great King, above all gods. — But how does this appear ?
Why, (ver, 4, 5.) In his hand are the deep places ofthe earth ;
the strength ofthe hills is his also : The sea is his, and he made it ;
and his hands formed the dry land : Ver. 6,,,0, therefore, come
let us worship and bow down ; let us kneel before the Lord our
Maker. And again, in Psal, xcvi, X....0 sing unto the Lord a
new song : sing unto the Lord, all the earth. — But why ? — Ver.
4i...For the Lordis great, and greatly to be praised : Heis to be
feared dove all gods. — But wherein does this appear ? — ^Why,
(ver. 5.) Ml the gods ofthe nations are idols ; but the Lord made
the heavens. And once more, in Psal, civ. 1, 2, he. ..Bless the
Lord, 0 my soid. — But why?..,.7%02< art very great : thou art
clothed with honor and majesty. — But how does this appear ? —
Why, Thou hast stretched out the heavens as a curtain. And
ver. 5. ...And laid the foundations ofthe earth, that it cannot be
removed for ever. And ver, 27... .All wait upon thee, that thou
may est give them their meat in due season. Vc r. 28, . , . That thou
givest them, they gather : thou openest thy hand, they are filled
withgood. — And throughout the whole Psalm he is meditating

20 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
on the creation and preservation ofthe world ; and viewing the
divine perfections therein discovered, and admiring the divine
glory, and wondering and adoring ; and finally concludes with,
Bless the Lord,0 my soul: Praise ye the Lord. But
3. His perfections are still much more eminently displayed in
that moral government which he maintains over the intelligerit
part of the creation ; especially his moral perfections. In the
works of nature his natural perfections are to be seen : but, in
his moral government ofthe world, he acts out his heart, and
shews the temper of his mind : Indeed, all the perfections ; of
God are to be seen in the work of creation, if we view angels
and men, and consider what they were, as they came first out
of his hands— -holy and pure : But still God's conduct towards
them,underthe character of their Kingand Governor, more ev
idently discovers the very temper of his heart. As the tree is
known by the fruit, so God's moral perfections may be known
by his moral government ofthe world. The whole world was
created for a stage, on which a variety of scenes were to be open
ed ; in and by all which, God designed to exhibit a most exact
image of himself : For, as God loves himself infinitely for be*
ing what he is, so he takes infinite delight in acting forth and'ex-
pressing all his heart. He loves to see his nature and image
shine in all his works, and to behold the whole world filled with
his glory ; and he perfectly loves to have his conduct, the whole
of it taken together, an exact resemblance of himself ; and in
finitely abhors, in his public conduct, in the least to counteract
the temper of his heart ; so as, by his public conduct, to seem
to be what indeed he is not : So that, in his moral government
of the world, we may see his inward disposition, and discern
the true nature of his moral perfections : And indeed all his
perfections are herein discovered ; particularly,
(1,) His infinite understanding. High on his throne in heav-
en he sits, and all his vast dominions lie open to his view : His
all-seeing eye views all his courts above, and sees under the
whole heavens, looks through the earth, and pierces all the dark
caverns of hell ; so that his acquaintance with all worlds and all

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 21
things is absolutely perfect and complete : He can behold all
the solemn worship of heaven, and the inmost thoughts of all
that great assembly : he can behold all the sin, misery and con
fusion that overspread the whole eartii, and the inmost temper of
every mortal ; and Ippk through hell, and see all the rebellion, and
blasphemy, and cimning devices of those infernal fiends ; — and
all this at one all-comprehending view: And thus, as high Gov
ernor of the whole world, he continually beholds all things ;
whereby a foundation is laid for the exercise of all his other per
fections in his government over all. See the omniscience of
God elegantly described in Psal. cksxix. 1 — 12. And being
perfectly acquainted with himselfj as well as with all his crea
tures, he cannot but see what conduct from him towards them,
will, all things considered, be most right, and fit, and-amiable^
and most becoming such an one as he is ; and also what conduct
from them to-him is his due ; and their duty. By his infinite
understanding, he is perfectly acquainted with right and wrong
¦:— with what is fit, and what unfit : And, by the moral rectitude
of his nature, he infinitely loves the one and hates the other,
and is disposed to conduct accordingly ; — of which more pres-
endy. Psal. cxlvii. l....Praiseye the Lord, for it is good to sing
praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely.
— But why ? — ^Ver. S,..Great is our Lord and of great power ;
HIS UNDERSTANDING IS INFINITE. — But wherein does that ap
pear ? — Why, (ver. 4.) He telleth the number of the stars ; he
calleth them AUL by their names. Now, if the infinite under
standing of God may be seen in this one particular, much more
is it in the regular ordering and disposing of all things, through
out the whole universe ; and that, not only in the natural, but
also in the moral world.
(2) His infinite power is displayed in the government ofthe
worid : For he does according to his pleasure in the armies of
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; so that none
can stay his hand, or hinder the execution of his designs. Have
rebellions broken out in any part of his dominions ? — he has
manifestly had the rebels entirely in his hands : They have lain

23 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
absolutely at his mercy ; and he has dealt with them accprding
to his sovereign pleasure ; and none has been able to make any
j-esistance ; nor has there been any to deliver them out of his
hands. When rebellion broke out in heaven, he crushed the
rebels in a moment : They fell beneath the weight of his hand
...they felt his power..,.they despaired.,.they sunkto hell ; and
there he reserves them in chains ; nor can they stir from their
dark abode, but by his special permission. And when rebel-
lion broke, out upon earth, the>hels were equally in his handsj
and at his mercy, unal.le to make- any resistance ; although he
was pleased, in his infinite wisdom, to take another method with
them : But he has since discovered his power, in treadmg
down his implacable enemies, under foot, many a time : He
destroyed, the old world, burned Sodom, drowned Pharaoh mi
his hosts, and turned Nebuchadnezzar into a beast. If his en-
emieshave exalted themselves, yet he has beeuabove them—
brought them down ; and discovered to all the -wprld that they
are in his hands, and without strength, at his disposal : Or if he •
has suffered them to go on and prosper, and exalt themselves
greatly, yet still he has been above them, and has accomplished
his designs by them, and at last has brought them do'wn. —
Haughty Nebuchadnezzar, when he had broken the nations to
pieces, as if he had been the hammer of the whole earth, now
thought \mas,e\i somebody ; and Alexander the Great, when con
quering the world, aspired to be thought the son of Jupiter :
But the most high God, the great and almighty Goverfaor of
the world, always had such scourges of mankind only as a rod in
his hand, with which he has executed judgment upon a wicked
world. Howbeit, they meant not so, neither did their hearts think
so : But it was in their hearts to gratify their ambition, avarice,
and revenge. However, he was above them ; and always such
have been, in his hands, as the ax is in the hands of him that
heweth therewith, or as the saw is in the hands of him that shaketk
it ; or as the rod is in the hand of him that lifteth it up. And
when he has done with the rod, he alwilys breaks it and burns it '.
See Isaiah x. 5 — 19.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 23
And as this great King has discpvered his almighty power,
by crushing rebellions in his kingdom, and subduing rebels, so
he has, also, in protecting his friends, and working deliverance
for his people : He made a path for his people through the sea ;
he led them through the wilderness : He gave them water to
drink out ofthe rock ; and fed them with angels' food : In the
d&.y time he led them by a cloud, and all the night with the light
of fire :. He brought them to the promised land, and drove out
the heathen before them ; and, in all their distresses, whenever
they cried unto him, he delivered them : And as the supreme
Governor ofthe world, in the days of old, did thus discover his
almighty power in governing among his intelligent creatures,
so he is still, in various ¦ways and manners, in his providential
dispensations, evidentiy discovering that he can do all things :
And his people see it and believe it ; and admire and adore : —
Read Psal. cv.
(3.) Again, His infinite wisdom is discovered in an endless
variety of instances — in all his government throughout all his
dominions^in his managing all things to the glory of his Ma-
jesty.....to the good of his loyal subjects, and to the confusion
of his foes. There has never any thing happened in all his do
minions, and never willj but has been, and shall be made entire
ly subservient to his honor and glorj' : Even the contempt cast
upon him by his rebellious subjects, he turns to his greater glo
ry ; as in the case of Pharaoh,who set up himself against God,
and said. Who is the Lord, that I should obey him P I know not
the Lotd, nor will I let Israel go. ' And he exalted himself, and
dealt proudly and haughtily ; and hardened his heart, and was
resolved he would not regard God, nor be bowed nor coni^uer-
ed by him ; for he despised him in his heart: But the more he
carried himself, as if there were no God, the more were the be
ing and perfections of God made manifest ; for the more he
hardeifed his heart — ^the more stout and stubborn he was, the
more God honored himself in subduing him : Yea, God, in his
"infinite wisdom, suffered him to be as high and haughty — ^as
stPut andstubbprn as he pleased ; he tPok off all restraints from

24 TRUE RELIGION -DELINEATED, AND
him— permitted the magicians to imitate the miracles of ilfo-
ses, so that Pharaoh, in seeing, might not see, nor be convinced ;
and he ordered that the plagues should 1-ast but for a short sea-
son, that Pharaoh might have respite ; and thus it was that God
hardened his heart : And -God, in his infinite wisdom, did all
this with a view to his own glory ; as he tells Pharaoh hy the
hand of Moses — " Such and such plagues I design to bring up-
on you, and to do so, and so, with you." Ajtd, indeed, for this
cause have I raised ihee up, for to shew in thee my power, and
that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.. .^^od. ix.
16 : And, accordingly, pod was illustriously honored, at last,
upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, at the Red Sea ; and the
Egyptians, and all the neighboring nations, were made to know
that he was the Lord ,; and his name became dreadful among
the heathen : And we find that, in three or four hundred years
after, the Philistines had not forgotten it ; for, when the ark, in
tlie days of EU, was carried into the camp of Israel, the Philis
tines were sore afraid, and said, " God is come into the camp :
Woe unto us : Who shall deliver us out of the hands of these
mighty Gods ? These are the Gods that smote the Egyptian),.
with all the plagues^n the wilderness," .&C....I Sam. iv. «i.
So God wisely ordered and over-ruled all thuigs, that befel
the children of Israel in the wilderness, to accomplish the ends
he had in view : His designs were to get himself a great name,
and fill the whole earth with his glory (Nmn. xiv. 21.) ; and to
try and hunable his people, and make them know, that it was
not for their righteousness that he brought them into the land of
Canaan, (Deut. ix.) And every thing diat came to pass, for
those fortyyears, was admirably calculated to attain these ends.-
The news of Pharaolih overthrow — of God's coming down
upon Mount Sinai, in the presence of all Israel, and abidmg
tiiere so long a time, with such awful majesty ; and of die pil
lar of cloud by day, and of fire by night— of the manna— of the
¦ water flowing out of a rock, and following them— of their mur-
murings and insurrections, and God's judgments upon them ;—
I say, the news of these, and other things of this nature, that

DISTINGUISHEi) FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 25
happened to them for those forty years, flew all the world over,
and filled all the nations pf the earth with the greatest astonish
ment J and made them think there was no God like the God of
/srae/.,.(Numb. xiv, 13, 14, 15.) By all these things, and by
God's bringing his people, at hst, to the possession of the land
of Canaan, according to his-promise, there was exhibited a spe
cimen of God's infinite knowledge,po.wer,wisdom,holiness, jus
tice, goodness and trudi ; and that before the eyes..of all the na
tions : And so the whole eai'th was filled with his glory ; i. e.
>vith the clear manifestations of those perfections in which his
glory consists. And thus his g^-eat end was obtained : And,
in the mean time, all the wanderings, and trials, and.sins, and
sorrows ofthe children oi Israel, together with all the wonder
ful works which their eyes beheld, and wherein God discover
ed himself for those forty years, had a natural tendency to try
them, to humble them, and break their hearts ;. and. make them
know, that, not for their righteousness, nor for the uprightaess
of their hearts, did God, at last, shew them tiiat great mercy :
and to convince them of the exceeding great obligations, they
were under to love, and fear, and serve the Lprd forever,. And
so, the other great end which God had in view was.accamplish-
ed....Deut. viii. ix. & x. chap. — And now, all these things were
by God wisely done ; and in this his conduct, his infinite "wisdom
is to be seen.* — And thus it is in all God's, dispensations,
throughout all his dominions, with regard to the whole universe
in general, arid to every intelligent creature in paolicular. His

* If God had so ordered that Abraham., had.ljeen born in the land of
Canaan, and his posterity had multiplied greatly, and the other nations,
gradually, by sicknesses and wars, had wasted away andcome to nothing,
uncil there, were none but the posterity of Abraham left, and they had
filled the land, God's hand then would nothavebeen seen. ...none of these
excellent ends attain^. .. .all would have been resolved into natural causes.
Therefore God contrived where Abraham should be born — how he shci.l,i
lea-/e his ov^n country — have a promise of the land, of Canaan ; and how
his seed should come to be ia Egypt — come to be in great bondage and dis
tress ; how he would send, and how he would deliver them, and hov>r they
should carry themselves, and what should happen ; and how every thing
should turn out at last : he laid the whole plan, with a view to those ex
cellent ends his eye was upon. It was wisely contrived, and, when it came
to liC acted over, his infinite wisdom was discovered.

26 TRUE RELIGJON DELINEATED, AND
works are all done in wisdom ; and so his infinite wisdom is
discovered in all : And hence Gpd appears infinitely glorious
in the eyes of his people....i3eM^ xxxii. 3, 4.— P««/- civ. 24, &
cv. 1, 45. — I Cor. i. 24, 31. ..
(4.) Again, His infinite purity and holiness is also discover-
. ed in his government of the world— in all that he has done to
establish right, and discountenance wrong, throughout all his do-
minions. His creating angels and men in his own image, with
his law written on their hearts, manifested his disposition, and
shpwed what he was pleased with : But his public conduct, as
moral Governor of the world, has more evidently discovered
the very temper of his heart ; and shewn how he loves right
and hates wroM^, to an infinite degree. Governors, among men,
discover much of their disposition, and show what they love
and what they hate, by their laws ; and they show how fervent
their love and hatred is, by all the methods they take to enforce
them ; and so does the great Governor of the world : By his
laws — ^by his promises and threatenings — by his past conduct,
and declared designs for the future, he manifests how he loves
moral good and hates moral evil.
By his infinite understanding, he is perfectly acquainted witli
himself, and with all his inteUigent creatures ; and so perfectly
knows what conduct in him towards them is right, fit and ami-
able^ and such as becomes such a one as he is ; and also, perfectly
knows what conduct in his creatures towards him, and towards
each other, is fit and amiable, and so their duty. He sees what is
right, and infinitely loves it, because it is right : He sees what is
wrong, and infinitely hates it, because it is wrong ; and, in his
whole conduct, as Governor of the world, he appears to be just
what he is at heart — an infinite friend to right, and an infinite
enemy to -wrong.
He takes state. ...sets, up himself as a God.. ..bids all the world -
adore him, love and obey him, with all their hearts — and that
upon pain pf eternal damnation, in case ofthe least defect ; and
promises eternal life and glory, in case of perfect obedience. /
This is the language of his law, Thou shalt love the Lord thy

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 27
God with all thy heart, a/id thy neighbor as thyself: Da this,
and live; disobey, and die. And now all that infinite esteem
for himself, and infinite regard for his own honor, which he here
in manifests, does not result from a proud or a selfish spirit ; for
there is no such thing in liis nature : Nor does he threaten dam
nation for sin, because it hurts him ; or promise eternal life to
obedience, because it does him any good : for he is infinitely
fkbove us, and absolutely independent of us, and cannot recei've
advantage or disadvantge from us.. ..Job xxii. 2, 3. and xxxv. 6,
7. But it results from the infinite holiness of his nature. He
loves and honors himself as he does, because, since he is what
he is, it is right and fit he should : He bids the world adore
love and obey him 'with all their hearts, because, considering
what he is, and what they are, it is infinitely fit and right : He
commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, because this al
so, in the nature of things, is right : And while he promises
eternal life tP the obedient, and threatens eternal damnation to
the disobedient, he shows how infinitely he loves rightecusness
and hates iniquity. His promising eternal life and glory to
perfect obedience, does indeed manifest the infinite goodness
and bountifulness of his nature ; but then his promising all, un^
der the notion of a reward, discovers tiiis temper of his heart
....his infinite love to right.
As to all his positive injunctions, tiieyare e\-identiy designed
to promote a conformity to the moral law. And as to tlie mor
al law, it is originally founded upon the ver}^ reason and nature
of things. The duties required therein are required, original
ly, because they are right in themselves : And the sins forbid
den, are forbidden, originally, because they are unfit and wrong
in themselves. The intrmsic fitness ofthe things required, and
die intrinsic unfitness of the things forbidden, was the priginal
ground, reason and foundation of liis b,w. Thus, he bids all the
world love him with all their hearts, because he is the Lord their
God ; and love one another as brethren, because they are all
children of the same common father, having the same nature.
He requires this supreme love to himself, and this mutual love ¦

28 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
among his subjects, because it is right that soitshpuld be j and
because he perfectly loves that the thing that is right should be
done....and not from any advantage that can possibly accrue unto
him from the behavior of his creatures. , And he forbids the
contrary, because it is wrong, and therefore infinitely hateful in
his sight  and not because it could be any disadvantage to
him— All the glory and blessedness which he bestows upon the
angels in heaven, under the notion of a rerwaird to their obedieMe:,
is not because their obedience does him any good ; for it does
not : nor because they deserve any thing from his hands 5 for
they do not : f JJom. xi. 35, 36. J but merely because it is right
that they should, in all things, obey him : This is what he loves^
and what he delights to honor : And all the infinite, eternal
glories of heaven can but just serve as a sufficient testimony of
his approbation. — So, on the other hand, it was not in a passion,
or from sudden, rash revenge, (which many times influences
sinful men to cruel and barbarous deeds), that he turned those
that sinned down to hell ; and, for their first offence, doomed
them to everlasting woe, without the least hope ; for there is no
such thing in his nature. As he is not capable of being injured, '
as we are, so neither is he capable of such anger as we feel.
No : the thing they did was in itself infinitely wrong, andthat
was the true and only cause of his infinite displeasure ; which
infinite displeasure he meant to declare and make known in the
sight of all worlds, throughout the endless ages of eternity, by
rendering to them according to their deserts : For he loves to
appear as great an enemy to sin, in his conduct, as he is in his
hearu He loves to act out his heart, and exhibit a true image;,
of himself. His infinite love of righteousness and hatred of in-
, iquity, is also displayed in his promising eternal life and bless
edness to Adam and to all his race, a whole world of beings, as a
reward to the obedience of 'J(ia)n_by him constituted public
head and representative, on the one hand ; and threateningeter-'
nal destruction to him and all his race, a whole world of beings,
in case of the least transgression, on the other hand. But his
infinite love to righteousness; and hatred of iniquity, is manifest-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 29
ed in the greatest perfection, in the death of Jesus Christ, his on
ly begotten son : But of this" more afterwards. — In a word, all
the blessings which he has granted to the godly in this world, as
rewards of their virtMC... to Abel, Enoch, and Noah.. ..to Lot....
to Abraham^ Isaac and Jacob, 8itc. and all the judgments which
he has executed upon the wicked.. ..his turning JIJaOTOut of par
adise.. ..drowning the old world. „,burning Sodom, &c. together
with all the evils which befel the children of Israel, in the wil*
demess — in the time of the judges — in the reigns of their kings
....and their long captivity in Babylon, &c. have all been public
testimonies that the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and
hateth iniquity. — And, in heaven and in hell, he designs to dis-
play, to ail eternity, in the most glorious and dreadful maimer,
how infinitely he loves righteousness and hates iniquity.
Now when true believers, who are divinely enlightened, med
itate on and view the" laws, the conduct, and the declared designs
of die great Governor ofthe world, they love, admire and adore,
and say. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of hosts, the whole world is
full of thy glory. This divine disposition, to love righteous
ness and hate iniquit)% which the great Governor of the world
thus discovers in all his government, appears infinitely beautiful
and glorious, excellent, and amiable in their eyes : Whence they
are ready to say. Who is like unto thee, 0 Lord, among the gods?
Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, &c...,As they do in
Exod. XV. 11.*

* If v/e should suppose- (as some do), that there is nothing right or wrong
.antecedent to a consideration of the positive will and law of God, the great
governor ofthe world ; and that right and wrong result, originally, from his
sovereign will and absolute authoiity entirely, then these absurdities would
unavoidably follow :
1. That the moral perfections of God are empty names, without any signifi
cation at all. For if there be no intrinsic moral fitness and uniitness in
things, no right nor wrong, then there is no such thing as moral beauty or
mtrral deformity ; and so, no foundation, in the nature of things,_ for any
irwral propensity i i.e. there is nothing for God to love or hate, considered
as a m.oral agent. There can be no inclination or disposivion in himtolove
right and hate wrong, if there be no sudi thing as rijjht or wrong. So
that the onlyideawe.couldframeof God, would be that of an almighty, des
potic sovereign, who makes his own will his only rule, without any regard to
right or wrong, goodor evil, just or unjust....an idea ofthe infinitely glorious
and ever-blessed God, evidently as contrary to truth as can be devised. 2. That,

30 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
(5.) .ff";sm/)ar!tia/_/M*«z"c^ is also discovered in his moral gov-
emment of the world. He appears, in his public conduct, as
one infinitely engaged to give to every one his due, and as one
absolutely governed by a spirit ofthe most perfectly disinterest-
ed impartiality : He appears as one infinitely engaged to main-
tain the rights ofthe Godhead, and to secure that glory to the
divine Being that is his proper due ; and that by the law which
he has established, in heaven and on earth, binding all to love,
worship and obey him, as Gob, upon pain of eternal damnation :
And so, again, he appears as one infinitely engaged to secure all
his subjects here upon earth in a quiet and peaceable posses.
sion of their own proper rights ; and that by stricdy enjoin--
2. Thai, in the nature of things, there is no m.ore reason to love and obey Gorfj
than there is to hate and disobey him : there being, in the nature of things, no
right nor wrong. Just as if God was not infinitely worthy of our highest
esteem and most perfect obedience ! andjustas if, in the nature of thuigsj.
there was no reason why we should love and obey him, but merely becauselie
is the greatest and strongest, and says we mMst ! than which nothing can
be more evidently absurd. But if these things are so, then it will follow,
3 . That there is no reason why he should require his creatures to love and obe/
him,, or forbid the contrary ; or why he should reward the one, or punish tit
other : there being, in the nature of things, no right nor wrong : and so the
foundation of God's law and government is overturned, aiid all religion
torn up by the roots ; and nothing is left but arbitrary tyranny and servilt
subjection.... all expressly contrary to Gen. xviii. 25 — Heb. i. 9^Mph.\i.X
— Rom. xii. 1 — Rev. iv. 11 — Rom. vii. 12 — Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6 — Rev: Iix. 1, 6
— Ezek. xviii. 25.
Or again, if we should suppose (as others do), that there is nothing r(f4i
or wrong, antecedent to a consideration of the general good of the whole
system of intelligent created beings ; and that right undwrong result, ori
ginally and entirely, from the natural tendency of things to promote, or
hinder the general good of the whole : then, also, these manifest absurdities
will unavoidably follow : . . ¦
1. That the moral perfections of God entirely consist in, or result from d dis
position to love his creatures suprem,ely, and seek their happiness as his only end'
just as if it became the most high to make a God of his creatures, aniJ
himself their servant ! expressly contrary to Ro^i. xi. 36 — Nunpbt xiv—
Rev. iv. 11.
3. That God loves virtue and rewards it,,m,erely because it tends tom,aiehii
treatures happy ; and hates vice and punishes it, merely because it tends to makf^
his creatures miserable .- just as if he had no regard to the rights of th!>
Godhead, nor cared how much contempt was cast upon the glorious ma
jesty of Heaven ! expressly contrary to ixorf. xxxii. — Numh.^w.-^lSdln-
ii. 29, 30—11 Sam,, xii. 10, 14— Psalm Ii. 4. '
3. That he requires us to love and obey him,, m,erely because it tends to make
lis happy, andforbids the contrary merely because it tends to inaie us misert^le g]
just as if he had no sense ofthe infinite glory and excellency of his natu^i
and our infinite obligations to love and obey hirh thence arising ! and just
as if he thought it no crime in us, to treat him vfith the greatest contempt J ,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 31
ing every one to love his neighbor as himself, and always do
as he would be done by, and that upon pain of eternal damna-
tion....Gal. iii. 10 — Deut. xxvii. 26. And he appears as one
governed by a spirit of the most perfecdy disinterested impar
tiality, in that he spared not the angels that sinned, who were
some ofthe noblest of all his creatures ; and in that he is deter-
mined not to spare impenitent sinners at the day of judgment,
though they cry ever so earnestly for mercy j but, above all, in
that he spai-ed not his oAly begotten Son, when he stood in the
roonj of sinners. If ever any poor, guilty wretch, round the
world, feels tempted to think that God is cruel for damning sin
ners, ^nd does not do as he would be done by, if he was in their
case, and they inhis,lethim come away to the cross of Christ, and
and just as if nothing could raise his resentment but merely the injury
done to ourselves ! expressly contrary to Numh. xiv. — IliS'a^n. xii. 10, 14, &c.
4. That we are under no obligations to love God, but m,erely because it tends
to -make %is happy ; and that it is no crim,eto hate and blasphem.e God, but
'merely because it tends to m.ake us miserable. But if so, then the misery
which naturally results from hating and blaspheming God, is exactly equsd
to the crime ; and therefore no positive inflicted punishment is deserved
-in this world, or in that which is to come. And, therefore, all the punish
ments .which God inflicts upon sinners in this world, and forever in Hell,
are entirely undeserved : and so his law and government, instead of being
holy, just and good, are infinitely unreasonable, tyrannical and cruel.-^
To say, that God punishes some of his sinful creatures, naerely to keep
others in awe, whenas they do not, in the least, deserve any punishment, is to
suppose the great Governor of the world to do evU, that good may come ; and
yet, at the same time, to take the most direct course to render himself odibus
throughout all his dominions. It is impossible to account for the punish
ments which God has inflicted upon sinners in this world, and designs to
inflict upon them forever in hell, without supposing that there is an infinite
•evil in sin, over and above what results from its natural tendency to ma.ke us
miserable : and that, therefore,we are under infinite obligations to love and
'obey G'od, antecedent to any consideration of its tendency to make us happy.
From all which, it is evident, to demonstration, that right and wrong
do neither result from the mere will and law of God, nor from any tend
ency of things to promote or hinder the happiness of God's creatures. It
remains, therefore, that there is an intrinsic moral fitness and unfitness,
absolutely in things themselves : as that we should love the infinitely glorious
God, is, in the nature of things, infinitely fit and right ; and to hate and
blaspheme him, is, in the nature of things, infinitely unfit and wrong :
and that, antecedent to any .consideration of advantiige or disadvantage,
reward or punishinent, or even ofthe will or law of, God. And hence it
is, that God infinitely loves right, and hates wrong, and appears so infinite
ly engaged to reward the one, and punish the other. And hence, his law
and government are holy, just and good.,.. they are glorious ; and in and
by them the infinite glory of the divine nature shines forth. .../sa. vi. 3.
— Rev. iv. 8 — Rev. xix. 1 — 6. F

32 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
see God's own Son, his second self, there nailed up, naked,
bleeding, groaning, dying, in the greatest possible contempt, ig^'
nominy and shame, before ten thousand insulting, blood-thirsty
spectators ; and let him know that this Jesus is God— a person
of infinitely greater dignity and worth than all creatures in heav
en and earth put together, and infinitely dear to the great Gov
ernor ofthe worid, even just as dear as his own self, and upon
whom he would not lay these sufferings any sooner than upon
himself ;— I say, let him stand, find look, and gaze, and leam
that God does exactly as he would be done by, when he damns'
sinners to all eternity, were he in their case, and they in his (if
I may so say, when speaking ofthe most high God), since that
for his own Son, a person of infinite dignity, to suffer all these
things, is equivalent to the eternal torments of finite creatures :
Indeed, it was not because he was not a Being of infinite goodi-
ness, that he treated his own Son so ; nor is it because he has no
regard to his creatures' happiness, that he designs to damn the
finally impenitent ; but it is merely because sin is an infinite
evil, and, according to strict justice, worthy of an infinite- pun
ishment : It is right and fit that he should do as he does, and
therefore his conduct will forever appear infinitely glorious and
beautiful in the eyes ofall holy beings. Psalm xcvi. 11, 12, 13
. ...Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad .- Let the sea
roar, and the fulness thereof Let the field be joyful, and all
that is therein : Then shall all the trees ofthe wood rejoice before
the Lord : For he Cometh, for he Cometh to judge the earth : He
sliall judge the xvorld with righteousness, and the people with his
truth. See also Rev. xix. 1 — 6.
(6.) His infinite goodness is also discovered in his government
ofthe world ; for all the laws of this great and good Governor
aie suited in their own nature to advance all his subjects to the
highest perfection they are capable of. His law teaches us to
view all things just as they are, and to have our will and affec
tions entirely governed by the truth — by the very reason and na
ture of things : And so to be according to the measure of such
finite creatures, in our wills and in the temper of our minds, after

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 33
the image of the blessed and glorious God j which is the highest
dignity and peifection we are possibly capable of. When God
commands us to be holy as he is holy, he enjoins that as our duty "^
which at the same time is our highest possible privilege. He
bids us be like the angels, and begin our heaven upon eaj-th ;
yea, even to participate of a glory and blessedness of the same
nature with that which he himself enjoys : To beholdhis glo-
fy....to be ravished with his beauty, ...to esteem him supremely,
live to him entirely, and delight in him superlatively, and to be
come like him in our views of things, and in the temper of our
minds, is our highest dignity, glor)',.and excellency, and our
highest blessedness : And, besides, his laws are still further cal
culated to promote the welfare of his subjects, in that they are
suited to establish universal love, peace and harmony,, through
out all his dominions. Love thy neighbor as ihyself, is one of
the fundamental laws of his kingdom : And were his authority ,
duly regarded, and his laws obeyed, Ibve, and peace and harmo
ny, with all their happy and blessed effects, would reign through
all the earth, as they do in heaven ; and paradise would not be
confined to Eden, nor to heaven, but be all over the world..
And the wrath of this good Governor is only revealed against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, which. are the ru
in and debasement of our nature, and the destruction of our
peace and happiness. He threatens damnation to his subjects,
to keep them from destroying themselves, as well as to deter
them from affronting his Majesty. All the dreadful threaten
ings of luslaw result not only from his holiness and justice, but
also from the infinite goodness of hisnature ;. in that hereby his
subjects are mercifully forwarned of the evil and bitter conse
quences of sin, to the end they may avoid it. He is a perfect
enemy to hatred, and revenge — to cruelty "and injustice i He
cannot bear to see the widow or fatherless oppressed, or die
poor despised, or the miserable insulted, or any evil thing done
among his subjects : And therefore this good Governor ha's
threatened tribulation and anguish, indignation and wrath,
against every soul that doth evil ; and, with all his authority,

54 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
has commanded his subjects, through all this Vorid, upon pain
of eternal damnation, to do as they would be done by.
And then, stiU further to engage his subjects to that in which
dieir greatest glory and blessedness consists, he, in his law,
promises eternal life to the obedient : wherein the infinite boun
tifulness of his nature, as well as his unspeakable concern for
his creatures' welfare is discovered.
And if we surVey his conduct towards mankind, from the be
ginning, we may, in ten thousand instances, see the infinite good
ness of hi« nature displayed. If we consider what his ways
have been towards an apostate world — ^how he has given his
Son to be a Redeemer,.and his spirit to be a sanctifier. — ^hot^hc
has sent all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending ;
and that'notwithstanding he knew beforehand what treatment he
would meet with from a jguilty, ungrateful, God-hating world
—how they would murder his Son, resist his spirit, and kill his
messengers : if we consider how patient, and forbearing, and
long-suffering he has been towards obstinate sinners — how loth
to give them over ; swearing by himself that he delights not in
their death, but rather that they turn and live ; even while they
have contemned and affronted him in the vilest manner : and if
we consider his distinguishing favors towards his elect, and the
marvellous things which he has -wrought for his church and peo
ple ; — I say, if we consider these things, and, at the same time,
look round the world and behold the innumerable common fa-
vors strewed abroad among guilty, hell-deserving rebels, we
must be forced to own, that he is good to all, and that his ten
der mercies are over all his works.
His goodness, indeed, is evidentiy as unbounded as his pPweft
There is no act of kindness, which his omnipotency is able to do,
but that there is goodness enough in his heart to prompt him to do
it, if, ail things considered, it is best to be done : His propensi
ty to do good is fully equal to his ability. All the treasures
and good things of this lower world are his, and he gives all to
the children of men ; and we should have enjoyed all, without ,
the least sorrow intermixed, had not our sin and apostacy made

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 35
it necessary for him to give some testimony of his displeasure i
and yet, even the calamities pf life are well adapted, in pur pres
ent state, tP dp us good. AU the treasures and glories of heav
en arehis, and he offers aU tp a guilty world, and actually gives
all to such as are willing to accept of all, through the mediator,
in the way prescribed — and what can he give more ? Can ha
give his only begotten son to die for sinners ? Behold, he has
a heart to do it ! Can he give his holy spirit to recover poor
sinners to God ? Behold, he has a heart to do it..„is as ready
to give his holy spirit to them that ask, as parents are to give
bread to their children ! And, finally^ can he, in any sense, give
himself to his creatures ? Behold, he is willing to do so.. ..to be
their God, and father, and portion, and be all things to them,
and do all things for them, if they will but accept of him through
Jesus Christ ! So that, as I said, his propensity to do good is
fuUy equal to his ability : And there is no doubt but that he
does show all those kindnesses to his intelligent creatures,
which, all things considered, are best should be shown. And
bis understanding is infinite, whereby he is able to determine
exaqtiy what is best in the whole. Thy mercy, 0 Lord, is in
the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the cloudy : How
excellent is thy loving kindness, 0 God ! Therefore the children
of men put their trust under the shadow of thy mw^*.... Psalm
xxxvi. 5, 7.
And such is the goodness of his nature, and so much good
ness has he in his heart, that he needs no motive to excite him to
do good ; i. e. nothing from without : Thus, unmoved and un-
excited by any thing from without himself, of his own mere
goodness, he did, in the days of eternity, determine to do all
that good, which ever will by him be done, to all eternity, when
there was nothing existing but himself, and. so nothing to move
him but his own good pleasure : Yea, such is the goodness of
his nature, that he not only needs no motive from without to
excite him to do good, but even then, when there are aU tilings to
the contrary — even every thing in his creatures to render them
ill-deserving, and to discourage and hinder his shewing mercy,

36 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
and to provoke him to wrath— even then, when discourage
ments are infinitely great, and provocations are innumerable j
yea, when there is notiiing in his creature but what is ofthe na
ture of a provocation— even, in such a case, he can show mer
cy ; yea, the greatest of mercies. He can give his son to die
for such, and his holy spirit to sanctify them, and himself at last to
be their God and father, and everiasting portion : Such is the in-
comparable goodness of his nature. Who is a God., like unto
thee ! hc....Mic. vii. 18, 19.— But then he is at liberty, in such
cases, and may act according to his own discretion, and have
mercy on whom he wiU have mercy, and have compassion on
whom he wiU have compassion ; and, truly, it is infinitely fit he
should. To act sovereignly, in such cases, is infinitely becom
ing ; and, indeed, it is fit he should dispense aU his favors ac
cording to his sovereign pleasure : It is fit he should do what
he wiU with his own. He knows best how to exercise his own
goodness, and it is perfectly fit that he should be at liberty, and
act according tP his^wn discretion.. ..according to the counsel
of his own wiU. And because it is infinitely fit, therefore he ac
tually does so....Eph. i. 11. He passed by the angels that sin-
ned, and pitied sinful men ; he passed by the rest of the world,
and chose the seed of Abraham ; he suffers thousands of sin
ners to go on in their sins and perish, and, in the mean time,
seizes here and there one by his all-conquering grace, and effec-
.tually saves them ; and all according to his sovereign pleasure,
because it seems good in his sight so to do. And the reason
.why he acts sovereignly, is because, in the nature of things, itis
fit he should ; therefore, his sovereignty is a holy and a glorious
sovereignty. Hence, when Moses desired to see his glory, he
discovered this unto him.. ..Exod. xxxiii. 12. And because our
Savior saw how fit and becoming it was for God to act as a
sovereign, in bestowing his favors, therefore he saw a glory in
his sovereignty, and so rejoiced in it.... Mat. xi. 25,26. And
¦ sovereign grace is glorious grace in the eyes of every one who
views things aright, and has aright frame of heart. Consid
ering that all God has is his oxvn.. ..tha.t he knows infinitely the

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 37
best what to do with whathe has.. ..thsit there can be no motivt
from without to excite him to act, it is infinitely fit he should be
left to himself, to act according to his own discretion ; and itis
infinite impudence for a worm of the dust to intermeddle or go
about to direct the almighty and infinitely wise God ; and it is
infinite wickedness to dislike his conduct, and find fault with
his dispensations.
Indeed, if there was nothing of greater worth and importance^
than the happiness of his creatures and subjects, and so nothing
that he ought to have a greater regard to and concern for, then
it is not to be supposed that any of his creatures and subjects
would be finally miserable. The infinitely good Governor of
the world has a great regard to the happiness of his subjects :
their welfare is very dear to him, and their misery, in itself, or
for its own sake, ver)' undesirable in his sight ; yet he has so
much greater regard to something else, that, in some instances,
he actually does suffer sinners to go on in their sins and perish
forever : yea, he will inflict the eternal torments of hell upon
them. The goodness of God is a holy, wise and rational goodi
ness, and not an unreasonable fondness : He will never do a
wrong-thing, to oblige any of his creatures : no, he had rather
the whole world should be damned ; yea, that even his own Son
should die : Nor will he ever communicate good to any one,
when, all things considered, it is not best and wisest. When
he first designed to create the wprld, and first laid out his whole
scheme of government, as it was easy for him to have determin
ed, that neither angels nor men should ever sin, and that misery
should never be heard of in all his dominions, so he could ea
sily have prevented bpth sin and misery. Why did he not ?—
Surely, not for want of goodness in his nature ; for that is infi
nite : — not from any thing like cruelty ; for there is no such thing
in him : — ^not for want of a suitable regard to the happiness of
his creatures ; for that he always has : But it was because, in
his infinite wlsdom,he did not think it best in the whole. It was
not because he had not sufficient power to preserve angels and
men all holy and happy ; for it is certain he had :— it was not be-

38 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
cause preventing grace would have been incpnsistent with theip
being free agents ; for it would not : — it was not because he did
pot thoroughly,Consider,and weigh the thing with aU its conse-
quences ; for it is certain he did : But, upon the whole, all
things -cpnsidered, he judged it best to permit the angels to sin
^nd man to fall ; and so let misery enter into his dominions.
It did not come to pass accidentally and unawares, and contrary
to what God had everthought of or intended ; because it i&cer-
tain that he knew all things from the beginning ; and it is certain
that, in an affair of such a nature, and of such consequence, he
could not stand by as an idle,,unconcerned spectator, that cares
not which way things go. There is no doubt^ therefore, but
that, all things considered^ he thought it best to permit things to
come to pass just as they did : And, if he thought it best, it was
best ; for his understanding is infinite — ^his wisdom unerring,
and so he can never be mistaken. But why was it best? What
could he have in view preferable to the happiness of his crea
tures ? And if their happiness was to him above aU things most
dear, how could he bear the. thoughts of their ever, any of them,
being miserable ? — Why, it is certain he thought it best ; and
therefore it is certain he had a ¦view to sometiiing else besides
merely the happiness of his creatures — tospmething pf greater
importance, and more worthy to bear a governing sway in his
mind, by which it became him to be above all things influenced,
in laying out and contriving how things should proce^^ and be
disposed in tlje world he designed to create. , .*.
Bu); what was that thing v/hich was of greater worth and im
portance, and so more worthy to bear a governing sway in his
mind, and to which he had the greatest regai-d, making all oth-
er things give way to this ? What was his ^raw^ ew^ in creating
and governing the world ? Why, look....what end'he is at last
like to obtain, when the whole scheme is finished, and the day
of judgment past, and heaven and heU filled with aU their pro
per inhabitants : And what wiU be the final result ? What will
he get by all ? Why, in all, he wiU exert and display every one
©f his perfections to the life, and so, by aU, wiU exhibit a most

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 39
perfect and exact image of himself. And now, as he is infinite
ly glorious in being what he is, therefore that scheme of conduct
which is perfectiy suited to exhibit the most lively and exact
image of him, must be infinitely glorious too : And, therefore,
this is the greatest and best thing he can aim at in aU his works ;
and this, therefore, ought to be his last end. Now, it is evi
dent that the faU of the angels and of man, together with aU
those things which have and will come to pass in consequence
thereof, and occasioned thereby, from the beginning of the world
to the day of judgment, and throughout eternity, will serve to
give a much more lively and perfect representation of God, than
could possibly have been exhibited, had there never been any
sin or misery. The holiness and justice — the goodness, mercy,
and grace of God shine much more brightly : They have been
displayed with an astonishing lustre and glory in the death of
Christ, and wiU be displayed forever in heaven and in hell, as
they could not have been, had not sin and misery ever been per
mitted to enter into God's world : Indeed, if, in the nature of
things, it had been wrong for God to have permitted any of his
creatures to sin, and then to punish them for it — if God had
been bound in duty, or in goodness, to keep them from sin, or
to save them when they had sinned, then the case had been oth
erwise : But since, in the nature of things, it was fit he should
be at liberty, and act according to his own discretion ; and since
the end he had in view was so noble and godlike, his conduct
in this affair was infinitely right, fit and becoming, and so infi
nitely glorious. Certainly God thought it was so, or he would
not have done as he did ; and therefore, if we view things as
Gpd did, and have a temper and frame pf heart like untp his,
we shall think sp too : And, as I saiid before, it is horrid pride
and impudence for us to pretend to know better than die infinite
ly wise God, and infinite wickedness for us to pretend to find
fault with his conduct....i?OOT. ix. 19 — ^23.* Thus, if he had
• Obj  But surely it could not be consistent with the divine goodnes?,
from all eternity, to decree the everlasting misery of his creatures. Ass.
G

40 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
aimed merely at the happiness of his creatures, he could easily
have so ordered tiiat Pharaoh should wiUingly have let Israel
go, and he could have led Israel in less than forty days to die
promised land, and put them into an immediate possession!
but there was something else which he had a greater regard to ;
and therefore Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and aU his won-
ders are wrought in the land of Egypt. The tribes of Israel
march to the borders of the Red-Sea.. ..the sea parts....Israel
goes through, but the Egyptians are drowned. And now Is
rael is tempted and tried, and they sin and rebel, and so are
doomed to wander forty years in the wilderness, and to have
their carcases fall there. And why was all this ? Why, because
his design was to display all his perfections, and fill the whole
earth with his glory. .. Exod. ix. 16' — Numb.±iv. 21. Andnow^ ,
because it is the most noble thing that God can have in view,
to act forth all his perfections to the life, and so exhibit the most
exact representation of himself in his works ; therefore, it is in
finitely fit he should make this his last end, and aU other thin^
subservient ; and his conduct in so doing is infinitely beauti
ful and glorious. Thus we see how the goodness of God is dis.
played in his government ofthe world, and see that it is an un-
bounded, rich, free goodness ; and that aU tiie exercises of it
are sovereign, and under the direction of his infinite wisdom :
so that God is infinitely glorious on the account of this perfec
tion of his na.t\xre....Exod. xxxiii. 19. & xxxiv. 5, 6, 7.— Rom.
ix — Eph. L 1 — 12.
(7) His unchangeable truth and faithfulness are also discov
ered in his government ofthe world ; and thatin the fulfilment
of his promises, and the execution of his threatenings. Did he
Ass.. ..God has in fact permitted sin to enter into the world— does in
fact permit many to die in their sins— will in fact punish them forever ;
and a// consistent with the infinite goodness of his nature, as every one
must acknowledge._ And since it is consistent with his goodness to do as
he does,Vi was consistent with his goodness, to determine with himself be-
forehand to do ™ . ...What God, from, eternity, decreed to do, that God, i»
tzme, will do : therefore, if all God's conduct be holy, just and good, so
also are all his decrees ,¦ unless we can suppose it to be wrong for tlie in£-
nitely wise God, from all eternity, to determine upon a conduct in all res
pects right : than which nothing can be more absurd.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 41
promise to be Abraham's God ? So he was. Did he promise
to give the land of Canaan to his seed for an inheritance ? So
he did. Did he promise to send his Son into the world, and to
set him up a kingdom upon earth ? Even so he has done : And
he is in Uke manner true and faithful to all his promises, which
he has made to his people. And did he threaten to drown the
old world... .to make Israel wander forty years in the wilder
ness... .to deliver tiiem into the hands of their enemies, at what
time soever they should forsake him, and go and serve other
gods, and, finally, to send them captives into Babylon for sev
enty years ? Even, so he has done. God's word may always
be depended upon ; for what he designs, that he says ; and what
he says, that he wiU do. And tiiis is another of the glorious
perfections of his nature.
Thus aU the perfections of God, are discPvered. in his gov
ernment of the world. .By his conduct we may see what he is,
and leam. the very temper of his heart. And now, I might go
through his other works... .his redeeming, justifying, sanctify
ing siimers, and bringing them to eternal glory at last,and shew
how his glorious perfections shine forth in them.. But I have
already hinted at some of these things, and shall have occasion
afterwards to view the divine perfections shining forth in. these
works of God, when I come to consider the nature of the gos
pel. Sufficient has been said to answer my present purpose j
and, therefore,for brevity's sake, I will proceed no further here.
Thus, then, we see how the perfections of God are manifested
in his works.
Secondly. The same representation is made of God in his
WORD : Fpr these great works of God... .his creating, preserv
ing and governing the world..,. .his redeeming, sanctifying and
saving sinners, are the subject-matter of all the Bible. God, in
his works, acts out his perfections, and, in his word, lays the
whole before our eyes in writing. Therein he has told us what
he has done, and what he inten(ls to do ; and so has delineated
his glorious perfections in the plainest manner. In his xuord,
God has revealed himself to the children of men,.,. has manifest-

42 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ed and shewn what he is. But how ? Why, by declaring and
holding forth his works, as that in which he has exhibited the
image of himself. Thus, the scriptures begin with an account
of God's creating die worid, and goes on throughout aU the Old
Testament, informing how he preserves and governs it ; And,
then, in the New Testament, we are informed more particularly
how he redeems, justifies, sanctifies, and saves sinners. And
now, as the actions of a man discover the temper and "Sisposi.,
tion of his heart, and shew what he is, so the works of God,
from first to last, all taken together, hold forth an exact repre-
sentation of himself. If we wiU begin with God's creating the
world, and survey aU his conduct in the light of scripture....his
conduct towards man before the fall, and after the faU.... his con
duct towards Abel and Cain, Enoch and Noah, and aU the old
world,...his conduct towards Lot and Sodom — towards ^Abra
ham, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph — to^wards the children of Is
rael, in Egypt, at the Red-Sea, in the wilderness, at Sinai, at
Massah, at Taberah, &c....and in the times of Joshua, of their
Judges, of their Kings, &c. and then come into the New
Testament, and survey his conduct with relation to the redemp
tion and salvation of sinners, and then look forward to the great
judgment-day, and see his whole scheme fiBished.;..see the re
sult, the conclusion and end of all ; look up to heaven and take
a view of that world, and look down to heU and survey the state
of things there ; from the whole we may see what God is : for,
in the whole, God exerts his nature, and, by the whole, God de
signs to exhibit an exact representation of himself. And, then,
are our apprehensions of God right, and according to truth,
when we take in that very representation which he has made of
himself : And now to account him infinitely glorious in being
what he is, and to love him ivith all our hearts, because he is
whathe is, is the very thing which the law of God requires.
And, indeed, so plain is that representation which God has
made of himself, by his works and in his word ; and he is recdhj
so infinitely glorious in being what he is, that were not mankind,
through their exceeding great depravity, entirely void of a right

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 4S
taste and relish for true beauty, they could not but be even rav
ished with the divine Being. They would naturally feel as they
do in heaven, and naturaUy speaJt tiieir language. Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord sf hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory !
....Isai. vi. 3. But such is the vile temper of sinful, apostate
creatures, that they are not only blind to the moral exceUency
of the divine nature, but are even in a stated, habitual contrari
ety to God in the frame of their hearts....i?om. viii. 7. And
hence, the manifestation wnich God has made pf himself, can
find no place in their hearts.. ..yoAre viii. 37. They cannot
attend to things of such a nature, ("verse 43. J because so disa
greeable to their taste ; for ("verse A>7._) He that is of God, hear-
eth God^s word ; ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not
of God. It is hard to bring unregenerate men so much as to
have right nptipns of what God is, because he is a Being in his
nature so contrary and disagreeable to them. They do not like
to retain God in their knowledge. ...Rom. i. 28. Men had
rather that God was anptherkind of Being, different from what
he reaUy is, and more like themselves — one that- would suit their
temper, and serve their interest : and, therefore, they frame
such an one in their own fancy, and then fall down and worship
the false image which they have set up. From hence it is, that
all those false notions of God have taken their rise, which have
always filled the world. But were men brought to have right
notions of what God is, and to take in that very representation
which he has made of himself, by his works and in his word ; yet
they would be so far from accounting him infinitely glorious in
being what he is, that they would see no form or comeliness in
him wherefore they should desire him : but would feel the like
malignant spirit towards him as the Jews did towards their pro
phets, and towards Christ and his apostles, only in a worse de
gree. The same temper which caused the exercise of such en
mity towards their prophets, and towards Christ and his apos-
ties, would have caused as great or greater towards God him
self, had they but had right notions of him. And the clearer
fipprehension a sinner has of God, the more will his enmity ex-

44 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ert itself ; because a sinful nature and a holy nature are dia-
metrically opposite to each other : And, therefore, the clearest
external revelation of God cannot bring sinners to love him.— •
AU the world will see just what kind of Being he is at the day
of judgment, and that in a very plain and clear manner : But
^et they whose nature it is to hate him for being what he is, wiU
hate him still ; yea, hate him more than ever : And, therefore,
besides, the external revelation which God has made of himself,
by his works and in his word, there is an absolute necessity that
he should internaUy reveal himself in his glory to the heart of a
sinner, in order to beget divine Ipve there : Which brings me
to add,
Thirdly. God reveals his infinite glory in being -what he is in
the hearts of sinners, by his holy spirit.. ..TKai'. xi. 25,27. By
his works and in his word he has revealed what he is, and that
in a manner sufficiently plain — even so plainly that there is no
need at aU of any further objective revelation ; and he is really
infinitely glorious in being what he is : Now, therefore, if we
would rightly attend to that revelation which God has made of
himself, we could nbt but have right apprehensions of him; and
if we had a good taste for true beauty, we could not but be rav
ished with his glory : but we are naturaUy disinclined to right
apprehensions of God, and are entirely destitute of a true taste
for moral beauty : And hence we may learn what kind of in
ward illumination we stand in need of from the spirit of God,
We do not need the holy spirit to reveal any neiu truths concern-
ing God, not already revealed; for the external revelation which
he has made of himself, is sufficiently full : — we do not need to
have die holy spirit immediately reveal aU these truths con
cerning God over again to us, by way of objective revelation, or
immediate inspiration ; because the external revelation already
made is sufficiently plain : We only need (1) to be effectually
awakened, to attend to those manifestations which he has made
of himself in his works and word, that we may see what he is :
And (2) to have a spiritual taste imparted to us, by die imme
diate influence of the Holy Ghost, that we may have a sense of

distinguished FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 45
his infinite glory in being such .- For these two will lay an effec
tual foimdation in our hearts for that love which the taw re
quires. By the common inflences of the spirit, we may be awa
kened to a realizing sight and sense of what God is; and, by the
special and sanctifying influences of the spirit, we may receive a
sense pfhis infinite ^/orj/ in being such: Andalsothe sense of his
glory wUl naturally cause us to see more clearly what God /* .*
for a sense of the moral exceUency of the divine nature fixes' our
thoughts on God ; and the more our thoughts are fixed, the
more distinctiy we see what he is : And while we see him to be
what he is, and see his infinite glory in being such, hereby a di
vine love is naturally enkindled in our hearts. And thus. He
that commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines in our
hearts, and gives us the light of the knowledge ofthe glory of
God : And so we all, with open face, behold, as in a glass, the
glory of the Lord, and are changed into the same image. ..II Cor.
iii. 18. and iv. 6. A sight of the moral exceUency of the di
vine nature makes God appear infinitely glorious in every res
pect. Those things in God, which before appeared exceeding
dreadfld, now appear unspeakably glorious : His sovereignty ap
pears glorious, because now we see he is fit to be a sovereign,
and that it is fit and right he should do what he will with his
own : His justice appears glorious, because now we see tiie in
finite evU of sin ; and a consideration of his infinite understand
ing and almighty power enhances his glory : And while we view
what he is, and see his greatness and glory, and consider his
original, entire, underived right tp all things, we begin to see
why he assumes the chai-acter of most high God, supreme Lord,
and sovereign Governor of the whole world ; and we resign the
throne to him, and take our places, and become his willing sub
jects ; and our hearts are framed to love him, and fear him, and
trust in him through Jesus Christ ; and we give up oursehes
to him, to walk in all his ways and keep till his commands, seek
ing his glory : And thus a sight and sense ofthe infinite digni
ty, greatness, glory and exceUency ofthe most high God, lays
the first foundation for a divine love. God's being what he is.

46 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Is the primary reason that he requires us to love him with all our
hearts ; and it is the first motive of a genuine love.
I might now pass on to considerthe additional obligations we^
are under to love God ; but that it may be profitable to stop a
while, and a little consider the nature and properties of this^r*f
and greatest and most fundamental obligation ; and take a view
of some important consequences necessarily following therefrom.
And here,
1. This obligation is binding antecedently to any considera
tion of advantage or disadvantage — of rewards or punishments ;
and even prior to any consideration of the positive will and Icntf
of God himself .
2. It is infinitely binding.
3. It is eternally binding.
4. It is unchangeably binding.
5. It is thatfroni which aU of Aer obligations originally derive
their binding nature.
1. This obligation which we are under, to love God with all
our hearts, resulting from the infinite exceUency of the divine
nature, is binding antecedently to any consideration of advantage
or disadvantage — of rewards or punishments, or even of the pos
itive will and law of God himself . Tp Ipve God -with all our
hearts naturally tends to make us happy ; and the -contrary to
make us miserable ; and there are glorious rewards promised
on the one hand, and dreadful punishments threatened on the
other ; and God, as Governor of the world, has, with all his au
thority, by his law, expressly required us to love him with aU
our hearts, and forbidden the contrary ; and all these things arc
binding ; but yet the infinite excellency of the divine nature
lays us under honds prior to any consideration of these things;
So that if our interest did not at all lie at stake, and if there had
-never been any express law in the case, yet it would be right,
and our indisp^sable duty, to love God with aU our hearts 
His being infinitely lovely in himself, makes it our duty to love
him ; for he is, in himself, worthy of our highest esteem : Ho
deserves it ; it is, in the nature of things, his due : and that an-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITSi 47
tccedcnt to any selfish consideration, or any express law in the
case. To suppose the contrary, is to deny the infinite amiable
ness of the divine nature, and to take away the very foundation
of the law itself, and the very reaspn of all rewards and punish
ments : For if our supreme love is not due to God, then he is
not infinitely lovely ; and if he does not deserve to be loved
with all our hearts, why does he require it ? And if, in the na
ture of tilings, it is not right and fit that we should love him,
and, the contrary, unfit and wrong, what grounds are there for
rewards or punishments ? So that it is evident, the infinite ex
ceUency of the divine nature binds us, and makes it our duty,
antecedent to any consideratioa of advantage or disadvantage,
rewards or punishments, or even of the positive will and law pf
God, to love God with all our hearts ; and therefore our love
must primarily take its rise from a sense of this infinite excel
lency of the divine nature, as has been before observed ; and that
seeming love, which arises merely from selfish considerations,
from the fear of punishment or hope ofreward, or because the
law requires it, and so it is a duty and must be done, is not gen
uine ; but is a selfish, a mercenary, and a forced thing. How
evidently, therefore, do those discover their hypocrisy, who are
wont to talk after the following manner : — " If I am elected, I
" shaU be saved, let me do what I will ; and if I am not elect-
" ed, I shaU be damned, let me do what I can : and therefore it
"is no matter how I live." And again after this sort...." If I
" knew certainly that God had made no promises to the duties
." of the unregenerate, as some pretend, I would never do any
" more in religion." Surely, they had as good say that they
have no regard at all to the infinite exceUency of the divine na
ture, but are entirely influenced by selfish and mercenary mo
tives in all they do : They do not seem to understand that the \"
are under infinite obligations to love God with all their hearts,
and obey him in every thing, resulting from God's being what
he is, and that antecedent to all selfish considerations ; — svwh
know not God.. ..I. John, iii, 6. H

48 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
2. This obUgation, resulting from the intrinsic exceUency
and amiableness ofthe divine nature, is infinitely binding,^ be
cause this excellency and amiableness is in itself infinite. Our
obligation arises from his desert; buthejnfinitely deserves our
love, because he is infinitely lovely. When any person is love
ly and honorable, reason teaches us that we ought to love and
honor him, and that it is wrong to dislike and despise him :
And the more lovely and honorable, the greater is our obUgation
to love and honor him .; and the more aggravatedly vile is it toi
treat him with contempt. Since, therefore, God is a Being of
infinite dignity, greatness, glory and excellency, hence we are
under an infinite obligation to love him with all our hearts ; and
it is infinitely wrong not to do so : Since he is infinitely worthy
to be honored and obeyed by us, therefore we are under an in
finite obligation to honor and obey him ; and that with aU our
heart and soul, and mind and strength. Hence,
[l.j Perfect love and perfect obedience deserve no thanks at
his hands. If we perfectly love him, even with all our hearts,
and give up ourselves entirely and forever to him, tP do his
will and seek his glory, and so cordially delight in him as to take
up our full and everlasting contentment in him ; yet, in all this,
we do but our duty, and we do no more than what we are un
der an infinite obligation to do ; and, therefore, we deserve no
th&nk.s...,Luke xvii. 9, 10. — Yea, we do nothing but that in
v/hich consists our highest perfection, glory, and blessedness .;
and, therefore, instead of deserving thanks, we ought to ac
count it an exceeding great privilege that we may thus love the
Lord, live to him, and live upon him....Psa/m xix. 10.
When, therefore, eternal life was promised in the firsi cove
nant as the reward of perfect obedience, it was not under the
notion of any thing being meritei^,- nor did it ever enter into
the hearts of the angels in heaven to imagine they merited any
thing by all their love and service ; for, frpra tiieir very hearts,
they all join to say. Worthy art thou, 0 Lord, to receive glory,
and honor, and praise forever. And they deserve no thanks for
their doing so, for they but own the very truth.

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 49
When, therefpre, sinful men, pppr, heU-deserving creatures,
think it much that they should love and serve God so weU, and
take sp great psuns in religion ;, and are ready to tiiink that God
and man ought highly to value them for their sp.dping, and are
always teUing Gpd and man how mighty good they are ;. as he,
Jjuke xviii. 11, 12.-..Go(/, / thank thee, lam not as other men
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican ; —
no, far from this, I am one of the best men in all the world — /
fast twice in the week.... I give tythes ofallthat I possess. . This
appeared to him such a mighty thing, that he thought it quite
worth whUe to teU God himself of it. Now, I say, when this
is men's temper, it is a sign they neither know God, nor love
him 1 for, if they did, they could not set so high a price upon
their duties, since he is so infinitely deserving ; The plain truth
is, such have intolerable mean^thoughts of God, and intolerable
high thoughts of themselves- — they are brim-fuU of spiritual
pride and self-righteousness ;, and such are exceedingly hateful
in the sight of God. They impUcitly say that God is not infi
nitely glorious, and infinitely worthy ofall love and honor-— he
does not deserve it„.it is not his due ; but rather he is behold
en to his creatures for it, and ought to render them, many thanks
for their love and service.. The language of their hearts is,
God has so little loveliness tliat it is mu.ch to love him : Like a
bad mother-in-law, who thinks it nothing to toil for her own
chUdren, because she loves them ; but grudges every step she
takes for the rest, and thinks every little a great deal, because
she cares not fpr them : So, such men think it nothing tP rise
early and sit up late, tP get the world....to get riches, honor
and pleasure ; for they love themselves : but think it much to
take the tenth part pf the pains in religipn ; because they love
not God. Tlieir whole frame of mind casts infinite contempt
uppn the glorious majesty of heaven, to whom all honor is in
finitely due, and in whose service all the hosts of heaven ac
count themselves perfectly blessed : They feel as if they de
served to be paid for aU.

50 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
True, there are glorious rewards promised in the law and
in the gospel : But why ? and upon what grounds ? A man
may be said to be rewarded in three different senses. (1.)
When he receives what he strictly deserves, as an hireling re
ceives his wages at night. But, in this sense, the angels in heav
en are not capable of a reward : fpr, in strict justice, they de
serve nothing....XM^e xvii. 9, 10— Rom. xi. 35. They are no
hirelings, for God has a natural, original, underived right to
them, as much as he has to the sun, moon and stars ; and,
these, therefore, deserve to be paid for their shining, as much
as the angels do for their working. Besides, if the angels do
love God, it is no more than he infinitely deserves. And far
ther, the services of angels do not profit God, and so lay him
under no obligations, any more than the birds profit the rising
sun by their morning-songs, and so lay the sun under obliga
tions to shine all day. Job xxii. 2, 3.... Can a man be profitable
unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is
it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous P or is
it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect ? And yet,
even in this gross sense, self-righteous persons feel, at heart, as
if they deserved a reward for their good duties ; though per-
hapsi they are not willing to own it. Hence, they are so apt to
think it would be very hard, unjust and cruel, if God should
damn them for their past sins, notwithstanding all their good
dutie=. Isa. Iviii. 3. ...Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and
thou seest not ? But, (2.) A man may be said to be rewarded,
when, although, in strict justice, he deserves nothing ; yet he re
ceives great favors at the hands of God, in testimomj ofthe divine
approbation of his person and services : And thus, the angels
in heaven, though they deserve nothing, yet have eternal life
bestowed upon them, as a reward to their perfect obedience, in
testimony ofthe divine approbation. God rewards them, not
because they do him any good, nor because they deserve any
thing at his hands ; but because he infinitely loves righteousness,
and to appear as an infinite friend to tliis, in his public conduct,
as moral Governor of the world. The most that can be said

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 51
©f the hpliest angel in heaven, is, that he is fit tobejipproved
in the sight of GocJ, because he is perfectly such as God re
quires him to be. And now, because God loves to put honor
upon virtue, and to exercise the infinite bountifulness of his
nature, therefore he gives them the reward of eternal life.
And thus God prpmises us eternal life, uppn condition of per
fect obedience, in the first covenant : as if God had said, " If
" you wiU love me with all your heart, and obey me in every
" thing, as you are bound in duty to do ; then, although you wiU
" deserve nothing, yet, as becomes a holy and good God.. ..a
" kind and bountiful Governor, I wiU make you everlastingly
" blessed in the enjoyment of myself ; and that in testimony
" of my approbation of your perfect and steady fidelity." And
so, by covenant and promise, this reward would have been due,
had the condition been performed. Hence, that in Rom. iv. 4
....Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace^
butofnzBT. And now here self-righteous persons are wont
to come in with their works, and insist upon their right, and
plead the reason of things, as well as the promise. " If we do
" (say they) as well as we can, which is all that God does or
" can in justice require of us, surely he will accept of us — it
" would be cruel to cast us off — ^his goodness and faithfulness are
" engaged for us :" Just as if they had now made full amends
for aU their past sins, by their repentance and reformation ; and
grown to be as gopd as angels, by taking some little pains in
religion ! For the best angel in heaven does not pretend to any
other title to blessedness than this ; namely, that he has done
as well as he can, and that this is all that God has required, and
although he is an unprofitable servant, yet he depends upon the
prpmise, the goodness and faithfulness of his bountiful Creator.
Indeed, self-righteous persons may pretend to expect all for
Christ's sake ; and say, that what they do, only entitles them
to an interest in him ; but it is all mere pretence ; for still they
think that God is bound to give them an interest in Christ and
eternal life, if they do as well as they can ; and would think
God dealt very hardly with them, if he did not : So that their

52 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
real dependance, at bottpm, is upon their own goodness, their
own worth or wortiiiness, to make amends for past sins, and
recommend them to God, and entitie them to aU things ; the
infinite absurdity of which wiU be evident presentiy. Again,
(3.) A man may be said to be rewarded, when he neither de
serves any thing, nor is it fitting that his person and conduct,
considered merely as they are in themselves, should be approv
ed ; but ought to be condemned, according to reason, and ac
cording to God's righteoiis law, they being so sinfully defec
tive ; nevertheless, such a man may be said to be rewarded,
when, merely on the account of his interest in the righteousness
snd worthiness of Christ, his person and performances are
accepted, and peculiar favors shewn him. And in this way
are beUevers accepted, according to the covenant of grace, and
entitied to the reward of eternal life : Phil. iii. 8, 9 — Eph. i. 6
 I Pet. ii, 5. Now, those who look for a reward in this way,
will be so far from thinking it much, which they have done for
God, that they wiU forever set all down for nothing, and worse
than nothing,* their best duties being sp sinfully defective ; and
judge themselves worthy of heU every day, and every moment :
And all their dependance will be on Christ's worthiness, and
the free grace of God through him : Luke xviii. 13 — Rom. iii.
24. And all that is said in the New Testament about God's
rewarding the believer's good works, being viewed in this light,
gives not the least countenance to a self-righteous spirit, but
* Worsethannothing.. ..tJoTS. I do not mean, that an imperfect, and very
defective conformity to the law is worse, and more odious in God's sight,
than no conformity at all ; but only, that there is more odiousness than
ainiablencss in such defective services : and that, therefore, we are, in the
sight of God, on their account, more proper objects of hatred and punish
ment, than oflove and reward, if considered inerely as in ourselves, with
out any respect to our relation to Christ : so that, in point of recommend
ing ourselves to God, we do, by our best duties, thus considered, rather dis
commend ourselves in his sight. ...and, in this sense, they are worse than
nothing : they are even so far from paying our constant dues, that, in the
sight of God, they constantly run us into debt. We are infinitely to blame
in our best frames and best duties, and have not any thing in them, which
tends, in God's sight, in the least degree, to counterbalance our blame. —
But if any are desirous to see this point fully explained and proved, and
all objections answered, I refer them to Mr. Edwards's excellent discourse
on justification by faith alone.

distinguished from all counterfeits. 53
militates direcdy against it : And, indeed, if we were as per
fect as the angels in heaven, it appears, from what has been
said, that we should deserve no thanks. It is impudent, tiiere-
fore, and wicked — it is contemptuous — and, in a sort, blasphe
mous, and most God-provoking, for a proud, conceited
Pharisee, to feel as he does in his self-righteous frames. —
And God might expostulate with such an one in this man
ner : " What, is there so little lovelines in me ? And is it so
" great, so hard, so self-denying, to love me, that you think it
" such a mighty thing ! and expect now, that all past sins shaU
" be forgiven, and my favor secured, for this good frame ! yea,
" and that I shall give you heaven into the bargain ? What, are
"your obligations to me so small, that I must be so much be-
''holden to you for your love ? What, did you never hear that I
" was the Lord ! and that it was I that stretched abroad the heav-
" ens ! and that you are my clay, whom I formed and fashion-
"ed for myself ?-^-Begone, thou impudent wretch, to hell, thy
^'proper place: thou art a despiser of my glorious majesty,
" and your frame of spirit savors of blasphemy : Know it, I am
" not so mean as you imagine, nor at all beholden to you for
"your love." And this is one reason that \he sacrifice ofthe
wicked is such an abomination to the Lord; not only when they
pray with a view to recommend themselves to their feUow-men,
but also when, in doing their best, they only design to ingratiate
themselves with God. Prov. xxL 27. ...The sacrifice of the
wicked is abomination (even his very best) : how much more
zvhen he bringeth it with a xvicked mind ? The infinite great
ness, glory and excellency of God, and the infinite obligatioa
thence resulting which we are under to love him with all oiu"
hearts, and obey him in every thing, renders a self-righteous
spirit unspeakably odious, and infinitely provoking in the eyes
of a holy God. But this will appear still plainer under the next
particular. To proceed, therefore,
[2.] If we are under an infinite obligation to love -God su-
' ' premely, live to him ultimately, and take everlasting delight in
I I him, because of his infinite glory and excellency, then the least

54 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
disposition to disesteem hlm....to be indifferent about his inter
est and honor, or to disrelish communion with him ; or the least
disposition to love ourselves more than God, and be more con
cerned about our interest and honor than about his, and to be
pleased and delighted in the things of the worid, more tiian in
him, OTMSf, consequently, be ii finitely sinful,* as is self-evident
When, therefore, the great Governor ofthe world threatens
eternal damnation for the least sin, (as in Gal. iii. 10.) he does
the thing that is perfectly right ; for an infinite evil deserves
an infinite punishment.
Hence, also, it is no wonder that the hoUest saint on earth
mourns so bitterly, and loaths and abhors himself so exceeding
ly for the remaining corruptions of his heart ; for, if the least dis
position to depart from God and disrelish communion with him,
and to be careless about his honor and interest, is infinitely sin
ful, then the best men that ever lived have infinite reason al
ways to lie as in the dust, and have their hearts broken. Al
though it be so with them, that aU which the world calls good
and great, appears as dross to them ; and it is nothing to them
to part with friends and estate, honor and ease, and aU, for
Christ ; and although they have actually suffered the loss ofall
things, and do count them but dung, not worth mourning about,
or repining after ; yet, notwithstanding all these attainments,
attended with the fullest assurance of eternal glory in the world
to come, they have infinite reason to do as tiiey do.. ..to dislike
themselves. ...to hate themselves, and lie down in the dastaUin,
tears, because still there is such a remaining disposition in their
hearts to disesteem the Lord of glory... .to neglect his interest,
and depart from him ; and because they are so far from being
what they ought to be, notwithstanding the obligations lying up-
* The least sin may be an infinite evil, because of the infinite obligatio*
w-e are under to do otherwise, and yet all sins not be equally heinous:
for there is as great a..difference among infinites, as among finites ; I mean,
among things that are infinite only in one respect : For instance, to be
' for ever in hell is an infinite evil, in respect of the duration j but yet the
damned are not all equally miserable. Some may be an hundred times JS
iiiiserable as others, in degree ; although the misery of all ie equal in p"'"*-
«f duration.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 55
on them are infinite. Oh ! this is infinitely vile and abomina
ble, and they have reason indeed, therefore, always to loathe and
abhor themselves, and repent in dust and ashes ; yea, tiiey are
infinitely to blame for not being- more humble and penitent. —
A sight and sense of these things made Job lie down in the dust
and mourn so bitterly for his impatience under his past afflic
tions, though he had been the most patient man in the world....
Job xlii. 5, 6. Tills made the psalmist call" himself a beast 
Psalm Ixxiii. 22. And hence, Paul called himself the chitf of
sinners, and cried out, / am carnal, sold under sin ; 0 wretched
man that lam ! And hated to commend himself -when the Co
rinthians drove him to it, and seemed to blush at every sentence,
and, in a sort, recalled his words — I am not a whit behind the
very chief of the apostles, yet I am nothing  / labored more
abundantly than they all, yet not I. Such a sight of things kills
a self-righteous spirit at root, in the most exalted saint ; for he
has nothing (all things considered) to make a righteousness of,
but, in strict justice, merits eternal damnation every hour, and
does nothing to make the least amends.
For, if perfect obedience merits no thanks, as was before ob
served ; and if the least sin is an infinite evil, and desen'es an
infinite punishment, as we have now seen, then a whole eterni
ty of perfect obedience would do just nothing towards m-aking
the least amends for the smallest sin ; much less will the best
services ofthe highest saint on earth : And, consequently, when
Paul came to die, he deserved to be damned (considered mere
ly as in himself), as much as when he was a bloody persecutor,
breathing out threatenings and slaughter ; yea, and a great deal
more too : for aU his diligence and zeal in the service of Christ
did just nothing towards making the least amends for what was
past ; and his daily short-comings and sinful defects run him
daily infinitely more and more into debt, which he did nothing
to counterbalance : And hence, Paul accounts himself to be
nothing (II Cor. xii, 11.), as well he might ; and all his attain
ments to be, in a sense, not worth remembering (PA//, ii^. 13.)
and looksupqn himself the chief of sinner.', (I Tim.i. 15.), aa4

56 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
less than the least of all saints (Eph. iii. 8.), and durst venture
his soul upon nothingbut mere free grace through Jesus Christ.,..
Phil. iii. 8, 9- And thus it is with every believer, even the
most holy, although he daily sees what a God he has sinned
against— how he has sinned against him, and does, from a gra-
cious respect to God, mourn for sin, for aU sin, as the greatest
evil, and sincerely turns from aUtothe L^ord, and gives up him
self to God, to love him and live to him forever ; yet he feels
that all this makes 720 amends at aU for liis sins, but that he real-
ly deserves to be damned for them as much as ever ; yea, he
feels that he is infinitely blame-worthy for not being more hum
ble and penitent and self-abhorring, and that his desert of
damnation is infinitely increasing continuaUy : And hence, he
looks upon the grace that saves him as absolutely and divinely
free, and infinitely great ; and always derives all his hopes of
happiness from the free grace of God through Jesus Christ—
And this is what the apostie me^ns when he speaks of his living
by the faith ofthe son of ¦God....G&\. ii. 20....of his rejoicing in
Christ Jesus, and having no. confidence in theflesh.. ..Fhil. iii. 3.
And this was the cause of his so earnestly longing to be found
not in himself, but in Christ.. ..not having on his own righteous
ness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith. ...Fhi\. iii. 8, 9.
How directly contrary to all this is the temper of the blind, con
ceited Pharisee, as expressed by Maimonides, the Jew, who
was professedly one of that sect ? " Every man," says he, " hath
**• his sins, and every man his merits : and he that hath more
" merits than sins, is a just man ; but he that hath more sins
" than merits, is a wicked man." And this is the way of such
men — they put their sins, as it were, into one scale, and their
good duties into the other ; and when they fancy their goodness
outweighs their badness, then they look upon themselves in the
favor of God. But to return.
From what has been said, we may leam, that the more sensi
ble any man is ofthe infinite glory and excellency of God, and
of his infinite obligations thence resulting to love God with all
his heart, and obey him in every thing, the clearer wiU he see

distinguished FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 57
that perfect obedience deserves no thanks, and that the least
sin is an infinite evil and deserves an infinite punishment ; and
so he will renounce his own righteousness, die to himself, and
come down to nothing, more and more ; and so wiU be propor-
tionably more and more sensible of his absolute need of Christ
and free grace : And hence, the more holy a man grows^ the
more humble will he be. And, pn the contrary, the mone insen
sible a man is of God's infinite glory and excellency, and of his '
obligations thence residting, the more wiU he value his duties,
and.the less evil will he see in sin, and the less sensible will he
be of his ill desert, and of his need, of Christ and free grace. —
And hence, a self-righteous, impenitent, Christ-despising spir
it reigns in aU who know not God : And thus we see some ofthe
consequences necessarily foUowing from that infinite obligatipn
to love God with all our hearts which we are under^ resulting
from the infinite glory and exceUency of the divine nature. —
But to pass on,
3. This obUgation we are under to love God with, all our
hearts, arising from his infinite glory and excellency, is, in the
nature of things, eternally binding.. God, his being, perfections,
and glory will be eternal v God will always be infinitely amia
ble — always as amiable as he is now ; and there will be always,,
therefore, the same reason that he should be loved, for being
what he is ; even the very same reason that there is now : This
obligation is therefore perpetually binding amidst all the chan
ges of this life. Whether we are sick or well, in prosperity or
in adversity ; whether we are raised to lionor with David, or
live in affluence with Solomon j or whether we are in prison
with Joseph, or on the dung-hill with Job, or Pandering about
in sheep-skins and goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, tormented,
with those mentioned in the eleventh to the Hebrews, still this
obUgation upon us to love God, is invariably the same : For God
is always infinitely amiable in himself ; yea, and always will be
so, whether we are in the earth, or in heaven, or in hell : And
therefore it always is, and always wiU be, our indispensible
duty to love him with all our hearts, let what will becpme of us.

58 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
and let our circumstances, as to happiness and misery,- be what
they may.
Did our obligations to love God arise merely from a consid
eration of something else besides the eternal excellency ofthe di
vine nature — ^from something which might altogether cease in
time, then might it possibly, some time or other, cease to be our
duty to love God with aU our hearts : But assuredly it can
never cease, until God ceases to be what he is. The infinite pb-
ligation hence arising will be eternally binding : Indeed, if all
our obligations to love God did arise merely from selfish con
siderations, then, in heU, where these selfish consideratipns wiU
cease, it would cease to be a duty to love God. If I were obli-
ged to love God, only because he loves me — ^is kind to me, and
' designs to ma'ke me happy, then, when he ceases to love me,
to be kind to me, and tp intend my happiness, all my pbUga-
tipns to him would cease ; and it wotdd be no sin not to love
him : But now, since our obUgations to love Gpd arise original
ly from his being what he is in himself, antecadent to aU selfish
considerations ; therefore it will forever remain our duty to
love him, let our circumstances, as to happiness or misery, be
what they will : And not to love him with all our hearts, will
forever be infinitely wrong. Hence the guilt of the fallen an
gels has been increasing ever since their first apostacy ; and the
guilt of all the damned will be increasing to all eternity ; and
no doubt their punishment will increase in the same propor
tion. How inconceivably and infinitely dreadful, therefore,
will be their case, who are thus continually sinking deeper and
deeper in that bottomless pit of woe and misery ! And indeed,
if this be the case, hell may weU be compared, as it is in scrip
ture, to a bottomless pit.... ^ev. ix. 1. & xx. 1.
4. This obligation which we are under to love God with all
our hearts, resulting from the infinite excellency of the divine
nature, is also unchangeably binding. As unchangeable as the
divine nature is— as unalterable as the divine beauty is, even so
imchangeable, so unalterable, in the very natm-e of things, is
this our infinite obligation to love him supremely, live to him

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 59
ultimately, and delight in him superlatively. As God is infi
nitely lovely in himself, and unchangeably sp, so it is self-evi
dent we are under an infinite and invariable obUgation to love
him with all our hearts. This cannot but be always our duty.
So long as God remains what he is, this will remain our duty.
It wiU, in the nature of things, be unalterably right and fit to
love him ; and not to do so, unalterably unfit and wrong. Our
sinking down into ever so bad a temper, and getting to be ever
so remote from a disposition to love him, can no more free us
from the obligation, than it can cause him to cease being ami
able. He must cease to be amiable, before our obligation
thence arising can possibly cease to be binding. If there be
no alteration in his infinite beauty, there can possibly be no al
teration in the infinite obligation thence arising. While God
remains what he is, and while our natural powers and faculties
are maintained in being, it must continue our duty to love God
with all our hearts, and it cannot but be our duty. In the na
ture of things it is right ; and the obligation is just as incapable
of any alteration, as is the equality between twice two and four.
The fallen angels are of so bad a temper, that the very thoughts
of God will, doubtiess, sooner than any thing, stir up all their
hatred : But God deserves to be perfectly loved b}' them, as
much as he did before their apostacy. There is a great altera
tion in the temper of their minds ; but not the least shadow of
change in the divine beauty. Their having contracted so bad
and wicked a temper, cannot surely make it right and lawful
for them tP indulge it, and cpntinue in it. Their impious re
volt surely cannot free them from the authority and government
of Almighty God. He deserves their homage and subjection,
as much as ever he did : The original ground of all still re
mains ; he is still the Lord. The same may be said of fallen,
man — it is impossible that our bad temper should free us fropi
our obUgation to love God with aU our hearts. It is still, in
the nature of things, as wrong, not to love, God with all our
hearts, as ever it was, or as it would have been, had we not
joined with the fallen angels, and turned apostates. It must

60 true RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
be SO, unless our being of sp bad and wicked a temper makes it
right fpr us tP cpntinue pf such a temper, and we npt at all
blame-wprthy for acting agreeably thereto ; that is, unless our
being so very bad and wicked, makes us not at all to blame for
our badness and wickedness : And so, according to this rule,
the viler any creature grows, and the more averse to God and
to all good, the less he is to blame j which is one ofthe gros
sest absurdities in the world. Therefore,
(1.) The divine law which requires us to love God xuith alt
our hearts, considered as a rule of duty, is, in the nature of things,
tmalterable, and absolutely incapable of any abatement, more or
less. The thing required, is, in the nature of things, our duty, ,
antecedent to any Consideration of an express law in the case
— ^as that children ought to honor their parents, and neighbors
do as they would be done by, are things in themselves right,
and duties antecedent to any consideration of an express law in
the ca.se....Eph. vi. 1. These things would have been duties,
if there had never been any laws made concerning them by
God or man : Yea, they are, in their own nature, so right, that
they cannot but be our duty ; and to dishonor our parents, and
cheat, and defraud, and injure our neighbor, cannot but be
wrong : So, to love God with all our hearts is originally right
and fit, and our duty ; and would have been so, had there ne
ver have been any positive, express law in the case.
Now the grand reason why God, the great Governor of the
world, ever made a law requiring us to love him with all our
hearts, was because it was thus, in its own nature, so infinitely
fit : And now to suppose that he would repeal, or alter, or abate
this law,when the grounds and reasons of his first making of it re
main as forceable as ever — ^when the thing required is as right
and fit as ever — and when it becomes him, as Governor ofthe
world, stiU to require it as much as ever ; — I say, to suppose
such a thing, casts the highest reproach upon all his glorious
perfections : It casts the highest reflection upon his infinite ho
liness, whereby he is infinitely inclined to love right and hate
wrong ; for it supposes him to release his creatures from doing

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 61.
right, wid tP allowthem to dp wrong.. ..a little at least : It casts
die highest i-eflection upon his impartial justice, whereby he is
infinitely inclined tP give every pne his due ; fpr it supppses him
to release his creatures from giving unto God the glory which
is Ills due, imd to allow tiiem to keep back pai-t at least : It casts
the highest reflection upon his stability and truth; for it suppo
ses him to alter his law when there is np reason for it : yea, it
reflects even upon his goodness itself; for it is so far from be
ing a benefit to his creatures to have this exceUent law altered,
which is SP completely suited tP the perfection and happiness
of their nature, that it woiUd be one pf the gi-eatest and sorest
calamities which coidd happen. Like tiie altering all the gPod
laws and rules in a family, merely to humor and gratify a re
bellious child, who wiU not be governed. Such a child should
be made to conform to die wholesome laws of tiie family, and
not the laws be abated and brought down to a level witii his bad
temper and perverse humor : And, finaUy, it casts die highest
reflection upon the infinite wisdom ofthe great Governor ofthe
world ; for it supposes liim to go counter to his own honor and
to the good of his creatures, to counteract all his perfections,
and conti-adict the reason and natuu-e of things ; and that mere
ly in condescension unto, and in compliance witii the sinful,cpr-
rupt taste and incUnatiPns pf an aposfate, rebeUious, Gcd-ha-
ting world.
And now, how could the great Govempr pf die world clear
and vindicate the honor of his great name, in making any abate
ments in this law, which requires us to love him widi all our
hearts? Would he say tha.t he had before required more love thati
was liis due ? Surely, nothing can be much more blasphemous
than to suppose this, ^^'ould he say diat he decs not deserve so
much as he did ? Still it is equally blasphemous to suppose this.
"Would he sav thatfcvA- than is his due is all that is his due i
But tills would be to contradict h.imself in express terms. Or
would he openly profess to quit his right and iVcL-ly allow his
creatures to despise him a littie, and sin sometimes, in conde
scension unto and compliance with tiie conupt incUnations of

62 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
their sinfijl hearts ? But this, in the nature of things, would be
infinitely wrong and dishonorable. Upon what gi-ounds, then,
could the supreme Governor of the world go about to make
abatements in a law so holy, just and good, that only requires
us to love him with all our hearts, which, in the nature of things,
is so infinitely right and suitable ? Or upon what grounds can
we possibly desire any abatements to be made, unless we even
profess that we do not like the law..., that we are averse to lov
ing God with all our hearts., ..that it is a very tedious, self-de
nying thing to us, and what we can by no means freely come in
to ; and so, upon this footing, desire some abatements ! Or,
which is the same thing, honestly own " that we love sin so
" dearly that God must tolerate us in it, or we caimot approve
"of his government."
But, indeed, God can as easUy cease to be, as go about to li
cense and tolerate the least sin ; and he had rather Heaven and
earth should pass away, than that the least jot or tittle of his law
shoidd fail.. ..Wat. v. IS.
How can any body, therefore, once imagine that Christ came
down from heaven and died, to purchase this abatement of the
law of God, and procure this lawless liberty for his rebeUious
subjects ? What ! did he desert his Father's interest and honor,
and the honor of his law and government, and spiU his precious
blood, that he might persuade the great Governor ofthe world to
slacken the reins of government, and give out this impious li
cense to iniquity ? — Surely to suppose this, is tP make Christ a
friend to sin, and an enemy to God.
What, then, do they mean, who, in their prayers, presume to
thank God for the gracious abatements which he has made in his
law ? And what do ministers mean by teUing their people, from
the pulpit, that the law is abated, and that sincere obedience is
ALL that is now required of us ? — Indeed, if poor secure sin
ners are made tp believe that this was the great business Christ
came into the world upon, no wonder if their Impious hearts
are pleased, and if they seem to love Christ, and prize the gos
pel, and give thanks to God for this great goodness and conde-

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 63
scensipn ; fpr hereby they are deUvCred frpm that strictness in
reUgion which they hate, and a wide door is opened for them
to sin withput blame : Yea, tiiey have the cpmfort to think that
it is no sin not to love God with all their heart, with all their
spul, and with all their strength : And, generaUy, a very little
matter of religion, they think, wiU serve. And now it's good
times, and they bless themselves. But, alas ! They feed upon
the wind : A deceived heart hath turned them aside.
But, by the way, to what purpose was it for Christ to die
to purchase this abatement ? What need was there of it ? Or
what good could it do ? For, if the law really required too much,
die Governor of the world was obliged, in justice, to make spme
abatements : And so, the death of Christ in the case was per-.
fectly needless. And if the law required but ju,st enough, the
Governor of the world could not, in justice, make any abate
ments : And so Christ must have died in vain, and tptally Ipst
his end.
But, indeed, Christ never came into the world upon this de
sign ; as he expressly declares, in Mat. v. 17, 18. ...Think not
that I come to destroy the law or the prophets : lam not come to
destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law, till all be fulfilled. And this is the very thing he con
demns the Pharisees for, through aU this chapter, that they, in
effect, taught this doctrine, that the law was abated : that they
taught, that althpugh the law did forbid some external and
more gross acts of sin, yet it did not the first stirring of corrup
tion at heart, and some lesser iniquities : For instance, that
" they must not commit murder ; but that it was no harm to be
" angry without cause, and speak reproachfully, and keep a se-
" cret grudge at heart... (»erse 21 — ^26.) That they must not
" commit adultery ; but that it was no harm to have secret las-
" civious thoughts.... (t)e/-se 27 — 30.) That they must not be
" guilty of perjury ; but that there was no harm in littie petty
" oaths in common conversation.... (tierce 33 — 37.) That they
" must not hate their friends ; but there was no harm in hating
K

64 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
" their enemies ;" {verse 43 — 47.) These, and such like al
lowances, they taught, were made in the law ; and so, tiiat such
things were iiot sinfuL But our Savior condemns their doc
trine, as false and damning ; and insists upon it, that the law is
not abated, and never «haU be ; but says, it still requires us to
he perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect... .(yerse 48.) and
declares, that if our righteousness exceedethnotthe righteousness
ofthe scribes and Pharisees, (who were so much for abating the
law) W£ shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven...(yerse 20.)
so far was our blessed Savior from any design to abate the ho
ly law of God, or lessen put pbUgatipns tP a, perfect cpnformity
to it : And indeed, if Christ had died, and should die a thou
sand times, to purchase an abatement of the law, (if it be law
ful to make such a supposition) it would be to no purpose ;
for it cannot be abated, unless God ceases to be what he is :
For so long as God is infinitely lovely, we shall necessarily be
under an infinite obligation to love him with all our heart, and
with all our strength ; and it wiU necessarily be infinitely
wrong not to do so. The truth is, that God's sending ,his
Son into the world to die for the redemption of sinners, instead
of freeing us from our original natural obUgations tp keep the
law, binds us mpre strpngly so tp do ; as we shaU afterwards
see. Psalm cxix- 16Q....Thy word is true from the beginning:
And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever :
(Ver. 128.) I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be
right. (Ver. 144.) The righteousness of thy testimonies .is ev
erlasting. (Ver. 152.) Thou has founded them forever. And
therefore (ver. l&O^) Every one of them will endure forever ;
as if the Psalmist had said, "The thing required in thy law
" ¦ , in its own nature, right, everiastingly right ; and, tijere-
fore, as Goveraor of the world, thou hast by law forever set-
" tied and established it as duty— by a law never to be altered,
" but tp endure forever : And forever, therefore, wiU it en-
" dure." Obj. But is it fair and just for God to require more of his
creatures than they can do ?

" IS

DISTINGUISHED FROM AH CPUNTERFEITS. 65
Ans. What are we come tP, in this apostate wprld, that we
sannpt see it to be just and fair, in the great Governor of heav
en and earth, the infinitely glorious God, to require us, as his
creatures, so much as to love him, with all our hearts ? What !
Is this too much ? Is this more than he deserves from us ? Of
does the trutii lie here. ...that we hate him so, that we cannot
find it in our hearts to love him ; and therefore cry, " He must
" not insist upon it ; pr, if he does, he deals unjustly, and ia
" very hard with us ?" But is not this the very thing those citi
zens did, who hated their Prince, and sent after him, saying.
We will not have this man to reign over us .?.... Luke xix. 14.
These hints may serve as an answer for the present : But of
this more hereafter.
But while some are pleading, that Christ died to purchase
an abatement ofthe law, others carry the point still further, and
say that Christ died entirely to disannul it ; and that now it
wholly ceases to be a rule of life to believers : whenas one
great and declared design of Christ's coming into the world
was to recover his people to a conformity thereto : (Tit. ii. 11,
12, 13.) Oh how men love their corruptions, and hate God
and his holy law, and longto haveit cashiered and renioved out
of the world, that so they may live as they list, and yet escape
the reproaches of their consciences here, and eternal punish
ment hereafter ! But God sitteth King forever, and will assert
the rights of his crown, and maintain the hpnor of his majesty,
and the glory of his great name, and vindicate his injured law i
although it be in the eternal damnation of millions of his re
bellious subjects : Luke xix. 27. ...But those mine enemies, which
xvould not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay
them before me. And here, by the way, we may see what an
aversion men have to right thoughts of God and divine things ;
and may be convinced of the absolute necessity of a superna
tural, all-conquering light, to remo\'e these prejudices, and
make men see and believe the truth, and love, and cordially em
brace it. (John viii. 47 — I Cor. ii. 14.) A holy God does not
appear infinitely glorious and amiable to an unholy heart ; and

66 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
sinners, not seeing the grounds of loving God witii all tiieir
hearts, do upt see tiie reason pf the law ; they do npt see hpw
holy,just,andgoodthehi^.is,2^ihecarnalmindhe^nsenmltya/ainst God,is, at the same time, enmity against the to, which
is a transcript pf the divine natnre....(Rom. vni. 7.) Andhence,
sinners dp not love to beUeve either God orhislawto be what
they really are: And this temper makes them blind tp what
the scripture says, and leads them tP frame a false image pf
God, and entertain false nptions of his law, that they may have
a Ged and a law both to their own minds.
And now, as are men's notions of the law, such are their
tio\\ons of religion ; the essence of which principally consists
in a conformity to the law.
Hence, here is one ; he pleads for great abatements in the
law, and he contents himself with the mere form of religion.
He is not unjust, nor an extortioner, nor an adulterer ; but
much better than some of his neighbors : He prays in his fam
ily, goes to public worship, and attends tiie Sacrament, and
thinks himself a very good man ; like him in Luke xvui. 9, 10,
&c. But as for the doctrines relating to our natural depravity,
regeneration, conversion, faith, communion with God,aadallthe
inside of religion, he understands nothing abput them ; they
seem as strange as it did tp Nicodemus tp hear Christ discourse
about the nexv birth....Johniii. And aU the talk about thein-
ward influences of the holy spirit, in awakening, convincing,
humbling, and converting a sinner, and in enlightening, teach
ing, quickening, comforting, and sanctifying a believer, is quite
unintelligible ; for these things do not come into his notions
of religion. According to his opinion, the law is brought down
so low, that it is an easy thing to become a good man ; The
change is but smaU, and there is scarce any need of the spirit's
help ; much less any room for the exercise of sovereign grace ;
for he is so good-natured, that he can become good of his own
free will, (i. e. according to his notions of goodness,) and do
that which shall effectuaUy entitle him to tiie promises : And
thus he has the staff in his own hand. And now here is a

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 67
charming religion, perfectiy suited to the taste of an apostate
world ; for it is calculated to quiet the cpnscience, while the
heart lies outestranged frpm Gpd,anddead in sin...i?i?wj. vii. 8,9.
Especially, sp much of it as is for their credit, and apparently
serves tiieir worldly interest, wiU pretty readily and heartily be
fallen in with ; and the best have their failings. ...no man is per
fect.. ..and I endeavor to be sincere.. .iHiid the best have their
doubts  assurance is not to be attained, and such-like pleas,
help to keep their consciences secure. And now,.0 how they love
those ministers, that cry, peace, peace ! but hate those that
would search things to the bottom, and sound an alarm to se
cure sinners, and deluded hyppcrites. The same temper that
makes them hate Gpd and his law, makes them hate his min
isters tpo : And they are for another kind of God, and for
another kind of law — another kind of religion, and another
kind of ministers, that they may have all to their mind. And,
when aU is done, they are confident they are now in the right,
because they are suited : They love to have it so, and there
fore firmly believe it is so.
Hence, again, here is another, who has been mightily terri
fied, and in great distress, under a sense of the wrath of God
and the dreadfulness of damnation ; but, in the distressing hour,
he has had it repealed to him (by the spirit of Gpd, he thinks)
that his sins are forgiven ; and now he is sure of heaven, and
is ravished at the thoughts of eternal glory : he holds it a great
sin to doubt ; and all his religion consists in faith and joy, i. e.
in believing that his sins are forgiven, and rejoicing in his bles
sed and happy and safe estate, and in the expectation of future
glpry : But as for a real conformity to the law, it makes up no
part of his relig-ion. He understands rightly nothing what the
law requires.. ..he is neither sensible of his duty to God, or to
his fellow-men ; yea, he hates to hear any thing about law or du
ty : It is aU legal, he cries, and tends to kill religion, andtowound
xveak christians, and grieve and drive away the .spirit of grace ;
and no preaching suits his taste, but what consists in telling over
and commending such experiences as his, and in setting forth

68 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
the love of God and Christ to such^ and calling upon such to
believe and rejoice, Mid never doubt their state again : And, in
general, those things which tend to strengthen his confidence and
increase his joy, he esteems right and good ; and all things of
a contrary tendency he esteems -wrong and bad. This seems to
be his only criterion of right and wrong, and the only rule he
makes use of in drawing up a judgment ; but as for the law, it
is of no use with him. There is doubtless many a man that
feels and acts and lives as if the law was abated, who yet wiU
not plead for that doctrine : So, doubtless, there is many a man
that feels and acts and lives as if the law wholly ceased to be a
rule of life, who yet will not venture to say so. The force of
education, and their worldly interest and credit keep men ma
ny times from shewing what they are by an open profession :
however, secretly this temper reigns within them ; yea, some
times it breaks out into open light, in their visible conduct. —
But, as strange as it may seem, there are multitudes that not on
ly have the root of these things in their hearts, but really believe
them and openly profess and plead for them. Hence it is, on
the one hand, that the Arminian, Neonomian, and Pelagiam er
rors have taken their rise, and the Antinomian on the other. —
Wrong notions of God lie at the bottom ; and then wi-ong^ no
tions of the law ; and then -wrong notions of irHglon in general :
and all originaUy proceed and grow up out of the wrong tem
per of men's minds ; for all unregenerate men would fain have
a God, and a /fzw, and a religionto sxxit the temper of their hearts.
Micah iv, S....For all people will walk every one in the name of
fiis God.
In the mean time, the truly godly man, who sees that the ob
ligation which he is under, to love God with aU his heart, re
sulting from the exceUency ofthe divine nature, is wichangea-
ble, and that the law which requires this is unalterable, in
stead of going about to contrive a reUgion that may suit the na
tural temper of his heart, is convinced that the temper of his
heart is the very thing that must be changed : He is convinced
©f his infinite obligation to be altogether such as the law requires

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 69
him tP be, and that he is infinitely blaraeable for the least defect.
Hence, those words. The law is holy, just, and good....the law
is spiritual; but lam carnal, sold under sm .• ,0 wretched man
that I am J do exactly express the thoughts of the most exalted
saint on earth ; yea, even ofthe great Saint Paul himself.. ..i^ow.
vii. 12, 14, 24. Indeed, had St Paul thought that the law was
whplly disannuUed, pr much abated, he might then have ima
gined that he was so good as to be quite free from sin, or pret
ty near being sp, and been ready to speak the language of the
Pharisee — God, I thank thee, lam not as other men. But now,
notwithstanding all his high and wonderful attainments, yet^
when he considered what the law was which he was under, and
how V£ry far he was from being exactiy what that required, the
nativelanguageof his humble heart is, I am. carnal, sold under
sin .' Owretched man that lam .'* Anrinowthe Apostle,from
a sense of his infinite obUgations to be what the law requires,
and of his great distance from tk{is,forgets the things which are
beliixid ; and he rMn*....he xurestles„..hefights....he strives. ..he
keeps under his body. ...he lays aside every weight ; in short, he
appears like a man in a perfect agony ; so great was Ms sense
of duty, and so much had he todo : And, at the same time, from
a sense of his impotency and of his unworthinesa....of his need
ofthe redeemer and the sanctifier, it is his maxim to pray al-
ways,,axid to ask all things in the natne of Christ. Now, in his
example we have the temper which prevails more or less in ev
ery godly man exactly painted : And thus we have had pictured,
in miniature, three different sorts ofreligion, arising from three
different notions of the law. The picture is begun ; and, in the
sequel, I purpose to paint all three as near to the life as I can,
tiiat we may see what they are, and wherein they differ ^ which
* Some have thought that St. Paul had arrived so nigh to perfection, that
he could not speak these words of himself. Their mistake seems to arise
from their wrong notions of the law, to which St. Pa«/ compared himself,
and according to which he drew up his judgment. And from the same
source it seems to be, that they can think those words, {ver. 22,) applicable
to the vinTegener3.te...IdelightinthelawofGodaJterihe inward inan. 'When,
in truth, the unregenerate are, in their temper, cliametrically opposite to the
livf....Rom. viii. 7.

70 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
is right, and which is wrong  But so much for the first infer
ence, that the hnu, as a rule of duty, cannot be repealed or abated.
And now to proceed,
2. From what has been said, it is evident that the law, in its
threatenings of eternal damnation for the least sin, is equally in
capable of any repeal or abatement : for if our obUgation to love
God with all our hearts and obey him in every thing, resuhing
from the divine perfections, is infinite, eternal, and imchangea
ble ; and if, therefore, the least sin necessarily be infinitely evil,
and deserving of an infinite punishment, and unalterably so, then
the law, considered as threatening eternal damnation for the least
sin, is, in its own nature, unalterably holy and just ; and conse
quently it cannot be repealed, consistently with the holiness, jus
tice, and honor pf the greatGovernor ofthe world. If the Gov
ernor ofthe world had, in a mere arbitrary manner, made a law
that sin should be punished with etemaldamnation,thenhe might,
in a mere arbitrary manner, have repealed it : but since, in the
nature of things, ^M.vizce called for it, that such a law should be
made, therefore, so long as the grounds and reasons of the law
remain, the law cannot, injustice, be repealed.
None can deny but that the great Governor of the world has
actually made a law that sin shall be punished with eternal dam
nation ; and none can deny but that this law is to be put in ex
ecution, to the full, at and after the great judgment-day: But
if justice had not called for it, surely the infinitely good Governor
of the world would never have made such a law, much less
would he ever put it in execution : for, to make and execute
such a law, in a merely arbitt'ary, sovereign manner, when, in
the nature of tJnmgs, justice does not call for it, would be infinite
ly cruel and tyrannical, and perfectly inconsistent with the di
vine perfections, as is self-evident....See Genesis xviii. 25. and
Ezekiel xviii. 25.
But, then, if the great Governor of the world made this law
not arbitrarily, but because, in the nature of things, justice call
ed for it, then, so long as the reason and ground of the law re
main, the law itself cannot, injustice, ever be repealed. If jus-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 71
tice called for its being made, then it cannpt be un-made, con
sistently with justice, so long as tiie ground and reason of it re
main, as is self-evident. But the reaspn pf the law is, in the
nature of things, unalterable : for the reason ofthe law was the
infinite evil of sin, whereby it deserved an infinite punishment.
As long, therefore, as sin remains an infinite evil, so long must
the law stand unrepealed : but sin wUl always be an infinite evil,
so long as we are under infinite obligations to love God with all
our hearts,and obey him in every thing, which we shaU always
be, so long as God remains infinitely glorious and amiable, and
this will be forever ; therefore, this law can never possibly, con-
sistentiy with divine justice, be repealed.
For any, therefore, to desire to haVe it repealed, is to turn
enemy to the holiness, and justice, and honor ofthe supreme
Ruler ofthe world, as well as to his law and government ; and
argties that they have no regard to the rectitude and fitness of
things, but only to self-interest ; as those among men are real
enemies to the civil government who desire the good and whole
some laws thereof to be repealed : And it is upon this ground
that St. Paul concludes carnal men to be at enmity against God,
because they are enemies to his law. ...(Rom. viii. 7.) For if
men loved God, they would be disposed to love his law and
government, which express his nature.
To suppose, therefore, that the Son of God came into^ the
world and died, that the law, in its threatenings, might be re
pealed, is to suppose that he also is turned an enemy to God. ..to
his holiness and justice. ...to his law and government ; and that
he is properly gone over to be on the side of his father's rebel
lious subjects.
Besides, to what purpose would it have been (on the hyjioth-
esis of these men), for Christ to have died, that the law, in its
threatenings, might be repealed ? What need was there of it ?
or what good would it have done ? For if, injustice, it ought to
have been repealed, there was no need of his dying to procure
this ; or if, injustice, it ought not to be repealed, then his dying
could not procure it, and so would do no good. The righteous

72 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Governor of the world would have repealed it of his own ac
cord, if it had been right and fit so to dp ; and if. In the nature
of things, it was not right, then not aiiy thing whatever could
persuade him to do it
But the truth is^ Christ came into the world, and died to an
swer all the demands of tlie law ; that so, although the sinner be
saved, yet the law might never be repealed, but be firmly estab
lished : for the Governor of heaven and earth was utterly
against the law being repealed, as a thing in itself infinitely un
reasonable : And therefore the Apostle says. Do we make void
the law through faith ? God forbid! yea, we establish the law....
Rom. iii. 31- And indeed it was nothing but God's infinite
aversion to repeal the law, as a thing in itself infinitely unfit
and wrong, that was the thing which made the death of Christ
needful : for, if the law might have been repealed, sinners might
have been saved without any more ado ; but, if it could not,
and must not be repealed, then the demands of it must be an
swered by some means or other, or every sinner damned : And
now Christ stepped in and did this ; and so secured the honor
of God's holiness and justice, law and government, and open
ed a way for the sinner's salvation. And this account of the
reason of Christ's death the scriptures plainly give us : — Gal.
iii. 10, 13, 14-... .Cursed is every one that continueth not iri all
things written in th£ book ofthe law to do them. — Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse ofthe law, being made a curse for us.
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, through
Jesus Christ : For (Heb. ix. 22.) without shedding of blood
there is no remission: Therefore (Rom.m. 25,26.) Christ was
set forth to be a propitiation for sin....to declare his righteousness
....that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus : And hence (ver. 31,) Do we make void the law
through faith ^ God forbid! yea, we establish the law.
Yea, the Apostle evidently sets out upon this hypothesis, that
the law is not repealed, but stands in fuU force : He lays this
down as a first principle, in that argumentative discourse which
we have in the three first chapters of his epistle tP the Romans:

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 7$
Chap.i. ver. lS.„.The wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men . And taking
this for granted, he goes on to prove, that both Jews and Greeks
are all wider sin, and so the whole World guHty before God ; to
the 19th verse of the 3d chapter : And hence he argues, that by
the deeds ofthe law no flesh could be justified. But now, if the
law was repealed, the whple wprld was not guilty before God,
nor any one ,in the world; For sin is not imputed where there
is no /aw.. ..Rom. v. 13. And if the law was repealed, what
need was there of such a long train of arguments, to prove, that
no flesh could be justified by the law ? For it would have been
enough to have said, that a repealed law could neither justify
nor condemn any body. And why does he use such arguments
as be does ? For thus he reasons, " The law requires perfect
"pbedience as a cpndition of life, and threatens tribulation and
" wrath against every soul of man that doth evil : But Jews and
" Gentiles have all sinned : therefore are aU guilty and condemn-
" ed according to law ; and consequently cannot be cleared and
"justified by law:" For .all this reasoning supposes that the
Jaw is as much in force as ever it was : And, accordingly, he
goes on to show, that the design of Christ's death was to an
swer the demands of the law, that there might be a way open
ed for the salvation of sinners, pojisistent with divine justice,
and, at the same time, the law not be made vpid, but establish
ed ; as we have before observed. — And now tiiis being the case,
Hence, we find the scriptures every where Ipok upon those
who have npt a special interest in the rightepusnessof Christ,
by faith, as being as much under the wrath of God and curse of
the law, as if Christ had never died, John iii. 1 8....He that be
lieveth not is condemned already : Ver. 36,...The wrath of God
abideth upon him : And, Gal. iii. 10....As many as are of the
works ofthe law are under the curse : And, Rom. i. 18.. ..The
wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
Thus the wrath of God is revealed against the unbeliever ; yea,
abides upon him ; yea, the law condemns and curses him : But

74 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
if the law had been repealed by the death of Christ, aU the world
would have been freed from the curse : For a repealed law can
neither bless the righteous, nor curse the wicked ; but stands
for nothing.
And hence, also, we find that Christiess sinners, when awa
kened by the holy spirit to see and feel what a state they are in,
are always convinced that they are under the wrath of God and
curse of the law; and hereby are made to understand their
need of a Savior,.,. (i?(j?w. iii, 19, 20,) But if the law had been
repealed by the death of Christ, this could not be ; for they
would then have been binder no wrath, nor curse ; nor would
any have ever felt a spirit ofbondagCi 'as they do in every age
ofthe world, and as they used t!) do in St, Paul's day. .^. (Rom.
viii, 15.) For it is the /aw only that works wfath.... Bam. iv. 15.
And hence we shaU find, even all the world shaU find, and
thousands and thousands to their everlasting sorrow, that wheA
the day of judgment comes, the law shall be executed with the
utmost severity upon all that knoxv mot God, and obey not the
gospelof Jesus Christ.. ..(II. Thes. i« 7, 8.) And God's justice,ih
so doing, will shine bright in the sight of aU worlds ; for he de
signs, on that day, to reveal the righteousness of his judgments :
and hence it is called the day ofthe revelation of the righteous
judgment of God.. ..(Rom. ii, 5.) But if the law is repealed by
the death of Christ, and if God has told the world that he has
repealed it., ..for him now to revive it, and judge and condemn
the world by it, would be to cast contempt upon the death of
Christ, and deceive his poor creatures, and unmercifuUy and
unrighteously judge and condemn them, by a law that was re
pealed. ...a law they never were under, and so ought never to
' have been judged by. From the whole, therefore, it is evident,
, that the law that threatens eternal damnation for the least sin,
never has been, and never will be repealed.
Well, then, (if this be the case) may ministers thunder hell
and damnation against a secure, wicked world ; and well may
poor sinners tremble under a sense of divine wrath, when their
eyes begin to be opened to see where they are : for all those

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 75
coinforts that the formalist gets by thinking the law is abated
or disannulled, and so his state safe, are but the result of an er
roneous head, and a heart secure in sin. And what has been
said under this particular, will rationally account for all the ag
ony and distress of an awakened sinner. When God, the
great Governor of the world, the revenger of sin, begins to
make the poor sinner remember his ways and his doings which
have not been right, and see what a creature he is, and what a
condition he is in, and be sensible of what he deserves ; and
when he comes to understand that his soul is forfeited, and that
it is right that justice should take place, and that God is at lib
erty to do as he pleases, surely this must be heart-rending,
soul-distressing to a poor, sinful, guilty, hell-deserving creature.
And if God wiU not repeal -the law, but still insist upon it,
that it is holy and just, no wonder the sinner is made to own
At too, before ever he is pardoned : For it would be unbecom
ing the supreme Lord of the universe, to grant a pardon to a
guilty rebel, that is too high-hearted to own that the law, by
which he stands condemned, is holy and just, O how right 'it
-is, that the sinner should come down, and see, and know, and
own 'forever, that he is justly condemned, and, as such, apply
himself to the sovereign grace of God, through Jesus Christ,
for a pardon ! And O how sovereign, and free, and divine, is
that grace that pardons and saves the poor, sinful, guilty, hell-
deserving wretch, through Jesus Christ! (Rom. iii. 19,27.)
And thus as God the Father honors the law, by refusing to repeal
it, and God the Son, by answering its demands — so does God,
the Holy Ghost, by making the poor sinner see, and feel, and
own, that it is holy and j ust, before ever he internally reveals the
mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, unto him ; so that the law
is honored, and sin is embittered, and the sinner humbled, and
grace glorified, all at once : As in the external revelation God
has made in his word, the law is before the gospel ; so it is in
internal influences and operations of the hoi}- spirit upon the
elect ; and that for the same reason, that the laxv might be a
school-master, to bring men to Christ.

76 TRUE RtLIGION DELINEATED, AND
To conclude, from all that has been said, we may leam what
to think of the religion and of the hopes of these two sorts of
men. (1.) The /e^a/ Az//>omfe, who, supposing that the ^oo</
old law is repealed and laid aside, and that a new law, only re
quiring sincere obedience, is established in its room, merely from '
self-love, and for self-ehds, sets about duty and endeavors to be
sincere ; and here on this foundation builds all his hopes of ac
ceptance in the sight of God : for since the law is not repealed,
but stands in full force, therefore the religion of such is not that
thing which God requires or will accept ; and their new law is
a whim, and their hopes are all buUt on the sand : Their whole
scheme results from a total ignorance of God, and his law, and
the present state of mankind ; and is entirely built on falsehood.
(p,.") The evangelical hypocrite — aXfythose faith and joy original
ly result from a supposed discovery of the love of God, or love
of Christ, Or that his sins are pardoned. This discovery is the
foundation of his faith, and his faith is the foundation of his joy
and of aU his religion : And yet the thing discovered is a lie ;
for, as has been proved, every one, until he is a believer, until he
has acted faith, is not pardoned, but condemned — is not belov
ed of God, but under his wrath ; and, therefore, to have par
don of sin and the love of God discovered before the first act of
faith, and to have such a discovery lay the foundation for the
first act of faith, and a foundation for all religion, is to be impo
sed upon with a lie, and to have a gross falsehood lie at the
foundation of their faith.... their religion, and pf all their hopes.
The legal hypocrite may be convinced by such scriptures as
ihese....Luke xviii. 9 — lZ,.,.Rom. iii. 20 — 31. and Chapter iv.
ver. 5. ; which prove that a man cannot find acceptance with
God by his own righteousness : And the evangelical hypocrite
may be convinced by such scriptures asthese....yo/t« iii. 18, 36.
Acts iii. 19. ; which prove that a sinner is not pardoned till af
ter faith. A true sight and sense of the law would effectually
convince the one, and the other, that aU their hopes are bulk on
wrong apprehensions of things, and that aU their religion is coun
terfeit ; and that they are yet in the gall of bitterness and bonds

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 77
of iniquity : and the pne would no longer venture his soul on
his own righteousness, nor the other on his discovery. The law's
insisting upon perfect, sinless obedience, would convince the one
that his own righteousness might not be depended upon ; and
the law's cursing every unbeUever, would convince the other
that his discovery was false ; and the law's requiring us to Ipve
God primarily for his own beauty, would convince both of their
graceless estates, in as much as the reUgion of both primarily
takes its rise from self-love. It is frpm the want pf a realizing
sight and sense pf die nature and extent pf the law, and that out
of Christ we are exposed to all the curses thereof, that a sinful,
guilty world are so insensible of their graceless, and their -wretch
ed and miserable condition, and so apt to flatter them selves that
they are rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of ncfth-
ing. Rom. vii. 8, 9. ...Without the law sin was dead. I was
alive without the law once.
Thus we see that the obUgation which we were under to love
God with all our hearts, resulting from the infinite excellency of
the divine nature, antecedent to all selfish considerations, is 2«-
finitely, eternally, and unchangeably binding : And thus we see
a variety of important consequences necessarily following there
from : And I have insisted the longer upon the nature pf this
obligation, not only because it is the first and greatestjbut because
it has a mighty influence in all our additional o\X\gatxons  For,
5. And lastiy. It is from the infinite excellency ofthe divine
nature, that all our additional obligations originally derive their
strength, their energy, their binding poxver. The infinite ex
cellency of the divine nature so entirely lays the foundation of its \
being our duty to love God with all our hearts, that were it not
for this, it would cease to be our duty, notwithstanding all otii- j
er considerations. If he were not, by nature, God, it would
not be fit that we should love and worship him as God, upon
any account whatsoever : He could have no such right to us, or
authority over us, as to make it our duty ; nor could he render
it our duty, by showing us any kindness whatsoever: Yea, if he
were not, by nature, Gpd, it wpuldbe wrong for us to pay him

78 . TRUE RELIGION DELINE.A.TED, AND
divine adoration ; it would be idolatry ; it would be worship
ping one as God, who, by nature, is not God: And by the same
argument which the orthodoxhave been wont to use against the
Arians, who deny the divinity of Christ.... if /ze be not a divine
person, he ought not to have divine worship paid him; — I say,
by the same argument, if God were not, by nature, God, it
could not, upon any account, be our duty to love and v/orship
j him as God. It is his being, by nature, God — ^his being what
. he is, and his infinite excellency in being such, which therefore
\lays the original foundation of aU our obligations, and which
^ives Ufe and energy to aU : And, accordingly, we may observe,
that the original ground and reason upon which God, as Gov
ernor of the world, acts, in making a law that we should love
him with all our hearts, is, because he is the Lord ; as is evident
from thetenor ofthe lawitself : — Thou shalt love theL,ORD,hc.i,e.
because he is the Lord, Sec. Yea, it is upon this ground, origi
nally, that God takes it upon him to give all his laws to us ; for
this is the constant style,,.. Thus and thus shallye do, for I am
.THE Lord.
Those, therefore, who are influenced to love and worship God
not at all, because he is God, but altogether from other consid
erations.. ..not at all from a sense of his infinite excellency, but
altogether on other accounts, are so far from being truly religious,
that they are, indeed, guilty of great wickedness in all they do :
for although they pretend to love and worship God, yet it is not
at all because he is God ; — though they pretend to pay divine
adoration to him, yet it is not at all because he is a divine Be
ing : so that when they pretend to pay divine worship and ado
ration to God, it is merely from some selfish consideration....
from self-love, and for self-ends ; — ^there is no true regard to
God, but all centers in self: so thzXself indeed, is their idol,
and the only God they serve ; and their pretending to love and
worship God is mere mockery. When they pretend to love and
worship God, it is not at all because he is God.. ..not at allfrom
a sense of his divine glory, but only to appease his anger and
obtain his favor, or because they consider him as their friend

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 79
and benefactpr. And now, to come tp Gpd and pretend to
worship him as if he was God, and yet not to do it at aU because
he is God, but for mean, and mercenary, and selfish ends, is a
very complicated wickedness ; and to think to please God in
this way, and get into favor by this means, discovers such igno
rance and contempt of God, and a frame of heart so full pf se
cret blasphemy, spiritual idplatry, pride and hyppcrisy, as can-
nPt easily be expressed : They practically deny his divinity,
yet pretend tP pay him divine worship : They pretend to serve
God, yet reaUy intend only to serve themselves : They make
as if they loved God, but only love themselves : Yet so intol
erably mean are their thoughts of God, that they expect to
please him by all this. To make the best of it, all that religion
is mere hypocrisy, which does not primarily take its rise from
a sense ofthe infinite excellency of the divine nature.
Thus, then, we see what is the first and chief motive of a
genuine love to God. He is a Being of infinite understanding,
and of almighty power — ^infinite in wisdom, hoUness, justice,
goodness, and truth... .and so a Being of infinite glory and ex
ceUency... .and so infinitely amiable, and infinitely worthy to be
loved with all our hearts. And this obligation is binding ori
ginaUy in itself, antecedent to a consideration of any other mo
tive whatspever : and it is infinitely, eternally, and unchange
ably binding, and gives life, and energy, and strength to all
other obligations. And hence, if we do love God with aU our
hearts, we do but our duty, and deserve no thanks ; but we
are infinitely to blame for the least defect, and can never do any
thing to atone for it, but deserve everlasting damnation. And
it will always be our duty thus to love God, and the least defect
will be always thus blame-worthy, let our circumstances, as to
happiness or misery, be what they will. i^U our hearts will be
always due to God, and we shall always stand bound to pay
this debt, whether we have any heart for it or no : and God
will always appear such an infinite enemy to the least defect, as
in his law he has declared himself to be ; nor is there any hope
of om- finding acceptance in his sight, unless it be by a union
M

80 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
to, and interest in, him who has answered all the demands
of the law, in the room of those who believe in him. And aU
pretence of love to God, which does not take its rise from this
foundation, is but mere hypocrisy. AU these consequences
so necessarily follow, from a supposition of the infinite excel
lency and amiableness ofthe divine nature, and so evidently, as
that, if God be but seen aright, a sense of his infinite beauty
will immediately assure the heart that tiiese things are so. A
sense of his infinite glory wiU make us see and feel that we are
under infinite obligations to love him with all our hearts, and
that we could deserve no thanks for doing so, but that the least
defect is infinitely wrong, &c. A sense of the infinite glory of
God wUl effectually establish the heart in these things against
all the subtle arguments and fair pretences of heretics. A sense
ofthe infinite glory of God, immediately imparted to the soul by
the spirit of God, whereby the heart is thus divinely established
in the belief of the truth, is, therefore, that unctionfrom the holy
one, which all the saints have, whereby they ai-e effectually se
cured from being finaUy led away by false teachers ; at least,
that unction cpnsists partly in this, (I. John ii. 20 — 27,) And
at the same time that the pepple of God are thus established in
the beUef of these truths, relating to law and duty, from a sense
ofthe infinite glory of God ; I say, at the same time this sense
of the infinite glory of God begets a disposition in the heart to
conform to this law and do this duty. And thus it is that God
xvrites his law in our hearts, and puts it in our itixvard parts,
when he intends to become our God, and to make us his people,...
(Heb. viii, 10, 11.) Andhence it begins to be the natureofthe
people of God, to love him with all their hearts ; and their
views and their temper, and every thing else being thus entirely
nexv, hence they arg called new creatures. Old things are passed
away, and all things are becoine new. But now, this sense of
the infinite glory of God, which thus lays the very lowest foun
dation of true reUgion, is entirely left out of all false reUgions.
And by this, true religion stands distinguished, as something
specifically different from all the false religions in the world.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 81
And hence wa may observe, that it is spoken pf in scripture, as
spmething peculiar tP true saints, that they see God and knoxv
God. John viii. 19, 55. ...Ye neither know me, nor my Father.
John xiv. 19.... The world seeth me no more,but ye see me. I. John
iii. 6.. ..Whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him.
I. John ii. Z.... Hereby we doiknoxo that xve knoxv him, if xue keep
his commandments. I. John iv. 7, 8.. ..Every one that loveth,
knoweth God. He that loveth 7iot, knoweth not God, And the
unregenerate, not knowing God. ...not having a sense of his in
finite glory to lay the foundation of their love and of their reli
gion, hence aU their love and all their religion entirely take their
rise from mere selfish considerations, and nothing but self-love
lies at bottom. And lience it is natural for unregenerate men
to think they deserve something fop their duties, and as natural
to be insensible of the infinite evil of their sins : And so it is
their nature to magnify and be proud of their own goodrless,
and to extenuate and be unhumbled for their badness. And
from hence results our native aversion to faith and repentance,
and contrariety to the gospel-way of salvation. And now nexv
gospels, new sorts of faith and repentance are coined, ?2€TXfnotions
ofreligion contrived, to suit the depraved temper and vitiated
taste of unhumbled, impenitent sinners, wlip are concerned tP
secure their own interest, but care not what becomes of God's
honor. Hence errors take their rise, and professing christians
are divided into parties, and one runs this way, and another that,
and all hope to get to heaven at last.. And now, at length, after
so great a variety of inferences and remarks, and so large a con
sideration of the first and chief motive of a gcmiine love to
God, I proceed,
2. To take a shortview of the additional obligations xvhich xve
lie under, to love God with all our hearts.. I am the Lord,
(this lays the first foundation, and leads the way, when from
Mount Sinai the Almighty proclaims his law, but then he imme
diately goes on to add,) thy God, xvhich brought thee out ofthe
landof Egypt and out ofthe house of bondage. ...Y.yiod. xx. God
has such a right to us, and such an authority over us, and has

82 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
done so many things for us, and promised so many things to us,
that our additional obUgations to be the Lord's, to love him and
live to him, are exceedingly great. Particulariy,
Nothing is more reasonable than that we should be entirely
dedicated to that God, whose we are originally, and by an entire,
underived, and unalienable right : especially, considering what
he is in himself, and that he is Lord of aU things, and, by na
ture, God most high : Indeed, if our Creator was not, by nature,
the most high God, then he could not be the supreme Lord of
all things ; for there would be one above him ; and so we should
not be his, entirely and absolutely ; for he himself, and we his
creatures, would belong, originally, to another... even to him that,
by nature, would be the most high God ; and him we ought to
love and worship. But our Creator himself, being absolutely
the first, and absolutely supreme, self-existent, and independent,
the sole author and Lord of all things, as weU as infinitely glo
rious in himself, his right to us is original, underived, and most
absolute and entire : and therefore it is infinitely fit and suita
ble that we should be, in the constant frame and disposition of
our hearts, absolutely, entirely, and wholly the Lord's, and that
we should forever exert all our powers, to the very utmost, to
promote his honor and interest. And it is infinitely unreason
able that we should ever set up ourselves, and be attached to
any interest of our own, separate from his. And, inasmuch as
he is infinitely better than we are, (yea, all the nations ofthe earth
are less than nothing before himi) and has such an entire right
unto us, his interest, therefore, should be regarded as more val
uable than our own.. ..yea, infinitely more : For if our own in-
tf:rest appears as valuable to us as his, we set ourselves upon a
level with him, and claim as great a right to ourselves as he has ;
,and if his interest does not appear as being of infinitely greater
value to us than our own, we do not esteem him as being infi
nitely better than we are ourselves, and his right to us infinitely
greater than our own right to ourselves is. Itis, therefore, in
finitely reasonable, since God is what he is, and has such a right
to us as he has, that we should be constantly, from the very

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 83
bottom of our hearts, wholly his, and every moment live whplly
tP him, and always have his interest lie most near our hearts,
as being of infinitely more worth, value, and importance than
our own : As Moses, who, in a measure, was made partaker
of this divine nature, in the anguish of his heart, cries, when God
teUs him he wiU cutoff Israel, and make of him a great nation,
" Lord, let my name be blotted out of thy book ; let it be forgot-
" ten from among the living, and be never heard of again in
" the world that ever I was in being r But what will become of
" thy great name?" — God's honor and interest were dear to him ;
but he, comparatively, cared not for his own at a//.. ..Exod.
xxxii. — Num. xiv.
But this our obligation to be entirely the Lord's, is still in
finitely increased, if we consider the authority of the su
preme Governor of the world, which, by his express law, has en
joined this upon us. It is not only infinitely fit, in its own na
ture, that we should love God with aU our hearts, considering
what he is in himself, and that we should be entirely for him,
in the temper of our minds, considering what an entire right he
has to us as his creatures, who have received all we have from
him, and are absolutely dependant on him for all we want ; but
God has, by law, as Governor of the world, enjoined this upon
us as our duty, and that with all his authority : And now, con-
sideririg what he is in himself, and the natural right he has to
aU things, and how entirely we are his, and absolutely under his
government, his authority is infinitely binding ; especially,
considering how infinitely engaged he appears to be to see that
his law be exactly obeyed, in promising eternal life on the one
hand, and threatening eternal damnation on the other : This
his infinite engagedness, lays us mider infinite bonds to be and
do exactly what he requires.
But StiU, our obligation to love him with aU our hearts, and
be wholly the Lord's, is yet infinitely more increased, if we con
sider what ways the Lord has taken with us in this apostate
world, since our rebellion against him.. .since we have lost all es
teem for him, turned enemies to him, cast off his authority, and

84 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
practicaUy bid defiance tP his ppwer and justice : fpr, instead
pf immediately dooming aU this lower world to blackness of
darkness forever, he has sent his Son, his only begotten Son,
, from heaven, to bring us the news of pardon and peace, and, by
' his own death, to open a way for our return unto him, and to
caU and invite us to return : And now, with a liberal hand, he
strews common mercies all round the world, among evil, un
thankful, guilty, hell-deservingrebels, and fiUs the hearts of aU with
food and gladness ; and sends forth his messengers to proclaim
it to the ends of the earth, that it is his wiU that aU his rebeUious
creatures lay down their weapons of rebeUion— ^acknowledge the
law, by which they stand condemned, to be holy, just, and good,
and look to him through Jesus Christ for pardon as a free gift,
and through Jesus Christ return unto him, and give up them
selves to him entirely, to love him and live to him, and deUght
in him forever.
And while the world in general make light of all this, and
go to their farms, and to their merchandize, and many are enra
ged and cry out against the messengers of peace, and stone some
and kill others (Mat. xxii.) — that now he should, of his own sov
ereign good pleasure, according to his eternal purpose, seize
here and there one, by his all-conquering grace, and stop them
in their career to hell, and make them see and feel their sin and
guilt, and own the sentence just by which they stand condemn
ed, and bring them as upon their knees to look to free grace
through Jesus Christ for a pardon, and through Jesus Christ to
give up themselves forever to him — that wow he should receive
them to favor, and put them among his children, and become
their father and their God, in an everlasting covenant, and un
dertake to teach and lead.. .to quicken and strengthen... to cor
rect and comfort, and so to humble, and purify, and sanctify,
and fit them for his heavenly kingdom ; and, while they are in
this world, to give them aU things that are best for them, and
make all things work together for their good, and finaUy bring
them unto, and possess them of eternal glory and blessedness,
in the fuU enjoyment of himself forever ; — for a God of infinite

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 85
greatness and glory to deal just so, yfith just such creatures, is
the most amazing and astonishing grace ; and lays infinite bonds
upon believers to love the Lord their God with all their hearts,
and to live to him forever, and has the greatest tendency to an
imate them so to do : And thus, by these brief hints, we have
a general view ofthe additional motives of a true and genuine
love to God.
As God's bringing up the children of Israel out of Egypt —
leading them through the wilderness — driving out the heathen
from before them, and giving them that good land which flow
ed with milk and honey, and covenanting to be their God, is used
so frequentiy, by Moses and the Prophets, throughout all the
Old Testament, as a motive to engage them to cleave to the
Lord, and to him only and entirely, and forever ; so God's send
ing his Son into the world, to save his people from their sins,
their spiritual bondage, together with all the spiritual and ever
lasting blessings ofthe covenant of grace, are continuaUy used
in the New Testament, as arguments to engage believers not
to live to themselves, but to him that died for them. — Only
here let these things be remembered :
(1.) That a sight and sense ofthe infinite greatness andglory
of God, from whom all good comes, and a sense of their own in
finite meanness and unworthiness, makes all the mercies they
receive, infinitely the more endearing and engaging : for the mer
cies the?nselves now appear unspeakably the greater, in that they
come from siech a God, and to such creatures ; and the infinite
goodness of Qod shines the brighter in every mercy, and the free-
ness of his grace is the more conspicuous, on account of which he
is infinitely amiable. The infinite greatness and glory of God,
in general, ravishes the heart — the infinite moral beauty of the
divine goodness and grace, inparticular, ravishes the heart ; and
now, that such a Gofi? should shew such kindnesses to such a crea
ture, is very affecting. Who am I, 0 Lord God? And what is
my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? says hply David
....And is this the manner of men, 0 Lord God ? Np surely.. .f
Wherefore thou art great, 0 Lord God : For there is none like

86 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
thee,neither is there any God besides thee.. ..II. Sam. vii. 18 — 22.
God is loved for the kindnesses bestowed ; but he is more loved
for the infinite beauty of that goodness which is displayed in the
bestowment of them, and for his being altogether such a one as
he is. So the ^leen of Sheba esteemed Solomon for the kind
nesses he shewed her, but primarily, and much more, for his own
personal exceUencies : And his personal excellencies made her
esteem his favors to her of much greater worth. That a glorious
and ever-blessed GoT> should treat sinners so, is infinitely endear
ing." Now these sensations, which a true believer has, andhia
love to God arising therefrom,must be vastly different from ev
ery thing which natural men experience, who know not God,
and have no higher principle in them than self-love.
(2.) Let it also be remembered, that God designs, by aU his
dealings and kindnesses to his people, to bring them nearer to
himself in this world, and to the everlasting enjoyment of himself
in the world to come. He means, for the present, to humble
them, and wean them from the world.. ..to make them more
spirituaUy and heuvenlyj-minded.... to bring them to be more
acquainted with God, and more entirely to take up their
rest and contentment in him ; and, therefore, all things are cal
culated, by his infinite wisdom and goodness, to attain this end.
And this causes all the wise and kind dealings of God, outward
ly in his providence, and inwardly by his spirit, and that both by
way of correction, as well as by way of consolation, to appear
in a very affecting and engaging light to true believers. While
they see what God is in himself, and his infinite beauty in being
such. ...while they see how infinitely sufficient he is to be aU
things to them, and to do all things for them, and the blessedness
of living wholly upon him, and trusting wholly in him.. ..while
they see God calculating all things to bring them to him, and
actually find all things working this way, their obligations to love
him and live to him appear infinitely binding, and their hearts
arc mightily engaged and animated. This view of things makes
all their afflictions appear as great mercies ; because they are so
wisely calculated to bring them near to God : Psalm cxix. 71.

BISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 87
This view of things adds an infinite value to all the kindnesses
of God, over and above what they are worth merely in them
selves, because they are all so wisely calculated to bring them
near to God. This is the kernel of all that tender mercy and
loving kindness which they see in all their afflictions, and in all
their comforts : Heb.xii. 10,11 — ^i?o»z. viii, 28. To be brought
near to God, is worth more than aU the world ; — ^there is no por
tion like God.. ..no comfort like that which is to be taken in him :
He is the godly man's all. Psalm Ixxiii. 25....Whom have I
i}i heaven but thee ? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides
thee. And now that such a God should take such methods, with
just such a creature, to bring him to the possession of such a
good, is the most amazing goodness, and the most astonishing
grace. Now here is asense of the excellency ofthe divine na
ture in general, and a sense of the moral beauty of the divine
goodness in particular, ^nd of the unspeakable mercy God shews
to them, which mercy is infinitely magnified in their account,
from tiie value they have for God, as ^e portion of their souls,
from aU which their love to God takes its rise ; whereby their
love appears to be exceedingly different from any thing which na
tural men experience, who neither know God, nor relish com
munion with him, but are contrary to him in all things ; and, on
ly from self-love, are glad ofthe good things they receive from
God, which good things they live upon and make a God of — r
whether they be worldly good things, or great light, and com--
fort, andjoy of a religious nature.
(3.) Let it also be remembered, that all God's gifts to his peo
ple are so many talents bestowed upon them, ultimately to be im
proved for God, whereby they are put under advantages to glo
rify God and do good in the xvorld: And the more they have of
worldly substance.,. of natural powers. ..of acquired accomplish-.
ments, and of the gracious influences of the holy spirit, &c. the
greater are their advantages to act for. God, to promote his hon
or and interest, and to dp good. Now, in propoi;tion as they
love God, in the same proportion is his honor and interest, and
the good and welfare of his creatures and subjects, dear unto
N

88 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND I
them. The interest and honor of God lie nearer to the hearts
of his people, than tiieir parents, or consorts, or children, or
houses and lands — yea, than their own lives ; (Luke xiv. 26.)
To be under advantages, therefore, to promote his honor and
interest, must, in their account, be esteemed an inestimable priv-
Uege. Hence, tiiey love Goti for aU things they receive from
him, because by all they are put under such advantages to live
to him and serve him, seeking his interest, and honor, and glo
ry ; a remarkable instance bf which we have in E'zra, thathearty
friend to God, and to his honor and interest....See Ezra vii.
27, 28, compared with the rest of the chapter. Now herein,
again, their love to God for his benefits is evidently different
from any thing which natural men experience, who have no
higher principle than self-love, and are entirely actuated by it.
And as the love of fhe saint and of the hypocrite thus greatly
differ in their nature, so do fhey also differ as greatiy in their
fruits and effects. Ezra loved God greatly forliis kindnesses
to him, because thereby he was put under advantages to do so
much for God's glory, and for the gopd of his people. And now
see how active he is for God, and how he exerts himself to do
good, and to reform every thing that was amiss among the Jews,
from the eighth chapter and on ; 'w'hile the hypocritical Jews,
v/ho,no doubt, were also greatl)' alffected with the mercy of God,
in their deliverance from their long captivity, were so far from
being active for God, that they, not caring for his honor or his
laws, committed great abominations. ...^zra ix. 1. So thecM-
dren of Israel, at the Red-Sea, seemed to be full oflove to God,
as well as Moses ;h\Xt as they had different sorts of love, so their
carriage did as greatly differ afterwards, for the course of forty
years: and no wonder.... for the hypocritical israe/iie* only loved
themselves, and cared only for their own interest ; but Moses
loved God, and cared, above all things, for his honor.
Thus we see, not only what additional obligations believers
are under to love God with all their hearts, but also how, and
in what manner, they influence and excite them so to do : and
what I have offered effectually obviates the common plea of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 89
formalists and aU self-seekers, That all the saints in scripture
are represented as loving God for his benefits ; whence they ar
gue, that they are right, and their religion genuine, which results
merely fi:om self-love, and.the fear of hell, and hope of heaven,
or frpm a cpnfident persuasion that their sins are pardoned : ,
For it is evident,, that true saints- do not love God for his bene
fits, nor eye their own happiness, in the same manner that such
men do ; but in a manner altogetiier different. Saints know the
God they love, and love him, primarily, for what he is in him
self, and because he is just what, he is : But hypocrites know
not God, nor love him ; but are, in- all things,; contrary to him,
and are only pleased with the false image of God they have
framed in their fancies, merely because they think that he loves ,
them, and has done, and wiU do, great things for them.. Saints 5
are affected with the divine goodness itself, for the moral beauty
there is in it ; but hypocrites are affected only with the fruits
and effects of divine goodness to them, as tending to make them
happy. Saints love God for his benefits, under a real sense of
their infinite unworthiness ofthe least of them ; but so it is not
with hypocrites. Saints love G'od for all the streams of di
vine goodness, because they are designed, and actually do lead
them up to God, the fountain, who is the portion of their souls :
But hypocrites live upon the streams, disrelishing the fountain.
.Saints love God, dearly, fpr all his gifts, because by them they
are put under such advantages tP live to God, to promote his
interest and honor, and to do good in the world ; but hypocrites
are confined within the narrow circle, self. The love of saints to
God anim.ates them to live to God, and to exert themselves to
promote his honor and interest, and to do all the good they can :
but the hypocrite, after, all his pretended love to God, cares not
what becomes of his interest and honor, if it may but go well
with him, his friends and party : So that, while true saints love
God for his benefits, they act, in a ^rac/oz*? manner, conforma
ble to the law of God, and to the reason and nature of things ;
whereas, all the love of the most refined hypocrite is merely
the workings of a natural self-love, in a manner directly contra-

90 ^RUS RiiLIGION DELINEATEb, AND
ry to the law of God, and to the reason and nature of thiiig* ;
and is nothing but mere mockery....Psa/OT Ixxviii. 34, 35, 36,
37 — "Zech, vii. 5, 6.
- Thus we have gone thrtiugh the two fii'st general heads, and
see what is implied in love to God, and from whdt m'otheg xVe
ought to love him : And, from the whole, we may learn so mufch
of the nature of true reUgion, as that, with' much evidertce and
certainty, we may conclude.
First, That all that seeming Me to God is counterfeit, which
arises merely from men^s corruptions being gratified : As when
a;mbitious miiri are, by God's providence, raised tP high degrees
of honor, and -tv^oridtymen are prospered tn all which they put
their hands unto, and herefrom' the one and the pther rejpicfi
and bless God, and seem to love him, dhti verily think they are
sincere : This is all hypocrisy ; for, in truth', they only lovS
their corruptions, and are glad they are gratified. And accor
dingly, instead of improving aU their riches and hoiior for God,
to advance his interest and honPr in the world, they improve
all only for themselves, to promote their own ends ; and care'
not what becomes of God's honor, and interest, and kingdom ;
and commonly such men shew themselves the greatest enemies
to the cause of God, *nd to the religion of Christ : and should
God but touch all they have, they would curse him to his fade.
Secondly, We may be equally certain, that all that seeming
love to God is counterfeit, that arises merely from a legal, self-
righteous spirit : As -when a man, only because he is afraid of
hell, and has a mihd t6 he saved, sets himself to repent, and re
form, and do duties, and tries to lovfe God and aim at his glory,
to the intent that he may make some amends for past sins and
recommend himself to the divine favor, and so to escape hell
and obtain heaven : And when he has grown so gpbd^ as to
have raised hopes of attaining his end, he is ravished at the
thoughts, and rejoices, and blesses the Lord, and Ibves him.
It is plain all this is hypocrisy : for the man, in truth, only loves
himself, and is concerned merely for his own interest ; but does
not care at all for God, his glory or honor : for, if therfe

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 91
were no heaven nor hell, such wduld serve God no more. Chil
dren wiU work for their parents, without being hired; because
they love them: but hirelings will not sti-ike a stroke if there ik
no money to be gotten ; because they care for nothing but theif '
own interest : Hence this sort of hjrpocrites are wont tP say,
that if they once beUeved that God had made no pi'omises to
the best they can do, they would never do more. And farther,
it is plainly all hypocrisy ; for,.if their consciences but fall asleep,
so that they are troubled no more with the thoughts of another
world, they will leave off their duties, let dov/n their -(Vatch,
break aU their resolutions, and be as bad as ever : and hence
their doctrine of falling from grace probably took its rise. And
their hypocrisy is still more evident, in that they are common
ly so much concerned to find out what the least measure of sa
ving grace is, and so strenuous in pleading for great abatements
in the law : for, from hence, it is plain, that all they are after
is only to get just grace enough to carry them to heaven ; as a
lazy hireling, who is for doing but only just work enough to
pass for a day's work, that he may get his wages at night,
which is all he wants.
Thirdly, We may be as certain, that all that seeming love
is counterfeit, xvhich arises merely from a strong confidence xvhich^
a man has, that his sins are pardoned, and that Christ loves him,
andwill save him : As when a man is under great terrors, and
has fearful apprehensions of hell and damnation, and is readyeven
to give himself up for lost : but suddenly great light breaks in
to his mind ; he sees Christ with his arms open and smiling, and it
may be his blood running, and hears nim, as it were, say. Be
of good cheer, thy sins areforgiven thee. ...I have loved thee xvith
an everlasting love. ...Come, thou blessed of my Father , inherit the
kingdom ; — and now he is certain that his sins are pardoned,
,and that heaven is his, and he is even ravished with joy, and
caUs upon all to praise the Lord : For all this proceeds merely
from self-love, and there is no love to God in it : for all this
love arises from his false confidence, /and not from any true
knowledge of God ; and commonly such turnout as the Israel-

.92 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ites did, who sang God's praise at the Red-Sea, when Pharaoh
and his hosts were drowned, and they delivered, and their hopes
,of getting., to Canaan highly raised; hat they soon forgat his
works, and rebelled against him, and their carcases fell in the
wilderness. They loved themselves, and therefore they rejoi
ced at their wonderful deliverance ; they loved themsekes,
and. therefore they murmured three days after, when they came
to the bitter waters , : Their joys and their murmurings pro
ceeded frpm the very sapie principle, under different circum
stances ; but the love of God was not in them : and just this is
.the case here. And this is commonly the event, that, the fears
of hell being now over, their joys graduaUy abate, and they
grow more and more secure, till, after a while, they return to
folly, as the dog to his vomit, and as the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire ; and so are as bad, and sometimes
worse than ever.. ..(II. Pet. ii. 20, 21, 22.) And now they
plead, that the best are dead sometimes, and that David and Pe
ter had their falls j and so keep their consciences as quiet as
they can: and thus they live along whole months and years to
gether. Fourthly, and lastly. We may also be certain, that all that
seeming love to God,xvhich arises merely from the gratification of
spiritual pride, is counterfeit : As when men dream dreams, see
visions, and hear voices, and have impressions and revelations
whereby they are setup in their own esteem, and in the opinion
of others, for some ofthe most peculiar favorites of heaven, and
very best men in all the world ; and hence they rejoice, and
bless God and mightily love him : but, in truth, they are only
ravished with self-conceit, and feel blessedly to think themselves
some pf the best men in the world, and to think they shall short
ly sit at the right hand of Christ in heaven, among the apostles
and martyrs, while their persecutors and haters will be burning
in heU : but they neither know God nor love him; and, for the
roost part, by heretical doctrines, or wicked lives, or both are a
scandal to religion : These are so far from being truly religious
that they are the very tares which the devil soxvs.,..Mat. xiii, 39

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 93
In each of these sorts oflove there are these three defects or
faults : — (1.) They have no true knowledge of God ; and so (2.)
they only love themselves ; and (3.) their seeming love to God
arises from a mistake. The ambitious and worldly man thinks
him'self very happy, because he rises in honor and estate ; the
legalist thinks that God loves him, and will save him for his
duties ; the next firmly believes that his sins are pardoned ; and
the last, that God looks upon him one of the best men in the
•world -. but all are wofuUy mistaken ; and when, at the day of
judgment, they come to see their mistake, their love to God will
vanish away, and they turn everlasting haters and blasphemers
of the most High. And another defect in these and all
other sorts of counterfeit love, is, that they none of them will
ever make men truly obedient : for when men's seeming to love
God is nothing but self-love in another shape, all their seeming
obedience wiU, in reaUty, be nothing but self-seeking : They
may pretend to be the servants of God, but will only mean, ul
timately, to serve themselves. SECTION III.
CONCERNING THE MEASURE OF LOVE TO GOD REQUIRED IN
THE DIVINE LAW.
I proceed now to the next thing proppsed, which was,
III. Toshowfxvhat is that measure oflove to God, which the
law requires of all mankind. — And our blessed Savior clears up
this point in the most plain and familiar language : — Tlicu shalt
love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind ; and it is added, in Mark xii. 30, With all
thy strength'; i. e. in other words, we ought to love God in a
measure exactly proportionable to the largeness of our natural
powers and faculties ; which tP do, is aU that perfection which
Gpd ever required pf any of his creatures.*
* The law runs thus ; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God isith all thy
heartj^ &c. and thy neighbor as thyself. God is to have the highest degree of
love we are capable of ; but a»««cA less degree is due to ourselves and neigh-
bors ; So that, according to the tenor ofthe law, our love to God is to bo
greater and inore fetiient, than our love to ourselves. And therefore the
law does suppose that God is worthy of our supreme love for what he is

94 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
When the law requires us to love God with all our hearts, it
either means, to the utmost extent of our natural capacity, or
else only to the utmost extent of our moral capacity ; i. e. only
sp much as we are inclined to : And then the less we are incli
ned to love God, the less love is required ; and so, if we have
no heart, no inclination to love him, then no love at all is requi
red : And, according to this rule, the carnal mind, which is
enmity against God, is not in duty bound to be subject to the
law, neither indeed can be : And where there is no law, there is
no transgression ; — ^where there is no duty required, there can
be no sin committed : and so the vilest of mortals are the freest
from sin, and the least to blame ; which is the grossest absurdity,
When, therefore, the law requires us to love God with all our
\ hearts, it has no reference to our moral inclination, but only to
our natural capacity : And indeed nothing can be more unrea
sonable, than to suppose that the law only requires us to love
God so far as we have a heart and disposition to do so ; for
this would leave us entirely at liberty to do otherwise, if we
were so inclined, and, in effect, it would make the law say, If
you feel inclined to love God, more or less, so far it is your duty,
but farther you are not bound, but are at your liberty ; i. e. the
law is not binding, any farther than you are inclined to obey it ;
i. e. in reality it is no law, but every man is left to do as he plea
ses : The whole heart, therefore, does the law mean to require,
let our temper, inclination, or disppsition be what it will.
God, the great author of aU things, has been pleased to create
inteUigent beings of different sizes, some of a higher rank, and
some of a lower-— some of greater capacities, and some of less..,.
in himself, antecedent to any selfish consideration, from a sight and sense
of which worthiness our love to God is primarily to take its rise : For, in
the nature of things, it would be impossible for us, from self-love, to love
God •m.ore than ourselves. ...Or thus, the law requires us to Jove God mo^
than ourselves ; but, in the nature of things, it is impossible that merely
from self-love we should love .Goi more than ourselves : therefore the law
supposes that there is something in God to excite our love, antecedent to
any selfish consideration', and that our love to him is not to proceed mere
ly from self-love : For, otherwise, the law requires us to do that which,in
its own nature is absolutely impossible. ...And this, by the way, may serve*
still farther to confirm the truth of what \m,s been before said.

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 95
spme arc angels, and spme are men ; and ampng the angels
some are of larger natural powers, and some of smaller. So it
is among the good angels, and so it is among the evil angels ;
There are angels and arch-angels, i. e. beings of various natu
ral powers and capacities, among the good and bad : And so
it is among men — among gppd and bad, tiiere is a very great
variety — spme have larger spuls than pthers.
Intelligent beings are capable pf a degree pf knpwledge and
love, exactly proportionable to their rmtural powers. Angels
are capable of a degree of knowledge and love, greater than men,
and one man <^ a greater degree than anpther. As tiiey are of
differentsizes....pf larger and smaller natural powers, so their
capacities to know and love are spme greater, and spme less ;
Sp it is among good and bad.
All that perfection which God requires of any, of his creatures,
is a measure of knowledge and love bearing an exact proportion
to their natural abilities. Since God has manifested what he
is, in his works and ways, and since he is infinitely glorious in
being what he is, and has an original and entire right to his in
teUigent creatures ; therefore he requires aU angels and men to
attend diligentiy to the discoveries which he has made of himself,
and learn whathe is, and behold his glory, and love him with all
their hearts :. This is the extent of what God requires ofthe
highest angel in heaven, and this is ejiactly what he requires of
all the children of men upon earth.
The law requires no more than this of mankind, under a no
tion that their natural powers are lessened by the fall. Whether
we are beings of as large natural powers as we should have been,
had we never apostatized from God, or no, yet this is plain, we
are no where in scripture blamed fpr having no larger natural
powers, nor is any more ever required than all the heart, and al}
the soul, and all the mirui, and all the strength : This is evident
through the whole Bible.
And the lawrequires no /essof mankind, under a notion thatthey
are turned enemies to God, and have no heart or inclination to
Jove him. Be itso, thatmankind are ever so averse to attend to
O

96 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
those manifestations which God has made of himself, and ever so
averse to take in rightnotionsofGod,andeverspfarfrpm adispp-
sitipn to account him infinitely glorious in being what heis,and
fromanincliriationtolovehimwithalltheir hearts; yet the divine
law makes no allowances.. ..no abatements ; but insists upon the
same.. .the very same it ever did : — Thou shaltiove fhe Lord thy
God xvith all thy heart.
Indeed, some do dream that the law is very much abated :
But what saith the scriptures as to this point ? Does the word
of God teach us that there is any abatement made ? Where do
we read it ? Where is it plainly asserted, or in what texts is it
implied ? Truly, I know nothing like it in all the Bible, nor what
text of scripture this notion can be built upon : and besides, if
the law is abated, when was is abated ? Was itabated immedi*
ately upeSi Adam's fall.^ ' Surely no ;' for, above two thousand
years after,fram Mount Sinai, God declared tiiat he required
sinless perfection, and threatened a' curse against the man that
should fail in the least potnt....£'*w3'. xx.^-^Deut. xxvii. 26.-—
Was it abated upon Christ's coming into the world? Surely no ;
for he, in the strongest teriris, taught his disciples thafit was in
full force, and that it was their duty to be perfectly holy, and
that in designed ppppsition to the doctrine of the Pharisees,
who, in effect^ held that the law was abated.. ..ilia^ v. 17  48.
Was it absfted after Christ's death and resurrection ? Surely
no; for St. Paul always taught that the Christian scheme of reU
gion, which he preached, did 'hot make void, but rather estab-
Ushed-thelaw....i?o»2. iiii 31-^and St. James insisted upon it,
that it must not be broken in .any one point.... James ii, 10. 
When was it abated therefiare ? Why, says Christ, Tillheaven
and earth shall pass away, one jot or tittle ofthe law shall in no
wisefail....M^t. v. 18, And besides, if the law is abated, in
what particular is it abated, and hoxv great are the abatements ?
— Are there any abatements made in our duty to God ? Surely
no ; for we are stiU required to love him with all our hearts,
and more than this never was demanded : Or are any abate-^
ments made in our duty to our feUow-men ? Surely no ; for we

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 97
are stiU re.quired to love our neighbor as ourselves,' and more
than this never was enjoined : Or is tiiere any abatement made
in the interi^ part erf our duty ? Surely no ; for the whole heart
is still required, and more than this never was insisted upon :
Or, finally, is there any abatement made in the external part of
our duty ? Surely no ; for we are still required to he holy in all
manner of conversation, as he that has celled us is holy, (I. Pet,
i, 15,) and more than this was never required : So that, from
the whole, we have as much reason to think that the law requires
sinless perfection now, as that ever it did : yea, this point can
not be plainer than it is ; for the law, in fact, is the very same
it was from the beginning, word for word, without the leat alte
ration : — 77jow shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
&c. and thy neighbor as thyself; so that, if it ever did require
sinless perfection, it does now.
The highest pitch of holiness, the saints in heaven will ever
arrive tP, wiU only be to love God with a// their hearts ; and ex
actiy the very same is required of every man upon earth : And
it was because St, Paid understood the law in this sense, that
he had always such a mean and low opinion of all his attain
ments ; for, while he compared what he was, with what he
ought to be, he plainly saw how the case stood : and therefore
he says, The law is spiritual, but lam carnal, sold under sin....
0 wretched man that lam .'...Rom. vii. 14, 24.
So that, upon t'ne whole, tiiis seems to be the true state ofthe
case : — as there are various capacities among all inteUigent crea
tures in general, so there are among men, in particular, souls of
various sizes.., .some of larger natui-al capacities, and some of
smaUer ; but souls of different capacities, are capable of different
degrees of Ipve. A degree of love exactly equal to the natural
capacity of the soid, is perfection : and this is what the law re*
quires, nor more nor less; — a// the heart, all the soul, a// the mind,
a// the strength. The saints and angels in heaven love God
thus, andhence they are perfect in hoUness ; and, so far as we
fall short of this, we are sinful : This is the exact rule of duty.
And now, this law is holy,just,and good. The thing required

98 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
quired, is, in its own nature, right, fit, and suitable. God it
worthy to be loved with aU our hearts, and this is just what is
required. It is right we should have a degree of love to our
selves, and it is right we should love our neighbors as ourselves ;
but it is fit we should love God with all our hearts : Consider
ing what he is, and what we are, it is, in its own nature, infinite
ly fit and right ; and not to do so, infinitely unfit and wrong.
Indeed, God is worthy of an infinitely greater degree of love
than we, or any of his creatures, are capable of. He only is
capable of a complete view of his own infinite glory, and of a fuU
sense of his own infinite beauty, and of a love perfectly adequate
to his own loveliness : and he does not require or expect any
of his creatures to loVe him to that degree he loves himself ;
only, as he loVes himself with all his heart, so he requires and
expects that they love him with all their hearts : And there be
ing the same reason for one as for the other, the law is, there
fore, iri its own nature, perfectly right, and just, and eqital. In
deed, had God required the most exalted of his inteUigent crea
tures to have loved him in the same degree that he himself does,
then the thing required would, in its own nature, have been ab
solutely impossible , and what he could have no reason to expect ;
Or, ifhe had required the meanest of his intelligent creatures to
havelovedhimin the same degr eethat Gabriel does, it would have
been a thing naturally impossible; but now 'he only requires
every one to love him with all their hearts, this is rt^Af.... perfect
ly right, just, and equal. Less than this could not, in justice,
have been required of each one ; injustice, I mean, to the Deity,
who ought to have his due from each one, and whose proper
right the Governor ofthe world ought to assert and maintain.
Thus we see the law is exactly upon a level with our natural
capacities ; it only requires us to love God with all our hearts :
and thus we see, that the law is, therefore, perfectiy reasonable,
just, and equal. Deut. x. 12..,. And now, Israel, what doth the
Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to
walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to^ serve the Lord thy
God with ALL thy heart, and with all thy soul ?

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 99
Hence, as to a natural capacity, aU mankind are capable of
a perfect conformity to this law ; for the law requires of no man
any more than to love God with all his heart. The sinning
angels have the same natural capacities now, as they had before
they feU ; they have the same faculties, called the understanding
and will — ^they are stiUthe same beings, as to their natural]pow-
ers. Once they loved God with all their hearts ; and now they
hate him with all their hearts : Once they had a great degree
of love ; now they have as great a degree of hatred ; — so that
tiiey have the same natural capacities now as ever. Their
temper, indeed, is different ; but their capacity is the same ; and,
therefore, as to a natural capacity, they are as capable of a per
fect conformity to the law of their Creator as ever they were.
So, Adam, after his fall, had the same soul that he had before,
as to its natural capacities, though of a very different temper ;
and, therefore, in that respect, was as capable of a perfect con
formity to this law, as ever. And it is plainly the case, that all
mankind, as to their natural capacities, are capable of a perfect
conformity to the law, from this, that when sinners are convert
ed they have no new natural faculties, though they have a new
temper: and when they come to love God with aU their hearts
in heaven, stiU they will have the same hearts, as to their natu
ral faculties, and may, in this respect, be justly looked upon as
tiie very same beings. In this sense, Paul was the same man
when he hated and persecuted Christ, as when he loved him and
died for him : and that same heart that vtas once so full of mal
ice, is now as full of love : So that, as to his natural capacities,
he was as capable of a perfect conformity to this law, when he
•was a persecutor, as he is now in heaven. When, therefore,
men cry out against the holy law of God, which requires us only
to love him with all our hearts, and say, " It is not just for God
" to require more than we can do, and then threaten to damn
" us for not doing," they pught to stay a while, and consider
what they say, and tell what they mean by their can do ; for
it is plain, that the law is exactly upon a level with our natural
capacities, and that, in this respect, we are fully capable of a per-

100 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
feet conformity thereto : And it will be impossible for us to
excuse ourselves by an inability arising from any other quarter ;
as will presently appear : For, to return.
From what has been said, we may learn, that there can be
nothing to render it, in any measure, a hard and difficult things
to love God with all our hearts, but our being destitute of a
right temper of mind, and having a temper that is wrong : and
that, therefore, we are perfectly inexcusable, and altogether and
wholly to blame, that we do not.
Obj. But I do not know God; how, therefore, can I love him. ?
Ans. Were you of a right temper, it would be your nature,
above all things, to attend to those discoveries which he has
made of himself in his works and in his word ; you would search
for the knowledge of him, as. men search for silver, and as the^
dig for hidden treasure : and, were you of a right temper, it
would be natural to take in that very representation which God
has made of himself: And now, was it but your nature to at
tend, with all your heart, to the discoveries which God has made
of himself.. .and ypur nature tP take in right nPtions of him, it
would be imppssible but that you should know xvhat God is ; be
cause he has acted out all his perfections so much to the life, and
exhibited such an exact image of himself. The works of crea
tion and redemption, and all his conduct as moral Governor of
the world, shew just what kind of Being he is : He has discov
ered his infinite understanding and almighty power, and he has
shown the temper of his heart ; and all in so plain a manner,
that, were it your nature to attend and consider, and take in
right notions, it is quite impossible but that you should know
and see plainly xuhat God is.
Obj. But if I have right notions of what God is, yet I cannot
see his glory c^nd beauty in being such ; how, therefore, can Hove
him ?
Ans. Were you of a right temper, it would be your nature to
account him infinitely glorious in being what he is. As it is the
nature of an ambitious man to see a glory in applause, and of
a woridly man to see a glory in the things of the worid, so it

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 101
wpuld be your nature to see a glory in God ; forAvhat suits our
hearts,naturally appears excellent in our eyes. (John viii. 42,47.)
Obj. But I feel that I cannot love him ; how, therefore, am I
wholly to blame ?
Ans, The fault is in him, or in you : Either he is not love
ly, or else you are of a very bad temper : but he is infinitely
lovely ; and therefore it is only owing to the bad temper of your
heart, and to your being destitute of a right temper, that you
cannot Ipve him ; and ypu, therefore, are wlioUy to blame : In
deed you could not but love him, were you not a very sordid
wretch. Obj. But to love God, or to have anydispositon to love him,is
a thing supernatural, clean beyond thepowers of nature, im-
provedto the utmost : how can I, therefore, be wholly to blame ?
Ans. It is a thing supernaturalyon say ; i. e. in ptlier words,
you have no heart to it, nor the least incUnation that way ; nor
is there any thing in your temper to work upon by motives to
bring you to it ; and now, because you are so very bad a crea
ture, therefore you are not at all to blame : This is your argu
ment : But can you think that there is any force in it ? What !
are moral agents the less to blame the worse they grow ? And
are God's laws no longer binding, than while his subjects are
disposed to obey them ?
Obj. But, after all, I must needs reply, as Nicodemus in.
another case. How can these things be ?
Ans. Why did not the Jews love their prophets, and love
Christ and his apotles ? What was it owing to ? And where did
the blame lie ? They were acquainted with them. ...heard them
talk and preach, and saw their conduct, and could not but plain
ly perceive their temper, and know what sort of disposition tiiey
were of, and what sort of men they were ; and yet they did not
like them ; but they hated them — -they belied them, slandered
and reproached them, and put them to death : And now what
was the matter ? What was the cause of all this ? Were not
their prophets, and Christ and his apostles indeed lovelj', and
worthy of their hearty esteem ? Did not aU that they said and did

102 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
manifest them to be so? Why, then, did they not love them ?
— Was it not wholly owing to their not having a right temper
of mind, and to their being of so bad a disposition ? And were
they not wholly to blame ? — They might say of Christ, That
they could see no form nor comeliness in him, wherefore they
shuld desire him ; and where no beauty is seen, it is impossible
there should be any love : But why did not he appear most
amiable in their eyes ? And why were their hearts not ravish
ed with his beauty ? — His disciples loved him, and Martha and
Mary and Lazarus loved him ; and why did not the Scribes and
Pharisees love him as much ? — Why, because his person and
doctrines did not suit them, and were not agreeable to the tem
per of their hearts. The bad temper of their hearts made him
appear odious in their eyes, and was the cause of all their ill-
wiU towards him : And now, were they not to blame for this
bad temper, and for all their bad feelings, and bad carriage to.
wards Christ, thence arising ? Yes, surely, if ever any men were
to blame for any thing. And now, if God, the father, had been
in the same circumstances as God, the son, was then in, he
would not have been loved a jot more, or treated a whit better
than he was : Indeed it was that image and resemblance ofthe
infinitely glorious and blessed God, which was to be seen in
their prophets — in Christ and his apostles, which was the very
thing they hated him for: Therefpre Christ says. He that ha
teth me, hateth my Father also... .But now have they bothseenand
hated, both me and my Father. .,.}ohn xv. 23, 24. And Christ
attributes it entirely to their want of aright temper, and to the
bad disposition of their hearts, that they did not love him, and
love his doctrines. If God were your father, you would love me...,
John viii. 42. He that is of God (of a God-like temper) hear-
eth God''s words : ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not
of God, (Ver, 47,) In truth, the boj;tom of aU your enmity is,
that you are of your father, the devil, i.e. of just s^cha temper
as he, (Ver. 44.) And now, whatthink you, when Christ comeS
in flaming fire, tp take vengeance on an ungodly world ? WiU he
blame the Scribes and Pharisees for not loving him with all their

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTEJRIffilTS. 103
hearts, or no ? Or wiU he excuse the matter, and say, on their
behalf. They could see no form nor comeliness in me...,I appear
ed very odious to them... .they could not love me, ...they could not
but hate me, and no man is to blame for not doing more than he
CAN ?
From the whole, it is plain thatmankind are to blame, whol
ly to blame, and perfectiy inexcusable, fpr their npt having right >
apprehensions pf Gpd, and for their not having a sense of his
glory in being what he is, and for their not loving him with all
their heart ; because all is owing merely to their want of a right
temper, and to the bad disposition of their hearts.
Indeed, if we were altogether of such a temper, frame, and
disposition of heart as we ought to be, it wpuld be altogether
as easy and natural tto loye God with all our hearts, as it is for
the most dutifiil child to love a tender and valuable parent : For
God is really in^nitely amiable ; and were we of such a temper,
he would appear so in our eyes ; and did he appear so in our
eyes, we could not but love him with all our hearts, and delight
in him with aU our souls ; and it would be most easy and natu
ral so to do ; for no man ever found any difiiculty in loving that
which appears very amiable in his eyes : For the proof of which
I appeal to the experience of all mankind. And now, why does
not God appear infinitely amiable in our eyes ? Is it because
he has not clearly revealed what he is, in his works and in his
word ? Surely no ; for the revelation is plain enough. Is it
because he is not infinitely amiable in being what he is ? Surely
no; for all heaven are ravished with his infinite beauty. What
is it, then, that makes us blind to the infinite exceUency of the
divine nature ? Why, it can be owing to nothing but a bad tem
per of mind in us, and to our not being of such a temper as
we ought to be. For I appeal to the experience ofall mankind,
whether those persons and things which suit the temper of their
heai-ts, do not naturaUy appear amiable in their eyes : And
certainly, if God does not suit the temper of our hearts, it is
not owing to any fault in him, but the fault must be wholly in
ourselves. If the temper and disposition of God (i, e,. his mor-
P

104 . aSRWE RELIGION DECINE'ATED, AND
al perfections,") be not agreeable to our temper and disposition,
most certainly our temper and dispositionareveiy wrong. If
God were your fatlier, ye would love me ; but ye are of your
father the devil,therefore ye hate me....(John viii. 42, 44.) i. e.
" If you were of a temper like God, ye would love me ; but be
ing of a contrary temper, hence you hate me. If you were of
a right temper,. T should appear amiable unto you ; and it is
whoUy owing to your bad temper, that I appear otherwise. "If
ye were Abraham's children, ye would Jo the zvorks of Abraham."
....(verse 39.)
Obj. But be it so, yet I cannot help being of such a temper as
lam of ; how, therefore, am I wholly to blame ?
Ans. Ypu have as much power to -help being of such a tem
per, as the scribes and Pharisees had ; but Christ judged them
to be whoUy to blame, and altogether inexcusable. They cmM
not like Christ or his doctrine : Te cannot hear my word, says
Christ, (verse 43) •; but their cannot.. ..their inability, was no
excuse to them in Christ's account, because all their inabUity,
he plainly saw, arose from their bad -temper, and their want of
a good disposition. And, although they -had no vaore power
to help being of such a temper than you have, yet he judged
them wholly to blame, and altogether inexcusable. (John viii.
33 — ^7....Johnxv. 22 — 25.) And now we know, that hisjudg- ¦
ment is according to truth. But, in order to help you to see in
to the reason of the thing, I desire you seriously and impartial
ly to consider,
1. That sinners are free and voluntary in their bad temper.
A wicked world have discovered a very strong disppsition to
hate God, even from the beginning : And the Jewish nation,
God's own peculiar people, of whom, if of any, we might hope
for better things, were so averse to God and his ways, thatthey
hated and murdered the messengers which he sent to reclaim
them, and, at last, even murdered God's own Son. And now,
whence was all this ? Why, from the exceeding bad and wick
ed temper of their hearts. They have hated me without a came
....John XV. 25. But did any body yorce them to be of such a

DISTIi^IGUISHED FRPM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 105
kid temper ? .Syrely np?; they were hearty in it. Were, they
of such a bad temper against their wills ? Surely no; their
wilisi...^ithear.ts were in it t Yea,'they loved their bad tem-
^r,.aad loved to gratify it, and hence were mightily pleased
with their false prpphets, because they always prpphesied in
their favpr, and suited and gratified their disposition : and
they hated whatsoever was disagreeable to their bad temper, and
tended to cross it ; and hence were they so enraged at the
preaching and the persons of their prophets.. ..of Christ andhis
apostles ; so that they were manifestly voluntary and hearty in
their bad temper. We have loved strangeris, an4 after, them we
wiLL^o....Jer. ii. 25. ^at as for the word which- thou hast
spoken unto us in the nome of the.Lord, xve will not hearken
unto thee..., \er^-^xv.l&.. And the Lord God of their fathers
sent to them by his messengers, risiyig up betimes, and sending ;
because he had compassion on his people, and on his dxueUing-
pktce : hut they mocked the messengers of God, and despised hisf
words,and misused his prophets, he. „.II. Chron, xxxvi, 15,16.
And so, all wicked men are as voluntary in their bad temper
as they were. The temper of the mind is nothing but the ha
bitual inclinatiorkof th& heart : but an involuntary incUnation of
the heart is a contradiction : And the stronger any inclination
is, the more full and free the heart and soul is in the thing.
Hence the bad temper, or the habitual bad inclinationjof the de
vil is. at the farthest distance from any compulsion— she is most
perfectly free. and hearty in it : And all sinful creatures being
thus voluntary, free, and hearty in the bad tgmper of their
minds ; pr, in other words, the bad temper ofthe mind being
nothing but the habitual inclination of the heart, hence all must
be to blame in a degree equal to the strength of their bad incli
nation.. Ill a word, if we were continuaUy yorcea^tq be of such
a bad temper, entirely against our wills, then we should not be
to blame ; for it would, not be at all the temper of our hearts :
but so long as our bad temper is nothing else but the habitual
frame, disposition, and inclination of our own hearts, without
any manner of compulsion, we are perfectly without excuse.

106 true RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
and that whether we can kelp being ftf such a temper, or no.
Fpr, 2. If a sinful creature's not being able to help his being of a
bad temper, does in the least free him from blame ; then the more
vile and sinful any creature grows, the less to blame will he be .•
because the more vile and sinful any creature grows, the less
able is he to help his being of so bad a frame of heart : Thus,
if a man feels a bad spirit towards pne of his neighbors creep-
ing intp his heart, perhaps if he immediately resists it, he may
be able easily tP pvercome and suppress it ; but ifhe gives way
to it, and suffers it to take strong hold of his heart....if he cher
ishes it untU it grows up into a settled enmity, and keeps it in
his heart for twenty years, seeking all opportunities to gratify it
by backbiting, defaming, &c. it wiU now, perhaps, be clean out
of his power to get rid of it, and effectually root it out of his
heart : It wiU, at least, be a very diflncult thing. Now, the man
is talked to and blamed for backbiting and defaming his neigh
bor, time after time, and is urged to love his neighbor as him
self, but he says Ae mnno^ /o%)e Am ; But why cannot you? For
other men love him. Why, he appears in my eyes the most odious
and hateful man in the world. Yes, but that is owing to your
own bad temper : Well, but I cannot help my temper, and there
fore I am not to blame. Now, it is plain, in this case, how weak
the man's plea is ; and even common sense wiU teach aU man
kind to'judge him the more vile and blame-worthy, by how
much the more his grudge is settled and rooted : And yet the
mpre settled and rooted it is, the more unable is he to get rid of
it. And j ust so it is here : Supppse a creature Ipved Gpd with
aU his heart, but after a while begins tP feel his love abate, and
an aversion to God secretly creeping into his soul ; now, per
haps, he might easily suppress and overcome it : But ifhe gives
way to. it, until he loses all sense of God's glory, and settles into
a state of enmity against him, it may be quite imppssible ever
tp recpver himself : And yet he is npt the less, but the more
vile, and sp the mpre blame-wprthy. If, then, we are so averse
to Gpd that we cannot Ipve him ; and if our bad temper is so

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 107
Strong, SO settied and rooted that we cannot get rid of it, this is
SO far from being matter of excuse for us, that it renders up so
much the more vile, guilty, and heU-deserving ; fpr to suppose
that ourinability, in this case, extenuates our fault.. ..our inabili
ty which increases in proportion to our badness, is to suppose
that the worse any sinner grows, the less to blame he is ; — than
which, nothing can be more absurd.
Obj. But I was brought into this state by Atlani'sfall,
Ans. Let it be by Adam's fall, or how it wiU, yet if you are
an enemy to the infinitely glorious God, your Maker, and that
voluntarily, you are infinitely to blame, and without excuse ;
for nothing can make it right for a creature to be a .voluntary
enemy to his glorious Creator, or possibly excuse such a crime :
It is, in its own nature, infinitely wrong — there is nothing, there
fore, to be said — you stand guilty before God : It is in vain to
make this or any other pleas, so long as we are what we are, not
by compulsion, but voluntarily : And it is in vain to pretend
that we are not voluntary in our corruptions, when they are
nothing else but the free, spontaneous inclinations of pur pwn
hearts. Since this is the case, every mouth will be stopped,and
all the world become guilty before God, sponer pr later.
Thus we see, that, as to a natural capacity, all mankind are
€apable of a perfect conformity to God's law, which requires us
only to love God with aU our hearts : and that aU our inability
arises merely from the bad temper of our hearts, and our want
of a good disposition ; and that, therefore, we are whoUy to
blame and altogether inexcusable. Our impotency, in one
word, is not natural, but moral, and, therefore, instead of exten
uating, does magnify and enhance our fault. The more unable
to love God we are, the more are we to blame : Even as it was
with the Jews....the greater contrariety there vvas in their hearts,
to their prophets.. ..to Christ and his apostles, the more vile and
blame-worthy were they.* And in this light do the scriptures
* Obj. But, says a secure sinner, surely there is no contrariety in my heart
to God, I never hated God in tny life ; I always loved him,.
Ans. The Scribes a.nd Pharisees verily thought that they loved God, and
that, if they had lived in the days of their fathers, t^iey would not have put

108 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
constantly view the case. There is not one tittle in the Old
Testament or in the New....inthelaworinthe gospel, that gives
the least intimation of any deficiency in our natural faculties. —
The law requires no more than all our hearts, and never blames
us for not having larger natural capacities. The gospel aims
to recover us to love God only with all our hearts, but makes
no provision for Pur having any new natural capacity ; — as to.
©ur natural capacities, all is well : It is in our temper, in the
frame and disposition of our hearts, that the seat of all our sin
fulness lies. Ez€k. xii. 2  Son of man, thou dwellest in the
midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not..,.
, they have ears to hear, and hear not, for they area rebellious
house. This is the bottom of the business : We have eyes to
see, and ears to hear, and his glory shines all around us, in the
heavens and in the earth. ...in his word and in his ways ; and his.
name is proclaimed in our ears ; and there is nothing hinders
our seeing and hearing, but that we are rebellious creatures 
Our contrariety to God makes us blind to the beauty ofthe di
vine nature, and deaf to all bis commands, counsels, calls, and
invitations. W'e might know God, if we had a heart to know
him ; and love God, if we had a heart to love him. It is noth
ing but our bad temper and being destitute of a right disposition
that makes us spiritually blind and spiritually dead. If this
heart of stone was but away, and a heart of flesh was but in us, aU
Hie Prophets to death. They were altogether insensible of the perfect con
trariety of their hearts to the divine nature. And whence was it ? 'Why,
they had wrong notions of the divine Being, and they loved that false image
which they had fraimed in their own fancies ; and so they had wrong no
tions of the Prophets which their fathers hated and murdered, and hence
imagined that they should have loved them : But they saw a little what a
temper and disposition Christ was of, and him they hated with a perfect
hatred. So there are multitudes of secure sinners and self-deceived hypo
crites, who verily think they love God; nevertheless, as soon as ever they
open their eyes in eternity, and see just what God is, their love will vanish,
and their enmity break out and exert itself to perfection. So that the rea
son sinners see not their contrariety to the divine nature, is their not seeing
¦what God is....It must be so; for a sinful nature and an holy nature are
diametrically opposite. So much as there is of a sinful disposition in the
heart, so much of contrariety is there to the divine nature. If, therefore,
vie are not sensible of this contrariety, it can be owing to nothing but
our ignorance ofGod, or not believing him to be what he really is. ...Ram.
vii. 8,9. ^

distinguished from all counterfeits. 109
would be well : We should be able enough tp see, and hear, and
understand, and knpw divine things ; and shpuld be ravished
with their beauty ; and it wPuld be most natural and easy to
love Cod with all our hearts.
And hence, it is most evident that the supreme -Governor of
the world has not the least ground or reason to abate his law,
or to reverse the threatening ; norhave a rebellipus wprld the
least ground or reason to charge God with cruelty, and say, " It
is not just that he should require more than xve can do, and
threaten to damn us for not doing ;" for, from what has been
said, it is manifest that tiie law is holy, just,and good : And that
there is nothing in the way of our perfect conformity to it, biit
our own wickedness, in which we are free, and hearty, and vol
untary ; and for which, therefore, in strict justice, we deserve
eternal damnation. The law is already exactly upon a level with s
our natural capacities, and it need not, therefore, be brought any
lower : Andthere-is no greater punishment threatened than our
sin deserves ; .there is, therefore, no reason the threatening
should be reversed ; — as to the law, all is well, and there is no
need of any alteration : And there is nothing amiss, but in our
selves. It is impudent wickedness, therefore, to fly in the face
of God and of his holy law, and charge him with injustice and
cruelty ; because, forsooth, we hate him so bad that we cannot
find it in our hearts to love him ; and are so high-hearted and
stout that we must not be blamed. No, we are too good to be
blamed in the case, and all the blame, therefore, must be cast
upon God and his holy law : Yea, we are come to that, in this
rebelUous world, that if God sends to us the news of pardon and
peace through Jesus Christ, and invites us to return unto him
and be reconciled, we are come to that, I say, as to take it as ai^
high affront at the hands of the Almighty- " He pretends to
" offer us mercy," (say God-hating, God-provoking sinners),
" but he only mocks us ; for he offers all upon conditions which
" we cannot possibly perform." This is as if they should say—
" We hate him so much, and are of so high a spirit, that we can- .
" not find in our hearts to return, and own the law to be just, by

110 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
" which we starid condemned, and look to his free mercy,through
"Jesus Christ, for pardon and eternal life ; and, therefore, ifhe
" will offer pardon and eternal life upon no easier terms, he does
" but dissemble with us, and mpck and deride us in our misery."
And since this is the true state of the case, therefore it is no
wonder that even infinite goodness, itself, has fixed upon a day
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his
mighty angels, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ : And then shall ungodly sinners be convinced of all their
hard speeches which they have ungodlily spoken against the
Lord : And then shall the righteousness of all God's ways be
made manifest before all the world.
To conclude — God, the great Lord of aU, has threatened
eternal damnation against all those who do not perfectly keep
the law, (Gal. iii. 10,) even although they live and die in the
midst of the heathen world.... i?o»z. i. 18, 19, 20 ; (of which
more afterwards.) And at the day of judgment he will exe-
cute the threatening upon aU, (those only excepted, that are,
by faith, interested in Christ and in the new covenant :) and
his so doing wiU evidently be justifiable in the sight ofall worlds,
on this ground, viz. That they were not under a natural neces
sity of sinning, but were altogether voluntary in their disobe
dience. Luke xix. 27. ...But those mine enemies which would
NOT that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them
bej'ore me.
And this, by the way, is the very thing which stops the mputh
pf an awakened, convinced, humbled sinner, and settles him
down in it, that he deserves to be damned, notwithstanding all
his doings, viz. that he is whathe is, notby compulsion, or thrpugh
a natural necessity, but altogether voluntarily. There is noth
ing more difficult in the whole work preparatory to conversion,
than to make the sinner see, and feel, and own, that it is just....
quite just....altogether just and fair for God to damn him. He
pleads, that he is sorry for all his sins, and is willing to forsake
them all forever, and is resolved always to do as well as he can.

distinguished from all counterfeits. Ill
He pleads, that he cannot help his heart's being so bad... .that he
did not bring himself into that condition, but that he was brought
into it by the fall of Adam, which he could not possibly prevent,
and which he had no hand in. But when he comes, in a clear
and realizing manner, to see and feel the whole truth, viz. that
he does not care for God, nor desire to, but is really an enemy
to him in his very heart, and voluntarily so, and that all his fair
pretences and promises, prayers and tears, are but mere hypoc
risy, arising only from self-love, and guilty fears, and mercena
ry hopes, NOW the business is done : For, says he. It 7natters
not how I came into this condition, nor whether I can help having
so bad a heart, since I am voluntarily jusi such a one as lam,
and really love aw^ choose to be what lam. Rom. vii. 8, 9....
Sin revived and I died. He feels himself without excuse, and
that his mouth is stopped, and that he must be forced to own
the sentence just ; for he feels that it is not owing to any com-
pulsien or natural 7iecessity, but that he is voluntarily and hear
tily such a one as he is : And now, and not till now, does he
feel himself to be a sinner, completely so ; for he, all along be
fore, fancied some goodness to be in him, and thought himself
in some measure excusable : and now, and not till now, is
he prepared to attribute his salvation entirely to free and sove
reign grace. All along before he hiid something to say for
himself, like the Pharisee : But, with the publican, he noxv sees
that he lies at OTera/....Luke-xvlii. 13. This is the very thing
that makes all mankind to blame, altogether to blame, for being
what they are, namely — that they are voluntarily so ; this is
the reason they deserve to be damned for being so, and this,
when seen and felt by the awakened sinner, effectuaUy stops
his mouth.
And this, also, is the very thing that makes believers see them
selves wholly to blame for not being perfectly holy, and lays a
foundation for their mourning for their xvant of a perfect, con
formity to the law. They feel their defects are not the result
of a natural necessity, but only ofthe remains of their old aver-
Siioii to God, which, so far as they are unsanctified, they ar&
Q

112 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
voluntary in.* And hence they cry out, lam carnal, sold un
der sin,0 wretched 7nan that lam .'...Rom. vii. 14, 24; and set
themselves down for beasts andyoo/*.... Psalm Ixxiii. 22.
And finally, this want of a good temper....this voluntary and
stubborn aversion to God, and love to themselves, the world
smd sin, is all that renders the immediate influences of the ho
ly spirit so absolutely necessary, or indeed at all needfid, to
recover and bring them to love God with all tiieir hearts. A
bare representation of what God is, were men of a right temper,
would ravish their hearts ; for his beauty and glory are infinite.
It is nothing, therefore, but their badness'that makes it needful
that there should be line upon line, and precept upon precept.
It is their aversion tP God, that makes any persuasions at all
needful ; for, were they of a right temper, they would love God
with all their hearts, of their own accord. And surely, were not
* Ob J. " But does not St. Paul say, in Rom. vii, 18, To <u>ill ispresentwiib
" me ; but how to perform, that which is godd, I find not ?"
Ans. 'Tis true, he had a strong disposition to be perfectly holy, but his
disposition was not perfect. He had a strong disposition to love God su
premely, live to him entirely, and delight in hitn wholly, but his whole heart
was not perfectly disposed to do so. There was a spirit of aversion to God,
andlove to sin, remaining in him. /;; me, that is, in m,yfi,esh, dwells ?u>good
*/6«;^... .and this Yv-asthe ground and cause of all his impotency : So that
when he says, To will is present with ime, but how to perform that which is
good, I find not, he means, " To be in a measure disposed to lovp God su-
'"' premely, live to him entirely, and delight in him wholly, is natural and
" easy ; but how to get my whole heart into the disposition, I find not— it
" is beyond me, through the remains ofthe flesh, i. e. of my native contra-
" riety to God, and love to sin;" Whichremainingcontrariety toGod, and
propensity to sin, so far as he was unsanctified, he was voluntary in ;' but so
far as he was sanctified, he perfectly hated. JFith mymind,Imyselfservethe
law of God, but with myfiesh the law of sin. ...ver. 25. And so the spirit lusted
against thefiesh, andthefiesh against the spirit ; and these two were contrary
the one to the other, and hence he could not do the things that he would. . .Gal. v. 17.'
Obj. " But does not St. Paii speak several times, in Rom. vii. as ifhe
" ¦yiras riot properly to. blame for his remaining corruptions, when he says. It
¦* is not I, but sin that dwclleth in tne .'"
Asrs._ He only means, by that phrase, to let us know that his remaining
corruption was not the governing principle in him : according to what he
had' said in Rom,, vi. lJ!....Sin shall not have the dominion over you, for ye are
not under the law, but under grace : but does not at all design to insinuate,
that he did not see himself to blame, yea wholly to blame, for his remaining
corruption.... For though he says sometimes. It is not I, but sin thatdwelletb
in me, yet, at other times, I am carnal, sold under sin... ver. 14. O wretched
man that I am.. ..ver. 24— like a broken-heartedpenitent. But he could not
have mourned for his remaining corruption as being sinful, if he had not
felt himself to blame for it.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 113
wien veVy bad indeed, there would be no pccasipn for his ara-
bassadors with such earnestness to beseech them : We pray you,
says the appstie, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God....II.
Cor. V. 20. But now, that aU external means that can possibly
he used....aU arguments, and motives, and entreaties, urged- in
the most forceable manner, should not be able to recover men
to God, no not one, in all the world, without the immediate in-
¦fluences of the holy spirit, can surely be attributed to nothing
short of this, that an appstate WPrld are, in very de<id, at enmi
ty against God, and their contrariety to him is mightily settled
and rooted in their hearts-^«mightily settied and rooted indeed,
tiiat Paid Avas notiiing, and Apollos nothing, and all their most
vigorous efforts nothing ; so that without the immediate influen
ces ofthe holy spirit, not one, by them, although the best preach
ers, of mere men, that ever lived, could be persuaded to
turn to God.. ..I. Cor. iii. 7 ; but that the world should, in fact,
rise in arms, and put the messengers of heaven to death, seems
to argue enmity and malice, to the highest degree, It is men's
badness that keeps them from taking in right apprehensions of
God, and that makes them blind to the beauty ofthe divine na
ture, and that makes them hate God, instead of loving him :
but for this, they would love God of their own accord, without
anymore ado. If God wereyour fatlier, (says Christ) ye would
love me ; ye are of your father the devil, therefore ye hate me.
Surely, then, all the world are inexcusable, and whoUy to blame,
for their continuance in sin, and justly deserve eternal damna
tion at the hands of God, as was before said : Nor is it any ex
cuse to say, " God does not give me sufficient grace to make
*' me better ;" since I might love God, with all my heart, of my
pwn accord, with all the ease in the world, if I were but of a
right temper : Yea, such is his glory and beauty, that I could
not but be ravished with it, were I such as I ought to be ; and
my needing any special grace to make me love God, argues
that I am an enemy to him, a vile, abominable wretch, not fit
to live : And to pretend to excuse myself, and say, " I cannot,
" and God will not make me," is j[ust as bad as if a rebeUious

114 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
child shpuld gp tp his father, and say, " I hate ypu, and cannot
" Ipve you, and GodwiU not, by his almighty power, make me
" better, and therefore I am not to blame ;" for the wretch could
not but love his good father, were it not that he is so exceeds
ingly vitiated in his temper. If our impotency consisted in
and resulted from our wantof natural capacities.. ..if it was the
business of the holy spirit to give us new natural faculties, then
we might plead our inability, and plead God's not giving us suf
ficient power, in excuse for ourselves : But since all our impo
tency takes its rise entirely from another quarter, and aU our
need of the influences ofthe holy spirit to bring us to love God
results from our badness, therefore are we withoiit excuse, al
though God leaves us entirely to ourselves : And indeed np-
thing can be more absurd than to suppose the Governor of the
world obliged to make his creatures love him, in spite ofall their
aversion ; or more wicked than to lay the blame of their not lov
ing him, upon him, in case he does not.. ..Jer. vii. 8. 9, 10 — 16.
Obj, But if it be granted that men's natural powers are ade
quate with the law of God, and so they, as to their natural capa
cities, are capable of a perfect conformity to the law; and if it be
granted that the outward advantages, which all have who Uve un
der the gospel, are sufficient, were men but of a right temper, to
lead them to the true knowledge of God, and so, that all such are
without excuse ; yet, if any part of mankind do not enjoy suffi
cient outward advantages for the true knowledge of God, without
which it is impossible they should either love or Serve him, how can
such justly and fairly beacccounted altogether to blame, andwhol-
ly inexcusable ? If the heathen, who have no other outward ad
vantages whereby to gain the true knowledge of God, than the
works of creation and providence, do but honestly improve what
they have, shall not they be accepted, although they faU short of
sinless perfection? Or is it right and fair that they should be
damned P
Ans. I suppose that those advantages, which all mankind
dp actually enjoy, -would be suflicient to lead them to a true
knowledge of God, andso to love and serve him, were they of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 115
a right disposition, and were it not for the prejudices that blind
and darken their minds, which arise from their enmity to God,
and love to themselves, the world, and sin.. ..Rom. i. 20, 28 :
And I suppose that Gpd, the wise and holy, just and good
Governor of the world, is under no natural obligation to use
any supernatural means for the removal of those prejudices ;
(Rom. ix. 15.) especially considering that men love them, and
are obstinate in them, and will not let them be removed if they
can help it, as is, in fact, the ease.... Rom. i. 18, 28 — Johnin. 19:
And I suppose that, since the law is holy, just and good, no
thing short of sinless perfection can, or ought to, pass with the
supreme Law-giver and Judge of the world, as a condition of
acceptance.... Ga/. iii. 10 — Rom. iii. 20: And I suppose that
God was under no obligations to provide a Savior to bear the
curse of the law, and answer its demands for any, since all are
voluntarUy at enmity against him and his lavi....Rom. v. 8.
Upon the whole, I suppose that all mankind might have been
left in their fallen state, without a Savior, or any offers of par
don and peace, or any supernatural advantages whatsoever ;
and that yet their natural obligations to love God with all their
hearts, would have by no means ceased; and that it would have
been perfectly just and right with God, to have inflicted eternal
damnation upon us, for our not doing so.... Rom. i. IS, and iii.
19. And besides, I suppose that all the nations ofthe earth
might have had the gospel preached to them, and, to this day,
enjoyed it, had not the world been in arms against it, and killed
the messengers of peace, who were sent to carry the glad tidings
of pardon and salvation round the world.. ...Mat. xxvlii. 19 :
And I suppose, that still, in every age of the Christian church,
there have been ministers of Christ, who would gladly goto the
farthest parts of the earth, to carry the joyful news of a Savior,
were men but willing to receive the news, and repent, and con
vert, and return to God: I know, there are such in this age ; from
all which, I suppose that it is right, fair, and just, for GocTto exe
cute the threatening of his law according to his declared design
...Ront. 11.5,6. Thus much in general; b-at,tobemoreparticulai5,,

lis TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANJ)
1. It is plain that the heathen, as well as the rest of mankind,
are under a law that forbids aU sin, and requires perfect holi
ness. For the wrath of God is revealedfrom heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, let them be yety* or
Gentiles...JRom. i. 18. And since God is what he is, and they
his creatures, there is the same general grpund and reason that
they should love him -with all tiieir hearts, as that others should.
And it is plain St. Paul looked upon the heathen under obliga
tions to glorify God as God, andbe thankful...,Rom. i. 21 ; which
is the sum of what is required in the first table of the law : And
none wiU pretend that the heathen are not obliged to love their
neighbors as themselves, and do as they would be done by ;
which is the sum of what the second table requires : So that it
is a plain case, that they are, by the law of nature, obliged to the
same perfect holiness which is required, in God's written word,
of the rest of mankind.
2. It is plain, St. Paul looked upon them as enjoying suffi
cient means pf kno\Vledge, and so to be without excuse. Rom.
i. 18.. ..For the wrath of God is revealedfrom heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
Unrighteousness. " Who hold the truth in unrighteousness, i. e.
*' who, instead of heartily receiving, and loving, and conforming
"to the truth, do, from love to their lusts, hate, and wickedly
" suppress, aU right notions of God... .of truth and duty,^stifling
*' their consciences." But how do the GentUes discover this
aversion to the truth, who are under no advantages to know it ?
"I answer," says the apostle, "their advantages are sufficient;
'¦'¦ior (verse Vd^ That which maybe known of God is manifest
'¦'•in them ; i. e. the perfections of God, which is all that is
"knowable of God, are discovered to them;" as he adds, '•'¦For
"¦ God hath shewed it unto them'' But were not the perfections
of God discovered to them so darkly as not to be sufficiently
evident and perceivable ? " No," says he ; " for (verse 20.)
*' The invisible things of him, from the creation ofthe xvorld, are
" CLEARLY SEEN, being understood by the things that are made,
" even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are without

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 117
" excuse ; i. e. ever since the creation of the world^ the per-
" fections of God are clearly to be seen in his works, the things
" which he has made manifesting plainly what a God he is : so
" that those who see not his perfections, and are not sensible of
"his infinite glory, cannot plead their want of sufficient outward
*' advantages, in excuse for their ignorance and insensibility ; and
"therefore the heathen, who have this advantage, are without
" excuse."* And, stiU farther to clear up the point, the apos
tie seems to go on, as it were, to say — " Yea, it is evident that
" the present ignorance of the Gentile nations is affected, and so
"inexcusable, not only from the sufficiency of their present out-
" ward advantages, but also from their former misimprovement
" of the advantages which they heretofore did enjoy. Because
" (ver. 21.) when they knew God, i. e, when the heathen nations
'¦formerly had right notions of God instiUed into them, being
" instructed in the knowledge of the true God, by Noah and his
"sons, from whom they descended, yet then they glorified him
" not as God, neither were thankful ; their instructions had no
" influence upon them to make them holy : but they became
" vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened;
" i, e, they soon fell off to idolatry, and lost that knowledge of
" the true God, in which they had been instructed and educa-
" ted : For (ver, 28) they did not like to retain God in their
'¦'¦knowledge; i, e. to remember those instructions which had
• If it should be objected, that St. Paul only means that their advantages
were so great as to render them inexcusable in their gross idolatry and high
handed wicied?iess, because they did, or might have known better than to do
so, it may be easily answered, from the 18th verse, that he means to prove
that they were altogether inexcusable, not only in their gross sins, but also
in all their ungodliness 3.ndunrighteousness, i.e. plainly, in a.'/ their want of 4
perfect conformity to the naoral law , or law of nature ; for the least de
gree of non-conformity, in heart or life, to the first table ofthe law, is a de
gree oi ungodliness, and the very least degree of non-conformity to the se
cond table of the law, is a degree of unrighteousness : And St. Paul is ex
press in it that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all uji-
godliness, &c. : And, in verse 21, heis full in it.that the heathen are wholly
inexcusable for not glorifying God as God, which is manifestly all that the
law ever required ; so that it is plain he does not design merely to prove
that they were inexcusable in their idolatry, and the gross viickedness of their
lives, but also that they were inexcusable in, and wholly to blame for their
not being perfectly holy ; for they did, or might have known, that God deser^
•sed to be loved with all t/^eir heart, and their neighbor as themsehai.

118 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
" been given them concerning the nature and perfections of
" God:* But they abandoned themselves to idolatry ; (ver, 23,
"25,) For which cause, (ver, 24,26) — for which contempt cast
" on God, God gave them up to aU manner of wickedness ; so
" that the present extreme ignorance, blindness, and wicked-
"ness ofthe GentUe nations, they have, through their aversion
" to God and love to sin, brought themselves into : so that it i%
" manifest they do not desire the knowledge of God, but evi-
" dently hate all right notions of him, and so are, beyond dis-
"pute, without excuse ; which was the point to be proved," —
Thus he proves that they are without excuse, because their
present advantages for the knowledge of God are sufficient —
which advantages, ever since the creation of the world, have
been common to all ; and because they had once superadded
advantages from parental instructions, which, instead of weU
improving, and of carefully handing down from generation to
generation, the)' hated to remember, and, so, soon forgot.
And these passages ought to be of more weight to decide
the case, because they are not merely occasional strokes, but
the apostle is evidently upon the very same point that I am :
For, from the 1 8th verse of thiis first chapter, to the 19th ver.ie of
the third, he is industriously laboring to prove, that both Jexvi
and Gentiles are allunder sin, and so the whole world guiltij before
God : And his arguments are not fetched from Addm^s first sin,
but from comptiring them with the law of God, whereby he
discovers theii' weaknesses ; all the blame whereof, he entirely
lays upon them : and because it might have been objected, that
* And I may add — Concerning the seed ofthe wmnan.... the promised Mes
siah, and the way of salvation through hivi ; for, no doubt, N oah and his sons
had heard of this promise, and told it to their posterity ; and if they had
handed it dowp safe, from age to age, the heathen world might, through
out all generations, have been in -a salvable state ; for this promise con
tained the sum and substance ofthe gospel. Methuselah lived (too /)««(/reii
and forty years in the days of Adam. Noah lived W.v hundred, 3.\\i.hii!iom
about a hu/idred ysKTS in the days of Methuselah : And Isaac was_/5/i)i years
old before ail Noah's sons were dead : so that this promise might easily
have been handed along down by tradition, and doubtless would have been
so, had it been precious in the eyes of the children of men : And' after
wards, farther light might have been obtained from Israel, God's peculiar
people, by the Gentile nations, had they really bee.u desirous of it.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 119
I
the heathen xJvsrld had not sufficient means of knowledge, and so
were not wholly to blame and inexcusable in their non-conformity
to the la-to, he does here designedly obviate the objection, and
prove and declare them to be without any objection .from that
quarter. The apostie evidentiy takes it for granted, that they
had sufficient natural powers to capacitate them for the knowl
edge of God, and l>e proves that their outward advantages were
sufficient ; and so he lays the whole blame of their ignorance,
blindness, and -wickedness upon themselves ; and finally sums
them up, ¦with the rest of mankind, as having their mouths stop
ped, and standing guilty before God....Chapter iii. 19.
The truth ofthe case seems, in a few words, to lie here ; — that
if Adam had never fell, the works of creation and providence
had been the glass in which he himself, and aU his posterity, would
have beheld the glory of the Lord, from age to age ; whereby,
being naturally of a right temper, they would have been effec
tuaUy influenced to love him, live to him, delight in him, and
praise him forever ; or, in St. Paul's words, • To glorify God as
God, and be thankful. And I suppose that aU mankind, stiU hav
ing the same natural powers, and the same outward advantages,
are therefore entirely to blame for, and wholly inexcusable in,
all their ignorance, blindness, and wickedness ; especiaUy con
sidering they perfectly love to be what they ar6, and hate to be
reclamed, and stand ready to resist the light when offered, and
shut their eyes against the truth, from whatever quarter it comes.
The heavens, still as clearly as ever, do declare thd glory of the
Lord, and the firmament sheweth his handy work ; day unto day
uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.. .Vsaha.
xix. 1. The natural perfections pf God are clearly to be seen in
aU his works at the first glance, and his moral perfections wovld
be equaUy evident to an intelligent creature of a right temper at
the second thought : And then his glory would immediately
«hihe brighter than the sun, and every heart be ravished with
his infinite beauty : B.ut such is our alienation from the Deity
in this appstate world, and such tiievitiatedtemper of our minds,
that while angels see the divine glory in all his works, (Rev.
R

120 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
iv. 11.) men, sottish, brutish men, though they have eyes to
see, see not ; but are blind to the manifestations which God
makes of himself, because they do not like to have God in their
knowledge. And now,
3. As to the heathens being accepted for honestly improving
their powers and advantages, it is, in the first place,most certain,
from St. Paul's account, that they were at the very igreatest dis
tance from doing so. But, secondly, if they had done so, yea,
if they had discovered so good a temper of mind as perfectly to
have conformed to the divine law, yet it is the very scope of all
the apostle's reasoning, in the three first chapters of his epistie
tp the Romans, to prove that by the deeds ofthe law wo/e,5 A, neith
er Jew nor Gentile, can be justified : And since the law is holy,
just, and good, it is not, indeed, reasonable that any thing short
of sinless perfection, /rom^rsf to hst, should pass with the right
eous Governor ofthe world as a condition of acceptance. Fu
ture obedience, let it be ever so perfect, can do nothingtomake
amends fpr former neglects — as has been already proved in
another place : But that which, of itself alone, is entirely sufficient
to say in this matter, is, that it is expressly declared in Rom. i.
18... .The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all un
godliness (or evei-y breach ofthe first table), and unrighteousness
(or every breach of t^e second table of the law), of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness : which words are evidentiy
designed, by the apostle, to represent the character and state of
the heathen wprld ; for he spends the rest ofthe chapter in en
larging upon this head, shewing how the heathen held the truth
in unrighteousness, and were exposed to the wrath of Gpd for
their ungodliness and unrighteousness ; and he concludes them
all under sin, and guilty, and lost forever, unless they obtain jus
tification by faith in Christ....(See Chapter iii. 9, 19,20, 30 ver
ses.) And thus we see how all mankind have not only suffi
cient natural powers, but also sufficient outward advantages to
'know God and perfectly conform to his law, even the heathen
themselves ; and that the very reason they do not, is their want
of such a temper as they ought to have, and their voluntary, root-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 121
ed enmity tP God, and love to sin.* And now that they arc
wholly to blame and entirely inexcusable, appears stiU in a
clearer light.
But before I leave this point, I must make this remark, viz.
That if God looks upon the advantages of the heathen sufficient,
no wonder that he so often speaks of<the advantages of his own
professing people as being much more than barely sufficient,
even althoughthey enjoy only the outward means of grace, with
out the inward influences ofthe holy spirit : for, if the natural
advantages of the heathen are sufficient, surely the supernatu
ral advantages of those who enjoy a divine revelation, are much
more than sufficient : And if the advantages of those who' en
joy only a divine revelation are much more than sufficient, no
wonder then that those who lived in the days of Moses, Isaiah,
and Christ, are represented as very monsters of wickedness, for
* Obj. But it is impossible they should love Godwith all their hearts, if they
have no hopes of finding favor in his sight ,¦ for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewardek of them that diligently seek
\).im....Sebrews xi. 6.
Ans. Coming to God, in Heb. xi. 6, evidently implies not only a confor
mity to the law, but also a compliance with the gospel ; i. e. it implies not
only a disposition to love God with all our hearts, but also a trusting in him
for the divine favor and eternal life upon gospel-encouragements ; which
gospel-encouragements must, therefore, be understood and believed, or it
will, indeed, be impossible so to trust in him. But I did not say that the
heathen were under sufficient outward advantages for an evangelical return
ing to God, which is what is intended in Heb. xi. 6. but only for a com
pliance with the law of nature, which is what is intended in Pom,, i. 20, 21.
Obj. But still is it not, . in the nature of things, im,possible they should love
God, if they have no hopes of finding favor in his sight ?
Ans. Let common sense decide the case : — A servant hates his master
(a very good man) without cause, murders his only son, steals a thousand
pounds of his money, runs away into a far country, spends several years in
riotous living ; at length he is caught, brought home to his master, who is a
man in authority ; before him he has his trial, is condemned, and has no hope
of favor. But how doej^ this render it impossible, in the. nature of things,
that he should love his master ? 'Why cannot he love his master now, as
well as ever he could ! He has the same original grounds of love he used
to have : He used to love his master — his inaster is as worthy of his esteeiri
as ever : He has no cause to esteem his master any the less, because he
himself has been such a villain, or bfecaute he is doomed to die for his
crimes ; — a punishment justly due. To dislike his master for these things
would be perfectly unreasonable : Surely, were he but of a right temper,
he could not but take all the blame to himself, and justify his master, and
esteem and love him, and be heartily sorry for all his villanies : He can be
under no inability, but what must aariae from a bad heart. — The appUua-
tion is easy.

1^2 TRUE RELIGION CELlNEATkO, ANB
remaining Wind, senseless, impenitent, and unholy, since they
enjoyed such great, and so many superadded advantages : No
wonder, therefbre, that Moses every where represents tiiechil-
di-enof Israel as such a stubborn, perverse, stiff-necked, rebel
lious people, (particularly see Deut. ix.) and makes as if their
bUndness, senselessness, and impenitency were most unaccount
able and inexcusable, since their eyes had seen, and their ears
had heard such things, and their advantages had been so great.
Deut. xxix. 2,. 3, 4.... And Moses called unto all Israel, and said
Unto them, Te have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in
the land of Egypt, unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and
unto aU his land; (and that he might set forth the greatness of
the things which they had seen, he adds). The great temptations.
which thine eyes have seen...the signs, and those great iniracles,
(all which have been enough to melt the heart of a stone, and)
yet (as he goes on to say), the Lord (by all these things which
have been so much more than enough), hath not given you an
heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day :
All these means have not to this day attained the end, and made
you see, and feel, and know what a God the Lord is, and bring
you to love him, and fear him, and walk in all his ways. Mo
ses evidently speaks of it as a very strange thing that they should
be blind, senseless, impenitent, and unholy, after such means
and advantages — as if they were most inexcusable, yea, under a
very aggravated guilt ; whereby he plainly takes it for granted,
that their advantages had been much more than sufficient, had it
not been for their want of a right temper, and their wicked ob
stinacy and perverseness : And yet he mentions none but out
ward means and outward advantages, and does not give the least
intimation that they had had any inward assistance from the ho
ly spirit : he does not bring any such thing into the account, but
wholly aggravates their sin and their great inexcusableness,
from the consideration of their outxvard helps : — Te have seen
all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, he.
And no wonder he thought them so very inexcusable, since God
looks upon the heathen world without excuse, in that, while the

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 123
heavens declare the glory of the Lord, he. they do not see with
their eyes, and perceive with their hearts, and, from a sense of
his glory, only thus discovered, love him, and live to him ; for,
if their advantages are enough, surely the advantages ofthe Is-
raeUtes were much, very much, more than enough.
And, upon the same hypothesis, it is no wonder that God
looked upon the case of the children of Israel as he did, in the
time of Isaiah ; who, from the days of Moses even to that day,
had, from age to age, enjoyed such outward advantages as they
had, and h-ad had such outvtrard means used with them ; and,
in that age, enjoyed sp great an outward privilege, as the daily
prophesying and preaching of Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Mi
cah ; who, sojne, if not all, of them prophesied, it is very prob-
ahle, forty or fifty years together at the same time, as we may
learn from the first verse in their several books, which tell us
when and how long they prophesied, compared with the account
we have of those kings' reigns, in the books of the Kings, in
whose reigns they prophesied ; — ^no wonder, I say, God speaks
as he does in Isaiah v. 1 — 7. ...My beloved hath a vineyard in a
very fruitful hill : And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones
thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in
the midst of it, and also made awine-press therein: Here is rep
resented the natural powers, and outward advantages of God's
people. — And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it
brought forth wild grapes : And now, 0 inhabitants ofjerusa^
lem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my
vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that
I have not done in it ? Wherefore, when I looked that it should
bririg forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ? Here all the
blame is entirely laid on themselves, and their conduct is con
sidered as being inexcusably, yea, unaccountably bad. — Andnow
go to ; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard — I will take
away the hedge thereof, &c. Where nothing can be plainer
than that the children of Israel are represented as enjoying suf
ficient advantages for fruitfulness — ^yea, advantages much more
than barely sufficient ; and that their proving as they did, was

124 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
unspeakably vile and God-provpking, and for which they de
served utter ruin ; and for which, indeed, God did afterwards,
according to his declared design, bring utter ruin upon them :
But all those advantages were outward; nor is the inward as
sistance^ of the holy spirit -any where brought into the account,
whenever the greatness of theiradvantagesris set forth, on pur
pose to show how aggravated their wickedness was : but this is
constantiy the charge, as in II. Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16, 17..,. And
the Lord God of their fathers sent imto them by his messengers,
rising up betitnes and sending ; but tliey mocked the messengers
of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until
the wrath of God arose against his people, till there xvas no rem
edy : Therefore, he brought upon them the King ofthe Chaldees;
not because they did not improve the inward assistances of the
holy spirit, but because they did not improve their outward ad
vantages.. ..cS<3^ not hdarken to God's messengers : And in this
strain their confessions ran, when God, by his grace, had brought
them to see what they had done ; — as in Dan. ix. 5,6, hc....We
have sinned, and committed iniquity, and have donewickedly, and
have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy
judgments : Neither have we he arkened unto thy servants,
THE prophets, wliich spake in thy name. The not hearkening
to them is mentioned as the great aggravation ; but their not im
proving the inward assistance of the spirit is not brought into
the account,. ..See Neh. ix. 30.
It is evident that the children of Israel, considered as a na
tion, had not special grace, or the renewing, sanctifying influen
ces of the holy spirit, as one oftheir advantages, from Jer. xxxi.
31, 52,SS....Behold, the daiys come, saith the Lord, that I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah, notaccording to the covenant Imade with their fathers,
in the day I took them by the hand, to bring them out ofthe land
"f^SyP* ' (which my [national] covenant they brake, although
I was as an husband unto them, saith the Lord ;) But this shaU
be the covenant that IwiU make with the house of Israel : After
those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward

DISTiAgUISHED frpm all CPUNTERFEITS. 125
parts, and write it in their hearts, andwiU be their God, and
they shall be my people ; — ^where the renewing, sanctifying in
fluences of the holy spirit are mentioned as a pecuUar privUege
the Jewish people were not entitied unto as a nation, by that
natioiud covenant which Gpd entered intP with them, as such,
at Mpunt Sinai, (Exod. xix. — Deut. v.) and which afterwards,
at the end pf forty years, was renewed at the bprders pf Canaan
....Deut.xxix : Npr indeed were there any inward influences
of the holy spirit, at all, promised in that national covenant, as
a common priyilege, to be by them in common enjoyed : And
if they were not entitled tP this privilege, as a nation, by their
national covenant, then there is no evidence that they, as a na^.
tion, did enjoy it ; and, therefore, when God speaks as if he
had done aU fpr that nation that could be done, he plainly has
respect only to outxvard means, which were all that they, as a
nation, enjoyed : And, as to them, he evidentiy had good ground
so to say ; since he had done such great things for them, and
sent such prophets among them, and been continuaUy taking
all pains, from age to age, to make them a holy people : even
as we are ready to say cpnceming the people of a particular
parish, where there is a learned, godly, plain, searching, power
ful, enUghtening, faithful minister, such as Mr. Shepard was
in his day. What more could be done for such a people, that is not
done ? And, therefore, when Stephen charged the Jews, that
they always resisted the Holy Ghost, as their fathers had done,
(in Acts vii. 51,) he means, that they had always resisted the
Holy Ghost, as speaking in and by their prophets, as now they
did the same spirit that spake in and by hijja. — as is plain from
verse 52, and as is also evident from Neh.'yx. 30. And besides,
there is not the least intimation, that those Jews, to whom Ste-
plien spoke, were under any of the inward influences of the
holy spirit, but they seem rather to act like creatures whoUy
left of God. And this hint may help us to understand that
phrase in Neh. ix. 20. compared with Num. xi. 17 : So that,
frpm the whple, it is evident, that the children pf Israel, as a
nation, were, in Isaiah's time, Ipoked upon as enjoying advan-

126 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
tages much more than sufficient fpr their being a liply and fruit
ful people, had they been of a right temper and not so wickedly
obstinate and perverse in their bad disposition ; and yet their
advantages were only outward, and the inward influences ofthe
holy spirit are not. taken into the account.
And weU might their advantages be^hus esteemed, uppn the;
forementioned hypothesis : Yea, if all mankind are able, in res
pect tp their natural capacities, to yield perfect obedience,' and
if the advantages of the very heathen were sufficient, had it not
been for the want of a right temper in them, and for their very
bad disposition, it is no woilder that God speaks here concern
ing his peculiar people, whpse outward advantages were exceed
ingly great, as if he had had very raised expectations of their
being a holy people : — Wherefore, when Ilooked.it should bring
forth grape^^Prqught it forth wild grapes ? q. d. " I have done
" all, as to outward means, that could be done, to make you a
" holy people — enough, and more, than enough ; and I looked
" and expected that you should have been so : and whence is it
" that you are not ? How uixaccountable is it ? And hpw great
" is ypur wipkedness ! And hpw great your guilt !" For it is
God's way, in the holy scriptures, to speak to men after the man
ner of men, who are wont to have their expectations of fruitful
ness raised, when they sow or plant in a fertUe soil, weU manu
red and cultivated„„(See 3Iat. xxi, 33 — 41.) Just so a master
13 wont to speak to his servant, who is strong, and able fpr bu-
siness — " I Ipoked that you should have done such a piece of
" wprk, wherefore is it not done ? You had time enough, and
" strength enough ;'^ and that although he knew, in all reason,
beforehand, that his servant would not do it, because of his lazy,
unfaithful temper — die design of such speeches being to repre
sent the great unreasonableness and inexcuSableness of such a
conduct. And finally, upon the same hypothesis, it is no wonder that
Jesus Christ represents the people of Chorazin, and Bethsaida,
and Capernaum, as enjoying advantages sufficient to have
brought even Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom to repentance, which,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 127
in scripture account, are some ofthe most wicked cities in the
world ; and so, consequentiy,more tlian barely sufficient to have
brought them to repentance, who were, by profession, the people
of God ; for they had enjoyed the ministry of Christ himself,
and seen very many pf his mighty works...., Mat, xi.. 20 — 24. If
the advantages ofthe heathen world are sufficient, well might
¦Christ, speaking after the manner of men, seem to be so confi
dent that Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom would have repented,
if they had seen his mighty works ; and well might he speak as
if the people of Chorazin, he. had enjoyed advantages more
than barely sufficient, and lay all the blame oftheir impenitency
¦upon them — -yea, and look upop them as under an aggravated
guilt, and give them so heavy a doom : And yet nothing can
be plainer than that the advantages which they enjoj'ed were on
ly outward, for no other are brought into the account, as aggra
vations of their guilt -.-rrT-Woe unto thee, for if the mighty xvorks
which were done in you, &c. He does not, in the least, intimate
as if tiiey had any inward help from the holy spirit, but pnly says
he has done mighty worisamon^them ; yea, in the 25th verse,
he plainly declares that they were left destitute of special grace.
And thus, while, with St, Paul, we look upon the advant-ages
even of the heathen world as sufficient to lead them to the true
knowledge of God, and a perfect conformity to his law, but for
their want of a good temper, and their voluntary aversion to God
•and love to sin, we easily see whence it is that the external ad
vantages of those who enjoy the benefit of a divine revelation,
together with other outward means of grace, ai-e represented as
being much more than barely sufficient— and consequently their
guilt, in remaining impenitent and unholy, as being doubly eg-
gravated. And before I leave this point, I must make one remark more,
namely, that if the advantages ofthe heathen world were suffi
cient, but for their want of a good temper, their voluntary aver
sion to God and love to sin, to lead them to the true knowledge
of God, and a perfect conformity to his law, as has been proved,
then God was not under any natural obligations to grant to any

128 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
oi mankind any supernatural advantages, but still might justly
have required sinless perfection of all, and threatened eternal
damnation for the least defect ; — I say, God v/as under no nat
ural obligations, i. e. any obligations arising from his nature and
perfections : for he might, consistent with his holiness, justice,
and goodness, have left all mankind to themselves, without
any supernatural advantages, since their natural advantages
were sufficient, and they were obstinate in their ignorance, blind
ness, and wickedness. Most certainly God was not bound to
have sent his Son. ...his spirit.. ..his word.. „his messengers, and
entreat and beseech those who perfectly hated him, and hated
to hear from him, and were disposed to crucify his Son — ^resist
his spirit — pervert his word, and kill his messengers, to turn
and love him, and serve him ; but might, even consistent with
infinite goodness itself, have let them take their course, and go
on in the •way they were set in, and have damned them aU at last.
All that the great and glorious Governor ofthe world requires
of mankind, in the law of nature, is, that they love him with all
their hearts and souls, and live as brethren together in his world;
which is infinitely reasonable in itself, and which they have suf
ficient natural powers to do. And he has stretched abroad the
heavens as a curtain over their heads, which declare the glory
ofthe Lord .; and in the earth, and in aUliis works, his perfec
tions are clearly to be seen — so that all are under sufficient ad
vantages for the knowledge of him ; but mankind hate God,
and say unto the Almighty, Depart from us, for xve do not desire
the knowledge of thy ways : and hence they stiU remain igno
rant of God, averse to him, and in love with sin : And now, I
^ay, it is as evident as the sun at noon day, that God might fair
ly have damned such creatures, without using any more means
with them. Hislawbeingthus upon a perfect level with their nat
ural powers and natural advantages, he was not obliged, as he was
the righteous and good Governor of the world, to grant them
any supernatural assistance, either outward, by an external rev
elation, or inward, by the internal influences of his holy spirit:
and therefore it is, that tlie great Ruler ofthe worid has always

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 129
acted sovereignly and arbitrarily in these matters, bestowing
these supernatural favors upon whom he pleases, as being obliged
to none. Thus he has done as to the external revelation :
Psalm cxlvii, 19, 20  He shexoeth his word unto Jacob.. ..his
statutes and his judgments unto Israel: He hath not dealt so xvith
any nation, and as for his judgments, they have not known them.
And thus he has done as to the internal Influences of his spirit ;
Mat, xi. 25, 26,,,. Ithank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven arid
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru
dent, and. hast revealed them unto babes ; even so. Father, for so
it seemed good in thy sight ; And thus God, even to this day,
as to both outward and inward helps, hath mercy on xvhom he
xuill have mercy, and compassion on xvhom he xvill have compas
sion : He effectually sends the gospel "to one nation, and not to
another ; and where the gospel is preached, he, by his spirit,
a\vakens, convinces, humbles, converts whom he pleases, and
leaves the rest.
And thus the objection, from the heathen's not having suffi
cient outward advantages, has been answered ; and, from the
answer, I have taken occasion to make these (I hope) riot unprof
itable remarks ; and may now return and repeat my former as
sertion, with still higher degrees of assurance, viz. that mankind
are altogether to blame for, and entirely inexcusable in, their
non-conformity to the holy law of God, and, therefore justly de
serve damnation — and that even the heathen, as well as others.
Thus have I endeavored to shew what is the e-xact measure
of love and obedience that God requires ofthe children of men,
and that ail mankind have sufficient natural powers and outvirard
advantages, and that aU their blindness, ignorance, andv/icfced-
ness, are voluntary, chosen, and loved : And I have been, the
larger upon these things, in order to clear up the justise of God
and his law, and the grace- of God in his gospel — both which
have been sadly misrepresented by those who have not aright
understood or well attended to these things. They have said
that itis not just in God to require siiiless perfection of man
kind, or damn any for the want of it : They have said that the

130 ¦ TRUE RELldlON DELINEATED, AND
law is abated and brought down to a level with (I hardly know
what, unless I caU it) the vitiated, depraved temper of an apos
tate world, whp both hate God and his holy law, and want an
act of toleration and indulgence to be passed in favor of their
CPiTuptions. that, at heart, they may remain dead in sin, and
yet, by a round of external duties, be secured from damnation
«it last : And so they have, like the Pharisees of old, (.Mati v.)
destroyed the law by their abatements ; and now the law, only
by which is the knowledge of sin, being thus laid aside, they are
ignorant of their sinful, guilty, helpless, undone state, and so
are insensible of their needof the sovereign grace of God, through
Jesus Christ, to save them — and fancy they are weU disposed
enough to turn to God of their Pwn accprd : And having imbi
bed such notions of religion, they easily see that the better sort
of heathen have, for siibstance, the same religion with themselves,
and therefore have equal charity for them ;--^not beirtg really
sensible of their need of gospel-grace for themselves, they have
full charity for the heathen, who never so much as heard of it :
But what I have said is sufficient, I think, to clear the justice of
God in his law, and the grace of God in the gospel, and sweep
away this refuge of Ues, by which so many gladly quiet their con
sciences, and wofuUy deceive their own souls. However, of
these things we shaU still have something more afterwards,-
Thus, we have gone through what was proposed,. „have con
sidered what was implied in love to God, and from what motives^
we are to love him, and what measure oflove is required : and
all that has been said cannot possibly be summed up in fewer
or plainer words than these, Thou shalt'love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy SOul.. ..xvith all thy mind, and
with all thy strength : This isthefirst and great commandment;
in conformity whereunto the first and great palt ofreligion does
cdnsist : And the second, which i.3 like unto it, being the foun
dation of the other half of (this part of) religion, (nov/ under
consideration), is, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;
which is what we are, in the next place, to proceed to a consid
eration of.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 131
SECTION IV.
OF LOVE TP OUR NEIGHBOR.
II. Thou. shalt love thy neighbor .as thyself: In v\jb'ieh words
we have (1.) the duty required — Thou shalt love. (2.) The
original, natural ground arid reason pf it intimated — 'Thy neigh
bor ; which name, given tp put fellow-men, may lead us to con
sider them as being what they are in themselves, and as sustain
ing some kind of character and relation with regai'd to us.—
,(3.) The. rule and standard by which our love tp our, neighbor
is to be regulated — As thyself. Here, therefore, we may con
sider whatisimpUed in love to our neighor.,..from what motives
we are to love him, and by what Standard our loye is to be reg-
.tilated, as to its nature and, measure. , .
First, Let us consider what is implied in that love to our
neighbor, which, by the law of God, is required of us : And, in
general, it is pre-supposed, or impUed, that we have a right tem
per of mind.... an upright, impartial, candid, benevolent temper,
even to perfection, without the least .tincture of any thing to the
contrary; for, without this, we ; shall not — wecannot view our
neighbors in a true light, northink of them. ...nor judge of them
....nor feel towards them, exactly as we ought. A wrong tem
per.. ..a selfish, partial, uncandid, censorious, carping, bitter, stin
gy, proud temper, wiU unavoidably give a wrong turn to aU our
thoughts of, and feeling towards, our neighbors ;¦ — as is mani
fest from the nature of the thing, and from universal experience.
Solomon observ.';s, that as a man thinketli, so is he ; and it is as
true, that as a man is, .so he thinkelh ; for out of the heart — ^the
temper and disposition ofthe man, proceed his thoughts of, and
feelings towards, both persons and things, according to our Sa
vior,. ..J^f. xii. ,33, 34, 35. An upright, therefore impartial,
candid, benevolent temper, to perfection, without the least tinc
ture of anyrtiiing to the contrary, is presupposed and implied,
in the love required, as being, in the nature of things, absolutely
necessary thereto. We must have a riglit temper, and, under
the influence thereof, be perfectly in a disposition to view our

132 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
neighbors in a right Ught, and think and judge of them, and be
aflTected towards them as we ought ; i. e. To love them as our
selves. Particularly,
1. There is a certain esteem and value for Our feUow-men,
I which, upon sundry accounts, is their due, that is implied iii
Vthis love. "There are valuable things in mankind : some have
one thing, and sOme another — some have gifts, and some have
¦grace — some have five talents, and some two, and some' otie —
some are w-orihy'of a greater esteehi, and some less, consider
ed merely as they are in themselves : and then some Eire, by
God, set in a higher statibn, and some in a lower, sustaining
various characters, aiid standing in various relations ; as ma
gistrates and subjects, ministers and people, parents and chil
dren, masters and servants', &c. And there is a certain esteem
and respect due to every 6ne in his station. Now, with a dis
interested impartiality, arid with a perfect candor, and a hearty
good-will, ought we to view the various excellencies of our
^neighbors, and consider their various stations, characters, and
relations ; and, in our hearts, we ought to give every one his due
honor, and his proper place, being perfectly content, for our
parts, to be and to act in our ov/n sphere, where God has pla
ced us ; and, by our feUow-mortals, to be considered as being
just what we are : and indeed, this, for substance, is the duty
of every one in the whole system of intelligent creatures. As
for God most high, the throne is his proper place,* and all his
intelligent creatures have their proper places, both with respect
to God, and with respect to one another — \.'hich places they
are bound to take, and to acquiesce in with all their hearts. We
have an instance of this temper, to a good degree, in David : He
¦was sensible that Saul was the Lord's anointed, and that it be
came him to render honor to whom honor is due, arid fear to
whom fear, and his heart was tender : hence David's heart smote
¦ him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. ...I. Sam. xxiv. 5. This
temper v/ili naturally dispose us to feel and conduct r2^/iUowards
our superiors,' inferiors, and equals ; and so lay a solid foundation
for the performance of all relative duties. Thecontraiytoallthis

)

DISTI.NGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 133
is a proud and conceited temper, attended with a disposition to
despise superiors, scorn equals, and trample upon inferiors ;
a temper in Avhich men over-value themselves, their friends and
party,andunder-value and despise allothers. Such donot consid
er persons and things as being what they are,and think, and judge,
and be affected, and act accordingly : Nor do thev consider, or
regard the different stations in which men are set by God, or
the characters they sustain by di\'ine appointment. They are
not governed by the reason of things, and the sense of what is
Tight and fit ; but by their own corruptions. This was the case
with Korah and his company, when they rose up against Mo
ses and Aaron, -and said, 7~e take too much upon you, seeing all
the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lard is
among i/tcra....Num. xvi. 3. Pride makes superiors scornful 7
in their temper, and tyrannical in their government ; and pride 1
makes inferitns envious in their temper, and ungovemdale in
their Uves ; and it makes equals jealous, unfriendly, conten
tious : In a word, it lays a foundation for the neglect of all rel
ative duties, and for a general discord and coidusion among
mankind. 2. We oug^t not only to consider, esteem, and respect our
feUow-men, as ieing what they are, and, with a perfect im-
partiaUty, give them their due, in our very hearts, according
to what they are, and to the stations they stand in, being perfect
ly content, for our osvn parts, with the place v.hich God has al
lotted to us in the system, and to be and act in our ov.-n proper
sphere, and -willing to be considered by others as beingjustwhat
we are ; but it is farther implied in the love required, that we
be perfectly benevolent towards them ; L e. that we consider
their happiness, as to body and soul — as to time and eternity/
as being what it reaUy is, and are (according to the meas
ure of our natural capacities) thoroughly sensible of its
value and worth, and ai-e disposed to be affected, and act accord
ingly, L e. to be tender of it.. ..value and promote it, as being
what it is — ^to loCg, and labor, and pi-ay for it — and to rejoice
in their prosperity, and be grieved for their adversity ; and aU

134
from a cordial love, and genuine good-will ; — the contrary to
which is a selfish spirit, v/hereby we are inclined only to value,
and seek,and rejoice in our own welfare,and not care forour neigh
bor's, any further than we are influenced by self-love and self-
interest — which selfish .spirit also lays a foundation for ent;?/ at
our neighbor's prosperity, and hard-heartedness in the time of
his adversity, and inclines us to hurt his interest, to promote
our own. To love our neighbor as ourselves, makes it natural
to do as we would be done by ; but a selfish spirit makes it m«-
¦natural. Malevolenee, malice, aadspite, make it even natural
to delight in our neighbor's misery : And hence it is, that re-
^enge is so sweet, and backbiting and detraction so agreeable in
ihis fallen, sinful world.
3, I may- add, that, so far as our fellow-men are'proper ob-
I jects of delight and complacency, so far ought we to take delight
^ and complacency in them : And hence it is that the godly man
feels such a peculiar love to the chUdren of God, for that image
of God which he sees in them. The saints are, in his account,
.the excellent ofthe earth, inwhom is all his delight....Psal. xvi. 3;
The godly man is of Christ's temper, who said. Whosoever shall
do the wiU of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my broth
er, and sister, and mother....Mat. xii. 50, But wicked men are
of another tosie; and the things.....the tempers and dispositions
in their neighbors, which to them appear exceUent, and uponthe
account of which they delight in them, are odious in God's sight,'
Luke xvi. 15.., .For that which is highly esteemed amongst men,
is abomination in the sight of God ; for it is the temper of wick,
ed men not only todo wickedly themselves, but also to have plea
sure in others that do so too.. ..Rom, \. 52. Those who are
vain, or unclean, or intemperate, suit each other, and take de.
light in pne anotiier's company ; while, at the same time, they
distaste and disrelish those things among mankind which are
truly most worthy of our delight. In a word, we ought so to es-
. teem others as tp be heartily disposed to treat them with aU that
respect which is their due ; and to have such a tender regard
for their v/elfare as to be perfectly disposed, in every ipstance,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 135
and, in every respect, to dp as we wpuld be dpne by ; and to take
nptice pf aU their gppd prpperties with that entire friendliness
and perfect candpr, as may disppse us to take aU that deUght
and complacency in them which is fit : In prder unto all which,
it is requisite that we be perfectly free from any tincture of pride,
selfishness, &c. and have our hearts full of humility, benevo
lence, candor, and gopdness. And now.
Secondly. The motives by which we are to be influenced,
thus to love our neighbors as purselves, are such as these :— •
1 . It is right and fit in itself: As the appstle, exhprting chUdren
tp obey their parents in the Lord, uses this motive. For this ia
right....'S.T^h. vi. 1. The reason of God's requiring of us
to Ipve our neighbprs as ourselves, is because it is, in its
own nature, right that we should ; and this ought, therefpre, to
mpve and influence us tP dp sp. There is the same general
reaspn why I should love my neighbor, as why I should love
m3^elf. Lovely things are as worthy of being loved in him as
in me ; and, therefore, by me, ought, in aU reason, to be loved
as much. There is the same reason why my neighbor should
be esteemed as being what he is, and according to the station
he stands in, as that I should. Tp esteem myself abpve my
neighbor, merely because I am myself, without any other reason,
is unfit and wrong, at first sight : So to admire my children...,
my friends....my party, as if there were none such, merely be
cause they are mine, is unreasonable and absurd. My very
worst enemy ought, by me, to be considered and esteemed as
being whathe is, with an impartiality perfectly disinterested, as
weU as my very best friend. Good properties are not at all the-
better, merely for belonging to me, or to my friends ; or the
worse, for belonging to my neighbor, or my enemy : But it is
right I should view things as they are, and be affected towards
them accordingly ; indeed, I ought to be so far from a disposi
tion to esteem myself abPve others, and to be prejudiced in my
own favor, (since I am capable of a much more fuU and inti
mate acquaintance with my own sins and foUies, than with the
sins and foUies pf others), tiiat I Pught rather to be habitually

136 TRUE RELIGIPlf DELINEATED, AND
disppsed tp prefer pthers in honor above myself....i?o»«. xii. 10.
—Phil. ii. 3. A'nd so, as to my neighbor's welfare and hap,
piness, there is -the same general reason why it should be dear
to me, as thatmy own should : His welfare is worth as much,
in itself, as mine ; it is as worthy, therefore, to be valued, es-
teemed, sought after, and rejoiced in, as mine : It is true, my
welfare is more immediately put under my care by God Al
mighty, andso it is fit it should, by me, be more especiaUy ta
ken care of ;— not that it is of greater worth for being mine, for
it is not ; but only because it is more immediately put under my
care by God Almighty : The same may be said of the welfare
of my family, &c. ; but stiU my neighbor's welfare is, in itself^
as precious and dear as mine, and he is my neighbor....he is
flesh and blood as weU as I, and wants to be happy as weU as I,
and is my brother by Adam ; we are aUbut one great family—
the offspring of the same^ common parents ; we should, there
fore, aU be affected as brethren towards one another... .love as
brethren, and seek each other's welfare most tenderly and affec
tionately, as being sensible how dear and precious the welfare of
each other is ; — this is perfectly right : And so we should bear
one another's burthens....moum with them that mourn, and re
joice with them that rejoice, as being tender-hearted, cordial
friends to every body ; and this from a resd sight and sense that
such a temper and conduct is perfectly right and fit, in the na
ture of things : And whereas there may be several things in my
neighbor truly agreeable, it is evidently right I should delight
in those good properties according to their real worth ;-— itis a
duty I owetp my neighbpr, the ppssesspr, and tP God, the giver
of those good gifts. '
2. But that I should thus love my neighbor as myself, is not
only, in its own nature, right, but is a[so enjoined upon me by the
law and authority of God, the supreme Governor of the world:
So that, fipm Ipve tP Gpd, and from a sense of his right to me,"
and authority over me, I ought, outof obedierice to him, to love'
my neighbor as myself, and always, and in all respects, to do
as I would be done by : and nPt to do so, is not only to injure

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 137
my neighbor, but to rebel agamst God, my King and Govern
or—and so becomes an infinite evil : Hence, it is charged upon
David, that, by his conduct respecting Uriah, he had despised
the Lord, and despised the commandment of the Lord ; and this is
mentioned as the ^rea^m/ of his sin.... II. Sam. xii. 9, 10: For
he had not merely murdered pne of his fellow-worms, but ris
en up inrebelUon against the most high God; and practicaUy
said, " I care not for God, nor his authority.. ..I love my lust,
and will gratify it for all him :" And therefore, when David
was brought to true repentance, the nativ^e language of his soul,
to God, was— T-Agcunst thee, thee only have I sinned... .Vsal. Ii.
4. It is rebellion, therefore., ..it is despising the Lord.. ..it is an
infinite evil, not to love our neighbors as purselves.
3. We have not only the authority, but also the example of
God, to influence us to this great duty oflove and benevolence. —
God is love : He has an infinite propensity to do good, and that
in cases where there is no motive from without to excite him ;
yea, where there is every thing to the contrary : He loves to
make his sun to rise, and his rain to faU, upon the evil and un
thankful : He loves to fill the hearts of all with food and glad
ness, and to strew innumerable blessings round a guilty, God-
hating world ; yea, out of his great goodness, he has given his
only Son to die for sinners, and offers grace and glory, and all
good things, through him — ^being ready to pardon, and receive
to favor, any poor, guilty wretch, that wiU repent, and return to
him, through Jesus Christ : And now for us, after all this, not
to love our feUow-men — ^yea, not to love our very worst ene
mies, is very vile. Since God has so lovedus, we ought surely t9
love one another....!. John iv. 11 : Since he has treated us, his
enemies, so kindly, we ought now, as dear children, to imitate
him, and love our enemies, and bless them that curse us, and ds
good to them that hate us, and pray for them xvhich despitefully
use us, and persecute MS....Mat. v. 44,45. The infinite beauty
in the goodness of the divine nature lays us under infinite ob
ligations to imitate it, in the temper of our minds, and in our
daily conduct : And it is ingratitude.. ..it is a shame. ...it is

138 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
abominable wickedness, not to love pur worst enemies, and for-
^ve the greatest injuries. Since the greatGovernor of the world
has treated us worms and rebels as he has, one would think that,
after aU this, we should never be able to find a heart to hate or
injure any mortal : Surely, we are under very strong obUgations
to accept that divine exhortation in Eph. iv. 31, 32....Let aUbit-
"'terness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be
put away from among you, with all malice \ and be ye kind one
to another, tender-hearted, for giving one another, even as God,
for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you : And (Chap. 5. verse 1.)
Be ye followers of God as dear children. Besides, there are ma
ny additional obligations to love and benevolence, and tP peculiar
respect and kindness between husband and wife, parents and
children, friend and friend, he. arising from their mutual rela
tions, and dependancies, and from special kindnesses already
received or hoped for. Andnow,
Thirdly, As to the standard by which our love is to be reg
ulated, viz. Thou shaltiove thy neighbor cw^Aj/^e^. In order
rightly to understand it, we must — 1 . Place ourselves, sensibly,
as in the presence ofthe infinitely great and glorious God, before
whom all the nations of the earth are nothing and less than noth
ing, and vanity, and, in the light of God's greatness and glory,
we must take a view of our own littieness and deformity, and
so leam how we ought to be affected towards ourselves, compa
red ¦with God ; and as we ought to loVe ourselves, so ought
we to love our neighbor : And now, in general, we ought to be
disposed towards God, as being what he is, and towards our
selves and neighbprs, as being what we and they are. Partic
ularly, God's honor in the world ought to appear infinitely more
valuable and precious than our Own, and therefore our own
ought to seem as a thing of no worth, compared with his, and,
as such, to be freely parted with when God's honor caUs for it;
and as free should we be to see the reputation of our dearest
friends given up for God's sake. The same may be said of
our worldly interest and of all our worldly comforts, when com
pared with God's interest and the interest of his Son's kingdom

PISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 139
in the world, and pf the wprldly interests and cpmfprts of pur
dearest friends : AU, bpth Purs and theirs, is cpmparatively i
npthing, and Pught to appear so to us ; yea, our lives and their I
lives are just the same things — comparatively of no worth, and
to be parted with in a moment, without the least reluctance, when
God's honor or interest caUs therefor. 2. In order to a right un
derstanding of this standard, we must also pbserve, that our love
topurselves is habitual,unfeigned,fervent,active, andpermanent :
so also must be ourlove to our neighbors. 3. A regular self-love
respects aU our interests, but especially our 5/»/?-/?wa/ and eternal
interest: so ought our love to our neighbors. 4. A regular self-
love naturally prpmpts us tP be concerned for our welfare ten
derly. ..>.to seek it diligently and prudently. ...to rejoice in it hear
tily, and to be grieved for our calamities sincerely : so ought
our love to our neighbors to prompt us to feel and conduct with
regard to their welfare. 5. Self-love makes us take an un
feigned pleasure in promoting our own welfare : We do not thinla
it hard to do so much for ourselves ; — the pleasure we take in
promoting our welfare rewards our pains  The same genuine
kind oflove ought we to have to our neighbor; and so to re
member the words of the Lprd Jesus, how he said. It is more
blessed to give than to receive, 6. We ought never to speak of
our neighbor's sins, or -weaknesses, or any way expose him to
shame and contempt in the world, in any case whatsoever, ex
cept such wherein it would be our duty to be wiUing ourselves
to be so exposed by him, were we in his circumstances, and he
in ours : And then we are to do it with that sensible tenderness
for him that we could reasonably desire from him, towards us,
in a like case.
Thus, then, we have briefly considered the second great com
mand ofthe law, and see what that meaneth — Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. To love God with all our heart, lays ]
a foundation, and prepares the way for us to love our neighbors j
as ourselves. It removes and takes away those things whicli
are contrary to this love ; such as pride, selfishness, worldliness,
a narrow, stingy, envious, revengeful temper. True love to

140 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
God mortifies and kiUs these things at the ropt. And, secqnd-
/z/-^True love to God assimUates us to the divine nature, and
makes us Uke God in the .temper of our minds. But God is
love : and the more we are like God, the more are our hearts,
therefore, framed to love and benevolence. He that dwelleth
in love, dxvelleth in God, and God in him. Love to God sweet
ens the soul, and enlarges our hearts to love our fellpw-men.
And thirdly — The more We love God, the more sacred is his
authority with us, and the more glorious, amiable, and anima
ting does his example appear, and the greater sense have we
of our obligations to gratitude to him ; aU which tend jointly
to influence us to all love and goodness towards our neighbors :
So that, he that knows God, and loves him, will be fuU oflove
to mankind ; and, therefpre, he that loveth not, knoweth not God
.,..1. Jphn iv. S. On the pther hand, where there is no true
love to God, there is no true love to mankind ; but the heart is
under the government of pride, selfishness, and other corrup
tions, which are contrary to love : So that a genuine Ipve tP man
kind is peculiar to the godly. ...I. John iv. 7. 8.
And now, from what has been said, we may evidentiy see,
these following sorts of love to our neighbor, are, neither of
them, the love required, however nearly they may sometimes
seem to resemble it.
1. What is commonly called natural compassion, is not the
love here required ; for the most wicked, profane man may be
of a very compassionate temper : so may the proud, the self
ish, the envious, the malicious, and spiteful man — as experience
plainly shows. And besides, natural compassion docs not
take its rise from any sense of the rectitude and fitness of things,
or any regard to the divine authority, but merely from the an
imal constitution : And men seem to be properly passive in it.
It is much the same thing in the human, as in the brutal nature :
It is, therefore, a different thing from the love here required.
2. The same may be said of what is called good-nature : It
arises merely from animal constitution, and is not the love here
required ; for such a man is not influenced in his love by the

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 141
reason and nature of things, or the autiiority of the great Gov
empr pf the wprld, prfrom a ccnsideratipn pf the infinite good
ness of the divine nature, any more than the beasts are, whp are
some of them much better tempered than others : So that this
sort oflove has nothing ofthe nature ofreligion in it : And it
is evident that many wicked and ungodly men have much of
this natural good-temper, who yet have no regard to God or du
ty : Yea, a secret grudge against a neighbor, reigning in the
heart, may be, in the good-natured man, consistent with his_g-oo^-
nature, but it is not consistent with the love here required ; and
therefore they are evidently two things.
3, That love which is commonly called natural affection, is
not die love here required. It is true that man is worse than
the beasts whp is without natural affection, for they evidentiy
are not ; but every man is not a saint, because he has natural af
fection ; And it is true we owe a peculiar love, according to
Gpd's law, to our relatives ; but natural affection is not this love :
for there are many ungodly wretches, who care neither for God
nor his law, who have as much natural affection as any in the
world ; yea, it is a common thing for ungodly parents to make
very idols oftheir children ; — for them, they go, and run, and
work, and toU, by night and day, to the utter neglect of God and
their -own ¦souls : and surely this cannot be the very love which
Gpd requires : And besides, as natural affection naturaUy
prompts parents to love their children more than God, and be
moreconcerned for their welfare than for his glory, so Lt is com
monly a bar in the way of their loving others as they ought ; — *
They have nothing to give to the poor and needy — to the wid
ow and the fatherless ; they must lay up aU for their children :
yea, many times they rake and sa-ape, dieat and defraud, and,
like mere earth-worms, bury themselves in the world ; and all
this for the sake oftheir children ; And yet all this love tP their
children doesnot.prompt them to take care oftheir souls. They
never teach their children to pray, nor instruct them to seek af
ter Gpd : They Ipve their bodies, but care little fpr their souls :
Their love to the one is beyond aU bounds, but, to the other,

142 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
is little pr nothing : It is an irrational fondness, and not the love
required. Indeed, if parents loved their children as they ought
to do, their love would effectuaUy influence them to take care of
their spuls, and do all their duty to them — which natural affiec-
tion evidently does not ; and therefore it is not that love with
which God, in his law, requires parents to love their children :
Nor, indeed, does there seem to be any more of the nature of
true virtue or real religion in the natural affection of men, than
there is in the natural affection of beasts — ^both resulting merely
from animal nature and a natural self-love, without any regard
to the reason and nature of things.
4. Nor is that the love here required, which arises merely
from a party-spirit ; because such a one is of their party, and
on their side, and loves those whom they love, and will plead,
stand up, and contend for them, and maintain their cause : For
such a love is pregnant with hatred and iU-wiU to every body
else ; and nothing will humor and gratify it more than to see
the opposite party hated, reviled, and blackened : And besides,
such a love is nothing but self-love in another shape. Ye have
heard that it hath been said. Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and
hate thine enemy : But I say unto you, love your enemies 
Mat. V. 43, 44.
5. Nor is that the love here required, which arises merely
from others' love to me : As if a rich man is kind and bountifiil
to poor people all around him, and appears to love and pity '
them, they, though almost ever so wicked, will feel a sort of
love to him : But if this rich man happens to be a civil magis-
trate, and is called to sit as a judge in their case, and passes
judgment against them for their crimes, now their love dies,
and enmity, and hatred, and revenge begin to ferment in their
hearts. In this case, it is not the mare they love, but rather his
kindnesses : And their seeming love, is npthing but a certain
operation of self-love. And indeed, however fuU of love per
sons may seem to be to their neighbors, if all arises merely froin
self-love, or is for self-ends, nothing is genuine : and that wheth
er things worldly, or things reUgious, occasion their love. A

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 143
ppor man wiU love and honor those who are rich, if he hopes
to get any thing by it. A rich man may be kind to the poor,
with an eye to his credit. An awakened shiner will love an
awakening preacher, in hopes he shaU be converted by his min
istry. A minister anay seem to show a world of love to the
souls of sinners, and all with an eye to applause. H\'pocrites
will love a godly minister, so long as he thinks well of them,
and happens not to detect their hypocrisy in his public preach
ing. Even the Galatians were very full of love to Paul for a
while, so long as they thought he loved tliem, and had been the
instrument of their conversion ; yet, afterwards, they lost their
love, and turned his enemies, for his telling them the truth —
while Pthers, who loved him truly for what he was, were more
and more knit unto him for those very doctrines for which the
Galatians hated him. If ye love them which love you, what re-
wardhaveye? Do not the publicans <Ae sa?ne .?.... Mat. v. 46.
There is no virtue nor religion in such a kind of love, and it is
evidentiy not the thing required by the divine law. And in
deed it is a thing as difficult, and as contrary to corrupt nature,
for us genuinely to love our neighbors as ourselves, as it is to
Ipve God v/ith all our hearts ; and there is as little true love be
tween man and man, as there is between men and God. It is
for our interest to love God, and it is for our interest to love
our neighbors, and therefore men make as i/" they did so, whenj
reaUy, there is nothing genuine and true : And, at the day of
jjudgment, when a wicked world comes to God's bar, and their
past conduct is all brought to Ught, nothing will be more man
ifest than that there never was a spark of true love to God or
man in their, hearts, but that, from first to last, they were acted
and governed either by their animal constitution, or else merely
by self-love.
6. I may add, nor is that the love required, when men love
others merely because they are as bad, and so just like themselves:
— Nature and self-love will prompt the worst of men to do so.
The vain and profligate love such as are as bad as themselves :
And, from the same principle, erroneous persons have a pecu-
U

144 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
liar regard for one another : And the enthusiast and blazing h)'-
pocrite may, from the same principle, seem to be fuU of love
to their own sort, though full of maUce against aU others : And
they may think that it is the image of Go^ which they love in
their brethren, when, indeed, it is only the image of themselves.
Persons of a bad taste may greatly delight in those things in oth
ers, which are very odious in the sight of God : But surely this
cannot be the love required ; and yet, by this very thing, many
a hypocrite thinks himself a true saint.
Thus we see what it is to love God with aU our hearts, and
our neighbors as oursfelves, and see these two distinguished from
their counterfeits : Andso we have gone through the two great
commands of the law, in a conformity to which the very essence
of religipn does much consist-
And now it is added by our Savior, Upon these two hang all
the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets, i. e. the
inspired Writings ofthe Old Testament consider these two max
ims, that we must loveGodwith all our hearts, and our neighbors
as ourselves, as first and foundation-principles : and all the va
rious duties which they urge, respecting God and our feUow-
men, are but so many inferences and deductions from them.
God must be loved with all the heart : and therefore we must
make him our God and none else, according to the first com-
ma/id — ^worship him according to his appointed institutions,
agreeably to the second command — ^with becoming reverence
and devotion, according to the third — and that in all such
set times as he hath appointed in his word,- according to the
fourth. Our neighbor must be loved as ourselves : and therefore we
must render honor to whom honor is due, according to the
fifth command ; and be tender of our neighbor's life, chastity,
estate, and good name, according to the sixth, seventh, eighth,
and ninth cominands ; and rejoice in his welfare and prosperity,
according to the tenth : and, in all things, treat him as we could
reasonably desire him to treat us, according to that golden rule
of Jesus Christ, in Maithexv vii, 12.

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 145,
And as all the duties we owe to God and man, are thus, in
the theory, but so many deductions, necessarily flowing from.
these two maxims, or first principles, so, when the law of God
is ¦vmttenin the heart of a sinner by divine grace, and put in.his.
inward parts, there will, from these two principles, naturally
flow all duties to God and his neighbor, in his daily practice ;
I. e. from adisppsitipn tP Ipve God supremely, live to him ulti
mately, and delight in him superlatively, he will naturally be
inclined and enabled sincerely to do all his will — to make him
his God, accprding tp the first cpmmand — ^tp wprship him ac
cording to his own appointments, withbecoming reverence, and
at all suitable times, according to the rest. It will be hjs nature
to do aU this— -his meat and his drink, and so his greatest delight..
And so, also, from a genuine disposition to love his neighbor-
as himself, he wiUbe naturally inclined and enabled,in all things,,
and at aU times, sincerely to do as he would be done by. It
wiU be his nature to do so— -his meat and lus drink, and so his,
greatest delight....Z?i?J. vui. 10 — Johnxv..'i.4< — I. John ii..3, 4
— Psalm xix, 10.
So that, as it is in theory, so also it is in practice ,- these twb
are like the seed that virtually contains the whole plant,,pr like
the root from which the whole tree grows, with all its branches
and fruit. And in proportion as a man, loves God and hia
neighbor with a genuine love, in the same proportion, will his
inclination and ability, thence arising, be, todo all these duties t
and consequendy, when his love ta God and his neighboi- ar
rives to perfection, he wUl be perfectly, inclined and enabled to
be perfect in holiness and righteousness, and will actually, in all .
things, perfectly conform to, both tables of the law.. And it is.
equaUy evident, that, vntil a man has a genuine love to God and
his neighbor in his heart, he will have neither inclination nor
ability (in a moral and spiritual sense) to perform one act of true
obedience ; for as aU true obedience, according to the law and
prophets, is tP flow &pm these tv/P principles, Sp, consequent--
ly, according to the law and pro^ihets, that is not true obedience,
which does not : An.d, therefore, whea aU a man's religion is

146 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
merely frpm self-lpve, and fpr self-ends, he cannot be sdd,
stiictiy speaking, to do any duty to God or his neighbor, or
obey one command; for he only serves himself, and that from a
supreme love to himself, which the law and the prophets do not
require, but strictlyforbid, in that they enjoin the direct contrary.
So that now, in a few words, we may here see wherein true
religion does consist, as it stands distinguished from all the false
religion in the world. The godly man, from seeing God to
be just such a one as he is, and from a real sense of his infinite
glory and amiableness in being such, is thereby influenced to
love him supremely, live to him ultimately, and delight in him
superlatively : from which inward frame of heart, he freely runs
the way of God's commands, and is in his element when doing
God's wiU. He eats, he drinks, he works, he prays, and does
aU things, with a single eye to God, who has placed him in
this his world, allotted to him his pecuUar station, and pointed
out before him all the business of life....always looking to him
for all things, and always giving thanks unto his name, for aU
his unspeakable goodness to a wretch so infinitely unworthy..
And, with a spirit of disinterested impartiality, and genuine
benevolence, he views his fellow-men.. ..gives them their places'
....takes his own, and loves them as himself : Their welfare is
dear to him ; he is grieved at their miseries, and rejoices at
their mercies, and delights to do all the good he can, to every
one, in the place and station which God has set him in. And
he finds that this new and divine temper is inwrought in
his very nature ; so that, instead of a forced religion, or a
religion merely by fits, his very heart is habitually bent and in
clined to such views and apprehensions — to such an inward
temper, and to such an outward conduct.
This, this is the religion ofthe Bible — the religion which the
law and the prophets, and which Christ and his apostles too, all
join to teach-^ — ^the religion which Christ came into the world
to recover men unto, and to which the spirit pf God does actu
ally recover every believer, in a greater or lesser degree. ^ Thus,
those who are dead in sin,- are quickened.. ..Kph. ii. 1 — Have

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 147
the law written in their hearts....Keh. viii. 10 — Are made nexv
creatures, all old things being done away, and aU things become
7ieiv....II. Cpr. v. 17 — And are effectually taught to deny all
mgodliness andxvorldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,
a7id godly in this present world....Tit. ii. 12 — Andso serve God
without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all the days oftheir
lives....'Luke i. 74, 75.
And this is specifically different frpm every sort, of false re
ligion in the world : For all kinds of false religion, however dif
ferent in other things, yet all agree in this, to result merely from
a principle of self-love, whereby fallen men, being ignorant of
God, are incUned to love themselves supremely, and do all
things for themselves ultimately. All the idolatrous religion of
the heathen world, in which some took much pains, had its rise
from this principle. They had some notion of a future state —
of a heaven and a hell, as well as of temporal rewards and pun
ishments, and so were moved by hope and fear, from a princi
ple of self-love, to do something to pacify the anger ofthe gods,
and recommend themselves to the favor oftheir deities : And
aU the superstitions ofthe seemingly devout papist.. ..his /jafer-
nosters, his ave-marias, his penances and pilgrimages, and end
less toils, s,tiU arise from the same principle : So does all the
reUgion of formalists, and legal hypocrites, in the reformed na
tions : It is a slavish fear of hell, and mercenaiy hope of heav
en, which, from a principle of self-love, sets all a going ; j'ea,
the evangelical hypocrite, who mightily talks of supernatural,
divine light — of the spirit's operations — of conversion, and a
new nature, still, after aU, has no higher principle in him than
self-love. His conscience has been greatly enUghtened, and
his heart terrified, and his corruptions stunned : and he has, by
the delusions of Satan, obtained a strong confidence of the love
of God, and pardon of his sins ; so that, instead of being influ
enced chiefly by the fear of hell, as the legal hypocrite is, he is
ravished with heaven ; but still, all is from self-love, and for
self-ends : and, properl)- and scriptural!)- speaking, he neither
knows God, nor cares at all for him. And this is the very case

148 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
with every graceless man Uving, pf whatever denomination ,-
whether a Heathen, pr Jew, or Christian — whether Papist, or
Protestant — whether Church-man, Presbyterian, Cpngrega-
tionalist, or Separatist — ^whether a Pelagian, Arminian, Calvin-
ist, Antinomian, Baptist, or Quaker. And this is the case
¦witheyery graceless manVrvin^, whatever his attainments may
otherwise be; — though he hath all knowledge to understand aU
mysteries, and can speak with the tongues of men and angels,
and has faith to remove mountains, and zeal enough to give all
his gopds to feed the poor, and his body to be burned ; yet he
has no charity — ^he is perfectly destitute of this genuine love to
God and his neighbor, and has no higher principle in his heart,
from which all his religion proceeds, but a supreme love to
himself. For, ever since our first parents aspired to be as gods,
it has been the nature ofall mankind to love themselves supreme
ly, and to be blind to the infinite beaut)' of the divine nature j
and it remains so to be with all, until renewed by divine grace :
So that self-love is the highest principle from which unregene
rate men do ever act, or can act.
Here, therefore, we have true religion. ...a religion specifi
cally different from all other sorts ofreligion in the world, stand
ing in a clear view : yea, and we may be absolutely certain
that this is the very thing which has been described : For tiiis
conformity to the moral law is, throughout all the Bible, by
Moses and the prophets. ...by Christ and his apostles, repre
sented to be the very thing in which the essence of reUgion ori
ginally consists. " Blessed be the name of the Lord forever,
" who has given us so clear a revelation of his wiU, and so sure
" and certain a guide as his word." Come here, all you poor,
exercised, broken-hearted saints, that live in this dark, benight
ed world, where many run to and fro, and where there are a
thousand different opinions,, and every one confident that he is
right ; — come here to the law and to' the testimony ;— come
here to Christ himself, and learn what the truth is, and be set
tled — ^be confirmed, and be established forever ; and remember,
and practise upon those words of Jesus Christ, in John vii. 17

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 149
,„.Ifany man will do his will, he shaU knoxv of the doctrine,
whether it be of God, O, read the Bible — ^live lives of prayer
and communion with God ; yea, die to yourselves, the worid
and sin, and return home to God through Jesus Christ — and
love him, and live to him, and delight in him more and more —
and be more and more disinterested and impartial.. .sincere and
fervent, in )-our love to your neighbors — do aU the good, to ev
ery one, that you can ; in a word, be the servants of God, and
grow up into his image, and your certainty of divine truths will
proportionably strengthen and increase : For the more your
understandings are free from that darkness and prejudice that
sin has intrpduced, the clearer will you view divine truths, and
the greater sense will you have of their inherent divine glory ;
and so your belief of their divinity will be the more unshaken.
Having thus gone through with what was proposed, a general
improvement of the whole is aU that now remains : And, indeed,
much use may be made of these great truths, which have been
thus explained and proved, for our instruction in some of the
most controverted points in religion, and to clear up the believ
er's gracious state, and also to promote our humiliation, and
thankfulness, and universal obedience.
SECTION V.
RIGHT apprehensions OF THE LAW USEFUL TO CLEAR UP
SOME OFTJIE MOST CONTROVERTED POINTS IN RELIGION.
Use I. Of instruction. We have seen what the law of God
requires, and the infinite obligations we are under perfectly to
conform to it.. ..we have seen wherein a genuine conformity td
the law cpnsists, and how a genuine conformity to it differs from
all counterfeits ; and what has been said may help us to under
stand the fpllpwing particulars :
1. Wherein consisted the moral image of God in xvhich Adam
was created. That Adam was created in the image pf God, is
expressly affirmed in Gen. i. 27... .'So God created man in his oxvn
image, in the image of God created he him : And from these
wprds we have just the same reason to believe that Adam was

150 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
created in the moral, as that he was in the natural image pf God ;
because they teU us in plain terms, without any distinction or
exception, (nor is there any that can be gathered from any oth
er text), that he was created in the image of God; but the moral
as weU as the natural perfections of God are equally contained
in his image : As to the political image of God, Adam,- stricdy
speaking, was not created in that ; because, as the scriptures in
form us, it was after his creation that he was made Lordof this
lower world.. ..Gen. i. 28. And it is, I think, with less propri-
ety that this is, by divines, called the image of God — I do not
know that it is any where sp caUed in scripture ; and Gpd was
'the same he is now, before he sustained the character of supreme
Lord and Governor of the world. His natural and moral per
fections comprised his whole image before the World was crea
ted ; and-in this his image was his creature, man, created : not
in part of his image, for there is no such intimation in all the Bi
ble ; but in his image, comprising his moral, as weU, and as
much, as his natural perfections.
Now, the moral image of God does radically consist in a tem
per of mind or frame of heart perfectly answerable tp the moral
law — the moral law being, as it were, a transcript ofthe moral
perfections of God: Sp that, from what has been said ofthe na
ture of the moral perfections of God, and of the nature of the
moral law, we may learn wherein consisted that moral image
of God in which Adam was created. He had a perfect moral
rectitude of heart.. ..aperfectly right temper of mind, and so was
perfectly disposed to love God with all his heart, and his neigh
bors (ifhe had had any) as himself — was perfectly disposed to
give God his place, and take his own... .and consider God as be
ing what he was, and be affected and act accordingly.... and to
consider his fellow-men (if he had had any) as being what they
were, and feel and act accordingly : And in this image of God
was he created, as the scriptures teach us ; i. e. he was brought
into existence with such a temper connatural to him.
Now here is a new-made creature in a new world, viewing
God, and wondering at his infinite glory, looking aU round, as-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 151
tonished at the divine perfections shining forth in all his works-.
He views the spacious heavens.. ..they declju-e to him the glory
ofthe Lord : He seesfais wisdom and his power...he wonders and
adores : He looks round upon all his works....they clearly dis
cover to him the invisible things of God, even his eternal power
and godhead ; and he stands amazed. God makes him Lord of
this lower world, appoints to him his daily empioyment, and
puts him imo a state of trial, setting life and death before him ;
and he sees the infinite wisdom, holiness, justice and goodness
of God in aU....he falls down and worships.. ..he exults in God,
and, witii aU his heart, gives up himself to God with sweetest
delight ; — aU is genuine, natural, and free, resulting from the
native temper of his heart
Here he beheld God in his infinite glory, viewed his works,
contemplated fais perfections, admired and adored him with a
sweetness and pleasure of soul most refined'! Here he saw God
in aU the trees, plants, and herbs in the garden, his happy seat,
while, out ¦of love to God and duty, he attended his daily busi-
j]ess«-he ate and drank, and blessed his great benefactor ! He saw
that it was infinitely reasonable that he should love God with
all his heart, and obey him in every thing, if eternal Ufe had not
atall been promised ; both because God infinitely deserved it at
his hand, and also in doing thereof there was the greatest satis
faction and delight : And he saw that if he, in any thing, should
disobey his sovereig-n Lord and rightful Governor, it would be
right, infinitely right, that he should be miserable forever, even
if God had never so threatened ; because to disohey such a God
appeared to him an infinite evil. He looked upon the promise
of eternal life as a mere free bounty: He looked upon the threat*
ening of death as impartial justice : And while he considered
eternal life under the notipn of a reward promised to perfect
obedience from God, his Governor, he saw his infinite love to
righteousness therein, as well as his infinite bounty : And while
he considered death under the notion of a punishment threat
ened against sin, he saw God's infinite hatred of iniquity there
in, as well as his impartial justice ; And when he saw how God
W

152 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and beheld his infinite
goodness on the one hand, and impartial justice on the other, he
was ravished.... Now he saw plainly what God was, and his in
finite glory in being such, and loved him with aU his heart : It
was natural to account such a God infinitely amiable, and it was
natural to love him with aU his heart ; — aU was genuine and ¦
free, resulting from the native temper of his mind.
These being his views and apprehensions, and this his nature,
hence, although he was under a covenant of works, yet the hopes
of happiness and the fears of misery were not the original and
first spring of his love to God : it was not originally from selt
love, and for self-ends, but from a sense of the beauty of the di-
vine nature ; and so it was not forced and hypocritical, butfree
and genuine ; it did not feel like a burden, but it was esteemed
a privilege ; and, instead of being disposed to think it much to
love God with all his heart, and obey him in every tiling, he
rather thought it infinitely right and fit, as being God's due, and
that he deserved no thanks from God, but rather was under in-
finite obUgations to give thanks to God forever, for such an in
finite privilege : And thus we see wherein that moral image of
God consisted in which Adam was created,
2, From aU which, it is a plain matter of fact that we are born
into the xvorld entirely destitute of the moral image of God: So
certain as that the moral image of God radically consists in such
a temper, and makes it natural to have such-like views and dis
positions — so certain we are in fact bom without it- Look in
to children, and there is nothing to be seen of these things :
And we are aU sure that such a temper and such-like views and
dispositions are not natural to us ; yea, .most men are sure there ^
is StiU no such thing in them, and very many believe there is no
such thing in the world. We are, in fact, born like the xuildasis
colt, as senseless of God, and as void and destitute of M-ace.:
We have natur e,hnt no grace — a taste for natural good, but no
relish for moral beauty — an appetite for happiness, but no appe
tite for holiness-— a heart easily affected and governed by selfish
considerations, but bUnd to the moral rectitude smd fitaess of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 153
things : And so we have a heart to love ourselves, but no heart
to love God ; and may be moved to act by selfish views, but
cannot be influenced by the infinite moral beauty of the divine
nature. That which is born of the flesh is flesh,. ..John iii. 6—
and wiU only mind and relish things which suit its na
ture.. ..i?om. vni. 5 — ^but is blind to spiritual things....! Cor. ii.
14. True, indeed, in children there are many natural excellen
cies, ...many things {deasing and agreeable : In a good mood,
they appear loving and kind, innocent and harmless, humble and
meek-^ — and so does a lamb. There is nothing but nature in
these appearances : It is owing to their animal constitution, and
to their being pleasedand humored : It is all from no higher prin
ciple than seU-lpve. — Cross them,andthey will presently feel and
act bad enough : They have,,in theiK temper and most early con
duct, no regard to God or duty, or to the reason and nature of
things, but are moved and affected merely as things please or
displease them, making their happiness their last end : And,.
indeed, if the image of God, holiness, or grace, or whatever we
caU it, be really such a thing as has been said, then nothing of such
a nature can possibly be more plain and evident than this univer
sally is, that mankind are, in fact, born into the world destitute,
entirely destitute thereof., ..yo6 xi, 12 : And hence, we must
be born again..^.]ohn iii.. 3, 6..
Obj. But where, then, xvas the propriety of Christ's saying, in
Mat. xviii, 3„..Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shaU not enter into the kindom of heaven ? Is it not
here supposed that little childten are patterns of humility and
¦goodness ?
Ans, And where was the propriety of those words in Isaiah
¦ Eii, 7 — ^where the prophet, speaking of Christ's meekness and
patience under his sufferings, says,. As a sheepbefore her shear
ers is dumb, sa he of>enednot his mouth ? Is it not here supposed
that sheep are patterns of meekness and patience ? The truth is,
that these aUusions ^o not prove that either sheep or little chil
dren naturaUy have any real humility or meekness, of a gracious
nature,, but only an appearance of it; And just of the same na-

154 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ture are those phrases in Mat. x. 16....As wise as serpents....as
harmless as doves. But as these scriptures do not prove that
sheep, and serpents, and doves have grace, so neither does tiiat
other text prove that little chiUfen naturally have it.
3. By comparing ourselves with the holy law of God, as it
has been already explained, we may also learn that we are born
into the world, not only destitute of a conformity to the law, but
that we are natively diametrically opposed to it in the temper of our
hearts. The law requires us to love God supremely, but the na-
tive bent of our hearts is to hve ourselves supremely : The law
requires us to live to God ultimately, but the native bent of our
hearts is to live to ourselves ultimately : The law requires us to
delight in God superlatively, but the native bent of our hearts is
to delight in that which is not God, wholly : And, finally, the law
requires us to love our ¦Neighbors as ourselves, but the native
bent of our hearts is to be inordinately selfish.
These are the earliest dispositions that are discovered in our
nature : And although I do not think that they are concreated
by God together with the essence of our souls, yet they seem to
be the very first propensities of the new-made soul : So that
they are, in a sense, connatural ; our whole hearts are perfectly
and entirely bent this way, from their very first motion. These
propensities, perhaps, in some sense, may be said to be cori^
tracted, in opposition to their being strictly and philosophically
natural, because they are not created by God with the essence
of the soul, but result from its native choice, or rather, more
strictly, are themselves its native choice : But most certainly
these propensities are not contracted, in the sense that many vi
cious habits are — ^namely, by long use arid custom. In opposi
tion to such vicious habits, they may be called connatural, hit-
tie children do very early bad things, and contract bad disposi
tions ; but these propensities are evidently antecedent to every
bad thing infused or instiUed by evil examples, or gotten by
practice, or occasioned by temptations : And hence, it is become
customary to caU them natural, and to say that it is our very na
ture to be so inclined : And to say that these propensities are

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 155
natural, would, to common people, be the most apt way of ex
pressing the thing ; but it ouglit to be remembered that they are
not natural in the same sense as the faculties of our souls are :
for they are not the workmanship of God, but are our native
choice, and the voluntary, free, spontaneous bent of our hearts :
And to keep up th\s distinction, I frequentiy chppse^to use the
word native, instead of natural.
And now, that these dispositions are, as it were, thus bora
withuB, is as evident from experience, as any thing of this kind
can be ; for these are the earUest dispositions that man's nature
discovere, and are evidently discovered before little childien
are capable of learning them from others : Yea, it is plainly the
very native bent oftheir hearts to love themselves above all..,.
to make their ease, comfort, and happiness their last end and
their all, and to seek for all from the creature, or, in other words,
from that which is not God. This is plain to every one's obser
vation ; nor did I ever hear any one, as I remember, venture to
deny it.
And as children grow up, and their natural powers enlarge,
so these propensities grow up, and strengthen, and become more
active, and discover themselves plainer ; and from this root,
this evil fountain, many bad things soon proceed. Observe
children through all the days of childhood, and this nature may
be easily seen in them.. ..they discover it in all their conduct in
ten thousand instances ; and there it does and will remain. —
We may break them of many bad tricks which they learn, and
bad habits which they contract, but we cannot change this prin
ciple of their nature. They are disposed to love themselves su
premely, seek their o'wn ends ultimately, and delight in that which
is not God wholly ; nor can we turn this bent of their hearts.
We can, after a sort, instil good principles into them — ^learn them
to read and pray ; and, after a sort, to honor their parents, and
love their neighbors : we can make them civil, and sober, and
hijmble, and modest, and reUgious, in a sort, but still their old
TUiture remains in its full power : It is restrained, but not altered
at aU ; yea, and after aU, these their native dispositions have

156 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
the entire government of them ; their whole hearts are as much
bent this way as ever: and these propensities govern them in
their inward temper, and in aU their conduct. They do all from
self-love, and for self-ends, and are seeking happiness, notin God,
but in something else. These things are plain to every impar
tial observer ; nor can they be denied by any. Thus we are all
shapenin iniquity, and in sin are we conceived : And we are
transgressors from the womb, and go astray as soon as we are born.
And if we leave children, and look into ourselves, we may
easily observe tiiat we are naturally of the same temper — incli
ned to love ourselves supremely, and do all from self-love, and
for self-ends, and seek for happiness, not in God, but in some
thing else. We can remember when and how we contracted
many other vicious habits, and feel some inward power to get
rid of them ; but these propensities we have always had, and
tiiey are natural, and our whole hearts are so in them, that it is
not in us so much as sincerely to desire to be otherwise. It is
true, we may, in a sort, desire and try to alter this our nature,
from considerations of dilty, of heaven and hell ; but it is all
hypocrisy, for we still act merely from self-love, and for self-
ends, as much as ever. We have naturally no disposition to
desire to love God, only for self-ends ; — aU men are conscious
to themselves that this is true.
We are naturally entirely under the government of these dis
positions, in all things, and under all circumstances : — ^In all
THINGS — in all our civil and religious concerns. It is merely
from self-love, and for self-ends, that natural men foUow their
worldly business, and endeavor to live peaceably with their
neighbors ; and, in these things, they are seeking blessedness :
And it is merely from self-love, and for self-ends, they do any
thing in religion ; — either they mean to be seen of men, or are
moved from a slavish fear of heU and mercenary hope of heav
en, or from some other selfish consideration. — And, under all
CIRCUMSTANCES, we are naturally under the government of
these dispositions : In-prosperity. ...^en, from an inclination'to
love ourselves supremely, seek our own happiness ultimately.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 157
and delight in that which is net Gpd wholly, it is our nature to
rejoice andbe glad ; and, from the same inclination, we are dis
posed- to mourn, and murmur, andbe discontented wnt/er adver
sity. At the Red-Sea it was natural for the Israelites to, sing
praise — at the bitter xvaters it was as natural tP murmur. When
we are pleased, then we are glad — when we are crossed, then
we are sad ; but, naturally, we do not care how it goes with
God's interest in the world.. ..what becomes of his great name,
or whether his honor sinks or swims : no, there is but here and
there a Moses that cares any thing about this ; but, if they can
have their own wiUs, and secure their own interests, they are
content. While the spirit of God lets sinners alone, and they
live secure and unconcerned, then, from the aforesaid propensi
ties, they are after the world — one after one thing, and another
sdter another ; and, although they may keep up a form of reli
gion, for fashion sake, yet, really, they care nothing about God
and things eternal. When they come to be awakened to a con
cern for their souls, though they reform their lives, and take ve
ry different courses from what they used to do, yet stiU all is:^
from the same principle, and for the same end. They have new
lives, but the same nature : They do not really care for God
or his glory, any more than they used to do, nor take any con
tent in him ; but are only after pardon of sin, and peace of con
science, which, according to their present sensations and appre
hensions, they think would make them happy. Sinners do not
reaUy seek for blessedness in God himsdf, but in something
they hope to receive from him : And hence, when awakened
sinners come to get false comfort — think they are pardoned, and
so have peace — or think that Christ loves them, and that they
s3iaU go to heaven, and so are fiUed with joy....as all their joy
results from self-love merely, «o aU they rejoice in is what they
think they have received, and what they hope yet to receive j
¦but they do not really care for God himself, (whose glory they
never saw), any mpre than they Used to do — ^nor rejoice in him ;
and hence (ordinarily) having their consciences quieted, they
soon go back to the wprld again fpr real cpmfort and blessed*

158 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ness : Or if, after false comfort, they turn enthusiasts, and get to
blazing, and wax hotter and hotter, and seem to be fuU of notii
ing but love to God, and zeal for his glory, it is visions and
dreams, revelations and impulses, a €rm persuasion they are
the pecuUar favorites of heaven, and the applause oftheir party,
which they Uve upon and take comfort in, and by which tiiey
are animated ; and aU frpm self-love, and for self-ends : but,
in deed and in truth, they neither know God, nor regard him
nor his glory, nor live upon him, nor delight in him, any more
tiian they used to do : and thus, in all things, and under aU cir
cumstances, unregenerate men are governed by a disposition
to love themselves supremely, live to themselves ultimately,
and deUght in that which is not God wholly : And whosoever
is weU acquainted with mankind may easily see that this is, in
fact, the very case, and will naturaUy be led to make the same
observation with the apostle Paul, in Phil. ii. 21....AII seek their'
own, and not the things which are Jesus Christ's.
And now this disposition, which is thus evidently natural to
all mankind, is direetlyvontrary to God's holy law,... is exceeding
sinful, and is the root ofall xvickedness. First, it is diametrical
ly opposite to God's holy law : for this requires us to love God
supremely, and seek his glory ultimately — in direct contrariety
whergunto,we are naturally inclined to love purselves supreme
ly, and live to ourselves ultimately. Again, the law requires
us to delight in God superlatively, and choose and live upon
him as the only portion of our souls — in direct contrariety where
unto, we are naturally incUned to place our whole hearts up
on other things, and live upon them, and take content in them.
FinaUy, the law requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves,
and do as we would be done b)^^ — in direct- contrariety where
unto, we are naturaUy inclined to be inordinately selfish, andso
not to do as we would be done by : And thus we are all natu
rally gone out ofthe way, and, in the temper of our o-wn 'minds,
become corrupt, filthy, and unprofitable, and there is none right
eous ; no, not o;!e,... Psalm xiv. — Rom. iii. 10 — 19. We have
lost the image of God....wehave. lost a right temper of mind....

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 159
we have Ipst a gpverning sense ofthe moral fitness of things.,.,
have no eyes tP see moral beauty, or hearts to taste and relisli
the moral excellency of spiritual and divine things,.„I<C'or, ii, 14,
Hence, in God we can see no form nor comeliness, nor in him,
at all, delig'ht ; yea, it is natural for it to seem to us as if there
was no God.„,P*a/wi xiv, 1. And now, as though in very deed
there were no God fpr us to be in subjection unto, we set up
for purselves, to make our pwn interest our last end, and to seek
blessedness, not in God, but in something else ; and are natu
raUy inclined, without any regard to God's law, to make our
own wills our only rule ; and now, having cast off the govern
ment of God, and forsaken the fountain of living waters, we
go every one his way, one to his farm, another to his merchan^?
dize, all serving divers lusts and pleasures : So that it might
justly be wondered at, how any among mankind should ever
have it enter into their hearts, to ima^ne that we are not fallen
creatures, universally depraved, when it is, so evidently, a plaii)
matter of fact, I think it can be owing to nothing but men's
ignorance of the law, in its spiritual nature, purity, strictness,
and extent, and their not comparing themselves therewith : and
indeed St, Paul tells us that this is the case — Rom, vii. 8....
For without the laxv sin was dead : For did men but rightly ap
prehend that God is such an one as the law speaks him to be,
and that he requires us to be what really he does, they could
not possibly but see their native contrariety to God and his holy
law. The Israelites of old felt their contrariety to their proph^
ets, and they hated them, and put them to death ; and the Phar
isees felt their contrariety to Christ and his apostles, and hated
them, and put them to death ; for they perceived what their
prophets, and what Christ and his apostles, were driving at : but
yet, aU the while, they imagined they loved God, and loved his
law, because they neither knew God, nor understood his law :
and even so it is at this day ; If an Arminian, pr Pelagian, (for,
after aU their pretences, they are, by nature, just like the rest
of mankind), did but verily beUeve God just such an one as
the godly man, in fact, sees him to be, he would feel as great a
X

160 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
contrariety to him, and enmity against him, as any Calvanist ever
supposed there was in natural men. They frame a false image
of God in.their own fancies, to suit the vitiated taste of their
corrupt hearts, and then cry. We are not enemies to God ; no, but
it is natural for us to love him : when, aU the while, their native
aversion to God will not so much as suffer them to believe that
there is any such Being as really he is. But, to proceed,
The aforesaid disposition, and bent of heart, which is thus
directly eontrarytoihelaw,is exceedingly sinful: For, while we
love ourselves supremely, and Uve to ourselves ultimately, we
do really, in our hearts, and by our practice, prefer ourselves
above God, as if we were more excellent and worthy : in which
we cast infinite contempt on the Lord of glory, in as much as
all the nations are, in his sight, but as a drop of the bucket, and
small dust ofthe balance, and we, compared with him, are less
than nothing, and vanity. He is of infinite majesty, greatness,
glory, and exceUency, and all heaven adore him in the most hum
ble prostrations ; and yet we, mean worms of the d\xst...yea,.vile
worms ofthe dust, that deserve every moment to, be spurned to
hell, even we esteem and love ourselves more than we do him,
and are more concerned for our interest than fpr his honor ;
yea, care not at all for hhn, or his honor, nor would ever so
much as pretend to it, if not-excited thereto from the expectation
of self-advantage : andthat, even although we receive life and
breath, and all things from him, and his right to us is original,
underived, perfect, and entire. Surely this is infinite wicked
ness ! and besides, in being and doing so, we affront his sacred
authority, whereby, as Governor of the world, he commands
us to love him with all our heaits. And further, while we are
inclined to take our whole delight, in that which is not God.,..
to forsake him, the fountain of living waters, the ocean of all
good, and seek comfort and content elsewhere ; we hereby pre
fer the world above God — ^prefer our wives and children,,, .our
houses, and lands, and .pleasures, above God — -or, at best, we
prefer (an imaginar)') heaven above God : to do either of which,
casts infinite contempt upon the Lord of glory.. ..the deUght of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 161
angels....the joy ofthe heavenly world. The Psalmist said.
Whom have lin heaven but thee ? And there is nothing on earth
Idesire besides thee....Vsalm. Ixxiii. 25 ; and well might he say
SP : but tP be inclined, when we are secure in sin, and not ter
rified with hell, to love and desire any thing upon earth more
than God — and, when under terrors and fearful expectations of
wrath, to desire pardon, peace, and (an imaginary) heaven, and
any thing to make us happy, but God himself, is surely infinite-,
ly vile. We do hereby prefer that which is not God, above
God himself, as if it was really of more worth -^ and so cast
infinite contempt upon the ocean of blessedness, and fountain
ofall good. And besides,in this, as well as the former particular,
we go directly contrary to the express command of the great
Governor ofthe v/hole world, Finalfy, to be disposed to an
inordinate (and so to a groundless) self-love, and to be swallow
ed up in selfish views and designs, instead of a tender love, and
cordial benevolence to all our fellow-men, loving them as our
selves, is evidently contrary to all the reason and nature of
things, and to the express command of God, which is infinitely
binding ; and so this also. is infinitely sinful : And thus, these,
our native, propensities, are directly contrary to the holy law of
God, and exceedingly sinful.
But here it may be enquired — " If a disposition to love our-
" selves supreme!)', live to ourselves ultimately, and to delight in
" thlat which is not Godwholly, he so exceedingly siniul, whence
" is it that men's consciences do not any more accuse and condemn
" them therefor i" To which the answer is plain and easy ; for
this is evidently owing to their intolerably mean thoughts of God.
Mai. i. 6, 7, 8.. ...4 son honoreth his father, aiid a servant his
master : If, then, I be a father, wliere is mine honor ? And if I
be a master, where is my fear ? saith the Lord of hosis unto you,
Q priests, that despise my name : and ye say. Wherein have we
despised thy name ? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar ;
(and so ye despise me :) and (yet) ye say. Wherein have we pol
luted thee ? (I answer) In that (in doing so) ye (practically)
say. The table ofthe Lord is contemptible : (and soyou treat me

162 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
with contempt.) And yet their consciences did' hot Smite
them, and therefore the Lord aAds-^And if ye offer the blind
for sacrifice, is it rwt evil ? and if ye offer the lame aridsic-k, is
it not evil ? (or am I so mean and contemptible, that to do so
ought not to be looked upon as an affront ? I appeal to the
common sense of mankind,) Offer it now unto thy Governor,
iviU he be pleased with thee, of accept thy person ? saith the Lord
6f hosts ; (and if your Governor wiU take it as an affront, much
more may I,} for lam a great kin(J, saith the Lord of hosts,
(Ver. 14i) Here it is plain that it was their mean and contempt
uous thoughts of God which made them think it would do to
turn him off any how, aiid with any thing : And just so it is in
the case before us : men's thoughts of God are infinitely mean,...
he is very contemptible in their sight ; and hence, although they
love themselves, their own honor and interest, above the Lord
and his glory, and prefer other things, and take more deUghtin
that which is not God, than in God himself, yet they say —
" Wherein do we despise the Lord, affront his majesty, or cast
" contempt upon him ? We pray in secret and in our families....
" we go to meeting and to sacrament, and help to support the
" gospel ; and is not aU this to honor the Lord ? And wherein
" do we despise him ?"-"Just as if going into your closet twice
a day, to quiet your Conscience, and saying over the old prayer,-
by rote, in your famUy, that you have repeated morning and
evening ever since you kept house ; and, in a customary wa)',
going to meeting and to sacrament, and paying your minister's'
rate^ (and, it may be, not without grudging,)-^just as if this -was
kn honoring 6f God, when, at heart, you do not loVe him one jot,
nor care for his honor and interest at all, nor would do anything
in religion but for the influence of education and common cus
tom, or from legal fears and mercenary hopes, or merely from
some other selfish consideration : Yea, just as if this was an
honoring of God, when, all the time, you cast such infinite con
tempt upon bim in your heart, as to give your heart to another
»--to that which is not God — ^to yourself, and to the world ! Let
a woman treat her husband so, wiU he be pleased with it and

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 163
wiU he accept her perspn ? If she dpes nptlpve her husband at
all, pr deUght in his perspn, or care for his interest — if she loves
another man.. ..has a separate interest of her own, and does noth
ing for her husband but to serve her own views, wiU he now
think she is a ,^oofifwi/e, because morning, noon, and night, she
prepares his food, though she does it carelessly, the victuals al
ways cold and poorly dressed, hardly fit to eat.„.and he knows
it is aU frpm want pf love ? And besides, she thinks she does a
great deal for him., and expects her pay, like a hired maid J — and
she says to her husband, " Wherein do I despise you ? Am
" not I always doing for you ?" And she does not feel herself
to blame, because her husband looks so mean and contemptible
in her eyes ; and she cares so little for him, that any thing seems
good enough for him, while, all the time, her adulterous heart is
doating on her lovers. " You do not love me," says her hus
band, " but other men have your heart, and you are more a wife
" to them than to me :" But says she, " I cannot love ypu, and
" I cannot but love others ;" and now she seems to herself not
tP blame : So, a wicked world have such mean thoughts of God,
that they cannot love him at aU, and have such high thoughts
of themselves, that they cannot but love themselves supremely :
they have such mean thoughts of God that they cannot delight
in him at aU ; but they see a glory in other things, and so in them
they cannot but delight whoUy : And because they are habit
ually insensible of God's infinite; glory, hence they are habitual
ly insensible ofthe exceeding sinfulness of these native propen
sities of their hearts : So that we see that mean, contemptuous
thoughts of God are the very foundation ofthe peace, and quiet,
and security of men, in a mere form ofreligion. If they did
but See who the Lord is,they could not but judge themselves and
all tiieir duties to be infinitely odious in his sight. Psalm I.
21,22....These things hast thou done, and I kept silence — thou
thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will re
prove thee, and set them inorder before thine eyes. ...Now consider
this, ye that for get God. Men have such mean thoughts of God,
and so littie regard him, that jthey are naturally inclined to fdr-

164 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
get that there is a God, and to feel and act as if there were
none. Hence (Psalm xiv. 1 .) — The fool saith in his heart, there
is no God; i. e. he is incUned to feel and act as if there was
nohe ; and, therefore, it is added in the next words — Corrupt
are they. So, the chUdren of Eli, who treated the worship of
God with ^eat contempt, are said to despise the Lord, and kick
at his sacrifice ; and yet their consciences did not smite them :
and the ground of all was their mean, contemptuous thoughts of
God. I. Sam. ii. 12, 29, 30... .The sons ofEU were sons of Be
lial, they knew not the Lord. And thus we see that our native
disposition to love ourselves supremely, live to ourselves ulti
mately, and delight wholly in that which is not God, is (wheth
er we are sensible of it, or not,) directly contrary to God's holy
law, and exceedingly sinful. And I. add.
This native bent of our hearts is- the root of all sin, (the posi
tive root, I mean, in opposition to a mere privative cause) ofall
our inward corruptions and vicious practices... .both pf those
which are ccmtrary to the first and to the second table of the
\ny,- — of those which more immediately affront God, and of those ¦
which more especially respect our neighbor.
From this root arises all our evil carriage towards the Lord of
glory. "Thisistherootof a spirit of self-supremacy, whereby
we, in our hearts, exalt ourselves and our wills above the Lord
and his wiU, and refuse to be controuled by him, or be in sub-
j ection unto him. Jehovah assumes the character of most high
God, supreme Lord and sovereign Governor of the whole
world, and commands all the earth to acknowledge and obey
him as such ; but we are all naturaUy incUned, Pharaoh-like,.ta
say, Who is the Lord, that we should obey him ? we know not
the Lord, nor will we do his will: And hence mankind, aU the
world over, break God"s law, every day, before his face ; as if
they despised his authority in their hearts. And when he
crosses them in his providences, they, as though it was not his
right to govern the world, quarrel with him, because they can
not have their own wills, and go in their own ways : This was
always the way of die children of Israel, those forty years in

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 165
the wilderness, whpse whole conduct exemplifies our nature to
the life, and in which glass we may behold our faces, and know
what manner of persons we naturally are. Men love tiiemselves
above God, and do not like his law, and hence are inclined to
set up their wills above and against his ; and if they can, they
will, have their wiUs, and go in their ways, for all him ; and if
ihey -cannot, they wUl quarrel with him : Andhence the apos
tie says. The carnalmindis enmity agcunst God — is not subject to
his law, neither indeed can be....^om. viiL 7.
And, from this root, arises a spirit cf self-.sufficiency and in
dependence, whereby we are lifted up in our own hearts, and hate
to be beholden to God ; and, having different interests and ends
from lum, naturally think it not safe, and so, upon the whole,
not liking to trust in him, choose \o trust in ourselves, or any
thing, rather than him. We have a better thought of ourselves
than of God, as knowing we are disposed to be true to our own
interests and ends, and therefore had rather trust in ourselves
than in him ; and besides, we naturally hate to come upon put
knees to him for every thing : Hence, that in Jer. ii, 31. is the
native language of our hearts — We are lords, wi will come no
more unto.thee. We love to have the staff in our own hands,
for then we can do as we wUl ; and hate to lie at God's mercy,
for then we must be atJiis control ; yea, we had rather tr-ust in
any thing than in God, he being, of aU things, most contrary to
us- : And hence, the IsraeUtes, in their distress, would one while
make a covenant with Assyria, and thenlean upon Egypt ; yea,
and rob the treasures of the temple to hire their aid, rather than
be beholden to God : Yea^ they would make them Gods of sil
ver and gold....of wood and stone, and then trust in such lying
vanities, rather than in the Lord Jehovah : And as face ansjvers
to face in the water, so does the heart ojmanto man.. ..Prov. xxvii.
19. This is our very nature.
Again, frpm the same root arises a disposition to depart from
the Lord; for other things appear more glorious, and excellent,
and soul-satisfying than God — wherefore the hearts ofthe chil
dren of men secretly loathe the Lord, and hanker after other

166 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
things, and sp gP away from Gpd to them. Job xxi. 12, 14...,
They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the or.
gan : Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, for xve de
sire not the knoxi)ledge of thy ways. — Mai. iii. 14, 15....It is in
vain to serve God : and what profit is it that we have kept his or
dinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lordof
hosts ? We caU the proud happy. Meditation and prayer are a
burden to men ; they had rather be almost any where than in
their closets, because they secretly loathe the Lord : but in other
things they find comfort.... one in his farm, and another in his
merchandize., ..the young man in his frolics, and with his mer
ry companions.. ..the old man in his wife, and children, and cat
tle, and swine, and house, and lands. ...the rich man in his riches
....the ambitious man in his honors,...the scholar inhis books....
the man of contemplation in his nice speculations ; and, in any
thing, men can take more comfort than in God himself. That
which angels and saints in heaven, and believers on earth, prize
above all things, men have naturaUy the least account of : Psal.
Ixxiii. 25. ...Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is noth
ing on earth I desireJiesides thee.-^Jer. ii. 5, 11, 12, 13.,..Thus
saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me,that
they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and be,
come vain ? Hath a nation changed their gods,which are yet na
gods ? But my people have changed their glory for that which
doth not profit : Be astonished, 0 ye heavens, at this. . They have
forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
And, from the -whole, we may see there is the greatest con
trariety between the nature of God and the nature ofthe sinner !
and hence God hates sinners (Hab. i. 13,)-^and sinners hate him
(Rom. viii, 7.) — and when sinners come to die, and go into the '
eternal world, they will feel then that they hate him, though
.their nature then wiU be just the same as it is now ; and they'
wiU then know tbat tiie great reason they did not feel their ha.-
tred of him in this world, was because they did not think nor
would believe that he v/as such an one.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 167
And hence we may see whence it is that we are so averse to
right apprehensions of God, and whence it is that our insensi-
biUty of his glory," in being what he is, is so invincible, viz. be
cause he is, in his very nature, in such perfect contrariety to us,
and we to him ; for to account that infinitely glorious in being
what it is, which is of a nature perfectiy contrary to us, is as un
natural as to account oureelves infinitely hateful in being what
we are ; for that necessarily implies this : So far, therefore, as
sinners love themselves for being what they are, so far do they
hate God for being what he is ; and so far as they hate God for
being what he is, so far tiieir insensibiUty of his infinite glory,
in beingjust such an one, is invincible : And now, since men,
naturaUy, perfecdy love themselves for being what they are,
and, consequently, perfectiy hate God fpr being what he is —
hence, their minds are,.. naturaUy, perfectiy prejudiced against
the true knowledge of God, and perfectiy averse from, and insus
ceptible of a sense of his infinite glory in being just what he is :
And hence it is, that neither God's word nor worts, nor any
thing but his almighty spirit, can make men, in their hearts, both
really give into it that God is just such an one as he is, and in
finitely glorious in being such. The heavens may declare the
glory of the Lord, and make the invisible things of God clear-^
ly to be seen ; and the scriptures and ministers may proclaim
his greatness and glory, and the honor of his majesty ; out sin
ners, in seeing, -wiU not see, and, in hearing, -will not hear and
underetand, for they do not Uke to have God in their knowl
edge : They hate the light, and love darkness ; they hate to
think that God should be such an one.. ..can see no glory in him
in being such....secretiy -wish he was another kind of a being....
dread to think that he is- what he is, and wiU not, if they can help
it....John iii. 19, 20 — Rotii. i. 28— John vni. 43, 47. That
God should love himselfmorethan be does his sinful creatures,
and value his own honor and interest more than he does our
happiness, and look upon it as an infinite affront; that we are not
exactiy ofthe same mind, and judge us worthy of eternal dam
nation therefor, and, as high Governor ofthe world, make such
Y

168 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
a law, and bind us to it, to do so — ^how can this suit a proud re
bel, that only loves himself and his own interest, and cares not
for God at aU f How can a carnal, selfish heart deUght in such
a G<sd, and account him infinitely glorious in being such ? How
can he rejoice to hear that he sits King forever, and does afl
things according to the counsel of his own will, aiming ultimate
ly at his own glory ? Or how can he imagine that such a con
duct, so directly cross to his temper, is infinitely right and be
coming, glorious and excellent? The temper, the ia^ temper
of sinners' hearts, is tiiat which renders their insensibility of
God's glory, in being what he is, so invincible. 'He does not
suit them — ^he does not look upon things as they do— he is not
' disppsed, npr dpes he act as they wpuld have him, but all di
rectly contrary....as ccntrary as light and darkness — ^as sin and
holiness — as heaven and heU : Therefore, the carnal mind is
enmity against God. But, to return.
From this same /root— this disposition to love ourselves su
premely, liveto ourselves ultimately, and delight in that which
is not God wholly, proceeds all our evil carriage towards our
neighbor. Pride, selfishness, and worldliness, lay the founda
tion for all that cheating, lying, backbiting, quarreUing, there is
among neighbors — and-for aU the feuds and bloody wars there
ever have been among all the nations ofthe earth, from the begin-
Jiing of the world : And pride, selfishness, and worldliness,
together with that enmity against God and true religion, which
is naturally concomitant, lay the foundation for all those blpody
persecutions which have been, in the several ages ofthe world,
against the church and people of God. If men were not proud
nor selfish, they would have no incUnation to injm-e their neigh
bors, in name or estate : If they tdok their supreme delight in
God, as. the portion of their souls, they would not have any -of
their little petty idols to quarrel and contend about : If thev
loved their neighbore as themselves, there would never more
be any thing Uke persecution ; and aU injuries and abuses would
cease from the earth : So that, to conclude, as a disposition to
love God with aU our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves.

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 169
is an habitual cpnfprmity tp the whole law, and lays a solid
foundation for a right carriage towards God andoiu- neighbor,
in all things — so a disposition to Ipve ourselves supremely, Uve
to ourselves ultimately, and delight in that which is not God
whoUy, is an habitual contrariety to the whole law,, and lays a
sad foundation for all evil carriage towards God and our fellow-
men. And, as I said, this disposition is natural to us, and we
are naturaUy entirely under the government of it : and so the
seed and root of aU sin is in us, even in the native temper of
our hearts : That which is born of the flesh, is flesh.
Obj. But if mankindneither love God nor their neighbors with
a genuine love, such as the law requires, but naturally have, and
are entirely under the government of, a spirit of contrardety to '
the whole law, whence is it that all men do not blaspheme God, and
do aU the mischief they can, and, in practice,, as well as in nature,
be as bad as devils ?
Ans. Because of the restvaints, which -God, for wise ends
and purposes, is pleased to lay upon them, whereby their nature
is, indeed, not at aU altered,, but only,, in a measure,, kept from
breaking out, as. otherwise it would do... And these restraints,
in ordinary, are such as arise from these things : — (1.) From
their animal constitution ; whereby many are inclined to be
tender-hearted, compassionate, and kind, without any regard to
God or duty, from a sort of natural instinct, much of the same
natur«, to aU appearance, as is to be found in many in the bru- ¦!
tal world. (2.) Vronx natural affection; whereby, partly from
animal nature, andpartiy from self-love, and from being brought
up together,, relatives have a certain fondivess for one another,
and so are disposed to be kind to one another, andthat without
any regard to God or duty ; much as it is with many in the
brutal world. (3.) Vrom a good education; whereby many are
influenced to be civU in their behavior, honest in their dealings,
kind t© the poor, and to pray in their families, and join with
the church, 8s.c. though destitute pf grace in their hearts. (4.)
From worldly considerations ; whereby, fromself-love, in order
to avoid punishment from men, or from fiear of disgrace and

170 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
irepppach, or to get the good-wiU of others, or promote some
worldly interest, men are influenced, sometimes, to carry them
selves, externaUy, very weU. (5.) From religious considera-
tions ; whereby, from self-love, the fear of heU, and the hope of
heaven, many are influenced to dp much in reUgipn. (6.)
Want of specuhtive knowledge of God... .ignorance of lus reso
lution to punish sin, and of his anger against them, is also an
occasion of -their not blaspheming his name ; as they wiU do,
as soon as ever they come into eternity, and see how things re
ally are ; though then their nature wiU be exactly the same that
it is now. God gives rain and fruitfid seasons, and fiUs the
hearts ofall with food and gladness ; he makes his sunrise, and
rain faU upon the evU and unthankful, and offers salvation in
case they repent and beUeve ; whence men are ready to think
that God loves them, and this restrains them. These, and such
like things, restrain men's corruptions ; but for which, they
would be as bad in this world as they wiU be in the next, when
these restraints come to be taken off.
To what has been said, may also be added, that God, by
these three methods, does much to restrain many :— (1.) By
his providence ; whereby he many times brings remarkable
judgments upon men for their sins ; and remarkably prospers
men, as to the things of this world, who are true to their word,
and honest in their dealings : and hereby men are afraid to be
and do as bad as otherwise they would, lest some judgment
should come upon them ; and others are influenced to be hon
est, and to ca^ry themselves, externally, weU,, in hopps of a
worldly blessing. (2.) By his word — ^his written word, and
his word preached ; whereby men are made more sensible that
there is a heaven and a hell ; and so are the more restrained
and kept in awe. (3.) By his spirit ; whereby he does much
to make many a man sensible of the evil of sin, the dreadful
ness of damnation, and the glory of heaven, whom he never
sanctifies : whereby they are not only restrained from vicious
practices, but their corruptions also are greatiy stunned, and
they made zealous promoters of reUgion... .(JETfi. vi. 4.) And

DISTJNGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 171
thus the supreme Governor of the world restrains men's corrup
tions j and maintains some degree of order among his rebeUious
subjects. Butyet,aU these restraints notwithstandiiig, there is, and al
ways has been, abundance of wickedness committed' in tftis
apostate world. They have murdered God's servants, the pro-
phetsfwhom the Lprd-has sent untP them, rising early and send
ing ; and they have kiUed his Spn, and his apostles, and shed
tiie blood of thoiksands and miUions of his saints. So great has
been their aversion to God ! and so great their cruelty ! And
by the many wars there have been among the nations, from the
beginning, the whole earth has been fiUed with blood. And
by cheating, and lying, and backbiting, and contention, &c.
hateful and hating one another, innumerable injuries have been
done to, and imspeakable miseries brought upon, one another.
And as soon as ever mankind have their restraints taken off at
death, without having any sin infased into their nature, theywitt
appear to be what they are — they wiU feel and act like very devils. \
But, in the mean while, by means of these restraints, many/
deceive themselves ; for our corruptions being thus capable of
being restrained, an(^, as it were,'Btunned, and our lives of be
ing pretty well regtdated, to appearance, while our nature re
mains the same, and we feeling ourselves able to do considera
ble towards this — Whence many are deceived, and take this to be
real reUgion, and think they did, and that others may convert
themselves, with but comparatively little assistance from God's
spirit : And truly so they might, if this was true religion, and
conversion consisted in thus reforming our lives, and restrain
ing our corruptions : But, in conversion, our very nature mUst
be changed, (II Cor. v. 1 7.) — ^the native bent of our hearts must
be turned, (Ezek. xxxvi. 26.) ; and from this we are naturally
wholly averse : And hence arises the absolute necessity of a su
pernatural, irresistible grace, in order to our conversion ; — of
which more afterwards. But to return.
From what has been said, we see that we are natively dispo
ned to love om-selves supremely.. ..to live to ourselves ultimate-

172 TRUE RELICTION BSLINEATED, AND
ly, and deUght in that which is not God, whoUy ; and that this
disposition,, by. which we are, naturally, entirely gpvemed, in
aU things, and under all circumstances, is in direct cpntrariety
to the holy law of God, and is exceedingly sinfiil, and is the root
pf'all sin.. ..of all Pur evil carriage towards God and man, in
heart and Ufe : So that, as to have a disposition to love God
with aU our hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves/is a radical
conformity to the whole law — so this cpntrarjr disppsition is a
radical contrariety tp the whole law ; Well, therefore, may the
holy scriptures speak of sinners as being dead in sin, and at en
mity against God, and, by nature, children ofwr-ath, and neprei.
sent them so frequentiy as hem^ enemies to God, (Eph..\\,\,
3 — ^i?o»j. viii. 7, and v. 10 — ^11. Cor. v. 1^ — ^20.) since, by
comparing ourselves with the holy law of God, we are found to
be, infact, natively so, iathe temper of our minds : Anditwill
be forever in vain for mankind to plead not guilty, since thekw
of God is what it is, and we are what we arc; foE,.by the law,
by which is the knowledge of sin, we evidently stand condemned.
Here it may be objected,. " That we are, natively, no other-
" wise than God makes us ; and if, therefca-e, we are natively
" sinful, God made us so ; and,.hy consequence, is the author
"¦ of sin." But this objection has been already obviated ; for, as
has been observedy God only creates the naked essence of our
souls....our natural facuUies....a power to tiiink, andwiU, and to
love, and hate ;. and this evil bent of our hearts m not of his ma
king, but is the spontaneous propensity of our own wills ; for
we, being bom devoid of the divine image, ignorant of God,
and insensible of his glory, do, of owr own accord, turn to our
selves, and the things of time and sense, and to any thing tiiat
suits a graceless heart, and there aU our affectbns centre ;. from
whence we natively become averse to God, and to all that which
JsspirituaUy good, and incUned to all sin : Sq that the^ positive
corruption of our nature is not any thing created by God, but
arises merely from a privative cause.
Here it wiU be objected a^m,. " That.it is not consistent with
« the divine perfections tp brmg mankind into the world under

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 173
*' such sad andimhappy circumstances." — But who art thou, 0
man, that riepUest -against God? ShaU the tiling formed say unto
film that formed it. Why hast thou formed me thus ? It is blas-
phemotis tP say, that it is not consistent with the divine perfec
tions to do what God, in fact, does. It is a plain ^natter of
fact, that we are bom into the -wprld devoid of the divine image,
ignorant of God, insensible of his infinite glory : And it is a
pMn matter offact,that, inconsequence hereof, we are natively
disposed to love oureelves supremely, live to ourselves ultimate
ly, and deUght in that which is not God, wholly : And it is
plain, to a demonstration, that this temper is in direct contrari
ety to God's holy law.. ..is exceedingly sinfi.il, and is the root
of jdl wickedness. — Now, to say it is not cpnsistent with the di
vine perfections-that mankind should be brought into the world,
as, IN FACT, they are, is wickedly <p fly in the face of our al
mighty Creator, and expressly charge him w"ith unrightepus-
ness ; which, surely, does not becpme us. If we cannot -see
intP this dispensation of divine providence, yet we ought to re
member, that God is holy in all his ways, and righteous in alt
¦his works, and that the judge of all the earth always does right.
I do not mean that things are therefore right, merely because'
"God does -them ; for if they were not right to be done, antece-/
dendy to his doing of them, he would notyhe could not do them :
But I mean, that when it is a plain matter of fact that God does
such a thing, we may thence conclude that it is most certainly
rightfor-him>todo so, although we cannot understand how it is.
We ought to remember that he is infinite in his understanding,
suid, at one comprehensive view, beholds aU things, and so can
not but know what is right, and what is wrong, in all eases ; and
his judgment^ is unbiassed.. ..the rectitude^ of his nature is per
fect : he cannPt, theref(we, but dp right always, and, in all in
stances, govern the world in righteousness. But our minds are
narrow and contracted — we are but of yesterday, and know noth
ing ; and besides, our judgments are biassed through our mean
thoughts of God,, and high thoughts of ourselves ; and hence
we may be easily mistaken : Especially, in this case, our minds

174 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
are sadly .biassed, audit is_aJmost impossible for us tp consider
the matter wi^h a spirit of disinterested impartiality : , Ap^ these
considerations ought to check our rising thoughts, andnj,akeus
Ue down in tiie dust before the great, and rightepu^,^an.4 good
Governor of the world, -wi^h.humblq siljence, even a^tijpiigh we
cannot understand his ways :, An^.i believe tbata humble dis-
position of heart would lay an effegtual foundation for M to
come to be satisfied in this matter-7-it being our meaptbpughts
of God, and high thoughts of pu?«^es, which Winds our loinds
that we cannot see, and disppses us to quarrel ^itboui*, Creator,
and find fault with the Ruler and disposer pf the wprjd-.; It is
true, that the holy scriptures consider mankiiid as b&ing what
they are, and say but littie abput the; way in. which .they came to
be in such a condition : And there is gpod reason for it ; for
it is of infinitely greater importance that we should, know what
a condition we are in, than how we came into it : And ,it is a
foolish thing for us, and contrary, to common sense, to,, lay the
blame any where but upon ourselves, since we are voluntarily
such as we are, and really love to be What we are— rdo, not sin-
•cerely desire to be otherwise, but are utterly averse from it. —
But yet the holy scriptures say so much about the way of our
coming into our present condition, as might fuUy satisfy our
minds, were not our judgments biassed ; for from, them we
¦Jeam, that man was made upright....was created in God's image,
and, by rebelling against his Maker, brought a curse upon himself
find aUhis race....Gen. i. 27 — Eccle. vii. 29 — ^Rom. v. 12-^19.
There we read, that by one man, sin entered into the world-^
that by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners — :that
by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemna
tion. Adam was created in the image of God — it was connatu
ral to him to love God with all his heart, and this would have
been our case, had he not rebeUed against God ; but now we
are born devoid of the divine image — have no heart for God— r
are transgressors from the womb..,. &j/ nature chil^renof wrath.
And if any should enquire, " But can it be right that A4'
" ani's sin shoUidhave any influence upon us ?"

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 175
I answer— ^It is a plain case that it actually has, and we may
depend uppn it that the Judge pf aU thei earth always does right.
And besides, why might not God make Adam our public head
and representative, to act in our room, as he has sitice, for our
recovery, made his own Son our public head and representative ?
.„.Rom. V. 12— -21 . He had as much right, power, and author
ity for one as for the other ; and was not Adam as lilfely to
remain obedient as any of us should have been, and, in some
respects, more likely? His natural powers were ripe; he stood
not only for himself, but for all his race ; — a whole world lay at
stake : And if he had kept the covenant of his God, and se
cured happiness to all his race, should we not forever have
blessed God for so good a constitution I Never once should
we have questioned God's right and authority to make him our
public head and representative, or have thought that it did not
Ijecome his wisdom and goodness to trust our aU in his liandsi
And if we should thus have approved this constitution, had
Adam never sinned, why might we not as justly approve
it now, if we would be but disinterestedly impartial ? It is the
same, in itself, raow, that it would have been fAen,,,. every way
as holy, just, and good.—" Oh, but for God to damn a whole
world for one sin !" But stay— rdoes not this arise frpm mean
thpughts of God, and high thoughts pf yourself ? O, think who
the Lord is ! and what it is for a worm tp rise in rebellion
against him ! and how he treated whole thousands of glorious
(mgels for their first sin ! and then, think ,how God drowned
the old xvorld....h\imtSodom....and of ^e dreadful things he inr
tends to dp to the impenitent at the day pf judgment ! and
learn, and believe, that sin is an infinitely greater e\'il than we
naturally imagine.
But I must return to my subject, for it is not my present busi
ness so much to show how we came info this condition, as plain-,
ly to point out what that condition is, which we are actually in.
As to this, the whole scriptares are very plain ; but especially
the laxv, by xvhich is the knowledge of sin, clearly discovers what
our case is, and, beyond dispute, proves that all are under sin.

176 TRUE RELIGIOJf DELINEATED, AND
And having already, by comparing oureelves with the law,
found out what our nature is, I proceed to make some furtiier
observations, in which I design greater brevity.
4. From whathas been said, we may learn that the very best
religious performances of all unregenerate men are, complexly
considered, sinfid, and so, odious in the sight of God. They
may do many things materially good, but the principle, end, and
manner of them are such, as that, complexly considered, what
they do is sin in the sight of God : For sin is a transgression
ofthe law. But,
(1.) The law requires all mankind to do every duty out of
love to Goti, and for his glory : But all unregenerate persons,
directly contrary to law, do every duty merely Put of love to
themselves, and for self-ends ; and so, are guilty of rebelUon.
(2.) The law requires all mankind to do every duty out of
love to God, and for his glory : But all unregenerate persons
do every duty merely out of love to theihselves, and for self-
ends ; whereby they prefer themselves, and their interest, above
God and his glory ; and so, are guilty ef spiritual idolatry.
(3.) The law requires all mankind to do every duty from Idve
to God, and for his glory : But aU unregenerate pereons do ev
ery duty merely from self-love, and for self-ends ; and yet hyp
ocritically pretend to God, that they love and obey him ; andso,
are guilty of mocking God.
(4-) The law supposes that God infinitehj deserves to be
loved with all our hearts,4md obeyed in every thing, and that
our neighbor deserves to be loved as oureelves ; and that, there
fore, if we should yield perfect obedience in all things, yet we
should deserve no tluxnks : But all unregenerate persons make
much of their duties, though such miserable, poor thin^ ; and
so, affront God to his very face.
Upon ^esefour accounts, their very best performances are
done in a manner directly contrary to the law of God, and so are
sinful, and therefore odious in the sight of God : (Prov. xv. 8,
and xxi. 27 — Rom. viii, 8 — Psalm Ixxxviii. 36, 37,) As is the
tree, so is the fruit — as is the fountain, so are the streams ; and

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 177
as is the man,, so are his doings, in the sight of God, who looks
at the heart, (Mat. xii. 33, 34, 35,) and judges not according
to appearance, but judges righteous judgment ; and with whom
many things, that are highly esteemed among men, are abomi
nation. And if their best reUgious performances are thus odious in
the sight of God, it is certain that they cannot possibly, in the
nature of things, have the least tendency to make amends for
their past sins, or recommend them to the divine favor ; but
rather tend to provoke God still more : So that it is not of him
that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shoxvs mercy.
Nor is there the least hope in the sinner's case, but what arises
from the sovereign mercy of God ; whereby he can have mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and have compassion on whom he-
xvill have compassion....Tiom. ix. 15, 18.
True, some, being ignprant of the law, and of our entire
contrariety to it, have fancied a goodness in the sinner's duties ;
and hence have persuaded themselves that tiiere are promises
of special grace made to them : — Not that there are any prom
ises in scripture, of that nature ; for the scripture everywhere
considers us as being, while unregenerate, deadin Mn....Eph.
ii. 1 — Enemies to Go^.... Rom. v. 10 — II. Cor. v. 17 — 20—
Col. i, 21 — ^yea, enmity against him....'R.om. viii. 7 — and so
far from any true and acceptable obedience to God, as that we
are not, npr can be subject to the law, and so cannot please God
....Rpm. viii. 7, 8 — and every where represents such as being
\xndcr the wrath of God., ..the curse of the laxv, and a present
condemnation. ...John in. 18, 36 — Rom. i. 18 — Gal. iii. 10 :
But the real ground of their opinion is, their ignorance of the
sinner's sinful, guilty circumstances, and their fond conceit that
there is some real goodness in what the sinner does : both which
are owing to their ignorance pf the law,* and pf the nature pf
* It is manifest that this notion ofthe promises, of' ¦which Peiagius -was
the author, and which, was condemned for heresy above 1300 years ago,
did, ¦with him, and does, ¦with his followers, take its rise, originally, frciti
their ignorance of the nature and meaning of the moral, law. But yet some
good men m»y have been inadvertently led- into this euor by the force of

178 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
true hpUness....i?o»j. vii. 8, 9 — Rom. x. 3. AU wiU own, that
if sinners' duties are such as I have reprtesented, it is absurd,
and even inconsistent with the divine perfections, that promises
of special grace, should be made to them.
It is true they refer to Mat. xxv. 29.... To him that hath, shall
be given. But that text evidently speaks of the final rewards
which shall be given tP the gpdly at the day of judgment ; when
all the unregenerate shall, with the slothful servant, be cast into
outer darknessi They quote also Mat. vii. 7....Ask and you
shall receive, &c. But the condition of this promise was never
yet performed by an unregenerate sinner : For this asking is
meant rigla asking ; for those whp ask amiss, receive nothing
....James iv. 3. Right asking of grace, supposes right desires
of it ; but the unregenerate are, in the habitual temper oftheir
hearts, directly contrary to grace and all spiritual good, and en'
tirely so, as has been proved : But to have genuine desires af
ter a thing, and a perfect contrariety to it, in the whole heart, at
the same time, is an express contradiction. The reason that
sinners many times think that they love holiness, and desire
heartily and sincerely to be made holy, is, that they, being ig
norant of the nature of true hoUness, have framed a false image
of it in their own fancies. Did they but distinctly know the
very thing itself their native contrariety to it could no longer be
hid....i?om- vii. 8,9. So the Pharisees thought they loved God,
and loved his law ; although, at the same time, they perfectly
hated the Son of God, who was the express image of his Father,
and came into the world to do honor to his Fatiier's law. They
had wrong notions of God, and of his law.
Obj. But this tends to drive sinners to despair.
Ans. Only to despair of being saved by their own righteous-
tiess, which they must be driven to, or they wiU never submit to be
saved by free grace through Jesus Christ.. *5oot. vii. 8, 9, and x. 3.
education, j believe men's hea.rtB may be sometimes better than their
heads : but when a false scheme of religion does perfectly suit a man's
y»art, and express the temper of his mind, then, no doubt, he is graceless
,...II. John ix- and^o^j viii. 47. The above notion of the promises per
fectly svtits a self-righteous heart,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 179
Obj. B^tti if these things be true, there is not any motive to
excite a poor sinner to reform, or pray, or read, or do any thing.
Ans. By which it is plain, that a sinner cares npt a jot for
God, and will not go one step in religipn, pnly for what he can
get : and if such a sinner had ever so many motives, he would
only serve himself, but not serve God at all. And what en
couragement can God, consistent with his honor, give to such
an one, since he merits hell every moment, even by his best du
ties, but only that which St. Peter gave to Simon Magus ? Acts
viii. 22.. ..Repent, and pray to Gofl^,j/'PERADVENTURE?/ze wick
edness of thy heart may be forgiven thee.
Obj. But this way of reasoning will make sinners leave off
seeking and striving, and sit doxvn c&scouraged.
Ans. Not if sinners ai-e but effectuaUy awakened to see how
dreadful damnation is ; for ahare who can teU P will make such
resolve to run, and fight, and strive, and beg, and pray, till they
die ; and if they perish, tP perish at God's foot : And as for
pthers, all their cpurage arises frpm their not seeing what wretch
ed, ' miserable, sinful, guilty creatures they are ; and so must
be dashed to pieces, sooner or later, in this world or the next,
whenever their eyes come to be opened. And if God ever, in
this world, shows them what they are, they will thereby per
ceive what danger they are in : and noxv a mere who can tell ?
wiU make them also resolve to run for eternal salvation, till their
very last breath. It is best that false confidence should be kiU-
ed ; and this way of reasoning does not, in the least, tend to hurt
any other : It is best that sinners should know the worst of
their case ; and this way of reasoning does not tend to make it
appear a jot worse than it is.
Obj. But what good does it do for sinners to be in such earnest
to reform, read, watch, pray, run, fight, strive, as for their lives,
since all they do is sin, and God xvill have mercy only on whom
he will have mercy.
Ans. (1 .) It is less sin tP do these things, than not to do them.
(2.) Sinners never will be in such, earnest, only when God
comes to awaken and convince, and sp to make them effectual-

180 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ly sensible of the dreadful state they are in ; and it is not any
discouragements that can keep them from being in such earnest
then, so long as the least hope appears in their case. Other
people care but littie about eternal things, and do but very Uttle
in religion, but what education, custom, the fashion, and their ¦
worldly interest, excite them unto. Most people think it so
easy a thing to be saved, as that they look upon such great con
cern and earnestness as perfect frenzy.
(3.) This great earnestness of awakened sinners makesthem
try their strength to purpose ; whereby they come to be experi
mentally convinced that it is not in their hearts to love God, be
sorry for sin, or do any thing that is good ; whereby the high
conceit they used to have of their ability and good nature is
brought down, and they feel and find that they are enemies to
God, and dead in sin : and hereby a foundation is laid for them
to see the justice of God in their damnation, and so the reason
ableness of God's having mercy only on whom he will have
mercy : And thus, the law, though it cannot give life, yet is a
school-master to bring men to Christ : And thus the main good
the awakened sinner gets, by going to this school-master, is ef
fectually to learn his need of Christ, and of the free grace of
God through him,. ..i?ow. vii, 8, 9. ...Gal. iii. 21 — -24: This is
the great end God has in view, and this end aU the sinner's ear
nest strivings are well calculated to obtain.
5. From what has been said, we may learn the nature of a
saving conversion, and the manner wherein it it wrought. Con
version consists in our being recovered, from our present sinfiil-
ness, to the moral image of God ; or, which is the same thing, ^
to a real conformity to the moral law : But a conformity to the
moral law consists in a disposition to love God supremely, live
to him ultimately, and delight in him superlatively — and to love
our neighbor as ourselves.. ..and a practice agreeable thereto :•
And therefore conversion consists in our being recovered from
what we are by nature, to such a disposition and practice.
And now, in order to s,uch a glorious renovation and recove
ry, God, by his spirit, sets home the law uponthe sinner's heart.

DISTINGUISHED FROM AtL COUNTERFEITS. 181
causing him to see and feel, to purpose, just how he has lived,
and what he is, and what he deserves, and ho w he is in the hands
of a sovereign God, and at his disposal ; whereby the hindran
ces which were, in the way of his convereion, are, in a sort, re
moved. Rom. vii. 8, 9....i^or without the laxv, sin was dead :
For I was alive without the law once ; but when the command
ment came, sin revived, and Idled : And then God, who com
manded the Ught to shine out of darkness, shines in the heart, and
gives the light ofthe knowledge ofthe glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ....ll. Cor. iv. 6. And now a sense of the glory
of God and divine things being thus imparted to the soul by the
. spirit of God, and the sinner being raised up from spiritual
death' to spiritual life, does return home to God through Jesus
Christ, venturing his soul and immortal concerns upon the free
grace of God, and through him ^ves up himself to God, to be
his forever — to love him supremely- — live to him entirely, and
delight in him superlatively, and forever to walk in alibis ways ;
and hereby, at the same time, the man's heart begins to be ha-
bituaUy framed to love his neighbor as himself, with a disinter
ested impartiaUty ; and thus an effectual foundation is laid for
universal external obedience,, and that from genuine piinciples.
And as the divine Ufe is thus begun, so it is carried on in the
soul much after the -same manner. The spirit of God shews
the believer, more and more, what apoor, sinful, helUdesei-ving
wretch he is in himself, and so makes him more and more sen-,
sible of his absolute need of free grace, through Jesus Christ, to
pardon and to sanctify him. He grows in a sense pf these
things aU his days; whereby his heartis kept humble, and Christ
and free grace made more precious. The spirit of God shews
tiie believer, more and more, of the infinite glory and excellen
cy of God, whereby he is more and more influenced to love
him, live to him, and delight in him with all his heart : and,
by the whole, his heart is framed more and more to love his
neighbor as himself : And thus the path of the just is Uke a shi
ning light, that shines more and more, to the perfect day, (Prov.
iv. 18.) ; only, it must be observed, that the spirit's, operations^

182 TRUE RELIGIPN DEtlNEATED, AND
after conversion, are attended with two differences, arising from
two causes : — (1.) From the different state of the subject
wrought upon. The believer not being under the law as a cov
enant, is not, by the spirit, filled with those legal terrors arising
from the fears ofheU, as heretofore he wa&.,..Rom. vin. 15 ;
but only is made sensible of his re;maining sinfulness, and the
sinfulness arid desert of sin, and of God's fatherly displeasnre ;
and hereby his heart is humbled and broken : Indeed, hereby
he is many times filled with unspeakable anguish and bitterness
of soul. His sins are ever before, his eyes, and his bones wax
eld through his roaring all the day /owg-.... Psalm xxiii. 3, and
Ii. 3. He is troubled.„,he is bowed down greatly ....he goes mourn
ing all the day long....Vsaha xxxviii. 1 — 16. But these awa
kening, convincing, humbling, mourning, purifying times, al
ways end in peace andjoy, and rest in God — attended with a
greater degree of tenderness of conscience and holy, watchful
ness, and followed with bringing forth more fruit.. ..Pra^ xcvii.
ll,andcxxvi. 5, 6. — /"sa/rnxxxii. 5,andlxxiii. 25 — 28. — John
XV. 2 — II. Cor. vii. 10, 11. — Heb. xii. 11  Hos. u. 6, 7, 14, 15.*
(2.) From the different nature ofthe subject wrought upon.
The believer not being under thojuU power of sin, and at per
fect enmity against Gpd, as once he was, hence does not resist
the spirit with the whole heart, while he takes down the power
of sin, as heretofore he did ; but has a genuine disposition to
join in on God's side, and say, " Let me be effectually weaned
" from the world, and humbled, and made holy and heaveiily,
" and be brought into an entire subjection to God in aU things,
" though by means and methods ever socross to flesh and blood :
" Let me be stript naked of aU worldly comforts, and let Shimei
" curse, and aU outward evils and inward anguish of heart come
" upon me, if nothing else wiU do. Here, Lprd, I am in thy
" hands ; chasten, correct, do what thou wilt with me, only let
" sin die — sin, thine enemy, the worst evil, and the grfeatest
"burden of my so\A."... .Rom. vu.2A. — II. Cor. iv. 8 9,16.—
James i. 2. — Psalm cxix. -71 — Heb. xii. 9. And he is not Only
thus wiUing that God should, by any methods, take dpwn the

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 183
power of sin in the heart, but also joins in with the methods of
divine grace, and, by watching and praying, and by fighting and
striving, seeks the death of every corruption : And from his
thusjoining in on God's kide against thefiesh, he is said, in scrip
ture, to crucify it....Gal. \\ 24 — land to work out his own salva-
tion....Fh\l. n. 13.
From what has been said under this head, we may see that
a saving conversion differs very much from the conversion of
these Joar sorts of men : — (1.) The worldly hypocrite; who
makes a profession of religion.. ..does many things.. ..appears
gealous, and pretends to be a good man, merely from worldly
considerations, and to be seen of men.... 3fat. xxiii. 5. (2.)
The legal hypocrite ; whose conversion is nothing else but a
leaving off his vicious practices, and turning to be strict and
conscientious in external duties, in hopes thereby to make
amends for his past sins, and recommend himself to God ; and
so escape hell, and get to heaven.. ..i?07ra. x. 3. (3.) The evan
gelical hypocrite ; whose conversion was nothing else but this :
— ^he was awakened to see his sins, and terrified with fear of
hell, and humbled,' in a measure, but not thoroughly,... but great
Ught broke into his mind, and now he believes that Christ loves
him, and has pardoned all his sins, and so is fiUed with joy and
zeal, and is become quite another man ; but, still, has no
grace.... Mat. xiii. 20 — Heb. vi. 4 — II. Pet. ii. 20 : These
usually either fall away to carnal security, or, being puffed up
with pride, turn enthusiasts. (4.) The wild, blazing enthusi
ast — whose conversion all arises y^ow imaginary notions. He
has an imaginary sight of his sin.. ..his heart.. ..the wrath of God
„..of hell and the devil, and is terribly distressed : and then
he sees Christ in a bodily shape, it may be on the cross with
his blood rtmning, or, seated on a throne of glor}' at his^father's
right hand — 'he sees a great ligbt shining all round him. ...hears
the angels sing.. ..sees visions. ...hears voices.. ..has revelations,
and thinks liimself one ofthe very best saints in the whole wm-ld,
though, in truth, he, by scandalous practices, or heretical prin
ciples, or both, soon appears to be seven times more a child of
A A

184 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
the devU than he was before : However, in his own conceit,
he knows infallibly that he is right, and aU the world cannot con.i
vince him to the contrary : Yea, he is fit, at once, to be a min.
ister, though ignorant of the first principles of reli^on ; he is
inspired by God, and whoever likes him not is an enemy to Je
sus Christ, he dpubts not at aU. These are the tares the de
vil sows, by means of whom the ways of God are evil spoken
of....Mat. xiii. 39 — II. Cor. xi. 14 — I. Tim. i. 7.
Now these several sorts of religion, the true and the false,.
growing up from these several roots, do all receive a different
nourishment, according to their different nature ; through which
nourishment they grow and increase ; and through the want of
which they decay. The good man, the greater sense he has of
God's infinite glory, as he has revealed himself in the law and
in the gospel, so, proportionably, does his reUgion flourish and
grow in all its various branches, and shine with a heavenly lus
tre : The worldly hypocrite lays out himself most in Teligion,
when there are the most to observe and applaud him : The le
gal hypocrite, when his conscience is most terrified with the
thoughtsof death, judgment, and eternity : Kndthe evangelical
hypocrite has his affections raised, his love, and joy, and zeal,
in proportion to his supposed discoveries of the love of Christ
to him, in particular, and sense of the glories of a (fancied) heav
en : And, finally, the blazing enthusiast is more or less Uvely in,
reUgion according as he has dreams, hears voices, has impres
sions and revelations, and is applauded by his party. And, ac
cordingly, those different sorts of religion wiU grow and thrive
tiie best under such different sorts pf preaching as suits their
several natures : And men wiU cry up those ministers most,
whose preaching and conduct agree with their hearts the best.
Mic. iv. S....For aU people wiU walk, every one in the name of his,
God: And true beUevers will walk in the name of the Lord
their Gpd.
6. Frpm aU that has been said, we may leam that a sinner is
naturally disposed to resist the spirit ofGodv.iith aU his might,,
when he ccmes to awaken, convince, and humble him....to take

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 185
down the power of sin in his heart, and turn him to God. —
Conversion consists in our being recovered from the sinful state
we are in, by nature, to a real conformity to the divine law ; i.
e. in our being recovered frpm a disppsitipn to love ourselves
supremely, live to ourselves ultimately, and delight in that which
isnotGodwhpUy....and a practice agreeable tp this disposition j
I — to a disposition to love God supremely, live to him ultimate-
ly, and deUght in him superlatively, and to love our neighbors as
ourselves.. .andapractice agreeable thereto ; i. e. in other words,
in our being recovered from one disposition, to another directly
contrary to it— even so contrary, that the first must die, in or
der to the other's existence. This disposition, from which we
are to be recovered, is not any habit contracted merely by cus
tom, which might more easily be parted -with ; but it is connat
ural to us — a disppsition rooted, as it were, in our very nature,
and which has the fuU possession of our souls, and the entire
government of our hearts ; — ^in a word, a disposition which we
in every respect perfectiy love, and which we perfectiy hate
should be ever crossed, and which yet must be slain, or we nev
er converted. New, if ever a sinner be recovered from this
disposition, it is evident it must be against the very grain of his
heart : his heart, therefore,, wUL make the utmost resistance it
possibly can.
If we were entirely renewed in an mstant, without any pre
vious strivings ofthe spirit, then, indeed,,there would be no room
nor time for resistance ^ but, otherwise,, the heart will resist :
If there were the least disposition in our hearts, contrary to our
natural disposition to love ourselves supremely, live to ourselves
ultimately, and delight in that which is not God wholly, it might
join in onGod'is side-.. be sincerely desirous that God would slay
the enmity of our hearts ; but there is not : The carnal mind is
whoUy enmity against God — is not si^bject to his law, nor can
be ; and so the whole heart will make resistance. If the dis
position, to which we are recovered in conversion, were not so
direcdy contrary to our natural disposition, as that our' natural
disposition must be slain, in order to the very being of that, the

186 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
sinner's opposition might not be so great ; but, when all that is
witiiin him is directiy crossed and going to be killed, all that is
within him will oppose and resist, till slain. We are, by nature,
wholly zn the flesh and after the flesh: According to a scripture-
phrase, that which is born of the flesh, is flesh ; and, by conver
sion, we are to become spirit.... That which is born ofthe spirit,
is spirit. But the flesh and the spirit are, in scripture, repre
sented as being contrary the one to the other : Y^iW. flesh, then,
of its own accord, become spirit ? No, surely : for thefiesh lust-
eth against the spirit ; i. e. is wholly averse from it, and set against
it : so that there is no other way but for the flesh to be crucified,
with the affections and lusts : But the flesh perfectly hates this
death, and therefore wih-resist with all its might. ..."Rom. viii.
-7, 8— John iii. 6 — Gal. v. 17 — Rom. vi. 6.
As the truth of this point is thus evident, from the reason
and nature of things, so it is farther confirmed from constant
experience : For, let any man read the Bible with attention, and
he may plainly see that the very thing which God has always
been aiming at, in all the external means he has used with his
professing people, in every age ofthe world, has been to recover
them to a conformity to his holy law, in heart and life ; i. e, to
recover them from a disposition to love themselves supremely,
live to themselves ultimately, and delight in that -which is not
God wholly, and a practice agreeaMe thereunto, to a dis-
position to love God supremely, live to him ultimately, and de
light in him superlatively, and to love their neighbors as them
selves, and to practise accordmgly : For on these two commands
hang all the law and the * prophets. And we may also
plainly see, that God's professing people have always manifest
ed the greatest aversion to hearken to the /aw and to the proph
ets, and so to die to themselves, the world, and sin ; and thus to
give up themselves to God, to love him, live to him, deUght in
him, and walk in all his ways, God sent aU his servants, the
prophets, to the children of Israel, rising early and sending ;
but they always hated their words, and so stopped their ears,
and refused to obey : yea, they feU into a rage at them, and, in

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 187
their rage, they mocked them„.;they scourged them... .they
bound them.. ..they imprisoned them.. ..they stoned them. ...they
sawed them asunder, and made the rest wander about in deserts
and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earthy in sheep
skins and goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, tormented....Heb. xi.
35 — 38 : And when God sent his well-beloved Son to call a
wicked world to return home unto him, they said. Come, let us kill
him....'M.at. xxi. 33 — 39. And when Christ sent his apostles to
carry the glad tidings of pardon and peace to the ends of the
earth, and caU all men to repent and be converted — to return,
and love, and serve thfe living God, both Jews and Gentiles con
spired together against them, and killed them — just as the ten
tribes kiUed the messenger whom Rehoboam sent unto them,
to call and invite them to return to their former allegiance.. ..I.
Kings xii. 1 8. Therefore, says our Blessed Savior to the Jews,
who pretended great love to God and to the law, and mightily
to honor their prophets, Tou are like whited sepulchres ; you
appear outwardly righteous, but inwardly are full of all hypocri
sy and wickedness. Tour fathers killedthe prophets, whom you
pretend to honor, but ¦you are fiillas bad as they were. Ye ser
pents, ...ye generation of vipers,hc. Wherefore, behold, Isend un
to you prophets, and wise men, atid scribes ; and some of them ye
shall kill and crucify, and some of them ye shall scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city. 0 Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest thern tliat
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as the hengathereth her chickens under her wings,
and ye would npt !...Mat. xxiii. 27 — 37. Frpm all which,
nothing can be plainer, than that this rebellious, God-hatitig
world always have been set against a return to God, and been
disposed to do all they could, to render all means ineffectual.
Well might St. Stephen, therefore, say unto the Jews as he did,
in Acts vii. 51. ...2e stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the holy Ghost : as your fathers did,
so do ye : nor had they any reason to be angry with him therefor.
And as aU, who have enjoyed the external means of grace.

188 TRIjTE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
have thus been disposed to hate the Ught....shut their eyes....
stop their ears, and refuse to hear, and been utterly opposed to
a return to God ; so this is evidently the case with all whom
God has inwardly wrought upon by his spirit — as all know, who
have either had any experience themselves, or have candidly
observed the experience of others : And, indeed, it must be
so ; for the very same temper which wiU make men resist the
outward, wiU also dispose them to resist the inward means of
grace. For the holy spirit teaches and urges the very same
things that Moses and the prophets, and Christ and his apostles
teach and urge, and pursues the same end ; and will, therefore,
of consequence, meet with the same opposition and resistance,
from the very same quarter. This is the condemnation, that
Ught has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than
light, because their deeds are evil.... He that doth evil hateth the
light....John iii. 19, 20. That light which will discover men's
evil deeds, and shew them their faUen, sinful, guilty, helpless,
undone condition. ...and so spoil all their worldly, carnal com
forts, the very idols of their hearts.. ..and also kiU their legal,
self-righteous hopes, which is all the awakened and concerned
sinner has, to his own sense and apprehension, to depend upon
— ^that light which affects things, which are so direcdy cross to
the inward temper ofthe sinner's heart, he will naturally be dis
posed to hate.. ..shut his eyes against.. .flee from and resist with
alibis might ; and that whether it comes from the externaltea'Aii-
ings of the word, or internal teachings of the spirit : Yea,
so long as there is the least remainder of corruption left in be
lievers themselves, it wiU hate to die, and struggle witii aU its
might to keep its ground — ^yea, and to recover its former do
minion : Rom. vii. 25.. ..Isee another law in my members,xuar-
ring against the law in my mind, and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin, which is in my members : Yea, it impUes a con
tradiction to suppose corruption can in any case be willing to
die ; for every temper in our hearts naturally loves to be grat
ified and pleased, and it is a contradiction to -suppose it can, at
the same time, be wiUlng to be crpssed and killed....Ga/. v. 17.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 189
Obj. But do not awakened sinners earnestly desire to repent of
andbe humbled for their sins, and to mortify their corruptions,
and to give up themselves to God, to love and live to him ? And
do they ¦not earnestly pray for the divine spirit to assist them so
to do ? How can they then be disposed, at the same time, to make
such mighty resistance.
Ans. (1.) Awakened sinners see themselves in great danger,
and they therefore earnestly desire and seek after self-preserva
tion ; and this is plainly owing to nature, and not to any grace
or goodness in their hearts. Psalm Ixvi. 3., . Through the great
ness of thy power, thine enemies submit themselves unto thee ; i. e.
they feign a submission, but they are thine enemies  (2.) That
which moves them to desire to repent, be humbled, &c. is, they
hope by these means to make amends for their past sins, and
ingratiate tiiemselvcs into the favor of God.... .ffom. x. 3. ; i. e.
merely from self-love, with pure hypocrisy, they would impose
upon God : For (3.) after aU their pretences, desires, and pray
ers, their nature and temper is just what it used to be ; and
were they but deUvered from the fears of hell, and left at full
liberty to follow their o-wn inclinations, they would live as vi-
tiously as ever they did. — (4.) Yet they pretend to love God,
and would fain have him believe them sincere, and are ready to
expect acceptance for what they do, and to think it hard if God
s'noiddnot accept them. Now, if it was the work ofthe spirit
of God, to buildup such a sinner in this hypocritical, self-right
eous way, he might be disposed, while under his fears and ter
rors, tP concur and faU in with the spirit's influence ; and all
merely from self-love and for self-ends: But if the spirit of God
goes about to bring home the law in its stricmess, and shew such
a sinner the very truth, that he does not love God, nor desire
to..«that his desires, and prayers, and tears, are all hypocritical....
that he is still deadin sin, and an enemy to God.. ..that he de
serves to.be damned as much as ever he did. ...that God is at
liberty, all his duties notwithstanding, to reject him. ...that he
lies absolutely at God's mercy ; now he wUlhate the light, shut
his eyes against it, quarrel at it, and resist it with all his might.

190 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Itis exceedingly hard for the poor sinner, whep he begins to be
awakened, to part with a vain Ufe, and vain companions....his
carnal ease and comfort, andaU vicious courses — ^to make resti-
tution to those he has wronged in name or estate, and give him
self to reading, meditation, and prayer, and to a serious, mord-
f\-ing way of living : he cannot bear the thoughts — ^would fain
contrive an easier way, or else delay, for the present, so mourn-
ful and tedious a work : But when, by the dreadful fears of
-heU and eternal damnation, he has been brought, after much re-
liictance and unwiUingness, to a forced consent to all tiiis, ho-
ping thereby to appease the divine wrath and procure the divine
favor  now, to have all his self-righteous hopes dashed and
confounded, by a sight of the badness of his heart, by seeinghe
has no love to God,,, .no sorrow for sin,,., no incUna;ion to be
hply, but averse to God and all that is good, and that aU his for
ced goodness has no virtue in it.. ..that he is yet under the whole
guilt of aUhis sin.. ..under condemnation ofthe law and the wrath
of God.. ..dead in sin. ...an enemy to God. ...absolutely at God's
mercy ; — this, this, I say, is dreadful indeed, and far more cross
to the very grain of the sinner's heart than all he ever met -with
before. Here, therefore, there will be the greatest struggle,
and strongest resistance, before ever the sinner can, by the spir
it of God, be brought cleariy to see and give into these things;
for all these things are directly cross to the sinner's disposition
to love himself supremely, and live to himself ultimately — di
rectly cross to a spirit of self-supremacy and independence.—
The sinner cannot bear that God should be so great and, so
sovereign, and himself so vile. ...so little. ..so absolutely at mercy;
it is a killing thing. When the commandment came, sin revi
ved, and I died : So that it is plain, that, notwithstanding all
the awakened sinner's selfish desires and prayers, yet, in the
habitual temper of his heart, he stands disposed to resist
the influences of the divine spirit with all his might. He is
so far from being wiUing to repent of his sins, that he is ut
terly unwillUng to see and own his sinfulness — so far from
desiring to be humbled, that he is by no means wiUing to see

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 191
the cause and reaspn he has tp be humbled — sp far from desi
ring to be made spiritually alive, that he wiUnot so much as own
that he is spirituaUy dead — so far from desiring the gracious
influences ofthe holy spirit to reconcile him to God, that he will
not own that he is an enemy to God.. .but would fain think that
he heartily desires to love God, and stands ready to- hate and
resist that light, which would discover the enmity of his heart.
He that doth evil, hateth the light, and flees from it, lest his evil
deeds be discovered ; and, for the same reason, he that hath an
evil heart hates the light and resists it, lest the badness of his
heart be discovered,
7. From all that has been said, we may learn that those ini
fluences ofthe spirit, which will be sufficient effectually to awa
ken, convince, and humble the sinner,'and recover him to God,
must be irresistible and supernatural. That the internal influ
ences ofthe holy spirit are necessary to recover sinners to God,
is so plainly held forth every where in the Bible, that the Ar-
minians themselves do not deny it : But hoxv much, and xjvhat
kind of influences are needful, is very much disputed. Now so
much, and such sort of influences are, beypnd dispute, needful,
as wiU be sufficient effectually to answer the end, and without
which no sinner will ever be converted : This is self-evident.
If sinners were so good-natured as to see, and feel, and own
their sinfulness, and the justice of the sentence whereby they
stand condemned, and die to themselves, the world and sin,
and return home to God, through Jesus Christ.. ..to love him,
live to him, and delight in him forever, of their own accord,
merely upon reading the Bible, and hearing the law and the
gospel preached, then there would be no need of any inward
influences of the spirit atall; or, if they were so good-natured
as to be easily persuaded to do so, then spme small degree ofthe
inward influences of the spirit wpuld dp : But if, in the first
' place, they are altpgether unwiUing to see, and feel, and own
their sin and guilt, and the justice oftheir condemnation accor
ding to law, and entirely disposed to hate and resist the light,
as hath but just now been prpved, then they must be brpughi;
B s

192 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
to it hy an all-conquering, irresistible grace, or not at ail: And
if, in the second place, the clearest sight and greatest sense a nat
ural man can have of,whatGodis, instead of making him appear
infinitely glorious and amiable in the eyes of one whose heart
is dead in sin, and diametrically opposite to the divine nature,
wiU rather irritate corruption, and make the native enmity of
the heart ferment and rage, and became but the more apparent
and sensible, as has been heretofore proved, then there must
be a supernatural, spiritual, and divine change wrought in the
heart, by the immediate influences ofthe spirit of God, whereby
it shall become natural to look upon God as infinitely glorious
and amiable in being what he is, and so a foundatioii hereby
laid for us to love him with all our' hearts, and so sincerely to
repent, return, and give up ourselves to him, to live to him, and
delight in him forever ;— r-I say, if these things be so, there must
be such a change wrought by the spirit of God, or not one sin-
ner in the world will ever be converted to God : and, therefore,
that there is an absolute necessity of such influences ofthe spirit
of God, in order to a saving conversion, is evident, to a demon
stration, from the very reason and nature of things. God him
self must takeaxvay the heart of stone, and give anheartofflesli,
and write his law on our hearts. ...raise ¦us from the dead....create
us anexv....open our eyes, &c. &c according to the language 6f
scripture : And these things God does do for all that are re
newed, and therefore they are said to be born of God.. ..to be born
ofthespiritv.'to bespiritual,...to bemadepartakers ofthe divine na
ture, ho. and God is saidto give faith, repentance,and every di?
vine grac^.., Ezek. xxxvi. 26 — Heb. viii. 10—£phi ii. 1 — 10 — I.
¦Cor. iv. 6 — John i. 13, and iii. 6 — Rom. viii. 6, 9 — II. Pet. i.
4— Acts V, 21 — James i. 17.
,8.. From what has been said, we may leam to understandthe
doctrine of divine sovereignty in the bestowment of special graci
for the regeneration and conversion of sinners. The scripture
represents God as choosing some before the foundation of the
xvorld, to be holy and to be his children.. ..l^iph. i. 4, 5 — and teaches
¦us that whom he did predestinate, them he also calls. ...and whom

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 193
he calls,them he also jtestifies...and xvhom he justifies, them he also
glorifies....Rom. viii. 30 — and plainly intimates that such as are
given to Christ, and ordained to eternal life, believe, and none oth
er. ...John vi. Zi, 39 — Acts xiii. 48— Rom. xi. 7 : And the
scriptures teach us that God has mercy on whom he will have
mercy, arid compassion onwhomhewill have compassion.. ..'Rom.
¦ix. 18 — andthat, for the most part, he passes by the rich, and
¦great, and honorable, and chooses the meanest and most ignoble,
that no flesh might glory in his presence....!. Cor. i. 26 — 29 :
He hides the- gospel from the wise and prudent, and reveals it to
babes ; and that because it pleases him so to do, and Christ rejoices
in his sovereign pleasure herein, as displaying his infinite wis
dom.. ..Mz?.- xi. 25, 26.
And now what has been said may show us the infinite rea
sonableness of such a procedure : For God, whose eyes rim to
and fro through all the earth, seeing all things as being what
they are, plainly beholds and views the state and temper of this
apostate world ; and let men pretend what they will, he knows
their hearts — ^he kno-ws they do not Ipve him, nor care for him
-^he sees all their hypocrisy, and their inward contrariety to
him and his law, and how much they are settled in their tem
per... .so far from repentance, that they will not so much as see
their sin, but stand to justify themselves, insensible of their
guilt, and insensible of their desert, hating the light : He sees
they hate to perceive their sin, and guilt, and desert, and to be
humbled, and lie down at his foot, and be absolutely beholden
to him ; and that they would make the utmost resistance if he
should take them in hand, and go about thoroughly to convince
them, by his spirit, how things really are : Thus he views his
appstate, rebellipus creatures, and sees how sinful,.. .how dead
in sin.. ..how contrary to all good, and how irreclaimable they
are, and, upon the whole, how much they deserve eternal dam
nation. In the days of eternity, he saw just how things would
be, beforehand ; and now.; in time, he seesjust how things actu
ally are : In the days of eternity, therefore', he saw that there
would not be any thing in them to move him to have mercy on

194 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
any ; and now, in time, he fihds it to be the case : and yet he
was pleased, then, of his mere sovereign pleasure, to determine
not to cast off all, but to save some — so, now, he is pleased to put
his sovereign pleasure in execution ; and he has mercy on
whom he will have mercy, and compassion on whom he wiU
have compassion, and many times takes the meanest and vUest,
that the sovereignty of his grace might be the more iUustrious,
and the pride of aU flesh might be brought low, and therXord
alone be exalted : And surely such a conduct infinitely weU be
comes the supreme Governor of the whole world.
Indeed, if any of Adam's race were so well disposed, as; of
dieir own accord, merely upon reading the Bible, hearing the
gospel preached, and enjoying the cpmmon means of grace, to
believe and repent, and to return home to Gpd thrpugh JesUs-
Christ, they might be accepted, pardpned, and saved ; nor would
there be any room for, or need of sovereign grace : But God,
who knows the hearts ofall, sees that all the pretences of sinners,
that way, are but mere hypocrisy, and that, at heart, they are his
enemies, and utterly opposed to a return. Or if there was any
virtue to be found among any ofthe fallen race of Adam, ante
cedent to God's grace, this might move him to have mercy upon
one, rather than another: But he sees that all are entirely desti
tute of love to him, and entirely at enmity against him, wholly
void of real goodness, and dead in sin, andthat the only reason
why some are not so outwardly extravagant and vicious as others,
is, because he has, by one means and another, restrained them,
and not because they are really better. And while God thus be
holds all alike dead in sin, and, in the temper of their hearts, by
nature, equally averse to a return to him, and views all as guilty
and hell-deserving, there is nothing....there can be nothing, to
move him to deteifmine to show mercy to one, rather than anoth
er, but his own good pleasure ; and therefore he has mercy on
whom he will have mercy : he awakens, convinces, humbles,
converts whom he pleases, and leaves the rest to follow their own
inclinations, and take their own course, enduring, with mwh
hng-sufferirig, the vessels of wrath.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 195
Let it be here noted, that many of those warm disputes about
the doctrine pf divine spvereignty, which have fiUedthe chris
tian world, turn very much n^on this point, AU are agreed,
thatwhospeverbeUeves, repents, and returns to God, through
Jesus Christ, shaUbe saved : AU wiU, therefore, yield that if
mankind, in general, were so weU disposed as to return to God,
through Jesus Christ, of their own accord, upon the calls and
invitations of the gospel, and only by the influence and help of
those advantages which are common, then all might.be saved ;
nor would there be any need of, or room for, this sovereign,
distinguishing grace : Butif mankind have none of this dispo-
-sition, but are every way diametrically opposite thereto — if all
the calls of the gospel, and common means and methods of
grace will have no eflfectual influence upon them — if nothing but
an almighty, all-conquering grace can stop them in their course
of rebeUion, subdue their lusts, afid recover them to God ; — if
this be the case pf all mankind, then it is plain that nothing but
the mere mercy of God can interpose and prevent an universal
ruin : And it is plain that the sovereignGovernor ofthe whole
wc«-ld is, in the nature of things, at most perfect liberty to shew
this mercy to none, or to some few, or to all, just as it seems
good in his sight : And since, from eternity, he foresaw just
how things would be, from eternity he might determine what
to do : So that the great question is, Whether mankind are
naturaUy so entirely averse to a true conversion ? For if they
are, the reasonableness of the divine sovereignty must be ad
mitted in this case ; and if they are not, none will any longer
' plead for it : And what the natural opposition of mankind to
conversion is, may be easily seen, if wc consider what the true
nature of conversion is, and compare their temper herewith :
And what the true nature of conversion is, may be easily known
by considering the true nature of the moral law :- — In a word, if
the law does only require what the Arminianm and Pelagians
suppose, and reUgion be just such a thing, it is a plain case that
mankind are not so bad, nor do they need such an irresistible
grace : But if the law requires quite another sort of holiness,

196 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND ¦
and so true religion be quite another sort of thing, even such as
I have described, which Ues so diametrically opposite to the nat
ural bent and bias of our whole souls, it is a clear case
that grace must be irresistible, and can proceed frpm npth
ing but mere free mercy, nor result from any thing but the sove
reign pleasure of the most High : So that, in short, the whole
dispute is resolved into this question — What does the law of
God require, and wherein does a genuine confoijnity thereto
consist ? But of this more afterwards.
And from what has been said, we may easily gather a plain
and short answer to all the mighty cry about promises, promi
ses to the unconverted, if they willdo as well as they can ; for it
is plain, heaven's gates stand wide open to all that beUeve and
repent, and return to God, through Jesus Christ.. ..yoAw iii. 16:
and it is plain, the wrath of God is revealed against all who do
not do t}i\\s...John iii. 36 : and it is plain that there is nothing but
the want of a good temper, together with the obstinate perverse
ness of sinners, that hinders their return to God ; and that, there
fore, all their pretences of being willing to do as well as they can,
are mere hypocrisy. They are so unwiUing to return to Go'd,
or take one step that way, that they can be brought back by
nothing short of an almighty power ; and are so far, therefore,
from being entitled to the promises ofthe gospel, that they are
actually, arid that deservedly too, under condemnation by the
gospel, (John iii. 18) and under all the curses of the law...Ga/,
iii. 10. " Take heed, therefore, O sinner, thou enemy of God,
" when you pretend that you desire to repent and do as weU'as
" you can, that you be not found quieting yourself in a state of
" estrangement from God, hiding your natural aversion to God
" and holiness under fair pretences : And know it, if you do,
" though you may deceive yourself by the means, yet it wiU ap-
" pear, another day, before aU worlds, and it wiU be known that
" you v/ere an enemy to God, and wouldnot be reconciled, and
" did but flatter him with j'our lips, and lie unto him with your
" tongue, in aU your seemingly devout pretences. You think
" yourself good enough to have an interest in the promises, but

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 197
" infinite goodness judges you deserve to be numbered among
" the children of wrath and heirs of heU  John iii. IS, 36. —
" Your high conceit of your own gpodness is the foundation of
" aUyour confidence, and both join to keep you secure in sin
" and under guUt, and insensible of your need of Christ and
" sovereign grace.. ..iwie v. 31 — Rom. x. 3." Did sinners but
see the badness of their hearts, they would be soon convinced
that the promises are not theirs, but the threatenings ; and
would feel and know that they have no claims to make, but lie
absolutely at mar cy.... Luke xviii. 13.
9. And if it is nothing but the mere grace and sovereign good
pleasure of God, which ,moves him to stop sinners in their ca
reer to hell, and by his irresistible and all-conquering grace,
and by the supernatural influences o'f his holy spirit, sub
due their stubbornness, take down the power of sin in their
hearts, and recover them to himself : and if he does this
for them, when they are at enmity against him, and are his open
enemies by wicked works, and so are altogether deserving his
wrath and vengeance ; — I say, if this be the case, there is all
reason to think, that he, who thus begins, will carry on the work
to perfection. He knew how bad the sinner was when he first
took him in hand.. ..how he hated to be converted, and how he
would resist, and that his own almighty arm must bring salva
tion ; and yet this did not discourage his first undertaking :
And he knew how the sinner would prove after conversion,...
just how barren and unfruitful....just how perverse and rebel
lious, andjust how apt to forget God and turn away from him,
and that his own almighty grace must always be working in him
to will and to do. ...Phil. ii. 13. He knew all the discouraging
circumstances before-hand, andhis infinite goodness surmount
ed them all — and he had mercy on the poor sinner, because he
would have mercy on him, of his mere good pleasure, from
his boundless grace, aiming at the glory of his own great name
....Eph. i.,6. Andnow, thisbelngthe case, we have aU reason
to think that God will never alter his hand, or leave unfinished
the work which he has begun ; for there always wiU be the same

198 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
motive from which he undertook the work, to excite him to car
ry It on — even the infinite goodness of his nature ; and he wiU be
always under the same advantages to answer the end he at first
proposed, namely, the advancement of the glory of his grace :
And he wiU never meet with any unforeseen difficulties or dis
couragements in his way. We may, therefore, be pretty cer
tain, If really God begins this work, under such views and such
circumstances, that It Is with design to carry it on ; — -as Samuel
reasons in a parallel case :— I. Sam. xu. 22. ...For the LerdwiU
not forsake his people for his great name^s sake ; because it hath
pleased the Lord to make you his people: So that if the doctrine
of the saints' perseverance were not expressly taught in scrip
ture, yet, on this ground, we might arg-ue very strongly for it :
But that this is a doctrine plainly revealed In the gospel, we may
learn from Mat. xiii. 23 — John iv. 14, and x. 4, 5, 27, 28 — I.
John iii. 6, 9 — Heb. vin. 10, &Ci &c. When St. Paul kept
under his body, and brought it into subjection, lest he should
he a cast-away, (I. Cor. Ix. 27.) he did no otherwise than he
was wont to do in temporal concerns. In cases wherein he was,
befor^and,certain of the event : So he sent word to the chief
Captain, ofthe Jews lying in wait to kill him, lest he should be
murdered by them ; although it was revealed to him from God,
but the very night before, that he should live to see Rome 
Acts xxiii, 12 — 21 : So he would not allow the sailors to leave
the ship in the midst of the storm, lest they should some of them
be droxuned for want oftheir help ; although, but a little before,
it was revealed to him from God that not one of them should be
drpwned.,..Jcte xxvii. 23-— 31. And, indeed, it was his duty
to do as he did, as much as if he had been at the greatest un
certainties about the event : So, although Paul knew that never
any thing should separate him from the love of God, (Rom. viii.
38.)— yet he used all possible endeavors to mortify his corrup-
'Slons, lest he should be a cast-away : And, indeed, it was his
duty to do so, as rnuch as ifhe had been at the greatest uncer
tainties about the event : And what was his duty, was also the
duty of all good men ; and tberefore St. Paul, in his epistles, k

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALJ. COUNTERFEITS, 199
frequentiy exhorting all to do as he did ; and that in a perfect
consistency with the doctrine ofthe saints' perseverance, which
he also teaches : And as Paul's being certain of the event did
not tend to make him careless in the use of proper means to
save his natural life, but rather tended to encourage and ani
mate him, as knowing that he shpuld finaljy succped'—- sp his he-
ing certain ofthe event did not tend tp make him careless, but
tP animate him, with respect tP his spiritual and eternal life :
And as it was with him, sp It is with all gppd men.. .,i?om. vi. 2 :
Fpr this is always the case, that certainty pf success animates
men, if the thing they are abput be what they Ipve, and what
their hearts are engaged in ; but tP die tP themselves, the wprld
and sin, and love God, and live to him, and grow up into per*
feet hoUness, is what all believers love, and have their hearts en
gaged after ; an absolute certainty, therefpre, of perseverance
has, in the nature pf things, the greatest tendency to aniipate
them to the most sprightiy activity. There are rione but grace-»
less hypocrites that take encouragement from the doctrines of
free grace to carelessness and s\n...,Rom, vi. 1, ?.
10. If this be the nature of a saving conversion — ^If this be
the nature of true holIness-i--If this be true religion, so contrary
to flesh and blood, and all the habitual propensItI.es of nature,
then, so long as there is the least corruption left in tlie heart, there
will, of necessity, be a continual conflict : Grace will continually
seek the ruin of sin, through its contrariety to it, and hatred of
It ; and sin will strive to maintain its ground — ^yea, and to re
gain its former dominion. The gracious nature deUghts in the
law of God, and aspires after sinless perfection — the sinful na?
ture hates the law of God, and strives to lead the man captive
into sin : The gracious nature is a disposition to love God su?
premely, live to him ultimately, and delight In him superlative?
ly ; and this sinful nature Is a disposition to love self supreme?
ly, Uve to self ultimately, and deUght In that which is not Go4
wholly : and because these two are contrary the one to the oth-f
er, therefore the flesh wiU lust against the spirit, and the spirit
against tlieflesh.,..Gal. v. 17. The gracious nature joins In p»
C c

200 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Gpd's side against aU sin ; and whUe Gpd works in the man ta
wiUandto do, he works out his oxvn salvation with fear and trem-
bling....with caution and circumspection....with watchfuhiess
and holy concern — ^laboring to die to himself, the world and sin,
and be wholly the Lord's....Pfe7. ii. 12, 13. WhUe the divine
spirit Is breathing upon his heart, and realising to him the be-
ing and perfections of God  the existence and importance of
divine' and eternal things, and Is spreading divine Ught over his
soul, and Is banishing selfish and worldly views, and is drawing
his soul to holy and divine contemplations, he feels the divine
influence... .he blesses the Lord.. ..he summons all within hini
to engagedness....he pants after God : — " O that I might know
" him — that I might, see him Inhis infinite glory ! (Psalm Ixiii,
*' 1, 2.J....0 God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee — my
" sold thirstethfor thee — my flesh longethfor thee, in a dry and
" thirsty land, where no water is. ...To see thy power and glory,
" so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. (Verse 8.)  My
*' soul followeth hard after thee. (Psalm Ixxiii. 25.)... .Whom
" have lin heaven but thee ? And there is none upon earth Idet
" sire besides thee, O that I could, with my whole heart, love
" thee forever, live to thee forever, live upon thee forever, and
*' never, never, depart from thee ! O that I could think for thee,
" and speak for thee, and act for thee — at home and abroad,
" by day and by night, always live to thee, and upon thee .'-^
*' Here, Lord, I give myself to thee, to be forever thine.. ..to love
" thee and to fear thee, and to walk in all thy ways, and to keep
" all thy commands ; and O that my heart might never depart
" from thee ! But alas, alas, to wiU is present with me.. ..to have
" a disposition to all this, and long for all this, and seek and
*' strive for all this, is easy and natural,yor I delight in the laxv
" of God after the inward man ; but how to perform I find ¦not —
" how to get my whole heart «o to fall In, as that there shall not
" be the least contrary temper, this is quite beyond me, for I
*' am still carnal, sold under sin.,..have another law in my mem-
" Jer*.. ..have still the remains f of thefiesh J of my native con-
*' trarlety to God, and disposition to disreUsh divine things j

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 201
*' and so am apt to forget God....to warp off from him, and to
** have selflTsh and worldly views and designs secretly creep in-
" to my mind, and steal away my heart from God — arid so am
" daily led into captivity. O that sin was entirely dead — that a
" disppsition to disrelish God.. ..to forget hIm....to go away
" from hIm....to live without him, and to seek content In that
*' which is not God, was entirely slain ! 0, wretched man that
*' lam, who shall deliver me .?"... .Rom. vii. 14—24.
If.grace and corruption were not sp cpntrary the pne tp the
other.. ..so dIametricaUy opposite, there might possibly be an
accommodation between them, and both cjuletly dwell together
in the same heart ; but now they are set for each other's ruin,
and seek each other's destruction — and, like fire and water, wiU
never rest till one or the other be entirely destroyed. ...Ga/. v. 17.
If grace could be wholly kiUed, or corruption wholly slain,
tiien the conflict of believers might wholly cease In this life ;
but grace is immortal, like a living spring that shall never dry,
(John iv. 14.) — ^like a root that will ever grow, (Mat. xiii. 20 —
23.) and Christ is always ^wr^/w^ believers, that they may ^-/n^g-
forth more fruit, (fjohn xv. 2.) : So that he that is born of God
cannot sin as others do, (I. John iii. 9.) — cannot sin, but against
the grain of his heart, the gracious nature continually resisting,
(Gal. V. 17.) ; so that itis certain, from the nature of things,
that David and Solomon neither of them felt. In their worst
frames, as graceless men do. Grace resisted within, (fial. v.
17.) hating their proceedings ; nor did it cease inwardly to
Struggle and torment them, tiU the one cries out. My bones wax
old through my roaring all the day long. ...Vsahn Hi. 3 : For his
sin was ever before his eyes....Vsahn xxxi. 3 : And the other.
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity andvexation of spirit... T^ccie. 1,2.
Many stony-ground hearers, who were once filled with light
andjoy, do, when their religion Is all worn out, and they lie
dead, and blind, and stupid, whole months and years together,
cry, the best are dead sometimes ; and have recourse to David
and Solomon : and many a hypocrite, whose religion is only
by fits and pangs, sometimes floated as the streets in summer,

202 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
by a sudden shpwer, and then, in a few days, as dry as ever, de-
ceive themselves here ; and mahy take natural cpnscience to
be a principle pf grace, and the war between that and their cpr.
/ ruptipns tP be a gracious conflict : But as aU counterfeit reU
gions are specifically different frpm the true, as has been alrea
dy shown, so, by consequence, their conflict is different from
that which beUevers have, in its very nature. They fight, from
different principles, and fpr different ends, and abput different
things, and In a different manner, just as their religipns differ
frpm one another.
11. If this be the nature of cottversipri and holiness, and the
manner wherein they are wrought — and if true religion be thus
specifically different from all counterfeits, then may believers be
infallibly certain that they have true grace, A man cannot but
perceive his own thoughts, and know what views he has, and
be intuitively acquainted with his own designs and aims ; so
tvety man knows it is with him, as to the things of this world.
Much less is it possible that there should be so great a change
in a man's heart and Ufe, thoughts, affections, and actions, as
there is made by conversion, and yet he knpw nothing about It.
For a man to be awakened, out of a state of security in sin, to
see what a sinful, guilty, helpless, Ipst, undpne state he Is In,
and yet nPt tp perceive any thing pf it, evidently Implies a con
tradiction, and so Is, in the nature of things, impossible : For a
man to be brought to see God In his infinite glory, so as to be
disposed to love him supremely, live to him ultimately, and de
light in him superlatively, and yet not to perceive it, i. e. not to
be conscious of his views and affections, also implies a contra
diction, and so is impossible : For a man to lose his selfish arid
Worldly views more and more, from year to year, and die to
himself, the world and sin — 'and for a man to live a life of com
munion with God, perfecting holiness In the fear of the Lord,
and yet not at all to perceive it, is utterly impossible ; for the
mind of man Is naturaUy conscious of its own exercises : So,
from the nature of things. It is evident that grace is percepti
ble ; yea, In its own nature, it must be as perceptible as corrup-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 203
tipn....love to God as love to the world.. ..sorrow for sin as sor
row for affliction.. ..aiming at God's glory as aiming at our own
honor and interest : But if true grace be. In its own nature,
perceptible, and If It be also specifically different from all coun
terfeits, it Is self-evident that a good man may know that he has
true grace. I cannot see why, extraordinary cases excepted, a
good man, who lives a Ufe of communion with and devotedness
to God, and In the daily exercise of every grace, may not come
to know that he has grace. Surely he must be conscious of
the exercises of his own mind; for this Is natural : And surely
he may see the difference between his religion and all counter
feits, when the difference is so great and plain : so that, if the
scriptures did not expressly teach us that assurance is attainable,
it is yet evidently demonstrable from the nature of things.
But the scriptures do plainly teach this doctrine. In II. Pet. I.
10 — I. John v. 13 — I. John ii. 3, and Iii. 14, &c. &c. — Besides,
all those promises, that are made for the comfort and support
of God's people in this world, suppose that they may know that
they are the people of God : for, unless a man knows that he Is
a child of God, he cannot rationally take comfort In those prom
ises which are peculiar to such. It Is true, brazen hypocrites
wiU do so, but they act very presumptuously. It Is folly and
madness for me to flatter myself that God has promised to do
so and so for me, unless I know that I am one to whom the prom
ises belong : For instance, it Is folly and madness for me to be
lieve that God will make all things work together for my good,
according to that promise in Rom. viii. 28, unless I know that /
love God; for this promise plainly respects such, and no other :
But there are very many precious promises made to believers
in the word of God, which are evidently designed for their com
fort and support. It Is certain, therefore, that God thinks that
believers may know they are such — without which knowledge,
all these promises cannot attain their end.
Besides, to suppose that to be a servant of God, and a ser
vant of the devU....to be going the way to heaven, and the way
to hell... .to be travelling in the narrow way, and to be traveUing

204 TRUE RELIGION DiELlNEATED, AND
in the broad way, are so near alike, as that even good men them
selves cannot possibly know them asdnder, and which way they
are going, is, on every account, intolerably absurd ; nor could
the christian world have possibly drunk in such a notion
but that true grace is so very rare a thing.
I may here, by the way, just observe these three things : — I.
That the way for a man to know that he has grace, is not to try
himself by fallible signs, but intuitively to look into himself and see
grace. A thousand signs of grace wiU not prove that a man
has grace. There Is no sign of grace to be depended upon, but
grace Itself ; for every thing but grace a hypocrite may have :
And what grace, holiness, or true religion Is, I have already en
deavored to show — 2. That the way for a man to know that he
has grace, is not to judge himsdf by the degree and measure of his
religious frames and affections, or the height of his attainments ;
hut by the special nature of them : for as there is not any one
grace but a hypocrite may have its counterfeit, so hypocrites
may rise as high In their religion as any true believer does in his.
Was Elijah, the prophet, jealous for the name and worship of
the true God, and against false religion ?,„So was Jehu : and he
appeared as fuU of zeal, and more courageous, and did greater
exploits. There was scarcely a more zealous saint than Elijah,
in Old-Testament times ; but yet Jehii, that hypPcrlte, made a
much greater show and noise — seemed to be fuUer of zeal and
Courage, and actually did greater exploits, setting aside the mir
acles which God wrought by Elijah, (I. Kings xviii. and xix.
chap.i — II. Kings ix. and x. chap.) And we do not read of one
saint In all the Bible that fasted in a constant way, twice every
week, as the Pharisee did, (Luke xviii.) And there is not one
saint In all the Bible that ever did, externally and visibly, any
higher acts of self-denial, than to give all his goods to feed the
poor, and his body to be burnt ; and yet St. Paul intimates that a
man may do this, and still have no grace In his heart.. ..I. Cor,
xiii. 3 : It is no certain evidence, therefore, that a man Is a good
man, because he has a great deal of religion — ^more than the
most, and fuU as much as the best — ^yea, more than any in all

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 205
the cpuntry....yea, or in all the whole world ; for, in Jehu's time,
there was not perhaps, for a while, one like him uppn the face
ofthe earth : A man, therefore, cannot know that he Is a good
man, by the degree pfhis religipn, but pnly from the special na
ture of it : And wherein true reUgion specifically differs from
aU coimterfeits, I have already shown  3. Since grace is. In its
own nature, perceptible, and specifically different from all coun
terfeits, there is no need ofthe immediate witness ofthe spirit, in
order to a full assurance. If the spirit of God does but give us
a good degree, of grace, and enlighten our minds to understand
the scriptures, and so to know the nature of true grace, we may
then perceive that we have grace ; and the more grace we have,
the more perceptible will It be, and its difference from all|COun-
terfeits will be the more plain : And if a believer may know and
be certain that he has grace, without the Immediate witness of
the spirit, then such a witness is altogether needless, and would
be of no advantage : but Gpd never grants his spirit tP believ
ers, to do things needless and to no advantage ; and therefore
there Is no such thing as the immediate witness of the spirit in
this aflFair : And besides, it is plain the scriptures every where
direct us to look into ourselves, to see whether we love God and
keep his commands — to see whether Christ, in his holy nature,
be formed In us — ^to see whether the spirit, as an enllghtener
and sanctifier, dweUs In us, and Influences and governs us ; but
never once directs us to look for the immediate witness of the
spirit, in order to know whether we have grace.
Obj. But the text says expressly. The spirit Itself beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God....i?OOT.
vlli. 16.
Ans. But the text does not in the least intimate that the spir
it witnesses immediately. The spirit bears witness ; but how ?
The spirit makes it evident that we are the children of God ;
but in what way ? By immediate revelation ? No ; the scripture
no where teUs us to look for such revelations, or lays down any
marks whereby we may ktaow which come from Gpd, and
which frpm the deviU Hpw then does the spirit make it evi-

206 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
dent that we are the children of God, and by what witness does
he make it appear ?...Not by telling us that we are chUdren —
the devil may teU hypocrites so ; but by making us children
in the very temper of our hearts. ...hy giving to us much of a child
like frame of spirit towards God — a thing the devil cannot do,
and so a thing by which we may certainly know. This holy,
divine, child-like frame and temper of heart, whereby we bear
the very image of our heavenly father, is God's mark, which,
more or less conspicuously, he sets upon allthe lambs of his
flock. This is the seal ofthe spirit, (Eph. i. 13.) : For this is
the earnest of our inheritance, (verse 14.) : It is eternal life be
gun In the soul, (John xvii. 3.) This is called the witness ofthe
spiritfhecause it is what the spirit works in our hearts, and that
by which he m,akes if evident that we are the children of God— •
the design of witnesses being to make things evident : And, In
deed, this is the 07dy distinguishing mark that God puts upon
his children, and the only thing wherein they differ from all hyp
ocrites — -and Is the only evidence the scripture directs them to
look for and expect, and without which all other evidences are
just good for nothing... .71^. vii. 24i-^27—^John xv, 2—1.
Johnii. 3, 4, and iii. 6—10.
And this being the case, we may see how much out of the
way those are, who think and say that it is a sin for them to doubt
the goodness of theii' state, because oftheir badness, and because
they can see rw grace in their hearts : " For," say th^, " that
" would be to call God's truth and faithfulness into question....
*' who has, by his spirit. Immediately assured me of his love and
" my salvation — just as if the Immutability of his purpose de-
" pended upon my good frames ; No ; I must do as Abraham
" did, xvho, against hope, believed in hope ; so, though I see no
" grace in my heart, or signs of any, yet I must beUeve my state
" is good, and that I ahaU be saved. It Is not my duty to look
?' so much Into my own heart— I shall never be the better for
" that ; but I must look to Christ, and beUeve, and never doubt:
" for the spirit of God did, at such a time, assure me of Christ's
" love to mc.and I knew I was not de6eived...and itwpuld now

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 207
" be a great sin In me tp doubt — It would be giving the He to
" Christ and to the holy spirit."
How sad a delusipn are such ppor sinners under, who dare
not believe the holy scriptures, for fear thfey shaU sin, which ev-
cry where assure us, that unless we are holy in heart and Ufe,
our faith Is vain, and we in a state of condemnation ; and teach
, us that we ought to be no more confident of our good state, than
in proportion as our sanctification is evident ! How sad It Is that
they should attribute all their doubts to carnal reason or the de
vil, which, indeed, are but the secret dictates of their own con
sciences, and are so agreeable to the word of God ! W hat a
dreadful spirit is this that thus leads them off from the word of
God, and so blinds their minds that they cannot understand
it, nor dare beUeve it ! Surely it can be no pther than Satan
transformed into an angel of light. *
*Obj. Butthe scripture firbids dfmittng. Mat. xiv. 31....0 thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt !
Ans. In that text, Christ does not blame Peter for doubting his state,
but for doubting he should be drowned.
Obj. But Christ upbraided them with their unbelief.... 'Mi.rk xyi. 14.
Ans. He did not blame them for not believing they were in a gpod state,
but for not believing that he was risen froin the dead.
Obj. But Abraham is coTrvmended, in that against hope he believed iri
hope.... iJom.- iv. 18.
Ans. But the thing to be believed, and hoped for, was, that he should
have a son, which he had good grounds to expect : So this is nothing to
the purpose.
Obj. But St. Paul says,-we-wM^ by faith, and not by sight. ...II. Cor. v. 7.
Ans. That is, in all their conduct, they were governed by a realizing be
lief of unseen things, ajid not by things seen and temporal.. ..II. Cor. iv. 18.
It was not yaul's way to lie dead whole months and years together, nor
was he ever driven to such a strait, as to be forced to belieye himself to be
in a good state, without sufficient evidence.
Obj. 5t/*, what is not of faith, is sm.... Rom,, xiv. 23. But doubts arise
from, unbelief.
Ans. 1- If any man does not believe that it is lawful for him to do some
particular act, and yet ventures to do it, he sins — he acts against his own
conscience : This is the plain sense of the text, andso this text is nothing
to the purpose.
2. An hypocrite's doubts are wont to arise from unbelief, i. e. from his
not stedfastly believing the immediate revelations which he had from the
devil, that his sins are pardoned. The devil tries to keep him quiet, but
sometimes his conscience is a little awakened, and then he fears and doubts
he is deluded ; and now the deviltries to make him believe that it is a sin
to doubt. The devil would fain make him believe all is well, i. e. believe
»t a venture, without a thorough search and trial, and -without suiEcient
evidence. 3. Itis
D D

208 TRUE REI.IGI0N DELINEATED, AND
Alas ! alas I How does tiie God of this world bUnd the minds
of them that believe not I Some firmly beUeve tiiat there is no
such thing as a good man's knowbgthat he has grace ; and so
they contentedly Uve along, not knowing what world they are
hastening unto...,to heaven or to heU ; but they hope their state
Is good, and hope their .hope Is weU grounded, hut. ktiow not but
that their hope Is that of the hypocrite : Yea, they are not wil
ling to believe there Is any such thing as knowing, for that would
make them suspect that they are wrong, and that true reUgion
is something they never had ; which, if it be the case, yet they
are not wlUIng to know It, They hide themselves In the dark!
They say. There Is no Ught ! And wiU not believe that a good
man may know that he has passed from death to life: While
others, from the very same principle, viz. because they hate the
light, firmly believe that it Is a sin to doubt; and so will never,
dare never, call their state Into question, and thoroughly look
through the matter : both are equally rotten at heart, and so
equaUy hate the light, although they take different methods to
keep from It ; and the de.vU does his utmost to keep both fast
bound where they are.
3. It is a sin 'for a true Ijeliever to live so as not to^have his evideneen
clear ; but it is no sin for him to be so honest and impartial, as to doubt,
when, in fact, his evidences are not clear : It is a sin to darken his eviden
ces ; but it is no, sin to see that they are darkened : It is a sin for a man,
by rioting and drunkenness, to make himself sick ; but it is no sin to feel
that he is sick ; or, if there be grounds for it, to doubt he shall die. We
may bring calamities upon ourselves .by our sins, both o-atward and inward,
and our calamities may arise from our sins ; ,and yet our calaimities have .
not the nature of iJM, but.are.rather ofthe iiature of punishments. Itis sin,
in believers, which lays the foundation for doubts : it is sin which, is the
occasion of their doubts ,; hut their doubts are not sins any the more for
this. Some seem to suppose that every thing which is occasioned by sin,
is sin ; but there is no truth in their supposition. It is not a sin for un
converted people to think ihamselves to .be unconverted ; and yet that
thought of themselves is occasioned by sin — for their being unconverted is
their sin. \
Obj. But believers are exhorted to hold fast their confidence.. ...fiei. iii. fr.
And it is said, verse 14.... For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold
the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the .end-
Ass. That is, their confidence that ^esus is the Christ, together with %
true faith in him, as is manifest from the whole context. Nor is any thing
more absurd than to say, that men shall be made partakers of Christ, if they
hold fast their confidence of their good state, which is what many a hypo
crite does, aad that to the very l^%u...Mat. vii. 22— Luke xiii. 25, 26, 27.

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS, 209
Happy the true believer, whp Is made Impartial by divine
grace ! It Is a recovery to God and holiness that he is after :
a confidence that his sins are pardoned, without this, would be
but a poor thing. If he obtains this, he gets what he wants ;
and if not, he feels himself undone : nor can he flatter himself
that he has obtained It, when he has not : And this he makes
his only evidence of God's eternal, love, and of his title to eter
nal glory ; and believes his state to be good, no farther than this
goes....Mat. vll.-21 — 27.-
ThusT have gone through the first use, the use of instruc
tion : and thus we see how a right understanding of the law
will set many of the important doctrines of reUgion In a clear
and easy — In a scriptural and rational light. By the law we may
learn the primitive state of man, and how low we are fallen, and
to what we must be recovered — and so, by consequence, how
averse we are to a recovery.. ..what grace we need to recover
us — and so, by cpnsequence, that we must be saved by sovereign
grace, or not at all : whence the reasonableness ofthe saints' per
severance appears ; and, from the whole, the nature of thechrls-
tlan conflict and the attalnableness of assurance are discover
ed. — And I will conclude this use with two reniarks :
Remark 1. If the law requires what, Ithink,.I have proved It
does, and a conformity to It consists in what.I have before descri
bed, then all the other particulars do necessarily and most In
evitably follow : Such was the Image of God in which Adam
was created, and such is our natural depravity, and such are the
best duties ofthe unregenerate, and such Is the nature of conver
sion, and our aversion to it, &c- ; so that, If my first principles are
true, then the whole scheme Is, beyond dispute, true also, — And
what are my first principles ?„„Why, that to love God with all
our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves, is originaUy the ve
ry essence of reUgion ; and that the grounds upon which God
requires us so to do, are to be the motives of our obedience.
He requires us to love him supremely, &c, because he is su
premely glorious and amiable, and because our additional obli
gations to him are what they are : He requires us to Ipve our

210 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
neighbprs as ourselves, because they are what they are, and
stand in such relations to us. With' a perfect moral rectitude
of temper, influenced and governed by truth — by the reason and
fitness of things, he would have us love and glorify him as God,
I. e. as being what he Is ; and love and treat our neighbors as
being what they are : And is not this evidently the meaning of
the divine law ?
Remark 2. If the law, as a rule of Ufe, be so abated and al
tered, as that no)v it only requires us, merely from a principle
of self-love and for self-ends, sincerely to endeavor to love God
and keep his commands, and aim at his glory-i-and if the law,
as a covenant, be disannulled, and such an pbedience be substi
tuted in the room of perfection, as a condition of eternal life, or
as a condition of our interest in Christ, then the contrary to aU
that I have laid dpwn Is most true and certain : For let the pri
mitive state of man be what It would, it is plain we are not en
tirely destitute of a conformity to this new law, much less dia
metrically opposite to It In the natural temper of our minds. ...nor
are our best duties, while unregenerate, sin ; it is plain, con
version is another and a much easier thing, and that we are n6t
so entirely averse to It, and do not need irresistible grace, nor
lie at God's sovereign mercy, h^. All these things, and many
more such4Ike, are plain, If the ^ood old law is thus altered and
abated, and thus disannulled — If ^le new law requires no iriore,
and this be the condition of eternal life, or of an Interest in
Christ : So that, If any are disposed to disbelieve what have
been laid down as consequences, and to build upon another fa
bric— -if they will be consistent with themselves, they can lay
no Pther foundation than this, viz. To destroy the law ; which
I have before proved to be as impossible as to destroy the na
ture of God ; because the moral law necessarily results from
the divine perfections, and our obUgations to coiifbrm to It are
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, as the nature and perfection*
of God himself.
And, therefore, I think, we may conclude, with the greatest
certainty, that this foundation, viz. that the law is thus abated

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 211
and altered, is but sand; and that the fabric built uppn itwiUnpt
stand. If the law had required us tP Ipve. ourselves supreme
ly, and Uve to ourselves ultimately, and to have endeavored to
love God and our neighbors only to answer our pwn ends— -
then this sort ofreligion would have been right. — Did I say
right ? No ; it would not be right, being unalterably contrary
to the very reason and nature of things ; nor could such a law
have been possibly made by a God, who loves righteousness, and
hates iniquity : But If this was right — If this was religion. It Is
plain mankind have the root ofthe matter In them ; for they are
aU naturaUy inclined to love themselves supremely, and live to
tiiemselves ultimately ; and so would not need to be born again,
to have a new nature — ^the old nature would be sufficient ; they
would only need to be convinced that it Is for their interest to
endeavor to love God and do their duty, and merely self-love
would make them religious, in order to answer their own ends :
But if the law never has been thus abated and altered, then this
religion Is reaUy no religion at aU — ^nothing but mere hypocri
sy, and of a nature diametrically opposite to true holiness. On
ly let it be clearly determined what the nature ofthe moral law
is, and there wiU be a final end put tP a hundred controversies.
Here is a man, he reforms his Ufe a littie, and joins with the
church — ^he prays in his family, and sometimes in his closet —
and, for the most part, it may be, he is honest in his dealings,
and civil and sober in his behavior ; and this is his conversion
.'...this is his religion : And now he pleads that conversion is a
gradual thing, because his was such — and that a man cannot
know when he was converted, because that Is the case with him
—that there is no need of Irresistible grace, because he knows
that It is a pretty easy thing to convert as he has done — and he
hates the doctrine of divine sovereignty, because he never felt
any need of a sovereign grace to save him — and he holds fall
ing from grace, because his religion is as easily lost as gotten :
But does he know that he has any grace, after all ? No, no, that
is a thing (says he) none can kno'iv : He believes the holy spir
it assists him ; but he is not sensible of his influences, or of any

212 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
helpfrpmhlm, any more thain if he hadnone: He believes he
loves God, and Is a true saint at heart ; but he does not feel any
more love to God, or grace In his; heart, than If there was none
there — and the reasonis, because there Is none : But being se
cure In sin, and It being for his wordly Interest to make a pro
fession of reUgioa, he now sets up for a good man-: For with
out the law sin is dead^ and so-he is alive without the law...,.
Rom; vii. 8, 9.. And now those doctrines andthat preaching
which are calculated to detect his hypocrisy, and awaken him out
,of his security, he hates and cries Put against : And If any seem
to experience any thing further in reUgion than he has, for that
very reason he condemns It all for delusion : But be pretends
mightily to plead up for morality and good works, though, in
truth, he Is an enemy to allreal holiness. This is the course
of many ; but some are more sincere, and strict, and conscien"
tious In their way.
But let men be ever so sincere, strict; and conscientious in
their religion, If all results merely from self-love, the slavish-
fears of hell, and mercenary hopes of heaven, there is not, in aU
their religion, the least real, genuine conformity to the moral'
law ; — -it Is all but an hypocritical, feigned show oflove and obe*
dience ; — it Is not the thing which the law requires, but some
thing of a quite different nature ; unless we lay aside God's old
and everlasting law, and Invent a new, abated, alteredlaw, which
shall declare that to be right, which, in the nature of things, is
Unalterably wrong ; airdby such a law, such a reli^on will pass
for genuine : But It Is sad, when we are driven tp invent a new
laxv, tp vindicate Pur religion and our hopes of heaven, since, at
the day of judgment, we shall find the old law tohe In fuU force.
I am sensible that old objection will be always rising — " But
" it Is not just that God should require of us more than we can
" do, and then threaten to damn us for not doing of It :" Just
as if God may not require us to love hrm with all our heartsj
merely because we are not suited with him; andjust as If we
were not to blame for being of such a bad temper and disposi
tion, merely because we are thoroughly settled in it, and have

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 213
no heart to be otherwise ; just as if the worse any one is, the
•less he Is to blame — than which nothing can be more absuid.-—
Truly, I cannot but think, that, by this, we are, so far from being
excused, that, even merely fortius, we deserve eternal damna
tion : For what can be much worse than be so tho-BPUghly set-
tied and fixed In such a bad temper of mind ?-r-But,, npiwltii-
standing aU that I have offered to clear this point heretofore, I
will add, that If It Is not just for God to require any more of us
than we can do, i. e. anymore than we have, not only a natural,
but a moral power to perform * — tiien these thiiigs will necessa
rily follow.:
[* (H/" It has been questioned by some v?hetherthe Author has expressed
-himself on this part of his subject with his usual perspicuity and. correct
ness. If, by requiring " more than we have natural or moral power to per
form," he meant only that more was required, or was necessary, to procure
the divine favor, than we have natural strengtlt or moral dispositions to
perform, and that God might justly suspend his favor until this was in
some way accomplished, his reasoning ¦may perhaps be correct : But if he
ineant, as his words seem to import, that .God might justly require of us,
as a condition of his favor, what we have neither natural nor moral pow
er to perform, and, by requiring this, lay us under an obligation to perform
a natural impossibility, then his reasoning is evidently unsound and incon
clusive : For must not God's law be founded in the reason and nature of
things, and his demands, in every instance, be proportioned, not indeed to
tlie moral, but to the natural power and capacity of his creatures i The
Author is himself a strenuous advocate for t-!\is principle, throughout the
greater part of .this- work. In-page 9.5th, he remarks that ",all the perfcc-
" tion which God requires of any of his creatures, angels or men, is a
-" measure sf knowledge andlove bearing an e.xact proportion to their nat-
*' ural powers !" — But why in exact proportion to their natural powers, if, in
tlie nature ofthe case, it was not impossible that their obligations ^lould
ever transcend these powers !
The Author appears to liave been led into this mistake by supposing that
.wliatever was necessary to our salvation, God might justly projMse to us,
and require of us, as a condition of our salvation : But is not this wholly
to overlook the jircumstances of the case ! Could an offer of salvation, up-
¦on any conditions, have been made to fallen man, without the intervention
of a Savior ! The language which God must necessarily have held to hlm^
in tiiese circumstances, was that of a riglitcous Judge, condemning hiim to
everlasting death. A law which could give life, or even propose life, was
not admissible ; and it was not admissible for this plain reason, that no
terms could be named which would be proper for God to accept, and which,
at the same time, the sinner was naturally able to perform. It is believed,
therefore, that we Shoifld need both a Redeemer and Sanctifier, although
it wtre not just for God to require of us more than we have natural power
to fullil. — We should need a Redeemer to make an atontment for us ;— «
work which we could never accomplish, nor be required to accomplish our
selves : We should need a Sanctifier, to renew our hearts, and restore us
to the image of God — not indeed because we 'have no-natural power to per
form this work j for we have this power, and God requires us to exeicise

214 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
1 . That there was not the least need of Chris fs dying for us as
our Redeemer : For, did we need him to make any atonement
or satisfacion forour sins ?„,Surely no : for God could not just
ly require of us more satisfaction for our sins than we were able
to make ; for that would be to require more than we can do,
 Did we need him to purchase the divine favor and eternal
life for us ?...Surely no : for God could not justly require any
more of us, as a condition of his favor and eternal Ufe, than we
ourselves were able to do. — Did we need him to purchase an
abatement of the law ?... Surely no : for God could not, in his
law, justly require of uS more than we could do ; and we did
not need to have the law brought down lower than this : Well,
therefore, might St. Paul tell the Galatians that if righteousness
came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain....G2l. II. 21 : For
if our doing as well as we can, in the sense before explained, is
all that righteousness that God can justly require, this alone most
certainly would be every way sufficient for our salvation : nor
did we need a Savior any more than the angels In heaven ; for
we have just as much power to do as as well as we can, as they
have to do as well as they can : To say the contrai-y, is a contra
diction in express terms,
2. Nor was there the least need that the holy spirit should be
sent into the world, to grant any inward assistance, to enable us
to do oiir duty : For we had a full and perfect power to do aU
our duty, without any such assistance : for God could not just
ly require of us any more than we could do ; and every one is
ahle to do what he can, without any assistance.
So that, if this principle be true thatGod cannot justly require
of us any more than we can do, it Is plain we neither needed a
Redeemer nor a Sanctifier : so that all the infinite pains which
God has taken for our redemption and salvation, has been un
necessary and fruitless. To do as well as we could, was all
it — ^but because we are totally depraved, and shall never employ our natu
re faculties in returning unto God, until moved to it by the operations o£
his holy spirit.
It will be seen that the exceptions taken against the Author's reasoning
in this place, apply so far only as the question of natural power is concerned.]

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 215
that would have been needful ; and this is still as much requi
red as ever : So that we are just where we should have been, if
nothing had ever been done for us : So that this notion entire
ly undermines and subverts the whole christian religion, in sup
posing that all the extraordinary and wonderful provision there
in made for the salvation of sinners was needless ; for If all was
needless, then the whole Is perfectly incredible-.— for It is Incred
ible to suppose that God would do so much, and such great things,
when there was no need of It : so that this nption leads direct
ly to infidelity : Yea, if this principle be true, we may be cer
tain that the gospel is full of deceit ; for the gospel every where
supposes sinners to have been In a helpless, undone state, and ¦
thatthey might justly have been left so, and perished forever ;
and it every where represents it as owing entirely to the free
grace and infinitely great gopdness pf God, that he sent his Son
into the world to be a Savior, and the holy spirit to be a Sanc
tifier ; aU which, upon this principle. Is notoriously false : for
we were not in a helpless, undone condition ; being able, of our
selves, to do a// that God could justly require of us, in order
to eternal life. Nor did we need to be beholden to God for
his grace and goodness, his Son or his spirit ; being able, of
ourselves, to do aU that which he could justly require at our
hands : Yea,, upon this principle, the gospel offers the highest
affront to human nature, In that It supposes us to be such vile,
helpless, undone, guilty wretches, when, indeed, and in truth,
weareiKit: And, therefore, so long as men really believe this
notion, they cannot possibly but hate the doctrines of the gos
pel, and oppose them : and so, in fact, it has always been.
To conclude, therefore, since it is so evident from the law,
and so evident from the gospel, that we are sinful, guilty, help
less, undone creatures, had not we better give in to it, and come
down, and lie in the d^st, before the Lord, who knows what
we are, whether we will own It, or no ? Had we not better own
his law to be holy. Just, and good, and acknowledge that we lie
athls sovereign mercy, and be willing to be behplden to frees
grace, through Jesus Christ, for our salvation ; since we must
E E

216 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
do SO, or never be saved ? What wIU It profit us to fly in his
face, and say. It is not just for him to reqidre more than we can,
do, andthen damn us for ¦not doing ? when aU that he requires.
Is only that we love God with aU our hearts, and our neighbor
as ourselves, which, in the nature of things, is Infiflltely reason
able — and when all our Impotency arises only from our sinful
ness, and so. Instead of extenuating our fault, only discovers
how sinful we are. Surely, since aU the world stand guilty be
fore God, really guilty, and are so accounted by him, we all
had best to stop our mouths, and own the sentence just, by which
we stand condemned, while it Is a time of mercy : fpr who- can
> teU but Gpd may pity us ?
There Is but one way now left to evade the force of what has
been said. To a strict demonstration, the law Is not, and can
not be abated : .there Is now no way, therefore, but to deny that
there ever was such a law. But then, if God be what I suppose
him to be, to a demonstration the law must be such toe : there is
no way, therefore, but to deny that there isnny such GodI WeU,
but if God be not what I suppose, what is he ? Why, we may
see the whole scheme, by the foUowing objection,in a few words.'
Obj. God is a being of infinite understanding and almighty
power, perfectly disposed to seek the good and happiness of his
creatures as his last end. He loves virtue, and rewards it,
merely because it tends to make them happy : He hates vice, and
punishes it, merely because it tends to make them miserable : All
he has in view, in his commands and prohibitions — in his promi
ses and threatenings, .is the good, and nothing but merely thegood^
of his creatures ; yea, he esteems things to be virtuous, merely be
cause they tend to make us happy. ...and vicious, merely because
they tend to make us miserable : And now, therefore, if we look
upon things as he does, and prosecute the same end — if we love
and practise virtue with a sincere view to our own happiness, as
our last end, we do aU that God would have us do. And hoxv
can we, if we weigh things, but most heartily and sincerely love
sogooda God....so kind a father, xuho so dearly loves us, andso
tenderly seeks our good ?

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 217
Ans. True, if God were verily such an one, the mpst wicked
man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would
make It natural. Even publicans love those who love them ;
and are good to those who are kind to them..., Tlifii, v. Did
men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not. In
deed, possibly be at enmity against him. Self-love would not
. admit of it : Men. would not need any grace to make them love
God : Nature would make them love him : They could not
but love him, so longas they love themselves. And now, if
Gpd, Indeed, be such an one, I readUy own there is no truth
in ray whole scheme ; but, from first to last, it is all a mistake :
for it is altogether built upon a supposition that there is a God,
of a temper essentially different.
But then I would query, if God be such, an one..., if he aims
only at his creatures' happiness, why does he ever inflict misery
upon them I If he means only to make them happy,, why does
he ever make them miserable ? Why did he drown the old
world,...h\im Sodam..,.and why does, he damn sinners to all
eternity ?
It cannot be because_/M*fo'ce requires it:- ion, upon this scheme,
justice does not require it : For, upon this scheme, sin dpes, In
strict justice, deserve up pimishment at all..
A crime deserves np punishment any farther than It. is blame-
wortiiy : A crime Is blame-worthy, no farther than we are un
der oblig-ations to do otherwise.. Accprding tP their scheme, .
aU pur pbligations to be virtuous result merely from Its tenden
cy to make us happy :* Upon their scheme, therefore, a sinner
[* Cj* The «C/6e5}ie which the Author here opposes, is that which founds
the obligation to virtue, «o/e/)/ upon, the tendency of virtue itself to promote
individual happiness — a scheme of perfect selfishness, and pregnant with /all
the absurd consequences which the Author has endeavored to attach to it.
There is another theory distinct &om this, and not liable to the same
objections, which founds our obligpiions to vh-tue upon its tendency to pro
mote public happiness, or the* good, of God's creatures, collectively consid
ered. This theory, it will be recollected, the Author opposes in a.Boie, page
31st, where he more than intimates that our obligations to virtue arise, not
from the inere •will of God, nor from any . tendency in virtue to promote our
own happiness, or the happiness of others, but wholly froi-n the intrinsic
m,oral fitness of things, considered absolutely. But is there no difficulty in
oanceiving of the -moral fitness or unfitness of things, aside from their ob-

218 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
Is tp blame for his sins, merely because sin is cross to his own
happiness, and tends to make him miserable ; — there is no oth
er evil in sin but this. This Is the only reason why God hates
it—. is set against it, and disposed to punish it : This is the only
reason why he would have them avoid it ; and this is the only
reason they are to blame for it. No man Is blame-wortliy for
sin any farther than he was under obUgations to the contrary.
V AU our obligations to virtue, according to them, arise from its
natural tendency to make us happy : and, therefore, aU the evil
of sin must arise from Its natural tendency to make us misera
ble : This misery, therefore, is exactly equal to the evil of sin ;
for a// the evil of sin arises from it, or rather consists in It : This
misery Is all the evil of sin ; and this misery Is, therefore, aU
that renders sin blame-worthy, i. e. I am to blame for taking a
course that tends to make me miserable ; And why ?....Mere.
ly because It tends to make me miserable ; for that reason, and
for no other : Therefore, I am so much to blame, and no more,
for what I do, than according to the degree of its tendency to
make me miserable : This misery, therefore, which naturally
results from what I do, is equal to my blame — and is, therefore,
the xvorst, and all that I deserve ; for no crime deserves to be
punished, any farther than it is blame-worthy.* And from the
vious tendency to promote or hinder the happiness of the moral world !
True, it may be said that oUr perceptions of right and wrong are wholly dis
tinct from those of happiness and misery : But is it certain that they are
wholly distinct from our perceptions of the natural tendency of right and
wrong to produce these diiferent ends ? Why does it appear right to do jus
tice between man and man, but because public and private happiness ev
idently require it !
Perhaps, however, upon a strict enquiry, it would appear that our obli
gations to virtue rest not wholly upon any single principle ; but are groiind-
ed upon all those considerations which, according to various schemes, may
be justly admitted as proper motives to virtuous action : such as the m/>ral
fitness^ of things — the tendency of virtue — the glory of God, and the authority
'of his law. To reduce all to a single principle, as different theorists have
done, is not only to exclude some motive which ought unquestionably to in
fluence our conduct, but to hold up those which are confused, if not unjust,
instead of such as are clear and determinate.]
* Obj. " But are we not, according to their scheme, under obligations result-
" ing from the authority ant/command of God ?"
Ans. We are, according to their scheme, under no obligations to regard
the authority and cdmmand of God at all i only, and merely, and pui^yi

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 219
whple, tp a demonstratlpn, it fpflpws, that, uppn their scheme,
sin deserves no inflicted pain or misery, by way of punishment,
over and above the pain or misery which results necessarily from
its own nature : And now, if sin does not deserve any such
punishment, then justice does not require the Governor of the
world to Inflict any such upon any of his creatures, though ev
er so sinful ; for justice does not require him to inflict a pun
ishment that is not at aU deserved — yea, rather it seems crudi
ty so to do. If, therefore, justice did not require it, why did
God drown the old ¦ivorld, and bum Sodom — and why does he
damn sinners to all eternity ?
Certainly he did not aim at their good when he drowned the
old world and burnt Sodom ; and certainly he cannot aim at sin
ners' good in their eternal damnation. There are some calam
ities in this Ufe, which God might be supposed to send upon
his creatures for their good ; and Indeed, all things considered,
they are well'adapted to do them good ; yea, and are all made
to work together for good to them that love God, and may be
numbered among their mercies ; But what shall we say when
God drowns a whole world, bums up several cities, and damns
to. all eternity millions of his creatures — yea, and all for npth
ing, when they deserved no ill at his hands, not the least ! Where
is his justice now ? Yea, where is his goodness ? Or what does
he mean ? What does he Intend ?
Certainly he cannot Intend to deal so severely with some
of his ppor creatures, who never deserved any ill at his hands,
merely for the good of others, to fright, and warn, and deter the m
from vice ; for this would be todo evil that good might come —
because itis forour interest so to do — as themiselves acknowledge.
Obj. " But are we not, according to them, obliged to have regard to our
neighbor's welfare ?
Aws. Only, merely, purely because it is for our own interest to do so :
for, according to them, all our obligations to practise any virtue, arise, ori
ginally, only from its being for our own interest. The language of sucha
practice plainly is, that there is not one being in the whole system worth
regarding, but myself : — lam, and besides m.e there is no other ! I will regard
none, but just to answer my own ends ; and so, really and strictly, regard
none but myself : This is a religion that will suit nature ; and, in this sense,
mayjustly be called ?iatMra/ religion. "

220 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND ,
yea, this would be the way rather that good might never come ,-
for how could any of his creatures or subjects heartily love him
or Uke his conduct, whUe they behold miUIons.of their fellow-
creatures suffering, for nothing at all, such infinite pains under
his hands ? Where is his justice ? would they all cry : And
where is his goodness ? They would hate him, and flee from
him, and dread a government so infinitely tyrannicah Indeed,
to Inflict a proper punishment, in case of just desert, is a good
thing — tends to maintain government, and make men afraid of
sin, and stand In awe of the great Law-giver and Judge ofthe
world : Yea, It Is a beautiful conduct, and tends to make God
appear amiable in the eyes of aU holy beings. ...i?et?. xix. 1 — 6.
But to afflict and torment poor creatures, who do not at all de
serve it, and that fore ver,. cannot possibly answer any good end ;,
but, of necessity, must promote athousandbad ones, when, all the
time, the true state of the case is publicly known and understood
throughout all God's dominions. It is just as if a father, who
has ten chUdren, should tie up five every Monday morning, and
whip them almost to death for nothing In the world but to make
the rest love him, and be good and obedient children : And
would they love him any the more for this ? Yea, they could
not iaut hate so cruel a tyrant : Now, therefore, if their scheme
be triifeyjsdtiy did God drown the old world, and burn Sodom ?'
And why does he damn sinners to all eternity I
Yea, If sin deserves no inflicted punishment, as, upon their
scheme, it does not, why does God ever once inflict the least, the-
very least punishment for it in all his dominions ? And that
which, though not. In Its ovwi nature, more unaccountable, yet Is
more surprising, why has God, all along, from the begiiming,
of the world, beeainfllcting such a dreadful train of punishments
for sin ? Why did God turn the angels out of heaven for their
first sin, and dopm them tP an eternal hell, when they did not
at all deserve It ? Why did God threaten Adam with death In
case pf disobedience ? — Why is death said to be the wages of
sin ? — Why did God cause (she eartii to open and swallow ,up
Korah and his company ? — Why did God cause the carcases of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 221
six hundred thousand to fall in the wilderness ? — ^Why did God
strike Uzza dead ? And why a thousand more things which
have happened In the sight of the world? Surely it cannot be
for our good to be struck dead and sent to hell j and surely it
cannot be for the ^oo(i o/'anj/ in all God's world, that shall see
or ever hear of it, when, all the whUe, it is publicly known
that we deserve no ill at God's hands — no , not the. least.
And now, after aU, to torment lis In heU forever, for nothing
in the world, where the fire shall never be quenched, and the
worm sliall never die ; yea, and to appoint a day of judgment,
under a plretence of doing nothingi but strict justice ; and tP
summpii aU worlds together, to see and hear, to the end that
his impartiality and justice might appear to all, when, all the
while, he knows, and all the world knows, that his poor crea
tures deserve no iU at his hands— no, not the least: ! What can
¦he ¦mean ^
Yea, and that which Is a great deal worse than all, that I even
shudder to .think of it, he not only makes a law to punish sin
ners eternaUy in heUj when there was no reason for it, but puts
it in execution upon his poor creatures who do not deserve It ;
but, having one only Son, of equal glory with himself, he de
livers him to death, In the room and stead of sinners ; pretend
ing that sin was so bad a thing, that without the shedding of
hloodtherecould.be no remission, and therefore his own Son must
die, to the end hg might be just,while he justified the sinner that
should believe in &'»i— while, all the time, if their scheme is
true, he knew, and aU the world wiU know, sooner or later, that
sin never deserved the least punishment at his hands !
To conclude, therefore, If God be what they suppose, I gi-ant
tile scheme I have laid down is not right ; and It Is equally
evident that the Bible is not right neither : for the law and the
gospel, the Old Testament and the New, every where suppose,
and'take it for granted, that sin Is an Infinite evil — deserves the
wrath and curse of God,.-all the miseries of this life, and death
itself, and the pains of hell forever ; — ^the law threatens all this.
According to the gospel, Christ has died to redeem us from aU

222 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
this, as what we justly deserve : The Bible, therefpre, in a word,
supposes we deserve it all ; but their scheme supposes we do
not. The God that made the Bible has no doubt of it; he
made his law upon this ground, and upbn this footing he gave his
Son to die. ...has appointed a'day-of judgment, and prepared a
place of torment — a lake of fire and brimstone : but their God is
of quite another mind.. ..can see no such infinite evil In sin — yea,
no evil at all In it, but what results from Its.tendency to make us
miserable : Their God, therefore, is notthe God of Israel, nor
theGodthat made'the Bible ; and, therefore. Is noGod..., is noth
ing but an Image framed In their own fancy, suited to their
own hearts.
Besides, theixidea cfGodis cpntrary not only thus to the gen
eral tenor of scripture, but also to many plain and express dec
larations. (1.) It Is manifest that God does not make the hap
piness of his creatures his last end, from Exod. ix. 16 — Numh.
xiv. 13 — 21— 'Lev. x. 3 — Psalm cvi. ^^—Ezek. xx. throughout.
Ezek. xxxvi. 21, 22, 23, and xxxviii. 23, and xxxix. 6, 7, 13,
21, 22— -Rom. Ix. 22, 23 — Rom. xi. Z^—Rev. iv. 11. ' (2.) It
is manifest that God does not require his creatures to love and
obey him merely because it tends to make them happy so to
do, from Exod. xx. 2 — Lev. xix. 2-.^Psalm xxix. 2, and xcvi.
4, 8, and cxlviii. 13-— I. Cor. vi. 20. (3.) It is manifest that
God does not threaten and punish sin merely because it tends
to make his creatures miserable, from I. Sam. ii. 29, 30—11.
Sam. xii. 7 — 14>— Psalm 11. 4 — ilfa/. i. 6, 7, 8, 14.
But to conclude ; — how> sad and dreadful a thing wIU it be,
for poor sinners, when they come to die, and enter Into the
worid of spirits, there to find that the God they once loved and
trusted in, was nothing but an image framed in their own fancy !
They hated the God of Israel, and hated his law, and therefore.
would not believe that God or his law were indeed what tiiey
were. They were resolved to have a God and a laxv more to
their minds. How dreadful wIU their disappointment be ! How
dreadful their surprise J They would never own they were en
emies to God ; now they see their enmity was so great as to

DISTINGUISHEP FjlpM AEL CPUNTERFEITS. 223
make them resplutely, nptwithstanding the plainest evidence,
even tP deny him tP be what he was : And hpw rigbtepus will
the ways ofthe Lord appear to be, in that he gave such over to
strong delusions to believe a lie, who did not Ipve, and vpuld
npt believe the truth, but had pleasure In unrighteousness ?....
II, Thes. Ii. 10, 11, 12; So,ihe Gentile wo^/ows, not liking to re
tain God in their knowledge, were given over to reprobate minds,
and left every nation to make such a God as best pleased them
selves,., ..ffowj, i.— But it is time to proceed to the next use,
SECriON VJ.
RULES OF TRIAL.
Use II. Which may be of examination. What has been
sMd may serve to clear up, to real saints, their gracious state, and
may afford matter of conviction to others.
And here I would take the humble believer in his element,
that is, in his closet, where he retires from the noise and busi
ness of the world — ^where he loves to be alone, to read the Bi
ble... .to meditate on the perfections of God, and think of his
works and ways — ^where he mourns, and prays, and loves God,
and gives up himself to him : In a serious hour ofsweetretire-
roent, when you are most yourself, and your thoughts most about
you, I would enquire, What are your views P And what is the
inward temper of your mind? And how ds you live ? And what
is it that habitually influences you in your daily conduct ?
Do you knew God ? Do you see him to be such an one as
he really Is-— even such an one as the scriptures represent him
to be ? And do you account him Infinitely glorious and amia
ble In being such an one ? And do you begin to love him with
all your heart ? Do you esteem him so as to exult in his su
premacy and absolute sovereignty ? And so wUlseek his glory, .
and value his honor and Interest, as to give up vourself to live
to him ; and sp delight in him, as tp chcose him for j'our pres
ent and everlasting portion ? True, your remaining bUndness
and ignorance is very great : but do you not feel it, and groan
under it as your burden, and hate yourself for it as your sin, la
menting the sottishrjegi? pf ypur heart, that you should be so
F F

224 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
senseless and brutish, after so many outward advantages and in
ward helps, and amidst such clear manifestations made of God
and of his infinite glory, in his word, and in all his works and
ways; and feel that you are wholly to blame for the stupidity
and unteachableness of your heart — ^ready. to say with him of
old. So foolish am 1,-and ignorant, lam as abeast before thee ?...
Psalm Ixxiii. 22. Your disesteem of God, and unconcerned-
ness about his honor and interest, is great, and you have stiU a
disposition to haje to live upon God only, without any thing
else to take comfort in, as the portion of your soul ; and so you
are incUned to forget God....to forsake him.. ..to depart, and
go away, and fall inlove with something else, and seek another
resting-place, and something else to take comfort In : But do
you not feel tiiis your remaining want of confprmity tP God's
law, and native contrariety to it ? And do you not hate it, and
hate yourself for It ? Do you not groan under it, and lament it,
and watch, and pray, and fight against it, feeling the Infinite
sinfulness of It ? saying. The law is holy, just, and good ; but.I
am carnal, soldunder sin : 0 xvr etched man that I am /....Roau
vU. 14, 24^
And what are the grounds of your love to God, and from
what motives is It that you are influenced to love him ? Does
God, indeed, appear infinitely great, glorious, and amiable In
being what he is ? And do you love him because he Is just such •
an one ? Do you love to meditate. his incomprehensibly glori
ous perfections, and wonder and adore ? Are you glad that he
knows all things, and can do every thing? Are the various man
ifestations of divine wlsdoin, in the moral government of the
world, glorious in your eyes ? Does it suit your heart that God
governs the world as he does.? Do you love that the pride of
all flesh should be brought low, and the Lord alone he exalted?
Are you glad that God loves righteousness and hates iniquity
as he does ; and do you heartily approve the strictness of his
law in the matter of your duty, and the se^'erlty thereof against
the least sin ? And are you sweetly sensible ofthe infinite good
ness of God, and pfhis truth and faithfulness ? And dpes God

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. ^25
appear infinitely glorious because he is just what he is ? And
is this theprimary foundation of ypurlpve?... In a wprd, do you
see him as the great Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the
world — as the Redeemer, Sanctifier, and Savior of his people,
as he has thus revealed himself, by his word, and in his works ;
arid do you love him for being what he Is ? Aiid do you also
feel the powerful Influence of thpse superadded obligatlpus you
are Under to love him ? — In other cases, when, we love any thing,
we know why we love it : so, also, do believers know why they
love the Lord their God.
And does It not. appear to, you infinitely reasonable that you
should lave God with all ypur heart — that you should be wholly
his, and wholly for him, and make him your all, while you be
holdhis infinite glor}\...hIs cpmplete all-sufficiency.. ..his origi
nal, entire right to you, and absolute authority over you ? And
does not his law. In requiring you to do so, appear to be infinite
ly right, perfectly holy, just, and good... .worthy to stand In full
force forever, unabated and unaltered ? And do you not see
that the least want of conformity to this law, or transgression
of it, is infinitely vile, andthat a perfect conformity thereto de-
9,erves no thanks ? And do you not feel yourself wholly to blame
for your not being altogether such as the law requites ? Hypo
crites are generally very ignorant of the law. In its true mean-.
ing and strictness ; and so are ignprapt pf their- want of confor
mity untp It, and oftheir Inward contrariety to It.„.i?o»z._vii. 8, 9
—for otherwise all hypocrites would know certainly that they
have no grace. But yet h5rpocrites, at least many of them,
know something about the. law, and their wanj: of coriformity
to It, and something about their inward coritrariety to it ; and
hence may complain of the blindness oftheir minds, the deadr
ness of their hearts, and of their si-ide and woridllness : but no
hypocrite is heartily sensibfe that the law is holy, just, and good
in requiring perfectlpn ; and that he himself Is entirely tP blame
for not being perfectly holy, and that the fault is wholly his.
Some will say, " I desire to love God, and to aim at his*glory,
"and do lay duty j. but no man is,pr can be perfect :. and God

225 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
" does not require more of us than we can do :" And so they
think themselves excusable, and are not sensible that it is infi
nitely vile in them not to love God with aU their hearts. Oth
ers wiU say, " I can do nothing of myself 2 it is Christ that must
" do aU. I desire to love God, but I cannot : It is the spirit
" that must fill my heart with love, and God is the sovereign
" dispenser of his grace ; so that, if I am dead, and duU, and
" senseless, and stupid, I cannot help it :" And so they also
think themselves excusable, and are not sensible that it is infi
nitely vile in them not to love God with all their hearts. , But
now, how stands the case with you ? Have you any secret way
of excusing yourself ? Or do you see that the law Is holy, just,"
and good, and that you only are to blame, wholly to blame, and
altogether without excuse ; yea, and exceedingly vile, for aU
your blindness and deadness, and for every thing wherein you are
not just what the law requires you to be ? It Is this which makes
beUevers sensible oftheir desert of damnation, all their lives
long, and loathe and abhor themselves before the Lord : audit
is this which causes them more and more tP see their need of
Christ and freegrace, and admire and prize the glorious gospel.
Owretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me ? Ithank God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.. ..Rom. vii. 24, 25.
And do you begin to be of a disposition really to love your
neighbor as yourself? Are your affections under the govern
ment of a spirit of disinterested Impartiality, so that you are
disposed to value yourself only for those properties in you that
are good tod excellent, and only in proportion to their worth
and excellence ; and, by this rule, to esteem your neighbors,
your friends, and your foes, and all men ? And do you hate a
contrary disposition in you ? And is your heart fuU oflove, and
kindness, and benevolence, wishing weU to aU, seeking the
good of aU, and even grieved when your enemies are in ad
versity ?
And to conclude ;— does Ipve to God and to your neighbor
govern you in your thoughts, affections, and actions, and dally
Influence you to live to God, and do good in the world ; so

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 227
that now ypu are npt ypur own, but given up tp God, to do his
will, seeking his glory ? A holy life does as naturally proceed
from a holy heart, as a stream does from a living fountain.
Once you was darkness : But are you now Ught in the Lord?
Once, as to right spiritual views pf Gpd....ypur neighbor, pr
yourself.. ..pf this world or the next, you had none ; — ^ybu was
bUnd....your understanding was darkened ; andso your appre
hensions were wrong, and ypu Ipved your wrong apprehensions,
....and took pleasure in error, falshoodj apid sin... .and hated the
light — Abated truth and duty ;— once you was wholly devoid
of the divine image, and destitute of all good — ^yea, and you was
wholly averse from God, and full pf all evil : And did you ev
er see and feel this to be your state ? And have you, by divine
grace, been recovered out of it ? Have you been effectually
taught that your light was darkness, and your knowledge Igno
rance, and been made sensible of the blindness of your mind ?
And have you learnt that all your seeming goodness was coun
terfeit, and that In you did dwell no good thing — ^yea, that your'
seeming goodness was real wickedness. In that your heart was
in perfect contrariety to God and his law ? Has divine light shi-
ned in your heart, and your native darkness, as well as contrac
ted bllndnesss, been dispelled from your soul ; so that now your
views of God — of your neighbor and yourself — of this world
and the next, are right, and your apprehensions according to
truth ? And has the truth made you free ? Do you now look
upon God, in some measure, according to the capacity of a crea
ture, as he does upon himself, when he takes upon him the char
acter of most high God, supreme Lord, and sovereign
Governor ofthe whole world, and says, lam the Lord.. ..that
is my name, and besides me there is no other God? And do you
see it Is Infinitely fit that all the world should love, worship,
and adore hirh ? Do you now look upon your neighbors in
some measure as God does, when he commands you to love
them as yourself ; and so see that it is perfectly right that you
shoidd? And do you look upon yourself, and every thing in
this world, in sume measure as Gpd dpes, when he cpmmands

228 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
you to deny yourself, and fprsake aU things for his sake ; and
see that Itis most fit and reasonable to die to yourself and to
this world, and give up yourself tct God, to love him, and live
to him, and deUght in him forever I And do you understand
that the things which are seen are temporal, and that the things
which are unseen are eternal ? And do all possible troubles In
the ways of God, In some measure, appear only as light afflic
tions, which are but for a moment, and not worthy to be com
pared with the glory that shall be revealed ? Do you thus know
the truth„..and has the truth made you free from your old ser
vitude ; and are you effectually inflvienced and governed by
these views and apprehensions, and this sense of things, to bring
forth fruit to God, an hundred-fold, or sixty-fold, or at least
thirty -fold ? For divine knowledge is efficacious, and the holy
and divine effects and fruits are always equal to the degree of
knowledge : (I, John ill, &")... And every branch which bringeth
not forth fruit, is cut off and cast into the fire. Are you thus
born again, and become a new creature, and learnt to live a new
and divine life ?
And is it not now most manifest to you that all this Is so far
from having been the product of nature, that all that is In natuve
....every natural propensity of the heart, has,from first toi last,
been utterly against the change, and made a constant and mighty
resistance ? And do you not plainly perceive, that, from first
to last, the work has been begun and carried on by God himself \
And does It not appear to you as the most astonishing good
ness in God, and owing to nothing but his sovereign free grace,
that you have thus been called out of darkness into marveUous
light — ^turned from the power of sin and satan,to serve the Uv
ing God ? And do you not plainly see there Is nothing but the
same Infinite goodness and free grace to move God to c^rryon
and complete this work in your heart, and that so, if ever you
get to heaven, the whole of your salvation, from first to. last,
will be absolutely and entirely to be attributed to free grace \
And have you not hence learntto live upon free grace, through
Jesus Christ, for aU tilings ?

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 229
And do you not perceive that he, who has b^gun, does ac
tually carry on^the work of grace in your hearts ? And that all
the external dispensations of providence and internal influences
of the spirit concur In their operation, to humble you, and wcun
you from the world, and Imbltter sin-— to bring you nearer to
"God, and to love him, and to live to him, and to Uve upon him — <
and to make you mpre serious.. ..more spirituaUy-mlnded and
heavenly-mInded..-.more watchful and prayerful, and more lov
ing, and kind, and tender-hearted, and obliging to all mankind,
both friends and foes— ^nd to make you daily attend upon the
duties of your particular calling, and upon all the common bu-
-siness of life, as a servant of God, In singleness of heart-, doing
¦service to the Lord i
And although you was once dead in sin, and wholly without
istrength, yet do you not now feel that you are spiritually alive,
and so put Into a capacity for a spiritual activity, and that you
are engaged to be active for God ^...Not that your suffciency
lis of yourself, as once you thought it was : for you are not suf
ficient of yourself, as of yourself ; but ¦your sufficiency is of God:
Yet do you not -find that, through Christ's strengthening,
.you can do aU things ? And do you not, from the heart, hate
the way of lazy, dead-hearted hypocrites, who sit still, and care
lessly cry, " We can do nothing — it is Christ that must do all ;"
and, «nder a notion of net doing any tiling in tiieir own strength,
gratify their laziness, and do nothing at all ! Accursed laziness !
Accursed hypocrisy ! — Do you not feel, I say, that you are put
into a,capaclty for spiritual activity? And are you not engaged
to be active for God ? For you are his workmajuihip, createdin
Christ fesus unto good works, that you might walk in them. —
While the spirit of God Is taking down the power of sjn in your
heart, and slaying your corruptions, are ) ou not also crucifying
the flesh with the affections and lusts ? While God Is xvor,kin-g
in you to will and. to da, are you not xvorking out your salvation
with fear and trembUng..,.. with filial fear and holy concern : —
While the spirit of God ogives you might in the inner man, do
not fouput on the xvhoh . armour of God, and fightxxilthfl.esh and.

230 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
blood.. ..with principalities and powers ? This Is the way of be
lievers. And the spirit does not come upon them by fits, as it
did upon Balaam, but dwells In them and abides in them forev
er — to purify them from all iniquity, and make them a peculiar
people, zealous of good xvorks.
FinaUy, do you not experierice that your religion is some
thing real and perceptible, and see that it is specifically different
from any thing that possibly can arise merely from a prineipk
of self-love ? Ypu perceive your views pf Gpd, and sense pfhis
greamess, glory, and beauty ; and you perceive your sense of
the world's emptiness, and of your own natural vUeness and
wretchedness ; and your love to God.. ..your weanedness from
the world, and your mourning for sin are perceptible : And is
it not easy to perceive why you love God — are weaned from
the world, and mourn for sin ; namely, because God is infinite
ly lovely, the world empty and worthless, and sin the greatest
evil ? And while these views and affections effectually influence
you to all holy living, their geiiuineness is made still more ev
ident and plain : and, from the whole, you arise to a rational
and scriptural knowledge pf your gracious state.
From what has been said upon this subject, a great variety
of other questions might be put to the believer ; but the whole
has been treated so plainly and practically, that I need add no
more: And if graceless persons had it In their hearts to, be
honest and impartial, they might easily know that they arestran.
gers to real religion : But if they have not, the thing itself, they
wiU either work up something like it, or else deny that there Is
any such thing : for he that doth evil, hateth the light} and so
does he who has a rotten heart. And hence some cry, " The
" best have their falUngs ;" and they watch and catch at the fail
ings of such as are accounted, godly, and dwell upon them, and
magnify them ; and so quiet their consciences, and go on in
their sins : Others cry, " The best are dead sometimes ;" and
so maintain their hopes, although they Ue dead whole months
and years together, and live in sin, and never come to sound re
pentance : Others cry, " You will discourage weak christians ;"

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS, 23^
meaning themselves.— ^Just as if there were a sort of christians
that cannot bear the Ught, nor stand a scriptural trial. What
will they do when tiiey come before the awful bar ofthe heart-
searching God ! Others cry, " But every christian does not
experience aUke ;" and so, though they are destitute of the very
essence and life pf reUgipn, yet they hope all is well ; and ma
ny are confident that these things are not so ; " For," say they,
" if these things be true, who then shall be saved ?" — I answer,
Strait is the gate, and narroxv is the way that leads to life ; and
few there be that find it : But wide is the gate, and broad is the
way that leads to destruction, and many go in thereat..,.Wlat, vii,
13, 14. And mark what foUows In the next verse, (15). ..Be^
ware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep' s-clothing, but
inwardly are ravening wolves : (ver, 16)..,. Te shaU knoxv them,
hy their fruits. By what fruits ? Why, this is the constant
character pf false prophets throughout the Bible, that they cry.
Peace andsafety, and heal the wound of poor sinners slightly, gnd
daub with untempered mortar ; i, e. they make religion to be
an easier thing than it Is. — more agreeable to corrupt nature ;
and so encourage sirmers to rest in something short of true
grace, So the Pharisees did, notwithstanding all their pretend-r
ed strictoess ; and so the Arminians do, notwithstanding alj.
their seeming zeal for good works ; and so the Antinomian^
do, notwithstanding aU their pretences to extraordinary light,
and joy, and zeal, and purity, and holiness. And this is the
commoncharacter of all false prophets, and false teachers, an4
heretics, tiiat, being enemies to true religion, they cut Out afaisg
scheme in their heads, to suit their own hearts ; and so, how-»
ever greatly they may differ, iri many things, yet herein all agree,
to* make religion an easier thing than the Bible does, and tp
make the gate wider, and the way broader, than Christ and his
aposties ; and, by this mark, the difference between them ancl
the true prophets may always be certainly known : and tiiere!-
foreChriathavingiustsaid,Strait is the gate, and narrow the
xvay, &c, immediately adds. Beware offake prophets — by their
fruits ye shall know them, ; for they all Invent sMne easier way
G G

232 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
to heaven, though it may be in sheep's clothing, i. e, under a shPw
of great strictness : And this, their Invention, hemg false, they
are thus denoxnmated false prophets : And thus, what has been
said concerning the nature of true religion, may serve to clear
up the beUever's gracious state ; and may afford matter of cpn-
viction to others, SECriOV VII.
WE HAVE GREAT REASON TO BE HUMBLE, AND THANKFUL,
AND LIVE ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO GPD,
"Use III. Of humiliation. What has been said may be'
improved by sinners and saints to promote their humiliation;
For by the law Is the knowledge of sin ; and a sight and sense
of our sinfulness tends to abase us before the Lord,
In this glass of the law, */n?2e« may see what they are, in
heart' and life ; and, by this rule, fhey may leam how God looks
upon them. There is a knowledge of ourselves — of our hearts
and Uves, that is natural to us. Men, by their power of self-
reflection, have a sort of an acquaintance with themselves : they
know their present views and designs — their present inclinations
and way of living ; and remember, more or less, how they have
lived in years past : But men ar.e naturally very ignorant of the
nature of God, and of his holy law ; and so, are very ignorant of
themselves. In a moral sense— -are very Insensible /zow God looks
upon them, and what their hearts and lives are, compared with
God and his holy law. Natural conscience has some notions
about right and wrong, and so does something towards accusing
and condemning men, especially for their grosser sins ; but na
tural conscience is, for the most part, so blind, and so much
asleep, and, in most men, has been so much abused, and brow
beat, and kept under, that Itlets men pretty much alone. Men
hold the truth in unrighteousness, according to the Apostle's
phrase, and keep their consciences in chains ; and so are, in a
great measure, without the law ; and hence, sin is dead : for
where there is no law, there is no transgression : And when
men know not the law in its true meaning and extent, they are
insensible how they swerve from it, and how contrary they are

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 233
to it," and how sinful sin is :. But. wlienthe commandment comes,
sin revives,
Thlnkof this, therefpre, O sinner, that the infinitely glprlous
God, your Creator, Preserver, and Governor, deserves to be
lo'ved, and lived to, and delighted in with all your heart ; and
that this is what he requires at your hands : and know it, he
hates your hyppcritical shows and pretences, so long as that,
in heart, he sees you are an enemy to him : You may
pretend that you cannot help your heart's being so bad ; but God
knows you love your corruptions, and hate to have them slain,
and love to have them gratified : You love to be proud, and
hence you love to be applauded ; and the praise of men Is sweet,
and of greater price with you than the praise of God : you will
do more to please the world than tp please Gpd-^yea, will dis
please God, to keep in with a wicked world, who, hate God ;
and God knows It : You love to love the world ; and hence love
to lay worldly schemes, and are secretly ravished with worldly
hopes, when things, are ^kely to go well, and account no pains
too great in worldly pursuits ; but you hatfe to pray in secret —
have no heart for God— -K:an take no deUght Inhim ; and God
knows it. And will you now pretend, for your excuse, that
you cannot help your heart's being so bad, when It Is you
yourself that are so bad, andlove to be so bad, and hate to.cease
to be what you are ? If Gpd has, by his spirit, awakened your
conscience a little, and terrified you with the fears of hell and
wrath, it may be ypur corruptions are somewhat stunned, and
honor and worldly gains do not appear so tempting, and you are
ready to say that you would wiUingly part with your reputation,
and every thing you. have in the world, for an Interest in Christ
and the divine favor ; and now you think you are sincere : but
God knows it is aU hypocrls.y ; for he sees you do not care for
him, but are only afraid of damnation. And God knows that,
if once you should get a false confidence of pardon and the di
vine favor, you would soon return to folly, as the dog to his
vomit, and set out after the world as eagerly as ever ; or else
vent your corruptions in spiritual ^ride, and in ranting, enthiu

234 TRUE RELIGION DELlNEAtfiD, AND
slastlc, wild-fire, and party selfish z6al,as thousands have d6n«,!
who once felt just as you do now. God, therefore, does not
mind your pretences, nor beUeve your promises ; for he knows
what you are. You may deceive yourself, but cannot deceive
him : He knows your corruptions are stunned, but not mprtifi-
ed ; and that your nature isjust what it was, and you as reaBy
an enemy to God as ever : And, it may be, you may see it yetj
when yoii come to find out how God looks upon you, and upon
your prayers, and tears, and promises : for it is commonly the
case with sinners, when they perceive that God Is not pleased
with their devout pretences, and does not design to save them
for their hypocritical duties, by the secret workings of their
hearts to discover that they care only for themselves, and are
real enemies to God and his law* Love to God, O sinner, is
not begotten by the fears of hell, nor by the hopes of heaven.
If you do not love God for what he is In himself, you do not
love him at all ; but only flatter him with your Ups, and lie un
to him with your tongue. But It may be manifest to you that
you do not love him for what he is in himself, because you da
not love his law, which bears his Image, You do not like the
law as a rule for you to live by, for it Is too strict for you : and
you do not approve of the law as a rule for God to judge you
by, for you think It hard for God to damn men for the least sin.
Know it, therefore, O sinner, that there Is no good In you, or any
goodness In your duties ; but you are in a state of rebellion— >
an enemy to God, and to his holy law : come down, and
lie in the dust before the Lord, and own the sentence just by
which you stand cotidemned, and be quiet at his feet ; and if
ever he saves you, forever attribute It wholly to free and sove
reign grace. When the commandment came, sin revived, and I
died : And such an one was you, O believer ; and, in some
measure, you are such an one still ; and, in some respects, your
sins are a great deal moi'e aggravatedi Oh ! never forget the
days, and weeks, and months, and years you have formerly spent
in sin ! Once I was a persecutor, and a blasphemer, and injurimts,
said St. Paul ; and his heart bleeds afresh, and he sets himsetf

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 235
d:o-wnforthecAae/"o/s«nner*....I. Tim.1. 13, 15. Butwhatare
you. now, after allthe grace pf God....after allthe kind methpds
heaven has taken to reclaim you — and what are your attain
ments, if you compare yourself and attainments with the holy
law of Ged, in Its spiritual nature and divine strictness ? Do you
feel such a heart towards the great and glorious Governor of the
whole world, as becomes you ? Think what a God he is, and
how angels and saints on high love him : Think of his majesty,
and greatness, and glory, and exceUence — and how he Is the
fcar, and delight, and joy ofall heaven : Think of his original
and entire right to you, and absolute authority over you : Think
of the vileness of ypur apostacy, and of the depth of your ruin :
Think of redeeming love : Think of converting grace : Think
of the many means God has used with you in his providence,
and by his spirit : Think of all his loving kindnesses and tender
mercies. And think what a beast you are before the Lord !
Lie down in the dust, and cry, and mourn, and weep, and let
your heart break ! Oh, your v/ant of love to God.. ..of zeal for
his glory.. ..of delight In his perfections, and of gratitude for all
his kindness ! Alas, how you disesteem the God that angeli^
love, and comparatively despise the God that all heaven adores !
Alas, how careless you are about his honor and interest, and
how inactive in his service ! Alas, how you disreUsh the foun
tain of all goodness, and the ocean of all blessedness, and han'>
ker after other things, and go away from God, to seek rest else*
where, and thereby cast Infinite contempt upon the delight of
heaven, and the joy of angels, the evers-blessed and aU-sufficient
God ! Think of the peculiar obligations God has laid you un
der by all the secret ways of bis providence and grace with ypu,
and of aU the infinite pains he has taken with you to make you
humble... .weaned from the world.. ..devoted to God.. ..loving,
kind, tender-hearted, friendly, and obliging to aU mankind, and
universally holy ; and see, and say, ' Was ever wretch so vile !
Did ever wretch treat such a God In such a manner, under such
circumstances !' Oh, how far, how Infinitely far you are from
being wliat you ought to be ! This made St. Paul account" hiia-

236 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
self less than the least ofall saints, and forget the things that are
behind .- his attainments dwindled away, as it were, to nothing,
when he compared himself with God's holy law, and thought
what he ought to be, and what obUgations he was under ; and
he did, therefore, as it were, set down aU tiiat he had hitherto
attained for nothing, and feel and act as ifhe was but just now
beginning to live to God. Rom. vu. 14....T'Ae Law is spirt'
tual, but lam carnal,Sold under sin — verse2A....Oxoretclied mm.
that lam .' — PhU. ill. 13, 14:....I forget the things which are be-
hind....I reach forth towards those tilings which are before....!
press towards the nmrk : and, O beUever,go you,and do Ukewise.
Besides, remember that It Is no thanks to you that you are
not to this day secure in sin ; yea, that you are not one ofthe
vilest and most profane creatures In the world : Your nature
was bad enough ; — ^the seeds, of every sin were In your heart ;
— but for restraining or sanctifying grace, you mighthave been as
bad as any In Sodom. And what was It moved God to awaken
vou, and stop you in your career in sin, and turn you to God ? —
Was it for your righteousness ?...Oh, be ashamed and confound
ed forever! — For his own sake he has done it, when you was a
stubborn, stiff-necked, rebeUious creature. A nd truly, what has
been your carriage towards the Lord, compared with the exact
rule of duty, the holy law of God, since the day you have known
him ?...0, remember Massah, and Tabera, and Kibroth-hataa-
vah, and how you have been rebeUious against the Lord, ever
since he has taken you In hand to subdue you to himself—
(Read Deut. Ix. and see how much your temper has been like
theirs :) — And this not\vithstandIng aU the signs and wonders
God has wrought before your eyes ; — I mean, notwithstanding
all the sweet and awful methods God has taken with you, to
make you know him, and love him, and fear him, and live to him.
There are thousands and thousands whom God never took any
such special pains with : Their sins are not Uke yours : Come
down, therefore.. .sit In the dust.. .mourn and weep, and loathe
and abhor yourself, as long as vou II ve ; and ascribe all praise to
God, through whose grace alone It is that you are what ypu are.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 237
Let me here address you in the words of the famous Mr.
Hooker: — "That thou mayest forever, each day that passeth
*' over thy head, remember it to the Lord, and leave It upon
" record in thine own conscience, say — Hadst thou (blessed
" Lord) given me the desires of my heart, and left me to my
"own wUl, it is certain I had been in hell long before this day,
" when. In the days of my folly and times of my ignorance —
*'when, out ofthe desperate wretchedness of my rebellious dls-
" position, I was running riot In the ways of wickedness — when
*' I said to tlie seers, see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not —
*' to Christians.. .tP acquaintance.. .to governors, admonish not^
" counsel not, reprove not, stop me not In the pursuit of sin.
" The.tlme was, I took holdof deceit, andrefusedto return ; nay,
^'resolved In the secret purpose of myheart,Iwould none of thee
" — I would not have that word of thine reveal or remove my
¦*' corruptions — I would none of thy grace thsX. might hunAle me
" and purge me.. .none of that mercy of thine that might pardon
"me... none of that redemption of thine that might save me.
" Hadst thou then taken me at my word, and given me what I v/ish-
" ed, and sealed my destruction, saying, ' Be thou forever filthy,
-" forever stubborn, and forever miserable ; thou wouldst nel-
"ther be holy nor happy — thou shalt have thy will— -sin with
"devils, and take thy portion with devils'.,,, Lord, k had been
"just with thee, and I justly miserable : But to bear with all my
" baseness,,, to put up with all those wrongs and provocations,..
" to strive with me for my good, when I took up arms against
" thee, and strove against myown good — nay, when I resisted
" mercy ; and then to take away that resistance, and to cause
"me to take mercy, and make it mine, when I 'used all the
"skill I could to hinder my own salvation — Oh! the height....
"the depth.„,the length... .the breadth of this mercy ! When
"we feel our hearts to be puffed up with the vain apprehension
" of our own worth, parts, or performances.. ..what we are and
" what we do, look we back to our first beginnings, and judge
"aright of our own wretchedness and nothingness, yea, worse
"than nothing, In that we not only wanted all good, but we had

238 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
"it within us to oppose all good ; and that wiU carase ns to sit
"down in silence, abased forever. When empty bladders are
*' grown unto too great bulk and bigness, to p-iek them is die
'" readiest way to lessen them : wheri our ecapty and vain
"minds swell with high thoughts, and high, over-weening con-
*' ceit of our own worth, learn we to stab and pierce our hearts
" with the righteous judgment of our own natsirad vileness, whidi
"wIU (or at least may) let out that frothy haughtiness that Ufts
" us up beyond our measure ; TeU thy heart, and commune
" with thy conscience, and say, It is ncA my good nature, tiat
" I am not roaring amongst the wretches of the world, in ihe
"road and broad way of ruin and destruction— that I am not
*' wallowing in aU manner pf sin with the worst of men. It is
"not my good nature.,..no thank to any thing that I have, that
-"I am not upon the chain with malefactors, or in a dungeon
" with witches ; for whatever hell hath. It is in this heart c/f
*' mine naturaUy— -a Cain here, a Judas here, nay, a devil here.
" The time was, (O that, with an abased heart, I may ever think
' ' of that time) I never looked after the spiritual good of my soul,
*' or whether I had a soul or no ': what would become of me and
** it, was theleastof my care. ...the furthest end of my thoughts ;
''nay, loth was I to hear of, or know these things — when they
*' were revealed, unwilling to receive them, or give way to them
*' when they were offered : How did I stop mine ears, shut mine
*'eyes, and harden my heart ? What ways, means, and devices
"did I use and invent, to shut out the Ught of truth,...tostopthe
" passage and power ofthe word, that it might not convince me
" — ^that it might not reform me... .might not recall me from my
" evil Virays ?* How often have I secretly wished that either the
" word was taken out ofthe place, or I from it, that It might ndt
" trouble me in my sinful distempers ; and when I had least
" good, I bad most ease, and took the greatest content. Oh,
" that such a wretch should dms Uve, and yet live ! To be thus
" sinful ! O that I might be forever abased for It."*
** Mr. Hooker's Application of Eedemption—\ o\. I. page 97—100.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 239
Thus the law, as a rule of life, may be improved to the hu
miliation of the people of God, in that It may serve to keep fresh
in their minds their native universal depravity-... .their former
wickedness — and to discover tiieir remaining sinfulness : And I
may here pbserve, that it is believers' j&ecM//ar acqiuiintance with
the law, in its true meaning, strictness, and purity, that is the
occasipn of their />ecMiar acquaintance with their own hearts :
And while the law daily shows them what they are, it learns
them more and more their need of a redeemer and sanctifier,
and daily puts them upon going to God, through Jesus Christ,
for pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace. The law make§
way for the gospel ; and a sense of sin, weakness, and unwor-
tluness, makes Christ and gospel-grace precious, and stirs up a
man to repentance, faith, and prayer. Deluded, therefore, are
those poor souls'that say, " We must not look into our hearts,
"nor labor after a sense of our sins and slnfiilhess ; for that is
" legal,, and tends to discouragement : but we must look only to
" Christ and free grace, and believe and rejoice, and a sense of
" the love of Christ wiU humble us :" Just as if the great busi
ness of Christ was, to keep men from a sight and sense oftheir
sins ; andjustas if a man could be truly humbled, without see
ing what he Is, compared with God and his holy law : But,
poor souls, they feel a legal, discouraged frame always, when
they have any sight and sense oftheir sinfulness, and it damps
their faith (and if they were but thoroughly sensible oftheir sin
fulness. It would klU their faith) and joy : and, therefore, they
conclude it is not a good way to look into their hearts ; no good
can be got by It. But when they do not mind their hearts, but
look steadily to _^Christ and free grace, (a fancied Christ !)
firmly believing that aU he has done and_ suffered Is for them,
and realizing the matter to themselves, now they feel sweetly
and joyfully j and therefore conclude that this is the way, the
only way, to get good for our souls ; and hence grow mighty
enemies tP the law.. ..to Self-examination.. ..to sense of sin, &c.
This is the door by which, if any man enters in, he wiU soon
become an Antinomian and an Enthusiast. But^ to preceed,'
H H

240 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
Use IV. Of thankfulness. While the law shews us what
we are, it. does, at the same time, make us sensible what we de
serve ; while it discovers to us our sinfulness, it makes us feel
our unworthiness of any good, and desert of aU evil : and while
we feel our unworthiness and ill deserts, our aflllctions appear
far less than we deserve, and our mercies appear more in num
ber than the sands, and the kindness and bounty of our God ap
pears exceedingly great, and we wonder at his gopdness, and
bless his holy name : And thus the law is of use to promote
thankfulness. God, the great Governor of the world, in testimpny of his
high displeasure against mankind for their apostacy from him,
has spread miseries and calamities all round the earth.: from
the king upon the throne to the beggar on the dung-hUl, there
is not one but has a greater or lesser share in the troubles of life {
and many have their days filled up with sorrows. And now
murmurings arise all round this guilty world, and the general
cry is, " Nobody meets with such troubles as I do.. ..I, am very
" hardly dealt with." But die law teaches us that God is holy in
all these bis ways, and righteous in all these his works ; .and that
we are all punished far less than we deserve ; and so our com
plaints are silenced, and our hearts quieted into humble submis
sion, and it appears infinitely fit, a rebellious world should be
full of woe, that we might learn that it is an evil and bitter thing
to forsake the Lord.
But, at the same time, God, the great Lprd of all, out of his
boundless goodness through Jesus Christ, reprieves mankind
from the threatened ruin.,.. strews common mercies with a libe
ral hand all round the earth....sends rain and fruitful seasons,
and fiUs the hearts of all, more or less, with food and gladness ;
and to some he grants his special grace, makes them his children,
and entities them to eternal Ufe i And thus he is the Savior of
aU men, but especially ofthosethat believe....!. Tim. Iv. la Yet
this goodness of God is but Uttie taken notice of in the- world.
But the law, while it discovers what we are, and how unworthy
and hell-deserving we are, makes us sensible of the freenesS

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 24-1
and riches of God's grace in these kindnesses : For, while
we feel that heU is our proper due, everything that renders our
case better than that ofthe damned, we shaU accept as a choice
mercy, and as an effect of free grace ; and so, instead of being
alwa)-s in a murmuring and repining disftoskioa, we shaU be
al-ways wondering at the goodness, admiring at the kindness of
the Lord ; saying, with good Jacob, We are not worthy of the
least ofall the mercies, andofaU the truth, which thou hast show
ed unto thy seroants..,.Gen. xxxll. 10 — .and with the Jewish
Church, 0 give thanks unto the Lord, for-he is good... .for his
mercy endureth forever. ...Vsalm. cxxxvl. And we shaU always
find that the more sensible we are of our unworthiness and iU
desert, the more cause we shaU see for thankfulness, let our
outward circumstances in this life be what they wiU.^ But,
Use V. In- the last place, let aU that has been said be im
proved, by way of exhortation, to excite and engage the people of
God more and more to renounce themselves, the world and sin,
and give up themselves to God, to love him,, and live to him, and
deUght in him, with all their hearts, forever.
You have- seen what grounds yoithave to do so, arislngfrom
God's infinite greatness, glory, and exceUence ; and you have
been viewing your superadded obligations : And Is the Lord
such a God, and is he your God and Redeemer ? O how strong
ly are you bound to keep aU his commandments ! And what
is it, O believer, that the Lord. thy God requirethof thee, but to
fear the Lord thy God, to walk in aUbis ways, and to love him,
and to serve the Lord thy God with aU thy heart, and with all
thy soul ? And is there not, in keeping his commands, a great
reward ? Did you ever taste such sweetness as in a life of de
votedness to God ? And have not your wanderings from him
cost you many a bitter and mournful hour ? O, how happy
wouldyou be. If once you could come to it, to have done with
every thing else, and to be wholly the Lord's ! Seriously con
sider these things :
1. That you can come to it, to have done xvith every thing else,
and be wholly the Lard's, at least in a vastly greater degree thxin

242 trim; religipn DfeLINEATED, AND
ever yet you have....See Phil. in. 13, 14. You actually aheady
have God working in you to will and to Jo....PhIl. ii. 13. ' He
has always been, as it were, laboring to humble you, and wean
you from the world, and bring you nearer to himself, to love
him, Uve to him, and deUght in him, ever since the day you
.first came to know him, by the outward dispensations of his pro
vidence, and by the inward strivings of his spirit. He has al
ways been purging you, that you might bring forth more fruit..,
John XV. 2 : Yea, this was the very design of Christ's coming
into the world, that he might deliver you ovctxfthe hands of aU
your enemies, and bring you to serve God, without fear, in hoik
ness and righteousness, all the days of your life... ,liuke i. 74 — i-
and that he might redeem you from aU iniquity, and purify you
to himself, that you might be peculiarly his, and zealous of good
works..,.TiU II. 14 : And, fpr this end, God has already taken,
as It were, Infinite pains with ypu, and this is what he is contin
ually urging you unto, and he declares that he Is readier to give
you his holy spirit, than earthly parents are to give bread to their
children, and Invites, and encourages, and commands you to ask
,,..Mat, vii. 7, &c, And wUl you not now, therefore, arise,
and put on the whole armour pf God, and make your strongest
efforts to recpver from sin to God ?
God, the great King of heaven and earth, commands you to
do so — rjesus, the kind Mediator, Invites you to do so — :and the^
holy spirit, the Sanctifier, Is ready to help you. Arise, there
fore, and be of good courage, for the Lord is with you. Did
ypu ever stir up yourself to seek after God In vain, or set about
a Ufe of greater seriousness, watchfulness, and prayer, and find
no advantage by It ? Or have you not always said, in the con
clusion, that it is good for me to draw near to God....(Psalai
Ixxiii, 28,) and condemned and hated yourself for your former
slackness, and been ready to resolve, from your inmost soul,
that you would callupon the Lord as long as you live .?,..,Psalin
cxvi. 2. '
And let me put It to your conscience, do not you believe,
that, if now you woald^gird up the loins of your mind, and qui*

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 248
yourself Uke a man, and be strong, that, through Christ's
strengthening of you, you may do all things ? And shall careless^
ness or stupidity.. ..shaU laziness and sloth.. ..shall the allure
ments or the discouragements pf the world or the devil, now,
after aU, hinder you ? What ! when ypu have been redeemed,
not with silver and gold, but U)ith the precious blood of the Son of
God — when ypur prison-door is flung open, and your chains
knocked off, and you caUed and Invited to come out into the
glorious Uberty ofthe children of God, and when God is actually
Striving with you already, and stands ready to afford you farther
help, what, now be hindered ! What, and be hindered by care
lessness, unwatchfulness, &c ! What, shaU the Savior groan
in the garden, and die on the cross, and yet you lie sleeping
here ! What, asleep ! What, content without God in the world !
"What, when die whole army of prophets, aposties, and martyrs
have fasted and prayed aU their days, and waded through a sea
of blood at last ! Methlnks you had better abandon every mor
tal delight, lay aside every weight and the sin that more easily
besets you, and mourn, and weep, and watch, and pray, and fight,
and-stHve-,--as long as you live, than act so far beneath the dig
nity and character of a christian.
It is but a few In the world that truly know God, and the
way of access to him, through Jesus Christ, and are in a (spir
itual) capacity to Uvea Ufe of devotedness to God, and commu
nion with him : most men are dead in sin : But you hath he
quickened, and you are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works ; and It is God's design you should walk in
them : you that were without Christ, and without God in the
world, afar off, are now brought nigh ; and you are no more stran
gers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and
of the househoUl of God: for this cause I therefore beseech
you, walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called :
See this argument enlarged upon In the second, third, and
fourth chapters of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and your
duties stUl more particularly delineated in the fifth and
-si^.

244 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
2. Cpnsider, that as your case is circumstanced, it is ahso-
htehf impossible for y mi ever to find any other resting plaee but
God, or ever take any satisfying comfort of your Ufe, but in away
of devotedness to God and communion with him. The case is
not with you, O beUever, as it is with other men.: — Tou, only,
have I known ofaU the famiUes ofthe earth ; therefore wiU I
punish you for aU your iniquities, said God to his ancient peo
ple,,. ,i)//c, III. 2. But the other nations of the earth mightwor.
ship idols, and serve wood and stone, and go on and prosper,
without being called to a present account ;. and so it is as to
particular persons : Bastards, who have no parents to own them
and bring them up, may, as for any restraints from parental au
thority, do what they wiU : They that do not belong to God's
family, may Uve from home as long as they please, and, because
they have no interest in bis house, may, in respect of divine
permission, go and live where they please.. ..may continue to"
lie out from God : hut whom the Lord loveth, hechasteneth; and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth....^eh.-xii. 6. H)rpo-
crites may lose their religion, and lie dead whole months and
years together, and return, with the dog to his vomit, and take
as much comfort in the world and their lusts as ever ; but it is
impossible that you should : you can never get your conscience
asleep as other men's are, or your heart content to lie out from
God, or wring yourself out of your father's hand, or get out of
the reach of his rod.
Solomon once seemed resolved to find another resting place
for his heart besides God, and something else to take comfort
in, and he was under the best outward advantages to make a
thorough trial that ever man was ; but he never did, and never
could : but was always like a bone out of joint, or Uke the nee
dle of a compass turned aside from its beloved star. Vanity of
vanities, says the preacher, aU is vanity andvhxation of spirit :
And poor David, how was he pained with anguish of spirit for
the sin whereby he provoked the Lord ? Psalm xxxii. 3, &c....
While I kept silence, (i. e. before Natlian came, who brought me
to an open confession — see ver. 5.) my bones xvaxed old through

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 245
my roaring aU the day long : For day and night thy hand was
heavy upon me : My moisture is turned into the drought of sum
mer : And never did a believer depart from God to seek anoth
er resting place., or go away from the fountain of living waters
to get soonething else to take comfort in ; but God hedged up
his way with thorns, and made a wall, that he ctuld not find his
paths : So that, although he followed after his lovers, he never
overtook them — and though he sought them, he never found them ;
but, at last, has been constrained to say, I will go and return to
my first husband; for then was it better with me thannow.....
Hos. ii. 6, 7. His backsUtUngs have reproved him, and his wick
edness has corrected him, and made him know, to the breaking
of his heart, that it is an evil and bitter thing to forsake the Lord
....Jer. ii. 19 : For as God thus dealt w^h the Jewish church
of old, so he does -with every believer ; for aU God's deaEngs
with them we^fefor ensamples ; and they are written for our ad
monition, upon whom the ends ofthe world are come... I. Cor, x. 11.
And this now being the case, O believer, and you having al-
waj's by your own experience found it so, wIU you, notwith
standing, forsake theLord? What £mlt....w/iat iniquity do you
ffind in God, that you should forsake him ? Has he been a wil
derness unto you., or a land of darkness ? Or has he not been
your father, ever since tiie day he took you by the haidto lead
you, even ever since the day you first knew himi Or are you
weary of lightsome, of sweet and happy days, and impatient to
plunge ypurself into darkness, distress, and ang-uish ? May you
not expect, if 3'ou forsake him and go away from him, to seek
another resting place, and something else to take comfort in as
your portion, that he wiU strip you naked as in the day that you
was born, and make you desolate, and a terror to yourself, and
that his anger will smoke against you, and his hand lie heavy
upon you ? And then wUl you mourn like the dove in the valley,
andbetrmdiled, and go howed doxtm greatly^ and roar by reason
efthe disquietness of your, heart, and wish a thousand and thous
and times that you had never forsaken the Lord..^.Read Psalm
xxxviii. — Jer. 2d and 3d Chapters — and Hos. \\. WiU yoa

246 . TRUE REL-IGION DELINEATED, AND
not, therefore, bid adieu to aU other lords and lovers, and cleave
unto the Lord with aU your heart forever ? for this Is your wis
dom, and this is your life : Which brings me to add,
Consider, If you will have done with every thing else, and
give up yourself to the Lord, to love him, and live to him, and
be wholly his, then GodwiU be your God sensibly, and you xvill,
in spiritual respects, be one ofthe happiest creatures in this world—-
a hundred times happier than you could possibly be in the ways
of sin ; you shaU have an hundred fold in this present world, be*
sides eternal life in the world to come. If any man love me, says
Christ, and keep my commandments,! will love him and manifest
myself unto him : and / and my father will come and make our
abode with A«m....John xiv. 21, 23. He that dwelleth in these-
cret place ofthe most High, shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty.,,. Psalm xci. 1 : And God will be your (/we//i!M^-/i&(Cf
forever. ...Psalm xc. 1. While the nations dash themselves in
pieces, and all the world is in confusion, and while you- pass
through the fire and through the water, God will be with you —
and he will always be your light, life, -peace, joy, glory, and
blessedness, in this undone, dreadfdl world — and your heart
will be firm and, fixed like Mount ^ion, that cannot be remoiied,.
but abideth forever — and nothing shall ever separate you from
the love of God,-neither things present, nor things to come, nor.
height,^ nor depth, nor life, nor death, nor any other thing : And
God will certainly give you every thing In this world that is best
for you, and most for his glory, and you will not desire any more ;
and aU the evil things you may pass through will sensibly work
together for your good... .7?^?. vi. 33 — Rom. viii. 28 — 39 —
Psalm Ixxiii. 25, 26.
Ancl thus you have, by experience, always found that God
has dealt with you. I appeal, O believer, to your own con
science, that thus it has always been, whenever you have sensi
bly from the heart renounced all other things, and given up
yourself to the Lord, to love him, and to live to him, and to take
content in hiiSi, God has sensibly been a God, and father, and
portion unto you, and has given you aU things, wblch (every

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 247
thing considered) you could desire, and sensibly made all things
work together for your good ; whence you have been many a
tinie ready to say, That fiot a word ofall his promises has ever
fallen' to the ground: And you have actually enjoyed a hundred
times more comfort in the service of God,.„in devotedness to
God, and communion with him, riian could have been had In
the service pf sin ; And will you not now, therefore., be entire
ly and forever the Lord's ? O how happy ypu might be ! And
what blessed days you might enjoy !
4, ' And that which cannot but touch a filial heart, consider,
diat if you will thus be whoUy the Lord's, to love him, and liye
tP him, and delight in him, and to do his will, God will be gloi
rified thereby „.,it will be to his honor in the world.,.,'^cA\nxv, 6,
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit : But ye
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, apes
culiar people ; ihat ye should shoxv forth the praises ef him xvho
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. .,,1. Pet,
Ii, 9. God has but few friends In the world. Many that pre
tend to be his friends, are a great dishonor to him, and disgrace
to religion : By .their means his name Is blasphemed, and his
ways are evilly spoken .of ; and, in general, his honor is every
where trodden down In the dust. And can you stand by un
concerned ?...yea,can you look oii without your heart bleeding
within you? O, therefore, be serious... be humble... be meek, ho
ly, and heavenly..,be peace-makers, and merciful.,. be kind and
tender-hearted, condescending and obliging, and abound In ev
ery good work ; for you are the salt ofthe earth, and the light
ofthe world : O, therefore, Uve so, as that your Father, xvhich
is in heaven, may be glorified... .,M.at,v.. 13 — 16,
To conclude, will you not now, thereftire, determine, " from
this day forward, to be wholly the Lord's, and from this day be-,
gin to live to God In better earnest than ever ? God Is ready to
help you. You will,, as to present comfort, be undpne, If
you do not Uve to God ; and peace, and glory, and blessed
ness is before you. If you do ; and God, even your God, will
be glorified : And If you are now ready, by the grace of
I I

248 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Gpd, to hearken unto this advice, then take these two dircc-
tipns : —
1 . Lay aside every weight, and the sins ¦which more easily be
set j/OM....Heb. xii. 1. In a serious and swset hour, when ¦yoa.
get alone, and mourn, and pray, and give up yourself to God,
and think and resolve you will now be forever the Lord's, you
are wont, upon self-examination, and a review of past times, to
see and say, " This, that, and the other thing, has been the sin-
" ful occasion, time after time, of my losing a serious, gracious
" frame of heart — and by such and such sinful means I have
" graduaUy lost a sense of divine and eternal things, and so have
*' wandered from God, and laid a foundation foi- darkness and
" sorrow. O my carelessness ! O that I had prayed more in
" secret ! O that I had spent precious time better, &c. &c." —
These now are the weights, and these the sins which easUy be
set you — and these you must lay aside forever, if you design to
be the Lord's indeed, and to make a business of religion to pur
pose : But perhaps you will say, " My worldly buslness....my
" necessary cares, and the common duties of life, are sometimes<
" the very things, and these I ought not to lay aside ; and what
" shall I do In this case ?" — I answer, that, at another time,
the necessary cares, business, and duties of life, you find to be
no hinderances at aU — even at such times when you do all out of
love to God, and for God, with singleness of heart. If you
wiU, therefore, but always go about the common duties of life
in such a manner, they wiU never be any clog to you. What
you have, therefore, to do In the case. Is not to lay aside that
which is your duty, but to lay aside your wrong ends and aims :
and thus you must lay aside every weight : But,
2. If you design to be religlcfus In good earnest, then be care
ful to use aU proper means, and do every proper thing that has a
tendency to promote your spiritual life : Every jbrojfter thing, I
say, to guard against those anti-scriptural methods which enthu
siasts are wont to take, and by which, above aU things, their
false affections are promoted, but which have a direct tendency
to kill the divine life. In a serious hour of sweet retirement,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 249
and in happy days when you are nearest to God, and enjoy most
communipn with him, and have your senses most accurate to
discern between good and evil, j^ou are wont to see and say-—
" O how blessed I might be, if I did always keep in this narrow
" way which now lies open plain before me — If I were always
?'serious, watchful, prajj-erful,.,. always reading, or meditating,
" and looking to God, and keeping my heart, and improving ev-
" ery precious moment of my time wisely for God," &c, —
WeU, weU, O beUever, this is the way — walk in it, and you shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season, whose leaf never withers; and whatsoever
you do shall prosper : And, after a few more days, and weeks,
and months, and years spent in prayer, and faith, and holiness,
in this your pilgrimage state, you shall come and sit down with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, and dwell
forever with the Lord, Amen,
Now, the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd ofthe sheep, through the blood
ofthe everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work,
to do his will, working in you that xvhich is well pleasing in his
sight, through Jesus Christ : to whom be glgry forever and
«ver. Amen.

Cnie Eeligion SDelmeateD.

DISCOURSE ir.

SHEWING THE NATURE OF THE GOSPEL, AND OF A GENUIlJ«
COMPLIANCE WITH IT.

John hi. i6.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his' only begotten Son, thai whosoever
believeth in him,, should net perish, but have everlasting life.
THE INTRODUCTION.
1 HE graiid question before Us, Is, What is true t'eligion f
Arid this is the general answer — It consists in a real conformity
to the law, and in a genuine compliance with the gospel. What
is Implied In a real conformity to the law, has been already shown
in the former discourse j and we come now to consider where
in a genuine compliance with the gospel does consist. From
our Savior's mouth we had before a brief summary ofthe law ;
and now, from our Savlpr's mouth, we have a brief summary of
the gpspel, in these comprehensive words, God so loved the
xvorld, &c.
Nicodemus came to him for instruction, believing him tp be
a teacher sent from God. Our Savior begins Immediately to
inculcate upon him the necessity of regeneration and faith.— ^
We are sinners.. ..are naturs&y dead in sin — and, therefore, must
be born again... .he recovered to the divine image In the temper
of our minds, and so be made spiritually alive ; We are guil
ty.. ..we need pardoning i^iercy at the hands pfthie great Gpv-
ernpr pf the wprld j but he will grant it pnly through the' Me
diator he has appointed : In him, therefore, must we believe — «
on his merits and mediation must we depend. Nicodemus

252 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
could hardly understand the doctrine of the new birth ; and our
Savipr intimates that the mysteries of our redemptipn, by the
blood of Christ, were like to be still more difficult to him : We
can easily understand worldly things, for they are agreeable to
the temper of our minds, and suit the taste and reUsh of our,
hearts ; but we are blind to things spiritual and dhine....are
slow of heart to understand them, they not suiting the temper
and relish of our hearts, and we being in a disposition to dis
reUsh things of such a nature : therefore, our Savior observes
to Nicodemus, (ver. 19.) This is the condemnation, that light
is come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light,
because their deeds are evil. We are In a state of rebellion.. ..at en
mity against God, and iinder his wrath ; and yet ready, through
our darkness, to flatter ourselves that all Is weU — and so are se
cure and at ease. Light is come into the world, discovering
our disease and our remedy, but we love our disease, and loathe
the remedy ; and, therefore, hate the light, and wiU not come
to It : And thus our Savior teaches Nicodemus wherein true
reli^on consists, and points out the aversion of mankind to
it : Nor is there any thing that will discover our aversiott so
plainly as to set true religion in its own light ; for when we see
clearly what it is, we may perceive how we stand affected to
wards it ; but otherwise we may be easily mistaken — may ima
gine that we love true religion, when. Indeed, we only love the
false Image we have framed in pur own fancy. Regeneration
andfaith, these two great essentials, wherein aU religion radi
cally consists, are the things our Savior inculcates upon his new
disciple. Christ loved to lay the foundation weU : He was not
fond pf converts, unless their conversion was sound: And, In
deed, aU our religion is good fornothing, if our nature be not
renewed : and all our communion with God is but fancy. If we
are strangers to Christ ; for he is the way, the truth, and the life,
and no man comes to the Father but by him. But to proceed to
the words of the text, God so loved the world, &c.
GoD^i. e. God the Father, the first person in the ever-
blessed trinity, who sustains the dignity and majesty of God-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 253
head, and is emiaeady Lord of heaven and earth, (Mat. xi. 25.)
and prime agent in the works of creation and providence.. ..in
governing the world... .in redeeming, sanctifying, and saving
of sirmers.... .ffoJM. xl. 36. That there are three persons in the
God-head....the Father, the Son, and the Holy-Ghost, and that
these three are one God, the scriptures do abundantly teach....
{Mat. xxviil. 19 — IL Cor. xiii. 13 — I. John v. 7.) And this
doctrine we must believe, or we cannot understand the gospel.
How they are three^ and how they are one, is not revealed, nor
is it necessary for us to know : but that there are three persons
in the God-head, and yet but one God, we must believe ; and
what characters they sustain, and what parts they act in the
affair of our salvation, we must understand. The gospel rep
resents God the Father as sovereign Lord of heaven and earth
....as righteous Governor ofthe world.. ..as giving laws to his
creatures....as revealing his wrath against all transgressions :
He is represented as being injured and offended by our sins,
and concerned to maintain the honor of his majesty.... of his
law and government, and sacred authority : He is represented
as having designs pf mercy towards a sinful, guilty, ruined
world ; and as contriving and proposing a method of recovery :
He is represented as one seated on a throne of grace, recohcllea-
ble through Jesus Christ, and seeking to recoiiclle the world
to himself by Christ, ordering pardon and peace to be proclaim
ed through a guilty world, to any and all who wUl return to
him In the way prescribed. The gospel represents God the Son
as being constituted Mediator by his Father, that, in and by
him, he might open a way to accomplish his designs of mercy
towards a guilty world, consistent with the honor of his majesty
....of his holiness and justice. ...of his law and government.
His Father appoined him to the office, and he freely undertook
it : His Father sent him into this world to enter upon the dif
ficult work, and he willingly came. He was made flesh, and
dwelt among us : Here he lived, and here he died. In the capa
city of a Mediator. He arose... .he ascended Into heaven, and
sits now at his Father's right hand, God-Man Medlatpr, exalt-

254 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ed to the highest honor— -made Lord of a:U things, arid Judge
of the world. And now we are to have access to God by him,
as our Mediator, high PrieSt, Intercessor, and Advocate, who
has made complete atonement for sins in the days of his abase
ment, and has now sufficient interest in the court, pf heaven.
The gospel represents God the Holy-Ghost as being sent of the
Father as prime agent, and by the Son as Mediator, in the
character of an enllghtener and sanctifier, in order to bring ,
sinners effectuaUy tp see and be sensible pf their sin, guilt, and
ruin. ...to beUeve the gospel..,..to. trust in. Christ, andtp return
hpme to God through him : And it i; his office to dwell in be
lievers... .to teach and lead them,.., to sanctify, quicken, strength-'
en, and comfort them, and to keep them through faith unto
salvation. The Father is God by nature, and God by office :
The.^'on Is God by nature, and Mediator by office : The Spirit
is God by nature, and Sanctifier by office. The Father, as
Governor, Law-giver, Judge, and Avenger, has aU power in
heaven and earth, in and of himself .,..iJ^^, xi, 25, The Son,
as Mediator, derives aU bis authority from the Father....Mat.
xi. 27. The Holy Spirit acts as being sent by them both...,
by the Father, as supreme Governor, deaUng with a sinful,
guilty world, through a Medlatpr— by the So72, as Mediator,
negpciatlng a reconciliation between God and man.... John xiv,
16, The Father maintains the honor ofthe God-head, and of
his government, and displays his grace, while he ordains that
sjn shall be punished, the sinner humbled, and brought back to
God, and mtp a subjection to his wIU, and In that way be par
doned, and finally saved. Sin Is punished, in the Son, as Me
diator, standing in the room of the guilty : And the sinner Is
humbled, brought back to God, and Into a subjection to his
will, by the Holy Spirit ; and, in this way, is pardoned and
saved : And thus the Son and the Spirit honor the Father, as
supreme Governor, and all join In the same design to discoun
tenance sin, humble the sinner, and glorify grace  Thus far
briefly ofthe doctrine pf the trinity. Right apprehensipns pf
God help us to understand the law, and right apprehensiops of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS, 255
the trinity, will help us tP understand the gpspel : Npt how they
are three perspns, and yet but pne Gpd, the manner pf which
is npt needful tP be knpwn ; but the pffices and characters they
sustain, and the different parts they act In the great affair pf
saving sinners. God (says the text) so loved the world, that he
gceue his only begotten Son ; that whosoever believeth in him
shouldnot perish, but have everlasting life": I, e. God the Father
the great Governor ofthe world, whom we had pffended by sin.
So LOVED the World — i. e. with a love of benevolence. Es
teem us he could not ; for we were worthless and vile : To de
light in us It was impossible ; for we were altogether odious
and abominable. But to have a good wiU towards us, or a
wIU to do us good, this he might have, although we were sinful
and guilty : Not, Indeed, from any motive in us ; for if we
were viewed, and our temper and circumstances considered,
there was not to be seen one motive to pity, no, not the least ;
but every motive to indignation and wrath. However, from
motives within himself, he might w"' to do us good, riotwith-
standlng our sin and guilt. The sell-rriovlng goodness of his
nature did excite him, from the good pleasure of his wiU, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, to design mercy towards a sin
ful, guilty, ruined world. God so loved the world.
The WORLD — i. e. aU mankind.. ..all the ppsterity of Adam :
For what follows. Is evidently true, of every Individual ; — That
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him,
shouldnot perish, but have everlasting life.
So loved — I. e. sp Inconceivably.. ..so unspeakably.
That he gave his only begotten Son — i. e. of his mere, pure
goodness, constituted him to be a Mediator.. ..appointed him
to be a Redeemer and Savior, to make atonement for sin, and
purchase divine favors, and so to open a way for sinners tO' re
turn to God with safety, and for God to show mercy to them
with honor. God so loved the world, I. e. aU the raceof Adam,
that he gave his only begotten Son, Immediately upon the apos
tacy of mankind; for thenwasthis seedof the woman'proTmsed,
(Gen. ill. 15) that all, hevag,by nature, children ofxvrath,might
K K

256 true RELIGION DELINEATED, .\ND
be prevented by divine goodness. God saw all involved In
sin, and guilt, and ruin, by Adam's first sin : And so he provi
ded a-Savior for all ; that whosoever heUeves in Jiim, shouldnot
perish, but have everlasting Ufe.
Should not perish. — He viewed aU mankind as sinful and
guIltj',...lost, undone, and perishing, i. e. exposed to the wrath
of God, and curse ofthe law,...to all the miseries of this Ufe„..to
death itself^ and to tiie pains of heU forever 4 And he gave his
only begotten Son to be a Savior ;
That xvhosoever believeth inhim — ^i. e. that ventures upon
his atonement.. ..his worth and merits. ...his mediation and in
tercession, for divine acceptance.; so as to be thence embold
ened to return home to God, upon die invitation of tiie gospel.
That aU such should not perish— bat
Have everlasting life — i. e. the everlasting in-dwelling
of the holy spirit, as a saiictifier and comforter, to be a never-
faiUng spring of a new, a spiritual and divine life — everlasting
union and communion with Christ, and the everlasting favor
and erijoyment of God through him.
Thus we have, in these words, a brief view ofthe glorious
gospel of the blessed God. And from them we may learn, (1.)
That God, the great Governor of the world, considered man
kind as being in a perishing condition, i. e. sinful, guilty, justiy
condemned, helpless, and undone. (2.) That it was merely
from motives within himself, that he has done what he has for
thelrrecovery out of this state. (3.) That he has constimted
his Son a Mediator, Redeemer, and Savior, that through him
sinners might he saved. (4.) That he has appointed j&«fA in
Christ, to be the condition of salvatipn. Here, therefpre, I
wIU endea-vor to show,
I. Upon what grounds it was, that God, the great Governor
of the world, did consider mankind as being in a perishing con
dition, i. e. sinful, guilty, justiy condemned, helpless, and un
done. II. What were the motives which excited him to do what he
has done for their recovery.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 257
III. What necessity there was of a Mediator and Redeemer,
and how the way to Ufe has been opened by him whom God
has provided.
IV. What is the true nature of saving faith In him : And
so, by the whole, to explain the nature ofthe gospel, and of a
genuine compliance therewith : And- In the last place,
V. WIU consider the /»ro?n/*e of everlasting life to those who
beUeve.
SECTION I.
SHOWING THE REASONS WHY GOD DOES, IN THE GOSPEL, CON
SIDER MANKIND AS BEING IN. A PERISHING CONDITION.
I. I am to show upon xvhat grounds it was, that God, the
great Governor ofthe world, did consider mankind as being in-a
peflshlri'g con^/iitin, I. e. sinful, guilty, justly condemned, help
less and undone. That he did consider mankind as being in
a pe!risbing condition, is e-vident, because he gave his only be
gotten Son, that they might not perish who should believe in
him. If we were not in a perishing condition, his giving his
Son to save US' from perdition-, had been needless : and his pre
tending great love and kindness In doing so, had been
to affront us — to make as If we were undone creatures,
when- we were not ; and as if we were much beholden to him
for his goodness, when we could have done well enough with
out it : And the more he pretends of his great love and kindi-
ness, the greater must the affront be. So that, however we
look upon ourselves, it is certain that God, who sees all things
as being what they are, did actually look upon us as In a perish
ing, lost, undone condition : And if he considered us as being
in such a condition. It must have been because he looked upon
us as sinful, guilty, justiy condemned, and altogether helpless ;
for otherwise we were not In a perishing condition. If we
could have helped ourselves a little, we should- not have need
ed one to save us, but only to help us to save ourselves : but
our salvation, in scripture, is always attributed wholly to God ;
and God every where takes all the glory to himself, as though,
in very deed, he had deserved it ah.. ..(Eph. I. 3 — 6, and ii, 1

258 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
— 9); so that It is certalrj, God did look upon mankind, as be-
ing in a perishing condition, sinful, guilty, justly condemned,
and altpgether helpless : and, cphsidering us in such a cpndition,
he entered uppn his designs pf mercy and grace ; and therefore
he every where magnifies his love, and looks updn us as Infi
nitely beholden to him, and under infinite obligations to ascribe
to him all the glory and praise, even quite all : That no flesh
should glory in his presence — but he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord.. ..I. Cor. I. 29, 31.
It is of great importance, therefore, that we come to look up
on purselves as being in such a perishing cpnditipn tpp ; fou
otherwise itis imppssible. we should ever be. in a disppsition
thankfully to accept gpspel-grace, as it is pffei;ed untP us. We
shaU rather be pffended, as thinking the gpspel casts reprpach
upon human nature, in supppsingus tP he. in sucha forlorn con
dition as to stand in a perishing need of having so much done
for us ; — as the Jews of old scorned It, when Christ told them.
If they would become his disciples, they should know the truth,
and the truth-should make them free. They took It as an affront,
and were ready to say, " What ! Just as If we were In bon-
" dage ! Indeed, no. We were never In bondage to any man ;
" We have Abraham tp our father, and God Is our Father ; but
" thou hast a devi\"....John viii. 31 — 48. They would not
understand him.. ..they were all In a rage : And so It is like to
be with us, with regard to the methods which God has taken
with us In the gospel, unless we lopk uppn ourselves as he does
....so wretched and miserable. ...so poor, blind, and naked.. ..so
helpless, lost, and undone. It is the want of this self-acquain
tance, together with a fond notion of our being in a much bet
ter case than we are, that raises such a mighty cry against the
doctrines of grace, through a proud, impenitent, guilty world.
And since God does thus Ipok upon us to be in such a perishing
condition, and upon this supposition enters on his designs of
mercy. and grace, here now, therefore, does the question recur.
Upon what grounds is it that he considers us as being in such a
perishing condition .?.... Grounds he must have,and good grounds

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTEHFKITS. £59
loo, or he would never .tiiu^ look upon us. If we; may rightly
understand what they are, perhaps we may come to look upon
ourselves as he does ; and then the grace of the gospel wiU be
gin to appeal- to us in the same Ught It does to him.— The
grounds, then, are as follpw : s
1. God, the great Governor ofthe world, does, in tiie gos
pel, consider mankind as being guilty of Adam's first sin, and,
on that account, to be in a perishing condition. In Adam all
died, (I. Cor. xv.22) ; but death is thexuages of sin, (Rom. \i.
23) : tiierefore, in Adam all sinned ; for by one man sin entcr-
tdinto the world, and death by sin ,- and so dcalhpassed upon <:ll
men, for that aU have sinned, i. c. sinned in Adam.. ..(Rom. v.
12) ; for (ver. 19.) by one man's disobedience many xvere made
sinners : And, accordingly, % l^Af offence of one, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation : and hence all are, by nature,
children of wrath...,(li,r)h. ii. 3.)
Obj. But hoto cati xve beginlty of Adam's first sin ? It xvas
.he cotnmitted it, and not tec : andthat without our consent, and
a long time before xve ivere born,
Ans. Adam, by di\-ine appointment, stood and acted as our
pubUc head : He stood a i-epresentative In the room of all his
posterity j and, accordingly, acted not only for himself, but for
them. His sustaining tills char-acter rendered him a type of
Christ, the second Adam, who has laid down his life in the room
and stead of sinners : And his being spoken of in scripture as
a type of Christ, with respect to this character of a public head,
proves that he did actuaUy sustain such a character.. ..(Rom \-.
14) : And, tiicrefpre, as, by the obedience of Christ, many
are made righteous ; so, by the disobedience of Adam, many
are made sinners — (ver 19,) i. e. by the imputation of Christ's
obedience, bcUcvers become legally righteous — ^righteous in
the sight of God, by \'ii-tue of an established cpnstitution ; and
so have the rewaid of eternal life : So, by the Imputation of
Adam's first sin, his posterity, L;y ordinary generation, became
legally sinners — siiuui^ in the sight of God, by virtue of an es-
ublislied constitution, and so ai-e exposed to the punishment of

260 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND '
eternal deaih, the proper wages pf sin. Npw, It is true, we
did not PERSPN ALLY rise in rebelUon agamst Gpd In that first
transgression, but he who did do it was our representative. —
We are members ofthe community he acted for, and God con
siders us as such ; and, tlierefore,looksuponus as being legally
guilty, and liable to be dealt with accordingly — and so, on this
account. In a perishing condition ; But, perhaps,some wIU stiU be
ready to say, " And where Is the justice ofall this ?" Methlnks
the foUswIng considerations, if we will be disinterestedly im
partial, may set the matter In a satisfying liglit :
(1.) That the original constitution made with Adam j as to him-
sef personally considered, was holy, just, a?id good. ' .
(2.) That if all his posterity had been put under the same con-
stitution, one by one, from age to age,as they came into being, tt
act for themselves, it had also been holy, just, and good. '
(3.) That it was, in the nature ofthe thing, in all respects, as
well fir our interest, that Adam should be made our public head
and representative, to act not only for himself, but for aU his pas'-
terity, as that we should each stand and act for himself singly-;
land, in some respects, better.
(4.) That, in such a case, God, as supreme Lord and sovereign
Governor ofthe whole world, had full power and rightful author
ity to constitute Adam our common head and public representa
tive, to act in our behalf. — Let us, therefore, distinctly consider
these particulars :
(1.) It Is to be noted, the original constitution made with Ad
am, (Gen. Ii. 17.) as to himself personally considered, was holy',
just, and good, as wiU appear if we consider the circumstances
he was under, antecedent to that constitution or covenant : For,
In the first place, antecedent to that covenant-transaction, he
was under Infinite obligations, from the reason and nature of
things, to love God with aU bis heart, and obey him "in every
thing. From the infinite excellence and beauty of the divine
nature, and from God's original, entire right to him, as his crea
ture, and absolute authority over him, as his subject, did his In
finite obligation so to do necessarily arise. It was fit.,..It was

DISTINGUISHED FROJ^^ALL COUNTERFEITS. 261
infinitely fit and right that he should look upon the infinitely
gloripus Gpd, his Maker and Gpvenipr, as being what he was,
and as having such a right tP him, Mid authority over him, as he
had, and that he should be affected and act accordingly, antece
dent to the consideratipn of any covenant-transaction : And, no
doubt, this was actually the case with him before that covenant
was made ; for he was created In the image ofGod,(Gen, I. 27.)
And so his heart was full pf asense of his glory, and of ad
miring and adoring thoughts : He felt that he was not his own,
but the Lord's — and he loved him, and was entirely devoted to
him, in the temper of bis mind, conscious of the infinite obliga
tions he was under thereto. And farther, it is certain that God
was the sole Lord and owner of this lower world, and
all things In It ; and that Adam had no right to any thing but
by a divine grant : And It Is certain It was fit that Adam
should be put into a state of trial, and that God had authority
to do it.
And now, since he was naturaUy under such infinite obUga
tions to love and obey God, his Maker,. ..God, the supreme Lord
and sovereign Governor of all things — since he had no right
to any of the trees ofthe garden, but by tiie free grant of God ;
and since it was fit he should be put into a state of trial, and
God had authority to do it : since these things were so, it is ev
ident that constitution was holy — In the day thoueatest tliereqf
thou shalt surely die. God had a right to make such a law, fo.r
Adam was his, and all the trees in the garden were his, and he
was, by nature, God, supreme Lord and sovereign Gov-
ERNOJi ofthe whole world, and It was fitting he should act as
such — and it was Infinitely fit that Adam should have a sacred
regard to his authority In all things, iiff^ewe he xvas such — and
that his eternal welfare should lie at stake, and be suspended
upon his good behavior : And, no doubt, Adam viewed things
thus, and was thoroughly sensible that God had a right to pro
hibit that tree upon pain of death, and that he was under infi
nite obligratlons to have a most sacred regard to his will In that
.matter-.^ — Thus that constitution was holy.

262 TRUE religion delineated, and
And -If we consider, in the next place, that, as has been ob
served, Adam was Under Infinite obligations to love God, his'
Maker, witii all his heart, and obey him In every thing, result
ing from the very reason and nature of things, it wiU appear
that the threatening was just ; and no more than what he must
have expected, had he faUen Into any sin whatsoever, antece
dent to any constitution at aU. Adam, In a state of pure nature^
i. e. prior to any covenant-transaction, was under infinite obli
gations to perfect love and perfect obedience ; the least defect,
therefore, must have been infinitely sinful ; and so, by conse
quence, must have deserved an infinite punishment : And it
was meet that God, the Governor of the world, should punish
sin according to Its real desert : In the nature of things It was
meet, antecedent to any express declaration of his design to do
so ; and Adam knew all this : He knew what obligations he
was under to God, to love him with all his heart, and obey him
in every thing ; and, by cpnsequence, he was cpuscIpus to him
self that the least defect would be an infinite evil, and so would
deserve an infinite punishment ; and he knew that It was the
nature of God to render to every one according to his deserts :
he was certain, therefore, from the reason and nature of things,
antecedent to that threatening, that the least sin would expose
him to an infinite punishment. From this view of the case, it
is plain, that that threatening was just, and Adam did most
perfectly approve of It as such. It was no more than it was rea
sonable for Adam to expect, and meet for God to inflict, for
any transgression of the law of nature : And It was against
the law of nature for Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, when
once God had said he should not. It was practically denying
God's supremacy  casting off his authority, and actu
ally setting up his will against the Lord's. If any sin, there
fore, deserved an Infinite punishment, surely that did.
Remark. And here, by the way, from this view ofthe case,
we may gain a certain knowledge of what God meant by Thou
shalt surely die ; or, as It is In the original. In dying thou shalt
die ; and may be certain how Adam understood It. He did

distinguished from all counterfeits. 26?
not mean that Adam should be annihilated; for such a punish
ment was not equal to the crime : He might, without Injustice,
have annihilated Adam, had he remained innocent ; for he that
gives Being, of his mere good pleasure, may, of his mere good
pleasure, take it away again : nor could Adam have brought
God into debt by a thousand years' perfect obedience ; for he
owed himself, and aU he could do, to God his Maker.. ..i?OOT. xi.
35. God meant to punish Adam according to his deserts ;
but annihilation would not have been such a punishment : and
tiierefore it is certain that this was not what God meant. Adam
knew that sin was an infinite evil, and so deserved an infinite
pimishment, and that it was meet it should be punished accor
ding to Its deserts, and that It was the nature of God to do so ;
but annihilation was not such a punishment, and Adam could
not but know it : and therefore Adam could not understand
death in this sense. God meant to punish Adam according to
his deserts. And what did he deserve ? Why, an infinite pun
ishment j i. e. to have aU good taken away, and all kinds of evil
come upon him forever. Well, what good had Adam In pos
session ? Why, he had a natural life, resulting from the union
of his soul and body, with aU the delights and sweetaesses
thereof ; and he had a spiritual life, resulting from the gracious
influences ofthe holy spirit, and consisting of the Image of God,
and sense of his love, with aU the delights and sweetnesses
thereof ; and he was formed for immortality, and so was In a
capacity of eternal life and blessedness, In glorifying God, and
enjoying him : Here, therefore, he was capable of a natural, a
spiritual, and an eternal death — to have soul and body rent
asunder forever— to be forsaken by the spirit of God, and given
up to the power of sin and satan forever, and to have God Al
mighty become his everlasting enemy. AU this he deserved ;
and therefore God meant all this : All this he knew he should
deserve ; and therefore he could not but understand the threat
ening to comprehend all this. Besides, that which makes it
StiU mpre certain, that this was the meaning of that first threat
ening, is, that God has since very expressly threatened eternal
.. L L

264 TRUE aELIGION DELINEATED, AND
death as the wages of the least sin,.„i?0OT. 1. 18 — Gal. ill. 10—
^lat, xxv. 46 ; (and the word death itself is plainly used to
signify eternal death and misery....i?OOT. vi. 23 — Rovri. viii. 13) :
So that either norw he means to punish sin more than it de-
f«rves, or he intended then to punish sin less than it deserved ;
or else eternal death was what he always meant, by threatening
death as the wages of sin. Ifhe means to punish sin now more
than he did, then. It Is too much now, or not enough then; both
which are equaUy contrary to the reason and nature of tilings,
and equally inconsistent with the Impartial justice of the divine
nature, which always inclines him to render to every one accor
ding to his deserts.. ..nor more, nor less : and therefore eternal
death was intended In that £rst threatening.: But this by the
way. And, lastly, as that constitution was holy and just, so also it
was good ; because it put Adam (personally considered) under
better circumstances than he was before : For, while in a state
of pure nature, perfect obedience could not have given him any
title to eternal life j but, as was said before, God might have
annlhUated him at pleasure, after a hundred, or a thousand, or
ten thousand years, without any injustice to \i\m....(^ob xxii. 2
— Rom. xi. 35.) But now, under this constitution, he had an
fssurance of eternal life upon perfect obedience: For, inas
much as God threatened death In case he should sin, it Is evi
dently Implied that he should have lived forever in case he had
been obedient : So that there was infinite goodness manifested
to Adam (personally considered) In this constitution — eternal
Ufe being thus promised, of mere unmerited bounty. And be
sides, after a while, his state pf trial wpuldhave been at an end,
and he confirmed in an Immutable state of holiness and happi
ness ; of which confirmation the tree of life seems to have been
designed as a sacramental sign....Gen. ui. 22 — Rev. ii. 7, and
xxii. 14 : Whereas, had he remained in a state of pure nature,
he must have been everlastingly in a state of probation, had It
pleased bis Maker to have continued him In being : So that^
uponthe whole, it Is plain, this constitution, as to Adam, per-

distinguished from all COUNTERFEITS. 205
¦onaUy considered, was holy, justyanA good ; and Adam had
great reason, with all his heart, to give thanks to God his Maker,
for his goodness and condescension, that he would be so kind,
and stoop so low, as to enter intp sUch a covenant with a worm
of the dust : and, no doubt, he did so, with the sincerest grati
tude. We proceed, therefore? to consider,
(2.) That if all his posterity had been put under; this same con
stitution, one by -one, from age toage, as they ca^e into being, to
act singly for themselves, it had also, as to, them, been holy,
JUST, and GOOD : As h was better for Adam than a state of
pure nature, so it would have been,, for the same reason, better
for us. We (had we remained in a state of pure nature, i. e.
without any constitution at aU) should have been, each one of
u,s, undei?^;he same infinite obligation to perfect obedience to the
law of nature, and equally exposed to the same Infinite punish
ment for the least sin, as he was, and as rpuch .without a title to
life upon perfect obedience, and asllablfe. to, be everlastingly In
a state of probation :. And, therefore, sucha constitution would
have been as great a favor to us, as It was to him ; and we
equ^y under obUgations tp gratitude and thankfulness to God
therefor. But,
(3.) It was as well for our interest, in the nature ofthe thing,
in all respects, that Adam should be made a public, head and rep-.
resentative, to aetnot only fox himself but for all his posterity, as
if we had beenputtoact singly for ourselves,; aijd, in some respects,
ietter : For Adam was, in the nature ofthe thing. In all respects,
as likely to stand as any of us should have been, and. In some
respects, more likely ; for he had as good natural powers — as
much ofthe image of God, and as great a sense of his obliga
tions, as any of us should have had ; and had, in all respepts,
as many motives to, watchfulness ; and, in some respects, more
— .in that not only his own. everlasting welfare lay at stake, but
also the everlastingwelfare of all his posterity too.. Besides, he
had just received the law from God's own mouth, and he was in a
state of perfect manhood when his trikl began : So that, upon
the whole, in the nature of the thing, it was more likely he

266 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
should Stand than that any of us should ; and, therefore, it was
more for our interest that he should act for us, than we for
ourselves : But if we had been put to act singly for ourselves,
under such a constitution, it had been much better than to be
left in a state of pure nature, and so we should have had great
cause of thankfulness to God fof his condescension and good
ness ; but to have Adam appointed to act for us, was, in the
nature of the thing, stiU more to our advantage ; on the account
of which, we have, therefore, still greater cause of thankfulness
to the good Governor ofthe world. It Is infinite wickedness,
therefore, to fly in the face of Almighty God, and charge him
with unrighteousness, for appointipg Adam our beat! and rep
resentative. We ought rather to say, " The constitution was
"holy, just, and good — ^yea, very good ; but tons belongs
" shame and confusion efface, for that we have sinned."
Obj. But God knew how it would turn out— he knew Adam
would fall, and undo himself and all his race.
Ans. When Gpd called Abraham, and chose him and his
seed for his peculiar people, to give them distinguishing advan
tages and privileges, and that professedly under the notion, of
great kindness and unspeakable goodness ; yet, at the same
time, he knew how they would turn out — ^how they would be
a stiff-necked people, and would kill his Prophets, his Son and
Apostles, and so be cast off from being his people. He knew
all this beforehand ; yet that altered not the nature ofthe thing
at all — did not diminish his goodness, nor lessen his grace.
And the Jewish nation, at this day, have reason to say, " The
" Lord's ways have been ways of goodness, and blessed be his
" name ; but to us belong shame and confusion of face, for
" that we have sinned."
Obj. Tes, but God decreed that Adam should fall.
Ans. He did not decree that Adam should faU, any more
than he did that the seed of Abraham should turn out such a
stiff-necked, rebeUious race. He decreed to permit both to do
as they did ; but this neither lessens bis goodness, nor their
sin : for God is not obliged to put his creatures under such cir-

distinguished from all counterfeits. 267
eumstances as that they shaU never be tempted nor tried ; and
when they are tried, he is not obUgedtP keep them from fall
ing ; It is enough that they have sufficient power to stand. If
they wiU ;— which was the case with Adam. Besides, God
had wise ends in permitting Adam to fall ; for he designed to
take occasion therefrom, to display all his glorious perfections
in the most Illustrious manner : So that- we may say of it (and
should, if we loved God above ourselves) as Joseph does of his
brethren's selling him — Te meant it for evil, but the Lord meant
it for good : So here, satan meant It for evil, but God meant it
for good ; even to bring much glory to his great name : there
fore be still, and adore his holy sovereignty — and, at the same
time, acknowledge that the constitution, in its own nature, was
holy, just, and good — ^yea, very good. These things being
considered, I proceed to add,
(4.) That, in such a case, God, as supreme Lord and sovereign
Governor ofthe whole world,liad full power and rightful author
ity to constitute Adam, our common head and public representa
tive, to act in our behalf ; for, as the case stood, there could be
no reasonable objection against it. Adam was not held up to
hard terms : The threatening, in case of disobedience, was
strictiy just : The constitution. In Its own nature, was vastly
for.the interest of Adam and ofall his race. Adam was alrea
dy constituted the naturalheadof ah mankind ; for God blessed
him, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth....
Gen. i. 28. AU his race, had they then existed, would, if they
had been wise for themselves, readUy have consented to such a
constitution, as being well adapted to the general good : (So
men are wont to do when their estates lie at stake, or their lives ;
if they think that an attorney is likely to manage the case for
them better than they can for themselves, they wiU choose him,
and venture the case with him, rather than with themselves) :
So that the only question Is, whether God had, in so unexcep
tionable a case, full power and rightful authority to constitute
Adam a public head, to stand as a moral representative for all
his race, and act In their behalf, so thatthey should stand or fall

268 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
with him ; Or, in pther words, (for it all comes to the same
thing), whether, in any case whatsoever, God has. full power
and rightfiil authority to apppint,one to stand and act in the room
_of another, so as. to lay a foundation for the conduct ofthe one
to be so imputed to the other, as that both shall stand' and faU
together : And so it is as much of a question, whether God had
power and authority to constitute the second Adam a public
head as ih.e first. If God had not fuU power and rightful au
thority to appoint the first Adam to be our pubUc head and
moral representative, to, stand and act in our behalf, so as to lay
a foundation for his conduct to be so imputed to us, as that we
should stand and faU with him, then he had not fuU power and
rightful authority to appoint the second Adam to be a public
head, and moral representative, to stand and act In the room of
a guilty world, so as to lay a foundation for his righteousness to
be so imputed to them that believe in him, as that they should
be justified and saved through It : For, if God has not power to
constitute one to stand and act in the room of another, in any
case whatsoever — and if, on this footing, we say he hadnotpow«
er to appoint the first Adam, It is plain that, on. the same foot-
ing, he had no power to appoint the second.. I suppose- it will
be readily granted, that If God has power, In any case whatso
ever, to constitute one to stand and act In the room of another,
in the manner aforesaid, then he had in these two Instances of
Adam and Christ, which are doubtless, on all accounts. In them
selves, most unexceptionable : But If God, In no case whatso
ever, has power to appoint one thus to stand and act in the room
of another, then both these constitutions are effectually under
mined, and rendered null and void. We can neither be guilty of
Adam's first sin, so as justly to be exposed to condemnation and
ruin therefor ; nor can the righteousness of Christ be so imputed
to us, as to entitie us to justification and life. One man's disobe- ^
dience cannot constitute many to be sinners, nor the obedience
of one comtitute many to be righteous. We can neither be ru
ined by the first Adam, nor redeemed by the second. Under
the Jewisji dispensation, it was ordained (Lev.xvi.') that Aaron

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 289
should lay both his hands upon the head of the live-goat, and con
fess over him all the iniquities ofthe children of Israel, and all
their transgressions in all their sins, putting them uponthe head
ofthe goat, and send him. away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness : And (says Gpd) the goat shall bear upon him alt
their iniquities, unto a land not inhabited. We used tP think
this scape-goat was designed by Gpd to typify Christ : And the
-scripture has taught us, in express language, that the iniquities
of us all were laid on him...,'ihat he bore our sins. ...that he was
made a curse for u,f..„that by his obedience many are made right-
roM*....Isai. liil. 6— Pet. ii. 24 — GaL iii. 13 — Rom. v. 19. —
But if God has not authority to constitute one to stand and act
in the room of another, this must aU be void and of none effect:
And thus, while men are disputing against the original consti
tution with Adam, they, unawares, undermine this second con-
stitution, which is the foundation of aU our hopes. Eager to
avoid Adam's first sin, whereby comes condemnation, they ren
der of npne effect Christ's righteousness, whereby comes jus
tification : And if Christ did not stand and act as a public
person.. «If our sins were not laid upon him....lfhedld not bare
them on the tree.... If he was not made a curse for us, and if we
are not to be pardoned through his atonement, and justified
through his righteousness, then the gospel Is all a fable, and the
whole scheme of our salvation, therein revealed, is wholly over
thrown : What remains, therefore, but deism and infidelity ?
But In as much as we have full evidence to the truth of the
Christian revelation, and may be assured that it is from God,
we may, therefore, be confirmed in it that Jesus Christ has
been, by God, the great Governor of the world, appointed a pub
lic person, to stand and act....to pbey and suffer In our room,
that, through his obedience and sufferings, we might have par
don and eternal life : And, from this fact, we may be assured,
that God has fidl power and rightful authority to constitute one
to stand and act in the room of another : and, if he has such
authority, nothing hinders but that he might constitute Adam
to be our public head, as has been said.

270 TRUE religion DELINEATED, AND
Besides, if we consider the nature of the thing Itself, it is plain
that God had power to constitute Adam our public head ; for
God, as moral Governor of the world, and sovereign Lord of
all things, has power to make any constitution whatsoever,
which does, in its own nature, agree to the eternal fitness of
things, or, in other words, which Is agreeable to his own perfec
tions : But all will grant, that constitution is agreeable to his own
perfections, which, In its own nature. Is suited to the gloryofGod
and good of the creatures. Now this constitution with Adam
was. In its own nature, suited to the general good of mankind,
because the welfare of mankind was, in the nature of the tubing;
safer and better secured upon such a footing, than if every single
child of Adam had been left In a state of pure nature, without any
constitution at all, or than if they had every one been put to act
singly for himself — as has been before proved : And It was weU
suited to the glory of God,because In that constitution,considered
in its own nature, God eminently appeared to be whathe was:
Por In it he appeared as the most high Gpd — ^the supreme
Lprd, and spvereign Gpvernpr pf the whole world — for In
it he acted assovereign Lord of his creatures.. .as being, by nature,
God, and as having an absolute right to and authority over the
works of bis hands. And when God acts so, as by his conduct
to show what he is, then are his doings suited to his own glory ;
for nothing is more to his glory, than to appear to be what he
is : And jn as much as the constitution Itself was weU suited
to the general good of mankind, God did, in making of it, act
a kind and tender part towards the human race, to the honor
and glory of his goodness. And while eternal life was prom
ised to perfect obedience, and eternal death threatened to diso
bedience, God's Infinite love to virtue, and Infinite hatred of
vice, were manifested, to the glory of his holiness and justice.
Since, then, that constitution was thus, in its own nature, suited
to our good and God's glory, there is no doubt but the sove
reign L-ord and Governor of all things had full power and right
ful authority so to appoint : for. In so doing, he would act agree
ably to his own perfections, and the eternal fitness of things.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 271
But to conclude- — ^We may be abundantly satisfied, not
oflly from the nature ofthe thing, but also frPm what God has
infact done, that that constitution was holy, just, and godd, and
that he had fiill power, and rightful authority to do as he did,
because otherwise he would never have done so— he would
never have made such a constitution. It is plain and evident,
from _/acifs, that Adam was considered and dealt with under
the capacltyof apubUc head, and that death natural, spiritual,
arid eternal, were included in the threatening ; for all his pos
terity are evideritiy dealt with just as if that had been the case.
They are born spirituaUy dead, as has been proved In the for
mer discourse. They are evidently liable to natural death, as
sopu as they are born : And If they die and go Into eternity with
their native temper, they must necessarily be miserable in be
ing what they are, unlike to God, and incapable of the enjoy
ment of him, and contrary to bim : And God must necessarily
look upon them with everlasting abhorrence ; for he cannot but
abhor creatm-es whose tempers are contrary to him ; so that
here Is eternal death; and all In consequence of Adam's first sin.
Now then, if Indeed we are, infact, dealt With just as we
should have been, had Adam been our public head, there can
surely need no farther evidence to prove that this was the case ;
for the Judge of aU the earth cannot but do right : and, there
fore, he would not deal with us as being g-ullty of Adam's first
sin, were not Adam our rfepiresentative : But had Adam been
our representative, and his first sin Imputed to us, yet thoi we
should have been dealt with no otherwise than now we are ;
i, e. on supposition of the inteirposltlon of a Mediator, as is now
the case : for that we are now born into the world subject to
natural death, none can deny, and this by virtue of Adam's first
sin j and If We are really spiritually dead too, and so exposed to
eternal death. It is just what might have been expected, had Ad
am stood for us— and so there is no more to be said : 'And If
God be such a Being, as I suppose he ie, and the law such,' and
the nature of true.holiriess such, then, as has been shown iri the
first discourse, there' is no doubt we are, natively, spiritually
M M

272 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
dead : So that the force of this argument depends upon the truth
of those first principles^ which, I think, have been sufficiently
proved. Right apprehensions of the mora/ kiw will, at once,
convince us of our inherent natural corruption, and make us fed
that we are fallen creatures.
Remark. Perhaps this is the consideration which most
commonly first leads poor sinners to see that they do actually
lie under the guUt of Adam's first sin ; and that their ruin
thence took its rise, viz. their finding, Ify- experience, when the
spirit of God brings home the law and awakens conscience, that
they are, by nature, dead in trespasses and sins ; for now no
conclusion can be more natural than that they are, by nature, chil
dren of wrath : And this will naturally lead them to enquire.
Whence this has come to pass ? and they will presently find the
scripture express and plain in it, ihaX.,by one man's disobediences-
many -were made sinners ; and,- by the offert-ce of one, judgment
came upon all to condemnation : and their own experience will
give them the most natural comment upon the words,,whUe they
feel themselves to be, by nature, dead in sin, arnl exposed to
eternal ruin : Butnow, " How could I justly have all this come
" upon me for Adam's first sin ?" will naturally be the next
thought : And an awakened conscience will, perhaps first pfaU,
reply, " How It is just and right I cannot tell, but I am certain
" so It is, that I am, by nature, dead in sin, and, by nature, a
" child of wrath ;— this I see and feel : And the scripture says,
" that, by one marHs disobedience, many were made sinners ; and
" that, yor the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to con.
" demnation : And God's ways must be righteous, for -the Judgfe
" of all the earth always does right : And If I do finally perish,
" I have nothing to say ; for I have gone In Adam's steps.,..!
" have been voluntary in my rebellion against God all my life,
" and am at heart an enemy tcJliim still, and that voluntarily so."
And this may, in a measure, silence such a poor sinner for the
present : But if ever he comes to be reconciled to the divine
nature, and then impartially to look into the original constitu
tion, he may then see that it was, in its own nature, hply, just,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 273
and good, and worthy of God, the great Governor ofthe world ;
and, as such, sweetly acquiesce in it, saying, " God's ways were
" holy, just, and good, and blessed be his name ; but to us (to
"aU the human race) belong shame and confiision of face, for
•* that we have sinned." But until men are awakened, at least
to some sense of their natural corruption, they are commonly
very blind and deaf to aU the scripture saj's about this matter.
It is hard to make men believe contrary to their own experi
ence — to make them beUeve that they fed in Adam, when they
do not feel that they are, by nature,fallen creamres. Let the
scripture speak e\ er so plain, yet they cannot believe that It
means as ii says : It must mean, they think, something else.
The best method, therefore, to convince sinners ofthe doctrine
of original (imputed) sin, and to sUence all their cavils. Is to
open the true meaning ofthe moral law, and show them their
native depravity : This is the method which God takes in the
Bible. He says but little about Adam's first sm, but says much
to show us what we reaUy are, as knowing that,, if we are but
once convinced of our native corruption, a few words are suffi
cient to show us whence our ruin originally took its rise.
Thus God, the g^reat Governor of the world, in the gospel-
dispensation, considered mankind as being in a perishing con-
dition....sinfiil, guilty, justiy condemned, helpless, and undone ;
and one ground and reason of his looking upon mankind to be
in such a condition, was our original apostacy from him In our
first parents ; And since that constitution, whereby Adam was
made our common head and public representative, was holy,
just, and good, in its own nature ; and since God, the supreme
Lord of aU thii^, had fuU power and rightful authority so to
ord^ and appoint — hence, therefore, he has sufficient reason
to look upon niankind,on account of this first apostacy,as he does.
Therefore, at the same time he provided a Savior for Adam,
at the same time did he also provide a Savior for his posterity
too ; they being considered as one -with him, and Involved in
the same sin, and guilt, and i-uln ; and so standing in equal need
of reUef : Hence Christ Is caUed the lamb slain from thefoun-

274 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
dation ofthe world. Then was It said, that the seed of the wa-
¦ man shaU bruise the serpent's head : To which original grant
our Savior seems to have respect, when he says, God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten: Son, &c. Whereas,
had Adam acted in the capacity of a private person, and sinned
and fallen for himself alone, and his posterity not been involved
in the same ruin, he might have had a Savior provided for
him: But his posterity would no more have needed one than
the angels in heaven, or than Adam before his fall.
Obj. But those words. In the day thou eatest thereof, thou
shalt surely die, (Gen. ii. 17) were evidently spoken only toAdr
am; nor is there a word said about his posterity having any inte
rest or concern in the affair,
Ans. So also were those words, in Gen. Iii. 19....Z)ws* thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return, spoken only to Adam, with
out the 'least intimation that his posterity were any of them in
cluded in the sentence ; And yet,by virtue of that sentence, all
his posterity are subject to death... .i?onj. v. 12, 13, 14 : Do
you account for this, and you will, at the same time, account
for that J for the truth is, that, in both cases, Adam was con
sidered not merely as a single private person, but as a public
head and representative, standing In the room of aU his poster
ity : and, considered in this oapaclty, was he threatened with
death. In case he sinned— -and, considered In this capacity, was
natural death denounced upon him after his fall : So that, in
both, his posterity were equally included ; and therefore St.
Paul caUs Adam a type of Christ. ...Rom. v. 14— and calls Christ
. the second Adam..,.l. Cor. xv. 45 ; because both these, by the
authority of the great Governor ofthe world, were constituted
pubUc persons, to act In the behalf of mankind : And all man
kind were so Included In them, that St. Paul speaks as if there
had been but only these two men, Adam and Christ : I. Cor.
XV. 4:7. ...The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second ¦malt
is the Lordfrom heaven.
2. God, the supreme Ruler of the world, does, in the gospel,
consider mankind as being in a perishing condition, not only

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 275
pn the account pf their original appstacy in Adam, their com-
mpn head and representative, but also becquse they are, what
they are, in themselves — (1.) Destitute pf the divine Image—
(2.) Cpntrary tP Gpd In the temper pf their hearts — (3.) Ut
terly averse to a reconciliatipn — (4.) In a disposition. If unre
strained, to live in all open rebeUion against the Majesty of
heaven, before his face — (5.) And yet insensible of their just
desert, and of their need of sovereign grace ; and ready rather
to think it a cruel thing, if God should damn them.
(1.) God saw mankind destitute of his moral image ; for being
conscious ofthe holy temper of his own heart.. ..of the holy pro
pensity of hl§ own nature — and being conscious to the temper
oftheir hearts. ..to the propensity oftheir nature, at first view
he saw what they were. God looked down from heaven upon the
children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, ,
that did seek God: Every one of them is gone back ; they are al
together become filthy ; there is none that doth good...no, not one
....Psalm liil. 2, 3 ; He saw mankind destitute of a conformity
to his holy law. The law requires mankind to love God su
premely, live to him ultimately, and delight In him superlative
ly — and to love one another as their own souls ; but he look
ed down from heaven.... he beheld, and, lo, all the human race
were entirely devoid of that temper : None were in a disposi-
tiori to account him infinitely glorious In being what he was :
not one had the least relish or taste for the beauty of his moral
perfections : every heart empty of holy love and holy delight,
and devoid of any true spirit or principle of obedience ; and all
mankind had lost that frame of spirit towards one another which
they ought to have : The whole world lay In ruin. He knew
his law was hply, just, and gopd, and that his creature, man, was
under infinite obligations to a perfect conformity thereto : .He
saw what grounds there were for the law, and what reasons for
their obedience : He saw his own infinite excellency, and his
original, underived, entire right to them ; and was conscious to
his rightful authority over them : He judged them Infinitely to
blame for their npn-cpnfprmity, and worthy of an infinite pun-

276 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ishment : Speaking after the manner of men, he did, in the in
ward temper pf his heart, perfectly apprpve pf thpse wprds m
Gal. iu. 10, as being strictly just — Cursed is every one that con*
tinueth not in all things written in the book ofthe law to dif them :
Therefore he looked on mankind In a perishing condition. But,
(2.) He viewed mankind not only destitute of good, but full of
evil; — not only void ofthe true love to God and to one anoth
er, but enemies to God, and living In malice and envy among
themselves; He looked down from heaven and viewed a guil"-
ty world, and saw their contrariety to hisnature and to his law :
Conscious of his own divine temper, he saw every contrary
temper In them : What he esteems, they despise ; — what he de»
lights in, they loathe : The end which, he prosecutes, they op
pose ; and they esteem and delight in that which is contrary to
him, and prosecute ends and designs contrary l!0 his- : He saw
-their views, their tempers, their wills, their ends, designs, and
ways were all contrary to him, and diametrically opposite to his
law: He considered them as his enemies, and their tempers as
perfect enmity and contrariety to the divine nature. .«i?ow»
viii. 7.
(3.) And in as much as he thus saw them entirely destitute
of love to him, and diametrically contrary to the divine nature
in the temper of their hearts, he knew they xvould have no incli
nation to a reconciliation to God; but would be natarally averse
to it : He knew their aversion to a reconciliation would be as
strong as their contrariety to the divine nature, from which it
tppk its rise : He saw that If he should attempt to reclaim them,
he should only meet with resistance ; — that if he should spread
the news of pardon and peace through a guilty world, and in
vite them to return and be reconciled, that they would make
light of it and despise it ; — that if he should send messengers
after them, to persuade them to return, and beseech them to be
reconcUed, that they would put many of them to death : He
saw just whit treatment the prophets, and Christ, and his apos
ties were like to meet with : He knew not one In all the world
would repent and convert, unless brought thereto by his own al-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 277
mighty arm, and aU-cpnquerIng grace.. ..ilia^ xxi. 33 — 39 —
Rom. vlil. 7—1. Cor. iii. 6, 7.
(4.) Tea, sofarfromadispo.iition to repent and convert, that,
if left wholly to themselves, unrestrained, no wickedness would be
too bad for them : All wpuld act as bad as Cain, Manasseth, or
Judas ; and the whole human race be like so many Incarnate
devils — ^they having the seed ofall sin in their hearts..^.Mark
vii. 21, 22.
(5.) And yet insensible oftheir sin and guilt, andjust deserty
and that they lie merely at the sovereign mercy of God, and that
he is at liberty to show mercy, or not,as seems good in his sight:
yea, so averse to the knowledge of this their true state, as to
be disposed to hate the light, and shut their eyes against it, rea
dy to resist all methods of cofivlctlon ; — yea, that some would
be even so perverse, as actually to rise in arms against his mes
sengers, who endeavored to shew them their ruin and the way
-of their recovery, and put them to death, as not fit to Uve ; and
yet so stupid as to think, that. In all, they did God good ser
vice : And that, in general, a great out-cry would be raised
round a proud and guilty world, against the Lord, for suppo
sing mankind to be In so bad, so very forlorn a state. God
knew tiie pride -of man, that he Is exceedingly proud j and saw
how -great offence would be given to a guilty world, who would
by no means endure to be so affronted,... yo/jn iii. 19, 20, and
viii. 33, 47.
Now, such were the grounds upon which God looked upon
the human race In a perishing condition.. ..sinful, guilty, justly
condemned, helpless, and undone : And considering that the
original constitution with Adam, according to which he and aU
his posterity wei-e doomed to destruction, in case he fell, was
holy,just, and good ; and considering tiiat the law of nature,
which all mankind are naturaUy under, and according to which
the least sin exposes to eternal damnation. Is also hofy, just, and
¦good; and considering our apostacy In Adam, and what we
are In ourselves ; — I say, considering all thesethings, it Is most
wcrtainand evident that tiie judgment of God was according to

278 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
truth, whUe he esteemed mankind to be thus in a perishing
condition. That mankind are actuaUy of such a nature, has been demon
strated iri the yorwer ^MCOMrse .• That God, whose understapd-
ing is infinite, and who sees all things as being what they really
are, must therefore now see mankind to be such, is self-evi
dent : and such as he now sees them to be, such he, from the
beginning, knew they would be : It Is evident, therefore, dpri^
ori, that God must have considered mankind to be such, when
he first entered upon his designs of grace revealed in the gos
pel : Arid if we consider the nature of the gospel, and what
methods God has taken with a sinful, guilty world, to reclaim
and recover them, and how they have behaved under aU, It will
be still more evident that mankind are verily in such a case,—
The law,,., the gospel, and experience, all join to confirm it.
Had not the gospel considered us as being entirely devoid of
the divine image, destitute of any spiritual good thing. Mind,
dead, graceless, why should It so much urge the necessity of
our being born again... .made new Creatures.. ..having our eyei
opened.,. hemg raised from the dead... heirig created anew to good
works...and having the law written in our hearts, the heart of
stone taken away, and an heart of flesh given .?-— Had not the
gospel considered us as being enemies to God, why should it in
vite us to be reconciled? — Had not the gospel considered us as
being very averse to a reconciliation, why should it pray and
beseech us, with sp much earnestness and solemnity, to be re
concUed,,. .and use so many arguments ? — Had not the gospel
considered our reconciliation as unattainable by the most pow
erful arguments, of themselves, why should it declare that, after
aU, neither Paul, nor ApoUos, nor Cephas are any thing, or can
do any thing, unless God himself give the increase ? — And were
we not enemies to God, and rebels, and inveterate haters ofthe
light, and disposed to rise In arms against it, why should Christ
tell his ministers, I send you forth as sheep among ivolves ; if
they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, no wondet
thty call you so ; you shallbe hated ofaUmenfor my name's sake;

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 279
they thatkiU you wiU think they do God good service ? . That
generation thought as well of themselves as the present genera
tion now on earth does, and were ready to speak the same lan-
guage^ and say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we
would not -have killed the prophets ; but Christ knew their
hearts : And, had not mankind, on these accounts, been con
sidered as in a perishing condition, sinful, guilty, justly con
demned, helpless and undone, why was there provided such a
Redeemer, and such a Sanctifier ? And why was the salvation
bf sinners every where represented as being so entirely owing
to the grace, the mere grace, the fi-ee, astonishing, wonderful
grace of God, from first to last ? Surely, from all this, most
certain and evident It Is, that God does, in the gospel, iipon
tiiese grounds, consider mankind as being in a perishing con
dition : And upon these grounds we must, therefore, come to
consider ourselves so too, or we can never be In a disposition
humlf5ly and thankfully to accept the grace offered, and return
home to God in the way provided. We shall rather be affront
ed, that the gospef supples us to be In so bad a condition ; or
else never so much as take matters into serious corxslderation,
but do as those Invited to the marriage of the king's son, in
Mat. x%\i. S....They made light of it, and went their ways, one
to his farm, another to his merchandize. I do but just hint at
thesfe things now, because they have been so largely insisted
upon heretofore. And thus we see upon what grounds it is,
-that the great Governor ofthe world does. In the gospel, con
sider mankind as being in a perishing condidon.
SECriON- IL
SHOWING WHENCE GOd's DESIGN OF MERCY TOAVARDS A PER
ISHING WORLD ORIGINALLY TOOK ITS RISE.
I proceed now,
II. To show what were the motives which have excited God
to do what he has done, for the recovery of sinners out of this
their perishing condition. And
1. H was not becaiise the original constitution with Adam, our
public head and representative, was top severe : It was not be-
N N .

280 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
eause it would haveheen hard and cruel, or in the least inconsist
ent with his infinite goodness and tender mercies, to have left all
mankind in that state of total ruin they were brought into by the
fall : For had not that constitution been, in its own n^ure, ho
ly, just, and good, and so most perfectly agreeable ta his own
nature....to his hoUness, justice, and goodness, he would never
have made it ; for he necessarily Infinitely abhors, in his pub
lic conduct, to act counter to the inward temper of his heart.
For the very reason that he loves himself for being what he is,for
the same reason he loves to act like himself, and Infinitely abhors
the contrary : And Ifthat constitution was holy, just, and good. In
its own nature, originally, it must remain so still ; for Adam's
apostacy, together with all the dreadful consequences thereof,
could not alter its nature. The constitution is perfectiy as ex
cellent as If Adam had never fallen.. ..perfectly as good as If It
had been the means of laying a foundation for the everlasting
blessedness of all the human race ; for it is what it was. It was
exceUently weU calculated for the glory of God, and the welfare
of mankind, in its own nature ; and therefore God madeit...
approved of it... .was weU pleased with it, nor can he ever alter
his mind about It.: for it is, in Itself, just the same It was at first
— and If it was holy, just, and good, in Its own nature, and if It
remains so still.. ..If the hoUness, justice, and.goodness of his
nature proinpted him at first to make It, and then to approve of
it, andbe perfectly well pleased with It, It could not (It Is self-
evident) possibly have been. In the least, disagreeable to his
holiness, justice, or goodness, to have dealt with all mankind,
since the fall, according to it : So that, to a demonstration,
God's thoughts of mercy towards a guilty, undone world, did
not. In any measure, take its rise from any notion thatmankind
had been hardly dealt with, or that It would be any thing like
cruelty and unmerclfulness to damn the whole world for Ad
am's first sin, according to the tenor of the original constitution.
Indeed, to suppose such a thing, highly reflects upon that con..
stitution — and upon God, for ever making It ,: It supposes the
constitution was never really holy, just, and gopd in Its pwr

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 281
nature, and that God did wrong In making it : And the
riches and glory of gospel-grace are whoUy obscured ; for God
cannot be considered as a sovereign benefactor, showing unde
served mercy to a guilty, bell-deserving world ; but rather as
repenting fiar the^Injury he has done to mankind, and as endeav
oring to make amends for it by a better, a juster and kinder
conduct for the time to come : And if this were the case, all
his pretences, his high pretences to great love and goodness,...
to great kindness and grace, are hypocritical, and a mere mock
ing of us. He had abused and Injured us, and Is now but re
penting, and making restitution ; and ought, therefore, to have
said so, and not pretended he did all from mere grace, which
is to affront us, and make as ifthat constitution was hoi)', just,
and good, and we righteously condemned, and justly miserable
forever : So that, let us view the case In what Ught we will. It Is
most evident and certain that the great Governor ofthe world
considered mankind as being righteously condemned, and lia
ble to everlasting destruction, consistentwith the Infinite good
ness of his nature ; nor did a thought of pity ever enter Into
his heart from the contrary supposition : Yea, It seems to have
been bis very design to maintain the honor of that constitution,
while he shows mercy to a guilty world, inasmuch as be has
appointed another pubUc person, his own dear Son, to make
atonement for our original apostacy, as well as our other sins,
that hereby a way for his mercy might be opened. ...i?o?n. v.
18, 19.
2. Nor did God's designs of mercy towards a guilty, undone
world take their rise from a supposition that the law of nature,
which all mankind are naturally under, is too- severe, in requi
ring perfect obedience, and threatening eternal damnation for the
very least defect, (Rom. i. 18 — Gal., ill. 10), or from any sup
position that it xvould have been any thing like cruelty or unmer
clfulness, to have dealt with all mankind according to that rule.
To explain myself, I mayjust observe, that the original con
stitution with Adam, as public head, (Gen. II. 17) was apositive
appointment. After he was turned out of the garden, he ceA-

282 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
sed to sustain the character or capacity of apubUc person,; nor
are his posterity accountable for any but his first transgression.
-But the law pf nature results from the nature of things.. ..from
God's being what he is in himself, and from our being what
we are, and he our Creator and we his creatures : And it was
binding, in order of nature, antecedent to any positive consti
tution whatsoever ; nor Is its binding nature capable of any
dissolution. We might have obtained life, according to the
constitution made with Adam, had he kept covenant with God ;
and been confirmed in a state of holiness and happiness : so
now we may obtain life by Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled the
law of nature, and made atonement for a}l sin ; But the law of
nature still remains an unalterable ride of righteousness be
tween God and his creature, man. We owe perfect obedience
to God, and the least sin deserves eternal damnatipn : And
God might always have dealt with mankind simply according
to this rule. The original constitution with Adam had some
degree of grace in It, The constitution In the gospel Is alto
gether GRACE. God might have held all mankind bound by
the law of nature ' simply, nor ever have appointed any other
way to happiness, than a perfect and persevering obedience ;
and mankind have been, to all eternity, in a peccable state, lia
ble to sin and fall into ruin. Whatsoever advantages mankind
have had over and above this, are, and have been, of mere grace.
According to the law of nature, we are under Infinite obligations
to perfect holiness In the temper of our hearts, and to perfect
obedience In the whole course of our lives, andthat not only
for a day, or a year, or a thousand years, but so long as we con
tinue In being. And so long as we are thus obedient, wc shall
be happy ; but the least defect, at any time whatsoever, wiU let.
in everlasting. Inevitable ruin upon us. ^Adam, in innocence,
was under the law of nature, as well as under that particular
positive constitution In Gen. 11.17: So that any other sin, as
well as eating the forbidden fruit, must have exposed him to
ruin. But then, by that constltutior^, he had this peculiar ad
vantage, that, if he persevered, his time of trial should shortly

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 283
be at an end, and himself and all his race confirmed in a state
pf hoUness and happiness— an -advantage never to be obtained
by. any one merely under the law of nature : For, in the nature
of things. It Is impossible God should ever be laid under any
obligations to his creatures, unless by virtue of his own free
promise, which does not belong to the law of nature, but is an
act of grace, which he may grant or withhold, as seems good in
his sight. When Adam broke covenant with God, and when
that positive constitution was at an end, yet still Adam remained,
under the law of nature, bound to perfect obedience, to 1 jve
God with all bis heart, and his neighbor as himself; yea, under
infinite obligations — and every defect was Infinitely sinful, and
60 was worthy of infinite punishment. And as was the case
with him, so Is the case with all his posterity : Our obligations
are Infinite, and so our non-performance Infinitely faulty, and
worthy of an Infinite punishment : Though, Indeed, as the case
now stands, nor Adam, nor any of his race can ever obtain life
by die law of nature ; because we are sinners, and so, by the
law of nature, are condemned without hope. Rom. Hi. 20...,
By the deeds ofthe law no flesh can be justified ; for by the law
is the knowledge of sin : And chap. Iv. ver. 15. ..The law work
eth wrath. And thus, as the case now stands, we are under
infinite obligations to perfect obedience, and are liable to an in
finite punishment for the least defect : and yet, through the bad
temper of our hearts, we are unable to yield any obedience, and
ai'e in a disposition to , be continuaUy treasuring up wrath
against the day of wrath.
Now, I say, the supreme King of heaven and earth Was not
moved to entertain designs of mercy towards a sinful, guilty,
undone world, from a supposition that the law of nature was too
severe, or that It would have been any thing like unmerclful
ness to have dealt with all mankind according to that rule : For,
All that this law requires, Is, that since God is Infinitely amia
ble In himself, and has such an entire right to us, and absolute
authority over us as his creatures, we therefore ought to love
him with aU our hearts, and be entirely devoted to him, to d»

234 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
his wiU and keep his commands, seeking his glory ; and that,
since our neighbors are such as we. ..of the same species, and
under the same general circumstances, we therefore ought to
love our neighbor as ourselves ; — ^both which things are, in their
own nature, right, and fit, and reasonable : so that the law is ho
ly : And all that this law threatens, in case of any transgres
sion, is, that since our obligations are infinite, and so the least
defect Infinitely wrong, therefore every such defect should be,
punished with the everlasting pains of hell.. ..and that in exact ,
proportion to the several aggravations attending each trangres-
sion ; — which is also, in its own nature, right, and fit, and rea
sonable : so that tiie law Is just : And that perfect holiness
which this law requires, i. e, to love God with all our hearts, and
our neighbors as ourselves. Is the highest perfection our nature
is cap-able of, and altogether suited to make us happy : so that
the law is good. But,
It Is not severe, nor any thing like unmer-cifulness, to deal
with mankind according to a rule, which Isj In its own nature,
holy, just, and good ; but rather, it must have been agreeable to
the holiness, justice, and goodness ofthe great Governor ofthe
world so to do : And indeed, were not this the case, it would
have been fit this law should have been repealed. Mankind
did not need to be redeemed from the curse of an unrighteous
law ; for sucha law ought to belaid aside, and its curses never
executed. God would have been bound in justice to have abol
ished an unrighteous law. There is no need of Christ or gos
pel-grace in the case: andso aU the high commendations ofthe
grace of God in providing a Savior, as being rich, free, and won
derful, are groundless, and cast much reproach upon mankind, as
being a guiltyrace, righteously condemned, when. In truth. It Is no
such thing. God ought to have owned that the law was wrong,
and to have repealed It — and not to have proceeded as If it was
very good, and mankind altogether to blame, and worthy of
eternal damnation : And mightily would this have pleased an
apostate, proud, and guilty world ; and, at the same time, cast:
infinite reproach upon God and his holy law, and shut out all
the grace of the gospel.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 285
God has therefore. In the gospel, not only supposed the law
tP be hply, just, and gPod, and mankind righteously condem
ned ; but has taken all possible care to make it evident that he
dpes so, and thereby to seciue the honor of his law, discounte
nance sin, humble the sinner, and exalt and magnify his grace.
Even the whole scheme of the gospelis wisely calculated tp attain
these ends, as we shaU seehereafter. So far was God from being
moved to pity mankInd,^,from a supposition that they had, in
this respect, been too severely dealt with, and so objects of pity
in that sense, that, on the contrary, he most perfectly approved
of the,^ law, as holy, just, and gopd — and was altogether in It,
that mankind deserved to be proceeded with according to It i
Yea, so highly did he approve of bis holy law, and so odious and
ill-deserving did mankind appear in his eyes for breaking It,
that their sin cried aloud for vengeance In his ears ; — yea,'. cried
;so loud for vengeance, that he judged It necessarj' that his own
Son should appear in their stead and die in their room, to the
end-that he might be just....mlght act consistently with the ho
Uness and justice of his nature, while heshowedmercy totbem...
Pom. ill. 9 — 26: Insuch a light he viewed things — insuchallght
must we therefore view them too, or we can never truly unde'r-
-Stand our need of Christ and gospel-grace, or cordially acqui
esce in the gospel-way of salvation ; but rather shall be dispo
sed to quarrel with the strictness ofthe law, and think ourselves
abused, and imagine that God deals hardly with us.
3. Nor was the supreme Being moved to entertain designs
of mercy towards mankind, yrow a supposition that their inabil
ity to yield perfect obedience made them the less to blame, and so
the more proper objects of pity on that account : For mankind are
not the less to blame for their inability ; but the more unable
they are, the greater Is their blame — and so the more proper ob
jects are they of the divine wrath and vengeance.
God is a most exceUent and amiable Being. He, Infinitely
:deserves our highestlove and esteem, and supreme delight. It
is -perfectly fit we should be of a disposition to say. Whom have
xve in heaven but thee P and. there is nothing on earth we desire

286 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
besides thee...Psalm Ixxiii, 25, Now, notto love this God with
all our hearts, must be infinitely wrong ; and not to love him at
ail, must be worse still : but to be habitually contrary to him iri
the temper of our hearts — ^yea, so averse to him as that wc
CANNOT love him, must be, in the very highest degree, vile and
sinful : Andnow to say we cannot, by way of extenuation, as
though we were the less to blame for .'that, is intolerably God-
provoking; since our cannot arisesohly from the bad temper
of our hearts, and because we are not what we should be — and
not at all from any unloveliness In the divine nature, or from
our want of external advantages for the knowledge of God,
Put the case to thyself, O man : — Were you as wise as Sblo-i
mon, as holy as David, as humble as Paul, and of as loving and
kind a temper as John..., and had you a family of children.,,.
and were all the rules and orders of your house Uke yourself,
and calculated to make all your children just such as you are.,,.
and did you perceive that your children neither liked you, nor
your ways, nor the orders of your house — they show ypu much
disrespect In their carriage, disregard ypur authprity, complain
your rules are too strict, and daily break over all orders ;— -at
length you call them to an account — are about to convince, hum
ble, and reform them,-.they plead they are not to blame, at least
not so OTMcA to blame, because they cannot love you, they can
not Uke your ways, they cannot but abhor such rules and or
ders ; those very properties, on account of which you are in
deed the most excellent man in the world, these are the very
things for which they dislike you, while, in the mean time, they
fcan most heartily love theircompanlons in vice and debauchery;
And now the question is, whether their Inability to love you
renders them any the les^ to blame : or, whether it be not ve
ry provoking In them, to plead, in excuse for themselves, that
they cannot love you ; when their cannot arises from their vol
untary contrariety to all good, and love to debauchery ; and
not atall from any unloveliness of your person or ways ; or for .,
want of advantages to be acquainted with you, and with the
beauty of your temper and conduct. The application is easy.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 287
Was it any excuse for the ill-wiU of the malicious Pharisees to-
Svards Christ, that theycow/i/no^lpve him„..they could not but
hate him ? Did ever any man look upon a malicious, spiteful
neighbor, and think him any the less to blame for his abundant
ilI-carriage.,.,for his being so exceedingly iU-natured that itwaS
notin his heart to do othervylse ? I appeal to the common serise
of all mankind.
If such an inabUity can excuse mankind, then the devils, up
on the same footing, xfitay be excused too : Arid the more ariy
of Giod's subjects hate him, the less will they be to blame ; for
the more any do really hate God, the less able will they be to
love him ;*— the more averse to his law, the less able to keep it :
Arid, therefore, since our inablUty arises from such a root, the
more unable we are to love God with all our hearts, and yield a
perfect obedience to aU his laws, the more vile, guilty, hell-
deserving we are, arid the more unworthy of pity : So that our
moral InabiUty and impotency, or rather obstinacy, was, in the
nature of things, so far from extenuating our guilt and moving
the divine pity, that it was the strongest evidence of our ex
ceeding vileness, and, as it were, a mighty bar and great discour
agement in the way of God's ever entertaining any designs of
mercy towards us ; It was Uke the great mountains ; so that
nothing but infinite goodness could have ever surmounted it :
And in this light must we view ourselves and our inability, and
become self-condemned before God, or we shall never like it
that God looks upon us as he does, nor ever be able to look tTp-
on his grace in the gospel in the same light with him, nor can
we ever heartily approve of and faU in with that way of salvatioh.
When we are under sufficient outward advantages to come to
know what kind of Being God is, and yiet, after all, see no beau
ty In him, nor esteem him, it must be either because we are In
tolerably bad in our temper, or else because he is not truly, and,
indeed, a lovely and amiable Being. When we say we cannot
love him, under a fond notion that we are hereby excused and
are not to blame, we implicitly say, that we are well enough dis
posed, and are of a good temper, but God is such an hateful Bd
O o

288 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AMD
ing that we cannot love him ; — ^there Is nothing in him to be lov
ed : So that to say we cannot, under a notion of extenuating
our guilt, casts the highest reflection upon God imaginable, and
indeed is big with the blackest blasphemy. We had as good say,
" It is not owing to us that we do not love God, but to him.—
" We would- jreadlly love him, if there was anything in him for
" us to love ; but there is not, and so we cannot — and therefpre
" are not to blame."
To suppose, therefore, that God, in the gospel, considers us
as being the less to blame for this our inablUty, and from thence
is moved to pity us, is the'very same thing in effect as to sup
pose that God owns himself a hateful, unlovely Being, and
thinks it a great hardship that his poor creatures should be for-
ced to love him, or be damned.; and therefore repents that ev
er he was so severe, or ever made such a law, and is sorry for
them, and will do better by them for time to come : But how
horrid a thought is this ! It casts the highest reflection upon
God, and upon his holy law, and quite destroys all the grace of
the gospel. No, no ! God knew well enough how the case
stood : He was conscious of his own infinite excellency, and
of the Infinite reasonableness of his law : He knew the hellish
temper of an apostate, rebellious race ; and verily he was God,
and not man, or he would have doomed the whole world to de
struction without any pity, or so much as one thought of mercy.
Herein was love, not that we loved God, but that God loved ¦us,
arid sent kisSonto be a propitiation for our sins, ...I. Johniv. 10.
While we were sinners and enemies, (Rom. v. 8, 1(^, and most
strongly averse to a reconciliation.. ..II. Cor. v. 20.
4. Nor did his designs of mercy take their rise from any ex-
.pectation that a rebellious, guilty, perishing world woidd be so
good as, oftheir accord,ever heartily to thank him. for it. No, he
knew well enough how it would be — ^that many would make
light of it, and go their ways, one to his farm, another to his
merchandize ; and that others would be affronted, and some so
very angry that they would take his messengers, and stone one,
aad beat another, and kUl anotiier, and finally would crucify hi»

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 289
Son : And he expected that mankind in general would be dis
posed to hate his law, and pervert his gospel, and resist his spir
it J and never one, in all the world, repent and convert, and
come and humble himself before him, and bless his holy name,
unless brought thereto by his own all-conquering grace... .Mat.
jcxi. 33—39, and xxii. 1—7 — Luke xiv. 16—23 — I. Cor. HI. 6, 7.
So that, from the whole, it is very plain God was not moved
to entertain thoughts of mercy towards mankind, neither under
a notion that they had been, in any respect, hardly dealt wlth„.
nor under a notion that their Impotency rendered them in any
measure excusable.. .nor under a notion that there was any good
in them or to be expected from them ; but, on the contrary, he
lopked upon the original constltation with Adam to be holy,
just, and good— *md that, upon that footing, aU mankind deser
ved ruin ; and he looked upon the law of nature also holy,
just, and good— and that, upon that footing, a wicked world de
served his everlasting wrath ; and he looked upon them alto
gether criminal for their Impotency ;—Jn a word, he looked up
on them voluntary in their rebellion, and obstinate In their en
mity, and infinitely unworthy ofthe least pity — ^yea, so unwor
thy of pity, that, to secure his own honor, and to save himself
from just reproach, while he pitied them, and showed them mer
cy, he thought it needful that his own Son should become a
Mediator, and bear their sin and suffer for their guilt, and so
open a way for the honorable exercise of bis mercy.
To conclude, therefore,
5. It is evident that his designs of mercy took their rise mere
ly, absolutely, and entirely from hirhsef....from his own infinite
benevolence. ...from his self-moving goodness andsovereign grace.
God so laved the world—
As for us, we lay in the open field of perdition, polluted, per
ishing in our blood and guilt ; and It was perfectly right that
the righteous sentence of the law should be executed upon us :
And God had been forever glorious in the everlasting ruin of a
rebeUious world. There was nothing In our circumstances, all
things considered, ofthe nature of a motive to pity : We were

290 ^RUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANp
too bad to deserve any pity orrelief ;-— yea, so bad, tiiat ihe
great Governor ofthe world could not, without counteracting
all good rules of government, show any mercy but by the
interposition of his own Son, to stand, and die in our ropm and.
stead : Sp that, instead pf any motive to pity, there was everyt
thing to the contrary.— -Our infinite iU-desert lay as an infiniteE
bar in the way. Here, now, was an opportunity for infinite good
ness and self-moving mercy to exert itself, in the most iUustrious
manner, in designing merey,...in providing a Mediator, and ia
opening a door for the exercise of much grace to mankind ia
general, and of special saving mercy in ten thousand thousand
instances, There was nothing, ab extra, from without God
I himself, to move and put him on to such a wonderful and glq^
rious enterprise. The motion was -wholly from himself...from
his self-moving goodness.«..from his good pleasure, according
to the counsel of his own ¦w'yh....Eph. i. 3—12 : No wonder,
therefore, the gospel every where celebrates the love and good-.
ness, mercy and grace of God, as being rich and free, unparal
leled, unspeakable, inconceivable, infinitely great and glorious,
as discovered In this most wonderftil ofall God's works : And
to suppose that God was under any obUgations to show these
favors, would be to undermine and overthrow the whole gos^
pel, and turn a deed of the freest and greatest graceinto a work
of mere justice.-~^Thus we see whence Gpd's thoughts of mer
cy, towards a sinful, guilty world, had their rise. >¦ ¦;
^ He had in view a great variety of glorious designs, aU infi
nitely wise. ...all suited to display the glorious' perfectioris of his
nature, and bring everlasting honors to his great name : He
designed to destroy the works of the devil.. ..Gew.. in. 15 — I*
John Hi. 8. Satan had induced mankind to their rebelUon ;'
and had, perhaps. In his conceit too, made himself strong against
the Almighty : He first rebeUed himself, and now he had brought
others to join with him, and in this world he intended to rule
and reign ; and, by the whole, bring much reproach upon the.
rightful Lord bf heaven and earth. God wrought, therefore,;
for bis great name's sake, that it might not be polluted ; and en-

DISTJNGUISHED FROM AW* COUNT*ERFEITS. 291
tered uppn methpds tP defeat big desigtjs, and bring his king
dom, to nought, and crush the rebellion, and pmt him to open
shame — and at length bind him up in his chains, that he should
deceive the nations pf the earth np mpre— and give all nations,
languages, and tongues, to Jesus Christ, and bring the whole
world into subjection to him....Rev. xx. 1 — 4. He designed
to display his glorious grace, In bringing miUIons of this Sedu
ced, apostate race from the jaws of eternal destruction to eter
nal glory....i?o?». ix. 23— Eph. ii. 7. He designed to put aU
manlrindin a new state of probation, and to display his glorious
goodness, patience, forbearance, and long-suffering, in his deal
ings with the obstinate and finally Impenitent in this world, and
hisglorlous holiness and justice In their everlasting punishment
in the world to come, in the same lake of fire and brimstone
which was prepared for the devil and his angels, with whom
they had joined in their rebeUion against the Majesty of heaven
....Acts xiv. Vf—Rom. ii. 4, and xix. 22— iliaf. xxv. 41 : — In a
word, he designed to take occasion, from the apostacy of man
kind, in the Innumerable instances In this world, and through-^
out eternal ages in the world to come, to display all his glori
ous perfections : and so, by his whole conduct, to exhibit a
most perfect and exact Image of himself.
Thus we see that his designs of mercy towards a rebellious,
guilty, undone world, took their rise, not from any motives In
us, l^t altogether from motives in himself— from the Infinite,
boundless goodness of his nature, and his sovereign good plea
sure : And in this light must we view the grace of the gospel j-
and aU our encouragements to hope in his mercy, through Je
sus Christ, must take their rise, not from any thing In ourselves,
but only from that self-moving goodness and free grace which
he has manifested through Jesus Christ..»..ffom. Hi. 19, 20, 24
*— JS/)A. H. 8.
Arid thus we see that his end, as to the elect, was to bring
tiiem back frpm their apostacy, their rebeUion, and wickedness,
and ruin, to God, their rightful Lord and Sovereign, to become
bis servants, tp love him, and liye to him, and live upon him,

i92 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
and be blessed in him forever : And in this light must we view
the gospel ; and with this its design must we heartily fall in.
And being encourged, by the grace of the gospel, to hope for
acceptance in the sight of God, through Jesus Christ, we must,
through Christ, give up ourselves to God, to be bis ser
vants forever.,..Luke i. 74, 75 — II. Cor. v. 20 — ^i?offJ,xIk 1— -
Tit. ii. 11 — 14.
From what has been said, it will be very natural to make
these foUowing remarks :
Rem. 1. If all God has done In the gospel, for our recove
ry from ruin, be of mere free grace, then it is self-evident that
God was under no obUgations to a fallen, sinful, guilty, rebellious
world ; but, as for us, might have', consistentwith all his perfec-.
tions, left us in ruin, to inherit the fruit of our doings, and the
punishment of our sin. He was under no obligation to provide
a Redeemer, or a Sanctifier.. ..to give the least hint of a pardon,
or take any methods to recover us from the power of sin. He
was under no obligations to deal any better by us, than would,
in the whole, be no worse than damnation. By the constitu-'
tion with Adam, and by the law of nature, this would have
been our proper due. Every thing, therefore, whereby our
circumstances have been rendered better than the clrcumstan-.
ces of the damned, God was under no obligations unto ; but
all, over and above that, has been of free and sovereign grace.
God was at Uberty, as to us, not to have done any of these things
for us : Yea, there were on our T^art mighty hinderances to pre
vent the mercy of God, and to put a bar in the way ofthe free
and honorable exerclseof his grace : even such hinderances, that
nothing could remove them, but the blood of Christ. Hence,
Rem. 2. Mankindwere, by their fall, brought into a state of
heing infinitely worse than not to be. The damned in hell, no
doubt, are in such a state, else their punishment would not be
infinite; as justice requires it should be: But mankind, by
the fall, were brought Into a state, for substance,* as bad as that
• For substance, I say, because it must be remembered that the superad
ded punishment inflicted upon any in hell, for despising the gospel, must

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 294
which the damned are in : For the damned undergo nothing
in heU, but what, by the constitution with Adam, and the law
of nature, aU mankind were, and would have been, for substance,
exposed unto, if mere grace had not prevented. And, accord
ing to what was but now observed, God was under no more
obl%ation to grant any relief to mankind, in this their fallen,
sinful, guilty, undone condition, than he is now to the damned
in hell ; i. e. under no obUgations at aU : but the way for mer
cy to come to them was mightily barred and blocked up, by
the infinite reasonableness of their being punished, and their
infinite unworthiness, in the very nature of things, as the case
then stood, of ever being pitied : So that mankind were, by
the faU, brought into a state of being, (in scripture called ccw-
demnation and wrath.. ..Rom. v. 18 — Eph. ii. 3,) for substance,
as bad as that which the damned are in ; so that, if the damned
are in a state of being infinitely worse than not to be, as no
doubt they are, then so also were mankind : And mankind be
ing actually brought into such a state by the fall, is what renders
¦the grace of the gospel so inconceiveble, so unspeakable in its
^eatness, and so absolutely free. To deny that mankind, by
-the faU, were brought Into such a state, is the same thing, In ef
fect, as to deny original sin, and undermine the glorious grac«
of the gospel.
Obj. But how could God, consistent with his perfections, put
¦us into a state of being worse than not to be ? Or how can we
ever thank God for such a being ?
Ans. Our being brought into so bad a state was not ow
ing to God, i. e. to any fault In him, but merely to ourselves....
to our apostacy from God. It was our apostacy from God
that brought aU this upon us, in way of righteous judgment....
Rom. V. 18, 19. Our being in so had a state is nomore owing
to God, than theirs is who are now In hell. They deserve to
be in heU, according to a law that is holy, just, and good ; and
ie left out of the account : For all this is over and above what, by the
constitution with Adam, and the law of nature, mankind -were or ever
would harS been exposed unto.

294 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
we deserve to be In such' a state, according to the constitiitioa
made with Adam, which was also holy, just, and good : and
therefore the one may^be consistent with the divine perfections,
as weU as the other. It caririot be disagreeable to the holiriess,
justice, and goodness of the divine nature, to deal with man
kind according to a constitution, in its own nature holy, just,
and good.
Now, In as much as God did virtually give being tp all man*
kind, when he blessed our first parents, and said, Be fruitfifl,
and multiply ; and in a^ much as te'w^, under the circumstances
that man was then put In by God, was very desirable... we ought,
therefore, to thank God for our being, considered in this light,
and justify God in all the evil that is come uppn us fpr pur
apostacy ; for the Lord Is righteous, and we are a guilty race.
Those in hell are in a state of being infinitely worse than not
to be ; and, instead of thanking God for their beings, they blas
pheme his name : but still there is no just ground for their con
duct : They have no reason to think hard of God for damning
them ; they have no reason to blame him ; they have no rea
son to esteem him any the less for it : he does what is fit to be
done : His Conduct is amiable ; and he Is worthy of being es
teemed for doing as he does... .and aU holy beings will always
esteem him for it.,., (Rev. xix. 1 — 6.) Therefore the damned
ought to ascribe all their evil to themselves, and justify God,
and say, " He gave us being.. .and it was a mercy...and he de-
" serves thanks ; but to us It is owing that we are riow in a state
" infinitely worse than not to be : God is not to blame for that ;
" nor Is he the less worthy of thanks for giving us being, and
" for all past advantages which we ever enjoyed : for the
" law is holy, just, and good, by and according to which we '
" suffer all these things ¦''¦ — So here : Mankind, by the fall,
were brought Into a state of being infinitely worse than not to
be : and were they but so far awake as to be sensible of it, they
would no doubt, all over the earth, murmur, and blaspheme the
God of heaven. But what then?. ..There would be npjusl
ground for such conduct : We have no reason to think hard

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 295
of God — ^to blame him, ot to esteem him any the less. What
he has done was fit and right ; his conduct was beautiful ; and
he is worthy to be esteemed for it : for that constitution was ho
ly, just, and good, as has been proved : And therefore a fallen-
world ought to ascribe to themselves all their evil, and to justi
fy God, and say, " God gave us being under a constitution ho-
"ly, just, and good ; and it was a mercy ; We should have ac-
" counted it a great mercy, In case Adam had never faUen 5 but
" God was not to blame for this,,. .nor therefore is he the less
" worthy of thankfe : All that we suffer Is by and according tp
" a constitution in its own nature holy, just, and good :"
Thus mankind ought to have said, had God never provided a
Savior, but left all the world in ruin : and thiis ought they tp
have justified God's conduct- — laid all the blame to themselves,
and acknowledged that God deserved praise from all his works ;
which, as they came put pf his hands, were aU very good....Gen,
LSI. Obj. But although we were, by the fall, brought into sucha
state of wrath and condemnation, yet now we are delivered out of
it by Christ ; fpr as, in Adam, all die, sp, in Christ, shaU aU bs
made alive,
Ans. Befpre men believe In Christ, they are as justly expo»
sed to divine vengeance, as If Christ had never daed.,..John Hi.
18, 36: And there is nothing to keep off" vengeance, one mo
ment, but sovereign mercy ; which yet they continually affront
and provoke,.,. i2o?re, il. 4, 5 : And they are so far from an in-
cliriatlpn to turn to God of their own accord, that they are dis
posed to resist all the means used to reclaim them.,..yoAra.iii.
19. It Is t^ue, God Is ready, through Christ, to receive return
ing sinners, and Invites all to return through him : Thus God
is good and kind to an apostate worid, and offers us mercy. God
is notto blame that we are In so bad a case : our destruction is
of ourselves, and the Lord is righteous : But stiU It is evident
we are in a perishing condition, and shall certainly perish, not
withstanding aU that we, of our own mere motion, ever shaU do.
If sovereign grace .does not prevent, there Is no hope.
P E

296 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Obj. But if mankind are thus, by nature, children of wrath
— in a state of bang worse than rwt to be, and, even after aU that
Christ has done, are in themselves thus utterly undone, how can
men have a heart to propagate their kind, or account it a blessing
to have a numerous posterity ?
Ans. It Is manifest by their conduct — ^by their neglecting
their children's souls, and caring only for their bodies, that pa
rents, in general, do not propagate with any concern about the
spiritual and eternal weU-being of their posterity. It Is proba
ble. In general, they are Influenced by the same motive that the
brutal world are, together with a desire to have children under
the notion of a worldly comfort, without scarcely a thought of
what wiU become of their posterity for eternity.
As to godly parents, they have such a spirit of love to God,
and resignation to his will, and such an approbation of his dis
pensations toward manklnd,and such a liking tohis whole scheme
of government, that they are content that God should gov
ern the worid as he doss.. ..and that he should have subjects to
govern.... and that themselves and their posterity should be un
der him, and at his disposal : Nor are they without hopes of
mercy for their children, from sovereign grace through Christ,
while they do, through him, devote and give them up to God,
and bring them up In the nurture and admoriltlon of the Lord :
And thus they quiet themselves as to their souls. And nbw,
considering children merely as to this life, it Is certain that It Is
a great comfort and blessing to parents to have a promising offi-
sprihg. As to carnal men, since they are enemies to God and his ho
ly law. It Is no wonder they are at enmity against his whole
scheme of conduct as Governor of the world. Did they un
derstand bow God governs the World, and firmly believe it,
I doubt not It would make aU their native enmity ferment to
perfection : They woiild wish themselves to be from under
God's government, and hate that he should ever have any thing
of theirs to govern : As soon as ever they enter Into the eternal
world, and see hpw things really are, this wIU, np dpubt, actual-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 297
ly be their case : — In a WPrd, if men heartUy Uke the priginal
constitution with Adam, as being, in its own nature, holy, just,
and good, this objection will, upon mature consideration, be no
difficulty with them ; and If they do not, It Is not any thing that
can be said, wiU satisfy them. But wicked men's not liking
tiie constitution, does not prove It to be bad. .
Obj. It cannot be thought a blessing to have children, if the
most of them are likely, finally, to perish.
Ans. The most of Abraham's posterity, no doubt, fi^r above
these three thousand ye^rs, have been wicked, and have perish
ed ; and God knew before-hand how It- would be ;. and yet he
promised such a numerous posterity underthe notion of a great
blessing.. ..Gen. xxii : For, considering children merely as to this
life, they may be a great blessing and comfort to parents, and
an honor to them-; but it is very fitting our children should be
God's subjects, and.under his government : Nor are they any
the less blessings to us, as to- this Ufe, because they must be ac
countable to God in the life to come : They may be a great
comfort to us in this life ; and we are certain God will do them
ho wrong In the life to come. All men's murmuring thoughts
about this matter arise from- their not liking God's way of gov-
¦ eming the world.
Rem. 3. Then do xve begin to make a just estimate of the grace
...the free, rich, and glorious grace of God, the great Governor of
the xvorld, displayed in the gospel, when we consider mankind,'by
and according to a constitution and a law, both of them holy, just,
and good, actually in such a ruined state. Now we may begin
a little more to see the natural import of those words, God so
loved the world : such a world was it, that he loved and pitied •.
a world in so bad a state : a perishing- world, sinful, guilty, just
ly condemed, altogether helpless and undone : And to have a
door opened by the blood of Christ, for us to be raised from the
depth of such ruin, is wonderful grace indeed. And in this
light does the matter stand in scripture-account : for, according
to \hat,,by the offence of one, judgment came upon all to condem
nation ; and, by the disobedience of one, many were made (or

298 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
constituted) sinners, by virtue of the original constitution with
Adam*....i?o»f. v. 18, 19 : And aU the world stood guilty be
fore God, by virtue of their want of conformity unto and tr£ms-
gression of the law of nature, or moral law. ...Rom, iii. 9, 19:
And hence mankind were considered as being under sin, and
under the curse of the law, and under the wrath of God.,.JRom,
iii. 9 — -Gal, Hi. 10 — -John ill. 16— Rom. i. 18: And under this
notion Christ was appointed, to save his people from their sins,
(Mat. I. 21)— to deliver them from the wrath to come, (I. Thes.-
i. 10) — ^and to bring it to pass, that whereas,by the disobedience
cfone, many were made sinners, so, by the obedience of one, many
might be made righteous. ...Kom, v. 19 : And hence the gospel
so mightily magnifies the grace of God, bis love and goodness,
as being unparalleled, unspeakable, Inconceivable,passIng knowl
edge. God so loved the world, says Christ.. ..GoJ commendeth ¦
his love, saith Paul.. ...Here/w is love, says John. It has height
and length, depth and breadth : It is rich grace, and the exceed.
ing riches of grace. And why ? why Is it so magnified and ex
tolled ? — Why, for this, among other reasons, because all this
was done while we did not love God. ...wlale we were sinners.,... ;
while we were ungodly. ...whMe we were enemies. ,..whS\.e we
were exposed to wrath, guilty before God, perishing, lost, without
strength : Thus God has represented it in his word — his word'
which is the image of his mind, and which shows us how he •
looks upon things, and how they really are,— See John Hi, 16,
36 — Rom. V. 6, 7, 8—1. John iv. 10 — Eph. i, 7, and Ii. 7, 8, and
ill, 19— il4a^. xviii. 11, &c, ,
Never, therefore, can a sinner rightly understand the gospel
of Christ, or see his need of the provision therein made, or In
any measure make a just estimate of the grace of God therein
displayed, untU he Is, in some measure, convinced and made re
ally sensible, by the spirit of God, that he Is actually In such a
slr^ful,, guilty, helpless, undone condition. This, therefore, is
' Constituted sinners, it is in ¦ the original ; for it ¦was by virtue of that
primitive constitution ¦with Adam, that his first sin laid all his posterity im-
der sin, guilt, arid ruin.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 299
absolutely necessary, in older to a genuine compliance with the
gospel by faith in Jesus Christ. Lukev, 31....For the whole
need ¦not a physician, but they that are sick : And as this Is re-
quisite, in order to the first act of faith, so, for the same reason,
must we all our days live under a realizing sense of this our sin
ful, guilty, undone sate, by nature, and In ourselves. In order to
Uve by faith : And this will make Christ precious, and the grace
of the gospel precious — and efffectually awaken us to gratitude
and thankfulness ; for now every tiling In our circumstances,
wherein we are better of It than the damned, wIU be accounted
so great a mercy, and the effect of mere grace : And so far as
we are from a clear sight and realizing sense of this our sinful,
guilty, undone state, so far shall we be insensible ofthe preclous-
ness of Christ, and the freeness of grace, and the greatness of
God's mercy towards us.
Thus, having considered the grounds upon which the most .
high God did look upon mankind as being In a perishing condi
tion, and the motives whereby he was excited to enter upon any
methods for their recovery, we proceed now more particularly
to consider the ways and means he has taken and used to bring
it about.
SECTION III.
CONCERNING THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF SATISFACTION
FOR SIN.
I am now,
III. To show what necessity there was for a 3Iediator, and
how the way to life has been opened by him whom God has pro
vided. It is plainly supposed that there was a necessity of a
Mediator, and of such an on© too as God has actually provided,
in order to our salvation ; for, otherwise. It had been no love or
goodness In God to have given his only begotten Son : For there
can be no love or goodness in his doing that for us which we
do not need, and without which we might have been saved as
well. Nor is it to be supposed that God would give his Son
to die for a guilty world without urgent necessity. If some
cheaper and easier way might have been found out, he would

300 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
surely have spared his belpvedSpn; he had np incUnatlpn to
make Ught of his Son's blood ; It was a great thing for a Gpd.
to become incarnate, and die ; and there must, therefore, have
been some very urgent considerations, to induce the wise Gov
ernor of the world to such an expedient : And here, then,these
things may be particularly enquired into :
T. What necessity was there of satisfaction for sin ?
2. What satisfaction has there been made ? Arid wherein
does Its sufficiency consist ?
3. How has the way to life been opened by the means ^
4. What methods has the great Governor ofthe world enter
ed upon for the actual recovery of sinful creatures ?"
1. We are to consider xvhat necessity there was of satisfac
tion for sin. It was needful, or else no- satisfaction would have
been ever required or made : And the necessity was certainly
very great and urgent, or the Father would never have been
willing to have given his Son, or the Son to have undertaken
tiie work. ...a work attended with so much labor and suffering.
But why was It necessary ? This, I think, will appear ,-if we de
liberately and seriously weigh these things s
(1.) That God, the great Creator, Preserver, and absolute-
Lord ofthe whole world,, is not only a Being of infinite under
standing and almighty power, but also a Being infinite and un
changeable in all moral propensities : he loves right and hates
wrong to an infinite degree, and unchangeably ; or, in scripture-
language, he thus loves righteousness and hates iniquity. By his
infinite understanding, he sees all things as being what they re
ally are : Whatsoever Is fit and right, he beholds as being such';
and whatsoever Is unfit and wrong, he also beholds as being
such : And as are his views, so is the temper of his heart — he
infinltelyloves that which Is fit and right, and infinitely hates
that which is unfit and wrong : or, In other words, he has an
infinite sense of the moral fitaess and unfitness of things, and
an answerable frame of heart ; I, e. infinitely loves the one, and
infinitely hates the other. From eternity, God has had an all-
comprehensive view of things. ...of every thing that was possi-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 30J
ble to be or that actuaUy would be.. ..and of all the relations one.
being would bear to another, and the relation that all would bear
to him  and has seen what conduct would be right and fit in
him towards them, and in them towards him and towards one
another, and what would be wrong : and, from eternity. It has
been his nature infinitely to love that which is right, and hate
that which is wrong : And this, his nature, has Influenced him
in dl his conduct, as moral Governor ofthe world ; and he has
given so bright a representation of it, that this seems to be the
first and most natural Idea of God that we can attain : It shines
through aU the scriptures.. ..through the law and the gospel, and
through his whole conduct. In a thousand instances.
God does not appear to be a Being influenced, acted, and
governed by a groundless, arbitrary self-will, having no regard,
to right reason....to the moral fitness and unfitness of things ;
nor does he appear to be a Being governed and acted by a
groundless fondness to his creatures. If a thing is not right,,.
he wUl not do It, merely because he Is above controul  Is the.
greatest and strongest, and can bear down aU before him.. ..Gen..
xviii. 25 : And if a thing is wrong, he will not connive at It at
all, because It was acted by his creatures, although ever so dear
to him, and although the most exalted In dignity, honor, and
privileges ; — for instance, the sinning angels..,.sinning Adam....
the i*raf&e* in the wilderness, his peculiar people. Moses,
for speaklrig unadvisedly with his lips, shall not enter Into Ca
naan. .David, the man after his own heart, he sinned ; and
the sword, says God, shall not depart from thy house : Yea, he
spared not his oxfjn Son, when he stood in the room of sinners.
If he had been governed by any thing like human fondness, sure
ly it would now have appeared : And besides. If that were the
case, he could never bear to see the damned lie In the dreadful
torments of hell to alletemit}' : Indeed, by all he has said, and
by all he has done, he appears to have an infinite sense of the
moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable frame
of heart ; and to be governed and actuated by this temper, un
der the direction pf infinite wisdpm : Hence, as is his nature.

302 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATELl, AND
so is the name which he has taken to himselti viz. the holt one
of Israel. It is true he is a Being of infinite goodness and mercy ; yet
that Is not a fond, but a holy propensity, under the government
of infinite wisdom : that is, he considers the happiness and good
of his creatures, his intelligent creatures, as being what it is. —
He sees what It Is worth, and of how great importance it Is ;
and how much to be desired. In itself, and compared with other
things : he sees it to be just what It really is, and has an an
swerable disposition of heart, I. e. is desirous of their happi
ness, and averse to their misery, in an exact proportion to the
real nature of the thin^ In themselves. It is true, so great is
his benevolence, that there is not any act of kindness or grace
so great, but that he can find inhis heart to doit — ^yea, has
an infinite inclination to do it. If, aU things considered. In his un
erring wisdom, he judges It fit and best : and yet, at the same
time, it is as true, such Is the perfect rectitude^and spotless pu
rity of his nature, that there Is not any act of justice so tremen
dous, or any misery so dreadful, but that he can find In his
heart, his creatures' happiness notwithstanding, to do that act of
justice, and inflict that misery, if need so require — ^yea, he has
an infinite Inclination thereto. He regards their happiness and
misery as being what they are, of very great importance In
themselves, but of little importance, compared with something
else. He had rather the whole system of intelligent creatures
should Ue in hell to all eternity, than do the very least thing that
is In Itself unfit and wrong : Yea, if It was put to his own case,
if we could possibly suppose such a thing, he would make it ap
pear that he does as he would be done by, when he punishes
sinners to all eternity. It was, in a sort, put to his own case
once, when his Son, who was as himself, stood In the room of
a g-ullty world — and his heart did not fail him ; but he a|)peared
as great an enemy to sin then as ever he did, or will do to all
eternity. His treating his Son as he did. In the garden and up
on the crpss. Immediately himself and by his Instruments, was
as bright an evidence of the temper of his heart, as if he had

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 303
danrned the whole world. He appeared what he was then, as
much as he wiU at the day of judgment : He is infinite in good-r
ness ; yet he is infinitely averse to do any act of kindness, at
the expence of justice, from mere fondness to his creatures.
And as his goodness Is not fondness, so his justice is not cru
elty. He infinitely hates that which is unfit and wrong, and is
disposed to testify his hatred In some visible, public manner,
by inflicting some proportionable punishment ;- — not because sin
ners hurt him, and so make him angry and revengeful ; for their
obedience can do him no good, nor their disobedience any hurt
,.,:Job xxxv, 6, 7 ; — nor indeed so much because they hurt
themselves ; for if they did wrong in no other respect, he would
never treat them with such severity ; but this Is the truth of
the case^the great Governor of the world has an infinite sense
ofthe moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable
frame of heart : and so he infinitely loves that which is fit, and
commends and rewards It ; and Infinitely hates the cpntrarj',
andforbids and punishes it ; — ^nly it must be remembered, that
the rewards he grants to the good are of mere bounty as to
them, because they can deserve nothing.. ..i?o?«, xi. 35, But
the punishments he inflicts on the wicked are pure justice, be
cause they deserve all....i?OOT. vl, 2,3 : For although creatures
cannot merit good at the; hands of God, from whom they receive
all, and to whom they owe aU, yet they can merit evil : Never
theless, rewards and punishments are both alike in this respect,
viz, that they are visible public testlnjonies borne by the Gov
ernor of the world to the moral amiableness of virtue on the
one hand, and to the moral hatefulness of vice on the other. — .
The one is not the effect of fondness, nor the other of cruelty ;
but the one results from the holiness and goodness of the divine
nature, and the other from his holiness and justice. By the
one, it appears how he loves virtue, and how exceedingly boun
tiful he Is ; andjby the other, how he hates sin, and how much he
is disposed todiscountenance It, by treating It as being what it Is,
Thus, I say, In the first place, we must consider God, the sut
preme Governor of the world, as a Being not only of infinite

304 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
understanding and almighty power, but also infinite and un
changeable in all moral propensities — as one having a perfect
sense ofthe moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answer
able frame of heart ; or. In scripture-language. Holy, holy, holy.
Lord Qod Almighty. . . . the holy one of Israel : The LordGod gra
cious and merciful, but by no means clearing the guilty. ...Of pu
rer eyes than to behold iniquity... .Who loveth righteousness and
hateth iniquity.,..Who renders to every one according to their do
ings, &c. Without a right idea of God, the supreme Gover
nor of the world, and a realizing, living sense of him on our
hearts, it is impossible we should rightly understand the meth
ods he has taken to open away for his mercy to come out after
a rebelUous, guUty world, or truly see, into the grounds of his
conduct — ^the reasons of his doing as he has done. If we know
God, and have a taste, for moral beauty, we shall be In a dispo
sition to understand the gospel ; but. otherwise we shaU not....
John vH. 1 7, and vHI. 47 : For, in the whole of this great affair
of our redemption, he has acted altogether like himself.
(2.) Godis infinitely excellent, glorious, andamiable inieing
what he is. His having such a nature or temper, and, at the
same time, being of infinite understanding and almighty .power,
renders him infinitely excellent, glorious, and amiable, far be
yond the conceptions of any finite mind. Isa. vi. 3.... .Holy, ho
ly, holy. Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of thy glory..
Hence, God loves, esteems, and delights in himself infinitely :
not indeed from what we call a selfish spirit ; for/could we sup
pose there was another just what he is, and himself an inferior,
he would love, esteem, and deUght in that other, as entirely as
he does now in himself i It Is his being what he is, that is the
ground of his self-love, esteem, and delight.
Hence, again, he loves to act like himself, in aUhls conduct as
moral Governor ofthe world, as entirely as he loves himsef;
and it is as much contrary to his nature to counteract the temper
of his heart. In his public conduct, as to cease to be what heis .:
And the plain reason is, that there is the same ground for the
ene as for the other. He loves himself, because he is mpst ex-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 305
cellent in being what he is ; and, for the same i-eason, he loves
to act Uke himself, because that Is most exceUent too : He can
not be wlUing to cease to be pf that temper or nature he is of,
because it is most excellent ;„ and, for the same reason, he can
not be wUUng to counteract It, because it Is most exceUent to
act agreeably to It in all things : He is under necessity to love
himself ;, and he Is under the same necessity to act like him
self.. ..Ge«. xviii. 25 : Hence it is a comnion thing for God, In
great eamestaess, to say in his. word, IwiU do so and so, and
they shaU Know that I am the Lord : as Ifhe should say— -
*' A guilty, rebellious race may think and say what they will
" of me, yet I am what I am, and I will act Uke myself,, and all
" the world shall know tiiat I am the Lord, i. e. that I am what
" I pretend to be : They shall know it by my conduct, sooner
" or later."
(3.) God caymot be said to act like himself, unless he appears as
great an enemy, ta sin, in his pubUc government ofthe world, as
he really is at heart. If his conduct as moral Governor of the
world, the whole being taken together, should look with a more
favorable. aspect towards sin,, or appear less severe than really
he is, then it Is self-evident that his conduct would not be like
himself, nor would It tend to exhibit a true idea of him to all
attentive spectators In all bis dominions.- If his creatures and
subjects, in such a case, should judge of his nature by his con
duct, they would necessarily frame wrong notions of the divine
Being : Aiid.he himself must see and know that he did not act
like himself j- nor appear, inhis conduct, to be what he was In
his heart..
But God,.,the suprenie Governor of the world, does, at heart,
look- upon sin as an infinite evil ; and his aversion and enmity
to It Is Infinite.. He looks upon It, and (to speak of him after
the manner of men) Is affected towards It, as being what it re
ally Is. But It is Infinitely wrong and wicked, for us not to
love him with all our heart, and pbey himiin every thing : The
least sin Is an Infinite evil ;. and such he sees it to be, and as
such does he abhor It. The infinite evil of sin does not consist

306 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
in its lessening God's essential glory or blessedness ; for they
are both independent on us, andfar outof our reach : nor does
it consist merely in its tendency to make us miserable : But,
in its own nature. It Is infinitely wrong, in as mUch as we are
under infinite obligations to perfect holiness. Our obligations
to love God with all our heart are in proportion to his amiable
ness ; but that is Infinite : not to do so, therefore, is infinitely
wrong! But, as has been said, God has an infinite sense of
the moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable
frame of heart s i. e. he infinitely loves that which is right, and
infinitely hates that which is wrong : And therefore he Infinite
ly hates the least siui
If, therefore, he acts like himself, he must, in his public gov
ernment of the Worid, his whole conduct being taken together,
appear, in the most evident manner, to be an infinite enemy to
die least sin : He must appear infinitely severe against It ; and
never do any thing, which, all things cohsldered, seems tplpok
at all with another aspects
(4.) God, the supreme Governor ofthe worlds, cannot be said
to appear an infinite enemy to sin, and to appear infinitely se
vere against it, andthat without the least appearance of a favora
ble aspect towards it in his conduct, unless he does always,through-
out all his dominions, not only in word threaten, but infactfnm-
ish it, with infinite severity, without the least mitigation or abate*
ment in any one instance whatsoever.
If he should never, in his government of the world, say or
do any thing against sin, it would seem as ifhe was a friend to
it, or at least very indifferent about It. If he should say, and
not do.. ..threaten to punish, but never inflict the punishment,
his creatures and subjects might be tempted to say, " He pre
tends to be a mighty enemy to sin, and that is aU." If he
should generally punish sin with infinite severity, but not al
ways, there would at least be some favorable aspect towards
sin, In his visible conduct j and his subjects might be ready to
say, " If he can suffer sin to go half unpunished, why not alto-
"¦ gether ? And if altogether at one time, why not at another ?

bistinguished from all counterfeits. 307
" And ifhe can abate the threatened punishment in some de-
" gree, in some instances, why not altogether, in all Instances ?
" If there Is no absolute necessity that sin should be punished,
" why does he ever punish it ? But If it be absolutely necessary,
" why does he ever suffer it to go unpunished ?" It would seem,
at least, by such a conduct, as if sin was not so exceedingly bad
a thing but that it might escape punishment sometimes — and
as if God was not such an infinite, unchangeable enemy to it,
but that he might be disposed to treat it with a little favor : — In
a word, if God should always punish sins, not one excepted,
and that throughout all his dominions, and yet not do It always
with infinite severity ; but, In some Instances, one In a million
we wiU say, should abate a little, and but a very little ; yet so
much as he abates, be it more or less, so much does he treat
sin in a favorable manner, and so much does he fall short of
treating it with due severity, and so far does he appear. In his
conduct, from being an infinite, unchangeable enemy to it : So
that It Is very evident that he cannot, in his conduct, as moral
Governor of the world, appear an Infinite, unchangeable enemy
to sin, without the least appearance to the contrary. In any oth
er possible way or method, than by always punishing It with In
finite severity, without the least abatement, In any one instance,
in any part of his dominions, in time or eternity. And this
would be to act like himself ; and in and by such conduct, he
would appear to be what he is. But to do otherwise, would
be to counteract his own nature, and give a false representation
of his heart, by a conduct unlike himself.
Thus, It is the nature of God, the great Governor of the
world, in all his conduct, to act like himself : But he cannot be
said to act like himself, iinless he appears as great an enemy to
sin, and as severe against it, as he really is, without the least
shadow ofthe contrary : but his conduct cannot appear In this
light, unless he does, in fact, punish sin with infinite severity,
throughout all his dominions, without the least mitigation. In
any one Instance, in time or eternity : therefore it Is the nature
of God, the Governor of the world, to do so ; and therefore he

308 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
can no sooner, nor any easier, be wiUing to let any sin go un
punished, than he can to cease tohe what he is :* For, as was
before proved, it is as impossible for him to act contrary to his
own nature, as It is to cease to be what he is : and he can con
sent to the one as easily as to the other.
Hence, we may learn, this Is really a branch ofthe law of na
ture, Tliat sin should be punished : It resuUs from the nature of
God, the Governor of the worid ; it was no arbitrary constitu
tion ; It did not result from the divine sovereignty. It would,
In the nature of things, have been no evU for Adam to have
eaten ofthe tree of knowledge, had not God forbidden it ; here
in God exercised his sovereign authority, as absolute Lord of
aU things : But In threatening sin with eternal death, he acted
not as a sovereign, but as a righteous Governor : his nature
prompted him to do so ; he could not have done otherwise.
As It is said in another case. It is impossible for God to lie ; so
it may be said here, Itis impossible for God to let sin go unpun
ished. As he cannot go counter to himself in speaking, so nei
ther in acting. It is as contrary to his nature to let sin go un
punished, as It is to lie ; for hiis justice Is as much himself, as
his truth ; and it is, therefore, equally impossible he should act
contrary to either.
Hence, this branch of the law of nature is not capable of any
repeal or abatement : For since it necessarily results from the
nature of God, the Governor ofthe world. It must necessarily
remain in force so long as God continues to be what he is.
Besides, if God should repeal it, he must not only counteract
his own nature, but also give great occasion to all his subjects
to think he was once too severe against sin, and that now he
had altered his mind, and was become more favorable towards
it : which he can no more be Willing to do, than he can be wll-
* God'&mild and kind conduct towards a guilty world at present, is noth
ing inconsistent, with this ; because mankind are now dealt with in and
through a mediator, upon whom our sins have been laid, and who has been
¦made a curse for us. In him our sins have been treated: with infinite sever
ity, without the least abatement. But for this, God's conduct, no doubt,
would be very inconsistent with his perfections.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 309
ling actually to cease to be what he is : For, as he loves him
self perfectly for being what he is, so he perfectiy loves to act
like himself, and to appear in his conduct just as he is in his
heart : Therefore our Savior expressly asserts. That heaven
and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of the law
shallfail....'M.at. v. 18.
(5.) But all this notwithstanding, yet God did, of his infinite
goodness and sovereign grace, entertain designs of mercy towards
a fallen world....a rebellious, obstinate, stubborn, sinful, guilty,
hell-deserving race, under the righteous condemnation ofthe law
....a law, like himself holy, just, and good. Partlcularly,he de
signed to declare himself reconcileable to this sinful, guUty world
.....to put mankind into a new state of probation.. ..to try and see
if they would repent and return unto him, and to use a variety
of methods for their recovery : And to make way for this, he
designed to reprieve a guilty world, for a certain space of time,
from that utter ruin he had threatened, and to grant a sufficien
cy ofthe good things of this life for their support, while in a
state of probation ; and he also purposed to grant a general re
surrection from the dead, that those who should return to him
and be reconciled might be most completely happy In the world
to come. And because he knew their aversion to a reconcilia
tion, therefore he designed to use a variety of external means
to bring them to It : And because he knew that mankind would
be universally disposed to hate all such means, fnot liking to
have God in their knowledge^, and cast them off, and get from
omderthem, thereforehe designed, in .his sovereign grace, to se
lect some part of mankind, (the Jews for Instance) with whom,
by bis special providence. ..by the more open or secret workings
of his almighty power, such means should be continued. , And,
in the fulness pf tlme,he purposed also to use equal, yea, great
er means with various nations of the Gentiles .: And because
he knew that all external means notwithstanding, yet all, with
one consent, would refuse to repent, and convert, and be recon
ciled, therefpre he designed, by his providence, and by the more
common influences of his spirit, to take some farther pains with

310 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
many, and try them : And because he knew that this would
never effectually persuade them, through the great perverseness
of mankind, therefore he designed, by the special inffuences
of his holy spirit, through his almighty power and all-conquer
ing grace, all their obstinacy notwithstanding, yet to reclaim,
and recover, and bring home to himself, a certain number in
this world, and here train them up for eternal glory, and finally
bring them thereunto— and all of his sovereign goodness, and
all to the praise of the glory of his grace. And towards the
latter end of that space of time, in which this world was to be
reprieved, it was his purpose more eminently to destroy Satan's
kingdom on earth and his Influence among mankind, and more
generaUy recover the guilty nations from his thraldom, and set
up his own kingdom on earth, to flourish in great glory and
prosperitj'^ a thousand years : Such were bis designs, as is evi
dent by the event of things, and from the revelation he has made
in his word of what is yet to come to pass.
(6.) But as the case then stood, it was not fit that any of these
favors should be granted to a guilty world ; no, not any thing
that had so much as fall things considered,) the nature of a mer
cy, without some suffcient salvo to the divine honor.* Indeed,
some kind of reprieve, I presume, mighthave been granted to'
a guilty world, so as to have suffered the human race to have
propagated, and the whole designed number to have been born
— a reprieve, all things considered, not of the nature of a mer.
* Obj. But if God could not, consistently viith his perfections, shew any piercy
to a guilty viorld without a siifficient salvo to his honor, hoiix could he, consistently
viith his perfections, provide them a -mediator ? Was not this a great infrcy ?
And v>hat salvo had he for his honor in doing it ?
Ans. The very doing of this thing itself was to secure his own honor.
This was the very end he had nextly in view. Were it not for this end,
a mediator had not been needful ; but a guilty world might have been par
doned by an act of absolute sovereign grace. Now his taking such 3, glo
rious method to secure his honor, and the honor of his law, and govern
ment, and sacred authority, had no tendency to misrepresent them : He
acted in it just like himself. His infinite wisdom, holiness, justice, and
goodness, are all at once most perfectly displayed iii this conduct ofthe
supreme Governor of the world ; particularly, his infinite hatred of sin,
and disposition to punish it, appeared inthe very act of appointing his Son
to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world : For, in this act, it was manifest,
that he did choose his own dear Son should himself be»r the punishment of
sin, rather than let it go unpunished.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, Sll
cy : So the fallen angels seem to be under some kind of a re
prieve ; for they are reserved in chains, to the judgment of the
great day, as condemned prisoners..,II, Peter H. 4. And lience,
a number of them once cried out, Art thou come to torment us
before the time .?.,.. Mat, viii, 29 : Yet we are not taught, in
scripture, to IppH upon this as a mercy to them, But the scrip
tures teach us tp cpnsider our reprieve,. ..our worldly comforts
....our means of grace,. ..our space for repentance.. ..the restraints
of providence, and the comnion Influences of the spirit, as nier-
cies — ^yea, as great mercies.. ..i?o?K. ii. A-— -Isaiah v. 4— Deut.
X. 18 — Acts xiv. 17 — Rev. ii. 21. All these common favors,
therefore, as well as special and saving mercies, were not pro
per to be granted to such a guilty, hell-deserving world, by a
holy, sin-hating, sin-revenging God. This was not to treat
mankind as it was fit and meet they should be treated ; It was
contrary tp law tfiat apy faypr at all should, without a salve to
the divine honor, be granted them ; for, by law, they were all
doomed to destruction : And It was contrary to the divine na
ture to do any thing in the case, tbat, all things considered,
.would have, in the least measure, a favorable aspect towards
sin ; or so much as In the least tend to make him seem less se
vere against It, than if he had damned the ^hple world for their
apostacy and rebellion.
If God had set aside his laiy, which was the image of his
heart, and undertaken and shown all these favors to a guilty
world, without any sal'QO to his honor, his visible conduct would
have been directly contrary tp the inward temper of his heart ;
and by It he would have counteracted his nature, and misrep
resented himself, dishonored .his law, rendered his authority
weak and contemptible, ajid opened a wide door for the encour
agement of rebeUion, throughout a}l hJs domJnIons-7-and, in
effect, gotten to himself the character the devil designed to give
of him to our first parents, when he said, Te shall not surely
die, (Gen. iH. 4) — i.e. " God is not so severe against sin as he
" pretends to be, and as you think for- — nor does he hate it so
" much, nor wIU he do as he says in the case." It was there
fore Infinitely Impossible. R r

312 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
(7.) To the endi therefore, that a way might be opened for
him to put his desigris ofthercy in execution, consistently with him-
self....consistently with the honor of his holiness and justice, law
and government, and sacred authority, something must be done
by him in apubUc manner, as it were, in the sight ofall xvorlds,
w/fereby his infinite hatred of sin, and unchangeable resolution to
punish it, might be as effectually manifested as ifhe had damned
the whole world. Merely his saying that he infinitely hates
sin, and looks upon It worthy of an infinite punishment, would
not have manifested the inward temper of his heart in such a
meridian brightness as if he had damned the whole world /«
very deed : but rather, his saying one thing, and doing another
directly contrary, would have been going counter to himself ;
especiaUy, considering him as acting in the capacity of a Got;-
ernor, to whom, by office. It belongs to put the law in execution,
and cause justice to take place : For him first to make a law,
threatening eternal death to the least sin, makes him appear In
finitely just and holy ; but then to have no regard to that law
in his conduct, but go right contrary to It, without any salvo to
his honor. Is quite inconsistent, and directly tends to bring him
self, his law and authority. Into the greatest contempt. Some
thing, I say, therefore, must be done, to make his hatred of the
sin of mankind, and disposition to punish it, as manifest as if he
had damned the whole world; to the end that the honor of his
holiness and justice.. ..of his law and government, and sacred
authority, might be effectuaUy secured. To act contrary to
his own nature, was impossible.. ..to have ho regard to the hon
or of his law and government, was unreasonable — a guilty world
had better all have been damned.
Thus, from the perfections of God, and from the nature of
the thing, we see the necessity there was that satisfaction should
be made for sin. In order to open an honorable way in which
divine mercy might come out after a rebellious, guilty, hell-de
serving world.
To conclude this head, the necessity of satisfaction for sin
seems also to be held forth in the scriptures, and to be implied

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 313
in God's conduct in this affair. In the Old Testament, the ne
cessity of an atonement for sin was taught in types and figures.
The man that sinned was to bring his offering before the Lord,
and lay his hands upon it, and confess his sin over it — and so,
as it were, transfer his sin and guilt to it ; then was It to be
slain, (for death is the wages of sin J and burnt upon the altar,
(for the sinner deserves to be consumed In the fire of God's
wrath), and the blood thereof was to be sprinkled round about,
Cfor without shedding of blood there is no remission J^nor was
there any other way of obtaining pardon prescribed but this,
which naturally taught the necessity of satisfaction for sin, and
led the pious Jews to some general notion of the great atone
ment whicl^ God would provide, and to a cordial reliance there
on for acceptance in the sight of God....Xe0. iv, and xvi. — Heb.
ix. But, In tiie New Testament, the nature and necessity of
satisfaction for sin, and the impossibility of finding acceptance
with God, unless through the atonement of Christ, is taught In
language very plain and express ; particularly in the third chap
ter ofthe epistle to the Romans. St. Paul having proved both
Jews and Greeks to be under sin, and all the world to be guilty
before God, and that every mouth must be stopped. In the first and
second chapters, and In the beginning ofthe third, does, in the
next place, enter upon, and begin to explain the way of salva
tion, by free grace, through Jesus Christ : — "We cannot," says
he, "be justified by the deeds ofthe law, (Chap. iii. 20), but
" It must be freely by grace through the redemption that Is in
" Jesus Christ, (ver. 24) : But if we are not justified by the
" deeds of the law.. ..by our own obedience, how will God, our
" Judge, appear to be righteous ? If the law condemns us, and
" yet he justifies us, i. e. ifhe thus proceeds contrary to law, to
" clear and approve when that condemns, how will he appear
"to be a just and upright Governor and Judge, who, Ipvlng
" righteousness and hating iniquitj'^, is disposed always to ren-
" der to every one his due ?4...Wliy, there is a way contrived,
" wherein the righteousness of God Is manifested In our justi-
" fication without the law's being obeyed by us....a way unt»

314 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
" which the types of the law and predictions of the prophets
^' did aU bear wltness;...a way in which the righteousness of
" God Is manifested In and by Christ, (ver. 21,22) : But how ?
" Why, God hath set him forth to be a propitiation, to declare
" his righteousness for the remissibn of sins that are past, through
" the forbearance of God — to declare,! say, at this time, his right-
" eousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him
" which believeth in Jesus." The apostle seems evidently to
suppose that God could not have been just, had he not thus de
clared his righteousness ; and that he actually took this meth
od to declare and manifest his righteousness, to the end he might
Jejws^.. .might act agreeably to his nature, the original stand
ard of justice, and to his law, which Is the transcript of his na
ture, and the established rule of righteousness between him our
Governor, and us his subjects-. He set forth his Son to be a
propitmtionfor the remission ef sin, to declare his righteousness, -
that he might be just, and the justifier, &c.
Besides, The necessity of satisfaction for sin, and that even
by the death of Christ, seems to be implied in our Savior's pray
er in the garden, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; Jiev-
ertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.,.iM.at. xxvl. 39 : And
again, (ver. 42t) 0, my father, if this cup may not pass away from
me, except Idirink it, thy xoill be done-^ As If Christ had said,
" If it be possible thy designs of mercy might be put Intp execu-
" tion, and ppor sinners saved, consistently with thine honor,
" without my drinking this cup, O that It might be ; but If it
" is not possible it should be so, I consent." Satisfaction for sift
being necessary, and there being no easier way in which satis
faction for sin might be made, and a door opened for mercy to
come to a guilty world, consistently with the divine honor, seems
to have been the very ground of the Father's willing him, and
of Christ's consenting to drink that cup : And, Indeed, is it
possible to conceive why Christ should be willing to suffer
what he did, or why his Father should desire it, were it not an
expedient absolutely necessary, and nothing else would do, so
that It must he; or not one ofthe race of Adam be ever saved,

distinguished frpm all counterfeits. 315
CPnsistentiy with the divine hpnpr ? If it was nPt sp absplute-
ly necessary — ^If there was seme cheaper and easier way that
would have done, why did the Father will this ? or how had
Christ a sufficient caU to undertake it ? or, indeed, what need
was there for him to undertake ? or what good would it do ?
If sin was not, in very deed, so bad a thing that It could not be
pardoned without such a satisfaction, why was such a satisfac
tion Insisted upon ?.,;.why a greater satisfaction than was need
ful ? Could a holy and wise God set so light by the blood of
his dear Son, as to desire it to be shed without the most urgent
necessity ? Or why should the Governor of the world make
more ado than was necessary, and then magnify his love In giv
ing his Son, when mankind might have been saved without it ?
Did this become the great Governor of the worid ? or would
God have us look upon his conduct in such alight?. ..Surely no :
Verily, therefore, such was the case of a rebeUious, guilty world,
that God looked upon them too bad to be released, consistent--
ly with the divine honor, from the threatened destruction, un
less such a mediator should interpose, and such a satisfaction
for sin be made ; and therefore Christ acquiesced In his wUl, as
being wise, holy, just, and good. And this being supposed,
the love of God, In giving his Son, appears even such as it Is
represented to be — unparalleled, unspeakable. Inconceivable ;
so, also, does the love of Christ in undertaking : And thus,
from the perfections of God, and from the scriptures, and from
God's conduct in this affair. It appears that a full satisfaction for
sin was necessary, In order to its being pardoned, or any favor
shown to a guilty world, consistentiy with the divine honor.
And If we. In very deed, did stand In such need, such an ab".
solute, perishing need of a mediator, as this comes to — If God
looked upon things In such a light, then must we see this our
need of a mediator, and look upon things In this light too, and
have a sense of this great truth upon our hearts : for, other
wise, we neither truly understand what a state we are in, nor
what need we have of a mediator. And if we do not truly un
derstand what a state we are in, nor our need of the mediator

316 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
God has provided, how can we be in a disposition to receive
him as he is offered in the gospel, and truly and understand-
ingly to rely upon him, his death and sufferings.. ..his worth
and merits.... his mediation and Intercession, as the gospel in
vites us to do ?
To see our need of Christ to be our atonement.. ..to see our
need of his propitiatory sacrifice to open the way for the Gov
ernor of the world to be reconciled to us consistently with his
honor, is a very different thing from what many imagine. Some
fancy they want Christ to purchase an abatement of the law, and
satisfy for their imperfections ; and then they hope to procure
the divine favor by their own goodness. Some trust In Christ
and the free grace of God through him, as they think, and yet,
at the same time, look upon God as obliged, in justice, to save
them, if they do as well as they can. Some, who lay not so
high a claim to the divine favor, yet, by their tears and prayers,
hope to move the compassions of God, and, by their fair prom
ises, to engage his favor, and would secretiy think it hard, if, af
ter aU, God should cast them off ; and yet they pretend to see
their need of Christ, and to trust in him : But these are all ev
idently so far from seeing their need of Christ, that, in the tem
per and exercises of their hearts, they implicitiy and practically
deny any need of him at all ; to their own sense, they are good
enough to be accepted In the sight of God, upon their own ac
count.. ..i?OOT. X. 3. Others, who have had great awakenings
and convictions, and see much of their own badness, and do,
in a sort, renounce their own righteousness.. ..they look to be
savedby free grace ; but. In all the exercises of their hearts, see
no need of a mediator, and have nothing to do with him : they
see no reason why they may not be pitied and saved by free
grace, without any respect to the atonement of Christ : They
do not understand that they are so bad that it would be a re
proach to the Governor of the world to show them mercy, oth
erwise than through a mediator. Others, again, who talk much
of Christ, andof faith, and of living by faith, and cry down
works, and think themselves most evangelical, yet, after all, on-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 317
ly believe that Christ died for them in particular, and that they
shaU be saved : this is their faith, and this their trusting In
Christ ; whereby it is evident, they never truly saw their need
of Christ, nor have they any respect to him under the proper
character of a Mediator : But then do persons see their need
of Christ, when, from a sense of what they are, and of what
God is, they are convinced that they are too bad to be pardoned
and accepted — so bad that any thing short of damnation is too
good for them ; so that it would be inconsistent with the di
vine perfections, and to the reproach of the great Governor of
the world, to show them any favor without some sidficient sal
vo to his honor : Now they see their need of Christ, and are
prepared to exercise faith in his blood, (to use the apostle's
phrase.. .i?OJn. HI. 23,) and not till now : for men cannot be
said to see their need of Christ and his atonement, unless they
see that in their case which renders his atonement needful ,-
but its being inconsistent with the divine perfections, and to
the dishonor of God, to pardon sin without satisfaction, was
that which made an atonement needful: Therefore sin
ners must see their case to be such as that it would be inconsis
tent with the divine perfections, and to the dishonor of
God, to grant them pardon without satisfaction for their sins,
in order to see their nqed of Christ and of his atonement.
When they see their case to be such, then they begin to see
things as they are — to view them in the same light that God does
— to perceive upon what grounds, and for \yhat reasons, a me
diator was necessary, and why and upon what accounts they
want one ; and hereby a foundation Is laid for them, under-
standingly, to have a fidutlal recourse to that Mediator which
God has provided, that, through him, consistently with the di
vine perfections, they may be received to favor ; and so, from
Christ, the Mediator, and from the free grace of God through
him, do they take all their encouragement to come to God, In
hopes of pardon and acceptance, and eternal life : And thus they
look to be justified by free grace through the redemption that is
in Jesus Christ, which is what the gospel intends and proposes

318 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
„„Rsm, ni."24 : And frpni an increasing sense oftheir unwor
thiness and IU deserts, they, throiigh the course of their Uves,
more and more, grow up liito a disposition to live the life they
live »? thefiesh, by faith in the Son of God, always having res
pect to him as their great high-priest, \n all their approaches to
the mercy-seat, having occe*« to God by him, who has styled him
self the door of the sheep, and the way to the Father, which is
the very thing the gospel proposes, and Invites and encourages
us unto. Heb. Ix. 12. ...By his own blood he entered into the ho
ly place,having obtained eternal redemption for us I Ver. 24....
Into heaven itself , to appear in the presence of God for us : Heb.
x. 1^^—22,.. ..Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood'tfJesUs, by a new and living way xvhich he
hath consecrated for us—r-and having an high-priest over the house
of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of
faith, Rom. Hi. 25. ...For him hath God set forth ta be a pro
pitiation for si;n, to declare his righteousness, that he might be
just, &c. ¦ ¦
And a clear, realizing sense of these things pn our hearts- will
lay a foundation for us to see how the gospel-way of salvation
is calculated to bring much glory to God, and abase sinners in
the very dust, which is that wherein the glory ofthe gospel very
much consists,... i?OOT, HI. 27 — rEph. I. 3, — 12. And we shall
learn to rejoice to see God alone exalted, and freely to take our
proper plaee, and lie down in the dust, abased before the Lord
forever-; And indeed it is perfectiy fit. In this case, that therebel-
wretch should come down, and be so far from finding fault with
the great Governor of the world, and with his holy, just, and
good law, that he should rejoice that God has takensuch an ef
fectual method to secure his own honor, and the honpr of his
law. We ought to be glad with all our hearts that the supreme
Governor of the world did put on state, and stand for his hon
or, and the honor of his law, without the least abatement ; and
did insist upon It that sin should be punished.... the sinner hum
bled, and grace glorified; — these were things ofthe greatest im
portance : and we ought to choose to be saved in such a way,

DISTIN..C3UISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 319
tp have God honored, and ourselves humbled : And it Is evi
dent this must be the temper of every one that comes into a
genuine compli-ance with the gospel : Thus much concerning
•the necessity of satisfaction for sin. But here, now, some
may be ready to enquire.
Was it not as necessary that the precepts ofthe law should be
obeyed, as that the penalty should be suffered, to make way for
the sinner not only to be pardoned, but also to be received to a state
of favor, and entitled to eternal life ? — To which I answer,
1. It Is true, we need not only a pardon from the hands of
¦God, the supreme Governor ofthe world, in whose sight, and
against whom we have sinned ; — we need, I say, not only to be
pardoned....delIvered from condemnation.. ..freed from the
curse of the law.. ..saved from hell; but we want something
frirther : We want to be renewed to God's Image.. ..taken into
his family.. ..put among his .children, and made partakers of his
everlasting favor and love : We need not only to be delivered
from all those evils which are come upon us, and which we are
exposed unto, through our apostacy from God ; but we want
to be restored to the enjoyment of all that ^oo«/ which we should
have had, had we kept the covenant of our, God.
2. It Is true, also, that mankind, according to the tenor of the
first covenant, were not to have been confirmed in a state of
holiness and happiness — ^were not to have had eternal life, mere
ly upon the condition of being Innocent, (for such was Adam
by creation), but perfect obedience to every precept of the di
vine law was required.. ..i?o?ra, x. 5 — Gal. HI. 10, The perform
ance of such an obedience, was that righteousness which was,
by covenant, to entitle him to life.
3. Since the faU, all mankind are destitute of that righteous
ness — nor can they attain unto it... .Rom. HI. 9 — 20.
4. But our natural obligations to love God with all our hearts,
and obey him In every thing, stiU remain : for they are. In
their own nature, unalterable : They wiU be forever the same,
so long as God remains what he is, and we are his creatures.
There was the same reason, therefore, after the faU, why we
S s

33© TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
should love and obey God, as ever there was : There was the
same reason, therefore, that the condition of the first covenant
should be fulfilled, as ever there was : It was reasonable, ori
ginally, or God would never have insisted upon It : and there
fore It is reasonable now, since our appstacy ; and God has the
same grounds to insist upon It forever : but we cannot perform
it ourselves ; It was necessary, therefore, that it should be per
formed by Christ, our surety. But perhaps some may stifl say.
When Christ had fully satisfied for all our sins, and so opened
aiway for believers to be considered as entirely free from any
guilt, why might not the Governor ofthe world now, of his sove
reign goodness and bounty, have bestowed eternal life, without
any more to do ? What need was there far Christ to fulfil aU
righteousness in our room ? — To which I answer —
When Adam was newly created, he was innocent.. .free from
any guilt ; and why might not the supreme Governor of the
world, now, wlthput.any more to dp, have bestpwed uppn him
eternal life and blessedness, pf his mere spv«reign goodness ?
What need was there that his everlasting welfare- should be
entirely suspended upon the uncertain condition of his good
behavior? Had not God just seen how It turned out with, the
angels that sinned ? Did he not know that Adam was liable to
sin and undo himself too ? And why would he run any venture
a second time i especially, since the happiness, not only of
Adam, but of all his race, a whole world of beings, now lay at
stake ? If he thinks that If but one man should gain the whole
worid, and lose his own soul, his loss would be Infinitely great,
what must the everlasting welfare of a whole race be worth In
his account ? And would Infinite wisdom and Infinite goodness
venture and hazard aU this, needlessly ? Yea, would such a Be
ing have done so, had there not been reasons of infinite weight
to move him to It — something of greater importance than the
eternal welfare of all mankind ? No doubt there was something,
and something of very great Importance, that influenced the
Infinitely wise and good Governor of the world to such a con
duct—something so very great, as to render his conduct, in

BISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 321
that affair, perfectiy holy and wise.^,.perfectly beautiful, excel
lent, and glorloug. It does not look Uke a mere arbitrary con
stitution. It was doubtless ordered so, because God saw It
was perfectly fit, and right, and best. But why was it fit, and
right, and best ? Whatever the reason was, doubtless, for the
same reason, it was fit, and right, and best, that the second Adain
should perform the same condition.. ..fulfil all righteousness, to
the end that, by his obedience, we might be made righteous,
and so be entitled to life in this way.
It is certain that eternal life and blessedness were not to have
been given absolutely, I,, e. without any condition at all, under
the flrst covenant.. Eternal life was not to .have been granted
merely under the notion of a gift, from a sovereign, benefactor ;
but also under the- notion of a reward, from the bands ofthe
moralGovemor of the world. Perfect obedience was the con
dition : Do and /i?)e.,..Rom. x. 5 : Disoiey and d,ie.,.,.Gal. Hi.
10. This was established by the law pf the God, of Heaven.
Now, the supreme Governor of the world, did this for
some erid, or for no end,: — not for no, end ;. for that would
reflect upon his wisdom. Was It for his own good, or his crea
tures' good ? — Not for his own good ; fpr he is self-sufficient
and independent :— >-not for his creatures' good i for It had been
better for them, their interest simply considered, to have had
eternal life and blessedness given absolutely and unconditional
ly : for then they would have been at no uncertainties. ...not li
able to fall into sin or misery, but secure and safe forever. It
remains, therefore, that, as moral Governor of the world, he
bad an eye to the moral fitness of things, andso ordained, be
cause, in itself. In Its own nature, it was fit and right.
But why was It fijt and right ? u e. What grounds and reasons
were there, in the nature of the case, why the great Governor
pf the world should suspend the everlasting welfare of his crea
ture, man, upon condition of bis being In most perfect subjec
tion to himself ? i. e. Why shpuld he so much stand upon his
QW» honor, as to insist upon this homage, at the hazard of his
creatures' everlasting welfare ? i. e. Why did he look upon his

322 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
own honor as a matter of so great Importance ? — I answer, that,
from the rectitude ofthe divine nature, he is perfectly impar
tial in all his conduct. It was not, therefore, from any thing
like pride, or a selfish spirit, that he stood thus upon his
honor ; the- homage of a worm of the dust could do him no
good : — -nor for want of goodness, that he set so light by his crea
tures' happiness ; but it was fit he should do as he dldr— tha
rectitude of his nature, as it were, obliged him to It: For it
becomes the Governor of the world, and it belongs to his office
as such, to see to it, that every one has his proper due ; and
therefore it concerns him, first and above all things, to assert
and maintain the rights ofthe God-head : and this honor was
due to God.
He was, by nature, God, and Adam was, by nature, man ;
he was the Creator, and Adam was his creature ; he was mo
ral Governor of the world, and Adam was bis subject ; he was,
by right. Law-giver, and Adam was a free agent, capable of,
and bound unto perfect obedience ; he was Judge, to whom it
belonged to distribute rewards and punishments, and Adam
was an accountable creature. Now he only considered him
self as being what he was, and his creature, man, as being what
he was ; and he was affected and acted accordingly. He con
sidered what honor was due to him from man — what obliga
tions man was under to give him his due^—that he was capable
of doing It voluntarily — -that It was fit he should— -that it be
came the Governor of the world to insist upon it — that if he
did not do It with all his heart, he could not be considered as
a subject fit for the divine favor, but fit only for divine wrath*
He thus viewed things as they were, and acted accordingly :
What he did, therefore, was perfectly right and fit. To have
had no regard to bis honor, but only to have consulted bis crea
tures' welfare, would have been a conduct like theirs in Rom.
i. 21, 25. ...They glorified him not as God : — They Worshipped
and served the creature, more than the Creator.*
* Sow God's putting Adam into a state of trial was consistent with his
aiming merely at his happiness as his last end, I ca»not Understand : Sure

V-
DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 323
Npw, since the secpnd Adam becomes surety, and stands res
ponsible to the Governor of the world, it was fit he should not
only suffer the penalty of the broken law, but obey Its precepts
too, in order to open a door for us not only to be pardoned, but
also received to favor, and entitled to eternal life. There was
the same reason the second Adam should do it, as that the first
should.... The honor of God did as much require it : It was as
needful in order to our being considered as subjects fit for the
divine favor and eternal Ufe : It became the Governor of tiie
world as much to stand for his honor with one as with the oth
er ; and he had as good reason to suspend the everlasting wel
fare of mankind upon this condition now, as ever : and to have
shown no concern for the divine honor, although God had been
openly affronted and despised by man's apostacy, but onlv to
have regarded and consulted the welfare of the rebel under
righteous condenmation, had been a conduct evidently unbe
coming the great Governor of the world.
But again, wemay view the casein anotherpoint of light ; —
According to the first covenant, eternal life and blessedness
were not to have been granted merely under the notion of a giftp
from a sovereign Benefactor ; but also under the notion of a }~e-
xvard from God, as moral Governor of the world — and perfect
obedience was the condition. Do and live : — And while eter
nal life and blessednesss were thus promised, hy way of reward
1 am, it must have been better, unspeakably better, for Adam, his interest
only considered, to have been immediately conjirined in a state of perfect
holiness and happiness, without running such an awful venture of eternal
ruin and destruction : Nor is there any man on earth that would choose,
merely out of regard to his own welfare, to be put into a state of trial,
rather than into a state of confirmed holiness and happiness, such as the
saints in heaven are now in : and, therefore, I cannot but think that God
had a greater regard to something else, than to Adam's happiness. In
this instance, it seems ¦pls.m, from fact, that God does not make his crea
tures' happiness his last end. It is in vain to plead, " that Adam could
" not be a moral agent, unless he was a. free agent — nor a. free agent without
" being liable to sin ;" for the saints in heaven are moral agents, 3,ndfree
agents too, and yet are not liable to sin : And if God's putting his creatures
into a state of trial is not consistent with his aiming merely at their hap
piness as his last end, then the whole tenor of God's moral government is
not consistent therewith : for, from first to last, it has been his way to
put his creatures into a state of trial ; even all his creatures who were ca
pable of moral government.

324 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
to virtue, God's Infinite love thereto was hereby testified, and
the temper of his heart acted out and displayed. But God in
finitely loves to act like himself :— -On this consideration, there
fore, it was necessary that the second Adam should fulfil all
righteousness, in the room of a guilty, unholy world, to the end
that the Governor of the world might bestow grace, and glory,
and all good things upon sinners, as a reward to Christ's virtue,
and so hereby testify his infinite love to virtue : And sostiUact
Uke himself. It was God's sovereign pleasure to exercise hii
infinite goodness towards a ruined race, and his holy nature
proinpted him to choose this way ; for he always takes infinite
deUght in showing regard and respect to virtue, in his moral
government ofthe world. He translated Enoch and Elijah...,
saved Noah from the general deluge.,, .delivered Lot out of
Sodom. ...promised Abraham a posterity numerous as the stars
of heaven, andPhlneas aaeverlastIngpriesthood....andathousi
and things more has he done — and all to bear a public testimo*
7iy of his love to virtue ; — -this is the thing which the King de.
fights to honor. The very ground of his love to himself, is the
if)irtue or holiness of his nature : — In this, his divine beauty and
glory primarily consists. ....feawA vi. 3. He loves, therefore,
to put honor upon the image of himself ; and, in doing so, he
StiU reflects honor upon himself, the original fountain of moral
excellence : and, therefore, according to the first covenant, and
according to the second, it was equally fit that eternal life and
blessedness should be given as a reward tP virtue, in testimony
of his regard thereto.
Thus, from the perfections of God, and the reason and na
ture of things, the necessity of Christ's obeying the preceptive
part of the law, as well as suffering the penalty, in order to our
being not only pardoned, but received to the everlasting favor
of God, and entitled to eternal life, seems evident.
But, from scripture, the point may more easily be confirmed :
For therein we are taught that he v/as,,appointed, by the Gov
ernor of the world, not only to make reconciliation for iniqiuty,
but also to bring in everlasting r1ghteo^usness.,...Tian. ix. 24^

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. S2j
And arc assured that he is become the end of the law for right
eousness to tliem that beUeve...U.om. x. 4 — And that, by his obe
dience, many are made righteous. ...^om. v. 19. But this wprk
wpuld not have been put upon him, had It been needless ; I. e.
if God's honor and our salvation could both have been secured
without It; for then It had been in vain : — which to suppose, re
flects much upon the divine wisdom, and quite undermines and
nullifies the love, and grace, and kindness of God herein to us ;
for we had been as weU without It. With much evidence, there
fore, may we conclude that it was necessary that the second Ad
am, Christ our surety, should obey as well as suffer in our room,
in order to open a door for our justification and eternal life :
And, accordingly, we may observe that the favors shown to a
sinful, guilty world, on Christ's account, are. In scripture, prom
ised under the notion of a reward to Christ'svirtue ; for, upon
making his soul an offering for sin, which was the highest act of
virtue, it was promised that he should see his seed... .prolong his
days....have the pleasure ofthe Lord prospering in his hands—
and that he should see the travail of his soul, and justify many,,..
Isaiah Uii. 10, 11, 12.
Therefore, in order to a genuine compliance with the gos
pel by faith In Jesus Christ, we must see how far we are from
righteousness — that all our seeming righteousness Is as filthy
rags — ^that we have nothing to recommend us to God — that
there is nothing In us rendering us fit to be beloved by him, or
meet to receive any favor at his hands, but every thing to the
contrary, to the end we may see our need of Christ.... of Christ,
to be made of God unto us, righteousness, (I. Cor. i. 30) and
our necessity of being found in him, having on his right
eousness, (Phil, Hi, 9) : for this is the deslg-n of the gospel,
to bring us to look to be accepted with God only in his beloved,
(Eph I, 6 — I. Peter II, 5) ; and to be justified freely by his
grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, (Horn.
Ill, 24) without the deeds of the law, (ver. 28); ourselves be
ing considered as being, in purselves, UNGPDLY....(Chap. iv.
ver. 5.)

326 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
And under a sense how far we are from righteousness.. ..that
we have, after all the attainments of this life, no righteousness
fit to be mentioned before God.. ..nothing fit to recommend us
to his favor, but are stiU, In ourselves, infinitely unworthy of his
love, or the least favor from him ; — I say, under a deep, effec
tual sense of this, we must live all our days, to the end that we
may never venture to come before God, as the Pharisee did,
emboldened by our own goodness, but always as the chief of
sinners, desiring to he found only in Christ, not having on our
own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith;
and so hereby be influenced to live the life we live in thefles^
by faith on the Son of God, as St. Paul always did, and as the gos
pel would have all others do.. ..I. Tim. i. 15 — Phil. Hi. 9 — Gal,
ii. 20, and Hi. 11.
To conclude — Thus, we see the grounds of the necessity'
there was for a mediator and redeemer, to make satisfaction for
sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness ; and so open an
honorable way for mercy to come out after a rebellious, guilty
world — and a way in which sinners may, with safety, return
to God.
SECTION IV.
CONCERNING THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST, AND OF HIS SAT
ISFACTION AND MERITS.
I proceed now to consider,
2. What has been done to make satisfaction for sin, and to an.
swer the demands of the preceptive part of the law ; and where
in the suffciency ofthe same consists. And,
In the first place, what has been done has been already hint
ed ; ancl it may be summed up in a few words : It compre
hends all that Christ has done and suffered, in his life and at his
death : For us he was born — for us he lived — for us he died :
He did all on our occown?, being thereunto appointed by his Fa
ther. But because his obedience and sufferings were most emU
nent and remarkable, when, according to. the command he had
received of his Father, he laid down his life for us, and offered
himself a sacrifice for our sins ; and because, with a view t«

BISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 327
this, he became flesh, and dwelt among us, therefore the scrip
tures do mpre frequently, attribute our redemption to what was
done then. Hence, we are said to be redeemed by his blood.....
1. Peter i. 18, 19 — To he justified by his blooid....Rom. v. 9 :
And aU spiritual blessings are frequently represented as the
Jfruits and effects pf bis death... .Gal. HI. 13, 14. The sacrifices
ofthe Old Testament pointed out this as the great atonement :
And to this the penmen ofthe New Testament seem, in a spe
cial manner, to have theireyes, as the great propitiation for sin.
Thus the first Adam was to have yielded a perfect obedience
¦to the divine law in every thing ; but that special prohibition,
touching the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was in a pe
culiar manner to try him, that it might be seen whether he would
;be in subjection to God in every thing : So, in the garden and
upon the cross, our Savior's spirit of obedience was tried and
discovered, and his obe^ence was perfected and his sufferings
completed ; and so here, in a more eminent manner, the law
was honored, and justice satisfied — and so the door of mercy
opened for a sinful, guilty world. But,
Secondly. As to the suffciency of what has been done to
answer the ends proppsed, let these things be considered :
(1.) That the person undertaking, as mediator and redeem-
'cr, was of sufficient dignity and worth.
(2.) That he was sufiilcientiy authorized to act in such a
¦capacity. (3.) That what he has done is perfectly suited, in its own
¦nature, to answer aU the ends proposed.
(1.) Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man, as to
his person, was fit for the mediatorial offce and work. He
was of sufficient dignity and worth — being, by nature, God....
equal with the Father. ...the brightness of his glory. ...the express
%image of his person....l?hil. ii. — ^Heb. i. He was God, (John I.
1,) as well as man, (ver. 14) — And therefore his blood was con-
'¦sidered and valued as being the blood of God, (Acts xx. 28)— i-
•And hence it is cahed preciou,s blood, (I. Peter I. 18, 19.) As
to his person, he was equal with God the Father in point of
T T

S28 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
worth aad dignity : and it was as/much for him to obey and
die In the room of a guilty world, as it would have been for Gorf
the Father himself. In point of dignity and worth,- there was
none superior to him ¦: He was upon a level with God the Fath
er : He was his equal and fellow. Zech. xiii. 7. ...Awake, 0
sword, against the man that is my fellow : He was as glori
ous. ...as honorable.. ..as lovely : He was, therefore,- fit for the ¦
office.. ..able to answer all the ends of God, the Governor ofthe
world — of his hoUness and justice, law and government, and
perfectly to secure the divine honor, viewed In every point of
light. The Infinite dignity of his nature, as God, made him ca^
pable of an obedience of Infinite moral excellence, and capable -
of making a full satisfaction for the infinite evil of sin : He could
magnify the law, and make It honorable In a more illustrious
manner than all the angels in heaven and men on earth put to*
gether ; by how mUchhe was more excellent than they aU. If
the Son of God obey and die. It Is enough : God and his law
are forever secure. Thus, his being, by nature, God, render
ed him of sufficient dignity for the oflJce and work of a media
tor.. ..jEfeS.ix. 14.
And this It was, also, which made him capable of underta
king : As he was God, he was under no obligations, on his own
account, to obey a law made for a creature — and he had an ab
solute right to himself. Every person, that is a mera creature,
is under natural obligations to perfect obedience on his own ac
count — ^nor Is he his own to dispose of : But the Son of God
was above a mere creature ; — he was a divine person, and, pre
vious tohis undertaking, was under no obUgation to obedience;
— ^he had an original right to himself, and was not, by nature,
under the law ; he was, therefore, at his own disposal, and at
full Uberty to undertake In our room : He had power to assume
human nature, and be made under the law for us, and obey for|
us, and suffer for us ; for he might do what he would with his
own....John x. 17, 18. The sufficiency of Christ being thus
originaUy founded in his divinity — hence, this is the first thing
the apostle to the Hebrews insists upon, in order to explain,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 329
clear up, arid confirm the safety ofthe way of salvation through
his blood....Heb. i. To clear up and confirm the safety of the
way.ofsalvatIon,through the blood .of Christ, Is evidently the
scope and design of that epistie, as is manifest from the ten first
Chapters ; — ^particularly see Chapter x. oer.lQ— 22. And In
order to show the safety of this way, he insists upon the excel
lency of his person, and the nature of his ofiice...„his being call
ed, appointed, and authorized, and his actually going through
the work of our redemption — which, together with some occa
sional exhortations, digressions, &c. is the substance of hia dis
course, from Chap. I. ver. 1, to Chap.x. ver, 23.
Thus, as God, he was of infinite dignity and worth — as Gpd,
he was at liberty to undertake. He had an. estate (if I may
so speak) of bis own, and could pay the debt of another with
what was his own, and purchase for us an inheritance : And I
mayjadd, that, as he was the Son of God, the second person in
the trinity, there was a suitableness that he, rather than either
of the other persons, should be appointed to this work. The
Father sustains the character of supreme Lord and Governor....
asserts the rights ofthe God-head.. ..maintain? the honor of his
law and government :. The Son. becomes mediator between
Gpd and mail, to open a door for God to show mercy to man
consistentiy with his honor, and for man to return to God with
safety : The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier, to work In sinners tp
will and tp do, and recover and. bring them to repent and return
to God, through Jesus Christ :. Thus the gpspel teaches us tP
believe. ,„Eph..ii, 18..
He also was made flesh,and dwelt among us, and, for our sakes,
was made under the law, tothe end that. In our iiature,he might
fulfil aU righteousness, and bear the curse : As he was. one with
the Father, he was fit to be betrusted with his Father's honor :
As he was Immanuel, God with us, he was fit to. be betrusted
with our salvation : As he was God-man,^ he was fit to be a me
diator between God and man. His humanity rendered him ca
pable to appear in the form of a ser^vant, and to become obedient
vnto death : and his divinity rendered his obedience and suffer-

3iO TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
ings sufficient to answer the ends designed. This is he of whoift
tiie text speaks, God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybe>.
gotten Son : He gave him....he appointed him to the work....
he put him Into the office...he anointed him, and then he hid on
him the iniquities of us all, and set him forth to be apropitiation :
Which brings me to consider,
(2.) That he was sufficiently authorized to be a mediator be
tween God and man...,to take the place of sinners, and to obey
and die In the room of a guilty world. God, the supreme Gov
ernor of the world, had sufficient power and authority to ap
point the first Adam to be a representative for his posterity, to
act In their room ; and, by the same authority, he has appoint
ed his Son, the second Adam, to be a second public head.....
Rom, V. 12 — 19. By divine constitution, thefirst Adam was
made a public person ; and, by divine constitution, the second
Adam is made such too : both receive all their authority to act
in that capacity from the constitution of God. The calling, ap»
^Intment," and authority of Christ, to take upon him this of
fice and work of a mediator and high priest. Is particulariy trea(>
ed of In the fifth Chapter to the Hebrews : He was called of God,
as was Aaron, (ver. 4) : He tbok not this high oflEice upon him-
Self, but was invested with it by his Father, (ver. 5) : He was
t&lled of God an high priest, after the order of Melchisedec,(ytr,
10) : His Father proposed the office and the work, andbe wil
lingly undertook^ Lo, I come to do thy will, 0 God....'B.€t>. x. 7.
God so loved the xvorld, that he Gave Ids only begotten Sorl 
John iii. 16 : And hence Christ says. He did not come ef him'
self, but was sent of his Father,...}ohn vH. 28, 29 : And that he
did not come to do his ownwill, but thewillofhim that sent him..^.
John vi. 38. And his Father acknowledges him as such by a
voice frpm heaven : Mat. xvii. S...,Thisis my beloved San, in
whom lam well pleased; hear ye hhn,
Withput such a divine cpnstitution, the death of Christ could
have been of no benefit to mankind : As, if an Innocent man
should offer to die in the room of a condemned criminal, and
should actually lay down his life, yet it could be of no berrefit to

DiaTlNGUISHBD FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 331
the poor criminal, unless the civil government had authorized
him so to do, i. e. unless, by some act, they had declared tbat
his Ufe shbuld be accepted, in the eye pf the law, instead of the
criminal's. The application is easy : Thus Chiist was called
and put into his mediatorial office, and avithorifeed to the work
by God, the supreme Governor of the- world ! And hence, in
allusion to the Jewish custom of anointing men, when, advanced
to some high office and important trust — ^(so Aaron, was jasno/?^*-
*c^ priest, and David was aBo«»«e<i king,) — In allusion, I safi
to this, he is called Christ, which Is, by Interpretation, ths
ANOINTED : Thus, as to his personal dignity, he was sufBcient
to undertake — and thus was he authorized to do so. , And,
(3.)- What he has done is perfectly suited, in its own nature, to
answer all the ends proposed : That is, to secure the honor .pf
God.,-j.the honor of his holiness, justice, and truth., ..his law,
government, and sacred authority — and so open a door for the
free and honorable exercise of his.mercy and grace towards: a
sinful, guilty world, and a way in which sinners might return tp
God with divine acceptance.: , God, the supreme Governor of
tiie world, knew upon what grounds there was need of a medir
ator....what ends he had to answer, and how they might be an
swered In the best manner. According to the counsel of his
own will, in his Infinite wisdom, he laid the very plan which is
now revealed to us in the gospel : He appointed one to be a me
diator whom he judged fit.. ..put him into the office, and ap-f
pointed him his work ; — aU this work Jesus Christ has done :
-He has finished the work which the Father gave him to do....,
John xvii. 4, and xix. 30— -And so has heen faithful to him that
appointed Aim.. ..Heb. Hi. 2 : So that herefrom we might be as
sured, that what he has done is most perfectly suited, in Itsov/n
nature, to answer all the ends proposed, -although it were quite
beyond us to understand how : But, by the help of the word and
spirit of God, we may be able to enter a littie way into this won
derful and glorious mystery.
It was fit the first Adam, as the representative and public
head of mankind, should, as a condition ofthe everlasting love

332 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
and favor of God, have continued in a most wiUing and perfect
subjection to God, the Governor of the world, valuing his hon
or and glory above all things y — ^this was God's due : This would
have satisfied God's holiness ; for holiness is satisfied when the^
thing which is right and fit Is done : — ^holIneSS wants no more,
but is then content and well^pleased ; and', upon this condition,
mankind might have been considered as subjects fit for the di
vine favor,' and might -have received the promised reward, to
the h^norcpf ' .the divine holiness and goodness. Now Jesus
Christ, therSon of God, has, by his Father's appointment and
approbation,- asstuned our nature. ...taken Adam's place. ...done
that which was Adam's duty In our room and stead, as another
public head.. ..obeyed the law God gave his creature — a law
which he was not under, but in consequence of his undertaking
to stand in our room and stead. The creature fails of paying
that honor to the Governor ofthe world which is his due from
the creature: A God lays aside his glory-.. .appears In the form
of a servant, and becomes -obedient ; and so. In the creature's
stead and behalf, pays that honor to the Governor ofthe world'
which was the creature's duty : and thus the Governor of the
world Is considered, respected, treated, aiid honored, as being
what he is, by man — i. e. by their representative Christ Jesus, -
God-man-mediator. And now, hereby, God's right to the obe
dience of his creatures, and their unworthiness of his favor up
on any other condition, are publicly owned and acknowledged:
the debt is owned, and the debt is paid by the Son of God — and
so holiness Is satisfied ; for holiness Is satisfied, when the thing
that is right and fit is done : And now, this door being opened,
mankind may, through Christ, be considered as subjects to
whom God may show" favor consistently with his honor : yea,
the divine holiness may be honored by granting all favors as a
reward to Christ's virtue and obedience.
Again, It was fit, if any InteUigent creature should, at any
time, swerve at all from the perfect wiU of God, that he should
forever lose his favor, and fall under his everlasting displeasure, ,
for a thing so infinitely wrong : And, In such a case, it was fit

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 333
the Governor of the world should be infinitely displeased, and
publicly testify his infinite displeasure, by a punishment ade
quate thereto, inflicted on the sinning creature. This would
satisfy justice ; for justice is satisfied, when the thing which is
wrong Is punished according to its desert. Hence, it was fit,
when, by a constitution holy, just, and good, Adam was made
a public head, to represent his race, and act not only for him
self, but for all his posterity ; — it was fit, I say, that he and all
his race, for his first transgression, should lose the favor, and
faU under the everlasting displeasure, ofthe Almighty. It
was fit that God should be Infinitely displeased at so abomina
ble a thing — and that, as Governor of the world, he should
|)ublicly bear testimony against it, as an Infinite evil, by inflict
ing the Infinite punishment the law threatened, i. e, by damning
the whole world. This would have satisfied justice : for jus-
lice Is satisfied when justice takes place — when the guilty are
treated with that severity they ought to be — when sin Is pun
ished as being what It is. Now, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
has, by his Father's appointment and approbation, assumed
our nature....taken theplaceof a guilty world — ^and had not on
ly Adam's first transgression, but the iniquities of us all laid
upon him — and. In our room and stead, has suffered the wrath
of God, the curse of the law, offering up himself a sacrifice to
God for the sins of men : And hereby the infinite evU of sin,
and the righteousness of the law, are publicly owned and ac
knowledged, and the deserved punishment voluntarily submit
ted unto by man, i. e. by their representative : And thus justice
is satisfied,; for justice is satisfied when justice takes place :
Abd sin Is now treated as being what It Is, as much as If God
had damned the whole world ; and God, as Governor, appears
as severe against it. And thus the righteousness of God is
declared and manifested, by Christ's being set forth to be apro
pitiation for sin ; and he may now be just, and yet justify him
that believes in Jesus.
By all this the law is magnified and made honorable. On the
one hand^ Were any in aU God's dominions tempted to think

334 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
that the great Governor of the world had dealt too severely
with man, in suspending his everlasting welfare upon the con
dition of perfect obedience ? God practically answers, and saj's,
" I did as wellhy mankind as 1 should desire to have been done
" by myself, had I been In their case, and tiiey in mine ; for
*' when my Son, who Is as myself, came to stand In -their stead,
" I required the same condition of him :" And what the Fa
ther says, the Son confirms : be practicaUy oWns the law to be
holy, just, and good, -and the debt to be due, and pays k most
willingly to the last mite, without any objection ; — ^which was
as ifhe had said, " There was all the reason in the world that
" the everlasting welfare of mattkkid should be -suspended on
" that condition ; nor could I have desired It to have been oth-
*' erwise, had I myself been in their case." — On the other hand,
Were any tempted to think that God had beeri too severe in
threateriing everlasting damnation for sin ? Here this point is al
so cleared up. God the Father practically says that he did as
he would have been done by, bad he been in their case, and they
in his ; for when his Son, his second self, comes to stand in
their place, he abates nothing, but appears as great an enemy
to sin, in his conduct, as if he had damned the whole world :
His Son also owns the sentence just : he takes the cup and
drinks It off : Considering the infinite dignity of his person, his
sufferings were equivalent to the eternal damnation of such
Worms as we.
Thus the law Is magnified and made honorable ; and, at the
same time, the honor of God's government and sacred author
ity is secured : and, I may add, so Is also the honor of his truth;
for he has been true to his threatening. In tlie day thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die : for on that very day the second Ad
am virtually laid down his life In the room and stead of a guilty
world. He Is the hxmb slain from the foundation ofthe worldi.
So that now there is no room left, for those who wiU view thin^
hnpartially,tohave undue thoughts ofthe Governor of the world ;
nor any thing done to expose his government to reproach, or
his authority to contempt : The honor pf the divine govern*

distinguished from all counterfeits. 835
ment and authority appears as sacred and tremendous as If he
had damned the whole world ; and although sinners will take
occasion to sin, and be encouraged in their ways, because grace
abounds, yet the Governor of the world has not given the oc
casion. In his conduct, the whole of it considered, he ap
pears as severe against sin as ifhe had damned the whole world,
without any mixture ofthe least mercy. The infinite dignity
of his Son causes those sufferings he bore in our room to be
as bright a display of the- divine holiness and justice, as If all
the human race had, for their gin, been cast into the lake of
fire and brimstone, and the smoke of their torments ascended
forever and ever.
Moreover, by aU this, a way is opened for the free and
honorable exercise of mercy and grace towards a sinful, guilty
world. It may be done consistentiy with the honor of God —
of bis hoUness and justice... .bis law and goverriment....hIs
truth and saered authority : for the honor of all these is effec
tually secured : It may be done to the honor of divine grace r
for now it appears that God did not pity the world under a
notion that they had been by him severely and hardly dealt
with, nor under a notion that it would have been too severe to
have proceeded against them according to law. The law Is
not made void, but established. No reflections are cast upon
the divine government: And grace appears to be free.. ..taking
its rise, not from any thing In us, but merely from self-moving
goodness, and sovereign mercy. This way of salvation is suit
ed to set off the grace of God to advantage, and make it appear
to be what it is.
¦Having thus finished the work assigned him, he arose from
the dead.. ..he ascended on high.. ..he entered Into the holy of
holies, into heaven itself, to appear. In the presence of God
for us, -as our great high priest.... Zfei.Ix : And here, as God-
man-mediator, he Is exalted to thehighesthonor....hasaname
above every name.. ..sits on the right hand of the Majesty on
high, having all power in heaven and earth committed unto
hi m,^ and ever lives to make intercession, and is able to save,
U V

336 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
to the Uttermost, all that come to God through him. Such is
the virtue of his righteousness and blood, and such Is his honor
and interest in the court of heaven, and such Is his faithfulness
to all that believe In him, that now it Is perfectly safe to return
to Gpd thrpugh him, and venture Pur everlasting all uppn his
worth and merits, mediation and intercession. Heb. iv. 16....
Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace. ^
Thus we see what necessity there was of satisfaction for sin,
and that the demands of the law should be answered: And
thus we see what has been done for these purposes, and its suf
ficiency to answer all the ends proposed. The Mediator was
of sufficient dignity, as to bis person. ...he had.sufiaclent author
ity, as to his office, and he has faithfully done his work. And
now the honor of God's holiness and justice, law and govern^
ment, and sacred authority, is secured ; and a way is opened
in which he may honorably put his designs of mercy into exe
cution, and sinners safely return unto him. Arid now, before'
I proceed to consider more particularly what way is opened,
and what methods God has entered upon for the recovery of
sinfid, guilty creatures tohlmself, I shall make a few remark*,
upon what has been said.
Rem. 1. As the law is a transcript ofthe divine nature, so
also is the gospel. The law is holy, just, and good ; arid is, as
it were, the image of the holiness, justice, and goodness of
God ; and so also Is the gospel : The law insists upon God's
honor from the creature, and ordains that his everlasting weU
fare shaU be suspended upon that condition ; and the gospel
says amen to It : The law Insists upon it that it Is an infinite
evU for the creature to swerve In the least from the most per
fect wIU of God, and that it deserves an infinite punishment ;
and the gospel says amen to It : The law discovered also the
infinite goodness of God, in its being suited to make the obe
dient creature perfectly happy ; but the gospel stiU more abun
dantly displays the infinite goodness and wonderful free grace
of God : The law was holy, just, and good, and the Image of
God's holiness, justice, and goodpess j but the gospel is more

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 557
eminently so : — in It the holiness, justice, and goodness of God
are painted more to the life, in a manner truly surprising, and
beyond our comprehension — yea, to the amazement of angels,
who desire to look and pry into this wonderful contrivance....
I. Pet. i. 12.
Here, in this glass, the glory ofthe Lord Is to be beheld....
II. Cor. III. 18. The glory of God Is to be seen In the face of
Christ. ...11. Cor. iv. 6. Wliat has been done by him in this
affair, discovers the glorious moral beauty of the divine nature.
Much of God is to be seen In the moral law.. ..It Is his image :
but more of God Is to be seen In the gospel ; for herein his Im
age Is exhibited more to the life — more cleariy and conspicu
ously. The moral excellence of the moral law sufficiently evidences
that It Is from God : It Is so much like God, that It Is evident
that it is from God : So the moral es;cellence of the gospel suf-
ficientiy evidences that It is from God : it Is so much like him,
that it Is evident that it is from him : It Is his very image-
therefore it Is his offspring : it is a copy of his moral perfec
tions, and they are the original : It Is so much like God, that
it is perfectly to bis mind ; — ^he Is pleased with it.. ..he delights
to save sinners in this way ; and If ever this gospel becpmes
the power of God to our salvation, it will make us like unto
God— It will transform us Into bis Image, and we shall be plea
sed with this way of salvation, and deUght to be saved in such
a way ; a way wherein God is honored,... the sinner humbled....
the law established....sin discountenanced.. ..boasting excluded,
and grace glorified.
If any man has a taste for moral excellence... .a heart to ac
count God glorious for being what be Is, he cannot but see
the moral excellence of the law, and love it, and conform
to It ; because It Is the image of God : and so he cannot but
see the moral excellence of the gospel, and believe it, and
love It, and comply with it ; for It Is also the Image of God.
He that can see the moral beauty of the original, cannot but see
the moral beauty of the image drawn to the Ufe : He, there-

338 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
fore, that despises the gospel, and is an enemy to the law,
even he is at enmity against God himself.. ..i?o>n. vIH. 7. Ig
norance of the glory of God, and enmity against him, makes
men Ignorant of the glory of the law and of the gospel, and en
emies to both. Did men know and love him that begat, they
would love that which is begotten of him.... 1. John v. 1. He
that is of God, heareth God's words ; ye, therefore, hear them
not, because ye are not ofGod....]ohn viii. 47.
And therefore a genuine compliance with the gospel sup
poses that he who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
shines in the heart, to give the light ofthe knowledge ofthe glo
ry of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ...11. Cor. iv. 6 : And a
sight and sense of the moral excellence of the gospel-way of
salvation assures the heart of its divinity ; and hereby a super
natural and divine assent to the truth of the gospel is begotten
in the heart. And a sense of the infinite dignity of the Medi
ator, and that he was sent of God, and that he has finished the
work which was given him to do, and so opened and conse
crated a new and living way of access to God....fogetherwith
a sense of the full and free invitation to sinners to return to
God in this way, given In the gospel, and the free grace of God
therein discovered, and his readiness to be reconciled; — a spir
itual sight and sense of these things, I say, emboldens the heart
of a humbled sinner to trust in Christ, and to return to God
through him. Hence the apostle to the Hebrews, having gone
through this subject In a doctrinal way, in the conclusion makes
this practical Inference : — Having, therefore, brethren, boldness
to etiter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus....by anew andliv-
ing way which he hath consecrated for u,s, through the vail, that
is to say, his flesh ; and having a high priest over the house' of
God, let us draw near with a true heart and fuU assurance of
faith....}ieh. x. 19 — 22.
Rem. 2. From what has been said, we may observe, that
the necessity of satisfaction for sin, and of the preceptive part
of the law being answered, takes its rise from the moral per
fections pf the divine nature, and the moral fitness of things ;

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 339
and therefore a true idea of God, and a just sense of the moral
fitness of things, wIU naturally lead us to see the necessity of
satisfaction for sin, &c. and predispose us to understand and
believe what is held forth by divine revelation to that purpose.
On the other hand, where a true idea of the moral perfections
of God, and the moral fitness of things, is not — ^but, on the
contrary, very wrong notions of the divine Being, and of the
true nature of things, there will naturally be an Indisposition
and an aversion to such principles ; nor will what the gospel
teaches about them be readily understood or believed : And
doubtiess it was this which originally led some to deny the ne
cessity of satisfaction for sin, and others to go a step farther,
to deny that Christ ever designed to make any. John viii. 47
....He that is of God, heareth God's words ; ye, therefore, hear
them not, because ye are not of God.
Rem. 3. The death of Christ was not designed, at all, to
take away the evil nature of sin, or its III deserts ; for sin is un
alterably what It Is, and cannot be made a less evil: But the
death of Christ was rather, on the contrary, to acknowledge and
manifest the evil nature and ill desert of sin, to the end that
pardoning mercy might not make It seem to be a less evil than
it really is : So that, although God may freely pardon all our
sins, and entitle us to eternal life for Christ's sake, yet he does
look upon us, considered merely, as In ourselves, to be as much
to blame as ever, and to deserve hell as much as ever ; and
therefore we are always to look upon ourselves so too : And
hence we ought always to live under a sense of the freeness
and riches of God's grace in pardoning our sins, and under a
sense of our own vileness and ill desert, In ourselves, upon the
account of them, although pardoned — That thou mayest re
member andbe confounded, and never open thy mouth any more
because of thy shame, when lam pacified toward thee for all
that thou hast done, saith the Lord God., „Kzek, xvi. 63. But
this is not the way of hypocrites : for being once confident
that their sins are pardoned, their shame, sorrow, and abase
ment are soon at an end: and having no fear of hell, they have

340 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
but little sense of sin : and, from the doctrine of free grace,
they are emboldened, as it were, to sin upon free cost. But
thus saith the Lord, When I shall say to the righteous, that he
shall surely live ; ifhe trust to his oxvn righteousness, and com
mit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered ; biiit
for his iniquity that he hath committed, heshalldiefor 2V.. ..Ezek.
xxxiii. 13.
Rem. 4. Nor was the death of Christ designed to draw forth
the pity of God towards a guilty world : for God could find
it In his heart, of his mere goodness, without any motive from
without, to give his only begotten Son to die for sinners : But
this was greater goodriess than it would have been to have sa.
ved mankind by an act of sovereign grace, without any media
tor ; — It was a more expensive way : As, for an earthly sove
reign to give bis only son to die for a traitor, that the traitor
might live, would be a greater act of goodness than to pardon
the traitor, of mere sovereignty. It was not, therefore, because
the goodness of the divine nature needed any motive to draw
it forth into exercise, that Jesus Christ obeyed^ and died in our
room ; but It was to answer the ends of moral govemmeat,
and to secure the honor ofthe moral Governor ; and so open
away for the honorable exercise ofthe divine goodness, which,
in its own nature. Is infinite, free^ and self-moving, and wants
no motive from without to draw it forth into action : And the
same, no doubt, may be said of Christ's intercession iu heaven.
We are, therefore, in our approaches to God, not to look to
Christ to persuade the Father to pity and pardon us, as though
he was not willing to show mercy of his own accord ; but we
are to look to Christ, and go to God through bim, for aU we
want, under a sense that we are. In ourselves, too bad to be
pitied without some sufficient salvo to the divine honor, or to
have any mercy shown us : And, therefore, when we look to be
justified hy free grace,it must be only through the redemptionthat
is in Jesus Christ ; who has been set forth to be a propitiation
for sin,to declare God's righteousness, that he might bejust,andtht
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.... 'Rom. Hi. 24, 25, 26.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 341
Rem. 5. Some ofthe peculiar principles ofthe Antinomians
seem to take their rise from wrong notions ofthe nature of sat
isfaction for sin. They seem to have no right riotions of the
moral perfections of God, and of the natural obUgations we are
under to him, nor any right apprehensions of the nature and
ends of moral government, nor any ideas ofthe grounds, naturei,
and ends of satisfaction for sin ; (a right sense of which things
t;ends powerfully to promote a holy fear and reverential awe of
tiie dread Majesty of heaven and earth.. ..a sense of the Infinite
evil of sin....brokenness of heart... .tenderness of conscience....
a humble, holy, watchful, prayerful temper and life, as weU as
to prepare the way for faith in the blood of Christ.) But they-
seem to have no right apprehensions of these things : They
seem to consider God merely under the notion of a creditor^
and us merely under the notion of fifetor*,- and to suppose,
when Christ, upon the cross, said. It is finished, he then p^d
the whole debt of the elect, and saw the book crossed, whereby
all their sins were actually blotted out and forgiven : and now,
aU that remains Is for the holy spirit immediately to reveal it
to one and another that he is elected — that for him Christ
died, and that his sins are aU pardoned ; which revelation he is
firmly to beUeve, and never again to doubt of: and this they
call faith. From which it seems they understand nothing
rightly about God or Christ.. ..the law or gospel : for nothing Is
more evident than that God Is, in scripture, considered as
righteous Governor of the world, and we as criminals, guilty be^
fore him ; and the evident design of Christ's death was, tohe
apropitiation for sin, to declare and manifest God's righteous
ness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth
inJesus...i?om.iIi- 9 — ^26: And the gospel knows nothing about,
a sinner's being justified in any other way Aan by faith, and by
consequence, in order of nature, not till after faith. The gospel
knows nothing about satisfaction for sin. In, their sense ; but eve
ry where teaches tbat the elect, as weU as others, are equally un
der condemnation arxdthe wrath of God..,yea,arechildrenof wrath
while unbelievers,...yoA»iH. 18, 36 — Eph. ii. 3 — Acts iH. 19.

342 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Again — while they consider God merely under the charac
ter of a creditor, and us merely as debtors, and Christ as paying
the whole debt of the elect....now, because Christ obeyed the
law, as well as suffered its penalty, therefore they seem to think
that Christ has done all their duty, so that now they have no
thing to do but firmly to believe that Christ has done aU: they
have nothing to do with the law — no, not so much as to be their
rule to live by ; but are set at full liberty from all obligations to
any ^M?y whatsoever; — ^not understanding that Christ gave him
self to redeem his people from alliniquity, and purify them to him
self, a peculiar people, zealousofgoodworks, (Tit. II. 14.) — and not
understanding that our natural obligations to perfect obedience
are not capable of being dissolved, (Mat. v. 17.) — and not un
derstanding that our obligations to aU holy living are mightily
increased by the grace ofthe gospel, (Rom, xii. 1.) : Indeed,
they seem to understand nothing rightly, but to view every
thing In a wrong light ; and. Instead of considering Christ as a
friend to holiness — as one that loves righteousness and hates ini
quity, (Heb. 1. 9.) they make him a minister of sin, (Gal. Ii. 17.)
and turn the grace of God Into wantonness : All their notions
tend to render their consciences Insensible ofthe evil of sin — to
cherish spiritual pride and caiTial securit)% and to open a door
tp all ungodliness.
' SECTION V.
SHOWING A DOOR OF MERCY IS OPENED BY JESUS CHRIST FOE
A GUILTY WORLD.
I come now to another thing proposed, viz,
J, •iHl'^To show more particularly what way to life has been
opened, by what Christ, our Mediator, has done and suffered.
In general, from what has been said, we may see that the
mighty bar which lay In the way of mercy Is removed by Je
sus Christ ; and now a door is opened, and a way provided,
wherein the great Governor ofthe world may, consistentiy with
the honor of his hoUness andjustIoe...his law and government,
and sacred authority, and to the glory of his grace, put in execu
tion all his designs of mercy towards a sinful, guilty, undone
world. — But to be more particular,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 343
(1.) A way is opened, wherein the great Governor ofthe world
may, consistently with his honor, and to the glory of his grace,
pardon, and receive to favor, and entitle to eternal life, all and
every one ofthe human race, xvho shall cordially fall in with the
gospel-design,..believe in Christ, and return home to God through
him. What Christ has done Is, In fact, suffcient to open a door for
God, through him, to become reconcileable to the whole world.
The sufferings of Christ, aU things considered, have as much
displayed God's hatred of sin, and as much secured the honor
of his law, as if the whole world had been damned-^-as none
wiU deny, who believe the Infinite dignity of his divine nature.
God may now, therefore, through Jesus Christ, stand ready to
pardon the whole world : — There Is nothing in the way. And
the obedience of Christ has brought as much honor to God, and
to his law, as the perfect obedience of Adam, and ofall his race,
would have done : the rights of the - God-head are as much
asserted and maintained : So that there is nothing in the way,
but that mankind may, through Christ, be received Into full
favor, and entitied to eterrial Ufe. God may stand ready to do
it, conslstenly with his honor. What Christ has done is every
way sufl[iclent. Mat. xxii. A^,.,, All things are now ready.
And Gpd has expressly declared that it was the design of
Christ's death, to open this door of mercy to all — John Hi. 16
,...God so. loved the wo-RhD, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that WHOSOEVER believethin him should not perish, but have ev
erlasting life — That whosoever, of aU mankind, whether Jew
or Greek, bond or free, rich or poor, without any exception,
though the chief of sinners, that believes; should be saved; For
this end, God gave his only begotten Son. He set him forth
to be apropitiationfor sin, that he might be just, and the justi
fier of him (without any exception, let himhe who he will,) that
believeth in Jesus. ...Rom. iu. 25, 26.
Hence, the apostlesreceived an universal commission. Mat.
xxvlii. 19.. ..Go, teach all nations. Mark xvi. 15, 16.. ..Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to • every crea-
W w

344 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
TURE* Accordingly, the apostles -proclaimed the news of par
don and peace to every one-— oSered mercy to all without ex
ception, and invited aU without distinction. He that believeth
shaUbe saved.,..Repent, and be converted, tliat your sins maybe
blettedout, were declarations they made to aU in general. To
the Jewish nation they were sent to say, in the name ofthe
King of heaven, I have prepared my dinner ; my oxen and my
fallings are killed, andaU things are ready : come unto the mar-
riage....'M.at. xxii. 4. And as to the Gentile nations, their or
ders ran thus : — Go ye, therefore, into" the high-ways, and as
many as ye find, bid to the marriage, (ver. 9i) To the Jewish
nation God had been used to send his servants the ^prophets, In
the days of old, saying. Turn ye, turn ye ; why willye die ?..,.
Ezek. xxxHi. 11. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come-....lsa. Iv.
1. Incline your ear , and come unto me: hear, and your soul
shall live, (ver. 3) : And now orders are given -that the whole
world be invited to a reconciliation to God through Christ t
Whosoever will, lethim come. ...andlie that cometh shallin no wise
be cast out. Thus, Christ has opened a door ; and thus, the
great Governor of the world may, consistently with his honor,
be reccnoiled to any that believe and repent : And^hus he ac
tually stands ready;
And now, aU things being thus ready on God's side, and the
offers, invitations, and calls of the. gospel being to every one,
without exception .; hence, it is attributed to sinners themselves
that they perish at last-^even to their own voluntary conduct.
Te will not come to me, thatye might have-lifei...John v. 40: and
they are considered as behig perfectly inexcusable. John xv..
22....N0W they have no cloak for their sin : And all because a
way Is opened, in which they might be delivered from con
demnation ; but they will not comply therewith. John Hi. 19.».
This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because tiieir deeds were evil:
, And therefore, In scripture-account, tiiey stand exposed to a
more aggravated punishment in the worid to come. Mat. xi.
20 — 24.....l^oe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee^ Bethsaida,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 345
^c— <AndthauCa.fem.auva,, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt
be brought down to hell, &c. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre,
and Sidon',and Sodom, in the day of judgmeiit, than for these
cities ; because they repented not.
And npw, because the door of mercy is thus opened to the
whole worldby the blood of Christ, therefore. In. scripture, he
is called the Savior o/'fAe world....,!, John iv. 14 — The Lamb
cfGod, xvhich takes axvdy the sin ofthe world..;. John I. 29 — i-
A propitiation for. the sips ofthe whple world. ...I. John H.,2
— That gave himself a ransom for all.... I. Tim. ii. 6— :And
tasted death for, ¦RVS.ViY man-. ..Heb. H, 9 : The plain sense of
aU which expressions may, I think, without any dapger.of mlsr
take, be learnt from John IH. 16,..,God so.loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that wnoso^VERbelieveth in him
should not perish, but have everiasting life.*- And Indeed, was
not the door of mercy opened to all. Indefinitely, how could
God sincerely offer, mercy to all^? Or, heartily Invite all ? Or
jrtMf/i/blame thpse. who do not accept? Or ^r.igliteou^ly. punish
them for neglecting so great salvatiaxi ?.
Besides, if Christ died merely for the elect, that is, to the In
tent that they, pnly uppn.beUeving, might, consistently w.Ith the
divine honor, be received, to fayor, then God could not, consist
ently with his justice, save any besides, if they should believe:
For without shedding of blood, there can be no remission..., Heh.
ix. 22.. If Christ did not design, byhls deatli, to open a door
for all to. be saved coadltionaUy, i, e. upon the condition of
faith, then there is no such door opened ;. the door is not opetir
ed wider than, Christ designed It should be ;-^there Is nothing
* " I am ready to profess," says the famous Doctor Twisse, " and that,
" I suppose, as. out of. the mouths of all our divines, that every one whio
" hears the gospel, (without distinction between elect or reprobate) is bound
"to believe that Christ died for him, so far as to procure hoth the pardon
" of his sins, and the salvation of his soul, in case he brieves and.rep.entp."
Again, " Ks Peter could not have been saved, unless he had believed and
" repented,- so yudas might have been saved, if he had done so." Again,
" yohn iii. 16, gives a fair l.ight of exposition to those places whei;e Christ
" is said to have diedfor thesins oftbeviorld — yea, ofthe viholeviorld, to wit,
'f in this manner ; — that vihosoe'ner believeth in him, shouldnot perish, but
" have everlasting life." — Dr. Twisse, on the riches of God' t love tothe
vessels of ¦mercy, &c.

346 TRUE religion delineated, and
more purchased by his death than he Intended : If this benefit
was not intended, then it is not procured ; — if it be not procu
red, then the non-elect cannot any of them be saved, consistent
ly with divine justice : And, by consequence. If this be the
case, then — (1.) The non-elect have no right at all to take any
the least encouragement, from the death of Christ or the invita
tions ofthe gospel, to return to God through Christ, in hopes of
acceptance : for there are no grounds of encouragement given,
Christ did npt die for them in any sense. It is impossible their
sins should be pardoned, consistently with justice ; — as much
impossible as if there had never been a Savior... as If Christ had
never died ; and so there is no encouragement at all for them :
and therefore it wpuld be presumption In them to take any ; — aU
which is apparently contrary to the whole tenor of the gospel,
which every where invites all, and gives equal encouragement
to all : — Come, for all things are ready, said Christ to the rep
robate '^ews.,..Mat, xxii. 4 : And If the non-elect have no right
to take any encouragement from the death of Christ, and the
invitation^ ofthe gospel, to return to God through him,in hopes
of acceptance,then. — (2.) No man atallcan rationally takeany en
couragement until he knows that he is elected; because, until
then, he cannot know that there is any ground for encourage
ment. It is not rational to take encouragement before we see
sufficient grounds -for it ; yea, it is presumption to do so : But
no man can see sufficient grounds of encouragemerit to trust in
Christ, and to return to God through him. In hopes of accep
tance, unless he sees that God may, through Christ, consistent
ly with bis honor, accept and save him, and Is willing so to do'.
If God can, and Is actually willing to save any that comes,
then there Is no objection : I may come, and any may come
— all things are ready.... there is bread enough, and to spare:
Butif Godis reconcileable only to the electy then I may not
come....I dare not come.... It would be presumption to come,
till I know that I am elected. And how can I know that ?...
Why, notby any thing In all the Bible. While an unbeliever,
it Is impossible I should know it by any thing in scripture ;

distinguished from all counterfeits. 3*t7
It Is no wbere ?aid, in ej^press words, that I, .by, name, , am
elected, and there are no rules o£ trial laid down. in such a
case : And how can I, therefore, ia-tbis. case,. -ever know
that I am elected, but by an immediate revelation from
heaven ? And how shall I know that this revelation is true ?
How shall I dare to venture my soul upon It ?... .The. gospel
does not teach me to look for ^ny such revelation, nor give
any marks whereby I may know when it is from God, and
when from the devil : Thus, an invincible bar is laid in my
way to Ufe ; I must know that I am pne ofthe elect, before I
can see any encouragement to believe in Christ ; because none
but the elect have any more business to do so than the devils :
but, If I am one of the elect, yet it is impossible I should know It
till afterwards : Besides, all tills is contrary to the whole tenor
ofthe gospel — Whosoever will, let him come... .Whosoever comes,
shall in no wise be cast out.. ..Whosoever believes, shall be saved —
And contrary to the experience of all u-ue believers, who, in
their first return to God through Christ, always take all their en-,
couragement from the gospel, and lay the weight oftheir souls
upon the truth of that ; and venture their eternal all upon this
bottom, and not upon the truth of any new revelation : They
venture their all upon the truths already revealed In the gospel,
and not upon the truth of any proposition not revealed there.
So that, let us view this point in what light we wUl, nothing
is more clear and certain than.that Christ died, itAaf whosoev
er believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting Ufe,
And God may now be just, and yet justify any of the race of Ad
am that believe In Jesus : and he stands ready to do so. — And
these things being true, the servants, upon good grpunds, might,
in their master's name, tell the obstinate Jews, who did not be
long to the election of grace, and who finally refused to hear
ken to the caUs ofthe gospel. Behold, I have prepared my din
ner ; my oxen and my fallings are killed, and all things are rea
dy : come unto the marriage. ...'M.at. xxii. 4: Ahd If they had
come, they would have been heartily welcome : the provision
made was sufficient, and the Inyitanon sincere : Jesus wept over

348 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
them, saying, 0 that thou hadst known, in this thy day, thethings
which bibng to thy peace! So that there was nothing to hinder,
had the.y but been willing. But it seems they were otherwise
disposed ; and therefore they made light of it, and went their
ways. ..one to his farm, another to his merchandise ; and the rem
nant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew
them, (ver. 5, 6.) And in this glass we may see the veyy.nature
of all mankind, and how aU woidd actuaUy do if not prevented
by divine grace : Justly, therefore, at the. day of judgment, wIU
this be the condemnation, that Ught has come into the world, but
men loved darkness rather than light: For certainly, if
mankind are so perversely bad, that, notwithstanding their natr
ural obligations to God, and the unreasonableness of their ori
ginal apostacy, they will yet persist in their-rebellion — and, at
ter all the glorious provision and kind invitations of the gospel,
will not return to God through Christ ; — I say, certainly, God
is not obUged to come out after them, and, by his all-cpnquerr
ing grace. Irresistibly reclaim them -y but may justiy let every
man take his pwn course, and run his own ruin. :. And an ag
gravated damnation will every such person deserve in the cohit
ing world,/or neglecting so great salvation....lleb. II..2, 3..
And now, If Christ's atonement and merits be thus sufficient
for all...and If God stands ready to be reconciled to all...and If '
all are invited to return and come — Whence, then, we may leam
. that It Is safe for any of the poor, sinful, guilty, lost, undone
race of Adam to return to God in this way :. They shaU surely
find acceptance with God : they may come without money, and
without price ; and he that cometh sliall in no. wise be cast out.
And hence we may see upon what grounds it is, that the
poor, convinced, humbled sinner Is encouraged and embolden
ed to venture his aU upon Christ, and return to God through
him. It is because any poor, sinful, guilty, hell-deserving
wretch may come — any in the world— the worst In the world
— the vilest, and most odious and despicable : for such he ac-
tually takes himself to be. And if he did not see that there
was an open door for such....for any such.... for all such, he

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 349
would doubt, and that with good reason too, whether he might
safely come. But when he understands and believes the gos
pel-revelation, and so is assured that it is safe for any....for all
,...the vilest and the worst, now the peculiar vUeness and un
worthiness which he sees in himself ceases tohe an objection:
He sees it safe for any, and therefore for him — and hence takes
courage, and is emboldened to venture his all upon the free
grace of God, through Jesus Christ ; and so returns, in hopes
of acceptance. Now, does this poor sinfier -venture upon a
¦safe foundation, or does he not ? He takes It for granted
that the supreme Governor of the world can, consistently with
his honor, show mercy to any that come to him through Christ.;
and he takes it for granted that he stands ready to do so, even
io the vilest and worst.. ..that the door of mercy stands wide
open, and whosoever will, may come: And, upon these princi
ples, he takes encouragement to return to God, in hopes of ac
ceptance : arid, from a sense of his own wants, and of the glory
and all-sufficiency ofthedivine nature. ...of the blessedness there
is In being the Lord'sjdevoted to him, and living upon hini,
he does return with all his heart ; and to God he gives himself,
to be forever his : and if the gospel be'ti-ue, surely he must be
safe. The truth ofthe gospel is the foundation of all ; for up
on that, and that only, he builds : not upon works of righteous
ness which he has done — ^not upon any immediate revelation of
pardon, or the love of Christ to him in particular ; but merely
upon gospel-principles. If they, therefore, prove true. In the
coming world, then wiU he receive the end of his faith — the
salvation of bis souU But to return,
Thus we see that, by the death of Christ, there is a wide
door opened for divine mercy to exercise and display Itself :
the supreme Governor of the world may, consistently with his
honor, now seat himself upon a throne of grace, and proclaim
the news of pardon and peace through a guilty world ; and it
is perfectly safe for any of the guilty race of Adam to return
unto him through Jesus Christ. And now, were mankind In
a disposition to be heartily sorry for their apostacy from God,

850 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
and disposed'to esteem It their indispensable duty, and highest
blessedness, to return ; were this the case, the joyful news of
a Savior, and of pardon and peace through him, would fly
through the world like lightning, and every heart would be melt
ed with love, and sorrow, and gratitude ; and all the nations of
the earth would come, and fall down in the dust before the
Lord, and bless his holy name, and devote themselves to him
forever, lamenting, in the bitterness of their hearts, that ever
they did break away from their subjection to such a God. ¦ And
were mankind sensible of their sinful, guilty, undone state by
LAW, and disposedto justify the law,and condemn themselves
-;— and were theysenslble of the holiness and justice of the great
Governor of the world, they would soon see their need of such
a mediator as Christ Jesus, and soon see the wonderful grace
of the gospel, and soon see the glOrif of this way of salvation,
andso know it to be from God,believe It, and fall in with It ;
and all the world would repent and convert of their own accord
— and So all the world might be saved without any more to do.
But, Insteiad- of this, such Is the temper o'f mankind, that there
is not one In the world, that, of his own accord. Is disposed to
have any such regard to God, or sorrow for his apostacy, or in
clination to repent and return ; nor do men once imagine that
they are In a state so wretched and undone, and stand In such
a perishing needof Christ and free grace ; and therefore they
are ready to make Ught of the glad tidings of the gospel, and
go their ways..'.one to his farrii, another to his merchandise : nor
Is there one of all the human race disposed, of his own accord,
to lay down the weapons of his rebellion, and return to God by
Jesus Christ : So that all will come to nothing, and not one be
ever brought home to God, unless sbmetbing farther be done—
unless some methods, and methods very effectual, be used.
But that God should come out after such an apostate race,
who, without any grounds, have turned enemies to him, and,
without any reason, refuse to be reconciled.. ..and that after all
the glorious provision and kind Invitations ofthe gospel ; — ^that
God, I say, should come out after such, and reclaim them by

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 351
his own sovereign and all-conquering grace, might seem to be
going counter to the holiness and justice of -his nature, and to
tend to expose his law and government, and sacred authority,
to contempt ; in as much as they so eminently deserve to be
consumed by the fire of his wrath. Therefore,
(2.) Jesus Christ did, by his obedience and death, open such
a door of mercy, as thatthe supreme Governor of the worldmight,
consistently with his honor, take what methods he pleased,in or
der to recover rebelUous, guilty, stubborn sinners to himself.
That he might take xuhat methods he pleased, I say — for he
knew, from the days of eternity, how mankind would be dis
posed to treat him, his Son, and his grace ; and he knew, from
eternity, what methods he intended to take to reclaim them :
and these are the methods which he now pleases to take — and
the methods.. ..yea, the only methods which he actually does
take : So that it is the same thing, In effect, to say that, by v.- hat
Christ has done and suffered, a door Is opened for the most
HIGH, consistently with his honor, to take — 1. Wbat methods
he actually does take, or — 2. What methods he pleases, or — 3.
What methods he, from eternity, intended : For all amount to
just one and the same thing : for what pleased him from eter
nity, the same pleases him now ; and what pleases him now,
that he actually does. The Infinite perfection of his nature
does not, admit of any new apprehension, or alteration of judg
ment. By his Infinite understanding he always had, and has,
and will have, a complete view of all things, past, present, and
to come, at once : And by his infinite wisdom, and the perfect
rectitude of his nature, he unchangeably sees and determines
upon that conduct which Is right, and fit, and best : For with
hiffi there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.. .Jam.es i. 17.
Now, that what Christ has done and suffered, .was suffcient
to open a way for the honorable exercise of his sovereign grace,
in recovering sinners to himself, is evident, from what has been
heretofore observed : And that It was desigjied for this end,
and has. In fact, effectually answered It, is plain, from God's
conduct in the affair : for otherwise he could not, consistently
X X

352 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
with his honor, or the honor of his law, use those means to re
claim sinners, which he actually does : For all those methods
of giace would else be contrary to law, which does not allow
the sinner to have any favPr shown him, without a sufficient se
curity to the divine honor, as has been before proved. The
law, therefore, has been satisfied in this respect, or these favors
could not be shown : for heaven and earth shall sooner pass
away, than the law be disregarded in any one point. It follows,
thereiore, that not only special and saving grace, but also that
all the common favors which mankind in general enjoy, and
that all the means of grace which are common to the elect and
non-elect, are the effects of Christ's merits : All were purcha
sed by him ; none of these things could have been granted to
mankind, but for him. Christ has opened the door, and an in
finite sovereign goodness has strewed these common mercies
round the world. All those particulars wherein mankind are
treated better than the damned In hell, are over and above
what mere law would allow of, and therefore are the ef
fects of Christ's merits and gospel-grace. And for this,
among other reasons, Christ Is called the Savior of the world :
And hence, also, God Is said to be reconciling the world to him
sdf not imputing their trespasses unto them... .11. Cor. v. 19 :
Because, for the present, their punishment is suspended, and
they are treated in a way of mercy.. ..are Invited to repentance,
and have the offers of pardon and peace, and eternal life made
Unto them ; — hence, I say, God Is said not to impute. their sins
unto them — agreeably with that paraUel place In Psalm IxxvIIL
38, where Godis said to forgive the iniquity of his pepple, be
cause he destroyed tliem not.
Upon the whole, then, this seems to be the true state of the
case : — God is, through Christ, ready to •be reconciled to all
and every one that wIU repent and return unto him through Je.
sus Christ : He sends the news of pardon and peace around
a guilty world, and invites every one to come, saying. He
that believeth, shall be .saved ; and he that believeth not, shall be
damned : and, on this accpunt, it is said that he will have all

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERF.EITS. o53
men to be saved, and is not willing that any should perish ; be
cause he offers salvation to all, and uses arguments to dissuade
them from perdition. But, in as much as mankind wiU not
hearken, but are obstinately set In their way, therefore he takes
state upon himself, and says, IxviU have mercy on xvhom I xvill
have mercy : and a sinful, guilty world are In his hands, and he
may use what methods of grace with all that he pleases : Some
he may suffer to take their own way,and run their own ruin, Ifhe
pleases — and others hemay subdue and recover to himself, by his
ownall-conqueringgrace: And,untoacertainnumber,frometer-
nity,he intended to show this special mercy: andthese are said to '
be given to Christ, (John vi. 37.) And with a special eye to
these sheep did he lay down his life, (John x. 15.) — ^hls Father
intending, and he intending, that they, in spite of all opposition,
should be brought to eternal life at last : and hence the elect do
always obtain, (Rom. xi. 7, compared with John vi. 37.) And
here we may leam how to understand those places of scripture
which seem to limit Christ's undertaking to a certain number.
Mat. I. 21. ...Thou shalt call his name Jesus ; because he shall
save HIS PEOPLEyj-o/w their sins. — Eph. v. 23. ...He is the head
ofthe CHURCH ; and he is the Savior ofthe body. — ^Ver. 25....
¦Christ loved the church, and gave himself ¥or if. — Acts xx.
28.. ..He hath purchased his church with his ovju blood. — John
X. IS. ...I lay down my life for the sheep. — There were a cer
tain number which the Father and Son, from all eternity, de
signed for vessels of mercy, to bring to glory....Ro7n. ix. 23. —
With a view to these, it was promised In the covenant of re
demption that Christ should see of the travail of his sow/.. ..Isai.
liH.ll. — And Christ says, in John vi. 37, 38, 39, AU that the
Father giveth me, shall come to me ; and him that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out.. ..For I came down from heaven, not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent tne.. ..And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me, that ofall xvhich he
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. — See, also. Tit. Ii. 14 — Rev. v. 9, 10 — Eph. i.
4, 5,6.

354 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Thus Christ's merits are sufficient for all the world, and thft
door of mercy Is opened wide enough for all the world ; and
God, the supreme Governor, has proclaimed himself reconcile
able to all the world, if they will believe and repent r And if
they will not beUeve and repent, he is at liberty to have mercy
onwhomhe will have mercy, and to show compassion to whom
he will show compassion.,.according to the good pleasure of his
wiU, to the praise of tlie glory of his grace. He sits Sovereign,
and a rebellious, guilty world are In his hands, and at his dis- .
posal ; and the thing that seems good In his sight, that be wiU
do : and It is infinitely fit, right, and best he should„.that the
pride ofall flesh may be brought low, and the Lord alone be ex
alted forever. And as this view of things seems exactly to har
monize with the wholetenor of the gospel in general,and to agree
with the various particular representations of our redemption by
Christ — and to reconcile those texts which seem to speak of an
universal redemption, with those which seem to speak of apar-
ticular redemption, so it will naturally suggest an easy answer to
any objections which may be made against It.
Obj. 1 . If Christ has suffered the penalty ofthe law, not only
for the elect, but also for the non-elect, how can it be just that they
themselves should be made to suffer it over again forever in hell?
Ans. Because Christ did not die with a design to release
them from their deserved punishment, but only upon condition
of faith ; and so they have no right to the release, but upon that
condition : It is as just, therefore, they should be punished as
if Christ had never died, since they continue obstinate to the
last ; and It Is just, too, they should have an aggravated dam
nation, for refusing to return to God, despising the offers of
mercy, and neglecting so great salvation.. ..yoi^n Hi. 16 — 19.
Obj. 2. If Christ obeijed the preceptive part of the law, not
only fir the elect, but also for the non-elect, why are not all
brought to eternal life, since eternal life is by law promised to per
fect obedience ?
Ans. Because Christ did not purchase eternal life for them,
but upon the condition of faith : But they would not come to

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 355
Christ, that they might have life j and therefpre they justly per-
ish....John HI. 16 — 19.
Obj. 3. But for xvhat ptirpase did Christ die for those xuhs
were in heU a long time before his death ?
Ans. And tp what purpose did he die for those who were In
heaven a long time before his death ?...The truth is, that when
Christ laid down his life a ransom for all, he only accomplished
what he undertook at the beginning. Christ actually Interpo
sed as Mediator Immediately upon the faU of man, and under
took to secure the divine honor, by obeying and suffering in
the room of a guilty world; and therefore, through him, God
did offer mercy to Cain as weU as tp Abel, and show common
favors to the world in general, as weU as grant special grace to
the elect ; and that before his death, as well as since. Surely
none wiU deny that all the favors which mankind did enjoy pri
or to Christ's death, were by. virtue of his undertaking to be
Mediator, and engaging to secure the divine honor : for, upon
any other footing, the Governor of the world could not have
granted such favors consistently with his honor.
Obj. 4. But if Christ diedfor all, then- he died in vain, since
all are not saved.
Ans. The next and immediate end of Christ's death was
to answer the ends of moral government, and so secure the
honor ofthe moral Governor, and open a way In which he might
honorably declare himself reconcileable to a guilty world upon
their returning through Christ, and use means to reclaim them ;
but this end Christ did obtain — and so did not die in vain,,..
John Hi. 16 — Rom. III. 24, 25, 26. And the supreme Gover
nor of the world will now, through Christ, accomplish all the
designs of his heart, to the everlasting honor of his great
name. .
Obj. 5. But why would God have a door opened, that he
might, consistently with his honor, offer to be reconciled to all that
wiU return to him through Christ, when he knew that the non-
elect would never return ? And why would he have a door opened
that he might use means with them, when he knew all would be

356 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
in vain, unless he himself recovered them by his all-conquering
grace, which yet he never desigrtedto do ?
Ans. 6od designed to put an apostate world into a new^
state of probation. Mankind were In a state of probation in
Adam, their public head, and we all sinned In him and fell with
him In his first transgression : But God designed to try the
posterity of Adam anew, and see whether they would be sorry
for their apostacy, or choose to continue in their rebellion. He
would tender mercy, and offer to be reconciled, and call them
to return, and use arguments and motives, and promise
and threaten, and try and see what they would do. He
knew mankind would be ready to deny their apostacy, and
plead that they were not enemies to God, and think themselves
very good-natured — and would take it exceedingly hard not to
be believed : therefore he determined to try them, and see
what they would do, and make public declaration through the
world, that, finally, he would judge every man according to his
works, and deal with him according to his conduct : And,
in the mean time, tbat his honor might be secured, he appoints
his Son to be Mediator ; and so, through him, proclaims the
news of pardon and peace, and enters upon the use of means :
and now, if you ask me " Why does he do all this, when he
" knows it will be in vain, as to the non-elect, who will never
" come to repentance ?" —
lansxver — His knowing that all will. In the event, prove In
effectual to bring them to repentance, is no objection against
his using the means he does : for God does not make his fore
knowledge of events the rule of bis conduct ; but the reason
and fitness of things. You may as well inquire, " Why did
" God raise up Noah to be a preacher of righteousness to the
*' old world, for the space of an hundred and twenty years, when
" he knew they would never come to repentance ? — And why
•' did he send all his servants, the prophets, to the children of
" Israel, rising early and sending, and, by them, command and
*' call.. .entreat and expostulate. ..promise and threaten, and say,
" As Hive, saith the Lord God, I delight not in the death of a

distinguished from all counterfeits. 357
" sinner ; turn ye, turn ye ; why will ye die ! when he knew
" they would never come to repentance ? — And why did he af-
" terwards send his Son to the same obstinate people, when he
" knew they would be so far from hearkening, as that they
'.' would rather put him to death ?" — Now, if you ask me why
the great Goveraor of the world uses such means with the non-
elect, arid shows so much goodness, patience, forbearance, and
long-suffering, instead of sending aU immediately to deserved
destruction ? — I answer, it is to try them ; and to show that
he is the Lord God, gracious and merciful....slow to anger, and
abundant in goodness. It is fit that creatures In a state of pro
bation should be tried, and he loves to act like himself ; and
he means, in and by his conduct, to do both at once : And after
obstinate sinners have long abused that goodness and forbear
ance, which shduldhave led them to repentance — and have, after
their own hard and impenitent hearts, been treasuring up wrath
against the day of wrath, the righteousness of God's judgment,
in their eternal destruction, wiU be most manifest. And what
if God was determined not to reclaim rebels, voluntarily so ob
stinate, by his aU-conquerIng grace, but let them take their
course, seeing they were so set in their way ? What then ?...
Was he not at liberty ? Was he bound to save them aU by an ex
ertion of his omnipotence ? Might he not have mercy on xvhom
he xvould ? And, after such long-suffering, might he not show
his wrath, and make his power known, in the eternal destruction
of those who so justly deserved it ? God's last end, no doubt,
is to manifest his perfections : and in and by his whole conduct
towards a fallen world, they will all be most iUustriously dis
played,,. .i?o?K. xi. 36.
Obj. 6. But conndering that the non-elect are, after all,under
en absolute impossibility to believe and repent, convert and be sa-
ved..,.and considering that all common mercies, and w.eans of
grace, will only render them the more inexcusable in the end,
andso aggravate their guilt and damnation — therefore, aU things
considered, what seeming good they enjoy in this xvorld, is not
of the nature of a mer-cy : it would be better for them to be

358 true religion delineated, and
without it : Sodom ¦a,^nd Gomorrah wUl be better of it in the
day of judgment, than Chorazin awrf -Bethsaida :* and -therefore
there is no need to suppose that any thing which the non-elect
enjoy in this world, is the effect of Christ's merits, but oitly of
divine sovereignty.
Ans. What do you mean by being under an absolute impossi-
biUtyte beUeve and repent.. .convert nnd be saved? Using words
without determinate ideas is one principal thing which bewil
ders the world about matters of reUgion : Now, In plain En
glish, a// ^/j/n^s are ready. ...and they are invited to come>...and
there is nothing In the way of their being saved : but, they are
not sorry for their apostacy from God, nor will be brought to
it by all the means God uses with them : They have not a mind
to return to God, nor will they be persuaded by all the most
powerful arguments that can be used : they arS volutary ene
mies to God, and wiU not be reconciled, unless by an almighty
power and all-conquering grace, which God Is not obUged to
give, and they are Infinitely unworthy of,.,.and without which
they might return, were they but of such a temper as they ought
to be : they are under no inability but what consists in and results
from their want of a good temper of mind, and their voluntary
obstinacy. Sin has no power over men, but as they are incli
ned to it; and the inclinations of the heart are always voluntary
and unforced. Men love to be inclined as they are ; for oth
erwise their Inclinations would be so far from having any power
over them, that they would even cease to be. — Now certainly
the bringing up ofthe children of Israel out of Egypt was ofthe
nature pf a mercy, and a great mercy tPP indeed it was, not
withstanding that, thrpugh their unbelief and perverseness, they
never got to Canaan : The thing, In Itself, was as great a mer-
* It may be proper just to hint the gross absurdities implied in this ob>
jection. If the non-elect were under an absolute (i. e. not only a moral,
but natural) impossibility to turn to God, they would not be proper subjects
to use any means with : And if their common favors, and means of grace
were not if the nature of mercies, they could not aggravate their guilt :
And if it Wfis not their own fault that they did not repent under the en
joyment of means, they would not be to blame, nor deserve to be punished
for not repenting. Men stumble into such absurdities by using words
without determinate ideas.

DISTINGUISHED FRPM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 359
cy tP the bpdy of that generation, as It was to Caleb and Joshua :
jHid their bad temper and bad conduct, which prevented their
ever coming to the promised land, did not alter the nature of
the thing at all, nor lessen their pbUgatipns tP gratitude to God,
their mighty deliverer : And yet, all things considered, it had
been better for them to have died in their Egyptian bondage,
than to have had their carcases fall In the wilderness, is such
an awful manner. Arid besides, itis evident that the scrip
tures do look upon the common favors, and means of grace,
which the non-elect enjoy, under the notion of mercies ; and
(which otherwise could not be) on this very ground their guUt is
aggravated, and they rendered inexcusable,and worthy of a more
sore punishment In the world to come..,.John IH. 16 — 19, and
XV, 22, 24 — Rom, Ii. 4, 5 — Heb. H. 2, 3. And If they are of
the nature of mercies, then they are the effects of Christ's merits
— as has been already proved.
And hence, by the way, we may see the reason why the love
and goodness of God, in bringing up the chUdren of Israel out
of Egypt, Is so mightily set forth in the Old Testament, notwith
standing the body of that generation perished In the wilder
ness — and why the love and goodness of God, In giving his Son
to die for the world, is so mightily set forth in the New Tes
tament, notwithstanding multitudes of naanklnd perish forever :
viz. It was the Israelites' own fault that they perished In tbc
wildemess, and so it Is sinners' own fault that they perish for
ever.. ..John Hi. 19, and v. 40 : And did they feel it at heart,
it would effectually stop their mouths : for this is an undoubt
ed maxim, that the kindnesses of God to a rebelUous, perverse
world, are not, in themselves, any the less mercies, because
mankind abuse them to their greater ruin. The kindnesses
are, in themselves, the same, whether we make a, good improve
ment df them, or no : They are just the same, and so just as
great, let our conduct be what it will. It was a great mercy
to the Israelites to be deUvered out of Egypt — it v^as a won- i
derful expression of divine goodness : andhence Itis said, in
Hos. xi. I. ...When Israel was a child, then /loved him., and
Y y

360 TRUE P.ELIGION DELINEATED, AND
called my Son out of Egypt. (And a Uke expression we have
in Deut. x. 18.. ..Goi/ loveth the stranger, in giving him food
and raiment.") And on the same ground it is said, in John iii.
l&....God so LOVED the xvorld, &c. because the gift of Christ to
idie for the world was an infinite expression of divine goodness.
And ifmankind do generaUy abuse this goodness, as the'Israel-
ites generally did all God's kindnesses to them, yet still the
goodriess itself is just the same, A dreadful thing, therefore,
it is for the non-elect, „even as aggravated a piece of wickedness
in them as it would be in any body else, to tread under foot
the blood of the Son of God, and make light of all the offers of
mercy, and neglect so great salvation : And this, above all
other things,- will be their condemnatiori In the coming world,,.,
John IH, 19, Never are the Jews at . all excused, any v/here
in the New Testament, In- their slighting the offers of mercy
by Christ, on this account, that they were not of the elect :
And indeed the offers were sincere, and it was entirely .their
own fault that they did not accept, and they deserved to be
treated aGcordIngly,.„iyai, xxIL 1 — 7.
Obj. 7. But if God so loved the world, the whole world,
as to give his only begotten Son to die for theiti, in the sense ex-
plained, why does he not go through, and perfect the work, and
save the whole world, according to. that in Rom. viu. 32 ?.,..
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
lall, how shaU he not with him also freely give us aU things ?
Ans. 1. And why did not the King, In Mat. xxii. who had
made a rrtarriagefiir his Son, and sent his servants to say to
them that were bidden, / have prepared my dinner ; my oxen
and my fallings are killed, arui all things are ready : come unto
the marriage r— why did not the King, I say, when they refu
sed, compel them to come in .? Since he had done so much, why
did he not go through, and finish the work ? And this is direct
ly to the point in hand, because this parable is designed to repre
sent that tiiU provision which is made for the salvation of sinners
by the death of Christ ; and it proves that the otjjection has no
force In it. But farther —

distinguished from all COUNTERFEITS. 361
2. Take your Bible, andread from the 28th verse to the end
of that 8th chapter of Romans, and you wiU see what the Apos-
tie's desigij'is, through his whole discourse. " We know,"
says he, "^ that aU things work together for gdod to them that
"love God....to them who are caUed according to his purpose.
"But how do we know It ? Why, because God is fully deter-
?' mined to bringthem to glory at last : For, whomhe did fore-
" know, he also did predestinate ; and whom he did predesti-
" nate, them he also called, and them he justified, and them he
" glorified. And God was so fully determined to bring them
"to glory, and so much engaged in the thing, that he spared
"not his own Son, but delivered him up for us aU ; i. e. us,
" who loye God, and are his elect people :" (For itis of these,
and these only, that he here is speaking.) " And since he was
"so much engaged as to do this, we may depend upon it that
" he wIU also freely give us aU things ; i. e. us, who love God,
"and are his elect people : So that never any thing shall hin-
" der our being finaUy brought to glory ,^ or separate us from
" the love of God — ^neither tribulation, nor persecution, nor
"distress, nor any thing else." So that this is the apostle's ar
gument : — Since God was so much engaged to bring, them to
glory who loved God, and were his elect people, as that he had
given his own Son to die for that end, they, therefore, might
have the strongest assurance that he would do every thing else
which would be needful effectuaUy to bring It about.*
But God never designed to bring the non-electto glory, when
he gave his Son to die for the- world : He designed to declare
himself reconcileable to them through Christ....to offer mercy -
....to invke thfem, in common with others, to return.. ..and to as
sure aU that he that believeth shallbe saved....and to use means
* If we leave God's design out of the apostle's argument, I cannot see
' that his reasoning would be conclusive; any more than a like argument
would have been conclusive, if we should suppose Moses to have used it
with the Israelites at the side ofthe Red Sea. " Since God has now brought
" you all out of Egypt, and thus divided the Red Sea before you, and
" drowned your enemies, therefore he will now, without fail, bring you all
" to the promised land :" Which reasoning would not have been conclu
sive i for the body of that generation died in the wilderness, and that in a.
very awful manner, notwithstanding this gloribus deliverance.

362 T|LUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
with them more or less, according to his pleasure ; but finally,
they being obstinate, he designed to leave them to themselves,
to take their own course, and, in the end, to deal with them ac
cording to their deserts.. ..il-iaf. xxiii. 37,38, and xxii. 1 — 7:
And this being the case, the objection from the Apostle's words
is evidently groundless.
As to the opinion of the Arminians, that God equally design
ed salvation for all men, purposing to offer salvation to all, and
use means with all, and leave all to their own free will, and save
those, and those only, who, of their own accord, will become
good men ; — as for this opinion, I say, I think they never learnt
it from the Bible : but rather, they seem to have been led Into
it from a notion that mankind are so good-natured that all
might, and that at least some actually would, under the enjoy
ment of the common means of grace, become good men of their
own accprd, /. e. without any such thing as special grace. Con
vince them that this is an error, and they will soon give up
their scheme, and acknowledge their need of sovereign grace,
and see the reasonableness and truth of the.doctrine of elec
tion : Or rather, I may say, convince them, first of all, what
God is, and what the law is, and wbat the nature of true reUgion
is, that they may know what cpnversion means, and what it
means to be a good man, and there will be no difficuly then to
convince them of the depravity of mankind : for what leads
them to think It so easy a thing to become a good man, and that
men may be brought- to it merely by the force of moral sua
sion, Is, their wrong idea Of the nature of true religion. If reli
gion be what they suppose, then, no doubt, any body may easily
become good ; for corrupt nature can bear with such a reUgion:
But if religion, or a conformity to God's law, be what I have
endeavored to prove It to be In the former discourse, then, no
doubt, mankind are naturally diametricially opposite thereto in the
temper of their minds— even all mankind, -4r?n?wians as weUas
others : and all do, or might know it, if they would seriously
and honestly weigh the matter ; for it is plain fact. The Ar
minians are wont mightily to cry up works, and plead for the

BISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 363
moral law, as though they were great friends to It : but if their
mistakes about the moral law might once be rectified, and they
be brought really and heartily to approve it, as holy, just, and
good, one principal source of all their errors would be dried up";
and particularly their wrong notions -about election and univer
sal redemption.
" But where was there any love," (will the objector say) " In
" God's giving his Son to die for the non-elect — or sincerity In
"his offering them mercy, if he never designed to bring them
" to glory, but, from eternity. Intended to leave them to perish
" in their sins ?"
And where was there any love, lansxver. In God's bringing
the Israelites out of Egypt, or sincerity in his offering to bring
them to Canaan, ifhe never designed eventually to bring them
there, but, from eternity. Intended to leave them to murmur
and rebel, and to have their carcases fall in the wilderness ?— ¦
The solution In both cases is the same, and is plainly this : — as
it was the Israelites' own fault that they did not come to Ca
naan at last, so it is the sinner's own fault thathe finally falls short
of g^ory : However, the Israelites were often in a rage, and
ready to say. The Lord hath brought us into the wilderness, to
kill us here; and they m.urmured against God, and against Mo
ses.. ..for which they were struck dead by hundreds and thou
sands : andjust so sinners do — and the same punishment do
they deserve. But had the Israelites felt at heart that it was
their own voluntary, wickedness which was the sole cause of
their ruin — and did sinners feel It at heart too, there would be
no murmuring In one case or the other ; but every mouth
would be stopped. — But I have spoken to this before.
To conclude — if this representation of things which I have
given be according to truth, hence, then, we may learn these
two things, which, indeed, were what I had principally in view
in dwelUng so long upon this subject, and laboring to answer
objections ; — I say, we may learn — 1. That any poor sinner, all
the world over, who hears the gospel and believes it, has suf
ficient grounds of encouragement, from the freeness of God's

3@4 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
gi;ace, and the sufficiency of Christ, and the universal caUs of the
gpspel, to venture his eternal ALLin this way of salvation, and ma/'
safely return. to God through Christ,, in hopes of acceptance ;.
and that without any .particular revelation that he is elected, or
that Christ diedfor him in particular : " Any may come., ..the
vilest and the worst ; and therefore I may come ;" and there* ,
fore such a.partlcular revelation is perfectly needless : nor could
it do any gpod ; for the truth of the gospel may be depended"
upon — but.the truth of such, a particular revelation cannot.-— ^¦•¦'
2.. That any poor, sinful, guilty, broken-hearted backslider, who
groans under the burden of sin as the greatest evil, and longs to -
have the power of sin taken down, and his corruptions slain,
and himself thoroughly subdued to God, may look up to the In
finite freegrace of God through Jesus Christ, and pray, "Lord'
" take away this heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh :
" Turnme,andl shallbe turned : Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
" make me clean : O create In me a clean heart, and renew In
" me a right spirit, and restore to me the joy of thy salvation !
" To thy spverelgn grace and self-mpving goodness I apply my-
" self, through Jesus Christ : God be merciful to me a sinner :"
ai>d that whether he knows himself to be a child of God, or no ;
and so whether be knows that he belongs to the number ofthe
elect, or not : Nor does he need any particular revelation that
Christ died for him in particular, or that he Is elected, or that
he Is beloved of God : nor would these things do any good to
clear up his warrant to come for mercy ; because God may, ,
through Christ, give his holy spirit to any that ask him : AU.
who are athirst are invited to come and take of the waters of
life freely : " Any may come ; and therefore I may come, al-
" though the vilest creature In the world." And I appeal to
all the generation of God's children, whether this has not been
their way of coming to God through Christ, ever since the day
they first came to know the Lord : Sure I am, this is the scrip
ture-way. God has sent out a proclamation through a sinful,
guilty world. Inviting all to come to him, through Jesus Christ,
for all things — and given many encouragements, by represent-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 3^5
ing how free his grace is. ...how sufficient Christ is, and how
feuthful his promises.. ..and that whosoever will, may come, &c.
But no where in all the Bible has he revealed it that such and
such In particular, by name, among mankind, are elected — -and
that f6r, these individuals Christ died Inparticular, by way df
encouragement to those particular- persons, in order to let them
know that they might safely trust in Christ,** and eome-to God
through him : But then must we be right, when we under
stand the gospel and believe It, and, upon the very encourage
ments which God has given, are emboldened to return. In hopes
of acceptance: and this must be agreeable to God's will ; and to
this must the influences ofthe true spirit tend : 'But. to venture
. to return and look to God for mercy, merely upon any other
ground, is- anti-scriptural ; and whatsoever spirit influences
thereunto cannot, therefore, be from God.
And thus we see how the door- of life is opened by Christ,
our great Mediator and high-priest : And hence, Christ calls
himself the door : John x, 9....Iam the door : by me, if any man
enter in, he shall be saved: And hence, also, he calls himself
the xvay to the Father : John xiv. &....I am the xvay, the truth,
and the life : No man cometh to the Father but by vie : for through
/iiw, (saith 'the Apostle., ..Eph. H. 18), we both have an access,
by one spirit, unto the Father : and also, through him,God is re
conciling the worldto himself, sending ambassadors, and beseech
ing them to be reconciled... .11. Cor. v. 19, 20  Which leads
me to the next thing proposed.
SUCTION VI.
A VIEW or THE METHODS OF DIVINE GRACE WITH MANKIND,
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD.
4. I am to show xvhat methods the great Gcvernor ofthe
xvorld has entered upon, in order to put in execution those design.i
of ¦meraj which he had in view xvhen he conlrhed to open this
DOOR, in sucha wonderfid and glorious manner, by the interposi
tion of his oxvn dear Son.
The most high God is conscious of his pwn Infinite excel
lence. ...his right tP, and authprity over the children of men :

366 TRUE RELIGIPN DELINEATED, AND
He sees mankind as being under Infinite obligations to love and
obey him, and that the least defect Is an Infinite evil : He
judges the law to be holy, just, and good.. ..and mankind wholly
to blame for their non-conformity thereto, and worthy to be
dealt with according to it : He knows their contrariety to him,
to his law, and to his gospel : He sees all these things as they
really are : His infinite wisdom sees how It Is fit for such an
one as he Is, how, through a mediator, to conduct towards such
a world as this Is : He sees v^hat conduct is most becoming,
and, all things considered, most meet and suitable : and to this
conduct the perfect rectitude of his nature prompts and Inclines
him. Upon the whole, he necessarily and freely determines
¦to act like himself ; I. e. like an absolute Sovereign, infinite in
wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. This was his
determination from eternity-— this is his determination In time
—¦and according to this rule he actually proceeds. In aU his
methods with a sinful, guilty, obstinate world — Working all
things according to the counsel of his ovjn w/7/....Eph. i. 11 —
sovereignly, and yet wisely.. ..holily and justiy, and yet as the
Lord God gracious and merciful, sloxv to anger, and abundant in
goodness and truth. As Is bis nature, such is bis conduct ; and
hence his conduct exhibits to us the very image of his heart.
Thus it Is In the impetration, and thus it is in the application of
our redemption, and In all the methods he takes with a guilty
world in general : And hence, all his ways are calculated to
exalt God, and humble the sinner. — to honor the law, and dis
countenance sin — to exclude boasting, and to glorify grace ; —
as we shall more fully see in what follows :
(1.) As being the suprenie Lord and sovereign Ruler of the
. whole world, he does, through Jesus Christ, the great Media
tor, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, by whom
his honor has been secured — he does, I say, through him,^rOT(, -
and, by an act of grace, confirm to the world of mankind, a
general reprieve from that utter ruin xvhich xvas threatened by
the law, and to which an apostate world xvere exposed.' Total
destruction was threatened in case of disobedience : Gen. ii. 17

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 367
....In dying thou shalt die; I. e. thou shalt die with a witness....
thy ruin shall be complete. And now nothing could be expect
ed but a dreadful doom, and to be sealed down under everlast
ing despair : Butj instead of this, the great God dooms the
tempter, and threatens utter ruin to bis, new-erected kingdom :
Gen. III. 14, 15. ...Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed —
and thy head shall be bruised. But guilty man Is reprieved
from a total ruin, and allowed a space for repentance : And the
world has now stood almost six thousand years, reprieved by
the tender mercy of God, through Jesus Christ.
Indeed, certain evils were denounced by the Majesty of
heaven, as standing monuments of his displeasure, always to
attend a guilty race while In this world. Peculiar sorrows
were appointed to women, and hard labor and toil to men, and
sickness and pain to both, tlU death should put an end to their
reprieve and to their space for repentance... (ver. 16 — 19) : —
And when our day to die shall come, we are not to know :
we lie at mercy, and God acts sovereignly : so long as he plea
ses, so long shall we be reprieved, and no longer : And thus,
.while tender mercy appears In the general reprieve, the holi
ness, and justice, and sovereignty of God appear In the manner
of It. God Is exalted — a guilty world lies at his mercy. — they
are, in a sense, continually urider his rod, and every moment
liable to drop Into an eternal hell : They are held up In his
hand.. ..hell gapes to receive them, and now he lets one faU,
and then another.... now this, and then that, just as it seems
good In his sight. Surely, this is awful ! Surely, mankind are
in very humbling circumstances, and In clrcumstanses wonder
fully calculated to awaken them to repent, and pray to God, if
peradventure their wickedness may be forgiven.
When the general reprieve, granted to this lower world, shall
come to a period, then will the great Judge of the world pro
ceed, with all who shall be found Impenitent, according to laxv,
without any mixture of mercy. The present reprieve, granted
as a space for repentance, is not ofthe law, but of mere grace
through Jesus Christ. "Now grace takes place, and patience,
Z z

368 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
forbearance, and Jong-suffering, sit on the throne : but tiiea
law shaU take place, and strict justice reign- The mediatioQ
of Christ, at present, secures the honor of law and justice,
and opens the door for grace 4 but then the day of grace wiU be
at an end : A guilty world shaU no longer be treated in a way
of mercy, and favored on Christ's account ^ but be proceeded
against in flaming fire and terrible vengeance, and every one
be punished according to his deserts. How long the day of
God's patience with a guilty world Is to last, we know not. A
guilty world lies at his mercy, and may be all summoned to the
bar when he pleases- Surely this is awful and awakening !
but this is the state in which God means to show aU long-suf
fering, and to exercise and display the infinite patience of his
nature : and surely this should lead us to repentance ! Thus,
this Is one step In a way of mercy, which God, in his infinite
grace through Jesus Christ, has taken with a guilty world.
And what is the improvement which mankind are disposed to
make of it ? Why, because sentence against their evil works is
mot executed speedily, therefore the heart of the Sons of men is
fiully set in them todo evil....^eele. viii. 11.
(2.) Another favor granted to mankind in general by the
great Governor of the world, through Jesus Christ, Is, a com
petency of the good. things of this life for their cornfortable support^
while under this reprieve, and in this new state of probation.
3y law, mankind, for their apostacy, stood disinherited of eve
ry good thing, doomed to a complete destruction.. ..Gew. ii. 17^ ,
but now, through a Mediator, they are dealt with In a way of
mercy. It Is true, in token ofthe divine displeasure, God turned
man out of paradise, and cursed the ground, and subjected
man to .hard labor, (Gen. Hi.) but then, at the same time, for
Christ's sake, a general grant of many good things Is made to
a guilty world : They are allowed to live on God's earth....
breathe in hisair...seebythe Ught of his sun..-.toeat ofthe herb
of the field, and to eat bread in the sweat oftheir face....to clothe
themselves with the skins of slain beasts.. ..Gen. Hi. They arc
aUowed summer and winter.. ..seed-time and harvest ; and the

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 369
beasts ofthe field are given to them..~Gen..viIi. 22, and ix. 1,
a, 3 : Yea, it has been God's way abundantly to do good to a
guilty woarld.«-fo send rain, and gnant fruitfid seasojis, and fill
the hearts of men with food and gladness. ., .Acts ¦siv. 17 : So
tiiat, consLderiiig we are an apostate,'^uIlty world, we may well
say, with the Psalmist, The earth is full ofthe goodness ofthe
£or(3?.... Psalm xxxin. 5 j and this, notwithstanding all the ca
lamities whiGh over-spread the whole earth t for we are now
to attribute every thing in our circumstances,, whereby we are
better of it than the damned in heU are, to the mere mercy and,
goodness of God, through Jesus Christ : Thus God reprieves
a guilty -world, and grants them food and raiment, tothe Intent,
that they may have a space for repentance.. Surely now It.Is
vile, infinitely vUe, to despise the riches of his goodness, and fori-
bearance, and long-siffering, and not to take it) In and under
stand it, that the goodness of God should lead its to' repentance :.
And it is ^eat madness, cfter our hard and impenitent hearti
to go on in our rebelUon, and treasure up wrath against the day
ef wrath, and revelation ofthe righteous judgment- of God....
Rom. ii. 4, 5 : And yet this is the general temper,, and com--
mon way of the worlds
(3.) Another common favor granted to mankind, upoK,
Christ's account, is, a general resurrection from the dead, (I,,
Cor. XV. 21,) to the intent that all who believe, repent, and re
turn to God through Jesus Christ, may be completely happy ia
soul and body forever. It is certain the law threatened death,
but made no provision for a resurrection : and If the law had
been executed, and no mediator provided, we have no reason
to think there ever would have been any resurrection : And I
cannot see why a general resurrection may not be considered
under the notion of a mercy in Itself, notwithstanding many,
by their final impenitence, lay a foundation for their being rai
sed up to everlasting shame and confusion. I am ready to think
that to be raised from the dead must surely be ofthe nature of
a mercy, and so be the effect of Christ's merits ; butthe partic
ular maimer in which the wicked shaU be raised, may never-

370 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
theless be considered as a punishment, and so be the effect of
their sin and final Impenitence. Christ's merit lays the foun
dation for a general resurrection ; and all who believe and repent
shall be raised up to glory and complete blessedness ; ancl all ,
who die in their sins shaU be raised up to shame and complete,
misery. (4.) There are also divers other things granted to mankind
in general, which seem pretty evidently to be of the nature of
mercies, and so to be owing to the Interposition and merits of
our glorious Mediator, Christ Jesus, the only Mediator be
tween God and a sinful, guilty world—to whose merits and me
diation, every thing which mankind enjoy, which Is ofthe na
ture of a mercy, is to be attributed ;— divers, things, I say,
whereby much is done towards putting such an apostate race
of beings into a capacity of comfortably living together In this
world, while they are in their new state of probation ;— divers
things in our temper, which seem originally to take their rise
very much from that temperament of body and animal consti
tution which God, our Former, gives us ; — there is a natural
good humor, a natural compassion, a natural modesty, and nat
ural affections : These things, in a greater or less degree, we
find, to be natural to men, and to have a very great influence to
keep under and restrain their corruptions, and to incline and
prompt to many actions materiaUy good, and greatiy for the
comfort pf human society and benefit of mankind in general i
These things do evidently keep mankind from abundance of
wickedness, which otherwise they would commit ; — ^they have
a heart for a thousand abominations, but these things restrain
them : and these things do evidently piit mankind on to a thou
sand actions materially good, which otherwise they would never
do : they have a heart bad enough to neglect them, but these
things excite them to do them. Were It not ' for these and
other restraints, I see not why mankind should not be as bad
in this world, as they will be In the next. Wicked men have
no wickedness Infused into them at death; and therefore they
have no other nature, no other principle of sin In their hearts,

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 371,
aftertiiey are dead, than they had before: but, as soon as they
are dead, they are evidently no doubt as unlversaUy contrary
to God and all that is good, as the devils themselves. As
soon as ever those things which now restrain them are aU re
moved, their true temper appears without any disguise. It Is
no doubt, therefore, a great mercy for mankind to be thus re
strained. They, enjoy more comfort.. ..they commitless sin....
they meritless punishment.. ..they are under better advantages
to live together, to enjoy the means of grace and attend to the
offers of mercy by Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all men,
hut especially of them that believe. ..1. Tim. Iv. 10.
Thus the great God, instead of executing the sentence of the
law In all Its severity upon a guilty world, does, through the
mediation of Jesus Christ, grant to mankind in general these
common favors. : — They are reprieved from a total ruin — ^have
a comfortable maintenance in this world allowed them — a gen
eral resurrection is decreed — several natural endowments are
granted, to restrain from bad actions, and to prompt to actions
materially good : And hereby the Governor of the world has
laid the foundation, and prepared the way to go on to use the
methods he designed, more Immediately tending to reclaim
and recover a sinful, guilty world to himself ; for now man
kind are put Into a sort of capacity of being treated with In
such a way.
These things ought deeply to affect mankind. We Ue under
many calamities, and yet enjoy many mercies in this our natu
ral state of guilt and condemnation ; aU which ought to be im
proved to awaken, convince, and humble us, and lead us to re
pent, and cry to God for pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace,
and predispose us cordially to receive and embrace that revela
tion, which God has made in his word, of our ruin, and the way
of our recovery.
But, through the great bUndness and corruption of mankind,
these things have had a very contrary effect. Mankind, find
ing themselves thus reprieved, and thus kindly treated by God,
have many of them hereby been led to think they are In pretty

372 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANI>
good standing....not by nature children of wrath, and under
condemnation. The devU told Eve they shoidd not surely die ;
so, many are now ready to think thatthe old law, which threat
ened the least sin with death. Is repealed ; andthat we are now
born into the world free from any guilt : And mankind, find
ing themselves endowed With natural modesty, good-humor,
compassion, &c. are ready to dream tbat they are born into the
world without any sinful corruption of nature, but rather as ho.
ly as Adam in innocence ; and hence are very insensible
of any need of such a Redeemer and Sanctifier as are provi
ded : And so they are predisposed to dislike that revelatioa
which God has made In his word concerning our ruin and thfr
way of our recovery : And hence mankind are strongly bent to.
misunderstand, and misinterpret, and disbeUeve the law and
the gospel. And besides, by this goodness and forbearance
of God, men are emboldened in sin, as If it were not a very
great evil, nor God very much set against it. They begin to
think God is all made up of mercy, and that they are in no great
danger : And so, after their hard and impenitent hearts, they g9
on to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, and revelatiort
ofthe righteous judgment of God. Thus God andhis goodness
are abused by this vile, wicked raceof apostate, rebelUous crea
tures : And, indeed, aU this Is no more than was expected ;
great reason, therefore, was there for him so effectually
to secure his own honor, and the honor of his holy law»
by the interposition of bis own dear Son as Mediator. And
now, let mankind be ever so bad, he can go on with his meth
ods of mercy, to accomplish all bis designs of grace ; and aU con
sistently with the honor ofhis holiness andjustice,lawand gov
ernment, and sacred authority. ,
(5.) Mankind being naturally very insensible of their sinful,
guilty, ruined state — and totaUy ignorant of, and unable to find
out, any way of obtaining the divine favor, and wholly averse,
in the temper oftheir hearts, to a genuine return to God j there
fore God, of his Infinite grace through Jesus Christ, has, in va
rious ways, and divers manners, according to the good.plea8UFe

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 373
of his wiU, by immediate revelation from heaven, set before
mankind tiieir ruin, and the way of their recovery.. ..offered
many arguments, motives, and encouragements, to persuade
them to return, and denounced terrible threatenings to deter
them from going on In their rebellion, and dif ected them. In the
use of certain means of grace, to seek for the inward Influences
ofthe holy spirit, to awaken and convince, to humble and con
vert, and effectuaUy recover them to God, through the great
Mediator. (6.) And, because the Most High sees that, through the very
bad temper of mankind, this external revelation, although
most excellentiy adapted thereto, yet, if left to themselves,
would finaUy prove altogether ineffectual to recover any of
mankind; yea, so very far from it, that mankind would not
so much as ri^tly understand or believe it, or seriously take
matters into consideration, but would misunderstand and per-
vert it, and finally unlversailly disbeUeve and renounce and for
get It, and not suffer it to have any room in the world : there
fore he has, from the beginning of the world, and does still, and
will to the end ofthe world, by the inward influences of his
spirit, and by the outward dispensations of his providence,
cjirry on, according to his sovereign pleasure, the work of his
grace„..acccanpUsh his eternal purposes of mercy.. ..reco\'er sin
ners to hlmsel£.. maintain true religion in the world. ...preserve
his church.-.gather In aU the elect...dlsplay all his glorious per
fections in his dedings with mankind, and get to himself a
great name In the end; exhibiting in his whole conduct, from
first to last, the most lively image of himself. , /
Inithese two last pvartlculars we have a general accoutit of
those methods vVhldi God does take with a sinful, guUtv race,
more immediately tending to their recovery, which we may
see exemplified in his dealings with mankind, from the begin
ning. Ii In the earliest ages of the world, immediately after the
fall, he began to enter upon these methods of grace : he taught
our first parents their ruin, aad the way of their recovery by the

374 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
promised seed; and instituted sacrifices to typify the great
atonement, which should afterwards be made for the sins of
the world., ..Gera, Hi: And what he taught our first parents,
they taught their children : and hence Cain and Abel, and after-
generations, learnt to worship God by sacrifice. „,Gew.Iv. 3 — 8.
Now Adam Yived until Methuselah was two hundred and forty-
six years old, and Methuselah lived until Shem was an hundred
years old, and Shem lived until the time of Abraham and Isaac —
yea, till Isaac was fifty years old; so that the news of Adam'i
fall...of the ruin of mankind, and of salvation by'the. seed of
the woman, might easily have been handed down by traditiori
from one to another, and all mankind might have been fully
acquainted with these things : And besides these external teach
ings and means of grace, God granted the inward Influences
of bis spirit, whereby some were effectually recovered to God,
of whom were Abel, Enoch, and Noah, who were also slgnallz«
cd by divine Providence.. ..Gen. iv. 4. and v. 22. and vi. 9. com
pared with Heb. xi. 4—7.
But while God thus early began to use methods for the re
covery of a sinful, guilty world to himself, they began early to
show their aversion to God, and unwillingness to return. Cain
seems, by the sacrifice which he offered, quite insensible that
be was a fallen creature, and that he needed an atonement for
sin. He brought only of the fruit of the ground for a thank-
offering, (like the Pharisee In Luke xvIII. whose prayer consist
ed only In thanksgiving, without any faith or repentance) but
brought none of the flock for a sin-offering, (Gen. iv.) although
without shedding of blood there could be no remission.. ..^eh. ix.
22. He was a formal, impenitent hypocrite, nor would God
accept him ; but Abel found favor in the sight ofthe Lord by
faith... .Heb. xi. 4 : And therefore Cain was angry at God, and
enraged at his brother, and murdered him, and cast off aU reU
gion, and gave himself up to serve his lusts : yea, he forsook
the visible church of God, and departed, and went into the
land of Nod. And thus he, and, afterwards, his posterity after
him, join to renounce true religion, and openly distinguish

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 375
themselves from God's visible people on earth....Gen. iv. 16.
And it seems good to the supreme Governor ofthe world even
to let them all take their way, and act their own nature.
For a while true religion was maintained In the family of
Seth....Gen. iv. 26 : and to put honor upon the practice there
of, JErtoc/i was translated to heaven.. ..Gen. v. 24: But yet, Im
process of time, they degenerated and became so much like
the rest ofthe world — ^like the posterity of Cain, that they were
disposed to relish their company, and marry their daughters.,..
Gen. vi. 2. And then presently the contagion spread — The
wickedness of mankind in general was great upon the earth, (ver.
5.) — Allfiesh corrupted their ways, and the earth was filled with
violence, (ver. 11, 12.) Andnow the great Governor of the world
raises up Noah, and makes him a preacher of righteousness ; and
Noah preaches, and God waits an hundred and twenty years ;
but mankind will not be reformed, and therefore God gives
over that generation, and dro-wns the world b^ an universal
deluge. First, Mankind break through all the restraints ly
ing upon them.... discover the very temper oftheir hearts. ...pub
licly show their aversion to God, their disregard of his grace,
their utter unwillingness to return, and their perverse propen
sity to go on in their rebellion. Secondly, God, through the
Mediator, uses means to reclaim them, and shows all long-
suffering, and so tries them. Thirdly, They, remaining ob
stinate.. .trampling under foot his authority, and despising his
goodness, he, at last, in a most pubUc manner, executes righte
ous vengeance upon them. He displays his infinite goodness
and patience In waiting so long, and using so many means for
thelrrecovery: he displays his sovereignty in waiting but just
so long, and In taking but just so much pains with them: he
displays his holiness, justice, and truth. In bringing that de
struction upon them at the very time before threatened : and,
in the whole, he displays his infinite wisdom — his whole con
duct being excellently well calculated to make all succeeding
generations know that he is the Lord, and suited to maintain
the honor of bis holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. ..of his
3 A

IX

375 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATEPj AND
law and government, and sacred authority : And thus we see
what methods God took with the old world, together with the
result of all. And now,
2. We come to take a brief view of bis ways with mankind
since the flood, and of their carriage towards him. There is
no doubt but that Noah had received by tradition and weU
understood the fall of Adam.. .the ruin of mankind.,.. the way
ofrecovery byi/je*ee(/o/'f/zewo»2an...the institution, end, and
design of sacrifices : And there Is no doubt but that he faith
fully Instructed his children, In what he himself knew ; and
they might have taught their children, and they the -generation
following, and so all the world might have known the way of
salvation through a mediator : And It Is certain that this would
have been the case, had mankind been In a disposition sufli-
ciently to have prized the knowledge of these things : But when
they knew God, by parental Instruction, they did not glorify
him as God ; neither were they thankful for these advantages
which Infinite goodness had granted them, (Rom. I. 21.) but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened: And they soon lost the knowledge of true Religion,
and fell off to idolatry, and changed the glory ofthe incorrupti
ble God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to
birds, andfour-footed beasts, and creeping things, (ver. 23.) For
they did not Uke to retain God in their knowledge, (ver. 28.)
And when mankind, presently after the flood, did thus pub-
llcly discover the temper of their hearts, by renouncing the
true God and true religion, and faUing away to Idolatry and
superstition, and all manner of wickedness ; — I say, when man
kind, notwithstanding the late awful warning they had had by
the universal deluge, did thus quickly show themselves so
entirely disposed to their sinful and rebeUious courses — For
this cause God gave them up, (ver. 24, 26, 28.) — even suffered
them to take their own way, and run their own ruin. The
whole earth might all have been God's people, and his visible
family, but they would not : they might aU have retained the
knowledge of tiie true God and of the way to life, but they

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 377
did not like to, and God was not obliged to make them, and
therefore he even let them take their own course ; and yet took
care, in after ages, not to leave himself without witness, but,
by many wonderful works, to let aU the nations of the earth
know that he was the Lord : And If any would repent and
return, he made provision for their reception as proselytes into
the Jewish church : And doubtiess here and there one, from
age to age, by the inward Influences of bis blessed spirit. Were
brought so to do ; and the rest were blinded, as Is said In a
parallel case.. .Rom. xi. 7.
And now the knowledge ofthe true God, and of true religion,
must presently have been lost from off the face of the whole
earth, and never have been recovered, and satan had the most
hillpossesslonof the whole world to the latest posterity, had
not free and sovereign grace interposed in a most wonderful '
manner, in this dark and awful juncture : But, In this very sea-'
son, God was pleased, of bis own mere goodness and sovereign
pleasure, stiU through the appointed mediator, by the gracious
influences of his spirit, and by immediate revelations, and by
the special dispensations ofhis providence, to preserve to him
self a seed to serve him. He called Abram alone, as it were,
from the rest of the world, and blessed him ; he made further
revelations to him touching the promised seed, and entered into
a. covenant to be his God, and the God of his children after
him : And now, a new world of wonders begins to open to our
view, in the divine dispensations towards Abram and his seed..»
Gen. xii, &c.
Note — While God was doing these things with Abraham, the
rest of the world grew wicked apace ; and therefore God
thought fit to give a specimen of the temper of his heart, and
let the nations knoxv that he was the Lord, by raining fire and
brimstone out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, whp were
remarkably wicked ; and, at the same time, delivering righteous
Lot, (Gen. x.) — A dispensatlpn sp remarkable, and never the
like befpre heard of, that no doubt it flew like lightning aU the
world over, and spread terror and surprize through the guilty

37s TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
nations : Howsoever, for all this, they turned not to the Lord.
— WeU, Abraham is circumcised, with all his household, and
true religion Is taught and maintained in his family, and Isaac
his son, and Eleazer bis servant, seem to have been savingly
wrought upon by divine grace : And God blesses Abraham,
and he becomes very great ; and God protects him wherever
he goes, to the honor of his great name, In the midst of an
idolatrous world. Nevertheless, the world. Instead of grow
ing wiser and better by all this, which doubtless was heard of
and much wondered at among the nations, they grew worse
and worse — yea, wickedness appears openly In Abraham's
family itself. Ishmael discovers a bad spirit; he mocks at
Isaac. ..Gen. xxi. 9 : And he that was born after thefiesh, per
secuted him that was born after the spirit.. .Gal. Iv. 29 : So that
he was. In a sort, excommunicated and cast out of God's visi
ble family ; and It is not long before true religion is a thing
unknown among his numerous posterity : And they who were
of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, were now num
bered with the heathen. Thus, after this sort. It fared with
Cain, the first persecutor — and thus It fares with Ishmael, for
the warning of aU godless and carnal professors : And yet, from
age to age, this same temper has appeared, and yet still does
appear, although, perhaps, this sin, from the beginning of the
world to this day, has never yet gone unpunished.
Now, it was said. In Isaac shaU thy seed be called: And
with him God renewed the covenant, and to him the promises
were repeated, and God blessed him, and he became very
great ; and he also was under a special divine protection — Yet
there was a profane Esau In bis family, who made so light of
the spiritual blessings of Abraham, as, for a mere trifle, to sell
his birth-right : Andbe afterwards became a persecutor ofhis
brother Jacob, and his posterity soon lost the knowledge of the-
true God and of the true religion, and degenerated Into a state
of heathenism.
Nor can It be attributed to any thing but the free and sove
reign grace of God, that Jacob and his seed did not do so too.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 379
But so it was ; for so It seemed good in the eyes of him, who
has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whose purpose,
according to election, alxvays stands independent of works...
Rom. ix. 11:1 say, so it was, through the power of him
xvho worketh all things according to the counsel ofhis own will,
that when all the other nations of the earth were suffered to
renounce the true God and the true religion, that in Jacob God
xvas known, and his name was great in Israel. — Never was
there a nation which discovered a stronger propensity to Idola
try, and all manner of wickedness, than they : And notwith
standing all the mighty restraints, by God laid upon them, they
were almost perpetually breaking through aU, and rushing on
Uke the horse^mto the battle. Neither warnings, nor threaten
ings, nor the authority of God, nor the tears of their prophets,
nor the most terrible judgments, were ever able effectually to
restrain that people and turn them to God : And had not God
always, by his special grace, kept a remnant for himself, they
would have been like Sodom, and like to Gomorrah,..Isai. i. 2 — 9^
—Rom. xi. 2 — 7.
Now the divine perfections were most IUustriously display
ed, In the divine conduct towards this people, from age to age ;
and that not only before their faces, but also in the eyes of all
the nations round about them. MarveUous things were wrought
in Egypt, and wonders at the Red Sea, and forty years in the
wilderness, which no doubt did ring through the world, and
were enough to have made aU the earth' know that he was the
Lord, and, but for their perverse stubbornness, to have brought
them all to worship him, and him only — But all this was so far
from reclaiming the heathen nations, that it hardly tamed the
Israelites themselves. They rebelled at TIberah, and at Mas
sah, and at Kibroth-Hattaavah, and were perpetually provo
king the Lord to wrath.. . Dent. ix. When he slew them, then
they sought him ; and returned and enquired early after God.
Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their mouth, and lied
unto him with their tongues : For their heart was not right with
him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant...7sal. IxxviU.

380 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
34 — 37 : And many a time were they within a hair's breadth
of destruction, and would surely have been utterly destroyed,
but that he wrought for his great name's sake...^xod. xxxii.
— Num. xiv. — Ezek. xx.
So again, In the days of Joshua, he divided Jordan, and
drove out the heathen before them, and gave them their land in
possession, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents : Tet
they afterwards tempted and provoked the most high Godj and
kept not his testimonies, but turned back and dealt unfaithfully like
their fathers : they provoked him to anger with their high.places,;
and moved him to jealousy with their graven images... .Fsalm
IxxvIII. 54—58 — Judg. Ii. 6 — ^20. And now, for the space of
many years, God, by raising up judges, and by sending jbrojft^
ets, and executing judgments, did labor to reform them ; but all
in vain : for they quickly turned aside, like a deceitful bow : How
ever, In the mean while, the goodness and patience of God on
the one hand, and his holiness and justice on the other, were
iUustriously displayed by his wonderful works in the midst of
' the earth, to be sounded out among all nations, that all the earth
might know that he was the Lord.
In the days of David and Solomon, God wrought for his
great name's sake, and exalted bis people, and made Israel hon
orable in the sight of all nations ; yet were they not sincere in
his sight : and when outward restraints were afterwards taken
off, they soon discovered the hidden temper of their hearts— -
that they did not care for God or bis worship, but liked Dan
and Bethel as well as the temple of Jerusalem : Thus did the
ten tribes ; nor was their treacherous sister, Judah, more sin
cere. When a good king reigned, they would pretend to be
good ; and when a bad king reigned, they stood ready for Idols :
And now God sent judgment upon them time after time, and
sent all his servants, the prophets, saying, 0 do not this abomi
nable thing which my soul hateth : but they would not hearken.
The Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers,
rising up betimes and sending; because he had compassion on his
people, and on his dwelling-place: but they mocked the messengers

distinguished from all counterfeits. 381
of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until
the wrath of God arose against his people, till there was no
remedy : Therefore he brought upon them the king ofthe Chal
dees, and gave them all into his hand., ..11. Chron, xxxvi. 15,
16, 17.
However, God was tenderly touched at the public reproach
and dishonor to which his great name was exposed, in the eyes
of Insulting nations all around, who clapped their hands, and
stamped with their feet, and rejoiced with all their heart, for what
was done to the people called by his name — glorying that their
God was no better than the dumb idols which they served, — -
Wherefore God raised up the prophet Ezekiel, who clears up
God's conduct towards his people, in chapters 16th and 18th,
and on — and dooms the neighboring nations in the name of
God, declaring what judgment should come upon them from
the hand of God for their Insults, whereby they should
be made to know that he was the Lord,.., as In the 25th to chap
ter 31, And now, also, Daniel and his companions were by
God raised up, that by them his name might become great in
the eyes ofall nations : And for thetn he works such deliver
ances as to consti-ain the haughty monarchs ofthe earth to Issue
out their decrees through all the world, that none should ,<ipeak
any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, upon pain of being cut in pieces,and their houses
made a dung-hill — and diat. In all their dominions, men should
fear and tremble before the God of Daniel, (Dan. Hi, 29, and vi.
26.) Surely the infinite wisdom of God appears most wonder-
fuUy, In allthe astonishing methods which he has taken to mnke
himself known, and to keep up the honor of his great name
among such a wicked, God-hating race of beings !
And now, all this while, there was nothing but the infinite
goodness, and free andsoverelg-n grace of God, together with
his covenant faithfulness, to move him not to cast off and ut
terly reject his people, and let them be scattered among the
heathen, and their name perish from off the earth. It was for
his great name's sake that he wrought salvation for them from

382 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
time to time,.„£2e.^, xx. When there was no mptive In them,
but every thing to the contrary — ^then, for his own sake, he un
dertook to write his law in their hearts, and put it in their inxvard
parts.. ..to be their God, and inake them his people, and to remem
ber their iniquities no more against them, andti bringthem back
to their own land, and plant them, and build them Mj6,..,Ezek.
xxxvi. 16 — 34.
And however, by the Babylonish captlvltj'-, the Jewish peo
ple were pretty thoroughly cured oftheir Idolatrous disposition,
yet, after their return, and after the godly men of that genera
tion were dead, thev soon began to show that they were as averse
to God, and the life ofreligion, as ever : And yet, aU these things
notwithstanding, God Is determined to make one trial more.
He had sent one servant after another, and they had been beat
en, and stoned, and put to shame, and sent away empty : Now,
therefore, be sends his only Son, to see If they will hear him :
and behold they say. Come, let us kill him....'M.at. xxi, 33 — 39.
Wherefore, at last, God determines to castoff that nation, (ver.
41,) and to go and try the heathen, whom, for a long time, he
had suffered to take their own ways.
And now, to his apostles Christ gives commission, to go in
to all the earth, and preach the gospel to every creature ; and he
that believeth, says he, shall be saved; and he that believeth not
shaU be damned : And they run, and preach, and cry, Repent,
and turn from your dumb idols, to serve the living God. And
had nor they been stopped, they would soon have carried the
news all round the world : But Jews and Gentiles combine to
gether, and earth and hell are in arms to defeat the design ;
nevertheless, as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed :
And God carried on bis work through a sea of blood, and in
about three hundred years conquered the Roman empire.
No sooner Is this done, but the mystery of iniquity begins to
work,and the inan of sin to berevealed. The devil and his ser
vants turn their coat, and, under the cloak of religion and good
order, establish the kingdom of satan in a new form : for it is
the nature of mankind to hate true religion. And now Anti-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 383
shrlst reigns, and scatters the holy people, aiid wears out the
saints of the most high, for a time, and times, and half a time.
In the mean while, the woman flies into the wilderness, the
¦ioitnesses prophecy in sackcloth, untU, at last, the witnesses them
selves are slain : And now religion is driven even just out of
the world, and there had been no hope, but that God awoke as
one out of sleep, Uke a mighty man that shvuteth by reason of
viine. And behold the spirit of life from God enters into the
tivo witnesses, that is, Luther and Calvin, and others their
contemporaries ; and they stood upon their feet, cmd great fear fell
upon them which saxv them : And God put them out of their en
emies reach: And there was a great earthquake, anda tenth
part of the cityfelL.Rev. ix: And a glorious day began to
dawn. But now, it is not long before many turn heretics and en
thusiasts, and the world rises in arms, and, by fire and sword,
endeavors to demolish the redeemer's kingdom. However,
God wrought for his great name's sake, and has ever since
been working, and wiU go on conquering and to conquer, until
aU the nations of the earth are brought into subjection to his
son, - Thus we haye taken a brief view of the methods which God
has taken to recover a sinful, gmlty world, to himself: The
external means we have chiefly dwelt upon ; — upon the inter
nal, something farther shaU be added presentiy : but let us first
make a few remarks.
Rem. 1. Had not mankind been wholly to blame, they might
all of them, from the beginning, have enjoyed the benefit of
divine revelation — Nothing secluded them therefrom, but their
own bad temper and bad conduct : And had not mankind
been wholly to blame, they might all of them have enjoyed
the gospel, and had it preached all over the world to this day
— Nothing has hindered it but their own perverse obstinacy...
their hating the Ught, and hating the truth. Strange it is,
therefore, that some men of learning should be so fuU of char-
3 B

S'S* TftUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
rity for the heathen, who thus hate God, despise Christ, and
rgect the gospel.*
Rem. 2. Mankind have manifested the highest degree of
aversion to God and true religion from the beginning of the
world, and that almost in aU possible ways. Hundreds, and
thousands, and mUlIons, have they in their rage put to death,
and that in the most cruel and barbarous manner — Strange it
is, therefore, that so many matters of fact have not, to this
day, convinced mankind that they are truly enemies to God —
Strange that they can have the face to make the old pretence,
and say. If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would
not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets....
Mat. xxIIL 30-— when all the time, from age tp age, they haye
been acting over the old scene.
Rem. 3. It has been owing wholly and entirely to the free
grace and almighty power of God, that the church has been
preserved, and true religion not driven quite out of the world t
It is one of the greatest miracles that ever was wrought.
Rem. 4. God has always acted sovereignly In choosing what
femlly, nation, or nations, he would preserve true reUgioa
among ; all being by nature equally averse to God, and equally
unworthy : and has always acted justly In giving over other
famUIes and nations for their sin and apostacy.
Rem. 5. The whole scheme of the divine conduct has been
most excellently calculated to display aU the divine perfections
to the best advantage; and It does exhibit. to us the very image
of his heart in strong and lively colors. But to proceed,
* But perhaps some will be ready to say, that there 'may be inany honest'
persons among the heathen, viho never heard of the gospel, and never rejected
it, who may stand fair for heaven.
Ans. There is a number of such honest sort of persons among Chris
tians, but their natural enmity to God and Christand gospel-grace is found
to be as great as others ; and sometivnes' publicans, and harlots enter into
heaven before them — Surely none of them more honest than the young
man in the gospel, nor ever arrived to greater attainments j and therefor*
all of them might do as he did, if under the same circumstances. That
natural kind of honesty, many times, is an occasion of men's being; har
dened against Christianity; for they are very ready to say, God, Ithank
thee, I am, not as other men. ..like him in Lute xviii. Doubtless these honest
heathen would do as their fathers did, had they the opportunity : So the
honest yev>s ^i^....'Stee, Mat. xxiii. 28 — 33.

DISTINGUISHED FROM AJ,L CPUNTERFEITS. 385
Although the external means of grace, and remarkable dis-;
pensations of Providence, perhaps may,"in a measure, some
times restrain mankind, and bring them to a feigned submis
sion to God and his laws ; yet, such is their rooted enmity and
entire aversion to God and true reUgion, that not one will
hereby be brought to repent and sincerely turn to God.. ..Psal.
Ixxvui. 34 — 37. and Ixxxi. 8 — 12....IsaI. v. 1 — 7. Nothing
short of those inward influences of the spirit, which are al
mighty and aU-conquering, wIU eff'ectually attain the end„.»
Mat. xi. 20 — ^27....Eph. i, 19: And therefore, besides the
external means of grace, God has, as it were, taken a world
of pains with one and another of mankind by the inward influ
ences ofhis Spirit. The external means, indeed, which have
been used, are more open to observation ; and so also is that
external opposition winch mankind have made : but the same
ends which God has been pursuing by the external means, viz»
to convince mankind of their sinful, guilty, ruined state, and
- bring them to return to God through a mediator-— the same has
he been pursuing, by the inward influences of his spirit ; — and
the same opposition which has openly appeared against the
means of grace, has also secretly wrought mightily in the hearts
of men against the inward influences of the spirit. Mankind
are as much incUned to resist the spirit, as they are the word
of God, and that for the same reason and from the same tem
per; because both aim at the same thing — a thing most con
trary to their corruptions.
Perhaps there are some whom God never vouchsafes at all to
strive with by his spirit ; and these are ready to think there is
no such thing. Others are a Uttie awakened, and, from self-
love, the fears of hell, and the hopes of heaven, they reform
their Uves a Uttie, and set about some external duties, and so
think to make amends for their past sins, and recommend them
selves to the divine favor j but are as great enemies as ever to
the power of religion : and here God leaves them to perish.
Others are carried farther, and become more strict and painful,
but StiU from the same principles : and there th^ are left to

385 TRUE RELIGION' DELINEATED, AND
perish. Not one takes one step In earnest, unless heis driven
to it ; nor goes one step farther than he is driven : and there-
forfe Godvleaves one here, and another there, as seems good in
his sight. They do not like to retain God in their knowledge,
and therefore he gives them over to a reprobate mind, as those
spoken of in Rom. i. 28. Some, Indeed, are carried very far by
the common Influences of the holy spirit ; they are enUghtened,
...they taste of the heavenly gift, and of the powers of the world
to come, and are made partakers ofthe holy ghost ; and yet, after
all, faU away and perish.. ..Heb. vi. They have a great sense
of their sinful, guilty, undone state. ...of the wrath of God,
and dreadfulness of damnation, and are mightily brought^
down ; and then have a great sense of the mercy of God, the
dying love of Christ, and the glory of heaven : and they
think they are converted, and they are ravished with the
thought. However, in th^ end, all Is turned to feed their pride .
and their presumption, and to harden and embolden them la
sln^ — They are not so much afraid of sin now, because they
are confident they shall never go to hell ; And many times this
sort of people, through the great swelling of spiritual pride,
and the Immediate Influences of Satan, come to have strange
experiences.. ..turn to be strange creatures.. ..broach strange
errors, and seem to be nearly forsaken by God, reason, and
conscience : and yet, (yea, and by the same means) get to be
the holiest creatures In the world, by their own account. But
while the sinners, with whom the holy spirit strives, do many
of them turn out after this sort, some in one way and some In
another, there are others with whom God makes thorough
work; that is, makes them thoroughly understand and feel
their sinful, guilty, helpless, undone state, and see into and
believe the gospel way of salvation, through Jesus Christ, and
return home to God In that way : And now they are kept by
the power of God through faith unto salvation... .1. Pet. i. 5.
And here God has mercy on whom he will have mercy — and
even so It has been as to the external means of grace from the
beginning of the worid. With some, God has taken more

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 387
pains and longer ; and with others, less pains and shorter : but
when aU the rest of the world degenerated to heathenism, God
took effectual methods with the Israelites to keep them from
doing so too : And thus. In a resembling manner, he does
with all the spiritual seed of Abraham — with his elect : where
by, in spite of aU opposition, they are brought to glory at last :
they are fed with manna every day ; the pillar of cloud by day,
and of fire by night, is their continual guide ; and the rock
which follows them is Christ; i. e. they are fed and are guid-
ed...they live and are refreshed, and are helped to hold on their
way, by continual influences from on high, by constant com
munications of divine grace : And so the path of the just is like
the shining light, which shines more and more to the perfect day.
. Remarks. Never is any poor sinner under the light of the
gospel passed by, without being awakened by the Holy Spirit ;
but God sees he Is deaf to the voice of his word, and hates to
be awakened, and loves to go on secure. Never Is any awak
ened sinner forsaken by the spirit of God, and left to take his
own way, and run his own ruin, but that first he resisted and
grieved the Holy Spirit, and stifled conviction, and rent away,
as it were, out of God's hands : And never Is a poor sinner
savingly brought home to God and trained up for heaven, but
that, from first to last, it was absolutely and entirely owing to
the infinite goodness, free grace, and almighty power of God :
And, indeed, thus will it appear at the great day of judgment,
that all who perish are wholly to blame, and all that are saved
wiU have none to glory in but the Lord. But I have elsewhere
so much insisted upon the nature of the influences of the Holy
Spirit, that I must not here enlarge.
Thus the way to life Is opened by Christ Jesus, and all are
invited to return and be saved : And thus we see the methods
which God takes for the recovery of a sinful, guilty world —
And from all that has been said we may draw these inferences :
; 1. It is undoubtedly the duty of poor sinners to be deeply
affected with all these wonderful methods of divine grace, and
to strive and labor with the greatest paii fulness and diligence

383 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
to fall in with the design of the gospel....to be sensible of their
sinful, guilty, undone state, and to look to the free grace of
God, through Jesus Christ, for relief, and to repent and return
to God through him : Luke xiu. 24i...Strive to enter in at the
srait gate. Some are ofthe opinion, that because the very best
that sinners can do, while enemies to God In their hearts, is,
as to the manner of it, sinful and odious in the eyes, of the
divine holiness, that therefore their best way Is to do nothing,
but to sit still and wait for the spirit ; but nothing is more con
trary to scripture or reason : The scripture says. Strive ta
enter : And reason teaches, that when the God of Heaven,
the greatGovernor ofthe world, is thus coming out after guilty
rebels In a way of mercy, it becomes them to be deeply affected
thereat, and to exert all their rational powers in opposition to
their sloth and Corruptions...laboring to Ue open to the means
of conviction.. .avoiding every thing that tends to promote
security, and to render Ineffectual the methods of divine grace,
and practising every thing that tends to their farther awaken*
ing. And O, let this be remembered, that it is sinners' resist*
ing the methods of grace, which causes God to give them over :
Psal. Ixxxl. 11, 12, 13.,.But my people would not hearken to my
voice : and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up to their
own hearts' hist : and they walked in their oxvn counsels. 0 that my
people had hearkened unto me,and Israel had walked in my ways I
2. From what has been said, we may learn that It is mad
ness and folly for poor siimers to use the means of grace- under
a riotlon of doing their whole duty, and so pacify their con
sciences. The means of grace are designed In the first place to
convince sinners of their sinful, guilty, ruined state : and for
them to forget, totally forget, this their end, and to go about
to attend upon them under a notion of doing tbat duty which
they owe to God, as something in Ueu of that perfect pbedi
ence which the law req-alres. Is quite to lose the benefit of the
means of grace — ^yea, to thwart their very design — and tends
to keep men from conviction and conversion,' and seal them
down in spiritual security. That which God directs them to

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 389
do, to the end their consciences might be more awakened, they
do, that their consciences might be more quieted. The means
which were appointed to make them more sensible of their
need of Christ and grace, they use to make themselves the
more insensible thereof.
3. Sinners are not to use the means of grace under a notion
of making amends for their past sins, and recommending
themselves to God, (Rom. x. 3.) — ^nor under a notion that by
their strongest efforts they shaU be ever able to renew their own
nature, (Eph. u. 1.) — -nor under a notion they can do any thing
at aU to prevaU with God to renew them, (Rom. xi. 35, 36.)
But, on the contrary, in the use of the means of grace, they
are to seek for and labor after a thorough conviction, that they
can neither make any amends for their past sins, nor in the
least recommend themselves to God — ^that they cannot renew
their own nature, nor in the least move God to show them this
mercy...to the intent, that being thus convinced of their ruin
ed, helpless state, they may be prepared to look to the free
mercy and sovereign grace of God, through Christ, for all
tilings ; which is the very thing that the gospel aims at, (Rom-
Ui. 9—26.) and which the means of grace are designed to pro
mote, and bring them to ; and to which the spirit of God, by
his inward influences, does, in the use of means, finally bring
aU who are saved....Rom. vii. 8, 9,.„Gal. Hi, 24.
For siimers to use the means of grace, under the other no-
, tions aforesaid, is practically to say, " We are not fallen, sinful,
" guUty, helpless, undone creatures ; nor do we need the re-
" deemer or the sanctifier which God has provided ; nor do
'' we lie at his merpy, or intend to be beholden to his mere
"sovereign grace. If we have sinned, we can make amends
" for it: if we have displeased God, we can pacify him again :
" if we are wicked, we can become good : or, if we do as well
" as we can, and then want any further help, God is obliged
" to help us."
If, therefore, sinners would take the wisest course to be the
better for the uSe of the means of grace, they must try to faU

390 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
in with God's design, and with the spirit's influences, and labor
to see and feel their sinful, guilty, condemned, helpless, undone
state. For this end, they must forsake vain company.. ..leave
their quartelling and contention.. ..drop their inordinate world
ly pursuits, and abandon every thing which tends to keep them
secure in sin, and quench the motions of the spirit ; and for
this end must they read, hear, meditate, and pray.. .compare
themselves with God's holy law.. ..try to view themselves In the
same Ught that God does, and pass the same judgment upon
themselves ; that so they may be in a way to apprpve pf the
law, and tP admire the grace of the gospel — ^to judge and con
demn themselves, and humbly to apply to the free grace of God,
through Jesus Christ, for all things^ and through him to return
to God.
Thus we have gone through what was proposed under this
third general head : We have considered the necessity there
was of satisfaction for sin, and of a perfect righteousness : We
have considered what satisfaction for sin has been made, and
what righteousness wrought out, and wherein their sufficiency'
consists : We have considered how the way of life has been
opened by the means ; and we have considered what methods
God has actually entered upon for the recovery of lost sinners
to himself. And thus, now, upon the whole, we see upon
what grounds the great Governor of the world considered
mankind as being In a perishing condition, and whence his de
signs of mercy originally took their rise, and what necessity-
there was for a Mediator and Redeemer, and how the way to
life has been opened by him whom God has provided : and so
may now pass to the next thing proposed.
SECTION VII.
SHOWING THE NATURE OF A GENUINE COMPLIANCE WITH
THE GOSPEL.
IV. To show the true nature of a saving faith in Christ. —
And because, by the whole, I am to explain the nature of the •
gospel, and of a genuine compliance therewith, therefore I
wiU begin with a-more general view of things, and afterwards
proceed to a more distinct survey of faith in particular.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 391
Now, a genuine compliance with the gospel, in general,
consists in a spiritual and divine sight and sense of the great
truths therein presupposed and revealed., .and in a firm belief
of those truths, and an answerable frame of heart ; — as Is evi
dent from II. Cor, Iv. 3, 4, 5 — I. Thes. Ii. 13 — 3Iat, xiii. 23 —
John viH. 32.
• It is divine light, imparted by the splrlt'of God to the soul,
which lays the foundation of all..,. iJ^^ xl. 25 — Gal, i. 16 — II.
Cor, IH. 18. This spiritual and divine light, according to the
language df St. Paul, shines in the heart, and consists in the
knowledge of glory.. ..II. Cor, Iv. 6 ; that Is, in a sense of
MORAL BEAUTY — a sense of that beauty there is In the moral
PERFECTIONS of GoD, and In all spiritual and divine things....
that HOLY BEAUTY which Is peculiar to spiritual, and divine,
and holy things ; of which every unholy heart is perfectly in
sensible....!. John i. 3, 6. And by it, things are made to ap*
pear to us. In a measure, as they do to God himself, and to the
angels and saints in heaven : And so, by it, we are made to
.change our minds, and are brought to be of God's mind con
cerning things : And so we are hereby disposed to understand,
believe, entertain, and embrace the gospel.... ^oAn viii. 47.
GoD, the great Governor of the world, who sees all things
as being what they are, does, in the gospel, consider mankind
as perishing — as fallen, sinful, guilty, justly condemned, help
less, and undone. He looks upon the original constitution
with Adam as holy, just, and good ; and that, by and according
to that, constitution, he might have damned the whole human
race, consistently with his goodness, and to the honor of his
holiness and justice : He looks upon the law of nature as holj'^,
just, and good ; and that, by and according to that, he might
damn a guilty world, consistentiy with his goodness, and to the
honor of his holiness and justice. Now, by this divine light,
we are brought to look upon things as God does, and to have
an answerable frame of heart.
Again — God, the great Governor of the world, who sees aU
things as being what thev are, does, in the gospel, consider r
3 C

392 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANB
guilty worid as lying at bis mercy. He saw that he was under
no obUgations to pity them in the least, or in the least to mitii.
gate their punishment — ^much less under any obllgatitms to
give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life — and stIU much less
under any obligations, by his holy spirit, to subdue and recover
such obstinate rebels, who hate him and his Son... .his law and
his gospel, and are perfectly averse to a return. He saw a
guilty world Ue at his mercy, and that he was at liberty to have
mercy or not to have mercy, according to bis sovereign pleas
ure ; and that It was fit, and becoming his glorious Majesty,
to act as a sovereign In this affair. And now, by this divine-
light, we are brought to look upon things as God does, and to
have an answerable frame of heart.
Again — God, the great Governor of the world, who sees all
things as being what they are, at the same time that he designs
mercy for a guilty worid, does consider a Mediator as being
necessary to answer the demands ofthe broken law, and secure
the divine honor. In such a perishing condition he sees man^
kind — so guilty.. ..so justly condemned, that It would be incon
sistent with the divine perfections, and contrary to aU good
rules of government, to pardon and save such wicked, heU-de»
serving rebels, without some proper atonement for their sin,
and suitable honor done to his law : But the honor of his hoU
ness and justice.. .law and government, is sacred in his eyes,
arid of infinite Importance, and must be maintained : better
the whole world be damned than they In the least be suUIed':
And now, by this divine light, we are brought to look upon
things as God does, and to have an answerable frame of heart.
Moreover, God, the great Governor of the world, who sees
all things as being what they are, views his only begotten Son
as a meet person for a mediator, and himself as having suffi
cient power to authorize him to the work. Of his sovereign,
self-moving goodness, he, in bis infinite wisdom, contrives the
whole scheme... 'ays the whole plan, and puts his design In ex
ecution — the door of , mercy is opened...the news of pardon and

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. S93
peace is sent through a guilty world, and aU are invited to re-
tumhome to God through Jesus Christ : and God looks upon-
this way of salvation as being glorious for God, and safe for
the poor sinner ; And now, by this divine light, we are brought
rightiy to understand these things, and Jook upon them as God
does, and beUeve them, and to have an answerable frame of
heart. , Lastly, God, the great Governor of the worid, does, in the
gospel, consider our return unto him through Jesus Christ, not
only as a duty to which we ar& under infinite obligations, but
also as a privilege of infinite value ; .and, in this view of the
case, he commands and invites us to return : And now, by this
divine light we are brought to look upon this also as God does,
and to judge It the fittest and happiest thing In the world to
return unto him through Jesus Christ, and to have an answer
able frame of heart : For,
, , By this light we come to have a right view of the most high
God...to see him, in a measure, as the saints and angels in
heaven do.. .to see him In his infinite greatness and majesty,
and in the infinite glory and beauty of his nature •, And hence
we are made sensible that he Is Infinitely worthy of the high
est esteem...reverence... love.. .deUght, and of universal obedi
ence : And hence we see, that we, in particular, are under In
finite obligations to love him with aU our hearts, and obey him
In every thing ; and that to do so is the happiest thing in the
world ; that not to do so, is Infinitely wrong, and deserves an
infinite punishment: And thus we see the grounds of the law
of nature.. .the reasons from whence it results, and, with all pur
hearts, consent to It, and approve of it as holy, just, and good :
And this naturally lays the foundation for us rightly to under
stand, and heartily to approve of the original constitution with
Adam : And while we behold God in his infinite glory, and
view the law as holy, just, and good, and see our infinite oblii
gations perfectly to conform unto it — now our universal depra
vity and Infinite ill desert appear in a clear and divine light ;
Hence it appears we lie at mercy, and that it is fit -he should

394 TRUE RELIGION tjELINEATED, AND
have mercy on whom he wIU...tbat it becomes the Majesty of
heaven to act as a sovereign in this affair : And It appears that
there Is no motive In us to excite his compassions, but infinite
ly to the contrary : and hence the heart is prepared to discern
tiie freeness of divine grace, and to perceive that the goodness
of the divine nature must be self-moving j and also to under
stand the need there is of a mediator to secure the divine ho
nor : for creatures so bad appear too vile to be relieved, unless
justice may first be satisfied ; It Is contrary to law, and contra
ry to reason, that they should. And while we view these
things, and have a divine sense of them on our hearts, we are
hereby prepared to understand the way of salvation by free
grace through Jesus Christ, as revealed in the gospel : And
now a sense of the glorious freeness of divine grace. ...the ex
cellence and sufficiency of Christ, and the readiness of God
to be reconciled to returning sinners through him, lays the
foundation for faith and hope.* And all this while there is
secretly enkindling in the heart a most genuine disposition to
return home to God., ..to love bim and live to him, arising
from a sense ofthe Ineffable glory and beauty ofthe divine na
ture : for he appears glorious In hoUness, justice, goodness, and
grace ; and glorious In his sovereignty and in his majesty, as
supreme Lord and high Governor of the whole world. Upon
%he whole, with utmost solemnity, as being In ourselves infinite
ly unfit for the divine favor, we venture our eternal all upon
Jesus Christ as Mediator, relying on his worth and merits, and
ttusting to ,the mere free mercy of God through him, for par-
• AU these things (although it takes considerable tltne t6 express them
in order) may, for substance^ instantly open to view, and the soul imme
diately acquiesce in the gospel-scheme and close with Chiist i^-insta/itly, I
say, upon divine light's being imparted to the soul: But the mind, in
that solemn and awful hour, may especially fix only upon some particu
lars ; and so a remembrance of these may remain, while other particulars,
whioh were then in view, cannot afterwards be recollected. Hence, some
may doubt whether their frst act of faith -(vas right. The best way to
remove such feara, is to live in the exercise of faith every day ; for when
these views, and a consciousness of them, become habitual, our scruples
will cease of course. The special nature of oar faith may be learnt from
the after acts, as well as by the^r.!( acti for the after acts will be of the
Same nature with thi.- frst, let our faith be true or false.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL CPUNTERFEITS. 395-
don, and grace, and glpry ; and hence are encpuraged and em
boldened, with our whple hearts, tP return home to God through'
him, and give up ourselves to God forever, to love him and
live to him, and live upon him forever, lamenting that ever we
sinned against him, resolving to cleave to him with all our
hearts, and never, never to depart from him., ..Heb, iv, 16, and
X, 19  22— Eph, ii. 18 — John xiv. 6 — ^om. HI. 24, 25, 26.
And thus, by this divine light, imparted by the spirit of God,'
is the soul finally brought to unite to Christ by faith, and to re
turn home to God through him. John vi. 44, 45....iVo inan
can come to me, except the Father draw him : They shaU be aU
tauo-ht of God, Every man, therefore, that hath heard and learn
ed of the Father, cometh unto me. And from what has been
said concerning the nature ofthe gospel. It is self-evident that
herein consists a genuine compliance therewith : For aU this
is only to see things as being what they are, and to be affected
and act accordingly.
Remark 1. This is peculiar to a genuine compliance with
the gospel, and that whereby It Is specifically different from all
counterfeits, namely — its being founded In, and resulting from
this divine light ; whereby we are brought, not merely in spec
ulation, but in heart, to look upon things as God does. He
sees all things as they are; and therefore when any poor sinner
Is brought to a right view of things, i. e. to see them as they are,
he must, by consequence, look upon them as God does. Now,
sdl others being blind and ignorant in scripture-account, hence
this true sight and sense of things Is very pecuUar and distin
guishing : And hence we may observe that it is mentioned as
being peculiar to the good-ground-hearers, in Mat. xiii. 25....
That they heard the word, and understood it. And Christ
intimates that none but his true disciples know the truth....
John viii. 31, 32 : And the gospel is again and again said to be
/i/fl? from all others... .iWf/f. xi. 25 — II. Cor. iv. 3: And they
only have it revealed unto them  Mat. xl. 25 : They only
have the vail taken off from their hearts....ll. Cor. IH. 14 — 17 :
Arid they only behold with open j ace. ...ver, 18.

396 TRUE RELIGION DELINEA*rED, AND
2. This spiritual and divine Ught lays the foundation for a
new kind of belief ofthe gospel. A sight ofthe divine beauty
and glory of the gospel-scheme, convinces and assures the heart
that it is divine, and indeed from God, and not a cunningly de
vised fable This is an evidence peculiar to the regenerate,
and, of aU others, it is unspeakably the most satisfactory. — (See
this largely explained and proved In Mr, Edu^ard's treatise on
religious affecions, p. 182,199.)
3. Regeneration, faith, repentance, and conversion, are, in
their own nature, connected together, and so they are in this
representation. In regeneration we receive this divme light....
this new spiritual sense of things. Our eyes are opened, and
we are brought out of darkness Into this marvellous light ; and
so come to have a right view of God..l.of purselves... .of Christ
....and ofthe gospel-way of salvation by free grace through hiin.
This spiritual illumination lays the foundation for faith, repent
ance, and conversion : It discovers the grounds of faith, of re
pentance, and conversion ; and we believe, we repent, and con
vert. Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Je
sus Christ, always go together... .Acts xx. 21 : and the gospel
calls sinners to repent, and be converted, as well as to believe in
Christ.... Acts IH. 19. Those, therefore, who seem to have
much light, and faith, andjoy, but have no repentance, nor do
turn to God with all their hearts, are deluded.
4. Spiritual light and true faith are always In proportion.
A spiritual sense of God.. ..of ourselves.. ..of Christ, and ofthe
gospel way of salvation by freegrace through him, lays the
foundation for faith ; and faith naturaUy results therefrom — as
has been observed, and as is evident from John vi, 45 : and
therefore, from the nature of the case, they must be in equal
degree in the heart : And therefore, those who pretend to live
by faith, when they are spiritually blind and dead, do but de
ceive themselves. Nor Is what they plead from Isai. I. x. at
all to the purpose : Who is among you that feareth the Lord.. .that
obeyeth the voice ofhis servant. ..that walketh in darkness, and hath
no light ? Let him trust in the Lord, and stay upon his God.

DISTINGUISHED FROM -\LL COUNTERFEITS. 397
Because, 1. The persons here spoken of were not spiritually
bUnd and dead, but had a spiritual sense of God and divine
things on their hearts ; for they feared the Lord, and obeyed his
voice ; so that they lived in the exercise of grace, and walked
in the ways of holiness, which, without spiritual light, had been
impossible. And, 2. What they were In the dark about, was,
how, or by what means, the children of Israel should ever be
brought out of the Babylonish captivity, back again to Zion :
which they knew God had promised, but they could see no
way wherein It could be brought about. In this respect they
walked in darkness, and could see no light, and therefore they
are exhorted to put their trust in the Lord, whose wisdom, pow
er, and faithfulness are Infinite. This is evidently the mean
ing ofthe words, as Is manifest from the scope and tenor ofthe
prophet's discourse through aU the ten preceding chapters^
which was calculated for "the support and comfort of the godly
in the Babylonish captivity, by assuring them of a return.* —
Nor is what is said about Abraham, that against hope he believed
in hope.. ..nor what is said by St. Paul — We walk by faith, a7id
not by sight, any thing to their pufpose ; unless they suppose
that Abraham and Paul, and the primitive christians in general,
were as dead, and blind, and carnal, as themselves. The
truth Is, that this blind faith is the very thing which the Apostle
James caUs a dead faith.
5. Evangelical humlUation and true faith are likewise always
in proportion. Evangelical humiliation consists in a sense of
<3ur own sinfulness, vileness, odiousness, and ill-desert, and
in a disposition, thence resulting, to lie down In the dust fuU of
* The three first verses of the next chapter, {Isai. U. 1, 2, 3) do, I
think, confirm the above interpretation of Isai. 1. 10 — although, I
doubt not, the prophet's discourse, through the abovesaid ten chapters, has
a farther look to the Messiah's kingdom, and our redemption out of 'mys
tical Babylon: But let the words be considered in either view, or only con
sidered in themselves absolutely, it is plain they never ¦were designed to
comfort stony-ground hearers, when their religion is all worn out, and they
become dead, blind, and carnal, and so full of doubts and fears : Nor do
they mean to embolden such " firmly to believe they are in a good state,
*' though ever so much in the dark, i. c. though they see no grace in their
" hearts, nor signs of any:" For the words are direjaed only to those u-Ao
fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his servant.

398 TRUE P.ELIGION DELINE.4TEU, AND
self-loathing and self-abhorrence, abased before the Lord, really
accounting ourselves Infinitely too bad ever to venture to come
into the divine presence in our own names, or to have a thought
of mercy from God on the account of our own goodness : And
It Is this which makes us sensible of our need of a mediator,
and makes us desire to be found, not In ourselves, but in Christ —
not having on our own righteousness, but his : No farther,
therefore, than these views and this temper prevail in us, shall
we truly discern any need of Christ, or be heartily inclined to
have any respect to him as a mediator between God and us :
There can, therefore, be no more of true faith in exercise,
than there is of this true humility. When men, therefore,
appear righteous In their own eyes, and look upon themselves
as deserving well at the hands of God, on the account of their
own goodness, they gan feel no need of a mediator, nor at
heart have any respect to Christ, under that character.... Luke
v. 31. This condemns the faith ofthe self-righteous formalist,
who depends upon his being conscientious In his ways, and
upon his sincerely endeavoring to do as well as he can, to re
commend him to God : And this condemns, also, the faith of
the proud enthusiast, who appears so good in his own eyes.. .so
far from a legal spirit.. .so purely evangelical.. .so full of light
and knowledge, humility and love, zeal and devotion, as that,
from a sense of his own goodness, and how greatly beloved
he Is In the sight of God, he is encouraged and elevated, and
feels greatly emboldened to come Into the presence of God, and
draviT near, and come even to his seat, and use familiarity and
boldness with God, as though he was almost an equal. Such
are so far from any true sense of their need of Christ, as that
they rather feel more fit to be mediators and Intercessors In be
half of others, than to want one for themselves : And It Is the way
of such, from that great sense they have oftheir own goodness,
to make bold with God, and to make bold with Christ, In their
prayers, as If they felt themselves pretty nigh upon a level.
Of all men In the world, I am ready to think that God looks
lipon these the worst, and hates them the most,. ..(Luke xvIIi.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 399
9 — ^14 — Isai. Ixv. 5.) But did they know it, they would hate
him as entirely as he does them. Hypocrites of all sorts fail
in this point : they see no real need of Christ — they are not so
bad but that, to their own sense andfeeUng, they might be par
doned and savedby the free mercy of God, without any media
tor : Hence they do not understand the gospel ; it is aU fool
ishness to them....I. Cor. Ii. 14.
6. It is a spiritual sense and firm belief ofthe truths of the
gospel which encourages the heart to trust in ChrIst....yoAra
vi. 45. That the goodness of God is infinite, and self-moving
—that Christ, as Mediator, has secured the honor of God, the
moral Governor of the world, and opened a way for the free
and honorable exercise of his grace— that through Christ, God,
the supreme Governor ofthe world. Is actually ready to be re
concUed, and invites aU, the vUest not excepted, to return to
him in this way :— These truths, being spiritually understood
and firmly beUeved, convince the heart of the safety of trust
ing in Christ, and encourage it so to do„„Heb, x. \Q.,..Mat.
xxii. 4.
7. Saving fmth cpnsists in that entire trust, reliance, pr de
pendance on Jesus Christ, the great Mediator, his satisfaction
and merits, mediation and intercession, which the humbled
sinner has, whereby he is emboldened to return home to God
Inhopes of acceptance, and Is encouraged to look to and trust
in God through him for that complete salvation which Is offer
ed In the gospel. The opposite to justifying faith, is a self-
righteous spirit and temper, whereby a' man, from a conceit of,
and reliance upon his own goodness, is emboldened and encour
aged to trust and hope in the mercy of God.... Heb. x. 19, 23
— Luke xviii. 9 — 14 ; and accordingly, when such see how bad
they reaUy are, their faith fails — they naturally think that God
cannot find in his heart to show mercy to such.
8. Faith emboldens the heart. In a legal humUiatlon, which
is antecedent to spiritual light, the sinner Is brought to a kind
of despair : The things which used to embolden him, do now
Witirely faU : he finds no good In himself — yea, he feels him-
3 D

400 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
self dead in sin ; and upon this his heart dies within him. I
was alive without the law once ; but when the commandment
came, sin revived, andIdied....B.om. vii. 9 : And by spiritual
light, in evangelical humiliation, his undone state, in and of
himself, is made still more plain. But now faith emboldens
the heart.. ..begets new courage... .lays the foundation for a new
kind of hope — a hope springing entirely from a new founda
tion. Heb. X. 19, 22... Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a
true heart, in full assurance of faith. By faith the heart is em
boldened — 1. To return home to God,in hopes of acceptance. A
spiritual sight andsense of the ineffable beauty ofthe divine na
ture begets a disposition to look upon it the fittest and happiest
thing ill the World to love God with all the heart, and be entirely
devoted to him forever ; and enkindles an incUnation to return,
and everlastingly give up and consecrate ourselves unto him.
" But may such a wretch as I be the Lord's ? Will he accept
me J" Now the believer, understanding the way of acceptance
by Christ, and seeing the safety of it, ventures his all upon
this sure foundation, and hereby is emboldened to return.
Heb. xi. Q....He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ; i. e.
first — He must see what God is.«. behold him in his glory, or
he cannot. In a genuine manner, desire to come to him : and
secondly — He must see that he is ready to be reconciled unto
and to save those, who, from a genuine desire to be his, do
heartily return to him through the Me(Uator he has appointed ;
or else he will not dare to come : But when both these arc
seen and believed, now the soul will return, and come and ^ve
up Itself to God, to be the Lord's forever. 2. Faith in Christ
emboldens the heart to look to and trust in the free grace of
God through him, for all things that just such a poor creature
wants — even for all things offered in the gospel to poor sinners.
Heb. Iv. l&....Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of
grace, that xve may obtain mercy and find grace. Pardoning
mercy and sanctifying grace are the two great benefits ofthe

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 401
new covenant ; and these are the two great things which an en
lightened soul feels the want of, and for which he Is embolden
ed to come to God by Jesus Christ : / wiU be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people, saith the Lord in the new cov
enant ; and this is aU my salvation, and aU my desire, saith the
believer. 9. The word faithfm scripture, is evidentiy used in various
senses : Or thus, there are various different exercises of a god
ly soul, aU which in scripture are C2&ed faith — for I mean here
to leave out aU those sorts of faith spoken of In scripture, which
the unregenerate man is capable of: — 1. It is the way of godly
men to live under a spiritual sense of God, his being and per
fections, and government of the worid, and the glory, reality,
and importance of divine and eternal things — even under such
a living sense of these things, as that they are firmly believed,
and are made to influence them as though they were seen :
Hence they are said to look at things which are unseen.. ,.11,
Cor. iv, 18 — To see him who is invisible„..,ileb. xl, 27 — And
are said to walk by faith,.,.ll. Cor. v. 7 : And this seems to be
the meaning of the word faith, as It Is used In Heb, xi. where
we read of what Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and Moses, did hy faith. Their faith was the substance of
things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen ; i. e. It made
divine and eternal things, as It were, subsist. In all their glory
and importance, before their minds, and appear as evident as
though tiiey were seen, (ver. 1.) — 2. It is the way of godly
men to live under a spiritual sense of the divine aU-sufficIency,
whereby they are in&uenced firmly to believe tbat God is able to
do aU things for them, and be aU to them, which they can pos
sibly need in time and to eternity ; by all which, they are influ
enced to live in. a way of continual dependance upon bim for all
things : And this Is what, In the book of Psalms and elsewhere,
is called trusting in the Lord, waiting and leaning upon the
Lord, making him our refuge. This temper Is expressed in
Psal. Ixxiii. 25,26... PF/JOOT have lin heaven but thee? And there
is none upon earth that Idesire beside thee. 3{y flesh and my

402 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
heart faileth : But Godis the strength of my heart, and my por
tion for ever — And ver. 28.... A is good for me to draw near
to God: I have put my trust in the Lt)rd,^—3, It is the way of
godly men to live under a spiritual sense of God, as the great
Governor of the world, to whom it belongs to maintain the
rights of the god-head, and the honor of the law ; and under
a sense of themselves as poor sinners, worthy only of destruc
tion, according to law and justice, and too bad to be pitied or
to have any mercy shown them, without some sufficient sohd
to the divine honor j and under a sense of Christ as a Mediator
appointed to be a propitiation for sin, to declare God's righte
ousness and secure the divine honor, and so open a way wherein
God might be just and yet justify the sinner that believes in
Jesus — even under such a living sense of these things, as that
they are firmly believed; whereby they are influenced not to
draw nigh to God In their own names, emboldened by their
own goodness, but only In the name of Christ, depending en
tirely upon him, and emboldened only by his worth and merits,
mediation and intercession, to look for acceptance in the sight
of God : Hence, because of this dependance, they are said to
pray In Christ's name.. .John xvi. 23 — To have access to God by
Aim.... Eph. ii. 18 — To come to God through him,..,lleb, viu 25
— To believe in God by him.,.,1. Pet. i. 21- — And are represent
ed as being emboldened by his worth and merits, mediation
and Intercession, to approach the Majesty of heaven.. ..^ei. Iv.
16, and x. 19 : And now this is called a coming to Christ.. ..John
vii. 37 — A receiving him....John i. 12 — A believing in Christ
....John Hi. 15, 16 — A believing on Christ.. ..John iii. 18, 36 —
A believing in his name. ...John I. 12 — And a trusting in
Christ...Eph. I. 12, 13 : And this is that act offaith by which we
are justified and entitied to life, as is evident from Rom. ill. 24,
25, 26»where It is, by the Apostle, called faith in Christ's blood.
The Apostle considers God as the righteous Governor of the
world, (chap. i. 18) — all mankind as being guilty before God,
(chap. IH. 9 — 19) — Christ as being set forth to be apropitiation
for sin, (ver, 25) That God might be just and yet justify, &c.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 403
(ver. 26) — And affirms that we axe justifiedby free grace through
/Ae REDEMPTION that is in Jesus Christ, (ver. 24) — by faith
Tivithout the deeds ofthe law (ver. 28), being considered In our
selves as UNGODLY, (chap. iv. 5) : And this justifying faith he
caHs faith in Christ's blood ; because it was principally by the
death pf Christ that the ends pf mpral gpvernment were an
swered, and sp law and justice satisfied, and a way ppened fpr
the hpuprable exercise pf divine grace. But although the word
faith be thus used in scripture in these different senses, yet we
are to remember that these various exercises of a godly soul
are connected together, and always concomitant with one anoth
er — ^yea, and, in some respects, implied In each Other ; and perr
haps sometimes all these actings of soul are designed by the
word faith ; nevertheless they are evidently. In their own na-
,ture, so distinct, as that they may be conceived of as distinct
acts of the soul. And It may also be noted that the two first of
these, viz. a firm beUef of divine truths,and a hearty reliance on
the divine all-suffciency, are acts of faith common to angels as
well as saints ; but the last, which immediately respects Christ
as Mediator, is peculiar to penitent, returning sinners : The two
first are common to every holy creature ; for all such do, in a firm
beUef of divine truths, live in an entire dependance upon God,
the Infinite fountain of all good : but the last is peculiar to sin
ful creatures, who, because they are sinful, need a mediator to
make way for the honorable exercise ofthe divine goodness to
wards them. Those who never were sinners may receive all
things, from the free grace and self-moving goodness ofthe di
vine nature, without a mediator ; but those who have been sin
ners perhaps will receive all through a mediator, to eternity.
10. A heart to love God supremely, Uve to him ultimately,
and deUghtin him superlatively.... to love our neighbors as our
selves... .to hate every false way.... to be humble, meek, weaned
from the world, heavenly-mInded....to be thankful for mercies
....patient under afflictlons....to love enemies.. ..to forgive Inju
ries, and. In aU things, to do as he would be done by ; — a
heart for aU this, I say, is always In exact proportion to the de- l

404 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
gree of true faith : for the same views of our own wretched
ness.. ..of God.. ..of Christ.. ..of the way of salvation by free
grace through him.. ..of the glory, reality, and importance of
divine and eternal things, which lay the foundation for true faith,
and always accompany the exercise of faith, do, at the same time,
lay the foundation for this divine temper : And besides, this
divine temper is what every true believer feels to be the fittest
and happiest thing In the world, and, as such, longs for It, and
goes to God to have it Increased and strengthened j and, be
ing unworthy to go in his own name,* he goes in Christ's
name : so that the obtaining more and more of this divine
temper is one main end of his exercising faith in Christ : And
whatsoever he asks the Father in Christ's name, he receives.
God is readier to give his holy spirit to such an one, than pa
rents are to give bread to their children.. ..yoAra xvi. 23 — Mat.
vii. 11 : and therefore every true believer does obtain the end
ofhis faith ; and not only has, but grows in this divine tempec,.
knd Is governed by it, and brings forth fruit according to It v
and thus shaws his faith by his works, according to St. James'"S
doctrine.. ..^^awie* II : And herein true faith stands distinguish
ed from all counterfeits. Never had a hypocrite a spiritual
sense of that Ineffable beauty ofthe divine nature, which lies at
* Vnviorthy to go in his ovin name. As thus, if, in prayer, I offer up this
petition, " Lord, enable me to love thee with all my heart !" — it implies,
(1) That I do not love God with all my heart, notwithstanding the infi
nite obligations I am under to do so ; for which defect I am infinitely ta
blame, and deserve an infinite punishment. ...to be instandy driven from
God's presence forever, and spurned to hell as a creature fit only for de
struction — (2) It implies that all the external manifestations which God
has made of himself to me in his works and word, and all the external
means he has used with me, are not able to win my heart wholly to God ;
so great is iifiy sottishness and alienation from the Deity, and love to the
-world and sin : And now, surely, such a vile wretch cannot have a thought
of any mercy from God, on the account of any goodness in me ; yea, ra
ther 1 am too bad to be pitied, unless there be some sufficient salvo to the
divine honor. How, therefore, can God give me the greatest of gifts,
even the sanctifying influences of his holy spirit, but through the great
Mediator, consistently with his honor as moral Governor ofthe world :
I^ow, therefore, being thus unworthy to go to God in my own name, I go
in Christ's name ; as knowing that, through him, God can exercise his in
finite, self -moving goodness to the vilest of creatures, consistently with his
honor; although law and justice call for their immediate destruction, con
sidered as in themselves.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 405
tiie foundation of all the experiences ofthe true saint, and from
whence aU true holiness originaUy springs. The formalist
may, from legal fears and mercenary hopes, be so strict and
consclencious in his ways, as to think himself a choice good
man : and the enthusiast, from a firm persuasion ofthe pardon
ofhis sins, and the love of Christ, may be so fuU of joy and
love, zeal and devotion, as to think himself a most eminent
saint : but there is nothing of the nature of true holiness In ei
ther ; for it Is self, and nothing but self, that Is the principle,
centre, and end of aU their religion : They do not believe in
Christ, that through him they may return home to God, and
be consecratedtohimforever,and obtain grace to do all his will :
They do not know God, or care for him, but are wholly taken
up about their own interest. That Moravian maxim, " That.
salvation consists In the forgiveness of sins," exhibits the true
picture of the heart ofthe best hypocrite In the world ; while
that in II. Cor. HI. 18, is pccuUar to the god\.y...,We all with
open face beholding,as in a glass, the glory ofthe Lord, are chan
ged into the same image, from glory to glory.
11, And lastiy — In true believers there is a principle offaith,
which abides and grows, and perseveres to the end. Thafsplr-
itual sense of God.. .of themselves. ..of Christ, and ofthe gos
pel-way of salvation through him, which lays the foundation for
the first act of faith, becomes habitual : They have a spiritual
understanding to discern spiritual things, (I. Cor. ii. 12) — They
were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord; and hence
theyare called children of the light and of the day... .^^^h. v. 8 —
I. Thes. V. 5. Spiritual light does not come upon believers like
flashes of lightning at midnight — ^now and then a flash, and then
as dark as ever again ; but their light is habitual, Uke day-light:
And from the first dawning of divine light at the hour of con
version, that day-break of heaven, their Ught shines more and
more, year after year, to the perfect day. ...Prov. iv. 18 : The
flying clouds in the day time, although they may hide the clear
shining of the sun for a while, yet they do not make it dark as
in the night ; yea, the thickest clouds are not able to do it. —

406 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Believers are never destitute of a spiritual sense of God and
Christ, and ' divine things, as other men are : They are chil
dren of the light and of the day — and not of the night and of
darkness : The spirit of God does not come upon them by fits,
as it did upon Balaam ; but dwells in them, (Rom. viii. 9) —
And they grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. ...11. Pet. HI. 18 : If at any time they should
have no more sense of divine things than the unregenerate, they
would be as much without grace — they would not differ from
the stony-ground-hearers, who feU away : And now their di
vine light being thus habitual, growing and persevering, hence
their faith is so too. Through the course oftheir lives it is
their way to grow more and more sensible oftheir sinfulness....
the sinfulness of sin.. ..their unworthiness, ill-desert, poverty,
and absolute need of free grace andof Jesus Christ : And they
also see more and more into the gospel-way of salvation.. ..the
glory and safety of It.. ..its suitableness to exalt God, magnify
the law, discountenance sin, humble the sinner, and glorify grace
— and more and more come off from all self-dependance, to an
entire reliance upon Jesus Christ, and the free grace of God
through him ; seeking to be found not In themselves, but in
Christ — not as having on their own righteousness, but his....
Phil. Hi. 7, 8, 9 : They more fuUy approve of the law of nature
and ofthe original constitution with Adam, as being holy, just,
and good : they more fully get Into a way of looking upon
themselves as Qod does — as being naturally, and in themselves,
fallen, sinful, guilty, justly condemned, helpless, and undone >
they see more and more of their Infinite obligation to perfect
holiness, and of the reasonableness of eternal damnation be
ing threatened for the least sin, and of the insufficiency of
all their best dpings to make any satisfaction for sin : the
grace of God, as revealed in the gospel, appears more
rich, ancl free, and wonderful : they feel more and more of
their need of Christ, his worth and merits, mediation and in
tercession ; and oftheir utter unfitness to approach the Majes
ty of heaven any other way but by him : — they feel themselves

DISTINGUISHED FROM AtL COUNTERFEITS. 4Q7
inore full of wants, and farther off from any worthiness to re
ceive, and yet more and more into the temper of humble beg
gars, and Into a way of cpming to God more entirely in Christ's
iiam'e. At first conversion such a temper begins ; and this tem
per grows like the mustard-seed, and spreads, like the leaven,
and Is like a well of living water, which Is never dry, but is.
fringing up into everlasting life,.,.M.at. xiii, 31 — 33..„John
iv. 14 :• And thus the true believer abides. in Christ, as a living
^rat^h4oes in the vine..,\chn xv-.— And lives the life he lives in
thefiesh, by faith, on the Son of God,..Gal, II. 2G-.-BeIng. kept
hjy the,power of God, through faith, unto salvation, ..1, Pet. i. 5.
And this is the thing (I niay pbserve by the way) which
makes grace in the heart more plainly discernible, and its dif
ference from all counterfeits more clearly manifest ; and which,
tiierefore, clears -up to believers.the spiritual state of their sPuls
....answers all doubts...removes aU difllcukles, and brings them
to be settied and satisfied as to their good state. Many spend
tiieir lives In searching whether their law-work was right....
whethe; their first act. of faith was right, &c.... But there is
nothing, like growing, in grace, to put it out of doubt that we,
have grace, and to -keep our evidences clear : And indeed this
js the only way.. .,11. Pet. I. 5 — 10.
And thus we see,; in general, wherein a genuine compUance
with the gospel does consist, and particularly what is the na
ture of a saving faith : And, from whathas been said, we may
be able to distinguish true faith from every counterfeit ; particu
larly, from what has been said, we may easily see the falseness
of these two sorts of faith, whereby thoukands are deceived
and ruined. <, '
1. T/ie legal hypocrite's, faith, who, being entirely devoid
of the divine life, and of those spiritual views of God...of
himself.. .of Christ, and of the way of salvation, whieh the
true believer has, is only .animated by self-love, the fear of
hell, and the hope of heaven, to attend upon the external du
ties of reUgion, and to try to love God and be sincere, inhopes
of acceptance in the si^t of God, if he endeavors to do as
3 E

408 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
weU as he can. He thinks God has promised to accept-such,
and thatitwould not be just for God to require more of him
than he can do : He does not see how bad he is; he hates to
think of lying at the mere mercy of Xiod, and cannot endure
he doctrine of divine sovereignty ; he is quite Insensible of
lis need of free grace and of Jesus Christ: However, he says,
he trusts whoUy in the merits of Christ for eternal life, and
does not pretend to merit any thing by aU his doings: And
thus being quieted with the hopes of heaven, he goes on in
the rounds of duty, a stranger to real communion wkh God,
and to aU the exercises of the divine life. He does duties
enough just to keep his conscience quiet, and has faith
enough just to keep him from seeing that he rests entirely up
on his own righteousness: and, by the means, his duties and
his faith serve only to keep bim seciure in' sin, and Insensible
x)f his perishing needof Jesus Christ and of converting graee.
Let me expostulate the case a, little with such ^ one : And,
First, Can a man sincerely comply with the gospel, when, at
the same-time, he does not CMrdially approve of the law, as holy,
just and .good, seeing the gospel, in hs' whole constitution, is
evidentiy founcted upon tiiat suppositloni You do not like the
law ; you think it is rnijust. The law requires you to love God
with all your heart, (Mat. xxiL 37-) and threatens danination
for the least sin, (Gal. iii. 10.) But you say it is not just for
God to require more than you can do, and' then damn you for
not doing : but now the gospel does not mean to mak6 void '
this law, but to establish it....Rom. iii. 31: It would be im
possible, therefore, if .you did but rightly understand the case,
that you should like the gospel any better than you do the laws
And, Secondly, Do you think that God will pardon you, whfen,
at the same time, you will not acknowledge the law to be holy,
just, and good, by which you stand condemned? What, par-
dpn ypu, when ypu justify ypursdf, and condemn his law !.^-
Wbat, pardon you, when you wiU not own you need a pardon 1
yea, when you stand to it, it would not be' fair to punish ypu !
Yea, wheh you are ready to fly in.theivery face of the law and

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 409
.ci the law-giver, and to cryoiit, injusti'ee, injustice ! No, no,
proud, stubborn, guilty wretch, you must come down first,
«id Ue iathe dust before the Lord, and approve the law in the
very bottom of your heart, and own the sentence just by which
you stand Gondemned....ii<iJc xvHL 13— .i?om. in. 19. You
must come down and own the law to be good, or else God
must come down and own the law to be bad : Or, if God ivf.*
slsts upon it that the law is holy, just and good, and you stiU
insist upon it that it is not, it is impossible that God should.
pardon you, or that there should Be any reconciliation : God
must, of necessity, hate you, because you hate hia law ; and you
will forever hate God for making such a la Wi A-nd, Thirdly,.
How can you pretend, aU this while, to trust only in Christ for
pardon and eternal life, wheir, as it is plain, from your own
words, you see no need of Christ? For if, as you say, "God
^••cannot justiy require any more of you than you can do,"
what do you want Christ fori You can do enough yourself.
.Do you want Christ to mal^ satisfaction for your short-com
ings and imperfections? But, according to your scheme, God
cannot require any more satisfaction than-you can make your
self;, for this would be to require more than you can do, and
to damn you fiarnot doing- Do you want him to purchase
the favor of God' and eternal life ? But you can do all that God
can require; for you can do what you can do, and that, ac-
cording to your scheme, is alt that God can require : Or, do
you want Christ to purchase an abatement of the faw ? But if
Christ had never died, you do not think that God could, in
justice, require more of you than you can do : What need,
therefore, upon your scheme, was there of Christ ? And did
he not die In vain ? For if righteousness come by the law, then..
Christ is dead in !;a272...Gal.. II. xxi. Now, can your faith in
Christ be any more than a mere fancy, when,, as it is-, evident,.
you see no need of him? And, besides. Fourthly, What
good does your faith do you ? Does It work by love ? Does it
purify your heart ? Does it overcome the world PuiWhy, nothing
less. It only serves to keep ypu secure and quiet in an unre-

410 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
newed state, arid, to, make ybii hope aU is weU, while ykm tetp
on. in a round of external duties*,- strangers to God arid the
divine life : In a word, your duties and .your falthijoin togeth
er to keep conscience asleep, and to render yoU insensible, of
your need of Christ anti of converting grace... i?oOT. ix. 30;
31, 32.- Oh, how sad it is, so many thousands should be de-
.ceived in so plain a Casd ! It can. surely bd attributed to nothing
shprtpf this, that men love darkness- rather than light ; they
love to frame.siiich a scheme ofreligion In their heads, as suits
thetemper oftheir rhearts J And^ because their scheme suits
them, therefcffl-e they firmly believe it to be divine. But to
proceed, .. i
2. From what has been said, we may easily see the falsie.*
aess of the evangelical hypocrite's faxih, whoy althpugh he
makes a much greater show, and is more confident, yet has
not a jot better foundation : He has been greatly awakened^
perhaps, and terrified, and seemingly brought off from his own
righteousness, and humbled, and then has received great light.
and comfort, and has had many an hour of joy and ravishment.
For thus was the case — 'In the depth of his darkness and sor
row, light shinedaU around him ; and, to his thinking, he saw
heaven opened, and the Lord sitting upon his throne, and
Christ at bis right hand, and heard those words. Come, ye bles.^
sed of my Father , inherit the kingdom prepared for you from.
the foimdation of the world: Be of good cheer, thy sins are
forgiven : Fear not,- little flock, it is my Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Oh, thouafficted, tossed with tempests,
and not comforted, behold, IwiU lay thy stones with fair colors,
&c. — Or, It may be, he saw Christ on the cross, with his
blood running from his side, and hands and feet; or, perhaps
he saw a light in bis chamber : It may be, he had one scrip
ture, and, it may be, ten or twenty going, until he was as full as
he could hold, and even ready to cry. Lord, stay thy hand:
As to all these things, there is an endless variety — but, in the
following particulars, there Is a greater agreement. (1.) They
have a discovery of Christ's love to them inparticular — thirt

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 411
he died for them inparticular-^that their sins are pardoned, &c.
(2.) The esserice of their first act of faith corisists in a firm
persuasion that their sins are forgiven— that Christ died for
them in particular,, or the Uke. (3.) All their after-discove
ries and after-adts of faith are of the same nature with the
first. (4.) This faith, from a principle of self-love, naturaUy
fills them full of joy, and love, and zeal, and lays the founda
tion of all their gOod frames, and of all their reUgion. (5.)
Doubting the goodness of their state, wlien they are dead and
carnal, is, In their accourit, mibelief, and a great sin, and to be
watched and prayed against, as a thing of the most destructive
tendency. Now, some, who have a few discoveries, do. In a
few months, lose all their religion, and come to feel and live
much like the rest of the world ; Others hold out longer, —
Some, after they have 'lain dead one, two, three, five or ten
years, just as it happens, wIU have what they call a new dis
covery, and be as full as ever— .while pthers cpntinue in their
irreligious courses.
And here I may observe^(l,) Thatthe greater discoveries
(as they caU them) they have, the more proud and conceited
they are, and the more do they want to have all the town admire
them. — (2,) The longer they continue to. be //ue/y, the more
do they grow in pride and self-righteousness ; and feeling
themselves to be exceedingly good, they are emboldened to
make very free with the Almighty, as being his pecuUar favor
ites, and the best of men : God, Ithank thee, I am not as other
men.— (3.') And yet it is natural to esteem themselves some
of the most humble creatures in the worid, — (4,) It is Impos
sible to convince them of their error ; because the Immediate
witness of the spirit of God, as they think, assures them that
theyare right : and, therefore, all who do not look upon things
and feel just as they do, are certainly blind and carnal, and so
not to be regarded : they are bound to believe God befpre
man. Urge scripture against them, and they are unmoved ;
because the spirit does not teU them that It means so : The
plainest texts are not regarded. If contrary to their spirit. Urge

412 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
reason against them, and demonstrate a point ever so clearly,
and they are unmoved ; because that is all carnal reason. Take
much pains with them, and be ever so kind and friendly, and
they are the more established ; because they think they are
persecuted: Or, if they are sometimes shocked, and almost '
convinced, yet they are, in a few days, more settled than ever,,
by a new discovery, and a multitude of scriptures, misapplied
by the prince of darkness, assuring them that they are right-
And now tiiey resolve never to doubt again, and get invincibly
set In their way. — -(5.) If, after awhile, they lose all their reli
gion, and are dead, and lie dead for whole months and years.
together, yet still they are as confident as ever : " For," say
they, " David, and Solomon, and Peter fell, and the best are
" dead sometimes ; and how long a good manTnay lie dead
" none canteU : God may leave bis children out of soverelgn-
" ty, and without Christ we can do nothing ;. we must wait for
" the spirit, and not call God's- faithfulness into question, be-
" cause of our deadness — as if his faithfulness depended upon.
" our good frames," And so now, having, as they suppose,
Christ to pardon their sins, and save their souls, and some lust
to content their hearts, they sleep on secure and quiet : Or,
if they are terrified at any time, and begin, to doubt, 0 thou of
little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt ? or some such scripture,
will quiet and hush all to sleep again : And thus, and after this.
sort, things go with them. And now out of such rotten hearts
grow up all the Antinomian, PamlUstic, and Quakerish errors
which have troubled the christian church : For th^y get their
principles of religion, not out of the Bible, but out of their ex
periences ; and are careful to cut out a scheme in their heads,
to suit the religion of their hearts : and because it suits them,
therefore they firmly believe it. And because their scheme Is
not rational,.and cannot bear to be examined by reason, there
fore they cry down reason, and say it is carnal r And they cry
down human learning ; and the more ignorant, the more de
vout. And because their scheme is not contained In the scrip-
imres, therefore they have no regard to the plain meaning of

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 43 3
scripture, but turn all Into allegories, and what they call the
spiritual meaning ; and so run into an hundred whims, such as
best suit the temper of -their hearts.
Now the great misery of this sort of hypocrites is, that not
withstanding aU their terrors, yet they were never thoroughly
convinced of their faUen, sinful, guUty, undone state by nature :
and, notwithstanding all their discoveries, yet they are still
spiritually blind, and neither know God, nor themselves, nor
Christ, nor the gospel-way of salvation by free grace through
him : and, notwithstanding all their confidence, and jo}', and
high religious frames, yet they are as destitute offaith, repent
ance, and holiness, as ever they were : And it is a lie, which
the father of lies has made them believe — which Ues at the bot
tom of all their religion, and is the very foundation of it aU.
AU their purest joy, and love, and zeal, arise from thexr faith :
AU their_/a/fA consists in believing that their sins areforgiven:
And aU the foundation which thevr faith is originally built up
on, is an immediate revelation — ^the truth of which they dare
not call in question, fi3r fear of giving the lie to the holy spirit,,
from whom, they say, they know It came. But how could the
spirit of God reveal It to them, that Christ loved them, and that
their sins xvere forgiven, and hereby lay the foundation for their
first act of faith, whenas, before the first act offaith, they were
actually under condemnation... the wrath of God, and the cursecf
the law ^..^John ilL 18, 36 — Gal. Hi. 10. The thing revealed
to them ;vas not true ; and therefore was not from God, but
from the devil. Now this false revelation laid the foundation
for their faith, and their faith laid the foundation for their joy,
and for aU their religion. A spirltaal sight and divine sense
ofthe great truths presupposed and revealed In the gospel, is
the foundation of the godly man's faith and holiness ; but a par
ticular thing, no where revealed in the Bible, is their founda
tion — ^yea, a falsehood thatis directly contrary to what the scrip
tures plainly teach -. And yet, alas, they know they are right ;
they are, they say, as certain of It as they are of their own ex
istence. How great is the power of delusion ! How awful is

414 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
the case of a poor creature forsaken of Gpd ! II. Thes. H. 10,
11, 12....They received not the love of the truth, that they might.
be saved : And, for this cause, God shaU send thern strong delusion,
that they should believe a i.iv.....That they all might be damned,
who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
— But to conclude.
From what has been said concerning the nature of atrue
faith and a genuine compliance with the gospel, we may not
only see the falseness of these two sorts offaith, but^lso of all
other counterfeits, which are almost in an endless variety :
For, between these two extremes of a legal and evangelical hj^-
ocrite, there lie a thousand bye-paths, in which poor sinners
wander to everiasting perdition ; in the mean while, blessing
themselves that they are neither Arminians nor Antinomians j
nor deluded as such and such are — although, they neither know
God, nor themselves, nor Christ, nor the way of salvation
through him ; and really are as destitute of faith, repentance,
and holiness, as the most deluded creature in the world.
SECTION VIII.
SHOWING WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THE EVERLASTING LIFE
PROMISED TO BELIEVERS, AND HOW FAITH INTERESTS' US
IN CHRIST.
I am now. In the last place,
"V. To consider the promise of everlasting life, which is, in
the gospel, made to true believers. God so loved the world; that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
shouldnot perish, but have everlasting life. In this ever
lasting life Is implied,
1. 7726 everlasting love and favor of God.: Whereas, by the.
disobedience of one, many xvere made, sinners, and jt^idgment came,
upon aU to condemnation, by virtue of the original constitution
with Adam, (Rom. v. 18, 19,) — and whereas, by and according
to the law of nature, the whole world stands guilty before God,
(Rom. Hi. 19,) — Now, by ylrtup of a new constitution,, estab
lished by the God of heaven, ,the great Governor of the world,
called the gospel, or covenant pf grace, it is appointed, and, as-

distinguished from all CPUNTERFEITS. 415
it were, confirmed by the brpad seal of heaven, that any, who-
soeverthey are, among aU the guilty race pf Adam, who faU in
with this gospel-proposal, and venture their all upon this new
plan.... this new foundation.. ..this precious corner-stone, Jesus
.Christ, the great Mediator between God and man, shall thence
forth stand free from that double condemnation, andbe entitled
unto the everlasting love and favor of God,>'the great Governor
ofthe world. John iii. 18 — Rom. v. 1, 2,..,Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord
Jesus Christ : By whom also we have access by faith into this
-grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope ofthe glory of God.
2. The other part of this everlasting life consists in and re
sults from the everlasting indwelling ofthe holy spirit as a sanc-
t^er. This, which Adam lost by the faU, is, upon our union
with Christ, the second Adam, by virtue of this new constitu-
-tion, restored, never to be lost any more. John vu. S8,..He
that beUeveth on me, as the scripture saith, out ofhis belly shall
flow rivers ofSnHag water. Ver. 39... This spake he ofthe spirit,
which they that believe on Imn should receive : And therefore
^^.gift (fthe haiy ghost is, by the Apostles, (Acts Ii. 38.)
promised upon the condition of faith:* And, therefore, as
God did, of old, dweU In the holy of holies in the Jewish
temple, in the cloud of glory, so now, henceforth, does he
dwell m the believer's heart by his holy spirit, as a vital prin-
cipleand spring of divine life, there... John xv. 1—5 : And hence
believers are caUed the temple ofGod...l. Cor. Hi. 17. The
spirit of Godis said to dwell in them,(Rom. viii. 9)— to lead
them, (ver, 14) — ^togive them an everlasting freedom from the
power of sin, (ver, 2) : so that sin shaU not have dominion over
From the nature oi justifying faith, it is evident that regeneration m.vist
at prior to the/r*t act of it; but although the sinner be regenerated by the
gracious influences of the holy spirit before faith, yet it is after faith and
union with Christ that the soul has a covenant-right to the indwelling of
the holy spirit ; which covenant-right lays a foundation for the ind-welling
of the holy spirit to be constant and everlasting ; and this lays a foundation
for an abiding principle and proper habitoi grace : So that, although rf^en-
eration be b^ore faith, yet a eonfirined habit of grace is after. It results
from our union with Clu-ist. . . .yohn xv.l-i-5: Andisin scripture promised
upon the condition of faith.. ..^oAn v. 24. and vii. 38.
3 F

416 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
them....Rom. vi. 14: And the water (says Christ) which IwiU
give you, shaUbe in you a well of water springing up into ever*
lasting /j/e....John iv. 14.
It is plain, from the whole tenor of the gospel, that the evef*-
lasting love and favor of God, together with the everlasting /»-
' dwelling of the holy spirit as a sanctifier, which are the two
great things which a poor sinner wants, are the two great things
promised in the covenant of grace. St. Paul, having ex^ined
the nature of the gospel-way of salvation by free grace through ,
Jesus Christ, and shown that faith is the only condition of the
new covenant, in the four first chapters ofhis epistle to the Rq^
mans, proceeds to show the benefits accruing to beUevers. —
And first, they art justified, and have peace with God, (ehap, y.)
Secondly, they are delivered from the power of sin, (chap, vi.)
And although they are, in this life, continually in a state of
spiritual conflict and warfare, (chap, vii.) yet they are influen
ced, and led, and governed by the spirit of God, which dwells
in them, (chap, viii;) And now aU thirigs shall work for their,
good, and they shall be brought to glory at last, (ver. 28 — 39.)
So again, see both these summed up In Heb. viii.- 10, 11, 12....
For this is the covenant that IwiU make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord : I will put my laws into their
mind, andwrite them in their hearts: And IwiU be to them a
God, and they shall be to me a people : Aiid they shall not teach
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Kiiorw
the Lord ; for all shall know me, from the least to thegreatest.—
Here is the everlasting Indwelling ofthe holy spirit j together
with what results therefrom : For IwiU be merciful unto their
iinrightehisness, and their sins and their iniquities xvill Irememt-
her no more....ver. 12. And \iere is the everlasting love and
favor of God.
And now, seeing, by this new constitution...this covenant pf
grace, true believers are thus entitled to the everlasting lovt
and favor of God, and to the everlasting indwelling of the holy
spirit, as sanctifier, in the perfect enjoyment of both which,
eternal life, in heaven, wiU consist ; hence, therefore,, they arc

distinguished from all counterfeits. 417
ffaiid to have life, yea, to have eternal life, i mmediately upon their
beUeving in Christ. I. John v. l2„..He that hath the Son, hath
lift.— John ill. 36....He that believeth on the Son hath ever
lasting life — ^John V. 24i.^.,Hath everl.a sting life, and
fhaUmtt:omeinto OOtt^mnation ; butispassedfrom dkath unto
ills— John xvii. 3,..,T/»> is life eternal, that they might
imow thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. Eternal life is begun in them, and heaven begins tP
dawn ia their spuls : _Aad beUevers, being thus made the sub
jects of .the everlasting love and favor of God, and of the ever
lasting indwelling of .the hply spirit, are hence caUed the chil
dren of God„..}ohn i. 12 : Fpr Gpd loves them as c/j/Zi/rew, and
they love him as a leather : And this filial frame of spirit,
whereby they are disposed to reverence, fear, love, trust in, and
obey CJodas a ^6er.....Uve upon him, and live to him as a
JFather ; — I say, this filial frame of spirit is caUed the spirit of
adoption. In opposition to that servile frame of spirit they used
to be under the bondage of, before faith, and before they had
received the Holy Gliast, Rom. vui. l5....For ye have not re
ceived the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received
the spirii of adoption, whereby xpe cry, Abba, Father.
., And this filial frame of spirit being /iecM//a>: to believers...,
tiiat which none but believers haye, and which yet is common
^o aU. believers ; and this filial frame of spirit being that where
in beUe.Yers bear the image oftheir heavenly Father, each one
resemUing the children of a King ; for they view things, ac
cording to their measure, as God does, and love what God Ipyes,
and make his interest tiieir interest, and are taken up with the
same designs ; — I say, this filialframe of spirit beiqg such a j&e-
puliarand remarkable thirig, and that wherein they so nearly
fesemble God, and being also the immediate product of the in
dwelling and influence of the holy spirit, therefore, in scripture,
it is spoken of as the distinguishing badge of a true believer....
as a Mark whereby God's children and Christ's sheep are to be
Jmown ; This is what is called the seal of the spirit, in Eph. I.
.13. And this , seal is the witness, evidence, and proof which

418 TRUE religion delineated, and
the holy spirit gives to our consciences, that xve are the children.
of God... .Rom, viii. 16. This filial frame of spirit is what sat'
isfies and assures the children of God. They feel the very-
temper of children towards God : They feel a heart to rever
ence and fear, love and honor him as a Father — a heart to go
to him.. ..to trust in him. ...to be in subjection to hiin, and obey
him as a Father : And by this they know they are his chil
dren. Marvellous is the change which the poor sinner passes'
through In tbat awful hour of inexpressible solemnity, when he
first comes into the awful presence of the dread Majesty of
heaven and earth, through Jesus Christ, the ^orious Mediator,
venturing bis all for eternity upon this sure foundation.
And now, from this time forv.'ard,he is quite another creature,
under quite new circumstances ; As when Orphan children, left
without a guardian or a guide, from running into riot and Indul
ging themselves In all extravagances, are taken and brought into
the family of a wise and good man, who makes them his children
....Instills new principles and a new temper into them, and puts
them under a new discipline, by which aU things become new to
them — so, here, from being without God and without hope in
the world, and from running to eternal ruin, we are taken and
brought into God's family.. ..have a new temper given to us....
have a new father, and are under a new government. God's
fatherly eye is upon us every hour, and he is daily laboring to
bring us up to his hand.. ..to train us up to his mind.. ..to make
us such as he would have us be. He contrives, and takes aU
manner of ways, by his spirit, and by his providence, and by
his word, to make us more serious, spiritual, and heavenly....
more huinble, weaned from the world, and devoted to God.
And thus he purgeth ut, that we may briiig forth more fruit...,
John XV. 2 : He enlightens.. .he leads.. .he teaches.,..he quick
ens.. .he strengthens... .he comforts us....Heb. vIH. 10, 11, 12^
Isai, 40, 31 : When we want it, he Instructs us... I. John 2, 27
-r-Jamesi, 5 : When we want it, he corrects us....Heb. xii. 6:
Arid when we need It, he encom-ages and comforts us.. .II. Cor.

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 410
xii. 9. When we love him and keep his commands, he man
ifests himself uiito us.... ^o/m xiv. 21 : And when our spiritu
al enemies are too strong for us, and our heart and our strength
fail, our steps are slipping, our feet just gone — in the distress
ing juncture he puts underneath his everlasting arms.....he takes
us by the right h.ind....he prevents us by his grace ; and before
we are aware, we have gotten the victory, ancbbegin to say. Whom,
have we in heaven but thee? And there is none on earth ¦we desire
besides thee. Our flesh and our heart faileth ; but God is the
strength ef our heart, and our portion forever : And O, Itis
good for us to draw near to God,..,Tsalm Ixxiii : And if at any
time we forsake him, he foUows after us, and visits our trans
gressions with the rod, and our iniquities with stripes ; but nev
er breaks his covenant with us,,..Psalm Ixxxix. 30 — 34. He
hedges up our way with thorns, and brings us to a hearty return
....Has. ii. 6,7: And thus we are kept by the power of God,
thrpugh faith, unto salvation....!. Pet. i. 5— and finally are
brought to the fuU vision and perfect fruition of God to all eter-
tdty.,..Rom. vui. 30.
Now faith in Christ entitles us to aU this, by virtue of that
divine constitution which we caU the gospel, or covenant of
grace— hy virtue of that new and living way of salvation which
God, the great Governor of the world, has contrived and pro
vided, ratified and confirmed, the sum of which is contained
in John iu. 16 — Which constitution God has been pleased to
confirm by an oath, to the intent we might have strong conso
lation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set be
fore us. He has said. He that believeth shall be saved, and he
has confirmed it by an oath, to remove all doubt, and to giv.c
the highest possible assurance.... Zfe^. vi. 17, 18. And now,
being assured that this way of salvation may be depended upon j
as being contrived and confirmed by God himself ; hence, here
we rest secure and safe. We know that this new constitution
must be from God, because the whole plan Is altogether divine:
it isjust like God : God cannot but be pleased with it : it is
perfectly suited to exalt God'....to magnify the law....to dis-

420 TKUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
Gonntenanoe sin....to humble the sioaer, and to glorify grace s
and if sinners are ever saved, it, is infinitely fit that they should
be saved in such a way, and In no other. There is such an ap-
pirent resemblance of the divirie nature and pei^ections i» Hm
whdb plan, as is sufficient to assure the heaxi that it k froiKi
God. None but God coiild be the author of it....IL Q)r. iv,
3, 4, 6 : And being, in the first place, assured that it is fron*
God, we have, in the secoud plaee, the highest assurance that
Gpd win abide by it, and act accorcUng to it : For, first, we
haye his j6rom/se; and secow<%, we have his oath: So that
there can be no reasonable doubt reraaioiog. And now, upon
this foundation, does the true believer build aU his hopes and
expectations — here is the bottom of all : For if I am assured
that, by divine grace, I do rightly understandthe gospel, and
am brought to a genuine complkmce therewith, now, then, I
am safe, if the gospel he true, and if that way of ssdvation may
CERTAINLY be deluded on— if it be no cimningty devised fa»
ble, but a way of God's own contrivance, and which he will
CERTAINLY abide by. A clear, rational, spiritual convictioa
and assurance of this. Is the very anchor of the&md, sure and
stedfast....Biebi vi. 19.
If mankind had remained In a state of pure nature, i. e. an-
der no constitution at all.... under nothing but merely thelawof
nature, I. e. to have been guided and directed to their duty,
and to have beeri rewarded or punished by God, oidy and mere
ly by and according to the reason arid nature of things — if this
had been the case, then, so long as every individual should be
continued in being by God, and should continue to love God
with all his heart, and obey him in every thing, so long every
individual would be perfectly happy : But then, God mi^it,
without injustice, let one or all drop into non-existence, if he
pleased, and when he pleased, although perfectiy holy...yo& XKii.
2, and xxxv. 7 : Or, if he was pleased to continue one and all
in being forever, yet, at what time soever any should commit
the least sin, that soul should immediately sink down into an
eternal heU....i?o»i. vi. 23 — a thousand years of perfectrtfibe-

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 42i
(fience, 1^ the mere law of nature, not .entitling to any
promise for the time to come. God's giving and continuing
being to us, and granting us advantages to know, and love, and
«erve him, would render us iDfinitely indebted to God ; but
our knowing, loving, and serving God could not bring him at
«U into debt to us,...Rom. xi. 35, 36. Our doing so would
oatura&y Tender us happy, so long as we should continue to do
€0 ; but -if, at any time, we shoidd be guilty of the least defect,
(dl would be lost, and we undone forever.
But then, hy and acconiUngto the constitution with Adain,
things were placed upon another footlitg. The eternal welfare
of mankind was suspended upon another condition : for, accord
ing to this Gonstitutaon, if Adam, the public head and repre
sentative of mankind, had remained obedient for some certain
period of time, he and aU lus posterity would, by the free and
gracious pvonuse of God, have been entided to everhisting life ;
as, on the other hand, if he ^mied, all would be exposed to
£temd death. But now, faith in Christ entities us to eternal
life, by virtue c^a new constitution, called the gospel, or cove
nant of grace, made and confirmed by the God of heaven.
The perfect obedience of Adam, had he stood, would not
have entided us to eternal Ufe, notwithstanding he was our nat-
4iralhead, ifhe had not been made our re[nrese»itative by a di
vine constitution : so the perfect obedience and sufferings of
Christ would not have freed us from condemnation and enti
tied us to.eternal tife^ whatever dependance we might have had
t^onhin, if,hy a divine constitution, it had not beeri appoint
ed and confimed that he thatbelievethshaU be saved.
By and according to the law of nature, our own personal obe
dience would have recommended us to the favor of God, and
hid the foundation of our happiness, so long as we should have
continued in a state ©f Unless perfection. — By thefirst cove
nant, the constitution with Adam, his perfect obedience, through
his appointed time of trial, vrauld, by virtue of that constitu
tion or covenant, have entitled us to everlasting life. — By the sec-
•tnd^etvenant, the perfect righteousaess of Christ, the sec$nd A4'

422 TRUE religion delineated, and
tint, entities aU true beUevers to everlasting life, by arid accor*
ding to this inew and living way.
A perfect righteousness was necessary according to the law
pf nature ; and a perfect righteousness is insisted upon in both
covenants. According to the law of nature, it was to be per
formed personally; but,- according to both covenants, itisap*
pointed to be performed by a public head.-r-Accordiagto the
first covenant, we were to have been interested in the right
eousness of our public head, by virtue of our union to him as
his posterity, for whom he was appointed to act. — According
to the second covenant, we are interested intherigteousness of
Christ, our public head, by virtue of our union to him by faith.
Our faith Is that whereby, we unite to Christ ; — ^the act is an
uniting act. We disunite, separate from, and reriounce that
to which we befpre. were united, and did close with, and placed
our hopes upon, wz. our own righteousness — and are no more
emboldened by. that, to come into the presence of God : And
we unite to Christ, desiring to be found, not In ourselves, but
in him— not in our own righteousness, but in his„..i%«7. Hi. 8,
9 ; And from bim we take , encouragement to draw nigh to
God ; we come In his name.... Heb. iv. 16. And now, by
virtue of a divine constitution, established by the Governor jof
¦the world, all, who, thus, unite to Christ by faith, are considered
as being one with him, so as to have an interest In what he has
done and suffered in the character of a Mediator, as a public
person, so as, upon the account thereof, to be pardoned, and
received to favor, and entitled to eternal life., ..Rom. v. 18, 19
—Eph. I. 6 — Ronu HI. 24, 25.
And now, this falth....this uniting act, being the condition,
the only cofidition, required on pur part, by the covenant of
grace, we being justified by faith without the deeds ofthelaWt
hence faith Is said to he imputed to us for righteousness... .Rom.
^V— for righteousness, I. e. fpr that whereby we stand right
according to the tenpr ofthe new covenant, i. e. for a fuU com
pliance with the condition of the new covenant. As perfect
obedience was a compliance with the covenant of works, so faith

distinguished from all counterfeits. 423
is a compUance of the covenant of grace. Now, as perfect
obedience, through his whole time of trial, would have been
imputed to Adam for righteousness, i. e. for ayw// compliance
with the condition of that covenant; so now faith is Imputed
for righteousness, i. e. for a fuU compliance with the condition
of this covenant : For St. Paul had but just been proving that
we are justified by faith alonE, without the deeds of the law ;
and now this being the only condition required, therefore he
Says it is accounted as afuU compliance with the new covenant
 i. e. it is imputed for righteousness. It being the only thing
required as a condition of life,hy the covenant of grace, hence '
itis looked upon In the sight of God accordingly, as being
tfuU compUance with that covenant. The covenant of works
insisted upon perfect obedience, because Adam was to have
been justified merely by, and wholly upon the account of, his
own virtue and goodness : And the covenant of grace Insists
\xpon faith alone, without the deeds ofthe law, because now we
are justified, merely by, and wholly upon the account of, Christ's
virtue or righteousness, without regard to any goodness in us :
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him thatjustifi-
eth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, (Rom.
~iv.'5) — I. e. for a full compliance with the new covenant, xvith-
out the deeds ofthe Icnv : For, as to a legal righteousness, Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to them that believe. ...Rom.
X. 5 : And, In that sense, we are not to be fottnd In our own
righteousness, but in his.. ..Phil, Hi. 8.
Thus, according to the law of nature, every man would have
been justified byhls own personal righteousness : and accord
ing to the first covenant, every child of Adam would have
been justified by Adam's righteousness, as public head : and
according to the second covenant, every believer is to be justi
fied by Christ's righteousness, as another public head. The
first of these ways takes Its rise from the reason and nature of
things ; butthe second and third from the positive appointment
of God. The angels. It seems, were dealt with according to
the first of these ways — only their state of probation, through
3 G

424 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND
grace, not to be perpetual ; for, no doubt, those that stood are
npw In a cpnfirmed state : but mankind are dealt with accord
ing to the second and third.
The first of these ways a fallen world pretend some liking to ;
but the other two have given great offence. " How is it right
" we should be condemned for Adam's sin ? Or with what
" propriety can we be justified on the account of Christ's rlght-
" eousness?" is die language of very many. " It is unjust to
" condemn m.e for the sin of another, and absurd to justify me
" for another's righteousness," say they. And as to the first
of these ways, they would have the law abated in what it re
quires, and quite disannulled as to its threatening death for the
least sin : They would have what they call sincere obedience
admitted as. a condition of life, and repentance, to be accepted
in case of sin : so that an apostate world are naturally equally
at enmity against the first, second, and third, rightly understood :
For they think it full as unjust that God should damn us for
the least defect of perfect obedience, as fiSr Adam's first -«in.
And it is nothing but divine light can bring the heart of a sin
ner sincerely to approve of the law of nature, of the constitu
tion with Adarii, and of the gospel with Christ : For, (I. Cor.
ii. 14) the natural man receiveth not the things ofthe spirit of
God : for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know
them, became they are spiritually discerned. He does not dis
cern the ground and reason of the law of nature, being blind to
the infinite beauty ofthe divine perfections : and so is incapa
citated to have a right view and sense of the nature ofthe first
covenant or the second. And being a stranger and an enemy
to God, he also naturally doubts whether he, has full power and
rightful authority to make such constitutions : he dislikes the
constitutions — he questions God's authority to make such :
their being so plainly held forth in the Bible, tempts many to
call even the truth of that into question ; and some are driven
quite to open infidelity.
There Is a secret infideUty in the hearts of unregenerate
men. They do npt Ipve that divine scheme of truths revealed

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 425
in the Bible, npr cordially receive it for true. Men love to cut
out a scheme of religion in their heads, to suit the temper of
their hearts : And from this root do aU the false and errone
ous principles which fill the christian world originally take their
rise, (II. Thess. ii.. 10,11, 12) : But when he that command
ed the light to shine out of darkness shines in the heart, and
gives spiritual light, then the reasonableness, beauty, and glory
of the whole scheme appear, and the very resemblance of the
divine perfections is to be seen in every branch of it : and now
it is cordiaUy beUeved, (John viii. 47) : And hereby a soUd
foundation is laid for a real conformity to the law, and a genu
ine compliance with the gospel ; in both which true religion
does consist.
Thus we have gone through what was proposed : And we
see why God, the great Governor of the world, did consider
mankind as perishing, faUen, sinful, guilty, justly condemned,
helpless, and undone : and we see tbat bis design of mercy
originally took its rise from the mere self-moving goodness of
his natiure, and sovereign good pleasure : and we see the ne
cessity there was of a Mediator, and how the way of life has
been opened by him whom God has provided : and we see
wherein a genuine compUance with the gospel does consist,
and the nature of a true faith in Christ : and we see what Is im-
pUed in the everlasting life that is promised to believers, and
how faith interests us in the promise, and how that the covenant
is, in all things, well ordered and sure. And now there is a wide
field opened for a large improvement, in many doctrinal and
practical inferences and remarks. For,
1. It is very natural to make the same observations here,
with regard to a genuine compliance with the gospel, as were
before made with respect to a real conformity to the kiw : for,
from what has been said, we may easily see wherein consists
that life of faith in Christ, which true believers live — that all
unregerierate men are entirely destitute of this true faith In
ChriaJ ; yea, diametrically opposite thereunto in the teniper of
their minds, and therefore cannot be brought to it but by the

425. TRUE REJLIOION DELINEATED, AND
almighty power and all-conquering grace of God — that there id
nothing In them to move God to do this for them, but every
thing to the contrary — that God is at perfect liberty to have
mercy on whom he will, according to his sovereign pleasure —
that it is reasonable to think that the same sovereign good pleas*
ure, which moves him to be the author, will move him to be
the finisher of our faith — that true faith, being thus specifical
ly different from every counterfeit, fnay therefore be discerned
and known. Sec. But because I have already been larger than
at first I designed, therefore I wiU omit these, and all other re
marks which might be made ; and will conclude,
2. With only this one observation, viz. That if these things
be true, which have been said concerning the nature of faith
and the .way of salvation by free grace through Christ, and con
cerning that view of things which the true believer has, then no
thing is more plain and evident than that the true beUever must
needs feel himselfto be under the strongest obligations possible
to an entire devotedness to Gpd, and a life of universal Ao/mes*.
Every thing meets, In that view of things which he has, to bind
his soul forever to ,the. Lord. One main design of the gospel
was to make men holy ; and It Is, In its nature, perfectiy well .
adapted to answer the end : For now all the natural obligations
we, are under to love God and live to him, are seen In a divine
light ; such as arise from the infinite excellence of the diylne
nature.. ..God's entire right to us and authority over us : and
their binding nature is exhibited In a more striking and affect
ing manner In the gospel than In the law ; — -the cross of Christ
gives a more lively representation ofthe infinite evil of sin thap
aU the thunders of Mount Sinai : anda sight of our natural
pbl'igations are attended with a sense of aU the additional sa
cred ties, arising from the Infinite goodness of God to a guilty,
ruined world, In providing a Savior.. ..from the dying love of
Christ.. ..from the free gift of converting grace. ...from pardon
ing mercy.. ..from God's covenant love and faithfulness, and
from the raised expectations of eternal glory ;. — all which must
join to beget a right sense of sin, as being a tiling, in itself, the

DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 427
most unfit, unreasonable and wicked, as well as Infinitely disin
genuous and ungrateful to God, and concur to make It appear
»s the worst of evils....the most to be hated, dreaded, watched,
and prayed against : And a humble heart, full of self-difiidence,
and under a sense of the divine all-sufficiency, and in a firm
belief of the truth of the gospel, will most naturally, and, as It
were, continually apply itself, by faith and prayer, to God
through Christ, to be kept from all sin, and to be preserved to
the heavenly kingdom : so that those views which the true be
liever has, have the strongest tendency to universal hoUness,
and do naturally lay a solid foundation for It. And those views
are not only maintained in a greater or less degree, from day
to day, by the gracious influence ofthe holy spirit, which dwells
in them ; but are Increasing and brightening through the course
of their lives : so that as the grand design of the gospel Is to
make men holy, so it is pefectly well adapted, in its nature,
to answer the end : And therefore he that is born ofGodsin-
fieth not ; and hoxp shall we, that are dead to sin, live any lon
ger therein ? And such like scriptures must. In the nature of
things,befoundtobe true,Inthe experience of every real believ er.
Nor can any but graceless hypocrites be emboldened, by the
doctrines of free grace, to sin, as it were, upon free cost ; and
a double vengeance wIU they pull down upon their guilty heads.
Particularly, the whole frame and tenor of the gospel natu
rally tends to excite us to an universal benevolence to mankind.
In imitation of the Infiulte gopdness of the divine nature — and
even to be benevolent and kind to the evil and unthankful, and
to those In whom there Is no motive to excite our good wIU,
but much to the contrary — and to love our enemies, and bless
them that curse us, and do good to them that hate us, and pray
for them that despitefully use us and persecute us. It is Im
possible, when we see the infirilte beauty of the self-moving
goodness of the divine nature, as exercised in the whole affair
of our redemption and salvation, towards creatures so infinite
ly vile, unworthy and ill-deserving, but that we should love tbat
glorious goodness, and be changed into the same image, and

4^8 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, &C.
have it become natural to us to love enemies, and fbrgivC
injuries, and be like God. A malicious christian, a spiteful be
liever. Is the greatest contradiction and the most unnatural thing.
That which has had no-small hand In bringing the doctrines
of graceinto contempt in the world, as tending to licentiousness,
is partly because they have not been rightly uriderstood, and
partly through the wicked lives of graceless hypocrites, who
have made a high profession. What remains now, therefore,
but that the people of God, by holy and exemplary lives, should
convince the world that these are doctrines according to godli
ness ? - !
I beseech you, therefore, by themercies of God, that ye present
yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service : for you are not your own, but bought
with a price — and that notof silver and gold, but of theprecious
blood ofthe Son of God; and therefore live no more to yourselves,
but te him that diedfor you : And be ye followers of God as dear
children. Blessed be God for the unspeakable gift of his Son.
Amen.

THE END.

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