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ESSAY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 NATURE AND GLORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Gofpel of Jefus Chrift : 
 
 AS ALSO ON THE 
 
 Nature and Confequences of Spiritual Blindnefs, and 
 
 the Nature and Effects of Divine Illumination. 
 
 Defigned as a Supplement to the Author's 
 
 LETTERS AND DIALOGUES, 
 
 ON THE NATURE OF 
 
 Love to God, Faith in Jefus Chrift, and afiurance of a 
 Title to Eternal Life. 
 
 By JOSEPH BELLAMY, A. M. 
 
 ~ Bet 
 
 Mtnifiet-fffitfo Gpfpel at Beth/em, in New-England. 
 
 u We all with open Face, beholding as in a glafs the glory 
 
 " c f the Lord, are changed into the fame image. 
 « But if our Gofpel is hid, it is hid to them that ere left. 
 
 SAINT PAUL. 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY JOHN COLERICK, 
 AT OFFICE OF THE TELEGRAPHE. 
 
 1798. 
 
Sch. R. 
 
 THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 HpHERE are, perhaps, few, if any, among the vari- 
 •*■ ous fects and parties of profeiling Chriftians, but 
 that will readily give their affent to this propofition ; 
 a He who underftands the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift 
 aright, fees it in its glory, believes it to be true with 
 all his heart, and is affected and ac"ls accordingly, is a 
 true Chriftian, and will finally inherit eternal life." — 
 But put the queftion What is the Gofpel of Chrift f And 
 let each one for himfelf, learned and unlearned, through- 
 out Chriftendom, prepare and give in an nnfwcr, and it 
 will be found th^t there is a great Variety of opinions.. 
 And that the differ as much as the unicrrr.cd. 
 
 And that the feemingly devout and rciipjous differ as 
 much as ih3 more loofe and profane. The more any 
 man acquaints himfelf with the ftate of the Chriftian 
 world, at home and abroad, the more he convei fes with 
 men and books, the more clearly will he difcern this to 
 be the true ftate of the cafe.— And now, what Jhall be 
 done f 
 
 To fay, in this cafe, " That notwithstanding circum- 
 ftantia! differences, the body of profeffing Chriftians 
 agree in the main ; and we mud not be fo exact, metaphy- 
 seal and nice ;" is the fame as to fay, u Let your ideas be 
 fo general, confufed and indeterminate, about matters of 
 religion, as that you may not diftinctly difcern the dif- 
 ferences which do in fact take place : And bej C) very 
 unconcerned about your eternal intereft, as not to think 
 
 it worth your while to look things to the bottom 
 
 Go on eafy in this way, and cry out againft and condemn 
 
 2 7 A 6 7 n 
 
"■ THE PREFACE 
 
 ail exact, thinking and clear reafoning in matters of" re- 
 ligion, as metaphyficks ; an hcuspocus word, to blacken 
 an enquiring difpofuion, and to juftify an aftoniifting 
 inattention, in a " matter of infinite, of everlafting 
 concern." — And this, while all men of fenfe agree to 
 commend, the moft exacl: thinking and clear reafoning, 
 on any other fubjeft, but that of religion. 
 
 To fay, " it is no matter what men's principles be, 
 if their lives are but good ;" is the fame as to fay, " Pa- 
 ganifm and Mahometan! fm are as fafe ways to Heaven, 
 as Chriftianity," — which is down-right Infidelity. 
 
 To fay, " Good men may differ. — There are more 
 ways to Heaven than one, all equally fafe. 'Tis need- 
 lefs to be at pains to look things to the bottom:" Is 
 much the fame as to fay, " Let every one fincerely live 
 up to his own fcheme, and he will be fafe." Which 
 again will land one on the mores of Infidelity. 
 
 When our blofiVJ Saviour lent his Apoftles abroad 
 i-nt» the world, it was with this commiffion ; Go preach 
 the Go/pel to every creature, and he that belieuetb (the 
 very Gofpel i fend you to preach) and is baptized- /hall 
 bi' faved : But he that belicveth not (the very Gofpel I 
 fend you to preach) ftallbe damned. — And according to 
 this commifiion, they went and preached, and gathered 
 Churches, and then faid, not from an uncharitable dif- 
 pofttion, but rnerelv viewing things in the light of their 
 Mailer's words ; We know that vje are of God, and the 
 whole world lie ih in wicfodnefs.—\nd when falfe teach- 
 ers arofe, and endeavoured to accommodate the Gofpel 
 fcheme a little better to the tafte, the natural tafte of 
 Mankind ; the very Chief of the Apoftles, as it were, 
 ftepped forth into the view of the whole Chriftian world, 
 and with an aflurance and folcmnity, becoming one in- 
 fnired by Heaven, faid, but though we or an Angel /rem 
 Heaven preach any other Gcfpel unto you, than that which 
 we have preached unto you, let him be accurfecL Js we 
 faid before, fo fay I now again, if any Man preach any 
 other Gofpel unto you, than that ye have received^ let him 
 he accurfecL Gal. 8, 9. " But what {hall I do ?" Says 
 a poor, ignorant, benighted foul, anxious for his eternal 
 welfare. " Were all learned, religious fort of men 
 
THE PREFACE. Ill 
 
 agreed, I mould think, I might Fafely believe as they 
 believe. But now I am perfectly difconcerted and con- 
 founded. And is it likely fuch a poor, ignorant crea- 
 ture as I am, fhould ever find the truth, and fee to the 
 bottom of thefc controverfies, fo as to know what is 
 right, and what is wrong ? What mall I do ?" 
 
 Were the differences fubfiuMng iii theChrift ian world 
 really owing to any obfcurity in Divine Revelation it- 
 felf, I do not fee how poor, ignorant people could be to 
 blame In being thus at a lofs. Or indeed if* after all 
 they mould happen to believe wrong, to mi flake fome 
 falfe Gofpel for the true one, I do not fee how they 
 could be to blame, much lefs fo much, fo very much to 
 blame, as to merit eternal damnation. When therefore 
 our blefTed Saviour fo peremptorily declares, He that 
 believeth not JJiall be damned, let him be who he will, 
 among all Mankind, who fhall hear the Gofpel, it is a 
 complete demonftration, that in the judgment of our 
 blefled Saviour, the Gofpel Revelation is quite plain 
 enough, upon a level even with vulgar capacities \ fo 
 that it cannot be mifunderilood or mifbelieved, by any 
 individual, unlefs the fault is in himfelf. Yea, unlefs 
 he is fo greatly to blame in the affair, as juftly to merit 
 eternal damnation. To fay otherwife, is to charge our 
 Saviour with injuftice, in denouncing eternal damna- 
 tion againft every Unbeliever. Which, again, is no 
 better than down-right Infidelity. 
 
 " But how can thefe things be ?" May an inquifi- 
 tive reader fay. " For if the true Gofpel of Chrifl were 
 fo clearly revealed in the Sacred Writings, how unac- 
 countable is it, that the Chriftian world fo greatly dif- 
 fer?"' Not unaccountable at all, only granting what 
 muft be granted, or Chriftianity be given up, that the 
 true Gofpel of Chrift, contains a fyftem of fentiments, 
 diametrically oppofite to every vicious bias in the hu- 
 man heart. Such a fyftem it contains, or it did not 
 come from God. And if it does contain fuch a fyftem, 
 then fo long as the generality of Mankind are under the 
 influence of their vicious biafTes, they will naturally feek 
 darknefs rather than light ; felf-juftifying error, rather 
 
 274&.?7 
 
2V THE PREFACE. 
 
 than fejf- condemning truth ; and it is well known how 
 apt men are to believe that to be true, which they wifh 
 to have fo in other matters, befides that of Religion. — 
 Befides, 
 
 Tell me, whence was it, that, in the Apoftolic age ; 
 whence was it, that, in the very days of Miracles and 
 Infpiration, profefled Chriftians began to differ? Was it 
 becaufe the Sacred Writings were obfcure ? Why then 
 did they not enquire at the mouths of the Apoftles, 
 who were yet alive, and who all agreed among them- 
 felves ? Nay, enquire at the Apoftles mouths— indeed 
 no. They would rather call their infpiration into ques- 
 tion, than fubmit to their decifion. Saint Paul found 
 himfelf fo vigorously oppofed by falfe teachers among 
 the Galatians, that with all his Miracles, Infpirations, 
 and elaborate reafonings, he could not keep up the cre- 
 dit of his fcheme, no, not even among his own converts, 
 wlio once were ready to pluck out their eyes for him ; 
 ■ rather, in endeavouring to keep the truth up, his own 
 credit funk by the means. Gal. iv. 16. And a little 
 before? his death, after full experience of the nature 
 of error and deiufron, he plainly tells his fon Timothy, 
 that the cafe with Come was really hopelefs ; faying, Evil 
 men and feduccrs Jhall wax worfe and worfe, deceiving 
 and being deceived. 2 Tim. iii. 13. And while the 
 Apoftles were, fome of them yet living, numbers of 
 their converts actually feparated from their Churches, 
 numbers of their gracelefs converts, I mean. 1 Joh. ii. 
 19. They went cut f rem us, but they were not of us : fc>r 
 if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued 
 with us. 
 
 Now it cannot be pretended there was any want of 
 external light and evidence, needful to difcern and acer- 
 tain the truth, in that age ; and neverthelefs, matters 
 began to work then very much as they have all along 
 fince. It is not therefore, through want of light and 
 evidence externally held forth, that men have gone into 
 error, in one age and another, who have had the i3ible 
 in their hands j but it has been entirely owing to the 
 vicious {late of their minds. And therefore Saint Paul 
 reckons herefies among the works of the Elejh, and gives 
 
THE PREFACE. V 
 
 them a place along with Adultery, Fornication, Witch- 
 craft, Murder, Drunkennefs, &c. as being criminal in the 
 fame fenfe with them. Gal. v. 19, 20, 21. 
 
 And indeed the Turn and fubftance of the Gofpel may 
 be reduced to two or three points, which muft be in a 
 manner felf-evident to a mind rightly difpofed ; or to 
 ufe our Saviour's words to thofe who have a good and 
 hone/i heart. For as all Chriftians were baptized in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghcft ; 
 fo right apprehensions of the character and offices of 
 thefe three, is the fum of all Chriftian knowledge : — 
 For he who believes God the Father, the fupreme Go- 
 vernor of the world, to be by nature God, an abfolutely 
 perfect, an infinitely glorious and amiable Being, infi- 
 nitely worthy of that fupreme love and honour, and 
 univerfal obedience, which the Divine Law requires at 
 our hands, and that confequently his law is holy, juft 
 and good : And he who believes that God the Son, 
 the exprefs image of the Father, became incarnate, and 
 died to do honodr to the Divine Law; was fet forth to 
 be a propitiation to declare his Father's righteoufnefs, 
 that he might be juft, and yet the juftifier of the believer : 
 And he who believes that God the Holy Ghoft, is ap- 
 pointed to be an Enlightener and Sanctifier, to bring 
 Sinners to underftand the truth, fee it in its glory, be- 
 lieve, love and obey it : He who understands and believes 
 thefe points, cannot fail to underftand and believe all 
 the reft. For, all doctrinal, experimental and practical 
 Religion, natively refults from thefe fundamental truths. 
 
 Befides, 
 
 Thefe fundamental truths give light to each other. 
 So that if once the glory of God, the fupreme Gover- 
 nor of the world, is feen, the reafon and nature of his 
 law will be plain. And if that is plain, the deftn of the 
 Incarnation and death of the Son of God will be evi- 
 dent. And then the whole Gofpel plan will naturally 
 open to view, and appear to contain a complete fyftem of 
 religions fentiments, harmonious and coniiftent through- 
 out, perfect in glory and beauty. And while we dif- 
 cern the oppofition of this fyftem of truths to every 
 vicious bias in the human mind, the nature and necef- 
 
VI THE PREFACE. 
 
 fity of the regenerating and fanclifying influences of the- 
 Holy Spirit, to bring us rightly to underftand the Gof- 
 pcl, fee it in its glory and love and practice it, will 
 be eafily difcerncd : And at the fame time, every one, 
 well acquainted with his own heart, may difcern the 
 true fource of all the various errors which have been 
 broached in the ChiifVian world : For the root of them 
 all is in the heart of every child of Adam. 
 
 To a/lift the candid inquifitive reader to look down 
 into the bottom of truth and error, and fee things in 
 their original fources, and in their mutual connections, 
 that the true Scripture fcheme may rife into clear view, 
 andthefirft fpringof all the chief errors now in vogue may 
 be clearly difcerned, is the defign of the following meets. 
 
 The reafonings are not built upon here and there a 
 Scripture text, detached from its connection with its 
 context, to carry away the reader's mind with the mere 
 found of words ; rather all the reafonings arc at bottom 
 founded on Scripture facls, viewed in a Scripture light; 
 facts which cannot be denied without giving up our 
 Baptifm and overthrowing Chriftianity by wholefale. — 
 And a chief defign is, to lead all parties, if they will 
 but attend to the fubject, to fee that the gieat doctrines 
 of the Gofpel are not difputable points ; yea, fo far from 
 it, that there is no confident medium between the an- 
 cient Apoftolic Chriftianity, and Infidelity. 
 
 The fubject is noble, the defign is goc d, the execu- 
 tion, far as it is from being equal to fo noble a fubject, 
 is prefented to the candid reader's critical perufal and 
 mature judgment. With a becoming gencrofity over- 
 look the" blemifhes of the manner, with the greateft ea- 
 gernefs attend to the matter, feek the truth, fearch for 
 it as for filver, dig for it as for hid treafure, neither be- 
 lieve nor difbelieve but in exact proportion to evidence : 
 To the law and to the teftimony-, like the noble Bareans. 
 
 N. B. The render may be ad-virtijed, that,fome time after 
 this EJJay was begun, Mr. Cudiuortb's Farther Defence of 
 Tbcron and Jfpafio came to band, fame remarks upon n.vhieh y 
 are therefore infertcd here and there in the margin. So far as 
 appears needful to clear and ejiablijh the truth. 
 
 March 1 1, 1762. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Containing an invitation to ftudy the Gofpel of Chrifi :— . 
 As it gives the moft glorious difplay of all the Divine 
 perjeclions^ that ever was made. 
 
 r p HE firfr, and fundamental principle of all Religion, 
 A natural and revealed, is this, viz. That there is a 
 god, an abfolutely perfect, and infinitely gloi ious and 
 amiable being : And it is univerfally agreed to, by 
 all who believe the infpi ration of the holy Scriptures, 
 that this God is the Creator of all things : that in the 
 beginning he created the Heavens and the Earth ; and 
 that by him were created all things that are in Heaven, 
 and that are in Earth, vilible and invifible, whether 
 they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or 
 Powers : all things were created by him. And if there 
 is a God, an abfolutely perfect Being ; and if he created 
 all things, then all things are his, by an original, entire, 
 underived, independent right. And if fo, it inuft of 
 courfe naturally belong to him to take care of his own 
 world, to oidir and difpofe all events according to his 
 pleafure : And the whole of his conduct in the govern- 
 ment of the Univerfe mud be, of neceflity, like himfelf, 
 perfect, in wifdom, g»ory and beauty: worthy to bead- 
 mired end rejoiced in, by all created intelligences 
 
 And if all God's works are glorious, much more muft 
 b 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the work of redemption by Jifus Guilt, the chief, by 
 far the chief of all his works, exceed in glory. 
 
 It is evident from the whole tenor of Scripture, that, 
 2S God is by nature invifible, one whom no eye hath 
 i'ezn or can lcc y and into whole elTence no created intel- 
 ligence can look ; lb one chief defign of all his works, 
 is to manifeft himfelf, to exhibit the clearer! and com- 
 pleted: reprefentation of all his perfections ; and parti- 
 cularly, to hold forth to the view of the intellectual 
 fyftem, the moil lively image of his heart, of his moral 
 perfections : That, as it is above the capacity of finite 
 intelligences to look immediately into his heart, and dif- 
 cern how he views thing?, and is affected towards them ; 
 they might hereby be enabled to form right conceptions 
 of his nature, and fo under advantages to behold his in- 
 finite, incomprehensible glory, fo far as their finite ca- 
 pacities will admit. 
 
 The vifible Creation, the Heavens and the Earth, 
 the fun, moon and (tars, with all the laws, order and 
 harmony in the natural fyftem, as they are fpecimens 
 of the Almighty power, infinite wifdom and goodnefs j 
 fo they may be confidered as a defigned manifestation 
 of thefe perfections, as inanimate pictures of the invifi- 
 ble glories of the invifible God. But if we turn our 
 eyes off from the material world, the meaneit. part of 
 God's Creation, to the view of holy intelligences, who 
 were in a peculiar fenfe, made after the image of God, 
 here we mall behold living images ol the living Gcd. 
 But (till all this is finite, the inanimate pictures and the 
 living images are finite ; but God himfelf is abfelutely 
 infinite. Thefe reprefentations, therefore, are very 
 fcanty,very deficient ; and but a fmall portion of God, 
 can be known by them. Wherefore infinite wifdom 
 hath laid a plan, in which he himfelf, as it were, may 
 ceafe to be invifible, may come out to the view of the 
 intellectual fyitem in all his glory, in the pcrfon of Jefus 
 Chrift his Son, who is the image of the invifible God, 
 even the brightnefs of his glory, and the exprefs image 
 of his peifon. The vail is rem — the holy of holies Is 
 expoied to public view, and ;he glory of the Lord is to 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xt 
 
 be feen'by Saints on Earth, and Principalities and Pow- 
 ers in Heaven, in the face of Jefus Chrift. This ma- 
 nifeftation therefore of God, in and by Jefus Chrift, 
 which is called the Gofpel, is the completeft and bright- 
 eft exhibition of all the divine perfections that ever was, 
 or that (perhaps) ever will be made. The infpired 
 Apoftle, might well then call the Gofpel, the glori- 
 ous gospel of jesus CHRIST : As beyond ail doubt 
 the glory of the work of our redemption by Chrift, ex- 
 ceed?, far exceeds in glory, not only the glorious works 
 of men, or more glorious works of Angels ; but even 
 exceeds in glory, all the other glorious works of God 
 himfelf. 
 
 While, therefore, men of the greateft genius think 
 themfelves well employed in contemplating the laws, 
 order and harmony of the natural world, let us now, 
 with the greateft attention and ardour, join with Prin- 
 cipalities and Powers in Heaven, in prying into the 
 glorious myfteries of God's moral fvftem, all prc-fup- 
 pofed or implied in the glorious Gofpel of jefus Chrift. 
 
 And the rather, becaufe it is pofiible, that while we 
 live under the clear light of the Gofpel, we may be 
 blind to all its peculiar glories; and io never believe 
 it to be true, nor reap any favin^ benefit from it ; but 
 be finally loft — eternally loft. For, as Saint Paul oh- 
 ferves, tf our Go/pel be hid, it is bid to them that are 
 loft ; if? whom the God of this world hath blinded the 
 minds of them that believe -not, left the light of the glori- 
 ous Gofpel of Chrift, who is the image of God\ fooulk fhine 
 unto them. Wherefore, while we fearch into the nature 
 and glory of the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift, let us pray, 
 that he who commanded the light, to fhine out of darknefs> 
 would Jhine in our hearts, to give us the light of the know- 
 ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift. That 
 we all with open face, beholding as in a ghfs the glory of 
 the Lord, may be changed into the fame image, from glory 
 to glory, as by the fpirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. iii. 18, and 
 iv. 3, 4) 5. 
 
 b 2 
 
XU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In thefe words of the Apoftle juft cited, to which a 
 fpecial reference will be had in the following EfTay — 
 thefe things may be obferved : — That the Gofpel of 
 Chrift, is a glorious Gofpel. — That the glory of the 
 Gofpel is ken by all who lit under it, that are not blind : 
 and all who fee its glory do believe, favingly believe. — 
 That thofe who are blind to the glory of the Gofpel, do 
 not believe it — The Gofpel is hid from them, and they are 
 loft.— That the Devil's grand fcheme is to keep men 
 blind to the glory of the Gofpel ; as knowing, that this 
 is the direct method to prevent their ever believing it, 
 to the faving of their fouls.- — Thatfpiritual illumination, 
 whereby men are brought to fee the glory of the Gof- 
 pel, to fee the glory of God in the fv.ee of Jefus Chrift, 
 is as immediately from G^.d, ax was natural light, when 
 God commanded the light to (bine out of darknefs ;— 
 faying, lei there be light, and there was light. — That all 
 who behold this glory of the Lord, are changed into 
 the fame image. 
 
 Thefe proportions are expreflly declared, or plainly 
 implied in the words of the Apoftle. Wherefore let 
 us inquire into the nature and glory of the Gofpel of 
 Chrift — into the nature and confequenccs of Spiritual 
 Blindnefs — and into the nature and effects of Divino 
 Illumination. 
 
 ESSAY. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 A General View of the Nature of the Gcfpel, 
 
 THE wordGofrcl, ftgnifies good news. The good 
 -*- news ccmes from Heaven ; from God, the great : 
 of the Univerfe. It was firft more darkly hinted to Adam 
 immediately after the Fall ; and ham, 
 
 Ifaac and Jacob, by God nimfelf; and by Mofes ail 
 the Prophets in God's name to lirael of oid : B 
 ail, the whole glorious plan v. , and 
 
 pubiilhed to the world by Jefu ; Chrift, and 
 
 And he, who will be at the pains cafe folly and critically 
 to read the Eible through, and take a fail view oi 
 whole account as it there Hands, will 
 particulars, among many ethers, i 
 gofpel of jefus Chriil. 
 
 1. That God is confideredas the moral Governor of the 
 world ; that M.n is confidered as a proper fubjett of moral 
 government ; thai God's law is conikierea as holy, 
 
 and good ; that Man has broken it, Jt excufe, 
 
 ltands guilty before Gcd, already is fo 
 
 far from pcniicnce, that he is dead in fin, an enemy to 
 God, and at enmity againft His law and government. 
 
 2. That God did not judge it fuitable to the honour of 
 his Majeily,or agreeable to the honour of hi; law and go- 
 vernment, in a fovereign way, by the influences of his 
 fpirit, to bring Man to repentance, and then by a fovereign 
 adl of grace to pardon him, and receive him to favour 
 entitle him to eternal life, without a Mediator and ai* 
 atonement. B 
 
2 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [sEC. 1* 
 
 3. That God has appointed his own Son to be a Media- 
 tor, and made him a curfe, to redeem us from the curfe, 
 that through him he might communicate the holy fpirit : 
 and fee him forth to be a propitiation, that through Faith 
 in his blood, we might receive forgivenefs of iins ; and yet 
 God be juft, and the honour of his law be fecured in the 
 fight of all worlds. 
 
 So that the doctrine of Chrifl's atonement, confidered in 
 its antecedents, effeds, and confequences, is the Cum and 
 fubftance of the Gofpel. This is the good news, that 
 God fa loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that 
 nubofoe<ver believeth in him foould not perijb ; but have ever- 
 lajlinglife. Joh. iii. 16. And therefore St. Paul fums up 
 all in thefc words, Chriji crucified, 1 Cor. 1, 23. Jefus 
 Cbriff, and him crucified. iCor.ii. 2. and fometimes merely 
 in the crofs of Cbrijt. Gal. vi. 14. Yea, in that one word, 
 the crofs. 1 Cor. i. 18. 
 
 When the Gofpel was frit publifhed to fallen Man, it 
 was in words to this effect, The feed of the Woman Jball 
 bruize the ferpenfs head — But how bruize the fer pent s head? 
 It was not then a proper time to declare in exprefs lan- 
 guage, but facririces were instituted to mew how, by way c£ 
 emblematical reprefentation, as they were types and fha- 
 dows of the great atonement. Abel facrificed ; Noah fa- 
 crificed ; and Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob offered facrifice ; 
 and almoft the whole external worfhip of God, under the 
 Mofaic difpenfa ion, which was defigned as an introduction 
 to Chriftianity, confined in offering facrifice; and without 
 f&edding of blood there was no remiffian. Ana the meaning 
 of all ihis was made plain, when the Son of God became 
 incarnate, that through death he might deftroy him that had 
 the poxver of death, that is, the Devil : and deliver them 
 who through fear of death were all their life-time J'ubjeSt to. 
 bondage. Heb. ii. 14, 15. 
 
 Hjw had the Devil the power of death ? — It was the 
 Devil';' original defign to be the death and d eft ruction of 
 all the human race, perhaps, that in the ruin of God's new 
 made world, he min;ht be revenged for his expulfion out of 
 Heaven. He thought that if they finned, they muft inevi- 
 tably die, according to the exprefs declaration of God's 
 law. He had lately felt the force of the divine law he was 
 under. He finned, and he was baniflied from the celefrial 
 regions, down to eternal woe and endlefs defpair. He 
 
SEC. I.] NATURE OF THE GOSPEL. 3 
 
 tempted Man to fin, that he might be joined in the fame 
 Hate. For if Gcd vv ill be fo levere as to kill and damn 
 for the firft offence, Satan's practice feeraed to declare, that 
 he could wii'h God might have nothing e:fe to do among 
 all his fubjeclj. So that when a fallen world was doomed 
 to death, it was the very thing Satan would nave. And fo 
 death became, as it were, his fervant. It ferved his will, 
 it accompliihed his fcheme, and anfwered his ends, as though 
 it had been in his power. God feemed obliged in honour 
 to put his law in execution ! but in doing or it, he would 
 gratify the Devil, the greateft enemy to God, to law, and 
 to the whole fyftem. This was Satan's malicious crafty 
 fcheme, and thus perhaps was he ready to fay, " If law i3 
 put in execution, man mull die ; and God will be riifap- 
 poir.ted of the glory of his new creation, and I (hall tri- 
 umph. If law is vacated and fet alide in favour of rebel 
 Man, no more let the Almighty Monarch pretend to impar- 
 tial jullicc : As well might law have been let afide in my 
 cafe ; my excluiion from Heaven was an arbitrary aft ; if 
 arbitrary, then tyrannical : And what care 1 for the wrath 
 of an angry tyrant ? Hell will be no longer Hell to me." 
 Wherefore, there was a peculiar propriety in the firft 
 promife being delivered to Man in the form of a threatning 
 to Satan. The feed of the woman Jhall bruize the ferpent's 
 head. For it was a chief defign of infinite wildom to dif- 
 concert the Devil's fcheme, break up his plan, and fo kill 
 the old Serpent in a way fuited to his own nature. And 
 what can cruciate him more, and put him to greater tor- 
 ment, than to fee law honoured; and Man faved, both at 
 once ; and an eternal end put to his influence, in a way 
 moil honourable to God, and advantageous to the fyftem : 
 whiifl himfeif and all his obitinate adherents are doomed 
 to e veil ailing fire. 
 
 But how can law be honoured, and Man faved, both at 
 once ? — For this end Chriit became incarnate, ami placed 
 himfelf in our room and Read, that through death he 
 might destroy the Devil, break up his fcheme ; fet 
 at liberty his guilty trembling captives, who through fear 
 cf death are all their life-time fu ! jecl to bondage. For he 
 was made a curfe to redeem us from the curfe of the tazv : fet 
 forth to he a propitiation, to declare God's righteoufnefs, that 
 God might be, and appear to be, juft, while he justifies the 
 B 2 
 
4- A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [SEC. I. 
 
 Sinner; and fo the law be magnified and made honourable, 
 while the Sinner is faved : Death turned into a biefling, 
 and be fucceeded by a glorious refurreftion, ar.d a bleiiwd 
 immortality 1 . 
 
 And thus the defign of" Chriil's death, was to fecure the 
 honour of the divine government, and open a way for the 
 honourable excrciie of his grace in the falvation of Sinners. 
 And this is fo plainly held forth in the whole of divine 
 Revelation, that it is, at leaft, in words, generally agreed. 
 to by almoft all parties, however differently they profefs to 
 think in many other points. In words, I fay, for if in 
 reality it was agreed to, all parties would loon agree 
 in every other important article of the Chriftian Faith* 
 
 It is true, there arc ibme divines, who fecm to think, 
 that God might arbitrarily have fet afide his law in favour 
 of fallen Man; and that evenjiis own perfections obliged 
 him to it ; and to pardon and receive to favour his fmful 
 creatures upon their repentance, had there never been a 
 Mediator or an atonement. Repentance and reformation 
 was all the atonement they could make, and all that God 
 could demand. " I affirm," fays one, <e it is an article of 
 natural religion, that forgivenefs does certainly follow re- 
 pentance : If God be a merciful and benign Being, he will 
 accept the payment we are able to make ; and not infill on 
 impoffible demands with his frail bankrupt creatures. "(i) 
 
 But little do fuch divines think how their confident af- 
 firmations are really fubverfiveof the whole of Chriilianity : 
 For if there had been a laiv, ivhicb could have given, life, verily 
 right eoifncfs had been by the laiv. Gal. iii. 21. J fit had 
 been ''an article of natural Religion" that any doings of 
 ours could have in reafon entitled us to the divine favour, 
 verily God would have proceeded with mankind upon the 
 principles of natural Religion, and not needleflly have been. 
 at fuch infinite ex pence, as the facrifice of his Son. For 
 if upon the principles of natural religion, finful man could 
 obtain the favour of God, the detth of Chrift was unnecef- 
 fary. Gal. ii. 12. If rightccufmfs come by the law, then 
 Chrift is dead in vain. 
 
 As this is Saint Paul's reafoning, who certainly had a 
 right understanding oL Christianity ; fo it not only confute! 
 fuch affirmations as that juft mentioned, which are cited 
 
 (1) Mr. Nye, Natural and Revealed Religion, f. 85, 86. 
 
SEC. i] NATURE OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 and improved by deiilical writers (i) in the caufe of Infi- 
 delity : but alfu at the fame time, thefe woras of the Apof- 
 tle precisely determine what it was that rendered the death 
 of Chrilt neceflary, in order to the juftincation and ialva- 
 tion of Sinners. The law <wds weak through the jlejh (Rom. 
 vii. 3) i. e. through our depravity ; and although origi- 
 nally ordained to give life (Rom. vii. 10) was now unable 
 to do it. For the law required perfect obedience on pain 
 of eternal damnation ; as it is written, Curfed is every one 
 that continueth not in all things written in the heck of the Law, 
 to do them. Gal. iii. 10. But all have finned, and fo the 
 *whole world Jland guiltj he/ore God, according to the law, 
 which all the world are under. Rom. iii. 9, 19. This law, 
 therefore, which was ordained to life, can now be only 
 unto death. Rom. vii. 10. And there is no other law. — 
 So there is no Jaw which can give life. This rendered 
 the obedience and atonement of Chrift abfolutely necelTary 
 in order to prevent the univerfal ruin of the human race. 
 For the law being holy,juJl and good (Rom. vii. 12) mull 
 not be fet afide. Heaven and Earth Jkall pafs away, but 
 not one jot or tittle of the law mujl fail : — // muji be all ful- 
 filled. Mat. v. 17, 18. Could men have anfwered the de- 
 mands of the law, Chrift's obedience and death had been 
 needlefs : For if righteoufnefs come by the law, Chrifi is 
 dead in vain. So that this was the end of Chrift's death, 
 and that, but for which, he never would have died, his 
 death being needlefs and in vain on any other account, 
 according to Saint Paul. 
 
 It is true, the divine and holy manner in which he went 
 through his fufferings, exhibits a glorious example for all 
 his difciples to follow, when they are called to go through 
 fufferings in his caufe. But as there would be no virtue 
 in expofing ourfelves to death, when not called to it ; fo 
 there could be no virtue in going through death in ever 
 fo heroic a manner in fuch a cafe. Rather it might be 
 judged, that we fling away our lives, not only impru- 
 dently, but very finfully : And our example would be fo 
 far from deferving to be admired and imitated, that it 
 ought to be publickly condemned ; to the end that others 
 might hear and fear, and do no rritore fo wickedly. If 
 therefore our Saviour laid down his life, when there was 
 
 (1) Tindal. /. 354. 
 
6 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [SEC. I. 
 
 no need of it, there was no virtue in his conduct, nothing 
 commendable in his example, nor worthy of imitation ;— • 
 but the whole was a lcene of deliberate wickednefs. But 
 thus it is written, and thus the all-wife God, whole judg- 
 ment is always according to truth, viewed the afRir, viz. 
 If right ecuj'hefs come by the laiv, then Cbriji is dead i?i 'vain. 
 
 To fay, " that although righteoufnels does come by 
 the law, yet Chriit did not die in vain, as his death was 
 needful to feal his teltimony to the truth, as other martyrs 
 have done," is not only exprtflly to contradict the Holy 
 Ghoit (Gal. ii, 21) but is even an affront to common 
 fcnfe. Other Martyrs were Sinners, and deferved to die ; 
 for death is the wages of fin : But he was innocent, and 
 holy to perfection. And had he called for twelve legions 
 of Angels, and out of his enemies hands, afcended to Hea- 
 ven in viiible glory, it had been a fufficient atteftation to 
 the truths he taught, had he only been a Prophet fent from 
 God, to republiih the law of nature. But how then Jhould 
 the Scriptures have been fulfilled, which had marked him 
 out for a facrince of atonement, to make an end of fin, and 
 bring in everlaftir.g rigbtcoufnefs . For he was, according to 
 the plan laid in Heaven, intimated in the facred writings, 
 to be wounded for our tran/grej/ions, 'and bruifed for our ini- 
 quities, the chajlijement of our peace was to be upon him, that 
 by bis ft ripe s we might be healed : For we all like Jheep had 
 gone afiray, and the Lord had laid on him the iniquities of us 
 all. lfai. iiii. On this defign. the Son of God became in- 
 carnate, and for this purpole he died, and had it net been 
 for this, the death of an incarnate God had been entirely 
 needlefs. For thus Heaven has declared, if righteoujnefs 
 ccme by the law, then Cbriji is dead in vain. 
 
 Well therefore might the holy Apoftle fum up the whole of 
 the glorioui Gofpel in one word, IVe preach, Chriji crucified ' : 
 For indeed this was in effect the whole of the good and 
 glorious news they had to proclaim to a guilty world. It 
 was long before decreed in Heaven, that he mould die ; 
 it was the determinate counfel of God, from the beginning, 
 that through death he Jhould dejiroy the Devil, break up his 
 fcheme, and thoroughly bruifs his head. And for this, in 
 the fulnefs of time, he, left his Father's bofem. For this 
 he became fi?fo ; and for this he entered upon his publick 
 miniftry, characterized by John the Baptift, at that junc- 
 ture, the Lamb of God which taketh avuay the Jin of the 
 
SEC. I.] NATURE OF THE GOSPEL. 7 
 
 world: the true antitype of all the Jewilh facrifices. For 
 this he called the twelve from their nets, that they might 
 be his witnefles to all nations. For this he went up to 
 jerufalem, knowing what fhould befall him ; and l^ow am 
 Ijtraitned, fa;d he, 'till it be uccomplijbcd. Fur this he went 
 into the Garden, knowing tha; his enemies would find him 
 there ; and in a view of the abfolute necefiity of his death lor 
 the falvation of Sinners, he laid to iiis Father, thy will be 
 done : and then voluntarily refigncd hirnfelf up into his 
 enemies hands, when he could have (truck them dead, or 
 had twelve legion of Aogels to have guarded hi.n from 
 their malice. Hay down my life for the foeep. Ti.is com- 
 mandment have I received /ram my Father. For him did 
 God the Father fet forth to be a propitiation, to declare his 
 righteoufnefs , that he might be jujt. And lor this the Father 
 loved hi. ti, becaufe he .aid down his life J /'• And 
 
 to teltify his love and well-pleafednefs in the light of the 
 whole intellectual fyftem, he i ailed him from the dead, fet 
 him at his own right hand in Heaven, declared hirnfelf 
 ready to be reconciled, ana ordered reprntai.ee ar.d remif- 
 
 fion of fins to be preached to all nations in his came. 
 
 Nay, all pouet in Heaven and Z~;il\ is committed into his 
 hands, that he might reign 'till all his enemies are put 
 under his feet, and Satan'o whole fcheme completely aif- 
 appointed. For as lie loved rigbteoujnefs and bated iniquity 
 with fuch fervour, as moved mm to interpofe and die in 
 this caule, tc difcounteaancc fin, and magnify the divine 
 law, bring glory to God, falvation to men, and fo dcflroy 
 the Devii ; wherefore God hath anointed him with the oil 
 of gladmfs above bis fellows. Heb. i. 9. Given ban a name 
 above every name. Phil. ii. 9. And decreed, that, he jkould 
 fee of the travail of his fcul, ar.d be fat: sped. (Ifai. liii. 11.) 
 that is, fee as much ojory to God and benefit to the crea- 
 ture, refult from his death on the crefs, as ids foul dt fires. 
 
 Was his lo\e to God, zeal for his glory, and for the 
 honour of his government, and cc-mpaiTicn to loft Sin- 
 ners, (o great, as to bring him from iiis Father's bofom, 
 worihipped by all the heavenly heft, to hang naked, tortured, 
 inful.ed on the ciofs, and there expire in the uimofl ago- 
 nies! — ..5 great glory to God, as g~eat honour to iii.i law, 
 as great falvation to Icil Sinners (hall refult herefrom, as 
 to oe equal to his love and zeal and p'ty, infinite as they 
 weie. Fur be fhall fee the travail of 'his foul , and be jatisfed. 
 
& A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [SECT. I. 
 
 He fiiail fee the fruit of his labours till he fays it is enough. 
 But what can be enough in the eyes of fuch an one ! What 
 can fatisfy a heart like his ! whole regard to the honour 
 of Lrcd and of ins law, and to the weirdie cf loit Sinners, 
 > infinitely great ! Eye bath not jt.cn, ear hath not heard y 
 r bath it entered into tbe heart of man to conceive! But 
 in the midli of all this, we have the highelt poilible aflu- 
 rance of his lincerity in faying, Him that cometb unto me, I 
 rxill in no tui/e caji out, (John vi. 37.) tor thele the Father 
 gave him, they were the lheep he loved, and laid down bis 
 life for j the joy Jet bef ore him, for whole falvation he endured 
 tve crbjs and uej'pij'ed the jhame ; thele are his feed, the travail 
 cf bisjbul, for whom he teas fmiiten of God, and in whofe 
 ltead he became a curj'e, to redeem them f rem the curj'e, and 
 that the blej/rng of Abraham might come upon them. 
 
 Thus this is the lum and fubftance of the glorious Gof- 
 pel of Jefus Chrift. We preach Cbriji crucifed, This was 
 the glorious and joyful news the Apultles proclaimed to a re- 
 volted, guilty world. And if to the Jews Chi ill crucified 
 was a fumbling block, and to the G reeks foolifonefs y yet to 
 them who were called, Chrift crucified, was the power 
 cf God and the ivifdem of God. — But this leads us to take a 
 view of the glory of the Gofpel of Jefus Chiift. 
 
 section 11. 
 
 A General View «f the Glory of the Gofpel. 
 
 THE Gofpel is denominated the glorious Gofpel of Jefus 
 Chrift s and its glory is reprefented to be divine glory. 
 For it is called the glory of God, and the glory of the Lord. 
 2 Cor. iii. 18. Chap. iv. 6. The law, as a minif ration of 
 death and condemnation, is faid to be glorious ; but the Gof- 
 pel exceeds in glory , (2 Cor. iii. 7, 10.) becaule we have in 
 the Gofpel a more full and bright manifeftation of the glory 
 of the divine nature. The glory of both is of the fame 
 nature, divine glory ; but in the Gofpel it mines with 
 greater brightnefs. Now the glory of the divine nature 
 confifts in infinite wifdom, holinefs, juftice, goodnefs, and 
 truth. Thcfe perfections are the beauty of the Divinity. But 
 
SEC. II.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. $ 
 
 how are they manifefted in the Gofpel ? — It is true, the 
 ends propofed in the Gofpel arc very glorious, to bring 
 glory to God, falvation to Men, and deftruclion to Satan's 
 caufe : But how are the means glorious ? — Cbrijt crucified. 
 How are the divine perfections manifefted in bringing 
 about thcfe ends by the incarnation and death of the Son 
 of God ? This has been a fumbling block to the Jenx:, and 
 foolijhnefs to the Greek ; and yet is affirmed to be in an emi- 
 nent and peculiar manner the nxifaom of God — But how, 
 and wherein, does the wifdom of Vjou appear in the death 
 of his Son ? This is the point to whicn we are now care- 
 fully to attend. 
 
 It has been obferved that the death of Chrifl was de- 
 figned to aniwer the m m^nds of the law in our ftead. The 
 law nad fail, cur fed is every one thai ccutinueth not in all 
 things written in (he bock nf the la<u, tc ao ti.em. But ny the 
 deeds of this law no jiejh can be jufujied in tfejight of God ; 
 for by it all ft *nd con-em ned as dinners. '1 herefore Chrifl: 
 •was made a curfe to redeem us from its turfe : not becaufe it 
 vas a bad la-* : and lo (he f ; oit in tne i.iw-giver : but be- 
 caufe the law was holy, jttft and good, and mankind with- 
 out excufe, guilty befwie God, as much to blame as the 
 <urfe of the law imr orted. He was jet forth to be a propi- 
 tiation to declare God's rigotecujrtfs ; anu iv> in his death he 
 magnified the laiv and maae i. honourable, liai. xlii. 2 1. 
 
 I But there is no wifdom in doing honour to that, which is 
 
 j not worthy of hon ut— And tn.ref re. 
 
 If the divine taw was nit h-iy, juil and good, and did 
 not in its own nature defeive ;o be magnified and made 
 honourable at luch an infinre expence «.s the blood of the 
 Son of G >d, hj.v wa it wife in God to eive his Son to die 
 for 'his purpofe ? And if ic was not wife, how was the di- 
 vine conduct in thi- aff ir in any refp ct God-like and 
 glorious ? If it was nor wife, ic wa unwife. It n ufl be 
 unwiie to be ar inch infinite • xpence, if the nature of the 
 cafe did not call for it, if t e law d\A not defeive luch ho- 
 nour. And if there was no need . f uch an atonement in 
 Order toourp.rdon and f .v.. inn, it was no art of kindnefs 
 to us. We might hive been faved a? well without. And 
 if the law wa- in i's own nature too lev: re it could not be 
 a holy, or a jull att in G;;d to require (uch an atonement 
 in order to our pardon and falvation; but the contrary. 
 C 
 
10 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [SEC. ir. 
 
 It mud therefore be laid down as a fundamental maxim, 
 that the divine law in its full extent, and with all its curfes, 
 and that with refpedt not only to Adam in innocency, but 
 alio to all hi> finfal race, in whofe itead Chrift has borne 
 its curfe, is really, in itfelf, and in the eyes of God, holy, 
 juit and good, glorious and amiable, worthy of having 
 its honour fecured by the blood of the Son of God. For 
 there can be no glory in the death of Chrift, if the law be 
 not glorious. Rather, it muit have been contrary to all 
 the divine perfections tor God to have given his Son to die, 
 to do honour to that which deferved no honour. And the 
 Gofpel which brings us the news, inilead of revealing the 
 glory of God, would bring to light an affair infinitely and 
 everlaftingiy to his difhonour. — For, 
 
 How muit.it appear in the eyes of ail holy beings, if the 
 law was good only with -relpect to Adam before the Fall, 
 but not with refpeft to him or his pofterity fince ; that 
 Chrilt mould be made a cuife, to redeem not only Adam, 
 but to tedeem us from the curfe : That Chrift. mould die 
 to make atonement, not only for the one offence of Adam, 
 his firit fiii, but the many offences of Adam, and of his 
 finful race ; even for every breach of that law, which 
 curfeth every one, chat con tinueth rot in all things written 
 in the book of the law to do them. If the Jaw had not 
 been in its full extent, holy, juit and good, with refpect to 
 a fallen world, furely a being of perfect rectitude and infi- 
 nite goodneis, muft have difannulled it, and not iubje&ed 
 his own Sor. in our ftead to bear the curie. 
 
 If indeed vjz arc a fallen, fiuful, guilty world (and if we 
 are not, we did not need the Son of God to die in our be- 
 half) it is not at all ftrange, if there mould be many and 
 great prejudices in our hearts again ft the divine law which 
 we have broke, and by which we (land condemned, blind- 
 ing our minds to its reaion. blenefs ar>d excellency, and 
 temoiing us to think it far from being holy, j.ii and gon d. 
 Nor is it at all ftrange, if Satan, who wa- b.miflied fnm 
 Heaven bv a like law, and is an avowed enemy to God 
 and to his government, ihould defire to it engthen cur 
 prejudices againft the divine law, and do ali in hi? power 
 to blind our minds, lelt the light of the glorious Gofpel of 
 Chrift flic-aid trine in our hearts. Bu' only let our hearts 
 be sHvefted of prejudices, and in a difpoliticn to approve 
 
3EC. II.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. II 
 
 that which is really excellent, and wc cannot fall to difcern 
 the realonablenei} and b-auty or" the divine law. — l ; or. 
 
 If God is an abfolutely perfect being (and to deny that 
 he is, is down-right athcifm) he mult be n. finitely glorious 
 and amiable in himiclf : and therefore he muit be infinitely 
 worthy of that fupreme love and honour, from all the chil- 
 dren of men, which the law requires. And infinite vvor- 
 thinefs lays a foundation for infinite obligation : and infinite 
 obligation to love and honour God fupiemdy, uiii render 
 us infinitely to biame if we do not : and infinite blame 
 defjrves infinite puniihir.ent : exactly as the divine law, 
 that perfect rule of right, has (rated the cafe. And the 
 more difinclined wc be to love God, t f ie moe aggravated 
 is our guiit : and if our inclination to love God with all 
 our hearts is what it ought to be, tr.erccan be no difficulty 
 in the way. So that there is no confident medium between 
 atheifm and an acknowledgement that the divine law is 
 
 ■ holy, jail and good, (j) — And further, 
 
 (i) If God is not an abfolutely perfeBt Being, in himfelf-in- 
 
 finitel glorious and amiable, the divine law, which re 
 us to love him with all our hearts on fain of eternal < 
 . can never he made out to be holy,jifi and good. And if the 
 law is not holy,juf and good, the wifdom of Gcd in the death 
 of vis Son, can never be vindicated. Toe Gvfpel majl be given 
 up. He, then, who denies the infinite amiablenefs cft/.e Deity, 
 as he isint-imje'f, Japs the whole Scripture fcieme attic f&ttn- 
 
 ■ da t ion. He rnujl be an Infidel ; or if he pretends to believe 
 Chnjltanity, he mud hold to a fc heme full of ir.ccnffierue. We 
 have an in fiance of this in Mr. Cud worth. He deities the in- 
 finite amiablenefs of the De\iy, as he is inhinfcif ,* and main- 
 tains, that tone is "no lovelinefs conceivcab'e" in him, but 
 what refits from his being our friend. " difptfed to make us 
 happy." When therefore wc had made him our enemy by fin> 
 
 he maintains, that t,;ere was no loveliiufs to be feen in him. 
 
 Tea. that let our hearts be ever fo right, it was "utterly im- 
 pcfible" to love him ; even inconfftent with our original con- 
 fin ut ion as re,ifonable creatures. The divine law furtly then 
 
 could not in reafon ! e obligator* on a fallen world : it became 
 a bad law. not J.t for us to be under, as foon as ever we broke 
 it : Which to Jay, l.e owns, is fubiefive cf Cbrifiianiti . — 
 ' at then jh all we fay ? To Jay that the law is «• Loh, j'u/f 
 C 2 
 
\l A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [sEC. II. 
 
 If this abfolutely perfect, infinitely glorious Being, who 
 is by nature God. is the creator and preferver of all things ; 
 if he brought all things cut of noihing into being, and 
 holds up all tilings in being every moment ; then all things 
 are abfolutely and entirely his, by an original, indepen- 
 dent right. And if all things are his, he has a natural 
 right -of government over all. And it becomes him to take 
 the throne, and be king in his own world. Supreme au- 
 thority naturally belongs to him — exactly as tne divine 
 law fupp )fes. 
 
 When therefore he takes the throne, afiurres the cha- 
 racter of moral Governor, requires all the human race to 
 lo-ve the Lord their God ivitb all their heart, a>.d with all 
 their foul, and with all their flrength, and with all their 
 mind, on pain of his d.fpieJuie, to be teftined in their be- 
 ing ecemally foriuken of God and given up to rum, he 
 does what perfectly becomes him. His conduct is founded 
 in the higheft reafm. For ne is by nature God, and the 
 original Lord of all things. 
 
 and g<od," when it requires of us what is " inconfiftcnt ivitb 
 the original confiitutton of reajcnable creatures,' is the rtttift 
 glaring, jhocking felf -contradiction. But into n.is, Mr. Cud* 
 worth is necej/arny driven, by his denying Cod to he, in L:m~ 
 felf, an infinitely amiable Being, lor if God is not a lo-ztly 
 ^Ba.ig, --when we have made him our enemy by fin ; yea, if Lis 
 very dilpltafure againft us as Sinners, is net a icvely thing, 
 he never can be laved by us. If to hate and punijhfin, is in 
 God an unamiable thing, there is no beauty at all in his charac- 
 ter, as <will be proved in the fequel. If Mr. Cud-worth will 
 re-confider his ownfeheme, and with afedate, impartial mind 
 look to the bottom of things, he --will find himfelf ebtigtd t* 
 alter his notion of God, or give up Cbnftianity And if he 
 jhould grant, that God is, it himfelf, infinitely amiable, all his 
 objections againft my Dialogues muft drop of ccurfe. For as 
 foot: as the Sinner** eyes are in regeneration, opera a to fee things 
 as they be, Gcd will appear to be infinitely umiab.e. And 
 then every cot/'quence will follow, which, 1 Jay aces foLcw. 
 He wasferfibli of this ; and jo bad no way left / ui to deny, 
 that God is. in him/elf, infin.tey amiahle ; in which he I as 
 deftroyed the o>.ly foundation on wuc/j a conjj.nt febtme of 
 religion can be built, and obliged him.e'f to run into incotijji- 
 
 ence and felf- contradiction. 6>? Mr. Cudworttfs Further 
 
 Defence, p. 221, 226. 
 
SEC. II. J OLORY OF THE GOSPEL. I3 
 
 And had all the human kind, in mutual love and perfect 
 harmony among themielvei (as alfo the divine i«»w 
 require* ) joined with one heart and with < ne loul, 
 in a fupreme love to the fupreme beauty, and in ~n 
 entire, cordial, joyful iubjection to thtir Creator and 
 fupreme Lord, ana abiolutely perfect Sovereign ; ana con- 
 tinued univerfally obedient to all the dictates of bis whJ, 
 which mull for ever have been infinitely wile ; tney might* 
 as one united, harmonious, happy family, nave a;* ays 
 dwelt under the (had »w of his wings, enjoyed nib f.vour, 
 his fmilet, his bletfiug, and made eternal progrels ;n all 
 divine improvements, rejoicing ever befuie nan, 10 nis 
 honour and infinitely 10 tneir own ad Vane ge. And ..ll 
 this was but the very thing cne divine law was in its own 
 nature calculated to bring them to. for / ( lanv <wm or- 
 Gained to lift. Whcietore the law <was hoi) juft una &otd , 
 and a glorious exprt dim of the hohnd ,j ILce, and goud- 
 nefs of the divine nature, 'he very in a ; e of vne Deity. — 
 And therefore ic was worthy to be kept in honour by God's 
 own Son — Befides, 
 
 When in the beginning God ere. ted the Heavens and 
 the Earth in fix days, and all things that are in heaver* 
 and in the E&arth, viiible and invisible, whetner they be 
 Thrones, or Dominions, or P« inc.puii ie-, or Powers, he 
 then created all tilings for nimidf, with a vi^w to be^in 
 a moral kingdom, comprehending ;>11 i:oiy intelligences, 
 and to fet up a moral government to Lft for ever ami ever ; 
 the welfare of which, muft confilt in, and reiult from the 
 knowledge and love of God, and mutual love and harnicny 
 under his per feci governnitnt : — 1 n.-.i is, in fuch temper*, 
 employments and enjoyments, as the divine Lvv was cal- 
 culated 'O train them up unto. And at this holy kingdom 
 •was fo large, comprehending all holy intelligence* ; and 
 of fuch great duration, to I all for ever and ever; its inte- 
 reft and welfare w;.s, ltrictly ipe king, of ii finite value. — 
 It was therefore rf infinite importance, not only as to the 
 honour of God, but alfo ;is to the good of his great ;.rd 
 eternal kingdom, that the honour and authority of that 
 law iliould be naintained invi late, which fecurcd the 
 lights and prerogatives of the Godhead, and the infi- 
 nitely valuable privileges of all his lubjecls. 
 *" 3 
 
14 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [SEC. II. 
 
 To break this law, in its native tendency, was to de- 
 throne God and dilband his empire, to introduce univerfal 
 rebellion, difcord, and ruin inio God's eteiriaj kingdom. 
 And had the firlt rebel had iufiicu-nt p.,wer and inhuencc 
 on his fiJe. he would actually nave dethroned God and 
 difbaiiitd his empire, introuuceu univcrlai rebellion, dif- 
 cord, and ruin, into Goo's eternal k.ngdom. Yta, this is 
 the native tendency of every iin, <.nd ine heart of every 
 Sinner, as 1 have largely fl.ewn in anot. er place, (i) — 
 Therefore to crufli iebei.ii n — ,o brand lin with denial 
 
 infamy — to eilabJilh trie divine authoiit; o maintain the 
 
 divine law in all us honours, weie things of infinite im- 
 portance, not only to the honour of God, but ailo to the 
 welfare of hi; great and eternal kingdom. 
 , Therefore, when Saisn and his adheiems full began re- 
 bellion in Heaven, although dear tu God belore their fall, 
 yet love to b"ing in general, love to God and to the cre- 
 ated fyilam, love to law, to virtue, to order and harmony, 
 awakened infinite wrath in the Almighty again ft tne rebels 
 • — excommunicated them from the Church of the hrlt-b^rn 
 above — baniihed them from that holy focieiy, and doonjed 
 them to eternal da<kueis and woe : that fin might be pic- 
 tured in all its infinite horrors in the hearts of all hi:, loyal 
 fubjecls above, that the infection might never fpread in 
 that world, but the horn ur ot his authority, law ano go- 
 vernment, be more firmly eilabliftied than ever, to the 
 glory of his name, and to the everlalling intereft of his 
 great and eternal kingdom : And ali Heaven had re^fin 
 to cry, A 'MEN, HALLELUJAH : Jijl and ri^httcus are 
 thy nxajs, Lo*a God Almighty. 
 
 And if after this, rebellion breaks out in another part 
 of God's dominions, is theie lefs, nay, i' theie not rather 
 greater reafen, that fin (hould be equally difcoumenanced ? 
 Or rather, that fome more effectual method than ever: 
 lihould be entered upon to eftablilh the divine authority,, 
 and fecure the honour of the divine government ? Or 
 mud the divine law now be given up in favour of u I el i 
 MAN, even as the Devil made our firit Paients believe it 
 would, when he tempted them to revolt, laving, Ye palm 
 net furely die: — Let us flop and think a moment, vvhad 
 would be the import of giving up the law in this cafe*. 
 
 (i) Sermon, on tie great evil of Sin, 
 
SEC. II.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 15 
 
 • Tiie law fuppofed, that Goo was really by nature G d, 
 an aDioiuitJy perfect, . n infinitely glorious B-- ing, as it 
 required ua to conuder and ueat aim as Inch . Our revolt 
 wa* a practical declarative*, thai he was not by n-i.ure G. d, 
 n. r worthy to be glo li.co as God. To give up the Jaw 
 in favour ot bis rebellion*, crea-ture, rnau therefore be trie 
 feme, in effect, as for G -u to give up hi: own divinity, 
 ana ungod nimieif, in ,ne iign.. 01 al! his Dominions, to 
 gratify a iebel. — Again, 
 
 Tiie law alio lu^'Oied, that as God was the Creator, 
 Loid and Owner or the Univene, and by nature uid ; fo 
 he vvus polieiieo of fupren»e author t) , a\i authority mti- 
 niteiy binding, ano infinitely woithy to be revered. 10 
 give up the 1 ; w tnerelo;e, was in eticCt the fame, as to 
 iciign his authority in favcui of l-hote, Wfto had dti t iled 
 it, give a quit-claim ot ne Univeile, and tolerate a gene- 
 ral revoK. As if God ihouid iay, * 4 1 he L'niverie i* not 
 mine, i.or ha\e 1 any authority Over it ; Angels, Men and 
 Devils are all at liberty : r l nere is no king, ..no lo every 
 one may do what is ngiu in hi 3 own eyes." For, to n. Id 
 his authority merely on tne foot of the voluntary loy.Ty 
 of his lubjects ; fo that whenever any revo.t, ihey are at 
 liberty no longer obiigeu to obey ; to do this only in one 
 inftance, is in t fleet, to relinquish all claim to authority 
 over any, as ounoed in his God-head and Lord-lhip ; 
 which is in ifFeci, the fan.e, as quit his ciuim to his own 
 divinity and to his own world, to grat ; fy th> fe w ho tveaid 
 giauly ungod him and dethrone him. — In a word, for God 
 to give up the law, which require^ u> 10 love i nd obey him 
 wi.n all our lit arts, is praclicaiiy to declare to nis rebellious 
 creatures, * 4 Yo^r oif.ffeCtion to my character, and rebel- 
 lion ag.iinil m\ authority, is no crime : for i am not wor- 
 thy to be loved and obeyed with aii your hearts : for 1 am 
 not by nature God an absolutely perfect, ;-no infinitely 
 glo ious and amiable Being, youi Ci a tor, fovereigu Lwd 
 
 and King, a^ in mv law i claimed to be." And, 
 
 i'o alter and rbdte tne law, and bring it down to the 
 talie and gooo- .king » f an p< ftate wild, w .0 were ene- 
 mies to God and his g ivetnment, enemies to the order and 
 harm, rv of the Urn trie, 1 uli be much the fame, as for 
 -Goo to give b his law and authority entirely. For he 
 jiui 1 qui his fuprem3cy, give ut tht ri-.hs and honours of 
 llxc God-head, juftif) then ic; olt, mm 10 bt en Uicif fide, 
 
l6 A CPNERAL VIEW OF THE [SFC IT. 
 
 turn enemy to God and to his law, and employ his infinite 
 wifJom and aimi^hty power, to promote the ichtrmes tliey 
 have hid in conlequencc of their revolt, tehemes fuited to 
 the talle of apoltaie creatuies : And thus they mult bee; me 
 as Gcd's. as Sut.ni faid, and the Almighty become their 
 true and faithful lervant. For nothing ihort of this would 
 fuit an apoltaie world. But tnis is ev^n worfe than merely 
 to quic his claim to the Univene, and refign his govern- 
 ment over it. A c . it would be bad for king George to quit 
 his throne for the PietenJer, and fly his country ; but worle 
 to become the PreienJer's iervant, anu be obliged to em- 
 ploy all his power to promote the Pretender's intereit. 
 
 And ir among God's revolted fubjecls, any of the rebela 
 ihoul 1 imagine that what the Devil faid was true, ye frail 
 not jurely die : If any mould periuade themielves tiiut it 
 never was in God's heart to care at all for his own honour, 
 or for the honour of his law and government, or to punifh 
 any of 'is creatures, for defpijing the Lord and defpifng the 
 Commandments of -the Lord ; or ever to inflict any pain upon 
 any of his fubjects, unlels merely for tneir benefit: in a 
 word, if any Ihould imagine, that it never was in God's 
 heart to regard or aim ac any thing but limply the good 
 of his creatures, be they virtuous 01 vicious ; and believ- 
 ing God to be thus altogether according to their own hearts, 
 they are well plrafed with his character ; and (o verily 
 think that they are not enemies to God in a ftateor rebel- 
 lion, worthy of eternal death: and confequently that they 
 do not need a pardon, much le!s an atonement of infinite 
 value to procure a pardon. All this is fo fir from argu- 
 ing an atonement to be netdlefs, that it rather ftrves to 
 dilcover the abfolute necefiity of one; that God night 
 give no occafion for thele fal.e ani bialphen ous r < tions 
 of Him and his government, uruveilally to prevail, inh\- 
 ni'ely to the dilhonour of God, and entirely to the fubver* 
 firm of his authority, while he is on uehgns of n.ejcy 
 towards a fallen world. 
 
 Ir is manif ft from the whole tenor of the divine con- 
 duel from the found:, tion of the world thai he looked u; on 
 it. as of the hig-faett importance 'hat the intellectual f\ft*m 
 jfhctild kn< w that the Dejty is infii i'tly worthy of (up five 
 love and univerfhl obedience, and thai .he evil of oil- tac- 
 tion and rebellion againtt the ci i \ t» = e maj»Pv is i,.t r'r.ely 
 gicut, and worthy of aa in urate puhiihiutu; : at> he is in 
 
SEC. II.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. IJ 
 
 fatt by nature God. and Lord fupreme, It therefore ap- 
 peared in the eyes of God a glorious aft, and infinitely 
 becoming the wife Father of the Univerie, originally to 
 fufpend the everlarting welfare of his new-made, ii.n -cent 
 creatures, on condition of their fupreme love to the Deity, 
 to be manifefted by a univerfil obedience to his will. And 
 he judged it wife an 1 righteous in him, as moral Governor 
 of the world, to baniih the fiift rebels from his presence 
 into everlaftmg drftruction. And in his eyes it was a moll 
 glorious difplay of ail his perfections, when Man hid fillen 
 not to pardon one of all the race without a Mediator of 
 infinite dignity, and an atonement of infinite value: nay, 
 rather to part with, his own Son from his bofom, and deli- 
 ver him up to bear the curie in our Head, and fet him for.h 
 to be a propitiation to declare his righteoufnefs. and let the 
 wnole fyltern fee his fuU refolution topunifhfin, andmainrain 
 the honour of his law and government. — .And in this view, 
 Cbnji crucified is the -ivi/dom of God : a moit glorious means 
 to accompliih the moit glorious ends. And in this prima- 
 rily confifts, the glory of the glorious GofpH of Jefus Chrift. 
 
 It was a glorious difplay of the hoiinefs of the great 
 Governor of the world, to appoint his own Son to die a 
 facrifice of atonement, as hereby his infinite regard to his 
 own honour, and infinice hatred of fin, was fet in the 
 itrongeft light. 
 
 And it was a glorious difplay of the divine juftice, as 
 hereby it appeared, that he was unchangeably determined 
 to puniili fin according to its defert, and execute the curfe 
 of his righteous law, although his own dear Son, ftanding 
 in the room of a guilty world, was the perfon to be made 
 a curfe. 
 
 And it was a glorious difplay of divine goodnefs ; for if 
 the divine law was foholy, juft and good, To exactly in the 
 image of the D-ity, as to be worthy of all this honour ; 
 then, to a demonftration, God was wholly right, and our 
 difafftction and rebellion entirely groundlefs, yea, infi- 
 nitely criminal. And therefore mankind were not nitied 
 as having been too feverely dealt with. And while the 
 death of Chrift declares the juftice of the law, and the righ- 
 teoufnefs of God in our condemnation, the gifc of Chi id 
 to die in ourlbad, appears to bean act of grace, infinitely 
 great, and abfolutely free. 
 
 And while the Son of God ftands cloathed in human 
 
l8 A GENERAL VIEW OF THE [SEC. II. 
 
 nature, and voluntarily appears as our reprefer.tative, to 
 die in our Head, as our fecund Adam, God appears to be a 
 God of truth. For the criminal dies virtually in his furety. 
 And thus the law is honoured, fin difcounten..nced, the 
 Sinner laved, grace glorified, and Satan difappointed, all 
 at once. And thus all the divine perfections are uifpiayed 
 on the crofs of (Jhrilt. And thus the Gofpel is a glorious 
 Gofpel. But ali this, only on fuppofuion the law was a 
 glorious lau — For, 
 
 Let it orce be fuppofed, that the divine law, which re- 
 quired iinlefs perfection on p.jin of tternal damnation of all 
 mankind, is in its own nature too fevere, and it will inevi- 
 tably follow, (Heaven forbid the blafphemy) that Chrift in 
 bearing the curie of ths l. ; w in our ftead, diea a iacrifice 
 to tyr nny. And fo the Gofpel inftead of being a glorious 
 Gofpel, a glorious difplay of ;he wifdom, hclineis, juftice 
 and goodnefs of the divine natuie, exhibits to view, the 
 r ( \} (hocking fcene, chat can poflibly be conceived of : 
 Foolifhnefs in ihe abftraft. 
 
 P-ut if the law was holy, juft and good, glorious and 
 amiabie, and worthy to be fo magnified and made ho- 
 nour, ble, and if the law be thus viewed and confidered.; 
 at once the atonement of Chrift becomes the wifdom of 
 God and the power of God, the wifeft and the moft effec- 
 tual method to anlwcr i he moft glorious ends. And thus 
 the crofs of Chrift will appear foclijhnefs or wifdom, accor- 
 ding to the light in which we view it. As it is written, 
 (i Cor. i. 23. 24) We preach Chrift crucified, unto the Jews 
 a fumbling block, a;:d unto the Greeks foolijhnefs : But unto 
 them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Chrif the 
 power cf God, and the wifdom of God. 
 
 Thus we have taken a general view of the Nature and 
 Glory of the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift. And the way being 
 thus prepared, we proceed to t; ke things into a more par- 
 ticular coniiJera'ion in the following Sections. 
 
SEC. J1I.J THE DIVINE LAW, &C. 19 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The Divine Law Holy, Juft and Good, a glorious law 
 antecedent to a ccnjideiation of the gift of Cbrift, and 
 the work of Redemption by him. 
 
 IF the moral character of the Deity, which confifls in 
 holinefs, juilice and goodnels, is glorious and amiable ; 
 and if the divine law is after his own image, a tranfcript 
 of his nature, holy, juft and good, it muft be glorious and 
 amiable too : And that the divine law is hoiv, juit and 
 good, the Apoille Paul exprcflly affirms, in tne fever, th 
 chapter of hi- Epiftle to the Romans, ver 12. 
 
 \Vouid we know what law the Apofcle fpeaks of in that 
 verfe, let us read through that Epiftle, and his Epiille to 
 the Galatians, in which he is fpeaking of the fame law ; 
 and we (hall find thefe things faid of it. It is that law 
 which the Jews had written in a book, and the Gentiles 
 written in their conference;. It revealed the wrath of God 
 from Heaven ogair.Jl all ungodlinrfs and m.rigl.teoujnejs rf 
 Men. By this law is the knowledge cf Jin. It requires us 
 to continue in all tki.gs in it to do them. It piomiles, that 
 the Man that doth the things contained in it Jhall live. But 
 curfes every one that continue:!? not in all things. And i.c- 
 cording to it, boio jews cad Creeks are under Jin : ev^ry 
 mouth is flapped, and the whole world ft and guilty b fore God. 
 Each one witi.cut excuje. Rom. i. 18 21. Chap. ii. 14. 
 Chap. iii. 9, 20. Cnap. \ii. 7, 12. Chap x. 5 Gil. iii. 
 10, 12. And from the whole temir of divine Revelation, 
 we learn, that it requires us to love God with all our heart, 
 and yield a perfect and pe; fevering obedience to his will on 
 pain of eternal death 
 
 That this law, with refpecl to mankind in their prefent 
 ftate, is holy, juft. and good, antecedent to a cor. fide rat ion 
 of the gift of Cnri.l and th.' work of redemption by him, 
 is certain from two indifput, b c fidls. 
 
 Firft pact — Th:it all minkind, in their natural itate, 
 are by God, the ju'dge of all »he Ea:th c nfidered as un- 
 der it, and held bcund by it. That this is the cafe, is plain ; 
 
20 THE DIVINE LAW [SEC. III. 
 
 For, we cannot be guilty before God for the breach of a 
 law, which in his fight we are not under : But for the bi each 
 of this law, the whole world Hand guilty before God : 
 theieibre the whole world in the fight of God are under 
 the law. Rom. iii. 19 — No man can be entitled to life by 
 obeying a law which he is not under : But whofoever obeys 
 this law 15 expreflly entitled to life : therefore every man 
 is under it. Rom. x. 5 — No man is liable in the light of 
 God to the curie or penalty of a law which he is not held 
 bound by : But God declares, that every Chriitlels Sinner 
 is actually ui der the curfe of the law: iherefore every 
 Chrifhefs Sirner is held bound by it. Gal. iii. 10. Joh. 
 iii. 18, 36. — Thus the f.ct is plain, that all mankind, in 
 their natural ftate, are, by God, the judge of ali the Eanh, 
 confidered as under it, and held bound by it. But from 
 the abiblute perfection of the divine nature we may be cer- 
 tain, that the judge of all the Earth cannot but do right. 
 It is inconfiftent with ihe holinefs, jultice and goodneis of 
 his natu:e, and therefore morally impcflible he fhould held 
 his creatures bound by a law, unleis it were holy, jult and 
 good. This 1 w is therefore holy, Jul' and good. 
 
 Second fact — That God has given his own Son, to be 
 made a curie, jo redeem u;- f om ihe curfe of this law. But 
 it had been inconfilKnt with every one of the divine per- 
 fections, to have \ iven his Son to be made a curfe, to re- 
 deem us from the curfe of a law. which in juilice we could 
 not have been h Id bound bv, ifChrift had never died. 
 
 Whoever will rhii k. • f mi-, at d thorough')' w eigh it in 
 his mind, will f el bimfelf ( bliged, ei her ro acknowledge 
 the law to be holy j ft and good, an:e< edent 10 a cc nlide- 
 ration of he gift H Chrift ; or to give up law and Goipel 
 both together : Fo; G 6\- giving hi:. Son to die. to redeem 
 us from ihe cure of [he law, is th< greatefl proof of its 
 goodneff, whicn could j < fliblv have been v'i v en by the Fa- 
 ther or Son. ' he f- ct mult be denied, t ho re f' re. or the 
 confeqnence null be granted. We mufl fay, that Chr ft 
 was n t ma e a cu rje, t< re< e n> v* f.om the curie of the 
 law, or ue null y ant the law w s good ; for to f y, hat 
 God the father ga\e hi* Son, to re nacie a curfe, to r* de< m 
 us from the curfe ot a b d law, is uorfe than Jnhde ity ; 
 nav, worfe than d up-ru hi .4 heifm . FV.r to believe that 
 God is an Almip t\ t_\ r.-rr that » > v\d put his creatures 
 under an unrighteous law, aud then appoint his Son to 
 
?EC. III.] HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. 
 
 bear its curie in their room, is worfe than to believe there 
 is no God at all. — The goodnefs or the divine law mult be 
 granted therefore, or we lliali find no where to Hop on thii 
 iide infidelity. — But I mean, at prefent, to reaion oniy 
 with thole wno grant the Scriptures to be the word of 
 God. And to thde, I prelume, the argument rr.uft be 
 conclusive. — But, 
 
 I. if the divine law is holy, juft and good, antecedent 
 to a conrideration of the gift of Cnriil and work of redemp- 
 tion by him ; then tne divine law is a glorious and a.niabie 
 law, antecedent to a confederation of the gift of Chriil, 
 and work of redemption by him. For, if holinefs, julticc 
 and goodneis, are glorious and amiable attributes, as they 
 are in Gad, tiic original; then they are glorious an J ami- 
 able attributes, as they are in the a; vine law, which is his 
 imige, and a tranfeript of his nature. If the original is 
 lovely, the image is lovely aifo. To lay otherwife, plainly 
 implies a contradiction. Bendes, if hoiinefs, juftice and 
 goodnefs, ae not glorious and amiable properties, then 
 God him felf is not a glorious and amiable Being. And 
 if God is not a glorious and amiable Being, he ought not 
 to be viewed and loved as fuch. Wnich to fay, is to over- 
 throw N-itural and llevealed R:ligion both at once. 'I 
 is no conultent medium therefore, between renouncing 
 all religion, and granting the duine law to be glorious 
 and amiable, antecedent to a consideration of the gift of 
 Cnrift, and work of redemption by him But, 
 
 J[. If the divine law is a holy, ju.r, j^ood, and glorious 
 law, antecedent to a conliderati jn of the gift of Cnrift ; 
 then it muit of necefiiry appear fuch, to every one whcie 
 eyes are opened, to fee it as it is. That is, to every one, 
 thdt is not fpiritually blind. For, if it it, in fact, a glori- 
 ous law, in itfeif ; it mult appear fo to every one, who 
 fees it, as it is ; and it muit begin to appear ;o, as foon as 
 it begins to be feen as it is. And he that does not fo 
 much as bevin to fee the divine law as it is, is evidently 
 altogether fpiritually blind. God h is rot as yet begun to 
 open >.is eyes, but the vail is fliil all over his heart ; and en- 
 mity to God, and his law, has full pcfitflLn of his foul.(i) 
 
 (i) Thefe four toints muji be ivftfted on. — Fir/?, That the 
 diiifte law is i.oly, J lJ J?, good, and glorious, antecedent to a 
 
 D 
 
22 THE DIVINE LAW [SEC. lit. 
 
 To fay, (i That it is impolfible the law mould appear 
 glorious to me, before I believe myfelf delivered from its 
 cure," is either tu fay, that tae law, antecedent to a con- 
 fi deration of the gift of Cmift, was not a glorious law : 
 or elfe, that a man whofe eyes t re opened, cannot pMlibly 
 fee it to be what it is. But if it was not a glorious law, 
 antecedent to a confideraiion of the gift of Ch rift, it \o cer- 
 tain Chrilt never would have been given, to redeem us 
 from its curie. And if men do not lee it to be whit it is, 
 it is certain they are b:ind : for this is the very thing that 
 is meant by blind'ief> in this cafe. 
 
 ! m truth is, thofe who view the law as being glorious, 
 only under tuc notion, thty are, or lhalibe delivered from 
 its curie, are as blind to its real beauty, as the moil ftupid 
 Sinner in the world. It is jult as if a man mould pretend 
 to love a tyrant, merely becaufe he is dead. And although 
 they may be ravilhed to think Chrift died for them, yet 
 the real pa-port of hh death, never once came into their 
 view. And find the law in reality, been no oiherwiie than 
 
 confederation of the gift of drift. 2nd. That it is feen to be 
 fuch by even enlightened foul. ^d. That in this view Chrift 
 crucified, is feen to be the wifdom of God. \th. That witb- 
 tut this view, the wfdom of God in the death af his Sen, 
 cannot be feen. But wt.eti.er the glory of the law is feen, in 
 erder of time, be fere the glery of the atonement, need not be 
 inftftcd on. If things are fen in their true nature, and in 
 their true arrangement, it matters net, whether thty come into 
 Vtepu gradually or ir.ftantanea.fty. Tiey may in fome irftan- 
 ces, come into view gradually, and very diftinhly ; and in 
 fome, as it were , inft ant anecujlv , and lefs diftindly. Some may 
 hi.-ve a greater degree of Jpiri/ual light at frft , and (t hers a 
 lejs degree. Some may have a diftincl remembrance of their 
 'views and txercijes, and others not. It matters not as to thefe 
 things, if men do but know, and love, and obey the truth in 
 ftnctrity, they are Cbriftians. — But if the truth is hated and 
 oppofed, and errors Jul ft i luted in its room ; if the divine law 
 be denied to be glorious ; if it f Us me with hatred and heart 
 rifing i f my heart rifings are al' a) ed merely in a belief that 
 1 am delivered from the ewfe ; if this belief is the only ground 
 of m; Ic ve and joy, and of all my religion i I am not a Chrif- 
 tian ; I am an Antinomian i an enemy to the divine law 9 
 and to the crrf of Chrift. 
 
3JEC. III.] HOLT, JUST AND GOOB. £5 
 
 it appears to them, Chriil never had died to redeem any 
 man from its curie. For had it not been good and glori- 
 ous, antecedent to his interpofition, he never would have 
 interpofed. For he did nut die, becaufe the law was bad, 
 to relcue us from its unrighteous curfe, and pacify our an- 
 gry minds : But he died becaufe it was good, to do it 
 honour, and anfvver its demands in our ftead, to the end, th il 
 ; God, confidently with his honour, might by his holy fpi- 
 rit, take the vail from our hearts and bring us to fee the 
 glory of his law, and heartily repent of all our hard 
 thoughts of God and of his government, and in this way 
 be forgiven fimply on Chrift's account, and through Faith 
 in his blood. And this is that repentance toward Gcd, and 
 Faith toward our Lad Jefus Cbrijl, wnich S^int Paul 
 preached to the world. 
 
 He who never viewed the divine law as glorious and 
 v/orthy to be magnified and made honourable, never once 
 underitood the dehVn of Chriit's mediation, or the purport 
 of his death, or the nature of his righteoufnefs and atcno- 
 iinent, or faw the glory of the Gofpel, or indeed truly 
 knows any thing about the way of falvation through hvs 
 blood ; as will be proved in the fequel. 
 
 Ohjeci. " To view the law as glorious, antecedents a 
 -confideration of the grace of the Gofpel, implies, that it 
 appears a glorious thing in God to punim fin according 
 to its defert, with application to myfelf : But. this is in- 
 confident with that principle of felf- preservation originally 
 implanted in human nature when innocent : and fo in 
 its own nature is impcfiible. And therefore, cannot be a 
 duty. And therefore, to be blind to the beauty cf the di- 
 vine law, thus viewed, cannot be of a criminal nature. — 
 Nor can 1 be obliged to look upon the law, as glorious, 
 only in confequence of the grace of the Gofpel." 
 
 A'if-w. 1. This objection, if there be any weight in it, 
 is fubverfive of all religion, natural and revealed, in Hea- 
 ven and on Earth. For a difpofition to punim fin accord- 
 ing to its defert, is an eflential part of that character of 
 God, which is exhibited in Law and Gofpel, and in the 
 whole cf the divine conduct, from the expulfion cf the 
 finning Angels out of Heaven, down to the laft fentence 
 which will be pronounced on the wicked at the day of 
 Judgment. And if, with application to myfelf, this char- 
 
 D 2 
 
24 THE DIVINE LAV, fSEC. III. 
 
 after does not appear glorious, for the very fame reafon 
 it cannot appear glorious to me, with application to any 
 other being, if my heart is as it ought to be. For I ought 
 to love my neighbour as mylelf. And my neighbour's 
 happinefs ib worth as much as n y own, and his eternal 
 ry ;is dreadful a thing as mine would be. Therefore, 
 if :t is inconfiftent with that love I owe to myferf, to view 
 divine law as. glorious, antecedent to a coni-dcration 
 ^c of the Gofpel, it i r - alfo incorfillcnt with that 
 love 1 owe to my tn-ighbour. The moment, therefore, the 
 g Angels were doomed to eternal mifery, it behoved 
 c world, on this hypothecs, to revolt. Nor 
 g ever reconcile them to the Deity, but his 
 delivering Satan and Lis afTociates from the cu.-fe. And 
 the moment God told Adam he mould die if he finned, 
 it behoved him to look upon Gcd as an hateful Being, for 
 making fuch an unmerciful law. And had he been of the 
 fame temper we are naturally of, it wcnld have apreared 
 to him in p. fiule to love that character of the Deity, 
 which was exhibited to his view in this law. And unkfs 
 God d( es, after the day of Judgment, reverfe the final 
 fentence, depart ye curfed into everlafiitig fire, it will behove 
 Angels and Saints, who ought to love rheir neighbours as 
 themfelvcs, for ever to lock upon Gcd, as an hateful Be- 
 ing, while they view the damned, their fellow-creatures, 
 tormented by him in the lake of fire and brimftcne. for 
 ever and ever. If therefore, all Beings in the intellectual 
 fyftem felt, as the cbjeclor appears to do, all would join 
 with him in enmity to the Divine character, through Hea- 
 ven, Earth, and Hell. 
 
 To fay in this cafe, fC If I am elected, redeemed, par- 
 doned, and finally made eternally happy, lean love God, 
 although others ?re damned, who d^lerve it no more than 
 1 do," — is to declare, " that although I hate the charac- 
 ter of the Deity, and care not what becomes of my fellow 
 creatures yet as I love mylelf, if I am happy, I am con- 
 tent." Which is really to declare myfelf defcitute of all 
 god li nets and humanity, and under the entire government 
 of fclf- love.— -But, 
 
 2. The objection is founded on an hypothecs which is 
 contrary to plain fact, viz, that it is inconfiftent with that 
 love which created Intelligences owe to themfelves, to 
 view it as a glorious thing in God to puniih fin according 
 
"SEC. III.] HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. 25 
 
 to its defert — For, (i(l) it, in fact, appeared a glorious 
 thing in God, to pumili I'm according to its defert, to the 
 Angels that ltocd, that very moment Satan was driven out 
 of Heaven down into an etcrral Hell, and that with ap- 
 plication to themfelves. For there was not one of them 
 but wai ready to fay from the bottom of his heart, (t It is 
 a glorious act in God to punHhthofe rebels as he has done." 
 And it would have been as glorious an art in God to have 
 punifhed me in like fort, had 1 joined in their rebellion. 
 (2d) It, in fact appeared to Adam, before the grace of ihe 
 Gofpel was revealed, that it would be a glorious thing in 
 God to punifli him according to law, if he mould fin. For 
 othcrwife the character of GoA exhibited to his view in 
 the law he was under, had not appeared glorious in his 
 eyes. (3d) It will, in fid, appear at the day of Judgment, 
 a glorious thing in God to punifli the wicked according to 
 their defert, to all h ly beings, and that in perfect confid- 
 ence with the higheft exerciies of the purell benevolence. 
 — -Befides, 
 
 3. If it is not a glorious thing in God to punifli fin ac- 
 cording to its defert, there is no glory in the crofs of Chi hi, 
 in which fin was punimrd according to its defert, in the 
 Sinner's reprefentative, the 3on of God incarnate. — Nay, 
 
 4. If the law doss not appear glorious, antecedent to a 
 confideration of the grace of the Gofpel, the gr..ce of the 
 Gcfpel cannot be feen. For the relief granted to us in the 
 Gofpel is of grace, of meer pure grace, fimply on this 
 ground, that the divine law is holy, juft and good, a 
 rious 1 iw in itfeJf. For had i: not been fuch,G:d ha J I 
 obliged in juft ice to have granted us feme relief. — Br fides, 
 
 5. Let a Man, blind to the glory of the law, be ever 
 fo fully affured in his own mind, that he is delivered from 
 the curfe, although it may allay hi:, heart rifmgs, becaufe 
 he is fafe himfelf, and becaufe he cares little what becomes 
 of others, yet it has in its own nature, not the leaft ten- 
 dency to reconcile him to tiie divine law, or to the divine 
 character therein exhibited. If God's pardoning my Sins 
 were the grounds of the law's loveiinefs, then a belief of 
 pardon might co .vince me of the lovelinefs of the law. 
 Eut the law is as lovely if I am punifhed, as if I am par- 
 doned ; for it is, what it is. And granting pardon cannot 
 render a bad law, good ; belief of pardon, therefore, orl^ 
 
 D 3 
 
26 THE DIVINE LAW fsEC. ITI. 
 
 pacifies the angry mind of a guilty Sinner, but has no 
 tendency to convince him that the Jaw is in itfelf good ; 
 witnefs the Fharafces in our Saviour's day, who notwiths- 
 tanding their aflurance of Heaven, were moll inveterate 
 enemies to the divine character exhibited in the law, 
 which clur^cler was exemplified in the life of Chrift. They 
 have both fen and hated both me a?;d my Father. Joh. xv. 
 24. Witnefs, alio all open profrifed Antincmians, of the 
 tlevouteft fort, who profefs the aflurance of the love of 
 God, and at the fame time appear the moft avowed ene- 
 mies to the divine law. Nay, an affurar.ee of pardon in 
 this cafe, always confirms the native enmity of the heart 
 to the divine law, as is plain from this : Let one of thefe 
 people be convinced, they are in an unpardoned flate, and 
 be awakened to fome fenfe of the cl read fulr. el's of eternal 
 damnation ; and their difpofiticn to murmur and blafpheme, 
 will be great in proportion to the greatnefs of their former 
 confidence. Thus the Ifraelites, who, after the giving of 
 the law, letting up the tabernacle, and approaching to the 
 borders of the promifed Land, had their confidence of ar- 
 riving there railed to its greateft height, now were pre- 
 pared on their difappointment, when the fpies returned, 
 to feel worfe toward God, than ever they had done be- 
 fore. — Befides, 
 
 6. If inftead of its being owing to the badnefs of our 
 hearts, it is in the nature of things, impoflible that the law 
 fliould app:-ar glorious, and the divine character therein 
 exhibited, antecedent to a confederation of the grace of 
 the Goh: 1, then contrary to the exprefs words of the Apof- 
 tle, the Gentiles, who never heard of the Gofpel, are kot 
 without excufe, in their want of conformity to the divine 
 law, in their ungodlinefs, in their rot glorifying God as God. 
 Rom. i. 18, 21. For they have a very good plea to make 
 for themfclvcs; an excufe that will fully juftify them. For 
 ac the objeftor rightly luppofes, that kind of impofllbility, 
 which is owing to nothing bad in us, takes away all blame. 
 Tnerefore, every mouth is not (lopped, neither doth the 
 nvbole world jland guilty before Gcd, as to this particular. 
 And thereupon, St. Paul's Gofpel, which is built en this 
 fbu idation is overthrown, if this objection is allowed to be 
 of weight — And what is here faid of the Gentiles, may 
 be equally faid of every impenitent Sinner, who as yet 
 ifciows not that he fhalj be ever the better for the grace of 
 
"SEC. III.] HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. 27 
 
 the Gofpel, in the world to come. According to the ob- 
 jection, it is impoflible, and therefore it is not the duty of 
 fuch to love God; and their not loving him is no crime; 
 and fo Chrift did not die to make aioiiement in this cafe, 
 nor are we to repent, or to afk God to forgive us. All 
 this will follow, if it be no crime for a Sinner not to love 
 God and his law, while as yet he knows not but that he 
 fhall perifh forever, (i)- — Ani 
 
 7. If we are juftifiable in our native diflike to God's 
 law, if we are not to blame for being enemies to the di- 
 vine character therein exhibited, then to be reconciled to 
 this character of God, is no man's duty, and fo is no part 
 of religion. A man may be a good man , and yet an enemy 
 to that character of God which is exhibited in the law. — 
 Yea, perfectly holy, while he perfectly hates it. And fo 
 regeneration becomes a needleis thing. For there is no 
 need of a new, divine, fpiritual principle to be begotten 
 in us, to enable us to love God fimply under the notion of 
 a benefactor. For it was our Saviour's maxim that Sinners 
 love tbofe that love them. If the divine character as exhi- 
 bited in the divine law is not to be loved, there is nothing 
 in revealed religion but what we can love, without any 
 
 (1) To avoid tbefe confluences a late author, wl§ affirms 
 that the divine lavj requires nub at is " utterly impcffiible"— 
 Yea, vu bat implies " lore to our ovon eternal deftruelion" and 
 fo is " inconfijler.t v:ith our duty, contrary to our original con- 
 ft 'it ut ion, and to the lavu of God." Yet at the jame time, 
 maintains that this very la-tv is " holy,juJl and good," bind- 
 ing en all Mankind. By holy, juji and good, he ferns to mean 
 precifely the Jams thing, that other people do by unholy, unjuft 
 and cruel ; and accordingly he affirms, that <l no lovelmefs 
 conceivable," can be difcerned in that character cf tie Deity, 
 which is exhibited in his laiv, and that it is " utterly imtof- 
 fible' n to love it. — Hovcever he alfo affirms, that all Mankind 
 " ought to love it, and are felf-ccndetnned if they do nst." And 
 that al though it is net oaving to the badv.efs in our hearts ti at 
 vce do not j yea, although it is in its own nature, " utterly 
 impcffille, inconftjlent aiith our duty of felf- f refer vat icn and 
 love to curfelves" and Jo in its cvun nature, " contrary tj our 
 •original corftituiion, and to the lavj of God" — A remarkable 
 febeme of religion, this ! — Query — can there be any fin, or can 
 iv: be flf -condemned, in not loving a characler, which has ns 
 
28 THE DIVINE LAW [jSS'C. III. 
 
 other principles than thefo which are natural to us. We 
 therefore on this hynothefis are not fallen creatures, nor do 
 \vc med to be boin ag.--.in- All we need, is a revelation 
 that God loves us, ar.d will make us forever happy. The 
 redeemer and the fan airier, may both be left cut of the ac- 
 count. So bad a law deferves no honor; and let that be 
 fet afide, and God love us, and we (hall naturally love him, 
 without any fpecial influence from above. A;.d thus the 
 whole Gofpel of Jefus Chrift is overthrown. 
 
 But it is a plain cafe, that it was not originally the duty 
 of iinite Intelligences to love themfelves in fuch fort, as to 
 look upon it an unamiable thing in God, to punifli them 
 according to their crimes, in cafe of their revolt. This 
 would fuppofe, that it was originally their duty to be ene- 
 mies to God's government. This kind of felf-love is pe- 
 culiar to apellate creatures ; and in Head of being a duty, 
 is of the nature of fin. Inftead of being innocent, it is 
 pregnant with enmity againir. God's true and real charac- 
 ter. It ought therefore to be called by the proper nr,me» 
 which God has given it, a carnal mind ; not the leaft 
 tin&ure of which belonged to the original constitution of 
 an innocent creature. For the carnal mind is enmity again/} 
 God, is not fuljeel to his law, neither indeed can be. Or, if 
 we would give it another name, we may call it pride. — 
 
 h*velinefs in it ? — Can that law be holy, jvfi ar.d grod, which 
 rtquires us, on pain of eternal damnation 10 do that which is in 
 it fclf fitful, M contrary to the law cf God?" — Tea, rather, 
 is net that a wicked law, which requires us to do a wicked 
 thing, to do what is 'contrary to the laiu of God?" — Is riot 
 that a tyrannical law, which requires us to do that which is 
 impojfible, not through the budntfs cf our heart, but " utterly 
 impojfible,'''' let our hearts be ever Jo good, " contrary to the 
 original conjlitution of reasonable creatures ?" — Would not the 
 HOLY ONE of lfrarl have icon obliged, in honour to hint fclf 
 to have laid a fide fuch an unreafonable, finfui 3 wicked, tyran- 
 nical law, had thtre never been a Mediator ? Would it not bs 
 inconfifient with every perfection rf the di-vine Nature to gi~>e 
 his Sou, to become it c ■ his life and death, to Jhcw the 
 
 greateft refpect and do tie great eft honour to fuch a law f — Does 
 not Antintmianifm lead dire&ly to Infidelity? See Mr. Cud- 
 worth's Further Defe) ce of Thtron and AfpaflO, p. 22 1, 222, 
 .223, 224., 225, 226, 227. 
 
SEC. HI.} HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. 2$ 
 
 For what is it but pride, for a Sinner to thii.k hirrfelf fo 
 good, an 1 of fuch iraft imp rlance, that God mult forfeit 
 his clumber, and cealc 10 be lovely, if be only p. nifl.es 
 him according to his defert ? Would it not be accounted 
 pride in a murderer, to think the chief jud^o muft loie his 
 own character, if he pronoui ces the ientence of death upon 
 him ? That is, if he does, what, intbe eyes of every im- 
 partial man, it becomes him to do ? And would it not be 
 a full proof of a proud, haughty, impenitent, mimic I i, i- 
 rit, i:i a traitor on I ws, if when urged to lay, "God 
 
 lave the King," he (h mid reply, " it is impoffiWe for ire 
 to wifh the King profperity, lo long as I am doomed to 
 die i" When in reafon he ought to take the blame of his 
 ruin wholly t j himfelf. Nor has he any ground to d 
 his King and Country, or be; the lefs benevolent toward thorn 
 becauic he is pvmifhed according to his defert. Rather he 
 ought to go out cf the world ; faying, " Let all his fnj>- 
 jocls love and obey their moil gracious Sovereign, although 
 I receive my juft defert, and am hanged for my troafon." 
 For his King is as worthy of the univerfal love and ol 
 ence of his fubjecls, as if he had never been Co wick. 
 to bring himfelf to fuch a miferable end. And no: 
 but a criminal ft te of mind can prevent its appearing fo 
 to him. And if God'? law be holy, jail and good, the 
 application is cji'y. But to all this I may add, what would 
 alone of itfelf, have been a full anfwer to the objection, 
 that Saint Paul does the fuppofed impofiible deed, viz. — 
 pronounces the law in contr adiliinction from the Gofpcl, 
 even as a Miniftration of death and condemnation to be vlo* 
 
 riour. z Cor. ii. 7, 9 But to proceed, 
 
 II T. If the divine law was holy, juft and good, a glori- 
 ous law, antecedent to a confiderarion cf the gift of Chrift, 
 then this apoftate world might juftly have been held bound 
 by it for ever, and no relief provided. Gcd was no more 
 obliged in point of juftice to provide relief for fallen Man, 
 than for fallen Angels. In this refpect we ftocd en a par 
 with them. Our revolt did not render God lefs amiable 
 in himfelf, or lefs worthy of cur obedience, nor in the leaft 
 free us from our original natural obligations to love him 
 with all our hearts, and yield a perfect obedience to his 
 will. If our inclination to love and obey God ceafed, 
 yet as his worthinefs of our love and obedience remained, 
 d ur obligations were in full force, and the law was as rea- 
 
JO THE DIVINE LAW [SEC. HI. 
 
 fonable and equitable after cur fall as before. And fo he 
 was ab.olutely at liberty, in point of juiiice, to have held 
 us bound by law, and never have provided any relief for 
 any i f the human race.(i) — And, 
 
 If this is the very trutn of the cafe, it will follow, that 
 it w\.b at God's fovereign election, to determine* whether 
 to grant any relief, or not: and what relief to grant; and 
 
 (l) 3ut on the ether hard, if tf ere is no lovelinejs in the 
 divine nature, but what > rju Its from his being my friend, then 
 1 cannot be obliged to icve God, unle/s he is mf friend ; for I 
 cannot be obliged to love a being who has no lovelinfj's in his 
 nature. If ti.ere is no lovelinejs in God, it is no fin , but ra- 
 ther a duty, to think there is none, and feel accordingly. And 
 fo, if mar.kir.d, by the fall, Icj} the favour and friendjhip of 
 God, and fll under his wrath, then, en this l.ypothefj, their 
 ebligutun to love him ecaj'ed. It was no duty for any child of 
 Adam, to love God : no fn not to love him. And if no Jin, 
 then no repentance^ no atonement , no pardon was needed in the 
 cafe. The divine law ceafed to be obligatory the moment the 
 favour of God v:as hf by the fall. And fo no child of Adam 
 could be corfdertd as beig under it. It had been inconfjlent 
 with the divine perfections in God, to have held mankind 
 bound by it : He was obliged in jujlice, if he brought us into 
 being, to provide feme relief for us. 2 ea, God was obliged 
 in jujlice to frgive us, and become our friend, or not to require 
 our love. For it would net be jijl and right to require us to 
 love him, if there is no lovelinej's in his nature. And on this 
 hypothefs, there is no lovelinefs in his rature, 'till he forgives 
 us, and becomes cur friend. And as joon as G:d forgives us 
 and becomes our friend, vue jhall naturally leve him, and fo 
 we Jhall not need to be born of the fpirit, for that vohich is 
 born of the flejh may love a J'riend and benefaclcr : for Sin- 
 ners love thcj'e that love them. And jo, on this jcheme, the 
 Redeemer and the $a>ic~tiftr are needlefs. And jo if this Jcheme 
 is true, Chrijlianuy is overthrown — // concerns Mr. Cud- 
 wiorth, to give a better anfwer to this reafoning, than yet he 
 has dons. — To Jay , that the divine /aw requires us fo do what 
 is " contrary to the law of God," and yet is " holy,jujl and 
 food, is to J'olve the difficulty by an exprefsj'elf contradiction— ~ 
 To fay, that God is in himf elf infinitely lovely, is to give up his 
 whole fcheme. But he mujl own this, or give up the GqfpeL 
 Further defence, p. 2 2 I , tsV. 
 
SEC. III.] HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. Jf 
 
 when, and to whom. To give iiis Son to die with a view- 
 to fave all mankind, or only a part : to fend me news ut" 
 the Gofpel tv) ail nations, or oniy to fome : to give every* 
 child of Adam, botn in a Christian iano, opportunity by 
 living, to hear the glad tidings, or only to grant this 10 
 fome, while oJiers die in infancy, and never he.tr. Thofe 
 who die in infancy, may as juftiy be held under law in uie 
 next world, as thofe tnat live may in tikis . God is under 
 no more obligations to fave thofe that die, than he is to 
 iave thofe that Jive: to grant tiie regenerating influences 
 of his fpirit to them, than he is to thefe. As to thofe 
 who live and hear the Gofpel once, God is not obliged to 
 fend them the news the fecond time, or to wait a moment 
 longer afier the ririt refufal. and if mankind are difinclined 
 to hearken to the Gofpel, God is at liberty to determine 
 what pains to take with them, whether much, or little, or 
 none : whether to ufe external means only, or to grant the 
 internal iniluences of his fpirit : whether to ftrive with 
 them a longer or Ihorter time, in a greater or ief> degree, 
 in a common or fpecial manner. He may have mercy on 
 ivbom he will have mercy, and uubcm be *ujtllhe may harden, 
 i. e. leave to their own hearts under fuch external circum- 
 ftances, as he certainly knows will have this ifiue. And if 
 any proud conceited rebel thinks himfelf hardly dealt with, 
 and is ready in a rage to rife aguinit, God and againit his 
 law with loud complaints, God is at full liberty, as the 
 blame is wholly on the rebel's fide, to treat him accordingly, 
 and in righteous judgment give him up to the deceits of 
 his own heart, and to the delufions of Satan, to be led cap- 
 tive by h.m at his will, into open Infidelity, or into delu- 
 five hopes and joys, that be might belie-ue a lie, and finally 
 be damned, z I'hef. ii. 10, li, 12 — And thus if the law is 
 good, the whole of the divine conduct toward mankind, 
 in fact, Hands juftified. For in no part of his conduct is 
 there the leaic appearance of illegal feverity. Thi c never 
 was objected even by his word enemies. And if his law 
 is good, his whole conduct, therefore, (lands completely 
 juftified. — And, 
 
 If any fay, that the law was not good, thit God could 
 not juftiy have held Mankind bound by it, but was obliged 
 to provide fome relief; then it will inevitably follow, that 
 that book, which afriims the divine law to be holy, juft, 
 and good, and attributes the relief provided wholly to 
 
32 THE DIVINE LAW [SEC. HI. 
 
 free grace, cannot be from God ; becaufc its fundamental 
 maxims are hike, So that of neccffity, we muit grant the 
 law to be good, with ail its naive coniequences, or be 
 !.. And he who from the heart does not the one, 
 is in fact, the other in the li^ht or God. 
 
 IfiGpd was obliged in juftice to piovide all needful re- 
 lief, t;:en all the relief he h& provided, which is no more 
 th.n was really needed, is an act of jullice. And if it is 
 an act of juitice, it is not an ait of grace : And fo on this 
 hypothesis, there is in the Goipel abioiutely no grace at 
 all. —Or, 
 
 If G-jd was obliged in juftice to provide, at lead, fome 
 relief ; then the relief provided in tne Goipel, is, at leall, 
 partly an ad of juitice. And if partly an a& of juitice, 
 $H)t wholly an act of grace: On either hypothetic, tlie 
 Goipei cannot be true, which every where claims to be 
 wholly of free grace. 
 
 For the Son of God to become incarnate, and die to get 
 juffice d< ne us, as though his Father was a tyrant, is in- 
 confiftent with every perfection of the Deity. To enter- 
 tain ft'ch a notion, is at leall, as great a rtiicclion on the 
 holy one of Ureal, as Atheifm iiieif. To fay that God is 
 unrighteous, is as impious as to fay theje is no God. And 
 a fyitem of religious affections arifing from fuch views, 
 mult be, in an eminent degree, an abomination to the Lord. 
 
 IV. If the civine law is holy, juft and good, a glorious, 
 law, the law which all Mankind are naturally under ; then 
 the decree of our finful depravity, and the degree of our 
 blame- wo.-tnir.eis is to be determined by this rule : And 
 any other judgment of ourfehes we come into, not agree- 
 able t .1 this ftandard, is not according to truth. So near 
 as we approach to love God with all our hems, and cur 
 neighbour as ourfelves, and to a conduct exactly anfwera- 
 ble, fo near we approach to the rule of cur duty. But fo 
 far as we are deftitute of that lively, high and lavifhing 
 fenfe of the divine glories which is productive of perfect 
 love, and a perfect obedience, fo far are we from wiiat we 
 ought to be : And fo far as we are deftiture of that love 
 to out neighbour, which will effectually excite us in thought, 
 word and deed, to conduct toward him, as we would that 
 he fliould do towards us ; fo fur we are fiom the rule. And 
 we arc to blame for every defect in a degree eqtai to the 
 greatnefs of the legal penalty ; that is, for every aefect. 
 
SEC. III.] HOLY, JUST, AND GOOD. 33 
 
 we are fo much to blame as to merit eternal mifery. And 
 To far as our judgment of our moral character is regulated 
 by chis rule, fo far our opinion of ourfelves is according to 
 truth. This is to think foberly of ourfelves, and as we 
 ought to think. To think better of ourfelves, is pride. — 
 And the degree of our pride and groundlefs felf-conceit, 
 is therefore juft equal to our diitance from this view of 
 ourfelves, and to our diitance from an anfwerable frame 
 of heart toward ourfelves, in the fight of God. Jult fo far 
 as we are difpofed to think the law too i'evere, juft fo far 
 are we difpofed to julhfy ourfelves and condemn God : 
 and juft fo far are we felf-riglueous, in the worlt fenfe of 
 the word. On the other hand, fo far as the law actually 
 appears to our hearts to be holy, jult, good and glorious, 
 fo far we actually juilify God, and take all the biame to 
 ourfelves, and loath and abnor ourfelves in his fight. And 
 jult {o far, and no farther are we free from what the Scrip- 
 ture means by a felf-righteous fpirit. Juft fo far as God 
 and his law rife in their glory in our view, and to our fenfe 
 anJ feeling, jull fo far our character finks, and is rendered 
 odious, abominable, ill-deferving, Hell-deferving, in our 
 eyes. And jult (o far our need of Chrilt and free grace 
 comes into view. For the moil exalted virtue of the higrieir. 
 Saint weighed in the balance of the divine law, and com- 
 pared with the demerit of the lealt fin, is lig iter than the 
 lealt atom of matter, compared with tne whole material 
 fyitem. But of this more hereafter. 
 
 Thofe who, in the inmoit recels of their hearts, never 
 as yet viewed the divine law, as in itfelf, holy, jult, good 
 and gloi ious, are to this day under the full power of a felf- 
 righteous fpirit, and under the reigning dominion of a 
 fpirit of enmity againft God, and againlt the glorious 
 Gofpel of his Son. And the more religious and devout 
 they are in their own opinion, jult fo much worfe they be ; 
 as all their religion and devotion only f.eds and confirms 
 the pride of their hearts. For the whole of their good 
 opinion of themfelves as religious men, is nothing but 
 pride and groundlefs felf-conceit in the fight of God ; who 
 conliders them in the midit of iheir higheft raptures, as 
 being whit they are, and as deferving what they do com- 
 pared with his holy law, that perfect rule of righ\ W.iich 
 perfect rule of right they are fo far from any degree of 
 
 E 
 
34 THE DIVINE LAW [SEC. III. 
 
 conformity to, that, as yet, in their inmcfl foul, they never 
 once thought it to be good. — And 
 
 V. If the divine law is holy, jail, good and glorious, 
 true repentance for fin cannot begin to take place in the 
 hearts of timers (nor for the fame reafon can they yield 
 any fincere obedience to it) till it begin to appear to be 
 fuch. Sinceic obedience to a law we iir.cerely hate, is a 
 glaring incontinence. And fincere repentance when we 
 go not feel ourfelves to blame, is an exprefs contradiction. 
 But till the law begins to appear holy, juit, good and glo- 
 rious, Sinners cannot begin to fee that that blame lies on 
 them, which the Gofpel calls them to acknowledge, and to 
 humble themfelves for, when it calls them to repentance. 
 For as in the Gofpel an infinite ate nement for fin is pro- 
 vided, the import of which is, that God's law is wholly 
 right, and that we are wholly wrong, and as infinitely to 
 blame, as the law fuppofes ; fo when it calls us to repent- 
 ance, it c annot be underitood in any other fenfe. Nor is 
 any ether kind of repentance the thing the Gofpel can 
 pofiibly mean. The charge exhibited agaii.it us in the 
 law, is by the crofs of Chrill pronounced to be perfectly 
 right, and the law by which we are charged and condemned 
 is declared to be holy, juft and good, a glorious law, wor- 
 thy to be magnified and made honourable : and all the 
 blame is coniidered as being entirely in u.s, God and his 
 throne forever guiltlefs. Repentance begins in our be- 
 ginning to view things in this light, with an anfwerable 
 frame of heart. But to objeel againtt the charge as being 
 too fevere, and again ll the law as requiring too much, is a 
 full proof of an impenitent heart. For the import of i'ucii 
 an objection is, " the fault alledged is not in me, in man- 
 ner and form as fet forth in the c .: e. He that thus 
 charges me therefore lias done me an injury : 'Tis there- 
 fore proper for him to repent, and not iur me." And if 
 any Sinner, in fuch a ft ate of mind, fhould by lion, 
 
 be induced to believe, that God withdraws the charge, 
 and delivers him from the curfe, he might in I 
 forgive his Maker, arid to his own apprehenfioh be fuily 
 reconciled to him. Which reconciliation, if it be called 
 by the mine of Evangelical r ■ yet is fo far from 
 
 beinn; the thing, that it is a full pro< f that luch a Sinner, 
 in the eye of the Go pel, is not yet convince , th it it be- 
 lbnrs to him tu.ienent. For as vet, he does no: ice himfelf 
 
SEC. III.] HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. 35 
 
 to blame, in manner and form, as aliedgcd in the divine 
 law. Every objection a man's heart makes againft the law, 
 every plei he advances for himfelf, every excufe, every 
 extenuating coniideration, is a proof he does not think 
 himfelf to biame as therein held forth. And the more 
 pofitively he affirms, that ic is imppffible lie fnould love 
 God, pntil firft he knows that 1 1 : . -. fins are pardoned, the 
 more pofitively does he declare that his uncircumcifed 
 heart is ftill unhumblcd, and that he is ftill difpofed to juf- 
 tify himfelf, and impute iniquity to his Maker. For God 
 to forgive a Sinner in this view, and fo bring him to a 
 reconciliation, is virtually to own that his law was too 
 fevere, and himfelf to blame, and to repent and make res- 
 titution, and fo induce the Sinner to forgive him. And to 
 fuppofe that Chrift died to bring God the father to this, 
 is the very firlt-born of blafphemy. And if Sinners be- 
 lieve fuch a Gofpel, and are raviihed with it, their \ery 
 Faith proves them Infidels, and their very joys prove they 
 are enemies to the glorious Gofpel of Jefus Chrift. There 
 can be not the leaft degree of that kind of repentance, 
 which the Gofpel calls Sinners unto, unlefs we feel oilr- 
 felves to blame in the lenfe, which the death of Gi rill 
 imports. But the plain import of the death of Chrift is, 
 that the law by which we are charged and condemned, is 
 a good and glorious law. For its being fuch, was the 
 very thing that rendered his mediation and deaili needful 
 in order to our being forgiven, confident with the divine 
 honour. To be blind to the beauty of the law, to plead 
 in our own j unification, to excufe, extenuate, &c. is to de- 
 clare ourfeives to be, in the fight of God, impenitent Infi- 
 dels, enemies*to Heaven. For every word we hy in our 
 jiii'i; location, in this cafe, is to God's condemnation. For 
 if we arc nc: fo much to blame as his law fuppofes, he is to 
 blame who made the law : and repentance, reftitution and 
 reformation, are his duty. And fo a felf-j unifying, is a 
 God-condemning difpontion ; and therefore of all "things 
 mod: diametrically oppofite to the crofs of Chrift, which 
 (declares Gcd to be wholly right, and feals the declaration 
 with b'.o. d. 
 
 VI. If the divine law is holy, juft and good, antecedent 
 ti a coniideration of the death cf Chrift, then the gift of 
 Chiill, to be a Saviour, was an acl of grace abfoluiely free. 
 E 2 
 
36 THE DIVINE LAW [sEC. III. 
 
 As God was not obliged to grant any relief at all : fo the 
 relief he has granted, in every view of it, is an aft of 
 grace abfolutely free. The gift of Chrijl 10 be a Redeemer, 
 the gift of the holy fpirit to be a fancVtficr, divine illumi- 
 nation, Faith, repentance, forgivenefs, and every other 
 Wefling contained in the Gofpel, is abfolutely of fiee gn.ee. 
 
 And by the way, this is the true Gofpel notion of free 
 grace ; and is what no Antinomian ever yet had a true 
 idea of. For till the law appears to be a glorious law, 
 worthy to be magnified and made honourable, the grace 
 of the Gofpel cannot be feen. For it was this very thing 
 that rendered the gift of Chrift, in God, an ait of grace, 
 altogether free. For had not the law been wholly good, 
 God had been obliged in juftice to grant us fome relief. — 
 And had it not been altogether giorious, the death of 
 Chrirt to do it honour had been needlefs. 
 
 And this, I fay, is an idea of free grace, that no Anti- 
 nomian ever had. I ufe the word Aniinomian according 
 to its prefer fignification, to mean, one that is againft the 
 law ; which is the true character of all men, how much 
 enlightened foever they have been, in reality or to appear- 
 ance, who are yet blind to the beauty of the divine law. 
 For all fuch are enendes to it in heart, whatever their pro- 
 feiTicn may be. Armininns and Pelagians are prcf-fied 
 enemies to the law, and fo were thefe in the two hfl cen- 
 turies, who were commonly called Antinomians. But thefe 
 who profefs to be enemies to the divine law, and boldly 
 advance their objections againft it, do only more impu- 
 dently proclaim, what more fecretly lurks in the heart of 
 every unregenerate man, how orthodox foever his profef- 
 fion may be. For every carnal mind is enmity agaiift God, 
 for it is net fubjeSi to bis lanv, neither indeed can be. And 
 therefore it is equally true, as to all unregenerate men, as 
 the Apoftle affirms, the natural man cannot dij'ccrn the things 
 of the fpirit tf God, for they are fooli/bnefs unto him. Nei- 
 ther the glory nor the grace of the Gofpel was ever feen 
 by an unregenerate man. For the Gcfpcl hasfno glory nor 
 grace in it, only on fuppofition the law was a glorious law 
 antecedent to a confederation of the gift of Chrift. Till 
 therefore the law be thus viewed, and no unregenerate 
 man ever viewed it thus, neither the glory nor the grace of 
 thr Gofpel csn ever be feen. And if our Gofpel be hid y it is 
 hidto them that art loft. 
 
SEC. III.] HOLY, JUST AND GOOD. 37 
 
 But 1 the rather fay, this is an idea of the grace of the 
 Gofpel no Antinomian ever had. To fee it in contrail 
 with that nation of free grace, which Antinomies fo 
 called, are wont to have, and to gloiy in, viz. being par- 
 doned before repentance: this is free giace inceed. Re- 
 pent and be converted that your fins may be blotted cut, founds 
 very legal in an Antinomun car. To believe the pardon of 
 fin and God's love to mc, impenitent as I am. is pure Gof- 
 pel. And this belief is the fource of love to God, and of 
 all religion. And thefe, with them, are the doctrines 
 of free grace, which they love, and for which they are fulL 
 of zeal. But as to the free grace of the Gofpel < f Chrift, 
 wnich fuppofes. that God was absolutely unobliged to 
 grant any relief to this apoftate world, as the law by which 
 we ftood condemned, was holy, juft, good and gloriou. — 
 explain it, till they begin a little to underftand what yoa 
 mean, and they will appear as great enemies to free grace, 
 as anv people in the world : juft as the Pharifecs of old, 
 who made their boaft of the law, and yet were enemies to 
 the law, rightly undertlood. Their f*lfe notions of the 
 law ferved only to feed their fpiritual pride, juft as falfe 
 notions of Chrift and free grace do with thefe n.en. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 TJje defign of the Mediatorial Office and work of Chrifty 
 was to do honour to the Divine Law, 
 
 AMEDTATOR. to bring about a reconciliation, fup- 
 p >fes the parties concerned to be at varia ce. If 
 both parties arc to blame, it is the bufmefh of a Mediator 
 to bring b >th parties to fee their faults, tocenfefs, ref< rm, 
 and mak- refti ution, and fo to make up. If one party is 
 altogether rig ht, and the other altogether wrong, then one 
 party is to be wholly juftified, approved and commended, 
 as publickly as zhe con roverfy is known, and the entire 
 blame to be laid at the other's door; who, if he can make 
 no restitution, muft fuffer according to his defert unlef- the 
 Med'-ttor. or fome other, will intereft himfelf in his wel- 
 fare, fo as to become his fponfor, and anfuer in his Head. 
 
 £ i 
 
3$ THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV. 
 
 And if his crime is of fuch a nature, that his penitency can 
 make no atonement, if ever he is forgiven and received 
 into favour, it mufl: be fimply on the credit of his fpenibr. 
 But, in the cafe before us, God was wholly righr, end we 
 were wholly wrong ; and fo much to blame that our deep- 
 ed, penitency ought in reafen and jullice to be difjegarded. 
 However, fo fir were we from penitency, as rather to be 
 difpofed to Juftlfy ourfclves, and lay the blame en God, 
 and on his holy law. And our difrfTccticn to the divine 
 character and government arofe even to enmity itfelf. — 
 When therefore the Mediator efpoufed his Father's honour, 
 and teftificd of the world, that their works were evil, they 
 were an^ry, yea, t;.-ey were enraged, and they put him to 
 death as not fit to live. So far were they from a difpofi- 
 tion to take the b'.-ime to themfelves, confefs, repent, return 
 and be reconciled. And this conduct of a fet of men, who 
 made very high claims to virtue, was but a fpecimen of 
 that temper, which is natural to all mankind. But what 
 reafon have mankind to be fo dif.fTected to the Deity ? 
 
 God, an abfolutely perfect, and infinitely glorious and 
 amiable being, infinitely worthy of fupreme love and ho- 
 nour, and of univerfal obedience, the Creator and original 
 proprietor of the Univerfe, as becomes him, afTumes the 
 authority of king and fupreme governor over his own 
 world, takes the throne, proclaims his divinity, faying, / 
 am the Lord, and befides me there is no other God, and then 
 (bait leroe the Lord thy God 'with all thy heart, and yield an 
 entire ohedier.ee to his --will. Adding, he that doth llcj'e things 
 jhall iize in them ; but the foul thtit fins jhail die. 
 
 For us thus to love, honour and obey him, is no more 
 than a practical acknowledgement of his Godhead and 
 Lordfnip ; it is no more than barely giving wto the Lord 
 the glory due unto his name. And this is all he requires, 
 and it is our duty ; and our obligations to it are ii finite, 
 and it is infinitely for our ir,t< reft. So that our difaffec- 
 tion and rebellion are unreasonable, groundlefs, nay infi- 
 nitely criminal. To be dif ffected and to rife in open rebel- 
 lion, as we in this lower world h;;ve done, is a praclical 
 declaration in the fight 6f the Univerfe, (and practice freaks 
 louder than words) that God's character is not good, and 
 thai his law is bad. Or in other words, it is a praclical 
 declara ion, that he is not whar he claims to be, by n.ture 
 God an absolutely perfect, and infinitely glorious and 
 amiabje Being, and our rightful Sovereign. 
 
8EC.JV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 39 
 
 To have given up his law, founded on his Godhead and 
 Lordlhip, and which only affertcd his proper character 
 and worth, and claimed his proper rights, had been a prac- 
 tical giving up of his divinity and iupremacy, in favour of 
 a difarFeciion absolutely grbundlefs, of a rebellion infi- 
 nitely unreaibnable. A thing very unbecoming Uje abfo- 
 lutcly perfect Iking, at the head of the UniveHe. Better, 
 infinitely better a wh >le race of fuch apoflates be doomed 
 to endlefs woes, as a public praa.^al declaration of trie 
 infinite evil of their Crimea, 
 
 Tht defign of the in jam ition, life and death of the Son 
 of God, was to give a practical declaration, in the moil 
 public runner, even in the fight of the whole intellectual 
 fyftem, that God was worthy of all that love, honour and 
 obedi-nce which his law required, and that fin was as great 
 an evil ;is the puiiiihment threatened fuppoied ; and {> to 
 declare Goo's 1 ighteoufnefs, and condemn the fins of an 
 apoltate world, to the end God might be juit, and vet a 
 Juftifier of the believer. And this he did by obeying and 
 dying in our room and Head. 
 
 Tne Jewilh difpenfation, which was defigned to prepare 
 the way for, and to introduce the Chrjftian, and which 
 was a ihido.v of which Carift is the fubftance, was in its 
 whole conftitution purpofely calculated to do honour to 
 the divine law. The clouds and the thick darkr.efs and 
 the flame of a devouring fire on Mount Sinai, the thunders 
 and the lightning?, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding 
 loud, were in honour of the divine law ; which was by 
 God prornulged to an aflembly of men, women and chil- 
 dren, containing near three million. An affair fo grand 
 
 as this had never befo r e happened in this lower world. 
 
 And all the variety of temporal curies enumerated and 
 denounced againft the tranigreff >r, and all the variety of 
 temporal bleflings reckoned up and promifed to the obe- 
 dient, were in honour of the divine law. And the law 
 being written with the finger of God on two rabies of 
 fione, laid up in the Ark, and placed in the holy of holies, 
 under the Mercy-feat, the dwelling pl;ce l f the God of 
 Ifrael, was in honour of the divine law. An J (q were ;-.!! 
 the facrifices of atonement, the altars, the Priefl , tTp ci- 
 ally the High-Prieft, drefled in his holy rv.bes, holineh to 
 the Lord writ:en or. his f rehead, the no-e* of the twelve 
 iiribes on his breaft and on hi$ ihoulder, the bi«od ci aione- 
 
4© THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC IV. 
 
 ment in his hand, enieung cncc e\ciy \e r into the holy 
 of holies, into the immediate pretence of God, to rr. ke 
 atonemeru. Nor could any tranfgreflbr of the law. under 
 that dilpcnfa»ion, obtain remifiion of fins without wedding 
 of blood. A plain acknowledgement, that his blood de- 
 fervtd to be tiled, who tranfgreifea the law. And io a 
 practical dcclarat on that the law was holy, juft and good. 
 
 And ar.fwerable to the fpirit of that difpeniation, the 
 whole congregation of lfrael were by the divine direction 
 led, on their entering into the h< ly land, to Mount Geriz- 
 zim and to Mount Ebal ; and while the curie of the law 
 againft the tranfgreflbr was proclaimed aloud, all the c< n- 
 gregaticHi anfv-ered amen, as a n;oll pub;ic and fulemn 
 declaration, that the law was holy, jull and good. Nor 
 could a jew wihoui this acknowledgement, with any 
 confiftency, pfefent a bull or a goat, to die in his ftead, 
 and mak'j atonem nt f<r his fins. 
 
 But all the honours done to the divine law under that 
 difpenfnion were but ftiadows, but mere fliadows. They 
 had no fubltance in them. Thev were acknowledgements 
 too mean to be of any avail. They were of no weight at 
 all to counterbalance the reproach caft on the divine Mi- 
 jeflv bv fin. And therefore the bleed of bulls and goats 
 could not take awav fin. Yea, Lehc.non <uas net fjf.aent to 
 burn , nor all the beijls there ffuffcient for a burrtt-cjfering. 
 
 Wherefore the bon of God, antecedent to h»s incarna- 
 tion is introduced, frying to his Father, " Sacrifice end 
 offering thou didjl net defae. They had no dignity, no 
 Wv-rth, no virtue, and could not an!* er the tnd. Mine 
 ears la/l thou bared t a? the Jewifh matter did his fervam's, 
 who of his own free will fuid, 1 love my mailer ar.d will 
 be his fervant forever. O eternal Father, I have offered 
 to h- come thv feiv^nt in ibis great work, and thou h;;ft 
 accepted the < fr\r, and hired mint ears. 7 hen /aid /, lo I 
 cow, I c'e'iklt to do t y nxill ; ya. thy la^v is within ?ny 
 heart." Compare Exod.xxi. 5, 6. Pial. xl. 6, 7, 8. Htb. 
 
 *• *« 6 ' 7- 
 
 Him, therefore, did God fet forth to be a propitiation, 
 
 to declare his r i «« • r i eoufnefs. Ard becaufe he thus volun- 
 tarily efpoufed the honour of bis Father's government, and 
 condemred fi ; ■ i .1 e ficfr en the crefs, becaufe he thus 
 loved righteoufrefs ana* bated iniquity, therefore wa.<- his 
 Father well pieafed, fmeh a fweet favour, exaited his Son, 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 41 
 
 and became propitious to an apoftate, finful, guilty world 
 through him. For he, being G ,d as well as Man, was 
 worthy, was of fuffuient dignity, and his obedience and 
 fufferings of fufKcient weight in his Father's fight. 
 
 The import of that perfect obedience to hi F.-ther's 
 will, in our (lead, through the gieateit trials, which the 
 Son of God incarnate performed, was. that " God was 
 worthy of fup:eme love and honour, and of univertal obe- 
 dience from his creature Man." — The import of his iuf- 
 ferings in our room, in which he was made a curfe to 
 redeem us from the curfe of the law, v\as, that " the curfe 
 of the law was ftrictiy juft, and fuch as became his Father 
 to threiten and to execute." — The import of his appearing 
 in the prefence of God in Heaven, uith his own bicod, to 
 make interceflian for tranfgrcflors, is, that " he does not, 
 nay cannot defire any favour to be (hewn to Sinners under 
 a notion the law is too fevere : but only as being confidered 
 holy, juft, gooJ and glorious, worthy to be magnified and 
 made honourable by the blood of the Son of God." — And 
 the juftice of the divine law will appear in a ftriking light, 
 when he who thus honoured it in his own perfon on the 
 crofs, and thus honours it at his Father's right hand in 
 Heaven, appears to put it in execution at the laft day on 
 his near relatives, his brethren according to the flefn ; who 
 would never own the goodnefs of the law, nor take 
 the blame of their dif ffeftion aud rebellion to themfelves, 
 and on this foot defpifed and rejected the glorious grace 
 of the Gofpel. And all holy beings will echo to the laft 
 fentence, and with the higheft approbation join to cry, 
 J MEN HALLELUJAH : ivbile the /moke cf their torment 
 afcends forever and ever. 
 
 Thus the whole Mediatorial fcheme is defigned, and in 
 its own nature adapted, to do honour to the divine law. 
 
 And to do honour to the divine law was the only thing 
 that rendered the Mediatorial office and work of Chrift 
 needful in order to the falvation of Sinner*. For God 
 was not an unrighteous Bing, and fo could not bed ifpofed 
 to hold his creatures bound by a bad law, unlefs his Son 
 would die to procure their relief. Nor was the goodnefs 
 of the divine nature fo fmall, that he could not find in his 
 heart to Ihew mercy to Sinners, unlefs his Son, to move 
 hi^ compaflions, would die for them on Earth, and plead 
 their caufe in Heaven. Had the law in fad been bad, it 
 
42 THE DESIGN OF CHRTST's [SEC. IV. 
 
 had been the meft honourable thing in the divine M^jefty 
 to have laid it afide expreflly as fuch, and no Mediator hid 
 been needful in the cafe ; and had there been no bar in the 
 way of the honourable exerciie of divine grace to a guilty 
 world, infinite goodnefs, by a fovereign acl, might at an 
 infinitely lels exprnce, hive pardoned and faved all the 
 hum;:n race, and all the labours and fufrerings of his Son 
 to make atonement had been needlcfs. God did not wane 
 a heart to dous juilice. Nay, God had an heart overflow- 
 ing with infinite goodnefs, witnefs the gift of his Son — 
 And fo no Mediator was needful to move the divine com- 
 panions, much lefs to prevent his being too fevere with us. 
 Yea ; a Mediator for any f.ich purpofes had been an infi- 
 nite reproach to the Deity. A Mediator therefore was 
 needful, in order to the fal»ation of Sinners, for no other 
 purpofc, but to do honour to the divine law, which we 
 had dishonoured by ourfms. And thus he afierted the di- 
 vine character, vindicated the rights of the Godhead, 
 dec!a:ed the righteoulncfs of the divir.e government, con- 
 demned fm, laid all the blame of our disaffection and rebel- 
 lion at our own door, while he obeyed and died in our 
 room and flead, that we through him might be faved. — But 
 
 I. Jf Chrift died to do honour to the divine law, then 
 there is no glory in the Gofpel only on fuppofuion the law 
 is a glorious law. For not one of the divine perfections 
 are manifdfted in the death of an incarnate God to do ho- 
 nour to the divine law, if the divine Jaw was not worthy 
 cf this honour. It was no acl of wifdem in God to give 
 his Son to die to do honour to that which deferved no fuch 
 honour. Jt was no a<ft of holinefs, jnftice or goodnefs. — 
 It was neither to the honour of God, nor needful to the 
 falvation of Men. — And, 
 
 If not one of the divine perfections are manifefted in the 
 death of Chrift, only on fuppofuion the law is a glorious 
 law, not one of the divine perfections can be feen in this 
 aff.iir only in a view of the glory of the law. No glerv 
 can be feen in the atonement, only as the law appears to 
 be a glorious Gofpel. To every one at enmity againft the 
 divine law, the glory of the Gofpel will be hid.(i) — And, 
 
 (i) If God's lauj requires, on the penalty cf Eternal detrac- 
 tion, that, *vubieh is in its oiun nature jhful, then it is a 
 <wicked laiv. But that which is <( contrary to the latu of 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 43 
 
 II. If die excellency of the divine law, as a perfeft ruie 
 of right, hciy, juit and good, was the only thing that 
 rendered the death of Chfrift needful in order to the lalva- 
 tion of Sinners; then a view of the excellency cf the 
 divine law, as a perfect rule of right, holy, juit and good, 
 and an anfwerabie view of our own chara&er and Hate, is 
 the only tiling that can lead us to fee our need of the 
 atonement or Cbrift. We cannot fee our need of Chrilc's 
 atonement, unlefs we fee that which readers his atonement 
 needful ; but the excellency of the divine law was that 
 
 God," is in its own nature finf id : for Jin is a tranfgrcjjion of 
 the law. But according to Mr. Cud-worth, the law requires 
 what is " contrary to the law) of God," what ** clojhes with 
 cur duty." p. 222, 223, 224. '1'herefore, according to him, 
 it is a wicked law. But if it is a wicked law, God is obliged 
 in juj'tue to repeat it. But to give his Sin to die, to do ho- 
 nour to a wicked law, of all things in the Univerfe, would be 
 nyl contrary to ail the divine perfections. In this -view cf 
 the law therefore, net one of the divine perfections can be Jeen 
 off the crefs of Cbrijl. — Wbal then decs Mr. Cudw.rth mean 
 by Ci loving God for tiis own lotielinefs as thus afco-vered by 
 the Goj'pel, every divine perfection being df covered as harmo- 
 nizing in the fai-vation of I,, e guilty by jejus Ghrifi ?'* p. 225. 
 IVhen on his jchemet hire is not one divii.e ptrf:. ton mdnifefted 
 i.cr any lovelinefs of the d'hvine nature uncovered, lea, i 
 the law had been what Mr. Cndw,r;,:fijs it is, it had bet 
 in its own nature an infinitely wicked thing for the Sen cf Go. 
 to die to do it honour. It had tan to ao honour to a wicAe 
 law ; -which is tbeftrme thing as to do honour to wickt<i,,e/s 
 which is an infinitely wiSked thing. — What then dots Mr 
 Cudworth mean, by *' loving God for /.is own loixelrnefs s 
 Why., he tenevts, that by means cf GhrijP s death, i.isj.ns at 
 pardoned, and Gcd become lis -particular 'fft end, turned to I 
 entire!; on his fide, " difpofe'd- to make hrm happy, and eppej 
 whatever is contrary 10 his hatpin ej s\'*' p. 221, 223. etna thi 
 s lovely to hifk ; and is ,: 1 of the lo e vtltnefs cj 
 
 i-vint nature he can concc-i c cf." p. 22i.fr he ic-vcs 
 kimjelf, although he appears pcrfcr. ft ;■ i hone tit of 
 
 the divine ebaracler, in imputing fuch wickednejs to tie I 
 as requiring what is •* contrary to tie law of Gcd, and <. 
 with our duty." And he can be ra-vijhed to think his own 
 happinefs fecure , although f& blind to the beauty cf the divine 
 
44 THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IY. 
 
 which rendered the atonement of Chrift needful : therefore 
 we cannot fee oar need of the atonement of Chrift, unlefs 
 we ije the excellency of the divine law. A binner fngutened 
 wi;h the apprehen lions of eternal burnings, may iee his 
 nted of deliverance, witnout any ide± of the need of an 
 infinite atonement in order thereto. — .And, 
 
 To lay, " that the divine law is holy, jufl and good, 
 in our view, but not gloiious ;" is to lay, " that holinefs 
 juftice and goodneis, in our view, are net glorious attri- 
 butes" And if lo, then nither does God deierve our love, 
 nor is his law worthy to be honoured on the crofs of Chrilt, 
 in our view. 
 
 So long as we are at enmity againft the law, fo long as 
 the divine ap^e^rs to be an inglorious, unlovely, uncefir- 
 able law ; not perfect in beauty, without a blemifh, with 
 application to ouifelves : even fo long our need of 
 Cnnit to die in our Head, to do honour to the law, will be 
 undifejmed.— Therefore, 
 
 To the natural man, in the Apoftolic age, when the 
 Gofpel, as is acknowledged, was rightly itated, the work 
 of Redemption by Chrilt, appeared to be a foolifh, (hock- 
 ing affair, (compare i Cor. 1. 18, 23, 24. Chap. ii. 14. 
 2 Cor. iv. 3.) We preach Qbrifi crucified, unto the J*tws a 
 Jlumbling block, and unto the Creeks foolijhnefs. For while 1 ' 
 they were, as the fame Apoltle obierves, at enmity againft 
 God and bis law, (Rom. viii. 7.) to hear, that the Son of 
 God incarnate, died on the crois, to declare God's rigbte- 
 
 cbar after, as to feel difpofed, to declare before tbe world, that 
 it is " utterly impofiible" to lo-ve it. — Ind pray now, low 
 does Mr. Cudwortb do, to keep from plunging headlong into 
 down-right Infidelity ? tlow can be believe that tbe Sen cf 
 God beca-ne incarnate and died to do honour to a law fo un- 
 reafonable and wicked, as to require what ** is inco/fjlent 
 with the original co>ftitution rf a reajlnable creature, and 
 contrary to the luw of God ? h by, indeed, be feels, or rather 
 pretends to feel no difficulty in tbe way. Far he can, in exprefs 
 contradiction to linijclf, without a Llufb, pronounce this <very 
 law " holy, juft and good ?" — ** This does not infer that tbe 
 law was too rigorous," fays he, " no, far Jrom it, this is only 
 Mr. Bellamy's forced concluf.cn " p 226. But net a word 
 does he Jay. to jhew wherein my ccnclufon was forced : or to 
 free his own febeme from this glaring mconf.fi e nee. 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 45 
 
 oufnefs, to condemn fin, to magnify the law and make it 
 honourable, mull needs (tumble and confound the carnal 
 Jews, and appear foolifhnefs to the pagan Greeks. No 
 miracles therefore were fufficicnt to convince them cf the di- 
 vine original of the Gofpel. Nothing fhort of the imme- 
 diate inflaences of the fpirit of God to open their eyes and 
 take the veil from their hearts. But unto them who were thus 
 called, both "Jews and Greeks, Chrif the power of God 
 and the voifdom of God. For the natural man rcceiveth not 
 the things of the fpirit of God ; for they are fool ij.h?;efs unto 
 him ; neither can he know tiem, becaufe they are jpiritually 
 dij'cerned. And if our Gofpel is hid, it is hid to them that 
 are lojl. The preaching of the Crofs is foolijknefs to them 
 that perijh. For indeed it had been a fooiifh thing for 
 God to have given his Son to die to fave Sinners, had 
 there been no need of it : and there had been no need of 
 it, had not the divine law, which msn had broken, and by 
 which he flood condemned, been holy, jail and good, a 
 glorious law, worthy to be honoured by the blood of an 
 incarnate God. But to natural men, the divine law does 
 itbt appear to be thus glorious and thus worthy of honour : 
 rather it appears an odious, hateful law, which ou^ht to be 
 repealed. For the carnal mind is enmity againft God, is not 
 fubjeel to his law, neither indeed can be.(i) 
 
 (1) If God, antecedent to a coif 'deration of the gift of his 
 Son, viewed in the glafs of the iaw, was an ugly, hateful 
 Being : then he dejlrved to be hated and abhorred : and then 
 the law which required us to love him on pain of death, was 
 an unreafonahle, tyrannical lata : and then it deferred to be hated 
 and treated wit . contempt, and not to be lowed and honoured : and 
 then the death of Cbriji to do it honour, wa< not the wifdom 
 cf God, but a Humbling block and fool i fh ne (s : and the Gof- 
 pel is not divine, is not from God : nothing remains but Infideltty. 
 
 To Jay, that the law is holy, jujl and grod ', in requiring us 
 to love a hatrfu 1 character on pain cf death, is worfe than 
 Infidelity. To believe God a hateful Being, and a tyrant in 
 our hearts, and yet with cur mouths to fay, it is, in him, holy, 
 jufl and good, to require us to love him on pain cf death, is to 
 fpeak lies in hypocrijy. — My Tier on believed the law holy, juji 
 and good, in requiring fupreme low on pain cf death, when he 
 faid, " Let all Heaven forever love and adcrc the infinitely 
 
 F 
 
46 THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV. 
 
 III. An Antinomian fpirit is an Antichriftian fpirit ; to 
 hate the divine law is to be an enemy to the Crofs of 
 ChriH ; to bate the divine law is to be an enemy to the 
 Son of God incarnate, who loved the law, and died to do 
 it honour: An enemy to his character, and to the very 
 defign of his death. — 1 — And, 
 
 An Antinomian fpirit is the very fource of Infidelity. 
 For if tl»c divine law is an ocicus, hateful law, it is incre- 
 dible, it is absolutely incr^uible, that the Sen of God fhould 
 come from Heaven, and die, to do it honour. — Therefore, 
 every Antinomian is at heart an Infidel. But every unre- 
 generate man is in this fenfe an Antinomian. Rem. viii. 7. 
 Therefore every unregen crate man is under the reigning 
 power of Infidelity. And therefore it is written, (1 Joh. 
 v. 1.) Whofoever beheveth that J ejus ist-.e Chrijl. is born of 
 God. And, (Rorn. x. 9.) If thou Jha.lt confejs with thy mouth 
 
 glorious Majefiy, although I receive my Jufl defer t and peri jh 
 forever" He Jaw God's char ail er exhibited in his law to 
 be lovely . This led him to fee why Chi >jl fo loved and jo ho- 
 noured this character on the Crofs. And Chrijl crucified, in 
 this view, appeared to him the wijdoin of God. Should cne 
 tell Theron, that Chrijl never did love this characler of God ; 
 never did think *« that all Heaven ought forever to love and 
 adore the infinitely glorious Majefiy, viewed as thus dtfpofed to 
 funijhjin withjb great Jeverity /" And Jh add he affirm, that 
 this is a. '* Jpecies of love beyond what J ejus Chrijl e-^cr had :" 
 And that it was not f rem love to this characler originally , and 
 to do it honour, that drill was willing to endure the Crofs 
 and defpife the fhame ; but merely becaufe he was bribed, 
 becaufe his Father hired him by the joy fet before him : and 
 Jhould one endeavour to prove all th is j < cm Scripture : Thtron, 
 fhocked with theblafphemy, would be ready at once to pronounce 
 the man nvorfe than an Infidel. — And yet, if this is not the 
 point of light in which Mr. Cudwortb views things, 1 know 
 not what he means, by what he fays, p, 224. for, in any other 
 <view, there is no force in what he fays. For if Chrijl verily 
 thought in his heart, and that previous to a confideration of the 
 joy fet before him, that " ail Heaven ought forever to love 
 and adore the infinitely glorious Majefiy > for being Jo fevere 
 againf} fin ;" Then Theron, through the regenerating influ- 
 ences of the holy fpirit j was only brought to view things in a 
 Chrifiian light. That is, in the fame light that Chrijl did. 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 47 
 
 the Lord Jej'us, and fro all believe in thy heart , that Gcd bath 
 Taifed him from the dead, thou jh alt be faced. 
 
 IV. If God the Father gave his Sou to die, if God the 
 Soa voluntarily left his Father's bofom, and expired upon 
 the Crofs, to do honour to the divine hw ; then on the 
 Crofs of Chrifl:, we have the higheft poflible external proof 
 of the goodnefs of the divine law : The higheft proof 
 which ould have been given by Go J the Father, or God 
 the Son; and lb the highe't external proof, that God oar 
 Creator is infinitely worthy of our fupreme love and uni- 
 verfal obedience, and th it our disaffection to him and to 
 his government is entirely groundiefs, yea, infinitely cri- 
 minal, exactly agreeable to the import of the divine law. 
 — — — Therefore, 
 
 To doubt of the infinite amiablenefs of God our Creator, 
 to doub: or' the abfolute perfection of his law and govern- 
 ment, or to doubt whether our difa flection be thus ground- 
 iefs and thus criminal, is to doubt of the truth of the Gof- 
 pel. Every Objection againit the divine character, every 
 Objection againit the divine law, every fin-extenuating, 
 fe f-jnilifying plea, is the language of Infidelity. For if 
 our objections againit. God and his law are of the lead 
 weigiit > or if our pleas do in the leail render us excufable, 
 then Jefus was not the Son of God. For if jefus was the 
 Son of God, God and his law are wholly right, and we 
 are wholly wrong, and as much to blame and as inexcufi- 
 ble, as the curie of the law fuppofes ; for this was the ground 
 on which he died. And if in his death he foaled a falfe- 
 hood with his blood, furely he did not come from Go 1. 
 
 Therefore ; — To believe with ail the heart, that Jefus is 
 the Chriit, is to believe with all the heart, that God our 
 Creator is infinitely amiable, infinitely worthy of fupreme 
 love and univerfal obedience from his creature man : And 
 to believe with all the heart, that the divine law, which 
 requires this of us, in our prefent itate, on pain of eternal 
 damnation, is a holy, juft and good and gloncus law, wor- 
 thy to be magnified and made honourable by the obedi- 
 ence and death of an incarnate God. To believe with all 
 the heart that our difaffection to the divine character, law 
 and government, is not only entirely groundiefs, but infi- 
 nitely criminal. And to believe with all the heart, that 
 the Son of God, in this view, became incarnate, lived and 
 F 2 
 
4^ THE DESIGN OF CHRlST^S [SEC. IV. 
 
 died, that he might declare God and his law to be wholly 
 right, and the whole blame to bz in us; or in ether words, 
 that he might declare G:d's rightecufnefs, and condemn 
 fin in the fiefli : that this was the import of" his being made 
 a curfe to redeem u. frcm the curfe, and that this was the 
 dciign of his being i'ci forth to be a propitiation; and that 
 it is only in his name, and through him, who has thus 
 done, that God can be juft, and \ct the juftifier of him 
 lhat believeth in Jefus. Bv.:, 
 
 To believe thefe truths with al! the heart, to come cor- 
 dially into thefe fentiments, is perfectly contrary to every 
 vicious bias in the .hear: of a (in-loving, fin-extenuating, 
 felf-juftifying, God-hating, law-condemning creature ; 
 
 which is i he character of every unregeiierate man. 
 
 Therefore, 
 
 Every unregenerate man is not only at heart an Infidel, 
 but even as great an enemy to the truth of the Gofpel, as 
 he is to the holinefs, jnftice and gcodnefs of the law. 
 Therefore, 
 
 No ma,i can fay thai Jefus is the Chrifl, but by the Holy 
 Gbcfi, i Ccr. xii. 3. Ac man can come to the Son, but ivhom 
 lie Father draws, Joh. vi. 44.. And nvho/bever believeth 
 Jefus is the C!:rifl,is born of God, I Joh. v. I. — And yet, 
 
 V. From this view of the Mediatorial ofiice and work 
 of Jefus Chrifl, his true character and divine miflion may 
 be infallibly determined. Had he been an enemy to the 
 divine law, which the God of Ifrael had fo honoured on 
 Mount Sinai, and in the whole Jewifh difpenfation, it had 
 been a full proof, that he was not the Meffiah promifed in 
 the Jewifh facred writings. A full proof, rather, that he 
 was an enemy to the God of lfracl, and on the fide of his 
 lebellious fubjects, who all agree, to hate his law. But 
 now it appears — that 
 
 He loved his Father with all his heart; was perfectly in 
 his intercft, wholly on hi:> fide, and on the fide of his law 
 and government. He judged his Father to be wholly 
 right, and we to be wholly wrong ; his Father's law to be 
 holy, jufl and good, and wealtogether to blame, even as much 
 to blame, as the law fuppofed ; and was as great an enemy to 
 the wickednefs of an apellate world, as the Father himfelf. 
 While his regard to the welfare of loft Sinners was fo great, 
 that he was willing to die for their redemption, he looked 
 upen them fo much to blame, and fo deferving cf the threa- 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 49 
 
 tened punifhment, that he had not the lead defire they fhould 
 be pardoned, unlefs, in a way in which it fhould be molt ex- 
 plicitly acknowledged, that it had been a worthy becoming 
 deed in God to have punifhed them according to law. — 
 And thus he was to perfection his Father's friend, and to 
 perfection an enemy to the fpirit of his Father's rebellious 
 fubjetts. Thus he loved rigbteoufnefs and hated iniquity. And 
 in this frame of heart, he perfectly obeyed his Father's 
 law, and offered up himfelf a facrifice to God, for the fins 
 of the world. — Which is, 
 
 A full demonitration that he was fent cf God. For he 
 is his Father'b very image. We may often from the coun- 
 tenance of a child, giveis who his Father is; but here the 
 Son is the exprefs image of his Father's perjon. So that m> 
 man, who knows God the Father, can doubt whether Jefus 
 is his Son. For the very Glory cf God is in the face of Jefus 
 Chrifl. Jufliy therefore did our bleficd Saviour condemn 
 the infidel Jews, as hating his Father, becaufe they hated 
 him; for he and his Father were fo exactly alike, that to 
 hate him was a full proof they hated the Father alfo, (Joh. 
 xv. 23.) and juftiy did he difpute their claim to have God 
 for their Father, and argue that they rather had the Devil 
 to their father, from the malignant fpirit they fhewed to- 
 wards him, who was the very image of the Deity. Joh. viii. 
 42. If God <vj ere your Father, ye would love me. Ver. 44. 
 Te are cf your father the Devil. And jufliy did he attribute 
 all their opposition to him and to his caule, to their igno- 
 rance of and hatred to the true God, and affirm that no 
 man could be an Infidel, but from a wicked, ungodly heart. 
 Joh. iii. 19, 20, 21. Chap. vii. 17. Chap. viii. 33, 48. 
 Chap. xv. 21, 25. 
 
 To fay, that Jefus Chrifl, who loved the divine law, and 
 lived and died to do it honour, came from the Devil, who 
 hates the divine law, and hath fet up his kingdom in oppo- 
 fition to it, and is at the head of the grand rebellion in 
 the intellectual fyflem, is jufl the fame kind cf abfuidity 
 Chrift's enemies were driven to of old, when to evade the 
 evidence exhibited in his miracles, they faici, He cajletb 
 out Devils by Beelzebub. For both equally fuppofe, that 
 Satan is divided agait/Jl himfelf ; and is pulling dcv.n his 
 own kingdom with his own hands. Matth. xii. 24, 26. 
 
 To be blind to the glory of Chrifl crucified, is of the 
 F 3 
 
50 THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV 
 
 fame nature, and altogether as criminal, as to be blind to 
 the glory cf God the Father. And to be an unbeliever 
 in the Son, as great a vice as to be an enemy to the Fa- 
 ther ; to rejedl revealed religion, an argument of as bad a 
 heart, as down-right Atheifm. The fentence therefore is 
 jutl, He that bdic-uctb not Jball be damned. For the Gofpel 
 carries it^ own evidence along with it, as clearly as the 
 vifible creation. Nay, all the divine perfections are more 
 clearly to be feen in the Crofs of Chrift, to one not crimi- 
 nally blind, than the invilible things of God be, in the things 
 which are made. For, The glory of Gcd is to befeen in the 
 face cf jffus Cbrifl. So that, with the Jews of old, all 
 who live under the light of the Gofpel in any age, have 
 no cloak fi r their fin, if they continue unbelievers. 
 
 VI. It' the dtiign of ChrifVs Mediatorial office and work 
 was to do honour to the divine law, we may hence learn 
 the nature of Chrift*s merits, or why his obedience was fo 
 meritorious in nis Father's eyes, and why the facrifice of 
 himieif was fo acceptable, of fo fweet fmelHng a favour, 
 and nis whole character, office and work fo infinitely well- 
 p leafing to the Deity, that, to tcftify his approbation in 
 the fignt of the whole Univerfe, he raifed him from the 
 dead, took him up into Heaven, gave him a place on his 
 own throne, and at his own right hind, iffued out public 
 orders through the world above, IVorJhip him all ye Gods, 
 and refigned up all the Angelic Hofts to his command as 
 minittring fpirits to do his will, and fet him at the head of 
 the whole Univerfe, with :.ll power and authority in Hea- 
 ven and Earth, to reign till all his enemies are put under 
 his feet, and his whole fciieme carried into execution, put- 
 ting all things under him, not only all created things, but 
 even God the holy Ghoft, to be fent in his name to con- 
 vince the world of fin and effectually to call home the 
 elcdt to God through him, for all things were put under 
 bin, him only excepted, <wha did put all things under him S 
 and farther to teltify his approbation and infinite delight 
 in the obedience and facrifice of his Son, peace and good 
 will are proclaimed to this revolted world, God becomes 
 propitious, reidy to be reconciled to any, how vile foever, 
 who repent and return in the all -pre vailing name of jefus 
 Chrift, his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleafed ; fo 
 now repentance and remiifion of fin in his name may be 
 pleached to all nations, and whofoever will may come, 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 51 
 
 may return to God through him, the failed ailurances of 
 acceptance in his name being given: — I fay, if the deiign 
 of Chrift's Mediatorial office and work, of his life and 
 death, was to do honour to the divine law, we may fee 
 the reafon why his merit is fo great in his Father'^, eyes, 
 and why he is thus accepted and thus rewarded by him ; it 
 was becaufe in all he declared his father's ri g pi- 
 teous n ess. He rendered to God the glory which was 
 due unto his name. He glorified his Father on Earth, and 
 therefore his rather glonries him in Heaven. (1) 
 
 Oar revolt from God, in this lo.ver world, had been an 0- 
 pen, public, pracUcal declaration, in the light of the vrhole in- 
 
 ( 1 ) There are thoufands that talk of trufiing in the righ- 
 teouj'nefs of Chrifi, who bate his rtghteoufnefs with all their 
 hearts. They pretend to build all their hopes on his msrit, 
 when that, in him, which was fo men tori jus in his Father's 
 eyes, is the 'very abhorrence of their fouls. Every carnal wire- 
 generate heart is at enmity againji the divine law. Rom. viii. 
 7. But to hate the divine law, is to hate that, in a confor- 
 mity to which, the right eou/-ifs of Chriji confified, and his 
 merit lay. He who is dijujfecled to this law, is therefore 
 equally difaffeSied to the true and real character of Chrifi. He 
 hates that nghteoufiefs ofChrijl, which was fo meritorious in 
 his Father's ey.s. And can a man confidently and really trull 
 in the merit of that, which, in his eyes has no merit in it, but 
 is rather altogether odious ? If not he, who denies the infinite 
 amiable tej's if the Deity t as he is in him/elf, and yet pretends 
 to trujl in the righteaufiiefs of Chrift , which confified in treating 
 God as an infinitely amiable being, guilty of the mofi ignorant 
 and Jlupid j'eif- contradiction? IVhat then is it, that men do 
 trujl in, to whom the Gfpel is entirely hid ? What is the Chrifi 
 they love ? and what do they mean by his righteoufnefs and 
 merit? iVhy, one man believes that the law is abated j and 
 ■this gives him comfort : Another believes there is forgi-venefs 
 with Gcd fir impenitent Jin:iers ; and this gives him hope - 
 And another believes his fins in particular are forgiven ; and 
 this gives him joy more abundantly. — And each one calls his 
 behef faith in thrift, when it is the belief of a lie. And 
 each one thinks he loves Chrifi and trufis in his righteoufnefs, 
 becaufe be loves and trufis in his own lie. For a lie is at the 
 •bottom of the confidence of every carnal man s and a lie, which 
 -the divine law, were it fit home, would detecl, Rom, <vii. 7, 8, 
 
52 THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV. 
 
 telleftual fyltem, " That the infinitely glorious Majefty of 
 Heaven and Earth, was not woithy to be loved and obeyed 
 by his creature n an, as his law required : nor fhould we 
 deferve, nor need we fear, that we mould be punilhed ac- 
 cording to his law, if we did rebel." 
 
 Love to the Deity, in the Governor of the world, awak- 
 ened infinite refer. tment. And to bear teflimony againft 
 this infinitely impious and wicked infult, all the human 
 race were doomed to eternal death. Thus was the wrath 
 of God revealed from Heaven. 
 
 The interpofnicn of the Son of God in our nature, to 
 obey and die in the room of rebellious, guilty man, was 
 a practical acknowledgment made, in the molt public 
 manner, in the fight of Heaven and Earth, and in a man- 
 ner the mod honorary to the Deity, " that God was as 
 worthy to be loved and obeyed, as the law fuppofed ; and 
 our difaffeclion and rebellion, as great an evil: and that 
 therefore the law, in all its ftri&nefs, and with all its curfes, 
 is holy, juft and good." Thus God's dignity was afierted, 
 his authority owned, the righteoufnefs of his government 
 declared, his moral charader vindicated, and fin condemned, 
 and in the whole the glory given unto God which was due 
 unto his name. — This pleated the holy Governor of the 
 Univerfe. He fmelt a fwcet favour in this facrifice, exalted 
 his Son, and became propitious to a guilty race through 
 him. — For now he might be juft, and the Juftifer of him 
 nxhich belie<veth in fejus. Rom. iii. 25 26. 
 
 HE might be juft — Juft to the rights of the Godhead, to 
 the honour of his law and government and facred au- 
 thority, thefe being ail effectually fecured. Nay, to be- 
 come propitious to a guilty world, as a reward of Chrift's 
 merit, was an honour, an infinite honour to his Sen, who 
 had honoured him ; and fo was to the glory of God the 
 Faiher : For if the Son is honoured for honouring the Fa- 
 ther, it is all to the glery of God the Father, (Phil. i. 6, 11.) 
 to beftow eternal life, on the foot of law, in teftimony of 
 his approbation, when his creatures, by iupreme love and 
 honour and univerftl oted':erce to him, practically acknow- 
 ledge him to be God and Lord, is altogether to the glory 
 of God the Father. Even fo it was in this cafe alfo. And 
 thus God might be juft, even as juft to his own honour, in 
 every point of view, in juftifying him that believeth 
 in Jefus, as he would have been, in the beliowment of 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK 5$ 
 
 eternal life, as a reward to perfect obedience, had nan 
 remained loyal to his Sovereign. For not only was the 
 curfe removed; but even the blefiing itfelf was merited. 
 And while bellowed, as a reward to him, whofe merit lay 
 in glorifying his Father on Earth, the very beftowment of 
 the blefiing, was to the glory of God the Father. And 
 thus God might be jult, and the jufliner of him, which 
 believeth in Jtfus. 
 
 Which believeth in Jefus. — Who in a view of the glory 
 of the divine nature, and the excellency of the divine law, 
 and confeious to the inexcufablenefs and infinite criminal- 
 nefs of his di faffed ion and rebellion, believes that tie Son 
 of God hath become incarnate, lived and died, for the ends 
 already mentioned, and in this belief is encouraged and 
 emboldened in his name to return and come to God — to 
 come to God through him. For, to come to God by Chrijl> 
 Heb. vii. 25. in the name cf Chrijl, Joh. xvi. 23. believing 
 on bis name, Joh. i. 12. and to have ioldnefs to enter into the 
 holicft ly the blood cf Jefus. Heb. x. 9. are all exprefiions 
 of the fame import. 
 
 Heavenly things cannot be fully reprefented by things 
 earthly, however our conceptions of the nature of Chrift's 
 Mediation may be a little affiiled by fuch a fimilitude as 
 this. — Suppofe 
 
 A Father of an unblemiflied character, admirably fkilled in 
 the art of government, at the head of a numerous family 
 of children, wife and upright and kind in all his conduct 
 towards them; in a word, fuppofe his character without a 
 blemifh, and his government without a fault. In this cafe, 
 there can arife no difafie&ion to his perfon or government 
 among his children, unlefs the fault be wholly on their 
 fide. For it is fuppofed there is no fault on his. — His ci- 
 deft fon grows proud and haughty, loves bad company, 
 and turns debauchee. Mean while, he naturally becomes 
 difafrected to his father's character and government, and 
 difrelilhes all his ways. At length he rifes in open rebel- 
 lion, leaves his father's houfe, and feeks another home, and 
 blackens his father's name wherever he goes. He is blamed 
 by the neighbours, and he jufunes himfelf; but all he fays 
 in his own vindication is to his father's condemnation : for 
 he cannot fay one word to juftify his own conduct, but 
 which at leaft implicitly declares the fault to be in his fa- 
 ther. For if his father is wholly right, he is wholly wrong. 
 
54 T HE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV # 
 
 A felf-j unifying fpirit therefore in him, is moil provoking 
 to his father. But as his diiafFeclion is great, he entertains 
 a very ill idea of his father's character, and is heartily at 
 enmity againft his government, and it is as natural to juf- 
 tify himielfand declaim againft his lather's conduct, as it is to 
 breathe. And let any man appear a hearty friend to his 
 father, vindicate his character, and juftify ail his conduct, 
 he feels himfelf reproached, and in a rage is ready to rife 
 and revenge himfelf; and proteits he never will be recon- 
 ciled to his father, and live at home, unlefs he will alter 
 his whole plan of government, and bring down the orders 
 of his family to his tafle. But as the Father is confeious 
 there is no fault on his fide ; fo it appears to him incontinent 
 with his own honour, and with the general good of his family, 
 to alter in one fmgle point. For, fays he, " My rebellious 
 fon is altogether to blame; and there is need of alter- 
 ation in none but him." — Thus Hands the controverfy. — 
 Should he, in a delirium, believe his father's character en- 
 tirely altered, and that he was become altogether love to 
 him, rebellious as he is, the delufion might give him joy, 
 and confirm his vicious temper, both at once. — Should one 
 undertake to be a mediator, under a notion that the father 
 wa? partly to blame, a little too rigid, it might pleafe the 
 fon, but it would be an affront to the father ; and fuch a 
 mediator would lofe all his influence in a moment. He 
 would be looked upon as taking the wrong fide, and coun- 
 tenancing wickedrefs ; a miniiter of fin, one that hated 
 righteoufnefs and loved iniquity. — No mediator could find 
 acceptance, but one who fliould moll explicitly declare the 
 father to be wholly right, and the reoellious fon to be 
 wholly wrong. Nor could his mediation be of any influ- 
 ence to procure a pardon, any further than it tended to 
 affert the father's injured character, and vindicate his a- 
 bufed government, and eftablifli his affronted authority, 
 and humble and reclaim his haughty ruined child. — Nor, 
 could any repentance be ever looked upon fmcere, or any 
 reconciliation be eiteemed genuine, in the rebellious fon, 
 but what mould have its foundation in thorough conviction, 
 that his father's character and government were wholly 
 right; and his own temper ar.d conduct, from fir ft to laft, 
 entirely wrong. An entire alteration in the Rate of his 
 mind would therefore be abfolutely neceffary, to the end 
 his father's character and government might appear in 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 55 
 
 their native beauty. And as foon as ever he begins to fee 
 the beauty of his father's character and government, he 
 will begin with all his heart, to take aii the blame to him- 
 felf : and be ready with the Prodigal Son, 10 fay, Father, 
 I hanjs finned againjl Heaven, and in thy fight % and am no 
 more worthy to be called thy Jon. And now he will be glad 
 to return, il he miy. But, 
 
 A crime may be too great to be forgiven, merely upen 
 repentance, let the criminal be ever fo penitent. Thua a 
 wilful murderer mull be put to death, Let him be ever fo 
 forry for his crinu. — And thus a prince, lately married to 
 a poor maid, who notwithstanding ail her obligations to 
 fidelity, foon after marriage, to hi? grc^-t reproach, prof- 
 titutes herfelf to the meaneft wretch in the kingdom, if ob- 
 liged in honour to himfeif and to his kingdom to put her 
 away, let her penitency be everfo great. Pardon cannot 
 be granted in fach caies meerly up >n repentance. Some- 
 thing further is plainly needful. — But thefts inftances fall 
 
 infinitely below the cafe they are defigned to reprefent 
 
 For in the fight of God, a firmer, ever fo penitent for his 
 crimes, deferves fo much to be call oft for ever, that in- 
 finite Wifdom, Goodneis and Rectitude, judged, he could 
 not honourably be par done i and received into favour, un- 
 lefs the Son of God himfeif would become incarnate, and 
 Hand, and obey, and d;e in his ftead. Penitency is fo far 
 from being a fufficient atonement for or fins, that meerly 
 the defects attending the deeped ice of the moll 
 
 humble, broken-hearted faint on Earth, according to law, 
 that per feci rule of right, merits eternal damnation. There 
 is no hope, therefore* in the cale of a penitent finner, ab- 
 folutely no hope at all, but what arifes fr< 1 1 the atonement, 
 merits and mediation of Chrilt, and the f. ce grace of 
 God through him, as revealed in the Gcfpel. 
 
 This view of the mediation of Chrift, may help us to 
 underitand the foil :ipture phrafes. Joh. iii. 17. 
 
 Cod fent his Son, that the world through him might be 
 favsd. — 1 Joh. iv, 9. That tve might have life through 
 h 1 m . — John xx . 31. lave life through his n a m t . — 
 Rom. vi. 23. The gift of Gcd is eternal life through 
 jesus christ. — icts x. 43. Through his kame^s- 
 foever beiievab in Him,Jball receive remifjion of fins. — 1 Cor. 
 vi. 11. Juftifed in the nam 2 of the Lord f ejus. — Rom. 
 v. 1. have peace with God throw ch him; ver. 9. Saved 
 
56 THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV. 
 
 from nxratb through him. — John xiv, 6. He is the 
 way/c the Father y and no men comet b to the Father but b Y 
 him. — John x. 9. I am the door. By me if an) man en- 
 ter in. — John xvi. 23. .Jh the Father in my name. — Heb. 
 vii. 25. Ccme to God BY him. — I Pet. i. 21. By him do 
 believe in Cod. — Heb. x. 19, 20. boldnefs to enter into the 
 hcliefi by the blood of Jefus. By a new and living 
 W a Yyivbicb he oath confecrateafor us. Eph.ii. 1 8. t h rou g h 
 him have accej's to the Father. Chap. v. 20. Giving thanks 
 always for ail things unto God and the Father , in the 
 name of our Lord J ejus Chrijl. — I Pet. ii. 5. offer up Jpi- 
 ritualjacrifces acceptable to God EY Jesus christ . — Eph. 
 i. 6. made us acceptable in the beloved. — 2 Cor. v. 18, 
 19. God hath reconciled us into himfelf ey jesus christ. 
 God <was in christ reconciling the world to himjelf. 
 
 For as the Mediation of Chrift was deiigned to fecure 
 the divine honour, and open a way for the exercife of divine 
 grace to the glory of God the Father, and as he hath 
 finimed the work appointed him to do ; fo through him 
 God can confidently with his honour, call and invite a 
 guiltv world to return ard be reconciled, and can Hand 
 ready to pardon and receive to favour, and give eternal 
 life to all that come to him in Chriil's nsme. And whofo- 
 ever fhali hear God's call, understand and believe the Gof- 
 pel, may fee fufficient warrant to come, may have boldnej's to 
 enter into the holiejl by the blood of fefus, to come to God by 
 him; and fuch iha.ll be juflified in his name, freely by di- 
 vine grace through the redemption -ivhich is in Chriji Jefus, 
 be accepted ihemielves in the beloved, and their ipiritual 
 facriiices be acceptable to God by him, and through him 
 they may have peace with God, ar.d rejoice in hope of the 
 glory of God. And whatfeever they afk in his name mall 
 be granted. For through him they may have 2ccefs to 
 God.— And, 
 
 The feme view of the glory of the holy Majefty of Hea- 
 ven and Earth, which brings us to fee, that God and his 
 Jaw are wholly right, and our difa flection and rebellion 
 wholly wrong, and infinitely criminal and fo to fee cur need 
 of ChriiVs Mediation, rightecufnefs and atonement ; at 
 the fame time, difcovers God to be the fupreme good, 
 ar.d the Gcfpel to be true. In confequence of which, it 
 appears cur higheft duty and higheft intereft to return to 
 God, the fitted and happieft thing in the world. This 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 57 
 
 begets an inclination to return to God as our fovcrcign 
 Lord and fupreme good. And to a foundation for rep'ent- 
 ance towards God and faith towards Our Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 and for every filial grace, is at once laid in th I. 
 
 We return to God in Chriit's name, confcio'uS eternal 
 deftru&ion is our juft defert. Our courage, our boidnefs, 
 even all our hope of acceptance, is from the mere grace 
 and infinite goodnefs of God through Jefus Chriii. Hell 
 our due, we look only to free grace through the redemption 
 which is in J>jas Chriji. Our whole dependence refts here: 
 And this is what St. Paul calls, Faith in Chriji* s bleed. It 
 implies an understanding and belief of the report of the 
 Gofpel, as to the nature of Chriit's Mediatorial office and 
 work, and an exercife of heart towards the Mediator, an- 
 fwerablc to the nature of his office and work, calieJ receiv- 
 ing him, and believing in his name ; and denoted by 
 thofe phrafes io often ufed in the New Teihment, when 
 fpeaking of a Sinner's coming to God by Curif, through 
 Chriji, in the name of Chriji . For to come to God bv 
 Chriji, through Chriji, in the name of Chriji , and by Faith 
 in ChrijVs blood, are all of the fame import. 
 
 To lay, that Faith confiits in '* the bare belief of the bare 
 truth," without admitting any other idea into its definition, 
 does not come up to the plain purport of thefe phrafes, 
 which evidently denote a dependence on him as Mediator* — - 
 To come to God in his name, by him and through him, who 
 is the appointed Mediator between God and Man, is not 
 only to believe him to be fuch, but alfo to bo affected to- 
 wards him as fuch, in all our approaches to God. It is not 
 only to believe him to be the Meffiah, but to believe in his 
 name as fuch, and to have hldnefi to enter into the holiefi by 
 his blood. ( i ) 
 
 (i) Object. —To come to God in the name ofChrlft is 
 the fruit of Faith, and not that Faith itfefj by which we are 
 Jujtifed. He who belte-ves the Go/pel to be true has the wh-jU 
 of that which t e New Tefiament means by j-'Jlfying Faith, 
 He will come to Chriji, and come to God in the name cf Cbrif ; 
 but thefe are the fruits of Faith, and net Faith itfeif. 
 
 Ani w.— Z grant thefe are the fruits of Faith. That is, 
 the fruits of a belief of the truth of the Gofpel. But the quef 
 
 tion is Jlill undetermined, which is this -Does not the Aeu- 
 
 G 
 
5S THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV. 
 
 Should a foidier, belonging to the army of Prince Fer- 
 dinand, ileal away into the i J ruflian carr.p, and attempt to 
 murder that noble hero, the King of Pruhia, to whcfe glory 
 Prince Ferdinand is moft firmly attached. Should this 
 wicked foidier be apprehended, condemned to die, and 
 brought forth to the gallows. And while both armies are 
 afTembled to fee the execution, and agreed to cry, *' away 
 with fuch a vile fellow from the Earth, he is not ht to live," 
 fhould Prince Ferdinand irep forth, and before all the mul- 
 
 Tcfiamcnt mean to comprehend this belief and thefe fruits of it, 
 in jvftifying Faith ? Or does this belief jijlify a Sinner prior 
 to tbeje (Jfeds ? Our Saviour f aid, Ye will not come to me 
 that ye might have life. If a bare belief that t he was the 
 MeJJiab entitled to eternal life, then one who believed this bad 
 a title to eternal life before be came to him, and iffo, be had 
 7:0 need to come to him that he might ba<ve life. Our Saviour 
 directed his Difciples to afk all things of the Father in his 
 name. He alju taught them every day to pray, Forgive us 
 cur debts. — i^uery. — Hew can we go to God in the name of 
 Chriji for the pardon cf daily tranj'grejjions, if pardon is not 10 
 be obtained this way. If pardon is had " by a bare belief of 
 the bare truth," we are net in the belief of the truth to affor 
 pardon in the name tf Chrifi, becaufe we are pardoned already. 
 j4nd Jo nue are never to o.Jk pardon in iue name of Chriji at 
 all. Before we believe the Gcfpel we cannot do it : and when 
 we believe the Gofpel, it is too late ; for aye are pardoned al- 
 ready, slnd if we Jui, as we daily do, ice mvft never lak to 
 God in the name cf Chriji for pardon, repent and pray, look- 
 ing toward the holy Temple, as the "jews were direcled to 
 do, (\ Kin. viii.) but only believe the Gofpel to be true. That 
 is, believe that there is fcrgivenej's with God th re ugh the atone- 
 ment. But we are not to fay , Have mercy upon me, O God, 
 according to thy loving kindnefs ; according to the mul- 
 titude of thy tender mercies, blot out my tranfgrcflions. — 
 For this is fomething mere than "a bare belif of the bare 
 truth." And ' fo is not proper in order to obtain pardon. And 
 fo neither at Jirji conversion, nor through the ccurfe of our lives , 
 have we any occafon, nor ought we to look up to God in the 
 name of Chriji, and pray, Jawing, forgive us our debts. We 
 niujl only believe the GoJ'pel to be true, and in this belief, ac- 
 cording to Mr. Sandeman, we are to be perfectly " pajjive," 
 ** no act, exertion, or excrcife of the human mind" is to be 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 59 
 
 titude juftify the law by which he is condemned to die, and 
 offer a ranfom for his life to the acceptance of his Pruf- 
 fian Majefty ; and then turning to this wicked foldier, 
 fhould he declare, "O guilty wretch! repent of this thy 
 wickednefs, and on thy knees afk pardon of his Pruffiati 
 Majefly in my name, and thy fin fliall be blotted out :" — 
 Would not the meaning of the words be eafy to the tfnder- 
 ftanding of all the aflembled multitude ? Not his repent- 
 ance, nor his afking pardon in prince Ferdinand's name, 
 do in the leafl counterbalance his crime, or pay a ranfom 
 for his life. Prince Ferdinand's mediation, ranfom and 
 declaration, are the folc foundation of hope to the guilty 
 wretch. Emboldened by thefe, he falls at his Pruffian 
 Majefty's feet, and with a penitent heart, looks up to hirn 
 for pardon in Prince Ferdinand's name. And, in this way, 
 is forgiven, fimply onPrii.ce Ferdinand's account. (1 ) — 
 But no fimilitude from earthly things can fully reach the 
 cafe before us, becaufe the infinite dignity of the great 
 King of the Univerfe, againft whom we have rebelled, 
 not only renders our paft, but even our prefent guilt, ir.ii- 
 nitely great. The true convert therefore not only deferves 
 
 in the evffait. For pardon at fitft eomierjhn, and after --:crds 
 is, he grants, to be obtained in the fame way. ( Letters on T> e~ 
 ro;i. p. 4 1 8. J A wrong notion of the Go/pel, lead Ma. S. to 
 this wrong notion of Faith. For if this he the Jum cfthc Gcf- 
 pel, "There is for given ef with Gcd for impenitent Sinners 
 through the atonement, to be by Gcd difpenfed according to his 
 fo-oereign pleafure, in a fovereign way : Then in the nature cf 
 things, there is ground only for a pajji-ve belief cf this truth." 
 There is in fiSi no room for any " ylcl, exert ion , or exercife cf 
 the human mind,'''' in the affair. But if the Gcfpel re-veals 
 God as ready to Be reconciled to all that come to him in the 
 name of Chrijl, then no fooncr do 1 belie-ve the Gcfpel to he true, 
 but I alfo come to him in the name of Chvif. .< J s to whet is 
 implied in the declaration cf the Gofpel. fee Seel. VII and VIII, 
 If it Jhould appear, that there is no forgiuenefs with God for 
 impenitent Sinners, while fuch, Mr. S.jcheme, mujl be cjlta.-rd 
 fr. :dr. nentaUf wrong. 
 
 ( j ) But jhculd the niched foldier be too fomachful to fall 
 upon his knees and afn pardon in Prince Ferdinand^ name, his 
 belief, that in this way pardon might be obtained, would r.ct 
 G 2 
 
t>0 THE DESIGN OF CHRIST'S [SEC. IV. 
 
 eternal damnation in the higheft exercifes of repentance, 
 every whit as much as he did before, according to law and 
 ce : but alfo deferves eternal damnation afrefh 
 5 attending his very repentance. The 
 blood of Chrift, and the gracious declarations cf the Gcfpel, 
 are therefore in an eminent and peculiar fenfe, the only 
 ^foundation of hope there is in his cafe. — But of this more 
 afterwards. 
 
 VII. If the defign of Chrift's Mediatorial Office, labours 
 r.nd fufrerings, was to do honour to the divine law, and if 
 hereby he has opened a way for the honourable exercife of 
 divine grace towards Sinners ; then on the crofs of Chrift 
 every motive, every encouragement to repentance for fin, 
 
 entitle him to it, but rather render bun the meft inexcufable ?nc.n 
 ali<ve. — So bad an Israelite, bitten with a fiery fir pent, be- 
 lieved > that ibhofoqver looked up to the brazen fcrpent Jhoidd be 
 healed, but not defiring a cure, Jhould he refiufe to look up, his 
 belief wruld not have healed him, Sc had Peters hearers, on the 
 day of Pentic.fi, when pricked at the heart to think that they 
 had murdered the M. fab, refufed to repent and be baptized in 
 the Name of jefus Chrift ; not wit hfi an ding the call they had, 
 their belief that he was the MeJ/luh, and that there was for- 
 givenefs with God through his name, would net have entitled 
 thejn to pardon. And therefore, "a bare belief of the bare 
 truth" is not the whole rf what is comprized in the fcripture no- 
 tion of Jufiifying Faith. But, f ys Mr. Sandeman, (Letters on 
 i'htron, p. 417 .) "if mere than a bare per juafion of the truth 
 be admitted as requifte to jufiificaticu" the whole cf Chrifii- 
 ahtty is o-vertl.rown : — to which it may be avfwered, that Pe- 
 ter made repentance requifite, Ad. ii. 38. & Hi. 19. — But 
 fays Mr. Sandeman, " the fincere penitent may be fa^ved with- 
 out any Chrift or atonement at all — p. 89, C5V. No : Peter not 
 only J aid, repent, but alfo, be baptized in the name of jefus 
 Chriil for the re million of fins : And conftantly afirmed, that 
 there is no other name whereby we mult be faved : Peter's 
 penitents, therefore, could be faved only in the name of Chrift. 
 But to fay that repentance is before ficrghvenefis, overthrows 
 the whole Gof pel in Mr. Sandeman' 's 'view; and indeed it 
 docs overthrow his whole Gafpel, viz. That there is forgi-ve- 
 tis/'s with God through the atonement, for penitent Sinners, 
 while inch, before an) ad, exercife, or exertion of the mind. — 
 Jjut of this more in Sect. V. and Vlll. 
 
.SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK. 6l 
 
 and a hearty reconciliation to God, is collected and brought 
 to a point. God is declared to be an abfolutely periccl, 
 an infinitely glorious and amiable Being, infinitely worthy 
 of fupreme love and honour, and univerfal obedience : — 
 The divine law is declared to be holy, juit, good and glo- 
 rious : Our difaffe&ion and rebellion to be altogether 
 groundlefs and infinitely criminal: and yet we have the 
 iulleir. proof, that God is ready to forgive, through the 
 blo--d of his own S<n, all thoie who repent and return to 
 him, in the name of Chrift. In which all the motives and 
 encouragements to repentance and reconciliation are virtu- 
 ally comprized. Had the Son of God died, btcaufe the 
 law was 100 fevere, to purchafe abatements, &c. the crofs 
 of Chriit itfelf, had jullified our difafie&ion to that perfect 
 rule of right, and our enmity to the Divine character there- 
 in exhibited. The crofs of Chriit had declared, that we 
 were rig tit, and that God was wrong. But when he obey:; 
 the law himfeif, and in his own body bears its curfe en 
 the tree, in our room and ilead, becaufe the law was good, 
 to do it honour ; if we iliil object we have no cloak for our 
 fin. Nay, we muit give up our objections, or renounce Chlif- 
 tianity. To believe the Gofpel to be true, is to give up 
 all our objections as impious and blafphemous ; to ac- 
 knowledge God to be wholly right, and take all the blame 
 to ourfelves. To come cordially into the import of-Chrift's 
 death, is to look upon God as infinitely glorious, and our- 
 felves as infinitely odious. Truths feaied by that blood 
 which made atonement, and opened a way for cur pardon. 
 And if God is infinitely worthy of fupreme love and honor 
 and univerfal obedience ; and if we never had any reafen 
 to be difaftected to him ; and if our rebellion from fid! to 
 iaft has been entirely groundlefs; nay, infinitely criminal ; 
 and if yet after all, God is ready to forgive us on Chrift's 
 account, and invites us toretunrand be reconciled through 
 him, and offers in this way to become our God and Fa- 
 ther for ever : What farther, by way of motive or encou- 
 ragement, can be prefentcd before our minds, to induce us to 
 repent and be converted, to return and be reconciled to 
 God ? And yet, all this is fet in the ftrongeit point of light 
 on the crofs of Chrift, if he died, becaufe the law was good, 
 to do it honour. Compare Rom. iii. 25, 26, and 2 Cor, 
 
 V. 20, 21. 
 
 G 3 
 
62 THE DESIGN OF CHR7ST ? S fsEC. IV. 
 
 There can now, therefore, be nothing but our difinciir.a- 
 tion to a reconciliation to God, that can be as a bar in the way 
 of cur return, lor on God's fide, all flings are read) , raid 
 he invites us to come. His oxen and failings are killed ; the 
 feaft is prepared, the doors of hi> houfe, the gates of 
 Heaven ;.re open, and we apoftate Hell-dcferving rebels 
 have not only free liberty to return to our allegiance, but 
 are urged, are bef.ee!. ed, and that by God himlelf and by 
 his Son, to be reconciled. — Every beauty meets in the Di- 
 vine character, Mid every exccliercy in his government, 
 our ciifaffeelion is not only groundlefs, but infinitely cri- 
 minal ; and all this is declared, is fealed and confirmed, 
 by the very blood that was fhed to make atonement. No- 
 thing, th?i(f .,re, can keep us back but cur own hearts, ncr 
 can the fiuk be any where but in ourfelves. How inexcu- 
 ur guilt, How aggravated our damnation, if, af:er 
 nil, we reiufe to return and be reconciled ! 
 
 Ould any fay, «« I do look upon the Divine law, holy, 
 juft and good : and 1 feel reconciled to God." — Well : but 
 how came thi". to pafs ? "1 believed myfelf delivered from 
 the curie, and that God was reconciled to me." — If this 
 \- all, you are ilill blind and c'.eaf to the import of the crofs 
 of Chrift, which declares the Divine character to be per- 
 fect in beauty, and his law to be holy, juft and good, pre- 
 vious to the confederation of our being pardoned ; and that 
 ( ur difaffection to the Divine character and government 
 was ioexcufable and infinitely criminal ; and would have 
 remained io, had we never been forgiven. 'Tis not the 
 Divine character and government, therefore, you are re- 
 conciled to; but the whele of your reconciliation confifU 
 in d belief that you are fafe. And this is not to be recon- 
 ciled lo God ; it is only to love yourfelf. — " But it is un- 
 fit flible I mould be reconciled to God on any other ground." 
 — That is, impofiible you fhould look on the Dhine cha- 
 racter and government perfect in beauty, without a ble- 
 rnifh, ahhoogh thu. f declared to be, on the crofs of Chrift, 
 and the dechration fealed with the blood of Gcds's own 
 £©n — Chrift died /; eamkmn your fin , to declare your dif- 
 aiFe&ion infinitely vile: you extenuate your fin, and juftify 
 your difaffeclion : rmd cry*' it is impofiible 1 fhould do 
 citherwiie. impofiible to look upon God as a lovely being, 
 rnly in belief of his love to you." Which is implicitly to 
 fay, that there is "no Lo?elinefs in the Divine nature only 
 
SEC. IV.] MEDIATORIAL OFFICE AND WORK 63 
 
 on account of his love to you." — And To, if you are damn- 
 ed, God will be no longer God. Language nat of an 
 humble penitent, but of an haughty rebel : not harmo- 
 nizing with ihe import of the croifi of Chrift; but exactly 
 the reverfe. For had it not been a becoming, glorious 
 thing in God to punifn fin according to its defert, the 
 death of Chrift had been intiiely needtefs. 
 
 section v. 
 
 Sin an infinite Evil. 
 
 A S to the degree cf fault inefs there is in &», or in 
 •**■ other words, as to the degree of blame- worthir.efs 
 there is in a creature's becoming difaftected to, and rifing 
 in rebellion againft the infinitely glorious God that made 
 him, it cannot be determined by the fentiments of the re- 
 bels themfelves, who will naturally be apt to extenuate 
 their fault, and juftify their conduct. There is no i'o eafy 
 and fafe a way to determine this point with exaclnefs, as 
 to appeal to the judgment of God, who knows what our 
 obligations to obedience precifely are, and with the gr^atelt 
 exactitude balances the degree of our blame. And oefides, 
 it is by hi: judgment this matter is to be finally decided. 
 
 But the Divine law, which is a tranfeript of the Divine 
 nature, end which cxprefles the very fentiments of his heart, 
 and by which he will finally judge the world, in the pe- 
 nalty it has threatened to the tranfgrcfTor, exactly deter- 
 mines what God's judgment is in this cafe. In which it is 
 written, Cur fed is every one that continueth not in all things 
 written in the lock cf the law to do them. This curfe con- 
 tains all that evil, which the law threatens, and which 
 Chrift came to deliver us from, and which the wicked will 
 be doomed to at the day of Judgment. What the wicked 
 wi'l be doomed to at the day cf judgment, when God will 
 render to every mm according to his works, our Saviour has 
 determined in the moil exprefs manner (Mat. xxv. 41, 46.) 
 Depart from me ye curfd, into everlajiingfre, prepared for the 
 Devil and his angels. And thefe fall go aivay into cverlaf- 
 ing punt f me nt j hut the righteous into life eternal. It will be 
 more tolerable for fomc wicked men at the day of Judg- 
 ment than for ethers, as fome are guilty of fewer and lei's 
 
64 SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. [SEC. V. 
 
 aggravated crimes. M.it. xi. 20, 24. but however different 
 the degrees of pa«n will be to different perfons, yet the 
 mifery or each one will be eternal: i. e. infinite in point 
 of duration. For no one is ever to be releafcd out of' Hell. 
 For there is a great gulpb fixed. Luk. xvi. 26. and the fire 
 zs never to be quenched, and the worm never to die. Ma. ix. 
 44 46, 48. for the wicked are to be puniflicd with ever- 
 lajiing a'vfiruaio/7, 2 Theff. i. 9. and as the divine law de- 
 nounces the curfe for the riril tranfgreflicn, for any one iin ; 
 fo there is confequently no one breach of the divine law, 
 bat what in the judgment of God delerves everlailing mif- 
 ery. Bat everlafting mifery is an infinite punifhment. — 
 And therefore in the judgment of God there is an infinite 
 evil in fin. Yea, there is no one tranfgreffion of the Divine 
 law, but what is infinitely evil. 
 
 And it mart be remembered, that this law, in which the 
 Judge of all the Earth threatens eternal mifery for any one 
 tranfgre&dn, for not continuing in all things, was in force 
 and binding on all mankind, antecedently to a confidera- 
 tion of the gift of Chrilr. and the work of redemption by 
 him : and was by God efUemed to be holy, juft and good : 
 and the whole world, Jew and Gentile, were by him looked 
 upon as guilty, their mouths itopped without excufe, no ob- 
 jection againft his law, no plea in their own behalf to make: 
 not one word to fay. And in this view, he gave his only 
 begotten Son to die in their ftead. To deny this, is to 
 renounce the Gcfpel. And all, who believe that Chrift 
 died £0 fave Sinners from the eternal torments of Hell, 
 mult grant, that antecedent to a confederation of his death, 
 they were juftly expofed to fuch a puuiihment, as otherwife 
 his death for this end had been needlefs. But if they were" 
 juftly expofed to fuch a punifhment antecedently to a con- 
 fideration of his death, then fin, previous to a confideration 
 of the grace of the Gofpel, was an infinite evil. But 
 
 I. If fin is an infinite evil, antecedently to a confidera- 
 ticn of the gift of Chrift, then God is infinitely worthy of 
 fupreme love and univerfal obedience from us, confidered 
 merely as being what he is in himfelf and our Creator. — 
 For if he is not infinitely worthy, we cannot be infinitely 
 obliged. And if our obligations are not infinite, we can- 
 not be infinitely to blame. It is, therefore, the plain im- 
 port of the Divine law, that the God who made us, and 
 whofe we are, is an abfolutely perfect, and fo an infinite]/ 
 
pfcC<^?j SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. 65 
 
 glorious and amiable Being. And that, oil this account, 
 we are under infinite obligations to love and obey him. 
 Therefore, 
 
 That love to God which arifes merely from felf-love, in 
 a belief that Chrift died forme, that my fins are forgiven, 
 and that I (hall be faved, is not that kind of love which 
 the djvine law requires, but a love efTentialiy different. — 
 For, one wholly blind to the beauty of the Divine nature, 
 and at enmity to the Divine character as exhibited in the 
 law, and fo in the eye of the law, dead in fin, mav be full 
 of this kind of love, even as full of it, as the carnal Israel- 
 ites were of joy at the fide cf the Red Sea. 
 
 Anci to deny that God is to be loved by believers with 
 that kind of love which the Divine law requires, is to fay, 
 that the law is not a rule of life to believe! s: it is to fet 
 afide the divine law and real holinefs ; and to fubftitute 
 affections merely felfifh and wholly gracelefs in their room. 
 And this is eflence of Antinomianifm. 
 
 It is true, the gift of Chriir, confidered as a benefit done 
 to us, lays us under infinite obligations to love God with a 
 love of gratitude. But at the fame time, the very nature 
 cf the gift fuppofes, that we were before under infinite 
 obligations to love God for his own excellency, and infi- 
 nitely to blame for not loving hirn ; as otherwife the gift 
 of Chrift to be a curfe to redeem us from the curfe of the 
 law, had been needlefs. Now practically to deny the in- 
 finite amiablenefs of the Deity, and our infinite obligations 
 to love him, as fuch ; and then to pretend to love God for 
 the gift of his Son, is as though we fhould fay, " God does 
 not deferve the love the law requires. The law was there- 
 fore an unrighteous law. But Chrift; has redeemed us from 
 its curfe, and we are glad." — Which declaration would be 
 a full proof of our enmity to God and to his Son. 
 
 II. If fin is an infinite evil, if not to love the infinitely 
 glorious God our Maker with all our hearts, fo as from 
 love to be perfectly obedient to his will in thought, word 
 and deed, is an infinite evil ; then thofe who are wholly 
 blind to the holy beauty of the divine nature, and confe- 
 quently entirely deftitute of true love and of true obedi- 
 ence, are in the fight of God it finitely to blame, for every 
 thought, word and action. The plowing of the wicked is 
 Jin. The prayers of the wicked are fin. The facrifices cf the 
 <v:icked are abomination to the Lord. They are, in the whole 
 
66 SIN' AN INFINITE EVIL. [sEC. V. 
 
 frame cf their hearts, and in the whole tenor of their lives, 
 contrary to the Divine law. Rom. viii. 7, 8. Tbt carnal 
 mind is enmity againfi God ; for it is net jubjeel to the la<w 
 of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the 
 Jlcjh, cannot plcafe God. And ver. 9. this is the character 
 of all who have not the fpirit of Chriji. And therefore, the 
 whole frame of their hearts, and the whole tenor of their 
 livrs, is infinitely odious, hateful and iil-deferving in the 
 fight of God ; exactly agreeable to the import of the curfe 
 cf the Divine law. Therefore, 
 
 When once a Sinner's eyes come to be opened really to 
 view things as they in fact are, his fidfe hopes, his felf- 
 rightecus claims will be dropped in a moment ; and the 
 juliice of God in his damnation be clear beyond difpute. 
 And God's ciifpofition to punifh fin according to Jaw, no 
 longer appear as a blemifh, bin rather as a beauty in the 
 Divine character. And / will have mercy on whom I will 
 have mercy, not an ill, but rather a glorious perfection in 
 theDciiy. — Howe ver thefe views, and an anfwerable frame 
 of heart, will not in the leaft diminifh his defert of eternal 
 damnation ; any more tmn the penitence of a wilful mur- 
 derer wiil exempt him f.cn the gallows. For, 
 
 311. Jffm is an infinite evil, then he who is enlightened 
 in the knowledge of God and Jefus Chrift, believes the 
 Gofpe'i wkhr.il his heart, repent* mild is converted, H III 
 deferves, confidcred as in himielf, sr.J compared with the 
 law of God, that perfect rule of right, eternal damnation 
 as much as ever he c!id,( 1 ) becaufe his preient gcodnefs 
 
 ( 1 ) Seme laic writers, in their %<eal agaixft a fel fright cc:s 
 fpirit, hardly dr.re alloav Fa* 1 a&, lift it Jhcu'.d be 
 
 made a riot, tecufcf of. fuft as if a feif righteous heart could 
 not make a rig!, /t ::</',.>/: of apajjlve as well as of an active 
 Faiih, and be as proud cf his faffivity as the Pharifee Hum of 
 his fafii/g twice in the week. Was this Paul's nvay to take down 
 a fri.ud jcif-: i^'rtccus hec.rt I who was fojLiifal end mighty to 
 full donun ! — Kc — -firfom it — be task quite another met/ cd, a 
 nut hod in its cwn nature apparcr.il; failed to a 'fiver the end. 
 It twos to hold forth the divi/c la<w in all its Jiric'tnefs, and 
 with all its cur) s, as holy, juft and good. Witnefs his Epifile 
 lc the Rfftnans and Galatians. — Not any diftinclion between 
 aclizc arj. p-flve was e-ver mentioned by htm, cr has the leap 
 tendency to humble a proud heart . But to view ourf elves in 
 
5EC. V.] SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. 67 
 
 docs not in the leail counterbalance his former badntf;. 
 Nay, in (lead of paying pail debts, he runs continually 
 deeper into debt ; as lis iti.il falls ihort of that perfect love 
 and obedience which he owes to God. And fo inllead of 
 deferving pardon for old iins, he merits damnation con- 
 flaiirly by his new ones. There is therefore abfolutely no 
 hope in the cafe of a true penitent, but trjir: the. mere grace 
 of God through J efus Chrift. On the foot of law, there is no 
 more hope in the cafe of a penitent, than in the cafe of an 
 impenitent Sinner. Becaufe according to law and itrict 
 juftice, he deferv.es to be damned now, as much as he did 
 before. For his repentance, whicii is but of finite worth, 
 when caft into the balance in oppoiition to his guilt, which 
 is infinite, is lighter than if the fmalleft atom of matter 
 were flung into one fcale, and the whole material fyftem 
 into the other. For there is fome proportion between the 
 lead: atom of matter, and the whole material fyftem ; but 
 there is no proportion between finite and infinite. And 
 therefore, as in the eye of law, io in the eye of an enligh- 
 tened conscience, the moil exalted virtue of the mo ft emi- 
 nent Saint ilands for nothing: i. e. is abfolutely of no 
 weight at all in the leail conceivable degree to counterba- 
 lance for any one fin : And fo he fenfibly needs Chrift and 
 free grace along with the chief of Sinners. 
 
 To deny this, would be, virtually, to give up the whole 
 of Divine Revelation. sror in this view the Divine law 
 threatens eternal death, for any one trarfgreflion, without 
 leaving any room for repentance to alleviate the fentcr.ee. 
 The tranfgreiTor is doomed to eternal mifery without hope. 
 This is plain facl. Gal. iii. 10. And this law is declared 
 to be holy, jufl and good, to be juft what in reafon it ought 
 to be ; and in this viewer' i; the lav. giver judged it incon- 
 
 the light of the Divine taw, w.'/I gi-je us our true charader, 
 and let us fee jufl what we defer-ve at the bands of God our 
 judge, and our abfolute need of Chrift and free grace. It was 
 Paul's maxim, the law is a fcj*ooj- mailer to bring us to 
 Chrii'l. Ncr can arj man pojjibly fee Lis reed of Chrijl, hut 
 bv the law* and the law ccnjldered as holy, j;ft and good. 
 For to do honour to the law as fuch, was the dtjign cf ChrijVs 
 mediation, 15 that without wl ich his me ••'«; ion had net been need- 
 ful for the falvatio.i of Sinners. — And bv the law, the moft holy 
 and active Saint need* Cbrift as much as the chief of Sinntrs. 
 
6b' SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. [SEC. V. 
 
 fluent with rcafcn and juftice, and therefore inconfiftent 
 with the honour of his righteous government, to exempt 
 a Sinner from the threatened punilhment, in virtue of any 
 atonement of Ids value than the blcod of his own Son. — 
 Another plain faft, Rom. iii. 2j, 26. He, who denies 
 thefe two facts, mult give up the whole of divine Revela- 
 tion. And to grant them, ie to grant all that has been af- 
 ferted. 
 
 It is pcffihle that a Sinner may be brought to repentance 
 by Divine grace before he is forgiven. (1) Yea, it is cer- 
 tain, that no Sinner ever was pardoned till he did repent. 
 Luk. xiii. 5. Act. iii. 19. But it is impoffible, that a Sin- 
 ner ever fhould be juftiiied under any other notion, than as 
 being ungodly. Rom. iv. 5. For one iin in the eye of the 
 law, and ib in the eye of God the judge, denominates a 
 man ungodly, and fubjecls him to eternal damnation. Gal. 
 iii. 10. Nor can any future penitency make any imagina- 
 ble fatisfadlion ; he muft be juitiried therefore by God, as 
 being ungodly, or not at all. 
 
 Let the ivicked for/ake his way, and the unrighteous man 
 his thoughts, end let him return unto the Lord, and he ivill 
 have mercy on him, arid to our God, for he will abundantly par- 
 don j was the language of the Old-Teftament. And repent 
 and be converted, that your fins /nay be blotted out ; is the lan- 
 guage of the New. Not that the penitent Jew, on the foot 
 of law and juitice, could by his repentance be exempted from 
 death. Nay, jail the contrary did the penitent Jew ac- 
 knowledge, when he came before the altar, bringing a 
 bull or a goat to die in his room. For " I have finned, I 
 deferve to die," was the import of his conduit. Not, nei- 
 ther, that the penitent Christian does not deferve the dam- 
 nation of Hell, notwithftanding his penitency ; for this, in 
 the mod explicit manner, is acknowledged, in afking pardon 
 in the name of ChrijL For if he is not lb bad, as to deferve 
 eternal damnation, he does not need that pardon which the 
 Gofpel offers. Much lefs does he need the Son of God to 
 die in his ftead, that God may be juft, and yet juitify him. 
 
 ( [) This all Antinomians deny : for as true repentance arifes 
 from love to God, and implies love to his law, they fay , it is 
 
 impoffible to lo-ve God or his law, till frjt we know that our 
 fins are forgiven ; and Jo it is impoffible, that repentance jhould 
 
 take place before forgive vefs . Of which , more L er: after. 
 
SEC. V.] SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. 69 
 
 So that to Aft pardon in the na?ne cf Chrift, is the moil ex- 
 plicit acknowledgement, that eternal damnation is our due 
 by law; and that the law is holy, juft and good, a glori- 
 ous law, worthy to be magnified and made honourable by 
 the obedience and death or the Son of God. (1) 
 
 ( I ) Some of the chief maxims on which St. Paulreafons through 
 out his Epijile to the Galatians, to prove thai no man can be 
 jujlified on the foot of his own virtue are theft : " The di- 
 vine law requires iin'.cfs perfection, on the penalty of eter- 
 nal damnation for the leait defect. Chap. Hi. 10. There 
 is no other law given, ver. 21. If juftification Could have 
 been obtained by this law, the death of Chrift had been 
 needlefs. Chap. 11. 21." And frtm theft maxims he cuts off 
 all felf-rightecus hopes by the roots. To aftert , therefore, that 
 there is a law given, by which a Sinner may be jufiifed in the 
 fight of Crod on the foot of his g*wn virtue, port affinlefs per- 
 fection, and without any used of Chriji' 's atonement, even on 
 condition ofjincere repentance, is fatly to ccutradicl the Aprftle. 
 It is fur prizing therefore to find Jo fugacious a vjritcr as Mr, 
 S and e man, declaring this v:ith Juch great a fur an ce : And 
 equally fur prizing thai he jkould think to prove his point f rem 
 the xviiiUi and xxxiiid chapters cf Ezekiel ; vjhen every pi- 
 ous Jezv knew, that let his repentance be ever fo jlncere, yet 
 according to the whole tenor of the Mofaic difpenfatioii, with- 
 out ihedding of blood there could be no remiflion. Deut. 
 xxvii. 26. Heb. ix 22, See Letters on There-:, p. 89, 90. 
 
 If it jhould be enquired, what led ft learned a writer to com- 
 mit fuch a blunder ? It was in ftipport of his leading defiign, 
 the darling point in his fc heme, viz. That there is fergivenejs 
 with God through Chrift for impenitent Sinners, while fucb» 
 before any ft ad, exercjc, or exertion cf their minds vvbat/b- 
 everf And confequently before repentance. A " pajjive belief" 
 of w hie o he fayf, "quiets the guilty confidence, begets hope, 
 and fo lays a foundation for love." For if a penitent* Sinner 
 may be jujlified on the foot of Lis own goodnefs, without anv 
 refpeel to Chriji and his atonement, none can ft and in any need 
 if Chrift and his atonement, but impenitent Sinners. And fo 
 his mam point is proved. For the only defign cf Chrift'' s death 
 cf conftquence mi ft be to procure pardon for impenitent Sinners 
 remaining Juch. For if ever they jhould be brought to repent- 
 ance, according to his ftheme, they may be jujlified on the fott 
 
 H 
 
7© SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. [SEC. V. 
 
 If the divine law requires that we love God with all our 
 hearts, and yield a perfect obedience to his will ; and if 
 
 tf their own goodnef , without any need of Chrijl cr his atonement . 
 And accordingly his good man is never brought to true repent- 
 ance. " All his godlinefs confijis in love to that which firjt re- 
 lieved him." (Letters to Mr. Pike, p. 8. J and therefore his 
 godlinefs does net at all confijl in love toGod' slaw, without which 
 there can be no true repentance. And, therefore, he can by no means 
 allow that the cxixth Pjalm gives, the character of David, or 
 is applicable to any other good man, becaufe it abounds with 
 j'uch exprefjions of love to God'' 's law. 'To whom then muji it 
 be applied? to Chrijl : he fays ; forgetting what the pjalmiji 
 had j aid, ver. 67, before 1 was atiiidted 1 went altray. — 
 Which is a full proof that Chrijl, who never went ajlray, is 
 not the per f on fpoken tf. (Letters on Theron, p. 55, W]). 
 
 But from Mr. Saudeman's manner of reajoning (p. US. J it 
 is eafy to forejee, that he will ebjeel, that if repentance is be- 
 fore for givenefs , no child of Adam can be forgiven. For ac- 
 cording to him, this fets pardon " as high above the reach of 
 one whoje confcier.ee is awake, as the perfection required by tee 
 Divine lavj itfelf. It muji ccjl me as much Labour to con* 
 within the reach cf it, as to conform my heart to the law of 
 God. Of all corruptions of the Gcfpel, this is the mcji dan- 
 gerous. ," — However, he may be told, that dangerous as he 
 thinks it is, the G of pel was thus corrupted, if he will call it 
 by that name, by Chrijl and his ApcjUcs, who always taught , 
 that repentance is before forgivencjs, as wilt be proved in ike 
 fequel. And if he is for an eajier way to Heaven than Chrijl 
 and his Apojlles taught, it is no good fign. Rather, it is tie 
 grand charaSlerijlic of a popular prcaa,>:r, how odious fecver 
 the name may found in his ears. So our Saviour declares, Math. 
 i'ii. 13, 14, 15. 
 
 If he jhould further objercl, thai the plain defgn of the prophet 
 Ezekie) was to convince the f elf -righteous Jews in Babylon, that 
 if they perijhed in their fins, the fault wc uld be wholly in then: — 
 I readily grant it. And one way he takes, to work this ccn- 
 viclion in them, is to call upon them to repent, aJJ'erting that 
 there is a fare connexion between repentance ana forgivenejs. 
 Which was no new doftrixe, as appears from Ltv.'xxvi. 40, 42- 
 1 Kin. viii. 46, $c—Prcv.xxviii. 13 — lfai.h>. 7 — Jer. iv. 
 4. Tee only question is, whether the author of the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews was mistaken, or not, in affirming, that under 
 
SEC. V.] SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. J I 
 
 our original natural obligations to love and obey him are 
 fo great, that according to reafon and juftice, we deierve 
 eternal wrath for the leall defect ; and if we rr.eafure our- 
 felves by this rule, and judge of our character and defer: by 
 this irandard, inftead of finding any thing about ouifelves 
 to recommend us to God, we lhall feel that we are infi- 
 nitely worthy of the divine wrath. And the more penitent 
 any Saint in this world is, the more fenfible he will be that 
 this is the truth. And accordingly Saint Paul, who was 
 doubtlefs the moil humble, penitent, broken-hearted Saint 
 that ever lived, viewing things in this lignt, felt, after 
 
 ihe Mofaic difpenfation, without medding of blood there vtas 
 no remiffion. Hcb. ix. 22. 
 
 Befides, if God could, conf stent with the honour cf his go- 
 vernment, have granted remiffion of fins to a fine ere penitent, 
 without any atonement y by parity of reafon, ue ?night alfo as 
 well, have granted repentance, 'without any atonement. Wnd 
 fo the death of Christ was wholly needlefs. Sinners might lave 
 had repentance and remiffion cf fins, and eternal life, as well 
 without, as with it. And thus Chriff. is dead in vain, and 
 Christianity overthrown on Mr. Sakdemun's fcheme. For if 
 the death of Chrijt was needlefs, the Gofpel, which brings us 
 the news of his death, is a fiction. For it mujl have been 
 fbelifhnefs and not the wifdom of God ; it mvf have been in- 
 conjijlent with every divine perfection for God to have given 
 his Son to die, had his death been needlefs. — Mr. Sand, man 
 therefore mu ft give up his prefent fcheme, or give up the Gofpel, 
 or be inccnfjlent. — But how was itpojjible, that Mr. S.jhould 
 rightly under jl and and cordially believe the Scripture doctrine 
 of atonement, while his mind was fo full cf prejudice againjl 
 the divine law ? Indeed he has not expreffed his enmitv 
 fgainfl the divine law in fuch a fiocking manner as Mr. Cud- 
 nu rth has done ; but to an attentive reader it ma, be plain, 
 they both view it in the fame point of light : in itft'f an ugly 
 law. And all their love to God and his lazv arijes merely from 
 a belief or hope they are delivered from its curfe : or rather 
 Jir icily f peaking, they have r.o love to God or to his law ; but 
 as Mr. S. accurately expreffes, "all his Godlinefs co>fiJls in love 
 to that which fir/i relieved him," viz. a belief there was for- 
 givenefs with God for impenitent Sinners, while fuch. This 
 he loved ; and this love is the whole of his reiip-ion. 
 
 H 2 J g 
 
~2 SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. [SEC. V. 
 
 all his attainments, that he flood in as abfclute need of 
 Chrift and free grace, as any otbe* Sinner in the world. — 
 I through the lu-ic an dead to the laiv. 1 count all things iut 
 h/s, that I Utia Cbrij}, a >:d be found in hi/?;. And in this 
 view he'ftrenuoufly aifened, that by the deeds of the la-zu no 
 flejb could bejufiified in the fight of God. Not one more than 
 another: not himfelf, mctfetnan the vilcft wretch on earth. 
 
 Wherefore, if fairing Faith implies in its nature, repent- 
 ance and ccnverficn, and contains the feeds of every Ciirif- 
 ii an grace ; yet it can have no influence into our j unifica- 
 tion in the fight of God, as our virtue : Becaufe confi- 
 dered as fuch, it is of no weight to counterbalance our 
 blame, if our blame be infinitely great ; no weight at all. 
 The Ieaft fand in an hour glafs, would do more towards 
 counterbalancing the whole material fyflem, all put into 
 one fcale, than the Faiths repentance, and all the other 
 graces of the befi: Saint in the world, would towards coun- 
 terbalancing the fmalldl fin ; if the fmalieft fin is an infi- 
 nite evil. And if we fay, ** that the leaft fin is not an in- 
 finite evil," we mud, to be coniilient, give up the divine 
 law, and with that, the whole of divine Revelation. 
 
 We can bejuflifed by Faith, therefore, no otherwife than 
 as Faith is that, on our part, whereby we are united to 
 Chrift, and fo become interefled in him, in whom alone, 
 God is well pleafed. Whofe righteoufnefs and atonement 
 alone are fufiicient to fatisfy for our guilt, and qualify us 
 for the divine favour and eternal life. Even as a woman 
 is interefled in her hniband's eihite by marriage, not as it 
 is an act of virtue in her to marry him ; but as hereby (he 
 is united to him, and becomes one with him. 'Tis true, 
 in the very act of marriage, in which a woman receives a 
 man for her huiband, and gives herfelf to him as his wife, 
 all matrimonial duties are virtually implied : and as ye have 
 received Chrifi c Jcf ls t ^ e Lord, fo walk ye in him, (Gal. ii. 
 6) is the fum of Chriflianity : But it is not the engage- 
 ment of thofe matrimonial duties, nor is it the performance 
 of them/ which, under the notion of a virtue, entitles her 
 to her hufbind's eilare : (he is interefted in her hufband's 
 efta'e fimp'iy by virtue of the relation which tr.kes place in 
 me triage. They two then become one flefli. And fo one 
 comm> u intereir commences. Eph. v. 32. This is a great 
 m fiery, is a lively emblem of our union with Chrift. For 
 by a true and lively Faith, which, in contradiftinc~tion from 
 
SEC. V.] SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. *] $ 
 
 a dead Faith, contains every Chriilian grace in embryo 
 we are united to Chriil, as the branch is to the vine, as the 
 members of the body are to the head, as the wife is to her 
 hufband ; in confequence of which union, and not for our 
 goodnefs, we are accepted in God's beloved Son, and that 
 fimply on the account of his atonement and merits. And 
 
 to ufe another of Saint Paul's limiiiuides A Jew had a 
 
 title to an inheritance in the land of Canaan by birth ; — 
 not becaufe it was a virtae to be born of Jewiih parents ; 
 but becaufe he was thereby a child of Abraham. So we 
 are all the children of God by Faith in Jcjks Chrijl. And if 
 children, then heirs. Gal. iii. 26. 29. (1) 
 
 Some ieem to think that Faith, repentance and fincere 
 obedience, coufidered as our own goo chiefs and virtue, 
 give us an intereft in Chiifl:, and in the favour of God 
 through him. Which, to make the fcheme confident, fup- 
 pafes that the penitent Sinner is conudered as being in 
 himielf good, and that his goodnefs is of fo great weight 
 in the fight of God, as to counterbalance his badnefs, and 
 fo gives hirn an iuterelt in Chriic. Which implies that his 
 guilt is not acknowledged to be infinite. For if it were, it 
 could not be imagined, that his goodnefs could be of any 
 weight to counterbalance it. But if his guilt is not ac- 
 knowledged to be infinite, the infinite excellency of the 
 divine Nature, and the juftice of the law, are virtually de- 
 nied. A full proof, that the import of Chrift's death is not 
 underiiocd by him, and that his Faith and repentance are 
 not genuine. And gracelefs graces are bat poor things 
 for gracelefs men to make a righteoufnefs of; if the no- 
 bleit virtues of the moil eminent Saints, are cf no weight 
 at all to conterbalance any one tranigreffion of the divine 
 law. i 
 
 Others, on t-ie contrary extreme, feem to think, that 
 Sinners are juftined, not only as being ungodly in the eye 
 of the law, but alio as being impenitent and unconverced 
 in the eye of the Gofpel. And thefe make the whole of 
 religion to refult from a perfuafiou of Goo's love to them. 
 And fo the infinite excellency of the divine Nature, the 
 infinite evil of Sin, and the true import cf the crofs of 
 
 *( 1) See this fubjed treated at large, but *with great accu- 
 racy in Mr. Ed-wards' 's fermon en J if if cation by Faith alone. 
 H 3 
 
74 SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. [SEC. V. 
 
 (Thrift, are left out of their views. And the divine law as 
 a rule of life, is lei afide. And a new l*ind of religion is 
 iubftituted in the room of a conformity to the divine law. 
 A kind of religion which has no holinefs in its nature. 
 
 That there is a Goo, an abiolutely per fed, an infinitely 
 glorious and amiable Being, in himfelf infinitely worthy 
 of fupreme love and honour, and univerfal obedience, is 
 the firfl principle of all religion, and the foundation on 
 which, that whole fyitem of religion is built, which is 
 contained in the holy Scriptures. But this principle, how 
 plain, and how fundamental foever it is, is left out cf every 
 falfe fcheme of religion. The occafion is this : Every falfe 
 fcheme of religion, formed in the fancy of a fallen creature, is 
 contrived onpurpofe to fuit and fo to giveeaie and comfort to 
 grscelefs hearts. Butevery gracelefs heart, isat enmity againft 
 the true God. Another God. of a character effentially differ- 
 ent, mull vherefore be imagined, or a carnal heart cannot be 
 fuited, and io can never have cafe. And this is done, in eve- 
 ry falfe fcheme of religion. And fo all falfe fchemes of re- 
 ligion in the Chriftian world, are, in reality, only fomany 
 various kinds of Idolatry. 
 
 The Angels in Heaven love aGod, whofe character they 
 fee it is, to hate fin as an infinite evil, and puni fn it accor- 
 dingly, exemplified before their eyes in the divine conduct 
 rds their ancient affociates, for their fir ft tranfgrcfTion. 
 . in innoceney loved a God, whofe character he be- 
 lieved it was, to hate fin as an infinite evil, and punilh it 
 accordingly, held forth to his own view, in that law, /'* 
 the day thou eat eft thereof thou /halt finely die. — And all who 
 onderftand the Gofpel, fee its glory, and believe it to be 
 true, love a God, whofe character they fee it is, to hate fin 
 ;.s art infinite evfl, and punifh it accordingly ; and this 
 character is fet before their eyes, in the moft ftriking point 
 of light, on the crofs of Chrift, and in the tranfactions of 
 the final judgment. And all thofe who do not love this 
 character of God, do not love the true God. Therefore, 
 
 For a Sinner to love the true God, is, at the fame time, 
 to judge and condemn, to hate and abhor, his own cha- 
 racter, as being infinitely odious. We can have not fo 
 much as One good thought of the divine character, without 
 giving up oar own as infinitely abominable. The moment 
 we begin to think that God's character is good, we begin 
 to look upon cur own as infinitely bad. For if it is a 
 
SEC. V.] SIN AN INFINITE EVIL. 75 
 
 beautiful thing in God eternally to damn fuch as we are, 
 it muft b^ becaufe we are infinitely odious and lil-deferving. 
 And if it is not an amiable thing in God to hate and pun- 
 iih fin, as in facl he does, tnere is no moral beauty in his 
 nature. For one bad property, entirely approved, and 
 conftantly exercifed, muft fpoil any moral character, and 
 render it on the whole, entirely devoid of moral beauty. 
 But this point (hall be taken into a more particular confi- 
 deration in the following Section. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Vindiclive Justice an amiable Perfeclion in the Deity ; 
 a Beauty in the Divine Charade}'. 
 
 VINDICTIVE Juitice is that perfeclion in the divine 
 Nature, whereby God is inclined to puniih fin accord- 
 ing to its defert. The degree of ill defert there is in fin, is 
 determined by the penalty threatened in theaivine Law. 
 
 God's giving his Son to die in our Head, to redeem us 
 from the curfe of the law, has led fome to think, that God 
 is not inclined to punifh iin according to its defert : whereas 
 his inclination to puniih fin according to its defert, induced 
 him to give his Son to die in our llcad. When Zalucus 
 made a Jaw, that the adulterer mould have both his eyes 
 put out as the punilhment of his crime; his inclination to 
 puniih adultery, according to what hefuppofed it deferved, 
 induced him, in order to fave his Son, who had committed 
 adultery, from lofmg both his eyes, to confent, that one 
 of his own fhould be put out inftead of one of his. And 
 his confenting to this, and its being actually done, inltead 
 of arguing that he was not inclined to puniih adultery ac- 
 cording to its fuppofed defert, was really the fulleft proof 
 
 of his inclination fo to do, that could have been given 
 
 Nor could the fupreme King of the Univerfe have given a 
 clearer and ilronger proof, that his inclination to puniih 
 fin according to its defert was well grounded, fixed, and 
 unchangeable, than to give his own Son to fuffer in the 
 room of the Sinner, altogether equivalent to what he was 
 expofed to ; to be made a curfe, to redee??i him from the curfe. 
 And the impenitent Sinner may depend upon it, he mail 
 
/6 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE [SEC. YI. 
 
 not efcape. For if tbe/e things ivirg done in the green tree, 
 qubat jball be done in we dry ? 
 
 Vindictive juihee in the Deity, has nothing in its nature 
 incontinent with bis infinite gocdnefs. And his infinite 
 goodnefs, has nothing in its nature inconfutent with vin- 
 dictive juiHce. Ail tne divine Perfe&ions are harmonious. 
 Nay, ail the moral perfections of the Deity are really but 
 one. — god is LOVE. 
 
 Love is the ium of that duty which God requires of us 
 in the moral law. The moral law is a tranfeript of the mo- 
 ral perfections of the Divine nature. Therefore, love is 
 the fum of the moral perfections of the Divine nature. 
 
 God is love. — Love to Being in general. Chiefly to 
 the firft, the great, the infinite Being, the fountain and 
 fource of all Being. — And, lecondariiy, to nnite Beings; 
 and love to virtue, to order, to harmony, in the intellectu- 
 al fyitem. And fo ail his nature is fumfned up in this Edicl, 
 the fundamental law in his kingdom, Thou jh alt love the 
 Lord thy God 'with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thy f;lf. 
 Which is fuited to give unto God tne glory due unto his 
 name, and to bring ail finite Intelligences to feel {-rid con- 
 duct towards him and one another, as is tit, in which alfo 
 their higheft happinefs lies. 
 
 To break this fundamental law of his kingdom, is im- 
 plicitly to turn enemy to Being in general ; to God, the 
 infinitely great and glorious Being, to the fyitem, to vir- 
 tue, to order, to harmony ; in a word to all good. Love 
 itfelf, therefore, as i: exiles in the Deity, who is at the 
 head of theUnivetfe, and whole officeitis togovern the 
 World, Yikxtnjumingfire with refpect to fin. And armed 
 with Almightineis, and directed by infinite Wifdom, is im- 
 mutably determined to bear teitimony againll: it, as an in- 
 finitely odious, hateful, ill-deferving thing. And fo the 
 words of the law exprefs the temper of God's heart. Curfed 
 is e-ve*y one that continueth not in all things. But this fury 
 and wrath is nothing but love. This curfe to the Sinner, 
 is love to Being in general, i. e. love to God, and to the 
 belt good of the Univerfe. As when a wife and righteous 
 monarch puts a traitor to death, it is not becaufe he delights 
 in the ceath of his ful jeCls, or takes pleafure in their pain 
 fimpiy conficcred; but it is becaufe he deiights in the ho- 
 nour and fefety of his crown, and the general good of his 
 kingdom. And all his loyal fubje&s, who are aiTeCled to- 
 
SEC. VI.] AN AMIABLE PERFECTION. 77 
 
 wards his crown and kingdom, as he is, will fee a beauty 
 in his conduct. (1) 
 
 (1) Will fee a beauty in his conducl, and yet not " delight 
 in the mij'ery" cf their fellow creatures — and fo we may fee 
 the beauty of vindictive jufice, and be ajfecled accordingly > 
 and yet '* not delight in car own eternal dfjlruciicn." Indeed, 
 if an earthly monarch required his fubjeds, en pain of death, to 
 do vckat was in its onw 7iature * utterly impoffiblc,' rot through the 
 hadnefs of their hearts, but as being inconjijlent with the con- 
 Jlitution of reafonable creatures :" then, as in this cafe, no 
 punijhmeni would be dej'crved ; fo he cculd have no motive to 
 punijh bis fubjeds, unlefs he delighted himjclf in their dejlrnc^ 
 tion. And fo no beauty could be fecn in a monarch's inflating 
 pain in fuch a cafe, unlefs vue jufrprfe it beautiful in him to 
 love the mij'ery of his fubjeds. And far c::c doomed to death 
 under fuch a monarch, to fee a beauty in his ccndutl, vjould, I 
 own, be the fame thing, as to love his own mij'ery. And this 
 feems to be Mr. Cudwcrth's vievj of the Divine character, as 
 exhibited in his law, to love which, he thinks is the fame 
 thing, as to ii love our own eternal defrudion" — Mr. Cud- 
 worth's notions of the Deity are furpri singly inconfjlent. One 
 while, God is fuppofed to be fo much made up cf malevolence, 
 that to efcem his cbaradcr beautiful, is to love our ovon eter- 
 nal defrudicn." And to love this God, is pronounced "utterly 
 impofible y" yea, " contrary to the law cf God." And jet the 
 indif put able duty of mankind : but a duty which none ever did, 
 or ever will, or ever lawfully can do — Another while, God is 
 all made up of love to his creatures, only " difpofed to make 
 them happy, and to oppefe w: at is contrary to their happinej's /" 
 and fo of a character altogether lovely, even in the eyes of the 
 vilejl Sinners, let them but believe, " that God loves them in 
 particular." — And fo here are two Gods; the one a cruel, 
 hateful Being, requiring on pain cf damnation, that we jhculd 
 do, that, which is, in its own nature, wicked, " contrary to 
 the law of God." And this God, it is " utterly impcjjible" to 
 love. The other is a good, and lovely Being, who aims at no- 
 thing but our happinej's : and only requires as to believe that he 
 loves us, and in that belief love him again. — And thus it was 
 with the Manichcans in the early ages of the Church, they 
 maintained that there were two Gods, the God of the OldTef- 
 t anient, a cruel, hateful Being j and the God of the New Tef- 
 t anient, a good and lovely Being. Further Defence, p. 221, 226. 
 
78 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE [SEC. VT 
 
 For many reafons private revenge is altogether improper 
 and unfit: not that executing righteous vengeance, is in 
 itfelf a bad thing. We (trictly forbid private revenge 
 among our children. " if your brother itrikes you, you 
 fhall not ltrike him again," fays the father: " but tell me, 
 and I will take care of the matter." So parents order in 
 their little kingdoms, and all the children in the family 
 ftand confcience convinced, when a naughty child is cor- 
 rected by a wife and good father, that the father has done 
 well. And ali dutiful children will revere him the more, 
 and love him the better for it. If it be pcj/ible, as muck 
 as Uetb :n ycu, live peaceably nvitb all men, fays the 
 Apollle. An exhortation as full of benevolence as any one 
 in the New Teltament. To which he adds, in the fame 
 fpirit, dearly beloved avenge not your felves. But why ? was 
 vengeance a bad thing in the Apoftle's eyes? No, but they 
 were not the proper petfons. That matter belonged to the 
 infinitely wife God, whofe are all things in Heaven and 
 Earth, and to whom the government of the World apper- 
 tains. For it is written, Vengeance ii mine, and 1 will re- 
 pay, faith the Lord, Rom. xii. i8 ; 19. It is God's province 
 to execute vengeance, and it is a God-iike, glorious thing, 
 in him to do it. 
 
 Wherefore, when Pharoah (the type of finally impenitent 
 Sinners, Rom: ix. 17, 22) and his holt lay overNvhelmned 
 in the Red-Sea, Mofes, infpired by Heaven, fang, The 
 Lord hath triumphed glorioufy ! Who is like unto thee, O Lord, 
 among the Gods ! IV ho is like unto thee, glorious in holinefs ! 
 Exod. xv. (1) And when ail the congregation of the 
 
 (1) Glorious in holinefs. — Vindictive jvjliceis a holy, and 
 fo a glorious perfection. — The holinefs of the Divine iSature, 
 inclines him to hate and ' punijhfin. The great evil of fn, con- 
 fjls in its being againfi God. Againil thee, thee only have 
 I finned. Pjf. li. 4. And it is chiefly in this view tioat God 
 hi tes and punijhes it j becaufe it is a defpifing God (2 Sam. 
 xii 1 o) and it is a glorious thing in Gcd to puniflj it in this view. 
 Mr. Cud-worth thinks, that there is no love line/sin a>y thing in 
 God, but merely as it " tend: to make us happy, and to oppofe what 
 is contrary to our happinefs. ,} p. 221. If God punijhes Jin mere- 
 ly for our good, it is lovely, let tie pumjhment be fo circumtlan- 
 ced, as to be an act of goodnefs and kindnefs to us, and it is 
 beautiful, viewed in this light. But if it be viewed as an 
 
SEC. VI.] AN AMIABLE PERFECTION. 79 
 
 Children of Ifrael murmured and rebelled againft the Lord, 
 on the return of the fpies, for which they were by God 
 doomed to fall in the Wiidernefs. it was, in theeyesofthe 
 holy one, fo glorious and God-like a piece of conduct, 
 that he laid, all the Earth Jhall be filled with the glery of 
 the Lord. Numb. xiv. 21. And when, in the days 01 iiaiah, 
 God revelled his purpofe, for their many crimes, to give 
 up the Jews to biindnefs, and deafnefs, and hardnefs, 
 till the Land mould be utterly defoiate, the inhabitr.nts of 
 Heaven are reprelented, as in an extacy, crying one to 
 another, Holy, holy, hcly, is the Lord of llojls, the whole 
 Earth Is full cf his gicry. Ifai. vi. And when the Children 
 of Moab and Ammon, the Edomites and PhilHftines, and 
 all the neighbouring nations around the Koly-Lruid, who 
 from lpite to the true God, and to the true religion, re- 
 joiced in the deilruclion of Jeruuiem, and captivity of the 
 Jews : when, 1 lay, they arc by God devoted to deitruc- 
 tion, it is constantly repreicnted, as a conduct, worthy of 
 the holy-one of Ifrael, and to his honour, by the conti- 
 nual repetition of thefe words, and they Jhall know that 1 
 am the Lard, along through eight chapters together, from 
 Ezek. xxv. And concerning Babylon lay the pious jews, 
 guided by inspiration, ml be be, thai taketb and 
 
 dajheth thy little ones again/? the pones, h'i'al. exxxvii. 9. — 
 
 ael cf holinefs, as an exprefficn of 'God' 's regard fo the concur of 
 his great name, and hatred cf 'fin as it is againft God, then 
 there is no Uvelinefs in it — a>,d why ? Becetufe we naturally 
 love 9urf elvts, hut regard not the honour cf his great name.-*' 
 /htdfo, to take cure of our inierefl appears beautiful to us j — 
 hut ic take core of the rights of the (redhead, has no leauty in 
 it. And fs the atonement cf Chrijl . on this hypcthejis, has tn 
 beauty in it, conftderthd as doing G .-' and 10 his law. 
 
 Jlnd fo all religion c chnf.fi s merely in _ _ ... And thus 
 
 'when Piaroa'o -was punijhed for bis crimes, it appeared bsuu~ 
 tiful to the carnal IJraelites, as theytoerefafe themfelves, and 
 as his deftrudion was for their hterefi. But when it came to 
 their own turn, their Hearts were full of hatred and heart -ri- 
 fvgs. 1 however, the Divine conduii, in their punijhment, 
 was as beautiful, as m the punijbment cf the Egyptians, And 
 nothing but criminal blindnefs could p, event its appearing fo 
 them in this light. To befure, it appeared in this light in the 
 eyes of the HOLY ONE of Ifrael. 
 
80 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE [SEC. VI. 
 
 And when myftical Babylon fnal! fink as a mill-done into 
 the fca, under the vengeance of the Almighty, and thou- 
 fands be fent to Hell at once, all Heaven is reprefented, 
 as refounding with loud Hallelujahs, w r hile the fmoke cf their 
 torment afcendeth for ever and ever. Rev. xix. So that no- 
 thing can be plainer, than that vindictive jullice is a glo- 
 rious perfection in th^ Divine Nature, a beauty in his cha- 
 racter, in the fight of holy Beings through the intellectual 
 fyftem. But, 
 
 I. It vindictive j u flic e is a glorious and amiable perfec- 
 tion in the Deity, then the whole dark fide of things, as 
 feme writers phrafe it in his moral government of the U- 
 niverfe, is full of light, glory and beauty. The ejection 
 of the finning Angels out of Heaven down to eternal darknefs 
 and defpair, turning our riril Parents out of Paradife, and 
 dooming them and all their Race to death, and the final 
 Sentence to be paifed on apoilale Angels and apoftateMen, 
 at the day of Judgment, are all perfect in beauty. The 
 Divine character as exhibited to view in the fefacts, is alto- 
 gether glorious, and infinitely worthy of love ; for it is a 
 glorious thing in God thus to punifh fin according to its 
 defer t. Therefore, 
 
 It can be owing to nothing but criminal blindnefs, to 
 the fpirit of a rebel, of an enemy, in any of God's fubjects, 
 that the glory of his character, as thus exhibited, does not 
 mine into their hearts. It is a full proof they are unattached 
 to the honour of God, and to the welfare of his holy king- 
 dom, and care only for there own private intereih And 
 
 therefore, 
 
 No fooner is a Sinner renewed, by the regenerating in- 
 fluences of the holy fpirit, but he begins to fee the beauty 
 of vindictive jullice, and to be affected accordingly. The 
 law as a mitiijlration of death, now begins to appear glori- 
 ous. For now he begins to fee things as in fad they be. 
 For now his eyes are opened.(i) 
 
 ( I ) And in this -view my Tberon is made to Jay, (p. 194^ 
 " Let all Heaven for ever love and adore the infinitely glori- 
 ous Majejly, although I receive my jufl defer t and perijh for 
 ever.^ But fays Mr. Cud-worth, ie This is a fpecies of love 
 beyond nvhat Adam had in Paradife, beyond the Apcflles, the 
 Scripture Saints, and even "Jefus Chrijl bimfelf" p. 224. — 
 Strange I—What ! — Dees not "Jefus Chriji look upon it as a 
 
SEC. VI.] AN AMIABLE PERFECTION. 3 1 
 
 II. If vindictive juilice is a glorious and amiable per- 
 fection, then it was a glorious and amiable thing in God, 
 to bruife him, and put his foul to grief, who had efpoufed 
 our caufe, and appeared as our repreientative, although 
 
 glorious thing in his Father to punijh Six according to its dcfcrt? 
 Does not be think bis Father worthy to lye loved and adored 
 by all the Heavenly He/Is, although he does Jo r and will not 
 all holy beings cry, Amen, Halleiujah, at the lajl day, when 
 they fee the law put in execution P And pray, -what is their 
 motive? Is it the beauty of vindictive j"jtice ? or is it vie rely 
 becaufe they are j'aje, and care for none but tbtvfcives ? If the 
 beauty of vindictive jujiice is the motive j ihcn they all view- 
 things to perfection, in the fame light in which a Sinner begins 
 in great imperfection to view them, when his eyesf.rjl begin to 
 be opened. — But if vindictive jujlice is not a beamy in the 
 divine Character, in their e\cs ; a id if i hey cry Amen Halle- 
 lujah, merely becauje they are fafe them/elves, and care not 
 what becomes cf others ; as mujl be the cafe on Mr. Cudwcrtb's 
 fcheme, let him confder the confequences. Confrquences , vshich 
 will overthrow the whole of divine Revelation, as will 
 prefently appear. And to quote texts cf Scripture to prove a 
 point fubver Jive of the whole Scripture fc heme, is certainly to 
 pervert them, befides, Mr. Cudwortb is obliged to grant, \j}, 
 That the divine law dees in fad require of all mankind without 
 exception, that very kind cf live to God, which he condemns in 
 Therm, zd. That this law is r.oly,jujl and good, sind, %d. 
 that to deny the goednefs cf this law, is to overthrow Chrijii- 
 anity, p. 226, 230. And if in regeneration and rep. 
 our eyes begin to be opened to fee things as they le, and cur 
 hearts to be affected accordingly , then TberOn is j'fiifid cut cf 
 Mr. Cudwcrtb\ own ?nouth ; and he has noway to avoid this 
 confequence, but to contradict himjclf, and implicitly give up 
 Cbr/jhanity, in affirming, that the divine law, in requiring 
 love to God before the pardon cf fin, requires, \jl. what im- 
 plies " love to our own eternal dcjlruCtion ;" and fo, id. what 
 is « utterly impofiible." Tea, 3d. what is in its own nature 
 unreafonuble, tl inconffient with the original confitution cf 
 reafonable creatures.'" And fo, q.tb. what is in its oixn nature 
 finful «« contrary to the law of God" And thus he makes the 
 divine law unreafonable and wicked, that ic may j'f'fy the 
 Sinner in his non- conformity to it. s.-'i:J while he juiiifie? 
 
5*2 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE [sEC. VI. 
 
 he v. ere his own Son. And it was a glorious thing in the 
 Son of God incarnate, to fay, Thy will be done. But if 
 vindictive juilice is not glorious, there is no glory in the 
 crofs of Chrift. And wnere no glory is, no glory can be 
 feen. 
 
 III. If vir.diclive juftice is an amiable, glorious perfec- 
 tion, then the grace of God in the gift of his Son, was fret 
 grace indeed, if I was in fad, fo criminal, fo infinitely 
 odious and ill-deferving, that it had been even a glorious 
 piece of conduct in God to have damned me for my fins, 
 the grace which provides me relief, is mere pure grace ; 
 pi: re grace indeed. God was fo far, fo very far from be- 
 ing obliged in juftice to help me, that it had been a glori- 
 ous ait of juilice, if God had laid, Depart thou curfed, into 
 
 the Sinner, he renders needlefs the atonement of Chrijl, regene- 
 ration, repentance, and pardon, in this caje. — And thus the 
 nv&o/e Gojpel is overthrown. To avoid this confequer.ee, he 
 turns Jbort about, and affirms, that the Sinner " ought to love 
 God and isfelf- condemned if he does not,''' — " utterly impcffible 
 and contrary io the law of God," as it /'<. — And in the mid ft 
 of all this ccnfficn and fe!f -coi.tr udicucn, he introduces the 
 death of Chrijl tofolve the difficulty, by delivering us from the 
 curfe cf this good wicked lavj : ar.d ,rant a pardon in the midjl 
 of this felf-jvftification and enmity, thereby to pacify our minds 
 and give us a good thought of that God, whofe character before 
 it nuas " utterly imfirffible" to love. Aid this is all the re- 
 generation Le nuill aliovu of And he perverts every text of 
 Scripture he comes acrefs, io fupfort this incovftfient, fslf-con- 
 iradifiory fcheme of jiutiments : meanwhile, nothing can Le 
 plainer, than that — // God vcas amiable in the eyes of Jda?:i 
 in Paradife, in threatening io punijh fn jO feverely : if he was 
 amiable in the eyes cf drift t in pfrfifting in this difpcj:iion a fur 
 the fall j if to do honour to this character of his F ether, the 
 Son of God incarnate died on the crofs; if all true beluvers 
 view Chrijl in this light, and love him as bting thus bis fa- 
 ther* s friend ; then Mr. Cudvsortb's fcheme fands condemned 
 " by Adam in Paradife, by the Apoftles, by all tie Scripture 
 Saints, with Jefus Chiji bimfelf at their head." Who ccuid 
 rot have been bribed by all the joys fet before him, to have 
 declared his father's right ccuf.ef, had he viewed the di*>in& 
 law in the light Mr. Cudvcorth does j an unreafonable> wish- 
 ed lav;. 
 
SEC. VI.] AM AMIABLE PERFECTION 7 . 83 
 
 euerlajling fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. The 
 grace, therefore, which provides relief, is free and glori- 
 ous grace. And as the freenels and greatnefs of the grace, 
 arifes from this view of the cafe ; fo it is only in this view 
 of the cafe, that the frecnefs and greatnefs of the grace can 
 be feen. Therefore, thofe who are wholly blind to the 
 beauty of vindictive juftice, are wholly blind to the natore 
 and glory of the grace of the Gofpel. And therefore, that 
 idea cf free grace, which ravilhes an Antinomian heart, is 
 a mere imagination, formed in his own fancy, and net the 
 true grace of the Gofpel. 
 
 IV. If vindictive juitice is a glorious and amiable per- 
 fection in the divine Nature, then God is altogether lovely. 
 There is not one blemifh in his character ; his character 
 viewed in every point of light, is perfect in bsauty. That 
 is, he is in fact, what he claims to be, by nature God. 
 Therefore, 
 
 Our dififreclion to the Deity is perfectly groundlefs, and 
 we have no cloak for our fin, but are ahiolutely without 
 excufe, our mouths ftopped, and we guilty before God — 
 even prior to a confideration of the grace of the Gofpel. — 
 And therefore, 
 
 If now, after we have the Gofpel Revelation, in which 
 we are invited, kindly and earneftly invited to return to 
 God in the name of Chrift, with a promife of divine for- 
 givenefs, and even of eternal life through him, we do not 
 return and become heartily reconciled, we (hall deferve an 
 aggravated damnation indeed. The Heathen world, who 
 never heard of the grace of the GofpeJ, may, for their dis- 
 affection to the divine Character, which is perfect in beau- 
 ty, be, with Tyre and Sidon, juftly damned ; but we, with 
 Chora^in, Bethfsida, and Capernaum, fnall deferve a 
 damnation aggravated beyond exprrffion. '. There Jball be 
 weeping, cc ailing, and gnajhing cf teeth. 
 
 To fay that vindictive juitice is not a glorious and ami- 
 able perfection, is fubveriive of all Religion, natural and 
 revealed. 
 
 If vindiftive juitice, is not a glorious and amiable per- 
 fection, then there is one blemifh in the divine Character, 
 one bad property in the divine Nature, which, yet, it is 
 plain from the whole tenor of his conduct, that God heart- 
 ily approves of and loves ; which therefore, muft fpoil his 
 I 2 
 
&4 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE [SEC. VI. 
 
 who!; character, and render it on the whole an unamiable 
 character ; a character that cannot be heartily liked and 
 cordially loved. For one bad property entirely approved 
 of, ar:d conftaotly exercifed will ruin any moral character, 
 and render it devoid of all moral beauty. 
 
 If it was a bad eking in God to call out the rebel An- 
 gels as he did to eternal pains ; the elect Angels can never 
 forgive it : but: rouft eternally look on their tortures as the 
 bad in the Deity, and Hand ready to 
 Vies, and fo will really be on the De- 
 vil's fide, nothwithtandinp all the bounties of Heaven to 
 tivem. For the bounty of a tyrant can never win the ei- 
 Leein &f noble and j;:r.erous minds. And how muft the 
 : of*an incarnate God, on this hypothecs, fill all holy 
 Beings vith horn r. Such a facrirke as this to tyranny, is 
 beyond im n dreadful! All the bounties of Hea- 
 
 ven to the elect from among mankind, can never reconcile 
 them to fuch a character, unlefs we fuppofe them to be 
 abfohitely felfifhj void of all goodnefs, while they forever 
 behold their feltow creatures, their neighbours, their bre- 
 thren, their niiers, their fons, their daughters, crying, 
 weeping, wailing, gnafhing their teeth, under eternal tor- 
 tures, all the effect of foniething bad in the Deity. 
 
 So that if vindictive juitice in the divine Nature, is not 
 amiable sr.d gioricuf, there is no beauty at all in the di- 
 vine Character, and he never can be loved. And fo there 
 is an cveriafting end to all Religion in the intellect.ua! fyf- 
 tem. For where there is no love to God, there is no Re- 
 ligion. 
 
 To fay, that vindictive jaftice is no part of God's moral 
 character, is to give up the Old and New Teftamcnt, both 
 at once ; as well as to contradict a thoufand appearances in 
 common providence. And fo is it to plunge into down- 
 right infidelity, and is Utile or nothing ihort of the grof- 
 feit atheifm. 
 
 So that we have our choice to approve the divine cha- 
 racter, as it (lands in the Bible, as being without a blemilh, 
 perfect in beauty ; or to turn infidels, and fink down into a 
 total uncertainty about every thing in the moral fyftem.— 
 To do the firft, is the introduction into the Chrillian life. 
 To do the latter, is to begin to feel that blacknefs of dark- 
 nefs, which i- to be the portion of God's enemies to all 
 eternity ; or at leait, it is an introduction to it. 
 
SEC. VI.] AN AMIABLE PERFECTION. 85 
 
 Objection. — " It is true, God's character, as exhibited 
 to view in ihc law, \- not amiable, nor can it be loved — 
 But his character, as exhibited in the Gofpel, is altogether 
 lovely." (1) 
 
 Anpuier. — A hateful chancier, and a lovely charr.cler, 
 are two cnaiack'r.; effentially diaVcrent ; nay, contrary to 
 each other. But two characters eiTentially diiTercnt, can- 
 not belong to that one God, uho is the (rime yeilerd:y, 
 to day and forever. To look upon the character the di- 
 vine law gives of God, as odious ; to lock upon the ci.o- 
 racler the Gofpel gives oi God, as amiable ; and to hate 
 the God of the law, and to love the God or the- Gofpel ; 
 is a kind of Religion which puts one in mind of the M 1.;- 
 ichean fcheme, in ancien; times ; who p ofefied to believe 
 " that there were two Gods, the God of the Old Teila- 
 .ment, an evil, cruel, hateful Being, and tne God o 
 New-Teftaraent, a good, kind, lovely Being." And if 
 this fcheme is not openly efpoufed by any of the various 
 iecb of Chrillians, in the prefent age; yet, itfeems to be 
 
 ( 1) The tkfign rf every fa Ife fcheme of Religion, is to ren- 
 der the divine character agreeable to the tafie cf a carnal 
 heart : But ic every carnal heart, vindictive jijticc appears 
 not a beauty, but a blemijh ; and J'uck a blemijh as fpoils God' s 
 nuhole character , and renders it " utterly imp ojy .lie" to Icvehim. 
 Till then carnal men leave vindictive jujtice cut of their idea 
 of God, at ieafl nvith reference to them [elves, they cannot love 
 God, cr "conceive any lovelinefs in his Nature" Seme falfe 
 fc hemes declare that vindictive jujlice is no part of the divine 
 character. God intends to make all his creatures jinaliy happy. 
 Other ft If j chains declare, that, although it is apart of the 
 divine Character, yet it is not to beloved. I am to vievj 
 God as one that loves me, and merely in that vievj, am I to 
 love him : bat to Lve vindiStive jujlice is c * utterly imp'fp.bleV 
 Rc t s.itance tozvards God, and Faith towards our Lord Jefus 
 Chrijl, imply in their nature, a fenje cf the beauty cf vindic- 
 tive jujlice. And Jo the true Cbrijlian loves Gcd's real cha- 
 racter. While a wrong idea cf Gcd excites the love cf every 
 unregeierate man. A kind cf I eve to fuch a kind cf a God, as 
 is conjijlent with reigning enmity agaisji the true God. Ihm.viii. 
 7. Becaufe the carnal mind is enmity again!! Gcd ; for it 
 is not fubjett to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 
 
 j 3 
 
86 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE fsEC. VI. 
 
 the fecret fpirit and four of all the falfe fchcmes of Religi- 
 on now in vogue. liut all thefe fchemes are, in fact, no bet- 
 ter than infidelity. For if Jefus of Nazareth, did not 
 heartily love I ter of the God of lfreal, as exhi- 
 
 bited in his law, he did not come from the God of lfrael, 
 Lc was not the promifed Meffiah, he was an impoftor. For 
 on this hypothecs, he was no friend to the God of lfrael -, 
 but plain!;.' or, the fide of his enemies, his rebellious fub- 
 jects. And hi- ;n, in this view, was an affront to. 
 
 the Deity, an infinite reflection on his character ; and fo 
 can be of no avail to his followers. And what is all this 
 better than infidelity ? Cut if Jefus of Nazareth, did heart- 
 ily )ove tl e character of the God of lfrael, as exhibited in 
 his law, and died to alTert this character to be good, and 
 co it honour ; then no man can be his difciple, but he who 
 loves that character too. To hate that character, is to be 
 
 an enemy to the ciol's of Chrift. He that hatb ears to 
 
 hear, let him hear. 
 
 When Chrift was upon Earth, the Pharifees, the moft 
 religious feet of people then in the world, joined very 
 unanimously to ha'.e his character, pretending at the fame 
 time great Jove to the God of lfrael. But our Saviour and 
 his Apoftles infixed upon it, that if they really loved God r 
 they would love him ; and if they hated him. it was a full 
 proof they hated God ; becaufe both their characters were 
 alike. Joh. viii. 10, 29, 48. Chap. xv. 21, 24. Chap. xvi. 
 1. 2. 3. 1 Joh. ii. 22, 23. But the Pharifees had quite 
 loft the true meaning of the law of Motes ; 10 that with 
 the g nth i: might be feid, that they did not be- 
 
 lieve Mofes's writings, joh. v. 47. And consequently had 
 -■• of the true God as exhibited in his wri- 
 tings. .Mean while they had formed a new fcheme of Re- 
 ligion in their i'.^rcv. and got themfelves to believe it to 
 be the fame that was taught by Mofes, a fcheme which 
 juftified fuch characters as theirs ; and as was their fcheme 
 of Religion, fuch. was their notion of God. And having 
 thus made Lves a God of a character to fuit their 
 
 own hearts ; this God they loved : But they hated Chrift, 
 who w^s rhe exprefs : 1 'the (roc God. A full proof 
 3 true God himfelf. Even fo row alfo it is 
 in this prefent age. Chrift has been gone to J-h. aver a 
 long . the true fsnfe of his Gj^pel has been in a 
 
 Baanner totally loll by many, who iiaveprcfcfled a great 
 
SEC. VI.] AN" AMIABLE PERFECTION. 87 
 
 regard to his name. And new Chrifis, and new Gofpels, 
 have been invented, more agreeable to the taile of an apof- 
 tate world ; but of a character efientially different from 
 the God of Ifracl. And fo it is come to pafs that men *re 
 prepared to diftinguilh between the character of God, as 
 exhibited in the law, and the character of God as exhi- 
 bited in the Gofpel ; and hate one, and love the other ; — 
 as characters effentially different ; my. even contrary the 
 enc to the other ; not knowing that it was the very delign 
 of the Mediatorial Cilice and Work of Chrift, to aflert his 
 Father's character, as exhibited in the law, to be an abso- 
 lutely perfect charter, without (pot or blemifh ; hi though 
 it is cxpreflly affirmed, that he was fit forth to be a propiti- 
 ation for this very end, to declare bis Fuller's righteoufnefi : 
 Or, in the language of the Prophet, to magnify the law, 
 and make it honourable. 
 
 J pray that it may be confidered, that if vindictive juftice 
 is efiential to the divine Character, and if it is in its own 
 nature a bad thing, an unamiable property, that this one 
 biemifh will fpoil God's whole character: ard it will be 
 impoffible for any holy being in ths Univerfe to \o\a him. 
 None can love him but ihipid, felhih creatures, who believe 
 that he loves them, and who care not what becomes of ci- 
 thers. For, if it mult have rendered God's character hate- 
 ful to have punifned me according to hi? law ; it mutt, for 
 the fame reafon, render it hateful, to punifh any other ac- 
 cording to his law. So that, on this hyputhefis, if I am 
 faved ; yet, God's character mufc appear odious in my eyes 
 to all eternity, unlefs he fave all others. So 1 fhall hate 
 God's character in Heaven, while 1 view the torments of 
 the damned. And all the love I ihail have to him, will be 
 fimply from a felfiih, narrow principle ; becaufe he has 
 elected, and loved, and faved me. F r i can fee no beauty 
 in his character. For in fact there is none, if vindictive 
 juftice be a bad and an unamiable property. For one bad 
 property entirely approved of and con ft ntly rcifed will 
 
 render any character entirely devoid of moral beauty. 
 
 Therefore, 
 
 The rapturous joys :f who are blind to the 
 
 :y of the 1 c ; ivi:e Character as exhibited in hi? law, 
 
 ^rihng mere]'/ from a belief that Cjr;J Ipvej them and will 
 
 fave them, have not] ing of the nature oi h;. ^:^ or love 
 
 to Q-jd in them j nor will this kind of religion, although 
 
88 VINDICTIVE JUSTICE [sEC. VI. 
 
 raifed to the higheit perfection, in the leail qualify a man 
 to live in Heaven. To view things as they do there, 
 would kiil this kind of religion in a moment. A fight of 
 the ftate of the damned would putanend to all their good 
 thoughts of Gcd, in the twinkling of an eye. And while 
 on, ravifhed with the beauty of the divine conduct, 
 refounds wkh Hallelujahs, they would begin to cry, " No, 
 no, he is a tyrant! fee, yonder is my neighbour, my bro- 
 ther, my child in torments!" Ana away would they flee, 
 to their proper company, fide with them, and join in their 
 blafphemie^. Uniefs we fappofe this fort of converts, 
 fhculd they come to Heaven, fo entirely deftitute of any 
 thing like benevolence, a* to Kei perfectly eafy at the mi- 
 fery of o;hers, merely becaufe they do not care for any but 
 themieives. 
 
 if vindiftive juftice were not glorious, it would be im- 
 pcfiible, that the Son of God incarnate ihould make fuch a 
 glorious appearance, as he will at the day of judgment. 
 He would rather be drolled in fackcloth. irnpoiiibie, that 
 he who wept over Jerufalem, Ihould now, without the leaft 
 reluctance pronounce the final lentencc on the wicked. — 
 And impoffible, that thi ■ fentence mould be fueceeded with 
 unmixed, endiefs joys, among Angels and Saint's, beings 
 per feci in benevolence, and : e mod: generous goodnefs. 
 
 But neither Chrift, nor Angels, nor Saints, will, at that 
 dzy lo.)k on the contra serfy, which has fubfifVed between 
 God and his rebellious Objects, as it is generally looked 
 npon now among mankind. God's infinite worthinefs of 
 fnpreme love and honour, and univerfal obedience, and the 
 infinite evil of fin, will then be {^en ; and the wiftidm, 
 hoi in els, juftice and fs of all Goo's ways will be 
 
 brought to light; and the uhreafonable difaffection, and 
 inexcufable pbftinacy of 'tte race will appear in 
 
 thei true colours. The whole biit.ory of mankind will be 
 opened, and all the opposition made to the truth, from the 
 blood of Abel, to the blood of Chrift, nay to the blood of 
 the lafl martyr, will be brought into the account, with all 
 the defpifings of the divine authority, threatenings, warn- 
 calls; &c. So that all holy Beings will be fully and 
 tied, nay perfectly pleafed with the lafl: fen- 
 tence on I 1. And it wi'.l be fo far from leflening 
 their j . . fs, \l:~ : it will gh e them new additional joys. 
 And :/iey will all join in faying, Amen Hallelujah ; for the 
 
SEC. VI.] AN AMIABLE PERFECTION. 89 
 
 Lord God omnipotent rcigneth ; and true and righteous are his 
 judgments. And again they ivill jay, Hallelujah : while the 
 fmoke of their torments afcends j'orever and ever. And all 
 this in perfect coniiftence with the pureft benevolence. Yea, 
 all this will be the native refult of benevolence, of love to 
 God, and to the general good of the Univerfe ; as the 
 wicked will be viewed, as enemies to Being in general, to 
 God, to the Univerfe, and to all good. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 GOD, ivho is the fupr erne, all fufficient Good, can con- 
 fidently with his honour, and is willing to become a 
 God and Father and everlasting portion, to all who 
 return to him through "Jefus Christ. 
 
 THAT God is bb absolutely perfect, and fo an infinitely 
 glorious and amiable Being, is the firft article of 
 Faith, in the creed of every true ChrilUan. And the fe- 
 cend, which in poi.it of importance, is like unto it, is, that 
 Jefus of Nazareth is the Sen of God. On thefe two articles 
 hang all the lav/ and the Gofpel, all the doctrines cf natural 
 and revealed Religion. As it is written, Jon. xvii. 3. Ti.is 
 is life eternal, to knew thee tie only true God and Jefus Crnj} 
 <vjhom thou hajl j'ent. — A variety of confequencet> from thefe 
 two fundamental truths have been already pointed out; 
 and we now go on to add — 
 
 I. If God is an absolutely perfect, an infinitely amiibleand 
 glorious Being, of necefiity he mult be the fupreme, all- 
 fuflicient Good. And, 
 
 II. If Jefus of Nazareth is his Son, it is equally certain 
 that he can confident with his honour, and is willing to 
 become a God and Father and everlafling portion, to ail 
 who return to him through Jefus Chrift. 
 
 I. If God is an abfolutely perfect, an infinitely glorious 
 and amiable Being, of necefilty he muft be the fupreme, 
 ail-lulncicnt Good. He mui: be the fupreme Good ; for it 
 implies a contradiction to fay, that any thing can be better 
 than the beft. And God cannot be better than he is. Ab- 
 
90 GOD THE SUPREME GOOD, [SEC. VII. 
 
 folate perfection cannot be more perfect than it is. Infinite 
 wildorn, holinefs juilice, goodnefs and truth, .armed with 
 Almighty power, constitute a character abfolutely perfecl : 
 a beauty without a blemifh, a beauty infinitely bright. In 
 the knowledge, love and enjoyment of fuch a being, there- 
 fore, mult confift the greateft poffiblc happinefs. 
 
 And at the fame time, the abfolute perfection of the di- 
 vine nature, renders the Deity infinitely amiable and de- 
 lightful in himfelf ; the whole Univerfe exifts by him, is 
 entirely in his hands, and under his government, and at his 
 control. In him all live and move and have their being. — 
 The Earth is the Lord's, and the fulnefs thereof ; the world, 
 and they that dwell therein. And his throne is ejf.ablijhed in 
 the Heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. His counfel 
 Jhalljla;:d, and he will do all his pleafure. So that he is the 
 fountain and fourceofall Being, poffefTed of authority ab- 
 folutely fupreme, the furn and fourceofall good, and there- 
 fore in the highefc fenfe abfolutely all-fufHcient. To have God 
 for our God, is infinitely better than to be ourfelves fet up 
 at the head, and made Lords of the whole Univerfe. 
 
 There are things of an earthly nature which are good 
 in their places, as health, food, raiment, friends, Sec. which 
 we receive from God, the original Lord of all things ; and 
 for which therefore we ought to be thankful to him, and 
 improve to his glory. But they are not fit to be the por- 
 tion of our fouls. And if we fet our hearts upon them as 
 our fupreme Good, w r e are guilty of Idolatry. And if we 
 fet them up for our God, and bow down our fouls to 
 them, we acl as ftupid and finfbl a part as thofe, who, cf 
 old, bowed down to Idols of wood and fione, of filver and 
 gold. And when we come to die, they will prove as in- 
 efficient for our happinefs, as the Gods of the Heathen 
 did for theirs. Nay, the focicy of Angels and Saints in 
 Heaven, leave God out of the account, would by no means 
 alford that refined and fublime, that compleat and liable 
 happinefs we need, to give us full and perfect fatisfadlion; 
 much lefs will the feciety of Saints on Earth. Nay, leave 
 God out of the account, and Angels and Saints, and the 
 whole Univerfe, would fink into nothing in a moment. So 
 that God is not only the fupreme all-fufficicnt Gocd ; but 
 ftrietly fpeaking, the fum total of all good. Pfal. Ixxiii. 25. 
 Whom have I in Heaven hut thee ; and there 'is none on Earth 
 I defire befides thee. Therefore, 
 
SEC. VII.] WILLING TO BE RECONCILED. 9I 
 
 To love, honour and obey the Deity, as the divine law- 
 requires, is as much our privilege as it is our duty. And 
 nothing but our criminal blindnefs to the abfolute perfec- 
 tion, to the infinite glory and amiablenefs of the divine 
 Nature, prevents its appearing fo to our fouls. 
 
 Suppofe a father of an unblemifhed character, of confum- 
 mate wifdom, the owner of a large eitate, at the head of a 
 numerous family, for the children to love his character, re- 
 ljpeci his perfon, to put an implicit trull in the wifdom of 
 ids conduct relative to family affairs, to rejoic2 in his fu- 
 premacy, power and authority over his houfehold, and 
 that all the eitate is in his hands, and all his family depend- 
 ent on him, and in their temper and behaviour to be all 
 dependence, fubje&ion and obedience, is as much their 
 privilege, as it is their duty. And nothing but a crimi- 
 nal ftate of mind can prevent its appearing fo in their eyes. 
 To be dififfjcled to inch a father's character, to be dif- 
 contented under his government, to rife in rebellion, to 
 go and leave his hou.'e, is as imprudent and foolifh, as it 
 is undutiful and wicked. And mull appear fo to the pro- 
 digal child, as foon as ever he comes to himfelf. And 
 now to repent and return, and become a dutiful child, 
 mult appear not only the fitted, but the bappieft thing in 
 the world. And to have filch a man, with iuch an eitate 
 in his hands, for a father, is better for a child, than to have 
 all the euatc put into his own hands, and to be rendered 
 fupreme and independent. So for us Sinners to repent 
 and be converted, to return to God through jefus Chriir, 
 and to have him for our God and Father, is better — yea, 
 infinitely better than to have all the Univerfe put into our 
 hands. Aral to love his chara&er. delight in his exalta- 
 tion, rejoice in his fapremacy and independency, and in 
 the infinite wifdom and abfolute perfection of his univerfai 
 government, and to be full of holy fear and reverence, fub- 
 miflive, reiigned, obedient, as dutiful children, is not on- 
 ly an honour due to God from 11% but alio our high eft 
 privilege and happinefs. It is Heaven on Hart!;. It is 
 even the beginning of eternal life in the fool. And no- 
 thing but criminal blindnefs can prevent its appearing fo 
 to us ail. Pfal. Ixxvii, 22. So fooiijh -vcas I, and ignorant j I 
 wets as a beoj} before thee. 
 
 I will bj tbtir GoJ, as it is in its own nature the great- 
 er poffible good; io it is the grand blefEng of the Gofpel 3 
 
^2 GOD THE SUPREME GOOD, SEC. VII.] 
 
 in which all the relt finally terminate. Heb. iv.io. Rev. xxi. 7. 
 Regeneration, repentance towards God, Faith towards our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, juftincation, adoption, fanctification, and 
 glorification, confiJered under the notion of Gofpel privi- 
 leges and blefiings, all Summarily confift, in our being 
 delivered from an everlafling feparation, in temper and 
 Hate, from the Deity, with its confequences ; and brought 
 tij an evcrlailincr enjoyment of God, as our Father, friend 
 and portion. By the fall we loft God, we loll his image 
 and favour, we loit a heart to love him, and a right to en- 
 joy him ; we became difaffected to him, and we forfook 
 him, and were doomed to depart, to be forever given up 
 to the power of fin, and to be monuments of the divine 
 wrath forever. In regeneration, repentance, faith, j unifi- 
 cation, adoption, fanttification, and glorification, we are 
 recovered to the image and favour cf God, to a heart to 
 love him, and a right to enjoy him, and to the actual love 
 and enjoyment of him as our God, our fupreme good, our 
 Father, friend and portion. Everlafting or eternal life, is 
 the phrafe mod commonly ufed to exprefs fummarily all 
 the bleilings cf the Gofpel, in contraft with eternal death 
 the wages of the firft, the wages of ever , fin. Joh. iii. 15, 
 16, 36. Chap. iv. 14 Chap. v. 27. Chap, vi. 40, 47. — 
 Rom. vi. 23; &c. And our Saviour tells us wherein eternal 
 life confifts. Joh. xvii. 3. This is life eternal to know thee, 
 the only true God, and J ejus Chrift ivbom thou haft J'ent. God 
 the Father, who is eminently Father and Lord of Heaven 
 and Earth (not exclufive of the Son and Spirit) is confidered, 
 as the fum and fountain of all perfection and of all good. 
 Pfal. lxxiii. 25. ll''bom have I in Heaven but thee P and 
 there is none on Earth 1 defer e hefedes thee. Chriit is confi- 
 dered, as the way to the Father, the only way in which 
 Sinners can come to the enjoyment of him. Joh. xiv. 6. 
 I am the way, no wan cometh to the Father hut by me. And 
 the holy Spirit is confidered, as the perfon by whom we are 
 quickened, raifed from the deal, and brought to God thro' 
 Jefus Chrift. Eph. ii. 18. Thro' Chrift we have accefs by the 
 Spirit to the Father. And when the work of Redemption is 
 completely nnifhed, and all the redeemed brought to Hea- 
 ven. God will be all in all through eternal ages. 1 Cor.xv.28. 
 Therefore, / will be their God, is the grand blelTmg cf the 
 Gofpel, in which all the reft finally terminate. This there- 
 fore, is iu an eminent manner that Treafure in a field. Matt. 
 
SEC. VII.] WILLING TO BE RECONCILE©. 93 
 
 i xiii. 44. That Pearl of great price (ver. 46) for which 
 : every divinely enlightened foul, willingly and joyfully 
 ' fells all things. God himfelf, to be loved and enjoyed 
 through Jefus Chriit, is the royal lead, fhadovved and re- 
 prefented by the marriage a king made for bis J on, which 
 ; was fo flighted and defpiied by thofe wno were called and 
 1 kindly and earnestly invited to come. Matt. xxii. And 
 this is that bread to be eat in the kingdom of Heaven , that 
 great fupper, from coming to which, they all ixith one conjent 
 dejired to be excufed. Luk. xiv. This is that recompence of 
 re-ward, the everlafting enjoyment of God, which Mnfes 
 had in view through all his trials, for be endured as feeino- 
 him <iv bo is invijibie. Heb. xi. 26, 27. And by the way, 
 i this is the true reafon, that the great feaji (p^at. xxii.) was 
 flighted, and the great fupper (Luk. xiv.) defpifed by the 
 Jews, whoall reckoned of going toHe2ven,as much another 
 carnal people do. Even, this is the true reafon, that the 
 happinefs propofed in the Gofpel, is as much difrelifhed by 
 carnal hearts, as the hoiinefs which is there urged. For 
 the happinefs is a holy happinefs, a kind of happiness which 
 an unholy heart entirely difrelifhes. Therefore, they made 
 light of it, and went their ways. They looked upon it as 
 a burden, and dejired to be excujed. For in it.net truth there 
 is no fuch Heaven as carnal hearts imagine, when ravilhed 
 to think their fins are pardoned, and Keaven their own. 
 Their God, their Chrift, their Heaven, are all the fruit of 
 their own imaginations, and Satan's de'lufions. For the 
 Heaven of the Gofpel carnal men would not have, if they 
 tnig'u. Yea, they perfectly difrelifh it, they abfolutely 
 reject it, they obitinateiy refufe it, and many will fooner kill 
 the rnefiengers who invite them; than come tothefeait. Thug 
 
 our Saviour ftates the cafe. Mat. xxii. 6. But to return. 
 
 If the abfolute perfection* the infinite glory and amiable- 
 nefs of the fupreme Governor and Lord of the Univerfe, 
 renders him the fupreme and ail-fufhcient Good ; then, a* 
 foon as our eyes are opened to fee his abfolute perfection, 
 his ineffable glory and beauty, he will begin to appear 
 fuch to our fouls. For now we begin to fee things as they 
 be. For this is what is meant by our eyes being opened. 
 And if God does appear fuch to our fouls ; to quit all 
 idols, to return to him, to love him, to live to him, to be 
 for him, to have him for our God and father and portion 
 
94 COD THE SUPREME GOOD, [SEC. VII. 
 
 ne an! to eternity, will be eiteemed the highcft pofli- 
 ivilege, if wc may. But, 
 
 e fame abfolute perfection and infinite glory and 
 
 y of '.he divine nature, which renders God thefupreme 
 bim irfinitely worthy of fupreme love and 
 
 he, and cur difaffection infinitely criminal, and us in- 
 finitely ill - defer ving : fo that it would be even a glorious 
 
 . God to banilh us forever from his prefence. Nor 
 according tc his holy law, that perfect rule of right, is any 
 thing elfe to be cxpeaed. Nor in this view is there any 
 L^r cafe. Yea, it does not appear how he can 
 c . ent with his honour do any lefs than call off forever, 
 creatures fo infinitely vile.— But, 
 
 J I. If j< ias of Nazareth is the Son of God, it is certain 
 peyond all dilute, that the holy and righteous Governor 
 ct the tforld c~n confidently with his honour, and is wil- 
 ling to become a God and Father and everlalting portion 
 to any, the vileft and the worft, that fhall return to him 
 through Jefus Chrift.- For, 
 
 If the ahfolutely perfect Being has given his own Son, 
 cf equal glory with himfelf, to be incarnate, to obey and 
 die in the room of Sinners, to magnify his law and make 
 it honourable, to declare his rightecufnefs, that he might 
 be juft, and yet the juftiher of him th.it believeth in. Jefus ; 
 and if he has finiihed the work appointed him to do ; and 
 if in teltimony of his Father's acceptance and full fatisfac- 
 tion, he hath railed him from the dead, yea fet him at his 
 own right hand in Heaven, wh~re he appears in the cha- 
 racter or' a great high Prieil, with his own blood, and ever 
 livetn to make int-erccfiion ; rti coniequence of which by 
 the decree of Heaven, repentance and remifiion cf fins, are 
 ordered to be preached to all nations in his name, and 
 whofoever will, may come, however vile and ii'-deferving ; 
 )■•. a, all arc invited to come, and prayed and bsfeeched to 
 be reconciled to God, who is reprefented as ready to re- 
 ceive the returning Sinner, as the Father was to receive 
 his returning prodigal. If all this is true — and all this is 
 true if Jefus is the Mcfliah ; — then beyond all doubt, God 
 can coriiilently with his honour, and is willing to receive 
 to favour, and to become a Go i and Father to all, whoever 
 
 they be, that (hall return, to him through Jefus Chrift. . 
 
 Where fere, 
 
SEC. VII.] WILLING TO BE RECONCILED. 95 
 
 As it appears to the enlightened foul the fitted and hap- 
 pieil thing imaginable, to return to the God of glory, as 
 his rightful Lord.and fupremo Good, to live to him and 
 upon him, if he may ; and as in this view of things, he is 
 allured that liberty is granted to any, the vilcft and the 
 woril, to return through J el us Chriit ; lb now. with the pro- 
 digal Son in Luk. xv. he does return, and find acceptance. 
 And thus the knowledge of God and Jefus Chriil begins 
 eternal life in the foul, agreeable to our Saviour's words 
 in Joh. xvii. 3. T'bis is life eternal, to knoiv thee, the only 
 true God, and Jefus Chrijt nvbom tbcu baft fent. 
 
 And from thefo truths thus briefly Stated, we may fee — 
 how great the good offered in the Golpel is — how tree it 
 is offered — the fin and madnefs of rejecting it — theablur- 
 dity of believing we have a title to Heaven, when the very 
 Heaven offered is rejected with abhorrence. 
 
 I. The good offered in the Gofpel is of infinite worth 
 and value. Yea, it is the fum and fubftance of all good 
 in the Univerfe. For even God himfelf offers to be oar 
 God and Father and portion. This was originally man's 
 fupreme good in Paradife- This was forfeited by our 
 apoitacy. The fecond Adam, our near kinfman, has re- 
 deemed the inheritance, and opened a way for us to come 
 to a lawful poffeffion. The curfe of the law doomed us to 
 an everlafting feparation from God, but tiie blcod of Chrift 
 has opened a way for us to come to the everlafting enjoy- 
 ment of him. 
 
 in Heaven they enjoy God as the fupreme good ; they 
 are raviihed with the glories of his nature, charmed with 
 the beauties of his character, exquifitely delighted in his 
 exaltation, in his fuprcmacy, in his univerlal perfect go- 
 vernment, crying, holy, hcly, holy, is the Lord of Hclis, 
 the whole Earth is full of his glory ; and they are as flames 
 of fire, ail love, life, a&ivity, in the delightful fervkc of 
 their glorious Kin^. Even fo here on Earth, we, who 
 have bien oaccalb, are invked to return, come home, and 
 be reconciled to the God of glory, the God that made vs t 
 and view his nature and all his conduct as they do, become 
 of the fame temper, and members of the fame family, and 
 join in like ho-ly employments and pleafures. Thy kingdom 
 io?ne, tby will be done, on Earth, as it is in Heaven. There 
 is a great high Priefj entered into Heaven with his own 
 K 2 
 
96 GOD THE SUPREME GOOD, fSEC. VIJ. 
 
 blood ; and in his name, u e, who deferve to be numbered 
 with the damned, are invited to come with boldnefs in within 
 the vail, and to begin our Heaven on Earth: — To this 
 feaft we are invited to come, and we may eat and drink as 
 much as wc pieafe. We have full and free liberty to have 
 accefs to the fountain of all good, the God of glory, the 
 iupremc Lord of the Univerfe, to view the beauty of his 
 alter, to be charmed with the glories of his nature, to 
 rejoice that he is God over all bleffrd forever, that he 
 
 and will forever reign, that his government is uni- 
 r J and abfoluiely periect ; and through Jefus Chrilt, 
 we may come and put our trull under the fnadow of his 
 wings, and in his name look up to him for all things, and 
 iove and cleave to him and delight in him with all our 
 hearts ; and devote our whole lives to his fervice, fervent 
 in fpirit, ferving the Lord; prefling toward the mark for 
 the prize (the everlafting enjoyment of God) of our high 
 balling of God in Jefus Chrilt. And the peace of God 
 ,) pifleth all undemanding will keep our hearts and 
 
 through jefus Chrift ; and the end will be eternal 
 
 liie. And, 
 
 II. All this is offered freely, without money, and with- 
 out price, to us infinitely unworthy and ill-deferving, 
 through Jefus Chriil. Come, for all things are ready, (i) 
 
 ( i) If vje are invited to afcajl by a neighbour, the invi- 
 tation gives us a good right to go. And if God invites us to 
 repent, return and be reconciled to him, the God cf glory, the 
 Jkpreme Good, through J ejus Chrift, and enjoy him as the por- 
 tion of our fouls, the heavenly feafi, it gives us good right to 
 do Jo. Even as good a right as the lfraslites had to take and 
 cat the manna which lay around their tents. Of this there can 
 he no di/pute. But all thefe invitations give us no right nor 
 warrant to believe t hat our fin t are pardoned and God reconciled 
 to us vjbile impenitent, nubile we refufe to cc?ne to the feajl to 
 which we are invited, and even dejpife and hate it. — Had God 
 exprefsly declared, " if you vjill believe your fins are forgiven, 
 they jhall be forgiven. Here I cjfer you pardon as your own, 
 impenitent as you are, only believe 1 thus offer it, and that this 
 offer makes it yours, Jo as that you may with a good warrant 
 believe it is your own, and enjoy the comfort of it as fitch ; and 
 according to your Faith, Jo jhall it be to you. I pray you, I be- 
 fcech you believe and take it home to your f elf, impenitent as you 
 
SEC. VII.] WILLING TO BE RECONCII.T^, ^7 
 
 Yea, it is urged upon us, we are prayed -uc befeeched to 
 be thus reconciled to God ; and by »;very motive from duty 
 and intertlL f;om God and Chriit, from Heaven and Hell, 
 we are pre fled, we are compelled, we are in a manner 
 forced to come in. Having not only verbal declarations, 
 that hvhofoever will may come y but the higheft poiiible evi- 
 dences from facts, that God can confidently with his ho- 
 nour, and is willing to receive thofe who do come. The 
 
 are, and vou never f: all be dif appointed. 1 * Had God thus de- 
 clared, it bad been another cafe y but there is not one tittle in 
 the Bible that looks that n .; . Tea, injlead'of this, God has 
 
 exprefsly declared, excepc ye repent ye ihall ail pcriih. 
 
 Therefore, repent and be converted, that your fins may be 
 blotied out. 
 
 And this may help the weakejl Chriftian to fee through the 
 mijl, that Mr, Cudworth raifes. p. 250. Note, the grand 
 objections againjl their 'notions of Faith, Mr. Cud worth has 
 done nothing to remove. 2 ea he has not had courage to look 
 them fairly in the face. — According to their fcheme, \ft " I a 
 Sinner cut of Chrijl, am condemned by the tavo, and under the 
 wrath of God," agreeable to John iH. 18. 36. — And this is 
 the -very truth. And in the view of this truth, they fay, "I am 
 necejfjarily full of hatred and hcarl-rfngs againjl God.** So 
 that (2) it is ° utterly impojjible" that 1 r love God 
 
 until 1 frji rf all kr.cw that e God is reconciled to me, loves me 
 and will J'ave me." And yet they fay (■}) That " / a i 
 out of Chrijl, have no evidence from fcrij t or no/on, 
 
 that God is reconciled to me, loves me and will fa~:e me, nay, 
 Jo far from it, that in facl 1 am condemn wrath of 
 
 God ubideth on me." However 1 ** 1 a 
 
 Sinner out of Chrijl, jujl as I am, am firmly to believe, that 
 God is reconciled to me, loves me and will fu-ve me." And 
 (5) << God Jlands bound by his promife, that I jhall never be 
 difappointed" This is their Jcheme fairly fiated \ — A t 
 which, among other things, 1 object (1.) That their F 
 prcfumption. A believing without evidence. There b ing no 
 evid-nce that **God is reconciled to me, a Sinner cut of Ct 1 iff. 1 ' 
 (2.) Their Faith is down-right delufion. Believing a lie, viz. 
 That '* God is reconciled to me, a Sinner cut of C :rjt, loves 
 me and will five me." While in truth, every Sinner out f 
 Chrijl, is condemned now, and will, dying as he is, be damned 
 
 K 3 
 
9S GOD THE SUPREME GOOD, [SEC. VII. 
 
 the incarnation, life, death, refurrection, and exalta- 
 tion of his S n is more than v. ords, than promifes, than 
 , todrmonftrate that God is fiocene and in earneir. 
 h .:. there it on God's nde no bar, no difficulty in the 
 . all liiiiigs are ready, and we may come to the reaft and 
 wcicome. In the Univcrfe there is nothing of the nature 
 of an hindrance or impediment* which can prevent our 
 
 CDming, are we ourfelves but inclined to come. But, 
 
 III. If through mere difinclination to the Deity, to the 
 
 God that en icves, the God of glory, we make 
 
 light of the feall, av.d po cur ways, turn our backs upon 
 
 n and be reconciled, even after a way 
 
 has been opened for it by the blood of his own Son, and 
 
 fuch methods have been ufed to perfuade us; it will 
 
 ted kind of wickednefs in the Uni verfe, 
 
 ree of folly and madnefs not to be paralleled in 
 
 any other part cf God's empire. And to periilt in our 
 
 n to the divine Character from year to year, and 
 
 aciled to ojr dying hour, mull render 
 
 us worthy of fuch a puniihsaeot, and prepare us for fuch- 
 
 (3.) God has no where in the Bible given the lea/} 
 it of Cor. ft do firmh, believe y that 
 :■ reconciled to than, loves them a?ut ivill jave them, it 
 em according to their Faith : 1 " r ;ey Jhall ne-ver 
 /' There is not one text of Scripture that lecks 
 • itudes exprefsly to the contrary — Thus ft and* 
 dodge and Jkulk, and hide and raife 
 :, and call had names : Lut by cod 
 they never can get ever thefe difficulties. 
 feel they cannot. Let any one read My 
 es, and Mh. Cudivcrth's /jnfu:er, and 
 ding to their fcheme, 1 tnuft believe 
 . • te, 'eves me and 'will fa-ve me y Be- 
 rt is utterly 1 tj love him. And 1 7m ft 
 ','-' of my enmity, Becuufe it is 
 • . • . love. This Belief then, takes 
 
 in fin, and fall of enmity to Ged. 
 
 f' is ■ , carnal heart. And it makes 
 
 • and no ivcnder it dees, And thefe 
 
 the Chrifti an graces y when in 
 
 feelings of a carnal heart, comforted ly 
 
 :f a lie. 
 
SEC. VII.] WILLING TO BE RECONCILED. 99 
 
 fcif-ccndemnation, inward remcrfe and anguiih of heart* as 
 no tongue can exprefs. Then will be aceompliihed on im- 
 penitent Sinners the words which a;e written in Prcv. i. 
 24, J.I. Becaufe 1 have calhd, and je have refufed, 1 
 Jl retched out ?n\ hand, and no ?.ian regarded ; but ye ha 
 at nought nil my counfel, a::d v. 1 wf: I aljo 
 
 twill laugh at your ca!a;;ii:j, I will m ; jour fear 
 
 cometh, Sc. And all hojy beings in the Univeife, convi 
 
 of the juitice and wi&om of the u coo* :. will join 
 
 to cry, Amen Hallelujah. Wbilt the fmdee of their 1: 
 ajcendeth forever a>.a ever. 
 
 IV. How great is the abfurd.ty of men's believing they 
 have by the Gofpei a title to Heaven, when they rejtel 
 the very Heaven ire red in the GofpeJ with abhorrt 
 The Heaven offered is the everlasting enjoyment of Goi 
 through jefas Chriit. Every oue.it enmity agatnft ( 
 real character, as exhibited in the law, and declared to be 
 abfolutely perfect on the crofs of Chritt, reject this Heaven 
 with abhorrence L This feaft is no feail to him. He is lb 
 far from a reiim to thofe Heavenly dainties, that his foul 
 loaths this food. To fay, that men may come to God by 
 Chriil, and find reil and fatismction in rum, while at the 
 fame time they are enemies to his real character, is as ab- 
 furd, as to fay, men may come to a feail and eat with plea- 
 fure, when they perfectly diirelifh every tiling fet before 
 them. It is true, one who is an enemy to the divine Cha- 
 racter, may be raviihed in a belief his fins are pardoned. 
 And this he may call a feail. And this belief he may call 
 eating : and with this eating he may be fatitfied, fo as to 
 live contentediy without Go J in the world. Yea, his content- 
 ment and comfort fuppofes him to be ignorant of the real 
 character of the true God. But it is abiurd to fuppofe one 
 fhould choofe the true God for his fupreme Good through 
 Jefus Chrift, while at enmity againil his real character. — 
 For men will not choofe that for the object: of their delight 
 which in their hearts they do not like. Nor will men de- 
 fire a Mediator to bring them to the enjoyment of that, 
 which they have no appetite for, and which they do not 
 defirc to enjoy. Wiiiie men are enemies to the divine 
 Character, they have no inclination to ccme to him through 
 Chrift, rather their averiion to come, is equal to their en- 
 mity to his character. Yea, that God mould actually be- 
 come the fupreme good and fatisfying portion of a Sinner> 
 
100 GOD THE SUPREME GOOD, CvC. [SEC. VII. 
 
 who is of fjch a taite, as that God's real character can give 
 him no delight or fatisfa&ion, but the contrary, is a piain 
 coiur... k*: 11. W« n uil love an object, or we cannot en- 
 joy it. We rnuft be fuited, piea/ed, enamoured with the 
 divine Ch^r.icvcr, or we cannot enjoy the Deity. On this 
 account therefore ic is abfoiatel) ucccfUry, we become new 
 For ixc,: a man is born again. Is cannot fee the 
 om of God. A Sinner could not eijoy Heaven, were 
 he admitted and aiinwed to live there forever. — Bcfides, 
 
 Altn r.gh God can coniiiL-ntly with his honour, pardon 
 and receive to favor the Sinner who returns to him through 
 Jefus C irift, an ; llands ready to do it ; yet, it is equally 
 true, that he can not j confidently with his honour, pardon, 
 and receive to favour, a S:nner who iefufes to return, while 
 g' ! ing or. obftinate in his rebellion ; nor is lie at all wil- 
 ling to do it. Chriir. did not die, that impenitent Sinners, 
 while inch, might be forgiven, and received into the divine 
 favour. God can no more pardon an impenitent Sinner, 
 confidently with his honour, than if Chrift had never died. 
 The decree of Heaven is fixed, and cannot, and never will 
 be revoked, except je repent ,ye fhall all likenuife perijh. — Bat 
 as this point is of great importance, and n generally de- 
 nied by Antinomians ; fo it ihall be taken into more par- 
 ticular conlideration. 
 
 SECTION VIII, 
 
 Repentance is before Forgivenefs. 
 
 IF GOD is an abfolutely perfect, an infinitely glorious 
 and amiable being, infinitely worthy of fupreme love 
 and honour, and of imiverfal obedience ; and if our disaf- 
 fection to the divine character and rebellion againft God, 
 is akoget!:er inexcufable and infinitely criminal, agreeable 
 to the voTce of the divine law, and to the import of the 
 Cicl-. of Chrift; if God the great Governor of the Uni- 
 verfe views things in this light, and in this view calh nnto 
 us from Heaven to cenfefs our fins, repent and turr trnto 
 him with all our hearts ; if thefe things are fo, and they are 
 
SEC. VIII.] REPENTANCE, &C. 101 
 
 lb, if the Bible is the word of God ; then the meaning of 
 his words is certain, the ideas defigned to be conveyed by 
 them are determinate. To repent, beyond difpute, is to 
 change our minds as to the divine Character, to lay aiide 
 our prejudices, to cp^n our eyes and begin to look upon 
 God as he is, an abfolutely perfect, an infinitely gloricus 
 and amiable 3eing, infinitely worthy of fnpreme love and 
 honour, and of universal obedience, and in the light of his 
 glory to begin to view our difaffection and rebellion as 
 altogether inexcuf.ible and infinitely criminal, and in this 
 view, cordially to take all that blame to ourfelves which 
 God lays upon us, and to be affected accordingly : Saying 
 »« righteous art thou, O Lord, when thou fpeakelt, and 
 clear when thou judgeft. Should juftice take place, no in- 
 iquity could be imputed unto thee. It would not be a ble- 
 mifh, but a beauty in thy Character, and all Heaven ought 
 forever to love and adore thy glorious Majefty, lhould I 
 receive my juft defert and periih forever. But thou can ft 
 have mercy on whom thou wilt, through Jefus Chrift. 'i o 
 thine infinite grace and ielf-movir.g goodnefs through him 
 I look. — God be merciful te me a Sinner." Repentance ftands 
 then in oppcficion to all our former prejudices 2gainft the 
 divine character ; and in oppofition to that fin-extenua- 
 ting, felf-juiiifying, law-hating, God-blaming difpcfition 
 which reigns in every impenitent fool. God is feen in his 
 beauty, the divine law as a mihift ration of condemnation 
 and death, appears glorious, cur difaffection and rebellion 
 infinitely criminal : We juftify God, approve his law, 
 condemn ourfelves, accept the punimment of cur iniquity, 
 as worthy of God ; and thus we confefs, repent, and turn 
 unto the Lord, looking only to free grace through Jefus 
 Chrift for pardon. 
 
 A man may think himfelf to blame for Sabbath-break- 
 ing, lying, cheating, drtinkennefs, &c. who never thought 
 himfelf to blame for being difaffected to the divine Cha- 
 racter. Alio a man may think himfelf to blame for not 
 believing that Chrift died for him in particular, that God 
 loves him, that his fins are pardoned, or for his being un- 
 affected in this belief, who never thought himfelf to 
 blame for not loving God as an abfolutely perfect, an in- 
 finitely gloricus and amiable Being. Some may be forry 
 wherein they think themfelves to blame through fear of 
 punifliment, as was the cafe with Judas : Others who be- 
 
IC2 REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 lieve their fins are pardoned, may, from a principle of na- 
 tural gratitude, be forry wherein they think themfelves to 
 blame, a<- was the cafe with Saul, when David fpared his 
 life, i Sam. xxiv. 16, 19. Saul lift up bis voice and wept, 
 Sec. Chap, xx vi. 21. Tbcnfaid Saul 1 have finned , — I have 
 played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. But he who is 
 igno-ant of the beauty of God's true character, is blind to 
 tiiw chief tning wherein his blame lies. And while men do 
 not fee their blame, they will fee no occafion to repent — 
 And mould any charge fin home upon them in fuch a cafe, 
 they would jaftify themfelves in their hearts. 
 
 The divine law, which requires us to love God, the ab- 
 folutely perfect, the infinitely glorious and amiable Being, 
 with all our hearts, and yield a perfect obedience to his 
 will, on the pain of eternal damnation, is holy, juft and 
 good ; our blindnefs to his beauty is wholly criminal, our 
 fin-extenuating, felf-j unifying pleas, are of no weight, all 
 our objections againlt the divine Character and law, are 
 only the language of enmity againit the glorious Monarch 
 of the Univerfe, we are entirely without excufe, and infi- 
 nitely to blame. Thefe all are facts. And thus God viewed 
 our cafe when he gave his Son to die — and thus he views 
 our cafe when he calls us to confefs our fins, repent and 
 turn unto the Lord ; and in this light, therefore, mud we 
 view our cafe, if ever we become truely penitent. Every 
 fin -extenuating, feif-juitifying plea , — every objection 
 againft the divine Character and law, is a declaration that 
 we are fo far from repentance, that as yet we do not think 
 that it belongs to us to repent, in the fettle we are called 
 to in the Gofpel ; in this cafe we do not confefs, but co- 
 ver our fins. 
 
 In true repentance our eyes begin to be opened to fee 
 things as in fact they are. God's character infinitely ami- 
 able, and our own infinitely odious ; his law wholly right 
 
 and our ways as wrong and criminal as that fuppofes.— j 
 
 And in this view we begin to take all the blame to our- 
 felves. (1) True repentance is therefore in confequence 
 
 ( I ) Qjeftion. '* Hovj can a finite mind fee an infinite objeSl V* 
 
 Anfwer. AW by a full comprehenfion of it, cnl\- by a high 
 
 fenfe and lively conviction that it is iffniie. As thus fuppofe, 
 
 ive could fee nvith our eyes, a ?nan y for the f ike of one Jhful 
 
 pleafurc, deliberately Lap head-long devm into a lake of fire 
 
SEC. VIII.} BEFORE FORGIVENESS. 103 
 
 of the regenerating influences of the holy Spirit, and 
 of a nature fpecihcally different from any kind of far- 
 row for iin a man can experience who is at enmity againll 
 God. 
 
 Sin is the thing to be repented of : and fin is a tranf- 
 grelhon of the law. And tne firft and chief thing required 
 in the law, is fupremc love to God. And thereicre wan: 
 of fupreme love to God, our dilarre&ion to his character, 
 and rebellion againll him, is our great wickedneis, which 
 we have to repent of. But it will not be in our hearts to 
 repent, unlcfs we truly fee our blame. We cannot truly 
 fee our blame, unlefs we fee that which chiefly renders us 
 
 and brimfione, which he and iy« knew would never be quench- 
 ed, and out of which there could be no eficape, and in which, 
 by God's almighty power, he would be for ever held up in exifi- 
 tence, his j'e»fie of feeling quick and lively, we jhouid pronounce 
 the man guilty cf inji, ate folly, ll'e migi.t fee and know that 
 bis folly was in fiact infinite, although we could by no means 
 fiuliy comprehend the thing. So in tt;is fienje, *ve are capable of 
 feeing and knowing that God is infinitely lovely, and we infi- 
 nitely odious and lil-deficrving, how far j'cevsr we be f rem a 
 full adequate idea of infinity. ll ; e are capable of as great a 
 fenje cf our infinite obligations to love God, as we be of toe in- 
 finite dreadfulnefs of eternal mifiery. In legal conviction a Sin- 
 ner begins to have j'sme lively fie fie cf tie infinite dreadfiulnefis 
 of eternal damnation ; Jo in regeneration and repentance, we 
 begin to have fome lively appreicnyhn cfi God's infinite amiable - 
 nefis, and our infinite odioujney). Some J -y " We jbould leave ail 
 infinites out of our fie ..■erne of Religion" And /o -we might, if 
 w-e were in no connection with infinites, l'o be confident, thefie 
 men jhouid deny the infinite glery cfi God the Father, the infi- 
 nite evil cy* fin, the enmity ofi Hell torments, the divinity of 
 Chrifii j and t-len vci:en it; us our connection with infinites is at 
 an end, the word, and ai I notion ofi the thing, may be excluded 
 out cfi 'Religion s b,:i not tul then. As fioon as theje men will 
 prove, thai G-ni is not an infinitely amiable Bti>g, and that 
 we a> e to die liice the beajis, 1 will jay nothing more about in- 
 finites. Till then i jbaLl jay that the Sinner, who by rebelling 
 againjl God, runs head -long into eternal dcjlrudion, is guilty 
 cf infinite folly , as to hit own foul, as well as cf infinite wick- 
 icwarjs his Maker, the infinitely glorious Governor cf 
 the Vniver;r. 
 
104 REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 to blame. But that which chiefly renders God worthy of 
 love, is what chiefly renders us to blame for not loving 
 God. And fo it is the amiablencfs of the divine Nature 
 which chiefly renders us to blame for not loving God. It 
 is theamir.blenefs of the divine Nature, which chiefly renders 
 God worthy of love. It is a fenfe of this, therefore, that dif- 
 covers to us the great evil bf fin, andfhewsus thereafon we 
 have to be forry end repent ; and which therefore primarily 
 lays the foundation of true repentance, and without which no 
 repentance is true. If I blame my neighbour for being 
 ground leflly difafTccted to my character, I fhall not, I cannot 
 look upon him as a true penitent, till beginning to look upon 
 my character as I think he ought to, he begins to blame him- 
 felf as I do. It is contrary to common fenfe, to fuppofe, 
 any other kind of repentance to be true and genuine. And 
 if any man abufes me, in name or eftate, through difaffec- 
 tion to my perfon, no penitency for thofe abufes, can be 
 efteemed genuine, fo long as the difaffedtion from which 
 they arofe remains in full flrength. I appeal to the uni- 
 versal fenfe of mankind, who, when it comes to their own 
 cafe, are every one in this opinion. On this ground it was 
 that David put no confidence in Saul, notwithstanding all 
 the tears and penitency, which his generoiity extorted 
 from him. He did not fuppofe that that kind of repentance 
 was any certain fign that he was a new man. Yea, he 
 had rather venture himlelf with Achim, king of Gath, a 
 Fhiiiiiine, a Pagan, than with him. i Sam. xxvi.|and xxvii. 
 As want of love to God, together with difafFeclion to 
 the divine Character, has influence into that whole courfe 
 of wicked nefs which mankind in general live in ; fo when 
 they are in Scripture called upon to repent of particular 
 fins and tarn to God, their want of love to God, and 
 difa flection to the divine Characler, as manifefted in thofe 
 particular 6ns, is to be repented of, and a hearty reconci- 
 liation to the divine Character is implied in the repentance 
 they are called unto. Thus the frequent idolatries of the 
 children of Ifrael, for which they are often called upon in 
 the Old Tetlarrieni to repent, were manifefl inftances of 
 want of love to the God of Abraham, and proofs of their 
 difaffection to his character. So the Jews hating and mur- 
 dering the Sen of God, the exprefs image of his Father's 
 ,. for v, hich they were on the day of Pentico.t called 
 upon to repent, was a manifefc initance of their want of 
 
$EC. Till.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. 10$ 
 
 love to. God and proof of their difaffeotion to his charac- 
 ter. And there is no fin whatsoever that any man is guilty 
 of, but what is an inltance of difrefped to God, and diiYe- 
 gard of his authority. Therefore it was fad in the cafe 
 of David's fin, that he dej'pifed the Lord and dej'pifed 'the 
 commandment of tie Lord. And therefore wherever any 
 one is called upon to repent of any particular fin a:<a ttfr*n 
 to the Lord, it is to be understood in this view. He hiifh 
 finned againll God, defpifed the Lord and defpilcd the 
 commandment of the Lord, treated the God of glery, 
 the great King of the Univerfe, With contempt 1 . This is 
 his crime, on this account he is chiefly and abo~ve ail to 
 blame. And th'lt which renders Kim infinitely blame-wor- 
 t ,/, is that the God whom he ha d, is by natule 
 
 Gk d, am absolutely perfect., ah infinitely glorious ana ami- 
 
 • able rising, i ifinitely worthy of fuprehi£ love and honour, 
 and univerfal obedience* And (o in this point of 11. 
 the true pfenitfent to view his tranfgreffi in"! , ; n 1 take blame 
 
 . to himieiY. A . \ e only have IJtfined. Wherefore 
 
 a fehie oi God's loveiinefs is the firfl: ar.d chief ipring and 
 fourceof true repentance, as tjlis brings into view the rrreat 
 evil of fin. Even as the truth of the Gbfpel is th.> 
 foundation of hope in the true penitent's cafe. And thus 
 the knowledge of God and Jems Chriil, lays the founda- 
 tion of ail religion. Joh. xvii. 3. And let it be remem- 
 bered, that the fame Gofpe! wnidh we believe, was for 
 fubftance revealed to Adam, and Believed by all tree perfi- 
 ten:s from the beginning of the world. — Thefe things 
 being premifed, 1 proceed to prove — 
 
 Thai repentance is before forgivenefs. — And wi ofoever 
 will be at the pains, to look the Bible tnrough", will find, 
 that this is a doctrine taught by Mofes and the Prophets, 
 by Chriil ar.d his Apoftles, nor is there any one point of 
 
 revealed Religion more plainly held fjrth. Le: uj be<. 
 
 gin with Moles. 
 
 *« And now Ifrael, what doth the Lord thy God require 
 of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his 
 ways, and to love him, and to ferve the Lord thy G< d 
 with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, to keep the com- 
 mandments of the Lord, and his ftatutes which I command 
 thee this day for thy good ? for the Lord your God is 
 God of Gods, and Lord of Lords, a mighty, and a terrible, 
 
 !_» 
 
I06 REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 • which regardeth not perfons, nor taketh reward. There- 
 
 .fore thou ihalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge. 
 And his ftatutes, and. his judgments, and kis commandments 
 ahvay. — That thou rnaycit tear this glorious and fearful 
 r*:.m-', the lord thy god." This is a fpecimen of 
 their rule of duly. Deut. x. i z, 13, 17. Chap. xi. 1. Chap, 
 xxviii. 58. 
 
 *' And it (hall be on the day when you (hall pafs over 
 Jordan unto the iard which the Lord thy God giveth thee, 
 that thou ihec up great (tones, and plainer them 
 
 pith planter; Arid thou lhalt write upon them all the 
 words of this law — very plainly. Half the tribes Handing 
 on Mount Gerizzim, i.rid half the tribes on Mount Ebal. 
 The Levites (hall fpeak and fay unto all the men of lirael 
 with a loud voice, " Curled, curled, curled, twelve times 
 going, ail (urnmed up in f« Curfed be he that conhrmeth 
 rot all the words of this law to do them : and all the peo- 
 
 . pie fha.ll 1 ay Aiir.:n." Which curfe, according to St. Paul, 
 comprised eternal damnation in it, even that eternal mifery 
 which Chrift redeems his people from by his death, So 
 
 .that befides being curfed in his bafket and his (tore, in the 
 houfe and in the field, and in all his earthly enjoyments ; 
 he dying under the curfe of the law' and wrath of God, 
 muit be forever miserable in a future ftate. So inf.rkely 
 great was the evil of not loviag and obeying the Lord 
 their God Deut. xxvii. Gal. iii. 10, 14. 
 
 In what way np\y was an Ifraelite to obtain pardon at 
 the hands of the greajt God ? The cafe is plain — accord- 
 ing to the Levjiical law, ence every year, on the great day 
 of atonement, the high Pridl, in behalf of all the congre- 
 gation, was to take a goat for a f.n offering, kill it, and 
 bring the blood within the vail, and fpiinkle it upon and 
 before the mercy feat ; for without ibedding of blocd there 
 was no remifiion ; for the law was holy, juft and good. — 
 .And in token of repentance, as what mult precede forgi ve- 
 nt fs, he was to lay both liis hands on the head of a live 
 goat, and confefsover him all the iniquities of the- children 
 qf If. a 1. and all their tianfgrellions in all their fin?, and 
 thus put th.'T! up.;n the head of the goat, to be fen.t away 
 i to the w # ildernpf&. And ail thefe iniquities thus by con- 
 ft ftiori put upon the eoat, he bore away into a land not in- 
 habited. And it afterwards became a proverb among the 
 jfraelkes, be tbet ccveretb bisjinsjlmil net prefper, but <wbof» 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. IO7 
 
 confejfetk and forfaketh themfiall have mercy. Lev. xvi. 15, 
 22 — Prov. xxvii. 13. For as this was done on the great 
 day of atonement for alJ the congregation; which day bf 
 the way, was to be wholly, from evening to evening, ipent 
 in failing and de?p repentance ; And H»ha4fo6ver~jUil it it 
 that Jh all not be articled in that fame day, fo for from being 
 pirdoned, that he jkallbe cut cjf 'from among his peTfpit, Lev. 
 xxii. 26, 32. I fay, as this v. js done on the gte&t day of 
 atonement relative to the iniquities of the congregation in 
 general ; fo if any psYfficular man at any time committed 
 2 iin, he was to bring his bullock, and in token of con- 
 feffion and repentance, to lay his hands upon his head 
 f-lmitutc it to die in his room ; the plain import of all which 
 was, "■ I have finned, the law is holy, jeli and £cod : I de- 
 ferve to die, and nave no hone but from tl ierty 
 
 of God through the atonement. " And now the bullcci: 
 v/^s flam, the blood fprinkled, the bojy burnt ; facrificed 
 in the Sinner's ilead, and fo atonement, was made, and hii 
 fin forgiven. Lev. iv. — But if he had not only tinned agai nil 
 the great God, walking contrary to him, but alio in hit 
 fin injured his neighbour, he muit. fir!:, as became a true 
 penitent, make refutation to his neighbour, before the fa- 
 cririce of atonement was to be oar; red. Lev. vi. 5. — Mat. 
 v. 23, 24. And if, without repentance and ref.kution, lik» 
 a hypocrite, he came before the Lord with his facrifice, h» 
 would be Co fir from obtaining forgive riefs, that it was a 
 proverb in llrael, The facrtfees of the --ivic/ced are an ait* 
 Ihiriiition to the Lord. And relative to ail iailances of offer- 
 ing facrifices, frill going or. impenitent in their fms, God 
 plainly d clared his utrhoft abhorrence. Ifa. i. 10, 20. 
 
 And ifa man is truly penitent, he has net only an heart, 
 wirii the utmoil freedom to make reilitution to thefe he has 
 injureU in name or eitate ; but alio has an heart, with equal 
 freed o:r., to forgive and love thole who have injured him, 
 although inftead of penitency and reftitution, they even 
 Continue to hate, to curfe and to uie him tiefpitefally 5 
 therefore, our blefTed Saviour plainly teaches, that unlefs 
 we love fiich oar encmicc, we cannot be the children of 
 God ; Mat. v. 43, 46. And exprefsly declares, If ye for- 
 give net nen their tfefpajf*f } neither will your Father for gVU* 
 your / thap. vi. 15. Which Cutl off ail impenitent 
 
 Sinners from pardon. For it is plain our Saviour means, 
 L 2 
 
IOS 4IPENTANCE fS [sEC. Vlir. 
 
 fuch a kin I of forgiving thcfc that trefpafs againft us, as ia 
 .r to tr>.c penitents. For he fays, ver. 14. If ; £ far- 
 
 r will f-> 
 
 \iu. And ace Difciplcs to pray . 
 
 . . /, (ver. 1 2.) 
 le all uiihumbled, impenitent 
 . truly to forgive others* from 
 their prefent dare. See 
 . xviii. 21. 35. — lylar. xi. 
 . itter, fpttefal, unfor- 
 iiieve th-ir [ins pad, pre- 
 1. If they love their own 
 are of a very unkind, un- 
 their opponent: — Repentance 
 makes men of a for i\ ing, benevo- 
 lent, tender, friendly difpofifioji,, but when an impenitent 
 . , . of Satan, beeo.-r.es confident 
 
 he is a fav , it naturally increafes his 
 
 1 from pride proceeds a contentions, bitter fei- 
 nt. — But to return to the law of Mofes. 
 
 told all the congregation of 
 
 ce fnould purfue them fq 
 
 iitci:t in their fins. If ye will 
 
 i me, Sec. (ver. 14) J will appoint o-ver you 
 
 .:. (\cv. 1,6) and if 'ye -will not for all this, hearken 
 
 then Ihuill ptmifh youfewn times mere for your fens. 
 
 ver.; ifome, andwill not kearktn 
 
 bring feven timet more plagues upon yqu t ac- 
 
 '•.'•■. ver. 2 1. A>id if ye will not be reformed) 
 
 £c. i 1 times more for your fens^ ver. 
 
 j r all this hearken unto mc> but 
 
 .' walk contrary unto- you 
 
 ve.r; 27, z8> Ye fhall perijh among the Hen* 
 
 the, is. v r. 58. Rut if afier all this, they moult! become 
 
 trulv ■• would forgive them. — If they 
 
 fhall co fefs t' id the iniquity of tkeir Fathers, 
 
 J/cd ugai::fi me, and alfo 
 
 unto, me , and that I alfo ha-v* 
 
 unto them, and have brought them into the 
 
 1 - j f then their uncircumcifed hearts b* 
 
 ben accept the punifhment of their iniquity :_ 
 
 Then will 1 rein mber my Covenant with facob, a::d alfo my 
 
 ,;a;it wiih Ifaac, and alfo my Qa-venani with /Ibrahatn\ 
 
IEC. VIII. 1 BEFORE FORGIVENESS. IOQ 
 
 wo ill I remember ,* and I will remember the Land. ver. 40, 
 
 41,421 - yp> 
 
 See, to the iame purpofe, Dc*ut. xxx. T, 2, 3. And it 
 Jhall ccme to paj's w :en alMbeji things arc come upon thee, the 
 hlej/ng and the curfe *xrhfch I have jet before thei, and thou 
 (halt call them to mind fe/fcW all the natibns, whither the 
 Lord thy God hath driven thee, and /halt return unto toe Lord 
 thy God, Sec. with all thy heart and wit to all thy jlul i that 
 then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity and lave com' 
 ■ on t, -c, &C; Compared with Eiek: xn\i. 25, 33. 
 Where God declares Concerning the Jews in Babylon, that 
 he Will firft bVftrg them to repentance, and then reitore 
 them to their Land. In the day that I /hall have cleanfed 
 you from a' I your iniquities, I will alfo caiife you to dwell in 
 the City, Sic. And in this view, read Daniel's confeiiien and 
 prayer, in the behalf of the captive Jews. Dan. ix. 1, 19. 
 
 And as this was the true fpirit of the Mofaic difpenia- 
 tion, that Repentance is before Fbrgivenefs ; (o Solomon, 
 in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple, which was 
 "planned on that difpenfattbfr, and may ferve to (hew the 
 true nature of it, eipreflly and repeatedly holds forth this 
 doctrine, that Repentance is before Fqrgivehefs. One can- 
 not well fee in h >W ftrcmg a poir:t of li^ht this is fct, with- 
 out reading the whole prayer. 1 Kin. viii. The Temple 
 was a type of the Son of God incarnate. God dwelt in it, 
 as afterwards he ciid in the m^.n Chrilt je'us. My natne 
 'Jhall he there, ver. 29. And fo in ail their prayers the peni- 
 tent Jews looked towards the holy Temple, and then God -heart} 
 in Hearveri his dwelling place. Whin • IJrdelfbdll 
 
 be f mitt en down before the vnc?ny, becau/t ted again/} 
 
 thee, and jhall turn again unto thee, and coifefs thy name, and 
 pray ctrtd mdke f 'application unto thee in this hcufe ; then hear 
 thou in Heaven, and forgive, Sec. ver. 33, 34. When Hea- 
 "ven is fhut up, and there is no rain, becaufs thty frned again/} 
 thee, if they pray towards this place and confefs thy name, and 
 turn from their fin, C5 V. then hear thou in Heaven, and forgive, 
 '&e* Ver. 35, 36. If there be tit ihe land famine, pejltlende, 
 &c. &t. vehat fever plague, nvbatfoever 'fieknefs there he; 
 what prayer and fupvlicatiou foever be made by any man, or by 
 all thy people lfrael, which fall hnow every man the plague cf 
 his own heart, and j'prcad forth his hands towards this hcufe j 
 then hear then in Heaven, and forgive, and de, and give t§ 
 
no repentance is [sec. vnr. 
 
 every man according to his ways, (i. e. according as he ap- 
 
 . or nor) wbofe heart thru knowejl. Yer. 
 
 e, and thou be angry with 
 
 .:, fo that they carry them 
 
 enemy, far or near; yet if 
 
 i . - the land whither they were carried 
 
 lication ur.ta thee, in the 
 i captives, faying, we ha 
 
 ■ , and 
 nto tbte with all their heart, and ixith ail their 
 
 cap- 
 
 thou gav- 
 
 thou baft chofen, and 
 
 name, then hear thou in 
 
 ve. ver. 46, 47, 48, 49, 50. (1) 
 
 Ye 2 . ; r fa 1 maxim , He that 
 
 ' :r ; hut whofo confcjfetb c.?:d 
 
 u Prov. xxviii. 13. And not 
 
 rod's own heart, could be ex- 
 
 . hen he; ftnncd ; he mufl confefs and repent, be- 
 
 . , and be followed with terror 
 
 and., U he cid. Pfal. xxxiij 3* 4, 5. When Ikeptfi- 
 
 (1) Seme to ev xde the force of thefe plain texts, have pre,- 
 
 ', ''' thai tie repentance inffed r:pon in Lev. xxvi. and 
 
 'viit. was mei %s repentance, which could 
 
 intitle s, but not to the 
 
 . life."-- - as well fat; 
 
 required, nor pi 
 
 and et ■ • rene/zs, to the 
 
 viiith chap. <f 1 Ki s s and fo exclude all who lived before 
 
 ' t mal fat nation. For they may 
 
 be chain . . /} than tbefe . Tie 
 
 truth is, that in the fewij ion, which was altogether 
 
 f the Heavenly, 
 
 il.curfes, and-tbeir facrifces of 
 
 fChrift, and their tcmple,cf the 
 
 ivas not only ex- 
 
 ' from outward ah • . . d c.r-d 
 
 d'. \1js certain Saint Paul, viewed the Jevitfb 
 
 fation . da!, id. 10, 29, and from tht 
 
 t Heir us t). roygbqqt. 
 
fcEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. HI 
 
 lerice, my acnes nuaxedold ; through my roaring all the i 
 
 For d* 
 
 is tur 
 
 unto i - a<ve I vet Tfa 
 
 . . U {jiens unto the Lord, * id, . . tfk 
 
 im ui i y of tn y Jt , t A r <1 , 
 
 lfaiahj I i crys to every or.e 
 
 that is a-thirft, to tome .:'"ne place 
 
 docs as plainly tench, ; : :;.: Rcpencancc is '^fore For 
 nefs. Ifai.lv. 7. Let the wicked fir, 
 unrighteous man his 
 
 Lord, and ' rJe mercy on him ; <. Gdd,j r /. e 
 
 nvill a -. r t. -\nd, 
 
 Jerjmhh preaches :■ db£?rine. J?r. ii. 5. '. 
 
 faith the L in me, 
 
 that they ha • xr ' ; 7 ;: , - r «zvi- 
 
 tfitj , andai . ? Ver. 11- Hath a natit 
 
 G V, -jrich are yet ?.o Gcds ? But 
 
 :"• 19. 
 reft ihec, and toy r. 
 reprove thet .*'' . . 
 
 t . and bitter ', that thou . the Lord \ & 
 
 that mj fear is : e Lord God 
 
 iii. 12. Go, and p'roci words ionjoa 
 
 fay, return, thou hackjliding I fat I, faith tot L 
 r.ot caufe mine anger to fati upon you. Chap. iy. ■ . 
 kuilt return % O Ifrasl, faith the Lord, r I 
 3, 4. Thus faith the Lord to the men of ju 
 lem,. break up your folloiM ground) ai . 
 Circumcije yourfel'ves to the Lcr . 
 cfxour hearts, iejl my fury come f oft . 
 
 Ezeki-1, infpired bv the ia:r.e : . . ■ the fame 
 
 language. Chap, xvlii. 50, 37, 32; 
 Jelites from all your tranfgrej/ianr : ,'■ i 
 ruin. Cajl anvayfrom you all your <r 
 ha<ve 
 
 For >zw'' v will you die, O hqufe of Ifraei . 
 fare in the death cf him that die 
 fbfet jes, and'litt'e ye. C A the 
 
 •d turn from his way, ■' . 
 <willye du % O bouf -fiji 
 langu.i^e of Jj 4 o-c-a'v prayer, before cited. 1 Km, vi\l. 
 
112 REPENTANCE IS [sEC. VIII. 
 
 46, 50.(1) To the fame purpofe fee alfo, Hof, xiv. 1, 2 
 3. Joel ii. 12, iS. — But to pal's on to the New-Teflament. 
 1 the Baptlft, who was fenfc to prepare the way for 
 - kingdom of the Mefliah. into which no 
 man could enter unlcfs born of water and of the Spirit, (Joh. 
 iii. 5.} preached in the wildernefs of Judea, faying, repent 
 for t . of Heaven is r.t hand. As if he had laid, 
 
 " Such i: the nature of the Rfreflian's kingdom, fo holy, fo 
 like to that kingdom which is in Heaven, that no impeni- 
 tent Sim er while fuch, can be a member of it, or fhare in 
 its bl .-leic, rej ent, for the kingdom of Hea- 
 
 ven is at • iah will foon make his appearance, 
 
 repent and be prepared to receive him." Thus he p cached, 
 and m 'ire:; of lfrael did he turn to the Lord their 
 
 God, and fo m d'far the Lord J ejus. 
 
 i. 16, 17. For when the Meffian made his appearance 
 although many were filled with a temporary joy, yet not 
 
 eceived him, as the Mefliah, but thefe who were born 
 cf God. joh. i. 11, 12, 13. 1 joh. v. 1.- — This doctrine of 
 repentance John preached to all the people, to the Pharir 
 fees, to the Sadciuces, to the Pqbltcans, Soldiers, &c. and 
 1 •. r came, confefjing their Jlns, he admitted to bap- 
 
 tifin, as an external fign of the rernitGon of fins. Firir. they 
 muft repent, and then be baptifed for the rcmilTion of fins. 
 
 (i) To affirm, as two late writers (Mr. Sandeman, and 
 .after him Mr. CudwcrthJ do, that every true penitent may be 
 forgiven abfolutely without any atonement at ail, is implicitly 
 to affirm that the Old and J\ew Teftanients cue not from God; 
 the chief defign of both which being to teach, that without 
 meddkig of blood there can be no remiffion. A,.dto bring the 
 xviiith and ' xxxiiid 'of ' Ezekicl 'to [rove the point , is tofuppofe, that 
 Ezc'uelwas not in/piredby the fame fpifit which infptrea 'the other 
 facred writers. Mere law prcmijes life to nothing fhort of fin- 
 lefs perfection, and curfes the man that fails in the leaf point. 
 D.ht. xxvii. 26. And there is no deliverance for true peni- 
 tents from this curfe, according to the Go/pel, but by the blood 
 efChrif, Gal. iii. 10, 14. And therefore, the- captive Jews , 
 when brought to repentance, were directed to look and pray tow- 
 ards the holy temple, and in this way hope for pardon, 1 Kin. 
 <viii. And tofuppofe that Ezckiel in Babylon, taught them to 
 1 pardon in a way contrary to the difpenfaticn they were 
 under, is tofuppofe him a falfe prophet. 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. II£ 
 
 And thus John preached the baptifm of repentance for '< 
 remifjton cf finis placing repentance before fbrgiyenefs^ juil 
 as Mofes a:ii the Prophets had done before him. Mat. iii. i, 
 12. Mar. i. 5. Luke iii. 5, 14. — And, 
 
 Jefus Chrift taught the lame doctrine. Jtepentye and bc^ 
 lieve tie Go/pel, Mar. i. 15. / came to call Sinners, to n 
 auce, Luk. v. 32. There is joy in Heaven over ens Sin- 
 ner that repenieth, Luk. xv. 7. J came co heal the broken 
 hearted, Luk. iv. 18, 21. BieJJed arc they that mourn, for 
 they jh all be conferred, Mat. V. 4. Bat except ye repent, ye 
 Jhall all perijb, Luk. xiii. 3, 5. And this doctrine he ex- 
 emplified at large in the parable of the prodigal Son., who 
 conies tohimfclf, repents, and returns to his Father, aad.io 
 obtains forgivenefs. Luk. ;;v. 17, 20. Yea, now he is ex- 
 alted in Heaven to be a Prince and a Saviour ; he commu- 
 nicates thefe blcffings i:i the f;r.ie order ; he gives repentance 
 unto Ifrael, and remifjton offins^ (Act. v. 3 1 .) and he obferved 
 the fame order in his commiifion to his Apofties, to prc::ch 
 in his name repentance and remijjion effins to all nations, be- 
 ginning at Jerufalem. Luk. xxiv. 48. — And accordiri 
 
 Thz Apoftles began on the day of Penticoft, being all 
 filled with the Holy GfcoA, to preach [em, in the 
 
 fame order. Acl. ii. 38. I one of 
 
 yen, in the name of the Lord / 
 
 fins. (1) And as they began fo they went on. Act, iii. 19. 
 Repent and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out. — 
 And when Paul was converted to Chriitianity, and lent to 
 preach the Gofpel to the Gentiles, it was, to open their eyes, 
 and turn them from darknefs to light, and f rem the power <f 
 
 ( 1 ) 4s to A.:l. ii. 38. feme ohjeSi, c: that the 3000 had a fiv- 
 ing Faith, and were jujiifed by that con-vision , th.;t fefus 
 fj.is the MeJJiab, -. . _ ed - ■ - '', wi(/j a 
 
 fenfe of their guilt, as being hi: murderers, before they di 
 pent "-^-B tit if Jo, they had a right to baptifm before they 
 repented. For a faving Faith gives a right to baptifm. Act. 
 *viii. 37. But it is plain Peter calls upon them tc repent firj} t 
 before baptifm ; nor did he baptife any but ihcfe who appeared 
 to receive his word gladly, T/:at kind of Faith therefore, which 
 w-.s before, and without repentance, as in Peter s judgment, it 
 did not entitle to baptifm ; fo neither to pardon and jalvaiion : 
 Fcr it was an acknowledged point in the Apofiolic age, that A 
 that Faith which entitles tojalvaticn, entitles to baptifm. 
 
114 REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 Sofa* unto Gcd, that tbey night receive forgivenefs ofjins. — 
 Act. x.xvi. 18. And accordingly, he went forth and preach- 
 ed every where, that they Jhould repent and turn to God (ver. 
 2c) teftifying both to jews ai:d Greeks, repentance tow- 
 ard G rd our LcrdJefusCbriftn Chap. xx. 
 21. And as to thofe, who fhut their eyes, ftopped their 
 . and hardened t iicir hearts, and were given up to de- 
 e days oflfaiah, of Chritt and of his Apof- 
 tics, their fentence ruiis thus, in which is clearly taught, 
 that according to God's eftablifhed method of defpeiffirfg 
 pinion, Repentance is before Forgivencls. Left tbey fuould 
 fee 'with the\ to their ears, ur.der ft and nuitb 
 their hearts, a cited, and 1 fhould heal them. 
 lfa. vi. 10. ii. 15. Aft. xxviii. 27. For what is 
 meant by their being healed is declared, (in Mar. iv. 12) 
 and their fins j< z in them. 
 
 So that this deftririe has been taught by Mofes and the 
 Prophets, by Chrift arid his Apciiles ; and if one fhould 
 attempt to make a collection, there is doubtlefs as great a 
 number of Scripture texts, which rcprefent repentance as 
 necehary to pardon, as there is that repfefent Faith as ne- 
 cenary thereto. And wc may with as good a face, and 
 with as much confidence with Scripture i,:- firm 
 
 that we are fcr^iven before Fakh. as th.it wc are Forgiven 
 before repentance. And it is plain, that the repentance' 
 fpoken of through the Scriptures, as beir.g before fcrgive- 
 nefs. is not an ungracious, unfaving repentance : but a 
 gracious, faving repentance ; beca.fe pardon is conitanti'y 
 connected with it. To tneft proofs from Senptur~ texts, 
 may be added thefe Scriptural arguments. N Ii. AD, ex- 
 cept the groffeft fort of Antinornian?, acknowledge that 
 Faith is before Forgivenefs ; a" the Scriptures fo exprefily 
 declare. that, he that belicveth net, is condemned, and the 
 ivrath of Gcd abide to on him. J oh. iii. 18, 36. If there- 
 fore, it can be proved that repentance is efferYtial to Faith, 
 it will follow that Repentar.ee is before Forgivenefs. 
 
 Argument I". To believe the Gofpel to be true with all 
 the heart, is before For^venc^ ; but Repentance is ifn- 
 plied in beueving the Go'fpd to be true with all the heart : 
 Therefore Repentance is before Forgivenefs. That Re- 
 pentance is implied in believing the Gofpel to be true 
 with all the hearr, is evident: — For, 
 
$EC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. t 15 
 
 The import of the crofs of Chrift is, "that God is an 
 abfolutely perfect, an infinitely glorious and amiable Ee- 
 ing, infinitely worthy of fupren:e love, and honour, and 
 univerial obedience ; thut the divine law is holy, jul: . id 
 good, a glorious, law, worthy to be magnified and made 
 honourable ; that our difafTec~tion to the divine Character 
 and rebellion ",againft God, is infinitejy crir.r.n.ti 5 ' ; as 
 hath been already proved. Sect. IV. But with all cur 
 hearts to come into thefe fentin\ents, and cordially b.Iieve 
 them to be true, is to begin to repent, in the Scripture- 
 fenfe of the word. As hath been alio already proved, in 
 the beginning of this Section, and in occt. ill. indeed, jo 
 believe thefe truths by the dint of external evidence, againft 
 the grain of the heart, as the Devil dees, doth not imply 
 Repentance, nqr wili'fuch a ] .Wic to pardon. But 
 
 toj^elieve th^m with all ^he ' , to c • je inio 
 
 thefe fjnuiiKut.-, is wjiat §aittt Paul means by A 1 :/. . 
 toward God. A< L .:x. 21. And hence weirtay fee tiie true 
 meaning cf our Saviour's word., R*J>e/ii a. ;d believe tbs 
 Gojj I. for v.c cannot believe the Gofpel to be -.rue with 
 all .he heart, without Repentance. And hence t h ?. t phrafe 
 of the Apofile, 2 Tim. 11. 25. In :■: imrrucftng 
 
 thoie that opjpofe tJjernfelyes ; if- pet 2 Gud will 
 
 give t hem Ripetitancelot^eackm ,-,ub. Ihre- 
 
 j'y is altogether of a criminal nature,, a work of the fiejb % 
 a:id reckone^u^ along with idoU murder. GJ. v. 
 
 19, 20, 21. j ) love error, but 
 
 they hate tjie truths of the Gofpel. Nortan tney be brought 
 to believe them with all the heart, 1: lefs God gi<pe them re- 
 pentance. And the spentance is implied in Faith, 
 and fo is before forgiyenefs. 
 
 Argument jlj To 1 A', to the free grace of God, in the 
 narne of Chr-il, for pardon, U ejiential to that Faith in 
 Chrill's ^lopd, which i L : ngivenefs ; but Repen- 
 
 tance \s implied in thus looking to God for pardon in the 
 name of Chad : Therefore, Repentance is before Forgive* 
 r.efs. 
 
 All after acts of Faith, With refpeel: to the pardon of fins 
 committed after cc r.ve, iion, are cf the fame, nature with 
 the fivft aft of Faith 3 as is evident from Paul's bringing 
 the ex?mple of D„vid to explain and prove his point, 
 whole fin and repentance were long niitr his converfion. — 
 Compare Rom, iv. 6. 7, 3, with Pfal. xxxii. But Sainti 
 
I 1 5 REPENTANCE IS [SEC VUt. 
 
 bed to look to God for the pardon of daily tranf- 
 
 12. Forgiven r. And in Jpk. 
 
 Chrrft ha; pies to look to God 
 
 t for all things ; and to for pardon among the reft. 
 
 'fal. li.) and :o every penitent 
 
 .1 to pra) Ion, looking towards 
 
 the . I Kin. viii.) which was a type ofCkrift. 
 
 it to lock to God for pardon in the name of Chrifl, 
 
 ahce; Cor'dL lly to afk for the pardon whiih 
 
 Gbfpel offers, is cordially to acknowledge we nerd 
 
 v.rdon ; w hibh : . cor lially ro own that wo are to blame 
 
 as the; Gofpel fuppc ch is to begin to repen: — and 
 
 to aft in ti:e name of Chrift, is to acknowledge, that we 
 
 are not fit to be par . as in qurfelves, are 
 
 too bad j yea, afefb bad,- that jufticecallo for our dellfoc- 
 
 can God c ith his honour forgive us 
 
 but . the blood of his own Son. Which fuppoft?s. 
 
 s fenfe ofthe great evil of fin, in v\ iiicii 
 
 ripentafite radically confiftsf. 
 
 ■ cannot from the heart look to Go J for pardon in the 
 • Jf Chrift, only as we in our hearts feei (hat we are to 
 blame* and deferve to be puniflied according to the true 
 import of law and Gofpeh But cordially to come into this 
 view of ourielves, fo as from the heart to fay with the pub- 
 lican. God be merciful to me a Sinner, is true repentance. 
 Lu!:e xviii. 14. ' Fis the character of an impenitent Sinner 
 to hide and cover his fins ; but he that confeffeth and for- 
 h the a fn til have mercy. So far as one is cordial in 
 his cbnfeffion, o far he does actually give up his fins, and 
 . ; them-. No impenitent Sinner from the 
 heart wiU own himfelf to blame in the i'enie in which he 
 ib charged by God in his law, nor in the fenfe the Gofpel 
 i ic calls him to repent and offers pardon.— 
 And while one will not cordially own himfelf to blame as 
 lu is charged., nor own he needs the pardon which is of- 
 fered, he cannot from the heart look to God for it, much 
 ■ the name of Chtift. To Uy otherwise, evidently 
 
 ies a contradiction. Compare 1 Kin. viii. 46, 50. 
 
 x?:. 21. 
 
 T rua f?om exprefs Scripture texts, and from thefe ferip- 
 
 ttfral arguments, the point Hands proved, that Repentance 
 
 is before Forgivenefs. Some objections have been already 
 
 cbviated ; the reft we will now proceed to ftatc and anfwer. 
 
3EC. VIII,] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. II? 
 
 Objec. i. " We read of fome, who are reprefented as 
 cxercifing Repentance in a fenfe their fins are already For- 
 given. Ezek. xvi. 63. Luke vii. 36, 48. 
 
 Anfw.. Very true. — And no doubt it is thus with all 
 true converts. Their Repentance, inftead of ceafing, is 
 always increafed by a fenfe of divine Forgivenefs. Compare 
 Lev. xxvi. 40, 41. with Ezek. xvi. 63. But where do we read 
 of any whole fins are forgiven while they continue impeni- 
 tent, enemies to God, and obftinate in their rebellion ? — No 
 where. Rather this is the united voice of all divine Revelati- 
 on, Except ye repent > ye Jhall all likevjije perijh. And therefore 
 repent and be converted ', that your fins may be blotted out. 
 
 Objec. 2. '* If Ad. iii. 19, will prove Repentance and 
 Converfion to be before Forgivenefs, it will equally prove, 
 that none are forgiven till the Day of Judgment, which is 
 the time of refrejbing, there referred to." 
 
 Anfw. Whatfoever entitles a man to pardon, according 
 to the Gofpel in this prefcnt time, will entitle him to par- 
 don when Chrift mall come to judge the world at the lad 
 day. For he will judge the world then according to the 
 Gofpel. Therefore thofe who repent and are converted 
 now, exclufive of all impenitent, unconverted Sinners, mall 
 be publicly owned by Chrift at that time. But if the Goi- 
 pel pardons impenitent Sinners now, Chrilt mult accept 
 them then, for he mult judge the world according to tiie 
 Gofpel. And he, who hath a title to Heaven according to 
 the Gofpel, muft be admitted then. And therefore if im- 
 penitent Sinners have a title to Heaven according to the 
 Gofpel, into Heaven they will go. For the Judge will in 
 honour to himfelf be obliged to admit all who have a title 
 according to his own Gofpel. — And therefore if the Anii- 
 nomian fenfe of this text is true, Peter had no cccafion to 
 fay, Repent and be converted, that your Jins may be blotted 
 out, ivhen the time of refrejhing jhall ccrne. Rather he ought 
 to have faid, " believe that your fins are blotted out, im- 
 penitent and unconverted as you are, and it Hull be unto 
 you according to your Faith, when the time of refreilung 
 fhall come : for God Hands bound by his promvfe, that you 
 fhall not be difappcinted." 
 
 Objec. 3. "A true penitent is a good man, and may therefore 
 be juftified on the foot of his own goodnefs, and therefore 
 »eed not belie-veon him thatjujiiftetu the ungodly. Rom. iv. 5." 
 M 
 
IlS REPENTANCE IS [SEC VIII. 
 
 Ati/w. No impenitent Sinner will cordially own himfelf 
 
 dly in the icnle charged upon him by his judge : no 
 
 nitent birner therefore is willing, or ever did, 
 
 . ;• c i ;.;•;; that jujfifeth the ungodly, in the fenfe the 
 
 us to i as was proved, p. 143, 144, 145. (•*) 
 
 es, if arguments will not do, yet facts are flubborn 
 
 things. And it is a p]ain fitcl, that David was a true pe- 
 
 n-, cut, and was pirconed after he repented. Pfal. xxxii. 3, 
 
 4, 5 ; and yet David was not a good man in fuchafenfe as 
 
 that he could be juiHried on the foot of his own goodnefs, 
 
 according to 5c Paul. Nay., j uil the reverie ; for from 
 
 this very inilance of David, Paul proves, that we are not 
 
 juftjfied by our own goodnefs, but by believing on him that 
 
 xeth the ungodly, Rom iv. 5, 6, 7, 8. And Abraham 
 
 fej»d bv-en a true penitent above twenty years, as all parties 
 
 >wledgCj when it was faid of him, that be believed 
 
 Gd, and it was imputed to him for tight coufnefs ; which is 
 
 the other fidt by which St. Paul illuitrates and proves his 
 
 . (l) N. B. Antinomian converts, when they believe their 
 
 fins are forgiven, do not believe that thoje fins are forgiven, 
 
 wiichthey in fail ft and charged nvith by the divine law. For 
 
 do not think themjelves guilty of t. cfe fins. 11 ey j'flifj 
 
 elves in that, in vjhich the divine law chiefly condemns 
 
 They.fay, that it is " utterly impojjibie ," yea, " incon- 
 
 fiftent nvith our original corftitniion, and v. it h the law of God" 
 
 to yield obedience to tic j.rjt and gT eat comma.hd, Thou fhalt 
 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart. And if 1, an 
 unpardoned Sinner, do not dtferve eternal damnation for not 
 loving God with all my heart, I do not need the pardon the 
 Qofpil offers. Rather the offer effuch a pardon, is an injury 
 to me. It fuppojes me to blame when 1 am not to blame. For 
 if " there is no Ic-udinefs conceivable'''' in the divine Nature, 
 till Gcd is reconciled to me y and if it is impofjibie, "■ utterly 
 
 ble" to love him ; and even " contrary 10 the ccnflitulion 
 of a rcafoi able creature, and to the law of God," 1 cannot be 
 at all to blame for not loving him, nor do I in this cafe, need 
 asty fardon at a!! — Nav, the catrfe of the law in this cafe mujf 
 needs fill me with hatred and heart-nfings infpite of my heart." 
 Kcr can I forgive my Maker, and feel -well to him, until he 
 
 rs me f rem the curfe. — So that o.n Antinomian convert, 
 
 at the greateft diftance from feeing that he needs the pardon 
 bich the Gofp'el offers. See Sec. IX. 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. |rg 
 
 doctrine of Justification. The objector therefore q^ite 
 mifunderltands St. Paul, whofe real meaning has been al- 
 ready ltated, Sec. V. He whole heart is agreeable to the 
 import of this objection, never yet faw the great evil gF 
 fin. For in the objection it is virtually denied to be an 
 infinite evil. — Socinians and Deifts openly deny the inn 11 e 
 evil of fin ; and on this ground deny the neceility of" an in- 
 finite atonement. Antincmi.ns are not fo confident ; for 
 they prufd's to believe an infinite atonement, a.nl ye; vir- 
 tually deny fin to be an iniinite evil. 
 
 Objec. 4. " To fay, that Repentance is before Forgive* 
 nefs, difconcerts my whole fcheme of religion, ?.\\\ r. 
 the very foundation of all my hopes. For 'tis grant- 1 en 
 all hands, that true Repentance arifeJi from love to God. 
 But to love God before my fins are pardor.ed, is impoffi- 
 ble. For it is my believing that my fins are pardoned, that 
 induces me to love God. When I can believe that Chrift 
 died for me in particular, and that my fins are forgiven, 
 then I can love God and repent. But to repent before Fur- 
 givenefs, is new doctrine to me." 
 
 Anjhu. True, it is granted, that Repentance arifes from 
 love to God. And therefore, if Repentance is before For- 
 givenefs, love to God is before f'orgivenffs tco. And 
 that this effectually overthrow 
 
 is alio true beyond difpute. And as it is plain, that Chrift 
 ordered Repentance and remiiiion of fins, in this order, to 
 be preached in his name to a finful, guilty world ; and in 
 this order the Apoftles preached them ; fo no man has any 
 warrant from t or to believe Forgive* 
 
 nefs of fins, in any other order. Nay, he 'a ho believes his 
 fins aie forgiven before Repentance, refilling to give credit 
 to the Word of God, he believes a lie ; ar.d all religious 
 affections begotten by this belief, are founded in falfehood, 
 and are an abomination in the fight of God. And thus it 
 will appear when Chrift comes to judge the world accord- 
 ing to his own Gofpel". 
 
 O'jcc. 5. " But are we not juftified by Faith alone?" 
 
 Anfw, We are juftified by Chriit's righteoufoefs alone : 
 If you fpeak of that which qualifies us for and recommends 
 us to the divine favour, pardon and eternal life ; neither 
 Faith nor Repentance have, in this fenfe, any hand in our 
 jollification. To fay otherwife, is to contradict law and 
 M 2 
 
lit REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 Gofpel, and in effect to give up the whole of divine Reve* 
 lation. As has been already proved, Sec. V. — " True> 
 but are we not intereited in the righteoufnefs of Chriit, by 
 Faith ?.!one ?" 
 
 2. There is a kind of Faith, which is, in its own nature, 
 alone, as it firft exills, unattended with any one Christian 
 grace: and through the whole period of its exiftence, it is 
 alone. It begins to exiit. without Repentance and conver- 
 fion, and it continues to exiit without a holy life. This is 
 called, James ii. 26. a dead Faith. As the body without 
 the Spirit is dead, lo Faith without nvorks is dead alfo, Ver- 
 13; it is dead being alone* 
 
 Being alone, — By being alone, the Apoftle does not mean 
 that it is unattended by any kind of affections. Even the 
 Devil's Faith, the Apoftle obferves, is not alone in this 
 fenfe. He not only believes, but alfo trembles. And many 
 who have a dead Faith, a Faith which proves unfruitful, 
 and fo apparently and evidently a dead Faith ; yet, as our 
 Saviour obferves, receive the Word with joy, and endure 
 for a while. So the Ifraelites believed the Lord and his fer- 
 <vant Mofes at the Red Sea, and fang his praife t but Joan for- 
 gat his works.. Their Faith was not of fuch a kind as 
 would anfwer the end, to carry them through the trials 
 before them. When it came to be proved, it was found 
 to be a dead Faith. It was in its «wn nature dead from 
 the firft, although it did not appear to be dead till after- 
 wards. Their joys were gracelefs joys. They had no 
 true love to God in their hearts. That is, no love to God's 
 true character. All their religious affections were merely 
 from felf-love, excited by a fenfe of their great deliverance, 
 and the expectation of foon arriving to a land flowing with 
 milk and honey. So their Faith was unattended by any 
 one divine virtue ; it was alone, in this refpect at firft : 
 and fo, of courfe, it proved to be a Faith without works, 
 that is, without any holy works. For their Faith was not 
 without works of any kind. Nay, they were zealous and 
 very forward in building the Tabernacle, every one con- 
 tributing of his own free will, enough, and more than 
 enough. But all from felfifti principles, expecting ere long 
 to march for the promifed land. But no fooner were they 
 difappointed, than at once all their feeming goodnefs 
 turned into blafphemy. Whereas Mofes, after he was 
 fecluded from the promifed land, loved God as well as ever. 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. 121 
 
 and was as faithful in his fervice. For he really loved the 
 God he believed in, he loved his true and real character, 
 and was heartily intereited in the honour of his great name. 
 And this love gave him life and fpirit, and naturally made 
 him prayerful and active. And thus his Faith worked by 
 love. Without this love, his Faith had been as dead and 
 inactive as the Faith of the carnal Ifraelites. But his fu- 
 preme love to God, whom he conilantly had in view, as it 
 were feeing him who is invifible, made his Faith a living 
 Faith. For he loved God fo entirely, that it appeared to 
 him, of all things in the Univerfe, the beft, to be wholly 
 devoted to his intcreft and honour, as long as he lived. — 
 Yea, to lcve and enjoy him to perfection forever, was the 
 very recompence of reward he had in view, in the world 
 to come. Whereas the carnal Israelites, the more they 
 knew of God's ieal character, the more they hated it ; till 
 they came to wifh themleives back again into Egypt; yea, 
 to wim they had died in Egypt, rather than had any thing 
 to do with the God of Ifracl. 
 
 Faith without works is dead — without works. Where 
 there is no love, there are no works, in the Scripture-ienfe 
 of the word. This is ike love of God that ye keep bis com- 
 mandments, and his c o mm an U ments are not grievous. It is a 
 pleafure to imitate a character which charms our hearts, 
 to honour a perfon we greatly cfteem, and pleafe one we 
 greatly love. The duties of a Chrirlian life are only prac- 
 tical expreflions of love to God ; they are nothing e!fe than 
 love to God, and reduced to practice. Love to God is the 
 life and foul of every good work. Where there is no love 
 to God, all our works are dead works, in the Scripture- 
 fenfe of the phrafe. They are graceiefs, felffh, hypocri- 
 tical works. So that Faith without works, without a courfe 
 of holy obedience to all the divine commands, is a Faith 
 which is without love to God in the heart. And fo it is a 
 Faith which is without a fenfe of the fupreme infinite ami- 
 ablenefs of the divine Nature ; without a {enie of which, 
 there can be no true fenfe of the infinite evil of fin. And fo 
 it is a Faith without Repentance in the firft moment of its 
 exigence, and a Faith without works in the whole period 
 of its exigence. And (o in its own nature, a deal Faith. 
 And that a mm cannot be jnftified by this kind of Faith, 
 is evident, not only from the Epiitle cf James, but from 
 M 3 
 
122 REPENTANCE IS [sEC. VIII. 
 
 all the fo recited texts of Scripture, which teacli that Rc- 
 pciv.ance is before Forgiveuefs. 
 
 3. Repentance is implied in the very nature of that true 
 anJ living Faith, by which p'onc a Sinner is united to 
 Chrift, and in t ere tied in his righteoufnefs and atonement, 
 and io entitled 10 pardon, juftificatior. and eternal life. — 
 This has beeo already proved (p. 143, 14.1. 145) and fliall 
 be now ft ill farther confirmed. 
 
 Jt is faid, concerning the apoftolic converts, on the day 
 
 of Pentecofl (Aft. ii.) that they gladly received the <wvrd s 
 
 r.nd it is : that in doing fo, they became true peni- 
 
 . true believers both at once, in the estimation of 
 
 the Apoftles. Compare ver. 38. 41, 44. 
 
 There are fome i of fuch a nature, that they may 
 
 be believed with all the heart, may be received for true 
 
 -J b: afted upon as fuch, without Repentance. — 
 
 e of great fcarcity of bread on an ](U-nd> the 
 
 of a plentiful importation of corn, to be dillributcd 
 
 among the inhabitants without money and without price, 
 
 to whofoever Comes, may be received gladly, and believed 
 
 with all the heart, and the people may flock together to 
 
 the pl?ce of fupply, without any thing like Repentance. — 
 
 So did the Gofpel limply bring the n:\vs of deliverance 
 
 from Hell, and of eternal joys in Heaven, to be the portion 
 
 of every child of Ad mi, who hears and believes the news, 
 
 and takes it to himfeif ; the news might be believed and 
 
 ced in by every guilty Sinner, who is terrified with 
 
 the thoughts Df eternal damnation, nor would any degree 
 
 ith. For as the fan/ 
 inhabitants of an ifland , Rurally be ravilhed with 
 
 the news of corn ; fo every gi/ity impenitent h/ 
 
 :ed with the thoughts of Hell, would be raviihed 
 • ch deliverance. But if the news the 
 i brings does not confi.ler us merely as in a dare of 
 great calamity, but as criminals; and condemns us where- 
 in we are moil apt tojuftify ourfelv.es, and even declares us 
 rtl y of the ei Hell for that, for which 
 
 all to blame ; we fnall receive 
 lews as an abufe, and reject it with abhorrence, till 
 our uncircumcifed hearts are humbled, and we difpofed 
 to I. ves, which it fuppofes us judly 
 
 brings us news, " That 
 ine law, which requires us in our prefent (late to | 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. 123 
 
 love God with all our hearts and yield a p:rfecl obedience 
 to hie will, on pain of eternal woe, is hoiy { , j-ft and good, 
 a glorious law, worthy to be kept m honour ; fo the Son 
 cf God became incarnate and died upon the crofs to do it 
 honour, that God might i be. juft, and yel I oftm* 
 
 Sinner that believes in Jcfjis.?' T he pi t cf which 
 
 is, "That, no iing all our fell- pleas, 
 
 the God ujhfl reigns above, is an infinitely glorious and 
 amiable Beieg, -od hi without a 
 
 lr 1 mifii ; i ■ fFe< ticu nex- 
 
 cuieablc, and infinitely .criminal ; and we, even 100 bid to 
 be forgive. . l le blood ©f the Son cf God.'' 
 
 But to believe tub vyith>all the heart, and gladly to leceive 
 this news for true, k to give up ail our fin-extenuating, 
 felf-jufiifying pleas, to acknowledge ourfelves infinitely 
 vile and odious, end to loath and abhor ourfelves in the 
 fight of GoJ, a n d even to i 10k upon it a w d be- 
 
 coming, and God?likedeed in the moil High, topunifheter- 
 in Hell (u ; as we. Bui thus to view God and his 
 law, and the atonement of Ghrift, and our own character ; 
 and with all our hearts to cjome into tdiefe fentiments as 
 the very truth, and even gladly to recejtat this wcrd, is to 
 be true penitents. 
 
 The jews, through mere difafTe&ion to the divine Cha- 
 racter and to the divinne law, hated fefus of Nazareth, 
 whofe life and doclrines were the very image of his Far 
 thjer, and did honour to ids law ; and in their hatred, they 
 cried, crucify bim, crucify him ! and the they led him 
 
 forth to Mount Calvary, and nailed him to the croi'.o 
 
 Their whole conduct v. as an expreffian of mortal enmity 
 to the true God and to hie Son,. When therefore Jefqs was 
 Jead, a: the : '.r : t poured out on the day 
 of Pentecoil, and the guilty Jews, in fpite of all their pre- 
 judices, by t'loul .rds, forced, (re againil their, wills, to 
 give into it, that he was in very deed the iviefliah, w 
 10 •;.- had murdered, terri horrid crimes, and 
 
 the fears of eternal wrath, pricked at die heart, as th 1 h 
 a fvvord hid been run through their vitals, they cry out in 
 anguifh, II we do.?. To which r'eter give: a very 
 
 ren-.aikible anfvver. He : fay, " do nothing : be 
 
 pr.ilive." Nor does he fay, "3?lieva, O believ*e your fins 
 are Wotted out." But he f-v ■• . Repent and be baptized' eve- 
 rj ate cfjcu in 'the. name of Jef* Clrijl, ftr the temUfion cf 
 
124 REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 fins. As if he had faid, •« Take all that blame to your- 
 lelves which belongs to you. Own the whole truth to God. 
 Do not cover, but confefs your crimes in his fight, and let 
 your uncircumcifed hearts be humbled : And in a fenfe 
 eternal deftrudion is your due, look up to the free grace 
 of God through the blcod of Chrift for pardcn ; and in 
 token that all your dependance is on his mediation, merits 
 and atonement, come be baptized in his name; and your 
 baptifm mail be to you an external fign of the remiflion of 
 fins through his blood." And as many as had their eyes 
 opened by the Spirit of God to view things in this light, 
 gladly received bis word, and were baptized. And thefe, 
 by the Apoftles, were efteemed true penitents, and true 
 believers ; as they thus heaikened to the divine call, re- 
 pent and be baptized in the name of Jefus. 
 
 And it is manii'eft from the nature of the cafe, that he 
 who hath his eyes opened to fee the glory of the divine 
 Nature, the beauty of the divine Law, the infinite evil of 
 fin, the need of an infinite atonement ; and fo to fee his 
 need of Chrift ; and at the fame time, views God as the 
 fupreme, all-fufiicient Good, ready to receive every Sinner 
 that returns to him through Chrift. It is manii'eft, I fay, 
 that every one who is thus taught of God, will repent and 
 return to God as his fovereign Lord and fupreme Good, 
 and return through Jefus Chrift, who is the way to the 
 Father, and the only way in the view of one thus divinely 
 enlightened. For in the clearer light the glory of the di- 
 vine Nature and Law is feen, in exact proportion will 
 be the fenfe of the infinite evil of fin, and the need of 
 Chriit's infinite atonement and perfect righteoufnefs. And 
 fo Repentance toward God, and Faith toward our Lord Jefus 
 Ci.fijl, will be naturally and infeperably connected. — Yea, 
 they will be neceflarily implied in each other. For he who 
 repents in the view of the glory of God, the glory of the 
 law and of the atonement, will in his repentance look only 
 to free grace through Jefus Chrift for mercy. And he 
 who looks only to free grace through Jefus Chrift for 
 mercy, in a view of the glory of God, law, atonement, 
 will in doing fo, take the whole blame of his difaffeclion 
 to the divine Character, as exhibited in the law, and on 
 the crefs of Chrift, to himfelf, judge and condemn himfelf, 
 and in the very aft of Faith, repent and be converted. — 
 When therefore it is faid, believe in the Lord Jefus, and 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. 125 
 
 thoufoalt be faved, the fame thing is meant, as when it is 
 faid, repent and be con-verted, that your fins may be blotted out. 
 For the Apoftolic Faith implies Repentance in its own na- 
 ture, and their Repentance implies Faith in its nature. — 
 Sometimes they only mention Faith., and fometimes only 
 Repentance, and fometimes both together ; but the fame 
 thing is always intended. For in their views, Repentance 
 and Faith were mutually implied in each other. Let all 
 the texts of Scripture in the Old and New-Teftaments, in 
 which we are called to confefs our fins, repent and turn to 
 God, with a promife of Forgivenefs, or to believe in the 
 Lord Jcfus Chrift that we may be faved, be colle&ed and 
 compared together, and they will all jointly unite to con- 
 firm us in thefe fentiments. The penitent Jew brought a 
 bull or a goat to the Altar, and all his hope of pardon was 
 in the fhedding of blood ; for without fhedding of blood, 
 there was no remiflion. Or if he were at a diftance from 
 the place of facrince and atonement, yet in all his prayers 
 he looked toward God's holy Temple. So Jonah did in 
 the whale's belly, Jonah ii. 4. So Daniel did in Baoylon, 
 Dan. vi. 10. And it is evident this was the conftant prac- 
 tice of all the pious Jews, from the whole tenor of Solomon's 
 prayer in 1 Kin. viii. And for a Jew to look toward the 
 holy Temple, where God dwelt in the mod holy place, 
 over the mercy-feat, which covered the Ark, in which the 
 law was placed in the meft honourable iituation, while fa- 
 crifices were offered without, and incenfe within, was the 
 fame thing as for a penitent Chriflian to look to the free 
 grace of God through the redemption which is in Jefus 
 Chrift, who in his life and death, and now by his inter- 
 ceflion in Heaven, magnifies the law and makes it honour- 
 able. For a Jew to confefs his fins, repent and turn unto 
 the Lord, and pray toward the holy Temple ; was the fame 
 as for one in a Chriftian country to repent, and be con- 
 verted, and believe in the name of Jefus Chrift. 
 
 But if any man will ftill affirm, that we are juftified by 
 a Faith which is alone, which does not imply repentance 
 and converfion in its nature. It may be boldly afferted, 
 that he contradicts Chrift, who fent his Apoftles to preach 
 in his name, Repentance and RemiJJion ofjins »* and his A- 
 poftles, who cryed, repent and be converted* that your Jim 
 may be blotted out. Efpecially, as Chrift doth as exprefsly 
 
126 REPENTANCE IS [sEC. VIII. 
 
 declare, that except je re. ?all all likenvife perijb j as 
 
 be damned. ( i ) 
 Thus the poin: is proved, that Repentance is before 
 Forgivcnefs. And thus all objections are ani'wered, and 
 io the way opened for the following remarks : 
 
 J. If Repentance is before Forgivenefs ; then no man 
 ever was, or ever will be forgiven, tili firft he is brought 
 to true Repentance. All thofc therefore are deluded, wno, 
 while yet impenitent, believe their fins to be forgiven. — . 
 And the ftronger their belief is, the greater is their delu- 
 
 {i >n. And again, 
 
 II. All thofe definitions of juftifying Faith, which leave 
 Repc'ti-nce and Converfion out cf its nature, are defini- 
 of a Faith, by which noman ever was, or ever will be 
 juftified. Such, for inftance, as make Faith a thing, in 
 which the mind is merely paflive, fjch a bare belief of the 
 bare truth, as implies no aft, exertion or exercife of the 
 heart; which effectually excludes Repentance and Conver- 
 fion. And uch as make Faith to coniift in a belief, that 
 there is Forgivenefs with God for impenitent Sinners, as 
 iuch ; which is evidently to believe a lie. (2) And fuch 
 
 in 
 vas; 
 
 (1) This <very fame doclrine, that Repentance is implied 
 juftifying Faith, now affertedin oppojition to Antinomians 
 
 near thirty years ago, effortedand defended in opprfiiionto Ar- 
 tninians, by t! e late learned Mr. Edw..rds, in his Sermon 
 en Juftif cation by Faith a! one, p. 103, 114 — A Sermon wor- 
 thy to be uni-verfally read and attended to through the Britijk 
 dominions. 
 
 (2) Mr. Savdema ' r of the atonement, fays, " All 
 its true friends will readily join iriajfrming, that Chrijl came 
 to render impenitent Sntiers accepted unto e<verlafting life, by 
 the works which he himf elf wrought , and thus, by the difco'very 
 of preventing goodnefs, to l:ac! than to Repentance" Letters on 
 Therm, p. 382. Edit. id. So then, according to him, neither 
 Mcfes, nor the Prophets, nor Chrij}, nor the Apr/lies, who all 
 taught that Repentance is before Forgivenefs, were true friends 
 to the atonement. Nay, fo far from it, that they rendered the 
 atonement , according to Mr. Sandeman, entirety needlefs. For 
 he aff.rms, that true penitents may he forgiven without any 
 atonement at all, as was before ob [craved, Sec. V. Mr. Sande- 
 man fims up his whole fcheme in Faith, Hope, and Charity. 
 His Faith is a belief, that there is Fcrgi-jenefs with God a 
 
3EC. V1I1.] EEFORE FORGIVENESS. I2J 
 
 as make Faith to confift merely in a belief, that Chrill is 
 
 mine, and that my iins are forgiven before I repent. 
 
 Thefe, and all fuch like definitions of juftifying Faith, are 
 of no manner of ufe, but to comfort thole impenitent Sin- 
 ners, againlc whom the Goipel, as well as the Law, re- 
 veals the wrath of God. And again, 
 
 III. All thofe fchemes of Religion, the import of which 
 is, that we are not wholly and entirely to blame, in not 
 being perfedly conformed to the divine law ; and confe- 
 quently, that it does not belong to us to take the whole 
 blame to ourfeives and repent ; are diametrically oppofite 
 to the Gofpel of Chriit : which calls upon us to repent and 
 be converted, as being wholly to blame for not continu- 
 ing in all things written in the book of the law to cio them ; 
 yea, infinitely to blame ; fo that it became the vifdom of 
 God. not to forgive us, without an infinite atonement. — 
 To fay, that this law was toofevere, and that our blame is 
 not fo great, as this law fuppofes ; is to declare, that it 
 does not belong to us to repent in the fcvtfc the Gofpel 
 calis us to ; and to reject the atonement of Chriit, which 
 fuppofes the whole blame to be in us, as an injurious re- 
 flection on our character : and even implicitly to declare 
 Jefus Chrift to be an importer. Fay as Chriit lived and 
 died to do honour to the divine law in all its extent, 
 thereby declaring it to be wholly right, and we in fuel as 
 much to blame, a:, that fuppofes, to fay, we are not, which 
 is the language of every impenitent heart, is to fay, that 
 Chriit was an impoflor. So that Impenitence and Infidelity 
 are in their own nature mfeparably connected, on the one 
 hand ; even as repentance toward God, and Faith toward 
 our Lord Jefus Chriit, are on the other. 
 
 IV. Ah thole fchemes of Religion, which in pretence 
 grant the divine law to be holy jure and good, a glorious 
 
 through the atonement fcr impenitent Sinners , ivkilefuck : which 
 is a lie. A belief of this lie t is the foundation of his hope, 
 that his fins are forgiven. And this falfe hope, this hope built 
 onfaij'thood, is the foundation of his love. The it hole of bis 
 religion, " confjls in love to that ivlic relieves him," Letters 
 to Mr, Pjhe,p. o. that is, " in Iq-ve tc the dodrine of Forgive- 
 nej's," p. ;;-. that is, in love, to this dodrine, that there is 
 J icith Gid through the atonement for impenitent 
 Sinners, ivhilejuch. 1 but is, in love to a lie. 
 
I2S REPENTANCE IS [SEC. VIII. 
 
 law, and that Repentance is before Forgivenefs; but yet 
 implicitly deny it, by afferting, that it is impofllble a Sin- 
 ner mould be brought to view the law as fuch, fo as cor- 
 dially to take all tae blame to himfelf and repent, until he 
 knows that his fins are forgiven, are inconfiftent with them- 
 felves, as well as with the Gofpel of Chriit ; which makes 
 fuch repentance necelfary in order to the Forgivenefs of 
 fins, and calls upon Sinners thus to repent, that their 
 fins may be blotted out, and declares that Chrift is exalted 
 to give fuch Repentance to Itrael. — To repent that we have 
 broken a law we hate, is the Repentance of an obftinate 
 rebel ; and is in its own nature, a lie. Like that in Pfal. 
 lxvi. 3. Through the great nefs of thy power jh all thine enemies 
 fubmit themfel-ves (or as it is in the margin, lie) unto thee. 
 
 V. As the whole tenor of the Gofpel of Chriit. gives the 
 itrongefl affurance, that no impenitent Sinner, remaining 
 iuch, mail ever be forgiven ; fo the whole tenor of all falie 
 Gofpels, is to perfuade impenitent Sinners, while fuch, to 
 believe that their fins are forgiven. Some fchemes do this 
 by preaching up a counterfeit Repentance, and promifing 
 Forgivenefi. to that ; mean while juftifying Sinners in their 
 continuing deftitute of that Repentance to which the Gof- 
 pel calls them : as the Socinian, Arminian, Neoncmian, &c.(i) 
 and other fchemes exprefily teach, that we are forgiven be- 
 fore Repentance. Which is the cafe with various forts of 
 Antiwmian fchemes. But all falfe fchemes, how much fo- 
 ever they differ among themfelves, agree in promifing eter- 
 nal life to thofe who are deftitute of true Repentance. 
 
 (1) Of the counterfeit forts of Repentance which are preached 
 Mp, thefe two are the chief — \Jt, Some fay, that the divine law, 
 which originally required us to love God with all our hearts, 
 and yield a perfect obedience to his will, is abated : And there- 
 fore we are not to blame in not being perfeclly conformed to it : 
 And therefore it does not belong to us to repent of this non-con- 
 formity. And fo the Sinner is juftifed in being without that 
 qjery Repentance, to which the Gofpel calls him. And now to 
 repent "wherein they fall Jhort of a conformity to their abated 
 law, is fubjlituted in the room of true Repentance. And they 
 being ignorant of the law of perfeclion, and the infinite e<vil of 
 fin, are prepared to make a righteoufnefs of their falfe Repent- 
 ance ; and know no need ofChrijl only to purchafe this abate- 
 muitoftke law, and to make up for their defetfs of obedienct t§ 
 
SEC VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. I29 
 
 VI. If according to God's eftablifhed method of difpen- 
 fing pardon to his criminal guilty creatures, Repentance 
 is before Forgivenefs, we may hence fee the harmony be- 
 tween the impetraticn and application of redemption : both 
 exactly agree in their nature and tendency to honour Gcd, 
 to magnify his law, to eitabiifh his authority, to difecun- 
 tenance and embitter fin, to humble the Sinner, to glorify 
 grace, and to exalt Chrift. 
 
 The crofs of Chrift, in the fight of the whole intellectual 
 fyftem, declared, that God was wholly right, and that we 
 were wholly wrong, and as much to blame as the divine 
 law fuppofed. And fu declared, that Gcd is an abiblutdy 
 perfect, an infinitely glorious and amiable Being j and 
 
 it, thus abated. — 2d, Others, who fay, the divjine lew is in 
 full force, unaltered, unabated ; yet exempt themfelves from 
 blame by faying, " we have no more power to love Gcd per- 
 fectly, than the man with the withered hand, had to fir etch 
 out his handy And when they come to explr.i;: the;: fives, 
 they make the inability of a Sinner to be as innocent a kind cf a 
 thing, as was the man with the withered hand. But who 
 fees not, that the man with a withered hand was not at all to. 
 blame ; for he could not help his hand being withered, let his 
 heart be ever fo well inclined to it. It would f&rfeSi ly have 
 fuited his heart to have had that hand well. It was owing 
 to no fault in him that it remained withered. lie might be 
 firry for it as a calamity, but could net blame himfi'f 'for it as 
 a crime. And even after Chrift had rejhred it whole as the 
 ether, although he might be thankful for it as a benefit done to 
 him, yet he could not blame himfelf, neither could he repent, 
 that his withered hand had net been well focner. And thus, 
 while this is fuppejed to be an exact reprefentation of the true 
 nature of our inability, perfectly to conform to the divine law 
 in heart and life, true Repentance is forever fe eluded. No 
 blame belongs to us in this cafe, nor can we on this fcheme tcme 
 any blame to ourfelves, before, at, or after cur fuppofed a 
 fion ; for not being perfect as our Father which is in Heaven, 
 is perfect. And thus the Sinner is jujlifed in his impenitency. 
 And in ex ad proportion as the Sinner is jujlifed, God and his 
 law Jl and condemned. For there is blame fome where, and if 
 not in us, it mufl be in him who blames us, even in him who 
 fays, Curfed is every one that continueih not in all things. 
 
 N 
 
13° REPENTANCE IS fsEC. VIII. 
 
 that his law, which requires us to love him with all our 
 hearts on pain of eternal death, is holy, juft and good; 
 and that cur difafTeclion to the divine Character, and re- 
 bellion againft him, is inexcufable, and even infinitely 
 criminal. In confequence of which, the gifc of Chrift to 
 die in our room, that God might be juft, and yet the jufti- 
 fier of the believer, appears to be an act of grace, infinitely 
 great, and abfolutely free. And becauie Chrift humbled 
 himfelf, and became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of th? crofs, in this great work ; therefore is he exalted to 
 lit even at his Father's right hand, honoured with all the 
 honours of Keaven ; and Repentance and remiflion of fins 
 are granted in his name to apellate, Gcd-hating, guilty 
 rebels. And thus God is honoured, Chrift exalted, grace 
 glorified, and fin condemned in the work of our redemption. 
 
 In exact harmony with which, the guilty criminal is, by 
 the almighty power of divine grace, brought to view 
 things in this light, and to be affected accordingly. To 
 look upon God as an abfolutely perfect, an infinitely 
 glorious and amiable Being, upon the divine law as holy, 
 juft and good, a glorious law ; upon his own difafTeclion 
 and rebellion, as entirely inexcufable and infinitely crimi- 
 nal ; upon the gift of Chrift, as an acl of grace infinitely 
 great and abfolutely free; and in thefe views, and with an 
 anfwerable frame of heart, to look only to free grace through 
 jefus Chrift, now at his Father's right hand, for pardon, 
 as of mere free mercy, to a v/retch fo infinitely odious and 
 ill-deferving, as that it had been an acl worthy of God to 
 have call him into eternal burnings. — And thus all is 
 exactly fuited to exalt God, to honour the law, to imbitter 
 fin, to glorify grace, and render Chrift exceeding precious 
 in the Sinner's heart And fo, 
 
 The fame views, fpirit and temper which were in Chrift 
 Jefus to perfection, when he wrought out our redemption 
 on the crofs, are in meafure communicated to a dead Sin- 
 ner, when he is quickened and raifed up to a new and di- 
 vine life ; and fo lie is made partaker of the divine Nature, and 
 becomes a living branch in the true Vine, a living member of 
 drift's bedv. For of his fulnefs nve all receive, and grace for 
 grace. For he and all the members of his body are one, 
 not only one relatively, but one in heart, one in fpirit, the 
 fame fpirit which dwells in Chrift being communicated to 
 them. For ye are not in theflefo, but in the Spirit, if fa be the 
 
SEC. VIII.] BEFORE FORGIVENESS. IJX 
 
 fpirit ofChriji dwells in you. — In regeneration and conver- 
 sion thefe views and affe&ions begin to take place and from 
 year to year, as with open face they behold as in a glafs the 
 glory of th>e Lord ; fo they are more and more changed into 
 the fame image from glory to glory, till all come to be one 
 nuith him as be and his Father are one. 
 
 But on the contrary, if, as Ibme plead, pardon is granted 
 to the impenitent Sinner while fuch, a belief of which is 
 the foundation of his love and of all his religion; then in 
 the application of redemption, God and his law are dil- 
 honoured, the import of Chritl's death is denied, fin is 
 juitiried, the Sinner's felf-juilifying fpirit is gratified, and 
 the grace of the Gofpel kept out of view. For this is the 
 native language of fuch a Sinner's heart, " there is no 
 lovelinefs conceivable in the divine Nature, but what re- 
 fults from his love to mc, and it is impofiible I fhould love 
 God from any other motive, nor is it my duty, nor is the 
 Gofpel defigned to bring me to it, nor am I to blame that 
 I do not, nor do I need the atonement of Chrifl in the cafe, 
 or pardon for not loving God for the lovelinefs of his own 
 nature : For there is no lovelinefs in his nature, but as he 
 loves me and uefigns to fave me." Thus the abfolutely per- 
 fect, the infinitely glorious and amiable Being, who is by 
 nature God, in himielf, let me be faved or damned, infi- 
 nitely worthy of fupreme love, and honour and univerfal 
 obedience, according to the united import of the divine 
 Law, and of the crofs of Chrifc, is at once itripped of all 
 the original, independent, eternal, immutable glories of 
 his Godhead, the divine Law is virtually pronounced ty- 
 rannical, the import of Chrift's death impioufly denied, 
 his atonement pronounced needlefs, and himfelf virtually 
 declared to be an impoftor, our being dead in fin juftified 
 our difaffeclion to the divine Character declared to be no 
 crime, or reconciliation to be no duty, no pardon, no atone- 
 ment, no fanclifier needed in the cafe. " No for we are 
 right, God and his law are wrong, if God will repent 
 and make reftitution, if God will deliver us from the curfe 
 of the law, and give us Heaven, we will forgive him, feel 
 no more heart-riiings toward him, but love him if he will 
 thus love us. Otherwife, it is impcflible we mould love 
 him, impoilible but that we mould hate him and his law. 
 For there is no lovelinefs conceivable in his nature, unlefs 
 N 2 
 
132 NATURE OP [SEC. IX. 
 
 he will love and fave me." — Thus the impenitent, proud* 
 hftoghty wretch ungods the Deity, condemns his law, 
 
 hlafphemes the crofs of Chriit, juiiiries himfelf, denies his 
 
 fin, his need of atonement, of regeneration, of repentance, 
 
 ..don, and is filled with love and joy in a firm belief 
 
 God Almighty looks upon things as he does. And 
 
 impious, blasphemous love and joy, he calls by the 
 
 (acred name of Chniiian piety. 
 
 SECTION IX 
 
 The Nature and Effefls, the Caufe and Cure of a Self- 
 righteous Spirit. 
 
 HP HE Nature and Effe&s, the Caufe and Cure of a Self- 
 -*- righteous Spirit, might have been collected from the 
 principles laid down and proved in the other feclions of 
 this Eflfay, by the judicious Reader; but for the fake of 
 weaker capacities, it may not be amifs, if thefc things are 
 briefly Hated: And the rather, as it is of great importance 
 
 this fubject be well underftood. In general then, 
 
 A Self-righteous Spirit confifts in a difpofition to think 
 more highly of ourfelves than we ought to think. And fo, 
 it is pride. And it Hands in oppofition to humility, which 
 is to think foberly of ourfelves, and as <we ought to think, as 
 St. Paul defines it. Rom. xii. 3. And a Self-righteous Spirit 
 arifes from blindnefs to the divine glory, and ignorance of 
 our true character and ftate, as they appear in the fight of 
 God, and as they really are compared with his holy law. 
 The fpiritual knowledge of God and his law, and a view 
 of ourfelves in contrail with God and his law thus known, 
 is the Cure of a Self-righteous Spirit. When the divine 
 Character as exhibited in his law begins to appear in its 
 infinite glory, our character will begin to appear in its in- 
 finite odioufnefs. And this begets a difpofition to think 
 foberly of ourfelves, and as we ought to think. And fo 
 -we, through the law, become dead to the law, that we may 
 live to God But to be more particular, 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. 133 
 
 I. A Self-righteous Spirit confifis in a difpofition to think 
 more highly of ourfelves than we ought to think. How 
 we ought to think of ourfelves hath been already dated, 
 Seel. III. p. 32, 33. When a man thinks more highly of 
 himfelf than he ought to think on the account of his £ne 
 cloaths, he is called by the odious name of fop. But when 
 in the exercife of the fame temper, he thinks more highly 
 of himfelf than he ought to think, upon religious accounts, 
 he is called by the more odious name of a Self-righteous 
 man, Luk. xviii.9, 14. The fame fpirit of pride, which leads 
 one to be proud in a view of his line cloaths, inclines a- 
 nother to be proud in a view of his large eftate, or honour- 
 able parentage, or good bodily features, or Superior genius 
 or great acquired mental accomplifliments. And it is the 
 fame fpirit which leads all mankind in general to think more 
 highly of themielves than they ought to think in religious 
 refpccts. For a Self-righteous Spirit is common to mat- 
 kind in general, although in different men it operates dif- 
 ferently ; and in feme more than in others, it reigns in 
 all unregenerate men : And it is mortified in Saints no far- 
 ther than they are fanclified, and will not be entirely e- 
 radicated out of their hearis until they become perfectly 
 holy. It operates differently in different men. 
 
 In the profane it operates to keep them fecure, to fortify 
 them againlt the fears of Death and Hell, and guard them 
 againft the terrors of the divine law ; that they may take 
 their full fwing in finful pleafures unmoleiled. For ;hus it 
 inclines them to think, " I can break off my fins when I 
 pleafe. And when ever I break off, God will be obliged 
 to forgive me." Herein he thinks more highly of himfelf 
 than he ought to think, in two refpecls. Fzrjl, lie thinks 
 his heart to be much better than it is, even that he can find 
 in his heart to give up all fin and turn to God. But if he 
 would make a thorough trial, he would find it to be a mif- 
 take. He would find that fin has full power of his foul. 
 That he loves it fo entirely, that it is not in his heart to 
 be inclined to forfake it. To forfike fin, in general, I 
 mean ; for he may be inclined to change one lull for ano- 
 ther, turn out a black Devil and take in a White one, leave 
 profanenefs, and become a civil, fober, felf-righteous hy- 
 pocrite. But to turn from all fin in general, and to turn 
 unto the Lord, is not in his heart. For the carnal mind is 
 N 3 
 
134 THE NATURE OF [SEC. IX* 
 
 enmity againji God, is not Jul j eft to his la<w, neither indeed can 
 be. And, fecondiy, he thinks too highly of himfelf in ano- 
 ther rciped, viz. That there will be fo much virtue 
 in liis repentance and reformation, as to atone for all his 
 pad wickednefs, and entitle him to the favour of God. — 
 Whereas, according to the divine ertimation, there is fo 
 much blame and iil-defert in one wilful tranfgrefiion, as to 
 make an eternal forfeiture of his foul, and plunge him into 
 a hopelefs, remedilefs (rate, according to a iule of Uriel 
 junice. So that if he had no more intcreil in Adam's fm 
 than in Noah's ; yet after one tranfgrefiion, he is a loll 
 creature, liable to die and go to Hell in a moment ; and 
 God absolutely unobliged, if he lives, to grant him any 
 r.fiiitance of his Spirit, or ever to regard any of his prayers. 
 For if one tranfgrefiion expofea a man to the curie of the 
 law, according to Gal. iii. jo. then the tranfgieiTor may 
 be juftly fent to Hell immediately. And therefore, God is 
 unobliged to (hew him any favour of any kind. And it is 
 entirely owing to pride and feif-conceit, that Sinners are 
 inclined to view things in another light. They think more 
 
 y of themfelves than they ought to think. And this, 
 which is natural to prophage Sinners, has a great influence 
 to keep them i ecu re in fin. 
 
 wakened Sinners it operates to incline them, by their 
 reformations, prayers, tears, &c. to go about to eitablifh 
 their own righteoufneft. For being fo terrified with the 
 thoughts of eternal deftrudlion, that they can no longer go 
 on quietly in their finful pleafures, they now go about to 
 
 , the Deity by their amendment and fervent prayers. 
 And thus they think — " If I repent and reform, if I hum- 
 ble myfelf before God and pray, and do as well as I can, 
 lie is obliged to (hew me mercy : For it would be hard and 
 unjuft in God to require more of his poor creatures than 
 they can do, and then damn them for not doing." And 
 perhaps thoufands and ten thoufands build their hopes for 
 Heaven on this foundation, and live and die upon it. Not 
 conlidei ing, that ifrighteoufnefs come by the lanxj, then Chriji 
 is dead in <vain. Not once reflecting, that if their belt 
 doir.gi ought in reafon to recommend them to the divine 
 favour, there was no occafion for the incarnation and death 
 -of the Son of God. And that therefore, if they are right, 
 the whole Gofpcl is overthrown. Their pride absolutely 
 blinds their eyes, that they cannot fee ; and ftops their ears, 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. 135 
 
 that they cannot hear ; and hardens their hearts, that they 
 cannot underitand. Or, if forr.e men, cf more penetration, 
 perceive that this way of thinking does in fa£: overthrow 
 ChrilHanity, they will fooner give up the whole cf divine 
 Revelation, than give up their pride. And from this fource 
 it is, that Great Britain is fo Ailed with Infidels. And from 
 this iburce it is, that Infidelity begins to cieep into ?• 
 England, which if divine grace prevents not, may in half 
 a century make great progrefs. For as the Pharifees would 
 fooner believe, that jefus caji oat Devils by Beelzebub, than 
 that they were ferpents and a generation of<vipers 3 worthy cf 
 tie damnation of Hell ; even fo it is here. — But mean while, 
 In Antinomian converts, to extricate themfelves out of 
 thefe embarrailmcnts, a lelf-rightcous fpirit prompts and 
 emboldens them, to take a (hort and eafy method, to think 
 well of God and of themfelves both at once, and fo their 
 pride and religion become perfectly harmonious; in the 
 belief of thefe two maxims (lit). God loves me impenitent as 
 I am. (2d) To believe that God thus loves me, and to love 
 him merely in this belief, is the fum of religion. For in the 
 belief of thefe two articles, the divine law, which Hands 
 prepared to flay the felf- righteous Sinner, is fei afide, and 
 turned out of doors ; the curfe, by the firit: the command, 
 by the fecond ; and fo the divine law being caihiered by this 
 belief; the Self-righteous finner (lands compleatiy feif-juf- 
 tilied. He believes, or rather imagines himfelf into the 
 love of God, and out cf the reach of the law ; and fo into 
 a good opinion of the Deity, and cf himfelf, both at once. 
 Or rather, through that enmity to God's real character, 
 with which his Sclf-righteousSpirit infpired him ; embolden- 
 ed by the fame Self-righteous Spirit, he forms a Deity in his 
 own fancy all made up of love to him, which fuits his heart; 
 and being futfed with the Deity he has made, is pleafed 
 with himfelrmore than ever. And fo he thinks himfelf a 
 Believer, a Saint, a Difciple of Chrift, and that he lhall 
 be rewarded in Heaven for all the reproach he brings upon 
 himfelf; not knowing th it enmity to God and his law and 
 to the crefs of Chrift, lie at the bottom, and are fource 
 of all his religion. And thus, and in this way, he is con- 
 firmed and felf-juftified in thinking more highly of himfelf 
 than he ought to think. — And thus we fee how a Self- 
 righteous Spirit operates differently in different perfons. 
 Thefe three forts are mentioned only as a fpecimen ; for 
 
I36 THE NATURE OF [SEC. IX. 
 
 inftead of three, there may perhaps be three hundred dif- 
 ferent ways in which this fame fpirit works. 
 
 II. A Self-righteous, isa Sin-extenuating, Self-juftifying, 
 and in conlequer.ee a Law-hating, God-condemning difpo- 
 fition. And fo ilands in direft oppofition to Repentance tow- 
 ards God, and Faith towards our Lord J ejus Chrijl. Juft in 
 exatt proportion as a man is inclined to think more highly 
 of himfelf than he ought to think, is he inclined to make 
 Sin-extenuating, Self-j unifying pleas. And every word 
 he fays in his own juftifjcation, is to the condemnation of 
 God and of his law. For if in fatt we are not fo bad, 
 nor fo much to blame, as the divine law fuppofes, he 
 who made the law will ftand condemned. Take Gal. iii. 
 10. Curfed is e-very one that contihuctb not in all things writ- 
 ten in the book of the law to do them, which are the very 
 words with which St. Paul militated againft a Self-righte- 
 ous Spirit in his day, and mew what the divine law requires 
 in heart and life, and mew what is implied in the curfe, 
 and from the eternal punifhment threatened, infer the infi- 
 nite evil of fin, and by coniequence our infinite obligations 
 to love God with all our hearts, and yield a perfect obedi- 
 ence to his will ; and fhew that God is abfolutely unobliged 
 according to law, that perfect rule of right, either to aiTift 
 the Sinner, or to pardon his defects; and urge this law 
 home upon a felf-righteous heart, as the law of the great 
 God, the law which was honoured on the crofs of Chrift, 
 and which will be put in execution at the day of Judgment 
 on every Chrifilefs Sinner, Angels and Saints fhouting 
 Hallelujah all around the Judge ; and as th* anvil bounds 
 back the hammer, fo will fuch a heart refift the truth. And 
 while he extenuates his fin and juflifies himfelf, he will 
 blame the law, and condemn the lawgiver, For, 
 
 Says the profane, — " To fuppofe that my^delaying Re- 
 pentance one day longer, is fo great a crime, as jullly to 
 expofe me to the eternal pains of Hell without Hope, can- 
 not be true. Nor will I ever believe God is fo unjuft as to 
 put his frail creatures under fuch a law." And 
 
 Says the awakened > — " I have reformed and humbled 
 myfelf before God, and prayed, and done what I can. 
 And to believe now after all, that God is fliil abfolutely 
 unobliged to fhew me mercy ; that he requires perfect love 
 and perfect obedience on pain of eternal damnation; is 
 more than I can bear. It cannot be juftifted. The very 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. ' 137 
 
 thoughts of it breeds hatred and heart-rifings in fpite of 
 my heart." And, 
 
 Says the Antinomian convert, " I always found by ex- 
 perience, that it was irnpoffible to love God, before 1 be- 
 lieved his love to me. And by experience I flill find, that 
 it is impollible to love God in (toy other view. All there- 
 fore that God really requires, is, that we believe his love 
 to us, and in that belief, love him again." And thus all 
 three ftand difcharged from that duty which the divine 
 law requires, felf-juftitled ; God and his law implicitly 
 condemned. 
 
 The divine law fuppofeth, tint God is an abfobnely 
 perfect, an infinitely glorious and amiable Being ; and on 
 this ground it requiies mankind, each and every one, to 
 love him with all their hearts on pain of eternal death. — 
 This it requires even of the Gentiles, who never heard of 
 the grace of the Gofpel, and confequently of all mankind, 
 antecedent to that confideraticn. And in the fight of God 
 all were without excufe, every tncuth fo/p t :d, and in this view 
 of the cafe, he gave his Son to die upon the crois, to de- 
 clare this law to be holy, jufland good. But in this view, 
 the divine law is univerfally hated by every fclf-rightecus 
 heart, and a ncn-conformity thereto is univerfally juilified, 
 from the moft profane to the molt devout. — " I cannot," 
 cries one. — "It is impcffible," cries another. — '•* The very 
 thought of fuch a law breeds hatred and heart-rifings, in 
 fpite of my heart," cries each and every one. (1) 
 
 (1) Mr. Cudvjorth has gone farther, and taken a 'very ex- 
 traordinary ftep indeed, to yujlify the fcf -right ecus Sinner , in 
 not loving that character of God, nvhich is exhibited in the 
 divine la-xv, in honour to which an incarnate God died on the 
 crofs. He net only declares, and endeavours to prove, that it if 
 '* utterly impnjjible" to love it : but aljo that to love it, is in its 
 cvjn nature a ivicked thing, n contrary to the lavj of God." 
 p. 224. And if" contrary to the lavs of God" it is contrary 
 to the nature of God. God himfelf then does not love that cha- 
 racter. That is, God the Father does not love himfelf. No 
 ivonder then he thinks, that to love this character is ** beyond 
 nvhat Ada?n did in Paradife, beyond the Scripture Saints, the 
 Apojlles, and even fcfiis Chrijl himfelf." For if it is " con- 
 trary to the law of God," and fo a vjicked thing, it mvji be 
 contrary to the nature of God, and of every holy Being in tht 
 
I38 THE NATURE OF [SEC. IX. 
 
 Now that belief, which gives comfort to a felf-righteous 
 heart, thus at enmity againft the divine law, by whatever 
 humble name it is called, does in facl, feed and confirm a 
 felf- righteous fpiric : And for that reafon, will be tenaci- 
 oufly maintained, although without any evidence from 
 Scripture, fenfe or reafon. So, one believes, that if he will 
 do as well as he can, God has promiied to fave him : And 
 this gives him eafe. And another believes, that God has 
 promifed abfolutely to fave him without any condition at 
 all : And this gives him comfort more abundantly. And 
 while each remain ftrong in his belief, by which the divine 
 
 Vniverfe. And thus the f elf -righteous Sinner Jiands compleatly 
 j if; fed, in net loving God's true and real character. Tea, has 
 ike comfort to think it would be a Jin to love it : Al thing * ( con- 
 trary to the law of God." 
 
 But " contrary to the law of God" and wicked as it is : 
 nofooner does he fee Theron brought through the regenerating in- 
 fluences of the Holy Spirit, in a -view cf the amiablenefs of 
 tins character, to take all the blame of his difafeSlicn to ike 
 Deity hi'irfJf, and repent and return to God through J ejus Cbri/i, 
 all his hope of acceptance arijing Jimply from merit free grace 
 through ike great atonement , but he changes his tone ; and for 
 the fake cf condemning. Theron, exprejsly contradicts himfelf. — 
 For now, ail at once, that <very thing which he had been jujt 
 trying to prove to be " contrary to the law of God," is a firmed 
 to be of fo holy and divine a nature, as to have virtue and 
 merit enough in it to atone for all our faf fins, and recom- 
 mend us to the favour of God, and entitle us to eternal life, 
 without any need cf Chrijl or his atonement. Such converts 
 as 1 make my Theron to he, he affirms ** have no occafion for the 
 Jovereign mercy of God in J efts Chrijl. They are entitled to life 
 in their own name, on the foundation of their own love, when- 
 ever they can be fund." p. 227, 228. And this he fets him- 
 felf to prove, p. 261, 262, from the words cf the Prophet 
 E^ekiel, which has been already anfvjered. — So that according 
 to Mr. Cud-worth, that which is in its own nature Jinful, 
 f * contrary to the law of God" is more meritorious than all the 
 virtue of the heavenly hojls, which would not be Juficient to 
 atone for one fin. Yea, its virtue is as effectual to fave, as 
 the blood and rightcoujnejs cf the Son cf God. — If Mr. Cud- 
 worth can believe all this, what cannot he believe ? And can 
 fitch a man be reafoned with f 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS TPIRIT. 1 39 
 
 law is let a-fideand removed out of fight, each enjoys him- 
 felf full well. But if light fliould break in, and the divine 
 law come into view, and their true character and {late ap- 
 pear, dead in fm and under the curie, both would return 
 to their " hatred and heart-riiings" again, as much as ever. 
 For the fin-extenuating, felf-juitifying temper, remaining 
 unmortiried, God and his law will be, of courfe, hated and 
 condemned, whenever they come into view. The Faith 
 of both is of ufe only to keep God and his lav/ out of fight 
 and out of mind, and thus it comforts them. Let God and 
 his law come into view, and their Faith is destroyed, and 
 their comforts are gone, and their heart-rifings come again. 
 And therefore both arc to the laft degree tenacious of their 
 different fchemes. A Self-righteous Spirit lies at the bot- 
 tom of all their zeal, as their fchemes are adapted to give 
 cafe and comfort to felf-righteous hearts, and guard and 
 defend them from the terrors of the divine law, prevent 
 the blafphemous workings of their own minds, which be- 
 get horror and awaken the fears of future wrath. 
 
 III. A Sin-extenuating, Self-j unifying, Self-tighteous 
 frame of heart is in direct oppofition to the Gofpel of Je- 
 fus Chrift. For had our difaffeclion to the divine Charac- 
 ter not been as criminal as the curfe of the law fuppofed, 
 there had been no leafon the Son of God fnould iiave been 
 made a curfe in our ltead. Had there been any plea to 
 extenuate our fault, or in the leaft to have juftified us in 
 our not loving God with all our hearts, the law had not 
 been flrictly right. And God's being fo fevere again It iin 
 had not been a beauty but a biemifli in his character. And 
 if there had been a biemifli in the divine Character, to love 
 him with all our hearts, had been ilrictly and properly im- 
 poffible. The fault would have been not in us,- but in God. 
 |- And fo no need of Chriit to die, to declare God to be 
 wholly right. Rather, as on this hypothecs, God was 
 wrong, he ought to have retraced, to have repealed his 
 law, and granted us relief ; he ought in juhHee to have 
 done it, and a Mediator was altogether neeulefs in the cafe. 
 And thus, the Sinner is juiUfied, and God condemned, and 
 the whole Gofpel overthrown. And this is the native ten- 
 dency of a Self-righteous Spirit. A Self-righteous Spirit is 
 therefore in direct oppofition to the Gofpel of Jefus Chriit. 
 And accordingly, 
 
 A Self-righteous Spirit was the fourcc of the hatred and 
 
140 THE NATURE OF [sEC. IX. 
 
 heart-rifings of the Pharil'ees againic. the chara&er of Jefus 
 Chriit. 1 ney cou^u not bear to think themfelves fo bad 
 as his doctrines imported ; and therefore they became foon 
 di (affected to* aid ins peiion. joii. iii. 19, 20, 21. And 
 when he plainly told them, what they were in the fight of 
 God, and wnat they delerved at his hands, in the xxiiid 
 Chap, of Mat. they immediately confpired to put him to 
 death, The xxind of Maith. contains our Saviour's laft 
 fpeech to the Phariftes, who, three days after got him fall 
 nailed to the crefs. Ye ferpents> ye generation of vipers, bo-iv 
 can ye tfcaft the damnation of Hell, were words the Phari- 
 lees never could forgive. The character thefe words gave 
 the Pharifees was no worfe, was but jull equal to the im- 
 port of the divine law, the law God gave to Mofes, the 
 very law which the Pharifees pretended to believe and 
 love, but which they really hated. Our Saviour therefore, 
 merited their relentment by thefe words, no more than 
 God the Father did by his law. And indeed, in the height 
 of all their religion and devotion, they hated God the 
 Father, as much as they did Jefus, his well beloved Son. — 
 And their hatred to the true God had led them to frame a 
 falfe image of God, in their own fancy, to fuit their own 
 hearts. This falfe image they loved, and were zealous for 
 his caufe. And this love and zeal, infinitely odious to God 
 as it was, they made a righteouinefs of and gloried in. — 
 This proud, Self-righteous Spirit, prepared them to 
 hate and murder the Son of God, the exprefs image of 
 his Father. And in their conduct, as in a glafs, the 
 nature and tendency of a Self-righteous Spirit may be 
 clearly feen. 
 
 IV. A Sin-extenuating, Self-juilifying, Self-righteous 
 Spirit, is cordially beloved, approved of, and juftified ; and 
 fo reigns in the heart of every unregenerate man ; how 
 great fcever the zeal of fome may feem to be againir. it. 
 For he who condemns it in' one fhape, may heartily like it 
 in another. And every unregenerate man, of whatever 
 profeilion, Arminian, Antinomian, or Calvinift, is at en- 
 mity againll: God and his law ; and therefore is difpofed 
 to juftify himfelf, and lay the blame upon his Maker. Be- 
 ing better inftrucled, many may keep their thoughts to 
 themfelves, as being rationally convinced they are wrong, 
 how naturally foever they flow from their hearts, nnd indi- 
 cate the true temper of their fouls; but thoufands will 
 
SEC, IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. 141 
 
 boldly fpeak out their minds, and in their ignorance at- 
 tempt tojuftify themfelves before their Maker. 
 
 " It is impoffible," c: irs one, " that 1 fhould love GoJ, 
 before 1 know my fins are pardoned : fur there is no love- 
 linefs in his nature in any other view." And if there is 
 no lovelinefs in his nature, but on this account ; then the 
 law, which without any refpeel to this requires us to love 
 Gcd with all the heart, is wrong. And io the man :s not 
 to blame, but (lands juRified, in his non-conformity to this 
 perfect rule of right. 
 
 " But the divine law requires finlefs perfection," fay§ 
 another, " and that on the penalty of eternal damnations 
 but this is more than any Ion of Adam can do." And 
 what confequence would he draw from thefe words, to 
 which he has no determinate ideas, as fuch men will admit 
 of no diiHnction between want of heart, and want of power 
 — What confequence, 1 fay r — Why, in his efteem, no fon 
 of Adam is to be blamed, for not being perfect as our 
 Father which is in Heaven is perfect. And fo an apoftate 
 world all ltand juftitied at once, in their net continuing in 
 nil things 'written i;i the bock of the lava to do them. And 
 therefore the holy one of lirael mr.it be condemned, for 
 denouncing the curfe in this cafe. And the Son cf God 
 muft be fuppofed to have died a facrifice to tyranny. All 
 which is no better than down-right blafphemy, pregnant 
 with Infidelity. But a felf-righteous heart will maintain 
 its ground, and Hand the fhock, although to the fubveriion 
 of all religion, natural and revealed. 
 
 Therefore 1 fay, a Self-righteous, Self-juftifying difpo- 
 fition, not only operates, but reigns in every unregeneratc 
 heart. It is loved, it is approved, it is jollified, it has fill 
 poileiTion of the heart. Even fo full pofleffion, as to be 
 proof againft all the miracles which fupport the truth of 
 divine Revelation. And therefore let God declare in his 
 law, that any defect of perfect obedience merits eternal 
 woe ; and let the goodnefs of this law be afTerted and 
 fealed by the blood of an incarnate God, it is all to nq 
 purpofe. A feif-j citifying heart will ftand its ground^ and 
 vindicate itfelf, in oppciition to all. 
 
 Oar blefled Saviour, the exprefs irrage of his Father.; 
 perfon, viewed the character of the Pharifees in the iame 
 light his Father's law did, and in his heart he verily 
 
 O 
 
I42 THE NATURE OF [SEC. IX. 
 
 though: " all Heaven ought forever to love and adore the 
 infinitely glorious Majeity, although they received their 
 juit ciefi-i t, and periflied forever." Ye ferpents, ye genera- 
 Hen of viper* , hew ecu ye efcape the damnation of liell?—~ 
 And had they viewed tliemfelvefi in the fame light, and 
 hzd an aafwerable frame of heart; they had not been djf- 
 guftcd, but rather pleaded with his character. "Truth, 
 Lord, we are fcrpents, we are a generation of vipers, an 
 infinitely odious and hateful race, worthy of the damnation 
 of Hell. Nor would it be a blemiih, but a beauty in the 
 divine conduct, to fend us thither". This would have been 
 to have thought foberly ci" themfelves, and as they ought 
 to ha\e thought. (1) But juit the reverfe was the temper 
 of their hearts. " You think damnation good enough for 
 r.3. And we think crucifixion good enougn for you. Away 
 with Inn, away vJttb him ! crucify him, crucify him /" — 
 And if thefe men had no cloak for their fin in our Saviour's 
 eyes, 1700 years ago, we may be allured that all our felf- 
 juilifying pleas, will be efteemed of no weight in his fight, 
 when he comes to jtidge the world according to his Fa- 
 ther's law, in all its rigour. 00 far, fo very .far from it, 
 
 (1) This would heme been to have thought foberly of them- 
 f elves, and as they ought to have thought. No, fays Mr. Cud- 
 worth, this would ba-ve been f< the fuinmit" of f elf -right eouf- 
 nefs, p. 224. That is f if the Pharifees bad viewed their 
 own character in that odious point cf light, in which Cbrift 
 did, it had been tie l.igheji degree of pride. — Why then were 
 not the Pharifees f leafed with that adieus characler Cbrifl 
 gave them f Why was not their pride gratified by thefe words, 
 Ye ferpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye efcape 
 the damnation of Hell ? Does Mr. Cudvccrth really believe, 
 that God the Father and God the Son viewed the character 
 of the Pharifees in a point of light, in -which, if the Pharifees 
 bad viewed themfelves, it mujl have cherijked and fed a Self- 
 righteous Spirit ? To believe this is worfe than infidelity. — 
 A\d yet this is implied in his charging my Theron with Self' 
 right coufmfs, merely for viewing his Characler, in the very light 
 in which it Jlocd in the eyes of God and of his Sen, in which 
 view he thought in his heart, that all Heaven ought forever 
 to " love and adore the infinitely glorious Majtjiy, although he 
 received his juf defer t and per: ; jbecl forever. ." And fo God the 
 Father thought, and fo thcught J ejus Chrijl his Son. 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. 142 
 
 that when he pronounces the final Sentence, Angels aid 
 Saints will fhout forth their Hallelujah's all around htm. 
 
 There is not a felf-j unifying Sinner on Earth, who has 
 a better plea to make in his own behalf than manv a Phari- 
 fee had. Can you fay, " I am ftritl in external dupes." 
 "I more," might the Pharifee fay. "All chefe things 
 have I kept from my you'.h up. Yea, as coaching the 
 righteoufnefs of the law, I am blamelefs. For lo ! thefe 
 many years do I fer\c thee, neither tr an fg raffed I at ar.y 
 time thy commandment." — " Yes, but I praclice many 
 difficult and felf-denying duties," faya the Sinner. " [ 
 more," fays the Pharifee, ** I hft twice in the week, and 
 give tythes of all that I pofiefs." — " But I am hearty ard 
 zealous in religion," fays the Sinner. — " I more," fays the 
 Pharifee ; " For with great expence and fatigue I compafj 
 fea and land to make profclytes." — " Bat I believe that 
 God loves me, and that I mall afluredly have eternal life, 
 and in this belief, I love God," fays the Sinner. — C I 
 more," fays the Pharifee ; '* For we know we not only 
 have Abraham to our Father, but God is our Father. And 
 J can thank God I am not as other rr.cn, in his very pre- 
 fence, for he knows how good and how upright I am." — 
 " Yes, bat the Pharifecs hated Jefus Chriih" fays the Sin- 
 ner. True, but no more than you hate that character of 
 God which is exhibited in that law, to do honour to which, 
 the Son of God laid down his life. They felt toward the 
 character of Jefus Chrift, juft as every felf-righteous Sin- 
 ner feels toward the character of God the Father exhibited 
 in his law. — '« Yes, but T believe the Gofocl, and they re- 
 jected it." You cordially believe the Gofpel in no othei 
 fort than they believed the writings of Mofes, viz. under- 
 flood in fuch a manner as to juftify them, even as they juf- 
 tified themfelves. In every other fenfe, whatever orthodox 
 profefiion the Self-righteous Sinner may make with his 
 mouth, yet in the temper of his heart, he rejects the Gof- 
 pel as much as they did. For no man believes that Jefus 
 is the Chrift, with all his heart, but he who is born of God . 
 i Joh. v. i. Indeed, you may give the Gofpel a new 
 meaning of your own, juit as they did the writings of Mo- 
 fes, and this new meaning you mav love ?nd believe cor- 
 dially, c\cn as they believed their pharifaical fcheme. But 
 the very truth you hate and oppefe in the temper of your 
 O 2" 
 
144 TiIE NATURE OF [SEC. IX. 
 
 . cvcb as they hated and oppofed Chrift in an open 
 
 and public manner. tl But it is impolfible this fhould be 
 
 :er, for then I am no better than an enemy to the 
 
 of Heaven," fays the Sinner. — True, exactly true. — 
 
 This is your very character in the fight of Heaven.. As it 
 
 is written, Rem. v?ii. 7. The carnal mind is e;:n:'i!y again/} 
 
 God, is '.;/ fubjeel to. lis lazv, neither indeed can be. And 
 
 iviour, the meek and lowly Jefus, told 
 
 the Pharifees, Ye ferments, ye generation of vipers. Nor 
 
 they any reafon to take this plain dealing iil at his 
 
 hands. 
 
 V. There is nothing fhort of the regenerating influen- 
 ces of the holy Spirit, that can effectually take down the 
 ~ri::e of a Self-righteous heart, and beget a difpofitien to 
 juftify GoJ, and take biame to ourfelves, anfwerable to 
 the import of the divine law. 
 
 Scriptural and rational arguments cannot do it. Rather 
 : Leviathan in the book of Job, rjieemetbiron as franv, 
 and brafs as rctten <vjocd j fo all Scriptural and rational 
 arguments arc before a Self-righteou3 heart. 
 
 Miracles are alfo inefficient. For when the Pharfees 
 could evade the force of them no other way, they would, 
 even in contradiction to common fenfe, declare, he'cajleth 
 out Devils by Beelzebub. Jufl as if Satan might be divided 
 again/} him/elf. 
 
 Nay, Scripture, and Reafon, and Miracles, all united 
 together, are not able to take down the pride of a felf- 
 righteoes heart. St. Paul tried them all, and he did his 
 bell:, and a little before his death, in an Epiftle to his fon 
 Timothy, he fairly owns himfelf beat. 2 Tim. iii. 13. E- 
 njil men and feducers Jhall nvax nvorfe and nvorfe, deceiving 
 find Icing deceived. He could make them fee that they 
 were inconfiitent with themfelves, and even make it appear 
 to others that they were felf-condemned ; but ftill they 
 would obftiaatcly maintain their felf- righteous principles, 
 although they were excommunicated for it. Tit. iii. 10, 
 1 1. And thefe men were our cnfamples, and thefe things 
 were written for our injlruclion. 
 
 For an impenitent Sinner to " believe that God loves 
 him and that his fins are forgiven," inllead of taking down, 
 naturally feeds the pride of a felf-righteous heart. Wit- 
 nefs the Pharifees of old. 
 
 To fay, " that we are to be perfectly pafiive, to do no- 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. 145 
 
 thing, to feel no motion in our hearts ; but to be juilined 
 without any act, exercife or exertion in the haman mind," 
 does not indeed agree with Scriptu r e language, which 
 calls upon us to repent and be converted, and believe in the 
 Lord Jefus Chrifl, that our Jin s may be blotted cut, and we be 
 Jawed ; however it is not fo difagfeeable to the pride of 
 an indolent, fluggiili heart, dead in fin, but that it may 
 pafs. For if men can but get a hope they (hall be faved, 
 without being brought down to own that God's character 
 is as glorious, and theirs as odious, as the divine law fup- 
 pofes, and fo without being nece&tattd to look to free grace 
 through Jefus Chrift, in that precipe point of light, in which 
 it is exhibited to view in the Gofpel, the life of A gag is 
 faved ; a proud, impenitent, Self-juftifying, Self-righteoaa 
 Spirit is unfubdued ; and the native enmity of the heart 
 again ft the divine Character, keeps its ground. And a 
 carnal heart, under terror, can, in a ftrait, bear with any 
 fcheme, in which thefe points may be faved. But to exalt 
 God fo high, and come down fo low, as in the lea ft degree 
 to anfwer to the import of the divine law, and to the im- 
 port of the crofs of Chrift, is Co diametrically oppofite to 
 the temper of a carnal heart, which is at enmity agair.it. 
 God, that nothing friort of the regenerating influences of 
 the Holy Spirit can effect it. 
 
 No conviction, from the Spirit of God, the mind of 
 a natural man, remaining fuch, is capable of, is fufficient 
 to ftrike death to the root of a proud, Self-righteous, Self- 
 juftifying difpofition. Great convictions of fin and guilt 
 a natural man is capable of. Yea, it is pcfiible the con- 
 fcience of a natural man may be fo awakened, as that he 
 may know, may be quite certain, that there is not the Icaft 
 jot of goodnefs in his heart ; Yea, that he is dead, alto- 
 gether dead in fin ; and fo has nothing in the world to 
 make a righteoufnefs of: whereby he may be driven to de- 
 fpair, totally to defpair of mercy, from this quarter; Yea, 
 and his mouth be fo ftopped, as that he has not one word 
 to fay for himfelf : vet all this, how much foever it may 
 knock down and ftun a Self-righteous Spirit, does not in 
 the leaft cure the mind of a Self-righteous difpofition, — 
 And nothing is wanting but materials to work upon, and 
 thp difpofition will rife again, and live and teign as high 
 as ever. Thus it is in fomc Sinners who have had great 
 O 3 
 
I46 THE NATURE OF [SEC. IX. 
 
 legal convi&icns, upon their receiving falfe comfort and 
 getting' falfe religious afrettions, they have been more 
 proud after their fappofed converfion than ever they were 
 before ; and more under the government of a Self-righ- 
 teous, Self jellifying Spirit. Proud when full of comfort; 
 and when their good feelings are all gone, virtually lay- 
 ing ail the blame to God, who, they fay, is withdrawn 
 from them, and they can do nothing of themfelves ; not 
 once imagining that they are really criminal, infinitely 
 criminal in the fight of God, for not loving the Lord their 
 God nuito all their hearts, according to the firft and great 
 command of God's holy law. And hence it is always dif- 
 ficult, to convince a deluded Sinner in proportion as his 
 falfe comforts and jovs have been great. Although in ftri<5t 
 truth, there is no more grace in the heart of the devouteft 
 Pharifee on Earth, than in the vilefl pirate that ever failed 
 the fea r -. For it is true of every unregenerate man, that 
 he is at evmity againft Gcd. Rom. viii. 7. 
 
 By the law is the knowledge cf fin ; and by the law a 
 natural man may fee that ho is a Sinner in fo compleat 
 a fenfe, as that he has nothing to make a righteoufnefs of; 
 and yet the felf-righteous diipcfuion may remain wholly 
 unmortified. Thus in this fenfe, no doubt, Satan now 
 knows, that lie is a Sinner ; and in this fenfe, it is certain, 
 iiatan and all wicked beings will know, at the day of 
 Judgment, that they are Sinners. However, the pride 
 of Sat.in's heart is not mortified now, nor will the pride of 
 oatan or any oth^r wicked being be flain by the convic- 
 tions they will receive at the day cf" Judgment. 
 
 Nothing can effectually take down the heart, fhort of 
 that light, in which the divine law and our own character is 
 feen, through the regenerating influences of the holy Spi- 
 rit. If before regeneration the commandment come, Jin re^ 
 <vivc, and I die, in a fort ; yet all this is fore againft the 
 of the heart : but it is in regeneration, that 1 throuph 
 the law a?:i cordially dead to the la-iv, that 1 may li<ve to 
 God. Tc^r, 
 
 A di - to juftify ourfclves, in not loving God with 
 
 will itfelf actually die and ceaie to be, and 
 the c< .'ion take place, only in proportion as 
 
 Gcd appears to cur fouls worthy of cur fupreme love. — 
 It is this, and nothing fl.crt of this, which will incline us, 
 frocuhe heart, of our own accord, to take all the blame of 
 
SEC. IX.] A SELF-RIGHTEOUS SPIRIT. I47 
 
 our difaffeclion to the divine Character home to ourfelves. 
 And lb while :ne divine law is viewed in the iight of the 
 divine glory, it will appear as it never did befure, holy, 
 jull and good, a glorious law ; and it will ccme to pds, 
 as it is written ; / through the lazv urn d<.ad to the la-iv, that 
 I may live to God. 
 
 Trie damned will at the day cf Judgment have fuch a 
 knowledge of God and of ihemieives, as will convince 
 their conlcie-ces, that the law is juit. Rom. ii 5. Jude 15. 
 Sore againft their wills, they wiii be forced to own, that 
 God ought to have been loved and obeyed ; and that they 
 deferve damnation for their oifarfection and rebellion. — 
 But, being blind to the holy beauty of the divine Nature, 
 they will feel no inclination, no free, genuine, cordial 
 difpofition to take the blame of their difarfedion and re- 
 bellion home to themfelves. Their proud, felf-j unifying 
 temper will remain unmodified, while they are confeience 
 convinced that they are abfolutely without excufe. They 
 would be heartily glad to excufe themfelves and lay t:;e 
 blame upon God, if they could. Their old difpofuion 
 that way will be wholly alive : but their mouths will be 
 flopped. And therefore they will blafpheme God, and be 
 felf condemned, bo:h at once. An amazing, dreadful ft ate. 
 
 But in regeneration, the Sinner is brought to fuch a 
 view of God, as an abfolutely perfect, infinitely glorious 
 and amiable Being ; and to fuch a view of the divine law 
 as holy, juif. and good, a glorious law ; as even begins to 
 kill a felf- righteous, felf-j unifying difpofuion in the bot- 
 tom of the heart. And from the inmoft foul the man be- 
 gins to fee, think, and feel that God is wholly right, and 
 that he himfelf is wholly wrong ; and fo from the heart 
 to give up every fin-extenuating, felf-juftifying plea, and 
 cordially to take the whole blame to himfeif and frankly 
 to own the honed truth. / have fenced againft Heaven and 
 in thy fights and am no more worthy to be called thy Son. — 
 God be merciful unto me a finver. 
 
 And now and not till now, will he begin to fee that h* 
 needs that kind of pardon which the Gofpel offers. A par- 
 don which fupn^ies, that our difaffecuon to the Deity is 
 entirely inexcufkble, yea infinitely criminal. So very cri- 
 minal that the blood of an incarnate God was neceuv'-y to 
 make atonement for it, that confident with the honour of 
 the divine Goverament, it might be forgiven. 
 
I48 THE NATURE OF [sEC. IX. 
 
 And now, and not till now, will he begin to fee the 
 atonement or Chrift. For till now he will not begin to fee 
 his difaffe&ion to the Deity (o very criminal, as to render 
 fuch . lenl needful, in order to his being pardoned, 
 
 confiilent with t.ie divine nonour. 
 
 Ana as bis fenfe of God, as an abfo'utely perfect, infi- 
 nirely glorious and amiable Being, increaieth ; and his 
 fenfe of the divine law as holy, juil and good, a glorious 
 law, honoured on the crofs by the blood of an incarnate 
 God ; snd his fenfe of the inexcufubienefs and infinite evil 
 of not loving God with all his heart; as a fenfe of thefe 
 increafes, his proud, felf-righteous, felf-juftifying difpofi- 
 tion will die; and iiis need of Chrift and free grace appear 
 
 in aclearerand clearer light. No man fofenfible of his 
 
 need of Chriil and hee grace, as the Apoftle Paul, who 
 beyond doubt was the hulieit of all mere men, that ever 
 lived. ~-I through tie laiv am dead to the lavo t that I may 
 live to God. 1 am crucified voith Chrift. 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 T'be Nature and Co?ifequences of Spiritual Blindnefs : and 
 how the God of this world blinds the minds of them 
 that believe net. 
 
 "\A/ r H EN it is faid, that Satan provoked or itirred up 
 * ^ David to number Ij'rael, (1 Chron. xxi. 1) it is not 
 to be imagined, that the corruptions of his own heart did 
 not move him to that deed. This was no doubt the true 
 ftate of the cafe, (ver. 17) and Satan only took advantage 
 of thofe corruptions to fet him on. So when it is faid, 
 that the God of this vcorld blinds the minds of them thai be- 
 lieve not, lejl the light of the glorious Gcfpel of Chrift ', vjho is 
 the image of God, jbould ftjine unto them j no doubt the cor- 
 ruptions of the human heart lie at the bottom of all that 
 criminal blindnefs, which Satan endeavours to encreafe and 
 firenghten by all ways in his power. 
 
 The queflion therefore comes to this, €t What is there 
 in the human heart, which renders men blind to the glory 
 
SEC. X.] SPIRITUAL B-LIN'DNESS. 149 
 
 of the Gofpel." Or in other words, "What is there in 
 the heart of a fallen creature, which renders hirn blind to 
 the beauty and glory of the divine Nature, (Lining wi:h 
 fo mucii brightnefs, in the Gofpel- way offalvation through 
 the blood of Chrift :'' For if Man were not a fallen, de- 
 praved, vicious creature, he could not be blind to fuch 
 beauty ; a beatity which affects the hearts and engages the 
 attention of all the ang:-lical Plods, who have rot that (pe- 
 cial concern in the affair which we have. They defire — 
 earneftly defire to look into thefe thing.-., i Pet. i. 12. And 
 difcern in them the manifold wifdom of God. Eph. iii. 10. 
 
 I. Spiritual Blindnefs confifts primarily in the want of 
 Spiritual Sight : or in not beinci: femlble of the lovelinefs, 
 beauty and glory of divine things, as they are in them- 
 felves. There is a natural beauty and glory in the natural 
 world, in the fun, moon and flars, &e. which men fee who 
 are not naturally blind : fo there is a holy, heavenly, divine 
 beauty and glory in divine things, in God and Chrift, in 
 the Law and Gofpel, &c. which men fee, who are not fpi- 
 ritually blind. The word Blind nefty which is applied to 
 the mind, is borrowed from one of cur external fenfes ; — 
 and in its original fignificatiou, means a privation of fight. 
 So it was with the man born blind. He was deftitute of the 
 fight of his eyes from his birth. But this outward blind - 
 nefs, although in feveral refpedls a great refemblance of 
 inward Spiritual Blindnefs ; as a blind man hns no more 
 idea of natural beauty, than one fpiritually blind has of 
 divine beauty; yet there is this great effential difference be- 
 tween the blindnefs of the eyes, and the Spiritual Blindnefs 
 of the mind, viz. One is the nature of a calamity fimply, the 
 other is not only a calamity, but i? alfo of a vicious nature, 
 in itfelf properly a crime ; as it is feated chiefly in the 
 heart, andconfiits in being itupid to that divine beauty and 
 lovelinefs, with which the mind cught to be deeply affec- 
 ted. To have no reliih for holy beauty, to have no heart 
 to look upon holinefs itfelf a lovely thing, is equivalent to 
 having no heart to love the holy one of Ifrael, who is 
 the God of glory ; which beyond all doubt is criminal, and 
 that in a very high degree. 
 
 Were we acquainted with a man, who appeared to be 
 without any fpark of generofity or friendfhip in his heart, 
 a man that cared not in the lead for his neighbour's wel- 
 fare or for the public good, and even without natural affecr 
 
150 THE NATURE OF [SEC. X* 
 
 tion to his own offspring, no feeling to any intereft but his 
 own ; common feufc would teach us to look upon ftfch a 
 chr. racier as very vicious. And if he was blind to thewaritl 
 of the poor, and deaf to their cries, wc mould look upon 
 that blindncfs ^.nd deafnffs of a criminal nature. And the 
 more blind and dc^f, the more criminal fhculd we pro- 
 nounce the man. And by parity of reafon, if we are blind 
 to the lovelinefl of the moil excellent Being in thcuniverfe, 
 diicovered in the cleared and brightefi: manner, it mufl, 
 by all holy Beings, by all good Judges, be looked upon as 
 being of the nature df a crime. If a hard hearted man juf- 
 tiftes himlelf in being blind to the diilreffing wants of the 
 poor, every feif-julHijir.g pica, in the eyes of his benevo- 
 lent neighbour, will render his character fo much the more 
 vile and odious. And if to be blind to the beauty of the 
 divine Nature, ever fo clearly revealed, is no crime ; then 
 it is no crime not to love Gcd : i. e. no crime to live in 
 the breach of the firft and great command, and no crime to 
 be without tlrt which is the chief foundation of all Reli- 
 gion. And we may as well fay, there is no crime in a to- 
 tal difregard to aii Eeing in general, and in being entirely 
 under the government of felfifh affections. Which is as 
 abfurd, as to fay, that there is nothing in the fyftem, worth 
 the leaf! regard, but ourfelves. And therefore in the lan- 
 guage of Scripture, a heart off cm, that is, a blind, fenfe- 
 lefs, ftupid heart, is one name given to a wicked ungodly 
 heart. Becaufe in Scripture account, to be as blind, fenfe- 
 lefs, and flupid to the glory of divine things as a ilone, is 
 of a criminal nature. A heart of ftone is a wicked heart. 
 Our blefTed Saviour, by all he fiid and did, gave himfelf a 
 character without a b]en:i(h, perfecl in beauty. His Difci- 
 plcs, were but poor illiterate fifnermen, beheld bis glory, as 
 the glory of the only begotten Son of Gcd. Others, who were 
 gentlemen of good ier.fe and a polite education, wife and 
 prudent, were fo far from difcerning any for m or comelinefs 
 in him, that they cried. He is a Samaritan, and hath a De- 
 vil 1 why hear ye him? And therefore, as their blindnefs 
 to the beauty of his chiracler was not for want of natural 
 abilities, or outward advantages, but owing entirely to the 
 ftate of their minds, to the frame of their hearts ; Co it was 
 altogether of a criminal nature. And they had no cloak for 
 their fin, in our Saviour's judgment. To fay, they had 
 fomc cloak, and were not altogether criminal in their 
 
SEC. X.] SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 151 
 
 blindnefs ; is to fay, there was fame blemilh in our Savi- 
 our's character : Which is no better than downright In- 
 fidelity. 
 
 II. Spiritual blindnefs which originally confifts in a want 
 of relilh for holy beauty, for that beauty which is pecu- 
 liar to holy beings and holy things, and is criminal consi- 
 dered as fnch ; is capable of being greatly increafed and 
 confirmed through the exercife and intiuence of the various 
 corruptions of a wicked heart, whereby it may become 
 criminal in a (till higher degree. And here the Gcd of this 
 world may have a great hand in blinding the minds of 
 them that believe not, leil the light of the glorious Gofpel 
 mould mine unto them. 
 
 Thus to a worldly heart, the Devil m?.y poflibly prefent 
 the glory of this world, the glory of riches, honours, and 
 pleafures, in fo flrong a light:, as quite to carry away the 
 mind from all ferious thoughts about God and Chrift, and 
 a future (late. They fay unto God, depart from us, for ivg 
 defre not the knowledge cfthy ways. So that when the Gof- 
 pel is preached in all its glory, it (hall not be able to gain 
 the lead regard ; nay, not fo much as to gain the leaft at- 
 tention of the mind. And when fermon is over, like the 
 generality of the Jews in Chrilt's day, they make light of it 
 and go their way, one to his farm, and another to his merchan- 
 dize. By this means multitudes, if not by far the greater part 
 of ungodly men, under the Gofpel, live and die, fo inat- 
 tentive to the Gofpel fcheme; as never to gain any consi- 
 derable acquaintance with it. They are too indifferent 
 about the matter ever to get, what is called, a doctrinal 
 knowledge of the Chriilian Religion. So alfo the young 
 and gay part of mankind, are eager in the purfuit of paf- 
 times, merriments and (ports, to the entire neglect of all 
 divine things, while Satan is not wanting to do all he may 
 to pulh them on, that they may never attend to the glorious 
 Gofpel of Chrift. And while mankind thus ferve divers 
 lulls and pleafures, and live in malice and eavy befides, hate- 
 ful and hating one another, the Gcf-el is to them, like the 
 feed, which fell by the way-fide, all thrown away and left. 
 But if by the various (hocking calamities of this life- 
 and the apparent certainty of death, or through the awak- 
 ening influences of the hoi y Spirit, or by any other means, 
 wicked men are rendered attentive to the Gcfpel Revela- 
 tion, and folicitous about their eternal interefl ; yet if 
 upon a nearer view of things, their native diflike to God's 
 
I52 THE NATURE OF [sEC. X. 
 
 holy law, takes occafion to arifc and ferment, it may finally 
 and forever keep them biind to the giory of the Gofpel of 
 Chrift. And all ch.ir ftudy and pains may only lead them 
 into I s oi'fecret fcepticifm, where many pro- 
 
 fefled Chi it and are loit : not knowing what 
 
 they arc, ore they are, nor what to believe, nor 
 
 . to expect : but arc at a total uncertainty about 
 everv thing themfejves, Lnd imagine it entirely owing 
 to wan: or thought, that all mankind are not as much 
 puz^lc-d as they be. While others are driven by their 
 prejudices agiinil the divine Law and glorious Gof- 
 pel into open Infidelity, not in the ieaft fuipecling that the 
 fault is in themfelves. While others of juit the lame tem- 
 per, through falfe and delufive joys, from a groundlefs 
 periuafion of God's love to them, profefs the greateil zeal 
 for the Gofpel, which, at the fame time, rightly underftood, 
 they difbelieve and hate with all their hearts. 
 
 If a man begins to ftudy the Bible, he will foon find, 
 that according to that book, all mankind are naturally 
 under a law which requires perfect obedience on pain of 
 eternal death ; and that this law, by which all mankind 
 (land guilty before God, is efteemed holy, juit and good: 
 and that it was in this view God gave his Son to die in our 
 fteiid ; to be made a curfe to redeem us from its curfe. — 
 But how blind mufta man be to the wifdom of God in the 
 death of his Son, to whom the divine law appears fo far 
 from deferving fuch high honour, as rather to be a blemilh 
 in the divine Character, that ever God made it. And 
 how mocked, Humbled and confounded, muft fuch a man 
 be at the croTs of Chrift? — Unlefs fome cunning way can 
 be contrived to delude one's felf. " He died for mc," fays 
 one, u even for rue in particular; and I verily believe I 
 fhall have life and fulvation by him." And thus all diffi- 
 culties are folvcd in a moment. For if he is fafe, he cares 
 net how. If he is freed from the curfe, he is content the 
 law mould be reputed holy, juft and good. Although in 
 any other view he cannot think of it, without hatred and 
 heart-rifings. — " He died to purchafe an abatement of the 
 law," fays another. Not confidering that if the law was 
 before, juft what it ought to be, holy, juft and good, it 
 needed no abatement. And if the law was not fo good as 
 it might have been, the abfolute perfection of the divine 
 Nature would have effectually moved the Deity to bring it 
 
SEC. X.] SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 153 
 
 to be perfectly holy, juft and good, nor was any Medlatoi 
 needed in the cafe. — ** Bat furely," fays the benighted 
 foul whom the Gcd of this world hath blinded, '* if 1 do as 
 well as I can, 1 iliall be faved. For it cannot be juit to require 
 of me more than i " can do, and then damn me for not do- 
 ing. " O Sinner, if you have a heart to do all, that in 
 reafon you ought to do, to recommend you to the divine 
 favour, do it : and you ihall live. But then remember, 
 there is no occafion, that Chrift ihould do any thing for 
 you. You will have done enough for yourfelf. And fo 
 Chrift is dead in vain, and Chriitianity is overthrown. 
 
 " But/' fays the Sinner, and in what he fays, he difcoveri 
 how blind he is, how far from feeing the beauty of the di- 
 vine nature as it mines in the law and the Gofpel, and in 
 all the divine difpenfations toward mankind from the be- 
 ginning and how far from believing with all his heart 
 and acquiefcing with all his foul in the Golpel way of fal- 
 vation through the blood of Chrilc, how loath to take that 
 blame to himfelf which belongs to him, and how ready to 
 impute iniquity to his Maker. — u But," fays the Sinner, 
 " if no doings of mine will intitle me to life, if the law 
 I am under requires more than I can do, and damns me for 
 the leaft failing ; then I am in an undone ftate in fpite of 
 my utmoft efforts. And where is the jullice of this ? Or 
 how is this confident with the goodnefs of the divine Na- 
 ture ? For God to bring me into a ilate of being worfe than 
 not to be, and then to hold himfelf unobliged to grant me 
 any relief, at liberty to have mercy on whom he will have 
 mercy ! O that I had never been born ! or that I could now 
 ceafe to be ! O why has God thus dealt with me? Did I 
 fin and fall in Adam? Nay, I never chofe him to be my 
 reprefentative. It was he that eat the forbidden fruit 
 and not I, and that thoufands of years before I was 
 born." (i) So that it appears to him, that the whole of 
 the divine conduct toward him has been hard, unjuft, 
 and injurious. And Satan, the God of this World, delights 
 to hold him bound down under this blindi-efs, that the 
 light of the glorious Gofpel of Chrift may never fhine into 
 his heart j but rather, that as the Ifraelites provoked God 
 
 (l) See Mr. Edwards on Original Bin, for the fclution tf 
 difficulties relative to that dotinne. 
 
 V 
 
154 TllL NATURE OF [SEC. X. 
 
 togive them upby their murmurings ; (Num. xiv.) fo it may 
 come to pafs in this cafe. And fo he become more and 
 more irritated ag^inil the divine Majefty ; 'till led by Satan , 
 he may grow bold to catch hold of lome falfe comfort, or to 
 deny ihut there is any fuch God, or Law, or Gofpel, and 
 fo get eafe; or othervvife fink down into defpair, and an 
 habitual blafphemous temper, in as near a reiemblance of 
 the Devil as he can bring him ; who naturally defires that 
 all intelligences may think as ill of God and of his go- 
 vernment, as he himfeif does. — Or it may anfwer Satan's 
 ends in fome cafes perhaps as well, if he can lead one to 
 believe, that God has altered his mind, has judged his law 
 too fevere, has given it up, has appointed his Son, to die, 
 and by his death to eftablifh a milder conftitution, in which 
 we are not obliged cordially to approve the divine law 
 with application to ourfelves, and look only to free Grace 
 through JefusChrift ; but allowed to look upon the law as 
 too fevere, and upon the Gofpel asdengned in our favour, 
 a remedy againft that feverity. I fay, this perhaps may 
 anfwer the Devil's ends as well ; for on this icheme, God's 
 original and only law is given up as tyrannical ; and the 
 gift of Chrift to die, inftead of doing honour to the law, 
 is rather an acknowledgement that we had been hardly 
 dealt with, and defigned to make us amends, and do us 
 juftice. So God, juft as the Devil would have it, muft have 
 pafled for a tyrant, had he not given up his law, and ap- 
 pointed his Son to die for us, as it were by way of reftitution, 
 to make us amends and do us juftice. — This is the charac- 
 ter the Devil, that avowed enemy to God, his law and 
 government, would be glad to fix on the Almighty ; that 
 his own expulfion out of Heaven, for a breach of the di- 
 vine law, might be univerfally looked upon, as a cruel, 
 tyrannical act, through all God's dominions; and it come 
 to be the general opinion, that God, in his cafe alio, is 
 obliged in juftice to grant fome relief. Nor can any thing 
 fuit the Devil better, than to fee Chriftian Divines grow 
 zealous to prove, that his punifhment, confident with the 
 divine perfections, cannot be eternal. Could he bring the 
 whole fyftem to be of this mind, and had he power funi- 
 cient on his fide, we may ealUy guefs, what a grand re- 
 volution be would foon make in the empire of the GREAT 
 ETERNAL. He would treat God the Father, as the Jews 
 treated God the Son, and from the fame fpiiit. But the 
 
SEC. X.] SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 155 
 
 Throne of the Almighty is eftablifhed for ever and ever: 
 God reigns, and will for ever reign : and blefled be his glo- 
 rious name for ever. And let all that love him, faf r A**». 
 
 It is plain from Scripture, that Satan, who was once an 
 innocent Being, and in a Hate oi' probation, and under a 
 law which threatened eternal deilruclion to the breaker or 
 it, and who for his fin was call out of Heaven and doomed 
 to eternal woes, is now an avowed enemy to God and his 
 government. And if we view him, as the God of this 
 world, at the head of the powers of darknefi, ruling in the 
 children of difobedience, his attempts to dethrone God in 
 the hearts of men, and let up himfelf in his Head, and his 
 great fuccefs, may be feen in the untverfal ignorance of 
 God, and wide fpfead of idolatry among all naions of the 
 Earth through a long fuccefTion of age:-. Nor could the 
 thunder of Mount Sinai prevent Ifrael from making a calf, 
 nor all God's mighty works, nor the warnings and tears 
 of his prophets keep idols out of the holy land ; but from 
 time to time they were eager to adopt the Gods and the 
 religious worfhip of the Heathen. And what that was 
 the Apoftle tells us. i Cor. x. 20. The things which ibt 
 Gentiles facrijice, t!:cy Luvijice to Dentils end t;ot to God. 
 
 Such was his enmi:y againit the molt High — ?.nd his 
 hatred of the divine law and government is equally mani- 
 fci\, in all the methods he takes, to prejudice mankind 
 agair.ft religion in general : And particularly, in all the 
 methods he takes, to propagate an ill idea of the divine 
 law, through the Chriitian world ; that thereby the fpecial 
 defign of Chriit's death, to do honour to it, might not beat- 
 tended to, or ifattended to, the gloryuf the dcfign not be feen. 
 
 And all this ccnducl of Satan may be eafily accounted 
 for.— Foe, if the divine law, which threatens eternal dam- 
 nation to the tranfgreflbr, is holy, jull and good, then the 
 Cxpulfion of Satan out of Heaven for his fin, was a righte- 
 ous ad. W all mankind like Ifrael of old, who when tie 
 curfe of the law was twelve times pronounced, twelve 
 times anfwered amen ; I fay, if all mankind mould unite 
 in a difpofition underftandingly to pronounce the divine 
 law, holy, juft and good, they would therein virtually, as 
 with one voice, declare for God, nnd againft Satan. And 
 the juftice of his punifhment, being thus univerfally ac- 
 knowledged in this world, where he claims to be a God, 
 P 2 
 
156 THE NATURE DP [SEC. X. 
 
 would ungod him, and turn him into a Devil, and put him 
 to the utmoft coniuiion. And would above all things tend 
 troy his influence, and bring his kingdom to ruin ; 
 pen a way for the glory, the tranfeendent glory of 
 the Gofpeiof Jefus Chriit to be feen among mankind. The 
 cenfequences of which would be dreadful to the caufe of 
 Satan in tne world. 
 
 For only think a moment, what the confequences muft 
 be. — \i the law is holy, juft and good, glorious and ami- 
 wo. thy to be magnified and made honourable — the 
 Devil is juftly damned. It was a glorious and praife-worthy 
 act in the Almighty, a beauty in his Character, for which 
 he deferves to be forever loved and adored through his 
 dominions, to doom him and his adherents to eternal woe. 
 A fallen iinful world too are juftly doomed to death. It 
 a God-like, glorious deed. — An atonement of infinite 
 .., to do honour to the Jaw, and fe: fin in all its hor- 
 1 , was needed j that God might fit upon a throne of grace, 
 ind ye: be juft. God's giving his Son to die was a moft 
 . us airplay of all the divine perfections — Chrift cruci- 
 fied, is the wifdom of God and the power of God — Satan 
 is a liar. — All thole ill thoughts of God and of his ways, 
 which our wicked hearts are naturally inclined to fugged, 
 and which Satan loves to foment, are falfeand blafphemous 
 — and the holy Scriptures are infallibly the Word of God ; 
 and it is cur duty and higheft iniereft to repent and turn 
 to God through Jefus Chrift. — And if this mould become 
 the general fentiment, Satan would foon have no fubjecls 
 left. The holy Scriptures, I fay, are infallibly the Word 
 of God, once grant the law to be holy, juft and good. 
 
 No book but the Bible fets God fo high, brands fin with 
 fuch eternal infamy, and fo effectually fecures the divine 
 Authority. And pray, who was the author of this book? 
 Not Satan, I daie fay, whofe character flands condemned 
 throughout, and who hates the whole genius and fpirit of 
 it, with all his heart. Not wicked men, who cannot bear 
 with it although proved to be divine by mighty works, and 
 figns and wonders. Not good angels nor good men, who 
 could have no motive thus to impofe theirown faying on man 
 kind, as a revelation from Heaven. No being in the Univerfe 
 could be the author of the Bible but God himfelf — that very 
 law, which tempts a blind, wicked world to infidelity, is a 
 full proof, that God, and none but God, could be its author. 
 
SEC. X.] SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 157 
 
 And how void of any real weight, yea, how impious, 
 to holy beings above, in whofe eyes the divine Character 
 is without a blemim, perfect in beauty, muit our grand 
 objection to the divine law appear ? " / have no heart to 
 love the Lord, and therefore it ought not to be required oi 
 me." Which if we would be honeft, is the only objection 
 againft the divine law, we have to make in this ap'oitate 
 World: unlefs we will impioufiy fay, " that he is not in- 
 finitely amiable in himieif, i. e. is not an abfolutely perfect 
 being, i. e. is not God. And fo does not deferve iuch fu- 
 preme refpecl at our hands." For it is contrary to com- 
 mon fenfe to fay, that it is difficult to love a perfectly a- 
 miable chara&er, which perfectly fuits our hearts. And it 
 is a di&ate of common ienfe, that the more amiable a be- 
 ing is, the greater is our obligation to love him, and the 
 greater our bLme if we do not. And fo if God is infinitely 
 lovely, our obligation, and confeqnently our blame, mult 
 be infinitely great. And fo the penalty of the law is ex- 
 actly what it ought to be. 
 
 " But we have loft our power to love God by the fall, 
 and it is a dictate of common i'enCe, that it is not juft to re- 
 quire more of us than we can do." — Pray what power have 
 we loft? Wicked men have no heart to love God, I grant. 
 This is that, in which their wicked nefs connits, they would 
 no: be wicked men were it not for this. But had they an 
 heai t to love him, it would bean eafv, Aveet delightful thing. 
 We never complain of want of pover to love the world. 
 'Tis eafy to love the world. And why ? Becaufe the world 
 is really more lovely than God ? No, rather becaufe we 
 have an heart to love the world, but no heart to iove God. 
 The world fuits our hearts, but God does not. Now, 
 can our having no heart to love God, free us from our 
 obligation, or ieflen our blame ? I appeal to common fenfe. 
 Am 1 a father; 1 expect my child will love, honour and 
 obey me. Am I a matter; 1 expect to be regarded as 
 fuch. Should my child, mould my fervant, plead and fay, 
 " I have no heart," I mould j adge him to blame and wor- 
 thy of punimment for that very thing. Mai. i. 6. A fon 
 banoureth his father and a Servant bis mafler j if t then le a 
 father, where is mine honour? And if 1 be a mafter, where 
 is my fear ? Jaith the Lord of Hofts. — Or {hall we fay, The 
 <worfe me. i grow, the lejs to blame they be. A maxim, the 
 P 3 
 
I58 THE NATURE OF SEC. X. 
 
 Devil himfeif cannot but know to be falfe, how glad foever 
 he might be, for the hike of his own character, to have it 
 pa's fur true. — Behdes, this is the Scripture account of the 
 matter. — For, 
 
 When God of old required the Ifraelites to love him 
 with all their hearts, ana to ferve him widi all their fouls; 
 and they appeared fo forward to engage it ; God who 
 Fully knew what they were, and the only difficulty there 
 was in the way of their yielding an entire obedience to his 
 law, breaks out in this very expreffive language, Deut. v. 
 28, 29. 1 have beard the voice of tt.e words of this people, 
 111 bid.' the} have fpoken unio thee : they have well faid ull (hut 
 they havefpeken : o that there were such an heart 
 in them. As if he had laid, "Then there would be no 
 difficulty: and their promifes might be trufted." But as 
 the Pfalmift declares, Pfa1. Ixxviii. 37. Their heart was not 
 right with him: neither were they Jiedfajl in his covenant. — 
 And again, Pi'al. lxxxi. 11, 12. V\y people would not 
 hearken to my voice J and Ijrael would none of me : So 1 gave 
 them up — In a word, 
 
 The fault is in our hearts, or the divine Character; for 
 it can be no where elfe — to fay, the fault is not in, us; is 
 to fay, tiisr it is in God. To fay, that our blindnefs to 
 the divine Glory is not criminal; is to fay, that there is no 
 glory in the divine Nature. And whatever we plead for 
 our justification, is implicitly to God's condemnation. For 
 it is a plain cafe, that the jews could alledge nothing to 
 jufhfy their dif.e'ilh to the character of Jefus Chrift, but 
 what would be of the nature of a reflection upon that cha- 
 racter. For if his character was good and amiable, they 
 were to blame in not being flruck with its beauty. 
 
 To fay, that we 3re dead in fin, by way of excufe ; is to 
 fay, that iin is not fin. For if fin is fin, then to be dead 
 in fin, is the greater fin. That is, to be wholly under the 
 power of fin, is more criminal than to be but partly under 
 its power. Otherwife, Sin is no more fin. For if the 
 more fmful we be, the lefs to blame we are, then fin is no 
 more fin. It has changed its nature; and become an in- 
 nocent thing. 
 
 Let the matter be ftricYiy examined, and it will be found, 
 that Spiritual Blindnefs, which has been thought rather a 
 calamity than a vice, is really as much of a criminal na- 
 ture, as any kind cf fin we can think of. It contains in it 
 
SEC. X. SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 159 
 
 all kinds of wickednefs in embryo. It is itfelf, an aver- 
 iion to all good. Its feat is in the heart. It is not owing 
 to the fmallnefs of our natural capacities ; for Satan, who 
 is a being of great abilities, and of a fine genius* is as blind 
 to the beauty of divine things, as the n&oft Rapid Sinner 
 in the world. It is not owing to the want or external 
 inftruction : for Judas had as much of that as Peter. It is 
 not owinj.; to the terrors of the law and the fears of Hell, 
 and doubting of the love of God; for the Pharifees, who 
 were in full exptcUtion of eternal glory, were but the 
 blinder for it. No : rather it is ti-.e very fpirit of an a- 
 pofhte creature, to be blind to the beauty <}f the divine Na- 
 ture. It is the beginning of our diiafvection to God, and 
 it increaies as our aiiafrection increales. It is the darknefs 
 of the Frir.ce of Darknefs-, of the fame nature with his 
 blindnefs. It is that which gives the Prince of Darknefs 
 his chief power over us, to make us think and feel and act 
 as he would have us. It is that which confritutes us mem- 
 bers of the kingdom of Darknefs, and piepares us volun- 
 tarily and of free choice to walk according to the courie 
 of this World, according to the Prince of the Power of 
 the air. It makes us full proof againft the cleareit exter- 
 nal manifestations which can be made of the divine Glory. 
 Having eyes, we fee not; and having ears, we hear not; 
 neither do we underiland : although the glories of the God 
 of Glory fhine ail around us, in all his works, and in all 
 his ways ; even fo, that in the view of the inhabitants of 
 Heaven, the whole Earth is full of his glory. 
 
 To fay, that Spiritual Blindnefs is no crime, is in effect 
 to affirm, that there is no beauty in the divine Nature. — 
 Which to afieit, is fubverfive of a!i Religion, natural and 
 revealed. 
 
 To acknowledge, that Spiritual Blindnefs is a crime, is 
 to own it to be a breach of that law, which requires us to 
 love God with all our hearts, on pain of eternal woe. It 
 is therefore to own it to be a crime infinitely blame-wor- 
 thy, and for which the eternal pains of Hell are juftly due; 
 for every breach of that law is fuch. And this, beyond all 
 doubt, is the very truth of the cafe. 
 
 But if Spiritual Elindnefs be thus criminal, no mercy can 
 be expected from God, in the cafe, on the foot of the law. 
 So far from it, that if he deals with us merely according to 
 flrict juftice, and renders to us according to our defert, he 
 
l60 THE NATURE OF SEC. X- 
 
 mull punifh us with eternal damnation for it. So far, fo 
 very fir, is Goo from being obliged to grant us the en- 
 lightening influences of hi^ Holy Spirit. As the gift of 
 his "-on, to be a Redeemer, was an act of the freeft grace 
 to a revolt- a. guilty world ; fo the ^ift of his Spirit, to be 
 an Enliehtener, is an aft o; grace equally tree. He paf- 
 i'cd by the finning Angels, and did nor give his Son to die 
 for them ; and lie is at liberty among the fons cf men, to 
 pais by whom he pleafes, as to the gift of his Spirit. And 
 in this affair, he actually doth have mercy, on inborn be <ivill 
 have mercy. The Elect obtain, and the reji are blinded. — 
 And his conduct is plainly vindicable, once granting, that 
 our blindnefs is our fin ; and that God might juirly have 
 halo all mankind bound by law, and never provided relief 
 of any kind. And if we affirm, that God could not juitly 
 have held all mankind bound by law, but was obliged to 
 provide relief, the whole Gofpel, which claims to be of 
 mere grace, is overthrown. We muft, then, own the law 
 to be good, and our blindnefs to be our crime, and God 
 at liberty to relieve us or not, according to the good plea- 
 fure of his will, or turn Infidels — or, which is as bad, be 
 inconfiflent, and fo felf-condemned, as Kereticks, after two 
 admonitions, were wont to be, in the Apcfioiic age. 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 The Nature of Divine Illumination. 
 
 A S the Gofpel is bid to them that are loft ; and as all who 
 believe not, are blind to its glories ; fo on the other 
 hand, all true Saints fee its glory. The light of the glorious 
 Gofpel of J ejus Chrift , who is the image of God, Jhines unto 
 them. The light cf the knowledge cf the glory of God in the 
 face of J ejus Cbrijl pines in their hearts. And beholding the 
 glory of the Lord, they are changed into the fame image, from 
 glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. Thus the mat- 
 ter is expxelTcd in the unerring oracles of truth. But — 
 What is the glory fec-n ? — How is it feen ? — What is the 
 nature of the fight? — And why is it reprefented to be pe- 
 culiar to the faved ? — And wherein does it differ from what 
 Hnregenerate men may experience ? 
 
SEC. XI.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. l6l 
 
 I. The glory Teen is divine glory. It is the beauty 
 and amiablenefs of God's moral character, on the account 
 of which, the Deity is infinitely lovely in himfelf. — It is 
 the glory of God's moral perfections, which renders him 
 the fup.-eme delight of Angels and Saints. The Apoltle 
 exprefsly calls it, The glory of the Lord. And again, the 
 glory of God. It is the very glory and beauty of the di- 
 vine Nature itfelf: a glory as peculiar to God, as his own 
 Divinity is. Yea, it is the brightnefs of the very Divinity 
 itfelf. So, that lie who hath feeu this Glory, hath, in the 
 language of Scripture, y^ God. Math, v. 8. and known God, 
 Joh. xvii. 3. i }oa. ii. 4. and confcquently is able todiftin- 
 guifh between the trueGod,and all other beings, real or ima- 
 ginary : as he, who hath feen the natural JSun, can dirtin- 
 guifh it from a glow worm. In reference to this, therefore, 
 all true Saints are fpoken of in Scripture, as having an 
 uncJion from the holy One, whereby they know all things. (1 
 Joh. ii. 20.) becauie he who rightly fees God, as he has 
 manifested himfelf in the Gofpd, does virtually know the 
 whole of Chriilianity ; yea, the whole of divine revela- 
 tion. And therefore it is added by the Apoille, ver. 27. 
 And ye need ?iot that any man teach you, but the fame anoint- 
 ing teacheth you all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And 
 on this account, it is reprefented, as impofiible, that fuch 
 fhouli be feduced by the mofc artful Hereticks, to imbibe 
 that fa lie idea of God, which is the fpirit, life, and foul 
 of all their falfe fchemes of Religion. For as this anoint- 
 ing hath taught you, ye Jhall abide in him. And therefore, 
 it is reprefented, as being impojfible the elect Jhould be deceived. 
 (Math. xxiv. 24) while, on the other hand, it is declared, 
 that all that dwell upon the Earth foall worjhip the beaft, 
 whofe names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Rev. 
 xiii. 8, — Thus the glory feen is the brightnefs, beauty, 
 amiablenefs of God's true and real character, as exhibited 
 to view on the crofs of Chrifl.(i) But, 
 
 (1) What that Characler of Gcd is, which is exhibited to 
 <view on the crofs of Chrifi, and what is implied in its being 
 glorious, has been already jhewn. God our Creator was in 
 himfelf infinitely worthy of our fupreme lone ; and jo his law 
 which required this on pain of eternal death, was a glorious 
 Jaw ; and fo it was a glorious thing in God to gi-ve his Son to 
 die to do it honour, to declare his righteoufnefs that he might 
 
l62 THE NATURE OF [SEC. XI. 
 
 II. How is this glcry feen ? — This fight of the glory of 
 God is no abftract metaphyseal idea, hatched in the fancy 
 ©f philofophic, fpeculative men : Far from it. Not many wife 
 men, not many learned, fays the Apo/lle, but tbefcclijh things of 
 this Wold hath be called. Nor is it any thing irrational and 
 \'ifionary, the fruit of the teeming imagination of melan- 
 choly fouls. No it is perfectly rational, and divinely no- 
 ble. It is not feen by the eyes of the body, nor is it feen 
 by the imagination, nor is it feen by the force of a pene- 
 trating genius. Flejh and blood hath net revealed it unto 
 thee, but my Father which is in Heavtn. It is often hid from 
 the wife and prudent, and revealed to babes. A poor illite- 
 rate fifherman, divinely enlightened, might fee it, with as 
 much eafe, as he could behold the glory of the fun min- 
 ing in its ftrength. All true Saints, in the Apoftolic 
 2ge, faw this divine glory, how mean foever their birth, 
 how low foever their genius, as St. Paul affirms. We all 
 i:ith open face \ beholding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord. 
 
 But how did they fee it? — Pray tell me — how is the 
 beauty of any character feen among men ? — Univerfal ex- 
 perience teaches us, that characters appear agreeable or 
 difagreeable, juft as they fuit bur taile or net. To an 
 Angel, who has a taile for holy beauty, God's mornl cha- 
 racter appears infinitely amiable ; but to the Devil who is 
 a being of a contrary tafle, God's moral character appears 
 jufr the reverfe. To the Pharifees, no character more odi- 
 ous, than that of Jefus Chrilt, but at the fame time, Mar- 
 tha, Mary and Lazarus were charmed with this man. To 
 the Jewil'h Bati n in general, who groaned under the Ro- 
 man yoke, and longed for a Mefliah to let them at liberty, 
 to make them victorious, rich and hchourable ; a Mefliah 
 in the character of a temporal prince, even fuch an one as 
 
 be juft, and yet juftify him that believeth in Jefus. And 
 therefore to fee the glory of God in the face of Chrijt, implies a 
 fght cf the glory cf God as Creator and Law-giver, and of 
 the glory of his law : for Chrijl on the crofs dying to do honour 
 to the laiv is glorious, onl\ on fuppeftion the law was a glori- 
 ous law, and worthy of this honour : as has been already 
 proved. Thefe things arc hinted now, that the may be kept con- 
 fantly in the reader 's view. — Becaufeihere arc falje Chrijl s, 
 and falje Gofpels, and falfe Glories, with which multitudes 
 are deluded. 
 
SEC. XI.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 163 
 
 they expected, would have fuited their hearts to perfec- 
 tion, and fo have naturally appeared a glorious MciTiah. — 
 And the news of his coming, of his victories, and of his 
 rifing, fpreading kingdom, would have been glorious news. 
 Such a Gotpel would have been received among them as a 
 glorious Goipel ; there would have been no vail on their 
 hearts ; none would have been blind to its beauties ; nor 
 would its glories have been hid from any : But rather the 
 carnal jews in a body beholding in this Meftiah the great- 
 er! wordly glory, would have been ch?nged into thefame 
 image, had every anfwerable affection excited in their 
 hearts. Had he thus come to his own, his own would have 
 received him with all their hearts, joyfully inlifted under 
 his banner, and followed him to battles, to victories, to 
 univerfal empire, the very thing their hearts defired. But at 
 the fame time, a Meffiah of fuch a charadcr as this, would 
 have charmed them ; the character of Jefus of Nazareth 
 (hocked them to the lalt degree. H r e preach Cbrijl crucified, 
 to the "Jeivs a jlumbling block, and to the Greeks • foolijbnefs ; 
 but to them that are called, Chrifi the poixer of God, and the 
 nvifdom of God. Thus differently, to pcrfons of different 
 taites, did the fame character appear, for the carnal mind fa- 
 vours earthly things, but the fpiritual mind the things which 
 be of God. For that which is horn of the fie fib, is fie/b, and 
 J that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. In regeneration 
 there is a new, divine, and holy talte and relifh begotten 
 in the heart, by the immediate influences of the Spirit of 
 God. And thus God opens our eyes j and thus God Jhines 
 in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory 
 of God in the face of Jefus Gkrtfi, Or, as the fame thing is 
 expreiTed in different language, thus God gives them an 
 heart to know the Lord, and thus he circumaj'cs their hearts t» 
 love the Lord ; gives them eyes to fee, and ears to hear, and 
 
 an heart to underfiand. For 
 
 Spiritual Blindnels is not owing to the want of a pene- 
 trating genius, or to want of doctrinal knowledge ; for the 
 Devil hath both thefe to a great degree, but ftill is as blind 
 to the beauty of the divine Nature, as the moil: igno-ant 
 Hottentot in Africa. For the moral character of the Deity 
 is, above all things in the Univerfe, contrary to the habi- 
 tual temper of his heart. But that cannot appear lovely 
 to us, which every bias of our hearts inclines us to hate. 
 But Heaven li3s declared, that the carnal mind is enmity 
 
164 THE NATURE OF [stCXI. 
 
 again/1 God. And the fame divine Revehtion hath, in 
 perfect confidence, as exp.e.siy declared, .that the natural 
 man receipeth net the things of the Spirit of God: for they are 
 fooiijhnejf unto him : Neither can he know them, becauje they 
 are fpiritu.illj dijeerned. l> it in o\.\cr to dilcern fpiruually, 
 nin himfelt mull become fpiritual. That is, be born 
 Of the Spirit, for that which is horn of the Flejb, is Flejb, 
 and that which it hern cf the Spirit is Spirit. — And if Nico- 
 demus (aid, how can thefe things be? Yet that was fo far 
 from a loiid objection againft the truth, that it was rather, 
 an illultration of it. 
 
 That the idea of a natural beauty fuppofes an internal 
 fenle, implanted by our Creator, by which the mind is 
 capacitated to difcern fuch kind of beauty, is clearly illuf- 
 trated and proved, by a late ingenious philofopher. (1) 
 And that the idea of ipiritual beauty fuppofes an internal 
 fpiritual fenle, communicated to the foul by the Spirit of 
 God, in the work of the new creation, is alfo as clearly 
 illuitrated and proved, by a late Divine, whofe praife is in 
 all the churches. (2) It is needlefs therefore at prefent to 
 enter farther into this fubjeft. 
 
 III. As to the fpecial nature of this kind of knowledge, 
 which the Apcftle calis the knowledge of the glory of God, 
 it is different from every fpecies of knowledge in the Uni- 
 verfe, not only, as it is, in a peculiar fenle, of divine ori- 
 ginal ; but alfo, as it is in itfelf, of a divine and holy Na- 
 ture. To fee the holy beauty of God's moral Character, 
 to fee the beauty of holinefs, to have holinefs appear beau- 
 tiful and feem lovely to the foul, is of the fame nature as 
 to love holinefs ; but to love holinefs, is holinefs itfelf. — 
 Among the peculiar people of God, of old, they had a holy 
 anointing oil, with which they anointed, and by which they 
 fandified their Tabernacle, Altar, Priefts, &c. Exod. xl. 
 This was the type ; the antitype of which the Apoftle 
 thus exprefies, in the forecited text, as that which is com- 
 mon to all true Saints, who are fpiritual Priells, confecrated 
 to offer up fpiritual facrihees, acceptable to God by Jefus 
 Chrift. I Joh. ii. 20. Ye have an unci ion from the holy 
 one, and ye know all things. Ver. 27. The anointing teach- 
 tthyou of all things. And perhaps the fame thing is referred 
 
 (i) Mr. Hut chin f on y on Beauty and Virtue, p. 8, 15. 
 (2) Mr. Edwards, on Religious Affections, p. 158, 166. 
 
SEC. XI.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 1^5 
 
 to in Rev. Hi. 18. Anoint thine eyes nuith eye-falve that thou 
 mayjl jec. It is ill unftion from the Holy One, an holy anoint- 
 ing, an holy calling. In the fame degree that God appears 
 lovely to the foul, in the fa'ifte degree is he actually loved. 
 The exercife of love is J ,vavs in pioportion to the degree of 
 oar fenfe of the divine beauty, for beholding the glory of 
 the Lord , lOi are changed ititd the fame i?nage. The arreCti- 
 ons excited, are anfw^-rable to the views. (1) A lenfe cf 
 the di.'ine lovelinefs, if we may fo fpeak, is love in em- 
 bryo : Ellecm of, delight and complaifance in the moral 
 character of the Deity, is love in internal exercife ; a life 
 devoted to his fervice, to advance his honour and interefl: 
 in the world, is love operating in good works. And then, 
 arc ye my friends, if you do firfbeltfOpTJer 1 command yon. But 
 each of thefe arc plainly of the fame nature, hciy and di- 
 vine. And each are equally enjoined as matter of duty in 
 that firlt and great command, Thou jh ah love the Lord thy 
 God, with all thy heart. Therefore, we are by God him- 
 felf, thus called upon, C 'ire umcij'e yourj "elves to the Lord, and 
 take away the forejkins of your heart . Jer. iv. 9. And again, 
 Make you a new heart, and a newfpirit. Ezck. xviii. 31. 
 
 For, it is the duty of all to whom the Gofpel comes, ta 
 look upon it as a glorious Gcfpel, and to have their hearts 
 charmed with its beauty. To be blind to its glory is cri- 
 minal, as was before fliewn ; and to fee its glory is for the 
 
 (l) And by the way, this may Jheiv the difference between 
 a rational conviction that God is lovely, avd a fenfe of his lo<ve- 
 linefs. A man may from rational argtimzr.ts be convinced in 
 his confience, that God is lovely ; and yet have no fenfe cf his 
 lovelinefs in his heart, nor any lore to him. Satan kkeib in 
 his confeience, thai the holy characlcr which Gcd gave cf Jcb f 
 there is none like him in the Eartii, a perfect and En upright 
 man, was an amiable characlcr ; but this char a Jer was fo far 
 from exciting love, that it exciied envy and hatred in his /.cart. 
 He wijhed to be able to prove Job an hypocrite, i. e. that all 
 his love to Gcd, arofe merely from j elf- love. Doth Job fear 
 God for nought. Sc a wicked man rtiay be convinced in his 
 confeience, that God is an ami able S B 'ing ; and yet bejo withed, 
 as that he cannot bcxr to think that an} Saint on Earth loves 
 God for his own lovelinefs. slnd the reafon may be learnt from 
 1 job. Hi. 12. 
 
l66 THE NATURE OF [SEC. XL 
 
 fame reafon, a duty. And therefore, all who are blind to 
 the glory of the Gofpel, and fo difoelieve and reject it, are 
 cxprcflly threatened with eternal damnation. Butfuch an in- 
 finite punifhment fuppofes the crime to be infinitely great. 
 The infinite greatneis of the crime fuppofes we are under 
 infinite obligations to the c mtrary. Tnat is, under infinite 
 obligations to look upon the Gofpel as glorious, and cor- 
 dially to beline and embrace it. And indeed its own in- 
 trinfick infinite beauty, lays us under infinite obligations; 
 and not 10 eileera what is fo infinitely worthy of our efteem, 
 111 u f l be infinitely criminal. 
 
 To i\\y, that it is not our duty to look upon the Gofpel 
 of Chi ii: a? a g'orious Gofpel ; that is, to lock upon the 
 divine perfections therein fo clearly manifefted, as glori- 
 ous ; is to fay, that we a-e not obliged to look upon God 
 himfelf, as a glorious Being, when let in the cleared light 
 before our minds. Which is, in effect, to fay, that it is 
 not our duty to love God. Which is to give up natural 
 and revealed R-eligion both at once. And to pronounce 
 the deepeft depravity, perfectly innocent. 
 
 Had mankind, to whom the Gofpel comes, a genuine 
 reliih for holy beauty, a tafte for the beauty of God's true 
 character, they would naturally difcern the glory of the 
 glorious Gofpel of Chrift, who is the image of God. If 
 they knew God the Father, they could not fail to know 
 his Son. Had mankind as high a relifli for divine glory, 
 as they have for the glory of this world, the glory of the 
 Gofpel would ftrike the mind as naturally as the glory cf 
 an Earthly kingdom now docs. 
 
 Had the Jews, for inftance, had as high a tafte for a fpi- 
 ritual Median, as they had for a temporal one, Chrift cru- 
 cified would as naturally have appeared glorious, as their 
 expected Meffiah, a temporal prince, was wont to do, in 
 their fond imagination?. W r e have no inability to know 
 and love God and Jefus Chrift, but what is altogether of a 
 criminal narure. And therefore our Saviour's conduct may 
 be vindicated, in pronouncing fuch a heavy woe, on the 
 inhabitants of Corazin, Bethfaida and Capernaum, becaufe 
 thfty repented not. For if the fault is wholly in us, it is no 
 doubt increafed, a * our external advantages are increafed. 
 But, 
 
 IV. Why is this kind of knowledge, of which we are 
 fpeaking, conftantly represented in Scripture, as peculiar 
 
SEC. XI. J DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 167 
 
 to tbefaved, (1 Cor. i. 18) to the called, (ver. 24) to ib* 
 fpiritual, (Chap. ii. 14) to the changed, (2 Cor. iii. 18) to 
 ihofe who believe, (Chap. iv. 4) to thofe who love God and 
 keep his commands, (1 Joh. ii, 4) and who have eternal 
 life, (Joh. xvii. 3) and why is it affirmed, that ivbo/bever 
 Jinneth, hath not fee n him, nor knoavn him r ( I Joh. iii. 6) — 
 and that, he that doth evil, hath not feen God ? (3 Joh. 2) 
 and of every natural man, without exception, neither can hi 
 knovu them ? (1 Cor. ii. 14) — it is, in a word, becau'fe it 
 implies a contradiction that it mould be other. vife. For 
 this kind of knowledge and its eiFecls, are necelTarily con- 
 nected. And this kind of knowledge cannot exift in an 
 unregenerate mind. For, to ufe the language of Scripture, 
 that which is born cf the fiejh, is jlejh ; and the carnal mind 
 is enmity againit God. And what fellow Blip hath light 
 with daiknefs ? Or what concord is there between fin an J 
 holinefs ? Or what agreement between a carnal heait, and 
 that character which it is at enmity againit ? Our Saviour 
 judged it implied the greateit abfurdky, that Satan fhould 
 caft out Satan ; that is, that Satan fhould be againit him- 
 felf. But it is plainly an abfurdity equally great, to fup- 
 pofe, that two intelligent Beings, of characters as diame- 
 trically oppofite as fin and holinefs, mould relifh each o- 
 thers characters, and appear amiable in each others eyes. 
 Once granting that fallen man is totally dead in fin, 
 deiticute of the lesft fpark of fpirkual life, cf the leaft 
 remainder of divine relifh, or in the words of the Apoitle, 
 that the carnal mind is enmity e.gaivft God ; (and by the 
 carnal ?nind, he declares himfelf to mean every man who is 
 deftitute of the Spirit of Chrift. Rom. viii. 7, 8, 9.) I fay, 
 once granting this, and it is certain, and is even capable 
 of flrict demonilraticn, from the nature of things, that a 
 fenfe of the amiablenefs of God's true and real character, 
 mud of necrffi.y be peculiar to the regenerate. Falfe no- 
 tions of God may raviih an unregenerate heart, but his 
 true character every fuch heart is in fact at enmity againft. 
 Hence the Gofpel will be hid from all natural men, be 
 they Jews or Greeks, however wife, however pruden;, 
 however penetrating, and however well inilructed ; and 
 that even while fitting under the miniftry of Chrift himfelf, 
 who fpake as never man fpake ; and notwithstanding all 
 the preaching of his infpired Apoftles. Thus the Scrip- 
 
168 THE NATURE OP [sEC. XI • 
 
 tures affirm that, in fact, it proved. And thus, tiie rcajbn 
 of the thing, {hews, it mull forever prove. 
 
 It implies a contradiction to fuppofe the human heart 
 mould be charmed with a character jufr cprofue to us own. 
 And nothing can be plainer than that the character of the 
 holy one of lirael, is diametrically oppofiqe to the tem- 
 per cf one v. i.o is qtite deac in fin. The civine Character, 
 therefore, mufl be altered in cur imagination, or we, in 
 fact, be born again, or God can never appear to us an ami- 
 able Being, if we fuppofe God's character altered and 
 mooted to our tafte, we may be charmed with the 
 fiction, dead in fin as we are. But the clearer view a car- 
 nal man hat. Ji of $.he truth, the more certain will he be, that 
 the love of God is not in him. Rom. vii. 8, 9. 
 
 It is true, many a carnal man is ravifned to think, that 
 G^d loves him, and will fave him ; but in this cafe, it is 
 s true character of God which charms the heart. It 
 u nof. God that is loved, Strictly fpeaking, he only loves 
 If. j'-vd feii-Jeve is the fource of all his afrecuens. 
 G: if we call it love to God ; it is of no other kind than 
 dinners fctl to one another. For Sinners love thefe that /eve 
 them. The carnal Israelites, who gave the fulieft proof of 
 their difafVection to the divine character, as exhibited by- 
 God himfelf before their eyes, yet were once full' of this 
 kind of love at the fide of the Red Sea. Our being ravifned 
 ever fo much in a belief God loves us, is no fign that God's 
 true character would fuit cur tafie, had we right notions 
 of it. The hypocritical Galatians loved Paul while they 
 confidered him as the inftrument of their converfion and 
 means of their falvation ; but on further acquaintance with 
 the man, they turned his enemies, for his character rightly 
 underftood did not fuit their tafte. 
 
 If God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, if he 
 cannot look upon fin but with infinite deteftaticn, if all thofe 
 views, affections, thoughts, words, and actions which are 
 fweet to the tafte of a carnal heart, are fo infinitely odious 
 in the eyes of God, as to appear to him worthy of the eternal 
 pains of Hell, as is in fact the cafe; (Gal. iii. 10.) it is 
 as impoffible that a carnal heart mould fee a beauty in the 
 divine Character, as that it mould view its own character as 
 being infinitely odious. For one implies the other. If it 
 is beautiful in God to be affected toward my character, as 
 in fact he is, my character mull be infinitely odious : Nor 
 
SEC. XI.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 169 
 
 can I at any time from the heart look upon God as a lovely 
 being, without locking upon myfelf as infinitely hateful. 
 For that being whoie nature it is, to look upon me as in- 
 finitely odious, is not lovely, unlefs I am in fact infinitely 
 odious. When our S ivicur, fpeaking to the Pharilees, iaid, 
 Te ferpents, ye generation of vipers, hoxv can ye ej'cape the dam- 
 nation of Hell? Thefe words determined his character in 
 their eyes. And it implies a contradiction, to fuppofe, that 
 Chrift's character might have appeared lovely to them, 
 without their own appearing odious, anfwerable to the im- 
 port of his words. But there was nothing in a Phariiee's 
 heart to lead him to look upon his own character in fuch an 
 odious light. And therefore, all our Saviour's declarations, 
 and all his miracles, did but exafperate them. The more 
 the^y knew of Chrift, the more they hated him. As it was 
 natural to them to approve of their own character, fo ic 
 was natural to condemn his. For if the fault was not in 
 them, it was in him. To fay it was not in him, was 
 to own, that they were ferpents and a generation of vi- 
 pers, worthy of eternal dejlruction. To look upon him as 
 altogether lovely, was to look upon themfelves as innnitely 
 odious. Cut this was diametrically oppofite to every bias 
 in their hearts. Their old heart, therefore, mull be taken 
 away, and a new heart be given them, or they could never 
 view things in this light. And thus our Saviour underftood 
 the matter. And therefore, on a time, fpeaking to a Pha- 
 rifee, he faid, Except a man be born again > he cannot fee thi 
 
 kingdom of God. But 
 
 V. Wherein does this peculiar knowledge of Cod differ, 
 from what natural men have actually had ? or might have ? 
 If they may have all knowledge and underft^.nd alt myfieriet, 
 fo as to fpeak as it were with the tongues of men and angels : 
 (1 Cor. xiii.) if they may be enlightened and tafe the hea- 
 venly gift : (Keb. vi) if they may receive the --word with 
 joy : (Mat. xiii.) if they may e/cape the pollutions of the world, 
 through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour J ejus Chrifl : 
 (2 Pet. ii. 20.) if they may have fuch a ravifhing fenfe of 
 the divine goodnefs, as the Ifraelites had at the Re4 Sea; 
 and fuch an affecting fenfe of his majeily, greatnef?, power, 
 holinefs and juftice, as they had at Mount Sinai, when they 
 flood trembling before the mountain, and were fo ready to 
 promifc, whatfoever the Lord our God Jhall command, that 
 
 0- 3 
 
17© THE NATURE OF [SEC. XI. 
 
 •will we do, and be obedient ; and fuch an high and heart- 
 abafing fcnfe of the mrji high God, nvho li-veth for ever, as 
 Nebuchadnezzar had when hepraifed and extolled and honoured 
 the King of Heaven , all ivho/e averts are truth ; and thofe 
 that walk in pride he is able t$ abafe, (Dan. iv. 34, 37.) — 
 if they may have all this, what is it they cannot have? 
 I anfwer, in one word, the holy beauty of God's real moral 
 character, this is what they never had the leaft idea of. The 
 moil enlightened, afTccled, the devouteft natural man that 
 ever lived, as to this, is as blind, as the moft ignorant, 
 ftupid Sinner in the world. — That this is, in fa£t, the cafe, 
 is evident from this, that all who beheld the glory of God 
 are actually changed into the fame image. Which was not 
 the cafe with the wicked Israelites, nor with Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, nor with the ftony ground hearers, nor with thofe 
 in 1 Cor. xiii. — Keb. vi. — 2 Pet. ii. 
 
 T»iit as the nature of Divine Illumination is fo largely 
 and accurately ftated in Mr. Edward's Treatife on Religious 
 A ffe&ions ; and his Sermon on Jam. ii. 19. I mail refer 
 the reader to thefe pieces; and proceed. 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 The Effetls of Divine Illumination. 
 
 A VIEW of all the moral perfections of God, mining in 
 ***■ their brighter! glory in the Gofpel way of faving Sin- 
 ners, exhibits to the mind an evidence of the truth of the 
 Gofpel, entirely new, which never itruck the mind before. 
 An evidence of fuch a nature, as removes all thofe natu- 
 ral prejudices agairfl the truth, which tended to keep 
 the mind in fufpence, notwithstanding all the external proofs 
 from the miracles, prophecies, &c. and an evidence, in its 
 own nature, the moft convincing, and fatisfying ; and 
 whereby the whole heart is gained, and brought over to a 
 full and thorough belief of the Gofpel. So that now, and 
 not till now, is the Gofpel believed to be true, voith all 
 the heart ; fo as to induce us to fell all for the pearl of great 
 price, and from the heart to deny ourfelve.% take up our 
 crofs and follow Chrift ; venturing cur all for time and eter- 
 
SEC. Xll] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. I7I 
 
 nity, upon the truth of his Mefliafhip, cf his divine million, 
 nd of the news which he has brought to our ears. 
 
 When the Gofpel, which is hid from all natural men, 
 comes to be revealed, internally revealed to us by the Holy 
 Spirit, in all its divine glories, agreeable vo Mat. xi. 25. 
 — 2 Cor. iii. 18. chap. iv. 6, &c. it is known to be from 
 God, from the divinity of its nature. For it appears to be, 
 what the Apoftlc's words import, tie Glorious Go/pel cfChrijl, 
 nuho is the image of G:d. 2 Cor. iv. 4.. And to uie the words 
 of a late writer, " He that truly fees the divine, tranicen- 
 dent, fupreme glory of thole things which are divine, does 
 as it were know their divinity intuitively ; he not only ar- 
 gues, that they are divine, but he fees that they are divine; 
 he fees that in them wherein divinity chiefly confiics: For 
 in this glory, which is fo vaitly and inexprcllibly diftin- 
 guiihed from all other glory, does mainly confift the true 
 notion of divinity : God is Gud ; and distinguished from all 
 other beings, and exalted above them, chiefly by his divi- 
 nity. They, therefore, that fee the (lamp of this divine 
 glory in divine things, they fee divinity in them, they fee 
 God in them, and fo fee them to be divine ; becaufe they 
 fee that in them wherein the trueft idea of divinity does 
 confift." He therefore who fees the glory cf the glorious 
 Gofpel of Chrift, who is the image of God, muit know 
 Jefus to be the Son of God, and his Gofpel to be divine. 
 For he mull be the Son of him whofe image he bears, and 
 that Gofpel mult be from God, which is, in its own nature, 
 fo Godlike. Befides as the fame author adds, 
 
 '* This fenfe of the fpiritual excellency and beauty of 
 divine things, does alfo tend directly to convince the mind 
 of the truth of the Gofpel, as there are very many of the 
 moll important things declared in the Gofpel, that are hid 
 from the eyes of natural men, the truth of which does in 
 effect confift in this excellency, or does fo immediately 
 depend upon it, and refult from it ; that in this excellency's 
 being fe.n, the truth of thofe things is feen. As foon as 
 ever the eyes are opened to behold the holy beauty and amia- 
 blenefs that is in divine things, a multitude of moil im- 
 portant doctrines of the Gofpel, that depend upon it, (which 
 all appear llrange and dark to natural men) are at once 
 feen to be true. As for inftance — men by feeing the true 
 excellency of holinefs, do fee the glory of all thofe things 
 which reafon and Scripture ihew to be in the divine Being, 
 
172' THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 And hereby they fee the truth of all that the Scripture de- 
 clares concerning God's glorious excellency and Majefty, 
 his being the fountain of all good, the only happinefs of the 
 creatuie, Sec. and this again, fhews the mind the truth of 
 what the Scripture teaches concerning the evil of fin againft 
 fo glorious a God ; and alfo what the Scripture teaches 
 concerning fin's jult defert of that dreadful punifhment 
 which it reveals; and alfo concerning the impcflibility of 
 our offering any fatisfaclion or fufficient atonement for that 
 which is infinitely evil and heinous. And this again fhews 
 the truth of what the Gofpel reveals concerning the necef- 
 fity of a Saviour, to offer an atonement of infinite value for 
 fin. And this fenfe of fpiritual beauty enables the foul to 
 fee the glory of thofe things which the Gofpel reveals 
 concerning the perfen of Chart ; and fo enables to fee the 
 exceeding beauty and dignity of his perfon, appearing in 
 what the Gofpel exhibits of his word, works, ac~ts and life: 
 and this apprehenlion of the fuperlative dignity of his per- 
 fon, (hews the truth of what the Gofpel declares concern- 
 ing the value of his blood and righteoufnefs, and fo the 
 infinite excellency of that offering he has made to God for 
 us, and fo its furTiciency to atone for our fins, and recom- 
 mend us to God. And thus the Spirit of God difcovers 
 the way of falvation by Chrift, &c. The truth of all thefe 
 things appears to the foul only by the imparting that fpiri- 
 tual tafte of divine beauty which has been fpoken of. They 
 being hidden things to the foul before." Thus far this 
 Author, who has handled this fubjeel at large, and with 
 greater accuracy than I have feen it done by any other 
 Writer. ( 1 ) 
 
 And agreeable to thefe fentiments, it was an openly 
 avowed maxim in the Apoftolic age, that ivhofeever believ- 
 eth that Jefus is the Cbnfl, is born of God. I Joh. v. 1. and 
 they every where publicly declared, that if thou /halt confefs 
 woith thy mouth the Lord Jefus, and Jh alt believe in thy heart 
 that God raifed him from the dead, thou pah be Jawed, Rom. 
 x. 9. They promifed falvation to every man, who with all 
 his heart believed the Gofpel to be true, and threatened 
 damnation to none but Infidels, according to their matter's 
 commiflion. Mar. xvi. 15, 16. Go ye into all the voorld and 
 preach the Gofpel to every creature. He that believe th and is bap- 
 
 (1) Mr. Edwards, on Religious JfecJicns, p. 182, 199. 
 
SJEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. I73 
 
 tized /hall he faved ; but >.e that believeth not jh all be damned. 
 Not chat ... that every en? \~ho profeiied to 
 
 believe the Gofpei with all his heart, really did Co. They 
 knew there might be a pirual and ineffectual conviction of 
 the truth. They well remembered how Ju„as iieard ail 
 Chilli's uifcuui-fes, and Taw ail his miiacles, and prc'eiFed 
 to brieve as well as Peter, and how he turned 01 : in the 
 end. And th^y well knew, that as bo.h were under equal 
 external advantages, to lee all the external evidences of 
 C'mit's divine million ; i'o that peculiar kind of Faith, 
 which Peter had, was entirely the reiuk of Divine Illumi- 
 nation, as their mailer had in his life time exprefdy declar- 
 ed. Fief and llcod batb not revealed it unto thee, but my 
 Father which is in Heaven, Mat. xvii 17. And this kind 
 of Faith, they called, believing with all the heart, and af- 
 ferted it to be peculiar to the regenerate, and infallibly 
 connected with eternal life. A Faith, in its own nature, 
 fpeciricaliy different from the faith cf Devils and of wicked 
 men, who are all equally blind to the glory of the moral 
 perfections of" the Deity mining fo brightly in the glorious 
 Gofpei of Jefus Chrift. 
 
 And now, when the Gofpei is underfiocd, feen in its glory , 
 and believed with all the heart, it immediately begets eve- 
 ry anfvverable affection in the foul. For we are begotten 
 through the Gofpei. I Cor. iv. 15. begotten by the word of 
 truth. Jam. i. 18. fanclifed by the truth. Joh. xvii. 17. and 
 particularly are begotten to a lively hope by the rcfurreclion of 
 Chrijl from the dead. I Pet. i . %. while the glory of the 
 Gofpei is hid, it produces none of thefe effects upon the 
 foul. For if our Gofpei is hid, it is hid to them that are lofi. 
 2 Cor. iv. 3. But when we know the truth, the truth makes 
 us free.. Joh. viii. 32. Or in the language of St. Paul, lie 
 ail with open face beholding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, 
 are changed into the fame image. ( 1 ) 
 
 ( I ) Some of the above texts are alledged by feme writers t§ 
 prove, that a belief that Chrijl died for me in particular, that 
 my fins are pardoned, and that I /hall befaved, begets every 
 Chri/lian grace. And this is all the regeneration they allovj 
 of. — But in this cafe we are begotten, not by the truth, ncr by 
 the Gofpei ; for not one cf thefe particulars are therein revealed. 
 Tea, a man may be full of religious affetiiens from fuch a 
 belief, and yet at the fame time look upon the Gofpei of Chrifi 
 
1/4 THE EFFECTS OF [sEC. XII. 
 
 Sometimes, in the Scripture, the effect produced by the 
 knov ;e<.'pe of the truth, is considered and fpcken of as one 
 thing, and every holy affection is fummed up under one 
 comprehenfive name. As, the image of God, the law writ- 
 ten in the heart , drift formed in the foul, coming to God by 
 Cbrifl, reconciliation to God through Chrijl, &c. At other 
 times, there are a great variety of names ufed to mark out 
 the various affections excited in the mind by the know- 
 ledge of the truth : the various affections toward God, and 
 toward Chrift, and toward the children of God, and to- 
 wards mankind in general, and towards relatives, hufbands, 
 wives, parents, children, mafters, fervants, &c. and toward 
 enemies, and toward fin, and toward ourfelves conlidered 
 as Sinners, and toward the things of this world* and cf-the 
 world to come, &c. all which are the native refult of tht 
 knowledge of the truth. 
 
 When Mofes came down from the Mount, where for a 
 long time he hnd converfed with the God of Ifrael, who 
 manifefted himfelf by a vifible glory to him., he brought 
 down the image of this vifible glory with him, his face 
 fhone. He put a vail on his face, to hide the bright luftre 
 thereof, from the eyes of the congregation, who were not 
 able to behold. So a vail was on the hearts of the unbe- 
 lieving Jews in the Apoftolic age. The glory of the Gofpel 
 was hid by this vail from them, even from all that were 
 loft. — But iv e all with ofen, with unvailed, face heholding 
 as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, are, fays the Apoftle, in 
 allufion to the face or Mofes, changed into the fame image : 
 Into a holy, divine, a glorious frame of heart, refembling 
 the glory we behold. 
 
 as "jargon" — u hideous jargon." Tea, it is a lie, which 
 begets thefe affeclions, viz. that God hath forgiven the fins 
 of an impenitent Sinner. And therefore, not the God of truth , 
 but the Father of lies is the author of this kind of regeneration. 
 And this is one of his Jlratagems to blind the minds of them 
 that believe not, left the light of the glorious Gofpel of 
 Chrift, who is the image of God, mould mire unto them. 
 Thus he transforms himfelf into an Angel of light, to de- 
 lude poor Sinners with falfe hopes and falfe joys ; to the end 
 they may never know the only true God, and Jefus Chrift, 
 whom he hath fent ; and fo ne-ver have eternal life. See Mr. 
 Cud worth's further Defence. 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 175 
 
 Changed into the fame image. — The image of what ?— 
 Of the moral perfections of the divine Nature. Doth God 
 view himfelf fo worthy, fo infinitely worthy of fupreme 
 love and honour, and univerfal obedience, as infinitely 
 good and merciful as he is, yet fedately to judge, that the 
 lead defect in us deferves eternal woe ; and chat it does not 
 become him, as the Judge of all the Earth, in any cne in- 
 flancc ever to grant apardsn but through the mediation of 
 his own Son, and on the fole account of his righteoufnefs 
 and atonement? The divinely enlightened foul has the 
 fime views, in kind, and an anf.verable frame of heart. 
 " Righteous art thou, O Lord, when thou fpeakeft, and 
 clear when thou judgeit ; for deftruclion is my due, and 
 Hell my proper home. And mould Uriel juftice take place, 
 all Heaven ought forever to love and adoie the inhni'ely 
 glorious Majeity, crying, Amen Hallelujah. Yea, fo bad 
 am I, that any thing better than eternal damnation is too 
 good for me. It is even unmeet fuch vilenefs fiiould be 
 pafled over by the righteous Governor of the world with- 
 out a testimony of his infinite abhorrence. There could be 
 "tio hope in my cafe were it not for the mediation, merits 
 and atonement of the Son of God. It could n3t have been 
 jufl: and right, to have pardoned fuch a wretch, hid not 
 he been fet forth to be a Propitiation. But now God can 
 be jufe. Therefore to free grace, through the Redemption 
 which is in Jefus Chrift, 1 look. Here is all my hope. 
 And I give up myfelf to God through the great Mediator, 
 to love him and be forever his : efteeming it the fitted 
 thing in the world forever to live to his glory, and the 
 happieft thing to delight in him as the Supreme Good. — 
 fVbom have J in Heaven but t';ee, and there is none en Earth 
 1 defer e befide theeV And thus they are changed into the 
 fame imige. And thus God accomplices his word, 1 'will 
 ivrite my lavj in their heart. 
 
 The law 'written in the heart. — This is another name gi- 
 ven to the fame thing, for the law is a tranfeript of the 
 divine Nature, the very image of God. As the law was 
 written in inielible characters, on Tables of Stone by the 
 finger of God, of clJ ; f j now, views and difpofitiona an- 
 fwerable to the nature of the law, become hibitual in the 
 heart, through the influences cf the Spirit cf God, accord- 
 ing to the meafure of grace received. And this becomes 
 the genuine language of the foul. " How reafonable is it 
 
I76 THE EFFECTS OP [sEC. Xlf. 
 
 to love with all my heart, fuch an infinitely glorious and 
 amiable Being ! And delight with aii my ioui in fuch per- 
 fect beauty 1 And cake up my everlaftirrg contentment 
 in the fountain and fcurce of ail good ! How fit, that I 
 fhoald be wholly for him, whafe I entirely am ! And be 
 at his beck, whole hands formed' me ! And at his difp ofal, 
 who is Lord of aii things, and whole rectitude is abfoluteiy 
 perfect, and whole goodneft and wifdom are infinite, and 
 who has giver, his Son to die for a loit world ! And how 
 beautiful, how much to be delired, that all on Earth mould 
 unite as brethren, to live in the deareft Jove and harmony, 
 as one happy family, under the government of the common 
 Father of our fpirits, and who is ready to become our 
 everlafting Father and Friend through Jems Chrift ! O, 
 that all the human Race would join, with one heart, to re- 
 pent, and return, and be reconciled to God, through Jefus 
 Chrilt ! Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy 
 name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in 
 Heaven" And thus he begins to love God with all his 
 heart, and his neighbour as himfelf ; which was the very 
 temper of Jefus Chrift. And fo Chrijl is formed in him. — 
 Which is another name given to the fame thing, and the 
 import of it may be thus expreffed. 
 
 Chrijl formed in thejoul, — " He took not on him the na- 
 ture of Angels. Thoie of them who fell, needed a Saviour 
 as much as we. And they were a nobler rank of beings. 
 But they were palled by : and fo might we have been, and 
 God had been forever righteous. His law was holy, jult 
 and gecd. Every mouth was flopped. The whele world 
 ftood guilty before God. How i'iee was the grsce, how 
 grc?t' was the goodnefs, that provided fuch a Saviour for 
 fuch a world as this ! What love to God, what love to 
 man, induced the Son of God to become incarnate ! To 
 honour the divine law by his obedience snd death, and 
 open a way for Grd to communicate his grace to us, tnd 
 for us to return to God, and be forever happy in him. To 
 thee, O Lord,l return, with my whole heart, through Je- 
 fus Chrift. In his name alone, 1 come. O, may I be found 
 in him, ~nd have or his rig hteoufnefs, ar.d be accepted in 
 the beloved ; an ed with the Holy Spiiit of promife 
 
 to .' e day cf n, fandificd wholly to the Lord ! 
 
 O, r;:ay I be in Chrift as the branch is in the vine, and par- 
 take of his nature and fpirit ; of his fulntfs receive, and 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 177 
 
 grace for grace. That thejame mind, which was in C 
 jefus, and brought him from Heaven, and carried 
 through all the labours of his lift f his 
 
 death, may alfo be in me. The fai i : . re- 
 
 gard to the hon 
 
 and concern x'jr their falvation. 
 from which the Sen 'of God became in : 
 died, may [ alvvaj eady :, all 
 
 my Earthly comforts, and if need . down my life." 
 
 And thus, in thefe views, a fpi ble to the 
 
 per of jefus Chrift, and to the ;f his me- 
 
 diatorial Office and Work, is formed in the foul. An 
 become at heart, his difciples. And he is able to 
 to the uttei is come unto God by .' 
 
 ever liveth to make interceffion for them. 
 
 Them that come unto God by htm. — Another defcrip 
 of the fame thing. — That come unto God. — Unto God, the 
 abfolutely perfect, the infinitely glorious ai . 
 ing, infinitely worthy of fapreme love and honour, and 
 nniverfal obedience, and the fupreme Good ; in a vi 
 w hofe glory, an inclination to come, ij begotten in the fou . 
 That com z unto God by him. Encouraged by hi 
 tion, righteoufnefs and atonement, we are emboldened to 
 enter into the prelence of the holy one of Ifrael, 
 whofe fight the Heavens are not clean, and before whom 
 fuch as we mnft needs appear infinitely odious and ab 
 nable. And thus, if any man is in Chrift jefus, be is a, news 
 creature y poffefled of a relifh, of views, and affections, he 
 never hid before. Yea, all old things are paffed away, be- 
 hold, all things are become nen.v. And this whols change is 
 of God, who thus reconciles us to himfelf by J ejus Chrift. — 
 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. 
 
 Reconciles us to himfelf b)/ Jefus Chrift. — It is through 
 Jefus Chrift, who has fecured the honour of the divine go- 
 vernment, that God communicates thofe influences of his 
 Holy Spirit, by which our eyes are op .ned, to behold the 
 glory of the Lord. And it is through Jefus Chrift that the 
 enlightened Sinner is emboldened to return to God. And fo 
 this reconciliation is brought about wholly through the me- 
 diation of Jefus Chrift. And in it, we are really recon- 
 ciled to God, againft whom we were before at enmity. 
 Reconciled to God — To God's true and real character ex- 
 it 
 
i;8 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 liibited in his law, and ratified on the crofs of Chrift. We 
 are reconciled to it, as to a character, in itfelf, without a 
 blemiih, perfect in beauty; and fo begin to rejoice that 
 God, his nt, are juft v. hat they are, from 
 
 a fen fe of their Superlative excellency in themfclves ; no 
 lor i: fed to be, to with ihey were d 
 
 ent from what they are ; ither inclined to fay, the Lad 
 ntgneih, i ► reconciled, as that now, 
 
 Till a rule of life by us, 
 
 and c 3 echo to the language of holy Da- 
 
 vid, in the cxixth Pfalm, in its commendation. 
 
 Among , scls of Divine Illumination, there is none 
 
 mure remarkable in itfelf, or 
 
 jquences, than this, thru ;hq true convert 
 
 w ho ufed to be an enemy to the divine law, is brought un- 
 derftandingly and heartily to love it, and to make it the 
 rule of iiis lire. The grace of God teaches him to deny all 
 urtgodlinefs and every worldly hjl, and to live foberly, righte- 
 ouJly y and god lily, in this pre/eat world. Nor is there any 
 thing which more evidently diftinguiihes a true converfion 
 from every counterfeit than this. Hereby we know, that 
 we know hint, if ive keep lis commandments. For every na- 
 tural man, of whatever feci or party in the Chriftian world, 
 and however religious in his way, is at heart, an Antino- 
 mian in this particular. He doth not, in fa&, receive the 
 divine law, in its true meaning and real extent, as the rule 
 of his life ; yea, fo far from it, that if he mould go about 
 to do it, and if his c^nfeience fhould in the mean time be 
 awakened to underiland it, all his religious affections would 
 it-and condemned by it in his conference in a moment ; — 
 and all his prcfent hopes be ftruck dead by it at once. For 
 tr.ere is not any one thing about him, any thought, word, 
 or action, or any inward biafs of hc-.rt, in conformity to 
 the divine law, in a natural man. But one natural man is 
 as really dead in Jin, and devoid of ail true holinefs, as ano- 
 ther. And the only thing, that renders it pofiible for any 
 natural man to think otherwife or himfelf, than that he is 
 dead in fin, is ignorance of the true nature >;f the law. — 
 Without the law, Jin was dead. 1 was alive without the 
 law once : but when the commandment ca?ne, fin revived ', ai-d 
 What {- rcatcr change therefore, cun happen, than 
 to be brought acquainted with the divine law, to be ilain 
 by it, and yet brought to love it, as holy, juft and good ; 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION- I Jff 
 
 Co as to receive it cordially as a rule of life ." 
 vellous alteration muil this make in the whole fyftem o 
 views and afFections : and in the whole toner of our lives ? 
 Even as great as to be turned from \ and 
 
 from the ponxcr if Jin and Sate 
 
 Every thing which corr.es into the vie 
 enlightened loul, harmonioufly unites together, to in< 
 him cordially to receive the divine law, as a rule oi 
 by which to regulate every inward bi; , 
 word and action. A view of God, as an ii 
 ous Being, and our common Creator, : 
 ble and beautiful it is for ail mankind, who an 
 creatures, children of the lame common flock, to . 
 together as brethren, in fupreme love and honour, 
 univerfal obedience, to the Father of the Univerfe, the 
 God of glory, juft as the divine law requires. — A \ 
 of the divine law, as holy r juft and good, a glorious law, 
 antecedent to the confederation of the gift of Chriff, and 
 the work of redemption by him, {hews that our oii. 
 obligations to do fo, are infinite. And this is alio implied 
 in a view of fin, as an infinite evil ; and in the view of 
 vindictive juftice, as an amiable perfection in the Deity ; 
 as alfo in a view of God, as the fuprerr .A view 
 
 of the incarnation, life and death of the S m i f God, I 
 honour to the divine law , to open a way for ti.tf 
 
 pardon of the penitent believer, confident with the hon 
 of the fupreme Gover.-.or cf the world, fets before us the 
 bigheft pofiible proof, of an external nature, of the gocd- 
 nefs and excellency of the divine law ; even the hi g he ft 
 proof, that could have been given by God the Father, or 
 God the Son. Befides, we have herein a perfect obedience 
 to the divine law, recommended to us, by an example, in 
 itfelf, the moll engaging, fet before us on deilgn that war 
 mould imitate it ; ana fet us by him, who left his Father's 
 bofom, and died on th-: crofs to redeem us from all iniquity, 
 and purify us to him felf, a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works. Add to all this, the divinely enlightened foul, in 
 confequence of the new taile and relifh, communicated in 
 regeneration, (Rom. viii. 5) begins to difcern, that it is 
 not only the fiueit, but the happieft thing in the world, 
 yea, is even the beginning of eternal life, and fureufte of 
 Heaven, to afpiie to be holy as God is holy, to love Gcd 
 R 2 
 
iSo THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 arci live to him, and live upon him through Jefus Chrirt, 
 and love the people of God, and love ail mankind, and be 
 and do in every refpect, as the divine law requires. — Be- 
 fides, the infinite obligations we are under hereunto, in 
 point of gratitude to God and to his Son, for the infinite 
 Inefs manifefted in the work of cur redemption. To 
 all which we may add, the eternal rewards, which are to 
 I by Jefus cur final judge, to all his obedient 
 les at the laftDay ; for fervices fo finfully defective, 
 j be accepted, were it not for our union v. i.h 
 loU to him, who is God's bclcved Son, and heir 
 ngs\ For at that Day, not fo much as a cup of 
 iven :o a difciple, in the name of a difciple, 
 be overlooked, or pafs unrewarded. The higheft re- 
 the Kings of the Earth, give to victorious 
 . : a 1 5 , who have ventured their lives in their fervice in 
 i;. feme title of honour, or poft cf profit, a k.urcl 
 , a mere trifle ; but Jefus gives an etr;o.irl reward in 
 for lot a cup cf cold 'water. — Thcfe, and all 
 things, which ccme into the vi<:w cf the divinely erlight- 
 enedfoul, harmonioufly uritc together, to induce him cor- 
 dially to give Gcd the throne, relign to his authority, be 
 at his command, and receive his law as a perfect univerfal 
 rule, according to which, to feel and think, to fpeak cud 
 act, through all his life, and to lock upon himfelf infinitely 
 to blame, wherein foever he comes ftiort cf yielding that 
 perfect love and obedience, which the lav/ requires . 
 
 And what mini be the confeouence cf this, confidering, 
 that the beft arc fanclificd but in part, and that the law 
 requires finlefs perfection ? What, but the law is fpirifuat, 
 I a?n carnal, fold under Jin, O wretched man that 1 am. — 
 What, but a continual fenfe of infinite blame, a life of 
 felf- loathing, and felf-abhorrer.ee, of godly forrow, of pe- 
 nitency, cf broken- hearted nefs, of hungering and thirfl- 
 5ng after righteoufnefs, cf watching, of prayer, of fight- 
 ing, of ftriving, of running, of wreftling, &c. juft as the 
 "New Teftamcnt rcprefents the Chriflian life to be. And 
 what muft be the confequence cf all this, but a growing 
 fenfe cf our need of, and abfolr.te dependence upon the 
 free grace of God through Jefus Chrift, for pardoning, 
 mercy and fanclifying grace every day ? We are the circum- 
 ciJion> which wcrjhip God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Chrift 
 y ejus, and have no covfidence in iheflejh, And thus true Saints. 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. iBl 
 
 are trained up to prize the Redeemer, and the SancVifier, 
 and live wholly by Faith; while at the fame time, they are 
 perfecting holin;fs in the fear of the Lord. 
 
 And in this view, it is eafy to fee the reafon, why a life 
 of univerfhl obedience is constantly repTefented in the holy 
 Scriptures, as peculiar to true Saints, in difti notion from 
 ail falfe profeiTors; as true Saints are the only perfons in 
 the World, wno cordially receive the divine law as a rule 
 of life. Affl/.vii. 21, 27. chap. x\Y\. 23. — joh. xv. 2,6, 14. 
 — Jam. ii. 10. — 1 [oh. ii. 3. 4, 5, 6. chap. iii. 3, 10. chap. 
 v. 18, &c. &c. 
 
 And in this view, it is eafy to Tec the reafon, why hu- 
 mility is, at the fame time, and in perfect confidence, re- 
 prefented through all the Scriptures, as the chief part oi R 
 good man's character. An hypocrite bring i of the 
 
 divine law, the more religious he is, the more proud and 
 couceiied will he be: but with a true Saint, it is juit the 
 contrary. For if the divine law is his rule of duty, and if 
 his obligations perfectly to conform thereto are infinite, and 
 his blame for every defeel proporti eat, and i 
 
 fault is wholly in aim, if his remaining fpiritual blind nefs 
 is altogether criminal, his ftupidity to the beauty of divine 
 things wholly vicious, his want of perfect love to God and 
 Chriit, and the moil tender regard to the welfare of man- 
 kind inexcufable wickednefs, &c. fee. If this be the true 
 ftate of the cafe, and if he views things in this light, a 
 mean and low the ugh t of himfelf, and an aniwerable frame 
 of heart, as he has ail the reafon in the World for it, mule 
 be a very eflential part of his ( b. ii. 4. Behold 
 
 his foul which is lifted up, is hot up>i^ ! :t in him. No 
 er proof, as man is ignorant of the truth, as it is in Je- 
 fus, than fpiritual pride reigning ir. his heart. The 
 gracelels Pharifee, ignorant of the true fenfe pf the divine 
 law, was ready to fay, God, I thank thee, l x &m net as other 
 men. While to the penitent Publican, in a view of the 
 truth, it was altogether natural to fmite up^n ills i reaft, 
 and fay, God be mer fful to me A fimter. The 
 were ready to fay, Behold we fee. While the h< 
 lifts up his cry to Heaven, Open thou mine eyes, that I i,:ay 
 heboid wondrous dings out of i-.y law, r . 
 is the genuine language of the heart oi the . fl en 
 ened Saint. For, fays the Apoftle, Phil, iii 13, 14, 1 
 not myfelf to have apprehended; but this one thing I do. 
 
IO*2 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XH» 
 
 getting tbofe things which are behind ', and reaching forth unto 
 things which arc lefore, I prefs towards the mark, for 
 the prize of the high cal ! i/:g cf Gcd in Chrifi J ejus. 
 
 Ana to a man of a humble, broken, contrite heart, it 
 will be eafy to bear injuries, to leve and forgive enemies ; 
 and natural in lowlinefs of mind to prefer others before 
 himfelf, to render honour to whom honour is due, and as 
 much as in him lies live peaceably with all men, according 
 to the exhortations of the Gofpel. Beiides, that fuch a 
 frame of heart mull be an excellent preparative to all fe- 
 cial and relative duties, io tha: the character of a good 
 hufband, a good wife, a good parent, a good child, good- 
 neighbour, &c. meek, kind, ju'.t, honeft, faithful, &c. will 
 be the native refult of Divine Illumination. And thus true 
 Saints are the fait of the Earth, the light of the World: and 
 while others bt .-, they are ccnihainei to 
 
 glorify thdr Father which is in Heaven. And the connec- 
 tion between Divine Illumination and all holy living, is fo 
 certain and infallible, that it is declared from Heaven, that 
 be that faith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, 
 is a liar, and the truth is net in him. For we all, with open 
 face, beholding as in a glafs the glory if the Lord, are changed 
 into the fame im % glory to glory. 
 
 And as Divine Illumination thus lays the foundation for 
 all Chriilian graces and duties ; fo at the fame time it e- 
 qually lays a foundation for all Christian comforts and con- 
 solation. 
 
 A view of God the abfolutely perfect, the infinitely glo- 
 rious and amiable Being, as manifefted in the Gofpel of 
 Chriir, is a fource of ineffable py and. confolation to the 
 divindy enlightened foul. The holy beauty of the divine 
 Mature, is, in itfelf, the moR fweet and ravifhing thing in 
 the Univerfe, which can be beheld by Angels or men. — 
 Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hi-fis, the whole Earth is full 
 cf his glory ; is the language of Heaven in a tranfport. And 
 the inetFabie glory of the divine Nature is the mil and chief 
 thing, which ftrikes '.he mind snd charms the heart of 
 him that ; ;ened. This is life eternal, this is the 
 
 to know thee, the only true Gcd, 
 mnd Jefus Cbriji whom thou hafi fent. 
 
 A view of an ab % an infinitely glorioua 
 
 and amiable Being, at the head of the Univerfe, preients 
 before the mind an all-fuffieient good ; a glorious and ra- 
 
JEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 183 
 
 viihing iic;ht, to a poor orphan, feif ruined creature, in 
 want of au things : and a light never before fcen and indeed 
 no where ei(e to be feen in Heaven or Earth. The joys 
 which are the native refult of this view, no words can fully 
 cxp;efs. It Ujcy unfyeakabU and full of glory* Pfal. lxxiii. 
 25. Whom bate 1 in Heaven but tlee, and there is none on 
 
 Earth that I dejire bejides tbee. For, 
 
 As, in Divine Illumination, the mind is thoroughly con- 
 vinced cf the truth of the Gofpcl ; 10 it appears to the 
 foul, both, that God can confidently with hi, honour, and 
 that he is willing to receive to favour, any, the moil naked, 
 forlorn, wretched, guilty, ill-deferving,of the human race, 
 which fhall come unto God by Jeius Chriii ; and to become 
 a God and father and friend and portion to them through 
 him. Which is to fee even God himfelf, the infinitely 
 glorious God, the Supreme Good, prefented to his choice, 
 through jefus Chrift, as the portion of his foul. All . 
 are ready, come unto the marriage. It appears to be a 
 He makes no excufe. But like the man in Mat. xiii. 44. 
 who having found a treafure hid in a field, fer joy thereof, be 
 goeth andfelleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. And 
 io he drinks of that water, fpoken of in Joh. iv. 10, 14. 
 which, nx/hofoever drinketb , fhall never \tbirfi f. And when be 
 comes fer.nbiy to have God, for his God, father raid p r- 
 tion, he is happier than if all the world were his own. 
 Hab. iii. 17, 81. Although the fig-tree jball not blcfjfom, nei- 
 ther fiat I fruit he in the -vires, &c. yet 1 will rejoiee in the 
 Lsru, I <wul joy in the God of my falvation. Therefore faii 
 the Apoltle to the primitive Chriflians, not in the leafl de- 
 jected for his part, al :hcugh then a prifoner at Rome, and 
 his converts in a ilate of pfrfecution, Rejoice in the Lord 
 aUways : and again :e. Be careful fornothing, but 
 
 in evi by prayer ( cation ivitb thankfgiving, 
 
 I 1 unto Gcd. And the peace of 
 
 G A your he crts and 
 
 nil. iv. 4. 9, 7. For, in chu- 
 ne Goou, all earthly idols are re- 
 
 • : , our treafure is hid up in Heaven ; and if grace 
 i forts will remain, let out- 
 
 ward ill. Beiides, it is found by ex- 
 
 pert 
 • - work toge- 
 
 for goo a to them that love (jW. And lo the heart i$ 
 
184 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 reconciled f ~. yea, rejciccthin, God's ways towards the 
 
 children of men in this life. Bciidcs, 
 
 fee an abfolutely perfect, an infinitely glorious and 
 amiable Being, at the head of the Univerfe, is matter of 
 >lejoy. Both becaufe it is an honour due to him, 
 who is by nature God, to be fupreme, to ta!;e the throne, 
 to rule and reign, and to be worfnipped as God : and be- 
 caofe it is infinitely to the advantage of the Intellectual 
 fyftem, to be under a government, in its own nature abfo- 
 lutely perfect. Pfai. xcvii. 1. The Lad reignetb, let the 
 Earth rejoice > let I he multitude of ljles be glad thereof . — Pfai. 
 XCvi. 1. O fir.g unto the Lord a new fotig, fing unto the Lord 
 all 1 he Earth. \ r er. 4. For the Lord is great, and greatly to 
 be praifed ; be is to be feared above all Gods, \ er. 8. Give 
 
 be. Lord the glory due unto his name. \ er. IO. Say among 
 the Heathen the Lord re ignfth. Yer. 11, 12, 13. Let the 
 is rejoice, and let the Earth he glad ; let the J'ea roar 
 and the fulnefs thereof : let the field be joyful and all that is 
 therein . . /hall all the trees of toe -wood rejoice before the 
 Lord : for he cometk to judge the Earth : be jh all judge the 
 \fncj'Sy and the pec [die with his truth, i 
 iii. Praife ye the L:rd. Praife ye the Lord from the Hea- 
 vens : praife him in the /.eights : praife him all ye his yl. c 
 praife him all his hojls, &:c. tic. For his name (done is excel- 
 lent, Lis glory is - Earth and Heaven. 8:c. — Befid<'3, 
 A \icw of the divi ly, juft and good, a glo- 
 rious law, and of \ [ufHce s.* a be.iuty in the di- 
 vine Character, difpels thofe black, gloomy, blafphemous 
 thoughts, which are apt to haunt benighted fouls, and gra- 
 dual! e mind to difeem the holinefs, juftice 
 
 ;j's general plan of government, as repre- 
 
 1 in the holy Scriptures, from the fall of Angels, d< wn 
 to ihe day of ) udg ment, \ 1 h eternal ages. Whereby 
 
 a Heavenly ferenity and gh the fouls of 
 
 the Saints, t • fee all God's ways to bu right, and even 
 thofe parts of ids conduct, which, to many, appear fo 
 rible, to be re; iful in themfelves, worthy of God, 
 
 and to his eternal honour. Of whom, and by whom, end to 
 
 ■1. are all things: to whom beglorj forever, Amen. Rom. 
 
 . T ne exec ; : glory to God and good to 
 
 the faved, which in time and eternity, are, , 
 to the Scriptures, to rcfult from the incarnation, life, death, 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 1S5 
 
 refurreclion and exaltation of the Son of God, is en inex- 
 hauftible fource of joy and coniolation, to thofe who arc 
 divinely en-lightened ; as they are deeply intercut d in the 
 henour of God and of his .^on, and in the welfare cf his 
 holy and eternal kin; dom. Glory to God in the bigbeft, on 
 Earth peace, and ;••;.■ w as the joyful iovg 
 
 of the Heavenly at the bin] Saviour. And 
 
 the hearts of all the Saints echo to it with ineffable eonfo- 
 
 lation. Moreover, 
 
 To love God, to I - feel every anfwer- 
 
 able :. )ward the gle pel cf Jcfus Chrif;, 
 
 to prefent and offer up our liv< a living . . i ice to G^<1, 
 to love tiie people of God, to love all ma love 
 
 and forgive enemies, to go about the common duties of 
 life in the fear of God, and as hi" fervants, 1 cavenly mind- 
 ed, of a meek and quiet fpirit, compofed, fedate, with our 
 loins girt, always watching a ng, is the 
 
 happieft way of living on this fide of Heaven. The o:- 
 crcife of theie and all other gir.c.s of the Chriftian life, is, 
 i'.fc'if, a plealure divinely fweet. Wifdonfs ways are pie k- 
 
 and all her paths are peace. Prov. iii. 17. Great j 
 have they that love thy lev: ; g frail effend i 
 
 Pfal. cxix. 165. In a word, a humble, broken, contrite 
 heart, mortified to all earthly goods, and fortified agaiflft 
 all earthly evils, and ofed to converfe with the Deity, is 
 attended with pleafures unfpeakably preferable to all this 
 World can be 
 
 Thus Divine Illumination lays the foundation for Chris- 
 tian graces and Chriftian comforts. They arc connected 
 together in the experiences of the Saints, juft as the 
 in the promifes of God's word. For all the promifes of 
 God are in Chrift, Yea, and Amen. Come unto me all ye 
 that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft. — 
 Take my yoke upon you, and learn tf me, for I am 
 lowly in hearty and ye Jhall find reft to your fouls , M 
 28, 29. For thus faith the high and lofty One, 1 hat inbetbi- 
 teth eternity, whofe name is holy, I dwell in ti. 
 place i ivith him alfo that is cf a contrite and humble ,] 
 to revive the fpirit of the humble, and to revive the fpirit of 
 contrite ones. liai. ]vii. 15. For he thai bumbleth bimfelf Jhall 
 be exalted. Luk. xviii. 14. He that hath my command, 
 and keepetb them, he it is that leveih me : and he that lovcih 
 me, jhall le loved of my Father 5 and 1 will love hint. Mid 
 
lS6 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 maniffft myfelf unto him, Joh. xiv. 21. — Thus Chrillian 
 graces and ChriiUan comforts go together. And if the 
 gr ccs and comforts of the Saints are at any time in a lan- 
 guifhin^ ftate it is owing to their fpiritual Blindnefs, which 
 i\ fa criminal nature; and I'o the fault is en- 
 
 tire!) Exhibited to view in the 
 
 < ' Id in their glory, are fufficient to make their 
 
 graces and comforts always abound. — And if the graces 
 and comforts ci' the Saint; are in a flourifhing ftate, it is 
 entirely owing to fpiritual light, or a fenfe of the glory of 
 divine truths, communicated to them fiom God, of his 
 meer felf-moving gooduefs and infinite gr^ce through Jefus 
 Chrift, to creatures infinitely unworthy: and fo all the 
 glory is due to him, of whom, and by whom, and to whom 
 are all things } to -j^horn be gl cry for e-zer, Amen, 
 
 Thus we have taken a view, a very brief, general, im- 
 perfect view of the Effects of Divine Illumination ; and may 
 now conclude this Section with a few remarks. 
 
 1. The graces and joys of Saints on Earth, and Saints 
 in Heaven, are of the fame nature. The fame kind of ho- 
 linefs and happinefs is begun in Divine Illumination in this 
 World, as Saints are poileffed of in Heaven, only in a much 
 lower degree. Eternal life is be> m. (Joh. xvii. 
 
 3.) They arej 'th to life. (Joh. v. 24.) They 
 
 begin to live. :gin to view things and feci tow- 
 
 ard them a, they do in Heaven. The fame li 1 now 
 
 fnines, vt\\\ Jhine mere and more unto the ■■•. (?rov. 
 
 iv. j8.) At firil it is very fmr.il like a grain of muftard 
 feed; but it is of the lame kind with that perfect hoi 
 and happinefs which is above. And i'o it is an earneft of 
 Heaven. (Eph, i. 14.) Yea, it is of the fame kind with 
 the perfect holinefs a v Jefus Chrift their head. 
 
 For they are made partakers of the di-vine Nature. (2 Pet. i. 
 4.) Of his ful :-iejs they all receive, and grace for grace, 
 (Joh. i, 16.) For hois t id they are the Branches; 
 
 (Joh. xv.) ail animated by the fame Spirit, and poil'dled of 
 the fame kind of life. And indeed, there is but one kind 
 of true holinefs in the Univerfe, whether viewed in God 
 the Father, or in Chrift the Mediator, or in Saints who are 
 members of Chrift. God is the original fountain and fland- 
 ard of true holinefs ; the Moral Lav/ is a tranfeript of God's 
 moral perfections, the very irna^e of his heart; a perfect 
 conformity to this law, through the greatell trials in life 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. iS/ 
 
 and dearh, conftituted the medial :t lighteoufnefs 
 
 of jefus Chritl, our repu ittern ; and that 
 
 holineh in believers, wherein they refemble Jefus Chriil, 
 confifts in conform; fame Law. And herein it is 
 
 diilinguifneri from every counterfeit in the Worlds Let it 
 once, therefore, be 
 
 is, which God exhibits of himfelf in his law, and wherein 
 i:s beauty lie.' i i it is 10 love it, as the divine law 
 
 originally required of mankind, and the nature of true 
 holii rtained beyond difpute. (i) 
 
 And in this view, it a ftriking evidence, 
 
 that he who never bcheid the glory of the divine law, ne- 
 ver had an , or love I linefa 
 in his he. rt ; and all his teeming love to Chrift is nothing 
 but t .' feltifh /a (ions, 
 togei tnce of Chrift's true-character. For the 
 as a mediator, but a ty to 
 this original law-: and if the I ioriotis, neither 
 can there beany glory in a p . formity thereto. He, 
 tile re fore, that is blind tuthe beauty of the divine law, is 
 equally blind to the beamy of Chrift, and equally blind to 
 the beauty of the divine Nature, and indeed to al! 
 beauty in the Univerfe ; whether exifting in God, orGhrift, 
 cr Saints; or manifefted in any part of the holy Scripture, 
 or in any part cf the divine conduct which ever came to 
 our knowledge. 
 
 2 Unlefs we look upon the vindictive juftice cf the 
 Deity, as a beiuty in the divine Character, no Chriftian 
 grace can be exercifed, or Chriftian comfort enjoyed, For 
 there can be no Chriftian grace withoot love to God's real 
 character nor Chriftian comfort without eiteeming God the 
 
 (i) Mr. Cud. vts, that : , that kind of 'holinefs J the. d 
 
 for, is that kind of holt nefs the divine law originally required, 
 *< Thi , vf Man" Farther Def, 
 
 p. 225. ffoitii ■ of holinefs which -vsm in J s 
 
 Chrijl ich is in Heaven, And I grant, that 
 
 it is /; 'eat from thai kind of holinefs which he 
 
 he mi i mains, " There is no Iwelinefs in the 
 ie Nature to he conceived of, only in a belief that he loves 
 ne." p. 221, 222- The only quejlion then is, Whether there 
 hi two kinds cf holinefs, e/Jentialiy different in their nature , 
 And jet both of the right kind. — A quejlion eajy to be anfwered. 
 
l88 THE EFFECTS 07" [SIC. XIJ 
 
 fupreme Good. But Vindiclive Juitice is euential to that 
 od, v.'h : ;h is to the Chriftian'a 
 
 view in the crcfs of Chrifl I as in the whole of the 
 
 divine conduct, from the Fall down to the day 
 
 of Judgment^ • bad prop ;ved 
 
 of and con Handy exercifed, v ai charac- 
 
 ter devoid y in 
 
 he is nei hy of fupreme love, 
 
 nor c- fupreme Good to holy minds. — 
 
 And if there is no love to God's character, nor delight in 
 him as the fupreme Good ; there is no Chriftian grace, nor 
 Chriftian comfort. 
 
 If \ . Juftice, is rot a beauty in the divine Cha- 
 
 ra&er, then it will follow, that there no beauty in the di- 
 vine Nature, no beauty in the divine Law, no beauty in 
 the Gofpel of Chrift, no beauty in any part of God's uni- 
 verfal plan of government ; as Vindiclive [uilice fpreads 
 through and is eflentia] to the whole. And fo, no ground 
 or reafon, upon the whole, for any one being in the Univerfe 
 to love Goc's character, or rejoice in his government : but 
 all reafon, for the whole intellectual fyilern, to wilh for an 
 entire revolution in God's empire, to have every thing 
 turned upiide down, and put upon a new foocing, and un- 
 der another regulation. 
 
 To view the Vindictive Jaflice of the divine Nature, as 
 a beauty in the divine Chara&er ; is to fee, that all Heaven 
 ought forever to love and adore the infinitely glorious Ma- 
 jefty, for puniihing fin according to its defert. Rev. xix. 
 i. 6. And unlefs it appears to ui a beauty in the divine 
 conduct thus to punilh fin, we mull be at enmity againft his 
 whole plan of government ; and can never underftandingly 
 and from the heart, wifh him well, or wilh any of his fub- 
 jects to pay him honour ; unlefs we go on this ftupid max- 
 im, " If I am fafe, I, care not what becomes of others." 
 And even this, is to give up the honour of the Deity, as 
 well as the welfare of our fellow-creatures ; and in deed, 
 and in truth, " to wiln well to none but ourfelves." And 
 this is really, in one word, the life and heart and foul of all 
 the religious joys any experience, who are blind to the 
 beauty of the divine Nature, and enemies to his law and 
 government. 
 
 3. Divine truths fpirituaily known, /'. e. feen in their 
 divine glory, beget and excite all thofe holy affections, 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 189 
 
 which conititute the Chriltian character, even that the whole 
 fyltem of divine truths, held forth to view, frcm the be- 
 ginning of Genelis, to the end of Revelation, making up 
 one harmonious, confident, beautiful whole, hath inlluence 
 in this affair, to beget and excite ail thole holy affections, 
 which form the character of a ne-uu man in Cbriji "J ejus ; and 
 which lay a fure foundation for that holy and divine life, 
 which agrees wirh the whole tenor of the Bible, and is pe- 
 culiar to the true followers of the Lamb. — It is granted, 
 that — 
 
 This whole fyltem of truths, ever fo clearly fcen, by a 
 mind of an ill taile, and to which the whole appears very 
 diiagreeable and odious, will excite diilike and hatred. As 
 when, 1700 years ago, this whole fyltem of trnths were ex- 
 emplified in the character of jefus Chriit, before the eyes 
 of the wicked jews, who, the mere they knew of him, the 
 more they hated him. They have bctb jeen and bated, both 
 me and my Fat ber. So the fallen Angels, the more they 
 know of the truths contained in the Bible, the more tlu-y 
 hate them. And tiie fame may be faid of all the cnildren 
 of difobedience, who are left of God to their own hearts' 
 lufts, and are under the power of the Prince of the air, led 
 captive by him at his will. For the carnal mind bein:^ at 
 enmity againltGod, is, of courfe, equally at enmity againit 
 that whole fyltem of truth in which his true character is 
 exhibited. And it is this, which renders the regenerating 
 influences of the hoiy Spirit abfolutely neceflary in order 
 that divine truths may be feen in fuch a light as to beget 
 and excite all holy affections. The regenerating influences 
 of the holy Spirit are not neceflary to make f !fe fchemes 
 of religion feem lovely to a carnal heart : becaufe fuch 
 fchemes are calculated for it, and in their own nature are 
 adapted to fuit carnal hearts. And were the Scripture fyf- 
 tem of fentiments as agreeable to a carnal heart, as the 
 fyftem of fentiments contained in falfe fchemes, i: might 
 appear agreeable and lovely, and excite anfwerable affec- 
 tions without fach influences ; and fo the doctrine of re- 
 generation by the holy Spirit might have been left out of 
 the Bible, juft as it is out of all falfe fchemes. But being 
 what it is, except a. man is born again, he cannot fee tbe king- 
 dom of God. The Gofpel will be hid from him. For the 
 natural man difcemetb not tbe things of tbe Spirit of God. — 
 
 R 
 
19° THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 Did the Aim and fubftance of the Gofpel confifc in a Reve- 
 lation, that there is forgimenefs -ixmb Go a for impenitent Sin- 
 nets, or that my Jim :n particular arc forgiven, 1 might with- 
 out the regenerating influences of the holy Spirit, merely 
 from iclf-iove, be raviihed with this. Or did the fum and 
 fubftance of the Golpel conn ft in a Revelation, that fuch a 
 civil, fober, honell life, will entitle me to Heaven, as my 
 prefent comfort and worldly intereft naturally excites me 
 to, i might be pleafed with the Golpel Revelation without 
 any influences from above at all. And the like may be faid 
 
 in all fimiiar cafes. Again, 
 
 The Scripture fyitem cf divine truths being one harmo- 
 nious confident Wnole, the true divine beaucy of no par- 
 ticular truth can be ieen by a rnind, at enmity againft any 
 part of the whole fyitem : The nature of every particular 
 divine truth being the fame, exactly the fame, as the na- 
 ture of the whole. And for this reafor, it is as eafy to dif- 
 cem the beauty cf one particular truth, of which the mind 
 has a clear conception, as of anotoer ; one being, when 
 rightly understood, no more contrary to a carnal heart than 
 another. For intranet-, the true beauty of divine Goodnefs 
 rightly underilood. is as remote from the fight of a wicked 
 man, as the true beauty of vindictive juiiice. And therea- 
 fon it feems otherwife to many wicked men, is becaufe their 
 notion of God's goodaefs, and of God's juftice, are not ac- 
 cording to truth, lor in God thefe two perfections are 
 perfectly harmonious. God's feverity againft fin, harmo- 
 nizes with his goodnefs ; and his goodnefs harmonizes with 
 his feverity againft fin. For God's nature is in perfect har- 
 mony with, itfelf. But wicked men are very apt to vie»v the 
 matter in a different light ; and fo while they hate one per- 
 fection, they imagine they love another. Or, to allude to 
 the Manic bean fcheme, while they hate the God of the Old 
 Teftament, they love the God of the Ne"w j or, toexprefs 
 the fame thing in modern language, while they hate God 
 out of Chrift, they love God in Chrift. But all this is whol- 
 ly owing to their rr.ifh.kiug the true nature of things. He 
 who really loves any one of the divine perfections, on the 
 account of its real lovelmefs, cannot fail to love them all, 
 and he who is biind to the beauty cf one, is equally blind 
 to the beauty of all. For, in ftrict truth, all the moral per- 
 fections of God are really but one, as was before obferved, 
 although differently denominated, from their different ex- 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 191 
 
 ercifes toward various objects. 1 Joh. i. 5. God is Light, 
 and in him is no darkuefs at all. Pei fcii in beauty, without 
 a blemifti. Deut. xxxii. 4. — Ifai. vi. 3. Moreover, let it be 
 obierved and carefully attended to, that, 
 
 All divine truths in general, and without any one ex- 
 ception, are fuited to beget and excite holy affections in 
 divinely enlightened fouls. There is not one truth in the 
 whole Scripture fcheme, but what is a dofirine according to 
 Godlinefs. 1 Tim. vi. 3. And all jointly unite their influ- 
 ence to form the character of the godly man. Rom. vi. 
 17. Ye have obeyed from the heart, that form ff decirine Hubicb 
 nvas delivered you. Is God reprefented in Scripture, as the 
 Creator and Lord of all things ? O come let us moorfaip ar.d 
 bovo doven ; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, is the ef- 
 fect. Pfal, xcv. 6. Is God reprefeiued as the Governor 
 of the World, and his Government, as bcirg, like himfeif, 
 absolutely perfedt ; Tbe Lord reigneth, let the Earth rejoice ; 
 let the multitude of the ljles be glad thereof, is the effect. 
 Pfal. xcvii. I. Is God reprefented as the fupreme good ? 
 Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none en Earth 
 I dejire befedes thee, is the effect, Pfal. lxxiii. 25. Is God's 
 law reprefented as holy, jull and good, a perfect law ? The 
 lavj of the Lord is perfccl, converting the foul : O hovu love I 
 thy law ! it is my meditation all the day, is the effeft, Pfal. 
 xix. 8. and cxix. 97. And doth the divine law threaten 
 eternal damnation for the lea ft defect? And is it reprefent- 
 ed as glorious in this view ? Gal. iii. ic. — 2 Cor. iii. 7, 9. 
 Thou art right ecus nuben thou fpcakeft , and clear vuhen thou 
 judgefi ; our mouth is fopped and vje f and guilty before God ; 
 and L through the lavu am dead to the lan.v, that I might live 
 to God ; is the effect, Rom. iii. 4. 19. — Gal. ii. 19. is there 
 no other name but Chrift's given under Heaven whereby 
 men can be faved ? To rejoice in Chrijl fcfus, and have nt 
 confidence in tbe flefh, is the effect, Phil. iii. 3. Is it faid, 
 be ye perfect as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect ? 
 Ti-e effect is, 1 count not myfelf to have apprehended ; but 
 this one thing I do. forgetting thofe things which are behind, 
 and reaching forth toward thofe rhi;-gs nvhicb are before, I 
 prej's toward lie mark, for the prize of the high calling of God 
 in Cbrift Jefus. Phil. iii. 13, 14. The fame might be faid 
 of every divine truth in the whole Scripture fyllem ; for 
 they are all of them doe! fines according to godlintfs.m. . . 
 And therefore, R 2 
 
I92 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII 
 
 We may eafily and with the greateft certainty anfwer 
 this queition. " Are men regenerated by the law, or by 
 the Gofpel : — If by regenerated is meant enabled to jee the 
 holy beauty of divine truths, we are regenerated neither bv 
 the law, nor by the Gofpel, or by any external means or 
 instructions whatfoever; but by the immediate influences of 
 the huly Spirit. Mat. xi. 25. Chap.xvii. 17 — joh. vi. 45. 
 2 Cor. iv. 6. — If by regenerated is meant /.-.. u be- 
 
 egotten and excited in the hearty in thio fenfe we are re- 
 generated by the law, and regenerated by the Gofpel, and 
 ;d by every divine truth in general. Agreeable 
 to that of our blelTed Saviour, (Joh. xvii.) Sanctify thsm 
 h thy truth t thy word is truth. For the divine law is 
 s word, as much as the Gofpel. Every divine truth 
 is the word of God. To lay, that there are fome particular 
 divine truths, which although known, do not beget and 
 excite in us holy affections anfwerable to their nature j is to 
 fay, that there are fome divine truths which we do not 
 , which is to fay, that we are hypocrites. 
 
 Ohjec. But does net St. Paul fay, / ha-ve begotten yen 
 through the Gofpel ? 
 
 rue. — And does not David fay, The laiv of 
 the Lord is perfetl converting the foul P Only urderfland thc'.e 
 texts in a confiicency with each other, and you may he a 
 lent Chriitian. Eut if the character of God, as exhi- 
 bited in the law, appears odious to you, 2nd excites hatred 
 and heart-riilngs ; while the character of God, which you 
 imagine to be exhibited in the Gofpel, appears lovely, and 
 excites love and joy; — you arc not a ChrilHan — you are a 
 Manichean — you hate the God of the Old Tefcament, ard 
 love the God of the New. And {o you have two Gods, 
 of characters effentially different. But St. Paul's Gofpel 
 was built on this, as a fundamental maxim, that God's cha- 
 racter, as exhibited in the law, was perfect in beauty, with- 
 out a blemifh. For, to do honour to this character, accor- 
 ding to St. Paul, the Son of God became incarnate and 
 died on the crofs, even to declare his Father's rigkteoufnefs, 
 that he might be juft, and yet the Jujlijier of the believer. St. 
 Paul's Gofpel comprifed the whole iyftem of divine truths, 
 in their proper arrangement, in perfect harmony. To be 
 begotten by his Gofpel, is to have holy affections anfwerable 
 to that whole fyftem excited in us; and fo, to become not 
 Manicheans, but confident Chriltians : obeying from the heart 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 193 
 
 that form of diclrine which he delivered — and even reafon 
 
 teacnes, that it mult be fo. For, 
 
 If divinely enlightened fouls have a relifh for holy beauty, 
 for fucii beauty as there is in God's real character ; then 
 every divine truth, as it exhibits his real character, will, 
 if it comes into our view, appear beautiful ; and will accor- 
 dingly beget and excite holy affections anfvverable to its 
 nature. .But the divine law gives a very bright exhibition 
 of God's real character, in irs precepts, promifes and threa- 
 tenings, as they are holy, ju;t and good, a tranfeript of the 
 holinefs, julHceand goodneisof the divine Nature, the very 
 image of his heart. The divine law therefore is luited in 
 its own nature to excite holy affeclions, in the divinely en- 
 lightened foul, as well as the crofs of Chrift. And in fac>. 
 it does fo, from the very moment his eyes begin to be o- 
 pened at converfion, until they are perfectly opened in 
 Heaven. The law of the Lord is pcrfeSt, con-oenirg the foul : 
 the Jlatutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The 
 "Judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, more 
 to be defred H^igold, yea than much fine gold : fleeter alfo 
 than honey, andthe honey-ccmb, Pfal. xix. 7, 10. 
 
 Objec. " But what occanon was there then for the death 
 of Chrift?" 
 
 Anfw. 1. Abfolutely none at all, under a notion the law 
 was too ievere, a bad, an unamiable law, and we the abuf- 
 ed injured party, that by his death he might purchafe for 
 us the relief which was our due, and fo pacify our embit- 
 tered angry minds, which had been exafperated againit the 
 Deity, the Lawgiver, and bring us to have a good thought 
 of God, as being " altogether made up of love to us ;" 
 and in this view to be reconciled to him, againrt whom, 
 viewed as exhibited in Ins holy law, " we are full of ha- 
 tred and heart-riiings, in fpite of our hearts." — To believe 
 the Son of God died for this purpofe, to view his death in 
 this light, and to grow devout in fuch a view, is as bad as 
 right down Infidelity. And fuch a religion, refulting from 
 thefe blafphemous views, mu \ be infinitely provoking to 
 the Deity. No American Pagan, no African Hottentot, 
 ever efpoufed a fcheme of religion, more abfurd in itfeif, 
 or more impious in its nature. — " What occafion was there 
 then for the death of Chrift r" 
 
 2. " What occafion?" A furprizingly ftupid queflion ! 
 R 3 
 
194 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 V\ hen as, the beauty of the divine law, and the tranfcendent 
 beauty and glory of the divine Character as exhibited in 
 the law, was the occaiion, the great occaiion, the only oc- 
 casion, of the death of an incarnate God, in the room of a 
 God-defpifing, God-hating World, that thereby he might 
 \ indicate the divine Character, ceciare it to be right, and 
 give a public proof, the greateir. which couid have been 
 given, that the law was holy, juit and gcou, to the end, 
 that confiiient with the honour of his Chan.clcr and Go- 
 vernment, and to the glory of his grace, God might have 
 mercy on whom he v. ill have mercy, open the eye;; of the 
 Klevit, and bring them to repent and return to God through 
 jefus Chrift, and in his name, and fimply on his ace 
 pardon and fave them with an everlafting falvation. And 
 es, this very view of the divine law, is the very thing 
 which leads the enlightened foul to fee its need of Chrift's 
 atonement : for, no man can fee his nesd of the atonement 
 of Chrift to do honcur to the divine law, unlefs he fees that 
 which renders it needful . but the excellency and honour- 
 ablenefs cf the divine law, which we had dinhonoureu, was 
 the only thing, which rendered the atonement of Chiift 
 needful, in oraer to cur falvation. If the law had not been 
 a glorious law, and worthy of this honour, there had been 
 no need, no occaiion for the death of Chrift in order to our 
 falvation, as has been before proved. But to return, 
 
 All holy affections, I fay, are begotten and excited by 
 the truth. On the other hand, in all falfe fchemes of re- 
 Iigion, their love and joy, and all their devout affections, 
 in which a carnal heart is fo much pleafea, are begotten 
 and excited by a lie ; a lie invented to pieafe a carnal heart. 
 I fay, in all falfe fchemes of religion And this is the 
 i that fajife fchemes of religicn are adhered to by de- 
 luded Sinners with Inch an invincible ohitinacy. They 
 fuit their carnal hearts : but they hate the truth. And 
 therefore in the Apoftolic age, while the Aroftles were yet 
 alive, with all their infpiration, their miracles, their zeal, 
 their tears, they cou'd not help the matter; but in fpight 
 of all they could do, it in fad was, as St. Paul told Timothy, 
 Evil men and fedveers, Jhall *wax ivor/e and nuorj'e, deceiving 
 and ijeing deceived, z Tim. iii. 13. 
 
 Yea, men i. 1 the nature of manl ind, and fuch the nature 
 of our holy religion, that nothing can be dene to purpofe in 
 propagating true Chriftifinity, without divine influences 
 
SEC. XII.] DIVINE ILLUMINATION. 195 
 
 from above. The experiment has been made, and tho- 
 roughly made. — Our bieffed Saviour preached at Corazin, 
 Bethfaida, and Capernaum, and fpake as never man fp: ke, 
 and wrought many miracles befoie their eyes; but not fo 
 much as one o r his hearers were brought [o repentance by 
 ail his preaching and miracles, thoie only excepted, to 
 whom God by hi5 ipnit internally revealed the truth in its 
 glory. Yea, our Saviour had no expectation to make con- 
 verts by the ivjice of preaching and miracles: He even laid 
 it down for a maxim, that no man can come to the Son but 
 whom the Father draws. Without divine ;e icbing he k 
 that all external initruccion would he ineffectual. — I 
 always laid ail ihe blame at the Sinnei 's door . 20, 
 
 25. — joh. vi. 44. chap. viii. 42, 47. chap. xv. 72 — Mat. 
 xxii. 1,7. 
 
 So likewife, the Apoftle Paul, of mere men the belt, 
 preacher .hat ever lived, let him preach in the demcnjlr alien 
 cf the fpirit eitid p&iwr % let him travail in birth lor his hea- 
 rers, and reajon out of the Scriptures , and add miracles to 
 his arguments^ it was all the fame ; the Jews were provoked, 
 and tne gentiles laughed ; Chrirl crucified was a Humbling 
 block to the one, and foolifhnefs to the other. Nor did 
 he ever make one fin cere convert to Chriftianity in hi.- life-, 
 mercy by tne force of external means. Nay, after long 
 experience, lie publickly declared to the world, that the 
 natural man recei'ceth not the things of the Spirit cf God, for 
 they are foolijhiiefs unto him ; neither can he know tocm, be- 
 caufe they are fpirit ually dijeemed. — Mean while, the falfe 
 teachers, who hated St. Paul, could make converts thick 
 and faft, fincere converts to their falfe fchemes, among 
 gracelefs profeffors, whofe hearts; like tinder, flood ready 
 to catch the falfe fire, which they communicated. — A carnal 
 heart may love a falfe Gofpel. Among the great variety 
 of falfe fchemes, perhaps there is no carnal heart but may 
 find fome one to his mind. 1^ not, he can invent one of 
 his own exactly to fuit his ftate. But no unregenerate man 
 will love the truth. Nei aments, nor miracles will 
 
 bring him to it. 
 
 4. What has been faid, may lead us to f?e, what St. 
 Paul means by the calling, the holy calling, tne heavenly 
 celling, the high culling cf God in Chrif Jefus, which he 
 fpeaks of as common to all true Saints, and peculiar to them 
 alone, ( 1 Cor. i. 26. — 2 Tim. i. 9. — Heb. iii. 1. — Phil. iii. 
 
I96 THE EFFECTS OF [SEC. XII. 
 
 14) fpeaking cf this calling in Rom. viii. 28, he fayv, IVe 
 know thai all ti together for good to them that love 
 
 God, to them who are CALLED according to his purpofe. And 
 again, \er. 30. i Hnate, them be alfo cal- 
 
 led; .... them he alfo jujlified ; and whom 
 
 led. And in 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. 
 i crucified unto the jews a fumbling block, 
 e Greeks foolijhnefs ; but to them t bat are called, 
 Chriji of God, and the wifdo)n cf God. Compared 
 
 with ver. 18. The preaching of the Crofs is to them that pe- 
 rish foolijhnefs ; but unto us who are saved, // is the power 
 of God. Compared with 1 Cor. ii. 14. The natural 
 man receiveth not the things of the Spirit cf God ; for tbey 
 are foolifhnefs unto him: neither can be know them, becaufe 
 ibey are fpiritually difcerned. ver. 15. But be that is spiri- 
 tv al judgeth all things. Compared with Rom. viii. 9. If 
 any man have not toe spirit of Chrifl, be is none of bis. — 
 Compared alfo with 2 Cor. iv. 3. If our Gofpel is hid, it 
 is bid to them that art lost, (ver 4.) in whom the God cf 
 this World hath blinded tee minds cf them that believe not, 
 leaf the light of the glorious Gofpel of Cbrifl , who is the image 
 of God, fhould jbine unto tiem, ver. 6. For be who commanded 
 tbe light to fhine out of darknefs, hath fhined in our hearts, to 
 give tbe light of the knowledge of t'tpe glory cf God in the face 
 of J 'efts Chrifl. Compared wiih 1 TheiV i. 5. ForourGcfpel 
 came not unto you in word only, but alfo in power , and in tbe 
 Holy Gboji, and in much afiju ranee. Chap. ii. 13. When ye 
 revived the word of God which ye beard of us, ye received it 
 not as the word of Man, but (as it is in truth J tbe l>Vord of 
 Gcd, wbici 11)' worketb afo in you that believe. Com- 
 
 pared vviwii iii. 23. He that received feed into good 
 
 ground, is he thai hearetb the word and understandeth 
 ii, which alfo hearetb fruit. Explained by 2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 We all with open face beholding as in a glafs tie glory of the 
 Lord, are changed into tbe fame image. 
 
 When the Apoftles went forth, according to their Mas- 
 ter's commiiTion, to preach the Gofp 1 to every creature, 
 they firit dtcbred, explained, and proved the great truths 
 they had to deliver, commending themfelves to every man's 
 confidence in the fight cf God : Then rhey callld upon 
 their hearers, to recent and believe the Gofpel, to repent and 
 be baptifed in tie name of J ejus to repent and he converted, 
 to believe in tbe Lord jf ejus Chrifl, to repent and turn to God, 
 
SEC XII. J DIVINE ILLUMINATION IQ7 
 
 faying, Ail things are ready, come unto the marriage (i) — 
 Many who heard thefe things, who had this external ca l.l, 
 made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, 
 another to his merchandize, others mocked, and others were 
 enraged. Thus many were called who did no: come; 
 For their eyes werr blind that they could not fee, and their 
 ears were heavy that they could not hear. But as many 
 as were ordained to eternal life, believed. The Elect ob- 
 tained, and the reft were blinded. For, «u d pre- 
 definate them he alfo called. And thefe all with open 
 face beholding as in a gi. is the . iiic Lord were 
 changed into the fame image, from glory to glory. 
 
 Whom be did ' prede/iinate, them alfo be called. — He, that 
 \z God. God himfelf called them. As it is written, they 
 fall be ali taught of (rod. God himfelf revealed tbefe things 
 to them, ivjat. xi. 25. Opened the whole Gofpel way of 
 life in its divine glory to their fools j and io gave them to 
 fee, that it was in truth, the Word of God. In which view 
 the call of the Gofpel to repent and be converted, to turn 
 to God tnrough Jeius Chrift, could not fail to be 
 They beheld the Gofpel in its glory, they believed it to be 
 true, every anfwerableafFedlion was begotten in their hearts, 
 
 ( 1 ) Mr. Sandeman imagining thai there is forgivenefs with 
 God Through the atonement for 1 -rs, while fitch, 
 
 would not have Sinners called upon in the A p. folic language, 
 Repent and he converted, that your fins ma) he clotted out, or in 
 the language of our Saviour, Come for all things are ready. 
 R ither he would have Preachers only endeavour to hold forth 
 evidence to convince Sinners , that there is for given efs with God 
 
 for impenitent Sinners, while fucb. A pcjf.ve belief of which, 
 he fays , begets hope that I am pardoned. Ai>J this hope begets love 
 to this doctrine of Forgivenefs, which thus relieves me ; in which 
 he fays all godlinefs caffs. And tl us. as no act, exercife, or 
 exertion of the human mind is requifte in order to pardon on his 
 
 fche?ne, fo the Sinner is to be called to no ad, exercife, or exer- 
 tion wbatfoever. And therefore be entirely excludes the Call 
 of the Gofpel. And as the excerm.1 Cr.ll of tie Gofpel is left 
 out of his j'cheme, jo alfo is the internal Call. And a pa/Jive 
 belief that there is forgiven efs wit . God for impenitent Si 
 and a hope that I am forgiven, f that effec- 
 
 tual calling which was effentia to the Apojlolic fchtme. See 
 his Letters on Theron, and to Mr, P:ke. 
 
I98 THE EFFECTS OF, &C. [SEC. XIi. 
 
 they exercifed Repentance toward God, and Faith toward 
 our Lord jefusChrift, they loved the Gofpel, they loved the 
 brethren, ihey loved all mankind, they were willing to p«.rt 
 with all things, and even joyfully to lay down their lives 
 for the tru.h. And whom he called, them he alio juftified ; 
 and whom he jollified, them he alio glorified. For nothing 
 C( uld ever feparate tncm from the iove of God, neither 
 tribulation, nor diiirefs, nor perfecution, nor famine, nor 
 nakednefs, nor peril, nor fword : Nay, in all thefe things 
 they were more than conquerors, through him who loved 
 them. For the fame mind was in them that was in Chrilt 
 Jefus, and which carried him through all the labours of his 
 life, and fufferings of his death. For the Spirit of Chrift 
 dwelt in them, and they were £ble to do all things, through 
 Chriit ftrengthening them. — And thus, this was the true 
 nature of Chriit's Holy Religion in ancient times, in the 
 Apofiolic age. 
 
 And thus we have confidered the Nature and Glory of 
 the Gofpel, the Natuie and Confequences of Spiritual 
 Blindnefs, and the Nature and Effects of Divine Illumina- 
 tion, as was propofed : And nothing now remains, but in 
 as few words as pofiible, to pointout the fundamental prin- 
 ciples on which all the R.eafcnings in this Erfey are built, 
 and tofiicu that we muft come into this fyftem of fer.timents, 
 or turn Infidels, or with Hereticks of old, be incoraiiiert, 
 
 and (o felf condemned And this fhall be attempted in 
 
 the Conclufion. 
 
 THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 There is no confistent Medium between ancient Jpostolk 
 Christianity^ and Infidelity. 
 
 IF the judicious, candid Reaoer will now flop, lock back, 
 and review, from beginning to end, the foregoing 
 EfTay, he will find the whole fyftem of fentim^nts contained 
 in it, all naturally founded in, and refulting from, thefe 
 
 THREE PROPOSITIONS. 
 
THE CONCLUSION. I99 
 
 Prop. I. The Great God, the Creator, Preferver, Lord 
 and Governor of the World, is an abi lately perfect, an 
 iniiniteiy glorious and amiable Being, the fupreme Good, 
 infinitely worthy of fupreu.e love ana honour, and univer- 
 fal obedience from his creature Man. 
 
 Prop. II. The divine law, which requires this of us, en 
 pain of eternal death, is holy, juft and good, a glorious 
 law ; worthy to be magnified and kept in honour in God's 
 Government. 
 
 Prop. III. The Dcfign of the Mediatorial Office and 
 Work of the Son of God incarnate, was to do honour 10 
 the divine Law, and thereby operi a way, in which, God 
 might call, and Sinners might come to him, and he receiv- 
 ed to favour, and entitled to eternal life, confident with 
 the honour of the divine Government. 
 
 If thefe three Propofi lions are true, then that whole 
 fcheme of fentiments, which neceflTarily rcfults from them, 
 muil be equally t.ue. To grant the Proportions, an<; to 
 deny their necefTary confequences, is to be inconfiftent. — 
 And he who denies the firji Proportion, that is, the exig- 
 ence of an abfolutely perfect being, is an Atheift. And to 
 deny the fecond or the third, is to give up the Bible «nd be 
 an lnridel. — Again, he who owns the frit muil grant the 
 fecond, or be inconfiftent. For, if Godis fucn a Being, as 
 the firft a Herts, the divine Law mult be what the fecond 
 affirms. And if the firft and fecond are true, no man can 
 doi.bt of the third. 
 
 But to reduce all to one point, and to be a little more 
 particular : — Chrijl was made a curfe, to redeem us from the 
 curfe of the taw j even from the curfe of that law which 
 curies every one that continuity not in all things. To deny 
 that this law, from the curfe of which C:;;ili redeems us, 
 requires perfect obedience, is expref-ly to contradict the 
 Wo d of G >d, which declares that it lequires us to conti- 
 nue in ail things. To deny that this law cornprifes eternal 
 ruin in its curfe, is again exprefsly to contradict the Word 
 cf God, which declares, that Chrift delivers his people 
 from the wrath to come ; and over and ever again declares, 
 that the :. me will be everlafing , where the worm 
 
 r die, and the f re never be quenched It thercfo r e 
 appears to be a fact, as certain, as that the New Tt (lament 
 is true, that the §on of God incarnate, died on the crofs, 
 
200 THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 to bear the curfeof that la^v. which required perfed obedi- 
 ence of us, on pain of eternal mifery Now, 
 
 That the Son of God, b> his Father's apointment, mould 
 leave trie world of L;iory, become incarnate, appear and 
 Hand and room, to bear the carte which was by 
 
 law due to us, is a fact, the molt wonderful and aiconiihing 
 that e . ; , human ears. And pray, what end had 
 
 God the Father, or God t ie Son, in this infinitely furpriiing 
 ir r 
 
 To fay, that God the Father gave his only begotten 
 and well beloved Son to die, abfolutely, for no end at all, 
 when Sinners might have been faved in every refpect as 
 well without ; i 3 to lay, that Cbrifi crucified., is not the nx>if- 
 dom of God: \ ad the doftrine of the Crofs rnuft be owned 
 to be, what its ancient adverfaries alarmed, foolijhnej's . — 
 Which is to fay. it is not from God. 
 
 If the Son of God incarnate, was made a curfe to redeem 
 us from the curfe of the law, for fome end — It mull have 
 been either — (if!) Becaufe the law was bad, was toofevere; 
 and fo he dud to deliver us from the too great rigour and 
 feverity cf the law, and to put us under a more equitable 
 constitution. Or, (2d) he died becaufe the law was good, 
 to do it honour, to declare God's righteoufnefs, that he 
 might be juft, and yet the Juiti.ier of the believer. — A 
 third end, diftincl from theie two, cannot be mentioned. 
 
 If the Son of God left his Father's bofom, became incar- 
 nate, and died on the crofs, becaufe the law was bad, was 
 toofevere, &c. then it will follow, (lit) That in fa&, the 
 law was bad, and God the Father knew it, and God the 
 Son knew it. (2d) it had therefore been incontinent with 
 every perfection of the divine Nature, to nave held man- 
 kind bound by this law, if Chriil had never died. And 
 therefore, (3d) there was evidently no need of Ml death 
 in the cafe ; unlefs we will fay, (Heaven forbid the blaf- 
 phemy) that God the Father was fuch a tyrant, that he 
 could not do us juftice, uniefs moved thereto by the blood of 
 his own Son. — Which to fay, is worfe than down-right 
 Infidelity. 
 
 If the Son of God left his Father's bofom, became in- 
 carnate, and died on the crofs, becaufe the law was good, 
 to no it honour, &c. then alfo it will follow, (id) That 
 the law was in fact good, and worthy of all this honour ; 
 and God the Father knew it, and God the Son knew it. — 
 
TU2 CONCLUSION*-. 2G1 
 
 Vea, and every child of Adam knows it, whofe eyes are 
 Opened ic Tee it, as it is. (2d) And therefore all cur 
 ill thoughts of the divine l<;w are groundlcis, yea infi- 
 nitely criminal. '1 'iiey a.e of the nature of blafphemy 
 againil God the Father and God the Sun. And hs who 
 doc, noc look v.po'A ins l.iw, as glorious, fo infinitely ho- 
 noured by the father and me Son, may juflly be reputed 
 ftn enemy to tjie Father and tjie bon : And ia a peculiar 
 manner, an enemy to the Crois of Chriit. (3d) The di- 
 vine glory of the atonement primarily conu&i in its doing- 
 i ,,e honour to this glorious law, thereby aflerting the 
 fights of the Godhead, and condemning the iin <jf an appe- 
 late World. (4th) He therefore who is blind to the beauty 
 Of the divineNfttupe, the excellency of the divine Law, and 
 the great evil of bin, mult ofneceffity be blind to the glory 
 of the atonement, (jth) Yea, he who dees net view the 
 divine law as glorious, worthy to be magnified and made 
 honourable, can ieo no reafon why it was honoured on the 
 Crofs of Chrift. A\ fee no wifdom, nor any other 
 
 divine perfection, in the de ith k)C an incarnate God. (6th) 
 Until the 1 Sections exhibited to view en the crofs 
 
 are feen, and ieen in their glory, the Gofpel will not be 
 believed with all the neart, nor will thofe holy affections 
 which conititute the Ciiriilian character, be produced by if. 
 And if our Go/pel is hi J, it is hid to them that are left, (jth) 
 It muft be entirely owing to a fupernaturai, divine influ- 
 ence, rtiut a mind alienated from, and at enmity against 
 God's Character and Law, becomes 1'truck with the beauty 
 and charmed with the glory of.each, as honoured with the 
 higheft honours en the Crofs of Chritt. And therefore, 
 Except a ma:i he bum again, he cai.not fee the kingdom'of God. 
 Thefe, together with that whole fyilem of fentiments in 
 clole connection with thefe, continued in the preceding 
 Eifay, will follow, if Chrift died becaafe the law was geed, 
 to do it honour. To grant that Chriit died for this end, 
 
 and to deny the conlequences, is to be inconfiilent, To 
 
 deny that Shrift died for this end, inevitably leads to Infi- 
 delity. To (ay, that Chrift did not die becaufe the law 
 was good, to do it honour, is to fay, there was no good 
 reafon for his death. To fay, he died becaufe the law was 
 bad, to get it repealed, is to offer a reafon worfe than none. 
 to fay either, is to fay, that Chriftianity is not from 
 God. S 
 
20i THfi CONCLUSION. 
 
 It rcm.-uns therefore that there i.s no confident medium 
 between the ancient A'poftolic Chriftianky, and down-right 
 Infidelir) And accordingly; 
 
 Ji ilnct ttuth, in the fight of God, who fearcheth the 
 keart, there are but two forts of men in Chriitendom ; and 
 st the day of judgment, it will appear fo to all the World. 
 Now we are divided into a great variety of feels and par- 
 ties, but then of fill thefe feds and parties, there will ap- 
 ptarto be but two forts of men, Believers, and Unbelievers. 
 .And then tint niofl remarkable faying of Jefus Chriil, will 
 take efFeft, and be fulfilled. He that believeth and is bap- 
 tixsd Jhall be fated ; but he that belwoetb not> Jhall be 
 'damned. 
 
 No man on Earth, or Angel in Heaven, has a right t« 
 vary cr alter the true Gofpe! of Jefut Chriit, to accommo- 
 date it to the notions of the learned, or to the experiences 
 cf the unlearned. Nay, by the Spirit of In/piration, whick 
 •is in envc> the fathe as if God himfelf had fpoken with an 
 •audible voice from Keaven, St. Paul with the utmoft fo- 
 lemnity, once and again, declared, as it were to the whole 
 Chriilian World in a bo^y, that if any man or Angel jhall 
 rp-reacb any other Gofpel, let him be accursed — And all 
 who, with St. Paul" fincerely iove the Gofpel cf Chriil, as 
 •it is, iB-tift therefore itand ready from the heart to fay — 
 £ M E N . ■ — — • — Fc r , 
 
 As the Gofpel is one harmonious, connecled whole; fo 
 h: who alters it in any fingle point, to be confluent, muft 
 .'.Iter the whole : That is, mull give upthat whole fyftem of 
 truths, and f, bftitute in its room, a whole fyftem of lies ; a 
 fyftem fubWfive of, and dire^'y contrary to the whole 
 Gofpel of Chrift. For initar.ee, he who denies the charac- 
 ter of the Fai'her, mall deny the character and office of the 
 and of the Holy Ghoff. For if the Father is not in 
 If infinitely worthy of cur fuprerne love, previous to 
 -ration of our being pardoned, the divine Law, 
 which requires this, previous to that corfuieraticn, was not 
 trooJ. The death-of Chriil then, to doit honour, was 
 needlefs. And the regenerating influences of the Holy 
 (t to brinrr us to view God in this light, there was no 
 [or; if there is no amr.blencfs in the divine Nature 
 ious to the confederation of his being my reconciled 
 friend. Anji if my want of love, and all my difafte&ian 
 to the divine Character arifes (imply from confiderlng him 
 
THE CONCLUSION. 20^ 
 
 as roy enemy, let him but declare himfelf my fiier.d, and 
 I (hail love him, with that kind of love which alone is his 
 due. For it is natural to thofe who are born of tie jiejh to 
 love a friend and benefactor. For Sinners love thofe that 
 love them. And if my difaffeclion to the Deity refults only 
 from his being my enemy ; then, as the breach began on 
 his fide, fo it belongs to him to retract firft. And if he 
 loves me, 1 mall love him. No mediator or fanclirier is 
 needed in the cafe. So the whole Gofpel is overthrown. 
 The Sinner is julniied, God and his law condemned. The 
 fame may be (kid of every faife fcheme of Rdigion. He 
 who denies one fingle truth, let him be confident, and he 
 muft deny the whole. And he who believes one error, let 
 him be confident, and he muft believe a whole fyftem cf 
 lies. And it was in this view, that St. Paul pronounced 
 the man or Angel accurfed, who mould preach another Gof- 
 pel. Becaufe if his other Gofpel was true, Chnjl is dead 
 in -vain, and the whole of Chriftianity is overthrown. Gal.. 
 ii. 21. And as this waj the cafe, with th? falfc fcheme, 
 which St. Paul then o^pofed ; fo it is equally true, as to 
 every falfc fcheme, which has been advanced fince. For, 
 as it is enmity to the true Gofpel, which is contrary to e- 
 very vicious bia^ in the human heart, that is the fourcc of 
 every falfe Gofpel, which is adapted to juitify our corrup- 
 tions; ( joh. iii. 19, 20, 21.) fo of courfe, every falfe Gof- 
 pel is in its own nature cor.tiary to, and fubveifwe of the 
 true. But he who hates the true Gofp.?i of Chriil fo entirely, 
 that he would overthrew the whole of it, were be able, as. 
 he is a thorough enemy to God and to his Son ; fo St. Paul's 
 fentence againii him, let ban be accurfed, is not more feverf 
 than that of his Mailer, he that believetb not Jh all be damn- 
 ed. A fentence, which, when it comes to be put in execur 
 tion at the day cf Judgment, will meet with univerfal ap- 
 probation and applaule from all holy Beings in the Uni- 
 verfe. As this is the moil important fubjecl in the World, 
 and as we are all infinitely intcreiled in it; fo it demands 
 the moil ferious conn* deration, and impartial, and Ariel ex- 
 amination of ali the Profeffors of Chriftianity. He there- 
 fore that hath ears to bear, let him hear. 
 
 FINIS.