YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

THB
MYSTERY OF GODLINESS;

IK

A LETTER TO AN ERRONEOUS MAN.

WRITTEN FOR THE COMFORT AND ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE CONGREGATIONS AT PROVIDENCE
"CHAPEL AND, MONKWELL STREET
MEETING.

JBy WILLIAM HUNTINGTON, S.S.
MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL
A-T PROVIDENCE CHAPEL, LITTLE TITCHFIELD STREST,
AND AT THE CITY CHAPEL.

AND WITHOUT CONTROVERSY GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS.
1 TIM. iii, 1 a.
ALSO OF YOUR OVTNSF.LVES SHALL MEN ARISE SBEAiKING PERVERSE
THINGS, TO DRAW AWAY DISCIPLES AFTER THEM. ACTS XX, 30.

A NEW EDITION, REVISED AND COBBECTED.

LONDON:
Printed ly T. BENSLEY, Bolt Court, Fleet Street.
Publifhed by E. Huntington, Bookfeller, No. 55, High
Street, Bloomlbury. * -
Sold alfo at Providence and the City Chapel, Grub.Street ; at Jireh
Chapel, Lewes, Suffix; at the R,ev. Mr. Brook's Chapel, Brighton;
by J. Cuthbert, Battle, Suffix; J. Troup, Welwyn, Herts; Thomas
jiBarfton, Market Pface, Grantham, Lincolnshire ; S. Eades, j3, High
Street, Ramfgate'j Qcerge Caliadine, Leicefter ; ami J. Jamefon, Penrith,
maxtAuUtH. \ < 18Q9„

THE

MYSTERY OF GODLINESS.

To Mr. BENSLEY, Printer,
BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET.
Dear Brother in the Lord, and
Dear Tom in the Flesh,
As I have hitherto proved you, and,
upon proof, have found you to be the most care
ful, the most desirous of giving satisfaction, the
most attentive to your employers; and whose works
have been sent in properly dried, and better packed
up; and the numbers ordered, and time of sending
them, better observed, and more punctually ful
filled, than by any printer I ever yet employed ; I
do, in this confidence, dear Tom, send you these
papers; beseeching you, for the Lord's sake, to
send them out verbatim as they come from me. ,
I am driven, by an ungodly man, into a con
troversy about things which are heavier to me

than a talent of lead, and more fit for an arch
angel than a self-despairing sinner, who has nei
ther learning nor abilities; " But by the grace of
God I am what I am ;" and, as the Lord has made
me a shepherd, I must defend the lambs of the
flock against every wolf in sheep's clothing. I
think I have made truth both my shield and buck
ler; and under her protection I need fear no dan
ger, as we are commanded to be valiant for truth.
If you see any thing in these papers that may in any
sense sully her glory, or obscure her lustre, bring
your objections to me, and let them be weighed in
an even balance. I am conscious of my own in
ability; but dare not quit the standard of Christ,
when his word is so boldly attacked by so obsti
nate, so imperious, so daring, so hardened, so in
sensible, so confused, so bewitched; and so pre
sumptuous, a rebel. The man is, I think, a native
of Maidstone in Kent, and, to my grief I speak it,
a member with us; though it was with the great
est difficulty he got in among us, for I was fully
persuaded that the person who was his supposed
father knew nothing savingly of God. And this
affair, as well as many others, has served to esta
blish the sentiment that has ever stuck by me,
namely that no man can communicate to others
what he never; had himself; or, in other words,
that a child of the flesh cannot communicate to
others the Spirit of God; or a bond child be in
strumental in setting another at liberty, seeino-
the scripture declares it is like people, like priest;

and so with respect to congregations also, as is
the mother, so is her daughter. I am informed
there are a few that belong to us, who are leavened
with the wild ferment of this awful and dangerous
man ; and, as you are one in union with the family,
I wish you would endeavour to find them out,
that we may purge ourselves from this old leaven,
and be a new lump. For my own part, I hope
never to be slack in this business, which is so
strictly enjoined by the Lord himself, and so in
cumbent upon us all. We have long endeavoured
to keep the gate into the fold as strait as possible,
and many have complained of its being, too strait:
but this awful and wretched man shews us that it
is by far too wide yet; which I hope will be an
instructing lesson to us all. He had the counte
nance of Cain when he came to us; which was
the cause of our criticising him so closely, and re
ceiving him so reluctantly: but Satan had well
furnished him, and deeply counselled him. And
by this means that enemy of God props up his
tottering interest in the world; who, notwith- ,
standing all his efforts, shall come to his end,
and none shall help him.
I cannot help thinking but the craftiness of
this wretched man was exhibited to me a few
months ago in a dream. One Saturday night I
dreamed that I was in a barn floor, where there
lay some wheat, some chaff, and some straw; which
I was particularly remarking; when on a sudden
I saw a wolf) of a tabby colour, come softly into

6
the floor, and creep under a little heap of straw;
and soon after there came two more; and so on,
till seven in all took the same shelter; but, as
there was not much straw in the floor, they were
obliged to get one upon another; but neither of
them could so cover himself as to be entirely hid.
I particularly observed how they all had placed
themselves ; and, recollecting that I had an old
musket in the barn l-eady charged, I took hold of
it, and attempted so to take my aim as to hit or
wound three of them, even if I killed none. But
my gun missed fire; which induced me to take
another method; which was to take my gun by
its butt end, and with the barrel to smite across
the loins of three of them, and by so doing render
them incapable of taking their hinder parts with
them, consequently rendering them unable to de
fend themselves or run away; which I accord
ingly did, and wounded all three : but I waked
myself by the violent swing of my arms.
This dream lately came fresh to my mind, and
. I have no doubt but it is now in part fulfilled. I
believe the barn floor to represent the church of
God, to which it is compared; the heap of wheat
to represent God's elect; who are called wheat
gathered into the barn; Matt. xiii. 30. The chaff
I construed to be light, graceless professors; Matt.
iii. 12. The straw I took to be false doctrines;
1 Cor. iii. 10. And the wolves, erroneous men,
who get into the floor, or into the churches, on
purpose -to injure the godly, who are hid under

the straw of false doctrine, making lies their re
fuge, as the scriptures witness; " For I know,"
said Paul, " that after my departure shall grievous
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock;
also of your ownselves shall men rise, speaking per
verse things, to draw away disciples after them,''
But the straw was not sufficient to hide any one
of the wolves. And it appears that many of the
gracious see through the deception of this new de
ceiver, though a few are under the straw with
him. My gun missing fire convinced me that all
the truth, that has been discharged from the pul
pit, has been ineffectual to convince him of his
error: but, as the last effort wounded three of
them, it gave me some encouragement to take my
pen in hand; and, if this will not do, we must
handle Paul's rod.
I shall beg no excuse for troubling you with^
dreams, because I have my warrant for so doing :
" He that hath a dream, let him tell a dream."
Dear Tom, grace be with thee. My kind re
spects to your dame, the old disciple with whom
you lodge; not forgetting the little family of Ar
minians, whom I love for your sake, though I am
no friend to their principles. Believe me to.be,'
in the Lord Jesus, ever yours,

W. H.

Church street, Paddington,
3 January, 179-4.

s

To Mr. BERRY, Perfumer,
GREEK STREET SOHO.

Walworth, Saturday Evening,'
May 11, 1793.

Mr dear Friend,

I received yours; and would directly
have answered it, but find myself exceeding busy ;
partly owing to my intended journey into the
North, and partly owing to our purposed removal
into the Borough High street at Midsummer.
However, I feel myself inclined to comply, as far
as I can, with your request, as a small acknow
ledgement of your unlimited kindness to me.
That you have found me faithful, my dear
Friend, is owing to my having first obtained
mercy. And indeed the grace of God, I can
truly say, has been abundant toward me; for I
have felt, and do feel to the present day, when
left without the Saviour's sensible presence, that
my heart is nothing but a mass and sink of cor
ruption ; but, when he is pleased to come into his
garden, he causes a sweet moving of the affections
towards himself; 'tis then that joy and praise
Spring up, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
£nd indeed, my dear Friend, the happiest, sweetest
moments that I enjoy, are when the Lord is pleased
to bless me with a view of the journey's end, and

the thoughts that by and by I shall be for ever with
him. O happy state ! O unspeakably blest abode !
where no wretched old man shall ever come; no,
not a limb or member of him; but Jesus and we
shall live and reign to all eternity together. But
here my pen has run with my heart a little; pray
excuse me. ,
Respecting Mr. Loud; as you request me, I
will be as explicit as the limits of time and paper
will allow me to be. I think I have known him
about seven years, and within the two last with
some degree of intimacy; from which time, for
reasons I shall presently, give you, I have studi
ously avoided any intercourse with him. When I
first became acquainted with him, I was led to
look upon him not only as a godly man, but a man
of singular abilities, gifts, and grace; and indeed
have often looked vipon myself as many degrees
below him: but the Lord hath said, The first shall
be last and the last first. He had a particular turn
for much reading and study, which made him pass
with me for a while as a man of profound wisdom;
but now I greatly fear that his reading and study
were only on speculation, rather than for godly
edification. The first doctrinal defect that I ever
discovered in him was, by his bringing one of
Winchester's books to our house, in Princes street,
about five years ago; which, when Mr. W. and I
had read and condemned, he attempted to justify;
not roundly, but by saying there were many things
in it unanswerable, &c. Being pretty smartly

10
talked to about it, he soon, relinquished his client,
at least to ail appearance. However, this was left
as a witness in the court against him ; and, though
silent then, by a professed change in Loud's mind,
yet allowed to speak on any future occasion.
The next was respecting the moral law as a
believer's rule of life and action, which he at first,
denied; but about two years and a half ago
changed his mind, and began to dispute almost
incessantly for it; and being frequently opposed,
he got worse and worse upon it, abusing and
speaking evil of Mr. Huntington and of all that
hear him. From that time I began a little to
\$ratch him, and have continued to do so to this day.
He would, for one or two Sundays together, go to
Tottenham-court, and perhaps on a third to Pro
vidence; when I observed that he was, at least,
nine times out of ten asleep during the whole time
of worship. This I charged upon him about two
years ago, when I disputed with him about the
law, for, I believe, two hours; and, though in fact
I stopt his mouth, yet his stubborn spirit could
not bend. Soon after this he was severely afflicted
with a putrid fever, as was his wife also, and I
think two of his children. I must confess it o-ave
to
me some degree of pleasure when this heavy trial
came upon him; not to see or hear barely of the
miseries of a fellow creature; but, as I knew him
to be employed in fighting against the truth, I
hoped the Lord would by that means have pureed
out the rebellion of his heart; but I am sorry to

11
say he' came out, as the wise man says, like a fool
brayed in a mortar. He did not, indeed, belch
out, as he had done, against the Providence con
nection, because, a few of that dear community
had supported him in his late distress; yet the
Lord knows my heart, I have sometimes thought,
when I have met him, that he looked with a fallen
countenance, and like a man with a conscious
roguish, principle about him, among a few honest,
simple souls, that he found he could not injure.
It was not long after this when our dear friend
Gilbert told me he had broached a strange new
doctrine respecting the person of the Mediator;
affirming that he was not God and man, of twrf-
distinct natures; but that the Word, the second
person,' was made flesh, or that the Godhead
was converted into manhood in the womb of the
virgin; and that, if he had seen Jesus Christ
with his bodily eyes, he should with the same
eyes have seen, in that very body, the true es- •
sence of God. About five months ago he called-
at King street on some business; when we took
occasion to ask him about this new thing, and dis
puted for some time. He then insisted upon it
that, if the Saviour really partook of the seed of
the virgin, he was a sinner; and that his death and
sacrifice had no more merit in it than if he, Loud,
himself should die a martyr. He said he believed
that Christ partook no more of the seed of the
woman than his handkerchief, at the same time
drawing a pocket handkerchief through his fingers;

12
orthan afunnel partook of wine, or any other liquor,
that passed through it. The idea that God could
not suffer, he said, was only a common handed-
down, made-up expression, without any scriptural
ground for it. We proposed many scriptures to
him, which he could not answer; but, as he re
mained quite obstinate, we told him that the error
seemed to be almost, if not altogether, damnable,
and that he certainly was in an awful state. How
ever, he professed himself to be very comfortable,
and said it was a very wholesome doctrine, and
that he got it on his knees.
These are some of the many wicked things he
advanced. I have also heard that there are some
who are deceived by him, and have embraced his
wicked doctrines. I think, my dear friend, if you
was to take a person or two with you, and call at
his house, you would be an eye and ear witness to
what I have said. My paper forbids me to pro
ceed; must therefore conclude with kind respects
to Mrs. Berry. Your affectionate friend, and bro
ther in our dear dear Lord, PETER REED.

To Mr. HAMILTON.
Friend, As you have desired my judgment in
writing of the person of the Saviour of poor lost
sinners, &c. it is thus:

13
First, That he is the eternal Son of the eternal
Father, by inconceivable generation.
Secondly, That this Son, called the Word, who
was with God, and was God, was, in the fulness
of time, made flesh; or a man, in likeness of sin
ful flesh, in fashion as a man, ^nd was born of a
virgin. Thirdly, That this Son of God, one in essence
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, heing born
a man child, the son of man, was anointed with
the fulness of the Holy Ghost, and did grow up
to manhood, obeying the law of God perfectly
through life; endured temptation, poverty, &c-
in behalf of those for whom he became a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with griefs.
Fourthly, That this God Man, having been
upholden by his Almighty Father till he had set
judgment in the earth, the sword of justice awoke
against him; he was left alone, and failed, expired,
or resigned his life, under the stroke, a ransom for
many. Fifthly, That this man Christ Jesus, consist
ing of body and soul, very God, having shed Liis
blood, and laid down his life, his body was laid in
the grave, and his soul descended into hell, under
the sentence of death and fierce wrath of God ;
and there abode until the third day, when his
Father, having received the last mite of payment
at his hands, justified him in the Spirit, and loosed
the pains of death.
Sixthly, That he, God, being thus freed from
c

14
the heavy debt, came forth from the prison of
hell, and quickened and took up his body, and the
life he laid down, his Father also concurring, to
gether with all power in heaven and earth.
Seventhly, That this God after some days as
cended, body and soul, and was received up into
glory, and sat down at the right hand of his Fa
ther; where he, who was dead, but is now alive,
ever liveth to make intercession, &c.
Eighthly, That that very body and soul,
Jesus, God himself, the true God and eternal life,
will again descend to judge the quick and dead.
So that he which was conceived in the womb,
born of the virgin, lived, died, &c. &c. was God,
wholly God, and nothing but God, as touching
his nature or essence.
So I believe, and therefore have I spoken. T. LOUD,
To Mr. LOUD.
My dear sir,
Having seen two letters concerning you,
and the doctrines you hold, which are not true,
and things which you neither acknowledged nor
confessed when you joined us, I should be glad if
you would call at my house next Monday or
Tuesday morning, as it is my duty to admonish
you; and, if you and I cannot settle matters, we
will have a vestry meeting. Think soberly, and

15
be not too hasty in writing in a wanton, trifling
way. Divine things are dangerous things to play
with. Yours in Christ very affectionately, W. H.
Church street, Paddington,
Dec. 20, 1793.

To T. LOUD,
at mr. Longman's, musical-insrument-maker,
tottenham-court-road.
Sir, There are some things in your creed re
pugnant to the word of God; and, as you seem
to be assiduous in circulating them, and very
obstinate and immovable in them, I am con
strained to set truth against them, that the gra
cious may see you and shun you. I know there
must be heresies in the churches, that the con
trary part may be made manifest; and that those
which are not of God may be discovered, and go
out, or be put out, from among them that are of
God : and I much fear that this is your case; and
perhaps in some future period you may find it so
to your sorrow. You are gazing through the
bounds, and stumbling upon the dark mountains,
where thousands have mounted the scorner's chair
and at last have been*drowned in destruction and
perdition. Your positively asserting, and obsti-

nate]y insisting,, when at my house,. rhat the God-*
head of Christ was changed in.tP real flesh and
bloody that his Godhead^ thus changed, died upon
the ci=qss; and that the squl of Christ descended
into hell, and lay there three day's and three nights;
appear to me contrary to the scriptures of truth.
And indeed I think you perverted every scriptural
text that you quoted. As to your insisting that
the children of God are under the law as a rule of
life, I wonder not at; for you never was delivered
from the law. This appears plain by your pride
and obstinacy; for the law does not exclude-
boasting.. And your having the old vail still upon
your heart is another proof that you are not got
from $hat rnount. Your blindness and ignorance in
the^ above things- denjopstrates it, as wejl as your
countenance. Indeed I never liked your religiqn*
in my heart, from the first account I had of it; and
it was not without difficulty that you. got in among
ns. But you told me, when at my house, that
ypu knew not then what you, believed, nor do you
know what you believe now.. You are more wise'
in your own conceit, but I think far more igno-r
rant, [and further from the truth., now, thart ever
you have, been yet. But to proceed to thes,e
points in hand.
" The word was made flesh." This is true,
but not in the sense you hold it. The Godhead
was npt changed intp flesh and blood. This is
qonversion, not union; it is converting one' nature
into' another; not uniting ,twp distinct natures

17
together, so as to become biie person. Changing
One Substance into another Is trarisubstanttatioil,
nbt incarhatioh. Such a change of ttatUre differs
much from that of a divine person assuming, bf
taking human nature into Union with hifnsel£
The first of these is an error, the lattet is a gos
pel truth. This union, being ordained iri the an
cient settlements of eternity, took phfce in the
virgin's wbmb,. fiat after the hUiiiah nature was
fdttntd, not yet after it was born; for this would
have been joining, or uniting, two persons to
gether, instead Df uniting two natures in one per
son. The Holy Spirit, who mOVed upon the face
•of the waters at the creation of the world, arid
separated the light from the darkness; who ga
thered the waters ifito seas, and fridde the dry
land appear; who garnished the heavens, attd
-spread the face of the earth with ali its verdant
¦herbage and vegetation, had a hand in this iriys-
stefious, this wonderful fcoilcfcp'tioh. Hence the'
angel's answer to the virgin's modest inquiry " Hbttr
shall this be?" &c. " the Hbly Ghost s*hail cO'ffie
upon thee, and the power bf the Highest shall
overshadow thee." Under which Almighty power'
and prolific overshadowing, the seed parsed frorii
the Ibins to the womb. " thou slialt conceive in
thy womb," said the angel, &c. In which the won
derful conception and mystic union took place'
between the person of the Son of God and the
virgin's seed. He was" made, tPuching his huma
nity, of a woman. He was the wo'man's seed,

18
made of the substance of her body. And this hu
man nature was so wonderfully prepared by Je
hovah, as that it should not be in the least tainted
with original sin, nor with one sinful infirmity;
that it mjght be entirely pure, and as proper as
possible to be in union with so great a person ; and
tha£ Adam, in innocence, might be a figure of him
that was to come. On which account, though
born of a woman, he is called a holy thing. Who
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? I an
swer, man cannot. But the angel told Mary that
with God nothing should be impossible, therefore
God can do it, and God has done it, " A body
hast thou prepared me."
Furthermore, the human nature of Christ
never did exist of itself; hence it is called a holy
thing, not a person, because it never had any ex^
jstence but in union with the eternal Word; which
union took place in the virgin's womb; and which
union never was, nor ever will be, dissolved,
Moreover, * this assumption of human nature, and
union with it, made no change or alteration in the
Lord's divinity. He was God from everlasting,
before this union took place, and no less than God
with us after it took place; and by this union he
became what he never was before, God incarnate,
or " God manifest in the flesh;" which manifesta
tion was in these last times for us, and never
before. The. words, made flesh, do not signify a con-r
verging or changing ope nature into another,

19
When we hear of persons being created Peers, made
Earls, or Lords, or made Chancellor, or Lord
of the Household, we understand no such change
by it; but that titles of honour are thereby con
ferred, and persons appointed to, and invested with
such or such an office. And, when we read that
the word was made flesh, it means he was invested
with human nature, " clothed with a vesture dipt
in blood." And, when it is said God hath made
Jesus both Lord and Christ, it means the appoint
ment of God. It was the decree of God to join
the Son's Godhead to manhood, to which the Son
agreed. The Father was to prepare the body,
which the Son assumed in nature, and in which he
was to do the will of God, which was his heart's
delight; and in which nature he was made a mid
dle person, and made or appointed King and Me
diator. When it is said that " The last Adam
was made a quickening Spirit," we neither under
stand a change, nor yet a creation, by it: but that
the Lord from heaven, who is an uncreated Spirit,
was appointed and sent to assume human nature,
and in it to quicken dead sinners, or to give eter
nal life to as many as the Father had given him.
Mr. Loud must learn to distinguish between
the body prepared, and he that came to do the
will of God in it; between the vesture dipped in
blood, and the word that wore it; between the
gift, and the altar that sanctified the .gift; be
tween the tabernacle that God pitched, and the
Shekina that tabernacled in it; between the vail,

180
that is to say, his flesh, and the anchorage of hope
within the vail; between God, and the flesh in
which God was manifested; between the throne
of grace, which is the human nature, Isai. xxii. 22,
23, and he that fills the throne, who is the first and
the last, the* Almighty; between the temple of his
body, and he that raised it up in three days; be
tween the virgin's substance, and the everlasting
Father; between the body, and all the fulness of
the Godhead that dwells bodily in it; between the
manhood, which grew in wisdom and in stature,
and infinite wisdom, and immensity itself, to whose
wisdom there can be no addition, and to whose
stature nothing can be added; between the Son,
who knew not the day of Jerusalem's destruction,
and the omniscient Qod, who can be ignorant of
nothing. Until Mr. Loud can learn to distinguish
a little better, he will never appear wise to. salva
tion, though he may be wise above what is written,
and too wise in his own conceit to become a fool
that he may be wise indeed. God will stain the
pride of all vain glory, he will hide his mysteries
from the wise and prudent; and, as he takes the
wise in their own craftiness, let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom; for he that thinketh he
knoweth any thing, of these things, knows no
thing yet as he ought to know; for who is suffi
cient for these things, where a slip of the pen or
tongue might lay a foundation for destructive
heresies? But our sufficiency here must be of Goci,
and our wisdom from the Father of lights, as it is

21
Only in his light that we see light. But Mr. LoUd
objected to my asserting that Emmanuel, God
with us, signifies God in our nature; because, as
he observed, the text says, God with us, not in us;
much less God in our nature. . These curious
quibbles may serve to stumble the weak, and to
entangle himself in the labyrinth of error; but he
will never be able to fix any other sense upon the
word, if he pursues the safest method; I mean,
that of comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The Prophet tells King Ahaz, that the Lord
himself shall give him a sign, a miracle, or a won
der; and such a sign as never was given before in
this wofld. But if Emmanuel, a name that never
appeared in holy writ before, and which signifies,
God with us, means no more than God's presence
with his people, this was no new sign, but what
has been common to every saint, iii every1 age.
God was with Adam ; with Abel, Seth, and Enoch,
with whom he walked three hundred years; with
Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and
Moses; and with Israel always, either in the taber
nacle or temple, and even in Babylon, and down
to the death of Christ. " Israel hath not been
forsaken of his God." In this sense Emmanuel
can be no new sign, but a very old one* and
even as old as the word; but this mysterious sign
has never been till these last days; and Jeremiah
•says it is a new sign, such as never was or had
been before. "The Lord hath created a new thing
in the earth, a woman shall compass a man." The

23
Prophet intimates that the creating power of God
in this work is to be put forth, under which a
woman is to compass a man; that is, she shall,
under the overshadowing power of the most High,
compass this strange work, of bringing forth a
man child, without the help of man. This Isaiah
calls a sign, and Jeremiah calls it a new thing;
and such a thing as never was before; a new
thing under the sun.
Nor can the compound word Emmanuel be
construed to mean, as Mr. Loud suggested, no
more than God in us ; for God has dwelt in all
his saints from the creation ofthe world; their bo
dies have ever been temples of the living God; as
God hath said, " I will dwell in them, and walk in
them." It remains,~therefore, that the word Em
manuel must have a meaning different from both
the -above; and signify God with us in a way that
he never was before. " Therefore the Lord him
self shall give you a sign," saith the prophet,
" Behold a virgin shall conceive [a son] and bear
a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel," which
the Apostle tells us is God with us. The first won
der is, that a pure virgin should conceive. And the
word conceive, or conception, implies that this man,
that she was to compass, was to be of her seed; for,
if not of her seed, how can we understand con
ception, seeing the scriptures Avitness that Satan's
head is to be bruised by the woman's seed ; wherer
as Deity, abstractedly considered, is the Father of
all, but the seed of none. And true it is that

23
Christ was, according to the flesh, made of a wo
man, of the substance of her body; and so flesh of
our flesh, and bone of our bone. This is a great
mystery, but it is a true one. The third part
of the sign is, that after this son is conceived and
born, two natures remain : The divine nature is
called God, the human nature expressed by the
word, us; which is a plain contradiction of Mr.
Loud's notion, I mean that of transubstantiating
the Godhead into flesh, as the papists pretend to
turn the Saviour into a wafer: for this would
amount to no more than flesh with us; whereas
Emmanuel is God with us. And the prophet
here shews when and where this union took
place; namely, at the virgin's conception, and in
the virgin's womb; not after the infant wasformed,
nor after it was born, as before observed; for this
had been no more than a union of two persons,
and is what every believer may claim, who has
fellowship with' the Lord, seeing such are in union
with him, joined to him, and of one spirit with
him. But this union took place as soon as the
seed passed from the loins to the womb; " Thou
shalt conceive in thy womb," said the angel; and
the Word was made flesh in the womb; that is,
Christ assumed the human nature there. Hence
it appears plain that a union of two natures in one
person should be tiiis wonder, this miracle, this
glorious sign, which God would give; and which
is the good thing promised to the house of Israel,
ajul the pew thing which God would create in

24
the earth. Hence it must follow, and we majr
safely conclude, that Emmanuel, God with us, sig
nifies God in human nature; " God manifest in
the flesh;" or, as the scriptures witness, all the ful
ness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in the hu
man nature of Christ ; and so Emmanuel, Christ,
or God with us as he never was before; and God
with all his children, who were flesh and blood,
and on whose account he himself took part of the
same. But himself taking part of the same is ndt
a converting himself .into the same : it is not a
change of nature, but an incarnation, as Besor,
one of the cities of refuge, a type of Christ, sig
nifies. For the Saviour's union with a body pre
pared can never be called a change into that body.
Moreover, it is a matter of doubt with me whether
Deity changed into flesh and blood be a proper
object of trust, or of divine worship, seeing we are
not to trust in an1 arm of flesh, nor to have any
confidence in the flesh, nor to worship any but
the Lord our God. But God in the tabernacle,
and in the temple, was worshipped by all the Israel
ites, whether far off or near, wherever prayer was
to be made; and God in the temple of human
nature is worshipped, both in the heavens above
and in the earth beneath; for, " When he bringeth
in the first begotten into the world, he saith, Let
all the angels of God worship him;" and of Zion
it is said, " He is thy Jehovah, and worship thou
him." Your other notion, of the Gpdhead when

25
changed into manhood dying or expiring pn the
cross, appears to me to be without any foundation
in scripture, as may be gathered both out of the?
Old Testament and the New. Christ is the truth;
ef all the legal types, and the substance of all
those shadows; and I think the two goats, which
were brought on the day of atonement, repre
sented the two natures of Christ: one was to be
offered for a sin offering, and the other to be pre
sented alive before the Lard, to make an atone
ment with him, and then to be let go for a scape
goat into the wilderness. If it be objected that
sinners are compared to goats, and therefore the
divine nature could not be represented by them, it
may be answered, that sinners are also compared
to hops, and yet God is compared to that noble
creature more than once; moreover, the goat is
enrolled in the lists of clean beasts,, and the* lion
is not. Furthermore, the two sparrows, that were
to be taken at the cleansing of the leper, appear
to me to represent the same mystery. One of the
birds was to be killed in an earthen vessel, over
running water; the other bird, preserved alive,
was- to be taken, and, with cedar wood, scarlet
wopl, and hyssop, to be dipt, in the blood of the
bird that was kiUed : the leper was to be sprinklerd;
seven times with these, and to be proppupce^
clean, aiid then thp living bird was to be let go
upon the face of the field, Levit. xiv. 4, 5, 6. This
ceremonial cleansing by the two birds, most beau-?
tifplly prefigured puv purgatipp by the. two natures

26
of Christ, who purged our sins by his one offering,
and made an atqnement for us. One bird dies;
the other escapes,' dipped in the blood of his fel
low. So Christ in human nature died, but divinity
could not: " He Mas put to death in the flesh,"
or in the human nature, and in nothing else,
" but quickened by the spirit." If it be objected
that the two sparrows prefigured, one the body
and the other the soul of the Saviour, I answer
that the scape-goat and the living bird both es
caped unhurt and unwounded, which the soul of
Christ did not, for that was by far the greatest
sufferer, as every child of God will own, who has
felt the wrath of God and the pains of hell, and
confess, too, that the most excruciating bodily
pains are nothing when compared to a wounded
spirit; which, as the wise man says, who can bear?
But he allows that a man's spirit may sustain the
infi rmities of the body.
Furthermore, the law was ordained for man,
not for Deity. God's voice is to the sons of men,
" Cursed is he, [that is, the man] that continues
not in all things written in the book of the law, to
do them;" and " the soul that sinneth shall die."
But neither of these awful sentences reaches Divi
nity, or Godhead ; and unless this can be proved Mr.
Laud's transubstantiation can never be established.
God is the one lawgiver, but himself is above all
law; he worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will; and his uncontrollable will is the only
law of all the creatures that He has made, either

27
in heaven above or in the earth beneath. Now,
as the law's demands or threatenings, are not or
dained for any person in the Trinity, nor for Di
vinity transubstantiated into flesh and blood, so I
think it will be readily granted, that not Deity,
nor Deity changed into manhood, is required to
die in order to make restitution for man. The de
mands, both of law and justice, must be granted
to the utmost mite: this I acknowledge: but the
suffering of Deity, or the death of Divinity con
verted into flesh and blood, is never once to be
found among all the demands both of law and
justice: and, as this was never required or de
manded, we have no reason to believe it was ever
given. The utmost demand of vindictive justice
is the death of the sinner, both body and soul:
and the scriptures tell us that the Surety bore our
own sins in his own body on the tree, and that he
made his soul an offering for sin, the chastise
ment of our peace being upon him, and by his
stripes we are healed. But eternal love in the
abstract can never be miserable; eternal love can
never die; infinite holiness is incapable of chastise
ment; and immortality can never be striped. He
was the Mighty God when a child born. The
divinity of our Lord filled both heaven and earth
when he was put to death in the flesh. Touch*
ing his incarnation, he came down from heaven,
when, as God, he was in heaven, John iii. 13.
Suffice it is to say, that Christ was made of the
seed pf David accprding to the flesh; and in no

28
pther sense is he the offspring of David. In the
flesh he suffered, 1 Pet. iv. 1, and m the flesh he
was put to death, 1 Pet. iii. 18; but not in divi*
nity, for by that he raised the temple of his body
in three days : David's offspring died, but David's
root could never be conquered by death, being the
Lord both of life and death. David's son was
made a curse for us, but David's blessed Lord
could never be cursed. The particular distinction
which the Spirit makes between the two natures
of Christ oua;ht to be observed. When he savs
made of the seed of David according to the flesh,
of the Jews as concerning the flesh, Christ came;
he suffered in the flesh, and was put to death in
the flesh. These distinctions of flesh and spirit do
not mean the body and soul of the Saviour, for
all the human nature suffered ; but the distinction
respects the Godhead and manhood of Christ.
Let Mr. Loud soberly learn, before he gets too
far in the bog, to answer the Saviour's question
" What think ye of Christ, whose son is he?" And,
if he answers, " the son of David," then why
doth David in the spirit call him Lord? And let
him learn the difference between the corn of wheat,
that fell into the ground and died, and He who is
the resurrection and the life, by the power of
whom that grain was raised again, and all the glo
rious harvest that shall follow : the difference also
between the "Lord from heaven, and the branch
from Jesse's root. The Saviour was crucified
through weakness, into which, omnipotence, could

never be converted; and, as it was the Weaker
nature that went to the wall, so the weaker na
ture has no glory or honour, but what was given
to it, or conferred on it. The Holy Ghost kept
tliat nature in its place, by saying of him, re
specting his manhood, that he was made lower
than the angels; calling him the hind of the morn
ing, the poor and needy man, a man of sorrow3
and acquainted with grief, yea, despised and re*
jected of men, a worm and no man. And it is
mentioned as a matter of astonishment that God
should take notice of him as man. " What is
man, that thou art mindful of him ; and the son of
man, that thou visitesthim?" The great things that
are said of the human nature, abstractedly con
sidered, are, that God hath highly exalted him ;
that he hath given him glory and honour, and put
all things under his feet, and made him Lord and
Christ; that he hath glorified him, and that in
the same glorified body dwells the fulness of the
Godhead bodily; and into the likeness of whose
glorious body all the saints shall be changed and
fashioned in the great day. But, as touching his
Godhead, the Most High can never be exalted
above what he is; nor can any thing be added to
the fulness of him who filleth all in all; nor can any
glory be added to the God of glory ; hor any honour
to infinite majesty ; nor any power to him that
upholds all things by the word of his own power.
As man, he is appointed heir of all things, and all
power in heaven and earth is given to him, and all
D

things are put under his feet. But as God, all
things were made by him, by his underived power;
and all things are made for him, for his use, and
for his pleasure; and to him are all things ac
countable, Rom. xi. 36.
The two passages of scripture, that you quoted
in favour Of Deity dying, by no means prove it.
" Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he
laid down his life for us." The words, "of God," are
not in the original text, but supplied by the trans
lators. It was in the flesh he suffered, and in the
flesh he was put to death. But, as there were two
distinct natures in the person of Christ, the huma
nity doubtless died in union with the Godhead;
on which account the Jews are charged with kill
ing the Prince of life, crucifying the Lord of glory
and murdering the Just one; and the church of
God is said to be purchased with his own blood.
All which prove the union of the two natures,
even in death; and from this union springs the
sweet savour of the one offering, and all the in
valuable worth and glorious merit of it; because
he thought it no robbery to be equal with God,
even when he was God incarnate; and on which
account also he is called the man, Jehovah's fellow.
But then it was the Godhead that laid down the
life of the manhood, and it was the Godhead that
took that life again. " Destroy this temple, and
in three days I will raise it up." They did destroy
the temple in which the Shekina dwelt, and in
three days the Shekina raised it again.

31
But Mr. Loud denies that the Saviour assumed
the human nature; though the scriptures testify
this truth so plainly, by asserting, "Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same."
If the Lord's humanity were not in reality of the
virgin's seed, but Divinity changed into flesh, he
could not be said to take part of the children's
flesh and blood, which the Holy Spirit says he did ;
and therefore we are said to be members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones, Eph. v. 30.
And again, " He was made of a woman ;" his hu
manity was of her seed, made of her substance;
which is too plain a truth to be disproved ; and none
but those who are given up to believe a lie, would
ever attempt it. '
Mr. Loud's insisting upon it that, if the Sa
viour really partook of the seed of the virgin, he
was a sinner, and there could be no more merit in
his sacrifice than in the martyrdom of Loud, is
both shocking and dreadful. However, the angel
told Mary that with God nothing shall be im
possible; and therefore this wonderful work was
possible with God; and it was done. The Lord
assumed a human nature, of which the body was
prepared by God the Holy Ghost, and was a lamb
without spot, and without blemish; a holy thing;
holy, harmless, and undefiled. The prince of this
world could find nothing of his bane in him. And
this was no more impossible with God than raising
the sinful dust and ashes of the saints out of their

32
graves, and setting them down immortal, incor
ruptible, glorious, and without spot or wrinkle, in
the kingdom of heaven; which is a work that is
to be done, and will be done.
Mr. Loud's mystery, of the Lord's partaking
no more of the virgin's nature than a funnel does
of the liquor that is poured through it, is no part
of the doctrine which he says he got on his knees ;
for that abominable heresy of the funnel, or pipes
is many hundred years old. In short, Mr. Loud,
by his abominable doctrines, denies the great
mystery of godliness, the view of angels, the doc
trine of the apostles, the hope of the saints, and
the faith that has been in the world these seven
teen hundred years. " God manifest in the flesh"
was, and is, the only hope of Israel; God manifest
in the flesh was seen of angels; God manifest in
the flesh was preached to the Gentiles; God ma
nifest in the flesh was believed on in the world;
God manifest in the flesh was received up into
glory. Hence it appears plain that the apostle's
great mystery, Isaiah's sign, Jeremiah's new thing,
and the good thing promised to the house of Israel,
is God incarnate, God manifest in the flesh, or
God with us by incarnation.
I come now to consider Mr. Loud's notion of
the Lord's descent into hell. I think the altar
made of whole stones, upon which no tool was to
be lifted, the golden altar, and the altar of brass>
or brazen altar, were all types of our Lord's divi
nity; upon which, as upon the altar, the huma-

33
nity was offered in sacrifice to God the Father.
For it is the altar that sanctifies the gift; and for
our sakes the Saviour sanctified himself. And it
is clear that the Lord's feet, which denote strength,
are compared to brass, his faithfulness to a girdle
of gold; and he is called the stone of Israel. And
thus he is compared to the different materials of
which the Jewish altars were composed. The
horns ofthe altar likewise were a refuge for sinners,
typical of the mighty horn of salvation raised up
in the house of God's servant David, Luke i. 69;
who is the only refuge that God has set before us.
But Mr. Loud told me that the altar was a type of
God the Father; but I think it is not a very easy
matter to find an inanimate type of him. Besides,
Christ, and not God the Father, is the truth of all
the types, and the substance of all the legal shadows.
Moreover, the sacrifices were offered upon the al
tar, not to the altar; but uppn the altar to God.
And it is plain that the altar was greater than the
gift, because it sanctified the gift; and it is as
true that our Lord's divinity, which offered up the
humanity, is greater than the humanity that was
offered up.
Furthermore, when the sacrifices under the
law were offered on the altar, there was an end of
the offering, without any thing done that pre
figured a descent into hell. Nor was the fire, in
which the victim was consumed, called hell fire,
but holy fire, and the fire of the altar.
And We may add, that the sacrifice was of.

34
fered immediately to God; and immediately after
the priest pronounced God's blessing on the peo
ple, Num. vi. 24; without any thing like a space
of three days, exhibiting our Lord's sufferings be
yond the'cross.
And, as the burnt offerings were accepted of
God upon the altar, Isaiah lvi. 7; so the offering
pf our dear Lord was accepted when finished on
the cross; for he said, " Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit; and, having said thus, he
gave up the Ghost." The soul of our Lord was
received from the cross, not from hell. " He made
his soul an offering for sin;" and to God the Fa
ther he offered it, and into the Father's hands
he commended it, not into hell fire; and
yielded up the ghost, it did not sink into the bot
tomless pit.
It may further be observed that the Saviour is
our forerunner and our example, and we are to
tread in his steps, to drink of his cup, and are
planted together in the likeness of his death; and
the utmost of the saints' sufferings is carrying the
cross, and dying for his sake: but, if he went into
hell, we do in that sense by no means tread in his
steps', nor are we in that sense planted toge
ther in the likeness of his death. Nor do we un
derstand, by the phrases, yielded up the ghost, as
Jacob did, or commending the spirit to God, as
Stephen did, any thing like a descent into hell.
The souls of the saints return to God who gave
them; and so did the soul of Christ when it was

35
made an offering for sin. His yielding up the
ghost in death, and his commending his spirit into
his Father's hands, as well as his resurrection
from the dead, are earnests and pledges of the
blessed death, happy end, glorious departure, and
certain resurrection, ofthe saints; who commend
their souls fo God, die in faith, and yield up the
ghost, when the soul returns to the Almighty,
and is numbered and arranged among the spirits
of just men made perfect, while the body rests in
hope pf a glorious and certain resurrection. And
such was the blessed end of the Saviour when he
had finished the work upon the cross: " He made
his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in
his death, because he had done no violence, nei
ther was any deceit in his mouth." He made his
grave with the wicked by becoming our surety, or
by being made sin for us by imputation, and so
was numbered with the transgressors; but his
grave was made with the rich in his death. Mark
that, in death he made his grave with the rich;
not among the poor and wretched, miserable, blind,
and naked, who go quick into hell ; but with the
rich he made his grave; rich in faith, rich to
wards God, possessed of all true riches, rich in
merit, rich in good works, and heir of all things ;
and in the possession of all these true riches
he made his grave, as soon as the work was,
finished. Furthermore, the blood of the sacrifice is cal-
Jet} the life of it; and by the blood of the sacrifice

36
were the Israelites,, cleansed in a ceremonial
way; and so, when the blood of Christ was shed,
our redemption was completely obtained; for we
are declared to be redeemed by the blood of Christ
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Our redemption is always said to be by the blood
of Christ, but never by the torments of hell fire,
I add, further, that when the Saviour bowed
his head he declared, as his dying testimony, " It
is finished." But Mr. Loud objected to this; say
ing that his meaning was, that the mockery and.
insults of the Jews were finished,, This is a very
empty meaning, if the dying testimony of our
great Deliverer contains no more than this. Be
sides, if this were the Lord's meaning, it is not
true; forthe Jews insulted him, mocked, reviled,
and railed on him, both in his person and in his
members, long after this. They blasphemed him,
compelled some of his followers to curse him; and
Paul persecuted him; of which he complains out
of heaven long after this. Yea, the mockery and
insults of Jews and infidels are not fipished yet, nor
will they be so long as the long-suffering mercy of
the Lord permits such wretched men as Mr. Loud
to live upon the earth. It remains, therefore, that
the words " It is finished" must have a better, a
truer, and a more pregnant meaning.
" He bore our sins in his own body on the tree;"
and pp further than the tree did he bear them.
There the Surety paid the fatal score, and caps
celled the total debt; that was finished,

37
He was made a curse for us ; for it is written
" Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
That curse pursued him no further than the tree;
redemption from the curse was then and there
finished. The seed of the woman was to bruise the ser
pent's head. He spoiled principalities and powers;
he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over
them in the death of the cross. Victory over de
vils, therefore, was obtained, and the complete con
quest of them was then and there finished.
The handwriting of ordinances, that was
against us, which was contrary to us, he took out
of the way, nailing it to his cross. The bondage
of the law, the terrors of the law, the wrath of
God revealed in the law, pursued and held the
Saviour no further than the cross. This was all
accomplished in the death of the Saviour; for to
the cross he nailed the handwriting that was
against us and there left it, and never carried it
into hell fire.
The ceremonial law had every part of it ac
complished in him on the cross, when he poured
out his soul unto death; but no further; in death
was that work finished,
The mbral law had all its precepts obeyed be
fore in his life, and all its curses and threatenings
he endured upon the cross. His active and pas
sive obedience both ended in his death, not in
the bottomless pit. " He was obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross," His obedience here

38
is said to be unto death, not unto hell fire. This
work then, of his obedience, was there finished.
" Knowing this, that our old man was cruci
fied with him, that the body of sins might be de
stroyed." The old man got his death, and the de
stroying, governing, and damning, power of sin,
got its destruction, in the crucifixion of Christ
upon the cross, not in hell fire. " Our old man
was crucified with him." This was finished.
Our sanctification was effected when the Sa
viour commended his spirit into his Father's hands.
" That he might sanctify the people with his own
blood, he suffered without the gate." This was
finished, not in hell fire, but on Mount Calvary
without the gates of Jerusalem,
The sword of God was awaked, and the shep
herd was smitten on the cross. Judgment was
fully executed, and vindictive Justice got full
satisfaction, and promised to throw open the prison
doors to all the prisoners fof whom Christ died.
This was obtained by the blood of the lamb; as it
is written, " By the blood of thy covenant I have
sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is
no water." By the blood of the covenant was this
gaoldelivery obtained, and not by the torments
of hell fire.
We read of the obedience of the Surety, and
of the obedience of the saints both. " He was
obedient uno death, and there it stopped : and we
are commanded to be the same, in laying down
pur life for the brethren. But there never was,

39
nor ever will be, nor do we ever read of, any obe
dience performed in hell fire.
Hence it appears plain, that the ceremonial
law had its full accomplishment and its end in the
death of Christ. The moral law was magnified
by a perfect obedience both to its precept and
penalties, the body of sins were destroyed, the old
man was crucified, devils spoiled and conquered,
judgment was fully executed, truth was cleared,
wrath appeased, the paschal lamb offered, and the
gates of heaven openqd, the grand oblation was
offered, complete atonement made, reconciliation
obtained, the flaming sword sheathed, peace made,
a new and living way consecrated, Justice fully
satisfied, God well pleased, the ransom price paid,
everlasting righteousness brought in, a gaoldeli-
very proclaimed, a fountain for sin opened, a sure
foundation laid, the elect sanctified and redeemed,
the middle wall of partition broken down, and sal
vation in the executionary part completed and
-eternally finished, without any suffering in the
regions of the damned. He made peace for us
by the blood of his cross. All the above things
are implied in the dying testimony of the faithful
and true witness, the Lord Jesus Christ, Avhen he
bowed his head, and said, " It is finished,"
But Mr. Loud objects this text; " Whom
God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of
death; because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it." Which he says were the pains
that he endured in hell fire, which were loosed

40
when he was taken from that prison. If the Sa-'
viour's soul lay three days and three nights in hell,
the work was far from being finished on the cross,
though he bowed his head, and declared it was.1
The word here called pains of death, or sorrows of
death, is expressive of the sufferings of his soul
under our sins, the wrath of God, the buffetings of
Satan, the sword of Justice, the curse of the law, ,
and being forsaken by his Father; and is the same«
word as is used to express the pangs of child birth,
or the sorrows of a woman in labour; which the
prophet Isaiah calls his travail, which he was to en
dure, and then he was to see of the travail of his
soul, and be satisfied in our salvation : which tra
vail came upon him some days before his death,
one pain after another; and every pain stronger!
and stronger, till the travail was over. " Now is
my soul troubled." And in the garden he was
sorrowful, and sore amazed, till at length he breaks
out and complains of it, " My soul is exceeding
sorrowful even unto death." Here are the sorrows -,
or pains, of death on him; or, as he himself says,,'
" The terrors of death are fallen upon me, and
horror hath overwhelmed me." And, when tra
vail came heavier still, he prayed to God; and
afterwards, when more bitter pangs came on, he
sweat blood; and, when more oppressive still, he,
being in agony, prayed the more earnestly, till
an angel appeared and strengthened him; after
this he said, " Sleep on now, and take your
rest," Bpt on the cross all his travail, the pains.

41
or sorrows of death, came on him again; it was
the Jews' hour, and the powers of darkness. And
here he might truly say, " Behold, all ye that pass
by, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow !" Here it was that the snares of death and
flames of wrath got hojd of him; the sword of
Justice, the. wrath of God, and the sins of men,
met altogether upon him; and, to complete the
dreadful scene, his Father forsook him, which he
had never done before. Darkness likewise over
spread the world; to shew the inexpressible suffer
ings of his soul as well as his body. At last he cried,
" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
At which cry he was heard in that he feared. The
horrors of his soul were soon dispelled; the dread
ful lower and awful storm blew over; Satan's shafts
were spent; the sword of Justice was in its scab
bard; the Father began to shine upon him; the
dust and ashes of our sins dropped to the foot of
the altar; the Holy Ghost sweetly operated as a
cpmforter, and lent his friendly aid; at which the
pains of death were loosed from his soul; his sor
rows, or soul travail, was at an end; and with a
loud voice he cried, " It is finished;" commended
his spirit into the hands of his Father; bowed
his head, and yielded up the ghost; and " through
the eternal Spirit offered himself to God." Thus
" the pains of death were loosed, because it was
not possible that he should be holden of it" any
longer than till the soul was made an offering for
sin; which through the eternal Spirit wras offered,

42
and by that Holy Spirit conveyed, or carried, into
the hands of God the Father.
There is no suffering in hell, mentioned by
the prophet, between the travail of his soul and
being satisfied with seeing his seed. No, nor yet
between his being obedient unto death and being
highly exalted.
But Mr. Loud fetches all his arguments from
the words " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption." The sufferings of his soul in tasting
of death, and the grave, is what is there meant by
hell. Hell torments to a sinner lie in bearing his
own sins, in the lashes of conscience, in the wrath
of God, the curse ofthe law, the torment of de
vils, utter darkness, and banishment from Ged;
of all which the Saviour tasted for us, and then
these, pains were loosed. Hell, in scripture lan
guage, does not always mean the bottomless pit.
Jonah says, he cried out of the belly of hell, and
God heard his voice. But there is a deal of dif
ference between the sufferings of Jonah's mind in
the bottom of the sea, and suffering in bottomless
perdition ; and much more between the regions of
the damned and the carcass of a whale. And cer
tain it is, that Jonah was a type of Christ, in being
a sign to the Ninevites; and Christ being three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and
then rising from the dead, was to be the only sign
that was to be given to that adulterous generation
of the Jews.

43
Furthermore that the soul of our Saviour did
not descend into hell, may plainly be seen by his
answer to the thief upon the cross. The thief
prayed to be remembered by him when he came
into his kingdom; whose propitious answer to
him was, " Verily, I say unto thee, to day shalt
thou be with me in Paradise." Which Paradise,
Paul says, is the third heaven, 2 Cor. xii. 2. 4.
Nor is this to be understood of the divine nature
of Christ; for that is omnipresent, and immensity
itself, and fills all space ; and, in one sense, never
left Paradise at all, for he was in the third heaven,
though incarnate upon earth; as it is written
" And no man hath ascended up to > heaven but
he that came down from heaven, even the son of
man, which is in heaven," John iii. 13. Here is
a coming down from heaven, which is so called
because of his humiliation in the assumption of
human nature, and yet, in the present tense, it is
said that the Son of man is in heaven; which is
true respecting his divine presence, though incar
nate. The Saviour's answer, therefore, plainly
implies thus much; this day I shall make my soul
an offering for sin, and through the eternal Spirit
it will be conveyed into my Father's hands in the
third heaven, and thy soul shall be conveyed
there likewise by the angels; so that thou shalt
this day, before midnight, be with me in Para
dise; which is a scriptural solution of the text,
and by no means contrary to the analogy of faith.
Hence it is plain that the Lord suffered no hell

44
torments between the death of the cross and the
third heaven; and it is as plain that there is no
place of punishment between the death of the
saint and Paradise. Elijah went from earth to
heaven in a fiery chariot, and Lazarus went frorajpp"
death, by the angels, into Abraham's bosom; which f"
differs much from purgatory. By the blood of the
cross, peace was made by the Saviour; and God
declares that, if we mark the perfect man and be- '
hold the upright, we shall see the end of that man
to be peace, not purgatory : and so we may con
clude that the end of faith is the salvation of the
soul. It is a pity that Mr. Loud did not consider
Peter's sermon, recorded in the Acts, a little more
minutely, before he had perverted one word, to
contradict all the rest; where he would have seen
his vile notion, of the Saviour's partaking no more
of the human nature than his handkerchief, or his
supposed funnel, plainly and fully refuted. But
so dexterous is the spirit of error in him, at turn*
ing all things into bane, that he can grasp one
word to support his notion of a descent into hell,
but he could not see the other, which contradicts
him to his face with an oath. But, as he has neg*
lected this, I must produce it. " Men and bre
thren, let me freely speak unto you of the patri*
arch David, that he is both dead and buried, and
his sepulchre is with us unto this day; therefore,
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn
with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins,.

45
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to
sit on his throne;- he, seeing this before, spake of
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." I
think Mr. Loud will find it a hard task to prove
that Christ's divinity can, in any sense whatever,
be called the fruit of David's loins, because the
text asserts that he is the fruit of his loins accord-
to the flesh, not according to his Godhead. For
the Godhead of Christ is David's root, which gave
David his existence as a creature, and which gave
him his existence as a saint; and which root sup
plied him both with natural life and with grace;
yea, Christ as God is called David's Jehovah, who
made" him, governed him, gave him grace, and
saved his soul; Avhom he acknowledged, in whom
ne believed, and whom he worshipped. Divinity,
or divinity changed into flesh, can never be the
fruit of a fallen mortal's loins. But God swore to
David that, according to the flesh, Christ should
be the fruit of his body, Psal. cxxxii. 11; the fruit
of his loins, Acts ii. 30; his son, Matt. xx. 30; his
offspring, Rev. xxii. 16"; and accordingly he was
the virgin Mary's seed, who was of the house and
liheage of David, and which seed was once ip
David's loins; and, if it were not so, what be-
comes of the oath of God; God cannot be per
jured. O what sad lengths men go when desti
tute of the Spirit, and given up to believe a lie!
and how" clear it is, from the above texts, that it
was the humanity, and not the Deity, of Christ
E

46
that suffered. Peter speaks of no other parts suf
fering but the soul and body of Christ. " Thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy
One to see corruption." Which terms, hell and cor
ruption, are both explained by the apostle him
self; the first by loosing the pains of death, the
second by raising the body from the tomb. The
pains of death were loosed from his soul just as
he had ended his first cry on the cross, as we have
proved, and as Paul says, he was heard in that he
feared; and the answer was given to that bitter
cry. Upon which God shone into his soul, as well
pleased, lifted up the light of his countenance
upon him, filled him with unutterable joy and
comfort: all which is expressed in the following
words; " I foresaw the Lord always before my
face; for he is at my right hand, that I should not
be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and
my tongue was glad, my flesh also shall rest in
hope." As soon as his heart rejoiced the pains of
death were loosed ; and, as soon as the joy of his
heart had made his tongue glad, he cried, " It is
finished," bowed his head, gave up the ghost, and
all was over. His soul went without spot into the
hands of God, filled with unspeakable joy and
gladness, where sorrow and sighing for ever flee
away. And this is expressly called the joy that
was set before him, for the sake of which he en
dured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down on the right hand of the throne of God,
Heb. xii. 2. But to lie three days and three nights

47
in hell fire can never be called a joy set before
him, as an encouragement to him to endure the
cross; for the cross itself Avould have been much
lighter than hell fire. Peter and Paul both agree
in this, that there were no sufferings endured be
yond the cross; there it was that the pains of
death were loosed, and soon after the power of
death was loosed from the body also.
For, as dying pains, or the pains of deatlv
which end in a dissolution of the body from the
soul, at which instant the soul goes to God to re
ceive its doom, and as it is the body that bears
the pains of temporal death, and by which sepa
rating pains the body is left in the bonds of cor
ruption; so the Jews, who viewed Christ as a de
ceiver, an impostor, and a sinner, expected that
this would unavoidably have been his fate; hence
malice requested that his death might be by cruci
fixion, which was a Roman, not a Jewish death, hop
ing thereby to bring his soul and body under the
curse of God, because their law says that he which
hangeth upon a tree is cursed of God. Hence
malice wished and expected that the end of Christ,
whom they hated with cruel hatred, would have
been damnation; and they were so confident of
this, that without hesitation they imprecated his
blood on themselves and all their children; and
therefore preferred a murderer before him, and
crucified him between two thieves. This mali
cious evil, and bloody crime, Peter charges home
upon them, calling it the deed of their wicked

48
hands; telling them that they were all mistaken;
that the pains of death were loosed; and that this
Holy One, whom they judged as an impostor, did
not see corruption, for the pains of his soul were
loosed on the cross, and the other in the tomb;
that he was risen from the dead, and that they
were all witnesses of it. And he adds, " Let all
the house of Israel know that God has made
that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord
and Christ." This awful charge was accompanied
with the sword of the Spirit, and they were
pricked in their heart at such an awful testi
mony against them, which extorted from them
the following cry; " Men and brethren, what
shall we do?" These convinced Jews saw their
awful mistake. They thought that they had
blotted out the name of Jesus from under heaven,
and that it should have been no more in remem
brance; while the chief rulers and priests, having
cast him out of the vineyard and slain him, vainly
thought that his inheritance should" have been
theirs. But he was raised up to requite them.
So they were all mistaken; and so is Mr. Loud,
Who supposes that he descended into the regions
of the damned; for the text says it was the pains
of death that were loosed, and not the pains of
hell. But there is another text produced in favour
of the Saviour's descension into hell, which is
1 Pet. iii. 18—20. "For Christ also hath once
suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, (that he.

,49
might bring us to God) being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By which also he
went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which
some time were disobedient, when once the long-
suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while
the ark was preparing; wherein few, that is, eight
souls, were saved by water." There is nothing in
this passage that in the least favours, much less
supports, the notion of our Lord's suffering in hell
fire; but the contrary. The apostle asserts that
Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust. The word, once, may be applied to the
whole life of Christ, for he was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief all his days; he suffered
from the manger to the cross. But the apostle
seems to confine the word to his sufferings on the
cross, as himself explains it; " Being put to death
in the flesh." What is before called his once suf
fering, is' here called " being put to death in the
flesh;" which words confine the Lord's soul suf
ferings and his bodily sufferings both to be en
dured and ended on tbe cross; for it was in the flesh
he suffered, and in the flesh he was put to death :
but disembodied, or out of the flesh, he never suf
fered at all; there is nothing of this in all the
Bible; consequently he never was in hell; for,
if he had, he must have suffered more than once ;
once on the cross, and once more in hell fire.
Moreover, the apostle confines the Lord's suf
ferings and death to his human nature only. He
suffered once, he was " put to death in the flesh,"

50
The body suffered intolerably, and the soul suf
fered in the body; but not his divinity; he was
" put to death in the flesh," but not in his divine
person, for that is an uncreated spirit, and hath not
flesh and bones as his human body had. The last
Adam, the quickening Spirit, the Lord from hea
ven, could never die; " I live for ever," Deut.
xxxii. 40.
The resurrection of Christ is attributed to all
the three persons in the Godhead. He is said to
be raised up by the glory of the Father. He is
also said to raise himself; " Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up." " I lay down
my life of myself, and I take it again." And by
the Spirit it is said to be done; " being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit."
In short, he was raised by the Father's appoint
ment, by his commandment, for the glory of his
name, and by his joint power, who had received
his soul, and now sent it back again to its taber
nacle; when the Holy Ghost, through whom he
had offered himself to God, now returned with the
soul, and quickened the body in the tomb, ani
mated it, and filled it with life; which life the
second person in the Godhead took again. But
it may be objected, if Christ commended his spirit
into his Father's hands, and the Holy Ghost con
veyed the soul immediately to the Father, and it
went to heaven, how came the Saviour to say to
Mary, " Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended
to my Father?" &c. By the same rule it might

51
be asked what Peter meant, when he said, " For
David is not ascended up into heaven, and his
sepulchre is with us unto this c.iy." Doubtless
David's soul was among the spirits of just men
made perfect, though his body was not risen from
the tomb. The soul of Moses was seen in glory
with Christ on the Mount, though Gocl had bu
ried his body in the country of Moab, where it is
to this day. Besides, though the Saviour's soul
was offered to God, and was on the same day in
Paradise, yet the body had not at that time as
cended. Moreover, it was the body, not the soul,
that Mary was going to touch. She was going to
catch him by the feet, and worship him; but was
forbidden, as he had other business for her to do;
which was, to tell his brethren of his resurrection. At
a more convenient time she might touch him, and
handle him too, as he commanded them all to do.
tf See, and handle me, that it is I myself." Now
it was that truth sprung out of the earth, when
righteousness, well pleased, looked, down from
heaven. Now did God give that which is good,
forthe holy land had yielded her increase. His
righteousness goes to heaven before him, and sets
us in the way of his steps. Now was the branch
of the Lord beautiful and glorious, and the fruit
of the earth excellent and comely, for them that
are escaped of Israel, Jsai. iv. 2. This is the hand
ful of corn upon the tops, of the mountains. " The
mountains shall bring peace to the people." " And
the little hijls rejoice on every side." This is the

52
wave sheaf, and the firstfruits of them that slept;
the first that ever was raised to an immortal life,
and the first that ever saw the path to eterna*
glory in heaven from the tomb. " Thou wilt shew
me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness
°f j°y> at thy right hand are pleasures for ever
more." These endless pleasures at the Father's
right hand is the joy that was set before him;
for which he endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God, Heb. xii. 2. And here we may clearly
see the glorious work of each person in the Tri
nity. Here is the incarnate Word laying down
the life of his humanity; the eternal Spirit, through
which he offered himself, attending the soul into
the Father's hands, and quickening the body at
the soul's return to it; and God the Father accept
ing the sin offering, and by the blood of the cove
nant sending the prisoners forth from the pit, as
a proof that the price was accepted. But I have
run away from the subject; By the Spirit he was
quickened, And by which Spirit he went and preached to
the spirits in prison. The spirits in prison, are
the souls that are now in hell; the wicked, at their
departure from this life, are said to go quick into
hell, where they are gathered together as pri
soners are gathered in the pit, or dungeon; and
shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days
shall they be visited, Isai. xxiv. 22. Here they
are confined, and after many days they are to be

53
visited; and this visit will be when death and hell
deliver up their dead, and both body and soul ap
pear in judgment, to receive their awful doom,
when they will be sent away, body and soul, into
everlasting punishment. Their resurrection is a
resurrection to damnation. But then why, or
to what purpose, should the Saviour preach to
these prisoners, seeing the gulf of God's irrevoca
ble decree is fixed, so that none can pass from
thence to heaven? and, as fpr the elect, they are
ransomed from the pit, and therefore can never
go there. Besides, God declares that those that
go down into the pit cannot hope for his truth,
Isai. xxx viii. 18. And, if no hope for truth is
laid, why should truth be preached to the hope
less? and, as they cannot hope for his truth, it is
clear that truth was never preached to them; for
Christ, by his Spirit, never preached the gospel to
them that are in hell. The imprisoned souls men
tioned in the text are what Peter calls the world
of the ungodly, that perished by water; and the
Spirit of Christ in Noah, who was a preacher
of righteousness, preached to them in the antedi
luvian world, while the ark was preparing, and
while the long-suffering of God waited. But
Peter says they were disobedient; and God said,
" My Spirit shall not always strive with man, see
ing he~ is flesh." For which disobedience, in re
sisting and quenching the Spirit of Christ in Noah,
their souls, or spirits, are now in the prison of hell;
to whom no gospel has ever been preached since

54
their imprisonment; no, nor ever will be. The
grave cannot praise the Lord; death in the ab
stract cannot celebrate him, Isai. xxxviii. 18. It
remains, therefore, that the time when the Spirit
of Christ preached to them was while the ark was
preparing. Of two natures in Christ. This union took place
in the purpose of God from everlasting; and the
seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, which he
was to take on him, called sometimes the fruit of
David's body, and the fruit of his loins, and which
was the virgin's seed; yea, that individual seed
was pitched upon, was chosen of God, and ap
pointed, in his decree, to' be united to the Word,
even from all eternity. Hence he is called God's
elect, in whom his soul delighteth. In that eter
nal decree he was appointed to assume that chosen
seed in the fulness of time, and in that nature he
was to be exalted to the high office of King Mes
siah, and only Mediator. On which account he
tells us, respecting his Godhead, which was in
the bosom of the Father, " The Lord possessed me
in the beginning of his way, before his works
of old." But, with respect to the appointed
union, and his exaltation in the human nature to
the office of mediatorial King, he speaketh to us
on this wise, " I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth was." Which
must respect the manhood, for the Godhead can
not be higher than it is. Thus the Father viewed
him as future man and Mediator; and, as such,

55
entered into covenant with him: on which ac
count he is called the man at his right hand, Psal.
lxxx. 17, before the union took place. Thus the
dear Redeemer, as chosen, appointed, and set up,
as our covenant head and glorious Mediator, was
viewed as man from eternity; and therefore
said to be the Son of man that came down from
heaven; and, on the account of his agreeing to
be future man to redeem us, it is said that he
went forth in unparalleled love, and, in this eter
nal council, from everlasting; as it is written,
" But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou
be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come "forth unto me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been
from of old, from the days of eternity," Mic. v. 2.
On account of this decree of God, and the cove
nant made, and the office to which, the Saviour
was appointed, he tells us that his love to the
chosen, who were given to him in eternity, who
were to be created by him in time, and who would
be ruined by the fall, I say his love to them was
such, that, at the creation, while the terraqueous
globe was framing, he was then rejoicing in the
habitable parts of his earth, and his delights were
with the sons of men, Prov. v*iii. 31 ; when at
that time the earth was not inhabited, nor had the
children of men any existence but in the decree
and purpose of God.
Furthermore, the Father fixed an eternal love
upon the future seed appointed to be united to the

56
Word; and, having chosen that seed, and appointed
it to this future union, he chose an innumerable
company of the children of men in him, called
the elect; and gave them to him; united them
with him, and loved them with an eternal love; .j
in him; and this is called his good will to them,
and the thoughts of his heart, which stand fast
to a thousand generations. Thus " he that sanc
tifieth, and they that are sanctified, are both of one ;"
of one God, and of one Father. " I ascend to ,
my Father and your Father, to my God and your ;
God." In the fulness of time the eternal Word as
sumed the appointed seed, the child was born to
us, and to us a son was given. And now was ful
filled the ancient prophecy; " And their noble
one," for that is the right reading, " shall be of
themselves, and their governor shall proceed from
the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw
near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is
this that engageth his heart to approach unto me?
saith Jehovah," Jer. xxx. 21. Mark, the noble
one is by Christ applied to himself, and is called a
certain nobleman who went to receive a kingdom,
Luke xix. 12. Thus God performed the good
thing promised to the house of Israel, by sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
who was God manifest in the flesh.
From the union that took place between the
divine person of the Son of God, and the woman's ,
seed in the virgin's womb, by incarnation, and

57
which union continued throughout the Saviour's
life, which subsisted also undissolved in death, and
which will continue to all eternity, for in it he is
a Priest of an everlasting priesthood, and King of
an everlasting kingdom; from this union, I say,
springs all the invaluable and intrinsic merit of
the Saviour. He thought it no robbery to be
equal with God when he took on him the form of
a servant; hence springs the dignity of an ever
lasting righteousness. He was God's fellow when
he was smitten upon the cross, and therefore per
fected for ever all that are sanctified. He was the
Prince of life when he died; and so the Author of
eternal salvation to all that obey him.
As to the human nature, it was entirely free
from all original sin, nor did it ever contract any
sin. It was filled with every grace in perfection;
grace was poured into his lips, and an eternal
blessing was on him ; the Holy Ghost, with all his
gifts, and in all his fulness, was on the manhood,
and abode upon it; and that holy thing was in
union with the eternal I AM. This is the Christ
of God, the foundation that he has laid in Zion,
and the darling of every believing soul. And
without this union it is not easy to conceive how
God and man, at an infinite distance, could ever
come together, so as for man to have fellowship
with the Father. But God was manifest in the
flesh. And this is the great mystery of godliness,
which the heavens have revealed to men, and is
the fountain of all the gpdliness that ever was, or

53
ever will be, revealed in men. All religion,. that:
is not received from the fulness of Christ, is no
thing but a shew, a form of godliness without the
power; which renders the performer, in the sight
of God, no more than a hypocrite, or a wolf in
sheep's clothing. For, as God appointed the
union between the two natures of Christ in eter
nity, and likewise the union between Christ and
his seed, so from eternity he predestinated them
to be conformed, in time, to the image of his Son.
Hence, when he sent him forth, it was to gather in
him the predestinated children of God that were
scattered abroad. He was lifted up upon the cress
to draw all these men unto him; he was exhibited
as the promised Shiloh, to whom the gathering of
the people was to be; and exalted to the right
hand of God, that we might be called to the fel
lowship of him, and, by the reception of the Holy
Spirit of promise, be joined to him and made one
spirit with him, and so have our affections set at
the right hand of God where Christ sitteth. Christ
being the fountain of all godliness, all fulness dwells
in him, so out of his fulness all grace must be
received, and be continually derived from him, by
virtue of union with him ; of which union I in
tend now to speak.
And, first, there are many things which the
Spirit of God performs in the elect sinner before
this eternal union can take place, so as to be mani
fested, known, felt, and enjoyed, in time. And,
first, the poor sinner is naturally proud, and God

59
beholds the proud afar off. The soul being by
pride at a distance from God, shews the need of
humbling grace ; for God says he will dwell with
the humble and the contrite spirit.
2. All men are by nature unbelievers. God
has concluded all men in unbelief; and an evil
heart of unbelief is called a departing from the liv
ing God. Hence appears the need of a work of
faith on the soul ; and faith is God's work.
3. The sinner's carnal mind is enmity against
God; not subject to his law, nor can be; which
shews the need of a powerful application of the
word of reconciliation.
4. The will is biassed wholly to evil, as ap
pears by the following parable: " Son, go -work
to day in my vineyard ; but he answered and said,
I will not." But Omnipotence bows the will, and
evangelical repentance makes the sinner willing.
" Thy people shall be willing in the day of my
power;" which the parable explains, by saying,
" But afterwards he repented and went."
5. Thesinner is by nature whole hearted; and,
" The whole need not the physician, but them that
are sick." This shews the need of a wounded
spirit. Christ was sent to bind up the broken
hearted, and to heal that which was sick.
6. It is sin that separates between God and the
soul; which .shews the need of pardon, before
God an! the sinner can come together. " He
shall give them the knowledge of salvation by the
forgiveness of sins."

60
7. The sinner's ways are not God's ways, nor
his thoughts God's thoughts; which shews the
necessity of being turned into God's ways, and of
having the thoughts of the heart changed, before :
this union can take place. " Can two walk toge
ther except they be agreed?"
8. The sinner must be self-emptied, and come
to the Saviour poor in spirit, and with a spiritual
appetite, before he can close in with the Lord ; for,
He filleth the hungry with good things, but he
sends the rich empty away.
9- The sinner is wise in his own conceit, but
God takes the wise in their own craftiness. This
shews the need of being convinced of our igno
rance. " If any man will be wise, let him become
a fool that he may be wise;" for " God hath
chosen the foolish of this world to confound the -
wise." 10. The sinner must be sensible of his own
weakness. "Strong men shall utterly fall;" but
God " giveth power to the faint, and to them that
have no might he increaseth strength."
1 1. A teachable temper, and a softened spirit,
is required in the sinner that is brought near to
the great Prophet of the church; for all God's
children shall be taught of him. But it is the
meek that he will guide in judgment, the meek
will he teach his way.
12. The carnal mind must be renewed, and
Weaned from its natural worldly mindedness; for
to be carnally minded is death; but the soul that

61
is brought into this union must have the mind of
Christ. 13. There must be a feeling sense of condem
nation for the want of righteousness. God justi
fies the ungodly. The best robe will never be
thankfully received, till the sinner is convinced of
his own nakedness. Christ receives his spouse in
the wedding garment that he has provided; it is
them that hunger and thirst after righteousness
^that shall be -filled.
14. There can be no union between persons,
unless there he some knowledge of each other,
either by personal interview or by report. And
•so in this union. " They shall all know me, from
¦the least of them to the greatest of them ;" and
4his is done by believing the gospel report, and by
•the manifestation of Christ to the soul. " I will
manifest myself to them which -thou hast given
jne out of the world."
15. There must be mutual affections where
there is real union. Enemies can never find unity
-ofthe spirit; for thisGod has made provision also.
¦" I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee." The different impressions and motions of the
soul under the influence of the ever blessed Spirit,
in bringing about and effecting this union, are
three; divine sensations, heavenly motions, and
-supernatural affections. Divine sensations give
.E

62
the first spring. Inward troubles about salvation
render every human comforter a physician of no
value; this, under the Spirit's influence, drives the
thoughts from earth to heaven. " I thought upon
God and was troubled."
2. Earnest anxiety, which is divine motion, as
inward trouble abounds. " With my soul have I
desired thee in the night, yea, with my spirit
within me will I seek thee early."
3. A longing eye fixed, and affections going
out after him, in whom help is expected. " A
man shall look to his Maker, "and have respect to
the Holy One of Israel."
4. A feeble confidence of succeeding in the
earnest pursuit. " I will arise, and go to my Fa
ther." And we know that " he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a re
warder of all them that diligently seek him."
5. A real sense ofthe need of a superabounding
power to incline the heart, " Turn thou me, and
I shall be turned."
6. A sense of natural reluctance, and of the
need of divine attraction. " Draw me, and we
will run after thee."
7. The insufficiency of all human aid. " Re
fuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried
unto thee, O Lord, I said, thou art my refuge and
my portion."
8. A cutting disappointment in all human suc
cour. All is vanity and vexation of soul} then

63
better relief is sought. " As the hart panteth
after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God."
I now come to touch upon the scriptural de
scription of this ever blessed union ; and, first, it is
compared to the union that subsists between the
foundation of a building and its superstructure.
" For other foundation can no man lay than that is
laid, which is Jesus Christ." " Ye also, as lively
stones, are built up a spiritual house; that ye
should shew forth the praises of him who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light." This union between a foundation and
building is a supportive union, and shews how all
the intolerable load was laid on the Saviour. The
foundation is that which bears the burden of the
whole fabric. And indeed the Saviour of men bore
the whole weight of our sins, the weight of God's
wrath, of the law's requirements, of the infinite
demands of justice, and of our infirmites also; yea,
himself took our sicknesses; and ever since the
government of his kingdom has stood upon his
shoulders; while all the cares of his family, and
all their burdens, all their infirmities, together
with all their failings, short comings, imperfec
tions, and baekslidings, have been cast upon him.
" Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou
hast wearied me with thy iniquities." And what
follows? " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions, fpr mine own sake, and will not
remember thy sins," Isaiah xliii. 25. Hence we

64
see how every part of the weight of the whole
building of mercy, in the ancient purpose of God,
in the execution of that purpose, in the adminis
trations of grace, in the reception of the saints,,
and in bearing them with all their helplessness, all
their days, was laid upon Christ, as it is written,
I am he that bear thee from the belly, yea,
from the womb, and to' your old age I am he ; and
even to hoary hairs will I carry you, Isaiah xlvi.
S, 4. This foundation bore every part of the load,
even from the ancient settlements in eternity to
the delivering up the kingdom to the Father ip
everlasting glory. Hence he is ailed a tried stone,
a sure foundation, elect and precious; and to them
that believe he is precious indeed.
This union is compared to the union that sub
sists between the head and the members of the
human body. The discerning Christian is called
the eye, the attentive and careful soul the ear, the
diligent saint the foot, the communicative saint,
the mouth, the savoury saint the nose, the liberal
soul the hand. Each of these are the particular
members of Christ, and the whole collectively are
his mystical body. "For the body is not one
member, but many. If the foot shall say, Be
cause I am not the hand, I am not of the body
is it therefore not of the body? And, if the ear
shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of
the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the
whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?.
If the whole were hearing, where were the smell-

65
ing? But now hath God set the members every
one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in
particular; and God hath set some in the church,
first apostles; secondarily prophets; thirdly
teachers; after that, miracles; then gifts of heal
ing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues,"
&c. 1 Cor. xii. Here Paul shews that every
member hath his particular grace and gifts. One
is an apostle, to lay the foundation; another a pro
phet, which is an eye, to see what is coming on in
the world; then teachers, to communicate what
they have received; then miracles, which are won-
. ders performed by the Saviour in answer to prayer;
then gifts of healing, which is stretching forth
the Lord's hand when the prayer pf the righteous
prevails; then helps; every member, by his walk,
by his conversation, by his experience, by his
sympathy with the afflicted, by his prayers, or by
his liberality, is a help in this mystical body; then
gpvernments; mothers in Israel are governesses to
the young female converts, to teach the young
women to be sober, chaste, keepers at home. The
fathers in the church give their cautions and
counsels to the young nfen in faith. Deacons are
over the poor; the minister, he rules by the word
and doctrine; while each living member of the
whole body, by the hand of faith, holds the head^
which influences and directs the whole body;
from which head all the body, by- being of one

66
mind, of one judgment, one faith, one hope, and
one spirit, are joined together; and, by the bands
of mutual affection, spiritual unity, and of gospel
peace, having nourishment ministered from the
head to each member, and from one member to-
another through the compacting joints, that knit
all the members of the body together, the whole
body increases in number, and in strength, with
the increase of God, Col. ii. 1& The neck, with
its joints and sinews, that hold this glorious
head and mystical body together, are the - self-
moving love of God, his eternal decree, and the
bond of the covenant; which for ever keep this,
body and the head in union; while the divine
veracity, brought to light by the gospel, lays, a-
solid foundation for the fullest assurance of faithw
itr Whom, he did foreknow he also did predestinate,.
and whom he did predestinate them he also
called, and whom he called them he also justified,
and whom he justified them he also glorified."
This is the good will of God in Christ Jesus,, re
vealed to us, and by the Spirit of God wrought in
us : and this is Zion's only security, which makes
the glorious inheritance sure to; all the seed; and,
the church that has an experimental knowledgeof
these things, that has experienced the application
and power of them, and tasted the sweetness and
felt the enjoyment of them, and who by the eye
of faith sees them, and in love holds them fast, is
tlie Lord's delightful spouse indeed. " Thou hast

67
ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with
one chain of thy neck," Song iv. 9- This union
is further set forth by
The union that subsists between the vine
and its branches. " I am the vine, ye are the
branches." There is nothing more fruitful than
a vine. There is nothing that can be called wood,
that is so weak, and yet there is no root in the
earth that contains so much life, sap, and nou
rishment as the root of a vine; nor is there any
plant that is productive of so much generous li
quor, nor any thing that can produce any thing
stronger, if it be distilled. Witness spirits of
wine. And so in this union. Who could ever
have thought that such great things should have
been accomplished by the Saviour, when he ap
peared in the world a poor and needy man, a worm,
and no man, the despised of the people, and cru
cified through weakness? This was David's off
spring; but David's root was hid in David's branch;
and in that ever blessed root is the natural life of,
all mankind, the life of angels, and the eternal life
of all the chosen millions. " In him we all live,
and move, and have our being;" and from him
the blessing of eternal life is received by all that
believe; and from him the new wine ofthe king
dom is poured forth, the wine of eternal love,
which is strong as death; and whoever drinks
thereof fprgets his poverty, and remembers his
misery no more. "Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except

68
it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye
abide in me." To abide sensibly in him, is to
stand by faith in his strength, to have the minofe
swaddled with his- truth, to shine in his light, to
enjoy his countenance, to feel his power, to find
the heart enlarged by a sense of his love, to ob-.
serve his goings and comings, to bemoan his ab
sence, to be' entertained with his- visits^ and to
stand fast in the liberty wherewith he has. made
us free; and not to be entangled in the traps of
error, in the servitude of sin, nor with the yoke
of legal bondage. Sometimes the branches of a
vine' are without leaves, and without fruit; but
the branch that is in the vine still has life in its*
root, in which life lies both the leaves and the
fruit, and nothing is wanted but the sun to bring
them forth. So the child of God, through slips
and falls, often loses the external verdure of his
profession; at which times faith is languid, love
- cold, patience in a decaying state, hope at a low~
ebb, zeal abated, and all joy apparently gone. But
Christ shines, and revives his work, eommuni-.
cates refreshings from his presence, the wind
blows afresh upon the garden, and the beloved is
once more invited to eat his own pleasant fruits..
But, " If a mart abide not in me, he is cast forth
as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
A man may be in Christ professionally, but not
spiritually. There are Christians in name and
shew, and there are Christians in spirit and prin-

69
ciple. He that is in Christ only by profession and
confession, by head knowledge, by gifts, by zeal,
by flushes of joy, springing up from the stirrings-
and motions of natural affections, is sure never to
abide, for want of deepness of earth, or a broken
heart; for want of moisture, or the well-spring of
divine life; and for the want of root in them
selves, which is the love of God shed abroad in
the heart. Such are cast forth by the church,
either for their open profanity, or else for their dam
nable heresies which they embrace, and by which
tliey are discovered, and for which they are cast
forth, as a branch is pruned or cut off; and soon
tliey are withered. Their joy, zeal, and first know
ledge, all wither together, and men gather them ;
impostors, heretics, apostates, hypocrites, or world
lings, gather them into their Company, and unto
their assembly ; and the end of them is to be
burned, body and soul, in hell fire. This unionise
set forth by
The union that subsists between the husband
and the wife; which union exhibits the oneness
of nature between Christ and his chureh. The
human nature of Christ, which was Abrahams.
seed, the fruit of David's loins, the fruit of his
body, the seed ofthe virgin, which was made of a
woman, made and prepared of the substance of
her body, and which is a part of the children's
flesh and blood, which the Lord took, and of the
same flesh and blood, for the scriptures say he
took part of the same, Heb. ii. 14. This assump-

70
tion of human nature, I say, by incarnation, shews
the oneness of flesh between Christ and his spouse.
He is clothed with a part of the children's flesh
and blood. Hence we are said to be members of
his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, Eph. v.
SO; and no more twain, but they two shall be one
flesh. But if Loud's notion be true, they are
not one flesh; for he says the Saviour's flesh was
made of deity, but ours was made of earth; con
sequently, he cannot be said to be of our flesh,
and one flesh with us; but the Spirit says we are
one flesh. " This is a great mystery; but I speak
concerning Christ and the church."
Furthermore, " He that is joined to the Lord
is one Spirit." All the elect are made partaker*
of the Spirit of Christ. " If any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The whole
fulness of the Spirit is without measure in the Sa
viour; and the same Spirit operates and dwells in
all the saints, whose bodies are temples of the
Holy Ghost. And, under the sweet influence of
the Spirit of love, our glorious and eternal union
with the Saviour is manifested to the elect sinner;
for by the Spirit God calls us to the fellowship .of
his Son; and, when once the poor sinner feels
Christ's love operating in him, and all his affec
tions stirred up and going out after him, then he
passes into the bond of the covenant, into the joy
of the Lord, and into the glorious liberty of the
children of God; he enters into his rest, and rests
from all his burdens, and from all his legal and

71
dead works; and says for himself, "My beloved
is mine, and I am his;" while mutual affections,
the bond of all perfectness, makes the union so
clear, so close, so sweet, that they understand
what he means when he says, " Believe that I am,
in you and you in me;" and again, " I am come
into my garden, my sister, my spouse."
This union, being compared to that which
subsists between the foundation and the build
ing, shews us where all the weight of our
sins, and the sufferings due to us, were laid; and
where the sin-burdened, soul-sinking, and self-
despairing sinner finds his resting place, when he
is brought out of the horrible pit, and led to the
rock that is higher than he; where he casts all his
burdens and his cares, and where he finds his
heart fixed on a firm basis, against which the gates
of hell shall never prevail.
This union being represented by the neck,
which joins the body to the head, and which head
contrives and schemes for the welfare of every
member of the body, is to set forth to us the
union of the members among themselves; and how
the head, Christ, in union with the body, guides,
directs, influences, and actuates, the whole mysti
cal body. " The wise man's eyes are in his [cove
nant} head." " The way of man is not in himself.
It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."
Be not like an horse or mule, which have no un
derstanding; and I will guide thee with mine eye,
saith the Lord, Psal. xxxii. 8. 9- And indeed the

72
Lord contrives, and provides, for every mem
ber ofthe whole body. Healing and health, food
and physic, are all in him, and of him. " I am the
Lord that healeth thee." Yea, the health of our
countenance and our God; " I am the bread of life."
And it is he that purged our sins by his own blood.
Thewandering member he brings back, the weak he
carries, the ewe with young he gently leads, the
blind he illuminates, the dead he quickens, the cold
he inflames, and works in all both to will and to do.
This uniort being represented by the Vine and"
its branches, shews the root in which our life lies,
where it is hid, and the way in which it is com
municated to us. And, as the vine branch, which
often appears without leaves or fruit, has life still
in its root, so had the elect life given them in
Christ Jesus before the world began, though they
are by nature the children of wrath even as' others,*
and dead in trespasses and sins, till quickened by
the Lord of life and glory.
Furthermore, the vine, contrary to most plants,
never bears fruit in the old wood; the new branchy
and its new fruit in the branch, both spring toge
ther. If no life be communicated, there is no new
branch; and, if no new branch, no fruit. So old
nature can never bring forth fruit unto God. The
new and living principle, the new man of grace,
must be formed in the soul before fruit can be ex
pected. No man can gather grapes of thorns, nor
figs of thistles. In Christ is our fruit found; the
new man of grace comes from Christ's fulness of
grace; the Holy Ghost operates, and produces his

73
own fruits, which are called the graces, or fruits,
of the Spirit; and from the tuition of grace we
learn to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and to
live soberly, righteously, and godly in the world;
and from the operations of grace all good works
proceed. " I laboured more abundantly than they
all; yet not I, but the grace of God that was with
me." Moreover, as the new branch of the vine, the
new cluster, and the leaves, all lie in the life, which
is in the root ofthe vine, so our new man, new fruit,
and the verdant leaves of our holy profession, are
all derived from Christ, who is our life and our
holy root; and on which account, though at times
we appear withered in our profession and barren
in our souls, yet, by virtue of our union with him,
in him our leaf shall be green, our leaf, in him,
shall not wither, nor shall we entirely cease fronj
yielding fruit; yea, " they shall still bring forth
fruit in old age, to shew that the Lord is upright,"
or righteous, or faithful, in giving to us, according
to his covenant promise, the blessing of eternal
life. But again; as the life of the branch, the. fruit,
and the leaf, all lie in the sap, which is the life of
the vine, and in which it is secured and hid as ip
its, rpot; and which life is drawn forth, and the
branch, fruit, and leaf, are all set in a working
motion by the warm enlivening rays of the sun;
even so, when the Sun of righteousness arises witlj
healing in his beams, the barren desert becomes a,
fruitful field ; and the degenerate plant of a strange.

74
vine appears with all its silverlings, and with all
its blessed clusters.
This union being set forth by that which sub
sists between the man and his wife, not only ex
hibits the oneness of flesh and blood, and the one
ness of spirit, between Christ and his church; but
it sets forth the church's share in all the dignity,
honour, wealth, and majesty, of her husband. The
wife is not only one flesh with her husband, but
is likewise partner with him in every thing he
has; and she will take care to let him know it,
and will claim it, being taken to have and to hold,
for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sick
ness and in health. And so is this union. Christ
is the bridegroom, she the bride; he is the hus
band, she the wife ; he is the king, she the queen ;
he the king's son, she the daughter of the Lord
God Almighty; he is a prince, she the princess; he
is the lord, she is the elect lady. But they not
only share in titles, in dignity, honour, and ma
jesty, but in personal property also. She is to
wear a crown, and to sit on his throne; she shares
in his word, in his grace, in his mercy, in his
spirit, in his kingdom, and in his glory, be
ing an heir of God and a joint heir with
Christ. She must also share in his sufferings; she
must drink of his cup, bear his cross, be planted
together in the likeness of his death, partake of
the afflictions of the gospel, lose all her reputation
and be hated of all men for his name sake. And
in doing this he comforts her in all her tribu
lations that she endures; makes her bed in her

75
sickness, when she cannot make it herself; sup
ports her on the bed of languishing, that she may
not faint or be strangled; supplies her wants, that
she may not be compelled to get out before she is
able. He is touched with the feeling of her in
firmities, and nurses her tenderly; succours her
under temptations, that she may not faint; makes
a way for her escape, that she may not be impri
soned; sympathises with her, by describing her
case, and pitying her. In all our afflictions he is
afflicted; he calls every cruel touch of her, a touch
of the apple of his eye; and pronounces an awful
and eternal wo to all that offend the least part of
her, or the least member in her.
This union is further set forth by the art of in
grafting. For, if thou wert cut out of the olive
tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted!
contrary to nature, into a good olive tree, and
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree*
boast not against the natural branches; but, if
thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee, Rom. xi. 17, 18. This ingrafting is
said to be contrary to nature. The natural way
of grafting is to take a scion out of a good tree,
which produces good fruit, and to graft it into a
wild stock, the wood of which, being reduced to
its natural standard, as it can sink no lower, will
stand better, and endure longer in the earth, than
the wood of a good tree, could a stock of such
wood be procured. But our ingraftiture is con
trary Jo nature ; for we are wild olive branches,

76
<eut out of <a wild olive tree, -which is by nature
wild, and are ingrafted into a good olive tree, so
as to partake of the goodness and fatness of the
good tree; which Avonderful ingrafting must in
the end purge out all the wild nature of such a
wild branch : and this is done in part at the sin
ner's conversion, by implanting a principle of grace
in the heart; and will be effectually accomplished
when our mortal bodies shall put on immortality,
and these corruptible bodies shall have put on in
corruption'; for then mortality, with all its wild-
ness, shall be swallowed up of life, and immortality
-be all in ali
This mystical union is set forth by the union
between kings and their subjects. The king rules
over his subjects, gives laws to them, demands
tribute of them, and commands obedience to him.
Hence Christ is called the king of saints; by his
righteous sceptre he rules in the midst of Jeru
salem; the isles wait for his laws; and all the elect
are made obedient to his will, and carry their tri
butes of praise and thanksgiving to him. They
kiss the Son, set as king on Zion's holy hill; put
their trust under his shadow; and all that have
felt the power of his sceptre agree in their peti
tions, that this olive tree would ever reign in and
over their hearts, 60 as to subdue sin, dethrone
Satan, and ever sit as supreme in all their af
fections. Moreover, this union is set forth by that which
subsists between the father and his children. . The

77
father loves and provides for his offspring, sees to
their education, and endeavours to lay up some
thing for them. So Christ is the everlasting Far
ther; the elect are his seed; he gives them eternal
life, and the promise of the life that now is. All
his children are taught of him; they are trained
up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and
it is not yet known what that goodness is that he
has laid up for them that trust in him before the
sons of men. I come now to treat of the blessed
effects of this mystical union;
And, first, persons in real union are divested of all
prejudice to, and have a mutual affection for, each
other. And so the sinner is sweetly reconciled to his
reconciling Lord, and loves him above every object
in heaven above or in the earth beneath. "Whom
have I in heaven but thee, nor is there any upon
earth that I desire in comparison of thee." Christ
and his church, in union, deal with each other
as real friends; they are well-wishers to each
other's state, to their welfare, their family, and all
that they have. And so souls in union with Christ
wish well to Zion, to her watchmen, ahd desire
the universal spread of the gospelj the salvation of
the elect,< and that Christ may be glorified in and
by them all.
Christ deals not with those who are in union
with him as he does with bond servants and hy
pocrites. " The servant knoweth not what his
Lord doth," nor does Christ take into his privy
G

78
council the treacherous heart. " But Jesus did
not coinmit himself to them, because he knew all
men, and needed not that any should testify of
man, for he knew what was in man." But to his
own elect he reveals all his heart. " Henceforth
I call you not servants, but friends, for all things
that I have heard of the Father I have made
known unto you." Yea, " the secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him, and he will shew them
his covenant." But these things are hid from the
wise and prudent, for none of the wicked shall
understand. None but the elect, in friendship with the
Lord, are admitted to his banquets of wine, or to
the feast of fat things on Zion's holy mountain.
The marriage feasts, the feast of tabernacles, the
feast of harvest, and the feast of the passover, are
all for Israelites. The enemy, the sophist, the
bond slave, and the hypocrite, are no more than
lookers-on at these entertainments; who envy every
smiling countenance, are provoked at every con
trite heart, and filled with infernal jealousy at
every quiet spirit, at every penitential tear, at
every rapture of joy, at every expression of thank
fulness,; and inwardly grudge every token for
good, every savoury morsel, every drop of honey,
and every sweet word, that savours of truth,
peace, .and righteousness; but, notwithstanding,
all their grudging and dissatisfaction, the kind in
vitation and hearty welcome reaches to all the

79
friends of the bridegroom, and none else. " Eat,
O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O be
loved." Persons who are in union with the Saviour
find help in every time of trouble; while the
worlding, when his earthly god is gone, and the
hypocrite, when his sandy foundation and vain
confidence give way, are obliged to fly, like Judas,
to a dumb dog, or go, like Saul, to the witch of
Endor, or, like Demas, to the world, or, like
Ahithophel, to the halter, or, like Alexander, to
the .blasphemers of Christ, or, like the sons of
Sceva the Jew, into the madness or distraction of
Satan, or else, like the foolish virgins, to buy oil
of the wise when fearfulness surprises the hypo
crites; but Zion comes up out of the wilderness,
leaning' upon her beloved, whose strength is made
perfect in her weakness. "Zion shall never be
moved; God is in the midst of her; God shall
help her, and that right early."
The hypocrite may walk with the righteous,
as Ahithophel walked with David, to the house of
God in company; and such may go to and fro to
the place of the holy, and be forgotten in the city
where they had so done. But Zion, like Enoch
and Noah, walks with God; she shall never be
forgotten. " The righteous shall be had in ever
lasting remembrance."
The believer knows that the government of
both the church and the world is laid upon Christ's
shoulders, who lends his friendly aid to those that

80
trust in him in every time of need; and, when
they are pressed beyond measure, insomuch that
they despair even of life, they have the sentence
of death in themselves, that they should not trust
in themselves, but in God who raiseth the dead.
Such souls cast their burdens on the Lord, and
pour out their soul before him, who gives power
to thp faint, and to them that have no might he
increaseth strength. Thus, when two walk toger
ther, if one fall, the other will lift up his fellow;
but wo to him that is alone when he falleth, for he
hath not another to lift him up.
Furthermore, the soul that is in union with
the Saviour is often alarmed, warned, and pre
viously cautioned, of approaching dangers, while
fhe judgments of God are far above out of the
sight of the wicked. A wise man discerns both
time and judgment, he foresees the evil, and hides
himself; when the wicked pass on, and are
punished. " When he, the Comforter, is come, he
will guide you into all truth, and he shall shew
you things to come;" but the wicked cry, Peace
and safety, when sudden destruction cometh.
Souls in union with Christ daily correspond
with each other. They talk to him in con
fession, in prayer, in praises, in meditation, and in
thanksgiving; and he talks to them in his word
upon their hearts, in providences, by the cross, by
internal changes of heart, or by some evident
token for good. But the bond child and the hy
pocrite have no familiarity with Christ, no access

81
to him, nor intercourse with him. All their talk
is not to God, but to be heard of men; to seek
honour from them, and to set themselves up in the
affections ofthe simple, as rivals to God; which
is a prelude to their ruin; for they that exalt
themselves shall be abased, but those that -humble
themselves shall be exalted.
The soul that is in union and friendship with
Christ cannot bear any distance, Coldness, frown,
shyness, or controversy, with him. This is worse
to them than death itself, esteeming his favour
better than life, and the words of his mouth more
than their necessary food; hence the fbllowing
complaints; " Why hidestthou thy face from me?"
" Shew me the reason wherefore thou contendest
with me." " The Lord hath forsaken me, and my
God hath forgotten me." The Comforter, that
should relieve my soul, is far from me. O Lord,
why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, why
shouldest thou be as a wayfaring man that turneth
aside and tarrieth but for a night; O when wilt
thou come and comfort me? Jer! xiv. 8, 9-
But the mystical courtship and love visits that
pass between Christ and his spouse; the little fits
of jealousy, and provocations to it; the trial of
each other's affections, and the sifting of each
other's sincere intentions to the bottom; the rest
lessness, while one^ doubt or suspicion remains;
and the racking anxiety, till1 every thing be settled
upon a sure, honourable, and lasting foundation'
to the satisfaction of each pirty; is all a riddle lo

82
the formalist and to the hypocrite. The whole
work of such lies. in their head; thinking passes
for believing, presumption for the assurance of
faith, an external reformation is called conversion
to God, legal bondage goes for the workings of
the old man, the checks of an honest conscience is
called the temptations of Satan, and being buf
feted for their faults is being persecuted for righte
ousness sake; the preacher, who preaches to sap
such a sandy foundation, is one that makes the
hearts of the righteous sad; while he that heals
them slightly, and prophesies smooth things, is a
builder up; and he that cries, Peace, peace, where
God has not spoken peace, is a man of candour, a
man of a sweet and excellent spirit. This is the
rest and security of an hypocrite, and hard work
he has to keep things together; scripture, con
science, and every experimental and discerning child
of God, are against him, and are continually mak
ing breaches in this supposed rest and refuge.
The soul and Christ, who are in sweet union toge
ther, have a tender feeling for each other, and a
tender regard for each other's honour. The suf
ferings of Christ often fill such a soul with cutting
grief and contrition; and all that touch such a
believer, saith the Lord, shall offend. Such souls
cannot endure to see or hear the Lord slightly or
evil spoken of. " I hate them that hate thee,"
saith the Psalmist; and they that hate Zion shall
be desolate, saith the Saviour. They care not
how lightly themselves, are esteemed, so as their

83
Lord is glorified ; and the Lord is as much con
cerned for the honour of them. " They that liP-
nbur me I will honour, and they that despise ttie
shall be lightly esteemed."
But not so the hypocrite; he pays no regard
tb the honour of God, sb as he can but exalt him
self in the eyes of men. They that cleave to him,
admire him, and listen with astonishment to the
uncertain sound of his trumpet, however evil in
life and empty in heart, are his best friends; but
all that are enlightened to see his deception are,
the Wbrst enemies he has; nor Will he go to the
wise, nor to him that reproves him ; he hates the
light, and that is his condemnation.
Furthermore, Christ and his church arfe nbt
only united in the bond of the covenant, and in
mutual affections, but they are of bhe judgment.
What he reveals, they consent to; what he says,
they credit; what he applies, they embrace; what
he speaks to them, the Spirit seals on them ; ahd
they set their hand, ahd bear their testirhohy, to his
seal that God is true. The seal is a confirming
assurance, and their setting to their seal is their
honest confession of what they feel and enjoy.
This faith gives glory to the Lord ; and thus to
believe is the saint's glory and wisdom. To be
Wise above what is written is devilish or infernal
WisdPrti; to disbelieve 6t contradict truth, is to
make Gbd a liar, and charge infinite Wisdom with
ignorance, and to debase him to a le'vel with Satan,
tfeta Which nothing can be mote vile and damna-

84
ble. From this perilous path the fear of God
keeps the saints. What they have seen in the
Lord's light they testify; what they have heard
from him they .proclaim upon the house top; what
they have felt they declare; aiid what is undis
covered they pray and wait for; but what is not
revealed they dare not eiiter into; and what is
not discovered to them they will not decide upon,
lest Satan should get an advantage of them, and
their dear Lord be dishonoured. All that an
heretic draws out of the mouth of a child of God
is sure to be pondered over in secret, and his lips
are kissed when a right answer has been given.
O happy soul that is thus united to, and hum
bly walks with, his Saviour .' The Lord guides
him by his blessed Spirit, his eye, and his unerring
counsel; while faith observes his motions and di-r
rections, and treads in his steps.
He plants his fear in his heart; and the be-.
liever walks, as in his immediate presence, before
him in love ; and considers himself under the eye
of his everlasting friend, who ponders all his
goings. He feels a bar of equity erected in his own
heart; to which, upon every recollection of mis
doing, he cites himself; and will hold himself
guilty, and culpable, till acquitted by the Spirit- of
God and his own conscience, and enlarged by a
manifestation of pardoning love and the soul-
humbling smile of his Saviour and his Judge.
The Lord daily proclaims his name to him, and

85
causes all his goodness to pass before him; while
the believer follows after and observes his won
drous ways, the work of his hands, the leadings of
his providence, the communications of his grace,
and the inward motions of his Spirit. " He that
will observe these things, even he shall understand
the lovingkindness of the Lord."
The eye of faith discerns the narrow path; and
by the inward guidance of the Spirit, he shuns
the rocks of error, the stumblingblocks and stumb
ling stones, where thousands dash and fall:. he
sees a harmony in the scriptures of truth, and a
sweet harmony in the attributes of God, and in
the glorious work of each person in the Godhead.
A heavenly ray discovers the ancient footsteps of
the flock, and his path shines more and more unto
perfect day.
While he walks humbly by faith, he finds
himself sensibly upheld by a free spirit; the om
nipresence of his blessed Lord encompasses him
about as with a shield, which lifts his soul above
the shackles of legal bondage, and rescues his
mind from the gloomy regions of the shadow of
death, and from the melancholy meditations of
terror. " He dwells on high, his place of defence
shall be the munitions of rocks, bread shall' be
given him, his waters shall be sure;' thine eyes
shall see the King in his beauty, they shall behold
the land that is very far off."
The dear Lord often condescends to pay such
humble souls his love visits: he sometimes meets

86
them in their thoughts, and speaks upon their
hearts; sometimes he meets them in his word, and
makes them feel all that he says; meets them in
their lawful calling, and puts his blessing on the
work of their hands; meets them in their difficul
ties, and makes crooked things straight; meets
them in his house of prayer, and gives them some
times a reproof, and sometimes a promise. Thus
the Almighty is with them, and his visitations
preserve their spirits. I will bear thee, saith tbe
Lord, from the belly, and from the womb, and to
your old age I am he, and to hoary hairs will I
carry you.
Christian reader, cleave thou to thy God, and
shun the path of the destroyer; stand not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor meddle with' them
that are given to change. Novelty suits an itch
ing ear; but a circumcised ear will not give heed
to a naughty tongue, nor will the unctuous heart
be carried about with divers and strange doctrines.
" Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that
causes thee to err from the words [and Ways] of
wisdom." " Stolen waters are sweet" to a proud
stomach, and "> bread of deceit is pleasant" to the
palate of those who carry the poison of asps under
their lips; but in the day of temptation his mouth
shall be filled with gravel.
I charged Mr. Loud, when with me, with hav
ing written some books, and of his intention to
publish them, and with his having endeavoured to
circulate his heresies to the injury of some of the

87
weaklings in faith. All which he denied. But I
am informed that he is now determined to publish
them, if he pawns his clothes to do it. This shews
that he will not stick at a lie. However, I must leave
him where God has left him, to the perverseness
of his own will, and the hardness of his own heart
He may serve as a fan, to blow away a little chaff
from the floor, which we shall not be sorry for; and
he may leave a testimony against his own soul;
and the Judge of all the earth, who takes the wise
in their own craftiness, may judge him out of his
own mouth; but he shall never finally deceive one
of God's elect. False doctrines, which are called
the deceivableness of unrighteousness, never work
effectually, only in them that perish. No soul shall
embrace, hold fast, and go down to the grave with
his lies in their hand, but those that were of old
ordained to this condemnation. And I would ad
vise him to send out his system as compact, and as
closely put together, as possible; or else it is ten
to one but the King of Zion, who teaches Judah
the use of the bow, will furnish me with some
arrows from his quiver that will make a way
through all the joints of his harness. He that
loveth and maketh lies should have a strong me
mory ; and every lie must be well swaddled, and
well varnished, or else truth will discover it. And
let Mr. Loud take care never to mention the
words, Son of man, as applicable to Christ, for the
Godhead of Christ is the Father of all men by crea-

88
tion. " All, things were made by him." But the
father of all creatures can be the offspring of no
creature. Neither divinity abstractedly consi
dered, nor divinity incarnate, is the son of man,
or son of David, but David's Lord. No nor even
divinity transubstantiated into flesh and blood,
according to LoUd's notion, can ever be the
fruit of David's loins; because, according to his
tenet, the Godhead was changed into flesh in the
virgin's womb, and took no more of her nature
than his handkerchief. According to this, it
never was in David's loins; consequently could
never be a fruit that sprung from his body ; for
there was nothing of his body, or from his loins,
in it. And by this doctrine what becomes of the
oath of God? Psalm cxxxii. 11. But the human
nature of Christ was once in the loins of Adam,
and once in the womb of eve, and in the loins of
forty-two ancients from Abraham to Mary; for all
these, touching his human nature, were his ances
tors and his fathers; of whom, as concerning the
flesh, he came. But these fathers, who obtained
such favour as to be the ancestors of such a won
derful and mysterious offspring, must now, in
point of conversation, give way to the numer
ous offspring, of their Son; whose children are
much more talked of in the New Testament
than the fathers are in the Old; as it is written,
" Instead of thy fathers, shall be thy children,
wrhom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

89
I will make thy name to be remembered in all ge
nerations, therefore shall the people praise thee for
ever and ever."
Reader, fare thee well. Peace and truth be
with thee. May God the Holy Ghost, our teacher,
guide, and comforter, in our pilgrimage, bless this
testimony to thy soul's profit; which I believe to '
be a true testimony, and a testimony that will not
be easily contradicted; and which will never be
overthrown by arguments drawn from the word
of God. " Glory to God in the highest, on earth
peace, and good will towards men." Amen and
amen. W. H. S.S.

To Mr. HUNTINGTON.
Sunday, Jan. 5, 1794.
Brother in the Lord,
I thank my God for the grace given unto
you, in that you are enabled in a measure to make
a bold defence in behalf pf the truth; also to di
vide the same according to the proportion of faith
contained in the word of truth.
This morning I was comforted in beholding your
stedfastness and order in your discourse. I looked
pretty close at your steps. I saw that they were
toward the highway. T do not remember of any

90
dangerous turning you took in that sermon. You
gave a good description of the countries I have
passed through, corresponding with my own re
cords thereof.
I heard you on Tuesday evening last at Monk-
well street. You seemed to be favoured with
great enlargement of heart, and fervour of spirit;
but there was one thing you advanced that I can
not agree with; that rod and sceptre in scripture
have the same meaning, is a thing which no man
can solder together, let him blow the coals and
smite the anvil as long as he will. For I have
passed under the rod before I was brought into
the bond of the covenant. The rod is for the
fool's back; and those, that are not favoured with
a touch of the sceptre, the rod will break in pieces,
because they were not made wise and teachable';
and because they kissed not the Son, in his wrath
they perish from the way of touching the sceptre
of his kingdom for ever; and those his enemies,
his rod is heavy upon them. Blessed be the King
for his mercy, that endureth ever.
Yours for the truth's sake,
JOHN WALKER.
Great Arthur street,
Goswell street.

91

To JOHN WALKER.
DEAR SIR, Grace and truth be with thee, and with
all them that love opr Lord Jesus Christ in since
rity and truth. I received yours ; and hope ever to
be thankful to God for enabling me to speak so as
to agree with the Spirit's testimony in the hearts
of any of his children; which, in part, you seem
to acknowledge. But you must allow that the
best of men, more especially the worst, are but
fallible creatures, though the Spirit of God is an
infallible Spirit. The Psalmist, who declared that
he had more understanding than his teachers, in
humility asks, " Who can understand his errors?
cleanse thou me from secret faults." It was in God's
light that he saw light; but, if God withdrew his
rays, he cries, " I am a stranger with thee; hide
not thy commandment from me." It is more easy
to hear a sermon, sir, than it is to deliver one; nor
does it require half the labour and wisdom to
find fault with a discourse, that it does to put a
good one together. No man, much less Wisdom's
children, is to make a man an offender for a word
nor to lie in wait for him that reproves in the gate.
Many a hearer has made a sad handle, of one. blunder
in a discouse; whereas, had he himself been, in the.
pulpit, he would, in all probability, have made an

92
hundred. For my part, I would sooner preach be
fore an hundred men really wise, than before one
man that thinks himself so. Hearers are no more in
fallible than preachers; and more frequently err in
finding fault than the Lord's servants do in preach
ing. If God sets an eye in the body mystical,
he generally shines so in him as to give light to
all that are in the house; and what he sees that he
declares; while many in the house may think he
is wrong, because themselves are not right; and
find fault with what they do not understand; and
this, sir, is your case. The very one thing that you
cannot agree with me in, is what all the scriptures
do agree to declare; and what you say no man can
solder together, is put together by God himself,
without any human, soldering. If you have passed
under the rod into the bond of the covenant, it is
Well for you ; but I should suppose it is but lately ;
if otherwise, I fear you have too often played truant,
instead of sitting humbly at the Lord's feet, and
receiving his words; for it is evident that humi
lity and wisdom are much wanting in your letter.
Pride and ignorance are no proofs of divine teach
ing; these materials are from the ruins of the fall,
not from the covenant of grace.
A sceptre, sir, in the literal sense, is a short
staff, or small rod, carried in the hand of -a roval
sovereign, which is a sign or emblem of royal
power and authority, granted by the King of kings
and Lord of lords, by whom kings reign; and it is

93
put into the hands of a king by the nation ^hat
sets him as a ruler over them.
But, if this sceptre, this power and authority,
was to extend no further than just to be held out
at the palace to an humble petitioner, Who solicits a*
favour, it would be a sceptre of mercy with a wit
ness, ' but npt a sceptre of righteousness ; for we
should soon be overrun and destroyed by thieves,
villains, and murderers, and no man would be sure
of his life; 'A king all mercy is a king unjust* '
The authority of a ruler is to propipte good works,
and to be a terror to evil; to do good, is to have
praise ofthe same; but, if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid: for he beareth not the sceptre nor
the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God,
a revenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil, Rom. xiii. 3, 4. But without a sceptre he
hath no authority. What you mean by being fa
voured with a touch of the sceptre, L do not un
derstand, and it is what you cannot explain.
Queen Esther touched the sceptre of King Ahasu-
erus. This I know; but the sceptre of Christ is
neither wood, gold, nor iron; it was not made by
the turner, the goldsmith, nor upon the black-
¦smith's anvil; for it is no less than ^Almighty
power, which is not to be touched with the finger,
but felt in the soul; nor is it in our power to
handle it, it must be manifested in us by the Lord
himself. Nor is this power of the mediatorial
King confined to the objects of his love, but it ex
tends to all his enemies. "Thou hast given him
h

94
power over all flesh," to subdue them, and- make
all things subservient to his own end; and for
this reason, " that he should give eternal life to
as many as the Father hath given him." This
power reaches to all, to all the angels in heaven,
and to all the devils in hell; to all the saints in
Zion, and to all the sinners on earth. He i» the
head of all principalities, and has the keys of hell
and of death. He is King of glory in heaven,
King of saints in Zion, and King of nations, as
well as King of kings and Lord of all lords. And it
is under this rod of his strength that the rebel
passes, who is made willing in the day of his
power; and' by the same rod of his mouth he
smites the earth, slays tlie wicked, and breaks in
pieces the oppressor. If this kind tutor of mine
had examined the word of God, lie might have
learned from thence that God calls a rod a sceptre
more than once. " And she had strong rods for
the sceptres of them that bear rule." " And fire
is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath
devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod
to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentatioB> and
shall be for a lamentation," Ezek. xix. H. 14
And what is called the rod of Christ's strength
which went out of Zion, is said to be the rod by
which he rules in the midst of his enemies, and by
which he makes his own people willing to submit
to his government, Psalm ex. 1 — 3. And this ruling
rod is called his sceptre; and it is a right sceptre
and a sceptre of righteousness-, which well becomes

95
him who loves righteousness and hates wicked
ness, and who will reward the one and destroy the
other. All this is to be learned from the Bible; but
finding fault in company sometimes brings more
honour, from men, than reading or praying over the
scriptures in private, where there are no lookers
on but, God and conscience: for young men, or
green disciples, who can dissect the sermons of old
labourers in the vineyard, are often looked up to
as men of wisdom, judgment, and discernment;
men of deep experience and superabdunding grace,
.and are often extolled, and their company much
courted; which is a feast of fat things to those
that are not aware of the foot of pride. It is the
Lord's sceptre that makes the gospel a savour pf
life unto life, or of death unto death. His authority
is to dispense both mercy and judgment; and not
only to rule in time, but to judge both quick and
dead at last. With this rod he smites through the
proud, and with the same he reproves with equity
g,fpr the meek of the earth. The rod that you say
you have passed under, and the. rod upon the fool's
back, is one and the same thing, both in English
and in Hebrew, and signifies no less than the
sceptre of a ruler. He that is invested with au
thority to humble a rebel, and to protect a wise
nian, uses the same authority in correcting a fc>oh
What countries you have passed through, and
what are your records thereof, I cannot tell: but,
if your journal is as unintelligible as your notiops
of a sceptre, no person will ever understand it,

96
nor Will you ever be able to explain it. If
you have, as you say, been brought under the
bond of the covenant, I much question whether
you was ever brought into it. Those who are
humbled to lie down at the feet of the Lamb, and
made teachable and tractable to receive their in
structions at the mouth of the Saviour, and to be
led by him, are swift to hear and slow to speak;
more ready to take the lowest than the highest
seat, and mote fond of being instructed than to
instruct Others. God knows that no man is suffi
cient of himself for the work ofthe ministry, and
therefore promises that his Spirit shall speak in
them; and when this is the case, it is not every no
vice that can condemn the speech. What you
call dividing truth according to the proportion of
faith contained in the word of truth, is altogether
without either sense or meaning. Your records
of the country are little better. And to talk of
soldering rod and sceptre together, by blowing the
coals and smiting the anvil, is ignorance, insolence,
arrogance, and wickedness. For, though the
Almighty pours contempt upon the carpenter and
smith, who used to labour at the anvil and the
solder, in making an image or a god, yet the om
nipotent power and authority of Christ is not to
be trifled with, nor yet to be compared to the
work of men's hands,, graven by art and man's
device. For my part, I have been burdened with
so much instruction of this sort, and so little has
been added to me by this kind of conference, that

37
I could almost wish in my heart that, if they can
not help me, they Avould not hinder me. 4nd,
as a friend, I would advise this kind tutor of
mine tp begin with Nehemiah's burden-bearers,
and get away a little of his own rubbish, Neh. iv.
10; and to learn to temper his mortar, and tp
make clear work at the dung-gate, Neh. iii. 13,
before he lifts up his trowel in the temple: or in
other words, that he wait till his understanding is
more clear, his judgment better informed, the old
vail of the heart a little more removed, and until the
stream of truth runs a little more pure, before he
attempts to instruct or polish the Lord's labourers;
for it is not likely that he should pull a mote out
of my eye while I can see two beams in his. This
instruction is sent to my instructor by his soul's
well-wisher,
W. H.
Church street, Paddington.

To Mr. HUNTINGTON.
Dear Sir, I hope you will excuse my liberty of
writing to you ; for I feel myself in duty bound
to bless the Lord for his goodness and loving-
kindness in directing my steps to Providence
chapel; where I have had, under your ministry, by
God's blessing, many sweet entertainments; yea

98
4nany doubts and fears have been removed, and
many points of scriptural doctrine cleared up; as,
for instance, election, as one of the grandest truths
in all the Bible; against which I have in times
past fought like a devil, for I was all for universal
redemption. But now I am, through grace, per
suaded that, if I have no part nor lot in special
redemption, which I humbly hope and trust I have,
I should then never expect to be saved at all; for
without an interest in Christ by free grace, it is im
possible that any man can be happy, either in time
or eternity. And, with respect to God's holy law
and its demands, I have worked in a legal way at
that for years, but all to no purpose; for it re
quires perfect obedience, internal as Well as ex
ternal; to which standard I could never attain,
nor no one living ever will; for Christ Jesus is
the end of the law for righteousness : and until he
is pleased, in his rich mercy, to shew us his free
salvation, O precious word! free salvation with
out money and without price! we keep stumbling
upon the dark mountains, and go from bad to
worse. To day the Lord has been pleased to shew
me another error, which I have been taught, and
believed for many years ; namely, that Christ de
scended into heir after his crucifixion; either to
shew himself as a conqueror to his enemies, or
else to preach the gospel to the souls that were in
prison, which did hot believe in the time of Noah.
But, if I now understand the/ text right, the Spirit
preached to them, in and by Noah, when yet upon

(99
earth, before the destruction of the old world.
Furthermore, concerning the incarnation of our
blessed Lord and Saviour. I am sure I never had
so clear a view of it before, as when you described
it, and the. Lord directed it to my heart, this day.
How he took our nature into union with his God
head, and how gloriously every thing under the
old dispensation prefigured Christ's manhood;
namely, the tabernacle in the wilderness, and af
terwards the temple which Solomon built, where
the Lord dwelt.
I must own I wished in my heart that that
sermon might be printed, for the good of others
as well as myself; for my memory is very shallow;
yet what the Spirit of God writes in the inmost
parts of the soul can never be erased, though all
the devils in hell were to try at it; for he that is in
us is stronger than he that is in the world. Blessed
b,e his name, he says he will never leave us nor
forsake us, world without end. Amen.
Now, my dear sir, I beg once more that you
will pardon my freedom, and excuse my blunders,
considering that I am ,a foreigner in a twofold
sense; and, if you think it worthy an answer, I
shall esteem it a great favour; if not, I hope the
Lord will enable me to bear it patiently, and with
Christian fortitude; for without him I can do no
thing: but through him and his grace, we are
enabled to do every thing he requires of us. Al
though I am not worthy of the least of his bles
sings, yet for his sake who has loved me, and

100
given himself for me, I' expect every needful
blessing; to whom, with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, the one self-existent Jehovah, be ajl glory
and honour for ever and ever.
I remain yours, with esteem, in the bond of
peace, FEDDE FIXSEK
Great St. Ann's street, Westminster,
Dec. 25, 1793.

To FEDDE FIXSEN.
Dear Sir, I received your kind letter^ and bless
God for condescending to make me useful to you,
or to any other of his children. " We have this
treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of
the power may be of God and not of us." The
work is the Lord's, and he will wbrk in whom and
by whom he pleases. Every preacher that God
sends has all his work lined out before him, and
no man shall do it but the instrument that God
has appointed. Peter must go to Cornelius, Paul
to help them of Macedonia, and Philip to the
Ethiopian; and perhaps he has appointed me to
clear away a little of your rubbish, that you may
make a better joint than you ever yet have done
with the chief corner stone.
There are few pf the Lord's chosen but who*

101
at their first awakening, and when under legal
CQhvictioiis, wage war, and spend, the shafts of
their natural enmity and rebellion, at the doctrine
Of God's election j which is a terrible obstacle in
the Way of self-sufficiency and human consequence.
It is a mountain of brass, Zech. vi. 1, which proud
nature cannot submit to, which free-will Cannot
surmount, and which malice itself cannot remove.
It divests poor mortals of all their supposed sove
reignty, baffles free-agency itself, and renders
the hand of the proud doer incapable of contri
buting the least mite to the work of the Most High,
which from all eternity was finished in the decree
and purpose of God, Heb. iv. 3. It tells us that
the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches
to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of
skill ; so far from it, it is the lame that take the
prey, the weak are strong, and he that becomes a
fool is wise. All which is contrary to reason, and
is to them that perish foolishness. God will stain
the pride of all human glory, by hiding his mys
teries from the wise and prudent, that those who
profess themselves wise may become fools, vain in
their imaginations, until their foolish hearts are
darkened. Universal redemption must be held by those
professors who are conscious tcr themselves that
the redemption price has never been applied to
them, or else they must exclude themselves from
all redemption touching experience: which trite

102
and honest confession of exclusion would at once
render their profession empty, and debase them
to a level with the world; which those can never
brook who are left to seek honour one of another;
so far from it; they are almost ready to blaspheme
the God of heaven, when he discovers the hypo
crisy of theis hearts, by shewing their wickedness
openly before the congregation. Saul will call
for honour before the people, even when given up
of God to a reprobate mind, and to a fearful look
ing for of judgment ; which shews that neither
the invasions of wrath in this world, nor the tor
ments of hell in the next, will ever humble proud
nature; witness the pride and obstinacy of de
vils, who have been long disciplined with the
cords of their sins and the terrors of God, which is
the only experience of Arminians, and yet remain
just the same, and ever will.
Working at the precepts of the law is the com
mon task of us all, until the Lord begin to work in
us, for by nature we know no other way of life.
The way of faith is hid from the eyes of all living,
and kept close even from the fowls of heaven till
,God discovers it; of course the awakened mind
will turn his feet to the testimonies, and make
haste to keep the commandments. This is the
only way that seemeth right unto a man till he is
taught better. The law shews a man his sin, and
works death in him by, its own goodness; and, if
he follows his work closely, it will, sooner or later,
shew him his weakness, condemn 1pm for his partial

103
performances, and there leave nim : and numbers
who stick here, and go no further, pass with many
preachers in our days for humble souls, and blesSed
recipients of grace. Preachers, who have not the
Spirit, must deal in the letter; and those, who
cannot handle the mystery, must work at the pre
cepts; which the unhumbled heart is fond of, as
it does not, in the eyes of the blind, exclude
boasting, which faith does. He that puts on the
outside, the most shining varnish, is sure to tell
his neighbour to stand by himself, for he is holier
than he ; and every one that can perform a double
task of dead works is licensed, as he thinks, to
have a throw at the publican. And this is easily
accounted for, because to this day the vail is on
the heart of all Moses's disciples; and, while they
are kept looking through that curtain, darkness
appears to be light, and light darkness; evil to be
gbod, and good evil. Every thing on their own side
of the vail is a prize, but every thing on the other
side a blank. Peter says they cannot see afar off.
They can see a mote in another, while they cannot
see a beam in themselves; and strain their jaws
at a gnat, yet swallow a camel imperceptibly. It
was through this vail the Samaritans looked when
¦ they set up their own judgment, and called Simon
MagUs the great power of God. And the Jewish
' scribes did the same when they called the divine
master Beelzebub, and a fellow; but themselves
Moses's disciples: a sufficient proof that the vail
hung heavy upon them ; they were wise and pru-

104
fient in their own eyes, but their foolish hearts
were darkened. They knew not the day of their
visitation, they could not discern the signs of the
times; and so the mysteries of the kingdom, and
the things which made for their peace, were hid
from their eyes. And this is the case with too
many in a profession in our day; a formal round
of duties, a decent deportment, legal and partial
obedience, and eye service, which are all dead
Avorks, are rested in, and trusted to, instead of the
merits of Christ and the renewing operations of
the Holy Ghost. But O, sir, the wild olive branch
must bear wild fruit until engrafted into the good
olive tree; this branch can have neither life nor
fruit till it partake of the goodness and fatness of
the ever-blessed tree of oil. The soul that is de
livered from the, law, and united to Christ, who is
under the dominion of grace, influenced and actu
ated by the Holy Spirit of promise, shall never
be barren, nor fruitless; the faithfulness of God
is engaged to keep his leaf green, and his soul
shall never cease from yielding fruit.
That article of faith, called our Lord's descen-
sion into hell, never had any footing or founda
tion in God's book. The human nature dying in
union with the Godhead, must answer every in
finite demand, both pf law and justice; the hu
man nature of Christ being set up, in the purpose
of God, from everlasting, and ordained tp ever
lasting glory, and the union of it to eternal divi
nity in Christ's death, must be sufficient to redeem

105
the elect from eternal damnation. And it was
done; we are justified from all demands of vin
dictive justice by his blood, and by the same are we
ransomed both from wrath and the grave. The
fabled limbo, called purgatory, stands [upon our
Lord's descension into hell; whichhas, wrought won
derfully in the minds of thousands, whose eyes the
god of this world has been permitted to blind, so
as to keep the light of the gospel from them ; this
has furnished his Holiness with one of his keys; this
scarecrow has frightened many a miser out of his
cash when in dying circumstances; it employs the
innumerable company of mass-mongers, in labour
ing to change the immutable mind of God; to re
voke his irrevocable decree; to remove his im
moveable gulf; and to alter the unalterable state
of the dead: nevertheless, this labour in vain
has not been vain labour; a mint of money has
been given and taken in order to obtain a permit
and passport from purgatory, which has brought
no small gain to the craftsmen of that occupation.
HeU, or school, in scripture very frequently
means the grave, as in Gen. xxxvii. 35; xiii. 38;
and in most places where it is simply and singly
mentioned; but, where the place and state of the
damned is intended, something is frequently add
ed to distinguish it; as, for instance, "Her guests
are in the depths of hell." " Hell and destruction
ate before the Lord," Prov. xv. 11. " Mine anger
shall burn unto the lowest hell." " It is deeper
than hell ; what canst thou know?" Job. xi. 8

106
"Hell is naked. before him, and destruction hatli
no covering." "O hell, where is thy victory?"
" Shall be in danger of hell fire," Matt. v. 22. "De
stroy soul and body in hell," Luke xii. 5. " How
can ye escape the damnation of hell?" In all these
passages of scripture the place of the damned is
plainly pointed out; but, where the word hell is
applied to Christ, as in Psalrti xvi. 10; and Acts ii.
27; the grave, and not the bottomless pit, is meant.
And, if it be objected that the soul, and not the
body, is mentioned, " Thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell," &c. it may be answered, that the soul
often intends the whole of his human nature.
When it is said, he shall make his soul an offer
ing for sin, he shall see of the travail of his soul,
and because he poured out his soul unto death, &c.
Isai. liii. 10 — 12; all these expressions mean the
whole manhood; for the body must not, cannot,
be separated or excluded from the sacrifice, which
is called a lamb without spot, and by the blood of
which the church is said to be purchased and re
deemed. When it is said that Abraham took all
the souls that he had gotten in Haran, Gen. xii. 5;,
not souls only, but persons, are meant. And some
times the soul is mentioned when the body is meant,
as in Psalm xlix. 15. " But God will redeem my
soul from the power of the grave, for he shall
receive me." And again, " For great is thy mercy
toward me, and thou hast, delivered my soul from
the lowest grave," fpr so the margin reads, Psalm
lxxxvi. 13- Hence it appears plain that, when it

107
is said "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,"
the whole human nature in union with the God
head is intended, which the last clause of the text
explains, by saying, " nor suffer thy Holy One to
see corruption." And, if it be objected that the
soul of Christ, excluded from the body, is meant,
and nothing else; then let such objectors explain
to us in what sense the body, thus abstractedly
considered, can be called tlie Holy One, as Adam's
body in innocency was a true- figure ©fit; and
seeing also that the body is no more than one
half, yea the weakest,, lowest, and the meanest
part of the manhood, which had its original from
the earth; but the soul's original is from God.
Earth is the mother of the body, but God the
Father of spirits. Hence it is plain that the soul
in that text includes the whole of Christ, which
the phrase, Holy One,, explains;, and who never
was in hell, nor left in the state of the dead; but
by his death destroyed him that had the power
of death; that is, the devil; and who. is Lord
both of life and death, and has the keys of both;
which keys were not fetched from hell, but laid
upon him by God the Father. "All power is
given to me both in heaven and earth [J have
the keys of hell and of death;" of hell, as the
judge of angels and men; and of death, as the
resurrection and the life. The damned spirits in
hell, and the dust in the tomb, shall hear his voice,
and come forth.
You inform me that you are a foreigner in a

108
twofold sense. If a foreigner from a distant cpun-
try, all the better; you have the less acquaintance
to ensnare you; and, if a foreigner in the best
sense, ypu are one born frPm above, a native of
the heavenly Jerusalem, and are a stranger in a
strange land; and, if a partaker of grace, with re
spect to tGod and Zion, you are well known; and
no more, in this sense, a stranger or foreigner, but
a fellow citizen of the saints, and of the house
hold of God.
While the good work of God is going on in
your soul, cleave close to him, and shun all ac
quaintance. The formal professor will damp your
zeal; the legalist will fetter and shackle you; the
erroneous will puzzle and baffle your judgment;
the presumptuous hypocrite will harden and im
piously embolden you; the backslider in heart
will envy your happiness, and unjustly smite you;
while the man of gifts, who is destitute of grace,
will nurse your pride, and puff you up.
In this little treatise my dear ffifend may see
something of the reality, the truth, and effects, of
the doctrine of election, which he so much de
spised. You confess that God hath delivered you
from that pharisaical notion, of believers being
under the law as the rule of life, and from ail the
fruitless toil of the eye servant and the bond slave:
and I have no doubt but thy soul is more humble,
tby conscience more tender, and that more ge
nuine fruits are brought fprth to the glory of

109
God's grace by you now than ever have been
heretofore. You are convinced also of the error of our
Lord's descent into'hell ; and are led to see, both
in the Old Testament and in the, New the blessed
incarnation of Christ, and to rejoice in it. While,
at the same time, in this little work, you may see
a man, that has sat under the same ministry for
-years, and not a foreigner, like yourself, but an
Englishman, who holds fast all the deceit which
God's grace has made you let go. Thus the Spirit
leads one into all truth, while the other has
a bridle in his jaws, causing him to err. The first
is last, and the last first. He in the highest seat
with shame gives place, and takes the lowest
room; while the humble and teachable soul is bid
to go up higher in the presence of the Prince. The
talents are taken from the graceless, and given to
, the gracious, who has more abundance; while the
: emptyprofessoris deprived ofwhathe had, and walks
naked, insomuch that the simple, who once admired
him, see his shame. While one builds upon the rock,
and blesses bbth the founder and the foundation,
the other makes it a stone of stumbling and a
rock of offence. The verdant professor, or green
tree, is dried up, and the dry tree is made to
flourish. One bears clusters, with a blessing in
them; another bitter clusters, with gall and
wormwood; and both under the same sun. But
so it is, and so it shall be till harvest. Judas must
?.be discovered, and go out, that Matthias may suc-
i

110
ceed him. Vashti must be deposed, that Esther, a
better than she, may be exalted. Haman must be
gibbeted at his own expense, that Mordecai might
go from the gate to the treasury, and from his
sackcloth to royal apparel. Mr. Loud must; get
into Satan's strong hold, while Fixsen, who sat in
the prison-house, must go forth and shew himself.
Thus it must be done to those " whom the
King delighteth to honour." And I bless God for
every discovery he makes of an hypocrite, and I
bless hinv for every soul in whose conscience he
makes me manifest. A preacher is sent to root up as
well as to plant; to throw down as well as to build.
And, while God uses me to separate the vile from the
precious, and the chaff from the wheat, I shall be
as God's mouth. " And who is sufficient for these
things?" "Our sufficiency is of God." And where
shall we solve these things? Not in free-will. Mr.
Loud wills to be great, and you to be little; he to
be wise, and you to be foolish, that you may
be wise; he seeks honour from men, you the ho
nour from God; he wishes to divide and scatter,
and you to unite and gather; he hates the light,
and shuns it, and you come -to it; he reviles me
for telling ' the truth, while the truth makes you
free; he is, andwili be, disappointed; and you do,
and will, find what you never expected. And so
it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that run
neth, but of God, who will have mercy on
whom he will have mercy, and whom he will
he hardeneth. And here we are obliged to trace;

Ill
these things up to their proper basis; resolve them,
settle them, and leave them, on the absolute, sove
reign, and uncontrollable will of God, who will do
as he pleases with his own. To believe in, hum
bly to acquiesce with, and to submit to, the sove
reign and good will of God in Christ Jesus, is the
highest act of a saint's obedience. But he that
kick's, rebels, and resists his revealed will, and im
piously disputes against it, does the work of a de
vil and a rebel. But God has made us willing in
the day of his power, and Christ has received gifts
for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell
among them.
The Lord Jesus Christ be thy prophet, thy
priest, thy king, and thy sole director; and blessed
shalt thou then be, and it shall be well with thee.
Grace and peace be with thee. Ever thine,
W.H.

THE end.

T- Eeusley, Printer,
Eolt Court, Fleet Street, London.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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